You can't paint all carriers with one brush like that. Any BYOD phone on a BYOD-friendly network should be upgradeable directly by the manufacturer (or by Googl

You can't paint all carriers with one brush like that. Any BYOD phone on a BYOD-friendly network should be upgradeable directly by the manufacturer (or by Google--it would be up to the manufacturer to set that up). The issue is with networks that don't allow non-carrier approved phones. Don't let them shift blame. They've decided to be bullies in their sandbox, so if you get sand in your eyes, take your money elsewhere. Verizon may have a great network (I wouldn't know, they won't let me bring my own phone and none of their phones interest me). It helps lock customers in, but their phone policies also leave then vulnerable (and roped into an expensive hidden-cost upgrade treadmill).