Man I really regret picking up the S3 (i747m with Snapdragon, not i9300)!First of all, it refuses to charge up to 100% unless I use the charger that comes with the phone (not 3rd party chargers, not even the chargers of other Samsung phones and tablets). I learned that you need a high capacity charger with 2A output. Even with the charger that comes with the phone, it is slow to charge or only charge up to 85-90%.
Then there is the pychotic battery gauge - after finally managed to charge up to 100% with the phone switched off, the battery gauge says 83% when I switch it on (why always "83"???). Using it for a while the level actually INCREASES to 85 or 86%. And then sometime the level falls so quickly, like 5% in 15-20 minutes, when I left the phone alone without using it.
Fark I should have done my research on the internet first before dishing out two fifty for this "like-new" S3. The forums are full of people complaining about the same problems!!
And YES I have done all the recommended "tweaks" like deleting / switching off apps and services that run in the background, cycle the battery (charging up full then run it down, and repeat a few times). They say upgrading to Android 4.3 does not cure the problem, therefore I have not done this yet (because they say you cannot downgrade from that ATM). The only thing that seems to work is the trick when you take the battery out then plug it to the charger, then touch the battery to the phone by its electric contacts a few times, before plugging in the battery properly to let it charge.
This way I get a full battery, but when I switch it on it shows "83%" battery level again. And the battery gauge level jumps around erratically.
I used a Galaxy Note for about 2 years until I fried it with overclocking. I have been confident with the Samsung products until now.
