A new software update that was pushed out OTA to Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 handsets has caused connectivity issues and battery drain. The wireless carrier has removed the update and it is currently working on releasing a fix with Samsung.
Verizon recently released a major update for the Samsung Galaxy S3 that included features like multi-screen, multi-window multitasking, Best Shot camera mode, S Beam Auto Share Shot, and more. The update was a few months late in coming, compared to the Galaxy S3 units on other carriers. Anyways, better late than never, but soon after its release, Verizon Galaxy S3 owners began experiencing issues and began reporting them in online forums and calling Verizon's technical support teams.
Some of the issues included poor connectivity and completely losing the ability to connect to Verizon's 4G LTE network with no way of making the connection return. Users also reported that they were experiencing very slow data speeds and excessive battery drain. Hard resetting the smartphone did not fix any of the issues and Verizon began replacing some Galaxy S3 handsets, but once the software was pushed to the smartphone and the user installed it, all the Galaxy S3 handsets suffered from the same problems.
Droid Life is reporting that Verizon is fully aware of the problem and has stopped pushing the update to Galaxy S3 smartphones. Verizon has sent out an alert to its support teams acknowledging that the issue stems from the new VRBLMD3 baseband update that gets installed with the OTA update. In the support note, Verizon claims that there is no fix for the issue yet and it is currently working on a solution with Samsung.
Droid Life points out that if you're currently experiencing these issues after receiving the update, you might want to look into getting a replacement Galaxy S3 from the carrier since there is no easy way to return to the older baseband. Verizon has not announced that it will be replacing all the affected Galaxy S3 units, but since it pushed out the update OTA to the smartphone, chances are the carrier will replace all the affected devices, as it has already done for many Galaxy S3 owners.
Verizon has not specified an expected release date for a fix for the issue, but it probably won't be too long, considering that the Galaxy S3 is still one of its most popular smartphones currently being sold and owned by many of its subscribers.
Are you experiencing this issue and if so, has Verizon replaced your Galaxy S3? Let us know in the comments below.
