Android 4.0 ICS Update: How to Install Ice Cream Sandwich on AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note? [Tutorial]

It seems that the owners of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note won't have to wait until Q2 to get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update, as announced by Samsung earlier. After Galaxy Nexus and the popular Galaxy S2, it's the South Korean tech giant's big guy Galaxy Note, which is reportedly next in line to get the ICS scoop.

Thanks to the development site Rootzwiki, the ICS i717 ROM for the AT&T Galaxy Note has been leaked, and according to them, they'd spent quite a bit of time doing some testing and quality control to make sure you're going to end up with a satisfactory experience rather than a very attractive paperweight.

Technology Web site The Verge said that they'd also tested out the ROM and confirmed that everything is working as it should. Similar to the Android 4.0 ROM for the Galaxy S2, nothing much has been changed in the ICS ROM for the Note. Still, the notable visual additions could be Face Unlock and the new multitasking menu, said the site.

According to different sources, the Release Candidate version is being tested internally, which suggests that a public, OTA release to the end-user is no more than a couple of weeks away, Redmond Pie reported.

The report also provided a tutorial for manually flashing the Android 4.0 ICS update on the Galaxy Note. But before going ahead, users must be aware of certain aspects:

• The Premium Suite is not included in this build.
• The TouchWiz launcher crashes on first boot (but not on subsequent boots), and also, when a Google Play account is added.
• The build will increase your flash counter.
• The build will not wipe the external SDCard on install, but the internal SDCard will be formatted while installing the build.

The Verge noted that the only way now for users to get the build on their device is to manually flash an update via their PC. Even if it's quite safe to do so, the custom firmware monitor on the Galaxy Note will flag the manual update, canceling the warranty.

For users, who still fancy manually flashing the update, below are the steps to follow. The guide is only for Windows users.

Users must note that using the method to update devices is their own decision. IBTimes will not be held responsible for any consequence.

Step 1: Download Odin One-Click. [Download link]

Step 2: Reboot Samsung Galaxy Note in Download Mode (Hold Power, Volume Down and then Volume Up).

Step 3: Connect Galaxy Note to a Windows PC via USB.

Step 4: Run the Odin One-Click file. It should detect the device as com3 (in yellow).

Step 5: Click the PDA button and select ICS ROM [Download link]. Click Start.

[Source: Redmond Pie]

The official update will begin once AT&T finishes testing and tinkering.

As provided by Rootzwiki's internal build tester, the key working features include the following:

• Face Unlock is fully functional
• LTE connections are solid and up to speed
• Phone calls work great both ways
• Audio quality is up to par
• Stereo Bluetooth is fully functional
• MMS is fully functional
• GPS is fully functional
• Google Talk and Video Chat work
• Google Voice is fully functional
• Task Manager is smooth and transitions are quick
• Downloaded Flash video and in-browser video works flawlessly
• Chrome autosync is fully functional
• AT&T Hotspot functionality works, external devices connect fine

The internal build tester also noticed a few changes in some of the tools: Samsung Planner is now called Calendar; new Calendar widgets include Month, Mini Task, Three Day Task, Mini Today, Agenda, Task, and Mini Agenda; and there is a new Samsung Memo widget as well.

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