Battery, Battery, Battery... - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note5

Recently I had to purchase another Note 5 because of a critical battery failure. Normally insurance, or manufacturer warranty would have covered this but I learned that I was a victim of poor customer service when I bought the unit. Despite the absolute fact that I requested insurance and was told that I had it the rep did not add it to my Note 5 line. Apparently she didn't quite know what she was doing and assumed because she saw that I had it on two other lines that the line in question had it also. Because I depend on this line for incoming business calls I couldn't just put on an never ending protest until I had my way. I had to replace the device at cost to my self. The manufacturer's warranty was void because of a hairline Crack the device incurred the hour before it's case arrived in the mail. Quite silly since anyone with sense would know that a hairline fracture in the corner of the back glass wouldn't cause the phone to become inoperable. Do anyhow, I was told by a rep there was no way for them to check and verify that a rep and I three months back had the conversation. Does anyone know if this is true or if I'm just being blown off? I assumed they kept record of calls for quite some time at least for legal reasons. Does anyone know for sure? I feel if I'm armed with some facts I'll be much better prepared when I call in to speak with someone in management.
In preventing this from happening again I've opted not to be using an adaptive fast charger as my all the time charger and have decide to use a high quality name brand 5v except when I just have to have a blazing fast charge. In addition I installed a kernel with greater option for battery throughput via synapse but I'm absolutely clueless as to the particulars of exactly what those settings in battery settings should be. In the case of the SkyHigh Kernel will the defaults presented in Synapse Control app be set by the kernel or the software? If there set by the software then Im sure I need to change somethings. Is anyone out there knowledgeable enough know this area to suggest to me what would be considered conservative or the safe bet settings which would ensure longest battery longevity? I don't he want to have to shell out another $800 any time soon, at least not for a phone. Thanks in advance to those patient enough to read through my ramblings and respond.

Honestly I recommend rocking your device stock. Disable some bloat ware and unused apps. If you want to go further with battery then go even further disabling all the location access and whatnot. I like to leave it on because I value what it does for me, but some want ultimate battery.
My point is I think being an ultimate battery miser comes more from software settings than custom ROMs & kernels.

Related

AT&T complaint

If this is not an appropriate place to make a complaint about a carrier, I apologize and understand if this post is locked, moved, or removed.
I have a Tilt 2 which recently and suddenly began not sending or receiving on its USB port. The phone would charge, but no data would move. In fact, neither the computers nor the phone itself even made notice that a device had been connected. I also noticed the battery discharging abnormally fast. So fast that even with the phone off, the next day, it would not power on. I called AT&T to get the phone replaced as it's less than a year old.
I was put through the ringer, as expected on a first call. I was then forwarded to business tech support where I was met with a seemingly slightly more intelligent person, who obviously had no experience actually using a Windows Mobile device, but had no issue reading from a guided instruction on using a WM6.1 device, for a phone using a WM6.5.
This person then contacted HTC and put me in touch with them, where I got the most intelligent person I'd spoken to all that day (an I work in a call center myself). After software removal and resinstallation as well as option swapping, I was told to take the phone to a store to see if it was both my laptop running Device Center and my desktop running ActiveSync in conjunction with the 4 cables I used, including the stock one, were at fault... I was told if they were, that the phone needed replacement.
Fine.
The next day, I discover the aforementioned battery drain to the point of no power on. I take it to the store, where they are unable to test it as it won't stay on (due to complete discharge), and am instructed to call AT&T's warranty line. I spent the next 12 minutes on the phone with the warranty rep, who, through my description of the problem, decides the best thing to do is to REPLACE THE BATTERY... I asked the rep something to the tune of 'So, are you saying that a failed battery would cause the data port not to work, when the phone is receiving power through the same cable as the data would be going through?'
To which I am replied something like 'Well, sometimes...' at which point I pulled the phone away from my head to avoid screaming at this person. I do not like being treated like an idiot. I have been using WM devices since 2003, and HTC's since 2007. It would be obvious to anyone on these forums that what this phone is doing is a hardware failure. It's been reported multiple times in the Rhodium forum that this is occurring to all forms of the Rhodium.
Anyway, the rep confirmed my information and told me to expect this battery in 2 days. Upon checking the email confirmation, it's an extended battery. Adhesive bandages for broken necks.... Once I got home, I called again and laid out my contempt for this process and negation of the word of the manufacturer. This person connected me to the warranty line and I was greeted by someone who could actually comprehended the problem and did not attempt to point fingers after accusation had been made.
I will be receiving a replacement soon. But I must say, the 2.5 hours spent talking to the collective uninformed reps at AT&T makes me think twice before buying a new device ever again. On the other hand, the singularly knowledgeable rep at HTC was a pleasant surprise. In my line of work (appliances), the relative show of knowledge and comprehension skills far exceeds anything I've encounted in the whole of the company I work for.
Bravo, HTC. Shame on you, AT&T.
Er... could this all have been avoided if you had contacted HTC in the first place? Because that's what your post sounds like. (Just curious!) Or did your warranty only apply though AT&T?
The warranty was through AT&T, per the HTC rep. If there's a manufacturer's warranty as well, I would have much rather went with them.
As a side note to the fiasco, the replacement battery made it to me. I called and was told to keep it.
Here's the best part:
It's an extended battery. The downside? No replacement back cover, so it won't fit in the case... Way to go, AT&T...
Your story is one of the reasons I found myself moving to Big Red last year. My TP2 (RHOD500) has not seen any of the issues mentioned here.
If you want to read about my "adventure" in AT&T-land, check out this thread from my Tilt days.

