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Sprint Epic 4G Touch Ice Cream Sandwich Release Date Remains a Mystery

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While AT&T and T-Mobile have rolled out Ice Cream Sandwich to their respective Android 4.0 devices, the Sprint Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Ice Cream Sandwich release date still remains unknown.

T-Mobile rolled out its Android 4.0 update for the Galaxy S II a few weeks ago and today, AT&T finally made its Galaxy S II Ice Cream Sandwich update available through Samsung Kies.

This means, out of the three major U.S. carriers that host the Samsung Galaxy S II, that owners of Sprint’s Galaxy S II will be the last to get the update, something that might not sit well with customers.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S II Sprint Epic 4G Touch Review (Video).

The odd thing about it is that Sprint’s update seemed to be the furthest along.

All the way back in February, we learned that Sprint was testing the update which we thought meant that it would be the first U.S. carrier of the Galaxy S II to roll out the Ice Cream Sandwich update. We also saw the carrier confirm, once again, in April, that its Galaxy S II would be updated to Android 4.0. The carrier only stated that the update would roll out in 2012, and wouldn’t go beyond that time frame.

Since then though, Sprint has been silent and we haven’t seen any significant developments on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich front leaving owners to wonder when they might get the update.

Granted, Sprint has been busy. It has released three 4G LTE smartphones over the past couple of months, including the HTC EVO 4G LTE which gave it some headaches. It still is working on its 4G LTE network which is supposed to launch in the middle of 2012. And, it’s gearing up to launch the Samsung Galaxy S III which like the HTC EVO 4G LTE, has been troublesome.

So, it is and has been pretty busy. Still, that’s no excuse for the silence which is especially discouraging considering the source.

Sprint is usually very vocal with its customers when it comes to software updates and timing so it’s odd to see it remain mum with the Galaxy S II update. That could mean that we’re still a bit of a ways off from the actual roll out or it might mean nothing, it’s hard to say at this point.

However, now that AT&T and T-Mobile have pushed their updates, the pressure is on Sprint to update its device and needless to say, we’ll be on the lookout for it.

Anyone out there on Sprint frustrated to be the last Galaxy S II on a major carrier to see Ice Cream Sandwich?

55 Comments

55 Comments

  1. krs

    06/20/2012 at 4:21 pm

    Im very frustrated with this because they have no answers at all

    • Harry

      06/22/2012 at 3:23 am

      Sprint tells me that we will get ICS sometime in August.

  2. Gina

    06/20/2012 at 5:37 pm

    As soon as my contract is up, im done with Sprint. Seems obvious they dont want to release it because they dont want it to affect their GS3 sales. #rude #scumbags

  3. Matt

    06/20/2012 at 5:45 pm

    I’m with Gina on this one. Sprint has been nothing but a headache for me and once my two years are complete I’m breaking off to another carrier. The least Sprint could do is release some sort of timeline or an estimate on when the update would be pushed out. Just my two cents though.

  4. ronald panlilio

    06/20/2012 at 5:46 pm

    yes I would like to see it happen, and have been waiting. I am happy with my phone, but I got it late, only like 2 or 3 months ago. I almost wish I waited till the galaxy three had come out. Oh well, I guess I should have waited for the new galaxy or the the htc phone that just came out. But so far my phone has been a good device, and a definite upgrade from my older htc hero.

  5. George Ro

    06/20/2012 at 6:44 pm

    Definitely frustrated, I bought the phone the first week it came out, and have been quite happy with it. But my patience waiting for ICS ran out last week, and installed the CM9 mod. No more waiting for Sprint to get their act together!

  6. michael

    06/20/2012 at 7:22 pm

    I’m really frustrated at Sprint for lettings us hang out to dry like that. But it just goes to show how much they care about the customers already on two year contract. We all know what excuses are like and Sprint obviously has a big one. The next big thing will be a LTE phone on a worthless 3G network. I’m sorry if I’m sounding a bit angry and disappointed well I am.

