N97 firmware update v21.0.045 ready to download
By Thomas Ricker 
posted February 1st 2010 4:46AM
posted February 1st 2010 4:46AM
posted February 1st 2010 4:46AM
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This device is beyond help. No firmware in the world could fix Symbian.
@Lundmark Having owned this phone and several symbian devices, I'd say the N97 alone is beyond help. The stock firmware was a trainwreck and the hardware was underpowered at best. Not to mention the screen sensitivity being absolute shit. Symbian s60 3rd however is one of the best OS'es I've used (my n95 original is still going strong), lots of apps, highly customizable, and fairly stable (with enough firmware updates).
PS> I'm on an iPhone 3GS now. N95 is wayyy past its prime.
@Lundmark
So true, I have no idea why anyone still buys Symbian devices when the Pre, iPhone and any Android device are so clearly much better choices in terms of ease of use, stability and applications.
@Lundmark what an insightful post. A unique thought, never before articulated on this site. Feel like a big man now?
Back on topic: Update installed alright, but oddly, my theme was changed
@Tres This is your opinion... Other people might differ.
IMHO Android, without all of those custom built UI's that are appearing now like motoblur or whatever, looks dreadful. Almost like a 1997 linux desktop... Looks like its built on top of a NeXT with GTK+Qt+Swing+SWT mixture of UI.
Whoa, Nokia fanboys are sure quick!
I was also very happy with my N95. But that was 3 years ago, before the Pre, the Hero and the iPhone. Now I expect much more. Which is why all current Nokia smartphones are pretty much shit.
@Mr w00t Whatever people might say, S60 is still doing great, if not visually then definitely under the hood. The UI needs tweaking, but I wouldn't want to change anything else on my phone.
But damn, all the firmware updates for the N97 this week is making me really dislike Samsung, who failed to deliver a new firmware for the i8910 after promising to do so by the end of January. Thank goodness for bootloaders. (and since this post is about the N97, thank goodness for good processors + ample RAM)
@Mr w00t Two responses worth. It's still early days, and the point of these customizations is a tribute to the flexibility and capability. Google have always worked that way. Make it work then slowly make it look pretty later.
Might be rough now, but it's always and rapidly improving which counts more than anything.
@Lundmark
Symbian touchscreen phones -> shit.
Symbian non-touchscreen phones -> awesome.
Phones like the E72 are incredibly good.
@Lundmark
S60 might very well be but Symbian isn't. S60 != Symbian. Symbian is OS, S60 is UI.
@Suomaa
Well to be fair, the non-touch version of S60 is the best implementation of Symbian I've used. UIQ for example is much worse, though both look pretty old nowadays.
@Lundmark Hey dude, you can have your opinion but dont come labeling people here as fanboys. You actually were the first one commenting here so what does this make of you?
You can not have a normal conversation? You need to label people as fanboys? I dont know why all this hate. Just because you were down ranked?
Seriously, grow up and stop acting like a jerk.
@Lundmark Me also have the original nokia n95 first ofit's kind indeed. But again that was 3 and a half years ago. Symbian is what reliable but doesn't compete to the masses of mobile market in today's technology. It's undeniable that they're getting blown out of the water and getting so far left behind the competetion. Sad to say.
@brrip That's defienetly big minus to Samsung who have no doubt in the HW side been top of Nokia for 2 years now. Nokia is really doing great work with the updates and understood the game before it's "main" competitors Samsung and SE(not trying to diss Apple or Android) .
@Lundmark
yup
n97 phail phone is STILL a PHAIL !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heh. With 2.0, it wasn't available in Hong Kong for weeks, and many of the first people to do so on their own, either OTA or Nokia Software Update, crashed their devices and needed it reset at the support center. Ugh.
@YpoCaramel yeah no update for asian codes as yet .. be patient ..
there is more free ram which is a big improvement
After the epic launch fail that this device was it is FINALLY shaping up to be a decent machine... Nokia has done a pretty good job in releasing new FW updates for it.
I still hold my N900 close to the chest though...
well, us-centric media favor apple, but the truth is that symbian is selling big numbers...
"It has been downright annoying over the last year or so hearing podcaster after blogger after analyst from North America all proclaiming that Symbian is dead, that Nokia is dying, and that Apple (and to a lesser extent Android and RIM) is the future, a runaway success."
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/11050_Nokia_versus_Apple_and_those_s.php
@(Unverified) its the "buy american" and "freedom fries" kind of journalism...
pathetic.
@Mr w00t Talk about freedom, ironically, that's what I like about my Symbian phone.
Such a seamless update experience, Apple should sue Nokia for copying iTunes.. oh wait, never mind.
I wonder, do any of those people even consider hiring someone remotely adequate to design their software?
At least they don't pave the device like WM 'updates' do, gotta give them a point for that -)
@b2046806
The problem is that most university students that they hire have no idea about things and are like drones with no experience other than what they have read in their textbooks (no innovative outcome).
almost 20 Mb extra ram at idle.
bonus
@(Unverified) I have an iphone 3gs, and I wish i had multitasking....oh and i love htc, nokia, SE, WM, s60, android, palm os... ;)
My version is still V12.0.026. Where is my 2.0 Update ?
Maybe now I can stop slapping my phone on hard surfaces when it refuses to respond when I touch it...
