Database Info

[Q] BestBuy: Refuses to Sell Contract Free Phone Without PII

Do we know when BestBuy loses their exclusivity? They refuse to sell me a phone without a name, phone and address...evil.

Pretty sure that's quite normal?

ground control, this is major tom

I usually get asked that when making a big purchase. It's not like they are going to spam you with phone calls or ads. Well, they didn't do that to me yet.

er86 said:
Do we know when BestBuy loses their exclusivity? They refuse to sell me a phone without a name, phone and address...evil.
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Click to collapse
Make up a phone # and address lol.

Well they need something to match with the DNA imprint your phone takes and sends to the CIA. So they can track you down when the world is taken over by our lizard-men overlords....
Or maybe they just want to send you coupons?

emuneee said:
Make up a phone # and address lol.
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Click to collapse
Make one up? lol, you don't know how deep this goes..
er86: did you look directly into the Nexus S?? it has a front facing camera and if my suspicions are correct, your address and phone number are the least of your worries at this point: THEY'VE NOW GOT RETINA SCANS. Your position is being triangulated as we speak.. if I knew where you were, I could direct you to a friendly for safe harbor.. time is our biggest enemy now

Well....the dark side has finally gotten ahold of me....Ditching the S6 for the iPhon

I've finally gotten tired of dealing with all that I've had to deal with for having an android phone on VZW. I'm tired of having to hack a phone just to get it to work correctly and even then it wasn't a garauntee. Android you were fun while you lasted...been with you since Eclair was new
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Androids not the problem its Verizon. I think you just jumped out of the frying pan, if you went Apple. ?

nateohio said:
I've finally gotten tired of dealing with all that I've had to deal with for having an android phone on VZW. I'm tired of having to hack a phone just to get it to work correctly and even then it wasn't a garauntee. Android you were fun while you lasted...been with you since Eclair was new
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought Android was the darkside . My wife and I went to Best Buy on Friday for new phones. I have always purchased Andriod and she always get's an iPhone. My wife got a 6S which was just made available and I seriously considered getting one also. One thing about iPhones is that though they are locked down they just work and they work great. I have owned 3 Android tablets and 5 phones. It seems like I spend more time tweaking them with rooting and ROMs than using them. My wife never does anything with her phone but install apps and she never have issues. So after about 15 minutes with a patient young sales girl I ended up with the S6 anyway. I was lucky enough to get an OE2 firmware and I already rooted. But I'm seriously considering taking the latest update and get out of the rooting and ROMs hassle. I have about 10 days left to decide if I going to keep or return the S6. My main concern is the battery. I'm retired and I have a landline so I probably don't use my phone as much as most people here but I travel often and don't want to worry about running out of juice. So if the S6 doesn't pan out I'm leaving the darkside for an iPhone.

rbeavers said:
Androids not the problem its Verizon. I think you just jumped out of the frying pan, if you went Apple. ?
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It may not be inherently an issue with Android, but the issues Android has on verizon are not present on Apple devices.
When Apple agreed to place the iPhone on VZW, Verizon had to give them sole control of their software. The only thing VZW does is the baseband and radio for their networks. Everything else is in Apple's sole control. There is no verizon bloatware, VZW can NOT add or remove any software or features, ie...Samsung pay....
I believe that many of the issues that Android devices suffer from stem directly from verizon putting their noses where they don't belong.
It's taken years for me to get to this point. I've owned numerous Android phones from all of the manufacturers, and it's truly been an enjoyable ride. But the increasingly difficult security coupled with vzw's encroachment into the software side of the house has driven me to get fed up with it all. I just want a phone that works....that doesn't suffer from horrible memory leaks, that has decent battery life, that isn't plagued with cell standby issues, and evidently going to the iPhone is the only reliable way to do that.
I like the S6. But it does have it's issues. The main one for me is battery life. This could be because they decided to shrink the battery down or from software flaws...ie cell standby, memory management, or bluetooth being enabled never allows the phone to go into deep sleep (this is a new one I started experiencing a few weeks ago). Plain and simple....I have owned the S6 since launch day and the battery life is terrible. I have yet to get through a half a day without needing to charge and that is just unacceptable to me. My fiance has had her iphone 6s since the 24th and has only charged it twice. With 3-4 hr on screen time a day and pandora running for about an hour a day.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

