I looked for a similar thread.
I am swapping out my Droid 4 today, sd card reader died. and one of the FIRST questions from TechII was "Have you rooted your device?"....."You will be charged $300 if your que is not 0/0. You will have "voided warranty" Thankfully I had not.
Then she went on to say they used to just let it go but as of 2013 they starting cracking down...
Just an FYI...
Rich
richsapf said:
I looked for a similar thread.
I am swapping out my Droid 4 today, sd card reader died. and one of the FIRST questions from TechII was "Have you rooted your device?"....."You will be charged $300 if your que is not 0/0. You will have "voided warranty" Thankfully I had not.
Then she went on to say they used to just let it go but as of 2013 they starting cracking down...
Just an FYI...
Rich
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the Droid 4 even keep track of that? Whenever I FRUed my phone I'd always SBF it back to stock, which unrooted it and reverted it back to day 1...I wasn't aware there was anywhere that they could check to see if it had ever been rooted at that point?
bofis said:
Does the Droid 4 even keep track of that? Whenever I FRUed my phone I'd always SBF it back to stock, which unrooted it and reverted it back to day 1...I wasn't aware there was anywhere that they could check to see if it had ever been rooted at that point?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, It is in the Recovery Menu(blue list) look towards the bottom. It's yellow and is supposedly coded in the firmware(beyond my scope), supposedly not hackable(?) but it reads as follows:
que 0/0... that means no root & never rooted
que 0/1 ...." " no current root but was rooted at one point.
que 0/2........"....." " " " twice..etc..
que 1/1....means phone is currently rooted.
Anything except the 1st que 0/0 will cost $300. According to Verizon TechII 4/10/14.
Lame! At that point, just seek out a refurbished Droid 4 on eBay or elsewhere for less and don't deal with Verizon's equally refurbished replacements.
Couldn't one just claim ignorance? "My *what* isn't 0/0? I don't know what that is, I bought this phone from a friend" etc.
Or would they just use the fact that the que is not 0/0 to deny a FRU? My earpiece speaker died recently and, needless to say, my phone has been rooted many times... I went to the VZW store and was informed that because the D4 is an older model, they can't guarantee another one (even with my TEP insurance) because there simply might not be any left in the warehouse. I'm gonna try fixing the speaker myself, replacement part is on the way...
Hi Khiraji
I know its been 6 months since last post about fixing your speaker on your D4, but did that ever work? Amazing, working on hardware on smartphones now is becoming more popular, very cool even attempting it. I just went from a D2-D3-D4,, and now I have a LG G3(Sorry D5, I waited)..MAN am I happy!!.. Thought I would hate a non hard slideout-keyboard but not with a 5.5" screen. I am now phasing out my laptop. G3 has slide-able split screen..Phone connection is crisp, loud.
If the root counter on the D4 is in recovery menu as "que=0/0" , would be in a similar fashion on other phones?
richsapf said:
Hi Khiraji
I know its been 6 months since last post about fixing your speaker on your D4, but did that ever work? Amazing, working on hardware on smartphones now is becoming more popular, very cool even attempting it. I just went from a D2-D3-D4,, and now I have a LG G3(Sorry D5, I waited)..MAN am I happy!!.. Thought I would hate a non hard slideout-keyboard but not with a 5.5" screen. I am now phasing out my laptop. G3 has slide-able split screen..Phone connection is crisp, loud.
If the root counter on the D4 is in recovery menu as "que=0/0" , would be in a similar fashion on other phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked for about a week, then the buzz came right back
This was with 3 separate replacement speaker units - I tore my phone apart 3 times, and I was getting pretty good at it before I finally just gave up, SBF'd back to stock, and went to the VZW store hat in hand. I talked to a higher-up at the store, and it turns out VZW has a huge stash (almost 8k units as of July) of D4s for exactly this situation. They overnighted me a CLNR phone and only in the past week has the goram buzz started up again...
I think the writing is finally on the wall for my D4. I went back into the store today to look at the latest offerings and the Droid Maxx is pretty sweet. With the Droid Turbo launching in a few weeks (which has a HUGE battery, updated specs), D4 might finally be getting retired. My upgrade is up in February, so maybe she'll hold out until then. Quite sad, really... I wanted a D5 so badly, because the keyboard form factor RULES and is superior to touchscreens in every way, but looks like that won't ever happen =/
Wow, earlier this year I had my D4 replaced (under insurance) because the accelerometer was dead. The first replacement they sent me, the phone wouldn't detect the SIM card. Sent it back, waited, they said they had no more D4s in stock. A couple days later they sent me another D4, last one available at the time. It has a flaky /? key on the keyboard, doesn't work most of the time. I would have sent it back again as well, but sometimes if you hit it repeatedly it eventually works, and I didn't want to give up and switch to some other phone.
I've spent many days pondering the future of my D4, and the writing on the wall is becoming clearer... for me, an upgrade is coming sooner than later. The Droid Turbo is looking quite sweet indeed and while I will forever mourn the loss of my keyboard, one must adapt to survive sometimes. I know I'll hate it for the first couple of weeks, but if the Turbo turns out to be as fast as my friend's HTC One M8 then it'll be dang close to a physical keyboard in landscape mode.
