Owners of the HTC One M9 smartphone under the Verizon network will be receiving the Android 5.1 Lollipop update beginning Aug. 20.
The news was released by Mo Versi, the VP of product management for HTC on Twitter.
According to Versi's tweet, the Android 5.1 Lollipop over-the-air update for the HTC One M9 under Verizon received approval and will be released on Aug. 20.
Versi added that the Android 5.1 Lollipop update will also include a fix to the problematic Stagefright issue, along with enabled roaming capabilities for the 4G LTE bands 3 and 7.
Before users begin to install and download the Android 5.1 Lollipop update, they need to be connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. Additionally, it is recommended that the smartphone should have a battery that is charged up to at least 50 percent to ensure that it does not power down while updating, which could cause complications to the device's system.
With the upgrade to Android 5.1 Lollipop, Verizon HTC One M9 owners will be able to start using the feature that prevents a stolen or lost smartphone from undergoing a total factory reset to wipe out all contained data until the true owners of the device are able to sign into the smartphone with their Google accounts.
In addition, a native Battery Saver is included in the update, along with new animations for Quick Settings, which now contains the Flashlight functionality. On top of all that, there is an improvement on the 64-bit ART Runtime compiler, which will lead to faster startup for the smartphone's apps.
However, what's more important is the fix to the Stagefright exploit that was discovered in Android OS devices. The vulnerability is a remote code execution bug that will allow hackers to take over controls of a device without the owner doing anything.
All the hackers have to do is to send an MMS to the target device, allowing the hacking process to occur even when the owner sleeps. Upon the owner waking up, he or she will not know that the device has been compromised, as the hacker can remove all traces of the Android smartphone being tampered with using the Stagefright exploit.