nateohio said:
It may not be inherently an issue with Android, but the issues Android has on verizon are not present on Apple devices.
When Apple agreed to place the iPhone on VZW, Verizon had to give them sole control of their software. The only thing VZW does is the baseband and radio for their networks. Everything else is in Apple's sole control. There is no verizon bloatware, VZW can NOT add or remove any software or features, ie...Samsung pay....
I believe that many of the issues that Android devices suffer from stem directly from verizon putting their noses where they don't belong.
It's taken years for me to get to this point. I've owned numerous Android phones from all of the manufacturers, and it's truly been an enjoyable ride. But the increasingly difficult security coupled with vzw's encroachment into the software side of the house has driven me to get fed up with it all. I just want a phone that works....that doesn't suffer from horrible memory leaks, that has decent battery life, that isn't plagued with cell standby issues, and evidently going to the iPhone is the only reliable way to do that.
I like the S6. But it does have it's issues. The main one for me is battery life. This could be because they decided to shrink the battery down or from software flaws...ie cell standby, memory management, or bluetooth being enabled never allows the phone to go into deep sleep (this is a new one I started experiencing a few weeks ago). Plain and simple....I have owned the S6 since launch day and the battery life is terrible. I have yet to get through a half a day without needing to charge and that is just unacceptable to me. My fiance has had her iphone 6s since the 24th and has only charged it twice. With 3-4 hr on screen time a day and pandora running for about an hour a day.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
This is very true. I love Android, but I am sick of having to jump through holes just to get it to be clean. I hate how Verizon butchers everything and Samsung doesn't have the balls to stand up to them. Apple is able to do that. I have no hatred against Android nor iOS. I go by features that fit my requirements and the S6 has the best - Primary being the camera. However, I've noticed my photos have been blurry and the S6 can't decide what to do in low-light and doesn't use flash, which forces me to have people re-pose what should have been candid. I do believe the iPhone 6s will have the better camera (or at least he software to use the camera) and I would like to jump to it. It's just, the lack of IR, private mode (obviously just software), and battery life/fast charging, are big killers for me. Given the smaller battery and worse battery life, charging the damn thing is so slow. At least implement a fast charging feature and I can overlook my laziness of looking for my TV remote and privacy mode.

Bye. Please enjoy being told what you can and cannot install on your own phone!

GoBears said:
Bye. Please enjoy being told what you can and cannot install on your own phone!
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Click to collapse
You do realize that Android / VZW do the exact same thing right? There is nothing that Android offers that Apple doesn't that's actually useful to me...I like widgets and such but I don't need them. And you know what? At least apple doesn't feel it necessary to force a hard warning about volume levels damaging my hearing...
Use to new able to remove that annoying little stuff via rooting/terminal emulator/ or romming.....well that's all but impossible now
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I can relate to what the OP is saying. I have had an android phone on Verizon since the OG Moto Droid. I enjoyed tweaking Android phones. I have the S6 64gb right now. I love certain features of the phone but it is flawed. I was hoping that the new Nexus phones would be great and they probably will. However I don't want to have to buy a phablet to get good specs and better battery life.
I just purchased the iPhone 6s for my wife. Were on vzw and I may switch myself. It is a struggle cause I don't know anything but Android.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app

nateohio said:
You do realize that Android / VZW do the exact same thing right? There is nothing that Android offers that Apple doesn't that's actually useful to me...I like widgets and such but I don't need them. And you know what? At least apple doesn't feel it necessary to force a hard warning about volume levels damaging my hearing...
Use to new able to remove that annoying little stuff via rooting/terminal emulator/ or romming.....well that's all but impossible now
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I'd rather not be able to install apps that I may use occasionally versus having VZW for their crap products onto my phone and screwing it up in the process
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

GoBears said:
Bye. Please enjoy being told what you can and cannot install on your own phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And please do tell me what's available on android that's not available on Apple devices? Other than gimmicks like widgets....which apple has kind of figured out a way to do those as well
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

nateohio said:
And please do tell me what's available on android that's not available on Apple devices? Other than gimmicks like widgets....which apple has kind of figured out a way to do those as well
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Haha enjoy your walled garden dude. I hope Apple approves of all the apps you want to install because you're not installing them otherwise. Maybe you don't have a problem with it but I hate being told what I can and cannot install. If I have to sit here and point out all the things you can't do on iOS that you can do on Android then you're better off with iJunk anyway. Have fun! Say hi to the "geniuses" for me. Once again, bye.

GoBears said:
Haha enjoy your walled garden dude. I hope Apple approves of all the apps you want to install because you're not installing them otherwise. Maybe you don't have a problem with it but I hate being told what I can and cannot install. If I have to sit here and point out all the things you can't do on iOS that you can do on Android then you're better off with iJunk anyway. Have fun! Say hi to the "geniuses" for me. Once again, bye.
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Still can't come up with anything? Face it dude....as time goes by they are getting to be more similar....
I love fan boys it's always hilarious
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

nateohio said:
Still can't come up with anything? Face it dude....as time goes by they are getting to be more similar....
I love fan boys it's always hilarious
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Oh you mean like the people who post about Apple in the GS6 forum just for attention? Just switch and leave. Change your iphone launcher or sideload an app. Maybe use NFC to initiate a macro. Activate your notification light with different colors for different apps... the list is endless. I'm not sure what you are looking for.

