Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
droidrazrmaxxhd
Contributor - Level 1

Fail. I've done the hard reset it changed nothing. Same horrible phone

behavior and performance after update.

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Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
Patience_Gone
Contributor - Level 3

jejouelaflute wrote:

LadyT33 saw on one of your posts that you have friends who are downgrading back to Jellybean how!?  I would love to do this but was told you can't.  Thanks!

To go back to Jellybean is serious work and then your phone may really be acting quirky.  Its not just the OS, but the security kernel as well.  With the new KK rollout also came a serious update to KNOX to make it harder for your phone to be tampered with and rooted.  The new Knox kernel is not at all compatible with Jelly Bean. Kit Kat is not just a tweak of Jelly Bean, it has many significant changes in the background that make it completely different from JB in more than appearance.  Once the Knox files are upgraded though you can not have access to downgrade the knox kernel.  I'm sure there is some smart person that could go around this but I don't know anyone who has.   

The easiest way to go back to Jelly Bean is to have Verizon send you a replacement Droid Razr M and root the replacement before it updates to KK.  Because the one you have is having so many problems Verizon is sending out replacements.  Then when you get the new replacement, pray that it still has JB on it.  You have to root it right away before it updates to KK. Its ok to download the KK update, but you do not want to install it.    After you root the phone you have to go into the system files and rename (don't delete)  the files that do the updates so that you will not get those msgs to update to KK and it will not install KK at all. 

This is what I did and I'm back on Jelly Bean loving my phone and since it is rooted now, there are so many more good things I can do, like uninstall the Verizon bloatware.  Performance is better.  Its not hard, but make sure you follow the directions very carefully. Google the root directions for your phone and the directions to turn off updates.   

Kit Kat has to be the worse OTA rollout in Smart phone history.  Too many incredibly significant changes and very poor communication to users before hand to understand the new changes and what's really going on with their phone. 

Those whose phones were built with KK will not experience the same problems as those with an OTA install. 

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Re: Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
steve_o
Enthusiast - Level 3

stef7 "AFAIK, all that SAFE MODE does is disable downloaded programs / apps you might add on top of the core load to see if they interact negatively with the core load. It does not wipe memory clean. It doesn't take care of the core OS running on improperly initialized memory."

I understood that Safe Mode disables downloaded apps that would run on top of the core load also.  The fact that it boots successfully into Safe Mode would seem logical that the OTA update was not corrupted. 

I've also cleared the cache several times too.  I am somewhat skeptical of what this procedure actually accomplishes, since it gives no confirmation & instantly re-starts.  But, clearing that cache should ensure that the OS starts back up & re-initializes as it ought to do.  In combination with Safe Mode, that function ought to ensure that the OS is starting up clean.

My point is that a user shouldn't have to do a reset simply to make the phone functional.  The OS install should be able to re-initialize memory as the new OS requires.  If it doesn't then I don't know how they expect this thing to not have problems on every Android device out there.  The big question is how this update passed any type of QA before being pushed out.  It's got some fairly severe problems.

I did find a couple of links to a FAQ about KitKat & the Razr M -

Look Here Before Asking Questions [Kitkat Related] - xda-developers

and another user reporting exactly the same heat issue I have:

RAZR M to get official KitKat 4.4 by Motorola - Post #222 - XDA

In the first link, under "The Bad" - the second item in the list (Wi-Fi tethering via most apps (e.g., FoxFi) has been blocked) is probably one of the main reasons this update "passed" any tests & got approval from Verizon, functionality be darned.  The other reason (no Root capability) is another.  Nearly every performance-related issue they've listed are the ones present on my phone. 

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Re: Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
ozarkmiss
Enthusiast - Level 3

I got my replacement razr m from motorola.  Rooted it.  Removed bloatware.  Denied OTA KK downgrade.  Am on hour 19 without charging and still have a nearly full battery. 

Re: Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
wb4zit
Enthusiast - Level 2

Well, I let my battery run all the way down to nothing and then recharged it for 12 hours. My battery life seems to be okay now, using a little less than 1% an hour in standby with the GPS and WiFi turned off. I've got 21 hours and 38 minutes on the battery right now and 80% battery remaining. Maybe the battery use just needed to be recalibrated. I'm going to let it run to down to zero again and see how long it takes.

After re-pairing the Bluetooth to my 3 vehicles and my laptop, all of that seems to be working okay. Still do not understand why the update had to wipe out the Bluetooth pairing. It retained the connection to my wifi router okay. I have not found any apps that have a problem with KitKat yet.

