[Q] Just picked up US LTE tablet - Shield Tablet Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have been using a K1 wifi tablet for several months. I really do love it. I had an opportunity to pick up an almost new US LTE version and it should be here any day now. Since T-Mobile just gave me a free line of service, I figured this tablet would be a nice upgrade.
I see that the US LTE has not got the Nougat upgrade yet and am looking for recommendations as to what I should do. I see the options reading through what others have done and want to make sure if I understand the pro/cons:
1-Do nothing and wait for Nougat.(not much of a con, but I hear it has AT&T bloat)
2-Flash the wifi Nougat.(LTE will not work)
3-Flash the RoW LTE Nougat.(No LTE just 3G, but no AT&T bloat)
Let me know if I am missing something or might have misunderstood what I was reading.
Thanks

caseyatbt said:
I have been using a K1 wifi tablet for several months. I really do love it. I had an opportunity to pick up an almost new US LTE version and it should be here any day now. Since T-Mobile just gave me a free line of service, I figured this tablet would be a nice upgrade.
I see that the US LTE has not got the Nougat upgrade yet and am looking for recommendations as to what I should do. I see the options reading through what others have done and want to make sure if I understand the pro/cons:
1-Do nothing and wait for Nougat.(not much of a con, but I hear it has AT&T bloat)
2-Flash the wifi Nougat.(LTE will not work)
3-Flash the RoW LTE Nougat.(No LTE just 3G, but no AT&T bloat)
Let me know if I am missing something or might have misunderstood what I was reading.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha..this was exactly what I was thinking of. I am actually looking for a good LTE tablet. Will definitely love to hear your experience.

Wait
Just wait. No need to be impatient, all your games will still work just fine. I don't know that the updates provide any significant improvements in that area, it's mostly about bragging rights and wanting to have the 'latest and greatest'.
Take it from someone who got his LTE tablet early and has been through this for EVERY update.... Just wait. It's really not a big deal so don't take any risks flashing a different ROM. Some people have had issues getting LTE to work again when trying to go back to factory and even if you're a pro at this like me, I simply don't want to deal with the hassle of it. I'd rather be playing games on the unit than wasting time trying to get various features working again because didn't want to wait 3-4 months for the new ROM.
Your call though!
-Han

Hannover2k said:
Just wait. No need to be impatient, all your games will still work just fine. I don't know that the updates provide any significant improvements in that area, it's mostly about bragging rights and wanting to have the 'latest and greatest'.
Take it from someone who got his LTE tablet early and has been through this for EVERY update.... Just wait. It's really not a big deal so don't take any risks flashing a different ROM. Some people have had issues getting LTE to work again when trying to go back to factory and even if you're a pro at this like me, I simply don't want to deal with the hassle of it. I'd rather be playing games on the unit than wasting time trying to get various features working again because didn't want to wait 3-4 months for the new ROM.
Your call though!
-Han
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I decided to do. I figured I would just wait, it does get frustrating to watch updates get released for every tablet variant but this one.
It makes you wonder what the hold up is.

OS updates only eat storage and usually slows down performance. So far my experience. Hence I never update!

Many of us with either T-Mobile or AT&T report no LTE service in most locations with this tablet. The modem appears to be incompatible with recent LTE network updates. We are hoping for a patch ... since October or so... and at the moment i only get HSPA speeds except in a few spots.
i am doubtful now that this will ever be fixed.
It doesn't relate to trying new ROMs or anything... stock tablets see it too.
This has ruined an otherwise excellent device.
Best wishes to you. Please report your experience when you can.

To clear up a point of misunderstanding here: flashing the row LTE ROM will not restrict you to 3G only. The modem firmware is what determines available bands and that will remain on the North American version. In actuality, none of us devs even know a way to force flash between row and na modem firmware, so you're not going to accidentally switch that. You're plenty safe to upgrade to N using the row image.
Side note: the icera modem is unfortunately unstable, and it appears to be a hardware issue, not software. So not something a firmware/software update can fix. If yours is stable on M, it should continue to work fine on N, whatever ROM is used. For those of us with issues (like my current tablet won't recognize a sim anymore period), there will be problem no matter what we run.

It's a gaming tablet. Try WiFi. That's all I will say.

Related

Fuze Times Out on Data Connection

Half the time when I try to go to a website the Fuze just times out. Loads forever and times out.
When it doesn't time out, it's slow as molasses.
I can throw my SIM in either of my other two 3G phones, sitting in the exact same spot, and everything flows just fine.
Anyone else having this issue?
I'm about ready to take this back, after months of waiting for its release, because the data connection is so unreliable.
have you tried tweaking it and maybe flash to another rom?
or maybe you just have a lemon. Get it exchanged and see if problem persists.
baboola said:
have you tried tweaking it and maybe flash to another rom?
or maybe you just have a lemon. Get it exchanged and see if problem persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have already returned it for a different one. Exact same issue. Actually I've posted a lot of details about this, if you look at my other posts.
Many others are having this same issue. Many others in the threads on here, like the HSDPA / 3G Fuze threads. Here's a guy on ATT forums with the exact same symptoms as me: http://forums.wireless.att.com/cng/board/message?board.id=cingular&thread.id=108522
I do not want to flash to a different ROM because I saw someone in another thread post that they tried flashing back to the stock ATT ROM and it didn't work. Haven't seen anyone post saying that it DOES work for this specific phone to the ATT ROM.
If it was just "kinda slow" I would mess with tweaks and other ROMs, but the fact that it's literally unusable makes me want to just give up and possibly re-buy the phone if and when a REAL fix for it comes along.
The frustrating thing is it seems like about half people are getting awesome speeds on this phone, and the other half are getting abysmal, unusable speeds. I've seen a lot of posts on here of people saying they're just returning the Fuze as it's useless. I'm so disappointed, I really wanted this phone bad.
I'm sorry to hear that. I'm actually on my second Fuze right now (returned the first one for some stupid reason). Both phones had around the same speed. It's not stellar, but at least it's not doing terribly worse than my friend's iphone 3g, which I use as a comparison cuz we all know they're the connection hoggers.
Have you tried calling AT&T tech support? They've been extremely helpful with some of my questions.
Lastly, why not just flash it? May people are having a bit of a problem getting stock ROM to work after flashing it back, but if you're going to exchange it, who said the stock ROM has to work flawlessly? Besides, someone will eventually find a way to fully re-flash stock ROM soon, not that I'd ever understand why anyone would want to do that aside for warranty purposes.
I would bring your phone to AT&T store, talk to the manager (chances are someone working there also has a Fuze). Tell them your problem and ask them to do a comparison. Cuz right now I can only think of two possibilities:
1) you got 2 lemons in a row
2) Stock ROM really sucks
Good luck
Thanks man. I might just try a flash and see. I have not called tech support yet even though I've been thinking about doing that for days, because it's such a hair pulling experience, i just hate going through the phone systems and then getting people who don't have a clue what your'e talking about.
I did email the manager of the store, mainly about a different issue I had with the process and the associate (who lied to my face repeatedly, but i wont go into details) and mentioned the problems i'm having with my phone and the fact that the replacement is the same way.
I also live in OC (southern cal) and have heard others are having issues w 3G in general here. However the fact remains that my other two 3G phones work perfectly for me.

