now both windows mobile and ios upgrades bypass carriers

Come on android do the same.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/45174/microsoft-contro...

The only way to do that is surely through mobile data? How many people use that anyway? How much will it use?

I use a tiny amount, and I'm sure many do. If, when I turn it on, (normally off to save battery life), I kept getting hit by OS security updates I would get quite annoyed. The point being that when I turn it on I want to use it immediately.

OK, I expect there will be a "Later" option. That doesn't really fit well with the way I for one use mobile data. In a hurry or something important. So (a) no time when I've done what I turned it on for, and (b) simply forget until next time.

Edit: Just realised they don't really mean "Carrier". They mean the hardware vendor, such as Samsung/LG/etc. I'm not sure how that would work on Android, unless they make it non-tailorable and we all get vanilla.

Edited by RobertoS (Sun 17-May-15 23:02:49)

its not do with data, its that carriers want control of the updates, but they hold them back so they can sell new phones.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The only way to do that is surely through mobile data? How many people use that anyway? How much will it use?

iOS uses WiFi only for updates and does delta downloads. About 30 to 50mb for the small updates, and 250 to 300mb for the larger ones. There are about 4 or 5 a year?

You know about them via either the press, or an indicator on the settings app.

Edited by jchamier (Mon 18-May-15 05:09:44)

as I said data is irrelevant here, people can upgrade over wifi.

android has a security problem due to the fragmentation, this is mainly due to end users relying on carriers for the updates.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

... they don't really mean "Carrier". They mean the hardware vendor, such as Samsung/LG/etc. I'm not sure how that would work on Android, unless they make it non-tailorable and we all get vanilla.

To me, carrier is the service provider, not the phone manufacturer. They are very often not the same. In the case of Apple, they are never the same.

It is the phone manufacturer they are by-passing, not the carrier.

I understood that some carriers load up the phone you buy from them with a further layer of junk apps even on top of the unwanted c**p that the manufacturers install. Wasn't there a lot of noise a couple of years back when Vodafone glued a dating app onto the main screen?

I don't have a Windows phone and Tesco Mobile thankfully load NOTHING onto my SIM only deal but anything that gets the latest os to the customer's handset unadulterated by manufacturer or carrier is to be applauded.

Now if only they could ship Windows updates to my laptop and obliterate the bloatware, save me the trouble of doing it.

John

phone vendors and carriers both same issue.

So here is what happens.

1 - Google release new version of android, its not specific to any phone so doesnt include drivers, carrier apps etc.
2 - Phone vendors e.g. samsung, sony, htc etc. Then will make new versions of rom's for their devices based on what google releases, they will only do this for recent phone model's when a phone gets old enough they stop this process.
3 - The carriers 'after' the vendors do new versions may then ammend these again for their own purpose, typically branding and adding their own apps. They usually support the same phones the vendors do.

So as you can see there will be an obvious delay between when google release and when end users get the updates,when samsung did 5.0 for the S5 e.g. 5.1 was already released by google. Second old phones dont get the updates and unless you prepared to root your phone there is no way to get newer rom's on those old devices. Rooting your phone typically voids warranty and the custom rom's are usually more problematic than official one's.

There is also often many minor releases google release to fix minor issues and patch security holes, and vendor's typically skip over these.

If you buy your phone from a carrier, then the carrier handles the updates so you have to wait for #3.
If you get it unlocked not tied to a network then your updates come from #2.
Some models such as the nexus phones will get from #1 and as such get more frequent updates.

Edited by Chrysalis (Mon 18-May-15 17:40:21)

This is to do with major OS upgrades, e.g. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean to 4.4 KitKat to 5.0 Lollipop, not the interim software updates. There is often a great delay, sometimes extending to infinity, between the OS vendor, e.g. Google, releasing a new version and the carrier networks getting it out to their custs of their mobile phones, if at all.

The manufacturer! Not the carrier.

No, I mean, and I think OP means , the mobile network provider, e.g. O2 & EE, to which their SIM connects to. The phone manufacturer, e.g. Samsung, is just an intermediate link in the chain of delays.

I've seen it on the EE site, peeps crying out for Lollipop and EE just won't push it out nor even give a date for it.

My Sony Z3 is on EE and was originally 4.4.4 (I think. It was definitely a 4.n.n).

A few weeks ago it was upgraded to 5.0.2, and last week a further Android update but remaining on 5.0.2.

It may be the diff between your unlocked manufacturer's mobile and most EE custs with locked-to-EE mobiles with EE's bloatware on them.

It is necessary for the manufacturer to create an update, but it is then rolled out piecemeal - if and when is determined by country/region and carrier. So when people have said carrier, they mean carrier.

The timings are not simple either, such that even SIM-free or "open regions" can lag behind carrier updates. Eg HTC had SIM-free Europe handsets that took over 12 months later than O2 UK handsets to receive the update, and some never at all. And sim-free Samsung Galaxies had some months delay compared to network phones.

For this reason, you will not find anywhere that Sony says all owners of the Z3 around the world can simultaneously update to the latest version.

I'm afraid that's not quite how it works for Windowsphone, I have a 'UK variant' Nokia 1520, when Denim update came out OS and Manufacturer where Microsoft yet they took several months to release the UK version, and AFAIK the carrier version came out at same time.
This is aimed squarely at US market where for some strange reason some carriers haven't even released Cyan update on some phones.
A little aside, prior to the Denim update my 1520 would seamlessly swap WiFi conections as I moved around, but there is a problem affecting many phones like mine, I had to do a manufacturer reset to even get it to connect to any wireless signal, and even after that sometimes have to reboot phone when moving between WiFi sources.

what I listed is for android.

in terms of windows mobile update, microsof plan to manage it themselves on windows 10.

this is true also, its a mess.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

what I listed is for android.

in terms of windows mobile update, microsof plan to manage it themselves on windows 10.

Your first post links to an article about MS and windowsphone 10.
As I pointed out MS already fully controls the release of updates for my phone, no separate manufacturer or carrier involved, and yet it can still take months to be updated, by the time it gets to UK the hackers have had plenty of time to probe for weaknesses.
MS and Apple hold much tighter reins over the OS than Andriod, it will entail a complete change of policy for Andriod to do as you wish, and for those with exsisting phones may render them completely useless.or in many cases will result in users finding themselves having to relearn how to use them, don't think that would be too popular