KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
gvfisherjr
Enthusiast - Level 1

If anyone can read this before accepting the update...DONT DO IT!!!!  There are a lot of issues especially with the RAZR Maxx HD.

You lose SWYPE, they get rid of it. You lose your personalized dictionary.

You lose the capability of auto Bluetooth. I used to be able to just get in my truck and it would auto connect.  NOW everything is manual.  It keeps dropping the connect and I have to keep connecting.  This is absolutely horrible upgrade.

If I am listening to an app through Bluetooth and receive a phone call, it will switch.  After about 60 seconds, the call is still connected, yet the phone starts broadcasting the app as well as the phone call, it drowns out the phone conversation.  I have to close the app or stop the broadcasting of the app.  It will no longer keep it in the background.

The text messaging is now all with a white background, you can't tell the difference between you and the person you're texting.

I'm trying to figure out how Motorola and Verizon could think this is a good thing!!!

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Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
rastagard
Enthusiast - Level 2

I really hate to be "that guy" (the guy who responds to someone having issues with "I'm not having problems") but I was on the fence about this update and I feel I need to address this update.

Yes, you lose Swype. Download and install it.

Yes, the new Text Messaging is horrible to the point of being un-usable. Plenty of really good free ones to choose from.
Yes, Bluetooth is giving some people problems. This is a serious issue. I have a LG Tone headset that I couldn't get to connect. I just had to un-pair then re-pair it and all is well. Your experience may/will vary. You should take this issue very seriously as many people have had Bluetooth/ WiFi issues. Mine were minor and easily fixable.

You must CYA before doing any update of this magnitude. Contacts, apps, pictures, music, etc. is probably all backed up if you have a Google account, but back everything up elsewhere just in case.

Now, the one and only thing I was concerned about with my brand spanking new Droid RAZR Maxx HD was the abysmal battery life. I bought this thing thinking I was getting a long battery life and instead had a quick and steady discharge that brought me to my knees shortly after lunch. Totally unacceptable.

This update improved my battery life. Not a little bit, but hugely. I now go all day and get home with a 50% charge left. There are a few things I like about KitKat, but mostly the battery life. As I say, I have had minimal issues, not that others haven't had problems. I've been there myself and feared the worst before pulling the trigger on this update. But I'm very happy I did.

I know this doesn't help the OP and the last thing I want to do is trivialize the issues they are having. But if you can live without built-in Swype, Text Message app, those are easy fixes. The Bluetooth/WiFi issues are more of a crap-shoot. Take them serious, but I was ready to get a new phone due to the battery issue, so I took a chance and have no regrets.

Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
stef7
Master - Level 2

+1 on un-pairing and repairing. Should help with the BT issues in the car.

You might want to backup all your personal content (photos, movies, music, downloaded files), make notes to where you've placed icons, and what your email settings are, perhaps export or copy down important calendar and contact information, and perform a Factory Data Reset on your device.

It shouldn't take that long to get your device back to a state following an FDR where you can use it again easily, but it will take a little effort.

Often an upgrade will leave some apps in a bad state because of uninitiated memory. Too much variation out there as to what people have loaded on their devices and how they use their devices. An FDR resets the device to a state more like how it would have come out of the box, but with the new OS in place.

Hope that helps.

Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
abalentine1
Enthusiast - Level 2

I am having the same issues, been thru tech support with my office, Verizon and Motorola. Nothing has been done to correct it. First off I never wanted the update, why is this update forced upon the users that do not want it. Every app that I have downloaded I have the option to either update or not, but not the phone that I PAID for. I PAID for the phone in its original state mainly due to the way it performed. I would NOT have PAID for a phone with the KIT KAT software. My Son was able to shut down his update and avoid the KitKat update on the exact model phone I have, and is experiencing none of these issues.

Some of my issues are:

Swype- I purchased my phone with the Swype feature on it, KitKat stole that from me. I will not purchase the Swype from Google Play as I have already paid for it.

Text messaging- Color scheme is abysmal to say the least, lost the ability for deleting multiple messages, cannot see group messages.

