Rogers Dream 1.6 Update

bunhead said:

Well I got excited earlier tonight when I recieved an email from rogers stating that they were pleased to announce that I could download Android 1.6 from the support site. I giddily went to the site all the while thinking that <b>WE</b> made a difference. I was quickly disapointed though when I went to the support site and and all that was there was the security update that we all seem to have been pointed to . I have kicked the email back stating that this is NOT the 1.6 upgrade.

I will continue to keep you all posted.

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I spoke to this with @RogersMary on Twitter specifically. She told me the next time it happened to let her know the name of the CSR. Message her on Twitter and let her know.

TinBasher77 said:

Thought I'd check in to see how the progress was going and it looks like we're all just spinning our wheels with this 1.6 thing.

Would a petition help at all?

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It can't hurt. I've never done an online petition.

I think a petition would be a great way to indicate the level of frustration that so many customers are experiencing over Rogers reluctance/confusion about updating their Android (Dream and Magic) cell phones from 1.5 to 1.6 (or 2.x).

I'm not sure if I can eloquently described the "problem" as well of some of you have already done in this forum, but I would suggest using: iPetitions - Start your FREE online petition.

Dear Rogers

I have conflicting feelings about my position in this relationship. You have already asked me to make a choice about how I will see myself for the next three years. Honestly, I have been reluctant to answer you. I thought I could live your Dream but the truth is that I can't choose just one static image. I see myself with many different facets, with many different needs. I can't give you an answer about our future yet until I know that you can accept me and support my needs throughout our years together.

Rogers, I know you've got some things to work out and some questions to answer. I won't make any big decisions now, but by January 15th, I'd like to have a clear idea of how YOU view our future together. There is, after all, a Milestone approaching in the near future.

tarius said:

Dear Rogers

I have conflicting feelings about my position in this relationship. You have already asked me to make a choice about how I will see myself for the next three years. Honestly, I have been reluctant to answer you. I thought I could live your Dream but the truth is that I can't choose just one static image. I see myself with many different facets, with many different needs. I can't give you an answer about our future yet until I know that you can accept me and support my needs throughout our years together.

Rogers, I know you've got some things to work out and some questions to answer. I won't make any big decisions now, but by January 15th, I'd like to have a clear idea of how YOU view our future together. There is, after all, a Milestone approaching in the near future.

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lol. I enjoy your wit. ;-)

Andy2010 said:

I pointed out to RogersMary earlier that claiming most fastest and reliable network and with the lawsuit is a waste of time. No doubt that Rogers has the edge over Telus and Bell when it comes to this new GMS network. What Rogers need to concentrate on is their Service. A true Service from there will make their customers stay and not only that, it will also bring new customers to them. Can you imagine if Rogers would be the first to step up and say "Rogers will update their HTC android phones to firmware 2.0 by early 2010 " ? I am sure everyone will have their jaw dropped and goes "WOW". Being informed is a powerful sales of all.

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I've traded in 2yo cars because of piss poor service from the local dealership. Had a Ford dealership charge me for studs that they broke off when checking the breaks for me. Service manager wouldn't eat the cost so I walked into sales, got the buyout on my lease, went to GM and traded it in on something else. Had great service there and I still have a GM car.

The point being it's the after sales service by any company that is going to make or break the retention of it's customers. So far this one issue has far out shadowed any good service that I have received previously from Rogers.

I had dealt with Rogers in the past before it was Rogers, before AT&T, way way back when it was Cantel. Had no complaints with the service until one day they changed my plan (Seams that I was only one of 3 people left in Canada on that plan and they wanted to get rid of it.). I liked my plan and didn't want to change it, so said no every time that they called asking me if I wanted to change. Then there was the "mistake". When I called to complain about the change I was told it was an error on their part but since the plan I was on no longer existed they couldn't put be back on it. I was with FIDO the next day, stayed with them until it was bought by Rogers then switched to Bell.

The only reason that I decided to give Rogers a chance again was because they were the only carrier that had the Android powered phones. Now it's looking like it was a poor decision on my part.

gbd

PS. Issue with the Ford happened back in 96, haven't had a Ford in my driveway since.

GreatBigDog said:

...

The only reason that I decided to give Rogers a chance again was because they were the only carrier that had the Android powered phones. Now it's looking like it was a poor decision on my part.

gbd

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I went to my local mall yesterday, to the TELUS store. I looked at the HTC Hero and found out:
- the unit was running 1.5
- no one in sales could give me any indication of their upgrade plans

In conclusion, I'm not sure that they are in any way better than Rogers.
However, to be fair, I haven't gone through their tech support and found out their plans.

One of my friends just got a Hero from Telus. I've asked him to inquire from tech support if/when they will be updating to 1.6.

JackTheMan18 said:

I went to my local mall yesterday, to the TELUS store. I looked at the HTC Hero and found out:
- the unit was running 1.5
- no one in sales could give me any indication of their upgrade plans

In conclusion, I'm not sure that they are in any way better than Rogers.
However, to be fair, I haven't gone through their tech support and found out their plans.

