Related
Yea, I could go through each and every post of every thread, bt instead of taking several days to do that, figure I will take the shortcut and get with you guys first.
I will be getting my Thunderbolt by Tuesday, and want to jump right into customizing (a little bit, no unlocking!), and downloading and installing the apps I need!
So my question to everyone, (coming from an Imagio), what apps do you recommend? What widgets? And what about different clocks and other things?
I notice there are some with text clocks and calendars, I would really like that. Is that something easy to install?
And what about modding so that I can throw alot of stuff on the SD card instead of stacking up my phones memory? Any suggestions there?
Same question regarding performance, there are several apps that run in the background, and I hear that they are not able to be shut off (except for what the XDA wiz kids have come up with) in order to save battery life. Is that correct? If so, can I shut them down or remove them?
What about skype, does it come with it installed or not?
Thats all I got for now, I am sure there will be more! So any advice and suggestions would be great.
You guys really helped make my Imagio last this long, looking forward to working with you guys on a brand new phone.
Brightness Level widget, LTE OnOff
Veridor said:
Brightness Level widget, LTE OnOff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with both of these as they will help you with your batt life a bit.
As for the text clock/calendar, that is also a must have for me (Minimalistic Text) all of these are easy to install just look for them in the market.
Beyond that, i don't do much more to my phone beside using Launcher Pro and the widgets that come with it.
Clock/Weather Widgets: Beautiful Widget or Fancy Widget
Calendar: Agenda Widget
Home screen replacement: ADW or LauncherPro (I prefer ADW)
SMS Replacement App: Handcent SMS
Clock replacement: Alarm Clock Plus*
Ringtone finder: Zedge
Wallpaper finder: Flikie
Email replacement app: K-9 Mail
Browser replacement: Miren Browser
File Browser Replacement: OI File Manager
Weather app: Weather Bug or The Weather Channel
Hope these help!
JerryA said:
And what about modding so that I can throw alot of stuff on the SD card instead of stacking up my phones memory? Any suggestions there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install everything in your internal memory. It's MUCH faster than the SD Card. For media (MP3s, videos, etc.) you don't have much of an option unless you unlock it - those go on your SD Card. And even if you unlocked it, I'd still recommend you put them there.
JerryA said:
Same question regarding performance, there are several apps that run in the background, and I hear that they are not able to be shut off (except for what the XDA wiz kids have come up with) in order to save battery life. Is that correct? If so, can I shut them down or remove them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uninstall as much of the pre-installed software as you can that you won't use. That said, you'll be stuck with most of the bloat. However, it's not really a problem - it's pretty smooth and performs pretty well, stock.
Lastly, BEWARE of anybody who tells you to install a tool like Advanced Task Killer. This tool will NOT speed up your phone - it will just slow you down a bit (probably not enough for you to notice) but it will drain your battery even faster than normal. The battery life on this phone is bad enough - you don't need to make it worse!
For best results and maximum customizations, I suggest you root your phone, if not to load a custom-super-themed-decked-out ROM then at least to load a standard debloat-deodex ROM.
nerozehl said:
For best results and maximum customizations, I suggest you root your phone, if not to load a custom-super-themed-decked-out ROM then at least to load a standard debloat-deodex ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must disagree, honestly. Stock Sense, while it is a bit bloated, it is by no means laggy. If somebody isn't comfortable with rooting, and doesn't have a pressing need to root, then I don't think they should root their phone. It adds risk, headaches, and concerns to make something, that is already fast, faster. If somebody should root their phone, it should be for more of a reason than, "well, it seems like a good thing to do".
[edit] Although, you are right. If you want "best results and maximum customizations", then yeah, rooting is required. But it didn't sound like that the OP wants. It sounds like the OP wants to know how to customize it well without rooting. That's my interpretation, and why I disagreed with you suggesting the the OP root and flash roms.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Jaxidian said:
I must disagree, honestly. Stock Sense, while it is a bit bloated, it is by no means laggy. If somebody isn't comfortable with rooting, and doesn't have a pressing need to root, then I don't think they should root their phone. It adds risk, headaches, and concerns to make something, that is already fast, faster. If somebody should root their phone, it should be for more of a reason than, "well, it seems like a good thing to do".
[edit] Although, you are right. If you want "best results and maximum customizations", then yeah, rooting is required. But it didn't sound like that the OP wants. It sounds like the OP wants to know how to customize it well without rooting. That's my interpretation, and why I disagreed with you suggesting the the OP root and flash roms.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea, its not that I don't want to, because I really would love to, but the wife was pissed that I unlocked my Imagio, and blames that on the problems I have had, so a deal was made, I take my kids upgrade, transfer to mine, and get the new Thunderbolt provided I DONT unlock, root, jailbreak, or do anything that allows me to customize it beyond what the original design allows.
