Lagaxy Note 3 frustration

[mustardtiger56]

So recently I "upgraded" to the note 3 from a nexus 4. I always kept my distance from Samsung devices due to the clunky/ laggy ui they call touchwiz. However due to the specs of this phone I had wrongly assumed it would be lag free. Man was I wrong, chrome stutters endlessly, and the stock browser is a little bit better but far from smooth. Heavy websites have a slight lag, whereas an iPhone 5 or nexus device would breeze right through without even a slight hiccup. It seems like there is a small delay when scrolling so it always feels like the screen is behind you, which is something I never experienced with my nexus. Overall I would say this is a very poorly optimized and designed phone, I am almost inclined to say that apple and Google make far better phones than samsung at this point. I can safely confirm that I don't have a faulty unit either, I spoke to some reps from my provider and samsung and they said this is normal for all phones. I can confirm that this is not normal based on my previous experiences with other phones. Overall I am very disappointed, how have your experiences been with this device?

 

[jwither]

I am almost inclined to say that apple and Google make far better phones than samsung at this point.

I could be mistaken, but I don't think Google makes phones.

/sarcasm off

I can only speak for myself, but I've not seen the lag you're talking about, or anything closely resembling it.

I too converted from tiny screen iPhones to my N3, and have been very happy thus far with it.

 

[Veritas4420]

I have not experienced much lag on my phone at all. Sometimes the gallery will lag, but I do have over 1k photos and 10+ full movies. I would try a factory reset and see how the phone acts after that.

 

[DevinNJ]

I have no lag/stutter at all. The only thing I've noticed is that from time to time when I turn the screen on, it bypasses the lock screen and goes to the home screen. Other that that, no issues at all. I absolutely love this phone

 

[Sportster]

Yea, no lag here whatsoever. This thing is fast!

 

[jwither]

We've had other threads on this forum about speed issues, the lag you've noticed etc., perhaps not as many lately.

You might search for them to see how others have addressed it.

Although the only firmware update I've received on my N3 was primarily to address a call quality issue that some users were experiencing, perhaps that also addressed the issue you're having trouble with. Have you checked for updates under Settings, About phone, Software update, Check for new software update?

You may need to connect it to a PC running Samsung Kies in order to see available updates.

Samsung Kies

Current firmware versions vary by carrier, but most I think are from MJ3 to MJ7 or higher. The stock firmware was MI9 (the last three characters of your build number) in Settings, About phone

 

[dontpanicbobby]

No lag here either. T-Mobile version. Even though I wasn't experiencing lag when I first got my unit I followed these tips to prevent it anyway. Prevent lag on your Note 3 - YouTube

 

[Sasha2013]

No lag on this end either. This thing flies.

 

[ducpiloti]

lag? My Note 3 is the fastest and most responsive phone I have ever used. It is even faster than the iPhone 5S in my opinion. I do not have any lag on my device, perhaps you have an unusual number of background apps that could be causing the issue?

 

[zipred]

So recently I "upgraded" to the note 3 from a nexus 4. I always kept my distance from Samsung devices due to the clunky/ laggy ui they call touchwiz. However due to the specs of this phone I had wrongly assumed it would be lag free. Man was I wrong, chrome stutters endlessly, and the stock browser is a little bit better but far from smooth. Heavy websites have a slight lag, whereas an iPhone 5 or nexus device would breeze right through without even a slight hiccup. It seems like there is a small delay when scrolling so it always feels like the screen is behind you, which is something I never experienced with my nexus. Overall I would say this is a very poorly optimized and designed phone, I am almost inclined to say that apple and Google make far better phones than samsung at this point. I can safely confirm that I don't have a faulty unit either, I spoke to some reps from my provider and samsung and they said this is normal for all phones. I can confirm that this is not normal based on my previous experiences with other phones. Overall I am very disappointed, how have your experiences been with this device?

I get the impression you're post is designed to incite an argument, or bash what is for most, the single best Android phone created thus far.

I bought three for my family after experiencing how fast, smooth and effective mine is. Then there are several of my friends and co-workers who are also thrilled with theirs.

 

[ctdog]

My browser lags badly too, regardless of if I use stock or Chrome. My iPhone 5 is much, much quicker getting to all web pages. Web browsing is the only area where I've experienced lag on my Note 3.

 

[mustardtiger56]

Well, I tried opera browser and it is much much smoother than stock or chrome, although with a phone as expensive as this you shouldn't have to worry about looking for a browser that doesn't stutter. However today I noticed my home button was slightly wobbly and upon further inspection i found it is actually crooked. Very very poor quality control for a 650$ device. Overall I am disappointed and would take an iPhone, HTC , or nexus device way before I would buy another one of these. Plastic and shitty performance is all you get when buying a samsung it seems. Can't believe they are the #1 seller in the world for phones

 

[BlueBiker]

OP, maybe you should return your phone and buy something else. It doesn't sound as if you'll ever be happy with the Note 3. Me, I'm loving the hell out of mine! :rock:

 

[WIZKID55]

NO NEED TO GET SO PERSONEL ON A PHONE......Cause hey after all its just a phone. Now so be it, Every one has there prefence on what he and to all the ladies out there also,like or dislike on a phone. Dosent matter what kind of device you have there are always going to be likes and dislikes, thats just the way it is... Coming from a Iphone 5 i thought it was the best of the best . But over time certains things on the phone were'nt so up to par... Not to say it still is;nt a GREAT PHONE CAUSE IT IS NO doubt 1 of the nicest phones out there ! So i took the the plundge on a note 3 and no looking back for me... What ever problems your having ITS A SHAME because overall this phone is TOP NOTCH .... I will never look back to an Iphone again...

