BlackBerry does not deliver
by Volker Weber
BlackBerry continues to baffle me with their inability to execute. Ten days ago they released the January Android updates for the DTEK60 and PRIV, one day ahead of time. Like many others I have yet to receive the PRIV update. Let's break it down.
- Google shares Android patches with their OEMs in December. Developers integrate those patches into their products. The software gets tested and approved. At the beginning of January, BlackBerry releases their updates and Google publishes the list of vulnerabilities.
- BlackBerry starts delivering the updates, using a process that delays these updates for days and weeks. Nobody ever explains the process in a clear and understandable fashion. When you ask BlackBerry what is going on, you are told that the updates are rolling out and that users will be receiving them soon.
And then there is the DTEK50 where engineering is roughly a month behind schedule. This will eventually get fixed and DTEK50 will catch up.
BlackBerry is able to build the update in a timely fashion for DTEK60 and PRIV, but they are unable to execute the delivery time and again, month for month. The issue here is misguided expectations. You cannot claim to build the most secure Android smartphone with timely delivery of security fixes as a primary feature, and then not deliver on that promise.
Please report your BlackBerry Android security updates here >
Comments
My Nexus 6 (not bought through any carrier) is still on patch level November 6th (Android 7.0). 😑
Blackberry is doing better, but not as good as they made users expect to, I think.
This is weird. I have an unlocked AT&T PRIV on which I did a clean Marshmallow install using the firmware image that was made available by BB for AT&T phones.
Ever since then I've been getting security updates *immediately*. Even if due to the preset check frequency my phone does not yet show me - once I know from vowe that there is an update, all I've got to do is perform "check for updates" and voila.
It seems like some carriers have their feet on the breaks. And, yes, even if it's their fault, it ends up in BB not being able to keep their promise.
With STV100-4 and STV100-3 models it's mostly no carrier problem as they are often not carrier specific but unlocked electronic retail store devices (but not BBshop). So the delay is definitely BlackBerry itself as there is no carrier in between.
I wish BlackBerry would explain this. I know some really smart people working for BlackBerry and they cannot get to the bottom of this either. We joke that there is a trusted server with 80286 with 640 kB RAM somewhere, that cannot handle a larger load.
...neue Beta AAI759 (~70MB) wurde für Dtek50 am 13.01. veröffentlicht. Patch-Stand: 05.01.2017
Schaut aus, als ob Engineering langsam aufholt.
19. Januar und noch kein Update 5.Jan.17 auf dem Priv eingetroffen und die Ergebnisse des Formulars scheinen auch auf die noch ausbleibende zweite Welle (normalerweise 10 Tage nach BBshop US) von "Open Market" Geräten hinzuweisen. Oder bin ich Einzelfall.
