Update Has Screwed Up 4G

ajnevares

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Anybody read if any of the other carries are having an issue with their 4g after the update? If not that may point to some of VZW's bloat being the problem. Just a thought.

I've been "googling" it and each story is for Verizon specifically. I didn't check the other forums to see if other carriers got it

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Super Dave426

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Anybody read if any of the other carries are having an issue with their 4g after the update? If not that may point to some of VZW's bloat being the problem. Just a thought.
I have Sprint and we have had the update for a while now without any of these issues. We also didn't get the $Caller ID$ app shoved in with it. Battery life hasn't changed and I don't drop 4G for no reason.
 

sfobrien

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I've been "googling" it and each story is for Verizon specifically. I didn't check the other forums to see if other carriers got it

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

I have Sprint and we have had the update for a while now without any of these issues. We also didn't get the $Caller ID$ app shoved in with it. Battery life hasn't changed and I don't drop 4G for no reason.

Thanks guys, I suspect some VZW bloat has messed things up.
 

goin_nil

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So far so good. I've only had the update for 3 hours but battery usage is normal & 4G is the same speed as before.

Right after the update I noticed WiFi and 4G connected at the same time for about 5 min. But then it switched to WiFi only by itself.

I checked the forum before the update and saw my connection was set to "Global". So I switched it to "LTE" before the update and it kept it on "LTE" after the update. I have no idea how/why it was set to "Global" to begin with (or what that really means anyway).

I hope they resolve the issue for you guys soon. That really stinks when you depend on your phone.
 

japetty

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Can anyone confirm if the update effects the 32gb model? I'm guessing most of the answers so far has been on the 16gb. Thanks

I have the S3 32gb and I only had the issue with the caller id and I quickly got rid of that on my phone and went through my account at My Verizon and opted out of it. It did show me as opted in at My Verizon. I know I did not do that. Can you imagine how much money that will make VZW since there will be many who don't notice it I am sure. Once again my 4G/LTE signal is the same now as it was before the update. You guys having this issue, I wish you all the luck in the world getting a fast fix from Samsung. I dealt with them on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (i815) and as far as I am concerned they are just deplorable when it comes to fixing anything. I finally got the update to ICS on the i815 but it took more than 8 months. AFAIK they have not even acknowledged the issue yet...soooooooooooo a quick fix I just don't have that kind of confidence in Samsung anymore.
 

pmc8853

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Can anyone confirm if the update effects the 32gb model? I'm guessing most of the answers so far has been on the 16gb. Thanks
I have two 32GB S3's. Both were working with no issues pre-update and have had different issues post-update.
  • One had slow/intermittent 4G and decreased battery life symptoms. Changing the network setting from Global to LTE has solved the 4G issue as far as I can tell. Also toggled off multi window, which when combined with the network setting change seems to have battery life back where it was (not actually measured, more of a gut feeling).
  • The second had slow/intermittent 4G and sudden issues with SMS in the default messaging app showing randomly as failed, even though the contact actually received the message. Global to LTE setting has helped with 4G. No solution for the failed SMS issue thus far.
 

japetty

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Well, I'm going to explore some options and do some math. If I leave Verizon, I'll have a $270.00 ETF. If I switch to T-Mob, I have to buy my phone outright, but will save $30.00 a month which would eliminate the ETF loss after 9 months...If I sell my S3 for $150, that would drop it even faster. I'd still be stuck with the cost of the new phone, but, I wouldn't have an issues with the 4G out here. Sprint could put me in a new one for $200.00 and I was with them forever dealing with 3G, but at least I GOT 3G...My S3 goes 1X half the time now. Decisions, decisions...
Is your S3 32gb or 16gb? I am looking for another S3 32gb in blue.
 

japetty

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I have two 32GB S3's. Both were working with no issues pre-update and have had different issues post-update.
  • One had slow/intermittent 4G and decreased battery life symptoms. Changing the network setting from Global to LTE has solved the 4G issue as far as I can tell. Also toggled off multi window, which when combined with the network setting change seems to have battery life back where it was (not actually measured, more of a gut feeling).
  • The second had slow/intermittent 4G and sudden issues with SMS in the default messaging app showing randomly as failed, even though the contact actually received the message. Global to LTE setting has helped with 4G. No solution for the failed SMS issue thus far.
I had mine set to LTE just after I bought it and it was on LTE after the update. The multi-window does not seem to affect my battery life. You did not mention the caller name id thing if you uninstalled that or not?
 

pmc8853

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I had mine set to LTE just after I bought it and it was on LTE after the update. The multi-window does not seem to affect my battery life. You did not mention the caller name id thing if you uninstalled that or not?
Good point - yes, the caller name id app was removed from both as well. The multi window may not have been responsible for the battery drain, I just didn't test it independently of the network change.
 

