[Q] Returns through Radio Shack - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I recently purchased my Captivate through Radio Shack using my upgrade an re-upped for another 2 years. Like a lot of folks I too am having problems with random shut offs and poor GPS performance so I'm contemplating bringing it back. I can't live with a phone that shuts off randomly. I'm not sure I want to get another Captivate. Not because it's not an awesome phone because it is, but more to do with the fact that it doesn't appear like there's any solutions to these problems in the near future.
My question is if I return it what are my options for a replacement from Radio Shack? Another Captivate (obviously but how will it perform?) the Aria which my wife has but is too small for my taste, the Backflip (no way) or ??? RS doesn't carry the Xperia or iphones. If I flat out return it for my money back and just stick with my Nexus what is the deal with my contract? Null and void or am I stuck? Can I return it to a regular ATT store and get another phone there? I went with RS because the Captivate was $50 less than through ATT.

Honestly I think if you get an exchange you have a very good chance of getting one that will work right. The GPS issue will get resolved but in the meantime its really not as big of a deal as everyone frets over.
You cannot take the phone to ATT for a different one because they will know that you didnt buy it through them and therefore wont take it back. The other phones you mentioned that RS had are garbage compared to the Captivate.

bsinc1962 said:
I recently purchased my Captivate through Radio Shack using my upgrade an re-upped for another 2 years. Like a lot of folks I too am having problems with random shut offs and poor GPS performance so I'm contemplating bringing it back. I can't live with a phone that shuts off randomly. I'm not sure I want to get another Captivate. Not because it's not an awesome phone because it is, but more to do with the fact that it doesn't appear like there's any solutions to these problems in the near future.
My question is if I return it what are my options for a replacement from Radio Shack? Another Captivate (obviously but how will it perform?) the Aria which my wife has but is too small for my taste, the Backflip (no way) or ??? RS doesn't carry the Xperia or iphones. If I flat out return it for my money back and just stick with my Nexus what is the deal with my contract? Null and void or am I stuck? Can I return it to a regular ATT store and get another phone there? I went with RS because the Captivate was $50 less than through ATT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T has no other phones that can even compare to the captivate (besides the xperia or iphone like you said). Radioshack carries both of them via direct2u (ask an associate about it) which just means they ship you a brand new phone directly to your house for free so if you really don't want the captivate again you can pick one of those instead.
you have 30 days from the date you got your captivate to back out of the upgrade and un-extend your contract. After the first 30 you are stuck with the renew of your 2 year contract. you cannot return the captivate anywhere else besides radioshack (can be any radioshack).
Options:
*exchange it for another captivate (30 days to exchange for any other at&t phone and 90 days exchange for the same phone if defective)
*return it and have the upgrade reversed and get an xperia or iphone (both suck in my opinion, iphone 4 has lots of problems and xperia x10 only has android 1.6 with no update in sight)
*return it and have the upgrade reversed and go back to your nexus one
I work for radioshack so this are your actual options :/...good luck with your decision

Thanks for the input, I appreciate that you took the time to respond.

Related

Nexus one stolen. Should I buy another?

