WARNING! - Verizon 1.04 updater

[kabeyun]

So basically you're saying that any Treo problem is everyone else's fault but Verizon's. Verizon is squeaky clean, never misrepresents anything, and we should all be honored even to have a Verizon store nearby.

If we have a problem with something you sell, tough bananas: we should've thought of that before we bought the darn thing. Verizon never said it was any good, right? After all, Verizon didn't design or build the Treo, did you? And you poor beleaguered Verizon employees now have to deal with some dissatisfied customers who were duped by Palm into buying an inherently defective gadget from Verizon, the innocent frontman... a pawn in the whole mobile phone manufacturing industry. We, the pesky, ignorant customers should know better than to expect Verizon to support a product you sell.

And you poor Verizon employees! If Verizon had taken the time to confirm what a bungled piece of electronics the Treo really is, you'd have so much more time to surf the internet and and help customers with other phones to remember to do things like turn them on before trying to place a call. Who needs a challenging job, anyway? "Did you remember to press SEND after dialing the number, ma'am?" Now that's a job I envy.

{end sarcasm}

You sound like Ken Lay. And as a Verizon employee (if you really are one) you remind me of Microsoft refusing to support Windows because it came installed on a someone else's computer.

Anyone read all that?

-K

[Shady]

I'm with kabeyun,
I think invaliderror's post is invlid and in error.
I have two Treo 650's. One is VZW and other is Cingular.
I have about 20 apps loaded on them and I only get resets maybe once a month.
Most issues I've read about are service related and knowledge related.
When I call Verizon Wireless and they tell me that I need to get Broadband for data and then send me a pcmcia card for my Treo, there is a lack of understanding from VZW reps on what they are even doing or selling.
When VZW resets my 2 years contract date because I called in to ask about my bill, that's VZW error. When VZW sent me a bill for not returning a RMA 7135 6 times over one year, that was VZW error.(I gave them the Fedex tracking number each time that shows they received it)
When VZW charged me for both unlimited data $45 and PAYG $350 at the same time for the same month, that was VZW error. I can keep going on.

The Treo is not perfect but in many classes above Verizon Wireless.

[greenarrow]

OK. so this time it worked! The difference: I performed the update using my office machine (a g5 desktop) and a cradle, vs. my previous attempts from home with a powerbook (latop) and data cable. I wonder if it has something to do with the USB ports not having enough juice on the laptop?

When I tried it with the laptop, clicking the "Treo updater" app on my phone would result in the CDMA firmware updater unpacking, but nothing else.

However, at work, with the desktop, clicking the "Treo updater" results in the app
being unpacked, then a whole series of scripted actions that result in the actuall
update happening.. from that point on, things proceeded as desribed on the palm site.

There are only two differences I can think of:

The desktop/g5/cradle (successful) vs. laptop/cable (unsuccessful)

And, to be perfectly honest, there's a step after the updater is synched to your
phone where you're supposed to perform a soft reset before actually launching the updater... I can't recall if I actually performed that step last night or not (though
I was trying to follow all the instructions to the letter).

And, Kabayen, I was able to resurrect a previously broken phone this way - so you may want to give it another shot on a differnet machine/cable combination, if you can.. and make sure to do a soft reset in between synching the update over, and
actually executing it..

- N

Hello All--

I experienced endless cycles of resetting, and boy this was a sorry ride, with hours spend waiting for tech support from both Alltel and Palm. In the end, it was the above user's post, together with something the Palm tech support suggested, along with lots of trial and error, that did it. In the event that it may help another of us, here's what finally worked, circuitous though it may be... (note this was the updater for Alltel, but it seems to be manifesting same problems as reported for the Verizon version)

1) I have two USB cables that work to hot sync the Treo 650, one that came with my 9-month old Palm Tungsten E2 and the other that came with the Treo 650. I had been using the cable that came with the E2 for all synch'ing on my home computer and it has worked very well, but I changed to the Treo 650-supplied USB cable after reading the above post, hypothesizing that perhaps the type of cable could influence success.


2) Hard reset

3) Hot Sync

4) (re-)Unzipped and ran updater, downloaded from Palm One site for Alltel Treo 650.

5) Checked Phone Info -- the updater had NOT updated to 1.04, was still 1.03.

