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[Q] Should i get a new replacement Captivate?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A working way to get a GPS lock

Well... As we all know, gps is **** on our captivates. That being said, i found a way to get a gps lock, and almost all the time..
However the method isnt as simple as opening up Gmaps and pressing my location.
I have only tried this with Apex 8.2
To do this.. you have to enter AngryGPS (*#3214789650#*)
Then go to tracking test... Wait for it to present values of your latitude and longitude.
Once these values are there... press maps, and voila

Uhhh seems like the code is for lbstest. Well if so... By using a test feature all you are really doing is turning your gps on(all the time). Which will basically always give you quick lock because the gps is always on unless you kill all your apps or re-open lbstest and back out. Not really a fix, more of a drain on your battery. Only true fix for older models of this phone is to get a refurb'd from atnt/rogers in your case. (not samsung).

Once opened, Angry gps looks just like lbstest. For some reason it was renamed.

Just need to figure out a way to do this with Tasker.

Ah, in that case.. cant you just program tasker to only turn gps on when you open maps or a navigation app?
kimocal said:
Just need to figure out a way to do this with Tasker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but how do you program tasker to open up lbstestmode... then run the tracking test... wait about 10 seconds... then open up maps?

So let me see if I get this straight. You start GPS, wait till it gets a lock and then open maps and you have a lock?
that's what we used to do on Eclair.
NascarFastcar is right, the only real way to have a working GPS is to get a refurbished unit. Most of us early adopters are going past our 1 year mark, so if you haven't, get one quick!

I still have a couple months in my warranty left. What problem would I go to them with?

The GPS is fixed on a refurb?

supaphreek said:
I still have a couple months in my warranty left. What problem would I go to them with?
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Click to collapse
Tell them the gps dosent work. That's all. They will most likely try to get a lock indoors lol and then they will just give you a refurbed. They like to use google maps. I tried to show them gps test etc and they tried to blame my gps not working via a 3rd party app.
ifederov said:
The GPS is fixed on a refurb?
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Click to collapse
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.

NascarFastcar said:
Tell them the gps dosent work. That's all. They will most likely try to get a lock indoors lol and then they will just give you a refurbed. They like to use google maps. I tried to show them gps test etc and they tried to blame my gps not working via a 3rd party app.
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.
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Click to collapse
Okay... but im currently running apex 8.2.. So i cant go to them with a rooted and rommed phone. Do i downgrade to a 2.2 stock rogers rom?

NascarFastcar said:
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree that the gps is fixed. I just got a refurb about 6 weeks ago. The gps worked awesome for a few weeks. It now sucks eggs - actually worse than my last phone. Totally stock, just like my previous phone. I don't know the build number because it has a weird refurb sticker that doesn't have a build number on it.
-Rich

Take it back and get another one until they give you one that works.

cappysw10 said:
Take it back and get another one until they give you one that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've learned how to use it. I know others have tried, but here are the ONLY real instructions that work:
1) You have to always look 2 steps ahead of what it says when using Google Maps on a Captivate because you never know when all of a sudden it will think you're on a different street and start giving you directions on how to get back on the correct path.
2) When she it starts telling you how to correct yourself (when you're actually already on the right path) learn how to IGNORE it or it will confuse you
3) It's ok for occasional use, but always and I mean ALWAYS have a real GPS handy in the glove compartment for the occasions when your Captivate decides that it isn't in the mood to lock onto any statellites even when it sees 7 or 8 with a with strong signals
4) Always have a real GPS handy when your Captivate can't locate ANY satellites.
5) When in Maine or rural New Hampshire don't even think about using your Captivate!!!
6) Overlook it's GPS defects because it's so awesome in every other way.
Does this post earn a sticky? We should coin a pharse that encompasses all of the above (you know your Captivate has trained you in a similar manor).

richb500 said:
I've learned how to use it. I know others have tried, but here are the ONLY real instructions that work:
1) You have to always look 2 steps ahead of what it says when using Google Maps on a Captivate because you never know when all of a sudden it will think you're on a different street and start giving you directions on how to get back on the correct path.
2) When she it starts telling you how to correct yourself (when you're actually already on the right path) learn how to IGNORE it or it will confuse you
3) It's ok for occasional use, but always and I mean ALWAYS have a real GPS handy in the glove compartment for the occasions when your Captivate decides that it isn't in the mood to lock onto any statellites even when it sees 7 or 8 with a with strong signals
4) Always have a real GPS handy when your Captivate can't locate ANY satellites.
5) When in Maine or rural New Hampshire don't even think about using your Captivate!!!
6) Overlook it's GPS defects because it's so awesome in every other way.
Does this post earn a sticky? We should coin a pharse that encompasses all of the above (you know your Captivate has trained you in a similar manor).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah but you see, i dont drive. Well i do... but i dont have a car. So public transport is what i use and luckily, google maps supports it. Basically all i need is a position lock, rather than finding my house, tracking down whatever streets i used to get to wherever i am, then selecting that as a point...

I returned my 1008 Captivate because of random shutdowns last week and received a 1007 refurb and the GPS was perfect on 2.2.1 and continues to be perfect on Apex 8.2. Also, no random shutdowns.

