Hello All!
I just purchased a new (2011 model) Samsung Stratosphere SCH-I405 cell phone from Ebay.com.
As soon as I got it and set it up there was a notification of an available update. I let the update proceed and when I logged back in I checked the Android version 2.3.6. I have had the phone for about a week now and haven't got any other OTA updates.
Is 2.3.6 the highest Android version my phone will ever get (through an OTA update)? Do older phones not get the latest Android updates and if so why? Is it because Verizon (my carrier) has decided to not update my phone as an incentive to buy a newer one? Or is it something like a hardware compatibility issue?
If I am never going to get a higher version by an OTA is the some other way I can update my Android version? Perhaps go to Samsung or Verizon's website and download an update.zip file? If this option is not available is the only other option I have is to root my phone and install a custom ROM? Or can I root my phone, find a higher Android update.zip file somewhere, and update the phone that way? (I guess I would have to make sure that, if I updated using the update.zip method, that my phone is compatible with whatever Android version I am installing.
Thank you,
Jan
P.S. The main reason why I want to update Android is because I am hoping the phone will operate faster. Right now it seems I get a lot of process hangs. If I can't update Android, then is there a way to remove some of those default apps that come with Android? Like Let's Golf, etc. If I root the phone can I uninstall those apps?
I just purchased a new (2011 model) Samsung Stratosphere SCH-I405 cell phone from Ebay.com.
As soon as I got it and set it up there was a notification of an available update. I let the update proceed and when I logged back in I checked the Android version 2.3.6. I have had the phone for about a week now and haven't got any other OTA updates.
Is 2.3.6 the highest Android version my phone will ever get (through an OTA update)? Do older phones not get the latest Android updates and if so why? Is it because Verizon (my carrier) has decided to not update my phone as an incentive to buy a newer one? Or is it something like a hardware compatibility issue?
If I am never going to get a higher version by an OTA is the some other way I can update my Android version? Perhaps go to Samsung or Verizon's website and download an update.zip file? If this option is not available is the only other option I have is to root my phone and install a custom ROM? Or can I root my phone, find a higher Android update.zip file somewhere, and update the phone that way? (I guess I would have to make sure that, if I updated using the update.zip method, that my phone is compatible with whatever Android version I am installing.
Thank you,
Jan
P.S. The main reason why I want to update Android is because I am hoping the phone will operate faster. Right now it seems I get a lot of process hangs. If I can't update Android, then is there a way to remove some of those default apps that come with Android? Like Let's Golf, etc. If I root the phone can I uninstall those apps?