Step-By-Step: Downgrading A Windows Server Domain and Forest Functional Level

01/20/2016

2 minutes to read

In this article

Once upon a time, it was not possible to downgrade Windows Server forest and domain functional levels once upgraded. Enter Windows Server 2012 R2 and it's Active Directory enhancements, as detailed by the video below, backed by PowerShell automation capabilities. This enablement makes the forest and domain functional level downgrade even easier. Do keep in mind however that the lowest functional level that can be utilized is Windows Server 2008 R2.

In this Step-By-Step, we will be using a domain controller with forest and domain function level set to windows 2012 R2. PowerShell will be utilized as there is no GUI to perform this downgrade.

Lets get started.