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Verizon SG3 worth keeping?

Given Verizon's encrypted bootloader and highly unlikely chance that the developer version will help in unlocking this phone, is it still worth keeping? I haven't even taken the SG3 out of the FedEx box because I don't want to be stuck with an unmoddable phone. I currently have a Thunderbolt running ThunderShed's ROM with IMO's kernel, and do not want to give up that experience just for a shinier phone. What are your thoughts and opinions?

I'd say it's worth keeping till the end of the 14-day return period, hopefully the bootloader will either be cracked by then (of course, this date varies depending on when you got your phone), or it will become apparent that it's never going to be cracked.

Jacquestrapp said:
I'd say it's worth keeping till the end of the 14-day return period, hopefully the bootloader will either be cracked by then (of course, this date varies depending on when you got your phone), or it will become apparent that it's never going to be cracked.
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I just received the phone yesterday, so I have until 7/25 - a good chunk of dev time. I just really hope this doesn't turn out to be a Moto-esque debacle where it's a massive kludge.

One thing that I've noticed with this phone vs others: it works extremely well out of the box. Not only that but we're going to get JB. If modding is that super important to you, either wait for the next Nexus (not guaranteed to be on VZW), or get the current one. You're not going to get a totally moddable phone anymore unless you get the Nexus. Or you can just switch carriers for an unlocked GS3.
For myself: I'm tired of crackflashing. I'm tired of running the latest ROM release and working through bugs. I'm sick of things not working and constantly wiping over and over again. I wanted a phone that just worked well out of the box, and the GS3 is perfect for that. Of course this is entirely subjective, and your needs are obviously more inline with Nexus devices. I'd say if you don't want to put the bootloader status to chance, wait for the next Nexus.

mustbepbs said:
One thing that I've noticed with this phone vs others: it works extremely well out of the box. Not only that but we're going to get JB. If modding is that super important to you, either wait for the next Nexus (not guaranteed to be on VZW), or get the current one. You're not going to get a totally moddable phone anymore unless you get the Nexus. Or you can just switch carriers for an unlocked GS3.
For myself: I'm tired of crackflashing. I'm tired of running the latest ROM release and working through bugs. I'm sick of things not working and constantly wiping over and over again. I wanted a phone that just worked well out of the box, and the GS3 is perfect for that. Of course this is entirely subjective, and your needs are obviously more inline with Nexus devices. I'd say if you don't want to put the bootloader status to chance, wait for the next Nexus.
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WOW!!! right on the head with that one, I feel the exact same way.
Usually I jump on any mod available but this time i like it just working.
I'm really just waiting on Jelly Bean now.

Depends if you can roll stock. I got at&t gs3. On task and ktoon AOPK and phone is far better than touch wiz. Even with a few minor bugs that will be worked out. On release #2 and its awsome
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

Got my phone today and I gotta admit I love the phone Rooted with stock. I would say keep it. Remember the bootloader is locked but only for now.

Aquila76 said:
Given Verizon's encrypted bootloader and highly unlikely chance that the developer version will help in unlocking this phone, is it still worth keeping? I haven't even taken the SG3 out of the FedEx box because I don't want to be stuck with an unmoddable phone. I currently have a Thunderbolt running ThunderShed's ROM with IMO's kernel, and do not want to give up that experience just for a shinier phone. What are your thoughts and opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its extremely early to write off our chances of getting past the bootloader. Even with the encrypted bootloader there has been massives amount of progress, and the phone just hit the stores TODAY. Calling it an unmoddable phone isn't accurate, as we already have the ability to run custom kernels and roms, just not an unsigned boot image. Patience is key, but if you dont have any, return it and get a GNEX with its one gig of ram and 5mp camera

In the news
Samsung will offer open bootloader for Verizon SGS3 phones - on their site.

bravomail said:
Samsung will offer open bootloader for Verizon SGS3 phones - on their site.
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Where is the source or proof of your claim

I was in the same boat op but after using mine I'm loving it. I came from a droid x running cm7gb and I miss things like hard button music control and other customization but the hardware makes up for it. I rooted using the new method and I love it even more. I'm confident that the devs will make progress. IMO the gap between stock and custom is a lot smaller on this phone. Once jb comes to it it will be insane even if it's a samsung version.

bravomail said:
Samsung will offer open bootloader for Verizon SGS3 phones - on their site.
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Click to collapse
Yes, you can purchase a totally new phone for $600 if you're up for the expense. It's not a simple software download.

Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna go ahead and fire it up for the time being. Worst case, I can return it in a couple weeks if the stock ROM is too annoying. Best case, the bootloader gets cracked like my Thunderbolt. Most likely, I'll just stop worrying and love the bomb. It sounds like the OEMs have realized we don't want messy, bloated, slothy interfaces gumming up our phones.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium

Well, just wanted to add a final note to this. I'm trying to return it and go back to my Thunderbolt. The radio is terrible compared to that phone, constantly dropping wifi and 3G/4G. The phone keeps locking to a black screen requiring a battery pull to restart it. Just not worth the aggravation.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

I plan on keeping the SG3 until the nexus comes out hopefully on Verizon.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Aquila76 said:
Well, just wanted to add a final note to this. I'm trying to return it and go back to my Thunderbolt. The radio is terrible compared to that phone, constantly dropping wifi and 3G/4G. The phone keeps locking to a black screen requiring a battery pull to restart it. Just not worth the aggravation.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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Maybe you got a dud. I know (myself included) 8 people who already have these phones, plus many many on here and none have your issues. Yeah, your signal is reported differently than htc phones, but what gives there.

