A Frustrated Epix User's Saga
Jason K. wrote to MySamsungEpix.com with his experience dealing with AT&T over his frustrations with the Samsung Epix. His e-mail does a wonderful job of highlighting the Epix’s problems and what AT&T is willing to do to resolve these issues.
Big thanks to Jason for the write up, please feel free to leave your own experiences in the comments if you got fed up with the Epix and how/if AT&T was able to help you resolve your issues. Comments on how to trade in your Epix for a different phone after 30 days are of particular interest.
Click to read my story of how AT&T replaced my Epix for a HTC Fuze.
Jason wrote:
I’ve had my Epix since late April. Like many, I had issues with notifications and the ascending ring. Your website helped me with the ascending ring “fix” until Samsung finally released ID1. And like many, I’ve had issues since ID1.
- GPS would take a long time to get an initial fix, then would be good until the next soft reset
- Battery would drain like crazy after using GPS, unless I did a soft rest (damned if I did, damned if I didn’t!)
- Since I don’t use GPS often on this phone, those problems didn’t bother me. However, this new audio issue really killed me. For no reason, the phone’s audio would just stop working. I couldn’t hear the phone ring, or music from Windows Media player, etc. Removing the battery was the only fix, and after doing so, the audio would still go out. Sometimes after 5 minutes, other times after 2 days, regardless, it would happen again.
So, I decided to call AT&T’s warranty services (1-800-801-1101). The process was clean. Simply have ready the IMEI number (located on the phone box, or under the battery) and the color of the water damage indicator (should be a little white square above the battery, but under the battery cover). AT&T will ship a refurbished phone to you at their expense, and provide you everything you need to ship the faulty phone back to them, also at their expense. I did this and went through 6 (yes, SIX!!!) refurb Epix(es) in about two weeks. Here’s what I’ve learned, and there is hope for Epix users.
- All refurbs came pre-installed with ID1 (check this by typing *#1234#)
- Not all phones suffer from the GPS issues. I had 2 refurbs that got a near instant lock on the first try, even after another reset.
- Battery drain after GPS usage is still there on all phones.
- My audio issues were there on every phone, and although my current one hasn’t exhibited it yet, I’ve only been using this one for about 6 hours.
- Some Epix(es) were faster than others. I had one that was very sluggish when using SPB Mobile shell 3.0.1, and a pair that were very fast. The one I’m using now has instant response to touches, and I’m not sure I want to give it up, even if it does end up having the audio issues.
- On your 3rd attempt at a refurb, AT&T will offer to swap your Epix out for any of the following at no cost to you; Blackberry Bold, HTC Fuze, or Nokia E71x. The Nokia is considerably cheaper than the Epix, but the other two are considered to be superior phones. So many Epix users might consider it worth a shot. The Samsung Jack as of this time hasn’t been out long enough to be offered as a warranty replacement, and likely won’t be until November or December.
- If you refuse one of those phones, and elect to take another Epix (as I did), they’ll still offer you those phones after every refurb attempt.
- Also after 3 refurb attempts (AND 6 months of active service with AT&T), you can ask to be referred to an account cancellation rep, who will offer you a new phone at the 2-year contract price, any phone of your choice EXCEPT iPhone. Normally, you’d have to wait 20 months for this.
For me, I decided that none of those phones are ideal for my needs, though the E71x would have been, had AT&T not gimped it. So I’m working a BBB complaint against AT&T for not allowing me to switch out my phone within the first 30 days as their policy allows. But hopefully current Epix owners can use my experience to swap out their faulty post-ID1 Epix for one with a snappier UI or GPS, or another phone entirely. If I can get off of my contract, I’ll likely just go month to month with an unlocked E71 or E72. The nice thing about those unlocked phones is that you can get the unlimited data plan for $15/month rather than the usual $30.
- J
August 31st, 2009 at 11:44 am
I bought an Epix in October when they first came out. On paper, the phone is amazing. In practice, it was a nightmare of instability. I loved the optical mouse. My first Epix has a problem with the screen turning on every couple of minutes for no good reason. This resulted in severely short battery life. It also caused applications to launch and close while in my pocket or in a holster. It also locked up and crashed incessantly, often requiring removal of the battery to reset. I often use Evernote to take notes in meetings. I would attend a meeting with my Epix, start taking notes, turn the screen off, go to turn the screen back on, and find the phone locked again. I’d pull the battery and lose my notes.
AT&T replaced my first Epix. My second one still turned on for no good reason, but not quite as often. It was still grossly unstable, often requiring several resets every single day. My second phone died in March and I got a third warranty replacement.
My third warranty replacement had the incessant screen turn-on problem again. I finally gave up on Windows Mobile (which I’d been using for years, and have had a total of 8 Windows Mobile devices) and paid the out-of-upgrade price for an iPhone. I’ve never looked back.
My iPhone suffered a catastrophic failure (a physical accident, not a design problem) and I had to go back to the Epix for 2 days until I could get my iPhone replaced. It was a nightmare. I updated to ID1, which came out a few weeks after I got the iPhone. I did not notice any change in performance. The Epix still turned on constantly, locked up constantly, and of course locked up in the middle of a meeting, causing me to lose my notes. I consider the Epix my final straw with Windows Mobile.
August 31st, 2009 at 3:01 pm
So AT&T will not replace the Epix until the 3rd refurb? That’s seems odd, considering they are eating the costs every time they ship you a new one, which will have the exact same problems as the one before. I’d like to replace mine altogether, even though I haven’t even done the ID1 update. Why should I have to perform the update and deal with the problems I know I will experience 3 times over before I can get my phone replaced?
At this point I’d rather have a Fuze or Blackberry.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Just a note on the whole Epix thing.
After my fuss and complaints, I ended up swapping it out for a Bold.
Samsung never provided an answer and AT&T admitted they are aware of the ID1 GPS issue and Samsung is aware but they have no fix other than one will come “sometime”. AT&T also said they were aware of ID1 causing issues with email, sms and mms messages, I never experienced that. Keep in mind these were level 3 data support techs, not the lower level reps.
They sent me a replacement Epix which came with ID1 installed on it as well. It acted the same way, GPS was dead the same way. I called them back and asked for a handset exchange. After an hour of checking my account and getting someone from the resolution desk on the line, they agreed to switch me out under a one time courtesy exchange at no charge to me.
The first rep I spoke with gave me a short list of “available” phones and said I could call back a day or so later and make a decision. The list consisted of the Samsung Jack, Nokia e71X, Pantech Duo Pro, Blackberry Curve 8310 and some other non-pda phones. After checking out the phones, I realized they were all downgrades except the other Samsung phones which I refused to accept due to Samsung’s non-existant support on the Epix. The BB Curve is non-3G and I hate the Pantech and am not into the Nokia. I actually loved the Epix but hated the issues with it.
I called back 2 days later to make a decision and simply stated that I wasn’t pleased with the list provided and asked them for a Blackberry Bold. On approval from supervisor, they obliged and it was fine. They have sent a refurb unit, which is fine with me. This was based on my length of time as an on-time paying customer I believe and the fact that I pay for 3 lines. They didn’t say that but they said this courtesy was based on being a “good customer” for a long time.
So that’s it for me and the Epix. I was hoping for a fix sometime in July but it never happend and still hasn’t so I didn’t want to wait for the warrany period expire.
Note for other companies, make a phone comparable to the Epix with the awesome optical mouse control and it will be a winner. The Epix was a fantastic WinMo phone but without support, it was unusable.
Thus, despite the total lack of support for the Epix, AT&T has made a customer out of me for life given their generosity in switching out my Epix for a Bold due to my issues with it. They even waived the 1-day shipping fee. I did not appreciate the issues with the Epix but at least they made up for it providing an awesome replacement for me.
That was my experience, yours may vary.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I was able to trade my Epix in for a HTC Fuze.. It was my third warranty exchange and they offered me a choice of either the Bold, the HTC Fuze and a different Samsung.. I chose the HTC Fuze and couldn’t be happier.. MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH better phone.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:49 pm
So with my Epix, sounds like it’s going through the same problems. It will, for no reason, turn itself on over and over and over again. As well the GPS it’s very unstable some times it works and others, nothing! For this warranty exchange, how long is the Epix warranty good for?
September 1st, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I bought my Epix in January 2009 and have none of these problems.
I initiallyhad problems with the phone not connecting to the data network when using Mobile IE. This was quite frustrating. Sometimes I could click the icon repeatedly and the phone would finally connect. Sometimes I had to reboot. Sometimes I had to reboot more than once.
I am very satisfied and my biggest complaint is the Epix uses a proprietary connection instead of the standard Mini-USB. I would definately buy again, even with this issue.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I will soon be on my 3rd Epix after the 1st two exhibited all the normal problems most everyone seems to be having (audio disappearing, GPS battery drain, etc.). The EPIX was actually an original warranty replacement for my faulty Blackjack II’s originally purchased in January. It took a lot of arm twisting and hours on the phone with AT&T to convince them that the replacement phones they offered for my BJII were not equivalent phones. Now I’m reading that AT&T is offering up a choice between a BB Bold or an HTC Fuze after 3 replacements of the EPIX? This seems too be good to be true based on my previous dealings when they only wanted to offer a BB Curve or a Pantech Duo.
