XZ2 Compact issues Android 10 - Requesting official Sony response

[JS87]

Hi folks,

I’m looking to see if anyone’s having the same experience as me since Sony updated the Xperia XZ2 Compact to Android 10 (52.1.A.0.532 on 14th Jan).

My phone took an instant critical hit and has been really struggling ever since. The general feel is that it’s now very slow and buggy, but here’s a list of some things that have only appeared since that update:

1. The camera app keep crashing. It usually initialises, but will either take 5/6 lag seconds to take a photo and crash, or the app crashes after a few photos are taken.
   
   
2. The screen is less responsive. This manifests in having to tap more times than is necessary when selecting, incorrect words being typed, or not being typed, when entering text, and more annoyingly:
   
   
3. The entry screen where I enter my PIN must be swiped upward from the bottom. This used to be a brief swipe upward, but now the animation jumps between 10-60% of the way up then fails and falls back down. Cue lots of swiping, and over-exaggerated swiped upward, to try and simple get to the PIN entry. This is one of the most annoying things.
   
   
4. My Sony USB C to 3.5mm headphone jack connector has started to fail detection.
   “Could not restart USB device auto-detection. Ensure that the USB port is completely dry or the USB device is not damaged”
   This has rendered my headphones useless. I begin to play music on Spotify, then this message appears and music playback stops. Totally unusable.
   
   
5. My microphone volume is barely audible in 3rd-party apps. Again, totally unusable. If I record a voice clip in WhatsApp, or try to record audio in n-Track 9, there is next to no gain and I cannot hear what I’ve recorded.
   
   
6. My microphone seems to be failing on calls. Going by feedback, if I don’t speak loudly right into the front of the phone my microphone does not pick up clearly. i.e. I cannot hold the phone from my face and go on loudspeaker, because the mic shuts off.
   This really heavily points to a problem with microphone gain and sensitivity.
   
   
7. Apps crash, where they did not crash before. Opening many apps at once shouldn’t, and didn’t, previously affect this phone. With moderate usage it’s probable that something is going to crash. Spotify frequently crashes on me.
   
   
8. “SIM card not detected” randomly, requiring a restart.
   
   
9. The battery life has taken a hit of around 10-20% per day.
   
   

Now, any jump up in version has its problems, and I accept that. But having worked in similar device areas where we pushed out firmware updates to millions of users, it’s all hands on deck. This was not a success, but I’ve been waiting now for 6 weeks for a hot-fix or some follow-up upgrade to fix all the apparent memory leaks, but it hasn’t happened.

I’m actually at the stage where I want to sell this phone and switch from Sony devices, but I couldn’t conscionably sell this phone to another person knowing how affected it is.

Is anyone else having problems and is there any plan to address them?

Can we have an official Sony response detailing when they're patching this up? 

Thanks

[JS87]

10) Wi-Fi connectivity has really taken a hit, mostly manifesting in lots of disconnections.

11) There's an Android System notification prompting me to "Try a new way to launch Google Assistant" which I can't dismiss.

I don't use Google Assistant and never will. It's going to be a real problem if Google are pushing their services like this.

[JS87]

As if by magic, some two days later, I was upgraded to "52.1.A.0.618" this morning! I'll post an update on each of these points in a few days one it's had time to settle in, but first impressions are:

• The phone seems more responsive
• Less lag
• No problem signing in, or swiping up for the PIN entry screen
• Camera starts normally and doesn't crash

It all points to Sony having fixed memory leaks from the "stock" Android 10 firmware they should never have pushed out.

[JS87]

An update on the software update to "52.1.A.0.618" from first-day use:

The microphone issue persists unfortunately; WhatsApp voice messages are still inaudible, and I tried recording using nTrack earlier today with similar results. That's really disappointing as I like to record ideas on the go.

I tried 'calibrating' the phone at one point last week and the microphone interface that records on behalf of 3rd party apps is called "Mic 2" or something - surely there aren't two separate mics? It really should be as simple as fixing the gain settings

I haven't had a chance to make a call yet and test the woeful microphone dropout, but I'll do that tomorrow.

I'm still having issues with my USB-C to 3.5mm jack converter, but I'll bite the bullet and buy another one just to see if this is a really coincidental fault.

I think this whole update was to patch memory leaks from bad coding. It's noticeably faster, smoother and more responsive - sort of like the phone I purchased, before Android 10 tanked it.

[JS87]

An update, as of roughly a week into the update, the phone is starting to show some signs of lag again. The PIN screen is slightly resistant to swipe activation, at times the screen will not sense text input, there are times when apps go very slow and a few other artifacts.

This is a half-way house but the memory leaks aren't totally fixed, and neither are some of the other headline issues.

[Larbi1]

Hello,
  I have exactly the same problem with the microphone, I have to get close to the microphone so that the other person can hear me.
I just installed the latest update, but the microphone problem persists.
Have you contacted customer service?
cordially

[JS87]

Hi Larbi1,

I'm afraid my phone is the same, and has become worse again with time after this new update. It didn't fix the 3rd party app microphone problem, and calibrating does not fix this.

What's more, the phone has become sluggish and slow again, and shows a lot of the old unresponsiveness.

The battery life is now poor and the phone doesn't last for the day.

There hasn't been any response from Sony yet I'm afraid.

Cheers

[Johnny88s]

Well it appears I was kicked out of my account, and logging back in I was forced to lose the old account and choose a new username. Then there's literally no point of contact on this entire, now amalgamated, forum for a multinational tech company. Very modern.

I only came back to add that my phone was upgraded to 52.1.A.0.672 on 15th April, and that upgrade seems to have fixed the "3rd party" microphone issue, and nothing else.

One small step at a time. The battery life is awful. We may have a phone back by the end of 2020.

[Strampke]

Hi @Johnny88s

Indeed the forum has had an update and not all the pieces have fallen into their place.

As for your battery life there are several options

1) a reset, starting with a clean machine (don't restore everything, just install most needed apps for a start)

2) restart your device once a week.

3) have a look at battery in settings, battery usage and restricted apps.

4) have a look at the support app where you will find tips.

[ROBYER1]

Have you also experienced issues with Google Assistant (through the pre-installed Google app) not working with Voice Match? Other XZ2c users are talking about this issue too, see my thread link below for links to others talking about it. Really not impressed with these updates leaving our phones not working properly.

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/xz-series/xz3-android-10-unable-to-turn-on-hey-ok-google-quot-someth...