back to article Vodafone upsets customers with upgrade downgrade

Vodafone customers with an HTC Desire, waiting for Android 2.2, instead got a new firmware version packed with Vodafone bloat. Froyo is the new version of Android and adds some useful features to Google’s mobile OS. Vodafone customers have been waiting excitedly for an upgrade their HTC Desire phones, but on installation they …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    At least they are shipping an update

    Unlike 3 with their HTC Hero handsets...

    1. ElNumbre
      Stop

      Meh...

      Bought a refurb HTC Hero from 3 last week. Id rooted and upgraded it to 2.1 within an hour. Just waiting for a stable 2.2 with all the features to arrive then I'll do the upgrade.

      Like computers, once you've started it up to make sure its working and not DOA is to format/root it and start with a fresh image. At least then when you have problems later down the line, you've not got the 'freebie' extra's clogging up the system and adding to the complexity of any issue and have a reasonable idea of what is on the system to aid in problem finding.

      Also tried an Orange Desire, and the complementary extra's were aweful. Two market places, a paid for traffic app, nasty branding and other such irritating features are not a great way of ensuring love of one of your flagship phones. Again, an hour's work and a newer stock image was loaded, and the phone is now brilliant where before it was average.

      Do they do the same with iPhones too, or does Stevey Jobsworth block that?

  2. paul 97
    Grenade

    lost a customer

    Im about to buy a desire for my little brother. I will knock voda of that list.

    Now I bet if they tried to pull this shit in france or usa there would either be a national strike or some legal action.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Maybe in France

      But Voda probably learned this trick from their US partners, Verizon.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sign of things to come

    If only someone would open a webstore where you can buy completely open, unbranded, unlocked handsets from.

    Oh wait..

    1. JaitcH
      Pint

      We have those - unbranded and unlocked!

      In VietNam most handphones are sold unlocked and unbranded ... today's youth roll the models over so quickly telco's would have a hard time designing a plan. The pricing is either just below and at par with contract prices in Europe only without the contract.

      Supporting this hungry market is a 74-page monthly magazine that highlights ll the latest and greatest goodies. VietNam is also a test market which frequently gets handsets before others.

      VietNam has over 140,000,000 active, working cell numbers deployed over 8 networks. The total population is around 90,000,000 so there must be many subscribers with more than one cell phone.

  4. Tigra 07
    WTF?

    Not happy

    Better not do this to the X10 or i'll be cancelling my contract or demanding a spare battery

  5. envmod
    Troll

    Crozier

    Android - the ITV of operating systems.

  6. Captain Jack

    Rabid Fans

    Watch as anyone who even remotely likes the iPhone jumps on this chance to give droid owner a kicking.

    I'm not saying it's undeserved as the iPhone has got quite a kicking over the last few weeks so they're probably looking for payback :-)

  7. Mick F

    VF - "We believe we're the UK's best network"

    Tell them what you think!

    http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/66031-what-would-make-vodafone-the-home-of-smartphones/

  8. Andy
    Jobs Halo

    shed a tear

    all those that moan, i bet you wished youd now bought an iphone

    1. Miek

      Um nope

      Android is still no where near as encumbered as an iPhone, The Voda 360 apps are not that intrusive and you can stop the 360 service so that it does not pester you. It's annoying that I have apps installed that I do not want or will never use but it's not really that much of an issue.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Down

        @miek

        "It's annoying that I have apps installed that I do not want or will never use but it's not really that much of an issue."

        If it's not much of an issue, stop whining and do what others do : drag all the stuff you don't want to a folder called "unused" (or some such variant) and stick it on a page of its own at the arse end of the user interface, where you can occasionally visit it to point and laugh.

        Alternatively, just jailbreak the fucker and remove them.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Grenade

        Not an issue...

        Until you realize that you need more storage!

        Those pre-installed apps use up storage space, whether you like it or not. Inability to remove them only makes things worse.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re Um nope...

