Develop Bugs

Any Idea how the GPS will be?

i havent gone threw every review but any of u guys catch anything in any review?
the epic by far was the best phone ive used but the GPS was down right awful and sprint nor samsung did anything to fix it

XDA fixed it enough to keep me happy. I think people are blowing this gps thing way out of proportion. "If it doesn't work perfectly or, at least as good as other phones then it must be the most awful thing ever!".

Silent25r said:
XDA fixed it enough to keep me happy. I think people are blowing this gps thing way out of proportion. "If it doesn't work perfectly or, at least as good as other phones then it must be the most awful thing ever!".
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was never blown out of proportion.....my girls epic who is stock can never get a lock
mine who was rooted would get signal but never better then 40m lock and would lose signal constantly.....try taking an 9 hour drive with it on and see how many times ur signal is lost

imtjnotu said:
was never blown out of proportion.....my girls epic who is stock can never get a lock
mine who was rooted would get signal but never better then 40m lock and would lose signal constantly.....try taking an 9 hour drive with it on and see how many times ur signal is lost
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I certainly remember that a lot of people had trouble, but I never did. Mine always locked perfectly and quickly and never gave me trouble on drives short and long.

imtjnotu said:
was never blown out of proportion.....my girls epic who is stock can never get a lock
mine who was rooted would get signal but never better then 40m lock and would lose signal constantly.....try taking an 9 hour drive with it on and see how many times ur signal is lost
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I never understood the gps deal. It seemed so sporadic. Mine always worked and I am stock. I used it last weekend on EH17 to drive 5 hours to saint louis and it was perfect the entire way there and back. Didn't cut out once. But you see some people worth working gps and others without it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

I have to agree on the gps sucking. On any drive over an hour I could expect to loose lock. I'd imagine if we looked in some of the other GSII forums we might get a clue.

the only thing i ever loved more about my evo then the epic was the gps....htc never gave me gps issues ever

when i had the bionic or droid x they both locked on quick

Backing up the GPS being just short of useless. Remember, just because YOU haven't experienced the problem doesn't prove there isn't one. On Eclair I had very little trouble, but on FroYo I would constantly lose signal mid-trip, having to frequently turn it off and back on to re-lock and hope I wouldn't lose it right when I was in the middle of complex turns or had missed a turn and needed re-routing. In the Gingerbread leaks it turned to completely useless, locking up 100% after as little as 10 seconds of use, requiring a full restart of the phone to be useful again.
So yes, the Epic's biggest flaw was its next-to-useless GPS, hands down. That said, most reviews of the entire Galaxy S line agreed the GPS was bad on all versions. So far I've heard nothing of the sort about the Galaxy S II phones in Europe which suggests the entire line will be similar, including our new Epic 4G Touches.

imtjnotu said:
was never blown out of proportion.....my girls epic who is stock can never get a lock
mine who was rooted would get signal but never better then 40m lock and would lose signal constantly.....try taking an 9 hour drive with it on and see how many times ur signal is lost
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Click to collapse
If you couldn't fix it then that wasn't the norm. I would have returned it to Sprint and got a different one within the first 30 days.
9 hour drives? No problem. Longest I've been on was 6 but the GPS didn't have any problems. The battery on the other hand...

got mine yesterday, used GPS with google nav and telenav. drove for about an hour in farm country Ohio. GPS took a few seconds longer to lock than my EVo but once locked didn't drop signal. Still a little early to tell but no obvious problems yet.

TurboFool said:
Backing up the GPS being just short of useless. Remember, just because YOU haven't experienced the problem doesn't prove there isn't one. On Eclair I had very little trouble, but on FroYo I would constantly lose signal mid-trip, having to frequently turn it off and back on to re-lock and hope I wouldn't lose it right when I was in the middle of complex turns or had missed a turn and needed re-routing. In the Gingerbread leaks it turned to completely useless, locking up 100% after as little as 10 seconds of use, requiring a full restart of the phone to be useful again.
So yes, the Epic's biggest flaw was its next-to-useless GPS, hands down. That said, most reviews of the entire Galaxy S line agreed the GPS was bad on all versions. So far I've heard nothing of the sort about the Galaxy S II phones in Europe which suggests the entire line will be similar, including our new Epic 4G Touches.
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Since I don't know who you were responding to I will assume it was me. You know that goes both ways right. Just because YOU have experienced the problem doesn't prove there is one. I have used every official build and every gingerbread leak except EE03 and I have never had a single problem. I use GPS frequently. I have never had a lockup. I have always had an instant lock. And I have always been able to get within 10 meters with the average being 3 meters. However, I never said there wasn't a problem. I just said I never understood the issue as to why it worked for some and not others. You would think that it would be global if the hardware is identical. Makes me wonder if it has anything to do with location in respect to the satellites. Never tried to dig into it because fortunately I didn't have the issue. But I do hope that the touch is without issues because not having gps would be a deal breaker for me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