Based on the above posters’ comments, hopefully I’ll be able to get a Fuze out of this whole deal. It seems like the complaints for it are very hard to come by. My wife says I’m overly picky about how well my phone should work, but if I’m going to pay AT&T hundreds of dollars a month for a phone and service plans, I sure as hell want something that works without causing me endless frustration!
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I’m receiving my third Epix today. Originally I had no problems with my phone. GPS worked fine with no slog dumps. Then this update comes out that causes more problems, so obviously I don’t update. News finally hits the internet about what AT&T is doing for the Epix users; Free Upgrade to the Fuze! I love the Epix form factor (candybar with qwerty) but the multitude of apps for the fuze (due to extra sensors [light and g] and more common screen format) makes it a must for me. So I set about the task of causing my phone to fail. Like clockwork the ID1 update has bricked my gps feature twice now. I don’t expect anything less of my third that I’ll check when I get off work. I almost decided to keep the Epix when we finally got a cooked WM6.5 Rom but even then a Fuze has like 30 different 6.5 Roms with more 6.1 roms on top of that. The reason I got the Epix was the performance for the value and if I can get the Fuze for the 139.99 I paid for my Epix then that is an even better value. Let’s make AT&T sorry they ever sold an Epix. A FUZE FOR US ALL!!!
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Well folks, I swapped out another Epix, only this time they offered me the Samsung Jack. I took it, since I wanted to remain on Windows Mobile, and actually prefer standard at this time.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I am floored by this article. 2 months ago we added a line on our account which gave us a free refurb Epix and I LOVE the phone and have had NO probs with it. My spouse however recieved a phone upgrade and picked the Samsung Eternity which we sent back days later, its a smartphone idea wanting to act like an iPhone and not worth anyones time. Now we have 2 refurbed Epix’s and we love them, have used the usb data delivery, GPS, added and removed apps ..everything just works and I am a former BB fanatic. Id buy another Epix hands down!
Deb & John
September 3rd, 2009 at 2:56 am
Hats off to the Epix users with the patience of coping with the hassle of dealing with AT&T and mutiple replacement phones. I’m going to hold on to my GPS-less Epix a little while longer and keep my fingers crossed. The Epix phone is barely a year old so Samsung should offer a fix…wishful thinking perhaps?
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
To Mark: I’d say it’s wishful thinking since Samsung is about to release the Pivot (http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/05/25/samsung-pivot-a-possible-epix-successor-for-atandt/) which looks like an Epix replacement. If they have new hardware then why support the old, especially when everyone is jumping off of the Epix faster than Vista. Samsung does make fantastic hardware but the support fell flat on its face this time. I was installing about 6-7 cabs on my Epix every time I got a new one just to fix its idiosyncrasies. With a Fuze, even if the manufacturer and the carrier dump you there is always XDA who give more support than I have ever received else where. Good luck you guys. I get my Fuze in less than a day. I told them I was going on vacation soon and needed a GPS so they gave me free priority shipping. Farewell to the Epix: A phone that never saw its potential realized.
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Samsung Pivot as a replacement for the Epix? But the Pivot is still WM 6.1.
Am I just lucky not to have any problems with my Epix?
September 4th, 2009 at 1:58 am
Thanks for the heads-up on the Pivot. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
wow after 3 epix about 3 hours on the phone with att i got a fuze for free . i didnt think this would work, and att did not wanna give me a fuze, but stand you ground and dont settle for a phone less than the epix. well samsung you had me from the blackjack II, but lost me with the epix.
September 5th, 2009 at 8:39 am
My Epix is great. It’s a fast, well made phone that never freezes. The GPS isn’t great – it has been spotty on mine – but you don’t need GPS to use google maps, etc, anyway.
It’s too bad that so many had software problems, but I think the number of very satisfied users is being vastly underrepresented.
September 5th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Well, the epix is gone. It is no longer on wirefly, letstalk and is “Currently Unavailable” on amazon. It is not found out in the open on the at&t site on the personal nor the business side. It is still hiding on the “Packages and Deals” page on at&t. That seems to be the only place to buy it at.
At&t replaced mine after I started getting dust under the screen. The one I currently have is starting to collect dust again after 2 weeks and also has the no-sound issue. I might hold onto it for a few more weeks until they are out of stock and see if the warranty dept can send me something different (I want to go back to Blackberry and never return to Windows Mobile).
September 5th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Neil –
I was with you about WinMo, but then AT&T offered m the Samsung Jack for the Epix. WinMo standard really is a different beast, and it’s an amazin OS IMO. I love my new Jack. the compatibility of apps is amazing, plust my NES/SNES/Genesis emulators work great on it!
September 8th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Well, after about 50 minutes on the phone and escalating up 3 levels with AT&T, I’m glad to report that they agreed to send a HTC Fuze as a replacement.
If you are not pleased with the Epix and have a bad taste in your mouth from Samsung like me, stick to your guns and you should be able to get an upgrade.
September 8th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Hi all,
Here’s my experience with replacing my Samsung Epix.
I purchased my Samsung Epix from a AT&T store in November 2008 for full price (no upgrade promos, etc). My SGH-i907 Samsung Epix smartphone was less than a year old at the time of this transaction (8/28/2009 – 9/8/2009)
I called up AT&T and complained about my Samsung Epix’s GPS/battery life problems as well as random audio-drops. AT&T was pretty good about it, and sent me a replacement. I called up and told them I was having the same problem, and they sent out another problem.
I received my 2nd replacement Epix today, which of course had the same GPS issues (since all replacements come with the ID1 update). I called AT&T back up, explained to them this was the 3rd Epix i’ve used with suffering from the problems and asked what else they could do.
The AT&T rep put me on hold for about 5 minutes, came back and told me that he could give me a HTC Fuze or a Blackberry Curve 8310 as replacements. Because I needed Exchange support I opted for the HTC Fuze which I should be getting this Thursday.
I probably could have pushed for the Blackberry Bold, and I would have if I didn’t require Exchange support.
It’s a time consuming arduous task getting the replacement units and each call to AT&T takes about 15-20 minutes – but I am hoping the HTC Fuze is worth it.
I have a backup Epix a user was generous enough to send me for testing which I will keep around to play with and try updates on — I really like the Epix’s hardware/form factor, and with Windows Mobile 6.5 its almost bearable, but the lack of notifications, problems with GPS and audio cutting out make it too much trouble for a phone I use for work (and pleasure).
September 11th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Just noticed today after requesting a replacement Epix that it is no longer listed on the AT&T Website but is still on the package deals page..
AT&T Knows how much problems they are, why dont they put pressure on Samsung to fix it right?!?!?
September 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
im on my second epix. was having battery life issues. and im pretty sure that im gonna have it. I tried to get them to send me another type of phone but they wouldn’t.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:07 am
That’s because you have to go through at least 3 phones (2 exchanges) before they will offer you another phone. You don’t get it in the first try.
September 13th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Well, I made the call to AT&T this morning to begin the Epix warranty exchange. After talking to a friendly but generic customer support person, I was transferred to Tech Support. This support person didn’t fart around too much on the phone once I started hitting her with the technical jargon. She was aware of the previous SLOG dump issues and when she asked if the GPS ever worked, I said “Yes, before the ID1 update”. Well, my replacement Epix is on its way (probably a refurb). Fingers are crossed that it’s a pre-ID1 version although the chances are slim to none. I’ll post my experiences as they progress.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:01 am
List of problems thats opting me to send my Epix in hopes of getting a BlackBerry Bold
-Audio disappears randomly during the day, so calls are missed
-Some calls go straight to voicemail with no notification
-WM 6.1, bugs, system freezes during some applications requiring reset.
Biggest Gripe, I may be the only one suffering from this
- My calls will not go past 30 Minutes of talk time, and will automatically drop the call. Happens every time. I have to call back and connect again.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I just upgraded to the Epix, and i’m a former BlackJack II user (i use that site as well). I bought my phone unlocked, but it’s ATT branded. Coming on this site, the first thing i see is how many issues the phone has. With me being new here, can someone point me in the right direction to get more information on this ID1 thing?
I can’t return this phone so it has to work. GPS is not used at all.
September 17th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Update: Well, I received my warranty replacement for my first Epix. I immediately checked and it’s running ID1. Loaded up AT&T Navigator, attempted a GPS lock and guess what? No lock. Just like my first phone. Device.exe throttles the CPU to 60 percent so I have to perform a soft reset. Time to call AT&T again.
September 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I’m going to try to switch my epix for a fuze, my phone is 6 months old. What steps do I need to take to do this?
September 17th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Well, my third Epix is having issues getting a GPS lock, some times it does, sometimes not. Time to call tech support and then the warranty department. I’m gonna try to something more Bold.
@Kingpin007 go to the dialer and type *#1234# and it will give you the version numbers. If each end in ID1, then you have the latest ROM, if it is something else, then you have the original. If you have the original, it is recommended that you do not upgrade.
@XSafire First, do a hard reset on your phone and verify that what is happening still does, then call or chat with tech support and convince them that your phone is having problems (they will want you to do a hard reset, just tell them you did and it does not help). Next, go through the warranty department to have them send you another epix, repeat the above steps, then have them send you another. On the 3rd time you they will offer you a different phone model.