        I have an iPhone & it's not encumbered at all.... Why don't you look at one and get your facts right before commenting? Apple control the user experience & while that gets complained about by those who haven't tried it, for the rest of us it's one of the great selling points for the phone (same applies to all the Apple kit-no crap ware)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Jobs Halo

      I second that

      Lovin my iPhone 3GS on O2 with no imposed network branding or trial apps. The optional (and free) O2 app is well worth the download and helps me track my data usage.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      "wished youd now bought an iphone"

      No, they are just smartphones for the hard of thinking.

    4. GeorgeTuk
      Grenade

      Oh dear

      I am not moaning, got my Nexus One from Google as a deal from Orange and got the girlfriends from Carephone Warehouse who don't ship branded phones.

      Simples!

      And anyway, its pne handset on one network.

  9. GettinSadda
    WTF?

    Title

    /me Crosses Vodafone of the list of possible phone companies next time he changes his phone

  10. davefb

    @mathew

    yeah :(

    Last I read was that 3 didn't have enough QA to sort out iphone 4 and Desire release. So after kicking a few builds back to HTC, they HAVE finished the 2.1 release, but it's now 'at google'..

    And they 'dont know' how long it will be before the release comes out...

    http://blog.three.co.uk/2009/12/07/the-htc-hero-with-spotify/

    Hmm, though it would appear HTC seem to be hosting a file ?....

    http://www.htc.com/uk/supportdownload.aspx?p_id=283&cat=2&dl_id=840

  11. moylan
    Alien

    typical vodafone

    my first few symbian devices were preloaded with crap links and software when i got them from vodafone ireland on prepay. so i switched to sim free phones.

    i stayed with vodafone till last year when they changed their prepay plan so that every fecking page had a vodafone banner and crappy links at the top.

    so i threw away all my vodafone sims. now using 3, o2 and meteor. no problems from them so far.

    will never deal with them again. their loss. coupla hundred euros on prepay credit a year till that time.

  12. Avatar of They
    Thumb Down

    Buy the phone outright.

    It is cheaper, never understood getting a phone on contract from their operator.

    Over two years I am saving 300 quid for a phone and I don't get locked in with crap you don't want or need. Go to a shop, buy the phone and get a sim only deal for pay as you go or contract. More expensive upfront, but a heck of a lot cheaper two years later.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Unfortunately....

      ....it most certainly isn't cheaper to go the SIM free route. I looked into it with the Desire and found it would be 200 quid more expensive over 2 years to do that.

      There is a way to get the unbranded firmware on a Vodafone-supplied phone, using the Gold Card method. It works, and it will not affect your warranty. Most recommended if you didn't buy via a route that already used unbranded phones.

      A major fail for Vodafone though, hope they decide to backtrack on this one.

    2. Gulfie
      Stop

      Depends on the deal you want.

      Vodafone are offering very competitive deals on Android smartphones (most of which can be re-flashed with Vanilla Android very easily). For example - free Android smartphone on a 2 year £30 a month contract (I looked at Desire and Nexus One but they have others too).

      A sim-only deal with the same minutes, texts and data is only £5 a month cheaper, making the cost of the handset just £120. A new unlocked vanilla Nexus One on eBay is still around £400.

      For comparison an iPhone 4 (16Gb) from Vodafone with the same contract length, minutes, texts and data would cost you £120 up front and an extra £5 a month for the same contract.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hands off me frookin foon yer louts

    Android is about open. It's not about vendor crap. "We customise phone software to optimise customers' experience of the device on the Vodafone network and to enable access to our services ... " .. yah fine, whatever, now how do I remove that shite? Oh, I can't remove it? Uh huh, so how does that enhance my services?

    Always wondered why sony ericsson on voda network sounded crap when my wife's (same model mind) always sounded crystal clear on O2. No crap installed. Or, in the case of games, free stuff uninstalled so you only get trial crap and the super cool option to buy the games.. you already get free from the manufacturer..

