# So What Do You Hate About Your GS3?



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

What bugs you / annoys you / you hate about your GS3? Carrier issues aside.

If it's honestly "nothing" - I believe that's a valid reply . But think about it!


----------



## shoman24v (Jul 17, 2011)

I'm on Verizon so yeah...
I hate that the notification volume isn't linked to the volume key. That's absurd.
MMS messages, like a single photo usually show up with a player instead of just showing the full picture
Ongoing WiFi notification.
Samsung keyboard could be slightly better in terms of prediction, would rather it just predict as I type and not force me to chose the correct spelling every time.
I like a vertical scrolling app drawer with a black background, the vertical choice offered is crap. I despise horizontal scrolling.
Gallery blows ass.
Dual core US model.
No way to customize LED.
I'm just being uber picky though.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

shoman24v said:


> I'm on Verizon so yeah...
> I hate that the notification volume isn't linked to the volume key. That's absurd.
> MMS messages, like a single photo usually show up with a player instead of just showing the full picture
> Ongoing WiFi notification.
> ...


Should the volumes be linked on pretty much any ROM (ie. CM)?

I feel like all of your first comments could all be changed with a regular ROM, no?

As for the gallery - download quickpic, it's great, much better, free, etc.

Dual core is a bit shitty, but meh.

LED = ...? Notification LED or LED flash or what?


----------



## thesoldier (Jan 25, 2012)

Half of those complaints could be fixed with a good ROM or a little modifying by yourself.

The Samsung keyboard bloooows lol...I install the 4.2 keyboard after every flash. I wish the LED could be customized too, but it's no big deal to me. I hate the MMS thing too, sometimes it shows the full picture and other times it plays a slideshow. I usually just save the attachment and delete later if I have to look at it closely.

Not many complaints from me, I love this thing. Just wish it could run AOSP perfectly.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## shoman24v (Jul 17, 2011)

Syndacate said:


> Half of those complaints could be fixed with a good ROM or a little modifying by yourself.
> 
> The Samsung keyboard bloooows lol...I install the 4.2 keyboard after every flash. I wish the LED could be customized too, but it's no big deal to me. I hate the MMS thing too, sometimes it shows the full picture and other times it plays a slideshow. I usually just save the attachment and delete later if I have to look at it closely.
> 
> ...


After having my first AOSP device over the last year I'm not going to install it on the GSIII. TW has a lot of customizations built for the phone specifically, if I wanted AOSP I would have just kept my Galaxy Nexus... Not to mention battery life is double what my Nexus got.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

thesoldier said:


> After having my first AOSP device over the last year I'm not going to install it on the GSIII. TW has a lot of customizations built for the phone specifically, if I wanted AOSP I would have just kept my Galaxy Nexus... Not to mention battery life is double what my Nexus got.


Ewwww @ TW, lol.

....

Is it jsut me, or I feel like there's not a lot of ROM'ers here, not what I expected, thought the GS3 ROM'ing community was large, but all the commplaints here seem to be about VZW's shit stock ROM.


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

The main thing I hate about the GSIII is the design, the glossy plastic back irritates me each time I use it without a case. In close second would be the physical buttons (home, volume, and power). The power and volume buttons just seem like they'll fall off before another year passes. The home button is just ugly.


----------



## shoman24v (Jul 17, 2011)

Syndacate said:


> The main thing I hate about the GSIII is the design, the glossy plastic back irritates me each time I use it without a case. In close second would be the physical buttons (home, volume, and power). The power and volume buttons just seem like they'll fall off before another year passes. The home button is just ugly.


Lol, sounds like you hate the phone itself... if you hate the design you hate the phone~!


----------



## thesoldier (Jan 25, 2012)

Syndacate said:


> Is it ALL of AOSP that doesn't run right or is it just the latest (4.2) JB? I thought there weren't any issues with anything aside from latest and greatest (which has issues all around), no?


