How to return the previous version of the update on Android. How to return to the old version of Android after updating your smartphone
This time I will show you how to install stock firmware on your Samsung Galaxy smartphone or tablet, that is, restore the state of a new device. This method will also allow you to revive your gadget after an unsuccessful installation of custom firmware or get rid of problems with the operation of the device. You can also update your device to the latest software version if you can't wait for the over-the-air update. Everything is completely safe!
This method involves using the convenient Odin utility for Windows. Don't worry if you're not familiar with her. Thanks to the step-by-step instructions below, you will learn everything you need to successfully restore using Odin. It's worth noting that all data stored in the device's internal memory will be erased, so save it to your computer before you begin. You can also backup SMS, contacts, media files and more by checking our guide.
How to prepare for the Samsung Android device recovery process:
So, are you all set? Have you installed the drivers and rebooted your computer? Have you unpacked the Odin program archives and firmware? Is your smartphone/tablet charged? Then let's get started! Follow my instructions carefully and in 15 minutes you will receive a device with freshly installed software.
How to restore stock firmware on any Samsung device:
Step 1: Launch Odin on your computer.Step 2: Put your mobile device into Download Mode. To do this, turn it off, and then press the buttons one by one “Volume down”, "Home" And “Nutrition“. Then press the button once “Volume up” to continue.
Step 3: Connect the gadget to your computer via a USB cable.
Step 4: When a blue light appears in front of the connected port in the Odin program, click on the button "AP" and select the firmware file that you should have downloaded in advance.
Step 5: The Odin utility takes a few minutes to check the firmware. When it is ready, press the button "Start", which is located at the bottom of the window.
Step 6: After the process is completed, the device will reboot automatically.
Step 7: In a few minutes you should see the initial setup screen, where you need to select the interface language, connect to the network, add an account, and so on.
That's it! Now your gadget has stock software installed, which will receive official updates over the air.
Each operating system needs to be improved in order to: increase its performance and ease of use, correct shortcomings and errors.
Which is easy to do with updates. For the Android operating system, this can be done by updating its version, and this operation is called flashing.
What kind of problems appear after updating Android?
By and large, not scary at all. Very rarely, after modification, several shortcuts disappear from the desktop, and the programs themselves are the owners of these icons. Because they have long been outdated, there are many updates or replacements for these programs in the Play Store.
Along with flashing, new useful but uninteresting programs are installed that cannot be removed.
The worst thing is if you install the operating system not through settings and updates. This self-installed version of Android will be unofficial software, and all warranties for servicing your device will be lost.
How to return to the old version of Android after updating?
It may happen that you want to return the old version of Android if you do not like the update made. But such a possibility, without harm to personal data and installed applications you already like, does not exist.
Still, it’s better to get used to Android after the update. Install new applications, shortcuts on your desktop, and you will like the updated operating system.
The stubborn desire to return the old version of Android after the update does not leave, then this can be done.
Firstly, before returning to the old version of Android, you need to rewrite all personal data from the phone’s internal memory:
- contacts, phone numbers – to the SIM card;
- photos, music, text files, SMS messages, emails - to a separate memory card.
Secondly, you will need to perform a factory reset. There are two options.
Reset to menu:
The operation is different for different types and models of devices:
- on Android phones version 2.3 -
Settings > Privacy > - on Android phones version 4 –
Settings > Device storage > Factory reset
or Settings > Built-in memory > Factory reset. - on Android tablets version 4 –
Settings > Backup & reset > Reset settings.
Hard reset to return to the old version of Android:
You need to enter the “Android system recovery” () menu. First you need to turn off the device, and then use the key combination, which differs for different manufacturers.
- For most phones and tablets, simultaneously press and hold the power and volume down buttons.
- Samsung - simultaneously press and hold the power and volume up buttons.
- Sony Ericsson – simultaneously press and hold the power, volume down and camera buttons.
- LG – simultaneously press and hold for more than 10 seconds the buttons: power, volume down, home screen (home). Release the power button after the LG logo appears, and hold the rest until the recovery screen appears.
- Huawei - simultaneously press and hold the buttons: power, volume down, volume up.
- HTC – press and hold the volume down button, then briefly press the power button. When the recovery menu appears on the screen, release the Volume Down key. Find the “Clear storage” item, select it by pressing the power button and confirm the action with the volume down button.
In the “Android system recovery” menu, remember the key assignments: highlight – move through the menu; select – select a menu item. Move to the line “wipe data / factory reset” and select this item. Next, in the new menu, go down to the action confirmation sub-item and select it.
In both reset options, a reboot will occur, and your device will turn on with factory settings - with applications and the old version of Android preinstalled by the manufacturer.
The Android operating system is constantly being improved: device manufacturers and Google itself are correcting errors, combating shortcomings, optimizing energy consumption, and adding new functions. It would seem that updating to a newer version of the OS is always good. However, all this is far from so rosy: you can often update to an unfinished version and your smartphone or tablet will work much worse than on a stable build. That is why we decided today to talk about how to return the old version of Android after updating.
Unfortunately, neither Google, as the creator of the OS, nor device manufacturers have provided such a function. There is no point in using a full reset to factory settings from the corresponding menu; all your data will simply be deleted, and the operating system version will remain the same. We think that this is clearly not what you want. So what should we do?
Returning the old version of Android using Recovery
First, save all your data. You can use any program, but we recommend Titanium Backup. To use it, you need Root rights, as well as to restore the old version of the OS, so if you don’t have them, get them. Each device has its own unique instructions for obtaining them. Here's exactly what you should do:We agree, the process is clearly not an easy one and it is worth using it only in one single case, if the device really does not work well with the new version of the OS: it constantly freezes, essential applications do not turn on, etc. In other cases, we recommend simply getting used to the new interface and new features - this is not always a bad thing. Moreover, people adapt to everything quite quickly. So what does it cost you to cope with a smartphone or tablet?! In any case, now you know what to do if you decide to return the old version of Android after updating. If you have any difficulties, we recommend visiting the 4pda forum, where you can find out detailed information on your device.
