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Galaxy S3 crying out for Android 4.4 update as 4.3 fails

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The Samsung Galaxy S3 is getting on a bit in terms of the smartphone market that moves forward at an incredible pace, but the handset can still be purchased from a number of retailers around the world. Owners of the device have been beset by problems over the last few months, and the Galaxy S3 is crying out for the Android 4.4 update as 4.3 fails the handset.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has received the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system but the majority of users have had with problems that continue to plague the handset. The list of problems has been growing all the time which have now been affecting our own international version of the handset.

A growing number of times now the handset just freezes momentarily, and an annoying issue that hit my device the other day is the camera app just crashing. My son was about to receive his new belt and certificate for karate after a successful grading when the camera app just closed.

Luckily I managed to open it back up to grab a quick image but didn’t have time to zoom in closer to the action. There have also been a number of other apps that keep crashing as well that include the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

Now there has been talk that the GT-9I300 version of the handset will be left on this version of Android, but more recently hopes of a Galaxy S3 Android 4.4 KitKat update have been growing. Talk before suggested that because the device only has 1GB of RAM and the fact that the Samsung TouchWiz UI takes up so much memory it would miss out.

As we reported previously though other Samsung handsets with 1GB of RAM have already been promised to receive Android 4.4 KitKat at some point in the future.

What problems have you been facing since installing Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on your Galaxy S3?

Comments

49 thoughts on “Galaxy S3 crying out for Android 4.4 update as 4.3 fails”

  1. bobloblaw says:

    I finally rooted and installed CM11 to avoid the issues I had with 4.3. It’s breathed life into an old phone, and I may stick with my S3 for a while, even though I’m up for a renewal.

  2. bbrown says:

    Almost every S3 worldwide has 2 GB RAM, this implies that “the device” only has 1 GB. This RAM thing isn’t even an issue for >95% of S3 users and better not be used as an excuse to not make up for the 4.3 blunder. I’ve been living with it and the only hope for a functional phone is 4.4…according to ATT US.

    1. android lover says:

      The US version has 2gb and has already been confirmed to get the update eventually, but many others only have 1gb and it hasn’t been confirmed if it will get the kitkat update.

  3. François says:

    Huge battery drain 3 to 4% an hour. Sometimes the device become real hot and lose about 70% in an hour while in my pockets… #disapointed

  4. SuperFreakMe says:

    Same here with battery drain. I change out my battery 3x a day. I’ve tried all kinds of “Battery Saver” apps, but none work. With the recent OTA T-MOBILE Stability update, my phone runs slower than the computers of the 1990’s!! It takes me forever to type out anything, such as this comment. SLOOOOOW. I have the SGH-T999 and have 2GB of RAM, but it seems that isn’t the problem for me. The Clean Master app helps a lot with that. I moved a ton of media to my 32gb SD Card &thought that would help, but nope. Mine has been crashing in apps that never crashed before as well.
    I’m glad, on a whim, I ordered a separate battery charger, and now have 3 batteries swapping out, like I said 3x a day. Ridiculous. #ExtremelyDisappointed

  5. SilentPatriot says:

    Internet application crashes often, and can’t get sound out of Flash media anymore. Also had to pay for PDAnet + FoxFi to get wireless tethering back, and unfortunately NOT looking forward to a 4.4 update because FoxFi won’t work. Also, upsetting that device is locked down with KNOX – I’ve been out-of-contract for many months now, and should be allowed to have a fully-unlocked bootloader. Probably won’t ever get another Samsung product just due to that.

  6. mohammad says:

    That is ridiculous. 4.3 Android 4.4 also got a full tank now PS3 Would this kit suit., I was so nervous and I do not buy other Samsung products

  7. Erik Margopoulos says:

    My gallery stops and closes when I try to share photo from the gallery itself. Instead I have to open messaging or any other app and add a photo through there because the gallery itself always closes. Not to mention how long it takes before the keyboard actually popped up most of the time even when nothing else on the phone is running.I could keep going but all I can say is I hope they do release 4.4 for the galaxy s3.

