OnePlus recently rolled out the Android 13 update for the OnePlus 9R and 9RT 5G devices globally, bringing improvements like multi-language support, user privacy, revamped clipboard features, and more. Other than these, there are a few design changes, like an updated media player and support for themed icons to match wallpaper colour. If you have installed Android 13 and want to downgrade back to Android 12, this guide is for you.

As we all know, the Android 13 may contain bugs that can make your device unstable to use as a daily driver. In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to roll back from Android 13 to Android 12 on OnePlus 9R and 9RT. This guide is easy to follow; you only need a computer with a working USB cable to connect your device to the computer.

OnePlus 9R and 9RT 5G Device Overview:

Downgrade the OnePlus 9R and 9RT from Android 13 to Android 12

First, download the appropriate firmware package for your device from the link below. Once that is done, proceed with the instructions and steps that follow.

The Oneplus 9RT 5G features a 6.62 inches FHD+ AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1080p x 2400 pixels. It is a high refresh rate panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, we have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 which is an octa-core processor with one Kryo 680 core clocked at 2.84 GHz, three Kryo 680 cores clocked at 2.42 GHz, and four Kryo 680 cores clocked at 1.80 GHz. For handling the graphics-intensive tasks, we have the Adreno 660.

In terms of optics, we get a 50MP primary sensor paired with an f/1.8 lens, a 16MP ultrawide sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens, and a 2MP macro sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens. There is a 16MP sensor at the front which is paired with an f/2.4 lens. The front camera can record 4K videos at 60fps, while the front camera is limited to 1080p recording at 30fps.

There are three storage options available for this smartphone: 128GB + 8GB RAM, 256GB + 8GB RAM, and 256GB + 12GB RAM. In terms of communications, we get Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C 2.0. And for the sensors, we have an under-display optical fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass. Powering it all is a 4500 mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging. The company claims that the device can go from 0 to 100% in less than 30 minutes. There are three color variants of this smartphone: Hacker Black, Nano Silver, and Blue.

The Oneplus 9R features a 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. It has a refresher rate of 120Hz and supports HDR10+ content. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Under the hood, we have the Snapdragon 870 5G chip built on a 7nm manufacturing process. This is an octa-core processor with one Kryo 585 core clocked at 3.2 GHz, three Kryo 585 cores clocked at 2.42 GHz, and four Kryo 585 cores at 1.8 GHz. For handling the graphics-intensive tasks, we have the Adreno 650.

In terms of cameras, we have a quad-camera setup at the rear and a single camera at the front. The rear quad-camera consists of a 48 MP primary sensor paired with an f/1.7 lens, a 16MP ultrawide sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens, a 5MP macro sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens, and a 2MP monochrome sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens. Coming to the front, we have a 16MP sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens. The rear camera can capture 4K videos at 60fps, while the front camera is only limited to 1080p video recording. We get Optical Image Stabilization or OIS with only the primary camera at the rear.

Pre-Requirements:

  • Supported devices: OnePlus 9R and 9RT
  • Make sure to charge your device more than 50%
  • You need a PC or Laptop with a USB cable.
  • Take a complete backup using any method given below
  • Full Data Backup without Root
  • Nandroid Backup via TWRP
  • Download Drivers: Qualcomm USB Drivers and OnePlus USB Drivers

Download Rollback Package

Download links for OnePlus rollback packages:

  • Full Data Backup without Root

  • Nandroid Backup via TWRP

  • OnePlus 9R

  • OnePlus 9RT

Now that you have downloaded the rollback package from the above section, create a complete device backup before proceeding with the below-mentioned steps. This is because the installation steps require a wipe of the data. Once you have done so, here is everything you need to be aware of regarding the downgrade of the OnePlus 9R and 9RT from Android 13 to Android 12.

Downgrade Instructions

  • First of all, Turn off your device.
  • Now reboot your phone into bootloader mode by pressing and holding the VOLUME UP and POWER buttons simultaneously.
  • Now connect your device to your PC using the USB cable.
  • Open the extracted firmware folder to flash it using fastboot mode.
  • Enter the below code to boot your device into fastbootd mode.

fastboot -w

  1. Now flash the following files by entering the code

fastboot flash boot boot.img fastboot flash cpucp cpucp.img fastboot flash dtbo dtbo.img fastboot flash modem modem.img fastboot flash oplusstanvbk oplusstanvbk.img fastboot flash oplus_sec oplus_sec.img fastboot flash qweslicstore qweslicstore.img fastboot flash shrm shrm.img fastboot flash splash splash.img fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img fastboot flash vbmeta_vendor vbmeta_vendor.img fastboot flash vbmeta_system vbmeta_system.img fastboot flash vendor_boot vendor_boot.img fastboot flash vm-bootsys vm-bootsys.img

  1. Now reboot into userspace fastboot, aka fastbootd. If you don’t do this, the remaining files cannot be flashed:

fastboot reboot fastboot

  1. Flash the remaining files:

fastboot flash abl abl.img fastboot flash aop aop.img fastboot flash bluetooth bluetooth.img fastboot flash devcfg devcfg.img fastboot flash dsp dsp.img fastboot flash featenabler featenabler.img fastboot flash hyp hyp.img fastboot flash imagefv imagefv.img fastboot flash keymaster keymaster.img fastboot flash multiimgoem multiimgoem.img fastboot flash qupfw qupfw.img fastboot flash tz tz.img fastboot flash uefisecapp uefisecapp.img fastboot flash xbl xbl.img fastboot flash xbl_config xbl_config.img fastboot flash product product.img fastboot flash system system.img fastboot flash system_ext system_ext.img fastboot flash vendor vendor.img fastboot flash odm odm.img

  1. Now reboot your device into the system using the below fastboot command:

fastboot reboot

  1. If everything worked, your phone should now boot into OxygenOS. The files will be flashed to your currently active boot slot. If any of them fail to flash, switch to the other slot and start over from the beginning. I couldn’t flash odm, product, system, system_ext, and vendor to slot a, and had to use slot b instead. To check the current slot:

fastboot getvar current-slot

To switch slots:

fastboot –set-active=a

or

fastboot –set-active=b

So this was all from this guide on downgrading or rollback from Android 13 to Android 12 stable build on your OnePlus 9R and 9RT devices. The first boot after the rollback could up some time; this is completely normal. Since a device reset has been taken place as well, you might have to set it up from scratch. Rounding up, here are some iPhone Tips and Tricks, PC tips and tricks, and Android Tips and Tricks that deserve your attention too.

Advertisement