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Hi there, today I received my HTC Inspire 4G, so I start to play with it and I notice that the screen or the resolution is very poor, I compare with my friend Inspire 4G, and his HTC the screen resolution is awesome, the colors are so nice... while mine the resolution is awful like low pixels..
Is this is a bug or something or it is a factory problem with the video card driver or something???
anyone with this screen resolution issue and can this be fixed or maybe return it to the store?
hmmm curious to see what this looks like you got any pictures by chance?
how can i take a screen shot without rooting it...
with a camera...
this is what I'm taking about
Yea it shouldn't look like that. For simplicities sake, I'd take it back and just have them replace it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
mudknot2005 said:
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
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I know it should look like this...
damn... just have it for 3 hours
thanks a lot for your help
I mean you could go through rooting it s-off and flash the stock ruu. To see if it was just a bad flash from the factory, but honestly it would just be easier to take it back get a new one and make sure it is fully operational.
mudknot2005 said:
I mean you could go through rooting it s-off and flash the stock ruu. To see if it was just a bad flash from the factory, but honestly it would just be easier to take it back get a new one and make sure it is fully operational.
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yeah, I could try it, I bought it from amazon wireless, and I'm from another country, so returning it it's gonna take long..
should I root it and try re-flashing the RUU?
Well if you root and s-off might as well flash a stock/custom rom. It might solve your problem it might not. If it doesn't you can always revert back to stock and ship it back. I recommend the Ace Hack kit. It takes a little longer then the one click, but you won't run into any trouble after doing it. Least you will know if its a a software or hard ware issue.
mudknot2005 said:
Well if you root and s-off might as well flash a stock/custom rom. It might solve your problem it might not. If it doesn't you can always revert back to stock and ship it back. I recommend the Ace Hack kit. It takes a little longer then the one click, but you won't run into any trouble after doing it. Least you will know if its a a software or hard ware issue.
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Click to collapse
I already downloaded the ACe Hack kit, but dont know how where to begin...
I already make the Gold Card
Once you have the gold card made the rest is simply typing scripts in command prompt, plus a bit on the phone, provided you have adb working and your device is recognized.
Extract the contents of the hack kit and open the readme html file for the instructions.
limx said:
yeah, I could try it, I bought it from amazon wireless, and I'm from another country, so returning it it's gonna take long..
should I root it and try re-flashing the RUU?
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where u from? u are SCARING ME , im from venezuela and im planning on buying the inspire 4g from amazon TODAY!
Chad_Petree said:
where u from? u are SCARING ME , im from venezuela and im planning on buying the inspire 4g from amazon TODAY!
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I'm from Panama, but the phone was shipped to NY to a friend, so I can return it without problem..
Well last night I rooted it, downgrade it, flashed with the original rom, flashed to Coredroid rom, flashed to Android Revolution rom, in every rom it has the pixalation and the screen resolution problem, and unrooted it, flashed with the original rom again, and all is like new..
so it is a hardware issue.. today I'll call to amazon custom service to make the replacement..
I'll post when they replaced the phone and have it again..
thx for your help mudknot2005
ok, i called and talked to them, it's a hardware issue , so I will send it back on Monday, wait about a week and got a new phone...
I'm glad they gonna replace it..
Anytime that is what we are here for. I am guessing you turned s-off back on? If not I would do that before you ship it. To make sure all you need to do is boot into hboot, holding down volume down and power while it is restarting.
Glad to hear amazon is going to handle the issue .
I got 3 in a row with bad screens. Made me wonder if there was a bad shipment here in Pittsburgh. I wound up getting an atrix but am taking it back also. It's very buggy, I've had to do battery pulls almost daily due to the phone freezing up.
I hope your able to solve your problem. I live close to an att store so I didn't try any of the mentioned methods.
Best of luck with it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Entire screen resolution issue
Sorry to hear everyone else is having problems, too. What led up to my issue is I tried RC Kingdom's newest ROM, and then all hell broke loose on my poor screen. And yes, I followed the youtube video on his page to make sure I installed it properly. It was sharp and crisp before I installed that ROM. I have tried everything in this thread to resolve my resolution issue, but to no avail. Tried using the stock RUU to reset back to factory. No cigar. Then I re-rooted and put my backup from nandroid on. No bueno. After that I installed CoreDroid's newest rom, RCKingdom's newest rom, and Virtuous's newest rom. Again, no luck. And I did this all from both 4ext recovery, and CWM. Attached I have provided 4 screenshots from various areas to show it's a ROM-wide issue. If anyone could help, I would <3 you forever!
If there is anything I am lacking to provide assistance, please don't hesitate to ask. I may be a noob, but I used the forum search tool, google, didn't make a new thread, and tried resetting back to stock, so please be gentle.
