We recently wrote about some of the problems affecting Galaxy S4 owners since updating to Android 4.4.2 and we thought it was time to share the solution s we have for those issues. So if you're tearing your hair out since updating your Galaxy S4 to KitKat, read on and get some stress relief.

Sink your teeth into these KitKat solutions for the Galaxy S4. / © AndroidPIT Lock screen of death

Turning your phone on to see a black lock screen is disconcerting at best and looks like the device hasn't turned on at all at worst. While you can still unlock a black lockscreen as you would normally, it's hardly a good thing. The quickest and easiest fix to get rid of this problem is to ditch the lock screen personal message.

Go to settings > lockscreen > lock screen widgets > clock or personal message > clock.

You don't actually need to have had personal message enabled in the first place for this problem to affect you. The solution still works though.

Phone lag

This is probably the most irritating issue with the Android 4.4.2 firmware on the Galaxy S4. As always, it hasn't affected every device, but if you've got the bug it'll drive you crazy. Basically, everything you do will result in extremely slow response time. From launching apps, bringing up the keyboard, switching apps, returning to the home screen or just getting the S4 to register touches, your life will become hell until it's fixed. The response is so bad it thinks you're long-pressing the home button, so you'll get your recent apps rather than your home screen. The only viable solution to this problem I know of is a factory reset while crossing your fingers. Make sure you've done a full backup before you reset though.

Poor battery life following a firmware update is fairly standard unfortunately. / © AndroidPIT/Martin SteersBattery drain

Battery drain is pretty much de rigeur after a new firmware flash, so don't despair. As we've seen with plenty of previous firmware battery problems, the issue usually dies down a little after things settle in, but you can speed things along a bit with a few simple tricks. First things first, turn your S4 off and pull the battery for a good 30 seconds and reinsert it. If this doesn't work, you can take a leaf out of the solution for the S3 problems on Android 4.3 and install an app called Battery Calibration (which requires root). If you aren't rooted, try Battery Doctor or Juice Defender and if all else fails we're back to a factory reset.

Battery Calibration INSTALL Battery Doctor (Battery Saver) INSTALL JuiceDefender - battery saver INSTALL Contact list sync

If your contact list won't load the first thing to do is go into your settings and turn off sync. Then remove your account your account and log in again before switching syncing back on. Trying out variations of this theme – just turning sync off and on, just removing account and logging back in – should result in a solution. As with the issues above, if all else fails you should also see a resolution after a factory reset.

Most update problems can be fixed by a reboot, battery pull or factory reset.  / © AndroidPITMoral of the story

You may have guessed by now that a basic reboot, battery pull and factory reset are pretty much the standard solution process for firmware problems. These may not seem like particularly technical solutions but when it aint broke don't fix it (or rather, when a fix works don't mess with it). If these approaches don't work though that's when you need more specific answers, and that's what we're here for. In future, when you flash new firmware or even just get an OTA update it is a good idea to do a backup (before you install it if possible) and then factory reset your device to start fresh on the new firmware. Clearing cache etc goes a long way towards avoiding the common teething problems new firmware usually brings.

You can also check our solutions to Note 3 problems on Android 4.4.2 for other possible issues and fixes.

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