Article has been updated (Dec 26 11:50pm)

Article Summary:

• You got an HTC Dream or Magic, or LG Eve with Android from Rogers for Christmas

• You’re stuck with version 1.5 on Android, even though versions 1.6 and 2.0 have been out for some time

• Rogers blames HTC, but HTC would have to customize 1.6 for Rogers, so…

For the past few weeks or so, Rogers Wireless in Canada has been pushing their “web phones” on Canadians as the perfect Christmas gift for you and your family members, especially at the rock-bottom price of $0.99 if you signed up for a new contract! As a result many of you might have woken up yesterday to the excitement of a shiny new Android phone under the tree. Perhaps you received the HTC Magic, or the HTC Dream. Maybe you received the LG Eve? All three are very cool, very slick phones and they probably dazzled you right out of the box with their computing prowess and availability of amazing apps from the Google Market Place. Why, it’s just like having an iPhone, only much, much cooler!

If you’re reading this, and you were one of the lucky ones to receive a Rogers Android phone as a gift this Christmas, chances are you stumbled across this site while searching on Google or Bing for ideas, tips & tricks for how to use your phone. (Personally I recommend the Android Forums at http://androidforums.com/). As much as I’d like you to be madly in love with your new Rogers Android phone, I’m afraid I have to pour a bit of cold water on your Christmas Android cheer.

You may not like to hear it, but your shiny, new Rogers Android phone is now… (arguably) obsolete, or at least it’s getting there pretty fast. “WTF?” I hear you demand… well, allow me to explain.

Some of you may not be too familiar with Android yet, so I’ll give you a quick primer. You have likely heard your phone referred to as a “Google phone” or an “Android phone”, but that’s a wee bit misleading. Android is an operating system (OS) just like Windows XP, Windows 7, or the Mac OS. In this case, Android is a version Linux, and it is made by Google. Google decided Android should be “open source”, which means that they gave away the Android OS for FREE to anyone who wants to use it. That’s right, free. So cell phone manufacturers like HTC, LG, Samsung, Motorola and others were allowed to take the Android OS and install it on their phones at no cost. Some of these phone manufacturers customized the Android OS to make it look a bit cooler, or to add certain functions or bells & whistles. Regardless, it’s important to note that an Android phone, like the iPhone, is not just an ordinary phone with some cool add-ons; an Android phone is, in fact, a mini computer that can make phone calls.

Now, just like your Windows or Mac computer, the Android OS occasionally gets some bug fixes and security patches, but it also gets upgrades to the OS. Imagine it’s like on your Windows PC when you upgraded from Windows 95 to Windows XP, and then to Windows Vista, and maybe even to the awesome Windows 7. Sometimes your computer is too old to be able to run the newest version of Windows, so you have to buy a new one, but usually your PC is good for at least two or three OS versions before you have to buy a new PC. Android phones are the same way. Google started Android phones with version 1.0, then progressed to 1.1, 1.5, 1.6, and 2.0. They’re working on 2.1 now. With each upgrade of Android, you get cooler stuff, more functions, and better performance, just like on your computer.

The problem, however, is this: the Rogers Android phones all come with version 1.5 of the Android OS.

Version 1.6 became available to the phone manufacturers Sept. 15 2009. It started rolling out on phones around the beginning of October, but not in Canada. In the United states T-Mobile customers have the HTC G1 (Rogers HTC Dream) and the HTC MyTouch (Rogers HTC Magic). These US versions of the phone actually have lower specs than the Rogers one, but they got the new OS upgrade. Not only did they get it, it was sent to their phones! They didn’t have to download anything, or configure anything, or load anything. They received a notification that the upgrade was available, and BAM they were able to have it sent right to their phones. So, not only are the same phones from HTC (with LOWER specs!) capable of running the new version of the Android OS, but the users didn’t have to do anything to get it.

In Canada, however, with Rogers it is now Dec 26th, and we still don’t have Android 1.6. In the US and other parts of the world, new Android phones are already coming out with Android 2.0! But we’re still stuck on 1.5.