Oh well. It sucks.
I've had my g3 for over a week now and love it. I just did not use my physical keyboard on my D4 for the last couple weeks I had it to get use to not having them. Now with a 5.5" screen there is lots of space to type on the screen.
Everything is so much faster and smoother, it was way worth it for me.
I still can't find the secret menu code dial #. I have tried a few but doesn't work. Getting ready I'm getting ready to ioroot.
Rich
richsapf said:
I've had my g3 for over a week now and love it. I just did not use my physical keyboard on my D4 for the last couple weeks I had it to get use to not having them. Now with a 5.5" screen there is lots of space to type on the screen.
Everything is so much faster and smoother, it was way worth it for me.
I still can't find the secret menu code dial #. I have tried a few but doesn't work. Getting ready I'm getting ready to ioroot.
Rich
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the phone I want. I spent many hours pouring over every review under the sun and the G3 has everything I want in a new device. I went to Verizon today, SBF'd D4 in hand, only to learn that no, you can't jump into Verizon Edge whenever you want... you need to be eligible for an upgrade anyway (which defeats the purpose of Edge, but whatever) or go for the "manager-approved accessories bundle" which is like $130 for some accessories I probably would never use.
Ugh. Frustrating. And I went back after work only to find 10+ people in the queue ahead of me. So, now I'm re-rooting and loading up the (life-saving) backup image I made right before SBFing. Bah.
Tomorrow I'm headed back there to see if there's something else they can do for me... the biggest thing now is that my earpiece is fuzzing out yet again. I have insurance on this phone so I could have them send me a FRU for free, but it's only a matter of time before *that* one fuzzes out.... and my upgrade isn't until February 19.
Bollocks. Well, maybe I'll figure out what to do after a few beers.
Hi Khiraji,
If verizon, for sure, will send you a free FRU, then maybe that D4 will be okay, or no worse, than what you have now until Feb. I always had really good sound from the speakers on the three Droid 4s I had. 1st one camera died, & 2nd one keyboard keys. 3rd one no probs for 1 year.
But then the D4 you exchange will have a que 0/1or? for root count costing you $300?
Can the que in the recovery menu nowadays be reset back to 0/0? I'm unclear on that.
Rich
richsapf said:
Can the que in the recovery menu nowadays be reset back to 0/0? I'm unclear on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That I'm not sure of - but the last time this happened, the unit I sent in when my FRU came had definitely before been rooted (SBF'd completely back to stock first, of course). They didn't ding me $300... knock on wood for the same results this time...
I'm kinda curious what your "que score" is before & after flashing back to stock. Actually I can test myself now since my D4 is no longer under contract.. any suggestions for a good Rom? I never reserched any for the D4 like I did for the D3. I used Eclipse?..omg. over 2 years sinced I've flashed/rooted.
With this G3, I rooted toot-sweet. Mainly because kit-kat will not even let you rename files on your sd card. Oh yah, it is still at kit-kat with update to lollipop rumered for early 2015. I really love this work of art though, with an 801 Snapdragon quad core, & can you believe 3gigs of Ram. Im not a gamer so its almost overkill. I can't see needing, for me, the 805cpu. The UI is to me intuitive. But this is all coming from a biased of my new toy and not even touching any other phone to compare.
Just got home from the VZW store, a FRU D4 is on its way via FedEx Overnight no check was done on my phone other than just a brief visual inspection. I've since re-rooted and am waiting for my safestrap backup to re-load, but I'll let you know what the que score is once I SBF back to stock to send it back in a couple of days.
That's awesome to hear about the G3 - I could have gotten one today, but it would have meant forking over ~$180 for an accessories pack full of stuff I'd never use (bluetooth speaker, etc.). So, I'll wait... as long as the earpiece on this replacement unit doesn't fuzz out again, I can stand another 4 months.
Related
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
Thought I'd share my story with you all in hopes that some of you may have had similar problems I've had with the Droid 3, perhaps in an effort to give me hope that one day I'll receive one that isn't shot to hell in some way shape or form.
1.) Brand-new, upgraded from the Droid 2 around the first week of August. This one lasted about a month before the slider just gave out and became so loose that it would open up by itself if I held the phone horizontally. No case was used on it prior, so I'm not sure what caused this. Never dropped it either (I baby the hell out of my phones).
2.) Replacement came in, no big deal. Attempted to slide it open right out of the box. Guess what? Wouldn't budge. Literally jammed shut. Sent it back the same day.
3.) Boot-looping from hell and 3G drop all the time in places where I should have full reception (i.e., my house). 5.6.890 was not released at this time.
4.) - 7.) Every single one had a completely jacked up sliding mechanism that would either squeek, crack, scratch, jam, or completely tear apart the left plastic portion next to the keyboard within just 5-10 slides. Unacceptable. 1 or 2 of these (lost count) also loved to boot-loop for no apparent reason. Mind you, I tried every trick in the book. Tried never installing ANY apps, tried replacing the extended battery with the stock one, tried replacing the SD-card with a different one, and hard-resetted several times. To no avail.
8.) Replacement #8. 5.6.890 is released, no more boot-looping it seems, but this one has a vibrating mechanism from hell. Whenever it would vibrate, it would sound like electricity. Haptic feedback on it felt like voltage. Unacceptable.
