What does the Samsung A 3 update give? Installing the official firmware on the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017). Updates compared to last year's model
Instructions for installing the official single-file firmware on the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 (SM-A320x).
Drivers and programs
Attention!
To install the official stock firmware on the Galaxy A3 (2017) and return the phone status (Settings > About device > Properties > Device status) to “Official” after upgrading from custom firmware and thereby returning the ability to receive updates By air, just follow the instructions provided.
Installation instructions
Make backup copies of all necessary data and files and save them to your computer, removable media or cloud. Resetting the device will format the internal memory.
Unpack the downloaded archive into a folder with Odin PC for convenience. The file in the ".tar" or ".tar.md5" format must be left, but the "SS_DL.dll" can be deleted.
Reset your device.
To do this, go to the “Backup and reset” section in the settings, select “Data reset” > “Device reset”, enter the PIN code (if one is set) and click on the “Delete everything” button. The phone will reboot.
Run Odin PC as administrator.
Put the device into Download Mode.
To do this, you need to simultaneously hold down the Volume Down key, the Home button and the Power button. Then wait until the phone reboots and agree to the warning by pressing the Volume Up key.
In this state, connect the smartphone to the computer. “COM” should light up in Odin.
Click on the “AP” button and select the TAR firmware archive.
The “Auto Reboot” and “F.Reset Time” items must be activated, and “Re-Partition,” if active, must be disabled.
Click on the “Start” button. The firmware installation process will begin.
At the end of the operation, if everything was successful, the message “All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)". The phone must be restarted manually by holding down the power button until the screen turns off. It may take up to 5 minutes for your device to boot up initially.
ATTENTION!
If the device does not boot for a long time or the data has not been reset, it must be performed from recovery.
To do this, you need to simultaneously hold down the Volume Up key, the Home button and the Power button. After loading, select “Wipe data/Factory reset”, and then “Reboot system now”. If after these steps the device also freezes when loading, you need to reflash it again.
When the device boots up (it is advisable to skip the initial setup), delete data again from step 6.
That's all. Once your phone boots up, it will be completely ready to use and its status should change to “Official”. If this does not happen and the status is still “Special,” you must repeat step 6 of this instruction.
Received by owners of Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017). Now it’s the turn of the Galaxy A3 (2017). It is worth noting that the update was distributed on April 21, and only today it began to be widely discussed. At the same time, Samsung has decided to update the A3 only in the CIS countries for now, which, you see, is nice.
The update size is 1.27 GB. To get information about innovations, we visited a popular thematic forum w3bsit3-dns.com, where the already updated owners shared their impressions. The main disappointment may be the lack of background blur effect in selfies. At least this was stated by a user under the nickname mr.alex249.
User GordonFreemanBY from Belarus shared a list of innovations. So, the company has updated the main settings menu. Now it is similar to that in the flagship models:
Several contrasting keyboard options have appeared:
The “Show notifications” function has appeared. With it, long-holding application icons on the home screen activates the quick view of notifications function. We are probably talking about some kind of analogue of 3D Touch.
Samsung Cloud is now presented in a separate section with various information.
It is clear that the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) will receive an update to Android 7.0. I would even bet that Android 8.0 for the Galaxy A3 (2017) will be released. So a guide to flashing a smartphone will not be superfluous.
So, to flash the Galaxy A3 (2017), you need to do the following:
- download the Odin program to your PC and make sure that your smartphone has enough charge;
- enter the smartphone into Download Mode (while simultaneously pressing the “off” + “volume down” + “home button”) keys, then press “Volume up”;
- connect a USB cable to the device;
- in the Odin application on your computer, select files from the archive with the firmware:
- for the column PIT - a file with the extension *.pit;
- for PDA - a file whose name contains the word CODE, if there is none, then you should know that this is the heaviest file in the archive;
- for CSC - a file whose name contains the word CSC;
- for Phone - a file containing MODEM in the name;
- Note. If the files for the CSC, Phone and PIT columns are not in the archive with the firmware, then we sew exclusively using the one-file method, i.e. indicate the location of the firmware in the PDA column, and leave the remaining lines empty.
