yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
I feel like tipping my hat into this topic. I just switched from AT&T to Sprint, got the Epic, been a happy camper thus far. I have noticed the same exact keyboard issue, and I've noticed that it isn't getting as much coverage as it should be.

With my epic, it's COMPLETELY RANDOM. It'll happen 500 times in one sentence, and sometimes, it won't happen for an entire hour. It doesn't seem to be a hardware issue, because no matter how slow I type, or how firm I press down on the keys, the problem will rear it's ugly head.

I'll wait this out until the end of the 30 days. On the 29th day, if nothing's been done, via Sprint/Samsung or XDA, I shall swap for an Evo.
[Epic 4G General] badasscat:
I use the keyboard constantly and have never experienced this.

I do routinely experience *extra* keypresses because of my giant fingers.
[Epic 4G General] crazaytalent:
same here... had my epic since launch and never had or even heard of this issue until now...

I do however have issue w/ the onscreen keyboards auto correction feature and the fact that i can be difficult to go back and edit w/o arrow keys... but thats my gripe w/ swype... not the epic ... lol
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Then I'm guessing its worth it to get a swap since not everyone is having this issue.
[Epic 4G General] badasscat:
I would consider it a defect and as I use the keyboard pretty much exclusively for typing (I still can't figure out how the heck anybody uses a virtual keyboard - that's why I bought the Epic), I would definitely return it if I had any issues with the keyboard that I thought were caused by either a hardware or a software bug. If the second one I got was the same, I would return it again and get a different phone entirely, on a different carrier if necessary. That's how important I consider the keyboard.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Unfortunately, I have only two choices where I live now. Verizon or Sprint. And seeing as Verizon made me famous on the internet, I won't be going back to them anytime soon. Plus, their only good, keyboarded Android phone, the Droid 2, has the same crappy-feeling keyboard, and Motoblur/eFuse is the dealbreaker. (I do hold high hopes for the enV touch 2/enV Pro or whatever they're calling it, as the voyager form-factor is pretty neat, and the keyboard was actually decent)

Sprint seems to be batting a thousand when it comes to good Android phones. Not to mention their service is cheap and effective here.

Plus, not all bad. I think an Evo + Better Keyboard would be SWEET.
[Epic 4G General] Firon:
I'm actually having the same keyboard problem, where it misses a LOT of keypresses (depending on how fast I type). Is it really a defect in the phone?
[Epic 4G General] Sesquipedalian:
I am having this, too, but I it seems like not everyone is. Guess it's going back to Sprint tomorrow.
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
5 phones since launch day ... all swapped for brand new ones because all have the issue. some weren't as bad as the others and since getting #5 a few days ago I seem to only have had it happen a few times .. folks claiming not to have it do u use the physical keyboard or swype for majority of inputs ? maybe ya just don't notice lol
[Epic 4G General] badasscat:
Like I said, I use the physical keyboard exclusively. Never had this issue. I use it for searches, texts, personal emails, even business emails to customers. And I type fast enough that when Samsung put out that "world record" commercial with the guy using Swype a while back, I was like "that's supposed to be fast?"

I wonder if there is some service or app that is interfering with the keyboard on some of you guys' phones; something that's taking over the whole system for a half second every once in a while.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Flashed a few different ROMs, also use ATK to make sure nothing is running but the app that I'm entering text into. Even disabled everything but the Android keyboard in the keyboard settings. No dice.

Also, bought my phone at Best Buy. Should I take it back to them? Call Samsung? Or call Sprint?
[Epic 4G General] rmgill:
I'm experiencing this as well when I type quickly, and it's close to being a deal breaker because I bought this phone over the EVO because of the keyboard. My previous phone was a Touch Pro 2, and I am now accustomed to typing anywhere between 40-60wpm which seems too much for the Epic's keyboard/software to handle.

