The application version downgrade is one of the acquisition methods supported in Belkasoft X for Android devices. You can read more about this method in our article "How to Acquire Data From an Android Device Using APK Downgrade Method".

The downgrade process can complete unsuccessfully for a number of reasons, including low or damaged battery, deliberate reboot of the device, operating system crash and so on. The device can still have older (not original) versions of applications at this time. Though Belkasoft X restores such original versions at the end of the acquisition automatically, it might not be the case for an unsuccessful acquisition, because the device lost connectivity with your forensic computer.

Please find advice on what to do in such a case.

WARNING: While APK downgrade is a relatively safe method and is unlikely to brick your device, under certain circumstances it may affect the state of your device, which could result in the loss of some data, app icons, login state, and the original APK file. It is crucial to attempt other acquisition methods before proceeding with this one.

APK Downgrade troubleshooting check-list

Preconditions:

  • You run the APK Downgrade acquisition or the Advanced ADB method to extract data from an Android device, using Belkasoft X software
  • The acquisition session finished unsuccessfully
  • The original versions of the downgraded applications were not restored automatically

Please follow the steps below:

  1. Reboot your device
  2. Connect the device to the computer using original manufacturer cable
  3. Use the USB 3.0 port on the rear side of the computer (preferably directly connected to the motherboard)
  4. Attempt the APK Downgrade or the Advanced ADB acquisition once again
  5. Try different cables and different USB 3.0 ports in case of repeating unsuccessful acquisitions

At the beginning of the acquisition process, Belkasoft X checks the device for traces of the previously incompleted acquisition attempts and, if found, tries to automatically recover original APK files. In case Belkasoft X is unable to recover these files automatically, you can do this manually. You will find original APK files stored under /data/local/tmp folder of the examined device.

If you are working with Android version 12, please make sure you are using Belkasoft X not earlier than v.1.14. A number of issues, specific to Android 12 were addressed in this release.

As your last resort, if nothing else works, you can restore the applications manually from corresponding manufacturers' sites or web archives.

See also