How to bring back the classic design of VKontakte. Instructions: returning the old VKontakte design

A new version (new design, appearance, design) of VKontakte appeared in April 2016. The old one existed for a very long time and is outdated. At first, during the trial period, each user could turn on the new version for himself, and if he didn’t like something, then return to the old one.

At first it was like this: the person who wanted to open it himself opened the news on the VK blog and at the very end of the page clicked "Join testing."

You could also enable the new version using the link “Use the new version of the site as default” in the left column of the site, at the bottom (if you open VK on a computer and not on a phone).

You could return the old one back there, at the very bottom of the narrow left column of the site, a pale gray link. It was called “Return to the old version of the site.” Then not everyone had it, and even later it disappeared completely. Read on:

Since June 9, 2016, some VK users (approximately 10 percent) received the new version forcibly, that is, it turned on itself, and they could no longer return to the old one. You could also be one of these users. Nothing could be done about it, you could only get used to it, because a person gets used to everything. The best option is to take the changes calmly. Some time will pass, and the old version will already seem inconvenient to you. And in any case, the developers of the VK site would not be able to support the old version for a long time.

This was the beginning of a mass transfer of all VK users to the new version. Here is the official news about it. Those who did not fall into the mentioned 10% could still switch to the new version and back to the old one for some time, but from August 17 VKontakte completely switched to the new version, it turned on for everyone without the possibility of returning to the old one.

Since then, due to numerous requests from users, some changes have been made (changed the font, left the ability to use dialogs similar to those in the old version, etc.). But in general, there will never be a return to the old version. Most likely it no longer exists.

Go to “Messages” and find the gear icon at the bottom - . Click on it and select "Go to classic interface." After this you will have dialogues like in the old version. To go back to the new version, click on the gear in the same way and select "Go to the new interface."

The new version refers to the full version of the site that people use on computers and tablets. This does not apply to the VK application for phones, which is developed and updated separately (see How to download VK to your phone). There is also a mobile version of the VK site, which also exists separately, but it gradually borrowed many elements from the new “full” version.

You can install the old version of the mobile application manually, this is described here:

The old version may not have music playing. No one guarantees that older versions of the application will work at all. The VK administration can disable them. In the future, you can disable automatic updates and the application will not update.

A better option is to get used to the new version of the application. When something new comes out, there are always people who don't like it. This was the case with the new version of the VKontakte website - many promised to leave VK forever, but they are still sitting there just fine. It's all a matter of habit.

Not everyone likes the new version of VKontakte. Many people demand to return the previous version, which they consider more convenient. Some argue that the new design is too similar to Facebook and even Odnoklassniki. Users even created an online petition demanding that the old version be preserved and given the “right to choose” (this did not affect anything). Online petitions are often created for various reasons and thanks to them, information is disseminated very widely. But in reality, the petition has never helped anyone. When the noise subsides, everyone forgets about her.

VKontakte laughed at its users who promised to leave if they did not return the old version. A month after their promise, they still continued to use VK ().

It is known that some people always greet any major update with hostility, since changing old habits is too painful for them. But over time they calm down.

Our instructions will help you quickly navigate the new version of VKontakte: Where in the new version of VKontakte are the settings, my answers, music, birthdays, logout, statistics...?

Please write below in the comments what you think about the new version of VKontakte! Your opinion is important.

Why is this important? When you express your opinion, it will become easier, you will release your negativity. True, 92% of people will not read this, but will immediately look for where to write - they don’t care. Congratulations if you're reading this! If you really want to contact VKontakte employees and ask them to return the old version, try contacting their support service - but we don’t think this will affect anything.

There have long been rumors that a paid music subscription will appear in the VK application. At the end of April 2017, VK decided to transfer music listeners to the Boom application, which has a paid subscription. The application belongs to the partner Mail.ru Group, which includes VKontakte itself. The music section in VK has changed - playlists and advertising have appeared. In the VK application for Android, music caching has disappeared (you can no longer save music and listen to it without the Internet). Why did all this happen? The fact is that if everyone listens to music for free, musicians will have nothing to eat and they will have to leave for another job. Therefore, this could not continue indefinitely. You can express your outrage right here in the comments. Be sure to share this page with your friends!

This is how VKontakte representatives answer questions about free music in the application.

Despite the fact that developers strive for perfection, a new update to a familiar application does not always bring pleasure to the user. Although this is more a matter of habit. However, many people want to leave the application as it was before the changes were made and are looking for information about .

It is worth noting that VKontakte completely updated its mobile application in the fall of 2017. This is one of the most noticeable changes that the program interface has undergone recently; before this, a similar upgrade was presented by the developers in April last year. Almost everything has changed, from new user capabilities to the general organization of the workspace. And even “likes” are now red.

