Some of you may have seen my post on upgrading from M9 to G4.
In that post I had said it appears that it was more of a Sprint issue than a phone issue. But I was keeping the G4 for other reasons.
Any way I had the M9 on swappa and prices seem to be tanking. I was offered $275 ugh.
Then I spoke to my wife and convinced her that she might be better off with the M9 than the M8 and she should at least try it.
Screaming bloody murder she agreed. The very first call went straight to voice mail as she drove away with her friend and I could still see her in the drive-way.
I would sell her reliable S-Off HK M8 if she was ok with M9.
When she got back I forgot that I left it in Auto (i.e. Global mode which includes GSM). I've seen phones misbehave when set that way.
I set it for LTE/CDMA. I suspect if I put the phone in CDMA mode it would be ok. But neither M8 or G4 needs that.
I have seen G4 do this once in a VERY weak single which is why I thought M9 was ok. But the M9 does this a LOT.
Ran the latest RUU on it that just came out which does have new firmware. And I only rerooted it via TWRP (nothing else), pure stock otherwise.
By the way Wifi Tether Router now works and only requires root, nice.
Anyways she drives off to go shopping. Still on the street I call her, didn't even ring once and went straight to voice mail (like the phone was off). Called 30 min later, rang forever and didn't even go to voice mail. Later I finally did reach her. Probably because she was out of LTE and in CDMA.
So now I feel guilty even selling it for any price. I really don't want to deal with Sprint on a phone I don't even want anymore.
I thought about making a "claim" on TEP and just couldn't do it.
So I figured why not try Ut-Oh. It does cover "damaged" phones. I told them exactly what was wrong and they refused to do ut-oh.
I told them I'll go drop in the toilet and be right back.
So I call them back with the toilet episode and they accepted it, so sad I had to do that, I tried the right way.
So I have not dropped it in the toilet. I really rather not. I hate seeing waste. I asked if the phone suddenly "recovered" in shipping when they got it back, what happens?
It can happen on dunked phones when they dry out.
They said I would still keep the replacement.
They said it will be a remanufactured phone.
Should I dunk it? It is S-Off, which is partly why I didn't want to go to sprint. I think you can hide it with hacked hboot, but I was not sure how fully hidden it was.
So should I dunk it and save headaches and feel guilty or just send it and they won't care. They will also see it's S-off too and they might take notice.
I prepaid to get new phone quick and just have to send old one back to not get charged.
Not sure if I should even try the new M9 with my wife again or leave it sealed and sell it.
I wouldn't worry about s-off, you'll have you're replacement phone via ut oh
also, sounds like your issues are sprint related not that specific m9
OMJ said:
I wouldn't worry about s-off, you'll have you're replacement phone via ut oh
also, sounds like your issues are sprint related not that specific m9
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Click to collapse
It's either this M9 or all M9's. I tried it like 4 times each between G4 and M9. M9 would go to voice mail or no answer at all. G4 worked every time.
My guess is it's constantly bouncing between CDMA and LTE when it's asleep and if a call comes in while switching it loses it.
If I wake the phone first it will answer on LTE or CDMA.
I think it lowers power on radios when asleep and that causes it to bounce. It does not need full power on radio if no voice or data is going, just enough to hold the tower.
Got the new phone. HTC's web site still shows it as NOT even shipped !!
Did not come in retail box or any accessories. Cosmetically it looks new.
Still deciding what to do next. Since it's not sealed, I thought I should at least try it even if I do plan to sell.
If Network wise it worked as well as G4 or M8 I'd be happy for my wife to keep it.
I am really curious, so I know going forward with HTC or any brand for that matter.
Her current M9 has been fine since locking it into CDMA Only mode. Rock solid.
I see this problem of Calls go to Voice Mail on LTE ALL over the place all brands (LG, Samsung, HTC, Apple).
Saw one post by someone that had 3 LG G3's, 2 worked fine the other had this problem, and Sprint told him it needs to be in CDMA only mode.
He even showed him one phone working and the other not in the store when on LTE/CDMA.
Is it just variability in how well antennas are tuned or calibrated? Are some phones programmed wrong? Could it be programmed wrong and be this subtle?
90% of the time it will run the same at the G4 on LTE. 10% of the time it will run night and day different.
By the way my first M8 had an issue that DATA would only work on LTE not on 3G. Wiped and re-provisioned a bunch of times.
Ended up getting it replaced with S5. Later when I decided to go back to M8 I found out it was a programming issue after all and was an easy fix that had to be manually done on the phone in EPST.
So I do worry it's something like that again. But this is much more subtle.
Do towers divvy things up by say MAC addresses and some phones end up on one piece of equipment and other phones another?
The whole LTE switch to CDMA for calls is a total hack job in the first place. I think Verizon does it too.
This is why older phones had TWO Radios, one to stay on 3G and allowed simultaneous Voice and Data.
The hack works most of the time. But I have seen it fail on G4 too. Where as if I had it in CDMA only it would never fail.
This is crazy.
New M9 will not fully activate. Only get DATA (LTE and CDMA). Make a call and it will say Network Busy or immediately say Call Disconnected.
Tried with Sprint Tech for hours.
So we gave up and went back to her old M8 (that I deactivated Sunday).
First they say the SIM Card is tagged as lost or stolen. So the cleared that.
Then they reactivated M8. Same thing no Voice. Can't call or Text in or Out.
Worked with 3 techs. After 3 hours the tech spoke to another Tech saying he was seeing something similar on few customers he did swaps on.
Doesn't get nuttier than this.
Tried sending text out on new M9 and it expectedly failed.
Then tried sending text from G4 to new M9. No error but nothing happened. Called it a night and told wife that she will have no phone today.
Left phone in CDMA mode. 4 hours later in the middle of the night I hear Ding. Text received! On M9.
Called M9 and it rang.
Switch to LTE and it worked too.
Did my acid test in wife's pocket book and let it sleep and it answered in 1 ring. I had just confirmed failed doing that with old M9.
Need to test a little more but it is looking like 1st M9 was indeed bad. I unlocked bootloader, ran latest RUU, and restored DATA partition with TWRP.
I'm sure some of you are bored with this, but I post this for others in case it happens to them or is happening to them on any phone. Don't put up with it.
Because I lived with this broken M9 for 6 months. It was usable but not reliable in certain situations.
It is nice that HTC has the Ut-Oh program and I have long email exchange going with some rep at HTC explaining some of my history the past couple years.
If you want to use it, just say you dropped it or dunked it. It was fairly easy. Oh by the way I got the email today that it shipped.
