According to the "Wireless Rep" at Costco, she said that the ICS update will cure all our problems the Bionic has with 4G LTE signal losses. I sure hope she is correct. 
I've been waiting for 4.0 ICS for a long time, my friend has the RAZR MAXX and he already got his update. My issue is my (so called) 4G will not stay stable. I've been forced to revert to the 3G to be able to connect to the internet. This is extremely irritating! I bought this phone because of 4G LTE but now it's pretty much just like my old Droid X. Verizon and Motorola need to take care of ALL their customers, not just some. WHEN WILL THIS BE RELEASED??? I've read Q3, but it's past that now so again I ask..when?
According to other forums, the testers are getting close to a final build. It'll get here when it gets here. And technically, Q3 is't past yet ... you've still got a week and a half to go.
Verizon cares little for current customers. This is apparent in there communication and support for current customers and there devices. They would rather you by a new razr and renew the contract so you can experience the problems on that phone instead supporting a device for the life of the signed contract (usually 2 years). That being said... From what I understand the 4 g drops are less in the ics update. The update is really late, I know, but should be out in the next week or two. Trying to find out any exact information is like pulling teeth. Over all I love my bionic and would buy a Motorola device again. The hold up and problem seems to be with Verizon. Some of the blame also seems to fall on the Verizon network itself. While 4g lte is fast and nice, it is also pretty new. They are letting the network grow to fast with out working out the problems for all phones that come with the growth. I would love to see a map of bionic owners who have the problems and see if there is a correlation between locations. Verizon should have at least sent an ota patch to fix the drops experienced by may users.
Apparently a Motorola staging server "leaked" build 244 of ICS just a few days ago, so they are still working on it. The good news came in the form of an article I found this morning: http://easternmorningherald.com/motorola-droid-bionic-ics-update-gets-leaked/1217663/
Let's hope we get it. Personally I think my next phone will be far away from Motorola based on my current experience
OK, Motorola has finally updated their Software Upgrade News page:
DROID BIONIC (XT875) --- ICS Upgrade (Android 4.0.4) rollout to begin in Q4
The good news here is that this renews the assertion that there still is an upgrade coming for the Bionic...
...rather than "Bionic? What's a 'Bionic'? There is no Bionic".
I wish that Verizon had some semblence of Customer Service. I work in a Service Organization and when any of our clients complain about mistreatment, we give them some free service, et cetera. I would gladly upgrade to a new device, which is what verizon would like, if they would let me keep my $30/month unlimited data. I think their greater intention is to get people like me onto one of their tiered plans.
Actually, even though they have the best 4g LTE coverage, I'm thinking of leaving Verizon. I have been a loyal customer for more than 15 years, probably loser to 20 and it appears that that doesn't count for anything.
I don't do much traveling anymore, and I think both Sprint and T-Mobile have sufficient coverage in the NY Metro area to warrant my interest. Both also have true unlimited plans that are more reasonable.
I think during the course of this post, I resolved my own issue - I am leaving
Bye
I have been with them over 10 years and I am finally fed up. I am looking at options. I am still on an unlimited plan. I rarely go above 4gb a month. So the new tiered plans would cost me more. I am even considering a prepay phone.
Like you, I travel less. Verizon does care very little about existing customers, that is obvious on the phone and in stores.
Sadly, its true, neither Verizon or Moto give a damn about their customers after they have paid their money. We Bionic owners honestly got screwed by both parties. After this, I am done with both of them
Since this is coming to our Bionics almost a YEAR after it was eluded to,
I work for a service organization who prides itself on customer service,
and if I were a party in this debacle, I would reward these loyal customers
by these actions.
1. Motorola, give a new "hot" phone Like razor HD to each of us involved.
2. Verizon, if they need to be pricks about it, allow us to keep our
existing contracts but extend them for 2 years. This will make us commit
to gioving them revenue for 2 mor years with a cancellation fee due if we
leave - good for vzw. (VZW, probably should cover the cost of the phone
jointly with Moto.) this way there won't even need to be ICS for bionic.
If this happenned, I would be placing words of praise for thes to companies
on this blog.
Actually, even though moto's new vp, or whatever he is, acknowledges that
we got a "raw deal", No one wants to take the responsibility for this. I
think it is both parties, but more on vzw's part
Still feeling screwed? I hope you switched to another carrier already. That would be great. You switch for nothing because you couldn't wait 2 whole weeks.
It's not about the 2 weeks, it's about the 10 months. I paid for a
flagship phone with a dual processor and have not been able to use it to
its full potential. VSW promised ICS would becoming soon when I purchased
my bionic. They don't take responsibility for what their field personnel
tell their customers.
They don't care about Mohammed, just their bottom line.
DO you work for VZW, it sounds like you don't have the same resentment that
most of us have Brian68?
It's hard to gauge which manufacturer to go with. I can from the Samsung Galaxy S and I watched Moto update their handsets way before we got ours. For this reason, I decided on the Bionic as I watched my Galaxy S receive updates painfully slow.
Now I switched to Moto and I'm watching Samsung update their devices while once again I'm on the sideline waiting.
