Hey all. This is quite a long rant but I just wanted to share with other users just how disappointed I am with the Note. I switched from the Galaxy S2 thinking I was going to get a bigger and better version of it in the Note. Boy was I wrong. So far (after owning the Note for a month, running 2.3.6 and unrooted) I have experienced the following:
Sluggish operation. In areas like browsing apps and other areas where you would scroll through a screen the Note is woefully slow compared to the S2. Nothing is fluid, it's always 'stuttery'. For example, flicking up and down the apps, the S2 runs as if it's at 60fps whereas the Note runs as if it's at 20fps. It's just not smooth. I use GoLauncherEX and when you use one of their transition effects the S2 did them all silky smooth whereas the note is stuttering and slow, with the outcome being that effectively there is no transition because too many frames are dropped. You get the start and end but lose most of the middle due to the stuttering.
Also, if you press the home button when the phone is asleep it takes around 2 seconds to come to life. The same can be said when running anything. You touch the app icon then wait 2 seconds for it to run. On the S2 it was instant, there was no lag. My S2 was running 2.3.4 unrooted and was far quicker.
Now the phone has started randomly locking up (I've seen there is another thread also mentioning this problem). I have no idea what's causing it, it hasn't coincided with any new apps I've installed but two weeks ago I went to use the phone and the screen wouldn't come on. I pressed the power button and felt the phone vibrate and it beeped but the screen wouldn't come on. I held the power button down for 20 seconds and nothing happened. I held the home button down for 20 seconds and nothing happened. In the end I had to pull the battery. The same thing has happened three more times since then and I've had enough of it. I'm going to do a factory reset and start again. If it happens once more after that then I'm getting rid of it. I had NONE of these problems with my S2. The Note is supposed to be a better spec than the S2 but my experience shows exactly the opposite.
I understand that rooting the phone unlocks a whole new area of potential but I'm really not interested at the moment. I wanted to keep my phone as standard as possible so that it runs smoothly and without problems. Obviously that hasn't happened so far but I don't want to complicate things further by rooting the phone.
So, rant over. I really hope the factory reset sorts things out. I've got used to the sluggishness and can live with it but the random lock ups are unforgivable. Has anyone else experienced anything similar with their Note?
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I agree having come from the S2. The note is no where near as polished. Sluggish yes. Slow to unlock yes. RAM usage high yes. I'd have thought using the S2 as a bench mark would have meant the Note would be top draw. Sadly it is not.
I'm really wondering whether they will put the effort into this or divert attention to the S2 replacement. God I hope that is better.
Like you, I see no need or desire to root a device like this. It should just work. Imagine the uproar if apple did this - its all kicking off cos the Ipad3 gets a little warm.....! HELLO!
Says a lot about the (lack) of QC on android based products and I believe this could damage the platform if they don't sort it.
I couldn't agree more. I think things are so fragmented with so many versions of the OS, different roms etc. When I switched from the iPhone 4 I didn't realise things were such a shambles. As Android's popularity has grown I think Google have realised things need 'tidying up' a little.
At this point I'm so bitterly disappointed with my Note that I'd happily swap it for an S2 that's less than 5 months old and in good condition. I'd want some cash too though, obviously.
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I used to get frustrated with using the home button to wake the screen until I applied a bit of logic ;o)
Basically, what I think happens is that the device is waiting to see if you press the home button twice. If you do, it launches the Voice Talk function. Imagine if you wanted the Voicetalk function and every time you went to double tap the home key, it took you to the home screen first and then you had to access it via some other key presses? That would be equally frustrating.
My solution? I wake the phone up by tapping the return key instead
With regards to the laggyness.... I too am a little miffed at that. The missus has an S2 and she always comments on how sluggish the note is. My explination? Rightly or wrongly, or even naively, I think the phone was designed with ICS in mind and I'm hoping that when the update turns up, it'll solve the stutters.
I hope that helps a little. I always think that it's best to persevere with new unfamiliar kit and get to like it rather than dismiss it and compare it to what used to be. My old HTC Desire was better than the note in many areas, it would be, I spent 18 months with it, HTC Sense makes Touchwiz look like an afterthought, but I've concentrated on getting to know touchwiz rather than complaining that it's different
Let me know how you get on
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Feel the fear.............. and then do it anyway!!
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Why does pressing the home button twice work just fine on the S2 then? It doesn't lag and Voicetalk works just fine on that. I think your logic is somewhat flawed.
And I've been happily getting to know my phone until it started randomly locking up!
Why does pressing the home button twice work just fine on the S2 then? It doesn't lag and Voicetalk works just fine on that. I think your logic is somewhat flawed.
And I've been happily getting to know my phone until it started randomly locking up!