    1. technome
      Jobs Halo

      Where did you get the idea that android was about open?

      Oh, that's right. You read it on teh interwebs. It must be true then.

      Bollocks. Android is only about getting the carrier's crap onto your phone; getting google's ads onto that crap and then siphoning your data off for sale to the highest bidder (and the lowest bidder, and pretty much everyone in between). That's the real revenue stream for both the carriers and google. All that talk about openness is just so much camouflage.

      Give me the honesty behind the iPhone every time. At least I can see where Apple gets their revenue from and decide how much of their curated ecosystem I buy-into.

      1. Dante

        ttile

        What's all that iAds stuff about then?

        1. technome
          Jobs Halo

          A simple, one-click opt-out:

          https://oo.apple.com/

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Jobs Horns

            Why isn't it...

            Why isn't it opt in? Why should I or anybody else waste a second getting rid of a service that we never asked for?

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Thumb Down

              Why isn't it opt in?

              cos Apple users will accept any crap offered to them - just look at the iFraud 4.

      2. Martin 71 Silver badge
        Megaphone

        I was with you till the last paragraph

        But then, you lost me :-)

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Paris Hilton

        Huh. I dunno, maybe

        >>Give me the honesty behind the iPhone every time. At least I can see where Apple gets their revenue from and decide how much of their curated ecosystem I buy-into.

        Oh that is just.. hahahah. uh. hah.. hahaha. Good God, you are such an ass. And a moron to boot. Hahaha..

        >>Oh, that's right. You read it on teh interwebs. It must be true then.

        Well, I guess that's right, considering the project is on 'teh interwebs'.

        http://source.android.com/

        http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android.html

        Moron.

        Paris. Displaying more intellect than some folks 9 days a week.

    2. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Stop

      Android may be open ...

      But you didn't buy "Android" did you? You bought a phone which can run Android or whatever the operator decides to push out to it.

      "Android is open" is one thing, "Android should be pushed without a ton of crud" another. Complain to the operator, vote with your feet. You have a complaint but nothing to with Android being open or not.

      1. mego
        Stop

        @Jason

        I believe his point was that Android phone's selling point is the way that the platform is open. And as a result, it has become a powerful contender to other touch phones with app store systems.

        Any other phone on the market is not expected to be open, since the platform is inherently closed to hobbyist activities. So people choose Android because they want choice, want the ability to choose their "way" when it comes to how the phone works.

        To then go and put crap on that cannot be removed (and additionally affects battery life negatively) without rooting the phone is to destroy that openness that caused the consumer to choose the device in the first place.

        -That- is the problem as I see it.. and I believe what AC was reaching for.

  14. Chris Leuty

    Not 2.2 apparently

    I'm a Desire owner but not with Vodafone. The comments I've read from users here:

    http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/140467-odafone-customers-beware.html

    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=743865

    indicate that this is an update to 2.1 that adds the Vodafone crap to the Desire. Of course, users rushed to install the update thinking it was 2.2.

    Would Vodafone does this to the iPhone....?

  15. SpaceQ
    Grenade

    they resist inevitable... turning into just another ISP

    they resist by trying to sell u content... and they fail each time they think they know whats good 4 U.

  16. Carol Orlowski
    FAIL

    The 'update' doesn't upgrade to 2.2

    Most European operators are pushing out the 2.2 Froyo upgrade for the Desire this week but this latest one from Vodafone is still 2.1. Rather than keeping up with their rivals, Vodafone have been developing this 2.1 update 1 'patch'. This is another reason why so many of us have been expectantly awaiting this software update.

    As an enterprise business customer, I'm pretty annoyed at the poor communication and lack of removal for this. Match.com and flirtomatic bookmarks? If my wife found out I had these stored on my browser, I'd be in the dog house for a long time. I couldn't even prove the update produced this as Vodafone have released no documentation that correlates to the results.

  17. Nigel_s

    Orange made other changes...

