The title says it all, but I'm asking about Verizon's update, not the guy on Howardforums.

 

not till january...try going to verizon towards the mid of january...the update is still in its beta testing stage...

 

Got my v710 today, I'll be doing the firmware upgrade this week as soon as I get a USB cable.


I love it!

 

be wary about SD firmware upgrade some phones have experienced loss of sound quality and lowere battery life. In addition the verizon s/w it was based on is not going to be the release candidate so that some additional mods or just using verizon software may be the prefered course of action. In addition it is apparantly not a simple issue of flashing back to your previous version the flash is difficult to reverse for unclear reasons. Personaly the addition of signel strength and battery life is not worth the risk for a 500 dollar phone

 

I should make something clear to the people who would read this thread before they make some wrong assumptions.

The original Verizon firmware update is available at the same place(s) as the SD firmware. It's called "v710 VZW SW Upgrade 8700_01.40.0R". I'd link to it but the Inetron website always has a "bandwidth exceeded" error showing, and I can't remember any of the mirrors right offhand. At any rate, this is the UNMODIFIED firmware update from Verizon.

The only differences between this and the SD version are that the Verizon update disables some features that were available in the original firmware version, such as the ability to transfer ringones from the Transflash card. SD's version reenables THOSE features only. Also, SD changes a couple graphic files, such as the one on the outer LCD (SD's is a solid color, where V's is the same bubble graphic). SD also (I think accidentally) added a bunch of graphic files that show up as blank images. They do, however, take up space, and a lot of people have been complaining of low memory because of this. After flashing to the SD version, you should go into the image-browser, and delete those images.

Okay, having said all that... the reason for this post is to point out that it's not just the SD version that's having all the issues that dashotgun mentioned. The original Verizon firmware update is ALSO experiencing them. Thus, it's the ORIGINAL Verizon version of the update that's bad. I'm pointing this out, so you won't infer that by staying away from the SD version, and instead flashing the V version, you'll be safe. The reason Verizon hasn't released this upgrade nationwide is because they're having major issues in the areas where they HAVE released it. Various reports indicate a 50+% failure rate. The difference here is that if Verizon screws up your phone, they have to replace it, whereas if you do it, you're on your own.

Dashotgun is also correct in his statement that flashing back will not necessarily fix the problem. Nobody is quite sure why that is at the moment (especially with the original Verizon update), so one really should be careful. If I were to do it all over again (I have the SD version installed... and am having no issues), I'd probably download both the Original Verizon firmware and the Original Verizon update. If the update started causing problems, I'd try flashing back to the original. If the problems persist, you should still be able to take it back to Verizon, since you'd be back to the original firmware. Or... you could flash to the new firmware, then tell Verizon that you were recently in Dallas where you had your phone upgraded at a Verizon store, and are since having problems. In other words, there are ways to minimize the risks of upgrading the firmware. However, at ANY time you're upgrading firmware on ANY device, there is an element of risk. If you feel that the gains do not outweigh the risk then quite simply, you should NOT flash the device.

To answer the original question... NOBODY knows when the upgrade will be available officially, because Verizon is having so many problems. Until they get those problems worked out and can get a good update on a much higher percentage of phones (or at least identify what is causing the failure on some phones but not others), then they're not going to release the update nationwide. Anybody who tells you a date (even a month) at this point is either guessing, or is repeating information from someone else who was guessing.

 

i went to the verizon store...the guy said to come back in around 2 months....thats just my 2 cents i agree with what you said above and i believe it but i think they will have everything figured out by then...

 

I actually dropped my phone off at Verizon...

When I stopped in and asked for the firmware upgrade, the lady said "Sure. Your phone does have an update available. It's free and it will take an hour or so."

I came back an hour later and she said, that while the update was available, they didn't have it yet and would have to come back some other time.

This was in Pittsburgh, PA BTW....

She said stop by the end of January and check again.

 

Anybody have this latest update yet????

 

I stopped by my local Verizon Dealer yesterday and was told to check back in about three weeks for the update.

 

My local dealer ain't got a clue! I'll try and find another dealer in town ........

 

when you make a call using your bluetooth ... when you say dial .... does your speakers make a quick "pop" sound and then start to ring ?? My v710 does that and its quite annoying

 

Yep, mine does it too. Someone a while back described this as the sound a turntable makes when you place the needle at the start of an LP. I know that to a lot of younger readers, that sentence makes no sense whatsoever, but to us old-timers, I think it perfectly describes the sound.

I agree it's annoying, but not NEARLY as annoying as holding the phone to your ear while driving, so I've learned to live with it.

 

YEP! Mine does it twice actually... Almost everytime... Dunno why... It's "good" to know mine isn't the only one.

 

I get the same two 'Pops' when calling. Maybe the S/W upgrade will fix this?

 

I'm laughing because I was the person who posted that description, but I don't consider my self an old-timer (I'm 31). Anyone else think there is more of a generation gap between today's 16- to 22-year olds and people in their late 20s/early 30s than there is between people in their late 20s/early 30s and people in their late 50s/early 60s?

 

Phew, I thought it was only mine that did that...

 

LOL. Points for the other 30 year olds who are SO different from the young-ins... ROFL... Although I still love the video games. I think that is one thing that I'll never grow out of... It's funny, with the good job and old age, the toys have just gotten more $$$... The TL, the gun collection, the high end RC racing buggy (Kanaii Inferno), and all those power tools!

 

FWIW, I've been running my v710 with the SuperDave flash for the past three weeks and it's been flawless and terrific.

Battery life is great, voice quality is greatly improved, earpiece volume is ear-bustingly loud, much better TL integration, etc etc.

I know that some have reported issues, but the vast majority are happy as can be.

BJ

 

The title says it all, but I'm asking about Verizon's update, not the guy on Howardforums.



I was able to talk with a knowledgable Moto tech support rep. who after a long frank conversation passed along some useful info.

Moto finished an update of the beta firmware which was released in Texas in early December. They believe it fixes all of the compatability issues with HFL and the v710. This new version was provided to Verizon before the end of the year. For over three weeks it has been in VZN's 'research and development' department for testing. While VZN still claims they have no information as to when it will be released there is some good news. Moto also provided the same firmware update to Tellus in Canada who has released it to the public. Moto said it fixes all of the problems and they have not gotten any neagative feedback.

It may use helpful for people to call VZN and keep up the pressure on them to provide the public with an ETA on the rollout of the new firmware.

 

Today's Wall Street Journal (Marketplace section) has an article about the lawsuit agianst Verizon for their disabling of any of thethe v710's functions.