So.... my car got stolen (from a underground "secure" parking spot too), and my Nexus one was in the car. And no we didn't find the guys who took it, but we did recover the car relatively in tack.
now the question. I loved my rooted Nexus One. Had lots of fun with it and it did everything I needed. But it was damn expensive as I bought it for AT&T.
The Samsung Captivate came out for AT&T.
Do I fork over the funds for a nexus one? $500 +
Or do I pick up a samsung Captivate ~$200...
or wait for some other option ....
dreamflux
If you do a ton of things that can only be done when rooted, a N1 will probably be your best option. I'd also wait a bit and see some of the reviews that the Captivate gets from different news sites.
Shouldn't your insurance cover that?
No matter what phone you get, it will never compare to the quick experience of the N1.
Sure, you might get a phone with a better screen, slightly better proc, or whatever, but
no matter what phone you buy, I don't think there will be anything QUITE like owning the
officially sanctioned 'google phone'. I think you'll miss always having the latest version of
android running at all times.
@GldRush98 no.... AT&T doesn't offer insurance on the google phone, and the policy of the car didn't cover personal items in the car....=/
@hollywooder - yah.... You've definitely described my sentiments.... that and I have many many peripherals.... but the idea of realizing that my phone would have effectively cost me over a $1000 is a bit tough to swallow.
If I were you, I would probably go with Captivate.
I'd be missing the trackball and flash though.
dreamflux said:
@GldRush98 no.... AT&T doesn't offer insurance on the google phone, and the policy of the car didn't cover personal items in the car....=/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T doesn't? Man, that sucks. T-Mobile insures the Nexus One!
On top of everything else, I'd seriously think about purchasing WaveSecure for your next phone whether it be an Android, iPhone, or Blackberry. Well worth it for the ability to do realtime tracking of where your phone is. Hell, you could have probably found the guys still in your stolen car if you had it. Just me .02
@chesh420 I do have wave secure... that was part of the reason why I was able to find the car...was able to track it to the last known area before the battery died. Found our car a few blocks away. but alas the phone was long gone, either they got rid of it some how, or haven't turned it back on yet, or my nexus might have recieved some other horrible fate.
but yes.... A great endorsement to WaveSecure. .
But yes, Wave Secure was great
dreamflux said:
@chesh420 I do have wave secure... that was part of the reason why I was able to find the car...was able to track it to the last known area before the battery died. Found our car a few blocks away. but alas the phone was long gone, either they got rid of it some how, or haven't turned it back on yet, or my nexus might have recieved some other horrible fate.
but yes.... A great endorsement to WaveSecure. .
But yes, Wave Secure was great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep watching, the bozos might turn it back on after they figure out what a MicroUSB is. Or they'll sell it to Bob's Pawn....
Note to self... Write down IMEI.
That's a bummer...hopefully it will turn back up soon! At least there's a chance with WaveSecure.
dreamflux said:
Do I fork over the funds for a nexus one? $500 +
Or do I pick up a samsung Captivate ~$200...
or wait for some other option ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the Dell Streak... its a monster and a game changer for those who are man enough to handle it
dreamflux said:
@GldRush98 no.... AT&T doesn't offer insurance on the google phone, and the policy of the car didn't cover personal items in the car....=/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn, that sucks. Insurance companies do whatever they can to get out of paying
but what if the low life finds a way to remove wavesecure? isnt there a way to stop them from deleting apps like wavesecure or mobile defense so we are still able to track the phone down?
i'd get a g1 and wait for the next great thing from htc and google. i've said it in a few different threads now, the 3g issues and no physical keyboard are the reasons.
given, i won't buy anything on contract.
when you used wavesecure to find your car, can you remote wipe before locating, and the app still gives you a location ? did you try instamapper and decide on wavesecure instead ?
I'm recommending the Captivate to my friends and family... but to a guy like you and me... I can't recommend the Samsung until a little more testing surfaces. Sure it has a little better specs but would you be happy using their crappy software forever if you are unable to root and flash custom roms?
I used to cook with Da_G back when we had Samsung Blackjacks and the Samsung stuff was pretty tight lipped compared to HTC. You'd think that company's would figure out that being able to mod phones increases sales. They should know that the bottle neck is the carriers contracts and we upgrade asap regardless.
Open the phone up, let us tinker and make it everything we can dream of, which will bring in more customers.
I know lots of the Samsungs can be flashed, which hopefully helps with unlocking the potential of the Captivate. Maybe pick you up a cheap $20 pre-paid to use until some more info comes out.
Make sure you call your carrier and get the IMEI banned, they will not be able to use the phone anywhere
@player911 - yah.... that's the way i'm feeling.... I think that ultimately spending another $500 for an N1 for another 5-6 months seems a bit pricey for my modding happiness. I'll hang in there and head back to my little nokia n95 brick for a while.... and see what I can find on craig's list for a used one for cheap. But yah.... I mirror your sentiments on the samsung
@xXJay_RXx I think Wave secure had an additional install that would notify if it was removed or something like that.... I can't seem to remember....
@ohgood - You can remote lock on wave secure with a message that pops up to whoever turns it on. It can say "return for a reward", or in my case " contact the police RE: case #". I left it on lock for a while and the sent the notification to remote wipe after we found the car and wrote off the nexus one.
@p00r -can't remember to imei #
If it were me, I would not buy it again and wait out for something else. My reason is because the N1 is a really expensive phone off contract and it just doesn't seem like a good deal as it was 6 months ago. There are and probably will be better options for the same price.
If the price were lower, I would go for it. But it doesn't seem like you can find a new one without forking over full price.
yah.... especially since now my only choices are ebay and criags list..... =/ Long Live N1

