[GUIDE - How To] Rollback to Gingerbread (EL29)

[bluemagicx]

Great!

 

[bluemagicx]

I am getting the random force closes how do I wipe the cache?

 

[JayWill]

I am getting the random force closes how do I wipe the cache?

You shouldn't need to do that. But, to wipe the cache, shut down your phone, then boot into recovery by holding down Vol UP and Power at the same time. Then select wipe cache from the menu then select reboot.

If you continue to get FCs you can try going into the Applications that are FCing and wipe the cache for each individually.

So I assume you flashed the Odin one-click back to EL29? If so, your reports of FCs tells me you used the "Preserve User Data" version. I suggested the full restore "Reset User Data" version for a reason, that I'd imagine you're experiencing first hand.

Forgive me if I'm incorrect in my assumption.

 

[bluemagicx]

Yes I preserved data and that was the issue. Wiping the cache did not help, so I just did a factory reset and wiped it all away. Back up and running soo much smoother than the ICS. No wifi issues. No lag. I am so happy again! Having fun reinstalling my apps and setting my screens. I like to tinker!! Contacts, back. email up. Everything else was on my SD card. I am rockin!! Thanks so much to all who made this nightmare go away!!! Sprint, thanks for making my week a nightmare.

 

[bluemagicx]

Will I have to un-root the phone should they come out with a real working ICS upgrade?
I'm going to leave it as is for now. Again, thanks so much for your help.

 

[JayWill]

Will I have to un-root the phone should they come out with a real working ICS upgrade?
I'm going to leave it as is for now. Again, thanks so much for your help.

No you will not need to unroot. If they issue another OTA ICS update and you decide to take it, it should install fine, and likely remove root in the process.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rockdog97]

I am officially back to GB! Yeah!!! after the failed ICS experiment, I'm now back to the land of Gingerbread! Thankfully Sprint pulled to the OTA notification for ICS too... hooray!

 

[mrjsal22]

Can you do a walkthrough for those who do not want to root their phones but still want to rollback to el29?

 

[JayWill]

Can you do a walkthrough for those who do not want to root their phones but still want to rollback to el29?

You can remove root after flashing the rooted Odin One-Click package, using sfhub's utility, as described towards the bottom of the instructions in the OP. If you do not want to flash rooted system software in the first place, you would need to manually use Odin to flash the stock unrooted system TAR.

Using the one-click then removing root afterwards offers the most "problem-free" solution. If you would really prefer to flash the stock system software package, let me know and I'll add a walk through on how to use Odin manually.

 

[anon(482205)]

Although I was able to unroot using the instriuctions provided, I found that I still had a "Superuser" application icon that I couldn't remove, or so it seemed. What I was able to later figure out was that I had downloaded an update to the Superuser application from the Google Playstore. The instructions for unrooting remove the original application but not the update. I had to use the application manager to remove the update and that seems to have removed all traces of the Superuser application.

 

[JayWill]

I went through the process of removing root as described in the OP of this thread but it did not remove the "Superuser" application. Where can I find instructions on how to do that?

Hmmm. I'm guessing you're not able to uninstall the superuser.apk manually from application settings? I'm guessing no because it should be labeled as a system application.

1) Try rebooting

if no dice ...

2) Try running the uninstall script again

if no change ...

3) Try performing a factory reset

if no dice again, see my post below this reply.

 

[sbutcher]

I hate what ICS has done on my phone so I will definitely be peforming a clean install when I get home tonight. Thanks to all of you for helping us nOObs through these dark times!

 

[JayWill]

For those interested in using Odin to manually flash the stock unrooted EL29 system TAR, here is an instructional video from qbking77 on how to do just that.

How to Unroot / Unbrick the Samsung Epic 4G Touch - Latest - YouTube

This video is for EK02, but the process is identical. Make sure you download the EL29 TAR file linked in the video description rather than the EK02 file.

This will return you to 100% stock unrooted EL29, and eliminates the need to use sfhub's autoroot utility to remove root after flashing his Odin One-Click package. Follow qbking's video closely please, making sure to place the TAR file in the PDA slot and only having "Auto Reboot" checked in the settings. Just follow the video carefully and you will be fine.

 

[wamfac]

I was able to get the phone rolled back, but am still getting "Force Close" messages.

When I boot to recovery mode, there is no option for deleting the davlic cache. I haven't removed root. Any ideas?

 

[JayWill]

I was able to get the phone rolled back, but am still getting "Force Close" messages.

When I boot to recovery mode, there is no option for deleting the davlic cache. I haven't removed root. Any ideas?

