Impatient for 950 XL FW update in US

wpcautobot

New member
Oct 30, 2012
145
0
0
Visit site
For everyone outside of the USA, I have empathy for what you normally go through, having to wait for features and products. I'm so wanting the 950 XL firmware update. I'm on the unlocked dual sim version. Let's hope we get it soon. I experience everything that it is supposed to fix.
 

zei20t

New member
Aug 6, 2014
348
0
0
Visit site
ha yeah i know how you feel.

i sold my Australian single sim 950XL for a US dual sim 950XL, cant believe im still waiting :p
 

PGrey

New member
Sep 2, 2013
709
0
0
Visit site
Not me, I could wait days, weeks, months...

Hmm, no, wait, I was the one who accidentally went to the rollup FW update, without checking the value, and had to restore a good portion of my settings after the process. I'm now parked on 16082, and trying not to open WDRT, to or lumiafirmware.com, to check for availability, it's hard ;-]

I'm betting we get it next Tuesday, 7/12, pure speculation though. It seems like since everyone outside the US is starting to get OTA now, that we shouldn't be too far behind.
 

Jakoh

New member
Apr 9, 2012
575
0
0
Visit site
The sad part is this show MS is not a hardware company when it takes them an year to get stuff working. The best part about Nokia was, their software might have sucked but the hardware WORKED.
 

PGrey

New member
Sep 2, 2013
709
0
0
Visit site
In this case, I think it's an issue with the carriers, not MS, that's blocking the US updates.
It's a little bizarre, since no carriers here actually carried the phone, but it would appear MS is "syncing" with them, before releasing. Obviously, this is speculation...
 

rollindice

New member
Oct 15, 2014
616
0
0
Visit site
Not me, I'm patiently waiting my turn to get the firmware. Until then I'm still enjoying my phone :)

I'm like you I also enjoying my phone on production build and waiting, my neighbor and I benefited from the first BOGO free deal,i'm using the 950 while neighbor uses the XL, anyone has the link from Microsoft with the Lumia phones ,their model #s and firmware #s ? I came across it one time by my friend's house but didn't save or store it in my email for reference. it's an updated page, if anyone has the link can post it here.
 

Krystianpants

New member
Sep 2, 2014
1,828
0
0
Visit site
In this case, I think it's an issue with the carriers, not MS, that's blocking the US updates.
It's a little bizarre, since no carriers here actually carried the phone, but it would appear MS is "syncing" with them, before releasing. Obviously, this is speculation...

Yah even when carriers don't carry the phones, they are very picky in north america when it comes to touching the radio stack. They don't test them themselves but MS needs their approval before they can go ahead. My guess is their engineers have to review changes MS made and approve them. Again, it's hard to know what goes on behind the scenes but Firmware does go through carriers for whatever reason.

Imagine a bad firmware that creates a scenario that attacks the towers almost like a DDOS attack. And if there are millions of people on that carrier it could cause them headaches.
 

Allen Rhodes

New member
Feb 9, 2014
639
0
0
Visit site
The sad part is this show MS is not a hardware company when it takes them an year to get stuff working. The best part about Nokia was, their software might have sucked but the hardware WORKED.

FACT: No Nokia phone received a firmware update, ever.


SMDH....
 

PGrey

New member
Sep 2, 2013
709
0
0
Visit site
Yah even when carriers don't carry the phones, they are very picky in north america when it comes to touching the radio stack. They don't test them themselves but MS needs their approval before they can go ahead. My guess is their engineers have to review changes MS made and approve them. Again, it's hard to know what goes on behind the scenes but Firmware does go through carriers for whatever reason.

Imagine a bad firmware that creates a scenario that attacks the towers almost like a DDOS attack. And if there are millions of people on that carrier it could cause them headaches.

Weird, I get where this is going, but it seems sketchy, in terms of "back room" deals and such.
I don't think too many router manufacturers run their firmware updates by ISPs, for example, and if they held firmware fixes, as a result, I think there would be some FTC or similar complaints.

It's almost like buying the carrier-less phone was relatively pointless here, the carriers are still managing to prevent us getting updates, pretty screwy stuff, if that's what's actually happening (your hard-to-know comments rings true though).

This makes me WANT to switch to another country firmware, temporarily anyway, just because. If backup/restore worked better, I'd seriously consider it...
 

KwisatzHaderach

New member
Feb 9, 2016
18
0
0
Visit site
Not sure why everyone here thinks the states were the only ones not getting the update... I`m on a German unlocked 950 and haven't received anything. And I know I'm not the only one here. I'm on Vodafone prepaid btw...

One general question that I have: I bought this phone unlocked, but ever since I chucked my Vodafone prepaid SIM in, the phone shows a Vodafone splash screen during boot ups. Is that the norm?

Also the manufacturer ID is "RM-1104_12744". According to Microsoft that means Vodafone is the mobile operator, but does it also mean my phone is now branded and I have to wait for Vodafone to certify the new FW?

If anyone knows anything about this, I'd appreciate the info. Bugs me to no end that I have to wait for this Holy Grail of firmware updates!
 

PGrey

New member
Sep 2, 2013
709
0
0
Visit site
Not sure why everyone here thinks the states were the only ones not getting the update... I`m on a German unlocked 950 and haven't received anything. And I know I'm not the only one here. I'm on Vodafone prepaid btw...

One general question that I have: I bought this phone unlocked, but ever since I chucked my Vodafone prepaid SIM in, the phone shows a Vodafone splash screen during boot ups. Is that the norm?