I'm a casual phone user so I am mainly concerned with battery life and basic functionality. Right now, everything seems to be working on my Razr Maxx HD and I will have to give KitKat a fair chance. I think the rollout was bad, and the fact that it blew up the Bluetooth pairings, changed all of my ringtones and notifications, and put me in a panic when I could not answer my phone the first time because of the unexplained Swipe instead of Touch indicates Verizon and the phone manufacturers did a poor job on this update and communicating with the users in advance.

For those who are more serious users and the "rooters", I am sure KitKat is a real pisser and I can't blame you. It should be illegal for carriers to block capabilities that were built in by the manufacturers and bought and paid for by the users. 

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Re: Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
ozarkmiss
Enthusiast - Level 3

"For those who are more serious users and the "rooters", I am sure KitKat is a real pisser "


I wasn't rooted  before kitkat. Even though I had with previous phones, rooting didn't seem necessary for this razr M with JB.   I had  to on my replacement to keep from getting kitkat.  For me, kitkat made my mobile and wifi connection almost unuable.  I couldn't even send or recieve texts 50% of time. Making a phone call?  Ha.   Battery would last about 8 hours And it was running hot hot hot.


Granted I do not live in an area with a strong mobile signal, but KK just killed what little signal I had.



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Re: Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
MN-Don
Enthusiast - Level 2

I have to say stef7 is correct, its not just Razr-M thats having issues. It also includes Samsung 4, HTC One, LG G2 and Nexus devices. The issues are exactly the same. Many of the postings in this list have done and FDR with no change, users of the other manufactures have also done FDR's with no success. So we don't have to assume it doesn't work since many people have already done the foot work to show that it doesn't make any difference.

I was able to get Motorola to send me a new phone, it came with kitkat. And to my complete surprise, it still had all the issues I have experienced with my original phone after kitkat was pushed onto it. Maybe Motorola didn't do an FDR on a phone it shipped out.

The problem isn't the phone, its the OS. These issues have been documented since the initial release of KitKat. The same issues have been documented every time it gets pushed to another cell phone manufacturer. Because the issue is in the OS Verizon doesn't have to do anything, its not there problem. This is exactly what a Verizon store employee told me, can't really say if its Verizon's point of view.

What I can say is that I will be leaving Verizon and Android when the contract is up for renewal. For those of you who can't wait that long, you might be able to switch to Verizon Edge or TMobile will buy out the balance of your contract.

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Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
droidrazrmaxxhd
Contributor - Level 1

Definitely not just the RAZR Maxx. See my post re: battery life on the

RAZR Maxx HD on Motorola forums.

I compared the battery life on the exact same device before and after the

KitKat update under controlled circumstances, and there's a huge

difference. https://forums.motorola.com/posts/240ecdd925

Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
Cenzon43
Enthusiast - Level 2

@Okay seriously what am I supposed to do? Battery life shot, weird speaker click when I open apps, constant wireless notifications, and the new alarm sucks, I shut it off instead of snoozing it at least 7 times and ended up being late for work. The new text setup black on white is too hard to read, apps will not connect to the network or facebook. Either someone needs to break my phone or I need to find a new carrier, maybe T-Mobile at least they will pay the termination fee. And before some idiot at Verizon starts posting crap, I already tried everything I've read here so if you don't have the solution stop blowing smoke up our A**ES(butts)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Re: Re: Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems
steve_o
Enthusiast - Level 3

droidrazrmaxxhd "I compared the battery life on the exact same device before and after the KitKat update under controlled circumstances, and there's a huge difference."

You said it.  This OS is a P-I-G, pig!

I have mine plugged into an AC outlet (wi-fi off, so-so 4G signal) using any app (like eBay or Huffington Post, mostly reading) - the OS consumes so much power that the charge level drops down into the low 90% level with not even moderate use. Let me put that another way -  KitKat consumes so much power that it significantly outstrips the charger's ability to charge the phone. The power supply is good (factory) and it does charge, but now the phone has to be in sleep mode or no activity whatsoever in order for it to not deplete the battery.  Before this roll out, I could use it a lot more without it ever dropping down more than 1% while plugged into the charger.

And with any activity whatsoever, the temperature jumps from the mid-90's to between 103 & 105 degrees (F), which now is apparently it's "normal" operating temperature. In areas with a low cell phone signal, it heats up so much I have to turn it off because it gets uncomfortable to carry in a pocket.  At that point, it is about as useful as a brick for making phone calls. 

Like yours, I have the same 3 battery hogging apps, of which the Android OS consumes 30% of the battery.  It used to be when I would use one of those apps, that they would be listed near the top of what's consuming resources.  However, they are now in the bottom third of the list, still consuming about the same percentage of battery as they did previously.  They've been replaced by the Android OS, Google Play and the Android system processes, all of which now account for about 2/3 of the power consumption. 

If Verizon's intent is to push me towards an iPhone, then they're succeeding. 

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