Jump Ship or Be Patient?

[c5thunder]

I'm at my wits end with my 2nd Captivate. I returned the first one 2 weeks after purchase when it started to randomly shutdown. Then all was well for 2+ months and now my 2nd phone is starting to shut down randomly. To add insult to injury, after the latest OTA the phone is locking up, crashing the email app and freezing the messaging app. Sometimes I have to reboot just get email to start syncing again. Worse still, with Exchange PIN security enabled, the phone doesnt always accept the Enter/OK keypress after putting in the PIN so i'm stuck at the unlock screen.

100% stock never-rooted phone and no funky apps. I can't rely on this phone anymore, plus Exchange support is still mediocre.

What do I do at this point? Exchange it for another unit? Wait for Froyo? Wait for WP7 phones? ATT has nothing that comes even close in terms of HW features.

I came from a Samsung Blackjack 1, then 2, then Jack and all were great phones. This is such a letdown from Samsung.

 

[Surfer]

I also had the Blackjack 2 (it was actually my first phone) and I absolutely loved it. I still use it as my backup phone, and I totally agree with you. The Blackjack was amazing, but this is just upsetting; Samsung time and time again produces the highest quality of products, but this phone... it just isn't what you would expect from Samsung. Although they have not really proven themselves worthy or reliable for this phone, I am giving them a chance seeing as all their other products flourish. I would for sure get a replacement phone, my phone has none of those issues, but they sound very serious. If you urgently need a phone, you can just go the safe route and buy something with no known issues for a good price. Then just wait on the Captivate

 

[Jack45]

Exchange it AND be patient for updates.

 

[George0211]

It is your call. How much patience do you have?
For me personally, I'm getting fed up, but I am stuck now. I waited past my 30 day period, because I actually believed the fix was coming by the end of September.
If knew what I know now a month ago, I would have switched to Aria, but that's just me.
It's your call, dude.

 

[maverick999]

I'm at my wits end with my 2nd Captivate. I returned the first one 2 weeks after purchase when it started to randomly shutdown. Then all was well for 2+ months and now my 2nd phone is starting to shut down randomly. To add insult to injury, after the latest OTA the phone is locking up, crashing the email app and freezing the messaging app. Sometimes I have to reboot just get email to start syncing again. Worse still, with Exchange PIN security enabled, the phone doesnt always accept the Enter/OK keypress after putting in the PIN so i'm stuck at the unlock screen.

100% stock never-rooted phone and no funky apps. I can't rely on this phone anymore, plus Exchange support is still mediocre.

What do I do at this point? Exchange it for another unit? Wait for Froyo? Wait for WP7 phones? ATT has nothing that comes even close in terms of HW features.

I came from a Samsung Blackjack 1, then 2, then Jack and all were great phones. This is such a letdown from Samsung.

I just flashed the Cognition ROM and I'm LOVING my phone now. So much faster and the GPS is snappy. You might want to give that a try before jumping ship.

Download Cognition!

 

[Cuerbo]

Jump ship and by the way, even if you are past your 30 days, AT&T is getting a lot of heat and are working with customers. I placed a call yesterday to the store I got my phone from and they are now reviewing my account. Was told there's a good chance they'll let me exchange it for something else. Samsung has now told AT&T they can't change phones of customers with GPS issues since the new ones have the same issue as well. This is a total deal breaker and how are we supposed to wait for updates since Samsung isn't even answering the complaints after JH7 and you get a different story each time you call them. I care too much about spending $200 for a phone to just sit and wait.

 

[ZDroid1]

That's one of the reasons I never exchanged my Captivate. The one I have has a deep scratch in the body (lower right corner) below the soft keys. It was shipped to me like that. It looks like a manufacturer defect. I actually initiated the exchange process, but then when I read about all the other problems, I didn't want to exchange my phone, which has a cosmetic defect, for a phone that has shut down problems and all the other crap I'm hearing.

Of course then I discovered my GPS didn't work at all (after the first two weeks), but I still refuse to exchange it because 1) the replacement might still have a GPS problem, and 2) I could end up with a phone that has far serious issues.

At this point, if I were you, I would get an Aria. (In my case, I'm keeping the Samsung Captivate).

It is pathetic though that, normally, when I exchange a product, I say to myself, "What are the chances that I would get a replacement with problems?" A defective product normally is the exception, not the rule. But when it comes to the Samsung Captivate, the question is, "What are the chances I'm going to get one that fixes the problem, or at least doesn't have worse problems?"

 

[Infinite-t]

That's one of the reasons I never exchanged my Captivate. The one I have has a deep scratch in the body (lower right corner) below the soft keys. It was shipped to me like that. It looks like a manufacturer defect. I actually initiated the exchange process, but then when I read about all the other problems, I didn't want to exchange my phone, which has a cosmetic defect, for a phone that has shut down problems and all the other crap I'm hearing.

