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Should I, shouldn't I

Hi folks,
I'm thinking of picking up the galaxy s, the samsung vibrant from t-mobile to use on my carrier.
i had a few questions and hope you fellas can help me out.
1st, what would be involved in unlocking it? Would I have any problems getting it unlocked?
Also i'm a total noob to android but i've been reading up. What exactly is "rooting"? will rooting allow me to put a stock 2.2 on it? is that even possible and is it recomended on this phone?
and lastly from people who have been using this phone, do you recommend getting it?
thanks

oh snap! i posted this in the wrong board. it should have been in the "Galaxy S I9000 General"
sorry mods.

Rooting allows you to get access to parts of the phone you otherwise wouldn't have access to. Compare it to having administrator rights on windows, you can access more files, do more stuff. Programs can perform more actions when your phone is rooted.
Putting 2.2 on it is completely seperate from that and at this moment is not possible. However, Samsung already stated that the first 2.2 update will be somewhere in august (not for euro/usa regions though) so perhaps withing the month after that it will also be available for other regions. Samsung has officially announced that it WILL be updated though, so no need to worry about that.
Without the 2.2 update it's already pretty damn fast though (with some tweaks its faster then the Nexus one WITH 2.2) so I would certainly already recommend it.
This is my first android phone (after symbian, windows mobile and more) and it's really easy to get used to and works just great. The screen is beautiful (good colors, vibrant although reading text on it is a less great experience) and it's very fast. Also feels light, in a good way, great screen, etc. I can totally recommend it.
ps. No idea what the status on unlocking is, mine was unlocked already so never looked into it.

you might want to make sure the frequency bands of the one you acquire will work on the carrier you want to use it on
if not, it may not work at all, or may not give you 3G data svc

personally i didnt think any phones are locked down anymore, at least not in the UK?
you should buy the phone, its the best ive owned, not saying its the best on the market but id like to hear of an arguement for why it isnt.
rooting was done on this device even before release, and with already 300k sales in south korea alone it looks like its going to have some great support and updates in the future

Buy Captivate now or wait!?

Hi,
I need some help to decide.
Should I buy this phone now or wait for later this year, or even maybe 2011(witch is to long time waiting).
Currently I own a Xperia X10(tired of this phone, no software update, captivate has way better screen) on Tmobile, and moving to ATT would be good I think.
Plan difference is not so big besides the cap limit on internet.
Please help, I will sell my Xperia X10, to have money ready for a new phone.
Thanks.

nj777 said:
Hi,
I need some help to decide.
Should I buy this phone now or wait for later this year, or even maybe 2011(witch is to long time waiting).
Currently I own a Xperia X10(tired of this phone, no software update, captivate has way better screen) on Tmobile, and moving to ATT would be good I think.
Plan difference is not so big besides the cap limit on internet.
Please help, I will sell my Xperia X10, to have money ready for a new phone.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well honestly it is really up to you. I don't think the community should decide for you. Would the possibility of having a non working GPS bother you? Would the possibility of having a phone that randomly shut down bother you? ( then you'd have to deal with AT&T warranty and such ) Those are some examples of problems that you should consider about. Samsung is known for having ****ty customer service and lack of updates. You see, the latest OTA update that we received were supposed to fix GPS problems... but it didn't... so... * shrug *
Don't get me wrong, I love my phone. It's just that samsung frustrates me at times because of their incompetence.

How about...would I if I were you...
I don't have the Xperia..but did have the Hero..and they are fairly close..
I look at it like this..as much as I loved my Hero with CM6 over clocked to 768mhz and all the themes and goodies...I wouldn't go back. I don't depend on my gps in my telephone to make my life easier..If you do..then you might want to wait..but..know this..You can copy Walmart's info from the web for the Captivate and go into a ATT store and walk out with one for $59.00.
As too the random shut downs..I'm running bare bones stock...I've had my phone on solid since last Thursday and have loaded and played 5 HD movies on it..talked for about 200 hours and sent about 30 text messages..and not one blip/fc/shutdown or anything else..Also..I told the sales lady I wanted one where it would do the 3 button recovery..She Googled it to see what I was talking about and said ok..no problem..Mine worked first time..but had to open the 7th box to get one that did for the wife.Both of ours works great..and the GPS isn't real bad..I lock on to about 8-10 sats under 10 seconds with mine..the wifes is about the same..
If it were me..Hell yes..I love this phone..
Mac

The leaked froyo sure is nice though. I haven't had any random shut down issues unless I let the phone stay on the charger to long and then it will only shut down when its sitting without being used.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Um, not to be a hater here but....
This was the only high end android device that ATT had. All the other phone s the carrier offers besides the Aria is a joke.
I feel very lucky that XDA and Design Gears is around or I would have a completely useless device. No way would I recommend this phone to John Q Public.
There are too many awesome devices out that work. Sure the screen is awesome and its fast as hell. But it is laden with bugs and took folks in this community to get it to run.
Couple that with Samsung's track record? I would recommend getting another device. Most likely an HTC.
Of course with all that being said... I love my phone and wouldn't trade it for any other on the market today...... Until the next shiny new device comes out.
With my phone using Cognition, because it just runs better.

