Samsung Phones/tablets To Get Jelly Bean

[Pib]

Finally, Jelly Bean 4.1.2 has been released for the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-I8160L for Thailand).

A few minutes ago, I was messing around on the Sammoble website and checked their firmware area...it showed a Jun 13 JB 4.1.2 release for the Thailand GT-I8160L. Thailand was the only country on the list so far to reflect the JB update for the GT-I8160L....I'm sure more country specific releases will come for the GT-I8160L as the website shows other models of the Ace 2 like the GT-I8160 and GT-1860P started JB 4.1.2 country specific releases over the last few months.

This upgrade takes the Ace 2 all the way from Gingerbread 2.3.6 to JB 4.1.2...no in-between steps like first going to ICS 4.0 or JB 4.1.1.

Ok, I'm now using a Samsung S4 but I turned on my Ace 2 and checked for an OTA firmware/software update...there was one....it's now downloading an update package 400.73MB in size. Keeping my fingers crossed the update completes the download and the OTA firmware upgrade flashes OK...if it does I will turn on the wife's Ace 2 (she now uses an S4 also) and upgrade her Ace 2 also. Fingers crossed...166Mb of 400Mb downloaded.

Ok, an update to my above post. The download to my Ace 2 completed OK and the upgrade process continued but I noticed it was a really fast upgrade. That is, instead of seeing the Android Robot, firmware upgrade status bar, and short text messages giving status of the upgrade, it just came up with a screen saying the upgrade completed successfully. I thought to myself, Wow...that was one fast firmware upgrade/flash. But when checking the About Phone info I was still running GB 2.3.6. And when pressing the Software Update icon again it did the typical connecting to server for about 10 seconds and came back with a "no update available" message as in if I was running the latest and greatest firmware, but I wasn't.

Ok, I pull out the wife Ace 2, bought at the same time as mine at a DTAC service center, and started the upgrade process....the OTA download of 400Mb went OK and I watched the upgrade process much, much closer this time. Before starting the process it said the phone was low on memory...I pressed OK and the firmware upgraded started....the green Android Robot appeared, firmware upgrade status bar, and the short text messages began...it took about 15 minutes to complete this process...and when done the phone was running JB 4.1.1.

So, why did my Ace 2 did not upgrade properly but the wife's Ace 2 did. I think it has something to do with available memory and I just wasn't watching the process close enough and it basically aborted the process even thought it said it had completed the upgrade successfully. I had many more Apps loaded on my phone that the wife did, both external SD cards had been pulled, and put in our S4's....maybe with a extSD card installed it would have completed properly. Tomorrow I will hook my Ace 2 up to Keis and see what it says...and if it says upgrade is available I will try that way. But I still may delete some Apps...get it pretty much down to bar bones before trying to load JB which apparently eats up more memory.

I did run Antutu benchmark on my Ace 2 stilling running GB 2.3.6 and got a score of 5369; then ran Antutu on the wife's Ace 2 now running JB 4.1.2 and got a score of 5991. And in terms of "scrolling" between Apps pages and opening a few Apps the two phones still fee the same speed-wise, but this is all very preliminary comparisons.

Anyway, JB 4.1.2 for the Ace 2 GT-I8160L for Thailand is now available.

[Pib]

Finally, Jelly Bean 4.1.2 has been released for the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-I8160L for Thailand).

A few minutes ago, I was messing around on the Sammoble website and checked their firmware area...it showed a Jun 13 JB 4.1.2 release for the Thailand GT-I8160L. Thailand was the only country on the list so far to reflect the JB update for the GT-I8160L....I'm sure more country specific releases will come for the GT-I8160L as the website shows other models of the Ace 2 like the GT-I8160 and GT-1860P started JB 4.1.2 country specific releases over the last few months.

This upgrade takes the Ace 2 all the way from Gingerbread 2.3.6 to JB 4.1.2...no in-between steps like first going to ICS 4.0 or JB 4.1.1.

