Jumping ship to the Galaxy S4...Early Upgrade

TreeSpooner

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I've had my Razr Maxx for over a year now and before that I had the Droid X2 and Droid X. So for the last 3 years I've kept it in the Motorola Droid family, until now. I have had nothing but issues with the Razr Maxx. I had it replaced twice due to battery and camera issues, and since the update to JB back in April, my phone has become useless. Everything lags and it is just downright painful to use. It takes at least 2-3 minutes to do a simple browser search. I really only use it for phone calls at this point.

I called Verizon and was able to get an early upgrade (8 months early actually). I explained the issues I've been having with the Razr Maxx and it took all of 15 minutes to get my upgrade approved. I was well prepared for a two-hour phone call and having to speak to multiple reps and supervisors to get my upgrade, but I really lucked out with the first rep. I will say there are things I will definitely miss about the Razr Maxx, like the battery life and smart actions, but since the JB upgrade, this is not the same phone I purchased. Hopefully I will have more success with the S4.

I'm posting this just in case anyone else has been experiencing similar issues and is ready for a new phone. My experience with an early upgrade may be a fluke and not the norm, but for those of you just waiting for your upgrade to switch, there may be hope for you too!
 

FastMoneyPlaya

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My son has the S4. It's a nice phone, but the battery isn't as good as the MAXX. I've never had the problems you experienced with your MAXX either.
 

droidntn

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My Maxx has become increasingly slow too. I have installed an app cache cleaner and it's better. I don't even have that many apps on it. But still it's frustrating.
My wife might inherit it and I'll get the S4 or the upcoming Moto X.
I don't know whats the deal with the Maxx now. I even reformatted when I installed JB update. And I have a few apps. But if those few apps are slowing it down, well...that's just an Android thing I guess.
I will say that I'd miss that battery life with anything I have.
New thought. My son has the same exact phone and his is running faster. He games and does all sorts of things on his. Weird.
 

droidntn

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I was just doing some things with my Tab 2 and my Maxx.
Funny all of a sudden I realized how much smoother and quicker the Samsung ran than my Moto Maxx.
It's got more processor tho. That's not apples to apples.
Just sayn.
 

joneill03

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Ive noticed mine lags quite a bit since the jb update as well. Only had it since sept so i have a while yet to upgrade. It also has the vibrate that works when it wants to but im not overly concerned. I just miss the pep that it had on ics.
 

glock813

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I just switched from a Maxx to a Galaxy S4. The new phone is awesome, so I have no regrets! The battery life of the phone is excellent and even better than the Maxx when I have an extra battery in my pocket!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
 

droidntn

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My son says his has gotten really slow too. I'm wondering if it's something in the phone upgrade INTENTIONAL...
Now, we HAVE to upgrade to something else.
hmmmmmm
 

jeffrok

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The lag on my MAXX as well as occasional mysterious battery issues (down to 60% by 3pm with no major activity) has got me frustrated too, and this is after a factory reset.

It isn't what it was when I got it with GB on it a year ago.
 

TreeSpooner

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So I've had my Galaxy S4 for almost a week and I can honestly say I happy I switched. The phone is not perfect, by far, but I am just happy to be able to access my apps without everything lagging so much! I can get about 20 hours of use on a single charge on the S4, but I with heavy use It's more like 14 hours. I've had a lot of downtime to play around with the phone so I've been using it more than I usually would. I did spring for a spare battery and am glad that did. The battery life is by no means what I used to get with my Razr Maxx when it was brand new, but it is comparable to what I was getting after the JB update. BTW, @Droidntn...my husband said the same thing about the JB update intentionally slowing down the phone so I would have to replace it! Who knows. It could also be that the latest and greatest operating systems are meant to work on the latest and greatest phones. Which could be why the Razr Maxx appears to be better off running ICS. Just my opinion.
 

droidntn

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So I've had my Galaxy S4 for almost a week and I can honestly say I happy I switched. The phone is not perfect, by far, but I am just happy to be able to access my apps without everything lagging so much! I can get about 20 hours of use on a single charge on the S4, but I with heavy use It's more like 14 hours. I've had a lot of downtime to play around with the phone so I've been using it more than I usually would. I did spring for a spare battery and am glad that did. The battery life is by no means what I used to get with my Razr Maxx when it was brand new, but it is comparable to what I was getting after the JB update. BTW, @Droidntn...my husband said the same thing about the JB update intentionally slowing down the phone so I would have to replace it! Who knows. It could also be that the latest and greatest operating systems are meant to work on the latest and greatest phones. Which could be why the Razr Maxx appears to be better off running ICS. Just my opinion.

