[Q] Rogers Samsung Captivate - Has it Died on You? - Captivate General

I'm looking to purchase a Galaxy S in Canada, and I'm just worried with the problems that I'm hearing here for the Bell Vibrant owners. For the Vibrant owners, I'm hearing problems such as the internal SD died and so a motherboard replacement is required to fix it, the phone refuses to boot, etc. Owners of the Rogers Captivate, please report back so you can help me, as well as helping other Rogers Captivate owners.
I hope this isn't a repost btw. I did a search and didn't find anything here..

Hey,
I purchased one the day it was released in Victoria, BC. Since then, I've rooted, nandroid backup, and installed the OCLF and a bunch of other cool ****.
I'm constantly turning it on and off. On and off. I have the screen brightness to the max (that's the way I like it), and at stock firmware, it's freaking awesome! Runs really smoothly. I don't really find much lag, but I can see room for plenty of improvement, which are going to be coming up shortly. My biggest complaint is the battery life (65% of mine goes to the brightness), but lasts just as long as any phone on standby. I went on eBay and got 3 batteries and a charger for $10. All hail, removable batteries.
I don't doubt more phones will come out within the next month or two, but if you want one today. I'd recommend it.
Let me know if I can influence your decision in anyway.

100% agree with TheShamsMan above ^
Got this phone from Vancouver @ Day 1 when Rogers launched it. Have done a ton of flashing on it, adding things, removing things, turning on and off the phone..haven't had a single problem with it so far. GPS has worked wonderfully for my needs so far(haven't tried car navigation yet though but i'm sure it would aswell work well). 100% recommend the phone. Even though some info for the Nexus S is out, I think the Captivate's looks beat it hands out. Let me know if you have any question~

Only had it a few days, but delighted with it so far.
I wasn't thrilled with the battery life, until I figured out the default wi-fi sleep policy was killing it.

The phone is pretty good, i've had it about 2 1/2 weeks right now.
I did encounter the shutdown issue though, but after using CaptivateKeepAlive for a little while (and then uninstalling it), it has seemed to gone away, though it did happen one more time recently, so I'm playing around with the battery and seeing what the trouble is (I have contacted futureshop though, and have a replacement phone waiting for me whenever they get more in stock).
Besides that issue, I'd say the battery is the only other thing. It seems to me, that even after applying all the good settings, I use quite a bit of battery. Its hard to tell because I play games on the phone often, but using batteryplotter and spareparts, it seems that most of this is caused by my wifi, and the phone always in a 'running' state. I don't mind very much right now, as I'm always near a plug, and I could make it last a day if I needed to without charging (though no games, and very little use).
So Battery problems, and shutdown problems aside, the phone is lovely. I have no GPS problems like ATT phones report, and no problem with lag either (though perhaps I just don't notice it yet).
All in all, the phone is quick and responsive, and the 16GB internal SD is quite nice. I wonder though, if its possible to use the roms for the ATT captivate on the Rogers captivate? (given the phone is a different model #)

FiniteSM said:
I have no GPS problems like ATT phones report, and no problem with lag either (though perhaps I just don't notice it yet).
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I hope the your GPS non-issue is the rule and not the exception on the Rogers Captivate. I do remembering reading an article where a Rogers rep stated that their phone with throughly tested to make sure the GPS was fixed.
Assuming it's the rule ... I wonder what change they made to get the GPS working as it should?

crabjoe said:
I hope the your GPS non-issue is the rule and not the exception on the Rogers Captivate. I do remembering reading an article where a Rogers rep stated that their phone with throughly tested to make sure the GPS was fixed.
Assuming it's the rule ... I wonder what change they made to get the GPS working as it should?
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I dont know what they tweaked...but it also works great for me.
All in all the phone is great. I am coming from a Blackberry Bold 9000 that I used for 2 years and decided that I wanted to try something differents.
The Wifi Sleep policy is something you should change when you get your phone.
Settings -->Wireless and network --> Wi-Fi settings --> (menu button) Advanced Settings -->Wifi Sleep policy --> Never
The constant switching between wifi and 3G drains the battery like you won't believe!

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll have an excellent time with my Captivate.
It's nice to hear that no one's Captivates died on them yet. It has me worried, but at the same time I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion.

Hey,
I bought my Captivate from Rogers on Sept 25 (I believe it was the launch date) in Ottawa, ON. I tried out the stock firmware and everything worked swimmingly. I had great GPS locks, the phone was quick enough for anything I did, and did everything it was supposed to. As long as I was mindful of how bright my screen was and whether GPS/WIFI/Syncing was toggled, I was able to push my phone reasonably into the second day without charging it.
Since the first few days, I've been loading Cognition software (currently 2.4) onto my phone. Not because the stock firmware was horrible or anything, I'm just an obsessive tinkerer who needs the absolute best performance and reliability out of his phone. Unlike many of the AT&Ts out there, I didn't break my GPS after loading cognition. My phone is lightning quick, whether it is picking up a GPS satellite lock or playing my music through the auxiliary input in my car. The battery lasts just as long as it ever did, maybe even longer. Again, Cognition isn't a miracle battery cure, and you still have to be mindful of any running apps in the background or if any of the GPS/WiFi/Syncing is toggled to really max out your battery life. Alternatively, you could get an app like locale which automates things like that for you.
If you're looking to buy a version of the Samsung Galaxy S, I really can't think of a better version to buy than the Rogers one. I haven't had ANY troubles with it and it seems to have the least amount of problems between the ones released in Canada and the US. I may be wrong on that, since my researched focused mostly on the Captivate, but perhaps someone could verify what I just said.
I'd go for it,
Tom

The phones pretty damn fantastic, I just wish Samsung would drop Touchwiz and release vanilla Android. Seriously, no one likes it, and everyone likes new versions of Android.

FiniteSM said:
All in all, the phone is quick and responsive, and the 16GB internal SD is quite nice. I wonder though, if its possible to use the roms for the ATT captivate on the Rogers captivate? (given the phone is a different model #)
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DOUBLE POST! (Sorry guys, not sure if it's an issue here, I know on some forums it is)
To answer your question, yes you can. Personally, i've had issues with data not working and OCLF + stock is more than fast enough for me, after I got rid of TwLauncher. One thing to note though, is that you will have a permanent ATT screen before the "I896" screen, so if that bugs you, stay away.

I picked up the Captivate last night and loving it a lot. However I am having a few problems with it that I dunno how to solve yet. One of em is the poor battery life, and another is texting. I'm not gonna repost it here. If I have to, I'll make another thread.
Thanks for the feedback guys!

This is all very good news. I had the Samsung Vibrant (Bell) version before and never really ran into big problems other than some freezes, but let go of it because my buddy's internal SD died, so that phobia caused me to get the Captivate, since they are all the same internals..
Mine is coming in the mail from retentions.. Lets hope i'm not disappointed. Already got a case from SGP lined up and on its way, also the 2 battery + battery charger combo. Already know what to expect.. Surprised that the GPS is fixed!.. I will be sure to check when I receive my unit tomorrow.
Has everyone checked it with the actual GPS receiver turned on? Because, I know that the "wireless networks" gps box always works. But what if it is unchecked, and only the GPS box is on, does it still work then?

FiniteSM said:
I wonder though, if its possible to use the roms for the ATT captivate on the Rogers captivate? (given the phone is a different model #)
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Click to collapse
I would also like to know if someone can please confirm whether the roms for the ATT captivate (i-897) are still compatible with the Rogers Captivate (i-896), just incase I want to flash a rom in the future.
Also, if the OCLF is safe to install? Or do we have to wait for one specially made for the Rogers Captivate?

Related

This phone is starting to become a pain....

