Samsung Galaxy S



More detailed specs

Previous threads

Prospective Buyer
Why Samsung Galaxy S?
It is the most successful android smartphone to date for many reasons.
- It has got the big and beautiful Super AMOLED 4inch screen. It is very bright and the colour is rich and vibrant. Outdoor visibility is excellent thanks to the screen technology.
- Gorilla Glass. Like few other devices, the screen uses reinforced glass from Corning. It is the toughest glass to date. Scratch-resistant.
- Big storage. Useful for installing a lot of apps without the need to buy external sdcard. (2GB space to install app plus 13GB for data)
- Slim profile. It is only 9.9mm thick.
- Front facing camera. Can video call using apps like Yahoo Messenger.
- Unobtrusive and not annoying notification system
- Audiophile quality sound output.
- Entertainment friendly. Ability to play a wide range of videos and music
- Can do tv output using 3.5mm headphone jack to rca
- Swype. Don't tap, swype across the keyboard instead!
- And most importantly, "GINGERBREAD IS COMING!!"

Customization:
- Useful widgets. You can see email, sms, missed calls, twitter updates, facebook updates, toggle wifi&3G without opening each app. Each widgets can be moved around the screen to your liking.
- Live wallpaper. IMO, a gimmick but can impress your friends. A lot of these live wallpaper are interactive.
- Choice of launchers. Can choose between LauncherPro, ADW Launcher, GO Launcher Ex, SPB shell and others. See below for more details

Can I have reviews for this smartphone?
There are plenty reviews floating in the internet. Some may be biased, rushed and few may be good. Nothing beats user reviews who have enjoyed the phone for themselves
- GSM Arena
- TechArena
- Trusted Reviews
- PhoneArena

What's in the box?

- Phone
- Charger
- Earphones
- Manuals
- Warranty Card
- Kies CD

What to check before buying?
Tips for those you are going to buy this phone:
1. Check for recovery mode/download mode, more info in the FAQ below.
2. GPS issue is solve in phone manufacture AFTER or on OCTOBER, Check your manufacture date by looking at the battery, insert the battery in the phone at look at the battery. almost at the end of the battery there is a line that have date. EXM: 2010.07.14, make sure this date is on OCTOBER or later.
3. dial *#06# check with the sticker on the box if it is the same number as the phone, and the sticker at the back of the phone whether it is the same also.

Why not iphone4?
Samsung Galaxy S certainly goes head to head with iphone4. Both phones have their own strengths and limitations.
- Screen: Galaxy S has bigger and vibrant screen while iphone4 is a lot sharper.
- Glass used is not gorilla glass like in Galaxy S. Thus, easier to crack.
- Build: iphone4 is 0.6mm thinner with unibody metal case. although there may be problem with antenna-gate that galaxy s do not have
- A bit heavier than galaxy s
- Apps: iOS > 300k apps. Android has >150k apps. But both android and iOS has about the same amount of free apps.
- Can video call on 3G network. While iphone needs to be jailbroken first.
- Android can use any bluetooth device to pair with Galaxy S. Not with iphone
- with iphone, cannot see embedded flash in website. Ever!
- Android phones do not need cables to sync, just do it wirelessly using apps like doubletwist or winamp
- With android, can multitasking like on your computer. Can switch to the recent 6 apps by holding down home button. On iphone, only certain apps can run in the background while others are put to sleep.
- And most importantly, can get free angry birds with all levels on android devices!

iOS certainly is more polished overall.
If you dig aesthetics, iphone is better.
If you dig functionality and freedom, android is the way to go

New User
Recommendations for cool apps?
See this Make your Android life easier with these Apps to make your SGS cool
I'd recommend:
- Angry birdsh Angry Birds Seasons
- Goggles, Barcode Scanner, Google Shoppper.
- Laputa
- Media: Moboplayer(Download the high end version), Mixzing, TuneWiki, Meridian Player
- Twitter: Plume, Tweetcaster, Official twitter, TweetDeck
- Facebook for Android
- Google Sky Map
- Browser: xScope, Opera Mobile, Dolphin HD
- Notes: RTM, Taskos, Color Notes, GTasks
- IM: See Below
- SMS: Handcent, Chomp SMS

Try googling for top 10 android apps. there are lots of blogs writing about must haves app.

