Last updated 24 Jan 2015
Please read all items in posts #1, #2 and #3 carefully and thoroughly as they should answer most of your update queries. Particularly post #3 as this has, "Tips for using this Dummies Guide".
This thread is only for the Jelly Bean, (JB), update* for...
Samsung Galaxy SII, GT-i9100, GT-i9100M, GT-i9100P, GT-i9100T, GT-i9100G
(To check your model number... Settings > About phone > Model number)
(*For update to ICS, Android 4.0.?, see, here.)
#1.1. What determines if I can update to JB?
It doesn't matter where you bought your phone or what sim card you are using or what location you are using it in. What does matter is the CSC code, (Consumer Software Customisation code). To find your CSC code... go to the dial pad and type in...
*#1234#
You will then get a screen showing, "Version", with 4 lines of information...
PDA refers to the language pack and build version of the firmware
Phone refers to the baseband/modem version
CSC is specific to geographical region and carriers. It contains the software packages specific to that region, languages, carrier branding and also APN settings for data connection, MMS etc for your service provider.
Build Info: The time and date of the build you are running.
(***Please include the above information when posting a question)
The CSC code will determine if JB has been released for your phone's firmware and will look something like this... I9100XYZLPZ or I9100MXYZLPZ
The important part to determine your eligibility for JB are the 3 letters after the number... in this case XYZ, (unless you have an M, T, G or P variants. In which case it is the 3 letters after that).
You can now go to post #2 to see if JB is available for your CSC code.
For an explanation of Samsung's Firmware codes, see, here.
For the language packs included in the various stock releases, see, here. The code for your language pack is shown in PDA, above, and is the 2 letters following your model version, i.e. i9100XWLSS or for the variants, i9100G/M/P/T/XWLSS. All language packs contain English.
Of course, the easiest way to determine your eligibility for JB, is to connect your phone, via USB, to Samsung PC Suite, Kies and check for an update!
Samsung, Jelly Bean, User Manual, (English, Europe), download, here.
#1.2. Tips... on how to prevent update problems
Although the JB update is a, “No wipe”, update, meaning that during the installation of the new firmware an attempt will be made to update and integrate all your existing app’s and settings to run with the new JB firmware. However, it is possible to receive corrupted downloads of firmware updates, and also, not all app’s or settings on your phone may be compatible with JB or correctly integrated. This can, of course, cause problems since it is difficult to track down the cause of such problems and, in the case of ICS, the blame was in many cases unfairly placed on the ICS firmware. The advice for a trouble free installation is to back everything up and do a Factory Reset and a format of your internal and external memory, particularly if you have moved some app’s to your internal/external SD cards, prior to the update, thus enabling a clean, “vanilla”, install and then re-sync your phone with your Google account after updating and checking that all is well before re-downloading your app’s from the Play Store. For more details on this, see, Firmware update problems... what you can do!.
The choice is yours.
After updating, re-calibrate your battery as follows in post #1, here.
Always ensure that you have a fully charged battery before updating.
I would recommend avoiding OTA, (Over The Air), updates if possible as they can cause problems if the download is interrupted or corrupted. If you do choose OTA, make sure your battery is fully charged and use Wi-Fi as the download can be around 500+MB.
#1.3. Problem connecting to Kies
If you experience a problem connecting to Kies then follow this excellent troubleshooting guide by Hawker, entitled... "Advanced steps to take for Kies connection problems".
#1.4. I have an *** carrier sim card... why can't I get JB?
See #1.1.
#1.5. JB is available for my code but I cannot update
Provided that your phone has never been rooted, unlocked, flashed or altered in any way, (see next section), then the best advice is to take it to a Samsung Service Point and ask them to update the firmware for you. It has also emerged during the ICS update that sometimes vendors have been flashing phones with a different firmware prior to sale in an attempt to sell to a wider market and therefore upgrades via Kies are not possible. See #1.6.
.
#1.6. I have rooted my phone. Can I get JB?
You will not be able to receive JB via Kies, the Samsung PC Suite, if you are rooted or have changed your firmware, CSC code, and may receive the message, "YOUR DEVICE DOES NOT SUPPORT SOFTWARE UPGRADING VIA KIES" . There are also reports that people who have had their phones repaired at a Service Point and re-flashed with different firmware are unable to receive updates via Kies. You will need to revert back to the original stock firmware, if you know it. You could, of course, use the method in #1.7.
