Droid Razr M: KitKat update problems

[Wendy_SFO]

Hi there, I have a few questions/problems with my Droid Razr M since the KitKat update was pushed to my device a few days ago.

1. I was on vacation in Europe (Austria/Hungary/Croatia) when the update was delivered to my device. I think the download happened in Austria or Hungary. Now I appear to have a non-US version of the update on my phone.  For example, Airplane Mode is called "Aeroplane Mode", and so on.  Do I have the correct version of the update?  I'd like the version applicable to US phones.  Can I re-download it somehow, now that I'm back in the US, and correct this?

2. Bluetooth no longer pairs with my BMW X1.  My phone does not even see the car in available devices.

3. WiFi does not work with Bluetooth enabled. My phone will recognize my home/work networks, but will only say "saved", and not connect. I am reading that this seems to be a known issue.  I use Bluetooth for my Fitbit and my car (referenced above).  I cannot just go to 5G because my work WiFi does not have a 5G option (my home network does have the 5G option).  I also would like to be able to use WiFi in public places like I did before the update.

Please let me know how to address these three issues.  Thanks!

[anjuel]

After much suffering with my RAZR M phones (4 times returned in one year),

Verizon recently upgraded me to the newer MOTO X but I'm still having

problems with the OS KitKat 4.4.2; a lot of the problems are with texting.

The keyboard that pops up is missing things such as the "return" key; when

you hit that button instead of the text going down to the next line you get

a bunch of smily faces, also the formatting/contrasts are horrible, and the

more I use it the more negative things I find. I also very much miss some

of the widgets that I had with the older versions.

I just came back from a Verizon center where they once again washed their

hands and told me that what I have is an Android problem that will

eventually be fixed. Actually the person at Verizon was not very nice at

all; I wish I got her name so that I could write it here

On Thu, Jun 19, 2014 at 12:38 PM, Verizon Wireless Customer Support <

[RazrM-user1]

I had many of the problems described here, went to 3 different Verizon company stores only to be sent out with no information and no fix.   I went on the Motorola chat help line.   Motorola sent me a NEW Razr M and it came in with Jelly Bean.  I got all my apps back, bluetoothed it to my Ford vehicle and was a happy camper.... only to find this morning that I got the alert to upgrade to the KitKat....the same program that gave me the problems on the old phone.  I refused the upgrade.

I just got off of the phone with Motorola about this OTA (over the air) upgrade.  I was moved to an upper level tech and this is what he advised:  You will need your MEID number.   Dialpad *#06#   your number will be displayed.  Write this number down.  Call Verizon Tech Support or go into a COMPANY store.   Tell them that you want Verizon to put your phone on the UPDATE SUPPRESSION LIST.   If they say that they have no clue what you are talking about tell them to call the B2B Motorola line and they will walk them through it.

NOTE:   You must do this BEFORE upgrading to KITKAT.   Note that if you have already upgraded to KITKAT you will have to call MOTOROLA and get your replacement phone.  Mine was out of warranty for 3 months.  Motorola wants the users to be happy....and if exchanging phones does it, it works for both the user and Motorola.  If you get a new phone, immediately go to Verizon or call them and get on this suppression list.

I hope this helps.  

[ozarkmiss]

you nailed it @RazrM-user1  . I have a RAZR M.    I just called Motorola and I didn't have to go through any 'fixits'.  they are sending new phone.  I gave them long list of complaints; battery, hot, wifi AND data signal loss, not able to send/recieve some texts etc.  I also jumped right out and said I had already done the FDR, clear Cache, safe mode etc (had not done all,  but so what.  from what I read EVERYWHERE, nothing fixes) 

was put on hold for 1 minute and was told they are shipping out new phone.  voila! 

(I am not out of warranty - and do have electronic verizon receipt -  yet they showed me out of warranty.  No prob though, they  extended it anyway.  No charge to me to get replacement)

Way Way Way better experience than dealing with verizon support. Entire call to Motorola took 5 minutes and they aknowledge prob and sending another phone.  So thanks to you RazrM.

