Droid Turbo: Lollipop software update?

[GatsbyGlen]

Lollipop had been released for the Tab S tablets? You sure about that?

Umm yes, I have it installed

 

[KPMcClave]

So then use a company that offers it. Please give me an example of a mobile company who is doing this regularly. I get that you're asking for a vague timeframe, not hard and fast dates. Companies used to do that (give a vague timeframe) but they no longer do it. So apparently it was found that it wasn't worth it for them to continue doing so, otherwise they would've continued to do it.

Everyone has their own wants and needs from companies they give their business to, but they also usually understand that just because they want it, that doesn't mean that it's worth that company's while to fulfill that want. Also, as someone has pointed out, a representative of Motorola has said they're under a NDA regarding the Droid line, even though he wishes he could talk more about it. If true, that means Verizon is the one who's keeping things mum on the info front. And since in this case Verizon is their primary customer, not us, they have to honor their customer's wishes. If there is in fact an NDA in place, legally there's nothing they can do about it.

I think that the outcry over HTC missing its deadline is overblown. That's not to say people didn't freak out, only that the inferred number of them is being exaggerated and used as a reason not to give *any* info until something is rolling out. And I don't even want a hard deadline.

So there's a partial eample. Why does it have to fully exist in order for me to demand better? The best comnpanies in all fields and in all areas of what they do, are those that tend to push the envelope. Trying to be better than everybody else at all you do is usually what leads to excellence. I'm not asking for them to invent an invisible cell phone. I'm asking for them to do something they already do (albeit marginally) better.

As for NDA, I'm taking a macro view of this. I don't expect any employee to just tweet whatever is going on. The improvement needs to be systemic and they need to be allowed to share info. That goes without saying. Whether Verzion needs to allow it or not doesn't really change my larger point. I think there's this sesne I'm "blaming" or "upset" with Moto. I'm not. I do believe it is also in its best interest (and Verizon's) to do better. Put another way, if they put a premium on the ability to communicate, they would have more they could share. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be telling us about the broadest 5.x then 5.1 stuff. Obviously it isn't a full gag order.

That'll be my final word on this. I don't mind disagreemnt with my opinion (I do mind disagreement with what I didn't actually say). I really don't understand why there is pushback, though. I think we as consumers should expect better across the board. As I said, there's a reason excellent customer service is so rare now.

 

[KPMcClave]

And, in fact, if you want to know any information about when the update will come this thread was the wrong way to get it. Simply the best way is to join the Moto development network and hope they chose you to soak test the update. Otherwise just keep watching the Android Central main page, because once soak test invites go out the news will hit there within an hour. It always has.

Why do you assume that someone isn't already in the MFN?

 

[vzwuser76]

I think that the outcry over HTC missing its deadline is overblown. That's not to say people didn't freak out, only that the inferred number of them is being exaggerated and used as a reason not to give *any* info until something is rolling out. And I don't even want a hard deadline.

So there's a partial eample. Why does it have to fully exist in order for me to demand better? The best comnpanies in all fields and in all areas of what they do, are those that tend to push the envelope. Trying to be better than everybody else at all you do is usually what leads to excellence. I'm not asking for them to invent an invisible cell phone. I'm asking for them to do something they already do (albeit marginally) better.

As for NDA, I'm taking a macro view of this. I don't expect any employee to just tweet whatever is going on. The improvement needs to be systemic and they need to be allowed to share info. That goes without saying. Whether Verzion needs to allow it or not doesn't really change my larger point. I think there's this sesne I'm "blaming" or "upset" with Moto. I'm not. I do believe it is also in its best interest (and Verizon's) to do better. Put another way, if they put a premium on the ability to communicate, they would have more they could share. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be telling us about the broadest 5.x then 5.1 stuff. Obviously it isn't a full gag order.

That'll be my final word on this. I don't mind disagreemnt with my opinion (I do mind disagreement with what I didn't actually say). I really don't understand why there is pushback, though. I think we as consumers should expect better across the board. As I said, there's a reason excellent customer service is so rare now.

The reason I believe there's push back, and at least the reason I am, is because they've given us info already. They wouldn't have to give us anything at all. They wouldn't have to tell us there are going to be any updates to the Turbo, or that they've decided to skip 5.0 and go straight to 5.1. They don't have to do any of that, but they have.

I get you feel it would be better if they did offer more. But I also know that if they did people (not necessarily you, but some people in general) would still want more. You're asking for a vague timeline, and if they gave that some people would want a narrower timeline, and narrower and narrower until they'd want a date set in stone. When they were giving dates for phone or software updates in terms of quarters, some people wanted the actual month or even day. No matter what they do, some people aren't going to be satisfied with it. A vague timeline will satisfy you, but it won't satisfy other people, so where should they draw the line?

