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Upgrading & data transfer

G

Gaz22

Lurker
Hi, I have just purchased a new Samsung J3 - finally "upgrading" from my old trusty Samsung S2.
(yes, I realise its not much of an upgrade, but I am more than happy with performance of the S2 & old have basic needs but the power connector & battery was becoming more of an issue, plus far too many apps wont work on Android 4.x any more)

Anyway, the J3 currently has Android 5.1.1 & I plan to use the Smart Switch App to transfer my data from the S2 to the J3.
My question: Should I transfer the data, apps, etc first (upgrading the Android afterwards), or upgrade the phone to the latest Android first & then use the Smart Switch app to transfer data afterwards?

I guess I'm wondering if I'm less likely to have issues with Smart Switch & my old apps if I transfer data onto the current Android first.

If I do decide to upgrade to the new Android first, is there a way to take the phone back to factory 5.1.1 if there is an issue?
Should I even bother about upgrading, or is 5.1.1 best for this phone?

Sorry if some of these questions are common newbie questions.

Gary.
 
That's actually a very good question.

But, I think you are going to have a problem. The S2 (GT-I9100) stopped the official OS updates with 4.1 and according to Smart Switch Requirements you'll need :

An old device that meets one of the following requirements:

  • A Samsung device with Android version 4.3 or later
Click to expand...
If you put a custom rom on the S2 that meets the requirement, you should be okay, but otherwise I don't think it will work.

To your question about which to do first, since you say the J3 comes with 5.1.1 which would make it the 2016 version (J320X) not the 2017 version (J330X) which shipped with Nougat (Android 7.0). The J320 is upgradeable to 7.1.1, but I'm not sure if you can go right from 5.1 to 7.1. You may have to do that in stages. I would recommend upgrading the phone before transferring your data. It will be much cleaner and eliminate the potential for apps to get broken in the process.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the quick reply.
Yes, I thought I would have an issue with Smartswitch when I looked into this a while back.
I then bought a second hand S2 thinking that would be the easiest way to get me working & give me the most chance to transfer data.
I tried SmartSwitch on my PC but that wasn't compatible but to my surprise the Smart Switch app worked on both S2 phones.
Consequently I'm hoping it willl work between the S2 & J3.

Was there much difference between the J3 2016 & 2017 versions? I couldn't find any of the 2017 versions around here - all the main retailers still stock the 2016 version (now dropped to about the same price as the J1).

A couple of other questions:
Is there a problem leaving it at 5.1.1 or would it be best to try & start with the latest version?
Should I go through the phone update menu or is there a better way?
If I have an issue with the upgrade, is there a way to take the phone back to factory 5.1.1 if there is an issue?

Thanks again,
Gary.
 
Here's a pretty good comparison of the two models.

Gaz22 said:
Is there a problem leaving it at 5.1.1 or would it be best to try & start with the latest version?
Should I go through the phone update menu or is there a better way?
Click to expand...

The problem you will have leaving it at 5.1.1 is the same problem you have now of running into apps that will stop working, not to mention not having access to more features. I would say your best bet is to update to the latest OS before you install anything and then perform a factory reset when you are done. This will clean up anything left behind by the update process.


Gaz22 said:
If I have an issue with the upgrade, is there a way to take the phone back to factory 5.1.1 if there is an issue?
Click to expand...

Hard to say. Assuming you can find the right firmware, some phones will permit you to flash them back to an earlier version, but some won't. And some will work only to a certain point.

Mind if I ask why you think you may need to downgrade your new phone? I've never had to do that and never had a problem moving forward.
 
Thanks for the link.
Good point about staying with 5.1.1 - sounds like it is definitely best to upgrade now to the latest.
The only reason I ask about taking it back to 5.1.1 is if I find Smart Switch doesn't talk to my old phone (or some other issue) - it would have been nice if i had a simple way of taking it back to the way it was out of the box. It sounds like the best plan is to upgrade & then factory reset as you mention.

Should I go through the phone update menu for the upgrade, or is there a better way?

Thanks again,
Gary.
 
If you're in a hurry, the phone update menu might take a while to show available updates. You can always flash directly to the latest firmware provided it's available, but to check that we'd need you EXACT model number.

Or, if you use Smart Switch, you may be able to use the emergency recovery option to push the latest firmware .... not sure if uses the latest or tries to replace what's on the device.
 
As you suggested, the phone manual update option says no updates available.
I connected the phone to my PC & ran Smart Switch but it also doesn't offer any updates.
The phone model is a SM-J320ZN.
It would be great if you can let me know a way to update directly to the latest Andoid version manually.
Thanks again,
Gary.
 
Gaz22 said:
As you suggested, the phone manual update option says no updates available.
I connected the phone to my PC & ran Smart Switch but it also doesn't offer any updates.
The phone model is a SM-J320ZN.
It would be great if you can let me know a way to update directly to the latest Andoid version manually.
Thanks again,
Gary.
Click to expand...

Is that a locked carrier version J3?
 
Hi all,
I still can't find a way to update the new SM-J320ZN phone - it is on 5.1.1, manual checking says no available updates & Samsung Switch on the PC doesn't show any updates either.
Does anyone know how to force it to update to the latest Android version?
Thanks,
Gary.
 
What I see is that gsmarena says the J320 is upgradeable to 7.1 but when I look for firmware on Sammobile.com it only list 5.1.1 for your specific device. I'm not sure if there is an official update for your phone at this point.
 
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