Risks of downgrading S2 I9100 to 2.3.6?

[aviral1990]

Hey Guys

My new gaalxy S2 I9100 was preloaded with ICs 4.0.3. However many of the games and stuff are not compatible and crash in ICS..So i would like to downgrade to gingerbread 2.3.6..

I found a site called sammobile..found the firmware for my country for 2.3.6..got the software Odin as well and read the steps for downgrading..

Now i wanna know few things before i proceed with the downgrade..

1. What are the risks involved?

2. How safe is the process? Usually done easily or is complicated and can lead to something disastrous?

3. If i am not satisfied with the downgrade or something went wrong.. is there a way i can restore my phone to the original unboxed condition(as it came out of the box with ICS 4.0.3 ) using some software or setting within the phone?

4. Lastly, i have many saved games and some important stuff..with downgrading it will go away(as i have read).. so how can i preserve them and make sure i dont have to start new game for all the games that i have played?

A huge thanks for replying to the answers above

 

[bking]

U cant hard brick ur s2...i wud recommend u to try it....but if u fail..then download official ics and follow the same proces and u will be back on ICS

 

[AndroidFan]

Instead of downgrading, your should connect your phone to the internet and check to see if Samsung has released any bugfix patch... Don't downgrade. You will lose all your data.

I am running ICS now on my Optimus One... Have been on ICS for a couple of months... Its smooth... Never faced any incompatibility with any app or game...

So, IMO, you should not downgrade... ICS is a lot better than old Gingerbread...

I am sure some S2 owners on this forum can help you out...

 

[coolfire92]

Firmwares often contain bootloaders.If anything goes while flashing a bootloader you are in deep trouble.You can permanently brick your phone.

Just connect the phone to your pc,open up 'kies' and check if there is a firmware update.Or check xda for a custom rom based on 2.3

 

[noob]

However many of the games and stuff are not compatible and crash in ICS

Tell me the app names..will test and report back. A friend of mine has S2 in office. I am also running ICS and not even a single app crash till date.

A huge thanks for replying to the answers above

LOL..looks like copy-paste question

 

[ithehappy]

1- No risk.
2- Absolutely safe. You gotta wipe the device after downgrading.
3- Yes, sure.
4- Don't know.

 

[aviral1990]

Well there are many gameloft HD games that aint working on ICS..to name a few..
Spiderman HD
Nova 2 HD
gangstar miami vindication
Splinter Cell

All of these launch and run for 5 min perfectly and then crash..

The only HD games so far i have managed to run are COD 2 and shadowgun

I have read that many HD games have compatibility issues with ICS..

Thats why wanted to degrade..though i also want to avoid the hastles of dowgrading, thats why wanted to know what are the drawbacks and risks of doing so

Also the battery life with ICS seems quite poor..i have heard gingerbread 2.3.6 offers better battery life..(someone comment and confirm this also )

 

[ithehappy]

Of course Gingerbread is better than ICS. It's a complete OS. While ICS isn't finished yet, more polishing needs to be done. Unless someone is crazy about OS version he/she SHOULD stay on GB.
(What i said is applied for i9100 only.)

 

[noob]

Well there are many gameloft HD games that aint working on ICS..to name a few..
Spiderman HD
Nova 2 HD
gangstar miami vindication
Splinter Cell

All of these launch and run for 5 min perfectly and then crash..

The only HD games so far i have managed to run are COD 2 and shadowgun

I have read that many HD games have compatibility issues with ICS..

Thats why wanted to degrade..though i also want to avoid the hastles of dowgrading, thats why wanted to know what are the drawbacks and risks of doing so

)

OK..I tried this game on S2 (Stock ICS build) and it works fine. Played Splinter Cell for about 30 min. No problems here.

Again, Don't downgrade to GB by listening to iPhone fanboys here. If you are still facing the problem email the app developer. I suppose something is wrong specific to your phone.
Also, are you running the latest version of those apps ? And HAVE you purchased all those games? If yes then please post the screenshot and you have 100% right to email the developer.