EDIT: I'm looking more closely at the screen, and it looks like the picture on the screen isn't filled up to the edges. Can anyone else either confirm of deny this? Thanks!
EDIT2: The edge of the picture on the screen definitely doesn't match up to the phone screen. From what I've researched on google, it could mean bad flash memory, either from time, or a bad flash. Does anyone else have ideas?
snowman0269 said:
Sorry to hear everyone else is having problems, too.
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Your first sentence caught my eye. Just wanted to say this issue is very rare. Not sure if you realize this, but you responded to a 5 month old thread, where only 2 people had this problem. Haven't seen anyone mention this issue happening since then. Back in March, the Inspire was brand spanking new, so that might explain why a couple of people had the problem back then, maybe due to a few manufacturing process glitches that happens with some brand new products.
Now on to your problem. I took a look at your screen shots, and I honestly don't see any issues with your resolution. The 1st screen shot looks like you were in mid-swipe when you took it - the icon tilting effect is a normal thing when swiping between screens on a Sense 3.0 ROM using the 3D effect. The other 3 screenshots look fine. I do see a little jagginess in the scroll page indicator in your Sense dock, but I'm viewing your images on a 24" monitor and I'm willing to bet that jagginess isn't noticeable on a 4.3" screen.
One thing to keep in mind about Sense 3.0 ROMs is that a lot of stuff has been manually resized and doesn't always look its clearest. For example, I've noticed that on a lot of Sense 3.0 lockscreens the icon font looks a tad blurry. But I did notice that you said the problem happens on the stock RUU, which might indicate you've got a hardware problem that cropped up coincidentally while you were flashing ROMs.
Do your screen shots represent what you're actually seeing? Be sure to look at them on a computer monitor before answering. Regarding the issue you mentioned where your image doesn't go all the way to the edge of the screen, can you post of a picture of your phone taken with a camera? I can compare your phone's screen to mine.
Hi guys,
I'm new here, I was reading several post to mod my mom's HTC One X (AT&T); I understood I can do a lot of things when the phone gets the "s-off", but after a better thinking, I realized my mom don't need a heavy modification in her phone, just want the latest stock software version and she wants to remove all AT&T stuff and no bugs.
Then, I want to ask to you if I need to do all the steps (rooting, unlocking bootlader, flashing recovery...) to get the latest stock firmware in her HOX or what can I do? Here I can found a lot of information but focused on heavy modifications for enthusiast users (not like my mother xD).
Thank you!
You need to have root to remove the at&t stuff from her phone. To be honest, it's probably not a good idea to give someone with no experience root access. If she wants the latest update she'll have to wait until at&t releases it. So far it's only been released in Germany and Australia.
Sent from my Evita
timmaaa said:
You need to have root to remove the at&t stuff from her phone. To be honest, it's probably not a good idea to give someone with no experience root access. If she wants the latest update she'll have to wait until at&t releases it. So far it's only been released in Germany and Australia.
Sent from my Evita
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Yeah, Is true, and this is why I ask, rooting is great for me, but not for her; right now this HOX has the 1.85 firmware, at HTC support Page is available a newer version, but she wants the phone without AT&T useless applications like fake city information on calls (because she is not in the US).
So your recommendation is upgrading to the latest AT&T firmware and keep it?
Thanks a lot for your answer!
Yeah I would suggest leaving it stock, it's probably for the best.
Sent from my Evita
timmaaa said:
So far it's only been released in Germany and Australia.
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And Hong Kong, Singapore, France and Switzerland
The only regions without the sense 5 update are UK, Canada and USA.
I would suggest turges 5.08 it has not root by default.
Just remember to set APN and qwerty keyboard style.
Oh yeah, right you are, forgot about those ones.
Sent from my Evita
twistedddx said:
I would suggest turges 5.08 it has not root by default.
Just remember to set APN and qwerty keyboard style.
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I like it, That's the one I was looking before; I suppose I need to get the custom recovery to flash it. right?
Yeah you do.
Sent from my Evita
Dalago said:
I like it, That's the one I was looking before; I suppose I need to get the custom recovery to flash it. right?
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Be aware that the T-Mobile Germany stock ROM has even more bloatware than the typical AT&T ROM (I couldn't believe it was possible!).
Is it really mom that wants the latest firmware and bloatware removed, or is it just you wanting to tinker? It might just be best to leave it alone, and wait for the Sense 5 OTA to be released by AT&T. I agree with the previous notion that giving someone a modded phone, that doesn't understand the nature of the mods, is not a great idea.
For instance, once you have custom recovery installed, OTA updates will no longer be able to be installed. Or if mom for some reason calls AT&T tech support for some assistance, custom recovery and unlocked bootloader may interfere with some measures they might try.
redpoint73 said:
Be aware that the T-Mobile Germany stock ROM has even more bloatware than the typical AT&T ROM (I couldn't believe it was possible!).
