Develop Bugs

About ready to ditch Samsung...(darn it)

My current phone is a Note 4. I've been a Sammy user since Galaxy was introduced (started with Captivate, as I"m on AT&T.)
So, interestingly, I"m not very happy with the Note 4:
AT&T issue - Not rootable. (I don't care any longer for custom ROMS, but miss some capabilities that root offers)
I have several little crazy issues, but 2 main ones are: Google voice prompt speaker whistles with feedback when first say 'OK Google' (Got a replacement and same issue on it); Can't get any app to consistently read texts over BT while driving.
I think the bloatware is causing some performance problems for me. I have disabled several and it did help.
I have a LOT of apps installed. Always have. Counting bloatware that may not be disabled, I have around 150.
Oh, also, I have lots of problems with Pandora on this phone. When the accessory is launched from my car, often it fails. When I play Pandora app, it often quits playing if it is not the front/active app. Very annoying.
If multitasking, it definitely has strong lags.
So I was thinking that the Note 5 would be my final phone for a while (actually thought that about this one). But I read that the 4GB is half used up on initial boot. So, I'm thinking I need to move to something less bloated. I don't have any confidence that the Note 5 would be rootable, I did have confidence that it would be eventually on the Note 4...but it's taking a long time.
Given my large app list, I'm thinking thatI should not settle for less than 4GB . Less bloat may help that issue...look at a pure Android experience maybe. (Of course chasing that via a custom ROM may be an alternative...but we know the status of that on the Note 4. Plus, in the past I've tried a lot of different ROMS, including popular 'stable' ones, and they ALL have bugs.)
I'm hoping to get something that works much better hands free. Haven't had much luck with that with any of my Android phones. I had much better luck with that way back when I was on Microsoft's phone OS, before Windows phone...with Microsoft's Voice Command.

Thinking of switching to Tmobile. Trade in the Note 4 for a Moto X style. Great specs for $399. It'll be easy to pay off. Service monthly payments will be cheaper then att.
But I've invested money in a gear vr and cases. Still deciding and looking at other devices.
Also most Samsung phones on Tmobile are or at most times get root.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

I'm waiting for the official launch of the Note 5, and if it doesn't have the expandable memory as its being reported, then I'm a definite bye-bye Samsung. And no matter what, never again AT&T.

DARKCHYLDX101 said:
Thinking of switching to Tmobile. Trade in the Note 4 for a Moto X style. Great specs for $399. It'll be easy to pay off. Service monthly payments will be cheaper then att.
But I've invested money in a gear vr and cases. Still deciding and looking at other devices.
Also most Samsung phones on Tmobile are or at most times get root.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
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I actually considered purchasing a TMobile one when I got this one. Could still sell/change...but I've lost confidence in the Samsung brand working. I hear good things about the Moto phones. I'm considering the Pure...but given my penchant for a lot of apps (none of them games), I'm thinking I need 4 GB RAM.
I don't want to change to TMobile due to less coverage. I have considered moving to Verizon to bet better data speed in my area (St. Augustine, FL), but they would cost me more than AT&T, and I'm not sure I would get better data speeds.
Kamau54 said:
I'm waiting for the official launch of the Note 5, and if it doesn't have the expandable memory as its being reported, then I'm a definite bye-bye Samsung. And no matter what, never again AT&T.
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Sounds pretty much for sure it won't have the SD. But even if it does, in my case, I'm just ready to move away from Samsung. Of course, I could find I have as much trouble getting what I want it to do with any of them.
I checked on the Moto site, and it says we can test for 14 days and return for free if not happy. I may just give that a whirl.

There is no expandable memory on the Note 5

Kamau54 said:
I'm waiting for the official launch of the Note 5, and if it doesn't have the expandable memory as its being reported, then I'm a definite bye-bye Samsung. And no matter what, never again AT&T.
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I used the note 5, it's the same memory as the s6, you shouldn't be surprised. And you should have no hope for root or an unlock on any att or verizon phone. Seriously, you all know what to expect, but the phone from tmobile or the international version.

fortillian said:
There is no expandable memory on the Note 5
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Yup, as I said, that's what is being reported.
thanitos said:
I used the note 5, it's the same memory as the s6, you shouldn't be surprised. And you should have no hope for root or an unlock on any att or verizon phone. Seriously, you all know what to expect, but the phone from tmobile or the international version.
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No surprise to me. That's part of why I'm ditching Samsung. Maybe my posts haven't been quite clear about that though.

I got to see and hold the note 5, just confirming the reports of no expandable media.

The point of this thread is .... ?

I feel you big time. I also love big ole sammy, but bloat is a huge problem. I have been using the GS6 edge for the last week and I will say I love it. My note 4 is sooooo sssluuggish. Its gets frustrating. I also have a lot of app.s. Maybe that is the problem. I got this to be my everyday device. A phablet. But I am really leaning the direction of just having my nexus for reading/gaming and a phone for social. That has really been working for me this past week. The GS6 Edge is very snappy and the less bloat on these new phones help a lot. I aloso disabled a bunch and put on nova on and call me speedy gonzalez because I am flying.

