Can no longer recommend Fascinate due to non-support of issues - class action time?

[jcj1]

I loved my Fascinate when I got it, but the failure of Verizon to promptly resolve KNOWN software issues with known-to-Verizon solutions constitutes something dangerously close to fraud.  Like others, I was promised a prompt upgrade to Froyo by a Verizon rep when I bought the phone.  Like others. my GPS performance is terrible, with frequent delays of 10 minutes to infinity to achieve a location lock.  Like others, I let my 30 day return expire because I was promised a software fix was coming out Real Soon Now, so now I am screwed.

The issue is NOT the delayed Froyo update,the issue is that the phone does not function as promised by Verizon when sold.  Knowing sale of a defective product that does not meet its advertised features is fraudulent under the commercial code in any state of the union.

Therefore I am doing some of the few things I can do under the circumstances:

First of all, new buyers are warned that the phone DOES NOT WORK as advertised in many cases due to software issues with GPS, email push, and other features.  If you buy it, don't expect it to work.  If you are promised otherwise by a Verizon store or rep, be warned that the promises are empty.  Be warned that the Verizon implementation of Bing en lieu of Google search and other disruptions of the base Google services makes the phone almost unusable compared to a true Android environment such as that on certain other Android phones and providers.  Bing is terrible. VZNavigator is a rip off (and terrible).  If you are a lawyer interested in a class action against Verizon related to thi sphone be aware that you should have plenty of interested parties.  Personally I would like my service fees waved for the period from September when I bought the phone through whenever-they-actually-make-it-work with debugged software.  It is clear that engineering KNOWS how to make the GPS work even without a full Froyo update - they just haven't released a patch.

I wish I could love this phone - but I can't recommend it any more to any one for any reason until Samsung/Verizon fix the software and de-Bing and de-bloat an otherwise excellent piece of hardware.  This is EXACTLY what Apple got right, and that Verizon has wrong.  A pox on them and their bloatware and BIng and broken search functions.  It's like a bad dream.  Swapping the hardware out for another Fasicinate won't fix it.  I'm stuck.

[ARossetter]

To be perfectly blunt, I'll crap myself when one of these threatened class action lawsuits finally happens. I've seen this with just about every phone under the sun released in the past three years, iPhone included. It's actually quite funny at this point.

- Andy

[jcj2]

Do I actually expect to see a suit?  No, not really.  But, message reads on the first page of the Fascinate forum suggest that as of now at least 4000 potential Fascinate owners may have received enough reasons to consider either a different phone or a different carrier.  Verizon execs might have a look over the fence at IPhone land, where there is a mob wielding torches and pitch forks that loves their iPhones (but hates ATT for the poor service experience).  Provide even average service and you build brand loyalty that overcomes almost any foul up.  Give your customers good reasons to hate you, and they surely will.

Today I drove a 30 mile round trip with a fresh A-GPS almanac and never got GPS located closer than 1100 yards.  If it ever DOES synch, it will be good to 10 ft.  and stay locked until I go indoors.  If.  The Bluetooth refused to connect (again).  Works great WHEN it actually occasionally works though.  The hardware can do it.  The software is a bad joke.  Is is Samsung's fault?  Maybe.  Could Verizon provide a timely fix by internal or Samsung resources? Definitely. Samsung has fixed these issues for other markets long ago.   The shame is that it takes what could be a great experience and sours it all.  It's not about Froyo, it's about having basic features that work.  While some of thse phones work perfectly, some combination of hardware and software issues means that too many customers did not receive what the paid for, and they have good reason to be angry with Verizon for the poor experience and callous treatment.

[LandLockedPH]

As much as I hate to, I couldn't agree with this thread more.  For many of the same issues mentioned above, I would not recommend Verizon and/or the Fascinate to anyone.  It really is a great device, just gimped and not supported by Verizon.

I'd recommend anybody BUT Verizon for what they've done to this phone AND MORE IMPORTANTLY... their paying customers.  What a shame!

[jcj2]

Update?  What update?  Alleged DL09 fixes and bloatware changes still not available to my number.  Flash?  Ummm ... not until Verizon gets done bloating up 2.2 it seems. 

I have found that shutting off the location pref for "Use Google location services" sometimes - not always - improves the GPS lock time.  This is most likely the result of Verizon's ill advised attempt to insert Bing and VzNavigate into the Fascinate's Anroid install that would normally default to the standard Google apps that are properly integrated into every other Androd phone I've played with.

