Fascinate Won't Update

Just got my Samsung Fascinate yesterday on black Friday. When I got it, the girl started a new update for the phone. After I left the store I noticed that the update did not work. Since then I've tried it an additional 5 times without success.

The phone downloads the update just fine. When it tries to install it goes through 8 steps, the last step is "updating modem." The update finishes to about 95% then stops for 16 minutes, I timed it. At this time the phone reboots and tells me the update was not successful! It happens like this every time the update is attempted. The update is supposed to take only 1 minute.

The update is the SCH-I500_DH12 to D101. I've read some of the messages on this forum and one of them suggests trying *228 which I did but it did not make any difference. I need to know whether the Fascinate is the problem or is it on Verizon's end.

When I am right next to a tower I get only 2 out of 4 bars. I'm hoping this update is to update the modem to communicate better with the tower.

Has anyone else had this problem? I would appreciate your technical input to help rectify this ongoing annoying problem!

Thanks very much for your help!

Accepted answers

Dad-Bill

I finally got the correct answer to why I have problems with the phone. The phone is defective but not sure if it is the software or the hardware. When checking "About Phone" the Baseboard version is S:i500.04 VDI01 and the Build number is SCH-I500.DH12. When attempting the update is showed the current version as DH12 and the update is DI01. I had part of both of them on my phone which apparently caused my problem along with a few others.

Yesterday I was given a new Fascinate. When we checked the update version both the Baseboard and Build versions are DI01. The phone came already updated. We checked to see if there were any new updates and there were none, the phone has the newest update!

My initial phone was either defective right out of the box or it got corrupted when trying to install the new update DI01. My new phone is working flawlessly so needless to say I'm a happy camper! I did receive a few calls from Verizon to make sure that my initial problem was corrected. My experience is tell them what the problem is and they will work with you.

My thanks to my local Sam's Club cell phone kiosk personnel for their professional and courteous help! I highly recommend buying there.

All comments

Sexy43

My advise is to take it back. I have had my Fascinate since 9/11/10 . I have had nothing but problems. I only one or two bars. I received a Certified Pre- Owned on 11/24/2010. Guess What! Still have one or two bars. Plus the sound is no good when you are on the phone. I sent Verizon another email. They quoted me the return policy and the 2 year contract I signed. A salesman for Verizon informed me a couple of weeks ago. That Samsung does not make good cell phones when it comes down too, signal or anything else. My mouth was wide open after he told me this. :womansurprised: Yet in still they refuse to give me a different phone. They also told me how they tested their phone. Which I can not tell. :womanindifferent: I am not even trying to cancel my contract all I want is a phone that work. SO TAKE IT BACK! PLEASE U will be stuck with a phone for two years that SUCKS!

CaJa70

Are you connected to Wi-Fi while you're trying to update? If so, disconnect from Wi-Fi (see how to do this below), give it a few seconds to reconnect, then try updating. The search for update(s) should complete (providing you are able to pick up at least a 1X signal, if not 3G).

* To disconnect from Wi-Fi, go to "Settings", then "Wireless & Networks", then uncheck "Wi-Fi" (if your phone is connected via Wi-Fi, you will see a green checkmark on this line and "Turn off Wi-Fi" under the "Wi-Fi" line). After you have unchecked this, the box where the green checkmark was will now be gray and you will see "Turn on Wi-Fi" under the "Wi-Fi" line.

Dad-Bill

Thanks for your input. I have tried updating both ways with wifi and with 3G but neither option seems to work. I think the problem is either the software or the hardware with the phone because the update info is sent and the phone receives it. The problem is when the update is installed, it only goes so far and then freezes and reboots. After the freeze when the phone reboots it says the update was not successful because the IP previous update failed and there is an error code 410. I have tried all of the basic fixes and nothing has worked.

I have read other messages on the forum and apparently I'm not the only one having this problem. I'm really surprised that a Verizon representative on the forum has not said a word about this problem or how to fix it! Their silence speaks volumes! I have also read that the only fix is a new replacement which I will ask for this week. Just blows my mind that Verizon can't or won't address this situation!

M91-30

Sexy43 wrote:
My advise is to take it back. I have had my Fascinate since 9/11/10 . I have had nothing but problems. I only one or two bars. I received a Certified Pre- Owned on 11/24/2010. Guess What! Still have one or two bars. Plus the sound is no good when you are on the phone. I sent Verizon another email. They quoted me the return policy and the 2 year contract I signed. A salesman for Verizon informed me a couple of weeks ago. That Samsung does not make good cell phones when it comes down too, signal or anything else. My mouth was wide open after he told me this. Yet in still they refuse to give me a different phone. They also told me how they tested their phone. Which I can not tell. I am not even trying to cancel my contract all I want is a phone that work. SO TAKE IT BACK! PLEASE U will be stuck with a phone for two years that SUCKS!

you seem to have a bad phone, not representative of the norm. my fascinate has varying bar readings, but this is only one part of the equation. you must realize that a phone can be just as at home with one bar as 4. my phone is always clear (both sending and recieving sound quality), even when only at one bar. it is the same way with 3G. as long as I have signal, it is fast. also, every update (to tower coverage files and total phone updates) have worked perfectly. also, not only does samsung make the fascinate to high quality standard, but they made my omnia 2 and hue to a high standard of quality.

Dad-Bill

I appreciate your input!

A couple of hours ago I called Verizon Customer Care. The lady had me remove the battery and do the *228 1 again. I was told to check the Baseboard Version which is DI01. The update I'm trying to get is the DH12 to DI01. When I told her the DI01 she said the phone had updated to the newer version. I asked her how that could happen when she did not have me download and install the new update. She wasn't sure but assured me the newer version was updated to my phone.

A little time after that I checked the "About Phone" to make sure it was still there and saw the Build Number is DH12, the older version! Now I'm really confused! A Verizon tech called me back to check on the problem and I explained to him what the versions are. He said that was not correct that the new update had installed. He will call Samsung to get their input and will call me back tomorrow.

To check whether or not I had the new version I checked for updates and sure enough the old version was still on my phone. Again I tried to update the phone and again I have the original problem! I'm hoping to get good news tomorrow about how to finally fix this problem.

Dad-Bill

Just got a call from a Verizon tech. Told me he contacted Samsung and they told him the updates will only work when Samsung sends the update message to my phone. They are sending out only 1,000 updates at a time so it doesn't overload their server. He could not tell me how long it will take for me to get the update notice from Samsung. Whoever gets the notice is done randomly. We'll see if I get the notice within my initial 30 day trial period!

I'm still not sure this will fix the update problem even if I get the notice from Samsung. Of course I won't know until I try to download and install it. Hurry up and wait! .....