How to Safely Opt Out of Your Android Beta Program

While Google is allowing users to test Android 10 as part of a public beta program, it won’t be for everyone. If you’ve upgraded to the Android 10 beta build and found that your device has slowed down, the battery isn’t as efficient, or that some apps aren’t working as they should (or at all), you’re not alone and chances are you need to downgrade to Android 9. …

Performance issues and similar bugs are part of the tradeoff for getting early access to new software and features. Betas are meant to help developers find and solve problems, and to Google’s credit, the company is reporting potential downsides to using any of its beta programs.

The good news is that it is quite easy to restore the stable version of Android 9 to your device. All it takes is a few clicks of buttons, then download and install the update and you’re done. The trick is that rolling back your device’s OS requires a factory reset in the process, which erases all of your data and settings from the device. This is the opposite of upgrading to a newer OS version, which leaves your files, applications, and other data largely intact. Luckily, Google makes it easy to back up your data and then transfer it back to your phone after the rollback is complete.

Here’s how to safely and properly back up your data and roll back your Android OS.

Backing up your device data

The key to a smooth rollback is having a proper backup of your data. Android devices have a built-in Google Drive-based backup process that saves the following files and data:

• Google Contacts data
• Google Calendar events and settings
• Wi-Fi networks and passwords
• Wallpaper
• Gmail settings
• Apps downloaded from the Play Store
• Display settings
• Language and input settings
• date and time
• Some non-Google settings and data for apps (app dependent)

This backup can then be imported automatically when you set up your device to restore most of your saved files, applications, and more. Ideally, you would create a backup before you install a beta version of Android 10, but do not worry if you did not – we can still make a backup of your data before Android 10beta back on Android 9. However, if you still do pre-beta backup and conveniently using it as a restore point, you can skip this section and go to the rollback section below.

Make sure the backup settings are enabled before backing up.

1. Open the settings app
2. Go to System> Advanced> Backup.
3. Turn on the backup service

With the backup service enabled, it’s time to manually back up your device.

1. In the settings app, go to System> More> Backup> Back up now.
2. Click Continue.
3. Wait for the process to complete

You can find the backups you’ve created by opening Google Drive on your device or PC and selecting the “Backups” tab from the menu on the left. Select the most recent backup from the list to see an overview of what it contains.

It’s worth noting here that while setting up a backup saves most of your data, if you’re using apps downloaded from non-Google Play stores like Amazon, or you have contacts on your device that aren’t connected to your account Google records, you may need to manually back up these files before rolling back your phone.

To manually back up your contacts:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Tap More> Settings> Export.
3. Select contacts to export.
4. Click Export to .VCF File.
5. Upload this to your Google Drive or external storage device (see below for details).

As for saving files from apps not associated with your Google account, or files you’ve downloaded from other app stores, the process can usually be done within the apps themselves, but the steps will vary from app to app. If you run into problems, please consult the app store pages or official sites. You can also manually upload files and folders to Google Drive.

1. Open Google Drive on your Android device.
2. On Google Drive, click Add, then Download.
3. Tap each of the files / folders you want to back up.

Another way is to connect your device to your PC via a USB cable, open the device’s storage location on your computer, and then transfer the files to the storage location – be it an external storage device, cloud storage, or the PC itself.

Regardless of how you back up this data, you will also need to manually re-download these apps and import your contacts after the update rollback is complete and the data is restored to the other device.

How to opt out and roll back your device

1. Open the Android 10 beta page.
2. Click or tap View Available Devices (if you don’t see your device, make sure you’re signed in to the Google Account associated with the devices you want to rollback to).
3. Click Unsubscribe on the listed devices that you want to remove from the beta program (Note: If you downloaded the Android 10 beta instead of installing it via OTA, the button may say “Enable” instead of “Unsubscribe”. You can still restore your device using the OTA method by clicking or clicking “Opt-in.” Wait a few minutes, refresh the page and the option should now say “Opt-Out.”)
4. Your device will receive the new update within approximately 24 hours, although our update happened almost immediately. Go to System> Advanced> System Update> Check for Updates to see if an update is available. Otherwise, you will be notified on arrival.
5. Run the update when it’s ready.
6. During installation, your device will be reset to factory settings and you will have to go through the initial setup process as if you had just purchased your device. At some point in the setup, you will be prompted to import your data. Select the option to import the backup file from Google Drive, then follow the onscreen instructions.
7. Once the setup is complete, your data will be slowly restored and the old apps reinstalled.
8. If you’ve manually backed up any data that needs to be imported, or if you need to re-download apps from other app stores, you can do so now.

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