Despite the fact that the optimization is quite good and the application itself has become more convenient, many (like last time) want to continue using the old, more familiar version.

All Android users are well aware of the PlayMarket service for downloading and installing new applications. Depending on the settings configured in this application, programs installed on the user’s device will be updated in two available modes:

• Manual – when PlayMarket simply offers and recommends available updates, and the owner of the gadget independently decides which of them to install and which to ignore.
• Automatic – as soon as a new update appears in the device Market, the installed program automatically accepts it and updates itself. In this case, the user enters the application and sees a new design and interface (as happens with VKontakte).

In this connection, the first action that a follower of the old VKontakte software should take is to disable automatic application updates and switch it to manual mode.

To do this, you need to go to the PlayMarket application menu, to do this, click on the “sandwich” in the upper left corner, in the menu that appears, go down and find the “Settings” section. In the group of general settings we find the item “auto-update applications” and select “Never” for the three proposed settings options.

At this stage, the settings are complete. This was the first step in solving the question of how to return the old version of VK to Android. Now PlayMarket will not automatically update installed programs, and the user can safely use the old-style program without fear of auto-correction. If you need to get a new version of the program, just go to the installed applications section yourself and check for updates, and also, if necessary, start the upgrade.

After the external settings that affect the version update have been installed, you can start working with the program on the device itself. , if the Market no longer updates applications automatically? In this case, the process is quite simply divided into two steps, which involve uninstalling the updated program and installing the desired version.

This step is extremely simple and straightforward, you just need to completely remove the existing . If you are an inexperienced user and are worried that you will lose information or access to your account, then these are groundless fears. The old version will contain everything that is on your page now, this does not depend on the use of the software.

There are several ways to remove an installed application:

After the updated version, you can additionally clear the cache and delete unnecessary files on the phone. The procedure is not mandatory, but it won’t be superfluous.

After the smartphone's memory has been cleared of the remnants of the previous version of the program, it is time to take the final step in resolving the issue of how to return the old version of VK to Android.

The main question at this stage is where to get the distribution kit of the previous version of VK. Today on the Internet you can find a lot of offers to download and install any program, not just VKontakte. Before turning to any source, you should first check its reliability. Installing software for mobile access to a personal VK page from a third-party resource can be fraught with unpleasant consequences, and VKontakte itself does not distribute previous versions of the application.

Before downloading a package of files and installing them on your phone, you should look for reviews about the source. Today, old versions of VK can be found on TrashBox or UpToDown.

Before downloading the distribution, you need to set the settings on the gadget. To ensure greater security, devices have default settings that prohibit downloading and installing applications from third-party resources. To install the old version you need to change these settings. Usually, when you try to install the desired program, a pop-up window pops up. A warning about unauthorized actions and a proposal to prohibit or allow the process.

• page freeze. As a rule, this happens in the case of sending spam or using programs associated with the so-called cheating;
• the page was hacked. That is, an unauthorized person gained access to your account by guessing a password, spreading a virus, or in any other way;
• The account was previously deleted. It is worth noting that this is one of the simplest problems that may arise when it is necessary to restore a VK page;
• There are some problems with logging in. In this case, there are usually problems with linking a phone number or e-mail address, as well as losing a password.

If your page is frozen for the first time, then there is no need to worry, since you will be able to resume activity almost immediately.

Important! The more bans you have, the longer each of them lasts.

What do you need to unfreeze your account?

It is worth understanding that the account will be blocked by the administration if spam is sent from it. If someone simply knows your username and password and periodically visits your page, the system has very little chance of tracking down the fraud.

How to restore a page after it has been hacked?

Important! The phone number must be entered in full: “+” and the country code cannot be omitted.

If you deleted the page yourself for some reason, then if you try to access it again, a window will appear in front of you notifying you that the page has been deleted. The date until which you have the right to freely restore your page will also be indicated.

Important! If the account was deleted more than seven months ago, the possibilities of restoring it in this way are exhausted.

How to restore a page after self-deletion in this case?

Note! Such restoration will take quite a lot of time than that which takes place within seven months after removal. When restoring the page after seven months, the site will request information confirming your identity, namely: a page with a photo from a document confirming your identity; photo against the background of the monitor, where you can see the question for technical support.

When entering your login and password, you must enter a specific VKontakte page. Otherwise, there is an error when entering this information.

But suppose you sent a request for recovery, entered the attached login and password, but even after that nothing happens.

Important! The solution to the problem is quite unusual, but it is still worth knowing about: you need to submit a second application for restoration. In most cases, this procedure can be carried out only after this, and 10% of users receive full rights to the page even after the third application.

This may be to ensure that your intentions regarding recovery are genuine. Or perhaps technical support simply does not have time to process all requests.

