cannot update my s4 or connect to kies

[prezaeis]

Hi all, im new here.

I purchased an Unlocked S4 from the United Kingdom, i then travelled with my phone to Iran. Now everything is fine, however when i try to update the phone to get the latest update i cannot do it.

When i do an OTA it tells me that the latest update is already installed.

I also have a MAC, so when connecting the phone to Kies on my Mac, sometimes i have to pull the cable out and put it back in 20 times before Kies recognises the phone, and when it does recognise it i click the firmware update but the program just freezes and nothing happens. I have updated Kies to the latest version and also installed the driver, still the same problem.

One thing to note is that i cannot login to Samsung App store from Iran as it tells me i cannot access the app store from the country im in, i use a VPN to access Google Store as that is also blocked here in Iran, however even with a VPN i cannot access the Samsung Store as it somehow still recognises im in Iran, im thinking maybe this is why i cant do an OTA update?

Anyway, what can i do to get the latest update? As i really want to move my apps to the SD card, my memory is almost full and the phone is starting to lag due to lack of memory. Any help would be appreciated, i also wouldn't mind doing the update manually but im scared i might brick the phone, unless someone could point me to the correct files i need?

Thank you so much

My phone and kies specs as well as my laptop specs are:

Phone:
Samsung Galaxy S4
GT-I9505
UNLOCKED TO ALL NETWORKS
Android V 4.2.2
Baseband Version I9505XXUAMDM
Kernel Version: 3.4.0-526204

Kies:
2.1.0.13071_1

Mac:
OSX 10.6.8

 

[mlauzon]

I've posted about my inability to get Kies to work as well:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/295102-samsung-kies-cannot-get-work.html

 

[prezaeis]

I've posted about my inability to get Kies to work as well:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/295102-samsung-kies-cannot-get-work.html

Kies is the worst pile of poo ever created.
Any ideas of when the new update for unbranded UK versions of the S4 are meant to be rolled out? I was under the impression that they are already out but someone in another forum said they are not released yet!?!?

 

[mlauzon]

Kies is the worst pile of poo ever created.
Any ideas of when the new update for unbranded UK versions of the S4 are meant to be rolled out? I was under the impression that they are already out but someone in another forum said they are not released yet!?!?

Kies seems to work for some people, but not others. Samsung really needs to go back to the drawing board with that application!

I can't answer those questions, as I am in Canada.

However, what pisses me off, is that I have UK top-level domains that come with the Samsung keyboard, and there's no way to get them to show Canadian ones...and Samsung doesn't want to do **** all about it to fix the problem!

 

[ca2229999]

KIES is a piece of garbage. I had to use 3 separate computers to get my phone connected. Here is a summary:
1) Windows 7 doesn't work
2) Windows XP Pro worked on first try but.... it has to be a lucky day. It worked yesterday, unable to connect in the evening, worked this morning, did not work in the afternoon.
Just keep plugging and unplugging it a few times, and click the Trouble Shoot USB buttons. Eventually it worked.
The hardware was recognized by Windows, hardware installed successfully every time. Just unable to connect with KIES most of the time.
However, the additional hard drive window did appear regardless of KIES connected or not so I was able to drag and drop my photos and music to the Internal Memory.
Must use KIES to synchronize with Outlook Address book so if the KIES worked, everything is great. Otherwise, try another day.