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LG Arbitrarily Denying Android Lollipop Update To the G2 In Canada?
Lirodon writes: Its funky rear-mounted buttons may have left critics divided, but the LG G2 is still a pretty capable Android device. While it has gotten an update to Android 5.0 "Lollipop" in some major markets (including the United States, of course), one major holdout is Canada. Reports are surfacing that LG's Canadian subsidiary has decided not to release the update for unknown reasons. But, what about custom ROMs? Well, they handled that too: they have refused to release Lollipop kernel source for the Canadian variant of the device. It is arbitrary actions like this that cause Android's fragmentation problems. A curious note, LG has not specifically made reference to the bugs other users have been having with the update.
Stingy move by LG. Is there a difference between the US version and the Canadian version? I remember using the ATT ROMs for the i727 phone when I had the Rogers i727r. Never had any issues with that (that I remember).
They told me it wasn't their fault if my TV was broken and they didn't have any replacement available, because my TV was made by LG Korea.
I bet they will use a similar lame excuse again.
We should be able to get the latest software, and uninstall bloatware without having to root our device and invalidate our warranty. As it stands I have an old version of Android filled with Samsung crapware. Not surprised to learn LG is pulling crap also - just disappointed there aren't real alternatives for when I upgrade to a new phone.
Please pre-order a G4 today!
This is nothing new really, though usually it's the service provider who locks the phones out.
Telus for example used to add their own custom version number to cellphone OSs which would make using certain features impossible (version check would fail so you couldn't install apps or updates on things like a HTC Touch Pro).
You could modify blockers like this with a registry hack, but most users just didn't understand why they were being blocked from features "available" to other, more expensive phones.
Telecom greed is at a whole other level in Canada
AFAIK telecom companies don't have much power over the iPhone.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Is that "Video Bytes" abomination!
Not a Canadian, but I think it's time that we require phone companies to provide reasonable updates for X years, or release the source code. One major concern is the environmental impact from e-waste.
Now, go ahead, mod me down.
Battery life is notably shorter since Android Lollypop update was sent. With moderate use my G2 could easily make it through the day when I had Jelly Bean.
Verizon puts software (and bookmarks) on their phones you cannot remove - and they control when you get updates.
Did spammers compromise your signature?
Canadians are used to being second class consumers compared to our American cousins.
big money does whatever it wants, like irresponsible explotation
they got request
"Hello. Place the source code please Lollipop for D803"
and they answered with:
"Unfortunately D803 model has no plan for upgrading to Lollipop.
So We cannot upload the source code."
Since they are not releasing new version there is no code for it - IMO pretty normal. If he requested source code for current version of sources I suspect they would comply.
Are you complaining that LG Canada holding back what others have complained of being a buggy update?
Is this good or bad?
blog.sam.liddicott.com
If you wait to buy a phone until it has a working recovery, and maybe an AOSP port, then you won't get into this situation. Motorola failed to bring out the upgrade for my Moto G in a timely fashion, but I was able to download and install SOKP because the phone has a proper bootloader so there's a community around it.
If you make intelligent purchasing decisions, you will have better results than if you buy LG, which is shit and has always been shit. I forgot this and bought a Nexus 4, which turned out to be something of a turd. Radio died (on stock ROM, mind you) and digitizer went faulty and let's face it, the design was a bit shit anyway, with all the broken rear glass in precisely the same place proving that it's a design flaw. But the phone did have a proper bootloader, which means there were tons of alternate ROMs.
While I'm on a soapbox, LG optical drives are pure shit, too. The only thing worse is Sony. Besides just being shitty in general, both companies have absolutely idiot behavior. The LG drives tend to try to eject forever even if the tray is blocked. The Sony ones too, right up until they close forever and refuse to eject no matter what you do that doesn't involve power-cycling.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Modern app appers app apps on apps using other apps!
Apps!
When Android OEMs are making shit for profit compared to Apple and probably even Blackberry on their phone sales?
If a smaller OEM were smart, they'd sell an extended warranty for $50 that explicitly says they pledge to continue providing security patches and upgrades for a 3-4 year period. Most people would never even bother using it; they'd switch phones before then.
I have had the LG p880g (Canada), which is the LG p880 in the United States. I purchased the phone 2 years ago, and there has not been a single update. Andriod Version 4.0.3
The company refuses to update anything in Canada, their customer services is a pathetic joke. Every single review for a product in Canada that has been purchased from LG is a horror story.
Our duopoly has never liked allowing firmware upgrades -- it keeps you from buying a new phone every year, and they can't have that!
Even with older Blackberry devices I've had to download ROMS meant for other countries just to have an update.