I did a whole bunch more testing, mostly making sure it was in a deep sleep on LTE (our signal at the house (and work) varies between 1-3 bars on LTE and similar on CDMA).
It has not failed yet. Old one was almost 100% repeatable, once I figured it out.
Looks like I'll be keeping 1 foot in the door with HTC.
Also in EPST under ##DEBUG# it shows the phone as not Refurbish, 0 Hr's etc.
Ramble: In the electronics industry things are "Binned" chips that can't go as fast are just labeled as slower processors.
And there are tiers and thresholds to determine the bins things get put in.
Sometimes you might be very close to the threshold and sometimes way over (that's how some folks can way overclock chips while others can't).
It's not binary. With "Analog" antennas things can be even less binary.
Was this just a weak but passing spec M9? And the new M9 a strong one? (because we often put the phone in it's limits of weak signal).
Or was this phone simply broken?
I really wonder. I did compare LTE signal strengths and they looked similar and they were both bouncing around a lot.
But I don't recall if I compared CDMA (I think I did and would remember if they were significantly different).
I really wanted to see what would happen trying yet again another M9 and it appears it's good enough to be a reliable phone for my wife.
Usually my wife is behind one generation and every year the radio technology seems to change lately. So I could not compare them.
Now I'll get to see long term how same generation phones act in a wide variety of situations.
I see a couple members frequently saying HTC radios are sub-par. I don't believe that (even after having issues with two HTC phones 1st M8 and 1st M9).
Many of them are the exact same Qualcomm chipset each year. Only difference is antenna implementation, which I'm sure Qualcomm fairly rigidly specs.
Oh FYI, I sent the old M9 back with fresh RUU and S-Off and I didn't dunk it . I hope I don't regret that and they gripe about it.
I'll just play dumb and say it didn't work after getting wet, and it must have dried out.
This would have been a nightmare to go to a Sprint store with (with S-Off complicating things even further) because if the phone was awake it would work equal to G4.
And waiting for it to sleep long enough with appropriate signals is not easy to repeat at will. Which is why it took me 6 months to finally do something.
Kept hoping for new firmware to fix it because it was so subtle.
Oh, my wife is complaining about the Notification Light not being visible. I agree. If you set the phone down in front of you say a 18" away flat you can't see it at all.
You have to be above it.
I forget how M8 was. M8 was black, M9 is gold so M8 might have showed better contrast to see it. Other than that she seems fine with it so far.
Or there might be a little variation in how deep light is behind grill.
I don't plan on running sunshine this time. She barely needs root. She only really wants Tether for the rare occasion we are on the road and she is on call for work.
And tether works with Wifi Tether Router now, possibly less traceable too.
It's staying completely stock except for TWRP doing root. Less issues with warranty is that happens.
I won't upgrade unless I see a new RUU and will use the RUU to do so. Takes about 30 minutes to backup, lock, RUU, unlock and restore (well, maybe an hour )
I hate to say it but your experiences with the M9 are far from common. I had the M7. I had the M8. I had the M9. The M9 was the only real disappointment. I haven't done any hard testing in regards to the signal loss, but I think that's true. I definitely dropped LTE more frequently when going to the M9 compared to the M8.
I sell phones for a living and I really WANTED to have a good reason to push the M9, but my first experience with the phone was them taking HOURS to activate before I realized you had to set them to CDMA mode... absolutely ridiculous when the S6 beside them was up and running in 2 minutes... but I digress. I had the M9 since launch with Viper and for the most part felt almost like my M8. Except I ended up really missing my M8. The M9 just felt like a step backwards with nothing really new and exciting to offer.
All said and done, more than half of the M9s I did sell ended up getting returned. One guy gave it a fair shot on vacation, but he just could barely get the camera to take a good pic and ended up with an S6. I couldn't blame him. Is the M9 camera decent? Yes. Is it on par with it's competitors? Absolutely not. In fact some of the mid-tier phones took better pictures.
I have a Note 5 now. It's a huge jump in all honesty. Signal is phenomenal, battery life is great, camera is fantastic, fingerprint scanner is fast and useful, screen is bright and crisp, etc etc etc. I do miss the speakers, rooting, and Sense. Otherwise though, I'm not sure if I can bring myself back to HTC at this point. I don't know if anything can save them now...
Crawshayi said:
I hate to say it but your experiences with the M9 are far from common. I had the M7. I had the M8. I had the M9. The M9 was the only real disappointment. I haven't done any hard testing in regards to the signal loss, but I think that's true. I definitely dropped LTE more frequently when going to the M9 compared to the M8.
I sell phones for a living and I really WANTED to have a good reason to push the M9, but my first experience with the phone was them taking HOURS to activate before I realized you had to set them to CDMA mode... absolutely ridiculous when the S6 beside them was up and running in 2 minutes... but I digress. I had the M9 since launch with Viper and for the most part felt almost like my M8. Except I ended up really missing my M8. The M9 just felt like a step backwards with nothing really new and exciting to offer.
All said and done, more than half of the M9s I did sell ended up getting returned. One guy gave it a fair shot on vacation, but he just could barely get the camera to take a good pic and ended up with an S6. I couldn't blame him. Is the M9 camera decent? Yes. Is it on par with it's competitors? Absolutely not. In fact some of the mid-tier phones took better pictures.
I have a Note 5 now. It's a huge jump in all honesty. Signal is phenomenal, battery life is great, camera is fantastic, fingerprint scanner is fast and useful, screen is bright and crisp, etc etc etc. I do miss the speakers, rooting, and Sense. Otherwise though, I'm not sure if I can bring myself back to HTC at this point. I don't know if anything can save them now...
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Based on the rest of your post I think your first sentence meant to say "far from uncommon", not "far from common".
The replacement M9 is still running very solid though.
I was very close to also getting a Note 5.
Related
Given same costs, which would you prefer?
I originally wanted to go to the Sensation, and I waited for it. But, lukewarm initial reviews, $5 more a month for a limited 2GB data cap (vs unlimited and LTE on VZW), and a more active development community with the Thunderbolt convinced me to change my order to VZW.
However, considering the terrible battery life of the Thunderbolt, the fact that I don't get LTE in my office or at home (1x and 3G are my normal connections), and the Tbolt being slightly inferior in the hardware department, I am thinking that i should switch back to the Sensation idea. I get 20% discount with Verizon, versus 12% on Tmobile.
I want to trust that upcoming Gingerbread ROMs for Thunderbolt will result in a better product on a faster network. I'm just somewhat underwhelmed with the Tbolt after a week.
