How to update device stuck on pre-outage version?

I still have a Samsung S9 stuck on 1.14 with no OTA updates showing. Actually I have the required sequence of updates from a different S9. How can I transfer them to the affected S9?

The /e/ Recovery does not seem to allow this.

Back up all of your data (phone will be wiped/formatted). Install the latest recovery then update the eOS to latest available.

I have never done a Samsung phone only a tablet. They have their own extra steps to follow in the S9 instruction. But what I said above is essentially true, update the recovery then the eOS.

That’s the obvious solution but I’d like to keep the phone set up as it is (for a relative abroad).

Why can’t we transfer the update files (which I have stored) to a phone as though it was coming from OTA?

The option to use the System updater to update from as a Local update has been introduced fairly recently (maybe for not all devices ??) but my guess is that a device stuck on v1.4 will not have this option.

Your existing downloaded ROMs could probably be installed by adb sideload.

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Ok, if I don’t format the device and do sideload of the update, will it keep the settings/apps?

Is it not possible to put the update files where they would land from OTA, using e.g. twrp? Thanks

a “Q” formated /data partition will be unreadable by a “R”, “S”, “T”, or “U” system. OS will not boot…

using the recovery-manager
Or from “SDcard” or “internal_storage”

You said you are at 1.14, what eOS letter?

The Recovery does not give that option, which means I have to take a laptop running adb to my relative abroad. Any way around this?

Maybe you cannot check the device at a distance but surly e-Recovery offers some usable options?

What do you see from: Boot into recovery > Apply update > Apply from …

  • adb is always there
  • a “navigate to” option is also there, isn’t it?