fismail
Expert Member
BlackBerry OS (and "Beta" OS) Upgrade Myths Dispelled: - 01-17-2009, 11:46 PM
________________________________________
So, you're considering upgrading your OS. Maybe the OS is from another carrier. You've heard all the rumors like "don't load another carrier's OS or you'll screw up your device" or "if you load another carrier's OS you'll void your warranty. I'm going to put to rest some of these crazy myths.
1. Installing another carrier's OS voids my warranty."
Not true. The OS can be upgraded/downgraded as many times as you want and nobody, including your carrier, will ever know. You may have trouble getting support from the carrier if you're using an OS that they don't officially support. However, most techs will simply ask that you reload the supported OS and call back. Really, though, there is no reason to do this most of the time since you probably found the later OS here and there is MUCH better support here than from your carrier. Worst case scenario is it's possible that you may have to reload a carrier supported OS if something happens and you have to get a warranty exchange on your device.
2. Loading another carrier's OS (or beta OS) will "screw up" my device."
Not true. Unless you are loading a brand new basic OS beta that you found on the internet this is not true. Let's say you have OS 4.5.0.97 on your device (that's the official version from your carrier) and you found 4.5.0.119 (not from your carrier) on the internet. While it's technically a "beta" if no carrier has released it keep in mind that the .97 to .119 update only includes incremental bug fixes. Most likely it's just a matter of time before some carrier releases it, maybe even yours. Generally, you are better off with the later version, regardless of where it came from or what carrier may have released it. However, let's say you are running 4.5.0.97 and you find OS 4.6.0.15 for your device. Now it's possible you will "screw it up" as you don't really know what features are included and whether they work reliably on the device. However, with that being said, the worst case scenario here is you downgrade back to your original OS. Again, it doesn't void any warranty. You just take the risk of testing it and seeing what works and what doesn't.
3. OS's are developed by each carrier specifically for their brand of device.
Not true. RIM develops every OS version for a specific device. For purposes of this myth we'll say we're working with an 8320. They send the new 8320 OS version out for testing to all the carriers that sell the 8320. The carriers do their own testing of the OS on the 8320. If they find the OS satisfactory, they make a public release. If not, they submit the bugs they find to RIM and RIM attempts to fix and send out an update (a new version number would be then be assigned.) This process can take months until a carrier gets a version they like. However, another carrier may test it and find that it's fine and they release it. As of late, these prereleased versions have been leaking to the internet. They are the versions that RIM sends to every carrier so people refer to them as "unbranded." This only means that the vendor.xml (the file that tells Loader.exe which brand of device to load it to) is empty and the OS will load to ANY 8320, regardless of carrier brand (vendor ID.) When a carrier decides to make a public release, they simply add the vendor.xml file to it and the OS is now "branded" to that carrier. During this "branding" no other change is made to the OS other than adding the vendor.xml and changing the file name to reflect the individual carrier name. When we remove the vendor.xml we have, in effect, "unbranded" it. Again, ALL the OS's are created, and developed by RIM for each specific type of device.
4. I tried a "beta" OS for my device and got a strange error and had to reload my original OS and lost all my data. I'm going to wait for my carrier's official release!
I really hate this one. This is pointless. ALL the OS's install the same way. Deleting the vendor.xml has no effect on how the OS loads or what loads to a certain device. It only affects whether or not the OS will load at all. If the OS loads it will load as to the programming in the firmware of the device. Each device has a vendor code written into the device firmware and the OS will load per that vendor code. So, once the OS is on the device, it's loaded how the carrier would want it, regardless of where the OS came from. If you received an error while loading a beta, most likely it's a computer/usb port/cable issue and not an issue with the OS not being from your carrier. All things being equal, you will likely have the EXACT same error with an OS downloaded from your carrier's website.
________________________________________
So, you're considering upgrading your OS. Maybe the OS is from another carrier. You've heard all the rumors like "don't load another carrier's OS or you'll screw up your device" or "if you load another carrier's OS you'll void your warranty. I'm going to put to rest some of these crazy myths.
1. Installing another carrier's OS voids my warranty."
Not true. The OS can be upgraded/downgraded as many times as you want and nobody, including your carrier, will ever know. You may have trouble getting support from the carrier if you're using an OS that they don't officially support. However, most techs will simply ask that you reload the supported OS and call back. Really, though, there is no reason to do this most of the time since you probably found the later OS here and there is MUCH better support here than from your carrier. Worst case scenario is it's possible that you may have to reload a carrier supported OS if something happens and you have to get a warranty exchange on your device.
2. Loading another carrier's OS (or beta OS) will "screw up" my device."
Not true. Unless you are loading a brand new basic OS beta that you found on the internet this is not true. Let's say you have OS 4.5.0.97 on your device (that's the official version from your carrier) and you found 4.5.0.119 (not from your carrier) on the internet. While it's technically a "beta" if no carrier has released it keep in mind that the .97 to .119 update only includes incremental bug fixes. Most likely it's just a matter of time before some carrier releases it, maybe even yours. Generally, you are better off with the later version, regardless of where it came from or what carrier may have released it. However, let's say you are running 4.5.0.97 and you find OS 4.6.0.15 for your device. Now it's possible you will "screw it up" as you don't really know what features are included and whether they work reliably on the device. However, with that being said, the worst case scenario here is you downgrade back to your original OS. Again, it doesn't void any warranty. You just take the risk of testing it and seeing what works and what doesn't.
3. OS's are developed by each carrier specifically for their brand of device.
Not true. RIM develops every OS version for a specific device. For purposes of this myth we'll say we're working with an 8320. They send the new 8320 OS version out for testing to all the carriers that sell the 8320. The carriers do their own testing of the OS on the 8320. If they find the OS satisfactory, they make a public release. If not, they submit the bugs they find to RIM and RIM attempts to fix and send out an update (a new version number would be then be assigned.) This process can take months until a carrier gets a version they like. However, another carrier may test it and find that it's fine and they release it. As of late, these prereleased versions have been leaking to the internet. They are the versions that RIM sends to every carrier so people refer to them as "unbranded." This only means that the vendor.xml (the file that tells Loader.exe which brand of device to load it to) is empty and the OS will load to ANY 8320, regardless of carrier brand (vendor ID.) When a carrier decides to make a public release, they simply add the vendor.xml file to it and the OS is now "branded" to that carrier. During this "branding" no other change is made to the OS other than adding the vendor.xml and changing the file name to reflect the individual carrier name. When we remove the vendor.xml we have, in effect, "unbranded" it. Again, ALL the OS's are created, and developed by RIM for each specific type of device.
4. I tried a "beta" OS for my device and got a strange error and had to reload my original OS and lost all my data. I'm going to wait for my carrier's official release!
I really hate this one. This is pointless. ALL the OS's install the same way. Deleting the vendor.xml has no effect on how the OS loads or what loads to a certain device. It only affects whether or not the OS will load at all. If the OS loads it will load as to the programming in the firmware of the device. Each device has a vendor code written into the device firmware and the OS will load per that vendor code. So, once the OS is on the device, it's loaded how the carrier would want it, regardless of where the OS came from. If you received an error while loading a beta, most likely it's a computer/usb port/cable issue and not an issue with the OS not being from your carrier. All things being equal, you will likely have the EXACT same error with an OS downloaded from your carrier's website.