[Q] Questions about OTA rollouts???

As far as getting OTA updates, is there any difference between being on T-Mobile's phone network or on random wi-fi link? Does it make any difference if the sim card is in the phone or not?
I don't have reception at all at home so the phones are just on wifi and I often only spend a few hours a week on T-Mobile's network. So at that rate I may never get the OTA update. And lately my SIM card is in my spare rooted G2x which I've been using to try out ROMs.
Does anyone have any idea how phones are selected for updating? Random based on IMEI number? Phone number? SIM card? Date phone was purchased? Date the phone was manufactured? Does account type matter? Prepaid vs contract etc.?? The lack of info about this is infuriating. Same as the new market, weeks later, still no new market on my stock phone (not side loading anything on that phone).
The fact that Google has no direct support for Android at all and they are leaving support completely to grossly incompetent companies like LG and T-Mobile bodes very poorly in my estimation. Will this have me go to a locked down phone like iPhone or WM7 phones? No. But it leads me hoping they might open up WebOS more and get it on some better hardware.
Basically, is there anything I can do to influence the situation, or is it completely random? Does checking more often help, or will my phone only get the update once Google/LG/T-Mobile determine my phone will get it???
No one has any idea? Not even wild, inaccurate speculation??
I am interrested in knowing this as well! I spend most of the day on wifi calling either at work or at home...
I recently spoke to tech support he told me he would recommend updating thru the lg update tool because its a secure connection.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
I heard they use IMEIs, but I don't think the IMEIs are necessarily in order of oldest to newest. One of my buddies who bought his nexus one from google a couple months after I did would always get OTAs before I did.
And we both got OTAs over wifi. I wouldn't know if your sim card needs to be in there, but I would definitely leave it in and just run the *#*#checkin#*#* command just in case.
But nonetheless, to anybody:
Please use alogcat while downloading the OTA.
Once done, just upload the whole logcat so that we can find the URL for the OTA.
Ha! Strangely, I got my OTA GB today. While on cellular, not wifi. Go figure.
Still waitin' on the new market......
Sorry, I wish I had known about the logcat thing. I may flash stock 2.2 onto my spare rooted g2x and wait to see when it gets the OTA, I want nothing to do with the LG updater app, but I might loose patience, we'll see....
Oh, and the *#*#checkin#*#* command??? Has this been tested to work on the G2x? Is that regarded as useful on Android phones in general? Or certain brands, like just HTCs? Search isn't showing too much info on that.
Ha! Strangely, I got my OTA GB today. While on cellular, not wifi. Go figure.
Still waitin' on the new market......
Sorry, I wish I had known about the logcat thing. I may flash stock 2.2 onto my spare rooted g2x and wait to see when it gets the OTA, I want nothing to do with the LG updater app, but I might loose patience, we'll see....
Oh, and the *#*#checkin#*#* command??? Has this been tested to work on the G2x? Is that regarded as useful on Android phones in general? Or certain brands, like just HTCs? Search isn't showing too much info on that.

Downsides to the Skyrocket/AT&T LTE?

