Database Info

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

Sylvania SYNET7LP Work-In-Progress

{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
SYNET7LP 7" 16:9 800x480, 1GHz, 256 RAM, 2GB IS / 32GB ES, 1920x1080p HDMI, 802.11b,g, 2x USB, Android OS 2.1
Full on going review.. (note I just got this late last night)

Sears/K-Mart Lowered Price .... Veterans Day Special?
Just picked this up in-store for $149.95 plus tax. So far it has booted extremely fast. Trying to confirm the Android OS version. Website says 512MB of memory (which I took as ram) but the box says 256MB. Was told by telephone support that it had a camera but that is not the case (picture on some sites looks like it has a camera but this model my local Sears had does not have a camera).
Too bad about the camera. It may be going back although I like the HDMI output....
No G-sensor! (at least on mine). Have to pick the orientation by upper menu selection (although had to change the setting from automatic to reveal that feature).

Battery life??? Seriously?
I picked up one of these yesterday and was very impressed at first...
As soon as I remove it from the charger (fully charged) the battery drops to 85%. At first I gave it the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to a bug...
After less than two hours of heavy web browsing and full screen brightness the battery was dead... I chalked it up to my usage, plugged it into the charger and went to bed.
This morning at work I turned it on and set up my email. I turned the screen brightness down to low, the display time out to a minute, and disabled wifi. I let the screen time out to, what I assumed, was standby mode and went about my work. I came back a hour and a half later and the battery was at 14%!! I clicked on battery usage and something called 'Cell Standby' was taking up 80%... Now its dead with no way to charge it until I get home (won't charge from usb).
I'll search for a why to possibly disable whatever 'Cell Standby' is but this thing is probably going back to sears TONIGHT!

i was thinking of grabbing one of these, so i emailed them and asked if 2.2 was ever gonna be on option for these tablets. Got this response:
Sylvania said:
Hello my name is Josh, and I work for Digital Gadgets Customer Service.
I received your email about the Sylvania 7-inch tablet.
From what I understand you want to know when will the 2.2 update will be available.
At the moment I do not have an ETA on it, but there be a software update for 2.2 sometime this month.
You should received an email letting you know when it is available.
If you have any further questions please email me at [email protected].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Mine is sitting waiting for UPS to pick it up. with the possibility of 2.2 that gets me hoping more that this one pans out and isn't a defective POS like the Maylong.

tablet
Not too much happening on the Sylvania thread. I got mine today. I will be returning it since I ordered an Archos 70 today, but I will play with it for a few days anyway and comment on my experiences with it here.

FredOak3 said:
Mine is sitting waiting for UPS to pick it up. with the possibility of 2.2 that gets me hoping more that this one pans out and isn't a defective POS like the Maylong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: Oh I see you where you got that from. That is good news.
Fred, did you hear that they may upgrade it to 2.2?

Sylvania
First impressions are that the menu button on the back sucks. There should be one on the front of the device. I did install the Aldiko app the market place without any problem. I just find it annoying that to pull up a table of contents I have to push this small button on the back of the device instead of one on the front.

Should be delivered by the time I get home today.
Yea, I saw that they plan on doing 2.2 (probably get it before I get the official one for my Captivate).
I saw the video about potential upgrade issues. So I' figure I'll load everything up before I do the upgrade.
That Archos 70 looks decent, have to let us know how that one is too.
If I take the Sylvania back I still have a couple under $200 units I might try, If not I guess I move up into the near $300 range.

Sylvania
I spent a few more hours with this thing today. There does seem to be a battery issue with the device. I charged it up for 8 hours last night and within 5 minutes of turning it on I had downloaded the battery booster app, checked the status of the battery, and it showed a remaining charge of 75%. I would say from that point on I got around 2.5 hours of use browsing the internet, reading, and downloading a couple other apps. The lack of a g-sensor/accelerometer was not a big deal for me since I could change the screen orientation using the button provided. Maybe this is more of an issue with some games--I don't know.
Otherwise, I like the weight and balance of the tablet. The screen size is ideal for me to read on and I hold it fairly easily with one hand. The resistive screen works fine with a stylus or a fingernail. It does not work well with the ball of the fingertip, however.
I don't think there is a significant overheating issue. It does get obviously warmer during charging but I am usually holding the edges of the device so it wasn't a big deal.
Assuming an upgrade is forthcoming to 2.2, and assuming it improves the battery life closer to 4 hours, I would say this is a decent tablet. However, assuming the Coby Kyros comes available soon for about the same price, I would check it out first since it has a menu button on the front and because an accelerometer is included.
P.S.
I have stayed away from doing any software updates that may exist to this point. It sounds like they may cause more problems than they resolve.

