How to Install GSI ROMs on Samsung Devices

Sadique Hassan•Updated May 29, 2024

In this guide, we will show you the steps to install the latest GSI ROM on your Samsung device. The South Korean giant is among the very few players in the market that offers four years of OS upgrades but unfortunately, it is never among the fastest players to roll out the updates either. While that is understandable owing to the heavy customizations that it has to make on top of the vanilla OS, but still a much faster release would have been appreciated any day of the week.

If you are among the tech enthusiasts, then you could skip this waiting queue and welcome abode the fourteenth iteration of the OS right away. Since near about every Samsung device supports Project Treble, you now have the option to install the latest GSI ROM onto your device right away. And in this guide, we will show you how to do just that. So without further ado, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

How to Install GSI ROMs on Samsung Devices

The below process will wipe off all the data from your device, so please take a complete device backup beforehand. Droidwin and its members wouldn’t be held responsible in case of a thermonuclear war, your alarm doesn’t wake you up, or if anything happens to your device and data by performing the below steps.

METHOD 1

To begin with, install the TWRP Recovery on your device via Odin.
Now go to Wipe > Format Data > type in YES > hit blue checkmark.
Then flash the blank vbmeta file by loading it to the AP slot of Odin.
```
DOWNLOAD BLANK VBMETA [May not work on all devices]
```
If the flashing is successful, then directly go to STEP 9 and skip the rest.
However, if the above blank vbmeta didn’t work, then you’ll have to root your device.
So download Magisk ZIP file and transfer it to your device via TWRP.
Then go to Install, select Magisk ZIP, and do a right swipe to flash it.
Once done, go to Reboot and select System. Your device will boot to OS.
Now install Magisk APK. Now launch it and carry out additional setup.
Once done, download and transfer the desired GSI ROM to your device.
Make sure to extract the GSI.img.xz and transfer the resultant GSI img.
Once done, reboot your device to TWRP via the below command:
```
adb reboot recovery
```
Then go to Install, tap on Install Image, and select the GSI.img file.
Choose the System partition and wait for the flashing to complete.
Once done, go to Wipe > Format Data > type in YES > hit checkmark.
Finally, select Reboot > System. The device will boot to the newly flashed OS.

METHOD 2

STEP 1: Install Android SDK

First and foremost, you will have to install the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is the official ADB and Fastboot binary provided by Google and is the only recommended one. So download it and then extract it to any convenient location on your PC. Doing so will give you the platform tools folder, which will be used throughout this guide to install the GSI ROM onto your Samsung device.

STEP 2: Extract PIT from Firmware

Next up, you now have to extract the PIT file from your firmware. For that, download the firmware from Frija Tool or a trusted website and then extract it. You will get a few files, out of which, you need to extract the CSC in order to get the PIT file. You may refer to our detailed guide to get this job done: How to Extract PIT File from Samsung Firmware.

STEP 3: Download Android 14 GSI

You may now get hold of the latest GSI ROM or your Samsung device from here.

STEP 4: Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking

You will also have to enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking on your device. The former will make your device recognizable by the PC in ADB mode. This will then allow you to boot your device to Fastboot Mode. On the other hand, OEM Unlocking is required to carry out the bootloader unlocking process.

So head over to Settings > About Phone > Tap on Build Number 7 times > Go back to Settings > System > Advanced > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking.

STEP 5: Unlock Bootloader on Samsung

You will also have to unlock the device’s bootloader to install the LineageOS GSI ROM onto the Samsung device. Do note that doing so will wipe off all the data from your device and could nullify its warranty as well. So if that’s all and good, then please refer to our guide on How to Unlock Bootloader on any Samsung Device [New VaultKeeper Method]

STEP 6: Boot Samsung Device to Download Mode

You will have to boot your device to Download Mode so that you are able to flash the required mods. So either refer to our detailed guide on How to Boot any Samsung Device to Download Mode or refer to the below shorter instructions:

To begin with, power off your device.
Then press and hold the Power and Volume Up keys and your device will be booted to Stock Recovery.
Now highlight the Reboot to Bootloader option using the Volume keys and then press the Power key to confirm it.
Your device should now boot to the Download Mode.

