The Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update for Samsung’s first phablet device, Galaxy Note, the international version started rolling out more than 2 months ago and now, after a long wait, it has finally hit the AT&T Galaxy Note SGH-I717. While this is a piece of good news for the users of this device in the USA, it’s also a sheer example of how careless and sluggish the manufacturers and OEMs are when it comes to pushing new updates. You can update AT&T Galaxy Note to the official Android 4.1.2 firmware, using the instructions given below.
The Android 4.1.2 update AT&T Galaxy Note has already started rolling and can be availed using the on-device software update feature from Settings> About. Please note that you will not be able to receive the new update if you have rooted your phone or installed a custom ROM on it. In that case, you’ll have to download the complete Android 4.1.2 firmware and install it manually using the Odin3 tool.
AT&T Galaxy Note Android 4.1.2 Update Features
The latest Jelly Bean update for the AT&T Galaxy Note brings a radical makeover to the devices and adds a lot of new features and improvements. Having updated your device to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, you will notice a host of changes in the UI experience.
- Google Now, Smoother UI (Project Butter), new Notifications Panel
- Popup Note, Popup Video, Popup Browser
- S Note, Photo Note/Photo Frame, Handwriting on S Planner/Email
- More S Pen Gestures, Signature Unlock, Easy Clip
- New Samsung Gallery, Tag Buddy, Paper Artist
- Smart Stay, Direct Call, Shake Panning, Camera Unlock
- Video Hub, Learning Hub, Cloud Sync, Allshare Play, Group Cast
- News and Facebook Ticker on Lockscreen
- S Note Widgets, TalkBack Setup Wizard, Blocking Mode
All these features are enough to indicate how big this update is. Besides bumping the firmware version of your device to Android 4.1.2, the update will also let you enjoy the new TouchWiz Nature UX that was first introduced with the Galaxy S3.
Download Firmware and Install:
Below is the link to the latest Android 4.1.2 firmware for the AT&T Galaxy Note SGH-I717. Just download it and extract the zip. You will find a file with .tar.md5 extension inside the extracted directory. You have to select this file after clicking PDA button on Odin. For detailed Jelly Bean firmware-installation tutorial for Samsung Galaxy phones, read our article.
In case you do not like the new firmware, you can easily downgrade to the previous ICS firmware. Below is the link to the Android 4.0.4 firmware and downgrading tutorial for Samsung devices.
i tried downgrading from JB using the ROM given above which is UCFL6 but when i reboot it gives Firmware Upgrade encountered an issue… what should i do now?
I updated and it is lagging horribly. It is worse than even gingerbread. Some apps and commands take several seconds to respond. The only fix I could find was a stock-style ROM called Padawan. It is a much smoother version of 4.1.2 for the i717. It still isn’t nearly as smooth as Jelly Bean should be. STOCK 4.1.2 feels more like Jelly Bean minus the Project Butter altogether. I am pretty disappointed considering how long I have waited for this official update. I love rooting and trying custom ROMS but I would much rather have a stock phone that runs fantastic. I feel like they dropped the ball on official JB for the i717 Note. I have kept my eye on resource usage thinking that I must be pegging out the RAM or something…. Nope. I will be around 400-500 used which is no where near capping it. Even with very little RAM being used it still lags with every app and every menu and even just scrolling around. It lags and stutters no matter what I do. I have used JB on other devices and this is the only one that FEELS like Project Butter was completely removed from the update. Any thoughts on this? Sorry for the novel sized comment. I just had to vent a bit.
You are right Ted, the 4.1.2 upgrade for many Galaxy devices has turned out to be drastically very annoying for most users. The reason behind this, I think is the hundreds of models Samsung has. The company seems to be is more focused on dumping the market with devices. It good to have devices to suite every budget and taste but the after sale service and software update to make user experience better is more important that producing myriads of devices.
Samsung is following the same course as Nokia. All models look like the same and software updates degrade the devices.
This is a common problem with Android. Get a phone and root (void warranty) it to get better performance and battery. There is no use of buying a device with powerful chips and specs if it does not yield in real life when a user uses it.