avgjoegeek said:
Um, not to be a hater here but....
This was the only high end android device that ATT had. All the other phone s the carrier offers besides the Aria is a joke.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you meaning to tell me that the Moto Backflip is not a quality phone?! /sarcasm

Thanks for all your sugesstions,
A reply to second post: I am not looking for someone to pic a phone for me, I was trying to get information if there is a better choice comparable to Captivate and better than Xperia. And I didn't find any better device at this time or any confirmed device that would be available later. Sorry if I didn't express myself clearly.
As for Gps issue I know, trouth to be told I don't really use it so no big deal there, as for restarts and lag Captivate is not the only one doing that, my X10 does it to, I noticed it based on ever root or updates, mostly I think it's from incompatible software And hardware, even my Windows and Mac does that. My wife's IPhone 3GS does that too when using it too much and having to many apps xD.
So, are there any shortlly upcoming devices I should know? My google research didn't get far, maybe there is anyone with more information about it.
Thank you, I appreciet all your opinions

better but comparable to captivate, hmmm the g2 from t-mobile. thats about it. no other phone has the 3d procesing of a galaxy s. but some are faster at other things. the g2 is very fast across the board.
snapdragon htc phones have bad battery life, the aria has too small of a battery. i had one it had alot of features but the screen was too small and no battery life, its basically a hero with android 2.1. so other than the g2 that leaves motorola phones that are only on verizon and have less performance than the g2.
i like the captivate but i think i would also like a g2.

nj777 said:
Hi,
I need some help to decide.
Should I buy this phone now or wait for later this year, or even maybe 2011(witch is to long time waiting).
Currently I own a Xperia X10(tired of this phone, no software update, captivate has way better screen) on Tmobile, and moving to ATT would be good I think.
Plan difference is not so big besides the cap limit on internet.
Please help, I will sell my Xperia X10, to have money ready for a new phone.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would and did and don't have an ounce of regret. I have learned so much in the past few weeks which is empowering when it comes to choosing and flashing ROMS. My expectations from a $500 device that does so much is very low so I am rarely disappointed.
My GPS works to around 30 meters. Good enough. The Music player is phenomenal even through the stock buds.(and I normally use Westone 3s and ETY 4s) I have never seen such a customizable device and fool proof as well IF you take the time to really understand and follow directions
Read the later parts of long threads so you don't get into the middle error area where issues are resolved. Don't be afraid to ask questions after you look for an answer. It is a very friendly forum. Very few "self appointed forum cops"
I would not wait. get the JH6 and begin playing with ROMS and recovery. When the official 2.2 comes out you won't be afraid to burn a better cooked Cognition ROM of it later.
There will be bugs...There are always bugs......

i say get it, i went from the fuze to the captivate and im never looking back, couldnt be happier

If I were you, I will wait probably... X10 is a great device, but i dont know if they are going to release update... I will stick with X10, and change to a better phone next year... samsung is too ****ty, dont get ur hand with them if u can... also, dont even try to get att, they are ****ty too...
if u want, sell ur X10 and buy a vibrant...
im with att because they are the only carrier with rollover... and i have captivate because its the best android on att
Foxy Roxy said:
Well honestly it is really up to you. I don't think the community should decide for you. Would the possibility of having a non working GPS bother you? Would the possibility of having a phone that randomly shut down bother you? ( then you'd have to deal with AT&T warranty and such ) Those are some examples of problems that you should consider about. Samsung is known for having ****ty customer service and lack of updates. You see, the latest OTA update that we received were supposed to fix GPS problems... but it didn't... so... * shrug *
Don't get me wrong, I love my phone. It's just that samsung frustrates me at times because of their incompetence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tHe OTA update BRICK my phone, and att/samsung are blaming each other... they sucks...
Mac11700 said:
How about...would I if I were you...
I don't have the Xperia..but did have the Hero..and they are fairly close..
I look at it like this..as much as I loved my Hero with CM6 over clocked to 768mhz and all the themes and goodies...I wouldn't go back. I don't depend on my gps in my telephone to make my life easier..If you do..then you might want to wait..but..know this..You can copy Walmart's info from the web for the Captivate and go into a ATT store and walk out with one for $59.00.
As too the random shut downs..I'm running bare bones stock...I've had my phone on solid since last Thursday and have loaded and played 5 HD movies on it..talked for about 200 hours and sent about 30 text messages..and not one blip/fc/shutdown or anything else..Also..I told the sales lady I wanted one where it would do the 3 button recovery..She Googled it to see what I was talking about and said ok..no problem..Mine worked first time..but had to open the 7th box to get one that did for the wife.Both of ours works great..and the GPS isn't real bad..I lock on to about 8-10 sats under 10 seconds with mine..the wifes is about the same..
If it were me..Hell yes..I love this phone..
Mac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you mind to share your gps configuration?