It needs more than new firmware to fix this disaster of a phone. I'm pleased to say I've replaced mine with a Google Nexus One, which is light years ahead.
Would anyone like to buy an N97, it's in very good condition.
Not available here in the UK. At least Nokia Software Updater is saying it isn't!
Still waiting for the HTC Bravo so I can compare it with the Nexus One and have a decent phone - the N97 is killing me.
Nokia N97 is working great with the new firmware V2.1. Using opera mobile is just a delightful experience surfing, even opening engadget. UI is smooth and fast now. I´ve got now 58 MB free ram for multi tasking. I've tried maps 3.3, opera mobile, facebook, gravity and music player at the same time.... worked perfectly.
I believe is something that iPhone can´t do....
and yes i own an iphone previously to the Nokia n97
@mags1979 am really looking forward to go home and get the new FW update, if they gave us more space on the RAM then we will not suffer anymore, i hope so!
@AshbojoR It´s worth to install it. I think that we´ve now a pretty stable and robust firmware version. Phone works like charm... smooth and fast. well done Nokia.
Whats up with all the bashing on Engadget?
Nokia news -> bash, Symbian sucks bla bla bla
Apple news -> Apple is evil, bla bla bla
Microsoft news -> ....
well you get the picture. Why bother to comment if you don't like the product and you don't have any constructive to say?
@Pepejeria
Try reading only N900 news. Currently seem pretty much love, love, love ;)
@Pepejeria Agreed. I think the Cycle of Fanboy is pretty funny. The same people who go, "waaahh stop bashing Android" pull a 180 and dump on WM and Symbian. Same goes for everyone else. I got it totally mapped out:
Symbian > iPhone, WebOS, Android, WM
Android > WM, iPhone, Symbian, WebOS
iPhone > WM, Android, WebOS, Symbian
WebOS > iPhone, Symbian, WM, Android
WM > iPhone, Android, WebOS, Symbian
Either direction it goes, there is WAY too much hate flowing through Engadget. We get all fucked up and emo whenever some bashes our OS. Seriously, we treat it like it's race and culture.
"@Xing Moron! It has full GPS and bluetooth support and the latest and greatest WIFI specs! what the fuck are you talking about? You are just an angry Apple hater, so just shut the fuck up!"
Additionally, if all the people complained to Engadget to block out iPad posts, could not they do the same for anything else they don't like? For example type in http://www.engadget.com/exclude/nokia/ It's not that hard.
So how the update runs? I was waiting for this for some time. Alot of people comment on devices they haven't even touched. There is so much ignorance in this world!
@Unverified User
I think Topolsky should review them!
if you don't see the update then change your product code until it does. did it with my 5800 by changinf it to a LTA code and it updated of the air.
Nokia n97 V2.1 - 7 hours after the installation.
I personally recommend a bit geek stuff and to do a hard reset to your phone before updating to the new firmware.
Things that i´ve noticed:
- Main theme has changed, for better.
- After booting there´s 58 mb free ram / idle
- Kinetic scroll is smooth and the transitions are fast.
- Gps and navigation works very good outdoors even when is snowing / cloudy ( almost max. signal)
- -
After updating it, i got 59.5 mb ram free. and changing the screen orientation is much faster. scrolling feels the same. The background for the black theme has change, and overall the phone feels heavier.
@shooster74 How do u mean heavier? More stable?
I really hope that Nokia learned what happens when you don't put the proper hardware in a phone. I guess you could say the N97 Mini is proof of that recognition to some extent, with the increased amount of phone memory, but I still have to wonder.
It's good to see that they're still working hard on fixing things, although, I don't know what you could possibly fix with the already stellar call quality. I've never had any issues with that. Maybe the Nokia Care Center will update my firmware for me after they get my phone this week to fix my GPS.
Hey Guys, This is still not available in India!!!!!!!!
I am stuck with 20.0.0.19 FM
Some help here
Please...........
@ankith If you don't mind voiding your warranty, change your product code and then do the update.
@ran
thanks.........but i think i will wait
guys i need the working server profile to get updates directly from the server...
anyone has settings for tht
Server Name Nokia
Server ID Nokia
Server password firmupservpass
Access point [select your Wifi or Tmobile internet AP]
Host address https://dms.update.nokia.com/dms/omadm
Port 443
User name nokiams
Password nokiamspass
Allow configuration Yes
Auto accept requests Yes
i have this one but its not working anymore...
guys i need help....
After updating to Ovi maps 3 on my N 82, the maps freezes every time I open it. Get it together Nokia.
@Tekky
Eh... this is about the N97's new firmware. I think you posted on the wrong thread. N82 != N97
Get it together, Tekky
Just installed. First impressions:
- Looks like I have more memory available on boot (~53M). Definitely more responsive. Screen orientation changes faster as well.
- The black theme (which I use) has been improved. The background has been changed to black and the gradients (for selected items) look better and sharper. The widgets now have a light grey background and it looks like they got rid of the silly black outline. The UI looks more polished now so I'd say good stuff all around.
- It nuked my music playlists. Again. v20 was the first firmware update that did this and I lost about 10 or so playlists. Thankfully, I only created 2 after installing v20 (due to laziness), but I hope in the future, when they make any changes to the music player, nothing happens to playlists.
- Got a bit of extra space on C: I had 14.4MB left before the install. Now I have 16.7MB.
Still poking around but it seems rather nice so far.