[psychomania]

The purpose of this post is to gather together all of the UK Nokia owners that are tired of waiting for firmware updates. The problem isn't new but one that has been happening for at least the last two years.  Delays in updates being released in the UK have ranged from two weeks to two months lately.

What I am asking for is not special treatment but that the UK is given the same treatment as many other countries. Surely things cannot be so different in the UK that we have to wait so long each time?

Like many people here I pay extra to get sim free phones because I do not like waiting for networks to approve firmware.  Because of these delays it's now almost as bad as buying the network branded versions!  We pay our money so we really should be entitled to updates as soon as they are released in other countries. Also it would be nice to have access to FOTA updates but they seem to be rarely available in the UK, a great system is being wasted.

I have spoken to various people in Nokia Care UK about this and they are totally in the dark as to why this happens.  I have also had no end of excuses and not one of them can answer this simple question: What makes the UK so different from the other countries that get firmware quickly? 

I am not looking for excuses from Nokia just a change to make things better for all UK users.  I have noticed many people have commented about the situation over the years yet it still goes on.

So please nokia can you sort out this situation in the UK once and for all?

UK owners please feel free to support this thread. The more of us that post on this thread the more likely it will reach someone that can make a difference.

Message Edited by psychomania on 07-Sep-2009 10:46 AM

Note added by vandelay (Nokia administrator): This 1st post of this thread by Psychomania had received over 40 kudos in early December. Accidentally, when removing a spam message that was posted on this thread, a moderator moved this whole thread from public view. The whole thread was immediately restored, but due to a bug in the forum software, all kudos in this 1st post were lost, and we are not able to restore that lost kudos. I want to offer my public apologies to Psychomania, and a thank you for starting this interesting and thought-provoking thread.

Message Edited by vandelay on 09-Dec-2009 08:43 AM

[grschinon]

I'm with you on this one.

Like you, I'm getting thoroughly cheesed off with the wait, especially as there are several network-branded variants even that have had the update long since. For the life of me I can't see what makes the UK CV so special.

It would be nice if someone were to push a button somewhere and allow the update for the 5800XM with PC 0575581, but will that cure the problem? I doubt it. With the N97's V20 about to be released next month, I'm seriously wondering if the UK will even have V12 by then.

Seriously, I think the future is to buy unbranded handsets in continental Europe and have them shipped over. At least we'll get Euro code handsets, which seem to be several weeks ahead of the UK variants, and the warranty is valid throughout the E.U.

[anarcoinc]

I'll add my voice to this. The official "Nokia Software Update News" RSS feed and website tell me that firmware 12 is available for my device, but neither NSU or the FOTA on the device allow me to download it. Contacted Nokia asking about this and still waiting for the usual reply.

[psychomania]

Thank you grschinon and anarcoinc for the support.

Good point about the news site, it is very annoying to see firmware there announced as available for all when it isn't.

[mbrett]

Here's another voice.

I am even more unlucky as I have a Vodafone branded N97 Black (PC 0585262) so I have to wait a little longer after the UK Sim free version of the FW (PC 0585162) releases. I was hopeful after v11 was available for my product code reasonably quickly after it's initial generic release date. v12 appears to be a whole different matter.

If v12 imporves performance as many have said accross the world, why can't we get these improvements in the UK?

My worry now is that I won't get v20 'til some time next year at this rate. If you ship out a partially defective device into the market the least you can do is make imprvements available to those who support your brand when they become available and not after the fact. If there is a reason the UK version is delayed, tell us. At least a degree of transparency would be better than the brick wall policy presently being used.

The present UK policy means that users will either leave Nokia.

Rant complete for now.

Message Edited by michaels on 07-Sep-2009 12:55 PM

[foxmeister]

I'm in support.

My Girlfriend has had version 30 on her 5800 since mid July. Nearly 2 months on and still no sign of it for my UK Variant. Both devices Came from the same Store in the UK

The same with the N97. Almost a month since v12 was released and still no sign of it over here.

by the time we get v12, v20 will be here requiring us to wait another couple of months

Message Edited by foxmeister on 07-Sep-2009 11:55 AM

[psychomania]

Thank you everyone for adding your voices to this.

Please can people refrain from mentioning other unofficial methods such as code changing.  We do not want warranty voiding procedures to be mentioned here.  We need this thread to stay within the rules.

