BB's OS upgrade process

Alright, first let me state that this isn't a post to complain, but get some feedback on what you guys feel about this process.

I don't personally feel that the upgrade process is the worst thing in the world, but it definitely isn't convenient. On a day to day basis I get questions from cellphone customers regarding questions/issues with BlackBerry software etc, and if the answer involves upgrading their software, they basically give you the "deer in headlights" look when you explain the process. To the average consumer, this appears to be a very daunting process.
Does anyone else feel that there should be a Desktop Manager option that checks for official upgrades for your device? I hate to say it, but something in the fashion of what Apple does for the Iphone is what I mean. Essentially, Apple made it as easy as charging your Iphone to upgrade it. It seems that as Blackberry has jumped into the mainstream market with both feet the last couple years, they are dealing with people that aren't as technologically advanced, more often.
Also, with the great amount of new products, it seems that there are a lot more software issues, and that's normal. But if you want to maintain a good reputation, and continue growth, I feel this has to be easier for the average consumer to deal with.

I am aware there are some roadblocks, such as carriers offerings of the software. But I think if you launch the product with the software that the cell provider wants, there should still be the option to easily change it, and that should be included with the Desktop software. These are official Blackberry releases after all.

I do have more thoughts on this, but figured I'd get some feedback, and see if everyone thinks I'm stupid/crazy/way-off-base before I continue. And for all I know, this sort of thing might already be in the works and I may have missed it completely. Let me know what your guys' thoughts are on this, I'm curious.

JonB

I totally agree. I wish Blackberry would make it more seamless a task to update your operating system and provide updates. It would be great if their Device Mgr. could periodically look for updates and then automatically download them to your phone should you choose to let it to. I mean, dang- seems to me to upgrade your OS, you have to almost be a techie and follow each step so carefully in order for you to not brick the friggen phone. lol.

Let's see, you have to first manually download the latest 4.5433554675784468.009097687967 software, and then load it to your phone, remove the vendor xmlsohsgrb file or whatever and what?!@!@ Oh forget it... I'll just live with non html emails and won't watch youtube on my phone. Sheesh! :D

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so! It doesn't seem like it should be out of reach for Desktop Manager to recognize your BB Model, the software version, check their global releases, prompt you asking if you'd like to upgrade, and it should recognize your carrier and automatically deal with vendor.xml. I don't feel like that is too much to ask. I'm not saying it should necessarily be enabled as a default, because I understand there are situations where people don't have their pc connected to the internet or don't want it to be, but it should be a readily available option.

Actually, RIM has recently release a web-based device software update site: BlackBerry - Update your Device Software

You'll need to open the site in Internet Explorer, and I'm not exactly sure if there is an OS version limitation. But it will detect your current OS version, check your provider for an update, then prompt you if a new version has been released.

BTW, it will not work on any BB that has been activated on a BES server. It tells you to contact your IT administrator. :rolleyes:

Its good to see they have taken a step in this general direction. But its biggest flaw is that it requires the user to be proactive in doing this, by going to an external site, and still going thru the same "non user-friendly" process it appears. And it has browser limitations, which will prevent it from being used across the board. It needs to be a fool-proof process, at least in my mind.

I do appreciate you pointing their Update site out tho, it is a start.

True. We all know how "users" are about checking for updates.

Today, I was getting ready to update a Storm out of the box for a VP, and before I could do anything in Desktop Manager, it asked for an email address to send OS update notifications to.

Maybe it's DM 4.7, or it's just for the Storm, but it seems that, like you said, RIM is working their way in the right direction.

I upgraded the OS on my new BB Flip to 4.6.0.180 a couple of days ago and it was fairly painless -- for a dyed-in-the-wool geek. I clicked Check For Updates on the Desktop Manager and followed the prompts. Well, it was painless up to the point I thought it was taking too long and almost did a battery pull.
Right now I'm in the process of transferring my wife's contact list to her new BB Flip, and Desktop Manager offered the OS upgrade as soon as I plugged in the USB cable. Since I now have an hour to kill, I thought I'd scout the forums to see if it's necessary and/or advisable to delete obsolete files from the prior OS version.

Originally Posted by hubermania

...Desktop Manager offered the OS upgrade as soon as I plugged in the USB cable. Since I now have an hour to kill, I thought I'd scout the forums to see if it's necessary and/or advisable to delete obsolete files from the prior OS version.

Found my answer: deleting the prior OS is an Advanced Topic. I'll wait a few years 'til I'm a lot more comfortable with my Flip and willing to take the risk of bricking it. :o
(I'm such a noob I can't even post the link yet. Search for "proper upgrade downgrade procedure".)

Originally Posted by hubermania

Found my answer: deleting the prior OS is an Advanced Topic. I'll wait a few years 'til I'm a lot more comfortable with my Flip and willing to take the risk of bricking it. :o
(I'm such a noob I can't even post the link yet. Search for "proper upgrade downgrade procedure".)

In my experience, it is not necessary to delete the previous OS when upgrading, but it is safe to do so, provided that you still have the original exe file so you can install it again if you need to roll back. Neither the carriers nor RIM maintain easily accessible copies of older versions of OS's, so if you need to roll back and don't have the old version, you can have a real problem.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Learning how to do the upgrades and take full advantage of your device is what makes us special....

how do you update an iPhone? Buy a new one LOL

Originally Posted by Blackberry ******

Learning how to do the upgrades and take full advantage of your device is what makes us special....

how do you update an iPhone? Buy a new one LOL

Haha, yeah that's all true. However, as much as Blackberry will cater to us "special" peeps, the market they are in does require a little bit more finesse.

So far, in this discussion I've brought up the basic process of upgrading the OS. Another non-user friendly subtopic would be the process of backing up your 3rd party applications before doing an upgrade. Cumbersome is an understatement. I feel that all of this needs to be integrated for the average customer.

I think RIM is moving in the right direction with their web update interface. Right now the upgrade process is involved and has risks. If RIM can take that out of the equation, life will be good for everyone. Although part of me likes to manually do the upgrade. I know a proper backup has been done, I can monitor the flow of the upgrade. In the future it will become so automated that us OG's of the computer world will just have to sit back and let the machines do the work for us. My .02