I see that more than 650 possible Fasinate or Verizon customers have read my warning; clearly still  not enough to motivate ANY response or support from VZ service reps.   Many Fascinate users are paying for features that don't work - I suggest VZ refund data services from date delivered until they get these known issues  fixed.  Yeah, that will be the day!

[M91-30]

I love how everyone calls verizon putting shortcuts to download apps "bloatware". they don't take up a significant amount of space, and no resources on a phone.

[ARossetter]

---

M91-30 wrote:

I love how everyone calls verizon putting shortcuts to download apps "bloatware". they don't take up a significant amount of space, and no resources on a phone.

---

But you cannot deny how annoying CityID is when it tell you, "Your free trial is up! Now you can buy me for $5.99 a month!" Or every time you try to use the car dock and just want to use Google Maps navigation instead of VZW Navigator (once again, for the low low price of $9.99 a month).

I agree that putting a new launcher on the phone and hiding the shortcuts is a perfectly good solution for those apps, but without a clean ROM, you're still harassed by the two examples above (and probably more, just can't think of them at the moment). 

- Andy

[Yaeckman]

You know what, before today when the DL09 Maintenance fix was not out there I would agree with you guys all the way.  Now that the DL09 is out there and I have tested the GPS, I'm fully satisfied with my fascinate.  Would I buy another Samsung???  NO... Because their support still sucks.  It took them way to long to get this GPS fix out and if they continue to have a track record like that then I won't buy another Samsung product.  But people, you have to realize two very important things:

#1 - Verizon is really not to blame in this.  If they are not getting the updates from Samsung then what can they do.  I bet they are as frustrated as all the customers are.

#2 - Now that the update is here and fixes the GPS issue which has been a sore spot for everyone all along, what in the world do all of you have to complain about.  Bloatware?  Don't look at time.  Subscriptions?  Don't Freaking Subscribe.  I use my google maps and Google Nav all the time even before the fix.  You don't HAVE to use the VZN.  Take the time folks to learn how to get around Verizon's little tricks.

Personally, I now consider this a closed case because I have a fully functional phone that will be better than the iPhone.  Whenever they get around to doing 2.2 or 2.3, that will just be icing on the cake.

I think it's time to move on and enjoy your fascinate!!

D

[jcj2]

The Verizon Update Gods finally permitted my phone to take on DL09 on Thursday.  The great news is that the GPS finally FINALLY works properly, now locking outdoors in less than 15 seconds and holding lock near a window when indoors.  Button back light ting fixed as advertised.  So all of that is great.

What would be even greater next would be Flash and better integrated cut and paste.  And a car dock that works.  And a factory de-Binging so that voice commands and mapping would work correctly without workarounds.  Those are all Froyo features on a phone advertised as Froyo update able soon after release.  Come on, now that you finally fixed the GPS after only 5 months we know you can do a bit more.

[MaxBuck]

---

ARossetter wrote:

But you cannot deny how annoying CityID is when it tell you, "Your free trial is up! Now you can buy me for $5.99 a month!" 

---

I've never had the occasion to use "CityID," and in fact have no idea what it is.  Why use it if it's so annoying?

[PJNC284]

A free trial is preinstalled which shows the city of the person calling.  When the trial expires, it asks if you'd like to sign up.  I just hit no and didn't see any more of it. Not sure why other people are having problems with it.

[M91-30]

---

ARossetter wrote:

---

M91-30 wrote:

I love how everyone calls verizon putting shortcuts to download apps "bloatware". they don't take up a significant amount of space, and no resources on a phone.

---

But you cannot deny how annoying CityID is when it tell you, "Your free trial is up! Now you can buy me for $5.99 a month!" Or every time you try to use the car dock and just want to use Google Maps navigation instead of VZW Navigator (once again, for the low low price of $9.99 a month).

I agree that putting a new launcher on the phone and hiding the shortcuts is a perfectly good solution for those apps, but without a clean ROM, you're still harassed by the two examples above (and probably more, just can't think of them at the moment). 

- Andy

---

I'm running stock 2.1 dl09. I bought the phone right after it was released, and it's always been stock. I have never been annoyed by bing (I just don't use it. if you never call it up, the phone lets you use google just fine), I have never seen any annoyance from vz navigator, and as for city id, just say no, and it goes away.

[steveanderson13]

---

LandLockedPH wrote:

As much as I hate to, I couldn't agree with this thread more.  For many of the same issues mentioned above, I would not recommend Verizon and/or the Fascinate to anyone.  It really is a great device, just gimped and not supported by Verizon.