Yea, fine, sounds fair. So what I am looking for is just those things that I can download and install that are 'authorized', so to speak, from Verizon and HTC.
Maybe when she upgrades she will want to see what can be done (she is due in a few months) and thats when I will have to 'show' her!
Thanks again guys for all your help, one more day!
Heres the jist of the ones I use on a regular basis:
Utilities
Amazon App Store
Titanium Backup (requires root)
Root explorer (requires root)
Shoot Me (requires root)
QR Droid
Recalls.gov (I got kids lol)
Fancy Widget Pro
iCorps (Marine Corps App)
Social
Facebook
Foursquare
Skype
eBuddy
WordPress
Ventriloid
XDA
SMS
Handcent usually
Trying out chompSMS atm
Entertainment & Themeage
Zedge
Pandora
HBO Go
Soundhound
Finances
USAA
PageOnce Pro
Ing Direct
Progressive Insurance
Shopping
Key Ring
ShopSavvy
Amazon.com
Kayak
Craigsphone
News
NYTimes
Engadget
Health & Fitness
CardioTrainer
Libra (Weight Log)
Games
Robo Defense
Farm Frenzy
Flight Control
Collapse
Angry Birds
Angry Birds Seasons
Angry Birds Rio
Doodle Jump
Fruit Ninja
Words Free
Ok i did use the search tool for a quick check, and couldn't find anything, so...
I got a refurbed Atrix for At&T the other day, and i know there have been complaints about the firmware, but i just want to know if the issues i'm having are the same for everyone or if i got a buggie unit...
Google Voice: I downloaded google voice and went through the setup, as i have done on the other 6 android phones i have owned in the past year, and set up as my voicemail and for calling only international. I seem to be receiving text messages just fine, but i am not getting any of my voicemails. When i log on to google voice with a browser, however, all my voicemails are there. Is this something wrong with my atrix or are others experiencing this as well?
Battery Status: I've used Batt Statt widget on all my android phones to know exactly how much battery i have, at a glance. With my new atrix it only shows battery percentages in tens (100%, 90%, 80%, etc...). Also, when i check Battery level in the Android settings it displays the same. Is this another "feature" of motoblur or is my device acting screwy?
Anyhow, thanks for taking your time to look over this post. Suggestions are welcome. I would like to know if i need to exchange or if these issues are inherent to the Atrix. Thanks!
There are a mods, that allow to you the battery one by one percent, but you need first root and install recovery app
Enviado desde mi MB860 usando XDA Premium App
Inherent issues. And root did not search enough. Lol.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
As far as Google voice goes, after you set it up online, make sure to go to your phone setting and change the Voicemail Service to Google Voice... it will give you an error after trying to switch, but it will still work (under settings -> Call Settings).
System panel shows 1% battery readings correctly, no root needed. Just click on monitor and scroll to bottom.
try either "Battery Circle" or "Circle Battery Widget".
difference is that one is for status bar display, another one is a homescreen widget.
both works for me 1% reading...
Hi
Been reading around but I'm still not sure on a few things.
I just got this phone and I'm trying to make the most of it by removing services that i don't use so i can have a longer battery life.
Whenever i go to Settings > Applications > Running Services
i always notice apps in there that i'm not even using.. and when i try force close they dont stay closed, they keep reopening.
Social Hub (1process and 1 service)
what is this? i don't use Samsungs "Social Hub"
Email
why does this run? why does it run automatically after i close it? i don't use the Email App, i prefer the Gmail app.
Digital Clock
I dont use any clock widgets, the only clock on my SII is the normal clock at the top and the one used in the lock screen?
Any help would be appreciated, if possible i would like to keep the phone unrooted... or am i gonna have to root afterall?
cheers, highly appreciated.
Hey,
Sorry to tell you but as far as I know you need to root if you want to freeze/uninstall unwanted Samsung bloatware.
You can use Titanium Backup Pro for this.
hmm, do these services eat battery much? because i don't really want to root the device. They can sit there in the background aslong as it's not a major difference to battery :\
Rekuja said:
hmm, do these services eat battery much? because i don't really want to root the device. They can sit there in the background aslong as it's not a major difference to battery :\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm afraid so,but you have to decide for yourself if battery life is good enough
for you.
I for example use Cognition ROM without all the Samsung apps and have pretty good battery life 3% usage during night with wifi on.
did u use email? or did you use only gmail?
i mean is email setuped?