[Q] Advice on the Captivate....refurbished ?

Thinking of buying a "refurbished" at&t captivate. does anybody have any advice to if the device is worth buying if it is refurbished, if any of you guys have bought it that way..and also is it really worth it in att network or should I be warned and wait till MARCHH! to switch over to another carrier ?
currently have a iphone 3g but i really want to switch over to android
Mine is a insurance replacement so it is refurbed, have had other refurbed phones and haven't had any problemss out of either. I love the phone itself. Go to any sub forum and you can tell the phone has gps issues, some worse then others. This is my 3rd (first couldn't go into recovery, and second was lost), and gps is worse then all the previous ones. Even with the problems, I still wouldn't give this phone up. Probably because I love the hardware and its my first android device and apple wasn't a choice for me. As for the network I hadn't any problems with att since 2004. I'm sure that depends on you location tho.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Two weeks ago I bought the HTC Aria with rebate for $29. Then another employee wrote saying they wanted to upgrade their phone, and wanted the Captivate. I looked online and saw that it was $299. A few days go by and he agrees to the price, and when I go to order it, lo and behold ATT has refurb for $50 each! I bought two, one for him and one for me . I like the aria and it is now my backup, but I love the Captivate and for $50, it's hard to go wrong.
tl;dr, buy it.
Did the refurb unit have any signs of use or scratches or anything? I might get one soon too.
Go for it..it's a great phone. Just make sure you can check it out in person first,or can return it if broken.
Mac
I got a refurb.
And it's perfect. Looks brand new. And no problems
I have a refurb......... no major issues. One thing to look for though.......... I got my first one 4 days ago, worked fine, but after being on for a little bit the battery went completely dead after being on standby for 30 min. yeah, something was wrong with the battery, on top of that it would randomly exit me out of screens.
turned out they sent me one that had NOT been fixed yet, their boo boo. They sent me out a new one and I got it today. This one looked brand new, all the stickers from samsung still on it and everything. Let it charge and turned it on....... no more issues.
It lags a little and the battery life REALLY sux, but those are issues with brand new ones also. I turned on my task killer and put the security level to low so that I could kill everything but non essential apps. Now the battery life seems MUCH better. It seems like this phone takes a long time to charge as well though. I think i wll just allow the battery to fully drain then plug it in, see if that will work, maber get rid of any potential battery memory.
Thanks for the help, appreciate it....I ordered it already and should get it in 2-5 business days so i will post back on my thoughts!
cant wait to start using the android OS!!!!
I am on a refurb now. I love this thing. No [hardware] issues at all.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
i have a refubished phone and its better than the new one I had
I got a new Samsung Captivate and it keeps rebooting on me at random and the keys (especially back key) are really bad. They dont recognzie my touch half the time unless I press really hard on them.
My question is....if I get a replacment how will I be able to tell if its a refurb or not?
Are the refubs typically better since they have had more extensive testing?
Anybody have any thoughts on this?
with anything there are defect but these phones are built like a rock and if you think about it, if there is a x probability that a device has a defect the probability that it has 2 is x^2(in theory, obviously the nature of the defect factors in) so if the phone had a defect that was fixed there is a pretty slim chance that it will be defective after it is repaired.
i wouldn't worry about a refurbished phone, there may be cosmetic damage ect. but i would recommend this phone to anyone on build quality alone. wear and tear related problems should be minimal. id say go for it.
I had 3 refurb fuzes and 2 razr9s. Only real problem you have to worry about is physical defects. Hinges mostly. If there is a software or hardware problem you can send it back.
Edit: you can also get insurance on an unused refurb through at&t
From a phone on an app
Any one who has replaced a phone using insurance or warranty thru ATT is most likely using a refurbed phone. I have replaced every phone i have ever had in 10 years with ATT due to my being really hard on phones at work and all the replacements have been refurbed. I personally have never had an issue with a refurb, they all lokked and performe like new. I actually just got my cappy a few weeks ago and ordered the refurb cause i knew i would end up with one anyway.( and got lucky in doing so and got a batch 1007 phone so my 3button download mode doesnt get wiped.)
Works Perfecly and only set me back $50
I messed up my first captivate. Was able to return it through warranty and got a refurbished unit. I have been using it for 3 months with no issues. Of coarse there is no guarantee
Captivate
Cog 2.2

