How to restore stock firmware on any Samsung Galaxy device. How to return old firmware to Android

Many users are eagerly waiting for manufacturers to release a new firmware update for their Android smartphone. As a rule, they fix bugs of previous versions of the OS, add new features and optimize the work in general. But what should you do if, after the update, your phone starts working worse than it did initially? Let's take a closer look at why and how to restore your phone after unsuccessful Android firmware.

Self-firmware of an Android device is always a risky undertaking, the consequences of which are borne by the user himself. Unless, of course, we are talking about installing a standard official update over the air or using a proprietary program on a computer. In this case, responsibility for the consequences of the update lies with the developer, so you can safely contact the service center under warranty. But before you panic and try in every possible way to restore the original firmware, you need to understand whether a failure really occurred. There are several main reasons that can lead to failure when flashing:

• Emergency interruption (the phone was disconnected from the computer, the smartphone battery was low, etc.)
• Inappropriate OS version.
• Incorrect settings, user errors.

Any of the above problems can cause incorrect operation of the mobile device, constant system crashes, etc. In the event that the phone does not turn on or begins to work worse than before installing the update, you need to begin active recovery efforts.

How to roll back firmware

If the update is unsuccessful, the question arises, how to return to the old OS? Depending on whether you used the official or custom version of the firmware, the recovery options will be different. Let's consider both cases in more detail.

Failure caused by installing official firmware from the developer

This does not happen often, but in some situations the phone may not work correctly even when an official update is installed. In this case, it is quite simple to roll back and restore the factory version of the mobile phone operating system. To do this, the user will need a computer with installed drivers for the mobile device and a special program. Depending on the manufacturer of your smartphone or tablet, the required utility must be downloaded from the developer’s official website. Further steps for installing native firmware can be written down in two points:

• Connect your mobile device to your desktop computer or laptop via a USB cable.
• Run the program, find the recovery partition in it and start rolling back the changes made.

Website with Samsung Kies program

After this, the program will automatically search for and install the required OS version and return the mobile phone to its original state.

Program interface on a computer

Crash caused by installing custom (custom) firmware

In this case, updating again from Recovery mode will help. In order to enter recovery mode, you need to turn off your mobile device and simultaneously hold down the key combination. In most cases, these are the buttons: power + volume down.
The Recovery menu is controlled by the same keys: volume and power. In the case when you made a backup of the system before flashing, then just select the “Backup and restore” item. If no backup was made, the recovery procedure will take a little longer. You need to do the following:

• Reset all settings by selecting “wipe data/factory reset”.
• Format the cache partition by clicking on “wipe cache partition”.
• Try to reinstall the firmware by selecting “install zip from sdcard” and clicking on the file with a pre-created archive on the memory card.

After this, the phone should work normally. You can also try downloading and installing another version of the OS in a similar way. For more information on how to roll back newly installed firmware, see the training video below.

How to return factory firmware?

If you want to return the factory version of the OS by correcting accumulated system errors, you can do this directly from the main settings menu of your smartphone. To do this you will need:

• Turn on your mobile device, go to the main settings (via the application menu or by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner when lowering the curtain).
• Find the “restore and reset” tab, then click “Hard reset” and agree to the necessary conditions.

After successfully completing this operation, your phone or tablet will return to its factory OS settings. We recommend that before resetting the settings, you back up important data or save it to a separate media, as it will be deleted from memory.
The training video presented below describes the procedure for resetting the settings of a mobile gadget running on the Android OS to factory settings.

Data-lazy-type="image" data-src="http://androidkak.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/android.png" alt="android" width="300" height="206"> !} Sometimes it is useful to know how to roll back the Android firmware to the previous version. This operating system receives updates regularly. For example, Android 4.4.4 KitKat could have been upgraded to version 5.0.1 Lollipop at one time.

Thanks to updates, the system becomes more secure, since developers are always striving to find and fix vulnerabilities. In addition, after the improvement, Android receives a new graphical interface, as a result of which it acquires a more stylish and modern appearance.

Why do you need a rollback?

Changes sometimes concern not only functionality and visual design. Some applications that were actually usable in the previous version of the system may not be supported after installing the update, which is why the user begins to think about how to uninstall the new version of Android.

If there are concerns that switching to another version of the operating system may remove support for a particular application that was actively used by the previous system, then it would be wiser to wait until an official update for this program becomes available. If the user has updated the system, but for some subjective reasons is dissatisfied with the improvement and wants to return to the previous version, then he needs to perform a system rollback and remove the new software environment.

Next we will tell you how to return the old version of Android after updating. The Nexus 5 phone will be used as an example since it is officially supported by Google and has its own Factory image file and bootloader that can be unlocked by restoring an older version. When performing this operation, the user will face the risk of losing important data being deleted.

