The Moto G was first released with Android Jelly Bean 4.3 under the hood, but Motorola wanted to show their target market that they release updates faster than their competitors. Shortly after the device's release, they made the Moto G upgradable to Android KitKat 4.4. While this was good for giving consumers the latest features and fixes, it came at a price. It is noted that any rushed program or operating system comes with bugs that need to be fixed.
According to Digital Trends, many users reported battery drain, camera malfunction, and signal loss as the main issues after upgrading to KitKat 4.4. Google has made various statements on their recommended fixes, but not all of their recommendations are solutions. For instance, many of the problems related to the KitKat 4.4 update are caused by camera-based applications, like Skype. Google's solution is to uninstall all the camera-based applications, which is not ideal for many users. Other problems cited under Android 4.4, according to KpopStarz include SIM errors, pop-up and Airplane mode issues.
There are workarounds for these issues that users can try themselves:
Signal Loss
The permanent solution for signal loss lies in the next update, but there are workarounds for it. According to Digital Trends, it is recommended for users to try restarting the phone or switching to and from Airplane mode. This should fix the signal problem temporarily. Note, however, that the problem could come back again later.
Battery Drain
Users need to recalibrate the battery to prevent the battery drain that happens after the update. Motorola already has a fix for it, but they have not released it yet. To recalibrate, charge the phone and drain the battery completely, and then charge it to 100% undisturbed. According to the Christian Post, this should recalibrate the battery and improve its life.
Camera Error
Camera-based applications appeared to be the cause of the Moto G's glitches after the Android KitKat 4.4 update. The next update should fix it up, but clearing the data may help work around it. Go to Settings > Apps > Camera and click Force Stop, then clear the data and then the cache. Closing the running camera apps that are no longer in use can also clear up enough data to help other apps run smoothly.
Users may check Motorola's website for news on the next updates, or check Google's announcements for the next Android release.
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