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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

Finally a fully functioning phone

So long story short I lost my phone a week ago, one with terrible gps I should add, I didn't get the standard 5 dollar a month insurance from the death star, the guy at the wireless place offered me some other option where you pay a hundred up front but the deductible was only fifty so I did it thank god.
The insurance was through protect cell. So i filed a claim and they two dayed me phone feddy ex new sim card all. So i activated the phone and what do you know it has constant, i mean extremely constant random shutdown, like every 20 minutes while the battery was over 50 percent. So i the insurance company back and what do you the had the cap on back order so instead of being able to over night me a phone I had to deal with random shutdowns for a few days.
So the new phone finally arrived today and so far no random shutdowns and I did a gps test today and it worked extremely better than ever before. Hopefully this continues. Because I did hear fresh phones are more apt to have a functionable gps.
So to everyone with some sort of issue I suggest using those one year manufacturers warranties until you get a completely functionable phone. I do understand that is a big hassle for most of us and we shouldn't have to do all that to get a working phone but imo its better then having a phone that is lacking in some of its functionability.
Now more testing on custom rom and I am all set, praying gps maintains cuz it's a dealbreaker for me

I got my replacement phone last week (random shutdowns). The replacement had 4 shutdowns in less than 24 hours, the phone I was replacing had 4 shutdowns in 2 months. Called and *****ed that the replacement was within the same IMEI range as the affected phones. They overnighted another phone without waiting for the first or second phone to be returned. Third phone is working fine so far. GPS on Andromeda 1.2 is awesome.

Yea my phone also falls into the random shutdown range sadly, but hey so did my first one and I hadnt had any problems with it. Curious do you have insurance through att or did you get your replacement through warranty?

Fortunately, I live within 25 miles of a AT&T Tech Center - right next to an AT&T Sales Store - and they always have the Cap in stock. I'm on my 4th one, due to hardware issues - all at 0 cost under warranty. They were nice enough to show me that the new phone would boot to recovery, lol.
Happily running Serendipity 5.12, and patiently awaiting Gingerbread.
Thanks to all the devs and members at xda forums for your tireless enthusiasm!

No insurance, all replaced under warranty.

well its day two and I'm now running andromeda, gps is decent but not spectacular. Scheming on an inspire now
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

Held out since Dec 2010...replacement on the way
There are quite a few threads about the Captivate Shutdown issue, and actually there are a few with some good observations on how to potentially correct it, but ultimately it needs to be replaced
So, what have I tried:
1) Captivate Keep Alive: Works, but battery drain...and non solution.
2) Load Monitor: Works, not a huge battery drain...still, does not fix the underlying issue.
3) Contrary to what many have said, a custom rom/custom kernel does not fix the issue.
4) It does appear some have had success with cleaning battery terminals, and a few have stated Samsung replaced the battery terminals and it fixed the issue.
I called At&t today, 03/08/2011, they asked me for the IMEI code and what color the water damage indicators where (pink or white?). No water damage here, so white please.
They are doing an exchange by mail, since I do not live close to a repair center...I have 14-days to ship the original back. It was quick and to the point. The replacement is a "refurbished device" direct from the manufacturer. Fingers crossed that I do not experience this again on the replacement as others have.
Hope this helps someone sitting on the fence on whether or not to ship theirs back. Remember to unroot, unlag, and otherwise un-fun your phone before shipping back
Enigma

[Q] Should I buy a captivate from ebay knowing shutdown problem

Hi guys,
I just bought a captivate from a authorized ATT dealer, it is a refurbished and I have always been lucky with refurbished products so I did not think twice about getting it. However I won't have a warranty on it, so I am starting to reconsider, thinking that if I have one that randomly shutdown, I will be stuck with a faulty phone and will lose my money since apparently nothing really fixes the problem completely.
So, I have the option to return the phone within 7 days, should I just forget about this phone and just send it right when I get it and just pick another phone. If I had a year to try it, I would keep it, but 7 days... I just don't know what to do, any advice?