crawrj said:
Since I don't know who you were responding to I will assume it was me. You know that goes both ways right. Just because YOU have experienced the problem doesn't prove there is one. I have used every official build and every gingerbread leak except EE03 and I have never had a single problem. I use GPS frequently. I have never had a lockup. I have always had an instant lock. And I have always been able to get within 10 meters with the average being 3 meters. However, I never said there wasn't a problem. I just said I never understood the issue as to why it worked for some and not others. You would think that it would be global if the hardware is identical. Makes me wonder if it has anything to do with location in respect to the satellites. Never tried to dig into it because fortunately I didn't have the issue. But I do hope that the touch is without issues because not having gps would be a deal breaker for me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
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Just because he experienced the problem means that a problem exists. Whether it's a wide spread problem or a unique incident, the problem still exists. On the Epic forums people are constantly complaining about GPS issues. There are few fortunate ones like you who haven't had the same issues. I didn't have GPS issues for a while until my job had me drive long distances.

cachorropedorro said:
Just because he experienced the problem means that a problem exists. Whether it's a wide spread problem or a unique incident, the problem still exists. On the Epic forums people are constantly complaining about GPS issues. There are few fortunate ones like you who haven't had the same issues. I didn't have GPS issues for a while until my job had me drive long distances.
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So if you brick your phone because of something you did is the phone bad. Is there a flaw in the phone? No. And again, I never said there wasn't a problem. Actually I said that there was a problem for some and not for others. The only point I was making is that I didn't understand why it worked for some and not others. I wish we could have found the root cause.

Generally speaking GPS on the galaxy S line sucked world wide. Generally speaking it appears that samsung fix this in the galaxy s II.
This is based on reading numerous reviews on both; though it is always possible they messed up on the epic touch as it is slightly different and has wimax; I'm expecting it to work like a charm.
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I do wonder how many folks who tested gps on the galaxy s remember to ignore wifi triangulation when voicing a comment.

Forgot about this thread and started another a bit further down. I managed to sneak GPS status onto our demo phone yesterday and it locked to 9/10 sats in less than 2 seconds from inside. Accuracy was only at 30m when I cut it off, but it was indoors in a spot where my epic cannot lock at all. Pretty sure it's fixed.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

crawrj said:
The only point I was making is that I didn't understand why it worked for some and not others. I wish we could have found the root cause.
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I did spend a fair amount of time investigating the GPS issues on EC05. There are at least two problems: (i) GpsOne Xtra data that fails to download and update, eventually resulting in stale ephemeris and inability to get timely locks, and (ii) a RIL synchronization bug that results in the GPS crashing with 5% probability on every exit/switch of a GPS utilizing app.
The latter of those two problem is definitely confirmed and affects every EC05 Epic. However, if you only use Navigation once a day, you'll run into that bug an average once a month and might not even notice it. But it is possible to reliably reproduce.
The former of the two problems I never fully understood. The GPS should work as long as you reboot once a week, but we know folks whose phones chronically couldn't download new Xtra data on reboot, likely becuase it was attempting to do so "too quickly" after establishing a network connection. Forcing an Xtra download through GPS Test, GPS Aids, or with a patched framework resolved the issue for most of those folks. The remaining issue is that the ephemeris would still go stale very quickly (hours) on some phones, and an EFS/NVRAM clear appears to help that.
Part of the issue is that the "brokenness" of the GPS is somewhat subjective. It's entirey possible for the GPS to absolutely not be able to get an Xtra-assisted lock, but using almanac data still get one in 30-60s in a vehicle. For some folks, that might be "good enough" and wouldn't think there's much of a problem.

cachorropedorro said:
Just because he experienced the problem means that a problem exists. Whether it's a wide spread problem or a unique incident, the problem still exists. On the Epic forums people are constantly complaining about GPS issues. There are few fortunate ones like you who haven't had the same issues. I didn't have GPS issues for a while until my job had me drive long distances.
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Click to collapse
I think the opposite of what your saying is true. This problem isn't as wide spread as it seems. The few who have this problem are very loud about it and complain about it over the forums. Though I seriously doubt that they are the majority.
If fixing your gps doesn't work then you can always set it back to stock and take it in for repair. If they can't repair and you don't have insurance then you can pay a small fee for a epic with a working gps. I doubt anyone is forcing people to live with a phone that the gps doesn't work on.

