8 replies to this topic

[vhristenco]

Hi guys,

Since many people upgraded their G300s to B952 and I couldn't find any "beginners" tutorial on how to downgrade from B952 to GB, I decided to write one.

Remember, you are doing this at your own risk. Losing your original IMEI or having a power failure during this operation can (and will) eventually turn your phone into a doorstop.

All the files needed for this tutorial can be downloaded from HERE


Step 1: ICS Root

- depending on the OS you are using on your PC, extract the contents of the zip file to a temporary folder on your pc.
- on your phone, go to Settings > Developer options and make sure USB Debugging is ticked.
- connect the phone to PC using USB cable.

For Windows:
- launch RootG300.exe. When it finishes, your phone will reboot.

For Mac:
- launch terminal, go to the folder where you extracted the archive and enter the following commands:
chmod +x root-g300.sh
./root-g300.sh

For Linux:
- launch terminal, go to the folder where you extracted the archive and enter the following commands:
chmod +x root-g300.sh
sudo ./root-g300.sh

Step 2: Backup IMEI

- install the app ToolBox5iromV1.0.4.2.apk
- open the app, then press Backup IMEI (will ask for root permission)
- a new folder 5irom will be created in the root folder of the sdcard. Archive it and put it in a safe place (more copies will be even better)

Step 3: Zero IMEI

- extract the archive imei-0.rar to a folder on your pc
- copy the folder 5irom from the archive to the root of the sdcard, overwriting the one that was created at step 2
- open the app 5iromToolBox, the press Restore IMEI (will ask for root permission)
- press Reboot 8800 (the phone will restart in recovery mode, formatting data/cache)

NOTE: if you have a custom recovery installed, it's possible that the script will not be able to format data/cache (on cwm it doesn't). In that case you should format data/cache manually

Step 4: Flash middle package

- extract the dload folder from the archive to the root of the sdcard
- shutdown the phone, remove the battery, wait for 3 seconds then re-insert it.
- press the Volume UP and Volume DOWN buttons, then power on the phone.
- a pink progress bar will appear when flashing middle package. When it finishes, the phone will reboot.

Step 5: Flash B882

- extract the dload fold from the archive to the root of the sdcard (overwrite the previous one)
- shutdown the phone, remove the battery, wait for 3 seconds then re-insert it.
- press the Volume UP and Volume DOWN buttons, then power on the phone.
- a pink progress bar will appear when flashing middle package. When it finishes, the phone will reboot.

NOTE: this will take longer to complete than step 4

Step 6: Root GB

- depending on the OS you are using on your PC, extract the contents of the zip file to a temporary folder on your pc.
- go to Settings > Applications and make sure Unknown Source is ticked
- of to Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB Debugging is ticked
- shutdown the phone, remove the battery, wait for 3 seconds, then re-insert it.
- power on the phone while keeping the Volume Down button pressed (keep it pressed for about 30 seconds).
- connect the phone to PC using USB cable.

For Windows:
- launch GingerbreadRoot.exe. When it finishes, your phone will reboot.

For Mac:
- launch terminal, go to the folder where you extracted the archive and enter the following commands:
chmod +x root-g300.sh
./root-g300.sh

For Linux:
- launch terminal, go to the folder where you extracted the archive and enter the following commands:
chmod +x root-g300.sh
sudo ./root-g300.sh

Step 7: Restore IMEI

- install the app ToolBox5iromV1.0.4.2.apk
- open the app, then press Backup IMEI (will ask for root permission)
- close the app
- copy the original imei files (the 5irom folder that you backed up at step 2) to the root of the sdcard, overwriting the previous one.
- open the app, then press Restore IMEI (will ask for root permission)
- press Reboot U8800 (phone will restart in recovery mode, formatting data/cache)

Step 8: Upgrade
- i recommend upgrading via OTA to B895 (B882 -> B888 -> B892 -> B895)

Final note: I found this to be the "cleanest" way of downgrading to GB. It will work for any version of ICS/JB. There are faster ways of doing this but I found this to be the only one that restores the phone to a version that is upgradeable via OTA.

Enjoy!

Edited by vhristenco, Today, 05:54 AM.

