Why Doen't My Android Phone Get OTA Updates Greater Than 2.3.6?

[tackyjan]

Hello All!

I just purchased a new (2011 model) Samsung Stratosphere SCH-I405 cell phone from Ebay.com.

As soon as I got it and set it up there was a notification of an available update. I let the update proceed and when I logged back in I checked the Android version 2.3.6. I have had the phone for about a week now and haven't got any other OTA updates.

Is 2.3.6 the highest Android version my phone will ever get (through an OTA update)? Do older phones not get the latest Android updates and if so why? Is it because Verizon (my carrier) has decided to not update my phone as an incentive to buy a newer one? Or is it something like a hardware compatibility issue?

If I am never going to get a higher version by an OTA is the some other way I can update my Android version? Perhaps go to Samsung or Verizon's website and download an update.zip file? If this option is not available is the only other option I have is to root my phone and install a custom ROM? Or can I root my phone, find a higher Android update.zip file somewhere, and update the phone that way? (I guess I would have to make sure that, if I updated using the update.zip method, that my phone is compatible with whatever Android version I am installing.

Thank you,

Jan

P.S. I used the entry called Firmware Version in the About phone page to determine the Android version . I don't know if Firmware Version really is the same as the Android version but there wasn't an entry called Android Version (like there is on my other Android devices which are all running version 4.4.4).

I assume either Samsung decided not show Android Version in the About phone page or if it's due to the fact that my Android version is so old?

 

[Paul627g]

Unfortunately I think this phone finished up its life at Android 2.3.6

 

[tackyjan]

Unfortunately I think this phone finished up its life at Android 2.3.6

But what does that mean specifically? Does it just mean that Verizon told Google to stop sending OTAs? Or does it mean the phone literally can not run any higher version of Android? If the former is true, and the phone can handle newer versions of Android, then I would like to know if there is a way to install newer versions without using the OTA or if my only option is to root and install a custom ROM.

Thank you.

 

[tackyjan]

The main reason why I want to update Android is because I am hoping the phone will operate faster. Right now it seems I get a lot of process hangs. If I can't update Android, then is there a way to remove some of those default apps that come with Android? Like Let's Golf, etc. If I root the phone can I uninstall those apps?

 

[Paul627g]

Short answer, it means that the OEM (Samsung) decided to stop at supporting it at that version of Android. Usually the deciding factor is hardware limitations.

Yes if you root the device you can safely remove those bloatware apps you mentioned.