Update an android device by flashing stock rom?

[joshkrupinsky]

Back in the day, I had a phone (can't really remember what kind it was) that was running Android 6. Every time when i would click on software update in the settings, it would say "your device is up to date." However, when browsing online i found multiple (LEGIT) sources with Android 7 stock rom for that particular model. I am not talking about custom roms, it was the official firmware. Interestingly enough, it was the same situation with my tablet. I never had a chance to flash my phone or tablet with this android 7 stock rom to see if that was legit, but it left me wondering - is it even possible to update your android device by flashing stock rom even though the device says "your device is up to date" when you check for official update in the settings.

 

[ocnbrze]

nope it is not. every "stock rom" is device specific. if you flash the wrong firmware you could potentially brick your device. so i'm not sure where you are seeing these "stock roms" from, but do not believe it if they say that it will work on any device.....that is not true at all.

 

[joshkrupinsky]

so what you are saying is if your device says "your device is up to date" when you check for official update in the settings, it means that it, there are no upgrade options for it (officially)

 

[Dannydet]

Correct.
Your manufacturer and your carrier control that aspect of the device

 

[ocnbrze]

so what you are saying is if your device says "your device is up to date" when you check for official update in the settings, it means that it, there are no upgrade options for it (officially)

correct. let's say there is an update for the samsung's s10. the problem is that there are many versions of the s10. some models of the s10m may not have the update yet. and each update is made for that specific device regardless if it is an s10. you have to look closely at the model number and make sure that it matches with what device you have before you install a firmware update.

as long as you device is working and it says that it is up to date, then it is up to date.

 

[joshkrupinsky]

ok, fair enough but i have 2 questions

1 what if the phone comes in only one single version? Moreover, I distinctly remember that it came with android 6 out of the box, which seemed strange to me after a while, i mean every device should get an update (at least once), it can't just come with android 6 and never get an update, i mean ever, right?

2 the manufacturer controls which updates should be pushed out to which model, right? How do they do that? I mean do they use IMEI for that purpose or something?

 

[ocnbrze]

ok, fair enough but i have 2 questions

1 what if the phone comes in only one single version? Moreover, I distinctly remember that it came with android 6 out of the box, which seemed strange to me after a while, i mean every device should get an update (at least once), it can't just come with android 6 and never get an update, i mean ever, right?

2 the manufacturer controls which updates should be pushed out to which model, right? How do they do that? I mean do they use IMEI for that purpose or something?

1. there really no such device right now. manufacturers will come out with their latest phone and then they will have to market it for the various parts of the world. each place will get its own version of the new phone.....thus creating various models of the same phone. so unless you buy on off brand phone that only markets to one place in the world, you will not see just one model of a phone being produced.

2. its a combination of the manufacturer and your provider. it usually is done over the air and i have no idea how they determine when and who gets the update........most likely by imei, but who knows.