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Why do carriers put "their" firmware on phone?

Gnarlyjibs

Dec 18, 2008, 11:39 PM
It's kinda lame when you buy a new phone hoping for the features that the manufacturer put on them to actually be usable after the carrier has gotten a hold of it. I bought a Sony Ericsson W580i and was looking forward to the "mp3 ring tones" only to find out that ATT makes it so you can't just apply a full song to be a ring tone. there is many other instances of this type of thing out there. like locking you out of being able to change customizable buttons, not being able to change banners, the menu styles are completely changed...i mean i see it all the time on phones and makes me so mad. cant they at least give you the option of leaving the "stock" firmware on the phone.

I think this should be changed maybe even make it unlawful for th...
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OfAMightDivine

Dec 19, 2008, 12:33 AM
If you don't like how the carrier does things, buy the phone unlocked at full retail cost from the manufacturer. Carriers lock things down to make you spend money on their products.


It's pointless and idiotic to complain about a business making money... after all that's the top priority of a business. Make as much money as possible.
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taoareyou

Dec 20, 2008, 10:04 AM
It's not like they change the product after you buy it. A branded phone is almost never excatly the same as the stock version.

You have ample opportunity to try out the phone, both in store and even a minimum 3 day non-commit trial with pretty much every carrier.

Phone's aren't the only product to suffer this business model. Ever buy a PC from a retail box store (and many online outlets as well)?
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Gnarlyjibs

Dec 20, 2008, 8:04 PM
i see what you mean about other products and the fact that you get to try the phone before hand, but in this situation your kind of stuck with branded phones, a lot of the phones out there you cant even buy a unbranded version. and i opt to build my own PC for almost the same reason....i can't really build a cell phone. if the option was there i would.

i guess i was just ranting about it, and hoping maybe someone could point me in a direction around it that i don't know of, or maybe enlighten me that change may actually happen...some day...lol
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taoareyou

Dec 20, 2008, 9:27 PM
Actually lots of places sell unbranded (also known as Unlocked) phones. You can buy from the manufacturer's website or from box stores like Best Buy. These are unsubsidized phones, so expect to pay a lot more than even retail price for a branded phone.

Of course, some of the phones released by companies are exclusively available from a wireless provider and cannot even be purchased directly. But these phones are generally specifically made for the provider. You can't really complain about a product that is only available from, say AT&T, having AT&T firmware.

As long as people expect cheap phones, there will be branded phones available. It actually provides the widest selection. Lots of people can't pay $700 for a phone and those ...
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andy2373

Dec 21, 2008, 12:33 PM
Long time ago I flashed a Motorola and Nokia phone back to stock. Witch means they had nothing but their respective firmware on them and I think they both picked up signal better after flashing them.
Don't know if there's anything like that for Sony/Ericsson phones.
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Rich Brome

Dec 21, 2008, 4:45 PM
As far as the manufacturer is concerned, the carrier is their customer, not you, so they usually do whatever the carrier wants.

Nokia isn't as willing to compromise on that as other manufacturers, but that's precisely why US carriers don't carry many Nokias. Nokia's US market share stinks precisely because they won't do just whatever the carriers want.

The carriers - naturally - want to customize the phones to make the most money for themselves. For example, they often require that you buy ringtones from them, and make the link to their ringtone store very prominent.

Of course, with AT&T and T-Mobile, you are always welcome to buy the phone unlocked if you don't want any of that carrier customization. You just don't get the subsidy ...
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Jayshmay

Dec 24, 2008, 8:49 AM
My suggestion to you is to buy an unlocked/unbranded handset. One that comes from the manufacturer to you. No carrier corruption/manipulation!

I've been using an unlocked/unbranded Nokia N95-3 now for almost 8 months and I love the customizing options. I can even asign quick access to apps on the navigation keys, I've got txt msg assigned to left, contacts assigned to up, calender assigned to right, notes assigned to down, and calculator assigned to select, it's really great, and useful. And I have many themes that change the appearance of the menus.
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OfAMightDivine

Dec 24, 2008, 12:56 PM
I can do that with my locked phone.

I was able to do all that with my locked V300 years ago.
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Thelastholdout

Dec 25, 2008, 1:45 AM
Hey, I work for Verizon Wireless, and not only does VZW have its own services that usurp what would normally come with a phone (GPS, for instance) but it also puts a standard interface on each and every phone. Boring? Yeah. Limiting? Yeah. But the reason is because for support purposes, people have to be trained. We aren't whizzes at cell phones when we're hired, and having one interface across all phones, no matter what brand, makes it so, so, so, so much easier for us to help people out when they call and spit and sputter about their phone not working. Even the amount of customization allowed on cell phones can be a problem when I have an irritated customer who's on his lunch break from his soul crushing job on the other end. Havin...
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