You do need to have Kies installed, you simply don't need to load it all just to check or update your firmware.
Follow these simple steps (note: DO NOT connect your phone yet!):
Make sure Kies isn't running and doesn't start automatically:
- If you have a Kies icon on your taskbar tray, right-click it and uncheck "Auto start Kies TrayAgent" and "Auto start Kies".
- Make sure Kies isn't running: use Task Manager or your favorite task killer. If you want to be sure Kies isn't running, simply reboot your PC.
Now, to access the firmware update module:
- Open the file manager and navigate to "C:\Program Files\Samsung\Kies" (note: on 64bit systems like mine, replace "Program Files" with "Program Files (x86)")
- Find the file "MSC.Thunder.FirmwareUpdate.exe"
- Run it by double-clicking. It will show a window with graphic indicating no device is connected.
- Finally, connect your phone.
- Voila!
You can create a shortcut to it by right-clicking the file, selecting "Copy", navigating to where you want the shortcut to be (your desktop for example), then right-clicking on an empty spot and selecting "Paste Shortcut".
---[HERE BE DRAGONS]---
For those daring enough to venture beyond this point and risk persecution and death, here is a secret key sequence I discovered in the firmware update module.
DON'T connect your phone just yet!
Test Mode:
- Run "MSC.Thunder.FirmwareUpdate.exe"
- When the window indicates no device is connected, press and hold <Left Ctrl><Left Alt>'U'-'P' (that's Control, Alt AND the letters 'U' and 'P', all at once!)
- You will see an alert box saying "Test Mode On"
- Repeat to turn Test Mode off (note: you will have to close the alert box first)
- You're on your own here, I've not tested anything beyond this point.
I have confirmation from people on different forums that Test Mode helped them upgrade phones that Kies didn't want to upgrade otherwise.
If you have problems upgrading, try it! But please remember that Test Mode is what it says, no-one is making any promises that it will do the same thing (or anything at all for that matter) in newer versions of Kies.
