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Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR Android 4.4.2 update problems acknowledged

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The Android KitKat update has recently arrived for the Xperia Z and some other Xperia devices in the form of Android 4.4.2. However, last week we informed readers that some users of these devices have reported serious battery drain problems since receiving the update. Now the Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR Android 4.4 update battery life problem has been acknowledged by the company.

Although battery life has been the most severe issue that users have faced, there have also been cases of overheating and devices suddenly rebooting. As well as the phones mentioned above, it appears that the Sony Tablet Z has also been hit by some of these problems.

Sony Mobile Support has now recognized a battery drain issue with the update to KitKat build 10.5.A.0.230, and it appears that this has been caused by the latest 4.4.52 version of Google Play Services. At the same time the company has provided a workaround and suggests users should uninstall the update until a new version of Google Play Services comes out.

This is the statement that Sony has issued —

We have investigated the issue with Google Play Services using a lot of battery and we have identified that the root cause of this is related to the latest version of Google Play Services (4.4.52).
Until a new version of Google Play Services is provided by Google we urge users to either uninstall the latest update of Google Play Services (might limit use of Google Services like YouTube) or go to Settings > Google (accounts) > Ads > Tick the box for Opt out of interest-based ads and also disable back up of your data by going to Settings > Backup & reset (Personal) > uncheck the box for “Back up my data”.
If you are unable to uninstall the update for Google Play Services from Settings > Apps, go to Settings -> Security -> Device administrators and disable “Android Device Manager”. Also check the settings in the Play Store so that automatic updates is not enabled as this may update Google Play Services again automatically.

It would be good to hear from owners of the Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z devices who have noticed problems, about whether the steps suggested by Sony work for you. Please do let us have your comments on this.

Source: Sony Mobile support
Via: Xperia Blog

Comments

64 thoughts on “Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR Android 4.4.2 update problems acknowledged”

  1. Gazman says:

    I have an xperia z, fully charged last night and woke up this morning to a 5% battery life (even with power management enabled). Have enabled the instructions above and the phone is now fully recharged, so will see how I get on and keep you posted

        1. Jagenaur says:

          After upgrading to KITKAT, I have trouble waking my xperia Z with the power button. This was similar to the previosu JellyBean where the stamina mode was the culprit. KITKAT seems to be causing the same problem however stopping stamina doesn’t solve the issue.

          So if my phone goes to sleep or the power button is press to standby mode. I have to restart the bloody phone again with the power and volume up key.

          I am now back with 4.3 and my phone is usable again. SIGH….

          1. susano says:

            I haven’t got the kit kat yet for the X-z. But I have been having the same issues with the new jelly bean. At times my phone restarts itself. It’s a hassle but it only happens when I do more than two things at once on it. When it was original I did five thing at once. Smh I wish this can get fixed.

          2. Jagenaur says:

            This is funny thing, there is no mentioned of the problems I am facing with the power button issue from the numerous forums and blogs that I have read.

            The web seemed to be blasted with the Google Play issue. Easier to blame Google than to look at your own development and testing phases I reckon. Bunch of Monkeys. Maybe a bunch of bananas will help to move things along faster.

          3. Mook says:

            Is there a fix for this solution already? Cuz definitely not able to use this phone while facing this problem…

          4. Mook says:

            I dont know if it works for other people, but what I have found is the following:
            – If I lock the screen and it’s on WiFi, then more often it doesnt wake up
            – You can wake up the phone by putting it in or getting it out of the charger
            – I have the problem more often when I use a non-Sony charger
            – The screen doesnt wake up if i lock it and immediately try to unlock it a few seconds later. When i lock it and let it rest for a few minutes, it unlocks most of the time.

            Again, I dont know if my findings are random but I’d like to know if this is the same for other people who face this problem. Thanks 🙂

          5. Jagenaur says:

            Yours symptoms were that of the previous upgrade to JellyBean. Let’s keep our finger’s cross the next update will cure all these ailments.

