How to Update Firmware/software on an Unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note 3

How to update your Samsung Milky way smartphone and install official firmware

Samsung Galaxy smartphones
are amongst the
best Android smartphones
in the marketplace. When it comes to the software update front, the Korean OEM is doing a pretty decent job also, keeping its average consumers on new and contempo security patches through regular updates. All the same, ane thing that’s not e’er piece of cake to come by on Samsung Milky way devices is the stock flashable firmware y’all can flash to either downgrade, upgrade, or restore your phone.

In this tutorial, we’ll show yous how to manually locate the advisable update bundle for your Samsung Galaxy smartphone, download information technology onto your PC, and finally flash the target device with the updated firmware.

Table of Contents:

• Types of Samsung firmware
• How to download Samsung firmware
  • Recovery-flashable bundle
  • Odin-flashable package
• How to install Samsung firmware
  • Sideloading through recovery
  • Flashing via Odin
• Verification

Types of Samsung firmware

Different about Android devices, Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets don’t accept a true fastboot interface for firmware flashing. The Korean OEM developed their ain firmware flashing tool known as “Odin”, named afterwards the king of Gods in the Norse mythology. Odin communicates with a special software component chosen “Loke” which seems to exist named later another of import character in Norse mythology (oftentimes translated as “Loki”). Loke runs on Samsung devices while in download style and provides the functionality necessary to perform a flashing performance.

Odin firmware files are like the factory images for the Google Pixel lineup, just compressed into one single archive and made piece of cake to use via a GUI tool instead of a command line tool such every bit fastboot.

Samsung’s FUS (Firmware Update Server) also offers incremental as well as full OTA zip files, which are meant to be installed using the stock recovery environment.

How to download Samsung firmware

Before nosotros go started with manual download, you should check to meet if the update has already been sent to your device over-the-air. An OTA update is super easy to download and install. Yous’ll commonly get a notification when an OTA update is available. If not, here’s how to bank check for the update on your Samsung Galaxy device:

• Go to Settings.
• Scroll down and tap
  Software update.
• Tap
  Download and install.
• Follow the steps to install the update if one is available. If not, it will say your telephone is up to appointment.

If your telephone reports its software is up to engagement, just yous know an update is available for your model, nosotros can take advantage of the transmission download methods.

Download the recovery-flashable package

Capturing the OTA package on Samsung Galaxy devices is a bit of a tricky job, equally you need to gear up up a parcel sniffing tool beforehand to extract the download URL.

• Configure the package sniffing tool on your phone or PC.
• Beginning the update download from the congenital-in updater on your phone but don’t pause it.
• Go back to the sniffing tool, beginning it, and locate the URL that starts with
  fota-secure-dn.ospserver.net.
• Download the .bin file using the extracted URL and rename the extension to .zip.

Download the Odin-flashable packet

Samsung maintains many region-specific and carrier-specific update channels. As a upshot, y’all have to decide the exact
consumer software customization code, A.Chiliad.A. the CSC value of your device before downloading the Odin firmware. Keep in mind changing the CSC of an existing device or cross-flashing a dissimilar firmware is possible, but explaining such modifications is out of the scope of this tutorial.

• Download
  Phone Info Samsung
  from the Google Play Store. This is to find what your currently agile CSC value is. If yous already know what it is, skip ahead to step 3.

• Open Phone Info Samsung and become to the CSC Code tab. Information technology should prove an pick that says
  Active CSC lawmaking. Note down this three graphic symbol code equally you will need it for a subsequently step.

• You can too use a Samsung-specific
  Android cloak-and-dagger lawmaking
  —
  *#1234#
  — to determine the CSC lawmaking. The active CSC code can be seen later booting the stock recovery as well.

• Download
  Samsung Firmware Downloader. This fantastic tool is created past none other than our own
  Zachary Wander
  and it works for downloading all Samsung Galaxy firmware files.
  • Noteother tools exist that offer like functionalities. Notwithstanding, Samsung Firmware Downloader is open-source and cross-platform, making it more versatile than the others.
• Open the downloader and enter your model number where it says
  Model. This will start with
  SM-. Y’all demand to brand certain to include the SM- or information technology won’t download your files. Next, under the region section, enter your three-character CSC value from earlier. Then click
  Check for Updates. This will notice the latest firmware for your device.

• If no update is showing, this could exist because the carrier y’all’re using doesn’t use Samsung’s servers for updates and therefore doesn’t store annihilation where Samsung Firmware Downloader can download it. If this is the example, try searching for the firmware of your choice on the device-specific sub-forum. Information technology will unremarkably be uploaded there.
• Click
  Download
  and select a file location. This will start the download and decryption. This can take a while depending on your network speed and CPU speed. Samsung Firmware Downloader will tell you when the decryption has finished and the file is ready to be used for flashing.

How to install Samsung firmware

Depending on the firmware type, the installation process may require a PC. Odin, for case, requires Windows, so keep that in mind while trying to update the firmware on any Samsung phone.

