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How to Flash Android Phone using PC Software

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August 1, 2019 (Updated: September 9, 2021)

One beauty of Android is that it allows endless possibilities in terms of customization. This is what makes it so popular; you could have two Android phones from the same company that both look the same from the outside but are opposite in terms of how the UI (User Interface) looks.

One way of changing how your phone feels is by flashing the device. It may sound technical and a daunting task however, in reality, it is quite simple to flash your device. What exactly does it mean to «flash» your device? Put simply, you will install a custom ROM on your device. Essentially, you will be changing your current version of Android to a modified version; this could be from your device’s manufacturer (Samsung, Google, LG, etc) or one made by the android community.

Part 1. Reasons & Risks of Flashing Android Phone

Before you jump straight into flashing your device, you should be aware of the reasons as to why someone would like to flash their device but also the risks that come with flashing your phone.

• Bloatware: One main reason to flash your device is to remove any bloatware that comes with the device. As you are installing a custom ROM, you will be able to remove the bloatware.
• Customization: A new ROM may allow you to customize your device to the most precise detail you want. It will also give your phone a different feel.
• Performance: Normally, you would not be able to change how your CPU and GPU behave. However, a custom ROM may allow you to overclock your CPU and GPU to optimize the performance of these components for activities such as gaming. Battery life can also be increased as background activity can be reduced when the device is not being used.
• Updates: Most Android devices will stop receiving updates after a few years of release but if you install a community made custom ROM, you will be receiving updates more often and for longer.

All of this does come with some risks that you should carefully consider before flashing your device.

• Malfunctions: Some device features, such as some preinstalled applications may not be compatible with the custom ROM so they will not be able to function.
• Warranty: Flashing your phone will almost always void your warranty. The manufacturer will not repair an issue with the device even if it is not related to the installation of a custom ROM.
• Compatibility: Especially for less popular devices, not all custom ROMs may be compatible with your device.

Note: You WILL lose all data on your device when flashing the device. Make sure you create a backup of all the data on your device separately.

If you want to know how to flash the android phone with a computer, this article will show you how to flash your android device using iMyFone Fixppo, SP Flash Tool, and Odin. The Fixppo software is the easiest and fastest method for any user to repair a dead device and flashing firmware onto it. It automatically downloads the firmware, which means you are not at risk of downloading malicious software. It also completes the difficult steps required when using software such as Odin (see further below) so that you can repair your device as soon as possible.

Part 2. Preparation Before Flashing Android Phone using PC Software

Check the requirements below before you start to flash your phone.

• The device you want to flash
• PC
• USB Cable for your device
• Unlocked Bootloader
• Flashing software
• Android USB Drivers
• Custom ROM downloaded

If you use iMyFone Fixppo for Android, then no need to install Android USB drivers and download ROM.

Before following any of these methods, make sure your bootloader is unlocked and you have Android USB drivers installed for your device. Make sure that your device’s battery is above 50% before doing this.

Prerequisite 1: Installing USB Drivers

Samsung devices:

• Download the Samsung USB drivers from the Samsung developer’s website.
• Extract the zip file by right-clicking it (on windows), choosing «extract all» and then clicking extract.
• Open the extracted folder and run the «.exe» file.
• Click next, choose your language and click install. Wait for the installation to complete and click finish.

В MTK Devices:

• Download the Android CDC driver file from online and extract it (right-click, choose to extract all and extract).
• Opendevice manager by searching for it in Windows or by searching for «device manager» in Control Panel.
• In the device manager, click on your Computer’s name, click on the action button and «Add legacy hardware».
• Click on the «Next» button, choose the «Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)» and click next.
• Choose the «have disk» option, click on «browse», locate the extracted driver folder and click on the «Android Gadget CDC Driver» file.
• Click on «OK«, «next«, wait for the driver to install and click «finish«.

If you get a Windows security box, click on «Install this driver software anyway».

Prerequisite 2: Unlocking the Bootloader

Samsung devices come with an unlocked bootloader, so you do not need to follow these steps. Here is a general guide.

• Download and install Android SDK tools.
• Download the drivers for your device (these can be found from your manufacturer’s website).
• Enable developer’s options and then enable USB Debugging in the developer’s options menu on your device.
• Get the unlock key for your device from your manufacturer’s website.
• Use command prompt to unlock the bootloader via fastboot commands.

Searching Google for your device’s bootloader unlocking method will give you a more in-depth method that you can follow.