I'm really not sure for myself about 4.1.2 AOSP ROMs. From what I've read, they all have some sort of signal issues that don't exist on TW, like lower signal and dropped signal that won't come back without an airplane mode toggle. That, plus complaints about lower battery life compared to TW. I haven't personally tried it myself because I don't mind TW, (Eclipse TW with the look of AOSP ftw) and it's features are pretty cool. I'll probably give some 4.1 AOSP ROMs a try soon to see if those complaints are real.

I was running 4.2 on my gnex for awhile, so I was familiar with it. I'd rather have the stability of 4.1 on the s3 than the latest and greatest though.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## mentose457 (Aug 26, 2011)

I hate the capacitive buttons and the stupid physical home button. I also hate the softkey menu button (when enabled). Like others have said, I wish the led was customizable.


----------



## thesoldier (Jan 25, 2012)

I can't believe I forgot to mention the home button, wow.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

shoman24v said:


> I don't think the phone needs a new ROM really, it just needs a few tweaks to what it already has. Battery life and stability are rock solid. The ROM itself is good, other than the pre-installed bullshit it's perfect. The other stuff is really just my opinion.
> 
> Lol, sounds like you hate the phone itself... if you hate the design you hate the phone~!


Not necessarily, since 2/3 of my complaints are immediately resolved with a case. There's no overcoming the home button. This was the phone I was waiting for, so I'm fine with those concerns. Also, my carrier Verizon usually doesn't carry the best flagship devices available so my skipping preorders for the GSIII would have been a boneheaded decision. Buying the GSIII just made sense as far as the overall package, which I don't regret at all.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

SlimSnoopOS said:


> I hate the capacitive buttons and the stupid physical home button. I also hate the softkey menu button (when enabled). Like others have said, I wish the led was customizable.


Yeah, physical home button sucks.


----------



## Goose306 (Sep 12, 2011)

Like - Its a good phone all around, I got to get it under contract and keep unlimited through the pre-orders  I actually like the physical buttons... I dunno maybe its because my prior phone was a DX, even on my Nexus 7 though I miss the buttons. Now capacative vs. physical I guess could be up in the air I just find *requiring* a navbar to be a waste of screen real estate (I *do* use a navbar on my GS3 but its more for the navbar ring, easy access to recent apps, and setting it up as a pseudo-dock rather than on my launcher, and its kept at only 24 height)

Dislike - AOSP bugs, some functions indicate Samsung either hasn't learned from mistakes in the past or rushed production such as the IMEI loss issue. The fact its on Verizon (although not as big of a deal after we got the unlocked bootloader - there was awhile there we were looking like red-headed stepchildren with kexec even though we had lots of development).

Regarding AOSP bugs 4.1.2 is more or less stable but hasn't seen active development really in a couple months. 4.2.1 is still buggy but its slowly pulling into itself; and its easily DD if you are on the most recent builds and don't mind some smallish bugs. (somewhat weak signal, in-call volume) RIL is still a bit weak but the handoff hell where it would need an airplane toggle to get data back seems to be working itself out, any builds of AOKP or CM I've ran since the beginning of February no longer get stuck in handoff (although overall signal is weaker)


----------



## JumperPunk (Oct 21, 2011)

I only have 2 complaints about my S3.
1 - No Gorilla Glass. Like Goose, I came from the DX, which was my first smart phone. I hated the feel of a screen protector, so I took it off after about 1 day and never looked back. Used the DX for about 2 years, and never got a single scratch on my screen. I didn't even think about getting a screen protector for the S3 and now I have quite a few scratches after just a few months. I'm going to be looking for a screen protector in the next few days, and I'm not looking forward to having to use one.

2 - Not a Nexus device, which makes it a little more difficult to compile stuff and get AOSP ROMs working right with some of the hardware.

I switched from TW to Paranoid Android and have loved every minute of it. I have tried a stack of other ROMs, but none of them have the awesomeness of PA. Tagging on with the 2nd complaint, the PA builds tend to lag behind the PA source, but it has gotten better in the past few weeks. Currently I'm on the AOSPA 3 RC.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

Goose306 said:


> 2 - Not a Nexus device, which makes it a little more difficult to compile stuff and get AOSP ROMs working right with some of the hardware.
> 
> I switched from TW to Paranoid Android and have loved every minute of it. I have tried a stack of other ROMs, but none of them have the awesomeness of PA. Tagging on with the 2nd complaint, the PA builds tend to lag behind the PA source, but it has gotten better in the past few weeks. Currently I'm on the AOSPA 3 RC.


