Galaxy Note II update package

mtt_swny

Hi forum,
First time posting on Boards, mainly just use this board as a resource/reference point. I just looked in the notification bar on my note II and saw that there was an update package in the process of downloading. I assume it is the 4.3 update but given the disaster that the Vodafone S3 received I am more than sceptical about installing any similar firmware update on my device.

So I have two questions really, should I not have received an an *option* to download, as opposed to it downloading it automatically, and, once it is downloaded is it automatically installed or is installation optional? Any advice or opinions welcomed.

One last question, is this update rolling out across the board, ie, have other note I owners received this update today too (I'm Meteor BTW) and if anyone has downloaded it already, is it confirmed as stable, as I'd have serious concerns about installing any update that is more akin to a virus than an improvement...

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your reading this, and any replies would be most welcome too

Cheers,
Matthew

wotzgoingon

mtt_swny wrote: »

Hi forum,
First time posting on Boards, mainly just use this board as a resource/reference point. I just looked in the notification bar on my note II and saw that there was an update package in the process of downloading. I assume it is the 4.3 update but given the disaster that the Vodafone S3 received I am more than sceptical about installing any similar firmware update on my device.

So I have two questions really, should I not have received an an *option* to download, as opposed to it downloading it automatically, and, once it is downloaded is it automatically installed or is installation optional? Any advice or opinions welcomed.

One last question, is this update rolling out across the board, ie, have other note I owners received this update today too (I'm Meteor BTW) and if anyone has downloaded it already, is it confirmed as stable, as I'd have serious concerns about installing any update that is more akin to a virus than an improvement...

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your reading this, and any replies would be most welcome too

Cheers,
Matthew

I had 4.3 installed last week no problems what so ever but it was the generic UK one, not the meteor one you most likely are getting. I also like to try different ROM's. At the minuite I am on 4.4.2 Omni Asylum, with no problem what so ever. Great ROM.

_Whimsical_

I'm with O2 but I'm a PAYG customer and I didn't buy my NoteII from O2, it was factory unlocked. I got an update on Christmas day. How do I know if it came from O2 or from Samsung?

I only installed it today. It seems fine though, a little slower, but only marginally. I haven't found any new fantastic features though, either I've missed them or there's nothing wildly special about this update.

wotzgoingon

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I only installed it today. It seems fine though, a little slower, but only marginally. I haven't found any new fantastic features though, either I've missed them or there's nothing wildly special about this update.

I didn't find it much slower or even notice it use the battery more. Some features off the top of my head are tabbed settings and lock screen widgets. There may be more but I do not know.

Standard Toaster

wotzgoingon wrote: »

At the minuite I am on 4.4.2 Omni Asylum, with no problem what so ever. Great ROM.

Is there any functionally lost with this rom?
Eg s-pen etc

I'm on official 4.3 right now.

_Whimsical_

OP this video covers how to backup some apps that contain saved data and how to fix the main issues you might run into. It's pretty simple stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavaZVxvofY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

wotzgoingon

Standard Toaster wrote: »

Is there any functionally lost with this rom?
Eg s-pen etc

I'm on official 4.3 right now.

I have the Google experience launcher with this ROM as well, swipe right on home screen and launch google now. To be honest it is quicker with this ROM and I rarely used the s-pen. When you take out the s-pen with screen locked it will not automatically unlock phone(like it does with Samsung ROM) you can still use the s-pen instead of your finger to do things but you loose the funtion of the button on s-pen like taking screen shot, but I never used anyway so it didn't matter to me.

You also loose s-note but I use Papyrus which is like s-note it even knows you have the s-pen so you write with s-pen and if you want to erase just use you finger as rubber.(pretty cool)

Here is a link to the ROM and google apps are there. I used the google stock package of google apps worked no problem.

Standard Toaster

wotzgoingon wrote: »

I have the Google experience launcher with this ROM as well, swipe right on home screen and launch google now. To be honest it is quicker with this ROM and I rarely used the s-pen. When you take out the s-pen with screen locked it will not automatically unlock phone(like it does with Samsung ROM) you can still use the s-pen instead of your finger to do things but you loose the funtion of the button on s-pen like taking screen shot, but I never used anyway so it didn't matter to me.

You also loose s-note but I use Papyrus which is like s-note it even knows you have the s-pen so you write with s-pen and if you want to erase just use you finger as rubber.(pretty cool)

Here is a link to the ROM and google apps are there. I used the google stock package of google apps worked no problem.

Sweet, I may try that rom so when i can get a chance to download it. I have a few things in s-note I'll need to export (if possible) but not a shoe stopper. Cheers man.

wotzgoingon

Standard Toaster wrote: »

Sweet, I may try that rom so when i can get a chance to download it. I have a few things in s-note I'll need to export (if possible) but not a shoe stopper. Cheers man.

Yes you will have to backup your sms. I use sms backup and restore works good.

pizzahead77

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I'm with O2 but I'm a PAYG customer and I didn't buy my NoteII from O2, it was factory unlocked. I got an update on Christmas day. How do I know if it came from O2 or from Samsung?

I only installed it today. It seems fine though, a little slower, but only marginally. I haven't found any new fantastic features though, either I've missed them or there's nothing wildly special about this update.

If its factory unlocked it will be the Generic Firmware from Samsung rather than the o2 one

mtt_swny

Thanks all for the replies and thanks _whimsical_ for the link to the video, that'll be very useful.

From what I have read since posting this thread, the 4.3 rollout for Note II in general, irrespective of the network, has been received positively, a lot more stable than the S3 variant anyway. So, I might go about installing now.

I would still be interested to hear from anyone on here who installs the meteor 4.3 update for Note 2, but will post back a reply with findings should I install it myself, which I probably will.

mtt_swny

Quick update on this, for anyone that may be interested.

I downloaded and installed this official Samsung/Meteor Android 4.3 update and so far it has gone very well.
I'm sure everyone is well aware of what 4 dot 3 consists of, so I won't go on about the new features too much , but I'm delighted and relieved that after the disastrous reports that followed the S3 "update", it is safe to say that this Note II variant is stable.


It looks really good too, I particularly like the overhaul to the multiwindow controls and asthetics.

I did a backup with helium as suggested in the above video, just to be on the safe side, but it wasn't necessary; all app info remained intact after installation including messaging apps, photo galleries and gaming apps.

Overall performance seems good, but to be fair, the Note II wasn't exactly a slouch whilst running 4.1.2 either. Also , the memory has been freed up somewhat, although I couldn't say by precisely how much.

Thanks again _Whimsical_ for putting me on to "The Daily Note..." vids (for anyone looking to find out a little more about what to expect from the official Note II 4.3 update, check out this YouTube channel, as linked above).

This version at least, IS a 4.3 update that can be installed with confidence, which I have no doubt that a lot of people will be pleased to know.