App downgrade
Due to better security, some application manufacturers impose restrictions on what data can be acquired from their apps, outside the app UI. This is especially relevant for non-rooted phones. If it isn't possible to get root access on a device or an unencrypted physical image, the App downgrade function is a way to get readable app data.
To bypass these restrictions we have introduced the App downgrade feature in MOBILedit Forensic, which will downgrade the apps to a version when there was no problem obtaining the data from them directly.
On the main screen of MOBILedit Forensic select Updates and then select App downgrade update - as seen in the screenshots below.
You will then be asked to download an extension for MOBILedit Forensic, which consists of the apps .apk installation files. Please confirm the download and wait for it to be completely downloaded.
After the download, the installation will start automatically. Once finished, the App Downgrade feature will be included in the Applications section of Specific Selection options when configuring a report.
The settings and functionality of this feature are described below in the Functionality section of this page.
Functionality
Your phone must be properly prepared before downgrading the app. Turn on airplane mode, confirm USB debugging, and for some phone manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo and others, the "Install app via USB" option must be checked.
Also, only our "Forensic connector" app should be open and running on the phone. All other apps MUST be closed, including background apps and especially the app that you are trying to downgrade.
Do not carry out any operations on the phone during the process, only when MOBILedit Forensic asks you to.
To use the App downgrade function, connect a phone to MOBILedit Forensic, select Specific Selection, and choose Applications in the right-sided menu. You will now have the option to choose (tick) the App downgrade feature to use in the data extraction process.
If you do not select “Let me choose”, all apps that can be downgraded will be downgraded. If you want to downgrade apps individually, select “Let me choose” and find the app in the list on the next screen after clicking “Next”.
There are two options of App downgrade available - Safe and Smart. The safe option works with Android 4.4+ and 5.0+, but not higher than 6.0, while the Smart option works with the other versions. In case the version of Android on your phone was automatically detected by MOBILedit Forensic, one of the App downgrade options will be greyed out accordingly, so you can be sure you are using the correct one.
Upon continuing with the extraction you will be asked to allow a test .apk file to be installed on your phone and downgraded. This allows us to check, whether your phone supports the App downgrade feature.
Please be mindful of the following warning message.
When the extraction is started, you will see the downgrading progress on the left side of your screen. During the application downgrade, you may be required to confirm backup on the device more than once.
Please note that only some apps support this feature as of yet, although we are working on expanding the list.
The list of supported apps for App downgrade can be found here.
Pre-installed apps from manufacturers cannot be downgraded.
Here you can see how App downgrade works.
Samsung devices
It is important to be patient when carrying out App dwongrade on Samsung devices as they need to restart in order to complete the process.
Once the device has restarted it will take some time for the device to reconnect and for MOBILedit Forensic to identify the device again.
DO NOT STOP THE EXTRACTION! (By using the “Stop extraction” button in the UI.)
You may need to monitor the device screen and follow any on-screen prompts to ensure correct reconnection.
Current supported Apps for downgrade
AliExpress
BBM
Dolphin browser
Dropbox
Evernote
Facebook
Facebook Messenger
Firefox
Google Chrome
Google Drive
Google Maps
Instagram
KakaoTalk
Keepsafe
LINE
MiTalk
Periscope
Skype
Snapchat
Telegram
Todoist
Truecaller
Twitter
Viber
WeChat
WhatsApp
Wickr
Wunderlist