Samsung Firmware
There are a number of online firmware repositories from where you can download Samsung Galaxy firmware for free. Tools like Frija and SamFirm are even better solutions for those who want to download BL, AP, CP, CSC firmware binaries and HOME CSC or Samsung to flash their Galaxy device using Odin. Below we will discuss the best websites and tools to download official Samsung firmware update files.
There was a time when Samsung firmware only had one file. But now Samsung has split the firmware into 5 binaries of which we have 4 flash files:
BL
PA
PC
CCS or HOME CCS
Since there is no way to download the BL, AP, CP, CSC or Home CSC files separately, you need to download the full Samsung firmware to get all four binaries, namely BL, AP, CP and CSC. You will get these files only after extracting the firmware.zip file. Once you have the files for Odin or the firmware binaries, you can easily flash them using the official Odin tool.
In this article
click to see
1.
What are BL, AP, CP, CSC and Home CSC?
2.
Why Download Samsung Firmware?
3.
Where can you download Samsung firmware?
3.1.
1. Frija - Download BL, AP, CP, CSC and HOME CSC
3.2.
2. SamFirm Firmware Downloader
3.3.
3. Samloader (Mac, Windows and Linux)
3.4.
4. Sammobile
3.5.
5. Update
3.6.
6. Samsung Firmware
3.7.
7. SamFrew
4.
Install BL, AP, CP and CSC files with Odin
What are BL, AP, CP, CSC and Home CSC?
An Android smartphone relies on components such as Bootloader, Data, Provider, Key Store, EFS, User Data, System, Modem, Kernel, and Recovery. All Android firmwares contain these items in .img format inside. Samsung firmware files keep them with specific encryption which can be decrypted by official flash tools like Odin before installation. Binaries like BL, AP, CP and CSC all bundle the basic elements and partitions.BL, AP, CP and CSC and the abbreviated forms and below I will try to explain what they are.
BL:
It is the short form of
boot loader
.BL binary with .tar.md5 extension flashes the bootloader on your Samsung smartphone or Galaxy Tab.
PA:
If you look at the file size of the AP binary you will notice that this is the largest of the 4 files you flash with Odin. On older versions of Odin this option was called
PDAs
.Full AP file is '
Android processor
' and it is responsible for flashing the system partition on your Samsung device.
CP:
Formerly known as
PDAs
, CP stands for '
main processor
'.This binary contains the modem.img and when you install it with Odin it pushes the modem to your device.
CSC:
The full form of CSC is '
Customization of consumer software
' Where '
Country specific (product) code
'.The CSC component of a Samsung firmware is specific to network providers and geographical region.In other words, it contains customizations related to a geographical location, APN settings, operator brand and to other stuff. If you want a clean install on your phone, you need to flash CSC. Flashing the CSC binary (only) will erase all apps, data, settings and files and your device will be reset to a state of factory. The CSC binary contains the
Samsung PIT file
.
CSC HOME
: This binary is the same as CSC. This difference is that it does not wipe your Samsung Galaxy device during firmware update.
Why Download Samsung Firmware?
Under normal situations, you may need to download Samsung firmware for your smartphone or tablet. Samsung sometimes keeps pushing software updates to protect your phone, add new features and improve its performance. Samsung phones for years and never felt the need to manually flash his phone's firmware. Even whenever he has a problem, he just does a factory reset to fix it.
However, there may be some situations when downloading BL, AP, CP and CSC and Home CSC binaries where full firmware may be the only solution.
Downgrade software:
If you think a software update removed a feature or app compatibility that you needed, you can manually downgrade to an older firmware version.
Fixed boot loop
: Sometimes your Samsung device may refuse to boot up properly after a software update. Most of us like to try new apps. Sometimes a bad app can send your phone into a boot loop state and as a result , your device is stuck on Samsung logo. Flashing a firmware using Odin can help you recover your phone.
Change CSC
: If you bought your country from the same country you live in, you may never need to change the CCS on your Samsung device. However, if you bought a second-hand Samsung phone or bought it abroad, you may not find your native language there. In this case, flashing the firmware with the CSC of your country/region will install your native language.
Manual software update
: If you use your Samsung device in another country, you may not receive software updates via OTA. You can download the latest Samsung firmware and install it manually using the Odin flash tool to upgrade the software version.
Where can you download Samsung firmware?
There are many websites and file hosting services from where you can download firmware for your Samsung device. Below we are going to check some of the hotspots that make Samsung firmware download available.
1. Frija - Download BL, AP, CP, CSC and HOME CSC
If you want to download Samsung firmware for free and without speed limitation,
Frija is the best tool
.It is a very simple tool with a clean and friendly user interface.Frija supports automatic and manual modes.In the
Automatic mode
, you just need to provide the model number and CSC of your Samsung device.
Auto mode checks for the latest firmware update for your Samsung phone or Galaxy Tab. On the other hand, with the
Manual mode
, you can download any Samsung firmware you want. You will need to provide more details like your phone's model number and CSC as well as PDA (AP), Phone (CP) and CSC versions. provided are correct, Frija will download the BL, AP, CP, CSC and HOME CSC binaries packed in a ZIP file. You can download the latest version of this tool from my full-fledged article describing the steps to use the
Frija Samsung Firmware Download Tool
.
2. SamFirm Firmware Downloader
SamFirm is the abbreviated form of Samsung firmware. It was the only tool until Frija surfaced. It's not as user-friendly as Frija but it's the only available alternative to the latter.
