Samsung Galaxy S III to be released in April 2012

Sully

With unlocked S III, what's the process of getting Android updates? Is it any quicker / slower?

evolutionqy7

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

And another set have broken. This is starting to get a bit ridiculous, I can't understand how they keep breaking, and its always the same way. Thinking I might try and get it looked at if another set break soon.

Have mine now since November and their fine. Use them quite a lot as well. Which part of them breaks?

Maybe your a bit rough with the wires? I'd always be quite careful with any headphones. Fair enough if one or two sets break, but 4+ is excessive.

Pigwidgeon

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

Have mine now since November and their fine. Use them quite a lot as well. Which part of them breaks?

Maybe your a bit rough with the wires? I'd always be quite careful with any headphones. Fair enough if one or two sets break, but 4+ is excessive.

I'm not even sure, it always seems to be random, the left ear will suddenly go and then the right ear does a while later. Normally I'm fine with ear phones, they would last me several months, I think my old iphone ones lasted a good 8 or 9 months, but I'm barely getting a month now. I wonder if there could be a build up of lint in the jack? I might try give it a clean and see how I get on, or if there is something wrong with the jack itself, I don't know. I know it's a minor thing but buying earphone so often starts to add up!

evolutionqy7

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

I don't know. I know it's a minor thing but buying earphone so often starts to add up!

What about other brand headphones. Pick up non Samsung ones. Some headphones out there do support phone controls if you need them.

Id say the best thing for you is to shell out a good bit of money on a wireless Bluetooth headset. Would solved all your wire problems. BT is cross handset compatible so it will always work with new phones too and you can use it as hands free in the car.

carlop

I'm about to pull the trigger on an unlocked SIII on amazon.es. I live in Spain and have a Spanish sim card, but I'll be back in Ireland in the summer. Will I have any issues putting my Irish SIM card in there when I get back or should it be a perfectly smooth transition that doesn't affect whatever apps I have by that stage?

I'm an absolute novice when it comes to phones!

danniemcq

you might have to get your irish number transfered to a nano sim card thing but apart from that you should be good

leemaree

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/1777133/samsung_galaxy_s4_to_get_april_release_date.html

fionny

leemaree wrote: »

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/1777133/samsung_galaxy_s4_to_get_april_release_date.html

Look at the title of this particular thread... this happens every year... it will probably be out in June in Ireland as usual.

Sully

Thought they already ruled out April and said it would be the summer?

god's toy

Should be an S4 'to be released' thread by now.

Patsy fyre

Anyone having trouble with bluetooth since the last update?

fionny

Well after much fighting with Samsung I finally got my replacement...

danniemcq

Patsy fyre wrote: »

Anyone having trouble with bluetooth since the last update?

haven't really used it but i always found BT hit and miss

dcr22B

Looking for a useful non-qwerty keyboard as the standard Samsung keyboard is doing my head in. More used to using a numerical keypad and one that learns from twitter/facebook etc and let's me save words that I use frequently.

Thanks in advance.

Syferus

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

I'm not even sure, it always seems to be random, the left ear will suddenly go and then the right ear does a while later. Normally I'm fine with ear phones, they would last me several months, I think my old iphone ones lasted a good 8 or 9 months, but I'm barely getting a month now. I wonder if there could be a build up of lint in the jack? I might try give it a clean and see how I get on, or if there is something wrong with the jack itself, I don't know. I know it's a minor thing but buying earphone so often starts to add up!

I'm sorry but from all my experiences 8-9 'months normally' is not fine, I can't recall ever breaking even a single pair of earphones, and definitely not in the last seven or eight years. I'm not even particularly careful with them either, they just tend to be quite hard to render useless. The only things that have broken are headphones where the headband between the speakers have snapped structurally.

I don't know what you're doing with the earphones but surely your attrition rate has to have something to do with how you're using them regardless of device?

danniemcq

Syferus wrote: »

I'm sorry but from all my experiences 8-9 'months normally' is not fine, I can't recall ever breaking even a single pair of earphones, and definitely not in the last seven or eight years. I'm not even particularly careful with them either, they just tend to be quite hard to render useless. The only things that have broken are headphones where the headband between the speakers have snapped structurally.

I don't know what you're doing with the earphones but surely your attrition rate has to have something to do with how you're using them regardless of device?

gotta agree with this 8 months is far from good from headphones (unless they are 2 euro ones or something)

i've had no issues with headphones and the phone bar me being stupid running over cables with the office chair, dropping them off a table (a lot) and things like that.

are you buying branded headphones, are they a decent brand, is the cable long enough to reach from pocket to head with a bit of space to spare, is the cable to long and gonna get tangled. you gotta ask youself al these questions when getting headphones.