Finally a fully functioning phone

So long story short I lost my phone a week ago, one with terrible gps I should add, I didn't get the standard 5 dollar a month insurance from the death star, the guy at the wireless place offered me some other option where you pay a hundred up front but the deductible was only fifty so I did it thank god.
The insurance was through protect cell. So i filed a claim and they two dayed me phone feddy ex new sim card all. So i activated the phone and what do you know it has constant, i mean extremely constant random shutdown, like every 20 minutes while the battery was over 50 percent. So i the insurance company back and what do you the had the cap on back order so instead of being able to over night me a phone I had to deal with random shutdowns for a few days.
So the new phone finally arrived today and so far no random shutdowns and I did a gps test today and it worked extremely better than ever before. Hopefully this continues. Because I did hear fresh phones are more apt to have a functionable gps.
So to everyone with some sort of issue I suggest using those one year manufacturers warranties until you get a completely functionable phone. I do understand that is a big hassle for most of us and we shouldn't have to do all that to get a working phone but imo its better then having a phone that is lacking in some of its functionability.
Now more testing on custom rom and I am all set, praying gps maintains cuz it's a dealbreaker for me
I got my replacement phone last week (random shutdowns). The replacement had 4 shutdowns in less than 24 hours, the phone I was replacing had 4 shutdowns in 2 months. Called and *****ed that the replacement was within the same IMEI range as the affected phones. They overnighted another phone without waiting for the first or second phone to be returned. Third phone is working fine so far. GPS on Andromeda 1.2 is awesome.
Yea my phone also falls into the random shutdown range sadly, but hey so did my first one and I hadnt had any problems with it. Curious do you have insurance through att or did you get your replacement through warranty?
Fortunately, I live within 25 miles of a AT&T Tech Center - right next to an AT&T Sales Store - and they always have the Cap in stock. I'm on my 4th one, due to hardware issues - all at 0 cost under warranty. They were nice enough to show me that the new phone would boot to recovery, lol.
Happily running Serendipity 5.12, and patiently awaiting Gingerbread.
Thanks to all the devs and members at xda forums for your tireless enthusiasm!
No insurance, all replaced under warranty.
well its day two and I'm now running andromeda, gps is decent but not spectacular. Scheming on an inspire now
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Held out since Dec 2010...replacement on the way
There are quite a few threads about the Captivate Shutdown issue, and actually there are a few with some good observations on how to potentially correct it, but ultimately it needs to be replaced
So, what have I tried:
1) Captivate Keep Alive: Works, but battery drain...and non solution.
2) Load Monitor: Works, not a huge battery drain...still, does not fix the underlying issue.
3) Contrary to what many have said, a custom rom/custom kernel does not fix the issue.
4) It does appear some have had success with cleaning battery terminals, and a few have stated Samsung replaced the battery terminals and it fixed the issue.
I called At&t today, 03/08/2011, they asked me for the IMEI code and what color the water damage indicators where (pink or white?). No water damage here, so white please.
They are doing an exchange by mail, since I do not live close to a repair center...I have 14-days to ship the original back. It was quick and to the point. The replacement is a "refurbished device" direct from the manufacturer. Fingers crossed that I do not experience this again on the replacement as others have.
Hope this helps someone sitting on the fence on whether or not to ship theirs back. Remember to unroot, unlag, and otherwise un-fun your phone before shipping back
Enigma

