ICS totally screwed up my phone

[bduck]

<Discussion moved from Android to DROID BIONIC by Motorola for more exposure.>

I need to know if there is anything I can do to fix my screwed up Bionic phone after the ICS update.  I think I already know there isn't anything, but I'll vent anyway in case I might help somebody else avoid accepting this update.  The upgrade downloaded about a week ago and at 7am in the morning when I noticed it, I'm not lucid enough to realize that I was potentially breaking my phone by accepting it.  I worked on Verizon phones at Motorola for 11 years and I know how crazy Verizon usually is about testing new phones but software upgrades are a different story...they never have enough people using "old" phones to really user-trial upgrades so most of the time the new software has more user issues than the old software even though it might fix some obscure issues that nobody cares about.  After about 5 hours stuck on "updating media", I finally had to pull the memory card because, you know, I actually have to use my phone once in a while and expect for $100/month, that I'd be able to do that all the time.  Anyway, the phone came back after the memory card pull, but now the battery drains completely in only a few hours (and I have an extended battery).  When I charge over night or any time, the phone never gets to more than 60% charge.  I think it's because of background apps running, but I've tried using Task killers to stop background apps and I tried removing all the task killers and either way it doesn't help.  I cannot open the gallery or any media players.  I can see my media files when I use a file manager, so I know that they are still there, but I can't see or play any of them.  There must be some engine changes in this software too because I swear the call processing is different.  I'm in 3G in places I used to get 4G and I completely loose service at least once a day now and have to perform a reboot (I used to get this once every few days unfortunately).  I know that as soon as I call Verizon, they will tell me a have to do a factory reset since that's their solution for everything that isn't a simple settings change.  I've already spent 3 hours trying to fix this thing and I can't believe I'm about to spend another 3 erasing all my data and setting it back up.  The biggest pain right now is that the USB interface appears to totally broken.  I tried uninstalling and reinstalling drivers on my PC, 3 different USB cables, Different USB ports, power cycling both devices and everything else I could think off...and I am pretty used to doing all this stuff after working on prototype phones at MOT.  Nothing worked and so I can't backup my phone data before I do the reset (my 16GB memory card doesn't have much space left).  I'll bite the bullet now and I guess I'll be buying an Iphone next time from AT&T because I will never buy an Android phone from Verizon again...I hold grudges for a LONG time. 

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[maya0630]

What exactly has Verizon done wrong? It sounds like you stopped the update half way through. Unfortunately, yes, it does sound like a factory reset is about your only solution right now.

[bduck]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's acceptable for a software update to

disable my phone for more than 5 hours no matter how many files were on there.

Was I suppose to wait another 5 hours or days? I use this phone for work, so I

had no choice to pull the memory card and that unlocked the UI right away. The

update must have gotten stuck reading the files on the card...maybe it should

have ignored the external memory and indexed the files in the background after

the update??? We all know that Google is pretty good at software, so I'm

disappointed that their OTA updates are not more bulletproof and that Verizon

let this get out. I've read a lot of other online posts that there are tons of

issues with this ICS update and some people even said they had to get a new

phone from Verizon.

[tikibar1]

I gather that you have a lot of media on your phone, which is why it was taking the update so long to install.  And like maya0630 said, you probably caused installation issues by pulling the memory card.  The update takes about 72 hours to optimize the phone, during which time the phone may act funky and the battery life be poor.  Since you said that you've had the update a week, you could try clearing the system cache.  If that doesn't work, then yes, you'd need to do a factory reset (which is recommended after such a major update anyway).

Edited to add:  You should have posted this thread in the Droid Bionic section, not the Android section.

[garyVestal]

Issue:

"I cannot open the gallery or any media players.  I can see my media files when I use a file manager, so I know that they are still there, but I can't see or play any of them "

Solution:

Home Screen->Menu->Setting--> Application Manager-All,

Find the mediadatabase , Tap it for App info, Clear data, clear cache

This will not remove media files from your device. This will update the media database,

[garyVestal]

Backup Your device SD card media files

1) Please check if your device USB Debugging mode is On.

if Not, Enable it.

