System Updates: Make them stop!

[Grommie]

Moto Droid (original)

I've had the Moto Droid since last spring. When my wife and I first got them they were GREAT:  fast, easy to use, quick search, quick directory lookups, lots of apps, loved them. Then the 2.2 System Update flashed on my screen. I updated after a small amount of reading. Terrible mistake, that one. My device became very slow in contact and other local lookups, had terrible memory allocation and context switching hangups, several apps became unusable, constant hanging and apps dying... You've already read all about these, I'm sure. So I did the "back up and uninstall all apps" trick, no help. Then the "hard reset" trick. That helped the pefromance, a little. Apps don't hang/die as much now. But I still get very slow response from several operations, the most annoying of which is contact lookups and switching from one app to another. In contacts can take up to 60 seconds to search on a string like "fred", but at least it's not the 4 minutes it was before the hard reset. I've had to purchase NitroDesk's mail/contacts/calendar app which is very fast in order to make the device usable for those functions. I've learned to live with it, but it is a mere shadow of what is was prior to the 2.2 System Update. Should have bought an iPhone w/ AT&T.

Then, about a month ago, comes along another "System Update" notification. Mind you, it doesn't offer a "no thank you, cancel" option; only "now" "later" or "more info". So I've been hitting "later" for a month. I have to do this about 30 times a day. It is CRAZY annoying, and causes other apps to hang regularly.  I waited to see how the update went for others, and checked forums, and sure enough, it has screwed up a lot of people's Droids, again. So I'm not going to do the System Update, not until I see an update go out that has favorable reviews, and that hasn't happened yet.

So, here are my questions:

1) How do I identify the version number of the System Update that has been pushed to my phone that wants to install itself? I need to this so I can read relevant forum posts on that version, to see if it actually works or not. But I can see no place where that info is made available to the user. Once installing, one can see the new OS ver. But where do I see this BEFORE installing?

2) how do I kill the "System Update" package? It seems the installer package auto-downloaded, without my permission, onto my droid and is now constantly prompting me to execute the install. How do I make it stop prompting me? How do I disable it? How do I remove it?

3) When will VZ release a Droid I System Update that actually does the world any good? (this last q was rhetorical).

Can't wait for my term to end so I can get a worthwhile HW device,

- Grommie

[rcschnoor]

There are those that believe that it is a good thing to do a factory reset on your phone before installing an update. Sometimes the settings you have on your installed apps are the reason that your device may not perform well after a system update. Just be sure to backup all of your contacts before you do a system reset.

[Grommie]

@ rcschnoor: 

Helpful, but cumbersome. It also doesn't pass the "gradma test" (if my grandma can't do it without my help, it isn't a real fix, it's a hack). But I need to make the most of this Droid, cuz I'm stuck with it for now, so here are some follow up questions...

Do you have a Droid I?

What OS build r u running currently?

Did u experience any of the slowness / performance issue in the built-in apps we've all been complaining about?

Do u do ur installs the way u suggested above? Results?

**CORRECTION on my original post:  The app I purchased for mail/calendar/contacts that actually works awesomely is "TouchDown by NitroDesk" www.nitrodesk.com, and it ROCKS!

[rcschnoor]

No, I do not have a DROID 1. Yes I have experienced slowness after an update without performing a system reset. Doing the exact same update after a system reset I did not experience the system sluggishness. Backing up your app settings and then reloading them after the update will do basically the same thing as nothing if those settings ARE THE REASON that is causing the system sluggishness. I suggested doing the system reset and then reinstalling the apps, not just reloading the app settings. Verizon is not responsible for your apps causing system sluggishness, they do not write or guarantee the performance of any apps you get off the app market. Whenever they even mention an app available on the marketplace, they will go so far to say "download these apps at your own risk." Another thing that may help without a system reset is to delete all of your apps and then reload them 1 or 2 at a time and waiting a few days to see how they interact with your system. If everything is still fine, go ahead with a few more. When you experience sluggishness, you have found your culprit.

[#5]

Then you are posting in the wrong section.

[rcschnoor]

I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of these forum restrictions, or that the DROID 1 was the ONLY phone that people had problems with after system upgrades. Fact is, that multiple brands and models of phones can have similar problems/solutions and if only owners of the DROID 1 posted in this section, you may just miss some of these cross platform solutions.

[Grommie]

(2) @ rcschnoor:

Forgot to mention in last response, after the first system update I did, in October, from 2.1 to 2.2, when things weren't working well at all, I uninstalled ALL non-factory apps, and several factory apps, and then did a factory reset. At that time I was in a VZ store getting help with the procedure, and after the reset, BEFORE ADDING ANY NEW APPS OR APP UPDATES, we updated to the latest OS build at that time: FRG22D. Only after that did I start loading apps back on. It was improved, but still slow and cludgie compared to the 2.1 operation/performance. 

In short, I did what you suggested the last time; still not where it ought to be performance and responsiveness wise. 

For example: a contact look up takes 30 - 60 seconds in the built-in Android contacts lookup, while the TouchDown by NitroDesk Contacts filters as I'm typing the letters to lookup, such that when I finish, I have the 5 or 10 that match immediately waiting for me. The android contacts app used to work that way, before 2.2 update. Sigh.

[#8]

I have had my Motorola Droid for almost one year and have never done a reset. It has always worked perfectly and still does.