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Help software update for the galaxy S3 in Three (UK)

L

LoayBal

Newbie
hi guys

I've got my S3 from Three's network in the UK on a 2 year contract on release date and I never got any software update. I've tried looking for updates OTA and on Kies and nothing showed up. I heard some people here and there on the internet that they got an update on their Three S3, but I never got anything on mine. Can anyone of you guys who got their S3 from Three check if their software info matches the one I have on this screenshot from my device here:




Another unrelated issue, when I first got my phone I used a new sim card with a new mobile phone number, then I transferred my old number from a different provider to the new sim card from three and everything is working fine, but when I go to settings > about device > status it shows the original phone number that came with the sim card and not my current phone number, and the same number shows on kies too. Does anyone know how I can fix it? I know it's not really an important issue, but it's still annoying!

Any help would be really appreciated :o
 
Hi there mate! I'm exactly the same on both counts. My version settings are all the same and I have the same issue with having transferred my number. Apparently on the '3' UK support twitter they've said a software update is being tested and is currently 'with Samsung', it is unknown how recent this version is however with several having said to be released and its been in testing for over a week. 'Three' are said to be terrible for releasing software updates in a timely manner though which has lead me to question upgrading the software through rooting, but, having never done this, the idea worries me as I am, admittedly, an android novice. So this is just a quick update to let you know your not alone, and I have the same issues. I hear though that software updates have freed up some of the ram, (my ram usage is always around 650mb) fixed the screed redraw issue and improved the battery life slightly. I've also heard that it resolved the high battery drain notifier of the phone's 'cell standby' however this is just a mis-indication of the correct value and so the update does not improve battery life in that regard. Do you know anything about rooting the device and updating the software itself? I've often questioned whether you would then receive ota updates or if it will have to be done manually from then on?
 
I don't think 3 have updates yet. I rooted and flashed a custom ROM so it doesn't bother me.

That phone number is written to the SIM card memory, so thats where it needs to be edited.

There is an application called "My phone Number" which can edit it but I cant install it myself.
 
OK so as yet I have found there is still only one option to do this on the SGS3. That is to root, flash CM9 and change it in the settings, then restore your previous ROM.

I confirm it does work but it's long winded to say the least. Takes about 15 minutes to backup, wipe, flash CM9, change setting and restore. Another 10 minutes to read on rooting if you're not already rooted.
 
Hi,
On your first question about new firmware, I gave up a long time ago on 3 pulling there finger out on releasing new firmwares. They are 2 or 3 versions behind at the moment. I am now rooted and loving custom roms etc. But if you do not want to root your device, you can safely put the latest stock samsung firmware on your s3 without rooting and you will get OTA updates as and when samsung release them.
Follow this guide for using Odin to put your new firmware on the phone.
And go to this one to get the latest samsung firmware.
It's what I did a while back before I got into rooting and it's a doddle to do.
Cheers, Rich
 
SUroot said:
OK so as yet I have found there is still only one option to do this on the SGS3. That is to root, flash CM9 and change it in the settings, then restore your previous ROM.

I confirm it does work but it's long winded to say the least. Takes about 15 minutes to backup, wipe, flash CM9, change setting and restore. Another 10 minutes to read on rooting if you're not already rooted.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Whereabouts in settings do I find how to re-do my phone number as I have the original number in mine and not my transferred number? Thanks.
Cheers, Rich
 
Three6ty said:
Hi,
But if you do not want to root your device, you can safely put the latest stock samsung firmware on your s3 without rooting and you will get OTA updates as and when samsung release them.
Cheers, Rich
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for the heads up! Just to confirm then, the updates you receive after using odin will come directly from Samsung and no longer from my carrier? (three) I appreciate the help guys, thanks
 
Thanks a lot guys for your helpful comments

Azbo87 said:
Hi there mate! I'm exactly the same on both counts. My version settings are all the same and I have the same issue with having transferred my number. Apparently on the '3' UK support twitter they've said a software update is being tested and is currently 'with Samsung', it is unknown how recent this version is however with several having said to be released and its been in testing for over a week. 'Three' are said to be terrible for releasing software updates in a timely manner though which has lead me to question upgrading the software through rooting, but, having never done this, the idea worries me as I am, admittedly, an android novice. So this is just a quick update to let you know your not alone, and I have the same issues. I hear though that software updates have freed up some of the ram, (my ram usage is always around 650mb) fixed the screed redraw issue and improved the battery life slightly. I've also heard that it resolved the high battery drain notifier of the phone's 'cell standby' however this is just a mis-indication of the correct value and so the update does not improve battery life in that regard. Do you know anything about rooting the device and updating the software itself? I've often questioned whether you would then receive ota updates or if it will have to be done manually from then on?
Click to expand...

I'm kinda relieved to know that I'm not being left out on updates! but it still sucks that Three is very slow on updates. With regards to rooting, I had quite a bad experience with rooting on my old HTC desire, but I guess that it's due to the limitations of the device itself, it had a very limited internal memory and I had to do something with my sd card to make the custom ROMs work and I was stuck with a ROM that didn't have OTA updates. But don't take my word for it, I'm not an expert on android myself too! there might be ROMs out there that can update OTA.
I guess what's really holding me from rooting my S3 is that I like to stick with the user experience that samsung is making, and get official software and apps from the source itself rather than from individual developers, whose work is not necessarily inferior to samsung's.

SUroot said:
I don't think 3 have updates yet. I rooted and flashed a custom ROM so it doesn't bother me.

That phone number is written to the SIM card memory, so thats where it needs to be edited.

