Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have issues

[boxta]

I joined sprint last year with evo 4g.. great phone at the time, minimal issues.. but I put up with it and I liked android to keep using it..

S2 came out, got excited, so I upgraded even though I had evo for only a year...

overall I like s2.. but I am just really disapointed that all basic functions I expect from a phone..doesn't work consistently... and i am surprised that not more people seem to stress about it.. we all acknowledge there's issue.. but everyone just seems to put up with it

GPS... sometimes lock quickly.. sometimes it takes minutes.. using the phone as a golf gps is a joke now because it's never accurate enough... my evo 4g was much better... and yes.. that's after i use gps tools to reset.. update gps.conf via root explorer .. etc etc.. and no.. rebooting everytime is really NOT a solution

Bluetooth... i paired it with my car... and when i get into the car.. it's shown as connected to my car.. and music actually streams to my car audio.. which is cool.. but somehow.. sometimes voice call will NOT get directed to my car's audio... and bluetooth button on the dialer will be greyed out... not sure if anyone else is having the issue

WIFI... every now and then... it will lose connection to my home wifi... a recycle of the wifi will fix the issue.. i never have any problem with my evo 4g.. and even right now.. my other device (iphone 4, ipad) all stay connected.. so i am sure it's not my router.. it's annoying

voice service.. i rarely get LOS..but i do occasionally.. and again.. there're fixes.. but it's just the basic function of the phone.. (i am getting less now after upgrading to EL13 modem.. but still)

3g/4g speed... this is sprint network.. and it's just getting worse and worse.. and i will leave it at that...because this warrants a much longer discussion

so in conclusion... ALL the basic phone functions have issues... i do want to love this phone.. but i am already getting quite annoyed by it..

is everyone else really going to put up with it?? or am i really unlucky?

 

[elyeh]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

It seems to be hit and miss.
I have had no GPS WIFI or bluetooth issues with my phone from day one.
I read alot of posts with issues people seem to have and I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as I have not experienced any.

Then again I dont have lots of apps, I'm not rooted or any of that. I'm stock out of the box and the phone operates like a gem.

 

[duddy23b]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

Same her, use right out the box, even dropped it once but so far fingers crossed no problems whatsoever. Four months I guess it's the luck of the draw or something!

 

[oskar1995]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

Boxta,

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with the Epic 4G Touch. Like some of the other replies I have not run into any of the issues you have experienced at all. My Bluetooth is always connected and never gives me any problems. This is actually a step up from my Evo 4G and Photon which seemed to have problems.

In terms of the GPS, I will agree this is something that could be better on this phone. What I believe the cause of this perceived issue is part of the GS2's (pretty impressive) battery saving programming. Unlike my Evo 4G (and Photon and my wife's Evo Design 4G) when the GPS is turned on (and left on all day) it doesn't completely destroy the battery and only activates when a program utilizes it. In terms of the actual time to lock. I have found this to generally be below 30 seconds when I need it however I don't use it often. I just load the Maps app, and click the "locate" button. Usually finds me in 5-10 seconds.

In terms of using a phone as a golf GPS, my recommendation is don't. I'm a 7 handicap (not overly important but want to establish that yardage would be pretty important to me). I've used several apps over the years on my different phones (Blackberry, Evo, Photon), and not once has any app on any phone been overly reliable. The Photon was probably the best out of the group (but would lose 30-40% battery life during a round since the GPS never turned off) and even that was generally off 5 yards. Phone GPS units are not programmed to be as accurate as a stand alone golf GPS. The E4GT is hit or miss. Sometimes it seemed spot on, others it was nearly a club (10 yards) off. And it would take a few moments when I "powered" the phone back on for it to lock. I've used the Sonocaddie, Sky Caddy and uPro (Callaway) GPS units. Highly recommend the Sonocaddie as it doesn't require a monthly fee.

I don't know if I'm one of the fortunate ones but I leave WIFI on all day (amazed at how much less data I need to use) and I've never had any drops at home. I'm pretty much on the phone for a half hour to an hour before I leave for work, then use it for an hour, two, or three when I get home. I've never lost WIFI connection, but I'm also a reasonable distance from the router. I've heard if you get too far that is the problem. Not sure the range and how it compares to others since mine works in the drive and picks up a little bit down the street.

The voice problems you mention seem to be a little inconsistent with the posts since the baseband upgrade. I've been fortunate with not having any issues even before hand, but it sounds like an isolated incident (obviously before it was more systematic). I would stop by a Sprint store, ask them to test it, and inquire whether any towers in the area are having issues. A couple months back near my work I stopped in to ask about a new device and they asked what phone I have and we started chatting. The person was very smart and informed me the best tower in the area was down for maintenance (perhaps part of the Network Vision upgrade) and that was causing some local issues. A few weeks later things got better.

