How can I rollback to KitKat ? ( 2 many fails in Lollipop)

[Noob_14]

Installed Lollipop on my Nexus 5 yesterday.

Now Email sucks. Twitter is not working.
Some controls have been hidden(moved further back).
White backgrounds are too harsh... etc etc.

I want my KitKat back. :'(

Any ideas on how I can get there ?

 

[Aquila]

Factory images and instructions can be found here: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

 

[vosamour]

that sucks that all will be lost

2nd on the email issues and the stupid white background, and the left to right swipe from sleep mode. I hope if enough users write they will change it back

 

[butterfly210]

I hope by the time lollipop trickles down to note 4 all will be right with the lollipop software.... Else I m not updating mines!!

*My Sexy Note 4*

 

[Frann Leach]

The solution seems overly complicated. My Nexus 5 came with KitKat, surely a Factory Reset would take me back there?

 

[xban1]

No, once you get lollipop, a factory reset would still stay with lollipop

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Aquila]

A factory reset doesn't reset to factory settings, oddly enough. It deletes user data, installed applications, etc from the data and produces a "clean" install of the current firmware version.

 

[mplsmarjorie]

I don't even like lollipops!

 

[ptkelly]

My problems with Lollipop went away when I did the factory reset. I still had Lollipop, most of my apps, and all but one of my contacts.

 

[Alice Pehlke]

I made the mistake of installing Lollypop on my Nexus 7 and it has become unusable. PLEASE give us a way to reset to Kitkat until Lollypop is fixed.

 

[frankenhooker]

I made the mistake of installing Lollypop on my Nexus 7 and it has become unusable. PLEASE give us a way to reset to Kitkat until Lollypop is fixed.

Darth Spock has posted a link which enables you to rollback to earlier firmware.

 

[sixpetite]

yes but it *is* complicated for newbies (like myself). It's frustrating, esp as 4.4.4 was suiting my needs just fine, I just got caught up in the hoopla and didn't read any comments. I will be rolling back to kit kat on my n7 2013 but have spent hours watching youtube tutorials and downloading the sdk, fastboot ETC ETC.

 

[larrytxeast]

yes but it *is* complicated for newbies (like myself). It's frustrating, esp as 4.4.4 was suiting my needs just fine, I just got caught up in the hoopla and didn't read any comments. I will be rolling back to kit kat on my n7 2013 but have spent hours watching youtube tutorials and downloading the sdk, fastboot ETC ETC.

Yes, I heard that. I second this post. In fact, I changed from an LG Optimus F3 to the LG Tribute for this very reason--the F3 didn't work as well after factory updates, I wanted to rollback, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out the instructions that I was furnished, and the LG Tribute was a new enough phone that no updates would've yet come to it. I decided I'd rather just spend the $80 and move on with my life. The instructions were that awful. They were like "flash to ZIP to your HIP then reinstall the .INI to the .BAT located in the root of your NIP derived from the dot ZIT." I was like "WHAT?""""

The instructions need to be more like this:

Download the "root" package HERE.
UN-zip the files (with a program like Winzip, or CLICK HERE to read about how to handle ZIP files)
Insert a microSD card (I would even explain how you need to put a microSD card inside a full-sized SD card adapter first--really, I mean it, SPELL IT OUT)
Copy the files to the root of your microSD
insert the microSD into your phone (make sure there isn't already a microSD card in there---YES, AGAIN, SPELL IT OUT)
Do a factory reset of your phone (if you don't know how, PM me and I'll point you to the path of how)
Reboot the phone (typically done by holding down the power button for 2-seconds, you'll then see the option)

Do you get it? THOSE are instructions, not "insert your card then push the .ini then unzip the .exe then microflash the .rar then edit the .txt in a text editor save as a .rnf" etc--that's "NASA-speak," and, to be quite frank, it sucks.

(I'll elaborate a bit more in a second post just underneath this one.)

 

[larrytxeast]

To elaborate a bit on my previous post.

