Install /e/OS on a Samsung Galaxy A72 - “a72q”

The instructions in this guide will assist you to install /e/OS on your a72q. Please read through the instructions at least once before actually following them, so as to avoid any problems later.

It is important that you know that downgrading Smartphones on OS versions greater than the /e/OS OS version you plan to install, can cause instability or at worst brick some devices. We recommend that you check your current OS version, before attempting the installation.

It is advisable to flash your device only if you know what you are doing and are ok taking the associated risk. All /e/OS builds are provided as best effort, without any guarantee. The /e/OS project and its project members deny any and all responsibility about the consequences of using /e/OS software and or /e/OS services.

Requirements

If required take a backup of all important data from your phone on an external storage device before proceeding.
Do not take a backup on the same device as some of these actions will format the device and delete the backup.
Ensure your phone is charged more than 50%
Check that adb is enabled on your PC. If not you can find the setup instructions here
Download all the files and images mentioned in the download section below before starting the installation
Make sure you have a working data cable to connect your device to the PC. There are cables which are only for charging and do not transfer data.
Enable USB debugging on your device. You can find the instructions here
Make sure that your model is listed in the Smartphone Selector. Check the model supported. Where available, information on the model supported should show as a pop-up when you hover the cursor on the Device name. The model number supported should be the exact same.
Boot your device with the stock OS at least once and check every functionality.

Warning: Make sure that you can send and receive SMS and place and receive calls (also via WiFi and LTE, if available), otherwise it will not work on /e/OS as well. Additionally, some devices require that VoLTE/VoWiFi be utilized once on stock to provision IMS.

Please share your experience , suggest tips or changes to this install guide documentation by visiting the Galaxy A72 specific topic on our community forum.

To report issues in /e/OS please refer this guide

Downloads for a72q

Tip: Before installing /e/OS on the Samsung Galaxy A72 a72q for the first time, install the latest stock OS version 13/14 build on the device

Try the /e/OS Recovery (limited functionality)

/e/OS Recovery for community build

/e/OS build : U community

To understand the difference between /e/OS builds check this guide

Warning: Please note some of the above links can lead to external sites

Before following these instructions please ensure that the device is on the latest Android 13/14 firmware.

Pre-Install Instructions

Warning: The following instructions will unlock the bootloader and wipe all userdata on the device.

Connect the device to a Wi-Fi network.
Enable Developer Options by pressing the “Build Number” option at least 7 times, in the “Settings” app within the “About” menu
- From within the Developer options menu, enable OEM unlock.
Download the /e/OS build zip file from the section marked ‘Downloads for a72q’. Extract the contents of the /e/OS build zip file. You will find a vbmeta.img in the extracted files.
Open a Command Prompt in the folder where the file was downloaded and TAR the file by running tar --format=ustar -cvf vbmeta.tar vbmeta.img
Power off the device, and boot it into download mode:
- hold Volume Down + Volume Up and connect the USB cable to PC.
- Now, click the button that the onscreen instructions correlate to “Device unlock mode” and/or “Unlock Bootloader”.
- Device will restart, repeat steps 1 and 2 to enable the Developer Options menu again.
- Verify that “OEM Unlock” is still enabled and continue to step 6
Download and install the necessary drivers.
- Download the newest Samsung drivers from here.
- Install SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones.exe.
Download this version of Odin.
Extract “Odin_3.13.1.zip”.
Run Odin3 v3.13.1 found in the newly extracted “Odin_3.13.1” folder.
Check the box labeled next to the button labeled “AP”, and then click the “AP” button.
- In the menu that pops up, select the newly created custom VBMeta .tar file.
Power off the device, and again boot it into download mode:
- hold Volume Down + Volume Up and connect the USB cable to PC.
Check in the top left of the Odin window that you see a valid device, it will show up as something like COM0.
Tip: The COM port, or the number succeeding COM, may be any valid number.
Click “Start”. A blue or white transfer bar will appear on the device showing the VBMeta image being flashed.
Your device will reboot, you may now unplug the USB cable from your device.
The device will demand you format userdata, please follow the onscreen instructions to do so.
Run through Android Setup skipping everything you can, then connect the device to a Wi-Fi network.
Re-enable Development settings by clicking the “Build Number” option 10 times, in the “Settings” app within the “About” menu, and verify that “OEM Unlock” is still enabled in the “Developer options” menu.

Important Information

Caution: The following instructions require a machine running Windows 10 build 17063 or newer..

Samsung devices come with a unique boot mode called “Download mode”, which is very similar to “Fastboot mode” on some devices with unlocked bootloaders. Odin is a Samsung-made tool for interfacing with Download mode on Samsung devices. The preferred method of installing a custom recovery is through Download Mode – rooting the stock firmware is neither necessary nor required.

Tip: If this device’s install instructions already had you download Odin/Enable OEM Unlocking earlier in the installation process, you can skip steps 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 below.

