Remember broken Nexus telephony? This is how Google treats it's customers
code.google.com
code.google.com
I've also found that NuPlayer plays unpredictable havoc with an audio playing app I wrote that is currently on Google Play. Some users on Lollipop report audio glitches, silence or weird bluetooth issues. Disabling NuPlayer fixes these issues. I wish there was a way for me, as a developer, to force use of the old AwesomePlayer system for my app in particular, but have no idea if this is possible technically. I certainly haven't found a way to do it.
But what I find surprising is that NuPlayer is labelled "experimental" in Developer options but is enabled by default. Isn't that a bit weird?
I found NuPlayer was disabled on my Nexus 4 after upgrade from KitKat and I had to turn it on. Not sure about what it defaults to after a factory wipe.
Google doesn't really offer that, or if they do, the threshold to get that attention is very high.
> contact customer support.
How about "Thanks for all your comments. Unfortunately, this is the wrong forum to report problems like this. Please contact the Nexus customer support and let them know about the issues you are having."
E: To address the initial downvoters: why don't you explain yourselves. How is Google not responsible for supporting nexus devices? They're sold directly by Google, they're produced for Google, and they're heavily marketed by Google. Google provides the software and hardware support directly after purchase and handles RMAs directly. Google depreciates Nexus device support in <18months. Nexus One, Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus were all dropped about a year after release, significant performance problems were never addressed. N7(2012) was dropped early last year from official maintenance and the absolute shit NAND quality was never addressed. Google has a history of not caring about proper support for their Nexus devices.
HTC has released lollipop upgrades for devices that are >2 years old. Samsung has also released lollipop upgrades for devices >2 years old.
I have a Nexus 4 that runs 5.0, and when I've switched to it from my Windows phone I've noticed that I randomly have no call audio in the cellular dialer as well as the Hangouts dialer. I guessed it was something to do with the 5.0 release but I figured as little as I use the phone, it was nothing to worry about. But the more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to revert to 4.4 since this is my only backup phone, and I'd rather have it ready to go at the expense of playing with 5.0.
That is a horrid mentality being permitted in the phone industry. My "2013" Moto G has a 1.2GHz quad core with a 300+ dpi screen. It's completely unacceptable to declare that device out of support as a consumer technology.
(Let's not bother discussing whether it should be or whether it makes sense to file customer support issues there in the face of lackluster support elsewhere, those are mostly opinion battles)
Regarding this particular issue on AOSP issue tracker, it is a software bug in AOSP that kills voice calls. Filling an issue report would seem prudent.
Yes, however, the bug report is very terse and the far majority of the comments do not add any useful data points. Only 'me too!'s and junk like
IS GOOGLE TURNING INTO MICROSOFT??!!
I can't blame them for closing such issues.
End users should certainly file AOSP bugs, but they should probably only bother if they happen to actually have some information that could eventually lead to a fix (rather than opening endless "my phone doesn't work" bugs.).
they advertise nexus as being the pure Google Android experience.
they own android source.
if there's a problem in your nexus software, why isn't it a problem in Google owned pure android code?
what could the support guy possibly do other than ask you to reboot and then file a ticket himself in some closed system bug tracking for the engineers?
this completely shows that either 1) nexus aren't close to pure android; and/or 2) the open bug tracking is just for receiving small features and mostly for shows.
A while ago someone made a nice graph of how good Apple/Google are at maintaining OS support for their devices, it's pretty informative (although I'd like to see a new one). http://www.fidlee.com/android-support-vs-ios-support/
In this case the Nexus 4 is still officially supported by 5.0... but not being able to call on a phone seems like unsupported to me.
Most of the Android phones on the page you linked are not Google phones. Whether or not they get updated is up to the manufacturers and carriers, not Google. You'll note that the Nexus phones have more update support in general.
Whether providing major updates to a phone is a good thing is debatable. My wife hated getting the 5.0 update. She saw it as a major inconvience that changed how her phone worked for no good reason. She would prefer to have the phone work the same way for the entire time she owns it.
PS: 'Sup, fury?
That's a bit of a leap to declare that the issue is an isolated one because your wife is not having the problem. As it turns out, my wife had that exact problem with her Nexus 4 on 5.0.1.