Considering that it has a dedicated GPS chip "SiRFstarIV GSD4t GPS" I doubt that we are going to see the same issues.
The integrated GPS on the SoC stinks, and samsung knows that. Using the SiRFstarIV will solve 99% of peoples GPS problems.

engadget claims it is solid. fwiw. http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/samsung-epic-4g-touch-review/
Our calls were absolutely solid. The phone's reception is on par with the best handsets around, and we never suffered from dropped calls or degraded quality. Our calls came in absolutely clear, and we think the speakers go to 11 because we had to actually turn down the volume to comfortably hear the other end of the line. The same thing could be said about the loudspeaker for calls and music, which both came out loud and clear without needing to strain our ears or feeling like we needed to break out the headphones. However, the sound seemed a bit limited when watching a full-length blockbuster movie, though we believe this had to do with the quality of the movie itself and not the phone.Last but not least, we double-checked the GPS to make sure it wouldn't have similar concerns to the Galaxy S series, and weren' t disappointed. In several locations -- including a basement next to a window -- the GPS pulled up our location in less than ten seconds. Needless to say, this is definitely a sound improvement, one we imagine had special attention given to it throughout the course of the phone's development.
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GPS stopped working

Did anyone GPS just stop working mine was working fine but now it's not locating me at all but when i use wireless networks to find me it finds my location fast any help
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

my gps stopped working as well, it was locating me and everything, but when i tried 2 get directions, it wud not get them for me... this wat i did n it worked...
while phone was on, pulled the battery, put it back in, start up phone
go to "menu > settings > location & security"... 1st turn off all 3 settings "use wireless networks", "turn on gps", "use agps" w.e....
n den try using gps again, it shud work
ttieder said:
Did anyone GPS just stop working mine was working fine but now it's not locating me at all but when i use wireless networks to find me it finds my location fast any help
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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That did not work it works when i use wireless networks but no go with the GPS radio
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

My gps does not work at all. I am wondering if I should take the phone to get it repaired or replaced. I downloaded the gps status app and told it download agps data and that didn't help. Navigation will not work at all unless I have use wireless networks enabled in the locationand security settings. If that is not checked then the app stays at waiting for location. It isn't anything where I am that is blocking the signal either. There are 3 other smartphones in the house and they all get a gps lock quickly.

I had this issue with my first copy of the phone. When I went in to the sprint store they told me it was fine but I could barely get 3 satellites under open sky. I had the issue escalated and after 2 hrs on the phone they sent me a replacement. The replacement works perfectly. Really a night and day difference.
On both copies I remained completely stock. Even RTN'd the first copy twice just to be sure it was not radio setting issue.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

There's an app called AGPS Injector that updates your AGPS position and you should be able to pick up GPS signal pretty quickly after your position is established via AGPS.

delfin12 said:
There's an app called AGPS Injector that updates your AGPS position and you should be able to pick up GPS signal pretty quickly after your position is established via AGPS.
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I used gps status and gps test which both have an agps loading function and it did not help. If his device is like my first, I would not expect it to help him either.
I still have the first device, haven't sent it back yet. I will boot it up and try agps injector. I will also try to post a video showing the difference in gps performance.
-EDIT-
Here is the link to the youtube video i made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpkiJeUQpvQ
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

I have both of those and still cannot get a gps lock but with my niece's epic in the exact same spot I get 6 satellites really quickly.

Try this in the dialer:
##GPSCLRX#
You will need an MSL. You may need to reboot (not sure about that one, I reboot.)
This is clear all incorrect AGPS data and download new correct one.
And this will fix your GPS unless it's physically defective.

nabbed said:
Try this in the dialer:
##GPSCLRX#
You will need an MSL. You may need to reboot (not sure about that one, I reboot.)
This is clear all incorrect AGPS data and download new correct one.
And this will fix your GPS unless it's physically defective.
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Click to collapse
This was also done for the defective device in the video I posted above. It did not help.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

nabbed said:
Try this in the dialer:
##GPSCLRX#
You will need an MSL. You may need to reboot (not sure about that one, I reboot.)
This is clear all incorrect AGPS data and download new correct one.
And this will fix your GPS unless it's physically defective.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People went through all this crap with the captive, what you are suggesting was only a temporary fix, get your phones replaced if you have gps issues.

nsxla said:
People went through all this crap with the captive, what you are suggesting was only a temporary fix, get your phones replaced if you have gps issues.
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Yeah, what he said. +1

Has anyone been able to get an exchange because of gps? Also did u get a refurbish or a brand new one?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!

musclehead84 said:
Has anyone been able to get an exchange because of gps? Also did u get a refurbish or a brand new one?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!
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would definitely like to know about this one. Also, anyone that takes their phone in to tech support to have it looked at, if you're running a custom rom / kernel do you return it to stock before bringing it in?

musclehead84 said:
Has anyone been able to get an exchange because of gps? Also did u get a refurbish or a brand new one?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!
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They did replace it but not after a big ordeal. It was supposed to be a refurb but I got lucky and it just happen to be NIB. Don't expect the same though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

lattisimo said:
They did replace it but not after a big ordeal. It was supposed to be a refurb but I got lucky and it just happen to be NIB. Don't expect the same though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
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Good for you. Were they trying to say that they are all the same? Just wondering what to expect. Also how is your new one?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!

musclehead84 said:
Good for you. Were they trying to say that they are all the same? Just wondering what to expect. Also how is your new one?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!
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new one is fantastic. fast, accurate, and locks inside my house. just how it should be and just using gps, not using wireless networks. they showed me an htc device and tried to tell me that some devices just perform better than others. they would not, however, get another epic touch and show me that it performed the same as mine. that was why i ended up calling sprint and complained about the store not trying to recognize that i had a legitimate issue. after i spoke with the rep on the phone, then their manager, then having them send the issue to the escalations team. it took 2hrs on the phone and a call back 2 days later from the escalations team before they shipped me a replacement.
I posted the youtube vid so that people who do not have 2 epic touches can see that there is a clear issue with some handsets. i hope everyone else with this issue does not have to jump through the same hoops i had to. good luck to all of you. this is truly a fantastic device, if you get a good copy.