Thoughts?
personally, i would look at it like this
1. what carrier has stronger signal strength where you are
2. LTE vs Hardware. your either going to get amazing download and upload speeds when LTE finally rolls out in your area and imo its amazing + its unlimited if you are grandfathered in; or you can get slightly improved specs which honestly, wont really matter in day to day usage. The only differences you'll really see are when you play high end games or something like that.
3. Which phone has a more developed community. As far as i know, the thunderbolt has a huge community just like the original incredible. Even now, after so many years the incredible is still getting roms. I saw a sense 3.0 rom on an incredible!
sooo up to you lol. your going to be using the phone not me :]
You know I was at the same exact crossroads. I just came off of my 2 year contract with T-Mobile and I was pondering buying the Sensation or switching to Verizon (which has much better coverage in my area). I like the Sensation just a tad better due to its dual core processor and how much shimmer it is. This goes without saying, the Sensation is one sexy phone. It all came down to the carrier for me. In my house I would average 1-2 bars. So I went with VZW and the Thunderbolt. Honestly I love the Thunderbolt. It's great. For you, I would say go with the carrier that has better service in your area which I believe is safe to say Verizon.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using XDA Premium App
if you don't get Ltd where you are most I would go with the sensation
Yeah, it is completely a coin toss. Look at the development community here vs. Sensation, the Tbolt is much more active.
Considering the hell that an AT&T buyout would bring to Atmosphere, I'd be far happier stuck on VZW for two years.
If I can just work around this battery misery, I think the Tbolt will be fine.
Sent from my TBolt using XDA App
BoulderGeek said:
Yeah, it is completely a coin toss. Look at the development community here vs. Sensation, the Tbolt is much more active.
Considering the hell that an AT&T buyout would bring to Atmosphere, I'd be far happier stuck on VZW for two years.
If I can just work around this battery misery, I think the Tbolt will be fine.
Sent from my TBolt using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Im getting about 8-10 hrs. on mine right now
setup in sig
Sensation looks pretty sweet. If Verizon had it in their line up it would be a top choice.
Agreed with everybody else. Depends on the carrier. If no LTE get the sensation.
T-Mobile will throttle down your data after you hit the 2GB ceiling, get Verizon before the 7th of July and you're locked in with unltd data with no cap or throttle, be it 3G or LTE. Even if you don't have LTE yet, you will eventually. The majority of features on a smartphone use network data, so all the memory and processing power technology has to offer means absolutely **** when your data stinks.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
If you don't get LTE in your area, download LTE On/Off or a similar program and switch to CDMA Auto. This will greatly improve your battery life.
I would take a not-so-hot device on Verizon's 4G any day over a "hot device" on a non Verizon carrier any day!!
Plus, the TB is definitely hot
Let me offer my feelings, because I have just completed the exact same journey you are embarking on, meaning I had a Sensation on Tmo, and just witched to VZW for the Thunderbolt. Here are my impressions:
HTC Sensation 4G:
I used to be on my company's corporate plan with blackberrys but recently accepted a new job, which allowed me to get whatever phone/carrier I wanted. I had used Tmobile years ago and did the whole HTC HD2 custom ROM thing and had a really good time with it. The sensation always claimed to be on 4g mode and I got relatively good speeds. I could always stream music/videos without any delay, and Speedtest would report about 3mbps on average, with a peak of 8 on a couple of occasions. Coverage was excellent & no dropped calls.
The phone itself is a work of art. It's very light, had outstanding battery life under heavy usage, and Sense 3.0 is beautiful. The tweaked functionality of the camera app among other things was nice. My favorite feature of course being free built in hotspot/tethering. However something was missing.
I really missed the screensize of the HD2. While both are 4.3" diagonal, the S4G has a higher aspect ratio, so the phone is actually skinnier. I didnt like this. I really liked how readable text was on my HD2, and the proximity of icons/buttons when texting were. All in all, the HD2 was simply the perfect size for me.
Then I went to a VZW store and made then unbox a thunderbolt for me so I could try it out without those security wires attached to it. I immediately fell in love and knew within seconds that this was the phone for me. I ran out the buyers remorse period on tmobile just to make sure, and finally made the switch on Monday! I cant tell you how pleased I am. The phone just feels right in my hands.
Every time I used the S4G I was constantly judging it for its screensize. This was a huge bummer, because I could never enjoy the phone. Every time I picked it up all I could think about was how much more smushed and how much scrolling I needed to do to get the same screen real estate visible on the Thunderbolt.
Thoughts on the Thunderbolt:
People arent lying, the battery life is borderline abysmal, but this is actually fine with me since I work behind a desk. I am actually charging it via USB as we speak. I'll probably also plug it into my car charger so it's boosted by the time I get home. I seem to get about 4-6 hours of heavy usage out of it (I was recording myself giving seminars this morning, then surfing all through lunch using the kickstand). I dont mind the battery life since I can easily keep it juiced, but I would NEVER recommend this phone for anyone on the go.
The only thing I actually dont like is how bulky the phone is. Even my HD2 was slimmer/lighter. Maybe its the LTE modem, or maybe it's the kickstand, but the phone feels fat in my hand. In fact, I've basically traded one nuisance for another, nagging on the S4G due to size, and nagging on the TB due to weight. Time will tell if I begin to regret my decision, but I think the other benefits will make up for it.
On TMO, within my first week on the S4G I had already used 1gb. Granted I was playing around with it a bit more than usual, but still. I think we're all gonna hit 2GB a lot sooner than we realize, and the carriers on banking on this (hence the reason they made them). Having 100% unlimited grandfathered 4G with the TB was probably my second biggest selling point. I dont like using a phone and constantly checking the MyAccount app, or 3g watchdog to determine how close I am to running over. It kinda sours the whole experience. With the TB I can just kick back relax and know I'll never be bothered with it.
And speaking of bulk/kickstand issues, I just want to say how AWESOME this kickstand is. I am constantly using it (even though it's only been 3 days lol). I love being able to stand it up and flick through web pages with 1 finger while I eat a sandwich or pasta or something at work. I'm really shocked they arent doing this will all their phones now.
Oh yeah, one other thing, performance. Believe it or not, but the TB actually feels snappier to me running Froyo than the S4G. Dual core or not, the S4G's framerate when switching homescreens always had a little choppiness to it. This really blows and feels like you're using a bogged down phone. The TB always has wonderfully smooth transitions. Obviously this is due to lack of 3d fx, but I'd rather have a smooth simply interface than a clunky advanced one. The only feature of Sense 3.0 I actually used was the lockscreen widget. It's pretty hand to be able to open emails/sms messages from here, but it really only saves you from 1 extra step when you use a standard lockscreen. All the other upgrades apps were pretty useless. Yeah the new weather widget is awesome and I would just stare and stare at it for minutes at a time. That was on my first day. On the 2nd day I never even noticed it. I even used the weather as my wallpaper, and still I didnt notice it.
