How to Install US Cellular Galaxy S4 Lollipop update [Firmware Download]

At last the Galaxy S4 users at US Cellular have the Android 5.0 Lollipop update treat available. It’s a long wait no doubt, almost nine months since Lollipop was released. While other Galaxy S4 sets received the update way earlier, it was poor from US Cellular to delay the update for so long.

This is also perhaps the last update US Cellular Galaxy S4 will see, as there are very slim chances of Android 5.1 making it to the device. And absolutely no chances of an Android M update for US Cellular S4.

If you can’t install OTA update, or haven’t received the Lollipop OTA yet, you can still update your US Cellular S4 to Android 5.0 by downloading and installing the full firmware manually.

Just look at the guide below, which will help you in using Odin PC software to install and update your USC S4 to Android 5.0.

How to update US Cellular Galaxy S4 to Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update

Downloads

OE2 5.0.1 update firmware: Direct Link | Sammobile | File: R970TYUGOE2_R970USCGOE2_USC.zip
Odin PC software | File: Odin3_v3.10.6.zip (1.6 MB)

Supported devices

US CELLULAR GALAXY S4, model no. SCH-R970
Don’t try this on any other Samsung Galaxy S4 or any device than model no. R970!
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!

Download the Odin software and firmware file from above for your US Cellular S4.
Install Galaxy S4 drivers (method 1 there!) first of all. Double click the .exe file of drivers to begin installation. (Not required if you have already done this.)
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 here’.
You should get the a file in .tar.md5 format now. We will be loading this file into Odin, to be installed on your Galaxy S4 (in step 10 below).
Extract the Odin file. You should get this file, Odin3 v3.10.6.exe (other files could be hidden, hence not visible).
Disconnect your S4 from PC if it is connected.
Boot USC Galaxy S4 into download mode:
1. Power off your S4. 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.
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.
Connect your Galaxy S4 to PC now using USB cable. Odin should recognize your S4. 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 you get the Added!! message, which confirms that Odin has recognized your device.
- If you don’t get Added!! message, you need to install/re-install drivers again, and use the original cable that came with device. Mostly, drivers are the problem (look at step 2 above).
- You can try different USB ports on your PC too, btw.
Load the firmware file into Odin (that you got in step 3 above). Click the AP button on Odin and the select the .tar.md5 file you got in step 3 above, upon doing extracting the downloaded .zip file.
- Info: When you load files, Odin checks the md5 of firmware file, which takes time. So, simply wait until that’s done and the firmware file is loaded. Don’t worry if Odin gets unresponsive for a while, it’s normal. Binary size will also show up in Odin.
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.
Click the Start button on Odin now to start flashing the firmware on your Galaxy S4. Wait till installation is finished, after which your S4 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 device, 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.
First start of the device may take time, so wait patiently again. Check the Settings > About phone to confirm new firmware.