Update Galaxy S6 using OTA or Stock/Official Android Firmware
Updating your Android featured smartphone with the latest official release of Android OS is required if you want to enjoy a stable Lollipop firmware that is working without any sort of lags. Is this what you want as well for your shiny new Samsung Galaxy S6? Just as we are used to tell you, every single Android device, including the SGS6, can be updated by flashing a custom ROM firmware or by actually using the official Android OS and yours is no exception to this rule.
The official Android OS is in our attention today and we can tell you from the start that your Galaxy S6 can be updated by flashing the OTA release or by manually installing the firmware on it with the help of Odin. It’s true that we all love the OTA updates that are provided by Samsung and by your carrier, but there is no mystery regarding the fact that they are rolled out gradually – not all the S6 devices will receive the official Android notification at the same time.
However, if you are not willing to wait any longer, then feel free to use Odin in order to manually update your Galaxy S6 with the official Android OS. If you don’t already know it, Odin is nothing else than an official program developed by Samsung, so yes, it is compatible exclusively with Samsung branded handsets.
In such conditions, the warranty of your phone will not get void while completing this tutorial, so you have nothing to worry about. The best is that you can use this guide on both rooted and locked smartphones, though root access will be now revoked.
However, you still have to take a backup of any important data as it might get corrupted during the update and prepare the original USB cable of your Samsung Galaxy S6 handset. Also disable any antimalware program that you currently use on your PC as it might interfere with this operation and enable USB debugging mode by going to Settings-> Developer Options. At the end, be sure that your Samsung Galaxy S6 is more than 60% charged. We want to warn you about the fact that it can get easily bricked if it gets turned off during the flashing operation, so be careful and take no chances!
How to update your Samsung Galaxy S6 using Android OTAs:
- First of all, go to Menu and tap on Settings;
- Hit About Phone;
- Go to Software Updates and see if you can find any new notifications;
- If you find any update to download, don’t hesitate to do that – but first enable a WiFi connection on your device;
- The firmware will be automatically flashed on your Galaxy S6!
How to manually install official Android on your Samsung Galaxy S6 by using Odin:
- For the start, download Odin – from any source you want;
- Install the program;
- You also have to download the Android firmware for your Galaxy S6 – get it from SamMobile or from Samsung’s official website;
- You can already unzip the firmware;
- Enter your Galaxy S6 in download mode;
- Run Odin on your computer;
- Establish a connection between your PC and Samsung’s Galaxy S6 via the original USB cable;
- On the program the ID:COM section should become yellow or blue; even more, the “added” message must be displayed;
- From Odin it’s time to choose “PA” and select the update file;
- Tap on Start;
- The “pass” message will be displayed and the ID:COM section will become green – this is the sign that you have successfully updated your handset!
Have you been successful? That was all! Don’t hesitate to use the comments field from below for sharing your thoughts with us.
I have the Verizon Edge variant. No matter what version of the firmware I flash, the phone boots with the “custom” image showing. The phone tries to boot, then says that it has failed and that I must use Verizon’s Software Assistant to fix it.