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[Q] Should i get a new replacement Captivate?

I was up at the AT&T store today to discuss some overcharges on my bill and during the conversation I mentioned my gps not working. The guy at the store acknowledged it was a problem but was under the impression that JH7 fixes it...which it doesn't. Long story short, I've been offered a replacement handset at the store level, brand new in the box, not a refurb.
So the question is, do I take him up on it? My gps is like most everyone elses and not all that useful and occasionally there's a phantom press of the search button. Those are the only problems I've had.
So, what's the likelihood that a new-in-box captivate will have the same GPS problem? Anything else I need to consider as I decide?

CoreyC said:
I was up at the AT&T store today to discuss some overcharges on my bill and during the conversation I mentioned my gps not working. The guy at the store acknowledged it was a problem but was under the impression that JH7 fixes it...which it doesn't. Long story short, I've been offered a replacement handset at the store level, brand new in the box, not a refurb.
So the question is, do I take him up on it? My gps is like most everyone elses and not all that useful and occasionally there's a phantom press of the search button. Those are the only problems I've had.
So, what's the likelihood that a new-in-box captivate will have the same GPS problem? Anything else I need to consider as I decide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd keep the GPS issue rather than risking the random shut offs. Just my opinion though, especially since I am about to return my second captivate due to random shut downs.

Just wanted to followup on this. I did swap out my captivate for a new one at my local AT&T store. I even got the manager to put in writing that if I continued to have problems that I could switch to a different model.
The new captivate handset did the random poweroff trick three times the day after I brought it home. In an attempt to fix it I drained the battery and let it charge back up over night and haven't had a problem since.
GPS is also MUCH better than what it was on my original handset but still not perfect as it 'teleported' me from one road to another a few times using Navigation. I do however get a quick lock using only satellites and GPSStatus shows while driving that I was locked on to between 5 and 10 satellites with the norm being 8. With my original I'd lose a lock on all satellites once I started moving, so while not perfect, this is definitely better than my original.

Thanks for your input.
Man this GPS really frustrates me. I used to have your quality GPS and now it is broken. Thinking of flashing to stock and trying to.exchange it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I was under the impression that if you exchange a phone through ATT they will send it to the Samsung service center, and there they threaten that if they find nothing wrong with it they will charge you $600.
This has always intimidated me since I only paid $60 and I don't want like not being in control of something (like whether or not they will charge me).
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?

fatttire said:
I was under the impression that if you exchange a phone through ATT they will send it to the Samsung service center, and there they threaten that if they find nothing wrong with it they will charge you $600.
This has always intimidated me since I only paid $60 and I don't want like not being in control of something (like whether or not they will charge me).
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only time you risk being billed for a new phone at full price is if you send it back with problems, and there was physical damage or you're rooted and messed with things or running a custom rom. Now it's not guarenteed that they will bill you but i'd imagine that the likelihood increases.
As far as returning phones past the 30 day window it usually isn't a problem if you speak calmly to a manager. Explain that you have tried all of the fixes that Samsung has offered, nothing has worked, and you believe you were sold a defective product with which you are unhappy.

fatttire said:
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was for me...but I think that was largely because both the rep I talked with and the manager were aware of the GPS problems. I tried doing the exchange while the rep I had been working with was at lunch and got fed the "exchanges can only be done within the first 30 days of purchase" line by another rep. I came back later in the day and talked to my original rep who brought over the manager and it was smooth sailing after that. If you can believe it, the manager even apologized for the problems I had with the phone.
Worst case, have the manager at your local store browse this forum or do a little googling and he'll quickly see how widespread this problem is. And be sure you have the stock JH7 loaded up; that was the one check that the rep did when we started talking about an exchange.

looks like I spoke too soon - 3 random shutdowns today. Now to decide if I want to try a 3rd Captivate or jump ship and go with the HTC Surround. And here I thought I was done with all my research for a year or two.

fatttire said:
I was under the impression that if you exchange a phone through ATT they will send it to the Samsung service center, and there they threaten that if they find nothing wrong with it they will charge you $600.
This has always intimidated me since I only paid $60 and I don't want like not being in control of something (like whether or not they will charge me).
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned before it is easy to swap for gps issues and the $600 is only if you did something bad. If you rooted the phone you can restore to stock using 1-click odin and master clear, it passed scrutiny on my case (disclaimer: can't guarantee it would for you).
Sent from mobile xda
Captivate running Axura

I'm glued to this thread like a good tv series ahemm. I've had the exact same issue(s), namely the random search pop-up. It drove me crazy for quite some time, I could even shake the phone without touching any buttons and the search dialog would present itself (sometimes other apps popped-up). I eventually read up on roms and now run perception b8. I ran cognition previously, but experienced 2 deal breakers issues (bluetooth and radio problems). As for the search dialog, it no longer occurs. While on cognition I did experience two random shutdowns, and I thought the battery ran down in a hurry, just a beep and short vibrate and it was deadso. If you stay with the cap, read up on perception stat.

