[Q] So... GPS Fix? - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Does anyone have a reliable GPS on one of the newer roms? I've been using Serendipity (the last version), and have still been having problems.
It wouldn't be a big deal, except I would like to using a cycling app on the phone, and that requires a GPS that doesn't take 10 minutes to lock and looses signal every few minutes. Never mind that it can't even pin point me.
Maybe I'm just not up on todays roms, but my question is the GPS working well?
Thanks!

Using search would have supplied you with about 10,000 threads on how unreliable the GPS is even with fixes, newer roms, etc.
It all depends on your hardware and if you got lucky. If it's truly that bad, especially on any rom, then warranty it.

What cappy said. GPS in these devices is terribly unreliable and there seems to be no rock solid way to fix this. Some phones hardware seem to work better then others, if it really bothers you warranty it repeatedly until you can get a decent timed lock. My dad refused the leave the warranty center until he was able to get locks on his device in less then 10 seconds. Obviously took him a while with these crappy GPS's. He ended up with a much newer revision of the phone not sure what build number but his GPS is noticeably better then mine on the same firmware. I have a 1010 by the way and yes the GPS is aweful. I don't really use it too much other then to find general location sso it doesn't kill me but I understand the frustration with something that Samsung could of very well done a better job at.
At any rate this question has been answered all too many times. If it really kills you complain until you are satisfied. I personally don't think you will be regardless. My dad still moans and groans about his GPS even after all his complaining.
Sent from my i897 running MIUI 1.8.12 with TalonMTD kernel.

Related

[Q] Samsung galaxy S I9000 Stock Android!!

Hello fellow Xda'ers! I have recently Sold my htc hd2 and I have decided to buy an Galaxy S I9000!!
Do you think this is a smart trade since i LOVE ANDROID, is there another device you could recommend?
Even if so,
Does anyone here know how to, or IF I can use Standard STock Android 2.1 OR 2.2
doesnt matter, I just want it to be Android stock...
Thanks and Please
Sincerely yours Aldin!
yes there are beta version of froyo already JF3
Currently can't use stock (but there is no reason why someone couldn't port get a fully stock rom working). A lot of us like this phone, some people don't. Some people prefer the Desire.
Current main problems people are having.
1) GPS is sketchy, but it does appear Samsung is fixing it. It is a good chipset (and the solution may be that they release a new backplate with a better antenna, because there is a jack for an external antenna). Or, it may be improved drivers. As of JM5, I have quickly tested mine and it is great, but haven't tested it properly yet.
2) "Lag". Some people are whinging that applications take too long to load, and some tasks lag. We KNOW the processor is awesome though, and we KNOW that the NAND chip is fast, so it's probably a configuration/software issue. Perhaps they simply need better caching in place. Also be aware, many people here are blowing the lag WAYYY out of proportion. Some people here will tell you their applications are lagging 10 secs, and that the lag killed their cat.
In JM5 and JG5, I tested it, and I could only get 3 secs lag max after running many apps. I later managed to increase that to perhaps 4. But later firmwares now seem to be quite immune to serious lag problems.
When it comes down to it though, your only way of knowing for sure whether it's the right phone for you, is to test them both.
However, you must be honest with yourself too. Anything to do with graphics is probably better on the Galaxy S (and the firmware is much more buggy still). But the HTC has a better experience at the moment. The Galaxy S also has a better screen, and a PROPER multitouch atmel controller, whereas most mobiles (including the nexus one) still use a hacked synaptics/single touch panel which can support multitouch (but doesn't actually do it properly, and it's easy to generate false ).
I wouldn't trade my Samsung Galaxy S though, even if I was offered full asking price. It really comes down to your needs. The Samsung might be the better long term solution (especially since Samsung are REALLY pushing it, which suggests they are serious about turning it mainstream), but the desire might be the better short term one.
It all comes down to your needs though, and patience. If you need fully accurate GPS right now, or are too impatient to wait 1 sec for an app to open, get the HTC desire. But, if you want a proper multitouch controller, MUCH faster GPU and better screen, Samsung Galaxy. At the end of the day, they are just mobile phones, you just need to go for it! I spent months wasting hours looking up reviews every week, and at the end, I just did it on a whim (had never even seen it in real life). The fact is, in actual real world use, the HTC desire is possibly a bit better for some people if they need accurate GPS for fitness and such (but ours will probably improve too with a bit of software improvements, or a new back case with a better antenna). Both have 802.11n, so you'll find that you can set your router to 802.11n mode only.