Ok, I'm now using a Samsung S4 but I turned on my Ace 2 and checked for an OTA firmware/software update...there was one....it's now downloading an update package 400.73MB in size. Keeping my fingers crossed the update completes the download and the OTA firmware upgrade flashes OK...if it does I will turn on the wife's Ace 2 (she now uses an S4 also) and upgrade her Ace 2 also. Fingers crossed...166Mb of 400Mb downloaded.

Ok, an update to my above post. The download to my Ace 2 completed OK and the upgrade process continued but I noticed it was a really fast upgrade. That is, instead of seeing the Android Robot, firmware upgrade status bar, and short text messages giving status of the upgrade, it just came up with a screen saying the upgrade completed successfully. I thought to myself, Wow...that was one fast firmware upgrade/flash. But when checking the About Phone info I was still running GB 2.3.6. And when pressing the Software Update icon again it did the typical connecting to server for about 10 seconds and came back with a "no update available" message as in if I was running the latest and greatest firmware, but I wasn't.

Ok, I pull out the wife Ace 2, bought at the same time as mine at a DTAC service center, and started the upgrade process....the OTA download of 400Mb went OK and I watched the upgrade process much, much closer this time. Before starting the process it said the phone was low on memory...I pressed OK and the firmware upgraded started....the green Android Robot appeared, firmware upgrade status bar, and the short text messages began...it took about 15 minutes to complete this process...and when done the phone was running JB 4.1.1.

So, why did my Ace 2 did not upgrade properly but the wife's Ace 2 did. I think it has something to do with available memory and I just wasn't watching the process close enough and it basically aborted the process even thought it said it had completed the upgrade successfully. I had many more Apps loaded on my phone that the wife did, both external SD cards had been pulled, and put in our S4's....maybe with a extSD card installed it would have completed properly. Tomorrow I will hook my Ace 2 up to Keis and see what it says...and if it says upgrade is available I will try that way. But I still may delete some Apps...get it pretty much down to bar bones before trying to load JB which apparently eats up more memory.

I did run Antutu benchmark on my Ace 2 stilling running GB 2.3.6 and got a score of 5369; then ran Antutu on the wife's Ace 2 now running JB 4.1.2 and got a score of 5991. And in terms of "scrolling" between Apps pages and opening a few Apps the two phones still fee the same speed-wise, but this is all very preliminary comparisons.

Anyway, JB 4.1.2 for the Ace 2 GT-I8160L for Thailand is now available.

Update #2: I decided to give Kies a quick try just to see if it would say there is a firmware update for my Ace 2...Kies did say that. Ok, I thought to myself, what the heck give I'll give it try right now even though I hadn't deleted any Apps yet to free up memory since I thought maybe that is why the OTA update didn't complete properly. The download of the 400MB update went pretty fast, then the flashing started but the Android Robot appeared differently than it had with the wife's Ace 2 and the way of displaying the flashing process/text msgs was just different. Anyway, the flashing continued and went significantly faster than what the wife's did....mine took about 5 minutes where the wife's took around 15 minutes. But when it was done, I was running JB 4.1.2...the upgrade was successful. The upgrade worked via Kies but the OTA didn't work/complete properly on my Ace 2. I then ran Antutu again and got a 5338 score under JB..basically the same as running GB 2.3.6....when comparing the "detailed" score results between my Ace 2 and the wife's Ace 2 both running JB there was a significant difference between the Ram/memory score and Data IO score (memory related again)...both Ace 2's have the exact same amount of memory installed, it just I got a lot more Apps/less available memory on my Ace 2. I'm guessing he significant score difference is just driven by my phone being low on memory....delete some Apps to free up some memory and I would probably get a faster score...a score very similar to the wife's Ace 2 since our phones are identical hardware spec wise.

