New features of the Focus firmware update [Updated]
While we're still delving in to all the little changes of the combo NoDo + Firmware (2103.11.3.3) Focus update, it's really the latter that is a bit more interesting due to the mini, undocumented "fixes" on board.
We've found at least two so far, but know there have to be more. Still, these two are awwwwesome, to say the least:
- Capacitive buttons are temporarily disabled to prevent accidental "clicks": before the update, if you had an app open and you put your finger on the screen and dragged it down to the capacitive button area, you'd activate those buttons. Now you do not. This is huge for gaming on the Focus, to say the least. (Go ahead, try it. We'll wait...)
- Camera auto defaults to "anti-shake": this was a no brainer, the Focus has an anti-shake setting on it, so why would you not want that enabled by default? Evidently, Samsung saw the light on this and now it's on automatically, resulting we think in a higher percentage of steady shots
- No more Couch Potato: Shortly after the Samsung Focus hit the market, we learned that the screen was non-responsive when laying down on a soft surface such as a couch pillow (here's our video). Post-Nodo this is no longer a problem. WPCentral Reader Alan tipped us on this and sure enough, the Focus's screen is responsive in your hand, on a hard surface or when chilling out on a pillow.
Find anything else that is unique to this firmware (not NoDo)? Hit us up in comments and we'll post 'em.
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Orange_Tang says:
I hadn't noticed the add on of the anti shake being default on. Let me be the first to say this THANK GOD!
ash755 says:
Both these features need to come to all windows phones! I have a huge problem when playing fruit ninja bc i might accedentally press one of the touch sensative buttons on my HTC Surround
WixosTrix says:
Yeah, you should complain to HTC and on the offical Windows Phone blog. I guess it's something the OEM has to fix because it's hardware related. I've had the NoDo update for a few weeks and wasn't fixed until the Samsung update I got this morning.
OGCF says:
Same here. This is something hardware/driver related that MS doesn't have control of.
GP07 says:
That's why I went with the LG OPtimus and it's physical buttons, plus 16GB of storage etc etc.
Exomondo says:
i had the same issue all the time on my omnia7 in fruit ninja!
JayTBennett says:
Yeah I'm wondering if this was Samsung or AT&T, can't see why Samsung would have left the Omnia 7 out of what are a couple of very useful (almost required) changes
wolfgang#wp says:
You can also use your Focus now while it is laying on your couch or on a table -- you no longer have to pick it up to use it.
slsterling says:
Good to know! This issue has plagued me from the beginning. I hadn't noticed the fix because I was so used to picking up my phone to use it.
Mile#WP says:
I've read about the couch issue, but though I tested it many times, my Focus never had this problem.
jai#wp says:
me too, my focus never had that problem
slsterling says:
Thankfully it didn't seem to impact all Focus owners. I actually had a really bad case, even when holding it on a counter/soft surface, it still wouldn't react to my touch well.
IamNabil says:
The bluetooth on my focus seems to work much better. Significantly less static.
cuckooznest says:
Also have a Focus. I had various problems with Bluetooth, one of them being that the Bluetooth pairing with my car's hands-free system would drop while on a phone call (the call would stay connected, but it would no longer work over the car's stereo and mic). Updated last night and made several calls over Bluetooth while driving to work this morning - the Bluetooth didn't drop once. Out of all the little bugs, this one was the most annoying. I'm cautiously optimistic that it's been fixed!
pwachleman says:
I had to test it a while to be sure but Ive seen reports from quite a few of us Focus owners with the issue of the end of songs stuttering in the Zune player before the update and I am happy to report that issue is now gone after the update! One of my only peeves with my Focus! I'm pretty sure that would have been part of the firmware fixes...
estark says:
One fix I noticed was that previously voice recognition didn't work after you used the earphone jack. It wouldn't hear anything and you had to plug something back in the jack and remove it for the phone to "hear" again. This seems to be fixed after the update from ATT (not from the update provided courtesy of Hungary).
Someone in WA says:
You don't know how happy I am to see the confessions here of other Fruit Ninja users who had that problem with the capacitive buttons. I thought it was just me and my declining gaming skills! Anyone try out the WISPr protocal feature yet? I'm going to head to Starbucks in a few minutes to see if I notice what this does.
pwachleman says:
WISPr worked great at the local McDonalds...at the time of the visit I had updated my phone and my wifes wasnt yet. So I got to see it work! Very nice!
Mile#WP says:
Prior to the update, I had my phone connecting to a nearby Starbucks and once a day, I would have to open up the browser and click the "Agree" button to use the wifi spot.Before the upgrade, I deleted the auto connect to their wifi. After the upgrade, I had to go in and tell wifi to connect to them. Worked right away - no need to hit their website and agree to use it.Then I was on the other side of town and saw I was near another ATT wifi spot. Pulled out my phone and sure enough, it was already connected and usuable.So, yes, it works great!
gsulliva says:
As mentioned above the problem with a SWIPE being dectected as a CLICK when the Samsung Focus was laying on a SOFT SURFACE has been FIXED!!!
