Related
Warning:
- This will void your warranty.
(But if you're doing this, you probably don't have a warranty anyway.)
- You need to be smarter than the average bear.
(I'm not responsible if this doesn't work, you pick a bad donor phone, you get stabbed while buying said phone, you somehow burn your house down while attempting these directions, you somehow manage to injure your cat when you open your phone, look its not my fault)
First:
Make sure you have a real brick. If you can get to anything other than a white G1 screen you DON'T have a real brick.
Please try:
1. Home + Power
2. Back + Power
3. Camera + Power
If you get anything other than a Tmobile G1 screen you don't have a real brick and DON'T need this guide.
What you need:
1. A donor G1.
Look for a G1 that got smashed up, scratched, broken screen, whatever. Just make sure it didn't go for a swim. I recommend craigslist. Make sure it starts at least. You can remove the back panel and check the void stickers to see if it changed color to check for water damage.
The point is that true hard bricks are caused by a major failure of the SPL. No one has figured out how to come back from this yet by software, but everyone that has seen an HTC repair bill knows you can fix it by replacing the mother board. New motherboards direct from HTC are prohibitively expensive though. Thats where the donor G1 comes in. I expect a lot more of them to be turning up for cheap now that there are some new android phones on the market.
I paid about $50 bucks for one without a working back light and a few scratches.
2. http://www.portatronics.com/guide/T-Mobile-Smartphone-Repair-Guide/
The second guide (first from the bottom). Its not that hard, just be careful. The point is that you have to slip the donor motherboard into your phone. It took me about 35 minutes and I lack fine motor skills.
Once you have it all buttoned up again:
1. format an SD card to FAT32
2. Put http://g1upgrade.com/DREAMIMG-RC29.zip in the root directory
3. Insert SD card in phone
4. Start with Camera+power and flash the same way you probably rooted your phone the first time.
I feel like this was known in the upper echelons of the community before, but I had never seen it explicitly spelled out in its own thread. Unfortunately I bricked a professors phone last Friday night and had to make it right using the minimum amount of cash possible by next Monday morning.
Wouldn't you know, its running kingklicks 2.0 right now.
- Faylix / Local
If you liked this,
Donate to Local's Broke Law school fund
Its so funny you post this because I actually have a white G1 with a cracked screen and heavily scratched face and a black G1 thats perfect but has the Haykuro brick. Maybe I will throw the nice stuff on the working phone once I go buy some tools. lol
It works. Just be gentile with the connections when removing the motherboard, and a little scotch tape goes a long way to holding the connections in when you re-attach them to the donor board.
Taking the G1 apart is surprisingly easy. Do yourself a favor though, take the motherboard from the white one and stick it in the black one. Much easier than transferring the screen.
Go fix that brick.
- faylix
this is hardly a fix, essentially a new motherboard is a new phone, it just has your old case on it, so there's no actul fix apart from replacement. my opinion while it's great use of imagination, it's not by any means a fix. for all you know, the phone you're buying may be a blacklisted phone and will not work, it could even have the spl brick itself, so this is neither a true fix, or reliable
sorry
senaia said:
this is hardly a fix, essentially a new motherboard is a new phone, it just has your old case on it, so there's no actul fix apart from replacement. my opinion while it's great use of imagination, it's not by any means a fix. for all you know, the phone you're buying may be a blacklisted phone and will not work, it could even have the spl brick itself, so this is neither a true fix, or reliable
sorry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call it what you will I guess.
On Friday I had a bricked G1, $50 bucks and 35 minutes later I have a working G1.
There should be lots of used G1's turning up on craigslist right now with the CLIQ / DEXT out, and even more as the other new phones drop.
I recommend you make sure the phone you buy at least turns on, but selecting an appropriate donor / making sure you aren't buying a stolen black listed phone is up to you.
Your Mileage May Vary.
The title of this thread is *extremely* misleading.
This does not in any way unbrick a phone. It is simple replacement.
Let me guess... are you an automotive mechanic in your day job? Seems like that's all they do these days... replace parts until it works.
What you need to understand is that the part that you are replacing is basically the brain of the thing.
To put this into perspective... if you got brain cancer and the doctors said they could cure you by a brain transplant, would the resulting "person" be you? Or would it be someone else?
I suggest that you find some way of renaming this thread (as a moderator to help you if needed) to something like "get a working phone again by changing the mainboard". At least that won't trick people into reading through it just to find that you are talking about something completely uninteresting.
lbcoder said:
The title of this thread is *extremely* misleading.
This does not in any way unbrick a phone. It is simple replacement.
Let me guess... are you an automotive mechanic in your day job? Seems like that's all they do these days... replace parts until it works.
What you need to understand is that the part that you are replacing is basically the brain of the thing.