Wifi/Bluetooth- Cannot be used at the same time, have to chose one or the other, so no streaming video on wifi with bluetooth headphones

Weak Wifi- Signal strength has gotten horrific- Use to be able to sit outside and connect to Wifi- now only have 15 ft range- could get almost 50ft prior to update- sons Droid Razr HD still can with JellyBean

No 4g- I have always had 4 bars of 4g in my house- now I only get 3g or the 1X- Sons JellyBean phone sitting next to mine has 4g, mine will not

Loss of Wifi and bluetooth- All of my Wifi and bluetooth saved connections are gone and on some cannot connect- Can no longer connect to the hands free in my truck.

Loss of LED scheme- Again with the white- my LED light for notifications use to be a green light, blue for bluetooth, red for low battery, now it’s all white.

Corp Sync- Email notifications are no longer being pushed thru- I now have to manually check email messages, no longer coming up on the drop down screen and no notifications.

Battery Life- Battery now is depleting at a tremendous rate- I have force stopped and deactivated all programs that I do not use but because the phone seems to always be looking for signal it is eating up battery life.

I mainly use my phone for business and not for play; This KitKat update has really hurt my ability to communicate using my phone. I understand that the update will not be rolled back but I do hope that there is a patch that is coming out soon, as when I read up on the different forums everywhere there are thousands of us with the same issues.

My son and I have the same Droid Razr HD, He was able to avoid the update his phone works better than mine, true my screen may slide over a little smoother and it may play video a little more clearly (if it’s not buffering) but there is absolutely nothing that benefits me or my family on a FORCED, UNSOLICITED, UNWANTED update. If you want to update fine, but do not change my settings, or remove any of my features in the update. 

Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
user15
Enthusiast - Level 2

I am having most of the same issues on my Razr Maxx HD since the KitKat update, including (but probably not limited to):

  • Can't clear read text messages as easily
  • Can't delete multiple text messages
  • No quick select by letter in contacts list (quickly go to all the "M" names etc)
  • Can no longer dial by voice or look up a contact from the phone dial pad menu (microphone icon gone)
  • Can no longer text by voice from the text menu (microphone icon is gone)
  • variable color LED indicator for alerts - only white?
  • Corp email synch error
  • Sound level - not as loud for phone calls
  • Bluetooth device connection problems

I called customer support and was at least able to fix one of the above (Bluetooth). I had to do the following to fix the Bluetooth connections:

  • Soft reset (hold power button and volume down buttons at the same time for roughly 10 seconds until device appears to shut off, then release both buttons). This is basically the same as taking the battery out on phones that have a removable battery. This does not erase your settings or data etc.
  • Un-pair and re-pair each device.

I am now able to connect to and transmit/receive data to each of my Bluetooth devices.

The other problems I was told were due to Google's changes to Android and they couldn't do anything about them. In cases where a function has been lost a free app should be available to replace that function (ie in the case of SWYPE etc others mentioned). Not sure if a better text reader exists or other solutions to the other problems. Hopefully enough people will complain and an interim update will get released that resolves some of these other issues.

Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
mydroidsux
Newbie

omg. I woke up this am and had a big ass message, saying important updates, now my phone reminds me of the first flip phone I had 12 years ago, and im paying how much for this crap, refund, contract was broken, imo. totally sucks. how can I get my old version back, its this crapthat  makes me want to just get a lan line and answering machine . thx verizon ,, jerks

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Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
mydroidsux
Newbie

does Verizon even allow emails to their support? or is it 2 hours of phone bs

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Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
rainyghost
Newbie

This update is horrible. WiFi rarely works on RAZR HD and I'm burning through data. Calling to get credit.

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Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
uniqd
Enthusiast - Level 1

I am getting:

*  low volume...ringing, during calls, alarms, message alerts etc.

*  a popup every fifteen seconds  stating "Unfortunately,messaging has stopped"  and another stating "Unfortunately, Google search has stopped"

*  alarms fail to go off at appointed times.

*  battery life has gone down drastically.  I could go a day and a half without a charge and now I'm looking for a plug in by lunch. 

*  Also the keyboard is hypersensitive, adding in spaces I didn't type, putting periods between every word, doubling or tripling letters.  It took me twenty minutes to type this because of making corrections.

Re: KitKat Upgrade is horrible for Droid RAZR Maxx HD - Major issues - Horrible testing
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi Mydroidsux,

We always want to help! My apologies for the long wait times. Verizon Wireless Customer Service can be reached via Twitter, Facebook, Live Chat, and Phone http://vz.to/1aaBVyS . We can offer assistance here as well, what is going on?

Thanks,
PamelaF_VZW
Tweet us @vzwsupport

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