I think I am going to have to call as well. I went to get mine replaced. I can set it on the table beside my tablet and my tablet will pick up 11 satellites and get a location lock with 8 seconds. After 10 minutes the phone had done nothing. So I get to the sprint store and go to show them and low and behold the darn thing picks up 9 satellites and gets a location lock. I tried to explain to them that it wouldn't stay and I wasn't going to spend the entire day at the sprint store waiting to show them when it drops off again.

ElAguila said:
I think I am going to have to call as well. I went to get mine replaced. I can set it on the table beside my tablet and my tablet will pick up 11 satellites and get a location lock with 8 seconds. After 10 minutes the phone had done nothing. So I get to the sprint store and go to show them and low and behold the darn thing picks up 9 satellites and gets a location lock. I tried to explain to them that it wouldn't stay and I wasn't going to spend the entire day at the sprint store waiting to show them when it drops off again.
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Exactly the issue I had. For just a moment before I took the video the defective unit had 7 satellites and 18 feet of accuracy but a few moments later it was complete crap again. The new copy has not failed once since I unboxed it over a week ago. I feel your pain sir. I wish you luck in getting it replaced.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

lattisimo said:
Exactly the issue I had. For just a moment before I took the video the defective unit had 7 satellites and 18 feet of accuracy but a few moments later it was complete crap again. The new copy has not failed once since I unboxed it over a week ago. I feel your pain sir. I wish you luck in getting it replaced.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have T.E.P. on your phone? Did sprint charge you anything for the exchange? They're telling me they are going to charge me $35 to exchange the phone. It has only been 15 or so days since I've actually received and started using the phone. The other option is to add TEP to my line for $8 a month and then cancel it. Honestly, I think they should just exchange it on the fact that it is defected and cover it under the samsung warranty, but that's me. Opinions?

Signal & GPS Reliability

All -
I'm hoping for a clear honest assessment of the reliability of the signal and GPS on the E4GT. I use CoPilot a TON for navigation and absolutely need the GPS to get a reasonably fast lock and be both fast (in terms of true-to-location while moving) and accurate. I also need the phone to not be dropping calls (I left AT&T for this very reason).
The reason for my post is simple - I've done a ton of reading threads both here and other sites and at this point am a bit worried that my planned purchase of the dreamy SII may have a few flaws. I've read post-after-post about signal loss issues as well as posts about very unreliable GPS qualities. But many of these posts appear to have been from the September-to-December timeframe and potentially were fixed or were older hardware versions.
SOoooo... I'm hoping a few of you real-life current owners can quell the fear - I so covet that gorgeous screen and dual-core processor. But the fact of the matter is that my Evo 4G gets near instantaneous GPS lock and pretty much never drops a call. I don't want to buy the E4GT and end up hating it for the 2 features I need most.
Thank you all in advance for your time -

I came from an evo as well and the call quality isn't an issue but the GPS is non existent on the phone. To be fair some time it locks with a few minutes some times it won't get a lock for 30 minutes even when I use GPS tool box to clear data and download the agps assistance. I'm in So Cal, in the high desert where we only have 2 story buildings and a pretty clear view of the sky.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Rats... bad GPS is a deal-breaker for me Maybe you're alone and I'll get nothing but rave reviews, right? Right?

I use GPS 4 to 5 times a day. You just need to turn GPS on. Then reboot. It sometimes takes a few minutes but always locks and always gets me where I want to go. Miner glitch in otherwise perfect phone

best gps for getting to a known address
Never had a dropped call yet. Use the gps multiple times a day and takes 1-20s to lock on, usually if it takes longer than that then something is wrong with the address. One notable problem is when using Google Navigate to search for say a McDonalds,it might give an address only relatively close and you'll need to look up the real address manually and have it go to that one instead. Also remember all phones are build a little different too so result can be way different.

The turn on-reboot-wait method on the GPS is straight up a deal breaker for me. With my "OG" Evo, I turn on GPS, and by the time CoPilot is loaded (typically about 10 seconds) the GPS is locked and ready to rock. With a newer and significantly more expensive phone, I refuse to be taking steps backward. I so badly wanted this phone but I think I'll have to wait... Or try the 3D.
Again - thanks all for your input -

mybikegoes200 said:
I so badly wanted this phone but I think I'll have to wait... Or try the 3D.
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This is one of those areas that really has no definitive answer. Luckily my GPS seems to work fine with pretty instant lock (knock on wood). I've seen reports of others that can't get locks unless they stand on their heads and rub their bellys, lol.
The best advice I can give is to actually get the phone and try it... if it doesn't work you have 14 days to return it and go with another one.