It's definitely worth keeping. I have came from iphones and various android devices such as the htc evo, motorola droid razr and the samsung galaxy nexus for verizon and I love the samsung s3. Out of all these devices even with the extended battery on them this battery/phone out performs the other phones.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

TechSavvy2 said:
Maybe you got a dud. I know (myself included) 8 people who already have these phones, plus many many on here and none have your issues. Yeah, your signal is reported differently than htc phones, but what gives there.
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Click to collapse
Guess there's lots of duds out there then...

TechSavvy2 said:
Maybe you got a dud. I know (myself included) 8 people who already have these phones, plus many many on here and none have your issues. Yeah, your signal is reported differently than htc phones, but what gives there.
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Exactly, this phone is awesome

Hmmm, a couple of people mentioned that they are tired of modding and crackflashing? Why are you still here on xda? I buy android so I can feed my addiction of owning new phones without actually changing devices. I look forward to new mods and roms.
Oh ya, with all the new development, almost everything can be done with the so called locked bootloader. I'm running the new cm10 /jelly Bean as my daily driver. #screwyouverizon
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

[Q] Should I format internal SD before ODIN?

I've basically had it with my Skyrocket, or rather, the Skyrocket that I have. It has always had atrocious battery life, exhibited weird behavior (like today when it lost nearly 20% of its battery in about 2 hours, and claiming the PHONE component was the prime culprit when I hadn't made a phone call) and also even after I unlocked the damn thing I still can't get it to force to 2G (yes I'm using an Unlocked RAT as well.) I'm still under warranty so I want a different one even if it is refurbished.
Anyways, I know the whole deal of using ODIN to return to Stock and making sure the Flash Counter isn't tripped, but in this day and age I'm paranoid about tech stuff having personal stuff getting stolen, so I'm tempted to wipe out the internal SD card, but I don't know if this is necessary and/or potentially harmful. Can I boot into Recovery and have it format my internal card, then ODIN back to Stock, or will this just cause more problems than it's worth?

dvandam said:
I've basically had it with my Skyrocket, or rather, the Skyrocket that I have. It has always had atrocious battery life, exhibited weird behavior (like today when it lost nearly 20% of its battery in about 2 hours, and claiming the PHONE component was the prime culprit when I hadn't made a phone call) and also even after I unlocked the damn thing I still can't get it to force to 2G (yes I'm using an Unlocked RAT as well.) I'm still under warranty so I want a different one even if it is refurbished.
Anyways, I know the whole deal of using ODIN to return to Stock and making sure the Flash Counter isn't tripped, but in this day and age I'm paranoid about tech stuff having personal stuff getting stolen, so I'm tempted to wipe out the internal SD card, but I don't know if this is necessary and/or potentially harmful. Can I boot into Recovery and have it format my internal card, then ODIN back to Stock, or will this just cause more problems than it's worth?
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Click to collapse
Yes you can I have reformatted my internal several times before using Odin personally I just mount our to the pc and format that way. Spector7 has done they CWM using format emmc and said out worked fine but emmc is at your own risk I just format they pc
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Okay next stupid question...
Would it not be easier to just install a Stock Rom then install Stock Recovery to get my phone back to regular state as mentioned here after I do a formatting, as opposed to going through all the ODIN stuff, which, if done wrong, can trip the flash counter more easily and thus leaving me with some explaining to do at the AT&T store?

dvandam said:
Okay next stupid question...
Would it not be easier to just install a Stock Rom then install Stock Recovery to get my phone back to regular state as mentioned here after I do a formatting, as opposed to going through all the ODIN stuff, which, if done wrong, can trip the flash counter more easily and thus leaving me with some explaining to do at the AT&T store?
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Click to collapse
I would Wipe after stock rom modem and recovery that way if it bricks att will need to fix it
Use the CWM method.

Well I returned to stock and am planning on going to AT&T after work to demand a replacement. Maybe I can use my charm and wit to negotiate into getting an upgrade to a S3 if they don't have any Skyrockets in stock, but then again I'm a guy who plays the lottery, so I'll keep my expectations in check. Worst case scenario and they just turn me down I'll brick the damn thing intentionally and then say "Oh it stopped working after the most recent update." Wish me luck.

TBQH, I'd just brick it in Kies by restoring to 2.3.5 and unpluggig during the ICS update. Tell them that you were updating to 4.0, and the thing wouldn't turn back on afterwards. If nothing else, AT&T will help get things with Sammy in order.
I wouldn't even bring up the other problems
Sent from my SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

T.J. Bender said:
TBQH, I'd just brick it in Kies by restoring to 2.3.5 and unpluggig during the ICS update. Tell them that you were updating to 4.0, and the thing wouldn't turn back on afterwards. If nothing else, AT&T will help get things with Sammy in order.
I wouldn't even bring up the other problems
Sent from my SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I have no idea how Kies works (never had a need to use it as I just flash everything) That's a program you install on your CPU right and then do the update by downloading in Kies and then plugging the phone into the CPU to download to it?

dvandam said:
Sorry I have no idea how Kies works (never had a need to use it as I just flash everything) That's a program you install on your CPU right and then do the update by downloading in Kies and then plugging the phone into the CPU to download to it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct go too the android development thread and check out Vimcom stick alright so just check it or its not bad
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Looks like I may have given myself a reason to return it before I could intentionally brick it via Kies..
I just ODINed back to stock and now the device is stuck in a boot loop. I double checked the download mode and it didn't trip the counter, so at least they can't accuse me of messing with it in that regard. I do hope that a new phone helps my problems, because quite frankly it's hard to stick with the Skyrocket in general after seeing the smoothness of the Galaxy Nexus (which my wife has) or the robust beast that is the SIII. I swear though if the Nexus 4 had LTE I'd have already ordered it, paid for same day shipping, and taken the entire day off to be able to play with it. Oh if ONLY they had included LTE... I would have paid $100 extra for that even..