September 17th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Thanks for the quick respone Neil. The reason I upgraded to this phone was because my BlackJack II did everything I wanted, except wifi. So far i have no problems…
My version ends in H15.
September 17th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Thanks to all for the input – we are not alone in this mess!
I have had the Epix for ~10 months now. Overall I have not had some of the horrific problems that others have reported. I had been getting the forced slog dump message but after a (partial) ID1 update it disappeared. The battery life has not changed noticeably until recently – and it usually fixes itself after a battery pull-out. I hate the fact that the screen washes out in the sun and also that the phone keeps turning on and off every 30 sec or so when it pairs with my car bluetooth (which my wife’s BB doesn’t do), therefore draining the battery faster. Google maps work but you have to “Exit” after you are done with it otherwise the battery drains…I love the physical keyboard and touch screen (came from a Palm Treo before), actually got to like WinMo quite a bit and the fact you can get the unlimited data for $30 and use the company exchange server when Verizon or any BB plan costs $45. I am not sure any of the exisiting ATT phones would be as good for me (hoping for a touch screen Bold or Nokia – the ideal solution), so I dont think going through the exchange process would solve everything for me.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Final update(?): Well, I made the decision to stick with my 2nd Epix. Despite the ID1 non-GPS issue, it actually is snappier in response time than my first. Besides, I really don’t have any more time or patience to mess with AT&T and their unknowlegable staff (or maybe they do know, they’re just not telling us
) I don’t want a Fuze, I don’t want a Blackberry, I just want my Epix. With SPB Mobile Suite 3, it works great. I’ll live without the pinpoint GPS. As long as Google Maps can find me in the general vicintiy of the nearest cell towers. It goes without saying, this incident with a Samsung phone will stick with my for a very long time. I will keep this in mind during my next phone upgrade. Sorry Samsung, but you guys blew it.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Neil, my warranty is obviously over, does it matter?
September 18th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I am on my second epix and have been having the same issues as every one else. But when I called ATT to see about getting a replacement , they passed me on to someone at Samsung. They wanted me to send them my phone so they could take a look at it and they would have it for a couple of weeks. Has anyone else ran into this situation or are they now realizing that they are having so many issues with them that ATT is tired of dealing with it and just passing the buck back to Samsung so they don’t have to deal with it.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Hi Guys,
This forum was really helpful for me and finally I got Blackberry Bold as a 3rd replacement for Samsung Epix.
September 19th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
on my 5th epix now but before i received this one I called samsung myself and spoke with them. After speaking with them I got a reference # from them so that when I called ATT I could explain to them that this phone is faulty. Also the rep told me that the update makes our phone incompatible at the moment with the att navigator and the at our gps has to be “updated”. I called ATT back and they put me with the tech support rep and after telling her this she sent some GPS update to my phone. this update also included me having to download att navigator again but it was from the link that she sent me. My GPS works now, but the phone has been too much of a hassle.
September 19th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
A GPS update sent from an AT&T tech? This is first I’ve heard about this. Is this some kind of secret AT&T keeping until pressed hard? I really don’t understand what’s going on. If this is the case, why wouldn’t AT&T support post this information? Very perplexed.
September 19th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Well, after vowing I would not waste any more time on this issue, the information Cameron posted (see above) got me all riled up. I called AT&T and just got off the phone after being on the line for almost two hours! Results: I talked to four different people with the last one being 2nd level technical support. Despite the fact he checked his sources on hand, talked to Telenav, even found this website to read the history of the Epix problems, we were unable to resolve the issue with the conclusion that AT&T does not know about this ID1 and GPS issue.
My question to Cameron: What version of AT&T Navigator did you download from the link that was sent to you?
Do I dare get on the phone with Samsung? Do I have more time in my life to waste on this issue? Maybe not today.
September 20th, 2009 at 1:33 am
In a continuation of this, I began to think…when I received my first Epix last December, I found out before I set it up that in order to “kick start” the GPS radio, I would have to start up AT&T Navigator. No other GPS programs would work unitl this “kick start” was performed. This is exactly what I did before trying Google Maps. I kept using AT&T Navigator and Google Maps.
Then, ID1 arrived and I applied the patch. Of course, the Epix was clean of AT&T Navigator due to the overwriting by ID1. One of the first things I did was to download Navigator, install and activate in order to “kick start” the GPS radio. Well, it was unsuccessful. Therefore, the radio remains disabled for all GPS programs.
This makes me wonder the following: Is it really a hardware issue or the software provided by Telenav? If the version is the same as it was before the ID1 patch (Navigator version 1.3.17), this version may not be compatible with the changes that were made by ID1. Samsung provided a patch to fix some issues, however, did Telenav make the effort to make changes to their software to be compatible with the change.
I’m just throwing this idea out there. I may be completely wrong or perhaps half wrong.
September 20th, 2009 at 4:44 am
It’s interesting that when I went to Telenav’s website, I checked the list of compatible devices for their navigation software. Clicking on AT&T, I see the list of devices that are compatible. Lo and behold, the Blackjacks are listed, but the Epix is not. Strange that the same company who released the branded software AT&T Navigator for the Epix does not list the device in their list. See for yourself: http://www.telenav.com/products/tn/devices/att.html
September 20th, 2009 at 5:15 am
And the irony, looking at the AT&T Navigator page, guess what shows up in their list of supported devices: http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/solutions/industry-solutions/vertical-industry/att-navigator.jsp
So, who’s to blame? Samsung for releasing the patch? Telenav, whose Navigator software was supposed to kick start the GPS and is the only software AT&T will acknowledge (each person I spoke to on the phone did not want to hear about other programs that utilize GPS)?
In this situation, there are three parties pointing the finger at each other.
Ok, ’nuff said.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:42 am
Thank you SO much for this post and thread. I bought my Epix in February 2009 and experienced many of the problems noted on this site. In August 2009, my Epix developed the rather annoying habit of dropping calls. Constantly. It was particularly troublesome because I use my cell phone as my business line.
I called ATT to begin the Warranty Exchange. I was told that ATT would send me a refurbished Epix as a replacement. I said that I did not want another Epix, and particularly a refurbished Epix. I explained that I was losing money and business due to the faulty “new” Epix that I received in February. I said that I wanted a different make/model immediately. After four hours (!!) on the phone with ATT (including some very rude “customer care” representatives), I was able to reach the following compromise. I would try one “refurbished” Epix for three days. ATT promised me that it would work “like new.” (Yes, I did explain the irony). In the event that the Epix did not work, ATT would send me a new phone of a different make/model.
I received the “refurbished” Epix within two days. It was worse than the original! In addition to all of the problems that I experienced before, the audio quality of the “refurbished” Epix was horrendous. Many of my calls echoed to the point where I had to use the speaker phone to hear.
I called ATT and requested a new phone of a different make/model, as per the agreement I reached. I was informed that I would be eligible for a different make/model for free — but only a refurbished phone. I told ATT that they promsied a new phone. They said that I heard wrong. (not!) I was transferred to customer care. I was told that I could have a different make/model — but not only would it would be refurbished, I would have to pay the full upgrade fee! I told ATT that was outrageous. After two more hours on the phone, I was transferred to a supervisor, who accused me of “trying to get a new phone for free.” I explained that I was “trying to get a functional phone” and reiterated all of the problems that I experienced. I told ATT that I had been a “loyal customer” for many years, and I felt their “customer care” was inadequate. I was promised a call back from a management-level supervisor. The call never came.
I switched to Verizon on Friday. I asked ATT to credit my termination fee. ATT refused. I am currently pursuing action through the Better Business Bureau.
September 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
i just called at&t about getting my epix replaced. they are sending me another epix replacement. i am tired of this phone always messing up and not working like it should. is there any way that when i get my replacement i can get a HTC fuze pretty quick?
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I’m not having any particular issues with my Epix other than it just doesn’t do anything particularly well. It looked so great on paper, but experience wasn’t living up to that. I keep running into these issues:
- I constantly miss calls from not hearing the ring or feeling the vibration. It’s fine in an office setting or inside at home if I’m not busy with much, but it doesn’t take much before it becomes easy to overlook.
- The signal strength is absolutely horrid on the Epix. I upgraded to the Epix from a Motorola v60i silver phone that I could use anywhere in my neighborhood and around my house without ever losing a call or even hearing any quality loss. I get my Epix and I often barley get 1 signal bar in the house and good luck trying to make a call as the sound drops in and out constantly if it doesn’t drop the call. The Motorola gets full bars almost anywhere in the house. Even in areas with a strong signal, the Epix call quality was often fading in and out.
- The data connection seems horrible. It’s very very very slow. I’ve been told part of the issue is that AT&T’s data network has a high latency, so maybe it’s more due to that than the phone itself. Still when browsing on the phone it seems to take a long while to pull up web pages. Often it wouldn’t even connect properly even with decent signal strength
- Watching videos I found to be very mediocre with too much stuttering.
and much more I can’t think of at the moment. It simply doesn’t work well at any of it’s strengths on paper. Even the battery life is overrated.
The one thing I really enjoyed was being able to run pdanet or even better was the software that turned it into a wireless access point. Still it’s use was limited due to the horrible signal. So in the end, I mainly just use it to keep watch on my email accounts. When I need to make a call, I move my SIM card over to the old Motorola (which lasts forever still on the 4 year old original battery).