I am one of the few or possibly not so few people who did not really have any problems with my Captivate on the android 2.1 release, and actually the 2.2 recently leaked os either.
One thing people do not appear to keep in mind that these phone are closer to a PC now than ever before with pound for pound nearly the same power house operating systems on them. With such a customizable OS on a phone like Droid its bound to have some kinks as I think alot can agree on this, most operating systems do.
That said, its not unheard of for there to be lots of updates, firmware fixes etc, and the numbers in this forum who are posting may not seem to be all that many people when you consider that there are probably far more Captivate owners out there with no issues whatsoever.
What I am saying is that this phone may have some kinks for the people posting in here but it clearly is not every captivate owner having a problem. You can go to any other forums from other sites, and even manufacturers and read hundreds of posts about nearly every phone made with problems.
Do not let the people here steer you one way or the other, but heed the notices regarding possible issues. All the reviews for this phone are not that bad at all, and there are alternative phones, but keep in mind that any galaxy s phone will most likely have the same OS and some of the same kinks. All are samsung so.
imo this is a pretty damn decent phone, it is better than my iPhone 3gs was and I am glad I dont have that pos anymore.
The GPS on my phone is pretty fast to get a signal, it was on 2.1 and 2.2 android, but I do find it to be a tad bit sensitive. Gotta leave in stationary in the open the first lock, after that it appears to maintain pretty well, and i have put it through its paces, average for me in my location for a lock on is roughly 10-45 seconds depending on occlusion.
The phones default power saving scheme to be appears to be very aggressive.

My 2 cents
If I were you, I would keep the X10. I just left my ATT Touch Pro and upgraded to a Captivate. At first i was really excited about it. The screen size, brightness, slim form-factor of the phone were awesome. A week later I am looking at the phone going is this really that much better than my Touch Pro?
All I ever used my phone for were to make calls, emails, texts and spreadsheets. Doing the same on the Captivate was better in some area's and worse in the other. Exchange support is no where near where windows phones, but that is to be expected.
I don't have any GPS issues, random shutdowns or reboots or anything, the phone just works great. Yet I still have a little remorse.
Also when the 2.2 update does come out for this, expect this to be the last update they ever make. I have had a few Samsung phones and they NEVER release a lot of updates, very few actually.

jev3gs said:
Exchange support is no where near where windows phones, but that is to be expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Imagine that.
To the op,
I bought the Captivate, it's not a Cappy, as my first smartphone. I have no regrets what so ever. I must also be outside the norm because I understand that it's a phone first, GPS is a luxury. It works fine for my tastes as well.
If you like to tinker, then you can't go wrong. There is a lot of support and great support at that here.

i would wait. i'm on my 3rd captivate due to either build quality issues, or gps that never fixes. i must just have the worst luck ever to have 3 phones with non working gps i guess. and for those that say its a luxury, yes to a degree it is. but you cant use poynt, places, weather apps, all sorts of things if the gps isnt working right. forget foursquare, twitter locations, geo tagging photos, etc. i depend on my phone for work, and gps is critical to me as my phone replaced my stand alone tomtom unit. and yes i know that its a phone not a dedicated gps, but i never had issues with gps with my iphone 3gs, i left that phone for other reasons however. i like the android os, like the form factor of the captivate, and really like some aspects of the touchwiz interface. but in comparison to some of the other android phones, we really dont have it all that good on ATT. no flash, no led notifications, the capcacitve buttons dont stay on very long at all, and a real lack of accessories for the device in general.
i know that you can root and use custom roms and such, but i just want my phone to work as is. 200 dollars up front plus the cost of the phone over the contract time is a lot of money to spend on a device that i have to void the warranty on in order to get it to do half of what its supposed to. i would wait and try a different phone. problem is i dont think att is too worried about getting any other android phones right now. I would almost get the aria over the captivate at this point. i wish we had a good top line android phone from motorola, or htc to compete with the captivate at this point.

Anytime you buy a product and it has a feature, you expect it to work. To say it is a phone and has GPS but it doesn't work is alright is BS. That is like buying a car and when you take it home the radio doesn't work, the wipers don't work and the dealer tells you to live with it. I don't buy that one bit.
If MFG's can't make something work in a phone when they make it, they better just leave it out then.
I will say though that i have not had any issues with my Captivate.... especially since now I am not running the ESPN widget anymore. Man that always slowed down my phone like crazy!