Tips
What is so special about TouchWiz interface? Any shortcuts?
It is Samsung's way to differentiate itself from other competitors by providing simple but beautiful interface to work with. There are a few known shortcuts:
- In "Contacts" app, you can swipe right on any of your contact for SMS shortcut!
- If you swipe left, you'll call the person immediately!
- On your puzzle lock screen: If you have unread SMS, you can drag the icon and complete the puzzle to go straight to the message! The same goes with missed calls.

FAQ
General

Is the Music Player good enough to take the place of my MP3 Player?
Depending on your model, you will have about 13GB storage in a 16GB model. This smartphone also has an excellent hardware that gives audiophile quality of sound. The default music player is beautiful and functional. To sync with your computer, you can either use doubletwist app or winamp.

I want to to make my own ringtone from my music file. Is that possible?
Yes! You can use an excllent app called Ringdroid. You can choose which portion you want or have the whole length of music to be your ringtone.

You talked about these launchers. What are they?
It is one way of customizating your homescreen. Each launcher will have its own unique way of using them. Some of them includes beautiful animation that will surely wow your friends! Examples:
- LauncherPro: This is a high quality, very fast and popular launcher. There's a paid version that can do more
- ADW Launcher: Its advantage is the availibility of themes to further customize your phones. Among the themes are Tron Legacy, Honeycomb, Matrix and Iron Man. The paid version add more animations and features.
- GO Launcher Ex
- Zeam Launcher: Want a simple/minimalist launcher? There's an app for that!

What messenger that you recommend?
BlackBerry Messenger(BBM) alike:
- WhatsApp Messenger
- LiveProfile - one of the hottest one right now!
- PingChat!
- Beluga (bought by facebook)

multi-protocol IM (can connect to msn, yahoo, facebook, etc)
- Meebo
- eBuddy Messenger

video-call
- Yahoo Messenger
- Fring
- Nimbuzz

Wait, these links that you gave me goes to http://market.android.com You mean I can install these apps without attaching a cable from computer to my phone?
Yes! You just need to sign-in with your google account on your computer. When you click install, the app will automagically downloaded and installed on your phone. Cable-free. Very convenient isn't it?

I want to transfer my music and videos to my phone over wifi. Is that possible?
Absolutely! I recommend using these apps:
- Android Manager Wifi
- MyPhoneExplorer

How do you get your PC to recognise the Galaxy S?
You need to download a USB driver for windows.
x86/x32
x64

How do Internal & External Memory mount to your PC? Are they Separate?
Internal memory is either 8GB or 16GB depending on the model. When connected to the computer,
- Internal sdcard is the /sdcard folder
- External sdcard is in /sdcard/sd folder

Did you have any problems connecting to WPA2-Enterprise?
No, it connected just fine.

Super AMOLED, Retina Display or TFT – Which do you think is better?
Super AMOLED has rich beautiful vibrant colour. Probably the best looking screen in a smartphone. Some opponent may say it is slightly oversaturated.
Retina display is nothing but an IPS display with 4times pixel than the iphone 3gs, giving the sharpest display. It is colour accurate but may look a bit washed out when comparing to super amoled side-by-side.
TFT is a very popular display used in many other phones other than samsung and apple.

What is a ROM/firmware?
The firmware/ROM is the software that runs on the phone. In case of the Galaxy S this is (currently in Malaysia) Android 2.2 froyo

Can I update my firmware?
Yes. There are many routes to do this. Can use KIES or ODIN.

How can I reset my phone?
On the Galaxy S the soft-reset is achieved by pressing and holding the power button. A hard-reset can executed by pressing and holding VolumeUP+Home+Power. There you will find the options "reboot", "apply sdcard:update.zip", "wipe data/factory reset" and "wipe cache partition".
The "wipe data/factory reset" option will restore your phone to the original configuration of the firmware YOU LAST INSTALLED (including any updates made via update.zip). This will NOT bring your phone back to the firmware installed when you originally bought it unless you haven't flashed your phone.
You can navigate the recovery screen using VolumeUp & VolumeDown and use the Home button to select.