Let me be clear--I do for the most part take responsibility for self-education. I know more than a lot of the "newbie" types, insomuch that I know how to side-load apps and to create .apk files out of something like File Expert. I have owned rooted devices before and learned how to make what I'd call a "system image backup" of the device in its current state, apps and firmware included, to where, if I had such a device, I'd likely know how to revert such a device back to "stock" very easily. (A side-note--if phones are supposed to be like computers, why not supply a "restore" image on microSD similar to how computers used to have restore CDs and later have had restore images on their hard drives?)

Speaking of "system image backups," I perform them all the time on my various PCs with Acronis System Image Home 2010. I will create a system image of a PC upon receiving it in its "out of box" condition as well as making an update or two as programs are installed. Then, I am able to, for instance, fix my wife's computer when its hard drive failed by swapping in the new hard drive and getting everything back quickly via a system image restore vs manually installing Windows, activating it again, installing all the programs again, etc. I know these things.

I know these things, yet even so, the typical instructions I see in here for rooting a device or rolling back to a previous ROM etc--I can't understand them. They're EXTREMELY complicated. With expressions like "just use the previous .bat this or .exe that and push the .ini through to the reconfigured RAM chip found on the back of the SIS nobe"--I'm like "WHAT??" I have no idea what any of that is.

Look, I get it, you don't want to have to spell out things TOO painfully, as if you are saying "the power button is what turns your phone off/on, it's located to the right, you have to hold it down, it's not like a light switch." I've dealt with such people, yes, it's annoying. However, there's also something to be said for not talking over people's heads like they are someone who is supposed to know how to BUILD the thing. I appreciate tips I receive, such as when someone told me that in 4.4 with on-screen navigation buttons, you DID have a menu key, just hold down the recent apps icon, that did double-duty as menu that way. I never would've known otherwise.

These people aren't trying to "pimp" their phones or get too fancy, they just want to do a simple factory rollback to stock ROM (see, I know some of the terms). In prior days you could easily do that with a CD on a computer. Something that simple is needed here, in terms of the explanations. They're not trying to do the PC equivalent of writing HTML and Java web pages in a text editor or write machine language or Visual Basic scripts. (Yes, I've done Visual Basic scripts, and yes, I STILL can't understand half of these tutorials.)

 

[Ladylicorish4]

:'( I dont know what to do. I have a Nexus 5 and I have tried downloading some of the suggested programs and have no idea what I'm doing..... I can't afford to get a new phone right now. The main issue is I can't even get my phone to search on my browser when I type things in. I also don't like the way the notifications come up on my lock screen its ridiculous. I wish I would have read the reviews. I hope if they get a way to rollback it will be posted somewhere...So sad...
Thank you for your post, I don't feel so slow not knowing what to do.

 

[Ladylicorish4]

thanks for the info... I just wish I knew what half of the instructions ment...

 

[Mst99]

Where did the combined inbox go with the new email? I can't find that on my nexus 7. Also can't find where to change the default email to other than gmail. Am I just not seeing it? Lollipop got lots of hype, not impressed with it...

 

[grover5]

I'm liking lollipop quite a bit. I used nova launcher to give me the KitKat app drawer back but other than that I think lollipop improved everything.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[adam514]

I updated last night on my Nexus 5 and while the first hour or so I wasn't too pleased, I've grown to liking the update! Yes there are small things that need to be ironed out but that's normal with any new and especially large OS update (couple of glitches with a few apps). There are a few changes I'm not too excited about such as the combined email. I use my phone for work and I use a separate email from my personal Gmail account. Now it's all merged into 1 app but it'll just take some getting used to. I personally find the battery life much better. I'm half way through my work day, i'm on the road a lot and by now I'd normally be at 60-70% unplugged this morning at 730 am (it's now 12:30). I'm still sitting at a full 87%. I'll find out if it continues to stay this good. New multi-tasking is nice, I like the notifications on the lock screen and overall I find it runs smooth. I still haven't figured out half of the changes but so far so good!!

 

[Gonzo40]

Thanks aloot Darth Spock (Y)