In terms of data speeds, obviously these vary greatly. Over the past 3 months (I got it on launch day) I've actually found that data speeds have improved slightly. Nothing dramatic but enough to be calculated and noticed. Likewise I've actually been able to pick up 4G in more places than in the past.

Well, sorry for the absolutely wall of words. I wanted to share some experiences and thoughts. Considering all of the issues you are running into my best advice is to stop by a store and have them take a look at the phone. It seems like there might be something wrong and it's possible that a hard reset might cure a lot that ails your phone (I performed one on launch day and I've been able to avoid a lot of the common issues).

If you'd like me to elaborate on anything, let me know. I'd like to help!

Edit: Just to add some additional info. I've probably got somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 apps or so loaded. I download a bunch of apps from Amazon (all the daily free ones) and rarely delete things. This hasn't seemed to be a problem. At times the rogue app I open stays running and skills some life, but its usually noticable and I can just kill the app using the Task Manager.

 

[jfenton]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I have absolutely no GPS or WIFI issues, whether at home or traveling across the country for work.

Have not once had the BT fail to properly connect to my car.

 

[IAmSixNine]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I am having no issues with my device either.
I am Stock out of the box, had my unit for about 2 months. I have my EVO 3D as a back up but i never need it.
I have a little over 100 apps on my device. Never had LOS issues, before or after the update. GPS works for me, mainly use it with foursquare and google+, and several times a week to check traffic on google maps. Location always seems accurate to me.
Data speeds are not the best but i attribute that to network congestion because at times i get 1.5 or better down and others its .03 down. Some of it is location, others its just the time of day.
Im on Wifi at home and have not had any issues, no losses over night.
Im on Wifi all day at the office. Again, no issues.
I have not done any official polling but i tend to see a lot of problem phones associated with 1 thing, rooting. Seems a lot of rooted devices start to have issues.
Thats one of the reasons i have kept mine at stock for so long, that and i am happy with the Stock ROM.
Now my Epic 4G i rooted the heck out of it and ran ACS Frozen Rom and was extremely happy with it.

EDIT oops forgot Bluetooth
I have a parrot CK-3100 in my truck and dont have any issues with it.
I do recall seing on other posts about some people having problems with BT and their cars, but my guess is thats more of a compatability between whats in their cars and their phones. BT has a lot of layers and not everything is compatible.
I also use a Motorola S305 stereo BT headset to listen to music at work and no issues with that.

Voice calls always work. Even when my company iPhone 4 ATT drops calls.
I pretty muuch know if i have an important call to make i go to my Sprint device.

 

[luigidk]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

Boxta,

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with the Epic 4G Touch. Like some of the other replies I have not run into any of the issues you have experienced at all. My Bluetooth is always connected and never gives me any problems. This is actually a step up from my Evo 4G and Photon which seemed to have problems.

In terms of the GPS, I will agree this is something that could be better on this phone. What I believe the cause of this perceived issue is part of the GS2's (pretty impressive) battery saving programming. Unlike my Evo 4G (and Photon and my wife's Evo Design 4G) when the GPS is turned on (and left on all day) it doesn't completely destroy the battery and only activates when a program utilizes it. In terms of the actual time to lock. I have found this to generally be below 30 seconds when I need it however I don't use it often. I just load the Maps app, and click the "locate" button. Usually finds me in 5-10 seconds.

In terms of using a phone as a golf GPS, my recommendation is don't. I'm a 7 handicap (not overly important but want to establish that yardage would be pretty important to me). I've used several apps over the years on my different phones (Blackberry, Evo, Photon), and not once has any app on any phone been overly reliable. The Photon was probably the best out of the group (but would lose 30-40% battery life during a round since the GPS never turned off) and even that was generally off 5 yards. Phone GPS units are not programmed to be as accurate as a stand alone golf GPS. The E4GT is hit or miss. Sometimes it seemed spot on, others it was nearly a club (10 yards) off. And it would take a few moments when I "powered" the phone back on for it to lock. I've used the Sonocaddie, Sky Caddy and uPro (Callaway) GPS units. Highly recommend the Sonocaddie as it doesn't require a monthly fee.

I don't know if I'm one of the fortunate ones but I leave WIFI on all day (amazed at how much less data I need to use) and I've never had any drops at home. I'm pretty much on the phone for a half hour to an hour before I leave for work, then use it for an hour, two, or three when I get home. I've never lost WIFI connection, but I'm also a reasonable distance from the router. I've heard if you get too far that is the problem. Not sure the range and how it compares to others since mine works in the drive and picks up a little bit down the street.

