Guide: Manually update to 2.3.4 from 2.3.2 or 2.3.1

[quantumrand]

Since manually updating to 2.3.4 is a little different for each version of 2.3.x, I'm writing a quick little guide.

[Disclaimer: There is some risk involved any time you mess around in the recovery mode, though if following this guide, the risks are extremely small; nonetheless, I am not responsible for any damage to your device, computer, psyche, etc. Lastly, this guide is intended for STOCK devices only. People who are rooted, have custom ROMs, or custom themes should continue at their own risk.]

*Note: This is for i9020T's only. For the i9023 (aka SLCD version), see following post. For the i9020A (aka AT&T version), see the third post below.

First off, the only 2.3.4 updates available for direct download right now are for updating from 2.3.3 only, so you will have to update to 2.3.3 before updating to 2.3.4.


The first step will be downloading the update to 2.3.3.
People coming from 2.3.1 (aka GRH78) will need this file: http://android.clients.google.com/p...2bf.signed-soju-GRI40-from-GRH78.e0b546c4.zip

People coming from 2.3.2 (aka GRH78C) will need this file: http://android.clients.google.com/p...9e.signed-soju-GRI40-from-GRH78C.98f3836c.zip


Next you'll need to copy your 2.3.3 update (linked above) to the root directory of your Nexus S' USB storage (the root directory is the main directory, for example, G:\[this is where you put the file]).

Now unplug your USB cable (for best results, have your phone fully charged at this point) and turn off your phone.

Power up into the recovery mode (hold Volume Up while pressing the Power Button). Using the volume rockers, highlight "Recovery" and press the Power button to select it.

Your phone will boot into the recovery menu. To activate the menu, hold Power and press Volume Up.

Now select "apply update from sdcard" and choose the update zip file you downloaded and copied above.

It will go through and install. If you get an error stating something like "Could not verify signature" it means the file may be corrupt download it again and start over. If you get an error saying "Version verification failed" you downloaded the wrong file.

Once it's done installing, you'll be back at the recovery menu. Use it to reboot your phone. Now you're on 2.3.3, congratulations.



Going from 2.3.3 to 2.3.4:
*Note: This will only work going from GRI40, not GRI54. Under Settings>About phone, if your Baseband version ends with KB1 you're on GRI40 (that will be the case if you followed this guide from the beginning). If it ends with KB3, you're on GRI54.

Download the update file here: http://android.clients.google.com/p...749.signed-soju-GRJ22-from-GRI40.a14a2dd0.zip

If you're getting version errors with the above update, you can use this the full 2.3.4 ROM to update from any version of Gingerbread (2.3, 2.3.1, 2.3.2, or 2.3.3) and any baseband. Again, this is only for the i9020T. File is available here: http://android.clients.google.com/p...206299fe6.signed-soju-ota-121341.da820629.zip

Like before, copy this file to the root directory of your Nexus S' USB storage. To avoid confusion, it's probably best to delete the previous update file first.

Reboot into recovery mode, just like before, and apply the new update file. Once installed, reboot your phone. You're now on 2.3.4!

 

[quantumrand]

For those with the i9023 (aka the SLCD version):

You will want this file to update to 2.3.4 (should work for all versions of the i9023):
http://android.clients.google.com/p...206299fe6.signed-soju-ota-121341.da820629.zip

This following is an old link intended for KB1 and unspecified basebands (i9023 only): http://v7.nonxt6.c.android.clients....22-from-GRI54.486786a7.zip?redirect_counter=1

Copy it to the root directory of your Nexus S' USB storage, as described in the previous post. Then unplug your USB cable and power off your phone (for best results, make sure it's fully charged).

Power up into the recovery mode (hold Volume Up while pressing the Power Button). Using the volume rockers, highlight "Recovery" and press the Power button to select it.

Your phone will boot into the recovery menu. To activate the menu, hold Power and press Volume Up.

Now select "apply update from sdcard" and choose the update zip file you downloaded and copied above.

It will go through and install. If you get an error stating something like "Could not verify signature" it means the file may be corrupt download it again and start over. If you get an error saying "Version verification failed" you downloaded the wrong file.

Once it's done installing, you'll be back at the recovery menu. Use it to reboot your phone. Now you're on 2.3.4, congratulations!