GoBears said:
Oh you mean like the people who post about Apple in the GS6 forum just for attention? Just switch and leave. Change your iphone launcher or sideload an app. Maybe use NFC to initiate a macro. Activate your notification light with different colors for different apps... the list is endless. I'm not sure what you are looking for.
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Click to collapse
I'm far past the point in my life where I need to be validated by anonymous people on the Internet...chances are...judging by your behavior....I was using Android while you were still in elementary school. If you'd bother to have read my posts, you'd know that I've been using /hacking /flashing android devices since long before they became mainstream. Get over yourself
My post was meant for those users (who btw outnumber you in this thread) that may be in similar situations or experiences.
Changing my launcher? I don't even do that on android devices....too many bugs most of the time. Use NFC to initiate a Macro? I've done that, and it can make things a little more convenient. But I would rather use it to pay at the store. Something you can't do with the S6 because verizon has the android companies by the balls and just says "we aren't going to allow you have that feature" ...changing led colors? Really? Why even mention that?
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Bxrider117 said:
I can relate to what the OP is saying. I have had an android phone on Verizon since the OG Moto Droid. I enjoyed tweaking Android phones. I have the S6 64gb right now. I love certain features of the phone but it is flawed. I was hoping that the new Nexus phones would be great and they probably will. However I don't want to have to buy a phablet to get good specs and better battery life.
I just purchased the iPhone 6s for my wife. Were on vzw and I may switch myself. It is a struggle cause I don't know anything but Android.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
That's what I'm saying. I've been doing it for so long it's just become second nature. I miss the OG Droid....that was a tinkerers dream. After years of doing it though, I'd rather spend the time doing things that are more fun. In other words, I don't care about customization options or 3rd party apps anymore. I just want a phone that actually works and works well out of the box, not needing any intervention on my part other than picking it up and turning it on.
This most recent issue with my bluetooth not allowing my phone to sleep was the straw that broke the camels back for me. Could I fix the problem? Probably....do I want to devote the time to it? Nope....not anymore.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

GoBears said:
Oh you mean like the people who post about Apple in the GS6 forum just for attention? Just switch and leave. Change your iphone launcher or sideload an app. Maybe use NFC to initiate a macro. Activate your notification light with different colors for different apps... the list is endless. I'm not sure what you are looking for.
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Click to collapse
Don't see why you're bashing on what other people want to do with a freaking cell phone choice. You insinuating other people trolling here when you're the troll yourself. Get off your high horse and enjoy the phone that YOU have and let other people do what they want. You're not going to convince anyone talking crap on them. Get over yourself
Sent from my SM-G920V using XDA Free mobile app

harrytery said:
Don't see why you're bashing on what other people want to do with a freaking cell phone choice. You insinuating other people trolling here when you're the troll yourself. Get off your high horse and enjoy the phone that YOU have and let other people do what they want. You're not going to convince anyone talking crap on them. Get over yourself
Sent from my SM-G920V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Until recently you would have been hard pressed to find a bigger advocate for Android than me. There were always two features that kept me with Samsung...a removable battery and expandable storage. But when you remove those two features and basically make an iPhone clone you are going to lose on the software front. Especially when your hobbled by VZW and all the crap that they do to mess up a pretty good product.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

harrytery said:
Don't see why you're bashing on what other people want to do with a freaking cell phone choice. You insinuating other people trolling here when you're the troll yourself. Get off your high horse and enjoy the phone that YOU have and let other people do what they want. You're not going to convince anyone talking crap on them. Get over yourself
Sent from my SM-G920V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Hey pot meet the kettle. I find it ironic how YOU (lol at that btw) brought absolutely nothing to the conversation except an attack on me. At least I brought facts into it along with my opinion. You're just a troll yourself.
---------- Post added at 04:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------
nateohio said:
Until recently you would have been hard pressed to find a bigger advocate for Android than me. There were always two features that kept me with Samsung...a removable battery and expandable storage. But when you remove those two features and basically make an iPhone clone you are going to lose on the software front. Especially when your hobbled by VZW and all the crap that they do to mess up a pretty good product.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Yeah VZW could mess up a wet dream, that I cannot argue lol. Samsung I give credit to because at least they try change, for better or for worse, at least they try.