[anjuel]

After I installed the new O.S. ( From "Jelly Bean to "Kit Kat") I had much

problems and Motorola gave me a new RAZR M with the old O.S. (Jelly Bean)

and things went back to normal. After a few days I got a call from Motorola

telling me that they were going to send me a phone upgrade, a "MOTO X".

They did this because my RAZR M had been replaced 3 times before for

various reasons in less than a year. Guess what?..

the new phone (MOTO M with Kit Kat) is giving me some of the same problems

that the previous phone had.

Simply: the problem is the operating system, and not the phone.

Supposedly Android is working on a fix for their O.S. 4.4.2; meantime

Verizon totally washed their hands on this probleem. I'm thinking T-Mobile

On Thu, Jun 19, 2014 at 9:10 PM, ozarkmiss <forums@verizonwireless.com>

[MN-Don]

Its a bit amazing that no one from Verizon ever asked me for any information, I responded to another posting what issues I am having and still no responce from Verizon. I did notice that they responded to swearing or losing data but nothing if your just having issues with the normal use of the phone. I have to say it was amazing working with Motorola they are MUCH better with customer support than Verizon. I will be getting a replacement phone in a few days. When my contract comes up for renewal I will be leaving Verizon.

[mrsmrs]

I'm not sure which one to call.

>>Personal information removed to comply with the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service<<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[dablamegame]

Give us a downgrade update or get out its your damn OS Geez get it thru

that thick head of yours youre one week away from getting canceled

On Jun 19, 2014 8:28 AM, "Verizon Wireless Customer Support" <

[cbetts]

My Razr M is having some of the issues stated:

• While connected with bluetooth, I am unable to use wifi.  Once I turn off the bluetooth, wifi quickly connects.  Upon turning bluetooth back on, I loose data connectivity, however the wifi icon still shows me connected.
• Battery drain is roughly double.  I typically have 50% life in a typical days use before the update.  Phone leaves the charger roughly 7:00AM every day and placed back 8:00 PM.  Phone sit roughly around 50% by lunchtime so I charge it during the day now to handle the drive home.
• Cell reception seems to be lower.  I am typically one bar less at my work and home.  Not sure if the calibration is different between JB and KK.  Observation is only based on the icon, not the true signal strength.
• Unable to determine data connection source.  JB would make either the wifi or cell icon blue to show where data is going.  Does KK even do that?

Device is usable as is but does cause inconveniences. 

[wb4zit]

I am furious with Verizon over this Kitkat upgrade. It wiped out the Bluetooth pairing for all of my vehicles and my laptop. It changed all of my ringtones and notifications. And the battery life has gone to crap on my Razr Maxx HD which has had outstanding battery life of a year and a half.

The nitpicking stuff is I do not like most of the changes in colors they made, particularly to white instead of blue on the notification bar.

But this upgrade is a total cluster....err....goat rope. I've been fooling with this phone all day just to try to get back where I was before the upgrade and I still have not made it yet.

And do you think they could have bothered to tell someone they were changing the Answer button from a Touch to a Swipe. Could they have not afforded to put the word SWIPE-----> with an arrow or something on the screen somewhere?

Worst upgrade experience I have ever had with ANY company....including ANY computer software company. I am absolutely FURIOUS.

Verizon.....roll this abortion back and try again later. And FIX MY BATTERY LIFE.

[vzw_customer_support]

wb4zit We want you to love your phone again. We apologize for the issues since the Kit Kat update. All manufactures which released the update working on a fix. In the meantime, some customers have found success with basic troubleshooting. The bluetooth is working as designed and will need to be paired when entering the vehicle. There is not a way to revert back to the previous software. As for the battery, is the gps on when not in use? Check settings and location services and disable is it's not being used.

Sheritah_vzw
Follow us on Twitter
@VZWSupport

[droidrazrmaxxhd]

Worthless script response as usual.

