I’m sure you will agree with me that it’s usually best to stick with the latest Android upgrades. However, some users may find that the up-to-date versions aren’t really for them, or they just want to stick with the older versions. If that’s you, here are some ways to downgrade your version of Android.
Downgrading Android versions of some devices is virtually impossible. And if you manage to downgrade your version of Android successfully, you will have to deal with the bugs fixed on the latest update, missing new features due to the downgrade.
What to do before downgrading your version of Android
Back up your data
The best place to save your data is in the cloud rather than an SD card. For photos and videos, you can back them up to Google Photos. Be prepared to lose your entire call history, message history, or any game progress not syncing to the cloud.
Download the correct firmware image.
Once you start flashing your operating system, there is no turning back. So you need to check which version of Android you are using and find the correct previous version you are downgrading to.
For Nexus and Pixel users, you can find the correct factory image for the previous version of Android to install in Google Factory Image List. For other smartphone users, you can search and download the factory image online or on the developer forums.
Have original OEM USB cable
You will use it to connect the phone to your computer. In case you lose your original USB cable, borrow a cable from a user with the same model of smartphone as you or find a high-quality cable. Using a poor quality USB cable increases the risk of failure.
- Install the tools of the Android SDK (Software Development Kit)
Platform tools are available for Windows and Linux. Also, make sure that the ADB and Fastboot commands are working on your computer.
Unlock your phone’s bootloader
This is the program responsible for loading your device’s operating system and determines which applications to run during the boot process.
- Install the appropriate device drivers on your computer.
- Have a program capable of handling .tgz and .tar files such as 7zip.
- Fully charge your device before starting the downgrade process.
Understanding the decommissioning process
The process of downgrading Samsung Android versions is not for the faint hearted. The first thing to do is to flash a previous version of the device’s bootloader. This is because operating system updates also download the bootloader to a newer version.
If you’re not sure what you’re doing, it’s best to stop here and stick with your current Android version, as the process of flashing a bootloader cannot be undone.
Once you flash the bootloader incorrectly, there is no way to revert to the previous version. In the worst case, your phone will be bricked up, becoming unusable.
Still, if you know what you’re doing or are willing to risk it all, go ahead and flash the bootloader. Once you install a factory image, all your data will be erased from the device unless you download the full OTA (Over-the-air) image.
Sideloading your full OTA image will preserve your data and won’t unlock the bootloader, but it will still have the same effect as flashing the factory image.
How to downgrade your Android version
Only continue if you are sure what you are doing. If you miss a step, your device may crash.
- Make sure your developer options are enabled. You can do this by going to “About phone” in Android settings and tapping “Version number” seven times in a row.
- Under Developer Options, enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlock.
- Turn off your phone and then start it in bootloader mode. For most phones, just hold the power button and the volume down button at the same time.
- Take your smartphone and connect it to your computer via a USB cable.
- Go to the command prompt on your computer, right click and run the mouse as administrator, then start ADB.
- Go to the command prompt window and enter the fast boot devices. If you’ve done everything right, you should see your phone’s serial number listed.
- Open 7zip or any program capable of handling .tgz and .tar files. Use it to extract the .tgz and .tar files from the factory image. You will see a created folder containing a number of files.
- Select all files in the newly created folder and copy them. Open the Android SDK folder on your PC and paste the files into the platform-tools folder.
- For Windows users, double click on the flash file labeled “Windows Batch File” with a gear logo. For Linux users, double click on flash-all.sh.
- You will see a new pop-up window showing the progress of the installation. Do not try to unplug your device for any reason, lest it become bricked.
- Your device will automatically reboot to the downgraded Android version after installation is complete.
Alternatives to decommissioning
In case you are unable to find a way to downgrade your version of Android, all hope is not lost. You will need to install a custom ROM (read-only memory), but once you do this you will void your warranty and miss any security patches from your device’s official manufacturer.
Custom ROMs are third-party Android versions created by developers, similar to original ROMs or official firmware.
Don’t get me wrong – installing a custom ROM is no easier than downgrading your Android version. However, this is the best alternative when downgrading your Android version proves difficult. You can find a custom ROM from independent Android developer sites such as XDA Developers.
You can go ahead and install the Custom ROM once you download it.
The decommissioning experience
Many smartphone companies have made it difficult to downgrade Android versions by introducing application programming interfaces that are not backwards compatible. Some crucial apps may not even work after you downgrade your version of Android. So you will need to install custom third-party apps.
Downgrading versions of Android for Google Pixels is quite easy as you can easily unlock the bootloader. However, some smartphone companies don’t like to share installable versions of their operating systems, which makes it very difficult to unlock and downgrade their devices. Check online and try to find an older version of the operating system from users with the same model – otherwise it will be a difficult process.