To put this into perspective... if you got brain cancer and the doctors said they could cure you by a brain transplant, would the resulting "person" be you? Or would it be someone else?
I suggest that you find some way of renaming this thread (as a moderator to help you if needed) to something like "get a working phone again by changing the mainboard". At least that won't trick people into reading through it just to find that you are talking about something completely uninteresting.
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Click to collapse
agreed... i thought this post was going to have actual flashing method of curing a brick, not some replacement part way.
PS- I really liked that brain transplant metaphor lol
Hehe Thought someone actually beat those of us working in the unbrick thread to the method. this is simply a replacement, cant call this an ubrick thread, should be titled "how to replace G1 motherboard"
lbcoder said:
The title of this thread is *extremely* misleading.
This does not in any way unbrick a phone. It is simple replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, the title states it requires a donor.
After the task is preformed your phone is no longer a brick.
Let me guess... are you an automotive mechanic in your day job? Seems like that's all they do these days... replace parts until it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I'm a law student that builds motorcycles in his off time.
If a part is broken, it can be obtained cheaper than a whole new unit, than the best "fix" in my mind is to just replace the part no?
What you need to understand is that the part that you are replacing is basically the brain of the thing.
To put this into perspective... if you got brain cancer and the doctors said they could cure you by a brain transplant, would the resulting "person" be you? Or would it be someone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Existential questions aside... if your phone is bricked, you can pay $400 for a new off contract phone, $200 and sign up for another 2 years, or $50 bucks and have a working phone using most of your own hardware. I know what I'd choose.
I suggest that you find some way of renaming this thread (as a moderator to help you if needed) to something like "get a working phone again by changing the mainboard". At least that won't trick people into reading through it just to find that you are talking about something completely uninteresting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. You're a hostile one.
I'm very sorry I wasted 5 minutes of your day in reading about the best, cheapest, way *so far* to fix a bricked a phone.
I'm also very sorry you lack basic reading skills, don't seem to understand what (requires a donor) means, and seem to have a dislike of mechanics. I suggest you re-read the top of the thread, realize since you are clearly dumber than rocks, this thread is not for you
Anyway, lets try and keep this on topic.
I was in a bad position, figured out the best fix I could given the current state of affairs, and thought it might help some other users on this board.
Mods, Please delete, change, do as you will.
If you have real questions about this process I'll answer them, I'm done with the back and forth.
Great thread, I agree, the time these guys have wasted trying to resurrect bricked fones, the fix seems easy enough. Always better to follow the path of least resistance. Good thinking.
"requires a donor" could mean anything.
-SOFTWARE donor.
-it could mean that you are temporarily hijacking one to run the second.
I'm sorry that you don't see HOW MANY people got tricked by your misleading title into thinking that this thread was about something that it WAS NOT.
And motorcycle mechanic.... same thing. Just how did I guess?
And law student? I guess you must have taken too much from "how to mislead 101". Bloody (wannabe) lawyers...
Great thread, I agree, the time these guys have wasted trying to resurrect bricked fones, the fix seems easy enough. Always better to follow the path of least resistance. Good thinking.
And there is a big difference between fixing a device and a human.
When the cpu on my computer dies, i replace it, not the whole computer.
Or if the ECU goes out in my car, I replace it, not the whole car.
Dont listen to these punks, the fix you provided is indeed a fix for bricked phones. It may not be a software fix, but it is a fix.
The automotive comment made shows just how ignorant some people are. In fact, people do the same thing with vegetables at a store. Pick 1 up, its not satisfactory, pick up another, still not good, pick up another, this one is good! No difference.
bubonik said:
Dont listen to these punks, the fix you provided is indeed a fix for bricked phones. It may not be a software fix, but it is a fix.
The automotive comment made shows just how ignorant some people are. In fact, people do the same thing with vegetables at a store. Pick 1 up, its not satisfactory, pick up another, still not good, pick up another, this one is good! No difference.
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Click to collapse
i aggree... give the guy a break the title may have been a little misleading but has anyone got any better ideas that work? i thought so...
JackD3ath said:
Great thread, I agree, the time these guys have wasted trying to resurrect bricked fones, the fix seems easy enough. Always better to follow the path of least resistance. Good thinking.
And there is a big difference between fixing a device and a human.
When the cpu on my computer dies, i replace it, not the whole computer.
Or if the ECU goes out in my car, I replace it, not the whole car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't about a fried CPU. The CPU is fine. It is about a BIOS FLASH gone bad (quite common). When you do a bad bios flash, do you replace the mainboard? No. You yank the BIOS FLASH chip out and "hotflash" it in another mainboard to resurrect it! http://www.overclock.net/faqs/102206-how-hotflash-your-bios-chip.html
So what do you do when there isnt another motherboard available to fix the flashing? (G1 Software fix)
You replace the motherboard.