P.S. I was really nervous about this whole ATT thing too. ATT has given some blanket statement that existing 4g users on Tmo's network will be "given an opportunity to upgrade" or something along those lines. Basically you WILL have to get a new phone eventually. LTE is NOT what Tmo is using, and ATT wants that spectrum baaaaad. Believe me, once it's theirs they are going to use it, and completely redeploy it for real 4G as they can. If you're LUCKY, they MIGHT do it in a series of phaseouts, letting users of phones like the S4G exhaust their contracts before each little piece of spectrum is gobbled up and transformed into LTE space. And thats assuming they're going to play nice, and since when has ATT ever played nice? ATT is always the first carrier to impose some asinine rules or restrictions on their services. They are the last company I would trust to be fair and not just force me to renew my contract in 13 months or be dumped to 2g speeds forever.
Hope that helps!
Verizon + Unlimited 4G LTE on the Thunderbolt can't be beat.
Thank you very much for taking the time to write that up, RunNGun!
You've hit upon many of my concerns and observations. I was actually thinking that the Sensation's aspect ratio difference and smaller size would be a positive for me. the Thunderbolt with a silicone bumper case feels as massive as the old Apple Newton I had in 1994.
But, I'm a relatively substantial guy at six feet and 215lbs, so it's not overwhelmingly large. I think that the 4" AMOLED of the Samsung Galaxy S line is the sweet spot for me. but, when I had one on AT&T, I returned it within three weeks. And I am glad that I did.
I'm getting about the same battery that you are. I also have USB at work and chargers all over the house, cars and motorcycles so I'm quite covered for applying power. I might get 8 hours on the stock battery, with wifi off and green power on.
I'm holding off the root and flash until I am out of return period and whatever upgrade that may come has been seen. I did port over my TMobile number that I've had since 1998, so I am pretty much sold on the Tbolt. i did a Speedtest in the car at a stoplight the other day and got 30mbit! And, I've already burned through 5+ Gigs of data just letting the bloatware do its thing and playing some Pandora.
I had a very good experience with Tmobile on my old Nokia 5800. But that sucked so badly for data services, that i only had text and voice on it. However, i could always make a call, where my GF on iPhone 4 has about a 50/50 chance of getting service or an inbound call.
I've also had good experiences with VZW in the past, but CDMA is such dead tech, it is hard to buy into it in 2011. I'd prefer a true world phone for my travels.
Cheers again for a great synopsis.
So you got the TB then? I have to agree with you about CDMA, but with a carrier as big and powerful as VZW I guess it doesnt really matter, they've certainly proven that it is a reliable platform and they can do great things with it. I wish I could use my phone overseas too, but at least I'll always have my wife's HD2 which is GSM for those occasions.
BTW I forgot to mention that my battery life is stifled from use of bluetooth a lot. I basically leave bluetooth on 24/7, GPS too, even though I'm not really using GPS that much. I dont actually shut off the radio. WiFi is always off. The first day I actually got 12 hours out of it before charging, because I was just too busy to play with it. Hard to say what my ultimate average will really be.
Just looking for some first hand experience, or tips from a T-Mobile employee. I was just told by TMo that if this Vibrant fails me (being my 3rd one), I'll be able to get a completely different phone.
I have every intention of calling them in the next couple of days to kindly let them know that the GPS isn't working as intended, of course. I just did a road trip to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and my GPS failed me over and over (yes, I've done all of the fixes known to man) while my Garmin Nuvi worked flawlessly, as usual.
So, anyone know what my options will be? Since I paid $199.99 to extend my contract for this POS, I feel that I should be offered any of their smartphones at that price, but really have no idea as to how this works.
Thanks in advance!
You can get alot
As long as you are clear in your point and sound like you know what you are talking about you should be fine.
I went through this right when the sensation came out.
I got one for free and got to keep my vibe by signing a 2 year with customer loyalty. They sent me tbe sensation and it had touchscreen isues so back it went and I went through 2 alltoghether.
It wasnt a bad phone but I missed my im on it again now.
samsung
If you really like not having a heavy phone (sensation was like a weight haha) or the phone with a million issues the g2x.
I'd stick it out just 2 more months tops and we will have the htc ruby/amaze 4g and the tmobile galaxy s2 "hercules" both are rumored to be on tmos 42 mps network which os way more than double our current max of 14.4
Thanks for the response! That's a good point... I'll wait until some better phones are released here soon and then call to get my replacement. No point in doing it now since the selection isn't all that great.
Yea its funny how there are so many levels of "top teir" devices that out can be hard to keep track of. I can say I'll be way happier with a lighter phone with a more visible screen outdoors anf that they won't know my warranties gone because I used the same oems software of who made the phone. I think brand presence aside that the 42mps is worth the wait. i live in the mpls area and tmobile is very sttong here for signal so im excited for that chip.
In the meantime time try using the custom rom toxic crazy 8 with the clean and shiny theme. I put it on a guy I work withs vibrant and now he is wayyy happier with his phone that ever before. He even stopped talking about needing a new phone all the time hah
Hey everyone, most of you will know me from the Evo 4G, I am the creator of Azrael X and Stock Turbo ROMS. I loved my Evo 4G and I loved developing ROMS for it. I was due for Upgrade in July of last year, just in time to get the Evo 3D. I was excited because of the Specs of the Evo 3D and traded "up" for my "amazing Evo 3D". To be honest, I wish I had held out for the Samsung GS-II or switched to Verizon now!
Here is the issues I have had with the Evo 3D.
My first one: I take good care of my phones, I think in all the time I had my Evo 4G I dropped it once and it was in a case so no damage. One day, I went to use my Evo 3D's camera to take a picture of something funny to send to my friends. Well, my phone became unresponsive and then my phone's display got corrupted. I tried all the troubleshooting steps, redid the phone ROM, hard reset, EVERYTHING. No dice and I heard that sometimes the camera gets disconnected and you can press real hard and it will work again. Ironically I did that and it worked once, the next day I went to use the camera and it did it again, froze the phone for a few minutes and corrupted the display. So I went to a Sprint service center and they "could not fix it, my replacement would be ordered and I can pick it up in a few days." So I get my replacement and...
