Question for the experts

[n0qcu]

My android phone keeps warning me that it is going to update.
Is there anything I can do to prevent it from updating?

 

[Radioguy41]

It depends on the phone. I would suggest you Google your specific phone + "disable updates".

 

[Magic Static]

What does it want to update? The OS or apps? My phone is always updating something. Getting a fresh batch of ads and other annoying BS

 

[nelson61]

Why would you not want it to update?
Android will typically have two types of updates: the relatively rare major version update -- oreo,pie, etc - and monthly security updates to fix flaws or "security issues" recently discovered and being patched.

 

[n0qcu]

Because I don't like the security updates forced on me.

 

[harshness]

Because I don't like the security updates forced on me.

Would you do research and vet them before installing them or would you just drag your feet and risk suffering the consequences?

 

[TheKrell]

Would you do research and vet them before installing them or would you just drag your feet and risk suffering the consequences?

Going a bit off topic here... I have a 32-bit W7 installation that is rendered unbootable (wont' even show the Windows animated logo) when I do an update from Microsoft. I believe it is the lack of the SSE2 instruction set that causes this early hang. How exactly do I vet these damn updates other than testing them one by one?

 

[harshness]

How exactly do I vet these damn updates other than testing them one by one?

You probably shouldn't run versions of the operating system that came out significantly after the system you're running them on was conceived. This goes for most platforms save possibly Linux.

To your off-topic point, SSE2 debuted in 2000 and Windows 7 hit the scene in 2009. That's three generations in enterprise computing.

Practically speaking running Vista (2007) or later on machine that doesn't support SSE2 is asking a lot. It shouldn't get thrashed and not everyone's installation was thrashed; sometimes it is just bad luck. You roll the dice with Windows updates and sometimes even qualifying hardware gets fragged. I had a Windows 10 Pro machine brick itself a couple of months ago to the point that I had to make a restore image from an identical machine. I'm not keen on the restore images being modified with each Windows update but that's how Windows 10 is set up.

These days, any CPU that doesn't support hardware AES should probably be retired unless it is dedicated to some very specific purpose or doesn't involve the Internet.

 

[TheKrell]

Points well taken. That said, I had excellent functionality on my W7 computer until a couple of years ago. First it was the multimedia apps that wouldn't install. This is understandable given the missing SSE2 instruction set. But then it got ridiculous with antivirus programs and everything else that IMHO do not need to use SSE2 at all demanding it or they won't run.

But now I'm mad and getting pig headed about this. MS should not brick my computer, period. They first issued W7 when plenty of computers (such as mine) were available without these more extensive instruction sets. Why not leave the compiler switches the way they were to make compatible software?

 

[Radioguy41]

Why would you not want it to update?

There are numerous examples of faulty "updates" being pushed down resulting in hangups, corruption, boot loops, and even bricking. Granted iOS is the leader in creating bricks but Android has had it's share of issues. It is just being prudent to disable auromatic updates and installing them manually later after they've had a clean track record (or been replaced by a corrected version). Seems a no-brainer to me.

 

[SandFarmer]

. . . It is just being prudent to disable auromatic updates . . .

Yup. Some really stink. But consider yourself lucky. My Samsung's rarely get updated because Samsung takes their dear sweet time in building their "build" of the update and that is where the problems come from. There are not many updates that do not go through your provider without "alteration". That's where the problems are . . .