[Galaxy S6 General] djshotty:
Shotty's SM-G92xx Helper Post!

Okay, how do you get the best out of a SM-G92xx Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge?

For information regarding the latest update of

International variant S6 and S6 Edge devices, check out my post at:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=65919764&postcount=1052​

Firstly, may I just say follow these instructions to the letter before coming to me with questions. I have spent the best part of five years tinkering with my own i9000 (S1), then a i9100 (S2), followed by a i9305 (S3) then a i9505 (S4). I skipped over the S5 because I was told it was junk, and that the S6 would blow it out of the water! I've also done research across XDA-Developers and a number of other Android forums every day since getting my first Galaxy in October 2010, taking in and compiling the very best information that actually works time and again.

Rule Number One? Start afresh! The advice I give everyone regardless of what device you have is, Back the damn thing up first! It's called a nandroid backup - Google it if you want to learn more - and make sure you clean all traces of the old firmware out of your phone thoroughly with a full factory reset that includes a data+system+cache+Dalvik cache wipe. More often than not, the dramas people have when they get up and running on a newly flashed ROM (or, issues in restarting the device after a flash) can be directly attributed to remnants of the old ROM interfering with the new. This is especially so for flashing non-stock ROMs with a custom Recovery. If you use Odin* to flash a Stock firmware, it pretty much smashes its way over the top of whatever you've got installed, and gives you a fresh palate to work with. Main thing to remember is, Back up your device - all your photos and music, etc. - to your PC. The most important step? BACKUP YOUR DEVICE'S EFS FOLDER!!! This is a location where information pertaining to your device's IMEI (International Mobile-station Equipment Identity) number are stored, and this folder can sometimes be wiped when you flash a ROM. Read this excellent guide for a thorough explanation of the how's and why's of this very important piece of the Android puzzle (thanks to Mr.W0lf)...

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/general/tool-backup-restore-efs-partition-t3062487

A great method of doing a nandroid backup is with the 'Skipsoft Toolkit', created by XDA Member mskip. To use the premium features of his app. you'll need to drop him a Donation of GBP £4 through PayPal, but it's definitely worth it! I've never found a more comprehensive app. to manage an Android phone, and if you follow the link below you can get your hands on the standard version...

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/orig-development/toolkit-skipsoft-android-toolkit-t3101189

Of course, it's much easier for any phone-based 'backup+restore app.' to do their thing when the device is rooted, which is why I suggest it. My thoughts on OEM's controlling how us 'power-users' play with our expensive toys are straight to the point - I own it, I paid for it, I should be able to do whatever I like to it and run it how I see fit! Gaining 'root access' is just like 'jailbreaking' that fruity crapbox from our friends at Cupertino. Simply put, 'rooting' allows you to remove unwanted apps, does a better job of backing up your game saves and app. data (using apps like the awesome Titanium Backup) and unlocks the system files on the device.

You'll find throughout XDA a number of device-specific threads and posts about 'rooting' your phone. One thing you'll definitely need is what's known as a 'rooted kernel'. The one just below can be used on any SM-G92xx running a stock Lollipop 5.1.1 ROM, and if you have issues with what to do or how to do it, post a Help request on that thread (thanks to g.lewarne)...

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/samsung-galaxy-s-6--s-6-edge-unified-development/kernel-stockmod-kernel-t3100395

The specific file you are looking for is under the heading UniKernel v8-0002 ODIN FLASHABLE. Again, you use Odin* to 'flash' that into your phone, in exactly the same way you flash the Stock ROM. I will stress this point: IT WILL 'TRIP KNOX', and NO! There's NO RESETTING THAT TRIP COUNTER! There's no way back from breaking Knox, so you do it at your own risk!

To find out what the latest version number 'Stock firmware' released for the SM-G920i is, visit:

Sammobile.com.

PLEASE NOTE: If your device is different, eg: SM-G925F, then use the 'Model Selection' Search Box up in the top right hand corner of the page to find firmwares for your specific model.

Now here's where things get a little tricky.

Because websites such as sammobile and samsung-firmwares.org have chosen to charge people that want to download those firmware files at high speed, there's now only one way I know of to get the stock firmware file for your device as fast as possible. You'll need to visit zxz0O0's thread over at:

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/tool-samfirm-samsung-firmware-t2988647

and grab a program for Windows called 'SamFirm'. Follow the instructions that zxz0O0 has in that thread for how to use it, and you'll link to the Samsung servers directly to grab the latest version available for the Country Sales Code you choose. Just so you're aware...