The phone works but ICS is a huge jump in OS. This phone runs on dual cores and doesn't utilize both as it's not supported in Gingerbread. My biggest gripe is that you have to sign a two year contract and the phone has been out for over a year which leaves alot of people not benefiting from the faster OS and all the improvements that come with it. You still pay the same amount monthly.
Finally, newer handsets hit the market running ICS while what was considered to be a flagship phone is behind a number of lower end handsets.
At the end of the day, you must be happy with the phone the way it comes out of the box as verizon, nor the manufacturer are going to step up to the plate to meet the expectations in the timeline they want and other handsets are written off altogether for updates.
Unless your first in line to get a handset you were excited about, you may find yourself disappointed because each manufacturer is working on the next handset they are going to release with all the upgrades of the newer OS.
I will just patiently wait because verizon isn't going to hear my voice any more than moto. In the end, being one of the last in line isn't as bad as not being in line at all.
We'll get the update I predict mid to end October. They have been working on it long enough that it would have to be close.
Hopefully, the Bionic won't get written off altogether. While it's unlikely it could be possible. Afterall, the Bionic has great specs but is aged at this point. How much more time and money will Verizon & Moto put into supporting a device that they no longer sell. The answer seems straight forward to me.
Having read thru this blog I cannot help but laugh! Three years ago, I bought the Blackberry Storm and shortly after that came out they came out with the Storm II. At that point, all customer assistance and support for the Storm was down the drain and I vowed that I would never have another Blackberry. So, I did my research and found that the Samsung Galaxy S II was going to be released and that Verizon would be selling a lesser version of that phone. Well, shortly before that release of that phone, Verizon dropped it from their list and proceeded to release the Droid Bionic. I had been researching both phones and eventhough the SGII was a MUCH better phone, I couldn't leave my unlimited data plan. So, I bought the Bionic and then just a few months later Motorola comes out with the Razr. Of course they do and why not! In all of my research, I had never heard the mention of the Razr otherwise I would have waited!!! Now, this ICS issue, they said that it was to be release in the 2nd Quarter, then the 3rd Quarter and now the 4th Quarter. I don't think that you can trust anything that you read or anything that is released from VZW....they just don't care.
Now this might be a stupid thing to say from a consumer point of view, but I will never go to a shared data plan with verizon. Even if I have to pay more to another carrier. While verizon has the largest 4g LTE prescence and I guess somebody has to pay for the infrastructure, it will not be me. I have been a loyal VZW customer, never had another carrier and I feel that they have mistreated me and everyone else who was encouraged to buy this could have been great phone that can only use one of its 2 processors. Imagin buying a car and it only runs on half the cylinders. Would the car manufacturer be allowed to get away with it, especially if their sales people were telling you that there would be a recall to fix that issue and it never happened? There would be a class action suit. I guess VZW technically does not have any real liability here.
Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware
I used to live (stationed) in Europe where people buy cell phones from their local electronics retailer. Since these phones work on all carrier networks (unlocked), there are no contracts and their prices are equivalent to what you would pay for a two year contract phone here. These phones are also made by prominent manufacturers too such as Motorola, Samsung, Sony/Ericsson, Nokia, LG, etc... Then you choose your carrier (SIM card), usually by some flat rate monthly fee that doesn't calculate minutes or data usage, unless you're calling internationally. And both manufacturers and providers are fiercely competing for your business.
So when you have long term contracts and service providers selling only proprietary phones locked on their network, that takes a lot of the competition, and customer loyalty, out of the picture. Just my $.02
The latest from Motorola. At least they're willing to publicly address the issue.
From Mr Soni's Google+ page
Punit SoniOct 9, 2012
+20
1. I think I mentioned the plan for Bionic. It will be released in Q4. We have most of the work done, but an upgrade is a partnership between multiple companies, and there are processes which are outside of our control (many of them to ensure you get a stable release). This makes giving exact dates difficult if not plain impossible.
2. We should have details of the rebate program soon and that should hopefully put to rest any speculation on who qualifies etc.
3. Finally, as you can see (hopefully), I am really trying hard to keep the communication lines open between us. Its not about commenting only on positive comments etc. We are just cautious to react to things where we are still gathering info, making decisions. We are going to commit to things very deliberately henceforth because when we do, we are going to make it happen no matter what. At least that's what the future will be like.
- 1.) Validates that the partnership rests with the carrier as they're the ones that have specific bloatware they need to put on their phones. That in itself can destabilize a stable system. Its also up to VZW if they want to push this so late in it's life, and so close to the holiday release of new phones.
- 2.) It sounds like the powers to be at Motorola are gearing up with their rebate program knowing that many phones won't get the Jelly Bean upgrade as originally marketed...not promised.
-3.) At least someone from Motorola is willing to speak up on this issue. VZW has been very consistent in ignoring its "vauled customers".
Just as an FYI to everyone here... Looks like ICS is going to be pushing out to the Bionic soon!
According to the "Wireless Rep" at Costco, she said that the ICS update will cure all our problems the Bionic has with 4G LTE signal losses. I sure hope she is correct.
I put 232l leak on my bionic and it was a significant improvement. It does
however stick once in a while, but I would expect that from pre-release
software
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