Gotcha, well it's good that the ROMs are still progressing. I hate TW, but thankfully it has gotten slimmer over the last year or so and that was its major issue, IMO.


----------



## thesoldier (Jan 25, 2012)

Oh yeah, definitely forgot one thing. Quality control. My sister's s3 literally just took a shit. Her screen has died a miserable death, well actually it's hanging in there, but not for long.

Basically it's the same exact thing that happened to my first CLNR, extreme discoloration and flickering, and most of the time only parts of the screen turn on (except my screen just straight up died eventually). Managed to pull off her internal storage and I'm Odining back to stock right now. Gotta go through Samsung because she didn't buy it from big red. She's kinda mad... lol.

So yeah, quality control, that thing.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

thesoldier said:


> Oh yeah, definitely forgot one thing. Quality control. My sister's s3 literally just took a shit. Her screen has died a miserable death, well actually it's hanging in there, but not for long.
> 
> Basically it's the same exact thing that happened to my first CLNR, extreme discoloration and flickering, and most of the time only parts of the screen turn on (except my screen just straight up died eventually). Managed to pull off her internal storage and I'm Odining back to stock right now. Gotta go through Samsung because she didn't buy it from big red. She's kinda mad... lol.
> 
> ...


Gotcha. Yeah, that sucks.


----------



## Haze (Nov 26, 2011)

Hardware home key and the capacative keys and the slippery back (I know a case or a zagg can fix that).


----------



## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

I hate that it breaks so easily.


----------



## shoman24v (Jul 17, 2011)

The camera doesn't work while making a call


----------



## WhataSpaz (Feb 20, 2012)

Likes:

*Micro SD slot *(Rare nowadays)
*Removable battery* (I go through 2 every day)
*Screen size *(Would go 5in)
*Performance* (Even though it's 'outdated')
*Power on right* (Used to it after 3 years)
*Accessories* (Sooo many available worldwide)

Neutral:

*Plastic* (I could care less, as long as it looks good)
*Headphone jack* (Doesn't matter bottom/top)
*Wireless charging* (Workaround to get it, but I'd be down)
*Speaker *(Needs to [sub]drop [/sub]some more bass)

Dislikes:

*Screen tech* (Kinda bored with S-Amoled after seeing the Droid DNA's screen)
*Camera *(Sometimes I feel like my pictures are too blue, in any scene and macro shots suck)
*Home button* (In general)
*+ Capacitive buttons* (Too low)
*Color options* (Nokia Lumia doing it right for example)

Edit: Made things purty


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

shoman24v said:


> The camera doesn't work while making a call


Now this is a bug I didn't even know existed until about a month ago.


----------



## t_rob76 (Jan 30, 2012)

My main complaint with the phone is the camera quality, I have a 2 year old and they don't sit still for pictures, so nearly all of my pictures are blurry unless they are taken in direct sunlight. I have tried aosp camera CameraZoom FX and TW and it seems the same on all (maybe a little better on CameraZoom FX)


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

t_rob76 said:


> My main complaint with the phone is the camera quality, I have a 2 year old and they don't sit still for pictures, so nearly all of my pictures are blurry unless they are taken in direct sunlight. I have tried aosp camera CameraZoom FX and TW and it seems the same on all (maybe a little better on CameraZoom FX)


Yea, that's understandable. Kids aren't known for being idle for too long. That's even with burst shot though?


----------



## mikeman (Oct 15, 2012)

Only duel core. I don't hate the fact just disappointed that's all. I really wanted to wait for the note 2 but couldn't do the upgrade with the unlimited data plan so I pre ordered s3 kept my unlimited data. Either way this phone is spectacular coming from the HTC Thunderbolt.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using RootzWiki


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

mikeman said:


> Only duel core. I don't hate the fact just disappointed that's all. I really wanted to wait for the note 2 but couldn't do the upgrade with the unlimited data plan so I pre ordered s3 kept my unlimited data. Either way this phone is spectacular coming from the HTC Thunderbolt.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using RootzWiki


That's the same reason I ordered mine (now recently sold, never used). Not sure why somebody would want a BIGGER phone, the GS3 is already too damn big, but to each their own I suppose. Done with VZW after my contract is up, sick of their locking BS.


