Can we update the android version used in our phone or are we stuck with it?

[Amapola62]

IOS devices can download IOs updates...I have an android smartphone with Android 5.1...can I update it further? If so how?

 

[Kwartel]

Depends on your phone. Which phone do you have.

 

[Amapola62]

Link5 by Konrow http://www.konrow.com/smartphones/link5/

 

[RyDog]

Yes and no. Yes, if you or someone else makes a custom ROM for it (please tell us the make and model of your phone) then you can run a custom version of Android, and usually it can be a updated version. What's required is for you to root your phone and unlock the boot loader.
No is if the hardware is so obsolete on your phone to even run it, or if no one has even started developing on your phone. This is a problem with modern budget Android phones nowadays, is that there are a lack of developers that want to work on unpopular phones, as they want to work on mainstream/flagship phones such as Nexus, Samsung, OnePlus, etc.

 

[Pacheko17]

Check for updates in settings, none found?
Look for the internet to see if there's any new version available for your model.
There is? Download a stock rom and patch your phone with whatever software is best.
There isn't? Install a custom firmware ( Like Cyanogen ) that was made for your phone.

Installing a custom firmware is way more dangerous than installing a stock firmware, so be careful
I had to download and install 5.0.1 manually on my Grand Prime using a rom from Russia, because my carrier didn't release the update here in Brazil.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Well yeah what ryan said. Though it kinda sucks, having a outdated phone like nexus s where it stuck on 4.1 which i think is best firmware anyway according to most people, i am not sure why besides it still works with flash natively, and ouya even use it cause of better bluetooth compatibiliy i think. Other than that, if your phone hasn't updated in least a year, time for new one cause official ota updates are no more supported.

Truth is each android phone provider has their own specific updates, is based on google official updates but then modified to work with your specific device. Meaning if you see others have 7.0 and you still on 6.1 is up to who ever makes the product to release updates when they can do so. I have my shield devices on andorid 6.1 which is the android version but the nvidia firmware is 3.1 which supports 6.1, kinda confusing, but is how it is.

Think of it as this, If a new android device comes out today, it would probably support android 7.0 OS under system settings it should say so. But since is first release it should say system build version 1.0

7.0 = latest google official releasae
1.0 = system manufacture modified release

Anyway, like ryan said, unless someone create custom roms based on your phone or device that supports newer android os, most likely not official. You would also need to have a unlocked boot loader, which doing so will format the system memory if you haven't done it yet, root your phone if you know how and what you need it for. But as for consumer use is basically better to just get a newer product.

 

[RyDog]

The Link5 is a very unpopular phone. When I do a google search, only one link comes up for a custom ROM, and it's on Android 5.1.
May I ask, why do you want to go past Android 5.1?
There is a 6.0 update for my phone but when I installed it, it made my phone horribly slow and you could do nothing rooted, so I downgraded back to 5.1.
6.0 is the same as 5.1 anyways, minus the permission features, but I'm sure there must be a way to install it if that's why you want to update you phone

 

[Amapola62]

I don't particularly want to update my phone I just wanted to know if it was possible or easy to do...
As long as it works I don't need to update...
Especially considering it seems way more complex to update than a 3ds where we just have to go to: system settings > other settings > update...XD

 

[gnmmarechal]

The Nexus S is old, no wonder it doesn't get updates. Even the Nexus 4 and 5 got discontinued. @Sonic Angel Knight

Also, Android 4.1 is by no means the best firmware... does not even have ART. I really liked 4.4 for it allowed to switch between Dalvik and ART at will.

@Pacheko17 , flashing ROMs is not dangerous provided you do not flash the wrong files to the bootloader.


@Amapola62 , old phones do not get updates, and unpopular phones don't either (from the community), it is quite obvious. If you want a lot of updates, go for a Google device, it gets updates straight from Google, for a long time, and even after that, the community actively supports it.

 

[ELY_M]

newer android may not run very good on old phone, it would be so laggy and slow if you flashed newer android on the phone.
it is like try to load windows 10 on a machine with 512 mb ram.