Droid Bionic Bug Fix Update Coming in November
I’ve been getting a lot of emails from frustrated Motorola Droid Bionic owners who have been complaining about a number of bugs including issues with the phone making the switch from 3G to 4G and in regards to a mysterious high pitched sound that seems to occur when listening to media through a pair of headphones connected to the device.
Well, we have some good news on the bug killing front as Droid-Life is reporting that a bug fix update will be rolling out in November and should take care of these two issues and more.
Yes, I realize that it’s still September, which means you have a fairly long wait ahead of you before these bugs get ironed out but at least we know that a fix is coming. Verizon has confirmed it with an extremely long list of bug fixes.

The list is long, but here it is in its entirety:
Issue: 4G/3G Service – Data Connectivity
- Marginal 4G to 3G transition: Loss of data connectivity – The device may display 3G service indication but no data connections are possible.
- Action: The user will need to power cycle the device or enable/disable Airplane Mode.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: High Pitch Headset Noise:
- A customer may experience high pitched “screetches” while using high end wired headsets.
- Action: There is no known work around.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Mobile Hotspot User Limitations:
- The Mobile Hotspot only supports 5 users.
- Action: There is no known work around.
- Resolution: This is a limitation of the device hardware and cannot be corrected.
Issue: Non-branded Chargers:
- The XT875 can only be charged with Motorola or Verizon Wireless branded chargers.
- Action: No work around required.
- Resolution: No resolution required, working as designed and approved by Verizon Wireless.
Issue: USB Cables:
- The XT875 can only be used with Motorola USB cables.
- Action: No work around required.
- Resolution: No resolution required, working as designed and approved by Verizon Wireless.
Issue: Google Talk Video Calls:
- Google Video Talk sessions can be established faster if you start a text chat session first.
- Action: No work around required.
- Resolution: No resolution required, working as designed and approved by Verizon Wireless.
Issue: Touchdown Compatibility:
- Nitrodesk’s Touchdown will not function on the XT875.
- Action: No work around required.
- Resolution: No resolution required, working as designed and approved by Verizon Wireless.
Issue: Lapdock low memory warning:
- With 4 or more windows opened, a user may see low memory warnings.
- Action: The user can terminate browser sessions and/or stop running applications (Tasks application in System Tray).
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the second post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is under review.
9. Issue: Mobile Hotspot Security Modes:
- Mobile Hotspot does not support WEP or WPA Wi-Fi protocols. Only WPA2 is supported .
- Action: No work around required.
- Resolution: No resolution required, working as designed and approved by Verizon Wireless.
Issue: Home Panel Application Shortcuts:
- Application shortcuts may be removed from the Home Panel without any user interaction.
- Action: The User can go in System Tray and manually add them back in Home Panels. The applications are not deleted from the device.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the second post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is under review.
Issue: MMS Media Message View:
- The user may encounter “Force Close” errors or delays when opening MMS messages with media attachments.
- Action: The user may need to make more than one attempt to view the message.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Recent Applications Display:
- If a user presses and holds the Home key, recently run applications are displayed. Selecting an application may generate an error message “Application not installed on phone.”
- Action: Access the application from the System Tray.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: 3 Way Calling – Ending Last Call:
- In certain infrastructure markets (Motorola and Nortel), pressing the “End last call” button will place the last party on hold and not drop the call.
- Action: User should use the “End call” button to insure all parties are disconnected.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: MEID Displayed:
- Under Settings > About Phone > Status, the 14 digit MEID is displayed rather than the 15 digit IMEI.
- Action: This information is available on the battery cavity label.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Verizon Wireless Media Store Ringtones:
- Ringtones purchased through online store cannot be saved when received in an MMS message. User will get an “error saving attachment” error.
- Action: The user should use the VCast Tone application to purchase ringtones.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Post OTA Update – Favorites:
- The Favorites contacts may be deleted after a software update. The user will need to manually add the Favorites back.
- Action: There is no known work around.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: SIM Swapping Blocks OTA Updates:
- In another provisioned SIM is inserted into the XT875 and original SIM is reinserted, the device will not get any OTA updates.