Is it really mom that wants the latest firmware and bloatware removed, or is it just you wanting to tinker? It might just be best to leave it alone, and wait for the Sense 5 OTA to be released by AT&T. I agree with the previous notion that giving someone a modded phone, that doesn't understand the nature of the mods, is not a great idea.
For instance, once you have custom recovery installed, OTA updates will no longer be able to be installed. Or if mom for some reason calls AT&T tech support for some assistance, custom recovery and unlocked bootloader may interfere with some measures they might try.
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Well, She wants the best version (we can say Sense 5, but she doesn't know even what means that) and she wants to delete some AT&T bloatware because she isn't using AT&T networks, so are useless.
But you're right, modded phone isn't a very nice idea for her, this is why I wanted an stock or very close to stock firmware, unrooted and the best UX she can get.
So, I think the best is getting the AT&T 3.18 Firmware...
Dalago said:
Well, She wants the best version (we can say Sense 5, but she doesn't know even what means that) and she wants to delete some AT&T bloatware because she isn't using AT&T networks, so are useless.
But you're right, modded phone isn't a very nice idea for her, this is why I wanted an stock or very close to stock firmware, unrooted and the best UX she can get.
So, I think the best is getting the AT&T 3.18 Firmware...
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Click to collapse
Sense 5 runs best with updated firmware (bootloader, etc.) which can only be installed by official means (once AT&T rolls it out) or with S-off if you want to flash the firmware by "unofficial" means. But again, giving someone an s-off device, that doesn't understand what the means, is a bad idea. So yes, Sense 5 might not be the best choice for mom right now.
If the phone is still completely stock, your best bet might be to run the 3.18 RUU or OTA (what version is the device on now?).
But be aware that once the phone is modded to be SuperCID, running the 3.18 RUU or OTA with s-on results in a brick (only fixable by JTAG or motherboard replacement). Yet another reason that a modded phone should only be used by someone who understands the mods.
you can up to telstra rom
vickto said:
you can up to telstra rom
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I don't think you really understand what is being discussed here.
If you are talking about the stock rooted Telstra ROM: Its not a good idea to give a rooted phone to someone who doesn't understand what root is.
redpoint73 said:
Sense 5 runs best with updated firmware (bootloader, etc.) which can only be installed by official means (once AT&T rolls it out) or with S-off if you want to flash the firmware by "unofficial" means. But again, giving someone an s-off device, that doesn't understand what the means, is a bad idea. So yes, Sense 5 might not be the best choice for mom right now.
If the phone is still completely stock, your best bet might be to run the 3.18 RUU or OTA (what version is the device on now?).
But be aware that once the phone is modded to be SuperCID, running the 3.18 RUU or OTA with s-on results in a brick (only fixable by JTAG or motherboard replacement). Yet another reason that a modded phone should only be used by someone who understands the mods.
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Yeah, I like your point. I was a heavy modder, but years ago, and I know giving special mods to someone who even doesn't know what is Sense, is bad idea.
So, yes, the phone is completely stock, FW 1.85. OTA is not working (don't know why), so I think I need to go by RUU.
Hope AT&T gets soon the Sense 5, I think is a very nice UX, specially because the blinkfeed (looks like a very evolved Nokia N9 feedscreen), maybe the HTC One could replace my N9. Only the camera makes me doubtful.
Thanks guys!
What about the camera on the One makes you doubtful?
Sent from my Evita
Dalago said:
So, yes, the phone is completely stock, FW 1.85. OTA is not working (don't know why), so I think I need to go by RUU.
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OTA will not work if the firmware is too outdated, and an OTA has been skipped/missed. In your case, the 2.20 OTA was missed for some reason, so it will not download or install the 3.18 OTA. Only the latest OTA is checked for, and it won't check for or install missed ones.
And sometimes, OTA will just not work for one reason or other (this might be why the 2.20 OTA was missed). Sometimes a factory reset will help. But this won't work in your case, as already stated, since the 2.20 was already missed.
So yes, the 3.18 OTA is your best option, if you want to update to the latest stock OS.
timmaaa said:
What about the camera on the One makes you doubtful?
Sent from my Evita
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Well, that 4 MP sensor even with that huge pixel size, has some disadvantages when compared with classic sensors... Several test I saw, showed HTC One camera is good, but others are better...
redpoint73 said:
OTA will not work if the firmware is too outdated, and an OTA has been skipped/missed. In your case, the 2.20 OTA was missed for some reason, so it will not download or install the 3.18 OTA. Only the latest OTA is checked for, and it won't check for or install missed ones.
And sometimes, OTA will just not work for one reason or other (this might be why the 2.20 OTA was missed). Sometimes a factory reset will help. But this won't work in your case, as already stated, since the 2.20 was already missed.