Did you already try using setCPU to up the minimum frequency to 200Mhz? Worked for me and many others!

wuddersup said:
Did you already try using setCPU to up the minimum frequency to 200Mhz? Worked for me and many others!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I am supposed to receive the phone on Tuesday, but I am asking in advance because I only have 7 days to return it and for what I read on the board the problem might not show up right away. If there was a fix that unanimously worked I had no issue keeping the phone but it seems like a lot of fixes only work for a minority. Am I wrong and I missed the fix that is believed to work for most?

Why would you accept a faulty phone when you know for the same price, you could have gotten a phone w/o fault.

Refurbs are warranted for 90 days.

wuddersup said:
Did you already try using setCPU to up the minimum frequency to 200Mhz? Worked for me and many others!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Confused on how changing the cpu frequency could prevent showdowns since the problem is faulty ram
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Like miami said. U should have 90 day warranty on a refurb.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I just recieved a refurb on warranty because my "New" Captivated had the dreaded shutdown issue. I tried SetCPU on it but to no avail. Funny thing is it didn't start happening until after the Froyo upgrade... darn closet gremlins. The refurb is an older build date than the one I purchased new and so far so good. I'd imagine that since it is a factory refurb it is up to par in specs since they recognized and addressed the shutdown issue. I wouldn't sweat it.

Well, it is a ebay purchase so the return policy is just what the seller is saying. So how would I get 90 days warranty?
Is it now sure it is a faulty ram? Would newer phone not have the problem then?

im not sure, you are going to have to look it up,
but the shut down issue only affects the older build numbers i believe.
i think... never had the issue so havent specifically read up on it.. just what i think i remember in reading though thousands of posts....
not sure what the build number was....

My build number and imei is in the range of the shutdown issue. It is a refurb from a insurance claim, so maybe that's why I don't have a shutdown problem.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Just my opinion!
I wouldn't even think or touching a refurb captivate from an ebay reseller unless the cost was so low that the risk was worth taking, for a couple of reasons.
I once bought a treo refurb on ebay. The first one would not receive phone calls so it had to go back. The second one worked fine initially, but the phone failed down the line several months later. I wound up using it as a pda and having another phone. Had no recourse because I got it cheap.
My Captivate, purchased from AT&T in August, developed the random shutdown problem. The first random shutdown was sometime in late November. Fortunately, since it was under AT&T Warranty, I got a replacement earlier this year that has been solid so far. But given the history of the Captivate, not only with random shutdowns, but GPS, etc., I wouldn't put any serious money into one without a warranty.
Edit: here's the info about imei numbers - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10037509&postcount=24

oh crap... i think this happened to me last night while i was on the phone....
rebooted straight to rom loading screen, no i896 or kernel boot screen...
is that how it behaves? or is that something new?

creepyncrawly said:
Just my opinion!
I wouldn't even think or touching a refurb captivate from an ebay reseller unless the cost was so low that the risk was worth taking, for a couple of reasons.
I once bought a treo refurb on ebay. The first one would not receive phone calls so it had to go back. The second one worked fine initially, but the phone failed down the line several months later. I wound up using it as a pda and having another phone. Had no recourse because I got it cheap.
My Captivate, purchased from AT&T in August, developed the random shutdown problem. The first random shutdown was sometime in late November. Fortunately, since it was under AT&T Warranty, I got a replacement earlier this year that has been solid so far. But given the history of the Captivate, not only with random shutdowns, but GPS, etc., I wouldn't put any serious money into one without a warranty.
Edit: here's the info about imei numbers - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10037509&postcount=24
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had refurbished products that worked great in the past, so this is not what really concerns me. But I guess overall people seem to be satisfied with the captivate that I was willing to give it a try, even with the gps problem. At first I thought it was on the first batch of captivates so I though I was fine, but I keep hearing people having a phone bought in Jan 2011 with the problem, so I am a bit anxious.
I paid $240. It is supposed to be manufactured refurbished, so I though it was a good deal considering even used captivates were going way over 300 on ebay. But maybe I just return it without opening it after all.
That too bad because the captivate is the phone that fitted most my needs with a decent price range.

