Samsung has just released the Android 11-based One UI 3.1 update for the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G. This is the first Android 11 update for the phone, and Samsung has directly updated the device to One UI 3.1, skipping One UI 3.0
The new One UI 3.1 firmware for the Galaxy A42 5G comes with the A426BXXU1BUB7 build number. The update comes with new features, such as an integrated Google Discover feed, Google Home Device Controls, Google Duo integration, new video call effects, Eye Comfort Shield, Photo Object Eraser, and improvements to the stock camera app.
This build comes with March 2021 security patches, which fixes a number of security issues.
Follow the guide below to learn how to download and install One UI 3.1 Android 11 firmware on the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G.
Contents
How To Download and Install One UI 3.1 Stable Firmware on Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
Pre-requisites
- Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information. Quickly tap 7 times on Build Number to enable Developer Options.
- Go to Settings > Developer Options and tap on USB Debugging. This will allow your phone to communicate with the computer to install the new firmware.
- Make sure you have at least 60% of battery life left. If your phone gets stuck during the installation process, it will not turn off.
- Download the latest Samsung USB drivers for the Galaxy A42 5G (Download)
- Download the Samsung Odin tool. This is the program we will use to flash the firmware.
Download One UI 3 Firmware for the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
Before you actually go ahead and download the firmware, first try and see if One UI 3.1 is available as an over-the-air update on your phone. To do so, go to Settings -> Software Update -> Check for updates. Installing OTA updates is the fastest and easiest way because you do not need any third-party tools. However, Samsung releases OTA updates based on regions, and as a result, you might not get the update for a few weeks.
As a solution for this, you can manually download the official Android 11 firmware and flash it on your Galaxy A42 5G. For this, you will need Frija. This is a tool with which you can download firmware files directly from Samsung’s servers. Here’s how.
- First, download the Frija download tool and extract it.
- Take note of your phone’s model number. If you do not know it, go to Settings -> About Phone. Remember the model number displayed on the screen.
- Open Frija, and enter the model number in the Model field.
- Now you need to enter the CSC code (region code). This is different for every region. For example, it is DBT for Germany, XEF for France, PHE for Spain, XEO for Poland, INS for India, BTU for the United Kingdom, and so on.
- Click on Check Update. The tool will search for the latest firmware files and will display the latest ones.
- Tap on Download. This will download the selected firmware on your computer.
Direct Download Link
- Samsung Galaxy A42 5G (SM-A426B): A426BXXU1BUB7
How to install One UI 3.1 Firmware on the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
- Make sure to download both ODIN flashing tool and the Galaxy A42 5G One UI 3.1 firmware from the download links above.
- Extract the firmware file. You will get five different files that start with different names: AP, BL, CP, CSC, HOME_CSC. Keep track of these files because we will need them.
- Launch Odin on your computer. To do so, extract the Odin archive and double-click on the program.
- Turn off your phone and go into Download Mode. To do so, press and hold the volume down + power buttons at the same time.
- Connect your phone to your computer using the provided USB cable. If the USB drivers are properly installed, the ID:COM box in ODIN will turn blue.
- Click the AP/PDA button and select the file that starts with AP. Click on BL and select the file that starts with BL. Do the same thing for the other files.
- Note: For the CSC part, select the file that starts with CSC if you want to factory reset the phone and delete everything. If you want to save the data on your phone, then go with CSC_HOME.
- Go to Options and make sure to disable Re-Partition and enable Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time.
- Click the Start button and wait for the firmware to be installed on your Galaxy A42 5G.
Once the installation process is over, ODIN will show a green “PASS” text with the time it took to install the firmware. The phone will automatically restart a few times before it boots up. When the phone boots up for the last time, it will be running the newly installed stock firmware.
That is it. Your phone is now running on the latest One UI 3.1 firmware update.