Coming from a Nexus One, I just got a Skyrocket yesterday.
While having a dual core and LTE speed is indeed nice, the phone is a f****** brick in comparison to the Nexus One, so I am somewhat regretting my decision and might return it ...
It's easy to see the upsides of the phone (speed, large screen, better built quality than the N1), I also want to know what the downsides are, so I can make an informed decision.
As far as I can tell, I already see these - which I mostly pulled together based on my own experiences and what I read on this forum:
1. Throttling of LTE unlimited data plans (I never had that problem on my N1 - though I did not really use that much data (no video streaming))
2. Uncertain CM7/CM9 support - as far as I can tell there are some unofficial ports under way, but no dev from CM has joined the effort and non of the current devs have officially joined the CM team?
3. F'ing AT&T blocking websites (e.g. justin.tv (not that I ever want to go to this site but I am pissed about being blocked))
4. CIQ BS on the stock software (ok, can be fixed by using a custom ROM but still ...)
5. AT&T might watch LTE usage more closely for tethering? I frequently tethered and never had any issues with the N1 - though I did not really use that much data (no video streaming)
6. Reception issues on the stock software (I am in LA with little LTE, yet the phone ALWAYS connects to LTE and NEVER falls back to 3G giving me really sh** reception)
7. Size: it's a brick, not a phone.
8. Unlocking - my N1 was obviously unlocked and at&t never gave me any problems unlocking before, though I heard they might not unlock the Skyrocket PERIOD.
9. Uncertainty about specs (and whether it supports intl. 3G/UMTS2100)?
I am happy to have people convince me otherwise, but at the moment some of these con's outweigh the pro's (the size con even in a literal sense, hahaha)
Also let me know if you know of any other good (normal sized) phones (ideally with the same specs otherwise) that might come to AT&T (or might be available unlocked). I would probably love this phone if it had a 3.7" screen in the same form factor as the N1.
Who cares lol you came to the wrong placce to complain about the skyrocket. If u dont like it take it back. This thread is useless, and should be closed
silver03wrx said:
Who cares lol you came to the wrong placce to complain about the skyrocket. If u dont like it take it back. This thread is useless, and should be closed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your comment is useless. Thank you.
Its not really. We are here because we love the phone and for once its a group that sees a few short comings and we are working as a group to fix them.
You knew the dimensions of the phone when you bought it. For that statement alone...take it back.
Nearly every other complaint you have mentioned has been corrected with development by some very dedicated dev work new and experienced.
In the end only you can make the choice...but when you ask for an opinion be prepared for what you are going to receive good and bad
andTab said:
Your comment is useless. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App
andTab said:
Coming from a Nexus One, I just got a Skyrocket yesterday.
While having a dual core and LTE speed is indeed nice, the phone is a f****** brick in comparison to the Nexus One, so I am somewhat regretting my decision and might return it ...
It's easy to see the upsides of the phone (speed, large screen, better built quality than the N1), I also want to know what the downsides are, so I can make an informed decision.
As far as I can tell, I already see these - which I mostly pulled together based on my own experiences and what I read on this forum:
1. Throttling of LTE unlimited data plans (I never had that problem on my N1 - though I did not really use that much data (no video streaming))
Some have the issue some dont, dont abuse it and probably wont be throttled.2. Uncertain CM7/CM9 support - as far as I can tell there are some unofficial ports under way, but no dev from CM has joined the effort and non of the current devs have officially joined the CM team?
I think it will be ported, maybe not cm9 but we have started a thread over there and asked them to, but we will see. its just a ROM - if thats your looking for pick something else. 3. F'ing AT&T blocking websites (e.g. justin.tv (not that I ever want to go to this site but I am pissed about being blocked))
4. CIQ BS on the stock software (ok, can be fixed by using a custom ROM but still ...)
i think this was fixed with they dropped 2.3.6 - i have never tried nor found a site that i couldnt get to. if the fix is a Custom Rom and your answer is BUT STILL....then why are you on these forums. Roms are like clothes change them ****s and move on.
5. AT&T might watch LTE usage more closely for tethering? I frequently tethered and never had any issues with the N1 - though I did not really use that much data (no video streaming)
if you dont video stream, i DOUBT you will ever get throttled or sent the little AT&T teathering email.
6. Reception issues on the stock software (I am in LA with little LTE, yet the phone ALWAYS connects to LTE and NEVER falls back to 3G giving me really sh** reception)
i dont have an answer for this, im in a LTE area with NO PROBLEMS
7. Size: it's a brick, not a phone.
u know what they say about little hands
8. Unlocking - my N1 was obviously unlocked and at&t never gave me any problems unlocking before, though I heard they might not unlock the Skyrocket PERIOD.
9. Uncertainty about specs (and whether it supports intl. 3G/UMTS2100)?
I am happy to have people convince me otherwise, but at the moment some of these con's outweigh the pro's (the size con even in a literal sense, hahaha)
Also let me know if you know of any other good (normal sized) phones (ideally with the same specs otherwise) that might come to AT&T (or might be available unlocked). I would probably love this phone if it had a 3.7" screen in the same form factor as the N1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
those are the only ones i know of....
Good Luck
If you have questions about the device, it's no problem to ask them here. Although, there is a right way to do it. If you have searched and cannot find the answer, then ask. When you do ask, don't come of as a troll like you're bashing the phone and provoking users into defending it. You should know how that is going to end up. Lets keep this thread in the right direction......
andTab said:
Coming from a Nexus One, I just got a Skyrocket yesterday.
While having a dual core and LTE speed is indeed nice, the phone is a f****** brick in comparison to the Nexus One, so I am somewhat regretting my decision and might return it ...
It's easy to see the upsides of the phone (speed, large screen, better built quality than the N1), I also want to know what the downsides are, so I can make an informed decision.