#1.7. My CSC code is not eligible for JB yet but I want it now!
You do not have to wait for JB to be released for your CSC code. You can install, via PC software called Odin, any of the released stock Samsung firmwares, for your model version, shown in post #2.
Stock, official, Samsung Galaxy S2 firmware can be downloaded from the SamMobile Firmware Page, after registering, by entering either "i9100, i9100G, i900M, i9100T, i9100P" in the, "Search device here", box on the page followed by your CSC code, (i9100***), see #1.1. To see all firmware releases for your model of phone, just omit the CSC code.
For step-by-step instructions and video on installing firmware via Odin, see here.
(Ignore the ICS file that they suggest you download and use the official JB firmwares mentioned above.)
This is for competent users and will void your warranty, if you have one, by flashing any firmware other than that intended for your original CSC code as well as preventing future updates through Kies or Over The Air, (OTA).
#1.8. When will JB be available for my CSC code?
The answer to that is that if you have not received it by now... you never will. See below.
What I can say is that Jelly Bean is, IMHO, worth having. Firmware wise it puts the the SII on a par with the SIII. It brings a lot of new applications and features to the SII.
Update on Jelly Bean releases so far
Over a year after the official release of Jelly Bean, Android 4.1.2, for the SGSII and more than 80% of all the CSC codes in post #2 have now been updated to JB. In fact, some of these individual CSC codes have now received as many as 7 separate JB updates to give them the latest version of JB. See, #1.9.
Of those CSC codes yet to receive the update to JB, by far the biggest proportion are carrier branded firmware and are the responsibility of the carriers to update. Since the SGSII is now over 3 years old and at its EoL, (End of Life), these carriers have decided to not to spend the time, money and effort on JB support for the SGSII and prefer instead to concentrate on the newer models such as SGS4, SGS3, Note3, etc: The Galaxy S2 will not receive the JB updates to Android 4.2.2, 4.3 or to KitKat, Android 4.4.
So, what do you do if JB has not been released yet for your CSC code?
1. You can, as per #3.6, contact your carrier directly and see if they have any plans for releasing JB for your phone, as Samsung will have sent them the stock, Samsung, JB firmwares over the last year and will only be awaiting their return with the added carrier, "bloatware", for release, should those carriers decide to support JB. For non carrier, unbranded, firmware you can contact Samsung who may be waiting for the OK from a country's telecommunications authority before being allowed to release their firmware. Certain Middle Eastern countries are notoriously slow in granting such permissions, for instance.
2. You can flash any of the stock Samsung firmware releases so far for your model of phone and language pack, see #1.1, (all firmwares contain the English language), by carefully reading and following the step-by-step instructions and video in the link in #1.7. Please take the time to read posts #1, #2 and #3 first as they will answer a lot of your questions.
3. Root your phone by carefully reading and following the step-by-step instructions and videos in posts #1, #2, and #3 of the Rooting Galaxy S2 - Dummies Guide and install any of the custom ROM's, (firmware), that are available for the SGSII, including JB, 4.2.2 or the very popular NEAT ROM KitKat Android 4.4.4 ROM. Alternatively, if you would like to try Android 5.0.2, Lollipop, there is the CyanogenMod 12 Beta ROM.
If you have any questions about rooting or custom ROM's, see the, "All Things Root", section of the forum.
NEW! Marshmallow, Android 6.0.1 ROM from CyanagenMod, See..
Marshmallow comes to the Galaxy S2
The choice... is yours!
#1.9. Jelly Bean Build releases
Contrary to popular belief, firmware releases such as Jelly Bean are not a single entity but rather they are constantly evolving and receiving updates for bug fixes and features. Hence, a particular CSC code may receive, 1, 2, 3, 4, or more updates. Since Samsung do not release change logs for these it can be difficult to place these releases in order. The release build can be found on your phone by going to...
Settings > About phone or About device > Build number (i.e. XWLSN).
In SamMobile listings, see #1.7, for firmware this is shown under PDA and are the last 3 letters.
This is a rough guide to the builds so far by the fixes and content contained in them...
(LS4, LS8) (LSD, LSE, LSF, LSG, LSH, LSI, LSJ, LSK, LSM, LSN, LSQ LST) (LSS, LSU, LSW, LSY, LSZ, MS1, MS2, MS3, MS5, MS8, MSA).
