Choosing the right flashing tool depends on two things: your device's chipset, and your phone or tablet's brand. Android devices run on different processors — mainly MediaTek (MTK), Qualcomm Snapdragon, UNISOC (Spreadtrum/SPD), Rockchip, and Allwinner — and each chipset has its own flashing protocol. That means a tool built for MTK phones will not work on a Qualcomm device, and vice versa. If you are unsure which chipset your phone uses, check the device specs on the manufacturer's website or look at the model's product page.
For MediaTek phones and tablets, the standard flashing program is SP Flash Tool, which supports scatter-based firmware flashing and works with almost all MTK chipsets. For Qualcomm devices, QPST (Qualcomm Product Support Tools) is the standard program — used alongside QFlash for full firmware writing. For UNISOC/Spreadtrum phones and tablets, the SPD Flash Tool handles PAC file flashing for the full range of SPD chipsets.
For brand-specific devices, manufacturer tools are often the simplest option. Samsung phones and tablets use Odin, which flashes Samsung's own firmware format directly. Xiaomi devices use MiFlash, and Huawei devices use their own HiSuite tool. Before running any flashing tool, make sure your Windows PC has the correct USB driver installed for your device — without this, the tool will not detect your phone or tablet at all.