Update 6/5/2009: A Post ID1 Software Update article has been written to share our opinion on the major issue and possible solutions of this update for the Samsung Epix.
Update 5/27/2009: This update is in regard to the GPS and battery issue. They are observations from our tests and should not be treated as practical solutions. However, do feel free to try it on your device if applicable (in which case, please back up your data prior to any changes).
- GPS issue: After testing the problem through Google Maps and Live Search, we’ve observed that the GPS doesn’t get picked up until we (1) waited for about 15 minutes then, (2) restart the relevant application (i.e. Google Maps, etc). Plus, for best reception of signals, please test the GPS outdoor rather than indoors.
- Battery issue: This is just an assumption. Since the SLOG DUMP has something to do with the mobile device’s signal, the solution might have altered the signal, which results in higher battery consumption.
The Samsung Epix (i907) users have gone through some enduring times with the manifesting SLOG DUMP error message. A revised ROM update (ID1) was released 3 days ago to amend the arising issue following the initial patch, plus other fixes.
3 days has gone by and this article aims to discuss some of our experience, plus suggestions for users facing similar problems.
We will break it down into 3 parts:
- Issues ID1 update aims to resolve plus results from our experience [link]
- Observations during Installation process plus our experience and suggestions
- Observations after the installation plus our experience and suggestions
1. Issues ID1 Software Update Aims to Resolve
| Problems | Issues to Resolve Details | Test Results |
|---|---|---|
| SLOG DUMP | On specific scenarios, a “SLOG DUMP†error message will pop-up with the onlytemporailysolution to soft-reset and hard-reset the device. | We did not experience the error message prior, and following the update, the situation remained the same. |
| Missed Email Notification | For some Epix, no notification was available for email received during the device’s power-saving mode. | After conducting some test to simulate the situation, we were getting audio alerts for missed emails. However, as many users have mentioned, this notification only occurs once. |
| Outlook Note Sync | Some users have had trouble syncing outlook notes with their desktop. | The device can presently sync Notes properly with the desktop. |
| Ascending Ringtone | The default behavoir of ringtone for incoming calls was ascending volume and was not able to be modified despite changing the setting. | The ringtone for incoming calls are now presented in a steady volume. |
2. Observations during Installation
| Encountered Issues | Test Results |
|---|---|
| Vista installation problems | Some users stated that while installing through Windows Vista, the USB cable were not detected. Trying different USB port seem to work for some. |
| 64-bit XP Installation | Some user running on 64-bit XP had difficulty proceeding with the update’s installation. |
| Step 5: Begin Software Update Problem | Step 5 is certainly the most critical and perhaps confusing step in the whole process. Some users had trouble getting the device to be recognized by the application. We’d similar problem and suggest that user follow the steps carefully. All the plug-in, unplug, power-on, power-off can be a little overwhelming for some. |
3. Observations after Installation
| Encountered Issues | Test Results |
|---|---|
| GPS fail to work after installation | There are some user whose built-in GPS on Epix either failed to work or seemed to be functioning on reduced sensitivity. |
| LED Notification only lits up 5 times upon missed calls, text messages or emails. | While this may not be one of the issue the update was aimed to resolved, many users had hope that this issue be addressed. |
| HSDPA Speed | With some testing and some user feedback, the speed of HSDPA seems to be getting a little better. |
| Network signal is more stable | With some testing and some user feedback, the speed of HSDPA seems to be getting a little better. |
| Increase sensitivity with dialer | Testers here at CareAce have found that the dialing process seems to be more sensitive. If you have downloaded the update, try it and see if it works on yours too. |
| Device appear to be more responsive | Apart from more sensitive dialing, the device also seems to be more responsive. This is observed when using touchscreen and keyboard. |
In Conclusion:
The update is relatively more complex and tedious to go through. And while there are some slight concerns that are associated with this revised update (such as GPS), this update has been rather successful in addressing the issues that it had aimed to resolve. Samsung Epix user, your patience has finally paid off! If you’re one of the user that fall victim to the SLOG DUMP error or the problems that arose with the FOTA update, do give this update a try.
You may learn to love your Epix again! 
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Reader Comments
will be a Patch or fix for GPS
Hi, nice posts there
thank’s for the interesting information
My GPS is not working after the ID1 patch. I tried running AT&t navigator to set it up and changing the port to COM1. It is also not working with Live Search or Garmin XT.It will not pick up any satellites. Any input would be nice.
@ROC68X, this seems to be a problem for several users (at least those that have commented on this site). We’re currently testing that as well, and at the same time contacting Samsung who had released the update. Rest assured that we will keep you informed once we have more information.
I too am experiencing the GPS issue. Both Garmin and Google Maps never acquire satellites.