STEP 7: Install Odin

Next up, you will have to download and install the Odin Tool onto your PC. This is needed to flash the TWRP and disable AVB on your device. So get hold of the latest Odin from here: Download: Odin3-v3.14.4.zip. Once downloaded, extract it to any convenient location on your PC.

STEP 8: Flash PIT

You’ll now have to flash the PIT file onto your Samsung device via Odin. However, do not simply flash the PIT file, instead flash the rest of the firmware files as well. Here’s how:

Launch the Odin Tool on your PC and go to the PIT section. You will get a warning, click OK.
Click on the PIT button, navigate to the extracted PIT file, select it, and hit the Open button to load the file.
Once that is done, you will have to load the other firmware files as well. This is because the PIT file is never flashed alone, but with its associated files. So load the BL, AP, CP, and CSC (the normal CSC file, not the HOME CSC) files to the tool.
Then go to the Options section of Odin and checkmark Re-Partition and Nand Erase. On the other hand, uncheck Auto Reboot.
Finally, hit the Start button and wait for the process to complete. Once the flashing of the PIT file is finished, you should get the Pass message.

STEP 9: Disable Android Verified Boot

Next up, you will have to disable AVB on your device which would then allow you to flash the desired custom binary (in this case, TWRP).

Head over to the TWRP website and download the vbmeta_disabled.tar for your device.
However, if your device doesn’t have one, then you may try this one: vbmeta_disabled.tar file.
Now connect your device to the PC via USB cable (make sure that it is booted to Download Mode)
Then launch the Odin Tool and click on the Userdata button.
Navigate to the vbmeta_disabled.tar file, select it, and click Open.
Finally, click on the Start button. You shall now get a prompt on your device, stating that “You have to reset your device to factory settings”.
So use the Volume Keys to select the reset option and hit the Power key to confirm it.

Your device will now undergo a reset and then, the AVB stands disabled. You may now proceed ahead to install the TWRP Recovery and the GSI ROM on your Samsung device.

STEP 10: Install TWRP Recovery

Download the TWRP Recovery for your device from the official site or an unofficial trusted site like XDA.
Then launch the Odin Tool on your PC and click on the AP button.
Navigate to the downloaded TWRP.tar file, select it, and click Open.
Finally, hit the Start button and TWRP will be flashed onto your device.
Now use the hardware key combinations to boot your device directly to TWRP.

STEP 11: Disable Encryption via TWRP

Once your device boots to TWRP, go to Advanced > Terminal.
Then type in the below command and hit Enter
```
multidisabler
```
Your device will now resize the vendor and will ask you to run multidisabler again.
So again execute the below command and hit Enter
```
multidisabler
```

STEP 12: Install GSI ROM via TWRP

From TWRP, go to Wipe > Format Data and type in YES in the space provided.
Then hit the checkmark situated at the bottom right and wait for the wipe to complete.
Once done, go to Advanced Wipe and select Dalvik, Cache, Data, and System partitions.
Then perform a right swipe to wipe these partitions.
After that, transfer the GSI ZIP file to your device using ADB Sideload, Mount, or OTG.
Then from TWRP, go to Install and tap on Install Image. Navigate to the GSI ROM IMG file and select it.
Now choose the System Image partition and perform a right swipe to flash it. The flashing could take around 5-10 minutes.
Once done, go to Reboot and select System. Your device will now boot to the newly installed OS.

That’s it. These were the steps to install the Android 14 GSI ROM on your Samsung device. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.

FAQ: GSI ROM Bugs and Bootloop Fixes

GSI ROMs are known to go through a few bugs and issues related to network, 5G, or VoWIFI/VoLTE. In case, you also come across such bugs, then you could refer to our below-listed guides to fix them.

Likewise, if your device gets stuck in a continuous bootloop, then it’s most probably in need of disabling the verity checks, which requires flashing the vbmeta. All these have been explained in the below-linked guides, do check them out, if needed:

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