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4.2.2 S4 upgrade - Problems

Hey fellow Verizoners!

Two Days ago now, I received the notorious "Software update" pop up window on my S4, and with excitement I clicked 'Update now' instead of "remind me later," which has turned out to be the biggest mistake that I have made in my life, I know - I live a boring life.

Since the upgrade my battery life Dropped by 50%. I have grown SOOO accustomed to charging my battery once a day. I am reminded from this upgrade, of how bad the battery life is, taking me back to the S3 days. For example I went to sleep last night 11pm, my phone was on 98%, when I woke up for work at 6am, the phone was at 5%. FYI I put the phone on airplane mode when I am sleeping. Weird.

Not only battery life sucks - also the phone seems to choose when it feels like restarting on me. Sometimes its when I am receiving a call, sometimes when I am posting tweets > the screen will go black! Nothing happens. My phone will randomly shut down all together whenever it wants too, even if it has plenty of battery or not even running any "heavy" apps

Secondly, after the phone shuts off, it doesn't boot up correctly, it will shut back down at any stage during rebooting, and when it finally decides to get to the lock screen, it wont last long. Smiley Sad

Can somebody please provide any solutions if possible?

Comments

tgbowil1

I am having the same type of issue with the battery getting drained much faster since applying the update. I am not having the shutdown issues. Prior to the upgrade, the battery life on my phone would last most of the day. Now I am lucky to get through half a day before I have to charge the phone. Not happy with this latest update.

Alvnunez

I'm having the same problem here after the latest update. I'll leave as much information as possible (including pics), hopefully someone can help us.

I have a Verizon Galaxy S4 (i545). Running it's latest update 4.2.2 JDQ39.I545VRUDMI1. Before the update i used to charge my phone once a day, now i have to do it 3 times a day. I've been looking for a solution, i already disabeled Location services on the phone and also disabeled Google's Acces location, so that's not the problem. I also tried restarting the phone and clearing Goggle Services app's cache.

The following pictures are from today after 3.5 hours being unplugged, the only thing i've done is listen music and as you will see, it's only 9% of the battery usage.

newvalve

Same issue here. I've seen posts that suggest removing the Google Play updates and then letting them reinstall, doesn't seem to help - in fact, I haven't been offered to reinstall the update. The big culprit on my phone appears to be Google Services, and the screen battery usage seems higher than usual.

Any suggestions most appreciated.

Verizon_Support

Hey there Alvnunez,

Software updates are meant to enhance rather than hinder the performance of the phone and I am sorry to hear that is what happened in your case. Let's get to the bottom of this to make sure your phone is performing as it should. Thanks for all the info included.

How long does the battery life last from 100% to 0%? Any physical damage or water damage done to the phone? One thing I would try is to recalibrate the battery by letting it run down all the way to 0%, to the point it shuts off and recharge the phone all the way to 100% and test the life again.

Here are some additional tips to extend battery life:http://vz.to/16yomlq.

Keep us updated with results.

NicholasB_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

Alvnunez

Hi Nicholas,

First thing.. thanks for answering to my issue. The phone would last about

7 to 7.5 hours, but that's almost with no use at all. I'm at work and the

only thing i've done is play music for about 3 hours. The phone is already

in 20% after 5 hours from 100%, everything that may drain my battery is off

(all location services, nfc, blutooth, all the samsung goodies, etc.) Right

now i don't feel i have a smartphone.

The phone doesn't have any damage at all, i'm very careful with all my

devices. Before the upgrade, my phone would last an entire day of work with

heavy using including games.

I was going to try clearing the cache partition from the boot screen. But i

guess you guys have it locked. So i'll try recalibrating the battery as you

said, but i don't think that would fix it. Even if the battery isn't

calibrated, it wouldn't make such a dramatic change on the battery life.

Anyways i'm going to try it, hopefully i'm wrong.

Thanks again for all your help, i'll keep you updated.

On Oct 27, 2013 11:38 AM, "Verizon Wireless Customer Support" <

Chewzilla

I have been having the exact same issue with my battery being drained after only a few hours use. In addition, I keep getting a "Blank SD Card" message that says it is blank or has unsupported files.

jonc75

I'm having the same issue. Phone is brand new, only had it a few weeks. Absolutely no problems until the update. My wife's phone updated as well and it seems like her is fine. Google Services seems to be the culprit battery killer on my phone. I didn't even make it through a work day with minimal usage and all location services turned off before my battery was completely dead. Need a fix for this.

jb2z

I'm having the same problem with the phone shutting down randomly after the upgrade that was performed on 10/24/2013. I haven't noticed a battery life issue yet, but the random shutdowns have been very annoying. Does anyone know if a factory reset will restore the software version from when the phone was purchased?

tgbowil1

Nicholas,

I ran the battery on my phone down to 0% until it automatically shut off. Then I recharged my phone. It is currently using 10% of the battery life every hour. At this rate the battery will be all used up in 10 hours and this is with minimum use. Prior to the phone update, I could go 16 plus hours before even thinking about putting my phone on a charger.

