AT&T Galaxy S4: is the KitKat update worth it?

[Rashawn29]

It works with stock camera, but not third party apps like pro capture.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 via Android Central App

 

[Rob79]

Well, I updated and must say it was a huge mistake. Battery life is brutal and it is painfully slow. Home button takes seconds to actually go home and a lot of other problems. Oh well back to the z10 unless something improves

 

[CarlosSW]

I updated as so far my S4 is slow...in every respect. I use Nova..and thats usually very speedy, yet not anymore. Widget locker is now also slow as are the rest of my apps. Its also glitchy....sometimes an app will just close by itself or the windows will act funny. Im able to store things on the SD card no problem....but thats the least of my problems. If i had known i was going to wait...patently for THIS i would have skipped it. I contacted samsung...was told to wipe the cache partition. Nothing changed. Dont know what to do...

 

[Rob79]

Exactly whats going on with my phone.

I updated as so far my S4 is slow...in every respect. I use Nova..and thats usually very speedy, yet not anymore. Widget locker is now also slow as are the rest of my apps. Its also glitchy....sometimes an app will just close by itself or the windows will act funny. Im able to store things on the SD card no problem....but thats the least of my problems. If i had known i was going to wait...patently for THIS i would have skipped it. I contacted samsung...was told to wipe the cache partition. Nothing changed. Dont know what to do...

 

[CarlosSW]

I just took all of my app data off my SD card as ive heard that NOW can be a problem and that did squat. WTH....did samsung test this upgrade? are they planning on sending a fix anytime soon. I mean its not like you can chat with google about this....and i tried contacting samsung and was told sorry sir, it should work. This just makes me think its their way of pressuring people into buying the next phone. Oh...well it works for the S5

 

[jpullins]

I think it's definitely worth it. My phone flies... I have had zero problems with my phone since I bought it from first day of release. To all having problems just do a factory reset and that should help with whatever problem you have. I always do a factory reset after a software update.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[graysonk95]

It's not just an SD card issue, however the SD card is at the heart of the problem.
Basically, apps besides stock phone apps have trouble reading and writing to the internal AND SD storage with 4.4.2.

If you take pictures with your camera to the SD card, use the gallery to view and edit them, then you will notice no change in 4.4.2.
4.4.2 is noticeably quicker though.

However, if you use Dumpster, Gallery Lock (or similar), Kies, iSyncr, DoubleTwist (or similar) etc. They all do not function as intended.
Dumpster no longer is able to catch deleted files before they are gone forever. Gallery Lock apps cannot access the device storage, rendering it useless.
Kies, iSyncr, DoubleTwist and similar apps with a desktop software component do not work.
Kies, iSyncr, and DoubleTwist syncing will fail every time.
The only way to sync or backup your phone now is by manually copying/pasting the files from your computer.

The easiest way to sync music (using DoubleTwist) is to sync a Flash Drive and then copy the Music folder to your phone or you can remove your MicroSD card from the phone and sync it independently.

Personally, I use the apps listed above a lot so I'm not sure if this update was worth the trouble or not.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Rob79]

Still dreadfully slow. Waste of an update

 

[mandoman28]

I think it's definitely worth it. My phone flies... I have had zero problems with my phone since I bought it from first day of release. To all having problems just do a factory reset and that should help with whatever problem you have. I always do a factory reset after a software update.

Posted via Android Central App

I did a factory reset, installed the update. Phone is great! Snappy, and the battery seems much better!

 

[CarlosSW]

Ok....I did a factory reset...and it worked. Its so much faster then it was at 4.3. Thanks.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Rob79]

I want to do a factory reset but I dont want to lose my progress on games and content on apps

 

[jpullins]

As long as you have the play games app by Google and the games are compatible with that app you won't lose your progress

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Rim85]

I had to do a factory reset for kitkat on friday PM, nothing was lost. Just be sure to back up your google account and any launchers, etc.

 

[CarlosSW]

i recommend doing a factory reset.....my S4 was slow as **** until i did that. Its a pain in the ars to get it back to where i had it but worth it

 

[deemsnyd]

Have US Cellular S4, Kit Kat update sent to my phone by carrier, installed it...HATE IT!! Until this update I had never even had the back cover off of my phone, I have now had to pull the battery more times than I can count. Screen stays black when trying to wake phone from sleep, home button no longer wakes screen, power button doesn't always wake screen. When screen does come on...have to wait several seconds before I am able to enter password. No camera app on the lock screen, battery drain worse even when disabling GPS and doing all the other well known tricks to save battery. I used to leave everything on including GPS 24/7 and the drain was about the same as it is now with everything off. No new kitkat dialer offered for S4. Had off-line maps on sd card and now the offline navigator app (Mapfactor) is unable to access those maps so they're useless. If I'm somewhere with no data connection, my offline GPS is of no use unless I put the maps on the device..Worst update ever in my case. Has anyone figured out a way to go back to jellybean???

 

[Rob79]

Have US Cellular S4, Kit Kat update sent to my phone by carrier, installed it...HATE IT!! Until this update I had never even had the back cover off of my phone, I have now had to pull the battery more times than I can count. Screen stays black when trying to wake phone from sleep, home button no longer wakes screen, power button doesn't always wake screen. When screen does come on...have to wait several seconds before I am able to enter password. No camera app on the lock screen, battery drain worse even when disabling GPS and doing all the other well known tricks to save battery. I used to leave everything on including GPS 24/7 and the drain was about the same as it is now with everything off. No new kitkat dialer offered for S4. Had off-line maps on sd card and now the offline navigator app (Mapfactor) is unable to access those maps so they're useless. If I'm somewhere with no data connection, my offline GPS is of no use unless I put the maps on the device..Worst update ever in my case. Has anyone figured out a way to go back to jellybean???

Exactly what I am experiencing. Wanted to do a factory reset but samsung kies is garbage. I also want jellybean back

 

[troshs]

I also had the issue this morning after pulling my phone off the charger, it would not come on at all except for the buttons lighting up. Of course I was half awake and wasn't thinking that it could be KitKat related. The person who texted me had to call because it took that long for me to get the screen to come on so that I could respond. I have AT&T and I thought the problem was only with US Cellular.

Sent from my S4 to you via Tapatalk

 

[tkprice]

Same problem here - everything is slow and apps sometimes crash.

 

[joe_m_p]

Just checked on my S4 on Verizon and wouldn't you know it...they say it's up to date.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Rob79]

As long as you have the play games app by Google and the games are compatible with that app you won't lose your progress

Posted via Android Central App

So much for doing that. No progress was saved at all. I had play games app and everything was backed up. Not a very good experience with this galaxy. Play games did not work samsung kies is a disaster....I could go on and on. HUGE mistake with kitkat and a reset. If anybody is listening keep jellybean. This is a joke!!