Got mine last night, yea I have the weird battery meter issue too.
Loaded up a ton of stuff that I had on my Captivate, so far so good.
Did the upgrade and didn't have any issues, was still able to install apps unlike that video that is out indicated.
Also got it rooted with no problem using Z4Root, rooted in about 2 minutes, so I got Titanium Backup on it and CPU Tuner going on it.
So far I'm really liking this and if they keep their promise with the fixes and upgrade this is a sweet little device.

Between rooting it and doing the upgrade the battery issue seems to have resolved itself.
The only thing I have found is certain apps will change the screen orientation for a reason not related to the app and I get the force close warning now and then, but if I click WAIT instead it comes right back.
Funny the only web site that I seem to have a problem loading is XDA, and the XDA app seems to crash every time after I log in.
Other than that, I'm satisfied with this for what I wanted it to be. But I can see myself getting a decent tablet to replace my one netbook once it is out with gingerbread or honeycomb.

Battery
I had charged it 8 hours and it wouldn't turn on. I plugged it in the charger and it wouldn't boot up past the Sylvania logo. I performed a reset and was able to boot-up. I then immediately performed the update mentioned in the Sylvania booklet. It is now charging.
I am beginning to to think that the battery booster app that I downloaded doesn't work properly with this device since the readings are always seem dubious. Anyone have a battery app that they think works for their Sylvania?
P.S.
The booklet specifically says to take out the SD card when doing the update or they will be deleted.

Installing apps
After completing the update, everything seemed to be working fine but I just tried to download and install a new app and I am receiving the error message that the SD card can't be found. I have removed and reinserted the SD card a couple of times to verify it is seated properly and the OS is recognizing it since I can use file manager to explore the contents on the card.
At this point it doesn't really matter since I am planning to take it back anyway, but it does seem that the update causes problems.

I got that error immediately after the update, took the SD card out put it back in and it's been fine.
I'm using a 8Gig Kingston card, wonder if the card has anything to do with it?

There are2 usb ports the one is host only.
The other one is non-functioning until they release the net firmware update which they told me is in beta and should be out shorly.

How to reset?
Elmonica - or anyone else who has performed the reset -
How is this done? I see the reset button on the back, but if I press it while the unit is on, the screen goes blank (looks like powering off) and nothing happens.
The documentation online stinks and the manual leaves a lot to be desired. Any feedback is appreciated!

I also stood in line at Toys R Us and picked one of these up for $139.
And I also noticed the battery being chewed up very quickly on what seems like a full charge. For example, used it for 2 hours yesterday and set it down with 61% battery remaining, after about 6 hours of stand by - dead.
Looking at the running processes it appears the dev's didn't disable the cell phone portion of the OS.
aLogCat also reporting loads of fails on the radio buffer:
E/RIL (1957): opening data channel device - /dev/ttyUSB0. retrying...
Also, if you check your running processes and battery usage statistics you'll see the "Dialer" and "Cell" processes running. Not sure why.
I've tried killing these via term but they start back up again.
Maybe killing the WiFi before I set it down will save some juice.

After rooting it I got some battery improvement. But certain apps still time out on occasion and I'll get a run away key stroke while typing that is really annoying.

FredOak3 said:
After rooting it I got some battery improvement. But certain apps still time out on occasion and I'll get a run away key stroke while typing that is really annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you had a chance to load a different launcher? I loaded ADW and got away from that goofy launcher. One press of the home screen gets you all the apps you have installed and press it again for a screen with widgets. Whats the point of having widgets if they are not on the screen full time?
Now I have to figure out how to disable the cell/radio process for good and also kill that silly yahoo api weather widget.
Next step is to solve how get adb working....

GPS story

So I spent 3 hours on the phone with AT&T last week while their warranty department did everything they could to not just honor the warranty (I can go into detail of anyone cares). But after the long grueling battle I was finally able to get my 1008 replaced with a 1009. Now the gps on my 1008 was shotty at best. I received the new phone, fired up Srendipity 6.3 and installed the free TeleNav GPS program and received instant results. Before, I was getting 3-4 sats after 30 seconds and it would barely hold. Now, I instantly get 7 or more sats and was able to lock up to 11 and hold them. My gps works spot on and I couldn't be happier. Morale of the story.. if you have spotty GPS at best, try exchanging the phone.. but be for warned about AT&T honoring the Gps capability for the Captivate with out a lot of legwork.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I was having a GPS problem and the warranty people sent out a replacement with a 15 min phone call. got one that works ok, but with the right modem it gets 10-11 sats in under 5 seconds.
might be who you get and how willing they are to try and figure out your problem without just jumping to it being a hardware problem.

