List of changes/enhancements/problems in the KitKat OTA

Strife89 · May 18, 2014

In the interest of making things easy for those who are holding off on the KitKat OTA, I thought it might be a good idea to consolidate all of our experiences into one thread. This is intended to cover mainly the changes specific to this OTA over Razr M-flavored Jellybean.

I'll start with my experience/thoughts and edit in additional findings. (Note: I'm bootloader locked, and now unrooted.)

The Good

The UI is definitely smoother. It doesn't jitter or stall under heavy usage anywhere near as much as it did in Jellybean.
Battery life when the phone is asleep seems to have been improved a little.
USB audio out is now supported.
The occasional "screen jitter" that plagued the Jellybean build is gone.
KitKat's Quick Settings panel is quite handy.
The native lock screen now supports adding, removing, and rearranging widgets.
Although it can't be installed from the Play Store, the Google Experience Launcher can be sideloaded and works just fine.

The Neutral / Very Subjective

The AOSP keyboard has changed; the keys are smaller and, in landscape, very squashed. You may need to adjust to it (I'm trying, but it's a struggle) or find a replacement.
Battery life when the phone is actively in use has not been noticeably improved in my experience; but it hasn't been noticeably worsened, either.
There's now a shortcut to the camera from the lock screen, which can be used even if the phone is locked by a pattern/PIN/etc. (Great if you're a shutterbug; not so great if someone else decides to troll your Dropbox/Drive account.)
The Google Camera app works - but Photosphere can't be used, as the Razr M doesn't have a gyroscope.

The Bad

No more root, for those with locked BLs (me). (Saferoot fails, and many users are reporting losing root even when they try survival methods.)
Wi-Fi tethering via most apps (e.g., FoxFi) has been blocked, so now you must pay your carrier for the feature unless a new workaround is discovered.
All notifications I've seen so far now flash the notification light white, instead of unique colors. This may be frustrating for some who used the colors to decide whether to check the phone immediately or later. (Luckily, there are ways to address this.)
The Blur launcher is same 'ol, same 'ol. It uses a solid black background for the soft keys and notifications bar (rather than taking advantage of KitKat's transparency support), and it still has that Quick Settings menu on the left (which is redundant now). In addition, Holo Launcher (which I was using) doesn't account for the space used by the softkeys at all, making it difficult to use. (I've switched to Nova Launcher, which is working fine.)
I've experienced some weirdness with the application switcher. Sometimes it drops me to the launcher right after displaying the list, and sometimes apps will overwrite another's position on the list, or be dropped from the list entirely without reason (this is always temporary, however - just bring up the switcher again).
Some apps can no longer write to the SD card - or at least not wherever they please. We still have the Files browser, mercifully (but I favor Total Commander anyway, which seems to work perfectly).
The audio quick switch on the lock screen has been removed. Also, the buttons for entering a PIN are smaller.
(Leraeniesh) Under heavy usage, the Razr M may get hotter under KitKat than it did under Jellybean, and may drain the battery more.
(GPIX) Some users have noticed decreased network performance in some apps, such as Chrome or YouTube, while on Wi-Fi and with Wi-Fi power-saving enabled.
(GPIX) Several users have reported popping noises - when a sound begins to play, or in the middle of playback. (I haven't experienced it, however.)
Swype is no longer included. If you used it in Jellybean, you will need to purchase it on the Play Store after taking the OTA.
(ls3c6) Some have encountered problems with sharing the address book to paired devices over Bluetooth.

Strife89 · May 18, 2014

My opinion, overall:

It's a nice upgrade, but all of little problems I've encountered (bugs, Verizon blockades, the works) make this feel like a bit of a letdown after the 6-month wait. In the end, after just three days, I find myself wishing I could take the phone back to Jellybean.

Here's hoping for either some exploitable holes or maintenance updates.

