And other flagships by Samsung were released very quickly - in early 2015. I never tire of repeating that this is one of the advantages of buying a smartphone from a renowned large manufacturer, and not "exactly the same unknown Chinese, but half the price." Moreover, consider the relevance of the Galaxy S4 - this is the phone of 2013! And Samsung even intends to Galaxy Note II to Android 5.0 update! This is absolutely "no gate" - can you name at least one "Chinese" who is supported 2.5 years after graduation?
In short, the Android 5.0 firmware for my beloved Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 (and even in the Black Edition version!) Did not arrive in the most efficient way - it came out earlier for the Exynos version of GT-I9500. And then I also had to sew it up myself. But everything went quickly and without unnecessary complications. Now I share exactly how.
Here is a short guide to Android firmware 5.0 on Galaxy S4:
- and make sure your smartphone has enough charge;
- enter the smartphone into the Download Mode (while pressing the "off" + "volume down" + "home button" keys), then press "Volume up";
- connect a USB cable to the device;
- in the Odin application on your computer, select files from the archive with the firmware:
- for the PIT graph - a file with the * .pit extension;
- for PDA - a file whose name contains the word CODE, if there is none, then you should know that this is the heaviest file in the archive;
- for CSC - a file whose name contains the word CSC;
- for Phone - a file containing MODEM in the name;
- Note. If the files for the CSC, Phone and PIT graphs are absent in the archive with the firmware, then we sew exclusively using the method of one file, i.e. we indicate the location of the firmware in the PDA column, and leave the rest of the lines blank.
- make sure Odin is checked for Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time ". If the location of the * .pit file was specified, then the "Re-Partition" checkbox will be set automatically;
- press the "Start" button and watch how the firmware process is going on. The phone may reboot several times during installation and in no case should you disconnect the cable from it until the message “All threads completed” appears in the Odin log or the green information window with the inscription “PASS!” Lights up.
The firmware update process traditionally lasts a few minutes (from 5 to 15) and, if successful, you will be prompted to configure the smartphone according to your preferences. After that, you can start working. If you have a question, then go straight to the second section of this post - everything is described there.
There are not many changes in Android 5.0 on the Galaxy S4 as they are hidden by the TouchWIZ shell. It was not just launched on new system, it was also reworked. But in general, it offers exactly the same interface as before, hiding some of the innovations of the fifth version of the "robot". In the case of the Galaxy S4, Samsung's skin is a mix of bare Android 5.0.1, styling and the original TouchWIZ on the S4. Something like this.
All notifications are now displayed on the lock screen - this feature from pure Android 5 was carried over almost unchanged. We also added the ability to launch the camera even on a smartphone locked by a pattern or password.
The list of recent applications in the form of tabs was taken from the system itself, although the panel below with additional options is a clear "blotch" of Samsung.
The notification panel is designed in the style of the aforementioned Galaxy S5. Moreover, the changes partially overlap the innovations of Android 5.0. Notifications are also displayed, but the ability to "pull" the toolbar is removed and the standard "Samsung" functionality is retained.
Other changes are less significant. Much has remained "under the hood" - we will talk about this in detail. Of course, the standard applications were redrawn.
The settings are also decorated differently, but no more. There is nothing fundamentally new here. Moreover, the division into tabs is preserved, which was relevant for the Galaxy S4, and a year later it was replaced by a grid of icons.
Many people complain about glitches after Android installations 5.0 on the Galaxy S4. Glitches, worse autonomy and brakes. From myself, I can say that I haven't noticed any glitches yet, but slight delays in the rendering of the interface happen. Autonomy seems to be no worse so far. But in any case, if your smartphone does not work well after the update, I recommend resetting everything to factory settings. If that doesn't suit you, you can downgrade the Galaxy S4 to Android 4.4.
How to Return Android 4.4 to Galaxy S4
Very simple. I specially highlighted this in a subsection so that it was noticeable. And so you can rollback Galaxy S4 to Android 4.4 in the following way:
- do the same step by step as listed above for flashing to Android 5.0.
Yes, that's so elementary. There is no difference, you just need to specify a different firmware file in Odin. If you still have questions, ask in the comments! Anyway, leave your feedback on Android 5.0 for Galaxy S4!