I'm running Windows 7(Vista) x64 and have installed Samsung Kies, but I cannot get my phone to connect. What can I do?
- Make sure you are using touchwiz as the default home. Not Launcherpro or adw launcher
- Make sure you have downloaded the usb driver found above
- Try redownload and reinstall KIES

Can I flash an Asian ROM on my European device or vice versa?
Yes.

Can I get Asian language support in the European firmwares?
Can install goole pinyin for input. For display, can install the fonts (link to be added)

I am experiencing long loading times when opening apps/intermittent lags when switching screens. What is the problem?
Samsung uses its own proprietary RFS (Robust file system) while they could have gone to using other established and fast file system like ext4 or YAFFS. You have few methods to try
- Update to latest firmware using KIES (2.2 froyo)
- Flash optimized kernel like speedmod

I'm running Linux. Can I still flash my firmware? Do I need to install windows?
Odin needs windows. Use virtualbox to install windows on your linux box.

Any recommended apps to check my data usage?
Try to find "3G watchdog" on Android Market.

I just bought this phone and the battery quickly drains out
its normal, your new battery have to go charge and discharge cycle few days before it is really optimized, after about a week do battery calibration

Battery
How to calibrate the battery?
Battery Calibration

1.Run the device down until it turns itself off.
2.Turn it back on and wait for it to turn itself off again.
3.Remove the battery for 10 seconds.
4.Replace the battery, but leave the device off.
5.Charge the device until full and then for another hour.
6.**Root users only** Using a Terminal Emulator, type “su” enter, followed by “rm /data/system/batterystats.bin” ( can also be done more easily through CWM or SGSTools app)
7.Run the device’s battery down until it turns itself off.
8.Turn the device on and charge for at least 8 hours.
9.Unplug the device, turn off, then charge for another hour.
10.Unplug the device, turn on, wait 2 minutes.
11.Turn off again and charge for another hour.
12.Restart and use as normal.

Tips to pro-long battery
1) Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a device is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

2) Batteries with fuel gauge should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

3) Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

4) Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

5) If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.

My battery goes down from 100% to 95% right after unplug from charger
It is a feature introduced by samsung. When the phone is charged to the full, the phone will disconnect automatically and use the battery. This prevents overcharge and prolongs battery life. However, the indicator states 100% battery although in reality it may have gone down to 95%.

Do I need to root first before flash the firmware?
No need to root before flashing stock or custom ROM.

Root
What is root/rooting?
Short answer: Is simply means gaining administrator access.
Long answer: root is the use account in Linux with all privileges. The root user can edit anything on the system. For safety reasons, users do not have all those privileges. When you root your phone, you will gain write access to areas of the phone you couldn't previously access and are allowed to run more commands in the terminal. The latest guide can be found here, however, all current CustomROMs are rooted and can simply be applied via update.zip.
If all of this means nothing to you then you are probably wise to NOT root your phone. Mistakes using root can break your phone very easily. (Usually, but not always, these can be solved with a reflash.

How do I go to recovery mode and download mode? (3 button combo)
Recovery mode: Shutdown the phone. Hold up volume, home button and power button simultaneously. Release when samsung logo shows up
Download mode: Shutdown the phone. Hold down volume, home button and power button simultaneously. Release when samsung logo shows up
To navigate around recovery mode, use volume up and down and home button to select.

3-button combo/3-button fix/3-button enable/3-button disable
Follow this link to get 3 button combo.

2e vs 3e recovery
when you get into recovery mode, you can see on the top the version of the recovery 2e or the default froyo uses 3e, with 2e you can use update.zip without any problem but with 3e there is not possible, you need to change it to 2e (there is guide at XDA) or flash CWM (clockworkmod) to get the custom recovery. <-- has green interface.

Clockworkmod (CWM)
Clockworkmod is an extension of normal recovery, it will bypass all security ( no more 2e or 3e ), you can use any update.zip or better yet, you can choose any .zip in your SD card without renaming it to update.zip. some Clockwordmod have been modified to include ULK (Universal Lagfix) in them. To navigate, use volume up and down. To select, use back button

Custom ROM
Custom ROM vs Stock Rom
Rom/Firmware is the same thing,
stock rom = official firmware directly release from samsung
custom rom = made by developer by tweaking the official firmware

custom rom got more advantage than stock, such faster phone, easy theme

What are custom ROMs? How do I get them?
They are custom modified firmwares made by the community.
A list can be found here

I want to install new firmware but I want to have a backup of my original firmware to go back to in case I need to go back for warranty reasons. Can I backup my original firmware somehow?
Cannot backup but official stock rom can be downloaed to flashed to your smartphone. Samsung repair centre won't know you have rooted and installed custom rom before.