Verizon gave me 2 G2s free last year for reupping my contract. Nice phones. I'm happy with the 5.0 update and I haven't experienced any bugs.
awww... android is awesome... after many phones with kitkat just to try out android i gave up. My last moto E LTE 2nd gen with lolipop was crap. I went and got a 4s and its faster then any of those, and h yeah, it runs the latest iOS 8.3
It is arbitrary actions like this that cause Android's fragmentation problems.
One more:
It is arbitrary actions like this that contribute to companies running out of business.
But let me ask: How can a [reputable] company like LG think that vitriol, that could potentially be a consequence of action like this will, be positive to its image? How?
Now I own numerous Sony android devices, all of which were given the Lollipop treatment over the last few months. One doesn't want to charge fully and another now has extremely high battery use from "Android OS".
Honestly I wish Sony had waited just like LG until the updates are actually stable for basic functionality. Kudos to LG...
Anyone have an adblock signature to get rid of this annoying "video bytes" section that appeared today?
Lots of people keep posting about how rude LG is.
This is a carrier problem. Plain and simple.
Rogers is accused of bad support regularly, so I'm not surprised.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
The kernel is GPL. They can't refuse the sources. Someone with one of these phones (i.e. somebody with standing) ought to reach out to https://sfconservancy.org/.
Just do as I do, buy a Nexus phone. No crap, no lock and pure Android
Avoid the MS tax, always buy I.B.M. PC's (I Built-it Myself)
It could be as simple as LG Canada being influenced not to do so because of their new device sales, for a market that has tendency to refresh hardware more often (I'm guessing here but it sounds like a reason). Not shipping new software is the best way to discontinue a product and compel clients to get the new stuff.
My Verizon iPhone has no software from Verizon on it, nor do they control when I get updates. The iPhone seems to be the only exception to the rule. Apple was able to force the carriers to play by their rules.
I suspect that the other hardware manufacturers are happy to let the carries control the software, most likely in exchange for a share of the revenue.
US Carriers can now hold up the over-the-air updates for Nexus. I'm on StraightTalk, an MVNO over AT&T, and AT&T managed to keep my Nexus 6 from getting 5.1 for months. You can pull the SIM and reset or sideload the updates at least, but it's lame that they were given the ability to override the OTA updates. I'm not even AT&T's customer, so I don't see how it's even legal.
I'm confused. I have an LG G2 (p999) that I got back in 2011. It doesn't have any rear mounted buttons. I'd love to be able to update the OS, though. There are some apps I'd like that refuse to download because they want a newer OS.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Canadian carriers could hold up OTA updates for the Galaxy Nexus too.
Verizon forced Lollipop to my Galaxy S4. It's never been the same. Battery life sucks, data rate sucks, crashes and is overall terrible, especially on the S4. It's widely documented and never should have been pushed.
Now granted, Verizon neuters the OS's so much that they could have just trashed the thing - who knows who allowed it. And it's not like you can delay it forever, Verizon updates, sooner or later - you're going to get them.
Tivoization refers to having source code but being unable to install it due to a locked bootloader. It does not refer to lacking source code in the first place. The owner of an Android phone already possesses a copy of the executable kernel on a flash memory soldered to the phone's PCB. This means that under the GPL, the phone's owner is entitled to a copy of the kernel's source code. The obligation to distribute corresponding source code to "any third party" if it does not accompany the executable was present already in the GPLv2.
US Carriers can now hold up the over-the-air updates for Nexus.
Then buy the phone from someone other than a cellular carrier, and remove the SIM card when checking for updates over Wi-Fi. If neither the carrier-customized firmware nor a SIM card is present, what connection does the phone have to any carrier that would give the carrier power to hold up updates?
How so? Android is the only major mobile platform I can think of that has an app for making apps. It's called AIDE. Other suggestions are welcome.
I'm looking forward to a world where there are more open devices like the One Plus One. Which is on sale for 300 bucks for the 64GB version this week.
It's a new "feature" for Android. My Nexus 6 was purchased from Google's Play Store. Same thing happened to people thought bought directly from Motorola. Yes, you can take the SIM out and get the update over wifi, but you have to be willing to reset your phone to do it. I assume it's reading something off the SIM or on the network, or the carriers are intercepting the "is their a new update" query.
Nexus 6 owners got different versions of the same update depending on which major carrier they were on.
The first thing I do when I get the phone is download the official image from Google and put it on my phone, that way I am confident that I don't have a firmware screwed by the carrier. I've been burned by Rogers with my first Nexus.
Avoid the MS tax, always buy I.B.M. PC's (I Built-it Myself)
Well, the amount of Google's crapware in my Nexus 5 has doubled since I bought it. It seems that all that cloud printing and G+/g-news/g-music/g-whatever is so essential to me that it must be brought via OS upgrades. And if it some of it can be uninstalled, the same crap will pop up when it gets update on Google Play. If the 5.x would have been on the phone when I bought it, I would have returned it after first day of use.
