Android Policy For Nexus and Google Play Devices Updated To Excuse Carrier Delay 73
An anonymous reader writes: Google has quietly updated its Android update policy for both Nexus and Google Play edition devices. In short, if you bought either type of smartphone or tablet from a carrier, you may experience delays that result in waiting longer than two weeks to get the latest version. Google has tweaked the "Android updates: Nexus & Google Play edition devices" support page to add, "Based on your carrier, it may take longer than two weeks after release to get an update." It's worth emphasizing this won't stop you from downloading a given Android update directly from Google or your device's manufacturer, and installing it yourself on your device. This is mainly for over-the-air updates, which carriers can choose to delay on their own networks.
Downloadable updates for CDMA2000 devices? (Score:3)
It's worth emphasizing this won't stop you from downloading a given Android update directly from Google or your device's manufacturer, and installing it yourself on your device.
Do Google and the devices' manufacturers even make downloadable updates available for CDMA2000 and CDMA2000/LTE devices, such as those used on Verizon, Sprint, and Sprint MVNOs? I thought they were just for devices designed to run on GSM/UMTS/LTE carriers.
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Do Google and the devices' manufacturers even make downloadable updates available for CDMA2000 and CDMA2000/LTE devices, such as those used on Verizon, Sprint, and Sprint MVNOs?
They make those?
Yes, for the U.S. market. Verizon and Sprint expect their subscribers to buy hardware directly from them.
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Well, the Nexus 5 is a combo GSM/CDMA device (compatible with Sprint, at least), and they make downloadable updates available for that...
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nope (Score:1)
Coward isn't the only one, mine hasn't received it either. My Nexus4 just got it last week.
Though from the sounds of it, it's well advised to wait for a .1 release to come out.
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It says longer than two weeks. Not within two weeks. It also places this blame on your carrier and their settings.
My first thought was that this was their answer to fast lanes- if a carrier dlowed them down they would make the carrier look like it isn't as good as others instead of paying. But it might be the opposite- so the carrier's network doesn't get saturated with large updates. This would explain giving them the control. However, it can always be used to obsolete a product and trick you into extendin
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That's really strange, my 2012 Nexus 7 got it quite a while ago now. More than a week for sure. Maybe even two weeks now.
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The way the updates work: When the device check Google for an update, for the first few days it gets a random chance of 1 in 100 of being selected. That chance is then reset after a few days, so when it checks again it gets another chance, maybe 5 in 100. Note, that once the dice is rolled, no matter how often it checks for updates, it will always get the same decision until a certain time has elapsed. This chance increases as time goes on, allowing more devices to get the updates. If there are a signif
Re: Doesn't apply to Google (Score:2)
So where are these update settings on my Nexus 7 and why haven't they prevented me getting KitKat updates? Stupid fucking neckbeard fanbois.
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You don't want Lollipop at this point. It has created a helluva lot of carnage for Nexus 7 2012 and 2013 users. My Nexus 7 was rendered all but unusable, and even a factory reset has only created moderate improvements.
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My 2009 (IIRC) Android phone hasn't been updated since the first year, and is still running 2.somthing, I think. I should really buy a new phone one of these days (the glass has been cracked for a year now), but it seems such a frivolous expense.
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Before anyone jumps on my neck about "on a contract does not equal free", you've been paying for your current phone service since 2009.
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I use T-Mobile, have never had a phone on money, and have a strict "never borrow money" personal policy. But it's not about the amount a phone costs, it's about a strong aversion to spending money on things that aren't really important to me.
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*have never had a phone on contract
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Oh? What kind of stuff? I have a 2012 Nexus 7 ... at least, I think it's a 2012 version, I've lost track.
I haven't been offered the update, but I'm wondering about the kinds of problems you've had.
I don't want to "upgrade" only to find out I've ended up with a less usable device.
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Well, after the Lollipop update, my 2012 Nexus was all but bricked. Booted up fine, but the minute I went into Chrome it just froze up. It might become somewhat usable after a few minutes, and it was during one of those moments that I managed to do a factory reset. It is working better, but Chrome can still seize up on script-heavy pages. Go to the Google Nexus 7 Product Forums [google.com] and you will see plenty of tales of woe.