Acer Liquid E - Rogers FAIL

Okay - I've had 3 phones on one account with Rogers for 6 years. In September, by Blackberry Pearl finally died (after 4 years) so I decided to upgrade to an Android phone and at the same time, my wife got an iPhone 4. The Galaxy S Captivate was not out yet, and it's release kept getting delayed, so I finally chose the Acer Liquid E.
Features-wise, there is not a lot wrong the phone. Out of the box it ran Android 2.1 and within weeks there Froyo update available. The only problem was the battery life - less than 1 day if you use any "smart" features at all. So it's either smart (as in has GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and mobile apps) or it mobile (battery life that allows you to leave the house), but not both simultaneously.
Then in December, the battery life really went south - as in down to 20 minutes. Finally, the screen started showing a big black pixelated smudge area. So I called Rogers, and they sent me a replacement - it took about 5 or 6 days. My new phone arrived just before Christmas.
on January 6th, the NEW Acer Liquid E died. Similar problem as the first one - except that the batter wouldn't charge at all.
So I called Rogers to get it replaced. I asked at the time if I could get a different phone, but apparently a like-for-like replacement is the only option available.
It's now January 31st. My 3rd replacement phone has still not arrived. I called Rogers to find out what's up, and was that due to a back order it was just ordered today.
I run a small consulting business and travel a bit. I depend upon my phone. I can't be an entire month without a phone. I need a smart phone because I need access to email while out of the office.
I have no confidence that the 3rd POS Acer Liquid is going to be any better than the last 2. In other words I fully expect it to die within a short while, and then I will be once again without a phone for god knows how long while they back order the next crappy Acer phone.
In the course of escalating my complaint through tech support, to Customer Relations, to the "Management Team" in Customer relations I was told many things that absolutely make my blood boil:
Rogers does not "represent" the phone manufacturers. After 15 days, if your are unhappy with your phone, all Rogers will do is send it back to the manufacturer for warranty replacement. The do not stand behind the products they sell.
Apparently, phones - after being with Rogers for 6 years are a COURTESY that rogers provides. I was told this from the manager of customer relations. Providing phone is a courtesy! A courtesy!!!!
I have 3 mobile numbers on my account - 2 of which have data plans. I can apparently get a hardware upgrade on the 3rd line (that is I could get a better phone than this ACER POS) but I would have to add a data plan to that line. But I can't apply that upgrade eligibility to my line/number for which I already have a data plan, and a non-functional phone that Rogers is taking over a month to replace. So I can get my phone replaced with something that works if I pay for an additional data plan that I don't need (my 80 year old father-in-law who uses the 3rd line has trouble with the simplest of phones).
I can pay $150 or more for a non-warranty replacement, but the only smart phones that are available through this program are old, obsolete and low end.
So I am stuck with a 3 year plan, a dead phone which has not worked for a month and will not be replaced for another 5 to 7 business days, the phone didn't live up to it's advertised capabilities when it was new.
So my advice to you. Avoid Rogers. DO NOT BUY THE ACER LIQUID E. I'm going to put this on my Rogers Voicemail.
Critical thinking fail
Instead of blaming a service provider, realize that they send you a phone from the manufacture and wait for them too. They don't owe you anything after six years, they provide you service and you pay your bill, you don't get favors for doing that.
Buy your phone from 711 if using that retail chain makes you feel better but you are buying a product from Acer first and foremost.
my acer died as well...its just not that well put together
I had a similar problem i took it to Facebook and it was resolved.
Here is a link to my post:
http://www.facebook.com/notifications.php#!/topic.php?uid=175772339270&topic=16164
Hope this helps
Hi!
Just one advice: listen to "Newsboys - My friend Jesus" ;-)
Daniel
OMG!!!
Anyone else had this problem with this equipment?
I'm kinda worried since i just bought one.
"Acer Liquid Mini C4" also known as "ACER Liquid Mini E330"
I am very happy with this equipment... I mean... It's a fast equipment; with very usefull apps; very "connectable".
I can only point a battery issue that lasts about 7/8 hrs. (Using it the whole 7hrs; with Wi-Fi ON; surfing/testing apps; etc... I have no widgets activated)
LeftToaster; don't blame the service provider for that. ACER the "one" to blame.
If you still have the equipment and warranty i would call Acer and talk to them.
Btw; how long did it last exactly?
Did you rooted the phone/unlocked/ over or under clocked the phone or something?
Hope it's not a general issue; i intent to have it fully working at least for 5 years (minimum).
And... Yeah; if it helps you understand what happened to you; ACER has usually crappy components.
I stopped counting on how many times i've repaired ACER notebooks due to crappy components inside.
I've seen many Acer notebooks with screen/power connector/Loosen Chips problems.Those notebooks went to Acer after giving their usual faults while in warranty. ...They came back better... Strange that ALL returned with something else faulty/switched and did stopped working after some time due to some crappy component.
Conclusion: The warranty terminated and so did the notebooks... (Freaking "Lawl")
I'm very happy with this equipment at the moment; and i'm hoping that ACER can make good Android Phones (since they can't make a damn durable /life lasting notebooks)

