11 things I don't like about the E4GT...

[cctpitts01]

I've had the E4GT for almost three weeks now (since launch day), and overall I really like it. I would give it a 90/100 rating. But there are some annoying features/issues/bugs with my non-rooted, stock E4GT that I wish could be resolved sooner than later (or at least, someday!). I will say again that the good features of this phone far outweigh the negative ones, but still there are some minor and some more significant issues that do detract from the user experience of this phone (to varying degrees).

In no particular order:

1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness
This sucks in the E4GT, with dramatic, abrupt, and sometimes inappropriate brightness changes. I used this all the time in my Evo 4G but can't in the E4GT because it works so poorly.

2. Screen dimming issue with stock browser
Basically, when I set the brightness at a high level (let's say, for example, the highest setting) for using outdoors and open up the stock internet browser, it 'auto-dims' right after it opens up. This is even with the display brightness auto-setting and the 'auto adjust screen power' setting turned off. It doesn't happen with the other browser I have (skyfire), only the stock one. It's annoying because I like the stock browser but it's less usable outdoors because of this inexplicable auto dimming that happens.

3. Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate
It's too damn slow. There should be an option to adjust the speed. I know there are some apps to help deal with this, but it shouldn't require that.

4. Lock screen lag
I'm used to it popping up immediately in my Evo 4G so it's been somewhat annoying having to wait a full second for it to pop up after pressing the power key. Supposedly it is due to the phone being in some sort of sleep mode to conserve battery life? If so, that's reasonable and perhaps good even.

5. Inability to select emails in stock Email app
Luckily, Microsoft released the hotmail app recently because the stock one, while nice overall, was virtually unusable for me because you cannot select individual/multiple emails to delete. The hotmail app has made this issue a moot point for me.

6. (Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed
This has been an issue more recently. I'm finding that GPS seems to take quite long to lock in a signal quite frequently, sometimes over a few minutes. It seemed like it locked faster before, but now it more often than not takes awhile. I don't live in the middle of Manhattan or anything, but the cloud coverage out here (near Seattle) may play a role.

7. (Always) poor Wifi connection stability
This is one of the most annoying things about my E4GT. I cannot keep a wifi signal in my home for more than 30 minutes at a time, regardless of how close I am to my wireless router. It is easily remedied by toggling the wifi off and on, but still annoying.

8. Poor WiMax reception?
"?" because this is probably related to the poor 4Gcoverage in Tacoma, WA where I live, but at least with my Evo 4G I could get a bit better 4G signal than with my E4GT. I'll see how it is at some point in Seattle, where the 4G coverage is much more ubiquitous.

9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout)
I find it sad that there is no option to keep the screen timeout at 'never', or even at more than 10 minutes. I find this annoying because if I am using google maps to navigate (but without using the navigation app), it will time out.

10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone
I don't understand why Samsung would think it's a good idea to make you drag your finger across the screen just to answer a phone call. Don't laugh, but I have missed a few calls because I couldn't whip out the phone and drag the tab fast enough to answer the call.

11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
What I mean, is that you have to 'drag' the bar all the way up the screen to the top for it to definitely close. If you only drag it up halfway up the screen, for instance, there is no 'inertia' that will continue moving it to the top. So the notification bar may decelerate and then sadly flop back down to the bottom in failure (unlike my Evo 4G where a drag 'flick' will shoot the bar all the way up or down). Oddly, dragging down is easier and doesn't require a full screen drag.

Thoughts?

some of the issues sound like it maybe a device issue more then just overall problem. the stock browser has a seperate brightness setting then the device hit menu and you can change the brightness if you have your device at full brightness and the browsers is set at 4 instead of 9 its going to dim down.

The issue with the notification tray works fine for me as well and I came from a Evo just like you so I know what you mean. but I can slightly fling the tray up and it will scroll up smoothly like on the Evo.

 

[YBCold]

[/QUOTE] 11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
What I mean, is that you have to 'drag' the bar all the way up the screen to the top for it to definitely close. If you only drag it up halfway up the screen, for instance, there is no 'inertia' that will continue moving it to the top. So the notification bar may decelerate and then sadly flop back down to the bottom in failure (unlike my Evo 4G where a drag 'flick' will shoot the bar all the way up or down). Oddly, dragging down is easier and doesn't require a full screen drag.