Sideloading through recovery: Using Android Debug Bridge (ADB)

• Brand sure y’all accept the latest version of
  ADB
  installed.
• Rename the downloaded .bin package to update.nil.
• Now
  reboot to the recovery mode. Inside the stock recovery environment, you lot can scroll downwardly using the book buttons and select an entry using the Power push button.
• Select
  apply update from ADB
  and connect the phone to the PC using a working USB cable.
• In the Command Prompt/Terminal window, run the post-obit command:

              adb devices
            

• Wait to come across that the daemon has started and that your device is establish. Then run the following command:

              adb sideload PATH_TO_update.zip
            

• The update process will start and you should encounter a percent counting. Once the process is completed, the phone will reboot itself, update the apps, and log into your habitation screen.

Sideloading through recovery: Using an SD menu

• Rename the downloaded .bin package to update.zip and re-create it to the root directory of your SD card.
• Now
  reboot to the recovery mode, navigate to the option
  utilize update from external storage, and press the Ability push to select it.
• At present select the file named
  update.nix
  in a similar way.
• The update will first. Leave it till it completes equally the procedure takes some time.
• The phone volition reboot past itself and load the updated firmware.

Flashing via Odin

Alarm:
Odin isn’t actually intended for regular users, but since it’s an official tool from Samsung, your phone will allow information technology to load the necessary files for flashing the firmware without unlocking the bootloader. Even so, using it incorrectly tin can still harm your device. Proceed with caution.

Grabbing the right version of Odin is the first step. Due to the fact the tool is never meant to be used by consumers, Samsung doesn’t host it on a public download portal. Fortunately, XDA Senior Member
realbbb
maintains a repository of verified copies of the Odin tool. He also offers patched variants of Odin (known as “3B patched”) that are capable of bypassing a number of stop atmospheric condition while cross-flashing.

Download Odin (both unmodified and 3B patched) — XDA Thread

• Grab the latest Odin bundle from the aforementioned thread and unzip the file to somewhere yous can remember.
• Make certain you have the latest
  Samsung Android driver
  packet installed.

• Power off your phone and boot into Download Mode:
  • Erstwhile Samsung Galaxy devices: press Power + Home + Volume down for about 5 seconds.
  • New Samsung Galaxy devices: press Ability + Bixby + Book down or Bixby + Volume down for about 5 seconds.
  • You lot can likewise use the following ADB command when the device is booted and connected to a PC:

                    adb reboot bootloader
                  

  • Some of the electric current generation Galaxy devices feature a placeholder Fastboot interface. If your phone goes into the Fastboot fashion after using the in a higher place ADB control, so you have to perform a hard reboot to get dorsum to Android and opt for the following command to admission the Download mode:

                    adb reboot download
                  

• You should encounter a screen with a big download icon in the middle and a confirmation dialogue regarding binary flashing. Printing the advisable button to keep to the actual download mode. If you lot take the proper drivers installed, yous should see a new device popping up in the Device Manager window.

• Open Odin on your PC past running the exe as administrator. In the ID:COM section you should run into a teal box that says
  Added!. This is your device connected in download mode.

• The chief section of Odin has buttons for BL, AP, CP, CSC, and USERDATA. These signify corresponding firmware files:
  • BL: Bootloader
  • AP: Collection of Android system partitions
  • CP: Core Processor, i.e. the modem firmware
  • CSC: Consumer software customization
  • USERDATA: Pre-installed apps and services for carriers
• You lot may not need all five of these files. It depends on what you’re flashing.
  • Old Samsung Milky way devices: pick the single
    .tar.md5
    file as AP.

• • New Samsung Galaxy devices: select the appropriate binary for each slot.

• Notation that flashing a HOME_CSC binary as CSC doesn’t wipe your information. However, in example you want to start afresh (e.k. you lot have installed a custom recovery like
  TWRP
  and a custom ROM like
  LineageOS
  and y’all want to get back to stock firmware), then select the CSC binary in the CSC tab. It’ll completely wipe the /data partition and the internal storage of the device.

• If all looks right (and yous have triple checked everything) click the
  Beginning
  button. A progress bar will be displayed in Odin as well as on the phone.

• The process will take a while and the phone may reboot a couple of times. Don’t unplug it before the procedure is complete. When the process has been completed, y’all volition see a “Laissez passer!” status higher up the ID:COM section.

• Enjoy the updated firmware on your phone!

Verification

Once the telephone boots to the home screen, open
Settings
from the app drawer or the gear icon in the Quick Settings card. Then, scroll to the lesser of Settings, select
About Telephone
and choose
Software information. Next, find theBuild number
entry and locate its value. Information technology should exist the same as the Odin firmware packet yous downloaded earlier.

That’south it. As you tin run into, manually updating the firmware of your Samsung Galaxy smartphone isn’t that difficult, but information technology’south not a completely straightforward method either. Hopefully, this tutorial made the process easier for you to understand and follow.