Notices

• Thank you VanVuong41429 for contributing so many TACs!
• Thank you henr1kas for the download method that doesn't require IMEIs!

Bifrost – Samsung Firmware Downloader

This is yet another firmware downloader for Samsung devices, but it has some special features.

For one, it's cross-platform. Bifrost runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and even Android!

Bifrost is also a graphical program, with a shared UI across all supported platforms.

Most of the functionality in Bifrost is based on Samloader. The Python code has been converted to Kotlin and tweaked to take advantage of some of Kotlin's features.

Bifrost uses Jetpack Compose, JetBrains Compose for Desktop, and Kotlin Multiplatform to create a shared codebase for all supported platforms.

Support

Enjoying the app? Donate here.

Download

For Windows, macOS, and Linux, you can download from https://bifrost.zwander.dev.

For macOS and Linux, you can also install using Homebrew:

brew install --cask bifrost

Alternatively, check the Releases page for binaries.

If you want to run this on iOS or use the iOS version on macOS, you can sign up for the TestFlight version here. Note that this version may not receive the same frequency of updates as the rest.

Platform Compatibility

Note for Linux

Make sure you have at least one of the following font families from each category installed.

Sans Serif

• Noto Sans
• DejaVu Sans

Serif

• Noto Serif
• DejaVu Serif
• Times New Roman

Monospace

• Noto Sans Mono
• DejaVu Sans Mono

Cursive

• Comic Sans MS

Changelog

Release notes are available in CHANGELOG.md.

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Bifrost isn't downloading watch firmware.

Unfortunately, Samsung doesn't serve the full firmware files for watches, so Bifrost can't download them.

Bifrost is returning error 400/401 when downloading

These errors are on Samsung's end. If you can, try using a different region/CSC.

Bifrost is returning error 403 when checking for updates

These errors are on Samsung's end. Samsung may no longer be serving firmware for your device or may not have started serving firmware yet. Try a different region/CSC if possible and check to make sure your model number is correct.

Bifrost opens to a blank screen on Windows

On certain GPUs, Jetpack Compose/Skia has trouble rendering. Try running the program as an administrator.

If you have switchable graphics, try using a different GPU.

Download speeds are slow

Samsung's servers sometimes throttle downloads to about 3MiB/s. For older devices, you may see even slower speeds. Different regions/CSCs may have faster downloads.

How do I know which CSC to use?

On your device, do the following:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down to "About phone" or "About tablet" and tap it.
3. Tap "Software information".
4. Scroll down to "Service provider software version".
5. You'll see something like "XAA/XAA,XAA/XAU/TMB" or "XAR/XAR/" on the second line.

The first three letters there are your current CSC. The last three letters are the original/firmware CSC of your device.
Using the above examples, the first has a current CSC of XAA and a firmware CSC of TMB. The second has a current CSC of XAR and a firmware CSC of XAR.

How do I choose an alternative CSC if mine isn't working?

Use the CSC picker dialog (the button that looks like a list inside the "Region" text field).
You can search for your country or region in there and see the different CSCs used. If there are specific carriers associated with a CSC, they'll also be shown.

Why is my antivirus flagging the app?

Certain antivirus programs may flag Bifrost as malware. This is (hopefully obviously) a false positive.

There's a trojan horse malware family named Bifrost, which is part of the greater Bifrose family.
Antivirus programs flagging Bifrost (this app) seem to be doing it solely based on this app having the same name as the malware.

Bifrost (the malware) only affects Windows systems and has limited functionality after Windows XP. For more information, see this Wikipedia article.

Bifrost (this app) does not contain malware. You can verify this by browsing through the source code or by compiling it yourself using the instructions below.

Building

Building this project should be fairly easy.

Prep:

1. Make sure you have the latest Android Studio Canary installed.
2. Clone this project into Android Studio and let it import.

Desktop

Conveyor

Bifrost makes use of Conveyor to create binaries for different desktop platforms.

Conveyor can build for Windows and Linux from any host OS, but macOS is required to build for macOS.

1. To build, first download and install Conveyor from the link above.
2. Next, open a terminal to the project's root directory.
3. Run ./gradlew :desktop:build (.\gradlew.bat :desktop:build on Windows).
4. Run the following command based on your target system.
   4.1. Intel/AMD (x86) Windows: conveyor -Kapp.machines=windows.amd64 make windows-zip.
   4.2. ARM64 Windows: conveyor -Kapp.machines=windows.arm64 make windows-zip.
   4.3. x86 Debian: conveyor -Kapp.machines=linux.amd64 make debian-package.
   4.4. ARM64 Debian: conveyor -Kapp.machines=linux.arm64 make debian-package.
   4.5. x86 Linux: conveyor -Kapp.machines=linux.amd64 make linux-tarball.
   4.6. ARM64 Linux: conveyor -Kapp.machines=linux.arm64 make linux-tarball.
   4.7. Intel Macs: conveyor -Kapp.machines=mac.amd64 make unnotarized-mac-zip.
   4.8. Apple Silicon Macs: conveyor -Kapp.machines=mac.arm64 make unnotarized-mac-zip.
5. Check the output folder in the root of the project for the binary.

Gradle

Alternatively, you can run a debug binary by executing the :desktop:run task.

./gradlew :desktop:run (.\gradlew :desktop:run on Windows).

Android:

Command Line:

1. Open the Terminal view in Android Studio (bottom-left).
2. Enter gradlew :android:build on Windows or ./gradlew :android:build on macOS and Linux.
3. Once it finishes building, go to android/build/outputs/apk/debug and install android-debug.apk.

GUI:

1. Open the Gradle view in Android Studio (top-right).
2. Expand the project, then expand "android".
3. Expand "Tasks," then "build," and double-click "build".
4. Once it finishes building, go to android/build/outputs/apk/debug and install android-debug.apk.

Running

Android

Download bifrost_android_<VERSION>.apk and install it.

Windows

• On Intel or AMD devices, download the .zip ending in windows-amd64.
• On ARM64 devices, download the .zip ending in windows-aarch64.

macOS

• On Intel Macs, download the .zip ending in mac-amd64.
• On Apple Silicon Macs, download the .zip ending in mac-aarch64.

Linux

• On Debian-based systems, download the .deb file.
• On other Linux distros, download the .tar.gz file.

For Intel or AMD devices, download the amd64 variant. For ARM64 devices, choose aarch64 or arm64.

Translating

Bifrost uses Weblate for translations.

Help translate Bifrost to your language on the project page!

Screenshots

Desktop:

Mobile:

Error Reporting

Bifrost uses Bugsnag for error reporting.