Database Users

Sprint HTC Hero Complete Failure

Picked up a brand new Sprint HTC Hero on Monday (10/12/9) and within about a day it had stopped working entirely and was swapped out by a Sprint Repair Technician for another brand new one. I wanted to share the issues/experience.
Having spent an entire day fiddling about with the device, I noticed a couple of processes freaking out and needing to be forcibly shut down. I found out that this was because it had 0 internal memory left. I think that this was because I set up my gmail app to sync absolutely all my email to my phone, which obviously took up all the memory.
Without really taking too much time to think, I just decided to do a hard reset of my phone and restore it to factory settings. All seemed to go fine.
But the next day I was noticing that I wasn't not able to receive text messages. I was still able to make/receive call, and send texts, just not receive texts.
Everything worked perfectly prior to the reset: could make and receive both calls and texts, browse the internet etc. - the only thing that wasn't quite working was the bluetooth connection to my car: it was able to pair fine, but anytime it tried to do anything e.g. make a call/play music via bluetooth, the connection would die. However, a bluetooth connection to just a regular headset worked flawlessly.
I spoke to Sprint Customer Service on & off for about 2 hours. They tried refreshing the text messaging service on their end a few times. They also had me check that my phone was correctly programmed: the MDN number had actually reverted back to the temp number I was given (I was porting a number over from TMob). However, even after correcting this MDN number, it still did not work.
I was tempted to just go and get a replacement from the Sprint Store, but there was a repair center about 5 minutes away. Very helpful guy there (who actually ended up staying an hour after his shift was supposed to end) took a look at it.
He was able to replicate the problem exactly as described above. He decided to transfer the number to a different phone (a palm treo I think), and all the test text messages came flooding down. Although this would point to an issue with the phone, this could not rule out a network issue (for reasons that he did explain, but I can't quite remember). He then tried a hard reset himself: didnt do anything.
Finally, he told me that he had a new Hero sitting in the back. He tried setting up this new phone with my number and it worked perfectly.
So in short, my phone is heading to Kansas City (Sprint HQ from what I understand) to be broken down and examined.
Sprint repair guy said he had never seen anything like it before.
Want to also mention that both the Sprint Store salesmen and repair guy were the most helpful people Ive ever met. My salesman was actually on vacation: when i called the store to report the issue, they called him and he called me...very impressive. The repair guy also went above and beyond to keep me informed on the progress (as I was waiting while he worked on it), not to mention him working overtime.
I literally ported over last week from Tmobile and have been blown away by their service.
Just wanted to share the story. Feel free to get in touch if you want me to elaborate on anything.
UPDATE:
The brand new replacement phone has done the EXACT same thing.
Contacted the sprint repair tech. He says that sprint techs have a private internal forum and that the issue has been reported in the past (one of the reports was from a sprint employee who experienced identical problems (on Oct 8th - prior to launch).
From what Ive been told, the internal memory being full is the first symptom of the issue and that android processes begin to be forcibly shut down, and then txt messages cannot be received. Apparantly Sprint/HTC have an idea of what may be causing the issue but have not been more specific than that on the internal forum.
I'm getting my Hero swapped out for a brand new one (for the 3rd time) after work today. I've been advised to keep high-end feature use to a minimum (e.g. google contact/mail/calendar sync etc) until he has heard back from his development team.

Your title is quite misleading. Still happy it worked out for you in the end.

Yah your title is pretty terrible IMO for the post content.
Glad it worked out for you. I had a similar issue and had to have the device re-provisioned which didn't work, reset the device after the re-provision and it worked without issues since.

I have had mine for a while and installed around 60 apps on it yesterday all while surfing the net and texting. Before I went to bed I power cycled my phone and it was searching for service. Didn't have time to troubleshoot it until today noticed it was force closing several different things randomly and said I was out of memory. I uninstalled several programs and had around 30 mb free and still random force closings and no service.
Ended up doing a factory reset which seemed to fix the issue as I can receive calls and surf the market and internet but I'm not receiving text. As a matter of fact people said they were responding to my texts last night yet I never received any of them despite being able to surf the market and play games on my phone.
So now I'm wondering if my hero is jacked up as well and I'm wondering if it's related to using up all the memory on the device but I'd think doing a factory reset should have fixed everything but it seems like something isn't getting fixed correctly as I just had someone send me a text to test my theory and I haven't received it yet I can still do everything else on my phone.