  7. Tony

    06/20/2012 at 7:46 pm

    Very disappointed.

  8. Kevin blossom

    06/20/2012 at 10:18 pm

    I agree this wait is so wrong for sprint since there’s been leaks all over engadget dribblers c net. I have read that’s some sprint users have gotten update all the way back to April and may. oh I think this whole thing is bullshit

  9. Tyler

    06/21/2012 at 1:04 am

    This is really aggravating. Its not a huge deal to get this update to me. its the point of being hyped up to a major update like this and then delay the update for months so it dosent affect there gs3 sales while everyone around us gets the update and we get “no comment” from them. Im done with sprint after my contraxt is done and moving to a more reliable network.

  10. felixthecat

    06/21/2012 at 1:00 pm

    Not loving the wait, but all you ppl claiming that you’ll jump carriers away from sprint because they took 2 extra weeks getting you ICS… LOL, yeah who’s better? Answer = nobody. Yeah Sprint sucks. But they suck a whole lot less than the other turds, and they’re cheaper besides. So goto BigRed and swallow their BigRed that they shove down your throat. Or ATT with no service anywhere. Pah-leez. I hate Sprint too, but compared to the rest they still win. You ppl make me laugh.

    • Aeires

      06/23/2012 at 9:41 am

      Except it hasn’t been two weeks, it’s been months, months without any indication of a release date. I’ll be leaving for T-Mobile, who is better than Sprint.

      • Aaron

        06/25/2012 at 8:48 pm

        It’s been almost TWO YEARS that they haven’t gotten their ******* **** together and actually ALLOW ME to take advantage of the 4G phone I paid for and actually HAVE 4G in a MAJOR METRO AREA!!!!!!!!!!!! POS. They SUCK

    • Nonya

      07/22/2012 at 11:44 am

      I don’t know where this weeks nonsense you’re talking about came from but it’s months. Plus 4g on this network is worst than my AT&T 3G. They shouldn’t even use 3G as its worthless facebook wont load neither will YouTube and Netflix or hbo go. Which is funny because all those I mention works perfect on my iPhone which we all know is only on 3G. Sprint has been pulling a lot of smioke n mirrors bs lately I m gladly going to pay the 350 cancellation fee in sept

  11. Fabián

    06/21/2012 at 1:04 pm

    I agree with Tyler..not so much the update but the fact that ICS was released many moons ago and here in the US every major carrier got late but Sprint(still no idea as to when). I have been with Sprint for a long time now (10 years) and if they do not act as the number one carrier in customer service (at least that’s what their website says) I definitely will consider moving to a company that cares more.

  12. pete

    06/21/2012 at 5:41 pm

    The reason it’s so frustrating is that we bought a flagship device, not a low or mid range device. Part of the reason that most of us did this was because we expected and were told that this ohone will be updated, and we knew the hardware was good enough to last the entire two year contract. So please, at least give the courtesy of a target date for this release, and most people will be ok with that.

  13. pisquali

    06/21/2012 at 6:56 pm

    I agree with “felixthecat” a few comments up. I f***in’ hate Sprint & their bullshit games. I pay about 3 bills a month for unlimited everything for 2 f***in’ phones. The sad thing is, the other carriers are worse. Their coverage, phones, & data usage lick balls. Sprints droppin’ the ball, big time! Don’t Bragg about your f***in’ data plan if 95% of your high paying customers are on the old OS. Like an overpriced ’82 mustang, someone in Sprints penthouse is cracked out. We will ALL leave your unlimited data, if you keep pissin’ us off.

  14. Edgar

    06/21/2012 at 9:08 pm

    I’m very disappointed
    sprint’s supposed to be the best
    So why aren’t they showing it
    The update should come as soon as possible

  15. reynaldo

    06/21/2012 at 9:10 pm

    Seriously Sprint, come on!! At least be honest, if it’s still not coming in the next few months, just tell us!!

