The Samsung Stratosphere 2 will begin to receive Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) as early as today, March 27, according to Verizon. Since 2.5 people (.5 being someone’s cat) own this phone, I can’t imagine this rollout will take long, so keep your phones handy! But for those who do own it, get ready for Google Meow, better Voice Search, enhanced notifications, Verizon’s remote diagnostics tool, less bloatware, and better connectivity over WiFi.

The update is 506.6MB in size (damn!). The build number is VRBMA3. 

Via:  Verizon | More

Cheers Willimus!

Verizon Approves Jelly Bean Update for Samsung Stratosphere 2 is a post from: Droid Life

So, we’ve got a couple of readers who claim to have seen the global update for Incredible 4G LTE, tonight. In it, as you can see in the pic on the left, is a new option to switch between Global or LTE/CDMA. Other than that, the update contains a Remote Diagnostics tool, which is on the backend, and more stability in your LTE and WiFi connections.

In the original changelog for the update, it said that the device would now be ready for Isis Mobile Wallet, however, as of yesterday, that piece to the changelog was removed by Verizon. We aren’t sure why, but in case you were wondering, the Isis app is not included in the update.

Anyone else seeing the update tonight? If so, let us know if you are seeing any additional goodies.

Cheers LionStone and Matt!

DROID Incredible 4G LTE Global Update Starting to Roll Out? is a post from: Droid Life

Verizon has approved the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the DROID 4 this morning. A soak test for the update was announced last week, but we have yet to hear if it actually rolled out to any participants. What we do know, is that when Big Red approves something like this, it usually starts to appear on devices within a week.

Aside from the benefits that come with Android 4.0, you will notice better quality pictures, improved gallery performance, global roaming capabilities, less force closes and restarts, and Verizon’s Remote Diagnostics tool.

Update:  The soak test for the device is arriving today. Assuming that goes well, it should be only a matter of days before the public gets it.

The build number is 6.16.217. The Android version is 4.0.4. The update is 364MB in size. A full change list is below.

More info.

DROID 4 Ice Cream Sandwich Update Approved by Verizon, Here is the Full Change List is a post from: Droid Life

The LG Revolution on Verizon has an update on the way as build VZ910ZV9. Through the update, LG has patched a security hole, improved the phone application, and fixed some text message issues. More importantly though, Verizon mentioned their new “Remote Diagnostics” customer service tool again that has raised a few eyebrows in its short life. It first debuted on the Revolution back in March, so it is sort of odd to see them bring it up again here. We aren’t sure if they are improving it or making it as public as possible as to not freak out Revolution owners. Probably the latter.

For those not familiar, this new Remote Diagnostics tool allows customer service agents to remotely access your phone when you call into them looking for help. They can’t do it unless you give them approval, but in a time where privacy is brought up on the daily, you can imagine how most of us feel about this tool being installed on our phones without our consent. Until we see an opt-in to even have it installed, we aren’t going to be friends.

The update is 20.9MB in size. More info.

LG Revolution Update VS910ZV9 is Ready, Fixes Security Holes and Mentions Remote Diagnostics Again is a post from: Droid Life

Verizon told us yesterday that other phones besides the LG Revolution would receive their new Remote Diagnostics tool. We sort of expected it to be a bit as they tested the new service on the Revolution first, but it appears now as if the DROID Charge should receive the tool in the coming weeks through a new OTA update. The update is build FP1 and includes an “updated UI” along with a ton of other bug fixes and tweaks to enhance the experience. 

Really though, this is about the Remote Diagnostics tool that VZW assures us will never gather data or activate without a customer’s approval. I’m still trying to figure out how they can remotely activate it if it’s not running at least in some capacity in the background, but will stop there before the conspiracy theorists show up in waves. Just know that once it arrives via OTA update, it cannot be removed from the device nor can you block it from being installed. It’s bundled into the update. So whether you are interested in their remote help or not, this service will be stuck on your phone. We have a Q&A for this new Remote Diagnostics tool here.