eclypse3demons said:
I am one of the few or possibly not so few people who did not really have any problems with my Captivate on the android 2.1 release, and actually the 2.2 recently leaked os either.
One thing people do not appear to keep in mind that these phone are closer to a PC now than ever before with pound for pound nearly the same power house operating systems on them. With such a customizable OS on a phone like Droid its bound to have some kinks as I think alot can agree on this, most operating systems do.
That said, its not unheard of for there to be lots of updates, firmware fixes etc, and the numbers in this forum who are posting may not seem to be all that many people when you consider that there are probably far more Captivate owners out there with no issues whatsoever.
What I am saying is that this phone may have some kinks for the people posting in here but it clearly is not every captivate owner having a problem. You can go to any other forums from other sites, and even manufacturers and read hundreds of posts about nearly every phone made with problems.
Do not let the people here steer you one way or the other, but heed the notices regarding possible issues. All the reviews for this phone are not that bad at all, and there are alternative phones, but keep in mind that any galaxy s phone will most likely have the same OS and some of the same kinks. All are samsung so.
imo this is a pretty damn decent phone, it is better than my iPhone 3gs was and I am glad I dont have that pos anymore.
The GPS on my phone is pretty fast to get a signal, it was on 2.1 and 2.2 android, but I do find it to be a tad bit sensitive. Gotta leave in stationary in the open the first lock, after that it appears to maintain pretty well, and i have put it through its paces, average for me in my location for a lock on is roughly 10-45 seconds depending on occlusion.
The phones default power saving scheme to be appears to be very aggressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you are one of the VERY VERY few....5 million sold. The "issues" people are having are directly related to their expectations. I bought two..One to experiment with and one to use while giving my wife the N97. Once I realized they were both ok and I could not brick it I loaded froyo on both , gave her one and retired the N97......
I don't expect a $500 device to lock on to GPS within a minute with 10 feet of accuracy....a few minutes and 100 feet is ok and it EXCEEDS those expectations for me....at the end of the day it WILL get you home. I made some settings adjustments and dialed it in as best I could get it. I am confident Samsung will "fix" things that are broke.
I did not expect this phone to deliver the quality of natural lighting pics and videos it does.....bat my expectations.
There is no area where this phone did not at least meet my expectations.
But then again I took what the open device gave me.......did some leading and learning and MADE it what I WANT....not what ATT or Samsung wants. At least they gave me the choice to so, JB an Apple is a joke compared to what can be done with this OS. Been there done that..
My Nokia N97 cost the same and was 1/2 the device this is.....The iPhone is a toy compared to this OS and what can be done with it.
The people who are having issues usually are not following the directions SPECIFICALLY to do things. I know because I too have been guilty of missing a step here and there and panicking LOL
The carrier is fine...T Mobile's 3G is faster...Sprint 4G is faster...Verizon is Apple's sister in control freaky......The iPhone on Verizon will be a lock down on lock down But for those who want to press and play iPhone is perfect....fast and easy.
ATT is not the best nor the worst..they are what they are. You either stay wth them or leave...Simple choice. They give some and take some...

jev3gs said:
Anytime you buy a product and it has a feature, you expect it to work. To say it is a phone and has GPS but it doesn't work is alright is BS. That is like buying a car and when you take it home the radio doesn't work, the wipers don't work and the dealer tells you to live with it. I don't buy that one bit.
If MFG's can't make something work in a phone when they make it, they better just leave it out then.
I will say though that i have not had any issues with my Captivate.... especially since now I am not running the ESPN widget anymore. Man that always slowed down my phone like crazy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just saying it has "GPS" does not entitle it to be a good a GPS as a standalone! LOL It requires a phone to eventually lock on a satellite and get you to a destination. Which this phone does. I have Garmins in my cars. They SHOULD and do get immediate locks and tracking is perfect. They cost almost what this phone does. They don;t take video,pics, make calls...on and on.....
Some phones may have a real issue. But most of them have working hardware and SW is fixing many as well, It is just that people are fixing them themselves.....while waiting for an official fix. I fine very few posts where GPS does not work at all. More of people having to wait too long for a lock. That issue depends on so many factors it's silly to compare. Another brand may have a better GPS implimentation but be poor in other areas....
You choose a device based on it's STREGNTHS based on YOUR NEEDS...If you want a great camera you buy a Nokia N8, If you want geat GPS you buy a G2 or another camera with such.
It's not like this issues has been "hidden" I knew about it reading threads before I bought the phone but I also knew I could live without the GPS...and in all likelihood (as always) it would not be as bad as people claim......
It wasn't perfect..but it is not as bad as people claim either. It is exactly the same on both my Cappys.....when both are set the same and on the same ROM.

My two cents, get it now while you can still unlock it.
The 2.2 update will remove the file that gives you the codes for sim unlocking.

jev3gs said:
Anytime you buy a product and it has a feature, you expect it to work. To say it is a phone and has GPS but it doesn't work is alright is BS. That is like buying a car and when you take it home the radio doesn't work, the wipers don't work and the dealer tells you to live with it. I don't buy that one bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. It may not be "broken" but the quality is definitely "sub-par" IMO.
To the OP. If you can live without having quality GPS performance and willing to spend a few hours with ATT warranty department if Samsung releases a phone with a fix (if it is hardware) then I say get it now. That's my current plan. But I've never had much trouble with AT&T's warranty department.
Despite the GPS issues, the Captivate is still my favorite Android phone. One the few I've even liked.

Why I am not angry at Samsung or [email protected]

Maybe I am the only one, but flashing roms and learning how to screw up my captivate, and more importantly learn how to fix it afterwords, has made me not really care about when my phone will get 2.2 or 2.3. The developers here have made roms that I believe are just as good, if not better than the "official" versions. Sure Samsung promised 2.2 a long time ago, but what is the fun in just a boring update? Am I the only one who feels this way, or am I just addicted to flashing?

Here, here!

The only thing an official AT&T update would bring at this point in the game, would be better custom ROMs.
IMVHO of course.

I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.