tsachi said:
As mentioned before it is easy to swap for gps issues and the $600 is only if you did something bad. If you rooted the phone you can restore to stock using 1-click odin and master clear, it passed scrutiny on my case (disclaimer: can't guarantee it would for you).
Sent from mobile xda
Captivate running Axura
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THanks, this helps. It's good to know a) whether they let you swap for gps issues and b) whether they check really hard or flash to stock odin lets you do it.
i appreciate your feedback.
i had a bad case with best buy where i returned a broken item and they claimed it was fine... it was broken... but they said it worked okay... had to pay a fee to get it back.. now i'm kinda paranoid about returning items for "subjective" issues (i.e. not a hard brick)

Quick update to the saga....on my 3rd captivate, worst one yet. Seems to poweroff if i set it down for more than 30 minutes. I've had it 3 days and i lost count of the poweroffs around 14 or 15.
Learned they will only exchange at the store 3 times, so i was advised to call customer care and/or samsung to have a fresh from the factory handset (see the poweroff press release thread) sent to me. Thought being that if the brand new one still had problems they could still put me into a Surround at the store.
Getting frustrated, starting to look for ways to migrate my text messages to WP7.
Other bit of info, guy at the store doesn't expect any new models until Spring at the earliest.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

all hell broke loose today

after nearly two weeks of perfection my phone went nutz today , lock screen problems , scrolling problems...did three hard resets and tried all fixes that i could but no dice , im getting a replacement on tuesday, i will update all the parameters of replacement unit for anyone interested in seeing what i get back here on this thread, he basically said that they are aware it needs a software update (like we didnt know that already) and only thing they can do is replace the unit,or i could wait on the update from HTC

tigerz0202 said:
after nearly two weeks of perfection my phone went nutz today , lock screen problems , scrolling problems...did three hard resets and tried all fixes that i could but no dice , im getting a replacement on tuesday, i will update all the parameters of replacement unit for anyone interested in seeing what i get back here on this thread, he basically said that they are aware it needs a software update (like we didnt know that already) and only thing they can do is replace the unit,or i could wait on the update from HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine lasted for 12 days and then it just has gone apesh.t. Lock screen and scrolling and random reboots while I am using an app. No volume at all then very weak volume(it was pretty weak to begin with). HTC widgets not working at all. Device does not register or acknowledge phone call and I have been missing phone calls. touchscreen issues also. This is my third one and there is a fourth on the way. I do like this phone but if the one on the way has issues as well and there is no word on an update fix from HTC than I believe I will just return it and wait a short time for the EVo3D which is rumored to hit T mobile shortly. It does not seem to suffer from the multitude of issues that the Sensation does and has more ram than the Sensation. I played with one at Bestbuy and it appeared to be smoother and faster than the Sensation and the touchscreen was really quite good. T Mobile also acknowledged to me that it does need a software upgrade but stated they have no idea when it will come about. I have doubts that root and custom roms will fix all of the issues but then again it just might.

tenbeau said:
Mine lasted for 12 days and then it just has gone apesh.t. Lock screen and scrolling and random reboots while I am using an app. No volume at all then very weak volume(it was pretty weak to begin with). HTC widgets not working at all. Device does not register or acknowledge phone call and I have been missing phone calls. touchscreen issues also. This is my third one and there is a fourth on the way. I do like this phone but if the one on the way has issues as well and there is no word on an update fix from HTC than I believe I will just return it and wait a short time for the EVo3D which is rumored to hit T mobile shortly. It does not seem to suffer from the multitude of issues that the Sensation does and has more ram than the Sensation. I played with one at Bestbuy and it appeared to be smoother and faster than the Sensation and the touchscreen was really quite good. T Mobile also acknowledged to me that it does need a software upgrade but stated they have no idea when it will come about. I have doubts that root and custom roms will fix all of the issues but then again it just might.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well im hoping for an update , i really like this phone alot , i really dont want an evo 3d ,more ram but less camera and video recording , im sure once the bootloader gets cracked then the sky is the limit for this phone , i mean look what the devs did for the HD2 , im gonna stick it out for as long as i can , if things don get straighten out ill just wait for the next best thing , and it wont be a samsung phone , i hate them ,ill just wait for the next htc phone to hit tmobile thats not the evo ,if that even happens

I had the same thing happen, and also got a replacement on the way.... Tuesday also. This will be my fourth. I had 3 g2x phones and now 4 sensations.. honestly.the sensation has more issues, but its a better phone. Last chance on Tuesday, if not, I'm going back g2x ...
I think they push phones out to fast now and need to use more quality..

yep. mine has gone nuts about a couple of hours. i have it since june 17 and everything worked perfect and now the wifi wont work. 2 weeks reading all these things here and i was thinking that i dodge the bullet but it got me.
EDIT : i think i jump the gun too fast. tested my ps3 thru the wireless network and it connects like 50% of the time. again the ps3 is in the same room as the router. went to my cousins house and the phone conected to the wireless effortless on the first try. i dont know if it is the phone or the router.i dont know what to think anymore.

