➤ What is Odin and what is it used for? 🎮

What is Odin and what is it used for? If you don't expect much from your smartphone, you may never have heard of Odin, a god of Norse mythology. However, if you start navigating the world of your Samsung's manual updates a bit, you'll find out how badly you need Odin. In this article, therefore, as you have already understood, we will talk about Odin, what it is and how it works.

What is Odin?

Odin is a PC (Windows) program that allows us to manually update and install the official Samsung firmware on our device, i.e. install the operating system with Android on our Samsung. It also allows you to do other things, such as installing custom ROMs, recovery, kernels and so on; but the purpose of most users is to change the OS of their Samsung.

The program we are talking about in this article is the software used in Samsung's specialized centers or technical services to repair devices. Of course, the simplest thing is to install official firmware.

To install a custom ROM (unofficial firmware) first we will need to install a custom recovery. To find the official firmwares our recommendation is to visit SamMobile, as it has a huge and updated catalog of firmware available for Samsung devices.

In case it was not clear, Odin is a tool that is only for changing or modifying the software (firmware, recovery or whatever) of a Samsung device. For other functions there are other tools.

How is Odin used?

The first thing you need to do is download it. Samsung does not officially share this software, but there are developers who do. The best way to find the latest version is to visit this XDA Developers thread. At the end of the first post you will find all available versions - make sure you download the latest version.

The file to download will usually be found in a folder that contains an executable file called Odin plus the version number and with the extension .exe. There are also other files needed to run the program, but they are not executable and their number depends on the version.

To use Odin with our smartphone, Samsung drivers need to be installed on the PC, which are usually installed automatically when connecting the smartphone to the computer via a USB cable. In the smartphone we will activate the 'USB Debugging' in the developer options (to activate the developer options, go to Settings> About device and click on Build number several times).

Before starting, it is always mandatory to make a backup of all information stored in our device. When we open Odin, we have to start it as administrators. To do this, click on the Odin icon with the right mouse button and select Run as administrator.

So we need to connect the smartphone to the PC in a special mode. Turn off your device and turn it back on in download mode. Once it is turned on in this mode, you can connect it to your computer.

When Odin recognizes your device in the “Log” box, a new line with the identification number will appear next to “Added”, this means that Odin is connected to our Samsung device and is ready to provide us with the software we want.

What do we find inside Odin?

Odin is a program that performs complicated tasks with a few buttons and options that we will look at carefully. Read on to learn more.

BL: with this button we can choose the file to flash that contains a new bootloader. This is usually an unusual operation, so you can do without it for now.
AP: this box is the one that will be used to place the file that contains the new official firmware, ROM or recovery that we have previously downloaded. They are usually .md5 or .tar files that contain the full ROM or recovery image.
CP: This section is usually used to include the modem, in case it is not included in the custom ROM, but it is something that you usually don't install. Modem files usually look for the .bin or .tar file.
CSC: in this box you enter the “country” codes to install the ROMs related to a specific region. This allows you to change your location and language settings. Also in this box it is usually not necessary to enter anything unless the ROM is accompanied by a CSC file.

"Options" tab

Automatic restart: is the first box displayed above on the Options tab. This option is always selected by default because it automatically restarts the device after the process is complete, something necessary for proper ROM installation.
Division: if it is selected, the ROM we install will have no previous applications or user configuration. Normally, do not check this box unless required by the installation process.
F. Reset Time: this box is used to reset with Odin after the process, as well as in the terminal. It is usually selected.
Nand Erase All: This is an option that should not be checked for any reason. Unless you know what you are doing.
Flash Lock: do not touch this option, it is used to close the bootloader (or boot manager), if it is open.
Phone EFS Clear: this option appeared since version 1.3 of Odin and is used to delete the contents of the / efs folder of the mobile, so you never have to mark it. The EFS folder contains very important data such as IMEI, sales code or product code, among others, and is essential for the normal functioning of the terminal.
Phone Bootloader Update: this option is responsible for flashing the bootloader which overwrites it, so if we already have access to Download / Recovery via the buttons, we shouldn't use it.

'Pit' tab

In this tab we can select files with the .pit extension, files responsible for maintaining certain configurations required for some ROMs, for example to describe the location of partitions. Normally it is not necessary to include these files.

The 'Start' button

Once we have entered all the necessary files, we will just have to click on the Start button. In the Log box we will have a list of the operations that are performed. At the end of the installation, the box at the top left will appear in green with the word “PASS”. Once the process is finished, the device will reboot.

We hope we have been helpful. Leave a comment below if you like!