By If you want to complain about software updates, another handset you don’t want to fail to mention unless you like the idea of a thousand angry Android owners descending upon you is the HTC Droid Eris from Verizon. We learned that Verizon would be dropping the Eris in short order, and along with this there was some worry that a new OS update may never come. Now it looks like Verizon is gearing up to bring the update to Eris owners, with software revision ROM: 2.36.605.1/Radio: 2.42.00.04.12.
No where in Verizon’s literature do they call this one Android 2.1, but if you look at the list of new features you’ll know that is exactly what you are getting:
- Pinch-to-zoom is now available when using the Gallery and Google Maps.
- New support for voice-to-text entry.
- New Gallery application with 3D layout. View and share photos taken with your phone and images from your online Picasa Web albums.
- New Leap thumbnail view lets you pinch to jump between the seven panels on your home screen.
- Google Maps with Navigation provides free, traffic-enhanced, turn-by-turn navigation.
If Verizon sticks to their guns, notice that Eris users will get 7 home screens with thumbnail navigation, something that was surprisingly absent from the Motorola Droid Android 2.1 update. You can learn much more about what other additions and enhancements will come with the update at the Verizon Eris Support site.
No specific timeframe is given for when owners can expect this update to start rolling out, and if the recent bungle that was the Droid 2.1 (or really any 2.1 update you can think of) release is any indication, you would be best to be a bit skeptical. Hopefully “soon” will retain its dictionary definition and actually mean sometime in the relatively near future.
[via Verizon, thanks to c dowell for the heads up!]
Any news if this is going to be more updated than the 2.1 V3 leak?
“If Verizon sticks to their guns, notice that Eris users will get 7 home screens with thumbnail navigation, something that was surprisingly absent from the Motorola Droid Android 2.1 update.”
Isn’t that because Leap and 7 home screens is a Sense UI add-on?
@plim
While that is true, I was more referring to the expectations that the Droid would receive additional home screens and thumbnail view of those home screens in the style of the Nexus One.
“Dropping support” for the Eris or just ceasing sales? There’s a big difference.
Please referance the Sprint update notices. The only gaurentee of getting any update is to do it yourself via leaked roms or CM.
not sure if this is of big news, or just more of the same “believe it when i see it type” stuff…..BTW that ROM and Radio number is exactly what I have now from the leaked 2.1 ROM v3….I like it…but haven’t seen the 3D galleries…the other features mentioned are there and work great….I was hoping they would update the radio though because with this version I am only getting one to two bars (which others report as well) of service where I had previously averaged 3-4 Bars…may just be software/display bug….because the calls all still sound fine to me and those I talk to on this phone…..but as earlier…”will believe it when I see it”
Kid Twist> From everything I have read and as I was told by the folks at Verizon, they are simply ceasing sales. I was told support would remain in place
The ROM and radio versions are consistent with leak v3. So I would say v3 is the “official.”
Yea, the Droid has stock 2.1 while the Eris is Sense UI, wich has 7 screens to begin with. This was expected and is exactly what I have on my Hero with Fresh 2.0d
well maybe verizon will accomplish this because sprint sure as hell isn’t…any word on when eris might see it or is verizon keeping it a secret too…
Well, official documentation is a good sign of an OS update happening soon. Thanks for the heads up, Kevin!
“Coming soon”, “next few weeks”, Q1/Q2. Seriously, stop bombarding end user with useless information like this. Say something like “the 2.1 Éclair update is coming June 2nd, bye” or don’t say anything at all. This is getting ridiculous.
For all of you complaining about the Eris getting 7 screens, just download HelixLauncher from the Market. It’ll give you up to 7 screens and double tapping on a blank spot on any screen will bring up “cards” that show the rest of the screens. Tapping a card will automatically bring you to that screen.
Best part is it’s completely free!
Again just another prolonged tease from Verizon Wireless. THis has got to be the 4th time they announced they will “release” a 2.1 update for the Eris. Pretty sure they do this to tick off Eris users enough to the point they go and buy something else (win/win for VW). Disgusting how corporations run business.
well i work for VZW and we are all waiting for the 2.1 update our higher ups were saying that the update would drop when the “incredible” would be launched but here we are 7 days later and no news for us either i was actually thinking of downloading the leak cause VZW employees were even given information that the eris would be updated with the moto release so im a paying customer and i want the update too as soon as i hear the release date ill let you guys know
If the Eris does get the update, will the market change to apps that are currently only in 2.1 phones? Looking for WGN radio, but it is only in the motorola 2.1…not in my Eris. Sadly, that is the only reason I bought a droid in the first place…..
This ROM version is consistent with Droid Eris leak v3, but with updated keyboard (speech to text included) and updated APKS (like multitouch in google maps, and 3d gallery)
Yeah…this one is getting filed in the “Believe it when I see it” category.
“Coming Soon” to Verizon. Just like the Nexus One…
is bluetooth streaming music included in the update? WOuld love to go wireless with Pandora in my car
Grrr. I really hope this gets released soon, as it would at least take the edge off my hunger for the Incredible. However, I want them to do it right, not rush a buggy release to market. I briefly looked into loading one of the leaked Eris 2.1 ROMs onto my phone, and it’s easy enough to do, but feedback I’ve seen on forums tells me that they are still far too buggy for me to risk it. I need my phone to be functional, and aside from the bugs, there are some apps I use that won’t work after the upgrade, which is unacceptable. No, I will wait for the official release. Just please, Verizon, do your best to fix the bugs and get this out soon!!!
