Upgrading to KitKat 4.4 - SD card issues

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  4
Sirius Black Berry
  • Forum posts: 7

Feb 27, 2014, 6:52:18 PM via Website

Hi, all!

With the recent cuasi masive upgrade for prior generation smartphones to Android Kit Kat 4.4 (most with JB 4.1 and 4.2), a major issue appeared regarding the applications inability (interdict in fact) to write to SD cards. I recently discovered that this wasn't a new issue as it has appeared at JB 4.3.
https://www.nextpit.com/android-4-3-breaks-sd-card-writing-on-google-play-galaxy-s4

Ok, the solution is very simple and safe... if you have a rooted device. But if you don't, what's up then? So here goes the main question:

Is it worth to upgrade from Jelly Bean 4.1/4.2 to Kit Kat 4.4 (or even to JB 4.3) if you don't have a rooted device and you don't want to root it, either for security or warranty concerns? Would you accept that your last generation 16/32/64 Gb class 10 ultra HC I SD card becomes a stupid media holder, only reasonably updated from a PC?

Here goes my answer:

Absolutely not. Stay with JB 4.1/4.2.

What do you think?

Regards!

— modified on Feb 27, 2014, 6:54:48 PM

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  4
Sirius Black Berry
  • Forum posts: 7

Mar 5, 2014, 6:39:03 PM via Website

Hi, all!
It seems that, either everybody has rooted phones, or everybody has older phones not upgradeable to JB4.3/KK4.4, or nobody uses last generation micro SD cards for much more than dumb storage, or...
Regards!

Agius Inns

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  3
W. Jerald Cole
  • Forum posts: 2

Mar 9, 2014, 4:49:11 PM via Website

I would have not accepted the upgrade for my Note 3 had I been aware of the issue. It should have come with a HUGE warning. I am disappointed that Samsung went along with this. Two biggest reasons I owned Samsung were the SD card capabiity and the changeable battery. They just took away one of them.

This is my 4th android device and have always used an SD card on android. I now find I can not even rename files I have created on the 64GB card. My Files app seems to be the only file explorer that is given the write access needed.

Google's response to the issue is lame. Under the pretext of eliminating orphaned files, they have left me with huge numbers of them, since anything outside the applications designated folder can not be moved, deleted, or even renamed.

THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE! Where can we gather our complaints to Google?
Is there a way to vote on this future.
Is there a potential for a class action against Google on this denial of access to our data?

Failing this, rooting the phone seems the only current cure.

Without a change, this will be the last Android I ever buy.

W.J.Cole

Dennis DeglerBillybob

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  4
MarcVI
  • Forum posts: 1

Mar 12, 2014, 8:32:31 PM via App

I don't take it for granted. No phone manufacturer has the right to take away important functionality from my phone. I will be making a fuss about it untill they reverse their decision.
My workflow is completely broken now.
I am surprised that people find this an acceptable decision.
Wonder what they would say if Samsung would suddenly reduce their maximum Wifi download speed to 0.5 Mbps "for security reasons"!?

— modified on Mar 21, 2014, 8:29:59 AM

Billybob

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  4
magez
  • Forum posts: 16

Apr 30, 2014, 7:40:21 AM via Website

Thanks to Google, now my 32gb sdcard is useless. Many 3rd party apps in my phone can't access the sdcard, they can only save on internal storage. I even can't rename or move some files in my sdcard. I don't want to always backup my data, that is why I need the sdcard. It is intolerable because I can't control my phone.

Billybob

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  5
Gwen Miller
  • Forum posts: 10

Apr 30, 2014, 3:42:59 PM via Website

What surprises me is the fact that nobody seems to be interested. To me and most of you it is such a big issue, that some people including myself consider buying a different phone. I have a galaxy s3 luckily still on Android 4.3 and a galaxy tab 3.8 0 which runs on Android 4.2. I am quite happy with them and I will certainly refuse any update to 4.4.
But then I was planning to get a new smartphone this year probably a s5.
Now I don't know what to do. I still like Android, but I can't see a chance to get an up to date Android phone without kitkat.

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  1
Agius Inns
  • Forum posts: 1

May 30, 2014, 7:39:03 AM via Website

I haven't rooted my phone. Whereas root kits are available for 4.3 and prior versions, I don't know of one for 4.4 . I've read that upgraded phones that have already been rooted before the upgrade can be rooted. What about 4.4 phones that have never been rooted?

Regardless of whether or not I can root my phone, it's an utter outrage that users have to go to those measures to access their own property. It's as if Google locked me out of my own house or car, and I'm forced to break into my own property to use what's rightfully mine!

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  2
Billybob
  • Forum posts: 1

Jun 20, 2014, 4:30:34 PM via Website

I totally agree. My Note 2 dramatically decreased in usability after the update. My internal drive is consistently full now since saving to the SD card isn't happening. And, like you said, the files that were already on my sdcard are largely unusable/unrecognizable now.

Android should have
1) warned people of the change
2) not messed with saving to the SDcard at all (I understand upgrades making old files incompatible--happens with games all the time, but not being able to save to the card for normal usage is wrong)

Up till recently I have been hardcore for Android, but two things have now given me pause--this sd card issue and the obvious ongoing and increasing push to be a part of all things google at all times.

5ifty6ixer

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  1
JohnSmith
  • Forum posts: 1

Sep 16, 2014, 10:40:28 AM via Website

Hello,

I just got a same question. But when I insert Renice industrial SD card. Then everything just gonna be fine. Here FYI: goo.gl/o9we1A

Thx

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  1
d sulkin
  • Forum posts: 1

Mar 23, 2016, 7:55:33 PM via Website

I've got an HP 10 tablet using 4.4.2 and just inserted an SD card. I think I can move files there as there is some data, but I can't get the camera to save photos there. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

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