Thanks for those affirmations about the S4. I'm really tossed. I've even tossed around going to an iPhone out of frustration. Yesterday, I was doing nothing with my phone and the phone screen lit up with a call.Then it started ringing AND vibrating my bluetooth headset around my neck AND the music player all came on at once. WTH...I bought had a heart attack. ( I think it was Karma calling me back cause it was Verizon calling me to get feedback on my phone call to them I'd just made to see if I had an upgrade to get an iPhone, lol)
So, I dunno. I'm thinking I'm just going to reset to factory and install JB as before and take it from there. I really don't have that many apps on there. I have no idea. But something inside my phone is just pissed off. It might take 1-2 minutes for a browser to open on wifi. Facebook just sits and spins. If I see 'X is not responding' one more time, I might just chunk it.
I did a cache wipe this am as a last resort to a possible reformat.
Then, on the other hand, my daughters iPhone 4 is 2 years old, she does nothing to it special, no wipes, no resets, and it zips as fast as the day she got it.
Go figure.
 

TreeSpooner

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@droidntn, your experience sounds so similar to mine! Especially it taking up to 2 minutes just to load the browser on wifi and FB just spinning it's wheels. I also debated about going to the iPhone as well. I have a MacBook Air which I love, but for me there were more selling points to the S4, as it is more customizable than the iPhone. Also, in many comparison tests the S4 had an edge on the iPhone on many fronts. I really like the Android OS, but who knows, if the iPhone comes out with a larger screen and comparable camera, I may switch one day down the road. One thing is for sure, I haven't heard many complaints about the iPhone being buggy...it gets the job done and it does it well. It seems like many Android phones are trying to make the biggest splash with gimicky type features. With the iPhone there doesn't really seem a need to upgrade, whereas the Android phones sort of become less relevant. You can tell I was definitely on the fence on the iPhone! I think the deciding factor for me was that if I was going to get the iPhone, I would wait for the newer model to be released this year, but with as crappy as my phone was functioning, I just couldn't wait. Maybe next upgrade! Good luck :)
 

droidntn

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Thanks. I did a factory reset about an hour ago. Just going to run it bare bones, doesn't even have an SD card in it yet. haha.
I believe it has to do with fragmentation. iOS doesn't fragment.
I just want a phone that works well when it's supposed to. Take decent pix, browse, email, music. I don't even use widgets.
I think my age is finally setting in. lol.
We'll see how this runs awhile.
Also, we'll see what iOS spits out this fall, maybe bigger screen.

UPDATE: I'm done. Still buggy, can't hardly even type anything in.
Gone to VZW for iPhone
 
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FredBassett

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The battery life of the phone is excellent and even better than the Maxx when I have an extra battery in my pocket!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

So the battery life is not as good as the maxx. You have to carry an extra battery round with you lol. 14 hours on today and my maxx is on 80% battery still. Best phone I ever had. Love it!
 

deparson

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It is an OK swap but not an upgrade IMO. The MAXX is so rock solid in build, software, and battery life.

If you were having hardware issues with yours an exchange for a different unit would have fixed it.


I've had my Razr Maxx for over a year now and before that I had the Droid X2 and Droid X. So for the last 3 years I've kept it in the Motorola Droid family, until now. I have had nothing but issues with the Razr Maxx. I had it replaced twice due to battery and camera issues, and since the update to JB back in April, my phone has become useless. Everything lags and it is just downright painful to use. It takes at least 2-3 minutes to do a simple browser search. I really only use it for phone calls at this point.

I called Verizon and was able to get an early upgrade (8 months early actually). I explained the issues I've been having with the Razr Maxx and it took all of 15 minutes to get my upgrade approved. I was well prepared for a two-hour phone call and having to speak to multiple reps and supervisors to get my upgrade, but I really lucked out with the first rep. I will say there are things I will definitely miss about the Razr Maxx, like the battery life and smart actions, but since the JB upgrade, this is not the same phone I purchased. Hopefully I will have more success with the S4.

