Flash Android device with latest firmware

Before I start with the procedure to flash your device with new fimrware, I would like to explain the various firmware components.

Firmware Components

PDA refers to the build version of the firmware
Phone refers to the baseband/modem version
CSC is the consumer software customisation and is specific to geographical region and carriers. It contains the software packages specific to that region, carrier branding and also APN settings for data connection, MMS etc for your service provider.
.PIT refers to the partition information table you only need it if you screw up your partition table or if the firmware specifically requires it because of a change in the partition table layout. It's very likely you may never have to use this.

Who should flash

Generally, the software upgrade does not require flashing an entirely new firmware. You can use vendors PC tools to upgrade the device firmware like Kies for Samsung devices.
You must avoid flashing except in following cases:
1. The device is giving issues after upgrading or any other ROM changes.
2. The user wants to acquire root access.
3. The user doesnot wish to wait to use the OTA method.

Download the firmware binary and flash the device

TO DOWNLOAD,
You can google for the desired firmware version for the required device.
If the downloaded package only contains one .tar archive then it will have everything, pda+phone+csc, in the one file.

If it has multiple .tar archive then:

• The .tar with modem in the name is the phone/baseband bit of the package
• .tar with csc/multi-csc in the name is the csc bit of the package
• .tar with code/PDA in the name is the PDA part of the firmware package

If this is the case you will need to put these .tar archives in the specific areas of Odin to flash the update
As the firmware update will wipe all data, it means that you should create backups of all the important files on your device. You can move the files on your phone’s internal sd card to your computer using the USB cable.

TO FLASH,
Please ensure that KIES is closed and not running in the system tray! Kies doesn't like Odin, it's like the big brother who's always jealous that his little brother is getting to flash all the phones so he starts to flash block.

1.Get Odin v1.85 from any trusted site.
2. Reboot your phone to download mode.
To get download mode shut down the device. After it shuts off completely simultaneously press the Down volume key+ Home button + press the power button .
You should see a warning asking you to press volume up if you want to continue or volume down to cancel, press volume up. You are now in download mode!
3. Start Odin
4. Click on the PDA button and browse to the .tar or .tar.md5 file that you extracted in step 1
If the package has more than one .tar archive then they will be labelled with PDA, Phone/Modem and CSC. Just put them in the corresponding section of Odin
5. DO NOT PUT .PIT FILE AND DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TICK REPARTITION.

Regardless of firmware version it's still the same methodology

6. Connect the USB cable and wait for the ID:COM section to turn yellow

7. Click start to flash

8. Do not disconnect the cable or turn off the device, it will reboot when it finishes.

It will not wipe your phone if you flash as recommended.

Android::Attach documents in Gmail is no more a pain

Being able to send and receive emails from Android devices has made the life of busy working guys a lot easier. Why wait until you get to the office to reply to emails?

Unfortunately, smart phones and tablets aren’t quite on par with desktop computers yet. Attaching files to email on Android is a little tedious as I have experienced myself, as most of the time you’re limited to attaching only photos and videos, especially when using the Gmail app for Android.

If you need to reply to a mail via gmail app alongwith a attached document, follow 3 simple steps.

1. Download a file manager app from PlayStore

Go to playstore and search for any file manager app like "DropBox". Install this free app.

2. Configure Dropbox and upload documents

When you open the Dropbox App the first time you’ll be prompted to log into your account, or create an account if your’re a new user.

After you log in you’ll see all of your Dropbox folders and files, if any.

You can upload files to Dropbox directly from your Android phone. Select the Menu button on your phone and choose Upload. You’ll be prompted to select the type of file you want to upload. For our example, we’ll select a video we’ve previously shot and stored on the device.

You can easily view the uploaded documents. Tap to open any folder and open your folders, files, photos, videos, etc.

3. Send a new mail or reply via gmail

Now simply launch Gmail on your Android device. Open the message you want to reply to. Then, to attach a file to the email, tap the Menu key and then select “Attach” or “Attach file”.  You’ll see a list of apps, which now includes "DropBox" in addition to Gallery and other file explorer apps you may have installed on your phone.  Tap on "DropBox".  You’ll be taken to a list of files and folders.  Just tap on the file you want to attach. Did you notice that now you can select any file here, not just photos or videos. You can perform the same steps to attach while creating a new message.

Please Note: An important point to note here is inspite of so many offline file managers available in the market, I advised to use DropBox. There is strong reason behind that. Any document uploaded to DropBox can be accessed from anywhere without carrying the actual device which contains the files.

Alternatively, if you do not have any connectivity, then you can downlod and use file manager apps like "ES File Explorer".