Help Moment, Charging/Battery issues

[egkor]

I have been recently having charging/battery issues w/ my Samdung Moment. I wanted to post these issues here in case anyone else has similar issues.

My main usage for this phone is running the standard Web Browser and reading web pages, e.g. Facebook, Android Forums, etc. I am not a "power user", all I do is surf and read. Occasionally I make/take short voice calls, receive/send a text message. The point here is I am not a "heavy" user, but when I want to access/read web pages and/or Facebook I want the battery to give me some longetivity to do this and still get me through the day.

I keep multiple chargers at home (wall warts) and chargers (plural) in the car. I tend to keep my Moment on the charger when not in use out of necessity, and even then I sometimes run into "drained battery" situation.

Here are the power-charger related issues I am experiencing:

1) Intermittent/bad Moment USB jack (on phone). Mostly in the car (and with multiple different chargers), the phone bounces between "charging" and "not charging" over and over, randomly. I can re-seat (and/or gently move) the charger's (USB) plug in the phone's jack, and it will show "charging". Then after a while, the phone goes back to "not charging", then "charging" etc. etc.

2) When I place the Moment on the home charger (original Samsung 120V AC wall wart to micro USB cable/plug) overnight, the next morning the battery level starts off at maybe 75-80%, but then goes to 50% or less pretty quickly when accessing EVDO/data (web, Facebook, etc.). The phone reaches what it thinks is "full charge" sometime overnight, but then no longer charges and the battery drains to less than 100%. Note this is not like its original behavior, I can remember that previously (after overnight charging) the battery would be at 100% and keep a charge at least for an hour or two the following morning (which is dismal even when the charging is working properly!).

3) My Moment phone randomly "goes totally dead" when off the charger, and must have battery removed/reinstalled to respond to the Power button to reboot. I can't tell if this is tied to these charging/power issues, my constantly putting the phone on and off the charger, etc.

4) With the Moment "booted" (powered up), but idle, I inserted the home charger's (USB) plug into the Moment's charging jack, and the phone rebooted! I was surprised to see the "SAMSUNG" logo, I knew that meant the phone was rebooting. This (reboot) happened once so far, maybe it also has to do with #3 above.

These issues all happen both with the original Moment battery, and with a "new" factory Samsung Moment battery (not a "brand-X"). Although I thought some of these issues had to do with the original battery, once I ordered and received a new battery, installed it and observed all the same issues, I now believe the issues are with the Moment itself.

Moment purchased March 2010 from local Best Buy store.

Have Geek Squad "Black Tie" insurance on this Moment. I turned phone in to GS to repair issue #1, GS basically did nothing since the issue remains. Lost use of my phone for 2 weeks.

Moment new-out-of-the-box was at Android 1.5. Have kept up w/ all the Moment Android updates (to 2.1).

Moment ROM is "standard", not using anything modifed/custom.

I use "My Settings" (free app), and basically keep all the battery-draining features off. I also use "Advanced Task Killer" (free app) and frequently kill tasks manually to try to preserve battery charge.

My Sprint account is Premier, I will be able to upgrade end of March 2011. But I want/need a phone that will manage charging itself correctly until that time.

Regards (and any help/feedback/suggestions welcomed),
-Gary K

 

[someguyatx]

That sounds like a hardware issue, maybe a bad or damaged connection. I don't know what your black tie insurance covers but you should take the phone back to Best Buy and raise some hell. You can also try the local Sprint store

The moment battery life is pretty crappy in part due to having a decent screen and hardware keyboard but you should be able to go with a few hours of activity on a full charge in good signal areas.

 

[indychic]

Interesting.

I haven't been by the forums for a month or so but as of last night my moment is doing the #1 issue per last post (Intermittent/bad Moment USB jack (on phone).

It will charge but then if I barely move my phone it says not charging and so on. This just started last night. I am 1 month away from my upgrade (I CANNOT WAIT) -- However, a charging issue is a huge problem and I might have to swap phone out again. This will be my 6th moment if they even swap out with refurb Moments anymore?!

So Frustrated as I just want to get by one more month until I decide on my Epic or Evo. I am leaning towards the Evo because Samsung has been nothing but a problem for me.

@egkor - IMO, I would definetly take it in to Sprint as I have been told in the past at my local Sprint Tech Center that the charging port has been known to go bad. I personally never had a issue with this until now.

 

[egkor]

Thanks for the replies, I am going to pursue a resolution over the holidays ...

Although I don't know the exact warranty, I think a 10-month old Moment phone might even be under factory warranty?

Regards to all and I will post an update later.

-Gary K

 

[LaFlavor]

Interesting.

I haven't been by the forums for a month or so but as of last night my moment is doing the #1 issue per last post (Intermittent/bad Moment USB jack (on phone).