Custom ROMs saved me from hating this phone and made it a really great device in every way I can think of, but it doesn't excuse AT&T+Samsung's lack of support on this device.
All I can say is thank goodness for people on this forum who have the interest, know how and drive to do what those companies have not done: make the Captivate a great device.

sarcasmo said:
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had no issues exchanging my phone with random shutdowns...call att and exchange it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

delugeofspam said:
Here, here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where? Where?

sarcasmo said:
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
acctually there is a working media hub .apk in one of the forums and it works great

Wdustin1 said:
acctually there is a working media hub .apk in one of the forums and it works great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where? 10 characters

I agree, I love this phone and I'm thankful for samsung and AT&T not doing their job, because it's made people on these forums come up with some amazing roms/kernels/what-have-you.

The rom leaks developers are working on are part of a conspiracy. Think about it.

rwj5279955 said:
The only thing an official AT&T update would bring at this point in the game, would be better custom ROMs.
IMVHO of course.
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Yup! My Sentiments exactly.

fldude99 said:
Where? 10 characters
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It was on the Epic forums.
I tried this a while ago on one of the early versions of cog and it worked fine, but I don't use it enough to keep it on my phone. But I can confirm that it did work for me.

sarcasmo said:
I respect your right not to be upset. Still, I think there are a number of things to be legitimately upset about - none of which are addressed by the ROMS on xda.
The restart issue: this problem has been known for a long time. Neither AT&T nor Samsung have made it easy to get a working phone. They denied the issue for a while. They then recognized it, but never made the exchange process easy. Look at all the random shutdown threads and see the mixed experiences people have had. To make matters worse, broken phones are often replaced with other broken phones. AT&T has been either too lazy or too cheap to pull the affected IMEIs from circulation. People have gone through 2 or 3 phones before getting one that 'works.'
My GPS doesn't work at all. I can stand out in the middle of a field and my phone will see 1 satelite. I get a lock every once in a while, but it NEVER has tracked. I've tried just about every GPS fix out there and none of them work for me (and I shouldn't need to try a bunch of fixes off some internet forum anyhow). Has there been any help from AT&T or Samsung on this issue? - No. They seem to pretend it doesn't exist. To make matters worse, some phones seem to work as expected - BUT some of those have the shutdown issue. People are afraid to turn in their screwed up phone with a working GPS because they might end up with a 'normal' phone with a broken GPS. That's outrageous. Seriously, it shows the truly pathetic quality of the Captivate and the companies that manufacture/distribute it.
There are features that came on my phone that have still not been enabled. Media Hub, for example, was billed all over the place as a great new feature - to be enabled later. It's later...much later. When do I get Media Hub? I don't see it. I can't get it to work via any custom ROMs (unless I'm missing something).
The way that AT&T and Samsung have handled this situation reads as a case study in poor customer service. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to get me to avoid another Samsung phone? Probably. I bet many others would say the same.
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Very well said! Btw, LOVE the screen name, lol.
I don't even own this phone, my gf does and I've done limited research so I could flash Cog2.3b8. The phone is WAAAAY better with Cog, but the gps blatantly disappeared on us halfway to our destination last weekend. I sighed and pulled out my mt4g which caught a lock in about 1/10th of a second and guided us there with absolutely no errors.
This made ME feel pretty stupid considering I gave her the phone as a gift. Thank god I bought it used and can probably sell it for what I paid for it.
From my limited experience with AT&T and Samsung I am furious. This phone had tremendous potential but I will avoid Samsung and AT&T like the plague from now on.
Delaying updates is one thing but the GPS issue is ****ing ridiculous. It's a joke!! There's no other way to describe it. You should all be irate and demand your money back.
Yes, T-mobile has had QC issues with the MT4G but everyone in the thread who has returned their phones has praised T-mobile for the way they handle their customer service, including myself. How many have had that experience with AT&T?

You should still be mad at Samsung.
Instead of making good ROMs great, we're making crappy ROMs good.

vunuts said:
It was on the Epic forums.
I tried this a while ago on one of the early versions of cog and it worked fine, but I don't use it enough to keep it on my phone. But I can confirm that it did work for me.
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It worked for me as well. I just didnt care for it. I would much rather have netflix. I have a different apk somewhere around here. If his doesnt work for you let me know via pm and I will send it... nm i just posted it

Phateless said:
You should all be irate and demand your money back.
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Click to collapse
Nah. I don't really need GPS, and last time I tried it outside my work building it got lock in about 2 or 3 seconds. I've tried it a couple of times while driving with mixed results. It seems to depend a lot on the area. As expected (or maybe not), it seemed to worked the best in the "wealthy" part of the city. I live in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Other than that I don't know. I haven't had any single random restart that I know it wasn't caused by me, same with charging death, mainly caused by bad UV settings.
I only used the stock rom for about 2 days before I moved and lagfixed it. I killed it once in a bad kernel flashing attempt. The fact that I can revive it using a home made usb jig makes me love it even more.
Right now, I just wished people could experience that same phone I'm experiencing. I think I'm in love with it.

I'm mad at both. My Captivate is my work phone, provided by my employer - so I am less comfortable flashing it to overcome the shortcomings of the standard AT&T build - yet I did root the phone and install the MobileAP so I can actually work when my client doesn't let me connect to their network.
My beef is on smaller things like - disabling tethering, not having more robust support for Exchange, the inability to sideload, or even load Android Market apps that AT&T doesn't want me to see.
As a work tool, I want my phone to let me work, and these limits, largely self-imposed are galling.