9.) Just received replacement #9 today. This <MAY> be a stupid thing to complain about, but wherever I press on the phone, the damn thing squeeks like it's falling apart. Press the home button ever so slightly...*squeek.* Press the back button...*rattle*. Wipe the phone down with a cloth...*rattle rattle crackle crackle squeek squeek squeeeeeeeeek*. No matter how little pressure I use, it squeeks as if its falling apart. The sliding mechanism, however, feels solid and amazing on this one. Clicks and holds tight, but OH MY GOD IS SQUEEKS AND RATTLES SO MUCH. Never had/heard this problem on the other 8 replacements.
Someone shoot me =/
Also, none of these problems arose post-root nor did I root any of the ones I owned. I have rooted my brothers and I'm currently using his to text out new ROMs and such....but it's freaking annoying. I want my own to play with and flash.
Does anyone else have weird problems? I may be a little OCD when it comes to stuff like this, but I sure as hell didn't pay 230 dollars for a boot-looping/voltage vibrating/3g dropping/SQUEEKING phone.
...does anyone else's "squeek" or "rattle" when the press down on the bottom-right or top-right corners of the phone when it's closed?
I have 2 DROID 3 have not had any issues with them. Have had them for 12 weeks now still solid
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
Also on 9th Droid 3
number 10 is in the mail ...Some thing happen with these phones before we got them that all i can say i keep having screen issues with every one it like a screen on speed wiggling pixels and gives me a headache i finally got the perfect droid 3 then my phone started boot looping .... so they are sending me another one i hope this one has the perfect screen and docent boot loop ... i also go the one were it was lose like some one drop it and had a light coming threw the screen when it was off ...... weried luck ....luckly a new phone is right around the corner
Man, sounds like you got stuck getting all the bad batch phones = / I'm really rough on my phone, and I've had none of these problems. Hopefully you can get a good one, cuz this phone is quite fantastic once rooted and rom'd. The only complaint I've ever had was the weak stock battery life, but even that isn't that bad since I've modded it.
sent from my MONSTERDroid3 from the XDA app
Yea that's what I'm thinking...I just got a really bad batch. I want to finally be able to keep just one and ROM it ASAP. Ughhhh
ajhallx said:
number 10 is in the mail ...Some thing happen with these phones before we got them that all i can say i keep having screen issues with every one it like a screen on speed wiggling pixels and gives me a headache i finally got the perfect droid 3 then my phone started boot looping .... so they are sending me another one i hope this one has the perfect screen and docent boot loop ... i also go the one were it was lose like some one drop it and had a light coming threw the screen when it was off ...... weried luck ....luckly a new phone is right around the corner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've replaced it just as many times as well huh? That's crazy.
the same thing happened with my droid x they all sucked they acutely had to send me a brand new one still in the box ....to fix the issues i was having ... lets just say thank God Verizon not selling cars there 100 point inspection test dosent work very well .. every time i call vzw they insure me it was put to the test i say well some one must of been blind because there is a light shining throw the screen when i just put the battery in it lol
Well I'm on the 6th, satisfied with this one so far. Most of them had the vibrate problem you mentioned. Some had light bleeding out of the screen near the softkeys. One the screen would randomly get distorted, almost like the top half of the screen was twisted and flipped around. And yes I do hear some squeaking on this one it's the back cover for mine anyway, taking it on and off too many times I assume.
Yea I'm not too sure about this 100-point inspection they keep referring to. How the hell do they miss something like what you mentioned...or an insanely squeeky/loose screen? Or even a 100% jammed screen that won't slide up? 100-point my ass.
Also, just to clarify...I absolutely love the Droid 3; I just want one that isn't jacked up. Even if they offered me a brand-new Bionic or something, I'd refuse. I love the D3, I just want one that isn't insanely jacked.
eww245 said:
Well I'm on the 6th, satisfied with this one so far. Most of them had the vibrate problem you mentioned. Some had light bleeding out of the screen near the softkeys. One the screen would randomly get distorted, almost like the top half of the screen was twisted and flipped around. And yes I do hear some squeaking on this one it's the back cover for mine anyway, taking it on and off too many times I assume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yea, I forgot to mention that I've had the light-bleeding around the softkeys as well (specifically the last one I got, number 8). It was only on the bottom-right portion. Very noticeable and very annoying.
its sad becuse the razr looks nice but seems how i have had so many issues with droid x to droid x2 to droid 3 i think i am all out of spending my money on them but there attenna design is by far the best .... oh i am so torn ... i just miss 2 years ago having my droid in my hands .. life was good back then ...
I'm on my second, no issues at all.. After a 3rd replacement I would have *****ed to the point where they were sending me a new phone not a refurbished.
wootizzle said:
I'm on my second, no issues at all.. After a 3rd replacement I would have *****ed to the point where they were sending me a new phone not a refurbished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did, after the 6th. I got a supervisor and she was a real B-word. I tore her apart and she refused to send me a new one. Don't think they ever would, because I was on the phone with her for about 15 minutes and she refused.
believe me i have but they just changed there policy you can keep getting as many refurbish phones. it used to be after 5 they would try to get you into something else ... well lets see the offered me the charge and tunderbolt i exsplaned to them that the only comparable device to this dorid 3 is the bionic and they wont offer that .. i am not going to down grade a dul core with the crap of last year test market no thank you ...