  2. Chrispyweener says:

    Found battery usage had already taken a nose dive about a week prior to 4.4.2 being released by Sony but never figured it was Play services doing it after it had updated. I thought it was actually related to Skype and the camera bug so I uninstalled that in the hope it sorted it (it did help a bit). Then got 4.4.2 literally days later and found my phone boiling hot and going flat within a few hours, even after a hard reset. I’ve followed Sony’s advice on disabling those options (the phone hardly functions with the stock version of Play Services – YouTube, Hangouts etc) and so far that process has only used 15% battery compared to the 80% it was using before…….Google need to pull their fingers out and sort this as it’s affecting Samsung, Nexus 4 / 5 and other handset manufacturers too based on the searches I’ve done.

    1. Chrispyweener says:

      EDIT – Didn’t uninstall but made the adjustments Sony suggested (turning off personalised ads etc). Made no difference, phone ran hot and ate 10% battery in half an hour with the screen off and me not using it. Had to revert Play Services to the stock version, and of course all the other associated apps that depend on it as they freak out on the older version. Google, you need to hurry TFU on this one.

      Funny though, my 2012 Nexus 7 on the same version of Play Services doesn’t have this issue. Wonder if it’s cell related?

  3. umar farooq says:

    I have google playstote version 4.8.20. Can i install the updates now?? It is available but i havn’t insalled them yet!! Pleease help

  4. Screaming Scarlett Black says:

    Hi. I had lots of problems with the update. I called TMOBILE as apparently they’ve done their own kind of update or something . I had battery drain. Over heating . Super slow or no internet .app problems. . Not sure if there were more. But when I rang TMOBILe they did some kind of refresh thing .i turned my handset off and on . And viola. Problems solved. So if you’re on TMOBILe. Tell them you want it sorted. Or you want replacement handset with out the update or to terminate your contract because its left xour phone unuseable. . . .good luck !

  5. Greg Silver says:

    My Xperia Z battery life dramatically decreased after updating to Kit Kat. Battery usage showed me that Google Play Services did indeed increase and showed around 77% battery drain – should be around 7% (hence the reason for the battery drain). Looking forward to an update. Will try their work around for now.

  6. Paul Jennings says:

    The battery life on my Xperia Z was one of it’s strongest points – now it is an absolute thorn in my side. Having a business phone constantly charging or dead really isn’t what I expect from a top end product. I’m glad Sony has finally confirmed what we all knew – the Update has broken our phones – now I expect an easy solution to rollback or update. Some half arsed work round is not what I expect from a company like Sony.

  7. S Tan says:

    This is bloody pathetic, from 100% to 30% with less then 30 min solid use. I’m off to Europe in 2 days and looks like i’ll be without a phone. I’m actually shocked Sony would release something with bugs this obvious.

  8. Eileen says:

    The workaround above has sorted the battery life problem for me for now – thanks for sharing it. Just got to ignore those irritating reminders from Google to update the apps. 😉 Let’s hope there is a proper fix shortly.

    1. seriously??!! says:

      they hav clearly said its the problem wth Google Play. wich part of “problems acknowledged” haven’t yu understood !

      1. jennifer says:

        Hey before you said that just think what clients think first even though they said its google play problem they should not release this kind of update in first place they should have just check first before they release such a discouragement update!! Of course everyone understood what’s sony try to rebot for this kind of situation cause they don’t want to lose clients this matter is not buyers fault and don’t ever said that to us who has this problem also you know how it feels when this happens all complains about it can’t you understand? How can you think right when your disappointed and mad about it in first place right before you react what people comments about this try to feel what other feels about it …..sony should fix it before its to late and lose valid clients ……to be honest i was gan of sony but now i’m very dissappointed!!!!

  9. Ekha Prasdika Putra says:

    In my case, my xperia z have a problem in setting menu and camera setting.. If setting is open, its like slow respon if i swipe the screen. And if i open the camera setting, like the setting menu problem, slow respon if i swipe rhe screen.. And the video record like the recording with the small resolution, to many stuck view in the video.. Im sorry my english is to bad..

  10. Will says:

    I’ve had the same problems. Applied the ‘fix’ yesterday but found I still have massive battery drain today. This is the worst update ever. I now can’t access my SD card storage for keeping my larger files on without two file managers and I can only use the phone for a couple of hours. Well done Sony and well done Google. I will seriously fall out with you both if this isn’t fixed soon.

