Samsung Issues

BronzeMarkymark

Hopefully posted in the right place.....if not, please be gentle with me!

I decided to buy a Tablet for home use and spent a lot of time looking into it, my final choice was a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, and it is an excellent tablet.

Before I bought it I realised it was running Honeycomb so I phoned up Samsung Sales and was informed they are currently rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich in the Uk. Ok, I was sold, also on their support page for the Tab 8.9 is a link to show you how to update the tablet.

Well it turns out they are not rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich, they only intend to, when??? They don't know.....so I wanted a Tab for certain applications, most do not work on Honeycomb......yep, I am gutted.....but was told to keep checking for updates via the Samsung Application Kies.

After a week of checking, the Kies software throws up the message that a new version of Kies needs to be downloaded, so I update my version of Kies.

Well now Kies doesn't work, I can no longer check for updates, import music, look at my gallery's and cannot back up my tablet. This problem is universal and there are loads of forums with people complaining about the new updated Kies software. People just can't connect to their devices with the new software.

I logged a call with Samsung and was told I would be called back in 48 hrs, I wasn't, I wrote an e-mail to them listing my problems and have had no response, I phoned their customer complaints but couldn't get through, I was told I would be called back in 48hrs.....I wasn't!

I have called back today and after an hour I managed to get through, the final response was "The Kies department is only small and very busy, they will eventually call you back"

I was reinformed they don't know when the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade will happen, they have no idea when the Kies issue will be solved and don't know when I will be contacted regarding this.

So I am several hundred pounds lighter, the software for interfacing to the tablet doesn't work and the update they told me was in the process of rolling out, isn't rolling out.....

Can I do any more or do I just accept I have wasted loads of money?

Sorry for the long message.....

BigRonW

Depends on how "hard core" you are. The Android-using community is FULL of techies, who disassemble the latest version of the operating system as soon as it becomes available, then produce "kits" to enable it to be installed on other makes of tablet or phone (i.e. ones where the manufacturer has left buyers in exactly the position that you find yourself in!) The principle "DIY Upgrade" community is based around a project called "Cyanogen" I'd be amazed if there wasn't a Cyanogen "Jellybean" version of Android for your tablet by now (Especially given that the "chief" of the Cyanogen team of amateurs recently got recruited by Samsung!) You'll find more information here.....http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_%28GSM%29

schrodie

I've got ICS on my Tab 10.1 and I'm in the UK

I updated over the air a few months ago.

Kies though is crop (swop the o for an a in crop)

BigRonW

I keep a spare phone - an unlocked Samsung F480 "Tocco" - for use as an "iPod touch" alternative; I play music on it, from an 8 Gigabyte MicroSD card when I'm walking my dogs along the beach every evening. The phone also allows me to book Cinema tickets on "Toofers" from Orange, thanks to the PAYG SIM. My experiences with Kies hasn't been anything to enthuse about either.... I was tempted to get a Galaxy 3 when my contract ran out, but was put off by the cost of a two year contract, and settled for a Sony Xperia instead.

Going the Clockwork/Cyanogen Mod route would invalidate your warranty from Samsung, but places like XDA-developers.com provide good advice and instructions on "how to put things back exactly as they were before, and look innocent" (Otherwise known as "reinstalling the stock mod") The Android community realy IS a "community". It provides a "parallel support structure" to the official one.