The captivate gps is way to random to guarantee a replacement will fix anything as no one knows all the details of the problem. Part of it is obviously software as several tweaks work wonders for most people. No one knows what the combination is for sure.
A standing lock shows nothing for actual driving navigation performance.
Your results will vary but do we really need a new thread from everyone who warranty replaces their phone for bad gps performance
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Remember too, almost all "new" Captivates' GPS work great for a few weeks. Post back in about a month and let us know how your new Captivate is working. Also, it seems as though the GPS will work great for a few weeks after loading a new ROM, then it goes bad again. Tells me there is s file the GPS must process avery time you turn it on. As the file grows in size, the GPS program can't process the file in a timely manner resulting in the interpretation of the GPS data being slow and off-course.

I'll do that. I like using my GPS for looking things up (don't use navigation that much since I don't do much traveling) but I'll definitely keep an eye on it and see how it handles aftera week or so and then after that.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

just got a 1007 replacement for the 1007 i have. The GPS works out of the box for stock froyo. it actually trasks every single turn and is able to catch up when i am driving 75-80 on the freeway. So ya... if anyone fail to get their gps working by software tweaks, you should go ahead and use the random shut down execuse to get a replacement phone. the 1007/8/9/... thing doesnt really matter i guess. The one I got works like a charm beside the sticker behind the battery look crappy without a SN number and the samsung logo.( oh well probably a refurb , but at least it works~)
It's like a gamble, but hey at least exchange it while u still can with warranty is better than hoping for a software fix that we are still not sure about if it's the real issue. Honestly it could be software for some people, but after u tried couple Roms and fixes, a bad gps is a bad gps.

The "batch number" on my phone is 1008. The phone came with Eclair, of course. The GPS was poor at best. I updated the phone to Froyo. The GPS was not perceptibly different; still darn poor. I remember one miserable night where I was forced to find my destination using the Biblical System. The GPS never did lock during my one-hour ordeal.
For a totally unrelated reason, I ending up doing a master clear and reset. After I got everything reloaded I "tested" the GPS. Wow! It locked, well, instantly, or so it seemed.
An app available in the Market called GPS Status has two nice features. You can set it to automatically download the A-GPS file at start up. And, it reports on screen how long it takes to get it's first lock. With GPS Test (and others) you can see when the phone locks but GPS Status reports the time-to-lock information in seconds, no stopwatch or counting required.
Fascinated at the new-found capability of my Captivate, I have repeatedly checked how long it takes to get a lock. I would say, under widely varying conditions, the lock time is almost always less than 20 - 25 seconds.
YMMV but you might try a master clear and reset if you have a phone you undated from 2.1 to 2.2. Except for the time it takes to rebuild your phone, you have little to loose and you might find, as I did, the Captivate's GPS is excellent. Had I not "discovered" this "solution" I would have abandoned my Captivate--even though I think it's great phone overall--as I routinely depend upon my PDA's GPS capability.
FWIW, I do a lot of Geocaching so I have an understanding of how a GPS should perform. I had an AT&T Tilt which I'd made usable with a Sakajati HyperDragon IV ROM. The GPS in that phone was excellent. The first few days with the Captivate was a real downer. But, the now-functioning GPS makes the Capitvate a keeper.

For those not wanting to try getting a replacement. Plumbobs gps fix worked great for me. Check it out.
Sent from my SGH-I897 Captivate cog 4.3 using Xda app

My Xoom locks on in 4 seconds, indoors, straight out of the box. This whole thing is stupid.

So I've been using my gps for a few days now and it's still working just as well when I got the replacement. IMO there may be 3 types of phones out there which is why we all get different results..
Captivate with working GPS right out of the box
Captivate with 'meh' GPS that is fixable with software tweaks
Captivate with GPS so bad that it doesn't work at all.
This could all be hardware related in just how the manufacturing process worked. Some could have just been bad apples.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

10 meter lock inless than 20 seconds. Running JVE modem on Continuum v4, and I have a 1008 build number.
Sent from a place my wife doesn't know about

New phone. But it keeps crashing?

Hi all,
So I got a Samsung galaxy s7 from o2 yesterday. It's less than 24 hours old, and it seems to run quite hot!
Sometimes it'll be next to me, I'll pick it up, send a few texts and browse the internet and I can feel warmth/heat coming from just near to the camera.
It's also frozen on three occasions where I've been on chrome. The screen and all buttons become completely unresponsive, and even holding the power button down doesn't do anything, for a while at least.
I've read on Google factory resetting can help, but surely that shouldn't apply considering this was fresh as of yesterday? I'm pretty sure my phone shouldn't be crashing and being unresponsive so quickly into its life.
Question is, is this a fault? Or software?

