Verizon software updates ruined my Motorola Droid Bionic

[Livin PA]

Well I had my Motorola Droid Bionic for nearly 2 years and recently Verizon updates have really slowed down my phone: It will randomly freeze, the keyboard freezes then goes crazy, my browser will freeze on me for upwards of 20 seconds, my camera's response time has slowed down and the phone will randomly zoom while scrolling through webpages. Reading on the issue has me overwhelmed and so many solutions exist that I don't know what to do or where to start, I am afraid of just trying things because I cannot afford to brick my phone at the moment. Right now I just tried something simple recommended by these forums, Clean Master. I will have to use my phone for awhile and see if it has an effect on the issue. I am also considering rooting the phone but I avoided that option since I don't know anything about the process, I have fears that I will brick it and I am not sure what to do after rooting the phone? Do I have to install a new operating system or what? I saw a YouTube tutorial on doing it which seemed simple but a lot of recent comments said that process/software doesn't work anymore, maybe they changed the software since the video? I don't know, my phone is running Android Version 4.1.2 which is the latest version I believe. I really want to get this phone working like it did in the pass because I have unlimited data and Verizon isn't giving upgrades to those who have it now, I would have to play musical chairs with other phones on my line to get the upgrade and I don't want to do that now. I get a feeling the software is slow on purpose to force people into a newer phone, I don't blame Motorola for that just Verizon. I love my phone and the only thing I wish was better (Other than the Verizon software) was the battery and I would buy an extended life battery once I get this issue solved. So what do you guys recommend? Also will these options stop any future Verizon updates? I don't want to be harassed every 12 hours to install their botched upgrades. So please help me navigate my options, thanks.

 

[Mustang02]

I recommend a factory reset.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Stinson317]

I would try the factory reset as suggested. I have two bionics on my account. 1 stock and 1 rooted. The stock phone runs fine. You can use manage apps and disable any app( vzw's etc). I don't think they are degrading performance on purpose. Rooting and installing cyanogen's ( via safe strap) is the way ( my opinion) to prolong the life of the phone. I'm running 4.3 and the phone works great. The instructions for rooting are easy and if you follow them you won't have any issues. Safestrap after rooting gives you the ability to roll back to stock if your ROM causes an issue. I can say I will never go back to stock. I have had a couple of issues but always do the nightly updates ( because I'm a junky). But if you get nervous about that just install the latest version and let it ride.

 

[Livin PA]

Thanks for the input. I think I will try the factory reset because the other thing I tried only had a marginal effect. I just have to ask how I do it and if I do it will the phone pester me to do the updates again? If so how do I get the phone to stop harassing me every 12 hours?

 

[Stinson317]

I'm trying to recall how to factory reset a stock bionic ( it's been awhile for me). I think it's under settings>privacy>factory reset. I assume when you say update it's at the app level not android. If you open manage app, you should be able to disable any apps you don't want. A disabled app will not update.

 

[Mustang02]

I'm trying to recall how to factory reset a stock bionic ( it's been awhile for me). I think it's under settings>privacy>factory reset. I assume when you say update it's at the app level not android. If you open manage app, you should be able to disable any apps you don't want. A disabled app will not update.

Correct. Settings - privacy - factory reset

 

[Livin PA]

I'm trying to recall how to factory reset a stock bionic ( it's been awhile for me). I think it's under settings>privacy>factory reset. I assume when you say update it's at the app level not android. If you open manage app, you should be able to disable any apps you don't want. A disabled app will not update.

I'm trying to recall how to factory reset a stock bionic ( it's been awhile for me). I think it's under settings>privacy>factory reset. I assume when you say update it's at the app level not android. If you open manage app, you should be able to disable any apps you don't want. A disabled app will not update.

Thanks guys, I found it. I am going to give it a shot when I get home from work, I just want to back up my contacts to my PC in case the auto back up doesn't work. As for the updater I am speaking of its the one that updates the Android OS, you get a pop up telling you version blah blah blah is available and either accept or deny the update. However if you deny the update you get the pop up again in 12 hours. I need to know how to stop it because it drives me nuts. How do I find that function and disable it?

