Install /e/OS on a Samsung Galaxy A73 5G - “a73xq”

The instructions in this guide will assist you to install /e/OS on your a73xq. 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 A73 5G specific topic on our community forum.

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

Downloads for a73xq

Tip: Before installing /e/OS on the Samsung Galaxy A73 5G a73xq for the first time, install the latest stock OS version 13 build on the device

Try the /e/OS Recovery (limited functionality)

/e/OS Recovery for community build

/e/OS build : T 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 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 a73xq’. 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 a73xq 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.

Installing /e/OS from recovery

Before proceeding ensure you have downloaded the /e/OS for your device, from the link given in the Downloads section above
If you aren’t already in recovery mode, reboot into recovery mode
- by typing the below command in the console of an adb enabled PC
```
 adb reboot recovery
```
In TWRP return to main menu, then tap Wipe
Now tap Format Data and continue with the formatting process.

Here a new screen may show where you will have to type Yes and confirm the action by clicking a button.

Caution: Format Data will remove encryption as well as delete all files stored on the internal storage. Remember to take a backup first. Check Requirements section above.
Return to the previous menu and tap Advanced Wipe.
Select the Cache and System partitions to be wiped and then Swipe to Wipe
Sideload the /e/OS .zip package.

Tip: Sideload requires actions in two places to be done. One on your phone in the TWRP UI and secondly on the connected PC which should have adb enabled. Also note the sideload process while running may stop abruptly around 50%. The console would show a message Total xfer: 1.00x. This would mean that the transfer has successfully completed.
- On the device in TWRP,
  
  select Advanced, ADB Sideload, then swipe to begin sideload.
- On the host machine, in the console , start the sideload of the package by typing
```
 adb sideload filename.zip
```
Tip: Change the filename to the name of the file you downloaded
Once installation has finished, return to the main menu, tap Reboot, and then System

Warning: Avoid installing any additional apps or services if suggested by the recovery. They may cause your device to bootloop, as well as attempt to access and or corrupt your data.

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