Be it for flashing a custom ROM, installing a custom recovery, or gaining administrative access by rooting the device via Magisk, there’s a lot to look forward to. This will then allow you to flash a plethora of mods and tweaks, including the likes of Foxx Magisk Modules, Substratum Themes, LSPosed, among others. However, this is just one side of the coin. Flashing these tweaks could also prove to be quite risky. If not done correctly, then your device might end up in a bootloop or soft-bricked state. In both these cases, you could easily bring the device back to life by extracting the payload.bin file from the stock firmware and then flashing them via Fastboot Commands. But what about hardbrick? Well, since most OnePlus devices come with Qualcomm as the underlying chipset, you could make use of its Emergency Download Mode. Just boot your OnePlus to EDL Mode, flash the OFP firmware via MSM Download Tool and that’s it, your device will be unbricked. In this guide, we will show you how to do just that. Follow along.
What is MSM Download Tool
MSM Download Tool is the official tool used by the OnePlus service center employees to unbrick the devices. However, thanks to the devs at XDA, the tool has been leaked for all OnePlus devices and would continue to be so in the near future as well (open for interpretation!). This tool requires that the device should be booted to the Emergency Download Mode, which all the devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset come built-in with. And near about every OnePlus device falls in this domain.
Moroever, the tool comes bundled in with the unbrick OFP firmware as well, so you wouldn’t have to additionally download the firmware corresponding to your device or carrier. making our task even easier. All that you need to do is just boot your to EDL, download the Tool, and just flash the firmware via that tool. Your device will be up and running in no time whatsoever. So without any further ado, download the MSM Download Tool for your OnePlus device from below and then proceed with the unbrick instructions.
Download MSM Download Tool for Every OnePlus Device
Make sure to download the one that corresponds to your device, carrier, and region. Moreover, cross flashing isn’t generally recommended. Another point worth mentioning is that you could also use an older Android version tool but only do so if the current version isn’t available. [Credits: AnonymousWP and Some_Random_Username.]
OnePlus 1 MSM Download Tool
Download Link
OnePlus X MSM Download Tool
Download Link
OnePlus 2 MSM Download Tool
Android 6
OnePlus 3 MSM Download Tool
Android 6Android 8Android 9
OnePlus 3T MSM Download Tool
Android 7Android 8Android 9
OnePlus 5 MSM Download Tool
Android 8Android 9
OnePlus 5T MSM Download Tool
Android 7Android 8Android 9
OnePlus 6 MSM Download Tool
Android 8Android 9Android 10
OnePlus 6T MSM Download Tool
Android 9Android 10 T-Mobile Android 9T-Mobile Android 10Rebrand Tool (T-Mobile to Regular 6T)
OnePlus 7 MSM Download Tool
EU_GM57BA Android 9EU_GM57BA Android 10Global_GM57AA Android 9Global_GM57AA Android 10
OnePlus 7T MSM Download Tool
EU_HD65BA Android 10EU_HD65BA Android 11Global_HD65AA Android 10Global_HD65AA Android 11T-Mobile_HD63CB Android 10
OnePlus 7T PRO MSM Download Tool
5G_McLaren_T-Mobile_HD61CB Android 105G_McLaren_T-Mobile_HD61CB Android 11EU_HD01BA Android 10Global_HD01AA Android 10
OnePlus 7 PRO MSM Download Tool
5G_EU_GM27BA Android 95G_Sprint_GM25CC Android 97 Pro 5G Sprint to 7 Pro 5G EU.zipEU_GM21BA Android 9EU_GM21BA Android 10EU_GM21BA Android 11Global_GM21AA Android 9Global_GM21AA Android 10Global_GM21AA Android 11T-Mobile_GM31CB Android 9Rebrand_Tool_(T-Mobile_to_Global_7-Pro)
OnePlus 8 MSM Download Tool
EU_IN21BA Android 10EU_IN21BA Android 11Global_IN21AA Android 10Global_IN21AA Android 11India_IN21DA Android 10India_IN21DA Android 11
OnePlus 8T MSM Download Tool
EU_KB05BA Android 11Global_KB05AA Android 11India_KB05DA Android 11T-Mobile_KB09CB Android 11
OnePlus 8 PRO MSM Download Tool
EU_IN11BA Android 10EU_IN11BA Android 11Global_IN11AA Android 10Global_IN11AA Android 11Indian_IN11DA Android 10Indian_IN11DA Android 11
OnePlus 9 MSM Download Tool
Global_LE25AA Android 11India_LE25DA Android 11T-Mobile_LE54CB Android 11
OnePlus 9R MSM Download Tool
India_LE28DA Android 11
OnePlus 9 PRO MSM Download Tool