If you're getting FC messages, you likely used the Preserve Data version. I'm afraid you need to wipe your data and use the Full Restore reset user data version. If have any app data you really need, download mybackup and backup and restore data for just those apps.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bluemagicx]

I was getting the force closes so..I wiped the cache and then did a factory reset.
Didn't have to re flash and all was back to stock. I have not Unrooted yet though.

 

[Murphy5111]

Some people have been unhappy with their upgrade to ICS, and have expressed interest in rolling back to Gingerbread. This guide will cover how to do just that.

The only way to roll back is to manually flash software to your phone, using Samsung's flashing utility program called Odin. Odin is a very effective and safe way to flash software to Samsung Android devices. Developer sfhub has made using Odin even easier, by creating a one-click flashing package that removes the need to manually check boxes and insert files. It's basically a plug in your phone and click a button process.

While you can use Odin to flash the original stock EL29 unrooted TAR file, I feel the process below is easier for novice users, thus the better option overall. The recommended process does have an extra step to remove root for those that want to, but again, I feel this is safer and what I personally recommend.

[INFO]Flashing Instructions

Go here: [ODIN][TAR] SPH-D710.EL29_CL852097 (EL29 Modem/Kernel/ROM - Full Restore - Rooted) - xda-developers

Follow the instructions from sfhub to download and install the Samsung drivers (if you haven't already), and download the Odin one-click executable file. On this rollback, I feel it is best to use the "RESET User Data" version of the file. Once your App data has been updated to the ICS platform, you could run into issues when you roll back, so doing a clean install and reinstalling your Applications is recommended. If you have Application data your REALLY need, you can use the free version of MyBackupPro to backup your Application data. In this case, I recommend only restoring application data for those Apps you really want to save.

Continue to follow the instructions to run the Odin one-click executable, boot your phone into Download (Odin) Mode, connect it to your PC and run the flashing package. You want to make sure a yellow box pops up on the Odin screen that has a "COM" number to know your phone has successfully connected to Odin.

VIDEO WALKTHROUGH:

How to Root the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch on EL29 - YouTube

This video covers how to ROOT your phone, but the process is the same. The important thing is that it will show you how to use the Odin One-Click.

Thanks as always qbking77!

IMPORTANT NOTE:This process will not wipe the contents of your internal "USB" storage or your external SD card. So your pictures, videos, music and other files should be safe. However, it's always a good idea to copy those important files over to your computer just to be safe.

After running this, upon the automatic reboot you will be back on stock ROOTED EL29 Gingerbread. If you don't mind your phone being rooted, you can stop here. If you do not want your phone rooted, and want to be 100% official stock, then read on.

To remove root after the rollback, you will want to use another utility program sfhub created that he calls the "Auto Root Package".

Go here: [ROOT][NCIQ][EG30/EG31/EK02] Auto root your existing stock ROM (w/o ODIN/ROM Flash) - xda-developers

Follow the instruction to download the file and run the program. Once the program is loaded and your phone is connected, run OPTION B from the menu, which is listed as "Uninstall Root". This will remove superuser and busybox (i.e. root) and when your phone reboots you will be 100% stock like you just took your phone out of the box.[/INFO]

Hopefully I covered everything with this guide. Thanks once again goes out to sfhub for putting these packages together for the community. They've made everyone's lives easier.

If you have any questions on the process or if you think I've missed anything, please post here and I'll do my best to respond promptly.

Cheers!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I can now use my bluetooth headset again and tomorrow I'm sure I will be able to sync up to my car. Now if I can easily get rid of the update notification I'd be all set!

 

[glennseymour1]

I just did this and I am getting the following error over and over "com.android.providers.calendar".....so far I have went to Calendar Storage>Clear data
as well as "Wipe Cache Partition" and the error is still coming up. Any suggestions, is popping up so often it almost makes the phone worse than ICS.....

 

[JayWill]

I just did this and I am getting the following error over and over "com.android.providers.calendar".....so far I have went to Calendar Storage>Clear data
as well as "Wipe Cache Partition" and the error is still coming up. Any suggestions, is popping up so often it almost makes the phone worse than ICS.....

Did you use the Full Restore version of the file or the Preserve User Data version?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JayWill]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I can now use my bluetooth headset again and tomorrow I'm sure I will be able to sync up to my car. Now if I can easily get rid of the update notification I'd be all set!

The Fotakill APK should do the trick.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1326569

Download the zip file attached to that post, extract the APK and click it to install. Should kill the update notifications for you.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2