Database Users

Should you upgrade your Moto G to 4.4.2 or 4.4.4?

Simple answer - NO.
When a new software release is made for an OS, all the developers would have done is test it on a very few devices within the developers and then roll it out to testers. And after analyzing the bugs identified from these testers, the developers sit on fixing it and finally come up with a release. Now would this release be bug-less? Absolutely not! Remember, its only been tested amongst a very few number of people and the rolling out happens to thousands residing in different parts of the world. If you think about it, what these updates are gonna deal with is a varied number of users, different carriers, sim make etc etc.
Take for example, for Indian users, the 4.4.2 update has been rolled out for quite a while. Lots of bugs were identified since then and the forum managers have been collecting data from the subscribers for quite a while now (Almost 4 months). Still the fix has not happened. And now 4.4.4 is out and issues persist.
I hvae been using 4.3, 4.4.2, then CM11, Mokee ROM etc etc, and now Im finally back to stock 4.3, coz thats the most stable version. So if you are someone who is interested in trying out new releases, please go ahead, but if you are someone who needs a stable ROM with no signal drop issues, please stick to 4.3.

totally disagree. I have european version Moto G with stock 4.4.2 and everything is working perfeclty. Try to wipe you Moto or flash any other rom.

seems like pebkac not buggy firmware . otherwise every single guy would be facing same problems and that's not happening .

ovitz said:
totally disagree. I have european version Moto G with stock 4.4.2 and everything is working perfeclty. Try to wipe you Moto or flash any other rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, did you receive an update package sometime after the primary update?

4.4.3 works fine on my US GSM moto G. But it might be different for others.
Also, add a warning to the OP that if you're already on 4.4.3+, you can't downgrade anymore. Motoboot from 4.4.3+ doesn't seem to like downgrading anymore, unfortunately.

4.2.2 works great, no signal drops or anything. Waiting for eupean 4.4.4. :good:
Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

Question is whether downgrading is possible from 4.4.4 ?

I totally agree to ovitz. Updates are supposed to fix issues with older versions of the software. My moto came with 4.4.2 and i never had issues with signal drops. I am from India. Btw it's always better to reset phone after the update.

I agree with you OP on some extent. I also recently downgraded to 4.3 from 4.4.2 just for the lulz, because I was getting "image is too large" error but surprisingly today the flashing was successful. The battery timing has improved, dialer app is cooler than that of the 4.4.2. I'm finding these changes quite interesting because I didn't stay with 4.3 for too long; my Moto G received the KitKat update the moment I powered it on for the first time.

techpick said:
Simple answer - NO.
When a new software release is made for an OS, all the developers would have done is test it on a very few devices within the developers and then roll it out to testers. And after analyzing the bugs identified from these testers, the developers sit on fixing it and finally come up with a release. Now would this release be bug-less? Absolutely not! Remember, its only been tested amongst a very few number of people and the rolling out happens to thousands residing in different parts of the world. If you think about it, what these updates are gonna deal with is a varied number of users, different carriers, sim make etc etc.
Take for example, for Indian users, the 4.4.2 update has been rolled out for quite a while. Lots of bugs were identified since then and the forum managers have been collecting data from the subscribers for quite a while now (Almost 4 months). Still the fix has not happened. And now 4.4.4 is out and issues persist.
I hvae been using 4.3, 4.4.2, then CM11, Mokee ROM etc etc, and now Im finally back to stock 4.3, coz thats the most stable version. So if you are someone who is interested in trying out new releases, please go ahead, but if you are someone who needs a stable ROM with no signal drop issues, please stick to 4.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I do agree with you for most of what you said, not everyone has bugs or issues with their phones on 4.4.3/4.4.4 upgrade. I myself has had one bug that came with the phone since 4.3 and it's worst now on 4.4.3 and ironically, I've gotten all the bugs on the 4.4.3 that others were getting on 4.4.2. I ended up putting on CM11 because it was getting to me.
P.S. It's impossible to downgrade from 4.4.3/4.4.4. I would love to downgrade back to 4.3. Never got the chance to see how it behaved on my phone because I updated to 4.4.2 the moment I booted for the first time.

