Anyone actually have a good working S3

[brichi]

I come here to check out some threads before possibly getting the phone and there just seems to be issue after issue with this thing, Is this phone really that bad based on these threads? the first couple of pages of the S3 forum are nothing but problems from what I see

 

[sherlock5545]

Here's it all put simply: you have a fully functional phone, you want to get as much familiar with it as possible... what do you do? Spend your time on a forum just to say "Hey, my phone works flawlessly, I can do this, I can do that", or rather, would you prefer spending that precious time "playing" with the phone?

It's pretty simple as a concept, most of the people here came because they had a problem with the phone. Now, how many phones have been sold? Millions, and most of the people are just enjoying their phone.

It's the same for each and every phone, try this:

HTC One X/XL - Android Forums

It's pretty much the same, isn't it?

 

[SUroot]

Yes my phone is perfect. Between the SGS3 and 3rd party apps, I can conquer the world.

Exactly what Sherlock said really. This is a support forum. Most people post here to get support, ergo you only really see the bad side.

 

[EarlyMon]

Well, this is the oldest, most-established Android users-helping-users forum there is, and this is the largest selling model with something like 10 million sold so far.

Naturally, with any new device, there are always growing pains and issues, some hard, some not so hard, some real, some just misunderstandings of how certain features work.

Put that with the new top seller and there would be something wrong if you didn't see lots of support threads.

In almost 100% of the threads with problems, you'll find users without those problems helping others.

Myself, I chose the One X - same deal - problems, a few for me too, my posts in the forum for that.

I think you'll find there's a good reason that the SGS3 is a top seller - it's a top performer.

That said, as you know, Android is all about choice, so if the SGS3 isn't your cup of tea, there are others to consider as well.

Hope this helps.

PS - let's keep this exactly on point for the OP's concerns, ok, cheers, thanks.

 

[treb1797]

While I love this site it can give a very negative vibe when coming on here. Remember, this is a place where people come to get help & sometimes complain. It's like most things in life, its always the negative we hear never the positive. So take what you read w/ a grain of salt & decide for yourself. This is a great device for me personally & I'll leave it at that.

 

[Flumme]

My phone works flawlessly!

 

[Hogan773]

OP - you obviously don't have much experience dealing with online forums. My experience, whether it be a phone, or a TV, or a car, is that the online forums are very useful but you need to take them for what they are.

#1 you are dealing with the creme de la creme of the phone nerds on here. These are generally people with lots of knowledge about the very details of the phones. These people often are hyperbolic about what is SOOOO BAD.....

#2 as just mentioned above in other post, you're more likely in general that people who DO have problems or questions will seek out an online forum. I believe Samsung has literally sold MILLIONS of these phones already. I don't see MILLIONS of usernames on here all talking about how sweet their phones are.


I have had mine for several weeks and haven't had any problems to speak of. I like it a lot.

 

[EarlyMon]

Ok, let's please not draw conclusions about the OP's understanding of how forums work when they've been a member in good standing here for over two years.

 

[daffy113]

I love this phone. As mentioned previous I come here when I want to figure out a solution. So the complaints you here are for people who may have issues or questions.

This phone blows me out of the water. So far I've had the Droid X, HTC Rezound and now this.

I'm in heaven with the SGS3.

 

[brichi]

Nice!!! thank you everyone for the fast replies

I am very familiar with how forums work and know that most people come here only to get help, not to praise the device, but it seems there are overwhelming amount of threads pointing to different issues, thats what scares me, I do expect issues with any phone that is released whether be android, windows, or (sorry for mentioning the name) Apple, but it seems this S3 thread has a ton of different issues so i was wondering if it's just a fluke from user to user based on a small amount of phones or its a solid issue that any of us would have if we bought the phone, for example

black spots on screen
wifi signal strength issues
poor verizon signal strength compared to Motorola devices

and so on

Please know I am not here in a negative way, I unfortunately have a iPhone 4 and desperately want to get rid of this boring, same os for 5 years, device. The S3 seems like the phone to make me a happy droid user, again, just seeing some threads pushes ya away, just need some re-assurance I guess, LOL

thanks again guys

 

[SUroot]

black spots on screen
wifi signal strength issues
poor verizon signal strength compared to Motorola devices

Im not on verizon but I dont have the other 2 issues. Honestly all these physical fault threads, or "This isnt working as expected" threads... I have literally none of it.

 

[rjtim]

Some of the people who report problems here report "perceived" problems, which upon checking further may not really be problems at all. Probably because they did not check the device carefully at first? (I'm one of them lol)

My phone is great, btw. First time with Android and with a really smart smartphone. And I'm enjoying every minute of it.

 

[waremaster]

Yes mine is great I love it.

