Stock Galaxy Note 3 Phones Only: Any Regrets after Upgrading to KitKat, or are you glad you did?

[RickSchlegel]

I updated yesterday, and have only noticed improvements:
Speed has noticeably improved, possibly because all the apps were "optimized" as part of the upgrade
Notifications screen is more crisp, due to a change in the stock font
Seems to take a little less time to recharge

I don't even mind that "GPS" is now "Location." So what was all the fuss!??!

 

[DLCPhototography]

Thanks to all for the input. Lots of good experiences with the OTA update, but enough negative reports to be worrisome. Not enough information to determine why some have problems, and others don't.

For those who have had significant problems, one of the main solutions seems to be a factory reset (and sometimes the recommendation is to do this from recovery mode, after wiping the cache there). Please post your experience if you've done this - has this fixed your problems, or are you continuing to have issues?

 

[mwb1957]

I have a Stock Verizon Note 3, and because it is running so well, I am reluctant to accept the OTA Update that I'm being nagged about. I don't care about root, flashing, etc., so would like to restrict this thread to stock phones only.

I consistently get 3-4 hours of Screen Time, with anywhere from 15 to 30% battery left by the end of the day. Call quality is fine, responsiveness is excellent, WiFi great, with only the very rare notification about it being unstable. Basically I don't have to worry/think about it - it just works.

I've been monitoring threads here and at XDA, and while I understand that forums will select for those with problems, vs those that don't, I'm concerned that my battery performance will get worse, lagginess will result, etc., as there are multiple reports about that and other things. I'm not worried about the SD Card issue, as I understand that is an App-based issue that developers can work around if they chose.

**So, for those who have accepted the OTA Update to KitKat - are you happy that you did, or would you turn back the clock and not accept it if you had a choice? I would really like to hear from both sides of this - those with problems, and those without. And if you're unhappy, what are the specific issue(s) that have arisen?**

Thanks.

(And as a side-issue, if anyone knows a way to, without root, stop the nagging notifications to Update, that would be great. I've searched extensively, and have not found a solution. Disabling Google Services Framework Notifications only worked temporarily.)

So far so good.
I got the KitKat upgrade via OTA 7-8 days ago.
My Note 3 is on Verizon and is stock.
Phone seems a little faster.
Battery seems the same.
Somehow my outlook e-marketing stopped syncing yesterday, but I fixed it in the settings after reading about it one of the forums.

Posted via Android Central App from my Rose Gold Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[bobodobo]

Thanks for all the feedback. I had exactly the same question as the OP. Since I have no issues with the phone now and the outcomes of the upgrade seem to be (1) no significant change, (2) a slight improvement, or (3) a significantly worse experience, I think I'll stick with 4.3 for now. But I'll keep monitoring this blog and post my results if I do take the leap.

 

[taife32]

@spencerdl, it is Samsung's version of kitkat that looks the same obvious reasons (a lot of people would be upset if their devices suddenly changed their layout), the stock Android as Google intended has a new look and Google Now kind of rules. But even the Samsung's TouchWiz version has a lot of security setup and other improvements under the hood

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[Spencerdl]

@spencerdl, it is Samsung's version of kitkat that looks the same obvious reasons (a lot of people would be upset if their devices suddenly changed their layout), the stock Android as Google intended has a new look and Google Now kind of rules. But even the Samsung's TouchWiz version has a lot of security setup and other improvements under the hood

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

I'm trying to follow you here, Thats not exactly true, because for instance AT&T entire layout for their Note3 setting screen is completely different than Verizon's setting screen. The reason I say Verizon Kitkat update (kinda know Android releases updates) is because I've realized that all Note3's are not created equally. I think thats the one of the reasons carriers release updates at different times. Some take longer because of different carrier reasons or else they would all get/release the updates at once (just a therory). I'm well aware that KitKat is different/better than JellyBean, but IMHO, I don't think it warranted a OS name change...just my .02 cents.

 

[DLCPhototography]

Thanks for all the feedback. I had exactly the same question as the OP. Since I have no issues with the phone now and the outcomes of the upgrade seem to be (1) no significant change, (2) a slight improvement, or (3) a significantly worse experience, I think I'll stick with 4.3 for now. But I'll keep monitoring this blog and post my results if I do take the leap.

That's my logic as well. The main downside, though, is having to deal with the nagging reminder to install the OTA.

Still looking for feedback from those who had significant problems after the OTA update, and whether or not a factory reset did or didn't resolve their issues.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

As many firmware updates and upgrades that I have seen and many on this forum, I haven't seen any "significant" problems. When I first upgraded to Gingerbread, I didn't want to do the reset either and we had some tethering pop up that just wouldn't stop, lots of us had it. The reset took care of that.