For about a month now a large (and growing) community of angry Rogers Android customers has been pestering, cajoling, and berating Rogers and HTC in an attempt to get some answers, and to get the upgrades that we were, in some cases, promised we would get. Store clerks and Rogers customer service reps all across Canada were confidently telling customers that if they bought an HTC Magic or an HTC Dream they would be able to get updates for the phones, including 1.6, no problem. Problem is, it wasn’t true. At first those of us complaining were told everything from “No, you can’t get it” to “You will get it eventually but we don’t know when”, to “You’ll have it by end of Oct/Nov/Dec”. Some Rogers CSRs were even telling people they could download 1.6 NOW from the Rogers support web site. Again, this was not true; the only file available on the Rogers site was just a bug fix/security update for 1.5.

You can read the whole twisted story here: http://androidforums.com/rogers/10647-rogers-dream-1-6-update.html

In the end, after we took our complaints all the way up to multiple people in the Office of the President (OotP) we were told by those officials that they would be getting the update from HTC by the end of December to test and evaluate, and that we might get it in the beginning of 2010. Sadly this was just another example of bumbling by Rogers staff who, somehow, confused 1.6 with 1.5 even though we all specifically asked them for 1.6. What they apparently meant was that they would be getting some more updates to 1.5 from HTC, not 1.6.

Instead, the current official word from Rogers is to blame HTC, who now have this posted on their web site (as for the LG Eve, there has been no word yet from LG):

HTC is not currently planning any Android 1.6 upgrades for Rogers Dream or Magic. Android 1.6 was only made available for “Google”-branded devices such as the G1. It is not available for HTC-branded products such as the Dream or Magic, which use Android 1.5. We believe that Android 1.5 is a stable and reliable software platform that delivers a terrific user experience

We did a little more digging to find out exactly what was going on, because we know 1.6 exists, and we know it works on our phones! After some back & forth with a Rogers rep named RogersMary (read this) we have determined the following:

• HTC customized Android 1.5 for the Rogers HTC Magic and Dream. This includes the Rogers icons you will find on your phone, some custom wallpapers, and apparently the requirements to use Microsoft Exchange (this is only necessary if you want to use your phone with your work email, and only if your work uses Microsoft Exchange).

• HTC would need to customize 1.6 before we would be able to use it.

• HTC says they won’t customize it.

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EDIT (11:12pm) RogersMary has added a comment below, wanting to clarify my statement about whether or not HTC would do customization for Rogers without being asked. To be fair, I am posting the important parts of her comments in context to my comments, and I am including my rebuttal. If RogersMary comments further I will be happy to post it in full.

RogerMary said:

First off you say, “There is some confusion over whether or not Rogers would have to ask HTC for 1.6 to be customized, but it stands to reason HTC wouldn’t do any customization for Rogers if Rogers didn’t want it.” There is no confusion here. It IS up to HTC to customize the operating system. Rogers HAS asked for it. Although HTC did initially say they had no plans to upgrade the OS for Dream or Magic they have now agreed to investigate options and get back to us.

My response: Mary, we obviously accept that HTC must do the actual customization, that much has already been made clear. To clarify the point I was trying to make, I can’t believe that HTC would go out of their way to make Rogers-specific customizations to the OS (for Rogers network, the Rogers branding, the Rogers icons and apps) without being asked by Rogers to do so, that wouldn’t make any sense. That would be like a car dealer adding a sun-roof and painting your car purple, without you asking, and when all you wanted was the stock black version with a solid roof. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t the Rogers-specific customizations there because Rogers asked for them? Furthermore, if Rogers is the customer of HTC, then why would HTC refuse to do what Rogers asked of them, unless either they are incapable of doing it, or unwilling to do it?

So, let’s avoid any confusion then, give us the straight honest truth: If Rogers asked HTC to customize 1.6 for the Rogers HTC Magic & Dream, why did HTC refuse? To continue the car dealership analogy, if I were buying a car that I knew was available in red, why would the dealer refuse to sell me a red one if I asked for it?

