Sprint has issued an over-the-air firmware update for the Samsung SPH-M520. The updated software version stands at BF18.
To update this phone, go to Menu > Tools > Update Phone.
Also, be sure to check out the Samsung SPH-M520 page on our Phone Encyclopedia. It’s one of the most actively-maintained web pages on the Encyclopedia, and contains dozens of tips, tricks, and new information about the M520.
Firmware Tracker Updated…
Update: As readers have noted in the comments (and we confirmed ourselves), you may have to select Update Phone a few times to catch the update.
Has anyone been able to successfully download this update? When pressing Update Phone, mine does one of two things: Stall on the “Checking for Firmware Updates” screen or stall on the Update phone menu until you hit the end button. I’ve removed the battery with no changes.
Also, is there any changelog available for this update?
it took about a dozen attempts or so and it finally worked here
Finally worked on mine as well – wonder what’s been changed?
Mine worked(downloaded) on the first try. But, like joe said, I wonder what’s been changed ?
There is a More Details option right before choosing to install the update. Usually, Sprint doesn’t really provide info there anymore… but it may provide some insight as to what was changed.
Odd, my phone didn’t display that option. I have noticed one change – the side volume buttons now require an extended press to light the screen, but there seems to be a new bug introduced with the keyguard associated with it – sometimes the buttons become active, sometimes not.
I just confirmed there is no More Details menu… Sprint has been removing it on recent phones, due to the fact that they no longer post info on those menus generally.
Also, I did have to hit Update Phone twice for it to catch the update.
I got the release notes on BF18. I posted them on the M520 page. FYI here’s the issues that were addressed:
Repeating Alerts (Battery charging complete I’m guessing)
Myspace compatibility
Youtube compatibility
Tranferring pictures over Bluetooth
Of course these are just the major issues that are detailed. As with most software/firmware updates there are probably other minor updates as well – like the side volume button action change.
Obviously I need a spell checker, the last issue should read “Transferring pictures over Bluetooth” not “Tranferring”.
Thank you for the posts. They were very helpful
Thanks a lot for the information, however, why would this phone need YouTube compatibility? Is there something it can do that I never realized?
I hope it fixed two bugs that I had with the old software –
1) occasionally when trying to answer a phone call when you disconnect a previous call the phone won’t answer and needs to be power cycled
2) bluetooth kills the battery on the phone so I always turn it off when I don’t need it, after about a dozen on/off cycles the bluetooth on/off would stop responding and would leave the icon on the screen. (never did test to see if it was actually still enabled though.)
Joe – There are mobile versions of both youtube and myspace. You can go to them using sprint’s web browser or another browser like Opera mini. I tried both on sprint’s browser but only mypace seems to work. They both work with Opera mini. So apparently they have a little more work to do on youtube using sprint’s web browser. But again, they both work fine using Opera mini and myspace works on sprint’s browser too.
Youtube mobile – m.youtube.com
Myspace mobile – mobile.myspace.com
Thanks Jeff, I stumbled upon that yesterday – YouTube did indeed work with the standard browser, I’ll try to see how much better Opera mini does with it today.
Is there anyway to reverse this upgrade? The install worked fine 1st time, but the side volume button extended press to light the screen really annoys me. I had no real issues with this phone before and now regret updating the firmware. I called Sprint Tech and they said there is no way to reverse or downgrade but i thought someone out there might be able to help…
Theoretically you could go to a Sprint repair location and they could downgrade it (assuming they had access to previous versions) and also assuming they WOULD do it. I seriously doubt there’s any other way (OTA). Besides, even if you did get it downgraded, it would probably automatically upgrade again at some point.
According the Sprint person I chatted with (for about an hour) the BF18 upgrade is being rolled out OTA only from Sep-10 through Sep-18 (2008). If you can’t get the upgrade yet, you might just have to wait until your phone come up in the list for updating. If it doesn’t happen by Sep-18 you’ll have to get it flashed in at a Sprint store (and good luck with that).
I was able to update to BF18 on Oct 15 (2008) after the second try, so either the Sprint rep was wrong or they extended the deadline. There is still hope if you haven’t gotten it yet.
I just bought this phone. I have read reviews and multiple users have stated that they have experienced the screen going blank and other issues after owning the phone about 2-3 months. Is this really an issue? And if so, does this firmware update resolve it? Thanks.
I have had this for about 10 months with no problems. this phone is solid
Mine crashed could someone tell me how to fix this? When my update came it decided to do i while my battery was dead then the phone shut off during the software update. so i think my software crashed. but if anyone knows how to fix this could you let me know in an e-mail?
I’ve had this phone for close to a year and all the sudden I’m starting to have problems with it. Has anyone else had problems with the screen when you slide the phone up a few things might happen: The screen goes all white and you have to wait for it to shut off before you can do anything on it OR the screen goes off center and the top of the screen is shifted down, cutting off some of the bottom. Anyone?
yes I have been having the same problem with my screen turning white.and then shifting the screen upside down or backwards @ times
alguien sabe como liberar y poner a trabajar un sph m520
gracias por la colaboracion, o si no lo tengo para la venta
how do you fix this phone if the screen goes blank?