Anyway, both Ace 2's are now running JB 4.1.2. Upgrade via OTA went fine on one phone, but had to upgrade the other phone via Kies.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I did my wife's Galaxy S Advance (I9070) via Kies on my PC a couple weeks back that used the Thailand firmware upgrade since hers is a Thailand sourced mobile, and wish I hadn't!!!

The upgrade itself went fine and completed without any hitches or snags...

But ever since the upgrade, her mobile's been a mess. Core apps like Contacts and Phone SLOWWWWW to open. Periodically the phone freezes saying Touchwiz has crashed.

Hers is a non-rooted, stock phone... I tried doing a factory reset once the JB upgrade was in place, but that didn't seem to help improve things any.

At this point, I'd really like to flash it back to the prior Gingerbread 2.3.6, but am not sure how to do it. Considering trying taking it to one of the Samsung service shops.

BTW, once the problems arose, I Googled and found a raft of similar complaints from S Advance owners (not from Thailand mostly, of course), complaining that the upgrade had wrecked their mobiles in similar fashion.

I guess I learned my lesson... Do the research FIRST...before hitting the upgrade button.

Had I done that given what I read, I never would have upgraded her mobile. And now to boot, she's none too happy with me about it...as you might imagine.

[Pib]

I did my wife's Galaxy S Advance (I9070) via Kies on my PC a couple weeks back that used the Thailand firmware upgrade since hers is a Thailand sourced mobile, and wish I hadn't!!!

The upgrade itself went fine and completed without any hitches or snags...

But ever since the upgrade, her mobile's been a mess. Core apps like Contacts and Phone SLOWWWWW to open. Periodically the phone freezes saying Touchwiz has crashed.

Hers is a non-rooted, stock phone... I tried doing a factory reset once the JB upgrade was in place, but that didn't seem to help improve things any.

At this point, I'd really like to flash it back to the prior Gingerbread 2.3.6, but am not sure how to do it. Considering trying taking it to one of the Samsung service shops.

BTW, once the problems arose, I Googled and found a raft of similar complaints from S Advance owners (not from Thailand mostly, of course), complaining that the upgrade had wrecked their mobiles in similar fashion.

I guess I learned my lesson... Do the research FIRST...before hitting the upgrade button.

Had I done that given what I read, I never would have upgraded her mobile. And now to boot, she's none too happy with me about it...as you might imagine.

Yea, firmware upgrades can be a pain sometimes. You should be able to easily revert to GB by just downloading the stock Samsung GB firmware for your model from the Sammobile website Firmware area, unzip the file downloaded to get the core ".tar" file, and then using Odin to flash the firmware/.tar file. Plenty of instructions/videos on the web on how to do this...it's pretty easy. For my Ace 2 I download the Samsung stock GB 2.3.6 a few months ago in case I ever need it...and just a few minutes ago I finished downloading Samsung stock JB 4.1.2 which was just released...once again just in case I need it in the future.

I got both of my Ace 2's fully straighten out today after the upgrade to JB last night. Just minor fixes were needed. On my wife's Ace 2 you may remember from my earlier post it updated OK via OTA but did give me a low memory message during the upgrade. After the upgrade completed I had a hard time figuring out why her Ace 2 was low on memory since it really didn't have many Apps added other than the ones that comes with the phone and a few added later...I mean the all important 1GB of Phone (ROM) memory where most App install was 85% used up...only 145Mb free. And even with that much free, I couldnt get a couple of Apps to update from Google Play because during the App update/install process a error message would appear saying not enough memory...and these App were only like 10-20MB in size. I've always heard that the Android operating system needs to keep X-amount of its Phone/ROM memory free to create temporary files whiles Android is operating. Anyway I figured out the problem...I found the 400MB JB file that downloaded during the OTA process was still on the phone...I found that by looking in the Apps Manager and one of the two system Apps named Software Update reflected it had a 401MB stored in "Data." Ok I cleared the "Data" and the Phone/ROM memory was freed up by 401MB...tried updating the a couple Apps from Google Play again and the updates occurred no problem. For whatever reason that big ass OTA upgrade file didn't automatically delete itself after the upgrade. The wife's Ace 2 is now back to normal.