Wow, you must have the luck of an Irish to receive this many defective phones consecutively.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
I'm on my second...first one had a lotta dust under the screen
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
first one and ive dropped it so many times (ruggedized case *lol*) and i havent had any 'manufacturer' problems
Defect Looping?
My D3 has had no real problems other than what is common to a new phone (mostly software related) and occasional operator error. I cannot calculate the statistical probability against randomly receiving nine consecutive bad phones. Either someone has targeted you to receive all the junk ones or you live somewhere with frequent over-the-top EMPs (or maybe hell). With similar experiences with the other phones as well, you must be living under some kind of curse!
pgzerwer said:
My D3 has had no real problems other than what is common to a new phone (mostly software related) and occasional operator error. I cannot calculate the statistical probability against randomly receiving nine consecutive bad phones. Either someone has targeted you to receive all the junk ones or you live somewhere with frequent over-the-top EMPs (or maybe hell). With similar experiences with the other phones as well, you must be living under some kind of curse!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lmao. Well, considering they are all pre-owned "like new" devices...there is the probability that they were returned for the same reasons I'm returning them.
I get yet another one in the mail tomorrow...
Create a sob story and they send you a different phone. Its how i went from the droid x to the droid 3 without having an upgrade :] keep complaingin on the phone and say you want a different more reliable device thats in the same range. Then say something about the bionic {or differen phone} and they will give up and give it to you for free. just have to pay for a battery
My fiance is getting the Bionic, it's expected early next week. What are the known problems with this phone so we know what to expect?
Oh, and this wasn't a phone of either of our choice, Verizon kinda forced it on her. She had her phone stolen at work and Verizon offered to give her this phone for a price, but give up her upgrade next yr and sign a 2 yr agreement. When we tried asking for another phone, we got a firm "we can't do that." I know, really bad deal... I may try calling on her behalf to get that straightened out tonight.
But in case we're stuck, I was just curious about the problems.
What phone did she have? What phone would you and her rather have had? Since you're showing a little hate, I'll show a little love........... Bionic is the best phone out there, you won't find anything better.
Most of the issues have been resolve with the updates love the phone have had it since launch very fast and no lags in the software 4g is great, only issue is a data drop maybe once a week when switching from 4g to 3g.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
I didn't mean to give the impression I was expecting this to be a terrible phone. Just as getting anything new, you want to know what to expect. I'm an avid Android user and know the specs. The phone seems to be a great phone, but it can be a bit harder to investigate any problems with it. I was hoping someone would say the bugs were worked out, so thank you for that. The hate comes from the way Verizon kind of screwed her out of an upgrade without any choice of phone. We didn't know what we would have rather had yet, but having known it would be giving up an upgrade, we would have liked to look into what is available and actually have a choice.
But the Bionic IS an upgrade from what she had before. She had the LG Revolution which was a terrible experience. Thanks for the feedback though. Like I said, I was just trying to get a better idea of what to expect. (Thanks buttons have been clicked)
gk1984 said:
I didn't mean to give the impression I was expecting this to be a terrible phone. Just as getting anything new, you want to know what to expect. I'm an avid Android user and know the specs. The phone seems to be a great phone, but it can be a bit harder to investigate any problems with it. I was hoping someone would say the bugs were worked out, so thank you for that. The hate comes from the way Verizon kind of screwed her out of an upgrade without any choice of phone. We didn't know what we would have rather had yet, but having known it would be giving up an upgrade, we would have liked to look into what is available and actually have a choice.
But the Bionic IS an upgrade from what she had before. She had the LG Revolution which was a terrible experience. Thanks for the feedback though. Like I said, I was just trying to get a better idea of what to expect. (Thanks buttons have been clicked)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got my bionic yesterday on a warranty swap (had an LG Revolution also... went through 3 of them before they gave me another option). All I had to pay for was a battery and battery door.
Rooting it is now fairly easy. ICS builds are out there, but I'm not satisfied with the quality try for daily use. One you root it and ROM it, first thing to do is wipe battery stats.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
KaneOfMars said:
I just got my bionic yesterday on a warranty swap (had an LG Revolution also... went through 3 of them before they gave me another option). All I had to pay for was a battery and battery door.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, lucky you. They'll do anything to get more money from ya (us) huh? They're reasoning is they're letting her upgrade over a year early - hence the reason for no choice.
Hans5849 said:
Rooting it is now fairly easy. ICS builds are out there, but I'm not satisfied with the quality try for daily use. One you root it and ROM it, first thing to do is wipe battery stats.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the rom tips, but she refuses to go that route - I tried. I've rooted and flashed countless roms on 3 phones i've owned, but she isn't comfortable letting that happen. so, her use will always be 100% stock. But since we're on the topic, any promise of an official ICS update? I'll look into this myself if no one cares to answer. I'm sure that's easy to find.
Motorola has promised ics but there is no set date for it.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Some nice things
I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. While you did ask about known issues, I guess it's only fair to mentions some positives as well.
