Samsung i777 Upgrade ICS Error Message: "Your phone does not support software upgrading via Kies"

[lcdvirgo]

 Hi,

I received a text from AT&T on Jun 26 saying that the phone I bought from AT&T is available for ICS upgrade. I installed Kies on my Windows 7 trying to upgrade to ICS Android 4.0 yesterday but get the error message saying that "Your phone does not support software upgrading via Kies". But the tutorial here(http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00047325&fm_seq=51324 ) says that the current firmware baseband version I777UCKK6 can be upgraded. May I know has anyone encountered this problem and managed to solve it? Thanks in advanced for your reply!

[turpinator]

update kies

[lcdvirgo]

I did, my Kies has been updated to the latest version. Thanks for the reply though!

[jamileh]

Have you gone through the "Troubleshooting the Kies Connection" steps?

1) Disconnect your phone

2) Launch Kies

3) Click "Troubleshoot connection error" and then click start

4) Let the entire process run, then reconnect your phone to your computer

If that doesn't work:

1) Remove all Samsung's software (Kies, drivers) and reinstall them.

2) Reboot your computer after reinstalling. 

3) Make sure the USB cable is working (Samsung recommends using the official cable that came with the phone)

4) Try a different USB port

If you're still having issues after that, I recommend contacting Samsung for assistance. At this link, (http://www.samsung.com/us/support/) on the right hand side about 1/2 way down, you'll see a link for their Mobile Phone Live Chat support. 

[bmgoodman]

I'd suggest the OP check to see if he has an AT&T Device Support center nearby. Let them upgrade the phone. I did upgrade mine through Kies, and it resolved some of the problems I'd been having with version 2.3.6 (it stopped shutting down unless I pulled the battery). But other problems persisted (occasionally sluggish menus, phone refusing to wake from standby). After the AT&T center did a wipe and fresh install of 4.0.3, my phone is MUCH better.

[jamileh · Accepted solution]

Great suggestion bmgoodman!

A quick note - a Device Support Center is not the same as a retail store. The reps at the retail stores do not have the necessary software to upgrade phone OS versions. 

Here is a link to an article that contains the location of Device Support Centers - http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB91429

[lcdvirgo]

Thanks for your reply bmgoodman and jamileh! I would abandon upgrading my phone to ICS since I heard people who did the upgrade have  phone crashing, locking up and battery draining issues, and many of them even ask to go back to the gingerbread version. Like this post: http://forums.att.com/t5/Android-Discussion-and-Support/DON-T-gt-Samsung-Galaxy-S2-Android-4-0-Updat...

[bmgoodman]

Glad to help, but I will warn you that the device support center I dealt with told me they CANNOT go back to 2.3.x after they upgrade the phone to 4.x. So make sure you want to have them make the attempt. I'm pleased SO FAR, but YMMV! In my mind, if I start having problems again, I'm probably going to look into CM9 or CM10.

[jamileh]

I'm glad we could give you some good information. I hope to see you around the forums more often, there are great folks (and a lot of great info) here!

[Entropy512]

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bmgoodman wrote:
Glad to help, but I will warn you that the device support center I dealt with told me they CANNOT go back to 2.3.x after they upgrade the phone to 4.x. So make sure you want to have them make the attempt. I'm pleased SO FAR, but YMMV! In my mind, if I start having problems again, I'm probably going to look into CM9 or CM10.

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They lied.  Return-to-stock packages for both UCKH7 and UCKK6 are available on XDA, for example, and have been since within a week after each update went live.

BTW, you yourself can get the same software that the device support centers use - it's called "Odin" and is pretty easy to find.  You can find Odin-flashable firmware packages for every AT&T firmware release also.

That said, you're probably going to have problems with UCLE5.  Everything I've heard indicates that it's a very poor update.  You're far better off with ported I9100 firmware or CM9.  (CM10 is still a bit rough around the edges, even though I use it as my daily driver it is definitely not for everyone...  That said, UCLE5 is so awful that you're probably better off with CM10...)