[bauer094]

reset the phone with the red green and camera button the re-update

i had this probem with v21 but i re-updated and it works

[icebucks]

DONT UPDATE your phone.. when i update this version 31 sometimes i got a static scroling and when unlock sometimes static apear..

[FC360]

I would like to make tiny suggestion for anyone updating their phone firmware, backup your phone and remove the memory card. Everytime I update my phone with the memory card in it the card always seems to muck up my phone and requires a format which is really annoying as I loose all my apps as they don't seem to be included in a full backup.

Updated my phone and it seems to start up faster, loads memory card faster and is basically abit faster then it was before.

Message Edited by FC360 on 06-Jan-2010 03:01 AM

[posichiche]

To everyone involved in this:

I followed the suggestion to skip version 31 and go straight to the next one. Yesterday I realised that version 40 (40.0.005 to be precise) was available with cool features and everything, and wanted to go for that one, since I read no bad news about it.

When I used Nokia Software Updater (or Ovi Suite, or via the phone itself) I saw that only version 31.0.101 was available, which was confusing since I expected to see version 40.0.005.

I gave it some thought and decided that perhaps it's impossible to jump a software update, and that version 40.0.005 would only be visible to me for upgrade once I brought my phone to the 31.0.101 level.

So, hesitantly I did that -- I upgraded to 31.0.101, and to my disappointment I see that version 40.0.005 is still not available, which I find 1) very confusing, and 2) very annoying, as I ended up stuck with v31 which I wanted to avoid altogether.

The good side of things is that v31 is behaving so far ... The bad news is that Nokia keeps confusing people like me, the average user that doesn't want to spend hours getting educated about phone firmware, stability issues etc. but still wants to make use of the £300 spent in purchasing the phone.

Why is the firmware upgrade process a new challenge every time we do it? Why are there 3 different ways (and counting) in upgrading? Why does each way to upgrade give a different answer as per what firmware is available for upgrade? Why doesn't Nokia answer all these questions with a definitive answer for once and for all?

And finally, why isn't version 40.0.005 available to me? There's no issue of it having not been approved by my network provider because I got the phone from Nokia (unlocked) directly. I also live in the UK and usually phone upgrades are up-to-date here.

Many thanks,

poischiche 

[grschinon]

Actually, they're rarely up to date in the UK.

The problem right now is that V40 has not yet been released for country variants, only for generic regional variants (Euro, APAC, MENA). Once it does start rolling out for country-specific handsets, the UK will be in there somewhere, although the UK does tend to receive updates after every other country in the EU.

There was a campaign for equality for UK updates that even caught the attention of the press, and the Guardian subsequently printed an article about how owners of UK phones were getting a bit of a rough deal. After that, Nokia managed to push out the UK-specific V20 update for the N97 in good time but do somehow seem to have reverted to their old ways.

[posichiche]

Many thanks grschinon,

This was most informative (yes I pressed the Kudos button!). Do you know roughly how long the delay is? Are we talking about e.g. several months?

[grschinon]

I think we got V30 something like 2 months after everyone else. So, yes, you are conceivably looking at a delay of several months.

There's even one variant of UK SIM-free 5800 that never received V30 or V31. It's still stuck on V21!

[posichiche]

Hey grschinon, 

I didn't realise there are different variants of the 5800 ... are you talking about the "comes with music" version? If not, how can I find which variant I have? If yes, why would the "comes with music" version need different updates? Isn't it identical to the standard 5800 with the additional benefit of free music downloads?

Btw may I ask -- how do you know all this information? Would you be a Nokia staff? Or is it a matter of following the press?

Finally, why doesn't Nokia equally take care of its customers, wherever they are, and whatever variant of a phone they have??

Thanks again,

poischiche 

Message Edited by posichiche on 02-Feb-2010 06:20 PM

[grschinon]

There are literally hundreds of variants of each model. There are generic regional variants, country-specific variants, operator-specific variants, variants for different colours... The variant is identified by a 7-digit product code that's printed on the product identification label in the battery compartment.

Put simply, Nokia gets to decide when the firmware for generic regional variants gets released. That's why EURO, APAC (Asia/Pacific) and MENA (Middle East/North Africa) variants get updates first of all. Regulating bodies in individual countries have to rubber stamp country-specific variants, which is why firmware for individual countries takes a bit longer to be released. Last of all, operator-branded firmware is released (sometimes the operators don't bother at all).

I am not a member of Nokia staff, just someone with an interest in the technology.

I'm sure Nokia would like to give all customers equal treatment regarding the release of updates. Unfortunately, it doesn't always depend on Nokia alone. Most of the time it's the mobile network operators who hold things up. Operators are the organisations that have to approve updates of phones that they supply to their users. Unfortubately, the process of branding new firmware and testing it takes time and costs money, and brings in no revenue whatsoever, which is why operators are in no hurry to do it. This is why users of branded phones (ie. about 90% of phones in circulation in the UK, for example) are left with old firmware versions.

[posichiche]

Hi grschinon,

Once again thanks for the valuable information. Here's a new question (last one, hopefully!):

If the UK is part of Europe (geographically and politically), then how come the updates aren't available in the UK at the same time as the rest of the countries in the zone that you call "EURO" ?

In any case, from what you say it does seem like a complicated issue and yes, I now see that Nokia doesn't have full responsibility for our frustration.

For those users who are experiencing trouble with firmware 31.0.101: For the record, the v31 update is pretty stable in my phone (so far), which makes me think that perhaps the reported instabilities arise on operator-branded phones (i.e. phones that were bought through a network operator, e.g. Orange etc.).

Personally, I'm very happy that I haven't bought my phone through a network operator, and I'm never considering to buy an operator-branded phone ever again.

[grschinon]

Operator branding is indeed responsible for a large number of faults in firmware, there's no denying that, and it's also why I never want to have a branded phone again either.

Nokia phones sold in the UK by Nokia outlets are usually UK-specific phones, not generic Euro phones, which is why they have to wait for the UK-specific firmware to be approved by the regulating bodies. It's not a case of where you are, it's a case of the phone's product code. If you take a UK-specific phone over to, for example, Luxemburg, which is covered by Euro2 firmware, you'll still only get the update when it's approved by the UK regulator.

[posichiche]

Why does Nokia sell UK-specific phones in the UK as opposed to "generic" phones to the zone "Euro" ? How is this beneficial to Nokia? In fact, this seems as a source of unnecessary trouble for Nokia (and its UK customers).

Also, what's there to regulate? Is it a matter of bureaucracy regarding legislation? If so, what legislation is involved, and who/what is the legislation trying to protect? And what's the name(s) of the regulating body(ies) ?

Very sorry to keep troubling you with this issue -- If you know of any source (website/document) that I can access and read by myself, please let me know so I don't waste your time.

Best regards,

poischiche

[grschinon]

I really don't know the answers to that. All I know is from personal experience that every phone I've bought SIM-free from Nokia in the UK has been a UK-specific product.

I'm guessing (and this is only a guess) that some devices come preloaded with software such as the BBC iPlayer, which is certainly specific to the UK. I'm also sure that bureaucracy has a lot to answer for here as well.

[posichiche]

Hey grschinon,

Thanks for all your help !!

Best regards,

poischiche