Battery Life Management Questions from a Smartphone Newbie

Hi everyone, I am a pretty technically savvy person, but a newbie to the world of smartphones. I just got a MT4GS this week and have been getting used to it for the past few days. My main concern is the battery life - understandably, compared to my old feature phone, the smartphone is going to use a lot more juice. I just wasn't expecting to charge it overnight, have it plugged most of the day at work, and still be down to ~70% power by the time I get home. I'm not even doing anything that intense with it. It worries me to think that my phone might die on me if I'm out somewhere for the day. And what is the point of having a phone that can run programs and do all these great things, if you're afraid to use it?
After reading around here, I've already picked up a lot of great tips: I ordered a set of the Anker batteries (my phone was purchased used, and while it is physically in great condition, who knows about the battery), and I installed the 2x Battery app. I've reduced my screen brightness; turned off background data; turned off GPS; and when I'm on WiFi, I have 4G off, and vice versa.
A couple of questions:
1) Without doing anything crazy to the phone or default OS, is there anything else you recommend doing to conserve battery life?
2) In 2x Battery, there is a setting "Pause when WiFi on." The description here is kind of confusing, and I can't tell if it's working or not. If I want the mobile data connection off when connected to WiFi, do I want this option checked or unchecked? Right now I'm connected to WiFi, but it appears that mobile data is on whether this box is checked or not.
Thank you so much for all the great info so far, and for any advice you can offer me )
Well, firstly, good call on the anker batteries. I have one, and it's changed my life with this device. I went from being exactly as you described (scared to go somewhere without knowing exactly where my next source of power was) to not paying it much mind.
Secondly, if you are unrooted stock - then you have a whole lot of apps working in the background and conspiring together to drain your battery. ...and there's nothing you can do about it because both T-Mobile and HTC saw fit to place them there, running around the clock and beyond your control.
This is known as bloat, and on this phone it's beyond out of control. It's out of control on other phones, but they took it to a special place of exasperation on this one.
I am not sure about this 2x battery app you're speaking of, i've never used it. Consider this, though, it's one MORE app running on your device and draining your battery - and if you are stock this may be something you can ill afford.
As far as the wifi/data dance, this is nothing more then a feel-good measure that really isn't doing anything for you except adding to your interaction with the device. The time your screen is on to make that change takes more battery use then you would save on several hours of having one or the other switched off.
Check this link below (another XDA post):
Everything you wanted to know about Li-Ion batteries but were afraid to ask!
...and it may help you out with battery care.
For me, running my custom ROM with an anker battery and all the apps/widgets I prefer to use I can get 6-8 hours out of a charge on the anker battery with semi-steady usage.
This is with both wifi, mobile data and background data on, and the screen on but at mostly dim brightness for 4-5 of those 6-8.
If I overclock the processor to 1.7Ghz (stock it stops at 1.2Ghz) and hook it up to a television using a playstation (game console) emulator...running flat out at full speed I can drain the (anker) battery in as little as 3 hours.
Something that may interest you as time wears on and you get used to having the anker batteries and using them is what is mentioned in this thread:
external battery pack! Awesome!
...and there are many out there and good deals to be had on some, poke around a bit and you'll find one suitable if such is your desire.
One last thing to consider - make sure you are using the proper charging port.
Most USB ports on computers only push half an amp, as well as nearly every single secondary port on chargers (think car chargers with an 'extra' USB port). Half an amp is not enough current to charge the device if being used, and barely enough to see positive battery increase if not.
Make sure whatever you plug into is pushing 5volts 1amp, or you'll see your battery level continue to drop as you are charging.
(oh, and GPS is something you WILL see more battery life from turning off if not using - so having something like a soundhound app widget on your home screen with location on will eat your battery before you know it's gone by activating the GPS.)
Dimming the screen if possible will see you the greatest gains in battery life, and then getting rid of any apps you can that are running in the background is the next biggest step - but again, if stock and unrooted there is only so much you can do on app management.
DON'T USE TASK KILLERS - EVER. (they do much, much more harm then any falsely perceived good you may think you are getting from them.)
Recap:
Screen = biggest battery drain.
GPS chip/use = second biggest drain.
Apps in background = third biggest drain.
Wifi/mobile data = negligable drain.
Hope this helps a bit.
Edit:
Oh, and welcome to XDA!