Hi
I have never opened the Email ap, and i dont use any Social Hub stuff yet the services keep opening...
i use Gmail only, email app is not setup.
the best thing to prove to yourself that these apps are not doing anything is to install system panel the paid version which has monitoring function that tracks all apps that touch the CPU. enable monitoring and check your list, these apps should not show up at all. this is how you can see what is using resources or not.
Hey cheers for that, really appreciate it.
I have read that new batteries don't really last long but after the first 4-5 charges they last a little longer?
My S II can go a full day with moderate use and still have 10-15% battery left before i go back to sleep, so i guess I'm doing ok?
gone are the days when phones would last a week or two lol.
yes all my new phones seemed to require the battery to be broken in and would take a full week before it finally lasted long. or at least stopped draining so incredibly quick. seems to be about a week is the sweet spot before it improves.
I notice the bar at the top that shows battery life and signal strength always disappears. Any way to have that stay on permanently?
I don't think so, but if you want to see the notification bar that contains the battery life and singla strength whenever, just swipe down from the top.
jsnkc28 said:
I notice the bar at the top that shows battery life and signal strength always disappears. Any way to have that stay on permanently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is from something that I wrote on WP Central a few days ago:
The philosophy of Windows Phone is pretty much "stop worrying and let the system take care of things." That's why status bar icons disappear from view except when they have something exceptional to tell you (no signal, low battery, etc). That's why there's no task manager (because tasks don't need to be managed). That's why there's no quick-access WiFi on/off switch (just leave it on and let the system manage things).
It takes a while to get used to this way of not actively having to do things to make the phone work. That "while" is probably longer for the former Android users because they are typically used to doing a lot more and thus have to let go of a lot more administrative duties than iPhone do. (As a former Windows Mobile user, it was hard on me, too. But I have accepted not pulling my battery frequently and not flashing new ROMs every few weeks to get new features.)
The main thing I wanted was the clock. Its such a pain in the butt when I am surfing the web or doing something in an app and I want to know the time I have to exit the browser or app to see the time and then re-start the browser or app again. Hopefully in the future they can at least have the option of the clock being there all the time or someone comes up with a workaround.
Partial work-around
jsnkc28 said:
The main thing I wanted was the clock. Its such a pain in the butt when I am surfing the web or doing something in an app and I want to know the time I have to exit the browser or app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Developers get the choice of whether to show the status bar or not. Panorama-style apps (like the Games and Pictures/Photos hubs) typically turn it off while Pivot-style apps (like Email or Settings) leave it on. Panoramas are typically graphically-rich and developers kept the bar hidden to not interfere with their layouts. Again, it is the developer's choice. I just noticed that the Office hub for WP8 does show the bar, so maybe the time will turn.
IE likely hides it so that more of the screen can be used for the web page being viewed. (Having the page scroll behind the text and icons on the status bar would be weird.) That said, there's an easy way in IE to temporarily show the status bar. Tap the "..." at the bottom to bring up the menu. Better yet, start to drag it upward a bit and then down -- this will show the status bar, but not pop up the whole bottom menu.
Thanks for the IE tip...works very well!
I travel a lot and would be nice if we can see status bar when not to make a phone call or checking time
Personally, I like not having it on the screen all the time. I prefer more viewing space than seeing other stuff clutter up the edges. Just my personal preference.
jsnkc28 said:
The main thing I wanted was the clock. Its such a pain in the butt when I am surfing the web or doing something in an app and I want to know the time I have to exit the browser or app to see the time and then re-start the browser or app again. Hopefully in the future they can at least have the option of the clock being there all the time or someone comes up with a workaround.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure what your lock settings are - but if you have pin/password that is enabled a few minutes after the screen is turned off (can be adjusted from Settings menu) then you can just turn off the screen and turn it back on. You'll see the start screen with time information and a swipe will bring you back to your app you were browsing.
Not an ideal situation but a workaround. I personally never had to do this FWIW.
My battery status and time are permanently displayed due to a bug and it's killing me.
Came after the 1308 update and won't go.
I am also on 1308 and this didn't happen. R u sure it is OS instead of some app related?
manicotti said:
This is from something that I wrote on WP Central a few days ago:
The philosophy of Windows Phone is pretty much "stop worrying and let the system take care of things." That's why status bar icons disappear from view except when they have something exceptional to tell you (no signal, low battery, etc). That's why there's no task manager (because tasks don't need to be managed). That's why there's no quick-access WiFi on/off switch (just leave it on and let the system manage things).