It's just a phone though. If you need a fashion accessory, the HTC legend might appeal to you. But as mentioned, what you need is everything.
Also, some people may complain about the build quality of the galaxy S (it uses a plastic back which snaps on). I'd say the build quality is fine (materials which are used doesn't mean a damn if your smartphone gets wet). In fact, I actually think its a pro point, because we can swap the back with a rubberdised one and simply get a screen protector/bumper. But yeah, nothing to worry about. The glass seems strong too.
Good luck.
alldino said:
Hello fellow Xda'ers! I have recently Sold my htc hd2 and I have decided to buy an Galaxy S I9000!!
Do you think this is a smart trade since i LOVE ANDROID, is there another device you could recommend?
Even if so,
Does anyone here know how to, or IF I can use Standard STock Android 2.1 OR 2.2
doesnt matter, I just want it to be Android stock...
Thanks and Please
Sincerely yours Aldin!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the quick answer!!! I have decided to get the galaxy s i9000!! Thank you so much for spending so much time writing and what a good page of information you gave me!! THANKS!
I confess I don't know so much about this, but what do you get if you compile the Eclair source released by Samsung (I assume it needs to be combined with AOSP)? Would that not give stock 2.1, since none of the TouchWiz apps are open source?
Perhaps a few drivers would be missing as they're only available as binaries, but we do have the binaries.
andrewluecke said:
2) "Lag". Some people are whinging that applications take too long to load, and some tasks lag. We KNOW the processor is awesome though, and we KNOW that the NAND chip is fast, so it's probably a configuration/software issue. Perhaps they simply need better caching in place. Also be aware, many people here are blowing the lag WAYYY out of proportion. Some people here will tell you their applications are lagging 10 secs, and that the lag killed their cat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10 seconds of lagg is not exaggerated. I even experienced a longer lagg.
Let''s say the lagg is only 4 seconds. I is annoying as hell if you you experience that 4 second lagg every 15 seconds while using your phone.
Ofcourse this all depends on what and how many applications you installed and are running.
Guys.. this is really the wrong forum.. This is Android development not Questions & Answers!
Please post your threads in the right sections!
When you have lags you can just use same lag fix... I don't know why you all complaining on lags when lag fixes makes this phone really fast. Othervise if you don't want to lose warranty than if you have enouth money take desire
Moved thread to Q&A

[Q] Can the GPS issue be fixed in Firmware?

Hi,
the title actually says it all...
I'm planning on buying an Android phone in the next couple of weeks and the Galaxy S is my prime suspect. However, I don't want a GPS cripple since I plan on using the GPS a lot. The lagfix seems to be coming along nicely with lots of different implementations and Sammy also has plans to fix it, so I'm not worried about that, the GPS trouble on the other hand seems to be very hard to catch and might be hardware related. Has anyone found the cause for the strange behaviour yet? Are there hardware differences between the Galaxy S and the Epic 4G GPS (which apparently won't make it over the pond to Germany). And last and least, is there any real alternative to the Galaxy S coming out in the forseeable future? I'd go for the HTC Desire, but it's SOC just can't keep up with the Hummingbird performance, so it's not really an option...the Droid X is too well locked, so XDA Developers won't be able to provide such a wide vaiety of mods and updates (and that is the most important thing to me since all manufacturers seem to drop support for their "old" devices after about 6 months...)
Any information and advice is appreciated!
Thanks
GPS Problems are software related mate.
There is a "fix" under test, that uses Epic 4G files. Works quite nice, i got a lock at home, with 10meters.
Some people claim that the new OFFICIAL Sammy software JM1, improved the GPS as well, people started getting a Lock at home with 10-30meters.
So yeah.. it is Software related, nothing to worry about.
Thanks!
All the fixes I had read about so far were just augmenting the GPS with Wifi and 3G data to smooth things out and did not really fix the problem. I read about the Epic 4G firmware thingy but can't fin the thread anymore, I'll have to dig a bit deeper and see how things are going there. Let's hope it really is only software and not some defective chip or component interference...
Well.. Currently, actually, there is no proof either way. By the end of September, it is likely that if problems still remain, they are hardware flaws.
I personally believe the main problems are software.