Thoughts?[/QUOTE]

If the notification bar is down all you have to do is make the same gesture that you used to pull it down and it will retract the notification bar automatically. Similar to closing menus on webos!

Oh and the back button works too!


Sent from my GS2 E4GT using Tapatalk!

 

[Xbbfan73]

I agree with some issues. Driving to work this morning I got spooked bc i saw a blink but was not sure. Took forever to blink again so was a minute before i realized it was my phone in my purse. LOL

Not a fan of side swipe to answer or the locking screen. Other than that works great. Love it. Oh don't like that my swype did not recognize apostrophe/letter swype for contractions. Annoying.

 

[yollamasmama]

I have the 'old' Epic 4G, and with the exceptions of #2 and #11, I've had the exact same problems with my phone. The other complaints are definitely options Samsung should include (also different vibration patterns) in future phones, and they have been pretty inconsistent about WiFi and the GPS on my other Samsung phones as well.

 

[leopard2lx]

I agree that some of these are annoying, but deal-breakers....not even close.
If you had another phone, I bet you'd find other things to complain about.
Just saying,,,,I think it's human nature to never be content with what we have.

 

[sndplace]

First Great post. Your complaining about the phone but not bashing it like some people have done and claim the phone is crap when it really isn't. A lot of people are not having the same issues as others. WiFi. LOS etc. I do agree with you on some of the items on your list.
1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness: doesn't bother me to much but understand your point.
From 2 to 8 Non issues or does bother me
9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout): I use telanav and don't really leave screen on for that long other than videos. I agree , it should give you that option.
10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone: love this option also dragging up the bar at the bottom to send a text to answer.
11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar: this works for me up or down. Tried i for like a minute and worked every time...
I'm sure others would have a longer list lol .

 

[Johnly]

First Great post. Your complaining about the phone but not bashing it like some people have done and claim the phone is crap when it really isn't. A lot of people are not having the same issues as others. WiFi. LOS etc. I do agree with you on some of the items on your list.
1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness: doesn't bother me to much but understand your point.
From 2 to 8 Non issues or does bother me
9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout): I use telanav and don't really leave screen on for that long other than videos. I agree , it should give you that option.
10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone: love this option also dragging up the bar at the bottom to send a text to answer.
11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar: this works for me up or down. Tried i for like a minute and worked every time...
I'm sure others would have a longer list lol .

so true. I agree 100%

 

[Ogre840]

Just posting to say "Holy crap another Tacoma person!"

Oh and the brightness thing annoys me too. I never use auto brightness, but it seems to still try and correct it self from one screen to the next, browser, some games, FB (even going from news feed to comments it sometimes changes...) no rhyme or reason either :-/

 

[DirkBelig]

I just got mine tonight, so I'm viewing this thread with trepidation, but here's what I've seen in the few hours I've messed with it:

1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness - Yes. In my car at night, it's too dim on Auto. Waaaaaaaay too dim. It's as if it's darker than minimum manual brightness.

4. Lock screen lag - I use a widget called No Lock which disables it.

6. (Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed - So far, it's been OK.

7. (Always) poor Wifi connection stability - I just realized I'd dropped from my home router. I can reach out and touch it. Monitoring this one.

9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout) - I drove home, a 5-7 minute drive with Google Navigation and the screen stayed on the whole time as it did with my EVO.

11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar - I'm not seeing this. It flings properly.

 

[Ks2332]

I've had the E4GT for almost three weeks now (since launch day), and overall I really like it. I would give it a 90/100 rating. But there are some annoying features/issues/bugs with my non-rooted, stock E4GT that I wish could be resolved sooner than later (or at least, someday!). I will say again that the good features of this phone far outweigh the negative ones, but still there are some minor and some more significant issues that do detract from the user experience of this phone (to varying degrees).

In no particular order:

1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness
This sucks in the E4GT, with dramatic, abrupt, and sometimes inappropriate brightness changes. I used this all the time in my Evo 4G but can't in the E4GT because it works so poorly.