TRusselo said:
oh crap... i think this happened to me last night while i was on the phone....
rebooted straight to rom loading screen, no i896 or kernel boot screen...
is that how it behaves? or is that something new?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure. Did your phone come directly from Rodgers? Are they known to have the random shutdown issue? I guess you need to find that out first.
My first phone only shut down when it was on idle, never when I was using it, and only once when it was on the charger. As far as rebooting after the shutdown, it behaved differently on different occassions, but it didn't reboot spontaneously. I would pick it up to use it, and it would be off. I would have to long press the start button to reboot.

caribbean_spur said:
I have had refurbished products that worked great in the past, so this is not what really concerns me. But I guess overall people seem to be satisfied with the captivate that I was willing to give it a try, even with the gps problem. At first I thought it was on the first batch of captivates so I though I was fine, but I keep hearing people having a phone bought in Jan 2011 with the problem, so I am a bit anxious.
I paid $240. It is supposed to be manufactured refurbished, so I though it was a good deal considering even used captivates were going way over 300 on ebay. But maybe I just return it without opening it after all.
That too bad because the captivate is the phone that fitted most my needs with a decent price range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing you don't plan to use the phone on AT&T, and maybe are not in USA? You might look into seeing if you would have warranty coverage directly from Samsung. In my life, $240 would be a bit much to pay if something goes wrong and you have no recourse. I paid around $200.00 directly from AT&T with 2 year commitment on my existing plan.
The random shutdown issue is well know to both AT&T and Samsung, and phones manufactured since about December seem to have good GPS as well as not have the random shutdown issue.

creepyncrawly said:
The random shutdown issue is well know to both AT&T and Samsung, and phones manufactured since about December seem to have good GPS as well as not have the random shutdown issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying to figure out if I have some kind of warranty through Samsung. Also, if what you are saying is correct about phones made after Dec, I will wait to see when the phone was made to decide it's fate. Do you have an idea how I can know when the phone was made?
By the way, thanks for your inputs!

Well according to the samsung website, warranty is only for original purchaser. Now I have no idea how that works for att authorized dealer on ebay.

Sensational Lemon!!!

My first post!!!!!!
I upgraded to the Sensation from the Mytouch 4G (I got lucky and got a FULL upgrade after only 5 months!!!!)(After 11 years with Voicestream/Tmobile I finally got something!!).... anyway as soon as I turned it on there were problems. It was not smooth at all and very jerky and unresponsive. Would not switch from WiFi to cell network (had to force it). So...I did my first reset (soft). Still not very responsive....second reset (hard). Still not responsive and jerky. Replaced SD card.....and BAM it works.
Then comes the next day.... won't switch to cell network without asking it nicely. Then again unresponsive and very slow. GPS not working, won't lock on anything. So another hard reset. BAM...working???
Then tried to make a call....press the #3 button, and nothing, nothing for 5 seconds later... it finally acknowledges I pressed the #3.
Call AmazonWireless and overnight a replacement.....
The funny part is I ordered 2 Sensations..One for me and one for the wife. Hers gets delivered overnight, mine 2 days. Her works freaking' AWESOME!!! Mine is a BIG LEMON!!!
2 BIG issues with this phone. First.. the death grip is not even a grip. Just place one finger along the back top edge and WiFi dies. I have issues watching youtube without killing WiFi. Second, no bluetooth voice dial. Known issue should be fixed in an upcoming release.

Amazon gave you a full upgrade after 5 mos on a 2-yr contract? How did you get past the upgrade qualification checker? Did TMO somehow give Amazon a pass?
Amazon did it right by overnighting a replacement. My phone died completely and TMO is making me send them the phone, and once they receive it I have to call them to request a new one. Will take over a week to get the replacement. Not good service.

That sucks to hear. Any phone can be a lemon from any manufacturer. I hope your 2nd device behaves the way mine does, if so you'll love it.