If you are auto closing everything without setting up exceptions you will have issues. My radio stack became unresponsive after auto closing everything and I had to go through the system files that were running one by one to place them on the exclusion list otherwise it would keep happening. Now no issues.

I had the same issues with not getting txt msgs at first. I told the sprint rep and he simply tokd me to reset my phone...and it works great since then

Update to Original Message - Brand New Replacement Hero w/ Identical Issues
Yeah, the title may have initially been misleading, but it turns out its spot on.
The brand new replacement phone has done the EXACT same thing.
Contacted the sprint repair tech. He says that sprint techs have a private internal forum and that the issue has been reported in the past (one of the reports was from a sprint employee who experienced identical problems (on Oct 8th - prior to launch).
From what Ive been told, the internal memory being full is the first symptom of the issue and that android processes begin to be forcibly shut down, and then txt messages cannot be received. Apparantly Sprint/HTC have an idea of what may be causing the issue but have not been more specific than that on the internal forum.
I'm getting my Hero swapped out for a brand new one (for the 3rd time) after work today. I've been advised to keep high-end feature use to a minimum (e.g. google contact/mail/calendar sync etc) until he has heard back from his development team.
I will keep you all posted (if any of you are at all interested). I never usually post my boring issues on forums, but I thought this was pretty interesting given how new the CDMA Hero is.

Yes pllease keep us updated as i had the same issues as you did until i resetted my phone. I hope an update will fix the issue

lawsofpower48 said:
Yes pllease keep us updated as i had the same issues as you did until i resetted my phone. I hope an update will fix the issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
were you able to receive text messages after the reset? if so your problem is different to mine as a reset doesn't fix it at all

dom2114 said:
were you able to receive text messages after the reset? if so your problem is different to mine as a reset doesn't fix it at all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya after reset my phone has been fine.

3rd Update - 3rd Replacement Hero
So I've just picked up my 3rd phone. The previous 2 are being sent off to Sprint HQ so they can determine exactly what is going on.
Apparently (as I think I mentioned previously), Sprint HQ have a very good idea as to whats going on but a) need to confirm it and b) wont tell the Sprint repair tech what they're thinking. In an email that HQ sent to the tech, they said:
“We should be hearing about a resolution shortly and I can check in with him later on today. I would simply let your customer know that this is the highest priority at development and they are close to a resolution.”
In the mean time, I've been advised not to install any non-standard apps i.e. anything but facebook/google. The tech has a feeling its down to one of the 2 memory management apps I used, Advanced TaskKiller Free and TaskKiller Free. Apparently the Sprint employee that I mentioned earlier that had this issue was also using a TaskKiller app. I was also advised not to set up any Microsoft exchange accounts as some problems have been reported, but I dont think its anything really to do with this (however, I'm following his advice all the same).
Should be hearing something from the tech guy early next week and will post the feedback.

mine is doing the exact same thing!!! i thought is was that nobody has texted me in the last couple of days but i was dead wrong..... im gonna try to uninstall task killer free and reboot to see if thats the problem.... if not, then back to the Sprint Store
Thats what happens when Sprint decides to patch up Android with CDMA support rather than waite for native in 1.6

You guys aren't just killing all the tasks when you are running these programs are you?

Aridon said:
If you are auto closing everything without setting up exceptions you will have issues. My radio stack became unresponsive after auto closing everything and I had to go through the system files that were running one by one to place them on the exclusion list otherwise it would keep happening. Now no issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where can i acces this exlusion list?? and which files should i include?
Rootwind said:
You guys aren't just killing all the tasks when you are running these programs are you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was till i heard it was the problem.... but i uninstalled the task killer and rebooted already and it still not receives...

has anybody bother to update there prl and profile? being that it was sitting in the box for a month or so.sprint has updated there prl recently and that may fix the issue...

reddick said:
has anybody bother to update there prl and profile? being that it was sitting in the box for a month or so.sprint has updated there prl recently and that may fix the issue...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did.... still same issue

I had to reset my phone twice today just to get the internet connection back. Android is a joke or maybe its just sprint. Im moving back to winmo as soon as hd2 is here in the US.

