Android OTA and firmware packages now come with a Payload.bin file that contains the individual image files of different partitions. In this tutorial, we will show you how to extract the Android OTA Payload.bin using the Payload Dumper tool to get the partition image files.
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What is a Payload.bin File?
Google introduced the concept of A/B (Seamless) System Updates back with Android Oreo. Of course, the new update mechanism offers several benefits. For one, the updates are installed seamlessly without rebooting the phone into the recovery mode. Also, it drastically reduces post-OTA failures that could make the device unusable. XDA posted a detailed write-up on A/B partitions and how it affects the custom development scene.
But it also introduced a new format for the Android OTA/Firmware update files. Earlier, these update files or packages came with partition images, which could easily be extracted and flashed manually, such as in case of devices like the Google Pixel and Razer Phone. And now, the update packages come with a single ‘Payload.bin‘ file that contains the individual partition images.
So, if you’d ever need to get the stock boot image or any other partition image from a specific OTA/Firmware package, you will need to extract the Android OTA Payload.bin file. And this could be easily done using the Payload Dumper tool developed by Gregory Montoir.
The tool is pretty simple and supports any Windows, macOS, or Linux PC. It could be used for OTA packages for various A/B devices including but not limited to OnePlus 7/7 Pro, OnePlus 6/6T, Xiaomi Mi A3, Xiaomi Mi A2/A2 Lite, Xiaomi Mi A1 and more.
Important Note: Payload Dumper tool can only be used to extract the Payload.bin file from full OTA packages. It will not work for incremental OTA packages.
Download Payload Dumper Tool
The only requirement to use the Payload Dumper Tool is that you must have Python v3.6 or above installed on your PC. For your convenience, we have provided a download link for that as well.
- Tool: payload_dumper.zip
- Latest version of Python (v3.6 or above): Click here to download
Instructions to Extract Android OTA Payload.bin File
- Download the full OTA package for your Android device.
- Extract the OTA package using an archive tool (WinRAR, 7Zip, etc) to get the Payload.bin file.
- Now, download the Payload Dumper Tool (payload_dumper.zip) and extract it to a suitable location on your PC.
- Copy the Payload.bin file to the previously extracted ‘payload_dumper’ folder.
- Open the command-line tool on your PC:
- PowerShell on Windows: Hold the SHIFT key and right-click on an empty space inside the ‘payload_dumper’ folder, then select ‘Open PowerShell window here’.
- Terminal on macOS/Linux: ‘cd’ to the ‘payload_dumper’ folder. For example: If you extracted the payload_dumper.zip’ to the ‘Documents’ folder, then the command should look like:
cd Documents/payload_dumper
- PowerShell on Windows: Hold the SHIFT key and right-click on an empty space inside the ‘payload_dumper’ folder, then select ‘Open PowerShell window here’.
- Enter the following command to install the required dependencies for the tool to work properly:
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
- Finally, enter the following command to extract the Android OTA Payload.bin file:
python3 payload_dumper.py payload.bin
The tool will start extracting the individual partition images from the Payload.bin file as soon as the command is executed. Once the process finishes, the extracted image files would be found inside the ‘output’ folder.
You can now copy these files and flash them manually on your device using fastboot. You can even grab the stock boot image and patch it to install Magisk and root your Android device.
So there you go! This was out detailed tutorial on how to extract the Android OTA Payload.bin file using the Payload Dumper tool. We couldn’t end this post without thanking Gregory Montoir for creating this simple tool. If you have any questions regarding the procedure, let us know through the comments.
Source: Gregory Montoir’s Github
Does not work on windows 10.
OK, somehow got it to work by downloading the 64 bit web installer instead the default selection of 32-bit Python offline installer and using the command python without number 3.
Hi. I am glad you figured it out by yourself.
On my 64-bit PC, I had to use the ‘python3’ syntax specifically because there was a prior installation of another Python version which was configured to use just ‘python’ without the ‘3’.
Thanks for bringing it up, other readers will benefit from this info.
For Windows 10, do NOT use
python3 payload_dumper.py payload.bin
Instead, use this
python payload_dumper.py payload.bin
Hi Md. Yes, you’re correct. I updated this article recently and only had my MacBook at hand to confirm that the process still works as intended. I will make the required changes. Thanks!
Hi Dhananjay,
Thank you for your answer. I have it like that:
1. python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
Nothing happens.
2. py -m pip install -r requirements.txt
Required already satisfied: protobuf == 3.6.0 in c: \ users \ satya \ appdata \ local \ programs \ python \ python36 \ lib \ site-package
s (from -r requirements.txt (line 1)) (3.6.0)
Required already satisfied: six == 1.11.0 in c: \ users \ satya \ appdata \ local \ programs \ python \ python36 \ lib \ site-packages (f
rom -r requirements.txt (line 2)) (1.11.0)
Required already satisfied: setuptools in c: \ users \ satya \ appdata \ local \ programs \ python \ python36 \ lib \ site-packages (fr
om protobuf == 3.6.0 -> – r requirements.txt (line 1)) (28.8.0)
3. python payload_dumper.py payload.bin
Nothing happens.
Creating subtitles such as “On Windows”, “On Linux” and “On MacOS” is a very good idea, especially for linux.
Thank you for your work and send greetings to you!
Hi again. Thanks for confirming.
1) Is the payload.bin file placed in the folder where the payload_dumper.py file is present?
2) Also, please check if the name of the dumper file is exactly ‘payload_dumper.py’ or something else?
Hi!
Thank you for reply.
ad. 1, 2: yes, exactly
But luckily I can do it without problems on my Linux.
I wonder if other readers have encountered this problem?
Hi Arek. Have you tried redownloading the tool?
Just to confirm, I have tried it again on my cousin’s laptop and it worked in the first go. I believe we will have to wait for some other Windows user to provide us some sort of confirmation.
Hi Arek. I have an update for you. At first, I thought of creating individual sections for Windows, macOS, or Linux too. However, the commands that I put up earlier were wrong.
In order to install the requirements, use the following:
pip3 install -r requirements.txtAnd, finally for extracting the payload.bin file:
python3 payload_dumper.py payload.binI have updated the instructions above. I can confirm that the same commands work for Windows and macOS. Could you confirm the same for Linux as well?
hi, i am a beginner in python. as i input the first line of code, it is stated it does not recognize pip3 as a cmdlet. how can i resolve this?
Hi. It seems like pip3 is either not installed or not configured under Windows PATH. Please try the following:
pip install -r requirements.txtHi Dhananjay,
Not work on Windows 10 for me I don’t know, why.
OK On Debian:
$ sudo apt install python3-pip
$ python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
$ python3 payload_dumper.py payload.bin
On Arch:
$ sudo pacman -S python-pip
$ sudo python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
$ python payload_dumper.py payload.bin
Greetings 🙂
Hi Arek. I can confirm that it works on Windows 10. The screenshots you see above are from my Win 10 machine. Could you give me some more insight on the situation? Did the requirements install just fine? Or did an error show up when extracting the payload.bin?
BTW, thanks for the confirmation. I forgot to make the steps compliant with Linux and macOS. I will do that now.
I think it would be good to create sub-headings like “On Windows”, “On Linux”, and “On macOS” and then put the OS-specific instructions. What do you think?