Live OTA Thunderbolt Check In Here Please

[flipbeats]

It really sucks that they put the ota off cause i really wanted to use my video camera tomorrow ... Apparently thats not happening.. Good job verizon...

 

[Mortiel]

So, as I notice that a lot of people seem to harbour anger for the VZW agents you call in and talk to when you have a problem. I'll give a bit of inside info that might put some perspective the next time you call in:

I am an avid study of all things technology related. Gives me an extra edge in my position. I, however am a rare circumstance to the vast majority of my coworkers. As far as in house information goes, I'll give you an idea on how up-to-date agents for VZW are with VZW news: You know when we found out we were getting the iPhone? The day they announced it to the public. Yeah, we had no advanced knowledge. I am dead serious. You know when we got notified of the Blackberry OS 6.0 update? A day AFTER the first of you had the notification to your Blackberry's.

The reason for this is that information in the Tech industry travels downhill, and with how fast the tech field advances, that means there are many occasions the ground level agents/tech/supervisors are last to know... yes, last as in AFTER the customer knows.

Now, I can personally say there have been many people under my charge in technical support that I have serious reservations about their judgement in career choices... namely, why work technical support when you abhor technology and/or have little to no knowledge beyond a rotary phone and a typewriter? They rarely last long, as this thread has avidly shown, customers have little patience or tolerance for the slow to adapt, and rightly so.

Now, I want to make something else clear as well. I have a lot of people I talk to between network repair technicians, device manufacturers, and software programmers. There is a LOT more that goes into an OTA update that VZW just "flipping a switch". Trust me, there are only about five millions things to go wrong using the Thunderbolt as an example, between HTC and Google making sure their programming is bug-free (which it rarely is, but thats technology), to VZW ensuring it is pushed security and accurately.. That is why updates are pushed in batches... to limit potential damage like the Blackberry OS 5.0 update.

Now, personally, whomever was talking to a Customer Care rep whom had no idea what an OTA was... I would personally recommend speaking to their supervisor as they likely need a bit more... education. As in, education on what other job they should look into, as wireless technology is obvious not for them. That is my personal opinion.

But remember, the people you talk to when you call VZW are just that. People. They are not all knowing about the inner workings of all things tech related. They have a lot of tools to fix your phone and service, but are not always the quickest at getting the right one... especially if its an issue a manufacturer has not told us about, or, most often, it is not VZW or the device. Yes, many not-to-bright people call Verizon WIRELESS to fix their landline phone and desktop computers. I have no idea why.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Mortiel,

You aren't telling us anything we don't already know. Yes VZW keeps things under their hats and does not communicate most info till the last minute we know this. The PROBLEM is when some reps present rumors as fact or just make things up. Also the reps who just don't know basic info about phones (OTA, CDMA, dBm, stuff like that).

As for your comments about updates, it is good info but info I already knew. The frustration is when cel phone manufactures and carries don't even give us bug patches like fixes for the GPS but in the Galaxy S series or the rebooting problem in the Incredible. They would rather just put together massive updates which take a LOT more time to test and get through TA. Does Microsoft or Apple do this with their OS's? No. They find the issue, make a patch, test the patch to make sure it is reasonably stable for most of their testers (and don't make the issue worse) and then push it out. If there are other bugs or they bug patch does not fix the issue completely keep at it. We are used to updating our computers every few days and the same thing with our apps. Not all updates need to be massive or comprehensive. I know you have no control over that but that is what frustrations we are having.

Also tell your superiors don't tell us an update is pushing tomorrow (or today) and then pull it at the last minute. Push it out to the first back of people then when you know you are going to push it out to others THEN post it on your website and Twitter.

 

[Mortiel]

Mortiel,

You aren't telling us anything we don't already know. Yes VZW keeps things under their hats and does not communicate most info till the last minute we know this. The PROBLEM is when some reps present rumors as fact or just make things up. Also the reps who just don't know basic info about phones (OTA, CDMA, dBm, stuff like that).

As for your comments about updates, it is good info but info I already knew. The frustration is when cel phone manufactures and carries don't even give us bug patches like fixes for the GPS but in the Galaxy S series or the rebooting problem in the Incredible. They would rather just put together massive updates which take a LOT more time to test and get through TA. Does Microsoft or Apple do this with their OS's? No. They find the issue, make a patch, test the patch to make sure it is reasonably stable for most of their testers (and don't make the issue worse) and then push it out. If there are other bugs or they bug patch does not fix the issue completely keep at it. We are used to updating our computers every few days and the same thing with our apps. Not all updates need to be massive or comprehensive. I know you have no control over that but that is what frustrations we are having.

Also tell your superiors don't tell us an update is pushing tomorrow (or today) and then pull it at the last minute. Push it out to the first back of people then when you know you are going to push it out to others THEN post it on your website and Twitter.

I hear you... last minute changes are all we know. You know how big of a fiasco the Droid Charge thing was? I mean, it was the DAY BEFORE LAUNCH. All the stores have them in stock collecting dust (except for the *ahem* now ex-indirect VZW vendor that sold a customer a Charge and called us when it would not activate).

And as far as reps that say wrong info... I spend countless hours head-smacking a lot of reps for presenting rumours at all. If you are ever talking to a Tech rep who starts to spout off a rumour, then pauses and corrects himself, its probably because the back of his head has my hand print on it.

The rest that don't know basic info, its not for lack of our training. We have two months of training for any new hires, and constant brief training as things change. They are just lazy, and you can very much tell them so. I personally have zero tolerance for people who won't put a least a little effort into their work.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I hear you... last minute changes are all we know. You know how big of a fiasco the Droid Charge thing was? I mean, it was the DAY BEFORE LAUNCH. All the stores have them in stock collecting dust (except for the *ahem* now ex-indirect VZW vendor that sold a customer a Charge and called us when it would not activate).

And as far as reps that say wrong info... I spend countless hours head-smacking a lot of reps for presenting rumours at all. If you are ever talking to a Tech rep who starts to spout off a rumour, then pauses and corrects himself, its probably because the back of his head has my hand print on it.

The rest that don't know basic info, its not for lack of our training. We have two months of training for any new hires, and constant brief training as things change. They are just lazy, and you can very much tell them so. I personally have zero tolerance for people who won't put a least a little effort into their work.

I can only imagine what a headache the Charge thing was, probably even worse than the Storm 1's who were withdrawn and frelashed with different software like three days before launch.

My only frst hand experience with the rumors thing has been software update rumors but I have learned to take them with a grain of salt. I believe them when my phone tells me they are available or I have the download link to install manually.

I am actually quute aware of how much training your people receive. I applied for a job with you (as a store CSR) a couple years ago but the 4 weeks (at the time) of out of town training was the main reason I am not working for you now. I've had store staff trying to recruit me almost from when I started as a VZW customer largely because they sad part is I tend to know more than they do and it's just a hobby for me...

And as for the lazy people they should have been flushed out during training....

 

[Mortiel]

I can only imagine what a headache the Charge thing was, probably even worse than the Storm 1's who were withdrawn and frelashed with different software like three days before launch.

My only frst hand experience with the rumors thing has been software update rumors but I have learned to take them with a grain of salt. I believe them when my phone tells me they are available or I have the download link to install manually.

I am actually quute aware of how much training your people receive. I applied for a job with you (as a store CSR) a couple years ago but the 4 weeks (at the time) of out of town training was the main reason I am not working for you now. I've had store staff trying to recruit me almost from when I started as a VZW customer largely because they sad part is I tend to know more than they do and it's just a hobby for me...

And as for the lazy people they should have been flushed out during training....

Well it was not rumour that the TBolt was *supposed* to get the update on 3 May. It is pending "On Hold". There were actually two other such OTA updates that were frozen. I have no other info about what is going on other than my own speculation, which is not pertinent.

In store reps don't receive as much training as we do, but they have the benefit of being able to get more hands on with devices. As far as how the hierarchy goes, a ground level Tech Support agent has access to a bit more than a retail store manager, so agents have to be trained on those extra systems.