The voice problems you mention seem to be a little inconsistent with the posts since the baseband upgrade. I've been fortunate with not having any issues even before hand, but it sounds like an isolated incident (obviously before it was more systematic). I would stop by a Sprint store, ask them to test it, and inquire whether any towers in the area are having issues. A couple months back near my work I stopped in to ask about a new device and they asked what phone I have and we started chatting. The person was very smart and informed me the best tower in the area was down for maintenance (perhaps part of the Network Vision upgrade) and that was causing some local issues. A few weeks later things got better.

In terms of data speeds, obviously these vary greatly. Over the past 3 months (I got it on launch day) I've actually found that data speeds have improved slightly. Nothing dramatic but enough to be calculated and noticed. Likewise I've actually been able to pick up 4G in more places than in the past.

Well, sorry for the absolutely wall of words. I wanted to share some experiences and thoughts. Considering all of the issues you are running into my best advice is to stop by a store and have them take a look at the phone. It seems like there might be something wrong and it's possible that a hard reset might cure a lot that ails your phone (I performed one on launch day and I've been able to avoid a lot of the common issues).

If you'd like me to elaborate on anything, let me know. I'd like to help!

Edit: Just to add some additional info. I've probably got somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 apps or so loaded. I download a bunch of apps from Amazon (all the daily free ones) and rarely delete things. This hasn't seemed to be a problem. At times the rogue app I open stays running and skills some life, but its usually noticable and I can just kill the app using the Task Manager.

Very thoughtful and informative reply - thanks.

I see you have had (still?) a lot of phones - I came from the Pre- to this phone (we had 4 pre- in the family - now 2 E4GT, 1 Evo3D, 1 Iphone 4s)... Before the PRE I had wow - the TREO 6xx ?, before that the PPC-6700 (YUK) then the whole TREO path up to that. How do you rank the E4GT to your past devices? (trying to level-set technology over time)

I really really like the E4GT - but I do miss the WebOS UI. The other famiily Android converts - all agree that they love the speed and horsepower and APPS we get on the Android - but still prefer the WebOS UI. Cards just can't be beat and I am still trying to swipe in and out of applications... I HATE having to hit a home key to move between applications.

Didn't think I'd like the size of the E4GT but love it... the weight and thinness actually make it feel better in my pocket than the Pre...

My wife loves her iPhone 4S - and we have a lot of fun picking on each other's device of choice! I will say that the iPhone is great for her - and I see why she likes it.... just not for me. I like the control I get on my E4GT - making it do what I want - not have Apple force me to do it their way (hate iTunes)...

I have had GPS issues - and feel that between rebooting and running GPS Fix from time to time - they are pretty much resolved - but also agree the GPS is a weak point on this device.

WiFi is ok - I have some router issues and my E4GT does seem slightly more sensitive than some other devices... but I have a LOT of interference in my condo between WAPS broadcasting all over the place...

Have had zero LOS issues...

I am a little frustrated with the lack of overall functionality with email, contacts and calendar Android offers. WebOS (synergy) was much better. I have 4 email accounts (1 business, 3 personal) and I've set up my personal accounts all on gmail - but don't like how I have to switch between them. To keep things simple I put my business account on the default email app (still playing with k-9 - but not too sure about it)...

Managing contacts, calendars and emails in one place on WebOS seemed more seamless than Android... but this may still be an adjustment period - open to any suggestions here!

4G is very good - I often use it at home instead of WiFi - actually faster.

All in all - very happy I made the switch. Any issues are minor and overall a great smartphone experience.

Looking forward to seeing what ICS will do on this in 2012.

 

[bdmridgback]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

It seems to be hit and miss.
I have had no GPS WIFI or bluetooth issues with my phone from day one.
I read alot of posts with issues people seem to have and I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as I have not experienced any.

Then again I dont have lots of apps, I'm not rooted or any of that. I'm stock out of the box and the phone operates like a gem.

+1... No problems with any of that on mine. Not Rooted either, stock...that is probably why.
A lot of radio issues out there on rooted Galaxy's...That I see!

 

[boxta]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

sigh.. i guess i'm glad i am the minority then... and so many people have no issues... i did root..and I am on supposedly the latest and greatest....

even on rooted users.. i don't see people complain that much about it.. either people have high tolerence or i am just unlucky...

basically everything I expect from a phone doesn't work consistently.. mainly being GPS, WIFI drops and BT

guess i am just ranting... nothing much I can do about it... i hate to be lured back to IP though.. but i definitely had less issues then.