 

[quantumrand]

For those with the i9020A (aka AT&T version):

You can grab the update file here: http://android.clients.google.com/p...5b.signed-sojua-GRJ22-from-GRI54.286d814d.zip

Copy it to the root directory of your Nexus S' USB storage, as described in the previous post. Then unplug your USB cable and power off your phone (for best results, make sure it's fully charged).

Power up into the recovery mode (hold Volume Up while pressing the Power Button). Using the volume rockers, highlight "Recovery" and press the Power button to select it.

Your phone will boot into the recovery menu. To activate the menu, hold Power and press Volume Up.

Now select "apply update from sdcard" and choose the update zip file you downloaded and copied above.

It will go through and install. If you get an error stating something like "Could not verify signature" it means the file may be corrupt download it again and start over. If you get an error saying "Version verification failed" you downloaded the wrong file.

Once it's done installing, you'll be back at the recovery menu. Use it to reboot your phone. Now you're on 2.3.4, congratulations!

 

[dhend25]

Since manually updating to 2.3.4 is a little different for each version of 2.3.x, I'm writing a quick little guide.

*Note: This is for i9020T's only. For the i9023 (aka SLCD version), see following post. Sorry, I have not found a link for the i9020A (aka AT&T version) yet.

First off, the only 2.3.4 updates available for direct download right now are for updating from 2.3.3 only, so you will have to update to 2.3.3 before updating to 2.3.4.


The first step will be downloading the update to 2.3.3.
People coming from 2.3.1 (aka GRH78) will need this file: http://android.clients.google.com/p...2bf.signed-soju-GRI40-from-GRH78.e0b546c4.zip

People coming from 2.3.2 (aka GRH78C) will need this file: http://android.clients.google.com/p...9e.signed-soju-GRI40-from-GRH78C.98f3836c.zip


Next you'll need to copy your 2.3.3 update (linked above) to the root directory of your Nexus S' USB storage (the root directory is the main directory, for example, G:\[this is where you put the file]).

Now unplug your USB cable (for best results, have your phone fully charged at this point) and turn off your phone.

Power up into the recovery mode (hold Volume Up while pressing the Power Button). Using the volume rockers, highlight "Recovery" and press the Power button to select it.

Your phone will boot into the recovery menu. To activate the menu, hold Power and press Volume Up.

Now select "apply update from sdcard" and choose the update zip file you downloaded and copied above.

It will go through and install. If you get an error stating something like "Could not verify signature" it means the file may be corrupt download it again and start over. If you get an error saying "Version verification failed" you downloaded the wrong file.

Once it's done installing, you'll be back at the recovery menu. Use it to reboot your phone. Now you're on 2.3.3, congratulations.



Going from 2.3.3 to 2.3.4:
*Note: This will only work going from GRI40, not GRI54. Under Settings>About phone, if your Baseband version ends with KB1 you're on GRI40 (that will be the case if you followed this guide from the beginning). If it ends with KB3, you're on GRI54.

Download the update file here: http://android.clients.google.com/p...749.signed-soju-GRJ22-from-GRI40.a14a2dd0.zip

Like before, copy this file to the root directory of your Nexus S' USB storage. To avoid confusion, it's probably best to delete the previous update file first.

Reboot into recovery mode, just like before, and apply the new update file. Once installed, reboot your phone. You're now on 2.3.4!

Hopefully one last question.

When I click on the link for my 2.3.1 update version a dialogue box pops up asking "What should Firefox do with this file? choices are to OPEN with Windows Explorer (default) or "SAVE FILE". Which should I select?

Thanks,

Dave H

 

[quantumrand]

Hopefully one last question.

When I click on the link for my 2.3.1 update version a dialogue box pops up asking "What should Firefox do with this file? choices are to OPEN with Windows Explorer (default) or "SAVE FILE". Which should I select?

Thanks,

Dave H

You want to save it. It will be a zip file, but don't unzip it. Leave it as it is and just copy it to your phone.

 

[flashy]

I download update direct to phone and in recovery selected update from downloaded list and applied update 2.3.3 then did same for 2.34 worked fine.

 

[dhend25]

Thanks guys! I got it. I'm now on version 2.3.4.

Color looks fine to me. I really can't tell much of a difference from 2.3.1.

Anyway, thanks to all who helped me get this done!

DH

 

[dog812]

There has been posts on other forums of people manually upgrading there phone and then not being able to use their phones.. so some carriers may not be ready for the upgrade.. or something??? .. just a heads up..