I have at times thought that the training should be engineered slightly more to weed-out lazy or inept people, but after they are on the phones, the lazy and slow to adapt rarely last long. I just think they should have weekly Q & A sessions with PR to dispel what is rumour and what we are allowed to share.

 

[prakash99]

C'mon guys, we all know the OTA update is "coming soon"

 

[Chrisy]

lol! Coming soon and with a grain of salt. Bad flashbacks. Where's Bennnnn?

 

[racedog]

lol! Coming soon and with a grain of salt. Bad flashbacks. Where's Bennnnn?

Bennnnn is waiting for orders from his boss to "leak" more information. We've probably seen the last of Ben5 until a new phone is about to be issued and starts to run behind on the launch date, then he'll be around to give us more of the official/unofficial, VZW approved leaked information.

R

 

[Edwill86]

hes prob over in the bionic and charge forums now doing damage control under different names

 

[DC Damien]

I lost both 3G and 4G for about 20 minutes today. The first time since the big outage. Darn I was hoping the update was causing the problem.

 

[Mortiel]

Nah, it was not the OTA that was causing network issues. I assume as VZW is expending 4G to new market, some field tech unplugged the wrong wire when putting up a new tower and the entire system went down.

I feel sorry for that poor guy... you know he is out of a job now...

 

[DCABuckeye]

I can only imagine what a headache the Charge thing was, probably even worse than the Storm 1's who were withdrawn and frelashed with different software like three days before launch.

My only frst hand experience with the rumors thing has been software update rumors but I have learned to take them with a grain of salt. I believe them when my phone tells me they are available or I have the download link to install manually.

I am actually quute aware of how much training your people receive. I applied for a job with you (as a store CSR) a couple years ago but the 4 weeks (at the time) of out of town training was the main reason I am not working for you now. I've had store staff trying to recruit me almost from when I started as a VZW customer largely because they sad part is I tend to know more than they do and it's just a hobby for me...

And as for the lazy people they should have been flushed out during training....

A little proof reading and a grammar/spell check will always do wonders to advance your point of view and your case.

 

[Mortiel]

A little proof reading and a grammar/spell check will always do wonders to advance your point of view and your case.

His point was proven quite well.

Aside, I had a thought... There will be a maintenance on the 15th to remove the hotspot feature (the free promo ends). They may do all the OTA work then. Just a thought.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Wireless Technical Support

 

[pheatton]

His point was proven quite well.

Aside, I had a thought... There will be a maintenance on the 15th to remove the hotspot feature (the free promo ends). They may do all the OTA work then. Just a thought.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Wireless Technical Support

Interesting. So we don't need to call them and make sure its still not on the bill and being charged? Kinda don't trust them removing it automatically...:-$

 

[Bigdaddy1207]

I posted this awhile back but when I called to cancel the free hotspots thing, the guy told me it will automatically be removed on the.15th when they release the update. This was prolly at least 2 weeks ago

 

[AndroidXTC]

Whats the latest on the update anyone hear?

 

[iLLusive]

Very much so HIGHLY doubt it will be released on a weekend so guess we can all assume it will be here by Friday afternoon. Unless they somehow put it out Monday morning and ignore all the data used from like midnight till that morning which is unlikely since they are all about making money and not given away more free stuff.

 

[Mortiel]

Note to all: The official word from the memo I read through today on the mobile hotspot promo is that there will be a maintenance release on the 15th that will remove the feature. You have to manual download it again from the Android Market in order to continue using it, at which point you will get charged monthly, of which the pricing is TBD. ***THE $20/2GB HOTSPOT FEATURE IS FOR 3G DEVICES ONLY***

Aside, there is no new official information on the OTA update that was due out 05/03/11. It is still on hold.

It was my suspicion that they will put the OTA update out at the same time they remove the free hotspot promo... makes sense in a couple of ways:
1. Gets everything done at once, rather than having to do multiple OTA's to update programming.
2. It ensures the free promo does not end up on anyone's device "by accident", unless they do not want a very necessary update.

 

[C Dirty]

Thanks, Mortiel. For people like me who haven't really used the MHS feature much, that seems the best way to handle it. Otherwise I'd forget to remove anything.