Did The ICS Update, E4GT Is Running Great, Actually Better

deedub

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I'm aware a lot of people are having issues after the update. After I updated, however, my phone is running perfectly and I am really happy with it. I'm having no battery issues, it is actually better, no notification issues, Bluetooth problems, etc. Nothing on the phone does not work as it should.

Not saying this is the right or preferred way to have done the update, but I thought I would post up the procedure I used for those who may have an interest.

- Never got the OTA notification, so I downloaded the Update file directly to my E4GT, and did a manual update bypassing the PC method. I transferred the file from downloads to the SD using Astro, renamed the file and then did the standard volume down/power switch initiated update.

- I did a factory reset.

- I used Mybackup to reinstall apps. I did not restore data. I took this opportunity to decline installation of any apps I never actually used, but I estimate I reinstalled about 90 of my apps.

- After a couple of days of ICS operation, I did a battery pull restart of the phone.

- I don't have a ton of auto-refreshing widgets running, just clock, current weather and forecast weather and an agenda widget. When I want to access Twitter or Facebook I just use the app and let it open. My main email I use for email I want to see is Gmail, my junk/commercial email is Yahoo and I refresh every four hours. I use Google calendar and contacts. I use Widget Locker to unlock the phone instead of the standard Samsung screen unlocker.

- I use the standard ICS launcher accessed from Sprint ID and it is running silky smooth and much smoother than GoLauncher was running on my E4GT on GB.

- I have been running ICS now approaching two weeks and and my battery life is significantly better than when I was on GB, and I am using the phone the exact same way I always did. On GB there were times when I would be in the 40-50% after a days use of 12-13 hours. On ICS using the phone the same way, the battery is now always in the 70% range after the same 12-13 hours.
 
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Dark_Knight2

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I'm aware a lot of people are having issues after the update. After I updated, however, my phone is running perfectly and I am really happy with it. I'm having no battery issues, it is actually better, no notification issues, Bluetooth problems, etc. Nothing on the phone does not work as it should.

Not saying this is the right or preferred way to have done the update, but I thought I would post up the procedure I used for those who may have an interest.

- Never got the OTA notification, so I downloaded the Update file directly to my E4GT, and did a manual update bypassing the PC method. I transferred the file from downloads to the SD using Astro, renamed the file and then did the standard volume down/power switch initiated update.

- I did a factory reset.

- I used Mybackup to reinstall apps. I did not restore data. I took this opportunity to decline installation of any apps I never actually used, but I estimate I reinstalled about 90 of my apps.

- After a couple of days of ICS operation, I did a battery pull restart of the phone.

- I don't have a ton of auto-refreshing widgets running, just clock, current weather and forecast weather and an agenda widget. When I want to access Twitter or Facebook I just use the app and let it open. My main email I use for email I want to see is Gmail, my junk/commercial email is Yahoo and I refresh every four hours. I use Google calendar and contacts. I use Widget Locker to unlock the phone instead of the standard Samsung screen unlocker.

- I use the standard ICS launcher accessed from Sprint ID and it is running silky smooth and much smoother than GoLauncher was running on my E4GT on GB.

- I have been running ICS now approaching two weeks and and my battery life is significantly better than when I was on GB, and I am using the phone the exact same way I always did. On GB there were times when I would be in the 40-50% after a days use of 12-13 hours. On ICS using the phone the same way, the battery is now always in the 70% range after the same 12-13 hours.

The update is good. Just wish my device would stop having hardware malfunctions :thumbup::D
 

dr_elusive

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I like everything about the update Except for the Simply Broken bluetooth. I can't Media stream audio in either one of my cars that has bluetooth and that is a feature i used daily. I Miss it alot. This Happens with my wifes phone too so its not a hardware issue.


Dr.
 

carole6m

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I've always liked the update. My battery used to only last around 19 hours on GB, now it lasts up to 40+ hours which is amazing.
 

moonoverparma00

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Mine updated yesterday and its pretty good. Much better than the first time. I rolled back to gingerbread after the first round. Although WiFi still seems glitchy.
 

JayWill

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I like everything about the update Except for the Simply Broken bluetooth. I can't Media stream audio in either one of my cars that has bluetooth and that is a feature i used daily. I Miss it alot. This Happens with my wifes phone too so its not a hardware issue.


Dr.

