How to update the Samsung Galaxy s3 to the latest firmware version.
For as long as smart phones has been around there has always been updates to their software. Phone manufacturers has always been in a hurry to get new products out to a hungry audience waiting for the next big thing to hit the cell phone market. As a consequence the phones will almost always be put out for sale before the quirks and errors has been taken out of the system. As a way of correcting these errors the makers of phones will from time to time need to update the firmware to phones. In most cases these updates will show up on your phone when the time is right, but for those of who are not willing to wait a second longer than necessary there is a way to check for these upgrades manually. This will also work for the American versions : ,SGH-I747,SGH-I535,SGH-T999,s III,I9305.
If you are looking for an update for the Galaxy s4 check out our Galaxy s4 update tutorial.
Connecting to Samsung Servers
If you have bought the SG3 you already have the best cell phone there is. If you want to make it even better follow the instructions below.
First a small warning! Although updating your phone to the latest firmware should not entail any risk there is a small chance that some of your data could get lost. This is why there is always a good idea to backup data that is irreplaceable.
Backup your files before updating
To backup your contact list check out : Backup android contact list tutorial.
To backup your photos and images : Backup Android photos.
Now to the good part:
- Make sure your phone is connected to wi-fi. Simply pull down the notification area and press the leftmost button named Wi-Fi. Alternately you could do this using mobile data but this could get expensive if you are not on a data plan with your operator.
- Press the apps icon to take you to your apps.
- Find and press the settings icon to take you to the settings menu.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and press the About Device.
- At the top there is a tab named Software update, press it.
- On the next screen there is a tab named Update, press that one.
- Your phone will now connect to the Samsung servers and if there is a update available the upgrade should start imminently.
- useful, why not
UPDATE
This just in : Galaxy s3 jelly bean update set for August 29.
Galaxy s3 Jelly bean update now seeding!
I also recommend reading my how to change the galaxy s3 wallpaper tutorial.
I have a S3 and have been using the same for almost 7 months now. Suddenly it has started showing Sudden Death symptons. The phone shuts down automatically and will not start untill battery removed. Have sent the phone in the service center and they have told me that it had not been updated properly, hence a problem with the RAM stuck up and thus phone shutting down. They have flased the phone and installed new software. Is the problem a software issue or a Hardware issue. Have read that its a hardware issue. Dont want the hassle to give it back against for the same issue. Please advise…
Thanks in advance.
If this has not happened after you got it back from repair. I wouldn’t worry about it.
I have Gs3 thru T-Mobile. i work for airlines and happen to out of country a lot. i want to turn off my phone while overseas, but like to use wi-fi for other reason. how can i do that? i did try in airplane mode, but that shuts off wi-fi too.
Thanks
That’s strange. On my last holiday I put my s3 in airplane mode while in air and the Wi-Fi worked like a charm.
It’s true, airplane mode shuts down wi-fi but you can turn it on again and the other antennas remain off.
In addition to flight mode + manually turning on wifi, you can also just turn off Mobile Data in the Settings > Data Usage options. This will give you text/calls and just wifi data access. This is what I do when I’m travelling out of the country.
Hi, My firmware update is working fine, I just wanted to know what the N and little signal icon at the top of the screen means..? Thanks
hello…thank you for this very helpful blog….i can’t find the answer to my question in the series of conversation here so i just want to ask you this…please help me. thanks…
I bought my samsung galaxy s3 from korea as it is cheaper there. i am in the philippines, and i need to update my software. it has an ice cream sandwich 4.0 and the latest one is jelly bean 4.1. now, i tried the first one you suggested, in settings>about device>software update but it says that “insert skt sim to do the update (SKT is like a mobile company provider like at&t, t-mobile and verizon in the US)”. Since im using a philippine provider, i cannot do that. next, i connected it via usb and had it updated through kies. It seems that it’s good at first, until the upgrade is complete BUT, im getting this prompt: FAILURE TO RUN FIRMWARE UPGRADE. UNKNOWN ERROR OCCURRED. i tried this 4-5 times already but im getting the same error. Pls help me, i want to get the best out of my phone. thanks.
more power to your blog.
i wanna know why my iphone not starting just restartin all time where i do the update from kies with metode firmwar upgrade and initialization plz help me or wher can i find firmware for tele2 sweden
This website is dedicated to anything that has to do with Android. You will have to go somewhere else to find help regarding your apple device
Same for me.. keeps restarting.. apparently, its because of the battery.. consider changing your battery..