So yes, the 3.18 OTA is your best option, if you want to update to the latest stock OS.
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Done, Right now is 3.18 on her phone. But looks very similar; now, what about tethering?? I still need the root access to fix it? I think AT&T is very annoying!!
Dalago said:
Done, Right now is 3.18 on her phone. But looks very similar; now, what about tethering?? I still need the root access to fix it? I think AT&T is very annoying!!
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Yes, 3.18 is not graphically a big departure from 2.20. But I thought the intent was to update the device to the latest official firmware, not change the aesthetics.
Tethering is blocked on stock AT&T ROMs, unless the account is provisioned with a data plan that allows tethering. Yes, there is a hack around this with root. But it was the same on the previous stock ROM the phone was on (no tethering) so why does mom need this now?
---------- Post added at 09:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 AM ----------
Dalago said:
Well, that 4 MP sensor even with that huge pixel size, has some disadvantages when compared with classic sensors... Several test I saw, showed HTC One camera is good, but others are better...
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I would rephrase the term "classic sensors" (maybe as "higher pixel count sensors") as well as the notion "others are better".
The idea behind the "megapixel" camera on the One is that the lower number of pixels on the sensor allows for more light per pixel. The result is significantly better low light performance, particularly indoors and with artificial lighting. Which are the conditions under which many smartphone photos (maybe even the majority) are taken. The trade-off is lower resolution, which will look pixelated when the image is blown up or cropped. HTC's theory is that the majority of smartphone pics never even leave the phone (only shown on the small screen) or if shared, its often by MMS or websites like Facebook, where the resolution is down-sized anyway.
Other manufacturers are pushing their pixel counts higher and higher, as average Joe has little or no understanding of what makes a camera actually "good", but likes to see big numbers and high specs. The small sensor can only read a finite amount of light, so each pixel is receiving less and less light as the manufacturers keep increasing the pixel count of the camera. Result is that camera phones are actually performing worse and worse in low light situations. Although the higher resolution is useful if the image is being blown up or cropped.
There isn't any one perfect solution, nor one that is subjectively "better" or "worse". It depends on how you use the camera, and your own preferences and opinions. Many reviews say the camera on the One is quite good, with caveats.
redpoint73 said:
Yes, 3.18 is not graphically a big departure from 2.20. But I thought the intent was to update the device to the latest official firmware, not change the aesthetics.
Tethering is blocked on stock AT&T ROMs, unless the account is provisioned with a data plan that allows tethering. Yes, there is a hack around this with root. But it was the same on the previous stock ROM the phone was on (no tethering) so why does mom need this now?
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Oh, I forget telling you, the HOX is relatively new. She was using it a few days before I ask here. The phone was bought unlocked at ebay. She was using a Lumia 710, and when she is traveling, she use a lot tethering capabilities in her Lumia 710, but hates the SIM swapping. So, she wants that feature...
redpoint73 said:
I would rephrase the term "classic sensors" (maybe as "higher pixel count sensors") as well as the notion "others are better".
The idea behind the "megapixel" camera on the One is that the lower number of pixels on the sensor allows for more light per pixel. The result is significantly better low light performance, particularly indoors and with artificial lighting. Which are the conditions under which many smartphone photos (maybe even the majority) are taken. The trade-off is lower resolution, which will look pixelated when the image is blown up or cropped. HTC's theory is that the majority of smartphone pics never even leave the phone (only shown on the small screen) or if shared, its often by MMS or websites like Facebook, where the resolution is down-sized anyway.
Other manufacturers are pushing their pixel counts higher and higher, as average Joe has little or no understanding of what makes a camera actually "good", but likes to see big numbers and high specs. The small sensor can only read a finite amount of light, so each pixel is receiving less and less light as the manufacturers keep increasing the pixel count of the camera. Result is that camera phones are actually performing worse and worse in low light situations. Although the higher resolution is useful if the image is being blown up or cropped.
There isn't any one perfect solution, nor one that is subjectively "better" or "worse". It depends on how you use the camera, and your own preferences and opinions. Many reviews say the camera on the One is quite good, with caveats.
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hahaha! Then I would rephrase the term "classic sensors" to "classic pixel size sensor". Yeah, I know that and everything is true. The pixel size of HTC One is helpful in low light, but other manufacturers uses other ways to enhance the low light performance and achieves great results with higher pixel counts and same sensor size. I think One's camera is very nice; I have tested one, and also the hardware is helpful (and like a lot the blikfeed). I'm like a hobby photographer and camera is a key feature when I buy a Phone, (missing my old Nokia N8) and the huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Lumia 1020 sensor makes harder my choice hahaha, Having that 34 MP (16:9), BSI, IOS, Manual focus, mechanical shutter, Xenon... The main problem with it, is the WP slow development...
