Have a lead on the OTA update problems!

[DharmaDog]

FIRST, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!... Whoever is responsible for FINALLY giving us our own discussion space!!!!

I am only going to post this here rather than try to update all the postings regarding the OTA update issues.  I hope people will find their way to it!

I experienced rapid battery drain, severe overheating & endless boot-looping after the OTA update (among other more minor problems posted in the main Android forum). I had to factory reset and have been trying to determine what the problem might be. I have had discussion with VZW & HTC about this problem.

After leaving my phone as a stock out of the box phone with the update for a week, I started adding back my Apps. Eventually I had the same problem.  I factory reset my phone and installed each App 1 at a time.

I discovered that WeatherBug Elite is causing major problems on the HTC Rezound post OTA firmware update. The HTC Rezound has 3 location services - Verizon Location Services, Standalone GPS and Google Location Services.  The default is for only the GPS and Google services to be turned on. If the WeatherBug city is set to Current Location and Verizon Location Services is turned off then the device battery will rapidly drain.  It will also SEVERELY OVERHEAT (130 degrees+) & eventually begin endless boot-looping.  At this point the phone has to be factory reset.

If Verizon Location Services are turned on then setting the city for Current Location does not cause this problem.  If you turn Verizon Location Services off after the Current Location has been set then it is OK until you change locations and it has to update. Then its back to severely overheating and eventually endless boot-looping.

This does not happen on the free version of WeatherBug.

Verizon included a new process - Verizon Location Agent in the OTA update.  This must have something to do with the problem.   All my other Apps that use a Current Location setting do not have this problem.  I suspect that there may be other older Apps with a Current Location setting that might cause this same problem. This has been causing much stress and problems for HTC, Verizon and their customers.  People have been going thru multiple phones thinking that it is a problem with the phone but it continues to happen.  HTC and Verizon have acknowledged that there is some problem with the update and they are now investigating it but really didn't have a lead on what it might be since only some customers were experiencing these problems.

I spent 14 hours diagnosing and trouble-shooting the problem all last night.  You have to put the phone to sleep & wait long enough for WiFi & the GPRS data to be turned off.  When you wake the phone & wait for 'No Service' on the lock screen to change to 'Verizon Wireless' then it will immediately start the endless uncontrollable boot-looping. It will also happen if you restart the phone.  I have done this on a factory reset phone with the OTA update installing one App at a time and WeatherBug Elite was the only one that caused the problem.  I do not know if this is true for 4G-LTE as I am not in a 4G-LTE area and keep it turned off.

I wanted to pass along this information I discovered.  I hope I am remembering all the steps. I had it doing it every time. I did more factory resets last night than you could believe.  You need to see the "No Service" on the lock screen when you wake up your phone. This has something to do with it also. I'm so tired now that I can't see straight.  I'll recheck this after I've had a nap.

[DharmaDog]

AAAGGGHHH!!  There is some other variable in this.  Something to do with the network.  I can not reproduce it today,  however I was able to do it over and over again last night.  All I know for sure is that running for a week with a factory reset vanilla phone the only thing I experienced was that the battery life was still shorter than before.  When I started reinstalling my Apps the overheating and then boot-looping happened again.  Doing a reset and intalling Apps one by one it only happened on WeatherBug Elite and did it over and over again.  My HTC Clock/Weather widget is set to current location and I also use BeWeather which is also set to current location.  It never did it once on those.

[pat3332]

Because some people have problems with the updates and some don't, I've often wondered if it had to do with specific apps that some have on their phones and others don't. I never had any problems with my Thunderbolt updates. This one for the Rezound isn't a problem either, but I essentially have the same apps on it that I did on the Bolt. I've never cared for Weatherbug ever since they originally came out on the PC and I got buried in spam. If you haven't tried it yet, you might also try "Weather, Radar, Alerts, Quakes by Elecont software. It's the best weather app I've found and has never given me any problems. I tried BeWeather and didn't like it as well.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.Elecont.WeatherClock&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwx...

What you're doing by eliminating them one at a time is time consuming, but the best route. There may still be something wrong with the phone itself. I've never had a problem with the boot looping. Also, mine gets up to around 120 to 125 degrees if I'm charging it while using it heavily for streaming videos/movies, but I've never hit the 130's like you have. I did have the led's flash red/green at me at about 125. I also haven't had any of the other problems you seem to be having, so I can't be much help other than to let you know that there are Rezounds that don't have all of those frustrating, headache causing problems.

