HTC speaks out on Hero Android 2 update

Still awaiting the promised Android 2 update for your HTC Hero smartphone? Here's what HTC has to say about it: “Android Éclair update for HTC Hero will be released by the end of June. "The upgrade will come in two parts, the first of which will roll out from this week and will be detected when the Hero next automatically …

[Mr Brush]

Just got part 1

SIM-Free UK Hero on Vodafone.

4.7Mb download and a scary wait at the HTC screen while it did it's business.

This is only a pre-patch but the phone seems snappier already with better memory management evident in my system monitor.

Roll on part two.

[Chris Pearson]

They better not be lying again

or I'll be upgrading away from HTC and android all together to the iPhone and to hell with the closed nature. People going "sod it I'll just get a desire" are doing exactly what HTC want them to.

The platform was sold on the promise of timely updates, the first of which should have appeared Q4 last year.....

[madmattttt]

At Last....

I have been waiting for this for ages. HTC are in a great position at the moment but if they let their customers down they are going to tarnish their reputation.

They have the resources to turn these updates around quickly, so why annoy your customers just to save a few quid.

I'm still and HTC fan but they are skating on thin ice if they keep this up

[Chris Thomas Alpha]

Or, if you CBA waiting for them to get....

their ass into gear, you can just run over to http://www.villainrom.co.uk and grab a 2.1 version of android which works fine on the HTC Hero, with all the lovely toys they offer.

I thought it would be hard, but actually, once you get your mind past the "uh oh" point of flashing your own rom you found on the net, you start wondering why you bothered to wait for HTC in the first place.

they are absolutely incompetent that a bunch of hackers on the net can do something that HTC apparently can't do. months before they can't do it.

[DrXym]

Are you surprised

If you want to live on the wild side, well congrats, but HTC's stance is perfectly understandable. Releasing firmware updates is hideously difficult and testing is vital to ensure it goes properly.

Hackers don't have to care if a firmware update is tested to the nth degree, they don't have to care if the upgrade process is seamless and painless even for novices. HTC does, otherwise it will be placating many angry customers and network operators demanding compensation for their bricked phones.

[Christopher Rogers]

i agree

Fuck 'em. Root and cooked rom is the best way to get all you can out of the Hero. I've gone VillainRom 10 and frankly the phone works fantastically.

[paulf]

HTC f'ing useless

I've had a Hero since Nov 2009 and been waiting for this update since then to fix the multifarious bugs in Android 1.5. The last update was Sept 2009 - 9 months ago. As good as Android is (I've played briefly with 2.1 on a friend's Desire and its excellent) v1.5 is riddled with bugs and problems (At least on the Hero).

I don't have much hope of HTC updating newer handsets - as stated variously HTC seem to busy launching about 27 handsets a month to bother with keeping existing owners up to date with Android - even in the first year of ownership.

Oh and a word for HTC if you're reading - updating a handset without wiping it first is hardly a state of the art invention so how come you missed that one for the new OTA update method. My SE k800i can cope with updates without being wiped, so what gives??

Grrrr - /rant.

PS - I bought my handset sim free so its unlocked and running the base HTC f/w load. I pity anyone with a T-M or Orange handset who will have to wait a further 6 months for Ora-bile to cack up the 2.1 f/w with all those useless network customisations

[Anonymous Coward]

Wipe and upgrade

HTC aren't reading, probably too busy releasing new phones, as you say.

It's just unbelievable that installing an upgrade involves wiping the phone. If this was, say, ooh, *Apple* then there'd be a flame war going on right now about how piss-poor Apple's software developers are.

But no, this is HTC and Android, so it's OK to insist that users find some way of backing up all their stuff first. For most non-tech users with an HTC Hero, Android=HTC=Android. Once you've wiped all their data because they didn't or couldn't back it up, you've perfected a way of putting them off HTC phones and anything else tagged with Android for life.

[Paul_Murphy]

My Heros wifi has packed up

Ever since I dropped it running for a train. :-(

I highly doubt upgrading it to 2 will make it come back.

ttfn

[madmattttt]

TIP

If you want to force your phone to download the new firmware set the date on your phone a month ahead ;-)

[Kay Burley ate my hamster]

villainrom10 or ChocolateEclair both very fast and your apps install to SD card!

I'm running ChocolateEclair AKA the HTC 2.1 update with slight overclocking during use and underclocking while in standby, it's super fast and great battery life.

* If however you install the official 2.1 version you'll never know this joy as you won't be able to load custom updates. *

Details for the techies @ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=702215

[Mike Dyne]

Sod Villain or ChocolateEclair

It's totally all about Cronos Droid. :)

http://www.cronosproject.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=16

I'm happily running a very stable 2.1 release with Sense and JIT enabled ;) it even works with the lock screen. :)

[cmw]

Magic Update

I am not really bothered about a Hero update.

What I want is a Android 2 update for the HTC Magic (Vodafone).

[Spanners]

Do I have to wait for the phone company?

Or will it pick it up direct?

[Exhar]

It will pick it up from HTC.

The Hero does a 2 weekly update check. So you can just set the date 2 weeks ahead. The first update is 4,5 Mb. When the update is complete there will be a Check for update menu under Settings - About phone.

[Mike Dyne]

@cmw

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=666859

You can experiment with this. :)

[Tony W]

What's backing up?

If my HTC Desire is anything to go by, Android doesn't provide a way to back up all data and settings. And from what I can see, no third party app does a complete job.

This is a great way to support your customers. First make them worried in case they lose important data. Then give them an hour or two's work re-installing apps, re-entering settings, and sorting out the inevitable problems that come with a complete re-install, such as when the APN settings get screwed up.

This is one of many reasons that I've come to the conclusion that an Android phone is a great toy for those who enjoy beta testing.

[Mr Brush]

Not sure about the others, but...

When my colleagues Nexus 1 got the 2.2 FroYo update, it didn't wipe his data. So it seems to have been sorted for future Android versions, but will probably continue to be a legacy problem for older 'updates'.