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Canadian Android Carrier Forcing Firmware Update
Wolfier writes "For wireless carrier Rogers in Canada, it seems that 'Customer Safety' only becomes a concern after months of neglect. Rogers is the only GSM carrier in Canada and so the only choice for Android users. Months ago, a customer called Rogers to report a firmware bug that was preventing users from making 911 calls under certain circumstances, and informed the carrier that Google had fixed the bug (recording of that call). But Rogers is only doing something about it now — namely, cutting data access of paying customers until they accept a mandatory firmware upgrade that not only fixes the 911 problem, but also contains 'extra' features that prevent users from ever gaining root access to their phones — even non-subsidized ones. And some phones are also getting bricked by this 'official' update. The moral: we really need to open up the competition here up North."
Rogers is no longer the only GSM carrier. At the end of '09 Telus and Bell launched their own GSM networks. So counting Fido (owned by Rogers) there are now four Canadian GSM based carriers.
I run CyanogenMod on my Rogers HTC Dream, and it has apparently had the fix for this issue for 5+ months. Yet I am still cut off from data access, they keep insisting I install their update.
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Krishnamurti
According to the summary they're not remote updating but cutting off access if you don't update the firmware - a bit different. Though I didn't RTFA as it's just a forum...
Yea, I'm a douche, I didn't even read the entire summary apparently.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
I've documented everything I've collected on the issue here: http://www.litui.net/archives/796
More detailed and ordered than the OP's links.
I send you this message in order to have your advice.
GSM is 2G
Telus has HSPDA (or commonly called HSPA).
No GSM-only phone will work on Telus or Bell.
Many new 3G phones can use Both, so an unlocked phone can be on either network by just switching sim cards.
Besides having the same Tech. The phones must also support the specific frequencies used by that carrier.
Many European 3G phones will not work in North America.
It is rumored that Telus will get both the Milestone and perhaps even the Opus one this year.
Android doesn't come with root. It comes with the ability to install your own apps without having to jump through some lame "app store" or other technical/political hoops.
$ make available
The user-applied fix isn't available for Mac or Windows 7 users. Those users are required to call into the Rogers tech support line to get the fix.
I did that, and had to wait on hold for over 30 minutes while the phone support waded through the (expected) deluge of calls. When I got through, I was told that I could either:
I stopped in the Rogers store to get the fix. I waited for about 20 minutes while the customer support people (calling them "techs" wouldn't be accurate) installed the fix software on their in-store computers. Then I was told that the fix would wipe my phone. Did I have a backup? I said no; I haven't been able to find any evidence of Rogers-capable phone-sync software that works on my Mac (it's all Windows only). The store person offered to make a backup there, but after doing so he said that it only backed up my contacts, not my apps or settings (IMO the important parts). I walked out hoping that the SD solution will be better, but at best, I'm locked out of my wireless Internet service for 3-5 days.
It's hard to imagine how Rogers could have made this process worse.
In Canada, the CDMA carriers (Telus, Bell) don't allow foreign CDMA handsets. So you couldn't import an unlocked Verizon DROID for example.
However, as of late last year, nearly all carriers now also have a UMTS/HSPA network (aka 3G GSM), including the new ones like WIND Mobile. They are all capable of using foreign handsets with compatible bands (which means AT&T or T-Mobile compatible depending on the network).
There actually isn't any CDMA Android devices in Canada. Telus does, however carry the UMTS/HSPA version of the HTC Hero. WIND Mobile can use all T-Mobile US Android devices including the Nexus One. Bell can use whatever Rogers and Telus offers.
The statement from the article "Rogers is the only GSM carrier in Canada and so the only choice for Android users" is completely for this reason.
I unlocked and sold a Rogers iPhone 3G to a friend who's using it on Telus. Works perfectly.
I got rid of the iPhone to due to Rogers network problems in my area with that model. Guess what kind of phone I got? Here's a hint: It starts with HTC and ends with Dream. I just can't win.