----------



## MrCeez (Feb 22, 2013)

Hate the fact that there is only a few ROMs for my model.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## sooner7 (Mar 31, 2012)

MrCeez said:


> Hate the fact that there is only a few ROMs for my model.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


Even if it did, Exynos models will never have the same aosp experience the snapdragon chipset offers.

Only thing I hate about my s3 is touchwiz.


----------



## Chris6 (Aug 8, 2011)

I can't think of anything I really hate about my Vzw S3. (Especially since I have unlimited data and blazing fast LTE)
A few hours after I got the phone last July, it was rooted and I've been running TW Roms since their the most stable. Clean Rom and Beans are my favorite. 
I've never been a fan of the LED notification light, so I disabled it and use NoLED and that works perfectly. 
I honestly can't think of anything else...it's an amazing device and I'm really looking forward to the S4. 

tap'n


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

Chris6 said:


> I can't think of anything I really hate about my Vzw S3. (Especially since I have unlimited data and blazing fast LTE)
> A few hours after I got the phone last July, it was rooted and I've been running TW Roms since their the most stable. Clean Rom and Beans are my favorite.
> I've never been a fan of the LED notification light, so I disabled it and use NoLED and that works perfectly.
> I honestly can't think of anything else...it's an amazing device and I'm really looking forward to the S4.
> ...


There didn't seem to be that many ROMs for it. What are, just leaving the stock kernel and BL I'm guessing?


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

Syndacate said:


> *There didn't seem to be that many ROMs for i*t. What are, just leaving the stock kernel and BL I'm guessing?


Idk, seems like there are a good number of d2vzw roms on both dev sites.


----------



## siriusgamer (Nov 20, 2011)

I don't get how people can hate the home/capacitive buttons. Personally I can't see the appeal in having on screen buttons that take up screen real estate.


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

siriusgamer said:


> I don't get how people can hate the home/capacitive buttons. Personally I can't see the appeal in having on screen buttons that take up screen real estate.


I didn't want softkeys on my GSIII unti I used my Mom's GNex. Once I realized how much quicker I could multitask, I was corrupted lol My main thing was I love the features of TW but wanted to try softkeys which were primarily AOSP only. Boom! Couple weeks later someone posts a small build.prop edit to add softkeys on any rom and I have been set ever since. I'll switch back if I know I'll play a game for an extended amount of time but I'm not too bothered by losing .03 to .05 of my display. It's the part I look at the least anyway lol


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

siriusgamer said:


> I don't get how people can hate the home/capacitive buttons. Personally I can't see the appeal in having on screen buttons that take up screen real estate.


I see the appeal on both sides, but if they had to be off screen, I would much rather prefer all 3 be capacitive, rather than the home be a physical press.

Being a SW engineer I find appeal in the fact that on-screen keys can be replaced or modified at any level (they're SW), opposed to it being HW. Though I don't think it m makes much difference as per screen real estate if the screen is shorter to accommodate capacitive buttons. Screen buttons can also be hidden at times (ie. full screen).

Though I've taken quite a liking to the capacitive buttons, so meh, I can go either way, just for the love of god I hate that physical home button....and not all physical buttons, like the side button on my fasscy or the home on the iPhone work fine, but I dislike the physical button on the GS3.


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

Does reading this news make anyone dislike their SIII in the slightest?


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

SlimSnoopOS said:


> Does reading this news make anyone dislike their SIII in the slightest?


Meanwhile VZW is thinking to themselves: "_They'll never unlock the bootloader on this one!!_"

I'm actually kind of glad I sold my GS3, I like the flexibility I have in my fascinate (gs1) where I can pretty much flash anything. Seems even with the kexec method and the old leaked bootloader the GS3 doesn't have much dev for it (comparatively). I expect the GS4 to be a repeat.