Eddie Hicks said:
I thought Android was the darkside . My wife and I went to Best Buy on Friday for new phones. I have always purchased Andriod and she always get's an iPhone. My wife got a 6S which was just made available and I seriously considered getting one also. One thing about iPhones is that though they are locked down they just work and they work great. I have owned 3 Android tablets and 5 phones. It seems like I spend more time tweaking them with rooting and ROMs than using them. My wife never does anything with her phone but install apps and she never have issues. So after about 15 minutes with a patient young sales girl I ended up with the S6 anyway. I was lucky enough to get an OE2 firmware and I already rooted. But I'm seriously considering taking the latest update and get out of the rooting and ROMs hassle. I have about 10 days left to decide if I going to keep or return the S6. My main concern is the battery. I'm retired and I have a landline so I probably don't use my phone as much as most people here but I travel often and don't want to worry about running out of juice. So if the S6 doesn't pan out I'm leaving the darkside for an iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an S6 and the battery is a LOT better than I thought it would be. I use my phone CONSTANTLY for work everyday outside with the brightness all the way up and I usually make it home most days with a little juice left. I have a Mophie case on it everyday but rarely have to use it.

There both good operating systems it doesn't have to be one or the other yea a nexus is fun to flash the **** out of it but obviously Apple doing something right too it's more about Verizons locked bootloaders.

Would you trade the S7e for the Pixel XL?

I'm debating between the two. I have a change to get one soon but I'm leaning on keeping the S7e since the U firmware runs well. I also think the S7e looks way better than the XL. It also means giving up SPay, Qi, IP68, compact body,... But Android 7.0 with the new goodies... hmmmm
Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk

Samsung Pay, and the sleek look of the S7edge are the only things that keep me on.

I've never liked the camera UI of vanilla android.... also water resistant, sd card support & big ass battery

wait for the Galaxy S8 edge it will have all the upgraded specs and way more.

to get rid of touchwiz..... in a heartbeat

I'll put an end to this. The S7 Edge has the following advantages over the Pixel XL:
Bigger battery
Edge shortcuts
Waterproof
Better always on display
SD card
Wireless charging
Floating window
Screen gets brighter in daylight and darker at night
Scroll capture
Samsung widgets, magazine, weather, calendar..
Can still use JOD
Can use T-Mobile insurance
Samsung backup
Samsung pay
Better price
Dimensions are way better
As you can see the choice is a no-brainer. Shouldn't even require any thought actually. The only thing the Pixel has is android 7.1 and some software tricks for the camera. 7.1 doesn't do much (I have it on my Nexus) and the photos look better in all lighting conditions on the S7e, even though the Pixel has really great stabilization and is faster at snapping the photo.

The only thing the Pixel has is android 7.1 and some software tricks for the camera.
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...Yeah, what's "real root on a usable kernel" anyway?

DOMF said:
...Yeah, what's "real root on a usable kernel" anyway?
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Click to collapse
I don't know why don't you explain to me exactly what you'll be gaining with root. And then explain how that is worth throwing away android pay.

seh6183 said:
I don't know why don't you explain to me exactly what you'll be gaining with root. And then explain how that is worth throwing away android pay.
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Click to collapse
Host-file based ad blocking, Xposed and everything that goes along with that, viper, freezing system apps you don't like, DriveDroid...
All for the low low price of "having to swipe a credit card instead of tapping your phone on a thing"

DOMF said:
Host-file based ad blocking, Xposed and everything that goes along with that, viper, freezing system apps you don't like, DriveDroid...
All for the low low price of "having to swipe a credit card instead of tapping your phone on a thing"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ad blocking can be done without root.
Viper is buggy and totally unnecessary.
Freezing system apps can be done without root.
DriveDroid? Lol
Xposed is the only decent thing on your list and even it is buggy and questionable.

seh6183 said:
Ad blocking can be done without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not very effectively
seh6183 said:
Viper is buggy and totally unnecessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Untrue, dont even know where to start on this..
seh6183 said:
Freezing system apps can be done without root.
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Click to collapse
Again yea kinda
seh6183 said:
Xposed is the only decent thing on your list and even it is buggy and questionable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF are you even doing on XDA? Are you a shill for closed systems and locked bootloaders? If you are that naive about the benefits of real root then you really should do some homework.
Custom roms
debloating
Overclocking
Expanded app features
Root explorer and the like (and if you say samsungs file manger is good enough I'll beat you with a sack of doorknobs)
Titanium backup
X touchwiz
Feature tweaking and customization
Busybox
Actual Privacy control
Actual control to do what you want with your property
And more, not to mention each of those has a bunch of reasons all their own.
Android and samsung pay and any other mobile pay option are jokes. I have credit cards that also are tap and pay and have been for many years. You feel free to explain why something available in cards already is worth throwing all that away just to put it on a phone that is unless all youre doing is trolling.

