KitKat is Here for the Verizon Galaxy S3

[gwhizkids]

Not really a fan of the all white icons in notification bar now. I haven't had any wifi issues since the update as some are speculating calls for a reset of phone to clear up.

Have noticed some SMS issues since update, a couple of messages just sort of hung there saying they were sending. One came back that it didn't go but as I was about to resend it, the recipient replied to the message so I know he got it. Has been a few since then to various people that seemed to take longer than normal to send (averaging about 20-30 seconds) before I get the timestamp indicating to me it was sent. This has only been a couple messages, several hundred other messages have been fine, I just have not had texting issues with this phone like this before.

Also, could just be the phone/app but I have HORRIBLE lag with SwiftKey. I think it has been getting worse and could just be in my head that it got even worse after update this morning. I was trying to tap suggestions while typing and the lag was so bad that a simple tap of a suggestion would result in it thinking I had pressed it several times and was asking me if I wanted to not suggest XX word again. Typing a simple sentence took minutes with flow and touch typing.

It's funny...the lag in Swiftkey was something KitKat actually fixed for me.

 

[_YoKolorMeBadd]

Right now I've noticed that I can no longer dowbload apps from the Google play store, which is very frustrating. Besides that kit Kat is alright. I love the color emojis and the white icons aren't as bad as everyone says they are.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Jowlah]

And this happened since you downloaded KitKat?

 

[_YoKolorMeBadd]

And this happened since you downloaded KitKat?

Found out that too many apps were trying to update/download at the same time. Fixed it and now everything is working fine.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Jowlah]

Ok, cool. That was scaring me. I still haven't downloaded the update yet, since I am trying to cull as many opinions and as much feedback as I can before updating.

 

[_YoKolorMeBadd]

Ok, cool. That was scaring me. I still haven't downloaded the update yet, since I am trying to cull as many opinions and as much feedback as I can before updating.

Also my WiFi works fine. I'm not sure what problems other people are having but I never had a problem with wifi not working when I updated to Kit Kat.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[EVIL---]

I thought we were supposed to get Samsung Knox 2.0 with kit Kat?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[kill4food]

Google Wallet works on my S3 now!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[AxlMyk]

Ok, cool. That was scaring me. I still haven't downloaded the update yet, since I am trying to cull as many opinions and as much feedback as I can before updating.

Just do it.
I didn't have to reset the phone, (like the last time) everything is snappier, wifi works better, and I don't mind the white N bar icons..

AC App on SGS3

 

[AxlMyk]

So we can keep on the location with GPS enabled and you're telling me that when an app needs it ie maps it will use it, But it won't use it unless an app you are going to use needs it?

That's how it works.

AC App on SGS3

 

[steve_ma]

No problems here and no factory reset required. What the heck was this update all about, anyway? I read the release notes from vzw. Seems like much adoo about nothing. We'll see maybe battery life will be better or something but my world is not exactly rocked.

 

[gwhizkids]

No problems here and no factory reset required. What the heck was this update all about, anyway? I read the release notes from vzw. Seems like much adoo about nothing. We'll see maybe battery life will be better or something but my world is not exactly rocked.

It might have been something if Verizon and/or Samsung hadn't gutted parts of it, such as the ART runtime capability and the Google Dialer.

 

[lkovach]

True. But it appears you cannot turn GPS itself on and off anymore, its tied to Location. Not liking that, but it looks like it's not active unless an app is going that uses/needs it. Maps for instance.

Location services actually has 3 settings now: GPS only, High Accuracy, and Power Saving. High Accuracy is WiFi, mobile network, and GPS based, Power Saving is only WiFi and mobile network, and then there is GPS only.

 

[John Donaldson1]

I did the update. Seems to work but I have these complaints.

1) Screen brightness seems to have been altered. I can no longer see the screen in bright sunlight even when set to 100% brightness. I don't know why they would have messed with brightness but it sucks for me. For this reason alone I'd want to go back to Jelly Bean but can't find a way to do the rollback. ( I don't want to mess with rooting ).

2) The status bar icon colors are gone, replaced with white only. It looks more like iOS 7. When Apple rolled out iOS7 it was the last straw and the reason I moved to Android. I hate the new status bar.

