Even if Samsung decides to bring Oreo the two-year-old Galaxy S6, it will take them ages. Thankfully, there are a number of dedicated developers who work tirelessly to bring ROMs of latest Android versions for the older phones. Some of such folks have developed Android Oreo for Galaxy S6 and here are all the details you need to know about it.
Based on the popular Lineage OS, the Android Oreo build for the Galaxy S6 is still in its beta stage and needs some more work to become perfect for daily use. Before going ahead with the installation process, you must know that the ROM would be full of bugs. Installing this ROM on your Galaxy S6 would be a great idea for testing purpose, but if it is your daily driver, then it’s a big no.
Apart from this, the phone’s warranty will also get void once you root the device to install if your device is still covered under one.
Now that you’re here, we believe that you’re still willing to go ahead and try out this Android Oreo build for Galaxy S6. As noted by the developer of this ROM, there are a few perquisites for installing the Oreo build. Here are those:
Before you update Galaxy S6 to Android Oreo beta
- Enable USB Debugging on your Galaxy S6. This can be done from the Development Options in the Settings
- Your device should be rooted and have a recovery tool (like TWRP or CWM) installed.
- The phone’s battery should be charged to at least 70 percent
- Most important of them all, make sure to backup all your data, as the phone’s memory will be completely wiped off during the installation process.
- Now that your device is ready for flashing the Android Oreo ROM, you need to download the Android Oreo installation files for Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge from this
link[unavailable now]. You need to save these files on your computer without extracting for further steps.
Note: The developer has used a Galaxy S6 model G920F for testing this ROM out and this model is completely supported. Any of the other variants of the Galaxy S6 you own might also work by this process but that cannot be guaranteed by the developer.
You can check the official status of Android Oreo update for Samsung Galaxy smartphones here.
How to install Android Oreo on Galaxy S6
With all the things set, you can now head to the installation process for Galaxy S6 Android Oreo update.
- First off, you need to connect your Galaxy S6 via USB cable to the computer you downloaded those files on. Now copy the zip file you downloaded previously to the SD card of your phone.
- Now disconnect your phone from the PC and turn it off. Boot it back on in recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up + Home + Power keys all at once.
- Once done, you now need to wipe the phone from the menu. Press the Wipe button and then on Swipe to Factory Reset.
- After completing the previous step, you can go to the main menu and select Install. Here you need to find the zip file that you had copied to the phone and then choose Swipe to Confirm Flash.
- Your Galaxy S6 will now boot to Android 8.0 Oreo.
Features Not working after Galaxy S6 Oreo update
Hardware-Codecs are not working, videos with high resolutions (from about 1080p+) may start to lag
Some videos with specific codecs can’t be placed, fixing the previous bug should fix that one too
Also connected to the HW-Codec Bug, videos can be recorded with Stock Camera-App, but not played with stock-video players (Only VLC is known to properly play those videos)
GPS in “Device only” mode does not work properly on some apps
Random freezes, problem and source still