 

[dhend25]

There has been posts on other forums of people manually upgrading there phone and then not being able to use their phones.. so some carriers may not be ready for the upgrade.. or something??? .. just a heads up..

Huh?

 

[quantumrand]

Thanks guys! I got it. I'm now on version 2.3.4.

Color looks fine to me. I really can't tell much of a difference from 2.3.1.

Anyway, thanks to all who helped me get this done!

DH

Glad you got it figured out!

 

[quantumrand]

I've been getting a lot of PM's with questions about the installation process, so I've put together a rough but thorough video walk through. Hopefully this will answer all of those questions as well as provide a bit of a visual guide for those worried about what they're getting themselves into.

YouTube - Manually Updating a Nexus S

 

[lalith.w]

Hi,

My mobile i9023 on GRI54 (aka the SLCD version with 2.3.3 with unspecified baseband):

when i tried to install i got the following error:- apply_patch_check("MTD:radio:12583040"0d28ed5fbaffbc9a50ab9f3b30e10f3f:12583040:2ea138c96cc213b2662ae1bbcc958")
E:erroe in /tmp/sideload/package.zip
(status 7)
installation aborted.

Please help me for the same.

Regards,
lalith

 

[quantumrand]

Hi,

My mobile i9023 on GRI54 (aka the SLCD version with 2.3.3 with unspecified baseband):

when i tried to install i got the following error:- apply_patch_check("MTD:radio:12583040"0d28ed5fbaffbc9a50ab9f3b30e10f3f:12583040:2ea138c96cc213b2662ae1bbcc958")
E:erroe in /tmp/sideload/package.zip
(status 7)
installation aborted.

Please help me for the same.

Regards,
lalith

Sorry, it seems there was some confusion over the update links. The KB1 (GRI40) and unspecified baseband updates actually haven't turned up yet. I'll keep a look out though. There are methods out there to kinda force it to update, but it involves wiping all of your data and I'm not comfortable recommending it since it's not confirmed if it is 100% compatible with the i9023.

 

[quantumrand]

Hi,

My mobile i9023 on GRI54 (aka the SLCD version with 2.3.3 with unspecified baseband):

when i tried to install i got the following error:- apply_patch_check("MTD:radio:12583040"0d28ed5fbaffbc9a50ab9f3b30e10f3f:12583040:2ea138c96cc213b2662ae1bbcc958")
E:erroe in /tmp/sideload/package.zip
(status 7)
installation aborted.

Please help me for the same.

Regards,
lalith

The i9023 guide has been updated and should work for you now

 

[quantumrand]

Just updated the i9020T guide. You can use the full 2.3.4 ROM to update from any version of Gingerbread and baseband. Those of you getting version errors (such as error 7) can use this file to update. Get it here http://android.clients.google.com/p...206299fe6.signed-soju-ota-121341.da820629.zip

 

[quantumrand]

Just updated the guide with directions for those with the i9020A, also known as the AT&T version of the Nexus S. Enjoy

 

[bradrobertson]

I have a Nexus S with 2.3 (GRH55) on it. It doesn't specify 'a' or 't' on the baseband version, just I9020XXJK8. It's used on Mobilicity in Canada which is 1700/2100 which I believe the 't' version uses, but again it's not specified on the phone.

I tried the file that said it would upgrade all versions to 2.3.4, but I get an 'E: failed to verify whole-file signature' message.

I also tried an update from this article that is specifically for updating GRH55 to GRH78, but I get the same message. I've tried numerous files from numerous links that seem to claim the same update, to no avail.

The odd thing is that when I go into 'recovery mode' I get a triangle with an exclamation mark in it ( ! usually means something's wrong??) the article mentioned says I should see a triangle with a phone.

Not sure if there's something wrong with my phone in particular (it's not rooted or otherwise modded) or if there's something specific about the I9020 (without the 'a' or 't') that requires a different update. Any tips?

 

[bradrobertson]

ok just saw the video and yours has the ! mark as well in recovery so its nothing to do with that.

Forgot to mention I've downloaded these files using many different methods (ie browser & wget) to the same effect. I can't imagine the download could possibly be corrupted (though there's no MD5 that I know of to verify) so I think there's something else odd going on here.

Bought the phone from BestBuy when it was first released. Any tips greatly appreciated.

