How to update Galaxy Tab S2 to Nougat

Own a Galaxy Tab S2? Let’s update it to Nougat! The new update, Android 7.0 Nougat, has landed in for the for the 9.7 inch Galaxy Tab S2 with the model number SM-T810. Galaxy Tab S2 is the premium tab from Samsung. The update for this device comes out as a surprise since it took more than long for Samsung to cook it and send it our way. As expected, it brings loads of goodies on the device. Galaxy Tab S2 will now enjoy Samsung’s changed UI which is called Samsung Experience. Tab S2 will also join the league of Galaxy devices which have an option to change the resolution of screen to enhance its battery life.

Galaxy Tab S2 also gets the new notification panel, new blue light filter, transparent application icons, new settings application with revamped icons and UI. Calendar application has been renewed as well. There is a lot of new stuff in the performance and battery department as well. Samsung has added a device maintenance option under settings. Using this option, you can tweak the performance and battery life for certain applications on your tablet. Overall, this is update is totally worth installing on your phone.

Samsung seeds out the update in phases. The OTA update has hit the German region first of all. We are not sure when Samsung will send it to other regions. If you have the SM-T810 variant of the 9.7 inch Galaxy Tab S2 and you reside outside Germany, you are not out of luck. You can flash this firmware on your device manually using Odin. All you need is to have the T810 variant of the Tab S2.

Here is a step by step guide to update Galaxy Tab S2 to Nougat. Read every single step carefully while going ahead with the flashing process.

Update Galaxy Tab S2 to Nougat

Early Preparations

Make sure that your device is exactly as mentioned above. To check out what device you have, go to Settings > More/General > About Device or Settings > About Device and match the model number. Be careful about the device model number, flashing a file on a device not listed here might result in bricking it up. In that case, we may not be held responsible.

Your device’s battery should not be weak. In case your device goes dead during the flashing process, your device may get soft bricked and you might be in need of flashing stock firmware and that will ultimately result in wiping up your data as well.

Always use the original data cable to establish connection between your Android device and your computer / laptop. Using ordinary data cables might interrupt the flashing process, so to avoid any mishap, you need to meet this requirement as well.

Backup everything!

Backup SMS Messages
Backup Call Logs
Backup Contacts
Backup Media – Copy your files manually to your PC or Laptop.
Backup EFS – If rooted, otherwise skip this step.

Make sure that you turn off Samsung Kies while using Odin3 flashtool. Samsung Kies will interrupt Odin3 and will result in causing errors and may not let you flash your desired firwmrae. Also, make sure that you turn off any antivirus software you’ve installed and also disable firewall to avoid any connection and flashing issues.

Required Downloads & Installations

1. Download and install Samsung USB Drivers on your PC.
2. Download and extract Odin3 v3.12.3
3. Download the firmware: SM-T810_T810XXU2DQCL.zip
4. Extract the downloaded firmware file to get the .tar.md5 file.

Install Android Nougat on your Galaxy Tab S2 now

1. Wipe your device complete in order to attain a neat installation. You may boot into the recovery mode and perform a factory data reset.
2. Open Odin3.exe.
3. Put your Galaxy Tab S2 in download mode. To do so, turn it off and wait for 10 seconds. Turn it on by pressing and holding Volume Down + Home Button + Power Key simultaneously, You should see a warning, press Volume Up to continue. In case this method doesn’t work for you, try one from this guide.
4. Connect your device to your PC.
5. As soon as Odin detects your phone, the ID:COM box should turn blue.  Make sure that you’ve installed Samsung USB drivers before connecting.
6. For Odin 3.12.3 hit the AP tab. Select the firmware.tar.md5 or firmware.tar, that you downloaded and extracted above.
7. If you’re using Odin 3.07, you will select “PDA” tab instead of the AP tab, rest of the options remain untouched.
8. Make sure that the options selected in your Odin are exactly as shown in the pic.
   
9. Hit start and wait till the firmware  flashing is complete, The flashing process box will turn green upon successful flashing.
10. Once the flashing process has been completed successfully, disconnect your device and reboot it manually.
11. Once the device boots up, checkout the new firmware now.
12. Your device will be running on official Android Nougat.
13. Once updated to stock, do not try to downgrade, or else you will result in messing up EFS partition of your device.
14. That’s all!

Got any queries? Make sure that you drop em’ in the comment box below. Good Luck!