Yep me too! My next phone will definitely have to be the One plus Two or Moto X 2015. It all depends on what I can get my hands on first. I love Samsung, but if I can't have my freedom on what I wanna do with my phone, there's no point of having an android version of an iPhone. Because if those were my only two options, iPhone would be my first choice. I choose Android because of Root, and customization. Not stupid Knox and carriers locking the bootloader crap. I wish I would've kept my jailbroken iPhone if I knew that were the case. So yeah definitely One plus Two, maybe Moto X if it's unlockable and rootable

Since some Notes are locked down and others not,shouldn't everyone's anger be placed on the carrier? Obviously AT&T and Verizon are the ones at fault. If you like the Note series buy unlocked or go for the guaranteed unlocked Nexus. I have both so when I want to mess around I have the Nexus and sometimes it's nice to trade off to the full featured Note. It really is the best way to go and keeps my anger to a minimum. I have to say with the Nexus you never have these back and forth games and you can do whatever you want without worrying about an update locking you out for the long term.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

fbauto1 said:
The point of this thread is .... ?
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This is general discussion about att note 4. This is what op is doing. Please be more kind to people.

fbauto1 said:
The point of this thread is .... ?
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I think the purpose is more obvious than your contribution to the thread.
dagolith said:
This is general discussion about att note 4. This is what op is doing. Please be more kind to people.
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Yup, generate discussion. I think it's been pretty successful at doing that.

May try T-Mobile Note 4 - Root...
Before I abandon Samsung, I may try abandoning the AT&T version of the Note 4.
I haven't been interested in putting on ROMS (did that a lot on previous phones, and I find even for those that are touted as 'solid', there are always one bug or another), but maybe that is what I should do. Been reading on various ROMS over on the T-Mobile forum.
So, if I do this, next I need to decide whether to abandon TW (I do like some of the features...), then if not, whether to install a KitKat or LP ROM. I may try one or both of those options, then if not happy, try AOSP.
Then if not happy, maybe by then there will be reviews out on others I'm considering...although the Nexus has to arrive. From what I'm seeing, it'll be October before that gets out.

My anger is with ATT for being locked down and even more so Samsung. Their greed is borderline criminal IMHO. There is absolutely no reason why the Note 4 and Edge cannot have the updated Touchwiz. Wish I had stuck with my Nexus 6, but only gave up on it because it didn't take advantage of the big screen and Android M took care of that. Been trying to trade my Edge for a G4 or N6 for weeks now.

Still seriously confused why some st**id carriers locked down phones? Should have make some research before trading my trustworthy Note 3 for Note 4 at&t. I don't see this device having unlocked bootloader soon G4 callling

I had faith they would break it and be able to root it. Seems that the developers for Samsung or AT&T is finally getting ahead of our developers and winning that battle.
I no longer have faith the AT&T will get rooted.
In fact, it's starting to feel like the leanings are headed to no root more and more.

ewingr said:
I had faith they would break it and be able to root it. Seems that the developers for Samsung or AT&T is finally getting ahead of our developers and winning that battle.
I no longer have faith the AT&T will get rooted.
In fact, it's starting to feel like the leanings are headed to no root more and more.
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Lol also 2nd ur opinion. I gave up on this phone been root able, deal is the phone is fast still so I don't have the need to root lol but I do have a gear s from att?which I would like to one day install a Droid port but sucks is att and locked. Stupid carrier

yemkoid said:
Still seriously confused why some st**id carriers locked down phones? Should have make some research before trading my trustworthy Note 3 for Note 4 at&t. I don't see this device having unlocked bootloader soon G4 callling
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The locking of bootloaders is to exponentially increase security in order to gain military, government and corporate contracts...which they did. Verizon and AT&T Samsung devices were rated highest in security in today's market. T-Mobile and Sprint chose not to most likely because they do not have the coverage country-wide to encourage those sales.

I've lost all hope for rooting this phone

I find it so mind boggling that after checking these forums daily since the phone was released there is still no (permanent) root for this phone. Am I wrong for thinking this? With all the brains and experience out there you would think something would have happened by now. I seriously think there is a permanent root solution out there and it's being kept a secret from the rest of us. Sorry for ranting, I have no one else to explain my frustration to besides the people here. Have a nice day.

I hear ya, which is why I am going to sell my Note4 and get another phone. No more Samsung Android phones for me unless i change to T-Mobile which will never happen due to lack of reception at my house.

I'm switching to T-Mobile and sticking with LG once this contract is up, at&t and Samsung can go fly a kite.

You could sell yours and get an unlocked t-mobile version. I am frustrated too, but the only solution at this point is to be proactive. Peace!

Yeah I'm not doing a Samsung phone again.. sure it may have the best screen and what not, but I'll gladly take up to date android OS/root/recovery over that. You could sell your note 4 for about 350, then ebay a t-mobile version, or put in another 100 and get the new nexus or moto x pure

Yeah I'll see what T-Mobile can do for me to switch, I've read they will pay up to $300 for your phone and up to $350 for early termination fees in the form of a credit if you switch, Not too bad of a deal. AT&T if you're reading this, double middle fingers to you assholes.

Hate to add to the same type of replies however I can't agree more with all of you. Not just about root either. Updates come to us so slow and this device has always had slightly more lag then my s4. Pretty sure i'm either going straight to the source with the Nexus line or switching over to iOS. I'll miss the spen but at least the current Nexus phone has AMOLED.

I am with ya too. Once my contract on my At&t Note 4 is up in 2017. I am thinking about switching to whatever Nexus device is out, or a budge device like the OnePlus or Moto G, so I could root it or customize it as I choose.
.

trick
Anyone going to try Google FI? Or any phone recommendations?

jaydiamonds said:
Anyone going to try Google FI? Or any phone recommendations?
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It's probably going to be so limited to a few major cities for quite a long time. If the price makes sense and the quality is there then absolutely. Building an entire mobile network that is capable of reaching 99% of the country is extremely expensive and time consuming. The 4 major carriers have been working on it for 20 years and they are still building towers like crazy.
As for phone recommendations, I recommend looking at all the variables in the equation and make your decision accordingly. For me, checking to see if root has any progress or is already available is at the top of my list, followed by the device itself. To sum it up, some phones aren't very practical (nexus 6) but they excel in **** that matters to me (first to get system updates and easily rootable).