I'd recommend anybody BUT Verizon for what they've done to this phone AND MORE IMPORTANTLY... their paying customers.  What a shame!

---

Does anyone else have the update?  Tmobile?  At&T?  Sprint?  What is your basis of "not supported by Verizon"  Post the facts.  Learn the facts.  What has Verizon done to your phone; besides add VZ Nav, etc which is on every phone.  Where are your facts?

You have a 30-day worry free guarantee.  Do something about besides **bleep**.  ACTION!!! ON YOUR PART!!!.  GPS DOESN'T WORK?  IT'S DEFECTIVE!!! TAKE IT BACK!!! INSIST ON A REPLACEMENT UNTIL YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR PHONE.  KWIT YOUR BITCHIN IF YOU WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR OWN PROBLEMS. WHO WANTS TO HEAR IT?

[KEVINSM]

Please let me know if you decide to sue these people..I would be all in for it.  I just got off the phone with Verizon and was told...pretty much...Can't help you.  Here is an email exchange I've had with these people about this phone.

Dear Customer Service...

I would like to list for you the problems I am having..and have had with this phone since the first week I got the phone...this is important to know, since a hard reset of this phone certainly couldn't have been necessary the first week I got the phone..and yet I had the same problems.

1. Constant Force Closes - I'm sorry but if apps cause a phone to stop working...then why have a phone that has apps.  My iphone NEVER forced closed or froze due to apps. 

2. When I receive a TXT message from my business contacts the notification screen actually lists the sender as a different name from my contacts list than whom it was actually sent from.  This happens ALL the time...yet when I open the txt message it lists the correct senders name.  This is unacceptable.

3. The audio/music player on this completely screwed up my 1,000+ song collection's album artwork.  I have album artwork that the phone on it's own assigned to albums that are not actually by that artist.  Example..  I go to listen to a Beyonce song..which I purchased from ITUNES and also AMAZON...when I put them on this phone..the phone assigned album artwork from another already saved song on my phone to this Beyonce song...and this has happened to MANY of my saved songs.   

Furthermore...the phone doesn't organize songs properly..it's very difficult to find sogs the way this thing works.


4.  Constantly when I am trying to make a call or end a call...the phone is NOT responsive when you press to end a call..this phone FREEZES all the time.  It's done this since I first got it.  When I touch to end a call or start an app...it should do it..not wait seconds or not at all. 

5. When I am trying to listen to Voicemail...I have to use the speaker phone ..and in turn allow anyone near me hear my private voicemail..because if I put the phone to my ear...it ALWAYS stops the playback of my voicemail.  I assume this is because my ear touches the screen and stops the playback.  This is NUTS.

6. Again..the phone freezes, get's stuck, at times I have to take the battery out and put it back in to get it working again.  THIS HAS also been happening since the first week or two I got the phone...LONG BEFORE I EVER DOWNLOADED ANY APPS.

7.  For the record...I only have 7 apps downloaded on this phone..no games..and nothing that isn't an approved ANDROID MARKET app.

8.  YAHOO Mail doesn't work and isn't properly supported on this phone. I DO NOT WANT, NOR DO I USE GMAIL.  I HATE GMAIL..AND I HATE BING/GOOGLE.  I ONLY USE YAHOO MAIL.

9.  When I use the Email preinstalled app that comes with the phone...I go to open an email..more times than not..it won't open or display the contents of the email  which forces me to shut the app off..restart it and try again.  OR if it does display.it takes forever to open the email. .NEVER had these types of problems with my Iphone.

10.  I use my phone for business and have alot of contacts...I've had to enter my contacts into this phone TWICE.  Once on the phone..and once on that stupid GMAIL...because if you don't have them on the gmail...the email address won't show up when you're trying to send a message to a contact from your contacts list...thru the email app...same goes for sending a txt message.  So i've had to enter over a 100 conacts TWICE.   AGAIN...unacceptable.

11.  There are some of my conacts that this phone refuses to show the name of the contact which it's saved under.  Example.. Mr. John Does at 555.555.5555 is saved in my contacts list.  When this person sends me a txt message...it only shows up 555.555.5555..and NOT his name, Mr. john Doe.  and there are several of my contacts that have normal phone numbers..no explainable reason for this..yet..the phone won't show the contacts NAME when they send me a message... 

again..UNACCEPTABLE...AND never had these problems with my iphone.