I thought the one of the battle cries that Android fanboys wave at the iPhone fanboys was that it was open and you weren't locked into running what the provider wanted, you had root on your own device and they can't take it away ... Turns out they can force remote updates and lockout root?
By comparison, Palm not only has root available on all their WebOS phones, it is provided by Palm's SDK itself and not by an unsupported hack that can be closed later at the carrier's or device maker's discretion. CEO Jon Rubenstein has even publicly praised the Homebrew community, who's efforts are encouraged, and they've promised not to close developer mode.
Maemo, from Nokia (N900, Nokia Internet Tablets) is even more open in a way; not only you have root, you have essentially a little Linux computer with all that implies; this is due to it's UMPC heritage, it originally wasn't really a smartphone OS. (Though it's a little easier to hack the apps for WebOS with "patches" because they're just JS/HTML5 text files, except the new native apps. :) )
Really, although Android has Linux, among the Linux-based phone OSs, it is probably the most closed.
The user does control when it gets updated. They just lose other things and get annoyed to all hell and back until they upgrade.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Well, if the design of the device allows itself to brick due to a failed download, then perhaps HTC or google SHOULD wear the cost. Totally different issue to requiring the firmware update - your issue is that the android update process on your HTC phone is broken.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
I received text messages last week warning of the cutoff and forced update.
I called Saturday afternoon and politely asked the CSR if I'd receive any consideration for running an unaffected 1.6 ROM and have made a few 911 calls. Apparently the guy made a note. I asked for his name and ID number and hung up. Next day neither of the phones had internet, so I called up and sang the same song to the this CSR; he insisted that I had to update, I explained that I'm not affected and being asked to install an earlier revision of the ROM is hardly an update. He said all he could do is "reset the phone" when we hung up. He asked me to restart my phone when we hung up and when I did, my 3G signal was back and has been back since.
I've been getting texts to update, though.
Rogers is automatically crediting 1 month data service because of this issue.
You just have to fake your Android version to appear to be the version they're looking for. If you look through the forum threads linked in the story the exact method is there. I will put it here for convenience:
adb shell reboot recovery /system/build.prop ***or whatever it was called*** /system/build.prop
***Wait for Magic to boot into recovery***
adb shell mount -a
adb shell
cd system
ls
***look for your build file, will be build.prop or build.sapphire.prop most likely***
CTRL-D ***to quit the shell***
adb pull
***make a backup copy and edit the file***
adb push build.prop
adb shell reboot
The actual changes you need to make to the file are:
ro.build.description=3.05.631.7 CL#118917 release-keys
ro.build.changelist=118917
ro.product.ua=
ro.build.fingerprint=rogers/htc_magic/sapphire/sapphire:1.5/CUPCAKE/118917:user/release-keys
ro.build.display.id=DRC92 3.05.631.7
Once you reboot your Magic, you should see the changes in Settings->About Phone under "Build Number".
Call into Rogers and get then to reset your network and you should be good.
There's more info and discussion over here regarding the Android 1.5 firmware and the E911 bug...
Rogers HTC E911 GPS Bug Update
Actually, they legally can't in Canada.
From http://techreview.eatuniverse.net/2010/01/24/rogers-disconnects-data-services-to-g1-users/ :
"Some of you may recall legal precedence for this kind of issue, dating waaay back to the 70’s when Bell (then Northern Telecom) tried to force its customers to use Bell branded phones, and tried to attach a special fee to modem/fax use. The courts ruled against Bell, and the CRTC jumped in and made all sorts of rules to prevent telecom’s from requiring proprietary hardware, on standardized networks. This does, legally, carry over to GSM carriers. GSM is GSM. If your phone supports GSM on the frequency of a carrier, the carrier must provide a signal. Period."
I send you this message in order to have your advice.
Just because you own the device doesn't mean you have an unalienable right to use it on their network any way you chose.
In the US, we already had that case, and AT&T lost. They required that all phones be theirs, for extra profit. But that monopoly was busted by a court case. I'm sure that the carriers would fight that using your own phone on their network is completely different from using your own phone on their network, as was already settled by US courts.
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