Connection issues?

I love my Captivate, however I've always wondered about why it has trouble connecting? It works great on wifi but it won't work well on any other connection(usually). It will connect sometimes, but other times it won't connect at all.

Examples:
Example 1:It connected on the bus ride to the field trip yesterday, no issues other than when there was simply zero bars in the area.

Example 2:It wouldn't connect when I was on the college campus I visited during the field trip. They had 3G and full bars throughout the entire city. It still said "Sorry, unable to connect to page" when I opened the browser, and wouldn't load facebook application.

Example 3:It won't let me connect in the doctors office I go to weekly for allergy shots, but It would connect fine in the dentists office I visit for my braces. They are located within walking distance of each other.


It simply makes no sense. I have bars in all of the places I used in examples. My town has no 3G, but it has 3-5 bars on EDGE connection. My old Eternity connected EVERYWHERE with bars, just fine. Do smart phones require 3G to connect? o_o
 

All of my settings under Wireless and Network will be listed below:




Flight Mode: OFF
Wi-Fi settings
-WiFi: ON
-Network notification: ON
Bluetooth Settings
-Bluetooth: OFF
VPN Settings
N/A
Mobile Networks
-Data Roaming: OFF
Access Point Names: ATT WAP


All of my Location and Security setting will be listed below:




Use Wireless Networks: ON
Use GPS satellites: ON
Set Unlock Pattern: OFF
Factory data reset password: NOT SET
SIM card lock: NOT SET
Visible Passwords: ON

Now that you've talked about it, you may be right. Every time I have those "Connection Issues" I would search to see if the spot has free WiFi, and then when they don't, I just spam the home button and click to the browser. I'm not entirely sure if this is the real cause, but it very well could be!

If it is, <3 forever

If it isn't, <3thnx for trying