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Help Galaxy Nexus GSM Unlocked Update Problems

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galaxynexus1

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Hello Android Forums! I know this is quite a long post but I'm really hoping that someone out there can give me some help. Just yesterday I finally received my new unlocked version of the Galaxy Nexus from an online retailer and its the Canadian version of the phone. The reason that this became an issue to me was that I noticed that I am currently on Android version 4.0.1 and from what I've heard the most recent version should be 4.0.3 for the Galaxy Nexus phones. After several clicks to check now on my phone state that this is the current version (which I know is not true for ICS) I found out that apparently there are several variations of the software that is installed on the Galaxy Nexus GSM phones. The problem however as I understood it is that the version of the software that my phone has (Yakjuux) isn't updated by google directly but rather by Samsung. After much more reading I was able to find that what seems to be the best option for me is to change my phone over to the Yakju version which as I understand it is updated by google directly. So here are my questions:

1) If I understood the problem correctly and it requires these actions to be taken to resolve the updating problem then is there a way to backup the phone so that if there's a problem I can revert back to the original configuration?
2) Is there a fairly user friendly way to update this to the Yakju version that is updated by google automatically?
3) Does this requiring unlocking?
4) Will this void my warranty?
5) I've also read about different radio versions, what one should I update to if I will be using this phone primarily in the USA?
6) Are there different hardware configurations for the Galaxy Nexus GSM phone or is it all the same internals regardless of carrier or geographic location?

FYI I'm not sure if this information is useful or not but on the box the model of the phone is listed as GT-I9250TSDTLS . Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
 
Hi! First of all, all Galaxy Nexus phones are unlocked (that is SIM-unlocked, meaning you can use any SIM card with it) apart from the Verizon version I think. The most recent official firmware version for the Galaxy Nexus is actually 4.0.2.

1) You will be able to go back to the official configuration if you find the default yakjuux images, but the yakju build is an official Google build so you shouldn't have any problems. Here's a place where you can get stock yakjuux back (everything but the bootloader which is probably the same as the one in the yakju 4.0.1 build?): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410310

2) There's a thread about it on xda here: How to? Change from yakjuxw to yakju - xda-developers
But I suggest just doing it manually. Here's a step-by-step guide to do it manually: How to change from yakjuux to yakju – Galaxy Nexus | Xtremel
The guide is to update to yakju 4.0.1, but I would go straight to 4.0.2 instead. To do that, download the 4.0.2 (ICL53F) from Google's page instead, and follow the same process but change the names of the .img files you type into the console to the ones you downloaded. So for example instead of typing "fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-maguro-primekj10.img", you would type "fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-maguro-primekk15.img".

3) Yes it will require unlocking the bootloader. (Note that your phone is already SIM-unlocked). The step to do that is in the tutorial: "fastboot oem unlock". It's very easy to do and you can always lock it after just by typing "fastboot oem lock". However, I wouldn't recommend doing so, because once you unlock your bootloader it will wipe your data, so if you re-lock it and want to mess with your phone again at a later date, you'd have to unlock it again meaning it will wipe your data again. The only time you should re-lock it is if you decide to send the phone in for warranty reasons.

4) Yes

5) Try using the default radio that comes with the yakju build (XXKK6), and if it's not working well for you, then flash UGKL1. The download links to all the radios are in that tutorial link i posted as well, but here's the link anyways: xda-developers - View Single Post - [Radio] (GSM) Galaxy Nexus I9250 Baseband dumps collection & discussion

6) Same everywhere
 
Hi Stenzor and thanks for such a well written and quick reply. Unfortunately because this will void my warranty from Samsung I'm really hesitant to go forward with any of this activity due to my inexperience working this these kind of matters (i really don't want to brick it and not be able to return it because my warranty's been voided). This being the case, unless there's a way you (or anyone else) knows of to maintain the warranty integrity for the device, I think I might try to follow up with Samsung about this matter. Perhaps they can help me get a phone with the true google OS or perhaps I can go through the online retailer (Negri Electronics) that I bought it from. If however I can't seem to get any satisfaction from them or get a refund on the phone I'll probably end up attempting to modify it as you've outlined.
 
It's very very hard to brick an Android phone. Even if you screw something up, there are plenty of ways to fix it. You shouldn't have any problems unless it's a hardware problem.

Second of all, using that stock 4.0.1 yakjuux image that I posted above, along with the UGKL1 radio, all you're missing is the stock bootloader. Can you reboot your phone into fastboot mode right now (by turning off your phone then turning it on by holding the power button and both the up and down volume buttons at the same time), and tell me what it says for bootloader version? Other than that, it's very easy to flash all those yakjuux images again, re-lock the bootloader and return your phone into "warranty state".
 
