Do people care about getting up to date Android security updates?

Super Tigers · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:17

I bought a cheap Nokia 3 about 3 weeks ago, it is running a very stock Android Nougat. Since buying the phone I have had the Android August security update and 7.1.1 update pushed to my phone. This week Nokia pushed the September security update. It impresses me that Nokia are pushing out the latest monthly updates in the same month as they are released for a cheap low-end £90 phone. My Huawei P9 Lite is still running Nougat 7.0 with April 2017 security updates and their is no sign of any further updates.

As more people run their entire lives on their phone e.g. banking, finance, credit cards, investments, shopping, holidays, travel. Do other people think it is vital to keep phone updated?

Rroff · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:21

Timely security updates are important but so is the manner they are delivered in - they need to be both convenient as possible to apply but also not forced automatically and they need to be labelled appropriately - so many "critical security update!!!" that you "absolutely must install as soon as possible" are just minor feature tweaks and maybe a minor crash fix rather than some major vulnerability - it starts to become a bit of a joke.

Pigeon_Killer · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:22

Yep is the simple answer.

glenimp617 · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:41

Beerbaron · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:49

Still rocking the August security update thanks to EE

Super Tigers · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:56

Beerbaron said:
Still rocking the August security update thanks to EE

My Nokia 3 was an EE payg version from Argos, it had an EE sim card, EE sticker on the box and an EE seal, but the phone was unlocked, as I put my 3 sim in it and it worked immediately.

GeX · 28 Sep 2017 at 22:14

Yep, it's the reason I didn't buy a MotoG5

Steampunk · 29 Sep 2017 at 00:29

GeX said:
Yep, it's the reason I didn't buy a MotoG5

While I like my Moto G3 because it's so cheap and bog standard, I'm unlikely to go for another Moto because Lenovo don't do security updates in a timely fashion.

Glaucus · 29 Sep 2017 at 06:56

Absolutely, and my phone hasn't

Its a shame the Nokia phones aren't the spec I want ie massive battery is no1 priority.

mikedigitales · 29 Sep 2017 at 07:29

Yep, and this is the exact reason my next handset definitely won't be a Motorola. For Lenovo, software updates are well down the priority list.

Sp00n · 29 Sep 2017 at 09:08

Yes I care, but unless I switch to a non-standard rom I am at the mercy of Oneplus and their release cycle.

biron_w · 29 Sep 2017 at 10:40

I care and it's one of the reasons why I like custom ROMs. When I was running stock on my G6 a week ago it was only on the July security patch.
I find it funny that some banking apps won't run on rooted phones because of "security" concerns even though it could be a custom ROM with the latest security patch, yet these banking apps will run on stock software even if they have a very outdated security patch :rolleyes:

biron_w · 29 Sep 2017 at 10:41

Super Tigers said:
I It impresses me that Nokia are pushing out the latest monthly updates in the same month as they are released

HMD global did say they'd release quick updates for their Nokia phones so it's good to see they're sticking to it.

TheVoice · 29 Sep 2017 at 13:19

Huawei/Honor are pretty poor at Android updates, I've had an Honour 8 Pro since launch and I've maybe only had a couple of updates since then (currently on the 5th July security update). My Mum has a 6X, Honor said they'd be releasing a full update for it back in March, then April...then it all went quiet. Still no update.

Dazstoke · 29 Sep 2017 at 15:39

As an android user I accept updates will be hit and miss.I'm not happy about it but I accept it.
My Samsung tablet purchased in 2015 did not get ANY os updates beyond 4.4.Fortunately there is an active mode scene so I'm now running 6.0 and 7.0 is available if I want it.
My Lenovo phone purchased this year is not officially even getting 7.0....I went down the rom route again.

There needs to be some guarantee from the manufacturers/networks that devices will get os and security updates for a minimum period of time.

sesevans · 29 Sep 2017 at 16:10

How important are Android updates? I think very important. Interesting that it is mentioned as one of the items that Google thinks people also think is important as shown in their teaser video for the 4 October Pixel 2 (and other hardware) launch event:

https://youtu.be/etmUU1bs41s

chroniclard · 29 Sep 2017 at 16:14

I care about new functionality and improvements, not so much security updates.

Kainz · 29 Sep 2017 at 16:30

chroniclard said:
I care about new functionality and improvements, not so much security updates.

Same. I can always turn to custom roms if I need the latest security but I care more about functionality and bug fixes over security - I've never really had a comprised device ever on android as I tend to download apps that I REALLY need and most of them are well known ones.

KIA · 30 Sep 2017 at 17:52

Super Tigers said:
Do other people think it is vital to keep phone updated?

Yes.

https://blog.exodusintel.com/2017/07/26/broadpwn/
https://www.armis.com/blueborne/

It's only a matter of time.

Super Tigers · 30 Sep 2017 at 18:50

KIA said:
Yes.

https://blog.exodusintel.com/2017/07/26/broadpwn/
https://www.armis.com/blueborne/

It's only a matter of time.

The more Smartphones become more complex and powerful, the more weaknesses and vulnerabilities are also created.

I hope HMD / Nokia continue to provide timely updates.