It takes a while to get used to this way of not actively having to do things to make the phone work. That "while" is probably longer for the former Android users because they are typically used to doing a lot more and thus have to let go of a lot more administrative duties than iPhone do. (As a former Windows Mobile user, it was hard on me, too. But I have accepted not pulling my battery frequently and not flashing new ROMs every few weeks to get new features.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree. WP8 does a great job of handling all the little tasks that seem to take up so much time on other phone OS.
I never worry about battery life and all that stupid stuff. I can get nearly 2 days on a single charge with Wi-Fi etc. constantly on.
Any battery drain issues are usually down to 'rogue' or badly written apps hogging all the resources. Never had a problem with my Lumia 920. Superb phone!!!
manicotti said:
This is from something that I wrote on WP Central a few days ago:
The philosophy of Windows Phone is pretty much "stop worrying and let the system take care of things." That's why status bar icons disappear from view except when they have something exceptional to tell you (no signal, low battery, etc). That's why there's no task manager (because tasks don't need to be managed). That's why there's no quick-access WiFi on/off switch (just leave it on and let the system manage things).
It takes a while to get used to this way of not actively having to do things to make the phone work. That "while" is probably longer for the former Android users because they are typically used to doing a lot more and thus have to let go of a lot more administrative duties than iPhone do. (As a former Windows Mobile user, it was hard on me, too. But I have accepted not pulling my battery frequently and not flashing new ROMs every few weeks to get new features.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are awesome
manicotti said:
This is from something that I wrote on WP Central a few days ago:
The philosophy of Windows Phone is pretty much "stop worrying and let the system take care of things." That's why status bar icons disappear from view except when they have something exceptional to tell you (no signal, low battery, etc). That's why there's no task manager (because tasks don't need to be managed). That's why there's no quick-access WiFi on/off switch (just leave it on and let the system manage things).
It takes a while to get used to this way of not actively having to do things to make the phone work. That "while" is probably longer for the former Android users because they are typically used to doing a lot more and thus have to let go of a lot more administrative duties than iPhone do. (As a former Windows Mobile user, it was hard on me, too. But I have accepted not pulling my battery frequently and not flashing new ROMs every few weeks to get new features.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously, this was written over a year ago, but I just happened to stumble upon this thread as I was looking for a way to pin the status bar icons.
In general, I agree with the statement about the Windows Phone philosophy. As someone who's long admired but only recently started using a WP8 device (Lumia 925), here's one area where the reality deviates from the philosophy in a very frustrating way: neither iOS nor Android require a user to determine which background tasks stay running and which ones needs to be shut down.
I get aggravated every time I see the "too many background tasks running" message, reminding me that I can only have so many running. Then I have to go to the Background Tasks menu item from setting and figure out which ones I want blocked, and then decide if I always want them blocked or if they should be revived the next time the app is started. I've seen this happen on the Lumia 925 (running GDR3), as well as on the much newer Lumia 1520 (GDR3, Lumia Black) that I owned for a couple weeks.
As a user, I don't want to have to remember / decide that kind of crud. I expect the OS to handle that stuff for me, so I'm surprised that in the year 2013, on an OS that is not in its first iteration, we have an issue like this. Currently, iOS and Android both handle this seamlessly, by suspending or freezing the application, or closing it as necessary. And yet, when the user goes back to the list of "open" apps, they can quickly switch back to the desired app. Frozen ones pick up where left off, and closed ones relaunch.
Let me be clear - I'm not being critical of manicotti here, just stating that we've yet got a long way to go.
While we're on this matter, I have searched but not found a satisfactory solution, and am tired of always remembering to exit apps by "back"ing my way out of them. Is there a better alternative or a solution thread that someone can point me to?
Thanks,
AJ
It's funny that you quoted that piece today. My original words there were a copy of something that I had written on WPCentral back in 2012. I just wrote something else on WPCentral that addresses one of the points that you raised. The full thing is at http://forums.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-8/255956-3.htm#post2276267, but the key part is that:
One of my big complaints with it is the term "background tasks" itself (in the Settings app) to refer to tasks that are scheduled to run every once in a while. The general public already has a different understanding of that term (i.e., tasks that are in memory and doing things while not currently displaying on screen). Given that the term already has a meaning, Microsoft should not have tried to redefine it. They recognized this from the developer's perspective and called the things "periodic tasks," which is what they are (started periodically and then shut down -- all independent of the main app that contains such "applets").I went on to complain about how this misuse of terms confuses users, that developers don't generally go out of their way to compensate for Microsoft's screw-up, and then propose a better UI for the Background Tasks page that conveys to users what they need to know about which tasks are running occasionally, which are not, and why.
ucfbeta92 said:
Obviously, this was written over a year ago, but I just happened to stumble upon this thread as I was looking for a way to pin the status bar icons.
