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Is KitKat intentionally "crippled"?

S

sdh73

Newbie
The more crap I read about KitKat, and frustration I experience with my phone not working as well as it did previously, I'm beginning to wonder.

Is it possible the OS is intentionally crippled by device makers and/or service carriers to motivate customers to buy new devices and/or renew service contracts (to get discounted new devices)?

Serious question. Google has no reason to create a bad OS.

But hey, my couple-generations-old phone strangely doesn't work as well as it used to; maybe I should buy a new phone...

I'll be the first to admit, I enjoy a good conspiracy theory. No, I don't think the government allowed JFK to be shot.
But businesses don't make money unless people buy new stuff...
 
Did you do a Factory Data Reset after upgrading to Kit Kat?

If performance is an issue ... did you clear the Data Cache Buffer where temporary files are stored? It can become contaminated over time and cause a perceived slow down. (Clear it once a week.)

... Thom
 
You do have a couple of points, mainly that businesses need to sell newer stuff all the time to keep making money. But I thought the mafia had JFK killed.

However, Thom is right. I don't know why or how when a stock OTA is sent out to our devices that a factory data reset is never part of the equation. It should be. The XT907 should have powerful enough hardware to run KitKat just fine AFAIK.

good luck
 
Not to minimize your complaints, but just to balance the books a bit (since most people who have a good experience never post):

I updated about a month ago, did not do a FDR, and have had no problems whatsoever (with one caveat, below). Quite to the contrary, the update has given my M a new lease on life. Even the MicroSD card restrictions, which I was concerned about, have not been a problem at all.

The only negative IME has been a slight (maybe 10-15%) decrease in overall battery life. But it still easily lasts a day under moderate to heavy use, so I am willing to trade that battery life for snappier performance, fewer bugs, etc.

Good luck getting your bugs sorted out.
 
Just to followup to several of the earlier replies to my original (ranty) post (and hopefully not hijak Careimgent's inquiry).

I did do an FDR. Battery life was terrible after the OS installed and before the FDR. After the FDR, battery life is improved but I still don't think the phone lasts as long on a charge as it did previously.

And it also seems like "stuff" just doesn't work as well as it did previously.
For example the weather icon doesn't self update anymore. (I know it's not updating when it shows moon and dark sky in the middle of the day. And sometimes I get moon over blue sky, or sun over night sky. )
Also GPS and map don't seem to know exactly where I am, until I turn off "background data restriction". Then it's fine, except that background data restriction seems to reactive itself after charging the phone.

I've basically resigned to charging the phone everyday now.
Previously it would go 2+ days on a single charge. (That's with Wifi off but Data & GPS on, and presumably apps weren't actually employing the GPS even though it was switched on.)
Now, with data on but Wifi off and GPS OFF it lasts maybe a day and a half. If I enable GPS and disable background data restriction it chews through a charge in less than 24 hours.

I have almost no self-installed apps on my phone; just a "stickynote" thing and a no-Ad flashlight. I have no email linked to the phone and I rarely use the camera. (I abhor the notion of photography via smartphone.)

I've read suggestions that sometimes you have to do the FDR a couple times before things get sorted out. Even if that's true I'm not going to do the FDR again. Waaayyy to much of a PITA to repeat that.
If an FDR is truly needed after an OS installation, then OS revisions should not forced into people's phones and there should be an obviously-presented option to decline.

I find it sadly ironic that with KitKat and all its battery-saving (and functionality-crimping) goodies, my phone chews through charge quicker than with the previous OS.

It's like car whose current model has less horsepower, poorer fuel economy and higher emissions that the previous version.
 
Assuming you are not root-ed ... a second Factory Data Reset should not be needed.

Have you and do you periodically cleared the Data Cache Partition? It can become fragmented and really drove performance down and battery use up.

... Thom
 
Thom said:
Assuming you are not root-ed ... a second Factory Data Reset should not be needed.

Have you and do you periodically cleared the Data Cache Partition? It can become fragmented and really drove performance down and battery use up.

... Thom
Click to expand...

I'm not root-ed. I don't actually know what "root"-ing means. (I first read that term, along with Factory Data Reset, only a couple months ago after my phone got infected with the new OS and I started searching for info on why my phone suddenly functions like turd.

What does "clear the Data Cache Partition"mean and how do I do it? Is it a function I initiate via the phone's GUI? Or connect the phone to a computer, browse into a folder and delete everything there? Or something else?

Bitter-toned interjections aside, I do appreciate your and other posters' replies and attempts to help.
 
Thom said:
From the Motorola website ...

How do I clear Cache Partition on my device?
This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem, but will not delete your files or settings.
1. With the phone powered off, press the VOL UP + VOL DOWN KEY together + POWER KEY .
2. The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS
3. Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to SELECT

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited to long to make a selection, you will need to begin the process again.
4. The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress ( logo with Exclamation mark)
5. Press and hold the VOL DOWN key, then tap and release the VOL UP key.
Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are stuck on step 5, try a force reboot by pressing the power Key and Vol Down key, and start the process again.
6. The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)
7. Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to SELECT this option.
8. The device will then perform the partition wipe
9. Once the Formatting is complete, press the POWER key to confirm a REBOOT
11. The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence .



(I clear the data cache partition on my Droid Maxx every Saturday.)

... Thom
Click to expand...

Didn't work.
Got stuck at step 5. Twice.
Got the "Android in distress" image, with "No command" displayed below the android. (Does "No command" mean anything?)
I give up. My Droid is now basically a circa-2002 flipphone with poorer ergonomics, that can navigate in a pinch before the GPS slurps up the battery within an hour.

