Help The most frustrating phone I have ever owned

[Aerodrifting]

I am 26 years old, I have spent few days doing research / comparing specs / reading review articles before I made the purchase, I guess that puts me in the league with most average users ----- we are neither completely clueless tech blind idiots or super techies who can write programs to alter our phone settings.

Just like everyone else, I want a capable phone with a big bright responsive touchscreen, a massive storage for media files, up to date hardware for new applications, Wifi browsing to keep up with social sites like Facebook / Youtube etc, which is why I bought the Samsung Captivate.

During the first few hours of tweaking, I was actually quite satisfied with the phone's big bright AMOLED screen and quick response time during switches or opening applications, Youtube runs like a champ as well. But the initial happiness was soon replaced by frustration as I attempted to connect my phone to the PC (a pretty standard home PC Core 2 Duo 4.0Ghz + 4GB Ram running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit with latest updates) via USB cable. At first it won't get recognized at all, I tried using Samsung KIES to sync, no luck. Did some google search, turned USB debugging off, rebooted phone/PC few times, tried few different USB drivers and android syncing programs like Double_Twist, and finally got it to work as massive storage device. I have to say, that drag down USB connection menu is quite sneaky and it's quite a pain on the ass to do that and select mount everytime before you can start transferring file between two devices. The sky was already dark before I can finally exporting mp3s to the phone.

However that's not the end of my nightmares. As I dig further, it turned out the horrible customization in the phone UI is just the iceberg. I can't install third party programs like firefox browser even after I root the phone following five steps. And in order to remove all the junk wares from AT&T, I need to make like three more downloads and going through bunch of DOS commands just to rename them so they can be ignored by Android (not even talking about removal). The worst part, I can't download any app from the Android market. The phone always stuck at "Start dowloading" screen before goes completely dark. I tried everything including reset to factory settings still no solution. Oh and did I mention the GPS doesn't work and the phone doesn't come with a camera flash?

Sure this phone has a nice beautiful screen, but it's merely catching up with its competitions in specs. The phone feels cheap while being held, the software needs to be polished. The UI is absolutely horrible, AT&T junkwares are useless. There is very little freedom left with the phone after too many functions are locked away by AT&T, and the phone still runs Android 2.1. Looks like I am returning this for EVO 4G on Monday. I am not a hater but I can't afford to spend more than one weekend just to get my cellphone do its standard functions like every other phone on the market.

 

[Runic]

If you want all those fun features, just download a custom ROM. I'd recommend cognition.

 

[fldude99]

Other than the USB confusion, it sounds like the OP basically frustrated himself fairly needlessly with all those exercises. I'm not a tinkerer, so I'm fairly ok with the Captivate..but if I wanted to do what he did, I would have done some research on this and other forums first

 

[BookLover]

Other than the USB confusion, it sounds like the OP basically frustrated himself fairly needlessly with all those exercises. I'm not a tinkerer, so I'm fairly ok with the Captivate..but if I wanted to do what he did, I would have done some research on this and other forums first

+1

If he's not techie he should have learned how to use his stock phone to the max first. Then researched which custom roms would best address his phone's performance gaps before rooting.

I'm quite techie and see no need to root until I've fully learned this phone's quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. I'm quite happy with the stock phone's performance. Gaps have been addressed nicely with existing Market apps.

To OP:
I would highly recommend unrooting your phone and get used to it in its stock state. You might be surprised by how un-frustrating that could be.

 

[reinbeau]

Geez, I was totally new to Android and didn't have near the frustrations you had, Aerodrifting, although I have to admit I still haven't connected my phone via USB, mainly because I had nothing to bring to the phone from my PC. I do know the USB drivers are impossible for some people to install on some XP boxes (yes, it's totally up to date SP3). I can see how someone with more experience would be frustrated, though. The phone just doesn't do what so many others can do. Sideloading is my next bugaboo.

I'm a self-taught techno-geek, it takes me a bit, but I figure it out sooner or later. I do agree with Booklover (we posted at the same time), you need to explore the phone and how it works before you start rooting and modding. But those of us who have that bent can't wait to get going, for some it's all part of the learning curve. Being blocked from installing application is something that just drives me nuts!! Not being able to simply connect the phone to the PC for file transfer is something that should be so simple, and for many, it just isn't.

 

[Aerodrifting]

Unfortunately stock simply is not enough.

The USB connection should be mandatory and simple on smart phones, I have a 3+ years old Cingular 3125 (from HTC) and it still runs more smooth than Captivate. Same with downloading apps from Android market, everytime I try to install something, it simply stuck at the "Starting download" screen forever.

 

[bitemyshoe]

I agree entirely.

