Major Bionic Issues, Anyone else?

[potermac]

The problem with this is you are thinking you're next phone will be without issues. That just isn't the case. Any and every phone will have issues and will need an update to fix them. The question is can you live with with the issues until the update. I can tell you can not. I have had all the issues you mentioned and so has most everyone I think but there are ways to resolve some if them and others will need the update. I for one am perfectly happy with mine. I will loose data sometimes and I just toggle airplane mode on the off and I'm good. That is a problem but one I can live with for another month.
I can bet you if you waited till November to get the bionic you would have never posted. If you get a new phone when it first comes out expect problems. That's just the way it is, at least with smart phones.

Just a follow-up. I've had two (2) Bionics since the opening date of 9/8. Both of them exhibited extreme problems. 1) Drops apps (2-8 at a time) everytime you shut it off, n o matter where they are stored. 2) Shuts itself off, 3) Reboots itself for no reason after I shut it off 20 minutes earlier 4) Screen freezes and nothing will work , except removing the battery fixes this (at which time I lose more apps). This happens on a daily basis. I started with Verizon who gave me a run-around and then said it was a Motorola problem. Motorola washed their hands and said it was a Verizon problem. After trying the normal customer service (really a misnomer) I do what I've done in the past with poor responses from the bottom, I contacted the top via email. That same day i got a call from Verizon Corporate being all apologetic, and agreed to refund everything, phone and all accesories even though I was into my 4th week (2 weeks beyond the normal return period). So at this time I'm back with my DROID2 that has worked perfectly for 1.5 yrs and plan on keeping it forever. I'm tired of being a beta-tester for Verizon/Motorola!

If you wish some form of response instead of the cust. service dance, contact Exec Relations @ Verizon 203-741-7486

In my opinion, everyone with problems with the Bionic should demand a full refund and go to another phone. I sure as heck would return a car that I paid top dollar for if it only worked correctly 60% of the time. The Bionic is a big dissappointment and am very glad to return to my DROID2 which gives me great service without any problems, and I have the confidence that it will work everytime I pick it up. Not so for the Bionic. Bionic great idea, poor execution. Both Verizon and Motorola get D for a grade.

 

[trainplane3]

I know being a early adopter usually means bugs, but half of these bugs shouldn't have happened. If they really did test it as much as sources say, then they are really terrible at it. I got my OG Droid three days after launch and I didn't have ANY phone crippling bugs. I wonder what happened between the OG Droid and Bionic. I'm shipping this thing back and will hold out for the Nexus.

EDIT: Thanks for the number pharologst! I just left a message and I'm hoping they'll do the same for me.

 

[snowwy66]

i'll say this.

issues i can handle.

waiting for updates. i can handle.

the bionic is the biggest POS that shouldn't have been released untill it works. PERIOD.

that's all there is too it.

in all my years owning a smartphone. i have never seen such a disaster.

i'm gonna have to return my phone to stock form and return it for an htc.

 

[potermac]

i'll say this.

issues i can handle.

waiting for updates. i can handle.

the bionic is the biggest POS that shouldn't have been released untill it works. PERIOD.

that's all there is too it.

in all my years owning a smartphone. i have never seen such a disaster.

i'm gonna have to return my phone to stock form and return it for an htc.

Well I will say this, I am extremely happy with my bionic and so are many others so I am thinking you have a defect or have messed something up .. It would be stupid to take back the best phone I have ever owned .

 

[dpw2atox]

IMO the Bionic is an awesome phone but for all its delays feels very unpolished. A few things that surprised me were that it only has Android 2.3.4 and how poor the radios work. That said overall the device feels great, its fast and works very well.....its just not ready for public consumption.

Still I remember my OG Droid and Xoom on release both had tons of issues which were all resolved by the 1st to 2nd maintenance release and I am hopeful we will see the Bionic live up to its potential.

