Orange Locked Galaxy S

[Guest xarxiusxiii]

Hi everyone,

I have an Orange branded Galaxy S (with some crappy pre-installed games and apps from Orange, as well as their own launcher :D), and was just wondering if it would be safe to update the software through Kies, or if I have to unlock it / wait for Orange to push updates?

The baseband version is I9000BVJF3.

I was just wondering because I am noticing some lag when opening some applications, and whilst I can live with that, I'd much prefer if I could get rid of it without rooting (I have no wish to root this phone - there's nothing (other than the lag :D) that I need to fix via rooting). Coming from a Pulse though, this phone is phenomenal ;)

Thanks

[Guest Speckles]

I can't tell you whether its safe or not, but I would imagine that even if it did stop your phone from functioning, installing a full update should get the phone running again, like on most (all?) other Android phones.

Root is useful - you can delete the crap the carrier installs, backup your phone, make trying new roms much easier, etc. If your phone goes faulty, you can normally reflash an original update which doesn't have root before sending it back, unless its really toasted (in which case, it's doubtful they'll even notice)

It really does annoy me that carriers install so much crap, knowing that you are not officially allowed to uninstall it. My phone isn't branded by a carrier, but it still has useless junk on it like animated wallpapers.

Must admit though, the S is awesome when your previous phone was a Pulse (was my previous too).

[Guest sionyboy]

Iquote name='xarxiusxiii' date='Aug 15 2010, 22:00' post='1377578']

Hi everyone,

I have an Orange branded Galaxy S (with some crappy pre-installed games and apps from Orange, as well as their own launcher :D), and was just wondering if it would be safe to update the software through Kies, or if I have to unlock it / wait for Orange to push updates?

The baseband version is I9000BVJF3.

I was just wondering because I am noticing some lag when opening some applications, and whilst I can live with that, I'd much prefer if I could get rid of it without rooting (I have no wish to root this phone - there's nothing (other than the lag :D) that I needto fix via rooting). Coming from a Pulse though, this phone is phenomenal ;)

Thanks

[Guest sionyboy]

Iquote name='xarxiusxiii' date='Aug 15 2010, 22:00' post='1377578']

Hi everyone,

I have an Orange branded Galaxy S (with some crappy pre-installed games and apps from Orange, as well as their own launcher :D), and was just wondering if it would be safe to update the software through Kies, or if I have to unlock it / wait for Orange to push updates?

The baseband version is I9000BVJF3.

I was just wondering because I am noticing some lag when opening some applications, and whilst I can live with that, I'd much prefer if I could get rid of it without rooting (I have no wish to root this phone - there's nothing (other than the lag :D) that I needto fix via rooting). Coming from a Pulse though, this phone is phenomenal ;)

Thanks

[Guest xarxiusxiii]

Thanks for the replies.

It is annoying how much crap Orange have put on here, their applications are wasting RAM (I installed a task manager to see what was running, and there were quite a few orange processes doing nothing useful to help - their widgets, which I've never used, were running in the background ;)) and space - I never use them. I think I might just root the device and remove the applications, or just hold out until Froyo is released, and see if there's still all this malarkey on that ROM. If not, I'll root then and remove them. I just hope I don't have to wait too long for Orange to release it as an update...

Despite the annoyances I've heard many people complaining about (of which I've only experienced the lag), I love this phone. I don't even see anything wrong with the plastic back cover, and the phone feels lightyears ahead of my old Pulse. I'm extra happy that I can play Quake III on the go :huh:

[Guest Speckles]

The problem is that we know Samsung are going to release 2.2, but then it has to filter through the various carriers like Orange, and of course they wish to make there own modifications. If you don't want the Orange modifications you can always try the generic rom to see if it works.

If there's a lot of crap there is a startup manager in the market which may work for you (to avoid the need for root, it can also start at startup and kill the other processes), or you can just root and delete the applications forcefully, which will also remove them from the application drawer. I'm rooted and using a sim-free phone, but there is still a lot of Samsung crap on there. To be honest though, due to the large storage space and the scrolling app drawer, the extra apps really don't bother me as I hardly ever visit the first few pages :huh:

[Guest Dan Mullen]

The problem is that we know Samsung are going to release 2.2, but then it has to filter through the various carriers like Orange, and of course they wish to make there own modifications. If you don't want the Orange modifications you can always try the generic rom to see if it works.

If there's a lot of crap there is a startup manager in the market which may work for you (to avoid the need for root, it can also start at startup and kill the other processes), or you can just root and delete the applications forcefully, which will also remove them from the application drawer. I'm rooted and using a sim-free phone, but there is still a lot of Samsung crap on there. To be honest though, due to the large storage space and the scrolling app drawer, the extra apps really don't bother me as I hardly ever visit the first few pages :huh:

I'm on Orange and bought someone's upgrade handset on eBay. Kies has continually stated that my firmware cannot be upgraded but, after reading up a few posts on XDA, I've found a way to force an official update.

Go into the Windows registry and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Samsung\Kies\DeviceDB\ then some number, (for me it was 4). Look for a key named ProductCode. Orange handsets - or at least mine - show the product code "GT-I9000HKDORA". If you change the ORA part to XEU (for UK users), Kies will tell you that an upgraded firmware is available. You can then go ahead and install the official JM1 update.

I can confirm that all of my apps, data and settings are intact following the upgrade. Also, it has removed all of the bloat that Orange put onto their handsets, (e.g. Orange Maps, Contacts Backup, etc.).

My versions are now as follows:

PDA: I9000XXJM1

PHONE: I9000XXJM1

CSC: I9000OXAJM1

Bear in mind that you will lose root access (if you had it) following the update. You can apply the quick update.zip root access update afterwards, (info can be found on XDA, probably on here too).

Cheers,

Dan