Today our tutorial How to Install Official Android 4.0.4 ICS XWLPM Firmware Update on Galaxy S2 GT-i9100. Samsung Galaxy S2 got the Android 4.0.3 Official firmware update in March 2012 that has many bugs and users were waiting for the latest updates to fix the issues. Samsung has recently released latest Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich ICS XWLPM firmware in July 2012. Right now, this new update is available over the air OTA to Users in Russia and some parts of Europe region. It will be available for US and Asian users very soon. You can install it right now manually as thestock firmware rom is available in an Odin flash able package. There is no country or region specific limit for this update. Every Galaxy S2 international users can install it without any problems.

The previous Galaxy S2 Android 4.0.3 XXLPJ and XXLPQ updates has some issues with screen rotation, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and battery performance. The new update claims to fix these issues and provided better battery performance. The UI seems to be updated and you will feel a smooth scrolling experience. There are few more enhancements with music player and Google Play store stability.

Pre-requisite:

1. Required International Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 device. Please don’t follow this guide if your device is another model Galaxy S2 GT-I9100G.

2. In this method you have to backup some precious data such as Contacts, SMS, Call Logs, Images, Videos, Songs, MMS and APN Settings, etc.

3. Then, make sure Galaxy S II battery is charged to 80% so it won’t switch off during the process.

4. Now, you need to enable your USB Debugging option by navigating to the path ‘Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging’

5. Disable all security suites such as firewall or antivirus package must be disabled before you start updating your Galaxy S2 through this process as they can cause interruption in the flashing process.
6. Download USB drivers for all Samsung Galaxy Devices from 32-bit here and 64-bit here. If you already installed compatible device drivers in your PC through Samsung Kies. Then you can skip this step. If you didn’t installed the drivers then your device will not recognize by the PC at the time of Odin flashing.

Follow this Guide, steps and Instructions to Install and Update your Galaxy S2 with Official Android 4.0.4 ICS XWLPM firmware.

1. Download the XXLPM Firmware zip package file from here to your PC. The file name is I9100XWLPM_I9100OXELP8_SER.zip and size will be 510 MB.

2. After downloading the zip file. Extract it by using either winzip or winrar. Once extracted the file, you will get file with name like this I9100XWLPM_I9100OXELP8_I9100XXLQ6_HOME.tar.md5.

3. Download Odin 1.85 flash tool from here to your Computer and extract the zip file. 

4. Open the extracted zip file and launch Odin application in the PC.

5. Then, turn off your Galaxy device and reboot it to enter into download mode just by holding theVolume Down + Home + Power buttons simultaneously till you see a warning message on your screen. Then, press the Volume up button to get into download mode.

6. When you will be in your download mode, connect your device to the Computer via USB data cable. As soon as the device is connected, the Odin will automatically recognize you device, which can be verified by the ID: COM section which turn yellow if device driver is installed correctly and it detect the device.

7. Then, go for PDA tab and select the I9100XWLPM_I9100OXELP8_I9100XXLQ6_HOME.tar.md5 file from the extracted folder in step 2.
8. You are requested not to make any changes other than PDA section. Once you are confirm about that go and click on Start button for starting the update process. After the completion of the installation process, you device will reboot automatically and display a PASS Green message.

9. Then, disconnect your device from the Computer and reboot it in recovery mode. For that you must press and hold Home + Volume Up + Power keys together.

10. After getting into the stock recovery mode, you need to clear the data by choosing ‘wipe data/factory reset’, this you can confirm by tapping ‘Yes’ on the next screen. 

11. Then, select the ‘+++Go Back+++’ > ‘Reboot System Now’ option to restart your Galaxy S II.

Note: If your Odin hangs in any step or it display the FAIL message then you need to unplug your device from the Computer and take out the battery and place it back to its previous position, close the Odin and repeat the process again from step 4.