Update on this..
Brought it to my local store, only to be referred to the one and only repair center in the state. They said they were going to try and restore the stock firmware onto the device. I started to get worried as I thought they may be able to undo what I had done. About 15 minutes later they gave up. I think they were trying to use Kies as opposed to ODIN. I didn't want to give on that I really knew my way around the phone and may have done the work myself. Anyways they gave me a new phone and sent me on my way.
I flashed CM10 M2 on my device again. As far as battery life goes.. it seems pretty comparable to what I had before. At this point I don't feel like going back to get yet ANOTHER Skyrocket. I suppose I'm just stuck with this battery life forever.
On a side note, even though for many of us this may be common knowledge, for everyone else, if your device is bricked, whether intentional or not, MAKE SURE YOU WIPE YOUR FLASH COUNT BEFORE BRINGING IN FOR SERVICE! The first thing the tech people are going to do is put your device into Download mode and hook it up to a CPU to flash original firmware. Unless they're COMPLETELY ignorant or don't care, if they see that custom Rom counter tripped then they're not going to touch your device.

dvandam said:
Update on this..
Brought it to my local store, only to be referred to the one and only repair center in the state. They said they were going to try and restore the stock firmware onto the device. I started to get worried as I thought they may be able to undo what I had done. About 15 minutes later they gave up. I think they were trying to use Kies as opposed to ODIN. I didn't want to give on that I really knew my way around the phone and may have done the work myself. Anyways they gave me a new phone and sent me on my way.
I flashed CM10 M2 on my device again. As far as battery life goes.. it seems pretty comparable to what I had before. At this point I don't feel like going back to get yet ANOTHER Skyrocket. I suppose I'm just stuck with this battery life forever.
On a side note, even though for many of us this may be common knowledge, for everyone else, if your device is bricked, whether intentional or not, MAKE SURE YOU WIPE YOUR FLASH COUNT BEFORE BRINGING IN FOR SERVICE! The first thing the tech people are going to do is put your device into Download mode and hook it up to a CPU to flash original firmware. Unless they're COMPLETELY ignorant or don't care, if they see that custom Rom counter tripped then they're not going to touch your device.
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Click to collapse
Did you get a brand new phone or a refurbished?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Not sure. I'd guess refurbished as they basically had buckets in on their wall that had a wide assortment of various phones for replacement. Overall though I'm not going to fight over refurbished vs getting a brand new one. I could just as easily get a bad refurb as I could get a lemon new.
Honestly at this point I'm more annoyed with the lack of "snappiness" of this phone. As I said it doesn't help that my wife has a Galaxy Nexus (which quite frankly even ran ICS better than my Skyrocket ever did) so to see how my system is "supposed" to run and not have it just bugs me. Seeing the Galaxy S3 in action makes me so envious with that gorgeous screen and snappy response just makes me regret more and more that day nearly a year ago when my 21 month old for grabbed my Nexus One and I didn't tackle her before she threw it down the stairs. Being forced to buy a phone well before I wanted to buy a new one as I wanted to wait for LTE deployment in my area, (which I STILL don't have BTW) and now regretting a year later just... ugh.. For all the crap Apple gets with their phones, at least it's easy to pick out which phone of theirs is the best available at any given time, and (assuming they don't change to the iPad release schedule) you can feel confident it'll stay top of the line for a year.
Sorry for the /rant there

dvandam said:
Not sure. I'd guess refurbished as they basically had buckets in on their wall that had a wide assortment of various phones for replacement. Overall though I'm not going to fight over refurbished vs getting a brand new one. I could just as easily get a bad refurb as I could get a lemon new.
Honestly at this point I'm more annoyed with the lack of "snappiness" of this phone. As I said it doesn't help that my wife has a Galaxy Nexus (which quite frankly even ran ICS better than my Skyrocket ever did) so to see how my system is "supposed" to run and not have it just bugs me. Seeing the Galaxy S3 in action makes me so envious with that gorgeous screen and snappy response just makes me regret more and more that day nearly a year ago when my 21 month old for grabbed my Nexus One and I didn't tackle her before she threw it down the stairs. Being forced to buy a phone well before I wanted to buy a new one as I wanted to wait for LTE deployment in my area, (which I STILL don't have BTW) and now regretting a year later just... ugh.. For all the crap Apple gets with their phones, at least it's easy to pick out which phone of theirs is the best available at any given time, and (assuming they don't change to the iPad release schedule) you can feel confident it'll stay top of the line for a year.
Sorry for the /rant there
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You're confused.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Any advice for a soon-to-be Infinity owner?

I'm getting a bursary payment from my university on Thursday and I was planning on using the money to buy the parts for a new computer then, but I've now decided to wait till next month and put some of the money from said payment towards buying an Infinity instead as a early birthday present for myself as well as using it as a device for reading relevant materials for my Computer Studies degree (That, plus it looks like it'll make a great device for viewing HD anime fansubs as well! ^_^)
In the meantime, do any of the members here in this forum who own the device have any advice for a new owner, such as what's the best custom ROM, the best accessories, how to make it the best it can be, etc?