Ugh! Just when I’d given in and decided to go the leak route they dangle this carrot in front of me!
@AsianBob
Helix launcher is nice but it force closes so much
Maybe Verizon won’t be as retarded as Sprint?
Avoid getting the shaft on updates and get the Nexus One. I switched to AT&T to do this.
Fg. Good luck with at&t
Except the update in 3 weeks
Can anyone answer these 2 questions for me?
I rooted my wife’s Eris, flashed a recovery, and updated it manually to 2.1
Will booting from the recovery bring me back down to 1.6?
Will I then be able to upgrade to the VZW 2.1 ROM?
Thanks in advance :-)
Bren, Brent, Malpraktiss, and others…
The update does not come from the carrier, ie Verizon or Sprint…it comes from HTC…carriers announce information based on info they receive from they maker of the product…Carriers only issue updates when the update is available. It is available when it is proven effective through testing by the maker.
Hope that clears things up…
5/11/2010 is when the OTA will begin
Sources:
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/76474-2-1-ota-will-begin-tomorrow-5-11-2010-a.html
Hmmm… I upgraded to the leaked 2.1 in March, and the recent 2.1v3 a few weeks ago. Forget waiting for Verizon. The leaks work fine.
leaked v3 has no pinch zoom on maps, still the + and – signs, hopefully ota will override or can dl from vzw site
The OTA update is here. Got it and it is better than the leaked version. YoooHooo
My wife got her 2.1 update for her Eris this morning and is very excited. Reports that everything gets wiped seem to be incorrect. Post update all of her apps were still there, but contacts (“People”) were empty on phone. She restarted again and then they resynched to the Google/GMail Contacts after a few minutes. Widgets needed to be reselected on homescreens but other than that everything seems to be functioning great. K
I just installed the new Version 2.1 this morning. It works great…love the features!!!
how are you getting the update???? i just checked my phone, restarted it and checked again, and no update :(
so I saw that there is an update for the eris on HTC’s site for SYNC! well it is for more then SYNC it is the update everyone is looking for go to this and download to your pc follow instructions and you are blazing fast and now have turn by turn Spoken directions along with a bunch of other updates happy updating
sorry here is the link
http://www.htc.com/us/support/droid-eris-verizon/downloads/
My roommate got his update on the 13th for his Eris and of course I’m sitting here still waiting for mine to magically appear. The good news is that it is finally here and it does show the 2.1 software. So I will continue to sit and watch my phone like I’m watching paint drying…
got the update 2 days ago, reset the phone a couple times and the phone will automatically resync your contacts. however does anyone else notice that the update has made the eris a bit slower especially with texting, seems like its lagging and its very annoying.
Got the update to 2.1 on 5/17/10. Update ran smoothly, no data lost but home screens, preferences, etc. all reset. Took about 15 minutes to download and install. Took another 30 minutes to bash everything back into desired shape. The phone clearly runs faster now than under prior version of the OS.
got the update; my phone seems to lock up more than usual now but everything else is ok. anybody else have this issue?
IF YOU ARE A VERIZON CUSTOMER….DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE NEW Android 2.1 UPGRADE!!!!!!
TODAY I LEARN FROM HTC TECH SUPPORT…THE 2.1 UPGRADE IS FULL OF BUGS AND CAUSING THE PHONES MALFUNCTION IN MANY WAYS. HE WENT ON TO SAY…THE 2.1 UPGRADE WAS SUPPOSE TO MAKE THE ERIS BETTER…BUT THE ORIGINAL 2.1 UPGRADE HAD TO BE RE-WRITTEN FOR VERIZON TO STOP THE UPGRADE FROM ERASING PERSONAL INFORMATION AND SETTINGS ON THE PHONES. THE RE-WRITE WAS UPLOADED WITHOUT TESTING….ONLY TO BE REALIZED THAT IS FULL OF BUGS. THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THE BUGS…IS TO DO A FACTORY-RESET WHICH ERASES THE NEW 2.1 UPGRADE AND ALL YOUR PERSONAL INFO AND SETTINGS ON YOUR PHONE.
Naive me installed the update (have Verizon Droid), noticed Weather would not work anymore, searched for help and found lots of others with same problems. Have tried suggested fixes but none have worked. Now in endless “loading” loop. Mine and my husband’s phones are totally screwed up and depend on them for work.
How do you do a factory-reset when you can’t access the settings, etc.?
Mindy:
to do factory reset. turn off the phone. hold down the volume down and send button (left one) then while holding, hold down the power on button (right). then proceed the steps.
Spin_Cold’s comment at the end was not entirely true, a factory-reset (or hard reset) on a 2.1 Eris (leak or OTA) will NOT restore 1.5 (Cupcake), or otherwise “erase” the 2.1 OS on it in any way. The rest before that part that he said is true however.
Still any REAL efforts to downgrade the Eris from 2.1 leak or even the OTA to 1.5 is certainly welcome.