Is there Noobs guide to updating ROM's on Parallel Imported Galaxy SIII?

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makiomoto

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Topic # 113893 31-Jan-2013 10:38

Hi all
Firstly, Sorry for clogging up your forum by adding a new post but I can't find the answer to my questions.

I have a SGS3 that I really like, it's my first smartphone and it's all pretty exciting.

It's running the stock ROM which is 4.0.4.

AP I9300XXALF2
CP I9300XXLF2
CSC I9300OXAALF2 (UK/Europe?)

MY QUESTION:
I'm not in any huge hurry to update but I'd like to start off with at least a Jellybean ROM

I was wondering which is the easiest/mostl likely to succeed out of the following options?:

1. Change the CSC and get Keis to update it?
2. Use ODIN and get an unbranded UK ROM or similar?

Bearing in mind I have no idea how to do either of these things, please be gentle.

If any of you live anywhere near me I could bring it round to get familiar with the process. I am pretty normal.

Cheers,
James

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Reply # 753742 31-Jan-2013 11:08

Easiest thing to do is flash the latest firmware via Odin.

Vodafone 4.1.1: http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/?page=3&model=GT-I9300&pcode=VNZ&os=1&type=1#firmware

Telecom 4.1.1: http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/?page=3&model=GT-I9300T&pcode=TNZ&os=1&type=1#firmware

Note the Telecom firmware is for the i9300T, but if you are on Telecom then flash that onto your phone as the modem is optimised for 850MHz.

There is a very good Odin guide for the i900 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1671969

As well as a guide to everything you need to know from backing stuff up, flashing and rootings: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1911726

nzgeek

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Reply # 753860 31-Jan-2013 13:31

AP I9300XXALF2
CP I9300XXLF2
CSC I9300OXAALF2 (UK/Europe?)

These details definitely indicate that you're running a generic Euro 4.0.4 firmware. It was released in June 2012, and was probably factory loaded on the phone.

According to what I can find, there was an official 4.1.2 firmware update released in December. This should be available as a Kies update. Assuming you've got Kies installed, if you plug your phone in via USB then you should get notified that a new firmware update is available.

That being said, Kies is pretty awful at software updates. The last time I tried with my SII, it had several failures just trying to download the firmware to apply. When I finally did get it to work, it had issues restoring the backup and I lost a little bit of data. That was more than a year ago so hopefully the newer versions have fixed the worst of the problems, but if you keep having problems then use Odin.

And no matter what method you use, make sure to back up as much of your data as possible first. Anything on the internal SD card should be safe, but I'd recommend moving all of your contacts to Google and using apps to back up any other app data (text messages, etc) that you want to keep safe.

mattwnz

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Reply # 753864 31-Jan-2013 13:36

You can get jellybean via the official samsung update can't you? You just do it on the phone via the updates section. No point in voiding your warranty if you can get the jellybean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 update officially to begin with. Personally I am not installing custom stuff on mine, due to warranty issues with doing this, especally with the sudden death problem that some people have had with their phones.

makiomoto

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Reply # 753866 31-Jan-2013 13:38

nzgeek:
AP I9300XXALF2
CP I9300XXLF2
CSC I9300OXAALF2 (UK/Europe?)

These details definitely indicate that you're running a generic Euro 4.0.4 firmware. It was released in June 2012, and was probably factory loaded on the phone.

According to what I can find, there was an official 4.1.2 firmware update released in December. This should be available as a Kies update. Assuming you've got Kies installed, if you plug your phone in via USB then you should get notified that a new firmware update is available.

That being said, Kies is pretty awful at software updates. The last time I tried with my SII, it had several failures just trying to download the firmware to apply. When I finally did get it to work, it had issues restoring the backup and I lost a little bit of data. That was more than a year ago so hopefully the newer versions have fixed the worst of the problems, but if you keep having problems then use Odin.

And no matter what method you use, make sure to back up as much of your data as possible first. Anything on the internal SD card should be safe, but I'd recommend moving all of your contacts to Google and using apps to back up any other app data (text messages, etc) that you want to keep safe.

Hi there
First thing I tried was the Kies update. I just get a message to the effect that Kies can not update the phone. (Something to do with CSC being non NZ?)

Is there a way around this?

Cheers,
James

makiomoto

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Reply # 753868 31-Jan-2013 13:40

mattwnz: You can get jellybean via the official samsung update can't you? You just do it on the phone via the updates section. No point in voiding your warranty if you can get the jellybean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 update officially to begin with. Personally I am not installing custom stuff on mine, due to warranty issues with doing this, especally with the sudden death problem that some people have had with their phones.

Hi there Matt
Tried that already, Just says "No update available". I kinda thought that once the update was available in the country of origin it would work but apparently not?

Cheers,
James

nzgeek

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Reply # 753909 31-Jan-2013 14:27

makiomoto: Hi there
First thing I tried was the Kies update. I just get a message to the effect that Kies can not update the phone. (Something to do with CSC being non NZ?)