It isn't universal, but there are a helluva lot of Nexus 7 users, both 2012 and 2013, who h
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My Nexus 7 2012 wasn't "bricked", but it now takes a LONG time to "wake up" when it's wifi has been shut down, and the tablet is all but unusable for minutes while it recovers. I've taken to "closing" all my applications when I'm done using them (which I've NEVER done), and it seems to help a little. It's the first update I've not been impressed with, and that I think I'd roll back if I could (I haven't checked if I can).
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I initially did that and it made very little improvement. In the end the factory reset was the only thing that brought the tablet back to life. Mind you, I don't have the Facebook app, and what I've been hearing is that can render Nexus 7 tablets pretty unusable under Lollipop even after a factory reset.
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Anecdotal evidence:
I bought a Nexus 7 2012 for my wife exactly the day Lollipop was released. It had 4.1 on it, or something. It offered OTA updates for several versions all the way to 4.4.4 that evening, and 3 days later offered a Lollipop update which I promptly accepted. Went on without a hitch, now she has a great, responsive tablet.
Others might have been unlucky, not me.
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If a factory reset by and large fixes the problem, that likely means there are issues with data and apps previously installed. If you have a brand new tablet, then you are not going to have a lot of cruft hanging around. My tablet is over a year and a half old, never reset during that time, and that seems to be one of the issues coming up.
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Just clear the Dalvik cache and it's gonna be fine.
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I would like to try it though. my nexus 7 2013 hasn't received it yet. I had to force the kitkat upgrade through manually a month later. Google's update schedules are very strange.
IOS 8 on the other hand asked for the update a day after apple announced it.
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https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
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Let it go. Please.
Every useful site that discusses this already pointed out that these OTA releases are staged to avoid overwhelming networks (even your lame WiFi you steal from your neighbor) and to catch any problems before they blow it all out to every user.
Whiners asking 'why haven't its been so long i never get' apparently did not read any of these. Please go find a site that makes this clear, and stick to it for future useful information. The others, feh.
And, if you have not already seen (which I'm
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And yet Apple manages to make their iOS updates available to all compatible devices on the day of release, dealing with an order of magnitude more devices than Nexus phones and tablets.
My Nexus 10 had to wait 2 weeks for the 5.0 update to be made available to it, and my Nexus 4 took a month. The story has been the same with every single Android update - I read that an update is available, and then don't see it for weeks or months, no matter how many times I check for updates. In contrast on all my iOS dev
Re: Doesn't apply to Google (Score:2)
You know the answer. Android releases must be adapted to the different makes and models of phones. Apple has to deal with about 6 different phones. Samsung alone has more different models.
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From what I understand, Google hands over bits to the carriers, and the carriers then choose a timetable for automatic updates. The argument that saturating (really, how big are these updates and how many devices that this is a major concern?) networks makes sense here, but the number of models does not. The issues stemming from number of models will be caught by Google's testing before the release bits get sent to the carriers.
Re: Doesn't apply to Google (Score:2)
Google does not do integration for the carrier-specific bits. Whine to your carrier about their slow progress.
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I don't use an Android device, so I have nothing to complain about. I was under the impression that Nexus devices did not have carrier-specific-bits, which is why I was trying to understand the reason for a delay. Network saturation makes no sense, since it's clear that other eco system can handle a release day over the same networks. Testing makes no sense, since Google tests their bits before giving it to carriers. If the carriers want to integrate other bits for other devices, fine, but why delay Nexus u
Re: Doesn't apply to Google (Score:2)
1. That other eco system doesn't deliver updates to every single device on the same day.
2. Nexus devices are popular enough to be a big enough population to encourage staging updates.
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That other eco system doesn't deliver updates to every single device on the same day.
Well, I don't know what you mean by "every single device", since not all updates are for every device. But, they do *offer* the update to every *eligible* device starting on one single day. If a customer wants the update, they touch a button. If a customer has automatic updates, they'll get it sometime "soon", where "soon" is indeed staggered and might be a day or so later. For people that want it, they get it day 1. For people that don't care or pay attention, they get it anytime from day 1 to day N (where
ISP (Score:2)
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ISPs dont push out Windows updates, so its not a valid comparison.