I learned long ago, don't wait for problems, just plan on the reset and wipe and do it and then you generally do not have issues. If you do have an issue after doing that, then you do know if it is something that is a bug or something went wrong in the upgrade and you need a reflash or a phone exchange and you know pretty quickly. Your upgrade experience is always better with a reset.

Also, with an upgrade, I have experienced it many times and I have seen many others experience it, every single time there is an upgrade..battery life. Many, many people see their battery not lasting as long after an upgrade. With what I have seen here, almost every one, I would say about 90%, were fixed with the reset. Once, and I think it was when we went from ICS to Jelly Bean on the S3, many were having an issue with the battery life that a reset did not fix. We all did a reset, still had issues and we all reported it to Samsung and then just a few weeks later, a fix was released and that took care of it.

That is another reason it is important to do the reset immediately and find out if there is something that isn't working correctly and also, just as important, everyone having the issue, report it to Samsung. When you do all that, then Samsung can quickly identify what is causing it, identify if it is Samsung or if it is a carrier issue and then resolve it.

 

[LiveFaith]

Used without issue for 2 days now. Updated by mistake when hitting update I was hoping to ascertain what the update even was and bang it's already downloaded and doing it.

#1 Fixed an app updating crash issue that somehow related to SD card. Wow had no idea.

#2 FoxFi warned me not to update b/c they would be broken and I would lose hotspot ability. Bam, it works perfectly with only an extra click.

Very happy so far.

 

[sharkstyle]

I'm regretting a bit here as my battery is bad now. No rooting, nothing done but installing KK.
View attachment 119173

I see 21% battery in one hour. Wait, I see more!
>What's your SoT (screen on time) precisely?
>You have NFC on, do you need it?
>You have bluetooth on, do you need it? (Assuming more likely than NFC)
>Connect to some sort of Wi-Fi if possible. (Analogy: Wi-Fi battery consumption is to cellular network battery consumption as hybrid vehicle fuel economy is to gas guzzler fuel economy.)
>Turn off the Wi-Fi notifications so the OS doesn't have to keep generating them for you and lighting up your notification LED. (Every little bit helps.) [Consistently connecting to Wi-Fi would also solve this problem.]
>You're streaming audio (TuneIn) over cellular data (*See fourth arrow* *Refer to analogy*) [Being on cellular data and not actively using it is one thing; constantly using it is like driving a gas guzzler in stop-and-go traffic ...analogous to your battery consumption.]

So I got all that from your screenshot. I think your battery consumption is about right.

 

[karsdroid]

No light flow. I think I need to factory reset, but I'll get to it eventually. I'm not the biggest fan of setting up my phone all over again and signing into all of my accounts again.

i ended up doing a factory reset when i noticed my battery seemed to start draining a little too rapidly. all seems to be well now. i also hate setting my phone back up, but tried to view it as a good time to do housekeeping and ditch apps i didn't use regularly etc....

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I will also add, after every single upgrade is released, there is always a "horror story" scare. Now, I understand that Kit Kat had an issue with the S4 Active ONLY. Out of all these years, I have seen two "horror story, it is bad" issues be real, that is it. The S4 Active that I mentioned, which only affected S4 Active users and the International Note 2 Sudden Death issue and Samsung replaced those phones.

Now I have seen two threads in the last few days about charging issues and screen breaks. While some people will make it here by Googling a problem they are having and their first post will be about that problem, you have to watch these posts carefully and it doesn't happen just here, but other forums as well. When you see people posting about a horrible issue and lots of people start posting that they are having or had the same thing happen and everybody with the problem has only 1 or 2 posts and it is only about the problem..you need to be a little skeptical.

When you start seeing a lot of people that have been around here for a long time start posting about it, you need to pay attention. Some members are here posting every day, some are not, but if someone is here trolling, they aren't going to be a member long, the staff is going to catch up with them soon.

I find it funny that people are saying people should stick with Jelly Bean, because when 4.3 came out, there were people saying "stay with 4.2.1, 4.3 has horror stories" and when 4.2.1 came out, there were people saying, "I need to figure out how to roll back to 4.1.1, because 4.2.1 is awful" and when Jelly Bean was released, there were people saying, "I'm not going to upgrade to JB, I am staying at ICS and I need to know how to get rid of the update message" and when ICS came out, there were people here saying, "ICS is horrible, my battery life is awful, someone please help me, I want to flash back to Gingerbread and I do not know how" and when Gingerbread came out, there were actually people saying, "Froyo was so much better, Gingerbread messed up my phone, how can I go back to Froyo".

