The Samsung Galaxy S24
BruceK123's profile

Mentor

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193 Messages

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014 5:47 PM

I want my IceCreamSandwich back...

Hi,

I've got 4 Samsung S3 SGH-I747, purchase in December 2012.  The original OS on all was ICS.  Last week, only one was pushed Android version 4.3, JellyBean.  None of the other phones have been pushed this update.  Every day, as I use/access more functions or apps, I encounter glitches.  Some are unsolvable and I can't figre out workarounds.  The latest is that my POP3 email tool (not gmail), will not automatically retrieve messages, and when I force it to retrieve, it goes back months and months.  I guess I could delete the email accounts and rebuild them, but I wonder what I'll run into next.

 

I'd like to simply reinstall ICS.  My understanding is that ICS can be found online, and that I'd have to download to my pc, and then to my phone, and then do a factory reset.  Of course, this involves backing up all data (using Kies?) to my pc.

 

The rep at the ATT store told me that I could find ICS and instructions on how to get back to ICS online.

 

Has anyone done this successfully?  Does anyone know where I can find ICS and instructions?  I will google, but would like to hear from someone who has done this, too.

 

TIA

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

Professor

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3K Messages

10 years ago


@BruceK123 wrote:

 

So, is the next thing a factory reset, or a hard reset.  The problem is that I've found many articles that claim that the two are identical, that is, both wipe all user data (like a factory reset on a pc), and other articles that claim that a hard reset only clears hardware settings (like a restart on a pc when you get locked up).

 

What I'd like to do is reset all settings without deleting data (pictures, texts, emails, etc.), but I don't know which of the above two to do.  Or, if I should just go ahead and wipe the internal drive of everything, and start fresh with the 4.3 that was pushed to me.


A factory reset is what I would suggest.  It might be there is some combination of user apps and settings causing your issues.  So a factory reset might resolve the issues (although it not guaranteed).  Factory reset will often (but not always) clear up random bugs after a software update.

 

Factory reset and hard reset are the same thing.  I personally feel the term "Factory reset" is more official, and "hard reset" is kind of a holdover from other OS'es or devices.  But folks tend to use the terms interchangeably.  

 

Some folks will also wrongly use the term "hard reset" to mean a simple reboot or restart.  But to me, this is just plain wrong.  Restart is simply the same as turning the phone off, and on again.  Same as on a PC, it clears the RAM and stops any processes running at the time.  You should always try a restart whenever you first encounter any issues (if you haven't already).  But you will likely need to take more intensive steps in your case.

 

There is no way to clear hardware settings without wiping user data.  Factory reset wipes the entire /data partition, so this includes apps, settings, SMS/MMS, email, photos that are on the phone's memory.  Anything on a removeable SD should remain intact.

 

There are various ways to backup your data before you do this.  I've heard good things about Helium for backing up lots of things; although I haven't used it myself:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup

 

You can backup photos simply by connecting your phone to your PC and copying them to the PC.

 

I sync my Contacts to Gmail, which is normally the default on Android.

 

 

 

 

Mentor

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193 Messages

10 years ago

i deleted my email account, restarted phone, built new email account, and now it says "email sync turned off', but even when I do a manual retrieve, no email comes down.

 

I've googled, and still can't fix.

 

Any idead?

 

TIA

Professor

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3K Messages

10 years ago

The AT&T rep is wrong, in that "downgrading" or reverting to a previous software version is not allowed in Android unless you have root.

Mentor

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193 Messages

10 years ago

That's what I thougt, because I specifically asked him about rooting.  He said, "Nope".

 

He explained it by saying that once I got ICS loaded from the pc to the phone, and then did a factory reset, the factory reset installs the most recent OS that's on the phone (which would be the ICS, not the JB).  But, that's why I asked on this forum.

 

Others have told me that, no, I can't get ICS back on without going trhough major hoops, and certainly not by what the AT&T told me.

 

Thanks

Tutor

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3 Messages

10 years ago

Bump on this.

 

I've been avoiding this update for some time.  I must have hit the accept button while texting, because it updated and refreshed in the middle of my using it.  

 

Since then i've had:

 

Lost apps

Dropped calls (almost exactly around 4 minutes)

Apps that aren't even running constantly pop up a crash error every 2 seconds, requiring quick fingers to do a reboot (12 different apps so far).