The user must act at his own risk. Performing the following steps may damage your mobile device beyond repair after unsuccessful firmware update.

Read also: How to update the Android version

Preparing to perform a rollback

Nexus devices are very convenient for performing rollbacks. All you need to do is save your personal files, go to the developer page on Google and download any factory image ever released for the device. Then you should flash it via ADB data-lazy-type="image" data-src="http://androidkak.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/14722200366071-300x225.jpg" alt="nexus" width="300" height="225" srcset="" data-srcset="http://androidkak.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/14722200366071-300x225..jpg 350w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"> !} (Android Debugging Bridge).

This example uses a Nexus 5 phone with Android 5.0 installed, which should be replaced with version 4.4.4 (you need to find this firmware on Android and download it to save it in an accessible location). If you need to roll back another device, you should search for suitable images for it using the Google search engine.

So, how to restore the firmware on Android? In addition to the Factory image, you should download a few more files to your PC. You will need the Android SDK application necessary for flashing the firmware. In addition to the SDK manager, you also need a standalone SDK file. To use this software you will need the latest Java environment. During the SDK installation process, you will need to specify where Java is installed.

After installation is complete, go to the SDK manager to select Tools, Platform-tools, Android Support Library, Google USB Driver and install them. Now you need to go to where the Nexus 5 Factory image was previously saved. You should extract the contents of this file to the Platform-tools folder. From this point on, you can assume that all preconditions have been met and begin the procedure of rolling back the mobile device.

Process of reverting to a previous version

It is necessary to perform the following steps sequentially:

• go to the settings of your mobile device, scroll down the page and find the section with the build number;
• Click on the build number until a notification appears that developer mode has been successfully enabled;
• a new section “Developer Options” will appear in the settings, there you need to scroll down and enable “USB Debugging”;
• Connect the device to your computer using a USB cable and make sure that the computer recognizes it.

There are situations when rolling back the device to factory settings is the best solution to the problem that has arisen. You can perform a reset in several ways: through the resettable device itself or using a computer. .

Why reset?

Hard Reset - rolls back the operating system to default values. When you perform a reset, all files and third-party applications are deleted from the device's memory, and all settings return to factory settings. By resetting the system, you will receive a clean device, that is, it will be in the same form as it was in the store.

A reset may be useful in the following situations:

• the device began to freeze due to a large number of installed programs;
• the system began to freeze due to overloaded memory;
• there are a lot of files left in the file system from deleted applications that take up free space;
• the device is for sale, so you need to remove all personal information from it;
• I need to reset my password because it was forgotten.

As a result, it turns out that the reset must be performed when it is necessary to format the device.

How to save data

Since a system reset erases all data (videos, photos, music, pictures, books and other items) from the device, it is strongly recommended that you think about how to save all important information in advance. The easiest way is to transfer all important files to a memory card or computer. When resetting, items stored on the SD card, even if it is inserted into the device, are not deleted, but just in case, it is better to remove the memory card during the operation.

Another way is to create a backup copy in which all files will be stored. After performing the reset, you can restore your system from a previously created backup, and all items and applications will be returned. The positive side of this method is that you will not lose not only files, but also applications. The negative side is that if the reset is carried out in order to clear the device of unused files, then when restoring from a backup, the files that you wanted to get rid of will also be restored.

Copying is carried out using the Google service and only via Wi-Fi, since the amount of information is too large to download via the mobile Internet. Go to your device settings, open the Backup & Reset tab and make sure that the automatic backup feature is enabled. The copy will be linked to your Google account, and you can recover from it after you perform the reset. The device itself will offer you to use the found copy.

Activating file backup

Reset the device

There are several ways to reset your device. The easiest one is through the system settings.

Through settings

This option can be used if you have access to the system. If you have forgotten your password, or the device freezes at the boot stage, preventing you from logging in, then use the method described below.

Video: how to reset Android

Through the recovery menu

If you have a turned off device, but there is no way to turn it on, then this method will suit you:

Via computer

This method will help you enter the recovery menu if the previous method failed for some reason. Connect the device to the computer using a USB adapter and select “Charge only” in the connection type. Download the archive with the ADB program and unpack it into any folder, the path to which does not contain Russian letters. In the resulting folder, create a file called devices.cmd, where cmd is its extension, and write three commands into it:

• echo off
• adb devices
• pause

Run the created file, a command line will open on the screen with the following commands already written:

• D:\adb>devices.cmd
• adb devices
• List of devices attached
• HT16GV402012 device
• D:\adb>pause
• To continue, press any key...