Adam Z

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This is totally unacceptable and the silence from VZW and Samsung is awful.
Wouldn't it be nice if Verizon and Samsung put out something like this...

On behalf of Samsung and Verizon, we first want to offer our deepest apologies for the data issues that many GS3 owners are now having after updating to 4.1.2. We certainly did not intend for this update to negatively affect any of your phones. It is always our intention to send out updates that bring a better experience to you, the user.

That said, we are fully aware that the 4.1.2 update was not up to the standards that you the user, or us, Verizon and Samsung expect. We have instructed our programmers to work around the clock on identifying why this update has affected data reception and what can be done to fix it.

We surely wish we could say exactly when a fix will be available, but right now we can't. We can assure you that we will be working diligently to fix this issue as quickly as possible. We will also keep you updated with weekly press releases so you will know exactly where we are in the process.

Us at Verizon also wish to apologize for adding an application to your phones that would cost you money without alerting you to this change in advance or giving you an easy way to opt out.

As a measure of good faith, we will be giving all GS3 users one month of unlimited data once we have a fix in place.

We are very appreciative that your business has made us at Verizon the leading carrier in the U.S. and us at Samsung becoming the number one cell phone maker. We don't take your loyalty lightly and will work as hard as possible to regain your trust.

If the carriers/manufacturers would just admit the problem and promise to work as hard as they can to fix it while keeping the customer updated, even if there's nothing to say, it would go a long way towards reducing customer anger. In the 1980's when Tylenol was turning up laced with cyanide, they didn't say they're not aware of these problems and we'll look into it. They didn't offer new Tylenol. They admitted there was a problem, they pulled the product and made it right. In turn, they were immediately forgiven by the public and embraced. Why can't Verizon and Samsung do the same?
 

Photo_Drew

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I've also had issues. I haven't been able to send texts reliably. I turned my wifi off this morning and was not pulling in any signal. Turned mobile data on/off and that got me 3G, but my mom's S3 was getting 2 bars 4G vs my 3 bars 3G when the phones were right next to each other. Battery drain as well I'm thinking when I was not getting signal. It's been up for 15 minutes and is down 6% with only 3 texts sent. I hope there's a fix soon.
 

HalizDad

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I was thinking of doing the same exact thing, but last night I went ahead and flashed an old 4.0.4 stock ROM onto my phone and updated it up to the previous 4.1.2 version and now have no issues whatsoever. I then rooted and unlocked the phone to slap a custom ROM on there to suppress the OTA update prompt.

Funny thing is, I tried to stay honest and not root/unlock my device and keep it all stock but it's scenarios like this that leave me, and many others no choice but to unlock phones and ditch the carriers ROMs. Thank goodness for developers making these custom ROMs available for us, otherwise, we would be subjected to the limitations and untimely resolution of these carriers.



Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

I thought really hard about rooting mine, but I always run into little issues with ROM's that get me trying another and then another to the point I think my phone gets tired of being flashed and simply dies before the contract is up. It really makes me mad that my phone was working perfectly before this update. I don't know what I'll do today as I'll be driving right by Best Buy and Sprint in a little bit...
 

sfobrien

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This is totally unacceptable and the silence from VZW and Samsung is awful.
Wouldn't it be nice if Verizon and Samsung put out something like this...

On behalf of Samsung and Verizon, we first want to offer our deepest apologies for the data issues that many GS3 owners are now having after updating to 4.1.2. We certainly did not intend for this update to negatively affect any of your phones. It is always our intention to send out updates that bring a better experience to you, the user.

That said, we are fully aware that the 4.1.2 update was not up to the standards that you the user, or us, Verizon and Samsung expect. We have instructed our programmers to work around the clock on identifying why this update has affected data reception and what can be done to fix it.

We surely wish we could say exactly when a fix will be available, but right now we can't. We can assure you that we will be working diligently to fix this issue as quickly as possible. We will also keep you updated with weekly press releases so you will know exactly where we are in the process.

Us at Verizon also wish to apologize for adding an application to your phones that would cost you money without alerting you to this change in advance or giving you an easy way to opt out.

As a measure of good faith, we will be giving all GS3 users one month of unlimited data once we have a fix in place.