  11. jennifer says:

    I also have the same problem with my xperia Z battery drains so fast how to get back to adroit jelly bean i dont want kitkat anymore please u

  12. Ashleigh says:

    It’s all well telling us to uninstall the latest version of Google play, then nothing on your phone works! What an absolute joke!! I’ve just had a right carry on with this. If I wanted a phone just to call and text people, I would’ve went for a much cheaper option. I rely on my phone for everything from social networking to a navigation system. Sort it out Sony!!!

  13. Reece Dango'connor says:

    My xperia Z updates a few days ago, and I have the issue with the battery. Also my phone has now become extremely slow and struggles to do everything. Just unlocking the phone takes longer than it should.

  14. tomstapleton says:

    I had the update last Thursday and my battery has been awful. Ive uninstalled the latest updates and it’s working okay *touch wood*

  15. Ujjwal says:

    FCUK !! Sony !!
    I purchased a Sony Xperia Z last week, since i first connected to WiFi, a continuous message was there, update your software… and bla bla ..
    When i upgraded, MY PHONE IS FCUKED

  16. ava hunter says:

    My battery was draining super quickly too from the update (I have an Xperia ZR that I just bought this month), but when I disabled the “location”, the battery returned to normal and lasts as long as it’s supposed to. Go to “Quick Settings”–> “Shortcut to Settings”–>”Personal” –> “Location” –> swipe to turn off.

    1. ava hunter says:

      I didn’t uninstall the latest update because if I do that nothing to do with Google will work anymore (which is ridiculous), but disabling the location helped so much, the battery is no longer getting drained

    2. And says:

      Totally agree here Ava. Why remove an update and make your Smart phone Dumb. Just taking off locations reporting stopped my battery drain and now it lasts 36hrs in work environment – perfect…

  17. chris says:

    Updated to kitkat few days ago, not so much a problem with the battery but phone used to be very smooth to use, now….games,videos,keyboard almost everything is lagging and glitches.
    Can not find any advice or instructions on how to uninstall and go back to jelly beans.

  18. fako namo says:

    Updated on my ZL. Noticed a huge battery drain and my phone ran extremely hot after the update. I disabled Google Play services and it didn’t help. Uninstalled latest version of Kit Kat and went back to 4.2 Problem fixed.

  19. calamitus says:

    I updated my Xperia Z last night, and now the power button doesn’t wake the phone from standby. I have to reboot the phone every time. Really disappointed.

  20. Jemuca says:

    Had the same issue, the workaround worked for me so far…. I just have a concern, when I go to Battery Usage the one in the top is Media about 82% Screen 6% Android system 3%… What does this Media refers to? I tried to reduce it but no luck…

  21. Qween.Kong says:

    I had problems with the photo album and attaching photos to text messages actually everything is running slow; also
    lost everything on my SD card, but luckily i have those pics backed up on google. I noticed a difference almost instantly once I uninstalled the playstore update as mentioned above. My phone was on charge and as I typed this message out battery life jumped from 3% to 8% and the phone is not hot to the touch. We will see if the other issues have been resolved as my day gets started tomorro

  22. Layla says:

    Yesterday I updated KITKAT on Xperia Z, and I noticed that my battery very quickly spent … I had 100% battery, and after 5 minutes of using a cell phone battery was at 72%. I filmed something and when I wanted to watch a video, there was no sound at all. I’m so worried, I need some help.

  23. ron says:

    luckily I found this site as my battery was discharging within 10 hours after the up date ,turned off location , now ok though sony have lost a client

  24. psychnurse says:

    After updating to Kit Kat I had nothing but trouble. Over heating being the biggest problem. The final nail in my ZL’s life came last week when it would shut itself off all the time despite showing a completely charged battery. When plugged in, it would work fine. Off the plug, maybe 5 seconds of viewing what was on the screen. Took it in to be looked at. Good possibility because of all the internal heating the phone had from Kit Kat, and yes I shut down Google Services as other sites suggested, the solder from the power port to the motherboard was fried and is not repairable.It was a great phone before Kit Kat, now, just a $600 hunk of junk.My phone was just 14 months old.

