While the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was highly praised for its quality and style when it launched in 2013, the device has suffered from some lingering issues that still plague some users today.
The 5.7-inch Android phablet features the same quality that fans have come to expect from other popular Samsung devices, and previous Note and Note 2 users were generally happy with the improvements made with the third iteration of the phone, but there was one big problem with the GPS functionality on AT&T's network that has concerned users since the Note 3 launched.
We wrote about the GPS issue last March, a full six months after the Note 3 originally launched. Even at that point, customers were expressing their rage at AT&T and Samsung for letting the issue continue for so long. A petition was even started on Change.org that pleaded with AT&T to do something about the bug.
"AT&T stated that they are working with Samsung to 'identify a solution.' This implies that there is a problem -- a problem that was brought to their attention on November 18th, 2013," the petition's creator, Travis Clay, wrote.
"It has now been over 100 days since they were alerted of the problem by their customers and it has still not been resolved," Clay continued. "Many users have taken it on themselves to troubleshoot and discover a fix for the problem. However the 'fix' requires users to void their warranties."
Most frustrated users were not happy with the silence on AT&T's end concerning the issue and several official complaints were filed with the FTC due to what many called criminal negligence.
But on March 30, 2014, Clay closed the petition, saying that "AT&T finally released an update to the Galaxy Note 3 that fixed the GPS functionality of the phone." While this may have worked for most people on the network, still others have been fighting with the problem since then.
To this day, AT&T's support forums are still littered with posts about this problem. On December 30, one user relayed the problem, saying that it was an issue while running KitKat 4.4.4 (the update that was meant to fix the issue). Samsung quickly responded to the support post, but suggested that the user "Power off the device, remove the battery for two minutes, and replace it. Power back on. After you complete this try testing again."
The Galaxy Note 3 features the 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 3 GB RAM, 32/64 GB flash storage and a whopping 3,200 mAh replaceable battery. Samsung is reporting over 10 million units sold within the first two months of launch, so it has certainly been one of the top devices for the Korean tech company.
The device has also been suffering from a few other minor and major problems since the update to KitKat 4.4.4. Some users are reporting that photos are disappearing or being reorganized into another folder, while other issues range from quick battery drain, phantom notifications, dropped calls, random restarts into boot loops, email not syncing, wi-fi bugs, overheating, and the dreaded "index service has stopped" message.
Digital Trends has compiled a helpful list of these most common issues along with 13 simple and more advanced resolutions that should help anyone still experiencing these bugs and glitches.
