Handsets

T-Mobile Moto X first in line for Android 4.4.2 upgrade, brings improved battery life

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Motorola was quick in getting their devices up to Android 4.4 KitKat, but users have missed out on a couple of quick maintenance upgrades following that. The first crop of Moto X users are finally going to be stepped up to the bug fixing update, though, Motorola announced. T-Mobile gets first dibs, and the upgrade brings the following improvements:

  • Printing documents and pictures: Added support for printing photos, Google Docs, GMail messages, and other content via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and hosted services like Google Cloud Print and HP ePrinters.
  • Improved battery life: Fixed bugs which caused a small number of users to experience shorter battery life after upgrading to Android 4.4.
  • Fixed email sync delays: Fixed a bug that could cause email services like Microsoft Exchange to experience intermittent delays in data synchronization.

Improved battery life shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone considering many folks on Motorola’s platform complained about that following the initial upgrade to Android 4.4. The upgrade will be making its way to your phones in due time, but you can also pull it down manually if you can’t wait.

Simply go to Settings > About Phone > System Updates and select “download.” Zippity doo-dop and a few minutes later, and you’ll have a nice upgrade file waiting for you. Hit the install button and let the phone do its magic. Once it’s all said and done, you should be on firmware 161.44.25. Don’t forget to make sure you’re on WiFi and have your phone’s battery charged to at least 50%, because it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

[via Motorola]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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32 Comments

  1. Anyone have a flashable zip that I can use with TWRP?

    1. i’m currently trying to find out why you supposedly can’t use TWRP/CWM to apply the update. the updater-script does not do a recovery check. it is just set up to delete and flash a new recovery. i have removed this. have you tried applying the OTA via custom recovery? do you get an error message? i do not have the device in hand so i’m waiting for others on xda to answer these questions for me.

      1. I downloaded the OTA, and then in TWRP 2.6.3.1, it gives me an error processing the update. I’m not sure if it is the version of TWRP I have or if it is the update just not being accepted.

        I can try to download the OTA myself (on my PC), and then try and download it. As is right now, I did try navigating to the cache folder and applying it, but it gave me the same error.

        1. i just need to know exactly what the error says so i can figure out what is happening. it is def not the version of TWRP that is causing it, just that you have a custom one. if i know what the error is, i can possibly try to work around it.

          1. It says “Error executing update binary in zip” and also “Error installing zip file”. Then says “Done processing script file”, but it keeps trying to install the update when I reboot. I’ll delete the file out of cache again to have a usable phone, but any suggestions would be beneficial.

            Thanks, mrV.

          2. thank you! so the culprit is actually the update-binary. in order to keep it from continuing to reboot, wipe your cache and dalvik-cache. i’m going to pull an update-binary from a ROM and make a test zip for you. one minute, please.

          3. Awesome! Thank you so much. I actually moved the update to a different location so it no longer is seeking to update. I’m really happy you’re helping! That’s great of you!

          4. no problem at all. i’m looking to get the MotoX myself here shortly so just trying to help those users out as much as i can. here, try this

            http://apollyon-dev.com/ota/MotoX_4.4.2_OTA_repack_TMOB_DEV.zip

          5. It gave me an error on installing the zip file. So it doesn’t look like that worked.

          6. okay, i’ll see if i can find one more for another try.

          7. Hi, I noticed the discussion and wanted to check this out. I tried flashing this in TWRP and I received a failed error. This would be for the round 2 link.

          8. okay, thanks. until i have a device in hand, i’m not sure i can come up with a proper update-binary to work with the OTA. i would suggest to you both that you flash the stock recovery which is easily done with ADB. then you can apply the OTA as long as you have not modified system apps. if you have root, you will retain root after the OTA is applied.

          9. Aw man!

          10. Round 2 didn’t work either!

  2. People are complaining about the battery life on the X? I upgraded to the Moto X from the HTC Rezound and the battery life is night and day (the X can go 1.5 days of moderate use, while the Rezound might get eight hours if I was lucky).

    1. It’s been a different experience for some users like me. Back in the 4.2 days I had an amazing two-day battery life. After the first upgrade to 4.4 I had just enough juice to squeeze through one day (and that was after disabling Active Display notification, which surprising ate my battery at the time despite the “battery-friendly” claim).

      Since upgrading to 4.4.2 last night, I’ve turned Active Display back on and had my phone off the charger for 5 hours. I’m at 92% battery. Can’t be any happier.

  3. Why do people insist on calling the unlocked GSM Moto X the T-Mobile version? Yes, it comes with aT-Mobile SIM, but it’s not locked to T-Mobile (or any other carrier), there’s nothing T-Mobile about it. T-Mobile doesn’t even sell it. Is it because people in the US have been brainwashed into thinking of carriers as the only source of phones? Maybe. But even if that’s the case, tech bloggers should know better, and refer to it properly, and help consumers break out of the old mindset.

    1. I think because it comes with that SIM.

      1. My dev version didn’t come with a T-Mobile sim. Also, I believe they call it that because it’s compatible with T-Mobile’s network (and non-US GSM) rather than being branded for AT&T’s system. I use the dev version on AT&T though…

        1. The unlocked one runs enough bands that I think even AT&T service would be fine. You have 1900mhz, so why not?

    2. You’ve got a point, but I’m not surprised if tech bloggers do this intentionally for business reasons.

      You and I know that a “T-Mobile variant” of the Moto X is really a US GSM unlocked version that comes with a T-Mobile SIM card; however the average consumer is used to associating their phone with a carrier (if needed to differentiate between other Moto X’s). Even more so, when purchasing the phone through Motorola, they’ve given consumers the choice to select a carrier when purchasing the phone (the unlocked option does show a T-Mobile brand logo, which was a lot more prominent during the holidays).

      By mentioning T-Mobile in the title of the article, you’re going to attract those consumers who continue to think that way, which will likely boost more page views and generate ad revenue on this site.

      1. I agree that there are business reasons for mentioning T-Mobile, but now that Google and Motorola have raised awareness of carrier-unlocked phones and provided carrier-free sales channels in the US, I really hate it when anything reverses or impedes that awareness.

  4. I have a 32gb GSM Developers Edition on the way, will I get the upgrade ?? I think it’s the same as the T-Mobile version.

    1. it is the same as the T-Mob version. they are the same variant. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2603358
      there you can see the device variants. we are talking about the XT1053

      1. So will 4.4.2 be pushed to me after I power up the device?

        1. I have a dev edition and it got pushed to my phone this morning.

  5. Your aunt is a cam whore.

  6. My JUMP runs up in three weeks, but I still can’t use it to get the Moto X with Motomaker on T-Mobile, can I?

    1. no sir. :(

  7. 24 hours into 4.4.2 on my Dev edition with Tmo and battery life is notably worse. usually have 40% after work. today I have under 20% with less usage than typical :'(

  8. After updating, does anyone else’s phone automatically reset the screen sleep time to 15 seconds, despite constantly changing it to 30 seconds? 30 seconds seems to hold for a while, but after 1/2 hour or so reverts back to 15s…… I’m confused!

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