Then I still had an issue with my Ace 2 that failed to updated via OTA but I did update via Kies, which is a round about way is like using the Odin program. On mine I couldn't get the Google+ App to update from Google Play...it would try to update but come back with some error message along the lines of the App just didn't agree with my phone. Since Google+ is System App you can't completely unload/uninstall it, you can only uninstall any Updates. So I did the uninstall updates on the Google+ App...got Google+ back to its initial state...I then tried to update the App via Google Play again and it updated OK. Oh yea, the ThaiVisa App that was on my phone was the only one that disappeared after JB 4.1.2 installed...I had to reinstall the app from Google Play. But there have been once or twice before where the ThaiVisa app just disappeared...I've seen other ThaiVisa members have the same problem in the ThaiVisa support forum. Anyway, my Ace 2 is now back to normal.

But you know what, when you first turn both Ace 2's on the opening splash screen is different...the wife's will say "GT-I8160L Samsung" but mine will say "Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 GTI8160L." Strange. A person would think then there must be some minor difference in the JB 4.1.2 running on the two phones but when going into Settings, About Device, the model number, Android Version, Baseband version, Kernel version, and Build number are exactly alike on both phones...absolutely no difference. I also checked for Software Update via OTA and via Kies, and both phones say no update available/we are running the latest firmware. The only difference in how the firmware update was accomplished on each phone in that one was via OTA and one via Kies....maybe that has something to do with the minor difference in the splash screen that displays for a few seconds when first turning on the phone.

Oh yea, Antutu is now giving me speed results that are almost identical on both phones where last night the wife's Ace 2 was pulling a significantly better Antutu speed result than my Ace 2.

Yeap, firmware upgrades/updates can be a pain sometimes.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Pib

[impulse]

I did my wife's Galaxy S Advance (I9070) via Kies on my PC a couple weeks back that used the Thailand firmware upgrade since hers is a Thailand sourced mobile, and wish I hadn't!!!

The upgrade itself went fine and completed without any hitches or snags...

But ever since the upgrade, her mobile's been a mess. Core apps like Contacts and Phone SLOWWWWW to open. Periodically the phone freezes saying Touchwiz has crashed.

Hers is a non-rooted, stock phone... I tried doing a factory reset once the JB upgrade was in place, but that didn't seem to help improve things any.

At this point, I'd really like to flash it back to the prior Gingerbread 2.3.6, but am not sure how to do it. Considering trying taking it to one of the Samsung service shops.

Had I done that given what I read, I never would have upgraded her mobile. And now to boot, she's none too happy with me about it...as you might imagine.

I feel your pain.

I did the "upgrade" to 4.1.2 when my Samsung Galaxy SII told me to. It's box stock, bought in Thailand and gets updated only when Samsung tells me to...

Since then, my battery lasts between 3-8 hours, and I couldn't turn the MoFo off. It kept doing a restart when I power off. Had to take the battery out to kill it to get on an airplane. Today, battery died at lunch after being plugged in all night.

And, like I read on the interweb, I fired up BetterBatteryStats and it says I'm still charging even a couple of hours after I'm off the umbilical. No luv from BBS.

Backed up all my data and did a factory restore (twice). First time, I put back all my normal apps. Last time, I only put on a few apps- none that should be "phoning home".

After this second factory restore, I can shut it down. Goes down with 90% battery and starts back up at 30-40%. Sometimes I'll have 50% battery left, stick it in my pocket and an hour later, it has 65%. Then another hour it's telling me to plug in because it's down to 15%

If you do figure out a way to roll back the clock, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll be buying a Sony Experia Z. Reading too many horror stories about battery life on Samsung and now I'm living one. Sad, too- because I have loved the phone when it's not chewing up batteries. Maybe I can figure it out, but time spent is wasted and could be spent making money or enjoying life.