1. The 4g, at least in my area (around Baltimore), is pretty great.
2. Patching the mobile hotspot is fairly easy, (if you don't mind spending a couple of bucks on the right app) which is quite useful if you're grandfathered with unlimited data.
3. The lapdock can be quite useful - emphasis on "can" - as you can have a full blown linux OS running on it (takes some nerdiness to get it working nice, but I honestly think it's well worth it since I paid only about $70 for my lapdock).
4. Rooting the phone is extremely easy.
5. If you mess anything up, restoring it to its original state is fairly easy and mostly fool proof (as with all motorola android phones) using RSD Lite.
Got mine about 2 weeks ago and I absolutely love the way it works. My wife upgraded as well to her first smartphone, but sadly she chose the Samsung Charge. When I showed her the pink theme for Eclipse 2.2 she was having 2nd thoughts on her choice. Over all a damn good device and lots of different options for it.
gk1984 said:
Wow, lucky you. They'll do anything to get more money from ya (us) huh? They're reasoning is they're letting her upgrade over a year early - hence the reason for no choice.
I appreciate the rom tips, but she refuses to go that route - I tried. I've rooted and flashed countless roms on 3 phones i've owned, but she isn't comfortable letting that happen. so, her use will always be 100% stock. But since we're on the topic, any promise of an official ICS update? I'll look into this myself if no one cares to answer. I'm sure that's easy to find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The data drop issues I had were resolved with the leaked .904 update. Fairly simple to apply and the phone stays stock since its just an update, maybe you need to root. (I was rooted when I applied it and had to reroot after.)
Other then that I would occasionally get duplicate texts and it would get rather annoying getting the same text multiple times, one time it didnt stop so I had to reboot (note that this is same in stock as well as roms and messaging apps).
Since then I disabled the timestamp option in the text messaging and it seems to have resolved it. (2 days with no duplicates) I re-enabled it to see if it would start doing it again to see if the timestamps are the actual root cause of the problem.
Those were my only issues with Stock. Since then I have been running Eclipse and have been loving it.
nobe1976 said:
Got mine about 2 weeks ago and I absolutely love the way it works. My wife upgraded as well to her first smartphone, but sadly she chose the Samsung Charge. When I showed her the pink theme for Eclipse 2.2 she was having 2nd thoughts on her choice. Over all a damn good device and lots of different options for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DROID Charge?? that's a terrible choice.
Well it's a story known all to well. I had the bionic. Every time I would call Verizon they would tell me to wait for the new update that was around the corner or they would just replace the phone with another Bionic. The new. 905 update just made the phone unusable. I finally broke down and called verizion yet again not expecting any real help. I was very kind and basically killed em with kindness. After explaining that I have had issues since day one and that I required a working smartphone for work and there was a history of me calling all the time, they finally moved me to what they called level 2 support. Had to explain the whole process from day one to now again. The man was very kind, as was I and offered me a thunderbolt. I asked him if there was any way to change out to a different dual core 4g phone cause the thunderbolt was a step backwards. He then said he could give me a razr. OK I guess but I then asked if he could do any dual core 4g that wasn't a Motorola. He said no at first cause phone companies are cracking down on the exchanging phone issue. As I started to say OK send me the razr, he asked if I would hold for about 10min. I said sure. When he came back he said I can tell you are not happy with Motorola at all and in general not happy with the way things have been handled. He said he asked his boss if something could be done and got approved the Galaxy Nexus for me. Now I am waiting on it to arrive. (If you are willing to take a total of an hour and a half and be extra kind and not demand stuff they will work with you. Key is to keep talking till they offer a phone and never say no if they offer a phone you don't want. Just ask if its possible for something else in an indirect way) So I can't wait to start being part of the nexus forum and am very excited to be getting a phone with an unlocked bootloader again. My Incredible was just that. Incredible. I am hoping the nexus will be the same.
Sent from my POS DROID BIONIC
Congratulations, but the "big mistake" is unnecessary and kind of insulting. I've never had any problems with mine unless I was on one of the GB-based ICS ROMs.
Sorry if offended. I have had nothing but trouble from this phone. It has been so unreliable its not funny. Even with the ics leaks I still had issues. It would had been a great experience if it was reliable. I am not the type that likes to offend so I will remove that part. Apologies my friend.
I was just being a baby. Maybe it's just me being jealous. Seriously Congrats on the S3. My brother just got one (I made him pre order to not screw up our family's unlimited plans) and I want to make love to it.
I thought the op got a galaxy nexus not a s3
Too bad you been having problems with your bionic, I haven't have any problems with mines even on the ICS leaks from 2231-235
Hope you enjoy the gnex more than I do bc for me the bionic have a better reception/data connection than the gnex I had
It is a nexus that is on its way indeed. Thanks and I am not too worried about reception as I am stability. The bionic just would not stay connected to data for nothing except on .902 and even with that I had to battery pull about every 2-3 days cause of no data. Even with the ics leaks. 3 bionics and all have had the same problem. It would have been a great phone just if data was a solid connection and an unlocked bootloader. Maybe for those still with the bionic maybe you will get an unlock tool one day. Saw a tweet from Motorola about a week ago saying they were working on one but of course its been said for a year they were going to unlock the bootloaders.