I have only seen problems with my GPS using google maps but if i use telenav or just Nav which also came on my phone its comes up w/i 5-10 seconds. Signal is good but not bad, i had the EVO 3d which was horrible, moto photon was excellent but i would put this signal right in the middle of them at "OK". I havent dropped very many calls but i do travel in rural areas so i cant down grade the signal for dead spots from Sprint

I have never really experienced GPS issues... I have only had one time where it took it about a minute to lock and route address.

I'd say bite the bullet and go for it. Seems like many who don't get good GPS trade their phones in for another and then they get good GPS. Seems like a quality control issue with samsung and GPS. You could always trade yours in if it's no good.
For me, my GPS locks take a while, unless I use GPS Status first, which locks consistently in < 10 sec.

If you decide to take the plunge and your ET4G has crap GPS, have them exchange it. I have a YouTube video that shows my first copy (which was aweful) and my second copy that to this day is fantastic.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

I appreciate all the input. Maybe I've been spoiled by the GPS quality on the OG Evo - which pretty much never takes longer than 10 seconds to lock. I don't have to do any silly reboots or gps status or clearing this or that... I turn on GPS, click the link for CoPilot - and by the time CoPilot loads gps has a lock. I've talked to enough people both online and locally to have the heebie jeebies about the E4GT.
Soooo... Right or wrong, what I decided to do is buy an Evo 3D on Craigslist to try that and hopefully either wait for a consistently good report on E4GT or a different phone with a more reliable GPS. That way I can still upgrade via contract if and when that time comes.
Again I thank you all for your input -

I never had a problem with gps on the et4g. It works perfect. When I saw buddy got gps working on cm7 I couldn't believe it bc it never worked for me when I had the evo...
I believe this device had better gps quality..
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Defective Radio?

I have been having a lot of problems with my new honey, namely in the signal department! I went through a whole thing with it right after activation...it worked, then didn't, then did...etc. A chat session, phone call, & 2 trip to the actual store (all in 1 day!) resulted in them doing a factory reset and sending me on my looney way. It seemed to have helped, for about a day and a half. Now it is dropping signal again! It seems to do so, sometimes, when I have the wifi on. But then sometimes not (I'm not sure if wifi is culprit or coincidence.)
The ATT store employees said I may have changed a setting (I'm sure I didn't as I don't know of any setting that would even cause that!) and also "explained" my signal will naturally fluctuate...(They think I am an idiot, obviously and of course the phone was working fine when I was there...duh!) They also gave me a new sim card.
I *really* want to love this phone! But I'm finding it frustratingly undependable. Texts won't send when I need them to. I'm not getting them either, always. Voice is hit or miss when it drops (sometimes it works, sometimes not.) I have ALSO noticed the signal is not as strong as my old beloved Cappy. That thing was a horse (and I'm thinking of going back to it if this new one doesn't wise up!) Seriously, $300 bucks for a brand new phone & it can't keep a proper signal?
Is it the radio? Is it the software (still 100% stock, unrooted)? Should I make them give me a new one? What if it doesn't work, either? Flashing it to fix the issue is fine for me, but I've been holding out for multi-view before I get flash-crazy. lol Not to mention I may have to return it so better to not mess with it [yet]. I'm very frustrated & tired of getting looked upon like I'm the typical woman idiot who is not as smart as her new smartphone!!! I am NOT imagining it!!!

k.babymamma said:
I have been having a lot of problems with my new honey, namely in the signal department! I went through a whole thing with it right after activation...it worked, then didn't, then did...etc. A chat session, phone call, & 2 trip to the actual store (all in 1 day!) resulted in them doing a factory reset and sending me on my looney way. It seemed to have helped, for about a day and a half. Now it is dropping signal again! It seems to do so, sometimes, when I have the wifi on. But then sometimes not (I'm not sure if wifi is culprit or coincidence.)
The ATT store employees said I may have changed a setting (I'm sure I didn't as I don't know of any setting that would even cause that!) and also "explained" my signal will naturally fluctuate...(They think I am an idiot, obviously and of course the phone was working fine when I was there...duh!) They also gave me a new sim card.
I *really* want to love this phone! But I'm finding it frustratingly undependable. Texts won't send when I need them to. I'm not getting them either, always. Voice is hit or miss when it drops (sometimes it works, sometimes not.) I have ALSO noticed the signal is not as strong as my old beloved Cappy. That thing was a horse (and I'm thinking of going back to it if this new one doesn't wise up!) Seriously, $300 bucks for a brand new phone & it can't keep a proper signal?
Is it the radio? Is it the software (still 100% stock, unrooted)? Should I make them give me a new one? What if it doesn't work, either? Flashing it to fix the issue is fine for me, but I've been holding out for multi-view before I get flash-crazy. lol Not to mention I may have to return it so better to not mess with it [yet]. I'm very frustrated & tired of getting looked upon like I'm the typical woman idiot who is not as smart as her new smartphone!!! I am NOT imagining it!!!
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Click to collapse
I would definitely take it back and make them give you a new one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Sounds like your antennae is shorting out or something like it wasn't soldered properly or the cable isn't secure. Would explain why WiFi affects it. I'd go there and demand a replacement and if they don't wanna budge your within 30 day no questions return. Then go to a diff store and get a new one. I really don't see it being a software issue.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium

cjsspape said:
Sounds like your antennae is shorting out or something like it wasn't soldered properly or the cable isn't secure. Would explain why WiFi affects it. I'd go there and demand a replacement and if they don't wanna budge your within 30 day no questions return. Then go to a diff store and get a new one. I really don't see it being a software issue.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Is it possible that whatever the problem was, it miraculously resolved itself? I had it drop signal two more times since this post, then nothing since. It's been working perfectly. I hate to keep it if it might arise again but I hate to return it if it was some weird fluke thing.
This may or may not be related to the above problem: has anyone noticed their reception is not as good as on a previous device? I had a Cappy and it always got great signal. I noticed this one is not as strong in the same places I previously visited with my old phone. Although admittedly, it seems to be improving. Does that even make sense or is even possible? Just like me, my phone has to be the goofball of the bunch!

k.babymamma said:
Is it possible that whatever the problem was, it miraculously resolved itself? I had it drop signal two more times since this post, then nothing since. It's been working perfectly. I hate to keep it if it might arise again but I hate to return it if it was some weird fluke thing.
This may or may not be related to the above problem: has anyone noticed their reception is not as good as on a previous device? I had a Cappy and it always got great signal. I noticed this one is not as strong in the same places I previously visited with my old phone. Although admittedly, it seems to be improving. Does that even make sense or is even possible? Just like me, my phone has to be the goofball of the bunch!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I'm glad its working better but I still think it may be hardware related. I get better signal now with this device then my sIII or my note before it. Have ya done anything to your phone at all? Root mod etc?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium

cjsspape said:
Haha I'm glad its working better but I still think it may be hardware related. I get better signal now with this device then my sIII or my note before it. Have ya done anything to your phone at all? Root mod etc?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I've done nothing because I'm having this returning debate. lol I'm itching to though!
This is classic "my car doesn't work so take it to the garage then it works fine and they will make fun of you" If I do return it what do I say? It is documented about my "troubles" as per the ATT phone rep. Though if I can't reproduce the problem they're just going to send me on my way, I'm afraid.

k.babymamma said:
Nope. I've done nothing because I'm having this returning debate. lol I'm itching to though!
This is classic "my car doesn't work so take it to the garage then it works fine and they will make fun of you" If I do return it what do I say? It is documented about my "troubles" as per the ATT phone rep. Though if I can't reproduce the problem they're just going to send me on my way, I'm afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With enough "negotiating" they'll take it back haha. Plus are you still within your no ask return window? Just explain how its sporatic but annoying to the point its not functional for reliable use and they should do something within their power to help ya out
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium

k.babymamma said:
Nope. I've done nothing because I'm having this returning debate. lol I'm itching to though!
This is classic "my car doesn't work so take it to the garage then it works fine and they will make fun of you" If I do return it what do I say? It is documented about my "troubles" as per the ATT phone rep. Though if I can't reproduce the problem they're just going to send me on my way, I'm afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You spent enough money on the device, you should be absolutely happy with it, not apprehensive. If you wait past the return date, it's going to sit in the pit of your stomach for 20 months and ruin your enjoyment of it until you can upgrade again. Not worth it. Smile your brightest smile, walk into the store, very nicely tell them that you've had multiple issues and the AT&T phone reps said to go in and ask for an exchange. That's it. They're going to count on you being intimidated and going away. Smile, be nice, and don't be intimidated.
If they say you have to reproduce the problem, invite them to spend the day with you. The Note 2 is amazing and you shouldn't settle if you believe your hardware is having problems.