Nirrik said:
Not very effectively
Untrue, dont even know where to start on this..
Again yea kinda
WTF are you even doing on XDA? Are you a shill for closed systems and locked bootloaders? If you are that naive about the benefits of real root then you really should do some homework.
Custom roms
debloating
Overclocking
Expanded app features
Root explorer and the like (and if you say samsungs file manger is good enough I'll beat you with a sack of doorknobs)
Titanium backup
X touchwiz
Feature tweaking and customization
Busybox
Actual Privacy control
Actual control to do what you want with your property
And more, not to mention each of those has a bunch of reasons all their own.
Android and samsung pay and any other mobile pay option are jokes. I have credit cards that also are tap and pay and have been for many years. You feel free to explain why something available in cards already is worth throwing all that away just to put it on a phone that is unless all youre doing is trolling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ad blocking is not very effective without root? I don't see a single ad, don't have root. Seems pretty effective to me.
I have 180 apps frozen on my phone right now. What is this "kinda" you speak of?
XDA was created when phones NEEDED to be rooted and tweaked just to make them enjoyable. The OEMs are eliminating the need for root one item at a time and eventually it will be totally unnecessary. Believe it or don't but that's reality and it will hit you in the face like a ton of bricks in the next year or two.
Every single thing that you mentioned can be done without root or is unnecessary.
If you have to have those features you mentioned, excellent then go ahead and choose a phone that can be rooted, and root your heart out so you can change the color of your status bar LOL
I personally prefer not to give up things such as Samsung pay. If you cant wrap your head around why Samsung pay is popular and useful then there is nothing I can say to educate you. Maybe you don't even know what mst is? Anyway have fun with whatever it is that you do.

Your arrogance is amazing, do you purport know better than everyone else?
seh6183 said:
Ad blocking is not very effective without root? I don't see a single ad, don't have root. Seems pretty effective to me.
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Click to collapse
LOL wow so because you dont have any adds that means the method you use is just as good for everyone? If everyone uses your method there would be no adds whatsoever, is that what you are saying?
seh6183 said:
I have 180 apps frozen on my phone right now. What is this "kinda" you speak of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for freezing, you cant freeze certain system apps w/o root that's why I said kinda. See how that works? Not to mention the overall problem of freezing instead of removing. But yea keep the bloatware and limit your space.
seh6183 said:
XDA was created when phones NEEDED to be rooted and tweaked just to make them enjoyable. The OEMs are eliminating the need for root one item at a time and eventually it will be totally unnecessary. Believe it or don't but that's reality and it will hit you in the face like a ton of bricks in the next year or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as you rationale on xda and rooting, OEMs are not eliminating the need for root, otherwise most people wouldnt be on here. And who are you to say what is needed to make other's phones more enjoyable? The fact that people want root is indicative of their need to make modifications to make their phone enjoyable to them. And also is that why the international versions have unlocked bootloaders? To educate you, OEMS lock bootloaders at the request of carriers. Locked bootloaders have been available to be instituted for many years, and seeing as US carriers are starting to utilize them the demand for unlocked phones are increasing.
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-introduces-unlocked-galaxy-s7-and-galaxy-s7-edge-in-the-u-s
Samsung even admits it and has released a carrier independent unlocked s7
seh6183 said:
Every single thing that you mentioned can be done without root or is unnecessary.
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Click to collapse
Again who says its unnecessary? You? Since when do you speak for the majority?
seh6183 said:
If you have to have those features you mentioned, excellent then go ahead and choose a phone that can be rooted, and root your heart out so you can change the color of your status bar LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again I will and many others will to due to our need to make our phones more enjoyable
seh6183 said:
I personally prefer not to give up things such as Samsung pay. If you cant wrap your head around why Samsung pay is popular and useful then there is nothing I can say to educate you.
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Click to collapse
AGAIN so... because you have settled on that tradeoff and others dont agree with your opinion, you are saying that we must not be educated? What a narrow world view, agree with everything I say and do or you're wrong and must be corrected. The Nazis had the same idea but took it a step further and eliminated opposition.
seh6183 said:
Maybe you don't even know what mst is?
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Click to collapse
Do you? Yes I know what MST is, its Samsung's latest push towards wireless payment technology utilizing NFC. And if the merchant doesnt use it then samsung pay will go ahead and use older "Less Secure" Technology or wont work at all resulting in you having to pull out your bank card and use it either by tap and pay, chip or good old fashioned swiping.
seh6183 said:
Anyway have fun with whatever it is that you do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I like many others, will keep trying to get real root because of OUR need to make our devices more enjoyable.
Oh and btw I forgot to mention Xposed by itself, does absolutely nothing, its a framework for root apps to make the modifications and in fact most apps are quite stable on real root. Real root enables the users to fix and streamline the performance of their devices not just customize. Like disabling DVFS, odex/deodex, custom kernels, these are not for aesthetic purposes but functional. To make up for problems like this
http://bgr.com/2016/03/25/galaxy-s7-performance-test-us-vs-global-pt-2/
But keep drinking the koolaid and insist that security is paramount to freedom. The establishment will love you for it.