Nexus, my bad. Too many Galaxy devices going on right now! the Galaxy Nexus is a piece of sheer beauty though. Someone came with with the GSM variant on 4.1.1 for me to root, and I was amazed at just how smooth JB is.
I would not ditch a Bionic for a Nexus now.
I ditched the bionic for any dual core 4g phone they would give me. Just so happened to be a nexus.
I just got off my 3rd phone call with VZW.
1st call- Told them some of what I had tried to do to fix the data dropping. (All of which I read about here or elsewhere on the interwebz) Removed battery, adjusted nighttime settings.
Result- New Sim Card, no data drops for 2 days, then they came back with a vengence
2nd call- They asked me to factory reset my phone. I'm a little bit pissed at this point but I tried it. They are the expert in this conversation and I figured refusal to waste my time would result in me wasting more time before anything was actually resolved. Also I didn't want to end up yelling at some poor soul in a call center.
Result- Data drop within 3 hours of resetting the phone.
(less than 10 minutes ago) 3rd call- Samsung Galaxy Nexus is being shipped to me. I was leaning towards the razr but they told me that the razr was having some data problems as well. I'm really sick of this and just want a working 4g smartphone. 4g is the greatest thing before or after sliced bread, I can watch youtube with no buffering at any time. I loved the bionic so very much visible screen in direct sunlight ftw, good build qualify, fits well in my hand, ect. I didn't have to hint or argue with them to get the nexus, I asked what phones were available to me and they said the Nexus and the Razr. I hinted about the S3 and they shot that down without missing a beat, probably knew I was going to ask before I started. Also I'm getting the extended battery because they are out of the regular batteries.
Result- Oh please merciful spaghetti monster let phone work out.
If you're having data trouble call them and follow the steps. I'll see you in the nexus forum, I'll be the one lurking.
Never
Never ever have I had problem with my Bionic. I would never of traded, no way Jose. With ICS its the best thing out. Strong casing, not that plastic thin stuff. Love my Bionic but if you happy and it is what it is. Good luck with the Nexus. Reading all posts here seems like people feel the same way. In the past I never waited that long for an exchange lol.
---------- Post added at 07:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 PM ----------
Surlock said:
I just got off my 3rd phone call with VZW.
1st call- Told them some of what I had tried to do to fix the data dropping. (All of which I read about here or elsewhere on the interwebz) Removed battery, adjusted nighttime settings.
Result- New Sim Card, no data drops for 2 days, then they came back with a vengence
2nd call- They asked me to factory reset my phone. I'm a little bit pissed at this point but I tried it. They are the expert in this conversation and I figured refusal to waste my time would result in me wasting more time before anything was actually resolved. Also I didn't want to end up yelling at some poor soul in a call center.
Result- Data drop within 3 hours of resetting the phone.
(less than 10 minutes ago) 3rd call- Samsung Galaxy Nexus is being shipped to me. I was leaning towards the razr but they told me that the razr was having some data problems as well. I'm really sick of this and just want a working 4g smartphone. 4g is the greatest thing before or after sliced bread, I can watch youtube with no buffering at any time. I loved the bionic so very much visible screen in direct sunlight ftw, good build qualify, fits well in my hand, ect. I didn't have to hint or argue with them to get the nexus, I asked what phones were available to me and they said the Nexus and the Razr. I hinted about the S3 and they shot that down without missing a beat, probably knew I was going to ask before I started. Also I'm getting the extended battery because they are out of the regular batteries.
Result- Oh please merciful spaghetti monster let phone work out.
If you're having data trouble call them and follow the steps. I'll see you in the nexus forum, I'll be the one lurking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't see me there. Never had data drops and since everyone is in 4g there is no 3g traffic so 3g is very smooth. Also the fact that they gave u the fat battery means they will send u the back also which when connected, it will be heavier. But if you're happy thats what counts/
---------- Post added at 07:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------
The reason they're running out of Bionis is because people are re-buying them. G o to Swappa and see that price has not dropped and that the demad is high. The Bionic is back.
Getting a new Bionic and sim card sent to me. Hopefully it works better than this one.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
For those being sent a Nexus, what about your Bionic? Did they want it mailed back to them? Did they say keep it?
vzw
my bionic's headphone jack started going bad about 5 months in, called vzw and they sent me a new phone for free being it was under warranty. I love the bionic, if it's broke, just fix it.
To those who haven't had any trouble with the bionic, I envy you greatly. I think I've given the phone more than a fair shake at this point and it gave me a white 4g signal of doom in return.
rlewis312010 said:
For those being sent a Nexus, what about your Bionic? Did they want it mailed back to them? Did they say keep it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They want it back. I'd like to keep it, perhaps one day, when cars fly, moto will fix it and I'd have a valuable backup, or maybe the nexus would be the back up. Or I could use it like a tiny tablet for....something.
The Bionic could have been a great phone if it was not for the LOCKED BOOT LOADER, and the monsterious level of bloatware(I blame Verizon/Motorola, and not android for this issue). My experience with pure google phones has been outstanding(I own a Nexus S 4g), heck most of the modder's/developers on XDA are in essence trying to actually enjoy the greatness of simply pure google. Why else would I install a custom ROM, because most of the custom rom's are faster and bloatware free. I have what cellphone carriers have done to great phones, quite simply they turn them to ****.
