Galaxy S6 help with updating and rooting

[Hellboy71]

Unfortunately most of the hosted files for all of the s6's are all offline, I've tried too many tonight. Just trying to get this phone I just got working right, and I can't find the files I need. It's a plain old S6, on t-mobile, I've had problems with odin on it as well. Any help you guys can give is very appreciated.

 

[mikedt]

Depends what "hosted files" you actually need. Things like Lineage OS, Heimdall, TWRP, for S6 are available for download no problem. Also stock Samsung firmware is available as well from https://www.sammobile.com/

 

[Hellboy71]

Well the files that Odin needs, the phone is in near mint condition, just it's stuck on the boot loader right now. Came to me that way, and I need the files for Odin.

 

[mikedt]

Well the files that Odin needs, the phone is in near mint condition, just it's stuck on the boot loader right now. Came to me that way, and I need the files for Odin.

Well if you need original Samsung ROMs for S6 they can be found at Sammobile, as I posted previously. Or if you need a custom ROM, I would suggest Lineage OS, that's definitely available and is supported. https://download.lineageos.org/ Although they suggest using Heimdall rather than Odin.

There is a lot of out-of-date information out there, old forum posts, old blogs, old YouTube vids, etc, and many of their download URLs are invalid, because the free file hosting does expire.

 

[Hellboy71]

I haven't had any luck with Sammobile, as far as I can tell the links are dead. And I tried using a different browser as well. Started with Firefox, with plenty of addons, then I switched to microsoft edge at factory settings. If I need to use internet explorer, let me know, don't think I actually have it installed on this computer. Because I've been trying to save space on it, It's just a crappy laptop with almost no space.

Oh, just something else to add, I just tried using heimdall, and it kept bitching about visual c++ and I reinstalled it and still got the same answer, so I guess I'm stuck with Odin.

 

[svim]

Sammobile has a good history but it has changed over the years so to get the most benefit you need to sign up for an account. Or try updato.com instead, like sammobile it verifies the Samsung stock ROMs on its site as valid. You might want to try just starting over from scratch -- first remove Odin, Kies, or anything else from your PC, reboot it, and focus on just getting your S6 running again with a stock ROM. After that, then look into rooting it and then either clean out the Samsung cruft from the stock OS or install a custom ROM.

-- Try installing Samsung's Smart Switch first, this will install a valid Samsung device driver in the case your previous problems might be tied to just USB connectivity issues. Also, see if the Smart Switch utility will be able to restore your S6.
https://www.samsung.com/us/smart-switch/
-- If Smart Switch isn't able to fix your S6, then you need to work on restoring it manually. If you were using the most recent version of Odin, try using an older version. The Odin utility has problems with backwards compatibility so since you're working with older hardware and software you might find it more reliable to use an older version. Go here to select one:
https://www.droidviews.com/download-odin-tool-for-samsung-galaxy-devices-all-versions/
-- As for a stock ROM, you mentioned you've tried 'several' which, depending on just which ones you did try, is generally a bad practice. ROMs are pretty specific to their respective models so when flashing a ROM that isn't specifically matching your exact model of S6, that can result in just soft-bricking the phone, or if it runs, will be unstable and/or missing functionality. Go here and select an appropriate ROM:
https://updato.com/firmware-archive-select-model?q=galaxy+s6&exact=1&r=TMB&v=&rpp=50
https://updato.com/how-to/how-to-install-an-official-samsung-stock-firmware-using-odin

Also, if you've been connecting your phone to your PC through a USB hub, try connecting the USB cable directly into an open USB port on your PC. Also, don't have utilities like Smart Switch, Kies, Odin, or Heimdall all running at the same time. They're all competing for the same interactive resources interfacing with your phone. Be sure to go into the Windows Task Manager and turn off the others so they aren't running in the background -- you only want one at a time.

 

[Jfalls63]

If your model number is SM-G920T, US TMobile branded S6, this should be the current released version
https://updato.com/firmware-archive-select-model?record=8E1CC02B31DE11E89F15FA163EE8F90B

 

[Hellboy71]

Yes it is a T-Mobile branded one, and thanks for helping, that should help me out.
If anything else comes up, I'll post again, in this thread.