Teracube One Android 10 updates

Teracube One
#131

Nothing that I have said is related to the 2e.

Transparent… Their update Android 10 promise was posted until the ONE stopped being for sale.

The line about multi-billion dollar companies fail to deliver or at all. They are not promoting there devices with this update schedule.

Android 12 in DEV Mode now and we are still beta 10. Come on as good as these guy might be… This is a massive fail for the company.

Even the essential (now failed and sold) gave me day 1 monthly updates until the day they closed). This phone EOF and company gone has Android 10.

Communication is very poor.

How is Teracube going to back their warranty and update promise to all of us that got in when Android 12 will be here before our 10.

They need to be honest and open communication now about what should we expect in updates before out 4 year warranty and update ends.

That is true “Very transparent, though frequency/consistency of feedback …”

1 Like
#133

Agreed with everyone on this thread - we have not been very consistent on our updates. I apologize for that. Team has been fixing Google CTS testing related issues. By the time we fix issues, Google expires the previous package and we have to incorporate a new GMS package. Having said this, we are quite close and down to almost 1-2 issues left. Not having anything to say other than this is also a reason for holding back updates. I’ll make sure we change that and give a regular update.

In future, here is what we are working on to improve the process:

  1. Have more consistent and periodic updates on the forums.
  2. Do more incremental SW updates instead of radical switchover to a new BSP like we did for Android 10 on T1. That caused a huge delay due to entirely new code base.
  3. We will expand more CTS testing resources to speed up that part. Currently its taking 1-2 weeks to run tests on a new build which is running against the Google’s expiry of their packages. We should be able to bring it under 3-4 days with that expansion.
  4. As I had mentioned on another post, we are also merging One and 2e codebase so that future work can be consolidated.

Totally agreed that just Covid alone can’t explain the huge delay in our Android update work. I underestimated the process and had too much faith in the ODM. However Covid was a Kick-in-the-butt to get started with our own team. Its been a big learning every step of the way and team has confidence that it can be much smoother and faster once the 1st build is certified.

10 Likes
#134

Your team has been beyond approachable and transparent, much more than I’d expect but very happy to get! Software development is a constant struggle and grind, but no doubt what you’re learning now will help with future releases and products. :+1:

9 Likes
#135

I may not have android 10 but my phone has been excellent. If you want to compare abandoned phones just look online the list is long. Then look at other countries where people are still using Android 8 or even 5. I went in with eyes open and I have had better service and the most reliable phone I have ever owned. When I bought my lg g4 I went through 3 in a year and 2 pixel xl’s because they all failed. I push my phone hard. I have nothing but good feelings about my phone’s the 1 and the 2e. Considering what’s going on it the world android 10 is not the most pressing issue. That they are open to criticim and willing to discuss it with us. Hell when I complained to lg about my phone having failed for the 3rd time they were well maybe it’s your fault the camera failed or it went into a boot loop etc. And the Pixel … same garbage when my phone was getting so hot I couldn’t hold it they tried to blame me for getting it wet when they opened it. Nope no water damage it was just a defective phone.

3 Likes
#136

Let’s be honest …

  1. The LG G4 is a way better Phone than the Teracube 1. The company (Teracube) has the right idea and start but even they will not put things like the camera and screen in a G4 against Teracube 1. And nor should they they are not the same type of phone.

  2. You are taking a lot of apples and cucumbers if you are saying that we are good with the phones on Android 9 still because others around the world are in 8 and I guess the one person you know using Android 5.

Android 5 was a 2014 release. The reason you can’t compare is that anyone that updated to 5 now has a phone older than 7 years. I am sure that the phone manufacturer didn’t say they were going to update them to android 10. I am am sure that they didn’t promise the update in spring 2020.

You can say you like the phone (Teracube) and the company. I like the phone too I like what the company is pitching (that’s why I backed them) but don’t compare frustration with the company way missing their targets with a LG G4 (from 2015) or some guy with a phone running Android 5 (from 2014).

1 Like
#137

Agreed … I supported an idea and very glad i did so … my phone has not failed … been a great phone experience … ps i use my phone — as a phone !!

2 Likes
#138

Life is never perfect. Not everyone will feel the same way on any given situation. As a community member I can see your unhappy with your purchase. You are welcome to that feeling but at this time not much can be done. I will continue to follow teracube and see where it goes. A note my family all have teracube’s and are happy.
I do hope you stay the course and see where we go from here but if not I do hope you find the phone that fits your needs. That’s my personal feeling.

2 Likes
#139

Update - We are in the final rounds of submitting the build to 3rd party lab (designated by Google). They came back with few build failures that the team has fixed. Could take few iterations with them.

6 Likes
#140

Now more than 1 year after this post was opened–and more than 1 year after advertised ‘android 10 spring 2020’–I’m sad to say that I had to buy a different phone today just so I could get regular security updates.

I feel good that my new phone is refurbished. I feel bad that I bought my t1 new last year under the pretense that it would somehow be sustainable for even 1 year.

Thanks for trying, Teracube, but I–like you–failed to understand hardware is only a small, small slice of the sustainability puzzle in smartphones.

I think Teracube lifetime budget should be more than 50% for software OS support or it should monetarily incentivize community OS development which, unpaid, has provided seemingly as many significant software releases as the paid team has.

#141

@monadnoc finally somebody else recognizes and understands this isn’t just about “nice to have”, security patches are critical to ensure we are not at risk.

1 Like
#142

Absolutely.

#143

Thanks, @monadnoc and @adamsterk.

That’s something I already said months ago, I also bought another phone device because for my work I need to use a VPN service that needs to be authenticated through my phone and if this app detects that the OS on my phone might be insecure it doesn’t allow me to connect to company’s VPN.