I bought the phone two days ago, so I'm going to wait it out/take notes and see if any fixes arise.
[Epic 4G General] fooo1:
No problems here so far. I only use swype for simple input. The keyboard comes out when I have to type a lot (like this message) or I want to type fast. I'm way faster on the keyboard than the onscreen, and no misses. This is my third day with the phone and I'm using it heavily for lots of setup/config.

No capacitive button issues either. So maybe the newer phones have better qc?
[Epic 4G General] badasscat:
It is true that I got my phone a couple weeks ago, not at launch. It's one of those Amazon phones - Amazon never had this phone at launch, and I think mine's even from their second batch.

So maybe it is something about the later phones - I haven't had any of the other hardware issues people have complained about either (back button, wobbly screen, loose hinges, etc.). My phone seems pretty much perfect, hardware-wise. Are you guys having this problem on launch phones or later ones? I wonder if they just rushed a bunch of phones out the door to make the release.
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
I wish it was relating to an app .. I'm 100% stock and never even dl any market apps on any of the 5 epics I've owned
[Epic 4G General] NeonMonster:
It depends how fast you type if it skips letters.

I notice that on days where i'm typing REALLY full speed, it will frequently miss letters.

I'm pretty sure it might because you have to press the key firmly for it to recognize, and when you type fast, you might not push a button fully.

Most times tho, the keyboard is fine at a normal typing speed.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
For me, it happens even if I go really slow and firmly press every key.

And my Epic was bought at Best Buy about two days ago. So unless it's old stock, I think it's from the newer batches.
[Epic 4G General] badasscat:
I just typed an email out as fast as I could, mistakes be damned. I was typing like a madman, an entire paragraph. My thumbs were killing me by the end of it. The Epic didn't miss a letter. I had a lot of mistakes, as I figured I would, but they were all either extra letters or wrong letters - no missing letters.

Either phones that miss letters are defective, or whoever said that about not hitting the keys hard enough when typing quickly is onto something.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Screw it, I'll drop into Best Buy tomorrow and ask for a swap. Failing that, return and try getting one from the Sprint store. Failing THAT (and by the gods, I hope it doesn't come to this), I get an Evo.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
So I got my Epic swapped out. The keyboard issue still happens here and there but nowhere near as bad as it used to be.
[Epic 4G General] swamp goblin:
it happens to me frequently, and its really annoying. maybe it could be the messaging app? because it happens alot more when writing a text, than say typing in the google search widget. this phone is amazing, but without a keyboard that works how it should, im tempted to return it for the evo.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
It does seem to happen a lot more in Messaging. It hasn't happened in XDA app at all...yet.

EDIT: It happens in all the apps I try it in, but much more in Messaging. As far as Best Buy goes, they say they've got a two-week wait on the Evo (!), and I'd have to backorder it. :P
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Update: I sent an email to Samsung support. Best Buy's phones seem to be all bum, and Sprint isn't helping much either.

Hopefully there will be a resolution to this.
[Epic 4G General] violinbf:
I have this issue too, frequent dropped letters. When I use an app that tracks my WPM I can only type 30 WPM without dropping letters. If I type any faster and it starts to drop. I am pretty sure that I am depressing the keys fully. Is there a way to notify sprint/samsung about this issue? They seemed to handle the upload cap quickly it would be great if this could be resolved.
[Epic 4G General] mykenyc:
We need to get this out to the media too, if it's wide spread i too have this issue sometimes it's so bad i use the software keyboard which i type faster on.
[Epic 4G General] gigatigga:
I always use the on screen keyboard because of this issue. Its almost impossible to type at any decent speed with the hardware keyboard. I can type 110wpm on a computer so I know my way around a keyboard and this is just awful. At least the screen is big and responsive enough to make the in screen keyboard nice and easy to use but defeats the purpose of the physical board.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Got an email back, and they kept talking about Swype and the virtual keyboard.

Hey Sammy, if I wanted either of those, I would have bought an Evo.