XSA is the 'unbranded' firmware for Australia,

TEL is for phones locked to Telstra Australia network,

OPS is for Optus Australia network-locked phones, and

VAU is for Vodafone Australia network-locked phones.

If you're unsure of what to grab, get the XSA ROM. The others include their own 'splash screens' - ie: the provider's logo - and other provider-specific 'bloatware' that you don't actually need. Things like the Telstra 24/7 app. and the Optus-specific customer services app. can be installed from Play Store if you really want them.

One piece of advice I'll throw in about using the SamFirm Tool is, Make sure you've got over 6GB of free space on your computer's hard drive and (on the SamFirm Tool program window) put a Tick in the box next to 'Decrypt automatically'. Doing that makes it a lot easier for you to extract the firmware file needed for the next phase of this operation.

Once you've downloaded the correct firmware file for your phone, go grab a nice little program called *Odin, available here...

http://www.samsungodindownload.com/odindownload/#.Vd5ZMPmqqko

While you're there, if you haven't got them already grab the Samsung USB drivers and the ADB Fastboot Tool. Install them, and we'll move forward.

Odin* is the Windows-based program you use to 'flash' the new firmware into your phone. The application is already pre-configured, so its a simple case of

start your phone in 'Download Mode',

start the Odin app. on your PC,

connect the phone to the PC via USB,

click the AP button on Odin,

navigate to where you placed the *.md5 stock ROM file,

click Open,

wait until the app. loads up the ROM, then

click Start

There's plenty of advice and assistance available here on XDA about how to use Odin, so I won't go full-tilt into details right now other than what I've written above. The flashing process does take a bit of time, and there's also a bit of a wait for the device to fully reboot and reach the first config screen. Patience is a virtue!

Two things I do as soon as I get the stock ROM running are turn ON USB Debugging and change the GUI responsiveness. Go into your phone's Settings menu, scroll down to and tap on 'About device', find 'Build number' then tap on it seven times until a popup appears, 'Congratulations. You are now a developer'. Hit the back button, and you'll see a new menu option, 'Developer options'. Open that menu, switch (up the top) ON, switch USB debugging ON then scroll down to these three options:

Window animation scale

Transition animation scale, and

Animator duration scale

Set them all to 0.5, and you'll notice straight away your device feels a lot 'snappier' and quicker to open and close things.

Custom Recovery

The best 'custom recovery' I've used since owning my first Galaxy is called TWRP Recovery, by TeamWin. You put that into your phone with Odin*. I've found the 'flash' works better if you do it after you've flashed the stock ROM then 'rooted' it. Grab your version of TWRP Recovery from here:

http://twrp.me/Devices

and flash it into your device in exactly the same way you have with the stock ROM and Uni-Kernel (above).

Next, go and find yourself a 'custom ROM'. The list of Original (Custom) ROMs for the SM-G92xx series that are shared here on XDA can be seen by following the link below...

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/development

For custom ROMs that are pretty much hand-made from original Android source code - 'outside the box', so to speak - check out the thread below...

http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/orig-development

If you have questions about the ROM itself, how to 'flash' the ROM, or anything else about that particular release, ask the ROM Chef in the thread where you got it from. They're the ones who cooked it, so they've already gone through the trials and errors and successes of getting their ROM working on your device, making them the best guys and gals to ask if you have dramas with the ROM. 99.9% of the time the ROM Chef's thread will have in the first couple of posts Instructions on How To Flash, FAQ's, known issues, etc.

Now, if you're having issues with carrier network connectivity, call quality, mobile internet etc., it could be either your network APN (Access Point Name) settings or your ROM's 'modem' package. APN settings are within the phone's Network setup menu. The best list of Australian carrier APN's I've found is at Ausdroid Forums. Modems are a sort of 'try them until you get one you're happy with' kind of thing, and the best list of modems and bootloaders for the SM-G92xx Series is hosted by XDA's very own Legend Of The S6, edgarf28 at...

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=60112855&postcount=3

Hope that gets your device running smikko, and if you're that stuck you need a bit of special attention, PM me. Lastly, make sure to click on the Thanks button if you got help from this tutorial...