There is an application called "My phone Number" which can edit it but I cant install it myself.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tried to download this app and I got an error message that says something like this app is not compatible with other apps in your device, or something along these lines. I looked up how to change the phone number on the sim card on the internet and found some posts that say you can change the phone number on some devices (and the S3 is obviously not one of them) like the iphone and some blackberry devices, I tried this with my friend's iphone but I found that the iphone displays my current phone number and not the original number that came with the sim card! so it was a dead-end too, but I guess I'll try with other devices and see if it will work.

Three6ty said:
Hi,
On your first question about new firmware, I gave up a long time ago on 3 pulling there finger out on releasing new firmwares. They are 2 or 3 versions behind at the moment. I am now rooted and loving custom roms etc. But if you do not want to root your device, you can safely put the latest stock samsung firmware on your s3 without rooting and you will get OTA updates as and when samsung release them.
Follow this guide for using Odin to put your new firmware on the phone.
And go to this one to get the latest samsung firmware.
It's what I did a while back before I got into rooting and it's a doddle to do.
Cheers, Rich
Click to expand...

Thanks a million mate for letting me know about odin, I've never heard of it before and it sounds very intriguing! just to confirm though, this method has nothing to do with rooting, it only installs a different type of official firmware and it is a one-time process only, once I do it it will be like an unbranded phone that is not tied to any carrier, and I'll get all the upcoming updates OTA. I know it's a long question, but I hope that the answer is a simple "yes" and I'll do it right away. By the way, does it also wipe my device? do I need to back up my phone's data before I go with it?
 
With Odin all you need to have is the firmware file and the phone itself. It doesn't concern rooting the phone. If you install stock firmware you won't need to wipe the data.
 
sherlock5545 said:
With Odin all you need to have is the firmware file and the phone itself. It doesn't concern rooting the phone. If you install stock firmware you won't need to wipe the data.
Click to expand...

That's cool, but would I need to use Odin every time a new firmware comes out or will I get the update OTA?
 
Hi to all the others above.
Looks like the questions regarding root / official formware installation have been answered. :)
 
Three6ty said:
Hi,
What's CM9? Also I got into the dialler and found additional settings but nothing in there regarding the number stored on the sim. Any ideas?
Cheers, Rich
Click to expand...


CM9 (CyanogenMod 9) is an AOSP custom ROM. As stated earlier, you would have to root and flash it to do this.

I was already rooted. I did my backups, flashed CM9 and changed it, then restored my backup.

Its a long way round if you're not rooted.
 
Three6ty said:
Hi,
On your first question about new firmware, I gave up a long time ago on 3 pulling there finger out on releasing new firmwares. They are 2 or 3 versions behind at the moment. I am now rooted and loving custom roms etc. But if you do not want to root your device, you can safely put the latest stock samsung firmware on your s3 without rooting and you will get OTA updates as and when samsung release them.
Follow this guide for using Odin to put your new firmware on the phone.
And go to this one to get the latest samsung firmware.
It's what I did a while back before I got into rooting and it's a doddle to do.
Cheers, Rich
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. After reading it, decided to go for it, all went well, and I'm a numpty! :(
 
SUroot said:
CM9 (CyanogenMod 9) is an AOSP custom ROM. As stated earlier, you would have to root and flash it to do this.

I was already rooted. I did my backups, flashed CM9 and changed it, then restored my backup.

Its a long way round if you're not rooted.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Thanks. I am rooted with Omega on board. Not sure I want the hassle of installing Cyanogenmod to do this. May do it one day if I get fed up of seeing my number wrong. We'll see.
Thanks again.
Cheers, Rich
 
I called 3 to ask about when the new firmware would be released, when they checked they said i am on the latest one and had no idea about the new one with the new brightness controls. So i used odin to install the latest firmware and it went perfectly, everything is still installed and how it was before only now i have all the extras and no more three logo on startup and no more waiting for them to send upgrades. : )
 
Three6ty said:
Hi,
Thanks. I am rooted with Omega on board. Not sure I want the hassle of installing Cyanogenmod to do this. May do it one day if I get fed up of seeing my number wrong. We'll see.
Thanks again.
Cheers, Rich
Click to expand...


Ah then you're almost done.

Its much easier once you've flashed a ROM before.

- Download the latest CM9 nightly build to your SD card:
[ROM][GT-I9300][4.0.4] CyanogenMod 9 nightly builds - xda-developers

- Boot into Clockwork Mod (CWM) recovery

- Take a Backup (Nandroid)

- Wipe Data

- Install CM9 Zip from SD card

- Boot CM9 and make changes

- Boot into Clockwork Mod (CWM) recovery

- Restore backup
 
Three6ty said:
Hi,
Thanks. I am rooted with Omega on board. Not sure I want the hassle of installing Cyanogenmod to do this. May do it one day if I get fed up of seeing my number wrong. We'll see.
Thanks again.
Cheers, Rich
Click to expand...

SUroot said:
Ah then you're almost done.

Its much easier once you've flashed a ROM before.

- Download the latest CM9 nightly build to your SD card:
[ROM][GT-I9300][4.0.4] CyanogenMod 9 nightly builds - xda-developers

- Boot into Clockwork Mod (CWM) recovery

- Take a Backup (Nandroid)

- Wipe Data

- Install CM9 Zip from SD card

- Boot CM9 and make changes

- Boot into Clockwork Mod (CWM) recovery

- Restore backup
Click to expand...

Hi,
Well despite me saying I would not do this, I just did :D
Can confirm the method, although long winded does work. My correct phone number now shows up in about device.
I am amazed that this does not happen automatically when you transfer your number over. But hey ho, all sorted now.
Cheers, Rich
 
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