hero not working out

[jamesdal1]

Problems with the hero.

I will list a problem with the Hero. I think a phone should be able to make and receive calls, it's a cell PHONE!. That should be basic. Text messages should also be a basic feature of a phone.

1. Text messages
A lot of my text messages go into ONE thread. It's VERY frustrating because when i try to reply, it reply's to what ever number it chooses. I have to always enter compose to reply, and when they reply, it goes into a thread with about 30 different numbers.

2. Huge lag all the time.
When I enter a number to call, It takes 3 to 5 seconds to place the call. I sometimes think I didn't press the "call" button and press it again and when it actually dials out, it kept my 2nd press of the call button and hangs up my call after 1 second after it dials.

3. apps , most fore close.
Almost every app that I have used has proven to be unreliable. That's one of the reason's I got the phone. I was thinking, calls and txt are basic features of the phone. that will not be a problem, well i have problems with both. So anyway, i try some apps, a FEW work fine, but most fore close or they cause problems to the phone. One app would hang up on calls after 60 seconds of talk time. I of course removed it.

4. Audio issues
it's very frustrating to listen to music and suddenly the song just stops and start and stops and start and stops.. It is very annoing. I am no "gold ear" or anything that really can tell a difference between a good and bad sounding audio, but I guess I can tell that listening to music sucks.. Also as I listen to music with my koss spark plugs and there is a calender notice - WHAT WAS THAT?!? Damn the sound is so loud that I am afraid I will drop some heavy weights on me some day when listening to music at the gym... Other than that audio is fine.. Umm yep...


5. The phone dimm's the light.
When I'm ready to use my phone, I slide the screen down to unlock the phone, it does but all of a sudden, it will dimm. I understand it should dimm after 30 seconds if not being used, but this happens after i slide the bar down to use it. I have to lock the screen and reactivate just to see the numbers or letters.

I will stop here. There are a lot more problems but I will stop.

OVERALL: i'm returning the phone. I will get the PRE or PIXI. I really wanted this phone, I wanted it to work. I was really hoping this phone would work out. I think the phone could be a good phone after they get all the bugs out. Right now, there is just too many problems. Like I said, I will be returning it and wait a year before I consider another droid phone.

Here is a post from another user:

Hi,

Please do let me moan in my grief as Android (atleast HERO) has so far let me down..

Issues that I have encountered so far:
1. As I press "home"-button it might crash and say "loading" with black(/transparent) background and a circle that loads ooon and ooon and ooon. For the first two days it crashed so I had to boot the entire device. In that point there was no additional apps installed

2. Exhcange capability is there but it ain't that good. Using folders (as I use with my email) is very stupid as it shows ALL the folders in one list even though many of the folders are sub folders

3. Huge lag all the time. Like when I call some number and it goes back to the "made calls"(or whatever its supposed to be called) it might take more than 5 seconds to refresh the list and after the looong wait the last made call appears on the top of the screen. Other types of lags that are really frustrating are also appearing. If you wanna know more about my bad days with it please let me know

4. Audio issues. I mean how frustrating it is to listen to music and suddenly the song just stops and start and stops and start and stops.. It is very annoing. I am no "gold ear" or anything that really can tell a difference between a good and bad sounding audio, but I guess I can tell that listening to music sucks.. Also as I listen to music with my koss spark plugs and there is a calender notice - WHAT WAS THAT?!? Damn the sound is so loud that I am afraid I will drop some heavy weights on me some day when listening to music at the gym... Other than that audio is fine.. Umm yep...

5. No MS Office edit capability.. I just cant understand why..

6. No skype or anyother EASY (dont start talking about sip for android or what ever the name is called) VOIP app. Most of the mobile platforms has app that can do this - why not android?? And yeah I have read about VOIP apps but: skype lite= no use for me, google voice= uuuuh.. Great software but why hell they wont let me register or what ever was needed to get it to work.

7. Overall Google issues.. Google docs - whats the current story? Google Voice - hopefully they can provide it at some time..

8. IM apps. I just wanna use MSN ok? how hard that can be? Every app that I have used has proven to be unreliable. Why god?u why?

9. Latest issue is with home screen.. One day suddenly calendar, favorites and media player (didnt notice others - would not be suprised if there were more..) lost their text. Meaning that my calendar, favorites and media player showed the graphics but no text. I mean how could that even happen? It was removed by rebooting.. NICE!

So heres my "short" list of things that annoy me - there might be more but I dont remember at the moment.

I was really hoping this phone would substitue my old WM phone. Too many problems at the moment that I have considered destroying hero..

PLEASE HEAR MY STORY! Let me have still hope that android MIGHT be a great platform for mobile phones.. And also please let me know how to fix these issues

I registered just to complain - how cool is this!

