According to tipster Ice Universe, Samsung has disabled Odin, a proprietary firmware flashing tool typically used to install stock firmware, install custom ROMs, and restore devices. It also appears that Samsung has removed “Download Mode,” which acts as a gateway for Odin. This change appears to have been made in the latest One UI 8.5 firmware and currently affects the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and recently launched Galaxy S26 series.
Fond memories of using Odin to flash my Galaxy S3 back in the day. I thought Knox killed custom firmware on Galaxy, though — with the S4.
AFAIK Knox would trip a fuse if you installed custom firmware and would prevent you from using banking apps and the like permanently but you were still able to flash the firmware.
No banking, no Google Pay and things like 2FA apps like Authenticator if I recall right. A nightmare just for 2FA if you don’t have a charged 2nd phone. if you suddenly left your wallet somewhere and have to pay a purchase at the supermarket with a full cart.
I just wanted to be able to record both sides of calls which is legal in my country, without having to use the official Phone app which warns participants with a forced beep and a voice note that the call is being recorded. Any alternatives?
2FA apps should work fine, like aegis, google authenticator, microsoft authenticator, authy, etc. maybe samsung’s own one wouldn’t, if they even have one, but no one should use that anyway
why is that a problem?
I definitely remember the bit about the fuse. I can’t recall if you could flash the firmware or not. You might be right about that. I never owned an S4. I went to HTC after my S3. I regret that. Pretty phone, but what a clustertruck inside.
Yeah, I stopped buying Samsung phones after that as well, though I was still rocking the truly great SGS 2. I used that phone for years and years and then gifted it to a friend who used it for a few more. The magic of a user replaceable battery! It is no wonder they took it from us.
Maybe I’m confuding tools but I think I used Odin to flash my s10e. I didn’t jailbreak it, I just updated it from a carrier locked firmware to the official Samsung version
You may have. I have an S10e as well (I often forget it’s an “e”, since it’s just the base model). I wonder if I could flash it. I’m fine with the carrier firmware since I don’t have cell service on it. That phone only goes up to LTE anyway, not that that’s a big hindrance. Honestly if I could transfer the eSIM between my iPhone 16 Pro Max (which, yes, is five years newer and also the premium iPhone of its line) and the S10, I absolutely would, at least if I could easily go back and forth. The 16PM is absolutely the better phone overall, but I like typing on the S10 more (Gboard) and it has a few other cool features. I have like 50GB of music on its SD card. It has a headphone jack. I’ve used Nova Prime to customise the hell out of the home screen (and theme it after Animal Crossing, because I can). It’s lighter, it’s more comfortable to hold. As far as the OS goes, I don’t have a strong preference. I might like it a bit better on official Samsung firmware though.
At least I know where to go if I want to go down that road (so, not asking). XDA.
i remember many years ago i flashed, i think it was Lineage OS maybe android 8 or 7? on galaxy s2. There were something like 10 android versions ahead of last official relase.
I checked xda, and theres lineage os 19.1 (android 12) available for galaxy s2.