 

[quantumrand]

ok just saw the video and yours has the ! mark as well in recovery so its nothing to do with that.

Forgot to mention I've downloaded these files using many different methods (ie browser & wget) to the same effect. I can't imagine the download could possibly be corrupted (though there's no MD5 that I know of to verify) so I think there's something else odd going on here.

Bought the phone from BestBuy when it was first released. Any tips greatly appreciated.

Try this update: http://android.clients.google.com/p...a25375426.signed-soju-ota-189904.1ada2537.zip

It's the I9020T 2.3.1 (GRH55 JK8) to 2.3.6 update.

If that doesn't work, you can try the full 2.3.6 update which upgrades from any previous version. Link: http://android.clients.google.com/p...a25375426.signed-soju-ota-189904.1ada2537.zip

The original guide is for 2.3.4, but I'm assuming you'd prefer to be on 2.3.6 (hence the 2.3.6 links above).

 

[phillybean]

i have a similar issue to lalith.w...i followed the instructions to the letter, but instead i get this:

assert failed: file_getprop("/system/build.prop"
, "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/sojua/cresp
o:2.3.3/GRI54/105536:user/release-keys" ||
file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fi
ngerprint") == "google/sojua/crespo:2.3.4/GRJ22/
121341:user/releas-keys"
E:Error in /tmp/sideload/package.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

i have no idea what to do here...btw, my nexus s is the i9020a from telus canada, and i get the exclamation mark thingy before entering recovery as well... =(

 

[quantumrand]

i have a similar issue to lalith.w...i followed the instructions to the letter, but instead i get this:

assert failed: file_getprop("/system/build.prop"
, "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/sojua/cresp
o:2.3.3/GRI54/105536:user/release-keys" ||
file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fi
ngerprint") == "google/sojua/crespo:2.3.4/GRJ22/
121341:user/releas-keys"
E:Error in /tmp/sideload/package.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

i have no idea what to do here...btw, my nexus s is the i9020a from telus canada, and i get the exclamation mark thingy before entering recovery as well... =(

What version of Android do you currently have installed? Is there any possibility that your phone is rooted and/or has a custom ROM?

The following link should work for any version of Android on the I9020A, but if you're rooted, you should do a Data Wipe/Factory Reset from within the recovery console first. This update will take you to 2.3.6 btw.

http://android.clients.google.com/p...8148de0d.signed-sojua-ota-189904.0b9c8148.zip

 

[phillybean]

What version of Android do you currently have installed? Is there any possibility that your phone is rooted and/or has a custom ROM?

The following link should work for any version of Android on the I9020A, but if you're rooted, you should do a Data Wipe/Factory Reset from within the recovery console first. This update will take you to 2.3.6 btw.

http://android.clients.google.com/p...8148de0d.signed-sojua-ota-189904.0b9c8148.zip

i have 2.3.3 on now, but i would like to unroot back to the original version so i can recieve ota os updates. my problem was that i couldnt find a stock rom that worked, and btw, how do i back up my data? i only see:

reboot system now
apply update from /sdcard
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition

no backup...?

 

[quantumrand]

i have 2.3.3 on now, but i would like to unroot back to the original version so i can recieve ota os updates. my problem was that i couldnt find a stock rom that worked, and btw, how do i back up my data? i only see:

reboot system now
apply update from /sdcard
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition

no backup...?

The stock recovery menu doesn't have backup features. You get those when you flash Clockwork mod. The Nexus S is setup so that the stock recovery menu reflashes any time you reboot it, so you have to flash Clockwork mod each time you want to use it (or setup a script to flash it automatically).

But Clockwork mod won't really help you anyway since its nandroid backup feature can only restore your data through clockwork mod. And then it will restore your rooted ROM, not the new one.

The best way to back up your stuff is with an App like MyBackupPro or Titanium Backup.

If you're still having trouble flashing the 2.3.6 stock ROM, try using ROM Manager: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.koushikdutta.rommanager

 

[phillybean]

Thanks so much! i'll try that now

 

[woodworm]

Quantumrand you are a model of clarity and I am extremely grateful. Yes, I can't see much difference from 2.3.1 to 2.3.4 except for some additional options in NFC, but it has fixed the bad threading of non-number based SMS, and hopefully has also stopped my phone rebooting mid call.

I love the support that people like you are willing to give to people like me. Thank you again!