On Jun 23, 2014 6:44 AM, "Verizon Wireless Customer Support" <

[franzuber]

accept the fact that we now own less than fully functional phones (removed). verizon has no fix, motorola has no fix and android has no fix. i repeat we own sh*t phones now. there are 2 options.......

1. demand a new phone that is not a motorola. after all the phone they sold you does not work.

2. move to another carrier. if you demand it verizon has to let you out of the contract because your phone does not work.

as i say. we own a piece of sh*t phone now. we can only hope someone develops a fix. i am not going to hang waiting.

verizon has a lot to be ashamed about, but what is new.

Message edited as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message was edited by: Admin Moderator

[steve_o]

I had a battery app running on my phone (for months) pre-KitKat update on my Droid Razr M, beginning on 11/30/2013 through 03/29/2014 (approx 18000 readings).  The KitKat update was pushed to my phone on May 23, 2014 & I have had the same battery app installed & running since then (approximately 150+/- time/temp/charge/discharge readings per day both before & after). 

I have tried numerous things including clearing the cache and have been able to do nothing that makes any difference whatsoever.  I have experienced numerous conditions similar those noted by many in this thread, including:

1. Rapid discharge of the phone.  It usually drops about 10% per hour once disconnected from an AC source.  This drop is with no use whatsoever (wi-fi is off).  Any  use at all effectively doubles the discharge rate.   Prior to KitKat, the 10% drop (with no usage & wi-fi off) was approximately 3 hours. 
2. The phone speaker "pops" or has a statc-y sounding, audible "click" when taking the phone from sound-vibrate-silent or vice-versa.  It will do it one time only.  However, if you wait a few minutes, performing that same cycle (on or off) will reproduce the effect.  I've made multiple changes in the Sounds settings in the setup menu, none make any difference. 
3. Random phone re-starts.  No obvious event has triggered it.  It has been sitting on the charger, and will randomly re-start with no intervention from me. 
4. Wild variations of reception, both 3G/4G and wi-fi.  Areas that had formerly been very good, strong signals now are so-so.  Also, the drop-off in signal is immediate and drastic. 
5. I've re-booted in safe mode (for days) in order to rule out a rogue application.  Phone performance has been the same - rapid discharge, speaker popping, spotty reception.  In safe mode, the phone was noticeably warmer. 
6. The same four items consume about 75% of battery use at any given time.  Android OS (usually about 30%+), Android System (usually between 15%-25%),  Google Services (between 10%-15%) and Screen (anywhere from 10%-30% depending on usage). 

I've been on with Verizon tech support a couple times, and have done everything they have asked me to do thus far.  I will not do a Factory Data Reset on the phone & lose everything because it's time consuming to restore it all, plus there was nothing obviously wrong with the phone prior to KitKat being rolled out. 

Here are some of the things I've been able to determine in comparing the battery logs between the pre-KitKat and post-KitKat operating system update. 

• Average Phone temperature: JellyBean - 81 degrees (F). KitKat - 89 degrees (F).
• Max Phone temperature:  JellyBean - 110 degrees (F).  KitKat - 115 degrees (F).
• Min Phone temperature:  JellyBean - 61 degrees (F).  KitKat - 71 degrees (F).
• KitKat - Temperature is over 90 degrees (F) over 50% of the time.
• JellyBean - Temperature is below 90 degrees (F) almost 80% of the time. 
• Average Millivolts (mV) is approximately the same:  4163 (JellyBean) & 4126 (KitKat).
• Average MilliAmps (mA) is nearly 5x different.  -34 (JellyBean) versus -141 (KitKat).

I had traded in a pocket warmer (Droid Razr) for the Razr M almost a year ago, after having heat issues with the Razr getting in excess of 150 degrees (F) on multiple occasions with little use.  The Razr M had been more than adequate, especially in terms of holding a charge, as I would often charge it all day & then have confidence enough to leave it off the charger at night, and still retain about 60% charge the following morning.  That is, until KitKat rolled out & ruined this phone. 

