Get your Captivate replaced for free, solve all your problems!

[automagrt]

How many hoops does AT&T make you jump through to get a replacement phone? Do they require you to hard reset it? I've had this phone since the day it was released and at first I could deal with the bugs but I'm not sure I can take it for another year and half. Here are the major issues:

• GPS takes 5-6 minutes to get my location when not on Wifi

• 
  Can't answer calls at times. I can swipe and swipe but it doesn't answer. Or it will ring but the phone screen won't show up to even allow me to answer.

• Signal drops out and it won't find service again without restarting phone (which takes 4 mins before it's usable again).

• Wifi gets stuck turning off and won't turn back on without restart.

Those are just the major problems. I could go on and on about the minor annoyances such as the lag, inability to turn off an alarm once it's set, receiving multiple copies of a text, etc. I just don't want to spend hours on the phone with AT&T trying to troubleshoot what seems to me to be a defective phone.

 

[gary1949]

Samsung and AT&T recognized that there was a defect in early build 1007 phones within a certain serial number range that could experience a power down situation. AT&T created a memo (search "random powerdown" in the forum for a copy of the memo) that acknowledged this defect and included instructions on how store associates should deal with it - which was to assist customers in getting a replacement phone.

I have not seen this same type of acknowledgement and action plan for any other problems, including the gps, although it was admitted that gps performance was not "optimized".

I've found the best course of action for me has been to go to my local AT&T store and calmly discuss the situation and avoiding being confrontational with store personnel. It's best to have them willing to assist you through the process rather than having them become an additional barrier in the way of solving your problem.

In my situation, the store does not replace phones from their store stock if it's been over 30 days since sale. Standard procedure is for the customer to call AT&T Warranty Repair on their own, which means you may have to go through layers of assistance and get put on hold a lot. And argue your case alone. Store associates don't make policy, so it's not in your best interests to argue policy and alienate them. But my store associate was willing to place the call for me using a number to Warranty Repair that gives them direct access without being put on hold. The store associate spoke with warranty repair and confirmed that my phone was the effected build number and serial number range and that the disassembly sticker had not been violated.

At that point I was handed the phone and a very pleasant warranty repair person offered me a replacement - no arguing, no shouting, no begging. And I'm very satisfied with my end result - yours may differ, as several in this post have indicated. I was lucky and got the most recent build, manufactured in Korea three weeks ago (not refurbed, although I was told it would be).

My point is - if you go to AT&T (either a store or on the phone) and are looking for a fight . . . you'll probably get one.

 

[barbj]

okay went to the att recovery store
asked the girl if she could check and get me the updated refurb..
got it...yeah....i was calm and pretty sedate for me...
have been loading my apps /groups etc...thank you all for your help..
now (hah hah) how do u get rid of the att bloat family map //radio etc is it an easy fix..

 

[gary1949]

To actually remove the bloatware you have to root your phone, something I have chosen not to do. There is plenty of information in this forum on how to do that if you want (see CAP FAQ).

Another way is to install a launcher such as ADW. This allows you to set up app home screens with only the apps you choose, hiding the apps you do not use. ADW, Launcher Pro, Go Launcher and others also have many other features that allow customization without rooting.

 

[barbj]

thank you..i dont want to root my phone i'm not too computer
savvy...i might try launcher pro...
everything is still working smoothly this morning...
again thanks....

 

[neo1973]

...unless, of course, you bought it from Walmart, Sams, the kiosk in the mall... Then AT&T acts as if you don't exist.

wrong.

Got mine from wirefly. Called the local sc, they said to bring it down and they would exchange it. No hassle, no questions asked.

were you speaking from experience, or just shooting from the hip?

 

[neo1973]

How many hoops does AT&T make you jump through to get a replacement phone? Do they require you to hard reset it? I've had this phone since the day it was released and at first I could deal with the bugs but I'm not sure I can take it for another year and half. Here are the major issues:

• GPS takes 5-6 minutes to get my location when not on Wifi

• 
  Can't answer calls at times. I can swipe and swipe but it doesn't answer. Or it will ring but the phone screen won't show up to even allow me to answer.

