I have had my Samsung Gusto 2 telephone for about 3-4 years, which is far from the term "old." I have had no issues whatsoever.
- On a full battery, it would last for nearly 4 days straight.
- It would take nearly 2-3 hours to charge.
- On appearance of the "low battery" warning, it would still last for about 3 hours before powering off.
- It does not, and has not, dropped calls.
- It is left on 24 hours a day.
- It has never seen water.
However, in August, I went on a cruise to the Carribean for 9 days, and kept it off except in Puerto Rico. Upon my return to America, my telephone was subject to the following conditions.
- It does not charge for more than 1.5 hours, even with a brand new battery. It barely even gets warm.
- It goes from full charge to completely dead in 36 hours flat, sometimes less.
- The battery dies within 20 minutes of the "low battery" chime.
- For 24 hours, it will indicate a full charge, but on the second day, it will reduce to 3/4 charge and then taper off to dead in 12 hours or less.
Before any advice is offered, I dug out the manual and have attempted all user-induced troubleshooting techniques:
- I tried *228, functions 1 & 2.
- I tried a phone reset (not a master reset).
- I tried using a brand-new, out-of-the-box battery.
- Bluetooth is not left on when I am not in my car.
Another crucial thing to note is that I had this issue last year with this telephone, and it was triggered by the same circumstance. I was on a Carribean cruise for 7 days, and when I returned, the same thing was happening. I took it to the Verizon store, and upon explaining where I was, the technician performed a "network reset," as she described it. She explained that it sometimes happens when the phone is taken out of the country, and the network can have this kind of effect on certain devices. This reset she did right in front of me, without taking to some unseen technician in the back room, and the problem was solved. The phone returned to charging at the normal rate.
This month, I took it to the Verizon store 2 times. Upon the 1st visit, it was determined that my phone was stuck in "roam," which they promptly corrected. However, a week after, the phone was still not charging properly. I took it over again and explained to the technician about my previous visit and what was done last year. After "resetting the network settings" and performing tests, they could offer no explanation nor could they say with certainty if it would resolve the issue. I am considering travelling to another Verizon store, as the one I have been going to doesn't seem to be helping.
Now, perhaps there is something the Verizon techs missed, or the problem lies elsewhere. Either way, this issue is still not resolved, and it only appeared after my cruise, not before. I refuse to believe that the telephone could deteriorate in such a fashion in the space of 9 days, regardless of its age. If there is someone who can offer counsel on this, it would be appreciated.
**Anyone with dopey answers (i.e., "get a new phone", "upgrade", "your phone is junk") need not apply, as I plan to use this telephone until it ceases to function or until Verizon no longer accepts them onto their network, whichever comes first. A "smart" telephone and the convolutions that follow them are not needed nor wanted in my life, especially when this one only costs $43 a month. Additionally, any answers must be based on actual knowledge and/or experience on the subject matter; nothing speculative or conjectural. Verizon technicians are more than welcome to answer as well.
Are you able to try a fresh battery in the phone? I say this because rechargeable batteries don't last forever and every re-charge brings them down a little each time so maybe the battery has now lost a lot of it's charge after 4yrs of charging, that's not uncommon with rechargable batteries. Is there anyway to use the battery in another phone to see if it might be your phone? I hear what you are saying about traveling out of the country but this was just a thought on my part. When I had my ENV3 basic phone I went to Canada with it a lot and stayed and it was off some times and some times not and I never had issues with the battery doing that but could be your particular phone does not like to be out of the country. Mary
I beg to differ on it not being old but sometimes the basic phones will last a long time. So you didn't hard reset? Go ahead and perform that.
Here are a few settings to look at and see what is currently in place (and it may have already been covered...) from the user manual: http://cache.vzw.com/multimedia/mim/sam_gusto2/gusto2_manual.pdf
System Select
Set system selections for roaming. For more information
about roaming, see “Roaming” on page 12.
1. From the Home screen, press the Left Soft Key
Menu ➔ Settings ➔ Phone ➔ System Select.
2. Use the Directional Key to highlight a setting,
then press SET:
• Home Only: Your phone is only active in your home network’s
coverage area. When outside the coverage area, your phone
will not roam, and call functions and other features will not be
available. (Set to this one and restart the phone)
• Automatic: Your phone automatically acquires service based
on default settings, using the Verizon Wireless network and the
networks of roaming partners.
Roaming
When you travel outside your home network’s coverage area,
your phone can roam to acquire service on other compatible
digital networks. When Roaming is active, the Roaming icon
appears in the display. (A triangle) If you see this icon, you are roaming and it may explain the excess battery usage.
During roaming, some services may not be available.
Depending on your coverage area and service plan, extra
charges may apply when making or receiving call.
You can set global roaming options. For more information,
see “Global Data Roaming Access” on page 126 and
“System Select” on page 127.
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