Gingerbread 2.3 was here, then gone, now it's back

I've been out of the country for three weeks and used my Verizon DInc only in wi-fi mode during that time. Upon returning home last night, I began receiving notifications of an Android Software Update 4.08.605.2 and frequent urgent-looking reminders to install it. It appears that the 87.7 MB update has already been downloaded and verified. Is this the Gingerbread update that I've been hearing about and waiting for since September? I believe the update was pulled from distribution for a while. Is this a corrected version of the update?

I've been reading a number of posts in various user forums but haven't found a definite answer to my questions, so please forgive this post if I could have found the answers elsewhere.

A related question: I've seen some recommendations that I do a factory reset in conjunction with this update. Is that something I do before or after applying the update? If I understand correctly, all of my apps - free and purchased - should be restored following a factory reset. I keep a copy of many files from my PC on the phone's SD card, but I assume I can restore them simply by copying them again.

The update notice says installation is expected to take 10 or 15 minutes but could take longer. What is a realistic estimate of the required time based on the experiences of readers here?

Many thanks in advance for any advice on this subject.

--Jim--

I got my DINC 2 yesterday ... I really like it. I'll miss you guys

JLSchutt said:

I've been out of the country for three weeks and used my Verizon DInc only in wi-fi mode during that time. Upon returning home last night, I began receiving notifications of an Android Software Update 4.08.605.2 and frequent urgent-looking reminders to install it. It appears that the 87.7 MB update has already been downloaded and verified. Is this the Gingerbread update that I've been hearing about and waiting for since September? I believe the update was pulled from distribution for a while. Is this a corrected version of the update?

I've been reading a number of posts in various user forums but haven't found a definite answer to my questions, so please forgive this post if I could have found the answers elsewhere.

A related question: I've seen some recommendations that I do a factory reset in conjunction with this update. Is that something I do before or after applying the update? If I understand correctly, all of my apps - free and purchased - should be restored following a factory reset. I keep a copy of many files from my PC on the phone's SD card, but I assume I can restore them simply by copying them again.

The update notice says installation is expected to take 10 or 15 minutes but could take longer. What is a realistic estimate of the required time based on the experiences of readers here?

Many thanks in advance for any advice on this subject.

--Jim--

Click to expand...

Yes, it is the fixed version of Ginger Bread.
Some people have needed to perform a factory reset in order to get the update to install, but it shouldn't make a huge difference whether you factory reset before or after (I'm guessing most people didn't do one either way, and had no major issues, but better safe than sorry).

You're paid apps should definitely be available when you reactivate the phone, the free apps SHOULD be reinstalled automatically by Google. However I know that has not happened for me the last couple times I've changed ROMs so I won't be overly confident in that happening. You could use app brain to keep a list of you're apps and to reinstall them. Factory reset shouldn't do anything to the SD card (and you don't need to wipe the internal storage either, no system or application data is stored there), but it's good practice to pull out the sd card anyways.

10-15 minutes if pretty realistic, especially is you're phone is freshly factory wiped.

JLSchutt said:

I've been out of the country for three weeks and used my Verizon DInc only in wi-fi mode during that time. Upon returning home last night, I began receiving notifications of an Android Software Update 4.08.605.2 and frequent urgent-looking reminders to install it. It appears that the 87.7 MB update has already been downloaded and verified. Is this the Gingerbread update that I've been hearing about and waiting for since September? I believe the update was pulled from distribution for a while. Is this a corrected version of the update?

I've been reading a number of posts in various user forums but haven't found a definite answer to my questions, so please forgive this post if I could have found the answers elsewhere.

A related question: I've seen some recommendations that I do a factory reset in conjunction with this update. Is that something I do before or after applying the update? If I understand correctly, all of my apps - free and purchased - should be restored following a factory reset. I keep a copy of many files from my PC on the phone's SD card, but I assume I can restore them simply by copying them again.

