VRBMF1 out now...... Just updated my phone.

I received my update last night...cool. I didn't notice if I had multi screen before, but I do now. There is a little blue tab off to the left, and I'd really like for it not to be there all the time. I'm guessing there is some setting for that?

It may be too early to tell, but everything seems to be running smoothly. Last week I had several times when sms wouldn't go through...but I was in Canada, thought it was attributed to that.

I believe if you press back while on your home screen or you turn multiwindow off it goes away :)

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app
 
I believe if you press back while on your home screen or you turn multiwindow off it goes away :)

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app

Press and hold the back key...tab will disappear. Press and hold back key and it will reappear

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app
 
The reset went well. I forgot to back up my text messages so that sucks. Im currently visiting family so I won't really know about the signal issues for a few days and I can see it compared to my everyday levels. I wont really know about the battery until tomorrow since the reset drained a lot of it.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using AC Forums mobile app
 
I finally accepted the update this morning although it failed at first. Then I realized that I had data turned off. Nobody ever mentions that lol. Anyways, the update went smooth after I turned on data. Speaking of data, I still had a 4G signal after the update thankfully. The shortcut tips pop up again like the first time you use your phone. Those are kind of annoying. Some of the tips are useful though, because they explain the new features such as multi window. Speaking of, you can add/remove the multi window tab via the notification bar (don't know if that was mentioned already). I like the new gallery, the spiral layout is cool. Ahhh it's the simple things we enjoy. I didn't notice any lag swiping through homescreens or perusing through the settings. Next I wanted to disabled that pesky Caller Name ID app. What I did was go to Settings > App Management > All. I first cleared the app data, next I forceclosed it, and then I disabled it. I checked my app tray and it wasn't there anymore. :) I hope now that I accepted the update it fixes the "awake bug" my phone had since I first received the notification about the update.
 
Hi all - Noob here.

I've read through this entire thread because I've heard about the horrible OTA update from verizon as of late. I just recently purchased a used (pretty much like new) Black SG3. I have no issues with my phone, its not rooted and I get good coverage of 4G (~20MB down and 8-10MB up). It has 4.1.2 and VRBMB1 which in reading this thread looks to be one of the favorites.

For a noob would you reccomned for me to allow the update to go through (I've deferred twice now) or not? If not can someone point me to some good step-by-step instructions on how to do this (note I only have Mac's). I've read DroidViews | Root and Install CWM Recovery on Verizon Galaxy S3 SCH-I535 Android 4.1.1/4.1.2 but it is way over my head at this point...
 
Hi all - Noob here.

I've read through this entire thread because I've heard about the horrible OTA update from verizon as of late. I just recently purchased a used (pretty much like new) Black SG3. I have no issues with my phone, its not rooted and I get good coverage of 4G (~20MB down and 8-10MB up). It has 4.1.2 and VRBMB1 which in reading this thread looks to be one of the favorites.

For a noob would you reccomned for me to allow the update to go through (I've deferred twice now) or not? If not can someone point me to some good step-by-step instructions on how to do this (note I only have Mac's). I've read DroidViews | Root and Install CWM Recovery on Verizon Galaxy S3 SCH-I535 Android 4.1.1/4.1.2 but it is way over my head at this point...

The bad update was pulled after most of us had already accepted it. They then released another update/fix. It is a good update. Most people are happy with it.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app
 
Yeah it was difficult to tell in the last 6 pages what the consensus was for this update. My main concerns are the 4g speeds and the battery life. Right now I'm getting great speeds and my battery is tremendous...currently at 11 hours on battery with 80% left (I do have juice defender installed, but just the free one).
 
Yeah it was difficult to tell in the last 6 pages what the consensus was for this update. My main concerns are the 4g speeds and the battery life. Right now I'm getting great speeds and my battery is tremendous...currently at 11 hours on battery with 80% left (I do have juice defender installed, but just the free one).

I have never gotten that good a battery life. But I don't use juice defender and many things affect battery life. I will say my signal is a little better and my battery is the same as before the update. I'm happy with it.

