I have seen a trend from LG, that even if there is same model number of Device, LG still rolls out updates to different regions with different timelines. Samsung, Motorola and other OEMs have started pushing updates within few weeks to different.
What do you think about LG update policy?
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I got this from another thread on XDA, if it needs to go to the Q&A section, please move it.
What I find interesting, is the BOLD section.
This "explanation" has to do with the Samsung Galaxy S series, but, could also be viable to all android phones.
Now, never let it be said I'm defending at&t in ANY way, but perhaps some of the lag on updates, could be this.
If the manufacturer is "selling" an android update to a carrier, wouldn't that be in violation of the open source agreement?
To explain the political situation, first, a primer on how phone firmware upgrades work for carriers. When a carrier decides to sell a phone, a contract is usually written between the phone manufacturer and the carrier. In this contract, the cost of updates (to the carrier) is usually outlined. Updates are usually broken into several types: critical updates, maintenance updates, and feature updates. Critical updates are those that resolve a critical bug in the phone, such as the phone overheating. Maintenance updates involve routine updates to resolve bugs and other issues reported by the carrier. Finally, feature updates add some new feature in software that wasn’t present before. Critical updates are usually free, maintenance updates have some maintenance fee associated with them, and feature updates are usually costly. In the past, most phone updates would mainly consist of critical and maintenance updates. Carriers almost never want to incur the cost of a feature update because it is of little benefit to them, adds little to the device, and involves a lot of testing on the carrier end. Android has changed the playing field, however – since the Android Open Source Project is constantly being updated, and that information being made widely available to the public, there is pressure for the phone to be constantly updated with the latest version of Android. With most manufacturers, such as HTC, Motorola, etc. This is fine and considered a maintenance upgrade. Samsung, however, considers it a feature update, and requires carriers to pay a per device update fee for each incremental Android update.
Now, here’s where the politics come in: most U.S. carriers aren’t very happy with Samsung’s decision to charge for Android updates as feature updates, especially since they are essentially charging for the Android Open Source Project’s efforts, and the effort on Samsung’s end is rather minimal. As a result of perhaps, corporate collusion, all U.S. carriers have decided to refuse to pay for the Android 2.2 update, in hopes that the devaluation of the Galaxy S line will cause Samsung to drop their fees and give the update to the carriers. The situation has panned out differently in other parts of the world, but this is the situation in the United States.
Some of you might have noticed Verion’s Fascinate updated, but without 2.2 : This is a result of a maintenance agreement Samsung must honor combined with Verizon’s unwillingness to pay the update fees. In short, Android 2.2 is on hold for Galaxy S phones until the U.S. carriers and Samsung reach a consensus.
Some might wonder why I didn’t deliver this over a more legitimate news channel – the short answer: I don’t want to lose my job. I do, however, appreciate transparency, which is why I’m here.
On Vodafone Italy : nothing as of 15/September 07:00 US time.
They won't deploy. It is up to Microsoft to flip the switch.
I am waiting for word from Telus, as three different sections of the mobility department have said they either don't have any information, or cannot disclose any at this time.
Word from WMPU is 20 Sept for the MS launch, so you won't see anything before then.
So how will those of us with no carrier get it? My phone was unbranded, will microsoft give an update diretcly from them or maybe lg??
opti7 said:
So how will those of us with no carrier get it? My phone was unbranded, will microsoft give an update diretcly from them or maybe lg??
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MS first gives the RTM to OEMs. These test the RTM, update their apps and drivers if nessecary.
Then they return their finished ROMs to Microsoft.
Next Microsoft sends these OEM signed ROMs to Carriers for testing, updating the apps etc.
Once all OEMs and Carriers are done and have returned the ROMs to Microsoft, Microsoft can begin the rollout. If you have an open market device, you will simply get the LG approved app, whereas people with carrierer branded devices will get the carrierer's ROM.
I was told by Telus that the update is October 2nd, due to my phone having such horrid issues they said if it doesn't fix it then I get a new free phone.
Guess what is going to happen? ;D
I am writing this because of this policy that Samsung implemented a few months ago. It started with the Galaxy Note 3, and according to some blogs that I've read, it now includes S4 (version not specified). I was one of the few individuals who bought it my May of this year when it became available. And according to what I've read, the units affected are those manufactured after July 2013. My box don't have the Regional Lock warning, but there were some reports that this Regional Lock is implemented with some of the patch updates. I have been using custom ROMs, a month after it's purchase.
Now, is there any method of knowing for sure which units are affected by this, and for those who often flashes firmwares manually, is there any method of knowing which region firmware have this regional lock?
Hey guys,
Trying best to help in hopes of us having the LG G Stylo marshmallow update for cricket. After contacting LG, happy to know that we may be receiving the update for our device. See response below from LG:
"Hi, Thank you for contacting LG US Electronics. In response to this inquiry, the LG G Stylo will indeed receive the Marshmallow update for the Android system. However, at this time, I’m afraid we have no final release date yet even though some devices have already received the update. The reason for the release date variation is because software updates follow a certain process. For Android, it is faster to receive updates on Google products (for phones, that’s the Nexus line) or on unlocked/rooted units wherein the update may be installed manually (although not supported by LG as this is a customization). For carrier-specific devices, this may take longer and will vary. After a phone manufacturer like LG prepares the software with the help of the developer (Google who made Android), the update will have to run through carriers like Cricket in order for them to incorporate carrier-specific features – and also test the new software thoroughly on the network. After some collaboration, the carrier will then approve the update and push it out to your device which will then be downloaded and installed through the network signals from your carrier. As such, you may also directly correspond with your carrier if they already have an estimated date for the release of the update. In case that there’s none yet, I’m afraid we’ll still have to wait but please be assured that the G Stylo will indeed be updated to Android Marshmallow like the G series. We hope you find this information helpful. Should you have any other question, please feel free to contact us again via Email, Live Chat, or Phone by calling 800-793-8896. Thank you again for contacting LG! Have a great day ahead and a lovely week! Kind regards"
There is hope afterall! lol
they had previously said June of this year which hascome and gone. Now there is no date at all
And So, When we can see Marshmallow?
I don't think we are! Never heard of a phone that didn't get a single update. Should be class-action lawsuit or something.
I am wondering if anyone knows why the security patch level on my Verizon HTC 10 is from June 1? Isn't their a more recent security update?
Because US carriers are brutally slow to push out updates....
HTC has been the best OEM (other than google itself with the nexus phones) on updating flagship phones the past couple of years...even US Carrier ones...but obviously their unlocked ones get it quicker due to less red tape.
bakemcbride21 said:
Because US carriers are brutally slow to push out updates....
HTC has been the best OEM (other than google itself with the nexus phones) on updating flagship phones the past couple of years...even US Carrier ones...but obviously their unlocked ones get it quicker due to less red tape.
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Thats kind of what i figured...I talked to Verizon support and they tried to convince me that it had nothing to do with them and that it was all an Android issue and that the carriers had nothing to do with security updates being pushed to their devices.
Typical BS Verizon response... I recall when I had a Sony z3v which was actually a nice phone, it never even got the advanced calling update it was supposed to! I couldn't use voice and data at the time time, then magically Verizon stopped selling it, and they kept blaming Sony. I know the Verizon variant was a little different than the normal z3 but I had it a year with no update! I think they finally stopped the phone at 5.1...