Thanks again Stenzor. Here is the following information from my phone after powering up with the up and down volume buttons:

FASTBOOT MODE
PRODUCT NAME - tuna
VARIANT - maguro
HW VERSION -9
BOOTLOADER VERSION - PRIMEKK14
BASEBAND VERSION - I9250UGKL1
CARRIER INFO - NONE
SERIAL NUMBER - let me know if you need this data
SIGNING - production
LOCK STATE - LOCKED

I'm not sure if you needed all of that information or not but to answer your question directly the bootloader is PRIMEKK14
 
Yeah that's what I thought. I'm not sure if there's anywhere where you can download PRIMEKK14 unfortunately. One option could be to just not flash it and therefore keep the bootloader at what it is right now.. I don't think it will affect anything else, you can ask around about that though, I have no clue!

Another idea is in case you need to send it in for warranty just flash to a different stock build for a different region and say you bought it in a different country?

Personally, I returned my first Galaxy Nexus due to a hardware defect with yakju, 4.0.2, an unlocked bootloader, and rooted, and still got a replacement. As long as you flash a stock Google image and lock the bootloader before you send it in I doubt you'll have any problems. That's my opinion though.
 
Ok well thanks again. Hopefully someone that reads this might have some more answers regarding the bootloader question. Either way I definitely appreciate your input. Perhaps you (or anyone else reading this) might have some info regarding the differences between the two builds (Yakju and Yakjuux). I mean what do the different versions have between them? Also do you know if Yakjuux be updated in any kind of decent time frame from Samsung (if in fact that is who will be issuing the updates)? I'm just trying to see what my options are here really.
 
[Bootloader] Maguro-primekl01 - Page 3 - xda-developers
Read efrant's comments in that thread, I believe he kept his KK14 bootloader but flashed everything else.

The differences are really in the radio I think. For example, if I flash the stock yakju radio, I get some different icons for my network signal that say I am roaming when I'm not.. also I found it to be a little worse than the UGKL1 radio, which is why I flashed back to UGKL1.

Other than that, 4.0.2 has been out for a while, but there hasn't been a yakjuux update for it yet. There were some bugfixes in 4.0.2, and also I can't live without the "improve face unlock" function in 4.0.2, which is why I have it. Also, in order for Google Wallet to work in Canada I needed to get 4.0.2.

Anyways, if you keep your bootloader the same, you can restore back to yakjuux using that guy's ROM, in case of warranty issues, and when the official yakjuux update comes you can upgrade your bootloader to the new version. Up to you though. I prefer the faster updates which is why I like yakju.
 
Maybe you can help a noob out here again. I'm trying to put everything in perspective here and understand the situation correctly. If I am understanding things right then the Yakju and Yakjuux (which I have) are two completely separate versions of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating systems. These two variations (as well as other variations) were created for the different carriers around the world to use on operate in their networks which would allow them to enable or disable certain features that they would like to have (or not have) on their networks. If this is a correct assessment then in order to get the the pure google version of the Ice Cream Sandwich for the Galaxy Nexus then you need to get the Yakju version installed. In order to do this then you have to do the following:
1) Obtain a copy of the yakjuux images (in case you need to revert back to it)
2) Install the Yakju verion (after unlocking the boot loader)

I guess my last question is regarding the different radios (basebands). So do the different versions (Yakju and Yakjuux) have different radio versions or do you have to download these from somewhere else?
 
Not really.. I'm not exactly an expert either but here's my understanding: Google releases a new version of ICS for Galaxy Nexus. Say for example it's 4.0.2. Since Google released it, it's codenamed a yakju build. Then, Samsung takes this build, and tweaks it ever so slightly, mainly the radio portion of the build, in order for it to work better with different carriers and different regions of the world. Then Samsung pushes out the updates. This is just my understanding, so don't quote me on it!

In any case, even if the exact process is different than what I explained, you still have the pure Google experience. It's just that on yakjuux your updates will come out later.

The thing is, you can swap out parts of the build and keep some yakjuux parts, while updating some parts to the newer yakju version. If you follow the guide I posted earlier: How to change from yakjuux to yakju – Galaxy Nexus | Xtremel you can keep the yakjuux bootloader and the yakjuux radio (so that you're still optimized for your region) by skipping those steps in the flashing process. You can then update everything else like the OS itself (system.img) to the latest version so that you have the latest features and bugfixes.

The steps you have posted are correct. Just remember when following that step by step flashing guide to skip steps 7 (flashing the bootloader) and 9 (flashing the radio). Since you skip those steps you don't need to reboot the bootloader in between so you skip steps 8 and 10 as well.