The speculation (we are trying to confirm this at the moment) goes like this; we believe Rogers would have to pay HTC for the customization (something some people say they should have negotiated when they originally made the deal with HTC?) and that this is the sticking point.

EDIT (11:24) Mary also takes issue with this part of my post above, where I refer to speculation in other blogs and the forums about whether or not Rogers must pay for this update, and whether or not this is a sticking point. Here is the quote from Mary’s comment below:

Next, you say that cost is the sticking point. This is not true. We haven’t discussed cost yet because HTC doesn’t have an OS upgrade available. As indicated above, they’re now considering options.

My response: Mary, maybe you can help us by clearing this us, because it has been asked repeatedly by myself and others, here and elsewhere; Does Rogers have to pay HTC for an update to 1.6? You say that cost hasn’t been discussed because  “HTC doesn’t have an OS upgrade avaiable”. Well, I’m sorry but this is where we get in to some wacky logic, so help me clear it up. HTC does have an OS upgrade for the HTC Magic and Dream to 1.6, it was released to them by Google, and it is already working on the same or similar phones elsewhere in the world (the ones that are “Google” branded). What they don’t have is an upgrade version of the OS customized for Rogers! Now we’re back to my question above; why would HTC refuse to create a customized version of Android 1.6 for Rogers?

You are saying:

1. Rogers has asked HTC for an update.

2. HTC says they have no plans to make an update for Rogers.

3. Because HTC doesn’t have an OS upgrade available, Rogers hasn’t discussed cost.

4. Android 1.6 does exist. Android 1.6 does work on the HTC Magic and Dream.

5. A version of 1.6 customized for Rogers does not exist.

So we go around in circles. Rogers says cost was not discussed because no update exists. No update exists because it would have to be customized for Rogers. HTC has no plans to make this update, even though Rogers has asked for it.

Something isn’t adding up.
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So, that’s where YOU stand right now with Rogers, HTC, and your shiny, new Rogers Android phone. No 1.6 for you!

Now, I hear you ask “Um, so? Why should I care? My phone works, so what?”

Well, the problem is this; just like getting upgrades to your Windows or Mac computer, the newer versions of Android give you exciting new functions, access to new apps (programs), make the phone faster, use less battery, and many other things. You can see a list here of the differences between OS versions, and here. There are some exciting new things you won’t be able to use, like the new Google Goggles, which lets you point your phone camera at something, take a photo, and have google search online for all relevant stuff. You won’t be able to use the new awesome turn by turn GPS stuff, or the updated new Google Market Place.

You also won’t be able to use any of the new apps (programs) being released in the Market Place that require 1.6 or above to work. In fact, as the “Devs” (people who make the apps) make newer version of their apps, if they can’t or won’t make them backwards compatible for 1.5, the old 1.5 versions will disappear from the store. This means that it is entirely possible that without an upgrade to 1.6 for our phones, you will eventually find few, or no, apps in the Market Place, unless Devs leave older versions for us, or make their new apps backwards compatible. Here is a working list of 1.6 apps that won’t work in 1.5. I’m sure there are, or will be more, it’s hard to know since we can’t even see them in the Market Place!

Alright, so you have a new Rogers HTC Magic or Dream Android phone, you’ve just found out your phone is running an obsolete version of the OS, and you want to know what to do next.

Well, you can join us in our fight to get 1.6 for our phones (and eventually 2.0!). We have a forum thread here. Join and voice your opinion on the matter. We know Rogers is watching the thread, they’ve sent RogersMary in a few times to talk to us.

You can also go through the official Rogers complaint process here. It is important that you go through each step, so they can’t ignore you for failing to jump through their hoops. At step 3 you can contact the Office of the President. Be careful, they tend not to really know what they’re talking about, and may tell you things that aren’t true simply because they don’t understand Android. Anything they promise or tell you should be verified in the forum, or by contacting RogersMary (see below).

