Yeah, my Pyra will be my new phone due to privacy. . .


I totally agree. Actually, they shouldn't be able to restrict what I do with a device I purchase ever, not just after they end official support.
 
carriers should be legally required to unlock
Can't you go somewhere else (another city/country) where you get another carrier which DOES allow updating?
 
As I understood it, the "secure" version was initially made for a smartphone with specific requirements, so maybe it is maintained by those people, or it died.
I think it was also made palatable with something in the lines of: Governments and larger organisations could adopt it themselfs for the devices they use.

My stupid question is why don't those behind mobile OSs try to make the most secure, hardened version of their OS that they can?
I'd think they do try. Not wanting any beasts take bites out of their dairy cows for one. And not losing attraction for being the ones with the dangerous devices for two.


@Grench No, you've just got to stop using that broken device and buy a functional new one...


Can't you go somewhere else (another city/country) where you get another carrier which DOES allow updating?
I guess, it's more about AT&T being the OS's vendor, i.e. the only valid update provider, not providing updates anymore and sitting on the key, needed to unlock the device. ?
 
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Frankly, carriers should be legally required to unlock the bootloaders of any phone they sell from the date they are no longer willing to supply OS and security updates.

Did you buy the phone from your carrier? As a European used to buying his own phone from here there and everywhere, then sticking in SIM from a carrier, I wouldn't expect any help from my carrier unless the SIM card itself broke. I think it's the manufacturers who provide updates, so your recourse is either to them, or more likely to the shop that sold you the device.

Trouble is even in europe, shops are largely able to wash their hands of supporting you after 24 months. You could arguably take them to court, but you'd need money. I'm just glad there are shops like ED's dragonbox who'll support your device as long as they're affordably able to.
 
Did you buy the phone from your carrier?
Yes. Here in the US, phones are fairly carrier specific. Yes, you can get a carrier unlocked phone, but then you receive no updates at all. All software updates get tied to the carrier specific version of a phone.

How updates get handled -- Google updates Android, Samsung updates the phone-specific info and adds bloat and passes it only to the carrier who then adds their specific info and adds bloat then pushes updates on the carrier's own schedule. It takes forever and the manufacturer and the carrier have absolutely 0 incentive to supply updates past their own device warranty coverage.

My 5 year old phone's hardware suits me better than anything currently being produced and I've yet to find anything it won't run. Swapable battery, microSDXC slot with a 200GB card in it, etc... I can't even find anything with a user swapable battery anymore - which is baked in obsolescence too.
 
The simple fact that you use the word carrier for your mobile network operators is telling.

I don't know about today's situation but when I looked a few years ago I think the majors operators used different frequencies and technologies that meant a single phone could rarely be used efficiently on different operators anyway.
 
Ah, you can buy phones like that from carriers here, though it's far more usual to rent it on contract from them. Personally, for my past half dozen phones I've bought the hardware from various electronics suppliers, and just rented a SIM from various carriers. Then you're not running an OS with the carrier's bloat on it, and you can use the manufacturer's updates.

Edit: @beniotb carriers do use different frequencies, but that was mostly a problem with 1G and early 2G phones. Later 2G phones could handle most of not all of the frequencies in use in a particular territory, and since about 3G it's not something you need to care about as long as you only expect your phone to work in Europe.
 
I can't even find anything with a user swapable battery anymore
I did. That's one reason I got myself the Moto G5, plus there are some custom ROMs to be found at XDA. (G5 Plus has a fixed battery though, and I think both G5S, too.)

When it comes to frequency coverage, the over the top hyped Oneplus 5T has only one technical variant. ;)
 
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