smashpunks said:
I had the same thing happen, and also got a replacement on the way.... Tuesday also. This will be my fourth. I had 3 g2x phones and now 4 sensations.. honestly.the sensation has more issues, but its a better phone. Last chance on Tuesday, if not, I'm going back g2x ...
I think they push phones out to fast now and need to use more quality..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have a G2X (my fourth one) andi it is pretty doggone solid, no major issues. I too had thought I had gotten lucky with the Sensation(3rd one) but after 12 days it is apparent that I did not. I also believe the Sensation ( with all of its warts and issues) is the better phone or the phone with the greatest potential. I am beginning to wonder if the problem lies with consumers like me. I continue to buy and support companies and devices (cell phones) that are defective out of the gate and then continue to sit by and hope that the device is updated and made to work like it should have been out of the box, when the track record shows that this is not always the case (maybe even rarely). I would not tolerate a computer that had issues out of the box, nor a TV or a Car and the list goes on. I guess I am just too eager or hungry for the cutting edge cell phones so I accept (even though I grumble) whatever they throw out at the time. Knowing ahead of time that there will be issues and that some will not be resolved. I guess instead of looking at the cell phones I should be looking at my actions and desires surrounding the cell phones. Maybe it is the pursuit of the unreachable goal--the perfect smartphone, that leads me to keep up the acceptance of mediocrity..LOL

tenbeau said:
I also have a G2X (my fourth one) andi it is pretty doggone solid, no major issues. I too had thought I had gotten lucky with the Sensation(3rd one) but after 12 days it is apparent that I did not. I also believe the Sensation ( with all of its warts and issues) is the better phone or the phone with the greatest potential. I am beginning to wonder if the problem lies with consumers like me. I continue to buy and support companies and devices (cell phones) that are defective out of the gate and then continue to sit by and hope that the device is updated and made to work like it should have been out of the box, when the track record shows that this is not always the case (maybe even rarely). I would not tolerate a computer that had issues out of the box, nor a TV or a Car and the list goes on. I guess I am just too eager or hungry for the cutting edge cell phones so I accept (even though I grumble) whatever they throw out at the time. Knowing ahead of time that there will be issues and that some will not be resolved. I guess instead of looking at the cell phones I should be looking at my actions and desires surrounding the cell phones. Maybe it is the pursuit of the unreachable goal--the perfect smartphone, that leads me to keep up the acceptance of mediocrity..LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep exactly,and we will keep buying them no matter what , I originally was gonna wait a month or 2 after the sensation cane out to actually get one ,looking back now I probably should have , I guess when the next superphone comes out ill try to hold back a little longer , I just wish I hadn't sold my HD2 now ,at least is have a great phone to fall back on while these issues get resolved ...oh well good luck to everyone who's in the same boat as me right now

Mine went crazy yesterday, but today is fine again ... Strange
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

so i pulled the battery out and left it out all night and most of problems went away , the lock scrreen is still buggy sometimes but not all the time , scrolling works as it should and the speaker seems louder

tigerz0202 said:
Yep exactly,and we will keep buying them no matter what , I originally was gonna wait a month or 2 after the sensation cane out to actually get one ,looking back now I probably should have , I guess when the next superphone comes out ill try to hold back a little longer , I just wish I hadn't sold my HD2 now ,at least is have a great phone to fall back on while these issues get resolved ...oh well good luck to everyone who's in the same boat as me right now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine came to me nuts...so I grounded it and let it sit in the box, hoping it would learn its lesson. No dice. Tried it again last night and it was an ungrateful POS. So I called amazonwireless to return it. They offerred to send a replacement instead. After seeing all you guys with replacements,, thought I would give it a try too.
Ironically,, I called for the sensation replacement from my G2x

Strangest thing... this morning I grabbed my phone first thing. It was plugged in so I unplugged it.
I pushed the power button and nothing, it wouldn't turn on. So I took the battery out and put it back in.
Turned it on and that battery was at just about 30%, yet it had been on the charger all night.
So, for some reason my phone turned itself off and would not turn back on AND it did not charge all night while plugged into the charger.
To top it off-- Yesterday my phone all of a sudden had the screen problem. Couldn't type, get carousel working etc...
NOW- it works great!

I think the device itself is fine. Tmobile and Htc need to release a os update.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

[Q] Voice calls - Other party can't hear, reboot required

I've searched and it doesn't seem that many others are having this problem. My wife also has a Droid Charge and has never had this happen.
Basically, mid-call (usually 5-10 minutes, 1-2x a day), the other party will stop hearing me. I can hear them, but they can't hear me. If I hang up and call back, the problem is still there. Cycling airplane mode doesn't help... I actually have to reboot the phone. It's gotten to the point where I tell people if it happens, I'll call them back (since it takes a while to reboot).
This is with the stock ROM, as well as Humble 1.5.
Usually it's just silence on their end, but once in a while, the problem manifests as a screechy, random fax-type noise. Same thing... I can hang up and call voicemail and have it sound like that. I always have to reboot the phone.
Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, were they able to fix it w/o getting a replacement phone?
Thanks.