You can download Samsung firmware for your Galaxy phone or Tab with SamFirm in just five steps as shown in the screenshot below.
Download SamFirm
and extract the downloaded zip. You can also download it from
Google Drive
.
Open the extracted folder and double click
SamFirm.exe
to launch it.
In the box in front
Model
, provide the model number of your Samsung device. You can find the model number by going to
Settings > About Phone
.
In the Region field, you must fill in the CSC of your device. Read my tutorial for
know the CSC of your Samsung phone
.
Now click on the
Check for update
button.
SamFirm will fetch the details of the latest firmware available for your device and display its file name, the AP, CSC and CP versions of the software update, and its size.
Finally, click on the
To download
button. You will be asked to save the firmware zip file. When the firmware file is downloaded, unzip it to get the
BL, PA, CP, SCC,
and
CSC HOME
files for your Samsung device model.
3. Samloader (Mac, Windows and Linux)
Samloader is a great alternative to Frija and Samfirm as it is a versatile tool that will help you download Samsung firmware on macOS, Linux, Windows and even Android device using a terminal emulator app like Termux.Samloader is a Python-based script that can search for the latest firmware for your Galaxy device via terminal or command prompt and download it. Visit my detailed
Samloader Tutorial
to know how to use this tool on Mac, Windows and Linux.
4. Sammobile
Sammobile
has been one of the oldest and most trusted sources from where you can download latest Samsung firmware for all Samsung Galaxy devices.The website provides free firmware download to its members, but the speed is very slow. If you want to enjoy fast or ultra-fast download of Samsung firmware, you will need to subscribe to a monthly plan ranging from €6.50 to €250. I don't think it's a wise decision to use Sammobile while we already have great options like Frija and SamFirm.
5. Update
Update
is an alternative to Sammobile that allows downloading Samsung firmware from their repository. The website has a good user interface, but its pages are very full of banner ads. It does not offer fast and free firmware download. The slow plan is so slow that you may need to make several attempts before you can download the firmware file.
6. Samsung Firmware
Samsung firmware (.org) is correct
another website
like the ones mentioned above. They offer two plans with slow speed and unmetered speed. In the low speed plan, you can download firmware for free. However, considering the size of Samsung firmware files, firmware download full can take forever. Imagine a 5 GB firmware download with a speed limit of 15 KB per second! If you think you are a person of immense patience, you must try it to pass a litmus test.
7. SamFrew
SamFrew
is another option for those who do not wish to use a Samsung firmware download tool. It is cheaper than Sammobile and Updato. Just like the others, it also offers slow Samsung firmware free download. To get the firmware at From 100Mbps/100o Mbps mirrors, you are supposed to pay a one-time fee of $8.99/$22.99. My download experience with SamFrew was better than all other websites listed above.
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Install BL, AP, CP and CSC files with Odin
When you are done downloading the firmware for your Samsung Galaxy device, you can easily and safely install it by following the quick steps given below:
If you are going to use
Samsung Odin
for the first time here are some things you should know.Odin is a portable tool which means you don't need to install it on your PC.When you downloaded
Odin.zip
file, just extract it using a Zip extraction tool like 7Zip, WinZip, etc. Navigate to the Odin folder and right click on
Odin3.exe
with your mouse and select '
Execute as administrator'
.
Make sure you have already downloaded the correct firmware zip file and extracted it to your Windows Desktop
Download and install it
Samsung USB Driver
on your computer.
Enable USB debugging
on your device.
Now turn off your Samsung device and start it in the
Download or Odin mode
.To do this you will need to press and hold a specific hardware key combination at the same time for 2-3 seconds and then press the volume up key when you see the warning screen.
Devices with Home button
: Volume down + Home + Power buttons.
Devices with Bixby button:
Volume down + Bixby + power buttons.
Galaxy devices without a Bixby button
: Volume up + Volume down + Power keys.
All Devices
: You can also use the '
adb restart bootloader
' to enter download mode.
Download or Odin mode
Connect your device to the computer. Make sure to use the original Samsung USB cable that came with your phone or tablet to avoid any issues. When Odin detects your device, the COM ID port will display in light blue.
Open the firmware folder that contains the 5 binaries with
.tar.md5
extension.If you have an old Samsung Galaxy phone or Tab and the firmware you downloaded has only one
.tar.md5
file, you are supposed to add the firmware to the
PA
slot in Odin. Other steps are the same as below.
Click it
BL
in Odin navigate to the firmware folder and add the file that has
"BL_"
in his name.
Then click on the
PA
and select the firmware binary with
"AP_"
in its name The AP file will take a while to load in Odin due to its large size. Don't panic if the Odin window freezes for a while after selecting the AP file.
Likewise, add the
PC,
and
CSC
(plain
CSC
if you want a clean install and
HOME_CSC
if you do not wish to erase data from your device) in the corresponding fields of Odin.
Finally, click on the
Start
button to start the installation.
Install BL, AP, CP, CSC in Odin
Due to their large size, the firmware files may take 3-5 minutes to install, so please be patient and calm.
Finally you will get
PASS!!
message in Odin. This indicates that Odin has successfully flashed the firmware file.
Once the firmware is installed, your Samsung device will restart automatically.
You have successfully installed the Samsung firmware binaries (BL, AP, CP and CSC) on your Samsung Galaxy device.
Among the 4 Samsung firmware download tools and sources listed above,
Highly recommend Frija
because it is the best. Why should we pay to download something from third party website when we can download it directly from Samsung FUS (Firmware Update Server)?
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Firmware installation
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