2. Screen dimming issue with stock browser
Basically, when I set the brightness at a high level (let's say, for example, the highest setting) for using outdoors and open up the stock internet browser, it 'auto-dims' right after it opens up. This is even with the display brightness auto-setting and the 'auto adjust screen power' setting turned off. It doesn't happen with the other browser I have (skyfire), only the stock one. It's annoying because I like the stock browser but it's less usable outdoors because of this inexplicable auto dimming that happens.

3. Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate
It's too damn slow. There should be an option to adjust the speed. I know there are some apps to help deal with this, but it shouldn't require that.

4. Lock screen lag
I'm used to it popping up immediately in my Evo 4G so it's been somewhat annoying having to wait a full second for it to pop up after pressing the power key. Supposedly it is due to the phone being in some sort of sleep mode to conserve battery life? If so, that's reasonable and perhaps good even.

5. Inability to select emails in stock Email app
Luckily, Microsoft released the hotmail app recently because the stock one, while nice overall, was virtually unusable for me because you cannot select individual/multiple emails to delete. The hotmail app has made this issue a moot point for me.

6. (Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed
This has been an issue more recently. I'm finding that GPS seems to take quite long to lock in a signal quite frequently, sometimes over a few minutes. It seemed like it locked faster before, but now it more often than not takes awhile. I don't live in the middle of Manhattan or anything, but the cloud coverage out here (near Seattle) may play a role.

7. (Always) poor Wifi connection stability
This is one of the most annoying things about my E4GT. I cannot keep a wifi signal in my home for more than 30 minutes at a time, regardless of how close I am to my wireless router. It is easily remedied by toggling the wifi off and on, but still annoying.

8. Poor WiMax reception?
"?" because this is probably related to the poor 4Gcoverage in Tacoma, WA where I live, but at least with my Evo 4G I could get a bit better 4G signal than with my E4GT. I'll see how it is at some point in Seattle, where the 4G coverage is much more ubiquitous.

9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout)
I find it sad that there is no option to keep the screen timeout at 'never', or even at more than 10 minutes. I find this annoying because if I am using google maps to navigate (but without using the navigation app), it will time out.

10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone
I don't understand why Samsung would think it's a good idea to make you drag your finger across the screen just to answer a phone call. Don't laugh, but I have missed a few calls because I couldn't whip out the phone and drag the tab fast enough to answer the call.

11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
What I mean, is that you have to 'drag' the bar all the way up the screen to the top for it to definitely close. If you only drag it up halfway up the screen, for instance, there is no 'inertia' that will continue moving it to the top. So the notification bar may decelerate and then sadly flop back down to the bottom in failure (unlike my Evo 4G where a drag 'flick' will shoot the bar all the way up or down). Oddly, dragging down is easier and doesn't require a full screen drag.

Thoughts?

What ive noticed with mine on the lockscreen if I have memorh card inserted jt takes a few seconds but with none installed its instant just test it I work for corporate sprint repair center in columbus ohio and this is the case on 8/10 epics even after a reset it still occurs so its defintly something samsung has baked in the phone

 

[jnl813]

It takes my photon with stock battery (1650mh) an hour to fully charge.

 

[Demosthenes9]

I've had the E4GT for almost three weeks now (since launch day), and overall I really like it. I would give it a 90/100 rating. But there are some annoying features/issues/bugs with my non-rooted, stock E4GT that I wish could be resolved sooner than later (or at least, someday!). I will say again that the good features of this phone far outweigh the negative ones, but still there are some minor and some more significant issues that do detract from the user experience of this phone (to varying degrees).

9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout)
I find it sad that there is no option to keep the screen timeout at 'never', or even at more than 10 minutes. I find this annoying because if I am using google maps to navigate (but without using the navigation app), it will time out.

The screen timeout used to bother me as well until I installed Screebl Pro. If you aren't familiar with it, Screebl overrides your screen time out settings whenever your phone is held within a range that you have defined.

With 0 degree being verticle and 90 degrees being horizontal (flat), say that you normally hold your phone at about a 40 - 50 degree angle. You set that range in Screebl and your screen will not timeout. IF you drop to say 39 degrees or less of an angle, then your timeout settings will kick in.