Agreed - these problems do not exist on S2. performance should be better on paper in favour of the note.
Also if Note was designed for ICS, why has it not been released to the note yet?!
I cant say I have ANY of the mentioned lags or slowness, I have the very random reboots once in a blue moon.
As for SGS2 and Note, they are the same in terms of hardware except for GLONASS support in the Note, and a faster Exynos CPU.
The ICS is delayed for ICS because of the S PEN bundles that are being upgraded too, there looks to be much more work for the Note than for the SGS2 software wise. But I am cautious about the upgrade however, look in the SGS2 forums and you will find people with negative experiences since ICS. I am going to wait and see how people find it first before i jump to ICS.
And for those with weird problems, I would personally say do a factory reset and start again, it saves you a lot of aggro in the long run and also improves your experience no end. I have not had to do that with the Note yet, but I did in the past for the original Galaxy S.
I have an international unlocked Note, bought in Malaysia, no lagging, stuttering or lockups, everything is very fluid and responsive one of my colleagues has the S2 and the performance versus the Note is comparable.
I removed all I didn't want on purchase and did a factory reset, phone is not rooted and I am selective about what software I install, so far the experience with the Note has been great rock solid reliability, great battery life, smooth operation.
I have a 64Gb Sd card installed with about 4Gb free and approximately half of the internal storage free. Your issues may simply boil down to the installed apps and or the ROM especially if the phone is from a network provider as they are notorious for adding unneeded apps and generally crippling the phone`s OS to suit their own ends. Generally I always buy open unlocked for these very reasons or if not I have simply flashed the phone to get into a state the manufacturer intended.
I removed several apps which I don't use much but resisted the urge to factory reset because tbh it's a real pain having to set everything up again. However, I just went to use the phone and yet again it's locked up. I plugged the charger in and heard it make the noise it normally makes but the screen stayed off. I tried calling the phone and it did nothing. On the phone I was calling it from I heard it ringing but the phone didn't vibrate, didn't make any sound and the screen stayed off.
I'm starting to think it might be GoLauncher that's causing the problem. That's the only thing that's always been running any time the phone has locked up. So, final chance, I'll use the standard launcher and see what happens over the next 24hrs. Then it's factory reset time.
I had the problem and it seems to have stopped since I removed BatteryXL and also stopped using my aluminium case. Not sure which if either have had an impact. I'll put the case back on tonight... sounds mad I know
My phone isn't very "laggy", but still not as smooth as an iPhone. But really, I'm willing to put up with a LOT of lag because I just love the form factor so much. I could never go back to anything smaller, no matter what!
I can still do way more on a large screen with some lag than a smaller screen with no lag!
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I wonder if some of these problems have to do with the ATT Network not being fast enough to feed the Note screen and that receive time activity could be taking away from all other operations. Sounds also like the processor isn't the best one for the Note albeit the only one that works with 4G LTE.
It's ironic that the fastest network, VZW, didn't get the phone that needs the fastest network.
Just received my new batteries for my BB Storm 2 from Amazon for $10 and I am ready to wait for a better Note/Journal.
having no issues at all when flicking through pages.. there is no lag when pressing home screen when phone sleeps. but there are occasionally lag when you browse the content of internal/external SD... sometimes it lag about 1/2 second before it goes to the parent directory.
What version is everyone here using? The international or LTE? I've heard nothing but good things about the international version but I really wouldn't be surprised if the LTE version is a little laggy with the gimped processor and ATT bloat.
For anyone using the LTE version, you are aware that there's a separate thread for it, right?
I have an AT&T Note in a strong LTE area (Austin, TX). I had one random freeze and weird restart that took 20 minutes on the 2nd day I had the phone. That was 3 weeks ago. It is smooth and fast with no lagging. So far so good. If it continues to work well I will wait and see how the ICS update works out before I switch.
I also do not have any of the above mentioned issues. Purchased my i717 from AT&T March 9 and have been impressed with the OS speed -- especially the speed of the browser in WiFi and in H+. No complaints at all.
And what is this "..double press the home key to get voice talk...". doesn't work on mine - must be the international version.
I also do not have any of the above mentioned issues. Purchased my i717 from AT&T March 9 and have been impressed with the OS speed -- especially the speed of the browser in WiFi and in H+. No complaints at all.
And what is this "..double press the home key to get voice talk...". doesn't work on mine - must be the international version.
There's an option under the voice talk settings on the international one.
I've had the note for around a month and i see what you taking about with sluggish and just not smoothness the s2 has. Why the neck is it like this? I mean if anything it should be the same at least as the s2. Should be better but whatever. I have had one random reboot. I find when downloading a launcher it does make things choppy for some reason. Im use to launcher pro but i can't have it on the note because it is soooo laggy. And the keyword is really sluggish and slow. I really don't like that. I hope they come out with a update or something. Oh and why can't i crop landscape mode? What the he'll. Just these problems are annoying.