In general, restoring an old VK page, regardless of how you delete it, is not difficult. The main thing is patience and willingness to follow instructions.

If you noticed, with the transition to the new design, the address of your page has also changed - the postscript “new” has appeared in it. Now it looks like this: “https://new.vk.com /user_ID”, and before it looked like this: “https://vk.com /user_ID”. Essentially, the address with a postscript opens a duplicate of your profile with a new design. But the old profile has not disappeared anywhere, at least until now. However, if earlier to return it it was enough to remove the postscript from the address bar and refresh the page, now this trick does not work. The option of replacing “new” with “0” (zero) does not help either, although it worked recently. Switching to the mobile version of VK (https://m.vk.com/user_ID) is also useless - it opens with a new design by default.

But, to our joy, while user pages exist in two versions, the ability to download them of your choice remains. Today there are at least 3 working methods that will help us do this.

This option is perhaps the simplest of all: to open your VK page with the old interface, just click on. You will be taken to the news feed, and from there you can go anywhere.

The method is good, but it has a drawback - the action is limited to one session. If you reload your browser, you will have to click this link again. For convenience, you can add it to your bookmarks.

There is another option for implementing the previous method - creating a kind of shortcut, more precisely, a file with the .html extension, which will immediately redirect you “where you should” - to the same news feed with the old design.

To create a shortcut, open Notepad (or a program that replaces it) and copy the following code into it:

document.ReDir.submit();

Russian “Christmas tree quotes” will have to be changed to regular ones; the script does not work with them.

Now, to open a VKontakte page with the previous design, just double-click on this “shortcut”.

This method will appeal to those who don’t want to bother with links and shortcuts, but prefer to make all the settings once and use them constantly. In order for VK to open with the old design always and on any page, it is enough to install the “Old Design VKontakte” script (author Nikolay Isaev) in the browser.

The script itself is located. But to make it work, you first need to install an extension in your browser to run custom scripts.

• For Opera this extension is called . To install it, go to the page using the link and click “Add to Opera”.

• For Google Chrome this is . To add, follow the link and click “Install”.

• For Mozilla Firefox – . Open it and click “Add to Firefox”.

• For the Yandex browser - or . To install, follow the link and click “Add to Yandex.Browser”.

• For Safari - also. Open the add-on page and click “Download”.

Next, go to the script download page and click “Install”.

After that, we go to our favorite “VKontakte” and rejoice at the return of the previous interface.

Please note: the “Old VKontakte Design” script is updated regularly, so if you encounter problems with displaying elements of site pages, downloading attachments, playback, etc., try reinstalling it. To do this, click on the Tampermonkey (or its analogues) icon in the browser panel and select “Check for script updates” from the menu.

To delete the script (if you decide to switch to a new design), in the same menu, click on the “Panel” item. A table of all installed user scripts will open. Select the one you don’t need and in the “Actions” column, click on the trash can icon.

Or simply remove the extension itself from the browser.

Also on the site:

How to return the old VKontakte design: three working methods updated: August 4, 2016 by Johnny Mnemonic

In connection with a complete update of the design of the popular social network VKontakte, many users have a question about how to return the old version of VK. Let's look at the process of performing this task on a computer and smartphone/tablet.

To return to the old version of VK on a PC or laptop, you just need to use the settings.

This is done like this:

• Enter any dialogue. It can even be a chat with several friends. Find the gear icon at the bottom and click on it.
• A secondary menu will appear. Select the option “Switch to classic interface”.

Unfortunately, this is where the options for PC and laptop users end. Unfortunately, they will not be able to completely switch to the old design.

The VKontakte employees themselves believe that they have worked on the errors, and therefore the old version no longer makes any sense. This is confirmed by the screenshot of the support request below.

Interesting: At first, when the design update just happened, in the normal settings there was a button that returned the old appearance. Then it was removed.

So, we figured out how to return the old version of VK to the computer at least to some extent. Now let's talk about what users of multimedia devices can do.

In short, for Android you need to install the old version as an application and make sure that the device cannot be updated.

The step-by-step process looks like this:

• Open the Play Market and select “Options” (three horizontal bars), then “Settings”.
• Tap on the words “Auto-update applications” and in the menu that appears, select the “Never” option.

• Now go to the usual settings of your device, there you will find the list of applications (in the newest versions of Android you need to open the “Applications” menu, then “Application Manager”). There, open the page of the VKontakte application that you already use to access this social network.
• On the application page, click the “Delete” button and select “OK” in the prompt that appears. The program will be deleted.

The procedure for “changing design” on an iPhone involves almost the same steps. The video below clearly shows how all this is done. If you have any questions, be sure to write to us!