Samsung galaxy s support for gsp issue

[Jreitnauer7]

I just got off the phone with Samsung galaxy s support and they said they did NOT know about the GPS issues on the Samsung captivate. I think we should get as many people to call as possible. Here is the contact information.

1888-987-4357

 

[emuneee]

Yea. I sent support an email this morning.

If you have issues with lag/GPS/etc. please contact Samsung support. Let's not assume they know.

 

[Baldilocks]

http://www.samsung.com/us/info/contactus.html#

You can email them there....

 

[Jofaba]

I don't know what company running with any sort of decent PR department would admit to a problem before they had a fix for it. You could be a potential customer on the fence, or a 30 day'er thinking of returning the phone if it's confirmed. Chances are very good that they are well aware of the problem and trying to fix it with an update, which will probably be crammed with other updates, and list the gps fix as "which affected users in some areas".

 

[Busaboi]

Just off the phone to Sammy CS, telling them "I'm considering purchasing the Captivate but I understand there are GPS problems."

The response was "It's probably something you've read on a forum so it is not true, the Captivate does not have any GPS problems"

Also, got the audio version of 'deer in the headlights' when I asked if Samsung will be providing an OTA update of the Android OS in the near future.

The amount of verbal squirming, murmuring and self-talk was entertaining but not very comforting had I been an actual Captivate owner.

I say keep calling...grease that squeaky wheel brudah!

 

[dsjr2006]

I'm on the phone now waiting for a "Level 3" tech to help with my GPS issue. First rep had me go into Camera settings and turn on geotagging for some reason. Hopefully they resolve this soon. Who knows maybe I'll get an awesome rep who actually knows what they're talking about.

 

[poohbear99]

i read on another post that samsung is notorious for not updating their products. however, if they want to sell 10 million of these phones and if enough people complain: i promise you that they will respond.

 

[dontshakepandas]

Sent them an email, even though changing the settings did help me out a bit. It takes about a minute for it to find my location the first time after I reboot the phone, but after that it usually finds me in less than 10 seconds (while I'm in my apartment).

 

[Jofaba]

Perhaps if you jump out of camera mode geotagging (or even the camera app) stays open in some form, and takes priority of the gps sensor?

I wouldn't read too much into a rep's "elusiveness" or reluctance to answer questions. It's probably just pure lack of information. It's not like they're all in on the big secrets. Most he probably knows are some whispered rumors passed around the office once call-ins increased.

 

[dsjr2006]

Perhaps if you jump out of camera mode geotagging (or even the camera app) stays open in some form, and takes priority of the gps sensor?

I wouldn't read too much into a rep's "elusiveness" or reluctance to answer questions. It's probably just pure lack of information. It's not like they're all in on the big secrets. Most he probably knows are some whispered rumors passed around the office once call-ins increased.

That could make sense if they had asked me to turn it off instead of on. The Level 3 tech suggested I remove the battery and SIM card for 30 seconds then try using the GPS again. That did nothing of course. Basically the support people are useless unless your issue is how to take a picture or add a contact and other mindless tasks.

 

[Jofaba]

oh! sorry I misread. That is an odd suggestion indeed. Are you sure he didn't mean off? Was yours already off? Maybe geotagging is a backwards way of keeping the gps linked in the meantime before a fix is sent out. If it worked that'd be a pretty ghetto way of fixing it lol.

A cold reboot isn't really that uncommon of a way to fix most problems. I wouldn't harp on him for giving it a shot. It's not like he's got the secret fix and is refusing to share it with you. chances are he's only heard of a few people with problems and is just trying to troubleshoot the problem blind. That'd been my first suggestion too.

It seems to me that a lot of people think that every employee of a company is in on every aspect of a problem and it's status of attention towards fixing it. Like all the reps meet in a big board room with the CEO who tells them all that they're in damage control and this is what you say to the people who call, and don't tell them this or that. In reality it's just some people treating each call on it's own basis and doing their best to get you off the phone happy as soon as possible.

 

[dsjr2006]

oh! sorry I misread. That is an odd suggestion indeed. Are you sure he didn't mean off? Was yours already off? Maybe geotagging is a backwards way of keeping the gps linked in the meantime before a fix is sent out. If it worked that'd be a pretty ghetto way of fixing it lol.

A cold reboot isn't really that uncommon of a way to fix most problems. I wouldn't harp on him for giving it a shot. It's not like he's got the secret fix and is refusing to share it with you. chances are he's only heard of a few people with problems and is just trying to troubleshoot the problem blind. That'd been my first suggestion too.

It seems to me that a lot of people think that every employee of a company is in on every aspect of a problem and it's status of attention towards fixing it. Like all the reps meet in a big board room with the CEO who tells them all that they're in damage control and this is what you say to the people who call, and don't tell them this or that. In reality it's just some people treating each call on it's own basis and doing their best to get you off the phone happy as soon as possible.