As far as I can tell, I already see these - which I mostly pulled together based on my own experiences and what I read on this forum:
1. Throttling of LTE unlimited data plans (I never had that problem on my N1 - though I did not really use that much data (no video streaming))
2. Uncertain CM7/CM9 support - as far as I can tell there are some unofficial ports under way, but no dev from CM has joined the effort and non of the current devs have officially joined the CM team?
3. F'ing AT&T blocking websites (e.g. justin.tv (not that I ever want to go to this site but I am pissed about being blocked))
4. CIQ BS on the stock software (ok, can be fixed by using a custom ROM but still ...)
5. AT&T might watch LTE usage more closely for tethering? I frequently tethered and never had any issues with the N1 - though I did not really use that much data (no video streaming)
6. Reception issues on the stock software (I am in LA with little LTE, yet the phone ALWAYS connects to LTE and NEVER falls back to 3G giving me really sh** reception)
7. Size: it's a brick, not a phone.
8. Unlocking - my N1 was obviously unlocked and at&t never gave me any problems unlocking before, though I heard they might not unlock the Skyrocket PERIOD.
9. Uncertainty about specs (and whether it supports intl. 3G/UMTS2100)?
I am happy to have people convince me otherwise, but at the moment some of these con's outweigh the pro's (the size con even in a literal sense, hahaha)
Also let me know if you know of any other good (normal sized) phones (ideally with the same specs otherwise) that might come to AT&T (or might be available unlocked). I would probably love this phone if it had a 3.7" screen in the same form factor as the N1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds to us like you've already made your mind up. And the poeple above are right. This IS the skyrocket forum on xda. Were only going to tell you that we love our skyrocket. Which we do. There's not a single phone out there that does not have problems. My biggest problem with every other phone out there is a locked bootloader. Which means it will be even harder for any dev to fix any of the problems you have with any phone you choose. Good luck!
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using xda premium
the2rrell said:
those are the only ones i know of....
Good Luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! That was very helpful.
There are lots of good things about this phone (eg call quality is a hundred times better than on the Nexus One which always sounded like a string/tin-can phone).
I want to know about all the bad things, and what is being done to address them.
Does anyone know whether any current CM devs are considering the phone?
Or whether any current Skyrocket devs might join CM/bring official CM support for this phone?
Not getting CM9 would be a dealbreaker for me.
I only found threads about at&t blocking websites on the new LTE APN - I did not find anything about other ROMs or the new stock software update fixing it. Can you point me to the thread?
Reception issues: do custom ROMs/radios fix this problem for anyone that has experienced this?
Does anyone know whether at&t will unlock the phone (or whether we are stuck having to pay these third party sites to unlock)
European 3G - lot's of sites claim that the phone should work with 3G internationally (2100 UMTS) but has anyone tried (even just roaming on at&t)?
Manufacturers and providers have lied before about phone specs ... need to get this confirmed.
andTab said:
Thank you! That was very helpful.
There are lots of good things about this phone (eg call quality is a hundred times better than on the Nexus One which always sounded like a string/tin-can phone).
I want to know about all the bad things, and what is being done to address them.
Does anyone know whether any current CM devs are considering the phone?
Or whether any current Skyrocket devs might join CM/bring official CM support for this phone?
Not getting CM9 would be a dealbreaker for me.
I only found threads about at&t blocking websites on the new LTE APN - I did not find anything about other ROMs or the new stock software update fixing it. Can you point me to the thread?
Reception issues: do custom ROMs/radios fix this problem for anyone that has experienced this?
Does anyone know whether at&t will unlock the phone (or whether we are stuck having to pay these third party sites to unlock)
European 3G - lot's of sites claim that the phone should work with 3G internationally (2100 UMTS) but has anyone tried (even just roaming on at&t)?
Manufacturers and providers have lied before about phone specs ... need to get this confirmed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple, google the Qualcomm radio this phone has, then look up the specs on Qualcomm's website.
Longcat14 said:
Simple, google the Qualcomm radio this phone has, then look up the specs on Qualcomm's website.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is no answer, since the carrier might have disabled the radio, eg the T-Mobile G2x has quad-band 3G but they disabled the ATT 3G radio when the phone was released.
Someone with the phone needs to test it - since the phone has been out for a while now, I would hope that someone has done so.
Otherwise, we will not know based on some BS specs on some BS website.
only thing I'm worried about is not getting ICS OTA update till late next year and thats really only because I 2nd guess myself over just about everything technology which is halting me from rooting
GeezyF.Ladies said:
only thing I'm worried about is not getting ICS OTA update till late next year and thats really only because I 2nd guess myself over just about everything technology which is halting me from rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as rooting Just DO IT!!
and as far as ICS, OTA or not....we WILL have ICS on the this phone due to the devs porting it over. im thinking by maybe Feb we will have something for our phone. or im hoping anyway.
I bet we get ICS even sooner. Also what's this about ATT blocking justin.tv? Plays fine over ATT LTE for me...
Yeah. this phone really sucks. Lets see..
I get 28+hours on my battery..
Large screen with beautiful display
LTE with 40down speeds my comcast cable has 18 down
Good Dev support so far..
I am so sick and tired of hearing this phone is " sub par" etc..
I think I will treat myself to a new Samsung led 1080p hdtv this week...lol
---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:05 PM ----------
geezyf.ladies said:
only thing i'm worried about is not getting ics ota update till late next year and thats really only because i 2nd guess myself over just about everything technology which is halting me from rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:d
you might wanna try the regular galaxy s2. pretty much clears up most of the problems... still pretty big but not as big