  25. Calvin says:

    While mine is different , when my phone(Xperia Z) is not in used , it will restart at itself . Even I repaired it through the Pc Companion . What is the solution ya?( I’m using 4.4.2)

  26. Glassgirl says:

    Thank you for this – I recently instlalled the update on my Z and noticed a huge decrease in battery life, as well as a much hotter phone. Thankfully I found this page before any other problems occured so hopefully I haven’t got a dead phone on my hands. I have put the Google Play Services app back to factory settings so fingers crossed.

  27. Andy M says:

    Since the update i have had issues with making and receiving phone calls on my xperia z. I contacted Sony, who informed me to do a factory reset via pc companion. This fixed the issue for about a week. Now i need to keep switching my phone off and on to make phone calls. Speaking to my brother last night and found out he is having the same issue with his xperia z.

  28. davidmc says:

    I had the battery drain problem 2 months ago. When the update was first available, I used this fix at the time but I thought it would be temporary, when will they get a proper fix? I don’t want my services (such as YouTube) to be limited and get warning symbols in my notification bar that an update is required. Sort it out Sony, I can’t believe it’s been so long!!!

  29. it is 22 august 2014 and still no solution from sony. my C6603 incredibly heats up and battery goes only for 3-4 hours.. at best! shame on you sony. i began to hate that “google +” thing too, although i never use it it always pop up in background and takes a lot of ram. both sony and google forces people like me to root their phones which is not a good thing. why ruin an excellent product and aggrieve customers? why?

  30. Jason L says:

    Sept 9 and my phone still gets hot and battery drain is so ridiculous that you can’t use the phone with out an external battery. If this is how Sony treats there customers and fixes problems I don’t know why I would ever buy another phone from them? I had to buy two external batteries to make it through a day with out the phone dying? Why is it taking so long for a fix. They should have sent a new update to bring the phone back to its original update. When I first used the phone I had like 3 days of life and now I’m luck if it makes it to 5 hours with all the battery saving turned on. HURRY UP SONY and SEND YOUR CUSTOMERS A FIX!!!

  31. elsie says:

    i cant seem to update the software. the phones says unable to install, try again. what should i do? i have tried countless times but the result is still the same. help?

  32. Phil Bird says:

    My Xperia Z (c6603) is running 4.4.2, since the update I have the battery drain issue, at best 5-7 hours, if I dont actually use it for phone calls! I have the overheating issue, I also have a serious issue with Bluetooth, I have reguarly used a sony bluetooth headset, a Sony Smartwatch 2 and Bluetooth built in to my Vauxhall Insignia car, ever since the update to KitKat bluetooth just keeps connecting/disconnecting to all 3 devices, Sony keep telling me to reset via PC Companion, although I have now done this 3 times, it has made no difference, and Sony just keep telling me they can’t ensure that bluetooth will work with non sony products, this I accept (even though it worked fine before the KitKat upgrade, and nothing has changed on the car), but what about the sony headset and watch! I never get a straight answer, I don’t understand why they can’t release the offical rom and simple instructions to reset it back to Jellybean, I know this will mean wiping the phone, but I think its something I would be more than willing to do, as I am sure would many others. Sony told me its not possible to go back a version, this is not true, aas with other phones I have flashed older roms on them, than what was currently installed. I am certainly not impressed with Sony’s aftersales service on this matter. Until this upgrade I loved this phone, and certainly considered going to the latest generation of this phone next year when my contract runs out, but now…. Im thinking about jumping the Android ship, and switching to IOS, even with the many things I don’t like about Apple, one thing that can be said is … very rarely do you ever hear of serious issues with there products or operating systems.

  33. MadIrish says:

    Had this issue and the results are two spots on the screen that they cannot fix, some part died in the phone that has been replaced and to get the battery to last, un-installed google services which restored the factory version, turned off location services and disable WIFI. Batter is now back to normal but might as well have a Feature Phone as the “Smart” functions are now not usable. Now to see if I can get one of those “oneplus one” phones and ditch Google/Sony Android for something that works.

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