Thanks!
playerone_ said:
It's probably going to be so limited to a few major cities for quite a long time. If the price makes sense and the quality is there then absolutely. Building an entire mobile network that is capable of reaching 99% of the country is extremely expensive and time consuming. The 4 major carriers have been working on it for 20 years and they are still building towers like crazy.
As for phone recommendations, I recommend looking at all the variables in the equation and make your decision accordingly. For me, checking to see if root has any progress or is already available is at the top of my list, followed by the device itself. To sum it up, some phones aren't very practical (nexus 6) but they excel in **** that matters to me (first to get system updates and easily rootable).
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Click to collapse

I will never get sucked into the samsung hype ever again. This phone has generally received good reviews since day one, and I honestly have hated it since the day I obtained it. I had an S4 before this note 4, and I have to say that I hated that phone too. The hardware is awesome, and the software is sub-par bull poo poo. Every samsung phone I have ever had has had problems. Namely with the GPS, among other things, but I think any problem I have ever had with a samsung phone could have been solved with custom firmware. I know this is as much, or more so, a carrier issue as well as a manufacturer issue. The manufacturer puts crap software on the device, then the carrier locks it down so that you are stuck with it. The note 5 looks flashy as hell, but I will not get sucked in again! C'mon Nexus!!

Isn't the Note 5 already rooted with working TWRP? I don't understand how that phone could be rooted so fast and the Note4 will never be.

cozpolt said:
Isn't the Note 5 already rooted with working TWRP? I don't understand how that phone could be rooted so fast and the Note4 will never be.
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That is the t-mobile, sprint, international versions; all have an unlocked bootloader. The Verizon and att versions have a locked bootloader with a sha-256 key. If you read the att version does not boot if tried to root.

Even without perma-root (or root at all for those on LP like myself), this is still a darn good phone. Shame I can't use my gamepad properly, but at least I've only a year left before I can go for something else. Honestly, even with a chance of never getting root, I'd still get a Note 6 (when that comes, I mean).

That new nexus 6p is where I'm heading. Samsung really screwed us :/. On my note 2 I ran pure stock android because it's smooth as hell! I have to be stuck with Samsung's nonsense running the background with the note 4... Can't wait for the nexus 6p to drop. I'll be first in line!

UrbanLagoon said:
That new nexus 6p is where I'm heading. Samsung really screwed us :/. On my note 2 I ran pure stock android because it's smooth as hell! I have to be stuck with Samsung's nonsense running the background with the note 4... Can't wait for the nexus 6p to drop. I'll be first in line!
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Not Samsung, AT&T and Verizon are who is screwing you. They made the choice to lock everything down for more profits.

I finally gave up and sold my AT&T Note 4 for a T-Mobile variant. The difference is night and day, I was having severe battery drain, and normally would be <20% by the end of the day today, for the first time I haven't had to charge my phone overnight, and the battery is still at 65%. It drained 1% overnight for 8 hours.
Custom ROM and Kernels make a HUGE difference. Now I don't have to keep power saving mode on, which also increased lag and I can actually go a day without having to charge my phone and I get all the other benefits of root. Definitely will not buy another Samsung phone with a locked bootloader, I was getting ready to switch to an iPhone because I was so unhappy with the Note 4 performance and battery life.

I am on the ATT next program. Do I have to pay off phone before I sell it?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using xda premium

KennyG123 said:
Not Samsung, AT&T and Verizon are who is screwing you. They made the choice to lock everything down for more profits.
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What I meant to say was. Samsung also screwed us with the note 5.. They let their customers know they are headed into the iLame direction. I left apple after 4 years because it lacked tons of features. I'm assuming Samsung will drop the s pen on the note 6 and turn it into a $99 Samsung Pencil that you will have to buy on the side by the looks of it hahaha.

Who's getting rid of the note 7?

Just wondering who here is keeping the note 7 and taking the risk of it exploding? I'm happy to keep mine though little annoyed that they've stopped gear VR support and I'm 80% certain Samsung will eventually force us all to return the note 7 by maybe a software update that renders the phone useless.
I honestly have no idea what phone I'd get, I had the S7 edge as a temporary replacement phone while the recall was going on and it didn't feel as good as the note 7, the software wasn't as good and I missed the little features like the swipe gesture in the camera app for example. I still have my note 4 but it uses a different sim card so will have to get an adaptor but even then the note 4 seems really out dated in comparison but I get to keep the S-pen which is the biggest reason I got a note device in the first place. I also have a gear s2 smart watch and while it should work with other android phones it's just works better with a Samsung phone. I hope Samsung do something quick maybe release a note 8 and replace the note 7s with it lol there's just no alternatives.
What are you doing with your note 7?

Heading to VZW over lunch. No clue what I'm replacing with, or if they will even allow me yet (VZW 3rd Party).

mikesaa309 said:
What are you doing with your note 7?
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Hanging on to it for as long as I possibly can. If the deadline for a replacement or refund is midnight on 31st December, I'll hand it in on 31st December.

Is a p**s take though like what about people who've brought cases for the note 7 and other accessories? I purchased my gear vr from ebay for £80 as the seller had it with the note 7 but didn't want it and I couldn't seem to find it anywhere online or in shops probably due to the recall. I had the S7 edge at the time so could still use it but now they've cut off note 7 support so I no longer can use my gear VR so I'd at least like to know exactly what's going on so I can possibly see about selling it. Add on top the money I've spent on apps which I can no long use on the gear VR it's just ridiculous. I personally wouldn't mind waiting through another recall as long as I get to keep and use the note 7 I have then just swap it for a new and hopefully completely safe note 7 but looks like the note 7 is done for.