Essential Support -- Buyer Beware

As many on XDA will tell you a Phone or ROM is only as good as it’s support team. As a developer who has offered various ROMs and android mods since 2009, I have extensive experience in troubleshooting and helping others do so. And in recent years, I very rarely go out of my way to lend an opinion or even review a device, however, I think the android community should be informed about the support that the Essential Phone offers before buying their product.
I was very excited to hear about Andy Rubin's project and immediately pre-ordered the PH-1 with the extended warranty. Despite delays, I had high hopes and had every intention of making it my daily driver. The day I received the phone I also received an email stating that it was not certified for usage on Verizon’s network. Verizon is the only network where I live. I tried my existing sim card and received awful reception. I wrote a quick review and stated “This may be a simple APN fix or could be a serious issue with the radios.” Since the phone was unusable, I boxed it up awaiting Verizon certification.
About a month went by before I finally got an email stating the PH-1 was certified for Verizon. I tried the phone and still received abysmal data reception. Despite 3-4 bars, the download speeds around 3 Mbps and uploads of 0.01 Mpbs or slower. Without wifi the phone cannot complete initial setup/login, Google Assistant cannot function, and in general does not work.
I spent 3 days troubleshooting this with APNs, data resets, Manufacturer's reset, custom bands, hidden menus, confirmed the IEMI via the web portal... you name it, I tried it. During this time, I noticed there are a few spots on the top of the screen that work poorly. So, I finally decided to contact Essential’s support; the options are limited to leaving a voicemail or email. I tried leaving a voicemail that no one returned.
After a week of waiting for a return call, I moved to the email support. I summarized all the steps I had tried. I received a follow up email the next day asking me to perform factory reset….. Something that I had clearly stated I had already done. So, I did another and responded that it did not work. It took over 1 week to receive a follow up asking if I had the My Verizon app installed. I cannot imagine how this would influence data speeds, but I played their game and gave it a try. Of course there was no improvement.
Their follow up ask me to reset the APNs, which is a much more logical option than their first and second response, but once again something I clearly stated I had previously done in my initial request for support. At this point, I took my phone to a Verizon and T-Mobile store and their representatives tried new sim cards, provisioned, and troubleshooted the phone. Both Verizon and T-Mobile, have said there is nothing wrong with the setup, the sim, the apps, and the phone’s hardware is defective.
I relayed this message to Essential Support and and their response was to #1 download the Verizon app #2 reset APNS #3 set the phone to global mode…… Not only had they told me to do this before, but if they bothered to read any of my emails they would have seen this has been tried, and both Verizon and T-Mobile have independently verified the software is fine, it is not user error, and the hardware is defective.
Over the last month, I have made no progress at all on the radio issue and it has been 4 days since Essential’s last lackluster communication.
Despite reminding their support staff several times, no has even tried to troubleshoot the other issue I am having with the screen involving poor touch sensitivity on the superior border. No one has offered me a new phone nor referred to my Essential Extended Care (which I do not want pay the deductible for a phone that never worked). When I asked to return, the phone they said it was 14 day window despite the phone not being certified on my network for the first month I had not the phone.
Over the years, I have owned Motorola Droid, Galaxy Nexus (toro + maguro), G2, G3, 1+1, 1+2, 1+3, LG G2, LG G3, LG G4, GS3, GS4, GS5, Sony Pollux, Nexus 4, Nexus n6p, among others, and I have had to call support for hardware issues. The Essential Phone is by a very wide margin has the worst support I have ever come across and Google’s has had the best.
In its prime, my custom ROM had well over 100,000 users and I tend to be the only one on the team who offered support, so I completely understand android support like very few on this planet. As of last month before the price break, Essential was estimated to have only sold 5,000 phones. Even with a bare bones staff fielding emails and not checking voicemail, their support volume per day is likely less than what I personally did for free for our community for free as part of a “hobby” for almost a decade.
To sum it all up: “Buyer Beware”
DHO said:
As many on XDA will tell you a Phone or ROM is only as good as it’s support team. As a developer who has offered various ROMs and android mods since 2009, I have extensive experience in troubleshooting and helping others do so. And in recent years, I very rarely go out of my way to lend an opinion or even review a device, however, I think the android community should be informed about the support that the Essential Phone offers before buying their product.
I was very excited to hear about Andy Rubin's project and immediately pre-ordered the PH-1 with the extended warranty. Despite delays, I had high hopes and had every intention of making it my daily driver. The day I received the phone I also received an email stating that it was not certified for usage on Verizon’s network. Verizon is the only network where I live. I tried my existing sim card and received awful reception. I wrote a quick review and stated “This may be a simple APN fix or could be a serious issue with the radios.” Since the phone was unusable, I boxed it up awaiting Verizon certification.
About a month went by before I finally got an email stating the PH-1 was certified for Verizon. I tried the phone and still received abysmal data reception. Despite 3-4 bars, the download speeds around 3 Mbps and uploads of 0.01 Mpbs or slower. Without wifi the phone cannot complete initial setup/login, Google Assistant cannot function, and in general does not work.
I spent 3 days troubleshooting this with APNs, data resets, Manufacturer's reset, custom bands, hidden menus, confirmed the IEMI via the web portal... you name it, I tried it. During this time, I noticed there are a few spots on the top of the screen that work poorly. So, I finally decided to contact Essential’s support; the options are limited to leaving a voicemail or email. I tried leaving a voicemail that no one returned.
After a week of waiting for a return call, I moved to the email support. I summarized all the steps I had tried. I received a follow up email the next day asking me to perform factory reset….. Something that I had clearly stated I had already done. So, I did another and responded that it did not work. It took over 1 week to receive a follow up asking if I had the My Verizon app installed. I cannot imagine how this would influence data speeds, but I played their game and gave it a try. Of course there was no improvement.
Their follow up ask me to reset the APNs, which is a much more logical option than their first and second response, but once again something I clearly stated I had previously done in my initial request for support. At this point, I took my phone to a Verizon and T-Mobile store and their representatives tried new sim cards, provisioned, and troubleshooted the phone. Both Verizon and T-Mobile, have said there is nothing wrong with the setup, the sim, the apps, and the phone’s hardware is defective.
I relayed this message to Essential Support and and their response was to #1 download the Verizon app #2 reset APNS #3 set the phone to global mode…… Not only had they told me to do this before, but if they bothered to read any of my emails they would have seen this has been tried, and both Verizon and T-Mobile have independently verified the software is fine, it is not user error, and the hardware is defective.