I get this every once in a while on mine with the USB charger. I've been able to correct it by blowing on both the charger and the port in the phone.

I like it for nostalgic reasons. I feel like I own an 8-bit NES again...except this phone isn't quite so advanced.

 

[egkor]

Thanks for the replies, I am going to pursue a resolution over the holidays ...

Although I don't know the exact warranty, I think a 10-month old Moment phone might even be under factory warranty?

Regards to all and I will post an update later.

-Gary K

This is the update I promised ...

I took my charging-impaired Moment to a local Sprint Store. They bench-checked it and agreed with me that the USB (charging) port was flakey/intermittent. For a $35.00 (+ tax) fee they offered to replace the Moment by sending me overnight a replacement phone on their "approved Moment replacements" list, and I in turn send them back my defective Moment in a supplied mailer.

Unfortunately, the approved replacements were: HTC Hero, Samsung Intercept, or Sanyo Zio.

HTC Hero - stuck in time (at Eclair(?) 2.2), so I passed on that one. I believe I would have received a Refurbished Hero phone as a replacement.

Samsung Intercept is a lower-grade Moment, although the bright side is just got a Froyo 2.2 update. But the update does not appear to be universally good. So I passed on that one too, also simply because it is a "Samsung" and I'm just tired of Samsung (I don't think I'll ever have another Samsung phone). I don't know if this replacement would have been New or Refurbished.

Sanyo Zio - I went ahead and selected this phone. It has a Froyo 2.2 update coming. I received it today, and activated it today. It was NIB (New In The Box), another reason I picked the Zio.

I did ask the Sprint Service Tech (I had a "Lead" Tech helping me so I assume they have some added authority over a "regular" tech ...) if I could get a LG Optimus S or even a Samsung Transform, the answer was "sorry no, only the phones on the approved list".

The newly delivered Zio acts about as responsive/laggy as my Moment did. At this early point in time I am however actually liking this phone. So far I don't miss the Moment's physical keyboard, but ask me in a week or two. And, the Zio's smaller capacity (than the Moment) battery lasts longer than my Moment's battery, which in itself makes me happy. I no longer have to baby-sit the phone as it charges as I did with the Moment. Plus I don't have the heft and bulk of the Moment in my pocket, a welcome change.

So in summary: I was pleasantly surprised I could get a replacement phone overnight (for $35+tax), but was dis-heartened about the choices (Hero, Intercept, or Zio). Zio so far is better than I expected. Having the Zio I will not miss the Moment at all.

Zio still has to prove itself: Can it last the day w/o being on a charger all day? Call quality (both send/receive)? Etc., etc.

Plus, my line is "Premier" so I can upgrade in mid-March 2011. The Zio will just need to get the job done for me until that time. Looking forward to Froyo 2.2 sometime between now and then. With Froyo it may make the Zio more "zippy" like the LG Optimus S.

Regards,
-Gary K

 

[momentoid]

Glad you are satisfied. Just curious, could Sprint Tech have fixed the micro-usb port on the Moment? Did you ask or did they offer?

 

[egkor]

Glad you are satisfied. Just curious, could Sprint Tech have fixed the micro-usb port on the Moment? Did you ask or did they offer?

I guess not ... When I send the Moment back, I suspect they will either fix/replace the connector/port, replace the motherboard, or junk the phone.

If they fix it at the major repair location, then it may become a "refurb" for someone else ...

I have Geek Squad insurance (Best Buy) on the Moment, I already sent the Moment in for repair to GS, GS did nothing but keep the phone for 2 weeks and return it, with same issues.

-Gary K

 

[citizen1231]

I have gone thru 5 moments since last feb 1st. for the same reason. each phone has had its own personality. keeping everything and useage to minimum. waiting for feb 1st to update. will the evo have the same problems since it uses the same type charging port.

 

[egkor]

I have gone thru 5 moments since last feb 1st. for the same reason. each phone has had its own personality. keeping everything and useage to minimum. waiting for feb 1st to update. will the evo have the same problems since it uses the same type charging port.

I can't directly answer your question except to offer this:

1) Get Sprint Insurance for your Evo. If it (connector or other issues) happens you should get some type of satisfaction (replacement unit for example). I don't have Sprint Insurance, and it was $35 + tax out of pocket to replace the less than 1 yr old (in factory warranty) Moment. Sprint overnighted the replacement phone to my home.

2) The Evo (as I understand it) is a typical Android battery-juice-sucking phone. You will likely be keeping it on the charger. You will likely be plugging the charger connector into the phone, unplugging, etc. etc. This will wear on the USB port after a number of months. Another reason to have the Insurance.

I guess the good news is, if you bought chargers to keep at home and in the car(s) for the Moment, then you will probably be prepared for keeping the Evo charged.