Anyway, getting and Android or WP is a huge OS change to me :/ I think both are welcome, but just want to get the best one to me.
Dalago said:
he huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Lumia 1020 sensor makes harder my choice hahaha, Having that 34 MP
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Having a pixel count that is almost twice that of my DSLR is absurd. It doesn't make your pictures any better. It only makes a difference if you are blowing up the images to a huge size, or cropping them. This is the epitome of chasing big spec numbers that look impressive; but the vast majority of consumers have no idea what it really means, and has no use for.
I'm all for better optics and sensors on smartphones. But the pixel chasing is ridiculous.
Ok, so my girlfriend currently has a G2.. She got it about a month or so ago, I know her version was 4.2.2. So I looked into rooting and saw that it was possible. I'm coming from a Gnex, so root and rom is important to me. Anyway.. Now I hear that the new AT&T G2's are shipping with 4.4.2? And loki is not working currently with that so there is no way to downgrade and root? Is that the correct understanding? Also, are they shipping with 4.4.2 or is it still just an OTA update they do while in store at AT&T buying one? Because my buddy works at AT&T and if it is just the OTA, I will just have him leave it at 4.2.2 for me and root and rom it from there, since that seems much easier.
Also I saw something about a 838 firmware that currently doesn't support root?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Chris.
If it comes with 4.4 you can go back to 4.2 through download mode using this, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2663369 . Then root and install recovery. Check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2520419 for some videos on that. Then you can flash a modified stock 4.4 that keeps the 4.2 bootloader and root/recovery intact here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2672931. Or flash any of the many 4.2 4.4 custom roms available. There are other ways to go about this but it works for me. Just takes quite a while to download the files the first time to do it! :laugh: Also, if you decide to do this and go with the stock 4.4 firmware AT&T has a small patch they're pushing now that you'll want to block. You can just freeze the software update using TiBu.
I have been liking my G2 but I would (and will soon) jump to another phone, like the M8 or N6, the dev support is decent but there are some far outstanding issues with this phone and kitkat, seems like something always not working right i.e. hotspot, auto-rotate, volume, process com,gapps errors, etc,
Not necessarily
ossito2012 said:
I have been liking my G2 but I would (and will soon) jump to another phone, like the M8 or N6, the dev support is decent but there are some far outstanding issues with this phone and kitkat, seems like something always not working right i.e. hotspot, auto-rotate, volume, process com,gapps errors, etc,
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Click to collapse
I got my LG G2 a week ago and I'll tell you I didn't have any problems with it, however I did downgrade and put an older version of CM 10 for the D80010d on my phone, not knowing that you can upgrade while maintaining the bootloader, as described above. I did notice that my gps didn't work after that, my tethering didn't work and while using wifi hotspot I was unable to load google or facebook, meaning I can't access my e-mail from my computer. I get SSL error's on https:// sites and sometimes I can proceed anyway, while other times I can't load it at all. however these sites load fine on my phone.
Stable
My LG G2 is completely stable on latest stock ROM and CM nightly. Honestly, I haven't run into any trouble.
Remember, when you are flashing - try clearing cache.
J0hnC0nn3r said:
I got my LG G2 a week ago and I'll tell you I didn't have any problems with it, however I did downgrade and put an older version of CM 10 for the D80010d on my phone, not knowing that you can upgrade while maintaining the bootloader, as described above. I did notice that my gps didn't work after that, my tethering didn't work and while using wifi hotspot I was unable to load google or facebook, meaning I can't access my e-mail from my computer. I get SSL error's on https:// sites and sometimes I can proceed anyway, while other times I can't load it at all. however these sites load fine on my phone.
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Click to collapse
ainstushar said:
My LG G2 is completely stable on latest stock ROM and CM nightly. Honestly, I haven't run into any trouble.
Remember, when you are flashing - try clearing cache.
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Click to collapse
I agree with you guys for most part phone is 95% good, don't really think it is devs fault but LG is making this phone a pain in the ass to play with, I would think with Samsung allowing the Htc One and G2 to sneak in beat their S4, LG would seize the moment to open up the phone to be truly customized. Looking at HTC One M8 forums it seems HTC is not putting up stupid barriers to rooting and stuff. Imagine a HTC Nexus 6
Hey all,
I'm thinking of buying a Mate 7 and switching over from my Moto X Pure. Mainly for the size, metal body, and the battery. Right now I can get it for ~$330 on Amazon. The only thing that's held me back is the software. I've read the stock software is very annoying with constant notifications about apps using up too much RAM/battery. But all these reviews were from the phone's release, I haven't been able to find much information since it's been updated to Marshmallow. I typically like very light ROMs like CM but I see there hasn't been a whole lot of development for this phone other than the KangVIP ROM which seems to have a lot of issues. So I guess my question is how do you all like the stock Marshmallow ROM and is it still good on battery life?
