Update to 4.4 KitKat in N4: How I did it...

Mike_47

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2013
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Hopefully, this post will help other Forum folk. So, I waited a week and even got the Google download message out of the notification bar. Meanwhile, I read everything I could about KitKat update issues in a Nexus 4, in our forums. WiFi headaches, battery life, email, tethering and flash player not supported, etc., etc. Let me add, that in the past 10 years, or so, I've had my share of mobile phones, laptops and gadgets. Thankfully, in half a year with the Nexus 4 and Android 4.3, the phone has worked flawlessly, and has been a pleasure to use.

This morning, after seeing what KitKat looked like in a friend's N4, I went for the Google 4.4 install. So far, so good. I'm a retired photographer who likes technology, and I want to stay current. :)
 
I agree, best course is to wait before upgrading, check the forums to see if anyone else is having issues, and upgrade only after all appears OK. I knew this but for some reason upgraded to 4.4 immediately, now I have lost tethering :-( Live and learn.
 
You will always find people with issues in forums for any phone and any software. Often these are isolated issues, but not always so you sometimes have to take it with a grain of salt.

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Day 1 with 4.4 KitKat in my Nexus 4: The screen seems a bit brighter with better saturation, and battery life has improved by 5-10%. An unexpected boon is a slightly more responsive screen. I use a stylus pen, and the touch is a little softer. If your N4 is functioning normally, I can't see much reason to delay the OS update to 4.4.
 
Day 1 with 4.4 KitKat in my Nexus 4: The screen seems a bit brighter with better saturation, and battery life has improved by 5-10%. An unexpected boon is a slightly more responsive screen. I use a stylus pen, and the touch is a little softer. If your N4 is functioning normally, I can't see much reason to delay the OS update to 4.4.

Pretty sure the screen calibration is exactly the same, but the rest makes sense.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
"If your N4 is functioning normally, I can't see much reason to delay the OS update to 4.4."

The loss of free tethering is a big deal to many and is probably permanent, so I'd certainly delay if tethering is something of significance to you.

There are also a few other, more minor problems, e.g., several web browsers (not including Chrome) are having issues with 4.4 due to the Flash problem. But that will probably be solved in due course.