12.  Last but not least...Verizon..the most reliable network...promised me when I bought the phone from the Midtown manhattan store...that I would never have the same Signal and dropped call issues that I had with ATT.   Wouldn't you know it..the First week I had this Samsung...I had 3 dropped calls. 

I called your tech support people and complained..there should be a record of my call. So to sum things up...I still get the dropped calls...and now i'm stuck wtih a phone that I simply can't get to work....and has more problems that I've ever experienced with a phone in my lifetime of owning cell phones...

and to make matters worse...I have to say that you've made me even more upset and completely dissatisfied with your obviously unprofessional attitude laden response telling me if I want my iphone back... " iPhone you do have the option of purchasing the device for full retail, $649.99 for the 16GB model and $749.99 for the 32GB model".

YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL ME A FULL PRICE iphone??  Simply unbelievable..I already purchased this crap phone and I've complained several times about the problems I'm having with it..and all you guys want to seem to do is sell me full price phones and troubleshoot a phone that was having alot of these problems the first week OUT OF THE BOX....

I would certainly LOVE to stay with Verizon...I would also love to have the your version of the IPHONE...however I don't feel I should be forced to pay 649.00 for a phone...when I just paid almost 350.00 o this SAMSUNG piece of crap phone from you guys just 2 months ago.  Please explain to me how that isn't ripping off your customers and good customer service???

I am posting this email on every Blog and on Huffington Post...as well as the Verizon feedback sits.

Feel free to call me......but if this issue isn't resolved to my satisfaction by the end of this week. I will throwing this phone in the trash...walking back into the ATT store on 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan...and reactivating my IPhone with them...porting my number from you guys back to ATT where it was first for 5 years. 



KEVIN M.


--- On Sat, 1/15/11, VZW .... wrote:

From: VZW ........
Subject: RE: Phone is Not Working
To:
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2011, 11:42 AM

Good Morning Mr.,

Thanks for your reply. My name is ..., and I am happy to assist you regarding the issues you're having with your Samsung Fascinate, activated on 11/08/2010. I truly do apologize for the inconvenience, I recognize the importance of having a device that works properly. Mr...., I would like to welcome you to Verizon Wireless and keep you as a customer, I will be happy to assist you today.

Mr...., I attempted to contact you but was unable to reach you regarding the issues you're having with your Samsung Fascinate. I would like to apologize once again for the inconvenience, I truly value you as a customer that is why I would like to everything in my power to resolve your issues. I purchased a Droid, I also received the Force close error, you will receive that error from time to time because of applications downloaded, but that error appears only to protect your device. The issues you've described, I can assure you that I can resolve the issue if you would give me a chance to preform  trouble shooting steps.

Yes, I am aware that you no longer want the Samsung, however I would need to speak with you to find out what type of device you want. I can not guarantee you a different make and model but I will speak with my supervisor regarding your case. I will also make you aware that she will want to know if I've gone through the proper steps of troubleshooting steps with you. Troubleshooting, will help me build a case for you when I present everything to my supervisor. I would also advise performing a hardreset on your device, this will erase all of your information from your device but it will send your device back to the default settings. Please make sure all information is backed up first. Below, I have provided you with the steps to perform a hardreset.

~ Hard reset

Performing a hard reset will remove ALL data including the Google account, system data, application data, application settings, and downloaded applications.

From a home screen, select Applications.

Select Settings.

Select Privacy.

Select Factory data reset.

Select Reset phone.

If presented, enter the current passcode or draw the unlock pattern.

Select Erase everything.

Mr...., in reviewing your original email you stated your previous phone was an IPhone, as of February 10, 2011 we will have the iPhone available for purchase. If you would like another iPhone you do have the option of purchasing the device for full retail, $649.99 for the 16GB model and $749.99 for the 32GB model.

Additional information regarding the iPhone

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/iphone.jsp

I will attempt to contact you between the hours of 4:00pm - 4:30pm EST today. If you have any other issues or concerns please contact me at.... My office hours are Tuesday – Saturday 9:30 am – 6:30 pm EST.

Mr., I would like to thank you for the opportunity to assist you today and appreciate your business. I look forward to speaking with you soon regarding the issues you're having with your device, I hope performing the hardreset resolves the issues you're having with your Samsung Fascinate. I want to thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless and we value you as a customer.

Sincerely,

....

Verizon Wireless

Data Technical Support

[Edited to comply with Terms of Service - redacted personal information]