What is VZWAVSSERVICE?

[sleepyastronaut]

On my VZW Galaxy S4, with vzwavsservice turned off, the boot animation seems to fail, looks choppy, and boot/reboot of the phone has to restart.

With the service turned back on, the boot animation animates successfully.

[TheS1R]

I spoke to VZW yesterday. The tech, reading from his database, confirmed that VZWAVSService is in fact the Verizon Address Verification Service.  He could not confirm what functions on the device are affected by this service.  The tech indicated that VZW would be making an update available for at least the Galaxy S5 within the next month in order to address the problem.  I asked if this would mean another Android OS update, or simply an application update, but he could not answer.  I also asked if this were to be bundled with an OS update, would VZW move to Android 4.4.4 at the same time, but again he seemed to be clueless.

[Bonnell65]

Same here with email.  All my email apps are locked up.  I have not yet tried to do the stop and reboot.  Will attempt today.  Given the recent cellular wars, I'm looking at going to T-Mobile!

[lordyj2001]

I have been having this issue on my S3 and it started with the push of the ISIS Mobile Wallet in the last update.

With this being an issue, the only real solution i can ascertain is that you get the new secure SIM card from a Verizon Store or disable the service. The crappy ISIS Mobile Wallet payment app requires this new type of SIM card to run.So if you do not have this new Secure SIM the service has issues. VZ needs better error handling in their programming code so that if the Secure SIM is not found that it doesn't crash the service it just logs that it is not present and moves on.

If you have no intention of using the ISIS app, like myself because i already use the Google one, then disable the service in your application manager. If you intend to use the ISIS Mobile Wallet app then you will need to get the Secure SIM from a Verizon Store.

[worldtraveler58]

I don't think just getting a secure card will fix the problem.  I got a new S5 a few weeks ago which came with a secure card, and still had the problem.   4.4.2 has a lot of problems, at least in the Samsung version.  I've found several apps that now do not work right, both on my S5 and my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition tablet with 4.4.2.  The problems with the tablet aren't Verizon, since it's WiFi only.  I don't know why Samsung is dragging their heels updating to 4.4.3 or 4.4.4.

[lordyj2001]

Hmm that is a good point.

I would hope that they would update sooner rather than later but the updates won't only be delayed at Samsung because VZ has to do their own mods to the ROM that delay a rollout further even after Samsung releases their version. And VZ has never been one to roll out new versions of Android quickly.

I am wondering if they are delaying it for release of Android L. I would think that might be more prudent than pushing out an update that will be outdated not after release with a huge change like L is coming. Just my 2 cents although with the expense of VZ service that's all I have left lol.

[tcb1149]

Vzwavsservice .. is basically anti virus as shown in google play store although it has a new name now.  Issue occurs when Google Plus gets its auto update using android kitkat.  Went back to factory google plus and turned off auto update through google play store.  See the video on YouTube for detailed instructions.   "How to fi  Vzwavsservice"  They work as long as you don't update Google Plus from factory original.

[gg388]

I just spoke to vzw rep who states they're aware of the problem. A fix is expected for the next software update just don't know the date yet.

[TheS1R]

New information about the issue (aka great news, problem resolved, etc.😞

1. VZW apparently silently released an Android OS update for the SAMSUNG Galaxy S5..
2. The update, namely SM-900V_NE9-to_NHA, is advertised to address Bluetooth connection issues in the device popup, but I haven't found a comprehensive change lot as of yet.
3. I did notice that the update upgrades the VoiceMail app, now offering free Basic Visual VoiceMail.
4. The update moves the device to Android KitKat 4.4.4.
5. The latest Google+ update can now be installed without the VZWAVSService crashing shortly after boot.

[TheS1R]

Just found a summary of changes noticed to date with Android 4.4.4 update for the Verizon SAMSUNG Galaxy S5 -- still no "official" change log:

"Numerous users on various forums and Google+ posts have noticed that the Fingerprint Scanner animation has been improved and it works way better than it did until now. Also, the Visual VoiceMail has been tweaked, the Bluetooth headset loss of audio has been fixed, the Smart Remote features a new design, the Emergency Call button that’s present on the lock screen can be initiated by swiping its icon, lock screen landscape is now support on lock screen, and numerous other small tweaks done to the overall UI.

... The new update has the firmware version set to KTU84P.G900VVRU1ANHA and it will surely be the final KitKat build that we will see released for any Samsung Galaxy S5 phone. ..."