It can't be looked at as just wanting a Note 4, they are the ones that told me they don't have a solution for poor signal strength on the Note 3. I explained I am happy with the Note 3 but it needs to work and they evidently can't make that happen by their own admission. The reason they offer an S5 is it either has a better antenna or wasn't affected by software upgrades. Their issues shouldn't turn into my problems. I simply want a working phone that doesn't drop 10% of my calls. I offered to pay for a Note 4, provided it wouldn't have the same issues, but only if it were offered at a discounted price instead of full price. They rejected any offer I made as they want to strip me of the unlimited data, that is first and foremost for Verizon.
FYI, I called Samsung repair and they dispute the fact there is any software issue with the Note 3. They also know nothing about any authorization to swap the Note 3 with an S5. I didn't expect that a repair center would necessarily have first hand knowledge of a swap but did expect they would know if Note 3's are being sent in at higher rates for the same reason as mine. Samsung did say it is possible the phone has a hardware failure but they are confident if that is the case they will find it. I was after a Note 4 because it supposedly has a better antenna which Samsung will not confirm or deny. The only changes they will confirm are the advertised ones. If parts are replaced in the phone they won't tell which ones they replaced but will say parts were replaced according to the rep I spoke with.
I am only looking for plan B if Samsung can't find and fix the phone. A dysfunctional phone is not an option going forward.
