How to Update the Samsung Galaxy S to Android 2.3.6 Build XWJVZ

Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 owners who have previously rooted their phones can now upgrade their phones to the latest update of Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread build XWJVZ. This firmware update fixes several bugs in the previous version of Gingerbread for the Galaxy S (e.g., the bug that causes the phone to heat up when users play games that are heavy on graphics). Installing the firmware update is encouraged to get rid of many of the bugs in the previous version. If you want to find out how to install the latest version, read more and see the instructions provided below.

Before anything else, some words of caution. This update is not the official firmware released by Samsung. Once you have installed this update on your phone, it will not allow you to use Samsung KIES. Instead, you will be using the Odin flashing tool.

This update is also a global update, which means that anyone with a Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 can install this update. However, do not apply this update to devices which are network-locked.

Preparations

Before we go to the actual installation process, take note of the pre-upgrade requirements:

• Download the XWJVZ 2.3.6 Gingerbread firmware update files to your computer. Get the ZIP file here.  It contains the tools and files to be used to upgrade your phone.
• Get your phone data backed up, since there is a very high probability that your data will be erased in the process of updating your phone’s firmware. Phone data you may want to back up include notes, SMS messages, contacts, call log, files, and Internet and MMS Settings.
• Enable USB debugging on your handset. You can do this by going to “Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging”.
• Close all security suites, firewall tools, as well as Samsung KIES (go to task manager to close them) on your computer. These programs can interrupt the firmware update.

Firmware Updating Instructions

Here are the steps for updating your Galaxy S to Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread build XWJVZ:

1. Extract the firmware update files from GalaxyS_I9000_XWJVZ_2.3.6.zip into a temporary folder on your PC.
2. Run the Odin flash tool that is inside the folder.
3. Turn your phone off.
4. Reboot the phone to download mode by pressing the Volume Down key + OK button together, and while holding them down, press the Power button.
5. After the phone has booted into download mode, connect it to your computer via USB cable. Make sure Odin is still running.
6. The program will update the drivers and the Odin window will show you an updated ID:COM field (which will turn yellow). If the ID:COM field doesn’t turn yellow, do not proceed.
7. Fill in the options in Odin as follows:
• PIT – s1_odin_20100512.pit
• PDA – CODE_I9000XWJVZ_CL762604_REV03_user_low_ship.tar.md5,
• CSC – GT-I9000-CSC-HOME-MULTI-OXAJVT.tar.md5,
• Phone – MODEM_I9000XXJVT_REV_00_CL1064602.tar.md5
8. Click the Start button in Odin to start the firmware update. Wait for a few minutes for the update to complete.
9. The phone will reboot after updating. Afterwards, check if the update is successful by going to “Applications > Settings > About Phone” and see whether the phone’s firmware version shows “XWJVZ 2.3.6 Gingerbread”.
10. If you experience force close issues after applying the update, you can try a factory reset and cache wipe in recovery mode. Here’s how to do that:
1. Turn off your phone.
2. Press and hold both the Volume Up + OK buttons, and while holding them down, press the Power button.
3. Your phone will boot into recovery mode.
4. In the recovery mode menu, select “Wipe data/factory reset” and then “Wipe cache partition.”
5. Reboot your device to normal mode by selecting “Reboot system now.”

If there were interruptions during the software update, what you need to do is to do it all over again–which means that you will have to start the process again from the beginning until you are successful. And, when you are already done with the update, remember to restore the data that you have backed up earlier.

Have you updated your Samsung Galaxy S GT I9000 with this firmware already?