South American Galaxy Alpha owners were kept waiting for so long by Samsung, but finally Lollipop update has made it to their way. Available as firmware build G850MUBU2COE1, the official Android 5.0 update for Samsung Galaxy Alpha, model no. SM-G850M, can be downloaded and installed manually — see our guide below.

Lollipop update still keeps the Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, so you may not see as many changes to UI as devices like Nexus which get original Android updates without the OEM UI, but still, there’s lot to like for. Lollipop is the biggest Android update yet, and it brings whole new set of animations and features to your device — though, some might have received an axe from Samsung.

Let’s see how to install G850MUBU2COE1 Lollipop update on Samsung Galaxy Alpha (SM-G850M)

Downloads

Supported devices

  • Samsung Galaxy Alpha (SM-G850M) for South America region
  • Don’t try on any other device whatsoever

Instructions

Disclamer: Installing an official firmware through Odin doesn’t void your device’s warranty, but it remains an unofficial process and thus you need to be cautious of it. In any case, you only are responsible for your device. We won’t be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components.

Backup important files stored on your device before proceeding with the steps below, so that in case something goes wrong you’ll have backup of all your important files. Sometimes, Odin installation may delete everything on your device!

  1. Download Odin and firmware file from above.
  2. Install drivers first of all. Double click the .exe file of drivers to begin installation. (Not required if you have already done this.)
  3. Extract the firmware file now. You can use a free software like 7-zip for this. Install 7-zip, then right click on firmware file and under 7-zip, select ‘Extract to _ ’.
  4. You should get the firmware file in .tar.md5 format now (G850MUBU2COE1_G850MZTO2COE1_G850MUBU2COE1_HOME.tar.md5). This is the file that will be loaded in Odin, to be installed on your Galaxy Alpha SM-G850M (in step 10 below).
  5. Extract the Odin file. You should get this file, Odin3 v3.10.6.exe (other files could be hidden, hence not visible).
  6. Disconnect your Samsung Galaxy Alpha SM-G850M from PC if it is connected.
  7. Boot Galaxy Alpha SM-G850M into download mode:
    1. Power off your device. Wait 6-7 seconds after screen goes off.
    2. Press and hold the three buttons Volume Down + Power + Home together until you see warning screen.
    3. Press Volume Up to continue to download mode.
  8. Double click on extracted file of Odin, Odin3 v3.10.6.exe, to open the Odin window, as shown below. Be careful with Odin, and do just as said to prevent problems.
    Odin 3.10.6
  9. Connect your Galaxy Alpha to PC now using USB cable. Odin should recognize your device. It’s a must. When it recognizes, you will see Added!! message appearing in the Log box in bottom left, and the first box under ID:COM will also show a no. and turn its background blue. Look at the pic below.
    • You cannot proceed until Odin recognizes your device and you get the Added!! message.
    • If it doesn’t, you need to install/re-install drivers again, and use the original cable that came with device. Mostly, drivers are the problem.
    • You can try different USB ports on your PC too, btw.
      Odin 3.10.6 Added message
  10. Load the firmware into Odin. For this, click on the AP button and on the pop-up window, select the .tar.md5 firmware file we got in step 4 above. Make sure you use the AP tab, as shown below.
    • Odin will check the md5 of firmware file, so wait until it does that and firmware is loaded. Don’t worry if Odin gets unresponsive for a while, it’s normal. Binary size will also show up in Odin.
      Odin 3.10.6 Firmware loaded after md5 check
  11. Make sure Re-partition checkbox is NOT selected, under the Options tab. Don’t use PIT tab either. Go back to Log tab btw, it will show the progress when you hit start button in next step.
    Re-partition Remains Off
  12. Click the Start button on Odin now to start flashing the firmware on your Galaxy Alpha SM-G850M. Wait till installation is finished, after which your Galaxy Alpha will reboot automatically. You’ll get PASS message as show below upon successful installation from Odin.
    • If Odin gets stuck at setup connection, then you need to do steps 6 to 12 again. For this, close Odin, disconnect your SM-G850M, remove battery, insert it back after 5-6 seconds and then start from step 6 again.
    • Or, if you get FAIL in the top left box, you need to try flashing again, as stated just above.
      Odin 3.10.6 Pass Message Appears
  13. First start of the device may take time, so wait patiently again. Check the Settings > About phone to confirm new firmware.

That’s it.

If you face any issues with this, let us know via comments below. We’ll try our best to help you.