One thing of note…before, if the 3G connection wasn’t established when I launched a GPS-aware application, it would connect (aGPS). I notice now that it does not. Launching Google Maps or Garmin or GPS Test immediately after a soft-reset (before Outlook fires up MediaNET) does not invoke a data connection. I wonder if this is significant?
@Nemo, do you mind trying the following steps: (1) launch the application and wait for a few minutes; (2) restart the application (not the device). Thank you for sharing your experience. Please let us know if the above steps will make any difference.
Yes. I have tried Google Maps, Garmin XT, and GPS Test. I have allowed each to “acquire” satellites for well over 20 min each. I allowed Garmin to search for about 45 minutes or so. Each app was stopped and restarted many times.
Both Google Maps and Garmin indicate they are acquiring satallites. GPS Test indicates that GPS is Starting Up. Every app seems to find the GPS unit just fine, but nothing beyond that.
I have also tried changing COM ports and Baud Rates as well. Nothing has worked so far.
Hi guys,
Regarding the fast battery drain – I think it has to do with device.exe spiking to 80% or higher usage once GPS is activated. Even after closing whatever GPS app you’re using the CPU remains high and thus seems to kill battery life. If I never start a GPS application, device.exe remains within normal ranges and I get fine battery life.
During my travels on the interwebs I have discovered that device.exe has to do with the GPS Radio Interface Layer and possibly activating whatever DLL is called is what trashes the CPU….
I totally see the device.exe spiking to 100% after loading Google Maps. Even when I close out the program it still spikes way too high. Have to restart and the device.exe goes down to around 11%.
Was on the phone with ATT for hours trying to get another device, but only got a exchange. GPS still doesn’t work.
For the GPS issue after upgrading, try changing the GPS program port to “none” and make sure that “Manage GPS automatically” is checked. My GPS didn’t work after upgrading and this is what worked for me.
Hey guys, if you are having GPS issue, would you mind sharing the settings information on your GPS before and after the ID1 update. We’re trying to figure out some possible solution from these information. Thanks!
My settings were Program Port COM1. Hardware Port COM9 (default). Windows Managed is enabled. This was the same after the update. It failed as well as any other combination.
I even enabled logging with Advanced Config utility. Nothing.
Again, I notice that launching a GPS-aware application does not invoke a cell data connection if one is not already established – like it used to. If it is not prompting the phone to connect to the data service when disconnected, its likely that it is not using the data when it is connected. Since this is a aGPS module in the phone, I imagine this may fit in somehow… Does anyone else experiencing this issue notice this?
Let me share my default GPS setting. (My GPS is working properly.)
GPS program port : GDP1
GPS hardware port : COM9
Baud rate : 4800
checked “Manage GPS automatically”
I believe both aGPS and external GPS are supposed to work under default setting.
Good luck!
Setting to GDP1 did not work previously. Tried again and is the same…No Go. Just sits on “Acquiring Satellites” forever. Then device.exe chews up 60% + CPU until the phone is restarted – even after all GPS-aware applications are terminated.
Something else that may fit in this somehow. I wonder if there are more than one physical hardware version of the Epix – that may explain why only some users are experiencing this. The reason I suggest this is an interesting event:
My Epix is a newly-replaced unit under insurance. The data cord from my old one WILL NOT work with the new one – “USB Device Not Recognized”. BUT the old data cord still works perfectly with the old Epix that I haven’t sent back to the insurance company yet. The data cable that was included with my new Epix works just fine with it. I have not tried the new data cable with the old Epix.
This may just be coincidence, but maybe not.
I got an Epix a week ago. I ran the first couple of days without any updates. I didn’t experience any SLOG dump issues. I was extremely pleased with battery life. I was extremely frustrated with the lack of incoming email notifications. I installed the id1 update. It worked fine with my Vista 64 machine. I thought it had fixed the notification issue. After running with the update for a few days, the notifications are still not reliable, and battery life is now terrible. I start with a full charge in the morning. I don’t use the GPS and the phone is dying 12-15 hours later. I had it on my car charger for about 45 minutes on the way home last night and forgot to charge it fully. I had 40% battery this morning. I sent no emails and received a few. My battery was almost dead in 2 hours. The sad part is I really like the features of this phone. AT&T doesn’t have another phone with comparable features. I’m thinking about getting rid of it, but I don’t know what I’d get to replace it.
As far as I know it cannot be turned back. Did you make sure turn off GPS, Bluetooth, and Wifi?
@Midwerks, sorry to hear about that. It does seem like a common complaint among users with ID1 update. As @Nemo mentioned above, the GPS feature is indeed taking up a huge chuck of the memory which could have possibly cause the battery to run out much sooner. Unfortunately, there is no solution to that issue yet. We will keep an eye out for patches/updates to this problem.
I too see both the GPS and battery drain issues and can confirm some of the posts above that the CPU spike on device.exe is in fact draining the battery. If I open Google Maps or Live Maps and attempt to use the GPS, the CPU usage stays high and the battery will drain at approximately 4x the previous rate (24 hours to 6 hours battery life are my approximate experiences). Even if I close the application using the GPS the CPU spoke against device.exe remains.