It’s not a “nice to have” but something mandatory from the perspective of a mobile phone manufacturing company, do you think it’s safe for your customers to use your phone with security breaches when they have to connect to their bank account? or when they trade?.. Think about it.

It’s sad to buy a phone device to save for the environment but that after one year of making promises we don’t get any of them. I heard people saying that Teracube is a small company, that we have to give support to small companies… but it’s my money, it’s my work and the company is not following any of the premises they announced so for me this is something that, allegedly, can be considered misleading advertising.

On asking you about Android 10, you are always saying that it’s in progress but in the meanwhile you started selling a new mobile phone when the previous one it’s still insecure after more than a year since we bought it.


@sharad

When are you providing us Android 10?
When are you providing us Android 11?

Android 12 is already in Beta and we are using Android 9.

I am sorry but this is unacceptable.

BTW I am not a hater, I am a customer who is very unhappy with the service and feels cheated by the way Teracube treats its customers.

#144

Now I will soon maybe not able even to switch back even after an update as my AT&T sim may not connect again.

#145

The AT&T news about dropping 3G is making me worried my Teracube won’t work with them anymore

1 Like
#146

From Sharad…

We have a very important update for Teracube One owners that use Cricket Wireless or AT&T networks in the US. AT&T has said that they will be shutting down their 3G network in 1 year from now (Feb 2022) and they have stopped activating new phones which do not support their HD calling. As of now, Teracube One phones are working fine since they were activated before.

If you own a Teracube One please do not update or remove your SIM card .If you follow these rules your phone should continue to operate as normal while we follow up with AT&T. Read this community discussion for more details

#147

This will affect many phones not just teracube the fact that at&t is killing off 3g at this time is actually funny since it’s the back bone for poor service areas where 4g doesn’t reach. With 5g coming and far more power required to push the signal it will be interesting to see how this all works out. They will either accept more dead zones or require more towers. I suspect the first option. Sadly I suspect they are jumping the gun a bit considering 5g adoption / roll out has been painfully slow compared to 4g/4gLTE.
But since they can force the market you will not be a lone with this problem. Many many others will be included. This is not teracube’s fault this is a choice made by a giant company.

1 Like
#148

I saw that, i got a text from at&t saying my current phone would lose service. Plus I thought they were working on certification at one point

#149

I’m honestly just wondering if Teracube 1 is going to be certified with AT&T or not like talked about in the past

#150

From everything Sharad has said, the intent is to get the One certified after the 2E has finalized certification since some of the administrative overhead will be shared and it should speed up the process for the One.

1 Like
#151

Hello everyone!

I know everyone is pretty tired of waiting on the A10 update, I know we are pretty late on it. So, I want to formally introduce myself and give you a tiny peek inside and some things that have been cooking.

About me
I’m Kshitij, also known as “AgentFabulous” on XDA. I have been involved with multiple Android opensource projects, creating new user experiences, and reversing and patching things to better support MediaTek devices on ROMs that would normally support only QCOM devices. I actively play with upstream experimental/preview/beta AOSP sources too. I have been working at Teracube, with the development team for some time now.

Current Progress
Most of you are probably waiting on the Android 10 build. The build has been resubmitted and is being certified. We’ve had the build come back a few times with some tests failing and have fixed everything now. If all goes as planned, the next time we hear back from our partner, we should have good news. The open beta test has given us a ton of great feedback and we’re still working on improving things like battery life, usability and overall user experience; the team receives feedback literally as soon as you post here.

Teracube One and Teracube 2e
I’ve read this concern a couple of times, that “with the new device the updates will slow down.” To counter this, we have unified the two projects into the same BSP to avoid long delays. While you may not see unified builds on T2e anytime soon, it allows us to speed up work for the next Android version and for when the board partner decides to stop providing support.

"Next Android version" you say?
You heard me right. With unity-firmware able to support both devices via the same codebase, porting a new version of Android to the Unity BSP we can rebase once and serve both. We have started work on Android 11 parallel to the A10 development. Here’s T1 and T2e running Android 11 (this is not a ROM or GSI, but a full WiP redo of the BSP):

IMG_20210526_114203
IMG_20210526_1142032320×1736 1.28 MB

This is experimental and super early but to give you context of time, this initial BSP port took just under 2 weeks. We can’t promise you of a timeline/ETA on 11 yet, but things are way closer than they appear.
Let’s talk 12: Google releases very little usable code on previews and betas. Once we have 11 under control, we will in-parallel also start porting changes to 12 to speed work up for the actual release.

That’s cool and all, what’s taking so long though?
Testing. You have probably heard about it a gazillion times from us, but I’ll be real with you, this was our first time running all test suites ourselves, internally. As a consumer, you shouldn’t have to care about it but, we feel its our responsibility to be more transparent and let you guys know of where we are, why we slowed down and what we are doing to tackle it. Running all of CTS, CTS-Verifier, CTS-on-GSI, VTS, STS and GTS from scratch on just 1-2 devices takes 2-3 weeks. We learned this pretty late. To counter it, we are now working on scaling our testing infra.

How does the community provide updates faster, as Custom ROMs?
ROMs don’t need to care of certification. We have the capacity and capability of serving uncertified beta updates on a monthly basis; we already do this internally, for the most part. From early Android porting to regular feature and security updates, it’s all super doable but not super certifiable. Some may argue that ROMs are somehow “certified” and have GPay working/SafetyNet passing. Yes, but its not as simple as it sounds. They include workarounds to spoof device identifiers to Pixel hardware, so GMS thinks the build is “certified”. (Not gonna go into how things are spoofed/worked-around on ROMs in this post, but will gladly explain if anyone is interested :D) We cannot really use such workarounds, as an OEM. That said, we are working closely with a few teams to better support MediaTek platforms on ROMs and to boost community support for Teracube Devices.

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