It seems obvious to me that the KitKat OS is much less efficient in how it consumes power to do the same things as the preceding OS, and by forcing the CPU, display and other things to run at higher temps is shortening the lifespan of the phone.  It's definitely made it considerably less reliable and usable.  I doubt that I will continue to use this phone if the update to "fix" it takes a while to be available; plus the implementation of KitKat and the problems it has introduced don't exactly inspire a lot of confidence that the "update" won't be worse than the existing OS.

[stef7]

steve_o, you wrote:

I will not do a Factory Data Reset on the phone & lose everything because it's time consuming to restore it all, plus there was nothing obviously wrong with the phone prior to KitKat being rolled out.

I'm just an end-user like yourself. Honestly, I believe your logic (the part underlined) is faulty. Updates, and this one was major are not guaranteed to prevent issues during the upgrade process. You really must plan for and perform an FDR. The more experience you have with the Android platform, the more likely it is you will have personally come to this conclusion yourself and have had experience doing FDRs... For some of us, it's a challenge to see how quickly we can restore the phone to something we are used to.

On many devices over the years, maybe having had 10 updates OTA, 60% of the time, I had to perform an FDR. YMMV, but there are posts all over the internet where people have performed an FDR, and as if by magic, their device behavior improves considerably.

Granted, there are issues that will not be corrected with an FDR. A patch will be necessary for those.

If you don't go through the trouble of doing and FDR - you simply won't know if the behavior you are seeing with the battery drain is going to be corrected.

There are other suggestions in another thread which might benefit you, but the first and strongest suggestion I could make to you would be, bite the bullet, back up your important stuff to a PC that you can't live without, and perform the FDR. Give the unit three charge cycles to model battery consumption better.

You can do the backup and FDR in the time it would take to write a few good posts like yours above.

FWIW: if there is some fix / patch developed for other behaviors, you'll probably have to perform an FDR after installing it. Also, look around at some of the other threads for other phones. Other people have been experiencing shortened battery life on their devices. It's not unique to yours... Don't assume that the KK design is less efficient as to how it uses resources because other people experience battery drain as well.

Instead, it's likely, they have to perform a FDR post-update and have not.

[droidrazrmaxxhd]

Don't bother doing a fdr... it's not gonna fix anything. Been there done

that wah wah wah.

[steve_o]

@stef7 - I respectfully disagree with you. None of the reported problems I

have experienced since the KitKat update were present prior to the update.

Since I had started it in Safe Mode & let it remain that way for several

days, that should have been running solely on the new, updated OS only and

would also rule out a rogue application that was behaving badly. Also, the

fact that the sound problem persisted in Safe Mode (which wasn't there

prior to the update) would indicate to me that the new OS was creating the

problem. The fact that similar issues have been reported across multiple

devices with the new OS would seem to rule out a bad application and

confirm the one common item (the OS) as the source of the problems.

As I look at my phone now, nothing is running on it, yet the OS (31%),

Google Services (21%) & Android System (20%) are consuming over 2/3 of the

battery resources over the last half hour. The previous OS was over 100

degrees (F) a hundred times over a 4 month span. KitKat has been over that

temperature 200 times in 20 days. The new OS is literally cooking this

phone.

I shouldn't have to do a Factory Data Reset on the phone to make the new OS

behave, since running in Safe Mode should have loaded the bare bones of the

new OS. Based on what I've heard elsewhere, I also have doubts as to

whether it would fix the problem. I think that this OS has some serious

issues, and may not have been applicable to many phones. It wasn't

something I could easily opt out of, and it certainly isn't what was

advertised.

On Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 4:11 PM, droidrazrmaxxhd <forums@verizonwireless.com

[stef7]

steve_o.

Your logic remains faulty. Trust me, it is.

You indicate none of the reported problems you've experienced since the KK install were present prior. No disagreement with you there.