I'm posting this just in case anyone else has been experiencing similar issues and is ready for a new phone. My experience with an early upgrade may be a fluke and not the norm, but for those of you just waiting for your upgrade to switch, there may be hope for you too!
 

SirGeorgeKillian

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I had horrible luck with Motorola. Their hardware was beast when it worked, but then at some point it didn't. I love my S4, and for 17 bucks upgraded to an Anker 5200mah battery that rivals the old Maxx. Yes it is a little thicker, but it fits in the pocket well and it also fits in my hand good. The screen is amazing, and so is the camera. I'm happy with my move.

Sent from my Samsung S4.
 

TreeSpooner

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It is an OK swap but not an upgrade IMO. The MAXX is so rock solid in build, software, and battery life.

If you were having hardware issues with yours an exchange for a different unit would have fixed it.

I had my Razr Maxx replaced twice before I upgraded to the S4. I'm sure they would have continued to replace it, but I was getting tired of having to start from scratch whenever they sent me a new phone.
 

ca4oline

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I'm really glad I stumbled upon this forum... and that someone has said something about the JB upgrade making Google searches lag HORRIBLY. I have the Motorola Droid 4. When I got it last year (upgrade from Droid2 r2d2) I really liked it. After about 9 months, it started to get really slow. I think it was still on ICS then. Backup Assistant never synced - even tech support couldn't tell me why... so they sent me a warranty replacement which got the JB update right away. I feel like I used to be able to push the magnifying glass, type something in, and voila - have search results. Now, it takes forever for the search box to even come up, for text to show up after I've typed (this happens in texts, FB, everywhere else, too) and the phone is generally slow. Like you, I've considered the iPhone but now I'm more attracted to the S4. However, I can't technically get an upgrade until June 1 of next year! I don't even know if this piece will last me that long. Do you think I will also be able to have success getting an early upgrade, even though Verizon's early upgrades are allegedly no more?
 
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TreeSpooner

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My advice would be to call Verizon and explain the issues you are having with your phone. Be very specific about your issues and tell them you have performed a factory reset several times with no improvement. (If you don't say this they will recommend this as their first recommendation to fix the issue, which we already know won't work.)They may and try to send you a replacement phone if you are still under warranty, or you can feel them out about an early upgrade.

If you are lucky like I was, the customer care rep took care of it without even needing a supervisor's approval. Just be patient and genuine, and hopefully you will find a customer care rep who wants to help you. If they say no, I would then ask to speak to a supervisor. Keep pleading your case that you are paying for a service you are unable to use adequately due to malfunctioning equipment. Tell them you are more than willing to sign up for a new contract as required by an upgrade in order to get a functioning phone.

My best advice is just to be as kind as possible and yet still be persistent. I was quite surprised that they were willing to upgrade me 8 months early, so it really is with a shot!

Good luck!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app
 

TreeSpooner

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I'm really glad I stumbled upon this forum... and that someone has said something about the JB upgrade making Google searches lag HORRIBLY. I have the Motorola Droid 4. When I got it last year (upgrade from Droid2 r2d2) I really liked it. After about 9 months, it started to get really slow. I think it was still on ICS then. Backup Assistant never synced - even tech support couldn't tell me why... so they sent me a warranty replacement which got the JB update right away. I feel like I used to be able to push the magnifying glass, type something in, and voila - have search results. Now, it takes forever for the search box to even come up, for text to show up after I've typed (this happens in texts, FB, everywhere else, too) and the phone is generally slow. Like you, I've considered the iPhone but now I'm more attracted to the S4. However, I can't technically get an upgrade until June 1 of next year! I don't even know if this piece will last me that long. Do you think I will also be able to have success getting an early upgrade, even though Verizon's early upgrades are allegedly no more?

Please see my response above...



Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app
 

FAiello

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I also jumped ship from my razr maxx to the S4. Have had it 2+ weeks and I am very happy. One thing I used a lot and missed after switching is Motocast. But I found Zumocast app which is the same thing and works even better. Do not buy the S view case it is a waste of money. Get a good urethane back cover and a good screen protector from Spigen best I ever used easy to put on and it stays on it will be much better.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app
 

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