Exchanged a 1007 Captivate in My, got a 1010 refurb. GPS is about 98% as good as my Garmin GPS in one car. In the other, there must be some kind of interference scit doesn't keep a good signal in the location I put it navigate.
I find it fun to see the difference in the routes they provide.
The 1010 model can also track me walking on the sidewalk. I was watching Google Earth zoomed in as far as it would go.

+1 on returning the phone to an AT&T device service center. I went several weeks back and tested my phone when I got home and it was worse. Went back the next day, the girl there first turned on the "use mobile network" option and told me the gps was now working. I got a little aggrevated but politely pressed on, she then told me the samsung captivate has no gps in it, this sparked my asshole lawyer mode. After making the girl feel embarrased in front of her coworkers for insulting my intelligence I demanded a different rep work with me. I had him go thru 7 phones before getting one that had a working gps. After the 2nd, they told me I would have to call customer service, I laughed and told them that this is a customer service center and my contract entitles me to burn through every single unit they have until they fix my device issue. After the 6th the guy finally paid attention to what I was telling them about looking at the build number (because they have to send all those phones back to samsung). I now have an 1101 that has been working great for about a month. If it screws up again I will go ruin their day again.

[Q] Parking Locations Card

I have yet to see a parking location card pop up to remind me where I park. I have Google Now version 3.4. Location reporting is on. I've set transportation mode to Driving. Is this service not available in Canada?
Mods: Sorry if this is not appropriate here but I've done a search and really don't know where to ask this question. Move it if you need to. Thanks.

I thought you had to tell google after your parked to remind you where you parked not sure though
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I think it's a 'phased' roll-out. My wife's had this feature for a couple of weeks, mine just magically turned on yesterday without me doing anything or changing any settings. My wife always gets the cool features before I do, for some reason, and she couldn't really care less

It's just appeared for me since yesterday. I never did anything to activate it, the card just appears with a mini-map

GrenW said:
It's just appeared for me since yesterday. I never did anything to activate it, the card just appears with a mini-map
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was hoping that I would see it today, since two of you said it showed up yesterday. Nothng still. I guess it's not a big deal. I wouldn't really use it very often but was just wondering why I don't see it.

marleyfan61 said:
I was hoping that I would see it today, since two of you said it showed up yesterday. Nothng still. I guess it's not a big deal. I wouldn't really use it very often but was just wondering why I don't see it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive had it for about a week. Its automatic. Its kinda annoying actually because now Google Search uses a lot more battery

I've seen it three times but it certainly doesn't work every day for me. I can see it out of the window so I should manage to find it today :laugh:

I don't see it anymore
I used to see it about 20 days back but after that....gone ...i have the latest google search, google play services and location is on battery saving mode...with location reporting and history on.....i want to get it back...tried many things like wiping data for google search, reinstalling google search...no use..please suggest

Joshmccullough said:
I think it's a 'phased' roll-out. My wife's had this feature for a couple of weeks, mine just magically turned on yesterday without me doing anything or changing any settings. My wife always gets the cool features before I do, for some reason, and she couldn't really care less
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel ya bro...
On the other hand.. when I was on holidays in London I had a lot more cool suggestions and cards showing up comparing to home (Portugal)... but when I travel sometimes I get pictures of the places nearby, often with my own pictures LOL

Located in Canada, I get it every time I park my car, except at home (seems pretty obvious now that I think about it). I don't think I did anything special other than to say 'yes, tell me where I parked', and even then, I don't specifically remember even doing that.

I'm in Australia and it just randomly showed up 2 weeks ago for me.. I didn't even know that Google Now had a "where you parked" card until it showed up in G. Now... my inner conspiracist feels slightly uncomfortable with this constant tracking

Watch only vibrates once and then no more until a reboot

I just got the Gear Fit2 Pro this week and began using it yesterday as I also have a Gear S3, so the first thing I noticed is that I was missing all my notifications. The watch doesn't have a speaker so we just rely on the vibration to know that we got a notification.
At some point yesterday I noticed that I had about 4 or 5 emails and other notifications pending but never felt the vibration, so I immediately went to the settings to see if there was a Vibration intensity or something but I just noticed that the only other option besides the vibration on and off is the long buzz, so it should vibrate longer for each notification. I decided to give that a try but the same thing, no vibration with the notification.
I decided to reboot the watch and then as soon as I received the first notification it vibrated but then no more vibration after that, so it seems that it only vibrates once after each reboot (I have tested it a couple of times now).
Looking around on Google and other forums I can't find another Gear Fit2 Pro with the same issue but there are dozens of similar reports from Gear Fit2 users, one of them worried me a little as he said that it was fixed only asking for service from Samsung, I think he mentioned that they replaced the vibration motor or something.
Problem for me is that I got this used on Swappa, no receipts, so no service from Samsung (I don't live in Continental US so here in Puerto Rico we don't exist for them) plus the seller, original owner, insists that it was working fine when he had it. I know that I can always open a claim on Paypal and ask for a full refund but I was just wondering if this is indeed a software issue and not hardware, I mean, it works after a reboot, that alone tells me that it may be software related. So I'm wondering if someone else is having or had a similar issue and if it was solved, somehow.
I've resetted it twice now and I'm currently testing it again, I just did a reset an hour ago, so I'm hoping for the best, but if you have any more details about this I'd really appreciate any help you may provide to me, thanks

