Google announced Android 12 during the early part of the year followed by a developer preview build. By May, we even got to see the first beta version of Android 12 for Pixel as well as devices based on Project Treble. As of now, we are currently in the 5th and final beta (Release Candidate) version of Android 12 with its official public release nearing soon. Now, if you are one of those that are currently running the beta version but want to now get out of it, here is a guide on how to uninstall Android 12 Beta from your device.
Now, there could be a few reasons that you might wish to go back to a stable release of Android 11 or even Android 12. Maybe because the bugs are problematic for you or it could also be that you prefer to wait for the official builds to be released publicly. Whatever your reason might be, you can easily downgrade to the previous stable version of Android. Though you will have to keep in mind that you will eventually lose all your data, so having a backup available in the cloud or on external storage would be beneficial to you. Read along to know how to uninstall the beta version of Android 12
How to Uninstall Android 12 Beta
Uninstalling the Android 12 beta is easy but do remember that you will lose all your data that is stored on your device. Hence having a backup of your data is highly advised. Before we begin with the process, there are a few things you will need to have.
Prerequisites
- Android device charged up to 80%
- Latest stable factory image file
- USB data cable
- Windows PC
- WiFi Connection
- Full backup of your phone
Method 1: Opt-out of Android 12 Beta
To opt your device out of the Android 12 Beta you will have to head here. When you see the device and the button that says opt-out, click on it. This will now remove you from the Android 12 beta program. At the same time, you will be soon receiving an OTA update that will put you back to the current stable Android version that is available for your device. While you install the update, you will need to remember that the update will completely wipe off all your data from the phone and you will have to start afresh. This method will usually work easily for the Google Pixel Lineup.
Method 2: Uninstall by flashing Stable Factory Image
This is a process that you can follow for almost any device that is currently running the beta version of Android 12. It might take some of your time but will properly get your device to the latest stable version. Also, all your data from the device will be erased, so do have a backup of your data elsewhere either on the cloud or external storage.
- Download the SDK platform Tools. Extract the Platform tools zip file on your desktop. These will come in handy when you might want to flash and issue commands to your connected Android device via ADB or Fastboot Commands.
- Make sure that you have Developer Options enabled on your phone. If not, you can always check this guide for more details.
- With Developer Options enabled, you will now have to enable USB Debugging as well as toggle the OEM Unlocking option to On.
- Now, you will have to get the factory images for your device. This is the latest stable version of Android that is available for your device.
- Once the image has been downloaded, you might now want to extract the image in the SDK Platform Tools folder on the desktop.
- Now, connect your Android 12 beta running device to the computer via the USB cable.
- Open the SDK Platform Tools folder, and then open CMD from that location. To open it type CMD in the location tab in platform tools and press enter. Or just open the CMD and locate platform tools with cd commands.
- With the command prompt open, simply type in adb reboot bootloader. If this ask for USB debugging authorization on your phone, allow it and enter the command again to reboot your phone into bootloader/fastboot.
- The device will reboot onto the fastboot screen.
- Type in fastboot flashing unlock to be able to unlock your device’s bootloader (this can void the warranty of your phone). Also unlocking bootloader can be different for different OEM.
- On your phone, using the volume buttons, select the Unlock Bootloader option. As soon as you do this, your device will restart and will also clear the contents on your phone.
- The device will now reboot to the fastboot screen. Here is when you run the flash-all command to flash the factory image file to your device.
- This flash process should take you a few minutes or so complete.
- Once completed you can opt to lock your bootloader if you wish, otherwise, let it be.
- Simply reboot your Android device, proceed with the one-time setup and you are now back to stable Android 11.
- This process works perfectly for all your Google Pixel devices and if your Pixel has an older version of Android available, you could also flash that version and be fine with it.
Non-Pixel Android 12 devices
For non-Pixel devices, you would be able to copy the image file to your device and then be able to downgrade it from your device’s recovery screen. Some OEM phones need tools to flash factory images, so make sure to check it out for your device. All you have to do is download the right package for your exact device model and you should be good to go. Yes, even here you will lose all your data from your phone.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a way to uninstall the Android 12 beta and downgrade to the latest stable version of Android 11 available for your device. The methods are simple but require that you have full concentration while performing the downgrade process.
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