Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) HUB

[Chris_K]

Hello Android users,

With Marshmallow now officially out in the wild in the form of new hardware (see the Nexus 5X and soon-to-be-launched Nexus 6P), official software updates will start pushing out to existing handsets in the coming months. Not every Android handset will see an upgrade for Marshmallow (more on that later...) but we'll keep you posted on this along the way.

What's the process from O2's end?
We understand the wait for new updates can be frustrating and we'll do all we can to minimise this so you get it as soon as possible, once we're confident the update delivers a positive user experience. So you've got a bit more insight into what to expect, here's what will typically happen:

1. Manufacturers will analyse and decide on which devices will be updated to Marshmallow
2. We may be sent this list as a heads up - We do not typically get any ETA's until days/weeks prior to us being sent the update for testing & approval
3. We stay on standby and wait to receive updates from vendors (Microsoft, Sony, LG, Samsung etc)
4. Once received, our device team will test the update in-house. Testing typically lasts 1-2 weeks.
5. If there are any issues found that are not network/O2 related, we will notify the vendor of this who may recall the update and re-issue with a fix in place (which may need re-tested)
6. If there are no issues found, the team will approve this and send it back to the vendor who will schedule this for release
7. Once sent back, it typically takes 1-2+ weeks to be scheduled and released to the end-user
   
   NOTE: If you have an unlocked/SIM free handset not purchased via O2 directly, you will not be on the 'O2 update channel' and so your experience will be different. Due to your update coming direct from the vendor, due to various factors, you may see the update arrive sooner or later than O2 customers - this varies from handset to handset, update to update.

I have 'Phone X' - Will it be updated to Marshmallow?
As mentioned prior, not every handset will be updated to Marshmallow - this may depend on the device specifications, device popularity, vendor resources. Typically speaking, flagship devices are usually the first to be updated, followed by older flagship devices, followed by the rest.

We'll use this thread as a central HUB to keep everyone updated on Android Marshmallow in general. As and when we're notified from vendors around what handsets they intend to update, we'll add a section on it below - this way you can stay up to speed.

Google
With Nexus devices being close to Googles heart, these are usually the first to be updated. The following devices are already receiving updates to Android Marshmallow:
- Nexus 5
- Nexus 6
- Nexus 7
- Nexus 9

Sony
Sony have released a statement that they will update the following devices to Marshmallow
- Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact & Z5 Premium
- Xperia Z4 Tablet
- Xperia Z3+, Z3, Z3 Compact, Z3 Tablet Compact
- Xperia Z2, Z2 Tablet
- Xperia M5, C5 Ultra, M4 Aqua and C4

Sony released a statement via their blog here

SONY UPDATE @ 18th February
We're hoping to receive updates for the Z5, Z3+ and Z4 Tablet before end of the month to begin testing. If all goes well, we hope to see the update released in the coming weeks.

SONY UPDATE @ 4th March
We approved the Marshmallow update for the Z3+, Z5 Compact, Z5, Z5 Premium and Z4 Tablet on Friday 4th March and sent these to Sony for scheduling. We typically expect the updates to become live within a week or two at most, at this stage. Software version will be 32.1.A.1.163.

SONY UPDATE @ 4th May
We're currently testing the Marshmallow update for the Z2/Z3 device families and hope to have more info in the coming week or so

SONY UPDATE @ 24th May
Marshmallow is now live under the guise of software update version '23.5.A.0.575' for Z2 and Z3 family of devices. This includes: Z3, Z3 Compact, Z3 Tablet, Z2 and Z2 Tablet

HTC
HTC recently tweeted that they'd be updating the following devices to Marshmallow:
- HTC One M9 & M8 (beginning end of 2015)
- HTC One M9+, E9+, E9, ME, E8, M8 EYE
- Butterfly 3
- Desire 826, 820, 816

HTC UPDATE @ 20th January
- Marshmallow is now being rolled out to the HTC One M8 (see here)

HTC UPDATE @ 26th January
- Marshmallow now rolling out to HTC One M9's

HTC UPDATE @ 17th February
- Marshmallow 6.0.1 soon rolling out to HTC A9 (see here for more info)

HTC UPDATE @ 29th February
- Marshmallow is now rolling out to the HTC A5 (Desire 816) - The update for this is in two parts - the 1st one to prepare the device for the 6.0 update, the 2nd to actually do the update. Due to the size, this may take up to 60min or more.

