If you can reinstall the software on your Samsung TV, you should know the following.
You cannot reinstall the software on your TV. You won’t even be able to roll back an installed update (new minor version to old minor version), and here’s why.
Recording and storing the operating system in the TV
The TV OS is recorded in the chips of permanent memory. Usually, it is two chips in one, as an analog of the BIOS, containing the basic commands. In this chip are stored parameters that are changed through the service menu, and there is another chip in which the program itself is recorded. In it are changed user parameters that can be reset through the normal menu.
When trying to install an old software version via USB, the TV checks the OS version. If it is older than the one installed on the TV, the TV displays a message that the update is not possible.
Workarounds for installing an older software version
In some TV models, you can do this using an RS-232 port or EXT-port (mini RS-232 analog). But it is difficult; you need a program to start the forced rewriting of the OS to an older version; such programs are available in service centers. They allow you to return the OS to the previous version in case of incorrect installation of the updated version. However, this happens rarely, and this method is not used practically.
Reinstalling the OS in case of turning the TV into a brick
The TV can be broken if you incorrectly set the settings in the service menu. In this situation, the TV does not turn on, usually it starts, but at some stage of loading hangs with a black screen.
In this case, you can not reinstall the OS; the only option is to buy a new motherboard.
When you change settings in the service menu, the information is stored in the memory chip. When you activate the service menu, the chip enters the parameter write mode. Suppose you set a critically incorrect parameter that prevents the TV from loading certain OS modules. In this case, you will lose access to the service menu and, of course, the ability to overwrite the information in the chip.
In this case, the only way out is to replace the board or re-flash the program in the memory chip programmer, but for re-flashing you need to have special equipment and appropriate skills. Since I was once engaged in repair, I will tell you how it is done.
- You need to unsolder the memory chip.
- Place it in the programmer and erase the information; this can be done on the board itself, with the TV on, by closing the corresponding pins of the chip.
- Find the original program for your particular TV model. They are not usually freely available. The chips are installed together with the recorded program. As an option, you can extract the program from a similar chip of the same TV model and read it, but, as you understand, this is difficult.
- Pour the program on the chip and solder it to the board.
Bottom line: Buying a new TV motherboard is usually easier and cheaper than re-flashing the memory chip.
Updating the Samsung TV OS (USB, online)
You can update your TV’s software online by launching a system update, the TV will connect to Samsung’s servers, check for updates and download a new version of the current OS. These are not global versions, but only patches of the OS installed on the TV. Due to the peculiarities of the design, you cannot install a new version of OS on the TV, you can only install updates of the existing OS. There is also an update via USB, which works the same way: you need to write the update file to a flash drive and install it in the TV. Start the update via USB, the TV will read and install the software update. In this case there is also no rollback to the previous version, even if you have a previous OS patch on the flash drive and a newer one on the TV, the installation of updates will be blocked.