Yeah ok so why dont you just do that then. I dont see your solution realized in the other thread.
Your the one comparing apples and oranges. I mean brain surgery.
bubonik said:
Dont listen to these punks, the fix you provided is indeed a fix for bricked phones. It may not be a software fix, but it is a fix.
The automotive comment made shows just how ignorant some people are. In fact, people do the same thing with vegetables at a store. Pick 1 up, its not satisfactory, pick up another, still not good, pick up another, this one is good! No difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you've just shown YOUR ignorance with your vegetable nonsense. Picking through a bunch of the SAME KIND of vegetable is not the same as replacing parts until something works.
Fact is this;
When you bring your car in to be "serviced", all they do is *replace parts*. Even if they don't know what part is giving you problems... they just keep on replacing parts until the problem goes away and stick them all on your bill. And this is despite the fact that things can usually be *repaired*. The correct way to repair things is to find what isn't working (done -- it doesn't boot), figure out why (IPL and SPL are incompatible), and correct the problem (rewrite IPL and SPL). Instead, you take the "automotive approach" and just replace parts until something works... except that in this case, you are not actually repairing the "bricked" phone, you are repairing the "smashed" phone and giving up entirely on the bricked one since it is the mainboard that defines what phone is what.
JackD3ath said:
Yeah ok so why dont you just do that then. I dont see your solution realized in the other thread.
Your the one comparing apples and oranges. I mean brain surgery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No? So instead of waiting a few more days to see if the jtag solution comes through, you're going to go out and spend $xxx on a new *broken-and-possibly-useless* phone in the off-chance that you might be able to repair it with parts from your phone, which is actually perfectly fine and is simply in need of reprogramming?
Your choice.
And I'm not telling you not to.
My only complaint is in the misleading nature of the TITLE of this thread, which suggests a solution to reprogramming the phone.
Where exactly did you learn that mechanics replace parts until its right? I am a trained technician, yes certified, and 95% of mechanics I know do not do this.
I never said it was the same kind of vegetable. That was your assumption.
SHORT STORY (can be omitted skip to questions):
Well I'm at the point of getting ready to take the charge in for service. It seems I have a termination problem on the main board. My phone shuts off randomly not ROM related but actual hardware (if i bump it it turns off). My battery and phone contacts are clean and making solid contact with each other as well. This brings me to my next observatory task of opening the phone. While I was open in the phone I noticed there was 4 cracks on my chrome rim (probably due to the 10ft drop to solid concrete, just a after thought). So there was no way to take it apart without fully destroying the rim. Which was upsetting because i was looking forward to seeing the beast and trying to solder it back together and\or look into a intuitive\ revolutionary (as apple would put it) way to fix the backlights brightness. Kinda all bummed out and stuff I tried to put the screws back and who would have thunk you had to shrink ray your hands so you could hold the screws. Well trying it with all fat chode like fingers I screw managed to slip from my grasp. It bounce on my hard floor a couple times, followed by that awkward silence where you know should have been a bounce and your still waiting to hear it, but nothing. O.0 So now I am missing a screw...
To the point questions\ concerns:
1. Can I bring this to tech support to ultimately get a refurb (huh), with out a screw? Or do I have to take my sammy Rogue (yea that "feature" phone) apart and steal one of it's screw and paint it black (there is a little difference in the screw probably will strip the phone).
2. Beside the obvious return to stock and PIT blah blah blah. Is there anything I need to do? Like trim my memory card b\c of the folders that say ROMS,KERNELS,MODs, etc... I don't plan on giving the card to them unless they ask for it.
3. I should probably mention, that the battery is starting to get so hot i cant hold it sometimes. and have to take it out and find some kind of heat sink to cool it. This has happened mainly when charging but has happened when idling and on stand by too.
4. should I call them or take it in? Which would prove better results in getting a refurbished or new phone? (either way I don't expect much from these sexist bastards that can't appreciate a good looking male, seems like you need to have some boobs and a nice ass to get new phones from VW)
5. chances in switching phones? I love the charge. (even though there aren't many roms\tweaks, the developers that have past through have been outstanding, even when some of them didn't have a charge) I don't love the fact I paid full released price and 2 weeks later it is $200 cheaper and they pretty much decided they don't love us (although GB and talk of ics is nice) I'm sure verizon very much wants to abort the charge.
Call verizon. Explain to them your situation. Let them know your phone is constantly rebooting. You've tried checking battery, hard reseting device, and everything else you could think of. Ask for a warranty replacement as you were given a defective device.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA
Are you out of your 1 year manufactures warranty?
and as for question 4 i would just call...forget takin it in..just tell them you dont have the time..they should send one if your still within your 1 years manufacture warranty that is...