Blue pretty much covered everything that I was going to say. I also have the Anker battery, and I also have the Anker 5600 mah external battery, and I no longer have battery worries. I choose the Anker external battery over the other ones because of its small portable size, even though some of the other ones have more capacity. I find that I can get about two full charges of my phone with it, and it is small enough to fit in my pocket or purse with no problem. I highly recommend an external battery just for piece of mind, knowing that I no longer have to be searching every place I go for an outlet. I love that I can charge my phone while it is in my pocket or purse. Also the price isn't too bad, I bought mine for about $40, but I see Amazon now has it for $33. I bought it from a company called Laptop Mate on Amazon, and it was shipped amazingly fast even though I just got standard shipping. Laptop Mate then said if I wrote a review I could choose a free gift. The gifts were not anything spectacular, but the gesture was nice. At the time I could choose between a usb powered reading light, a card reader, and I forget what the other one was. Again nothing great, but it was just a nice bonus, I will definitely buy from that company again. So with my Anker internal battery, and my external battery, I could reasonably not have to plug my phone into the wall for at least two days, I could stretch it more if I was camping or something. I really like keeping my screen at full brightness, so that is where most of my drain comes from. Well, sorry for the long winded response, and welcome to XDA. I bet that in a month you will wonder what you ever did with out a smart phone.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Externa...on/dp/B005K7192G/ref=pd_rhf_gw_cpp_tab0_p_t_1
Thank you so much for your very thorough responses! I am happy to report that since making a few little changes (turning down my screen brightness, turning off the background data sync), performance is already noticeably better. Yesterday I was on battery power for close to 14 hours, was on and off WiFi, talked on the phone probably a couple hours total, and used it what I would consider a "normal" amount (e-mail, photos, some social networking)... and still had ~50% power left by the time I went to bed. That is much more reassuring to me, and I can only assume performance would get even better once I get those new batteries.
I understand about the "bloat" and having all these extra things running, but I think doing anything with the ROM is a little above my expertise at this point. For now, things seem to be working reasonably, so we'll see...
I like the external charger idea, but I am going to hold off for now. I ordered the 2-pack of Anker batteries, so once I get those, I'll have 3 batteries. One should be fine for a normal day, and if I'm really going to be out for a while and not have any opportunity to recharge, or will be using the phone a lot, I could just bring along a spare or two. (Good thing I am a lady with a purse - what do guys do?! Carry a man bag? My husband is considering getting the same phone, so this is a valid concern.)
I'm apparently too new to post a link to 2x Battery, which I've seen mentioned elsewhere on this board, but that's the name if you want to look it up in the Android Market. Even if it is using a little more battery power, I think it's worth it. It puts controls for things that use battery power all in one place, and it makes it very easy to monitor the current battery status. I think I'll stick with it, at least until I get a better sense of how my use affects the battery.
Per the question of a man hauling batteries, I just carry a spare battery or two I'm my front pocket. If I am carrying keys I will slap a piece of tape accross the terminals to prevent a short. One or two guys carry their spare gear in a camera case. I can haul most all I need in a corner of my Levi's front pocket.
I also used to run Juice Defender, it got irritating waiting for the data connection to spin up and the benefits were outweighed (IMHO) by the downsides. Killing data every time the screen turns off was grim.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
I have a zipper case I keep the phone in, and it's not much larger then the device itself. Above and beyond keeping dust out ( primary function ) it also has a small pocket on the outside I keep a few knick-knacks in, like a retractable micro-usb cable, backup memory card ( recovery purposes) mini flash drive and spare battery.
I highly recommend some kind of small zipper case for the device to keep out the dust, best $10 investment I've made for the phone.
Not in a position to link pics at the moment, but I'll do so over the next few days when I get the chance - especially floating loose in a potentially dusty purse it's something to consider.
I wish the video cable was something I could cram in to it as well, but that presents too much bulk for it to work, I have a mini camera case I carry sometimes with the A/V cable, AC adapter, another micro-usb cable and some memory cards and flash drives - something to consider for yourself for carrying cables and such since you most likely have room in your purse for a mini camera case with such things.
Sent from a digital distance.
Thanks for all the carrying tips!
Blue6IX said:
I highly recommend some kind of small zipper case for the device to keep out the dust, best $10 investment I've made for the phone.
Not in a position to link pics at the moment, but I'll do so over the next few days when I get the chance - especially floating loose in a potentially dusty purse it's something to consider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really worried about my own phone, it has its own little pocket inside my purse, and I don't know what kind of ladies you hang out with, but my purse is not dusty...
Please forgive - I meant no offense by it.