I'm keeping mine. I will treasure it even more now knowing once it's gone, it's gone forever. Now I need to figure out a way getting rid of the 60% charging cap. I love this phone so much!

jak341 said:
Heading to VZW over lunch. No clue what I'm replacing with, or if they will even allow me yet (VZW 3rd Party).
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VZW was no help here. They said deal w Samsung. BS.

If I change the build.prop file, do you reckon I can trick the oculus app into thinking it's an S7 edge not a note 7?? I used it on the gear vr before the update and it seemed to work okay without getting stupidly hot even had it on charge lol.

The phones I want aren't out yet... Hoping final refund instructions come out in time to pre order the v20.. or maybe the pixel . I'm in the Philippines... Don't know how I can order the pixel lol

juliend said:
VZW was no help here. They said deal w Samsung. BS.
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If not today, give it some time. This is still breaking news and info. hasn't flown down yet.
I did notice in my VZW account that my Note 7 now says "Upgrade Eligible". This wasn't there yesterday. Something on the back end happened.
At minimum, I'm going to deactivate this device and put an old phone on the account for now.

TMO has offered to exchange me out of this POS. But as others have said, there is nothing out there right now to really hold it down. So my question is this, Nougat won't be released for the N7 I suppose, what is the true lifespan of the phone with updates not being released for it? And of course, there is the explosion possibility?

androidcentralsucks said:
TMO has offered to exchange me out of this POS. But as others have said, there is nothing out there right now to really hold it down. So my question is this, Nougat won't be released for the N7 I suppose, what is the true lifespan of the phone with updates not being released for it? And of course, there is the explosion possibility?
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Personally - and you have to make up your own mind on this - I am not even 0.000000000001 % bothered about the "explosion risk". You have about as much chance of winning Euromillions tonight, and in my view, that is no basis to reject a piece of equipment.
The lack of updates and also dismal resale value is much more concerning.
But worse than any of that, I think Samsung will send out an update that cripples the phone. They did it with Rev.1. so I have no reason to assume they won't do the same with Rev.2. Your choice to keep it may very well be taken out of your hands, which personally, I think is disgusting.

jak341 said:
If not today, give it some time. This is still breaking news and info. hasn't flown down yet.
I did notice in my VZW account that my Note 7 now says "Upgrade Eligible". This wasn't there yesterday. Something on the back end happened.
At minimum, I'm going to deactivate this device and put an old phone on the account for now.
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Yeah, I'm back on my OG HTC One, lol. So far 1 hour on the phone with Samsung and everyone is clueless. About to hang up and just hit VZW again in a day or two. I have to say, though, it's irritating to be paying on a device that is powered down and not activated on my line (Edge financing).

Time to cut loses. Thats what samsung did. The phone hase become a liability. Get your money back if you can.

juliend said:
Yeah, I'm back on my OG HTC One, lol. So far 1 hour on the phone with Samsung and everyone is clueless. About to hang up and just hit VZW again in a day or two. I have to say, though, it's irritating to be paying on a device that is powered down and not activated on my line (Edge financing).
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Why don't you just use it? Seriously there's been like 8 with problems out of what, 2 million, 3 million? Seriously you have more chance of being run over than having a problem with the device.
The thing with statistics is they can be unintuitive and lead to strange conclusions. Let's say one phone in every 500,000 is going to develop a fault and catch fire. From Samsung's perspective, that means they can be certain they will have lots of unhappy customers, potential lawsuits and bad publicity and therefore it's a bit of a no-brainer to stop selling it.
But from your perspective, you have a 500,000:1 on chance that your phone will have no problems. And in the remotely unlikely event that it does, how likely is it to kill you, burn your house down or anything like that. Even less likely. There are ZERO such reports.
So it's up to you, but for me, it's a no brainer to keep using it, and I hope Samsung will respect that point of view and not cripple our phones with some unnecessary and unwanted forced update.

Chippy_boy said:
Personally - and you have to make up your own mind on this - I am not even 0.000000000001 % bothered about the "explosion risk". You have about as much chance of winning Euromillions tonight, and in my view, that is no basis to reject a piece of equipment.
The lack of updates and also dismal resale value is much more concerning.
But worse than any of that, I think Samsung will send out an update that cripples the phone. They did it with Rev.1. so I have no reason to assume they won't do the same with Rev.2. Your choice to keep it may very well be taken out of your hands, which personally, I think is disgusting.
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Yeah I agree I'm not so much concerned about the explosion risk but just the lack of support and updates in the future. Wish they'd just let us take the risk I for one wouldn't sue Samsung if my note 7 does explode there's little chance that you haven't heard about the issues from somewhere therefore it's not Samsung's fault that I took the risk.

What did samsung do with the phone after they recalled it, if they didn't fix the issue?

Samsung UK web site has no mention of recall for v2.
Doing nothing until Samsung (who I bought it from) contact me. Even then it won't be going back until it's knocked out by Samsung.

Rick GM said:
Samsung UK web site has no mention of recall for v2.
Doing nothing until Samsung (who I bought it from) contact me. Even then it won't be going back until it's knocked out by Samsung.
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https://twitter.com/SamsungUK/status/785863444696272896, they want UK note 7 owners to give the phone back

mikesaa309 said:
Yeah I agree I'm not so much concerned about the explosion risk but just the lack of support and updates in the future. Wish they'd just let us take the risk I for one wouldn't sue Samsung if my note 7 does explode there's little chance that you haven't heard about the issues from somewhere therefore it's not Samsung's fault that I took the risk.
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Indeed. Just looking it up now, you are 500 times more likely to die from riding a motorbike than you are to have a fire with your Note 7. (Assuming 1 phone per 500,000 has a problem.)

best buy exchanged mine out with no questions asked. I was told to even keep the 256GB SD card. unfortunate I went to the dark side and got iphone7 plus. The LG was just cheap and I was unimpressed. Buying the Google Pixel XL outright to bring over to Sprint was not a option for me. I am done with Sammy with all the issues I have had with there products since the Note 4 and other house hold appliances. Iphone was my only option.