I get a replacement with Hboot 1.50: Hboot 1.50 really sucks, that is all there is to it. HTC lets you root your phone...for a price! You void your warranty (not completely but it's more or less at the discretion of the Sprint employee if your covered by warranty or not if you bring it in for service with an issue) and it's not even a full root! You cannot flash kernels or radios without jumping through hoops and your phone is not S-Off. There is no current method to get S-Off with Hboot 1.50 and all attempts thus far have failed. Why could they have not just fixed my camera on my original one? This is livable with but has taken away the desire from me to develop ROMS for this phone. Then there is the....
Other issues with my replacement Evo 3D: The new one likes to restart itself randomly. It actually caused me to nearly late for work one morning because my carefully set alarm went off when it decided to restart itself. Thankfully I woke up by myself and was able to rush, get ready, and barely make it! I no longer rely on it as my alarm unless there is nothing else available. This NEVER happened with my Evo 4G, it reliably served as my alarm. Then there is...
CIQ: Sprint and HTC are spying on you; even a tinfoil hat will not prevent them from logging your phone usage. I mean, I am sure there are ways that all phones and carriers can do this, but where did I sign a form that allows them to monitor my usage? Not to mention this logging still eats up memory, CPU cycles, and battery. Even if they took this out now, not to mention developers found ways to rip out CIQ innards from the phone, this is a lameness that I cannot fathom. Then there is....
Sprint:
They removed the "Sprint Premier" program, which is really stupid. Now you have to wait 2 full years to get an upgraded phone.
The Network seems worse than ever. 4G coverage around the south suburbs of Chicago is bad at best, not there at worst. There are a couple of dead spots I always hit on the way home from work on 294.
Rude employees at Sprint. I ended up talking to a lady who kept interrupting me and laughed at me when I said something about that. I have never said, "F%$ you" to a lady on the phone until then. I actually said that and hung up, I was fuming! (UPDATE: Yes I know any company has good and bad reps and it's always a chance you will get one or the other, but she took the cake for the rudest CS rep I have dealt with from any company maybe ever. It was not just what she said, it was how she handled my questions. I should also mention she is a manager.)
Other things that I do not like about the Evo 3D.
The Speakerphone: Both Evo 3D phones I have had have mediocre speakers. The first one is way quieter and has NO bass compared to my former Evo 4G. Minor but noticeable.
The signal: This may have been "early teething" problems but my Evo 4G seemed to pull in signal much better than the Evo 3D. This could be because of premature radio and PRL updates at the time but I would be interested now to see how they compare. My Evo 4G would have 5 bars while the 3D would have 1-3 bars.
The charger port: The Evo 4G was nice because the charging port was right on the bottom of the phone. This made it easy to charge it while you mess with the phone and/or want to charge and talk at the same time. The Evo 3D has the charger port on the upper-left side. If you attempt to charge and talk, you are putting stress on your cable and the port itself. Stupid placement IMO.
Less tinker friendly: Besides the already mentioned Hboot 1.5 (partial root and partial warranty breaker) you cannot use the volume or power buttons while the cover is off. This is of course REALLY being nitpicky as there is not much need for it. But when you need access to the battery, having to take the back off every time is an extra step.
Of course, the Evo 3D is a better phone than the Evo 4G as far as hardware specs and screen quality. I just wish it was better in almost all ways instead of just specs.
The good of the Evo 3D is quite numerous of course.
The specs
The 3D features are neat
Increased memory
The screen slightly better quality
No more light bleeding like on the Evo 4G
Hboot 1.5 is a stupid means of control and I cannot believe we void our warranty for the sake of a half-ass root! I had aspirations for Azrael X 3D but honestly I feel the Evo 3D has some great ROMS already and Hboot 1.5 is a big deal breaker for me.
I might have to pass on HTC and Sprint too next time around.
More on the next post, but I want to know if anyone else has buyers (and/or Sprint) remorse lately. I am thinking of moving to "Big Red" network.
Luckily I haven't experienced any of the issues you seem to be going through. I would recommend calling or stopping by sprint and have your replacement swapped out. Who knows you might get lucky and get one with 1.4, good luck man hope it works out.
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
I would definitely push them to get you a replacement, it sounds like they gave you another defective one. If they give you a hard time about it showing "relocked" shoot me a PM and I may be able to help you out.
Man what's up. I remember your Roms and work for the EVO4G. Deff top notch.
Personally I don't have buyers remorse as mine has been great here no issues hardware wise.
As for the things you mentioned with sprint itself like the premier program...I'm with ya on that 100%. Hate it that they took that away. BUT according to the Sprint Advocates group that has conf calls with execs each month, Sprint has been researching a new loyalty program to replace it with to reward those of us again. Maybe the buy your upgrade back trial program is a slight form of it, though I know they have discussed more.
As for leaving sprint if you head to big red you pretty might end up with only getting Samsung phones as they have announced their stance on bootloaders and I wouldn't be shocked to see their future HTC phones not on the unlock list...
Personally i can't beat the price here and I really want to stick around with Sprint and see these NetworkVision deployments because network wise they will improve things 10 fold in many areas. The mere backhaul improvement being done at the towers is a giant leap in itself.
S4GRU.com has a ton of very very detailed info, a lot inside info too on this. Great site btw, any Sprint customer interested in the network and such I suggest heading over there and reading the enormous amount of detailed info they have, including some spectrum analysis...
Saw you mentioned Chicago specifically so I linked the two wall posts that discuss some info on that area specifically for ya.
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...nd-lte-deployment-details-emerge-for-chicago/
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...-schedule-details-for-sprints-chicago-market/
As far as the customer service, that's a shame man and you really can't defend them for that.
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
Hey ric, I thought you disappeared! I used to love your 4g roms. That sucks you've had so many issues. Good to see you're alive though.
We're comin from a pure power source.
Hey, I'm in the Chicago area too and I know there can be dead spots and sprint is the slowest of the carriers it seems. Where I'm at though, service is incredible. The Crestwood area. But I can't venture out too far before I see speeds drop. Signal strength seems to stay strong everywhere I go though. And I don't even bother using 4G. I can get it at home but not much anywhere else. And with wifi at home, what's the point? But I'm still happy with the service.
The phone I love too. I dropped it a couple times while in a case, no damage. Phone doesn't reboot, everything is responsive, etc. Maybe your replacement has something wrong with it.
Now, I did see lots of problems on custom roms or kernels or both for some reason. I trust the developers know what they're doing and I'm not a developer so I don't know why there were so many issues then. I didn't try every rom or kernel, but the popular ones I did always restarted and froze on my phone. It was like clock work. So I've stuck to the stock setup with some mods on top of it and have 0 problems.
