Samsung Galaxy S3

[david295]

If i get the s3 from vodafone, does it come with vodafone bloatware on it, or will it be a factory sealed one

[Lee]

Hi there david295,

Thanks for your post.

The device will be sent with a couple of customisations on it, including a few bookmarks. There are downloads available that will install services such as Vodafone Music on the device too.

Cheers,

Lee

[david295]

well it looks like i will not be getting my upgrade from vodafone then, i want phone that has no network rubbish on it., you have just lost yourself a customer

[JSK73]

@david295

Your upgrade would arrive "factory sealed", it'll just have VF firmware on it rather than a generic firmware.

Bloatware can be removed easily, and ALL networks put bloatware on their phones.

There are a couple of good apps provided on the VF branded phones that sim free users have to download e.g My Vodafone.

Even the Sim Free phones have apps that you may not ever use and you can remove these just as easily.

[ado28]

David, are you gonna return the phone to Samsung too? They are the worst culprits for adding bloadware!

Like JSK said everything that you don't want on the phone can easily be removed. My Galaxy S1 is and has been running on ICS for months and its much much better than stock samsung bloatware...

[Webreaper]

ICS has the ability to disable unused apps built in, so it's probably not worth getting upset about. Just disable/hide the stuff you don't want. Even on a Google-supplied Nexus One it's impossible to uninstall a lot of the unwanted bloatware (e.g., on Gingerbread you can't get rid of Google Books, Google Googles, Amazon Mp3, etc) I think you're being a little harsh on Vodafone about something which isn't a big deal. Given the storage available in these phones, a few bookmarks and small apps in the firmware will make no real-world difference, and once disabled they'll never run so they won't affect CPU/battery life etc, so just relax and enjoy the device.

[Northern-dj]

The S3 yes has Vodafone stuff on but they have lernt with the Galaxy comunitiy 

There is no unkware eg trial games the rest is there if you want it 

Updates are Now done Networks first even fix roms so there is non of the delays as samsung is controlling things now 

If you want a Vanilla rom from Samsung but still to stay with Vodafone CPW or phones for you can Update your phone 

Now there stock Phones 

ut when Jelly bean is out they will be the last to update 

were as before they were the first and any problems were fixed on the way and Network phones suffered 

Now its the other way round 

This should not stop you getting a S3 On Vodafone there partner companise do a good job 

CPW Do very well for Vodafone 

at the end of the day paople have choices Blaotware was a pain in the past and still is on pay as you go devices but not network phone s

As stated ICS you can disable the app they don't do much any how there mainly for the Vodafone fans 

[JSK73]

The Sim Free S3 is surprisingly bloat lite..

It has the usual assortment of Samsung Apps that I may or may not ever use, but so did the S2.

[awp278]

When is the Vodafone stuff (bloatware) put on the phone?

Is it when the phones are delivered to Vodafone, or do they send the software to Samsung and request they install it before providing the phone to Vodafone?

[Webreaper]

The 'bloatware' as you call it, is part of the Vodafone firmware image. It'll be flashed onto the device by Samsung during the final stage of the phone manufacturing process, most likely - part of the Vodafone order through Samsung. Remember, Voda (and every other carrier) have specific SKUs (product IDs) for their phones, and subtle differences in some firmware etc. That's why, for example, you can't take a Vodafone Nexus One and flash it with the stock Google N1 firmware - you have to wait for the Voda firmware release.

[david295]

i had a samsung wave s8500, from vodafone, and was not allowed to use samsung kies to update it to bada 2.0, as it said your device can not be updated, i know bada 2.0 was released, but vodafone phones could not use kies to update, so i downloaded bada 1.2, as freah install, and changed csc code to xeu, plugged it into kies, and it updated to bada 2.0 no problem.

Can i still do this with galaxy s3, as it will be my phone, and do not want vodafone rubbish on my phone.

If someone from vodafone could call me, i would like to upgrade, my contract ends 3/8/2012, i am able to upgrade from 14/7/2012

I would like to pay of reminder of contract and upgrade. if i am offered a good deal on galaxy s3, if not then i still want someone to call me so i can pay of contract and switch back to pay as you go.

[JSK73]

You can change the CSC by either downloading an XAA (as it is on my sim free version) firmware or the method below worked on the S2, so may on the S3

http://www.jayceooi.com/2011/09/03/how-to-change-csc-on-samsung-galaxy-s2/

I haven't checked for a while but I'd imagine generic firmware is available on sammobile.com

Please note that changing your CSC will invalidate your phone warranty with Vodafone, this will be the same with any operator that has their own branding.

You should consider though that when the S2 was updated to ICS it was the non branded phones that got the update last, this is because Samsung opted to let the operators release theirs first, fix any issues then release the generic version. Whether this is going to continue to happen in the future remains to be seen.

The best (but most expensive way up front) is to buy a sim free phone from Samsung or CPW, this way you avoid operator bloatware, and just have to contend with Samsungs own.

[ado28]

---

david295 wrote:

i had a samsung wave s8500, from vodafone, and was not allowed to use samsung kies to update it to bada 2.0, as it said your device can not be updated, i know bada 2.0 was released, but vodafone phones could not use kies to update, so i downloaded bada 1.2, as freah install, and changed csc code to xeu, plugged it into kies, and it updated to bada 2.0 no problem.

Can i still do this with galaxy s3, as it will be my phone, and do not want vodafone rubbish on my phone.

If someone from vodafone could call me, i would like to upgrade, my contract ends 3/8/2012, i am able to upgrade from 14/7/2012

I would like to pay of reminder of contract and upgrade. if i am offered a good deal on galaxy s3, if not then i still want someone to call me so i can pay of contract and switch back to pay as you go.

---

Anything is possible my young Jedi knight!  My S1's code was originally VOD but withing a week or 2, I gutted VF's firmware and went stock changing my code to XEU which is the correct unlocked code for the UK. Check my youtube page for information on how to do this!

[Northern-dj]

i would avoid doing anything on a S3 thay wad used on a S2 it will not work and may brick the phone, yes you can change the CSC on the device but you must have the right firmware on, now no one yet had tried flashing on the S3 yet and it is strongly advised not to unless you no what your doing.
the bloatware is very light me personaly at this point would just be glad to have the phone