The update notice says installation is expected to take 10 or 15 minutes but could take longer. What is a realistic estimate of the required time based on the experiences of readers here?

Many thanks in advance for any advice on this subject.

--Jim--

Click to expand...

A factory reset seems like a lot of trouble to go through if it's not necessary. I would try the update without resetting, and if you are having problems, then do the factory reset. From other user's experience, it sounds like whatever the latest update you've installed will still still be there after a factory reset.

euph_22 said:

It's good practice to pull out the sd card anyways.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Is that during the installation of the new update that the SD card should be pulled?

Quote:Thanks so much for the response. One follow-up question: will I need to reactivate the phone?


No , all you'll need to do is answer a few questions about phone setup (language and the like) and sign in to your gmail account.

JLSchutt said:

Thanks for the reply. Is that during the installation of the new update that the SD card should be pulled?

Click to expand...

You need the card in the phone to update.

I'm posting this hoping it helps someone else. Like many others I've had problems getting the updates installed, and being within a few weeks of my 'renew every 2 date' I refused to do a factory reset and then spend the time getting everything back to square one. My phone is rooted however I am running a stock image (i have cyanogenmod but never found the time to get everything configured to my liking so I kept falling a back to stock).

1. When the 3rd release of the update was pushed, I was in the original group. I hit the the 'install now' button, it told me it was going to reboot....and nothing happened. It thereafter said it was 'up to date' so I gave up on it until I saw the post for doing the updates manually with links to the images....

2. I followed the first few steps to the letter and was able to install the first update. Thinking I was on a roll, I tried to install the 2nd, smaller update but received the red triangle with the exclamation mark....repeating the steps for that update resulted in the same thing. Holding the volume up button + power and then selecting to manually install an update from the SD card would immediately fail and the phone would reboot.

3. After reading other posts I discovered the trick for manually triggering the phone to run through the update process 'normally': Under settings/date and time uncheck the box for automatically setting the date/time and set the date ahead one month. Wait a few minutes and then in the phone dialer punch in the 'checkin' code *#*#2432546#*#* and then wait a few minutes, possibly an hour and I'd get the prompt to install an update. At this point of course it wouldn't reboot.....

4. It was then it dawned on me that at a time just prior to receiving the prompt for the 1st update and it actually rebooted I had cleared the cache after having the last attempt fail (red triangle/exclamation mark, hold volume up + power button, select clear cache which then takes a few minutes to run and then boot the phone). So i entered hboot (power off the phone, hold volume down button + power, then select the option to enter recovery and watch the update fail, then hold volume up + power button, select clear cache). I reset the date back to the current date, let the phone be for a while, then set the date ahead and did a checkin....after a while I received the prompt to install the update and it looked like it worked but once the phone rebooted and I unlocked it i was notified it failed due to lack of space...

5. So I removed a lot of my apps, reset the date to current, let the phone sit, set the time one month in advance, used the 'checkin' code and then waited....phone prompted to update, I hit the button the phone rebooted, and successfully installed the update this time....

The main things I walked away with from this experience is this:

a) I can consistently re-trigger the update notification by disabling automatic date/time synchronization, setting the date ahead by 1 month and then using the 'checkin' code.

b) If the phone prompted me for installing the update but didn't reboot like it said it was going to, I probably needed to clear the cache.

c) If the image can be found, it's possible to manually do the install (or in my case at least the first of two) as an alternative to doing it OTA.

Can anyone help with this one PLEASE? I was able to finally get the updates completed, but one thing I have noticed is the call history is "frozen." When I make/receive calls, the history you see when you tap the phone button is not updating with call activity, it's stuck with the info at the time of the update. I called VzW and they suggested force stopping and deleting the data in the two dialing apps. One of them only had a small amount of data, which I cleared, and the other had over 25MB, but the buttons for clearing cache or deleting data were greyed out. I tried clearing the partition cache, similar to the way people have tried to receive the 2nd update, but that hasn't helped either. Any thoughts? Thanks!

