14 DAY TRIAL // On Friday, South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung announced officially that it made available a new OS upgrade for its Galaxy S owners out there, namely Android 2.2 Froyo, and that it would roll-out the solution gradually across markets, starting with the Nordic region.
However, in case there are some who would like to have the new OS upgrade installed on their Galaxy S units before Samsung makes it available for them too, they can fire up the Samsung Kies application and get the update manually right away.
Before doing any further move, one should back up all data on the handset, just to make sure that no important files are lost during the process.
At the same time, we should note that carrier branded devices might not be compatible with the solution, and that those who own such a Galaxy S unit should wait for it to become available from the operator.
In case the Samsung Kies app was not already installed on a Windows-based PC, one would have to download and install it (it can be found here).
After these steps are completed, users need to uninstall any Lag Fixes they might have put on their devices previously, otherwise the phone might end up being bricked.
The next step is a simple one, as it includes launching the Kies app on the PC, and connecting the handset via a USB cable. The app should recognize the handset right away, and any available JPM/JP6 solutions should be listed in firmware upgrade.
In case no software update is displayed, the next step involves closing the firmware upgrade window, though the Kies app would have to be left open.
This part is the most important one, as it is aimed at making Kies display the final Froyo version as being available for download for Galaxy S, thus enabling any user out there install it on their handsets.
According to a recent post on XDA Developers forum, here's what users need to do at this stage:
"Go to windows start > run > and type "regedit"
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Samsung/Kies/DeviceDB/
You will probably see a bunch of numbered keys (they look like folders) Find the key/folder that has strings that match your current firmware. So if you are on JPK look for that in the keys. If you have more than one galaxy S (it can happen) then match the imei with the phone you want to upgrade.
Change the following values so they look like this:
"SoftwareRevision"="I9000XXJF3/I9000SWC/I9000XXJF3/I9000XXJF3" "ProductCode"="GT-I9000HKDXEE" "HIDSWVER"="I9000XXJF3/I9000SWC/I9000XXJF3/I9000XXJF3"
No go back to kies and click on firmware upgrade again. You should now see the JPM upgrade."
As soon as the update process was completed, one would be able to enjoy Android 2.2 Froyo on their devices, provided that all goes according to plan.
As always, those who will perform the update as described above would do so at their own risk. They should think twice before proceeding, as the handset might end up unusable if things go wrong.
The video below, available courtesy of mobiletechworld, should offer a glimpse at what Android 2.2 on Galaxy S looks like.