In general, I agree with the statement about the Windows Phone philosophy. As someone who's long admired but only recently started using a WP8 device (Lumia 925), here's one area where the reality deviates from the philosophy in a very frustrating way: neither iOS nor Android require a user to determine which background tasks stay running and which ones needs to be shut down.
I get aggravated every time I see the "too many background tasks running" message, reminding me that I can only have so many running. Then I have to go to the Background Tasks menu item from setting and figure out which ones I want blocked, and then decide if I always want them blocked or if they should be revived the next time the app is started. I've seen this happen on the Lumia 925 (running GDR3), as well as on the much newer Lumia 1520 (GDR3, Lumia Black) that I owned for a couple weeks.
As a user, I don't want to have to remember / decide that kind of crud. I expect the OS to handle that stuff for me, so I'm surprised that in the year 2013, on an OS that is not in its first iteration, we have an issue like this. Currently, iOS and Android both handle this seamlessly, by suspending or freezing the application, or closing it as necessary. And yet, when the user goes back to the list of "open" apps, they can quickly switch back to the desired app. Frozen ones pick up where left off, and closed ones relaunch.
Let me be clear - I'm not being critical of manicotti here, just stating that we've yet got a long way to go.
While we're on this matter, I have searched but not found a satisfactory solution, and am tired of always remembering to exit apps by "back"ing my way out of them. Is there a better alternative or a solution thread that someone can point me to?
Thanks,
AJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AJ,
I generally hold down the "back" button until the window shrinks down and I can click the X in the upper right corner to close the apps.
Seems to work for most apps for me.
I was waiting to buy the upcoming iPhone (Blasphemy!) but I just love how unique Find X is. It is going to be up for pre-order next week and I need some advice from you users.
- How durable is that 'mechanism'?
- Are you guys able to replace the stock launcher with something like Nova or Ruthless launcher with google now feed?
- Does the surface of the retracting mechanism get covered with dust over time?
- Have any other serious complaints about the phone in general?
Thanks in advance. Will really appreciate your input. Cheers!
prophet558 said:
I was waiting to buy the upcoming iPhone (Blasphemy!) but I just love how unique Find X is. It is going to be up for pre-order next week and I need some advice from you users.
- How durable is that 'mechanism'?
- Are you guys able to replace the stock launcher with something like Nova or Ruthless launcher with google now feed?
- Does the surface of the retracting mechanism get covered with dust over time?
- Have any other serious complaints about the phone in general?
Thanks in advance. Will really appreciate your input. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- How durable is that 'mechanism'?
Seems pretty solid but we won't know for a while!
- Are you guys able to replace the stock launcher with something like Nova or Ruthless launcher with google now feed?
Try looking in the forum, about three posts down in the "Killing apps" thread
- Does the surface of the retracting mechanism get covered with dust over time?
Not so far but, it looks pretty easy to clean the dust away
- Have any other serious complaints about the phone in general?
Power management is a B*&CH. See the same thread about "Killing Apps"
https://forum.xda-developers.com/find-X/help/killing-apps-screen-off-arghh-t3818105
Monty Burns said:
- How durable is that 'mechanism'?
Seems pretty solid but we won't know for a while!
- Are you guys able to replace the stock launcher with something like Nova or Ruthless launcher with google now feed?
Try looking in the forum, about three posts down in the "Killing apps" thread
- Does the surface of the retracting mechanism get covered with dust over time?
Not so far but, it looks pretty easy to clean the dust away
- Have any other serious complaints about the phone in general?
Power management is a B*&CH. See the same thread about "Killing Apps"
https://forum.xda-developers.com/find-X/help/killing-apps-screen-off-arghh-t3818105
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the response. I have used ColorOS recently (Oppo Realme 1) and the Background app management was too aggressive.
prophet558 said:
Thanks a lot for the response. I have used ColorOS recently (Oppo Realme 1) and the Background app management was too aggressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's on some sort of power trip (literally, in both senses of the phrase). That said, if you read through the thread i created, following a firmware upgrade yesterday and after a "settling period" things have been almost faultless today. My phone has been faultless and even thrown in a couple of reboots to challenge it and still been OK. My last problem of Gmail being forced to drop to 15 minute syncs instead of Push also seems to have resolved itself.