Last time I get a lg you guys are greedy you suck Samsung life
What version? My iPhone 5 never had Verizon branded software installed at the firmware level. Aside from it saying "Verizon" in the upper left corner, there's nothing Verizon installed on it.
Speaking of OS updates, the iPhone 5 will most get iOS 9 this Fall.
Life is not for the lazy.
So, my only option is to buy a 6 inch behemoth, since the Nexus 5 is now being discontinued. Another great move by Google. I have a 5 inch phone and it just barely fits in most of my pockets. I couldn't imagine carrying around anything larger on a daily basis.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Wait for the next Nexus 5 then : http://www.androidpit.com/nexu...
Or buy the current Nexus 5, you can still find it online brand new : http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer...
Avoid the MS tax, always buy I.B.M. PC's (I Built-it Myself)
Then don't buy your phone from a mobile network operator. There is zero reason to do that anyway. It is almost always more expensive and there are far fewer options.
Probably because you have to release a french version as well and they do not want to pay the additional expense...
I loved my G2 on TMO. Lollipoo has introduced crashing, lags, and reduced overall battery life. I would highly recommend anyone considering Lollipoo to reject the installation.
friends don't let friends buy Lucky Goldstar
remember goldstar? that shit electronics manufacturer? yup, they are now Lucky Goldstar.
same shit different name.
I assume it's reading something off the SIM or on the network, or the carriers are intercepting the "is their a new update" query.
Try this: shut down the device, pull the SIM out, turn it on, connect to Wi-Fi, and manually check for updates. Or is it actually storing what it finds through the SIM?
It is arbitrary actions like this that cause Android's fragmentation problems.
I know I'm in minority, but this is plain bullshit.
Google continuously pumping "releases" is what causes the fragmentation.
There are just too many "releases" of Android.
It is fine to pop 2-3 releases a year - if you are niche player targeted at geeks. But it is not, if you want to serve near billion users of several thousand different device types.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.
It seems like you can't just buy an unlocked phone and use it in Canada. Is that correct? Otherwise I can't understand why so many people buy the phone from the carrier, considering what a terrible reputation they have.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
It seems like you can't just buy an unlocked phone and use it in Canada. Is that correct?
Yes yoou can, in fact, most carrier will give you a 10% rebate on your plan if you bring your own unlocked phone
Otherwise I can't understand why so many people buy the phone from the carrier, considering what a terrible reputation they have.
Because most people are idiots
Avoid the MS tax, always buy I.B.M. PC's (I Built-it Myself)
Lg should give d803 owners a d802 int
I'm rocking a purchased-outright Moto G 2014. Works fine, no hassles, on a cheap no-data prepaid plan that does everything I need.
I really doubt it was an arbitrary decision. I also have no doubt it is carrier specific and nothing to really do with "Canadian Versions" other than that particular carrier exists in Canada.
Likely reasons for the move:
1) They want to sell more phones. Planned obsolescence.
2) Introducing new OS onto old phone may have support issues they would have to address.
3) They are not making any more money (or as much anyway) off those old phones.
4) Training and support expenses to have staff in call centres to handle issues.
Hardly arbitrary. Greedy maybe, but not arbitrary.
I waited for the OTA from the carrier, but during that time I saw many discussions where the update won't happen even with the SIM removed unless the device was reset. It's remembering something about the cell network it was on. It would be a non-issue if not for the reset.
By "reset" do you mean in the sense of pressing the Reset button on a game console? Because if so, turning the device all the way off to eject the SIM is like that. Or do you mean a different kind of reset?
Hardware is obsolete anyway. Just be happy it lasted so long.
This reminds me of buying the LG G2 outright from Wind Mobile when I started with them years ago.
LG refused to give us any updates in North America at all despite there being updates for the v4 series of OSes in Korea for the same phone.
No amount of hacking could get Jellybean to work WELL on the phone, and the Nvidia chipset was completely unusable - locking users out of using the camera, or when the camera worked video didn't, etc.
Perfectly capable phone, owned for 6 months before LG dropped support for it.
The answer is that LG is awful and have always been awful about updates. The only exception has been my Nexus 4, which has updates handled by Google anyway since I bought it from the Play store. After the last stint with LG I was very wary of buying anything LG again. Seems to be okay so far.
Factory reset.
If I had a clue before I bought my G2 from Telus that software updates would stop so soon in the phones life, I would never have selected the G2. As LG Canada, being the lazy, cheap, SOBs that they are, have decided not to provide Lollipop to Canada, while much of the rest of the world gets it for their LG G2 phones, I don't see any reason to buy another phone from them. As a matter of fact, I would love to swap it for a Nexus 5. I wonder how Telus would feel abou that?
I also blame Telus for allowing LG Canada to crap all over us stupid LG G2 phone buyers.