You just call Verizon and give them a reason where they can't help to fix over the phone, they will give you a replacement. In my case, I think something wrong with my phone cause it drain battery like crazy and I just want another one. I told them the screen is not respond to my touch anymore. I have to hit 4/5 times before it registered. That's it I got a new one.
I believe it still is within the manufactures first year. I got it just before we lost unlimited data. I guess I will call them then.
scarygood536 said:
I believe it still is within the manufactures first year. I got it just before we lost unlimited data. I guess I will call them then.
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Click to collapse
Thats your best bet. Im sure they'll ship you a new device. Keep us posted.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA
scarygood536 said:
I believe it still is within the manufactures first year. I got it just before we lost unlimited data. I guess I will call them then.
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Click to collapse
Yeah for sure..Call ASAP before you get the update with the diagnostic tool.. Then they can say no there is nothing wrong on their end and not send you one. Just call and complain about the phone rebooting randomly (and cant create the problem, it just happens) and that you want them to send you another cause you didnt pay $$$ for a device to do this blah blah blah... then say you tired factory wipe and everything and your fed up and want a replacement...shouldnt be a problem at all...and again if they say go to the store tell them to PISS OFF you dont have the time for that..let us kno how it turns out
scarygood536 said:
usually when i call verizon they say we cant do anything b\c you are not the account holder regardless if the account holder is sitting next to me and i know their SSN#, account info, any other personal id... I will try tomorrow after work b\c i'm too tired to put up with b\s after work and i'll probably get a camel jocky for my representative
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Click to collapse
Dude you're funny. I hope you get your replacement. Oh and I think any SD card would do.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium
scarygood536 said:
usually when i call verizon they say we cant do anything b\c you are not the account holder regardless if the account holder is sitting next to me and i know their SSN#, account info, any other personal id... I will try tomorrow after work b\c i'm too tired to put up with b\s after work and i'll probably get a camel jocky for my representative
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol..call in to Verizon (611) and tell them that you (your name) need to added to the account and create a password for the account..i am not the primary account holder on my ****, my mom is. So I had my name put on the account and had a password created so now reps ask for the pass i give it to them and we move on to the problem...
EDIT:if they still give you a problem about adding a name then have the primary caller call 611 and tell them to add your name so you dont have to go thru stuff like this..
jager420 said:
lol..call in to Verizon (611) and tell them that you (your name) need to added to the account and create a password for the account..i am not the primary account holder on my ****, my mom is. So I had my name put on the account and had a password created so now reps ask for the pass i give it to them and we move on to the problem...
EDIT:if they still give you a problem about adding a name then have the primary caller call 611 and tell them to add your name so you dont have to go thru stuff like this..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol for me my dad is the account holder but he doesn't know how to do anything so I am the account manager. On their website it says that the account manager has full access to the account, so you could just log into the primary's My Verizon and make yourself a manager.
scarygood536 said:
While I was open in the phone I noticed there was 4 cracks on my chrome rim (probably due to the 10ft drop to solid concrete, just a after thought). So there was no way to take it apart without fully destroying the rim....So now I am missing a screw...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you dropped your phone on concrete with enough force to damage the internals (which I'm guessing is the cause of all the problems), disassembled it and lost a screw in the process, and now you want to try and get a replacement under warranty due to manufacturer's defect?
Good luck. Just don't be surprised when they back charge you for the cost of the device when they realize you've exchanged a phone you've destroyed. You've voided the warranty several times over so they've got plenty of cause to hit you with an out of warranty fee.
Oh my..
charlie_c said:
So, you dropped your phone on concrete with enough force to damage the internals (which I'm guessing is the cause of all the problems), disassembled it and lost a screw in the process, and now you want to try and get a replacement under warranty due to manufacturer's defect?
Good luck. Just don't be surprised when they back charge you for the cost of the device when they realize you've exchanged a phone you've destroyed. You've voided the warranty several times over so they've got plenty of cause to hit you with an out of warranty fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
cliMAKtic said:
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
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Click to collapse
Lol, my friend got an old out of warranty second hand PS2 replaced by writing to Sony and pretending to be a very upset 12 year old. These things do work sometimes
charlie_c said:
So, you dropped your phone on concrete with enough force to damage the internals (which I'm guessing is the cause of all the problems), disassembled it and lost a screw in the process, and now you want to try and get a replacement under warranty due to manufacturer's defect?
