In this guide, we will show you the detailed steps to downgrade the One UI on your Samsung device. With each new shiny OS update that brags about tons of new features, under-the-hood improvements, UI/UX tweaks, quashing of existing bugs, and welcoming of new and intriguing features, there’s another dark side to this story. These updates tend to pave the way for the entrance of new bugs and issues as well.
From battery drainage to device overheating and the slow down of the system, there could be quite a few issues that might bug your device right after you install a new update. So in such cases, your best bet is to downgrade your device to the earlier stable OS build that was free from these issues.
While doing a rollback is in itself quite a challenging task, however, the South Korean giant has made this job even more difficult by implementing a certain Bootloader rule. So in this guide, we will first understand what exactly this rule is all about after which we will list out the steps to downgrade the One UI on your Samsung device.
What is Samsung’s Bootloader Downgrade Rule
When it comes to Samsung devices, then you can only do a downgrade from a lower Bootloader version firmware to a higher one, but you cannot do a downgrade from a higher bootloader version firmware to a lower one. In this regard, your first course of action should be to identify your device’s Bootloader version. For that, you may either refer to our detailed guide on Samsung Firmware Version: Let’s Decode It! or check out the below shorter instructions:
- Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information.
- Then refer to Build Number. It will be in the form of:
Value 1. Value 2. Value 3. Value 4 TP1A.220624.014.G781BXXSAHXD1
- You’ll have to note down the Fourth Value, which in my case is:
G781BXXSAHXD1
- Now refer to the fifth value from the right. This will be your Bootloader Version.
G781BXXSAHXD1
- It will either be a number from 0 to 9 or an alphabet starting from A. In my case, it’s A.
So with this, you have got the Bootloader Version. Now, since ….7<8<9, so you can do a downgrade from 7 to 8 or 8 to 9 bit not from 8 to 7 or 9 to 8 [as you cannot do a downgrade from a higher bootloader version firmware to a lower one]. Likewise, you can do a downgrade from 9 to A and A to B but not from A to 9 or B to A.
In my case, currently, I’m on One UI 5.1 based on Android 13. So If I want to downgrade to Android 12 One UI 4, then I’ll have to find an Android 12 firmware having bootloader version B, C, D, and so on. So with this, you would have got more than a decent idea regarding the Samsung Bootloader Version, let’s now make you aware of the steps to carry out a downgrade using this rule.
How to Downgrade Samsung One UI
Before you get started with the process, there are a couple of things worth keeping in mind, as listed below. Thedroidwin will not be held responsible if something happens to your device or data after performing the below steps.
- Since we are doing a downgrade, it will wipe off all the data from your device [we will be using CSC instead of Home_CSC], so take a complete backup beforehand. If you want to take a risk, then you may try doing a downgrade without a data wipe by flashing the Home_CSC instead of CSC and then check if the flashing is successful.
- If it is, well and good, otherwise, your device will end up in a bootloop or softbrick state. So you’ll have to then force reboot to Download Mode and again flash the downgrade firmware but this time use CSC instead of Home_CSC as we want a reset this time around. The choice is all yours, but we will be using the CSC for data wipe right from the start to avoid any issues later on.
- Even though we are installing an official firmware, however, it is a downgrade package. Hence it is highly recommended that you unlock the device’s bootloader as well. Moreover, in case something goes wrong, you could then easily rectify it if the bootloader is unlocked.
STEP 1: Install Samsung USB Drivers
First off, make sure to download and install the Samsung USB Drivers on your PC so that it can identify the connected devices. Simply get hold of the setup file from the below given official link below, launch it, and then proceed with the on-screen instructions to install the drivers.
DOWNLOAD: SAMSUNG USB DRIVERS
STEP 2: Download Downgrade Firmware
Next up, you’ll have to download the downgrade firmware for your device. Make sure to follow the Bootloader Rule that we have discussed above. As far as downloading is concerned, you could do so via the Frija Tool or the SamFW. Since we are looking for downgrade firmware, opting for the SamFW website is recommended as the Frija Tool would require entering many manual details, which might take an eternity to find out.
DOWNLOAD: FRIJA TOOL | SAMFW
STEP 3: Extract One UI Firmware
Once you have downloaded the firmware, extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Doing so will give you a few files, namely: AP, BL, CP, CSC, and Home_CSC. Out of this, the first four files [AP, BL, CP, and CSC] will be used.
STEP 3: Download Odin
Now, get hold of the Odin Tool from below and extract it onto your PC. This tool will be used to flash the downgrade firmware on your Samsung device.
DOWNLOAD: ODIN
STEP 4: Unlock Bootloader
You’ll now have to unlock the bootloader on your device. If you don’t do so, then you “might” not be able to flash the downgrade firmware on your device. However, do note that unlocking the bootloader will wipe off all the data and might nullify its warranty as well.
Likewise, Knox will be tripped and stay in that state forever [thereby resulting in the inability to use some banking and payment apps, until you root the device and use a few tweaks]. So if that’s all well and good, then you could refer to our guide on How to Unlock the Bootloader on any Samsung Device.
STEP 5: Boot to Download Mode
Next up, it’s time to boot your device to Download Mode so that Odin is able to identify the connected device in the flashing mode. So you could either refer to our detailed guide on How to Boot Samsung Device to Download Mode or check out the below shorter instructions:
- To begin with, download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools.
- Then enable USB Debugging and connect your device to a PC via a USB.
- Now type in CMD in the platform-tools folder address bar and hit Enter.
- This will launch the Command Prompt. Now type in the below command:
adb reboot download
- The device will now reboot to Download Mode in a matter of a few seconds.
STEP 6: Install One UI Downgrade Firmware
Let’s now get to the most important part of this guide and start with the flashing of the downgrade firmware. Follow along.
- Launch Odin via its EXE file and click OK in the prompt that appears.
- Then load the files as shown below to their respective slots in the Odin
Odin AP Slot: Load the AP firmware file from the downgrade firmware Odin BL Slot: Load the BL firmware file from the downgrade firmware Odin CP Slot: Load the CP firmware file from the downgrade firmware Odin CSC Slot: Load the CSC firmware file from the downgrade firmware
- Once all the four files are loaded, click Start. The flashing will now begin.
- Once done, your device will automatically reboot to the downgraded OS.
That’s it. These were the steps to downgrade the One UI on your Samsung device. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.