HAHA! I bet you regret putting this on your blog with all these end users hounding you for a fix
Nah thats ok. I only wish I could help more. Sadly its kinda hard to tell sometimes why an update doesn’t come true…
I updated my S3 on sunday, since then the battery is running down drastically, i normaly only charged once a day, today on standy without use it went from 100% to 71% when i checked in a matter of hours? how can i unistall update?, I dont use fone that much, dont play ga,es etc..driving me nuts
Uninstalling an update is not very easy. Most likely the stock settings are set to a more battery consuming setting. I would check out this tutorial I wrote on conserving battery on the Galaxy s3 : http://androidfact.com/galaxy-s3-battery-life/. Hope this helps.
Hello….I am posting a comment as i have updated my phone with no problems.
My phone is a sim free/factory unlocked model for the UK so cost more and is not tied to a network and from buying the phone two weeks ago i have been requested to update twice and today (11/03/13) i have been asked to update and i was given the option of WIFI or over the air.
I have unlimited data on my sim but opted like last time for WIFI as it is quicker and i have to say it has been stress free.
I never seek updates and only do so when promoted by the S3.
People who are having issues may need to consider that when you buy a phone be it on contract or second hand or sim free brand new like i did that the phone needs to be for the country you are in.
I know of a person who bought a second hand as new S3 but can not update his phone as it was for the Asian market only but the phone is fast for his needs ..good luck with your updates and as one poster stated that his phone went flat (It does not take an ounce of matter to know that leaving your phone on and downloading an update that is taking more than 3 mins that something is wrong, or attempting to download an update with a low battery may lead to big problems so please ensure your phone is charged 100% or left in the wall charger..
Installed the update today; got to 100% and has been sitting on the ‘Samsung Galaxy S3′ black screen for about 2 hours now. Fairly certain the update shouldn’t take this long to finish installation.
Should I let it continue or try a restart? (There’s no progress bar as it already reached 100%)
I just updated my galaxy s3 and now my email is not working? Any suggestions?
I’m having the same problem! Since the update I can’t send images via email – anyone else have this problem? Email works the rest of the time though.
I have the Galaxy S3, with T-Mobile. I have tried to push the update thru, but the response that I get after I click on Software update is….”Access to the software update service is provided to users in the order in which they request it. Try later.”
Really? I have never heard such a thing. It’s been like that since I got the phone and I am on Android version 4.1.1. Any suggestions?
The first thing I would try was to turn off the automatic update and give it another shot. This has actually worked for some. If this fails I would update my phone with the computer program Kies from Samsung. You can find a link to a tutorial on this subject in the article above.
Hello! How do I take off the automatic update? I am having the same issue with the message
Hi, I’m not sure if this has been covered but I tried to update the firmware using the cable, after it downloaded Kies asked me to “connect a device” even though it was connected. I got kies to reinstall the cable drivers using its help feature and I still have the same problem. Please any help would be appreciated, thank you.
Pull down the notification area on your phone. If you can see that it says connected as a camera, press that area to change your USB options. Pick the connect as Media device. Your phone should now connect to kies as it should.
Trying to update my firmware through Kies, but it says my version isn’t supported to update through Kies. My phone is an SCH1535 and the version is LK3. Help!
Kate
When i checked for update on my phone galaxy s3 , i found a message told me that my device has been modified and software updates are not available!!!!! . Very thanks for your expected cooperation.
Eureka!! I have fought with this flippin’ update for days trying to get it to download. It has blown all my mobile data and for the month:(
But if I turn OFF the Auto Update setting on the Software update screen first and then ask it to do the Update it now happily downloads that rotten JellyBean update and applies it successfully.
I want to update my s3 but i dont have a software update tab in the “about phone” section…any help pls?
Hi, the new update came out and it just won’t download on Kies or with Wi-Fi. Can you help me out here please?
Which android version do you have right now and on which carrier in what country. ?
Hi.
I think my phone has sudden death syndrome. It won’t turn on or anything. Tried putting it to laptop to try and put new software on and doesn’t connect. I’ve been to tmobile who say they can’t do anything. What can I do???
Surely you phones warranty hasn’t run out. I think they have to give you a new phone if they can’t repair it.
i tried to update my new s3 it gets stuck on 30% while installing the updates. and error occurs that update it with pc kies. it connected it to the pc and but kies says that your firmware doesnot support the kies, i have tried reseting the phone to factory settings but still no effect,, plz help me…!
Many s3 owners that comes to this site has reported the same problem. So many indeed that I contacted SAmsung support to hear what they had to say about it.