I've lost track in your posts, so forgive me for asking the obvious, but have you exchanged it for a CLN replacement(s) and tried new batteries? Are you still using a standard battery, or an extended? The extended batteries don't seem to be having the overheating problems that the standard batteries are, but if you have a bad phone, it may not make much difference.

Sorry about the problems and frustration

[DharmaDog]

Thanks for the sympathy!  It has been incredibly frustrating and time consuming. Needless to say I'm not using WeatherBug Elite anymore and it is not even on my phone.  I'll never get my 2 bucks back but that wouldn't even come close to compensating me anyway.  WeatherBug used to be good but has really gotten outdated with a horrendous ugly user interface.  I'm a weather nut and already have Elecont.  I've been using it since my old Samsung Windows Mobile 6.5 phone.  It's good but I'm not really thrilled with the new Android user interface.  BeWeather has gorgeous animations which I like and I liked it even better when I figured out how to get to the radar and satellite info and how to add your own media.  Probably going to give MyCast another try.

I am very convinced that it is not the phone itself.  Everything was fine until the afternoon right after I got the push update.  Also if you look around I'm not the only one experiencing these problems.

I have tried a new standard battery and will probably go ahead and get an extended battery.  I already have a phone case for the extended battery so might as well.  Have not done a CLN exchange..... yet!

Message was edited by: DharmaDog I have now reinstalled all of my apps minus WeatherBug Elite.  Going to see how it goes now.  So far so good!

[pat3332]

Got a question for you based on something I just read. May sound dumb, but when your phone is bootlooping, have you tried taking the back cover off and then tried starting it up?

[DharmaDog]

No I haven't.  Just take out the battery, put it back in and put the cover back on.  Why?  Is removing the antennas supposed to make a difference with stopping the boot looping?  That seems strange.

[pat3332]

On another forum, I saw a thread about a fix for bootlooping. Someone had discovered that if they removed the battery cover that the bootlooping stopped.

I don't know if you have the LTE on/off, or LTE Switch app, but if not, you can type *#*#4636#*#*. Then go to phone information and see what network you're set on. Some people had somehow gotten switched to WCDMA and it was causing the bootlooping and connection problems. Maybe not your problem, but it sounded like what's happening to you, so I thought I'd ask.

Meant to say that I liked BeWeather, but one reason I liked elecont better was because animations eat my battery up.

[DharmaDog]

My phone is currently and was previously in "CDMA auto (PRL)" mode.  I don't live in a 4G area so I mostly keep it off unless I happen to be in a 4G area and I need some speed.  I have no idea what it was when I had the boot-looping problem.  I appreciate you providing me with this important info.  Like I said earlier it seems that the problem is somehow network based.

The other reason I like BeWeather is because the data is provided by the Weather Underground and I think they are great.  There is a man with a Weather Underground reporting station 2 blocks behind me so I can check what the weather actually is at my home anytime I want.

I approved your follow request.

Message was edited by: DharmaDog I forgot to mention that now that I am closely monitoring the battery I have not noticed BeWeather to be any significant drain on the battery.  I don't stay on the animated page very long.  Just long enough to look at the weather conditions.

[pat3332]

I think Verizon sometimes frowns on giving links to other sites and I was trying to send you a private message but this new format they have makes it a little more difficult. I finally found out I had to go to your profile and click on "follow" and you have to approve it. I'm liking this format less every time I use it. I'll try posting the link to the other discussion in case it helps you and they can delete if if they want.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1394659http://

[DharmaDog]

You are right and I am very surprised that they have left this link in your post.  I check XDA but had not seen this discussion thread.  This is very important to know given how disruptive this problem can be.  Thank you so much for the link!!  One difference is that I found my phone doing endless boot loops by itself.  I had not tried to reboot or power it up.

I will check this 1st thing if it should happen again but I really hope it doesn't and that Verizon and HTC will figure out something definitively, soon!  It is sad for such an excellent device to be crippled by such a flaky and apparently random but severe problem like this.  I think that all of us who have been unfortunate enough to have to deal with it know without a doubt that the OTA update caused it.

My phone is back like it was minus the WeatherBug Elite app and so far everything has been fine except for the battery draining faster than when I got the phone.