I've learned so much over the last week. I must have flashed my phone at least 20 times and got a few good bricks out of it too. Samsung and At&t can do what they want. These roms works much better than anything they could ever do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm not mad at Samsung or Rogers for the reasons stated above, I'm mad at them for broken promises as they relate to hardware - namely the USB-to-HDMI issue, which was a big reason for me to go with this phone over another. We were promised a software update to enable this and were even shown a cable on the official Sammy site, but nada.

It's Been Fun, Getting a SGS2

Call me old fashioned, but I expect a $500 device to work out of the box. It's also been pretty sad watching everyone's desperation in either getting a stable CM7 build or a kluge of the Gingerbread pre-release to try and make all the phone's functions work properly. I've been pretty vocal about my dissatisfaction which I know has irked some of you. There were others, but they already bailed when their remorse periods ended so as we all jump ship there should be fewer "haters" and nothing but the positivity you seek here in G2X-land.
I was going to wait until 6/8 and get a Sensation but the phone re-booted in the middle of conference call to Asia and that shall we say was the end of that. I'm getting an international SGS2 instead. It'll arrive next week. It's an HSPA+ phone so it can do 21MB down on AT&T. To get on to AT&T's network I'm getting an Infuse 4G for $99 on 5/15 which I'll eBay for $400 easily. I'd be lucky to get $300 for the G2X once the Sensation's out and the comments on this forum certainly don't help the resale value. The SGS2 is $725 so the net after selling the Infuse will be $425 - $75 less than the G2X. I also won't have to be dependent on any carrier any longer and will get updates directly from Samsung.
Unlimited voice, unlimited messaging, 4GB of data, and tethering is $99 a month and AT&T has terrific international data plans when you're roaming where T-Mobile has none. Also, I'd rather pay $8 a GB if I go over my limit than be throttled to dial-up speeds by T-Mobile. My relationship with T-Mobile's always been love/hate but the G2X did me in. I'll still lurk and comment on this thread and if you have any SGS2 questions just ask. Also, modding may not be a dead horse. Paul posted the SGS2 firmware this morning.
See you guys in a year on AT&T-Mobile
P.S. - Gamers beware of the SGS2, it's been determined the Mali GPU doesn't support x-frame

X frame????

smashpunks said:
X frame????
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Oops. I was doing two things at once. X-Plane. It has a bigger impact than just one game, I was just too lazy to elaborate.
Here's the link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068567

Thanks for posting your life story. Did you really need to type all that just to say you were buying the GSII? Nobody cares how you are going to acquired it. I am getting the GSII aswell but you don't see me making posts about it. I'm thankful that I got a working G2x from day one because I can tell you right now. Its the best Android device I've ever used. I haven't had a single problem with it. Lastly, every phone has problems when its released. If you don't think so then u haven't been in this game long enough. The G2x wont sell for anything less due to these forums. I think your giving these forums a little to much credit if you think they a driving phone sales on eBay down. LOL...where do you guys come up with this stuff?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Yea that gpu is going to bite a lot of gamers in the ass. This is why the SGS2 was never an option for me. I'd love that screen paired with a tegra but I don't see it happening soon.
Tegra looks like the most future welcoming chipset IMO which also deters me from the Sensation.
Sorry to see you have so many problems but you do what you have to do. I always have low expectations of stock rooms although the 2.2 stock did run great for me. I flash not to fix issues but to flash. I actually have more problems running custom then stock but that's half the fun because I know that it helps to get to that point we all would like.
So while a slight backlight bleed isn't viable for some, a gimped GPU for locked boot loader isn't for me. Aside that, the rest can be fixed and patched. That I can handle.
Also, good luck getting anything out of Samaung. Those guys never update their phones. Gingerbread was promised last august and they still don't have it.

jrwingate6 said:
Thanks for posting your life story...
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And it's posts like this from people like you that I'm going to miss the most on the SGS2 forum. And comparing your phone history to mine, you've severely underestimated my experience.

BarryH_GEG said:
And it's posts like this from people like you that I'm going to miss the most on the SGS2 forum. And comparing your phone history to mine, you've severely underestimated my experience.
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I never said u weren't experienced in the phone world but if you are then you should understand no device is perfect within the first month of being released. Christ, my Vibrants GPS was never perfect and I used it for 8 months. I just don't understand why people are expected to get a perfect device when they buy them as soon as they become available. Like it or not, we are the beta testers.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Bye...bye...