I'm on JM5 with Epic4G "fix". Not much improvement I'm afraid. I get stationary locks, but none while moving. Also, while stationary I seem to "jump" around. Not very optimistic about the whole thing. But let's wait for that september fix and see then what is going on.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
And the strange thing is, the problem is not permament.
I get almost always a lock in 20 sec with 5m accuracy.
But if you primarely want a gps device with an android "add on", why not look at the garmin gps android phones?
Well, I'm not looking for GPS with a phone, I'm looking for the best Android Phone with good GPS...
Only samsung knows the answer. But since there seems to be such a range in severity and after all this time samsung has still not provided a real fix it could very well be that its hardware related. Well find out in september.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
The saddest thing is that Samsung still has not really commented on this. They claim that there is no GPS problem on the Epic 4G which should mean that they know about the issue, but they never said a word about the cause or possible solution or whether all they can do is augment the GPS to make it seem more accurate and smooth.
Maybe some GPS chips were faulty/dodgy and that is why not everybody has these problems...if Samsung would fess up and admit where the problem is we could all rest in peace instead of all in pieces...
CommanderROR said:
The saddest thing is that Samsung still has not really commented on this. They claim that there is no GPS problem on the Epic 4G which should mean that they know about the issue, but they never said a word about the cause or possible solution or whether all they can do is augment the GPS to make it seem more accurate and smooth.
Maybe some GPS chips were faulty/dodgy and that is why not everybody has these problems...if Samsung would fess up and admit where the problem is we could all rest in peace instead of all in pieces...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They've said they are optimising the GPS though.. The reason why developers generally don't explain patches in detail, is because there is no easy way to explain it. If they said "the GPS chip required GPS packets to be processed more consistantly, and change blah blah blah in GPS stack", only techies would understand whats going on.
Easiest way to understand, will be to diff the SGS source code when new code is released...
Well, I'm not waiting for technical mumbo-jumbo from them, but I'd like to know whether there is a fix (e.g. new GPS driver or something) or whether we'll have to send in our devices for new hardware.
The "optimizing" is what worries me really, because to my ears that sounds like improving, not fixing. Improvements have been suggested on these forums already, most augment the GPS signal with Wifi or cell data which is fine but does not solve the problem at all. If Samsung is planning to "optimize" by activating skyhook or something then the device will remain a no-go for me, if they mean "fix" by optimizing and will put int he correct parameters or drivers or whatever to make GPS work then I'll be happy. The word optimizing is just extremely dodgy and does not sound promising at all...
UPDATE:
I just found this in a swiss forum...:
If you hold the SGS in your hand or have it in your pocket the GPS reception is really bad. If you hold it with your fingers without covering the back with your hand or put it in a pouch on the outside of your backpack it wors flawlessly. Apparently covering the GPS antenna in any way badly affects the GPS signal.
I have no idea whether this is reproducibly, but if any SGS owner here wants to give it a try please let me know whether you can support these findings.
I honestly never had(serious) issues with the GPS. I'm using JM5 With Ndrive 10, locks in 30 seconds it's a little inaccurate by a 20 or 15 meters, and very rarely loose fix.
but i think it is for covering the antenna.
I still take my N96 to my work only because it has Garmin.

2.3 ROMs?

Hi guys sorry if this is a stupid question but I have looked on the forum and not really found what I wanted. I would like to know if there is any pretty stable 2.3 Roms for the Galaxy S out yet. Links to the threads would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Dali
there is no official version of 2.3 gingerbread.. only beta version XWJV1, you can find it here -> CLICK
CM7 is available (based on 2.3.3).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=940095
it's not final yet.. contain some bugs, and its not for daily use ..
Iv been using CM7 now for two weeks or so and its perfectly stable. There are a few things that don't work but most things for everyday use does. And its being updated every other day. Just make sure to read the instructions and understand the steps before you try it out.
Sent from my Cyanogenmod Galaxy S
If by perfectly stable, you mean "no crashes", then yeah, I'd agree. It never crashed for me either. HOWEVER, if you actually USE your phone as more than a toy, good luck.. CM7 didn't even pick up the correct IMEI, camera/video recording is broken, etc. But GPS at least "works" (about as well as any normal SGS in my opinion, which isn't that great anyway). I also recall the phone signal fluctuating a lot more last I used it.
