[Q] XT925 Speaker buzz - RAZR HD Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
I have searched over this forum and the internet... no luck yet, so maybe somebody here is experiencing something similar and can give me a tip on how to solve this.
I noticed liked 2 months ago some buzzing over my Razr HD XT925 back speaker, to me it sounds like a blown speaker (I mean not that bad... more like a blown tweeter but just to give you guys an idea) I know for a fact that mobile phones are not known for having great speakers, but this is not acceptable to me (kind of picky on the sound department), I really don't like the way my music and ringtone are reproduced by that speaker... My first tought was it was a defective tone/music compression, but then I tried the music over headphones and also using a Bluetooth headset, and everything sounded crystal clear.
I come from a Xperia PLAY which has an amazing dual speaker set ... which are still working flawlessly, my guess is that maybe the usage damaged it... maybe a high pitch frecuency or deep bass used on daily basis (I use my phone for the wake up alarm), but then again my xperia PLAY was used for alarm also during 2 years and nothing happened to it.
I don't want to take it to my carrier because they will take it away from me, and maybe send it to motorola service center (to a far away city), also I don't want them to restore factory settings as I have my phone highly customized, (not in the FW or OS... but in order, accesibility and setup).
Do anybody knows a way to fix this? I don't mind taking it apart and reassemble it if needed... I haven't done so... but if it is needed I will like to do it myself.
I can live with it, the phone works great and with the 4.1.2 JB update I'm really satified with its performance, but of course like every engineer will agree with me, I want it in top notch condition, and mainly in an issue that bugs me everytime it rings... for calls, alarms and notifications... (It will be a long year to complete my contract, I have it since past november on a 18 month plan)
Thanks for your help
P.S. I spend 1 month in Germany and 2 weeks in Nothern USA for work reasons during heavy winter weather, maybe the use under that conditions affected the speaker (I guess it can happen) and also it has fell from my hand like 3 or 4 times... but with a protective plastic/silicone case I use on it, so it may have affected (which I doubt), but I want to give you guys a detailed report on its usage).

Related

To replace my 8900 - Nexus one?

Hi guys, I have a 8900 BB on contract - but it is going to waste. A few months ago, had water damage to phone - got most of it fixed (things like kb failed to work etc), but one thing which the guy at the shop was unable to fix was - the mic. This means, it is very quiet and you will have to somewhat shout into the mic for the other person to hear you and subsequently I have been forced to use a wired headset with a mic on it, instead, which is very inconvenient as you can imagine as I would rather not walk around with earphones and extra wires. Bluetooth is not an option I am fond of either.
So I was thinking about replacing the phone, initially I was to get another 8900, or even a 9700 to replace it - but thought - hey why not go all out and get something like the Droid, HD2, N900, etc etc.
But then, the Nexus One came which seems to fit the bill in all ways - although kind of surprised it is the same dimensions as a HD2 (and I thought that phone looked weird due to its size, maybe it was due to its shape though who knows..). Well, android, better battery and sleeker looks - definitely appeals to me. If I get that phone unlocked, put my O2 unlimited sim in (with unlim inet), would it work fine with the phone?
Any pro's/con's reviews you would like to share on the Nexus one? Is it worth holding out for the Bravo or is it just really not worth it?
Glad to hear you are getting rid of crack berry!
From your options I would go for Leo definitely!
Good luck,
ma2k5 said:
Hi guys, I have a 8900 BB on contract - but it is going to waste. A few months ago, had water damage to phone - got most of it fixed (things like kb failed to work etc), but one thing which the guy at the shop was unable to fix was - the mic. This means, it is very quiet and you will have to somewhat shout into the mic for the other person to hear you and subsequently I have been forced to use a wired headset with a mic on it, instead, which is very inconvenient as you can imagine as I would rather not walk around with earphones and extra wires. Bluetooth is not an option I am fond of either.
So I was thinking about replacing the phone, initially I was to get another 8900, or even a 9700 to replace it - but thought - hey why not go all out and get something like the Droid, HD2, N900, etc etc.