Installing a custom recovery using `Odin`

Enable Developer Options by pressing the “Build Number” option 10 times, in the “Settings” app within the “About” menu
- From within the Developer options menu, enable OEM unlock.
Download a custom recovery - you can download . Download the latest recovery file, mentioned in the Downloads for a72q section above
Rename the downloaded image to “recovery.img”, Open a Command Prompt in the folder where the file was downloaded, and TAR the file by running

tar --format=ustar -cvf recovery.tar recovery.img

Tip: The path may vary depending on where you download the recovery image.
Power off the device, and boot it into download mode:
- hold Volume Down + Volume Up and connect the USB cable to PC.
- Now, click the button that the onscreen instructions coorelate to “Continue”, and insert the USB cable into the device.
Download and install the necessary drivers.
- Download the newest Samsung drivers from here. You will need to create a Samsung account and login to download them.
- Install SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones.exe.
Download this version of Odin.
Extract “Odin_3.13.1.zip”.
Run Odin3 v3.13.1 found in the newly extracted “Odin_3.13.1” folder.
Check in the top left of the Odin window that you see a valid device, it will show up as something like COM0.

Tip: The COM port, or the number succeeding COM, may be any valid number.
In the left side of the Odin window, you will see an “Options” tab, click it, and then un-check the “Auto Reboot” option.
Check the box labeled next to the button labeled “AP”, and then click the “AP” button.
- In the menu that pops up, select the newly downloaded custom recovery .tar or .tar.md5.
Tip: The filename may very depending on your device, and the version of your custom recovery.
A blue transfer bar will appear on the device showing the recovery image being flashed.

Tip: The device will continue to display Downloading... Do not turn off target!! even after the process is complete. When the status message in the top left of the devices’s display reports that the process is complete, you may proceed.
Unplug the USB cable from your device.
Manually reboot into recovery, this may require pulling the device’s battery out and putting it back in, or if you have a non-removable battery, press the Volume Down + Power buttons for 8~10 seconds until the screen turns black & release the buttons immediately when it does, then boot to recovery:
- With the device powered off, Reboot and immediately hold Volume Up + Power while the device is connected to a PC via USB cable.

Caution: Be sure to reboot into recovery immediately after installing the custom recovery. If you don’t the custom recovery will be overwritten on boot.

Steps to install /e/OS using /e/OS recovery

Tip: Use the volume keys to navigate and power key to select

Tip: If your PC is unable to detect your device in adb ..in the /e/OS recovery main screen tap Advanced » Enable adb

On /e/OS Recovery Main Screen:

Select Factory reset
Select Format data / Factory reset option
Next screen will display a warning that this action cannot be undone
Select Format data to proceed or Cancel if you want to go back
If you selected Format data ..the format process will complete

Tip: You will see text in small font on the lower left side of the screen mentioning format progress

The small font text would be similar to this
```
 Wiping data
 Formatting/data
 Formatting/cache
 Data wipe complete
```
Display will now return to the Factory Reset screen

Tip: Use the volume up key to choose the arrow at the top to go back to main screen

In /e/OS Recovery main screen:
Select Apply Update and in next screen Apply update from adb
In the next screen, the device is now in sideload mode

Note at this point the Cancel option is highlighted that does not mean you have canceled the action. The device is in adb sideload mode.
On your PC type begin adb sideload. Type the below command in a console

adb sideload downloaded_file_name.zip

Replace downloaded_file_name.zip with the name of the /e/OS file you downloaded in the previous section
Press enter key on the keyboard to start the sideloading The screen will show the progress percentage…This might pause at 47%
Give it some time
The PC console will now display Total xfer: 1.00x
The phone screen will now display some text with a message similar to

Script succeeded result was [1.000000]

This means that the install was successful
Use the volume key to select the back arrow on the top left of the phone screen
Go back to the main screen and select Reboot system now

The reboot process may take 5 - 10 minutes

Success: Congratulations !! Your phone should now be booting into /e/OS !!

To find some troubleshooting tips… click here

adb

Getting a Total xFer ':' 0.01x message - Try to upload the /e/OS to internal storage and retry to install
adb ':' sideload connection failed ':' insufficient permissions for device error - Try to execute the commands adb kill-server and adb start-server and retry
Running adb shell twrp install /sdcard/</e/OS zip package> raise non-existent directory error - Try to check solution here
Getting an insufficient permissions error - Try the solution given here
When running "adb devices" in bash a device is shown as "unauthorized" - Try the solution given here

TWRP

Errors while running TWRP version 3.4.x.x or above - Try downloading and using a previous TWRP version.. below 3.4.x.x
In TWRP if this error shows up failed to mount /preload - Try in TWRP wipe screen in advanced menu select preload and swipe to wipe
/cache/recovery/xxx -> no such file or directory error while flashing a ROM - On PC run adb shell in the console now create a folder called recovery for e.g. here the devicecode name is violet "violet :/cache# mkdir recovery"

Connectivity

Trying to troubleshoot mobile connectivity issues - Read this guide