Help Slower with ICS than GB

[Vistance]

Ok, so my SII was working great all this time running 2.3.6 GB. I decided to investigate updating the OS a bit more and finally figured out I needed the Kies software (I was trying to use Kies Air...d'oh). Anyway, I plugged it in - it saw the update, and I let it rip. 15 minutes later it was done and the phone was up and running just fine. First issue I noticed, ICS 4.0.4 keeps having trouble with my custom ringtones/notifications. Sometimes as I'm fiddling with it I can try to play them - nothing happens. Other times I'll open sounds just to see "Unknown Ringtone" and "Unknown Notification" and no sound will play - I can open the list of ringtones and notifications and all that shows up are the default Samsung ones. Never had this problem ever with 2.3.6.

Another more serious issue is regarding the data. I walk across a campus with strong spotty Wifi so I walk in and out of Wifi as I cross the campus. I like to stream Pandora as I walk, on GB I could definitely get an entire song played and then sometimes at the end of the song the phone would hang up for a bit before it plays the next one. Now I'm getting frequent stops in the middle of songs where it's buffering - it seems like it's trying to use just Wifi but I have data turned on so it should be switching between the two when necessary.

Additionally, when I hit the back key now it's far less responsive. In 2.3.6 the back key would go back almost always - now nearly any slightly non-responsive process can render the back key useless. I always used the Dolphin HD browser for internet and I'm now having issues logging into websites, most notably my university website. I can click to select and enter my username, but if I try to select the password box nothing happens. I end up going to task manager and Dolphin HD is using about 70 MB of memory and between 45%-50% of the processor showing up in red. No matter how many times I try this always happens. It also happens with the default web browser.

I'm at a comlete loss, what in the hell went wrong? The phone seemed to udpate and install just fine but it's acting stupid and quirky since I installed ICS. If my above issues are atypical and there's no given solution, can I put my phone back to 2.3.6? I like the new data manager and the YouTube app but I'll gladly give those up for my more stable and responsive GB. Long ago I owned an iPhone 3GS and I'm not kidding, upgrading to a new version of iOS with Jailbroken software was less stressful than this - and that's not even a legitimate thing. I fail to understand why this has happened, especially since other people swear ICS is so great. Seems the SII isn't fast enough to run it - just from what I'm seeing so far. Any help on how to fix this or how to restore my phone to 2.3.6? If I restore it, what information will I lose?

 

[Atma]

Hi Vistance and welcome to the forum. :hello:


If you decide you want to go back to Gingerbread, you can use this guide. If you do that, it won't delete anything on your internal or external storage, but it will be like a factory reset and erase settings and apps.

I think a factory reset with ICS 4.0.4 may be beneficial. It is often needed after an update to clear up quirks. Before you do that, use Kies to backup contacts and media. You can use something like App Backup & Restore to backup your apps, but I think it will only backup the app, not the associated data.

 

[chawlsun]

Hi Vistance and welcome to the forum. :hello:


If you decide you want to go back to Gingerbread, you can use this guide. If you do that, it won't delete anything on your internal or external storage, but it will be like a factory reset and erase settings and apps.

I think a factory reset with ICS 4.0.4 may be beneficial. It is often needed after an update to clear up quirks. Before you do that, use Kies to backup contacts and media. You can use something like App Backup & Restore to backup your apps, but I think it will only backup the app, not the associated data.

would i be able to keep my apps and wallpapers if i move them to my external sd card rather than keeping in my phone memory? im planning on updating it as well

 

[Atma]

would i be able to keep my apps and wallpapers if i move them to my external sd card rather than keeping in my phone memory? im planning on updating it as well

Wallpaper (images) would be safe on internal or external storage. Apps, I don't think so. I think even though you move it to sd card, part of it still remains in the system. The only real way to restore an app and its data is to root and use an app like Titanium Backup for backup and restore. There could be one in the play store that would do it that doesn't require root but I'm not aware of one.

 

[Vistance]

Didn't work - but I'm trying to see something here, if you have ICS on your SII try to visit this website:

blackboard.louisville.edu

and tell me, can you input a user name and then select the password field? This is the only page that is acting very stupid on my phone, but it always worked fine in GB. As soon as I navigate to that page on the phone, memory spikes up from 50 MB to 70 MB or so and CPU goes from idling to a constant 40-50% usage. Trying to see if it's just my phone that does this or if the webpage is "incompatible" with something ICS does. Again, my phone slows down as soon as this page opens and I can only select the username field to input that data - if I try to select password it never lets me select it.

EDIT: Ok, just noticed it DOES let me select it but for some reason it looks like it clears out my username. I can log in, but MAN it's SO SLOW. CPU usage is usually about 40% but I'm watching it spike to 80% sometimes and the ram is at 88 MB. Is there anything I can do to make this website stop eating so much of my resources? It's the only one that does this and like I said, it ran fine on GB never slow or anything.

 

[Atma]

EDIT: Ok, just noticed it DOES let me select it but for some reason it looks like it clears out my username.

I have the same problem with it. Is there an IT person there you could ask about it?

 

[Vistance]

There is an IT department, but I'm sure they're going to point to the fact there is an app which you can use to access this site available so just use that (Except it's an app you pay a yearly subscription to...). So far I have noticed Pandora streaming as it did with GB now - actually I think that webpage acting stupid is the only problem I have off-hand so I guess I'll stick with ICS. I'll try (as futile it be) to talk with someone about the site working poorly with Android, doubt they'll do anything though.

On a sidenote, does ICS consume more or less battery or roughly the same? I can't help but feel like I'm finding it more now because I heard others mention it, but the battery life seems to be a tad worse on ICS from what little I've tested the phone out so far - I can't say conclusively. It still feels weird the way the data and wifi switch with each other, but I haven't noticed stops in my streaming like it did the other day.