But then, the Nexus One came which seems to fit the bill in all ways - although kind of surprised it is the same dimensions as a HD2 (and I thought that phone looked weird due to its size, maybe it was due to its shape though who knows..). Well, android, better battery and sleeker looks - definitely appeals to me. If I get that phone unlocked, put my O2 unlimited sim in (with unlim inet), would it work fine with the phone?
Any pro's/con's reviews you would like to share on the Nexus one? Is it worth holding out for the Bravo or is it just really not worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get the droid or n900.
HD2 or 9700 Bold is fine.

[Resolved] Need advice for a phone with VERRY good sound quality

Hello. I have a Samsung Galaxy Gio as my personal phone but i also need one phone for work number .
I can not decide on a phone: normal one or smartphone. In case i take the smarphone i will change the new one as personal phone and place Gio as work phone
What i need from the new phone in case is a normal phone is : VERRY GOOD sound quality in phone calls, decent battery, don`t need camera, GPS,wifi etc or touchscreen.
In case i buy a smartphone i would like to be better then my Galaxy Gio with better sound quality or at least equal and would be best if it had ICS, or maybe an future ICS official update, i don`t really like custom roms
My budget is ~200 euro for a smartphone and ~70 for a normal phone
I have : Nokia C1 i HATE the sound in calls too low and not clear at all , Nokia 2330c too loud and hurts on ears not clear voice , Nokia 6230i too low voice, quality is good tho but i can`t really hear ppl ( i also tryed to upgrade firmware and change headphone at a service center )
I know i ask a little much but maybe u can recomand a good phone .
Would also like to be new not second hand.
In past month i read a LOT of reviews about phones and i came to the conclusion all are bad on sound quality. Tryed Nokia Asha phones people say they are bad.
At normal phone i saw a Motorola WX306 i don`t find any reviews on sound quality tho.
And for smartphone Xperia U, Xperia Sola, Samsung Ace plus these are the phones i like but again ... not sure about sound quality since they are new phones. Xperia U and Sola are a little over my budget tho
Also looked at Htx One V people complain about muffed sound and low quality
Thank u in advance !
Can't go wrong with a Motorola, so I would suggest the DEFY PLUS for a smartphone. For a non smartphone, I believe the Sony ericsson zylo would do. Of course,a slide phone might not be convenient but then you said you don't mind. I'd test first,and visit www.gsmarena.com for scientific measurements as mine are but personal opinion.
Imetumwa kutoka Ideos kutumia XDA
It sort of depends on how you're going to be listening to it. Personally I find people who listen to their music on their speaker phone (especially in public) is very annoying, and you really won't find a phone that has decent audio quality if that's how you plan to listen. The best remedy to this is getting a good pair of head phones. The Bose earbuds are great, but they don't have a microphone
As far as call quality goes, it's kind of touch and go. A lot of poor call quality has to do with signal interference and degradation. Sprint phones have generally been used by construction workers in the past (you know the fat rubber ones). The call quality is well enough to hear over machinery and such, but they may not still be around. I have found that Motorola phones have pretty good call quality, but to be honest I haven't notice a huge difference between phones. As I said a lot of the poor call quality has to do with the signal you're receiving.
Thank u both of u for suggestions . No i will not use my phone for listening to music on loudspeaker i hate those people that do that on streets . I want good voice quality in calls not in playing music
Motorola Defy+ won`t receive ICS so i will ignore it for now, and that normal motorola phone with flip i don`t like how it looks (
Hope other suggestions will come, thank u again !
For now i got the cheapest phone Samsung E1230
It does not have a camera, a lantern, bluetooth or sdcard slot but as a phone i really like the sound quality till now deep voice and clear . Will see later what new smarphones will come to the market
U can close this. Thank u
SilviuMik said:
For now i got the cheapest phone Samsung E1230
It does not have a camera, a lantern, bluetooth or sdcard slot but as a phone i really like the sound quality till now deep voice and clear . Will see later what new smarphones will come to the market
U can close this. Thank u
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think most of the newer phones call quality are about the same (all things equal), but the only way for you to really know is to go down to your mobile store and call yourself with the display phones and have someone talk to you through the other end. Maybe leave your phone with a friend or wife or girlfriend and have them talk to you while you're at the store. Don't really know what else to suggest.