Many smartphone owners are wondering: “How to update the Android operating system?”. But there is another category of users. They are trying to roll back the update. Thoughts about this arise after you realize that the device, after receiving a new firmware version, is extremely unstable. So I want to get back the previous version of the operating system. Below you can read about how to perform a system rollback.
Modern electronic gadgets are very software-based. In many cases, the device is tailored for a specific version of the operating system. For example, if a laptop was sold with Windows 8 pre-installed, then with a high degree of probability you won’t be able to install “7” on it unless you replace the hard drive. A similar situation is observed in the case of Android-based smartphones. Only in some cases can you cope with installing a very old version of the operating system if the device came with Android 5.0 or 6.0.
Not all users know about this, but even mobile components work with the help of drivers - in this regard, they are no different from PC components. To save money, processor manufacturers write drivers only for specific versions of the operating system. So it turns out that some Snapdragon 820 is simply not recognized by the old Android 4.2.
However, a rollback involves installing the version of the OS that was previously installed on the device. And manufacturers, it would seem, should not interfere with this. But it's not that simple. Rolling back the system would be easy only if a copy of it was stored in the device’s memory. But Android devices do not have such a function - the update completely erases all data about the old version of the operating system. This is due to the fact that there is not very much built-in memory in smartphones and tablets, and no one wants to occupy it with unnecessary load. That is why it is very difficult to rollback on Android; it is better not for an untrained user to do this.
Differences from the update
If you have updated Android at least once, you should know that this does not delete the user's personal data. Photos, applications, music and everything else remain in place. But if you decide to roll back Android, then this will be equal to reset to factory settings. Absolutely all information will be deleted.
Another point is the difficulty of rollback. To update the operating system, you often do not need to do anything. The new version arrives over the air, after which you only need to click on the “Download” and “Agree” buttons. There is no universal guide for rollback. You will have to get a special program, install it on your computer, download a custom Recovery menu and perform many other actions. That is why it is recommended to roll back to a previous version of the system only in case of urgent need.
Rollback on devices from ASUS
So, it's time to talk about how to roll back Android to the previous version. On many devices this takes a very long time. But there are also exceptions. Old tablets and smartphones from ASUS require the following steps required for a rollback:
Step 1. Download the firmware you need, suitable for your model. You can find it on the official website or other resources dedicated to mobile technology.
Step 2. The downloaded file should be placed in the root directory of the device.
Step 4. After scanning, a triangle and an exclamation mark should appear on the panel near the clock. Click on this icon.
Step 5. Agree with the proposed procedure.
After this, the flashing procedure will begin. Interestingly, it doesn’t matter to the system which firmware version you installed. This means that in this way you can not only rollback, but also update.
Devices from other manufacturers
To perform a rollback, you will first need to prepare your device.
- The first thing you need to do is get root rights. This will give you access to all system files, and as a result you will be able to perform any actions with them.
- Next, you must download the appropriate firmware to your computer. To do this, you will have to visit the corresponding sites where fans of flashing smartphones and tablets are located.
- You also need to remember to install drivers on your PC. Without them, it is impossible to get full access to the smartphone’s file system from your computer.
- You also need to download a special flash driver. It also differs depending on the device manufacturer, so we cannot recommend anything specific.
- Finally, you may need to install a custom Recovery. But if you find a suitable program and get root access, then you can reflash your smartphone without going to the Recovery menu.
This should be your preparation. Then all you have to do is connect the device to your computer using a USB cable, launch the program and follow the instructions from its creators. In a word, this way you will perform a flashing, which is essentially what an update rollback is.
Operating system updates are always an expected event. Some phone owners find it difficult to wait for official patches from developers, so they choose a more affordable option - installing custom firmware, which is not always successful. There are also users who are frightened by innovations of this kind. This is understandable, because updates do not always help, they can even be worse than older versions. Sometimes fixes for certain programs load the system significantly, making the user experience more difficult, or are so useless that it becomes a little alarming. But the most disastrous result awaits users when the user interface changes irrevocably, naturally, not for the better.
Perhaps we should start with Nexus smartphones. The process of installing new firmware is incredibly simple: we save all the necessary information; On the Internet we find the required image of the version to which we want to update, and carry out the installation. It is necessary to take into account that if you do not open root rights, then it will be impossible to create a backup of the current version of the operating system, as well as extremely important system data. The market also provides the opportunity to download applications that can be used to save almost all the information, but they require additional rights.
For Nexus smartphones it is much easier to return the old version of the application if you don’t like the new one. We simply find an older version of the apk file, completely remove the new application, and, using Explorer, install the old version. The main thing is not to forget to open access to install applications from other sources.
Regarding other devices (except Nexus), in particular, in matters of Android rollback to previous firmware versions, the situation is somewhat different. Some, even most, devices running on the Android system are not designed to change the firmware manually. Factory settings limit the ability of the user to interfere with the system files of the smartphone. These restrictions also need to be lifted independently. For example, first you need to unlock the bootloader. The installation of the old firmware version itself takes a little time, but preparation for the entire procedure may even require several hours.
Looking at all the nuances, the most reliable option for updating the system to a more recent build is to use custom firmware. We have already indicated this method a little higher in the context, but now we will try to substantiate the fact why this option is much better than rolling back the Android system to older versions. First of all, reliable assemblies are free of inaccuracies and errors, because huge teams of professionals work to create these updates. Secondly, you have the opportunity to choose the most suitable firmware. Thirdly, if you make every effort, you can always find an update with a better design.