Sometimes I wish mine was simply broken, but then again I don’t think I could ever handle such a nightmare of a replacement process. I’d want the replacement immediately, not just piles of replacement Epix with the same issues.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
It looks like after 10 months of the same problem of dropped calls, freezing phone calls and updates galore.i am being sent the Blackberry Bold(refurbished) after three failed attempts at fixing the Epix. I just called today and the process went by smoothly, call lasted about 20 minutes or so without having to try to explain every detail of why the phone has not been working. I did like the epix alot, but it was a Failed experiment from the get go…should of just come out with the BJ3..If you are trying to get a replacement, you do have to go through the 3 miserable attempts at making sure the phone does NOT work before they send you another one…GoodLuck to all who still have the epix.
September 25th, 2009 at 12:04 am
I want to start off by saying that I absolutely loved this phone with it came out. At the time when I was thinking about getting a new smartphone I was undecided between the HTC Fuze, Blackberry Bold or the Epix. I liked the fact that the Fuze was a touchscreen but didn’t like the kiddie slide out keyboard. I loved the Bold but wanted a touchscreen, so after weeks of research I finally chose the Epix. The phone that had the best features out of each device, but that was all on paper. The first one I had worked perfect but somehow the charging port got effed up. So they sent me a new one and the battery on that one drained after using the GPS. I called warranty and told them what the problem was so the sent me another battery. That didn’t help the problem any (like I told them it wouldn’t) so finally I was fed up with dealing with the problems and called the warranty department and demanded another phone. They handled the situation very quickly and offered me any of the blackberry phones, any samsung phones or any palm treo phones. I went with the phone I should have gone with in the first place and that was the blackberry bold. I am happy about my decision but I am sad to see my Epix go. It had so many cool features, but maybe samsung will get their act together and re-release it. Maybe next time it we be better.
September 25th, 2009 at 1:23 am
I have been lucky and got an EPIX that did not have all of the issues many have experienced. I did get an occasional freeze but they were rare events. I updated to ID1 and while it fixed the ascending ring, improved the signal a bit and increased the stability my internal GPS was broken which frustrated me a lot. To add insult to injury the phone does not even work well with a BT GPS Receiver (com port must be changed around after every soft reset). I got to the point where I was planning to update as soon as I was eligible in order to get a phone that worked properly.
But that plan is on hold since the EPIX is slated for an official WM6.5 upgrade in Oct or Nov. I will wait it out and see if that fixes the phone. If it does then for me the EPIX will finally live up to its promise and I’ll happily keep it. If it still falls short then at a minimum its auction value will be increased and my cost to upgrade to a better phone will be reduced.
September 25th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Just finished requesting my 2nd Epix replacement. Its funny how the replacment epix exhibits the same audio/battery/gps issue from the get go.
After this, I’ll be making my final call to switch out to a blackberry bold (which I’m not a fan of).
September 25th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
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September 25th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I need Help!!. This website has helped me with most of my problems but when i asked about the device exchange they only offered me the Nokia phone, Samsung Jack, and Some pantech pro bullshit. I was really interested in getting the fuze and i have been on the phone with them for a few hours and they just wont seem to let me get it. Im also doin this through the insurance plan thing (i made soo many calls i dont even know now) but can some of you people help me. Thanks to you all already this site helped many frustrated users.
September 26th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
in response to what I wrote earlier, the ATT Tech sent me a link. That particular link prompted me to download the navigator, so no i did not download it from my phone. She said, and maybe she was blowing smoke up my A$$ but she said that yes, the epix with the update made the phone basically incompatible with the navigator and that she had to do 2 things. first update the IMEI number on my refurb epix (which really doesn’t have to much to do with the navigator) and the second thing was, that she had me download an updated navigator. Now my question is, why did i need a link to download the app? what’s wrong with the version that we get directly from our phones? Also everyone, I would say 80% of the time it takes a good 4 or 5 minutes to connect, and a lot of times i have to run the app twice to get it to work. After it kicks in its good all day until I let it rest for a while. Honestly we shouldn’t have to deal with this, but its all i have right now and I’m tired of wasting time talking to amateur hr over at ATT.
September 26th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Cameron: Thanks for the clarification on your experience. You were lucky to get a tech who at least made an attempt to understand what was going on. The tech I spoke with was clueless about the Epix and problem with the GPS. It’s funny you mentioned the IMEI being updated. The tech I had did the same thing although I knew that would not fix anything related to the GPS. As for the download, I found on my own, the download page using my PC and it was the same page the Epix browser pulls up when downloading the latest version of Navigator (1.3.17). Oh well. At least the rest of the phone works. Now to see if it’s true about the Official Winmo 6.5 release for the Epix.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Well, my 3rd Epix is on the fritz with the GPS. It took a while to convince the tecs and the warranty department that the unit was defective. One of the techs keep asking about AT&T Navigator, had to register the IMEI number of the replacement handset and “reset” the data connection at their end. I don’t use Navigator and don’t use any data with the software I use, neither of these things helped, but the hard reset seemed to fix is for a short time. I hate to do a hard reset each time I want to use the GPS. The tech didn’t believe me when I told him that the unit worked as a standalone and doesn’t need data for the GPS to work. Anyways, they got me hooked up with a Fuze (was hoping for a BlackBerry, but the Fuze is a good phone from what I hear) with free priority shipping, it should be here Monday or Tuesday.
For those with battery issues I think I found a possible fix. It seems that the ID1 update broke the aGPS function of the device so that it will never connect to data. Prior to the update, the device would connect to the data network and find the location rather quickly. This does not happen after the update. With my limited programming experience, I would make sense that one line of code that points in the wrong direction could put the program into a loop and eat up resources including the processor. It seems that if you set the GPS not to use the assisted functionality, this does not happen.
Navigate in the file browser (programs>applications>file browser) to My Device/Windows/GPSTest.exe
Select: Menu>Options>GPS
Under the “Operating Type” option select “Stand-alone” and then select “Done”
This should allow you to use the GPS (if it works at all) without “Device.exe” hitting ~70%. For me it stays around ~1% where it normally is even when using the GPS and does not drain the battery faster than normal.
I hope this helps and good luck to those sticking with the Epix
October 1st, 2009 at 11:55 am
it took me two calls just to receive my second epix. if this one has the same issues as before (Audio Disappearing, gps non lock, battery drain, phone freezing) they will be getting a phone call today. hopefully by next week i can get a new bold or a 8900
October 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 am
[Quote Mark "Final update(?): Well, I made the decision to stick with my 2nd Epix. Despite the ID1 non-GPS issue, it actually is snappier in response time than my first. "]
What about the audio disappearing for no reason throughout the day? When I recieved my 2nd Samsung Epix, this happened on the first day and every day afterwards just like the original epix.
You won’t notice it until you start missing calls because you didn’t hear the ringtone.
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
In response to GrayFox: I am aware of the audio drop out issue since my first Epix. In my case, it happens occasionally but not every day. When it happens, the “missed call” goes to voice mail and my voice mail audible notification lets me know about the call (a battery pull fixes the issue). For me, it’s a minor annoyance since I’ve been dealing with various network related missed call situations with AT&T since my first cell phone with them back in 2005. So, dealing with this device related missed call situation is something I can live with. However, I can see how this can be unbearable for anyone who needs to catch every single call that comes in. In that respect, the phone should be returned. In the end, it all falls under what I call “consumer tolerance”. How much will a consumer tolerate a purchased product’s faults? Everyone one has their own needs and tolerances.
October 4th, 2009 at 5:16 am
^^No bad feelings towards Samsung. This the first time I’ve used a smart phone with an optical mouse and I loved it.
I’m just on Hiatus until Samsung makes all the necessary changes in their next models. Calling it growing pains…
For now, I will be using the Blackberry bold that was mailed out today by AT&T after I called them for the 3rd time.
October 5th, 2009 at 1:37 am
Hi All,
I have had a epix now for almost a year and yes I have updated to ID1 and have the GPS problems and the audio problems. I am waiting to see if samsung makes goods on the rumours I have heard that there is an upgrade and fixes to v6.5. we will see other wise I am off to the bb world.
In the meantime I have a customer and a good friend who has an Epix BUT WITHOUT the upgrade is he is still PRE ID1.
If someone want to guide me on how to grab and strip the rom maybe we can figure out how to reverse the phone to this version or cook a better rom.
Please let me know.
Firbonet
October 6th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
@ Neil – I would like to thank neil for the comment above regarding changing the GPStest to standalone. After the 1D1 install on my unit, I had the common 60-70% CPU consumption from device.exe. As if that weren’t bad enough (rediculous battery drain), it would take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to get a satellite lock. It was a race to see if the sats would be found before the battery went dead. Made the Epix totally useless for running my TomTom software and I went back to carrying a standalone GPS.
I just changed the GPSTest setting to standalone and device.exe consumption runs between 1-4% while GPStest is running and drops back to 0-1% after exiting GPStest. Before this setting change, any GPS-aware application would immediately send device.exe to 60-70% and would not settle back down without a soft reset of the phone.