    • Frank

      06/22/2012 at 12:55 am

      Sprint promised 4g. Its still doesnt exist between my home and work. Both heavily populated and and non off the beaten path of other networks. Gingerbread was promised and rolled out long after all the rest. Now LTE will be born somewhere else and most likely will be non existing years from now like 4g etc. The only thing Sprint seems to expand are premiums with empty promises. Sprint is for sure a company filled with empty suits.

      • Aaron

        06/25/2012 at 8:50 pm

        Couldn’t agree more. I’m tired of their crap

  16. Jesse

    06/22/2012 at 7:49 am

    I just got my Galaxy s2 with Sprint just about 2 weeks ago. I see that the LTE phones are coming out, but I would NOT go with one for some time. Sprint is notorious for rolling out services without having the network to support it. Before I got the S2 I got the iphone and the data speeds even for 3g were horrible. When I went to the apple store to complain, the reps knew what service I had before I told them. I had to return the iphone, which I was charged a restocking fee, go figure. I have been happy with the S2, but I would stay away from any LTE phone for about a year.

  17. nick i

    06/22/2012 at 8:48 am

    I have been checking in for ages now for the smallest hint of a release date. Im fine with the phone the way it is but im just getting bored with it. Ics is now the standard and the dev team has already made numerous stable Ports from ics yet sprint has yet to release theirs. Its obvious they are biding their time until they release their newest flagships and phasing out the GS2 before giving previous customers what they were promised. what really gets me about phone companies is how quickly they forget about you as soon as you sign a contract. Suddenly you are back burner and all marketing, sales, support, and attention goes to roping in new customers. Its almost a reversal of what they should be doing. Keeping customers happy long term, throughout the agreement. They think they dont have to bother with you since you cant leave.

  18. Bill

    06/22/2012 at 1:49 pm

    Sprint is waiting for the Galaxy 3 to come out before they release ICS. They want current users to buy the new phone instead of updating the current phone.

  19. Steve

    06/22/2012 at 2:42 pm

    I agree with Bill. Sprint’s only motivation is to drive customers to the S3. I don’t think the S3 is worth buying over the S2 (that includes ice cream sandwich) and I think sprint thinks the same thing. Those of us that have the S2 will just have to be patient.

  20. Rarray

    06/24/2012 at 5:47 am

    Sprint is the worst carrier. They are slowly raising their prices with upgrade fees, smartphone fees etc.. Their 3G network is the slowest of the 4 major carriers and customer service sucks. Who really needs unlimited data when there is so many wireless networks out there. I’m leaving sprint as soon as my contract is up!!!!!

  21. Jade

    06/24/2012 at 7:23 am

    You all say this, my contract was up May 30th, and I waited 2 weeks to get a new phone because I was sick of Sprint then, I had a Hero and wanted a new phone and since I moved my service sucked, so i figured go with someone else…. the fact of the matter is, everyone else is 50-60 bucks more a month for less service than Sprint, so i signed a new fucking contract. I did this because to get started anywhere else for me and my wife was about 500 bucks more than just upgrading to the GS2 so that is what we did.

    I WILL be moving to US Cellular next time however.

  22. Ryan

    06/24/2012 at 5:20 pm

    I am getting extremely frustrated with the complete lack of information coming from Sprint on the ICS update. It’s not enough to make we want to switch but that level of irritation is not far off when combined with other things (poor coverage and horrendous 3g speeds).

  23. CP

    06/25/2012 at 12:21 pm

    read some of this writer’s other articles, he doesn’t do proper research, and just makes up what people want to hear.

