Samsung Galaxy S i897 not detected by PC

Question

I have read every forum and every "help" site on Samsung's website and all over the internet. Nothing has worked. I bought an unlocked Galaxy S i897 on ebay, originally an AT&T phone but I'm using it on T-mobile. Is this potentially the problem? I've tried 2 different cords, only charges, never recognized in any Kies version and never recognized by PC like step 3 on this page says it should.

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00045584&fm_seq=46246

Extremely frustrated at this point. I don't think calling t-mobile can help because the phone was AT&T. Samsung probably wouldn't help either because I bought it on ebay. Unless you think they would, then let me know. I just want to add music and transfer files back and forth, backup contacts, etc., and most importantly update my firmware (currently has Froyo).

Answer 1

Apart from potential issues from your current OS version, installed drivers, etc, you can look at this problem from your phone's side.

Assuming that the problem doesn't lie with Kies, Windows 7 or the drivers in use:

1. Before connecting your phone to the computer, open the keypad and dial *#7284#;
2. You will see a menu for UART and USB;
3. Under USB, select PDA. If PDA is already selected, select MODEM and then back to PDA;
4. Don't worry about USB debugging or anything, just connect your phone to the PC Everything will work as it is intended to whether you use Kies, no Kies or just Mass storage.

This is a known problem with Samsung, the PDA mode for the USB connection needs to be active. And when active, sometimes we need to reset it by selecting something else and then PDA again.

Answer 2

Please download and install the Samsung drivers - if you're using a 64 bit computer, use the 64 bit drivers, otherwise use the 32 bit version.

Answer 3

I have a Samsung tablet that isn't recognized on my PC, because it's Linux. But I soon learned that there's no reason I can see to actually go to the trouble of connecting a cable anyway. There are several apps that allow wireless transfers, and a nice FTP server that works very well, too.

While this works well for transferring files, I'm not sure how you update firmware. Do you have an SD card? If so, you can easily transfer files to the SD card wirelessly.

Edit: Thank you to the anonymous downvoters who not only did not add anything positive to the discussion, but discouraged other positive suggestions that might help solve the problem, or at least part of the problem. You've at least saved me from wasting any more time on this group that I can use in one of the more interactive groups on stack exchange. Good job! Now I know why so many knowledgeable Android enthusiasts avoid this area. I will too.