As for CIQ goes, sprint removed it in the latest update I believe. But I wouldn't put it past then if there's some other way they're tracking us. Since the removal of ciq, things perform world's better too.
I won't get too into their customer service but I have had some really friendly support and I've had some that clearly don't enjoy their job but weren't rude to me. It happens everywhere.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA
Sucks that you are having so many issues, my 3d has been rock solid but sprints data in my home town is horrible. Stuck in a contract til mid 2013. Hoping to see some improvement by then with the upcoming lte. Although i dont see much about florida in their upcoming deployments. Think i read awhile back about Miami, but that was it. Best wishes to you and hope things improve for all of us with sprint issues.
Sent from one Fresh Honey Sensed Evo 3D
CIQ is indeed removed, since the January 13th update. Most phone manufacturers and Sprint are working with eachother to remove CIQ if it hasn't been already. Be glad you didn't go with Samsung, I've had so many with issues it's not funny. If you are mad about a camera issue on HTC, wait till you see what Samsung can give you. Late (if ever updates), radio issues, physical KB keypress skips, crashing camera, you name it (depending on the model). The SII is lambasted with problems galore, google it. It sucks that the HTC is locked down more, but IMO, it's not like a Samsung so it's not entirely necessary to root because the phone itself doesn't have major experience killing issues.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH . I demand a reason of the removal of my posts .
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Threevo said:
FREEDOM OF SPEECH . I demand a reason of the removal of my posts .
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i second this what the hell is going on nothing that was said was terrible.. explain ur reasoning >:O
Threevo said:
FREEDOM OF SPEECH . I demand a reason of the removal of my posts .
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Freedom of speech does not apply on a forum.
Threevo said:
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Freedom of Speech" doesn't always comply with XDA forum policies.
You mind showing us the policy and how what was said went against the policy?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
PM a mod if you have any gripes.
dylan6879 said:
You mind showing us the policy and how what was said went against the policy?
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
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I don't know what was said here but many of the rules here could be used to limit your speech and rightfully so. For example the rule 2.4...
Regardless PM the mod or a mod and ask, and you'll likely get an answer.
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
templep2k2 said:
I feel compelled to reply an I never post I have like 3 maybe IDk. Reading your post you sound very frustrated I get that been there but you are/were a custom rom developer?? How many cell carriers have you been with?
I was with Verizon for years they do not give a **** about any of their customers. They are more expensive for everything and they will nickel and dime you anyway they can. Verizon does not have blazing fast data 24/7 that covers every square inch of the USA.
They dropped sprint premiere, so what if you call sales they will upgrade you almost anytime you wanna buy a new phone an lock you down for two more years. Sprint buys back phones they always have some deal or incentive goin on. You buy a Verizon phone you aren't getting an upgrade for two yrs forget it.
Yea its not uncommon to talk to an idiot on the phone I myself as soon as I hear an accent not of the English language ask to speak someone else because I cannot understand them but you own a phone that they prob couldn't buy with their whole weeks paycheck.
I've had all the issues that you have with reboots freezes and whatnot no camera probs this is my 4th one. But hey they have replaced them with no hassle I've been offered other phones the photon for example which I passed on.
Idk what else you ask of them when they replace the defective product you can't justify getting mad at them for replacing a defective device with the lastest and least defective software.
THIS PHONE IS FAR SUPERIOR TO THE EVO4G which I had several of those I shattered the screen multiple times on all of them from dropping it. The speaker was a joke sure it was louder than the 3d until it blew the **** out. The 3D is sturdy and durable no problems from dropping not even a scratch on the screen I use no cases or protectors. Usb charging port is pathetic pos on EVO4g. 3D came out 1 year after 4G pretty dam good phone. There's nothing mind blowing that has come out since the 3D release I just don't get it. Were just now starting to see the next wave of technology that will soon outshine the phone.
Every other electronic device that you modify through software or hardware not provided by the OEM voids the warranty why does everyone feel cell phone manufactures/carriers shouldn't its just mind boggling. If you're fedup an rdy to tell sprint **** you kiss my ass it ain't always greener on the otherside even if its red.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA
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I don't care about customer service, I have dealt with good and bad reps of ANY company I have ever dealt with.
Sprint has unlimited plans but their network is mark-ably worse then when I first started using it.
Verizon has much better signal everywhere. I have a Verizon Mifi device and when my Evo 3D or Sprint Wifi device (which I returned) could not connect at work at all I was getting decent 4G with Verizon! No connection vs connection with 4G. And we all know Verizon has a much faster 4G data rate.
There are pros and cons to every carrier. I have friends who have all carriers, I have tried all of them almost (AT&T, US Cellular, T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular) and there is plus and minus to all of them. But your post has some good points as well. Thank you for your reply and I agree with a LOT of what you said.
Threevo said:
FREEDOM OF SPEECH . I demand a reason of the removal of my posts .
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I have no idea what you said but I am guessing your post was a typical "retaliation" thread against mine and maybe the mods removed it so this post does not become a back and forth. But 30 posts about how they removed your threads are taking THIS thread off subject, so please stick to the subject matter.
A lot of people reply to posts with counter arguments but many go overboard. Maybe you did and they removed it? I can only speculate....
Anyhow, you can disagree with me of course but keep it clean. I opened this post with MY feelings, if yours differ offer counter arguments but no need to be rude (not saying your reply was rude, but seems there was something up with it).
I added to my first post now with more information
Loved your roms on the 4G, basically the only reason I responded to this thread (usually stay away from xda now). Sorry about the problems you are having.
Hopefully you find a phone and a carrier that treats you as well as your last phone.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA
ricsim78 said:
I don't care about customer service, I have dealt with good and bad reps of ANY company I have ever dealt with.
Sprint has unlimited plans but their network is mark-ably worse then when I first started using it.
Verizon has much better signal everywhere. I have a Verizon Mifi device and when my Evo 3D or Sprint Wifi device (which I returned) could not connect at work at all I was getting decent 4G with Verizon! No connection vs connection with 4G. And we all know Verizon has a much faster 4G data rate.
There are pros and cons to every carrier. I have friends who have all carriers, I have tried all of them almost (AT&T, US Cellular, T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular) and there is plus and minus to all of them. But your post has some good points as well. Thank you for your reply and I agree with a LOT of what you said.