As of last night a new OTA was leaked (5.5.893) so Motorola is still working hard on fixing the issues. I would personally rather see 2-3 small updates than 1 big update (the previous leak 5.5.892 was 54.5MB...not sure the size of 893). Still we know that early novemeber is the ETA.....hopefully these issues are a high enough priority that Motorola gets the fix out early.

I also saw that the Droid Razor is running a 2.3.5 android build so chances are we'll see that as the 2nd maintenance release ota for the Bionic before we see Ice Cream Sandwich.

 

[trainplane3]

Just a follow-up. I've had two (2) Bionics since the opening date of 9/8. Both of them exhibited extreme problems. 1) Drops apps (2-8 at a time) everytime you shut it off, n o matter where they are stored. 2) Shuts itself off, 3) Reboots itself for no reason after I shut it off 20 minutes earlier 4) Screen freezes and nothing will work , except removing the battery fixes this (at which time I lose more apps). This happens on a daily basis. I started with Verizon who gave me a run-around and then said it was a Motorola problem. Motorola washed their hands and said it was a Verizon problem. After trying the normal customer service (really a misnomer) I do what I've done in the past with poor responses from the bottom, I contacted the top via email. That same day i got a call from Verizon Corporate being all apologetic, and agreed to refund everything, phone and all accesories even though I was into my 4th week (2 weeks beyond the normal return period). So at this time I'm back with my DROID2 that has worked perfectly for 1.5 yrs and plan on keeping it forever. I'm tired of being a beta-tester for Verizon/Motorola!

If you wish some form of response instead of the cust. service dance, contact Exec Relations @ Verizon 203-741-7486


In my opinion, everyone with problems with the Bionic should demand a full refund and go to another phone. I sure as heck would return a car that I paid top dollar for if it only worked correctly 60% of the time. The Bionic is a big dissappointment and am very glad to return to my DROID2 which gives me great service without any problems, and I have the confidence that it will work everytime I pick it up. Not so for the Bionic. Bionic great idea, poor execution. Both Verizon and Motorola get D for a grade.

Well they called me and couldn't do anything for me. They offered me any 4G device or a USED replacement. They were friendly and understood, but had to play by the book sadly. They did remind me I do have a 1 year Man. warranty that I can use. I said I'll wait to see if the update fixes the issues and if it doesn't, I'll just sell it.

 

[pharologst]

The problem with this is you are thinking you're next phone will be without issues. That just isn't the case. Any and every phone will have issues and will need an update to fix them. The question is can you live with with the issues until the update. I can tell you can not. I have had all the issues you mentioned and so has most everyone I think but there are ways to resolve some if them and others will need the update. I for one am perfectly happy with mine. I will loose data sometimes and I just toggle airplane mode on the off and I'm good. That is a problem but one I can live with for another month.
I can bet you if you waited till November to get the bionic you would have never posted. If you get a new phone when it first comes out expect problems. That's just the way it is, at least with smart phones.

I've had four (4) new issue phones in the past and NONE OF THEM had this level of significant problems. When i pickup a smartphone, I need to have the TRUST that it will function properly 99.9% of the time. This has been the case in the past, but.... not so with the Bionic. My Bionics (both) worked properly about 60% of the time. When i shell out top dollar, I expect to receive what i paid for, as I did with the 4 previous phones. A minor glitch is understandable, but these phones/software have major flaws that should not have been foisted upon the public for beta-testing. As for a solution in November, I COULDN"T WAIT 3 MONTHS for acceptable service, maybe others can afford to , or want to, but the sad case is Verizon/Motorola jumped the gun more so than they ever have in the past.

 

[potermac]

Its not all bionics having problems. Some are saying that they haven't had a single issue, some like me only have minor issues that will be corrected in less than a month and some like you who just got a bad phone. If motorola had screwed up like you say then everyone would have the issues/problems that you have had. Does this make since?

 

[idahoguy]

i'll say this.

issues i can handle.

waiting for updates. i can handle.

the bionic is the biggest POS that shouldn't have been released untill it works. PERIOD.

that's all there is too it.

in all my years owning a smartphone. i have never seen such a disaster.

i'm gonna have to return my phone to stock form and return it for an htc.