JaMarcus Hustle

Can anyone recommend a good set of speakers for the S3 for playing music aloud? Don't necessarily have to portable, mains plug in will do. Muchos gracias.

kingtiger

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good set of speakers for the S3 for playing music aloud? Don't necessarily have to portable, mains plug in will do. Muchos gracias.

any good set of PC speakers will do the job

i.e anything with a 3.5mm jack in

BeanFlicker

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good set of speakers for the S3 for playing music aloud? Don't necessarily have to portable, mains plug in will do. Muchos gracias.

I have the D100, highly recommend

These are the model up, can't go wrong for €50 quid

http://en.store.creative.com/bargains-corner/creative-d200-refurbished/618-21286.aspx

Review - Amazon

s_carnage

Just after getting a small update there. Anyone else get it and knows what's in it. Haven't noticed any changes at all yet.

deafroadrunner

s_carnage wrote: »

Just after getting a small update there. Anyone else get it and knows what's in it. Haven't noticed any changes at all yet.

just checked mine, still no update available. (vodafone)
i hope this new update solves the freezing problems. phone freezes at least 6 times a day. head wrecking.

s_carnage

Haven't had that problem but I did have a problem with mediaserver eating my battery. Will give it a few more days but my battery is a lot higher than it usually is at this stage of the day with the same usage and also very little mediaserver usage in my battery stats.

Think the update was only something like 70mb.

deafroadrunner

s_carnage wrote: »

Haven't had that problem but I did have a problem with mediaserver eating my battery. Will give it a few more days but my battery is a lot higher than it usually is at this stage of the day with the same usage and also very little mediaserver usage in my battery stats.

Think the update was only something like 70mb.

far as i know reading xda forums its a common enough problem unfortunately.
which network are u with?

s_carnage

deafroadrunner wrote: »

far as i know reading xda forums its a common enough problem unfortunately.
which network are u with?

With 3 but got a replacement phone in Jan and so it is totally unbranded. There were some apps that seem kind of German that came pre-loaded on it but I was able to uninstall them without having to root the phone. Weirdly once I installed the update last night them apps were reinstalled but I just cleared them straight-away.

waynegalway

s_carnage wrote: »

With 3 but got a replacement phone in Jan and so it is totally unbranded. There were some apps that seem kind of German that came pre-loaded on it but I was able to uninstall them without having to root the phone. Weirdly once I installed the update last night them apps were reinstalled but I just cleared them straight-away.

Same here. My phone got sudden death syndrome and was sent back from repairs as network unlocked (I'm with 3).

Mediaserver is killing my battery too, but can't seem to solve it.

I've gone into all the folders and created "no media" files, because I read somewhere that mediaserver goes into a never ending loop if it's looking for media but can't find a file. That didn't help.

Weirdly, sometimes when the battery runs completely down, after the next charge the mediaserver problem is gone. But it doesn't disappear every time I empty the battery, so it's not a real solution to just run it completely down each time.

Very frustrating, and it seemed to only really become an issue about 6 week or so ago with an update through Kies. Since then I've been hoping Samsung will release s new firmware with the problem fixed, but no joy so far.....

deafroadrunner

i asked vodafone through their twitter when the software update is. they said there isn't one in the pipeline for next couple of months at least

Sully

New update available for SIII;

http://www.samsung.com/ie/article/upgrade-your-galaxy-with-samsungs-premium-suite/

Ivefoundgod

Sully wrote: »

New update available for SIII;

http://www.samsung.com/ie/article/upgrade-your-galaxy-with-samsungs-premium-suite/

Not sure if it's the same on all networks but I received the premium upgrade around 2 months ago with the update to 4.1.2. Multi window is the only thing I've used.

ED E

Won myself one of these bad boys today. Anyone got any tweaks/tips they'd like to recommend. Fingers crossed I get an unbranded one.

Just as my Xperia S is about to get Jellybean and all.

ED E

Really dont like how the camera protrudes from the body of the phone

Dingatron

My SIII looked to be suffering from the start of the sudden death syndrome bug about 10 days ago. I had it from last July and had it rooted and had updated it to newer stock roms from the beginning. Symptoms were sudden freezes and the only way to reset was by taking the battery out. Tried recovery through Kies etc but looks like a hardware issue and was happening within 10 minutes of boot.

hidinginthebush

Dingatron wrote: »

My SIII looked to be suffering from the start of the sudden death syndrome bug about 10 days ago. I had it from last July and had it rooted and had updated it to newer stock roms from the beginning. Symptoms were sudden freezes and the only way to reset was by taking the battery out. Tried recovery through Kies etc but looks like a hardware issue and was happening within 10 minutes of boot.