First of all: 'This is an awesome tablet.
But you will soon discover that the stock ROM has sad and perplexing limitations.
If you plan to unlock and flash a custom Rom anyway, my vote goes for CROMI!
It's based on the stock ROM, but much, much better!
On stock this tab crawls, on CROMI it flies, it's stable and incredibly well supported.
Just follow the CROMI threads in the Development, General and Help sections for a while and you'll see what I mean....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

berndblb said:
First of all: 'This is an awesome tablet.
But you will soon discover that the stock ROM has sad and perplexing limitations.
If you plan to unlock and flash a custom Rom anyway, my vote goes for CROMI!
It's based on the stock ROM, but much, much better!
On stock this tab crawls, on CROMI it flies, it's stable and incredibly well supported.
Just follow the CROMI threads in the Development, General and Help sections for a while and you'll see what I mean....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be sure to check CROMI out if it's that good. How does it compare to other ROMS such as Cyanogenmod?

I second the suggestion of CROMI. I just unlocked my tablet over the weekend and there is a MASSIVE difference in how fast apps load and especially PDFs (from a Class 10 MicroSD, of course) and browser performance. I still have to explore Data2SD, but I've heard good things about that too.

borgmanjayce said:
I'll be sure to check CROMI out if it's that good. How does it compare to other ROMS such as Cyanogenmod?
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Click to collapse
I would check out the relevant threads on this forum. In the end it is a matter of taste and preference.
I have not tried Cyanogenmod and I don't see any reason to do so. My tab runs perfectly on CROMI.
I cannot imagine it running better on another ROM.
CROMl is based on the Asus stock ROM, CWM is build from the ground up. From what I hear and read, this fact seems to make CWM prone to more bugs and hardware Conflicts. But that's just my opinion...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

borgmanjayce said:
I'll be sure to check CROMI out if it's that good. How does it compare to other ROMS such as Cyanogenmod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm you really need to root it, otherwise buy another tablet!
Once you are rooted, it's a great device.
I used Cromi for a week and it's good and fast, no doubt about it.
For me personally performance is not only about speed, but also about customize options and for that reason I flashed Baked BlackBean 8 and I will not flash anything else for a while. It's without a doubt the best ROM if you like AOKP roms. If your not familiar with I suggest to start with Cromi! Like said above, support is amazing, to be fair it's the only thread 'alive' in de TF700 forum compared to One X forum.
Btw: I didn't try CM10, but support there is also great from Dasunsrule
Sent from my Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

My suggestion would be to use it and use it well for the first month or two to make sure the hardware is functioning properly before going the custom ROM route. The reason for this is you will have to unlock it to flash a custom recovery and ROM, and this will void your warranty.
If something goes wrong after you have unlocked you are SOL for warranty coverage.

borgmanjayce said:
I'm getting a bursary payment from my university on Thursday and I was planning on using the money to buy the parts for a new computer then, but I've now decided to wait till next month and put some of the money from said payment towards buying an Infinity instead as a early birthday present for myself as well as using it as a device for reading relevant materials for my Computer Studies degree (That, plus it looks like it'll make a great device for viewing HD anime fansubs as well! ^_^)
In the meantime, do any of the members here in this forum who own the device have any advice for a new owner, such as what's the best custom ROM, the best accessories, how to make it the best it can be, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
borgmanjayce said:
I'll be sure to check CROMI out if it's that good. How does it compare to other ROMS such as Cyanogenmod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Try and get NvFlash working. A safety is ALWAYS a good thing (you especially value that when you have a military background. ).
2. Unlock, and flash a custom ROM -- stock ROM sucks Major Balls' ass..
My preference is CROMI -- it's stock-based so you have the quick access features, full IPS+ support, full dock support, etc. that some other custom ROMs may struggle with (and even if stable now, they may get to struggle with them as new Android versions arrive on the stage). It does come down to preference, as the rest said, too. You cannot go really, absolutely wrong.
3. I had a rather thick leather case -- it might have been rendering too much pressure on the connections between the tablet and the dock (I still have to find out what caused the breakdown of the docking clamps... <ggrrrr>). I'd suggest either going 'naked' for a while (be careful not to let it tip backwards!) or get a really thin "foil case" (some are referenced in the Accessories forum).
4. Give data2sd some consideration -- that means getting yourself a nice, big, blazingly fast microSD card -- again: off to the Accessories forum you go.
5. With a little time, you'll be tinkering along with us, and get to arrive to the main point: enjoyment.

I just want to thank everybody who's posted here and offered some really great advice so far.
I'll definitely be installing CROMI and taking my time with the device when I finally get hold of it on Thursday.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Galaxy Tab 10.1 but I decided to get an upgrade as it was running out of space plus I was getting frustrated with the lack of a MicroSD card slot so I could transfer apps to a card as well as put media files on it.

borgmanjayce said:
I just want to thank everybody who's posted here and offered some really great advice so far.
I'll definitely be installing CROMI and taking my time with the device when I finally get hold of it on Thursday.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Galaxy Tab 10.1 but I decided to get an upgrade as it was running out of space plus I was getting frustrated with the lack of a MicroSD card slot so I could transfer apps to a card as well as put media files on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Marty had some great advice actually. When you get your tablet, first thing: check your firmware version. If you're lucky it comes with ICS, firmware version ending in .26.
If that is the case: Do not update right away! Search XDA for how to make a NVflash backup.
If you have that, your tab is unbrickable = peace of mind.
I didn't know that and upgraded to JB right away (groan).
But I believe .26 is the last firmware version where you can use the NVflash tool. ICS .30 is already too late...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

berndblb said:
Marty had some great advice actually. When you get your tablet, first thing: check your firmware version. If you're lucky it comes with ICS, firmware version ending in .26.
If that is the case: Do not update right away! Search XDA for how to make a NVflash backup.
If you have that, your tab is unbrickable = peace of mind.
I didn't know that and upgraded to JB right away (groan).
But I believe .26 is the last firmware version where you can use the NVflash tool. ICS .30 is already too late...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually blushing.
The NvFlash procedure was a definite PITA -- it took me an entire evening and a few hours from the night to quit in frustration, only to try a different USB port the next morning and getting it to work right away. As you said, you'll really have to do your best and be extremely unlucky in order to brick it once you have your backups safely tucked away.
I really do find it extremely annoying that ASUS had decided to block NvFlash on the newer firmwares/bootloaders -- I fail to see any advantage in doing so. Now, they'll have more people sending in bricks that could've been easily recovered in the safety and comfort of the owner's own home, and their rather dense (in the sense of stupid) repair center/customer service is overwhelmed already. (People have been mentioning receiving their 700s from the repair center after having run through the RMA procedure twice -- :S -- without the issue actually having been solved [private communication].
Useless gits.