More info. The update is 85MB in size.

Cheers everyone!

DROID Charge Update Incoming – Verizon’s Remote Diagnostics Tool Included Along with an Updated UI is a post from: Droid Life

Verizon plans to debut a new “Remote Diagnostics” tool when the LG Revolution receives its next update. The tool will be used by customer services reps to remotely access your phone during support calls to quickly fix or address your problems. Verizon assures us that this tool will never be activated unless the customer has given the customer service rep permission to do so. With privacy such a hot topic these days, there are bound to be questions or concerns about this type of software being installed on our phones. We pinged Verizon to get some answers and heard back.  

What is Verizon’s Remote Diagnostic Tool?

New customer care solution to improve device issue diagnosis during customer support calls. When a customer calls into Verizon Wireless Customer Care, this solution, with the customer’s permission, allows support personnel to remotely view the user’s device for troubleshooting and application demonstrations.

Is this service eventually going to roll out to all Verizon smartphones through updates?

“This is a new tool that we plan to bring to some phones this year as we continue to enhance the customer service experience.”

How does the tool work during a support call?

“Customers with a Revolution by LG who call customer service are not required to use the tool. The tool will not run unless a customer gives explicit permission during a call with customer support. If customer support suggests using the tool as a way to diagnose a problem the customer will see a notification on their device after customer support initiates the Verizon Remote Diagnostics tool. A customer will then see a permission request directly on their device along with “terms and conditions” and an “Accept” or “Reject” button. A customer will need to select “Accept” in order for the tool to run. Customers are free to select “Reject” and the tool will not run.

Customers will also be given a 4-digit PIN by customer support and that PIN must be entered in the device by the customer in order for this to work.”

Does it access contacts, passwords or other personal information?

 ”The tool never pulls contacts, account numbers, passwords and the like.  And, it’s important to remember, it will run only when a customer calls customer support and gives permission to use the Verizon Remote Diagnostics tool.”

Can users opt-out of receiving the Remote Diagnostics tool? Can it be removed?

“It is a piece of the new software and cannot be removed, but it does not run in the background. It only runs when a customer calls support and gives permission to use it.”

So again, if you didn’t see it the third or 4th time, this Remote Diagnostics tool will not run in the background. It is however, a new piece of software that is installed in the background, but can only be activated when you give a customer service rep permission to use it.

Will be interesting to see if the developer community can locate this service and remove it without breaking the phone. I can imagine that most readers of sites like DL would rather not have it installed in the background whether it runs or not.

What is Verizon’s New Remote Diagnostics Tool? We Have Answers is a post from: Droid Life

Over the weekend, Verizon pushed a support document to their LG Revolution site indicating that an update was imminent. That update looked normal for the most part and included bug fixes, Verizon Video, and more. What wasn’t normal though, was the section under “New Features” that read “Enhanced customer support with Verizon Remote Diagnostics.” What on Earth could that be? 

From the document we have the following:

New customer care solution to improve device issue diagnosis during customer support calls. When a customer calls into Verizon Wireless Customer Care, this solution, with the customer’s permission, allows support personnel to remotely view the user’s device for troubleshooting and application demonstrations.

The key point to that paragraph is “with the customer’s permission.” It’s essentially a remote login type of service for VZW service reps to use during support calls to better assist you. We have to assume that it’s a piece of software that will sit in the background of your phone that can be activated once you give them the thumbs up. That scare anyone a bit?

In a day when you can’t visit a tech site without seeing something to do with privacy, all we can do is try to take Verizon’s word for it on this one. If it indeed turns out to be some sort of tracking tool that is engaged without customer consent, you can imagine the lawsuit.

Now the big question is, which phones will see it next? And if they do, can we opt out of having it on our phone? As someone that handles their phone without ever having to call customer service, this is something I do not want on any of my phones.

More info.

LG Revolution Update Introduces Verizon’s “Remote Diagnostics” Tool, Says It Needs Your Permission to Use It Though is a post from: Droid Life