XXLPH Ported to Galaxy S, an Official Ice Cream Sandwich Firmware for S2 i9100

As you might have heard, Samsung cancelled their plans to upgrade the Galaxy S i9000 to Android 4.0 citing hardware limitations as the reason. But the developer community didn’t back down, and have been busy porting the Ice Cream Sandwich to the Galaxy S using Android sources, resulting in quite a number of AOSP based ICS ROMs for it.

And now, XDA developer Dhiru1602 has decided to do something different. He has decided to start porting an official (yet leaked) ICS firmware for the Galaxy S2 i9100 to our beloved Galaxy S. Now we know some might ask what’s the point of all this. Well, the biggest point of this port would be that people will be able to get Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz UI running on top of ICS.

Again, some might say that Android 4 doesn’t need TouchWiz (or any other custom UI), but TouchWiz does bring some added and improved functionality to stock Android, like notification bar toggles, better applications for calendar and contacts, and more.

It’s a work in progress right now, and there are quite number of things that don’t work currently, like the camera, Wi-Fi or packet data, so it’s certainly not usable as a daily driver yet. It isn’t even available for download as of the time of this article. But we sure hope work progresses fast, and progresses well, so that we don’t have to wait too long before we get to try it. That’s just wishful thinking though, so we’ll just keep my fingers crossed.

Update, the XXLPH isn’t the latest Android 4.0 firmware for Galaxy S2 anymore, that being the XXLPQ, but we understand many of you may still be very very interested in trying out the XXLPH port by Dhiru1602 on their Galaxy S. Afterall, there is only hair-thin difference between the XXLPQ and the XXLPH. The guide below will guide you to install the XXLPH port on your Galaxy S.

Compatibility!

This guide is applicable only for Samsung’s Galaxy S international version (GT-i9000). Check your phone’s version in Settings – About Phone. It has to be “GT-i9000” for this rom to be compatible with your phone. If it’s not GT-i9000, simply don’t try this ROM on your android handset.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to you or your device, we won’t be held liable — you only will be responsible, you’ve been warned!!!

ROM Info

Developer → Dhiru1602 and Faryaab

Not Working/Known Issues (as of March 16, 2012):

Video Camera
HD Video Playback
Vibrator
Microphone in applications.
Lots of other minor stuff.

Pre-Installation Requirements

A Galaxy S i9000 with Clockworkmod recovery installed. If you’re confused simply do this: (1) Install XXJVU firmware and then (2) Install Root and Clockworkmod Recovery.
This procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings (but it will NOT touch your SD cards, so don’t worry about those). Backup your Apps and important data — bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This Android backup guide would help you.
Make sure the battery is sufficiently charged. At least 50% is recommended.

How to Install XXLPH Port on Your Galaxy S

Download the latest rom version from the original development thread.
Transfer the rom’s zip file from step 1 to your Galaxy S.
Turn off the device and wait 5-6 seconds after screen goes off.
Now, boot into recovery mode where you’ll be flashing the rom’s zip file to phone in order to install it. For this, press and hold 3 buttons together, Volume Up + Home + Power, and release when you see Samsung logo. Your phone will boot into clockworkmod recovery. In recovery, use the volume buttons to scroll up and down and the power button to select options.
Important! Perform a Nandroid Backup of your existing ROM, so that you can always restore it from recovery if something does not work out with this rom. To perform a backup, select Backup and Restore –> On the next screen, select Backup again. Restore your backup using the “restore” option when needed.
Select “wipe data/factory reset”, then select “Yes” on next screen to confirm data wipe (will NOT wipe your SD cards).
Now select “install zip from sdcard”, then select “choose zip from sdcard”. Scroll to the ROM file that you transferred in step 2 on the sdcard and select it. Confirm the installation by selecting “Yes – Install *your_rom_name*.zip” on the next screen. The ROM will start installing.
After the installation is complete, select “go back” then select “reboot system now” to reboot the tablet.
If you run into any problems of any sorts, let us hear them in comments below. Glad to help!