If you are using pirated version of above mentioned games then don't bother complaining.

Also the battery life with ICS seems quite poor..i have heard gingerbread 2.3.6 offers better battery life..(someone comment and confirm this also

Battery life has been vastly improved in GB and further optimized in ICS. I have absolutely no -ve exp regarding battery life on SGS with CM9 ICS.

Of course Gingerbread is better than ICS. It's a complete OS.

Dear Sir, Please avoid posting anything related to Android. Thanks.

 

[red dragon]

@op,
Absolutely safe to downgrade(just do a full wipe)
I had to done it,did not face any problem.
But,if you have legit games,they are unlikely to crash.
BUT for GS2,still GB is better if you want even half decent battery.
If you are using Titanium,restore the apps only(the apps and data restore can screw things up)

 

[ico]

Dunno but considerable increase in battery life when I shifted to ICS / SGS2.

 

[red dragon]

Battery life has been vastly improved in GB and further optimized in ICS. I have absolutely no -ve exp regarding battery life on SGS with CM9 ICS.



Dear Sir, Please avoid posting anything related to Android. Thanks.

No sir,at least in GS2 the current ICS is not at all battery friendly.
Even the scrolling is choppy compared to GB.
Head over to xda if you think otherwise.
BTW it is really sad to see people telling
ithehappy to refrain from posting in Android thread!!
@noob,take a look at the gs2 thread @xda,ithehappy probably is far more knowledgable than you think!

 

[red dragon]

Dunno but considerable increase in battery life when I shifted to ICS / SGS2.

Absolutely opposite for me,even after a complete wipe and install!
The stock ICS was much better than CM9 though.
Was easily getting 4-5 hrs on screen time on GB,never crossed 4 hours with stock ICS(debloated and underclocked),
much poorer with CM9(same cpu,gpu settings)

 

[ico]

*i.imgur.com/ZK0Sp.png

Wifi + AndChat IRC continuously running in background. Then switched to HSDPA. And just now switched to Wifi back.

 

[red dragon]

Screen time?And you did not make any call?

 

[ico]

Should be around 3 hours at the moment. 38% still remaining. Good enough, I think.

 

[ithehappy]

Dear Sir, Please avoid posting anything related to Android. Thanks.

I think you are going too far now. If you don't feel confident about something please read and search more. There are PLENTY topics both in Android and XDA forum. Go and read, i am begging ya.
And how come some guys or someone consider a ROM/OS based on battery life? Jesus Christ! I can post screenshot of achieving 7 hours screen on time in GB, which i am yet to achieve in ICS. Who uses Stock kernel? And the kernels are finished, polished and more well modified for GB, while all the devs are still building their kernels for ICS. So NO WAY you can achieve something which you achieved in GB.
Now if someone cheers about some kiddish feature like Face Unlock and else then use ICS!
If it's ONLY battery info you want it's neither optimized nor got better in ICS. AOS bug is still present.
And if it's not about battery life only, then what i said remains and it's the fact. I am NOBODY. But there are way too many ELITE RECOGNISED members in XDA, whose posts i read every day, for at least an hour. And i am doing it for last 12 months. So what i said is 'NOT ENTIRELY MY OPINION.'
And one more thing you CAN'T device who is gonna post what, right, unless someone is trolling/spamming?
(Again, what i said is applicable for Stock ICS ROM released by Sammy, not for any AOSP/AOKP or any other custom ROMs which are modified by its dev)

 

[red dragon]

Yes!very good indeed!cpu underclocked?gpu uved?

 

[AndroidFan]

@aviral1990 (OP),

Do you have the original S2 9100, or the substitute OMAP model 9100G...?

 

[red dragon]

Now in GS3,the Android system bug is replaced by stand by bug.
Have seen hundreds of posts and screenshots at xda showing stand by is causing more drain than the screen!!
Optimisation!my a&s!!