Minor issues with the Vibrant - I LOVE THIS PHONE!

[jwhipple]

First item is an interesting issue...

Here at work I've always had less than optimal coverage, but enough that I get a mild 3G connection at my desk.

With the Vibrant, the 3G stays lit, no bars are showing, and if I go into About it shows that there is zero signal. This is with the phone laying on the desk, not in my hand.

But yet - I still get data flowing in and out...

I am thinking that either A) the signal bars are incorrect (I'm used to seeing 5 versus 4), or B) the 3G goes to sleep and wakes back up but the info on the about screen doesn't update.

Anyone else seeing anything like this?

Even with it showing zero signal I can make calls, take calls, and transfer data over 3G. Go figure?

Second issue is that the GPS seems to be about 40-50 meters off. Not a big deal, but interesting to have google maps showing me going down the road but looking like I am driving on the sidewalk - I'm not a great driver, but sheesh! LOL!

See post #3 for new item I've added to my list.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

LOL, on the GPS issue. That has happened to me, and it just corrected itself. Try opening maps while stationary, get a GPS lock, then move.

 

[selenitic]

I've noticed the same issue on mine. Doesn't happen everywhere, only at desk at work.

 

[jwhipple]

One other issue..

As of the time of writing, my battery indicator would visually indicate to any normal person that there is roughly 75% battery life left..

Settings --> About Phone --> Status gives a different story... 40% .

Is anyone else seeing this?

 

[ima757]

I am seeing the difference in the battery indicator and actual status also. Any thoughts out there why this is happening? But I'm not going to return it because of this bug.

 

[bc718]

i'm also getting very poor 3g connection, everywhere. its actually slower loading webpages than my stock G1. my other issue is that it doesn?t fully connect to my S9-HD headphones. music plays, but controls on headset dont work. any suggestions?

 

[hs5964]

I'm getting the same issue with showing 3G but with no bars, but still getting fast download speeds and what not.

I'm also having the same issue with the battery indicator on top being inaccurate...

 

[voghan]

I have the 3G issue too. I love this phone but I don't want a 2G phone. The screen is incredible, I love swipe, I have no issues at all with TouchWiz but if I can't get decent data then I'm not interested. I'm going to give the phone a couple more days and see if it's better elsewhere. So far I'm disappointed.

Battery indicator on phone does act differently than on other phones. I use an app from the marketplace to tell me the real % left on my battery.

 

[bc718]

Just noticed that 3g is super fast on stock browser. Maybe it's just an issue with steel, which I usually use

 

[hs5964]

I downloaded the speedtest.net app and checked my speeds. My speeds were slightly faster that the average (according to google search results). I had zero bars when I conducted the test...

 

[KCphotog]

Have not had GPS issues. Been more accurate then my N1. The Battery and 3G icons are pretty flaky though. I have to go into settings to find out what the battery status really is. The signal bars never seem to be right. I can pull down great speeds with the bars jumping all over the place or even showing a poor signal.
One thing I found is that speeds improved on mine holding the phone opposed to laying it on a table. Hope the bugs get ironed out. The phone is great otherwise and froyo should really make it the benchmark in performance.

 

[jwhipple]

Welp, based on the suggestion of "let it drain till it dies then fully charge it" that I read elsewhere, I've gone 3 charges now and the issues still exist. I am using 2 different battery widgets , which apparently display based on what the system thinks the battery is, but one is called Battery Left Widget which shows an estimate of how long you have left, and I believe that is displaying more accurately.

Right now, based on what I knew from the Nexus One, the icon on top bar would indicate roughly 90%.

In Status, it says 68%.

Battery Left Widget says 57%.

It's a smart phone - I've been using them for years - WinMo, BB and now Android - I know that you can't expect the world from the battery life, all I'm asking is that the icon give a realistic representation of how much battery you have left.

Maybe I'm asking too much?

I love this phone much more than the Nexus One, but that's something HTC did right - display the battery!

Now I have 3 numbers, and I don't have a clue which one is accurate or can be depended upon to give me a realistic number.

 

[KCphotog]

I am sure the issue will be addressed in a timely manner. Guess people need to ***** in the right places. I wonder if the other galaxy phones are having the same issue. That would speed up the process... or at least I would think.

 

[voghan]

I'm sure the indicator is software driven and similar to other galaxy s phones. I prefer Battery Indicator from the market any ways. Gives you a better idea of what's left. Right now the b battery image is half full but the app says I'm at 29%.

 

[gthmcty1]

I'm sure the indicator is software driven and similar to other galaxy s phones. I prefer Battery Indicator from the market any ways. Gives you a better idea of what's left. Right now the b battery image is half full but the app says I'm at 29%.

Mine shows 90% but the status says 63%???? (Did Steve jobs engineers have a part in the battery signal design???....sorry couldn't help myself)

 

[jwhipple]

I'm going to try this Battery Indicator - might be interesting to see how 3 different widgets differ versus the taskbar one.

 

[jwhipple]

At this point I have "Battery Left Widget", Mobilear Battery Widget, and Battery Indicator running.

Battery Left Widget says:
Estimated %: 72%
System %: 76%

Mobilear says:
76%

Battery Indicator says:
76%

Settings->About->Status shows Battery Level 76%

Taskbar shows just a sliver missing, to me indicating roughly 90%.

Still one heck of a margin of error...

Oh well.... Just a cosmetic flaw - annoying, but def not annoying enough to get rid of this fine phone :-D

 

[LoganK]

Still one heck of a margin of error...

Oh well.... Just a cosmetic flaw - annoying, but def not annoying enough to get rid of this fine phone :-D

While I certainly agree with the varying opinions on how the battery indicator should work, I feel the need to point out that the Nook, also an Android device, appears to use the same indicator logic for the battery. I don't have a lot of experience with Android phones, so I just assumed the icon was fairly standard. It is almost as though the 100% mark is the tip of the battery, so the top 10% or so of the indicator doesn't visibly change.

It is very similar to every car I've ever owned (which includes quite a few manufacturers). The fuel indicator is linear, but only once it gets to moving. The first couple of gallons (~15%) are "free" according to the gauge.

 

[purplejetta]

The battery status indicator is a complete fail IMO. I'm used to the green>yellow>red color change as well as the indicator showing a lower level of battery but on the Vibrant it stays blue and looks like it's half charged even when I'm only at about 20 percent!

I've also had problems with adding contacts from Gmail. Sometimes the phone thinks they are not there when I go to assign a ringtone, etc. Some kind of mapping issue there I think as Contacts is integrated into the phone area but doesn't actually seem to be a "phone book" per se.

The other issue I've been having-which I haven't really seen mentioned-is the screen orientation. Sometimes I put the phone down and the screen decides it needs to rotate sideways. I have to pick it up and shake it to get it vertical again.

Other than these minor annoyances I love the phone so far!

 

[voghan]

Download the Battery Indicator app from the market and ignore the default indicator.

As for the other issues I don't notice or have it happen.