HTC UPDATE @ 3rd May
- Marsmallow now available for the HTC Desire 820

HTC UPDATE @ 12th May
- Marshmallow has been approved for the HTC One M8s and we hope will be available to you in the coming week or so

Motorola
Motorola have announced that they will update the following devices to Marshmallow:
- 2015 Moto X Pure Edition (3rd gen)
- 2015 Moto X Style (3rd gen)
- 2015 Moto X Play
- 2015 Moto G (3rd gen)
- 2014 Moto X Pure Edition in the US (2nd gen)
- 2014 Moto X in Latin America, Europe and Asia2 (2nd gen)
- 2014 Moto G and Moto G with 4G LTE2 (2nd gen)
- DROID Turbo
- 2014 Moto MAXX
- 2014 Moto Turbo
- Nexus 6

Motorolas official announcement can be found here

Note: Many of the devices above were not sold by O2 or within the UK market. If you have such devices, you should receive your update directly from Motorola - O2 will not receive these for testing/approval/release (eg, devices like the Turbo, MAXX, X Pure etc)

LG
LG have confirmed that they are working on Marshmallow for the G4. We don't currently have any estimates for when this update will be released.

LG UPDATE @ 20th January
- We're awaiting the software from LG for the G4 and will begin testing once we have it - no ETA currently available.
- The G3 update should follow shortly after the G4 has been updated

LG UPDATE @ 12th February
- We approved the G4 update a few days ago and it should be in LG's systems now. Eyes peeled over the coming days as it's likely to become available to you any day now.

LG UPDATE @ 5th May
- We've tested & approved the LG G3 update and this will be released by LG imminently

Others
At present we don't currently have any confirmed roadmaps from other vendors but we will work with them and will update this as and when more confirmations arrive.

SAMSUNG UPDATE @ 10th February
- We're currently testing marshmallow on the S6. No further info or ETA yet but we'll let you know more over the coming days/weeks.

SAMSUNG UPDATE @ 3rd March
- Marshmallow has been approved for the Samsung S6 and S6 Edge on Thu 3rd March. S6 Edge+ not yet approved but team are hoping to approve within next week. No ETA for S6/Edge but we typically expect this within a week or two at most.

SAMSUNG UPDATE @ 10th March
- Marshmallow update approved for the S6 Edge+ and returned to Samsung for schedule/release. Typically we expect these to push out within a week or two, though is sometimes sooner than this.

SAMSUNG UPDATE @ 11th March
- Marshmallow 6.0.1 has been approved for the S5 and Note 4 - We hope to see it released to customers within the next week or two

[Bambino]

Thanks for the very thorough post @Chris_K I have a sim free Nexus 5 and the update is available to me, but not being in the habit of being an early adopter, I haven't installed it as yet.

[Cleoriff]

Thanks for updating @Chris_K

[gmarkj]

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@Chris_K wrote:

Once received, our device team will test the update in-house. Testing typically lasts 1-2 weeks.

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@Chris_K - who completes the testing? Is it an in-house thing (ie, a sort of QC team), or do you push the update to a group of users?

Do you see any benefit in going down the 2nd route - would get a wider variety of end users testing and checking for issues, plus potentially see feedback quicker.

Potential cons are that there would need to be a way to "roll back" if there are any issues, which is not always easy...

[Chris_K]

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@gmarkj wrote:

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@Chris_K wrote:

Once received, our device team will test the update in-house. Testing typically lasts 1-2 weeks.

---

@Chris_K - who completes the testing? Is it an in-house thing (ie, a sort of QC team), or do you push the update to a group of users?

Do you see any benefit in going down the 2nd route - would get a wider variety of end users testing and checking for issues, plus potentially see feedback quicker.

Potential cons are that there would need to be a way to "roll back" if there are any issues, which is not always easy...

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Good question

Within O2 UK we have a dedicated devices team who control the relationship between ourselves and the vendors (Microsoft, Sony, LG, Samsung etc). They liaise with them around new updates and once an update is received, they apply this to their device(s) and test it to ensure it behaves correctly with all network tasks - calling, texting, MMS etc and also test out features that attribute to the overall user experience.

We don't currently have a group of 'public testers' for updates for varying reasons - it might be something that changes in the future but for now it's not something being looked into. Some main reasons we don't do public testing:
- Non-official updates will void your warranty

- If you have issues with the update, our customer service teams may not be able to support you (due to it being unofficial software)
- Sometimes we need to test very specific things that aren't ready for prime-time or public consumption - Eg, when we rolled out VVM for Microsoft Lumia devices, that was very specific testing we had to do and monitor via network/systems

[viridis]

Just to quickly add @Chris_K
Samsung confirmed 6.0 for s6, s6 edge, s6 edge plus, note 4, alpha, tab A and tab S2
A few weeks back on twitter.
I'll try and find source

[gmarkj]

@Chris_K thanks for the quick and all encompassing reply!!

Just wondered how it compared to some of the beta tests that are available to try (Do wapp springs to mind), and how it applied to "try the tech" users.

[Cleoriff]

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@viridis wrote:
Just to quickly add @Chris_K
Samsung confirmed 6.0 for s6, s6 edge, s6 edge plus, note 4, alpha, tab A and tab S2
A few weeks back on twitter.
I'll try and find source

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Thanks for this @viridis I was just coming back to ask about Samsung devices...:smileysad:

[Anonymous]

Thanks for heads up.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for updating @Chris_K