----------



## WhataSpaz (Feb 20, 2012)

SlimSnoopOS said:


> Does reading this news make anyone dislike their SIII in the slightest?


Held onto the Galaxy Nexus for 9 months, the longest I've ever had the same phone. I'll probably wait until I see some devs hop on the S4 before I buy one, then sell the S3.


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

If I had the extra money, I would probably consider upgrading yearly lol I have kept my phones for the length of the contract. Unless anything changes I'll be here for awhile, not that I'm complaining.


----------



## landshark (Aug 6, 2011)

Syndacate said:


> Meanwhile VZW is thinking to themselves: "_They'll never unlock the bootloader on this one!!_"
> 
> I'm actually kind of glad I sold my GS3, I like the flexibility I have in my fascinate (gs1) where I can pretty much flash anything. Seems even with the kexec method and the old leaked bootloader the GS3 doesn't have much dev for it (comparatively). I expect the GS4 to be a repeat.


We haven't had to use kexec on the Verizon GS3 for quite some time. I think the amount of development on the GS3 is just fine. There are plenty of ROMs available between Rootz and XDA.


----------



## zerocool79346 (Jan 10, 2012)

thesoldier said:


> I'm really not sure for myself about 4.1.2 AOSP ROMs. From what I've read, they all have some sort of signal issues that don't exist on TW, like lower signal and dropped signal that won't come back without an airplane mode toggle. That, plus complaints about lower battery life compared to TW. I haven't personally tried it myself because I don't mind TW, (Eclipse TW with the look of AOSP ftw) and it's features are pretty cool. I'll probably give some 4.1 AOSP ROMs a try soon to see if those complaints are real.
> 
> I was running 4.2 on my gnex for awhile, so I was familiar with it. I'd rather have the stability of 4.1 on the s3 than the latest and greatest though.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


I've been running CM10.1 since i got the phone a month ago with zero issues.

I hate that the damn LTE radio isn't up to par with even my old Galaxy Nexus. But the good definitely outweighs the bad in my opinion, mostly being that my battery life is at least double that of the Nexus.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


----------



## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

Syndacate said:


> I hate that the damn LTE radio isn't up to par with even my old Galaxy Nexus.


Um... What?


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

nhat said:


> Such a tired argument. Have you tried every rom available for any of your phones? For the most part, people find a rom they like and just flash updates.


I sold my GS3 before I could use it. Main reason being I didn't like the way it felt, but I had others. One of them was the locked bootloader, but I expect that now from every VZW product.

It seems most people have a TW ROM on their GS3. Not sure why, but it seems very few people are using AOSP ROMs on the GS3. I have a friend who dabbled in it but he said shit wasn't working. I didn't exactly pry for details, sure, but I don't know what's working and what's not at this point. Though now it's just too late. I was going to keep it if I couldn't get what I wanted for it, but I sold it new for 520 so w.e. I'm done with VZW, just need to make it the extra year and a half now to get out of my contract. I'll probably get an "old" phone somewhere between the fascinate and the GS3 to get me through that time frame...the fasscy is becoming a bit outdated...kind of want something with LTE, too.


----------



## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

Syndacate said:


> It seems most people have a TW ROM on their GS3. Not sure why, but it seems very few people are using AOSP ROMs on the GS3. I have a friend who dabbled in it but he said shit wasn't working. I didn't exactly pry for details, sure, but I don't know what's working and what's not at this point. Though now it's just too late. I was going to keep it if I couldn't get what I wanted for it, but I sold it new for 520 so w.e. I'm done with VZW, just need to make it the extra year and a half now to get out of my contract. I'll probably get an "old" phone somewhere between the fascinate and the GS3 to get me through that time frame...the fasscy is becoming a bit outdated...kind of want something with LTE, too.


The first rom I tried was TW-based. Everything worked so I never felt an urge to try an AOSP rom knowing that the experience would be buggy. My only complaint was the launcher and Nova fixed that. Like you, I don't know which bugs still exist in AOSP roms.

