Upgrade the Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 to TouchWiz 4 via value pack firmware XXJW4

Samsung has declared that it will not be rolling out official Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) updates for its single-core devices and this made the owners of earlier Samsung phones a bit disappointed. As a consolation of some sort,  Samsung decided to release a value pack with the XXJW4 firmware that would stop all the complaining. It’s not ICS but it has many features like the following:

• Face Unlock
• TouchWiz 4
• Photo Editor
• better GPU performance
• updated Google Apps

Apparently, this value pack really is official and it has a lot of improvements and additional features. Aside from the Face Unlock and TouchWiz 4, some of these new features include a new kernel with 364 MB of RAM, the Galaxy S2 lockscreen for ICS, improved Camera UI, fast autorotation, and improvements in the overall speed and CPU performance of the device.

Check out the rest of this guide for the requirements and instructions for upgrading your Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 to value pack firmware XXJW4.

Requirements

• Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000
• A Windows PC
• Make a back up of all the important data on your device (i.e. contacts, call logs, SMS and Internet settings).
• Uninstall Samsung KIES because it can interrupt with the flashing process.
• Disable any security suites on your computer (e.g., firewall, antivirus).
• Install the Samsung USB drivers for your phone: 32-bit Windows or 64-bit Windows.
• Download the  XXJW4 firmware from here (I9000XXJW4_I9000OXAJW4_XEU.zip, 170.1 MB) and save it to your computer.
• Download Odin3 v1.7 from here (Odin3 v1.7.exe, 412.5 kB) and save it to your computer.

Instructions

NOTE: Use this guide at your own risk. We will not be held liable for any damage on your device as a result of using this guide.

1. If you have not yet done so, upgrade/update your Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 to Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread value pack firmware version XXJVU first.
2. Extract the contents of XXJW4 package file into a folder on your computer.  You should be able to extract a file named JW4_JW4_JW4.tar.
3. Turn off your phone completely.
4. Put your phone in recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up key, Home button, and Power button simultaneously until the screen lights up, at which point you may release the buttons.
5. In recovery mode, select Wipe data/factory reset and then Yes on the next screen.
6. Remove the battery and re-insert it again.  Do not turn on your phone yet.
7. With your phone still off, hold down the Volume Down key, Home button, and Power button at the same time until you see the download mode screen.
8. Double-click on the Odin3 executable file on your computer.
9. Connect your device to your computer.  Odin3 should recognize your phone automatically with a message saying “Added!”. If your phone is not recognized, then you probably have problems with the drivers.
10. Click the PDA button in Odin3 and select JW4_JW4_JW4.tar.
11. Click the Start button in Odin3 to start installing the firmware.
12. Your phone will automatically reboot after installation is finished.  Odin3 will also display a PASS message on Odin3 window.

Congratulations!  You’ve succeeded in installing the XXJW4 value pack firmware on your Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000.