UPDATE: I managed to place a order with Amazon UK yesterday for a 64GB MicroSD card (Class 10 of course) as well as a Caseen Perfecto case for the Infinity itself as well as a computer case for the HTPC that I'll be building next month.
As for the Infinity itself, I was planning on buying it through Currys today via their Pickup and Collect option, but for some reason the option wasn't available at all and not only that, they didn't even offer a next-day delivery option to where I live in the UK, so I decided to order a used version from Amazon UK instead for £504.99 (which I'll be thoroughly testing and checking out before rooting it later on). In fact, I think Currys ended up doing me a favor as I've now saved £95.00 on the retail price for the 64GB version instead of the £50.01 that I would have saved if I had managed to buy it brand new from Currys today!
It's a bit of a shame that I'll have to wait till tomorrow to have it delivered (for free, thanks to Amazon Prime), but I know it'll be worth the wait at the end of the day.

borgmanjayce said:
...
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Click to collapse
Good to hear you decided to take the plunge and join our merry bunch. I do hope that delivery is swift and all arrives well, and that you get a perfect Infinity!
By the way, in addition to my earlier reply: I have been testing data2sd lately, and it does make a significant difference, especially with (un)installation of appd and web browsing. Something to keep in mind; you may regard this as an additional recommendation, hahaha!

MartyHulskemper said:
Good to hear you decided to take the plunge and join our merry bunch. I do hope that delivery is swift and all arrives well, and that you get a perfect Infinity!
By the way, in addition to my earlier reply: I have been testing data2sd lately, and it does make a significant difference, especially with (un)installation of appd and web browsing. Something to keep in mind; you may regard this as an additional recommendation, hahaha!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do decide to root it in the end, ensure that you install "Browser2Ram", this significantly increased the performance of the stock browser.
Before rooting the native browser would crash with just about every webpage that was a bit overpopulated with script.

Bought myself an infinity tf700t - also my first post
Hi to all
thought it was time I scrapped my chinese Tablet and bought something more powerful, bit of an impulse buy but it did not cost me too much as purchased from E***, 1 dead pixel but actually has 3, I am not too bothered at the moment, it did occur to me that I could probably get this repaired under warranty, cant be more than a year old, would Asus honor this, would I have to provide receipts, anyone know where I stand in regards to this, I really do like the tablet, it is responsive and screen looks good,internet is really quick, be good to know what other things this bad boy can do, what I would like to ask is what apps would you all recommend and if anyone has found a decent case and cover for both components. I have been reading all the posts on custom roms, that might be a little bit beyond me as I have no experience of this. also read that it is only possible if tablet is running ICS, my is on JB 4.1.1
there was another question I wanted to ask, does this device allow for tethering to my iphone so I can use the 3g capabilities, and how is this done if possible, please make it simple as I am a bit of a Noob. as you have gathered I do need some help unleashing the power of my new toys, interested to hear anything or any suggestions, best apps, I would be extremely grateful and many thanks in advance. have a good day guys.
Kind Regards
Paul:

I finally got hold of the device a few hours ago and it definitely is a really nice device... Unfortunately, it seems that the one I got from Amazon UK has the Jellybean firmware so it looks like I'll have to downgrade then upgrade before rooting and adding a custom rom to it.
Can anybody point me in the right direction on how to downgrade then upgrade? The build number according to the device is "JR003C WW_epad 10.4.4.18-20121012".

tethering
cholo777 said:
there was another question I wanted to ask, does this device allow for tethering to my iphone so I can use the 3g capabilities, and how is this done if possible, please make it simple as I am a bit of a Noob. as you have gathered I do need some help unleashing the power of my new toys, interested to hear anything or any suggestions, best apps, I would be extremely grateful and many thanks in advance. have a good day guys.
Kind Regards
Paul:
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Click to collapse
I tether mine regularly to my Motorola RAZR (Android based). I don't know how the iPhone identifies the wireless network it makes available when tethering. Once you find that out, you just connect the tablet to it, entering a password if you set it up that way. From then on, that connection should be remembered for easy connection.
- Ed

borgmanjayce said:
Unfortunately, it seems that the one I got from Amazon UK has the Jellybean firmware so it looks like I'll have to downgrade then upgrade before rooting and adding a custom rom to it.
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If you want to unlock anyway, you don't need to downgrade.

_that said:
If you want to unlock anyway, you don't need to downgrade.
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Click to collapse
I thought you needed to downgrade to unlock before rooting?

borgmanjayce said:
I thought you needed to downgrade to unlock before rooting?
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Click to collapse
If you want to unlock, you don't need to downgrade, and you don't need to root - just unlock and install a custom pre-rooted ROM.
If you want to root without unlocking, you need to downgrade to 9.4.4.30, root, and use OTA Rootkeeper and incremental dlkpgfile updates to get back to JB.

What if Verizon doesn't lock their bootloader?

