mathfinder

Hi there,

Just to let you know that i appreciate what you're doing for the "Rogers-Android community"...

I called the tech support here in Quebec to ask about the updates... seems like nobody knows anything about that neither. But i will keep calling...just to annoy them

Thats it...hope you get an answer soon from Sherri.

Andy2010

Australian Operator Optus Deliberately Blocking Android Paid Apps | Techdirt

So does Rogers, in Canada
by icon Brendan (profile)

"Rogers does this in Canada, too, I think. At least that was the case when I got my phone back in June.

I have since rooted the phone and cleared off their garbage version of the OS, and enabled paid apps on my own. I have no idea if Rogers has enabled them for the "typical" consumer."

tarius

Hi, I am new.

I have been looking at the HTC Dream or the Eve. Every few days I pop into a Rogers store or a TBooth and ask new questions. I'm sure the sales guys wonder if I am ever going to buy anything.

Now I'm even beginning to wonder after reading the posts on this forum. Well, that and Rogers guys hardly know anything about these phones. The manager at the Rogers store up my street kept calling the Dream "the Android"

mjschmidt, feel free to inform Rogers that I am now seriously considering not getting a smartphone. I'm considering not even renewing my "cheap" contract which is finished in the New Year. I'm perfectly okay to let it run out and go with a different carrier even though I have my original no-camera phone and I would hardly have to pay anything for a new smartphone!

mjschmidt

@Tarius: I included a link to this thread in my reply to customer service, I _hope_ someone there looked at it, but you never know.

If I head back from Sherri (she owes me a call TODAY) I will mention this thread to her, and suggest she look at it.

As for other carriers, be careful, I was looking at Telus and Bell sites yesterday, and they don't yet have a lot of info on Android phones either. I noticed elsewhere someone commented that he got an Android phone from one of the other carriers hoping it was 2.0 and discovered it was only 1.5, so we should also be bugging Bell and Telus to up the ante in the cell phone competition with Rogers by being more supportive of Android.

If we really want to make this change happen, people reading this forum need to do a lot more. Contact Rogers your selves and let them know how you feel. Also, email some of the tech writers at Canadian newspapers and ask them what they think about Rogers not supporting Android. tech writers are geeks like most of us with Android phones, and they will see the implications of Rogers (and the other carriers) leaving their customers with unsupported phones.

__________________
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mjsoctober

Google+

gnugu

Hi,
I'm writing to show the support for what you guys are doing!

I can't call Rogers since I have unlocked the phone and took it to Fido (I know, I know...). First thing they ask is "What's your Rogers phone number".

So please keep up a good work!

In fact, my problem with all this is:
Say, you want to browse an internet at home. Do you go to Shaw to buy a computer? Is the computer locked to Shaw only?
Why can't HTC simply sell the hardware?

There, now I feel better.

Thanks.

__________________
www.gnugu.com

mjschmidt

@gnugu: You can buy the hardware. You can buy it from Rogers for the full price, and thus no contract. I imagine you would then be within your right to unlock it and take it anywhere.

BTW: Fido _is_ Rogers.

gnugu

This is true. The problem with it is that:
a) It is overpriced! Buy it on Craigslist.
b) Why would I have to have it unlocked? Why would I have to go through the danger of bricking it while rooting?

I think HTC would make a lot more $$ if they simply sold the hw.

That was that "I know, I know". They are and aren't. When it comes to treating the customers they certainly don't act as the same company.
In fact when I told them that I unlocked and took it to Fido, they looked at it almost as a crime!

Last edited by gnugu; December 2nd, 2009 at 11:36 AM.

Andy2010

Usually manufacturer gets their resellers (carriers) to do their selling. Just like Sony, Motorola, Samsung , etc.. The reason why they do that is because, carrier will do the pre setting for phone in order to make the phone usable. If you buy a phone from somewhere else and if you have trouble getting it connected using your carrier like, like this case Rogers, they will simply tell you that they are sorry because those phones are not supported by them.

Last edited by Andy2010; December 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 AM.

Andy2010

mjschmidt , I doubt Sherri will call back. I had the same experience with someone from the office of president a few weeks ago.

bunhead

I have been emailing rogers support and pestering the RogersMary twitter feed relentlessly for the past few days. I hope that this added pressure will let rogers know that we just want what the iPhone people are getting, software updates and fixes.