    Orange also removed the Google Talk application from the Desire, and added their own Orange messenger.

  18. Monty Burns
    Pint

    pah.... and so?

    Surley you can get a custom rom already from places like XDA Devs?

    Grab a rom, start flashing and sup a pint whilst it all gets better!

  19. dirk_diggler
    Go

    Yawn

    Root it and uninstall whatever you want.

  20. Wize

    It might cause a few marital problems

    Can you imagine the other half's reaction when she stumbles across bookmarks for dating sites on your phone?

    I was thinking of upgrading my old Nokia to an android and staying with Vodafone, but I'm changing my mind now.

  21. Drefsab

    simple fix

    Just root and install what ever rom you want, be it a stock 2.2 or a customized one what ever you want. I did that with my Tmobile and voda desires and it was painless and simple. And I had 2.2 running nice and stable for a good while now on them.

  22. Tom 91
    Thumb Down

    Not even 2.2

    This update doesn't even upgrade the phone to 2.2, it just adds those bookmarks, apps, slows the phone down and duplicates all your texts.

    It's an utterly horrendous update.

  23. Jean-Paul

    Love the last paragraph

    Describes an android tinker user perfectly. But of course the real tinkerers are already running a custom rom anyway, it does make me wonder who then buys and runs a stock desire from Vodafone. Those who can't afford the one and only proper smart iPhone?

  24. Pandy06269
    FAIL

    And the magic?

    So Vodafone... I've been a loyal customer since 2005, upgraded at every opportunity, and took on a shiny new HTC Magic in July last year. You promptly *ahem* upgraded it to Android 1.6 in October.

    Now two major releases of Android later, and I still have no new shiny Android. Who knows what my phone is vulnerable to? I haven't had an update in almost a year. My Windows PC would die if I did that to it.

    Anyone know how if/how Android 2.2 could run on the Magic?

    First chance I get I'm going to an iPhone. At least Apple keep their kit up-to-date.

    1. Eponymous Cowherd
      Thumb Up

      Almost.....

      I'm currently running CyanogenMod 5.0.8 (Android 2.1) on my Vodafone Magic, and its excellent. MS Exchange synch and tethering built in. Runs smoothly with no noticeable lag.

      Tried CyanogenMod 6 (Froyo) RC1, but found that, while it works OK, feels slower and less responsive than 2.0.8.

      1. Pandy06269
        Happy

        Re: CyanogenMod

        Great, thanks :)

        Just had a read on Wikipedia - will try it tonight when I get back to the hotel methinks.

  25. peter 45
    Go

    Vodaphone trying to sell stuff - Yawn

    I am old enough to remember (10 years ago!) when my branded Vodaphone meant an extra menu stuffed full of unique and exciting Vodaphone special services, all of which did no more than dial the same Vodaphone Customer services number and all of which meant signing up for extra cost for some ill defined 'benefit'.

    Plus Ca Change

    SIM free phones and no contract. Saved me £thousands over the years. Its the only way to go.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    It's all rather confusing really!

    HTC Desire on corporate bill-pay contract from Vodafone Ireland ... upgrade to Android 2.2 worked perfectly on Monday night.with no Vodafone extras added ... that I have yet detected!

    A/C, just in case they come looking for me!

  27. Lloyd
    FAIL

    Well

    They've now deleted all the threads, looks like they don't like the adverse publicity.

    I'll be re-flashing it tonight, this is about the 4 time in 4 months Vodafone have managed to pee me off, that's not including the downright terrible connection speeds.

  28. Gulfie
    Thumb Up

    Here's what you do...

    Go to the cyanogenmod.com site. There you can download a tweaked Froyo and get full instructions on installing it onto your HTC Desire.

    Simples!