Random noises when nothing is happening

Ridiculous overheating when not even being used

Drained battery life

 

And of course, it restricts me from using my phone how I want to use it (no apps overwriting data on SIM cards).  Stay far away from this update from google & att.  I wasn't thinking of rooting, but thanks for giving me a reason.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago


@Deluded1 wrote:

Bump on this.

 

I've been avoiding this update for some time.  I must have hit the accept button while texting, because it updated and refreshed in the middle of my using it.  

 

Since then i've had:

 

Lost apps

Dropped calls (almost exactly around 4 minutes)

Apps that aren't even running constantly pop up a crash error every 2 seconds, requiring quick fingers to do a reboot (12 different apps so far).

Random noises when nothing is happening

Ridiculous overheating when not even being used

Drained battery life

 

And of course, it restricts me from using my phone how I want to use it (no apps overwriting data on SIM cards).  Stay far away from this update from google & att.  I wasn't thinking of rooting, but thanks for giving me a reason.


dont blame google for samsungs and att short comings of updates

Mentor

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193 Messages

10 years ago

Yes, it was in my download notification since mid-November, and I kept saying 'No', but I accidentally said 'yes' last week, and the rest is tragic.

Professor

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3K Messages

10 years ago


@BruceK123 wrote:

 

He explained it by saying that once I got ICS loaded from the pc to the phone, and then did a factory reset, the factory reset installs the most recent OS that's on the phone (which would be the ICS, not the JB).  But, that's why I asked on this forum.

 


AT&T rep is completely wrong on this.  "Factory reset" is a bit of a misnomer.  All factory reset does is delete the /data partition (user data) and doesn't actually do anything to the OS.

 

And as already mentioned, there is no way of getting ICS "on" the phone.  Whatever that means.  You flash the ROM, and its installed.  There is no such thing as putting the OS "on" the phone, then doing a factory reset to "install" it.

 

Sounds like the rep didn't have any idea what he was talking about.  Just knows enough to dispense false information.

 

 

Mentor

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193 Messages

10 years ago

Yes, I've found that many use the definitions very sloppily, and that's why I'm having so much trouble figuring out what to do next to eliminate all the issues caused by the 4.3 update.  After rebuilding my pre-loaded POP3 mail app, it still brings down old emails, and many times it says 'failed to connect'.  But, I did figure out the MasterAutoSync problem, so it does auto-retrieve emails.

 

So, is the next thing a factory reset, or a hard reset.  The problem is that I've found many articles that claim that the two are identical, that is, both wipe all user data (like a factory reset on a pc), and other articles that claim that a hard reset only clears hardware settings (like a restart on a pc when you get locked up).

 

What I'd like to do is reset all settings without deleting data (pictures, texts, emails, etc.), but I don't know which of the above two to do.  Or, if I should just go ahead and wipe the internal drive of everything, and start fresh with the 4.3 that was pushed to me.

 

I was a newbie long ago with pcs, but I figured it all out, and know my way around them now, including networking, but these smart phones are really another story.  Looks like I'm going to have learn this stuff, too, because I don't like to depend on others that give me inaccurate information.

Mentor

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193 Messages

10 years ago

Your entire reply makes sense to me, and I'll go with it!  Factory reset and hard reset are the same.  Reboot simply clears memory/cache of running apps.

 

I've restarted many times, esp. after changing settings when trying workarounds.  No joy.

 

I've got no idea what's on the external SD, because I've never 'directed' anything there.  And, don't know if some things are directed there by default.  And, I don't know the internal file structure of the Android.  I'll look around to see if I can figure out what's where.  At any rate, I suspect that backing up will backup the internal memory.  If I find anything on the external SD while looking around, I'll copy that out, too.  I've read that after a factory reset, whatever is on the external SD is no longer readable.  Don't know if that's true, but better safe than sorry.

 

I don't have a google account.  I've never liked the idea of my stuff in the 'cloud', esp. with google, but, I may just have to bite the bullet in this case.  I esp. don't like the thought of google scanning emails to advertise to me, or having all my contacts out there.  I don't do anything that I wouldn't want published online, but I still don't put anything on the cloud.  I don't use Facebook, Dropbox, etc...

 

I'm an older user, and like the idea of privacy.  (I do use the ATM, except for depositing cash, and pay bills and shop online.  And I like usenet.  ).  Enough of my opinions...

 

Thanks an awful lot for the great explanation and advice.

 

 

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