And, like you suggested, I'll be Googling "battery drain" on my next phone before I buy it...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It seems to be a bit of a crap-shoot...

Just before the debacle with my wife's phone, I got a new Samsung from the U.S. -- the Captivate Glide (SGH-I927) -- that came with Gingerbread. By the time I got the phone here, there was a Samsung/ATT update to ICS 4.04 available. I installed it here via Kies, and the phone's worked great without a snag ever since. Fast and smooth.

The update for my wife's Thai Samsung Galaxy S Advance to Jelly Bean obviously has been a totally different matter. I assumed Samsung wouldn't put out a firmware update without having thoroughly checked it against their hardware and software. Obviously, that was a bad assumption on my part.

Won't make that mistake again.

[impulse]

Mine worked great on ICS, with a few hiccups I traced to bad apps, and fixed.

JB has been a disaster.

[Pib]

Download the version of Android you want for your particular phone from Sammobile (such as the previous version that worked good on your phone) and then use Odin to flash it.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I may have an even easier solution...

Domestic bliss has now officially returned to my household. Yesterday, we took my wife's Samsung Galaxy S Advance with the upgraded official JB Thai upgrade to the Samsung Mobile service shop on the second floor of FortuneTown IT. And explained our tale of woe about how the phone has been constantly crashing, SLOWWWWW as hell and other bugs ever since the Kies JB upgrade.

We told the CSR lady there we wanted my wife's phone "downgraded" back to the prior Gingerbread 2.3.6. Without any hesitation or hassle, the CSR said no problem, NO CHARGE, and told us we could come back in about an hour to pick up the phone (this was on a Sunday early afternoon).

An hour later, we returned and my wife's phone had been wiped and the Gingerbread OS installed. Took it home and used Google Play to reinstall all her apps from the "My Apps" section of the website. Took me about two hours to download, install, run and set up the various apps with her IDs, passwords and settings. And the end result:

The phone now, once again, performs like a dream. Smooth as silk and fast, without the slightest bit of lag when choosing any app or function. And no crashing.

My wife is happy once again, and I apologized to her once again for having "upgraded" her phone to Jelly Bean using the official Samsung release, and making both of us miserable for the past month or two. All is well once again in the Tallguy household.

Props to Samsung Thailand for handling the mess their JB upgrade created in such a user-friendly manner. Wish they had simply produced a functional, working JB upgrade for the Galaxy S Advance before releasing it to Thai users.

Edited July 22, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lomatopo]

Android 4.3 is set to drop this week, Wed., 24 July.

4.2.2 has been great on my GNEX 4.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Google sets an event for July 24, next Android release coming

17 July, 2013 | Comments (55) | Post your comment

Tags: Meizu, Android, Rumors

Google has just sent out press invites for its Android event that'll be happening on July 24 at 19:00 GMT in San Francisco. The photo that the company attached simply reads "Please join us for breakfast with Sundar Pichai."

Pichai, the VP of Android and Chrome, sure has some cool news to share regarding the next version of Google's mobile OS. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has been out for a while now for the Google Play Store edition Samsung Galaxy S4. We took if for a spin, but, didn't find too much new stuff inside, so we are hoping it wasn't the final build. Hopefully, at the event happening next Wednesday, Google will unveil more changes to Android.

Android 4.3 is said to still carry the Jelly Bean name. It seems that Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie will be unwrapped at the next Google I/O.

Additionally, the second-generation Nexus 7 tablet is expected to be announced. It's been heavily rumored to pack a 7" display of full HD resolution and a Snapdragon 600 CPU. ASUS is said to be responsible for building the next Nexus tablet.

Source

http://www.gsmarena.com/google_announces_an_android_event_on_july_24-news-6402.php

[Pib]

Do not let the wife know you are posting things about Android's next release...she'll probably assume you are going to upgrade her Galaxy S Advance to 4.3 just as soon as it comes out. After the Ginger Bread to Jelly Bean upgrade pain you put her through see might cut you off if you attempt another upgrade.