Samsung causing irreparable harm. End of an era? Perhaps.

In spite of my best intentions, and really attempting to remain loyal to Samsung during a decidedly rough time for the company, I am being completely abandoned by Samsung. Do they care? Not at all. Do they think the loss of one (more) customer is significant? It would appear not. That attitude is not really great, but it's understandable. If we, the consumers are in a bad way over this, and we certainly are, depending on your particular circumstances, then it's not hard to imagine how messed up thing must be for those Samsung employees that are dedicated and we rightfully proud of the N7.
It's a nightmare for all. That being said, we the living still have to work and play and go on with our lives. I sat on a fence for a week, just paralyzed - I was in denial, I realize; "this can't be... it just can. not. be...
But acceptance is one of the steps I think, and with that in mind I came up with a plan. Trading the Note 7 for an S7 or S7 Edge was not an option. I already HAVE an S7 (work phone) and an S7 Edge (personal phone that I kept when upgrading to Note 7. Besides, neither is a Note. I sold my Note 4 when I got the N7. The S7 Edge is a beautiful phone. It's just not a NOTE. Different usage case.
So I decided, with my options disappearing, that a Note 5 was the best (least worst?) option available to me, as sad as that appears. The Note 5 has the newer build methods and materials, though it's not as balanced, nor as slick as the Note 7 was/is (or as slippery) and I sure don't have to list why it's a weak substitute in this space, but it IS the closest thing to a N7 in a Note Series phone. So I decide to bite the bullet and live with half the internal memory, no water resistance, a smaller battery (but not prone to meltdown at least) etc.
Guess what? No Note 5 to be had. There's obviously SOME around since a guy posted that Verizon got him one for about $375 or so - but AT&T? Nope. Nada. They must have divested themselves of them knowing that NOBODY would want one with the N& selling alongside it. Whoopsie. Bad call. Note 5 would be more popular today than when it was new on the market.
So I tried Samsung. Thinking I would give them a really hard time and hopefully get them to GIVE me one until a new model - ANY new model phone comes out. I have gotten stuff in the past when a company is trying really hard to keep customers.
Guess what? No Note 5 to be had here either. SAMSUNG got rid of them all, at least all the ones in the sales channel. So both AT&T and Samsung can't get me ANY model note phone, including prepaid devices or refurbs (why the rep thought she could find a Prepaid Note 5 is a joke in itself.
To add (another) insult to (yet more) injury, the AT&T rep tells me "You can use the S-Pen on the S7" I kindly explain to her why that is not so, no Wacom digitizer, thus no S-Pen, but she INSISTS! Sher READ IT SOMEWHERE (therefore it MUST be true, right?) So, since I HAVE an S& and 2 S-Pens (one kept back from the 1st N7 recall) I tell okay, let's TRY IT! HEY! Guess what? (I say that a lot here, don't I?) It DOESN'Y WORK! WHAT A SURPRISE! I am SO disappointed. But she tells me (wait for it) You must be doing something wrong. My documentation says a stylus works with the Note 7. FACE PALM (when what I feel like doing is reaching through the phone line and (expletive deleted)
So yeah. Truly without a viable option. And the sad part is, I didn't even WANT the damn Note 5 very much, but was willing to make the best of it, AND stay loyal to Samsung, and buy yet ANOTHER Samsung Phone next year. They keep this up they will be competing with HTC and Motorola on phone sales again. You can't stay at the top of the tier when you a) have no product to sell at that level, and b) Give your (potentially loyal) customers no way to remain so, despite their willingness to work with you.
Based on these realizations I have to believe Samsung will reap exactly what they are sowing today which is big losses of sales, loss of market share, and loss of loyal customer base. It doesn't get much worse than that. But fret not. Even these extremes wouldn't send me over the dark side of the apple.

Note 5's for ATT are everywhere. Have you looked at Amazon lately? BH Photo?
My search was really fruitless. No Verizon Note 5's anywhere except at Verizon, where I would have to pay as much as the Note 7 costs while simultaneously losing my Upgrade status and be stuck with it for 24 months to boot.
So I feel for you but only half as much as I feel for me.

Yes but I need AT&T to GIVE the NOTE 5 to me. I dont want to buy one, lol! I would, under the right circumstances give up the NOTE 7 (sob!) but there's no way I am using up an upgrade or the GO TO on an N5. It has to just be a placeholder, not a replacement for N7.

Just to ask:
Have you tried calling Samsung's Note 7 department based in Colorado? The number is 855-291-6255 - no matter who you first speak with ask for the Note 7 department in Colorado. If you get any grief over it tell them you had called earlier (a little white lie) and you had been on hold with that department for an hour or so and got disconnected and nobody has called you back.
I know of 13 people personally that have used that method to get a full retail refund of the purchase price on their Note 7 devices: 5 of them with AT&T, 4 of them with Verizon, 3 with T-Mobile, and 1 with Sprint. How do I know? Because I gave them that number and those instructions last week after I saw the number posted over at Reddit with the same info and instructions.
Now, as of this minute Samsung might be doing things a bit differently, I don't know, but 5 (2 from AT&T, 1 from Sprint, 1 from T-Mobile, and 1 from Verizon) of those 13 people I provided the number and info too already got their refunds this week (they told me when their checks arrived). They also returned their devices to their carriers and were told to either keep them or wait for Samsung to send the return packaging.
It sure can't hurt to give 'em a call and see what happens. If you're successful and you get the refund congrats, now you'll have money to go buy whatever phone you want (given that if you were under contract with the Note 7 purchase you'd be paying that off if required, some carriers are just writing off those losses at this point).

