Leaked OTA: Thread Closed

[kishin14]

I’m surprised this has not been posted yet as it’s been out a few days already. Poster scottml over at xda pulled the OTA update (version 5.6.890) that was pushed for the soak test. It can be installed right over your current software as long as you are on stock or are rooted with no bloat removed. (If you have apps frozen with Titanium make sure to unfreeze them before applying the update.)

[Edit]: link removed .. Frisco

As a helpful hint, to get into stock recovery you have power off your phone then power it back on by pressing and holding the letter X button on the keyboard along with the power button until you see a little android in a middle of a triangle with an exclamation point. Then you have to press BOTH the up and down volume rocker buttons at the same time to access the recovery menu.

Also, make sure you save the update zip to the root of your external sdcard (sdcard-ext) otherwise stock recovery will not find it.

Here’s what the update fixes:
- BP upgrade for the Radio
- Talk2 for Video
- Boot.img patch
- Recovery.img patch
- Various patches to alot of system files
- And some stupid bloatware patches as well.

I updated yesterday and I can honestly say that the phone is snappier and more responsive. It’s not a placebo effect. I haven’t tried video chatting yet but I definitely notice the radio upgrade as my 3G connects much faster. Also, while battery life has never been an issue with my D3 (like it has for some), apparently it is supposed to improve it. But YMMV.

WARNING 1: This may or may not be the official update that will be pushed by Verizon. So by applying it you run the risk of NOT being able to take the official OTA when it does gets pushed. However, being a soak test file, I’m pretty sure it’s either the final build for the OTA or will allow you to update to the official.

WARNING 2: If you are rooted like I was you will LOSE root. Apparently you can run the one-click exploit to regain root, but I had to actually redo the adb method and push the SU file to reroot.

And no, it does not fix the blue tint from the camera

[FONT=&quot]Thanks goes to scottml for hacking the OTA servers and pulling the file. Good luck and enjoy[/FONT]

 

[Knitewulf]

This looks pretty promising I will check it out. Thanks

 

[Amaroth]

So if I moved bloat with root explorer to another folder do I have to move them back or can I leave them there? Is this a stupid question? Lol

 

[Frisco]

So if I moved bloat with root explorer to another folder do I have to move them back or can I leave them there? Is this a stupid question? Lol

I'm nearly certain that the OTA must find the stock files in the areas they belong, and might not even detect them if they're off somewhere on your SD card in a folder, etc.

 

[kishin14]

I'm nearly certain that the OTA must find the stock files in the areas they belong, and might not even detect them if they're off somewhere on your SD card in a folder, etc.

Frisco is correct. Everything needs to be like it was when you first got the phone, except the two games (NOVA and Let's Golf). I deleted that crap on day one and it was fine. You may even have problems if you restored deleted files from another source if the MD5s don't match. You won't brick, but you'll get an error message and the update will fail.

The best thing to do if you rooted to delete files is to use the zip file found in this post courtesy of psouza4, the awesome dude that created the one-click root zip. I haven't used it myself since I never moved or removed any files (just froze) but it should work.

BTW, having had this update for two days now, I can honestly say that it really helps battery life. Like I said earlier, my battery life wasn't bad to begin with. But now its just plain amazing. Phone idle, which used to sit at 30-40%, is now at 5%. I've been off charge for 5 hours and I'm still at 90%. Only light usage -- some web surfing, email checking and news reading off of Pulse -- but still impressive nonetheless.

 

[Frisco]

The best thing to do if you rooted to delete files is to use the zip file found in this post courtesy of psouza4, the awesome dude that created the one-click root zip. I haven't used it myself since I never moved or removed any files (just froze) but it should work.

Testing it in about an hour.

Thank you for linking that file, kishin.

 

[Hoosiermama]

And no, it does not fix the blue tint from the camera

*sigh...That's the most glaring issue with this phone, I think.

 

[kishin14]

*sigh...That's the most glaring issue with this phone, I think.

Well, it certainly is now after some of the fixes that were instituted with this update. Funny thing is, Motorola seems to have little regard for the cameras on their phones in general. I had a DX before the D3 and while I absolutely LOVED that phone, there was one big issue with the camera that rubbed me and others the wrong way. No matter how often you set it to the highest resolution setting, it would always switch back to the lower default widesceen setting once you exited out. Even through two official gingerbread updates, they never fixed this issue. It was pretty mind boggling to be quite honest. I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't hold my breath for a fix to the blue tint issue any time soon.

 

[kishin14]

Testing it in about an hour.

Thank you for linking that file, kishin.

No prob. I'm coming from spending a year on the DX forums here on AF where I went from an android virgin to a competent user. I kinda miss the amount of activity on the DX boards. So I'm just doing my part to inject some livelihood on the D3 forums. Its the least I could do considering just how much help I received on the DX boards over the past year.

 

[ekyle]

I'm nearly certain that the OTA must find the stock files in the areas they belong, and might not even detect them if they're off somewhere on your SD card in a folder, etc.

I remember the X requiring the stock files to upgrade or it would fail every time...

Here

 

[jwdink]

WARNING 1: This may or may not be the official update that will be pushed by Verizon. So by applying it you run the risk of NOT being able to take the official OTA when it does gets pushed. However, being a soak test file, I

 

[kishin14]

Argh! I did this on my droid eris and kinda regretted it. Can someone explain what a "soak test file" is?