Also I've seen a lot of threads about how to downgrade the software to earlier versions of Android, is this just to install an earlier version of Cyanogenmod? I've not been able to find a "why" in all the threads I've seen on the subject. I've found plenty of Chinese phones that are ~6" with a big battery and metal body but LTE bands are always an issue. This is the only phone I've come across that seems to have everything, other than my concerns about the software. I'm also thinking of holding out and seeing if the Asus Zenfone 3 and the LeTV Max Pro end up having U.S. LTE bands.
Anyway, any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
It's getting old now, still a really nice phone but I'd be looking at newer devices at this point. People regress to earlier versions of Android as the MM beta releases often dissapoint. I stuck with the latest release of Lollipop as I have some limited functionality with Xposed, got ViPER4Android working etc, it's smooth and stable. Battery is great. It's hard to describe just how much freedom that allows you compared to other devices. My Oppo Find 7 is a nice phone too, but it just doesn't last long enough and being used to the Mate 7, that annoys me greatly. I do find that the oppo at 5.5" is better to handle and fits a pocket easier. That extra half inch really is noticeable on the Mate. It is one device that does feel a little special though. Once it's optimised and personalised, it's gorgeous.
As for ROMs, not going to happen any time soon. I'm happy with stock, rooted and modded. Doesn't worry me apart from limiting lifespan, but if development did take off, I would be happy.
Huawei just don't understand the international market yet and if they did, and fostered good relations and supported development, they would be able to become #1 I think, but at this point their thinking is still very Chinese.
RobboW said:
It's getting old now, still a really nice phone but I'd be looking at newer devices at this point. People regress to earlier versions of Android as the MM beta releases often dissapoint. I stuck with the latest release of Lollipop as I have some limited functionality with Xposed, got ViPER4Android working etc, it's smooth and stable. Battery is great. It's hard to describe just how much freedom that allows you compared to other devices. My Oppo Find 7 is a nice phone too, but it just doesn't last long enough and being used to the Mate 7, that annoys me greatly. I do find that the oppo at 5.5" is better to handle and fits a pocket easier. That extra half inch really is noticeable on the Mate. It is one device that does feel a little special though. Once it's optimised and personalised, it's gorgeous.
As for ROMs, not going to happen any time soon. I'm happy with stock, rooted and modded. Doesn't worry me apart from limiting lifespan, but if development did take off, I would be happy.
Huawei just don't understand the international market yet and if they did, and fostered good relations and supported development, they would be able to become #1 I think, but at this point their thinking is still very Chinese.
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Thanks for the quick reply RobboW! I've always had phones that had a lot of development so I've kind of taken it for granted. A couple years ago I wouldn't have even considered a phone without a lot of development but my ROM addiction has really subsided and I only recently put a custom ROM on my Moto X. Honestly I don't do much customization anymore, the thing that made me apprehensive about the Mate 7 was all the "battery saving" shenanigans. If there's some way to disable those while still keeping good battery life (which definitely should be possibly with the 4100 mAh battery) then I'll be happy with the ROM, provided there's no lag. I don't do any kind of gaming or anything, just browsing the web, videos, texts, and emails, but I can't stand any kind of lag.
Thanks again for your help, it's been a grueling process trying to find a phone that meets all my criteria for a reasonable price. The Mate 7's hardware hits it perfectly, so if I can live with the software I still think it's a good deal.
It sounds like your user case is much like mine then. The Mate 7 (get 32Gb version and insert a 128Gb uSD) should serve you well. Update it from kitkat to lollipop for UI smoothness, unlock bootloader, install TWRP recovery, root and do a little debloat, although there's really not much bloat, install Viper if sound is your thing. You will need a different launcher and icon pack to get away from Huawei launcher which is terrible.
For the notifications, it has a notification manager so you can customise that to your liking. Mine doesn't bombard me with warnings. The battery is awesome, just go to power saving settings, ignore the savings and set it to normal. It still easily goes a day with heavy use.
My son liked mine and wanted to update his galaxy S4 so got a Mate 7 32Gb and I did all these things to his. He has wifi and BT on all day, facebook messenger always on etc and it never has a battery problem. He is still gobsmacked by it. Says it's better in every way to the S4 other than maybe the lack of ir blaster (which he doesn't care about) and amoled screen in the S4 but the Mate 7 screen is really nice anyway. I actually like the IPS panel better than amoled as I think amoled is gharish, too colourful, just not realistic and the IPS seems much nicer, more realistic for photos and video. It's actually a warmish tint, unlike my oppo which has a very stark, cold tint and is harder on my eyes.
You can adjust the screen and I set it to it's coldest but it's still warmer than the oppo.