But, then to assume this means that KK is broken, -and/or- that you don't need to do an FDR is where your logic breaks down. On top of that, then the assumption that SAFE MODE will demonstrate proper behavior without an FDR is also erroneous.

When an OTA upgrade is pushed to your device, memory is not in a deterministic state. Imagine across all users of the same device... How could it be? When the programs expand out and begin to use available memory allocated for various things, they may pick up values that cause components of the OS and programs expecting certain settings to mis-behave. Some people will experience no problems. Some people will.

ONLY by performing an FDR do you force the phone to initialize memory to a deterministic state that the developers of the OS had when they did their development and testing. It would be ideal if Android didn't require FDRs, but that isn't reality. You'd think you shouldn't have to perform an FDR, and in the ideal world, that would be great.

AFAIK, all that SAFE MODE does is disable downloaded programs / apps you might add on top of the core load to see if they interact negatively with the core load. It does not wipe memory clean. It doesn't take care of the core OS running on improperly initialized memory.

Honestly and practically - the manufacturer, Google, nor VZW are gonna mandate you perform an FDR, because they know if will cause a good number of users inconvenience and potential loss of personal information and settings.

But - you really have to do this if you are experiencing problems.

Granted, with that written, I think there are behaviors (like the MMS issue, and BT/WiFi for some people on some devices) they are going to need a patch. Hey - I'm on an LG G2, and I know Google messed up BT dialing. So I'm using a work-around. I'm disappointed in this aspect of the KK update but it hasn't made my phone junk..

Look, you really don't have that much to lose. By your posts I can tell you approach things in a systematic manner. Do the FDR. I'm not guaranteeing it will fix your battery consumption issue. No one is going to claim that.

FWIW: after my LG G2 got KK, I initially avoided doing an FDR. I had crazy bad battery consumption. I was also displeased with the Dialer as I've said... I performed the FDR. My battery runtime returned... The dialer is still broken though.

[droidrazrmaxxhd]

Fail. I've done the hard reset it changed nothing. Same horrible phone

behavior and performance after update.

[steve_o]

stef7 "AFAIK, all that SAFE MODE does is disable downloaded programs / apps you might add on top of the core load to see if they interact negatively with the core load. It does not wipe memory clean. It doesn't take care of the core OS running on improperly initialized memory."

I understood that Safe Mode disables downloaded apps that would run on top of the core load also.  The fact that it boots successfully into Safe Mode would seem logical that the OTA update was not corrupted. 

I've also cleared the cache several times too.  I am somewhat skeptical of what this procedure actually accomplishes, since it gives no confirmation & instantly re-starts.  But, clearing that cache should ensure that the OS starts back up & re-initializes as it ought to do.  In combination with Safe Mode, that function ought to ensure that the OS is starting up clean.

My point is that a user shouldn't have to do a reset simply to make the phone functional.  The OS install should be able to re-initialize memory as the new OS requires.  If it doesn't then I don't know how they expect this thing to not have problems on every Android device out there.  The big question is how this update passed any type of QA before being pushed out.  It's got some fairly severe problems.

I did find a couple of links to a FAQ about KitKat & the Razr M -

Look Here Before Asking Questions [Kitkat Related] - xda-developers

and another user reporting exactly the same heat issue I have:

RAZR M to get official KitKat 4.4 by Motorola - Post #222 - XDA

In the first link, under "The Bad" - the second item in the list (Wi-Fi tethering via most apps (e.g., FoxFi) has been blocked) is probably one of the main reasons this update "passed" any tests & got approval from Verizon, functionality be darned.  The other reason (no Root capability) is another.  Nearly every performance-related issue they've listed are the ones present on my phone. 

[steve_o]

A follow-up on the issues I've been having with my Razr M since the KitKat (4.4.2) update rolled out in May.  After replacing the SIM card (which did nothing) and several other things (which also had no effect), I finally resorted to a Factory Reset on the phone.  All problems present & reported prior to the reset are still there.