BearJammerz says:
I have Ghost Armor on my phone. Swiping/tapping seems much more improved and sensitive now. I thought about taking it off, but will leave it on now.Also, I can type better now, more accurate with less missed letters. (not sure if it is related to the above.)
UCF w00t says:
I'm wary to say this too soon but I think they finally fixed the SD card issues. I've got a 16gb Sandisk card and previous to the the update it was spontaneously rebooting several times a day. It has yet to do it since the update. Fingers crossed.I bet AT&T just now starting to offer "supported" cards is no coincidence. Them supporting it probably has more to do with Samsung fixing the underlying issues than it does some new cards being made or tested specifically for the Focus.
sfleuriet says:
I installed both updates on my Focus. Ever since, when I am typing text messages the text seems to be noticeably delayed limiting the speed at which I can compose a message. The audio for keystrokes seems to be delayed as well. Also, when a lot of text is typed and I hold the Backspace key down the audio is changed - seems like it deletes a lot slower as well. Anyone else seeing this? A little frustrating.
jai#wp says:
it still has the 'mute mic' problem, I had to plug/unplug the earphone to get the 'mic' working again.... mmmmmmthe camera still can't store the config changes... try it, change the pics size and you'll seealso, inside people hub when u swipe from ALL to WHATS NEW .. swipe very slowly from ALL to WHATS NEW.... you'll see the 'R' of RECENT text title appearing and disappearing very fast it looks like an error LOL
jai#wp says:
also WHAT'S NEW still shows me news from people I don't want to have news from!.... we want the facebook filters working on WP !!!
smartass1379 says:
I installed the update running a 32 gb sandisk class 2 and have not had 1 reboot since... here is to hoping that its a permanent thing. I have noticed that it is a faster and more responsive. I've not had the mic issue since the update and have had no crashes of the sort... I seriously LOVE my Samsung Focus
smartass1379 says:
I can honestly say I love My WP7 I've not had a single reboot since the update. I'm using a 32GB sandisk microSD card class 2. I'm a bit worried that Microsoft is saying that if you updated the with the Chevron.updater, that this will be the last update your phone will recieve. But other than that my phone runs as its suppose to. I don't have any issues with the OS. Can't wait to have 'Mango' on it though. Can't wait to find out what Microsoft has in store for a better "end-user" experience. After all Mix 11 was all about the developers. I didn't expect them to be so sercretive about what they plan to do with 'Mango'
smartass1379 says:
I can honestly say I love My WP7 I've not had a single reboot since the update. I'm using a 32GB sandisk microSD card class 2. I'm a bit worried that Microsoft is saying that if you updated the with the Chevron.updater, that this will be the last update your phone will recieve. But other than that my phone runs as its suppose to. I don't have any issues with the OS. Can't wait to have 'Mango' on it though. Can't wait to find out what Microsoft has in store for a better "end-user" experience. After all Mix 11 was all about the developers. I didn't expect them to be so sercretive about what they plan to do with 'Mango'
The Hire says:
After my forced NoDo update my Focus started to act crazy and reboot several times a day saying there was a problem with the storage card. The 16GB class 2 card that AT&T gave to me for free, when I first bought the Focus. But it seems the samsung update fixed it! Thank goodness!Also is it me or has anyone noticed that after NoDo, you can now adjust the volume when listening to music without having to turn the phone on? Maybe I just never noticed it before, but can anyone else confirm this?
columnbreak says:
I've always been able to adjust the sound without having to press the power button first on my Focus. I'm positive that was available before NoDo.
mythos13 says:
I hope HTC also comes out with an update to disable the capacitive buttons on the HD7.
Soylent Red says:
Bluetooth headsets don't lose the volume settings anymore! It used to always be at the lowest level when I turn on my Jawbone every day, but now it stays at the same volume.
Soundtweaker says:
Anyone else getting a popping noise when changing songs with in the Zune interface? Before the update I didnt notice any popping noise.
bwren says:
Anti-shake gets me halfway there. Now make the video default to 720p HD.
Technicolor says:
I'm not sure if this is specific to the firmware update or if this is even specific to NoDo, but when I connect my Samsung Focus to my laptop, it gives me an internet connection. I even put it in airplane mode, turned off wifi, and turned off my cellular data connection, and I was still able to connect to websites, xbox live, etc. Can anyone else confirm if this works.
focus101 says:
I am very happy with my Focus. However after the NoDo update, I noticed that the keyboard becomes laggy when enabling the sound for a keypress (found in the keyboard settings). Disabling the sound produces no lag whatsoever. Additionally, when I unlock my phone, the home screen will display for about a fourth of a second before going to the lock screen. Although it's not that big of a deal, I was just curious if anyone else had experienced these problems.
hauz_20 says:
Just recently I've been having the same lockscreen issue. It's driving me insane.
dudedud says:
i dont know on my samsung focus on rogers my autoshake doesnt default to on after the firm ware update...
pincher_95 says:
It just me or 3G signal greatly improved ?Feedback if you noticed any changes in 3G reception.
futurix says:
Why would one want to have auto-shake enabled by default?? It actually degrades the quality of photos in many situations!
hauz_20 says:
@futurix because this isn't studio photography. Most people probably want to snap a photo quickly without having to alter settings.