I've been toying with the idea to go back to using the Mate 7 as my daily phone instead of the oppo. I was going to use the Mate 7 as a tool, like a small tablet because it will be the database and interface (BT) between an electrical test tag machine and a label printer. The camera is really good at macro focus and reads barcodes very well.
I didn't want to talk it up to someone expecting a 6P and lot's of custom roms, but for the price they can be bought for now, and your user case, it will make a great daily driver. Just be very sure it works on the correct bands you need there in the US. It works great here in Australia.
Edit: I'm having an issue with my Oppo where sometimes I can't view an email when others work ok. The Mate 7 doesn't have the issue and I've been going through settings looking for differences as the two phones are set up almost the same. Cannot find the problem so I have my SIM in the Mate again (Titanium Backup is so handy for transfering sms and call data) and will try to get a custom ROM in the Oppo.
The Mate works great. No desire for a ROM in that unless I update to MM when/if I can get a stable final release that is originally OTA.
Well I went ahead and bit the bullet and I'm going for it. I'll probably need to be pointed in the right direction once it arrives as far as which ROM to install and how I go about downgrading it if I need to. Thanks again for your help! I'm excited to check it out.
@RobboW has said pretty much all there is that's worth mentioning about the device. If you're after stellar battery life and a solid daily driver you can't go wrong, but don't expect the flexibility of devices that are more open to customization.
I've updated to the official MM release and have yet to encounter any of the issues people complained about in the beta releases. While the LP release is fantastic (and Viper actually works on it, which I miss), the MM build offers even better responsiveness and an overall better-rounded software experience, although that's not saying I wouldn't flash something entirely different in a heartbeat (if only I could....).
The camera is also not very great. On paper it's decent, but photos almost always come out blurry (as there's no OIS) and washed out. A but of tinkering on Snapseed can make a big difference though, but don't expect anything too great.
If you already bought it I'd suggest that you immediately install a 3rd party launcher of your choice to avoid the stock launcher (which really is horrendous), and then root if that's your sort of thing.
Enjoy!
Scruffykid said:
The camera is also not very great. On paper it's decent, but photos almost always come out blurry (as there's no OIS) and washed out. A but of tinkering on Snapseed can make a big difference though, but don't expect anything too great.
Enjoy!
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Scruffy, set the saturation in the camera app settings a notch higher. You can also set the brightness down a little if needed. I actually find the camera pretty good. It's not a flagship camera but it's also not a cheap one.
I've got my SIM back in my Oppo today, got OmniROM set up pretty nice now. So much better than ColorOS from Oppo. The B331 LP Mate 7 ROM is quite nice for a stock ROM IMO and I'm still happy to keep it. If the Oppo is stable on OmniROM, maybe I'll look at updating the Mate 7 to MM, but not if I can't have Xposed and ViPER4Android......
I'm on Marshmallow on the Oppo now and it's a PIA with some things. File explorers have issues with access, notifications are more intrusive, but it is a nice OS other than that. I actually found Lollipop easier to use.
---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 AM ----------
Prozart said:
Well I went ahead and bit the bullet and I'm going for it. I'll probably need to be pointed in the right direction once it arrives as far as which ROM to install and how I go about downgrading it if I need to. Thanks again for your help! I'm excited to check it out.
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It will ship with Kitkat so you boot and see which firmware version it's on and what OTA update it wants to install when it goes online, but don't install it straight away, come back to the forum with the information and then the correct update tree can be looked at.
Don't leave it on Kitkat, IMO, you either use B331 Lollipop or a Marshmallow ROM. Nothing earlier. Some of the MM ROMS do need an earlier Lollipop version to update from, but sometimes you can flash the ROM anyway, as long as the phone is compatible with it.
RobboW said:
Scruffy, set the saturation in the camera app settings a notch higher. You can also set the brightness down a little if needed. I actually find the camera pretty good. It's not a flagship camera but it's also not a cheap one.
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I can't seem to find the settings you're mentioning in my camera settings. Perhaps it was removed on the MM builds? Anyway I think simply installing 3rd party camera software should make a big difference. As you and I both said, most of what's wrong with the camera is software.
Haven't tried MM on my Mate 7 so couldn't speculate, but from Google Play, give Open Camera a try, it's free. See if pics match the viewing angle you expected.
For a paid app, Camera FV-5 is very good. It's supposed to mimmick a DSLR.
Edit:
Just installed Open Camera (by Mark Harmon) on both phones. Works well. Two things I like are the availability of grid lines and a level indicator. Makes quite a difference when doing landscape photography. I live in a seaside town and getting horizon level is so important with shots including ocean. If it had panorama mode I'd be a happy chappy!
I haven't been bothered with camera apps on my Mate 7 as it has a good camera on KK and LP and I had no need to look for better. The Oppo Find 7 is another matter. Oppo camera was good with ColorOS, but now on OmniROM, I needed to look at camera apps, but had already found the others with my previous phone as it was a THL W200 and stock software was pretty crap.
