• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Can't get a straight answer from Verizon and HTC... please help me understand

Lucky Armpit

Android Enthusiast
Jul 15, 2010
672
352
Rocky Mount, NC
Hello everyone, fairly new HTC Eris/Android owner here. I'm a bit frustrated at both Verizon and HTC, so maybe the knowledgeable folks of these forums can give me a straight answer on what's going on.

Wife and I were Alltel customers absorbed by Verizon. Once our Alltel contracts were up, we bought Verizon equipment and signed Verizon contracts. I got an LG Env Touch and quickly realized this phone wasn't worth the plastic and slicone it was made of. Verizon reloaded it once and replaced it twice and still had the same problems. I told Verizon it's time to replace the device and they allowed me to purchase a phone of my choice at a reduced rate. I jumped on the Andriod bandwagon and got an HTC Eris.

I've had this phone for about a month now. It's a "factory recertified" phone and has been working fine. I have not had any of the problems I've read about on these forums (thankfully). I was told by Verizon that it would have the latest software on it, but of course, it does not. It has Android 1.5, and this is why I'm posting here.

It's been about 3 weeks and almost 10 phone calls to both HTC and Verizon, and nobody can tell me why my phone won't update to the latest version of Android (2.1, I assume?). I'll spare everyone the gory details, but to put it bluntly, I get a different answer every time I call. Finally, HTC told me yesterday that "Verizon is having problems with the updates for the Eris, and they have taken their servers offline while they fix the update." That's all well and good, but why wasn't I told this 2-3 weeks ago? He didn't have an answer for that of course. I called HTC back a few hours later and someone different told me the same thing. So maybe it is true....

...until I called Verizon tech support this morning and the agent I spoke to didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. I dug a little deeper into these forums and did see several other people mentioning that a software update will start being available for Verizon Droid Eris users, possibly starting tomorrow (July 16th). While that started to get me a bit excited, it seems that this update is a patch, not an actual Android update.

Which brings me to the whole point of this thread: I have a fairly new HTC Droid Eris that's still at Android 1.5. What do I need to do to get the OTA update to 2.1, and will this forthcoming update get me there? Thanks!
 
The latest update is addressing issues in 2.1, which rolled out as an OTA several weeks ago.

1.5 devices are still around (and coveted by some users). A friend of mine had her 1.5 delivered to her as a "re-certified," as you say, and took it to a Verizon outlet for a new charging cable where they offered to upgrade her phone to 2.1, which she declined.

Have you tried taking your 1.5 to a Verizon store to have it upgraded to 2.1? I have not heard of this being offered except in that one case.
 
Upvote 0
Which brings me to the whole point of this thread: I have a fairly new HTC Droid Eris that's still at Android 1.5. What do I need to do to get the OTA update to 2.1, and will this forthcoming update get me there? Thanks!

Pretty sure your phone won't be able to receive the newest OTA update (supposedly starting tomorrow) unless it already has 2.1 on it.

Here are instructions for manually downloading and installing the 2.1 update without wiping your phone:

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/78440-installing-ota-2-1-file.html

That being said, most of us recommend doing a factory reset after the upgrade to 2.1 anyway. So if you prefer, you're welcome to upgrade your phone the way they do it in the store, which is using the Windows RUU instead:

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/92096-verizons-ruu-official-2-1-droid-eris.html
 
Upvote 0
I think you should be able to run the RUU. It's not exactly "OTA" but it will get you on 2.1. Only difference is the bootloader, and that doesn't really matter anymore considering that there is now a root method for that too.

Damn, Nestor beat me to it.

Verizon's using the very same RUU to flash phones before they leave the warehouse now, and of course we have a new, better root method, so it doesn't really matter anymore.
 
Upvote 0
Pretty sure your phone won't be able to receive the newest OTA update (supposedly starting tomorrow) unless it already has 2.1 on it.
That's not what I was told at the Verizon store I bought mine at 2 weeks ago. Last week, I went in and asked if it could be updated to 2.1 and was told by 2 people to wait about a week for the OTA update. (of course, based on what I've read here over the last week, I don't have a clue what to believe.):rolleyes:
 
Upvote 0
The latest update is addressing issues in 2.1, which rolled out as an OTA several weeks ago.

1.5 devices are still around (and coveted by some users). A friend of mine had her 1.5 delivered to her as a "re-certified," as you say, and took it to a Verizon outlet for a new charging cable where they offered to upgrade her phone to 2.1, which she declined.

Have you tried taking your 1.5 to a Verizon store to have it upgraded to 2.1? I have not heard of this being offered except in that one case.

Hi Frisco, thanks for the reply. That's what several Verizon/HTC reps have asked. I have been resisting that option... I'll try to say this as politely as possible, as I don't want to turn this thread into a Verizon-bashing rant. The CSRs in my local Verizon store don't seem to be plugged into Verizon corporate, as they continually amaze me with their lack of knowledge of Verizon's policies, procedures, and methods. That, and you have to go to the store at odd hours during the day because the wait for service can be painfully long. The CSRs are constantly disappearing behind what I call "The Magic Door" for 10-15 minutes at a time while there is a lobby full of customers. I've even overheard some CSRs walking out the door stating that they are, "taking their break" even though the other CSRs are in the weeds.