Instructions for installing the official single-file firmware on Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I950x).
Drivers and programs
Attention!
To install the official stock firmware on the Galaxy S4 and return the phone status ("Settings"> "About device"> "Properties"> "Device status") to "Official" after switching from custom firmware and thereby return the ability to receive updates over the air, it is enough follow the instructions provided.
Installation instructions
Unpack the downloaded archive into the Odin PC folder for convenience. The file in the ".tar" or ".tar.md5" format must be kept and "SS_DL.dll" can be deleted.
Reset device data.
To do this, go to the settings on the tab “ Accounts
"In the section" Archiving and reset", Select the item" Reset device"And press the button" Delete everything". The phone will restart.
Run Odin PC as administrator.
Put the device into download mode ( Download Mode).
To do this, you must simultaneously hold down the Volume Down key, the Home button and the Power button. Then wait until the phone restarts and accept the warning by pressing the Volume Up key.
In this state, connect the smartphone to the computer. Odin should light up the inscription “ COM».
Press the button " AP»And select the TAR-archive of the firmware.
Items " Auto reboot"And" F.Reset Time" must be activated, but " Re-Partition", If active - must be disabled.
Press the button " Start". The process of installing the firmware will begin.
At the end of the operation, if everything went well, the message “All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0) ". The phone must be rebooted manually by holding down the power button until the screen turns off. The device may take up to 5 minutes to boot up for the first time.
ATTENTION!
If the device does not boot for a long time or the data has not been reset, it must be performed from the recovery.
To do this, you must simultaneously hold down the Volume Up key, the Home button and the Power button. After downloading, select the item " Wipe data / Factory reset", and then - " Reboot system now". If after these steps the device also freezes at startup, you must reflash it again.
If you are the owner Samsung smartphone Galaxy S4, then you can update it operating system before Android version 6.0 Marshmallow. In our article, we will share with you information on how you can do this.
Preparing for the upgrade
With a range of alternative software, you can update your Galaxy S4 with software updates that Samsung no longer provides. However, please note that such actions may void the warranty for your smartphone, and you will perform them at your own risk.
So, first you need the Samsung driver for Windows PC, Odin 3.10.7 and Heimdall. After downloading these two programs, you will need to install them. Linux and Mac users can skip this step. Then you need to unpack Heimdall and open its folder.
The next step is to launch boot mode on the S4. To do this, turn off your smartphone and when you turn it on again, press and hold the "Volume Down", "Home" and "On" keys at the same time. Now you should press the "Volume up" key to confirm the activation of the download mode.
After completing the above steps, check that your computer can work with Heimdall. Open this program, go to the Rider Utilities folder and click on the Detect icon. When the screen displays the detected external devices, you can continue. If you have any problems, then you may need to launch the ADB Driver Installer and follow its instructions.
Starting Recovery Mode
The next step will be to work with the recovery mode (Recovery). This mode will allow you to interact with sections of your smartphone - this is necessary for changing the firmware and installing system applications, for example, Google Apps.
Download the latest TeamWin Recovery Project (TWRP Recovery) .img file. This version of Recovery has the best support. Now go to the display. Move the above image file to the Heimdall folder. Now, in the folder window, right-click, and then command line... On this line, enter the following phrase:
heimdall flash –RECOVERY recovery.img –no-reboot
Instead of recovery.img, type tw and press the Tab key. Now the corresponding name of your recovery file will be automatically completed. If you see the message: libusb error: -12, then in this case you will need to replace Samsung driver USB. To do this, open Device Manager in Windows, search for other devices, and find and remove the MSM8960 driver. Then disconnect the USB cable from the smartphone, install the driver and reconnect the cable. Repeat steps for Flash. If successful, you will need to reboot the Galaxy S4 into Recovery mode. To do this, press and hold the "Volume Down", "On" and Home.