The Android in Distress is a brilliant metaphor for what KitKat did to my phone...
 
I do not have the Droid Razr M.

Can someone with a Droid Razr M validate the process I got from the Motorola website?

As I mentioned in my PM to you it will take a little practicing until you get it the first time.

... Thom
 
I don't see a PM from you in my CP.

But in any case, I thank you (seriously) for your attempt to help and willingness to filter signal from noise.
 
The procedure changed with Kit Kat. From the Motorola website ...

Clear cache partition - Kit Kat Steps

This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem, but will not delete your files or settings.

  • With the phone powered off, press the VOL UP key for 2-3 seconds then press and release the POWER key .
  • Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to Recovery and VOL UP Key to Select. (DROID RAZR HD & DROID RAZR HD MAXX ONLY)
  • The device will display different DROID Icon
  • While pressing and holding the VOL UP key, press the Power key
  • The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS
  • Use the VOL UP/DOWN Key to SCROLL to wipe cache partition and Power KEY to SELECT
  • The device will then perform the partition wipe
  • The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence
Clear cache partition - Jelly Bean Steps

This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem, but will not delete your files or settings.

  • Power up the phone by pressing the VOL UP + VOL DOWN KEY together + POWER KEY .
  • The device will enumerate with different BOOT OPTIONS
  • Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL and VOL UP Key to SELECT
  • Select Recovery
  • The device will start up with Motorola logo and power up to a little Android man logo with Exclamation mark
  • Press the VOL UP and VOL DOWN Key together at this screen
  • The device will display BLUE Text on a Black background .
  • Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll DOWN and the POWER Key to SELECT the option desired.
  • Use the VOL UP/DOWN Key to SCROLL to wipe cache partition and Power KEY to SELECT
  • The device will then perform the partition wipe
  • The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence
... Thom
 
Quote:

The Android in Distress is a brilliant metaphor for what KitKat did to my phone...[/QUOTE]

Awsome analogy I like this.....

I Have heard that Kitkat is for high end smartphones (quad 4 processors) don't know if this is right but thought I would put it out there

Anyway I ordered my Samsung S5 can't wait to get it
 
Thom said:
The procedure changed with Kit Kat. From the Motorola website ...

Clear cache partition - Kit Kat Steps

...
... Thom
Click to expand...

I just did the procedure, per the steps Thom quoted above.
I'll post again after I've had some time to observe whether the phone behaves any less suckily.

But right off the bat I do notice that my weather icon "Circle" still shows moon over night sky in the middle of the day, so it looks like Background Data Restriction is still crippling stuff. Nice.
 
sdh73 said:
I just did the procedure, per the steps Thom quoted above.
I'll post again after I've had some time to observe whether the phone behaves any less suckily.

But right off the bat I do notice that my weather icon "Circle" still shows moon over night sky in the middle of the day, so it looks like Background Data Restriction is still crippling stuff. Nice.
Click to expand...

I'm having many of the same problems. I also cleared the cache partition, to no apparent effect. Luckily this is my work phone, so I'm upgrading to a Galaxy 4S. To bad, I really liked the RazrM until KitKat...
 
I am beyond frustrated with the Kit Kat release and these Razr M phones (we are on Verizon). I have two Razr M's, one is my wife's and one is mine. Both have been rock solid phones, hands down the best phones that we have ever had ... until Kit Kat. The battery life is HORRIBLE. I have tried factory resets and done the cache clearing on both phones multiple times in the past month. Both of them are battery hogs with light to moderate use. We both have to charge our phones 3 times per day! Start the day at 100%, by noon, we are both down to around 35-40%. Charge them up. By supper time again back down to 40% or so and back on the charger. Then by the end of the evening down to 50% or so and on the charger for the night. It is ridiculous and it all started with Kit Kat. Prior to Kit Kat we never had these problems. It sucks because we both really like these phones.

I have Kit Kat on my Nexus 10 tablet and I don't have these kind of battery issues.
 
Have you tried running in Safe Mode (disabling all apps you added without uninstalling them)? If the problem stops it is caused by an app that you added.

... Thom
 
OK, so I have been running both phones on safe mode for two days now. I am seeing no appreciable improvement in terms of battery life. For example, I pulled mine off of the charger this morning at 6:15 am and 100% charge. I made one 20 minute phone call for business reasons this morning, I've sent 14 text messages received 12 texts. The phone has sat on my desk connected to my office wifi. I have not opened a web browser, Facebook, or any other apps besides the phone call and stock text message app. It is 1:05 right now and my phone is at 36%. I called my wife (on my office phone). She has sent and received under 10 text messages this morning is all, no phone calls, and has not used her phone in any way other than the texts and she was at around 50% as of about 12:30 (her phone was also at 100% when she pulled it off of the charger this morning at about 6:30.

We never had these issues before the Kit Kat updates. I am beyond frustrated!
 
I mean non offense tgo my colleague, but GPS will not cause this.

I wish I had better help, but maybe try letting your battery go lower than 40-50% before plugging it in. You may be surprised how far that "other" 50% goes. It's the old battery cycle thing. I've always let my batteries go down to near nothing on my phones before changing/charging.

Or, if you are certain it is KitKat, the only other solution would be to go back to an earlier version, but that is highly technical and may not even be able to be done with yours.

However, I do have one question. How much screen on time are you getting?
 
I was "clutching for straws" and was thinking about an app that was using GPS ... like following your location to see where you are shopping. I was thinking of the infamous flashlight app.

His test running in Safe Mode should have shut that down.

... Thom
 
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