Operator update and Baseband

[raddy]

Hello Everybody

I want to know one important thing in this Android update drama for non Nexus mobile phones.
Previously, people was speculating that only because of heavy skinning, non Nexus Mobile Phones takes long time to release updates.
It has been shown recently that updating mobile phone maker's skin for a new version of Android takes very less time.

The recent claim being Operator takes big chunk of time in testing the updates before it being released.

But, few months ago i learnt one important information from an XDA member.
I was looking to update my AT&T Google Nexus S mobile phone to Jellybean.
But the update was not available then for my mobile phone.

So, one of the fellow XDA member converted an OTA delivered update to be installed in all GSM variants of Samsung Google Nexus S.
I asked him wouldn't it cause any compatibility issues when i install an update meant for unlocked mobile phone.
He told me that the update won't update the Baseband and even Google's all OTA based updates won't update baseband.

In this case, what for Mobile Operators are testing the updates?
Why not football4pda or any similar rom developers release their latest roms without updating baseband ?

 

[superchilpil]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=30373108

Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[raddy]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=30373108

Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2

It is a general discussion thread, not exactly a question and answer thread.

 

[redpoint73]

He told me that the update won't update the Baseband and even Google's all OTA based updates won't update baseband.

In this case, what for Mobile Operators are testing the updates?

Not sure why you would find this relevant to the One X. Do you own a One X also? Every manufacturer does things differently, and every phone is a bit different.

At least for the AT&T One X, every single OTA has included a new baseband radio.

Aside from baseband, the carrier may be testing other things, like general stability and whether their carrier customizations have been properly implemented. And yes, AT&T has an awful reputation for delaying release of updates due to "testing".

Why not football4pda or any similar rom developers release their latest roms without updating baseband ?

Custom ROMs are almost always designed to not affect the baseband radio. Often users will want to try different ROMs without changing the radio, since the best radio for reception is often geographically tied more than related to ROM compatibility.

 

[foxbat121]

Hello Everybody

I want to know one important thing in this Android update drama for non Nexus mobile phones.
Previously, people was speculating that only because of heavy skinning, non Nexus Mobile Phones takes long time to release updates.
It has been shown recently that updating mobile phone maker's skin for a new version of Android takes very less time.

The recent claim being Operator takes big chunk of time in testing the updates before it being released.

But, few months ago i learnt one important information from an XDA member.
I was looking to update my AT&T Google Nexus S mobile phone to Jellybean.
But the update was not available then for my mobile phone.

So, one of the fellow XDA member converted an OTA delivered update to be installed in all GSM variants of Samsung Google Nexus S.
I asked him wouldn't it cause any compatibility issues when i install an update meant for unlocked mobile phone.
He told me that the update won't update the Baseband and even Google's all OTA based updates won't update baseband.

In this case, what for Mobile Operators are testing the updates?
Why not football4pda or any similar rom developers release their latest roms without updating baseband ?

There are two important differentiate facts between carrier branded phones and Google Nexus phones:

1. Phone manufacturers need to get Android source code. Customize it and include various drivers for its unique hardware and combine these into a ROM before it can be delivered to you. In the case of Nesus, Google does all that. But out side out Google, things are much more complicated. The Nesus ROM binaries means nothing to manufacuters. They need the source code released from Google. Android OS is not a set of binary that you can install on any Android phone directly. It is a set of source code that needs to be modified and compiled before they can be used on a phone. Hence it is called Opne Source project for a reason. Google hasn't figured out a way to push OS binaries directly to any Android phones other than its own Nexus phones.

2. Carrier branded phones mean carrier need to take care all the tech support and warranty services for 1-year. So, anytime you update anything on the phone, not just baseband, the carrier need to do extensive testing to make sure everything works ok so that customers won't freak out and send their phone back for service or flood the support phone lines, both of which means extra support $$$ for carrier.

Both of these means delays and delays.

 

[raddy]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation.
Although I very well know that non nexus mobile phone manufacturers needs to prepare every new android release for their own products, I thought they could deliver updates faster if they skip baseband update process as I assumed mobile network operator needs to check for reception and battery life for every new android release only because of baseband update .

Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

 

[foxbat121]

The biggest problem with update is bricking an otherwise working phone in the process. Samsung is the master of that It bricks a lot of phones on every other updates. So, carriers need to spend a lot of time testing different configurations to make sure it didn't happen. If a phone bricks, carrier needs to send out a replacement to customer for warranty service.That's a lot of money and hassle. That is also why AT&T don't want you have an unlocked boot loader because a lot of ppl brick their phone flashing a custom ROM. And most of them will call for warranty replacement when that happens even though it is purely their fault in the first place.