Is there a way around this?

Cheers,
James

I seem to recall that there's a model number stored somewhere in the phone, and it's quite possible that Kies is using this number in conjunction with the current firmware version when checking for updates. If your phone wasn't a parallel import that was originally sourced from Europe, that would explain why you can't update.

The only option in this case is to use Odin. Odin doesn't care what firmware you're trying to install, and will flash it anyway. It's also possible to flash firmware for a wrong model, so make sure you're flashing a firmware for a I9300 or I9300T (only hardware difference is tweaks to the internal aerial).

Your choices of firmware include:

Telecom branded 4.1.1 (info, download)
Vodafone branded 4.1.1 (info, download)
Generic NZ (2degrees branded?) 4.4.1 (info, download)
Open Europe 4.1.2 (info, download)

Please have a good read of the Odin guide that Brad linked to above, and also check the XDA forums for any critical bugs that might be present in the official firmware. I've heard that there are a couple of potential issues in the stock firmware that might cause your phone to become completely unrecoverable, but I don't know the details or whether they've been fixed.

ajobbins

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Reply # 753915 31-Jan-2013 14:34

Avoid 4.1.1 if you have a 16GB phone or you phone could end up with the Galaxy SIII Sudden Death Syndrome.

Stay on 4.0.4 or go to 4.1.2

Twitter: ajobbins

makiomoto

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Reply # 753918 31-Jan-2013 14:37

bradstewart: Easiest thing to do is flash the latest firmware via Odin.

Vodafone 4.1.1: http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/?page=3&model=GT-I9300&pcode=VNZ&os=1&type=1#firmware

Telecom 4.1.1: http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/?page=3&model=GT-I9300T&pcode=TNZ&os=1&type=1#firmware

Note the Telecom firmware is for the i9300T, but if you are on Telecom then flash that onto your phone as the modem is optimised for 850MHz.

There is a very good Odin guide for the i900 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1671969

As well as a guide to everything you need to know from backing stuff up, flashing and rootings: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1911726

Thanks for all this great info. I'll have a go later on.
Much appreciated,
James

boby55

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Reply # 753919 31-Jan-2013 14:37

Or if you aren't concerned about carrier branding maybe looking into Cyanogenmod 10.2 which is a custom rom running android 4.2?

makiomoto

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Reply # 753920 31-Jan-2013 14:37

ajobbins: Avoid 4.1.1 if you have a 16GB phone or you phone could end up with the Galaxy SIII Sudden Death Syndrome.

Stay on 4.0.4 or go to 4.1.2

EEK
Good to know!
James

makiomoto

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Reply # 753924 31-Jan-2013 14:44

The upshot from what I have been told above is that I'll probably use Odin to flash a generic euro 4.1.2.

I really don't have much on my phone I couldn't stand to lose, besides SIM contacs and EXT SD photos, music etc. I was going to remove them anyway.
Do you need to root the phone to back it up?
Am I likely to brick my phone just flashing OXA 4.1.2 (Given in an above reply)?

Cheers,
James

ajobbins

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Reply # 753926 31-Jan-2013 14:49

There is an Australian generic (XSA product code) release of 4.1.2, if you want a firmware a little closer to home. Non-carrier branded.

Twitter: ajobbins

nzgeek

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Reply # 753935 31-Jan-2013 14:59

makiomoto: Am I likely to brick my phone just flashing OXA 4.1.2 (Given in an above reply)?

If the 4.1.2 firmware has fixed the sudden death bug then you should be good with it. Odin writes directly to the phone (bypassing any firmware that's currently installed) so it won't trigger the bug, and you don't need to root your phone.

Aside from the sudden death bug (which kills the flash memory chip), the only way to hard brick your phone is to flash an incorrect/incomplete bootloader. So long as the bootloader is ok, you should be able to boot into download mode using a USB dongle and flash a working firmware.

mattwnz

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Reply # 753938 31-Jan-2013 15:03

makiomoto:
mattwnz: You can get jellybean via the official samsung update can't you? You just do it on the phone via the updates section. No point in voiding your warranty if you can get the jellybean 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 update officially to begin with. Personally I am not installing custom stuff on mine, due to warranty issues with doing this, especally with the sudden death problem that some people have had with their phones.

Hi there Matt
Tried that already, Just says "No update available". I kinda thought that once the update was available in the country of origin it would work but apparently not?

Cheers,
James

That's odd. Where did you get your phone from? If it is the international; version it should provide an update, and it should probably be 4.1.2. At least it looks like it is connecting to a server somewhere, so it is odd that it can't find an update.

makiomoto

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Reply # 753998 31-Jan-2013 16:46

"That's odd. Where did you get your phone from? If it is the international; version it should provide an update, and it should probably be 4.1.2. At least it looks like it is connecting to a server somewhere, so it is odd that it can't find an update. "

It's from Fairbuy. It's a euro unbranded one and it shipped out of Hong Kong.

Not knowing any better, I didn't expect updates away from country of origin.

Cheers,
James

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