I have 2 Samsung Galaxy S4s with the same issue. VERY tired of Verizons patronizing responses. They should admit there is a problem.
If anyone knows how to downgrade to 4.3 please post
The other day I sent an email to one of the Board of Directors at Verizon advising him that there are a lot of frustrated customers out there having problems with the mot recent android update. I got a response and today I got a phone call from someone at corporate headquarters. I pretty much rehashed everything that I have gone through and that everyone else on this message board has gone through. It was confirmed to me that this is not just a Verizon problem or a Samsung problem. This is an issue across the board with phones and service providers. It was also confirmed that there is a fix coming from Google but they haven't been advised of a release date. The Verizon representative said that she will speak to the people in tech support about continuing to have customers try fixes that they know don't work. She said that they do this in order to gather information to hand over to Google to aid in fixing the problems. When I asked about giving us the opportunity to roll back to the previous upgrade she said it couldn't be done. My husband has over 30 years of experience in this field said that was a crock. There's no reason that Google couldn't take out a few lines of code and release the old version with a different number. It's possible that she just assumed that once you've upgraded that you are stuck with that upgrade. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. I read a couple of articles today saying that 4.4.3 for the Samsung S4 will probably be released in July. I can only hope that the bugs are fixed with the new release and that it doesn't come with problems of its own.
While I have not had contact with anyone from corporate..I have had numerous conversations with tier 2 support as well as a network engineer or two...all of which have stated that there is indeed an issue with the s4. I switched from an s4 to an htc one 8m.....and am experiencing the same issue. The common denominator is android 4.4.2. I have factory reset, cleared app data, switched sims, used third party sms apps, used the default app, used the verizon message app, formatted my sd card, even changed my google account in case something was syncing and causing data corruption...none of this has rectified the issue. Based upon my experiences I'd have to agree that it is an issue with android 4.4.2. not 4.3, not 4.1, but specifically this point release. What stinks is even though its probably android fault, we are still being denied a reliable service through our provider much like with other companies for cable internet. We purchase or pay a monthly fee for internet as well as the cable modem...the cable modem does not allow us to reliably connect to the internet. Who do we contact? Our ISP. The isp should troubleshoot the issue to the best of their ability and I believe verizon has done that...however now they need to realize there is an issue up stream. Should the customer be penalized? No however in a way we are. We are paying for a service..cell phones/smart phones do two basic things, phone calls and text messages. As such if those two basic things aren't at least 50% reliable...why should we pay for that service? Yea, we can quit and pay etfs and the such which again is a penalty for someone else messing up. Verizon, in my opinion while I know it won't happen should offer those effected with either discounted rates (which verizon can use google or what have you for compensation for their banks) or allow those that are effected to leave verizon without penalty or lastly offer an upgrade to a different phone regardless of their upgrade status(namely to switch to a phone that is running either a newer or older version of android) My only question is....are other carriers having this issue? (Namely sprint as last I knew they are cdma based like verizon as well). IF other carriers are having this issue, then it further certifies my assumption that its an android 4.4.2 issue.
Regarding rolling back to a previous firmware...while its been awhile since I've done rom programming, there are countermeasures regarding rolling back firmware versions. Hardware as well as software triggers can render the phone a 'brick' if an attempt of rolling back firmware is done. Even with odin or other rooting/recovery software these measures can be triggered.
In summary....Verizon, whether it be on Samsung, htc, google, whomevers behalf...please acknowledge there is a problem as opposed to leading us on with parlor tricks. We have done the work for you, we have tested your theories...all we are asking for is acknowledgement there is a problem at the very least and hope that there will be an up and coming solution. If not, give us the opportunity without penalization to either leave your service which we would otherwise stay with had we the choice as the service is great, offer us an upgrade to a different phone so we can enjoy the services you offer, or for those of us waiting for the solution, a discount of some sort as we are not experiencing the great service that verizon has to offer.
This is not just a problem for the S4, Its also every android phone that has the updated kitkat software. including The Droid Maxx and the LG G2. So Verizon know about this problem and so does google and Samsung.
We want to make sure you still love your device pintail17$$! What app are you using for messaging? Does this happen with every message? What troubleshooting steps have you taken so far? Any difficulties with other apps?
JonathanK_VZW
VZWSupport
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I using the built in text messaging...40% of my texts fail, the phone
will.not ring on an incoming calls. I am constantly needing to retrieve
missed calls through voice mail.
On Jun 25, 2014 11:22 AM, "Verizon Wireless Customer Support" <
I am having the same issue. Started after Kit Kat update. All the rebooting and junk we are told to do doesn't fix it. Verizon needs to come up with a fix for it or give us new phones that work!
Over 50% of my texts failing, and on some days it was up to 80%. I was also having issues with calls...they would go straight to my voicemail, never ringing and not showing up on the call log. After over a month on the phone with Verizon, doing a hard reset, replacing the sim card, deleting apps, using Verizon message, etc....I filed a complaint with BBB. Someone from Corporate contacted me and offered me a different phone, that was refurbished. I only purchased this phone in March, so no way was I taking that deal.
I decided to contact Samsung, after spending an hour on the computer with a tech. I decided to send them my phone, having felt that I was not getting any support from Verizon. I heard horror stories that it would take a month to get my phone back, but really, it was useless as it was, so it was the best thing for me to try to fix the issue.
I mailed the phone out on a Tuesday, and got MY phone back the next Tuesday (I actually took pictures of the serial number and such). After activating it, it was determined that I still have the kit kat update on it. But in the last 24 hours, I haven't had one text fail yet. I have received all calls made to me (nothing is hiding in my voicemail). I don't know if it is a different update through Samsung then through Verizon, but it seems to have fixed my phone. I'll keep you posted.
Like I was saying it is the responsibility of the device maker.
Very glad it was fixed for you. One good success story!
Glad its working for you! I don't have the calling issues, and my texting is better then it was, it might go 3-4 days without a hitch, then act up several times in one day.
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