Would You Recommend the S22 Ultra?

[PaulC59]

I have had my S22 Ultra for a few Months now which is riddled glitches, some more problematic than others. I was really exited when I ordered the custom phone from Samsung for around 1.5k I had 1tb of memory and a nice gray colour and also got a bonus on top of my trade in.

My old phone was an S22+ just under a year old and after I sent it in a 3rd party company sent me a demand for £75 towards my upgrade as they said it gad screen burn despite being barely a year old. However as my S22+ was a good phone I figured an upgrade to an S22 Ultra would be a step up and the built in 1tb would avoid app memory availability issues when using an SD card

When the phone is working OK its great when glitches kick in its a real pain and often renders the phone useless e.g when Microsoft apps fail to load or network issues calls constantly dropping etc

I would not recommend anyone who relies on their phone to get an S22 Ultra and my experience with this leads me to be wary of any new releases from Samsung until they have been release for sufficient time for Samsung to resolve the bugs in their devices. Probably around a year or so

If I had the time to produce and send all of the bug reports to Samsung it would be like a full time job doing what Samsung should do before releasing new devices.

The worst problem is Network and Conbectivity issues, which include

Calls dropping despite there veing a strong signal

Wifi dropping in apps despite there being a full signal or WiFi connected but no Internet

Signal dropping for no reason, most noticeable when streaming I.e constant black spots of silence and spinning circle trying to reconnect

Apps crashing or disappearing from screen

Dead links on Web pages

MS Office apps crashing or failing to load

Occasional crashes I e phone seems to get overloaded and freezes, goes blank and then comes back on

Occasional cogs when restarting saying optimising apps or says phone didn't shut down properly

There are other Occasional issues that I can't quite remember but on the whole it is not a very stable phone and certainly not worthy of the price tag and title of a flagship phone

I have come to the conclusion that the bulk of the problems are linked to the phones inability to maintain a strong network connection as this not only drops calls and connections etc but it is a main cause for office apps crashing or failing to load I e if Internet drops, many apps crash or freeze

I also think the inferior processor used in EU phones has a part to play as the Snapdraggon whilst does have its issues, it is more stable than the Exynos or whatever its called? I believe Samsung may be dropping this inferior chip in future releases?

I'm not sure if the next update to Android 13 will improve things but doubt it, I believe the Google Pixel phones have had this for a while but not released by Samsung yet I think it will need a firmware update once Samsung can identify what's casing problems or maybe vendors linked Microsoft might find a workaround for their apps

So in conclusion, I have had Samsung devices for many years from TVs RAM SSDs etc and always find Samsung to be a better brand but my experience with Samsung Mobiles leaves a lot to be desired and this S22 Ultra has been one of the most expensive yet the worst experience to date

Hopefully Samsung will put a bit more effort into resolving the issues rather than relying on temp fixes such as users having to perform many resets, restarts clear this clear that bla bla bla and us as consumers can use our equipment with the bug testing and fixes already sorted before releasing expensive products to market

[PaulC59]

Thank you Andy for your input. Yes I do use Samsung Pass when it can be used but it is no good for 2 factor authenticator etc.g an app stores your proof of ID and apps or websites use your fingerprint in the authenticator app as a 2nd step to validate who you are. Samsung Pass cannot do this as it only remembers passwords. I've had quite a lot of mobiles now, usually top end phones and very rarely have I needed a factory reset to make a phone work in fact in the last 30 years or so probably 2 or 3 times. I agree with you that this phone is the worst performing piece of expensive tech out of them all but I will wait for an update first before risking a factory reset. I hope this helps Thank you

[Reylob]

Who did recommend to do a factory reset every 2-3 updates? If you have some official Samsung documentation stating that, could you post it please?

Old files and corrupt files should be deleted by clearing cache and data. If anything else is left on the disk then surely it is bad coding from the people writing the update.

[Reylob]

Your phone might be a very good one or your usage does not bring the issues that other users are facing. In my experience, problems with calls, camera recording issues have not disappeared with any amount of factory resets, clearing system cache or optimising apps.

You seem to be very sure about lazy, inexperienced users without even having access to the user's device or the user's technical knowledge .

[Andy3]

Don't talk rubbish. I have a s22 and have zero issues with it. Like any phone that comes out the first 1 or 2 firmwares have issues. That's just the nature of flagships. It's a brand new device with brand new hardware so there will be issues in the first few firmwares. Exactly like iPhone 13 and Windows 11 when it first came out.. if you don't want bugs or issues then wait at least 6moths before getting a flagship so the bugs and issues get ironed out.

[Andy3]

I'm a heavy user and most bugs I come across don't asume anything. I use my phone more that I do my pc.. I am very much a power user. As far as I see there is none of the issues/bugs I can replicate none at all and I have very much tried even with adt and debugging.. there is no bug logs and the firmware works as it should. There is always safe mode to use if you suspect issues with hardware or software. If the issues continue in safe mode then it's a firmware issue or hardware issue. If the bugs disappear in safe mode then its incompatible apps installed that is causing the issue. I myself have had a few bugs in the s22 caused by apps not being updated for it.

[Reylob]

I think a more respectful language will improve the debate. So, your phone has zero issues. Is that a sufficient argument to imply that every phone has zero issues as well?

I did ask you if you have any official information from Samsung stating that a factory reset is recommended every 2-3 updates? Was that a personal opinion?

I don't know when or where  you got this phone but in the UK this phone is already 6 months old. 

Bugs are normal occurrences but usually in less used features. These phones have had problems even with phone calls.

[Reylob]

Again, nobody is saying that you must have the same problems that someone else is having. I have two S22 Ultra in my household, I have seen the same issue in both of them but I cannot claim that every phone has it.

Most people here talk from personal experience. Some people received their S22 a week or so before the release date. Yet, many of us had the delivery delayed at least three times.

The fact that you cannot replicate any of the issues it does not mean that they are not happening for other users. Both of our S22 ultra have an issue whilst recording on slow motion mode, at least one other user here has the same problem, yet I cannot state that every phone in the S22 series has the same issue.

[Andy3]

The phones are made the same.. I possibly have the same batch code as yours. If its a issue with firmware or hardware then every s22 would have the same issues as you because they all have the same hardware and same firmware. All the firmwares are the same. From UK to China. They all have the same build number and baseband number. The only difference is csc code. All samsung firmwares are multi csc firmwares hence why they are exactly the same

[Andy3]

It is officially recommended from Samsung. Normally when you have a issue its safe mode start or factory reset to eliminate possible app issues. Factory reset is to refresh the device to make sure no corrupt files or safe mode start to disable all 3rd part apps. 3rd party apps can also create these issues. You can't not try any of these steps first before you state its a firmware or hardware issue. It could all be caused by a 3rd party app. This is why safe mode is included now. If you had issues with android before android 10 it was always first step factory reset. Think of these phones as a pc. Any file or driver can corrupt or a 3rd party app could be causing the issues.

[Reylob]

So, your argument is that all phones are identical. Hardware and firmware are the same so there are no other variables in the manufacturing process. What do you explain the differences on the same model for pretty much every manufactured device?