Welcome to this easy guide.
Time needed: 15 / 60min (depends on your internet connection)
Ease of operation: Very easy
Don't be fooled by the length of this guide ... the operations to be done are quick and easy.
NB: I state immediately that this procedure does not restore the state of Knox to 0x0 if by chance you have brought it to 0x1.
To date, this is an irreversible process.
In the next lines we will see how to restore our Samsung device to its original factory conditions, after unlocking the Bootloader, rooting and installing various types of custom installations, such as custom OneUI, AOSP or Google ROM.
It may happen that you want to go back to the original firmware of our Samsung, after trying various custom ROMs, after having rooted and modified the recovery, missing with the phone partitions, lost EFS folder or corrupt IMEI. The reasons can be many. This guide is aimed at all those who, with the classic Odin procedure to install the stock rom, are unable to restore the phone to normal operating conditions.
But it can happen to fail in this thing, even using Odin to put back the original software, Odin himself or the phone can crash to the BOOT partition or generate other errors, with VBMeta or generic errors, including partition ones.
So let's see how to solve all the inconveniences due to modding on our Samsungs to 99%. Let's begin!
- MATERIAL REQUIRED:
Latest version of Frija link
Latest version of Odin link
Samsung USB Driver link
File Manager zip (example 7zip) link
PC with Microsoft Windows 7-8-8.1-10-11
USB type C cable
1 - Download the latest stock firmware for our Samsung:
Download the latest version of Frija and once the program has started, enter the model code of your device and the abbreviation of your CSC.
Make sure the "Auto" checkbox is checked.
Once you have checked everything, click on "Check Update" and click on "Download". Wait for it to download.
Once you have downloaded the zip containing the various parts that make up the stock software (see image below), extract it to a folder of your choice. We will have 5 files in total.
2 - Retrieve the original PIT file
To recover the PIT file (partition list) for our device, go to the firmware folder you just downloaded with Frija, locate the "tar.md5" file with the words CSC_OXM_N............., right click on the it and select rename, adding ".zip" at the end to "transform" it into a compressed file that can be opened. This way you will have something like
"CSC_OXM_N975...............REV01_user_low_ship.tar.md5.zip"
Give the Ok and confirm the change of the file extension.
You should now have the same situation as you see in the image below. Total 5 files of which one is a ".zip" files.
Now open the file you just renamed with 7zip, the main window of the 7zip program will open with various files inside:
Now copy the "D2S_EUR_OPEN.pit" file by right clicking and selecting the "copy to ..." item and giving the ok without changing anything. The .PIT file will be copied to the same folder as the previously downloaded firmware.
Once this is done, the folder that appears will look like this (Now, the total files are 6 of which one is a ".zip" files):
Now just put the CSC_OXM ... file back to the previous condition, renaming it one more time and eliminating the ".zip" extension at the end of the name, in order to find an MD5 file again. This will be the file we will have:
"CSC_OXM_N975...............REV01_user_low_ship.tar.md5."
Now we have everything we need. If we have done everything correctly this is the final result (Total 6 files).
3 - Prepare and Configure Odin
Now open the latest version of Odin (as of May 2022 the latest version is 3.14.4), load the corresponding downloaded firmware files in the various slots (BL, AP, CP and CSC) as usual.
In the CSC box, upload the file labeled "CSC_OXM_N975 ............... REV01_user_low_ship.tar.md5."
Did you know that....
The CSC_OXM file is used to restore the internal memory as factory, this will delete all personal data in the phone memory, all applications and data associated with it.
The HOME_CSC_OXM file, on the other hand, will not act in any way on the internal memory. Useful if you want to update while remaining in the same type of ROM. Not recommended if your phone has a Custom ROM installed, as it may not start or give errors in previously installed applications.
If you want to do a clean install of the original ROM, always use the CSC_OMX file!
Once this is done, move (still in Odin) to the "Option" tab and check the following items:
Auto Reboot
Nand Erase
Re-partition
F. Reset time
The rest of the items MUST NOT BE SELECTED!
Again in Odin, this time go to the PIT tab, a warning message will appear, give the ok and select the first extracted file which has the unique name "D2S_EUR_OPEN.pit"
If you have done everything right you should have the same situation as the image below:
4 - Return the phone to the original firmware
Connect the USB type C cable to your phone and restart your phone in "Download mode" (check the right combination for your model), or use the Custom Rom to do this, usually all coustom roms or custom recovery offer reboot in Download mode (or Booloader).
In odin in the "Log" tab, you should see the word "Added" with the number of the port to which it is connected (example "0: [COM3]"), if so, press the START key of Odin and wait for the restart (this procedure will delete all data on your device).
If nothing appears, install the Samsung USB drivers and repeat step 4.
5 - Relock the BootLoader
To get rid of that fatal warning message when starting the phone that tells us that the BootLoader is unlocked once and for all, let's put it back in place, relocking the BootLoader.
(Image for demonstration purposes)
Turn off the phone, reconnect the USB cable and immediately press the Volume + and Volume- keys at the same time.
Return to Download mode (albeit a little different), with various options (actually only 3).
In this case, follow the second option (Volume up long press: Device unlock mode) hold down the Volume + key for a few moments until the message "Lock Bootloader?" Appears. To confirm everything, make a single click on Volume + (also in this case the phone will be formatted by the system again) and wait for a complete restart.
6 - Relock OEM (optional but recommended if you want to stick with the Samsung ROM)
Once your phone has restarted and the initial setup is complete, you can also disable the OEM unlock capability and reuse the security features.
To do this, go to Settings / Phone Information / Software Information and tap several times on the wording "Build version" in order to unlock the "Developer options". If prompted, unlock your smartphone with your PIN or sign.
Now go back to the main Settings page, open the Developer Options and check that the "OEM Unlock" item is disabled, otherwise disable it and restart the device.
Well now you have your Samsung with Original firmware again. Enjoy
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