UPDATE
Hey all, just an update to my original post. I though I had found the cause of random lockups on my Note but I was wrong. I had stopped using Go Launcher and hadn't had any problems until this afternoon when it locked up again. How the phone is still in one piece is beyond me (though I'm sure my neighbours are aware that something was wrong due to the volume level I was shouting at). So, I've factory reset my phone and am going to start again from scratch. Something worth mentioning though, it is just as laggy as it has always been, even after a factory reset.
I've read many threads on here and other forums about people having the same problem so I think it must be an underlying problem in the OS. I guarantee no two people who have had their phone lock up have the exact same apps on their phone so it has to be that when certain conditions are met the phone locks. And just to clarify, my phone has only ever locked up when I've tried to wake it from standby (i.e. the screen is off and I press the home or power button to wake the phone).
Anyway, at least I can go back to using Go Launcher. And now that I know it is a problem many other users are having I've decided to just reinstall my apps and put up with it (at least until I can't stand it anymore). Which might not take that long.
Just wondering if there is some similarity is app use among those phones that are locking up? My GN has locked but it only does so when I am running the Rhapsody Android App (Rhapsody says that several/many users have complained about this). But there have been no lockups/freezes otherwise.
Have you tried taking out your SDCard and using say, a 16gb?
I haven't tried a smaller card but did run without one for two days. It made no difference to the speed of the phone and I still had the phone lock up once.
I'm probably tempting fate now but I finally did a factory reset two days ago and so far things have been running fine. There's still the same amount of lag but no lock ups. Every time I wake the phone from standby I'm expecting it to lock up but so far so good.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by biker74
Have you tried taking out your SDCard and using say, a 16gb?
I have a 16Gb class 6 card in the Note. The only thing I have installed on it are mp3s and some xvid files. I have also had lockups (but none in the last few weeks). I would therefore doubt it has something to do with the specific SD card that is installed.
I haven't tried a smaller card but did run without one for two days. It made no difference to the speed of the phone and I still had the phone lock up once.
I'm probably tempting fate now but I finally did a factory reset two days ago and so far things have been running fine. There's still the same amount of lag but no lock ups. Every time I wake the phone from standby I'm expecting it to lock up but so far so good.
Just a thought. I had heard that can be an issue on occasion. The lag though, that would do my head in. Have you passed the 14 day exchange option? If not, I would chance my arm on that and hope they exchange it. My device settings are the same as yours.
Just a thought. I had heard that can be an issue on occasion. The lag though, that would do my head in. Have you passed the 14 day exchange option? If not, I would chance my arm on that and hope they exchange it. My device settings are the same as yours.
I'm long past the 14 day period. As it stands I'm happy with it. Well, happier than I was three days ago. Since the reset there have been no lock ups. And I have to be honest I've noticed that the reset has altered the speed of the phone. There is still definite lag but the more I'm using it the more I'm noticing that it has definitely lessened. Go Launcher is a little smoother but still stutters with the fancier screen transitions. Scrolling through contacts or long lists is also a little smoother. It's not Galaxy S2 standard yet but it has definitely improved. I'm just waiting for (and dreading) the next time I press the home or power button and it doesn't respond.
I normally use TW. Tried the Go Launcher and one of the widgets borked my phone. The screen would not come on for more than 1 second ... and in that one second, nothing would respond to touch. Did a hard reset and it settled down. So have decided to put up with TW. Otherwise I have no issues whatever with the Note.
I normally use TW. Tried the Go Launcher and one of the widgets borked my phone. The screen would not come on for more than 1 second ... and in that one second, nothing would respond to touch. Did a hard reset and it settled down. So have decided to put up with TW. Otherwise I have no issues whatever with the Note.
Yeah I stopped using Go Launcher initially because I thought it was the cause, then the phone locked up again when it wasn't even installed so I knew it wasn't. I like the ability to rename apps and change their icons with GL, plus the use of gestures is handy.
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I was about to purchase the Note, (I currently have the iPhone 4s) but after reading this post and several others, I've decided to wait to see in Apple will come out with a larger form factor phone. I don't have any problems with the iPhone except the screen size.
I was about to purchase the Note, (I currently have the iPhone 4s) but after reading this post and several others, I've decided to wait to see in Apple will come out with a larger form factor phone. I don't have any problems with the iPhone except the screen size.