It has separate settings for portraint and landscape orientations as well.

 

[Flyboy1100]

My inerial dragging works on the notifications, phone answering, really anywhere you need to drag something all the way across the screen. Answering a phone call is just a simple left to right flick

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[Johnly]

Poorly functioning Auto-brightness? Have you ever had a device that had perfect auto brightness OP? What one? I have had a lot, and auto brightness is auto, a smudged screen can affect it even. This device is the ONLY device that you can control the brightness from any screen with just swiping across the power bar. This is the BEST brightness control I have ever used.

Screen dimming issue with stock browser? Again, same thing, the gestures built into touch-wiz are amazing and being able to control the screen in any environment with a gesture is wonderful. Auto works on the phone, what is wrong with that? Clean your phones sensor. If it doesn't work, reset it, then exchange it, as it is a WORKING feature.

Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate? Seriously? Have you seen the Bionic? It blinks twice as fast, but the LED is so small you can't see it if the phone is more than 5 feet away. High end android phones are missing this feature as in the nexus s. Can we say thank you Samsung for the big bright LED that doesn?t go off like a freaking Christmas tree.

Lock screen lag? Really, I have NEVER had that, and have had two SGSII's. Is your screen oily? Clean it. Again, reset your phone and exchange it if you have issues, these are WORKING features.

Inability to select emails in stock Email app? I use G mail and Yahoo and can select multiple emails just fine. What client do you use? We can get you fixed in no time, we are here to help.

(Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed? That is weird guy. I travel 100+ miles a day often and RELY on GPS. Locks instantly every time. I think you NEED to factory reset, but you seem insistent on KEEPING these issues. You can own them if you like, but other owners of this device do not have to have ?these issues.?

(Always) poor Wifi connection stability? Always? Bullsnort. I use wifi every day at school and other locations. Works wonderful. No issues. Your device sounds defective guy.

Poor WiMax reception? Did you NOT take a couple weeks to test drive the network? That is 100% your fault.

Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout?) There is several apps for that, not even an ISSUE as it can be FIXED up real fast.

Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone? The touch screen interface again? You may want to try a slider with a keyboard if gestures aren't a practical way to operate your device and you find it cumbersome.

Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar? Do you know what inertial means? If I had inertial notifications, I could just swing my phone forward and because of the ?weight? of the NP, it would close, same thing, swing the phone to me, and it would open. You got to use your hands. Touch screens are a beautiful thing, but they do require gestures. Try flipping a quarter ten times then flip your NP, you will improve.

I am so glad to hear you haven't had any dropped CALLS. Amazing : )

 

[oskar1995]

The only item I can even remotely comment on at this point is the LED notification blink rate. And that is just because I wish it could be faster. My Evo 4G was pretty good, but I had a TON of difficulty even seeing it on my Photon (its roughly the size of a pin hole). The LED on this thing has the opportunity to be great due to the size, so I'm looking forward to that.

I can always tinker with lightflow which some people said helped the rate.

 

[linzgeneral]

Poorly functioning Auto-brightness? Have you ever had a device that had perfect auto brightness OP? What one? I have had a lot, and auto brightness is auto, a smudged screen can affect it even. This device is the ONLY device that you can control the brightness from any screen with just swiping across the power bar. This is the BEST brightness control I have ever used.

Screen dimming issue with stock browser? Again, same thing, the gestures built into touch-wiz are amazing and being able to control the screen in any environment with a gesture is wonderful. Auto works on the phone, what is wrong with that? Clean your phones sensor. If it doesn't work, reset it, then exchange it, as it is a WORKING feature.

Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate? Seriously? Have you seen the Bionic? It blinks twice as fast, but the LED is so small you can't see it if the phone is more than 5 feet away. High end android phones are missing this feature as in the nexus s. Can we say thank you Samsung for the big bright LED that doesn?t go off like a freaking Christmas tree.

Lock screen lag? Really, I have NEVER had that, and have had two SGSII's. Is your screen oily? Clean it. Again, reset your phone and exchange it if you have issues, these are WORKING features.