[zrotwandr]

I also have experienced overheating (entire unit front/back), battery drain, and once even endless boot-looping since the OTA update.  I love the phone and its features however these issues are very disappointing after researching specs and choosing what i thought was the perfect phone coming from a droid incredible.  The unit was warm before the update and the battery was decent at best.  However since then I have installed the battery solo widget and noticed a temperature swing from 75F to 130F at random times with light usage.  Battery drain is dependent on usage and on average I am charging unit 2 to 3 times per day.  Purchased a case and holster and the only time I use them is for work or when I go out due to the heat being generated from the Rezound unit.  Not sure if this is the design of the unit itself (heat not being adequately dissipated) or the problems your speaking of however I do not have the Weatherbug elite app.  I am getting a replacement unit in the mail tomorrow and not sure if I should just swap out the new battery it comes with or try the entire replacement unit.  My only issue is I have a new phone now and I will probably get a certified like new unit for a replacement.  I will wait and see however not totally optimistic at this point.

[DharmaDog]

Sorry that you are also having to put up with these problems caused by the OTA update!  I tried a new battery with no difference.  I'm going to get an extended battery and see how that goes.  I really do not believe that it is a physical hardware problem with the device but something to do with the update and the network.  Others have tried a replacement phone and still experienced the same problem.

I am no longer sure that WeatherBug Elite was specifically responsible for causing the problem but I still will no longer have it on my phone.  I think that it just exposed some problem involving the network caused by the OTA update. Do you have any apps that use a "Current Location" setting other than the HTC Sense flip clock/weather widget?  What are your location settings?  Have you done a factory reset?  And lastly did you catch the information and link above provided by pat3332?

Message was edited by: DharmaDog I forgot to ask if you could contact an upper level tech rep at both Verizon and HTC and let them know what you are experiencing.  We need to let them know that many of us are having this problem.  The more people that contact them and let them know the more likely we are to get a resolution. HTC is at 866-449-8358 and at http://www.htc.com/us/support/e-mail

[demmo86rt]

Just an FYI, typically CLNs don't come with a new battery and some stuff I have read sounds like the older batteries that shipped with Rezounds are the problem (some people had problems with overheating even before the OTA).  From what I have read, most of the batteries that have the issue are 3.8v batteries and replacement batteries (for those that got them) are 3.7v and don't seem the same overheating problems.  Also, a lot of battery drain issues are tied back to the Verizon Locator app, so the fact that it may be some other app using the service makes total sense. 

On the topic of weather apps, I'm currently trying out 1weather and so far like it.  It's still new and has some fine tuning to do, but it gives me all the info I need and has a really nice UI.

[pat3332]

It's strange how the updates affect different phones. Some badly, some not at all and some claim improvement. Same thing happened with the Thunderbolt updates. I had no problems, but there was the massive bootlooping issue after the first update, then the second that tried to fix that and caused different problems. I still wonder if one of them somehow caused my network connection that had worked fine for the first 3 months to start dropping out.

Since Verizon doesn't give us a choice about receiving the upgrades, I think I'm going to start trying what I've read of others doing and just defer the update long enough to do a factory reset before the update, so it's a clean install. May not make any difference, but it won't hurt. I've gotten to where I don't mind the factory resets as much as I use to. When I start reloading apps, I always find some I decide not to install because even though they're good apps, I only use them occasionally and they just take up space. I now just have apps on my phone that I use daily and if I need one of the others, I download it, do what I needed and uninstall it again till the next time.

zrotwandr, hope your new CLN replacement works out, but let us know. All information is helpful.

[DharmaDog]

I can't believe it!!!  It has happened again!!!  Definitely a network problem.

I connected my phone to my PC to copy some files over.  After removing it could not see my SD card for some reason so I had to restart.  Back to boot looping and rapidly heating up!  pat3332 thank you for the XDA information!  That saved me although I had to remove my SIM card for it to work.  Just removing the back cover did not work for me.  When I was able to get to the dial code testing info sure enough my network had been changed to WCDMA preferred!!!

I AM SERIOUSLY OVER THIS CRAP!

At least I didn't have to do a factory reset again....

[pat3332]

Glad it worked for you. Did you see anything on XDA about why they might be changing to WCDMA preferred? I can't remember if I mentioned it before and I'm too tired to look, but if you download LTE ONoff, or LTE Switch from the market, they both do the same thing, which is a shortcut to the network settings. It just saves you having to use the keypad code.

I never use LTE/CDMA any more because it tends to try to connect me with 3G even when 4G is available. With LTE ONoff on my home screen, I can quickly switch between LTE mode for 4G, and CDMA only for 3G.

