Today I went to the AT&T store to complain about the GPS issues on the Captivate. The associate (after looking the device over), gave me a flier/form and told me to take the phone to the local AT&T warranty center. The flier seems to indicate that the warranty center folks would either fix the issue or replace the device if they agree that my phone has an issue and is not (water) damaged etc.
Anybody have any experience with this?
The Warranty Repair Center in my town doesn't stock Captivates. They'll take a look at the phone to see if it was damaged or submerged, then tell you to call the 800 number. Or, you can skip driving in to a warranty center and just call the 800 number. The people there will talk you through some basic troubleshooting, then ship you a replacement (ground is standard, you can pay for an upgrade to overnight). You have 10 days after that to return your phone.
As for your GPS problems.... if you've upgraded to JH7 and can get a solid lock out in the open under a clear sky, well... Sorry to disappoint, but your replacement phone is probably going to have just as many problems with the GPS. I do (and I'm on my 4th Captivate), so do 7 of my friends and coworkers who have Captivates, and so do about 90% or more of the people reporting on the forums.
According to AT&T and Samsung, the JH7 update 'addressed the GPS issues'. And it did make it better... Before, it would just about never lock on. Now I can usually get a lock within 10~20 seconds and it'll show me where I should be.... until I go for a drive.
The test is this: install My Tracks and go for a drive around town. Once you're done, take a look at your track.
If you've got a softtop convertable or a fiberglass roof, you're good.
If you've got the phone far forward on the dash and have a large, steeply raked windshield, you're good.
If you've got a large sunroof, you might be good.
Otherwise, you're stuck with a measured 50m~100m accuracy (it reports 15m~30m, but don't believe it) if you can even maintain lock.
Good luck!