GPStest was able to find 7 satellites within 30 seconds. I shut down GPStest and fired up GPSproxy, the virtual GPS port driver that I use to send the GPS output to TomTom. GPSproxy had a total of 9 sats in view within 5 seconds and a lock on 4.
So far, this is looking promising.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Quick update – just tested TomTom / GPSproxy and it had satellites locked within 15 seconds. Google maps had 5 satellites within 10 seconds. So far, this is looking good.
Shut down the GPS apps and device.exe is running at 0-1% again.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:18 am
I’m also having success with Neil’s suggestion. Make perfect sense! Thanks
October 8th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
YES YES YES!
On the eve of finally giving up on my 3rd Epix (all with the ID1 battery/GPS issue) on tried Neil’s suggestion – it worked! I had already arranged for a Fuze replacement from ATT and its en route. Now that I have a fully functioning EPIX, the Fuze will be sent back to ATT.
Thank you Neil!
October 8th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
My new Blackberry Bold 9000 is on the way!
To be honest, I would have preferred the Bold when i first got my epix, but it would have cost me $200 while the epix was free.
I was only on my first refurb, but when I spoke to at&t I told them that I knew there were design/manufacturing problems with the epix and that any replacement would likely be to same trouble. I was then offered my choice of several phones. She didn’t even give me a list, just asked “What kind of phone would you like?”
The only things i think i will miss about my epix are it’s smaller size and the optical touchpad. Both of those features will be present in the new Bold 9700. Now to figure out how to upgrade to the 9700 for free before something better I want more comes to the market…
October 9th, 2009 at 7:55 am
I got my blackberry bold this week as a replacement from att. God I miss the optical mouse on the samsung epix. But phone is stable with no audio issues.
October 11th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I got my Samsung Epix the beginning of summer and it was a great phone. Until it hit the three month spot. When the screen would turn black and I tried to “wake it up,” it would not do a thing. I had to take out the battery and put it back in for it to work. It bothered me quite a bit, so I went to the At&t Store. They told me that, “It was a tiny little bug they were trying to fix” and to just “be patient.” So I was patient and finally, today, my Samsung Epix, the phone I thought was an amazing phone, went black for probably the hundredth time. So I took out the battery and put it back in, a monotonous task I was very used to by now, and turned the phone back on. Much to my surprise, it would not turn on. As many times as I have tried, it is still just a lonely black screen. Now I am wondering, what could I have done to break my phone? I have not had any water damage (that I know of) so I am wondering (and I hope you can help me) what color is the water damage sticker supposed to be if there is NO water damage? I doubt I have that, but since my phone is not able to turn on, that is the only thing the At&t Store workers will look for. So if you could help me, I would be so glad. Thank you.
October 11th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I occasionally also have the “wont wake up” issue. FWIW the water damage indicator on the phone itself is white and the one on the battery is purple x’s (that’s if there’s NO damage).
October 12th, 2009 at 4:41 am
I have the audio issue as well and I found the easiest way to bring it back.
I used to do soft reboots but found that tapping the numbers until you hear the number tone brings the audio back.
You can confirm you have lost audio by tapping up on the side volume key. If you do not hear the tone, your audio is stuck in a glitch. Tap some numbers until you hear the number tones. You can verify your audio is back 100% by tapping up on the side volume and will now hear the tone.
i had a funny thing happen recently though. My messages (tmail.exe) stopped working and I had to hard reset. the program would not launch with the key, shortcut, or launching the program. After the hard reset, i’ve noticed my epix “freezing” occasionally. I say freezing in quotes because it just looks like the display lags (like incorrect drivers). I may perform another hard reset.
The only other issue I’ve had has been with SU2U and Skyfire. For some reason if you are using Skyfire and SU2U kicks in, the phone will lock up and require a battery pull. (most of the time, not always)
October 12th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Hey Neil,
I was wondering how you convinced ATT to send you a new epix because of collecting dust under the screen. I called them up and they told me very kindly that im SOL if i have dust under the screen. Did you tell them that you had dust or how much dust was there. Specifics would be nice, they said they will charge me for a new epix if i warranty it and there is dust under the screen. Anyone else have any thoughts? Maybe someone who worked for ATT?
October 13th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
So, add me as another list of frustrated users. Maybe my tolerance for this is high, because so far I have been handling the issues well. Now, I am at the point of axing this phone.
I also have no audio at times (I won’t hear the phone dialing, and then I will be connected to a call, saying hello, hello? My caller can hear me, but I can’t hear them…). Then one day, I was waiting an extremely urgent call, and was away from my phone for a few minutes. My expected call never came, and by the end of the day, I ended up calling them. They said didn’t you get my messages? No ring, no missed call indicator, and no VM waiting indicator. The VM was there, but assumed I never got the call, since every indicator didn’t work. >:( This never happened again, only on a critical call, of course…
I also get frequent freezes: my screen can either be dark or not, but the TS is non-responsive. Other times, inexplicably, it seems the TS works, for example, I can enter my password a million times, and it says password is not correct. Only way to fix that is to restart the phone.
I have replacement 1 coming. I’ll quickly go through the motions, get my 2nd, and then get something else. It seems they offer different choices, depending upon who’s calling. I don’t have anything againt BB, but I used to have a Palm and had several apps that I repurchased for WM. So, I’d rather have a WM device. Obviously, I don’t know which ones they’ll offer, but I’m leaning toward the HTC Fuze.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I received the Fuze the day I discovered Neil’s fix for the GPS/battery. I wanted to like the Fuze, but for me, it was just too much of a brick. Smaller except for the depth, but much heavier than the Epix. I sent the Fuze back. Just my opinion.
October 14th, 2009 at 1:08 am
to be honest the epix is a nightmare. the second device has all of the same problems as the first device. i just received my third epix today. ill end up calling thursday to see if i can get a new phone. im thinking either a blackberry bold or a curve 8900. which one should i get?
October 14th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Hi Jay,
I am leaning toward the Fuze, since it’s a WM device and I have several WM programs that I had repurchaed from the Palm versions when I bought the Epix, and I also like having Office Mobile. Ideally, I would like to use all three of my purchased WM programs, but if it came down to it, I might get the Blackberry Bold and just repurchase a couple of the programs (unfortunately Pocket Quicken, isn’t available for BB). I’d get a discount on the cost of the programs, and well…the Epix was only .01 through Amazon anyway…
I was in the store yesterday and saw the Bold, it was definitely big enough and solid feeling. The Nokia e71x was a joke, it was so tiny! I immediately said, “No way!” My baffled husband said “No way what?” I said no way is that replacing my Epix…I pulled out my Epix and placed it next to the Nokia, and he agreed it was very small.
What a saga is right! I feel like everyone else, very disappointed in the Epix, when I was excited at first!! I’m not at a point where I can forget the warranty and pay for an iPhone, it would be at least $299 and probably more depending upon whether it’s the 3G or the 3GS, new or refurb or 8, 16, or 32GB. But maybe when it’s time to renew. For now, I want to get through my exchanges and get (hopefully) a Fuze.
Jennifer
October 15th, 2009 at 3:22 am
i just called for my replacement. they offered me the blackberry curve 8310. i tried to tell them that it was a downgrade to the epix, but they were so obsessed with given me the 8310….im just going to have to buy a new blackberry outright and sell my curve…. or keep it as a backup.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Well, I had a couple of minor issues with my replacement Epix…nothing major, but at this point, I know the drill…just isn’t going to work.
3rd phone is on its way – when the inevitable occurs, I’m going to ask for a Fuze. They offered a few, including the Nokia (that is comparable to your Epix, she said)…I said, I held my Epix side by side with it and no way is it comparable. Way smaller. She said I could have a Pantech something…Blackberry Bold or Curve…I said how about a Fuze and she said sure, that’s fine. Of course, I’m not at that point yet, so when I deal with the next warranty rep, we’ll see. I just asked and they said fine. They’re sending the 2nd replacement Epix priority at no cost to me, so I’ll get that, have it goof up on me, and get the Fuze… *sigh*
Jennifer
October 16th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
“The Nokia e71x was a joke, it was so tiny!”
I guess I’m confused. Isn’t a smaller form factor a good thing? My fiance’ has the Samsung Jack and if it wasn’t for the lack of a touch screen, it’s smaller size and weight would have me leaving my Epix for it. Same goes for the e71x. If it had winmo, I’d be all over it.
October 17th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Well, I have had great experiences with the Blackjack, and the Blackjack II. I then had higher expectations for the Epix since it was the next similar phone in the chronological order of the Samsung phones. As soon as I upgraded from to the Epix the problems started. This June I had to finally get the phone replaced due to the phone freezing every time there was an incoming/outgoing call or SMS. The 1st was replaced, and then the 2nd one started with audio and vibrations malfunctions immediately. I put up with this because quite frankly I didn’t have time to call the warranty center. Then the audio and vibrations dropped at a time that it was highly undesirable, and actually may have cost me a potential job offer… I called the warranty center and a gentlemen walked me through a hard reset. After a week after the reset the same problems are occurring and the battery will go from full to dead without notice… I called today and spoke with an operator who said that she could send me a 3rd Epix, and I expressed my concern that I was worried that the same problems would reoccur. After 3 minutes on hold she told me I could select a comparable phone. I chose the BB Curve, and it should be to me this week. I am very happy that AT&T was willing to help me with the horrible phone. I hope nobody else has to go through the ordeal that I did!
