[android-security-discuss] How to get future monthly Android security patches for Oreo without upgrading to Pie (Sony Xperia)

[Karl Schempp]

Hi, I am new to this forum.



I have a SONY Xperia XZ Premium running 8.0, and recently I was prompted by
Sony's Software Update app to upgrade to Pie. But I have come to learn
that the new code in Pie puts extra strain on battery resources and causes
the device to drain its battery resources faster than before the upgrade.



So, I was wondering how I could stay on Oreo and continue to receive the
CVE's, I believe they are called, (Monthly Security patches), for Oreo
without having to receive them from Sony bundled into the Pie upgrade. I
am concerned that Sony may not offer these security patches for my device
for Oreo separately.



In the MS Windows environment, I continue to receive security patches for
my Windows 7 OS. I was not forced to upgrade to Windows 10 or 8.1 to get
security updates. I understand that there is a time limit to all of this,
but heck, Oreo has not been out that long.



If I do not upgrade to Pie, will I be stuck on my current version of Oreo,
and never have the opportunity to get future critical security patches from
Android for my 8.0 Oreo?



I hope someone can provide me with Google's official policy on this
concept, and maybe some ideas on how I can maintain my current ecosystem
without having the Xperia Software Update app forcing the upgrade on me
while also receiving future critical security updates for Oreo. Currently
I have auto-updates turned off, and recently I "forced stop" the software
update app to get rid of the darn upgrade notification that was NOT
deletable since it was designed that way by the Sony software developers.
Will I have to keep force stopping that app every time I reboot the device
(about once every 2 to 3 weeks), since there may be no other option to
resolve the upgrade issue?



Thanks to those that respond. Karl.