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How to update your Galaxy S with Android 2.2

It’s not as easy as an over-the-air update, but with a bit of patience, you can get Android 2.2 on your Samsung Galaxy S.
Samsung Galaxy S

At last! The official Android 2.2 update for the Samsung Galaxy S has finally arrived for Optus customers, bringing some much-needed Froyo love like Adobe Flash 10.1 support and voice commands to the table (Exchange support and Wi-Fi tethering were already included in 2.1) – not to mention the ability to run Skype!

To get your hands on the updated firmware, you’ll need to pull it down using the latest Samsung Kies desktop software (Windows only) version 1.5.3.10301_102, which you can download from here.

Once you’ve installed Samsung Kies, connect the Galaxy S to your computer and wait for the program to recognise it. If this is the first time you’ve connected the Galaxy S to your computer with Kies, it will download all of the drivers for Kies to recognise it. If all goes well, a pop-up will appear saying that a new firmware update has been found for your phone, in which case just follow the prompts and be on your merry way. Just make sure you undo any lag fixes like Ryanza’s OCLF or Voodoo before you apply the firmware update, otherwise you run the risk of bricking your phone. If that previous sentence sounds like gibberish, then you can just ignore that part!

If you’re not so lucky, you’ll get a message saying: “this device’s version cannot be updated”. This means that you’re not running the stock Optus Galaxy S firmware for whatever reason – either you’ve flashed it to a different firmware version yourself, or you sourced the Galaxy S overseas or from another carrier. The easy way to check is by going into Settings > About phone > and seeing what the build number says right at the bottom. If it doesn’t say ‘I9000HKAOPS’, then you’re not running the stock Optus build.


Thankfully, you don’t have to faff about flashing back to the stock ROM just so you can upgrade to Froyo. Just download the Kies Registry Patcher from XDA Developers, and, with Samsung Kies shut down, use the ‘Spoof Product Code’ box to select ‘OPS’. Click ‘Write Registry’, then open Samsung Kies again and connect your Galaxy S – it should now say that it has found a firmware update for your phone.

Hacker bonus points
Unfortunately, one of the things that the Froyo update doesn’t fix is the lag problems from Android 2.1. The best way to boost system speed is with SpeedMod, which you can download from here. This mod also roots your phone in the process. I’d recommend using the k9a-256hz mod, and make sure you download the file that doesn’t end with ‘CWM’ or ‘dev’.

To flash this to your phone, you’ll need a Windows program called Odin, which you can download from here. Unzip the speedmod file, then put your Galaxy S into download mode by turning it completely, waiting 15-30 seconds for it to go completely off, then press and hold the volume-down, home and power buttons simultaneously. You’ll see the Android robot in a yellow triangle with the words ‘Downloading… Do not turn off Target!!!’ on the screen.


Make sure Samsung Kies is closed, then open Odin, and connect the phone to your computer. Click the ‘PDA’ button, and select the unzipped speedmod file, which should end in ‘.tar’. Then click Start, and wait for the flash to finish – your phone will reboot, and it will say ‘PASS’ in Odin. And you’re done!

You can tinker with the Speedmod settings by going into the Galaxy’s Recovery mod: turn the phone off, and pressing-and-holding the volume-up, power and home button simultaneously, and selecting the ‘advanced ULK features’ option (below).


Enjoy Samsung Galaxy S with Android 2.2