My Verizon contract just ran out and I traded my Bionic for an unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus. I never had any problems with my Bionic and loved it, but the Nexus is a better phone. It's amazing how much faster and smoother it seems, and the build quality is very good. It's not cheap feeling at all. I think the Bionic's flimsy back actually made it feel a little cheaper. I do miss the Bionic's super bright screen outside, though. That thing is just amazingly visible in direct sunlight. The Nexus' screen can't hold a candle to it in that regard, at least.
I am curious to know if anyone here, that has switched from the Bionic to the Nexus, actually used ICS on their Bionic first. When I switched over to ICS from GB on my Bionic, it WAS like having a whole new phone, and responsiveness was amazing. Probably the same experience I would have gotten if I had upgraded from a .905 Bionic to a Nexus.
Well, that was my thought last night, so I called VZW and after about 10 minutes the conversation got to the point where they were offering me a replacement. No yelling or any arguing was required - it was very nice. They offered me any 4G LTE phone except the HTC 1X, Galaxy SIII or new Incredible (for free and no contract extension). They said that the Galaxy Nexus and Razr MAXX were probably the best that were available. After much deliberation, I opted for the Razr MAXX since I think it barely wins out due to the awesome battery life. Plus, ICS is officially released for it, so it's an upgrade from the Bionic any way you look at it. It should arrive in 2-3 days. I have no idea what the development community is like for the MAXX; I was just kind of hoping there was something out there.
Worst case scenario - I don't like it, sell it on eBay and buy a Nexus with the sale money.
crobs808 said:
I am curious to know if anyone here, that has switched from the Bionic to the Nexus, actually used ICS on their Bionic first. When I switched over to ICS from GB on my Bionic, it WAS like having a whole new phone, and responsiveness was amazing. Probably the same experience I would have gotten if I had upgraded from a .905 Bionic to a Nexus.
Well, that was my thought last night, so I called VZW and after about 10 minutes the conversation got to the point where they were offering me a replacement. No yelling or any arguing was required - it was very nice. They offered me any 4G LTE phone except the HTC 1X, Galaxy SIII or new Incredible (for free and no contract extension). They said that the Galaxy Nexus and Razr MAXX were probably the best that were available. After much deliberation, I opted for the Razr MAXX since I think it barely wins out due to the awesome battery life. Plus, ICS is officially released for it, so it's an upgrade from the Bionic any way you look at it. It should arrive in 2-3 days. I have no idea what the development community is like for the MAXX; I was just kind of hoping there was something out there.
Worst case scenario - I don't like it, sell it on eBay and buy a Nexus with the sale money.
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Click to collapse
I never rooted my bionic and my reading lead me to believe that the dev community hadn't fixed this particular issue with the data. You can buy a 4k battery fro the nexus for $20 so that wasn't a big issue to me. They didn't offer me a maxx just the regular razr.
Yeah, I've seen that 4K battery...Yikes. It could power a boat. The biggest appeal to the Nexus is unlocked bootloader and slim profile. Everything can have ICS these days, with the right hacks, so the "always get the latest updates from Google" tagline never swayed me. I still don't see how it beats the MAXX. I guess I'll find out soon enough if I made the right choice. I never had any complaints about the screen on the Bionic, and the MAXX is supposed to be the same if not a little better. I sit in front of an HD display all day at work to compare it to.
I'm throwing in the towel with my Droid Bionic. Frankly my experiences with this phone have been a complete disaster.
I got the phone in the first place because I wanted the lapdock. Thus far I've never got my lapdock working for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time. Even doing flash to stock etc etc I still end up with no mouse control on the lapdock - stupid thing just freezes as soon as it comes up. At one point Verizon decided to ship me a replacement phone thinking that one of the ports on my phone was bad. Well not only did the new phone have the same problem - but they ended up charging me $600 for it because they claim they never got the one I shipped back. Despite my numerous calls to verizon they simply have elected to not do anything about it. So after buying two phones and a lapdock all I have is a phone that still does not work right and a lapdock that might as well be an oversized paperweight.
Between that and the crap like locking the bootloader, promising updates then not delivering I think this will be the last motorola unit I buy for a loooong looong time.
cool story. took you 2 years to figure all of this out? never thought to take either back while in warranty? not saying this phone is perfect but these are the things most normal people would have done.
neo1738 said:
cool story. took you 2 years to figure all of this out? never thought to take either back while in warranty? not saying this phone is perfect but these are the things most normal people would have done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made tons of calls to both Motorola and Verizon regarding all of this. Verizon says they'll send me yet another phone (this would actually be my 4th one - I left out part of the sob story) - however they refuse to allow me to return the one I have to the store if they do that. Of course I have a real problem with that seeing how they ripped me off $600 already by claiming they never received one of my old ones I shipped back. Motorola pretty much said screw-off deal with Verizon.
What it boils down to is VZW sold me something that does not work, has never worked, sent me 3 replacements all of which did not work, charged me $600 for one of those when they should not have - and all the meantime I have a pile of **** that still don't work and a lapdock I can't use. --- and VZW seems to not give a crap about any of it.