I think what they're doing is the smartest thing for them to do, since they're not going to satisfy everyone anyway, and if they miss their internal deadline, it won't negatively affect them because no one will know. We know an update is coming. Would it be nicer if they did give us more info? Sure, but I also understand why they don't and I don't hold it against them for not doing it. Like my Dad used to say "It'll be ready when it's ready."

You keep saying they need to be allowed to systematically share info. No, they don't. You want it, and feel it would be better if they do, but they don't need to share anything at all with us, that's the point. Saying that if they put a premium on communication they'd have more they could share with us, well obviously. And saying that since they shared that they are skipping 5.0 and going to 5.1 means it isn't a full gag order has nothing to do with it. An NDA doesn't mean they can't talk about anything at all, it means they can't talk about anything without permission from the entity who issued the NDA. Verizon wants to control the flow of information. It's not that they don't want to talk about the Turbo at all, simply that they want to have the final word on what is shared with the public. But either way they don't need to do anything, you want them to. And since it's their show, they'll do what they will. You can ask for them to do better, but if they don't you can either accept it or find a company that more suits what you want.

 

[Rob_B]

From Verizon's own "about us"...
" Verizon is one of the largest communication technology companies in the world." Yet once you purchase their product you're not allowed to expect the "communication" relevant to that product to be a little better than soon?

 

[vzwuser76]

From Verizon's own "about us"...
" Verizon is one of the largest communication technology companies in the world." Yet once you purchase their product you're not allowed to expect the "communication" relevant to that product to be a little better than soon?

So you expect it because you gave them money. You gave them money for the device, not for a service contract. When we bought these devices we bought them as-is with a warranty period. There is no guarantee of software updates anywhere in the fine print. You buy these devices for what they are at the time of sale, not for what they could be with a different software version on them after the fact, because nothing is guaranteed. There are some devices that are still on the version they shipped with.

You can expect all you want in one hand and s#%t in the other and see which gets filled first. That's just how it is.

 

[Masheen]

Dam. Yall writing books back n forth to each other.

 

[jfoofoo]

TL;DR. I am guessing the short version is "the update is coming soon, and by soon we mean whenever it gets here and by whenever we mean if."

 

[Codger1212]

I know right? I want lollypop too but kinda wish this thread would end. Lol

Dam. Yall writing books back n forth to each other.

 

[TechCaptain]

I heard Android Milkshake is supposed to be really nice guys.

Sent from my (still relevant) Droid Maxx

 

[tanker8764]

Its all out fault for buying the turbo we should of learned our lesson by now. Should always buy a nexus phone straight from google then no more Verizon politics.

 

[Rob_B]

So you expect it because you gave them money. You gave them money for the device, not for a service contract. When we bought these devices we bought them as-is with a warranty period. There is no guarantee of software updates anywhere in the fine print. You buy these devices for what they are at the time of sale, not for what they could be with a different software version on them after the fact, because nothing is guaranteed. There are some devices that are still on the version they shipped with.

You can expect all you want in one hand and s#%t in the other and see which gets filled first. That's just how it is.

I also pay a hefty amount monthly for LTE service which is extremely hit or miss and VZW coverage maps lie about actual coverage so I think I have a right to be a complainer

 

[vzwuser76]

I also pay a hefty amount monthly for LTE service which is extremely hit or miss and VZW coverage maps lie about actual coverage so I think I have a right to be a complainer

So does everyone else who has service with Verizon, you can't have anything but LTE unless you're on prepaid, and I think even now you get LTE on that. And yes I know their coverage isn't the same as on their maps, I'm in an area that should be completely covered, but in actuality I'm on the fringe of a tower. We have just enough signal to get a signal in the house so we're using Network Extenders.

But that actually affects the ability to use their service, this update is not fixing any bugs that are keeping the phone from being usable. If anything, going to Lollipop has more of a risk of doing something that will affect it's ability to work.

 

[travaz]

Updating IOS is nowhere near the scale it takes to update Android. Apple = 2 Models with the same software. Android on Verizon =30 Current Android models for sale and 14 Tablets. And that doesn't include the older models that are no longer for sale. Its an Apples to Oranges comparison,

 

[Rob_B]

Microsoft seems to be able to put out updates capable of running on multiple hardware platforms. It's the skinning by manufacturers & carriers wanting to get revenue bloatware added that's the problem. Boils down to greed in my opinion.

 

[doogald]

Updating IOS is nowhere near the scale it takes to update Android. Apple = 2 Models with the same software.

Apple's updates almost always go back three years on phones and longer on tablets, so iOS 9 will update to whatever is new this year, iPhone 6 and 6+, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5, iPhone 4s (maybe), iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad 4, iPad 3 (maybe), iPad 2 (maybe), all of the iPad Minis. Oh, and Apple TV is usually an update behind (they are on iOS 7 right now). These are all running different processors and GPUs and have different amounts of RAM. They update hardware that goes a lot further back than Google or any Android OEM does, and the same update works for phones and tablets, with obviously older models still getting updates but often missing out on some features that their hardware cannot support.

