Suffering through a Successful Software ROM Upgrade

Last night I threw caution to the wind and upgraded the entire ROM (read-only memory) of my MotoQ. I first heard about the software upgrade over on the HelloMotoQ forums and downloaded the two files the day the announcement came out.

Of course, I failed to go re-read the posting before finally embarking on the process… which could have save me some trouble since the comments to that posting give some great insight as to the process. I was lucky… I carefully read the instructions and installed the driver first. Then, and only then, did I run the install software on my laptop. Note that NOTHING happens to the MotoQ during these two steps. Only after following these two steps do you connect your Motorola Q device itself. Of course the Active Sync software starts up when I attached the device, so you’ve got to stop the sync (or wait until it completes I guess) before progressing. The 2nd step installs a shortcut on the desktop called “Motorola Software Update”. Launch that application and follow the instructions. The photo above shows what happens on the PC and the screen of the Motorola Q itself.

If it were only that easy. The phone booted up and I synced my Outlook contacts and calendar without an issue. BUT, when I went to actually *use* my phone, it was not associating with the Verizon Wireless network and forced me into a high-charge roaming provider. So, I logged into my Verizon account on www.verizonwireless.com and “reactivated” my “replacement” phone and followed THOSE instructions… success!

Please note that upgrading the ROM wipes everything on the phone. So, if you’ve got ringtones and applications loaded, they all go away. All your email settings are gone. And, all the behavior settings get reset. Here’s the GOOD NEWS… anything on your MiniSD card remains intact! That means all my audio files and cameraphone photos remained untouched (just remember to configure the cameraphone to use the storage card again).

WHY UPGRADE? Besides the stated improvements (e.g. support for Frames within the browser), the BEST reason to upgrade is that the new ROM is snappy fast. Taking photos with the cameraphone in clearly faster and navigating through menus means less lag time between screens. The one new thing that I’m going to dig into further is a new Accessory application… a built-in “modem-link” app. More on that in a post here on the blog!