This would be extremely interesting if they end up choosing not too lock theirs after the negativity that surrounded it on the S3 and now AT&T taking heat for locking there bootloader. Perhaps this will make them reconsider. Obviously probably not but it seems like no one has discussed the idea. I think it's completely plausible! If they do, Dan will be free to release the bootloader hack straight forward and AT&T might consider officially unlocking it or atleast leave Dan's exploit alone.

Dan would still wait until the end of May
The Verizon S3 had VRALF2 as launch firmware, VRALEC had unlocked recovery, VRALE6 had unlocked kernel
You can't judge a model by whatever firmware it first pops up with

If they don't, I'm really not looking forward to the monkeys flying out of my butt

Are we talking about the same verizon here?
The one that has its logo on the note II home button?
Locked for sure.

When pigs fly is when Verizon won't lock it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

JaeKay said:
Are we talking about the same verizon here?
The one that has its logo on the note II home button?
Locked for sure.
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Well It's just considering the massive smack in the face by AT&T's drastic change in security standards, I think Verizon could turn around and try to capitalize or just turn around and do something wild like AT&T but in a good way.
Either way it's more then likely gonna be locked but again given AT&T's random change, whose to say it will be?

I'm already surprised half the US carriers have it unlockable, and the other half don't...
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

This is like asking what if water wasn't wet.

Locked bootloader probably affect 0.01% of the entire S4 users. I doubt the carriers care about this much.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

gordec said:
Locked bootloader probably affect 0.01% of the entire S4 users. I doubt the carriers care about this much.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
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Agreed. This isn't a Nexus. If a Nexus came locked, a not-insignificant number of users would be angry. The GS4 (like the GS3 before it) is for popular consumption, and the vast majority of smart phone users do not even know about unlocking, flashing, etc., much less have a need for it.

In all honesty, now having Android phone for the past 5-6 years and rooted, installed custom rom on all of them. I don't know how important it is to have unlocked bootloader and flash custom roms.
Some how I always end up with a variation of stock modded rom. I rarely go with CM, AOSP or a variation of those. I guess it's a much bigger deal for those diehard CM and AOSP fans.
Some how I always end up with a kernel that's minimally modded from the stock kernel.
The best functions from a custom ROM for me are extended power menu and push home button for flashlight on the Note 2.
Most times I flash every 2 weeks just because it's a common hobby that's shared between many members of XDA.
Not saying I don't want a bootloader for our S4. Can't wait to waste more time flashing ROMs.

I agree with above. Also i cant wait till devs fix the issues with this phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

its very important at least oncevir twice a year something or another stops working on the phones I've had ans the only way is a full reset and reinstall everything which takes forever.. or if you have a month it two old cwm backup it is much quicker.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] bought the TF700. return?

Just found out about the MAJOR lag issues surrounding it I have 14 days to return it. I was looking for a $400 tablet, not too old with good battery life and came across this.
Do the clean and cromi-x roms 'renew' it completely?
Would you have returned your tablet and gotten something else if you'd known this would happen??
Should i return it, or just keep it (and flash)?
I keep hearing people saying to get the nexus 10, but even that has its issues apparently (battery drain + slow charging).

ignoramus0611 said:
Just found out about the MAJOR lag issues surrounding it I have 14 days to return it. I was looking for a $400 tablet, not too old with good battery life and came across this.
Do the clean and cromi-x roms 'renew' it completely?
Would you have returned your tablet and gotten something else if you'd known this would happen??
Should i return it, or just keep it (and flash)?
I keep hearing people saying to get the nexus 10, but even that has its issues apparently (battery drain + slow charging).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, clean rom cromi, cm10.1, etc.. speed up the device very well! it will fly
I own a TF300T and we have basicly the same thing on stock rom: very bad lag! so if you like stock i would reccomend crom-x/cleanrom or TF700 specific roms based on stock

Honestly i would return it and save the money for some upcoming device.It's one year old,you have to unlock it (and loose your warranty) in order to have more decent performance and you will mostlikely end-up spending more time to tweak the device than actually enjoy it.Ofcourse this is only my opinion,the final decision it's up to you.

ignoramus0611 said:
Just found out about the MAJOR lag issues surrounding it I have 14 days to return it. I was looking for a $400 tablet, not too old with good battery life and came across this.
Do the clean and cromi-x roms 'renew' it completely?
Would you have returned your tablet and gotten something else if you'd known this would happen??
Should i return it, or just keep it (and flash)?
I keep hearing people saying to get the nexus 10, but even that has its issues apparently (battery drain + slow charging).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I had it to do over again...it would go back. Sorry to say that but you should NOT have to make ANY changes to a tablet that is supposed to be at the top of the line. My wife's AT105-T1032 Toshiba, is a lot more stable than the TF700.
Here are some of MY problems:
ANY browser will loose input from the onscreen keyboard...doesn't matter if it's Asus KB or Swiftkey or Google
The lag is so bad at times the KB won't appear for a second or two
ANY browser will just force close for no appearent reason...doesn't happen often but it does happen
The screen is loose on the lower right corner, I thought this issue had fixed itself but I noticed it again the other day
When posting on forums none of the browsers work correctly. They make it a horrible experiance and I usually have to give up and go to my PC to complete posts I want to make. If you insert a word that was mispelled it usually will appear at the top of the post you are making and delete any text it replaces. VERY VERY frustrating and has been an issue for me from day 1. (a year ago)
Here's how I intend to fix them:
When the warranty is up I will try rooting and unlocking and a different ROM. If I can't get that to make it work right for me I WILL take it out in the driveway and beat the living crap out of it, place it in a box and send it back to Asus with a detailed explanation of why they now have it in their hands
Now- it's your decision to make and you will probably read a lot of negitive replies as well as see quite a few on the forums about TF201 and TF700. It seems like people go to the forums to complain not realizing that they aren't supported by Asus. So get ready for more like this one but also you'll get quite a few saying how great this tablet is. It still all comes down to YOU.
I have NEVER been this frustrated by any computer and I'm not a happy Asus customer. BUT I will still buy Asus products, just no more tablets. I have an old P5GPL (P4) Asus motherboard that has been running for 8-9? years and has never given me one days trouble. I've replaced everything around it, power supply, hard drive and video card and it just keeps on keepin' on!