I threw in the word potentially because while I have seen some pristine purses, i've also seen some which haven't been vacuumed out in a long time, if ever. The very fine dust that gets in during the course of normal travel is what our enemy is here. (...and yours may be vacuumed out on a consistent basis, really only you can know.)
This need not just be dirt, even the fibers of the material wearing off in tiny fractions of an amount from simply carrying it around (material rubbing against material as it's shape stretches, bends and contorts) is enough to be a hazard to the device. Over time this adds up.
(though, saying it has it's own pocket/pouch within the purse itself lends a good deal more protection and paints a much better picture then the previous blanket statement of 'in my purse')
Due to the slide mechanism and the exposed back of the LCD screen it is very easy to get dust under the screen, in between the layers of it.
Slide it open with the screen at max brightness, then flip it over. Look at the very end of the slide channels on the screen side, from an angle on the side. You will be able to clearly see the light shining through opposite the T-Mobile branding on the backside of where the genius button is. Look past the greenish tint and see the whitish light, noticing how it extends inwards.
You can now look at the other side, right by the T-Mobile branding in the same spot and though you can't see the light shining through, you can see how very fine dust can work it's way in between the digitizer and screen.
'Dust under screen' is something that people who post here at XDA have made warranty exchanges over, as well as who knows how many who don't post have done. It's a valid exchange gripe that is in fact covered under warranty from what the people who have posted about it have led us to believe. There are also plenty of 'dust under screen' doubleshots on reduced price on ebay that you could look up this very moment.
Again, I meant no offense, but was simply trying to use the situation presented to illustrate a potential hazard your new device could fall victim of. Hopefully by bringing it to your attention you can take steps to minimize any damage, or at least present you with the opportunity to later be in a situation of:
'Oh well, at least I knew it was coming'
...as opposed to:
'Wow, I wish I knew that could have happened'
We only wish you to get the best experience possible from your Android, and while there is a lot of important info here...'tis easy to become overwhelmed by it all and miss some of the important things that could help you immediately, or should be known immediately.
Glad to hear you are already in better straights over the management of your available power!
By the way - thanks for endeavoring to clarify the app you were using for battery management, i'll definitely scope it out when I get a chance.
Blue6IX said:
Please forgive - I meant no offense by it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken, I just thought it was funny
Thanks for the tips about dust, though. That wasn't something I had really considered, though I'm hoping to get a bit more life out of this phone than my last few (cheap, and switched on a whim), so I'll be sure to keep things clean. Is it ok to spray the back of the slide-out with some compressed air, or could that cause other problems?
Little update:
I did use a little compressed air to clean out the back of the phone, so hopefully I didn't hurt anything.
Two different cases are on their way to me - I'll see which I like more and return the other.
I've had the Anker battery in for just a couple hours, and it's already amazing! I've been using the phone a decent amount, turned on notifications and everything I'd switched off, and it's still at 100%! Also feels much cooler than the other battery. It was a tight fit, like everyone said, but I did get it in and fit the back cover over it.
But, weird thing: when I turn the phone sideways, the screen no longer rotates. It will still rotate if I slide the keyboard up, but otherwise it's like it doesn't recognize that the orientation changed. Did the battery mess something up?
The screen didn't rotate on it's own unless you slid the keyboard out if you are using the stock launcher - you may have made the same mistake I did in thinking it was so, but it wasn't.
Home screens, in the app drawer...etc... not made to auto-rotate.
You just happened to finally realize it - same thing happened to me.
I even argued against it, and couldn't figure out why it was changed.
A while later while I was going through the code that comprises Rosie (sense launcher) I actually saw that it wasn't made to do so.
So no, the battery didn't mess this up, it's the way it was supposed to be.
The reason for it is there is an alignment issue with some widgets when it switches from portrait to landscape in Rosie. I'm not sure how to fix it the way they have it coded, i've been scratching my head on this one for a while and tried a few things with no success.
HTC could learn a few things from some aftermarket app designers ( like the team that made GO launcher, for instance)
The way they built it, I don't think it's possible to fix their mistake, it's too interwoven and embedded in the design of the code.
Edit - it still and always has, autorotated while you are in apps themselves if they support it.
Oh you're right! That's funny, I never noticed before. In other apps, the screen does rotate normally, so I guess all is good...
Going on 12 hours with this battery, with all notifications, synching, etc. turned on, and I'm still at 67% ... And this is right out of the box, without the 4-5 cycles they recommend. I'm very happy with it so far!

