Tag: Verizon

After being released on Monday for the unlocked variants, the Android Nougat 7.1.2 update for the Google Pixel and Pixel XL on Verizon has now been released.  The build for the Verizon Pixels is NHG47K, slightly different than the release for the unlocked devices.  That build was N2G47E.  The update is under 500MB in size but it is a good idea to download via Wi-Fi for speed and data plan savings.  Once downloaded, the update will take about 15 minutes to install and your phone will reboot once it is completed.

Th update for the Verizon variants contain the same updates as the unlocked versions of the Pixel and Pixel XL.  This includes improvements around Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, backup improvements to restore data from 1st-party apps like Calendar, and the April 2017 Android Security Patch.

Some 4 months after the release of the Android Nougat update for the unlocked HTC 10, Verizon is finally releasing the update to the phone on their network.  The fun begins tomorrow, March 30th, according to a Tweet from HTC’s Mo Versi.  The update will make Verizon the last to update the phone on their network here in the United States.  T-Mobile rolled out the update back in January while Sprint rolled it out in February.  AT&T did not sell the HTC 10.

HTC, for their part, have been good about getting updates out on the HTC 10 when it comes to the unlocked version of the phone.  However, for carrier locked devices, they are at the mercy of the carriers to get the updates out to devices.  Verizon is notoriously slow at doing this so it isn’t a surprise they are the last one to update the phone on their network.

If you haven’t figured it out, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is dangerous, it has been recalled and basically every mobile carrier has thrown a Samsung-built kill switch update that renders the phone useless.  Verizon rolled out an update a couple of weeks ago that prevented the phablet from charging but some Note7 owners never updated to it as they figured out how to get around it.  So, meet Verizon Note7 kill switch 2.

Verizon has begun re-routing calls made from the Note7 to customer service.  This is on every call you make with the exception of 911.  They are serious about you getting that phone back to them.  Oh, and if that isn’t enough to get you to turn in the phone at your local Verizon store, don’t be surprised if you see an $800 charge on an upcoming bill for the phone.  Now to be fair I question how they could get away with this but the point here is that Verizon is making a statement: Turn in your Note7.  Now.

After delaying for “consumer safety” reasons (uh, what?), Verizon has finally thrown the kill switch on the Galaxy Note7.  The carrier is rolling out update MMB29M.N930VVRS3APL2 which prevents the Note7 from charging.  The charging had already been hamstrung by Verizon and other carriers but to really, really get the point across that you need to turn this exploding phone in, now you can’t charge it.

Game over.

Verizon joins others like T-Mobile and AT&T who have already issued the no-charging update but it wasn’t without some controversy.  Samsung issued the software update in December but Verizon said they wouldn’t issue it as they didn’t want consumers to be left without a phone.  I, along with many other tech blogs and writers, bashed Verizon on this as the phone itself, which explodes when charging, is itself a danger to consumers.  The sooner it is gone the better.  Thankfully, and likely through a lot of FCC and CPSC pressure, they have released the update.

Amid reports of replacement units catching fire, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have all stopped selling the Samsung Galaxy Note7.  The carriers are all offering their customers either refunds or the option to select another phone from their lineup.  The news comes at the same time as reports have surfaced that Samsung themselves are “adjusting” the production of the Note7 with some suggested it has been stopped outright.

While it may not be clear what Samsung will do with the Note7, what is clear is that the device and to a lesser extent Samsung themselves are tainted and have lost an amount of trust with consumers.

For those Verizon customers who are looking to pick up the one of the new Google Pixel phones, be aware that the bootloader will be locked to the carrier.  To this point, Google has kept their Nexus devices with an unlocked bootloader.  For those who aren’t familiar with what a bootloader is exactly, it is the first thing that runs when you power up an Android phone.  It is the boot sequence of the device and the loading of the Operating System.  Carriers generally like these locked because the do not want someone loading a custom ROM on the device to bypass their software or other settings.