Samsung is finally rolling out Oreo for its 2017 flagship S series. In this post, we will show you how to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Exynos variant.
The manufacturer was testing the latest Android version through a list of Beta builds before it finally started rolling out the update over-the-air. According to DroidLife, the Samsung Experience 9.0 Beta was closed back on 26 January 2018. It marked an end to constant testing of the newest OS, to make sure that the final rollout was highly stable for daily usage. Initial speculations claimed that new update will land somewhere near the beginning of February. And that proved out to be true. With this new OTA, users can expect some serious changes and experience all the base features that Android Oreo offers. If you still haven’t received the update, then follow the steps below to download and install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+.
Table of Contents
Install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (Exynos)
At the moment, the OTA is being pushed to users in India, France, Poland, and Germany. There’s yet to be a confirmation on when the rollout for Snapdragon users in the U.S will take place. The new firmware is labelled as build number G950FXXU1CRAP for the S8 and G955FXXU1CRAP for the S8+. It is based on the latest Samsung Experience 9.0 interface.
XDA senior member cyberon has provided the required files, so as to allow users to update manually. We appreciate his effort and contribution to the community. In a nutshell, you will first need flash stock AQL5 firmware. Post that, you can easily sideload the provided zip packages to install Galaxy S8/S8+ Oreo update.
Update: Official Oreo firmware is now available for both the Galaxy S8/S8+. You can download the firmware here and here, respectively for both the devices. Further, you can follow this tutorial to install the firmware on your phone using Odin.
Before we proceed with the instructions to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+, let us take a quick look at the major highlights of this new update. To start with, you can expect all the ground Oreo features like Picture-in-Picture mode, Notification Channels, Faster boot time, Autofill Framework, Notification Snooze and much more. Apart from that, you will be excited to see several OEM-specific features as follows:
- Customizable keyboard toolbar
- Simplified settings
- Better search function
- Permission monitoring for background apps.
- Enhanced app shortcuts
- Color Lens
- Dual messenger
- New clock styles for Always On Display.
Unfortunately, neither of the devices support Google’s Project Treble on Android Oreo. Which sort of a sad news for the users, who were expecting extended support via custom ROMs. Sammobile has published a detailed side-by-side comparison of Oreo vs Nougat.
Now that you’re acquainted with all the new things you can expect out of this new update, follow the instructions below and install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ right now.
Preparations
- Take a complete backup of your personal data. You can follow our guide on how to backup Android devices.
- Charge your phone to at least 50-60% battery level to avoid any shutdowns during the update process.
- Download and install Samsung USB driver on your PC.
- Install ADB and Fastboot tools on your PC.
Once you have fulfilled the requirements, you are ready to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Download Galaxy S8/S8+ Android Oreo Update
Galaxy S8:
Galaxy S8+:
Instructions to Install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+
The instructions are only meant for the S8 (G950F) and S8+ (G955F). The steps are split into two parts. The first part involves flashing AQL5 firmware on your Galaxy device. Post that, you can sideload the OTA to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+.
1. Flash AQL5 Stock Firmware
- Power off your Galaxy S8/S8+. Hold down the Bixby + Volume Down + Power button to boot into Download Mode.
- Connect your device to the PC using the USB cable.
- Download Odin Flash Tool and extract the zip on your PC.
- Double-click the executable to launch Odin.
- In the Odin window, the ID:COM port should light up. Which means your device was detected successfully.
- Download the AQL5 firmware for your device and region from the above links.
- Extract the downloaded file.
- Click on the BL button and select the AQL5 firmware file starting “BL_”. Do the same for AP, CP, and CSC.
- Once the files have been selected in the corresponding slots, hit the “Start” button.
- After the process is complete, you shall see the “PASS!” message.
Once you have flashed AQL5 firmware, follow the next step to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+.
2. Sideload Android Oreo OTA using Stock Recovery
- Download the OTA zip file(s) for your device.
- Copy the downloaded files to C:\adb on your PC. This is where the ADB and Fastboot binaries are present.
- While holding the SHIFT key on the keyboard, right-click on an empty space inside this folder.
- Select “Open PowerShell window here”.
- Power off your device.
- Hold down the Bixby + Volume Up + Power button simultaneously.
- An Android bot should appear on the screen.
- Hold down the Power button and tap the Volume Up key once to enter stock recovery.
- Use the Volume keys to highlight “Apply update from ADB” and select it using the Power button.
- Connect your Galaxy S8/S8+ to the PC.
- Execute the following command to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+:
adb sideload update.zip - Once done, select “Reboot system now”.
Note that for the S8+, you first need to sideload the “update.zip” for “AQL5 to ZRA5” and then for “ZRA5 to CRAP”.
When that is done, your device should be running Android 8.0 Oreo-based Samsung Experience 9.0. Go ahead and enjoy the latest features. There’s no word on when Samsung will be launching Android 8.1 Oreo beta program. In other news, the OEM will be launching the Galaxy S9 on February 25, the next-generation of the infamous S-series.
So this was our guide on how to install Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+. If you have any questions regarding the procedure, let us know.