question bout upgrading....

so i used my wifes upgrade to get the captivate on october 2010. my upgrade is coming in march. i wonder if i call at&t and complain about my captivate and probably swap it for an atrix or w/e under my wifes line... i promised her i would give her my upgrade lol. so i cant do anything about it on my line... ive been reading and ppl said they were able to swap their cappy for a new one, or swap for atrix, or swap for inspire! how did they do it??!!! i had my cappy for 1 day and tried to swap cuz i couldnt get it to go in dl mode wit 3 button combo and the manager would let me! she said " i can only allow one swap and if it doesnt work u have to stick with it." i even said i was a dev and w/e and she still wouldnt let me! so i was wondering is their any work around on getting a new phone under my wifes line even though i just used her upgrade in october??? any help is appreciated!
i highly doubt at&t's "customer service" will be of any help, they are pretty strict about upgrades, the only time i have gotten one in advance was this time, 2 weeks early 2 days before christmas because my crappy BB just stopped working. my advice is to get into download mode with adb, or if that doesnt work try your hands at making a jig, or if you cant get your own to work connexion2005 at mobiletechvideos.com has a lovely jig for sale for $10.
Were you going back to the retail shop or a warranty center?
All depends on who your dealing with too. AT&T might have policies and procedures - but some shops "bend the rules".
And I wouldn't call AT&T cust service - they won't help because the script munky on the phone only knows how to read the date on when your eligible and cannot think for themselves.
And if you have the $4.99 warranty? AT&T will still only replace the phone with the same device. Unless.... they stopped carrying the Captivate and would give you something comparable (which means you could get anything from an ARIA, iPhone, or whatever device AT&T can't unload on John Q Public and has an abundance of).
Pretty much.. your stuck waiting until your upgrade comes around and you'll be shelling out another $200.00 bones for that new phone.
If you call up, complain about the GPS ALOT. They already know it is a big issue and say i need the gps on my phone due to the nature of my job and without it the phone is useless to me and see what they say. tell the it says your like 6 blocks away from where you actually are.

Got update, so long bionic...