UPDATE (11:38) – Mary didn’t like that I’d reposted contact info for some of the Rogers management here. As a show of good faith I have removed them for now. I reserve the right to repost them in the future. Rogers isn’t a secret society, and as consumers we have the right to complain to them directly. For the record, that contact info was originally posted by someone in the forums, and I can only assume that they found it elsewhere on the web, so I can’t imagine it’s all that hard to find. If we don’t see some real results (ie. Android 1.6 and/or 2.0) I will have no qualms about putting them back up.

Via Twitter:

@RogersMary: http://twitter.com/RogersMary

Now, if you feel you can’t wait for Rogers & HTC to get us the update (or they continue to refuse to) you have two more options (other than just giving up).

1. Root your phone. “Rooting” your phone means to “hack” it to get rid of the version of the Android OS Rogers had HTC install, and replace it with a plain version of the Android OS, thus allowing you to upgrade it as you wish. Now, the problem is, of course, this is a risky thing to do. If you do it wrong, you could end up with a phone that no longer works (referred to as a “brick” because that’s all it will be good for). So, if you decide to go this route, you’re on your own, don’t say I didn’t warn you, and don’t blame me if it goes wrong. I won’t link to any sites for rooting here, but you can easily find them by searching with Google, or by going to the forums I mentioned at the top. By the way, if you root your phone, and it gets “bricked”, it’s NOT covered under warranty, so Rogers won’t fix it or exchange it for you.

2. Return your phone to Rogers. I know, you just got it and you love it. Well, then I guess you’ll have to settle for 1.5 (and not getting any of the cool stuff in 1.6 or 2.0) unless Rogers and HTC change their minds. Otherwise, take it back. Tell them you want your money back and to be released from your contract with NO penalty or Early Termination Fee, or ask them to exchange the phone for another phone. Just an FYI, many of us in the forum have asked to exchange it for an iPhone, and were told no. We’re still trying to find out if this is the official policy for anyone who asks, or, as RogersMary stated, if it depends upon your account.

Many of were told (all the way to Christmas Eve!) that we would be able to get 1.6 for our phones, so we were misled by the store clerks in to buying this phone based on the belief we could get the upgrade. Read more here and here.

Ultimately you may be the kind of user who doesn’t care about this sort of thing, you just need a phone to make calls, and send text messages or emails, or maybe you like to buy a new phone every 6 months. For the rest of you, who wanted a cool phone like the iPhone, sorry, but at this point Rogers and HTC aren’t going to give us the level of service they give to their iPhone customers.

UPDATE (11:41): Mary posted the following in her comment below:

I understand you frustration. We at Rogers are dealing with unprecedented circumstances here, which sometimes come with being the first to market with new, innovative phones and being a leader in the industry. We are doing the best we can to learn from these experiences and communicate with our customers.

My response: Seriously? We keep trying to explain this to people at Rogers, and it boggles my mind that they don’t get it. These are not “phones” in the traditional sense of the word. These aren’t like a Motorola Razr, or some other “old-school” cell phone. Android phones are MINI-COMPUTERS. You know the iPhone? Well, Android phones are JUST LIKE iPhones! Yes, they make phone calls and can be used to send text messages, but just like an iPhone, an Android phone runs apps, little programs like on your PC. Just like the iPhone, we download apps from the Android Market Place.

Rogers has relegated Android phones in the marketing to being “web” phones, and somehow inferior to the glorious iPhone. What Rogers fails to realize, is that like the iPhone, Android phones don’t require the web to work. The MAJORITY of the apps on my Android phone are used when I am offline. I take notes, I play games, I even create Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents on my Android phone! These are not “web phones”, these are mini little computers. They work like iPhones, and we should be getting the same support as your iPhone customers.

As for “unprecedented circumstances”, they are only “unprecedented” because Rogers seems not to have done their homework before adding them to their roster. If Rogers had picked a handful of people, including managers, and had them become Android experts (or even just spend some time reading some Android blogs) before jumping on the Android bandwagon, they would have known what they were getting in to, they would have known these phones need to be upgraded, and the circumstances would not be “unprecedented”.

For a “Leader in the industry”, Rogers seems to be pretty far behind. What you seem to be telling us, Mary, is the Rogers wasn’t really ready… for Android.