  24. Mick

    06/25/2012 at 12:30 pm

    Extremely EXTREMELY frustrated here. I had been trying to decide whether to go ahead and get a new phone, or wait until the LTE ones came out. I decided to get the SII based on its good reviews and that it was due to get ICS right away. That was obviously a poor decision on my part, primarily coaxed along by a Sprint rep that convinced me that the phone was already great and that ICS was going to make it even better, and while I”d not get the LTE, I’d be able to use the already existing (WiMax) 4G in my area. Come to find out, the 4G in my area is extremely limited to small areas, and they now don’t plan to upgrade that at all due to the buildout plans for LTE. Add to that these ICS delays, and I feel I was heavily coaxed to go ahead and upgrade now for reasons that simply are not happening. While the SII is a good phone, when I am away from WiFi, my 3G coverage here is just a massive bottleneck that prevents it from performing well. Perhaps it will do better on 3G when it gets the ICS update? *Sigh* Who knows how long we’ll have to wait and see. It’s making me concerned that they’re having problems with it, and that now it could be less of a priority due to the release of the SIII. Would they drop the ICS upgrade for the SII because it is no longer its shiny new kid? I would hope not, but their lack of regular honest communication is enough to make one start to wonder…

  25. Hunter

    06/25/2012 at 3:39 pm

    I am so frustrated! Sprint was making a big deal about how they were the first U.S carrier to get the Galaxy s 2. Now, they are dead last to release the updated android 4.0. They could atleast tell us when it is coming, if at all. Sprint never keeps their promises! They said LTE would be realeased by Q2 of 2012. And that is the end of June! i doubt they will release LTE by then. Can anybody on sprint just please tell us when the Epic 4g touch will get the update?!?

  26. Jess Newcomg

    06/26/2012 at 1:24 pm

    OK where to begin. First off 3g service from Sprint lately for me has sucked not sure why but it has degraded lately. 4g service ha I bought the EVO 4g being told that 4g was coming to my area oh yes and an extra 10 per month premium for it but it would be worth it. Never showed up bought a Nexus S 4g in hopes 4g would show up and I would be first to get ICS ha again 10 premium no 4g for me got sick of waiting for ICS so bought myself out of contract for that and my 4g hot spot because because no hopes for 4g any longer and no ICS but kept my E4GT it is a great phone and was going to soon get ICS. Again they are not going to deliver anytime soon and again no hopes for 4g for me LTE god knows when so may as well stick with a 3g phone. Am getting ready to leave my phone and my wife’s in the recycle bin and move to a different network Verizon does deliver LTE here and I can sell those phones to gazelle to pay cancel fees and move to a worthwhile network. One that at least delivers.

  27. Shawn McMahon

    06/26/2012 at 4:49 pm

    It’s not too hard to figure out why ICS isn’t available on Sprint E4GT yet if you’ve loaded any of the leaked versions; the code isn’t up to snuff yet. It’s getting there, but it’s still got issues.

    • Ron

      06/27/2012 at 2:04 pm

      Why is it so hard for Sprint, when everyone else has figured it out?

  28. magz25

    06/26/2012 at 8:02 pm

    Really over sprint @ this point! Never got the supposed 4g, now my 3g is crap! My internet connection hardly works and dropped calls have become more frequent! And they still havent released ICS?? And now are coming out with LTE phones? Really? Verizon maybe more expensive, but they do deliver! It maybe time for me to move my 5 lines to a real company that does what they say!

  29. Richard Warne

    06/27/2012 at 7:10 am

    Beyond frustrated! I continually squeeze too much into a 24-hour day. I’m not changing that, but, I can change providers–switching to a company that has a better record for providing the tools that I need in order to stay productive. By delaying its release of ICS on the Galaxy SII (which I bought so that I could be more productive) is giving a really bad signal to people who produce.

  30. Bryen

    06/27/2012 at 7:13 am

    To be honest, I was very worried when I first bought my E4GT because of the amount of trouble the first gen galaxy owners had with the first epic. I was also the lucky owner of an Android 1.5 cupcake HTC hero for comically too long. I was hoping to be presently surprised, but no luck. Moral of the story, be happy with the firmware at the time of purchase because you will not get an upgrade before the next gen is out. Tip for the wise, I’ve been using go launcher personally, no root required, in the play store, and actually can get it to look like vanilla ics. I wanted the sleek skin more than face unlock anyway.