Last edited by bunhead; December 2nd, 2009 at 02:03 PM.

mjschmidt

Keep at it, Bunhead.

Sherri is running out of time to call me within the promised 2 business days. If I don't hear from her by tonight I will be calling them tomorrow to file another complaint, and possibly elevate to the ombudsperson. I will also start emailing tech writers and bloggers (we should all do this).

Andy2010

mjschmidt, I've already contacted ombudsperson, it's useless. They did exactly what Sherri did and cannot give me an answer.

ombudsman came from the same division

Mary Freeman | Office Of The President | Rogers Communication Inc.
855 York Mills Road | Don Mills, Ontario M3B 1Z1
* TEL 416-764-2316 | *FAX 416-446-1543
*mary.freeman@rci.rogers.com

Last edited by Andy2010; December 2nd, 2009 at 02:25 PM.

gnugu

How about CRTC?

Some time ago I had a problem with Rogers billing me for land line that I have discontinued six month before. They kept billing me, I kept calling them, they kept refunding and promising that it would never happen again.

One email to CRTC and the problem was fixed next day.

Andy2010

I don't think you can complain to CRTC. Unless the software is causing the line to drop or something yeah but firmware update is up to the Carrier.

bunhead

I have also included in my "talks" with rogers the p*ss poor data coverage here in Ottawa. My phone says 3g until you try to send or receive any data then it drops out of 3g. As well the 2/3 of the 5 hour train ride between Ottawa and Toronto has no cell service at all even though that corridor is supposed to be full cell and 3.5g. When I am in Toronto it is like I have a brand new phone because the data service there is so much faster. I understand that the population base of Toronto is 10x that of Ottawa but come on!

We as Canadians need to stand up and bitch! I can't believe that I pay more for my data connection on my cellphone than I do for my computer.

gnugu

Andy2010,
you are right.

Went here Cellphone or wireless phone services in Canada: rates, quality, charges, complaints | CRTC

and had a laugh at this:

Andy2010

What we really need now is to approach public media. Something like National post , tv station or something.

gnugu

My experience with the very local newspaper is that they are always looking for a story.

So if you draft a decent letter and send it to media you will be pleasantly surprised with the response.

Just make sure you don't sent it to Rogers owned media

Andy2010

Yeah I know. News1130 is owned by Rogers. So you're from Port Moody huh?

gnugu

And judging by your 2010 you are not from far away...

Andy2010

Nope not at all. We are going to get some wet snow on Friday.

Andy2010

New Carrier coming soon.

Careers | DAVE Wireless

vikingisson

Will "Dave" do Android? If "Dave Does" then maybe they will do 1.6.......

gnugu

Don't hold your breath on that one. Read this WIND | No Choice for Canadians This Christmas?.

Also, your phones are GSM. Don't know about DAVE but the Public Mobile is CDMA.

Andy2010

If Dave wants to carry Android phone, they need to sell phones with no Dave's logo on. This way it's straight from the manufacturer and easily upgraded with stock OS. Customising the OS by the carrier sucks.

Andy2010

If i am not mistaken, 2.0 eclaire supports CDMA

gnugu

Yes it does. I just thought you would want to keep your devices. I guess you don't care.

I bought mine on craigslist, so I don't want to purchase new one to get to CDMA. I don't play the 3 year plan game.

Andy2010

I am keeping mine. Kinda regret getting Dream though. I like Hero better.

vikingisson

gnugu, I turned blue holding my breath years ago. Cell service here has sucked for a long time and now that things are technically a little better the industry is still horrible. I have a cell phone after many years only because of Android and a new boss that insists on paying for it. My last cell had a rotary dial and we called them car phones

Andy, it would be ideal if Dave supported non carrier branded Android. Amazing in fact. But I won't hold my breath on that either. Fixing this horribly broken industry here will be a lot tougher than it should be. The feds are in bed with the carriers so things won't change for the benefit of the consumer except with very high pricing. But I'm keeping an eye on Dave just in case you can push over the corrupt feds.

Andy2010

Someone is discussing with RogersMary on twitter regards to terminate the contract without penalty due to poor service from Rogers not updating the firmware.

RT @bunhead @RogersMary if rogers is not going to provide the updates then can I get out of my contract without penalty?

Andy2010

i'll be really pissed if Telus offers their Hero update to 2.0 or 2.1.

PascalS13

Sup,

Finally got some free time between homework tonight and decided to call rogers' tech. support.

