don't get firmware updates

[JVo]

Hi, I bought my HTC droid eris a couple of years ago, and I have verizon. My firmware is very old and never been updated: 2.1 (is that a version of android or a version of HTC eris android?). If I go to System Updates, it says that "my system is up to date"). Obviously, it isn't.

Why am I not able to update my operating system? Thanks.

 

[JVo]

now that I'm looking online, it seems like 2.1 actually might be up to date (?). Do these versions not get updated very frequently? I see that Android itself keeps undergoing new versions but does htc droid eris not itself update when a new version of android comes out? (Sorry for being a totally newbie about this stuff. )

 

[doogald]

That is correct - the latest version of Android for the Eris is version 2.1. It is up to the manufacturers of the phones (HTC, in this case) and the carriers (Verizon Wireless) to decide whether to upgrade their phones to later releases of Android, or not. The Eris was upgraded from the original 1.5 to 2.1, but HTC decided (it is believed) that the Eris hardware was not up to running Froyo - or that it was not worth the expense to upgrade a phone that was no longer being sold at the time that Froyo was released.

It is possible to root the Eris and run later versions of Android. Check out our "All things root" subforum for more info.