 

[RedStorm]

i havent had one problem with my s3 what so ever, its the best (most powerful) phone ive ever used, personally. I wouldnt worry about the people complaining on the forum to much, they are the vast minority. Look at it this way, there is a reason almost every review on the web is positive and praises the s3 as being one of the best phones out. As a person who has ran through many different smart phones, in my lifetime, I can tell you the S3 is a great phone imo.

 

[damewolf13]

I have two of them. A pebble blue with VZW, and a marble white with AT&T.
Both work amazingly, and neither have any sort of problem.
I have not always been a Samsung fan, but this phone has exceeded any expectations that I had for my next cellphone.

 

[sean76]

What's up OP...I'm going to give you my take...

I'm a phone whore, which means I change my phones like underwear...lol! With that being said, I happen to like Samsung phones.

As for the SG3, I like it...it's deff a very nice phone. Is it perfect? Absolutely not, no phone is.

My Pros

Great as a phone...Very loud ear speaker, best I've ever used. And I've used a lot.

Screen is beautiful indoors, very bright vibrant colors I must say. Blacks are very deep as they should be on an Amoled screen, and whites happen to look surprisingly nice and bright without to much blue tint.

Speed demon, the phone handle tasks very well with only an occasional hiccup every now and then with lag.

Pretty good form factor all around, if you have decently sized hands the size of the phone should be just fine.

The camera takes very good pics all around. Very sharp colorful pics is what you should expect from this phone. I was very surprised that this phone is right about on par with the iphone 4s.

Overall the phone is a very good performer.

Now my Cons,

Build quality is not great., plain and simple it sux. I've been a Samsung fan for a while, and by now you would think they were better at quality control. The buttons have a loose wiggly feel, especially the volume rocker, and a lot has been said about the cheap feel some are experiencing with the home button. I've already gotten a few tiny scratches on my screen and super super careful. Corning glass my butt, this glass is no better then that of a mid range phone. 4 months with a 4s with no screen projector and not a single blemish, 2 weeks with the GS3 and a few hair line scratches..hmmm? Also the back battery door is a serious scratch magnet. They are calling it hyperglaze that's made of polycarbonate! Yea right, try cheap scratch prone plastic.

As good as the screen is indoors, that's how terrible it is outdoors in sunlight, its very hard to see the screen even with the brightness turned all the way up.

Major WiFi issues is what I've experienced, even with a hard reset. My phone will just drop the connection out of nowhere, never had this issue with my last 2 phones, the Galaxy note, and Iphone 4 s....not a single hiccup.

The battery drain from standby is ridiculous. Standby just rears it's ugly head and puts a real drain on my battery on a daily basis. It's been well documented that this is a big problem with this phone.

Touchwiz feels fairly heavy and a little gimmicky IMO. One gripe I have is the stock keyboard...Yea you can download some stuff from the market. But I'm a stock guy. And honestly the One X's keyboard is lite years better.

Over all...I'm a tuff cookie to please. But I have to say this phone to me is a good phone, not great, and not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. And if you must have the latest and greatest, and have an upgrade available. Give it a try for $199, you always have 30 days to give it a test run and return it if your on at&t.

As for me, I'm patiently waiting for my unlocked Galaxy Nexus from the play store to arrive. If I'm going to leave ios and go back to my beloved Android, it's going to be for a stock Android experience with no nonsense from carriers. But that's just my take.

 

[brichi]

thank you!

 

[treb1797]

Samsung Posts Record $5.9 Billion Q2 Profits Thanks To Galaxy S3 Sales

So all & all this phone must not be too bad.

 

[scooter1942]

Major WiFi issues is what I've experienced, even with a hard reset. My phone will just drop the connection out of nowhere, never had this issue with my last 2 phones, the Galaxy note, and Iphone 4 s....not a single hiccup.

The battery drain from standby is ridiculous. Standby just rears it's ugly head and puts a real drain on my battery on a daily basis. It's been well documented that this is a big problem with this phone.

Touchwiz feels fairly heavy and a little gimmicky IMO. One gripe I have is the stock keyboard...Yea you can download some stuff from the market. But I'm a stock guy. And honestly the One X's keyboard is lite years better.

i havent had a single issue with wifi, been using it at starbucks to download large games. its worked fine for me. perhaps yours has a defective antenna? also my battery seems to do just fine on standby. did you calibrate it? and also you may have apps running in the background you dont know about, eating up your juice. as far as touchwiz and the stock keyboard, you can get replacements from the play store that look as if they were stock, and perform as seamlessly as the stock ones do. if anything, just for the OP to keep in mind

 

[laptopquestion]

Can't argue too much with to pros, so I will address my personal experiences with the cons...

What's up OP...I'm going to give you my take...

