Solution to getting rid of KITKAT System Update Notification (for those who don't want to update)

shmotog

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2013
133
0
0
Visit site
I got the system notification today, to update to kitkat. My heart stopped, as I had read App Ops wont be available in it which means I would be unable to set pesky permissions off such as the need for the flashlight application to read my contact list.

Apparently there is no way to get rid of the update notification until you root your phone, which I learnt today, means to sort of give yourself super admin priveliges. Anyway the point is, I personally can't be bothered to do all that technical stuff just to get rid of a simple pesky notification. It kept popping up and giving me only a choice of hours to delay it by, not even days, just hours.

Another reason why I don't want to update is because I believe 'if it aint broken, dont fix it'. The phone works well, does the job real good for me. I'm not a power user, I play real racing 3 once a day, check facebook, go on youtube, that's it.

Anyway THE SOLUTION I FOUND...was so simple. when you get the notification, click outside of it, dont click any buttons, just click outside the box and it never came again!
Well so far it hasnt, I havent restarted my phone.
I'll do it now...
restarting...
yep, it showed up again
However I did the same thing and it's been about 5 minutes now, it hasnt shown up.
I confirmed again went into settings ...about..system update...clicked install later..set it to remind in 2 minutes...clicked ok...then again into system update..this time i clicked outside the box...and it hasnt shown up. I've attached a pic to show what I mean by where to click.moto g system update.jpg
 

shmotog

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2013
133
0
0
Visit site
Update, 10 mins so far, it hasnt shown up. I feel like moaning a bit about how it downloaded by itself, it was a big file over 100mb I think. Not only should it have asked for my permission, but now its somewhere (apparently in root /cache directory that one can't access unless the phone is rooted), but it also wasted my bandwidth. Luckily I was on wifi, but what if I was on 3G? I mean I get my data allowance used and my storage used for something I didn't want! On top of it they remove the ability to set permissions with App Ops. I mean isnt it supposed to make the system more secure? If so then how come App Ops is missing in kitkat, the only thing that let me set permissions.

What are your views on this? I sort of feel like I should update but I keep thinking about App Ops.
 

Unicorn Rancher

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2012
889
29
0
Visit site
I feel like moaning a bit about how it downloaded by itself, it was a big file over 100mb I think. Not only should it have asked for my permission, but now its somewhere (apparently in root /cache directory that one can't access unless the phone is rooted), but it also wasted my bandwidth. Luckily I was on wifi, but what if I was on 3G? I mean I get my data allowance used and my storage used for something I didn't want!
I haven't checked on my MotoG but doesn't Android have a setting to limit software downloads to wifi only precisely because of bandwidth usage?
Or is that only for apps and Google ignores it for system updates?
 

Harvinder Sunila

Well-known member
Oct 8, 2013
121
0
0
Visit site
I feel like moaning a bit about how it downloaded by itself,

Hi shmotog,
That's exactly what happened with me, woke up this morning to be greeted by a Moto g so desperate for KitKat that it decided to download it without asking...next it'll be taking pictures of me while I sleep and posting them on Google+.
 

shmotog

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2013
133
0
0
Visit site
Hi shmotog,
That's exactly what happened with me, woke up this morning to be greeted by a Moto g so desperate for KitKat that it decided to download it without asking...next it'll be taking pictures of me while I sleep and posting them on Google+.

So did you download it? is kitkat any better? i still feel i should download it
 

Harvinder Sunila

Well-known member
Oct 8, 2013
121
0
0
Visit site
So did you download it? is kitkat any better? i still feel i should download it

Hi shmotog,
Since it had already downloaded it without my permission I gave in and installed it, it's only been one day really but here are my impressions...

The max screen brightness has definitely been turned down in KitKat, that added to the graduated effect of the top and bottom bars on the homescreen make the home screen dark.
The icons at the top of the screen are all white now, I think they looked better in baby blue.
The clock typeface/font design is slightly different, the the hour digits are no longer bold but the same as the minutes digits, again I think it looked better before...nicer design.
The clock and alarm settings is different, it uses this clock face to choose the alam time, which I think is a pain compared to before.
It doesn't feel any faster when swiping through the app drawer or starting any apps, when you select gallery there is slight judder/stutter...but once it's open swiping through the images in the gallery is faster than on Jellybean...it's the only place I've seen any speed difference. I have seen judder, lag, stutter whatever you want to call it when scrolling, whether it's scrolling inside apps, in browser or even the play store...it does judder sometimes, didn't see that on Jellybean.
I use the Tumblr app and it's slower in use, I don't use a plethora of apps and I haven't noticed any slowing down or speeding up with other apps.
It seems to take longer to start up if you power off, I have a sim and screen lock password and it thinks a while before showing you the keyboard for screen unlock...that only happens if you've shut down the phone, not normal sleep or when you hit the power button to turn the screen off.
As far a battery life goes I've not seen any difference.
I haven't run into any problems as such after the update, I know some people have but I've no idea why some have and some haven't ?...It could be because I have so few apps and other things on my phone compared to some...I tend to keep my phone clutter free.
Is it "better" ?...no, it's just slightly different...the fact that the screen is darker than before annoys me the most because the screen is the top feature of the Moto G, I hope they didn't turn down max screen brightness to say the battery lasts longer now.
Anyways, hope that helps.