Check your SD card. I had similar issues with my HTC desire, until I switched to a ROM that didn't use A2SD, and hey presto, no more tears. I think what was happening was the card would either quickly unmount or wasn't fast enough maybe, but either way, when I reverted to using it just for storage all was grand. I'm not sure if you S3 ROM uses A2SD though?

Dingatron

Nah I tried a good few things with it including leaving the SD out after a reset. Got it back today from them and they replaced the motherboard. Really missed it as I was back to a HTC Hero on Cupcake for a few days.

Sonics2k

Dingatron wrote: »

Nah I tried a good few things with it including leaving the SD out after a reset. Got it back today from them and they replaced the motherboard. Really missed it as I was back to a HTC Hero on Cupcake for a few days.

I'm due to get mine sent back tomorrow or Monday after having the same issues as you.

I checked the site and they said it was already fixed after one day which I find very off. I have a feeling they just factory reset it and maybe flashed it.

ED E

Sonics2k wrote: »

I'm due to get mine sent back tomorrow or Monday after having the same issues as you.

I checked the site and they said it was already fixed after one day which I find very off. I have a feeling they just factory reset it and maybe flashed it.

Whos doing the repair?

Sonics2k

ED E wrote: »

Whos doing the repair?

Fonemenders.

I work for o2, so it's easier to send it straight to them as they usually do a good job for us or they don't get paid by us.

It also gives us a good chance to see if they're doing their jobs right haha.

ED E

I've had problems with them insisting on their was no problem with phone after Sony had publicly stated they were manufactured wrong. If you search for them on boards they seem like a sham of an outfit tbh.

Do samsung have a repair partner here? Might be a better option.

Pigwidgeon

Ah I fear my S3 may be developing sudden death syndrome. All day it has been constantly freezing and randomly turning itself off, I tried a factory reset and it doesn't seem to have helped. I got the phone on vodafone through the carphone warehouse, am I better just going down to the carphone warehouse with it tomorrow, as it's pretty much unusable at this point or should I try return it to samsung themselves?

ED E

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

Ah I fear my S3 may be developing sudden death syndrome. All day it has been constantly freezing and randomly turning itself off, I tried a factory reset and it doesn't seem to have helped. I got the phone on vodafone through the carphone warehouse, am I better just going down to the carphone warehouse with it tomorrow, as it's pretty much unusable at this point or should I try return it to samsung themselves?

Give it to CPW, who will send it to Fonmenders who will replace the board, and hopefully give you a new board with a sane chip.

touts

ED E wrote: »

Give it to CPW, who will send it to Fonmenders who will replace the board, and hopefully give you a new board with a sane chip.

Does anyone know how long it takes. I've been living with my S3 freezing 3-4 times a day for the past couple of weeks because I'm afraid I'll be without a phone for weeks if I send it off to be repaired. Better to have a freezing phone than no phone (my old phone was a Nokia N8 and the sim from the S3 won't fit it).

waynegalway

touts wrote: »

Does anyone know how long it takes. I've been living with my S3 freezing 3-4 times a day for the past couple of weeks because I'm afraid I'll be without a phone for weeks if I send it off to be repaired. Better to have a freezing phone than no phone (my old phone was a Nokia N8 and the sim from the S3 won't fit it).

In my experience, I was without the phone for about 6 weeks in total. I went straight to Samsung with it, but they got fonemenders to do the work. Turned out that fonemenders aren't qualified to do a level 3 repair, so they sent it somewhere else. Very disappointing experience.

Have a Google for fonfix. I found out that they can do the level 3 repair, and have a walk in service. The repair is done under warranty, but if you pay a small fee they can turn it around in a few hours.

danniemcq

there is an app (emmc check) that will tell you if your chip is one of the failing ones. Check that first.

My s3 death i dropped the phone in with 3 on a Friday and had it back on the Thursday after, and that was a rooted and rommed phone and had no issues.

They replaced the insides and i lost everything (thankfully i back up occasionally) so do that before leaving the phone anywhere

ED E

waynegalway wrote: »

Have a Google for fonfix. I found out that they can do the level 3 repair, and have a walk in service. The repair is done under warranty, but if you pay a small fee they can turn it around in a few hours.