I have the exact same situation. Wife and I both have DCs. I got mine first. About the second day I had it, the screetching noise happened. It was so loud it almost blew my ear out. Hanging up and redialing did not help. I had to reboot the phone. I exchanged for a new phone for that and other reasons. The new replacement on does the same thing once in a while and the wife says there is sometimes a clicking noise then she can't hear me at all but I can hear her fine. She has had the screetching noice once.

91point6 said:
I have the exact same situation. Wife and I both have DCs. I got mine first. About the second day I had it, the screetching noise happened. It was so loud it almost blew my ear out. Hanging up and redialing did not help. I had to reboot the phone. I exchanged for a new phone for that and other reasons. The new replacement on does the same thing once in a while and the wife says there is sometimes a clicking noise then she can't hear me at all but I can hear her fine. She has had the screetching noice once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird. I've only had the screeching noise one time. Usually, it's like my end is on mute.
I thought it might be the switch to 4g recently, but remembered it happened before then, too. Plus, it doesn't happen on my wife's phone at all.
I guess I'll have to get a replacement. Is there any way to ensure I get a new phone and not a refurb if I do a warranty replacement?
Sent from my Android using Tapatalk

Flapjack said:
Weird. I've only had the screeching noise one time. Usually, it's like my end is on mute.
I thought it might be the switch to 4g recently, but remembered it happened before then, too. Plus, it doesn't happen on my wife's phone at all.
I guess I'll have to get a replacement. Is there any way to ensure I get a new phone and not a refurb if I do a warranty replacement?
Sent from my Android using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are going to get a refurb unless you are within 14 days. You can argue and they might give you a new one if you threaten to port out but other then that you will not get a new phone.

moondrius said:
You are going to get a refurb unless you are within 14 days. You can argue and they might give you a new one if you threaten to port out but other then that you will not get a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn. I'm a bit over 30 days. That really sucks, as I seriously doubt they'll be able to reproduce the problem with my phone, but will take it back and "refurb" it to the next unsuspecting owner.

Crackling and popping / EP4D Factory OTA

edit/update:
11.05 version or less, you get popping 100% of the time using the method I posted.
If you are lucky to have an 11.08, we finally got one in the office that DOES NOT POP. IIRC this arrived wed or thurs as a replacement.
Please verify the version under your battery and report! I have no more interest in this as VZW was kind enough to switch me to a different model phone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, it's back and a friend and myself can recreate it ALMOST every time. We will test more in the morning but here some briefing... this is a factory load, with the latest OTA (hope I got the version correct!).... ie a brand new phone in the last week with the OTA applied.
Start a call, any call. Inbound or outbound.
Switch on speakerphone.
Let the screen blank out and wait at least 30 seconds.
Tap the power button to get the screen back.
HIGH PITCHED POP
Do it again.
HIGH PITCHED POP
Sometimes you can get it without doing anything, or sometimes if you hit the volume keys, it will happen.
-------
It's not isolated to inbound or outbound, or speakerphone. We have been having these issues since day one, and it used to be.... say 20% of the calls. I know that a LOT of others keep mentioning this issue here, especially in the rom sections, so maybe people thought it was rom/modem related.
We just figured this out when he called me, and were able to reproduce it on every call/callback. It even happened when I called 611 to ask what to do. They said to go to a corp store.
Problem: The other party can not hear the popping, but it's uber annoying. I'm typically on conference calls, speaker or not-speaker, and have to hit mute all the damn time, so this might be why I experience it... going out of a "sleep mode" more often than a lot of other users.
-----
Let me know if you have any issues like this. We are going to the local store tomorrow to show them. Not hopeful that they can actually do anything, but I'll report back!

Well I started getting the mad loud static last night, nearly making my ears bleed. Thought things were good being on the EP4D modems.
I'm rooted, but I am on the stock EP4D modems.

I was rooted then unrooted and took ota update and since day one i've had that crazy dumb popping sound but only when receiving calls..when i make calls its good and when i have a bluetooth headset its good when receiving...i dont know what it is but i want to find out because if i have to i will make vzw give me another phone
Sent From My Premium Droid Charge

Outsider2011 said:
I was rooted then unrooted and took ota update and since day one i've had that crazy dumb popping sound but only when receiving calls..when i make calls its good and when i have a bluetooth headset its good when receiving...i dont know what it is but i want to find out because if i have to i will make vzw give me another phone
Sent From My Premium Droid Charge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already got a replacement and it's still happening. Next tier of VZW support wants to replace my phone again, and I'm skeptical that another replacement will "fix" the problem.
Again, we will be doing more testing later today, and will try to go into a VZW corp store to show them in person.
edit: it's also not just the popping, but sometimes the call will change and the other end is like they are talking.... best way to describe it.... through an overmodulated CB radio with their mouth too close to the mic. It becomes very hard to understand them, almost impossible since it's all garbled, and you have hang up and start the call over.

we can recreate it every single time now. Will have to run to the store to see what they say.
This is just one test:
call the phone from another line
Answer normally
wait a few seconds, suggest 30
Turn on speaker phone
Hit power to blank your screen, or wait for timeout.
wait a few more seconds, suggest 30 (recreated with about 5 seconds).
Hit power or volume keys.
Enjoy popping.
repeat, and enjoy. Might get the garbling or random pops without hitting any keys. Those are bonus features. UGH!!!