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That's because Apple forbid carriers from fucking around with iOS devices to hard code their own shitware into them.
Fucking Verizon apps eat up valuable space on my GS IV and I can't get rid of them without rooting it.
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But ... but ... branding!
How are corporations supposed to monetize your telephone if they can't put additional shit to change "your" phone to maximize their profits?
Yeah, I'm with you. I thought the whole point of the Nexus devices was you get the full Android experience and it hasn't been mucked with.
I have Facebook and some other crap on my phone my carrier put there. I can disable it, but I can't uninstall it. I bought the phone outright, what the hell do you mean I can't uninstall your crapware?
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And that's why you should be using HTTPS everywhere you browse.
Update Throttling.. the next big deal (Score:2)
I demand action.
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Where is this up to at? Everything i can find says longer than 2 weeks. You may be waiting longer.
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You're right. It's not like any mobile operating system provider is able to push OS updates out simultaneously across multiple carriers worldwide......
Why does Google depend on the carrier to push operating system updates out for its own devices and Apple doesn't?
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Re: Update Throttling.. the next big deal (Score:2)
Isn't the whole purpose of buying a Nexus is that you get a "pure Android" experience without carrier crapware?
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Which makes the Nexus experience no longer free from Carrier Crap, which is a shame.
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Yup, stagger those updates so the ISPs don't have a big peak. ITS NOT FAIR! How do they choose who must wait UP TO TWO WEEKS? Probably start with the list of those that signed Obama's petition.
I demand action.
Meanwhile, Apple users simply smile - why is it that one OS gets fast, streamlined updates, while the other major ome (supposed superior) is hobbled by the carriers schedules? I mean, it's not like Apple's phones run on some proprietary network ...
Can someone explain this for me?
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The Flaw with this model (Score:5, Interesting)
Just to name one: security issues are constantly cropping-up in Android, and Google is constantly patching things. Except good luck getting AT&T or Verizon to provide the updates OTA. And if you're stuck with an older phone, says > 1 year. Good luck getting any update at all.
As far as the carrier is concerned, in order to update the firmware, buy a new phone. Except you've now deliberately left millions of people vulnerable to having their accounts compromised because you were too cheap/lazy to provide an update (which Google makes available, btw).
Either Google should unify Android, meaning make one version for all models (or at least models newer than 3 years) and make it available OTA or by download, or license Android to carriers on the strict condition that they provide updates to existing models at least every 6 moths.
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My M7 got updated to Kit Kat about 16 months after purchase, and will get Lollipop on time, probably 19 months after purchase.
Blanket 'they don't update phones >1 year old' statements are both false and unfounded. If 1) Google gave your manufacturer an image, and 2) your manufacturer customized it, then 3) the carrier has to brand it and release to you. If step 2 or 3 are missed, blame the appropriate party.
If Google decided not to issue an image, it is likely because they unilaterally decided the phone
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... good luck getting AT&T or Verizon to provide the updates OTA. And if you're stuck with an older phone, says > 1 year. Good luck getting any update at all.
If carriers even bother to provide updates at all they usually lag so far behind because they need to develop and test all their bloatware against the latest version of Android. Samsung in particular insists on using TouchWiz on their mobile devices so TouchWiz needs to be updated for every version of Android and then on top of that the carriers need to test update and test their bloatware and whatever else they insist on installing on devices.
One solution is to install CyanogenMod if you can but that will
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Oh gawd, you're one of those fringe Windows Phone guys aren't you? They still make windows phones?
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Nope, even they don't want Windows phones.
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There are 2 different issues here... (Score:2)
The first issue is that it can take time for updates to roll out over-the-air even once they are available. There are usually ways to manually download and install it if you dont want to wait for OTA.
The second issue (and the more important one) is that for many phones carriers will take sometimes months to approve an update or may not release it all (usually making some claims about some "carrier acceptance testing" BS). In some cases updates for the generic unbranded versions of a phone still get hit with
not just devices sold by the carrier (Score:1)
It's significant to note that it doesn't matter where you bought your device - even Nexus devices purchased directly from Google Play can be blocked by the carrier.
e.g. The network with the largest market share in Australia, Telstra - is blocking the Lollipop OTA update [ausdroid.net] from all Nexus devices.