  8. Mark G says:

    Same issues with the note 2 after the 4.3 update… Samsung hasn’t issued a fix or anything I debt with it for months. I decided to just buy another phone and it wasn’t a samsung…done with them

  9. jayjay says:

    The same camera issue. The videa camera doesnt work at all on the i9300. Am really hoping we get an update to fix all these bugs cauz am sure the quad core devixe can handle the KitKat update….

  10. David Murray says:

    We have 2 Galaxy S3 phones. I had to return one when we allowed the 4.3 update to ruin it. Now we’re delaying the update every day. When the update was in we couldn’t run standard apps (like Facebook), could not answer a call, because the screen blanked out, and the phone would lock up several times a day, requiring battery removal to restart. I respect a working update to be released. It’s not too much to ask, is it?

  11. Cristina says:

    I had a huge problem with the update 4.3, there were times where my phone would freeze up on me and I couldn’t click anything on my phone and tried locking it to see what would happen. Didn’t help at all. It wouldn’t let me click anything for a good 5 minutes. There were some news saying the Samsung Galaxy S3 wouldn’t have the new update KitKat (4.4). I’d be pretty mad if I don’t get it. Or I’m going to iPhones.

  12. Difster says:

    I just got an S3 (SGH-T999L) and I haven’t had any problems with the 4.3 update. But I am looking forward to KitKat because of the improvements in efficiency.

    1. Difster says:

      This is so weird.. Only 10 minutes after posting the above, I’m getting the KitKat update on Tmobile. WOOHOO! At least I can only assume that is what this update is.

  13. Jick says:

    my phone wont even accept my sim card anymore, it’s download completed then the next day it started again and failed. So now I have a corrupted phone

  14. Akshay says:

    I have issues when unlocking the phone. The phone takes time to switch on and show me the screen. The unlock pattern takes time to register. And the overall phone looks slow with the update. I really need these fixes. I dont mind an intermediate update with the fixes rather than 4.4 KitKat update

  15. jon hall says:

    My phone constantly keeps saying across the top of the screen that my Internet connection is unstable. Very anoying. Does this happen to you?

  16. Deepak says:

    When switching on the phone from idle, it takes a long time for the screen to show up. The phone is very slow in general and the widgets have taken a good beating after the 4.3 update. If Samsung doesn’t provide a 4.4 update, I’m switching.

    1. ScopeItOut says:

      The problem is that once the 4.3 update has been installed, there is no longer a way to unlock the bootloader and install CyanogenMod or any other custom ROM. I’ve been scouring looking for info and haven’t found anyone with a solution. I should also note that Verizon users with the i535 have to settle for CyanogenMod 10.2 since they haven’t released a stable 11 and have effectively stopped working on it based on the last update coming in Feb.

      If anyone has any info on the contrary I’d love to hear it. I just had to replace my phone and it came loaded with 4.3 so I am now stuck. I can root, but I can’t load a custom ROM through CRM or TWRP

  17. prince says:

    My s3 battery keeps dying very quickly (have bought new battery but that didnt help) my memory card keeps unmounting, my phone freezes and requires a battery pull. I hope they fix this asap.

  18. Gibscreen says:

    Nothing but sympathy on phone issues. I’ve been rooted for almost 2 years now running a TouchWiz debloated rom (cleanrom) at first then got hooked on aosp roms to the point where I’m on nightly builds. Cyanogenmod’s installer makes it way too easy to root. There’s really no reason to suffer with an oem rom.

    But one thing that you said was weird was that you felt like you missed out since you couldn’t zoom in on your son. You actually haven’t missed out on anything. When you “zoom” on most phones it’s basically just cropping the photo. You get the same amount of detail whether you zoom or if you cropped and enlarged the photo. Your s3 doesn’t have optical zoom so there’s no real benefit to zooming.

  19. Rohit says:

    Page buddy feature is disgraceful now. It shows me some unuseful app when I plug in audio javk. Some time or the other phone hangs without any response and requires forceful restart. What have u done SAMSUNG ruined my s3

  20. Peter says:

    Same battery problems when I updated to 4.3 with my S3. T-Mo suggested a factory reset and then run the battery out and fully charge it. After that , I did lose all my app data that were not backed up with gmail, but battery drain went away. Bottom line is you must do a reset after update. Oh well there goes 78 levels of Candy Crush.