I was excited when I got this phone, everything was going cool and all that....
The battery is the worst thing I have ever seen. I've tried all the radios, got all the power tweaks applied, I get down to 75% battery on EDGE, only texting in less than 5 hours. WTF is this? Is this a joke? It's not even funny! And not to mention the unreliabilty of the phone. I plan to send an email to HTC and ATT to see if I can work out anything. Never buying a phone from HTC again.
I think it's your rom. I get through a full day on H no problem. Which roms have you tried?
Also it could be radio and what most likely is the signal strength. As weaker the signal, as more power required to compensate.
WAAAAHHHH! Don't buy a smart phone then.
I get a full days use. About 2 hours of music playing, signed into an IM client and do some msg and talking and still have 75% at the end of the day.
My guess that its your rom, but i am betting you didn't change the setting in HTC's task manager.
Go to Settings > system > Task manager and change the close action button actually close the buttom. The default action for WM task manager and HTC task manager is to minimize or hide the apps.
So let's say i open WMPlayer, Google Maps, Contacts, Text, Microsoft word. I hit the X, but if i don't change that setting, when i press the X, those programs are still running consuming battery and memory.
Try making sure no unneeded tasks are running and update your radio to 1.14.25.05, and Da_G's 6.5 rom and lets see how ya do next week.
PwnCakes193 said:
I was excited when I got this phone, everything was going cool and all that....
The battery is the worst thing I have ever seen. I've tried all the radios, got all the power tweaks applied, I get down to 75% battery on EDGE, only texting in less than 5 hours. WTF is this? Is this a joke? It's not even funny! And not to mention the unreliabilty of the phone. I plan to send an email to HTC and ATT to see if I can work out anything. Never buying a phone from HTC again.
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Yo PwnCakes193..
I feel yur agony.. I used to experience shi tty battery life too.. My raphael can only sustained for like 5 hours.. without battery draining applications like music player even running..
However, Things took a turn when i flashed my raphael to the following rom and radio:
ROM Version: ROMeOS v1.95.4 WWE
Radio: 1.12.25.19 (With matching rilphone version)
It is so much better now !! I have calls and sms coming in while Garmin GPS is running for like an hour with battery dropping only 15% from 100% to 75%... !! And i **** u not.. And by the way.. my raphael's been with me for like 5 months now.. I'm loving it more each day..
Good luck and hav fun!
Too advanced for you?
PwnCakes193 said:
I was excited when I got this phone, everything was going cool and all that....
The battery is the worst thing I have ever seen. I've tried all the radios, got all the power tweaks applied, I get down to 75% battery on EDGE, only texting in less than 5 hours. WTF is this? Is this a joke? It's not even funny! And not to mention the unreliabilty of the phone. I plan to send an email to HTC and ATT to see if I can work out anything. Never buying a phone from HTC again.
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Well go buy an iPhone and stop cluttering our forum. They are made for the mainstream trendy techno gadget people who cant solve their own problems, but still want to look cool and smart in public when they pull out their phone. Neither ATT or HTC is going to change their whole hardware because of your e-mail.
Do you even realize what youre saying? Do you listen to yourself when you talk? First off, anyone that knows how to use their phone, and sets up the correct ROM/RIL/Radio combination gets a full day charge off of it, sometimes even a couple days. Second, do you realize that is a small PC in your pocket, and youre complaining about battery life?? Have you ever used a laptop? You know that brand new laptops only get 2-3 hours of battery life right?
Really, go get a regular phone, HTC phones are not made for everyone, and apparently this one is too complicated for you.
I echo what's been said in above posts and would add as a suggestion only to try the new htc rom with the 1.14.xx radio both are the latest from htc. Boring I know, but very stable. Don't throw your device away without trying it. The custom roms can be frustrating as they can be unstable at times, but very fun to tweak and experiment with.It sounds like yourmore a user who wants stability over the rest. Go to htc site and search for latest rom, try that 1.14 radio and report back.
I use a 1800 mAh battery in my pro and I always charge everynight. Not a big deal. I also have prolly less than the 75% you reported at the same time, another not a big deal. "it is what it is" You can adapt or you can get a diff phone. I have an LG dumb phone my work supplies me for calls only, that battery lasts 2 weeks . LOL!!
wow, harsh words.
It's not like this complaint is an isolated one. There are other forums out there(AT&T, and Howard) that have the same observations about battery life. To say that it is a portable pc and that someone should be happy with 6-8 hours of battery life is pretty silly too. It is a smartphone, like the blackberry, like the treo, like the blackberry. And when people complained about the battery life of the Iphone, it's not like everyone said, deal with it. Apple released another firmware to try and remedy this. Blackberrys seem to go for a couple if not more days without charging with 3G, push email etc running, so why would this not be expected from the Fuze?
I own both the Tilt and the Fuze and find I can squeeze out about 3 days with push email, a bluetooth headset, about an hour or two a day of listening to music through the headset and 3G enabled. The Fuze is supposed to be the successor of the tilt, so wouldn't it be logical to think i should be able to do the same with this product? I have flashed several different roms and radios(with the rilphone.dll) and right now cannot get past 8 hours of usage on it. I thought it was the radio but I have tested it without a sim in it and get the same results. So either the battery is faulty, or it just stinks.
I am going through troubleshooting it right now, and based on some helpful hints on other forums, am trying to discharge the battery fully in hopes that it resets the battery guage.
I think helpful posts, like those that say try a new radio/rom are good ways to respond. Saying "go get an Iphone" or "this is a ppc, deal with the battery" are not helpful to people who search the forums for solutions.
Just my 2(maybe a lot more) cents
Reefermattness said:
Well go buy an iPhone and stop cluttering our forum. They are made for the mainstream trendy techno gadget people who cant solve their own problems, but still want to look cool and smart in public when they pull out their phone. Neither ATT or HTC is going to change their whole hardware because of your e-mail.
Do you even realize what youre saying? Do you listen to yourself when you talk? First off, anyone that knows how to use their phone, and sets up the correct ROM/RIL/Radio combination gets a full day charge off of it, sometimes even a couple days. Second, do you realize that is a small PC in your pocket, and youre complaining about battery life?? Have you ever used a laptop? You know that brand new laptops only get 2-3 hours of battery life right?
Really, go get a regular phone, HTC phones are not made for everyone, and apparently this one is too complicated for you.
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Really? Listen a**hole, I know what I'm dealing with. I'm running the 21210 build of 6.5 that I cooked in Da_G's Kitchen with the .20M1 radio AND RIL. Yes, I know i'm being picky, but a phone should last at least a little while, no matter what. I get a full day charge, but just texting and no calling, on EDGE, I should easily be down to 85% in 24 hours. I know it's a small PC, but that is no excuse. I am a mainstream tech savvy person, and I mod/hack everything I own, use everything to it's full potential. I don't want an iPhone because its an overhyped and, in my opinion, horrible phone. I was never trying to look cool when I bought this phone. I even helped a few members out here when they bricked their phones, and I taught a few how to cook ROMs!
Next time think before you post, you troll.
baboola said:
I think it's your rom. I get through a full day on H no problem. Which roms have you tried?
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I have tried almost all the ROMs, my favorite being At0mAng's, but he's gone now . I'm cooking my own 6.5 ROMs now
The Fuze is supposed to be the successor of the Tilt? I guess according to the order that ATT purchased their HTC phones, but probably not according to HTC...
The HTC Touch Pro is the successor of the Diamond. Just because ATT replaced the Tilt with the Fuze does not mean its the successor. Tmobile is calling the TP2 the "Wing 2" in America, does that mean it's the successor to the wing?? NO. If anything most hardcore HTC follower will agree the TP2 is the successor to the Tilt (kinda obvious isn't it?).
Regardless of what order they came in, or what phone its supposed to replace, the Fuze has a bigger processor, twice as much ram, and twice as high resolution LCD. Its hard to compare the 2 on battery life. My Tilt gets a faster GPS lock, and the battery lasts way longer, than the Fuze. Does that mean its better? NO.
If you're such a badass 'hacker' then you should obviously understand how much power the hardware in your device uses vs the size of the battery.
I'm the troll? You joined XDA a month ago....
If you have an honest question where you need help then please ask, and im sure someone will help you get MUCH better battery life! All i really meant by what i was saying before i got sidetracked, is that if you don't like your HTC products, or it doesn't fit your lifestyle like you thought it would, then take it back, and get something else. Just don't come into a HTC forum, and start badmouthing products, because that will get you nowhere, and you should have been expecting the answer you got.
I'm with leak73 on this one. I think this forum is great, but I do think there are too many people that jump on someone as soon as they say anything negative about this phone.
I bought this phone to make my life easier, to manage work and personal tasks on the same device. I thought this device was the one I had been waiting for.
I am also disappointed with the performance of the Raphael. And I don't think it should be asking too much to expect the device to work properly straight out of the box. Yes, I appreciate that this is a windows mobile device that has massive flexibility and can be customised, but those possibilites should be in addition to a stock device that does the basics properly.
I have had a number of issues with the phone - battery life, dailer issues, poor reception (and I know this can contribute to poor battery life, but why should it be so much worse than other devices I have used in the same areas?).
The members on this forum have helped me out a lot over the past few months (which I am very grateful for) tweaking and trying to get this phone to be what it should have been in the first place. And while I am now enjoying tweaking and customising my phone, I will never criticise anyone who points out the shameful fact that this device is virtually unusable without putting time and effort into sorting it out.
Reefermattness said:
If you're such a badass 'hacker' then you should obviously understand how much power the hardware in your device uses vs the size of the battery.
I'm the troll? You joined XDA a month ago....
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Where'd you get badass? I just said I hacked/modded a lot of the things I owned.... I haven't gotten into the processing specs and all that stuff yet...
And since when does being a troll have to do with what time you joined? I have yet to troll on this forum, I have either asked questions, or have helped people who are having trouble....
jjjacksonjjj said:
I'm with leak73 on this one. I think this forum is great, but I do think there are too many people that jump on someone as soon as they say anything negative about this phone.
I bought this phone to make my life easier, to manage work and personal tasks on the same device. I thought this device was the one I had been waiting for.
I am also disappointed with the performance of the Raphael. And I don't think it should be asking too much to expect the device to work properly straight out of the box. Yes, I appreciate that this is a windows mobile device that has massive flexibility and can be customised, but those possibilites should be in addition to a stock device that does the basics properly.
I have had a number of issues with the phone - battery life, dailer issues, poor reception (and I know this can contribute to poor battery life, but why should it be so much worse than other devices I have used in the same areas?).
The members on this forum have helped me out a lot over the past few months (which I am very grateful for) tweaking and trying to get this phone to be what it should have been in the first place. And while I am now enjoying tweaking and customising my phone, I will never criticise anyone who points out the shameful fact that this device is virtually unusable without putting time and effort into sorting it out.
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I hear that, I can relate as I've had my s**t jumped a few times on this forum as well and I always learned from it. I'm not an expert at all and thats the reason I come here to learn about my various wm devices, currently the touch pro. I undestand the issues especially with battery and stability.Except for battery I don't have any complaints that you mention. My RF which I value as a number 1 priority is very good. No dialer issues here either. I also think it would be nice to have perfectly operating devices right out of the box and considering what we pay for these things, it seems we should get better. In my experience all the wm devices I've ever had have had inadequate batteries. It's just the way it is. I did not expect my pro to be any diff. in that regard. I got it anyway and bought a better battery. In the past few weeks I've tried various 6.5 roms with differing results and none were very stable. It's the way it is and I don't really expect it to be better, but I love it anyway. I've used symbian s60 nokia devices and thought some of the e series have outstanding stability and battery life. So I have choices.
My choice is to continue learning and I'll get extended batteries when I think I need it. When I get tired of the wm BS I'll go back to E series for awhile.
For anyone who is calling themselves proficient in wm and the various ins and outs of flashing and obviously has some experience apparently, I find it kinda strange that they would be surprised by the battery life. Stability can be had from diff rom combos. But bad battery life is a given with wm. we get used to it and move on or go check out e series. It also rocks! Lotsa choices.
Maybe I am one of the unluck ones that have experienced more than my fair share of problems. I have had more issues than I mentioned in my last post - obviously the GPS problem, keyboard lag (although it seams to be fixed now with tweaking), dodgy call acceptance/ring delay (this seems sorted in the new HTC Rom), active sync issues (not sure if this is the software though) and the general lock up issues.
Don't get me wrong though when this device works it is everything I hoped for, I just wish it worked like that all (or at least most) of the time.
jjjacksonjjj said:
Maybe I am one of the unluck ones that have experienced more than my fair share of problems. I have had more issues than I mentioned in my last post - obviously the GPS problem, keyboard lag (although it seams to be fixed now with tweaking), dodgy call acceptance/ring delay (this seems sorted in the new HTC Rom), active sync issues (not sure if this is the software though) and the general lock up issues.
Don't get me wrong though when this device works it is everything I hoped for, I just wish it worked like that all (or at least most) of the time.
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Click to collapse
what tweaks did you apply to fix the keyboard lag?
wow, boys, calm down. *****ing at each other is oh so productive. maybe we could try to HELP each other out and be friends! just a thought...
i'm getting maybe 12 hours on a full charge running the leaked att stock rom and it's really starting to tick me off. i bought a portable power pack that can give me a full charge on its full charge (Xpal harry II) but i want to be able to get AT LEAST a full day without having to pop it onto a usb or wall charger for 20 minutes. im thinknig of flashing to da_g's or natf's 6.1 roms witihn the next couple weeks hoping that they'd be able to improve my battery life. i'm pretty happy with the radio and i'm in boston so no major signal issues there. maybe it's just a sh*tty rom draining my battery?
and now that i wasted 10 minutes reading this thread, i'm giong to go back to studying for finals. joy.
EDIT: I installed the fuzeberry theme a week or two ago and that's caused a TF3D problem (see my thread here about this here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=511760) but is there any chance that THIS is also killing my battery? hate the att manila but i might have to revert back if it gets me more hours :\
PwnCakes193 said:
what tweaks did you apply to fix the keyboard lag?
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****, sorry mate I can't remember now, I changed a setting in the registry and installed a keyboardincrease cab? Maybe others on here will be able to point you in the right direction. I am a noob at this type of stuff really and just follow instructions that members on here suggest - once the problems fixed I forget about it.
nhshah7-
try using a 6.5 ROM I cooked now, it's doing fairly well, i would Hard-SPL, then try and flash a new radio or ROM, should help you out, turn off 3G, which should help. Also download advanceconfig and turn on the power saving items there.
FWIW, I have never had good results with the gps, but since I flashed the htc 5.05.401.1 with radio: 1.14.25.05 I now get very quick lock times. Also battery is a bit better even tho I'm running shell3.