Once again regarding the radios, all the builds come pre-packaged with their own radios. The people at xda took all those radios and put them into that one thread that I posted earlier so that people can flash the ones they need for their region. The latest yakju build comes with XXKK6 (XX is the code for Europe, KK6 is the version), while yakjuux is UGKL1 (UG is the code for North America, KL1 is the version). UGKL1 is optimized for North America so you can just skip the step of flashing the radio.
 
Well this seems all a bit confusing to me to be honest. I mean to me it would make sense if all of the internals are configured identically from a hardware perspective then I would think that there would only be one version (unless certain carriers had other technologies that the phone supported that they didn't or didn't want to). But I guess things can't be that simple. Anyway I've really got to do a little more research on this. I really do appreciate all of your feedback.
 
Yeah I'd think so too.. I mean it is a pentaband phone. Let me know how things go and if you do decide to go through with the flashing!
 
Ok I'll definitely will let you know what I finally end up doing. For now I'm going to wait to try to hear Negri's reply to my email that I just sent them and also waiting to hear back from Samsung Canada's Support Center (which was not the easiest to work with by the way). Either way I definitely appreciate your time today. I'll probably have to wait until at least Monday afternoon before I hear anything back official.

Does anyone else out there possibly have any other information that they could add to this thread? I'd definitely like to get a better understanding of exactly how and why exactly there are so many different variations of the same OS on the new Galaxy Nexus and what the differences really are.
 
govindtalks said:
I think Nexus is a very poor device. So many problems with users
Click to expand...

People like you who criticize this phone obviously must not know much about cell phones. I've had them all over the years and they all had something that was less then perfect. This device is no exception. If you set your expectations such that you did not but a Cray supercomputer you could be very happy with this phone. I have owned a software engineering company for 29 years and I'm here to state that this is the best phone I've ever had. In fact, I don't care what comes out next. I'm sticking with this phone. I love it.
 
So the Canadian device is really no different than the international device in terms that you can root it and install the same stock Android version from google on either? I ask because there is a small price difference between the two with the Canadian one being cheaper.
 
pappabacon said:
So the Canadian device is really no different than the international device in terms that you can root it and install the same stock Android version from google on either? I ask because there is a small price difference between the two with the Canadian one being cheaper.
Click to expand...

Yep
 
Sorry for all the questions, I'll be a n00b at all this for a while. I am getting the phone delivered tomorrow, however I won't get my sim card till thursday. Can I root it without the SIM card in it?
 
pappabacon said:
Sorry for all the questions, I'll be a n00b at all this for a while. I am getting the phone delivered tomorrow, however I won't get my sim card till thursday. Can I root it without the SIM card in it?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure you can... you can even make an emergency call... you will only be able to use wifi though, obviously...
 
OK, another question if anyone is willing. I flashed the 4.02 ICS from google, but when I went to install titanium backup it told me I wasn't rooted. So is this a lingo thing that I am confused about, or because I am still running a stock OS I am not "rooted?"
 
pappabacon said:
OK, another question if anyone is willing. I flashed the 4.02 ICS from google, but when I went to install titanium backup it told me I wasn't rooted. So is this a lingo thing that I am confused about, or because I am still running a stock OS I am not "rooted?"
Click to expand...

Did you actually root it? Rooting is different than flashing a new ROM (aka OS, or firmware). Rooting is basically getting admin (aka root) access to your file-system meaning apps like TiBU can manipulate certain directories that used to be write-protected (for example).

Rooting is also different from unlocking the bootloader. The bootloader basically instructs your phone to boot into Android OS and if it's locked you won't be able to flash or boot into a different OS. Unlocking the bootloader does not give you root privileges or anything.

If you were rooted before, then the permissions were overwritten when you flashed 4.0.2 (ie you lost root) and you will have to root again.
 
stenzor said:
Did you actually root it? Rooting is different than flashing a new ROM (aka OS, or firmware). Rooting is basically getting admin (aka root) access to your file-system meaning apps like TiBU can manipulate certain directories that used to be write-protected (for example).

Rooting is also different from unlocking the bootloader. The bootloader basically instructs your phone to boot into Android OS and if it's locked you won't be able to flash or boot into a different OS. Unlocking the bootloader does not give you root privileges or anything.

If you were rooted before, then the permissions were overwritten when you flashed 4.0.2 (ie you lost root) and you will have to root again.
Click to expand...

OK, so what I did is softbooted into Clockwork Recovery and was able to push the su.zip on to my phone and update it that way. Seems to have worked. Thanks for the help
 
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