I think I can confirm that the ESN swap is just another placebo effect fix. I did the ESN swap last week after having horrendous 3G data connection stability problems in areas with gangbusters signal levels and I thought it made a difference, but I don't really think so anymore. I took it on a trip to NYC over the weekend, thinking I could count on it as my connection to the 'Net for the trip. I came away from the experience utterly frustrated with unreliable data connections both locally on the phone and when connected with the laptop via the 3G Wireless Hotspot.
What I am seeing suggests that the phone will kick in a 3G data connection on demand when it is needed by an application or by the 3G Wireless Hotspot. This appears to be some sort of internal function to conserve battery life. However, the 3G connection does not remain established and sometimes is very difficult to re-establish after it has been in use for a period of more than a few minutes, especially when using the 3G Wireless Hotspot.
In fact, the 3G Wireless Hotspot (which I pay for) has never really worked right on this phone under any ROM, stock or otherwise, and now I am able to see that there is a real pattern with how it fails. When the Hotspot is first activated, it is a thing of beauty - broadband WiFi data anywhere! Sweet! But, after a few minutes, the "fun" begins, and it's nearly impossible to maintain a decent tethering session after the first few minutes. The same is true for the third party Wireless Tether app and indeed for internal applications on this phone.
I'm beginning to realize and accept for the first time that this is the way this phone has always operated from Day One last September when I first bought it. It works well enough in the short term to fool me into thinking that it is working the way it is supposed to, but for longer sessions, tethered or local, it fails and has failed like this with every single stock or third party ROM I've used, except for stock ED01 or ED03 which I have not tried yet.
3G hotspot mode has always sucked, but sucked in such a way that there was always a question as to whether it could be something else, such as coverage, congestion, or a configuration issue with my own equipment. But now I can see that it is the phone. Prior to the Fascinate, I used USB tethering on a BB Storm 2 and had excellent, rock solid, long term connections all the time, even in marginal signal conditions. I have friends with Verizon 3G USB dongles today and they get rock solid, stable connections all day long if they want them, as I sit next to them and watch the Fascinate struggle with the little "3G" icon winking on and off at me and "Page not found, you are not connected to the Internet" showing up on my screen.
This phone is full of Fail. It is a FailPhone. And, I can't believe I let it happen to me again. I thought the Storm 2 was the ultimate FailPhone, but I was wrong. I can't believe that a phone so small and so pretty could hold so much Fail inside. At least the Storm 2 could establish and maintain a rock solid 3G USB tethering connection for hours without fail.
I need a phone that I can rely on. It is important for the way that I work and the work that I do. The Samsung Fascinate is not cutting it. I'm sick of trying to use a phone that acts like it is on life support when I need it to work most. I am also sick of the Software Quality Crapshoot that we have to endure these days when buying smartphones. I got burned on this with the Storm2, and now I've been burned again with the Fascinate. I need a phone that works right, all the time. I am tired of spending hours with upgrades, ROMs, TiBu and Nandroid backups, all the while hoping for a final configuration that works right all the time without fail, getting that nice placebo high every time I try something new, only to find out that the real problems are still there. I'm tired of the Fail.
My hat is tipped to all the developers and testers who have tried to make the Fascinate better with custom ROMs, and indeed, these ROMs have resulted in vast improvements by getting rid of Bing and bloat and restoring core Google Android UI functionalities. I have bought beers. But, when it comes to core reliability and connectivity, there are obviously still issues that exist. Perhaps one day the problems will be identified and fixed by Samsung, Verizon or developers.
Sorry for the rant but it's time to come out and say it - this phone blows.
What I am seeing suggests that the phone will kick in a 3G data connection on demand when it is needed by an application or by the 3G Wireless Hotspot. This appears to be some sort of internal function to conserve battery life. However, the 3G connection does not remain established and sometimes is very difficult to re-establish after it has been in use for a period of more than a few minutes, especially when using the 3G Wireless Hotspot.
In fact, the 3G Wireless Hotspot (which I pay for) has never really worked right on this phone under any ROM, stock or otherwise, and now I am able to see that there is a real pattern with how it fails. When the Hotspot is first activated, it is a thing of beauty - broadband WiFi data anywhere! Sweet! But, after a few minutes, the "fun" begins, and it's nearly impossible to maintain a decent tethering session after the first few minutes. The same is true for the third party Wireless Tether app and indeed for internal applications on this phone.
I'm beginning to realize and accept for the first time that this is the way this phone has always operated from Day One last September when I first bought it. It works well enough in the short term to fool me into thinking that it is working the way it is supposed to, but for longer sessions, tethered or local, it fails and has failed like this with every single stock or third party ROM I've used, except for stock ED01 or ED03 which I have not tried yet.
3G hotspot mode has always sucked, but sucked in such a way that there was always a question as to whether it could be something else, such as coverage, congestion, or a configuration issue with my own equipment. But now I can see that it is the phone. Prior to the Fascinate, I used USB tethering on a BB Storm 2 and had excellent, rock solid, long term connections all the time, even in marginal signal conditions. I have friends with Verizon 3G USB dongles today and they get rock solid, stable connections all day long if they want them, as I sit next to them and watch the Fascinate struggle with the little "3G" icon winking on and off at me and "Page not found, you are not connected to the Internet" showing up on my screen.
This phone is full of Fail. It is a FailPhone. And, I can't believe I let it happen to me again. I thought the Storm 2 was the ultimate FailPhone, but I was wrong. I can't believe that a phone so small and so pretty could hold so much Fail inside. At least the Storm 2 could establish and maintain a rock solid 3G USB tethering connection for hours without fail.
I need a phone that I can rely on. It is important for the way that I work and the work that I do. The Samsung Fascinate is not cutting it. I'm sick of trying to use a phone that acts like it is on life support when I need it to work most. I am also sick of the Software Quality Crapshoot that we have to endure these days when buying smartphones. I got burned on this with the Storm2, and now I've been burned again with the Fascinate. I need a phone that works right, all the time. I am tired of spending hours with upgrades, ROMs, TiBu and Nandroid backups, all the while hoping for a final configuration that works right all the time without fail, getting that nice placebo high every time I try something new, only to find out that the real problems are still there. I'm tired of the Fail.
My hat is tipped to all the developers and testers who have tried to make the Fascinate better with custom ROMs, and indeed, these ROMs have resulted in vast improvements by getting rid of Bing and bloat and restoring core Google Android UI functionalities. I have bought beers. But, when it comes to core reliability and connectivity, there are obviously still issues that exist. Perhaps one day the problems will be identified and fixed by Samsung, Verizon or developers.
Sorry for the rant but it's time to come out and say it - this phone blows.
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