{"id":530323,"date":"2026-03-12T01:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T01:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/530323\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T01:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T01:15:11","slug":"samsungs-latest-update-is-a-serious-gut-punch-to-galaxy-power-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/530323\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung&#8217;s latest update is a serious gut punch to Galaxy power users"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"e_lg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  title=\"Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra screen up on couch\"  alt=\"The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, showing its home screen.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773278109_37_Samsung-Galaxy-S26-Ultra-screen-up-on-couch.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>TL;DR<\/p>\n<p>Samsung appears to have disabled Odin and removed Download Mode with the latest One UI 8.5 firmware.<br \/>\nThe change currently affects the Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy Z Fold 7.<br \/>\nThis update will prevent people from using Odin to downgrade software, install new ROMs, or install leaked firmware.<\/p>\n<p>Many Galaxy owners are currently in disarray at the moment. The reason is related to a recent move from Samsung. It appears the firm has made a change to Galaxy devices that will have significant consequences for power users.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/andauth.co\/AAGooglePreferredSource\" class=\"e_nm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"e_lg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768233971_656_google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/><img class=\"e_lg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768233972_401_google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to tipster <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UniverseIce\/status\/2031732580014579875\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Ice Universe<\/a>, 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 \u201cDownload Mode,\u201d 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-7-review-3584443\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy Z Fold 7<\/a> and recently launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/samsung-galaxy-s26-3642775\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy S26 series<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When attempting to activate Download Mode, users are no longer greeted by the usual interface. Instead, these users see a blank blue screen with brief instructions on how to exit.<\/p>\n<p>Samsung has yet to issue an official statement to explain why it suddenly made this decision. However, shutting down Odin does allow Samsung to hold a tighter grip over its ecosystem, preventing users from sideloading firmware. It also blocks the primary method many tipsters use to show off leaked firmware. So there are reasons as to why Samsung would want to do something like this.<\/p>\n<p>For average users, this change will likely have no impact on your experience. But for power users, this means you can no longer use Odin to do things like downgrade your software version or install new ROMs. It\u2019s also bad news for service centers that rely on Odin for device recoveries.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority TL;DR Samsung appears to have disabled Odin and removed Download Mode with the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[49,48,190,848,8329,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-530323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-samsung","12":"tag-samsung-galaxy","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}