Replaced the Note 2
So, during the day, the phone repeated the same issues I’d had earlier with wifi calling. Even after doing a hard reset, I didn’t get any calls. I tested the wifi calling during work today by attempting to send text messages. None of the text messages went through. I tried calling my desktop phone at different times. I tried calling myself once an hour or more during the day from my work phone and using Skype. I think only one of the calls came through. I could call out on my phone easier than I could receive a call. It was very inconsistent. The phone had to be monitored and reset frequently to keep wifi calling active (with a blue icon).
Tonight after work, I asked several friends to call me to see if their calls would come through. Phone calls from friends on Verizon and AT&T phones went to voicemail without ringing. Calls from my mom on Sprint came through. These calls were placed when I was using the cellular network and not wifi calling. (Other people on Samsung phones have reported similar problems on the T-Mo support forums.)
This was unacceptable. You can’t use a phone that doesn’t function as a phone. So. I reset the phone again so my data was wiped from it and returned the phone to the T-Mobile store.
The guy who helped me was the same guy who had sold me the original model. He’s a geeky sort, very nice, and enthused to find someone else who is excited about technology (and who asks intelligent questions). I told him about the problems I had on the phone and that tech support had already authorized the phone replacement (especially since I am still within the two week buyer’s remorse period where I can return the phone no questions asked). He remembered me as the lady with the blog. I told him I had documented the problems on my Note 2 and would be posting it on my blog here.
He replaced the Note 2 with a new model and replaced the sim card just in case there was a problem with it. He also put in a service check for the towers in my area. He was very nice and said that he would have happily replaced the phone up to a month after I’d purchased it. Great guy.
So. I have a spiffy new phone that seems to be working properly and has been reloaded with the call logs from my old phone. The strange thing is that the call log shows all of the missed calls that went directly to voicemail.