I can assure you it is not Android, but Sprints implementation of Android on the Hero. Hopefully we'll get a 1.6 update soon. Hang in there, it'll be worth the wait.

i hope so. i really miss bluetooth transfer and exchange server is constantly on i want to be able to set peek times. i also want me notifications to repeat until i acknowledge them. missed call only works or missed calls and sms.

katmandu421 said:
I can assure you it is not Android, but Sprints implementation of Android on the Hero. Hopefully we'll get a 1.6 update soon. Hang in there, it'll be worth the wait.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have reset my phone three times now and still not working. I can assure you this has nothing to do with the network as I'm still able to receive calls and emails hence not the network but what I believe to be HTC. Let me clarify, I believe I have either installed an app that corrupted my ability to receive sms text or somehow messed my phone up however it's the phone itself that's not erasing all info when I do a reset like it should.
I still have audio files from sound boards I installed when I initially got the phone that are still present after four factory resets that shouldn't be. This is a phone issue and not a network issue. Sadly the phone is so new there isn't a rom I can flash to that would fix the issue as whatever I did to my phone a factory reset isn't fixing it. It's that simple, if HTC made it to where a factory reset put the phone back to the original state then I wouldn't have this issue or files present from 3-4 factory resets ago....
This is frustrating :O

[Q] Text Messages Not Received Until Soft Reset

Recently, my phone will stop receiving text messages until I soft reset. Before posting, I tried a hard reset to see if that would fix the issue, but that did not work.
Is anyone else having similar issues with text messages?
Things worth noting:
1. I can still send messages without issue, even when I can't receive them.
2. All other data services on the phone work without any trouble (email, marketplace, zune, etc)
3. It happens even when I have full service, so it shouldn't be a connection/network issue.
4. I have a class 2 16 GB sandisk installed, which has been installed since I got the phone in November (might try a hard reset without the card to see if that helps).
It's interesting that the problem persisted through a hard reset. Right now I'm trying to determine if there's a specific set of actions that can be taken to reproduce the issue, but I just wanted to see if anyone else had any thoughts.
**UPDATE**
So even after pulling the sd card and hard resetting the phone, the problem is still present. Guess I'll have to head on over to AT&T to get a replacement.
If you are having the issue, it looks like you are only able to receive 10 messages before requiring a soft reset :'(
Thanks

I'm having the same exact problem. While I was on the phone with the ATT rep, she even tried to send me a text and couldn't!

Yeah I just went through the warranty exchange process with at&t and a replacement is on its way.
My co-worker also has a focus and hasn't had any problems, and with the number of people on this forum and no other responses, I don't think it's a very widespread issue.
I'm glad I found someone else with the problem though! Solidarity man! It's incredibly annoying. I setup a cron job on my server to send me a text every 15 minutes so I know when they stop working.

I'm ready to scream. I have a Dell Venue Pro (Another Windows Mobile 7 Phone) sitting here that has been an issue since day with everything EXCEPT text messaging. I spoke with ATT rep and they "claim" its either two things for me:
1) Porting of my number still transferring. ITs been to Sprint, T-Mobile, and now ATT all within the PAST two weeks.
2) Having a Metal roof can screw up the signal. Which I think is false because I have NO problem sending out texts, calling, surfing the web.
Again, NOT a problem restarting the phone and receiving texts but after, lets say, 15 minutes and having 3 bars, it stops. Its just like how T-Mobile network acted with Dell Venue Pro with the Internet, it needed to be restarted every hour or so. I'm READY to scream! I CAN NOT believe there AREN'T others with this problem!

10 Message Limit
Oh man. Yeah the Venue Pro launch was pretty rough. I was holding out for that phone too and was going to switch to t-mo, but I didn't want to chance it with all the problems that were being reported.
I have finally found a pattern though! It appears for me that after restarting the phone I can receive 10 text messages before they stop. I found this out because as I mentioned in my last post, I setup my server to send me messages every 15 minutes. While I was sleeping, i hit my sms receipt wall and a bunch of messages "queued up". This morning I restarted my phone, and 10 messages came in, then no more. Restarted again, received another 10, and so on until all the queued up messages had been received.
So it would be interesting if you check to see if there's a hard number limit of messages you can receive.

abledanger said:
Oh man. Yeah the Venue Pro launch was pretty rough. I was holding out for that phone too and was going to switch to t-mo, but I didn't want to chance it with all the problems that were being reported.
I have finally found a pattern though! It appears for me that after restarting the phone I can receive 10 text messages before they stop. I found this out because as I mentioned in my last post, I setup my server to send me messages every 15 minutes. While I was sleeping, i hit my sms receipt wall and a bunch of messages "queued up". This morning I restarted my phone, and 10 messages came in, then no more. Restarted again, received another 10, and so on until all the queued up messages had been received.
So it would be interesting if you check to see if there's a hard number limit of messages you can receive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed it this morning. I was on the phone with another tech support rep last night that WAS NO help, only concluded with that, I'm suppose to go to one of their stores and switch it out with another handset. Problem with that is, I didn't purchase it from ATT since Amazon.com had it for a penny. So, that'll be a fun visit. <--sounds like I'm from the south, don't it? lol
I'm having SO much fun sending myself texts to see if it actually goes through and I receive it. Here's something to think about, the two weeks I had T-mobile, I sent out 5,689 texts. So, this feature is something I actually WANT.