I read the other day that the Note is only good for about one or two percent of their phone sales, so while it bites, it's probably not biting them as much as it should be, resulting in a general feel among people that they don't care. Or that's my guess at this point.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk

br0adband said:
Just to ask:
Have you tried calling Samsung's Note 7 department based in Colorado? The number is 855-291-6255 - no matter who you first speak with ask for the Note 7 department in Colorado. If you get any grief over it tell ...
It sure can't hurt to give 'em a call and see what happens. If you're successful and you get the refund congrats, now you'll have money to go buy whatever phone you want (given that if you were under contract with the Note 7 purchase you'd be paying that off if required, some carriers are just writing off those losses at this point).
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Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate it, but I think you may have missed the entire point of my long winded tale... I don't WANT a REFUND. AT&T will give me a refund, take back the device, shut down the extra line I assigned it and all that. None of which helps me in any way. What I need is a NOTE PHONE. Having sold my perfect condition NOTE 3 and Note 4 after grabbing the Note 7, I have nothing to fall back on and no way to GET a NOTE PHONE. Having a refund leaves me without the phone I need and no reasonable replacement. Thanks anyway, though.

So you're trying to get a Note 5 for free? You think they're just going to do that? After all of this mess?
You said AT&T couldn't find one to sell you... so what is is, you are trying to get one for free, or you can't find one to buy? Apparently you CAN buy one. https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-N920C-Factory-Unlocked-Galaxy/dp/B013WACF4S?th=1

This has sucked for everyone affected. Personally I've been through two Note7's and ended up with a S7 Edge. If I wanted a S7 Edge I would have pre-ordered it when it came out. I stuck with Samsung because I use their features across all my other Samsung devices. Those devices include a NotePRO 12.2 (my laptop), Note 10.1 2014 (retired - now primarily my TiVo remote), Galaxy View (my portable home and away TV), and Gear S2. I use SideSync, S Note (including the Windows app), Scrapbook, Samsung Link, Samsung Pay, and Samsung's browser (ad free w/o root) and wasn't prepared to give those up. My non-Samsung device choices on AT&T amount to the LG V20 (too big for its screen size, not enough sizzle) or iPhone 7 (I'm not changing eco-systems). So I'm keeping the S7 Edge until the S8 comes out which will most likely be a Note7 with beefier specs and no S Pen. I'll hope for a Note8 in the fall and then I'll move from the S8 to it.
Like OP I had Note5 I was fine with. If the Note7 never came out I would have kept it and waited for what followed the S7-series. I do like the S7 Edge though and like the edge features I grew accustomed to on my time with the Note7. Since I do use S Note heavily I picked up a Tab A 8 with 4G and S Pen that I imported from Malaysia. It's a nifty small little tablet that's great for taking notes and it's on 6.0 so has the Note7's S Pen features. When I only want to carry one device I forward my calls from my S7 Edge to it and I can send and receive MMS on it using AT&T's unified messaging.
So I've exchanged phones three times, have a phone I wouldn't have chosen, and had to buy a tablet I wouldn't have needed. Sh!t happens. Samsung didn't want what happened to happen and neither did AT&T. I'm loyal to Samsung and Note devices especially so I'm just rolling with it. Of the over a dozen Samsung devices I own or owned this is the first time I've been let down. Assuming this incident has taught them humility their future products will be the best designed, best tested, and best QC'd on the market.
It is what it is.

Wow this thread truly makes my head hurt....
Let me make sure I get this right.
You are fully aware you can get a refund... for the FULL RETAIL AMOUNT of the phone, but don't want to do that, because you want AT&T or Samsung, to give you a Note 5... as a matter of principle???
There are PLENTY of Note 5 devices available for sale, at a MUCH lower price than the Note 7.
So you are UNWILLING to get a refund, and use that money to BUY a Note 5, and use the rest of the money for whatever you want.
This makes Z. E. R. O. sense. Please tell me I am missing something here, but getting around your generic rant and getting to the details was a bit difficult. End of an era? Like others have stated, the Note is a small percentage of their total sales. Until S7s and S7 edges start catching on fire, the era will continue just fine.

svache said:
I read the other day that the Note is only good for about one or two percent of their phone sales, so while it bites, it's probably not biting them as much as it should be, resulting in a general feel among people that they don't care. Or that's my guess at this point.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the other day that the Earth is in fact flat and not round after all <- True story!

The Phone Company said:
I read the other day that the Earth is in fact flat and not round after all <- True story!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for that insightful contributing post.

poor_red_neck said:
Wow this thread truly makes my head hurt....
Let me make sure I get this right.
You are fully aware you can get a refund... for the FULL RETAIL AMOUNT of the phone, but don't want to do that, because you want AT&T or Samsung, to give you a Note 5... as a matter of principle???
.
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Click to collapse
I can understand their point because I have gone through the same dilemma.
I had a Note 4 I was relatively happy with, but starting to get long in the tooth. I tend to get a phone every 2 versions if the new version is reasonable (so went from N2 to N4 for example). I never considered the N5 as I have a pretty full SD card and no way am I giving up running that.
So the N7 specs came out, and it was everything I wanted. Fork out the huge $1350au and pre ordered it. The rest of that chapter is well known (2 perfect Note 7s in 4 weeks).
Now, with what is assumed to be total abandonment of the Note 7 series, what are my options?
1-full refund-ok, but then I need to get a phone (N4 is now being used by my wife)
2-S7/S7E with gift card style refund ($450/$350au).
I forked out the $ to upgrade to a phone I really wanted. Now I have to still lose some of those $ to get a phone I never really wanted, nor would have considered.
The only resolution I can see is to have Samsung provide a loan device and re-release a Note/SPEN model again with SD card ASAP, or allow the cheap purchase of an inferior model and a discounted purchase of the new model when it becomes available. I will certainly be somewhat out of pocket over all this, plus not being able to use the phone I really was wanting to buy.
I have decided instead to get the closest phone to the N7, the S7E, with the Samsung offer in au it is basically getting it for $100 less, and hopefully it will have good resell value when the next N series comes out (but I haven't sold a phone in a long time now, always handy to keep older phone just in case!)
I never certainly planned to buy two new phones so soon!
I think buying the N5 at this stage is a massive compromise for most (esp with so little on board storage and no SD slot), I would think anyone taking this route now is doing it temporarily to keep them going to the next N release and thus 2 phones purchased when really they were after just 1, thus why we get all these threads. The N7 is almost perfect, anything else is a compromise until the N7 comes back into sale again (as N6+ lol).
Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk

I will still buy another samsung phone most like the next s8. Yes, i need to return the phone twice. But i got a few valuable free gifts. And got a full refund at the end. Not even iphone will do that. If you do the math, Samsung basically just gave me a travellers charger, a wireless charge, a power bank for free. So, why not getting the s8 next year, you won't have anything to lose

br0adband said:
Just to ask:
Have you tried calling Samsung's Note 7 department based in Colorado? The number is 855-291-6255 - no matter who you first speak with ask for the Note 7 department in Colorado. If you get any grief over it tell them you had called earlier (a little white lie) and you had been on hold with that department for an hour or so and got disconnected and nobody has called you back.
I know of 13 people personally that have used that method to get a full retail refund of the purchase price on their Note 7 devices: 5 of them with AT&T, 4 of them with Verizon, 3 with T-Mobile, and 1 with Sprint. How do I know? Because I gave them that number and those instructions last week after I saw the number posted over at Reddit with the same info and instructions.
Now, as of this minute Samsung might be doing things a bit differently, I don't know, but 5 (2 from AT&T, 1 from Sprint, 1 from T-Mobile, and 1 from Verizon) of those 13 people I provided the number and info too already got their refunds this week (they told me when their checks arrived). They also returned their devices to their carriers and were told to either keep them or wait for Samsung to send the return packaging.
It sure can't hurt to give 'em a call and see what happens. If you're successful and you get the refund congrats, now you'll have money to go buy whatever phone you want (given that if you were under contract with the Note 7 purchase you'd be paying that off if required, some carriers are just writing off those losses at this point).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seen the reddit site where people were talking about this refund process. So you know people who have confirmed getting a full retail check back already? I wanted to take this route with my sprint note 7 but I didn't want them to de activate my phone once I call to get the box sent. Rather it be blacklisted once I take it off my account when I get the return box.

As stated, the 13 people I provided that info to were "OK" with getting the refund from Samsung. Since I made that post one other person got their check already as well so it seems to be the course to take. Samsung might change things as I mentioned so the only way to know is call it and see what happens.
Can't speak for any blacklisting going on, all I keep hearing are rumors and the occasional report from someone that says their device has been blacklisted but there never seems to be any way to verify those stories. If the carriers actually publish statements that they plan to blacklist the Note 7 (which is within their rights to do since it's their networks) then I'll attach some more credence to it at that time but I don't expect it anytime soon if it ever does.
Samsung has said they'll accept returns through December 31, 2016 so, after that we'll see what happens with the carriers too I guess.

Let's hope this is the case! Discount S8 or Note 8?

I was holding out hoping they would start getting desperate to get the recalled units back, let's hope this is the case, so i guess i should hold out longer now Nd see what happens. They should give us discounts on the next phone, but that doesn't really help being on contract for people like me on the next plan, if i switch the s7 edge right now, I'm locked in for a year unless I pay off half the phone, its a mess but I'm hoping this mess blows over soon, I dont want the S7 but I will use it temporarily until a real upgrade drops, otherwise I'll keep my Note 7, really just depends in what Samsung is willing to do to get me to give it up lol.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.techtimes.com/amp/articles/183031/20161022/samsung-considering-offering-galaxy-note-7-customers-discounts-on-new-galaxy-s8-s8-plus-and-note-8-upon-release.htm?client=ms-android-att-us

I was feeling the same until, in the interests of safety and concern I might need to fly unexpectedly, I swapped for an S7E. The phone is fine. I miss the iris scanner a bit. I barely used the s-pen. I think the battery life is better. I can totally live with this phone for a year or two. I'm on the Jump plan but I really don't make use of the upgrade option much.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

So much for keeping the S8 a secret.
I think I've already made up my mind with the LG V20. So I'll pass on this offer.

Discount or not, many will still be in a contract if they were forced to take the S7...

Doesn't seem like this speculative deal is just for hold outs, but for anyone who owned a Note 7.

BozQ said:
So much for keeping the S8 a secret.
I think I've already made up my mind with the LG V20. So I'll pass on this offer.
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LCD? Really? I just can't see beyond that glaring weakness.

So far this offer appears to only be for users in South Korea - Samsung may simply never make the offer worldwide, that would be somewhat extreme and basically cost them double what this whole thing is costing them at this point in time.

Perhaps this offer arose for Korea because some 500 people are sueing them there already?