If you're really worried about getting ICS or not, a lot of developers are porting ICS roms from other phones to the ones that don't have it. Might consider that when making a purchase. I have an HTC HD2 which was originally a Windows Mobile phone (really bad imo) but it's a whole new phone with android ported to it, and it will take ICS (although not really zippy and smooth). This phone was released back when Eclair and Froyo were the new things.

Microphone Issues?

I ordered 4 galaxy S3's for my family plan from amazonwireless for the $99 deal 2 weeks ago. Right away we noticed all of them have extremely poor call quality compared to our previous phones. I live in a major city with good reception so it doesn't make sense. It literally sounds like we are standing next to a jet engine while driving and people that we are calling are constantly complaining. I turned off the noise cancellation and made sure the microphones weren't covered by the cases but no improvments. Anyone else experiencing louder than usual background noise and raspy/choppy voice quality? Any suggestions on fixes? I'm beginning to suspect that amazon/samsung dumped a bunch of defective units for the $99 deal they had.
"Poor" may be relative, but what kind of phones did you have previously?
Call quality on our two Galaxy S III phones have been very good, I feel. At least, it sounds better than comparable iPhone 4s and other Androids we've owned, but we've had a few minor incidents of borked signal (or something) with Verizon or the phone(s) that required a redial to correct since receiving them from pre-order.
Perhaps consider use of a Voice Recorder or memo function on the new and old phones, generating sound files you can compare on a single piece of equipment to sort of test the microphone. This assumes each voice recording app use similar specifications for sampling, etc. but might help pinpoint the mic vs other causes of what you hear.
- ooofest
We all had the epic 4g touch (galaxy II) on sprint before. The problem is so bad that practically everyone I've called is reporting it to me and my family members are having the same experience. I can hear it first hand when we call each other. My wife sounds like a raspy 90 year old grandmother. If we are in any location other than a completely silent room the call is unbearable. It's like the microphone sensitivity is way to high. Definitely not an isolated incident. It's every call.
chase7545 said:
We all had the epic 4g touch (galaxy II) on sprint before. The problem is so bad that practically everyone I've called is reporting it to me and my family members are having the same experience. I can hear it first hand when we call each other. My wife sounds like a raspy 90 year old grandmother. If we are in any location other than a completely silent room the call is unbearable. It's like the microphone sensitivity is way to high. Definitely not an isolated incident. It's every call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have this issue at all either. My friend has a S3 and we talk all the time when we are driving with the windows part down and not 1 complaint.
x714x said:
I don't have this issue at all either. My friend has a S3 and we talk all the time when we are driving with the windows part down and not 1 complaint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep looks like were going to have to return the phones for new ones. Ours are obviously defective units. Problem is amazonwireless makes you go 4-6 days without a phone to exchange and I have no phone to temporarily switch to. Never buying from them again.
chase7545 said:
Yep looks like were going to have to return the phones for new ones. Ours are obviously defective units. Problem is amazonwireless makes you go 4-6 days without a phone to exchange and I have no phone to temporarily switch to. Never buying from them again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear, though it seems so odd that all four phones would have this same problem if it was a phone hardware defect. One might expect that one or two phones have a serious issue, but all four having the exact same defect seems very strange.
Something must be common to them all, I guess: each was categorized as having the same problems for reconditioning and sat in a "fixed" pile to send out, they were all made during the same (bad) run in original manufacturing, they are all roaming due to a common activation issue, the local network is not healthy for them for some reason or perhaps some unique software is running that interferes with the voice.
I attached two screenshots from my Settings -> About submenu for Verizon . . . do yours look similar?
If you made a local voice recording, playback sounds just as bad as over the phone?
Are you now on Verizon? I guess that's why you're posting here, but just checking my assumption. If so, do you have a local Verizon store in which you can test yours vs one of their store models to ensure this isn't something inherent to the way this model phone works with their local network? It sounds like you came from Sprint, so I wonder if there's a fundamental problem with that Verizon location, for some strange reason.
- ooofest

Your opinions after buying it.

Hi people of XDA, I think I'm going to buy this phone tomorrow, and I want to hear your impressions after use.
