Galaxy Note 10.1 2014: 4.4.2 must not be far away

[SamuriHL]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

There's only one thing I care about with 4.4 for the most part. The ability to put the GEL back on here. The latest GEL doesn't work on anything pre-4.4 so I can't even install it. Using Nova right now but I like the GEL and how lightweight it is.

 

[Russell Estridge]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

There's only one thing I care about with 4.4 for the most part. The ability to put the GEL back on here. The latest GEL doesn't work on anything pre-4.4 so I can't even install it. Using Nova right now but I like the GEL and how lightweight it is.

What's this gel you speak of?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[SamuriHL]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

What's this gel you speak of?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Sorry, Google Experience Launcher.

 

[Russell Estridge]

Ahhhh ok lol

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Russell Estridge]

That's what I have on my nexus 5. Love it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[SamuriHL]

Yea I have it on my S4 GPE and really like it. I was running it on the Note 10.1 2014 but the latest version doesn't work on anything below 4.4. So I switched over to Nova for now but am eagerly awaiting our update to 4.4.x so I can switch back to GEL.

 

[monsieurms]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Let the frantic hitting of the 'Check for Updates' button begin

Given the fuss about KitKat, I'm inclined to just skip it. IS the update going to be pushed without consent?

 

[tomlh]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

You have the choice whether to update or not

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Given the fuss about KitKat, I'm inclined to just skip it. IS the update going to be pushed without consent?

If you rely on SD card much (accessed directly from your apps... if it's only for media storage then you're fine) I wouldn't update.

 

[monsieurms]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

If you rely on SD card much (accessed directly from your apps... if it's only for media storage then you're fine) I wouldn't update.

Well, being the glutton for punishment that I am, I just updated my S4. Everything went fine! I took advice here and removed the card first. When the card was reinserted and the device rebooted it, everything worked fine. The only anomaly was that the resizeable calendar widget I use disappeared. No biggie. I just reinstalled it and it immediately returned. That's all folks. Gps works fine, a couple of apps (like Trip Advisor City Guides) needed to be re-added to folders that I had them in. Everything seems fine.

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Well, being the glutton for punishment that I am, I just updated my S4. Everything went fine! I took advice here and removed the card first. When the card was reinserted and the device rebooted it, everything worked fine. The only anomaly was that the resizeable calendar widget I use disappeared. No biggie. I just reinstalled it and it immediately returned. That's all folks. Gps works fine, a couple of apps (like Trip Advisor City Guides) needed to be re-added to folders that I had them in. Everything seems fine.

Haha, that didn't take long Like I said, if you didn't use apps that relied on the SD card much or didn't have any apps on the SD card to begin with, you shouldn't notice that much of a difference. But if you had apps on the SD card, an app that relied on the SD card for storage and it hasn't been properly updated or it wants to access all of the SD Card (like File Managers), then you're totally screwed SD-Card wise.

 

[monsieurms]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Haha, that didn't take long Like I said, if you didn't use apps that relied on the SD card much or didn't have any apps on the SD card to begin with, you shouldn't notice that much of a difference. But if you had apps on the SD card, an app that relied on the SD card for storage and it hasn't been properly updated or it wants to access all of the SD Card (like File Managers), then you're totally screwed SD-Card wise.

Yes, that seems to be the case.

Over the last couple of months I've been having problems with Cool Reader, which suddenly now displays books with HTML codes. No support seems to be available. No answers forthcoming. I reverted to an earlier version--works fine. But now with the KitKat upgrade the earlier version is too old and incompatible---I can't read anything off of the card. The newer version works fine with the card, but then it no longer seems to work properly AT ALL. The developer is missing in action.

Frankly, this has given me a good opportunity to play more with the Kindle for Android app and contrary to CR's performance, that new release is wonderful, adding more versatility. At this point, I like the Kindle app better as a reader anyway. I especially like how I can keep enlarging fonts beyond what CR supports. I've been using Kindle more for non-Kindle books anyway, but the only problem is that Kindle doesn't read off cards. The only reason I was even keeping CR is that I had a bunch of non Kindle books that I figured I might as well keep on the card as opposed to wasting storage space internally. The only solution is to move those books one by one when needed to internal memory and read them on the Kindle app. Not the worst thing in the world. At that point, I may as well use the superior Kindle app. I'm pretty much done with CR. The lack of support is annoying. Everyone's complaining and not even a "we're working on it" for a month.

