Two smartphones in the Sprint LG lineup — LG G Flex and the LG G3 — are receiving a new software update starting on Monday the 1st of December according to a leaked document stamped by the Android Police blog. The last set of phones are getting the OTA update arriving on the 11th of December. The release notes tell us the percentages of how the incremental update is rolling out. As you can see, the last 50% of devices are finding this arriving from the 9th of December. We don’t often see this kind of inside knowledge whereby we are looking directly at how the firmware distributes across handsets. Could most phone carrier networks and manufacturers start the releases slowly to check if it’s working as planned? The report suggests that’s a possibility.
Anyhow, the G Flex has International voice over WiFi, enhancements to the HD Voice and Google security patches. Furthermore, the G3 comes with eight different features including a Qualcomm security patch, Google security patches, Mobilize device content caching, several enhancements to LG Home, the compass, Auxiliary cable recognition and an improved algorithm that prevent the phone unlocking when it’s in your pocket. In addition to those, it does get the same International Voice over WiFi feature.
Those preferring to air on the side of caution ought to back up the smartphone before choosing to install the upgrade. Backup the usual way if you have a personal preference or take our advice and install application from the Google Play Store such as Helium for help.
The over the air update arrives automatically as a notification so there’s no need to do anything but click the “download” and “install now” options presented on the screen. However, we recommend you use a WiFi connection instead of the mobile data since the mobile data comes with unwanted charges. Moreover, using WiFi means skipping the data traffic from the busy network when other are installing the same.
Those of you wanting to put this one on hold can do so and navigate to Settings > About Device > System Updates > Update LG Software on the display. It doubles as a great way to put it on hold and waiting for WiFi. You can check the new version is running by stopping over at menu > Settings > About Phone > Software Information.