Leraeniesh · May 19, 2014

My opinion

Leraeniesh said:
So I popped my sim back into the XT907 for the weekend, and heres what I've noticed (when compared to 4.1.2).

Higher temps - previously, my XT907 hovered around 85F-100F, but with 4.4.2, I've noticed it drift toward 110F with 5+ minutes of active use.

Worse battery life - On 4.1.2 I averaged around 20% after 16 hours moderate use. With 4.4.2, I'm averaging around 5% in the same span.

Lesser LTE coverage - This may be something with my area, but I can usually get 2-3 bars of LTE in the Livingston County area on 4.1.2 (I've noticed the XT907 accel in this category). While on 4.4.2, I could not get any LTE coverage in the same area, and could only find it within more populated areas.

Slower performance - I'll always be amazed by how quick the XT907 was on 4.1.2, beating out devices with similar specs in the same price category. With 4.4.2, I've noticed frame drops, stutters, and random reboots be a common occurrence over the last few days of usage.

Overall, I'm satisfied with 4.4.2, but I still prefer the overall usability with 4.1.2.

Worth noting that I am using an unlocked bootloader, with CWM and SuperSU (only really did this to remove VZW bloat and install Xposed)

ATTACK · May 19, 2014

Leraeniesh said:
So I popped my sim back into the XT907 for the weekend, and heres what I've noticed (when compared to 4.1.2).

Higher temps - previously, my XT907 hovered around 85F-100F, but with 4.4.2, I've noticed it drift toward 110F with 5+ minutes of active use.

Worse battery life - On 4.1.2 I averaged around 20% after 16 hours moderate use. With 4.4.2, I'm averaging around 5% in the same span.

Lesser LTE coverage - This may be something with my area, but I can usually get 2-3 bars of LTE in the Livingston County area on 4.1.2 (I've noticed the XT907 accel in this category). While on 4.4.2, I could not get any LTE coverage in the same area, and could only find it within more populated areas.

Slower performance - I'll always be amazed by how quick the XT907 was on 4.1.2, beating out devices with similar specs in the same price category. With 4.4.2, I've noticed frame drops, stutters, and random reboots be a common occurrence over the last few days of usage.

Overall, I'm satisfied with 4.4.2, but I still prefer the overall usability with 4.1.2.

On 4.1.2 the "signal bars" were calculated by a xml in, I believe, SystemUI.apk. You could simply adjust the figures to show more or less bars, which Moto adjusted to show more. But having no LTE maybe a bad radio or a problem stemming from a bad flash. My Razr M doesn't get hot, no random reboots, and battery life seems to be the same. I haven't had any problems on KitKat.

Leraeniesh · May 19, 2014

ATTACK said:
On 4.1.2 the "signal bars" were calculated by a xml in, I believe, SystemUI.apk. You could simply adjust the figures to show more or less bars, which Moto adjusted to so more. But having no LTE maybe a bad radio or a problem stemming from a bad flash. My Razr M doesn't get hot, no random reboots, and battery life seems to be the same. I haven't had any problems on KitKat.

Gonna be doing some more testing in that regard. Even my M7 with its garbage radios gets LTE just about everywhere in the Metro Detroit area.

GPlX · May 19, 2014

So far my experience with 4.4.2 has been positive. I agree with OP's list and would like to add these under the issue category.

ISSUE:

Decreased WiFi effectiveness/throughput - There is a noticeable decrease in performance on apps like Youtube and Chrome web browser.
Audio Popping noises - Some experience a popping noise when the sound driver starts up while others experience it during playback.

bwer1233 · May 19, 2014

I have had the KitKat OTA now for 2 days and haven't found anything major wrong. The changes to the keyboard bugged me but I use swiftkey so that was moot. I also have an issue I haven't seen listed yet. The new sound for screen taps....it seems to give that "popping" feedback (that ive seen listed as an issue on driver start-up) ALL the time. I maybe get 1 clear sound out of every 5-6 screen taps. That is the only real "problem" I can find as of this point though. Does anyone have any insight on that?