It makes sense to me that this might be identical to the official one, but since this is a very new phone, isn't it possible that this will bar me from getting updates further on down the line?

How long before the official OTA do these test files typically come out?

(Sorry for all the anxious questions)

A soak test is build of an update that is pushed to selected users, usually devs or those who have sign up through a special program. Often times ends up being the final build but is not always the case.

For example, the soak test for the DX gingerbread update back in May was pushed to Motorola support forum members who were invited to register for it. Here's a link to the email support forum members received regarding the DX soak test. I know the DX soak test file did in fact become the official OTA, but like I said, that probably isn't always the case.

However, if Motorola is allowing select users (and not just those with dev phones) to be involved in the soak test, I would think that they would have an update path to the official OTA should it be different. Otherwise, Moto would be screwing over all those user that volunteered for the soak test in the first place. Not a smart move IMO. At least that's what I assumed when I applied the update. But everyone needs to make their own decision.

 

[jwdink]

Thanks for the info!



Anyone have any read on whether the battery life problems are at all ameliorated?

 

[beowulf7]

Interesting, I'm tempted to give this a shot, but am a little scared to do so. My phone is not rooted. I wonder if/when VZW will make this an official upgrade.

 

[Amaroth]

My phone was rooted, and all I did was unfreeze/move back all the apks that I froze/moved. I updated, and then used the 1 click root again. It all went pretty smoothly.

 

[MicroNix]

A soak test is build of an update that is pushed to selected users, usually devs or those who have sign up through a special program. Often times ends up being the final build but is not always the case.

I am pretty sure there's been a string of soak tests recently for various phones that were pulled because of issues. I'd be very cautious on this. Especially since a mod on the Moto forums specifically said they were working hard on the camera issue.

 

[kishin14]

I am pretty sure there's been a string of soak tests recently for various phones that were pulled because of issues. I'd be very cautious on this. Especially since a mod on the Moto forums specifically said they were working hard on the camera issue.

Hence my warning in red. Also, even if the soak test was pulled, it's already on a number of D3 phones that regular users volunteered for. For Moto not to allow them to upgrade (which I've never heard them not allow in the past) would be really bad business and would pretty much guarantee no more willing volunteers for future soak tests. What I can say, however, is that I have no regrets applying it. It fixes a bunch of issues, is stable, and results in a better overall user experience. But like I said, the decision to apply or not apply is yours and yours alone.

 

[jwdink]

So far I can't tell any difference except for the battery usage not being dominated by cell standby

 

[kishin14]

So far I can't tell any difference except for the battery usage not being dominated by cell standby

Well, I gave it two full days of battery usage before determining whether battery life was better. It's quite possible that the tweaks that were made to improve battery life could have made to motoblur systems apps and bloat apps that run in the background. If you're not rooted, and most D3 users probably aren't, you might seen a much more significant improvement in battery life than someone who was and deleted much of apps that were hogging resources. That's just my theory.

Also, I haven't had to reboot once because I couldn't get my phone out of airplane, which it sometimes would automatically get stuck on after getting it out of sleep mode. And the front facing camera finally serves a purpose. Those are just a few other things I noticed.

 

[jwdink]

Well, I gave it two full days of battery usage before determining whether battery life was better. It's quite possible that the tweaks that were made to improve battery life could have made to motoblur systems apps and bloat apps that run in the background. If you're not rooted, and most D3 users probably aren't, you might seen a much more significant improvement in battery life than someone who was and deleted much of apps that were hogging resources. That's just my theory.

Huh. It's weird how different people's experience with this phone's battery is. Some people from the get go were getting 12 hours light-medium usage, background syncing, 50%, while some people were getting half that. Some people experienced no improvement with root, while others seem to. Same with this OTA update.

I can't tell yet, but I'm optimistic.

 

[kishin14]

Well, it looks like the original poster removed his links and posted an apology for uploading the file in the first place. This was not due to there being something wrong with the soak test file, but rather a change in judgement by the poster. Given the tone and the complete 180 the message conveys, I wouldn't be surprised if he was contacted by Moto and pressured to remove it. But that's just my opinion.

Frisco, please close (or delete this post) as it serves no purpose anymore. Though I have no regrets in applying the update and would not think twice about doing it again, I will also apologize for posting it. All I was trying to do was help those that have been experiencing some very egregious problems that Moto should have resolved prior to selling it. And I stand by my theory that those that applied will be able to update to the official OTA when it drops.

 

[hammydrizzle]

I applied, no trouble, and I'm glad to have the stock apps I deleted back so chances are things will be easier for me in the future. It does sound like Moto got to the original poster.

 

[jwdink]

Down to 80% after 2 hours of light usage... I'm thinking no improvement

 

[beowulf7]

I'm glad I downloaded the file before it was removed, not that I plan to apply the "patch" in the near future due to the uncertainty.

 

[ekyle]

Huh. It's weird how different people's experience with this phone's battery is. Some people from the get go were getting 12 hours light-medium usage, background syncing, 50%, while some people were getting half that. Some people experienced no improvement with root, while others seem to. Same with this OTA update.

I can't tell yet, but I'm optimistic.

I know what you mean. After I rooted and removed a bunch of crap I noticed an improvement. 80% in a crappy service area and I'm on 8hr 14min. About 40 texts and I checked into Starbucks on Foursquare and did some FB browsing.