 

[anon(38808)]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I'm also having the same issues as you describe

I upgraded two EVO's on my account to E4GT's about a month ago and already experiencing problems with both. I drive a BMW and my wife has a Ford with Sync and our phone's will automatically pair about 30% of the time. With the EVO's, we never had an instance where they didn't pair up with the cars instantly.

The GPS is hit and miss. I'd say about 50% of the time I'll get an instant lock and when it doesn't I'll reboot the phone and then it'll find me right away.

I'm praying that ICS solves these unacceptable nuisances.

 

[linzgeneral]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I'm also having the same issues as you describe

I upgraded two EVO's on my account to E4GT's about a month ago and already experiencing problems with both. I drive a BMW and my wife has a Ford with Sync and our phone's will automatically pair about 30% of the time. With the EVO's, we never had an instance where they didn't pair up with the cars instantly.

The GPS is hit and miss. I'd say about 50% of the time I'll get an instant lock and when it doesn't I'll reboot the phone and then it'll find me right away.

I'm praying that ICS solves these unacceptable nuisances.

I had the same issue as the OP except for the bluetooth which I never tested, I was stock. My GPS was unusable, half mile off consistently and sometimes showed the place I was in the day before after 15 minutes of loading: yes tried all the tricks as I wanted to love the phone since everything else was great especially the still and video camera. Sold it and got a Galaxy note. the most impressive GPS I have ever seen, instant lock within seconds even without service or GPS turned on.

 

[Jaimeg123prmt]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I don't know if this is a sprint issue but I notice since the latest update, my 3g does not work or when it does, it is so sluggish it makes me want to destroy my phone. Another thing too, my data does not work when I am in a moving car.

 

[lilotimz]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I don't know if this is a sprint issue but I notice since the latest update, my 3g does not work or when it does, it is so sluggish it makes me want to destroy my phone. Another thing too, my data does not work when I am in a moving car.

Welcome to the Sprint 3g where it's anywhere from 0.6 mbps to 1.5-2.0mbps and usually is around ~50-300 kbps. Look at the bright side... at least the 4g on the E4GT doesn't kill your battery as fast as other "4g" phones

 

[oskar1995]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

Luigidk, Meant to reply to your post earlier in the week. I've been through quite a few phones over the years. There are a couple more I didn't even mention. In terms of how the E4GT ranks, I would be hard pressed to call it anything but the best smart phone I've ever used. Speed, screen, battery life, ability to do a million things, etc. Its just too fast and too powerful with too much storage.

In terms of managing contacts, email, calendars, etc. a lot of that is pretty easy with Android (as long as you have a gmail account). Everything can sync through one gmail account and actually makes it very easy setting up a new device.

Now, in terms of the operating system, to me that is also a pretty easy decision. Nothing I've seen has topped WebOS. I've used multiple iterations of the BB software, pretty much every version of iOS that came out (original iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad), several versions of Android (Eclair, Froyo, GB), older versions of Windows (CE, 6) along with webOS on my Pre. To date I think its still the best designed operating system on probably some of the worst hardware ever created. It had the openness of Android (all the tweaks you could do and developer mode was a simple Contra code away), the best multitasking system (SOMEONE needs to buy/license the IP around the cards RIGHT NOW), while also finding a great way to intertwine everything into something very useful. Apparently it was fairly easy to program for (no idea since I'm not a programmer).

Sadly, HP bought it at the wrong time. Android and iOS are going to eat up huge chunks of the market share at this point and most people have already entered one of the two "ecosystems".

 

[Dissident]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I am in the same boat with the GPS. The GPS on my phone is basically unusable. Takes minutes to lock. Hearing that the majority of users do not have the issues, makes me want to take this to Sprint and see what they have to say.

 

[luigidk]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I am in the same boat with the GPS. The GPS on my phone is basically unusable. Takes minutes to lock. Hearing that the majority of users do not have the issues, makes me want to take this to Sprint and see what they have to say.

Not so sure the majority of users don't have GPS issues.

Many users may be getting wifi location services and not even aware their GPS isn't working well.

IT wasn't until I started running GPS test and GPS fix - that I realized the GPS has problems.

That said - I will power off from time to time - check out the GPS - mostly with GPS FIx app - and for the most part it suffices.

 

[Toan Nguyen]

Re: Great phone... except GPS, bluetooth, WIFI, voice all have is

I have a Mercedes C300, bluetooth connect to ATT HTC One with 4.3 fine....GPS Navigation sounds only play thru phone speakers...but when I am on a phone call, I can hear the Navigation direction over the car speakers....so annoying to hear phone conversation and GPS Navigation overlap......WHAT IS WRONG and how to fix this?