Update: Swapped out the phone. I had to act like an idiot because they had NO record of my sale at the ATT store, which there isn't any since I bought it at Amazon.com for a penny.
Knock on wood, its working. Sent myself over 50 texts throughout 2 hours.

I just recently started having this problem. I didn't notice at first, I just didn't think I was receiving any text messages. I accidentally restarted the phone (crappy case) and when I started it back up I got 10 texts instantly...all from the previous day. So I thought, oh AT&T must have screwed up. A day goes by and still no texts (odd because I usually get at least 20 texts a day). So I try to send myself a text. No bueno. So I restarted my phone. 10 texts. Restarted again. 10 texts...all still from Monday (2 days ago).
I already had problems with cellular data (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=867347), and now this. If this problem is being caused by the SD card too, I'm getting rid of it.

Text Messages
abledanger said:
Recently, my phone will stop receiving text messages until I soft reset. Before posting, I tried a hard reset to see if that would fix the issue, but that did not work.
Is anyone else having similar issues with text messages?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have seen this on occasion. Seems to be random and relatively infrequent in nature for me right now though. One thing that I have noticed (and may or may not be related) is that wireless sync seems to stop working at the same time. A soft rest always makes the problem go away...

I had this problem with my 2nd focus (i dropped the first and shattered the screen) It seemed to work fine for a few hours after I got it, then stopped receiving. As soon as I'd reboot the phone, itd work till i sent about 10 messages, then stopped. I tried my sim in another phone, worked fine. So now i'm on my 3rd phone.
Id tried multiple hard resets and none of them helped - I had assumed i'd just gotten a bad phone. But it seems a more common issue than I'd originally thought. I'd tried initially to take out my SD card (Kingston 16gb Class 4) and it didnt help.

Just got this problem on my Omnia 7, so maybe it's an OS or carrier issue.

Eriatarka said:
Just got this problem on my Omnia 7, so maybe it's an OS or carrier issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I wonder if anyone else has had this issue on some of the htc or lg phones or if it's a Samsung only problem. I guess this means that it's not related to the sd card though!
I have since replaced my defective focus and have yet to experience any problems with the new one.

I believe I've figured out and need a few testers to verify fix. I too was experiencing same issue of not receiving more than 10 SMS text messages until soft reset. After multiple hard resets and eventual phone replacement by AT&T Technical Support, I decided to navigate the Diagnosis Codes determined to find a fix for you all. Long story short, I discovered and tested the setting that causes and fixes the issue as follows:
*#197328640#
1 Debug
8 Phone Control
7 Network Control
1 GCF
3 Setting Cancellation
End
Soft Reset phone (Reboot)
You can test by texting yourself (your mobile number)
Enjoy!

Can't access root menu with *#197328640#
Hi, I can't open my root menu using *#197328640#. Any idea? I have the same problem of not receiving SMS.
tyryanjr said:
I believe I've figured out and need a few testers to verify fix. I too was experiencing same issue of not receiving more than 10 SMS text messages until soft reset. After multiple hard resets and eventual phone replacement by AT&T Technical Support, I decided to navigate the Diagnosis Codes determined to find a fix for you all. Long story short, I discovered and tested the setting that causes and fixes the issue as follows:
*#197328640#
1 Debug
8 Phone Control
7 Network Control
1 GCF
3 Setting Cancellation
End
Soft Reset phone (Reboot)
You can test by texting yourself (your mobile number)
Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

gasahadewo said:
Hi, I can't open my root menu using *#197328640#. Any idea? I have the same problem of not receiving SMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*#32489# bypass to get into root menu. click the back button 4 times to get to the main menu.
Someone else posted that here.

tyryanjr said:
I believe I've figured out and need a few testers to verify fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I've been experiencing the problem too ... will test and let you know if it works for me!