A simple question: If you relied on phone calls through your mobile to make your money for your job, would you trust CM7 beta yet? I wouldn't! In fact, in my opinion most the stuff that worked was either on par, or below par with the stock firmware. There was also a lot of stuff that didn't work.
I didn't see any real benefit to using the ROM yet. It's a fun toy, but my overall experience was worse with it. It will grow your e-penis, but considering only recently they fixed the touchscreen support on it, clearly, it still is early days. The main features which seem to have made the SGS a better phone at launch than competitors (with the exception of Multitouch), don't seem to be there yet
Auzy said:
If by perfectly stable, you mean "no crashes", then yeah, I'd agree. It never crashed for me either. HOWEVER, if you actually USE your phone as more than a toy, good luck.. CM7 didn't even pick up the correct IMEI, camera/video recording is broken, etc. But GPS at least "works" (about as well as any normal SGS in my opinion, which isn't that great anyway). I also recall the phone signal fluctuating a lot more last I used it.
A simple question: If you relied on phone calls through your mobile to make your money for your job, would you trust CM7 beta yet? I wouldn't! In fact, in my opinion most the stuff that worked was either on par, or below par with the stock firmware. There was also a lot of stuff that didn't work.
I didn't see any real benefit to using the ROM yet. It's a fun toy, but my overall experience was worse with it. It will grow your e-penis, but considering only recently they fixed the touchscreen support on it, clearly, it still is early days. The main features which seem to have made the SGS a better phone at launch than competitors (with the exception of Multitouch), don't seem to be there yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree on everything. CM7 looks sexy and is pretty fast(wouldnt say much faster than the latest lagfixed samsung stuff but fast ) That's why I still hope for some roms from samsung in the coming months(ofcourse GB) , and ofcourse source release cause I cant live withoout Voodoo Sound
But nowhere in his post did Dali mention anything about business. All he asks is if there are any 2.3 ROMs. IMHO there are very few problems with CM7 and as far as call signal goes using the JQ1 modem has improved my signal substantially.
I'd still recommended trying it out and if your not happy you can always revert to stock. Simples
Sent from my Cyanogenmod Galaxy S
anfearg said:
But nowhere in his post did Dali mention anything about business. All he asks is if there are any 2.3 ROMs. IMHO there are very few problems with CM7 and as far as call signal goes using the JQ1 modem has improved my signal substantially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's true he never mentioned business. But he did mention STABLE roms.
My point was to provide an alternative perspective. There is a growing prevalence of users pushing software which they believe is "stable", however, put the biggest peddlers of such software in a situation where your time costs money, and a lot of the times, they will suddenly say it isn't stable enough (which seems to be a perspective a lot of vocal Linux users have never experienced).
And whilst there are "limited problems", there are certainly more serious issues than the standard stock ROM's.. Camera support, fm support (at least last build I tried) and the compass is definitely dodgy. HD quality movie playback for myself was also broken... As mentioned, the ROM also showed my IMEI as corrupt when I tried the ROM the second time..
The question is, do you want to inconvenience yourself simply to have a glorious 2.3 rom, or do you realistically want the most productive ROM?

[Q] True GPS Fix.

Was there ever a true GPS fix for the Captivate?
Thinking about picking another one up, so many great ROMs out there its hard to pass up.
GPS is a deal breaker, I've had one before and it was just plain terrible.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
No. Every phone reacts different to all the tweaks. If you truly want gps on your phone, try anything but the captivate. Some people are reporting the newer ones seem to have working gps out of the box. YMMV
Caution swyping! Read at your own risk.
I just bought a new one last week and it worked fine. If I'm outdoors, it picks up enough satellites for a lock within seconds. Within a minute, there's about 11
The newer ones don't seem to have problems that'd the only guarantee
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897
On Continuum v4, I had great gps, after making a few "adjustments"in lbstest. On v5.5, its not as great, but it works.
There is no "true gps fix" as my captivate never had a working gps.
But I heard that the new ones work fine.
Sent from my Galaxy S captivate
Mine never worked. Loaded gr-12 and now it does
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Yeah def try a Gingerbread rom. My GPS sucked until I went to GB, it's absolutely flawless now. May have also helped the fact that I got a warranty replacement to go with that
GB roms definitely make the bad GPS in captivate almost livable....nothing can fix poor signal however. Gingerbread and angry gps is way more aggressive in doing what it does to make the gps lock in. I'm going on my third captivate and will keep exchanging until I get one that has the fixed hardware.