October 19th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Hi Mark,
I agree that sometimes smaller, lightweight, etc. is a good thing. But when it comes to browsing websites, small screen size isn’t a benefit, it’s a liability for me. I’d rather look at the larger screen of an iPhone. The buttons on the Epix are very small, and I have small hands. The keys on the Nokia are much tinier and would be that much more difficult to use. So, I don’t want a huge phone and screen, but certainly don’t want something too small either.
I received my 3rd Epix today….I don’t have great expectations for it, so my next choice will be a Fuze.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
So, anyone think I can argue out an HTC Pure as a replacement? HAHA
October 19th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I had to add my experience with my 2nd Epix. I still experience the quirky audio issues. As for the GPS issue, I followed the instructions posted by Neil (see way above). However, when making an attempt to use GPS on Google Maps, it would give me the weak signal error message. Bear in mind, this was inside my apartment (before ID1, I could get a lock inside my apartment).
Today I took my son to the park and while he played, I though to try out Google Maps again. After waiting for about a minute, to my surprise, it picked up 5 to 8 satellites! I left it running even after leaving the park and watched the GPS track my drive back home. Even after exiting the program and then restarting it, I could get a lock even inside my apartment. As a test, a soft reset my Epix and tried again. But this time, Google Maps could not get a signal again.
It seems that open sky is the key for my Epix to get a GPS lock. Once that lock has been established, it works until the next soft reset.
I’ll be heading out soon and testing it again in the car and under open sky to see if I get a lock again.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
After everything that I have been thru, 5 models, customer service, and following Neil’s instructions. the phone works like the very first model, gps locks fine, no audio issues, and the battery lasts for a significant time. i’m running SPB mobile shell 3.5 and my battery isn’t draining at all like it used to. I know that everyone has lost patience with this phone, but after changing those GPS settings everything else seems to have fallen in place for me. Guess I got lucky. good luck with yours.
October 21st, 2009 at 5:11 am
For anyone having issues, I would try the command line reset.
I was having issue with my phone recently that kept coming back (lag, and keyboard backlight not working).
I had tried various hard resets by using the “hard reset” application under Start/Settings and it just didn’t work
I have had very minor issues (mainly audio) with my phone until the aforementioned issues and have been experiencing annoyances. This is why I say to try this. My phone was near perfect until it got some bug in the system. The command line reset is working great so far.
Enter this into your keypad (warning this will clear your phone, save any files and/or sync your phone prior to performing)
*2767*3855#
Per Samsung, “This is to ensure the EFS area is purged of all irrelevant data.”
Give it a try before you give up on the phone
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Received the Fuze today and I’m already impressed. It blinks longer than a few seconds on missed calls and e-mails! I first, sent myself a test e-mail and it blinked for w long while. I called myself to test a missed call, and it flashed in a circle (that differentiates a missed call from a message). When I checked the missed call, that indicator went off, and it’s still blinking because I haven’t checked the e-mail yet. I’m sure this device isn’t perfect, but I am “considering” venturing into the XDA world with by flashing a custom ROM. Not sure about that yet. But at this rate, I’m happy not to have the Epix, though it does disappoint me, because I truly wanted to like it.
Good luck to everyone, whatever decision you make!
October 26th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Tried the fuze and got even shittier reception in my area. I could barely receive call in my dorms which i did not have that problem with the epix. I may just abandon windows mobile and switch to blackberry. Man I wish ATT had a better network where I moved to like I had in Cali and Texas, hell I do not even get 3g. Will wait for 6.5 and if gps is still broken I am switching to blackberry .
October 28th, 2009 at 12:25 am
HELP! My epix will power on (ONLY if plugged in or plugged into the USB Port) and it goes as far as the Windows mobile screen and cuts off. Red light is slowly flashing on/off the whole time and continually while plugged in. If plugged into the USB, this whole process just repeats over and over and over! Any help??? PLEASE??
October 28th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
HI,
I’m getting my fourth EPIX from AT&T tomorrow. They sent me the Nokia phone since it was the only one in stock that was equivalent after my third EPIX started acting up. I sent the Nokia back immediately since it wasn’t nearly the phone the EPIX is when it is working. Now my third EPIX cannot stay up longer than a few minutes before the ususal freezing (black screen of death!), with the resolution of prying off the back battery cover (extremely hard to remove), popping the battery in and out, and then restarting. Since the replacement phone was a one-time only offer, AT&T are now sending me the fourth EPIX. I asked them if they could give me a credit for the EPIX if I purchased a new phone early in my contract. Yes – a $25 credit was avaialable!!! So onto #4. Since there is a 90-day warranty on each new phone, I figure that I can keep exchanging my phone until I’m eligible for a discounted phone in May. Now I’m using my old, reliable Motorola Razr V3xx until my EPIX arrives. I have to say with all of the AT&T bashing going on, I have always had excellent customer service with them. Since they have upgraded the towers here in Austin, the service has also been excellent (not so before the upgrade).
October 28th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Hey guys, thanks for all the good feedback on the GPS fix, I’m glad it worked for you all.
@Richard – I had more than one problem with my phone so the warranty department transfered me to tech support. I talked with them for a while and concluded that nothing we could do would get rid of the dust and they sent me back to warranty. I guess you could call tech support first and convince them that dust behind the screen is a defect in the phone (which it is) and that it needs to be replaced. Make sure they note that on your account and have them transfer you over to the warranty department. Good Luck.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Damn if I knew I could trade it for a Bold I would have done it!
October 30th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
GOODBYE EPIX!! I AM FINALLY DE-CAMPING! I have had it!. I spent almost a year updating, patching, replacing and (stupidly) hoping that the next “fix” wouldn;t break something else. Do not get me wrong, I loved the Epix, or rather what the Epix could have been. Coming from a BlackJack II, which was as good of an experience as I ever had with a phone, this was a major let down, and the saga never improved, but for me, just created more and more frustration, to the point where I didn’t even use the phone all that much, except for light application use & calls (when I could hear them. I mean How F$%&ed up is it that now, with ID1, we have come full circle (a lot of us anyway) and now get a silent phone, which is 10x WORSE that the notification issues that were prevalent at the release of this buggy bugger of a bug.
That said, I am sort of kicking myself, since when pusshed AT&T will, as of today offer up a Blackberry Bold, or a HTC Fuze, and I have no interest in a Blackberry. BUT… for the rest of you, it looks like AT&T is phasing out FUZE in favor of the Tilt 2, and that has a much nicer screen, Windows Mobile 6.5 and a speaker phone that is amazing, from what I hear. Did I expect them to give me one for an Epix? No, but the conversation I had with the rep leads me to think they will go there, once they actually have stock on Tilt 2. Damn. Oh well, I have an Upgrade on anothet line in 7 months, I’ll try it then, when IT’s had the kinks flattened.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 am
Wow – I thought it was just me. I’ve had similar issues on EPIX #1 – dust behind the screen, audio disappearing, the phone turning on at random which on the upside, always provided me with a surprise as to which application would be launched when I took the phone out of my pocket. ID1 upgrade actually made the problems occur more frequently. Replacement #1 should arrive tomorrow…here’s hoping this one works. I love the phone for what it could be, but can’t stand being disappointed every day. AT&T has been great so far – very professional and accomodating.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Yeah, I just scored an HTC Pure as a replacement for my epix maddness!
ATT lies about their phones availability so them only being able to give you a BB Bold, HTC Fuze, Nokia E71x, and LG Incite is a complete lie. The supervisors just don’t want to let you have a better phone then you started out with so they only offer downgrades. If you talk to them for long enough you can get almost any phone out of them.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Anyone know if the Samsung Saga has simlar issues to the Epix? I’m looking for an unlocked GSM capable phone to upgrade my existing account – no service – no AT&T to warranty it. Saga has a slower processor but… I’d pass on that for reliability.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I’ve had my Epix since June. It worked great, until a couple of weeks ago when it started acting up. It would “wake up”, as others have mentioned, for no reason. Then last week, no matter where I touched the screen, it opened the phone. The mouse worked fine, but the touchscreen was out of whack. At first I could just turn it off and back on to reset it, then it got to where I had to take the battery out and replace it to reset the screen. Last Friday it happened again, but nothing would reset it so I tried a hard reset. That put me into the align screen mode, which is where the phone is now. It is stuck in a loop with the align process. Unfortunately this was a refurb phone and my 90 day warranty is up. After 2 hours on the phone with ATT I am finally getting a standard phone to replace the Epix. I’ll go back to using my Palm PDA. I never had problems with it.