(Whilst I have taken every care in compiling this guide, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that may occur through its use and the decision to use this guide lies with you, the owner. This guide is written solely for, and on behalf of, Android Forums and may not be reproduced, in part or whole, without permission)
E&OE
Please read all items in posts #1, #2 and #3 carefully and thoroughly as they should answer most of your update queries. Particularly post #3 as this has, "Tips for using this Dummies Guide".
This thread is only for the Jelly Bean, (JB), update* for...
Samsung Galaxy SII, GT-i9100, GT-i9100M, GT-i9100P, GT-i9100T, GT-i9100G
(To check your model number... Settings > About phone > Model number)
(*For update to ICS, Android 4.0.?, see, here.)
#1.1. What determines if I can update to JB?
It doesn't matter where you bought your phone or what sim card you are using or what location you are using it in. What does matter is the CSC code, (Consumer Software Customisation code). To find your CSC code... go to the dial pad and type in...
*#1234#
You will then get a screen showing, "Version", with 4 lines of information...
PDA refers to the language pack and build version of the firmware
Phone refers to the baseband/modem version
CSC is specific to geographical region and carriers. It contains the software packages specific to that region, languages, carrier branding and also APN settings for data connection, MMS etc for your service provider.
Build Info: The time and date of the build you are running.
(***Please include the above information when posting a question)
The CSC code will determine if JB has been released for your phone's firmware and will look something like this... I9100XYZLPZ or I9100MXYZLPZ
The important part to determine your eligibility for JB are the 3 letters after the number... in this case XYZ, (unless you have an M, T, G or P variants. In which case it is the 3 letters after that).
You can now go to post #2 to see if JB is available for your CSC code.
For an explanation of Samsung's Firmware codes, see, here.
For the language packs included in the various stock releases, see, here. The code for your language pack is shown in PDA, above, and is the 2 letters following your model version, i.e. i9100XWLSS or for the variants, i9100G/M/P/T/XWLSS. All language packs contain English.
Of course, the easiest way to determine your eligibility for JB, is to connect your phone, via USB, to Samsung PC Suite, Kies and check for an update!
Samsung, Jelly Bean, User Manual, (English, Europe), download, here.
#1.2. Tips... on how to prevent update problems
Although the JB update is a, “No wipe”, update, meaning that during the installation of the new firmware an attempt will be made to update and integrate all your existing app’s and settings to run with the new JB firmware. However, it is possible to receive corrupted downloads of firmware updates, and also, not all app’s or settings on your phone may be compatible with JB or correctly integrated. This can, of course, cause problems since it is difficult to track down the cause of such problems and, in the case of ICS, the blame was in many cases unfairly placed on the ICS firmware. The advice for a trouble free installation is to back everything up and do a Factory Reset and a format of your internal and external memory, particularly if you have moved some app’s to your internal/external SD cards, prior to the update, thus enabling a clean, “vanilla”, install and then re-sync your phone with your Google account after updating and checking that all is well before re-downloading your app’s from the Play Store. For more details on this, see, Firmware update problems... what you can do!.
The choice is yours.
After updating, re-calibrate your battery as follows in post #1, here.
Always ensure that you have a fully charged battery before updating.
I would recommend avoiding OTA, (Over The Air), updates if possible as they can cause problems if the download is interrupted or corrupted. If you do choose OTA, make sure your battery is fully charged and use Wi-Fi as the download can be around 500+MB.
#1.3. Problem connecting to Kies
If you experience a problem connecting to Kies then follow this excellent troubleshooting guide by Hawker, entitled... "Advanced steps to take for Kies connection problems".
#1.4. I have an *** carrier sim card... why can't I get JB?
See #1.1.
#1.5. JB is available for my code but I cannot update
Provided that your phone has never been rooted, unlocked, flashed or altered in any way, (see next section), then the best advice is to take it to a Samsung Service Point and ask them to update the firmware for you. It has also emerged during the ICS update that sometimes vendors have been flashing phones with a different firmware prior to sale in an attempt to sell to a wider market and therefore upgrades via Kies are not possible. See #1.6.
.
#1.6. I have rooted my phone. Can I get JB?
You will not be able to receive JB via Kies, the Samsung PC Suite, if you are rooted or have changed your firmware, CSC code, and may receive the message, "YOUR DEVICE DOES NOT SUPPORT SOFTWARE UPGRADING VIA KIES" . There are also reports that people who have had their phones repaired at a Service Point and re-flashed with different firmware are unable to receive updates via Kies. You will need to revert back to the original stock firmware, if you know it. You could, of course, use the method in #1.7.