It's really awesome that you figured out the steps to reproduce. Let us know Verizon tries to fix it.
I'm guessing they either replace all phones with a diff model (very unlikely) or have to issue a follow-up patch for the modems.

Mine happens not only on speakerphone but also bluetooth, wired hands free and normal calls. It's not related to inbound or outbound. Through trouble shooting my issue it doesn't necessarily relate to turning on speakerphone. I would posit it's more related to the proximity sensor and/or screen activating. I've also noticed it occurring directly after adjusting the volume of a call without removing the phone from my ear (no proximity sensor/screen activation).
I haven't had time to go to a verizon store yet to get the phone replaced but it's definitely an issue that cannot be fixed by one of their reps in the store or over the phone.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

mhemu said:
Mine happens not only on speakerphone but also bluetooth, wired hands free and normal calls. It's not related to inbound or outbound. Through trouble shooting my issue it doesn't necessarily relate to turning on speakerphone. I would posit it's more related to the proximity sensor and/or screen activating. I've also noticed it occurring directly after adjusting the volume of a call without removing the phone from my ear (no proximity sensor/screen activation).
I haven't had time to go to a verizon store yet to get the phone replaced but it's definitely an issue that cannot be fixed by one of their reps in the store or over the phone.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I've noticed too! I haven't had the problem lately but that was the issue to a tee for me as well.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

I haven't got a fix,.but flashing stock EE4 modems, then flash back to EP4 series modem seems to help somewhat
Sent from my Gummy Charged GBE 2.1 using XDA App

I had all these issues, waited for official gb release, still had static on stock gb. Called Verizon and recieved replacement yesterday. So far I purposely tried to get static and I can't. Hopefully this continues. Only solution: get a replacement phone! Replacement looks brand new btw.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

killerapl said:
I had all these issues, waited for official gb release, still had static on stock gb. Called Verizon and recieved replacement yesterday. So far I purposely tried to get static and I can't. Hopefully this continues. Only solution: get a replacement phone! Replacement looks brand new btw.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is promising that you tried my test set outlined above a few times. Every local device, even the VZW display device charge had the problem today.
Tier 2 tech tried with a test droid and his droid and couldn't get it to happen with the test method I've outlined. Again, every local device (probably 6 now) has had the problem.
Got another one on the way, let's hope this is the ONE +1 for VZW going out of their way, too!

Mine does it too now.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

3rd one. First call.... pop pop pop!

Ok, so I'm getting a different phone delivered tomorrow, hope it doesn't have problems.
I've handled probably a dozen of these charges, same issue... was waiting for the software update since july or so. update came out, and still happening, UGH.
There are apparently 2 different SKU's for this phone!
My brand new one (bought about July 2011 at the same time as a friend) and first replacement was:
SCHI510RAV
Latest replacement is:
SCHI510ZDU
Latest had a lower imei, and an older date stamp.
I wonder if there is any correlation to reported issues (like in the rom sections) and the popping results. You can view under the battery.
VZW can't tell me why it's different.

VZW wanted to get Samsung on the phone, I called BS.
So I just called Samsung and they are clueless on the different sku's and the reproducible issue.
I have friends at work that need a resolution now! Again, I'm moving to another ship thanks to VZW, but still got stragglers out there in my building.

Honestly...other than *****ing in numbers...I'm not sure what else to do.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

I have a CLN phone on the way as well. Popping is crazy loud. This will be my 3rd charge. If it does it again, I will push for another phone. Planning on getting the Nexus anyway. Wife needs a good phone not a popping a screeching one.

So, for the last week I have not been able to reproduce the issue. Going so far a trying to force it to happen with the usual steps. It's never been sporadic before and I didn't receive any updates nor did I do anything to try and fix the issue.
Anyone else have a similar experience this week?
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

My 2nd CLN replacement (3rd Charge overall) finally didnt have this problem. Unfortunately youll just have to keep getting replacements till you get lucky.
Fortunately with INFINITY 12/11 TSM, this phone is running better than EVER and with my extended battery in my backpack for daytrips this phone is finally great on all fronts.
I considered going to the nexus but since the nexus has the same size battery, same or bigger screen, and same radio hardware (close enough), i doubt it will have better battery and the Charge's physical buttons and screen are wins in my Eye over the nexus.. all we need is CM9 and the Charge will really be a great phone.

Yeah, I lied before. Just had a phone call with static. Well, now that I have time to get a replacement, looks like I'm moving on to the next one with fingers crossed.

How to UN-ROOT and go back to stock??

After a bunch of ROMS with near Zero support for WiFi Calling/MMS, Im left with no choice but to go back to stock as TMO has no coverage in my community.
The closest I've gotten is by "RELOCKING" the bootloader and trying to load the latest stock rom, but I get this error;
Hboot version is older! Update Fail! Press <power> to reboot.
Any ideas?