Pretoriano80 said:
Honestly i would return it and save the money for some upcoming device.It's one year old,you have to unlock it (and loose your warranty) in order to have more decent performance and you will mostlikely end-up spending more time to tweak the device than actually enjoy it.Ofcourse this is only my opinion,the final decision it's up to you.
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Click to collapse
@Pretoriano80, after being on the custom rom for some time, do you see it using too much memory or getting sluggish? It's one year old but the new 10inch tablets are $500 and up. what option do i have?
I looked through your all in one guide but wouldn't know where to start since my tablet is already updated to 4.2.1.
So how would one unlock the bootloader if the instructions listed were for version below 4.2.1?
Does it mean Id have to downgrade to ICS first?
Also don't know what comes first, unlocking or rooting. Just rooting the device will not allow installation of Cromi-x/cleanRom right?

Please please return it...I know you will be tempted to unlock and install CROMI. But don't....I am using the tablet for the last 6 months I think. If it weren't for CROMI, I would have jumped over it in anger.
Please just return it, and get a better tablet.
WARNING: DON'T READ ANY OF THE MODDING THREADS UNTIL YOU RETURN IT. IT'S FULL OF TEMPTATIONS.

Please just return it, and get a better tablet.
WARNING: DON'T READ ANY OF THE MODDING THREADS UNTIL YOU RETURN IT. IT'S FULL OF TEMPTATIONS.[/QUOTE]
+1 :good: I have to agree with you on this but it also improves the over all performance quite a bit..

ignoramus0611 said:
Just found out about the MAJOR lag issues surrounding it I have 14 days to return it. I was looking for a $400 tablet, not too old with good battery life and came across this.
Do the clean and cromi-x roms 'renew' it completely?
Would you have returned your tablet and gotten something else if you'd known this would happen??
Should i return it, or just keep it (and flash)?
I keep hearing people saying to get the nexus 10, but even that has its issues apparently (battery drain + slow charging).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kinda agree with the above, but I bought a used one of eBay not knowing what I'd gotten into. I just want to check email, watch movies, shop, etc. No real life-saving issues. Didn't notice much lag or problem with stock but went ahead and installed CROMI-X not knowing anything about android, etc. I love mine. At 400, maybe not, half the price, sure.

ignoramus0611 said:
@Pretoriano80, after being on the custom rom for some time, do you see it using too much memory or getting sluggish? It's one year old but the new 10inch tablets are $500 and up. what option do i have?
I looked through your all in one guide but wouldn't know where to start since my tablet is already updated to 4.2.1.
So how would one unlock the bootloader if the instructions listed were for version below 4.2.1?
Does it mean Id have to downgrade to ICS first?
Also don't know what comes first, unlocking or rooting. Just rooting the device will not allow installation of Cromi-x/cleanRom right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can ROOT your device without unlocking your bootloader, but you can't install custom roms and a custom recovery in this case, just some apps that need rooting or some tweaks. The good part with only rooting is that your warranty will still be valid because you can return to a clean stock rom anytime. For rooting your device on 4.2.1 you will have to use MotoChopper (search in the tf700t forum).
If you unlock the bootloader then you can kiss goodbye your warranty and enjoy custom roms, custom kernels, etc but you can't go back to a bootloader locked state anymore.
No matter what you will choose (root or unlocking) don't expect miracles or else you will be disappointed. The first time you install a rom you will notice much gain in performance, but after you install some of your favourite apps you will see the performance going down again (imho this is also the reason why you can find bad and good opinions about this device, because everyone use it in different ways). Also forget about benchmarks it won't do any good to you or the device itself and you will just end-up just hunting higher scores.
I really don't know which device to recommend you becaause i only have this one, but read some reviews from trusted sites (Engadget for example was maybe one of the few to do a honest review about the tf700t) or wait until some new generation devices will be released.
Btw one year ago i paid 500€ just for the tablet so paying 500$ now for a new generation device it's in line with the tablet market in my opinion, so once again mate, it's your call.

Even with cromi or cm10.2 the tablet lags. It's not good enough! RETURN RETURN RETURN!

I actually love this tab. I did do a lot of research before buying it though so I knew some issues before I bought so I also knew that I was not going to buy one for full retail and be happy. I did a lot of hunting around on craigslist and ended picking up a 64GB tab with the docking station and quite a few accessories for a little less than half of retail. I then immediately unlocked and rooted it, installed CROMI-X, and tried a coupe different kernels until I found the combination that worked for me. Finally I created a Nandroid of this setup and started using the tab.
I did have experience rooting and ROM'ing as well so I knew that I would be comfortable with that aspect and I always try to stay a little behind the curve of teh latest gadget so others can figure out how to fix the issues (because for every device there are issues).
As of right now I couldn't be happier. I got a tab that does everything I need it to and it seems sufficiently fast and responsive to me.
Would I have been happy if I paid full price a year ago and had to suffer through all of the issues that I hear being talked about on this forum? No. but at half price and time to give the great and dedicated developers on this site a chance to address the worst of the issues, Hell yeah, Great tab :good:
Just my experience so far.
Jeff