I don't recall if I reported it before, but when connected to a factory charger, my battery app was showing a drain on the system (i.e. a negative charge) so that charging was very slow.  This is the only thing I have noticed that is different - it appears to charge up a little quicker. The same 3 battery hogs from before are still the same ones I have now.  They still occupy virtually the same percentages as before also. I also discovered after a couple billing cycles that my data usage basically doubled & has remained at that level since the update. 

The phone's operating temperatures prior to the reset were above 90 degrees about 60% of the time.  The Jellybean OS operated above the same temperature only about 20% of the time.  Since the reset, it appears to average virtually the same temperature as before.  The reset may have made only about 1 degree difference on its operating temperature, but that sample is pretty small still.  With any use (using data), the operating temp gets over 100 degrees within just a couple minutes, just as before.  I haven't done many phone calls or texts enough to determine what impact they would have on the temperatures. 

Since a Reset fixed nothing, that pretty much confirms that it is the OS that is the problem & not an app or something else.  Google (and Verizon) with this update have destroyed what was previously an acceptably usable phone. 

Here's the kick in the pants over all of this though.  I've been with Verizon since it was still Alltel in this area.  And, I am one of the ones who still has an unlimited data plan on my smart phone, which is something they no longer offer.  When I was speaking with Verizon about what options I have going forward (I have insurance on the phone), I requested that whatever replacement phone I got should be (1) a 4G LTE phone (like the Razr M), (2) of similar screen size, and (3) would not have the KitKat (4.4.2) operating system on it.  Lo and behold - there are none - they said it would have to be replaced with the same phone I already have.  Even confirming the issues are OS-related apparently accomplishes nothing. 

The only choices I have are:

1.  Do nothing & b**** about it,

2.  Accept another Razr M (or "compatible" one) which will come with the same set of problems I already have,

3.  Pay Verizon $600+ to buy an iPhone (or other one) outright so I can keep my unlimited data plan, or

4.  Get an iPhone with a new 2 year contract & lose my unlimited plan (Verizon said that people who had Unlimited Data plans can request one that is a 6GB plan as opposed to the paltry 2GB plans everyone else gets nailed big bucks with).

No good options & basically screwed - just like tons of others who had the update crammed onto their phones. 

[NickIzk]

Interestingly enough, I was just reading about 2 really bad bugs in the KK kernel that affects certain Razr M revisions.  It can cause the battery to heat up to dangerous temperatures.  The good news is Motorola is already testing out an update so Im guessing a fix should be coming soon.  But just a heads up, the current/buggy KK version will probably be your last window of opportunity to unlock your phone (as their fix also patches the root exploit).  Unlocking will give you more options to run older/stable/different versions of Android.  Can't discuss how but just search around on XDA.

In the meantime, some things you can do to cool it down/save your battery:

Get the wakelock detector app if you are rooted to see what keeps waking up your phone and how often.

Disable any setting in your apps that wants to access your location.  Also enable GPS only when you need it.  I'd suggest adding that power control widget to your screen.  Once you add that widget, also turn off syncing if you don't need the phone to constantly check email and other stuff.

If you use Google Now, disable that "Ok Google" speech recognition feature.

Kill recent apps.  Tap the window/menus button from the main screen.  Swipe and kill any apps that show up.  Do this regularly as some apps want to stay awake if you dont specifically end them.  This wont kill apps that have a background service though.

Disable the Facebook app.

Depending on your signal, force it to only 3G.  The battery drain from it trying to search for a better signal is just ridiculous.  This is kinda tricky to do manually, but there are apps to bring up that option.

Turn off NFC / Android beam.  Under settings->wireless & networks->more.  While under there also disable media sharing if you don't use it.

Disable the WiFi scanning option when its turned off (can't remember where this was at -- either under the Wifi advanced settings or its one of the settings under the location options).

I know I'm forgetting a bunch more..  There's also more technical tweaks you can do if you enable the developer options.  GL