Sprint Galaxy S4: Kitkat Update Screen Problem

[kmarkert98]

I just updated my S4 with Kitkat today & now when my screen turns off, it won't turn back on & I have to pull the battery. Sprint was absolutely no help. Anyone else having this problem? I'd like to roll back to jellybean, but the insurrections I've found are too difficult for me to figure out. Help would be greatly appreciated!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Try wiping the system cache partition, which can be a useful thing to do after a major system update. Follow the instructions here (it doesn't matter that they're from T-Mobile):

Reset: Samsung Galaxy S 4 | T-Mobile Support

 

[kmarkert98]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Thanks B. Diddy! I first figured out that with the lock screen disabled, it would work fine. But now that I wiped the system cache partition & turned the lock screen back on, it seems to be working! What a pain this update has been. Hopefully there will be a fix for Kitkat soon.

 

[kmarkert98]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

And it's happening again. I'm really hating this update.

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Ugh. Samsung has not been good with OS updates lately. I wonder if it might stabilize over time, but this is not the type of problem I'd want to wait out, since it's such a hassle. Have you checked any official Samsung or Sprint support forums?

 

[kmarkert98]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I've tried searching everything & can't figure it out. I'll probably end up taking it in.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[hshendon]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I am absolutely having this same problem. I am going to read through the rest of this thread to see if anyone got a good fix, but it is very frustrating right now!

 

[hshendon]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Just did the cache wipe. We will see how that works. Unfortunately, disabling the lock screen is not an option for me as I use this phone at work as well and it MUST be encrypted with a lock screen password.

 

[hshendon]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Any updates on this kmarket? Did you take it in or did things change? I have only had the cache wiped for less than an hour. So far so good.

 

[hshendon]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Nope -- still having the problem. It did it again this morning when I unplugged the phone from charging overnight. Needed to completely reboot again as the screen would not come on at all.

 

[Brent Vescogni]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I have the exact same problem. When I lock my screen the lock screen is either sluggish to respond or just doesn't respond at all and goes back to a black screen.
I have restored to factory settings three times. I have gone into recovery mode to wipe the phone and manually wiped the system cache. After about a 1/2 a day it starts acting up again. I have minimal software installed to limit any possible causes. I have also tried turning off the home button S Voice festure. I even turned off the S Voice app with no sign of a resolution.
My update was OTA as well.

 

[LargeInTheMargin]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I think I have this same problem. When I hit power button to wake the phone, my screen will stay black even though phone is on. If I press power every 5-10 seconds, the menu/back buttons may light up briefly, and it will eventually wake and get to the lock screen (I use for work with required encryption). Sometimes I can type my code and unlock, sometimes screen doesn't respond and I have to turn screen off and on a few more times until it responds. When calls come in I often cannot answer due to black screen, when I do make a call I often cant hang up due to black screen. When I press power button to lock, the screen will turn off but I often wont hear my lock sound for 10-15 seconds. Sometimes when I do get the screen to turn on my clock wont show up. There's just a whole lot of frustrating weirdness all having to do with waking/unlocking my phone. I do use the samsung flip/view cover, which seems to make matters worse.

Its all inconsistent though, right now I am able to press power and unlock in 2 seconds like it should, but in 20 minutes I will go to unlock and screen will stay black and I'll go through all of the above. This all started immediately after kitkat update, and full reset fixed this for maybe 24 hours. So frustrated I want to spike this phone I used to love against the sidewalk.

 

[TurboHooves]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I also did an update last night and now my S4 is on the fritz. It's doing the exact same thing. It doesn’t want to "wake up"...i push all the buttons and the screen stays off but then after some time it might light up. Once it finally lights up, it barely lets you swipe to unlock. Super glitchy. Not only that but a whole bunch of my apps disappeared and never came back even after multiple restarts. Then there’s the issue of apps crashing, not to mention it won’t let me type text message half of the time. I keep having to close out of messaging and reopen it. This is the absolute worst update. I am not a happy camper right now. As if Sprint's service wasn't bad enough, now we have to deal with software issues that render you from preforming basic device functions.

I also called Sprint and the lady was no help. All she did was update my phone on her end. After she did that, she didn’t even have me test it. She just said, "Well that should fix your phone. Is there anything i can help you with?" She didn’t even ask me to try it to see if it resolved the issue. She obviously didn’t care. I knew doing that wasn't going to fix the problems and it didn't. At one point in the conversation she randomly said "i love my job".....like wtf? Why would you just randomly say that…I knew it was sarcasm but she tried to pass it off as something else. My distaste for her service will definitely reflect in the survey that i hope to receive.