  31. Kevin

    06/27/2012 at 7:29 am

    I’ve been told by Sprint store that they are updating the towers to LTE, and that is why my 4G coverage in the Dallas area, which as been pretty reliable, has been spotty lately.

  32. Kyle

    06/27/2012 at 11:06 am

    I have been going back and forth with Sprint about the degraded 3g service, as well as the fact that they continue to advertise 4g, when it is not available in most markets. Here is the scoop, they are having major bandwidth issues, and those network upgrades they keep telling you about are not going to do anything to help OR be done anytime soon, that is just something they say to calm down angry costumers. Call their customer support lines, and tell them you want a refund on the $10 a month “premium” service fee you are charged, because you are not receiving premium data usage on their network. They will argue with you but what it comes down to is that their “Premium” data phones are more or less useless unless you are on wifi, which they can’t charge you for anyways. I recently had them credit $50 to my account with this argument.

    As far as the Ice Cream Update, it will not happen until after the galaxy s3 is released, because they want to sucker you into a new phone and another 2 year contract, only after they feel they have reaped in sufficient sales from the s3, will they allow the s2, or epic touch 4g to be upgraded.

  33. Chuck U. Farly

    06/27/2012 at 11:46 am

    I switched to Sprint so we could get 4G, instead I’m stuck with Wimax and these delays in ICS. When this contact is up, it is prob. back to Verizon.

  34. Scott

    06/27/2012 at 1:08 pm

    I bought 2of these phones 2 months ago based on the recommendation of our Sprint rep. I have never been more disappointed with sprint/Nextel and that is saying a lot. 1 phone is completely unusable and there other doesn’t work as well as my old original Evo. I have been hoping that an update to ICS may help me out. As a result I have moved 4 of 10 lines I have with sprint to Verizon. And will probably move the rest within a month. Too bad ,I’ve been with them for more than 15 years.

  35. Ron

    06/27/2012 at 2:13 pm

    I’m not sure what all the problems people are having with their E4GTs, I love the phone itself and have had few issues with it. I would, however, like to have the update that is now available to everyone in the world…except us. I have been disappointed with Sprint from (almost literally) the moment I signed up. I went in two weeks after signing up, to cancel my three lines, and found out they only offer a two-week window to cancel (unlike EVERY other company’s four) and I had missed it by a day….so now I’m stuck with sub-par service, so-far-below-sub-par customer service I can’t express it and a bill about $50 a month higher than I was promised….for TWO YEARS. I have to say, Sprint sucks at customer service but they are by far the best at suckering you in just far enough and SLAMMING the trap shut. The least they could do is provide timely updates but, honestly, I am not surprised at all……

  36. Marcus

    06/27/2012 at 7:19 pm

    I echo that the E4GT has been a fine phone, with relatively low issue. Sprint in NYC and metro area is fine. I get terrible 3G, but 4G is prevalent and fast enough. I feel for all Sprint customers without 4G – Sprint 3G is simply un-livable. I’m sad to think that there is no EVDO bandwidth solution in sight based on network improvements… 4G is the future. I hope most of us can get it soon.

  37. Aeires

    06/27/2012 at 7:34 pm

    Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, was announced today that it was going to be released on July 19th. Not even holding my breath that Sprint will have the S2’s 4.0 released by that time. A flagship phone that is soon to be two iterations behind in software, way to go Sprint. When my contract is close to being up, I’m going back to T-Mobile. What’s sad is the S2 in an outstanding phone but when you couple it with pathetic support on Sprint’s half, and spotty 4G coverage, Sprint has lost my loyalty. Giving people unlimited data doesn’t justify the way they’ve ignored supporting flagship devices.

  38. Kim

    06/27/2012 at 11:17 pm

    I got the epic touch hoping to get the ics updates and hoping you get the 4g in my area (central Illinois) and nothing, now they are coming out with jelly bean. What’s that mean for the epics do we not get an update now? I think if we get an update we should get the jelly bean update seeing as we very waited this long for ics

  39. Joan Hamilton

    06/29/2012 at 8:40 am

    I, too, am frustrated with Sprint’s failure to deliver basic updates. I have ICS on my android tablet, but not on my Galaxy SII. Burns. I may return to Verizon when my contract is up, but I hate that behemoth, too. Such vitriol on my part is hard on my digestion.