Now a S7 Edge explodes. wtf?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S7-edge-explodes-while-charging_id86908

So I can sign up for an S7E then get a Note 8 upgrade mid term at 50% off? http://www.androidcentral.com/samsu...korea-makes-it-easier-buy-galaxy-s8-or-note-8
Assuming they extend this offer to the UK that is. Well I returned my N7 and am awaiting a call from Carphone Warehouse to upgrade to the S7E. But I guess I'll only do this if they extend the offer to the UK...
COME ON SAMSUNG....it's not just S. Korea that have been screwed over.

nomailx said:
Now a S7 Edge explodes. wtf?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S7-edge-explodes-while-charging_id86908
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I would be willing to bet that almost every model of phone has had a couple examples of individual phones having meltdowns. It's called "acceptable risk of failure"
i.e. the manufacturer tests and does calculations on their product, and analyzes it to determine how likely the device is to fail, and what the potential damage from said failure would be. If the financial risk due to that failure is lower than the cost to lower the failure rate, they don't care about it (unless the failure rate would be so high that it would draw negative media attention, such as the case with the Note 7).
I imagine that Samsung did this with the Note 7 - they looked at the situation and figured "well, we can swap to the single battery maker for xx million dollars, and replace existing batteries (as well as potentially the glass and body), and the failure rate risk will be lowered to 1 in whatever number of phones". Then when they did that, they realized that the continuing failure of first gen phones, combined with a very small handful of second gen phones (yes, there were 25 or so failures after the phones started being replaced, but not nearly all of those were second gen phones), the only options were either do a full recall, and mitigate the potential financial liability from a lawsuit, or do a complete recall and re-release the phone after putting it through even more extensive testing and possibly an update or repair to the hardware (requiring full recertification and testing for most countries they are sold in that require such certification). The cost was too great, and the risk was too great, so they canned the phone.

jonboyuk said:
So I can sign up for an S7E then get a Note 8 upgrade mid term at 50% off? http://www.androidcentral.com/samsu...korea-makes-it-easier-buy-galaxy-s8-or-note-8
Assuming they extend this offer to the UK that is. Well I returned my N7 and am awaiting a call from Carphone Warehouse to upgrade to the S7E. But I guess I'll only do this if they extend the offer to the UK...
COME ON SAMSUNG....it's not just S. Korea that have been screwed over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if the editor of that publication read the article before he wrote the headline? The article says 50% off screen repair costs. It says nothing about a 50% discount on an S8 or Note 8!

BozQ said:
So much for keeping the S8 a secret.
I think I've already made up my mind with the LG V20. So I'll pass on this offer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ermm ........ you will be back

V20 a HOG of a phone - huge bezels. And an IPS display... no thanks to 2012 tech!

Aimara said:
ermm ........ you will be back
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Oh of course. I'm actually brand neutral. I have tried many brand of smartphones over the years.
Starting with the HTC Dream, and then I've had Motorola, Samsung, Xiaomi, Sony and one more that slipped my mind.
The smartphone has become such a personal device for me, it has already superceded my laptop usage. I've had cheap smartphones in the past and I had enough of those. Few months ago, decided to have one super smartphone that does everything I need. And the Note 7 looked like it fit the bill. But we know how that ended up. And the S7 Edge doesn't quite fit the bill for me.
The LG V20 looks good for my daily use. I totally understand why you'd disagree. But we all have our personal preferences. And the V20 might just work out for me. At the same time, it would be the first time I'd try LG.

BozQ said:
Oh of course. I'm actually brand neutral. I have tried many brand of smartphones over the years.
Starting with the HTC Dream, and then I've had Motorola, Samsung, Xiaomi, Sony and one more that slipped my mind.
The smartphone has become such a personal device for me, it has already superceded my laptop usage. I've had cheap smartphones in the past and I had enough of those. Few months ago, decided to have one super smartphone that does everything I need. And the Note 7 looked like it fit the bill. But we know how that ended up. And the S7 Edge doesn't quite fit the bill for me.
The LG V20 looks good for my daily use. I totally understand why you'd disagree. But we all have our personal preferences. And the V20 might just work out for me. At the same time, it would be the first time I'd try LG.
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Click to collapse
How was your Xiaomi experience? I'm eye-balling the Xiaomi Note 2 that just dropped today as a temporary device until the S8 or Note 8 comes out, something to just buy outright and enjoy. But never owned anything but Samsung, so yes I'll def lose the Samsung Perks, I.E. Samsung Pay, Gear VR Etc. But looks-wise Xiaomi did a DECENT job imitating the Note 7, that Skin is just blehhhhhh though.

Dmac1984 said:
How was your Xiaomi experience? I'm eye-balling the Xiaomi Note 2 that just dropped today as a temporary device until the S8 or Note 8 comes out, something to just buy outright and enjoy. But never owned anything but Samsung, so yes I'll def lose the Samsung Perks, I.E. Samsung Pay, Gear VR Etc. But looks-wise Xiaomi did a DECENT job imitating the Note 7, that Skin is just blehhhhhh though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're decent smart devices for the price.
However, most reviews of smartphones (every smartphone, not just Xiaomi) fail to cover is the call quality. I mean, it's a smart -phone- after all.
I make phone calls all the time. My parents, my in-laws, my wife, friends, etc.
Once, my wife and I had the Redmi 2, and it was one of the most frustrating experiences we had. We were constantly struggling to make out what we're telling each other.
We've since switched phones. She got a Galaxy S6, I got the Xperia Z3 Compact, VoLTE and HD Voice was like butter to our ears.
I got the Note 7 initially, so that we could communicate using 3G video calls, something not many smartphones support. But now that the Note 7 is discontinued, I have to search for an alternative.
I was quite close to settle for the S7 (no Edge), until I discovered the V20 also supoorts 3G video calls. So I'm giving that a shot.
Edit - Oh and charging was slow. After experiencing quick charge, you can't go back.
To be fair, I'm not sure about the newer flagship Xiaomi phones. But I don't think I'll be getting another Mi phone soon. I am eager to try OnePlus 3 some day.

My country the only option is to get the refund. So will I still able to get the discount rate for s8?

torickray said:
My country the only option is to get the refund. So will I still able to get the discount rate for s8?
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So far, reports suggests it's only in S Korea. Not worldwide.