Revert Flash Version – How to Revert to Previous Version of Flash

flash

The other day I applied updates and broke my ability to watch amazon videos on my computer. I am not alone. See the amazon forum post.

How can I rever to the previous version of Flash?

Here's what I've tried so far. Using

tail -10 /var/log/dpkg.log

I found this line that looks like the culprit on my system:

2013-04-10 16:31:56 status installed flashplugin-installer:amd64 11.2.202.280ubuntu0.12.10.1

At this point, I'm not sure what to do. And I think the issue is complicated by the fact that the package I'm referring to is an installer, not an actual plugin.

Best Answer

Here is the fix:

  1. Close running instances of your browser.

  2. If you don't already have synaptic package manager installed (it isn't by default) install it. From the terminal type:

    sudo apt-get install synaptic

  3. You will also need to install "hal" and "hal-info", unless already installed:

    sudo apt-get install hal hal-info
  4. Start Synaptic Package Manager
  5. In the top right of the application is a search box. Search for "flashplugin-installer"
  6. Highlight the package and press Ctrl + E
  7. The "Force version" window should open
  8. Pick version 11.2.202.243 instead of the currently installed 11.2.202.280
  9. Apply changes by clicking the button that says "Apply" with a check mark under it.
  10. With the package still highlighted, select from the top menu: Package->Lock Version
  11. Close Synaptic and open a terminal

  12. We need to remove old cached versions of the plugin. First type:

     cd ~/.adobe/Flash_Player

  13. Next type: 

     rm -rf NativeCache AssetCache APSPrivateData2
  14. You can now close the terminal and reopen your browser

Thanks to Rob S for the instructions on how to do this. The above instructions are his with only slight modifications. Additionally, the last few instructions are from the Arch Linux Wiki.

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