Soooo...Im back

[Travenport]

After a few months with the Nexus S, im back to the epic. Just thought Id make this post for anyone who is contemplating a switch.

Pros:
Nice build. It is very slim and fits the natural contour of the hand
Pure android. There is no fluff that comes with the phone
GB. It has android 2.3.5 straight from google
Quick. The phone is very quick. page scrolling and phone functions respond fast

Cons:
Signal. The signal on this phone is pretty bad. This was one of my main reasons for returning back to the epic
Data. For some odd reason the data connection is never reliable. And just to be clear, i dont have any apps that cut off data (i.e. juice defender).
Corrupt text messages. Ive talked to other users about this as well. If you try to send a message over the 160 character limit it turns into a bunch of symbols. I turned text msg splitting on because i was told it would correct the issue but it didnt

All in all the phone is not bad but there were 3 major issues that ultimate led me to revert back. signal strength is a lot better on the epic, my text messages dont become corrupted, and after not having the keyboard...i realized that i NEED it lol.

 

[jimweda]

Glad to hear someone felt the Epic was a better phone. I've only had mine for about a month and the first two weeks were hell and 3 exchanges due to things they couldn't fix. I gave up on tech support and started doing my own research and playing around with it myself and now have at least a more stable phone. Once in awhile it would just shut off by itself and apps on my memory card would just disappear until I keep taking the battery out and removing the SD card. And of course, there are those times where Android Market refuses to download unless I do a soft shut down. I really like this phone, I only wish it was a little more stable and had 1GB of internal usable memory rather than the 512mg since it seems to run out rather fast if you like apps. Welcome back to the Epic world. I hope that I will be glad I made the choice. I only hope they update us to GB since I hear its faster, more reliable and better on battery life. But, from what I've heard from Sprint they don't seem to see that happening.

Jim

 

[badankles]

wow, really surprising. I thought they were pretty close other than a few minor things, beside the obvious KB. I've found myself using the KB more and more. Gotta stop because it seems high end devices are more without.

 

[jimweda]

Well, a more recent update on my situation with the Epic. 5th exchange now and even though I've been learning how to get the phone a little more stable on my own than through the tech support people I'm still having issues. They must all know me by now as many times as I've had to call to complain about one thing or another not working. Friday night I called again because I was constantly having SD card issues with the disappearing apps so I would have to keep powering the phone off, removing the battery, removing SD card, even updating profile and PRL just for giggles but eventually the apps do come back at some point. There are other issues I've been still going through so he talked to his supervisor and they are trying to offer me a straight swap for the Nexus 4G or the HTC Evo 4G. I bought the Epic because I wanted an Epic but one that worked, If I wanted a Nexus or Evo I would have purchased one. Plus, I know they would be sending me a refurbished phone, not a brand new one like I've been getting from OfficMax where I had to exchange phones 5 times. I thought about the Evo but I just can't do it. I've played with them side by side and I just can't see what I feel is downgrading. On Sprints site the Nexus 4G is retailed at $549, HTC Evo 4G and the Epic 4G at $499. Well, the new Epic 4G Touch came out yesterday at midnight and is also $499 so I asked why not just give me the 4G Touch. They wouldn't have it. The guys said he would call me on Saturday to see if I wanted to go ahead and swap the phone out. What a surprise, no return call from Sprint at all. I am so disappointed in how bad the customer service has gotten. I was treated like a King when it was just Nextel. I'm being punished because Samsung just happened to drop off 5 poor working phones in my local area and even though a long time customer and corporate as well they aren't willing to work a deal out with me for all the trouble I've gone through for the last month. No discount on my bill or a 6th attempt at a brand new Epic 4G because I do love the Epic when it is working 40% of the time but they would have me stay a loyal customer if they would work out a deal with allowing me to go with the Epic 4G Touch but I don't see that happening based on how they've been treating me since I've upgraded this round. Might be time to go with another provider. I'm a mac guy so I may just have to go with Verizon since they have the best cell reception overall and get the iPhone which I've always wanted to get but refused to deal with AT&T.

Well, I hope your Epic ends up being a winner and you are happy that you returned to it. I'm not holding my breath with Sprint doing anything for me. Take care and good luck with your phone.

Jim

 

[Travenport]

I dont know if this is an option for you, but have you thought about rooting your epic and flashing a stable ROM. I was hesitant at first as well, but now anytime I get a new phone its the first thing I do. The developers at xda really know their stuff and they put out ROMs that exceed the stock UI in terms of speed AND stability.

For the epic there is a oneclickroot method that is an extremely easy way to mod your phone (takes about 30 seconds). After that its just a matter of choosing a stable ROM and flashing it. The hardest part of the whole process is choosing a ROM you like the most because flashing takes 2 minutes. And if you dont like what you flashed, you can download a different ROM and flash it...

Its just another option to try out. If it doesnt work out for you, there is a very simple way to get your phone back to stock if you ever have to turn it back in to sprint, or wherever you bought it from.

 

[jimweda]

Hey Travenport,
I have been giving it some serious thought to taking the plunge and rooting my phone. Since I've never "Jailbroke" or "Rooted" a phone before it can be a little bit scary on one's first attempt. The other problem I have is that what little I have read about rooting the Epic, it all seems to involve having a PC and I'm in the Apple Mac world. A guy I was talking to at a phone store was telling me about Z4root and I did hear about "oneclickroot", but don't I still need to have access to a PC in order to "flash" and/or installing my ROM of choice?

I really would love to keep the Epic 4G, I do think its a great phone as long as it's working properly and I've only heard better things about it running on Gingerbread. I've done a little research on trying to root the Epic using a Mac but haven't found much useful information that I felt comfortable trusting. Maybe I'll have to dig a little deeper in places like Android Forums, XDA etc. When I was first told about Z4Root and that it was a one click process and if I wasn't happy with the phone being rooted it would only be a matter of one clicking again to get it back to stock. Do you have any insights or experience on being able to root the phone using a Mac or do I even need to use a computer at all to root and/or flash my phone. Any help and info would be greatly appreciated. Also if you could point me to a link with the simplest way for a newbie rooter to safely go through the process by using "oneclickroot" or "Z4Root" if you've used or heard of it I would be grateful as well. Thanks for the input and I'm hoping I could at least test out the Epic rooted and see if it improves the performance and stability of my phone. Take care and have a great weekend.

Jim

 

[Travenport]

There is one option I remember reading a while back about not even needing a computer to get your phone rooted. I didnt pay it any attention thought because I had a computer, but from what I remember there is a file you put directly onto your SD card and load it from the phone's bootloader. I think there was even a youtube tutorial for it if i remember correctly. Ill see what I can find on it when i get some time. Would hate for you to get rid of your phone until you have experienced it fully, stock ROMs feel so sluggish compared to flashing their super lightweight counterparts.

 

[jimweda]

I do appreciate you help. I would really ate to give the phone up without seeing its full potential. Probably wouldn't take Sprint's insulting offer which is for the Nexus S or HTC 4G. I may ahve considered the HTC 3D but otherwise the only other trade i would have gone for was the new Epic 4G Touch even if i had to put out a little bit of cash. Hope al is going well. Take care and have a great one.
Jim