Author: Clinton

OnePlus has begun the process of rolling out OxygenOS 4.5.5 to their new flagship, the OnePlus 5.  The update has been released to a small subset of devices already and assuming that all goes smoothly, a broader distribution will happen later this week.  The update has a handful of fixes and optimizations for the new phone.  Credit where it is due:  OnePlus has been pushing out updates to OxygenOS and the OnePlus 5 at a pretty rapid pace since it’s launch last month.

Fixes in this build of the Android Nougat based OxygenOS 4.5.5 include a fix to the Wi-Fi signal indicator which always showed it as week, a fix for some apps which would not work under IPv6 and a fix that restores connectivity to a Windows 10 PC.  The release notes for this update indicate that you need to turn off USB debugging prior to the upgrade to assure this is fixed.

There are reports from some Google Pixel owners that the July Android Security Update, which was released yesterday, is failing to install on their devices.  The issue appears to be rather discrete and not broadly impacting all Pixel owners.  The issue appears to be only on the 5″ model and only with build NKG47M.  That build is for T-Mobile and Project Fi.  The Pixel XL and other builds, at least for now, do not appear to be impacted.  I was able to install the same build on my Google Pixel XL, which is on Project Fi, without any issues.  That update was 70MB in size.

The issue is that the update simply will not install.  Users are prompted that the update is available and when they attempt to install it, they are given an error indicating that the update couldn’t be installed.  There is an option to try again but this appears to have no impact on the issue as it still will not install.

Over the weekend, Microsoft began rolling out a background update to Microsoft OneDrive which forces the use of NTFS for Windows users.  The update caught more than a few off guard and while the Redmond company has been pushing for broader adoption of NTFS, this pretty much forces the issue.

NTFS, unlike FAT or FAT32, is much better at managing space and has more security options.  FAT in its original 8-bit form was created all the way back in 1977 while FAT32, the 32-bit version of it, was created with Windows 95 back in 1996.  No matter how you look at it, FAT is old and security, performance and scaleability have all improved under NTFS.

As expected with it being the first business day of the month, Google has released the July Android Security update for eligible Nexus and Pixel devices.  The update consists of two patches per the usual.  The first is broader Android fixes and patches for all devices.  It is dated July 1, 2017.  The second patch is more driver specific items for Nexus and Pixel devices which is dated July 5, 2017.  Nexus and Pixel devices will eventually see the July 5th update which is already rolling out and available as full images and OTA images on the Android Developer site.

In the July 1 update, there are 48 total items addressed in these updates, 10 of which are considered critical.  These issues mostly have to do remote code execution and permissions elevations in areas like framework, media framework and libraries.

Microsoft To-Do, the daily task manager that was born out of the company’s acquisition of Wunderlist back in 2015, has a new update rolling out that brings a host of improvements.  The update, version 1.8.23 for those keeping score at home, fixes several issues with the task management app but also brings a new Quick add feature to the notification areas of your Android phone.

The new Quick add feature, when enabled, will put a notification for To-Do in the notification area on your phone.  By tapping it, you can quickly create a new task which is added to your list in the app.  All of this can be done without actually opening up the app itself.  By default, this new feature is not enabled.  If you want to enable it, go in the app to the menu, tap your avatar then find the Quick add notification setting in the General settings.  Toggle it on and you are good-to-go.

Android Pay, after adding 60 new banks on June 26th, has added yet another 72 to the count late last week.  That brings the total of supported banks, Credit Unions and financial institutions to well over 800 here in the United States.  The new banks, like those from the last several updates, are mostly regional, state and local banks that are bringing support for the tap-to-pay service to their customers.

In fact, in this latest round of updates, some 41 new Credit Unions are added to the list.