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Android 4.3 Bug Fixed, But Others Remain

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Google said that it was investigating a fix for one major Android 4.3 bug that was plaguing Nexus owners and it now appears that that issue has been taken care of thanks to a Netflix app update.

Shortly after the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update rolled out, Nexus 4 owners almost immediately started to complain about issues with the Netflix application, namely that it wasn’t working properly. Google immediately came out and stated that it was looking into the issue but offered no time table on a fix for Netflix owners on Android 4.3.

Read: Android 4.3 Bug List Continues to Grow.

Android 4.3 bugs persist on Nexus devices.

Android 4.3 bugs persist on Nexus devices.

Today, the fix for the issue has arrived in the form of a Netflix update that contains “fixes and optimization for devices running Android 4.3.” The update also says that “on the new Nexus 7 HD, this version requires all Android 4.3 system updates to be installed.”

Obviously, this is a big fix for Nexus owners who use Netflix on their mobile devices and it’s one that Google handled relatively quickly. Problem is, the Netflix bug was only one of the many issues that has been plaguing Android 4.3 Jelly Bean users since it was released at the end of July.

In addition to the Netflix bug, we’ve been hearing about a number of different problems with Android 4.3, problems that Google has not promised to take a look at. Maybe the most prominent of the bunch are the battery life complaints that we’ve been receiving from old Nexus 7 owners in particular. Several Nexus 7 2012  owners have complained that their device drains abnormally, even when it Airplane Mode.

We’ve also heard complaints from Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus owners in regards to battery life. This is something that typically happens after all major Android updates so it’s hard to say if it’s a Google issue or a user one.

Nexus 7 owners have complained about terrible Android 4.3 battery life.

Nexus 7 owners have complained about terrible Android 4.3 battery life.

Users have also complained about broken Bluetooth keyboard support, something that we recently confirmed on a ZAGG Bluetooth keyboard. We’re also seeing Nexus 4 owners complaining about hang ups on the boot screen, broken Gallery applications, and overall sluggishness in the user interface. It appears that some owners are experiencing broken applications as well with MLB at Bat one that has been singled out.

One Nexus 7 owner told us that his auto rotation is now broken in Android 4.3 though we haven’t been able to replicate the issue. Others have told us that their slow charging issues with the old Nexus 7 remain.

So while one Android 4.3 bug may have been fixed, there are still quite a bit of bugs on the Android 4.3 bug list and that list seems to be growing by the day.

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. Ronald Geiken

    08/08/2013 at 10:15 am

    The most irritating bug to me is the fact that even though they supposedly installed BT 4.0 the low energy update, they forgot to work on the circuit that still shuts off the external BT Keyboard after a minute or so. I want the BT Keyboard to remain on, but without rooting the device, there doesn’t seem to be any way to do that. With the circuit the way it is, it limits the usefulness of this device to me. Most of use want to believe that Android is the wave of the future, but if they can’t even fix a simple bug like this, then is there any hope for it. On my Nexus 10, a notice comes up about 1 minute after I energize BT and tells me that is has been disconnected. This is so stupid, that it is almost pathetic. They seem to be trying to solve major problems and disregarding what they consider to be small problems. Not sure if there is a third party app that will help with this or not. I have had this device for about 8 months, and BT has never worked satisfactorily. I bought the Nexus 10 thinking that they had a finished product, but discovered it is still in Beta.

  2. Kenneth Spicer

    08/08/2013 at 11:44 am

    After 30 years of designing operating systems, I am amazed how these young pups ignore the obvious. The Andriod power drain is really very simple to fix. The root of the problem (no pun intended) is in the management of the multi-tasks. Just because you stop using a task – skype for example – it doesn’t go away, it doesn’t change priority, and it doesn’t change the power demands. If you get enough of these ‘turd processes’ guess what happens!!! If you want to save power, put timeouts on non-primary processes, and indefinate pends as it enters sleep mode.

    • Ronald Geiken

      08/08/2013 at 3:49 pm

      In Samsung Tablets they have a Program Manager that is easily accessible where you can turn off processes that you are through with and regain ram through that way. Maybe Android 5.0 will contain that in the O/S. Some programs contain a way to shut them down, but it is not O/S centric, rather each program has to do it for itself.

      • rahulp

        08/24/2013 at 6:53 am

        Hit the multi tasking button, cross unwanted apps of the list. It’s really just that simple. Like in windows, you have to tell the OS when you’re done with an application. I generally don’t bother with this, but there is a simple built-in way to do it in android.

        • Ronald Geiken

          08/24/2013 at 9:09 am

          In Windows it is pretty easy to turn off a task you have been using and you can see the immediate decrease in memory usage. With the Samsung Note 1, there is about 1.8 gig of ram available to programs in the Nexus 10 there is only a little over 1 gig. With my Nexus 10 I am frequently down to 200 meg of ram left, while on the Note, there is usually at least a 1 gig left and it is easy to recover more. I have both the Nexus 10 and the Note 10.1, and actually prefer using the Note. Much more user friendly. I will never buy another Nexus product. I like the look and feel of a more professional tablet which the Note is. Actually both of the tablets perform pretty well, but my preference is the Note.

