I wanted to share a post that I left on Verizon's forms.
Copied from
https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/966932
Problem - resolved?
I have done nearly one day of testing and I think I have found a resolution to this problem. Unfortunately, Verizon is probably not going to like the fix. For my phone - it was removing the Caller ID application that Verizon snuck onto my phone with the update.
Thanks to a poster from Android Central I read through his suggestions and was able to fix ALL my problems with my phone.
To review. I updated my phone a week ago and immediately was having troubles with my data connection. I went from a decent 4G signal at work and at home to a 3G signal. When I would try to send a picture message it wouldn't send and I would find myself without any data connection at all. Unfortunately, this was intermittent at best. The other problems I noticed were that my data connection was at the slowest speed I had ever seen on a smartphone. And I mean slow. I have screenshots to prove it. I was not even getting 1kb down on 4G. Another problem that was persistent, was that when my wifi was active the data connection (4G/3G) was active the entire time. This didn't bother me much, but it did concern me because I was worried about battery life.
I started dropping calls and getting notifications that my text or picture message couldn't be sent. My only solution at that time was to reboot my phone. So, on Thursday last week I called Verizon and asked if they were experiencing any network troubles in my area - they were not. I knew that in order to troubleshoot I was going to need to call in from a phone other than my cell phone. So, instead I decided to go to an actual Verizon Wireless store.
While there, the lady kind of looked at me funny, pulled the battery from my phone and rebooted it. Once it was up and running I was back on 4G. I told her that I was not confident that the fix was going to last because I had tried this prior to going into the store.
Later that afternoon I suddenly started experiencing the same exact problem. I knew that Verizon was going to want me to do a factory reset; very hesitantly I decided to give it a try. I spent several hours trying to restore my phone back to my personal customization but noticed the problems continuing.
On Friday I called Verizon and was recommended to try a new SIM card. I was able to survive the weekend and on Monday I went to Verizon and had them replace the card.
Monday night, again at no surprise, I was still experiencing the exact same problems. Although, I have to admit I was feeling rather confident this time. On Tuesday night I decided to call Verizon again and ask them for another solution. The lady was very friendly and sent in a Network Ticket to see if the local network was experiencing any troubles. And so I'm to wait for a few days.
Well, instead of waiting I decided to read through the forms on Android Central. There I found that dozens, if not hundreds of people claim that they were experiencing all the same problems. One user suggested a solution.
Up until this point, because I was having a difficult time with sending a basic text message I had downloaded the Verizon Wireless text messaging application from the Google Play Market. I must say - that was a bad idea. I'm sure that application is great for some, but was incredibly basic and clunky. I felt like I was back on my old LG flip phone in 2007.
Anyway, the recommendation was to go into the new Caller ID application that Verizon snuck in on the update last week. I turned off the free trial period and then within that application I selected - remove from phone. Afterwards, I decided to remove the Verizon Wireless text messaging application as well.
I rebooted and BAM! My phone is back to it's normal self. I couldn't be happier.
I literally went from the best phone of my life prior to the update to feeling like I was back on my HTC Thunderbolt again (not my greatest experience). My phone was less responsive, the battery drained much faster and the data speeds were so bad that I thought for sure the local network was down. My phone went from being the best to the worst.
After I uninstalled both of those applications my phone is literally back to it's normal self. At least, for the past 24 hours or so. The Samsung Galaxy S 3 is the best phone I've ever had ... I can't believe how one application that Verizon forced down my throat could cause all those problems. I highly suggest removing anything that Verizon Wireless has to offer in terms of applications.
Verizon Wireless may be a big company that knows how to make money hand over fist all while having a very good 4G network, but when it comes to applications it should either reconsider the developers or put real money into them and put quality over quantity.
Good luck to you all. For me...I'm back to normal.
I'm not saying there is anything to this...just struck me as peculiar timing. But, I digress, I think somebody is following me so I've got to go.
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