I had the exact problem, in both of my cars, on every leaked Samsung ICS build since February right on through release. I posted about it everywhere I could and it never was resolved. My phone would pair and connect both phone and media audio to my Sony aftermarket car stereo just fine, but after playing media audio via Bluetooth for 15 minutes or so, my phone would always freeze and reboot on it's own. In my Infiniti QX56 stock audio system, it would eventually connect and play fine, but the initial pairing would connect, then disconnect, then connect again a few times before it finally started working, usually 5 minutes into my drive.

The solution for me, was to flash an AOSP ROM. Specifically, Cyanogenmod 9. Bluetooth media audio now works flawlessly, like it did for me on Gingerbread.
 

dr_elusive

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I had the exact problem, in both of my cars, on every leaked Samsung ICS build since February right on through release. I posted about it everywhere I could and it never was resolved. My phone would pair and connect both phone and media audio to my Sony aftermarket car stereo just fine, but after playing media audio via Bluetooth for 15 minutes or so, my phone would always freeze and reboot on it's own. In my Infiniti QX56 stock audio system, it would eventually connect and play fine, but the initial pairing would connect, then disconnect, then connect again a few times before it finally started working, usually 5 minutes into my drive.

The solution for me, was to flash an AOSP ROM. Specifically, Cyanogenmod 9. Bluetooth media audio now works flawlessly, like it did for me on Gingerbread.

I am considering something along those lines. My Car has a Sony deck as well and it will pair and sometimes play for 30 mins, other times it just doesn't work at all. I am Not sure what you mean by AOSP rom, but i had a pre Before this phone and i am familiar with flashing roms, and i am running CM9 on my touchpad. Just not sure how to do it on my phone, And i read about a bricking bug that makes me a little shy of doing it. How is CM9 on the epic touch? Would i be trading 1 annoying bug for another?
 

JayWill

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I am considering something along those lines. My Car has a Sony deck as well and it will pair and sometimes play for 30 mins, other times it just doesn't work at all. I am Not sure what you mean by AOSP rom, but i had a pre Before this phone and i am familiar with flashing roms, and i am running CM9 on my touchpad. Just not sure how to do it on my phone, And i read about a bricking bug that makes me a little shy of doing it. How is CM9 on the epic touch? Would i be trading 1 annoying bug for another?

AOSP = Android Open Source Project

When people refer to AOSP, they mean ROMs that have been built from the base Android source code. Cyanogenmod, AOKP which is based on CM, and MIUI fall into this category.

Regarding the current state of CM9, it's excellent. I had to turn off the LED notification light and system sounds (touch press sounds, dialer keypad sound, etc.) in order to get some extra battery drain under control, and wifi has trouble auto-reconnecting (you have to toggle it manually sometimes - I believe the kernel I'm using is responsible though). But that's about it. Small price to pay to get bluetooth media audio working in my case. It's very polished, and it's looking likely that the E4GT is really close to official support by the CM team.

It's still important to be aware of the EMMC brick bug, but it's not as big of an issue as it was 6 months ago, as the cause of the bug is now known, as is how to deal with it. As long as you are wiping data and flashing ROMs from either a Gingerbread based kernel/recovery, or an ICS kernel/recovery that has been fully patched for brick safety, there's nothing to worry about.
 

dr_elusive

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I looked on cyanogen's website and i dont see anything on the epic touch. Do you have a link for information about this? And should i use the stock Kernal or something better? I just want the thing to work right, At this point i dont need any crazy extra features.
 

fetterjohn

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I had the exact problem, in both of my cars, on every leaked Samsung ICS build since February right on through release. I posted about it everywhere I could and it never was resolved. My phone would pair and connect both phone and media audio to my Sony aftermarket car stereo just fine, but after playing media audio via Bluetooth for 15 minutes or so, my phone would always freeze and reboot on it's own. In my Infiniti QX56 stock audio system, it would eventually connect and play fine, but the initial pairing would connect, then disconnect, then connect again a few times before it finally started working, usually 5 minutes into my drive.

The solution for me, was to flash an AOSP ROM. Specifically, Cyanogenmod 9. Bluetooth media audio now works flawlessly, like it did for me on Gingerbread.

This is funny because before the ICS manual update, my phone would only connect to my Sony head unit if I manually went in to settings>bluetooth> then hit to connect to "XPLOD". Now it automatically connects right when I get in the car...I don't need to do a thing.