    • truelitistnot

      08/24/2013 at 6:34 pm

      That’s not the issue. Upgraded my GNEX to 4.3 and didn’t do much on it at all and the battery died in 2 hours from a fresh battery. My first thoughts were that a background app was eating CPU and draining battery. Tested it by shutting down the phone and restarting. I disabled all startup apps prior to shutdown. Phone sat idle for about 3 hours from a fresh charge and dead again. At one point the battery was draining so fast that even when I plugged in the charger (wall charger) the battery level was dropping faster than the charger could even charge it; still drained the battery. The battery settings panel is also useless under JB 4.3 as it reports the wrong information about which apps/processes are eating battery. Anyway, I basically had to unload JB 4.3 and reflash 4.2.2. Now, under 4.2.2 battery drain is back to normal – 4 to 5 hours under heavy use to a dead battery and all day long under idle use.

      JB 4.3 has some rogue process that not only eats battery like mad, but something is also eating memory (memory leak perhaps). JB 4.3 eats memory so bad that the loader (desktop) has to unload constantly to run even a single user app. So, something in the OS is completely rogue and going nuts.

      • truelitistnot

        08/24/2013 at 6:41 pm

        And the WIFI connection bug is just flat out annoying as well. I would have downgraded back to 4.2.2 just because of that bug alone. WIFI was God awful under JB 4.3. Slow as heck and would never reconnect properly automatically. Also WIFI constantly went to sleep in the middle of transmitting or receiving.

  3. JT

    08/09/2013 at 6:31 am

    I’ve experienced the battery drain issue and slow charging on my Nexus 7. I didn’t have either of these issues before the 4.3 update. I refuse to update my Nexus 4. I’ll wait for the 5.0 update to see how well that one works.

  4. Kyle

    08/09/2013 at 7:04 am

    how come no one has even mentioned problems of streaming with this new version of jelly bean 4.3. my direct tv app on my Nexus 4 doesn’t work neither does my HBO Go or basically any type of video online streaming on my phone through Chrome the whole thing is a mess and they need to fix s fast it took a phone that I have been proud of to have because of its technology and sent it back.

  5. Will

    08/09/2013 at 4:14 pm

    MLB at bat video feed also does not work. This is a hefty paid subscription to watch all the MLB games. It worked great with 4.2 but will not work at all with 4.3 – very frustrating.

  6. Hans

    08/10/2013 at 6:46 am

    Have 4.3 installed on my Galaxy Nexus (i9250) battery life has improved a lot with the update. Normally when I depart from home (4.2) before I reach the office about 83% left. No with Play Music running 88% and if non 92%. So no complaints about the update. OK I haven’t installed 2 big battery drainers Skype and/or Facebook otherwise the story might be less battery than stated. But mind, for example these app and like them eat both memory and battery.
    The update is great and no problem on the gracefully ageing Galaxy Nexus.

  7. mintslice

    08/10/2013 at 2:49 pm

    I had problems with my N7 shutting off, and with the screen rotation not working but all seems good now. I also think the show charge issue hit me for the first couple of days because I charge each night and I’d wake up and it wasn’t fully charged. But all these problems seem to have disappeared now. Touch wood.

  8. Axel in YUL

    08/11/2013 at 2:25 pm

    And I thought I was the culprit. Since Android 4.3 was installed in my Nexus 7, the volume slider does not work at all off the screen, and although the volume can be adjusted with the side buttons the level image does not reflect the change until the slider disappears.

    • Ronald Geiken

      08/11/2013 at 3:19 pm

      Android 4.3 has all kinds of surprises waiting for us. You don’t know what it will be until you install it.I have BT 4.0 installed, but still have a problem with the system turning off my BT4.0 Keyboard within a minute or so after I have connected it. This obviously has to be a bug since BT 4.0 is low energy and should be able to run continuously. At least my MS W7 O/S feels complete, but Android not so. Android always feels like it is missing something.

  9. Ferdinand Arcinue

    08/16/2013 at 3:19 pm

    I have the battery drain issue on my N7. It would drain overnight with the wi-fin and sync off. The android OS seems to keep it awake a lot. I temporarily fixed this by turning off location services, but am hoping that they fix this bug soon since I use many apps where automatic location is nice (like weather, yelp, maps, etc.).

  10. Adrian

    08/22/2013 at 9:29 am

    I have the battery drain problem too on my Nexus 7. I noticed problems after updating to Android 4.3. First it was impossibility to turn off wifi. Then the battery problem came, making the N7 unusable.
    The battery charges for 7+ hrs (with just seldom use of the tablet). The tablet is fully charged at 5 PM. Then the battery drains extremely quickly even in Airplane mode – from 60% at 10 PPM until dead at 7 AM.
    I tried to turn off localization services – didn´t help at all. Now I killed Google Currents, hoping to see some improvement. I suppose not, I think something prevents the CPU going to sleep.

  11. steve

    08/26/2013 at 10:41 am

    4.3 broke my auto rotate as well, even ultimate rotation app will not fix it. So annoyed now my nexus 7 is stuck in portrait.

  12. Roland Clarke

    08/29/2013 at 11:08 am

    Is android going to fix the mlb.bat problem quickly? If not are they prepared to compensate those who have paid for this mlb streaming? Not impressed!

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