Part 3. How to Flash Android Phone using PC Software

We will introduce 3 PC software here. A complete guide will be offered for each method. You can check the chart below to know the differences between them and choose a method you like.

Method 1: Flashing via iMyFone Fixppo (Easiest + Fastest)

This is the easiest and fastest method for flashing Android firmware onto your device. iMyFone Fixppo for Android will work with android phones that are completely dead and requires no expert knowledge in Android. It is an Android system repair tool, but also an android flash tool.

• Download Fixppo for Android on your Windows PC.
• Launch Fixppo and click start on the software to continue.
• Fill in the details regarding your Android device on the software and click «Download Firmware». This will download and extract the firmware for your phone automatically without you having to do anything else.
• Confirm the information once the firmware has been downloaded and press start.
• Put your device is in Download mode (follow on-screen instructions).
• Connect your device to your PC to begin the flashing process.
• The process will start. The Fixppo software will automatically flash your phone and complete the whole process. Leave your phone until it reboots, as this happens when problems have been repaired on your device.
• Disconnect your device from the PC and use it as normal.

That is all you need to do using Fixppo. This is the easiest and best method for repairing your android device (phone or tablet) and to repair it so that you can continue to use it as previously.

Besides, iMyFone Fixppo for Android has been trusted by many individuals and websites. Thousands of people have already tried Fixppo for Android and can solve various complex Android system issues.

Method 2: Flashing via SP Flash Tool (MediaTek Devices) (Difficult)

• Power off your android device completely and remove the battery if it is removable.
• Download the ROM you want to flash your phone with (make sure the ROM is compatible) and extract the files.

ROM files from websites such as XDA developers are usually reliable.

• Download the SmartPhone(SP) Flash Tool on your computer.
• Extract the zip file by right-clicking on the .zip file and choose «extract all».
• Open the folder that has been extracted, find «flash_tool.exe» in the folder and run the file.
• When the tool has been executed, click on the «Download» tab if it hasn’t already been selected.
• When you are in the download tab, click on the «Choose» button on the line which says «Scatter-loading File».
• Locate your extracted ROM, go into the «Firmware» folder and select the «.txt» file that contains the word «Scatter».
• Once the file has been processed, click on the «Download» button.
• Connect your phone (make sure the power is turned off and the battery is removed if possible) and a volume key to make sure your phone has been recognized by the PC.
• Once completed, exit the SP flash tool and disconnect your phone.

Your phone has now been flashed to your desired ROM. Reboot your phone and you can now use your device normally.

Method 3: Flashing via Odin (Samsung Devices) (Difficult)

• Download the ROM you would like to install and extract it on your PC.

You can download the ROM from a range of websites, such as Sammobile. Make sure the ROM is compatible with your device.

Note: Do not downgrade your version of Android. Always upgrade the version as it will cause issues with your device.

• Download, extract and install Samsung USB Drivers on your PC.
• Download and extract the latest version of Odin on your PC.
• Put your phone in Download mode
  • For devices with a physical home button: Power off your device. Hold down the volume down and home button keys simultaneously. When you get a screen with a warning, press the volume up key to put your device in download mode.
  • If your device does not have a physical home button: Power off your device. I will be using the S8 as an example. Press and hold the Bixby and volume up buttons. Then press the power button until the power turns off. Release the buttons once a blue screen appears. Press the volume up key to boot into download mode.
  • If these methods do not work on your device, a quick search online will confirm how to boot into download mode.

Search: Phone model + download mode

• Connect your phone to the PC via a USB cable.
• Launch the Odin software (it will be in the folder that you have extracted). You will see your device under the «ID: COM» label if connected.
• Once Odin is launched, click on the «AP» button. Browse into your extracted ROM folder through the Odin popup browser and click on the file located inside the ROM folder.
• Wait for the file to be added to Odin.
• Click on the Start button at the bottom of Odin and wait for the ROM to be flashed.
• Your phone will reboot and finalize the installation of the software.
• When your phone has completed the installation, disconnect your phone.

In short, using the Fixppo software is the quickest and easiest way for you to flash firmware onto your device. The other methods require you to download the firmware in advance and require more skill when flashing. This can lead to more errors and you potentially risk bricking your device.

