topic Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience. in Z Series

Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Cyphr — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:08:28 GMT

I must begin by saying,I hate the Lollipop update on XZU. The clownish bright colors and whites. I so badly miss the dark default Sony theme of Kitkat 4.4.4 The notification dropdown in all black just looked so sexy. All text and images used to pop on it. Now it just looks so stupid in white and grey. Earlier I used to just love looking at my phone's gorgeous display. No more..Lollipop ruined it totally and I regret my decision so badly to update the phone.

Is there any way I can rollback to Kitkat 4.4.4? I want to keep the OEM rom.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Thommo — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 11:06:49 GMT

You need to manually flash your phone to downgrade - You will need a .ftf firmware file and with that manually flash using Flashtools,

Ignore the title but do follow the guide and look for a firmware ending with .108 which is KK 4.4.4 - Customized is generic and free from network branding

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Cyphr — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 11:27:14 GMT

Thanks, bruh. Any chance you could have a link to a trusted source where I can find the OEM .108 firmware which is untampered?

Thanks.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Thommo — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 11:40:40 GMT

Sorry forgot to add the link to the guide in my post above - Please see here - again ignore the title but do follow the guide which is the same for all Xperia devices

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Cyphr — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:44:04 GMT

Thanks so much!

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

tiangiron — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 12:58:45 GMT

@Cyphr I have the same sentiments as you. In my opinion, Lollipop did really screw the Z Ultra experience. I am loving my phone (C6833) running KitKat 4.4.4 out of the box. I updated mine last night through PC Companion. At first I was happy with Lollipop but then it all disappeared when I started noticing the bugs and changes. I like KitKat's Notif/Status Bar waaaayyy more than this. The dark background just looks sleek and elegant. And not only that, I like the overall appearance and UI of the apps in KitKat. The Recent Apps button - I just don't like the way the Recent apps are displayed. You can't even close them all in one tap - this is a feature lost! And in the lockscreen, after pressing the power button, you need to swipe up first before being able to draw your unlock pattern - it's ridiculous!

It also seemed that the battery drains faster by about 10% and the phone also heats up faster (I'm not sure but these are what I've noticed). It looks like the Stamina Mode just fails to do its job well. And another important thing - I've experienced a slowdown in transition when switching apps and in swiping at the homescreen.

If these bugs persist, I might consider using the guide to flash the OEM KitKat back. Btw, thanks a lot to @Thommo for the guide/solution. I MISS KITKAT.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Thommo — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 15:10:26 GMT

I have the UK Generic firmware for 4.4.4 if needed C6833_14.4.A.0.108_UK Generic.ftf for the C6833 as it's the phone I have and use daily

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

HolyItsaRaccoon — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 02:24:34 GMT

I'm so happy you posted this.

Can confirm that your advice has successfuly downgraded my phone back to Kitkat for my Unlocked Xperia Z Ultra without any problems.

I've also disabled System Update Notifications so that I'll never be reminded of this horrible update ever again.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

tiangiron — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:18:52 GMT

@Thommo Are the ROMs with Operators labeled as "Customised" the Generic ones?

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

tiangiron — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:20:33 GMT

@Cyphr Have you flashed KitKat 4.4.4 back?

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Samuelhmar — Fri, 01 May 2015 00:56:12 GMT

I feel the same way..... I kep my z ultra in the service center to be fix and they return me with updated android to lallipop... But i find out that a lot of feature i really like are missing like... enlarging your homescreen icon... Keep the fone in landscape mode... Long hlod the icons in the drop down menu to go to more settings... Long press the apps in recent apps to force close them... Etc... So please sony fix this issue..... With an update or something.....

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Uliwooly — Fri, 01 May 2015 02:23:01 GMT

@Samuelhmar

I'd noticed that you posted the same on other threads, please don't cross-post.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

tiangiron — Fri, 01 May 2015 12:26:45 GMT

I wanted to revert back to KitKat so followed the guide in flashing firmware to my phone. I have completed the steps until the last (Flashing finished. Please unplug and start your phone.) I disconnected it. Then I powered it on. It was fine until it suddenly stopped during the startup process (purple startup animation). Then it entered into a boot loop. Now I have to do a software repair. Any other tips or advice? Badly need it.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Uliwooly — Fri, 01 May 2015 16:02:13 GMT

@tiangiron

reflash the phone or repair it with PCC

press and hold power & volume up for 10 seconds to turn it off

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Uliwooly — Fri, 01 May 2015 16:02:36 GMT

PC Companion (PCC)

Bridge (for Mac)

Alternatives on How to backup Xperias

http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/36355

@tiangiron

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

tiangiron — Fri, 01 May 2015 16:14:56 GMT

I tried repairing it with PCC. The repair failed twice. It says check your internet connection. But the connection is fine. What should I do? Should I try to flash Lollipop instead?

@uliwooly

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Uliwooly — Fri, 01 May 2015 16:25:25 GMT

that's odd, how slow/fast is your internet connection?

go to speedtest

also disable your firewall and antivirus and then try again.

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

tiangiron — Sat, 02 May 2015 01:39:39 GMT

@uliwooly

I was able to repair it with PC Companion. Now I got 5.0.2 Lollipop back. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

Uliwooly — Sat, 02 May 2015 01:50:11 GMT

@tiangiron

Anytime

Re: Lollipop Screwed my Xperia Z Ultra Experience.

xtra — Sat, 02 May 2015 03:46:33 GMT

just for info.
simple home ar large icon(area2touch) available @setting/home
Quick setting shortcut available beside user icon 2nd drop down menu.
Automatic brightness level can be access via setting/display/adaptive brightness.