An S3 would probably get you through the next year lol. Can be had for a reasonable price now. Maybe a Razr HD. I'd play with a DNA if I could find one for $350ish.


----------



## sooner7 (Mar 31, 2012)

The bugs are so small on AOSP it isn't even funny. It only affects a subset of users that use bluetooth.

AOSP almost feels native to the phone. Themed touchwiz rocks too though.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

nhat said:


> The bugs are so small on AOSP it isn't even funny. It only affects a subset of users that use bluetooth. AOSP almost feels native to the phone. Themed touchwiz rocks too though.


That's the way it should be. Weird that BT isn't working..


----------



## bornx (Oct 16, 2012)

BT works, it's A2DP audio streaming that's buggy on AOSP 4.2. Crackles/low quality. But regular BT for tether or input devices works fine.


----------



## zerocool79346 (Jan 10, 2012)

nhat said:


> .
> 
> Um... What?


Yep, you heard me right. Maybe I got two extremely good Gnexs and one crap S3, but the LTE radio is worse in all circumstances.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


----------



## trparky (Sep 3, 2011)

By far, the Galaxy Nexus has the worst radios of any device I've ever used, and I once used an iPhone 4 in which if you held it wrong you dropped a call. The Galaxy Nexus's CDMA radio is bad *bad BAD!* It couldn't keep a lock onto a CDMA signal to save its life! There are so many times that I'd like to throw this thing against the wall because I dropped the damn call.

It's so bad that I practically have to stand on one foot and whistle Dixie in hopes that I don't drop a call. Combine the fact that Verizon seems to have abandoned my area and has decided to let their network go to shit in my area and you have an experience that's beyond bad.

So no, I fully disagree with your comment about the Galaxy Nexus being better. And from what I've read as of late, Samsung couldn't make a good CDMA radio to save their life.


----------



## zerocool79346 (Jan 10, 2012)

trparky said:


> By far, the Galaxy Nexus has the worst radios of any device I've ever used, and I once used an iPhone 4 in which if you held it wrong you dropped a call. The Galaxy Nexus's CDMA radio is bad *bad BAD!* It couldn't keep a lock onto a CDMA signal to save its life! There are so many times that I'd like to throw this thing against the wall because I dropped the damn call.
> 
> It's so bad that I practically have to stand on one foot and whistle Dixie in hopes that I don't drop a call. Combine the fact that Verizon seems to have abandoned my area and has decided to let their network go to shit in my area and you have an experience that's beyond bad.
> 
> So no, I fully disagree with your comment about the Galaxy Nexus being better. And from what I've read as of late, Samsung couldn't make a good CDMA radio to save their life.


Yeah I know a lot had the same experience as you, but I never did, in either Gnex I've owned. The CDMA radio does just fine on my GS3, but the LTE radio is crap as far as I'm concerned.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

The problem is more likely related with the service in a given area rather than the phone itself, then (I'd guess).


----------



## sooner7 (Mar 31, 2012)

The radios are pretty solid in this thing. Especially the gps, Samsung made a huge stride in that regard over previous iterations.


----------



## zerocool79346 (Jan 10, 2012)

Syndacate said:


> The problem is more likely related with the service in a given area rather than the phone itself, then (I'd guess).


Not the case, both phones are used in the sand service area. Trust me, it's this particular phone.


----------



## trparky (Sep 3, 2011)

I think it also has a lot to do with how Verizon Wireless set up their CDMA/LTE network combination.

You see, LTE was made to be coupled with a GSM/UMTS network. Hell, LTE is the evolution of a GSM/UMTS-like network. LTE was never meant to be combined with a CDMA network like what Verizon Wireless has. In order for the two radically different network architectures to "play nice with one another" Verizon Wireless had to implement a rather fugly hack. That's where we get the eHRPD term.

eHRPD stands for Evolved High-Rate Packet Data. Think of it as a "bridge" that "bridges" the two network types together so that those providers that are still running older incompatible network types alongside LTE can continue using their older infrastructure. When users move outside of the LTE network's range, their mobile broadband data service is seamlessly handed-off to the Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network (Verizon Wireless's 3G CDMA network), ensuring a good experience. Without a smooth hand-off between LTE and CDMA the end-user will have a poor data service experience.