I am the only one with a phone with no bugs?

Maybe it's because I upgraded from an ancient AT&T Tilt (not Tilt II!) and this phone is just so much better that I don't notice the flaws.
But every post on here where people mention some bug or another and Mine does not have said bug.
My GPS works, even in the house (which I thought was not possible, because the GPS signal isn't supposed to go through walls)
My Battery lasts from 9:30 am until midnight with downloads, music, calls, video, browsing, and facebook. I have all of the default battery saving options.
My accelerometer/gyro work perfectly.
Please tell me I'm not the only one, because I am so happy with this phone, and it would be a shame if so many people where having problems that it became a flop.
Just my take on it. It is a new phone so there is still a lot of "unknown" about the phone. Also, if you go to any kind of forum like this you usually see a lot of issue/help threads rather than praise threads. Its just the way it is.
I got mine yesterday.. and love the hell out of it.. No problems at all so far, and have not been able to put it down. hahaha
Mine is great
I love my phone and have had no problems at all. and I love swpe, I almost forgot how to type
Jon
@TWiG420 I'm with you on that one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I upgraded from a touch diamond and this phone is beastly or I just waited too long to upgrade
I did have a GPS problem though, it wouldnt lock on in like 15 minutes, but I changed the settings and I get a lock pretty fast now.
Lag? None. Touchwiz? Decent, and less choppy than launcherpro!
Phone is real good.
They sold almost a million Galaxy S devices before even launching in the states, and the only 'common' problem I have seen that is not obviously software is the GPS issues. But it seems like most can change around a few settings and be fine.
Most if not all of my issues are because I do not know android. Once one or two software updates come out (or cooks make some nice custom roms with bug fixes) most if not all problems I think will vanish.
Nope
No problems, except for the GPS issue. But I live in NYC, and the buildings have always been an issue when trying to connect to the satellites with any device. Anyway, with that said, no issues with the phone/settings/performance etc. at all.
asrrin29 said:
Maybe it's because I upgraded from an ancient AT&T Tilt (not Tilt II!) and this phone is just so much better that I don't notice the flaws.
But every post on here where people mention some bug or another and Mine does not have said bug.
My GPS works, even in the house (which I thought was not possible, because the GPS signal isn't supposed to go through walls)
My Battery lasts from 9:30 am until midnight with downloads, music, calls, video, browsing, and facebook. I have all of the default battery saving options.
My accelerometer/gyro work perfectly.
Please tell me I'm not the only one, because I am so happy with this phone, and it would be a shame if so many people where having problems that it became a flop.
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Click to collapse
I'll one-up you, I unplug my phone at 6:30 AM when I am about to leave for work and didn't plug it in until it started complaining at me 28 hours later. Thats pretty darn good given the screen size and the fact that I was using wifi and 3G throughout the day.
Coming from a Iphone 3g.
Got my Captivate on Tuesday. Rooted it, took off the junk. Mine is running great even with no new launcher and live backround. GPS works great too.
No bugs here and phone is way faster then any other phone I have ever used.
Mine is running great too. Maybe it's because I'm not a perfectionist, but I love my phone after removing touchwiz it's even faster too.
So far, so good. Any "issues" can be traced back to my ignorance of an Android-based phone, but being a persistent sort I've either figured out the answers myself or by trolling forums. I would venture a guess that most listed problems relate to:
1. Unrealistic expectations that this new phone should behave the same way, or very similar to an older phone, e.g., number of bars should equal previous phone's number of bars and stuff like that.
2. The results of newbies futzing within the depths of the phone without recognizing the potential consequences of their actions should they screw up.
3. Glitches or wishes that will be addressed in updates.
4. Real problems that can be rectified by a swap within the 30 days.
5. Imagined problems that can be rectified by a reality check.
...and so on.
In any event, I have high expectations and this phone has certainly come close to meeting them.
Now if I can just not drop it before I get a case. If it's not in my pocket I find myself holding it like it's an egg.
Jack45 said:
Now if I can just not drop it before I get a case. If it's not in my pocket I find myself holding it like it's an egg.
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Click to collapse
Hahah, I find myself doing the same exact thing! Curse my cheapness in choosing super shipper savings! I still have at least a week before I see my case.
Jack45 said:
If it's not in my pocket I find myself holding it like it's an egg.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant keep it in my pocket. I'm too busy playing with it.
TWiG420 said:
I cant keep it in my pocket. I'm too busy playing with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not to be that guy, but that's what she said lol

How confident are folks that we will get an actual FIX to the GPS issue?