The final Gingebread RUU is available now for anyone tired of pulling their hair out with the multiple OTA's and associated problems.

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-incredible/450788-finally-gingerbread-ruu-4-08-605-2-a.html

I finally decided to go ahead with the update. It ran for just a minute or two and then told me I didn't have enough memory and suggested I delete some email messages and/or apps. I deleted several hundred email messages and just a few apps to see what would happen when I tried the update again. But it is now gone! No longer do I see the update on the notification screen or the Menu-Settings-About Phone-System Updates screen. I'm told my phone is up to date with Android 2.2! How do I get it back? I certainly expected to be able to delete some stuff and try again.

JLSchutt said:

I finally decided to go ahead with the update. It ran for just a minute or two and then told me I didn't have enough memory and suggested I delete some email messages and/or apps. I deleted several hundred email messages and just a few apps to see what would happen when I tried the update again. But it is now gone! No longer do I see the update on the notification screen or the Menu-Settings-About Phone-System Updates screen. I'm told my phone is up to date with Android 2.2! How do I get it back? I certainly expected to be able to delete some stuff and try again.

Click to expand...

I just reread the drumsalot post below and tried the following:

Set the date ahead one month.

Did the *#*#2432546#*#* checkin thing and was told it succeeded

Guess I'll wait now to see if the update notification reappears.

Does this sound like the correct procedure?

Still having problems! I am rooted with Unrevoked and running stock 2.2 Froyo. For some reason, I can't get anything to work... every time I get the update pushed to me, it hangs on the "Rebooting..." screen until I cancel. I've tried flashing the 4.08 ROM by putting the update.zip file on my sdcard, but with that I get an error, too. Finally resorted to doing a factory reset, after which I immediately got the update pushed to me. Again, though, it stuck on the "Rebooting..." screen.

I just talked to Verizon tech support. I didn't tell her I was rooted (Is it ok to tell them? I wasn't sure.). We couldn't get anything to work, so she finally called HTC and was told that they have had some problems with the update and will be repushing it within the next 72 hours.

I guess I'll wait to see if HTC pushes a revised update. Perhaps that will work. Otherwise, I wonder if being rooted is interfering with things. Ideas, anyone?

sheepy1 said:

She finally called HTC and was told that they have had some problems with the update and will be repushing it within the next 72 hours.

Click to expand...

Guess I'll wait even if the update does show up again on my phone after the checkin.

sheepy1 said:

Still having problems! I am rooted with Unrevoked and running stock 2.2 Froyo. For some reason, I can't get anything to work... every time I get the update pushed to me, it hangs on the "Rebooting..." screen until I cancel. I've tried flashing the 4.08 ROM by putting the update.zip file on my sdcard, but with that I get an error, too. Finally resorted to doing a factory reset, after which I immediately got the update pushed to me. Again, though, it stuck on the "Rebooting..." screen.

I just talked to Verizon tech support. I didn't tell her I was rooted (Is it ok to tell them? I wasn't sure.). We couldn't get anything to work, so she finally called HTC and was told that they have had some problems with the update and will be repushing it within the next 72 hours.

I guess I'll wait to see if HTC pushes a revised update. Perhaps that will work. Otherwise, I wonder if being rooted is interfering with things. Ideas, anyone?

Click to expand...

If you're rooted, why don't you just flash the OTA ROM from Wildstang83 over at Rootzwiki? You can find the link to it under the ROM section over at 'All Things Root'

JLSchutt said:

Guess I'll wait even if the update does show up again on my phone after the checkin.

Click to expand...

It will show up again...it still won't install, but it will show up again.

nvrfgt343 said:

It will show up again...it still won't install, but it will show up again.

Click to expand...

It will instal if you prep your phone correctly. Tons if times it Ibadan been posted here how to prep it.

briman4031 said:

If you're rooted, why don't you just flash the OTA ROM from Wildstang83 over at Rootzwiki? You can find the link to it under the ROM section over at 'All Things Root'

Click to expand...