Done, the program is installed. Now open a command prompt as an administrator and use the adb reboot recovery command in it. Your Android device will automatically be transferred to the recovery menu, and the further steps you need to perform to reset are described above in the “Through the recovery menu” subsection.

What to do if the password is not reset

If you reset your device in order to remove a password from it that you forgot, and after finishing the procedure the system still asks you to enter it, then there are two ways out of this situation. The first is to enter the wrong password five times, a message will appear on the screen stating that the device is locked for 30 seconds, as well as a “Forgot your password?” button. Click on the button that appears, you will be asked to log in to your Google account, which was previously linked to this phone or tablet. If you log into the correct account, you will have the opportunity to reset your existing password.

Reset password via ADB

The second option is to reset your password using ADB. How to install this program is described above in the “Via a computer” subsection. When you are done with the installation, launch a Command Prompt as an administrator and run the following options:

• adb shell
• cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
• sqlite3 settings.db
• update system set value=0 where name=’lock_pattern_autolock’;
• update system set value=0 where name=’lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently’;
• .quit

If these commands do not help, then use the command adb shellrm /data/system/gesture.key or adb shell
rm /data/system/gesture.key.

How to recover data after a reset

It was previously described that in order to save data, you need to create a backup copy of your files in advance or transfer all important elements to another medium. If you did not do this, but at the same time reset the device, then it will most likely not be possible to restore the lost information. But it’s worth a try: get root rights on the device, and download to your computer some program designed to recover deleted files on Android. For example, you can use EASEUS Mobisaver for Android Free.

There are two ways to restore your device to factory settings: through the device settings or the recovery menu. You can enter Recovery Mode both from the device itself and using a computer. Before resetting the system, be sure to transfer all important information to a reliable third-party storage device. .

After updating to a new version of iOS, you may notice that you do not like the firmware. In this case, there is an excellent solution - roll back the software to the optimal version, in your opinion. That is, if you updated to, for example, IOS 10, then you can easily install IOS 8 on your device using the instructions below.

When is it necessary to rollback iOS?

The reasons for installing an older version of the operating system may be the following circumstances:

• With new firmware versions, the design changes, and not all users may like the new design.
• The most common reason is the appearance of freezes and glitches. Such problems happen for two reasons: either a new version of the firmware has become available to users in a too crude form, with errors in the code and shortcomings, or the device that was updated has become outdated for the loads created by the new version of IOS.

Please note that it is not possible to roll back any device to any version; you can view detailed information about which device to which firmware version can be rolled back to on the following website - http://appstudio.org/shsh. All data is located in table format.

How to roll back iOS to a specific version on an Apple device

Before you begin the process, you need to prepare the following things:

• iTunes installed on your computer and updated to the latest version.
• The version of the software you selected, in IPSW format, is downloaded to an easily accessible folder. You can download it from trusted websites that distribute IOS firmware for free, for example, using the following link - http://appstudio.org/ios. Download the firmware strictly for your device model, otherwise problems will arise during installation.
• A USB adapter that will connect your device to your computer.

If you have met all the above conditions, then the next step is to prepare the device itself for the rollback process.

Saving important data

Please note that when you roll back your device, all data, applications and media files from it are permanently erased, so it’s worth taking care of them. There is an option that allows you to delete files from the device, it will be discussed later in the article, but it is no less stable. You can save everything you need using a backup copy created as follows:

Disable password

Another important point is to disable the password and Touch ID, if it is supported and enabled on your device.

Deactivating Find My iPhone

Before any actions with the device’s firmware, you must disable the “Find iPhone” function, since, otherwise, iTunes simply will not allow you to perform any actions:

Firmware rollback

If all previous preparatory work has been carried out, then you can begin the rollback itself. It doesn't matter which device you're downgrading from, or from which version of iOS you're downgrading to.

1. Connect the device to the computer using a USB adapter.
2. Log in to the system.
3. Go to your device's settings by clicking on the icon that looks like a phone or tablet.
4. Hold down the Shift button on your keyboard if you're using Windows, or the Option button if you're using Mac OS. Without releasing the key, click on the “Restore” button.
5. A window with folders will open; you need to specify the path to the firmware that you downloaded earlier.
6. Wait while iTunes extracts the software from the firmware and installs it. The process can last from five minutes to half an hour, do not disconnect the device from the computer or interrupt the process with any actions, otherwise the device may enter endless recovery mode.

Rollback without data loss

This rollback option also exists; it allows you to rollback without losing the data on the device. To do this, in point 4 of the “Rolling Back Firmware” section, you need to click on the “Restore” button and the “Update” button. All other steps are completely the same. The only thing worth considering is that performing a full recovery, that is, resetting the system and installing it from scratch, is safer, since the chance that any elements will remain from the previous version is much lower.