You could always run Bulletproof, MikTouch, or Undeads Expresso. They are all based on stock (MikTouch is the latest and is basically stock). This will allow you to pull nandroids and back up your apps using the root required apps that are available. I don't remember the stock ROMs doing MMS over wifi but if they did those ROMs would do it too.
I have no advice for getting back to stock other than using the search fcn. Then again I don't see what the point is in going back when there are ROMs that do everything the stock one does and more.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement

Warranty Return
I would like to know how to return to factory-delivered S-ON. I've read that many people return HTC phones S-Offed and unlocked and such, with no issue, but I still prefer to put it back to factory condition. I had a digitizer hardware failure completely unrelated to ROMs and I don't want to give them any reason to snub their noses at me.
I've gotten the phone back to a factory ROM but when I go into bootloader it says "*** RELOCKED ***" (kinda like, "we know what you did last summer"). Anyone know how to get back to the original locked state?
I'm currently S-ON, never S-Offed. Was rooted, and fastboot flashed my kernels and recovery flashed my ROMs, and to return to stock ROM I used the PG59IMG.ZIP from November 2011. The 1.55 one. It wouldn't let me do the 1.28 one.

cj chitwood said:
I would like to know how to return to factory-delivered S-ON. I've read that many people return HTC phones S-Offed and unlocked and such, with no issue, but I still prefer to put it back to factory condition. I had a digitizer hardware failure completely unrelated to ROMs and I don't want to give them any reason to snub their noses at me.
I've gotten the phone back to a factory ROM but when I go into bootloader it says "*** RELOCKED ***" (kinda like, "we know what you did last summer"). Anyone know how to get back to the original locked state?
I'm currently S-ON, never S-Offed. Was rooted, and fastboot flashed my kernels and recovery flashed my ROMs, and to return to stock ROM I used the PG59IMG.ZIP from November 2011. The 1.55 one. It wouldn't let me do the 1.28 one.
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Click to collapse
If you'll go to This Thread & scroll down to the HBoot section I have a link to the OTA HBoots that were sent by TMobile that match your build. Two of them look like they would probably match your issue (not positive which one). Both being OTA they have to be the signed ones and would most likely give you a "Locked" bootloader. Good Luck.

I thought I had an OTA, and flashing it returned me to stock build with stock apps and no root, but didn't return the bootloader to the factory state. I'll download one of these that matches and maybe have better luck?
Are these supposed to relock the bootloader?
Also, there is an "HTC Update" available when I go on wifi and check. I should avoid using that, right?
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Turns out, there are three OTAs I found (I couldn't find your handle there specifically, but I found the OTA links) and I have the middle one. The kernel, the HBoot version, and the radio all match up byte for byte.
And just to be clear (I think you know what I'm doing, just making sure), going S-ON isn't what I need, as I never was S-OFF. I had the HTCDev-unlocked bootloader and upon relocking it, it says "Relocked" like a tattletale. Does T-Mo care if that's even on the phone as far as warranty goes?

From everything I heard, they couldn't care less since it was provided by HTC in the first place. I returned my last one with S-Off and all they did was check the little tattletail moisture dot. Had a new one in 3 days.
Yeah, I understood you were just looking to get a "locked" header again that's why I kinda figured the OTA HBoot would get you there. It did everyone that accidently took the OTA when they were already S-Off and they ended up Locked, S-On with the 1.45.xxx HBoot and had to do the wire trick to get back to where they were before. I DO think you're worrying about something you don't need to though.

Just flash a PG59IMG.zip via bootloader if you really want to unroot.

WeekendsR2Short said:
From everything I heard, they couldn't care less [...] I returned my last one with S-Off and all they did was check the little tattletail moisture dot. [...] It did everyone that accidently took the OTA when they were already S-Off and they ended up Locked, S-On with the 1.45.xxx HBoot and had to do the wire trick to get back to where they were before. I DO think you're worrying about something you don't need to though.
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Click to collapse
Okay, then I shall quit worrying about it. Thanks!
I'll go ahead and download the HTC update then, too, just to see what it does. Since I'm not keeping this particular phone anyway... Before I do, I'll say, I expect it not to go back to locked because if they're going to go through the trouble of making it tattle like that in the first place, they'll check for that particular tattle in the updates and not reset that part of it. But I could be wrong. Lemme OTA update this thing and see what happens! :highfive:
Thanks again!
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Congratulations! My phone has been updated successfully to version 1.63.531.2 710RD. Sys Info says radio is 11.59.3504.00_11.16.3504.20_2. Seems to match the latest offering here.
Okay, let's reboot to bootloader and see what it says.
Nope, still "*** RELOCKED ***". Oh well, no biggie.

Those stinkers! LOL. You were right. I guess they're just not going to allow us the cover THOSE footprints. I sure do appreciate the feedback!

WeekendsR2Short said:
Those stinkers! LOL. You were right. I guess they're just not going to allow us the cover THOSE footprints. I sure do appreciate the feedback!
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Click to collapse
I figured this was coming. I've said for months that HTC is starting to adopt crApple's business model, and now they're starting to sell phones with no replaceable battery and no SD slot in addition to no hardware keyboard (the One series).
Sent from Spaceball One.

