Captivate Firmware Update

[dOGHAIR]

For those not comfortable with this;
It's not an official update of any kind and I don't think there is any proof yet that it will help with issues (although it might).
You will lose the ability to simply usb tether for now.
Either wait until consensus says it''s worth it and it fixes things for more than a few days or wait until samsung releases an official update that will no doubt be easier to install.

 

[sparker366]

Well installed this and it broke a few of my apps. Paypal and Fandango will not show up on the market to download and even from appbrain they fail to install. Once I removed it and searched for the 2 apps they showed up and was able to install them.

As for GPS when out side it locked on real quick one time then the clouds rolled in and it took a lot longer. So I can't say if the GPS is any better or not. I seemed to have gotten better GPS results over time but keep messing with firmwares and can't get a bead on it.

I reinstalled stock as I need my paypal app on a daily basis and Fandango is nice to have as well.

 

[Dennis_Bham]

I897UCJH2 (2.1) Stock ROM -

Cons:
* USB tethering removed
* no HSUPA
* "go into flight mode and turn on wifi" Market workaround removed

Looks like at&t is closing some holes they left open ...

 

[sparker366]

What is the deal with multiupload.com? Why use something that is so
confusing just to distribute files?

Multiupload just allows you to choose the download site that you prefer. I happen to subscribe to hotfile and rapidshare so I can get fast downloads and not have to wait. Others may subscribe to the others.

 

[The Shape]

Well, if this isn't official, then I'm not interested in it. Thanks for clearing this up folks

 

[baddress]

Looks like at&t is closing some holes they left open ...

Maybe they could have Samsung work on fixing things that are broken before they worry about closing all their money-making-scheme holes!

 

[BigCiX]

Well, if this isn't official, then I'm not interested in it. Thanks for clearing this up folks

i agree with u. my phone isn't slow and i only have one issue (GPS). I'm going to wait for an official release.

 

[SamsungVibrant]

YouTube - Samsung Captivate. GPS Fix now WORKS!!!

 

[BigCiX]

anyone exchange their captivate for a new one and have same gps issues?

 

[The Shape]

anyone exchange their captivate for a new one and have same gps issues?

Me.

 

[rajendra82]

I am happy to report that the GPS is significantly more sensetive. Previously on my back deck, the phone would see 7-10 satellites, but would lock on to 3-4 at most, and movement would easily disrupt the locks. Right after flashing the firmware the phone saw 9 satellites at the same place, but this time it locked on to all of them, and stayed that way as I walked around. This is very different behavior, and appears to have fixed the underlying issue. Hopefully this stays like this over time, and in a fast moving car. If so, the one big flaw is gone. The phone was also noticeably quicker when opening and closing apps and menus. Not as fast as the ext2 fix, but without the underlying file corruption issues either. Probably some more tweaking can be done over time, but this release is a much better base to start from. Leaked or not, Samsung is showing that they are not happy to sit on their ass and pump out unoptimized phones this time around.

 

[dontshakepandas]

I'm seeing improvements running this firmware also. It may not be "official" but it works. It also points out that they ARE working on fixing the issues, at least the big ones (damn music player still won't sort by artist, and the browser crashes everytime you try to change the UA string.)

I was running the NAND hack on the original firmware, and this feels ALMOST as fast without anything done. Close enough that I don't think I'll be trying any speed fixes if it stays this fast since I don't want to have to worry about messing anything up.

 

[MassacrMan]

I will wait for the official fix, but good to see Samsung is paying attention this time around.

 

[Deleted User]

Also, anyone know of an odin for OS X or Linux?

I assume Odin is a software installed on the computer and not on the actual phone, so I wonder this as well. Running Linux ...

Also, will the update empty the phone as in, will all the applications and its setting be removed from the apps that I downloaded/installed after purchase.

 

[Fate0n3]

Thinking about going for this update. Has anyone reported whether you are able to reroot the phone? I looked around on the XDA forum but didn't see any clear answer?? And this does remove everything from the phone and return to stock firmware with no apps correct???

 

[chicknlil]

I did the firmware update. This is basically flashing you back to a 'stock' device, so all of your settings, contacts, apps, etc are gone and will have to be readded. I synched up with appbrain before I did the update, so adding things back has been (virtually painless).

Yes, I had to reroot the phone, and I was able to use the same 'update.zip' as previously with no issues.

I've got 6 apps that aren't being found on the market, and naturally 5 of them are paid apps. I think that might be related to the non-market 'fix' I did (I think I used the wrong version of a settings.db file). So now I'm trying to get my hands on a 'clean' settings.db from someone else who also did the update.

GPS wise - once I went in and updated to the supl.google.com, I was locking onto 7-8 satellites, even indoors. We'll see how it performs when traveling though!

 

[chicknlil]

Ugh.

It's not something I did wrong (huzzah for that).

It's that the new firmware, at the moment, doesn't let you view protected apps on the market. (booo hiss for that).

Hopefully the gurus at XDA will find a work around for that quickly...in the meanwhile, I've tossed e-mails to the devs of the apps I can't access in hopes that they'll help me out.

 

[chicknlil]

And one more update, this time with good news...

I found a workaround. Download this app. Before you open it, make sure that your market isn't running (task kill it, reboot, whatever). Hit the 'backup value' button (this'll back up the AT&T market). Go to the providers tab and select T-Mobile AU (NOT US). Reopen your market, and you should be able to view any apps you weren't able to view before.

I was able to download all 6 of the apps that I was missing.

 

[DT]

Holy hell, chicknlil making things happen! I had everything on deck to do this as well (backup, loaders, ROM, etc.) but I've been throttled with some work, maybe this weekend. I was making sure I wasn't going to lose a couple features I'll need next week (like 'hot spot' access).

Outstanding, thanks for the update. I think I've got a little crush now too

 

[jmreed97]

I am happy to report that the GPS is significantly more sensetive. Previously on my back deck, the phone would see 7-10 satellites, but would lock on to 3-4 at most, and movement would easily disrupt the locks. Right after flashing the firmware the phone saw 9 satellites at the same place, but this time it locked on to all of them, and stayed that way as I walked around. This is very different behavior, and appears to have fixed the underlying issue. Hopefully this stays like this over time, and in a fast moving car. If so, the one big flaw is gone. The phone was also noticeably quicker when opening and closing apps and menus. Not as fast as the ext2 fix, but without the underlying file corruption issues either. Probably some more tweaking can be done over time, but this release is a much better base to start from. Leaked or not, Samsung is showing that they are not happy to sit on their ass and pump out unoptimized phones this time around.

Can you please post a pic of your phone locked on more than 8 satellites?

Also, anyone getting a consistent lock on a satellite with an SNR<20?

 

[chicknlil]

Holy hell, chicknlil making things happen! I had everything on deck to do this as well (backup, loaders, ROM, etc.) but I've been throttled with some work, maybe this weekend. I was making sure I wasn't going to lose a couple features I'll need next week (like 'hot spot' access).

Outstanding, thanks for the update. I think I've got a little crush now too

Hahahaha.

I'm just extremely stubborn. Once I figured out what the issue was, I knew there had to be a way around it. I'd tried Market Access right from the getgo, but I'd only done my normal (TMobile US) .... swapping to AU though did the trick. I don't know why, but someone else on XDA reported success using AU as well. Still, YMMV.

 

[rajendra82]

Thinking about going for this update. Has anyone reported whether you are able to reroot the phone? I looked around on the XDA forum but didn't see any clear answer?? And this does remove everything from the phone and return to stock firmware with no apps correct???

I re rooted after the firmware update. Same method, same zip file. The firmware update does return phone to stock with AT&T bloatware, and non market apps restrictions re enabled, so you have to take care of that manually as well. All the files and music you put on the SD cards (internal and external) will stay put. Have a full Titanium backup done right before you update and then reinstall Titanium backup after the update, and it'll let you batch reinstall all the missing apps and their data. After that I only had to enter the email, facebook, and twitter account information, copy my contacts over from the SIM, input WiFI access point login information, and I was back in business.

 

[jmreed97]

I897UCJH2 (2.1) Stock ROM -

Cons:
* USB tethering removed
* no HSUPA
* "go into flight mode and turn on wifi" Market workaround removed

Looks like at&t is closing some holes they left open ...

Does this mean that USB tethering can't work? Or it just doesn't at the moment. Also, will wifi-thether work if you root again? I've gotten used to the wifi-tether.

 

[ewingr]

Can we not get all our apps back via Titanium restore?

 

[novagator]

Anyone who's had this update for more than a few hours care to report on the GPS? I know people who had previously flashed back to the stock rom would actually get great results from the gps for a little while, but eventually the problems started happening again. Same thing out of the box. The GPS works great for a certain period of time, then it's iffy at best.