I updated my phone last week, and have tried just about every method noted to fix issues with 4g speeds. I went to a Verizon store and the morons were more concerned with where I bought my phone (Best Buy) and not worried about addressing what I consider service issues. I am so fed up right now with this situation, Verizon/Samsung I don't care, I want my phone to work like it used to. These idiots and finger pointing need to stop, and someone needs to man up and address this issue publicly.
Here we are, one week later with nothing.
I definitely noticed a problem. I travel the same route to work every day. I work in the same office every day. I live in the same house...every day. At home, at the office, and on the way into the office, I have noticed a significant issue whereby the 4G signal is at most 2 bars and is more often 3G. My network has been crippled severely. It's so bad right now that in my office I have little to no connectivity most of the time. I'll run a youtube search and have to retry, same for Google Now...it's awful. I wanted the features that came with the update, and never though Verizon would roll them out while at the same time messing up the one thing they have going for them...the network.
I think we all need to cal Verizon support so they are aware of the severity of the issue, but also so they have all the facts including firmware versions, location, etc.
Maybe it would be helpful to share your experience here after you make the call...I'll go ahead and do the same.
I'm now on my 3rd warranty replacement which all have come with the update. Every time I call, I get a different story as to why I'm experiencing these issues and a promise that a clnr will work. On Friday, I spoke to a tier 2 supervisor who said that after my 3rd clnr, usually VZW looks into an alternate replacement. Well after receiving the 3rd clnr and a new sim today, I called in and told them that I have now had 4 phones(including original) since the update that have experienced poor data reception. I told the rep what the supervisor told me and the rep responded with, "that's not on the notes". The rep said that my phone number became broke after the update and that all he could do is more testing. He also mentioned that any phone that I activated with my phone number would experience the same problems. I questioned him about my phone number being the problem and then told him to have a nice day and hung up. I immediately called back and spoke to another person who said that there should be no problems and that the troubleshooting he does will fix it. After everything came back normal, I spoke to his supervisor. The supervisor actually knew the supervisor I spoke to on Friday and said she would follow up with him on Thursday about a alternate replacement. I told her that since it was Verizon's fault for my phone not working, I will not wait anymore. I asked her to listen to the conversation where the previous supervisor told me that I had the right to an alternate replacement and to call me back when she could give me a device that works. I hope she calls back because I rarely have reps that do call back when they say they will.
I'm having the 4G issue just like everyone else, often times with the phone switching over to 1X service. Battery life has gone from a full day of use down to as little as 4 hours now, depending on the day. I tried dealing with a store, explaining I no longer wanted the S3 since it was clearly a widespread issue, the manager acted like I was crazy, because he had the S3 (likely without the update yet) and he had no problems. Of course they couldn't do anything but a same device replacement, I even offered to pay the deductible on my insurance for a S4 replacement, they offered to transfer an upgrade from another line, and I could pay 250 and resign a new 2 year contract in order switch to an S4 to fix the problem they caused with this horrible update. Unsatisfied with this I contacted the Regional President's office for my area. The rep that responded back told me there was no way they would be able to give me a different device, so a CLNR is on the way. I asked what happens when this device has the same issue, her response is they would "Troubleshoot" lmao. Thanks.
Everyone should go ahead and send a complaint to their respective President's office, which can be found at this link http://aboutus.verizonwireless.com/leadership/area/index.html. Maybe if they get sick of being sent the same message over and over they will fix the issue, or offer an option to transfer to a different device.
I called support, requested a Tier 2 support rep, got one and here are the details:
1) The fix is planned for mid-July and the date is subject to change. Once Verizon became aware of the issue, they stopped pushing the update.
2) Verizon is aware of the issue, but they believe it has only affected a small number of customers. So make your voices heard! The tech I spoke to had only received 1 complaint on this issue aside from my own.
2) They offered to help me factory reset my phone, to which I declined. Too much of a headache and no guarantee that it would actually solve the problem.
3) They offered to replace the phone with a certified like-new refurb to be covered under my insurance policy. They claim the refurb would not have the same issue, but I was skeptical. I was also wondering if the refurb would include the multi-window update.
If the phone has the MB1 firmware, then it will most definitely not have problems. You're better off following the very easy process of downgrading your firmware than taking a chance on a refurbished phone. Since multi-window was part of the new update, you will not have it.
Update: I called to get the status of my trouble ticket and was told there were no updates yet. So I then request to speak to a supervisor and had an hour long conversation with him. After going back and forth about me as a customer needing a phone that works, the supervisor authorized a CLNR Note II but I would purchase a back door and battery. I told him to go ahead, but due to my 2nd CLNR being in transit to the warehouse, he couldn't do it. I got his number and was told that I would receive a call back once VZW gets my CLNR. After hanging up, I called him back and it was actually his number! I hope there isn't any more issues to go through once they receive my CLNR and send me a Note II. I will report back once I actually receive the Note II.
Hopefully the phone will get there and you won't have the additional issues of "empty box returned" or "water damaged" or the best one " Phone never received" that is one of the major complaints on this forum.
Hope it works out for you
What's funny is that VZW has lost a phone that I returned. It took about 5 weeks for them to find it.
Have just now sent a 'strongly-worded' missive to my Regional President for Michigan. I've asked them to confirm the July fix, and especially if it will help my Note II as there's no forum for that beaut on VZ. Thanks.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