Yep. In my searching around here, someone was asking how it was done that e.g. Revolutionary and Juopunutbear were able to change their banners. If there were a tool or method for that, I'd consider it, but since HTC and T-Mo don't seem to care (and since I have a hardware issue and I never messed with anything that could have damaged that particular piece of hardware) I'm really no longer worried about it.
I've been on Google+ too much lately. I keep wanting to +1 the posts I agree with.

blackknightavalon said:
I figured this was coming. I've said for months that HTC is starting to adopt crApple's business model, and now they're starting to sell phones with no replaceable battery and no SD slot in addition to no hardware keyboard (the One series).
Sent from Spaceball One.
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Click to collapse
BOY! They're sure going to loose alot of support if they start adopting those ideas! And I'd not even heard about the "no replaceable battery" issue. That alone will cause me to jump ship considering the lousy battery they insist on using. I'm not about to buy one of those car batteries to hang off my belt so I can make phone calls in the afternoon PLUS I just don't trust a car charger after I cooked my CrackBerry on one.
---------- Post added at 10:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------
cj chitwood said:
Yep. In my searching around here, someone was asking how it was done that e.g. Revolutionary and Juopunutbear were able to change their banners. If there were a tool or method for that, I'd consider it, but since HTC and T-Mo don't seem to care (and since I have a hardware issue and I never messed with anything that could have damaged that particular piece of hardware) I'm really no longer worried about it.
I've been on Google+ too much lately. I keep wanting to +1 the posts I agree with.
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Click to collapse
This is just a guess on my part but I ASSUME that a person would have to decompile the code for that particulat HBoot then find the area that the graphics for the banner is contained in, then with a hex editor change the text that it displys then recompile it again. BUT.....I'm no programmer either.

WeekendsR2Short said:
BOY! They're sure going to loose alot of support if they start adopting those ideas! And I'd not even heard about the "no replaceable battery" issue. That alone will cause me to jump ship considering the lousy battery they insist on using. I'm not about to buy one of those car batteries to hang off my belt so I can make phone calls in the afternoon PLUS I just don't trust a car charger after I cooked my CrackBerry on one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't believe it until I had a coworker's brand-new One S in my hand. My first question was "how do you change the battery in this thing?" Then I looked it up and saw that you actually had to take the phone apart for that.

blackknightavalon said:
I didn't believe it until I had a coworker's brand-new One S in my hand. My first question was "how do you change the battery in this thing?" Then I looked it up and saw that you actually had to take the phone apart for that.
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Click to collapse
GEEZE! What are they afraid of? Someone will put one in that doesn't overheat the cpu & kill it prematurely?

blackknightavalon said:
I didn't believe it until I had a coworker's brand-new One S in my hand. My first question was "how do you change the battery in this thing?" Then I looked it up and saw that you actually had to take the phone apart for that.
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Click to collapse
The HTC EVO LTE is the same way with the battery. A buddy of mine got a brand new one when they came out and shortly later it hard bricked overnight on charge and was replaced with a refurb. So this is the crap we are gonna have to start dealing with from HTC.
Sent from my myTouch 4G Slide using Tapatalk 2

strapped365 said:
The HTC EVO LTE is the same way with the battery. A buddy of mine got a brand new one when they came out and shortly later it hard bricked overnight on charge and was replaced with a refurb. So this is the crap we are gonna have to start dealing with from HTC.
Sent from my myTouch 4G Slide using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"We" are not dealing with this. If Samsung keeps coming out with slider phones with high-end specs like the Relay I won't be dealing with HTC's bulls**t.

If this is the path that HTC has chosen for their future then they are well on their way to becoming the Hasbeen Telephone Corporation.

