OTA update not working

[topspinner]

I just got a new A500 tablet and it came preloaded with 3.0.1, when I go to settings and try to run update, it says none available, system up to date. Does anyone know an easy way to manually update to the latest OS? Or will the OTA update eventually come?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Icebike]

You get in line Buster!!! ;-)

Seriously, all you can do is Register your tablet and wait till your turn comes up.
Nobody knows how to hurry this thing along, other than side-loading, and if you Just got the tablet I don't recommend you go that route your first time.

 

[topspinner]

Ice, thanks for your response. Couple of quick questions, what does side loading mean?

Also, how does the update work, I just assumed it was like any other software update, where you check for an update and if it is available, and if it is you download it. Not sure what you mean by getting in line? Do they somehow limit the amount of people who can download the software everyday, how long does it usually take before available? Also, will it allow me to download 3.2 right away, or will I have to download 3.1 first? Thanks again

 

[Icebike]

No, its totally different than an application update from the market.
Go to Settings / About Tablet / System Update, and tap check now. You can also check the box and it will check once every day for you.

When an update comes, it will will pop up a box and you can choose to update or do it later. From there on out, let it do its thing, and it will reboot when its finished. Don't be impatient or interrupt it.

The update will probably go directly to 3.2. It sends your current version number up, and gets an update designed explicitly for that version. But I don't know this for sure.

Getting in line, was just a joke, because we are all waiting for the update except for a handful that got it already or side loaded.

Side loading means: Go out to the web and find the new version on some less than totally trustworthy site, download it as a zip file, place it in the root of your microSD card, and reboot the tablet and hope. Not recommended for your introductory upgrade to any Android device.

On the other hand, your warranty is still fresh, and you probably aren't committed to the tablet yet, so if you totally hork it up, you can still take it back to the store and look all helpless and innocent and say it broke, and you need a new one... ;-) Might work.

 

[topspinner]

Well, it is a week later and I am still on 3.0.1....and I called tech support and the guy had no idea why it did not update and could not tell me how to update it manually. Does anyone know an easy safe way to update to 3.1 at least?

Thank you

 

[vanvee88]

Well, it is a week later and I am still on 3.0.1....and I called tech support and the guy had no idea why it did not update and could not tell me how to update it manually. Does anyone know an easy safe way to update to 3.1 at least?

Thank you

Did you ever find a resolution for this?

Same thing with me.

V

 

[Mrhelper]

(Update: I just realized that your question was based on a post from late 2011, but this may still apply, because there apparently others seeing this recently.)

First I need to make the point that if you are already on Android 3.2.1, then you need to make sure that you have installed the Acer Iconia TAB Update Enhancement from Google Play. If you had not done that yet, and are waiting for ICS, that may be why you have not seen it yet.


There is apparently some problem happening for people with new tablets waiting for updates from 3.0.1 to 3.21, and people already on 3.2.1 waiting for ICS. One a500 owner reported that she and her mother each bought a500 tablets from the same store, on the same day. They live ~10 miles apart from each other. Her tablet updated to ICS a short while back, and the one that her mother has keeps reporting that it is up to date when checked manually.

I've seen other reports very much like this on various forums -- two others just yesterday that I have responded to -- and I'm a little suspicious that Acer made some changes in the way the servers respond to requests during periods of congestion. They may be reporting "up to date" instead of the update failure code that was causing the a500 to print the poor network coverage error message that many were seeing for a while. That message was causing people to think they had wifi problems, when apparently, the update servers were just congested. See the note about that here, where they wrote : "You should no longer receive a message stating Network coverage is currently poor. Please move to a location with better coverage to continue, if you are please contact Acer support." (http://acer.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14634). That URL also contains release dates, which suggest that everyone should have ICS by now.

If my theory is valid, and your particular problem is an update server congestion problem, then you could try checking for updates several times a day, and at different hours. If server congestion is the issue, then you may have a better chance at update very late in the evening or early morning. Another similar option may be to ensure that the automatic system update check box is set, and then change the wifi properties to keep wifi on during sleep. Keep the tablet on the charger while using this option. I suspect that the automatic update check occurs several times a day, but I have not verified that. It may even check more than once per hour. If your typical tablet usage tends to coincide with peak download times, you may be encountering server congestion.

Acer support should be able to explain why this is happening, but to get that, you may have to insist that they escalate to higher levels/tiers of support. It's possible that the support call centers have just not been well informed about this.

 

[Douvie]

Not sure if the update 3.2.1 is cumlative - in other words that you can upgrade to 3.2.1 from 3.0.1 - you may have to upgrade to 3.1 first.

 

[phlashbios]

Not sure if the update 3.2.1 is cumlative - in other words that you can upgrade to 3.2.1 from 3.0.1 - you may have to upgrade to 3.1 first.

My experience is that you need to go from one revision to the next if you are following the OTA path. So, from 3.1 --> 3.2 --> 3.2.1 --> 4.0.3

You will ofc, also need to have installed the acer updater utility to go from 3.2.1 stock to 4.0.3 stock.

 

[Douvie]

My experience is that you need to go from one revision to the next if you are following the OTA path. So, from 3.1 --> 3.2 --> 3.2.1 --> 4.0.3

You will ofc, also need to have installed the acer updater utility to go from 3.2.1 stock to 4.0.3 stock.

Yeah that has been my experience too. Actually 3.2.1 had 5 minor updates, at least here in Australia. The last of the 3.2.1 updates involved the Acer updater beening updated.

my A500 came with HC 3.01. Then it updated to 3.1. 3.2 came along in October 2011 followed by 3.2.1 in late november 2011. The forum is littered with threads about these update. I do not believe some one can go from 3.01 to 4.0.3

It is not cumulative - must go through the steps.