I started talking about Android and the girl I spoke to first was completly ignorent so she referred me to her MALE college.

I started explaining that I had just bought a LG Eve and was wondering why such a recent phone had such an old version of Android (1.5) when 2 newer versions were already out (1.6, and recently 2.0).

Even though I don't have the HTC Magic, I mentionned, as you already know, that 1.6 is out for the HTC Magic on T-Mobile but not for those that are with Rogers.

The guy started admitting I was right (and probably realised I wasn't another dumb customer) and said : ''well, honestly, it is because of the recession and for budget reasons''. I replied: ''sir, Rogers is in the top 3 of the biggest wireless providers in Canada''. His only answer was: ''I know sir, but I really can't tell you because I honestly don't know myself''. I asked if there was the slighest possibility that maybe someone COULD be working tonight that had SOME information but he declined.

Me :''So basicly Rogers doesn't want to buy the new version of Android from Google?''
Rogers:''I don't know, sir. I really don't know.''
Me:''There really is NO ONE working for Rogers that knows if ANYONE is working on releasing the new versions of Android the LG Eve or Magic on Rogers?''
Rogers:''(Guess what he said)''.

Budget reasons. That's the biggest thing to remember from my conversation with the guy. If budget is so important to them, and we start cancelling our contracts with them, or maybe at least threaten them that we will, will they start to work on the release of the newer versions of Android? That is the question.

I'll continue calling every day/evening.

Good night

PS: Reading my post, I noticed I forgot to mention something.
The guy said, at one point, that IF rogers starts working on the release of the new versions, it won't be anytime soon.

Last edited by PascalS13; December 2nd, 2009 at 09:52 PM.

bunhead

That is me . I have several emails into support asking why we can't get the new version of android when iPhones get regular updates. I am also complaining about the poor 3g coverage we get in Ottawa. The phone says that it is in 3g mode with full signal but as soon as ANY data tries to go through the phone it drops down to H. This happens with my Dream, my Treo 750 as well as all my friends that have iPhones. I am also going down the dark and scary path of how come the cell service is non-existent between Ottawa and Toronto when I am on the train, even though the coverage map says that it is covered. If I can get out of my rogers contract without a penalty I will. I will cancel my cell, Internet and television contract with them, it may not be much to them but it is $200 of my dollars a month that they will never see again.

mjschmidt

Update: As most of you know (read back through this thread) I've been in touch with Sherri from the office of the president. When I spoke with her on Monday, she promised to get back to me within 2 business days. It's been three days now, so earlier this morning I used the email form on their complaints page to send an email directly to the office of the president (I want to make sure I follow their complaints process so they can't dismiss the complaint for bureaucratic reasons).

This is what I sent:

"On Monday, Nov 30 I spoke to Nick in technical support. I asked when Rogers would release the 1.6 update for Google Android. he told me he did not know. I asked to elevate the call, as per the instructions on your site regarding making a complaint. He refused to elevate the call, telling me that there was no one who could give me an answer to my question. I asked to be transferred to someone to whom I could make a complaint.

I was transferred to Sherri, who claimed to be from the office of the president. She listened to my complaint, and while putting me on hold, made some inquiries to "Tier 2" technical support. She returned to tell me she was looking in to the issue and she guaranteed she would call me within _2_ business days. It is now _3_ days later, and Sherri has not called me on either of the two numbers I gave her.

I expect to receive a phone call TODAY (Thursday, Dec 3) from Sherri, or some one else in the office of the President in regards to my complaint, specifically:

- that Android version 1.6 has been available since September of this year, that almost all other cell phone carriers (like US customers) have had this update _on their users phones_ for months, but Rogers customers have not yet received this update. New apps are being released for the newer versions of Android, and Rogers customers will not be able to use these application. Eventually our phones will become as useless as old "dumb" phones. Android users in Canada are getting very upset. We demand the same level of support provided to iPhone customers.

If I do not receive the promised phone call before 5:00pm today, I will elevate this complaint to the Ombudsperson.

Thank you,
Michael Schmidt"
--------------------------------------------------

Now, at about 11:00am I received a phone call from Sherri. She said she was still looking in to it, and had to bring one of her senior managers in on the complaint because apparently no one in her office was sure about who exactly was responsible for Android updates, and she said she wants to make sure she has a definitive answer for me. I said it seemed to me it should be a fairly simple question to answer, since they know the update is available!