Calling in tomorrow.
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
good point about it happening more so in sms app. it happens very frequently in most forums & email . I did notice it alot less in google search & almost never in the memo app that comes stock with the phone. the ppl at best buy and sprint pointed out the onscreen keyboards and swype at which point I to expressed I would of kept the evo. if there is someone to contact about the issue can someone post it here ? I have replaced 4 epics already about this issue and its evident on #5
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Called Samsung? Also, someone should possibly tip Engadget/Gizmodo and get this out into the media. Because it seems like this is more than just a few people getting hit with this problem.

I myself am so frustrated that I'm just about to go for an Evo.
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
good call .. I just tipped engadget
[Epic 4G General] Sesquipedalian:
I went to return mine over this, but I was on day 32. I guess I'm stuck with it forever now. =\
[Epic 4G General] violinbf:
Just to confirm, I have been testing this out with the app "mytextspeed" in the market. This measures your CMP and WPM. My findings are that when I type faster than ~177CMP and ~30WPM the keyboard starts dropping letters. I have reached much higher numbers than this on other HW keyboard mobile devices (treo pro, vx6700, mogul). This is a real issue and major disappointment. I hope we can make some noise and get the press involved with this because I want this issue resolved.

I just tipped Engadget too, lets hope they make some noise.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
As did I.

I will continue to hold out for my 30 days...but I am really considering an Evo at this point.

Going to give Samsung another call, see if I can't get anywhere this time.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
I'm going to tip Consumerist too. See if we can't get noticed.
[Epic 4G General] TurboFool:
Glad to find this thread. I've been dealing with it since day one, and the problem continued on my replacement (last update bricked the first phone), and today I decided to finally see if others were experiencing the same thing.

It's a great keyboard, which makes this really frustrating. I can physically type faster than any software-assisted, auto-correcting keyboard can do for me, yet I find myself constantly using Swype for things just because I have a lower likelihood of typos with it, despite its frequent misunderstanding of words. Not cool when I specifically choose a phone for its hardware keyboard then have to avoid using it.
[Epic 4G General] jmhart:
I returned my Epic a few days ago over this issue and swapped it for the Evo. The very knowledgeable guy at the Sprint Store I went to personally owns the Epic as well and has the same problem with his phone.

This was not the only problem I had with the Epic, but it was the dealbreaker. I will NOT put up with the mechanical challenges of having a slider (loose mechanism) for a feature that apparently doesn't work right for most people who type quickly at all.

I also found the GPS to be usable, but inaccurate, and only worked outdoors. The accelerometer was miscalibrated and can only be fixed via root and command line which is fine but requires me to void my warranty which is not fine. The slider mechanism was loose from the day I got it, with about a 2mm gap between the screen and keyboard. The earpiece had a slight buzziness to it at higher volumes, and the speaker was worse at anything above about half volume.
[Epic 4G General] OperationMove:
Wow! This makes me feel alot better! Seriously, when I first bought my epic, coming from a cliq (with a much smaller HW keyboard) I kept experiencing this issue and was getting so frustrated. I just blamed it on being a new keyboard and my fingers not used to typing on it yet.

Now, a few weeks into having it, I'm still having the same problem (That you all are), it happens all day long, and getting more frustrating. I barely ever write emails on my phone and I use swype for most little jobs, but when texting (which I do alot of) I always use the HW Keyboard and have experienced this from day 1. Now that i see all of you having the same issues, I know its not just my fingers screwing things up...

God (Insert 9 explitives here) Samsung! Someone better fix this. I didn't buy a top tier phone something as simple as a keyboard to not function correctly.
[Epic 4G General] swamp goblin:
I've done alot of thinking, and I still have like 8 days to return my epic with this keyboard problem, but what do you guys think? Should I wait it out and see if Samsung fixes this issue with an update, or go get an evo? I love the keyboard, but for such an expensive phone I at least expect the simplest of things to work.
[Epic 4G General] blazinazn:
No kidding. I have 3 more weeks to decide. Kind of ridiculous that the keyboard..of all things..doesn't work right. I don't really care for the EVO. It's so big, it's awkward. Not to mention the battery life on it sucks.

