Downgrade Galaxy S9/S9 Plus to Android Oreo from Android Pie

This is the guide to downgrade Galaxy S9/S9 Plus to Android Oreo from Android Pie. All those users who recently updated to Android Pie and are not liking it now, they can use this guide. This guide will use Odin to downgrade Galaxy S9/S9 Plus to Android Oreo. The method is completely safe and sound. It will not void the warranty of your phone. Before you begin to downgrade Galaxy S9/S9 Plus to Android Oreo from Android Pie, let us take a look at the reasons that have forced the S9 and S9 Plus owners to take this decision.

Android Pie for the Galaxy S9/S9 Plus – A Turmoil!

3 days ago, Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus owners started getting the official Android Pie update. Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus owners have been waiting since forever to get this update. While Google is already working on the next version of Android, Samsung could only roll out the Pie update for its most recent flagship smartphone. There is no doubt that Samsung is slower than a turtle when it comes to software updates. The slow updates may not hurt the users that much, however, when the updates do not work up to the expectations, they really hurt.

For example, it took ages for Samsung to roll out Android Pie, and when it finally came out, it is full of bugs. Android Pie for the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus was in beta stages for over 2 months, even then Samsung couldn’t just make it right. All Samsung has to show off is the new One UI. Samsung does not care for all the broken features, the bugs, the performance lag, and the battery drain problems on the Android Pie update. This has caused disruption among the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus owners. A huge number of S9/S9 Plus owners are now looking for the ways to downgrade their phone back to Android Oreo.  In case you don’t already know, let us take a look what’s not right in the latest Android Pie update.

What’s wrong with the Android Pie update?

In this latest update, the shortcuts on the home screen disappear on their own after a while or after a reboot. The shortcuts are not just sticking to the home screen. Samsung has shifted some settings under new menus. For example, the location of lock screen content has now changed. They appear under view-style in the lock screen settings now. It is now much more difficult to disable Google Assitant. The navigation gestures, which are a new feature, do not have the haptic feedback. Samsung Bixby has gotten worse. Samsung has also removed the dot that appeared in the navigation bar. This dot was used to make the navigation bar stick or non-sticky.

One UI is not worth all those issues!

The camera application has a brand new UI which most of the users are not liking. Samsung has changed the split view as well. Switching between the applications is not less than a disaster now. Animations on the Android Pie are an absolute wreck. The battery life of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus has gone lowest. All these problems cannot be traded off for One UI. Having a cool UI with these serious issues does not make any sense at all.

So keeping these problems in view, and seeing the number of users willing to downgrade to Android Oreo, I decided to make this guide. It’s time to take a look at the steps to downgrade Galaxy S9/S9 Plus to Android Oreo.

Downgrade Galaxy S9/S9 Plus to Android Oreo from Android Pie

Preparations

• This guide is for the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus that is running on Android Pie. Do not try on any other phone.
• Back up all your data as this process can factory reset your phone.
• Enable OEM Unlocking and USB Debugging from the developer options.
• Use original data cable to connect your phone to the computer.
• Disable Samsung Smart Switch, Windows Firewall, and Antivirus if you have one while using Odin.
• This process is completely safe and sound to follow. It will not void your phone’s warranty.
• Follow the instructions carefully.

Required downloads

• Samsung USB Drivers – Download and install.
• Odin 3.13.1 for PC – Download and extract to get Odin3.exe.
• Firmware for Samsung Galaxy S9 | Galaxy S9 Plus
  • Note: Download the firmware with the PDA ending in BRJ6. This is important to perform a safe downgrade.
  • After downloading, extract the firmware to get the AP, CP, BL, and CSC files.

    

Downgrading from Android Pie to Android Oreo

1. Open Odin3.exe file on your computer.
2. In Odin, go to Options > Ensure that only options checked are Auto Reboot and F.Reset.Time. No other option should be checked.
3. Now click on the AP tab in Odin and load the AP file. Click on the CP tab and load the CP file. In the BL tab, add the BL file, and in the CSC tab, add the CSC file. We want a clean installation, so do not add the Home_CSC file.
4. Put your S9 or S9 Plus in Download Mode now. To do so, shut it down first. Press and hold Volume Down + Bixby + Power button to boot up. As you see the warning on the screen, press Volume Up to continue. Connect your phone to the computer now.
5. Odin will now show a Blue light in ID:COM box, and also show “Added” in the log box.
6. Everything is set now. Hit the Start button now.
7. Odin will flash the Android Oreo firmware on your S9/S9 Plus.
8. As the firmware installation ends, your phone will reboot.
9. Disconnect the phone and enjoy the old Android Oreo now. That’s all.

Conclusion

Your phone is back to the old stable version of Android now. Downgrading does not mean that you should stick to the old firmware forever. The Android Pie update is very new now and it does take a lot of time for OEMs to fix the issues. Samsung will definitely fix all the annoying bugs, but it will probably take a lot of time. The only option you have right now is to stick to the Android Oreo for a while and wait it out for the stable/bug-free Android Pie update. If you have any queries related to this guide, feel free to reach out to us. We will try our best to get back to you as soon as we get your query.