Safety Concerns With Automatic Updates!!!

It's important to know that the user does NOT have the option to reject automatic over the air updates if they're not actually watching the screen and see this message.  E.g.  Late night updates or at any time when you're not with your phone, will occur whether or not you want them.  This raises serious safety concerns addressed at the link below.  The FOTA warning message clearly states even 911 calls cannot be made during firmware updates.  There have been cases where people were trapped in an auto wreckage, or kidnapped in the trunk of a car and they were rescued because they made a cell phone call.  Imagine being stuck on a rooftop during hurricane Katrina, only to discover your cell phone won't work because it's updating without your consent.  FOTA updates are a great idea.  However, they should NEVER occur automatically without the user's manual acceptance.

You will still need to either use the LG Software Updater or go to the Verizon store for large updates.  V04 was 96MB.  That's why it was not automatically delivered over the air.  It was just too large.  That would require a very long period of time in which your phone wouldn't be usable.  If a person's battery died during an over the air update, their phone would be bricked.  Personally, I would prefer to update my own phone using the LG updater.  As long as I don't have to take a trip to the Verizon store and wait in a long line, I'll happily do it myself.


http://www.phonenews.com/verizon-fota-issues-persist-customer-council-objects-fcc-psaps-concerned-5250/



Sube

Yes you are [able to reject]. If you don't hit the accept or deny button the notification waits until you do. The first time the screen showed up on my phone I ignored it so I could finish adding my contacts an whatnot. Then, checking the time later that day the notification was back up asking yes or no then I hit accept and the update started. If you miss the notification it just waits for you.

It could the time between when I put my phone down and when I looked at the time was only like 15-20 minutes; so maybe if you leave it for an extended time it will go on its own. I'm sure, though, that if it does go on its own it checks battery level, so its safe on that (no bat dieing while updating). Also, they are done quick 2 min + 30 seconds for the power cycle or so; so I doubt it would inconvenience anyone in case of emergency. I know there is a chance you'll need it during those 2 min but odds are unlikely. That being said it SHOULD wait for your consent.

My concern with a forced update is a glitch in the update software that slips by the techs (definitely not unheard of) or an error occurring like my signal dropping suddenly if the update were pushed through during any one of my many drives through the middle of no where when I might not look at my phone for hours until I stop for gas again.  If a problem were to arise around the middle point of scheduled gas stops, I could very easily be more than 100 miles from any kind of real civilization and have only my cell phone to rely on to get help.


Just because you lead a sheltered life doesn't mean there aren't plenty of people that travel heavily where the chance of those types of emergencies rises dramatically.  How naive do you have to be to believe that in an emergency, a working cell phone can't mean the difference between life and death?

So you would be willing to bet your "life" on not needing your cell phone?  What about people (like me) who no longer use a land line?  My cell phone is my "only" phone.  Should I come see you when my house burns down in the middle of the night because I couldn't call the fire dept?  I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to bet the life and safety of my family on the odds of whether or not I might need to use the only means of emergency communication I have.....my cell phone.  Why create an inherent safety risk just for the sake of convenience?  This is just not logical, and anyone who would justify this is simply not thinking clearly.


I don't know about you, but in my case this is simply not true.  I woke up one morning to find my phone had updated itself from V02 to V03 sometime during the night without my knowledge or consent.


Sube

I had to manually update to V03
But i think i remember declining at one point

I haven't had a lot of free time on my hand but has anyone called tech support to see if we can turn off the automatic update and the only way to update the phone is to manually go check to see if one is available?

maybe the phone is impatient.....