 

[Stinson317]

Well I'm a but confused. Unless I'm mistaken the last OTA was 4.2.1 back in Apr. I don't think there's been another. Are you sure its an is update message or perhaps a vzw application update

 

[Bratster2]

Last update was 4.1.2.

Post a screenshot of your about phone.

 

[Stinson317]

Sorry 4.1.2 is right. Was speaking from memory which is always risky. I'd like to see a screen shot of the update message too. I recall a few reports of issues with the ota, but we should be able to get through them. After the factory reset load your apps back slowly so that perhaps we could identify an offending app.

 

[Graymayre]

It doesn't matter. Over time it gets bogged down. Much more rapidly than ICS or anything prior. It has little memory efficiency now, which leads to the issues. I also attempted to remove some bloat, but this was only a temporary reprieve. I then started to employ a task killer, which I haven't done since my OG Droid.

As it stands, I'm now experimenting with ROMs. Eclipse 5.1 is beautiful, but no docking whatsoever and no 3g quickly cut it out. Raging Bionic is what I'm using now, and it is working quite well. It is stock 4.1.2 modified a bit, and has shown to be as stable as stock so far.

 

[Livin PA]

Sorry 4.1.2 is right. Was speaking from memory which is always risky. I'd like to see a screen shot of the update message too. I recall a few reports of issues with the ota, but we should be able to get through them. After the factory reset load your apps back slowly so that perhaps we could identify an offending app.

Yeah I have version 4.1.2 and it seems that around the time I installed it my phone started running much slower and became glitchy. Do you think if I just reinstall everything that would solve my issues, maybe the install the first time around got screwed up? I'd be willing to post the screen shot if you guys need it to help me but what app do I need to do that?

 

[Stinson317]

I'm not too concerned with screen shot but for future reference to get screen capture hold the volume down and power at same time. So let's review. 1) your phone has become slow and glitchy since the JB update. 2). You keep getting an update notice. Are these your issues? I was assuming that if we fixed the update notice issue we make progress on the slow/glitchy issue. I think you may be at that crossroad where you need to root/ROM. I haven't tried the ones in the last post, but Carbon was my daily driver for weeks until I jumped to Cyanogen Mod a couple weeks back. My droid is now rocking 4.3 and works better than ever. It is running a newer os than even the brand new moto x my wife just got.

 

[Livin PA]

Thanks for the tip. The issue is my phone seemed to be running faster with the pre-4.1.2 software so I kept declining the update pop up but one day I accidentally accepted it and it installed. Now my phone is slow/glitchy with 4.1.2. However you guys are telling me how awesome this new software is so maybe it's not the software? So maybe I should do the reset and install the new software again as these issues might be caused by something else after all? I don't know anything about rooting my phone and installing a new ROM so if I did that someone would have to spoon feed me the process because I doubt my warranty will replace my phone if I brick it and I don't have money now for a replacement. I am really tempted to get a Moto X since I love the voice rec features and the fact that they're building them in the USA, I am big on buying American designed/manufactured products. However I have to wait until I get some cash.

 

[Graymayre]

Thanks for the tip. The issue is my phone seemed to be running faster with the pre-4.1.2 software so I kept declining the update pop up but one day I accidentally accepted it and it installed. Now my phone is slow/glitchy with 4.1.2. However you guys are telling me how awesome this new software is so maybe it's not the software? So maybe I should do the reset and install the new software again as these issues might be caused by something else after all? I don't know anything about rooting my phone and installing a new ROM so if I did that someone would have to spoon feed me the process because I doubt my warranty will replace my phone if I brick it and I don't have money now for a replacement. I am really tempted to get a Moto X since I love the voice rec features and the fact that they're building them in the USA, I am big on buying American designed/manufactured products. However I have to wait until I get some cash.

As long as you keep your battery charged, we can help you get it back to stock for warranty. It is actually surprisingly hard to permabrick this phone. When I get home I will help you and give you some links

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2