Download and install firmware
After Recovery installations we can go to the main stage of the process and install the Marshmallow version on your Galaxy S4. You can find the corresponding firmware on the CyanogenMod download page. In the CyanogenMod Build section you will find ZIP files with the so-called Snapshots of CM 12.1 or Nightly Builds of CM 13. The first type of assemblies is associated with the Android 5.1 Lollipop version and is not the most modern, but quite stable. The second type of assemblies belongs to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and such assemblies are updated almost daily, although they lack stability in work somewhat. Choose the ZIP file you want to install on your Galaxy S4 yourself.
If you don't want to skip the Play Store as your source of apps, then you will need an additional ZIP file containing Google Apps. The easiest way to find such a file is on the Opengapps.org website. Download the ARM variant for your Android version. We recommend the Micro Package, which contains an improved calendar and Gmail.
Copy the downloaded ZIP file to your S4. In TWRP Recovery, make a change to Wipe and then to Advanced Wipe. Here you need to select Partition Data and System to remove the pre-installed Samsung version Android from your Galaxy S4. In the process of such removal, all your settings for applications will be lost, but your files and photos will remain intact.
After that, go to the TWRP Recovery startup screen and click on the "Install" icon. Now you should open the folder with CyanogenMod and choose Per Select ZIP. With Per Add more ZIPs, you can later install Google Apps. Scroll down the display to start the flashing process. During it, the contents of the ZIP file will be unpacked into previously cleaned partitions. At the end of the firmware process, you will see the message "Clear cache / Dalvik". Click on this message to avoid errors during the startup process. Next, the system will automatically reboot. This will take some time and you need to be patient.
New smartphone setup
Since you have lost your Google information, you need to re-configure your device. You will also need to sign in to Google and reinstall all your apps. In the future, you can enjoy the updates that Samsung has stopped releasing for a long time. Note that such updates are installed automatically and do not require such a complex installation.
What do you think about modding?
What do you do when a manufacturer stops supporting? Do you install the update yourself or do you prefer to buy new smartphone and forget about the old? Let us know in the comments.
Sooner or later, a moment comes when even a mobile device like the Samsung GT-I9505 Galaxy S4 can become outdated. In such cases, you can improve the performance of your smartphone by using firmware.
Why do I need firmware?
Increasing the performance of the gadget- thanks to the software update, you can improve the technical parameters of the phone, improve the quality of pictures from the camera and increase the processor of the gadget;
- Troubleshoot device- sometimes even the highest quality and most popular models of mobile devices have software flaws. Thus, you can get rid of errors and other various glitches;
- Expansion functionality phone- you can significantly increase the functionality mobile device.
How to flash GT-I9505?
If you follow all the steps listed below in the instructions for the firmware, then in the very near future your mobile device will significantly increase its functionality.
- Charge your smartphone;
- Create a directory on your hard drive to download files. An important point is that the directory name should not contain Cyrillic characters;
- Download all the files required for the firmware. It is recommended to disable the antivirus before downloading;
- If on your personal computer, then it should be either removed or disabled (to do this, start the task manager using the ctrl + alt + del number combinations and end all processes marked with Kies);
- Install the necessary drivers, or rather SAMSUNG USB Driver for Mobile Phones v1.5.29.0.exe;
- Extract the files from the archive to the directory you created earlier. To do this, download and unzip Odin3_v3.09 and I9505XXUFNA1 (firmware for Samsung Galaxy C4);
- Your next action will be to launch your mobile device in Download Mode. To do this, you need to turn off your smartphone. Next, press the key combination "Power", "Volume down" and "Home". After you see the pop-up window, click the "Volume Up" button. If you saw a green robot on the display of your phone, then you did everything right;
- Connect your smartphone to a personal computer;
- Run Odin3 v3.09;
- IN open program you need to go to PDA. Next, you need to find and select the file I9505XXUFNA1_I9505OXAFNA1_I9505XXUFNA1_HOME.tar.md5. The important point is that the checkbox opposite the re-partition should NOT be checked;
- Click on the "Start" button;
- After installation, you need to launch the gadget in recovery mode (this can be done using the key combination "Power", "Volume up" and "Home"). Next, you need to perform the wipe / factory reset action;
- Reboot your smartphone.
Conclusion
It should be noted that all files necessary for the firmware must be installed over the original version. software mobile device.