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Help Upgrading Firmware? i9000

wendy1986

Lurker
May 10, 2012
1
0
First of all what does upgrading firmware mean?

Am i correct in thinking that i can upgrade from froyo to gingerbread? - this makes absolutely no sense to me at all!

The reason i ask is because my phone is playing up now after a year of having it. Things such as force closes, running slowly, and recently crashing and vibrating. Upon searching the google about the problems, i came across sites saying that i could upgrade the firmware. These sites though look like complete gobbledygook to me! I'm not a complete technophobe, i am fairly 'techy' to an extent with a pc but not so much with my phone.

Do i need to upgrade?
Would i lose everything on my phone if i did?

My phone isn't unusable, infact most of the time its fine, just becoming slightly irritating more than anything.

If anybody could explain all this to me in simple terms i would be grateful.

I apologise for sounding like a complete dummy!

Thankyou, Wendy :thinking:
 
Hi Wendy,

Upgrading the Firmware on a phone is entirely voluntary but highly recommended. The benefits to upgrading are numerous including bug fixes, performance increases and extra features.

Upgrading is a fairly simple process where you will just connect your phone to your PC in Kies mode then launch Kies software on the PC. Kies will then inform you if an upgrade is availale and it's as simple as following the upgrade wizard to update your phone.

Things that may be lost from the phone would be your apps and home screen set-up. You would need to re-download your apps and configure your home screens again. Anything stored on an SD card or the phones internal SD storage should stay intact but it's always wise to create a backup just in case.

Availability of upgrades to the Firmware are dependant on your country and or your network carrier (if the phone is locked to a particular network or not).

If you haven't already got a copy of Samsung Kies installed on your PC you can get the latest version from Kies Samsung

Ray.
 
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Hi Wendy,

Upgrading the Firmware on a phone is entirely voluntary but highly recommended. The benefits to upgrading are numerous including bug fixes, performance increases and extra features.

Upgrading is a fairly simple process where you will just connect your phone to your PC in Kies mode then launch Kies software on the PC. Kies will then inform you if an upgrade is availale and it's as simple as following the upgrade wizard to update your phone.

Things that may be lost from the phone would be your apps and home screen set-up. You would need to re-download your apps and configure your home screens again. Anything stored on an SD card or the phones internal SD storage should stay intact but it's always wise to create a backup just in case.

Availability of upgrades to the Firmware are dependant on your country and or your network carrier (if the phone is locked to a particular network or not).

If you haven't already got a copy of Samsung Kies installed on your PC you can get the latest version from Kies Samsung

Ray.
As Ray says, depends where you are which update you will get - wherever you are you will probably get it eventually.. The latest on offer and available in Scandinavia and the UK is Version 2.3.6 which came out a few weeks ago, was practically unuseable but, with the latest update - to the update(!) a couple of days or so ago seems fine.
Fully charge your phone. Download Kies, go to settings on your phone and then Wireless and network. Then to USB settings and highlight Samsung Kies. Back to the home page and plug the phone into the PC. Kies should offer you an update which will hopefully be 2.3.6 - and there may be some reference to XXJW4 - but anyway just follow the on-screen instructions. Should be very straightforward.

To be honest 2.3.6 is the best (and only - so far at least - bug free) version. I've had my phone nearly two years and as a Mac user for over 10 years I should have - would have bought an i-phone if Apple had not had a stupid policy regarding operators and unlocking phones. My next phone will be a Samsung however.................It takes them a while but when they get it right they do some excellent gear!
 
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@ Rofa,

You mentioned that the 2.3.6 update was practically unusable prior to the further update. However, I didn't experience any problems with the original JW4 firmware. Mind you, I did install the leaked version from SamMobile and performed a wipe data/factory restore before and after the update and I wiped the Dalvik cache as well.

I was toying with the idea of getting a Galaxy S II or S III as my next phone but I'm being drawn towards a Nokia Lumia instead.

Ray.
 
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@ Rofa,

You mentioned that the 2.3.6 update was practically unusable prior to the further update. However, I didn't experience any problems with the original JW4 firmware. Mind you, I did install the leaked version from SamMobile and performed a wipe data/factory restore before and after the update and I wiped the Dalvik cache as well.

I was toying with the idea of getting a Galaxy S II or S III as my next phone but I'm being drawn towards a Nokia Lumia instead.

Ray.

The problem was with the Samsung Launcher mainly - it was just reasonable with GO Launcher. A Lumia? - well they look nice - and since I currently live in Finland I suppose I should encourage you. But it's Windows and I've tried to avoid anything to do with Microsoft for so many years.........:D
 
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