UserNamer said:
You spent enough money on the device, you should be absolutely happy with it, not apprehensive. If you wait past the return date, it's going to sit in the pit of your stomach for 20 months and ruin your enjoyment of it until you can upgrade again. Not worth it. Smile your brightest smile, walk into the store, very nicely tell them that you've had multiple issues and the AT&T phone reps said to go in and ask for an exchange. That's it. They're going to count on you being intimidated and going away. Smile, be nice, and don't be intimidated.
If they say you have to reproduce the problem, invite them to spend the day with you. The Note 2 is amazing and you shouldn't settle if you believe your hardware is having problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I have decided to take it in later today, as my 14 days is up on Friday. I hope they have stock of them. Anyhow...I have another question. If a phone is sitting still with no movement (and the weather is good, lol) will there be variations in signal strength? I get 3 bars with 4G showing, then it drops to one tiny bar. Sometimes the 4G disappears then reappears. The it will go back up to 4 bars. All in the course 5 minutes! I do realize signal will vary with movement but will it if your phone is just sitting there?
I am trying to experiment a little. I just realized/remembered that I had (uneventfully) dropped my phone (not hard, in-case) about the same time as my dropped signal problem pretty much resolved itself. So then I was like, hmm, maybe there IS something loose inside. I've tried gently shaking/jarring it here on my desk, coincidentally with the bars dropping back to just 1 as a result. But then again it may be coincidental as they are seeming to waiver A LOT. I just wondered if it is normal.
I never really stared at my old phone (Galaxy1) here at my desk but I'm almost positive it always had more than 1 bar at this same location and I never noticed it waiver like this one. But like I said I never had to make myself stare at it to check, either! lol Just wondering if someone knows a little more about cellphone signal 101 than me.

I have the issue of no 4G HSPA+ but I can get a strong LTE signal when in an LTE reception area. I'm wondering if you are in an LTE area and can get LTE? Where are you located?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

I have noticed problems with my GN2 as well. Mine shows I have signal but my data stalls or doesn't seem to work as it should. I'm in an area where there shouldn't be any problems. Only seems to happen in non LTE areas. Whenever I have LTE signal this thing is blazing fast.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

Update: Took the phone in. Basically, they had never heard of the issue with this phone. But...I walked away with a replacement. So far so good though I've had it only a few hours. The girl was very nice & explained even though I was borderline limit she would take care of me. I told her I received it Fri the 9th but she said they were basing the 14 days on the 7th! I said I didn't physically have it till the 9th! Jeeze. Moot point since she was going to take care of it anyhow but it just concerned me how (corporate) att could chop 2 days of my in-store return time!
So no, I'm not in LTE land, unfortunately. 3g H+ & E only though I can't complain about the coverage or speed. Good enough for me 4 sure.
The signal bars waivered quite a bit even while in the store. They said while some fluctuation is normal it shouldn't be as much as it was doing especially with the close proximity of the tower & good weather and especially while just sitting on the counter.
I downloaded the free app "No Signal Alert" from the Play Store. In just a few hours it recorded lost signal 4 times! (In a very good coverage area) [my first phone b4 the exchange] Consider using it if you want to see if you are losing signal like I was. Handy app!
Hopefully this is a good one. I know it sounds goofy but this phone seems to even move faster than the other. Weird. It will be interesting to hear if anyone else is having this problem. Maybe there was a bad batch of them or something? Like the Nexus I read about & their signal problems.
Sent from my awesome gn2 jesusphone using xda app-developers app

Haha im glad that they helped ya! No its not goofy or silly to think that one phones faster then another because no two phones are alike. The silicone chips are very different and performance can very greatly. I had an s3 that wouldnt take custom kernels to save its life but I got it replaced after a two year old and a toilet incident haha and that one took even the most abusive settings in stride!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium

I have a similar situation with mine. LTE will be working fine but then I notice that once I connect to my home wifi and then either leave my wifi range or turn off wifi the LTE icon will show in the status bar and it will show that it's sending and receiving data but Web pages will stall and never load, Play Store will timeout, and SpeedTest.net will start up but the needle will freeze about 1/8 of the way up indefinitely. I've toggled data at this point but it never fixes it, I have to restart the phone at which point LTE works perfectly but once I get back on my wifi the cycle will repeat, this has happened reliably for about the past week.
Do you all think I have a defective radio or am I missing something? I'm still within my return Window and will probably swap it Friday.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

williamsjscott said:
I have a similar situation with mine. LTE will be working fine but then I notice that once I connect to my home wifi and then either leave my wifi range or turn off wifi the LTE icon will show in the status bar and it will show that it's sending and receiving data but Web pages will stall and never load, Play Store will timeout, and SpeedTest.net will start up but the needle will freeze about 1/8 of the way up indefinitely. I've toggled data at this point but it never fixes it, I have to restart the phone at which point LTE works perfectly but once I get back on my wifi the cycle will repeat, this has happened reliably for about the past week.
Do you all think I have a defective radio or am I missing something? I'm still within my return Window and will probably swap it Friday.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea my wifi lte transfer is always spot on so something may be wrong
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium

williamsjscott said:
I have a similar situation with mine. LTE will be working fine but then I notice that once I connect to my home wifi and then either leave my wifi range or turn off wifi the LTE icon will show in the status bar and it will show that it's sending and receiving data but Web pages will stall and never load, Play Store will timeout, and SpeedTest.net will start up but the needle will freeze about 1/8 of the way up indefinitely. I've toggled data at this point but it never fixes it, I have to restart the phone at which point LTE works perfectly but once I get back on my wifi the cycle will repeat, this has happened reliably for about the past week.
Do you all think I have a defective radio or am I missing something? I'm still within my return Window and will probably swap it Friday.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds very similar to how mine is acting. I'm wondering if it is the ATT smart WiFi app causing the problem. Shows data incoming and outgoing but stalls.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

kkl0wn said:
Sounds very similar to how mine is acting. I'm wondering if it is the ATT smart WiFi app causing the problem. Shows data incoming and outgoing but stalls.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly how it's acting for me. I just now disabled the AT&T Smart WiFi app and after a quick restart and toggle test there was no problems, but I'm not sure if the problem will only pop up after I've been on wifi for a while. I'm going to see if it keeps doing it tomorrow.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Disabling Smart WiFi appeared to fix the problem.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