DXJG4 Firmware (eclair 2.1)
http://www.multiupload.com/4EQOPSH2P6
You need 7z to unzip.
There are 4 files in it; the CODE, MODEM, CSC and PIT513 file.
There is no necessity to put the MODEM into phone and CSC into the csc of Odin3, because CODE tar file already included these 2 items.
Please use PIT513, with Re-partition checked.
If you use PIT512, it will fail.
P/S: Swype contains bahasa indonesia and melayu. useful for our malay friends.
Locale we have english us and uk, bahasa indonesia, melayu, tieng viet, thai, koren and mandarin. would be useful for those who knows viet and thai.

DXJPA(froyo 2.2)
Link 1 Link 2

DXJPE(froyo 2.2)
Link 1 Link 2

WHAAAA! I think I bricked my phone. My flash was unsuccessful/My device boots to a black screen/similar scenarios. Can I still save my device?
It is extremely difficult to brick Galaxy S. You should always be able to use ODIN to reflash stock firmware.

GPS/WIFI
My phone takes forever to get a GPS-fix? Is there a solution to this problem?
There are a few workarounds
- Download fasterfix app. Copy it to your sdcard, open with MyFiles and click to install.
- Use GPS aids
- Update/flash your ROM to the latest froyo (2.2.1)
- Hardware fix - This will void your warranty.

If you are rooted, you can flash alternative modems found in here. Download one, put it in your sdcard, go to recovery mode and select the zip file to install.

For additional modem:
- XXJVE modem. The latest modem taken fron the leaked gingerbread firmware
- ZSJPG modem. From Hong Kong firmware. Thanks to coD33 for the link.


How do I know which one is the best for me?
Modem performance varies according to network, location and phone. Nobody knows which one is. We need your help (espicially does who know how to flash modem....) to identify the best modem to be use with our phone in malaysia. and maybe with this finding we could pair it up to the best base later on and get best firmware for us

here is a guide on what to do, can pm result to me



lets us help each other. flashing modem will not mess up your apps because only a single file is replaced.
Also, see here for some compilation of modem by pele78 and GPS

Security
What about the malware exploit that I heard about?
If you are running 2.2.1 froyo and above, you are safe. If you are still on eclair(2.1) or froyo 2.2, you are going to need a patch. See the following link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread...97#post11801997
You have to be rooted to use that patch.

Boot Animations
I want a different boot animation. Is that possible?
Definitely. You must first be rooted. Then follow the following instruction:
1. On your phone, go to doc's & stefunel mobile kitchen: http://romkitchen.org/m/
2. Click on update.zip Generator
3. Click on boot animation
4. Choose any boot animation that you want
5. Click right green arrow at the top.
6. Click generate

You'll get a zip file to be downloaded. To install, go to recovery mode, locate the downloaded zip file and flash.


APN for Internet
Maxis APN


DiGi APN


DIGI MMS


Celcom APN


CODE - Country;Telco;Customize Apps;Additional Info



thanks to hihihehe and silentser for the FAQs, headhunter7 and all others who have contributed directly or indirectly for this guide.

This post has been edited by gmhafiz: Mar 16 2011, 12:15 AM

How to root
Rooting is very easy. Remember this will temporarily void your warranty. You can always unroot to claim warranty.
Can use one of the apps below.
Super One Click
Z4Root

Or if you have speedmod kernel
1. Go to the recovery mode
2. Select advanced SpeedMod ULK features
3. Select ROOT / Install Superuser
4. Select "Simple: Install busybox+su"
5. Reboot.

Your /system will be readonly by default. To make it read/write, choose one of the following ways:
A. Use sgs tools app.
B. Click on rw button in RootExplorer
C. using terminal emulator,


How to unroot
A. Use the same app to unroot. Or;

B. For complete unroot:
1. Download the file and copy to your sdcard http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=Atta...post&id=2071852
2. Reboot into recovery mode
3. Select install zip from sdcard
4. Select choose zip from sdcard
5. Scroll down till you found the unroot.zip file.