Pretoriano80 said:
You can ROOT your device without unlocking your bootloader, but you can't install custom roms and a custom recovery in this case, just some apps that need rooting or some tweaks. The good part with only rooting is that your warranty will still be valid because you can return to a clean stock rom anytime. For rooting your device on 4.2.1 you will have to use MotoChopper (search in the tf700t forum).
If you unlock the bootloader then you can kiss goodbye your warranty and enjoy custom roms, custom kernels, etc but you can't go back to a bootloader locked state anymore.
No matter what you will choose (root or unlocking) don't expect miracles or else you will be disappointed. The first time you install a rom you will notice much gain in performance, but after you install some of your favourite apps you will see the performance going down again (imho this is also the reason why you can find bad and good opinions about this device, because everyone use it in different ways). Also forget about benchmarks it won't do any good to you or the device itself and you will just end-up just hunting higher scores.
I really don't know which device to recommend you becaause i only have this one, but read some reviews from trusted sites (Engadget for example was maybe one of the few to do a honest review about the tf700t) or wait until some new generation devices will be released.
Btw one year ago i paid 500€ just for the tablet so paying 500$ now for a new generation device it's in line with the tablet market in my opinion, so once again mate, it's your call.
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Click to collapse
gixxer340 said:
I actually love this tab. I did do a lot of research before buying it though so I knew some issues before I bought so I also knew that I was not going to buy one for full retail and be happy. I did a lot of hunting around on craigslist and ended picking up a 64GB tab with the docking station and quite a few accessories for a little less than half of retail. I then immediately unlocked and rooted it, installed CROMI-X, and tried a coupe different kernels until I found the combination that worked for me. Finally I created a Nandroid of this setup and started using the tab.
I did have experience rooting and ROM'ing as well so I knew that I would be comfortable with that aspect and I always try to stay a little behind the curve of teh latest gadget so others can figure out how to fix the issues (because for every device there are issues).
As of right now I couldn't be happier. I got a tab that does everything I need it to and it seems sufficiently fast and responsive to me.
Would I have been happy if I paid full price a year ago and had to suffer through all of the issues that I hear being talked about on this forum? No. but at half price and time to give the great and dedicated developers on this site a chance to address the worst of the issues, Hell yeah, Great tab :good:
Just my experience so far.
Jeff
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Click to collapse
Thanks guys, I'll just return it then. I did a lot of research as well before picking this one...its a great tablet, but not worth full price considering its drawback. I'll probably wait for the next Infinity Pad that's coming out, although I've been hearing that even Tegra 4 has issues

ignoramus0611 said:
Thanks guys, I'll just return it then. I did a lot of research as well before picking this one...its a great tablet, but not worth full price considering its drawback. I'll probably wait for the next Infinity Pad that's coming out, although I've been hearing that even Tegra 4 has issues
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Click to collapse
Try cm 10.2 no more lag at all:thumbup:

I agree with everyone here. Return it. If you want a tablet right now just get the Nexus 10 or maybe even the Toshiba Excite Pro or sony experia z. If you want a kb dock get the HP slatebook x2 which I just bought and it a very speedy and smooth tablet. Screen isn't as high contrast and cant get as bright but it's not too bad. But if you can wait just wait for Asus to release the new Infinity pad and hopefully it performs as well as the slatebook x2. I have gotten so used to the tf700 that I did not realize how bad it really is even with cromi x or data2sd mod compared to the slatebook. So please take everyone's advice on this one.
EDIT: Posted too early and did not read your post about returning it. Good for you!
Sent from my HP SlateBook 10 x2 PC using Tapatalk 4

titou00075 said:
Try cm 10.2 no more lag at all:thumbup:
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Click to collapse
I tried it and does get rid of transition stutter but it still lags here and there. It's still in its early stages so maybe it will get better but thats a big risk the OP will have to make.
Sent from my HP SlateBook 10 x2 PC using Tapatalk 4

aznmode said:
I tried it and does get rid of transition stutter but it still lags here and there. It's still in its early stages so maybe it will get better but thats a big risk the OP will have to make.
Sent from my HP SlateBook 10 x2 PC using Tapatalk 4
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Click to collapse
Try also holo Launcher hd

aznmode said:
I tried it and does get rid of transition stutter but it still lags here and there. It's still in its early stages so maybe it will get better but thats a big risk the OP will have to make.
Sent from my HP SlateBook 10 x2 PC using Tapatalk 4
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Click to collapse
Try CROMi-X 4.7. The only lag I get is on wake up since I disable wifi in deep sleep. No transition/scrolling lag whatsoever, browsing is lightning fast.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 4

I've been on cromi x for a while now. You must've set your transition to 0 to not notice any lag in transition. There's still I/O issue no matter which cromi version or kernel. Anyway were getting off subject. Thanks for the advice. Let's get back on topic.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4

RETURN IT. 10 months with this tablet suffering lag -.-
I would if I could and just grab a nexus 10 or perhaps the new nexus 7.
P.S: I use cromi, still a failure. My droid razr dual core beats this quad so badly...

aznmode said:
I've been on cromi x for a while now. You must've set your transition to 0 to not notice any lag in transition. There's still I/O issue no matter which cromi version or kernel. Anyway were getting off subject. Thanks for the advice. Let's get back on topic.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4
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Click to collapse
Try my latest beta version - I found some settings that may help some of the IO issues when downloading files or using the sdcard.
Arachnida said:
RETURN IT. 10 months with this tablet suffering lag -.-
I would if I could and just grab a nexus 10 or perhaps the new nexus 7.
P.S: I use cromi, still a failure. My droid razr dual core beats this quad so badly...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks appreciate the support