Someone needs to get this figured out.

Verizon_Support

Alvnunez, thanks for these details. Battery life can be impacted by many factors. In fact, Music/Audio streaming is one of the tasks that can ultimately deplete your battery the fastest since the device is working hard non-stop for hours at a time. One of the easiest ways to extend your battery's life is to connect your device to a charger while streaming music for long periods of time. Keep us posted.

LasinaH_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

lerkr

Same exact problem here, battery life is horrid after the update. I do nothing different and battery drains at least twice as fast. How can i go back to the prior version, this update is horrible.

Verizon_Support

I can see how the phone randomly shutting down can put a dampner on anyone's day, jb2z. A factory reset will erase all the information on your phone, but will not revert the firmware on the device to an older version. With the random resets starting right after an update, I'd highly recommend trying the Software Repair Assistant at http://vz.to/12hDWQu. Not only will this ensure your phone's update doesn't experience any hiccups that can cause reboots, it will update it to the newest 4.3 OS available for the S4.

Please keep us posted if that helps.

JenniferH_VZW

Please follow us on Twitter @vzwsupport

tgbowil1

I also applied the 4.3 update and that did help with the battery life issue.

Verizon_Support

We want you to get the most out of your battery life ShaddyS4! How long are you getting out of a full charge now? Did you retain all of your apps during the update? Have you tried a full charge with the power off? Do you power cycle the device at least once a day?

JonathanK_VZW

VZW Support

Follow Us on Twitter@VZWSupport

jonc75

My battery life also improved drastically with the update to 4.3

Rhoney

Since my 4.3 upgrade, my battery has been draining faster than usual with the screen having the largest percentage. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Rhoney

I am having the same issues with the battery drain (screen) since the 4.3 upgrade. Prior to this the battery life was excellent!

JGG2

Unstable WIFI, frozen screen on wakeup, etc. You seriously released this build? Shame on you. Can't wait to buy all my future phones directly from Google. Sick of all the crapware and untested releases.

Verizon_Support

Rhoney,

Let's look further into this! Have you adjusted the time our and display screen. If so, please backup your device and complete a factory reset here http://vz.to/1av07q4 Please test and keep me posted. Thank you

TominqueBo_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

PhilipCasey

HEY VERIZON. We're STILL waiting on 4.4.4 and this is what you give us? We are so so so patient, as we have always been, because you promise bug-free updates. But this? First it isn't even 4.4.4, which Samsung has RELEASED to you, and second it's this full of problems. This is utterly ridiculous.

unknown

Verizon Wireless never guaranteed bug free updates.

The updates come from device makers and from Google.

Verizon is not responsible for any updates.

Good Luck

PhilipCasey

Then please tell me why #1 when the update completed it said "Verizon

Wireless update completed" and #2 why no other S4s are getting this update,

they're all getting 4.4.3 or 4.4.4. I switched to Verizon to get away from

this mess, instead it's worse. Verizon is without a doubt ALWAYS the

longest to update, and every time they claim it's because they are tweaking

it to make it the most bug free when in reality it is far more buggy than

my friend's AT&T S4.

unknown

They test for use on their networks.

They don't code nor do they make your device.

Sometimes Verizon pushed out patches when there were issues with devices.

This patch is not made by Verizon. And then when the real updates finally if ever get to you then you will have the update.

It's just crazy I will admit.

CJJohnson

I TOO AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND IT IS VERY ANNOYING!!!

1. The phone freezing up. I can't tap an icon to activate it or answer an incoming call.

2. The phone will randomly restart it self for no reason at all.

3. Sometimes I get a black screen when tapping to activate an app.

All this started with the latest update of a couple of weeks ago (October 20-ish, 2014).

1. I have tried draining the battery down until it shuts off and then charging it.It didn't work.

2. I have tried clearing the cache. It didn't work.

3. I have tried disabling some apps/programs. It didn't work.

What can I do to get it back to its former glory?

November 6, 2014

Mister_Grumpy

Try running the Repair Assistant to see if that helps. Others have tried it with limited success.

JGG2

Phil_Sy (to firebird80) 1 hour ago (Show less)

Just for the record...I'm one more person who installed Thomas Hoffman's fix and it seems to be working. The procedure is reasonably well documented, but not for a novice. I was hesitant, but now it's done. I am hoping any official fix for this won't hose my phone when it comes out.

I've had one crash avoided so far. It was caused by Knox. So either way, installing the unofficial patch, or removing Knox, requires that your phone is rooted.

It is really shameful that Verizon can't or won't step up to get Samsung to fix this the right way. The diagnosis has been made. How difficult could it be to fix it? Maybe they just can't bring themselves to unload some of the bloatware no one wants or uses?

Good luck to everyone.

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