I hate ICS. Is there a way to return to Gingerbread?

[JoeJoeLA]

I'm just about as ignorant as you can be on technical stuff so I don't know if there is a way to return the phone to the way it was without messing it up. Will I lose my contact info and text messages? I don't really care about losing data from apps, internet, etc (except for maybe the Voice Recorder). I wish I'd never taken the update. The only thing I use my phone for is talking, texting, a few games, the voice recorder, web surfing and video watching. It ticks me off that everyone is so dismissive when it comes to Flash. I don't care if it's "buggy" sometimes ...it is what websites use! I can't watch ANY videos now. If I see a news story with a video, a movie/tv clip or just something funny I want to watch ...I'm screwed. If a site has a mobile app, I can still watch the videos but not every site has one (it's also a lot slower than before when loading pages). One of the ways I relax everyday when I come home is by watching news clips, funny videos or catching up on a tv show I missed and I was already frustrated with Verizon getting rid of "Unlimited Data" (what's the point of being able to watch a video if you eat up all of your data with one show or movie) and had planned on not getting a new phone for a while to avoid the plan change but now I might as well get a new phone! Grrrr. If there is anyone that can help me, I would appreciate it so much. Thanks.

 

[JoeJoeLA]

There's also a lot of other little things that I've noticed that are different that you have to do instead of how it was done before but my biggest problem is the Flash issue.

 

[rbess1965]

I've been through a couple different updates and disliked something about each one but one thing in common with each update is that battery life always seems to take a hit in the beginning and then levels back out after awhile. Another good practice is to make sure your apps are backed up to Google (settings /privacy) and the do a factory reset. As for the flash video try a different browser like dolphin browser. That may help. And then upgrade to a Motorola Maxx like I did so you can get 2 days worth of use

Sent using the amazing RAZR Maxx HD

 

[Ed Witles]

I run flash. Just google "ics flash" and install the apk. Works great!!!

 

[JoeJoeLA]

There's a page on Adobe.com for archived Flash Players. Is there anything I could download off of there? I'm always wary of downloading things for fear of messing up the phone or downloading something bad. I figured out that on some sites I can download the video and then watch it but I don't want to do that everytime.

 

[808TBolt]

There's a page on Adobe.com for archived Flash Players. Is there anything I could download off of there? I'm always wary of downloading things for fear of messing up the phone or downloading something bad. I figured out that on some sites I can download the video and then watch it but I don't want to do that everytime.

i went to that page and downloaded the most recent one for Android

flash isn't as good as it was in Gingerbread on some of my favorite sites but this will have to do for now.

(i also wish i never accepted the update since i like the stock GB web browser more than the ICS one)

 

[JoeJoeLA]

Hmmm. Well, I downloaded the top one for Android and it kinda works on some sites but not so well on others. On some it lags and jumps and freezes ...and on all sites it has problems when trying to stop or pause (instead it slows down and then stops). This may be ok for a bit but I really just want to dump ICS. It's slower than Gingerbread ever dreamt of being (or at least it is on my phone). Typing posts on boards or anything else is a pain (this board included). I can be typing and all of a sudden the cursor has jumped and I'm typing in the middle of a previous sentence. Or, it does it if I'm deleting a sentence (the cursor will jump and a sentence several rows up is being deleted). I really wish I could find a way to return my phone to the way it was. I hope others read this and think twice before updating. Hell, if I could, I'd trade my Thunderbolt with ICS for a Thunderbolt with Gingerbread in a heartbeat.

 

[cgChez]

I have tried at least a dozen different roms and kernels and radios.

I am now running ThunderShed with the radios from the very latest official release from verizon.
This combination is leaps and bounds better than any other.

The ROM is based on GB version of CyanogenMod so it is light and fast (and power efficient)
The new radios maintain 4g and do NOT drop data connections (unlike every other VZ LTE device including stock Bionic with ICS that my kids have..).

 

[gardengal4]

@joelala I hear ya. I just got updated yesterday on my HTC Rezound and I am so annoyed. Verizon has been attempting to do the update for several months and I kept deferring it and/or killing it in progress, but it finally won and snuck itself on. It's as if Microsoft changed your computer from Xp to Windows 7 behind your back or something like that. What nerve!! When a phone is initially designed, it is designed around the software and hardware of that time. To start introducing major new components (software or hardware) is just asking for trouble technically. ANd why should I have to relearn where the heck everything is now and use a new interface. Interface changes are personal. I don't care too much about most UI issues except if I have to relearn it. The best thing about my former UI is that I knew it and it was fast. I see no changes here, so far, that are worth the update.

Now this damn phone is soft booting all the time, some apps aren't happy and I have to reinstall. Slow and choppy navigation. Hot battery. And I'm sure I will have more complaints as I use it more. How arrogant of VZW/HTC/Google to make me go thru this needless inconvenience and annoyance. I understand the concept behind getting people off old stuff because it's difficult to maintain dual code bases and support multiple versions. But, jeez, I only had the phone a year. That's hardly old.

Back to (wasting my time!) looking for more info about it and things I can do to get it to a more usable state...