Help Needed: Safest way to upgrade Android OS?

[bjrosen]

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???

I don't think you have anything to worry about, however if you want to make absolutely sure you could do a factory reset before you did the update.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

your help is gratefully appreciated!

so, would it be possible to install the latest Android OS beyond the Android OS that's supported by Huawei?

 

[Trigati]

your help is gratefully appreciated!

so, would it be possible to install the latest Android OS beyond the Android OS that's supported by Huawei?

Possibly, but only if you unlock the bootloader and install a different version of the operating system yourself. It's not exactly difficult, but things could very well go wrong. It's not something to do unless you're very comfortable with troubleshooting and possibly even bricking your phone.

Sent via the Communications Center of the Takari

 

[RelaxedPerson]

REALLY?!?!?!

it just seems that constantly updating the security should be number one concern on a device like my Huawei smartphone which carries all of my personal/private information......

 

[drew_t]

I'm thinking you'd be more relaxed with a TracFone and a Filofax . . .

 

[Don_Henry]

RelaxedPerson: Seriously, if you are looking for the best way to be assured of timely and safe OS updates - you should move to Nexus devices - either the 5X or the 6P (both current devices) - or wait a month or so and get one of the new Nexus devices.

Updates come directly from Google - monthly security updates, and OS updates as appropriate. You don't have to do anything but install the updates when they become available. And with Nexus devices - Google guarantees that they will get 3 OS version updates (like Lollipop to Marshmalllow). And equally important - no OEM crap software added to slow the device down and cause problems with apps - you get pure stock Android.

When I finally made the move from Blackberry to Android, I did tons of research and decided to go Nexus for these reasons.

And whatever you decide - if you want timely unobstructed updates, NEVER buy a locked device from your carrier. Get an unlocked device so you are not subject to the BS delays that the carriers force upon you.

NEXUS 5X ON AT&T ON 7.0 DP5 - Posted via the Android Central App

 

[bjrosen]

your help is gratefully appreciated!

so, would it be possible to install the latest Android OS beyond the Android OS that's supported by Huawei?

You could install a third party ROM to get a later version but that's your only alternative and I don't thing you would be comfortable with that. The best way to ensure that you are running the latest version of Android is to get a Nexus phone. The 2016 Nexus phones are due out in the next few months, I recommend that you get one. Google provides monthly security updates for Nexus phones and you also get two more OS versions after the version that ships with the phone. The 2016 Nexus phones will come with Android N, most of us in this forum are running the beta of N on our Nexus phones (I have the 6P). The current generation of Nexus phones are being heavily discounted right now, for example a 64G Nexus 6P is selling for $399 on Newegg, the phone was $550 when it came out last October. The 2015 Nexus phones, the 5X and the 6P, are only due for one more OS version, they came with M, they are running N now and they will get O, so I would wait for the new phones because that will give you Android P also.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

I'm thinking you'd be more relaxed with a TracFone and a Filofax . . .

what do you mean?

 

[bjrosen]

what do you mean?

It was a snarky response, but there is a little truth in it. Low end Android phones are treated by their manufacturers as disposable devices, they receive a minimal number of updates and then they are abandoned because there is no money in supporting them, it's much better for the manufacturer if you are forced to throw it away every year. TracFones don't hide their disposibilty, in fact that's their selling point, they are called burner phones for a reason, you buy them, use up the minutes and throw them away, maybe you top up the minutes for a while but you aren't supposed to keep them for a long time. When you buy a low end phone from a phone company it's barely better than the TracFone but they don't advertise it. Flag ship phones do get a couple of years of support, but they are very expensive. Nexus phones come directly from Google which doesn't make any money on the hardware, they make it on their services. The Nexus phones are Googles development platform so they get new versions of Android about a year before the flagship phones from major manufacturers. The first beta of Android 7 came out in the spring and most of us who read this forum have been running it since then. The final version will be available in a couple of weeks, at which point all recent Nexus phones will receive it. The first non-Nexus phone to receive it, from LG, will ship in the fall, existing flagship phones will receive it next spring, about when Nexus phones will be able to get the beta of Android O, low end phones like yours will never receive it. The new Nexus phones will be coming out in a few months, probably Oct, but they are already heavily discounting the current Nexus phones. The top of the line Nexus phone, the 6P which is a 5.7" phablet, is currently selling for $399 for the 64G version, that's $150 less than it sold for last year. The smaller Nexus phone, the 5X, should also be available at a discount. It was $350 last fall, don't know what it's selling for right now. Both of those phones will get the Android 7 upgrade this month, and they will get the Android 8 upgrade a year from now. My recommendation is that you get one of those or wait until Oct and get a 2016 Nexus phone.

 

[RelaxedPerson]

thanks so much!

are Apple better than Google when it comes to supporting their hardware with new updates?

i've been searching the internet for answers and it seems like my huawei latest update is the Android OS which is currently running on it now...

 

[bjrosen]

Google supports Nexus devices almost as long as Apple supports their devices, that's one of the reasons several of us have recommended them to you. Support for low end Android devices is non-existent, they are made to be disposable. Apple doesn't make any low or medium priced devices so you can't make a comparison there. Apples phones are all priced above the equivalent flagship Android devices and it is fair to say that they do updates on a more timely manner and for a longer period of time, although the major Android manufacturers do provide updates to their flagship devices. Google provides monthly security updates to Nexus devices and they do two OS updates after the initial OS version. The carriers can't get in the way of updates to Nexus devices like they do with non-Nexus devices and they can't load them down with crapware.

As for pricing, Nexus devices are much less expensive then the equivalent Apple devices. Last year when the Nexus 6P came out the 64G 6p was priced at $550, it's now selling for $399, the 64G iPhone 6 Plus was priced at $850. The Nexus has a QHD 5'.7" Amoled screen, the IPhone has a relatively low resolution 5.5" HD LCD screen. As a Nexus owner you have access to the betas of next generation OS which gives you a six month jump on the rest of the world assuming you don't mind running beta code (I've been running Android N since beta 2 which came out in the spring). When I look at someones iPhone I find it painfully primitive compared to Android, I would never recommend an iPhone to anyone.

 

[theduder]

Nexus or nothing!