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[GUIDE] Flashing and updating custom ROMs

Breadcrumb

Nebrassy

Recognized Developer

Flashing for Dummies

In this guide we’ll go over how to flash custom ROMs with root and TWRP in addition to updating
this guide will always be updated

Read the ENTIRE guide before you start

things to keep in mind:
1- when you flash a ROM through TWRP, it will flash to your inactive slot, that’s why you need to switch slot after flashing it and then flash everything else, think of it like an OTA update except you need to switch active slot yourself

2- when you change your active slot in TWRP, it will only change after you reboot, your active slot will always be the one you’re currently booted on

3- the order of flashing anything that modifies boot is
1) TWRP
2) custom kernel
3) noverity
4)Magisk

if you’re not sure, flash stock boot of your rom and do it again, flashing TWRP will break Magisk, flashing a custom kernel will break magisk, flashing TWRP after flashing a custom kernel will most likely get you a bootloop

It is no longer required to be on stock Oreo before flashing, but I currently still recommend you do so as there might be some minor bugs on some custom roms, but otherwise everything will work just fine.

get latest platform-tools if you haven’t already, using an older one WILL result in errors
platform-tools

extract it and open the folder
hold shift then right click on an empty space then click «open command window here»
if you’re on windows 10, doing that will open power shell instead, inside power shell, type «cmd» and press enter, use cmd for everything below

if you’re coming from stock, you need to do this first

type the following command (data and files will be wiped)

Notes:
Pixel Experience includes Gapps, do not flash them after the rom
many roms include TWRP, such as Havoc, AICP and many others, check ROM thread first, if it includes it then don’t flash TWRP.

Flashing custom ROMs and other stuff

download latest TWRP img and zip from https://twrp.me/xiaomi/xiaomimia2.html and place it in the same folder you extracted platform-tools to

NOTE: if you are on stock then use TWRP 3.2.3 img, not 3.3

note: if you’re having issues with official TWRP, I’ve built an unofficial one with F2FS support which you can try here
be careful if you switch to F2FS, it will only work with a recovery that supports it and a ROM that supports it, no stock.

rename the img to twrp.img

if you get a bootloop, force shutdown (power + volume down) and try again

using MTP copy the files needed to flash to your phone
if MTP doesn’t work, you have the following options
1) wipe data from TWRP, try again
2) advanced > file manager, go to /data/media , if there is nothing in there, create a new folder called 0 there by going to Advanced > Terminal and typing the following commands

do that for each file you need

after you got the files on your phone, it’s time to flash
remember that when flashing a ROM, it will flash to your inactive slot, in this guide I’ll assume your active slot is B, use «fastboot set_active b» in fastboot if you’d like to follow along
First go to wipe > advanced and select System and Data then wipe, then you can start flashing

1- flash the ROM zip
2- flash TWRP zip, so you can boot to TWRP without the need of a PC (ONLY if the ROM doesn’t include it already)
3- switch your active slot (to A if you are on B and to B if you were on A)
4- reboot recovery
5- flash Gapps if required by the ROM you’re flashing, Opengapps nano is recommended, you can get it here http://Opengapps.org
6- (optional) flash a custom kernel if desired/needed
7- (optional) flash DM-VERITY & FORCEENCRYPT DISABLER zip , this will disable DM verity and encryption in vendor, this is not required by most custom ROMs as they will disable encryption anyway, it is most useful on stock, and in the possibility that the ROM you’re flashing does not disable encryption
8- flash Magisk
9- reboot to system

IMPORTANT, if you get an error while flashing ROM zip, do the following
use latest official TWRP, if you’re already using it, then the ROM you’re flashing is one of the older ROMs
previously, ROMs and TWRP used Jasmine as a codename for our device, while the real codename is Jasmine_sprout, this caused some issues, newer ROMs and TWRP now use the correct codename, but that means new TWRP can not flash older ROMs, and so you will need some simple modifications to the ROM zip:
1- open the ZIP using WinRAR on PC or X-plore on phone
2- go to META-INF/com/android/metadata and open it as text
3- on the last line, edit ‘pre-device=jasmine’ to ‘pre-device=jasmine_sprout’
4- save it and try flashing again

Switching between custom ROMs
follow the same flashing instructions, you can boot directly to TWRP by holding power + volume up, wipe data and system first then flash ROM and the rest.

Updating Custom ROMs

For OFFICIAL ROMs which support A/B OTA it’s very easy
1- once you get a notification that an update is available, download and install with the system updater but don’t reboot (If the ROM includes TWRP then don’t do any of the following steps, just reboot)
2- go to Magisk, Downloads, search for «TWRP A/B Retention Script» and install it
3- on the main Magisk page, click install > install > Install to Inactive Slot (After OTA)
4- once Magisk finishes, reboot, you will now be on the opposite slot with both Magisk and TWRP installed.

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