Android 4.0.4 Update for GSM Galaxy Nexus Causes Signal Issues, Do Not Flash

Google released Android 4.0.4 update for the GSM Galaxy Nexus about a week ago. While some owners received the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the first time, most of GSM Galaxy Nexus units that got the update had already upgraded to Android 4.0.3 a few months ago.

Unfortunately, the update is broken in a way that makes all smartphones with the Android 4.0.4 firmware unusable. Since the update was made available several days ago, thousands of users have been complaining that they are losing signal as soon as the phone enters standby mode.

We advised those who were on older build to avoid flashing Android 4.0.4 until Google came out with a fix for the critical issue.

GSM Galaxy Nexus owners who have already installed the latest update should flash their devices back to Google’s 4.0.2 factory image, otherwise they won’t be able to receive calls, texts or anything else that requires GSM signal, as long as the phone is in standby mode.

Several tech-savvy users have already managed to duplicate the problem and found some workarounds, which are only available for rooted devices.

The reason the phone loses GSM signal while in sleeping mode seems to be the fact that the update forces the processor to go below the threshold required to keep the phone’s signal up, in order to save more battery life.

It appears that the issue can be avoided if the smartphone’s processor is set to 700 MHz, but the problem reappears when it’s set to 350 MHz speed.

Google has yet to come forward with an official statement, but the company is aware of the problem and is probably already working on a fix that will be delivered within the next few days.

Keep in mind that the problem is present on all devices that run a custom ROM based on Android 4.0.4, so it doesn’t really matter if the phone is rooted or not. We will keep you updated on Google’s resolve.