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KiKat 4.4.2 update U. S. Cellular

G

greyhndz

Well-Known Member
... on US Cellular. Downloading as we speak. Don't have version, kernel, etc. yet but will advise after installation.

Is this the first US rollout?

ETA: No OTA - just checked for software update and voila. :-)
 
The upgrade has loaded. Now some disappointing observations.

The GPS icon was flashing a lot. Also having trouble swiping down from the top to access the Notification Panel. During the time the GPS was flashing, the S4 was heating up quite a lot and I could almost watch the battery drain. After I turned Mobile Data on then off, things went back to normal.

The battery indicator shows white instead of green for the charge amount.

I think the S4 needsd to just get used to the upgrade.

However, one more bar for phone reception.

Anyone else having symptoms?
 
Oy. I'm trying to tap into all the hype, but:


  • Apps are not finding their respective data on extSD. I backed up apps and data on My Backup Pro but no files are found at the directory path. I was able to track down the folder containing the backups, however the complete backups are not there.The Samsung backup/restore feature did NOT find any backups.

  • Any apps that I'd downloaded from other sites (I often purchase icon sets from developers' own websites) are gone.
  • All of my Apex themes and icon sets are gone. I cannot locate the Apex folder. The Apex backups are gone or the app just can't find them (they should be on the SD though I can't find any Apex files on either external or internal SD).
  • It appears to me that the system is simply not acknowledging the extSD, or else the file system changed so dramatically that app data has moved and cannot be located by the app.
  • I subsequently did a factory restore, installed many of my apps from App Brain or previous backups stored on dropbox. I'm going to uninstall and reinstall apps which are problematic to see if the directory paths straighten out.
  • Dropbox is now pre-installed and not removable. There's still the usual array of bloatware -- I'm sure there's more than there was before but I haven't sorted through it.
  • In App mgr, you can "turn off" bloatware or unwanted apps but you can no longer "deactivate" them - don't know if there's a difference.
  • There's a (new?) setting for "default apps" - only includes Home and Text so is pretty useless. And I still get the annoying prompt, after designating a "default" app, to go to App Mgr to reset default. (Anyone know how to shut that off???)
  • On the desktop, a hard press on icons displays the usual options EXCEPT uninstall, which I had found to be very convenient.
  • So far no problems with overheating. Battery usage seems reasonable, but then again, a few months ago, when the battery was draining/overheating/swelling, I was able to swap it out under warranty.
  • I'm probably missing some of the 4.4 features since I don't use Touchwiz, but at the moment I don't feel the love. I might feel differently after reinstalling all the missing apps and files.
Looking forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts.
 
In 4.3 one could tape the screen repeatedly and get the jelly bean logo to pop up. I don't seem to be able to do this in 4.4.2. Did I forget how to do it?
 
Poweranimals said:
What is U.S. Cellular? I've never heard of that before.
Click to expand...

It's just below the "big 4" carriers. ;) It's not as widely available as Verizon, etc., but in the markets where it's offered, it's an excellent carrier, IMHO. They were one of the (if not "the") first offering the S4, and now 4.4.2. They also have a rewards program which accrues points depending on your services. Their customer service is quite good, and the reception where I live is fantastic, vs Verizon which rarely had signal in my house.

jshaw's question reminds me of another problem: when I double tap on the browser screen, it does not zoom in.

So, what happened to the famous KK wallpaper? I don't see it in the wallpaper file.
 
I updated yesterday to kit kat and happened to notice the update included a com.fmradio file. I was wondering if anyone else noticed this as well. I know Samsung stated that they did not include fm compatibility, but could this be a software update for a feature not available on the s4? Wishful thinking on my part right?
 
4.4.2 is still a bit unstable with the GPS. A couple of times after updating an app, it starts searching for no apparent reason. If I turn GPS off than back on, it clears up.
 
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