• Signal drops out and it won't find service again without restarting phone (which takes 4 mins before it's usable again).

• Wifi gets stuck turning off and won't turn back on without restart.

Those are just the major problems. I could go on and on about the minor annoyances such as the lag, inability to turn off an alarm once it's set, receiving multiple copies of a text, etc. I just don't want to spend hours on the phone with AT&T trying to troubleshoot what seems to me to be a defective phone.

get a new phone. either a new cappy or a different phone all together.

most ppl on here just wanted their phone to not randomly shut off ALL THE TIME.

Your issues sound typical of any gripes someone might have with any smart phone.

Also, ymmv, but I got rid of ATK. I has helped with my battery AND lag issues.

 

[barbj]

wrong.

Got mine from wirefly. Called the local sc, they said to bring it down and they would exchange it. No hassle, no questions asked.

were you speaking from experience, or just shooting from the hip?

i got mine from lets talk...att never even ? me when i went in for the
refurb..and never asked on the phone...
i have to say i have renewed faith in att...........

last nov i was in mexico with my new cap
and was having an issue dialing in mexico
went to an internet/phone store to call
att ..cost me 20.00
when i got home att gave me 20.00 credit...sweet..way off topic...

 

[selmerdave]

Went in to warranty replacement ATT store in midtown Manhattan this afternoon, hoping to get a Captivate with working GPS. They were friendly and helpful with me but after two new Captivates (both Froyo) were unable to get a GPS signal in several tries nor was the Captivate belonging to one of the girls working there, it was clear that a new one wasn't going to help.

I get a little better GPS performance with the cell tower positioning, but that's not the GPS itself and can be very unreliable just the same. Are the people with new phones with perfect GPS performance getting it with tower positioning off? I can sometimes but not always get a signal outdoors with a clear sky, but as soon as I'm in my car it is pretty useless.

Any thoughts? Should I bite the bullet and send in to Samsung for repair?

Dave

 

[neo1973]

Went in to warranty replacement ATT store in midtown Manhattan this afternoon, hoping to get a Captivate with working GPS. They were friendly and helpful with me but after two new Captivates (both Froyo) were unable to get a GPS signal in several tries nor was the Captivate belonging to one of the girls working there, it was clear that a new one wasn't going to help.

I get a little better GPS performance with the cell tower positioning, but that's not the GPS itself and can be very unreliable just the same. Are the people with new phones with perfect GPS performance getting it with tower positioning off? I can sometimes but not always get a signal outdoors with a clear sky, but as soon as I'm in my car it is pretty useless.

Any thoughts? Should I bite the bullet and send in to Samsung for repair?

Dave

Dave,
I'm not quite sure that GPS has anything to do with the network (it may, like I said I have no idea), but my understanding is that ATT is all but useless in SF, NYC, and LA due to users>>>>>>network bandwidth. Perhaps this is why your GPS is kaput?

 

[gary1949]

Aren't the buildings in downtown NYC blocking line of sight to GPS satellites?

 

[selmerdave]

That could be part of the issue at the warranty store, as well as the fact that we were indoors, it is in the middle of Manhattan with tons of tall buildings surrounding. I have a Garmin which is very reliable from the signal side of it and a total PITA from an interface side, but it may well have had some difficulty in that area though with the phones there was *zero* signal in a good 15 minutes of trying.

But my gps issues include anywhere and are not limited to places one would expect gps to have issues. My question is whether others with reliable gps on their captivate are getting it from the satellites and not from triangulation. When outdoors on a clear day I can get a relatively quick lock from the satellites a little over half the time probably, but in the car it's next to useless.

 

[mongstradamus]

I am getting an replacement tomorrow , i still have my old captivate from september, I will compare the two and see if there are any major differences.


Update: I received my new refurbished captivate its an 1102 build, my previous captivate was an 1007 build. It came preinstalled with froyo on it already, the gps so far hasnt been much of an improvement over the 1007 build captivate. it will sometimes get an initial lock but lose the lock. Ran gpstest app from the market and it could find 3 or 4 satellites but not lock on any of them.