Nirrik said:
a bunch of annoying babbling
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Click to collapse
Look buddy take a hike. No one cares. Go to a forum for a phone that has "proper root" and tell them about how much you love root and all the cool things you can do with it.
The fact of the matter is, like I've stated before, almost everything can be accomplished without root. I don't need you to believe this for it to be fact.
Go buy the inferior pixel so you can load a custom rom that allows you to have a floating side bar or buggy app addons and then wait for the dev to fix them all.
Either way just go away. This isn't a root thread, it's about the s7e vs the pixel and I've already blown that argument out of the water.

seh6183 said:
Look buddy take a hike. No one cares. Go to a forum for a phone that has "proper root" and tell them about how much you love root and all the cool things you can do with it.
The fact of the matter is, like I've stated before, almost everything can be accomplished without root. I don't need you to believe this for it to be fact.
Go buy the inferior pixel so you can load a custom rom that allows you to have a floating side bar or buggy app addons and then wait for the dev to fix them all.
Either way just go away. This isn't a root thread, it's about the s7e vs the pixel and I've already blown that argument out of the water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL awwwww did I make the troll mad? "the fact of the matter is" I respond with structured facts and refrences, you refuse to refute my points with anything other than a tantrum and unfounded opinions. YOU were the one that tried to act like everything you said was fact with no proof, You began this debate and now that its plain to see that you have no real ground to stand on, you are gonna knock the pieces off the board. And apparently people care, you may not but others do. So your "No one cares" is yet another unfounded opinion that has no basis in truth. And as far as going to a forum where people care about root, I did, that's what XDA is, all of it! Its XDA DEVELOPERS! Maybe you should find a new site to spout your locked bootloader/anti root vitrol and where you can refuse to act like a reasonable adult. LMFAO.

All my ads are blocked.
I can freeze every single process on my phone.
You don't know how mst works.
FAIL.

Im eating popcorn while reading all this.

I would not trade the GS7E for a pixel or any other Google branded phone. Had bad experiences with prior Nexus phones. To put it simply, the plusses of this phone easily outweigh the plusses of the pixel, which really is only that it has stock Android and quick updates. I couldn't care less about root, as another poster stated, ad blocking and freezing apps can be done without. Never had good experiences with xposed. And lastly, if you want the UI to look stock, Samsung good lock has you covered. Overall, this phone doesn't lag, doesn't crash, has excellent battery life, water resistance, and reasonably quick updates. Life is too short to deal with rooting and other nonsense. I want a phone that works with minimal input from me, and this gives me that.

seh6183 said:
You don't know how mst works.
FAIL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is literally all I saw...the failure to realise what MST is and/or how it works. NFC is kind of weak...android pay uses it some cards have it the samsung gear s2 watch uses it for sam pay....but mst...mst since nobody wanted to educate the other guy...creates an electromagnetic field of sorts that mimics the magnetic frequency resonance whatever what have you of said card (well actually a secondary card number to protect yours) to emulate a card swipe...works places NOTHING else does..android pay apple pay paypal none of them work because you are in the country somewhere at some hillbilly gasstation that has only a card reader...sam pay will save you. It should even work with square pay readers ?. I will say though...v4a Viper4Android...is VERY useful especially if you are an audiophile. No other app compares...period...coming from someone with an s7e that isnt rooter because i use sam pay. And i must say yea i miss the abilities of a rooted phone...but ive been fine since march without. Also heard tmobile was checking to see if devices were rooted now on insurance....i already cracked my screen once(sparks shooting across the room actually did it)...if thats true i would have been a $$ out if rooted...oh and to answer your question...not in a million years...tmobiles bill credit isnt even enticing enough coupled with the note7 fiasco. Ill be getting the 5.5 s8 or s8e however they will market the moniker as soon as it drops

I didn't want to explain mst to the guy because I was hoping he would continue to live his life believing that mst is just nfc lol
I guess I just don't see what is so great about viper. An equalizer is very important to me but that is built into the apps these days. All the other functions of viper are unimportant to me. I'm not an audiophile so I'm probably missing it, but adding an echo or virtual surround to my music is not important. And I've had bugs and drain with viper before (only on certain devices)

Time to finalize the order

I received the email this morning to finalize my order.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

Same here. Finalized my order, now just have to wait for a shipping notification.

I just can't bring myself to do it. How are you guys spending 700$ to purchase something you know absolutely nothing about?