Also the manufacturer ID is "RM-1104_12744". According to Microsoft that means Vodafone is the mobile operator, but does it also mean my phone is now branded and I have to wait for Vodafone to certify the new FW?

If anyone knows anything about this, I'd appreciate the info. Bugs me to no end that I have to wait for this Holy Grail of firmware updates!

I think that means Vodaphone can put some kind of "hold" on your firmware, much like is happening here in the US. The Euro case is "interesting", because if you go to nokiafirmware, you can see the firmware, and download it (if you want it enough to NOT do an OTA update).
I have a completely unbranded 950XL (this phone was never carried by a single carrier in the US), yet it would appear that somehow the US carriers have a "deal" of sorts, where they can hold the firmware (from being published yet even) while testing is done. I kind of wonder if this is legal, but it probably doesn't matter, given the number of people affected.

I get the DOS type of thing, and whole works (I've written tests for similar, not on phones, but other OS components), but if it's good enough for the Euro carriers, which aren't exactly tiny, why would the US carriers not accept the testing done? I'm sure there's a full set of regressions run against this, having done a lot of OS work myself.
The ONLY case I could see this being valid, is if the carriers here discovered a flaw in their networks, and needed to review things before release.
Makes me wonder, I've never heard of a unbranded Nexus release being held up by a carrier?
 

Krystianpants

New member
Sep 2, 2014
1,828
0
0
Visit site
I think that means Vodaphone can put some kind of "hold" on your firmware, much like is happening here in the US. The Euro case is "interesting", because if you go to nokiafirmware, you can see the firmware, and download it (if you want it enough to NOT do an OTA update).
I have a completely unbranded 950XL (this phone was never carried by a single carrier in the US), yet it would appear that somehow the US carriers have a "deal" of sorts, where they can hold the firmware (from being published yet even) while testing is done. I kind of wonder if this is legal, but it probably doesn't matter, given the number of people affected.

I get the DOS type of thing, and whole works (I've written tests for similar, not on phones, but other OS components), but if it's good enough for the Euro carriers, which aren't exactly tiny, why would the US carriers not accept the testing done? I'm sure there's a full set of regressions run against this, having done a lot of OS work myself.
The ONLY case I could see this being valid, is if the carriers here discovered a flaw in their networks, and needed to review things before release.
Makes me wonder, I've never heard of a unbranded Nexus release being held up by a carrier?

Well it's only for firmware. The OS itself doesn't get held back as you have seen many times before. How often do you see nexus firmware updates? Are they part of the android release?

It may not even be the carriers but the FCC that reviews the new firmware approval. Since it has the power to change how the radio devices function. Each country has a different body for approval.

Certification is the most rigorous approval process for RF Devices with the greatest potential to cause harmful interference. It is an equipment authorization issued by a recognized TCB (Telecommunication Certification Body) based on an application and test data submitted by the responsible party (e.g., the manufacturer or importer). The testing is done by an accredited testing laboratory recognized by the Commission as approved for performing such work. A TCB examines the test data and supporting documentation to determine whether the testing followed appropriate protocols and the data demonstrates technical and operational compliance with all pertinent rules.

Some interesting stuff reading FCC testing and type of tests based on carrier. Verizon's is interseting.

Verizon doesn’t do TIS/TRP and they rely on your FCC compliance for RSE conformance. The main testing for Verizon is associated with how your device behaves on its network. Things like how often you try to associate on the network; do you disconnect form the network properly; does your device respond to network commands properly, etc. Many of these factors are built into the cell module’s firmware but many others are not. This is just one example where reusing known-tested firmware from an experienced integrator can make a big difference (6 months and $100,000 type of difference) in your product development. Testing for Verizon can range from $15,000 to free depending on the deployment size and how much Verizon believes in your product. Verizon will choose to subsidize testing based on the business case. This testing can be done by Verizon’s own test lab or a number of third-party labs.

Seems like it can get expensive to a company.

I've been searching around and once you have it initially certified firmware changes are actually verified but doesn't require the same testing as initially. At least from what I've been reading on forums. There's so much complexity in the mobile space no wonder MS wants to let OEMs deal with it, especially if they already are in the mobile sector.
 
Last edited:

PGrey

New member
Sep 2, 2013
709
0
0
Visit site
Well it's only for firmware. The OS itself doesn't get held back as you have seen many times before. How often do you see nexus firmware updates? Are they part of the android release?

It may not even be the carriers but the FCC that reviews the new firmware approval. Since it has the power to change how the radio devices function. Each country has a different body for approval.

Some interesting stuff reading FCC testing and type of tests based on carrier. Verizon's is interseting.

Seems like it can get expensive to a company.

The firmware is typically part of the Android release, and with the unbranded Nexus devices, they typically get updated within a few days of publishing.

Yep, the FCC reviews, but if you read the documents, it appears they just review what the firmware updates are, and if due-diligence testing is performed. I suppose they could spot-check things, but a random Windows phone seems like a strange candidate.

What I did find interesting, upon some further reading on the FCC issues, is that flashing firmware from another country is pretty borderline, in terms of legality, if you're a US citizen. There's some really detailed documentation on this part, and while I didn't read the entire thing, it sure sounds iffy.

Edit: This article http://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-firmware-auto-publishing-launches makes it sound like they specifically are NOT waiting on approval from carriers, for un-branded devices.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
322,915
Messages
2,242,889
Members
428,004
Latest member
hetb