There are some people who don't see this issue so it could be a hardware thing. Or maybe a different ROM fixes it?
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
I am beginning to question if this issue happens to every phone and ppl either don't realize it as they favor swype or they won't admit it for whatever reason. I could sware in some apps it don't happen as frequent as others
[Epic 4G General] rmgill:
My keyboard problems have been improving as of late, and this likely due to one or the combination of the following 3 things:

a. Me getting used to the keyboard

b. Some sort of break-in process that improves responsiveness. I tried an epic in a local sprint store and didn't have any issues with missed keys. They keypad felt a lot mushier than mine, likely due to increased use

c. New ROM. I switched to baked snacks 1.2, OC'd to 1.2ghz, which is around the time I noticed less errors in my typing. This may be a coincidence

I still have the occasional missed key (had a couple while writing this post), but its not often enough to return my phone over anymore.
[Epic 4G General] Firon:
My keyboard also seems to have improved since I first got it. Maybe I'm just using it better.
[Epic 4G General] blazinazn:
I swear, I think sometimes I'm going crazy. Cause I sit there and think..hmm..did I really just press the key or did I just miss it and it was a typo? Or maybe I did hit the key but it just didn't register. Or maybe I didn't hit it and I thought I did..

Every time a letter is missing, I go through the same thought process. Does that make me crazy?
[Epic 4G General] swamp goblin:
I've noticed that with different roms, the keyboard has more and less errors.. right now I'm using bubs magic aosp 4.0, and I have very few errors. But when switching to like andromeda and others that rely more on touchwiz, the problem seems a lot more frequent.. I'm guessing this isn't really a hardware issue that leaves us doomed forever, but maybe a current firmware problem.. just guessing, correct me if I sound completely stupid :p
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
I, too have noticed that my Epic seems to be working better since I got it swapped. It still drops inputs randomly, but it seems less frequent. Or, as someone else said, maybe I'm getting used to it.

Coming from a Captivate, I really don't care anymore about the keyboard. I figure I'm just using a bulkier Captivate rather than something like a G1, and as such, if it gets bad enough, I'll just fall back on Better Keyboard. If the hardware keyboard is fixed at a later time, then awesome. Otherwise, nothing lost.

I just don't feel like getting stuck in an endless cycle, getting phone swap after swap. :P
[Epic 4G General] rmgill:
I'm crossing my fingers that you're correct and that these issues will magically disappear along with world hunger with world hunger. Are these too much to ask for? :)
[Epic 4G General] Sesquipedalian:
I swapped my phone at a service center as a warranty claim over this issue, as I was past 30 days. My issue got progressively worse. At first the tech said he couldn't get it to miss any letters and he "typed a really long memo". He said he reset the phone. All I think he really did was install ATK, wtf?

It was, of course, still doing it, so I went back in a few minutes later, and he said he'd just order me another one.

I'm not sure if it's a refurb or what, but I noticed a few things:

1) Still skipping letters. Probably a little more than the first one.

2) The slider for the USB port slides much easier, and still locks firmly into place in both positions. My first one took a LOT of pressure to open or close.

3) The capacitive soft buttons require a longer press to register. On my first phone, I could tap them really fast, but on this second one, I kinda have to hold my finger there for a half second.

4) The keys on this keyboard feel looser than the last one. They seem to require less force to depress. This is a very welcome change!

I saw them take it out of the package. It was just a plain white padded shipping envelope, so I am assuming it's a refurb. If it's new, it didn't come NIB. But it did have the exact same plastic on case, including piece covering the screen with the printed and sprint logo on it.

I've had experience similar to others, where I wonder if I am just imagining I feel the button click, but really I didn't press it hard enough. I'm positive I feel the click. It happens MORE OFTEN when I'm typing really fast, but it can happen even if I slowly press the same button over and over again.

It's a real problem, cause it basically makes touch typing impossible. You have to watch every letter on the screen cause you never know when it will miss one. I was used to typing messaging while not looking at the screen on my TP2. If I have to look at the screen, might as well just use a soft keyboard.
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
Here's my plan. If WP7 proves to be an excellent platform, I'll just hang on to my Epic until the HTC 7 Pro comes around, then sell my Epic and buy it off-contract.