I'm confused... Did they retract all the specifications and pictures? ~
Based on the specs and the person at the helm, what else is there to know... It's just like buying the latest flagship from [Insert Phone Maker Here].
Goronok said:
I just can't bring myself to do it. How are you guys spending 700$ to purchase something you know absolutely nothing about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

daijizai said:
I'm confused... Did they retract all the specifications and pictures? ~
Based on the specs and the person at the helm, what else is there to know... It's just like buying the latest flagship from [Insert Phone Maker Here].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The key difference is that we usually have reviews (or at least hastily done hands-on previews) in hand before forking over money for other flagships. Nobody has a review on this yet.
Sure, reviews aren't perfect but they answer a LOT of the questions that we all have about this thing. Face it, Essential's communication has been pretty poor leading up to right now. And specs aren't everything.
Example: If Essential says "Our phone runs Android well and it's buttery smooth", would you trust that as much as if any other reputable reviewer said the same thing?

daijizai said:
I'm confused... Did they retract all the specifications and pictures? ~
Based on the specs and the person at the helm, what else is there to know... It's just like buying the latest flagship from [Insert Phone Maker Here].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're saying every flagship phone is exactly the same. Pick something with an 835 chip and everything else is identical; picture quality, battery life, screen quality, warranty support.... list goes on.
Nobody other than Essential employees know how the camera performs. You're putting a lot of weight into Andy Rubin's name being involved and he really has done nothing to earn that weight, in my opinion.

I'm not getting rid of my Pixel XL just yet. If the Essential sucks (I really don't think it will), it just goes on Swappa, I keep using the XL and wait for the new one to come out. I can honestly say that I haven't been as excited about a phone release as I am about the Essential in a long, long, time. The screen real estate is absolutely beautiful.

Goronok said:
I just can't bring myself to do it. How are you guys spending 700$ to purchase something you know absolutely nothing about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True! i don't even know the full specs of this phone.. Lol
Sent from my G8142 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

spotmark said:
I'm not getting rid of my Pixel XL just yet. If the Essential sucks (I really don't think it will), it just goes on Swappa, I keep using the XL and wait for the new one to come out. I can honestly say that I haven't been as excited about a phone release as I am about the Essential in a long, long, time. The screen real estate is absolutely beautiful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have a 15 day return policy if you buy from Essential in the US. I'm probably gonna buy but only because of the 100% money back (and free return shipping) policy.

I forked over the money.. Looking forward to something new!

dca1970 said:
I forked over the money.. Looking forward to something new!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Been with HTC since the M8 and Samsung before that. Was going for the Pixel 2 this year until this came out.
Willing to give them a try.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Goronok said:
I just can't bring myself to do it. How are you guys spending 700$ to purchase something you know absolutely nothing about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
15 day return policy

I'm all in. As other's noted, 15-day return policy. If it sucks, it goes back.
Hardware wise I think it will perform, and I think android will operate fine. Just my belief based on who's doing this thing.
My only hesitation before pulling the trigger was how long it will take to have developers putting a rom together that I can abandoned all tings Google. I'm currently on a Nexus 6p with no GApps, running a secured kernel and ROM, FDroid, Amazon, and side loading for apps. I want to get to the same place on this sucker. I'm not developer enough to make my own ROM. Though the idea of building from source seems like a fun challenge.

I think my biggest hesitation is in how they worded the return policy. "Disabling security features" warrants denied return. I wonder if this means the device will be permanently altered by unlocking the bootloader - eg.. Sony with wiping the TA partition permanently degrading photo quality, or Samsung and the knox crap.
Obviously I wouldn't unlock the bootloader in the 15 day return window - but I want to be able to unlock the bootloader at SOME point with the option to put it back to stock without marring the device.
So many questions, so few answers..

Goronok said:
You're putting a lot of weight into Andy Rubin's name being involved and he really has done nothing to earn that weight, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's done nothing? He only co-founded the biggest cellular phone operating system ever. Besides that, also co-founded another couple of million/billion dollar companies. I would put a little weight, maybe more than a little into something he has touched. Just my opinion.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

You used Android under his ownership?
And the sub-companies under playground global are not exactly super successful.
I wouldn't say his name brings a whole lot to the table

Bought mine today. Ships within a week w/ 2-3 day Fedex; i'm hoping for delivery by Fri 25th, but i haven't gotten that email yet. No cases for it... hmm. I think they might be taking the durability factor a little far for there to be no cases available at launch. But I for one think Rubin's name brings a lot to the table and will be very surprised if the phone he's essentially (ha) staking his career on is a flop.
Goronok said:
You used Android under his ownership?
And the sub-companies under playground global are not exactly super successful.
I wouldn't say his name brings a whole lot to the table
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We get it, you're skeptical. You're more of a wait and see type of guy. Smart move.

Yeah I broke down and confirmed my reserved pre-order. If I hate it, I'll return it. A good 7-10 days of steady use should determine if it's a keeper. I think selling on swappa is not the way to go as I believe initial resale value will be low unless reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Time will tell!
Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

Does anyone know if this camera has portrait mode. May seem silly but I don't won't to lose that feature I have with my op5

Anyone know if the Sprint version is unlocked?

I have been hacked

Please help
I have something installed on my stock fold 2 that continues to connect with my hacker. Even after a full reset.

