Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra are the latest smartphones of the Samsung flagship series. Both smartphones come with cutting-edge technology and the latest features. The Samsung Galaxy S21 series runs on One UI 3.1, a modified version of Android 11. The Galaxy S21 series comes with all it takes to be the best smartphone of 2021. In this guide, we will talk about installing stock firmware on Galaxy S21 or Galaxy S21 Ultra. The focus is straightforward. Suppose you ask me why there can be a need for it. Maybe because your phone software is corrupted, you rooted your phone now that you want to return to stock settings to receive OTA updates.
This guide will cover two methods that you can use to install stock firmware on Galaxy S21. The first method is via the smart switch, a tool for laypeople. Everyone can use it to back up or restore the firmware. It’s iTunes for Samsung Devices. The other tool is also an official tool from Samsung. It is used to flash recoveries, custom firmware, and stock firmware. It is not as easy as a smartswitch but more efficient. People with experience with flashing and installing firmware on Samsung smartphones prefer ODIN as it gives more flexibility and control. It existed long before the smartswitch was introduced.
Guide to Locate Galaxy S21 via Smart Switch:
Let us start with the smart switch. If you ask me why someone would have to install stock firmware on a Galaxy S21 for the first time, this method can also be used. However, they don’t root their phone or try to flash custom recoveries. Sometimes, the operating system crashes, and your Galaxy S21 is stuck at the Samsung logo on startup. A factory reset won’t fix it. The solution to that is also this guide.
For this guide to work, you must download and install the Windows smart switch application on your computer if you are a macOS user. You can download the Mac version of smartswitch. The rest of the guide is the same. The advantage of the smart switch over ODIN is that ODIN is not available for computers running on MacOS.
Steps to flash a firmware on Galaxy S21:
- Once you have downloaded and installed the smart switch on your PC.
- Please open it and connect your phone to your PC
- It will display all the information regarding your phone and its operating system.
- Click “More” on the top right corner of the smart switch and select Emergency Software Recovery.
- Now, Smartswitch will find the latest suitable firmware for your Samsung Galaxy S21 or S21+. In addition, you will have an option to select from the firmware.
- Select the firmware and follow the on-screen information.
- It might take time, as the smart switch will download the firmware on your PC. Ensure your phone is always connected to your PC during the installation of new firmware on the Samsung S21. Once it is done, your phone will reboot.
Note: Smartsiwtch might ask for a recovery code. If your phone is unresponsive and you cannot get the recovery code. You can proceed further with the Device Initialization option. You will need your phone’s model number and serial number for that option, which can be found in your phone box.
The process is pretty simple. I hope you had no issues.
Install Stock Firmware on Galaxy S21/S21+ or Galaxy S21 Ultra via ODIN:
Installing firmware from ODIN can be helpful if your phone is dead and isn’t even recognized or detected by your computer. ODIN can perform several tasks on your phone that are impossible without it. For example, partitioning the storage, flashing a custom recovery, and fixing a bootloop. All can be done with ODIN. ODIN is a potent tool and comes in handy in several situations. Once you are comfortable using it to tweak your Samsung phone, performing other tasks like installing stock firmware is easy.
Prerequisites:
First of all, you will have to install some prerequisites on your Windows PC.
- You will have to download and install Samsung drivers for Windows.
- Download ODIN 3.14.4
- Download the Official Stock firmware for Samsung Galaxy S21 from Sammobile. (Enter your Model number and look for the latest firmware)
- Your phone should be charged.
First, download and install Samsung drivers for Windows on your laptop or PC if you have already established a smart switch. You don’t need to install the drivers, as your PC already has them. These drivers are required for your computer to recognize your phone.
Moreover, download the appropriate firmware according to your phone model if your phone is a carrier-free device. You can download firmware from any country. If your phone is carrier-locked, then make sure to download the firmware of that respective carrier according to the country in which you bought the phone if you install the same firmware already installed on your Galaxy S21. All your data will be preserved. Otherwise, you will lose all the data in your phone’s internal storage if you install carrier-free firmware on a carrier-locked phone. Your phone will be stuck on the Samsung logo at the startup, also known as soft-bricked.
Following is the step-by-step guide on how to install stock firmware on Galaxy S21 using ODIN:
- First, turn off your Galaxy S21/S21+ or S21 Ultra.
- Now go to Download Mode.
- To access download mode on your phone. Once the phone is off, press and hold the Volume Down and Volume Up buttons simultaneously. While holding the buttons, insert the data cable into the phone port.
- Once you see the warning on the screen, release the buttons.
- Press the Volume up button to proceed to Download Mode.
- On your PC, open ODIN and connect your phone using a USB data cable. You will see “Added” in the ODIN logs.
- You will see your phone has a connection with your PC. The ID:COM on ODIN will change to blue. (If the color doesn’t vary, the PC has not recognized your S21. Above all, ensure you have installed the correct drivers and that the drivers were installed successfully. Sometimes, the fault lies in the USB cable)
- In ODIN, you will see several tabs, and you will have to select files that correspond to each account. For example, click on CP and locate and select the CP file from the extracted firmware. Similarly, click on AP and select the file with AP in the name. Again, add the BL file in the BL tab.
- Suppose you want to factory reset while installing stock firmware on Galaxy S21. First, select the CSC file in the CSC file. Otherwise, load the HOME_CSC instead.
- Make sure F.Reset.Time and Auto-Reboot options are checked in the ODIN. Meanwhile, if there is, any other option is checked. Uncheck it.
- Finally, when all the above steps are complete, press the “Start” button. The whole process will take 5-9 Minutes. Once it’s done, your phone will reboot.
Note: Do not disconnect your S21 from your Windows PC while the flashing is in process, even if it is stuck at some point. Wait until you get logs that the process is finished or your phone reboots itself after successful firmware flashing. If you disconnect your phone in the middle of flashing, you might end up bricking your phone.
Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra Specs and Features:
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 6.8-inch screen, the S21+ has a 6.7-inch screen, and the S21 has a 6.2-inch screen. The battery size of Ultra is 5000 mAh. That is quite a lot for a smartphone. However, it should take days. The S21+ has 4800, while the standard S21 has a 4000 mAh battery size. While the storage of each phone is 256 GB, the Ultra one comes with an S-pen.
Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 108 MP wide-angle lens, a 10 MP Telephoto with 3x zoom, and a 10 MP Telephoto lens with 10x zoom. It gives you about 100x zoom in total. The front camera is 40 Megapixels. At the same time, the other models come with a 12 MP wide-angle lens and another 12 MP ultra-wide lens. A 65 MP telephoto gives up to 30x zoom. The front camera is 10 Megapixels. Samsung has deployed some heavy machinery in the form of its S21 series. You can get an idea about it from the specs above. All these specs and features come with a hefty price tag, too.
Conclusion:
I hope this guide helped you to fix your phone by installing stock firmware on Galaxy S21. If you have any questions or queries, drop them in the comments below. The method with ODIN can be a bit complicated for first-timers. So, if you have any confusion at any step, feel free to ask for help if the guide helped you. Do give us your feedback. Suppose we can improve something above any of the methods above. Please share with us.
