SG3 issues since 4.3 update to Android

[keith111]

I'm a VZW customer since 1986. My SGIII was working fine until the update. The latest OTA update has created at least 3 important issues I am now experiencing. 

- Significant and noticeable drop in battery life/performance.  Unit drops to 95% in the first few minutes after being removed from charger, and then accelerates from there.  I get a low battery warning in the evening on light use day, low battery warning by 1PM on a heavy use day.  I don't recall the last time I received a Low Battery warning on this device, it's performed extremely well up until the update this week.

- Google Maps version 7 was a forced install with no workaround to revert.  I don't recall seeing a note regarding the installation of Google Maps v7 in the update support document, otherwise I would have not accepted.  GMaps v7 is an inferior upgrade, and it's not a new issue.  The topic has been covered extensively on the web since last summer by the masses, including IT industry people, bloggers and end users alike.  The latest update over wrote the v6 I had running successfully, and now does not allow me to downgrade (uninstall updates) as before without having to root the device, and install v6 manually. 

- WiFi is spotty now, even in my own home, sitting within 10 feet of my router.  I get the same occasional error reported by others here in the forums. 

I would prefer to use the official VZW load rather than root my phone, but I'm concerned in the absence of any "official" recognition or acknowledgement of the problem with the update, nor a statement VZW intends to work with Samsung to provide a fix. 

So my question is, when is the next update expected to fix the latest update, do you have an ETA?

Thanks in advance for providing clarity to this issue.

[rudeguyy]

I have heard nothing about an expected ETA. Only that Samsung and Verizon are working on a patch to hopefully fix the million issues this update has caused. Someone posted they hoped to have something within the month..but I am not holding out any false hope. Only thing I can recommend is to keep your phone charged as much as possible cause it drains quickly.

[vzw_customer_support]

keith111- We value your loyalty. As you probably can see there are various posts in regards to issues with the device after the update. At this time there is no ETA of a new software release. As soon as we find a fix we will be glad to update our customers. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

sheritah_vzw
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[extreme-s10]

It's there any way we can revert back to the previous version? My camera flash go's off when the phone rings, my ring tone are messed up, most links on mobile pages won't work, lock screen flickers this is a nightmare! This it's what I would expect from Microsoft. Please tell me I can undo this update.

[herkey]

This update drains battery  and now my flash does not work at all  no c amera flash  no assistnt light   took battery out and restarted  but nothing helps

[keith111]

Yes, there are a host of issues with this update, quite a few.  The new update may cause your camera flash LED to light up when someone calls you.  It's an easy fix, follow the menu sequence, turn ON the flash, then run through the menu sequence and turn it OFF.

SETTINGS >> (scroll to bottom to find) ACCESSIBILITY >> (scroll to bottom to find) FLASH NOTIFICATION

In my case, and a few friends, this was turned off, so you must turn it on, go back to the home screen, follow the sequence to turn it off and the camera LED stops flashing when somebody calls you.  Don't know how VZW and Samsung didn't see all these issues coming.  I'm being patient, but it does tell me there are issues with the quality review process. 

[keith111]

See my answer above for instructions to fix the LED flash issue when someone calls.

[Cindy62707]

why doesn't Verizon beta test these update before release to the general public?

[Ann154]

Cindy62707 wrote:

why doesn't Verizon beta test these update before release to the general public?

They probably do testing, but on a phone with a clean install without any applications installed or email accounts synced.

[sullidan]

Just got a new Samsung 3 Note on Sunday....noticed the battery seemed to be consumed on an acclerated pace.

Monday, took the phone off the charger, saw battery life go immediately from 99 to 95%.  Had to drive to the airport and made one call while en route.  Got the gate one hour later and battery life at 75%.

Boarded the plane, put it in airplane mode and 2.5 hours later when I powered back,was at 35% battery life.  In the hour it took to get to the hotel, battery was down to 15% and in need of a charge.

I have dumped apps. Discovered that some sort of camera daemon is consuming most of the battery life.  Most of the time, the camera does not work...open it to a black screen 4 of 5 times, only once after a restart did it actually work.

A lot of headache for a top of the line phone.  Think this is going back to VZW this weekend as I need something dependable, and cannot worry about being too far away from a wall charger for more than 3-4 hours at a time....may as well use a land line if that is the case.