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After the factory reset my battery is a little bit better. I'm at 46 percent right now at 11:40 it came off the charger this morning at 8:30 or so. Signal seems to be a little better, was st my sisters house where normally my signal is very weak but today it was strong with good 4g. Maybe it was the update or the reset but either way my phone seems be to better for now.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using AC Forums mobile app
 
There's no harm in deferring the OTA for as long as you can, but at some point you're going to have to take it (unless you decide to root, which has it's own set of headaches). It would be better to take it when you're ready, rather than having it happen at an inopportune time.
I'd recommend backing up all of your important data - here are some apps you could try:
Cloud Drive: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.amazon.clouddrive.photos
Helium: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup
MyBackup Pro: http://market.android.com/details?id=com.rerware.android.MyBackupPro
Also be sure to sync your contacts/calendar with Google.
Then let the OTA installation proceed and once it's done do a Factory Reset. Then do a clean setup, restore your contacts/calendar from Google and use whichever apps you decided on to restore your data.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 4
 
So I have been deferring the first update since I first received the notice it was available. I was glad I did so since there were apparently lots of problems. I have been continuing to defer waiting to hear the consensus on the new one. Well today I accidentally hit the OK instead of defer and it updated to the VRBMD3 update. I tried doing the usual software update check and it says there is no new update available. How do I go about getting the VRBMF1 update? Will it eventually get pushed to me?
 
So I have been deferring the first update since I first received the notice it was available. I was glad I did so since there were apparently lots of problems. I have been continuing to defer waiting to hear the consensus on the new one. Well today I accidentally hit the OK instead of defer and it updated to the VRBMD3 update. I tried doing the usual software update check and it says there is no new update available. How do I go about getting the VRBMF1 update? Will it eventually get pushed to me?

You can try and do a battery pull and restart your phone. That works sometimes.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app
 
You can try and do a battery pull and restart your phone. That works sometimes.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried those earlier with no luck. Just got done with a Verizon chat, they said to give it a couple days and see if it detects the older version and prompts for the new update. If not they said contact Samsung. I guess that is about the level of help to be expected from Verizon. Hopefully it will detect the old version soon.
 
You could always use Odin and flash the original MB1 firmware, then check for the update and you should see the MB1->MF1 update
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Edit: just look in http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=71 if you want to go that route.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 4
 
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Still waiting on CleanRom update before I take this update...did update to Lean Kernel 3.0, and battery usage seems a bit better than Lean Kernel 2.3. Lean Kernel 2.3 was much better than the stock kernel for battery usage, getting closer to iPhone battery usage in idle mode. No performance penalty for using these, by the way, the phone is as fast (if not faster) than when I got it and was using stock software.

You have to be rooted and have your bootloader unlocked to use these, but once you're there, it's a whole different world *smile*. Both of these, CleanRom and Lean Kernel, have been very reliable for me, no problems that I'm aware of over the last few months I've been using them.
 
Still waiting on CleanRom update before I take this update...did update to Lean Kernel 3.0, and battery usage seems a bit better than Lean Kernel 2.3. Lean Kernel 2.3 was much better than the stock kernel for battery usage, getting closer to iPhone battery usage in idle mode. No performance penalty for using these, by the way, the phone is as fast (if not faster) than when I got it and was using stock software.

You have to be rooted and have your bootloader unlocked to use these, but once you're there, it's a whole different world *smile*. Both of these, CleanRom and Lean Kernel, have been very reliable for me, no problems that I'm aware of over the last few months I've been using them.

LK is the way to go, stable and runs great with clean rom
 
Just a follow up. After doing the check for updates routine for a couple of days, this morning it found the new update. I am now at VRBMF1. I guess Verizon support was right, it just needed a couple days to detect the old update. Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
Well, an update to my previous posts.

The factory reset didn't seem to do anything new. Reception was slightly better in some places, but not a significant improvement from before. Keeps dropping calls when I'm at home. I have two bars, but it doesn't seem to matter. I hear the hang up sound, look at my phone and it says no signal, while at the same time displaying the 2 bars of reception.

Is there anything else that could be wrong with my phone? SIM card going bad?