Let's Talk About Samsung's Deceitful "Upgrades"...

[DotScott1]

So I have noticed a trend among Samsung phones, and I have owned quite a few (S2, S3, S4, S5)... It's the fact that every upgrade (or at least the ones directly before one of their new phones gets released) seems to diminish battery life and speed.

I'm not one to be paranoid but I do pick up on subtle clues and... It's starting to look like a conspiracy. I realize how that sounds but, without fail, their older phones suddenly lose their battery life and become sluggish as soon as they are about to release a new phone. I mean, it's like clockwork. Every single time. It happened to my Galaxy S2, S3, S4 and now my S5. In most cases, it's subtle, becoming worse and worse with each upgrade (or the few before a new release). I have noticed because I keep a VERY close eye on what goes on with my phone, what is draining battery life (even down to mah used for system functions, apps, etc). I also pick up on the subtle slow-downs in performance. And no, it is not from downloaded apps (have tested). Not from my contacts or anything else that has to do with me personally, it's the upgrades themselves.

The latest upgrade to the S5 (Android Lollipop) is, by far, the worst one I have seen yet. Terrible battery life and very sluggish compared to what it was with 4.4.4. And I think that's because we (S5 users) have come to expect such a long battery life and good speed from our S5s. Where I used to get around 3 days of use, I now get less than a day. I tried clearing the partition and factory resetting, but I get the same results. The only thing that works is to downgrade back to 4.4.4... and then the phone constantly bugs you to upgrade (solution is to root your phone).

The S5 alone is not what I'm here to discuss though, I'm here to discuss what seems to be some very clever, but deceitful tactics from Samsung. This happening to a single phone would be one thing... but every single phone??... no... something is fishy here. Idk... Just a theory but... thoughts?

 

[t11rmh]

After a few hiccups with Lollipop battery life actually got better than kitkat for me. So don't think much to your conspiracy theory.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[DotScott1]

After a few hiccups with Lollipop battery life actually got better than kitkat for me. So don't think much to your conspiracy theory.

Posted via the Android Central App

Ah, that's good to hear. May I ask which service provider you are on? What were the hiccups (specifically) and how did you get over them?

I was beginning to think this because many others out there are having the same problem. Even people at work with S5s.

 

[barry1964]

So I have noticed a trend among Samsung phones, and I have owned quite a few (S2, S3, S4, S5)... It's the fact that every upgrade seems to diminish battery life and speed. And it seems to happen the most just before they release a new phone.

I'm not one to be paranoid but I do pick up on subtle clues and... It's starting to look like a conspiracy. I realize how that sounds but, without fail, their older phones suddenly lose their battery life much faster and become sluggish as soon as they are about to release a new phone. I mean, it's like clockwork. Every single time. It happened to my Galaxy S2, S3, S4 and now my S5. Even with upgrades that just seem to move icons around in settings and not add anything else.

The latest upgrade to the S5 (Android Lollipop) is, by far, the worst one I have seen yet. And I think that's because we (S5 users) have come to expect such a long battery life from our S5s. Where I used to get around 3 days of use, I now get less than a day. I tried clearing the partition and factory resetting, but I get the same results. The only thing that works is to downgrade back to 4.4.4... and then the phone constantly bugs you to upgrade (solution is to root your phone).

The S5 alone is not what I'm here to discuss though, I'm here to discuss what seems to be some very clever, but deceitful tactics from Samsung. This happening to a single phone would be one thing... but every single phone??... no... something is fishy here. Am I the only one that has noticed this? Well... I already know by reading other forums and talking to friends with Galaxy phones that the answer to that question is no... but I feel like Samsung needs to realize that we are noticing this... Idk... thoughts?

It's the old story of the US tractor maker who developed tractors that never broke down. They went out of business. The problem is that the needs of consumers and those of producers will always be at odds. Producers want you to upgrade to the latest device, where as consumers really don't want to upgrade unless there's a good reason. In my mind the people who realise that it is possible to balance those objectives will win the phone wars. Genuine innovation breads actual loyalty, but as we've seen with Apple innovation can quickly change into opportunistic gimmickry. Build a good product that can be upgraded and repaired, and when some truly more deserving technology emerges, then create new products arround it, and you won't have to generate hype because it will be waiting for you. Unfortunately Samsung have gone down the Apple route as far as I can see. Sealed units with no SD card slots and batteries that can't be changed. One things for sure, I'm not buying another Samsung...

 

[anon(749368)]

Exactly! I've been saying it for a while. My s5 was flawless until they announced the s6. After that it started with Facebook and WeChat being slow to open. Now I'm getting Google services and Contacts fails as well as other hiccups (Facebook continue to be slow and sometimes closes, overall speed slowed down). It is either Samsung or Verizon "encouraging" the consumer to upgrade.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[ironass]

Strange! I know I am not alone in saying that on the stock, unbranded, latest, (there have been 3 releases for the U.K. in 10 weeks, OA3/OB7/OC7), firmware release, direct from Samsung, on build # OC7 of the 16th March, is much better for me in terms of both battery and performance and there is no way on earth that I would want to go back to KitKat now.

As for the Verizon's own version of Lollipop, OA8, this is, as we can see from the forums, an unmitigated disaster with only Verizon to blame, (see #1.6 of 40 Galaxy S5 models - Dummies Guide), and they have already withdrawn it.

Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, Amazon, etc; are known battery drainers and need to be updated by their relevant developers. See, Top Five Worst Apps That Drain Your Smartphone Battery And Performance: Facebook, Spotify, Instagram And More. There are still a number of apps and games on the Play Store that have not been updated or optimised for use on Lollipop in spite of the developers having 6 months notice. I have had to ditch 2 apps because of this.