The firmware update process traditionally lasts several minutes (from 5 to 15) and if successful, you will be asked to configure the smartphone according to your preferences. After this you can start working.
If suddenly something didn’t work out, you can ask about it in the comments under the article.
Samsung has been the main culprit behind the rise in smartphone screen sizes, but back in 2014 the company tried to offer something different with the Galaxy Alpha. The series was designed to represent high-end phones in small cases. We believe that the Galaxy A3 is the spiritual successor of the Alfa, and we will tell you how it turned out already in its third version below.
The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is the baby of the lineup in terms of screen size: just 4.7 inches. With the Super AMOLED panel type, it immediately stands in opposition to the iPhone 7 screen with its eternal IPS screen.
Another highlight of the A-series is its waterproofing: the IP68 rating again puts the device on par with the latest smartphones. Samsung also brought its mobile payment solution, offering the user to use Samsung Pay through a fingerprint reader. Again, this is done as if in contrast to Apple pay.
Key Features:
– housing: waterproof housing (IP68) with a metal frame and Gorilla Glass coating on the front and back;
– screen: 4.7-inch Super AMOLED with a resolution of 720×1280 pixels (density 312 units per inch); always-on display function;
– 13 MP camera, F/1.9, with LED flash; 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second;
– 8 MP selfie camera with the ability to record 1080p video at 30 frames per second;
– operating system: Android 6.0.1 with proprietary TouchWiz shell + upcoming Android Nougat update;
– chipset: eight-core Exynos 7870 processor with Cortex-A53 cores (1.6 GHz); Mali-T830 graphics chip;
– memory: 2 GB of RAM + 16 GB of storage + microSD slot (dedicated or hybrid, depends on the region);
– battery: lithium-polymer 2350 mAh (sealed) + fast charging;
– connection options: two SIM cards; LTE-A category 6 communications; USB-C; Wi-Fi A/B/G/N/ac; FM radio;
– miscellaneous: fingerprint reader; Samsung Pay.
Main disadvantages:
– the second slot for memory cards allows you to use either a second SIM card or only a memory card;
– only 16 GB of memory available (of which you will only get 10 GB free);
– the main camera is mediocre;
– weak processor.
Updates compared to last year's model:
– waterproofing properties (IP68);
– always-on display technology displays basic information without the need to wake up the entire screen;
– fingerprint reader with Samsung Pay support;
– 8 MP selfie camera;
– eight-core processor (compared to a quad-core processor), slightly more RAM (2 GB versus 1.5 GB);
– USB-C port;
– the price went up (from ~ 200 € to ~ 300 €).
Preliminary conclusion
The Galaxy Alfa has always been a premium device, positioned for a target audience that was looking at iPhones, but preferred to spend half the money. So the Galaxy A3 (2017) is fighting with the new flagship of Apple. True, for complete victory it lacks a normal main camera that could shoot 4k content and have optical image stabilization. And the processor is not as good in terms of computing power as that of Apple’s opponent. But if you just want a small phone that can be operated with one hand, then the 4.7-inch format saves Samsung here. In addition, there is a clear advantage in terms of display. It is brighter, sharper and an order of magnitude more saturated than the iPhone (although the iPhone7 began to offer a display that was a quarter brighter).
The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is interesting because it fills a sparsely populated niche. Compact phones are now in short supply in the market. Everything is occupied by phablets ranging in size from 5 to 6 inches.
Externally, the smartphone remains the same, so there is no reason to reconsider its design. But the addition of waterproofing properties was long-awaited, and now the phone has become much more practical. You can drop it in a puddle or sink without consequences, you can safely take a bath with it and get caught in the pouring rain.
In general, the general update of the characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) smartphone definitely suits it.
