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Returning Thunderbolt

red66charger

red66charger

Android Expert
After giving it a week, I just can't accept the poor battery performance of the Thunderbolt. I also can't believe how poor the external speaker is for hands free calling in the car.

I've never returned a phone before...in fact TB was my first smart phone purchase, and the feature phone I was using I had for over two years. I know, I know...what a noob, right? :)

Anyhow, before I go back to the Verizon Corporate store where I purchased the phone, I'm hoping to get some information about what to expect when I tell them I want to return the phone. I know I'll be paying a $35 restocking fee, but I'm concerned about what happens with my contract and discounted upgrade status. I currently have the $30 unlimited data plan with TB. I assume that goes away, correct? Will they reactivate my old feature phone? Since I'm planning on getting the Bionic (which I'm hoping with have better battery performance) I'd be willing to continue to pay for the data plan until Bionic is released, but I'm guessing that won't be possible.

I guess I'd just like to know what I should expect when I return the phone. I'm already going to feel stupid since was waiting at the Verizon store early the day TB launched, and now I'm returning it. I just feel that for the money I spent I shouldn't have to accept the poor battery performance.

Thanks.
 
Regardless of the android phone you get its gonna suck down battery, between the massive screens, 1+ghz cpus, and data especiallly 4g there isnt going to be a big difference from that to the bionic. Just dont go thinking that this is a thunderbolt unique problem. It will be more about how you use your phone and managing it yourself (not task killer, but disabling wifi or 4g than the difference from one phone to the other.

I dont have the TB but i have a few friend with other high end android phones and its the same story. I have an ally, the cheapest one i could get at the time and still have no problem killing a battery in in as little as 8 hours but somedays can stretch it for a day an a half.

I doubt VZW is going to throw you any curve balls about making the return. Dont know if they would give you back the upgrade or not.
 
While true that a smartphone is more of a mobile computer than a phone and will attack the battery, even the Incredible had people complaining about bad battery life seemingly more than others, some say it's an HTC thing.

I've read that having 4G not in a 4G area is the cause for the battery drain on the TB, but in the "expert" reviews I've read where they were measuring 4G download speeds, they also said the TB battery life was horrible. That to me eliminates the other theory.

I honestly don't understand why people are expecting their mobile computer to last days and days without charging as if it is a dumbphone when they know their laptop won't last for days without a charge either.
But I've read reviews where the Thunderbolt was dying in 2.5 hours, that's ridiculous.
 
You will have to pay $35 restock. Then, you will return back to your prior situation. If you didn't have a contract, then it will roll back to month to month. When you reactivate your old phone, you can have the same plan as before with the same features. There is no charge for this. They gave me my new every two credit back, but it shows up as a notation on my account for a future credit when I purchase a new phone, and at a discounted price. The credit must be used before sometime before about mid July, 6 months from the date their new policy began in Jan which eliminated new every two's. I returned mine for the same reason you stated.
 
pool_shark said:
But I've read reviews where the Thunderbolt was dying in 2.5 hours, that's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That is my issue. I've had great 4G service in the Clearwater, Florida area. Still trying to decide what to do. I've read HTC is known to be rough on battery life. Motorola not as much so. Plus, I've also read Bionic will have an 1800mah battery compared to TB's 1400mah. I'm worried if I return my TB and have the same issue with Bionic I'll regret my decision.

You live and learn, I guess. :)
 
Haven't decided for sure about another phone yet. It won't be soon with Verizon though, not because I don't like them, but because many of their upcoming phones will be large, like 4.3 inch screens, Moto-blur stuff, and suspect that these new ones will be battery hogs also. Too bad about the TB. I'm going to check out the Nexus S 4G on Sprint, which is due out real soon. The Nexus S series have generally had very good battery lives and since this is a pure Google phone it won't be loaded down with bloatware like the Verizon TB had which suck up juice.
 
red66charger said:
Thanks. That is my issue. I've had great 4G service in the Clearwater, Florida area. Still trying to decide what to do. I've read HTC is known to be rough on battery life. Motorola not as much so. Plus, I've also read Bionic will have an 1800mah battery compared to TB's 1400mah. I'm worried if I return my TB and have the same issue with Bionic I'll regret my decision.

You live and learn, I guess. :)
Click to expand...

I would prefer the Bionic over the TB. I don't see the dual core as being a big deal until they start making apps that will make use of the multi-threading capability, but for people that like the hdmi out will have fun because of the mirroring. Also looking at the pics it seems that the bionic can turn the homescreen to landscape without the use of a 3rd party launcher, I don't know if the Thunderbolt can do that.
 
I had the Motorola Atrix for over 3 weeks. It's dual core and large battery drained at a rate similar to my current phone, the thunderbolt. Which is fine by me.

Curious how the inspire would fare, I switched from moto atrix to htc inspire for one week and found the performance was at overall the same if not, even a bit smoother on the inspire.

I actually liked the inspire so much that I thought with verizon's LTE and the thunderbolt's features over the inspire would make a really good phone for me. and im glad i made the switch.



dual core did not make a noticeable difference imo.
 
Android can not make use of dual cores yet except for certain games written specifically for dual cores. Full dual core functionality won't be out until Android 2.4 Icecream. You still get a much better GPU though.
 
I returned my TB too. Battery life was just a killer. I took off the $35 restocking fee and got iPhone 4.
 
Well, there is an app out now that allows you to toggle between 3G and 4G reception. Keeping the phone in 3G mode when you don't need the 4G speed saves a lot of the battery. It made a pretty significant difference for my wife.
 
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