  29. itsme
    Thumb Up

    Three are the best

    My Desire bought in July on Three, updated to 2.2 no bother. No branding just the vanilla package and best of all it will now act as a local WiFi Hotspot (as standard). Beat that iPhone.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      Re: Three are the best

      So, pretty much the same as my vanilla, unlocked, iPhone 3G bought (SIM free) from Voda close to 18 months ago then - so glad you've finally been able to catch up.-

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Crapware/bloatware

    Is the reason I have decided NEVER to buy a mobile from an operator again. This kind of Pollution needs to STOP. Unfortunatly I don't see it ever stopping. its impossible to buy a PC (from a highstreet retailer) without it being preinstalled with crap. now its the same now with mobiles.

    I have an Orange HTC Desire - Debranded running the Generic (direct from HTC) rom I was able to update to Froyo 3 days ago, and the improvements are great. But even on a Generic device there aree Manufacturer pre installs that cannot be removed. Someone needs to put a foot down to stop this nonsense.. perhaps once the platform is dominent Google will help the little people? because at the moment I cannot agree that they are doing no evil.

    PS do voda users get the wifi tether/hotspot app that is in the generic rom? or has voda said no!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      title

      "Perhaps once the platform is dominent Google will help the little people?"

      They tried with the N1 and the web store. It's a shame it failed really. If you want untainted vanilla Android, the N1 is pretty much the only choice.

  31. DrXym

    Glad I got the SIM free version

    My SIM free HTC Desire cost about the same as the Vodafone prepay model. As the phone isn't tied to a network, the 2.2 update didn't install any crapware which is just fine by me.

    My experience of SIM free has encouraged me to look a lot more closely when the day comes that I buy a new phone for myself or my wife. Even iPhones can be had SIM free these days. I believe, especially with smart phones that there is little reason at all to buy from a network operator except for people who need the highest tariff.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    It's got nothing to do with the OS, its all about the telecos

    Classic case of caveat emptor.

    The only T-Mobile branding that appeared on my 2.1 Hero update was a link to T-M's web'n'walk site which is hardly a difficult thing to ignore. The wife's Xperia Mini is similarly devoid of 3 bloat.

    O2's network is pants and Vodafone are obsessed with this 360 nonsense, reasons to avoid them both in my book.

  33. Mr Brush
    Megaphone

    SIM Free FTW!

    I'm on Vodaphone, in that I have a Voda SIM, but my phone is not.

    Mobiles.co.uk supply all their handsets unlocked, even those that come with an Orange contract SIM.

    A plain, unfudged update ROM from the HTC site for me. Why people still wander into high street shops and buy branded, locked handsets is beyond me.

    1. bennett_1357

      Agreed.

      This why I buy all my phones from mobiles.co.uk.

      Sim free Desire with no upfront payment on an 18 month Vodafone contract @ £25 a month.

      Got my Froyo update on Sunday morning!

      1. Alan Scott
        Thumb Up

        Owned by Carphone Warehouse

        Bought my Desire from Carphone Warehouse back on launch day, and it was an unlocked one with the HTC original firmware on it, on a Vodafone contract. Also got my FroYo upgrade on Sunday.

        Guessing it is easier for CPW not to have handsets tied to individual carriers.

  34. Matt Hawkins

    Vodafone HTC Desire Release Notes

    Here's what the latest Vodafone malware does to your HTC Desire :

    - Adds a Vodafone splash screen to the startup sequence

    - Changes your browser homepage to some Vodafone login page

    - Duplicates all your text messages

    - Installs a load of Vodafone apps

    - Adds a load of bookmarks to your browser including such tasteful sites such as flirtomatic.com and match.com.

    - Renames the "People" app to "HTC People" or "HTC Peopl" as it now appears on my home screen.

    - Add RSS feeds to the News app

    - Duplicates all the custom entries in your dictionary

    The RSS feeds are :

    - CNET.com

    - CNN.com

    - Yahoo

    The bookmarks include :

    - Flirtomatic

    - Match

    - BBC

    - Facebook

    - eBay (US site)

    - Amazon (US site)

    - Lottery

    - BBC Sport

    - MySpace

    - Argos

    - Train Times

    - Sky Sports

    The dating site links are a big hit with your spouse and provide hours of fun for any kids with this handset.