Well, that's nice and all but all of the above is theory. eHRPD is a very fragile system as we have seen in the past when Verizon Wireless's network decided to take a total dump leaving all users of LTE devices without data in any form (be it 3G or 4G data) a couple of months back. Even when eHRPD is working properly it's still a very fragile system that if everything doesn't go absolutely 100% according to plan during the hand-off phase between CDMA and LTE and vice-versus, the user is left with poor performing data and not only that but the battery is taken a hit as well.

So all in all, Verizon Wireless's network is rather unstable when it comes to the whole CDMA and LTE network bridge that we all have to rely on to maintain signal and service as we transition from CDMA to LTE and vice-versus. This is what we have to live with because Verizon Wireless chose to stick with the older CDMA2000 voice network and the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) data network while the rest of the world moved on and left CDMA2000 in the dust and transitioned to a much more evolved UMTS/GSM network topology. We are all paying today for their stupidity.

There is talk that Verizon Wireless wants to move all voice to their LTE network with a technology called VoLTE or Voice Over LTE. This will obviously solve the problem with the whole CDMA/LTE transitioning issue that we have today but that can't happen until all of the United States is blanketed with LTE. This isn't the case yet. Even those markets that have strong LTE coverage still have spots that have no LTE whatsoever. That could be caused by any number of things be it interference or not enough cell towers. Unlike CDMA, LTE networks do need a more overlapping cell tower network to maintain LTE network presence and so far Verizon Wireless has not deployed more LTE equipped towers to resolve this problem.

Obviously the likes of AT&T and T-Mobile will not have this GSM/UMTS to LTE transition issue that Verizon Wireless has since LTE was designed from the beginning to coexist with older GSM/UMTS networks.


----------



## Chris6 (Aug 8, 2011)

I get excellent and very strong LTE coverage in my area. (Upgraded from the fassy last July) I couldn't be happier with this device. Everyone dogs on Vzw, but I personally think they still offer the best coverage and customer service. 
I didn't think I'd like the home button either, but it's grown on me and I actually like it now.

tap'n


----------



## nhat (Aug 21, 2011)

Syndacate said:


> The problem is more likely related with the service in a given area rather than the phone itself, then (I'd guess).


Nope. I routinely compared my Galaxy Nexus to my sister's S3 and the Galaxy Nexus radios are just weaker. That, along with battery life, was enough for me to make the switch.


----------



## tekhna (Aug 9, 2011)

Physical button sucks. The screen looks pretty crummy next to the iPhone 5, on the verge of too big. If the GS4 is bigger as rumored, I won't be buying it. 
But, still the best phone I've owned.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

nhat said:


> Nope. I routinely compared my Galaxy Nexus to my sister's S3 and the Galaxy Nexus radios are just weaker. That, along with battery life, was enough for me to make the switch.


Gotcha.


----------



## mikeman (Oct 15, 2012)

siriusgamer said:


> Hate the fact that there is only a few ROMs for my model.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


What carrier are you on. You should talk to some devs about porting. Hero has a forum on xda s3 Verizon on how to pottery any TW ROM. Maybe check that out or ask him for some advice.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## srs731 (Jun 15, 2011)

I have broken it..Twice. All from knee high drops. Phone build is terrible. I will be going back to Moto/HTC for build quality alone. The second time the glass didn't even crack but the damn LCD did.


----------



## sooner7 (Mar 31, 2012)

srs731 said:


> I have broken it..Twice. All from knee high drops. Phone build is terrible. I will be going back to Moto/HTC for build quality alone. The second time the glass didn't even crack but the damn LCD did.


There is no LCD


----------



## srs731 (Jun 15, 2011)

sooner7 said:


> There is no LCD


Woahhh shit didn't know I had to be completely proper. Broke the AMOLED.


----------



## Syndacate (Aug 13, 2011)

lol, lotta good the gorilla glass did, ha. Glass was fine...screen, not so much.