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To be fair, this is mostly an issue with the Hero. Because it is running a heavily modified version of Android (Sense UI), the updates take longer. HTC has said that they are currently working on a 2.1 upgrade and will not release a 1.6 version.

Whether or not Telus gets this update anytime soon is anyone's guess.

I have just Tweeted @RogersMary my little story and the name of the CSR that pointed me to the support page. I will endeavor to keep you all up to date.

bunhead said:

I have just Tweeted @RogersMary my little story and the name of the CSR that pointed me to the support page. I will endeavor to keep you all up to date.

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This is about all I can get out of her

My Tweet
@RogersMary Is there someone at Rogers who I can contact that can answer my question? Or is "I can't discuss...." the only answer I'll get.

Her Reply
@GreatBigDog01 It's company policy that we can't discuss releases before they may/not be available. We'll provide an update when applicable.

gbd

I just emailed Shane Schick, Editor-in-Chief of ItWorldCanada (http://www.itworldcanada.com/default.aspx) with a letter about our troubles with Rogers. We'll see if there is any interest. I will also send this to some other Canadian tech blogs and phone blogs as time permits.

My email to Mr. Schick:

"Dear Mr. Schick,

As an important technology and business site detailing the industry in Canada, I thought you might be interested in the troubles Android adopters are having with Rogers Canada.

Android is an amazing and exciting platform, and we love our phones, but we have been having a great deal of trouble getting any real answers out of Rogers regarding whether or not they will support their Android phones going forward by updating the OS from 1.5 to the newer versions of Android. Carriers in other parts of the world, including the US, _pushed_ the Android 1.6 update to their customers starting in at least the beginning of October. By comparison here in Canada it has taken a mounting firestorm of criticism from users, and multiple emails and calls to the office of the president, to even make Rogers aware that an update was available!

I have personally spoken with Sherry, a representative from Rogers office of the president, who had to bring in one of the directors of Rogers Wireless to get some answers. While on hold with Sherry on the phone, she had "Tier-2" support visit the HTC web site to find out if an update was available. This leads me to believe Rogers isn't really taking Android seriously, if it takes a customer complaint to the office of the president to make them aware of updates to the operating system.

Android offers amazing new options to Canadian cell phone customers, especially as the other carriers start to carry Android phones, and it would be a shame if Rogers and other Canadian carriers did not properly support the phones, leaving us far behind our US cousins, and others around the world. Already there are new apps available in the Market Place that require the newer OS, which means, of course, that Rogers users are left out of these opportunities.

I hope this may be of interest to you and your publication. If you would like any further information, please feel free to contact me at this address. You can also follow the discussion amongst Rogers' Android users at the links below.

http://androidforums.com/rogers/10647-rogers-dream-1-6-update.html

Rogers Community Forums / When will Rogers update Android phones to ver 1.6

Yours truly,

Michael J. Schmidt
Disgruntled Rogers Android Customer"

Another straw that could eventually break the camel's back
Thank you guys for creating pressure and not giving up.

I wonder if this is progress or simply @RogersMary giving up. Note because this is a twitter feed I am reposting, please read from the bottom up.

RogersMary
@bunhead I'm aware. Thanks.
15 minutes ago from CoTweet in reply to bunhead

bunhead

@RogersMary I would be more than happy to email the email conversation I have had with Marie, just give me an email address to send it to
about 1 hour ago from web
Delete

bunhead
@RogersMary ...I needed the upgrade to 1.6" Why has an email not been sent to your CSRs telling them that this is not 1.6?
about 1 hour ago from web

bunhead
@RogersMary The name of the CSR was "Marie N". When I told her that this was not the upgrade but an update I was asked "Why I wanted...
about 1 hour ago from web

bunhead
@RogersMary Mary I FINALLY got a response from support re: upgrade to android 1.6. They pointed me to the support page.

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Hey everyone, just joined, maily for this forum. I just ordered an LG Eve, should be here today. Just started step 1 in rogers' complaint hoops. Here's my email

"Hi there, I've been with Rogers for about four years now, and despite the lacking coverage in my area, for the most part I've been happy with the service I recieve. I just recently aquired an LG Eve, and this will be my first venture into the world of Android. However after some online research, some things have come to my attention.
Being on Android 1.5 is very restricting. 1.6 is already available, with 2.0 on the way. I am already limited with my phone in terms of apps, because Rogers firmware does not allow me to get paid apps. Not only that but many new apps are coming out for Android 1.6+. I really like the phone and want to keep it, but with no support from Rogers, it seems like the 1.5 firmware will make this phone obsolete rather quickly. So I have two questions:
1. When can Rogers customers expect to recieve an Android 1.6 update?
2. When can we expect to utilize our phone to it's fullest potential, with access to ALL apps, both free and paid?
I really appreciate you response to this important matter.
Sincerely
Garrett"

Welcome aboard coop3422. I really get the feeling that this thread is somehow going to end up on the failblog. Either for rogers or us.

