Carrier Updates – Do You Really Care?

Do most users on this website take this into account when buying a phone or do you go along the lines of “I’ll rely on developers to provide me with updates”?

For me, it is most certainly the second one.

15 Comments Join the discussion!

37 Chris Clark 04/26/12 12:34 PM

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My phone will probably only last a week with the stock rom on it. I only care about carrier updates so that the majority of casual users will fall more in love with Android.

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- 27 wild 04/26/12 12:38 PM
  
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  One week? It’s damn too long for the stock rom :)
  
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27 wild 04/26/12 12:37 PM

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In Cyanogen and AOKP we trust :)

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49 bolanrox 04/26/12 12:40 PM

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if it really got to me i would root the phone, but for now i would hope for some kind of carrier update at some point soon.

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93 ranwanimator 04/26/12 12:44 PM

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It would have been nice for Google to allow Android users to update the core OS whenever a new version came out and have that core be independent from the UI which could be carrier updated on a separate schedule.

That way carrier/manufacturer updates wouldn’t really matter, or wouldn’t matter as much.

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- 48 Zak Lambert 04/26/12 12:46 PM
  
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  That would be something truly remarkable. If Google was able to do something like that, I think everyone would win.
  
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95 Bpear96 04/26/12 1:39 PM

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No i really dont care about the carriers pushing out updates, i mean they should for the users that aren’t interested or no about rooting and installing custom roms, and of course i actually prefer custom roms, that are usually smoother and bloat free, and can get rid of those oem skins :D

But.. it is important that the manufacture releases updated kernel sources, like with the exynos galaxy s ii, without the sources it was hard for the developers on xda to get a fully working AOSP build (cm9/aokp) of ICS running, they eventually got a most working build before sammy released there i9100 sources, by using the stock ICS kernels found in the numbers of leaked samsung ICS builds for the i9100. But when Sammy released the official ICS update and then the kernel sources for the i9100, not to long after we had fully working and stable AOSP/CM9/AOKP roms, for the i9100, and not to long after on the original at&t galaxy s ii, and the spring GS2, since they both use exynos so could use kernels based on the i9100 source with slight changed im guessing.

But not saying there isnt phones that got fully working cm9 etc builds without the phone manufacture releasing source, but it is nice, and proves to make things easier.

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95 Bpear96 04/26/12 1:44 PM

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Im really not sure if this is possible, but why cant android be like linux or windows getting updates, there are countless builds of computers running windows and linux, with tons of different cpus, ram , HDD’s, networking chipsets etc. And they can all update at the same, time and be fully functional thanks to drivers . I wonder if it would be possible for android to update in a similar function, where you update all android phones the same way and at the same time, and its just the core OS that updates, all the drivers or still there and may have to be updated (which i guess the manufactures would have to do….)

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- 95 Bpear96 04/26/12 1:44 PM
  
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  Lol well this is kinda what ranwanimator said :D
  
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dommafiaGuest 04/27/12 4:45 AM

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Hey guys is there an extremely NOOB friendly guy to installing and managing roms? I have never done it but I’m tired of waiting for tmobile to update my gs2 to ICS… (are they going to ever?)

From what I have read so far, cyanogen seems to be the bees knees of roms. Does that include ICS? any help is appreciated.

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4 cmunic8r99 04/27/12 5:59 AM

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For my phones – I don’t worry much about carrier releases. For my wife and daughter’s phone – i do take carrier updates into consideration.

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21 David Sumner 04/27/12 8:06 AM

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Honestly I do care, you would expect that if you buy a flagship device on a carrier it would at least receive updates in a reasonable timely manner. but that isn’t the case for T-Mobile, actually most US carriers. All devices aren’t treated equally in the development community either. Most phones get some sort of support, but maybe not from the developer you want. probably get flammed for this…) The best smoothest rom I used on my sensation was the stock 2.3.4 rom. Im currently using the arhd 6.6.3 and it is good but there’s lag issues….

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6 isovich 04/27/12 8:40 AM

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When I buy a phone I don’t count on getting any updates. I assume that I will get a hand full or so and that that is it before they move to the next phone.

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98 redraider133 04/27/12 9:21 AM

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For me I look for the device with the best hardware specs because those usually seem to be the ones that get the most support from the developers and I also look at how easy the phone will be to hack and get roms onto. The way moto is locking down their phones and making it so difficult even to install a leaked ota update turned me away from their products. i would like to assume my device will be updated in a timely manner but I know that is not the case even for the nexus line anymore it seems.

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14 Theolonious 04/27/12 9:21 AM

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A phone should be catered for as long as the average 2-year contract people buy their phones on. If they aren’t willing to continue support, then they need to make the phone unlockable so the community can support it. If Cyanogenmod can do a better job then they can supporting a phone, even though Cyanogenmod supports multiple times the amount of devices that any carrier should be expected to support, then the carrier should allow the community to care for their own devices.

Library of congress passed an act giving us the right to do this, so why is it still okay for carriers to do their best to force us to not use this right?

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Carrier Updates – Do You Really Care?