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Click to collapse
Hi Ric, I also loved your roms on the EVO 4G too. I also made the switch to red, not because of the EVO 3D. I loved the phone and it's a solid phone but I didn't have a 1.5 hboot either. I might have felt differently if I had one. I as you did got tired of watching my coverage get worse. I'm not that far from you and I was paying for 4G coverage and hardly getting it . Some may disagree but I felt my 4G was better when I had my OG EVO. I'm no longer under "unlimited" data but is sprint truly "unlimited" when there's threads about guys getting cancelled for using too much data when it's "unlimited"..Just my .02. I'm sure in true XDA fashion someone will say "good riddance" or "cool story bro" but I'm a forum veteran and have seen it all on forums of all types. If it helps with your choice I'm loving the 4GLTE coverage Ric.
Peace
This will update over time as I have more findings.
First,
The signal strength is amazing. HTC must have done it right . With completely new chips and radios??
The cubicle I am in now is a "dead spot". For HTC One-x , it stays consistently at edge (for both ATT and Tmobile sim card, even Tmobile's 1900mhz is available on the street in NYC near my building).
Galaxy Nexus and Droid Razr (Maxx) all these three can only pick up one bar of 4G or 1 bar of 3G , most of time 3G or nothing at my spot. Everyday so much battery was wasted here due to cell signal and switching between 1G/2G/3G/4G, for all ROMS. (stock, CM10, etc etc). And I don't care the displayed cell strength, but for email/news/apps, the data was simply UNUSABLE.
And guess what... 4 bars of 4G with HTC Droind DNA here, without a hiccup. It is ONE bar short of full bar , at my same cubicle here...
I think this is first surprise.
Screen is amazing , and I don't have better words for it than those reviews. But for my situation, who sits at a corner where there were almost no cell coverage, this is the very first and biggest surprise so far
Will update on Battery Life soon.
Glad to hear about your signal... My gnex was always in the middle but I do notice less switch back to 3g ... Battery life is pretty unbelievable considering the size of the device and size of the battery... Pleasantly surprised
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2
Have u used it with all these networks or only 'verizon
Thanks
Sent from my GT-P3100 using xda app-developers app
jiwengang said:
This will update over time as I have more findings.
First,
The signal strength is amazing. HTC must have done it right . With completely new chips and radios??
The cubicle I am in now is a "dead spot". For HTC One-x , it stays consistently at edge (for both ATT and Tmobile sim card, even Tmobile's 1900mhz is available on the street in NYC near my building).
Galaxy Nexus and Droid Razr (Maxx) all these three can only pick up one bar of 4G or 1 bar of 3G , most of time 3G or nothing at my spot. Everyday so much battery was wasted here due to cell signal and switching between 1G/2G/3G/4G, for all ROMS. (stock, CM10, etc etc). And I don't care the displayed cell strength, but for email/news/apps, the data was simply UNUSABLE.
And guess what... 4 bars of 4G with HTC Droind DNA here, without a hiccup. It is ONE bar short of full bar , at my same cubicle here...
I think this is first surprise.
Screen is amazing , and I don't have better words for it than those reviews. But for my situation, who sits at a corner where there were almost no cell coverage, this is the very first and biggest surprise so far
Will update on Battery Life soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While the DNA does have excellent reception, you may want to check the actual numerical value, I've caught the meter being a little overstated, but nothing terrible.
Getting better service on this phone as well. For the first time being on Verizon I'm getting full 4G bars in my area. Phone so far has been nothing less than amazing! Screen is just beautiful, and a must see in person. Phone is super fast and smooth as butter.
zepfloyd said:
While the DNA does have excellent reception, you may want to check the actual numerical value, I've caught the meter being a little overstated, but nothing terrible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a good point.
I checked before the main post to make sure the signal is actually better.
It was -95 at my current location.
Used to be easily smaller than -110 if not -120 which is completely no signal.
End of the day, it is the ability to open Google Play Store, Sync Email, use WeChat , Make phone calls that actually impressed me .
With the phone now in the wild will be interesting to see how it lives up to the expectations.
My wife picked one up this afternoon. The battery died very quickly from its 40% reported level, but will likely hold up better after we charge it properly. Also, the Sense keyboard got borked after a couple hours. It would enlarge the letter on the keyboard itself when pressed, but nothing would show up in the text field. A reboot fixed that issue (hopefully permanently).
I am still undecided between the DNA, GN2 and the Razr HD. So far the DNA looks like the best from the bunch, especially if we end up getting an AOSP ROM on it eventually.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
nizaamh said:
Have u used it with all these networks or only 'verizon
Thanks
Sent from my GT-P3100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I plugged into my T-Mobile sim card.
It is a instance OK to go. no issues.
I didn't pick mine up in New York but I didn't want to start a new topic
Yesterday i decided I would give the DNA a try. I've been debating if I want this or the Note 2 but the Note 2 isn't out yet, so I figured if I didn't like the DNA I could always return it within 14 days.
I got the impression yesterday that the people at the store didn't really want to sell me the phone. I got there at 11:00 AM and I was told they didn't have their shipments in yet. The guy took my number and said he'd call me as soon as I got them. At 4:00 PM I have not received a call yet and I decide to call them. Lady on the phone tells me they do have them she sounded surprised when I told her about my 11:00 AM experience so she went back to double check and came back telling me they did have them. At 4:15 PM I arrive at the store and tell one of the guys that I'm t here for the phone and he tells me that they don't have them. I tel him I was just told they did and he mentions something about only having them to ship, but then he goes back and comes back telling me they do have them.
Either they didn't really want to sell them, or the people at the Verizon store in Vernon Hills, Illinois are horrible at communicating with each other.
As for the phone, I have to say that right away I started to remember how much I disliked Sense. But that's based on previous experience with the Thunderbolt. The only real complaint I have is the power button, it's quite difficult for me to get to but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, I'm just so used to devices with the power button on the side now.
The screen is beautiful but I've never been a huge resolution freak, When I look at it next to my Galaxy Nexus they look the same to me. I mean, its bigger and brighter but what I mean is I'm not all like "oh obviously this one is so much sharper". I'm far sighted, they all look blurry to me anyway
Anyway, pretty happy with it so far. Very fast phone, very bright nice screen, good loud speaker. We'll see how well it handles a full Thanksgiving day!