The post would have held more water...if more of your points were valid that is..
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Hope you enjoy your new toy.
Pretty good phone but G2x is better

Don't let the door hit ya....
Sold that phone to get this one and have no regrets.

jrwingate6 said:
Like it or not, we are the beta testers.
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I got my phone on 6/19 so I have a lot of history in this forum. I've posted lots of positive comments which still hold true. I like the phone's form factor, I like the way it's built, I like not having a UI, and it's fast as hell. I get a new phone every few months. I've never had a new phone that didn't have bugs - to your point, it's to be expected. My issue with the G2X (and I know there are those with different experiences) is that the basic connectivity functions are unreliable, at least in it's current state. The LCD does kind of irk me, especially since the iPad2 announcement, but I could have overlooked that. It's a pain in the ass to change carriers and swap out the phone so soon and I really wanted to like/keep it. But I can't wait weeks/months for it to be 100% stable.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want a phone that isn't meant to be tweaked then you are better off with an iPhone. You will never be happy with any android phone because android is meant for people who want to personalize and make their device theirs.
The g2x is a guiness world record holding powerhouse. It doesnt help your case to write a pompous and useless post.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

jsapp said:
Sold that phone to get this one and have no regrets.
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Really, where did you get a Galaxy S II? I'd be interested in your experiences. Since it doesn't work on T-Mobile, I assumed you used it on AT&T. Where did you use it and what were your data speeds?

BarryH_GEG said:
I got my phone on 6/19 so I have a lot of history in this forum. I've posted lots of positive comments which still hold true. I like the phone's form factor, I like the way it's built, I like not having a UI, and it's fast as hell. I get a new phone every few months. I've never had a new phone that didn't have bugs - to your point, it's to be expected. My issue with the G2X (and I know there are those with different experiences) is that the basic connectivity functions are unreliable, at least in it's current state. The LCD does kind of irk me, especially since the iPad2 announcement, but I could have overlooked that. It's a pain in the ass to change carriers and swap out the phone so soon and I really wanted to like/keep it. But I can't wait weeks/months for it to be 100% stable.
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Why do you need to wait weeks? Just keep exchanging it until u get a working phone. It really is easy. I promise. I also get new phone ever couple of months and I've had to exchange everyone I got. That's exactly why I always purchase at a brick and mortar rather than online. I don't know why your living with a phone that doesn't work but I wouldn't stand for it. Go exchange it and hopefully you get a perfect one like me. Only took me 4 exchanges to find a perfect one. Lol
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Great....thanks for keeping us up to date.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

One thing is forsure, there will always be those that have a bad experience with a device no matter how super, duper, incredibly awesome it may be. Looks like you're one of those who will go down as having a bad experience with the G2x. You aren't the first, you won't be the last. And you can bet your ass there will be plenty of users over in the Samsung forum having the same frustrations with their SGS2's that you had with your G2x. That's just the way it goes with these things.
When I first got my Droid X I had a lot of problems with it. It took me a while to figure it out... it was my first Android device so I had to learn everything from scratch. But I finally got it to the point where it was a flawless device (all it was missing was an unlocked bootloader) for me. But that wasn't the case for every DX owner... plenty of the members of the Droid X forum took their device out of the box and the damn thing worked flawlessly without them having to tinker with it or do anything at all in order to 'fix' it. It might have been a little hard for me to swallow since I was experiencing so many random reboots, terrible lag, and constant freeze-ups... but it was true all the same. My poor performing DX was the exception, not the rule.
Same thing goes for the G2x. This time I'm on the other side of the fence (thank God). My G2x doesn't have the LED bleed issue, or the rebooting issue, or ANY issue for that matter. It has worked flawlessly right out of the box for me. And it's only been available here in the states for 3 weeks, so if there are still a few bugs to work out of CyanogenMod7 for it, that certainly isn't the end of the world. Nine months after getting my Droid X (at launch) and CM is nowhere on the DX's radar, and likely never will be. So just the fact that CM7 is working at all on this device is more progress than I was able to get out of my Motorola the whole time I used it (I still have it, just in case someone sneaks the bootloader keys out of Motorola HQ's I'll be first in line to beta test CM on it!).
Anyway my point is, if you like a device enough you'll stick it through the rough spots and see if you can't get it to work well enough for you to enjoy it. If you don't like a device enough to do that, then get another device, period. No need to explain yourself, you're a grown ass man. You can buy an iPhone, Win7, Blackberry, Palm... hell even a dumbphone if that's what you want. If it's a SGS2 that you want, go for it. I hope it makes you happier than this device obviously did not do.
But going out like you chose to do isn't going to go over well, I'm sure you understood that when you were typing that post out. What are you hoping to accomplish here, do you think you're going to convice those of us who are having a great experience with our G2x's to suddenly realize we got it all wrong? Should we all pack our LG's up and throw em on ebay pronto now too just because you didn't get along with yours?
No OEM is perfect, but for what it's worth I respect LG and Samsung the most out of all the manufacturers because they both refuse to give into the pressure the carriers have been putting on them to lock down their bootloaders. HTC comes in third in my book because while they do lock their bootloaders, at least they don't encrypt them. Basically they play both sides of the fence. They lock the bootloader to make it look like they're on the carriers side. But they don't encrypt them because they know that hackers will easily unlock them and still be able to develop on them at will.
What I don't get is your statement that you'll get your updates from Samsung... since when has Samsung rolled out updates in a timely fashion? For me LG is my top choice because they left the bootloader completely unlocked, and they left it vanilla Android. It's basically a Nexus device. Samsung would be my second choice since they don't lock their bootloaders either, but I'd have to get rid of touchwiz the second I got it.
All in all, I hope you have a good experience with your SGS2. No need to attempt to make us feel stupid for keeping our G2x's though. If we like our devices, why can't you just leave this community and wish us the best so that we can do the same to you?