I had the Captivate for a month. While I loved the screen and speed, so many things about the hardware, the provider, and the placement or absence of buttons just annoyed me.

I feel that the Samsung phones are an interesting beta test, but aren't ready for prime time. Certainly not enough to be stuck with them and AT&T for two years or more!

There are issues with Win_7 x64 and Kies, FWIW. I had the same issues that you are seeing. Yet another reason that I disliked my Captivate experience.

If it doesn't work for you, ditch it before your 30 days is up. And make sure that your vendor closes your account with AT&T once the hardware is back. AT&T tried to hit me for $375 ETF after I had successpully returned my gear with three days to spare! Trust no one.

 

[Evanogrady]

I just got the samsung galaxy s and I had the exact same problem as you, it would not connect to kies. Just go to settings>about phone>usb settings> kies. If you want to drag and drop files to toys phone chose mass storage instead of kies in the usb settings. Then make sure whenever your connecting you pull down your drop down menu and chose merge with pc. I hope this answers all your questions.

 

[fldude99]

Unitl I figured the stupid pull down thing I also was frustrated with connecting via usb..its not very intuituve

 

[Number1Gsxxr]

Also, for whatever reason, some people need the USB to be connected to the rear USB ports, and not any of the ports that are on the front of the computer case or any USB hub.

I read this somewhere and tried it and it works for me (Win 7 x64 Ultimate).

 

[Aerodrifting]

Also, for whatever reason, some people need the USB to be connected to the rear USB ports, and not any of the ports that are on the front of the computer case or any USB hub.

I read this somewhere and tried it and it works for me (Win 7 x64 Ultimate).

Thanks for all the replies, I have got the USB problem solved by using a 31MB driver, my major headache right now is that I couldn't download any apps from the Android Market.

Whenever I try to install something, it stucks at the "Starting download" screen with the moving bars and won't go any further before the screen lit off. I can wait few hours and come back still the same thing. So far I have tried:
1. Deleted all caches under the download manager
2. Reset my phone to factory states twice
3. Reboot my phone numerous times
4. Try both Wifi / 3G connection
5. Turnning Wifi on and off during download
6. Called ATT customer service (obviously useless, but I couldn't come up with anything else)

Nothing worked. I haven't successfully downloaded a single app from the Android market yet. Anyone experiencing the same problem?

 

[fldude99]

Thanks for all the replies, I have got the USB problem solved by using a 31MB driver, my major headache right now is that I couldn't download any apps from the Android Market.

Whenever I try to install something, it stucks at the "Starting download" screen with the moving bars and won't go any further before the screen lit off. I can wait few hours and come back still the same thing. So far I have tried:
1. Deleted all caches under the download manager
2. Reset my phone to factory states twice
3. Reboot my phone numerous times
4. Try both Wifi / 3G connection
5. Turnning Wifi on and off during download
6. Called ATT customer service (obviously useless, but I couldn't come up with anything else)

Nothing worked. I haven't successfully downloaded a single app from the Android market yet. Anyone experiencing the same problem?

If your device is inside the 30 days, why bang your head against the wall? Return it for another...

 

[incy1020]

Hi:
For anyone having trouble connecting Captivate to PC via USB, if you download and install Droid Explorer, you will find you can connect perfectly.
Droid Explorer is free, and very easy to use.

Hope this helps.

 

[sremick]

I tried using Samsung KIES to sync, no luck.

Kies is known to be problematic and is not supported by Samsung for the Captivate.

that drag down USB connection menu is quite sneaky and it's quite a pain on the ass to do that and select mount everytime before you can start transferring file between two devices.

See "Auto-mounting the SD card" in the Connectivity section of the Captivate FAQ:
Connectivity - CapFAQ

the horrible customization in the phone UI is just the iceberg.

Android is actually the most customizable UI on an phone in existence.

I can't install third party programs like firefox browser even after I root the phone following five steps.

You don't need to root the phone to install the Firefox beta. Again, see the Captivate FAQ:
Sideloading - CapFAQ
Www - CapFAQ

Worth noting though that the beta for Firefox is still in a pretty early, rough stage and might not really be a pleasant experience as a primary browser.

And in order to remove all the junk wares from AT&T, I need to make like three more downloads and going through bunch of DOS commands just to rename them so they can be ignored by Android (not even talking about removal).

No you don't. Two downloads, and no command prompt necessary (Android doesn't run DOS... that's a Microsoft thing. Android is Linux).

Once again, the Captivate FAQ explains:
Uninstalling stock apps - CapFAQ

The worst part, I can't download any app from the Android market. The phone always stuck at "Start dowloading" screen before goes completely dark. I tried everything including reset to factory settings still no solution.

