Hi all,
I have a Moto G Stylus 5G. I acquired it as part of a Lot. Since it’s in great condition I decided to make use of it. One of the first things it did was upgrade from Android 13 to 14. Well, some of my essential apps can’t run on 14 so how can I undo the upgrade? I just want to roll back to 13, or alternatively, install the stock 13 via recovery etc.
This would really be of immense use to me. Thanks.
Generally speaking this is not reversible. Many phones specifically blow fuses in the device to make sure that attempts to downgrade will fail for security reasons. They don’t want someone stealing the phone and somehow tricking it into downgrading in order to extract its content using a security vulnerability that existed in an earlier version.
With that said, if you can get your hands on the ROM Or at least one of the version you require, you could unlock the device and flash whatever you want. You may not be able to re-lock the boot loader however for the aforementioned reason. If you can that would be a device-specific thing.
It looks like older stock firmwares are available online by unofficial sources. You can decide if you trust those enough to attempt to downgrade.
Reference: https://xdaforums.com/t/guide-bootloader-unlock-for-moto-g-stylus-5g-2023.4620535/
Side comment, I find it more … interesting? (concerning?) they have “essential apps can’t run on 14” which to me is sort of a red flag event for those apps. $0.02 we’re up to 15 mainline with 16 coming soon, relying on apps stuck back on 13 never updated would not work for my conscious.
Interesting? OK well you’re a stranger on the internet but somehow you think you’ve stumbled upon a Sherlock Holmes moment. But I’ll indulge you. The older Adobe PS Touch that they discontinued basically because it was perfect and they wanted to start peddling subscriptions. It’s a fantastic app. On iOS its gone for good but I have an old iPad 2 with it still installed. I have a Galaxy Note 10+/5G with Android 12 and PS Touch runs beautifully. From my research it seems that Android 14 is where it became impossible to install. Therefore I’d prefer to revert one version.
Also none of these devices are my primary device, none are my actual phone. They’re various pocket computers for various uses. So the Moto I’d really like to have PS Touch working. So I have no security worries.
I buy, refurbish and sell these kinds of phones and the first thing I usually do after testing all the hardware is remove accounts and wipe/factory reset. I’ve had hundreds of unsecured devices in my possession but I have no interest in invading the private lives of strangers nor of accessing their personal data. I respect people.
So, nothing nefarious just boring old typical real life situation.