[jjegan]

Most if not all of my hardware that can recieve a firmware update is not tied down by a restriction on the country i reside in . Odd that the firmware gets rolled out on an individual basis rather than being put up on the servers for all even if one continent gets rolled out a week later than another .

Question i ask is what damage is it going to do to UK phones this  must be the reason its witheld .

  jje

[grimreaper]

You have my support as well.

I have had every Series 60 based Nokia since the 7650 (& i do mean every device!) & i remember how much of a pain it was having to go to a service point to get the critical updates (especially as i live 42 miles from the nearest one!) When Nokia released the NSU & FOTA updates i was overjoyed.

Unfortunately i have now come to realise that although these services are great, we here in the U.K are often treated as "Second Class" & have to wait forever to get these updates.

I work in The Carphone Warehouse (probably Nokia U.K's biggest retail partner) & i'm finding it increasingly difficult to recommend the latest N-Series handsets when i know they are riddled with bugs that we have to wait months for Nokia to fix.

I still remain loyal to Nokia & the Series 60 platform (I'm also a moderator on the AAS Forums) but i'm starting to feel like that loyalty is misplaced. Come Nokia, Treat us as equals or you may find more of us turning to the dark side (3GS) 

[psychomania]

Thanks for the support grimreaper!

I'm glad you've mentioned about finding it hard to recommend sales of nokia phones to people.  You are not the first that i've heard that from.  It really is a shame that something so simple to solve is causing so much trouble.

Feel free to get the AAS crew involved 

[deviant]

Add my voice to this also. Unbranded N97 purchased from phones 4u the day before v.12 was released.

[twopuds]

It's been almost 6 months since I last posted in this forum, but this thread has dragged me back as it's an issue I've found very frustrating. I've had my SIM free E90 for just over two years now and every firmware release seems to take several weeks to get released to the generic UK users, the last release V400 was now 3 months ago yet I still can't update from V300, WHY????? I appreciate that the E90 is now an old model and probably won't get many if any more updates but I'd still like the most recent available.

[grimreaper]

---

psychomania wrote:

Thanks for the support grimreaper!

I'm glad you've mentioned about finding it hard to recommend sales of nokia phones to people.  You are not the first that i've heard that from.  It really is a shame that something so simple to solve is causing so much trouble.

Feel free to get the AAS crew involved 

---

I've just created a new thread over on AAS. Hopefully it will spread & we might get somewhere!

AAS post

[retailtherapy]

I have the same frustration - waiting months for updates, I have a N97 on Vodafone at the moment but have been dissapointed for years as I have loyally bought the latest new nokia phones as they came out and they always have serious flaws, the updates are slow to come but when they are there its for everyone else but UK users. My workmates all have iphones and I am the joke of the office being a nokia user!

[psychomania]

Cheers grim for the AAS link!

Thank you everyone for joining the cause.

@ twopuds - I had no idea of the situation with the E90, that delay is truly awful.  There is no excuse whatsoever for that one and heads should roll IMO. 

[michaels]

For your information, ladies and gentlefolk, I have flagged this thread to be reported as feedback to HQ. In the event that any statement is made by Nokia on this topic, we'll endeavour to get it posted here.

[angiepea]

I'm on an unlocked N97 which i bought through carphone warehouse and i still haven't managed to update yet. 

However, I'm not too concerned about the delay in obtaining v12 ........ but .......... i really don't like the idea of having to wait extra weeks or months for v20 !!!!!

angie

[rossgustaf]

I agree.

I had an N95 locked to T-Mobile and it took an age for the updates to be released, months and months of waiting for v20 didn't make me happy at all. Based on this, i went for an unbranded N97 in the anticipation that i'd be able to see the news that an update had been released, and then download it!

i'm fairly annoyed this isn't the case, considering the amount of software problems i've had with it so far!

[psychomania]

Thanks for flagging it michaels, hopefully we can all make a difference!

[eccleshill]

Totally agree with this.

I had to wait 11 months for UK operator 3 to offer a firmware update for my N95 8GB (although it was never anywhere near as buggy as the N97). If I have to wait 11 months for v20 my N97 will be thrown against the wall.

What's so different about the UK? I know the operators are partly responsible but this is really frustrating.