Did I mention the "Sign in to WiFi" error on the 4.4.2? That's annoying as hell.

usertag said:
Question is whether downgrading is possible from 4.4.4 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible!, download the 4.4 official ROM and do a fastboot and install all the IMG files.
Thats how I did it,

chrisdf said:
It is possible!, download the 4.4 official ROM and do a fastboot and install all the IMG files.
Thats how I did it,
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Click to collapse
but you can't downgrade the bootloader, so didn't you get any errors?

Not that guy, Don't touch the motoboot and you should be fine

There's no point of updating your phone unless youare receiving it over OTA. Doing it manually is risky. The only thing that you'll get is new AOSP dialer and few security fixes. There's no reward..no improvement in performance as well as in camera quality. People are reporting bugs all over the globe and they desperatly want to switch back to 4.4.2. Few have them are also facing downgrading issues.
And you want to go through all this for just a minor update? Android L could be a good reason as it is worth updating even after bugs. But a minor update is definitely not.
If some one will ask me which is best ROM for my moto g? I would say Stock 4.4.2. I tried all custom ROMs but no one was as smooth as stock 4.4.2.
Consequences be damn'ed.

Simple answer- yeah, well, that's just like your opinion man.
Indian user. Unlocker my bootloader, Converted to GPE while on 4.4.2. The GpE move was made partly because I had jo desire nor the use if a second sim and mostly because I wanted a clean OS. Period.
Got instant OTA update to 4.4.4 to the day it was pushed.
No issues so far, None in fact and it's been over a week or thereabouts(I admit to the likelihood of me being an isolated case)
Lastly, to each his own.
Android is meant to be taken care of AS WELL tinker every single detail or option if you have the cojones for it. Ciao.
:thumbup:
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Free mobile app

I have just upgrade to 4.4.4 XT1033 (Malaysian), noted the missing 2 empty simcard icone and new rather flat dialer! nothing much has changed and certainly hasn't noticed any issue mentioned herein!

If one were to go by op opinion then they would be using 4.3 for the rest of the devices life ! I wonder what his comment would be once L comes to our device.

I have to disagree the OP as an xt1033 owner since march 2014.
Android 4.4.4 OTA for moto g helps fix various sw issues and increased performance,new baseband to aid the radio issues. Media playback is improved. The device is more of a swiss-tool now.
GPe edition of Moto G running KTU84P.M003 like a dream and eats more battery,too. I wish i could have flashed it earlier.

Semseddin said:
GPe edition of Moto G running KTU84P.M003 like a dream and eats more battery,too. I wish i could have flashed it earlier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious, if it eats more battery how come you call it a dream?

[Q] I've become an Idiot. (For Sprint)

Alrighty then, I've been gone a good while, and now no longer know what I'm doing, which I know is dangerous.
I'd picked up an S4 for myself and my mother last Black Friday, and that same night, rooted both our phones. I also know that within a good week, an OTA update had been put out, but I'd blown it off, as I couldn't get it going and finishing up my bach and getting into grad school took over my life. That said, I recently got my father's line upgraded to an S4 (it was a dollar and he wanted it, so eh). It forced me to remember my own phone and it's horribly outdated self, and so I have returned.
As it stands now, I do not know what or how to go about getting this puppy up to speed, or even how to really explain where I'm at software wise, so I took a couple snapshots of the phone info, hoping I could get a hand with it.
Any help you guys could give would be appreciated.
Also, not sure if this means anything, but the System update it says I have downloaded will not install.

You have android 4.3 and the latest version is 4.4.2.
Upgrade to 4.4.2 for your phone and then you can flash the latest custom roms for android version 4.4.2 if you are out of warranty and do not wish to use knox.
Youre not outdated. Just a version behind. There are not many changes in 4.4.2 stock rom.
Thank me if I helped
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 via XDA app.

[Q] Android L: Available Without OTA Update?