#1.7. My CSC code is not eligible for JB yet but I want it now!
You do not have to wait for JB to be released for your CSC code. You can install, via PC software called Odin, any of the released stock Samsung firmwares, for your model version, shown in post #2.
Stock, official, Samsung Galaxy S2 firmware can be downloaded from the SamMobile Firmware Page, after registering, by entering either "i9100, i9100G, i900M, i9100T, i9100P" in the, "Search device here", box on the page followed by your CSC code, (i9100***), see #1.1. To see all firmware releases for your model of phone, just omit the CSC code.
For step-by-step instructions and video on installing firmware via Odin, see here.
(Ignore the ICS file that they suggest you download and use the official JB firmwares mentioned above.)
#1.8. When will JB be available for my CSC code?
The answer to that is that if you have not received it by now... you never will. See below.
What I can say is that Jelly Bean is, IMHO, worth having. Firmware wise it puts the the SII on a par with the SIII. It brings a lot of new applications and features to the SII.
Update on Jelly Bean releases so far
Over a year after the official release of Jelly Bean, Android 4.1.2, for the SGSII and more than 80% of all the CSC codes in post #2 have now been updated to JB. In fact, some of these individual CSC codes have now received as many as 7 separate JB updates to give them the latest version of JB. See, #1.9.
Of those CSC codes yet to receive the update to JB, by far the biggest proportion are carrier branded firmware and are the responsibility of the carriers to update. Since the SGSII is now over 3 years old and at its EoL, (End of Life), these carriers have decided to not to spend the time, money and effort on JB support for the SGSII and prefer instead to concentrate on the newer models such as SGS4, SGS3, Note3, etc: The Galaxy S2 will not receive the JB updates to Android 4.2.2, 4.3 or to KitKat, Android 4.4.
So, what do you do if JB has not been released yet for your CSC code?
1. You can, as per #3.6, contact your carrier directly and see if they have any plans for releasing JB for your phone, as Samsung will have sent them the stock, Samsung, JB firmwares over the last year and will only be awaiting their return with the added carrier, "bloatware", for release, should those carriers decide to support JB. For non carrier, unbranded, firmware you can contact Samsung who may be waiting for the OK from a country's telecommunications authority before being allowed to release their firmware. Certain Middle Eastern countries are notoriously slow in granting such permissions, for instance.
2. You can flash any of the stock Samsung firmware releases so far for your model of phone and language pack, see #1.1, (all firmwares contain the English language), by carefully reading and following the step-by-step instructions and video in the link in #1.7. Please take the time to read posts #1, #2 and #3 first as they will answer a lot of your questions.
3. Root your phone by carefully reading and following the step-by-step instructions and videos in posts #1, #2, and #3 of the Rooting Galaxy S2 - Dummies Guide and install any of the custom ROM's, (firmware), that are available for the SGSII, including JB, 4.2.2 or the very popular NEAT ROM KitKat Android 4.4.4 ROM. Alternatively, if you would like to try Android 5.0.2, Lollipop, there is the CyanogenMod 12 Beta ROM.
If you have any questions about rooting or custom ROM's, see the, "All Things Root", section of the forum.
NEW! Marshmallow, Android 6.0.1 ROM from CyanagenMod, See..
Marshmallow comes to the Galaxy S2
The choice... is yours!
#1.9. Jelly Bean Build releases
Contrary to popular belief, firmware releases such as Jelly Bean are not a single entity but rather they are constantly evolving and receiving updates for bug fixes and features. Hence, a particular CSC code may receive, 1, 2, 3, 4, or more updates. Since Samsung do not release change logs for these it can be difficult to place these releases in order. The release build can be found on your phone by going to...
Settings > About phone or About device > Build number (i.e. XWLSN).
In SamMobile listings, see #1.7, for firmware this is shown under PDA and are the last 3 letters.
This is a rough guide to the builds so far by the fixes and content contained in them...
(LS4, LS8) (LSD, LSE, LSF, LSG, LSH, LSI, LSJ, LSK, LSM, LSN, LSQ LST) (LSS, LSU, LSW, LSY, LSZ, MS1, MS2, MS3, MS5, MS8, MSA).
(Whilst I have taken every care in compiling this guide, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that may occur through its use and the decision to use this guide lies with you, the owner. This guide is written solely for, and on behalf of, Android Forums and may not be reproduced, in part or whole, without permission)
E&OE
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