Yeah, fonfix are far more capable. If you post it in you pay for registered post and if you hand deliver it they charge you €15 for the pleasure of ringing their doorbell.

waynegalway

ED E wrote: »

Yeah, fonfix are far more capable. If you post it in you pay for registered post and if you hand deliver it they charge you €15 for the pleasure of ringing their doorbell.

I have no experience with fonfix, so I can't say for sure what they are like. I sense you're being sarcastic, but I'm only going on what I've read on here about them.

My personal experience with fonemenders was terrible. Fact.

From what I've read, fonfix can do the job (replace board)themselves (not give it to a third party like fonemenders do), and there's no charge if it's under warranty. I stand to be corrected on who pays for the postage, if they charge the customer for it that hardly seems fair. My understanding is that the €15 charge is optional and gives you an express service (same day, I believe). If you don't want same day service, theres no charge. I'm basing this on what I've read here and on the fonfix website. I have no personal with them, but if my S3 was to have an issue under warranty, I'd be going to them instead of fonemenders.

ED E

I was partially sarcastic there yeah.

My Xperia S got the yellow tint(glue in the screen turns yellow). I returned it to the store(3) for repair, they accepted the fault and sent it to fonmenders who sent it back straight away stating it was fine even though sony had acknowledged that the manufacturing process was flawed. And I'm not the only one to have had such issues. Fonmenders are a joke, but probably are cheap and thus get all the contracts.

So I got on to Sony Mobile UK, who directed me to use Fonfix as a warranty repairer for them in Ireland. Registered postage each way would be the guts of €20 and add two days minimum to the process. I didnt want to be without my shiny new toy for an extended period so I decided to hop on the luas and deliver it by hand. At the desk I was asked to pay €15 because I delivered it myself, and then had to collect it myself.

I know its small amounts but a warranty repair should be entirely free. This is them essentially taking a skim with a bogus handling fee. If the retailers(carriers) would deal with them there would be no cost to the customer, but they only deal with fonmenders.

waynegalway

ED E wrote: »

I was partially sarcastic there yeah.

My Xperia S got the yellow tint(glue in the screen turns yellow). I returned it to the store(3) for repair, they accepted the fault and sent it to fonmenders who sent it back straight away stating it was fine even though sony had acknowledged that the manufacturing process was flawed. And I'm not the only one to have had such issues. Fonmenders are a joke, but probably are cheap and thus get all the contracts.

So I got on to Sony Mobile UK, who directed me to use Fonfix as a warranty repairer for them in Ireland. Registered postage each way would be the guts of €20 and add two days minimum to the process. I didnt want to be without my shiny new toy for an extended period so I decided to hop on the luas and deliver it by hand. At the desk I was asked to pay €15 because I delivered it myself, and then had to collect it myself.

I know its small amounts but a warranty repair should be entirely free. This is them essentially taking a skim with a bogus handling fee. If the retailers(carriers) would deal with them there would be no cost to the customer, but they only deal with fonmenders.

Interesting.

Did they say the charge was for express service? How long did they have the phone before it was ready for collection?

Having had my experience with fonemenders, I'd gladly make my way to Dublin for the day and pay 15 rather spend nothing and let fonemenders take 6 weeks.

ED E

I think it was like three days, tuesday to thursday. And no, the fee was purely for going to the door.

Walk-In Service
Fónfix operates a walk-in service at our repair centre in Sandyford, Dublin. If you wish to avail of this service you can call into our front desk and have your phone repaired in as little as three hours. Please note there is a non-refundable handling fee of €15 for this service.
Please remove your sim card from your phone as it is not required for the repair process
Telephone numbers, logos, ringtones or data saved to the phone may be lost during repair

You Can Mail Your Phone To Us At :

Fónfix
Cellular House, 1 Sandyford Park
Sandyford Industrial Estate
Sandyford, Dublin 18

They cover samsung anyways.

As a manufacturer accredited service centre Fónfix can repair any of the following manufacturers' phones irrespective of the network to which the phone is connected.
Sony Ericsson
Motorola
Samsung
NEC
Panasonic
Sharp
Nokia
Phillips
Siemens

waynegalway

ED E wrote: »

I think it was like three days, tuesday to thursday. And no, the fee was purely for going to the door.





They cover samsung anyways.

I misread that to mean the €15 was for the express service, rather than a handling fee just for turning up at the door. It's still good value compared to the time involved in posting it.

I read on here a few times that the Sudden Death fix was turned around in the same day for a few people who turned up and paid the 15.

Knine

How do I tell if my S3 is unlocked?

waynegalway

Knine wrote: »

How do I tell if my S3 is unlocked?

Try a sim in it from a different network