It can sometimes, I would recommend resetting it, giving it some time and if needed taking it back for replacement

sstanton86 said:
Hi all,
So I got a Samsung galaxy s7 from o2 yesterday. It's less than 24 hours old, and it seems to run quite hot!
Sometimes it'll be next to me, I'll pick it up, send a few texts and browse the internet and I can feel warmth/heat coming from just near to the camera.
It's also frozen on three occasions where I've been on chrome. The screen and all buttons become completely unresponsive, and even holding the power button down doesn't do anything, for a while at least.
I've read on Google factory resetting can help, but surely that shouldn't apply considering this was fresh as of yesterday? I'm pretty sure my phone shouldn't be crashing and being unresponsive so quickly into its life.
Question is, is this a fault? Or software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. I went through the same issue a few weeks back. Mine was a unlocked uk model brand new.
I did everything from factory resetting, to installing firmware from scratch and nothing helped.
Ultimately for me I believe it was a hardware issue and ended up returning for a full refund.
Also for me I was getting a lot of random reboots.
My model was manufactured in march.
Used the phone info app on Google play to check.
Could you check to see when yours was made.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Phone : Samsung s7 G930F
Android: MM 6.0.1

hyperthrust said:
Hi. I went through the same issue a few weeks back. Mine was a unlocked uk model brand new.
I did everything from factory resetting, to installing firmware from scratch and nothing helped.
Ultimately for me I believe it was a hardware issue and ended up returning for a full refund.
Also for me I was getting a lot of random reboots.
My model was manufactured in march.
Used the phone info app on Google play to check.
Could you check to see when yours was made. View attachment 3851130
Phone : Samsung s7 G930F
Android: MM 6.0.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate thanks for replying.
Mine was made in April according to that app.
I think I fixed the issue, and it was to do with 'Mediaserver' being the number one thing using my battery up. So I reset the phone, cleared the cache etc and it seems to work fine now with no crashes. It's a shame because the average user would just buy the phone and not even think about doing what I did.
My phone still gets warm though. Did you find that? And if applicable does your new s7 gets warm too?

sstanton86 said:
Hi mate thanks for replying.
Mine was made in April according to that app.
I think I fixed the issue, and it was to do with 'Mediaserver' being the number one thing using my battery up. So I reset the phone, cleared the cache etc and it seems to work fine now with no crashes. It's a shame because the average user would just buy the phone and not even think about doing what I did.
My phone still gets warm though. Did you find that? And if applicable does your new s7 gets warm too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine gets warm too, so I downloaded GSam to monitor the temperature. After monitoring the temperature for a while I realized that my nexus 5 runs hotter but I don't notice it cause it's made out of plastic instead of metal/glass.

hyperthrust said:
Hi. I went through the same issue a few weeks back. Mine was a unlocked uk model brand new.
I did everything from factory resetting, to installing firmware from scratch and nothing helped.
Ultimately for me I believe it was a hardware issue and ended up returning for a full refund.
Also for me I was getting a lot of random reboots.
My model was manufactured in march.
Used the phone info app on Google play to check.
Could you check to see when yours was made. View attachment 3851130
Phone : Samsung s7 G930F
Android: MM 6.0.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is rooted? Why is Knox flipped?

Yes, it is or was. I was having the problems before rooting and after rooting.
Made no difference at all.
Mine was just defective. No software updates made a difference.
Phone : Samsung s7 G930F
Android: MM 6.0.1

I went into o2 store earlier today explained the problem, and because i was in my 14 day period i got it replaced no questions asked. So far even though this phone was manufactured a month prior to the one i returned (March), it seems fine and was only warm downloading the latest updates. Hopefully im on to a winner here!

Hey,
I have the same problem!
I have tried many things but not rooted my phone or did any modificiation.
I found out that I got these problems because of my Spotify App and I am sure the actual version of Spotify causes a big problem deep in the system of the S7.
Have you an idea how I could prove that?
I removed my Spotify App for 2 weeks and had not even one problem. Since I reinstalled Spotify, I get all those issues again

sstanton86 said:
I went into o2 store earlier today explained the problem, and because i was in my 14 day period i got it replaced no questions asked. So far even though this phone was manufactured a month prior to the one i returned (March), it seems fine and was only warm downloading the latest updates. Hopefully im on to a winner here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the new one doesn't get slightly warm after browsing for more than 20 minutes?
Are you using a case?

Travis Bickle said:
So the new one doesn't get slightly warm after browsing for more than 20 minutes?
Are you using a case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slightly warm. Was during downloads etc but not anything abnormal or to worry about. The other handset was clearly faulty.
No case either for now.