Understand? It is the same with every upgrade and with all those upgrades, the only, only true issue was this Kit Kat upgrade, not for the S4, but the S4 Active, only.

Speaking of, here is a thread that was still in my list from a few months ago, because I haven't posted since the 4.3 update. I just got my Note 3 a couple of weeks ago and I just came around to find some ideas on what it will do. Notice, the "horror stories of 4.3" that I mentioned. People were saying "4.3 is awful, don't upgrade" and now people are saying "stay on 4.3, don't upgrade".

http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-...your-results-feedback-here-6.html#post3385733

Same dance, different song

 

[DLCPhototography]

I will also add, after every single upgrade is released, there is always a "horror story" scare. Now, I understand that Kit Kat had an issue with the S4 Active ONLY. Out of all these years, I have seen two "horror story, it is bad" issues be real, that is it. The S4 Active that I mentioned, which only affected S4 Active users and the International Note 2 Sudden Death issue and Samsung replaced those phones.

Now I have seen two threads in the last few days about charging issues and screen breaks. While some people will make it here by Googling a problem they are having and their first post will be about that problem, you have to watch these posts carefully and it doesn't happen just here, but other forums as well. When you see people posting about a horrible issue and lots of people start posting that they are having or had the same thing happen and everybody with the problem has only 1 or 2 posts and it is only about the problem..you need to be a little skeptical.

When you start seeing a lot of people that have been around here for a long time start posting about it, you need to pay attention. Some members are here posting every day, some are not, but if someone is here trolling, they aren't going to be a member long, the staff is going to catch up with them soon.

I find it funny that people are saying people should stick with Jelly Bean, because when 4.3 came out, there were people saying "stay with 4.2.1, 4.3 has horror stories" and when 4.2.1 came out, there were people saying, "I need to figure out how to roll back to 4.1.1, because 4.2.1 is awful" and when Jelly Bean was released, there were people saying, "I'm not going to upgrade to JB, I am staying at ICS and I need to know how to get rid of the update message" and when ICS came out, there were people here saying, "ICS is horrible, my battery life is awful, someone please help me, I want to flash back to Gingerbread and I do not know how" and when Gingerbread came out, there were actually people saying, "Froyo was so much better, Gingerbread messed up my phone, how can I go back to Froyo".

Understand? It is the same with every upgrade and with all those upgrades, the only, only true issue was this Kit Kat upgrade, not for the S4, but the S4 Active, only.

Speaking of, here is a thread that was still in my list from a few months ago, because I haven't posted since the 4.3 update. I just got my Note 3 a couple of weeks ago and I just came around to find some ideas on what it will do. Notice, the "horror stories of 4.3" that I mentioned. People were saying "4.3 is awful, don't upgrade" and now people are saying "stay on 4.3, don't upgrade".

http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-...your-results-feedback-here-6.html#post3385733

Same dance, different song

I think this is a very useful post, providing some needed perspective. True "horror" stories are probably quite rare, as you state. And my impression overall is that if there are real problems that do occur at times, such as worsening battery performance, that a factory reset will, despite being inconvenient, resolve it.

I'll probably ignore the promptings for a little bit, and when I have a block of time readily available, will go ahead with the update, and deal with a factory reset if need be.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I no longer wait and see if I need to do a wipe and a reset. I plan it before I upgrade. I go ahead and back up through Kies, do the update, then immediately wipe the cache and reset. Keys now will back up really just about everything and when I restore everything from my backup, I have very little to go back and tweak. It also backs up all the apks for your apps and there are very few that you have to go to the Play Store and then update or download. If I'm not mistaken, it will even back up your homescreen.

When I got my Note 3, I upgraded it immediately and I didn't restore anything but text messages from my Note 2, I just started over with the new phone.

 

[DLCPhototography]

I no longer wait and see if I need to do a wipe and a reset. I plan it before I upgrade. I go ahead and back up through Kies, do the update, then immediately wipe the cache and reset. Keys now will back up really just about everything and when I restore everything from my backup, I have very little to go back and tweak. It also backs up all the apks for your apps and there are very few that you have to go to the Play Store and then update or download. If I'm not mistaken, it will even back up your homescreen.

When I got my Note 3, I upgraded it immediately and I didn't restore anything but text messages from my Note 2, I just started over with the new phone.

Yeah, I thought you might suggest that! I'll have to give that some thought, but I suspect you're probably right about this being the optimal way to do it.

Thanks for your input.

 

[zgrrl80]

I might need to do a wipe and reset. I'm having problems since the update. I run Nova Launcher Pro

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Missing widgets - not even in the list of available widgets anymore (specifically, Pandora). My S Note widget disappeared and I had to reset it. Little things like that were annoying, but oh well.