Also activated Dev Mode and changed to ART runtime. Might be placebo but app response seems to be noticeably better! Not groundbreaking by any means but better than 4.1.2 for sure. Overall I am happy with the upgrade. Rather, will be happy once a root exploit comes up (I miss my debloating! On that note though, disabling apps never seemed to work right with 4.1.2....after hitting disable the app would show back up in active processes after a short time. Now I've gone 24 hours and 3 phone reboots and that damn NFL app is STILL disabled and NOT running as a background process. Might just have been an issue with my phone in particular before, but its fixed now!)

Germanese · May 19, 2014

I am generally happy.
It fixed all the issues I had with Dhackers KitKat.

and feels about the same once you have rid of all the Bloat.

I like and I am happy that we still surprisingly got the update unlike the Galaxy S3

Happy =)

LoeCraw · May 19, 2014

Just wanted to comment on the heat issue mentioned above:

I have only had KitKat for 2 days but I have definitely noticed a difference in heat after extended use compared to JB. One of the things I really liked about my Razr M was lack of heat so hopefully this is a fluke and I wont notice it too much in the future.

---

With that said, no big issues.

I don't like the keyboard -seems smaller, or something, The heptic feedback seems to be different too (for the worse IMO).

The lockscreen number pad seems smaller - definitely liked the number pad from JB.

I had to change the messaging app (hated the all white/lack of contrast). Using "8sms" if anyone is curious.

I also changed launchers to use the google-now launcher so the "okay google" thing would work on the homescreen and also get the transparency notification bar. But, in doing that I did lose the circle widgets which I liked. Can't win for losing sometimes...

---

On a positive note, Chrome/google searches seem to be much faster. The UI seems about the same (no complaints with JB).

If battery life can increase then I'll be satisfied with update (so far, no difference).

Nidstang · May 19, 2014

My experience has been very positive. My phone was bootloader locked and not rooted before (and, of course, after) the OTA. I cleared the cache partition from the recovery menu post-install but have not done a FDR. General impressions:

-- UI is overall much snappier/quicker. Extremely noticeable.
-- Love the new quick settings panel that you can get to after pulling down the notifications shade.
-- KK's changes to how the SDcard works have not been a big deal at all for me. The native "Files" app seems to have complete read/write access, as does ES File Explorer.
-- Like the new clock feature to automatically add a "home" display when traveling outside a pre-defined timezone.
-- Hate the new way you set the alarm on the clock. (Really, whoever came up with that input method should be transferred to a department where s/he can never affect design decisions again.)
-- I miss the audio silencer/mute on the lockscreen.
-- Battery life has been interesting. When I first installed the update (morning of 05/15), battery life was definitely worse, probably by about 50%. It has gradually been getting better, however, and now is probably only about 20%-25% worse than JB. Why it would change I have no idea, but it definitely is (I've been keeping notes, and am sure it is actually happening). I have noticed, using the Battery History details screen, that there are a LOT less wakelocks in KK than JB. In JB, I used to see tons of "Awake" indicators on that screen that did not pair with "Screen On" indicators. In KK, there are very few incidences of "Awake" that are not paired with "Screen On." Someone smarter than me will have to explain how that translates into worse battery life.
-- It may be my imagination, but it seems like the battery charges faster w/ KK. If it's not my imagination, I wonder if that means that the apparent decrease in battery life is really an issue of improper calibration/accuracy.

I have not experienced some of the things others have reported:

-- No random reboots.
-- No changes to WiFi or 4G signals. I don't use Bluetooth so can't comment on that.
-- No popping noise when using audio. (Note: I have seen some reports in other forums that a FDR fixes this issue for those who have it.)

kashif87 · May 19, 2014

I'm on locked BL, definitly non root, and I happen to installed MotoCam from a store n IT DID INSTALLED. .
Opens up, takes pictures beautifully. .
Only problems are the slide in menu is glitchy AND after taking HDR pic, cam UI is not there. Only live cam feed.

