Help with upgrading the OS.

[riphelix]

A little info (for more specific help) before I get started..
-Phone: Samsung Galaxy S2
-Model number: SCH-R760
-Android version: 2.3.6
-OS: Gingerbread.FF18
If I'm missing anything please let me know..

Anyways, I've recently been looking into upgrading the operating system of my phone. However, when I go into my settings and make my phone check for system updates the results always come up negative or I get the Fota error. So I've been looking into doing this manually and it doesn't seem too hard. I'm pretty confident that I can get through it successfully. Although, I do have a few questions.

How safe is it to manually update the OS by myself and what are the chances of rendering my phone inoperable?

Do I have to root my phone in order to do this?

What does this do to my warranty? (I have U.S. Cellular as a carrier, by the way)

Will I still be able to upgrade my phone when the time comes or will it be rejected due to my doing this?

Is there anything else I need to know? Any and all help will be appreciated! Thank you for your time.

 

[Jeffrey]

The easiest way is to download Kies to your PC. Plug your phone in. If there is an update, Kies will prompt you through the procedure.

 

[riphelix]

Thank you for your reply, Jeffrey. I've read alot about Kies but was unsure. I'll definitely look into it. Any info regarding the warranty situation with my phone company?

 

[riphelix]

Went ahead with the update. No problems, was successful and I'm satisfied. However now I have yet another question.
I turned the wifi on on my phone and the symbol has changed. I have never seen it this way before. I've tried looking it up but I can't seem to find it anywhere.
View attachment 70758

Anytime I've seen the wifi icon it was just the bars, no arrows. The only time I've ever seen those arrows is when I turn on my network data. So my question is:

Is this using my network data as well as my home wifi? Or is this normal? Like I said I've never seen it like that before and I can't find it anywhere online. Also should mention that I looked and my data isn't on.