Whenever I need to accomplish anything with Verizon, I always call... the local store here in my city continually lets me down. But due to the amount of time I've spent on the phone with both Verizon and HTC, and since nobody can tell me why my Eris won't update to 2.1, I guess I need to take my chances at the local store. All my contacts are backed up to Google, and I can re-download the apps I purchased (right?). I've noticed there are several apps in the Android Market that I can't even see because I'm on an old version of Android, which is the main reason I want to update.

Anyway, sorry, didn't mean to digress. I was proofreading my post and saw that several other people responded. Thank you! I have read about rooting the phone (HTC asked me at one point if I did that, and I said, "huh?"... had to look it up, lol) and it just makes me nervous. Not that the procedure seems difficult but I'm afraid of it, just like I'm still intimidated by flashing the BIOS of computers even though I've been in IT in one form or another for the past 14+ years. I'm excited about the downloadable .exe link that thenestor posted. Seems quick and simple, which is right up my alley.

Thanks again everyone, I'll be sure to keep you guys updated.
 
Upvote 0
The CSRs in my local Verizon store don't seem to be plugged into Verizon corporate, as they continually amaze me with their lack of knowledge of Verizon's policies, procedures, and methods.

You probably won't garner much disagreement about Verizon "floor monkeys" as expressed in these forums, L.A. ;)

I am, however, curious as to what regional differences there could be wrt that.

In the city where I live, about 300 thousand souls now, there are several Verizon stores and franchises, along with the usual representation at Best Buy and other office oriented retail outlets.

I've found them to be cheerful, hard working and eager to help, but basically full of condensed owl manure.
 
Upvote 0
You probably won't garner much disagreement about Verizon "floor monkeys" as expressed in these forums, L.A. ;)

I am, however, curious as to what regional differences there could be wrt that.

In the city where I live, about 300 thousand souls now, there are several Verizon stores and franchises, along with the usual representation at Best Buy and other office oriented retail outlets.

I've found them to be cheerful, hard working and eager to help, but basically full of condensed owl manure.

Whoo, you had me rolling with the condensed cow manure. Man that's a good one. I totally agree that they are friendly and helpful, but they are definitely not knowledgeable about their products and services. And I'm from Eastern NC and will leave it at that... if any local Verizon folks browse these forums I don't want my car firebombed.

I will try the RUU executable via Windows to get me updated. Thanks again for the assistance everyone, I will let you know how it goes. Having to redownload my apps is a small price to pay. Contacts are backed up via Google but what sucks will be that I lose my progress on the Robo Defense game.... gotta start all over.... :(
 
Upvote 0
I've had this phone for about a month now. It's a "factory recertified" phone and has been working fine. I have not had any of the problems I've read about on these forums (thankfully). I was told by Verizon that it would have the latest software on it, but of course, it does not. It has Android 1.5, and this is why I'm posting here.

I'd consider this a very lucky happening!! I loved my eris while it had 1.5 on it but after the OTA 2.1 it turned into a steaming pile of poo!! it was very stable and just worked before... but after i couldn't make or receive calls bout half the time.. the battery life was cut in half on 2.1 running the same apps.. this wasn't just the case on my phone this also happened on the 2nd eris on my account too.. just recieved my moto droid refurb.. don't like it as well as my "working" eris but at least it's usable!!! IMO... it's a real shame Ver/HTC turned the eris into a horrible phone..
 
Upvote 0
Updated with no problems. Reinstalled all my apps and set up my email accounts. My contacts came over and so did the pics assigned to them, which was nice. Checked my voicemail with no issue. I sent a text message and the Message app locked up and I had to Force Close it. Jeez, is this what I have to look forward to? I whined about 2.1 only to have the thing lock up sending a text?
 
Upvote 0
Updated with no problems. Reinstalled all my apps and set up my email accounts. My contacts came over and so did the pics assigned to them, which was nice. Checked my voicemail with no issue. I sent a text message and the Message app locked up and I had to Force Close it. Jeez, is this what I have to look forward to? I whined about 2.1 only to have the thing lock up sending a text?

Time to root!
 
Upvote 0
Which version? I'm on 23 and it's pretty solid for me.

I get my updates for kaosfroyo very slowly... I go from v1.7 to v2.0 to v2.3. Luckily I have my back up pro for epic backups.
It saved my ass. I forgot to remove my bnet authenticator, it put my old one back and it wins on epicness(not free though).
 
Upvote 0
All seems fine this morning. I noticed last night that I was sending texts while downloading/installing several apps so the phone probably just couldn't handle all that at the same time. Sent several texts and emails this morning with no issues. Keyboard response is better than 1.5, and I learned a few things during the tutorial, lol. For example, I didn't know that holding a key while typing will bring up it's secondary function. Accelerometer seems to be running better as well as the phone responds faster to portrait/landscape orientation changes. Phone seems to be running smooth so far.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones