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Android Software Updates
Ollie_h19
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Both myself and my girlfriend have a Samsung Galaxy S3. Hers regularly updates itself with the latest Android Firmware and is now running 4.1.2. Mine is running on v4.0.4 and won't update; I have tried Home > Settings > About Device but the option to update my software isn't there (its first on the menu on my girlfriend's phone) and it also doesn't update via Samsung Kies.
Any help in updating my phone's software would be much appreciated!
Any help in updating my phone's software would be much appreciated!
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Is your S3 on the same network as your girlfriends and was it bought from the same shop?
The reason I ask this is because the software updates are sometimes dependent on the phone network. For example, if you bought an S3 on Orange from an Orange store or EE store as they are now known, then your updates will be available when Orange release them. If on the other hand you bought your S3 from The Carphone Warehouse, then that means the handset is an unlocked factory model and will receive updates when Samsung release them. Does this make sense?
We're both now on EE, but I was previously on T-Mobile and she was on Orange, if that makes a difference.
It might make a difference but as far as I'm aware, The Carphone Warehouse sell unlocked, unbranded handsets which means yours and your girlfriends phones should have exactly the same software, firmware etc.
Have a look at this thread, it allows you to download the latest firmware and also included is the software (Odin) to flash it to your phone.
It's really easy to do but if you have any questions let me know.
Here is a tutorial video I found on YouTube which gives a step by step guide.
Remember: Before you start, make sure the battery is fully charged and back up all of your data and files as this may be wiped during the upgrade.
I've updated Kies to the newest version (rather than un- and re-installing) and it still says I'm running the latest Firmware.
I've emailled Android Support and I'll see what they say. That Odin thing looks a bit complicated.
Completely uninstall Kies and all drivers and start again. If that fails use Odin.
Now things can go wrong when updating your phone - OTA, Kies or Odin and honestly using Odin is not a risky thing to do at all. Should the worst happen and your device bricks and you need a warranty repair do not tell them you were updating using Odin as they will not fix it under warranty. There is no way they can tell how you were updating.
However it doesn't seem to get past 'Downloading Firmware Upgrade Components'. It gets to 100%, stays there a while, then it freezes. Once or twice I get an error message about 'administrative rights' so I run Kies as admin but still nothing. Rubbish isn't it?
Yep Kies is a pile of poo. I've tried to update three different devices and I didn't have any luck with any of them. It was one thing or another, Kies stuck on an updating loop, software never completes download, Kies cannot connect to device etc I've uninstalled and reinstalled it but it makes no difference.
I just wait for the OTA updates now. You have to wait longer but it works.
Slim hope but I had something like this, and thought it had hung but it came back to life after a long time, maybe 5-10 minutes. Whole upgrade too about half hour to run from what I remember
And the even better news is, the Software Update option has appeared in the "About" menu so hopefully I won't have to go through this rigmarole again!
Thanks for all your help.
Good to hear
any good tutorials on this
Tutorial Samsung Galaxy S3 : How To Flash Official Firmware with Odin
Its odd isnt it?
Think a lot of software is quite poor from different companies...I know that I've never been impressed with software from different camera makers or even Logitech who I swear by their products but not keen on the software.
A friend of mine has a Galaxy S3 which she got from the O2 shop in July which is still running 4.1 Android. We have both tried to update both OTA and via Kies but it's still saying no updates available. When she bought it from O2 the person serving her came out with the phone already unsealed from the box which to me rings alarm bells as I always thought that the seal should be broken in front of the customer.
I mention this as her daughter has the exact same phone which she bought from Argos a month later again on O2 but hers feels different in that the weight is a little heavier and the phone looks cosmetically different too. It's hard to put into words how but it certainly looks and feels different. Her phone automatically updates too as she now has version 4.3 installed.
Should my friend take her phone back? She isn't happy with it and to top it all now it is taking a long time to charge up whereas her daughter's takes 2 hours at the most.
It seems to me she has maybe been given a refurbished phone or a phone of lower quality, will O2 give her a replacement?
The phone in the end will cost her nearly £500 and I know I would want a phone that updates for that price and not a refurbished one.
Many thanks in advance and a very Merry Christmas!!
There is almost always a delay of several months between the manufacturer releasing an update and individual networks releasing updates to their customized versions.
There are always natural variations between individual handsets cosmetically depending on when and where it was built, that's doesn't mean there's something wrong with it though.
Are you/they actually having a problem with the phone? If so, get that sorted. Otherwise you just have to wait till an update exists before you can update it, that's not a phone problem, that's O2's firmware team being slow.
Thank you qasdfdsaq for taking the time to reply.
I never realised that sorry.
I'm taking from what you say then that O2 phones are still only on 4.1 Android as I would have thought they would be on 4.2 or is that only on certain phones? I really hope that they will sort the battery problem as taking many hours to charge just doesn't seem right at all.