Good luck. Just don't be surprised when they back charge you for the cost of the device when they realize you've exchanged a phone you've destroyed. You've voided the warranty several times over so they've got plenty of cause to hit you with an out of warranty fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dropped my phone maybe 6 months ago, no apparent damage (internal or external) phone still worked great. At the time of the drop the phone was in a case. I'm not really sure how those cracks got on the outside of my phone but my screen is in perfect condition.. I never even disassembled any of it I got all the screws out and saw that if i tried to take it apart further i would have bigger problems, so I put back the screws and one fell out of my hands. I also found the screw, which managed to bounce onto a shelf of my bookshelf. So my charge works, just has a loose connection somewhere. Not surprising seeing how I work a construction job. The phone doesn't look that bad at all it looks barely beat up, besides the small cracks in the rim which you wouldn't know unless you really studied it. There should be no reason to back charge me anything.
cliMAKtic said:
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
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Click to collapse
i have to go to church for weeks to make up for some girls I've "dated". I hope i can even that out too. Verizon screws us enough, time to give a little back
scarygood536 said:
I dropped my phone maybe 6 months ago, no apparent damage (internal or external) phone still worked great. At the time of the drop the phone was in a case. I'm not really sure how those cracks got on the outside of my phone but my screen is in perfect condition.. I never even disassembled any of it I got all the screws out and saw that if i tried to take it apart further i would have bigger problems, so I put back the screws and one fell out of my hands. I also found the screw, which managed to bounce onto a shelf of my bookshelf. So my charge works, just has a loose connection somewhere. Not surprising seeing how I work a construction job. The phone doesn't look that bad at all it looks barely beat up, besides the small cracks in the rim which you wouldn't know unless you really studied it. There should be no reason to back charge me anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I wouldn't worry about it at all since there's no major damage on the outside of the device...you should be fine
cliMAKtic said:
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
charlie_c said:
Lol, my friend got an old out of warranty second hand PS2 replaced by writing to Sony and pretending to be a very upset 12 year old. These things do work sometimes
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Click to collapse
People complain about the cost of everything going up, and this is precisely the reason why insurance and other services go up in price. The replacement devices aren't free, and the cost of replacement has to be made up somehow. Congratulations for feeling good about dicking over the honest people in society.
imnuts said:
People complain about the cost of everything going up, and this is precisely the reason why insurance and other services go up in price. The replacement devices aren't free, and the cost of replacement has to be made up somehow. Congratulations for feeling good about dicking over the honest people in society.
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Hey, I don't condone it and it's nothing I've done myself, but people that rationalize that kind of behavior don't understand the harm of it probably. Kind of like SUV drivers that complain when gas prices go up...
imnuts said:
People complain about the cost of everything going up, and this is precisely the reason why insurance and other services go up in price. The replacement devices aren't free, and the cost of replacement has to be made up somehow. Congratulations for feeling good about dicking over the honest people in society.
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Right on the money. People blame the companies over rising prices but they don't realize that profits stay about the same. Kind of like what is driving up medical costs... Frivolous lawsuits by butthurt idiots.
Sent from my handheld Linux computer using electromagnetic radiation.
I don't mind using my warranty, I paid for because I knew my phone would break all my phones, except my samsung phones, stopped working before i even put them through the rigorous days on a construction job. I rather spend the down payment on it than having to buy a new phone full price. I've been dicked by verizon (ex. buying replacement phones a couple months after getting a paid replacement) though so i don't feel bad getting a new device for free.
i don't deny people getting phones for free just to get new ones is wrong and screws over the honest people, but verizon in my eyes, while being a loyal customer for about a decade or so, hasn't been really that honest of a company. Like the whole data plan needed phones. My mom and sister both had the same phone, one need a data the other didn't (due to the timing of when they got the phones)... All the phone had was verizons "mobile web" on EVDO pretty usless itself. But the data plan was forced upon one of them for profit gainsb(data was even blocked on our account at the time). This doesn't even include the trying to charge to transfer contacts and bs fee's fee's. If Big Red didn't have all the members and didn't get the best signal in my area i'd be on a different carrier.
So tomorrow is finally the day I get to upgrade my phone, my fascinate has treated me well these past two years, but its a bit dated now. So I've been following the forums and threads on the S III but I didn't see much people saying anything about specific hardware issues with the phone. When I go tomorrow to purchase my phone, is there any hardware specific stuff to look at to make sure my phone doesn't suffer from quality issues or run tests apps like display tester to test out the phone so I don't come out with a lemon and have to come back to exchange it? Any suggestions on making sure I don't get an lemon is much appreciated.
I wouldn't worry about it. Mine has been rock solid, even after a trip into the pool.
Enjoy your new phone. I'm sure you'll love it.
RyanW114 said:
So tomorrow is finally the day I get to upgrade my phone, my fascinate has treated me well these past two years, but its a bit dated now. So I've been following the forums and threads on the S III but I didn't see much people saying anything about specific hardware issues with the phone. When I go tomorrow to purchase my phone, is there any hardware specific stuff to look at to make sure my phone doesn't suffer from quality issues or run tests apps like display tester to test out the phone so I don't come out with a lemon and have to come back to exchange it? Any suggestions on making sure I don't get an lemon is much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who had a launch fascinate, and upgraded to an s3 in July, let me add my opinion.