2) Download and install ADB tools from Google.com Official (

developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html)

3)Once installed the ADB Tools. For example: C:\Android, this is the path i install the ADB tools

4)Run the Command Prompt. ( Dos Mode)

5)From "C:\android",  Type "Adb devices", You phone should listed there. If not, enable usb debugging mode and connect with usb cable again.

6) Run the "Adb devcies" again.

7) Run "Adb pull  \sdcard\  c:\sdcard.  this should retrive all media files onto your PC in 2-3 Min.

[ts14]

I have had nothing but problems since the last update.  I used to brag to everyone about my phone & the Droid service.  My texting is about useless; the onscreen keyboard is awful, it types its own text, switches to a phone call in the middle of texting.  I sometimes can't answer phone calls, I'm dropping calls.   It locks up constantly - something that happened one time in 13 months before the update.  My extended battery that has lasted me around 22 hrs is now lasting MAYBE 7.   This update is really making me think I'll be going to the iphone if there isn't another update soon.   It isn't just me, either.  I have two friends who have also been having "new" problems since the update.

[tikibar1]

Have you done a system cache clear and/or factory reset?  Those are beneficial after such a big update as ICS and might possibly clear up most of your issues.

[maya0630]

Tikibar, how do you do the system cache clear?

[tikibar1]

The process may vary among phones, but on the Bionic:

Power down phone

Hold volume up/down & power simultaneously

Use volume down to navigate to 'Recovery', use volume up to select

Should see screen with triangle and exclamation point next to an Android

Press volume up/down simultaneously

Use volume rocker to navigate to 'wipe cache' and use power button to select

Once finished, use volume rocker to navigate to 'reboot system now' and use power button to select

[maya0630]

Thank you.

[Overland1]

Thanks for the reminder and info; just wiped the cache on my Bionic (never did that before), and it seems to be working OK... time will tell, and hoping I didn't jinx it.

[tikibar1]

You're welcome; I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. 

[ts14]

Hi... when I wiped my cache, the phone worked better for about a week before I started hating it again. Hope you have better luck! I'm thinking I will be doing the factory reset because it's either that or break my phone - haha.

[ts14]

Hi.  I did a system cache; texting doesn't seem as flaky, but I still don't like the interface of texting anymore

[tikibar1]

you can always download an alternative from Google Play

[vzw_customer_support]

Bduck, thank you for explaining your situation with your phone and I'm like you, I would be devastated if a software update caused so many issues with my phone! It sounds like you have done quite a bit of troubleshooting to attempt to resolve this issue. I know that you stated you didn't want to complete a factory reset, but this is recommended when facing issues with a software update, especially one that failed halfway through. ICS on the Bionic has resolved many issues with other customers' devices and I want you to have a positive experience as well. Any info backed up on your SD card, like your media will still be saved. Verify that your contacts are backed up to either Google or Backup Assistant as well. Here is info on how to complete the factory reset http://bit.ly/NL5wza.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

MarquiaF_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[mikewr3007]

So what can I do if I've done the system cache clear AND the factory reset and the phone is still a piece of crap!  I went to a Verizon store last night to find out how to get back to Ginger Bread.  They said I'm stuck with ICS << Comment edited to comply with >>

This phone is about 25% as fast as it was before the update on EVERYTHING it does.  20 - 30 seconds for the phone to open and dial a number AFTER I have selected a contact to call.  Just about every time I open an APP I'll get a message that the APP is not responding.  Do I want to close it or wait?  I've never had a bricked phone but this is now as close to it as you can get.  Did Verizon/Motorola even test this update on my bionic and now wimp phone?

I am so fed up with this last update I'd go to a different phone and possibly a different carrier but I'd loose my unlimited data plan.  Could this be a way for Verizon to try to force their customers to upgrade and go to the tiered plan?

Any help?

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[tikibar1]

JB may be coming to the Bionic by the end of the year

[mikewr3007]

If this is the case, why would VZW perform an update so close to another update.  I hope this is true and JB will actually work properly!!!!!!

[tikibar1]

It's up to the manufacturers in partnership with Verizon to release updates.  ICS was a major OS 'overhaul', JB is 'tweaking' ICS.  A release date for JB has not been announced, so it could be early next year before it's released.  For the record, I have had no issues at all with ICS nor my Bionic.