Are we in some kind of Twilight Zone? (children: do not confuse that with the crappy Twilight crap)

As I asked before in more than one thread...there has to be something going on with the individual phone, not the ICS update, that is causing issues. If we all have the same phone with the same built and hardware number...wouldn't you think that the update would screw up 100% of the phones???
 

JayWill

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I looked on cyanogen's website and i dont see anything on the epic touch. Do you have a link for information about this? And should i use the stock Kernal or something better? I just want the thing to work right, At this point i dont need any crazy extra features.

Here is the blog page for CM9 for the Epic 4G Touch. It doesn't show up on Cyanogenmod's site because it's not officially supported yet.

Cyanogenmod Epic Touch

On the kernel, the kernel that comes packaged with the CM9 Alpha 6 ROM is fine. You can also use one of chris41g's kernels ([Kernel][AOSP] Safe CWM6/TWRP - xda-developers) but it's not necessary.
 

davis.rob

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I like everything about the update Except for the Simply Broken bluetooth. I can't Media stream audio in either one of my cars that has bluetooth and that is a feature i used daily. I Miss it alot. This Happens with my wifes phone too so its not a hardware issue..

I agree .. the Bluetooth is messed up in ICS. I use two separate devices in my car for HF (phone) and A2DP (music). Used to work flawlessly with GB. Now the music "skips" for a split second on about every other song, and the phone audio is kind of garbled/wobbly. If I disconnect one of the two Bluetooth devices, the other one will work OK (no skips or wobbly voice). Lots of complaints on many phones if you google "ICS Bluetooth issues". Hopefully Google/Samsung will clean this up in the next update.
 

kilen71

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My ICS update has definitely been a good thing! I didn't get the OTA, so I did the manual update, then a factory reset, then formatted the micro sd card in the phone. I transferred all my music and photos back onto the micro sd card (16 gig Samsung Class 2) using my computer. After that I started from scratch with loading apps, etc. I used no Backup utility.

My battery is about the same, wifi about the same, bluetooth too. I use bluetooth to stream podcasts at least 4-8 hours a day to my Plantronics Voyager HD headset, or Monster Clarity HD speaker... no problem there. I haven't tried to pair it to my girlfriend's Kia Soul yet, though.

Overall the phone seems faster. I'm using Nova Launcher which is just freakin' awesome!

The only downside I've noticed so far is that the stock camera app launches much slower than on GB.

Thanks for the thread, it's good to focus on the positive!! :)
 

Rockdog97

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I've always liked the update. My battery used to only last around 19 hours on GB, now it lasts up to 40+ hours which is amazing.

I"d like to see a screen shot of this usage summary.... even 19 hours is a stretch.. but 40+ hours?

is this in standby mode only?
 

blars1206

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I"d like to see a screen shot of this usage summary.... even 19 hours is a stretch.. but 40+ hours?

is this in standby mode only?

19 hours is not a stretch by any means. As you can see I have over 11 hours with 61% left and you can also see by the screen time that it wasn't just from sitting there doing nothing with it. 40 hours though....that would be something to see.
 

mightymikek83

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I just received the update two nights ago and I'm experiencing,

1. Batter drain - I barley used my phone and in under 4hrs time, I went from 97% to 33%!! I actually watched it drain, percent by percent :(

2. Freezing. I will try to view pictures in txt msgs, or even use some apps and it freezes my phone.

3. GPS isn't connecting as fast as it once did. I know there was always GPS issues before, but I didn't have them--now I do.

sigh... GINGER BREEEAADDDD COME BACK :'(
 

cqpearson

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Agreed. 19 hours is no stretch. But 40? Seriously? Sounds like NO use to me. I could be wrong but.....

I am the Galaxy and I
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Hawaiian_Geek

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I just received the update two nights ago and I'm experiencing,

1. Batter drain - I barley used my phone and in under 4hrs time, I went from 97% to 33%!! I actually watched it drain, percent by percent :(

2. Freezing. I will try to view pictures in txt msgs, or even use some apps and it freezes my phone.

3. GPS isn't connecting as fast as it once did. I know there was always GPS issues before, but I didn't have them--now I do.

sigh... GINGER BREEEAADDDD COME BACK :'(

Take your phone into a Sprint Store and ask them to roll back your phone to Gingerbread. I had same issues as you plus mine would heat up badly that I could not keep it in my pants pocket. Sprint store flashed my ph back to GB. Sprint tech told me they had a lot of customers with the same problems and they've flashed the phones back to GB.
 
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