SMaximus7 said:
Yeah def try a Gingerbread rom. My GPS sucked until I went to GB, it's absolutely flawless now. May have also helped the fact that I got a warranty replacement to go with that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Can the Captivate be functional for non-hobbyists?

I don't want to make trouble, but I'm hoping there can be a dialog as to the viability of the Captivate as a long-term, stable cell phone.
Like probably everyone here, I found the ROM AT&T supplied for the Captivate to be practically (if not criminally) unusable even if I didn't care about my rights to do what I want with it (but I do). Thus I decided that I needed to flash it with something better.
Obviously, there are a lot of Captivate owners who work very hard (and presumably, enjoy) modifying and tweaking the Android system for their phone - and that's great - but I'm not one of them. I appreciate that people like to change the look of their <object> and that the latest-and-greatest functionality is an ever-moving target, but paramount to me for everything in my life is minimal maintenance.
I don't really care about flashy eye-candy and holiday color schemes if it is moderately consistent. I am not looking to squeeze the last 2% (or even 10%) of possible speed out of my phone, but I do want it to respond to my input within a few tenths of a second (faster w/ typing) unlike the stock ROM. I have to use a lock-code, so I don't give a fig about the number of lock screens. If I could flash my phone and never have a need (note: not desire) to do it again, that would be fantastic. If I have to re-flash it once every 6 months and don't need to (re)read long (long!) meandering threads with cryptic and often conflicting and (possibly - how to tell?) outdated information, I could live with that.
Basically, it seems like I have to choose between a fixed, official ROM that sucks, or a sea of ever-changing ROMs with stability problems and a lot of focus on look-and-feel.
I'm not here crying about not having the perfect phone experience, rather I'm interested in the opinion of you here, "in the know", as to whether there exists a Captivate ROM that is stable in both the short-term (little to no crashes or unplanned reboots) and in the long term (will function similarly for months when not tweaked beyond what say, TiBu or AdAway would do).
This is something I've been wondering for months now (as my Serendipidy ROM grew ever-more unstable), but it has come to a head now because my wife is insisting that I encounter so many problems with my Cappy (currently experiencing various problems with Serenity) that I need to get a new phone (and it should be an iPhone like hers). I am as jealous at her stability, battery life and lack of problems as I am loathe to sell my soul to live in the walled garden with the iDevil.
If the world of smart phones is really a choice among the walled garden, the astro-turfed basement and the slopes of a volcano in the jungle, then I will have to accept that and choose my fate. If the problem is Samsung/AT&T and Android is simply ambrosia on some other device/carrier (as my colleague claims), then I would love to know that too.
Sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the thoughts.
teknowledgist said:
I don't want to make trouble, but I'm hoping there can be a dialog as to the viability of the Captivate as a long-term, stable cell phone.
Like probably everyone here, I found the ROM AT&T supplied for the Captivate to be practically (if not criminally) unusable even if I didn't care about my rights to do what I want with it (but I do). Thus I decided that I needed to flash it with something better.
Obviously, there are a lot of Captivate owners who work very hard (and presumably, enjoy) modifying and tweaking the Android system for their phone - and that's great - but I'm not one of them. I appreciate that people like to change the look of their <object> and that the latest-and-greatest functionality is an ever-moving target, but paramount to me for everything in my life is minimal maintenance.
I don't really care about flashy eye-candy and holiday color schemes if it is moderately consistent. I am not looking to squeeze the last 2% (or even 10%) of possible speed out of my phone, but I do want it to respond to my input within a few tenths of a second (faster w/ typing) unlike the stock ROM. I have to use a lock-code, so I don't give a fig about the number of lock screens. If I could flash my phone and never have a need (note: not desire) to do it again, that would be fantastic. If I have to re-flash it once every 6 months and don't need to (re)read long (long!) meandering threads with cryptic and often conflicting and (possibly - how to tell?) outdated information, I could live with that.
Basically, it seems like I have to choose between a fixed, official ROM that sucks, or a sea of ever-changing ROMs with stability problems and a lot of focus on look-and-feel.
I'm not here crying about not having the perfect phone experience, rather I'm interested in the opinion of you here, "in the know", as to whether there exists a Captivate ROM that is stable in both the short-term (little to no crashes or unplanned reboots) and in the long term (will function similarly for months when not tweaked beyond what say, TiBu or AdAway would do).