EU_LE15BA Android 11Global_LE15AA Android 11India_LE15DA Android 11T-Mobile_LE5ACB Android 11
OnePlus Nord MSM Download Tool
EU_AC01BA Android 10Global_AC01AA Android 10India_AC01DA Android 10India_AC01DA Android 11
OnePlus Nord CE MSM Download Tool
EU_EB13BA Android 11India_EB13DA Android 11
OnePlus Nord N10 5G MSM Download Tool
EU_BE89BA Android 10Global_BE86AA Android 10Metro-by-T-Mobile_BE88CF Android 10T-Mobile_BE88CB Android 10
OnePlus Nord 100 MSM Download Tool
EU_BE83BA Android 10Global_BE81AA Android 10Metro-by-T-Mobile_BE82CF Android 10T-Mobile_BE82CB Android 10
OnePlus Nord 200 MSM Download Tool
T-Mobile_DE18CB
How to Unbrick OnePlus via MSM Download Tool
Do note that the below process will wipe off all the data from your device. But since your device is already bricked, there might not be any way to take a backup. Anyways, your device will be up and running again, so this is a worthy trade-off. With that said, let’s get started with the steps to unbrick your OnePlus device via MSM Download Tool. Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.
STEP 1: Install Android SDK
First and foremost, you will have to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is the official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google and is the only recommended one. So download it and then extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Doing so will give you the platform-tools folder, which will be used throughout this guide.
STEP 2: Install Qualcomm USB Drivers
Next up, you will have to download and install the Qualcomm USB Drivers. This is needed so that your PC (and the MSM Tool) is able to identify the connected device in EDL Mode. So refer to our guide on Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 Drivers: Download & Install
STEP 3: Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
You’ll now have to disable the Driver Signature Enforcement on your PC so that Windows doesn’t conflict with the EDL Drivers [Qualcomm HS USB Drivers]. So refer to our detailed guide on How to Disable Driver Signature Verification on Windows 10/11.
STEP 4: Extract MSM Download Tool
Once you have downloaded the tool, extract it to any convenient location on your PC. This will give you the MSM Download Tool as well as the OPS Unbrick Firmware for your OnePlus device.
STEP 5: Boot OnePlus to EDL Mode
If your device is still being shown as QHUSB_BULK, then reverify driver installation, use USB 2.0 Port, or try using a different USB cable. Any one of these tweaks could fix the EDL connection error.
STEP 6: Unbrick OnePlus Devices via MSM Download Tool
That’s it. These were the steps to unbrick your OnePlus device via MSM Download Tool. If the above steps didn’t work out for you, then there’s an alternate way as well. You could first launch the MSM Tool and click the Start button. Then boot your device to EDL and connect it to the PC. As soon as the Tool detects the connected device, it will start the flashing process.
OnePlus Unbrick Reference Guides
We also have prepared standalone reference guided for various OnePlus devices. So if the aforementioned steps didn’t manage to checkmark all your prerequisites, then you could also refer to these guides corresponding to your device:
How to Unbrick OnePlus Nord N100 via MSM Download ToolHow to Unbrick OnePlus Nord N200 via MSM Download ToolUnbrick OnePlus Nord and N10 5G via MSM Download ToolHow to Unbrick OnePlus 9/9 Pro/9R using MSM Download ToolHow to Unbrick OnePlus 8/8 Pro/8T using MSM Download ToolUnbrick OnePlus 7/7 Pro/7T/ 7T Pro using MSM Download Tool
Fix MSM Download Tool Errors
You might come across quite a few errors and issues while using this tool. There could be a plethora of reasons as to why these issues are happening, from missing drivers to EDL connection not being established or it could just be related to USB ports. We have covered all these issues and their fixes in their respective guides, do check them out:
Fix Sahara communication failed error in MSM Download ToolHow to Fix Stuck in Param Preload error MSM Download ToolHow to Fix SMT Config Not Found in MSM Download Tool[FIX] MSM Tool unable to recognize OnePlus 9: Sahara Connection error
On that note, we round off this guide on how you could download the MSM Download Tool for every OnePlus device and hence unbrick it. If you have any queries, then do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.