Downgrading/reverting the OS

[mark7914]

I had an iPhone. It would nag and nag about updates and eventually railroad me into installing them. As soon as I had done so, various things would break.

There was no option to simply turn off updating altogether. So when I got this Samsung Android phone I was pleased that it had these options and so turned off all automatic updating.

The phone appears to be very nearly bug free and I have no reason to update it. I'd rather stick with what works than risk the sorts of things that used to happen with Apple, like the screen rotation feature breaking itself, the OS breaking compatibility with the installed apps, and other poorly thought-out ergonomic disasters.

However this phone is also nagging about the "Samsung Experience 9.0 upgrade with Android Oreo". It pops up a modal dialog box. I click "Later" and it goes away.

I have two questions:

1. Am I right in thinking that once you upgrade, there is no going back? (More accurately there may be but it will be difficult and time consuming) - so only upgrade if there is some bug fix or feature that is essential and you're happy to take the risk?

2. How do I get rid of these upgrade prompts? On the iPhone you could go into where the upgrade had been downloaded to, and delete the file. That would stop it nagging until the phone took it upon itself to simply download it again, so I blocked all Apple sites from our network which put a stop to it. With Android there's a "LATER" button which makes the prompt vanish but only for a while, I want it to go away altogether.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Golfdriver97]

As for 1, yes you are right. Samsung usually puts countermeasures in the update to make rolling back impossible. As for 2, I think there is a way, but I honestly cannot recall what it is. I think it's disabling the software update app.

 

[mark7914]

Thanks. Having had a look... In Settings, "Download Updates automatically" is disabled.

In Apps, these may or may not be related:

Galaxy Apps > can't be disabled, but all permissions removed (don't think I use any of the Samsung apps)
Google > disabled
Google Play services > can't be disabled, but all permissions removed
Google Play Store > turned off ability to change system settings, removed permissions
Samsung Push Service > can't be disabled, but all permissions removed

If I go into "Advanced" and "Show System Apps" I can see:

Software Update > can't be disabled, turned off ability to change system settings, removed permissions. Notifications can't be disabled but they can be hidden from the lock screen.

I can ignore the little "1" superimposed over the top of the settings icon in the swipe-down-from-top menu, it's the more in-your-face model popup that I'd like to get rid of. Will see if this works.

 

[mark7914]

This appears to have worked:

https://www.androidexplained.com/galaxy-s8-disable-ota-update/

By enabling "developer mode" you can turn off automatic updates.

The little "1" is still showing superimposed over the top of the settings icon, but I've restarted the phone and the nagging dialog box no longer appears.

I can't say whether there are any consequences to this but it appears to solve the problem. The update remains available should you want to install it at your option.

 

[CraftyMe2323]

Here:

First off... Pro tip: BACKUP ALL DATA!!! DO NOT RESTORE FROM YOUR GOOGLE BACKUP OR ANY BACKUPS WHATSOEVER! START COMPLETELY FRESH!

Go to Sammobile, go to the firmware section, type in and search for your model number, and download the latest nougat file for your phone and carrier. It takes a while to download if you register a free account (a few hours for me) ... make sure you have the latest Odin installed, which you'll find a link to from that same page in the instructions section if you scroll a little ways down. Sign out of ALL Samsung and Google accounts on the phone before starting the process. Follow the instructions carefully and you'll be all set. There's also a video you can and should watch. If any of you end up doing it, I highly recommend skipping the initial setup process, powering down, and booting into stock recovery (volume up, Bixby button and power button held at the same time) and factory reset again (my ritual is 3 times in a row for good measure, then reboot system)

It's that simple!

 

[akenwph]

hey dude does this still work with the latest oreo security updates? I see u post in april and I checked sammoble ther has been a new security update on may 1 still 8.0 will it work?

 

[anon(123856)]

I could be wrong but I believe that Samsung will only issue security patches for 8.0 going forward.

 

[CraftyMe2323]

I could be wrong but I believe that Samsung will only issue security patches for 8.0 going forward.

That seems correct. I don't believe you can keep up with security updates if you want to remain on nougat. I haven't received any, but I also have package disabler pro disabling my system updates so that's probably why.