According to tipster Ice Universe, Samsung has disabled Odin, a proprietary firmware flashing tool typically used to install stock firmware, install custom ROMs, and restore devices. It also appears that Samsung has removed “Download Mode,” which acts as a gateway for Odin. This change appears to have been made in the latest One UI 8.5 firmware and currently affects the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and recently launched Galaxy S26 series.
Fond memories of using Odin to flash my Galaxy S3 back in the day. I thought Knox killed custom firmware on Galaxy, though — with the S4.
i remember many years ago i flashed, i think it was Lineage OS maybe android 8 or 7? on galaxy s2. There were something like 10 android versions ahead of last official relase.
I checked xda, and theres lineage os 19.1 (android 12) available for galaxy s2.
Yeah, I stopped buying Samsung phones after that as well, though I was still rocking the truly great SGS 2. I used that phone for years and years and then gifted it to a friend who used it for a few more. The magic of a user replaceable battery! It is no wonder they took it from us.
AFAIK Knox would trip a fuse if you installed custom firmware and would prevent you from using banking apps and the like permanently but you were still able to flash the firmware.
I definitely remember the bit about the fuse. I can’t recall if you could flash the firmware or not. You might be right about that. I never owned an S4. I went to HTC after my S3. I regret that. Pretty phone, but what a clustertruck inside.
Maybe I’m confuding tools but I think I used Odin to flash my s10e. I didn’t jailbreak it, I just updated it from a carrier locked firmware to the official Samsung version
You may have. I have an S10e as well (I often forget it’s an “e”, since it’s just the base model). I wonder if I could flash it. I’m fine with the carrier firmware since I don’t have cell service on it. That phone only goes up to LTE anyway, not that that’s a big hindrance. Honestly if I could transfer the eSIM between my iPhone 16 Pro Max (which, yes, is five years newer and also the premium iPhone of its line) and the S10, I absolutely would, at least if I could easily go back and forth. The 16PM is absolutely the better phone overall, but I like typing on the S10 more (Gboard) and it has a few other cool features. I have like 50GB of music on its SD card. It has a headphone jack. I’ve used Nova Prime to customise the hell out of the home screen (and theme it after Animal Crossing, because I can). It’s lighter, it’s more comfortable to hold. As far as the OS goes, I don’t have a strong preference. I might like it a bit better on official Samsung firmware though.
At least I know where to go if I want to go down that road (so, not asking). XDA.