3) Battery life is way worse. My Galaxy S3 is a great phone but battery life has been a major headache for me. I can't get through a day without recharging. KitKat made the battery life MUCH worse. I can watch the battery level drop. It's horrible. "Location" (used to be GPS which made sense to me) was turned on by default. I turned it off and the battery life got better but is still worse than JB.

I'm very disappointed in KitKat and see (so far) no noticeable general improvements.

 

[MrDoh]

I did the update. Seems to work but I have these complaints.

1) Screen brightness seems to have been altered. I can no longer see the screen in bright sunlight even when set to 100% brightness. I don't know why they would have messed with brightness but it sucks for me. For this reason alone I'd want to go back to Jelly Bean but can't find a way to do the rollback. ( I don't want to mess with rooting ).

2) The status bar icon colors are gone, replaced with white only. It looks more like iOS 7. When Apple rolled out iOS7 it was the last straw and the reason I moved to Android. I hate the new status bar.

3) Battery life is way worse. My Galaxy S3 is a great phone but battery life has been a major headache for me. I can't get through a day without recharging. KitKat made the battery life MUCH worse. I can watch the battery level drop. It's horrible. "Location" (used to be GPS which made sense to me) was turned on by default. I turned it off and the battery life got better but is still worse than JB.

I'm very disappointed in KitKat and see (so far) no noticeable general improvements.

You can always try a factory reset, that might fix the problems that you've listed. You'll at least find out if the screen brightness difference is by design, or because there's leftover stuff from the previous Android version causing this problem.

A couple of other things, too:

1. For the battery usage, if a factory reset doesn't solve this problem, try the BetterBattery Stats app, it will tell you what's actually using the battery on your phone. There's also Wakelock Detector, which is a little easier to use, and can also give you information about what's using your battery. One more useful app, if the battery usage problem is an app, the app GSAM Battery Monitor can point a finger at it.

2. You should also be able to get your phone into recovery mode and clear the cache and the dalvik cache, and then reboot, and see if that helps, as well. I don't remember at the moment how to get into recovery mode, since my phone is rooted, and the ROM I'm using gives me a "reboot to recovery" choice. But it would be a combination of holding in the up or down volume button, and the power button. You should be able to find out how to do this on this site without too much problem.

Good luck, I'm sorry to see that you're having such a rough time with this update. I'll bet once you've got it sorted, it won't be so bad *smile*.

 

[GSDer]

clear the cache and the dalvik cache

Note that on the stock firmware (with the stock Recovery software) you can't clear the Dalvik cache; you can only do that if you're using custom Recovery software (ex. TWRP, CWM).
Just didn't want the poster looking for something he couldn't find.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk

 

[redcat22]

Also, could just be the phone/app but I have HORRIBLE lag with SwiftKey. I think it has been getting worse and could just be in my head that it got even worse after update this morning. I was trying to tap suggestions while typing and the lag was so bad that a simple tap of a suggestion would result in it thinking I had pressed it several times and was asking me if I wanted to not suggest XX word again. Typing a simple sentence took minutes with flow and touch typing.

I noticed that after the last Swiftkey update, was a little more laggy. I am still running 4.1.2 though. I'll go ahead and ask the obvious, did you uninstall/reinstall the app?

Sounds like KK overall is running much smoother than the last OTA. Maybe I can finally stop declining it now.

 

[_YoKolorMeBadd]

Ok, so I ran into a problem that a lot of Verizon s3 users who installed 4.4.2 have run into. Whenever I try to plug my phone into a wall adapter I always get a red X on the battery icon. Has anyone got this fixed yet?

Other than that 4.4.2 is running pretty smoothly for my s3. Battery life is SO much better on here than 4.3

 

[Winston Rodriguez Castillo]

Hi friends. I bought a Samsung Galaxy from Verizon on Ebay last month. I unlock it to use it in my country, now I see the update software is available for the sg3 on Verizon. The question is: I'm gonna receive the update or a I have to do it manually? Sorry for my English

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[sgresser]

Just at this moment downloading 4.4.2 on my S3 on Verizon in the Phoenix metro area ... going to put 'er through the paces over the next couple of days and see what turns up!