Of course then I discovered my GPS didn't work at all (after the first two weeks), but I still refuse to exchange it because 1) the replacement might still have a GPS problem, and 2) I could end up with a phone that has far serious issues.

At this point, if I were you, I would get an Aria. (In my case, I'm keeping the Samsung Captivate).

It is pathetic though that, normally, when I exchange a product, I say to myself, "What are the chances that I would get a replacement with problems?" A defective product normally is the exception, not the rule. But when it comes to the Samsung Captivate, the question is, "What are the chances I'm going to get one that fixes the problem, or at least doesn't have worse problems?"

That is exactly right, If you exchange for another captivate you have a pretty damn good chance of getting one that has the same problem, if not more, or other more serious ones, like shutting itself off randomly (my second one did this), overheating, freezing up when the phone rings (my first one did this). Im on my 3rd one now and of course the GPS is dead and the battery went bad. I am going to Best Buy today to try and return it. I am hoping that they will just take it back and I can go back to using my old phone until some new high end androids hit AT&T. Rumor has it that there is a few on the horizon for the holiday season! If they wont take it back and only exchange it.. im not sure what I will do.. I guess ill find out if it happens.

I am pretty convinced that the issue with the Captivate will NOT be fixed before Froyo hits ( I was told this on the phone and Samsungs Facebook seems to confirm this) and according to what I was told by two different level 3 techs at Samsung, that wont be until "Late this year or early next year".
I posted my story about that yesterday and it was tossed in the "GPS post crap pile" even though it was more about Samsung support and Froyo than the specific GPS issue.. but whatever.

 

[Android_J]

Obviously there are huge issues with this phone. Even though mine now works acceptably (yes, GPS works), there seems to be more than enough people still having issues. And even though the latest firmware fixed my GPS, it made Allshare and the video recorder wonky. It's like Samsung can't fix something without screwing something else up.

With what we've seen, do you think Froyo will drop with no issues? I'd bet that Froyo (on the Captivate) will bring a slew of new issues. Matter of fact, I'd bet that Windows Phone 7 will release with less bugs than what we have now on the Captivate.

If you want to stay with Android, switch carriers and get a Moto or HTC phone. If you want to stay with AT&T, get an iPhone. It's as simple as that.

 

[Cuerbo]

I got word earlier today that they'll take my phone back and I'm free to choose anything in the store, IPhone4 here I come. I'm going to miss the 4" S-AMOLED display and the overall feel/usability that comes with this phone but I can no longer deal with the GPS issue nor can I risk waiting for Samsung to deliver. I wish this wasn't the case but I'm happy with my decision to move on, thank you all for your support and for sharing your experience/issues.

 

[c5thunder]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm going to open a ticket with ATT, get an exchange, then sell the phone right around the time WP7 phones come out and take my chances with a newish OS again.

 

[3gAndroid]

then sell the phone right around the time WP7 phones come out and take my chances with a newish OS again.

What?

Your doing what?

You're kidding aren't you?

A WP7... WTF is that? ha..ha...ha... (just kidding)

Be sure to let us know how you like it...

Cheers!

 

[George0211]

I got word earlier today that they'll take my phone back and I'm free to choose anything in the store, IPhone4 here I come. I'm going to miss the 4" S-AMOLED display and the overall feel/usability that comes with this phone but I can no longer deal with the GPS issue nor can I risk waiting for Samsung to deliver. I wish this wasn't the case but I'm happy with my decision to move on, thank you all for your support and for sharing your experience/issues.

Were you past your 30 day trial period? Because I tried to get a different phone and they wouldn't let me.

 

[George0211]

Just to continue the question of jump ship or be patient.
Now that September has come and gone and no viable GPS fix was produced, even though we were promised by the end of September.
Are you guys more likely to jump ship and demand AT&T give you a different phone?
Or are you still going to be patient?

For myself, I'll be honest, I'm pretty much out of patience on this. I'll switch to a small screen Aria at this point if they let me.

 

[robhs]

I am going to wait, I am WAY past the 30 day mark.

 

[Cuerbo]

I got my phone on day one, so I was well past my 30 days. I logged a ton of complaints with AT&T and even had conference calls with them and Samsung. The AT&T rep on those calls experienced first hand the lies being pumped out by Samsung and the cluelessness. So my account was heavily documented and I have to say that AT&T went above and beyond to make me a happy customer. Hat tip to them, I honestly can't complaint at all about them. My first attempts weren't successful but I never gave up, kept calling and calling till I found a person that was willing to help me.

I have to get used to the IPhone4 now but I'm glad the GPS nightmare is over. I feel like a totally new person today, feel like I finally got my money's worth.