99UsErNaMe99 said:
Please help
I have something installed on my stock fold 2 that continues to connect with my hacker. Even after a full reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you rooted in past! or you have installed unwanted app like anydesk/vnc/remote etc etc...

kdm6389 said:
Have you rooted in past!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not. And I know who the hacker is. She is the mother of my kids and is about to loose custody of our 3 kids to me. She is also a bit coin miner that hijacks devices to do her dirty work. She is very experienced and I know this for a fact. It's her job. I just need to know how to SSH into the memory that she put the script in.
kdm6389 said:
Have you rooted in past! or you have installed unwanted app like anydesk/vnc/remote etc etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She has been scamming me and harassing me for 9 months. Trying to get me to click on a fabricated email with script embedded. She finally got her way. Took her almost 8 months the of trying.
I most definitely have never installed any remote desktop server or clients but I know she has. I have found them and Uninstalled. Numerous times. She has been deleting recovery emails and adding saved passwords all day. And that's just today.

If she's such a pro, bring it to a real geek professional than relying on advice from forum. She might have copied it to some partitions which are not formatted by default.

RAMBO29 said:
If she's such a pro, bring it to a real geek professional than relying on advice from forum. She might have copied it to some partitions which are not formatted by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are right. I'll have to check with the fbi and make sure they are done making a copy. Homeland already made theirs. They are classifying it as an act of terror.

99UsErNaMe99 said:
Please help
I have something installed on my stock fold 2 that continues to connect with my hacker. Even after a full reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Time for a new phone! Nothing else is worth the headache.

take your phone to pro, you are already sc***ed

And no a different phone doesn't stop her. I already did a burner phone with all new email addresses and my name no where on it

mmafighter077 said:
Time for a new phone! Nothing else is worth the headache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this a china phone, and not Samsung Fold

99UsErNaMe99 said:
And no a different phone doesn't stop her. I already did a burner phone with all new email addresses and my name no where on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She was in it in 40 hours
kdm6389 said:
Is this a china phone, and not Samsung Fold
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is an SM-F916U stock

99UsErNaMe99 said:
She was in it in 40 hours
It is an SM-F916U stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try factory reset again, and not network reset

99UsErNaMe99 said:
She was in it in 40 hours
It is an SM-F916U stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. Here we go. She is now back on. Messing with this forum for me. I doubt you all can see it but she is doubling up messages and moving my screen around. Crap. Oh well. If you want to email me. It's [email protected]
I did 20 to 25 full erase factory resets in a row. Still was back after the last one. I have 2 other phones she is in and 3 laptops as well.

how can you say so, plz send some screenshot. I dont think she did anything ...

I'm not exactly sure what you would like to see for a screen shot. I am running on a drive that is obviously emulated on my screen and supposedly I have 43 sensors on a fold 2. Maybe that's counting all the drivers for the sensors on my phone to connect to her phone along with all the sensors on her device. I know for a fact that at one point she had my OS running on an s21. She told me I wouldn't be able to prove it. I'm too stubborn to give up. Lol. Here is 2 screen shots. One is my hard disks and the other is my 42 sensors.

Cool story!

pieces of cake said:
Cool story!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Sure thing. Whatever you say. It's very much real. It's actually very crazy. No one on here has offered me any real input. I'm not making this up. It is very much real. And although it is extremely difficult to do it is possible. Especially for someone that can program on the run and has professional and commercial experience. It's all good.

I'm not sure how she would manage to get on a burner phone too. I'm pretty sure it's possible to hack into a router & infect devices connected to it if you're using the same wifi network. You could try getting a new router & a new burner phone & don't connect any other devices you may have to the new router in case they're infected. And don't open emails from addresses you don't recognize. I would suggest going to geek squad or something like that rather than a forum though.
Ando do a malware scan on any other devices you have if possible. If you have another way to connect those devices to internet like tethering, you could try Trend Micro housecall. It's a free online malware scanner.

99UsErNaMe99 said:
Please help
I have something installed on my stock fold 2 that continues to connect with my hacker. Even after a full reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you know you're being hacked?

Tough to take this seriously and as fact.
But if you are, why haven't you gone to the authorities?

First of all this is fold 3 section not fold 2.
Secondly leave the phone to local police and tell them your wife or gf is hacking into your phone and let specialist att police go through your phone and if they find it's true they will grab evidence out of the phone and then arrest her for suspicious of hacking and they will use evidence when interviewing her and asking her that they found traces of her hacking the person's phone and such. Not last but least if higher up person decides to is do house warrant at her home so they will go home to her take all of her computer stuff including tablets and phones as part of investigation and they will check through all of them.
If you keep reseting your phone you are getting rid of all evidence from her and she will have lower chance of being sued in court and sentenced to jail for her criminal behaviour.
These sensors comes from your hardware nothing she's doing lmaoz. All smart phones have these sensors