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Owners of the HTC One S in Germany and the Netherlands are reporting the arrival of Android 4.0.4 for the handset, bringing the phone to Sense 4.1 in the process. The update fixes a fair amount of bugs and improves speed and performance while adding in a few new features such as EA’s Gamebox hub and a remote diagnostics tool. The arrival of the 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich build brings the software of the One S in line with that of its more powerful sibling the One X.With the rollout of the software in mainland Europe it is probably safe to assume other regions won’t be too far behind.
[via The Verge]
How do OS updates work where you bring your own device to a provider? ie, I brought a used t-mobile HOS, and use t-mobile as a provider. Would I get OS updates at the same time as t-mobile HOS who got their devices direct from t-mobile?
Are you talking about a T-Mobile US device? Normally HTC releases a RUU for each update for their devices for non-US versions. My experience in the past is that they do not release any RUUs for the US versions. The update has been slowly rolling out in select markets for unbranded world phones, (WWE) versions since at least Jul 18. The US versions suffer from CARRIER issues and do not usually see as many updates or are stripped of features. You can go to Settings > About Phone > Software updates and tap the Check now button on the bottom of the screen to recieve updates that available for your phone.
Yep, a US t-mobile device being used on t-mobile, but brought used — not sure if that makes a difference to OS updates or not.
Also trying to reconcile statements by HTC that JB is coming to US One devices (ref
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/20/htc-confirms-jelly-bean-for-one-x-one-xl-and-one-s/), and the reality that carriers hold the power.
4.0.4 might be a good milestone… if US HTC devices get 4.0.4 from t-mobile.
(I was aware of the About Phone, but seems like that would only be available if t-mobile had provisioned the update for devices, rather than if HTC had made it available. As you say, it’s seems to be the carrier who drives the updates in the US.)
The best way to ensure you have timely updates to your phone is to root it. Plain and simple, the more hands in the pot, the longer it takes to get updates. Nexus devices are always the best bet for getting timely updates. After that, rooting is pretty much the only way you will ensure getting updates to your phone. An executive at T-Mobile publicly complained how we treat our devices as throwaways and undervalue them, but at the same time, the company stops supporting our devices long before they the device has reached its limitations. The G1 made it from 1.0 to 1.6 officially. That was 1.0, 1.1, 1.5 and 1.6, all released within a year. Today we are lucky to get more than one update and do not expect anything past 12 months of release, especially if T-Mobile US is involved.
The executive’s statements cannot be justified by blaming the consumer. The only reason I upgraded out of the G1 when I did was because the hardware was failing. The internal storage was failing and making the device unusable. I would have waited for the first dual-core phones to be out before upgrading otherwise. It’s pretty lame to no longer support a device and then blame the consumer for wanting something that is supported.
Considering this update has been available since at least Jul 18, I figure we will hear about how HTC is shipping S3 powered One S phones to more and more markets, replacing the S4 powered version in some markets at the end of the year. Seems a little suspicious that shortly after the One S shows it is able to hold up to the One X that the chipset gets a downgrade to 2010 hardware.