    The spam-apps added are :

    Music Shop - Doesn't work

    360 Shop - Doesn't work

    Web - Pointless shortcut to a Vodafone web page ... the same webpage that have already spammed your browser bookmarks with.

    360 Updates - An app to update all the useless junk above

  35. joshimitsu

    not just an Android problem

    It's been going on for years with Windows phones - Samsung released updates for the i900 but they were locked to certain carriers, and you could only get updated once your provider added their own colours to it.

  36. Andy 70

    branding

    i guess voda don't consider the n900 as a mass market device as mine was as clean and unsullied as nokia intended... not a bad thing.. :)

    andriod not so much gone down in my estimation, but that this is the inevitable result of mass market acceptance...

    for shame telco's, for shame....

    what's next, an additional 5er a month to not have adverts pumped onto our handsets?

  37. D. M
    Thumb Up

    Nexus One FTW

    currently in "contract" with VF. Just plain 2.2, no extra shit, no lock down.

  38. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    On Vodafone but don't have to worry

    I recently moved to Vodafone to get better coverage (previously on O2 so big improvement). I'm glad I'm on a SIM-only iPhone contract though. After reading this, I'll know for future reference never to buy a phone through Vodafone.

  39. Miek
    FAIL

    fyi

    this is actually not the 2.2 update. it's still 2.1-update1 only with vodafone bundled crapware.

    I'm on the phone to voda-tech support who are apparently going to give me the number to contact google for the software update -- yeah right.

  40. Joe Desbonnet
    Happy

    Got 2.2 on my Vodafone IE HTC Desire yesterday - no Vodacrudware

    Got my FroYo (Android 2.2) update yesterday for my HTC Desire purchased from Vodafone IE running on the Vodafone IE network. All went well. No evidence of Vodacrudware on my phone. I'm generally pleased with Vodafone IE at the moment.

  41. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

    @Voda, AT&T, Telus, Bell, and every other ISP or Mobile carrier in the world...

    Shut the hell up and BE DUMB PIPES ALREADY. Don't "value add." Compete on speed and reliability, you cheap ****s.

  42. Andy 17
    WTF?

    Whats with the iphone idiots posts?

    Ok you have an iPhone and you feel the need to try and use some imaginary bragging rights, but wait lets examine this...

    We can legally replace our rom images with one not approved of by your one true god

    We can do so without losing a warranty (we may lose a vodafone warranty but not HTC's warranty if we use a genuine HTC rom).

    Whichever rom we use we can install whatever software we like - even if not approved by your one true god.

    We can do all this for half the price your one true god demanded for his fashion accessory.

    We can make calls on our phones whilst holding it in a way not approved of by your one true god - i.e. using our hands!

    We dont have to wrap the phone in a 25 quid condom to recieve calls

  43. Dominik Stansby
    Thumb Up

    The Desire on T-Mobile

    Has no modifactions apart from a splash screen at startup. So hopefully they won't be taking long to update it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Lucky you...

      ... you've got one from T-Mobile. .. the phone that is...I've been waiting for over 3 weeks for mine.

      1. MojoJojo

        Do what I've just done

        Got bored waiting for T-mobile to ship me a Desire for my upgrade, so went into Carphone warehouse and did my upgrade through them. Slightly different deal, but I get the benefit of an unlocked and unbranded phone. And I got it in my lunch hour.

  44. Reg Tard
    FAIL

    They don't get it...

    I left Voda back in the day when they were pushing that Vodafone Live! shit onto all handsets. Seeing as they dumped the idea of dedicated Voda 360 hardware last month it's no surprise to see they have gone back to bastardising other handsets.

    Orange are no better, every Series 60 phone they offered seemed to have some crappy customised home screen sucking up RAM for no benefit.