BTW I am now in day two waiting for my callback from the Office of the President, I wonder what if any news I will get back

Morning guys,

If we get our update for 1.6, are we going to push for 2.0 or 2.1?

coop3422 said:

2. When can we expect to utilize our phone to it's fullest potential, with access to ALL apps, both free and paid?
I really appreciate you response to this important matter.
Sincerely
Garrett"

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@coop3422: Just to clarify, and in Rogers defense, the problem with accessing paid apps in a Google problem. While Rogers should really be doing more to push Google to get to it, the problem is at Google's end. They have yet to roll out paid apps to a number of countries, but I imagine it is one or more of the following: 1. They are too busy (this is apparently a big problem at Google, they try to do too much); 2. They ave to negotiate with phone carriers; 3. They have to negotiate with governments; 4. They have to set up ability to pay from Canadian accounts (although this last one shouldn't be too difficult).

The only real problem we are having with Rogers right now is their unwillingness and/or inability to support Android OS updates.

@Andy2010: let's not get too greedy. They might just give up and walk away then. ;-)

@Zavod Hi Doug. I can't discuss upgrades before they may/may not rlsed but we will inform customers when applicable. Thx for your patience.

I really don't like the way how they replied. If they may not release, customers should know right away rather than waiting. How are they going to inform us when it's may not release?

mjschmidt said:

4. They have to set up ability to pay from Canadian accounts (although this last one shouldn't be too difficult).

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This is non really excuse since you use Google Checkout for Android Market that definitely works in Canada.

mjschmidt said:

@Andy2010: let's not get too greedy. They might just give up and walk away then. ;-)

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Why not? We're not talking about particular version of Android (despite the thread caption ) yet about broken process to bring updated versions to customers.

Andy2010 said:

@Zavod Hi Doug. I can't discuss upgrades before they may/may not rlsed but we will inform customers when applicable. Thx for your patience.

I really don't like the way how they replied. If they may not release, customers should know right away rather than waiting. How are they going to inform us when it's may not release?

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It sounds like this is the Rogers strategy:
Do not announce any intention, that way Rogers can't be faulted one way or another.
If I was pessimistic I would think:
"Since we have waited this long without a response from Rogers, we probably won't get a response."
If I was optimistic I would think:
"Pressure from android owners will force them to release an upgrade from HTC."

At the present time, I think that we just don't know enough to be pessimistic or optimistic.

My latest Twitter post. Feel free to Retweet

"mjsoctober
Warn friends & family (anyone really) not to buy an Android phone from Rogers until they deliver an update to Android 1.6."

Sent this letter to Mike Snider, Technology Section Editor of the Globe and Mail


Dear Mr. Snider,

As the technology section editor of the only paper in Canada that truly has nation wide distribution, I thought that you might be interested in a possible story regarding the troubles that Android adopters are having with Rogers Wireless and it's service.

The Android operating system is an exciting new technology for us in Canada that have taken the chance to adopt it. We love our phones and marvel at the potential in them, but new potential is being hindered by the fact that we have been unable to get any real answers from Rogers concerning weather or not Rogers is going to support the Android platform going forward. Those of us that have adopted the Android platform now have hardware that is running on the 1.5 version of Android. Other carriers around the world have moved their customers up to version 1.6 or 2.0 via Over The Air (OTA) updates starting on October 1st, we here in Canada are still stuck at version 1.5. I could today, go out and purchase a new handset from Rogers and it will still be running Android 1.5 without any guarantee on when/if Rogers will be updating the OS.

We all adopted the Android operating system with the understanding that since it was "Open Source" we could look forward to updates and enhancements as long as the phone hardware was capable of using them. This helped give peace of mind that the phone would not be outdated within a couple of months of purchasing it. So far the answers that we have been able to get from Rogers regarding the availability of an update range from non-committal to contradictory. I have personally been directed by Rogers tech support to a page on their website that contains a minor patch/security update to Android 1.5 being told that it's the Android 1.6 version. The phone manufacture (HTC in my case) has an update on their site for the Dream (T-Mobil G1 in USA) but since Rogers has modifications on their "Rogers" branded phones, If I were to try and install it on my phone I would be creating a very expensive paper weight.

The android OS is now due for a 2.1 version release and there are applications now available that will not run on the 1.5 version of Android, which basically renders any phones running the 1.5 version of Android obsolete. It would be a shame if Canadian carriers could not properly support these wonderful devises and left the Canadian adapters of this system to stagnate while Android users in other parts of the world are moving forward with their Android powered hardware.

If this is of interest to you and your publication, please feel free to contact me at this email address. You can also follow discussions on our troubles with Rogers by following the links below.

Rogers Dream 1.6 Update

Rogers Community Forums / When will Rogers update Android phones to ver 1.6

Regards,
Don A. Rayner

mjschmidt said:

My latest Twitter post. Feel free to Retweet

"mjsoctober
Warn friends & family (anyone really) not to buy an Android phone from Rogers until they deliver an update to Android 1.6."

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Maybe indeed it's good idea to place this call or/and request to upgrade Android OS on petition sites (like http://www.thepetitionsite.com/). They are pretty good indexed by Google it could be easy found by anybody who consider to purchase new phones.

Awesome. Let's keep up the pressure and hope that some of these media outlets become interested in writing about it.

It seems like tech news to me, given that it will directly affect tech consumers!