[Q] Stock GS3 dies while taking pictures

Ok here is my issue.
I had a VZ GS3, running the same software it had out of he box. ie I never rooted it or unlocked the bootloader(I was waiting for a stable JB/Touchwiz).
Anyway, I had the phone for about 3wks. Didn't run into any issues seemed to be working fine. One morning I was sitting around playing with the camera taking pictures of my girlfriend play with her dog.
In the middle of taking pictures the phone just died. At the the time the battery was pretty low maybe 10-15%. At first I thought the battery was dead so I tried charging it but the charging LED never lit up. Pressing the home button did nothing(no battery graphic). I went and took a shower leaving it on the charger for another 30min still no change. I tried booting into ODIN mode, but still got nothing.
So I got dressed and went to VZ. The tech pulled the battery and tried one from a display unit, but we still got nothing . We tried booting into ODIN with this new battery & still nothing. The tech said he had never seen anything like that happen before so they would return my phone on warranty (I don't have insurance).
Of course they send me a refurb and it works fine but I can't help but feel a little cheated, I bought a new $250 phone and through no fault of my own I have to live with this refurb. Also, this has made me a little wary of rooting my phone since if it hard bricks I won't be able to restore it to factory before sending it back.
Anybody hear of anything like this happening with other GS3's
What's wrong with a refurb? How do you feel cheated? You returned your non working phone for a phone that does work and passed another round of QC. I don't see the problem here.
mustbepbs said:
What's wrong with a refurb? How do you feel cheated? You returned your non working phone for a phone that does work and passed another round of QC. I don't see the problem here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel cheated because using electronics puts on wear. The processor, the OLEDs, every piece of silicon in the phone is subject to degradation based on the amount of use, heat, liquid and impact its exposed to. By definition, the refurb is a phone that had some issue and was repaired.
I don't know what the phone has been exposed to prior to me receiving it. For all I know they re-flashed someones highly used phone stuck it in a new case/bezel and sent it to me. Any additional wear may down the road effect the performance of my phone. Its the same reason that the display unit at most stores is sold at a discount.
As to your talk of QC. They actually sent me 2 refurbs. The first one was put back together incorrectly & the battery door wouldn't close, so I had to return that one immediately after opening the box.
sololhj said:
I feel cheated because using electronics puts on wear. The processor, the OLEDs, every piece of silicon in the phone is subject to degradation based on the amount of use, heat, liquid and impact its exposed to. By definition, the refurb is a phone that had some issue and was repaired.
I don't know what the phone has been exposed to prior to me receiving it. For all I know they re-flashed someones highly used phone stuck it in a new case/bezel and sent it to me. Any additional wear may down the road effect the performance of my phone. Its the same reason that the display unit at most stores is sold at a discount.
As to your talk of QC. They actually sent me 2 refurbs. The first one was put back together incorrectly & the battery door wouldn't close, so I had to return that one immediately after opening the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if you buy new or get new for a replacement, you're still subject to the same problems that could arise, as you've already experienced. As for your other points, the phone has been out for a few months. I think you need to relax a little bit if you have legitimate issues, verizon will give you another refurb as you've already had to do.
Just because it's new doesn't make it impervious, as again you've already seen.
This was replaced under warranty so you should, in my opinion, have gotten a brand new phone. It's not like it was replaced out of warranty by an insurance company. You paid for a new phone that was defective at the fault of Samsung. It was not your fault. I'd contact Verizon AND Samsung and complain. Rerburb is NOT new. I call refurbished items used because that's a better definition of what they are.
I agree with sololhj. Even though the phone works and went through further qc, it's still not new. I paid for a new phone, I want a new phone. On my last phone there were issues, so I had it replaced. I got sent a refurbished one and it just wasn't the same. Weird feeling, hard to explain lol.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
mustbepbs said:
Even if you buy new or get new for a replacement, you're still subject to the same problems that could arise, as you've already experienced. As for your other points, the phone has been out for a few months. I think you need to relax a little bit if you have legitimate issues, verizon will give you another refurb as you've already had to do.
Just because it's new doesn't make it impervious, as again you've already seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course the same problems could arise, in fact I don't even blame Samsung for my phone bricking itself in the first. I probably just got a bad piece of silicon. The whole reason I started this thread is because now that this phone has been out for a month I thought I would have heard of this happening to someone else, but apparently it hasn't.
The point is, what if this phone belonged to a fellow XDA member who had a custom kernel running and had the cpu overclocked to 3GHZ, burning a whole in the phone? Then because of some other issue he reflashed the stock ROM, used the flash counter hack to return the phone to normal and returned it to Verizon.
Now that's my phone and all that wear & tear is on the chip potentially reducing its overall life. Aren't I entitled to a new unused piece of silicon, even if the probability of it having issues is the same as the refurb I received?
sololhj said:
Of course the same problems could arise, in fact I don't even blame Samsung for my phone bricking itself in the first. I probably just got a bad piece of silicon. The whole reason I started this thread is because now that this phone has been out for a month I thought I would have heard of this happening to someone else, but apparently it hasn't.
The point is, what if this phone belonged to a fellow XDA member who had a custom kernel running and had the cpu overclocked to 3GHZ, burning a whole in the phone? Then because of some other issue he reflashed the stock ROM, used the flash counter hack to return the phone to normal and returned it to Verizon.
Now that's my phone and all that wear & tear is on the chip potentially reducing its overall life. Aren't I entitled to a new unused piece of silicon, even if the probability of it having issues is the same as the refurb I received?
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Yeah if you bought it in the last 14 days, verizon should give you a new one. Maybe I'm just not that paranoid about refurbished things as others.

