What does this seem like to you?

[ZepTepi]

I purchased my S4 last July from BestBuy. I had always purchased my phones from Sprint but decided to try BB for several reasons, one of which was because I was unhappy with some of the Sprint reps I had dealt with during the time leading up to getting my S4. Since purchasing my phone I have come to regret buying from BB. I won't go into the various reasons in this post as I don't have the time at the moment. I have had my phone replaced in Nov and am now dealing with multiple issue with my current phone. I took it into my local BB about a month ago when I was beginning to experience problems with my phone again. Unfortunately the Geek Squad rep I dealt with declined to do anything for me. He simply recommended I take my phone to a Sprint store(even though I pay BB a maintenance plan fee now, not Sprint) and have them check my phone to ensure my issues are because of the network rather than the phone. I was frustrated because I had little doubt my phone had issues but he insisted on this course of action. I have not had a chance to get to Sprint store in part because my schedule has not allowed it. Over the last week I have begun to experience more issues, some of which are very clearly not network related. I am sitting here at work with every intention of going straight to BB to press this issue when I'm done for the day but thought I'd post this here to get some of your opinions. I have been a very frustrated smart phone owner since getting my HTC Evo 4G back in 2010. I had to have that phone replaced twice then moved to the Evo 4G LTE and had to have that replaced twice before deciding to try the S4. I am not someone who drops his phone alot or does anything I believe is detrimental to my phones. Most people I've spoken to over these last 4 years(techs or otherwise) has said they don't know of anyone who's experienced the amount of issues I have but nobody has been able to shed any light on why these things continue to happen. Wondered if it could be because I download to many apps but I talk with people who say that can't be it because they have more apps than I do. I've asked if it could be because I keep it in my pants pocket rather than on my belt but not one person has said that would be a problem. I actually had someone speculate that I might have a stronger than normal electromagnetic field and as strange and ridiculous as it seems on the surface I can't rule it out as I have no other explanation.

I originally only meant this post as a short question but I guess I'm more frustrated than I thought and needed to vent! lol

Back to my intended question. In looking at my list of issues, do these types of issues together mean anything to any of you??

• Phone tells me there's no mobile network even though my mobile network is on.

• GPS doesn't recognize my location. It gives me a "lost GPS" signal/message or simply refuses to work because it says it can't reach a server. This happens even though I have full bars and am in a densely populated area as compared to being out in the country (yes, I know that doesn't always matter) but when I reboot the phone often it works fine again, even if I'm in the same location.

• Speech recognition not working well anymore. Sometimes it recognizes what I'm saying and sometimes it doesn't.

• The bluetooth does not work very well sometimes. It often stops working even though bluetooth is still on and it says it's paired. I have to turn bluetooth off and back on again to get it to work. I do not believe this particular issue is due to my headset itself as I paired it to a friends phone and could not duplicate the problem on his phone.

• Some apps force close for no apparent reason. I know that uninstalling & reinstalling is often the best course of action for an app that is consistently acting up but this happens with numerous apps and seems very random. For instance it has happened with my GPS app 2-3 times over the last few months. Same thing with my Spotify, Time Card, and 7-8 other apps. I had a Sprint tech tell me 3 years ago, give or take, that a bad motherboard can cause this.

• Touch screen becomes unresponsive for up to apx 20 seconds. It acts like an old computer that just freezes for period of time. I can usually press the home or power buttons to get out of the screen i'm in but occasionally they are slow to respond as well.

• The phone has rebooted into safe mode several times in the last 36 hours. After 1 or more subsequent reboots it starts up normally except that some of my app/widget data is missing and I have been unsuccessful in recovering it.

• Sprint service is STILL horrible here in San Diego! I know that is defiantly a network, not phone issue but wanted to vent regardless!

I know most phones start having issues over time but not like this! I look over the forums from time to time and have not found any posts about issues like these. At least all happening to one person/phone.


Can anyone offer up some opinions on what might be going on?


Also, pressing BB to replace my current phone is the appropriate course of action at this time, right?

I realize some or you will probably recommend doing a hard reset just as BB has and if I must then I will but do the things on my list of issues all seem like things that could possibly benefit from doing so?

 

[Rukbat]

First, please don't post in a tiny, cramped font with long paragraphs. Some of us aren't as young as we wish we were. I had to paste your post into Word before I could read it.

I am not someone who drops his phone alot

Once is enough to crack the motherboard and turn the phone into a paper weight.

I actually had someone speculate that I might have a stronger than normal electromagnetic field and as strange and ridiculous as it seems on the surface I can't rule it out as I have no other explanation.

It'spossible. Some people just aren't compatible with electronic devices. Mechanical watches work but electronic watches keep the wrong time. Phones don't work. It's very rare, but not impossible.

Phone tells me there's no mobile network even though my mobile network is on.

Could be a problem with the phone. Could be that you're in a dead spot. (The only place in this entire city that Sprint has no signal is inside my daughter's house. Front steps, fine. Rear deck, fine. Inside the door to the deck, dead. There's a ridge between her house and the only Sprint tower in the area. It's causing a very sharply defined "shadow".)

GPS doesn't recognize my location. It gives me a "lost GPS" signal/message or simply refuses to work because it says it can't reach a server.

Because you have no network connection. One causes the other.

(Etc., etc.)

Can anyone offer up some opinions on what might be going on?

You may be right - you can't use portable electronic devices. Or you may drop each phone once too many times (which can be one time if you drop it the wrong way.)

Also, pressing BB to replace my current phone is the appropriate course of action at this time, right?

Not unless it can be diagnosed as a phone problem. Give the phone to a friend. If it keeps connecting to a network, it's a "you" problem. If not, it's probably a phone problem, but you might have to write to the office of the CEO of the company, and even that may not get you any results. (The most you can "press" is to insist, quietly, that they replace the phone. If you get too loud, they'll have you removed from the store - by they police if necessary. If you persist, they may get a restraining order against you, preventing you from legally entering the store.) Unless you have physical evidence that the phone is at fault, the law is on their side, both civil and criminal.

But with all your phones failing, I suspect it's either you or something you're doing. I've had good phones and I've had bad phones, but I never heard of anyone always getting a bad phone. (And I was in the mobile phone business since mobile phones mounted in the trunks of cars and you had to get the mobile operator's attention to place a call.)

 

[Canesfan]

Have all of your other phones' problems been while on Sprint, or with other carriers as well?

 

[Strings]

You may be one of "those people". My wife's another: she tends to kill any cell phone (or PDA, digital watch, whatever) in roughly a year or two: not sure why, they just wear out quicker with her than with me (and I'm FAR rougher on my electronics than she is).

If you can prove that it IS a phone issue, and BB won't make good on the maintenence plan you pay for, contact the Better Business Bureau

 

[djclemon]

BB is just selling you the phone, but your service is still through sprint, and the phone has a one year manufacturers warranty honored through your carrier (sprint), so if there is a hardware defect and or a network problem, them telling you to take it to a sprint store prob is the correct course of action! Also have you tried doing a factory reset? Sometimes that corrects issues that are happening

 

[Rxpert83]

Also note if you bought insurance while at best buy, you have their insurance policy, and not Sprint's (assurion).