I appreciate what some customers like you must be going through with phones that have extensive problems. My son and his wife upgraded to the Bionic, along with my wife and I. We are very lucky that our phones have minor data connection issues that were corrected by toggling airplane mode off and on. I would have preferred these bugs be discovered prior to release. I use mine phone for company business and have traveled 2 out of the 3 weeks I have had the phone. The most important things, phone calls and emails have worked. Coming from a Blackberry Curve that gave me minor problems when it was first released I've come to expect that from phone.

 

[EnergyPlus]

I don't think I will ever understand this. ALL of my past four phone have worked pretty much as expected and I have never been even tempted, to return them, with one single minor exception. My Blackberry 9550 experienced a "sticky key" issue from time to time. When I read that RIM had acknowledged the problem, came up with a resolution (silicone sleeve actuators) and worked with VZW to provide for an exchange program, I took advantage of it. I never had another problem.

When I read of two, there even four exchanges on a device I own that has little or no problems, I am a bit cynical, I must admit. How can I not be? My Bionic works great. No dropped calls, no loss of apps or data and, with only two experiences of a black screen freeze, it's worked as-or better- than promised. How can I be so "lucky?" I can understand getting the occasional lemon, but to suggest a wholesale, "this phone is a POS" statement, sounds more like adolescent whining than anything else.

 

[dhendriksen]

Mine is great. Coming from a buggy Thunderbolt this thing is a breath of fresh air.

I love it.

 

[potermac]

I don't think I will ever understand this. ALL of my past four phone have worked pretty much as expected and I have never been even tempted, to return them, with one single minor exception. My Blackberry 9550 experienced a "sticky key" issue from time to time. When I read that RIM had acknowledged the problem, came up with a resolution (silicone sleeve actuators) and worked with VZW to provide for an exchange program, I took advantage of it. I never had another problem.

When I read of two, there even four exchanges on a device I own that has little or no problems, I am a bit cynical, I must admit. How can I not be? My Bionic works great. No dropped calls, no loss of apps or data and, with only two experiences of a black screen freeze, it's worked as-or better- than promised. How can I be so "lucky?" I can understand getting the occasional lemon, but to suggest a wholesale, "this phone is a POS" statement, sounds more like adolescent whining than anything else.

+1

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I don't think I will ever understand this. ALL of my past four phone have worked pretty much as expected and I have never been even tempted, to return them, with one single minor exception. My Blackberry 9550 experienced a "sticky key" issue from time to time. When I read that RIM had acknowledged the problem, came up with a resolution (silicone sleeve actuators) and worked with VZW to provide for an exchange program, I took advantage of it. I never had another problem.

When I read of two, there even four exchanges on a device I own that has little or no problems, I am a bit cynical, I must admit. How can I not be? My Bionic works great. No dropped calls, no loss of apps or data and, with only two experiences of a black screen freeze, it's worked as-or better- than promised. How can I be so "lucky?" I can understand getting the occasional lemon, but to suggest a wholesale, "this phone is a POS" statement, sounds more like adolescent whining than anything else.

A small percentage of people really do have these issues and of course people with issues tend to be the ones who are motivated to express their opinions. The people we see on this site and in these forums are a small percentage of the total Bionic user base. Some of the people on here are legitimately having sometimes significant issues, others can be attributed to user error, OCD, or just plain unrealistic expectations. Many of the things you read here are the same things you see in the Thunderbolt and other new cutting edge high end device forums so it's not just Motorola. The problem is that you can never tell from a forum post what each case is so for the most part we just listen to each-other vent and offer encouragement. That's all you can really do, just don't take everything you read as being the norm because it isn't, and don't let it effect your enjoyment of your device because ultimately the only person's experience that matters to you should be your own. .

