How to Downgrade OxygenOS on the OnePlus 5 with TWRP

If you have TWRP installed, then you can follow these simple steps to downgrade the version of OxygenOS you have installed on the OnePlus 5.

Note – If you are using the stock OnePlus recovery with an unmodified version of OxygenOS, then you can follow this guide to downgrade the OnePlus 5.

I do understand that not everyone is using TWRP on their OnePlus 5 and they still may want to downgrade their version of OxygenOS. I will be doing a different tutorial to cover that process since it’s so different than using TWRP (and because I can’t have TWRP and a stock recovery installed at the same time).

So if you have TWRP installed on your OnePlus 5, then you can follow these steps below to downgrade your current version of OxygenOS.

What we’re doing here is installing an older version of OxygenOS on top of our current one. This works when going from one version of Nougat to an older one, but will likely not work when going from Oreo to Nougat. I will cover that method in the future when the update is out. So, this method will not wipe any of the current data or settings you have on your device, but I would still advise that you create a Nandroid backup of the OnePlus 5 just in case.

OnePlus 5 Downgrade

1. Download the version of OxygenOS you want to downgrade to
2. Move/copy that ZIP file to the OnePlus 5
3. Boot the OnePlus 5 into Recovery Mode
4. Tap on the Install button
5. Browse to and tap on the OxygenOS ZIP file (from Step 1)
6. Swipe the white arrows to the right to confirm
7. Wait for TWRP to downgrade OxygenOS
8. Tap the Home button and root the OnePlus 5 again (optional)
9. Or just tap the Reboot System button

Note – Remember, if you don’t install root again, or flash a noverity ZIP file after downgrading, you will lose TWRP and go back to a stock recovery when you reboot.

Explanation

What we’re doing here is referred to as dirty flashing a ROM on top of another one. This is generally done with custom ROMs but since we can install OxygenOS the same way, this method works as well. This is also why we’re able to keep all of the data and settings that we had on our device before. Downgrading doesn’t always work though (which is why I recommend you create a Nandroid backup), but unless there are major changes from one update to the next then you’re okay.

This is also why you cannot downgrade from Oreo or Nougat and why that requires a different tutorial. So to start off here, we first need to download the version of OxygenOS we want to downgrade to. This can be downloaded directly from the OnePlus website, or a trusted source (like the OnePlus or XDA forums). Just make sure you have the full ROM here that weighs over 1GB in size. We’ll then want to move/copy that ZIP file onto the OnePlus 5.

When that is done, go ahead and boot into Recovery Mode and this should take you to the TWRP main menu. Tap the Install button at the top left of the screen and then browse to where you put the OxygenOS ZIP file. Tap the file when you find it and then swipe the white arrows to the right to begin the OnePlus 5 downgrade process. This should only take 30 seconds or so to complete, and then you’ll be asked if you want to reboot back into Android.

If you boot back into Android right now, TWRP will be reset back to the stock OnePlus recovery. So you likely want to tap the Home button to go back to the TWRP main menu. From here, you either need to flash a root solution such as Magisk or SuperSU (a link in Step 8 above can help you with that), or you need to flash a noverity ZIP file. Whichever method you go with, you can then reboot back into Android after that is done and you’ll see the version of OxygenOS has been downgraded.