I've used it in a local dealer, but I'm afraid of that glass breaking, I've read so much about it... and I've seen people have been careful with it, and it still breaks... What about gaming performance and heat? Have you played intensive games where the phone was very hot? Has anything happened to glass?
So are there any cons that you know? I'm stunned by phone's look. Ex Arc owner hiihihi
I'm really happy with my phone! The battery is amazing and it handles games like a champ. No heating problems or cracked glass, but I'm using a case so don't know if it would be the same without it.
My only complaint would be low audio output with headphones because I like my music loud.
My only complaint is theres still no built in call blocker and unlike my note 4 theres no caller name readout, so you know whos calling you.
Yes the phone could be louder in headphones but atleast It is a improvement on previous Z series and even the Xperia S & T.
The DSEE HX really helps with loudness, as does using the MDR-NC31EMs or my Beats Mixrs.
Happy but there is a small part of me that wishes i went with the compact version! Dont get me wrong, I much prefer the larger screen and its obviously better if watching videos / youtube or even just web browsing. However its a tad awkward to use one handed when on the move outdoors because of its size where as the compact felt much better in hand and felt alot less likely to drop/slip from my grip (when i tested it out in store)
I expected a little more from the camera especially when it comes to detail but none the less its a good camera. Battery life is excellent to so all in all iam happy
Oh and for the person that mentioned 'call blocker' . Theres an option to send a choosen number to voicemail which is pretty similar to blocking the number i think. Also if you use the textra app you can now block incoming sms
If you like installing custom ROM's, i'd avoid Sony. That said, my thoughts;
The phone is very fast, and has a super bright screen, although it's much too blue. Speakers are loud but inconsistent. Camera is good but not amazing.
Compared to my previous phone, M8, i'd say this is faster with much better battery life, but speakers, camera and screen, as well as the puny LED flash which is useless make this phone a little disappointing.
Disclaimer : I am very very picky, so while this phone isn't of the quality of the M8, the glass won't break on it's own, and you won't regret it unless you've had an M8 lol.
Playdough96 said:
I'm really happy with my phone! The battery is amazing and it handles games like a champ. No heating problems or cracked glass, but I'm using a case so don't know if it would be the same without it.
My only complaint would be low audio output with headphones because I like my music loud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mind if I ask you what case you are using? Thanks.
Hustlervanz said:
Do you mind if I ask you what case you are using? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.krusellcases.com/uk/p_krusell_product.aspx?i=265580
Bought this one from a store here in Sweden the first day i got my phone. There were no other ones and it looked good and sturdy. Good price too.
Another minor flaw thats a little annoying for me also is that iam finding auto brightness to be crap! The display is too bright in dark settings and to dim in bright settings unless i manually adjust!
I've had it for one week, and I'm very satisfied. I changed from a Z and everything is much better, lighter, brighter screen (I can see it under direct sunlight), usable in wet conditions.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that I can't root it without unlocking the bootloader, at least for now (I like to remove all the Google and Sony bloatware).
I've had my 6603 model for two days. Maybe the honeymoon is still going, but I really love this phone. I did manage to scratch the rear glass already. No cases in USA yet and Amazon backorders them into November after you buy one that shows " in stock". After the past year with Nexus 5, and looking at how the Nexus 6 is whale sized the Xperia Z3 was the only semi stock device I could find that met my needs/wants. I'm thrilled with it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
NFC not working
The phone is great! apart from the NFC only working sporadically.
It only works if i push on the back where the NFC makes contact. It used to work fine for the first week so not sure why the NFC module isnt making contact to the main board.
Anybody else having this issue?
I bought my first Sony smart phone and its Z3 last week. Till now its working great and i have seen no issues just one when using 3G or LTE signals get dropped. Same issue is coming in nexus 5 too. Other than this its very very fine smart phone. Look and feel is good Battery time is awesome and most importantly there in no lag. I switched from galaxy S4 so i am feeling this difference a lot.
I have the phone for a week or 2-3 now and still happy verry with it. Biggest downside is no root and the camera could be a bit better... Coming from a Z1 (and Lumia 930 in between) just about everything is an improvement, screen, build, speed, the whole package. Just hope development will set off soon for the Z3 (again, root mainly).