Well I switched from an iPhone 4 to the Galaxy S2 and then the Note. Biggest mistake I made was switching from the S2. I had zero problems with it, it was smoother than the note and it never locked up. I liked the size of the Note though as I watch a lot of videos and figured I'd be getting a bigger and better version of the S2 when I got it. Nope, it's been nothing but trouble and as it stands with these lock ups happening again it's right on the verge of being binned.
There are plenty of people out there who haven't had a single problem with their Note and I'm pleased for them but I think it's vital to make potential new owners aware that not everyone has had such an easy or enjoyable time with theirs.
I sympathize with the OP, I've been in the exact same position a thousand times where it seems like "it can't just be me that's having problems". But in all honesty, my Note has no lag, has never frozen and is quite simply the most amazing smartphone I've ever owned. And I've owned them all (progression: Palm>Blackberry(various models)>iphone 3GS>Blackberry Torch>Galaxy Nexus>Galaxy Note. And that's where I aim to stay after a good month of testing.
The Note has some flaws, but the positives outweigh the negatives by an order of magnitude and I'm absolutely not seeing any lag or freezing. I don't have any suggestions why you have issues and I don't. I've installed tons of stuff (no loaders though). I haven't rooted and I'm on Rogers in Canada if that info helps. I hope you sort this out.
i haven't really had the problems of lag or freezing as well, though i see that it doesn't perform as smoothly as, say, the 4S or my brother's S2. but otherwise, i'm pretty much happy with it. haven't rooted and all...
The Note with the stock Gingerbread is pure crap. I even done some quadrant tests and I get much lower results than the S2. Though since I upgraded to a custom ICS all problems vanished. I have no lag, no force closes and everything is just perfect. I'd never go back.
FFS. Had my Note for a little over 2 weeks now and it crashed for the first time last night. Absolutely no reason for it. It just died. It eventually sprang into life of its own accord, but for about 1 minute it would do nothing. No new apps, full battery, it just went. Worried. Hoping it was just a fluke.
Switching to the Note from an iPhone was really stressful for me (I am a creature of habit, and have hit the age where new tech is starting to become more difficult to pick right up), but I have to say honestly that after the learning curve, I have really had no problems. My Note works just fine - ocassionally the email program will crash, but it's always been when I am bouncing between email account so I just re-open without an issue. I have never had the phone lock up on me, and I am not noticing any sluggishness.
Just wanted to toss my two cents in. Hope everyone issues get worked out ok!
For what it's worth, I think people are comparing their phone problems with 2 different phones. I may be wrong but maybe the international Note and the AT&T Note have different problems? Like someone else noted, there is 2 forums. One for international Notes and one for LTE Notes. Something to think about???
For what it's worth, I think people are comparing their phone problems with 2 different phones. I may be wrong but maybe the international Note and the AT&T Note have different problems? Like someone else noted, there is 2 forums. One for international Notes and one for LTE Notes. Something to think about???
Indeed I am! Apart from the one random lock-up last week it's been running ok. I will be absolutely honest though, I am still disappointed with the Note. I was hoping for a bigger version of the Galaxy S2 and the Note definitely isn't that. I honestly don't think the phone is powerful enough to push so many pixels around and that's part of the reason why it lags so often. But, having said all that it is still a very capable device. And there is no way I could go back to a phone with a screen under 4.5" now. I saw a friend's iPhone4 and it looked like a toy. And of course, once ICS arrives it will be like having a totally new device. So I'm sticking with it..... for now.
I really hope ICS will increase the speed of the Note a little. I have the international version, did not have lock ups yet but it could be just that little faster in scrolling and start ups. Also the screen is very scratch sensitive, probably it is not really Gorilla glass as mentioned in the spec.
I've used an alpha build of ICS on my current device, and I'd daresay its as smooth as iOS. Still not quite as flashy but I think that will come with time as more app developers take advantage of the HW acceleration.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by odessadream
I really hope ICS will increase the speed of the Note a little. I have the international version, did not have lock ups yet but it could be just that little faster in scrolling and start ups. Also the screen is very scratch sensitive, probably it is not really Gorilla glass as mentioned in the spec.
I think you must have one of those notes with a screen made of butter!! I have no screen protector and I have the phone with me all day every day. Not a mark on it
Maybe you should stop keeping it in your pocket with your keys and that gravel
Good to see giggity giggity is sticking with the phone.
One SLIGHT annoyance, and I exaggerate the word slight because it is, but it bothers me because I'm like that with stuff I own. But when I get a notification, for example, a text message, the grey envelope to the left of it has a slight tint of blue to it. Same when I rotate the phone, the last digit of the clock has the same tint. I can just about handle it for now lol, but I'll be majorly pissed if the tint spreads.
On the verge of calling it a day with the Note
But really, I'm willing to put up with a LOT of lag because I just love the form factor so much. I could never go back to anything smaller, no matter what! 