Now, i'm not sure if this is some sort of OS learning which apps I use, the firmware or just plain luck (or a combo) but, i'm now very happy with the device.
If you want your own launcher, it is entirely possible, as is removing the bloat (i'm running Nova) and there is no need to register with Oppo either. The link to achieve that is also in the thread I linked to.
I have no idea about battery life as when I'm at work it sits in a dock and then when i'm at home, it's also mostly in a dock so, battery life isn't really a concern but, i guess I'll find out this weekend!
prophet558 said:
I was waiting to buy the upcoming iPhone (Blasphemy!) but I just love how unique Find X is. It is going to be up for pre-order next week and I need some advice from you users.
- How durable is that 'mechanism'?
- Are you guys able to replace the stock launcher with something like Nova or Ruthless launcher with google now feed?
- Does the surface of the retracting mechanism get covered with dust over time?
- Have any other serious complaints about the phone in general?
Thanks in advance. Will really appreciate your input. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1: The mechanism feels very durable, and 95% of the time the camera pops up fast. I have encountered 5% of time when the camera would pop up but the camera app takes an additional second or two to load.
2: nope. Unable to use nova launcher unless you into adb and do all types of advanced phone geek thing or something.
3: there's noticeable dust on my camera module but doesn't seem to be a big deal.
The big issue with this phone you should take note is, like many Chinese roms, push notifications are delayed or broken if the app has been closed or in background too long. There is a work around for this -- you have to go to settings and turn battery optimization off AND lock the app in the app overview window. This is of course, not ideal and annoying as hell. Currently I only have crucial "must get notifications on time" apps locked, such as whatsapp, wechat and Gmail. So for the most part I can use the phone fine. But I do miss all other notifications such as airbnb messages, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, until I open those apps again. I could lock all of them down too, but I don't want to have like seven apps running in background at all times.
This is a problem with many Chinese version of Chinese phones. I don't know why they think battery optimization so aggressive it kills notifications is a good thing.
prophet558 said:
I was waiting to buy the upcoming iPhone (Blasphemy!) but I just love how unique Find X is. It is going to be up for pre-order next week and I need some advice from you users.
- How durable is that 'mechanism'?
- Are you guys able to replace the stock launcher with something like Nova or Ruthless launcher with google now feed?
- Does the surface of the retracting mechanism get covered with dust over time?
- Have any other serious complaints about the phone in general?
Thanks in advance. Will really appreciate your input. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Stock Android provides for incoming notifications to be seamless (automatic by default, individual 3rd party app settings may be different by default, but, can be easily toggled on). Oppo has severe restrictions on this, limiting to 5 user installed apps to start automatically on boot & 5 apps total to be locked in recent memory.
So, a high horsepower phone is basically muzzled, if you can deal with the angst of wondering if you're going to get timely notifications...... Perhaps if you use the stock email & messaging apps, these will likely work, but, I would steer clear of those....
2) No NFC, so, no tap to pay apps will work.
3) No VoLTE, no VoWI-FI
4) No status bar notification icons, no LED notification indicator.
5) If you use T-Mobile Digits & it isn't a top 5 protected app/one of your precious 5 to auto start on boot, it will log you out of the app on reboot & it will not work until you set it up again, resulting in missed messages & phone calls.
6) 3rd party clock apps: Again, if it's not a protected top 5 app, it will not keep proper time, resulting in missed alarms..... The stock clock works, but, it is a bare bones app at best, no snooze adjustment, locked into 5 minutes, SERIOUSLY?
7) Ad Blockers will work, but, intermittently, again, the top 5 protected app thing & even then, Oppo will kill it off at some point, resulting in having to restart the blocking.
8) If you choose to use a 3rd party launcher, you again lose some functionality. I use Chrome & frequently place shortcuts on my desktop from it.
NOT ON THIS PHONE, another swing & a miss....
9) Bluetooth devices:
Generally they work fine,but,if the device has a companion app,prepare for it (the app) to not work properly.
Example(s):
I have a pair of Jabra Elite Active 65t earbuds,pair-up & work fine,but,the companion app will not work,as it requires a plug-in app to fuel it. These various "plug-in" apps are typical & the companion apps work fine elsewhere,but,not on this phone.
Reason being,the "plug-in" app does not have a user interface,so,you cannot make the app a top 5 protected app to gain functionality,it simply won't work at all.
Ditto for smartwatches such as the Samsung line-up, for the same reason,no notifications,worked one day for me & broken the next,before & after the most recent Oppo update. That results in the Samsung smartwatch getting a lobotomy,only able to keep time & nothing more.