Alright, tried this. Not sure if I did it right, though, and sure hope I didn't mess things up!

I downloaded the file and put it on my sd card. Then, I did a factory reset, cleared the cache and applied the update using clockwork. After it said that was successful, I went back and rebooted the phone. Now, though, it's been at the 'htc incredible' screen for about 5 minutes without doing anything! I'm just going to leave it there for now in case it's just taking a long time, but I'm assuming at this point that I either did something wrong or I have a bigger problem. What should I do?

sheepy1 said:

Alright, tried this. Not sure if I did it right, though, and sure hope I didn't mess things up!

I downloaded the file and put it on my sd card. Then, I did a factory reset, cleared the cache and applied the update using clockwork. After it said that was successful, I went back and rebooted the phone. Now, though, it's been at the 'htc incredible' screen for about 5 minutes without doing anything! I'm just going to leave it there for now in case it's just taking a long time, but I'm assuming at this point that I either did something wrong or I have a bigger problem. What should I do?

Click to expand...

Guessing you're good. First bootup takes a long time. If not, try again this time wiping data/cache and dalvik cache (advanced menu), then flash the rom.

iowabowtech said:

Guessing you're good. First bootup takes a long time. If not, try again this time wiping data/cache and dalvik cache (advanced menu), then flash the rom.

Click to expand...

Also to add to that, wildstang also recommends to go to the mounts section and format the /boot and /system. (that's the only way i could get it to boot on my other incredible)

sheepy1 said:

Alright, tried this. Not sure if I did it right, though, and sure hope I didn't mess things up!

I downloaded the file and put it on my sd card. Then, I did a factory reset, cleared the cache and applied the update using clockwork. After it said that was successful, I went back and rebooted the phone. Now, though, it's been at the 'htc incredible' screen for about 5 minutes without doing anything! I'm just going to leave it there for now in case it's just taking a long time, but I'm assuming at this point that I either did something wrong or I have a bigger problem. What should I do?

Click to expand...

sdrawkcab25 said:

Also to add to that, wildstang also recommends to go to the mounts section and format the /boot and /system. (that's the only way i could get it to boot on my other incredible)

Click to expand...

That worked... Many thanks!

In case someone ever has the same issue as me, here's what I did. (I was running Froyo and had rooted with unrEVOked.) In ClockworkMod 2.5.1.2, I did a factory reset, wiped cache, formatted boot, formatted system, wiped the dalvik cache, and finally applied wildstang's ROM from my sdcard. Upon rebooting, I now have Android 2.3.4 (4.08.605.2)! My phone starts WAY faster after the update. I'm excited to see what else has changed and improved.

sheepy1 said:

That worked... Many thanks!

In case someone ever has the same issue as me, here's what I did. (I was running Froyo and had rooted with unrEVOked.) In ClockworkMod 2.5.1.2, I did a factory reset, wiped cache, formatted boot, formatted system, wiped the dalvik cache, and finally applied wildstang's ROM from my sdcard. Upon rebooting, I now have Android 2.3.4 (4.08.605.2)! My phone starts WAY faster after the update. I'm excited to see what else has changed and improved.

Click to expand...

glad you got it working, enjoy!

Can anyone confirm they cant dial ##778 after the update to get into edit mode.

Virgin unrooted OLED Incredible.

I'm one of those who delayed updating to original Gingerbread OTA 'til it went away. When it finally came back, it updated to 4.06.605.3. Immediately thereafter, the update to 4.08.605.2 showed up (like < 10 minutes), but failed (not enough space) and eventually went away even after trying the methods mentioned above.

I finally backed up what I could and did a factory reset. I immediately was upgraded to 4.08.605.2 (took about 10 - 15 minutes).

I'm speculating, but it may be that some of my apps were interfering with the upgrade since a number were missing when the dust settled. I just downloaded the ones I needed again, and all is good. I kept most of my data too.