Bottom line, the Samsung Epix is an epic failure.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
AT&T had surprisingly good service on this. I clearly and politely explained the issue with the ID1 update and what I wanted to happen (following the great info on this site), and they promptly sent out 2 new phones – both had ID1 already applied, but GPS still not working. They offered to replace it with a Fuze or HTC Pure (without QWERTY keyboard) on the third time. Got the Fuze, didn’t like it (too small for no keyboard). Called up, and told them to send me another Epix (since they wouldn’t send me a new Tilt2). This Epix works (albeit, the GPS is slow to load). Waiting for 2 months before moving to iPhone (contract renewal time). Screw it. I love the idea of WM6 (Rhapsody music subscription service), but after playing with buddies iPhone the other day, can’t fight the urge. For as much as I hate AT&T, they handled the problem quickly, effectively, and quite reasonably. I was all prepared to go medieval on them, but found no need as their support reps were polite and extremely helpful. I hate AT&T just a tad bit less now. It’s amazing what happens when people are nice
November 18th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
…just got ATT to send me a Pure – with no hassles. Been through 3 Epix, all under warranty.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
ATT just replaced mine with a Pure, took less than 10 min. Went through 3 as well.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Thank you so much for this website. I want to love my Epix, but the stupid thing turns off all the time for no reason, and the audio notifications go off randomly too. I’m glad to see other people are experiencing the same thing. I called AT&T and they’re sending my first replacement. Hope it works!
December 1st, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Had the same issues with my Epix. I loved the phone when it work but it was too buggy and had too many issues. Needless to say I went through 4 of them with AT&T’s warranty department and upon recieving the 4th one that was dead on arrival they want ahead and upgraded me to the new HTC Tilt 2 free and without a new contract.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Dave, If there is any way possible for you to get a Tilt 2 then do it. I just got my earlier today and it is by far the best phone ever invented. Think of an iPhone with a bigger screen, slide out keyboard and windows 6.5. After using this phone I litterally gave my iPhone away and was ashamed that I wasted 500$ on it. If you gt a chance go to AT&T and play with it for a few and compare it to an iPhone. I can guarantee that you will leave with a Tilt 2.
December 9th, 2009 at 3:32 am
After your 3rd epix and they start offering different phones to choose from, does anybody know if the blackberry bold they offer is the bold 8900 or the 9700?
December 9th, 2009 at 3:35 am
sorry, the bold 9000 or the 9700?
December 9th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Its the 9700 but get the tilt 2 it is by far the superior choice when it comes to smartphones. After using it these couple weeks I can honestly say that I am very impressed and it is the best phone I have used to this day. I used to have an iPhone and this blows it out the water. Alot of people like the BB but att doesnt offer the BB Storms and the bold is ok but neither compare to the HTC phones that att offers.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
is there any way they will let you get the iphone?
December 11th, 2009 at 3:07 am
well i talked to at&t and they offered me the bold 9000, samsung jack, htc tilt2, htc pure, the curve and the pearl… i’m really thinking im gonna go with the bold even though it’s not the 9700 like i wanted!
December 13th, 2009 at 1:10 am
Has anyone had an issue with the wireless radio not working? I am about to receive my 2nd replacement phone because the wireless radio in the phone is not turning on when I restart the phone; usually when Im doing a hard reset for when the phone freezes. I noticed it would freeze if I leave Yahoo IM running all night, or when the first alram in the morning goes off (its my alarm clock). this phone being replaced is being replaced itself for the wireless radio issue, with the added bonus of not being able to send text messages when the radio is on. I type the message, and when I hit send, nothing happens. Yet I can send Multimedia messages with ease. I really like this phone, its got great features, but man it sux with these issues.
December 13th, 2009 at 2:38 am
Amazingly, I don’t see anyone else complaining about touchscreen issues with the Epix. I don’t use GPS with my phone and loved the Epix when I first got it last October. But, during the summer, the touchscreen stopped working. It was intermittent at first, then complete failure. So, I was sent a refurb and, again, loved it. However, a couple weeks ago (about two weeks after my warranty expired) the touchscreen again stopped working. I tried a hard reset last night. Now, “align screen” is up and I can’t get through it. Most of the time the touchscreen doesn’t respond at all. But, occasionally, I am able to get the “x” moving properly around the screen. However, when I get to the final step (upper right hand corner) it just resets back to the middle. I’m stuck. Does anyone have a tip for bypassing or completing “align screen”??
I’m out of work, so really can’t afford to go buy a new phone right now. I need to get this one working — even without the touchscreen function it’s usable. I appreciate any suggestions!
December 13th, 2009 at 4:49 am
Haven’t had an issue for 3 months now… Well the only issues I had were because I installed the latest S2U2 and the phone didn’t like it. Some calls would ring once and then disconnect with “unknown” caller id so I wouldn’t know who called.
I have the rom ID1 update use the GPS with no problems, audio rarely goes out.
I have the latest googlemaps installed, S2U2 1.45, latest Skyfire (excellent browser!!), Resco, and Animations off.
GSTest set to “ms based”, “nevigation”, “warm”.
Clear your phone with: *2767*3855# if you are having issues. Did it back in early October and haven’t had any issues. It will clear everything off, so back up your stuff.
Tim,
Sorry, have no suggestions. Try this: where each + appears use the stylus and circle each pressing hard. No need to be accurate to get past the screen, just in the general direction of each +
December 16th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Just an update as a former dedicated Epix user……I love the Pure. The phone is amazing and I get 10mps when I tether to my laptop. The HTC touchflow is eye wateringly sweet. The only downside is something I’m getting use to – the keyboard. At first it was frustrating not having a physical keyboard, but I’m getting the hang of it. That is the only down side but the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Recently I realized I left it at a restaurant – only to go racing back and discover it was in the front pocket of my jeans the whole time. Yea, it’s that portable
December 17th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
ANYBODY WHO MIGHT WANT A TILT 2 or PURE instead of the Epix, please read!
YIPPEE!!! I am FINALLY FINISHED with the Epix! Since November of 2008 I have been limping along with the Epix. I did all of the “Fixes” and I even went through 3 phones. The only decent experience I ever had with it was the cooked WM 6.5 that had installed about a month ago (only to still have problems receiving calls and audio issues).
I talked to AT&T two week before my warranty was out (3rd week of October this year) and they offered me the Blackberry Bold, HTC Fuse, or the Nokia E71x. I told the lady that I would have to call back after I researched those phones at a local AT&T store. Also in that same phone call I requested the HTC Tilt 2. At the time of the call the warranty department did not have any refurbished Tilt 2 phones so she could not offer it to me. Well, I went to the store and looked at the phones in person (I even got to play with a friend’s BB Bold for a while) and I didn’t like any of those phones.
Then, the cooked WM 6.5 came out and I installed it the last part of November. At that point I decided to keep the Epix and live with it. That is, until the charging port stopped working two days ago (December 9, 2009). Pay attention to that date, because you see I was already out of warranty (as of November 4, 2009) and I have a year left on my contract.
I called back AT&T because I had no choice but to get another phone since my Epix was finally deceased. I went through the usual BS and finally barked my way up to a warranty department supervisor. Before getting to the supervisor the other employees were wanting to offer me to trade my phone under my Insurance policy. Well, that would have meant I would have to get ANOTHER FREAKIN’ EPIX! I explained to them that the lady I talked to in the previous call-in (before my warranty was out) told me I could call back any time to claim my replacement.
I was on a long hold before the supervisor came on (obviously they were researching my call-in records over the lifetime of owning the Epix). Finally when he came on the phone, he offered (instead of an insurance replacement), the same 3 phones I was offered before. At that point I was about to give in and get a Blackberry Bold (and live without a touchscreen). Then he actually looked a little closer to my previous call-in notes and said he saw I requested a Tilt 2 before and if I was still interested since they were NOW IN STOCK AT THE WARRANTY DEPARTMENT. Of course I said yes, and two days later I now have my HTC Tilt 2.
After using the Epix for over a year, the Tilt 2 feels like heaven in a phone. I would recommend this phone to anyone that wants to get away from their Epix and before thought they would have to trade into an inferior phone to get if for free. It took me a lot of patience and headaches, but I finally have a very good phone without having to pay full price for it.
December 17th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
…….just to add, the HTC Pure I received under warranty was brand new in the box – not a refurb.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Mark: The phone was indeed a refurb. Everything is new besides the guts to the phone. Unless you somehow got customer care to send it to you then it is refurbished because warranty dept. does not have access to NIB phones just refurbished kits. If you did get customer care to send it to you then kudos to you because tht is not an easy thing to do. All in all people who swap the Epix for the HTC hone seem to be very impressed (i have the Tilt 2 now and love it).
December 17th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I didn’t see any Refurbished labels on my Tilt 2 either. I believe I may have a new phone also. When I got transferred to the supervisor I might have been in customer care also.
But, anyway, I really like my Tilt 2 also. The only weak point I can find so far is the reception of the FM Radio is a little weak. But when I think about it, it may be similar reception quality as an old Walkman used to be.
December 18th, 2009 at 5:15 am
The Pure definitely appeared to be NIB. I went through 2 refurb Epix and 1 refurb Fuze…..and it was fairly obvious that they were.
December 20th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Wow, setting the GPS to standalone in gpstest.exe completely fixed my GPS problems. Works like a charm!! Thank you SO MUCH for this fix, everything else on my Epix is working well for me now. Whew!!!
December 21st, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Eric: Not sure how much you like the Epix, but, personally I would still report a “problem” to AT&T and get the Tilt 2 or Pure. They are pretty much the same, Tilt 2 has full keyboard but the pure has the 5mp camera. They are both exelent phones and you should really look into getting yourself one as a nice “christmas” present. Merry Christmas and thanks for all the info on the Epix. I thought it was just my bad luck.
