Android 4.0.4 ICS update for Samsung Galaxy Nexus

[Hands0n]

Google has announced that their Android 4.0.4 (ICS) OTA update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is now being pushed out. They have also made a link available to download the OS directly if you fancy installing it manually ahead of the OTA update. You can get it from here --> http://t.co/C8b2rCp5 Full instructions on how to install the firmware various ways is here --> http://bit.ly/H5embp

I took the choice to install manually rather than wait for the OTA, mostly because I'm the impatient type and also because I tend to make subtle changes to my Galaxy Nexus that may spoil the OTA process. It is just as well that I did because that is exactly what happened.


If you are getting the "error 7" problem and cannot install the update you are most likely running a different radio than the standard one that came with 4.0.3.
Please make sure you have radio XXKK6 installed (re-install it using fastboot) before attempting to run this 4.0.4 update.

Sure enough, I have made changes to the radio version that came with ICS 4.0.3. The XXKK6 sucked, it caused massive battery drain and had a number of other performance and quality related issues. There have been several radios since and I found that XXKL1 was the most stable and best performer.

But as part of the pre-installation verification the installer checks to make sure that all of the right components are there to be updated, and that includes the radio. Because I had changed mine the "error 7" failure occurred. So I used fastboot to pop the original XXKK6 radio image back in place and the 4.0.4 update ran without hitch.

Whats in the box?
Google have not yet released the changes list for 4.0.4. According to various sources, the update also improves the camera performance of the handset. Not only does the phone take better quality pictures with less noise, it focuses properly before capturing them. The update also contains a new radio, which improves the network reception depending on your location. One of the most important changes in the update is a much-improved auto-brightness. On Android 4.0.2/3, the auto-brightness extremely wonky! It would turn down the brightness to almost 0, and gave the whole screen a very blueish tint. Thankfully, this issue has been fixed in this update.

There are a lot of other bug fixes as well in the Android 4.0.4 update for the Galaxy Nexus like the multi-touch bug, keyboard bug, the Android OS battery drain bug and more.

Any other devices?
Yup, there are separate updates to 4.0.4 for the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom. You'll have to seek these out on the Interwebs or wait for the OTA to come along. Do not try to apply this Galaxy Nexus patch to any other device.

[miffed]

I updated my Note to AOSP 4.0.4 This morning ... didn't realise I was on the bleeding edge :D

This is 100% how Android should be IMO, I understand totally that manufacturers want to stamp their own weird and inferior identity on their handsets , but I really wish there were just a few options for Vanilla Android.

[gorilla]

CM9 nightlies are up to 4.0.4 as well. On a side note, the CM9 Rom for the Galaxy SII is really good, nice and stable, good battery life and I think most things are working now. In comparison the official Samsung Rom was slow, buggy, and frankly a bit of a nightmare when compared to CM9. I really believe hardware manufacturers should stick to the hardware and leave the software to others.

[miffed]

Agree totally ! I was a big fan of the S2 running CM7 & still am a big fan of the Galaxy Note (again running custom firmware , not CM9 though more to the pity) it bugs me when people hold the S2 up as being "better when the iPhone" - Truth is , yes , when running a mature incarnation of a Custom rom , then YES it is bloody good and gives the iPhone 4 a run for its money ... but out of the box ? Nah , sorry !

[Hands0n]

While off topic and discussing the SGS2 - I have today had a complete nightmare updating it to the official Samsung ICS 4.0.3 ROM (generic, not Operator branded).

It all starts going wrong when trying to use Kies to check for an update - that is after the SGS2 says there is no update for the smartphone. Kies itself decided it wanted to update and so I left it to do its shenanigans for the next 35 minutes. After it had done its work and rebooted itself it then started to update itself yet again! WTH? I let it indulge itself and when it had rebooted itself it decided it wanted to update yet again! Like a Monty Python sketch this was getting too silly. The previous two updates had not taken, it remained on the earlier version. So I denied the update and proceeded to attach the SGS2. More trouble struck home.

Kies decided now that the USB drivers required re-installing, and so for the next 45 minutes it went away and did just that! And so after a total of 1hr 55mins I was able to attach the SGS2 which was finally recognised by Kies. And then the next problem hit, Kies reported that the SGGS2 ROM could not be updated with the message "This version of the device cannot be updated".

So far, the update process was turning into an unmitigated failure!

Not to be outdone I did some searching around and found a few web articles with links on how to update the SGS2 with the new ICS 4.0.3 ROM using Odin. I am familiar with this process and so went down that road instead. If you cannot update using Odin then there's nothing else to do with the phone but pop it into the bin! For anyone following this far the link to the article I used is: -> http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/how-to-install-ice-cream-sandwich-on-your-samsung-galaxy-s2-50006766/

Having worked through the steps to install the downloaded ICS ROM I found the SGS2 stuck in a boot loop. More research required. This should have worked.

The answer turns out to be to run the Odin update a second time, after which the SGS2 booted up into Android 4.0.3, did a bit of updating and then presented the lock screen. Job done.

I can't help feeling that the average person out on the street would be able to do this piece of work. Looking at the hundreds of complaints on Twitter (on all of the networks) it seems that the punters are suffering [at the hands of Samsung] not getting an OTA. They don't stand a chance of doing what I did. The mobile networks' help teams don't have a cat in hell's chance of assisting.

It all kind of makes Apple's iOS and Windows WP7 seem such an obviously better way of doing things, locking down, constraining and making damn sure that when an update is available that it is capable of being pushed out to the intended devices.

[Wilt]

Windows WP7 seem such an obviously better way of doing things, locking down, constraining and making damn sure that when an update is available that it is capable of being pushed out to the intended devices.
I actually had a bit of trouble updating my Lumia 800 today - had to reinstall Zune as Windows wouldn't install the driver (kept getting stuck at 'searching...'). Not nearly as bad as Kies though, as it was fine after a reinstall.

But OTA updates are the way to go. Going via a computer is just adding another layer to go wrong - I don't know why more manufacturers aren't embracing OTA updates.

[miffed]

I remember when first getting my SGS2 I was initially reluctant to root ... but then finding out that there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to upgrade firmware without a Windows PC forced my hand - WTF ?? Even microsoft themselves don't place such restriction on their phones !! Most bizarre way to carry on.

[Ben]

Aren't OTA updates part of Android? Do some manufacturers actually remove this capability?

[miffed]

Yep, Samsung in their wisdom disabled them , you can get smaller updates (IIRC there was one for Camera Firmware when I got my S2) but full firmware has to be done via Kies , on a PC - there is a Mac version of Kies but it doesn't support firmware updates to Android , only BADA I think. Thus leaving anyone without a windows PC completely unable to upgrade , cool eh?

Pretty unforgivable in the best of circumstances , but to actually REMOVE existing functionality to achieve such a state is bizarre !