Install Android Lollipop On Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V, Root & Enable Native Tethering

Samsung is rolling out the biggest update of Android, the Android 5.0 Lollipop to its mainstream devices slowly. Android 5.0 Lollipop update hit the Galaxy S5 in the Galaxy lineup first of all. The update carried some major changes including the new UI. Samsung revamped TouchWiz according to Google’s new Material Design. New features like notifications on the lock screen, multi-user and guest modes made their way to the device. A number of other improvements are there that the users may come across upon getting this update.

Android 5.0 Lollipop sure is the cool-most Android update yet and many users would love to get it right away, but it takes a lot of time for manufacturers to compile up new software, and then it takes long enough for carriers to roll out the update for their variants. Samsung rolled out the update for S5 months ago, and it took a while for Verizon to cook the all new Android Lollipop for its Galaxy S5 G900V. Its been a month since the update is out for the Verizon users now, but many of the users may have not updated their device yet due to certain reasons. If you haven’t received this update, or you haven’t updated the device just because of the fear of loosing root, you may have the solution right now.

We are going to flash the official update OTA file to update the Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V to stock Android 5.0 Lollipop. If you’re an Android enthusiast who would love to unleash the real power of Android Lollipop, you may use the second method that will help you to flash pre-rooted Android 5.0 Lollipop on your G900V. This guide will also help you to enable Native (WiFi) Tethering/Hotspot on your Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V running Android 5.0 Lollipop. 

Let’s begin with the method now.

Early Preparations:

1. This guide is intended for Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V owners only.
2. Your device’s battery should be charged at least over 50% to avoid power issues during the flashing process.
3. Make sure that you’ve already backed all of your important contacts, call logs, sms messages. Also backup your important media content.
4. Do not forget to backup EFS of your Verizon Galaxy S5. We also recommend backing up Nandroid if you’ve flashed a custom  recovery on your device.
5. Non of these methods will void the warranty of your phone or trip the Knox counter. Follow the instructions carefully, and make sure that you do everything on your own responsibility. In case a mishap occurs, we or the device manufacturers may not be held responsible.

Install Android 5.0 Lollipop Stock On Your Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V [Stock – No Root]

For using this method, your device must be running pure stock Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware with the build number VRU1BOA8. This guide will only help you to flash the latest available Android 5.0 update with the build number VRU1BOC4 on your Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V. The second method will help you to update your device to Android 5.0 Lollipop from any lower version of Android.

1. Download OA8-OC4_update.zip.
2. Rename the downloaded file and update.zip and copy it to your phone’s external SD card.
3. Now boot your phone into stock recovery. To do so turn off your device completely. Now turn it on by pressing and holding Volume Up + Home + Power Key. Leave the keys as your phone turns on.
4. Now using the Volume Up & Down keys select the options “apply update from external storage > select the update.zip file > select yes” and wait for the file to be flashed now.
5. Once done, your device should be running on pure stock Android 5.0 Lollipop OC4 firmware.

How To Install Android 5.0 Lollipop On Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V Keeping Root

This method will help you to install pre-rooted Android 5.0 Lollipop OC6 update on your Verizon Galaxy S5. You can update your device from whatever firmware you are running previously, but you need to have your device rooted prior to flash this firmware. This method will not trip your knox counter and your warranty won’t be void.

• If your device is currently running Android 4.4.2 KitKat, you can root it using TowelRoot.
• If your device is currently running Android 5.0 Lollipop OC4 firmware, you need to flash a different firmware and root it. After that you can update it using the method listed below.
• You need to flash this G900VVRU1ANCG_Full_Odin.rar firmware using this guide.
• Once you’ve installed the firmware linked above, you can root your device using TowelRoot.

1. Instal FlashFire app, you must follow these steps to install FlashFire.
   • Join Android-FlashFire community on Google+.
   • Now open FlashFire Google Play Store link and hit “Become a beta tester”.
   • It will take you to the installation page now, you can install it easily.
   • You may install it using the FlashFire APK if you’re having difficulties with the procedure explained above.
2. Now download the firmware file G900V_OC4_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip.
3. Copy the downloaded .zip file to your phone’s SD card now.
4. Now open the FlashFire App that you just installed on your device.
5. Tap “Agree” to terms and conditions and allow the application for root privileges.
6. Tap the “+” button twice in the lower right corner of FlashFire in order to bring up the actions menu.
7. Now tap “Flash OTA or Zip” and select the G900V_OC4_Stock_Rooted_ROM.zip file. FlashFire will now scan the file.
8. In the next screen, leave the Auto-mount option un-checked and press the tick mark on the top-right corner.
9. In the main settings, uncheck all options under “EverRoot” and use Default Reboot settings.
10. Do not touch anything else, follow these instructions to the letter.
11. Once you’re done with all this, you’re good to go now. Tap the “lightening” button on the lower-left corner now.
12. That’s all. Sit back and wait for the application to do the job. It will take around 10-15 minutes for your device to reboot and it will be running on rooted Android 5.0 Lollipop.

How To Enable WiFi Tethering On Your Verizon Galaxy S5 G900V Running Lollipop

1. Download G900V_OC4_TetherAddOn.zip and copy it to your phone’s SD card.
2. Open FlashFire and Tap the “+” button on the lower right corner.
3. Select the “Flash OTA or Zip” option and select the TetherAddOn.zip file. FlashFire will scan the file.
4. Do not touch any other options in FlashFire and tap the lightening button now.
5. Wait for a while till FlashFire flashes the file and reboots your device.
6. You can now enable WiFi hotspot on your Verizon Galaxy S5. That’s all.

That’s all with this guide. If you face any kind of issues following any of the methods listed above, make sure that you reach us out through the comment box below. We will try our best to help you out. Thank you.

Credits: Rooted Firmware: muniz_ri | Stock firmware: ChadH42