    It would be good for Android if every manufacturer were forced into publishing an unbranded update file for each handset on their own website so that consumers had a clear choice, instead of having to go Googling for XDA Developers, which lets face it is not an acceptable recommendation for 90% of the general tard public.

  45. Paul 56

    damn you voda

    Have a look up on the market place some how all the vodacrap apps seem to have 3+ starts how many employees have they got rating this thing, as I wouldn't even give it one.

    Rooting my phone now since I stupidly didn't look at the patch number.

    What ROM to go for stock htc or something a little fancier...hmm need something that connect to exchange.

  46. Andrew Moore

    Better than that...

    I have a Vodafone bloated Vivaz. Recently I noticed that I was getting charged for data even though I'm on my companies data plan. Vodafone explained that this was because I used Vodafone Live to connect instead of some other way. So I check and Vodafone Live is the only internet access method set on the phone. And it cannot be removed.

    1. nastybutler05
      Pirate

      Better than that...

      So you've been charged for your data even though you are on a 'bundle' with X amount of usage?

      I find it a bit odd that you've been told that you are being charged because you're connecting via Vodafone Live. The Live page is just that, a page, the only thing i can think that it may be is the APN.

      Most Androids on VF (havnt checked any other operators branded Android devices) only have the WAP (wap.vodafone.net) APN instead of the Internet APN.

      So add a new APN, only details you need are a name for it (not case sensitive), APN needs to be internet (case sensitive) and the username and password should be web (case sensitive). Everything else left blank. It wont make a difference in terms of speed of access but may well have an effect on your charges.

  47. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Whats with the HTC idiots posts?

    Good grief.

    Not everybody who has an iPhone is some Jobs-worshipping gullible idiot who can't think for themself. You sound just as obsessed with having "one true god" as those you seek to criticise.

    As to your points :

    "We can legally replace our rom images with one not approved of by your one true god ... [if we use a genuine HTC rom]"

    Not much difference there then. It still has to be HTC-approved or your warranty is out of the window.

    "we can install whatever software we like"

    So can I, although I'm sure Mr Jobs would prefer me not to.

    "We can do all this for half the price your one true god demanded for his fashion accessory."

    You've may have me there, but as I'm loaded I don't really care. I don't really think it's that fashionable either. It just does what I need it to do.

    "We can make calls on our phones whilst holding it in a way not approved of by your one true god - i.e. using our hands! We dont have to wrap the phone in a 25 quid condom to recieve (sic) calls"

    Me too. I had the sense to buy the tried and tested 3GS rather than the sporadically faulty and clunky-to-hold piece of shit that is iPhone4.

    Sigh.

  48. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You friend is ...

    ... http://unrevoked.com/recovery/

  49. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rooted

    This approach was ever so slightly on the sneaky side VF. I had to uninstall apps to make room for the bloatware so was fairly pissed off about it. On the bright side it promped me to install the HTC stock 2.2 ROM and am now delighted. BBC iPlayer :)

  50. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Update removed

    As of this morning, the update is no longer available for download.

  51. Andrew 63
    Linux

    This is why I own.....

    .... a Nokia N900. Its open as much as it can be, and its a simple 5 minute job to swap firmware to unbranded... wait, they come unbranded on all networks unless you're on Vodafone, and then all you do is download maemo flasher, and the global firmware image and emmc image, flash and done. Plus you get the latest software updates before Vodafone users, we're on PR1.2, vodafone users unless they flashed stuck on PR1.0 or PR1.1 which is full of bugs!

  52. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Android.

    Another fail for Android, letting Telcos customise the OS. lmao.

  53. ad47uk
    Thumb Down

    I will stay as I am

    i don't have these problems, I got a simple phone that allows me to make and receive calls,, send and receive text, the only branding Vodofone got on it is their name on the front and that is because it is their brand of phone.

    £10 a month gives me 300mins and unlimited text, no hassle about Vodafone updating the phone and putting anything on there I don't want, as it can't be updated.

    All these smart phones are just more hassle

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