 

[DotScott1]

Strange! I know I am not alone in saying that on the stock, unbranded, latest, (there have been 3 releases for the U.K. in 10 weeks, OA3/OB7/OC7), firmware release, direct from Samsung, on build # OC7 of the 16th March, is much better for me in terms of both battery and performance and there is no way on earth that I would want to go back to KitKat now.

As for the Verizon's own version of Lollipop, OA8, this is, as we can see from the forums, an unmitigated disaster with only Verizon to blame, (see #1.6 of 40 Galaxy S5 models - Dummies Guide), and they have already withdrawn it.

Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, Amazon, etc; are known battery drainers and need to be updated by their relevant developers. See, Top Five Worst Apps That Drain Your Smartphone Battery And Performance: Facebook, Spotify, Instagram And More. There are still a number of apps and games on the Play Store that have not been updated or optimised for use on Lollipop in spite of the developers having 6 months notice. I have had to ditch 2 apps because of this.

Great information! It could possibly be just with Verizon, as you suggest. I began to assume that Samsung was to blame due to the fact that all of my other Samsung phones experienced similar problems just before they would release a new phone (I picked that up right away and was surprised to find out it was a recurring situation). So you can see my logic for assuming such things.

I really hope Verizon resolves these problems soon. I really used to love this phone, now it's very aggravating to operate.

As for the apps draining battery life, I do keep a close eye on that and the apps seem to drain actually a little bit less than what I had experienced on KitKat 4.4.4. That could be due to use though. Additionally, I do not have any of those named apps installed, but I could have others that are draining more battery life than they should. The one thing I do notice taking a LOT more battery life is the Android System, Android OS and Cell Standby... curious.

Thanks for the input, ironass... 0_o haha... difficult to say that name without chuckling a little.

 

[DotScott1]

Exactly! I've been saying it for a while. My s5 was flawless until they announced the s6. After that it started with Facebook and WeChat being slow to open. Now I'm getting Google services and Contacts fails as well as other hiccups (Facebook continue to be slow and sometimes closes, overall speed slowed down). It is either Samsung or Verizon "encouraging" the consumer to upgrade.

Posted via the Android Central App

Yep, it sounds like you are experiencing the same sluggishness that we all are (on Verizon at least). In my case, I had noticed all-around sluggishness, not just in certain apps, granted: some apps are slower than others.

In this case, it may well be Verizon that is to blame, seeing as how Verizon customers seems to be the ones complaining about it the most.

 

[DotScott1]

Exactly! I've been saying it for a while. My s5 was flawless until they announced the s6. After that it started with Facebook and WeChat being slow to open. Now I'm getting Google services and Contacts fails as well as other hiccups (Facebook continue to be slow and sometimes closes, overall speed slowed down). It is either Samsung or Verizon "encouraging" the consumer to upgrade.

Posted via the Android Central App

Yep, it sounds like you are experiencing the same sluggishness that we all are (on Verizon at least). In my case, I had noticed all-around sluggishness, not just in certain apps, granted: some apps are slower than others.

In this case, it may well be Verizon that is to blame, seeing as how Verizon customers seems to be the ones complaining about it the most.

 

[anon(5518418)]

OC7 fixed everything for me, my phone runs better now than even KitKat, Looking at my phone now, its been of the charger 14 hours now, I have 69% battery left and I used it all day at work listening to podcasts and a couple of phone calls.

 

[DotScott1]

OC7 fixed everything for me, my phone runs better now than even KitKat, Looking at my phone now, its been of the charger 14 hours now, I have 69% battery left and I used it all day at work listening to podcasts and a couple of phone calls.

What service provider/model is build "OC7" for?

 

[ab304945]

I have been in lollipop for a while now. And my s5 runs smooth still. Batt life is still good

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[ironass]

OC7 fixed everything for me, my phone runs better now than even KitKat, Looking at my phone now, its been of the charger 14 hours now, I have 69% battery left and I used it all day at work listening to podcasts and a couple of phone calls.

The OC7 has the highest changelist of any Lollipop release so far = #4469118 compared to the Verizon release = #3846539. Loads of under-the-hood fixes with Mute toggle, Screen Pinning, improved Wi-Fi and notification fixes to mention but a few.

What service provider/model is build "OC7" for?

Stock Samsung unbranded firmware for the U.K. on the international model G900F. See post #6

 

[anon(749368)]

When I updated to lollipop, everything was smooth as butter and battery was good too. My problems started after the s6 was announced....

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[melski08]

I absolutely agree with you, i have had my Samsung galaxy s3 for nearly 2 years now, and everything was absolutely fine, up until about 5 days ago when they sent me a message saying i could now upgrade my phone, since receiving that message my phone started acting weird, now it won't charge, wont even boot up,wont be getting another phone from samsung....

 

[DotScott1]

The OC7 has the highest changelist of any Lollipop release so far = #4469118 compared to the Verizon release = #3846539. Loads of under-the-hood fixes with Mute toggle, Screen Pinning, improved Wi-Fi and notification fixes to mention but a few.



Stock Samsung unbranded firmware for the U.K. on the international model G900F. See post #6

Ah I see... I am envious -_- But glad that it doesn't appear to be Samsung behind it. Now I turn my gaze to the service providers ಠ_ಠ (providers because I have experienced this on both Verizon AND Sprint).

 

[DotScott1]

Yeah, it seems that everyone that has a GS5 off contract is very pleased with the update. I guess I will wait it out and see what happens. I still wonder who was to blame for the S2, S3 and S4... "updates."