I'm not experiencing this problem any more, though I can't say for sure whether it was solved due to that diagnostic menu action or the Samsung firmware update I applied later that evening.

tyryanjr said:
I believe I've figured out and need a few testers to verify fix. I too was experiencing same issue of not receiving more than 10 SMS text messages until soft reset. After multiple hard resets and eventual phone replacement by AT&T Technical Support, I decided to navigate the Diagnosis Codes determined to find a fix for you all. Long story short, I discovered and tested the setting that causes and fixes the issue as follows:
*#197328640#
1 Debug
8 Phone Control
7 Network Control
1 GCF
3 Setting Cancellation
End
Soft Reset phone (Reboot)
You can test by texting yourself (your mobile number)
Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Testing now!!!
I hope you're fix works for me too. This has been very annoying.

Good luck everyone. If v1122 of diagnosis menu has been installed due to update you can get to it by *#32489# and click on "Back" to get where you need in the menu.

Reporting back.
As long as I'm in an area with good radio penetration, the fix is a godsend.
In areas with poor radio penetration, it's no change.
So, I'll say good work tyryanjr & ATT-US
You guys improved my love of the focus tenfold today.
I should mention I am using a Rogers Branded Focus, SIM Unlocked, Dev Unlocked (Chevron), NoDo, on SaskTel's wireless network in Saskatchewan. If you are on Bell or Telus with similiar issues, give it a whirl.
To my wireless carrier, please rectify the situation, ASAP!

Nexus 6p Mobile hotspot not working properly (T-mobile)

Have searched extensively and found no working solution to this issue. Return would be a last and unwanted resort. Here's the deal. Mobile Hotspot performs strangely no matter what android version I run. In marshmallow it would turn off during use. In nougat it would just crash and need to be restarted. It most reliably occurs when playing lan minecraft over 2 comps on the hotspot but will still have the issue randomly even when only 1 device is connected. Many calls to various companies have all resulted in "send it back in". This is infuriating as this feels like a software issue not a hardware issue, I just can't see how it can be any other way. I have tried everything I could think of and had no luck, here's the list of what i've tried so far:
Restart phone
Factory reset
update to latest firmware
downgrade back to original marshmallow firmware
there is no access to advanced settings for hotspot so timeout is non-existant
reset network settings
edit: also tried ElementX kernel still have the same problem
tried flash-all to stock Marshmallow firmware without restoring apps or settings
RMA TWICE
etc. (any others I've forgotten that I did I will edit and add if ppl suggest it)
Nothing works, before I downgraded back to MM I did capture a bug report when the crash happened on latest nougat. I have no idea if I caught relevant info but will include the zip here anyway. Any help is massively appreciated.

Flash the correct factory images using google flash-all method (backup data first or remove -w in the script!). Upon startup do NOT restore settings apps etc.. and test.
If it doesn't work post a bug report on google website.

rchtk said:
Flash the correct factory images using google flash-all method (backup data first or remove -w in the script!). Upon startup do NOT restore settings apps etc.. and test.
If it doesn't work post a bug report on google website.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it wasn't clear in my post I was at factory default and the problem occurred and have restored and erased a few times. If the method you're describing is different form having out of the box stock please elaborate, I only flashed a kernel recently as a further last resort.
By not restoring settings are you referring to not allowing google backups to restore? and finally if you can provide a link to where exactly I am to post this bug report I would appreciate it, I have posted in what I thought was official channels with a bug report and was told to call in, which is stupid, considering if I leave a bug report why not read it and get back to me?
Anyways thanks for reply and any further info you give

rchtk said:
Flash the correct factory images using google flash-all method (backup data first or remove -w in the script!). Upon startup do NOT restore settings apps etc.. and test.
If it doesn't work post a bug report on google website.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally got back from vacation and had time to try your request. used flash-all method and did not restore any apps or settings and hotspot still did not work. any other info or at least a link to where I should post a bug report to google as I have used the report function through the device and have posted on nexus help forums and not received answers. I really don't want to have to do an rma as I hate the thought of receiving a refurb phone when I wanted a brand new one and they sent me a broken one

well all is officially lost as I am in the process of doing an RMA. Multiple phone calls between carrier and manufacturer see each company blaming the other with no solution in sight. Fingers crossed hard enough to bleed that somehow a new phone or any "repairs" done to mine will fix the issue. Come back in a few weeks for an update. :crying:

I would confirm with T-Mobile that your line is provisioned with Tethering. When testing an AT&T SIM from a friends UDP (no tethering) account, this is what would happen. My T-Mobile and Verizon accounts both allow it, so it just works.

