A handful of Motorola Droid users were seeded with Android 2.2.1 the other day, and despite some difficulties pushing it out on the Droid X due to the night-time battery manager turning off the radio, Motorola has sorted out the deployment and will be unleashing the update tonight.
Froyo officially hit Droid X handsets in the fall, but don’t expect any equally big feature changes in this update. Android 2.2.1 probably just has some slight optimizations and likely a stepping stone to 2.3 Gingerbread. If you were one of the few to get the 2.2.1 update despite the initial deployment problems, feel free to let us know if spot any significant changes.
For those that haven’t received an on-device notification for Android 2.2.1 by the this time tomorrow, go to Settings, About phone, and System updates to ping the mothership for new software.
A full letter explaining the situation from Motorola is after the jump.
Hi.
Many meetings and much analysis today. We’ve made some decisions based largely on what we’ve learned from this community. Let me share what I’ve learned and what we’re up to. Apologies in advance for the length.
First — why did so many updates fail?
We tried a new kind of test this time. During a typical update test, the update “window” is open to all even if we only tell a few people about it. We’ve learned that enthusiasts will quickly find out about an update and come-a-running. As a result, our plans to test with 10,000 owners end up getting out to 20,000 or more. This can be bad if we find problems with the software. So we tried this middle of the night push and tried to prepare you — plugged in and turned on — so that the package would download while you slept.
We miscalculated. The team came to the forehead-slapping conclusion that the default Nighttime saver battery mode prevented the download. Some of you beat us to this conclusion. In this case, many of you helped us test our process rather than the software. That’s great for our testing but I know it’s been disappointing for many. I wish we had figured this out ahead of the trial. It’s also possible that the Verizon 3G data outage contributed to the failures. It’s (embarrassing) spilled milk now, and we’ll know this next time.
Second — how do you get the software now?
Because of concerns about the rate of failed updates, I’ve not yet sent out the software evaluation survey. But over the last two days, two of us did a sweep of all the posts in this community and collected all the reported issues. The results were very good. We saw no issues that made us seriously concerned about the software. We have also received very few phone calls in the call centers or other signs of problems. This soak group has been the largest and most detailed source of feedback.
So, we’re going to do another push tonight. This time, however, the “window” won’t close. Any one who doesn’t have the update will be able to pull it by going to Menu > Settings > About phone > System updates. We’re confident enough in the software that we’re ready to let a larger group load it.
(We did discuss waiting and doing another test with this group, to make sure our hypothesis about Nighttime saver mode was correct. But in the end there were very good reasons to proceed with another large push. I support the group decision in this case, especially because it means all of us can get the update tomorrow without having to change our battery modes, etc.)
I am going to send out the software evaluation survey tonight. I hope that each of you respond, once you have a chance to use the new software. We want to collect your feedback as a baseline for future updates, and if the next push should reveal any issues we’ll really need your input.
Folks, this one didn’t go as planned. That’s what happens with testing. We learn and move on. I’ve read many of the comments posted here. I truly appreciate the many kind words and encouragement so many of you have offered. Constructive criticism — and even some that isn’t so constructive — is very welcome as well. We want to continue to get better and hope you stick with the Motorola Feedback Network to help make that happen.
So — watch for the survey and please respond. If you haven’t received the update, watch for a new notification. If you don’t receive a notification by tomorrow morning, try to pull the update.
Many thanks,
– Matt
ps Just to set expectations, I don’t know how much I’ll be on the site tonight. Excuse me if I don’t reply to responses quickly.
pps This reminds me. Yesterday I had a flood of PMs, which I think were mostly about the problems with posting on this site. I have not had a chance to read them and if they are about that, I won’t be responding. Let me give a blanket thanks to everyone who tried to help with that. I do appreciate it.
[via AndroidCentral]