 

[orcaems]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

My S4 is doing all the same things described here- my phone is essentially bricked since the update . The phone often has problems turning on, similar to other users the screen sometimes never turns on or sometimes both the buttons at the bottom will illuminate but still not function. Often when the screen DOES eventually come up it is unresponsive and I have to pull the battery. I've also noticed the lock-out screen no longer passively updates the current time; for example tonight it said 7:24 pm when it was really after 9 pm. I have also noticed several apps were missing after the update, and what did remain I audited to ensure I really still used and removed any that were not crucial hoping this would speed things up. No luck. I am in the habit of clearing the RAM on regular basis and have almost 1GB afterwards (hovers around having 500-800 free before clearing this cache) so there should be plenty of computing power here - the update has clearly created some major issues for a lot of users.

If anyone has a solution to fix all these annoying bugs you will forever by my hero!

P.S. Like other users in the thread work security protocols require me to use the encrypted/password option for the the lockout screen so just turning off this feature is not an option for me either.

Using: Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4
Android Version: 4.4.2
Not rooted

 

[Atlis]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I have exactly the same problem guys - locksceen is lagging, I cannot unlock the phone - zero response on buttons, it is slow and sluggish + yesterday, when I was trying to go to Google Hangouts during a phonecall this happened:



I am quite pissed after the update to 4.4.2

 

[JT75]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

My S4 is doing all the same things described here- my phone is essentially bricked since the update . The phone often has problems turning on, similar to other users the screen sometimes never turns on or sometimes both the buttons at the bottom will illuminate but still not function. Often when the screen DOES eventually come up it is unresponsive and I have to pull the battery. I've also noticed the lock-out screen no longer passively updates the current time; for example tonight it said 7:24 pm when it was really after 9 pm. I have also noticed several apps were missing after the update, and what did remain I audited to ensure I really still used and removed any that were not crucial hoping this would speed things up. No luck. I am in the habit of clearing the RAM on regular basis and have almost 1GB afterwards (hovers around having 500-800 free before clearing this cache) so there should be plenty of computing power here - the update has clearly created some major issues for a lot of users.

If anyone has a solution to fix all these annoying bugs you will forever by my hero!

P.S. Like other users in the thread work security protocols require me to use the encrypted/password option for the the lockout screen so just turning off this feature is not an option for me either.

Using: Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4
Android Version: 4.4.2
Not rooted

Folks I believe I have narrowed down the problem. It seems the GPS is causing the problem. I have been fighting with this for days now. Took phone to Sprint. They did a factory reset and it worked a bit and then started back up. I have been testing settings and installing my apps slowly in case of a software conflict. When my phone starts acting up I turn the gps off and problem stops. Turn gps back on and it returns.

Taking phone back to Sprint tomorrow to have them test and verify.

 

[sreepadkamath]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

Guys, reading all the updates above helped me feel little better that I am not the only one going through this messy state... Seriously hating samsung for not having a solution to this problem for over 2 months now.... Have tried everything above but the screen lock/unlock is still a problem. Hope to see some solution soon before I decide to move back a verison of the android verison


Phone: Samsung Note 3

 

[Twitjohn]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I think I solved the problem with the black screen after the update:
It is caused by the old(4.3) installation of WatchOn.Actions:
- go to settings>applications> Tab "ALL"
-find "Samsung WatchOn" tap on the app name
-select disable (or something that means disable, I have a Dutch version, so not sure what it exactly says in englisch it is NOT THE STOP button) it will ask you if you want to rol back to the factory version of the app. Select YES
-Now restart your device
- go to settings>applications> Tab "disabled" the last Tab
-find "Samsung WatchOn" tap on the app name
-select "enable"
And WatchOn will be reinstalled with the proper functions supporting the new lockscreen. I have no problem since.

I Also red that some of you are missing apps after the update. Just wait one night with your phone's wifi on(use clock or something)
After this most apps will be reinstalled.
For some reason for your phone to work perfectly, you need to restart your phone 2 times after all of this.
Good luck!

 

[Quincy Renfroe]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

I'll make this quick and sweet for anyone that is encountering the black screen problem.

You should turn off your personal message.
Go to Setting > Lock Screen > Lock Screen Widgets > Clock or Personal Message > Clock

This will fix the delay / sleeping of your phone.

Currently this is the only quick fix before a patch is made.

Thanks.

 

[Twitjohn]

Re: Galaxy S4 Kitkat Update Screen Problem

@quincy. That might work to. But for me watchon was the problem. I still have the personal message turned on. Works like a charm.

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