- Action: The user will need to perform a factory reset to get OTA updates.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Answering incoming calls while in the Lapdock:
- A user may not be able to answer an incoming call while the XT875 is in the Lapdock.
- Action: This issue can be reduced if the call is answered during the first ring cycle.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the second post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is under review.
Issue: Camera use while in Lapdock:
- If the XT875 is in the Lapdock and the user opens the Camera, they may receive a “Camera is unable to initialize” error message.
- Action: There is no known work around.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the second post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is under review.
Issue: NFL Mobile – Lapdock Videos:
- NFL Mobile videos will not be displayed while the Bionic is in the Lapdock.
- Action: No work around required.
- Resolution: This is a limitation of DRM protection.
Issue: Sleep Mode After HD Dock Use:
- If the XT875 is removed from the HD Dock, the device may not go back into screen saver mode.
- Action: Go to Settings > Applications > Development and uncheck “Stay awake” option.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Resets during Visual Voicemail:
- User may encounter resets while playing back voice messages or replying with voice messages.
- Action: There is no known work around.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Visual Voicemail Power-up Message:
- When the XT875 is powered up the user may see “Data service N/A. Select to refresh” as a Visual Voicemail activities alert in the Notification Panel.
- Action: This is a false error message. It can be dismissed from the Notification Panel.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
Issue: Message Thread Order – Device Rotation:
- If the XT875 is rotated from portrait to landscape then back to portrait mode after a message sent, the message thread jumps from the latest to the oldest message.
- Action: There is no known around.
- Resolution: A fix for this issue is under review and will be included in the first post launch maintenance release software for this device. The tentative release date is early November 2011.
How has your experience with the Droid Bionic been, folks?




I’m on my 3rd Bionic. I just noticed that there’s no data connection again after replacing the SIM card again. On a long hold wait with Verizon now. They managed to drag this out past my replacement time of course. These big companies are out of control.
This is for you Adam Mills did you seriously say ” The hotspot issue is actually something I’ve heard about as well so it’s nice that Verizon has a fix for that in the works as well”… may want to reread your own story genius
i went thru 3 phones in a week bc of the keyboard spazzing while texting…i call tech support and they wanted to send a refurbished phone! hell no! just paid $300 for it….i asked if she was high off her ass!!!! if u buy a new car, and motor blows in a week, who would settle for a used motor or car??? NO ONE!
Started with motorola and decided to try htc thunderbolt well lets say this, five months and five phones later ive been granted a chance to upgrade at my expense. Sold that phone and got a bionic and think its the best phone out there. Ive had minor issues but nothing i cant manage.
I love my bionic, reminds me of my x and x2 loved those phones and wanted the bionic instead of the x2. Lots of the same features just the bionic is on roids. Only one failing I can see. Very very slow camera and that is a very important one since I have a 2 year old.camera is fast to slow to catch the action. Would love it if it was as fast as the camera on the x2
[...] tons of people hoping to make the upgrade. Then, we learned that owners were plagued by a couple of nasty little bugs and soon after that, it became known that Verizon didn’t and doesn’t care about the [...]
Bring on the class action , Motorola should be responsible for putting on the market a substandard device, I HAVE HAD NO END TO ISSUES WITH THE BIONIC!
Too much$ for a basic phone
Screwed by Motorola
So much for being loyal
verizon no help when you buy from Motorola
data plane waste of money when you cant use it on a Motorola Droid Bionic
Is it November yet?
Talked to customer service today at Verizon because of all of the issues with my Droid Bionic. According to the lady at the service desk they will be releasing the update to fix the connectivity and other issues on December 09, 2011. So sometime tomorrow we should hopefully be able to get the update and possibly do away with some of these issues.
Bought the Bionic in November, haven’t had any major issues until yesterday when suddenly I couldn’t plug in my headphones anymore?!? Something has gotten bent inside the headphone jack so I’m getting a replacement phone sent today. Other than that I’ve had no problems and love the phone, but it how do you spend all this time and money building such a powerful phone and then skimp on something so cheap and simple as a headphone jack?!? I guess it’s better than a faulty antenna though… =}