How widespread is the problem? Who knows. From my perspective it seems like the 5.0 release has been a bit more problematic than previous major Android upgrades.
However that being said: That graph really makes the entire ecosystem look dysfunctional. All smartphones should have full support for at least two years regardless of manufacturer and the fact most don't is a poor reflection of everyone involved.
Android needs a Linux style package system. They bundle too much stuff together into singular giant update packages, when in reality you should be able to update e.g. Dialer, Browser, and so on without touching the Linux kernel or Android services.
You won't get instant gratification that you would by using a bugtracker but technical reports back to the vendor (in this case Google) do eventually get sent upstream.
If enough people complain via Google's channels then the bug will be brought up at higher levels eventually.
The other option is to tweet at senior Android guys and see if you get a response.
Good luck.
And the telco of Nexus is Google! Google just pointed to contact Google.
It isn't, Google doesn't run their own mobile network or mobile virtual network (yet).
Contacting the technical support team of the company that provides you the SIM card that is inserted into the Nexus device will have an effect.
I know it seems backwards because the issue has actually been introduced with Google's OTA update but those technical support calls get escalated and eventually they'll end up back at Google (via the team that deals with carrier interaction).
The handset that attaches to a GSM network has to conform to many standards set out by the GSMA (GSM association) as well as many other local certification bodies and associations (one example is the handset must have the ability to call emergency services).
If complaints are made to the technical department of the carrier being used, the calls will eventually be escalated to a vendor/manufacturer of Google's size.
I've worked for various different cellular providers and I have personally seen such tickets.
Android has deteriorated so much I'm working out how to move to Windows phone which really means leaving the Google ecosystem completely. And my career has been Android based for many years now.
Google has a Google PLay app for Roku, at least. They offer some stuff on iOS, but not as much as they do on their own platform. But they're not on Xbox. They're not on Playstation. I can at least reason out why they don't want to be on Windows Phone or such, but... Google isn't competing with the Xbox and Playstation, and they're kidding themselves if they think they are. Why not a Playstation app for movies?
There's a google-made youtube app on xboxes and playstations. I've never actually tried buying a play store video so not exactly sure if it works on the consoles themselves, but you can at least purchase them on a computer and then watch them on the playstation (Kotaku did this for The Interview, for instance[1])
[1] http://kotaku.com/sonys-the-interview-can-now-be-seen-on-xbo...
Also the stock lollipop Nexus4 image doesn't fix this, you still have to reboot every so often to get voice back. It will only happen at the most crucial times too given Murphy's law, like phoning a cab in the pouring rain with only 5% battery left, and when I called a girl I met back and ended up calling 4 times looking like a complete inept fool or harassing weirdo when the voice first disappeared.
One comment claims same problem happened in 4.2.2, 4.4.4 and 5.0 too, so it might be some changes in 5.0 just make it happen much more often (NuPlayer?)
Nexus 4 is clearly the red-headed stepchild in the Nexus family now. If there was a newer Nexus that wasn't the size of an iPad, I'd upgrade; but there isn't. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like holding War and Peace against my ear to talk on a phone.
The Nexus 5 isn't that much bigger than the 4, and certainly isn't as big as the Nexus 6. It's also not nearly as expensive as the 6.
Size comparison of the 5 and 4 (from the left, respectively):
http://newlaunches.com/archives/google-nexus-5-competition-c...
It bears consideration that the N5 is not carried by Verison [CDMA].
The Nexus 5 does actually have a CDMA radio and works well on Sprint and its MVNOs. The problem is that Verizon won't list it as an approved device in their database, which means it won't provision for them. From what I understand, it's a control issue, not a technical issue; they can't get carrier exclusivity with an unlocked Nexus phone so they don't want it on their network. In short, the problem is Verizon, not the radio in the phone.
Seeing as the hardware is there, is it theoretically possible to jigger the channels (technical term) and use an N5 on Verizon?
For extra coverage while traveling, you could order a SIM from Ting[1] (a Sprint MVNO that I've used and really enjoyed), and switch to it for coverage on Sprint's LTE network; they fully support the Nexus 5. It's not as expansive as Verizon's network, but from my experience it tends to fill in the gaps left by T-Mobile. I say that because my service is with Straight Talk on T-Mobile's network, and my wife's phone is on Ting. Everywhere I don't have coverage, she does, and vice versa.