Wanted to get a read from folks as to what their Gut feel is. Are you confident that Sammy will really fix this? Any by fix, I mean the following. This comes from experiences with 2 HTC smartphones (Aria, and the Pure):
1. GPS locks in under 5 seconds in clear sky conditions
2. Usable navigation; IOW, 30-50m accuracy, again under ideal conditions.
3. Usable navigation such that it stays locked while driving at highway speeds.
TIA.
I have not experienced any of the above issues (post update) except for the 5 second lock, and even my garmin can't do that. The cog2.2 had my gps jacked up so I reverted back and it works great again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I did My Tracks for the first time today and was surprised by the results - highway for 15 miles, 15 miles off (obtained the lock at highway speeds as well) But it lost me in this one dead area about a mile from my house - I drop most calls through this one area as well too.. must be a whole in the ozone
However! (Always a however, right?) Tonight while walking the dog around the neighborhood, the phone could see up to 12 satellites.. yet it didn't get a lock for over 5 minutes. <--- This is the biggest problem I have with the GPS on this phone. INCONSISTENT AS HELL.
What causes the inconsistency?? So since I've owned the phone (release day) and it's been this long and inconsistent from the beginning, I am beginning to lose my confidence in a real fix (at least Samsung can make some kind of formal announcement you know?)
My GPS has always worked. Stock JF6. Cognition 2, 2.1, 2.2.1-5. Anything I throw at it, it just works. Freeway, walking, indoors, etc. I think it is partly a hardware issue.
Mine is fixed
I ordered my Captivate from AT&T's online store. GPS did not work, no matter what kind of settings I played with (lbstestmode, etc.). Got the update, no help. Took it back to the AT&T store and replaced it. Got the update and it works fantastically. If yours is still in the 30 day warranty period get it switched out.
Considering that many people had the gps issue fixed with the ota update or with the newly released froyo, yet many still have problems, I think there are some bad phones. I'll try to get mine replaced even though it's outside the 30 days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'm on my second Captivate. I have no faith that GPS will be reliable enough to use for navigation purposes or apps like My Tracks or even Layar. The OTA update definitely helped, but turns and changes in direction throw it off by quite a bit.
About all it is good for is telling your weather app what city you are in.
For me, the GPS didn't work from the first day I bought the phone. It got a lot better after the OTA update. However, it's getting mess up again in the last few days. I've heard other people from this forum said the GPS will go bad after a few weeks, I guess that's happening to me now. Moreover, the lag seems to be getting worse too.
I'm running Cognition 2.2 FroYo and for the first time ever I got 11/11 sattelites locked. My ride home it stayed more or less dead on the street i was on, occassionally wavered onto the sidewalk a bit or whatnot in My Tracks. That's using the stock settings (spirent-lcs.com and Standalone, with Use Wireless Networks off). If this does not degrade over time, I'd call it fixed for sure.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Keep it coming folks; seems like for the most part people's gut feel is about in line with mine. Im going to return my Captivate to Amazon and have them replace it to see if I can see any improvement. Not holding my breath though.
waiting4gingerbread said:
My GPS has always worked. Stock JF6. Cognition 2, 2.1, 2.2.1-5. Anything I throw at it, it just works. Freeway, walking, indoors, etc. I think it is partly a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has always worked on both of captivates. It's in no way perfect but it gets the job done.
I just ordered a replacement Captivate from Amazon. I will then update the software to JH7 in the un-mollested state to see what kind of improvements I see, if any.
Crossed fingers............Bottom line, im not too confident.
So I got my replacement Captivate from Amazon. The second I got it, I stepped outside to see if I can get a GPS lock. I stood there for 5 minute, and no lock.
So I did the software update; which worked. It didnt work on my "molested" captivate.
I then went outside for a drive. Locked very quickly I think 5 seconds. Accuracy was very good; certainly on par with the two HTC smart phones Ive owned.
Maybe its dumb luck that I got a good unit; but it seems not overly molesting your captivate is a good idea until people really understand the consequences.
EDIT: The above drive I mentioned was in neighborhood roads, at relatively low speeds. On my way to work it was definitely NOT as accurate as my HTC Pure. It showed me about 1 exit behind; was about a half or three quarters of a mile.
I just want to say that I called Samsung support directly yesterday and the guy told me that "he hasn't heard anyone else who's applied the JH7 update that said their GPS wasn't fixed."
SO CALL SAMSUNG SUPPORT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Don't stop calling. They need to know the update didn't fix it!
brandonb81 said:
I just want to say that I called Samsung support directly yesterday and the guy told me that "he hasn't heard anyone else who's applied the JH7 update that said their GPS wasn't fixed."
SO CALL SAMSUNG SUPPORT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Don't stop calling. They need to know the update didn't fix it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They already know. I can guarantee you that some of their dev team consistently troll these forums.
My GPS works pretty well, especially considering its a phone, since JH7 OTA update.
The problem you're talking about with locks under 5 seconds, isnt always going to happen. It depends on how long its been since the last time gps was used, and how close you are currently to where you last used it.
If you use it and then turn it off, and in a few hours turn it back on, at roughly the last location it was used, it'll get a very quick lock. If you wait days, it wont. If you use it at location A last, then are long ways away from that location when turning it back on, it wont get a quick lock, it has to calculate where its at based on new data from the satellites. Thats the nature of the beast with GPS. My Garmin in my car is the exact same way. If it has to do a cold start it sometimes takes up to 2 mins to get a lock. But once its got it, if I go in a store for a few mins and come right back out, it picks up location almost immediately.
Since JH7 I'd say my GPS performance more than meets my expectations for a mobile phone GPS.
Started out very confident.
Less confident every day.
Tinyboss said:
Started out very confident.
Less confident every day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm with you here.
When it came to the HTC video driver fiasco on many of their phones it was sickening that HTC wouldn't do anything about it, or even tackle the issue on future releases. But at least slower video performance than the hardware was capable of wasn't really a deal breaker when it was still working good. So I could understand why a company wouldn't invest a ton to fix it for already purchased phones.
This however is outright broken. It's not a phone with good video performance that COULD perform better with an update. It's a phone with a broken technology that can hopefully be FIXED with an update.
I don't know how Samsung will avoid lawsuits etc etc by manufacturing a blatantly broken piece of technology unless they can rectify the situation... quickly. I think their window is slowly closing on this type of scenario.
As for myself, the GPS problem just isn't an issue since I don't use the GPS anyhow. So I'm not a consumer frothing at the mouth, but the idea that I spent money on a fancy, but broken, phone leaves a bitter taste in that unfrothy mouth of mine.
I'm very confident. I put the leaked froyo from designgears on one of my phones and the lock was fast, and gps accurate. Drove from Chicago to Kohler, WI the other day (~130 miles) and ran gps on the phone along with my dedicated gps unit to check accuracy. Had no issues at all.
I think once 2.2 is released, all of the gps issues will be resolved if the leaked version is any indication.
I'm guessing it's the sum of several issues causing problems.
1. Basic hardware configuration that results in worse signal-to-noise than other handsets.
2. Non-optimized settings that sporadically contribute to slow or poor locks
3. Some kind of software buffering or other issues that cause freeze-ups where the position doesn't update.
When my phone is working well I don't experience problems 2 and 3, and I can live with problem 1. When that's the case I get consistent tracking 95% of my trip. Sometime 2 and 3 seem to creep into the picture for no apparent reason. I hope and expect they will get those problems solved.

