Downgrade OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite from Android 13 to Android 12 (OxygenOS 13 – 12)

OnePlus recently rolled out the Android 13 update for the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 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 Nord CE 2 Lite. This guide is easy to follow; you only need a computer with a working USB cable to connect your device to the computer.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G Device Overview:

The Oneplus Nord CE 2 Lite features a 6.59-inch IPS LCD panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It is an FHD+ panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2412 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Under the hood, we have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 built on a 6 nm manufacturing process. It is an octa-core processor with two Kryo 660 Gold cores clocked at 2.2 GHz and six Kryo 660 Silver cores clocked at 1.7 GHz. For handling the graphics-intensive tasks, we have the Adreno 619.

In terms of optics, we have a triple camera setup at the rear and a single camera at the front. The triple setup consists of a 64 MP primary sensor paired with an f/1.7, a 2 MP macro sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens, and a 2 MP depth sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens. At the front, we get a 16 MP selfie camera paired with an f/2.0 lens. Both the front and the rear setup are limited to 1080p video recording.

The smartphone is available in two storage options: 128GB internal storage + 6GB RAM, and 128GB internal storage + 8GB RAM. There is a MicroSD slot for storage expansion, but this is a hybrid slot that you cannot use if you insert two SIM cards inside the phone. In terms of communications, we get Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, and USB Type-C 2.0. And in terms of sensors, we have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass. Powering it all is a 5000 mAh cell that can be topped up quickly using a 33W charging adapter. The smartphone is available in two color options: Black Dusk and Blue Tide

Downgrade the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 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.

Pre-Requirements:

Supported devices: OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite
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:

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite

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 Nord CE 2 Lite 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

3. 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

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

fastboot reboot fastboot

5. 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

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

fastboot reboot

7. 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

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 Nord CE 2 Lite 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.

Downgrade OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite from Android 13 to Android 12 (OxygenOS 13 – 12)

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G Device Overview:

Downgrade the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite from Android 13 to Android 12

Pre-Requirements:

Download Rollback Package

Downgrade Instructions

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