I've the same issue it vibrates only one
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

erasat said:
I just got the Gear Fit2 Pro this week and began using it yesterday as I also have a Gear S3, so the first thing I noticed is that I was missing all my notifications. The watch doesn't have a speaker so we just rely on the vibration to know that we got a notification.
At some point yesterday I noticed that I had about 4 or 5 emails and other notifications pending but never felt the vibration, so I immediately went to the settings to see if there was a Vibration intensity or something but I just noticed that the only other option besides the vibration on and off is the long buzz, so it should vibrate longer for each notification. I decided to give that a try but the same thing, no vibration with the notification.
I decided to reboot the watch and then as soon as I received the first notification it vibrated but then no more vibration after that, so it seems that it only vibrates once after each reboot (I have tested it a couple of times now).
Looking around on Google and other forums I can't find another Gear Fit2 Pro with the same issue but there are dozens of similar reports from Gear Fit2 users, one of them worried me a little as he said that it was fixed only asking for service from Samsung, I think he mentioned that they replaced the vibration motor or something.
Problem for me is that I got this used on Swappa, no receipts, so no service from Samsung (I don't live in Continental US so here in Puerto Rico we don't exist for them) plus the seller, original owner, insists that it was working fine when he had it. I know that I can always open a claim on Paypal and ask for a full refund but I was just wondering if this is indeed a software issue and not hardware, I mean, it works after a reboot, that alone tells me that it may be software related. So I'm wondering if someone else is having or had a similar issue and if it was solved, somehow.
I've resetted it twice now and I'm currently testing it again, I just did a reset an hour ago, so I'm hoping for the best, but if you have any more details about this I'd really appreciate any help you may provide to me, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is good to listen!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Altitude and Barometer Issues

Hi,
I have an S3 Frontier and calibrated the altitude and barometer when I first received the watch and it worked fine but now it's telling me that my altitude is 145440 ft. and barometric pressure is 0 hPa.
I'm pretty sure I'm not in the stratosphere right now.
I re-calibrate and the numbers come back the same. Samsung's help is just to do a factory reset on the watch but that's their solution to everything.
1. Tried manually updating it but it doesn't keep the altitude I input.
2. Uninstalled and reinstalled, re-calibrated and still the same numbers.
I couldn't find an answer, if anyone has a suggestion I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.

This is a known issue if you tether it to a weather balloon. That will be the altitude it burst at. They're working on a fix. In all seriousness I hope you sort it out. If it's new maybe return it.

I have the same problem. I wrote to samsung. and I'm waiting for information.

killswitch_engage said:
Hi,
I have an S3 Frontier and calibrated the altitude and barometer when I first received the watch and it worked fine but now it's telling me that my altitude is 145440 ft. and barometric pressure is 0 hPa.
I'm pretty sure I'm not in the stratosphere right now.
I re-calibrate and the numbers come back the same. Samsung's help is just to do a factory reset on the watch but that's their solution to everything.
1. Tried manually updating it but it doesn't keep the altitude I input.
2. Uninstalled and reinstalled, re-calibrated and still the same numbers.
I couldn't find an answer, if anyone has a suggestion I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you find a fix yet???

I ended up sending my watch to FutureTel to be repaired.
I contacted Samsung on their website using the Live Chat and they wanted me to bring it to a bunch of places and kept giving me addresses of Samsung dealers that are 12-16 hours drive away. Finally told them I wanted it resolved and requested a ticket be created for my watch to be sent in for repair (I'm under warranty still).
Once the ticket was created Samsung provided a shipping label. I dropped it off at FedEx on a Wednesday afternoon and had it back from FutureTel the following Tuesday. So far everything is working well.
FutureTel listed it on the repair form as a "BGA failure" and they "Replaced PBA". Repair Code 312.

killswitch_engage said:
I ended up sending my watch to FutureTel to be repaired.
I contacted Samsung on their website using the Live Chat and they wanted me to bring it to a bunch of places and kept giving me addresses of Samsung dealers that are 12-16 hours drive away. Finally told them I wanted it resolved and requested a ticket be created for my watch to be sent in for repair (I'm under warranty still).
Once the ticket was created Samsung provided a shipping label. I dropped it off at FedEx on a Wednesday afternoon and had it back from FutureTel the following Tuesday. So far everything is working well.
FutureTel listed it on the repair form as a "BGA failure" and they "Replaced PBA". Repair Code 312.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seem to be havin the exact same issue. It was working recently.. watch has never been wet, never had any shocks or abuse.. and now it's at 44,000 some METERS.
Did this resolve your issue?
Wait nevermind. I see that so far everything appears to be working nicely.

In case it helps., a few days later, everything works including altimeter and barometer as if it never was a problem. I have 0 idea what caused it to suddenly work.