The only way to avoid the battery drain is to restart the device and never use an application that attempts to communicate with the GPS.
Samsung has demonstrated one of the most pitiful displays of consumer product management and software development in recent history.
I’ve been following some threads on ATT and other forums regarding the GPS and CPU spike issues, and I wanted to confirm one thing from the folks here since Careace mods seem to have a good grip on the situation.
It sounds like there are at least 2 different hardware revisions of the EPIX, one marked version 0.3 (like mine) and I heard there is a newer one (maybe 8.0)? But it seems like people who have applied ID1 on the 0.3 version seem to be having more issues, but wasn’t sure if the newer versions were also affected, since it seems like some people experience problems and others don’t.
@Pinoymutt, that’s a good point. It does seem like the issues are not universal. We will definitely look into the version differences and see if we can get anything out of it. Thanks!
Originally when I first installed the patch all was well, then it started going downhill from there. First my signal strength and battery life went down the crapper. Now when I lean back in my chair at work I drop a call. Then I saw the new post about the SportyPal program and wanted to play with it, but now I’m having problems with the GPS. I’ve tried all the stuff other people have. It worked when I first patched it… Maybe somebody will come out with some new patches to fix the new problems.
CPU device.exe spike using software ports COM1/GPD1/COM4/None with hardware on COM9 both 4800/9600….in EVERY case I get the problem and can rarely latch to GPS….soft reset needed to get device.exe back into check.
I have a theory about why device.exe spikes thru the roof when GPS is activated. From what I have read, device.exe acts as a sort of middleman and interfaces with the GPSIDRIL.DLL file to provide positioning data.
I was checking my \Windows folder on my ID1 Epix and the device.exe is timestamped 08/07/08 while there are many other files, including the GPSIDRIL.DLL file that are dated 04/16/09. Perhaps when Samsung built the ID1 update, they forgot to include the device.exe which is now causing conflicts as the old device.exe cannot properly interpret the data from the new GPSIDRIL.DLL file.
I wonder if we got a GPSIDRIL.DLL from either the original rom or the FOTA update, if it would match the 08/07/08 timestamp on the device.exe???
I was able to warranty swap my Epix, and unfortunately I got another rev 0.3. After applying ID1, same device.exe spike issues.
To echo @Carson above, does anyone have access to a non-ID1 phone and can verify the version of GPSIDRIL.DLL? Looks like this is a Sammy-specific driver also available in the i780 and Omnia.
Samsung says there is only one US version of the Epix. If people have a different version, they were probably bought off Ebay and have a different version because they were intended for ex-US use. They probably got into the pipeline when people started turning them into AT&T and they were recertified back into the warranty pipeline.
I tried installing the ID1 update and it crapped in the middle of the load. Ended up calling Samsung and got them to give me an RMA to send in the phone and let them upgrade it and check it out. It was returned a 1 1/2 weeks later with no upgade. Had SLOG Dump errors in less than 24 hours. Called Samsung and raised holy hell with them. Sent the phone back again yesterday and this time they “guarantee” they will install ID1 fix and any other updates that are applicable. Will see what happens.
To those who are having the device.exe spike issue:
This isn’t really a fix, just making a really annoying situation slightly less annoying.
Instead of soft-reseting your phone ever time you use GPS, you can go to the wireless manager and turn the phone portion off and then back on. This can also be achieved by going to airplane mode then back to normal. This gets device.exe back to normal slightly easier.
I have tried these steps and it seems to be working for me (Although the performance of GPS still remains an issue and it still takes a long time to lock onto the satellites).
1: Set your Phone mode to Off. Go to Start, Settings, Connections, Wireless Manager. Set your Phone mode to Off.
2: Next run a GPS application. I ran GPSToday and try to lock onto satellites. (GPSToday would say that the Phone is turned on but ignore this).
3: Close GPSToday or whatever application you were using.
4: Set your Phone Mode to On. Go to start, Settings, Connections, Wireless Manager, Set your Phone Mode to On.
5: Try to use a maping software i.e. Google Maps, Bing etc. For me, the device.exe CPU consumption remained at around 1 to 2% (not like 50 to 80% I was experience before). One thing to remember is that You would need a clearer sky (outside) and around 2/3 minutes to lock onto the satellites
I hope this works out for you
This fix resolved the post-ID1 battery issue for me:
Navigate in the file browser (programs>applications>file browser) to My Device/Windows/GPSTest.exe
Select: Menu>Options>GPS
Under the “Operating Type†option select “Stand-alone†and then select “Doneâ€
(Courtesy of beachdog at http://www.mysamsungepix.com/forum/how-to/how-to-fix-gps-after-epix-id1-update/)
Sweet. thanks for the heads up.