Why upgrade to Android 6?

Can anybody tell me a good reason why to upgrade to Android 6 if so many bugs and errors and unpredictable things are reported within just a few days after official release???
I love to USE my FP2 rather than reprogramme it and solve errors and stuff.

My question is: if there were obviously many beta-testers and reports on bugs, why does FP release a system causing more trouble than the old 5 version?

I guess I rather stick to 5 and wait until FP comes along with some major fixes.

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My Fairphone works fine with Android 6, no bugs so far. And my battery-life has definately increased, so that’s a good reason to upgrade.

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Timely upgrades to newer Android versions are necessary to keep the FP2 from getting obsolete.
Also it’s to be expected that a major upgrade will come with some issues, but there were issues on Android 5 as well and if we don’t find any major bugs soon then - from today’s perspective - I’d say the upgrade fixed a lot more issues than it brought.

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Thanks guys, this leaves a better feeling with the update. Still I am concerned a bit since there are so many different reactions of the FP2s. Shouldn´t they all either work fine or not? I can imagine probs with rooted FP2s, but unrooted it should just go smooth.+
Is that so from your perspective?

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Unrooted with closed OS the upgrade was no problem, except for the fact that I needed to start it three times which might as well have been because I upgraded while they accidently released the new version. There are some minor issues where solutions would be welcome (e.g. soundrecorder not working as good as before) but I didn’t discover any big issues. I’d call it smooth indeed.

Well, I have expected problems during upgrade process, but even with almost 250 apps installed it went smoothly without issues. I am still using the SD card as external card - no formatting of anything and all apps are still alive with their settings. The last updater App just before releasing Android 6 worked really good!

Just to be on the safe side, I have given efforts to back up as much as I could (apps, specific folders for app data and so on), but I didn’t need to use them afterwards :slight_smile:

Android 6 makes my phone far more responsive, I like it very much.

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One of the biggest reasons to upgrade certainly are the security patches. I don’t think that Android 5 will get security updates anymore. (Maybe someone can back this assumption?)

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No, Google still publishes security patches for Android 5.1 currently. Google even does so for Android 4.4.4. Regard https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/android-security-updates and its latest bulletin https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-04-01. Which doesn’t mean that new Android versions won’t improve overall Android security and bring new security features to Android.

I meant that most probably Fairphone won’t patch Android-5-based Fairphone OS anymore.

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Oh, yes, I would assume so after Fairphone has published Android 6.

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Well, good question, indeed.

I deal with computers since only 33 years. And windows was not the first system.

What I could experience updating incrementally works fine in most cases. But have a full update (relating Android) is nearly a full system change.

Even doing so on Windows bear the risk of lossing data.

But there you can generate a full backup e.g. with Acronis and a simple boot recovery.

Not so easy with Android as I could read. It surely would need more steps than on any conventional computer I believe.

I keep the most of data on my sd card if possible. For updating of course I would remove it (also for a backup) and when the Phone update if done insert it to see how things are working.

Individual settings may be lost, well…

Many users asked for a Marshmallow update again believing in miracles to have every issue with Lollipop solved…wrong expectations again. This is not the way operating systems work. It is not a simple (incremental) update, but nearly a system change. Yes the expression “update” does not always has the same meaning.

Each update should solve issues, at least clear security issues. But as I wrote in another post in this forum already, new issues may rise. That is what we have now.

If there would not be anyone to update to Marshmallow FF may be somehow disappointed and pi…after all these requests. What - users wanting a major update but now actually not updating (for free).

Anyway there are always curious users doing the first step. I am not so eager with this step.
But sometimes I was among the first in case of incremental updates for Lollipop in the past and each of them got things on my device better if there were any noticable issues.
My Lollipop performs flawless without any annoyance for my needs. But I do read and have expected many issues coming with the first Marshmallow update version.

The good thing is, it can only get better, but there is a need for new updates/fixes. At least FF has its monthly schedule for us to await updates, not several months as I know from other phone manufacturers.
There is also a difference if Marshmallow is received by an update or a fresh installation (from the manufacturer) due to individual settings (rooting) and propably there will stay some remains from Lollipop left.
This should not be much different than updating any Windows or do a fresh installation.

There are users who has updated facing no troubles at all (maybe the majority with non-rooted phones as I have??). But who can tell for sure in advance.

At last it is up to each individual whether to update or not. Maybe I will try soon should I have some spare time for dealing with my troubleless operating phone some more.

Anyway it is highly to appreciate that FF took all these expenses to bring this update. This is a further step assuring longevity and winning more customers.

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A full dic:backup of your Android phone is very easy if you install a different recovery beforehand (like TWRP or CWM). Unfortunately the preinstalled (aka “stock”) recovery is not capable of doing a full backup image.

Note that “recovery” in Android-language might be used differently than in PC language. I personally would compare it to BIOS. Read more here: dic:recoverymode.

I would probably use “upgrade” for a major version change like from Android 5.1 to Android 6, and use “update” only for the monthly patches. Wikipedia uses a similar terminology:

A major upgrade will change the version number, whereas a minor update will often append a “.01”, “.02”, “.03”, etc.

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Obviously not and also not quite realistic.
A smartphone is as individual as any conventional computer. But I believe even you have heard of many different issues people are having with e.g. Windows, although there are equal computer series out there sold.

I think there will be no equal smartphone setup out there to mine, yours or any other users. It is simply because of so many available apps and personal settings…

All of this cannot be covered by only testing a few devices of testers. Therefore are (sometimes unliked unvoluntary) field test. Now there are many who can speak up what´s going wrong. This again helps FF to improve.

I kept my phone non-rooted up to now as I assumed having less troubles with it and would not have to invest too much precious time keeping it operating smooth, and actually it does what I expect from it.
But still this may not prevent me facing troubles with this major update to Marshmallow, there is no guarantee. Actually I am much more involved recovering a broken pc for receiving a dual boot system for someone else…

A post was split to a new topic: Ringtone is on highest volume, but hardly audible

You can easily make backups of apps and its data using e.g. Titanium backup, which, due to its nature, of course functions only on rooted devices, which in return are called “unsafe” by especially banking apps which may disable its functionality under these circumstances…

If you use a different recovery you can also choose the so called “nandroid backup”, which is a full system backup & restore, not based on single apps. Usually, switching to a different recovery, means to get some deeper knowledge of the system.

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