==NB: all my file manager apps as I recall were updated; in any event, they work fine.

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

File Manager apps, though updated, will not be able to move things around in the SD card unless it's within a folder the app created, so you do lose some functionality there. But if you didn't use it before, chances are you won't even notice it's gone

 

[monsieurms]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

File Manager apps, though updated, will not be able to move things around in the SD card unless it's within a folder the app created, so you do lose some functionality there. But if you didn't use it before, chances are you won't even notice it's gone

Aha. Just tested that--you are quite correct. Just on general principle, this is annoying, but I can't commit to never upgrading Android again, so it's something we'll need to learn to live with. I just don't see an answer there until Google changes its mind. This hardly seems like a good idea, security or not, but we're stuck.

That said---it's a minor issue because as you say, I didn't use 3rd party file manager apps much these days anyway. The native built-in app still works normally and WILL move things all around (just tested). A few years ago, the native app was awful, but it's quite good now to the point where I don't really use Astro or Andro much any more.

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Yeah, I didnt' like Google's decision too much, but it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. In any case, if you're rooted, you can do an easy, one-line config edit and you can get full SD card control back. It's a 'hack' Samsung used to include with their stock ROMs but it seems that now Google has made it mandatory to follow their SD card security policies or they won't be able to be a part of the Android consortium... And Samsung cannot afford to lose certification.

 

[monsieurms]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Yeah, I didnt' like Google's decision too much, but it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. In any case, if you're rooted, you can do an easy, one-line config edit and you can get full SD card control back. It's a 'hack' Samsung used to include with their stock ROMs but it seems that now Google has made it mandatory to follow their SD card security policies or they won't be able to be a part of the Android consortium... And Samsung cannot afford to lose certification.

So true, but the more I think about it, Google has to change this. It is overbroad and overly clumsy.
Edit:

Answered my own questions on Mx Player. Don't usually use videos on the S4 as opposed to the tablet, but tried it there. MX Player Pro works fine in reading, accessing, playing, deleting files from the card. It will NOT, however, permit renaming of files on the card.

That's REALLY annoying. Granted there is an easy workaround with the native file manager, but that's extra steps to do something that used to be automatic. On the phone, I don't much care, but it would affect my tablet use so I'm thinking---no upgrade for the tablet.

I have to say--I just think Google's overall posture on this is unnecessarily overbroad. For instance, why couldn't there be a system where when MX Player goes to rename a file, instead of a bubble popping up "this violates the new security policies of Google," a dialog box pops up: "do you want to authorize this program to rename files in this directory?"

You know THAT is basically the protocol Microsoft adopted when you install new programs. How about that for a solution?

When you have an upgrade that makes users start saying "Uh, maybe I'll pass on this for awhile," something needs rethinking.

 

[DestinyAngel]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Not sure IF I am being dumb here but do WiFi only versions of the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 get the 4.4.2? I am aware timing is down to carrier - which I obviously do not have so that made me curious.

 

[Dale_M]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

Don't think Samsung can afford to ignore the WiFi only market.... Its not a "carrier" decision here but I believe a corporate one....

Dale

 

[TabGuy]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

So true, but the more I think about it, Google has to change this. It is overbroad and overly clumsy.

I think that Google has made it clear that this will not change in the future. This is a security hole fix. If anything, future releases will make even tighter changes.

 

[monsieurms]

Re: The Note 10.1 2014 4.4.2 must not be far away

I think that Google has made it clear that this will not change in the future. This is a security hole fix. If anything, future releases will make even tighter changes.

But how does the change I suggested adversely affect security? Which is to say, the basic restriction doesn't have to be removed. It just has to be massaged. The Microsoft model is a good one.