I intend to upgrade to the Evo in March 2011 which is my (Sprint Premier) upgrade time.

-Gary K

 

[indychic]

@Egkor-

I'm glad you got your problem worked out! I don't have insurance (sprint) for my moment and I've never been made to pay a dime. I'm not sure how that all works. I've had 5 refurbs (moments) with different issues. My port is still messed up but I am still able to charge it so I am just getting by.

I am upgrading in 19 days to the EVO and I will not look back! =) Glad your new Zio is working out for you thus far. I can't wait to be rid of the Moment.

Take care!

 

[egkor]

@Egkor-

I'm glad you got your problem worked out! I don't have insurance (sprint) for my moment and I've never been made to pay a dime. I'm not sure how that all works. I've had 5 refurbs (moments) with different issues. My port is still messed up but I am still able to charge it so I am just getting by.

I am upgrading in 19 days to the EVO and I will not look back! =) Glad your new Zio is working out for you thus far. I can't wait to be rid of the Moment.

Take care!

@indychic,

Yes I was actually on a family road trip, had some time and took my charging-impaired Moment to a Sprint (Company) Store out of town. They would have replaced my Moment with a refurbished Hero, possibly a new Intercept, or a new Zio, and I chose the Zio. But, it was at $35 cost to me (and I have read this is not unusual over in the Sprint forums here). They shipped the new Zio to my home address overnight. I actually am happy that I didn't have to suffer a refurb w/ someone else's problems ... But I sure wish the LG Optimus S was one of the choices, I would have selected that phone in a heartbeat.

When I can upgrade in March '11 I plan on a EVO unless Sprint introduces something else that interests me.

-Gary K

 

[gmjlopez]

I have Geek Squad insurance (Best Buy) on the Moment, I already sent the Moment in for repair to GS, GS did nothing but keep the phone for 2 weeks and return it, with same issues.

-Gary K

Well that's not right. I work for Best Buy Mobile. The person must have entered the wrong info when the phone was sent out so the repair center probably didn't know what to fix. You can still bring it back and get it repaired. If the junk it out you can get a new phone on the spot. No charge.

 

[egkor]

Well that's not right. I work for Best Buy Mobile. The person must have entered the wrong info when the phone was sent out so the repair center probably didn't know what to fix. You can still bring it back and get it repaired. If the junk it out you can get a new phone on the spot. No charge.

Your company made me jump through hoops and in the end did nothing. The last thing they wanted to do was replace my phone. They even told me (at the BB store) if I sent it in they probably would not fix it correctly. Early Dec. when I turned it in at the BB store they wrote on the ticket "loose USB jack/port on phone". When the phone came back (after 2 weeks) the paperwork said "Resoldered USB jack/port to motherboard". Ok, except the phone still had all original charging issues. I agree with you, they should have just replaced the phone for me to begin with.

Later (week before Xmas day) I walked the phone into a Sprint (Company) Store and Sprint basically sent me another phone over night after taking only 2 hours (not 2 weeks) to examine the phone and grant the replacement.

GS in my case failed me. I expected better. I would cancel their insurance which I carry for 5 phones purchased from Best Buy, except I can't just get replacement insurance (from Sprint) without jumping through their hoops to get it to happen.

And I'm still waiting on a promised replacement battery from GS for the Moment which I had to request 3 different times starting in early Dec., they (GS or whoever) at 1-800-BestBuy keep fouling that process up until I have to call (again and again) to ask "where's the battery you promised to ship ...". Then they re-order all over again. Another wait. While waiting for the Glacier to arrive with my battery, I had to buy one just to self-diagnose my Moment issues (which is why I wanted the replacement battery to begin with).

GS just has its problems and I actually am amazed and dissapointed it turned out this way in my case.

Oh, BTW, I went to the Best Buy Store (BB Mobile @ BB Store) to request the Moment replacement battery. There I was told "call 1-800-Best Buy". I call, they tell me "go to the store to request the battery". I go back to the store where I'm told "GS e-mailed all the stores telling us to tell customers to call 1-800-BestBuy for batteries". So how much confidence should I have in your company(s) after all this nonsense, wasted time, my money, and my effort? And if anyone asks me, what am I supposed to say about all this?

Right now I would have to suggest buying the phones from Best Buy to get the immediate discount, but get the insurance from Sprint.

-Gary K

 

[gmjlopez]

Sorry you had a bad experience with Best Buy's service. The repair center isn't owned by BBY and the do sometimes screw it up. At our store we try to help the customer more because we have a huge repeat customer history at our location. Not sure if you know but you can go to any Best Buy Mobile location with help on your GS Black Tie Protection. Sounds like that store is making it to difficult to get what you're paying for. As far as the battery goes I will look into that. I know at the store there is nothing we can do about getting a battery. 1-800-bestbuy should have resolved this issue for you.