 

[wyndslash]

It's probably touchwiz slowing it down

 

[jwither]

It's probably touchwiz slowing it down

More likely it's widget overload.

For iPhone users: A widget is an app that runs on your home screens. Too many, and it will slow your phone down and eat battery.

 

[mustardtiger56]

Definitely not widget overload, I'm only using alarm and the digital clock. No live wallpaper or anything like that either. When I pay $650 for a phone with a snapdragon 800 and 3gb of ram I shouldn't be working about widget overload either. Never had to on my nexus 4 and that thing didn't even have half the specs this thing has.

 

[ctdog]

I have to agree with the OP about the poor performance of the Note 3 and its browser. I must also say I can't believe how some people jumped down his throat for pointing out that poor performance. I love my Note 3 and overall, OVERALL it is to me the best phone currently on the market, but it is not the best phone in EVERY category.

 

[jwither]

Definitely not widget overload, I'm only using alarm and the digital clock. No live wallpaper or anything like that either. When I pay $650 for a phone with a snapdragon 800 and 3gb of ram I shouldn't be working about widget overload either. Never had to on my nexus 4 and that thing didn't even have half the specs this thing has.

Guess you need to take a close look at your running apps then, or anything else you might have tweaked on it.

You're not periodically killing running tasks, clearing memory, are you?

The thing has three gigs of ram, there's no need to clear it. It only keeps processes that run faster when they're cached, take longer to start.

It's possible that there is a single change you've made that has caused the speed issue. Something as simple as a misconfigured e-mail client, running in the background and trying over and over and over again to authenticate with an e-mail server, slowing the whole thing down.

*OR* Uninstalling/disabling a stock app that you thought would make it faster, thinking it was bloatware, but is tied to other processes that can't find it running.

As you can see from the responses in this thread, your lag is not normal for this device.

 

[BlueBiker]

Definitely not widget overload, I'm only using alarm and the digital clock. No live wallpaper or anything like that either. When I pay $650 for a phone with a snapdragon 800 and 3gb of ram I shouldn't be working about widget overload either. Never had to on my nexus 4 and that thing didn't even have half the specs this thing has.

When are you going to realize that the Note 3 is not a Nexus 4? The Nexus 4 was a very nice lean & mean phone running straight Android without TouchWiz or any other bloated manufacturer interface on top.

Seriously, stop complaining that your new luxury Lexus isn't a Ferrari. You bought the wrong phone. Return it and get what you really want.

Or you can do what a lot of us do and install Nova Prime or any of a bunch of excellent alternative launchers that run much smoother & faster on the Note 3.

 

[jwither]

When are you going to realize that the Note 3 is not a Nexus 4? The Nexus 4 was a very nice lean & mean phone running straight Android without TouchWiz or any other bloated manufacturer interface on top.

Seriously, stop complaining that your new luxury Lexus isn't a Ferrari. You bought the wrong phone. Return it and get what you really want.

Or you can do what a lot of us do and install Nova Prime or any of a bunch of excellent alternative launchers that run much smoother & faster on the Note 3.

Honestly, I didn't have an issue with TouchWiz/speed. The problem I had was the small grid, so I use Nova now. Just because I bought a huge screen phone doesn't mean I'm blind.

 

[zipred]

My Note 3 is the first Samsung I haven't replaced TouchWiz. That's because it's nicely improved, runs smooth and fast, and provides some great functionally with the S-Pen...

While it's true that TouchWiz as implemented on the original Galaxy S wasn't great, that was years ago. It's also cheating oneself of a great new experience.

Choosing to use another launcher because you prefer it's features is a smart move, but to claim TouchWiz is bad is to be uniformed.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

mustardtiger56 did you try the advice in the video link I posted?

 

[Digital Controller]

My Note 3 is the first Samsung I haven't replaced TouchWiz. That's because it's nicely improved, runs smooth and fast, and provides some great functionally with the S-Pen...

While it's true that TouchWiz as implemented on the original Galaxy S wasn't great, that was years ago. It's also cheating oneself of a great new experience.

Choosing to use another launcher because you prefer it's features is a smart move, but to claim TouchWiz is bad is to be uniformed.

Everyone has preferences, that's why we have different launchers available for us on the Play Store.

I completely agree with you, TouchWiz isn't bad, it's just different than what people might be used to.

Personally I come from a Nexus device and the experience is certainly a lot different with TouchWiz.

 

[bonerp]

I'm afraid I feel quite sorry for users who come for help and get blasted.

Of course they are going to vent their angst! They could've spent serious wedge on the N3 and are disappointed. Stop flaming them and help, or do one.

Let us help and see if the problems can be solved rather than gloating that yours is perfect therefore everyone else has bought the wrong phone! If you can't add anything useful, DON'T ADD ANYTHING AT ALL....AND STOP SHOUTING!

Mine is a little laggy and unfortunately touchwiz isn't as clean as the Nexus 5 which I also have. However that equally isn't perfect.

Go into developer options and turn off animations and stuff like that. If you do a factory reset, try it before you load on your apps - might help eliminate any issue apps.

For the spec of this device, I'm not 100% happy - coming from a note 2 which was well sorted. Its quick, but it does have some minor annoyances - for the price which I'm not sure I'd spend that much again - its not perfect. I'd love to try it as a clean untouched by Sammy developer model running 4.4 but will have to wait until 4.4 comes with bloat.

Theres lots of good advice once you've ploughed through the fanboys. Just do a little searching.