 

[EnergyPlus]

I agree 100%, VZW (including your name, I have been with VZW for 13 years now). I only posted what I did to counter the rants such as the ones I've read here. To your point though, I can understand a lemon here and there, even two in a row, but four or five? Sorry, I can't buy into the "this phone is the biggest POS ever" philosophy. The odds of so many being satisfied with their first issue vs. someone else having four or five lemons in a row, are simply far too astronomical and I've seen this issue raised with every phone I've owned, and that was a simple, old LG brick phone (still own it, that was a great little phone).

You raise another point. All too often, some simply cannot accept individual responsibility and find it far easier to blame someone or something, else!

A small percentage of people really do have these issues and of course people with issues tend to be the ones who are motivated to express their opinions. The people we see on this site and in these forums are a small percentage of the total Bionic user base. Some of the people on here are legitimately having sometimes significant issues, others can be attributed to user error, OCD, or just plain unrealistic expectations. Many of the things you read here are the same things you see in the Thunderbolt and other new cutting edge high end device forums so it's not just Motorola. The problem is that you can never tell from a forum post what each case is so for the most part we just listen to each-other vent and offer encouragement. That's all you can really do, just don't take everything you read as being the norm because it isn't, and don't let it effect your enjoyment of your device because ultimately the only person's experience that matters to you should be your own. .

 

[zmaerdstyle]

I'm not very happy with my Bionic right now. When it works, it is great. However, it keeps restarting randomly, at times even going into a boot loop.

I feel like every time I look over at my phone, the Motorola dual core screen is up and the phone is restarting. The past two days have been exceptionally bad with the phone boot looping for at least 10 minutes until I finally get fed up, take the case off and take out the battery. This doesn't always fix it either.

I'm at a loss as to what to do. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the restarts. It happens on the lock screen, while using different apps, while restarting etc..

Sometimes it pops right back up and is fine again for a few hours/days, but it has always happened again.

Is anyone else having this same type of problem? I'm sort of worried that I can't take it back either, as my 2 weeks are up.

I'm having the EXACT same problem. And I'm also past my 2 weeks. At first I thought it was an app or something causing it, but I've factory reset the phone and it's still doing it. Also, it'll go from 4g to 3g to 1x and sometimes only show the signal bars. It seems as though every time I really want to use the phone for something, it doesn't work, or it's stuck on a reboot. When it was working, it worked great but this I cannot tolerate any longer!

 

[YourMobileGuru]

To those with reboot problems have you tried removing the SIM card for 30 seconds or so and then replacing it and rebooting it? These reboot issues were often caused by network issues on the Thunderbolt and Charge and this did seem to help until updates happened.

 

[ninjataint]

I have not experienced most of these issues... I had the data go out the other night but no issues when it came back

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Codeworks]

For me, the "missing apps" or whatever is happening when apps are installed and then gone is my biggest problem. I have no idea how something as simple as this gets by QA testing?

I only paid a penny for mine a few days ago from Amazon, but if my apps continue to disappear and I need to reinstall a game each time I want to play it, I am not sure it is worth a penny.

The initial cost of the phone is very small compared to being locked in to the device for 2 years. Now I see that Radio Shack has pulled them off shelves as well. No, this is not a fulfillment problem.

Has Motorola even acknowledged the issues? Is a patch even planned?

If this phone was not the most hyped Verizon phone of all time, I could understand, but for all the hype, months of delays, and $299 price tag, changes need to be made.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[mbentley3]

For me, the "missing apps" or whatever is happening when apps are installed and then gone is my biggest problem. I have no idea how something as simple as this gets by QA testing?

I only paid a penny for mine a few days ago from Amazon, but if my apps continue to disappear and I need to reinstall a game each time I want to play it, I am not sure it is worth a penny.

If you continue to move your apps to your SD card then they will continue to disappear. Keep apps on the internal memory, atleast for the time being.

 

[Codeworks]

How do you force apps to NOT install on the SD card or "media memory"? Is there an option to turn this off?

Thanks