----------



## benbrokaw79 (Jul 27, 2012)

It's too slippery, requiring a case for grip.

First phone I've ever had that the alarm clock is entirely too easy to shut off; overslept twice.

And that's about it...


----------



## hereticg0d (Sep 20, 2011)

I hate when I close out of messaging and create a draft cause I hit the period and back button at the same time. I've probably done it a hundred times since last September

Sent from my SCH-R530U using RootzWiki


----------



## SlimSnoopOS (Jan 19, 2012)

hereticg0d said:


> I hate when I close out of messaging and create a draft cause I hit the period and back button at the same time. I've probably done it a hundred times since last September
> 
> Sent from my SCH-R530U using RootzWiki


I think I've done this just about every day regardless of keyboard (Swiftkey, Swype, AOSP 4.2) lol


----------



## gnusus (Jan 23, 2012)

Mine has a 4G radio on Sprint, yet I still dont have 4g in my area.


----------



## skennelly (Jun 7, 2011)

I don't like putting a case on my phone and I dislike how slick this phone is. I've had it slide out of my pocket while sitting.


----------



## sooner7 (Mar 31, 2012)

Gym shorts + SGS3 naked = broken phone.


----------



## blueman (Jul 12, 2011)

Give a little phone history first.

First Android phone: Motorola Droid X
Second: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Third: Samsung Galaxy S3

I dropped my DX so many times I lost count. Never used a case, never had any issues. When I got my Nexus it felt slippery so I got several cases cause I never found one I liked. I would bounce between no case and case. Funny thing, I dropped my phone more when it didn't have a case. Still, was pretty tough and never had a break or crack. Very similar experience with S3. Really slippery so I knew I needed a case. Found one I liked and stuck to it.

I took the case off last Friday night because the newest AOKP kept freezing and I kept having to pull the battery. Kernel 3.4 issues... Sat morning after no case for less than 24 hrs, I dropped the phone while sitting in a chair handing the phone to someone else. First drop, cracked screen. Its still usable, but annoying glass shatter on the top left portion of the screen.

I love the phone and love the ROM support. However, the cheap, slippery, plasticy design is horrible. Definitely my fault the phone cracked, but in comparison to previous phones... The sturdiness of the S3 is definitely sub par.

I guess I can add my dislike of a physical home button and menu/back keys. Would prefer the screen to go all the way down and give me soft keys. I realize I can do that with a ROM but its obviously not the same.

Still with all of that, its the most pleasurable device I've had yet. Still love the DX and Nexus but I cannot deny the S3 its place.


----------



## grunt0300 (Apr 2, 2013)

SGSIII does not offer a category for outgoing mail(sent mail) sounds. This does sound picky, but i like the reassurance of hearing that sound, when i send an email or text. The iPhone has had that for years, but even with root, i can't get it on my phone. I know about GoSMS, and some other messaging apps that have that ability, but they crash my phone, and anyway, i prefer the apps that came on the phone, with or without root.









P.S. I'm rooted(ParanoidKangdroid 4.2.2), and i use ES File Manager, so if anyone out there can help me, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.


----------



## Droidx316 (Jun 21, 2011)

blueman said:


> Give a little phone history first.
> 
> First Android phone: Motorola Droid X
> Second: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
> ...


haha My same exact smartphone experience dx/nexus/gs3.

©! Sent From My Verizon 4G S3 Powered By My 7000mah Zerolemon Extended Monster!©


----------



## WoundTight (Oct 11, 2011)

I hate that my s3 can't bring me cold beer from the frig.

Sent from my SCH-R950 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## sublimaze (Nov 17, 2011)

blueman said:


> I took the case off last Friday night because the newest AOKP kept freezing and I kept having to pull the battery. Sat morning after no case for less than 24 hrs, I dropped the phone while sitting in a chair handing the phone to someone else. First drop, cracked screen. Its still usable, but annoying glass shatter on the top left portion of the screen.


Did you have a screen protector? I have no proof of this, but I am certain that a screen protector -- especially a soft vinyl type like Zagg -- would reduce the chance of cracked screens, by absorbing some of the impact.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2


----------