Hey guys. First off, I'm new (this is my first post) so if I say/ do something wrong, please be considerate.
So I read somewhere that the new version of Android, Android L, might be coming out as early as December for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Earlier this year I got a Galaxy S5 and as it is my first Android, I wanted it to be the best it could. After a while I decided that it would be a good idea to root it, but as it is a Verizon model, it didn't look like I was going to be able to since the bootloader is locked. Luckily once towelroot came out I was able to root it, thankfully.
A month or two later, an OTA update came out, for Kitkat 4.4.3, and after several tries at installing it, I figured out the hard way that once you root your phone, OTA updates don't work anymore.
With all this being said, I'm a little concerned that I wont be able to get the next version of android on my phone. Even if it does come out in an OTA update, I know I wont be able to install it and since the bootloader is locked, I wont be able to flash it onto my phone.
Is there any hope that I'll be able to get Android L, or am I going to be stuck with Kitkat 4.4.2?

omega_927 said:
Hey guys. First off, I'm new (this is my first post) so if I say/ do something wrong, please be considerate.
So I read somewhere that the new version of Android, Android L, might be coming out as early as December for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Earlier this year I got a Galaxy S5 and as it is my first Android, I wanted it to be the best it could. After a while I decided that it would be a good idea to root it, but as it is a Verizon model, it didn't look like I was going to be able to since the bootloader is locked. Luckily once towelroot came out I was able to root it, thankfully.
A month or two later, an OTA update came out, for Kitkat 4.4.3, and after several tries at installing it, I figured out the hard way that once you root your phone, OTA updates don't work anymore.
With all this being said, I'm a little concerned that I wont be able to get the next version of android on my phone. Even if it does come out in an OTA update, I know I wont be able to install it and since the bootloader is locked, I wont be able to flash it onto my phone.
Is there any hope that I'll be able to get Android L, or am I going to be stuck with Kitkat 4.4.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know anything about L coming out but you can get all the updates you want. All the info you need is in threads here and in the general forum. You can always odin back to stock and take OTA updates. Or you can install which ever version you want via odin and then root from there.
Edit: In reading an article a while ago over @ techradar, I think we'll be seeing L sooner than you think. The thinking seems to go that when the Note 4 drops with L on it, Sammy will push it to their top tier phones right away after that...

[Q] Rooting Note III Question

Yes, this has probably been gone over ad nauseum throughout the site. Due to time constraints I cannot dig through the forums as much as I'd like, so I'm simply going to ask.
Phone: Samsung Note III (SM-N900V)
Carrier: Verizon Wireless
OS Version: 4.4.2
Baseband Version: N900VVRUCNC4
Kernal Version: 3.4.0
Build Number: KOT49H.N900VVRUCNC4
Hardware Version: N900V.07
It was purchased November 2013 with OS 4.3. Over the summer I accepted the OTA update to 4.4.2. My phone went to hell. Battery gets chewed through like a woodchipper, phone is horribly laggy, antenna connection is always 1-2 bars under where it was prior to update (and doesn't get reception in areas it did before), changes to the UI are less than desirable, etc.
The phone was never rooted, as this was the first phone I've ever had that worked well enough on stock software that I skipped it.
After giving it a few months on the update and trying changes/tweaks within the updated stock software to fix the issues the update caused, I'm at the end of my patience. Contacting support at both Verizon and Samsung was pointless, with one blaming the other for the problems.
What I'd love is to take the OS back to 4.3 and leave it, but in lieu of that I want to root the hell out of it and put a build on without these issues and a better antenna software. I'd prefer not to void the KNOX, but at this point I'd microwave it if it'd help.
I have no backups or root access from before the update to base a root on. I tried towelroot; install button doesn't work and I understand the maker Geohot works for Google now. I started to play with Odin, however the install seems to have an oddly high amount of other software it wants to install, and even after declining those it doesn't want to install (tried 3.09 and 3.10, I'm using Windows 7 w/latest SP and updates). Also, it drives my AV software crazy, so even turning that off and working with it didn't get me very far.
So, at this point, I'm open to most anything to get this crap off my phone, and my only requirement is that I don't brick it.
Options?
Thanks in advance for any help.