This is not a normal problem, and could be the result of your unnecessary hacking from trying to do things the hard way.

Oh and did I mention the GPS doesn't work

Known issue.

and the phone doesn't come with a camera flash?

Why are you complaining about this? Not like you didn't know this before you bought the phone.

The phone feels cheap while being held,

Many people, including myself, would disagree. "Light" doesn't have to mean "cheap". You're comparing to the iPhone, which is mostly metal and glass... a fact that has bit them in the ass hard with the side-effects.

the software needs to be polished. The UI is absolutely horrible

So install different launcher/software. That's the beauty of Android.

There is very little freedom left with the phone after too many functions are locked away by AT&T

Just root your phone then. What exactly are you unable to do after rooting that makes the Captivate different than other Android phones in its abilities?

and the phone still runs Android 2.1.

As do the majority of Android phones out there right now. The Captivate will be getting 2.2, which is more than many other phones can say.

I am not a hater but I can't afford to spend more than one weekend just to get my cellphone do its standard functions like every other phone on the market.

I had my phone doing standard functions within minutes. From your rant, it's obvious you jumped in over your head way too soon and started hacking up your phone before doing enough reading and asking of questions. Especially considering your post count. The Captivate FAQ alone answered many of your questions and would have alleviated much headache, and considering that it's stickied, spammed, and included in signatures all over this site hundreds of times, over and over, I have to question just how much reading you did before you jumped in over your head.

There should be a rule that you need at least X number of posts on here before you root or do any other advanced hacking things to your phone, heh.

 

[qwertyaas]

Simple answer. Return the phone if it isn't for you.

 

[Liferules]

Thanks for all the replies, I have got the USB problem solved by using a 31MB driver, my major headache right now is that I couldn't download any apps from the Android Market.

Whenever I try to install something, it stucks at the "Starting download" screen with the moving bars and won't go any further before the screen lit off. I can wait few hours and come back still the same thing. So far I have tried:
1. Deleted all caches under the download manager
\

This has been reported. The issue is with the market app. Go to "manage applications" filter "all", go to "Market", clear cache, uninstall updates, turn off phone and then try installing applications again.

 

[dsjr2006]

I am 26 years old, I have spent few days doing research / comparing specs / reading review articles before I made the purchase, I guess that puts me in the league with most average users ----- we are neither completely clueless tech blind idiots or super techies who can write programs to alter our phone settings.

Just like everyone else, I want a capable phone with a big bright responsive touchscreen, a massive storage for media files, up to date hardware for new applications, Wifi browsing to keep up with social sites like Facebook / Youtube etc, which is why I bought the Samsung Captivate.

During the first few hours of tweaking, I was actually quite satisfied with the phone's big bright AMOLED screen and quick response time during switches or opening applications, Youtube runs like a champ as well. But the initial happiness was soon replaced by frustration as I attempted to connect my phone to the PC (a pretty standard home PC Core 2 Duo 4.0Ghz + 4GB Ram running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit with latest updates) via USB cable. At first it won't get recognized at all, I tried using Samsung KIES to sync, no luck. Did some google search, turned USB debugging off, rebooted phone/PC few times, tried few different USB drivers and android syncing programs like Double_Twist, and finally got it to work as massive storage device. I have to say, that drag down USB connection menu is quite sneaky and it's quite a pain on the ass to do that and select mount everytime before you can start transferring file between two devices. The sky was already dark before I can finally exporting mp3s to the phone.

However that's not the end of my nightmares. As I dig further, it turned out the horrible customization in the phone UI is just the iceberg. I can't install third party programs like firefox browser even after I root the phone following five steps. And in order to remove all the junk wares from AT&T, I need to make like three more downloads and going through bunch of DOS commands just to rename them so they can be ignored by Android (not even talking about removal). The worst part, I can't download any app from the Android market. The phone always stuck at "Start dowloading" screen before goes completely dark. I tried everything including reset to factory settings still no solution. Oh and did I mention the GPS doesn't work and the phone doesn't come with a camera flash?

Sure this phone has a nice beautiful screen, but it's merely catching up with its competitions in specs. The phone feels cheap while being held, the software needs to be polished. The UI is absolutely horrible, AT&T junkwares are useless. There is very little freedom left with the phone after too many functions are locked away by AT&T, and the phone still runs Android 2.1. Looks like I am returning this for EVO 4G on Monday. I am not a hater but I can't afford to spend more than one weekend just to get my cellphone do its standard functions like every other phone on the market.

Maybe you should consider one of the VZW Android devices because the EVO imo is a piece of junk. The screen is washed out, build quality is spotty at best and it's on the Sprint network.