The phone does get hot when playing games (even candycrush) but that's just what phones do. No issues with glass so far here *knocks on wood*.
I've had this phone since September 26th. I came from an iPhone 5 (i know, I been missing out) and i'm kinda amazed!
There are a few things though:
1. As mentioned by someone before, i'm having issues while it's switching between 3- and 4G. And additionally while it's switching from WiFi to 3/4G. There are spots possibly up to ~15 seconds without any connection.
2. I'm using a cover, but the back got scratches inside the cover, by miniature particles, so I'm guessing it's not too scratch resistant.
3.First I set it up following the set up instructions, and setting everything up with syncs and whatnot. I wasn't too impressed by the battery life when I had it like that, so I did a factory reset and set it up a bit more cautiously, switched stamina mode on and boom, easily the best battery life I ever had!
Over all I'm loving the phone though, reading the news in the shower every morning, no worries about whipping it out in the rain, watching tv-series on the metro in wonderful quality, without noticeable battery drops. No crashes yet, the ps4 remote play to come. The list is long!
I guess what I'm saying is that having had an iPhone since my HTC desire was pensioned I secretly missed android all along, and what a great device this is for a comeback ?
Great phone.. Coming from an LG G2, I miss the thin bezels.
Also miss development for it.
No regrets. Z1 - Z2 - Z3

Share your HTC U11+ experience here!

Hello dear readers​
Just wanted to create a thread to know about your experience with the new HTC U11+
Please do not forget to mention the following things:
-Where did you buy your phone from?
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
-What accessories are you using with your device?
-What do you like about the device?
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
-What do you have installed on your phone?
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Looking forward to you guys' sharing your experience.:fingers-crossed:​
lil_rain said:
Hello dear readers
Just wanted to create a thread to know about your experience with the new HTC U11+
Please do not forget to mention the following things:
-Where did you buy your phone from?
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
-What accessories are you using with your device?
-What do you like about the device?
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
-What do you have installed on your phone?
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Looking forward to you guys' sharing your experience.:fingers-crossed:​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pre-ordered mine from HTC.
Got the black one not translucent, didn't want to wait to get my hands on the device till January.
No accessories, still looking for a case, very careful in the meanwhile.
What I like about the device. Basically everything, didn't come across anything, that I don't like. Camera is great, performance is smooth and battery is holding up very well.
Favorite features: edge sense, the extra status bar features, audio quality. Headphones with active noise cancellation are great.
Attached screenshots of my app drawer for the installed apps.
How many hours I spent on my phone daily? Enough to trigger the companion notification recommending to take a rest every day.
Advice to U11+ buyers, flash Cleanslate kernel and profit. Also enable WireGuard, just an amazing privacy feature.
I totally agree with you. I've had mine for a month now and don't seem to have any problem with it as of far at all. The camera is amazing the battery is holding up pretty good as well.
I ordered mine from eBay. I got the sliver one and it doesn't even look silver at all lol (its blueish and the corners look kind of purplish) It give you the pearlescent blue kind of feel which looks really nice . Trust me out of all the color i saw in hand silver was the best one.
I've got this cover for my phone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GJFDX...516368691&sr=1-3&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
The cover is slim but I'll rate the protection 7 out of 10 (which is okay with all the slim covers)
and I got this glass screen which is case friendly
https://www.amazon.com/Screen-Prote...r=1-1&keywords=htc+u11+plus+screen+protection
If you are looking for better protection rather than the looks then go for this one
https://www.amazon.com/KuGi-Scratch...16369361&sr=1-14&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
lil_rain said:
I totally agree with you. I've had mine for a month now and don't seem to have any problem with it as of far at all. The camera is amazing the battery is holding up pretty good as well.
I ordered mine from eBay. I got the sliver one and it doesn't even look silver at all lol (its blueish and the corners look kind of purplish) It give you the pearlescent blue kind of feel which looks really nice . Trust me out of all the color i saw in hand silver was the best one.