10) Package tracking apps:
Again,the top 5 protected thing,no timely updates & even then,mine simply did not refresh automatically,had to be done manually.
I could go on, but, in a nutshell, you're forced to make sacrifices as soon as you start using the phone. If this was a entry level/low storage/low RAM device, that's one thing.
But, it's not, basically a Lamborghini running on two cylinders, that's not what I paid for & why I sold mine 5 days after the most frustrating phone experience I've ever seen....
Sent from my HUAWEI BKL-L04 using XDA Labs
Monty Burns said:
Yeah, it's on some sort of power trip (literally, in both senses of the phrase). That said, if you read through the thread i created, following a firmware upgrade yesterday and after a "settling period" things have been almost faultless today. My phone has been faultless and even thrown in a couple of reboots to challenge it and still been OK. My last problem of Gmail being forced to drop to 15 minute syncs instead of Push also seems to have resolved itself.
Now, i'm not sure if this is some sort of OS learning which apps I use, the firmware or just plain luck (or a combo) but, i'm now very happy with the device.
If you want your own launcher, it is entirely possible, as is removing the bloat (i'm running Nova) and there is no need to register with Oppo either. The link to achieve that is also in the thread I linked to.
I have no idea about battery life as when I'm at work it sits in a dock and then when i'm at home, it's also mostly in a dock so, battery life isn't really a concern but, i guess I'll find out this weekend!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's very reassuring for me. Are you able to view the screen on time in this device? (Dunno why colorOS hides that).
radioraheem2 said:
1: The mechanism feels very durable, and 95% of the time the camera pops up fast. I have encountered 5% of time when the camera would pop up but the camera app takes an additional second or two to load.
2: nope. Unable to use nova launcher unless you into adb and do all types of advanced phone geek thing or something.
3: there's noticeable dust on my camera module but doesn't seem to be a big deal.
The big issue with this phone you should take note is, like many Chinese roms, push notifications are delayed or broken if the app has been closed or in background too long. There is a work around for this -- you have to go to settings and turn battery optimization off AND lock the app in the app overview window. This is of course, not ideal and annoying as hell. Currently I only have crucial "must get notifications on time" apps locked, such as whatsapp, wechat and Gmail. So for the most part I can use the phone fine. But I do miss all other notifications such as airbnb messages, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, until I open those apps again. I could lock all of them down too, but I don't want to have like seven apps running in background at all times.
This is a problem with many Chinese version of Chinese phones. I don't know why they think battery optimization so aggressive it kills notifications is a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. Hope backgeound app management better with the Global ROM.
The international version goes on sale in India and the Philippines today. We should soon get an idea of what the phone is capable of when it isn't hobbled by the oppressive Chinese firmware.
KOLIOSIS said:
1) Stock Android provides for incoming notifications to be seamless (automatic by default, individual 3rd party app settings may be different by default, but, can be easily toggled on). Oppo has severe restrictions on this, limiting to 5 user installed apps to start automatically on boot & 5 apps total to be locked in recent memory.
So, a high horsepower phone is basically muzzled, if you can deal with the angst of wondering if you're going to get timely notifications...... Perhaps if you use the stock email & messaging apps, these will likely work, but, I would steer clear of those....
2) No NFC, so, no tap to pay apps will work.
3) No VoLTE, no VoWI-FI
4) No status bar notification icons, no LED notification indicator.
5) If you use T-Mobile Digits & it isn't a top 5 protected app/one of your precious 5 to auto start on boot, it will log you out of the app on reboot & it will not work until you set it up again, resulting in missed messages & phone calls.
6) 3rd party clock apps: Again, if it's not a protected top 5 app, it will not keep proper time, resulting in missed alarms..... The stock clock works, but, it is a bare bones app at best, no snooze adjustment, locked into 5 minutes, SERIOUSLY?
7) Ad Blockers will work, but, intermittently, again, the top 5 protected app thing & even then, Oppo will kill it off at some point, resulting in having to restart the blocking.
8) If you choose to use a 3rd party launcher, you again lose some functionality. I use Chrome & frequently place shortcuts on my desktop from it.
NOT ON THIS PHONE, another swing & a miss....
9) Bluetooth devices:
Generally they work fine,but,if the device has a companion app,prepare for it (the app) to not work properly.
Example(s):
I have a pair of Jabra Elite Active 65t earbuds,pair-up & work fine,but,the companion app will not work,as it requires a plug-in app to fuel it. These various "plug-in" apps are typical & the companion apps work fine elsewhere,but,not on this phone.
Reason being,the "plug-in" app does not have a user interface,so,you cannot make the app a top 5 protected app to gain functionality,it simply won't work at all.