Video tutorial: How to downgrade iOS version

Third party rollback programs

If for some reason the iTunes method does not suit you, then you can use the third-party program RedSnow. It is distributed free of charge for both Windows and Mac OS on the official website of the developer - http://redsnow.ru.

1. After downloading and opening the program, select the Extras section.
2. Click on the Even More button.
3. In the menu that opens, go to the Restore block.
4. Click the IPSW button to specify the path to the previously downloaded firmware.
5. The notification that appears will ask you whether to cancel the modem upgrade or not. Click on the “Yes” option.
6. A window will open in which you will be warned that the device will now need to be put into recovery mode, close it.
7. Connect the device to the computer using a USB adapter and enter it into DFU Mode. How to do this is described step by step in the program itself.
8. If you have not performed such rollback operations with this program before, click on the Remote button so that it will automatically find the necessary hashes on its servers.
9. Done, now all you have to do is wait for the process to finish. The device will automatically update to the version you downloaded and turn on, after which you will have to go through the initial setup process.

Is it possible to roll back individual applications?

If the purpose of your system rollback is to install older versions of applications, then you should not do it, since there is a better option - use the special App Admin program. You can download it directly from the App Store for free. Thanks to this application, you can view all available versions of applications installed on your phone and roll back to them. To use the program, just select the applications to roll back and enter the unique version number to which you want to roll back the selected application.

So, installing an older version of software is possible on all Apple devices, but you can not roll back to any version, but only to those that have the SHSH signature. The process can be performed either through the official iTunes application or through third-party programs. The main thing is to download the correct firmware version and not interrupt the update process until it is fully completed.

To the original state, you can use the firmware reset code. When using it, all data that is and is not part of the firmware will be erased. You can find out the code by contacting the representative office of your manufacturer. Find it on the official website. Provide your IMEI, then enter the received code.

Download the firmware and install the flashing software. You can find these components on your phone manufacturer's fan sites. Install only the one firmware, which is designated as factory. Make sure your phone battery is fully charged. Do not disconnect the phone under any circumstances until a message appears indicating that the software update is complete. Do not use your phone or turn off your computer until the operation is completed. Try to use only the software that is available, otherwise it is advisable to contact a specialized cell phone repair service.

Sources:

• How to return the “old” Android firmware?

Returning the phone to standard firmware allows you to get rid of problems with the functioning of the software, various freezes and device failures. In this case, after resetting the settings (Hard Reset), the device’s firmware will return to its original state, in which it was installed by the manufacturer.

Android

Resetting an Android phone to the factory firmware is performed using the appropriate setting in the device menu or using a key combination (if it is not possible to turn on the phone). To reset the firmware of a phone that is turned on, go to the “ ” menu of the device. Then tap About Device and select Factory Reset. The name of the menu items for calling the reset operation may change depending on the version of the device’s operating system and the manufacturer that made changes to the standard firmware. If necessary, enter the security code to reset the software, and then confirm the operation.

If you want to return the phone to its factory state if it is impossible to start it completely, hold down the phone key combination, which can be described in the instructions for using the device, on specialized forums or on the official website of the device manufacturer in the technical documentation section. Most devices reset the version of their operating system and return the settings to factory settings when using a combination of the unlock (power) key, menu and volume down button. It is worth noting that some phones use the volume up key to reset settings. In this case, the power button can be released after the smartphone starts up, and the volume and menu keys should be kept pressed for a few more seconds before the formatting process begins.

You can also use the corresponding menu item to reset your iPhone. To do this, go to “Settings” - “General” - “Reset” - “Delete all content and settings.” Confirm the operation twice and wait for the phone to return to its factory state.

You can also reset your device using iTunes. Connect your phone to your computer and open iTunes. After that, select the device name in the upper right corner of the program. In the "Review" section, click on the "Restore" button. Remember that resetting the firmware will result in the loss of all saved settings and data, and therefore it is recommended to make a backup copy before carrying out the operation.

Windows Phone

Resetting the firmware of a Windows Phone is also performed using the corresponding function, which is available in the device settings. Click "Settings" and go to the "Device Information" section, then select "Reset settings". Confirm the operation twice and wait for the notification that formatting is complete to appear.

Some Windows Phone models can be reset to factory settings without having to turn on the device. To do this, hold down the Volume Down button simultaneously with the Power key. Release the power button. Once you see the phone logo, release the Volume Down key. Then press the volume up, volume down, power buttons, and then volume down again. After this, wait until the settings are reset and the corresponding notification appears on the screen.