I don't expect every employee to know what's going on, but I do expect them to give the respect to acknowledge that he doesn't know whats wrong with my phone when I ask flat out if he knows how to fix it. He should have just said I'm not sure or escalated the issue instead of giving me some generic fix-it response. Maybe that's how they're trained, but I work in customer service and when I can't accomplish something I get the right person and come clean to the customer because people can tell when they're being strung along.

 

[Jofaba]

sorry, I wasn't necessarily responding to you. I'm all over the forums tonight and it just struck me and figured I'd say that. I'm just getting that impression from a bunch of people that make it seem like customer support is hiding something. Was not meant intentionally as a response to your posts.

 

[dsjr2006]

sorry, I wasn't necessarily responding to you. I'm all over the forums tonight and it just struck me and figured I'd say that. I'm just getting that impression from a bunch of people that make it seem like customer support is hiding something. Was not meant intentionally as a response to your posts.

Nbd. They just kinda pissed me off.

 

[lilo]

Just check this thread for Samsung Galaxy S where our friends from Europe are struggling with the same issue. As I understand, Samsung is well aware of the issue. In this tread, I learned that: "The trouble is the SGS is one of the first devices to use the new BT3/GPS/FM chipsets so its not surprising there will be problems and a few bugs to iron out."

More importantly, they have this message:

"Just got off the phone with Samsung support in Sweden.
The call was answered promptly and I spoke with a 1st-line rep who was courteous and informed, and who confirmed that this is a known issue in the software.

The issue will be addressed in the upcoming software release, but he couldn't give me a date for that nor anywhere to go for further information; the release will be announced on the support site when it occurs but other than that it's wait and see.

He also said that this fix may be rolled into the Android 2.2 upgrade, or again may not. There have, he said, been no previous software updates released for this phone, though possibly later batches have fresher software installed.

Thus far what I got from Samsung.

My own take is that this is good in that a hardware error would be far harder to fix: the model would need to be recalled, you would have to bring your phone in for replacement, etc.

I am a little concerned though that this software was not in better shape from start, especially since the GPS receiver is such an integral part of this type of unit. To me, this indicates poor project planning and/or quality control over at Samsung.

The reluctance on Samsung's part to provide firm release dates may also indicate poor project management, but on the other hand may equally well indicate that the release is imminent, or again they may simply not wish to disclose such information to the competition.

Either way, I am happy with the information I have received and pleased with Samsung's support staff."

 

[Cuerbo]

Although I hope Samsung fixes this issue, at least for now, you can work around it by doing some tweaks to your phone. With that said, I rather deal with this then an IPhone with antenna design flaw, proximity sensor and bluetooth issues. And by the way, those Apple users are still waiting for a fix.

 

[dsjr2006]

Although I hope Samsung fixes this issue, at least for now, you can work around it by doing some tweaks to your phone. With that said, I rather deal with this then an IPhone with antenna design flaw, proximity sensor and bluetooth issues. And by the way, those Apple users are still waiting for a fix.

Funny you should say that because they have at least acknowledged the issues and a vast majority of people with the iPhone are not having issues. This phone managed to launch after it on the same carrier in the US with more issues. lol. The iPhone 4 does things this phone can't right now like locate itself and the battery will last all-day without turning off half of the features.

 

[Sledutah]

Although I hope Samsung fixes this issue, at least for now, you can work around it by doing some tweaks to your phone. With that said, I rather deal with this then an IPhone with antenna design flaw, proximity sensor and bluetooth issues. And by the way, those Apple users are still waiting for a fix.

I was thinking the same thing this morning. One thing you can do with the Captivate that you can't do with the iP4, make a phone call.
The iP4 was a great "gadget", but it fails miserably as a phone.

 

[lilo]

Funny you should say that because they have at least acknowledged the issues and a vast majority of people with the iPhone are not having issues. This phone managed to launch after it on the same carrier in the US with more issues. lol. The iPhone 4 does things this phone can't right now like locate itself and the battery will last all-day without turning off half of the features.

The "half of the features" that you mention are simply missing on iPhone so there is nothing to turn off in a first place. With SGS people have a choice - to use those features or to have a decent battery life. With iPhone - as usual - there is no choice. GPS does have some issues. It generally works OK for me for car navigation but people who are trying to use it for tracking while jogging/hiking need better precision. Samsung did say that software update should fix this problem.

Also, as far as the battery life is concerned, some people just need to do very simple things - set the darker wallpaper (on AMOLED, brighter colors require more energy) and turn off life wallpaper.

 

[dsjr2006]

The "half of the features" that you mention are simply missing on iPhone so there is nothing to turn off in a first place. With SGS people have a choice - to use those features or to have a decent battery life. With iPhone - as usual - there is no choice. GPS does have some issues. It generally works OK for me for car navigation but people who are trying to use it for tracking while jogging/hiking need better precision. Samsung did say that software update should fix this problem.