AT&T Store Experience

Today as the first time I've seen a captivate turned on. It looks like an awesome phone. I talked to the sales guy for a while and he said it was the only worthwhile Android phone AT&T has.
I asked about the Bravo coming out and he didn't seem to stoked on it (plus, I've heard you can't get rid of MOTOBLUR).
Anyways, everything was great until the GPS. The sky was clear but we were indoors and it couldn't get a lock. We updated to the newest firmware (without a hitch, probably because it hadn't been modded) but the GPS did not improve.
I need with the phone because Apps rely on location services and having GPS on a bus or walking is really nice. I'm hoping this gets fixed
Has 2.2 improved the GPS at all? Is the consensus that this is a hardware issue? Is there a difference between newly manufactured phones and older ones?
I want this phone sooo bad and the AT&T lineup for Android phones is garbage (sans this one).
JOe K.
It's a great phone. GPS seems to be hit and miss. If yours is a miss switch it out for a new one. You will love this phone.
I must say, when I was using froyo the GPS worked perfectly. I switched back to stock recently but still have had a great experience with the GPS, its just that it takes about a minute to get a good fix on me instead of the 5 seconds froyo did. For me, it was either this phone or a blackberry torch. Then I remembered that I was considering choosing a RIM product over an android phone, and quickly bought the captivate.
I love it.
And if you have a problem with the phone, well, there's probably an app that fixes it. That's why I love this little monster!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AT&T's awful network.
JOe K. said:
The sky was clear but we were indoors and it couldn't get a lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol GPS is not designed to work indoors. Most phones and standalone GPS units will not get a lock indoors. Next time you're at the store, go into settings and enable use wireless networks in location settings. Then you will get your indoor lock.
If you get your location by using wifi it is hardly a gps lock, is it now?
I returned my first Captivate because I wasn't 100% satisfied with the perfomance of the GPS. After flashing Froyo it worked better but not as good as to wait for a new fix.
Yesterday I received a new captivate, I flashed Cognition's 2.2 Beta 5.5 and the GPS is perfect. I did a test drive today and I am very glad I got it replaced. Now I am 100% happy with my Captivate!! It's an awesome phone!!!
pilot_xphile said:
I returned my first Captivate because I wasn't 100% satisfied with the perfomance of the GPS. After flashing Froyo it worked better but not as good as to wait for a new fix.
Yesterday I received a new captivate, I flashed Cognition's 2.2 Beta 5.5 and the GPS is perfect. I did a test drive today and I am very glad I got it replaced. Now I am 100% happy with my Captivate!! It's an awesome phone!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
waiting for my 3rd one to come in myself and i have to say its funny. ive had different issues that have caused me to have to return the phone but..somehow...i still think this phone is great! and im starting to think that maybe the best solution for people is to keep trading in their phone till you get one from "the perfect batch" so to say. maybe on this next one the gps will be just perfect as the first was terrible. my current one requires me to stick my arm out the window to navigate *but can lock instantly from standstill*...crossing my fingers and toes when i get the new one
gtg465x said:
lol GPS is not designed to work indoors. Most phones and standalone GPS units will not get a lock indoors. Next time you're at the store, go into settings and enable use wireless networks in location settings. Then you will get your indoor lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS does work indoors, without wireless turned on. My stand alone unit does too. And I must be one of the lucky ones, bought my phone in July never had a problem with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
JOe K. said:
Today as the first time I've seen a captivate turned on. It looks like an awesome phone. I talked to the sales guy for a while and he said it was the only worthwhile Android phone AT&T has.
I asked about the Bravo coming out and he didn't seem to stoked on it (plus, I've heard you can't get rid of MOTOBLUR).
Anyways, everything was great until the GPS. The sky was clear but we were indoors and it couldn't get a lock. We updated to the newest firmware (without a hitch, probably because it hadn't been modded) but the GPS did not improve.
I need with the phone because Apps rely on location services and having GPS on a bus or walking is really nice. I'm hoping this gets fixed
Has 2.2 improved the GPS at all? Is the consensus that this is a hardware issue? Is there a difference between newly manufactured phones and older ones?
I want this phone sooo bad and the AT&T lineup for Android phones is garbage (sans this one).
JOe K.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Bravo (been testing it) and it is a decent phone, but it is not in the same league as the captivate. GPS is better, but that is the only thing better. It is more a midrange phone - slower, smaller, more plastic, etc.
As for MotoBlur - if you don't use it, it doesn't really bother you - so don't base to much on that.
If GPS is the number one thing you need in a phone - then wait for it to get sorted out or get a different phone. For me, the GPS works well enough. For walking, I can't imagine the GPS not working well enough - and you can generally see 100' in all directions to find what you are looking for anyway - even google maps is not that accurate as they always put stuff on the wrong side of the street or the wrong block.
cappysw10 said:
GPS does work indoors, without wireless turned on. My stand alone unit does too. And I must be one of the lucky ones, bought my phone in July never had a problem with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Poster said GPS was not DESIGNED to work indoors and he/she is correct. In most buildings it won't work indoors - especially commercial buildings.
If GPS were designed to work indoors it would use a different radio frequency. If it works indoors for you, it is because your house poses little interference - this is more an exception then the norm. In most houses, even standalone units don't work.
Im just wondering if anyone of you who said the gps works perfectly have tried the gps on captivate for several times. To me, the first time using gps whenever I upgrade new firmware or flash back to stock is very good. But after that it is very bad. I dont know if it is just bad using with google navigation, havent tried with offline gps yet. Maybe I should look for an offline gps apps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
bamonkey said:
waiting for my 3rd one to come in myself and i have to say its funny. ive had different issues that have caused me to have to return the phone but..somehow...i still think this phone is great! and im starting to think that maybe the best solution for people is to keep trading in their phone till you get one from "the perfect batch" so to say. maybe on this next one the gps will be just perfect as the first was terrible. my current one requires me to stick my arm out the window to navigate *but can lock instantly from standstill*...crossing my fingers and toes when i get the new one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you waiting for your third one? Are you still within the 30 days? Does the 30 days restart when you bring it in for a defect? Are you getting it from Samsung or swapping at an AT&T store? I can't afford to go without a phone for a day (which is sad).
Has there been a correlation between phone manufacturing date and GPS reliability?
Thanks,
JOe K.
GPS was never meant to work indoors. So don't bother to try and get a fix if you're sitting on your couch, that's just dumb.
I just drove to Morgantown, WV to go to WVU to see my friend. I used my GPS on the phone the entire trip. I did not use it as my sole resource for directions, I printed them out. But the entire trip (round trip 400+ miles from Baltimore) the GPS was pretty spot on. A few times it would go off onto the side roads that we're next to I-70 but it fixed itself pretty fast.
I don't believe there is any correlation between when the phone was made and it's reliability. Update to FroYo, and go for a long drive with Google Nav, you'll see a vast improvment.
How does AT&T's 30 day defect warranty return work?
If you get a new phone Does the 30 days restart when you bring it in for a defect? I've seen people get 3 and 4 phones.
JOe K. said:
How does AT&T's 30 day defect warranty return work?
If you get a new phone Does the 30 days restart when you bring it in for a defect? I've seen people get 3 and 4 phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its actually very painless. I am actually OUT of my 30 day warranty but the phone is covered for a year *i dont have the insurance btw...if you do just trade in store*
anyways call ATT and get to their tech support.. they will do some stuff that is required at the first level and then get you to warranty support. they will make sure your phone is still covered by the one year warranty..make you agree that your phone hasnt been put in a toaster or the like and then tell you a new one will be shipped and to send the defective one back in a prepaid RMA...oh this assumes you are in the states so they can send one out from a distribution center. so really no gap since they send you a new one first..just make sure you send the old one back in time or they charge you for a brand new phone
edit: i also wanted to note i bought mine USED off a random stranger..they still honored the one year warranty the very first time i had an issue
Did you have your phone rooted (with diff ROM's such as COG)? If so, did you restore it before sending it back (odin to stock, master clear)?
I'm wondering if Best Buy would have a better warranty policy. I'm gonna get a cap by the end of the week!
Thanks,
JOe K.
I've been messing with mine a bit and I've tried both the suggested settings as well as the stock ones and it hasn't been that great. Now I am running the stock rom right now. I'm going to update with the OTA one and see if it helps at all tomorrow. If not then I'll likely go ahead and exchange it at AT&T for another unit citing GPS issues while moving. It does get a lock while standing still. Usually once it sees 10 sats it decides to lock on half of them and hold that. It never really got a lock moving though. I had someone else drive while I kept it close to a window and nothing even with wireless assist.
JOe K. said:
Did you have your phone rooted (with diff ROM's such as COG)? If so, did you restore it before sending it back (odin to stock, master clear)?
I'm wondering if Best Buy would have a better warranty policy. I'm gonna get a cap by the end of the week!
Thanks,
JOe K.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first one couldnt even power on after a failed flash so i couldnt do anything. on the second i just odin one click to stock and master clear. its possible best buy 'might' have a better policy but being they are still selling through ATT i imagine there is still the 30 day in store policy like most..
just ask about the instore before you buy. i went into this knowing how i would be covered before hand id say do the same here too

Has anyone ditched this turdburglar phone and gone back to a Fascinate?

