Sheridan Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Just wondering if anyone out there has upgraded their Galaxy s2 to android kitkat? I keep thinking of upgrading but have grown fond of my old faithful s2 even though it's not being updated anymore. There's quite a few homegrown images around but I'd be interested in some actual user opinions!
FN-GM Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I want my S4 on KitKat as well. Rather annoying i am waiting.
kearton Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Still got Jellybean on my S2. Thinking about KitKat too tho...
Devontechie Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I have thought about it for my S3 as well but I am still on Jellybean 4.1.2. My upgrade is due soon so more than likely get the S5 which will be KitKat
Tesla Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 @FN-GM my vodefone s4 just upgraded to kitkat withint hte last half hour, what network are you on
Sheridan Posted March 11, 2014 Author Posted March 11, 2014 I'm still on 4.1.2 which is the last official release for the s2 I believe. Upgrading to kitkat would be rooting and using a third party image.
FN-GM Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 @FN-GM my vodefone s4 just upgraded to kitkat withint hte last half hour, what network are you on Its an S4 mini, the phone was purchased separate to the SIM on amazon.
SimpleSi Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Do any of the recent Android OS updates give any actual real improvements at all. Is it all not just cake decorations nowadays? Simon
Tesla Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 KitKat seems quicker to use so far, it can supposedly work far better on smaller amounts of ram too.
ninjashadow Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Im on 4.3 on my s3 and i have noticed that it is slightly slower but has more functionality. On average it is using about 200mb more mem then 4.1.2. I however like the new UI, but that is a personal taste.
BassTech Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 My S3 is running 4.4.2 cyanogen mod and it runs SO much faster now, with battery life improved as well
pete Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 S2 with CyanogenMod 4.3 here. No issues. Can't comment on battery life because I replaced it with a beefier battery a while ago.
Devontechie Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 My S3 is running 4.4.2 cyanogen mod and it runs SO much faster now, with battery life improved as well @Lee91 How did you go about updating your s3 to 4.4.2? Never done anything like that to my phone before!
edutech4schools Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Do any of the recent Android OS updates give any actual real improvements at all. KitKat was more about speed and resource enhancments. One of Google's key objectives with Android 4.4 was to make an OS that would run on devices with 512MB of RAM. On a phone like the Nexus 5, which is blessed with almost four times that amount of memory, the performance is predictably butter-smooth. But they have slipped other updates in such as the following. Android 4.4 will use online records to tell you who is calling. So, if you get an unscheduled phone call from a retailer trying to get business out of you, you can decline the call before it even begins. This is one of those improvements, which seems minor at first, but could be a massive help. Expect rivals to copy this in the not-too-distant future.
Ant Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 I'd say give it a go! If you don't like it, you can always put it back to stock. When I upgraded my S3 to Cyanogenmod 10.2 (4.3), it felt like I'd given my phone a whole new lease of life, so much so for the first time ever I don't really feel the need to upgrade to a new phone yet. I've only just upgraded to CM 11 (4.4.2) this weekend, and so far nothing to complain about. Battery life looks to be a little better, but it's too early for me to give an accurate comparison. If the S3 can be improved so much by a 3rd party ROM, there's bound to be some improvement on the S2 too? @Lee91 How did you go about updating your s3 to 4.4.2? Never done anything like that to my phone before! Steve, spend some time on the XDA Developers forum. It involves updating your stock recovery, I use ClockWorkMod, and then using that to install the new ROM from your SD card. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to do it too, but that's what I do. If you put the time in to suss it all out first and fully understand the processes, it's actually not that difficult to do.