This is something I've been wondering for months now (as my Serendipidy ROM grew ever-more unstable), but it has come to a head now because my wife is insisting that I encounter so many problems with my Cappy (currently experiencing various problems with Serenity) that I need to get a new phone (and it should be an iPhone like hers). I am as jealous at her stability, battery life and lack of problems as I am loathe to sell my soul to live in the walled garden with the iDevil.
If the world of smart phones is really a choice among the walled garden, the astro-turfed basement and the slopes of a volcano in the jungle, then I will have to accept that and choose my fate. If the problem is Samsung/AT&T and Android is simply ambrosia on some other device/carrier (as my colleague claims), then I would love to know that too.
Sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
......so get an iPhone then........
Currently Fusionized
I bought my wife a 4gs on launch day, and its smooth but not without a few faults. The amount of repeat info here can turn into a maze of discouragement, but I think just a little more effort might yield the results you want. I'm currently running mosaic 8 with the latest semiphore kernel and its very stable to say the least.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
KK4 seems to be the final update and source code is out so things are about to get real good. There are 5-6 real nice stable roms out right now. Take the time to find one you like and stick with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium
Wdustin1 said:
......so get an iPhone then........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, your view is that the Captivate and/or Android phones are best used by people who have both the skills and time to regularly - if not constantly - rebuild and tweak hidden and background settings always at some risk of bricking their several-hundred dollar device, and you see the iPhone as the proper choice for people who simply want something that works for their day-to-day use?
That's worse than what everyday users had to manage with DOS or in the early days of Linux or Windows 95. At least with those, your hardware wasn't (usually) at risk.
Is there no solution for those in the middle who want something that works day-to-day and allows them some freedom to make minor changes like block ads and install "unapproved" apps? Are they simply out of luck?
teknowledgist said:
I don't want to make trouble, but I'm hoping there can be a dialog as to the viability of the Captivate as a long-term, stable cell phone.
Like probably everyone here, I found the ROM AT&T supplied for the Captivate to be practically (if not criminally) unusable even if I didn't care about my rights to do what I want with it (but I do). Thus I decided that I needed to flash it with something better.
Obviously, there are a lot of Captivate owners who work very hard (and presumably, enjoy) modifying and tweaking the Android system for their phone - and that's great - but I'm not one of them. I appreciate that people like to change the look of their <object> and that the latest-and-greatest functionality is an ever-moving target, but paramount to me for everything in my life is minimal maintenance.
I don't really care about flashy eye-candy and holiday color schemes if it is moderately consistent. I am not looking to squeeze the last 2% (or even 10%) of possible speed out of my phone, but I do want it to respond to my input within a few tenths of a second (faster w/ typing) unlike the stock ROM. I have to use a lock-code, so I don't give a fig about the number of lock screens. If I could flash my phone and never have a need (note: not desire) to do it again, that would be fantastic. If I have to re-flash it once every 6 months and don't need to (re)read long (long!) meandering threads with cryptic and often conflicting and (possibly - how to tell?) outdated information, I could live with that.
Basically, it seems like I have to choose between a fixed, official ROM that sucks, or a sea of ever-changing ROMs with stability problems and a lot of focus on look-and-feel.
I'm not here crying about not having the perfect phone experience, rather I'm interested in the opinion of you here, "in the know", as to whether there exists a Captivate ROM that is stable in both the short-term (little to no crashes or unplanned reboots) and in the long term (will function similarly for months when not tweaked beyond what say, TiBu or AdAway would do).
This is something I've been wondering for months now (as my Serendipidy ROM grew ever-more unstable), but it has come to a head now because my wife is insisting that I encounter so many problems with my Cappy (currently experiencing various problems with Serenity) that I need to get a new phone (and it should be an iPhone like hers). I am as jealous at her stability, battery life and lack of problems as I am loathe to sell my soul to live in the walled garden with the iDevil.
If the world of smart phones is really a choice among the walled garden, the astro-turfed basement and the slopes of a volcano in the jungle, then I will have to accept that and choose my fate. If the problem is Samsung/AT&T and Android is simply ambrosia on some other device/carrier (as my colleague claims), then I would love to know that too.
Sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cm7. Wipe data factory reset again after flashing, let it sit for 10 mins after first boot but before you sign in.
My vibrant was perfectly stable that way.
