Below you can find meanings and explanations for various abbreviations and terms used in our products and manuals:
Shorts
ADB - Android Debug Bridge - allows the user to communicate and control their Android device using Windows/Linux/macOS command line.
API - Application Programming Interface - set of clearly defined methods of communication between various software components
CDMA - Code-division multiple access
CWM - ClockWorkMod recovery - another custom Android recovery
DFU - Device Firmware Upgrade mode allows all devices to be restored from any state
EDL - Emergency Download mode. This is the special mode through which users can perform various tasks like unbricking, unlock bootloader, and installation of any custom ROMs.
FRP - Factory Reset Protection - prevents the user from unlocking the phone if it was previously reset without removing the Google account
GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language - is the standard markup language for creating web pages and web applications
ICCID - Integrated Circuit Card Identifier - used to identify SIM cards
IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identity - a unique number to identify mobile devices
IMSI - International Mobile Subscriber Identity - used to identify the user of a cellular network
MAC - Media Access Control - a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications at the data link layer of a network segment
MTK - MediaTek - mostly used for chipset
MTP - Media Transfer Protocol
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
PDF - Portable document format
PTP - Photo Transfer Protocol
RSA - Rivest-Shamir-Adleman cryptosystem
SIM - Subscriber identity module
UFED - Universal Forensic Extraction Device
UFDR - UFED Physical Analyzer Report Package
TWRP - Team Win Recovery Project - one of the custom recoveries for Android devices
USB - Universal Serial Bus - an industry standard for cables, connection, communication, and power supply
XML - Extensive Markup Language - defines a set of rules for encoding documents both human and machine-readable
USB - Universal Serial Bus - an industry standard for cables, connection, communication, and power supply
Terms
Android - the mobile operating system developed by Google based on the Linux kernel used in a variety of devices worldwide
Bootloader - enables the installed operating system to boot and startup while it verifies that all the software is genuine
Download mode - Samsung's alternative for Fastboot, requires Odin or Heimdall to communicate with PC
Fastboot - diagnostic protocol included with the SDK package used primarily to modify the flash filesystem of Android devices via USB connection from host computer
iOS - the mobile operating system used exclusively in Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads
Hotkey combination - a combination of keys used to boot into either recovery or Fastboot mode on Android devices