Take care,
Harv.!
 

icyrock1

Active member
Mar 30, 2013
30
0
0
Visit site
I got it to stop annoying me by doing this;

Settings >
App >
All >
Find "Google Service Framework" >
Force Stop >
Clear Data and then Disable

I've yet to get that annoying update notice again (I have two Moto G's, one running 4.4.2 and one running 4.3). The screen on the one running 4.3 is definitely brighter when using the automatic brightness. Not sure if it's just my two devices, though.
 

mf23

New member
Jan 24, 2014
3
0
0
Visit site
It really is annoying and I still could not figure out how to stop it.
Stopping the Google Service Frameworks silents it for a while, but then it pops again
(and I think stopping the service also disabled IMAP mail notification)

Any clues how to just say "no" to kitkat?
 

PiggyMiddle

Well-known member
Dec 31, 2013
257
0
0
Visit site
It really is annoying and I still could not figure out how to stop it.

It's too late for me, damn-it, but here's a thought.

Never connect to wifi and then set the downloads to "by wifi only," and Kitkat might be smart enough to stop showing the message.

One would hope that the programmers at Google are smarter than those at msoft. Although now having kitkat, and no way of going back, I am beginning to wonder. They have messed up a few things and ALL are cosmetic stuff that did not need changing.

I am using a prepaid plan so may push the phone back to "Factory setitngs," send it back to Amazon and get another one which hopefully will have 4.3 again.

Might be too lazy too. {sigh}
 

shmotog

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2013
133
0
0
Visit site
It's too late for me, damn-it, but here's a thought.

Never connect to wifi and then set the downloads to "by wifi only," and Kitkat might be smart enough to stop showing the message.

One would hope that the programmers at Google are smarter than those at msoft. Although now having kitkat, and no way of going back, I am beginning to wonder. They have messed up a few things and ALL are cosmetic stuff that did not need changing.

I am using a prepaid plan so may push the phone back to "Factory setitngs," send it back to Amazon and get another one which hopefully will have 4.3 again.

Might be too lazy too. {sigh}

Official reply from motorola after a chat session;

I did some further investigation in your case and found a solution for you.

If you will install the update OTG will not be supported by the Moto G anymore but what you can do is to download a 3rd party app such as Total Commander (free) or USB-plug in (ca ?0.50).

Then you will be able to use the OTG feature again.

For any further assistance or information please do not hesitate to contact us again, quoting your Customer Reference number.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

Kind regards,

Motorola Mobility UK Ltd.
Motorola - A Google Company
 

mf23

New member
Jan 24, 2014
3
0
0
Visit site
Thanks PiggyMiddle,
tried to fiddle these days whether the update notification goes away or not by tricking....
The periods I got warned got slower but not much - still too annoying.
I also asked (german) Motorola support guys. Very helpful guys, but: their answer is that they heard
from "technical guys" that they "heard" (hear hear!) update even forces itself
at some point without needing to be approve by the user.
Thats not nice. So I tried the root way. If anyone is interested (be aware that
with root you may loose your warranty in some countries)

Actually that was really not difficult:
1) unlock your bootloader (just google)
2) root your moto g Root your Moto G - option 2: Modified recovery - Motorola Moto G - MoDaCo
3) install "System tuner" from the play store (its free)
4) start system tuner
5) goto Startup
6) select "MotorolaOTA" and freeze it
7) so far (3h) I did not get any notification anymore! yey, Jelly Beans in your face! ;-)

Cheers,
mf
 

shmotog

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2013
133
0
0
Visit site
Thanks PiggyMiddle,
tried to fiddle these days whether the update notification goes away or not by tricking....
The periods I got warned got slower but not much - still too annoying.
I also asked (german) Motorola support guys. Very helpful guys, but: their answer is that they heard
from "technical guys" that they "heard" (hear hear!) update even forces itself
at some point without needing to be approve by the user.
Thats not nice. So I tried the root way. If anyone is interested (be aware that
with root you may loose your warranty in some countries)

Actually that was really not difficult:
1) unlock your bootloader (just google)
2) root your moto g Root your Moto G - option 2: Modified recovery - Motorola Moto G - MoDaCo
3) install "System tuner" from the play store (its free)
4) start system tuner
5) goto Startup
6) select "MotorolaOTA" and freeze it
7) so far (3h) I did not get any notification anymore! yey, Jelly Beans in your face! ;-)

Cheers,
mf

any way to do it without rooting?
 

Mardavia40

Member
Jan 28, 2014
8
0
0
Visit site
It's too late for me, damn-it, but here's a thought.

Never connect to wifi and then set the downloads to "by wifi only," and Kitkat might be smart enough to stop showing the message.

One would hope that the programmers at Google are smarter than those at msoft. Although now having kitkat, and no way of going back, I am beginning to wonder. They have messed up a few things and ALL are cosmetic stuff that did not need changing.

I am using a prepaid plan so may push the phone back to "Factory setitngs," send it back to Amazon and get another one which hopefully will have 4.3 again.

Might be too lazy too. {sigh}

I have my wifi switched off so Kitkat 4.4 has NOT downloaded yet more than happy with Jelly Bean and a great phone
 

mf23

New member
Jan 24, 2014
3
0
0
Visit site
I did not find any way to disable it without rooting.
And from Motorola support I got the information that after KitKat downloaded
you only have 2 weeks. After 2 weeks it will auto-install(!). The policy comes from Google and Motorola just follows it.
Not acceptable for me, that's why I rooted it ;-)