this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
11 points (78.9% liked)

Android

28961 readers
148 users here now

DROID DOES

Welcome to the droidymcdroidface-iest, Lemmyest (Lemmiest), test, bestest, phoniest, pluckiest, snarkiest, and spiciest Android community on Lemmy (Do not respond)! Here you can participate in amazing discussions and events relating to all things Android.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules

1. All posts must be relevant to Android devices/operating system.

2. Posts cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

3. No spam, self promotion, or upvote farming. Sources engaging in these behavior will be added to the Blacklist.

4. Non-whitelisted bots will be banned.

5. Engage respectfully: Harassment, flamebaiting, bad faith engagement, or agenda posting will result in your posts being removed. Excessive violations will result in temporary or permanent ban, depending on severity.

6. Memes are not allowed to be posts, but are allowed in the comments.

7. Posts from clickbait sources are heavily discouraged. Please de-clickbait titles if it needs to be submitted.

8. Submission statements of any length composed of your own thoughts inside the post text field are mandatory for any microblog posts, and are optional but recommended for article/image/video posts.

Community Resources:

We are Android girls*,

In our Lemmy.world.

The back is plastic,

It's fantastic.

*Well, not just girls: people of all gender identities are welcomed here.

Our Partner Communities:

!android@lemmy.ml

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
MargotRobbie@lemmy.world
Rooki@lemmy.world
Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world
L3s@lemmy.world
_MoveSwiftly@lemmy.world
11
How to undo recent upgrade (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 hours ago by AndrewZabar@lemmy.world to c/android@lemmy.world
10 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hi all,

I have a Moto G Stylus 5G. I acquired it as part of a Lot. Since it's in great condition I decided to make use of it. One of the first things it did was upgrade from Android 13 to 14. Well, some of my essential apps can't run on 14 so how can I undo the upgrade? I just want to roll back to 13, or alternatively, install the stock 13 via recovery etc.

This would really be of immense use to me. Thanks.

top 10 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (3 children)

Generally speaking this is not reversible. Many phones specifically blow fuses in the device to make sure that attempts to downgrade will fail for security reasons. They don’t want someone stealing the phone and somehow tricking it into downgrading in order to extract its content using a security vulnerability that existed in an earlier version.

With that said, if you can get your hands on the ROM Or at least one of the version you require, you could unlock the device and flash whatever you want. You may not be able to re-lock the boot loader however for the aforementioned reason. If you can that would be a device-specific thing.

It looks like older stock firmwares are available online by unofficial sources. You can decide if you trust those enough to attempt to downgrade.

Reference: https://xdaforums.com/t/guide-bootloader-unlock-for-moto-g-stylus-5g-2023.4620535/

[–] scsi@lemm.ee 9 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Side comment, I find it more ... interesting? (concerning?) they have "essential apps can't run on 14" which to me is sort of a red flag event for those apps. $0.02 we're up to 15 mainline with 16 coming soon, relying on apps stuck back on 13 never updated would not work for my conscious.

[–] AndrewZabar@lemmy.world -4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Interesting? OK well you're a stranger on the internet but somehow you think you've stumbled upon a Sherlock Holmes moment. But I'll indulge you. The older Adobe PS Touch that they discontinued basically because it was perfect and they wanted to start peddling subscriptions. It's a fantastic app. On iOS its gone for good but I have an old iPad 2 with it still installed. I have a Galaxy Note 10+/5G with Android 12 and PS Touch runs beautifully. From my research it seems that Android 14 is where it became impossible to install. Therefore I'd prefer to revert one version.

Also none of these devices are my primary device, none are my actual phone. They're various pocket computers for various uses. So the Moto I'd really like to have PS Touch working. So I have no security worries.

I buy, refurbish and sell these kinds of phones and the first thing I usually do after testing all the hardware is remove accounts and wipe/factory reset. I've had hundreds of unsecured devices in my possession but I have no interest in invading the private lives of strangers nor of accessing their personal data. I respect people.

So, nothing nefarious just boring old typical real life situation.

[–] scsi@lemm.ee 8 points 10 hours ago

I fear you may have misread my intention in comment; nothing nefarious intended, it's about the "no updates to this app for years" which can equal "security issues unpatched" for the average, regular person. You did not disclaim the above details in your OP, you are NOT a normal user and had I known that I would never have commented.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 5 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Many phones specifically blow fuses in the device to make sure that attempts to downgrade will fail for security reasons.

This generally isn't true for the OS, you can almost always flash a lower version.

[–] AndrewZabar@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

Yes, I thought this a bit ridiculous I've put a variety of ROMs on dozens of different models. There's no self-destruct booby trap st the hardware level. Many are difficult some are impossible to flash, but nothing will break itself. That would be a suicidal business decision.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 1 points 9 hours ago

Pixel 6 is one such a device that does this. I replied with a link to a different comment, but not reproducing here to avoid the perception of spamming links.

[–] AndrewZabar@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Thank you! I'll see what's available on XDA and def. will check the link you posted. Motorola is great with unlocking bootloader. Aside from one or two models that were prepay and not eligible for unlock they've provided the codes for all units I've tried so far. Should be OK.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 2 points 10 hours ago

I’d recommend you consider if you actually need to re-lock the boot loader. It’s a great way to turn a device into a brick. There are a few apps that don’t work with an unlocked boot loader but most will be fine. My bank for example is really annoying and complains. There is a risk that if you try to lock the boot loader after a downgrade your device may simply not start anymore and you’ll lose access to be able to flash or unlock the boot loader again.

It’s not supposed to get stuck like that, but I’m telling you from personal experience that not all vendors are great about handling this situation. Most people never attempt to install third-party firmware, and you’re not really supposed to be able to downgrade.

Good luck!