Gps. Though still not bulletproof and instantly locking like my wife's iphone 4s, it is way better than the stock fassy and even cm builds
Rom. Stock Rom is way less bloated and tw is way better with a smaller footprint.
Quality. About the same. I miss the 4 capacitive buttons actually. Still find myself hitting the android options key when trying to get to the launcher
I still have my fascinate in case this breaks and needs to be swapped. I do not miss it at all though. I could never find a perfect Rom for it. Something was always broke or buggy. I love my s3. Was going to sell it to get an iphone 5, but I am going to keep it now.
jtiger12 said:
As someone who had a launch fascinate, and upgraded to an s3 in July, let me add my opinion.
Gps. Though still not bulletproof and instantly locking like my wife's iphone 4s, it is way better than the stock fassy and even cm builds
Rom. Stock Rom is way less bloated and tw is way better with a smaller footprint.
Quality. About the same. I miss the 4 capacitive buttons actually. Still find myself hitting the android options key when trying to get to the launcher
I still have my fascinate in case this breaks and needs to be swapped. I do not miss it at all though. I could never find a perfect Rom for it. Something was always broke or buggy. I love my s3. Was going to sell it to get an iphone 5, but I am going to keep it now.
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Glad to have someone who has experience with the fascinate and gs3. I was concerned with the gps since the gps on the fascinate was pretty wonky. I guess the gs3 isn't much different in build quality with the thin plastic battery cover.
I previously owned a Fascinate as well, it was a great phone but outdated.
I was first worrying about the size being (alittle) too big, after few days it seems to be perfect size.
I do not like the physical home button and the external speakers location. The battery cover is a thin flexible plastic cover, atleast it will not shatter if dropped on hard surfaces.
And the most important of all, it is not an iphone. Unless you have a lemon or defected phone, you will love it.
Hyper_Warp said:
I previously owned a Fascinate as well, it was a great phone but outdated.
I was first worrying about the size being (alittle) too big, after few days it seems to be perfect size.
I do not like the physical home button and the external speakers location. The battery cover is a thin flexible plastic cover, atleast it will not shatter if dropped on hard surfaces.
And the most important of all, it is not an iphone. Unless you have a lemon or defected phone, you will love it.
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Yeah, I was worried about the size until I tried out a floor model and to me, felt fine, different from the 4 inches of course but nothing like the galaxy note. I think one major difference is what you mentioned, the physical home button, coming from 4 capacitive buttons to just 3 buttons with one of them a physical one, is pretty different.
A lot of us come from the fascinate. Me too. I find this phone has built nicely on the original fascinate. Adding things that needed along with the general hardware upgrade. Or now thinking on it, Samsung or Qualcomm should have given us a quad core but such as life.
Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S 3 running CM10
tonu42 said:
A lot of us come from the fascinate. Me too. I find this phone has built nicely on the original fascinate. Adding things that needed along with the general hardware upgrade. Or now thinking on it, Samsung or Qualcomm should have given us a quad core but such as life.
Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S 3 running CM10
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Yeah such is life, but having the dual core hold up to that quad core is nice.
On another note, didn't get my galaxy s3 today. So I have unlimited data on my plan and went though hell to try to find a way to keep the unlimited data and get the phone at the discount price. I might of done it, but won't know until verizon sends me my phone in the mail. Will know in a couple days.
It's a great choice ! You will be glad you took the upgrade ! I even enjoy the phone out of the box . This phone is going to be limitless .
RyanW114 said:
So tomorrow is finally the day I get to upgrade my phone, my fascinate has treated me well these past two years, but its a bit dated now. So I've been following the forums and threads on the S III but I didn't see much people saying anything about specific hardware issues with the phone. When I go tomorrow to purchase my phone, is there any hardware specific stuff to look at to make sure my phone doesn't suffer from quality issues or run tests apps like display tester to test out the phone so I don't come out with a lemon and have to come back to exchange it? Any suggestions on making sure I don't get an lemon is much appreciated.
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Let me be one of the first to say Welcome to the VZW GS3 Family! I may be on GS3 #3, but I think I finally got a keeper. The phone kicks my bionic's a** left and right, and I feel the GS3 is the best phone on the market atm.
As for me being on GS3 #3, I wouldent worry about build quality. First one had the screen gap issue (was back when the GS3 had 1 forum for all carriers), second one had dead pixels, but this current one is a keeper!
I am also new to the verizon fam. Came from sprint and am so happy with this gs3. So much to do that sometimes dont know what to do on the phone. What cool tricks do u suggest. I habeny been on this site in years.
To update everyone, I got my phone today and was able to activate it and keep unlimited! The sweet sweet smell of a new phone with unlimited 4G.
RyanW114 said:
To update everyone, I got my phone today and was able to activate it and keep unlimited! The sweet sweet smell of a new phone with unlimited 4G.