Other than these issues, it's playing nicely ESPECIALLY auto HDR does work, surprisingly!
How can I make those problems go away??

Sent from my XT907 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Tech_Savvy · May 19, 2014

4039995825

GPlX said:
So far my experience with 4.4.2 has been positive. I agree with OP's list and would like to add these under the issue category.

ISSUE:

Decreased WiFi effectiveness/throughput - There is a noticeable decrease in performance on apps like Youtube and Chrome web browser.
Audio Popping noises - Some experience a popping noise when the sound driver starts up while others experience it during playback.

go into wifi settings...in the setting "uncheck" the box "wi-fi optimization" it made my WiFi significantly better..

GPlX · May 19, 2014

Nidstang said:
-- No popping noise when using audio. (Note: I have seen some reports in other forums that a FDR fixes this issue for those who have it.)

Attempted a FDR on my phone, unfortunately it did not work for me. I will attempt to clear the cache partition to see if that may help the issue if
possible. So far i can only get the boot menu for a couple seconds and im lucky to get a selection in time.

EDIT: I cleared the cache partition, no effect. (NOTE: it seems to get into the recovery menu after selecting it at boot menu, you have to hold power & vol UP for a couple seconds)

crazy4android said:
go into wifi settings...in the setting "uncheck" the box "wi-fi optimization" it made my WiFi significantly better..

That is an excellent point. I'll shut off the optimization and will edit my results in after tinkering with it for a while.

EDIT2: Without doing speedtests etc. It is very noticable that the wifi has improved. Youtube & other apps load as fast as they did on 4.1.2

bwer1233 · May 21, 2014

Haven't looked into it so this MIGHT be a feature of the Google Now Launcher I installed, but I JUST noticed if you swipe down from the clock area of the new lock screen, you can add widgets! Am I crazy or is this a new feature on our phones? If so, LOVE it! Helps mitigate the loss of the quicklinks from our old 4.1.2 lock screen.

deathwithafi · May 21, 2014

kashif87 said:
I'm on locked BL, definitly non root, and I happen to installed MotoCam from a store n IT DID INSTALLED. .
Opens up, takes pictures beautifully. .
Only problems are the slide in menu is glitchy AND after taking HDR pic, cam UI is not there. Only live cam feed.

Other than these issues, it's playing nicely ESPECIALLY auto HDR does work, surprisingly!
How can I make those problems go away??

Sent from my XT907 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

maybe you can uninstall updates to the cam in apps

ATTACK · May 21, 2014

bwer1233 said:
Haven't looked into it so this MIGHT be a feature of the Google Now Launcher I installed, but I JUST noticed if you swipe down from the clock area of the new lock screen, you can add widgets! Am I crazy or is this a new feature on our phones? If so, LOVE it! Helps mitigate the loss of the quicklinks from our old 4.1.2 lock screen.

Lockscreen widgets were introduced in Android 4.2.2.

jetking2 · May 21, 2014

Just want to let people know that the Google Now Launcher is working great on 4.4.2 including the "ok Google" functionality.

You can't download it from the play store. I just grabbed the apk from this thread.

http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...-and-gpe-devices-apk-mirrored-for-all-others/

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

Tommino84 · May 22, 2014

rooted + cwm
can't use "memory" feature under settings, while calculating settings app would crash

tieuvienson2005 · May 23, 2014

how can I go to hiddent menu? *#*#4636#*#* is failed until my M get kk updrade...

aviwdoowks · May 23, 2014

tieuvienson2005 said:
how can I go to hiddent menu? *#*#4636#*#* is failed until my M get kk updrade...

There are many "phone info" apps in the Market. Or create the short cut with Activity Launcher.

Also the Cam sucks on my Wife's m so get the Lenovo from my Moto x signature link.

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