I love the Droid Charge's hardware, I really do. Those first-gen Galaxy S PenTile AMOLED displays drove me nuts, LTE is the effing truth, and thankfully, the Wolfson DAC is just as killer as it was last time around -- I came from a Vibrant on T-Mobile.
As you can probably imagine, I'm loathe to give up LTE. And I've got incredible respect for the work that imnuts, imoseyon, the GummyCharged bros, and all the other developers here and at RW are putting into this phone to make it usable -- seriously, you guys are awesome. But the day-to-day with this phone is just wearing on me hard, and I really miss the serene world of stable CyanogenMod. These days, my battery will randomly choose days to die before I'm even home from work, the GPS chip doesn't seem any better than the Vibrant's was, the phone is noticeably less responsive than a CM7 device with similar internals, I still occaisionally get launcher redraws, and though it's improved considerably with EP3HA I still sometimes get data dropouts.
I know it's the same **** you guys all complain about, I guess I just wonder if anyone else has literally gotten so frustrated with it that they gave up the sweet nectar of LTE to get the hell away from this disaster of a software implementation. I joined the Galaxy S party late in the Vibrant's lifespan so I had a really positive experience thanks to all the great development people had done for it. I didn't really get the full flavor of "Samsung Disease" until this phone, and for chrissake, I can see why people were running the hate parade.
Has anyone else here gone back (or thought about going back) to an Ev-DO phone just for a better software experience? We can pretty much guarantee that the resale value of this phone is going to completely tank after the G-Nexus launches so I'm thinking it makes sense to get some cash out of it now. I literally won a clean ESN Fascinate auction on eBay last night for $81, so I'm psyched about that.
Incidentally I'll probably just buy another Charge for 81 dollars at this time next year after it's rocking official CM7. Then again, maybe the Galaxy Nexus will be cheap by then.
Thoughts?
Here's my thought: The grass is always greener. This is the Groundhog Day of phone forums.
If you want to go back to a 3G phone, how about you set your Charge to 3G only? That way it behaves the same as a Fascinate.
Cm7 is far from stable my friend. Try getting a nightly that doesn't play well with your kernal. Once you've bricked from this you will understand. In a year this will all be different. Phones are being released to developers first now to tweak them for the hard release. Think of it this way... The linux command for superuser, or "su" does not hurt the machine, but opens up commands to fine tune to the user's preferences. If we are given the base framework to recover to, there is no harm in supercharging the system, just so long as we can "reset" it in case of a system failure or resource exhaustion. Just wait until google buys MORE into samsung's development.
Speed rules...
fortesquieu said:
If you want to go back to a 3G phone, how about you set your Charge to 3G only? That way it behaves the same as a Fascinate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No kidding.. my thoughts exactly. This phone is without a doubt superior to the fascinate... then again, to each his own.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
As much as I love my rock solid stable fascinate tsm poolparty 1.5 with glitch v13 rc, Im moving on to the charge bought off funzy32. Why? because I got it for $185. I dont plan on having issues with the charge, because ive never had problems with any android device in three years which seems un-realistic, but Im sticking with my good luck reasoning. The charge in terms of development is still in its infancy. Hell, my first verizon device was an htc incredible and over a year later it is still being improved. I have absolute faith that the charge will be continually developed on. The fact is that it is not a low end device or a middle of the road device either. As many problems as the failure device known as the fascinate has. It currently has an Ics sdk port that from my understanding is pretty insane in its infancy. If the fascinate can make it, the charge will be doing the same.
I'd go back in a second! Sadly I had to send in my fassy to get this garbage.
I was thinking the same thing a couple days ago. I miss my fassy a lot, but it had its issues like calls never coming in or texts not going out. 4g is unbelievably fast...didn't expect it to be this fast, it trumps home internet like many have said.
The fassy was the better phone overall though no doubt. I regret getting the charge as a replacement. I don't have any issues with it but it just doesn't feel right.
You guys are quite the whiney lot.
OP, why don't you post what setup you were running so that maybe we could help diagnose your issues.
Obviously battery life on the Fascinate is going to be much better than on the Charge, with its larger screen and battery sucking LTE.
I've found the battery life to be tolerable on the Charge as long as I'm not doing anything ridiculous like streaming audio/video for long periods of time. I live outside of LTE service location so I have my phone set to CDMA only. As of right now, after a typical day of use (probably 30 texts, 30 minutes of Pandora streaming, 20 minutes of phone calls, and probably 3 solid hours of screen-on time while browsing) my battery has 40% charge after 7 hours and 20 minutes unplugged.
If your conscious about how you are using the battery it is pretty manageable. Turn off LTE when you don't need it. Turn off mobile data when you aren't using it. Switch onto a wifi signal when one is available. Turn off GPS when you're not using it. This is pretty common sense stuff.
As far as screen redraws, use V6 Supercharger. I used to be annoyed to no end because of redraws. Since loading the script, I've had maybe 4 redraws in about a month. I don't even notice it anymore.
Also, if you miss TSM, the latest GummyCharged has it. Just have to go over to Rootzwiki to get it, they don't care for xda anymore.
nowens0520 said:
You guys are quite the whiney lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. I'm tired of people bashing this phone. Sure, it has some issues, but if you're that fed up with is just get rid of the phone. No sense in continuously *****ing about it.
Sent from my Droid Charge running Infinity Beta
kvswim said:
This. I'm tired of people bashing this phone. Sure, it has some issues, but if you're that fed up with is just get rid of the phone. No sense in continuously *****ing about it.
Sent from my Droid Charge running Infinity Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I really don't even understand the gripes. I guess its just me, but I believe this is hands down the best smartphone I've ever owned. Sure, I miss CM7 a bit which I too had on my fassy, but as I've heard mentioned before, what can the fassy do that the Charge cannot? Unless I'm being an absolute phone hog, I can easily go 12 hours a day without turning ANYTHING off. I don't get screen redraws, static phone calls, data drop offs, or any of the other complaints. I occasionally have some minor Rom nuances but you get that with just about any Rom and Android phone. I'm seriously loving my Droid Charge experience! I don't get the whining or the constant threads on this topic. If you don't like it, you don't need our approval to move on. Just get rid of the phone and move on already!
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
I thought I was pretty clear in my OP, but maybe not. I miss CyanogenMod. That is the main thing that I miss. The Charge doesn't have it. I guess I also miss having a small device, but that's not a fair complaint right now -- LTE radios are chunky, and I recognize that.
The battery life has been a really big sore spot for me, too. I've tried setting the phone to CDMA/Ev-DO only (completely ignoring the ridiculousness of carrying a larger, more expensive device and toggling off its best feature) to get a feel for what I'd be getting into speedwise if I switched to a Fascinate. I rarely use GPS, and leave it turned off.
It doesn't seem to have any effect on the battery; on Wednesday I ran it CDMA-only and barely used the device at all outside of an hour or so of PowerAmp playback and a handful of Google searches and GV messages. I took it off the charger with 100% juice at 7:15 AM, and it was dead by 6:30 PM. The maddening part is that it's crazy inconsistent: there are days where it makes it through the whole day with 30% or so left,even though I've had LTE turned on all day and have been using the phone fairly extensively. I definitely don't think it's a hardware problem -- Engadget swears they got two days in their review of this thing. The best guess I've been able to piece together is that the battery loss has something to do with with the phone's poor tower handoffs, because I've noticed a pattern of having a dead Charge on days where I move from place to place a lot. Days where my only destinations are home and work don't seem to exhibit the issue as much.
I suppose I'm past the point of being interested in solving it, and the device's limited community uptake (relative to something like the Nexus phones, or several of the more popular HTCs) doesn't help. That's the hugely exciting thing about the Galaxy Nexus -- we at least know it'll be crazy popular here, at Rootzwiki, and everywhere else. I just hope it's got a decent DAC and headphone amp, because otherwise the Fascinate and the Charge are still going to be my future.
Someone asked me to post my setup, so I guess I'll repeat myself. I'm running EP3HA debloated. I've tried it with the stock kernel and with imoseyon's kernel -- didn't notice major differences either way. Compared to its predecessors, EP3HA has been an incredible improvement -- I ran the gamut and tried everything before, but I probably spent the most time with assorted builds of GummyCharged FE. I switched to EP3HA once I saw that imoseyon got Voodoo Sound working on his kernel, and I definitely believe that's currently the best way to use the Charge. I get fewer launcher redraws, and data drops less -- but make no mistake, there are still redraws and drops. I do firmly believe that this phone is headed toward greatness; in a year or so it's going to be a really amazing choice if it keeps improving at this rate. So, I'm coming back in a year. I've just grown weary of living with a problematic phone when Android itself has been done so much more gracefully on other devices -- how can any Charge owner deny that? Even if you love the device's hardware (as I do), have somehow had no issues (lol), and intend to keep it... the ability to run AOSP ROMs and to consistently get through the day on a single charge are irrefutably pretty big advantages.