HarlockTaliesin said:
Yes, this has probably been gone over ad nauseum throughout the site. Due to time constraints I cannot dig through the forums as much as I'd like, so I'm simply going to ask.
Phone: Samsung Note III (SM-N900V)
Carrier: Verizon Wireless
OS Version: 4.4.2
Baseband Version: N900VVRUCNC4
Kernal Version: 3.4.0
Build Number: KOT49H.N900VVRUCNC4
Hardware Version: N900V.07
It was purchased November 2013 with OS 4.3. Over the summer I accepted the OTA update to 4.4.2. My phone went to hell. Battery gets chewed through like a woodchipper, phone is horribly laggy, antenna connection is always 1-2 bars under where it was prior to update (and doesn't get reception in areas it did before), changes to the UI are less than desirable, etc.
The phone was never rooted, as this was the first phone I've ever had that worked well enough on stock software that I skipped it.
After giving it a few months on the update and trying changes/tweaks within the updated stock software to fix the issues the update caused, I'm at the end of my patience. Contacting support at both Verizon and Samsung was pointless, with one blaming the other for the problems.
What I'd love is to take the OS back to 4.3 and leave it, but in lieu of that I want to root the hell out of it and put a build on without these issues and a better antenna software. I'd prefer not to void the KNOX, but at this point I'd microwave it if it'd help.
I have no backups or root access from before the update to base a root on. I tried towelroot; install button doesn't work and I understand the maker Geohot works for Google now. I started to play with Odin, however the install seems to have an oddly high amount of other software it wants to install, and even after declining those it doesn't want to install (tried 3.09 and 3.10, I'm using Windows 7 w/latest SP and updates). Also, it drives my AV software crazy, so even turning that off and working with it didn't get me very far.
So, at this point, I'm open to most anything to get this crap off my phone, and my only requirement is that I don't brick it.
Options?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the best breakdown of what you need to do. Click here, scroll till you see the blue outline for NC4 OTA.
Be sure to hit "thanks" on @az_biker link for this tutorial!

Unfortunately this won't work, I've already tried. When running the towelroot installer the Install button is not clickable. The other buttons function normally.

Op did you ever hey the note rooted....did you get the towel root to work

chefb said:
Op did you ever hey the note rooted....did you get the towel root to work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No to both, unfortunately.

I've had no issues with towelroot. But for giggles make sure you have install from unknown source checked, and then unlock your developer options and make sure USB debug is enabled, then give it another shot.
Sent from my Baja'd 4.4.2 Note 3

cjamison08 said:
I've had no issues with towelroot. But for giggles make sure you have install from unknown source checked, and then unlock your developer options and make sure USB debug is enabled, then give it another shot.
Sent from my Baja'd 4.4.2 Note 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you take a ota

I have not, since the leaked NC2 firmware was leaked out. However on my s4 I just used towelroot with the latest NC5 firmware, and it worked flawlessly.
Sent from my Alliance 4.4.2 Note 3

[T Mobile] Signal is cutting out, someone suggested updating bootloader / radio? How?

I have an S5 from T-Mobile, it is several months old. It is currently using Cyanogenmod 12.1 Nightly from July 4.
I updated to the October 21 Nightly a few days ago, and started seeing an issue, where the mobile signal cuts out after a while (usually after I wake up the phone after a long time of inactivity, such as sleeping). I will see a mobile signal, but there is an exclamation point next to it. LTE data won't work. MMS won't work. I don't know if SMS or Phone Calls will work, but I suspect not.
I asked on Reddit, and someone suggested that my phone might need a Bootloader / Radio update? Someone made the following suggestion:
"Many Samsung devices require a bootloader/radio update to run the latest CyanogenMod versions. You need to make sure it is both the bootloader and radio, becasue many update packages will do one or the other. You can find the flashable zips on the xda forums. "​
In the mean time, I have downgraded back to an old July 4 Nightly, but it looks like the problem is now persisting. So, finding a solution is now more urgent.
Does anyone know how to update the Bootloader / Radio for my T-Mobile S5? Directions / Links would be helpful... :-s Kinda newb at this.
Or, if you could recommend a ROM that you prefer over CM, that would be welcome info as well. I do like CM, but you know what they say, the grass is always greener. Plus, I think everyone here likes to tinker.
Device Model: SM-G900T
CM Version: 12.1-20150704-NIGHTLY-klte
Android Version: 5.1.1
Baseband Versioin: G900TUVU1DOB1