What I noticed today is that when this same issue happens, with 4G icon and wifi icon both active, it occurs after I manually check for a firmware update within the system settings. The 4G icon doesn't go away until I reset the phone.
Also I manually deleted the all the AT&T boat ware apps before this was happening so the smart wifi app is not causing this for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Weird, if you get the issue and don't have the Smart WiFi app then it must be something else and it was coincidence that it worked normal for me today. I've only checked for firmware once (when I first got my phone) so it must be something else causing it. I'm hoping the multi view firmware will also have a fix for it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

faulty nexus?

i ordered a verizon nexus off ebay for a decent price. physically it looked great but the battery life has been pretty bad. overnight i can get it down to 3% an hour discharge just sitting there, but when i actually use it i'm lucky to get an hour and a half screen on time. and that's using an underclocked kernal.
also, it seems that no matter what rom or kernal i use i get a freeze once a day where i have to pull the battery. not an SOD but the screen is on and frozen and the phone is totally unresponsive. stock or custom rom, stock or custom kernal.
did i get hosed with this phone?
PS i ordered a new samsung battery just in case but it didn't help

We need more information. Sound like user error?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

how in the world did you come to that conclusion? and what other information would you like? this isn't even close to my first android phone
ok more info.. LTE off. bluetooth off. wifi off. screen on auto (i know the auto isnt' the best but i need to be able to see the screen when i'm out in the sun) couple of phone calls, couple of texts. checked FB a few times. if i'm using the phone for 5 minutes i can watch the battery go down 2 ticks.
also some times when i wake the phone up it lags like mad until i turn off the screen and turn it back on. raised the minimum CPU speed but it still does it. also the phone does go into deep sleep and doesn't seem to wake itself often

ok my phone just froze in recovery too. something is not right here

My guess is main board. My first GNex had little flaws that I thought were just software/New technology problems - NFC tags were often hard to register, reboots at random, power button taking a few tries to activate from time to time, device freezing at odd times. Then one day it just wouldn't turn on. Still under warranty, got it replaced, and now realize how defective it was.
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium

Winesnob said:
My guess is main board. My first GNex had little flaws that I thought were just software/New technology problems - NFC tags were often hard to register, reboots at random, power button taking a few tries to activate from time to time, device freezing at odd times. Then one day it just wouldn't turn on. Still under warranty, got it replaced, and now realize how defective it was.
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i guess since i'm not the original owner i'm probably out of luck. guess i'll contact the seller and see what happens

i think i kno whats causing the lag ! i cant really say but battery life ! to get rid of the lag install this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5rb3ZpdC5wLmZvcmV2ZXJnb25lIl0.
let it fill ur sd card and when its about 90% or so done ! stop the filling and do "release free space" then reboot bout 3-4 times ! ur lag should be gone !
it worked for me , cant really say it'll work for u ! but give it a shot
edit- DO NOT USE THE PHONE (no sms,calls NOTHING) while this procedure is going on, or else itll freeze and get stuck on bootanimation (at times ) ! and prevent it from going to sleep ! do 10 min for screen timeout in display settings !

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.
Someone else try it! lol

jimmyco2008 said:
That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.
Someone else try it! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can attest to the app "Forever Gone" doing its job. :good:

well it looks like its a moot point anyway. i bought this phone so i could go prepaid when i left my job but verizon is ridiculous with their plans. they won't let me put the nexus on a prepaid plan , but they'll let me get 300 mb of data for 80 bucks a month! bunch of thieves. i guess i'm gonna get a nexus 4 and tmobile prepaid

I feel ya man, this is probably my last Verizon phone, bought it off contract too so I can leave anytime B)
Verizon's 3G has gone to hell in many places, like Sprint-speed, I mean 4G my record is about 33 Mbps down, but I live in an "Extended 4G Coverage Area", A.K.A. no 4G and barely any 3G, where I'm lucky to pull 200 kbps down...
T-Mobile doesn't have this problem, and I don't need the exclusive Verizon coverage anymore... Looks like I made up my mind lol, no I'll be here for a while.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

murso74 said:
i guess since i'm not the original owner i'm probably out of luck. guess i'll contact the seller and see what happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't matter. The warranty goes with the phone, not the owner. As long as its under warranty they will replace it.
Sent from my toro+ via Tapatalk

hmm maybe i'll send it to them then and then sell it on ebay. thanks