Determine first power-on date?

I bought a Pixel 3 from the Google Store and had it delivered via their "expert setup" person. The battery level was like 27% or something when she powered it on which seemed low so I'm paranoid that it's somehow not a new device. Is there some way to tell when the phone was first powered on? I vaguely remember on a prior phone being able to get into some service menu and see something like that but I tried some of the hidden menu codes without luck. I have the unlocked version of the Pixel 3 and am running on Verizon in case that matters.
I don't think there's a set number for what the battery is at when delivered. It's generally not full and probably depends on a few factors like how long it was on the shelf and the temperatures in storage/transit. I'd guess they might be full or nearly full when they leave the factory but then they get shipped to the US and are warehoused before being delivered to you. Usually these is enough battery to power it on and start setup but usually you need to plug it into do the system updates and such. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
That said, I am not aware of any way to tell if it was powered on before.
fury683 said:
I don't think there's a set number for what the battery is at when delivered. It's generally not full and probably depends on a few factors like how long it was on the shelf and the temperatures in storage/transit. I'd guess they might be full or nearly full when they leave the factory but then they get shipped to the US and are warehoused before being delivered to you. Usually these is enough battery to power it on and start setup but usually you need to plug it into do the system updates and such. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
That said, I am not aware of any way to tell if it was powered on before.
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I thought there was some federal regulation surrounding the minimum charge level that the batteries have to have when leaving the factory but searching for that now didn't seem to return anything definitive.
Federal Regulation about the phone means nothing. Stop gender labeling your phone.

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