5.6 still has the new UI code in it I think. I’ve just spent the last few hours trying to get back to the “old days”. I went back to release 5.401 and it works just fine. I was able to import my settings after I got the auto-update horror show UI. Exported settings, uninstalled K9, rebooted Android Pixel 4a, turned off auto-update on the phone completely, installed from this link ttps://github.com/k9mail/k-9/releases/tag/5.401, imported settings and had to confirm some certificates and I was back to normal. LOVE LOVE LOVE K-9 but that latest update was a disaster from a UI perspective.
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I have just installed ‘Open Mail’ which is a fork of K9 and the same as it used to be.
Export your current settings fromm k9 and import them in to Open Mail. Rejoice.
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Hi,
5.6 has old ui.
Everything is perfectly described in one of the downgrade posts.
THANK YOU @jimimaseye!!
Finally a build that actually installs. It’s old, and wasn’t updated since 2018… But at least it works. Took me an hour or so to get things working and tested. Done!
Hoping the devs read this and care about the users. I’m sure a lot of work went into this ui, but did you better test it out or get some solid unbiased opinions?
Hers my largest complaint about this ui and nothing on this planet will make it untrue…
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TRASH CAN AT THE TOP OF MY BLEEPING SCREEN??? WHERE ARE YOUR FINGERS WHEN USING YOUR MOBILE “NATURALLY”?
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I have to long press to bulk anything? Ugh ugh ugh.
This new ui makes it harder to read and delete email.
What is K9 supposed to do? Ugh.
Please give us the choice
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If you want the actual k9 v5.600 (and without risk of overwriting by google play):
Use the F-droid route - you won’t have to worry about google play as it will be seen as a 3rd party install.
I also agree that the old UI was much easier and faster to use than the new one 
.
On simple but important function for me was that I could see with one click all unread mails, which isn’t possible now .
I won’t argue about the rationality and necessity of these UI changes, but it is an utter nonsense to me as well.
Mostly I only use K-9 mail to read my new messages (they are downloaded to my desktop computer as well and deleted from the POP3 server after a month). The only function/button I need the one that opens the next just arrived message easily after reading the previous.
There is no side-swiping for some reason to reach the previous/next message in the reading pane, I already bowed to not having that, so I’m stuck with the arrow button(s). And the previously easy-to-reach Next button is now between other buttons at the top, AND at the two-third of the upper toolbar horizontally. Each time I have to carefully locate my only button as a sniper targeting before pushing it. WTF?
Since as I see there are people who need the Delete button rather than the arrows, there might be no other solution than making these buttons configurable (there are highly configurable mail clients)… Also there can be floating buttons, or similar tricks may work.
Swiping is planned in the future 
It’s just currently hard to implement with the current code structure of that part of the app.
Thank you for the kind reply.
For those looking for a proper download-link of the k9mail apk; The right (old) UI version is here;
Now all we need is someone to fork this UI, and implement all the back-end updates to bring it up to date. Amazed how this lead developer could not even realize it might be a better idea not to entirely change k9’s main selling point, the multi-account UI, the good positioning of buttons, the long-time user input behind its look. The app is 14 years old or something. Sorry to have to write this, but what a complete and utter foolish act.
I won’t speak to the original decisions, reasoning, impacts, etc. (a lot has been said already) but I see a few posts up that swiping will return, and read elsewhere that cketti is looking at ways to bring back the account overview page. Don’t recall seeing anything about the button bar placement, but who knows.
I will personally put up with the extra taps and finger-stretching for a while, on the hope (and perhaps expectation) that better things are on the way.
Maybe now would be a good time to let the devs get on with deving 
and see what they come up with in the coming days or weeks. I feel like the voices have been heard, now, and ‘our’ free app will improve… but they need the time to be able to do that…
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I don’t know, it’s quite a stretch to just push a total overhaul of a change without a ‘return’ or ‘back to classic’ option. Plus, the name “k-9 mail” was never really liked by its originator (obra (Jesse Vincent) · GitHub) in the beginning because, as he wrote “I don’t like dogs”, he even wrote “it should look exactly like this, because none of the other android mail apps do”, underwriting the obvious niche it was for. You can find it all in k9’s history on github issues. Jesse clearly did most of the work on k9, and we had him to thank for the multi-account view as well.
@jult Agree that it was a big change, a revert option would have been good (but seems to be in the works), stretching to the top is difficult in one-handed use, account overview is great for multi-account, mixed-priority inboxes, etc. Can further see that due to Google/Play Store rules, the old code base couldn’t even be uploaded with a ‘Coming soon, what do you think?’ (whether or not that would actually have been implemented) and conversely agree that most of us don’t have the time to monitor forums, beta areas, etc for all our various apps… and the sort of person using K-9 probably uses a lot more than email, browser, Facebook, Instagram. 
(Or is everyone on TikTok now?!)
Anyway, the past is the past, what’s been said (positive and negative, from both ‘sides’) has been said but the basic principle for me is that I’m willing to wait – with the current inconveniences – to see what they come up with for the various highlighted concerns.
Also, anyone doing the whole ‘zOMG!!!1! I’m going to fork it’ would possibly take longer to catch up than the current team would to figure out the possibilities. Heh.
There’s time down the line for all sorts of other options, but cketti et al seem the best chance at the moment.
Can’t seem to find 5.6 on F-droid anymore. Earliest is 5.739 now
You can find 5.6 on Aptoide. Another solution is to use Open Mail, a fork of k9, which is on Google Play.
I have already downloaded v5.600 from F-Droid (and using it)- I have saved it here: 4.59 MB file on MEGA
(I guarantee it is as was supplied by F-Droid. But, of course, if you have doubts then dont use - no one is forcing you to).
Install Open Mail and be done with it. I did and it’s like an old friend is back. Life is too short for all this nonsense that is the new K-9.
Why is 5.6 no longer available on F-Droid?
Probably becouse new one is out. Is it common for F-Droid to keep older versions too? No idea.