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:07 am
I’m about to throw my Epix through a window. Same issues as everyone else – locking up, audio, slow. I don’t use the GPS so I wouldn’t know if it’s an issue or not. In addition, I’m probably one of the few that doesn’t really like much of the Epix that does work. I get really irritated with the screen not being able to turn off the touch feature. Also, I think that dialing out is a nightmare – how many confirmations does one need to click before the phone just dials the damn number. I’ve only had it since April, 2009. I’ll happily pay for a new contract upgrade, but, I won’t pay a dime more than that. I don’t want to mess with sending it back to ATT 3 times – I don’t have any patience left. Think I have a chance? I could threaten to drop all other services from ATT if my simple demands aren’t met, I guess. I absolutely hate this phone.
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:57 am
Unless your available for the upgrade then there is no chance. I wouldnt threatin to have your service shut off that just makes things more complicated. Ask for them to comp the overnight shipping which they will. Do this twice and youll have a Tilt 2 in about 4 days. Hope this helps.
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:22 am
I guess I must just be lucky then guys. I got my Epix off Ebay for $130. I did some research on the phone before I bought it, and saw all the negative comments. So I got my Epix 5 days ago. And so far I haven’t had a single problem *knock on wood*, Maybe I’m just lucky? So far I love this phone.
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:45 am
Hopefully it works out for you Pete. I loved the phone when I got it and wished it had worked good. BUT, now that I have the tilt 2 there is no comparison. But paying 130 for a nice phone or paying 600 for the tilt 2. Good luck to you and hope it works out well.
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I am also apparently very lucky, as I just got an Epix on ebay for $100 and it works very well so far. No missed calls, no lockups, no major issues at all. My only minor complaint so far is that I haven’t figured out GPS yet. My Epix does not have ID1 installed. I used GPStest to set it to standalone, as I do not have a data plan. So far I’ve been able to pick up sats a few time when out driving around, but usually I do not. I haven’t had enough time to mess with it though. I started a thread in the “help” section if anyone would care to read it.
Overall Im very pleased with my particular Epix. I’m sorry that so many have had trouble, and hope that I don’t become one of you down the road.
December 25th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I just got my epix and i dont know.
its ok.. i think a lot of us are in denial and are biased because we own the phone. to say that it is better than the iphone tilt2, jack, etc i would not agree.
it was a cool feature filled phone but it is plagued with bugs. i too am frustrated.
December 26th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
@newuser: iPhone vs Epix is really an OS argument (lots of threads around on that); Jack vs. Epix is a WM Pro vs Std preference; Tilt2 vs. Epix is a front keyboard vs. a Slider preference (plus add in some HTC add-ons, larger display and overall newer phone). I don’t think any in the right mind would say the Epix is better than a Tilt2 on features.
For me the Epix has been okay. It isn’t perfect and has some quirky features that you either like or hate (e.g., square screen and mouse pad). But it has been good enough (especially once the 6.5 upgrade is released) to hold me over until WM7 phones are out. Then I will take a serious look at where the mobile market is at and where I want to put my money.
However, your point about people being biased because they own a phone though is certainly valid. The reverse is also true — people who own a phone know all the bad things about it and occasionally just have to rant on it.
December 26th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
@beachdog: Tried your GPS fix and I never could get any satellites to lock on. What other settings did you use on the Epix’s side? Lack of the GPS chip working is just a minor annoyance for me as I have a BT GPS Receiver that works perfectly.
December 27th, 2009 at 2:14 am
I hear ya about the Epix. Here are the problems I have:
- Screen very dim in sunlight;
- Battery life so-so, mostly 1 1/2 days to 2 days at most – definitely not like the specs advertise;
- Crappy delayed response to just about any button being pressed;
- Even when you lock the device, if you put it in a holster or pouch and you get a notification, the dang screen unlocks and all kinds of things get pressed;
And here’s the KILLER of them all to me:
- All my MP3’s, and I mean all of them, stop and buffer unexpectedly at least once during playback, often more than once. (All my MP3’s were ripped from CD at 256 kbps, constant bit rate, in iTunes For Windows. They are all stored on my 16 GB MicroSDHC card.) I contacted Samsung tech support, who told me to do a hard reset of the phone. Did that, and I still have the buffering problem. Anyone know what I can do about this? It REALLY IRKS ME!!!
December 27th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
@Dale: Totally agree on the screen and battery life comments. I find the Epix useless outside if there is any direct sunlight. My previous phone (a Treo 750) was good in direct sunlight and as a result I could use it with a GPS unit to get yardage readings while golfing. Can’t do that with my Epix which is a major disappointment.
I have not experienced the delayed response you have though. As far as the MP3 playback goes, I almost never get any stoppage during a song which may be due to using 128 kbps constant bit rate and Pocket Player. As a test you might want to rip a few songs at 128 and play them on the WM Media Player (no other apps running). If it still stops then something is definitely wrong inside that Epix.
The only other variable is the MicroSD card but I’m assuming you have a pretty fast one so that should not be an issue.
December 27th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I just had my 3rd Epix replaced. I went with a Pure and can’t be happier. I wasn’t sure about no keyboard but after 2 days, I’m typing faster than with my Epix. As stated before MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better phone.
December 29th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Dale:
I would, as J.W. mentioned, check for other apps running up processor. Also check the Processes if you see nothing abnormal in Applications.
Try the command line hard reset if all looks ok.
*2767*3855#
It is not a soft reboot and it is different from the hard reset in Settings.
Had issues with mine, none after this.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Al: Did the *2767*3855# reset fix the GPS issue too?
December 31st, 2009 at 9:37 pm
J.W.:
I use my GPS with:
“MS Based”
“Nevigation”
“Warm”
And never have the device.exe cpu usage issue that others are claiming.
So I would say, yes, it does fix it.
I had to do mine twice however.
I can’t remember, but maybe a (green?) loading bar should appear when the phone reboots. If it doesn’t, try the command again once you complete the setup.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:52 am
How do you “soft reset” the phone? I can only find the hard reset.
Thanks
January 19th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Al:
It seems to have worked for me too. I used the MS based setting originally but discovered it left device.exe spiked and therefore draining the battery. I suspect both MS based and Assisted result in attempts to access a tower for information. The theory has been that data connection is what is broken. But once I moved to the Standalone setting the battery use returned to normal.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I should add that it seemed like I had to get the GPS chip working by first using the MS based setting and being patient for 7 to 8 minutes. Before trying that setting I had no luck with Standalone but then perhaps I wasn’t patient enough. After a lock did get established moving to the Standalone setting significantly improved the battery life and I get cold start locks in about 2 minutes, sometimes less. Warm locks occur in perhaps 5 to 10 seconds.
My Epix now seems to be working normal except for assisted GPS (not an issue since Standalone works fine). When the WM6.5 update arrives I will now delay installing it to see what other users report. I don’t want to be an early adopter only to find out it breaks some feature I really need.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I’m on my second refurb Epix (third Epix since May) and I’m about to call AT&T and complain about this one too. Anyone know what other phones they’re offering to switch it out with?
January 26th, 2010 at 1:33 am
AT&T offered me the Nokia E71, Surge and the Samsung Jack. I called back and spoke to another rep. He arranged for a refurbished Tilt 2; I had received 3 replacements of the Epix prior to that. Just got it yesterday; what a pleasure it is after using the Epix. Like someone else said, I wanted to love the Epix but it was not to be.
Samsung had a competitive advantage by having a touch-screen and full qwerty keyboard on the same phone(without the flip) but they messed it up.
January 27th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Just got it taken care of, they tried to offer me a Samsung Impression and a couple other phones that were way below the Epix feature set, so I had to talk to a supervisor to get them to send me a Tilt 2. I didn’t have a data plan though, so if they add that I’ll be pretty upset.
January 29th, 2010 at 1:19 am
@Tim-kind of hard to get away with a smart phone without a data plan now. I just upgraded to an HTC Pure and when I activated the SIM I was notified that if I didn’t have a data plan one would be added. I guess it’s the new policy. Perhaps if you use your existing SIM in the new phone.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:53 am
I got ATT to send me a tilt 2. Is it true they will add data plan if i don’t have one? My contract is still not over…just over a year left.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:36 am
You do not have to take data plan. Just inform them that you bought phone before the policy was implemented. Since this is a replacement,your old plan (without data plan) should be carried over. Talk to a rep and they will remove the data plan.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:21 am
ok…, ive had my refurbed-epix since thanksgiving of 2009, so about 2 1/2 months, all of a sudden my ear piece (not the speaker) stopped working. Now every time i make or receive a call i have to turn on the speaker to talk. could this be an option in one of the programs or a defect with the phone itself. every time i make a call i see an icon in the shape of a circle with + sign cross hairs and a diagonal slash “/” through the circle. ive refer back to the hand book but that icon is not listed. please help with any answers, and please leave on this forum/reviews or email me at trussno1@yahoo.com, thank you.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:53 am
@Rice: If your earpiece is bluetooth it can’t hurt to try the *2767*3855# command line reset. That type of reset can cure strange or random issues that are caused by the software (more specifically some corrupted piece of system software). Of course you’ll either need to back up your system and data, or reload everything afterward. If it is a wired earpicee then it sounds more like a hardware problem but I’d consider giving the reset a try because it can’t hurt.