  21. Garry says:

    When I make a call the screen goes black and the only way to bring it back is to push the home button which minimizes the phone call. Which then i have to bring back in order to push the key-pad to make selections at 1800 numbers like push 1 to speak to a representative. Plus batter life is much less now (not that S4 had a great battery life but i would say another 10% worse)

  22. leo alzaga says:

    The dialer is super slow. I punch in the number and hit talk button, and it literally takes about 5 seconds to start to dial. Also while on the internet back button sometimes takes me back to an old page…like days old.

  23. Arzell says:

    No major problems with mine (knock on wood). I’m a big Samsung fan and I’ve always wanted a Galaxy phone and this S3 is my first ever. I’ve had it for about a week–I kinda sorta traded in a Moto X for it (I know, I know, not a smart move, please don’t make fun of me).

  24. Mark Patterson says:

    Regret the day I selected software update. Like many others battery drain massively increased. Charge twice a day now. Biggest issue for me is the “checking connectivity message” or “your internet connection is too slow” which then defaults to 3G. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Really annoying when I have fibre optic at home. Most Apps have been OK although Music Player is occasionally juddery. Samsung spin doctors say “we always advise to do a factory reset…blah blah”. I did that in desperation, backing everything up through Kies. Some improvement but the WiFi is still my biggest gripe.

    Been an advocate of Samsung phones for year but they distain they’ve treated customers beggars belief. Seriously thinking of changing now – HTC One, Experia Z2 or Nexus 5 all beckon…….but still anti-Apple!!!!

  25. @m!$# says:

    It sometimes take more than 5 seconds to load the dialer, which is pretty annoying… also if I am watching youtube and lock the screen then the mobile freezes.. it has happened more than 5 times now and the only option to wake up the device was to pull off the battery which doesn’t sound a wise thing to do.. the Gallery app also takes quite a while to open.. with all these problems if GT I 9300 doesn’t get an update then saying goodbye to Samsung will be the best thing to do.

  26. droidshift says:

    Why isn’t Samsung listening to us? It’s been months. The 4.3 update turned my phone from awesome to tedious. Everything is so slow now.

  27. roar says:

    You guys, I know it’s scary, but to spare yourselves the misery you’re going through, FACTORY RESET. Plug your phone into kies, let it backup all your data, then factory reset, and then restore. It does wonders… trust me. It is very common for a major update needing a cache wipe or a factory reset in order to work bug-free.

  28. Yap Gris Som says:

    I have similar problems posted (Galaxy S3), but after Factory Reset – all the problems gone. Please take some efforts to save your files, do the steps accordingly.

  29. colmf says:

    I used to love my S3 but I’m very disappointed with it since it was infected by Android 4.3. I refer to it as “infected” because it is more like a virus attack than an upgrade.
    Battery life is awful. I was getting a full day out of it now I barely get a working day. It stutters regularly on music playback. Apps like Facebook just kill the memory and slow it right down. The Camera can take up tp 20 seconds to come on which means if you want to snap something quickly you are out of luck. It is very slow to react when disconnecting a call resulting in several seconds of silence or background noise after leaving a voicemail as you wait for the screen to comeon to allow you press the red button. That may not sound like much but if it is a business call that just sounds very unprofessional (Why should we hire him when he can’t even work out how to switch off a phone call).
    I was also very unhappy with the quality of information that came from Samsung and Vodafone during the first month after the 4.3 outbreak. Hundreds of people were begging for help on facebook, discussion boards, etc but they gave little if any info. They even denied there was an issue for two weeks. When they eventually came up with a patch to repair the damage it only returned the phone to maybe 75% of what it had been (see above for a list of outstanding issues they never fixed).
    I’m due an upgrade in a couple of months and while the S5 looks good on paper I’m very uncertain about going with another Samsung phone. The HTC One M8 looks like a better option right now.

  30. FAIYAZ says:

    i have also upgraded to 4.3 and getting the problem wifi not decting AD-HOC network and old android version is better than 4.3 phone got slow access and mostly it accessing the 50% RAM.

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