​

I dislike the white icons on the notification bar, but there's nothing to be done about that unless Nova adds options to change them. Specifically annoying about the notification bar, is that my NOte 3 used to show the difference between my email icons on the notification bar (separate yahoo accounts, outlook, gmail) and now it only shows multiple identical folder icons.

​

It does unlock much faster.

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Battery drains faster.

​

Many of my apps which I was previously running from my SD card suddenly are running from my device. I had to go back and move them to my SD card. Strange?

​

My notification drop down says "No Service" more often than not now.

​

I used to have good reception (bars) at my office which is RIGHT DOWNTOWN in my city; now I have 1 bar, no 4G access, and my phone doesn't easily find work's WIFI signal. I cannot be sure this has anything to do with the update, but it is a wonky coincidence.

​

Most annoying change: MY FLASH DOESN'T WORK WELL ANYMORE IN FIREFOX. Like someone else posted on here, it is buggy at best. Super sad since I use my NOte 3 like a tablet and watch a lot of stuff online. If a news article links a video, I can only sometimes play the video. Really, that makes me the most sad.

HAHA! WONH- WONH sad i updated.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

You know, I did not install flash on my Note 3 and didn't realize it until you mentioned it and I didn't remember installing it. I have on the others and I haven't had an issue with playing any videos on my N3.

I have used launchers here and there, including Nova, but I have always found that launchers make my system laggy, so I have stopped using them.

I have always noticed a drop in service with every single update I have done, some work themselves out, some don't. With battery and service issues, a complete reset, not just in the settings and wiping the cache is called for. Also there are a lot of settings in the advanced menu of wifi, including switching over to data, automatically. I turned off the auto scanning, because it gave me an "unstable connection" message on 4.3 and 4.4, even with a full wifi signal. I also have turned off auto network switch, which allows it to scan and drop you off wifi and onto data.

I updated a brand new phone, so I can't speak about having to move things back to the SIM card.

If you do the reset, wait to install flash and see if you need it. Like I said, I haven't had an issue with a video yet and I didn't install flash.

 

[zgrrl80]

I installed flash after I initially got the phone and not all videos worked in the desktop versions of Youtube, MSN, etc. Also, desktop versions of facebook games (non-app). Flash videos in the browser did not work on my Razr HD either without Flash being installed. I'm interested in how yours works since many desktop specific videos/games require flash to play them; although flash hasn't been available in mobile browsers for quite sometime without the .apk installed from an SD card.

I like Nova Launcher because I can stuff my apps and documents into folders which I keep in my drawer, and I like to be able to hide apps so I never have to look at them again (i.e., bloatware which you don't have the option to uninstall from your phone - non-rooted). Also it gives me many options to customize the look of my system by designing it however I want. The UCW builder is AWESOME. I love to build my own widgets, etc., with links to whatever app I want them to open on touch.

I am surprised I did not think of turning off the scanning thing. I thought I had it set to automatically bump over to mobile data (I am still holding on tight to a grandfathered unlim. data plan). Mobile data was on, however I had not selected the advanced option of "auto network switch" which will make a difference I think. For some reason "always allow scanning" was selected so I deselected that as well so hopefully that will help to save battery life. Thanks for those tips.

As an amendment to my previous post, the S-note widget crashes every day, actually. It sits at "Loading..." and never does anything. Which is kind of a bummer because that's one of the awesome stock software features of the Note 3. I figure that will have an update which will sort itself out eventually. Hopefully...

My Firefox crashes a lot now too, and I am hoping that a fix must be on the way from mozilla for that.

 

[maxnicks]

I've seen zero difference upgrading to the OTA KitKat. I know there are under the hood changes, but I don't much care about that right now. With the exception of my messaging app, all of my apps work just fine. My messaging app force closes every time I used it. I tried resetting the cache etc. to no avail. With the plethora of other messaging apps out there, finding a new one wasn't a big deal.

I don't like the white notification icons but I'll get used to them.

I did NOT reset my phone. This kept all the data intact.

I've rooted every phone I've had since my OG Droid 1. I burned ROMs incessantly. My Note 3 works so fine that I've yet to bother even researching it.

>> edit addition - I run Nova Launcher Pro.

 

[Javier Ortiz3]

OMG I did the system update today and it is terrible, to unlock my phone I have the slide and I have to do it like 3 times so that it will open, and when texting I can some times hear the letters being typed in but nothing shows so I have to push the home button and then go back in and start all over and still I will type and after like the 3rd word then everything types out fast but it has this irritating delay. Samsung really dropped the ball with this really upset with this.