This upgrade is kinda a funny story. I have 3 lines and called Tmobile to ask about an upgrade for my third line (my son). Rep said it did not qualify for an upgrade yet...... but your other 2 lines do qualify!!! My first thought was must be a mistake...so I said Thanks and hung up.
I jumped online and logged into my account and hit the upgrade button...sure enough it showed a FULL upgrade.
I went to AmazonWireless and went thru the process and it also said I qualified. I immediately ordered 2 HTC Sensations....I didn't even have to think, I knew I had to get the Sensation. Great phone and even better reviews!!

HTC Customer said:
This upgrade is kinda a funny story. I have 3 lines and called Tmobile to ask about an upgrade for my third line (my son). Rep said it did not qualify for an upgrade yet...... but your other 2 lines do qualify!!! My first thought was must be a mistake...so I said Thanks and hung up.
I jumped online and logged into my account and hit the upgrade button...sure enough it showed a FULL upgrade.
I went to AmazonWireless and went thru the process and it also said I qualified. I immediately ordered 2 HTC Sensations....I didn't even have to think, I knew I had to get the Sensation. Great phone and even better reviews!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I was just curious. It's good to be lucky.

sorry to hear i just switched mine with same issues got one made after june works perfect im so happy now!

man Im lucky, not problem one. Yet... Only 2 days of use though.

Do I have a faulty device?

This is my second s3... It's "updated" with baseband version I535VRLG1. I have not rooted because I don't want to risk ruining my chances of getting a new one if I have to...
Here are my current issues:
No Sim card error
Network Communication Issues (Connection will just drop randomly)
Keeps dropping 4g
Slow Speeds (4g as low as 1244 kbps down, 3g as low as 66 kbps down)
Slow GPS lock-on (Took 5-10 minutes at one point)
Some gaps between screen and bezel

If you can enumerate 6 things wrong with your phone then why are you asking us if it's defective? :laugh::laugh:
Get a new one man. None of that is normal as you imply by listing it all.

bobloblaw1 said:
If you can enumerate 6 things wrong with your phone then why are you asking us if it's defective? :laugh::laugh:
Get a new one man. None of that is normal as you imply by listing it all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe because I'm sick in the head, as well as a quality engineer who finds faults in anything...
I just feel like an a-hole because I made a big stink over my first one because of a loose home button... Now this new device has more issues than the first.
I also do NOT want a refurbished device. I want new.

As long as you're in the 2 weeks period you'll get a new one.
Also, as funny as this sounds, all these problems can happen if your sim card is faulty.

Mine is also an "updated" device with all those stickers. No problems here. Return it if you're having trouble
Sent from my SCH-I535

Madcat81 said:
As long as you're in the 2 weeks period you'll get a new one.
Also, as funny as this sounds, all these problems can happen if your sim card is faulty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my phone on the 14th, but it's been less than 2 weeks since I got my replacement.... Does that count?
Maybe I should just try a new sim card first.

Madcat81 said:
As long as you're in the 2 weeks period you'll get a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not 100% true.
I had a defective Rezound (badly overheating and killing the 2750 battery in 1/2 day) & it was almost new.
They wanted me to accept a refurb & until I threatened to just take it back for a refund they absolutely refused to give me a new one....

OT: but do they even have refurb S3's yet??

jmorton10 said:
That is not 100% true.
I had a defective Rezound (badly overheating and killing the 2750 battery in 1/2 day) & it was almost new.
They wanted me to accept a refurb & until I threatened to just take it back for a refund they absolutely refused to give me a new one....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what ended up happening?
cmg5461 said:
OT: but do they even have refurb S3's yet??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They might. It seems like there has been a lot of issues with this phone already...
I wonder if I should take it back to the store (different one than I already returned my first one at), or over the phone.

Kreeker said:
So what ended up happening?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At that point, they gave in & sent me a new one in the box (I still have it)

Just called up, and they are sending me out a new ("certified") phone. Hoping this one fixes the issues, and is new....
All I did was list those exact issues up above, and he said well those are hardware issues and I'm going to have to send you a new one. I was ready for a big pain. Why can't the people in the stores be like this?