Basically this is what they said:
They had never heard of this spesific problem but would suggest the following way to update the Galaxy s3 :
1 Back up your data.
2 Reset phone to factory settings (http://androidfact.com/how-to-factory-reset-galaxy-s3/).
3 Do the update (as described in the tutorial).
4 Reset phone again to factory settings.
5 Restore backed up data.
Don’t know if this helps but it’s the best answer I got for you.
hi,
I was asked to do a firmware update to s3 version(v5_1208_5_1)and it has been 2 days and it still hasnt finished updateing I left it overnight and then my phone turned off as it went flat and now it doesnt tell me the progress i pull down the tab at the top of the screen and push on the update and it takes me straight back to home page or i hold it and it comes up with app info i push that and it comes up with pointless info and several buttons the only one that is lit up is force stop and when i push that it says if i force stop it will cause errors what should i do???
I had this problem while updating once. What you need to do is go to SETTINGS – ABOUT DEVICE – SOFTWARE UPDATE – UPDATE. This should make the update get back on track. Strangely hitting that notification area message seems to have no effect at all.
So Honestly, is this update Worth It (after reading all the problems…).
Thanks,
Mac
Well I guess if you ask the people who have problems getting it right they would likely say that it is not worth it.
But then again if you ask the millions of people who have updated their device without problem they would say that it was worth it.
Consider the fact that those who updated without problem would probably not post on this article, while those who have problems are more likely to post to get help
Good One
I upgraded my phone to 4.1.2 recently..
Now it took ages to load contacts phone log and messages and also its playing and high performance games like Asphalt 7, comtract killer 2, Modern Combat 3 and many more like them…..
Can you tell me whats the problem with it and what should I do.
Samsung recommends that you do a factory reset after updating. You can find a link to a tutorial a few posts down. Hopefully this will help you get back the performance you are used to.
Tried updating firmware via Kies on pc. It Failed Numerous times , at the last Attempt everything seemed to be going as it should , it got to 70% complete ( possibly higher than 70% ) then suddenly failed , only this time it said I needed the emergency firmware recovery so I clicked ok . after about an hour or so it still showed 0% progress so I just left it over night , Next morning it showed message saying recovery failed and now I have a yellow triangle on my phone screen , a message saying it encountered an issue while updating firmware and try recovery which I have done multiple times now . So Now I got no Phone No Nothing , is there anyway I can get into the phone to try a rollback or something
I would try the following : Hold down POWER BUTTON and VOLUME UP and HOME BUTTON all et the same time. Hold for a while and this should bring up the recovery mode. now use the volume button to scroll down to “wipe data/factory reset” hit the home button to select it. You will have to confirm your choice on the next screen. Remember that all your data will be lost using this method but it’s better than having a bricked phone right
Hopefully this will bring you your phone back. Let me know how it turned out.
Few days ago I instaled the new updates to my Galaxy S3 and now I hate my phone!! It started to freeze and to reboot a few times per day. The Games and the music are also not running smoothly like before. Please help!! Is there a way to uninstal the last updates?
Most likely your phone needs a factory reset as Samsung recomends after doing an update. If you are not sure how to do it check out this tutorial : http://androidfact.com/how-to-factory-reset-galaxy-s3/
This will most likely get rid of any kinks from the update. Remember to back up your data and contacts before you reset your phone!
I have upgraded, but now my messaging doesn’t link to my contacts. It only show tel no without names. Does anyone have this problem and is there any way to solve it?
I am also having the same problem. Were you able to solve it or found a solution?
Most times when people run into these little glitches after an update all thay need to do is a factory reset to get it right again. Don’t know if this is the case here but it is sure worth a try..
i used kies to update my phone today and it acted like it was working it even took awhile to do it all but afterwards it still had the same version number which was 4.1.1 but now everything says im up to date so how do i use the multi window when everythings saying im up to date yet nothings changed?
i just used kies to update my phone and it acted as if it was really updating and all took forever too but its still on the same version as it was before the update now and thats 4.1.1 and so no multiscreen how do i get the multi screen if everythings saying im up to date but im not?
You will have to wait until your phone gets 4.1.2 to get multiview. .
Am in Tanzania
Am using galaxy 3 which was bought in korea, when i tried to update it failed and ask me to use skt usim card to update, i do not know what is skt usim card,
What should i do?
I am not familiar with this problem but I found this link for you which might have the solution for you: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574731
I have the latest update, but this update added a ‘half ball’ on the left side of my screen. This is very annoying and I can’t find a way to remove is. It only shows me some icons I already have on my startscreen and more important, it blocks space when playing games.
Help?
The “half ball” is the multiview panel. It will enable you to run two apps at a time. http://androidfact.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-multiview-splitscreen-tutorial/ for more details.
If you simply want to remove it pull down the notification area on your home screen. Flick it towards the left until you see MULTI WINDOW. Klick that and voila. Another way to turn of multiview is to go SETTINGS – DISPLAY – untapp MULTI WINDOW tab