One of my pals got a Droid Charge the same day as me, and has been experiencing all these same issues. In fact, our decisions to switch -- me to the Fascinate and him to the DInc -- were born out of frequent griping to each other about how poor the day-to-day with the Charge has been. Of course we hate losing LTE, it's obnoxious. The biggest reason we're paying Verizon's hilariously awful prices was to get access to LTE 700, and hopefully we'll get to come back to it soon. It's kind of a bummer because this has been his first Android device (he came from an iPhone 3GS). I told him the day we got our phones that I really wished Verizon had a solid LTE device with mature CyanogenMod support, because Samsung puts out a really embarassing version of Android and it's a super ****ty first impression to show him of the platform I've grown to love. "But," we said, "having LTE should make up for it."
It almost does. Almost.
kvswim said:
This. I'm tired of people bashing this phone. Sure, it has some issues, but if you're that fed up with is just get rid of the phone. No sense in continuously *****ing about it.
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Click to collapse
Do you work for Samsung? Why on earth could you possibly be bothered by people objectively stating their complaints about a half-baked product? I signed a two-year contract for an overpriced unfinished smartphone too, dude. I'm in the same boat as you.
fortesquieu said:
If you want to go back to a 3G phone, how about you set your Charge to 3G only? That way it behaves the same as a Fascinate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look how bad your post is. This is a bad, bad post.
kalibar said:
I thought I was pretty clear in my OP, but maybe not. I miss CyanogenMod. That is the main thing that I miss. The Charge doesn't have it. I guess I also miss having a small device, but that's not a fair complaint right now -- LTE radios are chunky, and I recognize that.
The battery life has been a really big sore spot for me, too. I've tried setting the phone to CDMA/Ev-DO only (completely ignoring the ridiculousness of carrying a larger, more expensive device and toggling off its best feature) to get a feel for what I'd be getting into speedwise if I switched to a Fascinate. I rarely use GPS, and leave it turned off.
It doesn't seem to have any effect on the battery; on Wednesday I ran it CDMA-only and barely used the device at all outside of an hour or so of PowerAmp playback and a handful of Google searches and GV messages. I took it off the charger with 100% juice at 7:15 AM, and it was dead by 6:30 PM. The maddening part is that it's crazy inconsistent: there are days where it makes it through the whole day with 30% or so left,even though I've had LTE turned on all day and have been using the phone fairly extensively. I definitely don't think it's a hardware problem -- Engadget swears they got two days in their review of this thing. The best guess I've been able to piece together is that the battery loss has something to do with with the phone's poor tower handoffs, because I've noticed a pattern of having a dead Charge on days where I move from place to place a lot. Days where my only destinations are home and work don't seem to exhibit the issue as much.
I suppose I'm past the point of being interested in solving it, and the device's limited community uptake (relative to something like the Nexus phones, or several of the more popular HTCs) doesn't help. That's the hugely exciting thing about the Galaxy Nexus -- we at least know it'll be crazy popular here, at Rootzwiki, and everywhere else. I just hope it's got a decent DAC and headphone amp, because otherwise the Fascinate and the Charge are still going to be my future.
Someone asked me to post my setup, so I guess I'll repeat myself. I'm running EP3HA debloated. I've tried it with the stock kernel and with imoseyon's kernel -- didn't notice major differences either way. Compared to its predecessors, EP3HA has been an incredible improvement -- I ran the gamut and tried everything before, but I probably spent the most time with assorted builds of GummyCharged FE. I switched to EP3HA once I saw that imoseyon got Voodoo Sound working on his kernel, and I definitely believe that's currently the best way to use the Charge. I get fewer launcher redraws, and data drops less -- but make no mistake, there are still redraws and drops. I do firmly believe that this phone is headed toward greatness; in a year or so it's going to be a really amazing choice if it keeps improving at this rate. So, I'm coming back in a year. I've just grown weary of living with a problematic phone when Android itself has been done so much more gracefully on other devices -- how can any Charge owner deny that? Even if you love the device's hardware (as I do), have somehow had no issues (lol), and intend to keep it... the ability to run AOSP ROMs and to consistently get through the day on a single charge are irrefutably pretty big advantages.
One of my pals got a Droid Charge the same day as me, and has been experiencing all these same issues. In fact, our decisions to switch -- me to the Fascinate and him to the DInc -- were born out of frequent griping to each other about how poor the day-to-day with the Charge has been. Of course we hate losing LTE, it's obnoxious. The biggest reason we're paying Verizon's hilariously awful prices was to get access to LTE 700, and hopefully we'll get to come back to it soon. It's kind of a bummer because this has been his first Android device (he came from an iPhone 3GS). I told him the day we got our phones that I really wished Verizon had a solid LTE device with mature CyanogenMod support, because Samsung puts out a really embarassing version of Android and it's a super ****ty first impression to show him of the platform I've grown to love. "But," we said, "having LTE should make up for it."
It almost does. Almost.
Do you work for Samsung? Why on earth could you possibly be bothered by people objectively stating their complaints about a half-baked product? I signed a two-year contract for an overpriced unfinished smartphone too, dude. I'm in the same boat as you.
Look how bad your post is. This is a bad, bad post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... and people wonder why the Gummy team left XDA.
If you wanted a phone that ran CM7, why'd you buy a phone that didn't have it? You should be well aware of how development works, there are no guarantees. I just think it's hilarious that you're going to pay your own hard earned money to downgrade your phone just because your particular favorite toy isn't on there.
I mean sucks that you're having some relatively minor problems with your Charge, but the Fascinate was no angel either. Have fun with your dropped / missed calls, front buttons that push themselves and total garbage GPS lock times.
To be honest, it sounds like you know the game here, so I assume you did your homework before your bought it, so really, you have no one but yourself to blame.
Fivecent said:
... and people wonder why the Gummy team left XDA.
If you wanted a phone that ran CM7, why'd you buy a phone that didn't have it? You should be well aware of how development works, there are no guarantees. I just think it's hilarious that you're going to pay your own hard earned money to downgrade your phone just because your particular favorite toy isn't on there.
I mean sucks that you're having some relatively minor problems with your Charge, but the Fascinate was no angel either. Have fun with your dropped / missed calls, front buttons that push themselves and total garbage GPS lock times.
To be honest, it sounds like you know the game here, so I assume you did your homework before your bought it, so really, you have no one but yourself to blame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since when was usability a toy? Maybe it's his fault for buying a phone that doesn't have CM7, but it's not his fault the phone's stock firmware is garbage. Why are you all apologists for this device? Is it because you bought it? Do you guys go around, telling people how your phone is the best phone no matter what, all because you paid money for it and to do otherwise would make you feel stupid?
Just be honest. The phone kinda sucks. It'd be one thing if the battery life was just bad, but the fact that it varies from day to day is like having a car that gets 25mpg on some days and 12mpg on others. It's one thing to tolerate mediocrity, but to defend it is absolutely despicable. You all should be ashamed.
Multiple times, across multiple firmwares (humble, gummy, fe and gbe, infinity beta w/ ep3ha) I've had the phone lag at inappropriate times that resulted in committing an action that I absolutely did not want.
For example, and I think this was on Gummy 2.0 GBE (laughably bad compared to even the release candidates that came before it), one time I pressed the power button to wake the phone, and it didn't wake (I have a case that makes it so you have to push a little harder), so I pressed it again and it did. I then slid to unlock, but instead of that happening, the phone shut off. It was so laggy that it actually did detect the first power button press, and the second one I held slightly too long (which brings up the reboot/poweroff/silent/etc dialog) and when I thought I was sliding to unlock, the phone registered it as pressing the power off option on the popup dialog that hadn't yet appeared when I was trying to unlock the phone. Phone powers off. I tried to unlock my phone and instead got a powered off device.
That's ****ing unacceptable. It's 2011, we should have devices that are responsive and stable. But instead, we get a holocaust. This isn't my fault. This isn't kalibar's fault. It's Samsung's fault. We thought we could count on them to make something with perhaps not the best experience, but a passable one at least. And we weren't just a little wrong, we were really wrong.
If you honestly believe this phone is good, you've never used an iPhone. I'm not trying to start an Android vs iOS argument, but when it comes to having a phone with reliable battery life and a consistently responsive user experience, the iPhone never fails. And although I've heard the 4S has ****ty battery life at the moment, there is no doubt in my mind that it will actually get fixed because Apple actually gives a ****. In a year when you can run AOSP ROMs on this phone, I would bet money that the official offering from Samsung remains an abortion.
Anyone who claims to have no issues with this phone is either a liar, or a good majority of Droid Charges are lemons. Either does not bode well.
And stop called the Fascinate, "Fassy." It immediately reveals that you're a neckbeard virgin.