BassTech Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) @Lee91 How did you go about updating your s3 to 4.4.2? Never done anything like that to my phone before! It's really easy, just make sure all of the drivers for you phone are installed on your comp first before running the software. You just download cyanogen mod here: CyanogenMod | Downloads and follow the on-screen instructions. It's pretty much plug you phone in and press 'go' type of thing - simple! It's got so many benefits, too many to list here! Once it's installed it automatically pulls updates from the cyanogen mod servers. Like @Ant says it really breathed new life into my S3, so on an S2 I suspect the improvements will be even more dramatic - won't hurt to try it and you can always revert to the default firmware if you don't like it. If you do do it, BACKUP Edited March 12, 2014 by BassTech
Arthur Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Do any of the recent Android OS updates give any actual real improvements at all. There are lots of worthwhile improvements. www.androidpolice.com/2013/11/16/getting-to-know-android-4-4-kitkat-edition-android-gets-cleaner-brighter-more-useful/ www.androidpolice.com/2013/07/24/a-n-in-depth-look-at-the-big-and-small-additions-to-android-jelly-bean-4-3/ www.androidpolice.com/topics/features-2/getting-to-know-android/
FN-GM Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Its an S4 mini, the phone was purchased separate to the SIM on amazon. How do i get KitKat on my mine please?
Out_of_Sync Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 Just wondering if anyone out there has upgraded their Galaxy s2 to android kitkat? I also want to do this update
Sheridan Posted March 23, 2014 Author Posted March 23, 2014 Well I managed to get Cyanogen Mod 10.2 onto my S2 which gives me Android 4.3.1 and its worked great, love the simpler and junk free install! Word of advice to anyone doing this - a) make sure you backup your contacts to a .vcf file, and b) go straight to the cyanogen site as they have now made it sooooo much easier! All you do is install an app on your phone, run a program on your PC and it does everything for you. Much easier than the old way of sourcing insecure kernals and all the other bits you need! The only thing I miss from my original S2 (4.1.2) is the Smart Stay, which keeps the screen active when it detects you're watching it - but apart from that I'm well impressed.
Sheridan Posted March 23, 2014 Author Posted March 23, 2014 Well I managed to get Cyanogen Mod 10.2 onto my S2 which gives me Android 4.3.1 and its worked great, love the simpler and junk free install! Word of advice to anyone doing this - a) make sure you backup your contacts to a .vcf file, and b) go straight to the cyanogen site as they have now made it sooooo much easier! All you do is install an app on your phone, run a program on your PC and it does everything for you. Much easier than the old way of sourcing insecure kernals and all the other bits you need! The only thing I miss from my original S2 (4.1.2) is the Smart Stay, which keeps the screen active when it detects you're watching it - but apart from that I'm well impressed. 3
kearton Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Sheridan's method above isn't working for me. The PC app detects the phone, but when it gets to the point where it puts my S2 into Download mode it suddenly says it can't talk to my phone. I'm using Win8.1. I suspect it may be a USB driver issue, so I'll try again using Win7 when I get a chance... - - - Updated - - - Sheridan's method above isn't working for me. The PC app detects the phone, but when it gets to the point where it puts my S2 into Download mode it suddenly says it can't talk to my phone. I'm using Win8.1. I suspect it may be a USB driver issue, so I'll try again using Win7 when I get a chance...
synaesthesia Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 @kearton this is a well documented issue, it is indeed to do with the USB drivers. Easy fix though, if you do a google search for the issue it'll come up, roughly speaking it's "zadig.exe" you need to run (you'll find it via google) and replace the drivers using that. Worked well for me on 8.1 - - - Updated - - - @kearton this is a well documented issue, it is indeed to do with the USB drivers. Easy fix though, if you do a google search for the issue it'll come up, roughly speaking it's "zadig.exe" you need to run (you'll find it via google) and replace the drivers using that. Worked well for me on 8.1
abillybob Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Cyanogenmod is good although you may fine some issues, I don't know if you have tested your camera extensively but you may find that it says can't connect to camera and won't work at all on the odd occasion, also you may find some apps just stop working altogether they will open and say "Unfortuantley has stopped working". Some people never experience these issues though My girlfriend does on her S3 often! - - - Updated - - - Cyanogenmod is good although you may fine some issues, I don't know if you have tested your camera extensively but you may find that it says can't connect to camera and won't work at all on the odd occasion, also you may find some apps just stop working altogether they will open and say "Unfortuantley has stopped working". Some people never experience these issues though My girlfriend does on her S3 often!
kearton Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 Yeah I tried that last night. It "failed to replace" driver on that too... - - - Updated - - - Yeah I tried that last night. It "failed to replace" driver on that too...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now