Help Deliberate Obsolescence?

[rlsj]

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that is about three years old, running Android 4.4.2. It has begun to show frequent intermittent failures -- but of software functions, not hardware. For example, it will suddenly be unable to access the Internet, either by WiFi or 4G; or the touch screen will suddenly cease to recognize taps, even on the "goto previous" icon in the lower right corner. A full power cycle -- holding down the power button for several seconds to turn off then again to turn on -- clears up both problems.

I cannot escape the conviction that these are deliberate software failures, engineered by collusion between Google and Verizon to push me into replacing the phone, which is an action that I have no other reason to take. Has anyone else noticed similar failures in phones that have exceeded their contract life?

Thank you for your attention.

 

[Crashdamage]

I haven't noticed anything like that ever, and I've been using Android since v1.0. Only had one phone quit working due to hardware failure. Could be I'm just lucky. I prefer to think it's because I choose phones carefully...and never buy a Samsung.

IMHO I think you're being a bit paranoid with the conspiracy theory - but that's just me.

 

[scary alien]

I think what you're seeing here, @rlsj, is fairly leading-edge devices--i.e., personal computer-type components shrunk-down and packaged into a very small form-factor with heat-dissipation being a big factor in the longevity of our devices.

Also, Google themselves does not actually manufacture these devices--nor do the carriers like Verizon.

Yeah, they have say-so / input in what the final cost of the device is, but I can't imagine that they necessarily dictate planned obsolescence (although they probably could specify that a key component whose mean time between failure was pretty low ).

Then you do have Google's involvement with newer versions of Android that have many new features and do indeed sometimes require more hardware resources to run those new features. That's probably the biggest determining factor for why a device "needs" an upgrade--people want the latest, greatest, fastest, shiniest ( ) phone / tablet around .

 

[svim]

Offhand I'd recommend backing up all your data and doing a factory refresh. Also, maybe be a bit more judicious on which apps you re-install. Since you mentioned that restarting your phone fixes those problems it could just be the operating system needs cleaning up or that something you installed was regularly screwing things up.
As the problems you stated don't seem to be a common issue with everyone else with dated hardware, why do you think Google and Verizon are targeting you in particular?

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that is about three years old, running Android 4.4.2. It has begun to show frequent intermittent failures -- but of software functions, not hardware. For example, it will suddenly be unable to access the Internet, either by WiFi or 4G; or the touch screen will suddenly cease to recognize taps, even on the "goto previous" icon in the lower right corner. A full power cycle -- holding down the power button for several seconds to turn off then again to turn on -- clears up both problems.

I cannot escape the conviction that these are deliberate software failures, engineered by collusion between Google and Verizon to push me into replacing the phone, which is an action that I have no other reason to take. Has anyone else noticed similar failures in phones that have exceeded their contract life?
.

 

[rlsj]

Crashdamage wrote:
" I prefer to think [not noticing such failures is] because I choose phones carefully..."

Thanks for the info.


Scary Alien wrote:
"I think what you're seeing here, @rlsj, is ... components shrunk-down and packaged into a very small form-factor with heat-dissipation being a big factor ..."

That would account for hardware failure. I suppose this _could_ be hardware, although it's unlikely for hardware to begin failing in such unrelated ways shortly after the contract expired, whereas in software written to note the elapsed time it would be easy. Intermittent failure to access the Internet and intermittent loss of touchscreen sensitivity as congruent hardware failures? Perhaps, although in my experience it's a stretch.


Svim wrote:
"I'd recommend backing up all your data and doing a factory refresh."

Sounds like a good idea. Must I approach Verizon for the refresh?

Svim also wrote:
"As the problems you stated don't seem to be a common issue with everyone else with dated hardware, why do you think Google and Verizon are targeting you in particular?"

The purpose of posting this to the forum was to find out whether my experience is unique. If so, obviously they are not and I apologize for the suspicion.

Thank you all for your responses.

 

[svim]

Fingers crossed a factory reset will cure your ills. Three years of service is a long time in smartphone years. Verizon's help site has a step-by-step guide:
https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-103911/

Can't stress enough about backing up your personal data first. Don't just casually back things up, make sure it's in a safe place (i.e. an external SDcard or a computer/laptop -- don't back up to your phone's internal storage and then during the reset wipe it off) and make sure you can actually recover your backed up data (backups are worthless if you can't restore your data).

 

[chanchan05]

It's just a machine showing its age. I have a Note 2 as well. It's partly a machine showing its age and partly most new software being written for the current OS (lollipop) with just backward compatibility enabled.

 

[AZgl1500]

My daughter has a 5 year old Sony laptop that is struggling to keep up with today's Windows software on it.

I just did a super deep house cleaning on it, and gasp! allowed it to update to Win10.
Surprisingly enough, it is a little bit faster with Win10.

I made two clone images of the HD before I did anything to it. Worst case, I can always put it back like it was.