6) Hot Sync
Computer asked for password to do the Hot Sync (usually doesn't). After password entry Treo went into reset loop twice. Prompted me select language, recalibrate screen, set location. Hot sync terminated with error message: An error occurred in the previous update process. Please recalibrate your device and refer to wizard instructions to retry the update with a temporary hotsync user.

7) Hot Sync
Prompted to set or identify user. Set new temporary user (Test3).
Prompted to disconnect USB and connect charger then click OK
Treo updater ran on Treo.
Two cycles of reset
Prompted to select language
Reset
Calibrate keypad and screen
Reset location

8) Hard Reset

9) Hot sync
Prompted to set or identify user. Selected my usual user id.
Hot sync ran, reinstalling all files
Prompted to tap rest button
Reset cycle

10) Finally, this worked. The key seems to be the Treo-supplied cable, and using hard reset and a temporary user id to do the update and then resetting to real user id to reinstall after the update. At least, if you're having a problem, you might consider this...


Good luck, all...

[MJ50]

I have Verizon.
Recently updated to v1.04 because I was having terrible signal strenght.
It improved just a bit, but still weaker than my old V710.

[r0k]

I came here trying to figure out whether to do the 1.04 update from Verizon.

It looks like it does work, even for the person who had the most trouble, provided you use a power cable during the actual update.

My phone is already paired with my Chrysler Uconnect handsfree kit in my car. I am very satisfied with bluetooth performance and don't want to risk breaking something. I wish there was a way to go back to 1.03 if 1.04 breaks something.

My phone gets less signal strength than a typical digital phone so I am considering the updater if it improves phone performance. I have had one or two resets in 2 weeks of ownership and I would rather have even fewer than this. As a Palm TX owner, I learned about nvfs app compatability and have only brought over apps known to be compatible with nvfs. I have about 9 or 10 add on apps on my Treo and about another 100 apps on SD card. I don't use the ones on SD card very often. I am very happy with the Treo as a phone and I feel it is one of the best phones Verizon offers. 100 number history. No non-smartphone has this. 4000+ contacts. No non-smartphone has this. Bright, vivid display. Many smartphones have this, but at much lower resolution. 2 gig SD card. Few non-smartphones have the ability to add memory.

Overall, I am delighted with the Treo, but I understand why Verizon service might be sick of them. Many non-pda users get their first smart phone and do dumb things like install incompatible apps on them without even thinking of looking at the online compatability lists. There are thousands of PalmOS apps out there, but only hundreds which have been validated with NVFS, (the file system on the Treo 650).

My Treo does NOT have a camera. So maybe that's the difference. I wonder if I run the updater, will I get camera software on my unit even though I don't have a camera. Hmmm. I'm out of my 15 day worry free period so I'm reluctant to try the updater. I will have to think about it some more.

[treonews]

My phone will not turn on any more after the change from 1.03 to 1.05
I have been looking to go back to 1.04 but Palm does not have it any more. Do you still have the 1.04 file for updating.
I think you had this problem before. I would appreciate any new knowledge you have onm this issue.
Thanks

[kabeyun]

Hi, Treonews and welcome.
Alas, I don't have the 1.04 updater.
The updating process can be extremely finicky and, as you know, has fried a few Treos even when you think you're performed the update correctly. Here's a thread with some potentially helpful info for you.

-K

[jfa]

I was reading through the palm web site looking for something to help a guy in another thread when I cam acroos this which might explaint the usb problems on either desktop or laptops when doing the update

1 - Do I have to plug the HotSync cable into a USB port on the back of my PC or Mac? Yes, we recommend using a port on the back. USB ports mounted on the front of new desktop PCs are often less reliable for synchronization because they are not "true" USB ports but rather an internal USB hub. The rear-mounted USB ports are usually the "true" USB ports on your PC. With laptop PCs, the USB port in your port replicator (docking station) is also not a "true" USB port but a hub with a USB port. Connect directly to the laptop's USB port for reliable synchronization

[skijour]

This happened to me, too, when trying to run the 1.05 upgrade. I, too followed instructions as exactly as I could, except I used a 3rd party cable and the instructions say to plug in to a power source (not an option with the cable). I also found the above info on USB ports, but I think I used a "real" USB port on my laptop the second time I tried. My Treo is now a PDA, though it goes into continuous reset if I let it run the CDMA upgrade (which then runs the 911 upgrade or something like that, and that's where it crashes).

[ankh]

Anyone else? Currently Palm shows an updater version 1.05a http://www.palm.com/us/support/downl...r/verizon.html