SpookyTunes said:
I would confirm with T-Mobile that your line is provisioned with Tethering. When testing an AT&T SIM from a friends UDP (no tethering) account, this is what would happen. My T-Mobile and Verizon accounts both allow it, so it just works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tethering on my account and have had it for 2 years. worked flawlessly on other devices before switching to this one. It also doesn't explain why it could work for hours at a time before failing. Or why it would consistently fail within minutes when playing LAN minecraft.

Well Huaweii has been an absolute joke, after 3 weeks of terrible communication and no transparency I finally received my phone in the mail (no email notification on if it is a replacement device or not) and the issue still persists. I'm at a loss for what to do.

Samsung S8 Glitch? .. I've got one for ya....

So.. Story begins..
I bought my S8 a few months back.. Worked flawlessly (Stateside).. Then I came overseas and the problems began.. I requested my service to be suspended by Verizon and after doing so my phone began to freak out.. I don't know for sure if this is the cause but having just received my replacement device and experiencing the exact same issue. Could it be possible?
Issue: No matter what I am doing on the phone it will freeze for a split second then appears to refresh.. For example.. If I am typing an email, as I am writing my keyboard locks up and the phone becomes unusable then it jumps to the top of the app and then I can continue .. It is SOOOO frustrating because for example.. SnapChat: While I am writing and the screen freezes and refreshes, I lose everything I wrote.. If I'm scrolling through Facebook .. It jumps back to the top..This became more frequent and even more annoying! Even if I am in the settings menu scrolled all the way to the bottom.. it freezes for a second and then jumps to the top of the app.. So.. I began removing apps I thought could be the cause of the problem.. I cleared the cache on the phone as well as the apps, reset settings, removed/re-added Google accounts, even tried some developer options to scale down the graphics, background processes etc.. No avail.. I finally caved in and contacted Verizon who put me in touch with TechCoach app to remote in a see the issue for themselves.. All the troubleshooting steps they walked me through, I had already done.. So they sent me a replacement.. I set the new phone up, installed the software updates, just a few apps to test and sure enough same issue! Then I wiped the phone again.. didn't install any software updates, I left it bare bones and even set the phone up as new (no restore from Google)... So as I am writing this TechCoach wants to send me yet another replacement device.. But I'm certain the "Certified Like-New" S8 they send me will end up doing the same thing.. What it appears to be to me (No expert here) is that once I came overseas and suspended my line.. There's some service/app that is trying to push/pull over network data and since it's unable to do so it's causing the phone to glitch? I mean I really can't think of any other reason this could be happening .. Furthermore, I tried different Wi-Fi connections, changed performance modes, disabled many "enhanced features" ... Any ideas/suggestions greatly appreciated while I wait for the replacement device.... Thanks XDA!
Update:
Verizon had to reactivate my line before they could send a replacement... So I asked the rep to keep my line active to see if the issue persists.. Would you believe it worked flawless as it did when I first bought it without issues.. So my theory was right!!! Some service running in the background is attempting to refresh without connectivity.. I'm now going through every system app to disable and test ... more to follow!

Strange Sync/Download Issues on Multiple OP 6T Handsets

Hello all.
I ordered a OnePlus 6T (non-T-Mobile, 128 GB, 8 GB RAM) on launch day, which I received last week.
Once I logged in with my Google account and started trying to download apps, I noticed that it was taking forever to even start the download from the play store (it says "downloading" but the progress bar does not appear, and then maybe 45-60 seconds later it starts downloading the app). Once the actual download starts, the speed seems about normal. It also takes it forever to load images within the play store and to sync my Gmail account. Push notifications are also delayed for gmail and hangouts, if they ever appear at all.
I did multiple factory resets and OP tech support remotely flashed a fresh factory rom for me, but this didn't help the problem. I returned the device and ordered another, which I just got today. I'm having the same exact problems, which seem bizarre to me since I haven't been able to find anything online suggesting this is a common bug, even though I've now experienced it on two handsets.
A related little glitch I noticed, I'm on T-Mobile, and when I have VoLTE and WiFi calling enabled, Hangouts crashes whenever I enter any text in a message field.
It seems to me the phone is having some issue syncing/connecting with Google's play services/servers. I've tried restarting and clearing the cache on both Google Play Services and the Play Store, both of which I've also verified are up to date. My OS is up to date as well. I have recreated the problem on multiple Wi-Fi networks as well as over cellular data.
Does anyone have any insight into what might be causing this? I really like the phone aside from this major issue...