Now my Cons,

Build quality is not great., plain and simple it sux. I've been a Samsung fan for a while, and by now you would think they were better at quality control. The buttons have a loose wiggly feel, especially the volume rocker, and a lot has been said about the cheap feel some are experiencing with the home button. I've already gotten a few tiny scratches on my screen and super super careful. Corning glass my butt, this glass is no better then that of a mid range phone. 4 months with a 4s with no screen projector and not a single blemish, 2 weeks with the GS3 and a few hair line scratches..hmmm? Also the back battery door is a serious scratch magnet. They are calling it hyperglaze that's made of polycarbonate! Yea right, try cheap scratch prone plastic.

Not a big deal one way or the other for me..... Got a phantomSkinz full body matte kit and an Incipio case, and even with the case have no problems with the buttons (either power or volume).

As good as the screen is indoors, that's how terrible it is outdoors in sunlight, its very hard to see the screen even with the brightness turned all the way up.

Have to agree with you here. My Samsung Omnia 2 (also amoled) was *much* brighter outside.

Major WiFi issues is what I've experienced, even with a hard reset. My phone will just drop the connection out of nowhere, never had this issue with my last 2 phones, the Galaxy note, and Iphone 4 s....not a single hiccup.

WiFi has been flawless for me. Actually even don't mind the Wifi reminders since most of my WiFi connections are much faster than 4G.

The battery drain from standby is ridiculous. Standby just rears it's ugly head and puts a real drain on my battery on a daily basis. It's been well documented that this is a big problem with this phone.

Easily lasts over a day for me, so never bothered to check. Never far enough from a AC or DC power source to make it an issue.

Touchwiz feels fairly heavy and a little gimmicky IMO. One gripe I have is the stock keyboard...Yea you can download some stuff from the market. But I'm a stock guy. And honestly the One X's keyboard is lite years better.

For me, TouchWiz was fine, but I hated not being able re-size the Google search or increase the number of apps per screen. That said, I use the free Apex Launcher and absolutely love it. Very fast and configurable. You should really check it out.

Over all...I'm a tuff cookie to please. But I have to say this phone to me is a good phone, not great, and not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. And if you must have the latest and greatest, and have an upgrade available. Give it a try for $199, you always have 30 days to give it a test run and return it if your on at&t.

No phone is going to be perfect, but at least for me this is the best phone going.

As for me, I'm patiently waiting for my unlocked Galaxy Nexus from the play store to arrive. If I'm going to leave ios and go back to my beloved Android, it's going to be for a stock Android experience with no nonsense from carriers. But that's just my take.

Have android on my HP Touchpad and obviously the Galaxy S3.... At this point I haven't found any need for a 'stock' Android experience. Even Verizon hasn't got in my way, yet

A separate con....

Went through about 4 micro usb cables before I found one that worked reliably (thanks logitech )

 

[laptopquestion]

Samsung Posts Record $5.9 Billion Q2 Profits Thanks To Galaxy S3 Sales

So all & all this phone must not be too bad.

Unless you ask Apple

 

[treb1797]

Unless you ask Apple

Would love to know how much Apple spends in attorney fees ?

 

[mpavlansky]

I've had my S3 for almost two weeks now. I live in an area where there's no 4G, and use wifi at the office and at home. When I'm on the road, and venture into 4G territory, all the transitions have been smooth. Wifi is flawless, and the only times I've had problems is when the router at the office needed to be power cycled.

I'm coming from a Moto DX, and had an upgrade so I got the S3 for about $170. My impression so far is that this phone is well worth that. I probably wouldn't pay full price though. This thing is fast, and has all kinds of efficiency tricks that I'm continuing to stumble over.

I liked the e-mail interface on my DX better, and think that from time to time the e-mail is a little laggy on the S3. That's been my only moderate complaint.

I like using my phone for calls, email, news, navigation all day long, and getting home in the evening with substantial charge left. I can go an entire day without charging - not so for my DX.

I despise the stock Samsung keyboard, and loaded Swype beta by registering on their site. I'm a huge fan of Swype, and love their beta keyboard.

Other than some minor tweaks on the e-mail interface, I have no complaints, and love this device. My DX was pretty reliable, but this phone is much more reliable, much faster, has a bigger screen, lasts significantly longer on a battery charge, and has more neat bells and whistles than my DX.

I bought half of my staff S3's and the other half iphones. I really feel sorry for the iphone people - they've been had and its all my fault.

 

[blacksmaru]

me and my gf haven't had any issues so far, well the only issue being is that we cant learn everything the phone can do in a day, which is how i found this forum lol

 

[pixiearmy]

Only had the phone for two weeks - been flawless so far. I've only come to the forums for tips / advice on getting the most of it. I don't see the forum as any more negative than any other hardware forum. Like everyone said - forums are primarily for troubleshooting / venting - not necessarily for saying how awesome everything is.