I told her that it sounded like she was just calling to give me "the run around". At this point she actually started to sound a bit angry (offended?) and said she would NEVER call a customer to give them the run around, that customer service is very important to them, and she wants to be sure that she gives me a proper answer, and it's taking some time. She also said she didn't want me calling in to customer service or the ombudsperson complaining that "Sherri wasn't helping" me.

I thanked her, and said I appreciated her help, and looked forward to hearing from her again soon (it never hurts to be polite).

So, I'm going to give her a bit more time. We're almost tilting at windmills here, trying to get through this big business mentality, so we need to be a _little_ patient. Of course, I won't wait for ever.

By the way, here is a link to Rogers "Customer Commitment" so you can quote it to them if/when you are complaining: http://www.rogers.com/web/content/support-terms/commitment

gnugu

I may be mistaken, but isn't H a 3G?
I'm using CyanogenMOD and if I remember Cyanogen removed H icon because it was redundant. H is for HSPA which is one of 3G protocols.

mjschmidt

Just a friendly request to fork this to a new discussion? Preferably we should keep this thread just for the discussion of Rogers support and updating Android. :-)

Andy2010

Good Morning fellas, I am abit little tied up with some computer virus issue. Anyway, good to hear that Sherri is following up. I hope she meant for real.

Last edited by Andy2010; December 3rd, 2009 at 02:47 PM.

mjschmidt

Some messages from Rogers customers I found on Twitter. Hope @RogersMary is paying attention.

----------------------------------------------

David_Canada @RogersMary Why has Rogers not released a 1.6 Android ROM for the Dream? Android 2.0 is out, and Canadians are stuck at 1.5. What's up?

bunhead @RogersMary if rogers does not intend on to providing android 1.6 then can I get out of my contract without penalty?

bunhead @RogersMary I feel that if rogers doesn't provide version 1.6 of android they are not properly supporting the product

I_Artist @heuristicmedia U're in Canada (like me), Rogers does the ******* TERRIBLE advertising of #android. Yes, you've them, u just didn't know it

maxaudet RT @tweetmeme Dear# Rogers: When Will #Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in #Canada Blog Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in Canada Blog

Crimsonium I agree! RT @androidincanada: New Blog Post: Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in Canada Blog

69JAM76 RT @digitalfemme: RT @androidincanada: New Blog Post: Dear Rogers: When Will #Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in Canada Blog

digitalfemme RT @androidincanada: New Blog Post: Dear Rogers: When Will #Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in Canada Blog

pixeladdikt RT @androidincanada: Respond to #Rogers about #Android 1.6 and 2.0 updates here folks: Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in Canada Blog

(A lot of people are Retweeting the above)

the18 RT @purplehayz: Google brings Google Maps Navigation to more Android devices Google brings Google Maps Navigation to more Android devices - TechSpot News - Still no frak'n 1.6 for my G1 from Rogers.

Andy2010

If you notice, she kept saying she will pass the information to the team. No followup or whatsoever.

mjschmidt

UPDATE:

Ok, just received another call from Sherri at Rogers. She tells me she had to "bring in" the "Director of Device Management" from Rogers mobility to get some answers, and this is currently the "offical" answer from Sherri (from the office of the president or Rogers) regarding the availability of Android 1.6

According to Sherri: "HTC will be releasing 1.6 to Rogers _in late Decemeber_ for Rogers to test, and _if_ it passes their tests, _might_ be available to Rogers customers from the Rogers web site _in the beginning of the new year_."

So, obviously our next step is to contact HTC and find out if this is true, or BS.

Last edited by mjschmidt; December 3rd, 2009 at 03:03 PM.

mjschmidt

Here is the email I just sent to HTC:

"I am a customer of Rogers Wireless in Canada, and I have an HTC Magic. Currently we only have Android 1.5.

Today I spoke to Sherri (from the office of the president) at Rogers, who has told me that _HTC_ had told Rogers that Android 1.6 will be released to Rogers in late December of 2009 for Rogers to test.

I would like to know if this is correct.

Thank you,

Michael Schmidt"

Andy2010

Here's the thing Mike, when i talked to HTC support department, he told me that Rogers have to pay for the update to HTC inorder for them to work with Rogers for the update. So i asked him do you know if Rogers has paid yet? He said he couldn't tell because it's out of their reach to know. He told me that in his past experience with Rogers HTC winmobile phone, not once Rogers pay them to update for Rogers winmobile devices.

