How can I upgrade to Generic 4.3 JB?

[zaarbuc]

Upgrade to Generic 4.3 JB

I recently downloaded my 1st paid app (KotOR) only to discover it required 4.3. Unfortunately my S3 only has 4.1 and TracFone does not upgrade. I cannot afford to risk bricking my $250 primary phone but I do have several older devices. The most robust hardware wise is an HTC Thunderbolt. I would like to try upgrading it to 4.3. I have searched the interwebz but everything I find is very device specific and not for my device. Is it not possible to obtain a generic copy of Android 4.3 and use it to update a device? The way one could install Windows on any PC. Note I am not concerned about preserving data on the device. Even if the Thunderbolt wouldn't have the chops to run KotOR this is something I would like to learn. I am actually a fairly competent PC tech but I am pretty noobish when it comes to these type of things on android. Looking for some clear advice.

Thanks

 

[Rukbat]

Re: Upgrade to Generic 4.3 JB

Is it not possible to obtain a generic copy of Android 4.3 and use it to update a device? The way one could install Windows on any PC.

Windows doesn't handle hardware, it handles drivers (virtual hardware). The driver handles its hardware. (That's why you have to install drivers for a lot of devices.) A hard drive is a hard drive, but a printer is a black box that Windows doesn't know about - it knows to call the driver for the printer and tell it "eject a blank page". The driver (written by the printer manufacturer) gets the "eject a blank page" call and does what that printer needs to be told to do to eject a blank page.

Android talks to hardware. The 4.3 ROM that works on my 2k screen would only display on half a 4k screen. (That's why Apple can release updates a lot faster than Android updates - they have one hardware model to deal with - and it's all virtual.) So each Android phone manufacturer takes the "generic Android" ROM and writes their changes for each model phone they make. (Then the carrier makes changes, so you get their bloatware, Wifi calling, no tethering, whatever that carrier does.)

The code for Android is available for download and compilation - but it runs on the then-current Nexus phone unless you modify it to work on other hardware. There's no "generic Android" ROM.