Should I switch my Captivate for a new one before the 30 days (GPS problems)?

[lolbug]

I will be sticking with Captivate, but I wonder if it's worth switching it out before my 30 days are up soon? Is it likely the new one will have the same GPS issues or is there a good chance it won't? I haven't been able to tell if this is a problem that affects all or nearly all Captivates or only a fraction. I would prefer not to deal with switching it out if there's a 90% chance it will have the same problems, but if there's a 50/50 of the GPS working on a new one then I will give it a shot.

I am worried that it might only affect certain builds and I will end up being stuck with a bad one that the "update" next month won't fully fix. But on the other hand I've only noticed GPS problems and none of the others people are complaining about and I'd hate to switch it out and end up with a far worse situation.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[mongstradamus]

I will be sticking with Captivate, but I wonder if it's worth switching it out before my 30 days are up soon? Is it likely the new one will have the same GPS issues or is there a good chance it won't? I haven't been able to tell if this is a problem that affects all or nearly all Captivates or only a fraction. I would prefer not to deal with switching it out if there's a 90% chance it will have the same problems, but if there's a 50/50 of the GPS working on a new one then I will give it a shot.

I am worried that it might only affect certain builds and I will end up being stuck with a bad one that the "update" next month won't fully fix. But on the other hand I've only noticed GPS problems and none of the others people are complaining about and I'd hate to switch it out and end up with a far worse situation.

Thanks for any advice.

If you are worried that samsung wont come thru and fix all the problems captivate has, I would return your phone and then see how things are when the fixes are released. So you arent "stuck" with partially functioning phone.

 

[noc]

Have you tried the available temporary "fixes?" Just fiddling with some of the settings produced some better results for me. To me, this suggests that this is a software issue... which means that they should be able to provide an update to fix it.

Either way, Samsung should be addressing the issue sometime in September, so if your 30 days is gonna be up and you really want to play it safe, then go ahead and swap out. They didn't really PROMISE anything, but we don't really have an answer about whether they'll fix it or not until then. GPS isn't that big of an issue for me so I will be staying with my captivate.

 

[baddress]

Exchanging for another captivate is not likely to fix your GPS problem. Factory reset, new phone, all the fixes etc, seem to only work for a short time then fail again. Therefore if the Captivate you have now has no other problems, hang on to it - the new one you get may have some other defect like random shutting off or bad antenna, and then you'd be stuck with other problems plus broken GPS.

 

[BigCiX]

It's not the phones....it's the software behind it.

 

[lolbug]

Exchanging for another captivate is not likely to fix your GPS problem. Factory reset, new phone, all the fixes etc, seem to only work for a short time then fail again. Therefore if the Captivate you have now has no other problems, hang on to it - the new one you get may have some other defect like random shutting off or bad antenna, and then you'd be stuck with other problems plus broken GPS.

That's what I was afraid of. So it's really true that the vast majority of the Captivates sold have these GPS problems and not just a small segment who come here to complain? I am surprised that there are a number of posts here that seem to say the GPS is fine on theirs, though...

 

[noc]

That's what I was afraid of. So it's really true that the vast majority of the Captivates sold have these GPS problems and not just a small segment who come here to complain? I am surprised that there are a number of posts here that seem to say the GPS is fine on theirs, though...

Yeah, most of those people probably opened theirs fresh out the box and it worked for the little time they've spent with the gps. The first time I tested my GPS was when I was out on the road, and it seemed fine to me so I turned it off to save my battery. When I went home later that day, I tried to take photos with geotagging and it kept failing to tag. It wouldn't ever tag until after I tried some of the temporary solutions. I think all captivates have the SAME issue right now, it's just that some people haven't played around enough with their gps to realize it.

And sorry about my initial reply, I think I was being a little vague when I said swap out. I was trying to say that if this is a huge issue for you, abandon the captivate altogether... but if you were going to swap it for another captivate, it won't fix your gps issue.

 

[jza]

5 days ago, i flashed the I897UCJH2 rom and my gps has been flawless since.

 

[born_fisherman]

I think there is a 50/50 chance the newer phone may at least pick up a better signal than your phone now.

My story -I'm on #3 phone - #2 phone - I could not get any type of GPS signal if I only had "use gps satellites" on.. So I went into AT&T, dialed the LBS test menu and showed them.. I asked for the latest batch of phones -swapped sim cards and tested it. In the LBS menu (in the same exact spot) showed 7 - 10 satellites (indoors mind you) Although I did not get a lock, it still showed the satellites, and I am fine with that.

I get a lock outdoors while standing still and don't have any problems once I get a lock.

So, if you are within your 30 days and don't want to wait for another month or more for Samsung to release their update, I say, why the hell not get a new phone??

 

[baddress]

That's what I was afraid of. So it's really true that the vast majority of the Captivates sold have these GPS problems and not just a small segment who come here to complain? I am surprised that there are a number of posts here that seem to say the GPS is fine on theirs, though...

Well, first of all it's not like AT&T tells you it's busted when you buy the phone. Some people don't use the GPS at all and don't care so they never notice it's broken. But then the ones that post that it's working fine, probably fall in one of two categories:
1) Most people test everything the first day. The GPS works the first day or after a factory reset, it takes a couple days for the problem to show up. So they think it's fine because it hasn't broken itself yet.
2) Several of the people who post here that their GPS "works" are using Skyhook or Cellular Triangulation and are not astute enough to notice they are working with a 30 meter or 300 meter or worse lock. If they pay close attention, say use GPS test or geocache/track runs, they'll probably notice their GPS they thought was fine, really isn't.


If your phone is from the first batch though, you might take a gamble and swap it - some of the first batch had bad antennas or something. But sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. Depends how much time you have left to make another swap if you have to.

 

[baddress]

5 days ago, i flashed the I897UCJH2 rom and my gps has been flawless since.

That's a good sign, but this is not a consumer-friendly solution and that rom has other issues.

 

[roltzje]

Frankly, that is what I did. I was nearing my 30 days and have been trying and tinkering with the GPS for a long time now, havent been able to get it working well at all. Fortunately, because I ordered from amazon, they have an excellent return policy, so they are sending me a replacement, and I just have to return my current one within 30 or something days, the time of which can be used to test the two phones and make sure the new one is at least as good.