A strange answer from Samsung regarding 8.1

[Davide Carozza]

I read in one of the sprint forums, that sprint is not upgrading the neo. Due to lack of interest. And I just bought mine 2 weeks ago.

Hi bricky23, would you mind telling me where to look or providing a link to this statement? Trying to decide if it is worth getting this phone.....

 

[jasqid]

Also Sprint had already communicated around the time of Build 2014 that both the 8XT and Ativ S Neo would be getting 8.1

Sprint confirms Windows Phone 8.1 update for HTC 8XT and Samsung ATIV S Neo this summer | Windows Phone Central

LoL...summer here and gone.

 

[Rod Iron]

That's just a rumor floating around the Sprint forum, the Neo is a very nice phone and I would recommend it. I would prefer it to be a bit bigger but what can ya do? You can put the dev preview on it just don't reset it afterwards and its good to go. Don't bother asking Sprint anything about the update, they like Samsung won't tell you squat! AT&T's Neo and Verizon's ATIV SE haven't been updated either.

 

[Rod Iron]

Well the ATIV S has finally been updated but as for Neo users Sammy is still playing stupid.

"Thank you for contacting Samsung Telecommunications America.

From what you’ve written, I see that you would like to know about the availability of Windows 8.1 update for your Galaxy Ativ S Neo device.

We can understand your requirement but we are sorry to inform you that, the information regarding the future update releases is unavailable with us. We are unable to speculate when/if a Windows 8.1 update might be available to Samsung Ativ S Neo device, due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion. However, once the update is available for the device, it will be notified on the Samsung web site and you should receive notification on the device itself."

 

[wphokie]

Don't bother asking Sprint anything about the update, they like Samsung won't tell you squat! AT&T's Neo and Verizon's ATIV SE haven't been updated either.

Don’t bother asking the Sprint forums anything about anything. The SprintCare social media reps may mean well, but aren’t trained well. They are just following a script, take absolutely no initiative to search out real answers from internal resources, and have three primary functions: to sort out specific and addressable customer care issues and then route them to the correct fix agency, to appear responsive and empathize with any possible complaint, and to cheer and repeat any positive comment. They aren’t there to address product roadmap items, to include software updates, and their script points to others like Samsung for the delay.

Post any question about the status of 8.1 for the ATIV S Neo and you can automatically create your SprintCare response by picking any of the following canned answers:

1. “I’m glad that you are enjoying your device! We’re here if you need any assistance. Thank you for being a part of the Sprint family.”
2. “Thank you for posting. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We’re here to help!”
3. “We agree the ATIV S Neo is a great device! Once the manufacturer provides us with the update, it will be announced through your device’s specific forum, here in the Community. Stay up to date with the latest device updates, launches, and more by visiting Sprint.com/newsroom.”
4. “We understand your frustration and would truly hate to lose you as a customer. However, the software updates for your phone are provided by the manufacturer of the phone and not Sprint. We suggest contacting Samsung. If you have any other questions, just let us know!”
5. “You never know, we may still see an update. Keep your fingers crossed! When we know the plan we’ll post it to the website.”

 

[wphokie]

I read in one of the sprint forums, that sprint is not upgrading the neo. Due to lack of interest. And I just bought mine 2 weeks ago.

As for whether an ATIV S Neo on Sprint will actually receive the 8.1... Microsoft, Samsung, and Sprint have all pointed to one or two of the other three anytime someone asks.

So what will Sprint tell you about how they feel about the ATIV S Neo and whether it will be updated? They won?t say officially they?re not going to update it. But?while you can still find the ATIV S Neo on their website, it wasn?t selling well in the spring, and they recalled all of them from their retail stores by June (so several sales reps told me). The HTC 8XT that was also supposedly going to be updated to 8.1 by the end of the summer is nowhere to be found. So? what?s that tell you?

Maybe you'll still find some, but the retail, employee store, and telesales told me they've been recalled due to lack of sales.

So I'm not optimistic about seeing the update anytime soon.

 

[wphokie]

Its the carrier who decides when your update should be issued. I know its frustrating.

Yes. This. ^

There are probably people somewhere in Microsoft, and especially Samsung due to the firmware that a carrier has requested, that know what's coming. But it's not their place to speculate on availability or timeframes, as it's ultimately up to Sprint as to what they will release and support on their network and when. Sprint needs to test the update before release, and trust me, that takes time. Point is: Sprint knows whether an update is being tested, it's just the people who do the testing aren't customer-facing. And the product team apparently hasn't provided any updates to customer care, which they won't unless they were positive an update was testing successfully and would be released. So that's why you keep getting the canned answers from their forums.

 

[icthusman1]

So what will Sprint tell you about how they feel about the ATIV S Neo and whether it will be updated? They won’t say officially they’re not going to update it. But—while you can still find the ATIV S Neo on their website, it wasn’t selling well in the spring, and they recalled all of them from their retail stores by June (so several sales reps told me). The HTC 8XT that was also supposedly going to be updated to 8.1 by the end of the summer is nowhere to be found. So… what’s that tell you?

They have not pulled them from all the stores. I saw it in a corporate Sprint store just a couple of weeks ago. Alongside the 8Xt.

 

[Rod Iron]

That's not entirely true, they have been helpful on two occasions. When it comes to the update though there's no point in asking them, they are too low on the totem pole.

 

[blueballet]

We see that Samsung updated Ativ s to 8.1 GR 1. I doubt that there are working on the update for the Samsung ativ S neo. The interest on the phone is there.