Last edited by Andy2010; December 3rd, 2009 at 02:10 PM.

mjschmidt

@Andy: I know, I remembered that when sending my email, but who knows, maybe we'll get a different response this time.

All we can do is continue pestering Rogers on twitter and via email and phone calls. when I have more time tonight, I am going to write up a summary of this whole thing and send it to the Android in Canada blog to see if they will print it or write about it. I will also start passing it around to other Canadian cell phone blogs.

I made it very clear to Sherri that we are not going away, and that if there was no update in the new year, Rogers would be hearing from us again, likely to get out of our contracts.

I pointed out that, as far as testing goes, since the T-Mobile MyTouch is the same as the Magic (in most cases) they can not say that 1.6 is incompatible with the hardware.

Andy2010

No they can't. Hell even firmware 2.0 will work on our phone. It just matter if they wanted to do it or not. I am going to check what the status of 2.0 on a G1. The last time i've checked, they haven't got camera and video going.

GreatBigDog

Great job of pestering them guys, I'm going to start pestering them as well. Maybe we can get them to put something officially on their site regarding the 1.6 update.

One thing though. I have previously been in contact with Rogers and HTC regarding the paid apps in the market. According to both it's Google that is blocking our access to them. But maybe if we all lean on Rogers they will lean on Google.

gnugu

I'm Android developer. I asked the same question to Google. This is what they said:

They think that the initiative should come from Rogers.

Last edited by gnugu; December 3rd, 2009 at 03:05 PM.

davidelewis

I just wanted to say thanks for pressuring Rogers to provide an Android 1.6/2.0 update. The lack of clarity from Rogers is atrocious ... I regret convincing a number of friends in September to get the HTC Magic. I've seriously considered rooting my phone, but because I have a "perfect SPL" (HBOOT-1.33.0010) on my phone, there's the hassle of making a goldcard, etc. However, if Rogers is not be clear about the support they will provide - I may have no option ...

Andy2010

Yep I agree. Like i said in comment

Dear Rogers: When Will Android Users Get 1.6 and 2.0 Updates? | Android in Canada Blog

"
True enough but Rogers can be pro-active to approach Google and said they want their customers to be able to access paid apps. "

heykillermiller

I quickly skimmed through this thread, and I'm happy to see so many folks trying to get Rogers to update Android to 1.6 or 2.0. We are really hoping for the updates too, mainly because my husband is blind. He has the HTC Dream. With the latest version of Android, there is a more advanced TTS (text-to-speech) engine. He is using the phone now with the with the latest TTS library, and eyes-free software from the Market, which allows him to tell time, dial, gives him GPS data, etc.. Recently someone developed a screen reader for the 1.6 and my guy would love to try it out, for obvious reasons. It makes software much more accessable! For example he might be able to use more advanced GPS technology (such as AndNav), so he could more easily go out for a walk without being taught everything by his mobility instructor. Just to be able to go on a simple walk or try something different than the usual route. He could browse the web, write notes. Essentially this could be a mini computer/companion of less than half the cost of a GPS manufactured for the blind (around $1000!). A note: We chose an Android phone for its superior GPS receiver and its open OS (my guy is interested in helping developers), instead of getting Apple's iPhone with voiceover, screenreading software.

I've written them recently, outlining why we would appreciate the update, and they replied that 1.6 was out! They pointed me to the Techsupport page to update the phone, however from what I can tell the build, 1.86.631.1, is still 1.5 but with the August update! (We're attempting to read up before updating)

So I'm hopeful that they will update in the New Year as hinted above in previous posts. However my hopes aren't high!

Mostly I wanted to write because I thought you folks could use more ammunition for the Rogers Android update cause. This is great not just for the blind but for folks with low vision or vision problems. Or for people who want to use their phone without looking at the screen. I figure the more reasons we give them, the better the chance for an update. They could be do-gooders for the blind community! My husband would appreciate more independence. And he has a big mouth (so do I) and we'd be thrilled to share how awesome Rogers is, IF Rogers steps up to the plate! Good image, more customers... ;D

To know more about Eyes-free and the TTS library, go here
eyes-free - Project Hosting on Google Code

Thanks for reading!!

Jennifer

Andy2010

Jennifer, good to see you participate in this forum. I just forwarded your comment to ombudsman department whom i was dealing with earlier this week. Hopefully she can understand better why this firmware updates are important to us.