Sent from my Sensation using xda premium
MIUI, great fast ROM. All you have to do is flash the small update every week and everything stays the same. You don't loose data!
If you don't feel like doing the update every single week just skip a few here and there. Or got the latest Gingerbread leak(KK4) and use it. It is stable, has great battery life, and pretty fast, but still can't compare to MIUI/CM7 speeds!
I'm not sure what you mean by stock AT&T ROM being no good. I've used a Captivate that had the official AT&T stock 2.2 on it, and it was pretty darn good. I then loaded the "stock" AT&T gingerbread leak on it, and it was even better. Almost no lag at all, GPS worked great, and battery life was excellent. I think you're just complaining for the sake of complaining.
derek4484 said:
I'm not sure what you mean by stock AT&T ROM being no good. I've used a Captivate that had the official AT&T stock 2.2 on it, and it was pretty darn good. I then loaded the "stock" AT&T gingerbread leak on it, and it was even better. Almost no lag at all, GPS worked great, and battery life was excellent. I think you're just complaining for the sake of complaining.
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I tried to use the stock 2.2. I really did. I was getting random shutdowns and reboots all the time and the lag, oh the lag! I can't tell you how many times I would hit an on-screen button and nothing would happen. I would hit it again a second or three later or try a different on screen-button, and still nothing. Thinking the app had crashed, I would hit home or back. Another second or two after that, everything I had done would process in a millisecond and I would be back at the home screen with no idea what I had done as the "extra" touches would register as some other command on the screens that followed and I didn't see.
Once I reflashed the first time, the lag went away and the shutdowns greatly diminished, but since then I have had various other problems. Things like:
- the phone telling me I had a cell signal when I didn't and because I don't make many outgoing calls or texts I just thought nobody wanted to talk to me. Meanwhile people were getting mad that I wasn't getting back to them.
- Apps "uninstalling" by themselves sometimes with a generic icon to replace them. Re-installing them sometimes worked and sometimes didn't (with the same app).
- Texts that come in 5 hours after they were sent and 2 hours after I emerged into a strong cell signal (I work in a sub-basement).
When I tried the KK4 stock, everything did seem to work well until I actually tried to use it as a phone. It said I had signal and I had data connection, but most calls would simply never dial, and while it would ring and I could see who was calling, I couldn't answer. This seems particularly bizarre to me as you would think the ROM/modem pair should work with all Captivates.
If you want stability, I'd recommend Firefly or Andromeda. They are both older and are Froyo builds, but ultra stable.
And I concur the out of the box Cappy 2.1 build was unusable...it's how I ended up here at xda! Unlike you however, I found that I do like tweaking my phone, and I've done some amount of that...not without peaks and valleys, but I currently really enjoy the Mosaic ROM with Semaphore JVZ kernel.
i897 running Mosaic 8.5
teknowledgist said:
So, your view is that the Captivate and/or Android phones are best used by people who have both the skills and time to regularly - if not constantly - rebuild and tweak hidden and background settings always at some risk of bricking their several-hundred dollar device, and you see the iPhone as the proper choice for people who simply want something that works for their day-to-day use?
That's worse than what everyday users had to manage with DOS or in the early days of Linux or Windows 95. At least with those, your hardware wasn't (usually) at risk.
Is there no solution for those in the middle who want something that works day-to-day and allows them some freedom to make minor changes like block ads and install "unapproved" apps? Are they simply out of luck?
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Unfortunately, it's shaping out that way. And it's only getting worse as time goes on and the fragments march in their separate directions. When there's 20 different fundamental ROMS (Sense, TouvhWiz, all the variations and so on), and 4000 different phones it becomes increasingly difficult to provide a consistent quality experience.
The worst part being I don't see a way out for Google or a light at the end of the tunnel for consumers short of starting over, which presents more problems than it solves.
Sent from my SGH-I897
Madtowndave said:
If you want stability, I'd recommend Firefly or Andromeda. They are both older and are Froyo builds, but ultra stable.
And I concur the out of the box Cappy 2.1 build was unusable...it's how I ended up here at xda! Unlike you however, I found that I do like tweaking my phone, and I've done some amount of that...not without peaks and valleys, but I currently really enjoy the Mosaic ROM with Semaphore JVZ kernel.
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Thanks for the suggestions.
Actually, I think tweaking can be fun sometimes, but between work, family, house, etc. I'm usually stumbling through on 5 hours of sleep a night as it is (good thing I don't drive to work!). I simply don't have time to tweak, and I definitely can't be without a phone for a day or two.
