1. ncmomgoinczy's Avatar
    I'm very curious about upgrading my OS and why. I got my bb in March and I have version 5.0.0.395 running on a 8530, which is the version that came with the phone. I just wanted to know should I or do I NEED to upgrade to a newer version? I see so many people upgrade as frequent as the OS's come out. So I'm curious as to why?? I'm kind of skeptical also about upgrading because of problems I see people posting on here. And if I chose to upgrade what are some things I should watch for or expect? Thanks everyone and please feel free to give me as much detail about this as you can. Still learning my bb
    07-24-10 06:00 AM
  2. jeffh's Avatar
    OS upgrades are released by the carriers for two primary reasons: to add new features or capabilities, and to fix bugs. Unfortunately, in the last year or two, new OS releases have been just as likely to introduce new bugs as they are to fix old ones. If you want the new feature / capability, or you have a horrible bug that the upgrade fixes, then you still have to consider the significant risk that the new OS will be just as buggy in some new way as the one you are replacing. The most blatant recent example of this effect was the initial release by Verizon of OS 5.0 for the Tour. It added PTT and a slew of features that Verizon was touting and users demanding, but it also bricked irreparably a significant number of the devices on which it was installed.

    My advice? Never upgrade to a new OS release in the first week. There are plenty of volunteers who will, and you can benefit from their experiences. And secondly, always always always keep the executable of your previous version on your PC, so you can easily roll back (assuming the upgrade is merely bad and not lethal). I don't recommend OTA upgrades because when you upgrade OTA, you don't get the OS installed on your PC.
    07-24-10 06:59 AM
  3. Pete6's Avatar
    You are right to be cautious.

    If it ain't broke, don't fix it, is the saying that springs to mind here.

    However BlackBerry OSs improve from release to release. Improvements come in three varieties

    - bug fixes
    - carrier specific changes (which we never know about)
    - improvements and enhancements

    I have regularly upgraded my OS whenever a new release is available. I usually wait a couple of days adn watch the threads in the OS forum before I upgrade. I do this to make sure that there is not a total disaster in a particular OS release.

    Many OSs are "leaked" prior to any carrier releasing it.

    If you want to play cautious then try your first upgrade with the latest offered by your carrier. This is an "official" release meaning that you can call your carrier and get support. This is a big plus for a first time upgraded.
    07-24-10 07:06 AM
  4. ncmomgoinczy's Avatar
    Thanks Jeff!! So I guess I am good with the version I have? I don't know of any bugs but then again, it's possible that there could be some and I'm not aware of them being that I'm still new to the bb. An issue that I have is the roaming and lack of signal strength that I used to get with a "dumbphone". I just chalk that up to the bb and not so much my carrier since I've done all that I believe could be done about that situation. May I ask what is PTT and what do you mean "bricked"? And am I correct to assume that whenever I back up on my DM my OS is there? Thanks for your help
    07-24-10 07:11 AM
  5. ncmomgoinczy's Avatar
    Thanks Pete! What I get confused about also are the upgrade numbers! Is there any ryme or reason with how they number the versions. Like I mentioned in my OP is I have version 5.0.0.395, so I would think that any upgrades that came out after .395 would be of a higher number (of course before hitting the 6.0). So I don't know where my version stands as far as being old, new, semi old, semi new. So I guess also that I should check with Sprint for the latest "official upgrade" and by "official" do you mean it's least likely to have any bugs? Thanks, I'm just really trying to understand exactly so I apologize for all the questions in these posts
    07-24-10 07:29 AM
  6. jeffh's Avatar
    PTT is the acronym for Push-to-Talk. It used to be a big feature of Nextel phones. It allows you to use a cell phone somewhat like a handheld commercial 2-way radio service device.

    Bricked means the OS is corrupted and has to be removed and reinstalled. That's normally a bit of an annoyance but not a catastrophe, assuming you have a current backup of all your data. Removing and reinstalling an OS erases all the personal data on a phone, somewhat akin to formatting a disk. If you don't have a backup, your data is lost with no possibility of recovery.

    A backup made through Desktop Manager does NOT include your OS or your apps. A DM backup only includes your personal databases. Apps can be backed up with a 3rd party app, or by a procedure you can find in the How To forum, here: http://forums.crackberry.com/f3/upda...updated-53201/. The only way to back up your OS is to have the exe available on your PC.

    The latest officially released OS for you device is normally available in a sticky link at the top of the device forum.
    07-24-10 07:48 AM
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