Switching to Thunderbolt from Inspire but Worried About Negative Reviews

[dressagerider]

I currently have an HTC Inspire 4G with ATT. The phone is GREAT! I have never had a single problem with it. I have no problem with the batterly life - or lack thereof - as this is a powerful phone and I use it as much as my computer.

ATT has TERRIBLE service in my area. I drop calls everywhere and now can no longer use my phone in my home. The rep at ATT admited they have several towers down in my area with no date as to when they will be up and running again. I can no longer afford to miss business calls so I have to switch to Verizon as their service is very strong in my area.

I was hoping the Thunderbolt would be like the Inspire and hopefully better since it is a newer phone. I am concerned because I have read so many negative reviews and remarks about this phone. People are on their 4th and 5th replacement????

Is this a bad phone like the HTC Aria and will it soon be deleted from the massive HTC line up?

Any thoughts and opinions are most welcome as I am ready to make the switch to Verizon but now do not know what phone to choose.

 

[Eris1981]

I love mine, battery seems to be hit or miss, some days I smoke it by noon, others it will have 30% when I put it on the charger at midnight. It's fast, and I have had no problems running multiple power sucking programs at once. I have had mine 2 weeks, and have only had about 5 of the reboot.

 

[dressagerider]

I love mine, battery seems to be hit or miss, some days I smoke it by noon, others it will have 30% when I put it on the charger at midnight. It's fast, and I have had no problems running multiple power sucking programs at once. I have had mine 2 weeks, and have only had about 5 of the reboot.

Good to know - thank you!

My Inspire has the same battery issues, but I do not mind as I love the phone and use it so much.

The reboot is a little bit of a concern. I wonder why that is happening? My Inspire has never done that and I am on my second one due to the fact that my first phone was stolen. Is it a thunderbolt or HTC or Verizon problem?

 

[nateap87]

Its an HTC issue. I'm left only to believe that it has something to do with the lte chip since that's the only internal difference between both said phones

 

[cbj5259]

I found this yesterday...it sounds encouraging, but ill believe it when i see it.

HTC ThunderBolt Random Reboot Fix Coming Soon

 

[dguy]

Thunderbolt is more or less an Inspire with Verizon and LTE support. It has similar battery life to the Inspire at stock.

 

[AustinTech]

I've owned both phones and love them. Verizon's 4G network was what won me over on the thunderbolt. There is little difference other than the network. You'll be happy with a bolt.

 

[Shel]

I've had my Thunderbolt for about a month, and love it!

Yeah.. battery life is a problem. However, I have a car charger, and plug it in whenever I'm in the car, and haven't had an issue.

I went to Disneyland with my kids, and was concerned, as I often go to one area of the park with my older son, while my wife goes to anther part of the park with our younger daughters. NOT being able to call her, to find her, would be a major problem!

Well... I did turn off LTE for most of the day, except when I really needed it. I made numerous phone calls, text messages between myself and my wife, and even played games while waiting in line! I often had to fight my kids, to get my phone back, while they were playing Angry Birds or some other game.

We left the car at around 9:30 am, (I charged it while we were driving to DL), and managed to leave the park at around 10:30pm with about 9% charge remaining!

I fortunately have NOT experienced reboot issue that others have been having. The phone is very stable, very fast, downloads are insanely fast, and overall a joy to use!

You just need to decide if you can live with the battery life, or if you can live with the extended battery, which increases the phones size.

 

[Yeahha]

The phone will not be eliminated from the HTC/VZW lineup anytime soon. I think HTC kinda rushed the phone out to get the 1st on VZW's LTE network and we are dealing with the bugs that have popped up since. They will resolve the reboot issue, both companies have confirmed they are aware of it or else they would risk being on the receiving end of a class action suit and no company likes to deal with those.

 

[jreed2560]

Amazing phone, amazing network. Honestly any mass produced piece of technology is bound to a inevitable rate of failure. I have personally never had a reboot that wasn't my fault (flashing an unstable Rom,radio,kernel, or any combination of those) some people aren't so lucky, the longer the phone is out the more bugs will be found and subsequently dealt with. Don't let the vocal minority stand in the way of getting an otherwise stellar phone! Good luck and welcome to Verizon!

 

[The_Superhoo]

Thunderbolt is my first TRUE smartphone (I had one of the original BB Curves before).

Yes the battery doesnt last much (I'm unrooted still), and the reboots are aggravating. Some days I have none that I notice, other days 6-8.

However, I expect the rebooting to be corrected shortly.

Outside of that, I find it to be a delight, and I don't even have 4G in my area yet!

3G is speedy, screen size is awesome. Phone isnt light, but isnt a dumbell either. It feels solid with my VZW case on it.

I'd recommend it. But if you get it, make sure to get a spare charger for work.

 

[UBRocked]

There were no "random reboot" threads before the latest OTA update. I'm running a ROM based on that update but haven't had an issue with rebooting.

If an OTA introduced the reboot problem...an OTA can fix it. Its not a problem with LTE...I assure you, it's software.

 

[rcyphermd]

I have had the TB and just sold it on eBay. Loved the 4g speed, but the battery life was unacceptable. I had to disable so many features to get the battery to last....what is the point of a smart phone if you have to not use it's features? I switched to the charge. Love it. Gorgeous screen....much brighter than the TB and I can read it outside. Great battery life. Easily go all day. And I love it's lightweight....no more brick in my pocket. I like HTC products....loved my incredible. But they screwed up on the power management on the TB. The charge solved it.

 

[vnyislesv]

I switched to the charge. Love it. Gorgeous screen....much brighter than the TB and I can read it outside. Great battery life. Easily go all day. And I love it's lightweight....no more brick in my pocket. I like HTC products....loved my incredible. But they screwed up on the power management on the TB. The charge solved it.

HTC/Verizon will fix all problems. Good luck with your nice screen, its still a Samsung product.

To each his own I guess...

 

[HTCThunderbolt]

HTC/Verizon will fix all problems. Good luck with your nice screen, its still a Samsung product.

To each his own I guess...

Hahahahahahahahah. My cousin bought the charge. Talk about a bad phone... He has gotten 5 replacements in 5 days... He just got the Thunderbolt and loves it.

 

[woodworthjohnca]

I came from a BB Storm 2. I find the Thunderbolt to be as good for battery life and its functionality and performance to be better in every way. I must say that I stick to 3G unless I need the serious bandwidth of LTE (using phone as a hotspot) which may explain why I so far have experienced none of the problems reported on other threads. WiFi, GPS and synching are always on. Bluetooth off except when in the car.

I am very pleased.