As you already know, the first Galaxy device released was the S GT I9000 and it came with the old Eclair 2.1 Android and, if I remember correctly, after a few months the 2.2 Froyo update was launched as an official update and since then it reached the Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread which is currently the latest OS supported by the phone. However, with the all the ICS news spreading around the web, Samsung announced that the GT I9000 won’t receive this new update as it cannot run the complex ICS along with its TouchWiz UI.
Now, Samsung announced the release of a Value pack that brings a little bit of the Ice Cream Sandwich for the Galaxy S GT I9000 and by using the instructions listed in this article you will learn how to successfully update it to the new firmware without risking any damage done to your smartphone. This Value Pack should replace the real Android 4.0 ICS and it should improve your SGS experience allowing you to browse the web better, multi-task support and multiple new widgets that are bringing a new feel for your phone.
The Android 4.0 ICS can be installed on Galaxy S GT I9000 but only with custom ROMs and there are some builds that work faster and smoother than previous firmware build used to do, but, here you can find instruction on how to successfully the Value Pack 2.3.6 Gingerbread on your SGS and not damage your device. For other guides, you should check the rest of our website as I’m sure that you will find what you need in order to install even the ICS on the Galaxy S.
This new update received the name XXJW4 Value Pack update and it is the 2.3.6 Gingerbread firmware. Here you can find instructions on how to successfully update your phone, but before moving to that part you need to learn to prepare the smartphone and the computer for the updating process. The new update brings the following features and improved tools: Face Unlock, a brand new kernel that packs a huge RAM (364), Photo Editor, a built-in TouchWiz4, the SGS2 lockLcd, enhanced Camera user interface that allows users to capture pictures while shooting videos, better Auto-Rotation feature, enhanced overall speed, GPU performance slightly improved and numerous Google Apps have been updated.
Remember that his value pack is only supported by the Samsung Galaxy S GT I9000 and not for any other different version of Galaxy S device. Also, for those that are running a custom ROM firmware on their SGS device, read the instructions listed below before updating the firmware:

• Backup all the data contained withing your phone and power Off your phone.
• Enter recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up button and HOME center button simultaneously and while keeping these pressed you need to Power ON the phone.
• Wait until the recovery mode Lcd loads completely.
• When in Recovery mode you need to choose ‘Wipe data/ factory reset’ and then ‘Wipe cache partition’.
• If you have the Dalvik Cache or Voodoo Lag fix options under Advanced Settings, then you need to clear the first one and disable the latter. After this is completed, you have to reboot the phone by selecting the ‘reboot system now’ option and wait until the home Lcd is loaded.

Please note that by installing this update you are the only one to blame if something goes wrong, as neither we nor the developers can be held responsible if you’re phone gets bricked or anything wrong happens while updating your firmware files. Also, note that this update won’t root your phone, but simply update its OS and, if you’re device was rooted before this, then the root access will be revoked and you will have to use another guide to help you root tyour SGS GT I9000 smartphone. A guide to help you can be found by following this link.
Now that you know all this info, you can move to the next part of this post to learn what you need before moving to the ‘step by step’ guide. Here’s what you need to take into consideration before applying the NEW Value Pack 2.3.6 XXJW4 firmware update on your SGS GT I9000:

• As I’ve told you already in the above lines, you  should create backups of your videos, music, pictures and of all the other important documents that you’re currently keeping stored on your phone, so that if some file gets corrupted or damaged then you will be able to replace it with a backup.
• you can choose to backup the APN and MMS settings also. This helps you in case you won’t be able to browse the web after the firmware update.
• the Contacts can be easily synced with your Gmail account.
• charge your phone’s battery until in reaches over 75% power and this will prevent it from switching off while you’re installing the Value Pack.
• Disable or uninstall all the security apps such as firewalls, antivirus or antimalware programs so that these won’t mess with the updating process.

I think that this is all the info you need and now you can move to the tutorial guide and learn how to update your SGS to the new value pack.
How to update the Samsung Galaxy S GT I9000 with NEW Value Pack XXJW4 2.3.6 Gingerbread Firmware:

1. Download the XXJW4 Gingerbread 2.3.6 firmware update zip pack and place it on your computer’s desktop.
2. Extract the zip contents in a single folder. Three files should be listed, the firmware update, Odin and a .dll.
3. Launch Odin on your PC and then power off the Galaxy S GT I900. We need to boot into download mode.
4. Download mode can be loaded by pressing and holding the Volume down and Center home button and then press Power ON and a green android will be displayed.
5. When in Download mode you need to connect the PC using its USC cable. Now the ID:COM section in ODIN should turn yellow and this means that all the drivers have been successfully installed. Please note that if the ID COM doesn’t turn yellow then you will have to reinstall the USB drivers and on your phone you need to check if the Samsung KIES option is enabled.
6. If everything went according to plan you need to go back to ODIN and click the ‘PDA’ tab and select the ‘JW4_JW4_JW4.tar’ file.
7. Press Start and wait until the update process is complete.

Note that if you’re noticing force close errors then you need to power off the phone and then enter Recovery Mode, which can be made by pressing Volume UP + home center buttons and then Power on. When in recovery you need to select the ‘Wipe data/ factory reset’ and then ‘Wipe cache partition’ and then restart the smartphone and wait for the home Lcd to be loaded.
If the phone doesn’t boot or if you notice that the update wasn’t applied correctly, then you need to repeat all the steps above and make sure you don’t skip any instructions.
When the update is complete, your device will boot into the new XXJW4 2.3.6 Gingerbread value pack and now you’re free to test its capabilities. If you have any extra questions then please feel free to post them in our comments section and we will help you with whatever trouble encountered during the update