We are very appreciative that your business has made us at Verizon the leading carrier in the U.S. and us at Samsung becoming the number one cell phone maker. We don't take your loyalty lightly and will work as hard as possible to regain your trust.

If the carriers/manufacturers would just admit the problem and promise to work as hard as they can to fix it while keeping the customer updated, even if there's nothing to say, it would go a long way towards reducing customer anger. In the 1980's when Tylenol was turning up laced with cyanide, they didn't say they're not aware of these problems and we'll look into it. They didn't offer new Tylenol. They admitted there was a problem, they pulled the product and made it right. In turn, they were immediately forgiven by the public and embraced. Why can't Verizon and Samsung do the same?

Wishful thinking.

But this is more like it. Sorry for the inconvenience, please do a factory reset and if that doesn't help we will send you a refurbished phone that has a great chance of doing the same thing! Thanks for being a valued Verizon Wireless Customer..............NEXT !
 

jackdubl

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I thought really hard about rooting mine, but I always run into little issues with ROM's that get me trying another and then another to the point I think my phone gets tired of being flashed and simply dies before the contract is up. It really makes me mad that my phone was working perfectly before this update. I don't know what I'll do today as I'll be driving right by Best Buy and Sprint in a little bit...

You could root and just go back to the build before the update and stay on it. I am not even going to touch the multi-app update. First, EVERYTHING works on the mb1 build(after deleting giff-daemon file, that is). Second, who the heck uses the stupid multi-window thing anyway? It's so limited(only works on a few apps), and unnecessary(could just toggle between two apps), you're just asking for it to mess something else up on phone. I've decided once a phone works flawlessly, I don't update just for new features that I have little likelihood of using and don't need even if I did.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 

Kamen

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I am in the same boat. I was at my brothers house yesterday where I have always had a solid 4G signal and it was showing 3G the whole time. I have also noticed that since the update, when I am connected to Wifi it still shows the 4G icon at top as well and it is actively changing as if I were connected to 4G instead of my Wifi. Anyone else see this? This is a cause for concern because I am not on an unlimited data plan so I try to connect to Wifi when available as to not go over my allotted monthly amount.
 

cedjunior

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I am in the same boat. I was at my brothers house yesterday where I have always had a solid 4G signal and it was showing 3G the whole time. I have also noticed that since the update, when I am connected to Wifi it still shows the 4G icon at top as well and it is actively changing as if I were connected to 4G instead of my Wifi. Anyone else see this? This is a cause for concern because I am not on an unlimited data plan so I try to connect to Wifi when available as to not go over my allotted monthly amount.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-galaxy-s-iii/283988-verizon-release-major-software-update-2.html
 

Raymond Tan

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You could root and just go back to the build before the update and stay on it. I am not even going to touch the multi-app update. First, EVERYTHING works on the mb1 build(after deleting giff-daemon file, that is). Second, who the heck uses the stupid multi-window thing anyway? It's so limited(only works on a few apps), and unnecessary(could just toggle between two apps), you're just asking for it to mess something else up on phone. I've decided once a phone works flawlessly, I don't update just for new features that I have little likelihood of using and don't need even if I did.

Just FYI you can add almost any app to multi-window.

Non-rooted method MULTI WINDOW TOOL(need pc to modd apk files)
[Tool] Add Multiwindow-option to almost every apk files - xda-developers

MULTI WINDOW (ROOT) theres a free and paid version in the play store
[APP] Multi Window Manager 1.3.1 - xda-developers

The disadvantage of the non-rooted method is that you have to modify each app individually using your desktop. Plus the only way to get the new versions of your modified apps is to get the new apk and run it through the process again(it only takes a couple of seconds).
With the rooted method it automatically allows you to add the apps to multi window by just selecting them in the multi-window manager app. You also get updates as you normally would.

I use the non-rooted method for now. I have Pandora, Stitcher Radio, Smart Audiobook Player, Evernote , Pocket converter, and a couple of others. Although I'm not a fan of just two windows it still can be quite useful, plus any more windows would not really fit. I use Pandora and Google Nav while driving. I can now have both displaying at the same time. It also is really good with evernote and chrome, when I need to jot down notes. Trust me once you get used to using multi-window you find it a pain when you don't have it. I got spoiled from using it on my Note 10.1. I think Android/iOS should have been like this from the beginning.

But I would have had no problems waiting to get the features when they are ready, and bug free. This kind of thing is pretty common with any phone on any carrier. As long as they get it fixed in a week or two I'll be fine with it.

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jackdubl

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Didn't know multi-window worked with most apps; thought it was just a few. Thanks for the knowledge.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 

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