Odin Instructions: How It Works

Odin is Samsung's program for flashing new firmware on smartphones and tablets. We give instructions on the tool.

Set up Odin

Please be careful when preparing Odin and, in the event of small uncertainties, read a few instructions too much rather than too little:

Install Odin and the correct Samsung drivers if you don't already have them.
If you need Odin to flash firmware, you can find it on sammobile.com. After registering you can download suitable files here. But be sure to pay close attention to the device version and the country code.
With a flash, you lose all personal data on your device. You should therefore think about a comprehensive backup. Here we show you how to back up your data.
Charge your cell phone to 100%. If the battery runs out during flash, your device may be irreparably damaged.

Before connecting to Odin, you need to make some settings on the smartphone and software:

Make sure that USB debugging mode is set.
Put your switched off Samsung device in download mode by pressing and holding the Home, Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time. You can skip the yellow warning by pressing the volume up key.
Start Odin with administrator rights and select the checkboxes and fields that you need for flashing firmware or parts of it in the appearing view. These settings vary depending on the intended use. Be particularly sure here and familiarize yourself with the settings through help forums such as android-hilfe.de or xda-developers.com.

Odin and the Android device should be ready - time for flash:

Connect your device in download mode to your PC. After any driver installation, a short name should appear in the upper window under "ID: COM" - a sign that the device has been recognized.
After checking it again, you can start the flash. Make sure that the USB connection is never disconnected.
You can follow the progress in the window at the bottom left. The flash is ready after a few minutes when Odin shows a green "Passed". You can now remove the device.

We explain a specific use case of Odin to you here: How to remove the branding from a Samsung Galaxy S4.