Over the last month, I have made no progress at all on the radio issue and it has been 4 days since Essential’s last lackluster communication.
Despite reminding their support staff several times, no has even tried to troubleshoot the other issue I am having with the screen involving poor touch sensitivity on the superior border. No one has offered me a new phone nor referred to my Essential Extended Care (which I do not want pay the deductible for a phone that never worked). When I asked to return, the phone they said it was 14 day window despite the phone not being certified on my network for the first month I had not the phone.
Over the years, I have owned Motorola Droid, Galaxy Nexus (toro + maguro), G2, G3, 1+1, 1+2, 1+3, LG G2, LG G3, LG G4, GS3, GS4, GS5, Sony Pollux, Nexus 4, Nexus n6p, among others, and I have had to call support for hardware issues. The Essential Phone is by a very wide margin has the worst support I have ever come across and Google’s has had the best.
In its prime, my custom ROM had well over 100,000 users and I tend to be the only one on the team who offered support, so I completely understand android support like very few on this planet. As of last month before the price break, Essential was estimated to have only sold 5,000 phones. Even with a bare bones staff fielding emails and not checking voicemail, their support volume per day is likely less than what I personally did for free for our community for free as part of a “hobby” for almost a decade.
To sum it all up: “Buyer Beware”
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Man...
I really like this phone... It hit all the sweet spots for me as a device... And I'm in love with the battery life...
But to see @DHO blast Essential like this...
I have seen on other posts that the Essential team reads XDA... And I can only hope that seeing a respected developer complain in such an articulate way has some gravity with them to possibly step up their game...
The hardware (for me on AT&T) has been superb... And I have few if any complaints... But maybe it has to do with the CDMA portion of the device which I will never have to deal with
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
thanks for the detailed post. It's good to be prepared when it's required. Hope they change their support model and performance very soon.
cheers
rignfool said:
Man...
I really like this phone... It hit all the sweet spots for me as a device... And I'm in love with the battery life...
But to see @DHO blast Essential like this...
I have seen on other posts that the Essential team reads XDA... And I can only hope that seeing a respected developer complain in such an articulate way has some gravity with them to possibly step up their game...
The hardware (for me on AT&T) has been superb... And I have few if any complaints... But maybe it has to do with the CDMA portion of the device which I will never have to deal with
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rignfool Thanks.
With a little luck word will get out and they will step up their game.
I really hope this post doesn't put all future custom rom development in a death spiral before it even starts. :/
Damn that sucks... I've been using my phone on Sprint for several days and the reception has been outstanding, full bars of LTE+ almost everywhere, while the other phones in my family (Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, 2 iPhone 7's) get three bars of LTE at most. Hope you get this sorted out, sucks that it happened in the first place.
---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------
12paq said:
I really hope this post doesn't put all future custom rom development in a death spiral before it even starts. :/
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Very unlikely, cause @invisiblek has been going ham in terms of getting LOS/TWRP stable on this device.
DHO, sorry to hear you are having issues. I am a Verizon user in Houston. When I first got my PH-1, I couldn't get Verizon to stay connected. Constant drops, like non-stop and unusable.. I was ready to send it back. It was incredibly frustrating. Then I read a post here about resetting radio setting. I changed to Europe, then changed back to US. I set to LTE/CMDA, in the ping/radio section and also on the user network setting.. Who knows what else I changed and changed back. I was trying anything and everything I could. I am definitely a user, not a cellular techie. But Verizon started staying connected, even showing LTE+ most of the time.
Good luck. Maybe you have a defective phone? Seems you obviously know all about troubleshooting and have tried everything. If you can get it working on Verizon, I am confident you will like the PH-1.
Still issues with Verizon WiFi calling, Verizon voicemail and Verizon visual voicemail. But for me, I can live without the WiFi calling and have workaround for vm.
Frustrating situation, no doubt. All the best.
I second the defective phone scenario.. from my reading these forms the first batches with the foam earpiece had numerous issues. Lots of posts about connectivity issues that were resolved by replacement phones
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
12paq said:
I really hope this post doesn't put all future custom rom development in a death spiral before it even starts. :/
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I was surprised, in my circle of devs. I am the only one to purchase the PH-1. Based on my feedback I know it has prevented a few people who were on the fence.
I'm sure once more source becomes available this phone will pick up support. It has TWRP before the Pixel2. And invisiblek is as good as it gets for device bring up. So there is hope
TheF|ipSide said:
Damn that sucks... I've been using my phone on Sprint for several days and the reception has been outstanding, full bars of LTE+ almost everywhere, while the other phones in my family (Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, 2 iPhone 7's) get three bars of LTE at most. Hope you get this sorted out, sucks that it happened in the first place.
---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------
Very unlikely, cause @invisiblek has been going ham in terms of getting LOS/TWRP stable on this device.
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Click to collapse
Thanks
houstonironman said:
DHO, sorry to hear you are having issues. I am a Verizon user in Houston. When I first got my PH-1, I couldn't get Verizon to stay connected. Constant drops, like non-stop and unusable.. I was ready to send it back. It was incredibly frustrating. Then I read a post here about resetting radio setting. I changed to Europe, then changed back to US. I set to LTE/CMDA, in the ping/radio section and also on the user network setting.. Who knows what else I changed and changed back. I was trying anything and everything I could. I am definitely a user, not a cellular techie. But Verizon started staying connected, even showing LTE+ most of the time.
Good luck. Maybe you have a defective phone? Seems you obviously know all about troubleshooting and have tried everything. If you can get it working on Verizon, I am confident you will like the PH-1.
Still issues with Verizon WiFi calling, Verizon voicemail and Verizon visual voicemail. But for me, I can live without the WiFi calling and have workaround for vm.
Frustrating situation, no doubt. All the best.
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I have tried this. I have noticed some VERY interesting bugs in the USA band that are causing some sort of error resulting in the deactivation of the data. I wish I could grab a logcat (need SU). If their support was more .... receptive ... I would gladly report how to replicate RIL failures that result in complete deactivation of the radios. Unfortunately this is not the underplaying cause of my issue :/
stinger4321 said:
I second the defective phone scenario.. from my reading these forms the first batches with the foam earpiece had numerous issues. Lots of posts about connectivity issues that were resolved by replacement phones
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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Yea, I am hoping they will do the right thing and replace it.
DHO said:
I have tried this. I have noticed some VERY interesting bugs in the USA band that are causing some sort of error resulting in the deactivation of the data. I wish I could grab a logcat (need SU). If their support was more .... receptive ... I would gladly report how to replicate RIL failures that result in complete deactivation of the radios. Unfortunately this is not the underplaying cause of my issue :/
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I am surprised to hear you have not rooted yet with it being available.
Sure you probably tried already but take the sim out and factory reset. Put sim in and factory reset again. Make no other changes unless your trying to get volte to work. Info based on an already active Verizon sim account.
The support reps for some reason go by their tech cheat sheet all the time, instead of reading email fully and understanding that they are communicating to a tech savvy person. I had that before with other OEMs, where they would make go through troubleshooting which were already done previously. Another thing would be if support team knows that this is an average user who doesn't really play nice with technology, then yes, going through troubleshooting steps would be logical.
So, I am planning to buy this phone soon, do users on T-Mobile network have any cell/data issues?
@DHO I assume you've tried the latest stock build? I assume they had to push something once it was Verizon certified. Mine, along with a couple other devs I work with, are working just fine on Verizon.
T-Mobile
Charkatak said:
The support reps for some reason go by their tech cheat sheet all the time, instead of reading email fully and understanding that they are communicating to a tech savvy person. I had that before with other OEMs, where they would make go through troubleshooting which were already done previously. Another thing would be if support team knows that this is an average user who doesn't really play nice with technology, then yes, going through troubleshooting steps would be logical.
So, I am planning to buy this phone soon, do users on T-Mobile network have any cell/data issues?
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Click to collapse
I'm on T-Mobile here in Los Angeles with no problems whatsoever compared to my previous S8+ and HTC U11 devices. I know others have reported reception issues on T-Mobile, but I personally am perfectly happy on T-Mobile here.
invisiblek said:
@DHO I assume you've tried the latest stock build? I assume they had to push something once it was Verizon certified. Mine, along with a couple other devs I work with, are working just fine on Verizon.
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Click to collapse
I agree with this statement.
I'm on Verizon and I've had decent speeds.
I've been averaging between 35 - 45 Mb/s down and 7-10 up.
The lowest I've had it drop is 25 down and 2 up.
I can't say i've had any drop out issues either.
mrcooter said:
I am surprised to hear you have not rooted yet with it being available.
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Click to collapse
I don't want to give them a reason to say I voided the warranty. If they want proper logs, I would be happy to supply.
bill3508 said:
Sure you probably tried already but take the sim out and factory reset. Put sim in and factory reset again. Make no other changes unless your trying to get volte to work. Info based on an already active Verizon sim account.
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Click to collapse
Yep tried everything. The Data speeds are insufficient to support voLTE. Even with the LTE+ icon I get 1G speeds,.. a few decibites a second. LOL
Charkatak said:
The support reps for some reason go by their tech cheat sheet all the time, instead of reading email fully and understanding that they are communicating to a tech savvy person. I had that before with other OEMs, where they would make go through troubleshooting which were already done previously. Another thing would be if support team knows that this is an average user who doesn't really play nice with technology, then yes, going through troubleshooting steps would be logical.
So, I am planning to buy this phone soon, do users on T-Mobile network have any cell/data issues?
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Click to collapse
Both Verizon and T-mobile has identical issues for me.
I know their support is check list based. So I walked them through each step I tried..... around the 6th follow up email I eve wrote out a numbered list because they had circled back to asking the same questions they had previously.
invisiblek said:
@DHO I assume you've tried the latest stock build? I assume they had to push something once it was Verizon certified. Mine, along with a couple other devs I work with, are working just fine on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I have tried on each release, including the one pushed over the last week. I have also tried a T-Mobile sim card and no difference than Verizon.
I know this phone is now "Certified" by Verizon but that is somewhat misleading. Because it is not an actual Verizon phone they block it from supporting WiFi calling and Visual Voicemail. You cannot even download and install Verizon's Visual Voicemail app from the Play store and built in Visual Voicemail in the Google Dialer does not work on Verizon. Also while a Verizon SIM is installed in the phone WiFi calling options completely disappear from settings. I think there is one person who said those two features are working for him but for the vast majority of us it does not work. I'm with DHO 100%. With the very poor customer support and the phone not functioning as well as most other phones there are far better options out there. I had connectivity issues with T-Mobile so bad I switched to Verizon and then found out the hard way they don't support those features on this phone. I ended up taking advantage of Verizon's 50% off the Pixel 2 XL with certain trade ins and ordered a Pixel 2 XL to use. I've ended up with a $700 Essential phone I cannot use. So I agree with DHO........BUYER BEWARE
That sounds more like Verizon douche baggery at work, more so than a problem with Essential's support.
Verizon is the one that decides who gets those features, not the phone manufacturer...
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
JasonJoel said:
That sounds more like Verizon douche baggery at work, more so than a problem with Essential's support.
Verizon is the one that decides who gets those features, not the phone manufacturer...
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
For WiFi calling, I think a little column A and a little column B here-.
their radio reception is just awful- that's it. if you get good signal, then you will not likely have issue. even if you go to relatively worse area, you won't notice it too much. but if you actually live or work at a place with weak signal, then your signal drops way too often compared to any other ****ty plastic old phones.
no real way to fix it unless there's some crazy baseband update that somehow drastically improves it. I think they just did not do enough field testing to see how weak signal reception the device can handle. and now, they merely provide lackluster response because they cannot do anything and they cannot really admit that they ****ed up the "essential" part of the essential ph-1. i personally like this phone only because of the price is competitive and LineageOS is now finally supported. I still have some return window thanks to Amazon's holiday return policy, but might have to wrap this up and send back to Amazon for being defective.
Because, I also get ****ty reception on T-Mobile.