Apple's beta versions are well-publicized (see here and here even) so everybody knows when minor updates are being worked on, and they definitely announce the major releases at their developer conference (usually in June) and then at the iPhone announcements (usually in early September), where they give a definitive date for release.

Google seems to be doing more of a beta test when they release in fall every year, dumping a release that is nowhere near tested and ready compared with Apple (and Microsoft). Lollipop *definitely* seemed that way.

 

[Bradfordrose]

We keep going in circles here...

The problem with updates for Android, are that they get passed down from developer to manufactur, to the carriers. Motorola and Google are off the hook with all the updates. It's been clear for years that it's Verizon in this whole chain, they want to make sure they add their crappy bloatware, and apps that they want you to use instead.

Instead of pointing the finger at the companies that have made our phone, and our OS, why not look at how much Verizon is charging for not only the phone and the use of it, and realize just how much they are controlling the big picture.
But what they have missed is, untimely updates are making for disgruntled customers who or less and less likely to want to continue paying for crap service.

Verizon came about after the merger of many smaller companies. Do you really think they have you as a customers best interest at heart? I say no, because they are clearly trying to make money off of us. There is no, we want to give you the best service, no we can reduce our prices. The cost of running the company can't be in the billions. If it is, there's a big problem with their business model.
So as I said, point the finger at the carrier. This being Verizon, ask questions the next time you call customer support, see if they can answer, and if they can't, see if they will brush you off or find someone that can.

 

[vzwuser76]

We keep going in circles here...

The problem with updates for Android, are that they get passed down from developer to manufactur, to the carriers. Motorola and Google are off the hook with all the updates. It's been clear for years that it's Verizon in this whole chain, they want to make sure they add their crappy bloatware, and apps that they want you to use instead.

Instead of pointing the finger at the companies that have made our phone, and our OS, why not look at how much Verizon is charging for not only the phone and the use of it, and realize just how much they are controlling the big picture.
But what they have missed is, untimely updates are making for disgruntled customers who or less and less likely to want to continue paying for crap service.

Verizon came about after the merger of many smaller companies. Do you really think they have you as a customers best interest at heart? I say no, because they are clearly trying to make money off of us. There is no, we want to give you the best service, no we can reduce our prices. The cost of running the company can't be in the billions. If it is, there's a big problem with their business model.
So as I said, point the finger at the carrier. This being Verizon, ask questions the next time you call customer support, see if they can answer, and if they can't, see if they will brush you off or find someone that can.

Agreed. Whenever I've called in to Verizon, I know more about their company than they do 100% of the times with the level 1 CSRs, and about 75% with the level 2 techs. If you want a really good laugh, ask them about a rumored update or upcoming device. I may not be able to see them, but by what I can hear over the phone, I have to assume it's a deer in headlights look. And in most any case, call in 10 times and ask the same question, and you'll get about 7 different and usually conflicting answers.

 

[Bradfordrose]

Agreed. Whenever I've called in to Verizon, I know more about their company than they do 100% of the times with the level 1 CSRs, and about 75% with the level 2 techs. If you want a really good laugh, ask them about a rumored update or upcoming device. I may not be able to see them, but by what I can hear over the phone, I have to assume it's a deer in headlights look. And in most any case, call in 10 times and ask the same question, and you'll get about 7 different and usually conflicting answers.

Its the simple fact, that no one is informed anymore. No one actually cares that works there.
I had to use my Turbo screen replacement a few weeks ago I had two different stories from reps at Verizon, I walk into the corporate store, and get another story. I'm told "I'm sorry for the miss information Mr. Rose, but we don't do that" I brought up the screenshot of the information on Verizon's own Web page, and long behold, the deer in the headlights look. It took the guy 10 mins to come back out and tell me I was right, but that it wasn't something Verizon did.
So I asked, "who knows what is going on around here?" he said that he "would look into it".
So I walked outside and called Verizon in the parking lot and got yet another story, that Verizon does do this service, but it originates with Motorola.
I joked with the woman on the phone about a new Droid OS coming out, she not only did that umm ah I don't know, but moved onto something else. Hello? Do we have stupid people working there?...
I walked back inside after the phone call, and proceeded to ask the guy to check the notes on my account in his spiffy little ipad, and again the deer in the headlights look!!! He didn't say anything and I walked out and went home. It amazes me how much people in the public are uneducated about their job/position and the company they work for..

 

[TechCaptain]

So... The Verizon G2 has Lollipop now.

Sent from my (still relevant) Droid Maxx