Happy Thanksgiving day to those celebrating today
tsnstuff said:
Either they didn't really want to sell them, or the people at the Verizon store in Vernon Hills, Illinois are horrible at communicating with each other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're willing to drive another 15 minutes next time you need to go to a Verizon store, I'd recommend using the Northbrook store. They've always been very helpful and surprisingly knowledgeable.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW
tsnstuff said:
I got the impression yesterday that the people at the store didn't really want to sell me the phone. I got there at 11:00 AM and I was told they didn't have their shipments in yet. The guy took my number and said he'd call me as soon as I got them. At 4:00 PM I have not received a call yet and I decide to call them. Lady on the phone tells me they do have them she sounded surprised when I told her about my 11:00 AM experience so she went back to double check and came back telling me they did have them. At 4:15 PM I arrive at the store and tell one of the guys that I'm t here for the phone and he tells me that they don't have them. I tel him I was just told they did and he mentions something about only having them to ship, but then he goes back and comes back telling me they do have them.
Either they didn't really want to sell them, or the people at the Verizon store in Vernon Hills, Illinois are horrible at communicating with each other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also bought my DNA at the Vernon Hills, IL store and had the exact same experience. First they said it's not in stock, then while I'm making arrangements to have it shipped they walk out and hand me one.
jimm2 said:
I also bought my DNA at the Vernon Hills, IL store and had the exact same experience. First they said it's not in stock, then while I'm making arrangements to have it shipped they walk out and hand me one.
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Click to collapse
At least you were given the option to have it shipped, I didn't even get that lol.
I had a phone conversation with my sister today while I used speaker phone on the DNA, everything sounded perfect! Really liking this phone so far.
OK, I know this question gets old, but I'm going to ask it anyway. I'm currently on a 4G LTE and became upgrade eligible on 8/1. The One seems like the no-brainer choice right now, but I'm reading a lot about upcoming phones like Nexus 5, Moto X, upcoming Sony phone, LG G2, etc. What would you guys do in my shoes?
My wife becomes upgrade eligible on 2/1, so I'm considering swapping my upgrade with her for now so that she can move from her iPhone 4s to the 5 (or 5s in Sept) and finally have 4G while I wait a few months for something else. That said, in the cell phone upgrade game, there's ALWAYS going to be something amazing on the horizon -- that's what makes these decision brutal. I've had every Evo since the OG, and right now I'm basically happy with my 4G LTE: rooted, S-Off, get 4G in my area, use tethering extensively, like the look/feel, and I love the kickstand. That said, some cons are that I'm not crazy about the battery life, I get launcher crashes fairly regularly on stock Sense and most Sense roms, and I don't feel that the radio is the strongest -- particularly at switching from 3G to 4G.
Thoughts?
One Max with bigger screen and faster processor, g2 with all x3 sprint lte band. The red One looks alright too. moto x is just soso with slower processor and lower resolution screen.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
abeln2672 said:
OK, I know this question gets old, but I'm going to ask it anyway. I'm currently on a 4G LTE and became upgrade eligible on 8/1. The One seems like the no-brainer choice right now, but I'm reading a lot about upcoming phones like Nexus 5, Moto X, upcoming Sony phone, LG G2, etc. What would you guys do in my shoes?
My wife becomes upgrade eligible on 2/1, so I'm considering swapping my upgrade with her for now so that she can move from her iPhone 4s to the 5 (or 5s in Sept) and finally have 4G while I wait a few months for something else. That said, in the cell phone upgrade game, there's ALWAYS going to be something amazing on the horizon -- that's what makes these decision brutal. I've had every Evo since the OG, and right now I'm basically happy with my 4G LTE: rooted, S-Off, get 4G in my area, use tethering extensively, like the look/feel, and I love the kickstand. That said, some cons are that I'm not crazy about the battery life, I get launcher crashes fairly regularly on stock Sense and most Sense roms, and I don't feel that the radio is the strongest -- particularly at switching from 3G to 4G.
Thoughts?
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Click to collapse
I'm in a similar boat but it's my wife that has the upgrade as of 8/1 and I just upgraded to the One at launch. She doesn't care much about her phone so long as it gets Facebook, has a good camera and can last her the day on one charge. We're waiting until the holiday season to see what devices are announced and what discounts are available. I'd suggest the same if you can wait. I wouldn't be able to and would have a One on 8/1, . I'm impatient. But if you're happy enough with your current device, wait for the 5s for her and get that or the discounted 5 and use your upgrade next year. You'll likely be in a similar situation though because new devices will only be a couple months away and will likely be announced in March.
There are pros and cons to buying any phone; radios, features, updates, etc. That being said, I would wait it out a little bit. Keep in mind that the One has been out for 4 months already. So if you're on a 2 year upgrade plan like most people are, the One will be nearly 2 & 1/2 years old by the time you'll be eligible again.
The next generation of phones is so much better. Have you seen the G2? It's crazy! 3000 mAh battery!
The One totally pales in comparison.
Plus, the One is riddled with defects and there's a very very high chance that you will get a defective device. Most of the people here (including me) have defects and just live with it because chances are we'll get a worse device back. Hopefully for the next generation, HTC will tighten their QC.
I would wait for a really high end Moto to arrive.
I don't recommend either Sprint or HTC, because I've had horrible experiences with both. Did you know that the one has no thermal safety system? That's caused several bricks and as far as we know, is still causing them.
Also, ask around for how good sprint is in your area. Some people got nice data with Wi-max but terrible LTE. HSPA+ is actually way faster than Sprint's LTE, and it's more developed. Of course, you would have to switch carriers to get HSPA. Sprint's 3G is usually unusable.
I really appreciate the feedback, everyone -- it's been really helpful. I've pretty much decided to hold off and see what's available in Sept/Oct, which is around the time the new iPhone would come out anyway. I'm pretty intrigued by the G2, but I think I'll regret missing out on the One's front-facing speakers, 32gb storage, and high quality body design. I've also had Sense for many generations, so I think I'll miss that, but I've got other Android devices as well and won't have a problem adjusting.
Feel free to chime in if you have an opinion on this...like someone else said earlier in the thread, it's easy to get impatient when it comes to phone upgrades -- I need a lot of convincing to hold off, lol!
My wife became eligible and I upgraded her to the One for similar reasons. Thing is I got a great deal at Target, believe it or not. They had the One for 100 upgrade, a $25discount when giving in your old phone, plus what the phone was worth. She had a blackberry and after everything the new phone was about $40. She's happy makes me happy.
Point is keep your eyes open for deals cause even though new phones are coming, some deals are hard to pass up.
My wife did the same with her BB Curve. Even after 3 years it had a $100 trade-in value and in the end, we ended up getting a gift card back from Best Buy with $22 on it! She got used to the HTC EVO Design after a week or so and won't look back to BB
photos?
if you primarily use the camera for social network stuff i'd say upgrade. it is a pretty good phone!