How to Update Samsung Moment with Android 2.1
by Antonio Wells
May 15, 2010 2:59 PM –
Sprint has not officially announced the update but the official update is on their website. We updated one of our Samsung Moments and wanted to present a quick and easy guide so you avoid the pitfalls we had in updating to the latest Android 2.1 update 1 software.
1. Know the Facts. This update WILL WIPE YOUR PHONE. You will lose contacts, email, SMS text messages, apps, etc.
2. Backup Solutions and Resources. Even though this will completely wipe your phone, don’t fear there are backup and restore solutions. The least of your worries are contacts, email and apps. Google automatically syncs these with the Gmail account you signed up with to initially start using the phone. Once you’ve wiped an Android phone, restoring contacts and email are a breeze once you sync from the Google cloud again.
Apps have to be re-downloaded. Simply sign in with the same Google or Gmail account you initially downloaded or purchased apps with and you WILL BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD AGAIN AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. To make remembering what apps you’ve downloaded easier we recommend using AppBrain. Head over and sign up, install AppBrain Market Sync so it creates a list of your installed apps online. Later you can use this to re-download from the Web versus searching and manually installing each on the phone.
3. Remove Old Samsung USB Drivers. If you have installed any Samsung drivers installed on your computer these MUST be removed (if they are not installed skip to the next step).
- To check for and remove Samsung USB Drivers go to Start » Settings » Control Panel » Add or Remove Programs.
- Locate the item titled “SAMSUNG Mobile USB Driver XXX”. Click “Change/Remove” then “Remove” option.
- When asked “Do you want to completely remove the selected application and all of its features?” click “OK”.
- Click “Yes, I want to restart my computer now.”
4. Software Needed. Get Sprint’s official update via this link to download the 101MB software file. Install the software, it will prompt to restart your PC, do so (be sure you have Admin rights on your PC). After restart, notice on the Desktop a file “SWUpdate”, open and follow on-screen instructions.
5. Prep the Phone. Remove your SD Card and the back plate but keep you battery in as the process will ask you to remove the battery twice plus plugging the phone into USB twice… and we don’t want the back plate in the way. Be sure the phone is fully charged!
6. Install Samsung Drivers & Update the Phone. Using the SWUpdate software as an on-screen guide, follow it as it prompts you to:
- Pull the battery and reinsert.
- Press and hold Volume Down button, Camera button then End button (in that order) until you see the “Downloading” screen.
- Insert USB cable into phone, once drivers installed it will ask to pull and reinsert the battery.
- Again press and hold Volume Down button, Camera button then End button
- Then asks to reinsert USB cable (ensure the cable and PC connects, look in the bottom right for “Connected”).
- Click Start Update button. It will copy the software to the phone. You should see progress bars on PC and phone move to 100%.
- The phone will copy the ROM and show text on the screen then restart itself
- Once restarted, there will be a 2-3 minute delay to boot up for the first time
7. Post-Install Check. Immediately you will notice you have to slide the left green padlock icon to unlock the phone. There still only 3 home screens, unlike 5 on Nexus One. To get your contacts, email, and apps back go to:
- Home screen » Settings » Accounts & sync » ensure “Background data” and “Auto-sync” are checked » finally Add your Google or Gmail account. After it syncs you will have your contacts and email restored.
- Go the to Market to re-download your apps (you must sign in again, use the same Google or Gmail account you initially downloaded or purchased with)
Troubleshooting and FAQs:
Issues with Connecting the USB Cable
We went wrong on the connection of USB cable. For some strange reason it would not recognize the connection. To ensure it was connected we unplugged the cable from the PC and phone completely then plugged back in each time. Watch the bottom right corner of the SWUpdate software for “Connected”.
What if the Worst Happens and the Update Doesn’t Complete, Will it Brick my Phone?
In our experience NO. The first time we tried it… on the last step the SWUpdate app hung during the USB cable issue mentioned above. We waited around looking stupid for 30 minutes assuming it was doing something but wasn’t. Then restarted the PC, pulled the phone battery and tried all over again being more conscious of the cable and breezed through it.
How Long Does the Process Take?
From start to finish about 20 minutes. Preparation takes the most time, the actual update was the shortest.
Why Doesn’t Sprint Send the Samsung Moment Update Over the Air, Why Must I do this Myself?
Honestly don’t know. Luckily you have resourceful websites like ours to guide you through.
What’s New in the Android 2.1 update 1 for Samsung Moment?
- Updated Android Market (Android 1.6)
- Universal Search of Contacts, Apps, and more (Android 1.6)
- Voice enabled Search (Android 1.6)
- Gesture Input (Android 1.6)
- Support for different screen sizes (Android 1.6)
- Google Buzz support (Android 2.0)
- Speech-to-Text in any text field on default Android keyboard (Android 2.1)
- Cool 3D Photo Gallery (Android 2.1)