Anyone downgraded a Nexus before?

[mikeymikec]

I'm pondering downgrading from Android 5.0 to 4.4.4, and found this guide:

http://www.androidpit.com/how-to-downgrade-a-nexus

 

[shabby]

So many useless steps, backup everything because the whole phone will be wiped.

1. download those adb tools
2. copy 4.4.4 image files to the adb-tools directory
3. turn off phone and turn it on with vol down + power
4. run flash-all.bat

 

[Roland00Address]

Sigh why won't google send me the update to android 5. I know how to flash it, but I do not want to spend time reloading everything.

 

[stlc8tr]

Sigh why won't google send me the update to android 5. I know how to flash it, but I do not want to spend time reloading everything.

Just use the OTA update zips. It won't wipe your device.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/11/19/flash-all-the-things-lollipop-ota-update-zip-file-roundup/

 

[Sable]

So many useless steps, backup everything because the whole phone will be wiped.

1. download those adb tools
2. copy 4.4.4 image files to the adb-tools directory
3. turn off phone and turn it on with vol down + power
4. run flash-all.bat

This worked for me. 5.0 SUUUUUUCKED on my 2012 Nexus 7.

 

[Chocu1a]

This worked for me. 5.0 SUUUUUUCKED on my 2012 Nexus 7.

I used WUGS Nexus Root Tooolkit. Just chose the image I wanted flashed & it did all the work. Lollipop was absolutely horrendous on my 2012 N7. I actually went all the way back to 4.3 Jellybean. KitKat was pretty bad on there too.

 

[mikeymikec]

So many useless steps, backup everything because the whole phone will be wiped.

1. download those adb tools
2. copy 4.4.4 image files to the adb-tools directory
3. turn off phone and turn it on with vol down + power
4. run flash-all.bat

Out of curiosity, did I have to unlock my phone before I did this?

I went halfway between your instructions and the ones I mentioned in the OP in the end. Apart from some trouble installing the ADB driver (the one that Windows is supposed to install when the phone is in the mode resulting from power + volume down), but once I got past that, it went without a hitch (though I'd like to say my stress levels did the same... "is this going to brick my phone? what will I do?" etc).

It's nice to have my old phone back, thanks for your help

- edit - the command 'fastboot oem unlock', unlocks the phone. This isn't the same as rooting is it? What is it exactly? Should I lock it again when I'm done messing with my phone?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Just did... Lollipop to 4.4.3.

 

[podspi]

I'm not the type to downgrade... but it is clear that something about 5.0 was rushed, or Google just doesn't care about any of the older Nexuses(ii?)

 

[mikeymikec]

Just did... Lollipop to 4.4.3.

IIRC the only difference between 4.4.3 and 4.4.4 was a fix for the Heartbleed vuln.

 

[shabby]

Out of curiosity, did I have to unlock my phone before I did this?

- edit - the command 'fastboot oem unlock', unlocks the phone. This isn't the same as rooting is it? What is it exactly? Should I lock it again when I'm done messing with my phone?

No you don't need to unlock the phone, this is mainly useful is you plan on flashing roms/kernels/recovery's on your phone. If you plan on rooting in the future its best to unlock it now because it erases everything from the phone, then when you want to root you simply flash a kernel or recovery to root the phone.

 

[Chiropteran]

I'm not the type to downgrade... but it is clear that something about 5.0 was rushed, or Google just doesn't care about any of the older Nexuses(ii?)

It's a tough position for google, IMO.

They release it, and get people complaining about performance.
-or-
They don't release it and people complain that they dropped support and for older products.

 

[podspi]

It's a tough position for google, IMO.

They release it, and get people complaining about performance.
-or-
They don't release it and people complain that they dropped support and for older products.

True, but it's hard to argue that the Nexus 5's hardware isn't up to snuff. It not only has a powerful SoC with bountiful memory (2gb),it is also recent enough that proprietary drivers shouldn't be a problem (unlike the orphaned OMAPs).

Given that low-end phones are being released today with inferior specs to the N5,and one of Google's stated goals is to have Android run well on these low end devices, the fact that it doesn't run well on the N5 (and I've heard periodic mentions of lag in N9 reviews too) suggests something isn't fully baked.

Which unfortunately is par the course for Google. I like their products, but they seem to have something against having a polished product (upside is that they tend move very quickly)

 

[mikeymikec]

Which unfortunately is par the course for Google. I like their products, but they seem to have something against having a polished product (upside is that they tend move very quickly)

I hope so, I imagine I'll have to upgrade to Android 5 at some point.

It's a tough position for google, IMO.

They release it, and get people complaining about performance.
-or-
They don't release it and people complain that they dropped support and for older products.

I only noticed one slight performance niggle for the week that my phone was running Android 5. For me it was the fact that they shafted the UI in several ways, which turned my beloved Nexus 5 purchase (for me, it was a lot of money and I got something that was almost perfect for my needs) into something like discovering that my Win7 PC had been upgraded to Win8 overnight. I'm sure I could have looked far and wide for third party apps and UI skins that would eventually have put things back where I wanted them (possibly at the cost of performance/battery life), provided customisation and fixed broken functionality and generally tolerated its existence, but frankly what's the point, I had something that worked properly before the 'upgrade'.

 

[Chiropteran]

True, but it's hard to argue that the Nexus 5's hardware isn't up to snuff. It not only has a powerful SoC with bountiful memory (2gb),it is also recent enough that proprietary drivers shouldn't be a problem (unlike the orphaned OMAPs).

I thought the OP was talking about lollipop on the Nexus 7.

My Nexus 5 is running lollipop flawlessly. Feels faster than it did with 4.4, even.

Of course, I did a full reset after upgraded so I don't have any lingering crap that could cause problems.