Hello and welcome to Android Forums
Noob_Droid!
Lets have a look at your query as you have given me enough I think...
I recently purchased my first droid phone, having had Nokia phones forever. It's a I9100, but it's a factory unlocked refurbished model. *#1234* shows the following:
PDA: I9100XXLPQ
Phone: I9100XXLPQ
CSC: I9100OXALPQ
Build Info: Fri Mar 9 01:58:19 KST 2012.
Kies shows my CSC as CSC:LPQ (XXX)
The firmware running on your phone is
ICS, Android 4.0.3, LPQ was the first, (and worst), release, for CSC code
OXA which is the Open Europe/Poland code. See,
here. The fact that Kies is showing
XXX indicates that this was not the original code for the phone and was more than likely flashed to it during refurb. This means that you will not be able to use Kies for updating as it does not recognise your handset. See
#1.5 and
#1.6.
I contacted Samsung Support here in New Zealand to see if they could flash my phone to whatever firmware it should be to receive updates via Kies and they were less than helpful (phone is not from New Zealand so go away basically).
Strange! I have always found Samsung Service very helpful but I think I can understand their reluctance to try and trace your original CSC code... which may not help you in any case as it could literally be from anywhere in the world.
So I guess my questions are:
1) What is my phones correct CSC (since Kies doesn't seem to show one)?
Long shot. Just type
*#272*Device IMEI# on your phone's dial pad. You may, or may not, be shown a 3 digit product/sales code.
2) If my phone is factory unlocked with the above CSC showing is it possible to flash to a firmware that will allow updates via Kies?
If you mean
OXA, then no. If you discovered your original CSC code and flashed that firmware to your phone, then the answer is possibly. However, I would point out that your original CSC code could be anything... China, Guatamala, Baltic, Peru, etc: Either way, you will have to use Odin at some stage unless you attempt to change your product/sales code mentioned in my earlier reply. This would Factory Reset your phone though and there is no guarantee's.
3) If I do decide to go the 1.7 route and flash via Odin, how do I choose which Firmware to download from Sammobile, you've stated some of the earliest releases had some bugs etc, I understand all come with English language, so I guess I'm asking what's the most stable one you're aware of?
Providing your carrier does not use a network that requires a, "
T", modem, some New Zealand carriers do, which will limit you to flashing only
GT-i9100T firmware unless you
root your phone and
flash a different, (T), modem, then I would recommend going for the latest Nordic Countries release,
LSN, as this is proving very good for myself and others.