Its safe to say Barry that no one cares. See ya
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

BarryH_GEG said:
Call me old fashioned, but I expect a $500 device to work out of the box.
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Really? Um...good luck with the SGS2.

Wow. This forum has become the dear diary of threads. I guess since the galaxy is almost a $1000 it won't have issues. You said you doubt the g2x will be worth $300 when the sensation comes out. Lol that was a insult. I guarantee the g2x will have more support and roms than the sensation. How can Cyan develop a rom, when he said himself he won't if it has a locked bootloader. I like what the galaxy can do but once it launches in the US and carriers strip it down like the original it wont hold its international value. Ill ride it out with the g2x. I'd rather return until I get a close to perfect instead of paying mortgage prices on a phone.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

[Q] Just picked up US LTE tablet

I have been using a K1 wifi tablet for several months. I really do love it. I had an opportunity to pick up an almost new US LTE version and it should be here any day now. Since T-Mobile just gave me a free line of service, I figured this tablet would be a nice upgrade.
I see that the US LTE has not got the Nougat upgrade yet and am looking for recommendations as to what I should do. I see the options reading through what others have done and want to make sure if I understand the pro/cons:
1-Do nothing and wait for Nougat.(not much of a con, but I hear it has AT&T bloat)
2-Flash the wifi Nougat.(LTE will not work)
3-Flash the RoW LTE Nougat.(No LTE just 3G, but no AT&T bloat)
Let me know if I am missing something or might have misunderstood what I was reading.
Thanks

caseyatbt said:
I have been using a K1 wifi tablet for several months. I really do love it. I had an opportunity to pick up an almost new US LTE version and it should be here any day now. Since T-Mobile just gave me a free line of service, I figured this tablet would be a nice upgrade.
I see that the US LTE has not got the Nougat upgrade yet and am looking for recommendations as to what I should do. I see the options reading through what others have done and want to make sure if I understand the pro/cons:
1-Do nothing and wait for Nougat.(not much of a con, but I hear it has AT&T bloat)
2-Flash the wifi Nougat.(LTE will not work)
3-Flash the RoW LTE Nougat.(No LTE just 3G, but no AT&T bloat)
Let me know if I am missing something or might have misunderstood what I was reading.
Thanks
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haha..this was exactly what I was thinking of. I am actually looking for a good LTE tablet. Will definitely love to hear your experience.

Wait
Just wait. No need to be impatient, all your games will still work just fine. I don't know that the updates provide any significant improvements in that area, it's mostly about bragging rights and wanting to have the 'latest and greatest'.
Take it from someone who got his LTE tablet early and has been through this for EVERY update.... Just wait. It's really not a big deal so don't take any risks flashing a different ROM. Some people have had issues getting LTE to work again when trying to go back to factory and even if you're a pro at this like me, I simply don't want to deal with the hassle of it. I'd rather be playing games on the unit than wasting time trying to get various features working again because didn't want to wait 3-4 months for the new ROM.
Your call though!
-Han

Hannover2k said:
Just wait. No need to be impatient, all your games will still work just fine. I don't know that the updates provide any significant improvements in that area, it's mostly about bragging rights and wanting to have the 'latest and greatest'.
Take it from someone who got his LTE tablet early and has been through this for EVERY update.... Just wait. It's really not a big deal so don't take any risks flashing a different ROM. Some people have had issues getting LTE to work again when trying to go back to factory and even if you're a pro at this like me, I simply don't want to deal with the hassle of it. I'd rather be playing games on the unit than wasting time trying to get various features working again because didn't want to wait 3-4 months for the new ROM.
Your call though!
-Han
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That is what I decided to do. I figured I would just wait, it does get frustrating to watch updates get released for every tablet variant but this one.
It makes you wonder what the hold up is.

OS updates only eat storage and usually slows down performance. So far my experience. Hence I never update!

Many of us with either T-Mobile or AT&T report no LTE service in most locations with this tablet. The modem appears to be incompatible with recent LTE network updates. We are hoping for a patch ... since October or so... and at the moment i only get HSPA speeds except in a few spots.
i am doubtful now that this will ever be fixed.
It doesn't relate to trying new ROMs or anything... stock tablets see it too.
This has ruined an otherwise excellent device.
Best wishes to you. Please report your experience when you can.

To clear up a point of misunderstanding here: flashing the row LTE ROM will not restrict you to 3G only. The modem firmware is what determines available bands and that will remain on the North American version. In actuality, none of us devs even know a way to force flash between row and na modem firmware, so you're not going to accidentally switch that. You're plenty safe to upgrade to N using the row image.
Side note: the icera modem is unfortunately unstable, and it appears to be a hardware issue, not software. So not something a firmware/software update can fix. If yours is stable on M, it should continue to work fine on N, whatever ROM is used. For those of us with issues (like my current tablet won't recognize a sim anymore period), there will be problem no matter what we run.

It's a gaming tablet. Try WiFi. That's all I will say.