How To Get an Old Samsung Phone to Work with ODIN in Windows 10

This blog post is about how to get an old Samsung mobile phone to work with ODIN in Windows 10. It’s possible that these instructions will help people with old devices from other manufacturers.

A photo of a Samsung phone in download mode

Warning: I recommend you perform a backup of your Windows registry and PC before proceeding and fully charge your mobile phone. I am not responsible for any problems that arise from following the instructions in this blog post. I am also not responsible for any issues from using software or files mentioned in this blog post. You follow this ‘how to’ guide at your own risk!

Note: Please make sure you’re using the correct version of ODIN for the phone you own.

The problem
I’ve used ODIN for years, but a while ago my Samsung phone was no-longer recognized in Windows 10.

The exact problem was I would open ODIN and configure it, then put a phone into download mode and connect it to the PC via a cable. Then ODIN would show the message ‘Added!!’, but it always failed to flash a ROM.

Thankfully I was able to modify the Windows 10 registry to get my Samsung phone to work with ODIN and I was able to flash firmware to the phone. I’ve now done this for a couple of Samsung phones and thought I would share instructions on how I did it. I hope this blog post helps others overcome an ODIN Windows 10 problem.

The solution

Note: I had Samsung USB drivers version 1.5.51.0 already installed.

  1. Run regedit.Screenshot of the Registry Editor App listed
  2. Browse to \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\usbflags.USB flags listed in the Registry Editor
  3. Now take a screenshot of the entries you see listed.
  4. Close the Registry Editor.
  5. Put your Samsung phone into download mode and then connect it to the PC.
  6. Open the registry editor again and browse to the same location as mentioned in step 2.
  7. You should see a new entry, perhaps something beginning with 04E86601… Make a note of the string of data you see for a new usb flag and then close the Registry Editor.A new USB flag listed in the Registry Editor
  8. Now you want to create a new registry file, using a text editor application like notepad. Using the example below change the 04E86601021B data to match the new USB flag you discovered for your specific phone. The example below is for a Samsung I9000 Galaxy S. You can cut and paste the text below into a text editor.
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\usbflags\04E86601021B]
    “SkipBOSDescriptorQuery”=hex:01,00,00,00
    “osvc”=hex:00,00
    “SkipContainerIdQuery”=hex:01,00,00,00Windows Registry Phone Entry in Notepad
  9. Save the file as some along the lines of i9000phone.reg
  10. Now right click on the file, select merge and follow prompts to merge the registry entry.Screenshot of the merge option for a registry file
  11. Reboot the computer.

Download an example registry file
You can download the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S file here and then modify that file to meet your requirements.

Odin3 working with a Samsung phone

Now when running ODIN, you hopefully will be able to replace firmware on a Samsung phone. It isn’t unusual for the ODIN process to take a long time, so I recommend patience. Below is a screenshot of Odin3 v1.00 working with a Samsung I9000 Galaxy S mobile phone.

Odin3 Succeed message

Did you find this blog post helpful?
If you found this information helpful, please leave a comment and let me know.

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