I am on my 3rd phone with poor GPS aquisition, browser freezes, email being pushed when it is not supposed to and a really odd thing where hitting the "on" button causes my phone to jump back and forth between music and dialing my last call or received number--only when my headphones are plugged in. It does not look like the update has targeted any of those. They offered a razr as a swap out but am going to the darkside. Ipone on the way and I will be "clouding" with my new macbook.
Too bad really since the bionic concept seemed to be outstanding for me.
On another note VZ just moved my update up to get the iphone so I have to pay the regular upgrade price. No credit give for the $200 I already spent on the bionic. I asked them what do I do with a phone that will not work properly...she actually told me to sell it on ebay or craigslist.. A customer service rep actually telling me to sell one of their faulty products to some other poor sap.
Can't tell if your bragging or complaining.
I don't want to jump the gun, but I don't think you'll be missed by many? Judging from your rep count, I don't think you're a developer or anything.
But anyway, buh bye!
good luck on a i****
I had that problem with my t bolt. They kept telling me they'll give me an early upgrade, but what about the $250 I already spent? Does that not mean I get a working phone for spending $250 and signing a new 2 year contract? Nope, you can keep getting crappy phones or pay more. Finally after 6 thunderbolts I got upgraded to a bionic.
LucasMN said:
Can't tell if your bragging or complaining.
I don't want to jump the gun, but I don't think you'll be missed by many? Judging from your rep count, I don't think you're a developer or anything.
But anyway, buh bye!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow very well put!
I was plagued by Bionic data problems. 901 Was the first rom that actually addressed it for me.
But now 902 Has fixed data100 percent! So love affair with my BIONIC is back.
He can take his $lowa$$ iphone and shove it up his brown i.
Does everyone have to tell us bye when they get a new phone? I've never been part of a.community that people feel the need to tell everyone bye when they get a new phone.
On a side note, I wouldn't care if Verizon offered me an early upgrade because I want what I already paid for to work, not spend more to get something that works. I would just keep returning the phone until they offered me a different phone, not an early upgrade that I have to spend more money on. After so many replacements, I would tell them I want something different because I have no confidence that they can send me one that works, and if they don't, I will buy out the contract and switch to sprint. Last thing they want is for you to buy out the contract and switch to the competition. You have to go through a few replacements first though for it to work. Verizon replaced my Droid Eris with a Droid 2 that way (I had.to buy the battery, back cover, and charger though because they don't send those out with replacement phones)
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
smokedkill said:
Does everyone have to tell us bye when they get a new phone? I've never been part of a.community that people feel the need to tell everyone bye when they get a new phone.
On a side note, I wouldn't care if Verizon offered me an early upgrade because I want what I already paid for to work, not spend more to get something that works. I would just keep returning the phone until they offered me a different phone, not an early upgrade that I have to spend more money on. After so many replacements, I would tell them I want something different because I have no confidence that they can send me one that works, and if they don't, I will buy out the contract and switch to sprint. Last thing they want is for you to buy out the contract and switch to the competition. You have to go through a few replacements first though for it to work. Verizon replaced my Droid Eris with a Droid 2 that way (I had.to buy the battery, back cover, and charger though because they don't send those out with replacement phones)
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm okay with the Bionic for now. I spend too much money on it. Bought the extended bat, wireless charger, lapdock, bat dock.....
Bio's good. Only issue for me is the locked bootloader that delays rom creation.
cyberhern said:
I'm okay with the Bionic for now. I spend too much money on it. Bought the extended bat, wireless charger, lapdock, bat dock.....
Bio's good. Only issue for me is the locked bootloader that delays rom creation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if it had an unlocked bootloader, we're not guaranteed to have more roms. There are phones out there with unlocked bootloaders and still get very little development. I think that Verizon releasing better phones right afterwards has a lot to do with us not getting more.development, along with the bootloader being locked.
The LG revolution has been out since last may and has an unlocked bootloader, and we have just as many if not more roms than they do. If you want a solid development community, you have to go with an HTC phone or a nexus.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
All true smokedkill...
But I was referring to my hand at rom development.
I am going to try to port MIUI
All the best with your new phone

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