[zrotwandr]

Just received the CLN replacement around 5pm EST. (no new battery or new SIM came with it) Activation went very smooth (First time I activated a 4G before) Charging the battery right now backcover or phone not warm yet.  Just a few comments (This is my first time on the forumn and I am by no means as qualified as the rest of you).

DharmaDog I did review pat332 comments on the boot-looping and that is great advice (hopefully I may not need it)

Sorry to hear about your bootlooping again however great to hear you now have a fix for at least one of these uncontrollable issues.

Just a note on the settings on my old phone:

Network mode: LTE/CDMA (Fringe 4G @ Home and solid 4G at work) (Do not use WIFI) switched to CDMA when overheating and battery drain occurred)(not sure if it auto switched to WCDMA after the OTA when the boot-looping occurred) might try pat332 suggestion on LTE on/off on the CLN

Never performed a factory rest on the old phone

Display settings: Screen brightness originally max then when overheating occurred switched down to low

                         Screen timeout switched from 10 min down to 2 min after overheating occurred

GPS settings: Verizon Location Services and Google services only (Not sure on this at all or what bearing it may have)

Not sure how to check my current location setting on my apps

I will give the CLN replacement a few days with toying around and report back on the battery/heating issue

I have spoken with what I believe is an upper level tech@ Verizon (not sure about the tier) said to give the CLN a try and then can take an alternative course of action if it does not work out

All of you are great thanks for all of the information....

[pat3332]

Not sure about how qualified, most of us just pass along things we've picked up from experience and I learn something new every day from other's experiences.

First suggestion is to turn off VZW Location Services and use Google Location Services and Standalone GPS Services. I haven't checked lately, but when I had my Thunderbolt, this was another Verizon add on that they will charge you for using. The Standalone will also toggle on and off if you use a widget to turn GPS on and off. It's just a little easier than going into settings each time. I just use the widget that Verizon provides under Personalize/Widget/Browse all HTC widgets. Just swipe through the different widgets.

There are a lot of brightness control apps in the market. My favorite is Brightness Profiles. You can add, change and delete any settings you want as well as turn on auto. I just prefer using my own settings because the auto brightness always seems to be at a setting other than one I prefer. Yes, I'm a control freak. I use 25 to 30% inside. If you go from a bright setting to 25%, it looks dark for a few seconds, then your eyes adjust and it looks fine. On the other hand, when you go from 25% to 100% you think Man that's a great looking screen. I only use 75%, or 100% if I'm outside, in my car and having trouble seeing what's on the screen, or streaming a video. Using a high brightness setting while streaming can heat your phone up. Charging while doing it will make it even hotter, so keep an eye on the temp. I usually have it on the charger, but that's just my preference. I want it fully charged in case I have to stop the movie and go someplace. On the other hand, having extra, fresh batteries work well also. You should be able to stream a movie fine on a fully charged battery, but it will definitely deplete it.

Not sure what you mean by checking location settings on your apps. but if you go to settings/Applications/Manage applications/All, you can tap on an app and if you scroll down, it will way something about Location and a description if it uses location services. Maps is a good example to look at. Most will pop up a window asking to use your current location when you open it unless you've checked the box to not ask again. Some of this is from memory, so if I'm wrong, somebody correct me.

We'll see what other suggestions people have that I've forgotten. Let us know if any problems pop up with this phone.

Just wanted to edit this to stress that I'm not sure about Verizon charging for VZN Location Services. If someone has correct info, please let us know. I just tend not to use any of the Verizon apps because most of them seem to charge for using them.

[DharmaDog]

Well, still having endless boot-looping!  I've done the:

1) Remove the battery, SIM card, & SD card

2) Replace just the battery

3) Leave the back cover off and reboot

4) Dial "*#*#4636#*#*"

5) Change network type from "WCDMA Preferred" to "CDMA + LTE/EVDO auto"

6) Power off and replace everything

7) Reboot

so many times that I can do it in my sleep. Wish I could change the title of this thread since it is misleading now.  I'm not getting anything from HTC & Verizon but finger pointing and the runaround!

@pat3332 "I just prefer using my own settings because the auto brightness always seems to be at a setting other than one I prefer. Yes, I'm a control freak."  LOL! Thanks for the laugh, I needed it!  I can relate!

@zrotwandr

I meant do you have any apps (usually weather apps) that use your "Current Location" as a setting for example the city for a weather app.

BRANCHED TO A NEW DISCUSSION THREAD!