Question 5G no longer working after April Android 11 update

On Tmobile, 5G was working fine but after the April Android update 5G no longer works. LTE works fine but if you try to force 5G on, it actually only shows 3G active. Was working fine before the Android update. Anyone else seeing this? Tmobile only?
xenokc said:
On Tmobile, 5G was working fine but after the April Android update 5G no longer works. LTE works fine but if you try to force 5G on, it actually only shows 3G active. Was working fine before the Android update. Anyone else seeing this? Tmobile only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue here (had a crappy phone laying around, reason for the trade in). I tested it and in my area I have only Band 66 and shows 5G but no data. LTE works fine, my LG V60 has no problem with 5G. After the update I noticed this, factory reset and everything I have tried hasn't resolved anything. Most people might haven't noticed because they might be on LTE, haven't updated or possibly other 5G Bands work fine.
xenokc said:
On Tmobile, 5G was working fine but after the April Android update 5G no longer works. LTE works fine but if you try to force 5G on, it actually only shows 3G active. Was working fine before the Android update. Anyone else seeing this? Tmobile only?
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Click to collapse
Keep updating until it's broke vs update only when it's broke.
At least wait a few months to update to hear if any horror stories come out.
If I have a fast, stable platform that fulfills its mission I let it be. Security is almost never an issue on Android unless you do stupid things and no update will save you from that.
I'm still running Pie on my Note 10+, zero issues.
blackhawk said:
Keep updating until it's broke vs update only when it's broke.
At least wait a few months to update to hear if any horror stories come out.
If I have a fast, stable platform that fulfills its mission I let it be. Security is almost never an issue on Android unless you do stupid things and no update will save you from that.
I'm still running Pie on my Note 10+, zero iss
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackhawk said:
Keep updating until it's broke vs update only when it's broke.
At least wait a few months to update to hear if any horror stories come out.
If I have a fast, stable platform that fulfills its mission I let it be. Security is almost never an issue on Android unless you do stupid things and no update will save you from that.
I'm still running Pie on my Note 10+, zero issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The update was to fix some issues with calls ( which many were having, not sure if all, I did). In the process broke other things. I never update right away, but in this case was needed. Probably there's a bug with automatically selecting bands. There's never an update without bugs. I find updates scarier than flashing ROMS.
Derfomiundz Ivy said:
The update was to fix some issues with calls ( which many were having, not sure if all, I did). In the process broke other things. I never update right away, but in this case was needed. Probably there's a bug with automatically selecting bands. There's never an update without bugs. I find updates scarier than flashing ROMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most times you can find work arounds for issues but they take time. Once found, no firmware solution needed.
You always get new issues that need work on a new OS plus the inevitable learning curve.
Time/effort vs benefits; the payoff better be worth it and unfortunately many times it isn't.
After over a year on Pie maintenance is almost effortless and second nature. It's very stable and predictable so malware is easy to quickly spot if it inadvertently works it's way in.
Not knowing what to expect from an OS opens you to all sorts of new dangers as well as wasting huge amounts of time.
Updates can also bring very unwanted features and lockouts that can't easily if at all rolled back
blackhawk said:
Most times you can find work arounds for issues but they take time. Once found, no firmware solution needed.
You always get new issues that need work on a new OS plus the inevitable learning curve.
Time/effort vs benefits; the payoff better be worth it and unfortunately many times it isn't.
After over a year on Pie maintenance is almost effortless and second nature. It's very stable and predictable so malware is easy to quickly spot if it inadvertently works it's way in.
Not knowing what to expect from an OS opens you to all sorts of new dangers as well as wasting huge amounts of time.
Updates can also bring very unwanted features and lockouts that can't easily if at all rolled back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least I have way above average knowledge, but still is a horrible experience for normal consumers. Returning products, contacting the company for repairs. Both points are valid and differences of opinion. Still, it's possible the update was just fine and it's just the network and the new device. I don't care much about malware, that's up mostly about how someone use their devices. Funny story, I never used Android 9, I went from a device with Android 8 to 10 and 11. Also a reminder to people that aside from the main device is always good to have backup devices. We all know, they don't.
Derfomiundz Ivy said:
At least I have way above average knowledge, but still is a horrible experience for normal consumers. Returning products, contacting the company for repairs. Both points are valid and differences of opinion. Still, it's possible the update was just fine and it's just the network and the new device. I don't care much about malware, that's up mostly about how someone use their devices. Funny story, I never used Android 9, I went from a device with Android 8 to 10 and 11. Also a reminder to people that aside from the main device is always good to have backup devices. We all know, they don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah they are little heart attacks
Those not technologically interested/adaptive will suffer like pigs, ☠guarenteed☠
I went from Kitkat to Pie, talk about future shock.
However I quickly learned to navigate it and plunged straight into settings and customizing it.
Double tap on/off, Good Lock Apps/One Handed Operation +, Galaxy store custom themes/icon packs, hell yeah.
Not bad for a none rooted phone
Optimizing it was a nightmare but only persistent prevails It was a hot running bandwidth/battery hog and it took close to a year to complete tone it down and dial it in.
Many failed experiments and 2 boot loop forced factory resets latter it's a very stable, fast platform that gets good battery life and fulfills its mission. It's drop dead gorgeous and hella fun to use even after 1.5+ years.
Malware is almost always the operators fault. I had one script jpeg that trashed the download folder files a bit but I tagged right away. Had a trojan preloader (came through the browser) that got in but was detected/deleted before it could go to town.
So far in 7 years no malware forced reloads. Not bad considering most of that time has been on systems deliberately not updated.
Data loss? Bah-ha-ha-ha listening to Don't fear the Reaper, BOC
Android's rarely crash... until they do☠☠
Have a T Mobile A32 5G (SM-A326U) with the lastest update.
Baseband version A326USQU1AUD4
Kernel Version 4.14186-21188749
Build number RP1A-200720.012.A326USQU1AUD4
KNOX 3.7API level 33
5G download speed 15-20 Mbps
4G LTE download speed 45-65 Mbps
I suspect the 5G issue may be related to your local transmission tower(s). Perhaps T Mobile has just released another update to fix the 5G connection problem.
Just got May update and still no 5G on Tmobile. 5G worked fine before getting the last update. Any suggestions?
xenokc said:
Just got May update and still no 5G on Tmobile. 5G worked fine before getting the last update. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your phone has the same software spec revision as mine, then the problem is probably coming from your T Mobile tower. Again, I get 5G, but the speed is slower than 4G LTE. I can manually switch between 5G and 4G LTE. I disabled KNOX, but I doubt that was the root cause for the lack of 5G connectivity.
I've tried in several parts of town that are known to have Tmobile 5G. Maybe its this particular phone. Will take to a TMO store.
xenokc said:
I've tried in several parts of town that are known to have Tmobile 5G. Maybe its this particular phone. Will take to a TMO K
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The key is the software update number. My area is full of users, so I only get about fifteen M of throughput. Went to a poor neighborhood, and the 5G speed hits 390 Mbps. This phone does not allow the user to lock in to a particular T Mobile band.
furballi said:
The key is the software update number. My area is full of users, so I only get about fifteen M of throughput. Went to a poor neighborhood, and the 5G speed hits 390 Mbps. This phone does not allow the user to lock in to a particular T Mobile band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does permit on dialer go *#2263# and banc lock lol phone supports 3xCA
financeledger said:
Yes it does permit on dialer go *#2263# and banc lock lol phone supports 3xCA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Still slower 5G speed at some locations. 4G LTE is best for me, but that may change next year.

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