[denzele]

One question mate..why do you zero IMEI in first place? I downgraded so many times before successfully and never use that option...

[vhristenco]

Because middle package won't flash on B952 without zero-ing IMEI.

[denzele]

Upgraded to B952 then downgraded to B895 GB I think it was then upgrade to B952 again...no zeroing or anything involved...not once dozen times ..that's the reason for asking mate ...

[vhristenco]

Already tried that (it was the first thing I tried, actually) and it didn't work for me and it seems not to work for others, too. Maybe you're one lucky guy
Vodafone officially states there's no way to downgrade from B952 to GB. So I wrote this howto especially for the people who asked Vodafone about the downgrade and got the same answer I did.

[denzele]

Well my luck ran out on first phone ( bricked because of unlockbootloader.exe on GB ) second replacement ( this is Australia here ) upgrade to B944 first then downgrade to GB few times ( UK one B895 ) then upgrade again to B952 after flashing relock bootloader by jsevi phone got stuck on some signature fail crap only way to fix it was downgrade back to GB B895 again...so yeah maybe I'm lucky after all..

[pen69mod]

Hey vhristenco, thanks for taking the time to write out this tutorial.
It's really appreciated.
I know from my research that there are many of us who are now in need of this, after upgrading to ICS without giving any thought to what would happen if we never liked it.
I'm going to read it through about 100 times before going ahead.  
I have a couple questions prepared already, and there's a couple more I need to think about.
I'll post them here when I'm ready.
Cheers bro.
Thanks again for your help.

Edited by pen69mod, 20 May 2013 - 06:52 PM.

[pen69mod]

Hi again vhristenco.
Could you clarify a few things please?
Cheers.

step 1. Do I remove the phone from the pc after launching RootG300.exe.
step 2. I’ve only ever installed apps straight from googleplay.  How do I install this? And is the phone still connected to the pc at this point?

When you say “archive folder 5irom”, do you mean copy it to a safe place on the pc?

Step 4. When powering on the phone in step 4, is the phone still connected to the pc at this point?

In fact, could you add to the guide when the phone is connected to the pc, and when to remove it, because as I read through it, I can’t work out when it should be connected & when it shouldn’t.


Is the phone returned to the exact state as I received it from Vodafone?

I don’t understand what “rooting” is, but considering this method uses a “RootG300.exe” file, does this mean the phone ends up rooted?
If so, I guess that voids the warranty?

Edited by pen69mod, Today, 03:20 AM.

[vhristenco]

Hi pen69mod,

As a rule, the phone needs to be connected to the pc only when you are launching an app on the pc (e.g. when you are rooting).
So, before launching the app RootG300.exe at step 1, you need to make sure the phone is connected to the pc.

At step 2, you need to copy the .apk somewhere on the sdcard (copy via usb or remove the sdcard and insert it into pc's card reader, it doesn't matter), then, in Settings>Applications make sure "Unknown sources" is ticked. After that, open a file manager on phone, browse to the folder you copied the .apk file into and launch it.

When I said "archive folder 5irom" i meant to compress the folder into a .zip or .rar archive (or whatever format you prefer) and copy the archive into multiple safe places (computer/usb/dvd). The point is... if, for some reason, you lose this file, you'll end up with a zero-imei phone that you won't be able to use in any mobile network.

At step 4 the phone doesn't need to be connected to the pc. Just make sure you copy the folder dload from the middle package archive to the root of your sdcard.

"Rooting" will enable the root user, that is the user with full-access permissions. That will allow you to modify system files (you need this for imei backup and restore), uninstall locked apps and much more.

After step 7, the phone will have the exact software it came with from Vodafone, but it will also be rooted. Of course, rooting will void your warranty. In fact, the whole process of downgrading (especially rooting and changing IMEI) is considered somehow "dangerous", but if you follow this tutorial step by step, you'll restore the phone to the original software it came with.

However, if you need/want an un-rooted phone (EXACTLY how it came from Vodafone) you can re-apply step 5 (flash B882) after step 7. And the funny thing is Vodafone will never  know that you upgraded, downgraded, rooted, changed IMEI, etc. Basically you will "re-gain" you warranty.