I've got this cover for my phone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GJFDX...516368691&sr=1-3&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
The cover is slim but I'll rate the protection 7 out of 10 (which is okay with all the slim covers)
and I got this glass screen which is case friendly
https://www.amazon.com/Screen-Prote...r=1-1&keywords=htc+u11+plus+screen+protection
If you are looking for better protection rather than the looks then go for this one
https://www.amazon.com/KuGi-Scratch...16369361&sr=1-14&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your wordings however i am going to stick with the bumper provided by HTC for now, else my translucent U11+ isn't visible anymore?
daheufster said:
Thanks for your wordings however i am going to stick with the bumper provided by HTC for now, else my translucent U11+ isn't visible anymore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love using my phone without the case. But I'm too scared to mess the phone up since it's super slippery lol. It looks so beautiful without the case though
Picked it up on Swappa - WOW is this phone fabulous EXCEPT...
1) Can NOT stand everytime installing an app, an icon for said app is on my home screen
2) Fingerprint magnet like you wouldn't believe unless you own one
3) I am kinda wondering where the LTE imagery is as I am 4 or more phones in and was ecstatic to see it vs H (HTC I'm looking at you).
Otherwise, so far so good. I have this case - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078STPXH8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This screen protector will be on it soon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077665GL2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And this case is my all time love (see signature) - https://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-U11-Pl...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
-Where did you buy your phone from?
I had bought it non HTC Club
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
Ceramic Black
-What accessories are you using with your device?
Soft cover and tempered glass
-What do you like about the device?
Design and HTC Sense UI
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
Edge Sense
-What do you have installed on your phone?
Actually none, killed by water
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
Actually none, killed by water
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Stay away from the water
Amazing phone!Sometimes i charged it after 2 full days, normally one and a half. Vibrant screen colors. Hi-res audio AND noise canceling,sd card.I am in love with this sucker!2 cons i see,but it's ok(for now):Not frequent updates and it's not coming with system equalizer.I had to unlock it and add Viper.Now iam good.!
There is few bad things which annoy me.
Display is dimmed but it is not that bad, except I have factory flaw and when it is cold I see horisontal lines.
Maybe the most annoying is the haptic feedback, I must turn it off when I use keyboard, coz is so bad and so loud that in quiet place, whole room can hear when I was writing.
Also volume buttons and turn on button are bad, I mean they are working great, but feeling is very cheap.
At the end I am not fully satisfied with the phone, I hoped for better hardware quality...
lil_rain said:
Hello dear readers​
Just wanted to create a thread to know about your experience with the new HTC U11+
Please do not forget to mention the following things:
-Where did you buy your phone from?
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
-What accessories are you using with your device?
-What do you like about the device?
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
-What do you have installed on your phone?
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Looking forward to you guys' sharing your experience.:fingers-crossed:​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my device off a Taiwan-based retailer on eBay. I opted for the translucent black one because I thought it looked less gaudy than the others. I use my bluetooth headphones a few times daily to stream music on Spotify, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and YouTube. I can count the number of times I have used the 3.5mm adapter. That is not to say I don't miss the headphone jack. There have been a few times when I needed to connect my wired earbuds for phone calls (because my wireless pair act up sometimes with phone calls) and was momentarily disappointed. A minor inconvenience but an inconvenience still. I have a few bank apps, WhatsApp, Telegram, an email app, 4 light games, a dictionary, the eBay and Amazon apps and Netflix. I actively use Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Google Play Music and Chrome on a daily basis. I actually spend more time on Chrome than on anything else, save for Spotify that stays minimized most times so I can easily resume playing tunes when I slap on my headphones or jump in the car. I probably use my phone for 3hrs each day on average.
These are the things I like about the device:
- The 6-inch display. After using a Xiaomi Mi Max for 6 months, I fell in love with big displays. Although, this screen size is a sizeable downgrade, the taller aspect ratio seemed attractive.
- The speakers. This phone is undoubtebly louder than my previous phones, whether via the speakers or connected headsets. I am not an audiophile by any means but I can tell this phone has a superior DAC compared to my previous phones.
