Help Needed: Safest way to upgrade Android OS?

[RelaxedPerson]

please forgive me for creating this thread and asking such a basic question, but i've never upgraded an Android OS before so i don't know what to do... i'm extremely worried i'll accidentally open my Android phone up to the world and lose my privacy and security.

my Android OS is version 4 and i know my Android OS is very old so i very much want to upgrade to something newer very soon!

when i try to upgrade my Android OS i'm asked if i want to upgrade via the online update or local update... when i used to use an old iPod Touch all i needed to do is go into System and click on Update and i'm not given a choice of updating it locally or online so it's impossible for me to do something wrong.

how does updating work on Android OS? i've got a MicroSD card i can use to update locally, but what if i download a malicious version of the Android OS to the MicroSD card and insert it into my Android phone? :'''(

 

[RelaxedPerson]

i forgot to ask where does my Android phone connect to if i used Online Update? does it connect to Google's servers???

i just want to securely upgrade my Android phone... :'(

 

[TwitchyPuppy]

You can't download something malicious when it's done OTA (Over The Air). And it comes from the carrier or manufacturer.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

thank you.

the problem i have now is that a friend just told me that when i use the option to Online Update my Android phone will connect to my phone carrier OR the manufacturer of the phone which is Huawei so i'm even more confused now...

 

[TwitchyPuppy]

What's the issue with that? Those are both safe places to get your software updates from

 

[RelaxedPerson]

well, you're both saying the updates are coming from two entirely different places...?

 

[TwitchyPuppy]

After a quick Google Search, I saw that they come from either the carrier or the manufacturer, my bad!

 

[bjrosen]

The procedure for doing an update is as follows.

1) Open up Settings
2) Click on About Phone
3) Inside of About Phone you will see Systems Updates
4) Open up System Updates
5) There should be an update there, if not click on Check For Updates
6) This is the official update, it's safe to install.

If there is nothing there then there is no update for your phone.

Your phone is obviously very old if it's running ICS or KitKat, it can't be updated to a modern version of Android. When the new Nexus phones come out in a couple of months you should consider getting one. Alternatively there are a lot of deals being offered for the current Nexus phones, the 5X and the 6P if you want to get something right now that will run Android 7.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

thank you for your replies!

i just did what you said to update, but my Menu is a bit different to yours as it gives me the option for Online Update OR Local Update... Which is the most secure???

 

[RelaxedPerson]

is it possible for me to check the exact source for myself that the Android phone will download the "Online Update" option...?

 

[bjrosen]

What type of phone do you have?

 

[ptkelly]

A. If you have Android 4, you might not have any updates available. If you have Android 4.4 maybe. If you're thinking you can upgrade your Android phone from Android 4 to 6 or 7 I think you're out of luck.

Google makes Android. The straight Android goes to very few brands of phones, the most notable being Google's own Nexus phones which have been manufactured by a variety of companies. All others, such as Samsung, HTC, Huawei or whatever, that sell Android OS phones have their own modified brand of OS and it comes from them.

If your Android 4 is a Huawei, contact them and find out how to get an upgrade and what the risks are. Start here:
Support - HUAWEI Consumer BG - HUAWEI Official Site

 

[TwitchyPuppy]

Your phone is obviously very old if it's running ICS or KitKat, it can't be updated to a modern version of Android. When the new Nexus phones come out in a couple of months you should consider getting one. Alternatively there are a lot of deals being offered for the current Nexus phones, the 5X and the 6P if you want to get something right now that will run Android 7.

That's not entirely correct. When I purchased a used HTC One M8 back in January, it was still on KitKat and I was able to get the 6.0 OTA update.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

What type of phone do you have?

Huawei Ascend G510. I think this is the correct model: Huawei Ascend G510 - Full phone specifications

Carrier = Optus (Massive Australian Telecom Company)

 

[RelaxedPerson]

im looking at the phone now and the model number is "HUAWEI G510-0200"

does anyone know how much i can update this? i'm mainly concerned with security updates and stability updates not with any major software updates.

EDIT:

the phone only has 4GB of built-in storage space, but i've inserted an 8GB microSD card.

 

[bjrosen]

If the online update is though System Updates then it's safe. If you download the update from the Huawei website and do a local update that would be safe also. I'd just do the online update.

What's the current version number of the OS? Is it 4.0 (ICS) or 4.4 (KitKat)?

 

[RelaxedPerson]

Current version is Android 4.1

EDIT:

is it possible to check how much my Android phone's OS can be upgraded?

http://m.huawei.com/enmobile/consumer/support/

 

[bjrosen]

Assuming that there is an update available under System Updates, that will be the last one available, my guess is that it will get you to 4.4. Phones don't get supported for very long, especially low end phones. Your best bet for longer support are Nexus phones. Google supports Nexus phones for three OS versions, the version it comes with and then the next two. There will be new Nexus phones in a few months, they will come with Android N. Those phones will get O and P. My recommendation to you is to do the one update that's available to you now (do it OTA) and then wait until fall and get a new Nexus.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

thanks!

i just looked up the "downloads" available for my Android phone and these came up:


Popular Downloads
HUAWEI G510 Open Source(G510-0200,JellyBean,kernel-3.4.0)
2013-06-26
122.35 MB
Download
G510firmware(G510-0200,Android 4.1,Emtion UI,V100R001C00B200,General Version)
2014-05-13
609.37 MB
Download
G510 firmware(G510-0100,Android 4.1,Emtion UI,V100R001C479B193,United Kingdom Channel)
2014-06-05
582.35 MB
Download
G510 firmware(G510-0100,Android 4.1,Emtion UI,V100R001C432B198,West-Europe Channel)
2014-06-03
618.52 MB
Download

 

[RelaxedPerson]

i've got one more super important question:

is there any risk to my privacy and personal information like SMS messages and information installed in my apps by updating via "About phone" then "System Update" then pressing the "Online update" button???