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I love my Droid!! That is until recently. About a week ago Verizon updated everyone to the highly anticipated Froyo 2.2 software update. Having read much about the new enhancements that were included I eagerly powered off and on my phone to accept the upgrade. What a mistake that was.
Ever since this update my phone has taken on the personality of a possessed person. It randomly locksup, loses calls, my battery life has become so dismal I'm afraid to actually use it, apps no longer would close with the use of the "Task Kiler and running really slow, like a dog.
At first I thought it was me, but after talking to a few Droid friends who were having similar problems, I did a little research. What I found was highly discouraging. Apparently, there's a lot of people in the world having similar problems, who also want to rip their hair out over this latest and greatest update. Be afraid my friends, be very afraid <grin>
For Example: One of the first headlines I ran across.
"Motorola Droid owners reporting issues with Android 2.2 update"
http://www.examiner.com/gadgets-in-san-francisco/motorola-droid-owners-reporting-issues-with-android-2-2-update
As I browsed and read more the problem with task killer not working became readily apparent. I wasn't insane after all. Well, maybe I am....but that's talk for another day.
"Problems with Task Killer and Froyo 2.2 Update on Droid"
http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-20013247-85.html
"Froyo update kills Android task killer apps"
http://www.worldtech24.com/phones/froyo-update-kills-android-task-killer-apps
When I first bought my Droid the Verizon rep put Task Killer on it for me stating you had to have it in order to kill all the running apps to save your battery life. Now, the killer has apparently been killed. Aggghhhhh!!
Moving onto the battery drainage problem it appears they're trying to blame this one on Facebook's app but I'm not sure I'm buying that this is the whole cause. I found information that said to make sure you update to the latest version in order to solve this problem.
"Android 2.2 Froyo Battery Drainage Apparently Caused By Facebook App"
http://erictric.com/2010/08/05/android-2-2-froyo-battery-drainage-apparently-caused-by-facebook-app/
So after spending a few hours growing increasingly disappointed over what I was reading. I did pick up a few tips and pointers that you might want to try if you're falling out of love with your Droid with the inclusion of Froyo in your relationship.
1) Delete Task Killer- According to the "experts" Froyo knows when to launch and kill apps on its own and will run much better with this app gone. Again, true or not just what I've been reading. I myself, uninstalled it.
2) Add the Android power management widget to your phone to help shut things down when not needed and preserve battery life. Just long press on your screen and pick add widget the look for "Power Management". Just make sure you have enough open space on your home screen before trying to place it there as it needs 3 rows across to fit.
3) Uninstall Facebook app....then redownload it. You can't really take it out completely but you can go to apps management and remove what you can then go and re-download the latest version.
4) Take out your battery, then put it back in. (not sure what this does)
5) Factory Reset: Last but not least if Froyo still isn't playing nice on your phone do a factory reset. I haven't been brave enough to do this one and am saving it as a last resort but the research I've read seems to suggest this will fix all of your problems and things will go back to normal. Of course, you'll wipe out everything on your phone and will need to start over, but that's the cost of a buggy update. It's similar to formating your hard drive and gives you a clean slate. If anyone has done this, and life is better now, please let me know. I refuse to go there unless I absolutely
have to.
After reading through hundreds of comments on forums and discussion boards I picked up a few other random tips that may help.
Download Juice Defender- Helps preserve battery life
http://latedroid.com/juicedefender/
And to really see what's going on with your phone's battery type this into your handset.
*#*#4636#*#*
You'll be amazed at the phone info, battery info, and usage stats it reveals.
So there you have it. My own little private hell in a nutshell. No, I'm not taking back my phone, and I do still think that the Droid is the slickest phone ever. I'll just sit back in my corner and wait for Verizon to come up with an update to this update to kill all of these crazy bugs. I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Right?? Any suggestions?
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