    • Kim

      07/03/2012 at 12:28 am

      Mind you yes I am mad we have yet to get it but remember this. Sprint is still the only contract phone with true unlimited. So for that alone I will stay sprint. I love my phone. It’s a great device not complaining about that. More or less just wishing sprint would hurry up before ics is completely outdated.

  40. doug

    07/03/2012 at 11:57 am

    The only reason I have a Sprint Droid is work supplies it. Sprint coverage is spotty in my area in the Midwest. The lack up updates to the OS on top of that is just infuriating. There are many places I go, like my Dad’s or my Uncle’s up north where Sprint just doesn’t go. My Son’s office recently switched the whole corporation off Sprint. Costs more but they do heavy machinery installations at customer sites they really need the coverage to be reliable. Sprint wasn’t doing it.

  41. terry

    07/07/2012 at 11:45 pm

    Just erupt your phone, put whatever version of Android you prefer, quit crying and learn how to use your phone

  42. sam

    07/08/2012 at 10:03 am

    This is a system upgrade, not update like win xp to win 7. I would like Sprint to push ICS out also, next phone upgrade will only be Google Nexus line, that way carrier and phone mfg will be out of the picture on these OS upgrade and system update.

  43. Mike

    07/19/2012 at 2:41 pm

    Updated to Android 4.0.4. Was pushed to my phone two days ago. My wife also has the Epic 4G Touch but ICS has not been pushed to her phone yet. I got mine early November 2011, she got hers at Christmas.

    • Kim

      07/20/2012 at 7:11 am

      Go to YouTube look up qbking77 he has a video to Manually update your phone

  44. Steve D

    08/01/2012 at 7:53 pm

    I upgrade to ICS 4.0 about two weeks ago on my Galaxy SII from Sprint.

    Actually, from what I’ve experienced thus far, I think it’s a downgrade. I prefer to have the previous version I was on. I hate that when you press and hold the “Home” button, you get a graphical list of items you recently opened. I prefer to have a one line text with the represented icon next to it as it was in the version I had before the upgrade.

    It also appears to be slower than the previous version and the default explorer is less useful in the sense that the tabs are harder to get to than the previous one.

    Dialing a phone number use to come up with previous numbers you have dialed before. That was very useful for me but now they seem to have taken that feature away. I have to go look to see if I have received a call from this number before in my history. Again, a downgrade in my opinion.

    The Contacts and the Phone buttons appear to be two separate applications. I loved how I could click on the phone tab and switch over to my full list of contacts by using the tab at the top. That has now been removed and replaced by a list of favorite contacts. Again, I think it’s bad design and going backwards in my opinion.

    But in the end, guess we can’t satisfy everyone’s needs and wants. Somebody will always come to hate it for one reason or another. Unfortunately, I’m one of the few who has come to hate it. :/

    On a side note, I’m so fed up with Sprint and their WiMax/LTE plans that I’m thinking of just dumping them bastards and moving on to another carrier if I can find one with unlimited data plans. Sprint has to wake up at some point or they might end up in the same category as MetroPCS which has very crappy unlimited phone/data plans but just wont have the cheap prices.

    • Kim

      08/02/2012 at 7:29 am

      I agree. It ruined my first phone I had. So I had to take it in for a new one. The update is beginning to do the same on my new one. My house. Each buttons freeze my home screen freezes as well. My Camera I feel has become almost useless, my battery lasts about 5 hours without use . I could go on…. But this is by far the worst update. They need to fix it, this is getting ridiculous!

  45. Felicia

    08/08/2012 at 7:18 am

    I got my samsung epic 4g though sprint on august 2nd and I was updated to ice cream sandwish on the 3rd! yay me!!! I love it, it is pretty awesome!

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