Also, as far as the battery life is concerned, some people just need to do very simple things - set the darker wallpaper (on AMOLED, brighter colors require more energy) and turn off life wallpaper.

Please tell me a few things the Captivate can do that an iPhone can't because I'm not aware of any.

 

[dsjr2006]

I was thinking the same thing this morning. One thing you can do with the Captivate that you can't do with the iP4, make a phone call.
The iP4 was a great "gadget", but it fails miserably as a phone.

Who can't make a phone call with the iPhone 4? because I would think if that were really the case then at least a large majority of the millions who bought one would want to return it. The Captivate shows 3-5% of no signal most days when I'm carrying it in areas where no other AT&T phone had no issues at all so tell me what that's about. I get voicemails when the phone never even rang........ This phone has some great features and it's a great addition to the smartphone arena, but it also has some serious flaws right now and I don't think that can be ignored especially since the iPhone's one serious flaw is easily remedied by the end user and doesn't affect most users. Maybe you should stop watching the news so much and listening to bloggers and actually get the real story.

 

[lilo]

Please tell me a few things the Captivate can do that an iPhone can't because I'm not aware of any.

Widgets, DLNA, BlueTooth 3.0, less-restrictive (AKA "real") multitasking, pervasive Voice-to-text, Google Navigation (and yes, Google in this case is important as it integrates with other Google services), Flash.

 

[Sledutah]

Who can't make a phone call with the iPhone 4? because I would think if that were really the case then at least a large majority of the millions who bought one would want to return it. The Captivate shows 3-5% of no signal most days when I'm carrying it in areas where no other AT&T phone had no issues at all so tell me what that's about. I get voicemails when the phone never even rang........ This phone has some great features and it's a great addition to the smartphone arena, but it also has some serious flaws right now and I don't think that can be ignored especially since the iPhone's one serious flaw is easily remedied by the end user and doesn't affect most users. Maybe you should stop watching the news so much and listening to bloggers and actually get the real story.

Well I do have the "real story". I had one for 3 weeks and hated it. The proximity sensor was the worst problem with the phone. It got to be that I hated to make/receive a call. Every call I would end up muting or hitting the speaker phone or ending the call. It is a VERY repeatable problem. People I know have traded their phone in 3-4 times, each phone does the same thing. The reception and data rate was bad, not because of the "death grip" that everybody jumped on. The design is flawed! Places that my 3gs worked (even though a low signal), the iP4 wouldn't even make/receive calls (no service).
Bluetooth signal was weak, no problem with my 3gs. WiFi signal was weaker than the 3gs.
I'm not real happy with some of the problems with the Captivate either. But I'll keep plugging along with it to get it working better. Hopefully Samsung will come through with a update that will fix the problems. I gave the benefit of the doubt with the iP4, but apple basically said FU to their customers and gave them a free rubber band to cover up a design issue.

 

[dsjr2006]

Widgets, DLNA, BlueTooth 3.0, less-restrictive (AKA "real") multitasking, pervasive Voice-to-text, Google Navigation (and yes, Google in this case is important as it integrates with other Google services), Flash.

iPhone can do DLNA through apps and better yet there are programs that will let it stream any video/music/photo file from your computer anywhere there is a data connection regardless of format.

Voice to text I'll give you that even if it's wrong most of the time

The Captivate doesn't have real flash yet and even then I'm not quite sure how that's a real advantage most of the time

Widgets are necessary on Android since it's slower to load applications, funny thing is that since you usually have the widgets on a different page you could've just as easily opened the app, not to mention they seriously affect battery life so that advantage is moot

Bluetooth 3.0 is useless right now since there are virtually no other devices with it, but it's an advantage none the less

Less restrictive multitasking has it benefits and serious negatives. I don't always agree with Jobs, but I think he was right when he said if it needs a separate task manager then you're doing it wrong.

 

[dsjr2006]

Well I do have the "real story". I had one for 3 weeks and hated it. The proximity sensor was the worst problem with the phone. It got to be that I hated to make/receive a call. Every call I would end up muting or hitting the speaker phone or ending the call. It is a VERY repeatable problem. People I know have traded their phone in 3-4 times, each phone does the same thing. The reception and data rate was bad, not because of the "death grip" that everybody jumped on. The design is flawed! Places that my 3gs worked (even though a low signal), the iP4 wouldn't even make/receive calls (no service).
Bluetooth signal was weak, no problem with my 3gs. WiFi signal was weaker than the 3gs.
I'm not real happy with some of the problems with the Captivate either. But I'll keep plugging along with it to get it working better. Hopefully Samsung will come through with a update that will fix the problems. I gave the benefit of the doubt with the iP4, but apple basically said FU to their customers and gave them a free rubber band to cover up a design issue.

The Captivate has many repeatable issues that are not acknowledged and Samsung has a history of just not doing anything about it or supporting their phones in the long run. The Galaxy S I9000 was out first and they haven't even acknowledged the issues with that device. I think the chances of having the issues resolved are much better with Apple.