Ditto for smartwatches such as the Samsung line-up, for the same reason,no notifications,worked one day for me & broken the next,before & after the most recent Oppo update. That results in the Samsung smartwatch getting a lobotomy,only able to keep time & nothing more.
10) Package tracking apps:
Again,the top 5 protected thing,no timely updates & even then,mine simply did not refresh automatically,had to be done manually.
I could go on, but, in a nutshell, you're forced to make sacrifices as soon as you start using the phone. If this was a entry level/low storage/low RAM device, that's one thing.
But, it's not, basically a Lamborghini running on two cylinders, that's not what I paid for & why I sold mine 5 days after the most frustrating phone experience I've ever seen....
Sent from my HUAWEI BKL-L04 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really appreciate the response. That seems a lot of sacrifices which I can make except for the Smartwatch thing. Do you think the Wear OS watches will crippled the same was as the Gear ones? (Despite Wear OS being a single app with no companion apps unlike the Gear)
prophet558 said:
Really appreciate the response. That seems a lot of sacrifices which I can make except for the Smartwatch thing. Do you think the Wear OS watches will crippled the same was as the Gear ones? (Despite Wear OS being a single app with no companion apps unlike the Gear)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't make it a "Top 5 Protected" app, count on it not syncing properly/automatically.
krabman said:
The international version goes on sale in India and the Philippines today. We should soon get an idea of what the phone is capable of when it isn't hobbled by the oppressive Chinese firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have given a tentative delivery date - 5th of August on Flipkart (India).
Screw it I just pre-ordered it (Bordeaux Red). Shipping starts from 4th of August. Hope the phone gets relatively better with the Global Indian ROM. Thank you all for your inputs.
Does it has hi dac like vivo nex ?
rowihel2012 said:
Does it has hi dac like vivo nex ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it doesn't.
KOLIOSIS said:
If you don't make it a "Top 5 Protected" app, count on it not syncing properly/automatically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a Wear OS user (Polar M600) i can absolutely CONFIRM what Koliosis is saying and this is not just limited to Samsung Watches.
That said, my watch has been fine now for 2 days and, even after a reboot, the same apps are still auto-run and remain locked. I actually like this solution now BUT, why the FRACK have they restricted it to only 5 apps!?
Anyway, as an example, my locked and running fine apps are:
Wear OS
The Crypto App (so it's widget runs OK - take note, to run a widget, the PARENT app needs to be locked sometimes)
WhatsApp
Gmail
Google Calendar (again, for it's widget)
Now, for me, this is perfectly OK and I have no need to even want to lock other apps (like Facebook) as i'm not interested however, you need to assess YOUR needs which may be more apps.
edit: Oh, oddly, i've got the Sony Experia clock widget installed and that runs perfectly even without being locked and I've no idea why!
Also, I've got the red and it looks stunning. Easily the best looking phone i've ever owned. You'll be happy with the physical design.
prophet558 said:
They have given a tentative delivery date - 5th of August on Flipkart (India).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, will share my inputs once I receive the device :fingers-crossed:
Funk Wizard said:
Same here, will share my inputs once I receive the device :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking forward to it....
I'd be open to getting the phone again,provided the version you'll be getting won't be locked-down,as far as Auto-Start/RAM/recents/app permissions go.
If you've perused the threads here,you're aware of the limitations the users have with the Chinese version,I sure hope your experience is leaps & bounds better.............. :good:
KOLIOSIS said:
Looking forward to it....
I'd be open to getting the phone again,provided the version you'll be getting won't be locked-down,as far as Auto-Start/RAM/recents/app permissions go.
If you've perused the threads here,you're aware of the limitations the users here have with the Chinese version,I sure hope your experience is leaps & bounds better.............. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If these restrictions do not exist on a non-Chinese version, I'll be flashing as soon as it is possible and a method is detailed!
KOLIOSIS said:
Looking forward to it....
I'd be open to getting the phone again,provided the version you'll be getting won't be locked-down,as far as Auto-Start/RAM/recents/app permissions go.
If you've perused the threads here,you're aware of the limitations the users have with the Chinese version,I sure hope your experience is leaps & bounds better.............. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am positive for a better experience on the Indian version which is already better in terms of bloat and hopefully we can do a workaround for the other issues. I will keep you posted. Currently it's a long wait as the tentative delivery is 5th August so I'll share my inputs after playing with the machine for a couple of days
Many thanks for your inputs so far and the adb workaround for bloat.
Sent from my OnePlus6 using XDA Labs