And hopefully some one will find joy when reading this

At least some sadomasochist might enjoy when I am truly in pain

 

[boi_HeRO]

Did you by any chance download the update for the hero? the update fixes a good amount on the phone. yea some of us experience some of the problems that you are having as well. and i agree a phone should work considering the amount of money and commitment spent on it. but i have never heard of the text problem you are having and about the dimming problem, the phone does that when you have auto dim on, you can turn it off in the settings. other than that it really sounds to me you are having hardware issues. i would just have it replaced and see how things go with the replacement before deciding to go with a PRE or PIXI. id also do research on the palm if i were you. i recommend going to precentral.net and asking the guys there about their PREs or PIXIs

i myself came from a pre, and i found the phone lacking in alot of areas within the OS. alot of basic features you would expect out of a smartphone just werent there. Dont get me wrong, webOS is great and i loved the phone and there have been major improvements since ive had the phone, but the dealbreaker for me atleast was the hardware. The quality of the phone was just non-existent. to me it felt like it was going to fall apart just looking at it. my first pre had the infamous "oreo effect" only after 2 weeks and i absolutely baby my phone. i had replaced for a another pre that had dead pixels. i said to myself theres no way this phone could last me 2 years. i may be exaggerating a bit but if you plan to keep your phone for the term of your contract, iam certain that you will be going through alot of replacements. Alot of the guys on precentral have gone through atleast 2+ replacements in a 2 month span. now thats saying something. but thats my experience with the pre. in regards to the pixi, to me its a step down from both the hero and the pre in terms of internal hardware. but i mean if you dont care about stuff like that then by all means get the pixi.

my hero has been flawless. i absolutely love it. best phone ive ever had hands down. i really think you should consider just getting another hero, but thats just me. for me android has been awesome. i love the phones and their capabilities. most of all i love the booming community that goes along with it and i firmly believe that android is the future.

 

[rolue]

Same as above. You probably got a defect. Try another one first. Great phone. You should know better with electronics. Sometimes you get a defect. No one else I heard of has all of your problems. So it's a good chance you have a defective unit.

 

[bengrimm84]

I had that same issue..you haven't happened to have Bank of America txt alerts sent to your hero have you? if you did, then all the other msgs would all end up in that single thread. its not the hero so much as it is the way that BofA addresses the txt alerts. you will need to wipe the phone, and afterward all the msgs will get their own threads. If you still want to have it send you alerts, then you can set the alerts to deliver to your email, and sync the email to your hero.

As far as many of the other issues, some do have methods of addressing them, but a few of those sound like you got a bum unit. I'm sure many people here will echo this sentiment, but give android a chance, and it'll really earn it's keep. either way best of luck!

 

[revtime]

You know when trolling android forums to spread disinformation you should stick to one or two issues as it makes it more believable than trashing every feature the phone has. I mean really, nothing on your phone works? Nice try.
My Hero works fine. Good luck with your pixie, lol

 

[cooolone2]

You know when trolling android forums to spread disinformation you should stick to one or two issues as it makes it more believable than trashing every feature the phone has. I mean really, nothing on your phone works? Nice try.
My Hero works fine. Good luck with your pixie, lol

Lol...

People tend to forget manufacturing process in any industry allows for certain percentage of defects (called "Quality Control"). Nothing is perfect, hence the warranty's and also the 30 day policy... that said... it would appear you received a lemon! I would give another unit a shot and see if works out. Seeing nothing worked for you, then you have nowhere to go - but UP and I would imagine you will find the phone enjoyable!

 

[lekky]

Sounds like you have a defective phone, or are exaggerating (more than) slightly. You're basically saying that your phone can do NOTHING at all, and when it does try to do things it CRASHES.

Honestly bud, the Hero is better than those phones you listed, so take it back and get a replacement for this defect. Might be a good idea to take it to a store, and phyiscally show the rep so they believe you, because if you tell them the same as you told us they will need to see it to believe it.

 

[acp]

I'm sorry, but lol @ thinking these issues for the most part are not isolated.

look at sprint's website:

Overall rating = 4.6 out of 5 (800 people)

92% would recommend the Hero to a friend

Numbers don't lie, this phone is excellent, the very few issues it has are minor and with a little patience can easily be accepted when you understand the big picture and how capable this phone is

 

[deaddoon]

Yea I would have to agree with the above. I have had my phone for about 2 weeks and this thing just rocks. I have zero issues with it. I read these forums for a long time before buying one and was worried when I read posts like the one here. I decided to go ahead and get one anyway and man am I glad I did. Best phone out there and Sprint just rocks in my area, been with them for 5 years. I would return it and try another, you just can't be having that many issues.

 

[civEX]

I liked my hero but my local sprint sucks. Main problem was not being able to exchange my 2nd hero for another new one at my local sprint dealer. They would only do a refurbished replacement. I know the policy but I refuse to get a refurbished one if I am still under my first 30-day trial. Spint online was cool with my getting a new one be my local was not. Don't wan't to deal with them any more. So I'm going to Verizon with the Moto Droid. I'll see how that works out.