For this method, samsung repair centre won't know you've rooted before.

What to do before Flashing
Remember that flashing is a dangerous process, be it official means using kies, odin or CWM. It is preferable to use a laptop to prevent soft brick in case of a sudden power cut during flashing. Make sure your phone is fully charges too.

1. Make sure you have 3 button combo working (download and recovery mode). If it isn't, go here or here for the fix.

2. backup /efs folder. This is to preserve your IMEI number. Once backed up, copy it to safe place like your computer.


3. Backup
- Phonebook & email: Sync with google.
- apps and data: can use Titanium Backup
- SMS and MMS: can use SMS Backup+ by Jan Berkel


How To Flash Firmware by ODIN

Firmware Websites:
http://www.samfirmware.com/apps/auth/login...OTECT-i9000.htm
You need to register and log in to access the firmwares

Odin3 software and .PIT file
http://www.samfirmware.com/apps/auth/login...OTECT-i9000.htm

How to flash/install custom firmware/roms?
Custom firmware comes in 2 type:
1. Odin
2. CWM (clockworkmod)

to identify which is which, Odin type the firmware come with a file that end with .tar, CWM file is in a zip, and inside that zip is a folder call META-INF and some other folder.

to install Odin type, use the guide below except you dont need a .pit file, and dont check repartition. usually it will only come with one .tar file, put the file into the PDA box.

easiet way to install CWM type, put the .zip file into you INTERNAL sd card ,flash Speedmod kernel to get CWM recovery. Boot into recovery > install zip from sd card > choose zip from sd card > select the .zip file

How to flash new firmware using odin:



Go here for further reading. Recommended.

In progress

This post has been edited by gmhafiz: Mar 15 2011, 12:20 AM

Hi guys... Planning to add external Sd card.. is class 4 sufficient?? will be loading movies and drama...

i only see that and my phone can do that without doubt..

hey i heard 2.2.1 is out, izit safe to upgrade to it if i had rooted my phone + lag fxed?

Take it with a pinch of salt. Reviews like these don't gauge the battery by actually using it, rather than just looking at the figure that's printed on the battery.

congratz

Flight mode, or maybe disabled all sync (without logging into Google Account).

no need flight mode..after full charge and let my phone there..it can last for ard 4 day..

I'm taking your FAQ and updating it

With custom rom and kernel, I can get 1%/1hour drain with wifi switched on. Yes 4 days idle is possible.

Congratulations to new TS.

It didn’t manage to beat the S8500 Wave but the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S certainly managed to push a lot of work on a single charge. Here is what we did with it over the 84 hours from its full charge to its battery going flat.

* 90 minutes video playback
* 2 hours music playback
* 40 minutes voice calls
* 30 minutes navigation
* 30 minutes general usage
* 10 minutes browsing
* 10 minutes shooting photo and video

You should also keep in mind that the Galaxy S was hooked to a 3G network at all times so stand-by also took its toll on the battery.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/samsung-i9000-gal...-with-the-best/

Eh bro hafiz, the ROM link you set in the first page, links to a page of kernels, not ROMs bro

congrats new TS!! lucky the thread does not move as fast as it used to, i remember late last year Nov/Dec, the thread was moving so fast a new thread can start in about a week!! now its very very slow, perhaps most ppl either changed their fons or contented with the firmware version they have. but i think once Gingerbread is released, expect the pace to pick up again.

hi guys, im using galaxy s vibrant....can i follow all the stuff here as well?
existing vibrant thread is pretty dead....

R u kidding me bro? 2.2.1 has bn out many moons ago. It has bn on my phone for ages. We re waiting for 2.3. ;-)

do it as what u wan..

speaking of battery life,mine getting more worst with darky 9.2

at first,i can make it 2 days with slightly average of usage..but after few days,i only can make it for 1 day..it can drain around 15% when im slping..
zzz

if i wan flash back ori samsung to claim warranty , i need to download the Froyo 2.2 and flash use odin is it?

the battery sucks!!!
but the video player ROCK!!!
haha. smoothly playing .mkv files

want to say thank you to silenster on here for his previous answer to my query.

and viva la galaxy S