Galaxy S6: How to Downgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop

Not everyone has been enjoying Samsung’s latest version of Android so let’s talk about how to downgrade the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to Android 5.0.2 Lollipop.

Android updates tend to go one of two different ways and it’s because of this that some people really like them and some people really dislike them. An Android update can go very smoothly and not cause any issues whatsoever. This is actually how the majority of Android updates go and because most people rather enjoy the new features and bug fixes that an update comes with, those people generally like it when a brand new update is pushed to their devices.

However, another way an Android update can go is not good at all and this can cause all sorts of issues with the device. Most of the time these bad updates can be fixed with a few troubleshooting steps and a few tricks.

Some updates go very badly and it is required that you perform a factory reset in order to resolve those issues. I try to help people troubleshoot their smartphone troubles with guides like how to boot the Galaxy S6 into Safe Mode, or how to wipe the cache partition of the Galaxy S6 and how to factory reset the Galaxy S6. These all things that every Galaxy S6 owner should know how to do, just in case.

Sadly, when someone gets a bad update, or when their update goes wrong, they tend to be put off by the entire update process. They are worried that all future updates will ruin their smartphone and rightfully so. Updating Android is an incredibly complex process and the simplest things(like having a certain setting or a certain 3rd party application installed) can throw the whole thing off. So, if you are one of those people who have had an update go poorly then maybe your solution is to downgrade to a previous version of Android.

Note – Downgrading is essentially like a factory reset so you will lose all of your data that you haven’t already backed up.

Note – Some feedback suggests that you Enable OEM  Unlock on your device before you proceed with this tutorial (if you can).

Galaxy S6 Downgrade to Lollipop

1. Download, Extract and Install the Samsung USB Drivers(then reboot)
2. Download and Extract Odin
3. Download the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop Firmware for Your Galaxy S6
4. Extract the .tar.md5 File From the Galaxy S6 Firmware You Downloaded
5. Enable Developer Mode on the Galaxy S6
6. Enable USB Debugging on the Galaxy S6
7. Power Down the Galaxy S6
8. Boot the Galaxy S6 into Recovery Mode
9. Perform a Factory Reset on the Galaxy S6
10. Boot the Galaxy S6 into Download Mode
11. Connect the Galaxy S6 to the PC with a Micro USB Cable
12. Right-Click on the Odin.exe File
13. Click the ‘Run as Administrator’ Option
14. Click on the AP(or PDA) Button in Odin(on the right)
15. Browse to and Select the .tar.md5 File You Extracted From the Galaxy S6 Firmware
16. Click the Options Tab(on the left)
17. Make sure the Re-Partition Option is NOT Checked
18. When Ready, Click on the Start Button(at the bottom)

Note – One user reported that they ran into a bootloop from this tutorial but clearing the cache partition cleared up the issue perfectly. If this happens to you(and please leave a comment telling me if it does or doesn’t) then hopefully the cache partition will resolve it as well. Another user has reported that they needed to perform a factory reset on the Galaxy S6 in order to clear the bootloop. Both have reportedly worked so one of them should definitely help you out if you come across the issue.

Explanation

Before you begin, you’re going to need the USB drivers from Samsung installed onto your PC. The link is in the guide above and you’ll want to install those, as well reboot your PC after the installation has finished. Next you’ll want to download Odin from the link above and then go ahead and extract the contents of the .zip file into its own folder. Then you’ll want to download the official Android 5.0.2 Lollipop firmware from the link as indicated in the guide. This is from SamMobile who isn’t an official Samsung source, but they always keep the official firmwares on their site. SamMobile is a great source for firmware but you can also use XDA if you like it more.

When you go to SamMobile’s firmware page, you’ll see a big search box and you’ll need to enter the model number for your Galaxy S6/Galaxy S6 Edge into this box. You must download the Lollipop firmware for your specific device. Once you search for your model number, you’ll see a huge list of firmwares and you’ll need to find your specific device. For example, if you are from Russia and have a Russian Galaxy S6, then you’ll need to download that specific one. If you see multiple versions for your country, grab the version that best fits your device. Meaning, if you bought it from a certain carrier then download the firmware listed from that carrier.

After you have downloaded the firmware(which you can download for free and it might take a while to download), you’ll want to go ahead and extract that firmware onto your computer. You’ll notice that there is a .tar.md5 file in this firmware and that is the file that we will be using in Odin a little bit later. For now though, go into the Galaxy S6’s settings and enable the Developer Mode. Then you’ll want to go into the Developer Options menu and enable USB Debugging. Power down the Galaxy S6 and then boot it into Recovery Mode. From here, you’ll want to perform a factory reset so that we’re starting fresh.

Then power down the Galaxy S6 again and boot up into Download Mode. Once in Download Mode(which is also called Odin Mode), you can connect the Galaxy S6 to the PC with a micro USB cable and then launch Odin with administrator rights. With Odin open, look toward the right and then click on the AP(or it is sometimes called PDA) button. This will open up a file browser and you’re going to want to browse to and select the .tar.md5 file that we extracted earlier in the tutorial. Look to the left, in the Options tab(if you have this tab) and make sure that the ‘Re-Partition’ option is NOT checked. When all that is done you can click on the Start button at the bottom and wait for the process to be completed.

That is all that is required. It can take 5-10 minutes to flash the new firmware onto your Galaxy S6 so please give it time. Look for any errors and if you get one, leave a comment below with the exact error(letter for letter) and I’ll do my best to help out.