Because man. Dat keyboard.

Some stuff concerning the keyboard issue:

I finally got around to rooting/flashing a new ROM to my Epic (Screw 64-bit Windows. Seriously. Screw it. I had to wake the old MacBook Pro and boot it into XP to get the friggin root to work), and tried AOSP Magic Original. The keyboard works much better, though it still drops characters. Enough to be annoying.

I do have a hypothesis though: I seem to notice that most of the ROM's I've tried still have some of Samsung's "downgrades" that shine through the cracks, such as the blue text in the Settings menus in AOSP Magic, and the poorly worded Samsung error messages. Maybe if there were a ROM that did away with Samsung's crap "enhancements", the keyboard would work normally again?

Or we could wait for Froyo.

Tomorrow, after I'm home from work, I'm going to flash the hell out of this thing to see if I can get any solid info on this defect. TRY. EVERY. KERNEL. AND. ROM.
[Epic 4G General] badasscat:
These kinds of posts makes me think most of these alleged problems are imagined.

I still do not ever have missed keypresses on my Epic. I have plenty of extra keypresses from my fingers hitting in between two keys, and that drives me nuts, but I have not had a single missed keypress. And I've actually tried, after reading these posts.

I am a heavy typist and always have been, so I do press the keys very hard. I think people just need to get used to the keyboard.
[Epic 4G General] Sesquipedalian:
I'd love to see someone who says the problems are imagined swap phones with someone with a phone like mine, that drops a letter every few words.

There are a lot of potential variables. Just because it's not consistent doesn't mean people are just making it up. I've never had any problems like this on any other phone I've had, and I've had quite a few with slide out QWERTY keyboards.

I can push really hard and deliberately, and it will still miss letters unless I type slowly. I can't tell you exactly how many WPM that is, but it's slow.

The thing is, if the key "clicks", it should register the press, no matter how hard you pushed it to make it click. If you only exerted the minimum force it takes to click the key, it should register that key press 100% of the time.

It's definitely NOT just an imagined problem.
[Epic 4G General] mc-fine:
^ this is the issue. The keys have a left and right give and when you start typing too fast sometimes you can hit the side of a buttton and it will not register the input properly.
[Epic 4G General] Noel2255:
I think I'm on to something, if you uncheck everything in the device keyboard like auto-cap and all of that the keyboard get's everything you type. And If you only uncheck auto cap only and leave the other ones checked it works like it's supposed to. There's something wrong with the auto-cap
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
it is def a real problem and has nothing to do with speed as I can type at a lot less slower rate and still get the issue as that's what I thought on launch day might be the reason . . then I thought to myself wtf if that is the issue with speed cuz I just paid 250 & renewed a contact for what is claiming to be the best phone, with one of the major features being the keyboard y the hell don't it recognize every input. it reminded me of the frustration I faced when going from tp2 keyboard to evo's on screen keyboard which skipped beats when it came to presses. obviously not as bad but similar ... luckily as an alternative there is swype . . I still prefer hardware keyboard and hope for a fix.
[Epic 4G General] dumpringz:
idk about that. I've had that setting off since day 1 and also tinkered with them settings but it still happens
[Epic 4G General] Sesquipedalian:
thehawx modded his keyboard into a gamepad over in this thread:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=812811

Doesn't look like it's missing any key presses. lol
[Epic 4G General] Xodium:
I gave up on the Epic. Today was the last day of my 30-day grace period, so I walked into Best Buy and lucked out big time. One last Evo. Swapped my Epic for it, made $35 in the process (price difference), and so far, haven't been happier.

Sorry, Samsung, but between the blasphemy that is RFS, the GPS never ever working, and the keyboard, I just can't stick with this phone.

Also, the touchscreen began going out as of a few days ago. No way I'm sticking with the Epic for two years. Screw that.