MikeyMike01 said:
Unfortunately, it's shaping out that way. And it's only getting worse as time goes on and the fragments march in their separate directions. When there's 20 different fundamental ROMS (Sense, TouvhWiz, all the variations and so on), and 4000 different phones it becomes increasingly difficult to provide a consistent quality experience.
The worst part being I don't see a way out for Google or a light at the end of the tunnel for consumers short of starting over, which presents more problems than it solves.
Sent from my SGH-I897
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That's the sense I was getting, but when I would express it to anyone I know in meat-space, they just rolled their eyes and called me crazy. I started this thread with the optimistic hope that I was simply missing something.
It's good to know at least that I'm not alone in my thinking.
Stevenrogers_420 said:
KK4 seems to be the final update and source code is out so things are about to get real good.
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This is my hope.
I have had Cognition 5 on my phone since it was released. It has been the ultimate experience for me. Stable, GREAT battery life, awesome response, etc. It is the Plain Jane of ROMs and I won't use anything else.
at least not until a stable, working version of ICS is out. I've recently got my hands on a free captivate and have been using it as a testbed for ICS. Once I am satisfied, I will flash my everyday use Cappy to ICS and be done with flashing on this phone until I can upgrade this summer.
Im in your boat somewhat. I want all features of the device to work and I dont want reboots etc. Stability is critical.
For Froyo, Firefy 3.0 ROM gave up uptimes of 7-8 days without issue. I only rebooted once battery ran out.
GB ROMs Ive tried are all more unstable, but I have been on Illuminance 3.01 for over a week now and its running quite good. I reboot often though as I swap batteries, so I cant speak to up time but it goes over a day easily. Im using the ICS theme with it so it feels like I have a new device also.
Now that we have KK4 source I think we will see stability improve even more.
I see too many problems with the ICS builds so far but they are alpha afterall. Impressive progress from the devs working on it however!
Eventually my idea is to take the best of all the leaks and make a rock solid stable hybrid rom. Though most devs, including myself, try to cater to the masses. It seems what you are looking for isn't very popular. Most want more and better in their roms, i've tried both and still not overly successful at either. But it doesn't stop me from trying to create the best of both worlds. A solid stable rom with nice features, that doesn't deteriorate in performance over time. Hopefully a hybrid rom will solve a lot of issues we all face with the cappy.
The thing the iphone has going for it is the fact it is one manufacturer, apple. All the iphones are the same, same processor, same hardware, same specs, same, same, same. It makes it easy to have a tight knit development for the phone, so it is less prone to issues. But because of this tight, closed architecture, you don't have allot of choices as far as styles and hardware. Android and Windows, on the other hand, have multiple manufacturers and many choices of processors, hardware and styles to choose from. So it is much more difficult for Google and phone manufacturing developers to cater to all of the different phones and have each one run flawlessly. The same holds true for Linux and Windows with PC's. But I think the cappy has some of the best developers on XDA making great ROMs for it and these ROMs don't necessarily cater to hobbyists, they cater to captivate users in general.
Sometimes good things come to those who wait...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium
In my own opinion, I think one of the best ROM's out there, and quite frankly possibly the most stable I've run to date is Phoenix Unleashed. It's Froyo JS8, and was the last of the 2.2 ROM's Adam put out. It was a ROM I would absolutely go to IF I ever got tired of flashing ROM's(don't really see that happening) and wanted to just have a phone that worked and worked well.
I'm too busy now playing with ICS.......but that is a story for another day
kangi26 said:
In my own opinion, I think one of the best ROM's out there, and quite frankly possibly the most stable I've run to date is Phoenix Unleashed. It's Froyo JS8, and was the last of the 2.2 ROM's Adam put out. It was a ROM I would absolutely go to IF I ever got tired of flashing ROM's(don't really see that happening) and wanted to just have a phone that worked and worked well.
I'm too busy now playing with ICS.......but that is a story for another day
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I think there's something to that. Serendipity 6 was JS8 if I remember correctly.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
MikeyMike01 said:
I think there's something to that. Serendipity 6 was JS8 if I remember correctly.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
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By the way, no offence Mikey, I'm not in any way trying to imply that your ROM's are inferior, I just spent a TON of time with the Phoenix ROM's so my opinion comes from that alone

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