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Did you specifically request to keep your unlimited? I am just curious because I preordered mine and was able to keep it. I am not sure if they are still allowing anyone who has unlimited to transition to the S3 with unlimited or only people who specifically request it... anyone have more information??
The phone is fantastic. I've had no issues with it. Welcome to the family!
I love my GS3. It's a great phone and build quality is pretty good. But I did have a few things though most of them are minor. Do check them out within your return window:
1. My 1st GS3 had GPS issue. Took forever to lock and wouldn't stay locked. Got an exchange for that and the 2nd one is way better, still not perfect but totally usable.
2. My 1st GS3 came with a tiny scratch on the screen. I found it after using the phone for < 2hours. At first I thought I scratched it. Then after keeping the phone in the same pocket (completely naked) for 3 weeks, and then having the 2nd one for a month, no scratch whatsoever. Now I'm pretty sure my 1st one came with the scratch. It's a very tiny scratch can only be seen from certain angle. But it annoyed the hell out of me.
3. Both the 1st and 2nd GS3's back cover have a squeaky spot. The 1st one right behind the volume rocker, the 2nd one behind the home button. Not the worst problem but can get annoying.
I saw other people report screen problem (dead pixel) so running a screen test is probably not a bad idea.
Dirty13ear said:
Did you specifically request to keep your unlimited? I am just curious because I preordered mine and was able to keep it. I am not sure if they are still allowing anyone who has unlimited to transition to the S3 with unlimited or only people who specifically request it... anyone have more information??
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As far as I know if you take a discounted price on a phone, you have to take a share everything plan. Op how did you keep your unlimited?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Dirty13ear said:
Did you specifically request to keep your unlimited? I am just curious because I preordered mine and was able to keep it. I am not sure if they are still allowing anyone who has unlimited to transition to the S3 with unlimited or only people who specifically request it... anyone have more information??
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I didn't, after June 28th you can't request to keep it. See below how I did it.
moun7ain said:
The phone is fantastic. I've had no issues with it. Welcome to the family!
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Thanks!
simollie said:
I love my GS3. It's a great phone and build quality is pretty good. But I did have a few things though most of them are minor. Do check them out within your return window:
1. My 1st GS3 had GPS issue. Took forever to lock and wouldn't stay locked. Got an exchange for that and the 2nd one is way better, still not perfect but totally usable.
2. My 1st GS3 came with a tiny scratch on the screen. I found it after using the phone for < 2hours. At first I thought I scratched it. Then after keeping the phone in the same pocket (completely naked) for 3 weeks, and then having the 2nd one for a month, no scratch whatsoever. Now I'm pretty sure my 1st one came with the scratch. It's a very tiny scratch can only be seen from certain angle. But it annoyed the hell out of me.
3. Both the 1st and 2nd GS3's back cover have a squeaky spot. The 1st one right behind the volume rocker, the 2nd one behind the home button. Not the worst problem but can get annoying.
I saw other people report screen problem (dead pixel) so running a screen test is probably not a bad idea.
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I was checking for everything, can you tell me more about the back cover squeaky spot, been squeezing it, haven't had any squeaky spots, I assume that means I don't have that problem.
Vorfidus said:
As far as I know if you take a discounted price on a phone, you have to take a share everything plan. Op how did you keep your unlimited?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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I did a cross upgrade, I was able to transfer my upgrade to a different phone and then have that line upgrade to the s3. When it came, I just esn swap (transferred the phone to my line). Note this only works with ordering from the website. At the store and anywhere else they will force you to switch. Trust me, I banged heads with a lot of people over this.
Vorfidus said:
As far as I know if you take a discounted price on a phone, you have to take a share everything plan. Op how did you keep your unlimited?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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When I got mine at full price they made me switch before they would activate it but I'm fine with it.
RyanW114 said:
I did a cross upgrade, I was able to transfer my upgrade to a different phone and then have that line upgrade to the s3. When it came, I just esn swap (transferred the phone to my line). Note this only works with ordering from the website. At the store and anywhere else they will force you to switch. Trust me, I banged heads with a lot of people over this.
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Ahhh that makes sense then. I was pretty sure they weren't allowing people to do that anymore no matter what but the way you went about it seems to be a few and far between sort of thing. Nice work on keeping that unlimited data though. props
RyanW114 said:
Glad to have someone who has experience with the fascinate and gs3. I was concerned with the gps since the gps on the fascinate was pretty wonky. I guess the gs3 isn't much different in build quality with the thin plastic battery cover.
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It feels solid to me. Its a thin cover but its all packed together in that slim body pretty tightly so it doesn't feel cheap (at least not to me). You can't tell its a thin plastic back unless you remove it as it doesn't move or give at all when it is on the phone. I think the fascinate felt worse
The GPS is no problem at all on the S3 but I never had issues with it on my fascinate either although I know a lot of people did.