 

[mysticmead]

as a current Verizon customer... good luck with them.. I'm leaving after 10 years of bad customer service and high prices... oh yeah... Verizon doesn't have a 30 day trial, a $350 ETF for Smart Phones an extra $30 per month per smartphone even if you had a premium plan with unlimited data.. they also replace phones (if under warranty or covered by TEC) with refurbished phones.

 

[jamesdal1]

Thanks to everyone that responded.

Like I said, I really want this phone to work for me. I would LOVE this phone, if it would work like's it's suppose to. I'm going to Sprint today and see if they will exchange it.

Regarding the text issue, I do have my BofA alerts come to my phone. I will change that to my email before I go exchange it.

revtime, I didn't come on here to bash the phone. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. The reason I posted these problems was too see if anyone else had the same issues I did. I wanted to see if maybe I just got a lemon. I understand the manufacturing process and how some do come out bad.

I was just stating my problems with the phone. I did see the reviews on Sprint before I went and got the phone, that's one of the reason I got it. I read all the good reviews.

I will go to Sprint and see if they exchange it. I will post on here once I get back.

 

[civEX]

Are you sure? When did you leave? This is from the verizon website:
Take advantage of our 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee.

We stand behind our service. If you're not completely satisfied, you can return your device and cancel service within 30 days of activation and pay no early termination fee.


note: there is a $35 dollar retocking fee if you do terminate your contract even within the first 30-days.

 

[mysticmead]

30 days to keep it or cancel.. but not exchange for a different phone.. it took me 4 hours on the phone with their support to get a phone exchanged that died in the first 30 days.. the store wanted me to pay the replacement cost.. after getting the replacement (a refurb) I added TEC just to make sure it didn't happen again.

the point is.. if you think going from Sprint to Verizon will make it all better as far as service in the store.. you're in for a shock.. of course, in the end it's up to you. for me, I have a Treo 755p.. I got it just before they mandated the data plans. so does my wife. we both want new phones, we both want an Android phone. We also have 2 teenagers on the account. I have a family share plan with unlimited txt and unlimited data.. when I found out they wanted to charge an additional $30 per phone and that even a phone like the HTC Ozone (HTX Snap in Sprint land) required the extra data plan (oldest son wanted that phone) I could see paying an extra 60-120 a month for a smart phone on top of my regular plan. I'll save money in the end by switching to sprint.. that was my main reason for jumping ship from Verizon. For me, in 2 months it's bye bye Verizon and Hello Sprint

before leaving Sprint and running to Verizon look at the amount saved over the entire contract. If the CS at the local store sucks then call Sprint CS and get better service.

 

[jamesdal1]

OK, this is not a verizon vs sprint thread.

 

[T Mac]

Good luck with the Pre or Pixi. I had the Pre and liked it well for a short time. The BETAness of the phone and the flimsy build quality drove me away. I really like the Hero. But, I would like a bigger screen.

 

[cooolone2]

OK, this is not a verizon vs sprint thread.

Hahaha, the threads get hijacked all the time, relax...

I feel your pain, went through it with the Palm Treo 800W, WinMo totally sux, nothing worked native, only 3rd party apps and had to hack the phone to keep it from locking up 6x a day where only fix was a battery pull. If I used the phone on the train to work, it had to be plugged in, I was always tethered to an outlet... anyway...

Honestly, the HERO is an awesome phone, I have had next to zero issues with the phone and those I did have were fixed by learning about it here and elsewhere. Iff there are anything more than minor issues, I would suggest seriously getting in touch with CS or the local store for a swap out. If within the 30 days you are in an even better position. Be nice but firm and don't accept anything less then you are willing to accept, period.

Just a word... I have found that calling CS after 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) results in getting better knowledgeable and customer friendly Sprint Representatives and have gotten ANYTHING I asked for from them.

Give it a shot... let us know how it goes.

Happy Trails

 

[jamesdal1]

OK, I reset my firmware to original factory settings. AND it's been working awesome for 2 days. I had my bank of america alerts go to my email and my txt issues went away, i have single threaded txt's now!

My phone doesn't auto dim any more.

When I play music, it sounds crystal clear.

No lag time.

Downloaded about 4 apps, and running without issues.

I'm going to keep it. It's been running flawless for 2 days.

 

[VinceO]

So do you still want the Pre or Pixi? LOL Glad everything is working for you now. I just got the Hero yesterday and im super happy!

 

[nick325i]

I'm glad we saved you

 

[pwabbit]

I had the Pre. I am not going to knock it. It was a very good phone. It just lacked some features (and programs). I also had the Moment. Also a very nice phone. However, the Hero is just awesome.

 

[jamesdal1]

yea, i wanted to stay with an android phone b/c i know that's what the future is going, so my hero rocks

 

[TF1984]

I just had to pop in and say how sorry I feel for the guy who started this thread. I didn't have the attention span to read his ENTIRE first, but it seems he is having some real difficulties.

Good luck to ya Bud.