As you may remember, the JB release came out for the Galaxy Ace 2 that both the wife and I had (but we now use S4's) and JB is working fine on those two Ace 2 phones. I turn them on occasionally to play with them, update the Apps, and check for any firmware updates. I probably need just to sell the two Ace 2's or give them to some in-laws...the problem is I don't like most of the in-laws that much to give them a smartphone and the ones I do like all have smartphone equal to or better than the Ace 2.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, couple things there Pib...

1. Don't have any idea when or what Samsung Galaxy series models in Thailand will end up getting offered the forthcoming update.

But more importantly, 2. After the last fiasco, I'm done with updating my wife's phone. Too much risk and very little potential reward from my personal viewpoint.

I might give it a try in the future with my U.S. Samsung Captivate Glide if the upgrade is ever offered from Samsung. But I'm not even sure about that.

I figure I'm batting 1 for 3 now in manufacturer firmware upgrades in the Android world:

--Had a Sony Xperia smartphone that took the manufacturer's upgrade from GB to ICS. And while it worked and I certainly preferred the ICS features, the phone never ran as smooth or clean with the upgrade installed.

--Upgraded a Pantech Element tablet from Honeycomb to manufacturer's ICS, and it's functioned flawlessly and clean ever since.

--Upgraded my wife's Galaxy S Advance from GB to JB with Samsung Thailand's firmware, and it was a mess.

It's not an especially great track record thus far.

[Pib]

Well, couple things there Pib...

1. Don't have any idea when or what Samsung Galaxy series models in Thailand will end up getting offered the forthcoming update.

But more importantly, 2. After the last fiasco, I'm done with updating my wife's phone. Too much risk and very little potential reward from my personal viewpoint.

John,

Well, if not done already you might want to deselect the Software Auto Update setting on the wife's phone to prevent updates/upgrades from automatically happening. I don't mean the Google Play Auto update setting but the phone's firmware Software Auto Update function; otherwise, the update to JB could occur again if the notice popped up one day an update was available and the wife pressed the Sure, Go Ahead type prompt(s) that appear.

That's basically what happened to my Samsung Note 10.1" tablet when the JB release came out..upgrading the tablet from ICS to JB. The wife is the primary user of it (like 99% of the time) and one day she handed me the tablet and asked what was going on. On the screen was the Green Android about half way through the firmware upgrade process so she had to press/answer a few questions about Do You Want to Upgrade type prompts that surely appeared...she just didn't realize what she was really doing. Fortunately the upgrade continued/installed fine, but since I turned off the Check for Updates Automatically selection; instead, I just grab the tablet every few weeks and manually check for updates.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

jelly bean been very very good to me.

ios, never again thank you.

now i think i will go and remotely add some new apps from my computer and change the music on my phone as well.

[Shurup]

I've updated my S2 from GB straight to JB, I skipped the ICS as it didn't look too hot for me.

I updated manually with Mobile Odin and installed JB for Nordic Countries, way before the Thai update became available. EVERYTHING on my S2 improved so I'm very happy with the update.

My GF however got the iPhone.

She had a 3GS and it was jailbroken and full of apps, I was playing with it one day and there was a message that the new update was available, I clicked yes and it updated the iOS to the latest one (for the 3GS), wiping the phone clean in the process... Contacts survived but GF was pissed as she's lost all her apps, she bought the phone second hand with apps already installed, I guess they were sideloaded and weren't paid for either. Regardless, she was pissed at me and even though the phone worked a little better downgrading the OS wouldn't have returned the lost apps, even if downgrade was possible like dropping it off at an Apple store.

We bought her a 4S when they came out and now there's another update notification (to iOS 6) and I'm not touching this thing with a 6' long pole. I have in fact convinced her to switch to an Android so we're both waiting for the Note 3 to be released later this year. I also consider the new Sony Xpedia, will have to play with both and read the review to decide.