- The 3930mAh battery. To be honest, this is the one thing about the phone that got me interested. I had owned a HTC One M8 in the past. While a good phone during its time, I wasn't entirely sold on the camera front. I am not a huge camera user but it sure is a nice feature to have. Also, if I am going to spend a huge sum on a phone, it better be great at everything. My previous device was a Samsung Galaxy S8+. An excellent device it was but the 3500mAh left quite a lot to be desired. The fingerprint scanner seemed ancient as well given its size, shape and reliability. The U11+ is no slouch when it comes to longevity. With my usage, I can get close to 10hrs SOT with almost 2 days of standby.
- The fingerprint scanner. It is the right size, shape and in the right location. Did I mention that it is fast? Yeah, my S8+ sucked in this regard. It had a success rate of 60%. The iris scanner wasn't much help as I could only use it in certain situations.
- ActiveEdge. This isn't a feature I use a lot. It is actually disabled as I write this. It is nice to have but I sometimes forget to use it even after assigning shortcuts to it. Sometimes I don't even realise it's there until I accidentally squeeze the frame and get the visual notification.
These things I don't like about the phone:
- Notification LED. At this price point, one would expect a RGB one. I like being able to tell what kind of notification I have so as to help me decide if it's an urgent one or not. Samsung has had this for as long as I can remember. I don't understand why some other OEMs don't use them.
- No audio EQ. I like having the ability to adjust EQ settings to suit my taste. I was hoping this phone would at least have Dolby ATMOS like the M9. I tried a few apps on the Play Store. They weren't quite up to snuff. Tried the one that was ported from an Axon device. No luck with that either. I'm not too fussed as one of my headphones has a few EQ settings to choose from.
- LCD panel. I have been spoiled by Samsung's SuperAMOLED QHD displays. Them being oversaturated doesn't bother me as much as this one being LCD does. Once you go AMOLED, LCD just seems so ancient. Also, the max brightness of this panel is nothing to write home about. This is something reviewers talked about but I imagined I wouldn't need to use my device in direct sunlight often. Well, I imagined wrong. Sunlight visibility is poor.
- No headphone jack. While not a deal-breaker, this is still an inconvenience that could have been avoided. I won't be settling for anything without one in the future.
- Stale software. Sense has been praised for being not as heavily skinned or resource-heavy like the then Samsung TouchWiz. I liked it back when the M8 got the update. Now, I feel like it has become old and outdated. HTC built-in apps look like we are still in 2013. The dialer app was my first frustration. It was such an eyesore. I immediately replaced it with Drupe but did away with that later as it was too convoluted and unintuitive. Now, I am using the Google Dialer which has been good so far.
Security Updates. I don't know about devices from other regions but I haven't gotten an update since I acquired this device. It is still on the December security patch. This is definitely worse than what I experienced with my S8+.
- Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth performance has been less than pleasant. Sometimes, devices disconnect a second after being connected to my phone. Other times, the phone doesn't automatically connect to the last used device. Also, you can't have more than 1 Bluetooth device connected to the device using the same profile. What I mean is I can't have my headphones and portable Bluetooth speaker connected at the same time. By comparison, my Galaxy S8+ would stay connected to my 2 Bluetooth headphones and smartwatch. And I could easily choose which one could be active. There's also dual audio - streaming audio to 2 Bluetooth devices at the same time.
- Audio player. I use a variety of music-streaming services and one thing I have noticed is that when a track is being streamed, the total track time is not displayed. I have tried changing the codec in use without much luck. The most recent development is that track ID sometimes only displays on my head unit. Dunno if it's the Spotify app that is playing up.
- Gesture-based shortcut for screenshot-taking. Why is this still an issue in 2018? Gestures are a lot faster than swiping and then tapping or performing hand acrobatics in order to get a screenshot. Samsung does this right. So does OnePlus. Dunno about other OEMs.
These are the pros and cons I can think of right now. If there are others, they are probably too minor to rant about.
For would-be buyers, think long and hard before you decide if this device is right for you. As always, weigh the pros vs the cons. Also note that some of the cons outlined here are as a result of my personal preferences. I was aware of a few of the cons before I took the plunge. But I bought it anyway because I was seduced by the battery capacity. Now that the novelty has worn off, I am most likely going to offload the device in the coming weeks and go for a Xiaomi Mi Max 3... or the Samsung Galaxy Note9, depending on the state of my wallet at the time.
Hope this helps.

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