Frustrations mounting with this phone!

[redhdgirl417]

Time to vent....

I've only had this phone since August (my 2nd...the 1st I got at the end of July but took back for replacement less than 2 days of getting due to constant popping up of capacitive menu) and the frustrations just seem to keep mounting for me. I really do like the phone when it works right, which isn't that often lately. My biggest frustration is the wifi, how the phone doesn't keep a constant wifi connection even when I'm sitting right next to my router. It constantly locks up then I have to toggle the wifi on and off (locks up all signals coming into phone). The phone did a Profile update on its own 3 days ago and everything really went downhill after that with battery charge, keeping a signal, capacitive menu popping up (which I've read can be a result of low reception area, which of course my house is right in the middle of). Getting tired of constantly fiddling with the phone to get a signal when I want to use it...only thing I can consistently do is text.

I came from the world of Blackberry, and I know I cannot even compare the two phones to each other but I NEVER had an issue with reception on my Blackberries. I love how the phone feels and looks, as well as the awesome array of free apps in the Android market to choose from and the great photos I get. I'm PRAYING that the JB update will allieviate some of my frustrations and have vowed to hang in there with the phone to see if anything improves. I've also got a new battery on order as I see one poster in the forum had great results from just getting a new battery (mine is not "bulging" at all and not even 6 mos old but I'm up for anything at this point).

All suggestions from the forum guru's are welcome...you all are amazing, please talk me down from the Ledge of Fruit.

 

[srkmagnus]

Have you reset the router? You can also go into wifi settings and press menu for an advanced menu. Enable wifi to stay on during sleep. Hope this helps.

 

[redhdgirl417]

The router is less than 6 mos old as well, and no other items in the house using it (tablets, pc's, netbooks, the tv) have issues. I've read on here that this phone's modem build is not good. Wifi is on all the time the phone is unless I manually toggle it off...just doesn't hold the signal so I have to toggle it on and off constantly. Thanks for suggestions!

 

[JayWill]

Wifi is handled by a chip in the phone made by Broadcom, and is not involved with the modem at all. Your issues are probably a function of the wifi drivers not playing nice between the chip and your router. You may want to try a factory reset for now, or hold out until JB officially rolls out. When it does, I suggest you factory reset after the update in order to get a clean start into the new OS. The fact is, ICS on the whole was a failure on this phone. Samsung never quite got it right. However, so far from my experience, they hit a home run with the JB update. Hang in there. I think things will get better for you soon.

Regarding the capacitive buttons (the menu button specifically) firing on their own when in a low signal area, I'm afraid that's a common hardware defect with a few Samsung phones. Mine still does it, even on the JB ROM. If it bothers you enough, you'll need to take it in, have Sprint provide a warranty replacement, and hope the replacement doesn't suffer from the same defect. It doesn't happen enough to me to be a major issue, but I'll admit I've grown a bit tired of it as well.

 

[redhdgirl417]

Wifi is handled by a chip in the phone made by Broadcom, and is not involved with the modem at all. Your issues are probably a function of the wifi drivers not playing nice between the chip and your router. You may want to try a factory reset for now, or hold out until JB officially rolls out. When it does, I suggest you factory reset after the update in order to get a clean start into the new OS. The fact is, ICS on the whole was a failure on this phone. Samsung never quite got it right. However, so far from my experience, they hit a home run with the JB update. Hang in there. I think things will get better for you soon.

Regarding the capacitive buttons (the menu button specifically) firing on their own when in a low signal area, I'm afraid that's a common hardware defect with a few Samsung phones. Mine still does it, even on the JB ROM. If it bothers you enough, you'll need to take it in, have Sprint provide a warranty replacement, and hope the replacement doesn't suffer from the same defect. It doesn't happen enough to me to be a major issue, but I'll admit I've grown a bit tired of it as well.

THANK YOU for that very informative reply! Maybe I will try a factory reset...little bit hesitant as I'm not as tech savvy as I wish I were but I do know that all of my contacts are backed up via Google Mail so I'll least be able to recover those. You have me holding out to see how JB turns out, Jay.

 

[srkmagnus]

I learn something every day from Jaywill. Factory reset solves a lot of problems and isn't so bad if rooted and use the right apps.

 

[redhdgirl417]

I learn something every day from Jaywill. Factory reset solves a lot of problems and isn't so bad if rooted and use the right apps.

I'm a chicken s**t when it comes to doing a factory reset but going to put my big girl panties on today and do it!

 

[srkmagnus]

I'm a chicken s**t when it comes to doing a factory reset but going to put my big girl panties on today and do it!

ha ha It's not that bad; Make sure you backup any important data by sync'ing with Google (Calendars, Gmail, etc.), use https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ckupRestore&feature=nav_result&token=Wr1yZCsj to backup text (there are other apps for MMS) and https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...FsbExvZ0JhY2t1cFJlc3RvcmUiXQ..&token=Jutf6lcn for call logs.

You can log into Google Play via the web and see which apps you have installed and want pushed back to the device, minus data, to make re-installing apps a bit easier. Let us know how the reset goes!

 

[redhdgirl417]

ha ha It's not that bad; Make sure you backup any important data by sync'ing with Google (Calendars, Gmail, etc.), use https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ckupRestore&feature=nav_result&token=_t4G_u4M to backup text (there are other apps for MMS) and https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...FsbExvZ0JhY2t1cFJlc3RvcmUiXQ..&token=DA0AYEwT for call logs.

You can log into Google Play via the web and see which apps you have installed and want pushed back to the device, minus data, to make re-installing apps a bit easier. Let us know how the reset goes!

Thanks for the tips...I don't have too many apps on the phone but figured I could do just that, go to the Play Store and reinstall. Question: do I remove my SD card for a factory reset?

 

[JayWill]

Question: do I remove my SD card for a factory reset?

It's not necessary, but you could if you want to be extra careful.

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