Ting charges a base price of $6 per month per device, then charges for metered usage. My wife uses about 800 MB of data, about 80 minutes of calls, and about 300 texts per month, and her bill comes in at under $40 per month. I won't pretend to know your travel itinerary, but if all you do is order the SIM and activate it once every few months, you're probably looking at less than $70 per year to have the convenience of extra coverage when you need it.
Or, you could forgo all of that and go back to Verizon on a Moto X, it's the closest you'll get to a Nexus device on that network, but then you're back in user-hostile support territory.
I'm on Verizon Galaxy Nexus. If Nexus 4 is the red-headed stepchild, Verizon Galaxy Nexus is the kid chained in the basement nobody talks about :-/
Chrome is also crashing constantly on 5.03 and the new keyboard is very very bright at night.
Not a telephony issue, but I feel like 5.03 was a step back and I've actually contemplated downgrading back to 4.* Is that an option for phone users, or does the carrier push the updates?
Edit: It seems like every time I make a comment that might be slightly anti-Google these days, it receives downvotes. That's concerning.
When I'm on tube and read Effective Go I need to scroll through all apps and tabs to go back to it.
Why "on" is the default setting is beyond me.
If we're still talking about a Nexus 4 or 5 here, it's Google who pushes the updates, not the carrier, as they are truly unlocked devices beholden only to Google. As such, you can download the previous versions of the OS all the way back to the initial release version[1]. The process to revert to an older version is not difficult (given the audience here) but if you've never done it before it can be a pain. The instructions are on the linked page.
For the Nexus 4, you can go all the way back to 4.2.2 (a nice, stable OS version if I may say so), and back to 4.4 for the Nexus 5.
If instead you are talking about another manufacturer like HTC or Motorola...good luck. Every manufacturer approaches downgrading/upgrading differently, not all manufacturers provide older ROM images, and some phones simply can't be downgraded once they've taken an OTA update.
It was good while it lasted, but it's clear now that Google not only cannot be depended on for their software (see Google Reader), but also cannot be relied on for our hardware needs.
At least they have the search thing...
How about all versions of Android 4.3 and down? 60% of the Android user-base is now without updates for critical security errors.
Their support is ridiculous.
How in the hell do we expect the Android OS to actually make this anything but a bug-laden shit show? They're clearly having a hard enough time making Android work on their own narrow line of devices. The very idea of using this same OS for a completely open-ended device seems laughable, at best.
and here we have a result of this broken system.
I have a Nexus 5, have no interest in the Nexus 6, and could easily think "Oh well...upgrade", but as the old saying goes -- first they abandoned the Nexus 4, and I didn't speak up...
Google may have killed the Nexus line by making the 9 and 6 so uncompelling, but I doubt it was intentional. They're just a company that has a chronic difficulty prioritizing customer service. Further I don't really think it's "high expectations" to demand that voice functionality works (again, this stuff gets you in serious trouble with regulators. If this were raised to the FTC and/or CRTC, you can bet Google would find a fix extremely quickly).
Filed a bug with Google, they closed it. The handset vendor fixed it, but the carrier refused to release it. So we made the carrier take them back and give us iPhones. (One of those rare times when it's fun to work for a massive bureaucracy!) Never looked back.
I agree this may haven't been resolved nicely, but hidden extrapolation from a few employees to the whole company is not cool on your side either. There are people in there, working their butts off to make one of the largest open source projects better.
I think we're seeing a pattern here.
It looks much more like issues in that tracker start as Priority-small and no one upgraded it.
I do agree it's by no means a small priority ticket and not one that should be closed without a fix. Although there is a solution mentioned in https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82949#c44... which actually worked for me.
That said, I bet google knows better than we do how many active Nexus 4 users are still out there, my suspicions is - not many.
Here's my guess - they prioritize bugs not just on severity but also based on number of users impacted, and who those users are (in this case, people who are still using a phone that was discontinued over a year ago, have manually updated their phones and then reported a bug in the AOSP tracker. a demographic I suspect is going to be very hard to satisfy no matter what). I'm guessing they hope that people will take this problem to the carrier they bought it from (if they got it from someone besides google), contact google play store customer support (who have always been helpful in my experience), downgrade, or just move on and buy a more recent phone.