p.s. The Gummy team left XDA not because people complain about the shortcomings of devices but because people do things like irrationally defend utter crap and spout cringe-inducingly stupid nonsense.
@jhonas, The phone is fairly new and the bugs will be worked out, I have complete faith in our developers.
Someone is an internet tough guy...
The Gummy Team left XDA from people like you just constantly whining about EVERYTHING. I don't have any problems with this phone beyond the battery life. That's it.
It's not like some of us defend our phones just for the hell of it...it's because we know this can be potentially a great phone. Things can take time. Look at how the FASSY (you mad?) was at the very beginning - everyone hated it. Now that it's a mature phone, it can be appreciated. Development for this device is in its infancy-unfortunately some people can't or won't see that and insist on bashing it.
Sent from my Droid Charge running Infinity Beta
Jhonas said:
Since when was usability a toy? Maybe it's his fault for buying a phone that doesn't have CM7, but it's not his fault the phone's stock firmware is garbage. Why are you all apologists for this device? Is it because you bought it? Do you guys go around, telling people how your phone is the best phone no matter what, all because you paid money for it and to do otherwise would make you feel stupid?
Just be honest. The phone kinda sucks. It'd be one thing if the battery life was just bad, but the fact that it varies from day to day is like having a car that gets 25mpg on some days and 12mpg on others. It's one thing to tolerate mediocrity, but to defend it is absolutely despicable. You all should be ashamed.
Multiple times, across multiple firmwares (humble, gummy, fe and gbe, infinity beta w/ ep3ha) I've had the phone lag at inappropriate times that resulted in committing an action that I absolutely did not want.
For example, and I think this was on Gummy 2.0 GBE (laughably bad compared to even the release candidates that came before it), one time I pressed the power button to wake the phone, and it didn't wake (I have a case that makes it so you have to push a little harder), so I pressed it again and it did. I then slid to unlock, but instead of that happening, the phone shut off. It was so laggy that it actually did detect the first power button press, and the second one I held slightly too long (which brings up the reboot/poweroff/silent/etc dialog) and when I thought I was sliding to unlock, the phone registered it as pressing the power off option on the popup dialog that hadn't yet appeared when I was trying to unlock the phone. Phone powers off. I tried to unlock my phone and instead got a powered off device.
That's ****ing unacceptable. It's 2011, we should have devices that are responsive and stable. But instead, we get a holocaust. This isn't my fault. This isn't kalibar's fault. It's Samsung's fault. We thought we could count on them to make something with perhaps not the best experience, but a passable one at least. And we weren't just a little wrong, we were really wrong.
If you honestly believe this phone is good, you've never used an iPhone. I'm not trying to start an Android vs iOS argument, but when it comes to having a phone with reliable battery life and a consistently responsive user experience, the iPhone never fails. And although I've heard the 4S has ****ty battery life at the moment, there is no doubt in my mind that it will actually get fixed because Apple actually gives a ****. In a year when you can run AOSP ROMs on this phone, I would bet money that the official offering from Samsung remains an abortion.
Anyone who claims to have no issues with this phone is either a liar, or a good majority of Droid Charges are lemons. Either does not bode well.
And stop called the Fascinate, "Fassy." It immediately reveals that you're a neckbeard virgin.
p.s. The Gummy team left XDA not because people complain about the shortcomings of devices but because people do things like irrationally defend utter crap and spout cringe-inducingly stupid nonsense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, there are plenty of decaffeinated brands on the market that taste just as good as the real thing, think about it.
I don't believe fivecent was referring to usability as a toy. He was referring to CM7 as a toy. It didn't come pre-installed on the phone - it's an extra or a "toy." It is well known Samsung is notorious for great hardware and crappy software. If you and kalibar have been around on Android at all, you should have already known this. And if you didn't do enough research to find this out, shame on both of you. Albert Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In this case expecting Samsung to suddenly put out a phone with great software given their track record, I would call naive.
Apple isn't better at fixing things because they care more, it's because they only have on phone to work on. All other phone manufacturers prefer to offer customers options and choices. Apple tells it's sheeple (customers) this is what we make, you will buy it and like it.
The Charge was only the third LTE phone on Verizon. Like davwaman said, there are still bugs and they will be worked out. Verizon and all phone manufacturers are encountering occasional problems related to 4G LTE. No 4G LTE phone has a functional CM7 because of the 4G radios/RIL.
And TeamGummy and several other developers didn't leave XDA for either your reason or the other reason stated. It's not my place to say why they left. You can ask them yourself, which you obviously haven't done based on your post.
And finally, you've been a member here since 2007 and this rant is your first post? Really? Not one productive or helpful post before now?
Jhonas said:
Since when was usability a toy? Maybe it's his fault for buying a phone that doesn't have CM7, but it's not his fault the phone's stock firmware is garbage. Why are you all apologists for this device? Is it because you bought it? Do you guys go around, telling people how your phone is the best phone no matter what, all because you paid money for it and to do otherwise would make you feel stupid?
Just be honest. The phone kinda sucks. It'd be one thing if the battery life was just bad, but the fact that it varies from day to day is like having a car that gets 25mpg on some days and 12mpg on others. It's one thing to tolerate mediocrity, but to defend it is absolutely despicable. You all should be ashamed.
Multiple times, across multiple firmwares (humble, gummy, fe and gbe, infinity beta w/ ep3ha) I've had the phone lag at inappropriate times that resulted in committing an action that I absolutely did not want.
For example, and I think this was on Gummy 2.0 GBE (laughably bad compared to even the release candidates that came before it), one time I pressed the power button to wake the phone, and it didn't wake (I have a case that makes it so you have to push a little harder), so I pressed it again and it did. I then slid to unlock, but instead of that happening, the phone shut off. It was so laggy that it actually did detect the first power button press, and the second one I held slightly too long (which brings up the reboot/poweroff/silent/etc dialog) and when I thought I was sliding to unlock, the phone registered it as pressing the power off option on the popup dialog that hadn't yet appeared when I was trying to unlock the phone. Phone powers off. I tried to unlock my phone and instead got a powered off device.
That's ****ing unacceptable. It's 2011, we should have devices that are responsive and stable. But instead, we get a holocaust. This isn't my fault. This isn't kalibar's fault. It's Samsung's fault. We thought we could count on them to make something with perhaps not the best experience, but a passable one at least. And we weren't just a little wrong, we were really wrong.
If you honestly believe this phone is good, you've never used an iPhone. I'm not trying to start an Android vs iOS argument, but when it comes to having a phone with reliable battery life and a consistently responsive user experience, the iPhone never fails. And although I've heard the 4S has ****ty battery life at the moment, there is no doubt in my mind that it will actually get fixed because Apple actually gives a ****. In a year when you can run AOSP ROMs on this phone, I would bet money that the official offering from Samsung remains an abortion.
Anyone who claims to have no issues with this phone is either a liar, or a good majority of Droid Charges are lemons. Either does not bode well.
And stop called the Fascinate, "Fassy." It immediately reveals that you're a neckbeard virgin.
p.s. The Gummy team left XDA not because people complain about the shortcomings of devices but because people do things like irrationally defend utter crap and spout cringe-inducingly stupid nonsense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so much BUTTHURT lol
no but seriously I loved my FASSY and I love my Charge, sure they both have issues but are incredible phones none the less.. there are always problems and always will be as no phone is perfect, and this constant whining about how bad it is isn't helping anyone unless its an actual constructive question about how to fix something or why something's happening
Lufc or Scotsman where you at buddies, lock this thread up
blazing through on my 4G Droid Charge
Jhonas said:
If you honestly believe this phone is good, you've never used an iPhone. I'm not trying to start an Android vs iOS argument, but when it comes to having a phone with reliable battery life and a consistently responsive user experience, the iPhone never fails. And although I've heard the 4S has ****ty battery life at the moment, there is no doubt in my mind that it will actually get fixed because Apple actually gives a ****. In a year when you can run AOSP ROMs on this phone, I would bet money that the official offering from Samsung remains an abortion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chopping the rest because this is all I'm going to respond to. I came to this phone from an iPhone. You couldn't pay me to go back.
That is all.
I don't understand how this thread is still going on. We have a parade of "blame the OP" for daring to purchase the flagship Samsung Verizon phone and expecting it to actually work, then people pretending like a battery that goes 12 hours, barely, if you micro it, is perfectly acceptable, then we have people blaming other posters for not making enough nice posts before a rant?
Seriously, what the hell? The phone seems pretty crappy from all the reviews and I don't think that the OP was asking for people to leap in and white-knight it, I'm pretty sure he wanted opinions on things he would miss or whatever if he downgraded to a Fascinate.
(Honestly, "Fassy"? Makes you sound like you're 5.)

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