Naturally, just as we start getting some real dev work on this phone, my wifes SK$G got swimming lessons. Now just in case any one is wondering, SK4G's do not swim well. In fact the poor guy drown!
So here's to hoping you guys get great development! Maybe I will see you deving for her new Galaxy S Relay 4G!
Sorry to hear it!
wolfepakt said:
Naturally, just as we start getting some real dev work on this phone, my wifes SK$G got swimming lessons. Now just in case any one is wondering, SK4G's do not swim well. In fact the poor guy drown!
So here's to hoping you guys get great development! Maybe I will see you deving for her new Galaxy S Relay 4G!
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Good luck. Hey, maybe it's for the best? All good things must come to an end, or all bad things. However you view the SK4G. I'm just glad I'm in a predicament where I'm able use a newer phone, but still be able to work with the SK4G, had it still been my primary driver, we wouldn't have an excellent developer working on it.
That sucks. Did you try taking the battery out and letting it sit in a bowl of rice? The battery may be toast but there is some hope for the phone. You might try a new battery before you call it dead.
bhundven said:
That sucks. Did you try taking the battery out and letting it sit in a bowl of rice? The battery may be toast but there is some hope for the phone. You might try a new battery before you call it dead.
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You gotta do a lot more than just let it sit in rice for awhile. You need to take the entire phone apart and flush it with clean water, then place the pieces somewhere warm to dry for a few hours. Ideally you use compressed air to blow the water off first.
Even then, a full immersion probably means you'd need a new screen. Screens are made up of a bunch of layers of delicate diffusers that are easily damaged simply by touching them. I wouldn't try to repair a water damaged LCD.
Still you could probably revive the mainboard, permitting it to be used to fix a hard bricked phone, or allowing you to get any important data off of it.
She made the mistake of trying to turn it on before it had time to dry properly.
Fortunately we had a full upgrade! She so far likes the relay. Only things she misses is the keyboard and the screen angle.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2
wolfepakt said:
Only things she misses is the keyboard and the screen angle.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2
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Screen angle was the main reason why I got this phone. Used HTC Touch Pro 2 before that, and it's angle was even better. Why there are so few phones with tiltable screen?..
I have the worst luck ever! Just got my S4 and after opening i noticed some dirt on the home key. After i tried to get it off i found out its actually scratches and small holes like if has got stuck under a machine or something. To make it worse there is also a small dent on the lower right side.
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Dent is the bright point on lower right side
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Luckily i order this one from the web so we can return it without fuss (i would hate to have a phone with scratches on day 1, usually i never drop my phones and keep them top shape, i'm a perfectionist hehe) but i been waiting for ages for this phone so i couldnt take it any more and went out and bought one from the store and gambled this one is without scratches as far as i can see. Hopefully no hardware error but lets see by tomorrow hehe
I have had really bad luck with phone as of late, my last S3 had hardware problem and kept rebooting right out of box so i had to exchange it. Hope the circle is broken now. Any way just wanted to let of some steam here
yea but sending most devices back they require it to be in mint condition and if its not you get charged full retail for it so i wouldnt send it back
Unlucky. I'm very happy I have no issues at all with screen parts or physical build, except for a battery that seems to drain too quickly (yes most everything is off, and no, it's not the media server bug).
I would take it back. New products are supposed to look new, not used or abused.
I feel ya, my S4 came with yellow tint. Had to exchange it and still received a yellow-tinted screen. Refunded.
Totally, considering the cost (i pay cash) its not acceptable to have such obvious problems. The more people send back these phones the better they try to raise the quality bar i think. Its aweful to get a bad screen to, good that you refunded it.
For me the battery is pretty amazing so far, i charged it full and played with it like 40 minue using map, web, 4G, wlan etc and its at 96% so its far better than what my S3.
Will keep playing with all the new features feel like Christmas
One thing i dont like is Google Play downloads like 40 apps and put them under the apps. I use to have them well organized in maps. Wish they could fix it so that it restores it as it use to be on older phone.
Return it back .......im sure u will get new one ...
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app
fade2green514 said:
yea but sending most devices back they require it to be in mint condition and if its not you get charged full retail for it so i wouldnt send it back
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Exactly why I always video record myself opening up any new phone purchase. Only way to really protect yourself 100% from them saying that "well how do we know you didn't damage it sir?"
ap3604 said:
Exactly why I always video record myself opening up any new phone purchase. Only way to really protect yourself 100% from them saying that "well how do we know you didn't damage it sir?"
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I havent even taken off the plastic nor put in battery either way they agree to take it back so no worries.
I'm so please with the other S4, it works so great. Battery is really a huge improvement from S3, been playing with is allot and after a day its at 50% so very pleased.