@BlackKnightAvalon: Fully agreed.
If I may go further OT for a moment here, this nonsense about hermetically sealing the phones together reminded me of shopping for the G1.
See, back then, I made a list of things I required in a phone. It was to be my first phone, one I would pay for myself (instead of using someone else's old hand-me-down they no longer were using). My now wife at the time had the old Sidekick LX, which while not a smartphone by today's standards opened my eyes to a realm of possibilities beyond handheld computers like the Palm and iPaqs. I had a personal cheapie freebie Nokia bar phone, and my work phone was the top of the line version of the same form factor. Then work provided me with a flip about the same time my wife upgraded from her flip to a Sidekick. So at the time, I had her flip, and it was more than I needed. But the work flip, being a motorola, was hackable, by design. I was able to put my own sounds, ringtones, bootup sequence graphics, all that into it. So I knew what I wanted.
My list included a few things:
Be Linux based or at least open source so I could hack it to suit my tastes (I was thinking more along the lines of theming)
Be GSM so I can swap SIMs when I need to (if another phone borks, and I want to loan them mine without giving out *my* number to everyone...)
have a qwerty keyboard and not just a number pad (I hadn't considered the possibility of a touchscreen keyboard)
have a camera
have a standard USB charging port
have Internet capability (back then this wasn't on every phone you could buy)
have wifi
GPS was a plus, but not a requisite
Bluetooth was a plus
And a whole slew of other things, but basically, the G1 satisfied that list and more.
Because of iPhone and now HTC practices, I'm now forced to add a few things to that list, and I'm not sure my next phone won't be a Samsung. I really hate the bluish hue of the AMOLEDs, but it may be worth it. Depending on whether Google can bring Motorola out of crapzone I might consider a moto. Anyway, the new list will include all of the old one, plus:
Removable battery of at least 1800mAH rating
PHYSICAL keyboard -- my MT4GS just proved the need for that, though admittedly if the screen wasn't a slider the cable inside might not have failed
PHYSICAL Call Start/Stop buttons a definite plus, almost a requirement
REMOVABLE media
Headphone jack
TV Out, whether HDMI (MHL/microUSB) or composite (headphone jack)
For that matter, digital TV OTA receive and low-power transmit
FM Radio receive, preferably transmit
HD Screen
1.5GHz+ dual+ core
Doodooflinger capable
2-meter and 70-cm Amateur Radio band capable, a definite plus (should be not too difficult to do methinks and would help for those times when I'm out of signal in the mountains). The 33- and 23-cm amateur bands should be easy enough to come into, at the very least.
Satellite TV dish aiming
Dishwasher autoloader
... ?
EDIT: Add Police scanner and aircraft band receive...
Clearly, I have raised the bar by which I will judge handset manufacturers.
I'm not joking about that amateur radio bit. That's some serious geek creds waitin' to happen right there.
But yeah, back on-topic, I think I'm okay with HTC / T-Mo knowing I rooted the phone, as long as they don't start holding software choices against me in the realm of hardware failure. After all, I know the difference, and nothing I've done with the software had any bearing on their hardware breaking down before designed lifespan is up.
Here's something to be sure NOT to include:
Genius button
.com/www. button
duplicated buttons from the faceplate on the slideout keyboard
similar stupidity

cj chitwood said:
[*]PHYSICAL keyboard -- my MT4GS just proved the need for that, though admittedly if the screen wasn't a slider the cable inside might not have failed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll risk a failed cable
( neither of my doubleshots have that problem - my original one has slid the keyboard in/out in the terminal command cycle so much words simply can't express the heightened level of wear it's suffered through...consider how much dev i've done on the device...)
Over a worthless, aggravating, real-estate stealing, non-feeling, spelling error making (chrome-dome, etc...etc... - enter tin-tin)
...
Seriously, my spelling and grammer have dropped significantly. I pretty much only type in landscape because portrait is just impossible.
I've gotten to the point where I just let some go through in defeat, simply because I have to edit EVERY OTHER WORD on this worthless S3.
The bigger screen is nice, but losing the feel of individual buttons pretty much guarantees what you intend to type is only a close approximation of what appears on the screen at the best of times.
From now on I am either going to have to figure out how to get one of my doubleshots back on service that reaches nowhere, usa like the verizon S3 does, or move on to some qwerty device "the network" can handle.
I mean, my professional image is being held hostage by a lack of proper hardware. Sometimes I may only have a minute, maybe two at the most to snap out a reply.
So either I send something that looks so unprofessional I might have been better off just not sending it and forging a reputation for being unreliable, or preserve the respect of those above me in my company as far as the grasp of language goes and embrace that horrid representation of myself as someone who couldn't be bothered to respond to someone who needed my response.
Seriously, I don't have time to turn on bluetooth and connect s keyboard, even if I could carry it on shift, and then deal with keeping it powered too on top of it.
I sure can't talk-to-text when talking about a client within earshot, amongst a variety of other situations where the information i'm conveying is confidential to the people around me
I'm really not liking losing the keyboard, it's literally and solely ruined my android experience by making me dislike to the point of _hate having to input textual data. Be it commands or communication I see having to do so as a chore, one I hate, one I can't stand and annoys the living .... outta me.
It makes trying to work on the device downright scary, if not the equivalent of playing russian roulette. When the result of spelling errors in your command can have disastrous results, 10 times out of 10 I abstain. So here I sit with a device i'm afraid to hack on because I know i'll miss catching something stupid and wreck it.
To be quite blunt - having to fix every other word, if not every word for the majority of all of this reply has taken gargantuan strength not to snap the phone in half on my steering wheel. If I wasn't nestled in the depth of a valley located in a state park miles from any kind of civilization, i've freakin had it with this and this just could've been that time.
This S3 owes nature big time.
I'll never own an android phone without a hardware keyboard again, and being required to have a smartphone for my job will see me end up rocking froyo or something if it comes to it.
Sorry for all the hate, but really passionate about this. The S3 has become my most hated and aggravating electronic device i've ever owned. I'll never get another like it.

Quick question.
I got a warranty exchange last week BUT, turns out the cursed headphone jack does not work on the "new" replacement plus the camera has a circular area where its a tint of red, not too noticeable tho. i want to return it to stock even with a relocked bootloader but i was wondering, since i have a backup of the stock rom (which is what im restoring to on nandroid right now), can i just relock the bootloader or do i have to flash the PG591IMG.zip?