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Regarding the reduced resets fix in the update...not sure if this refers to spontaneous resets/reboots that may have been a problem for some or for those that have needed to reset manually because of glitches that are repeatedly occurring.

I know for me, my S3 has started to lock up for no reason. I'll go to check my phone and the screen will be dark (except for the notification light) and there will be no way to get the screen back on or get the phone to function. Not even an incoming call will unfreeze the phone or get it to ring. All buttons will be non-responsive and the only way to get beyond it is with a battery pull and reboot. Problem is, though, that quite often as soon as it reboots it freezes again. I finally resorted to the dreaded factory reset and it still started misbehaving again soon after. Interestingly, when it has been in a loop of rebooting (with battery pull required for this) and then refreezing, getting home and attaching it to the power cord has broken the cycle. Wierd, huh? One hunch is that it may be related to a recent wallpaper I installed, NFL Live 2013, so I may uninstall and see what happens from there. Or, maybe I'll just see if this new system update resolves the matter.

In any case, just a long way of saying that maybe the reduced reset feature of this Samsung/Verizon update has to do with problems like I just described. Guess we'll wait and see.
 
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Regarding the reduced resets fix in the update...not sure if this refers to spontaneous resets/reboots that may have been a problem for some or for those that have needed to reset manually because of glitches that are repeatedly occurring.

I know for me, my S3 has started to lock up for no reason. I'll go to check my phone and the screen will be dark (except for the notification light) and there will be no way to get the screen back on or get the phone to function. Not even an incoming call will unfreeze the phone or get it to ring. All buttons will be non-responsive and the only way to get beyond it is with a battery pull and reboot. Problem is, though, that quite often as soon as it reboots it freezes again. I finally resorted to the dreaded factory reset and it still started misbehaving again soon after. Interestingly, when it has been in a loop of rebooting (with battery pull required for this) and then refreezing, getting home and attaching it to the power cord has broken the cycle. Wierd, huh? One hunch is that it may be related to a recent wallpaper I installed, NFL Live 2013, so I may uninstall and see what happens from there. Or, maybe I'll just see if this new system update resolves the matter.

In any case, just a long way of saying that maybe the reduced reset feature of this Samsung/Verizon update has to do with problems like I just described. Guess we'll wait and see.



This lock up you're describing has recently started happening to me too. I didn't notice it until after I started using Nova Launcher Prime as my Launcher so I wasn't sure if it was related to that. I really like Nova Launcher so I haven't reverted back to Touchwiz to see if that would fix the problem but it is becoming a pain in the butt to have to pull the battery every time the screen goes black except the notification light. There's no other way to wake it up from that. I don't want to do another factory reset either. I haven't got the update yet but hopefully it addresses this problem.
 
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This lock up you're describing has recently started happening to me too. I didn't notice it until after I started using Nova Launcher Prime as my Launcher so I wasn't sure if it was related to that. I really like Nova Launcher so I haven't reverted back to Touchwiz to see if that would fix the problem but it is becoming a pain in the butt to have to pull the battery every time the screen goes black except the notification light. There's no other way to wake it up from that. I don't want to do another factory reset either. I haven't got the update yet but hopefully it addresses this problem.


Yes, thanks for sharing this! I saw one other S3 user describe something similar elsewhere, so I know the issue is definitely out there. It does seem relatively uncommon, though, given I'm not seeing an entire thread with these kinds of testimonials. Again, hope the update takes care of this once and for all. I really like this phone, but it has a bugginess or instability to it in this one way that I haven't experienced with my past htc only onwnership.
 
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Regarding the reduced resets fix in the update...not sure if this refers to spontaneous resets/reboots that may have been a problem for some or for those that have needed to reset manually because of glitches that are repeatedly occurring.

I know for me, my S3 has started to lock up for no reason. I'll go to check my phone and the screen will be dark (except for the notification light) and there will be no way to get the screen back on or get the phone to function. Not even an incoming call will unfreeze the phone or get it to ring. All buttons will be non-responsive and the only way to get beyond it is with a battery pull and reboot. Problem is, though, that quite often as soon as it reboots it freezes again. I finally resorted to the dreaded factory reset and it still started misbehaving again soon after. Interestingly, when it has been in a loop of rebooting (with battery pull required for this) and then refreezing, getting home and attaching it to the power cord has broken the cycle. Wierd, huh? One hunch is that it may be related to a recent wallpaper I installed, NFL Live 2013, so I may uninstall and see what happens from there. Or, maybe I'll just see if this new system update resolves the matter.

In any case, just a long way of saying that maybe the reduced reset feature of this Samsung/Verizon update has to do with problems like I just described. Guess we'll wait and see.


This is also happening to me also. It scared me at 1st because I thought the screen went bad. Then I saw the notification led light up and decided to do a battery pull. The charger was also the only thing that has broken the cycle for me.
 
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Since the update I have had a problem with my computer recognizing the phone. I plug the phone in and nothing happens. I checked the USB ports and they're working properly. I have Windows 7 Premium. Any ideas? BTW, when I plug it in the phone says that it's connected as a media device so the phone is recognizing the computer.

Ok, after further review, if I change the connection from MTP to Camera the computer will recognize the phone but you can't do anything with the files. It looks like phone calls are going to be made.
 
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I'm still evaluating... over the past couple days though, it seems as though my battery has been draining a bit faster as well, but in a weird way. It seems as if the drain is fairly conservative when the phone is sleeping, but wake it in any way and the battery drops 1% every couple minutes, way faster than it used to.
 
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i'm having the same battery life issue, i would typically take it off the charger and go to the bathroom in the morning to get ready for work, with normal facebook checking, app browsing etc etc for about 15-20 minutes in the morning, and then an hour-hour and a half commute with about 30-40 minute phone call during the commute, i would get to work with right around 90-95 percent remaining now i get to work with about 80 sometimes mid-high 70's. Definitely lower batter life. I would typically get home after a day of work and have about 40-50 percent remaining and now i get home with under 20% remaining.
 
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My batter went from 2 to 3% drain per hour sitting idle in 4G, to 10 to 12% drain per hour sitting idle in 4G. Exact same location, same conditions. battery life is 4 to 6 times worse!

My brother is also experiencing worse battery life on his S3 after this latest update.

I've noticed Maps is now draining a lot of power, seems to keep the cpu awake almost constantly.

Reboot, and even factory reset didn't make difference.
 
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mine has been freezing up also since the last update, never was a problem before.. for me it seems to happen if im listening to music and receive a phone call while music player is running (stock player), end the call and the phone freezes requiring a bat pull.. also last weekend i was at a wedding and in the middle of taking pictures it froze up bad. had to shut down and do a bat pull, upon starting back up none of my galleries would load and camera still would not open. after 3 shutdowns and pulls (45min later) my galleries finally loaded / camera started working again... i usually dont mind an occasional freeze up (it happens) but that one was very strange
 
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