Inability to select emails in stock Email app? I use G mail and Yahoo and can select multiple emails just fine. What client do you use? We can get you fixed in no time, we are here to help.

(Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed? That is weird guy. I travel 100+ miles a day often and RELY on GPS. Locks instantly every time. I think you NEED to factory reset, but you seem insistent on KEEPING these issues. You can own them if you like, but other owners of this device do not have to have ?these issues.?

(Always) poor Wifi connection stability? Always? Bullsnort. I use wifi every day at school and other locations. Works wonderful. No issues. Your device sounds defective guy.

Poor WiMax reception? Did you NOT take a couple weeks to test drive the network? That is 100% your fault.

Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout?) There is several apps for that, not even an ISSUE as it can be FIXED up real fast.

Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone? The touch screen interface again? You may want to try a slider with a keyboard if gestures aren't a practical way to operate your device and you find it cumbersome.

Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar? Do you know what inertial means? If I had inertial notifications, I could just swing my phone forward and because of the ?weight? of the NP, it would close, same thing, swing the phone to me, and it would open. You got to use your hands. Touch screens are a beautiful thing, but they do require gestures. Try flipping a quarter ten times then flip your NP, you will improve.

I am so glad to hear you haven't had any dropped CALLS. Amazing : )

Dude, everyone's mileage will vary, calm down. I can easily add another 11 things to that list. For one my GPS can't locate me accurately within about 200 yards- and yes I adjust to all optimal settings. Just experienced the LOS for the first time, after wondering what the heck everyone has been talking about - had the phone from launch, phone overheats (get super hot quick) every time I play a game or video from sd card, games cut off after playing for a few minutes (look it up) and much more including sometimes the phone freezes or lags. That being said, I sold my EVO3D which I loved and decided that I am riding with the Epic Touch because overall it is a better package. I just hope that enough people experience the same issue to force a fix from Sprint or Samsung.

 

[Johnly]

Dude, everyone's mileage will vary, calm down. I can easily add another 11 things to that list. For one my GPS can't locate me accurately within about 200 yards- and yes I adjust to all optimal settings. Just experienced the LOS for the first time, after wondering what the heck everyone has been talking about - had the phone from launch, phone overheats (get super hot quick) every time I play a game or video from sd card, games cut off after playing for a few minutes (look it up) and much more including sometimes the phone freezes or lags. That being said, I sold my EVO3D which I loved and decided that I am riding with the Epic Touch because overall it is a better package. I just hope that enough people experience the same issue to force a fix from Sprint or Samsung.

Chill, it is a little opinion to go with an opinion.
btw, your GPS is broke. Are you roaming? Try rebooting your phone once in awhile for better mileage. The phone is pencil thin, yes, you will feel the warmth, but it won't burn you. Like a powerful laptop, it heats up. You know this right?

 

[mmark27]

I can't fathom how folks are having issues with the lock screen.

I use one hand, flick it maybe 3/4" and it's gone. It's the easiest unlock I have ever used by far.

What am I missing here????

yeah, no idea either. I like how when you set a security unlock, you don't have to do a screen unlock first and then the pattern....like on my Evo4G. I much prefer this unlocking.

 

[Cobravision]

Actually, I prefer the Sense way of having a lockscreen and a separate security lock screen that can be adjusted to activate after a certain period of inactivity. That way, I can just use the regular lockscreen if I'm in and out of my phone, but after, say, 30 minutes of non-use, the security lock screen activates.

On the E4GT, you can set a time out period for the security screen but only if you let the screen shut off automatically -- if you press the power button to manually turn it off (which most people do), you have to reenter the code every single time you turn the screen back on. I don't understand how the engineers didn't see how dumb this setup was.

 

[Flyboy1100]

The only item I can even remotely comment on at this point is the LED notification blink rate. And that is just because I wish it could be faster. My Evo 4G was pretty good, but I had a TON of difficulty even seeing it on my Photon (its roughly the size of a pin hole). The LED on this thing has the opportunity to be great due to the size, so I'm looking forward to that.

I can always tinker with lightflow which some people said helped the rate.

i use SMS popup and i set it to "white" which makes it blink red really fast all the time. this is obviously only for texts as i don't care about any other notifications