Really disgusting experience all the way around. Just as a matter of principle I'm considering printing out all of the correspondences and march my butt down to small claims court and demand a) my $600 back and b) refund all my monthly bills for past 2 years since I've never had a properly working device.
You should post this to the new Marketing consultant to Motorola, Guy Kawasaki on Google+.
A new sob story may net u a current HD MAXX or discount (or better) to the X phone whenever it launches.
My dad's always said, the answer's always no unless you ask.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
TechnoHippie said:
I made tons of calls to both Motorola and Verizon regarding all of this. Verizon says they'll send me yet another phone (this would actually be my 4th one - I left out part of the sob story) - however they refuse to allow me to return the one I have to the store if they do that. Of course I have a real problem with that seeing how they ripped me off $600 already by claiming they never received one of my old ones I shipped back. Motorola pretty much said screw-off deal with Verizon.
What it boils down to is VZW sold me something that does not work, has never worked, sent me 3 replacements all of which did not work, charged me $600 for one of those when they should not have - and all the meantime I have a pile of **** that still don't work and a lapdock I can't use. --- and VZW seems to not give a crap about any of it.
Really disgusting experience all the way around. Just as a matter of principle I'm considering printing out all of the correspondences and march my butt down to small claims court and demand a) my $600 back and b) refund all my monthly bills for past 2 years since I've never had a properly working device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why have you never exchanged the lapdock?
Despite Motorola's efforts to ruin the device, I still find it to be pretty good. Its not the sexiest of devices, but its pretty solid and I've found I can do just about anything that the newer devices are able to do. I've learned that you enjoy a device more when you make it work for you, rather than wait for them to add new features and a system update. I'm not sure how much more Jellybean could offer because I'm able to do just about everything that Android is capable of doing.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Sorry you had bad luck with your phone. A lot of people had their bionic replaced with a nexus or a RAZR by Verizon for much less than you mentioned. Are you interested in selling your lapdock?
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk 2
hmm sent back a $600 phone without tracking and delivery confirmation? That would not be Motorola's fault.
zetachi said:
hmm sent back a $600 phone without tracking and delivery confirmation? That would not be Motorola's fault.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing he used the return label VZW sends you with your replacement phone. Which means that he probably didn't write down the tracking info (who would, unless they've had issues before?), and just packed up the old phone and sent it in. This isn't the first time this has happened, BTW. I'm more surprised they didn't try to replace the lapdock for him as well.
OP, good luck with your next device... I've been looking for a replacement for my Bionic as its started to have some issues, and I'm not really happy with the options at this point. I'm hoping for some new stuff around Google I/O, but not holding my breath. FWIW, I've had way fewer hardware issues with my Bionic than with previous phones.
dnlwthrn said:
I'm guessing he used the return label VZW sends you with your replacement phone. Which means that he probably didn't write down the tracking info (who would, unless they've had issues before?), and just packed up the old phone and sent it in. This isn't the first time this has happened, BTW. I'm more surprised they didn't try to replace the lapdock for him as well.
OP, good luck with your next device... I've been looking for a replacement for my Bionic as its started to have some issues, and I'm not really happy with the options at this point. I'm hoping for some new stuff around Google I/O, but not holding my breath. FWIW, I've had way fewer hardware issues with my Bionic than with previous phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, the latest have not been anything close to wow.
collije said:
You should post this to the new Marketing consultant to Motorola, Guy Kawasaki on Google+.
A new sob story may net u a current HD MAXX or discount (or better) to the X phone whenever it launches.
My dad's always said, the answer's always no unless you ask.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea - I will do that.
neo1738 said:
why have you never exchanged the lapdock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well since the phone doesn't work right there is no point.
brainwash1 said:
Sorry you had bad luck with your phone. A lot of people had their bionic replaced with a nexus or a RAZR by Verizon for much less than you mentioned. Are you interested in selling your lapdock?
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I only paid 50 bucks for it - but I wouldn't feel right about selling it to someone because I don't know if it actually works right.
dnlwthrn said:
I'm guessing he used the return label VZW sends you with your replacement phone. Which means that he probably didn't write down the tracking info (who would, unless they've had issues before?), and just packed up the old phone and sent it in. This isn't the first time this has happened, BTW. I'm more surprised they didn't try to replace the lapdock for him as well.
OP, good luck with your next device... I've been looking for a replacement for my Bionic as its started to have some issues, and I'm not really happy with the options at this point. I'm hoping for some new stuff around Google I/O, but not holding my breath. FWIW, I've had way fewer hardware issues with my Bionic than with previous phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh yes the infamous tracking-number / label problem. Well that is how they screwed this all up to begin with I think. When they sent me a replacement phone, there was no return shipping label in the box. I called VZW and they sent me another box that was empty, expect for a return shipping label. I've tried and tried and tried to explain to them that my guess is that they're looking at the wrong shipping label because of this.
Everytime I call now they say the same thing. "Ok - we're going to start an investigation". Yes, that's right - since last August, every time I call they say this. I think the count is at 59 times now they've said they're "starting the investigation" (I will have to check my notes on exact number).. It's just a bunch of bull****.