RobboW said:
It will ship with Kitkat so you boot and see which firmware version it's on and what OTA update it wants to install when it goes online, but don't install it straight away, come back to the forum with the information and then the correct update tree can be looked at.
Don't leave it on Kitkat, IMO, you either use B331 Lollipop or a Marshmallow ROM. Nothing earlier. Some of the MM ROMS do need an earlier Lollipop version to update from, but sometimes you can flash the ROM anyway, as long as the phone is compatible with it.
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Alright so it arrived today with KK 4.4.2 build number 120SP04. I went to the updater and it said no updates are available. I don't have a SIM card in it so I don't know if that makes a difference. I didn't realize it didn't have a nano sim slot so I'll have to go to my carrier to get a micro. In the mean time, what are my upgrade paths to a good Lollipop or Marshmallow? I'm in North America and on the main page I only saw update packages for India, Europe, and China I believe. Would I just go with the European ones?
Prozart said:
Alright so it arrived today with KK 4.4.2 build number 120SP04. I went to the updater and it said no updates are available. I don't have a SIM card in it so I don't know if that makes a difference. I didn't realize it didn't have a nano sim slot so I'll have to go to my carrier to get a micro. In the mean time, what are my upgrade paths to a good Lollipop or Marshmallow? I'm in North America and on the main page I only saw update packages for India, Europe, and China I believe. Would I just go with the European ones?
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Will you be using an SD card? Slot 2 takes either an SD or a nano SIM, not both at once though.
That's the same ROM my phone came on. It's the standard international ROM for a non carrier locked TL10 goldie.
It will update to B130 OTA
From B130 I flashed mine to B331 Lollipop (newest lollipop). Just a download of ROM and place in dload folder and point the updater to it, then it does it from within the OS. It won't go past B130 on an OTA.
If you want MM, that needs to be loked at as there are stacks of vesions. I'm inclined to think if it can be flashed up to MM from B331 it's reasonably new. That's my aim. I won't go to an older LP to get up to a buggy old beta MM.
Here's the download link where I got my stable Lollipop.
http://www.carbontesla.com/2016/01/download-ascend-mate-7-full-b331-lollipop-firmware-europe/
It seems to me that Huawei are still slowly releasing updates so I would rather sit on a stable LP and wait for the last MM rather than join the unhappy bunch of early flashers who have bugs or bricks.
B331 LP works well and can get some limited use of Xposed and full use of Viper4android.
You need to keep stock recovery to flash an update but unlocked bootloader is fine, so I'd look to unlock the bootloader after it gets B130 update.
It will have a choppy UI on KitKat, it's normal. Lollipop fixes that.
I reckon you'll last maybe 5 minutes trying to use the Huawei launcher. Don't fight that, just install another, lol. Have to go into settings and choose default launcher in the app management section.
RobboW said:
Will you be using an SD card? Slot 2 takes either an SD or a nano SIM, not both at once though.
That's the same ROM my phone came on. It's the standard international ROM for a non carrier locked TL10 goldie.
It will update to B130 OTA
From B130 I flashed mine to B331 Lollipop (newest lollipop). Just a download of ROM and place in dload folder and point the updater to it, then it does it from within the OS. It won't go past B130 on an OTA.
If you want MM, that needs to be loked at as there are stacks of vesions. I'm inclined to think if it can be flashed up to MM from B331 it's reasonably new. That's my aim. I won't go to an older LP to get up to a buggy old beta MM.
Here's the download link where I got my stable Lollipop.
http://www.carbontesla.com/2016/01/download-ascend-mate-7-full-b331-lollipop-firmware-europe/
It seems to me that Huawei are still slowly releasing updates so I would rather sit on a stable LP and wait for the last MM rather than join the unhappy bunch of early flashers who have bugs or bricks.
B331 LP works well and can get some limited use of Xposed and full use of Viper4android.
You need to keep stock recovery to flash an update but unlocked bootloader is fine, so I'd look to unlock the bootloader after it gets B130 update.
It will have a choppy UI on KitKat, it's normal. Lollipop fixes that.
I reckon you'll last maybe 5 minutes trying to use the Huawei launcher. Don't fight that, just install another, lol. Have to go into settings and choose default launcher in the app management section.
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Awesome, thanks for your help! Since its saying "no updates available" should I manually update it to B130 and then to the link you provided for B331?
And yeah I've already got a launcher I've been using and like, I'm already sick of the stock launcher, lol. Also, strangely, the play store force closes after a few seconds of opening. I'm not too worried about it as I'll very soon be flashing different firmware, but still strange. Also, this is the MT7 L09 version, should I still update B130>B331?
And as far as Marshmallow is concerned I'm inclined to take your path with a stable Lollipop until they get MM all worked out.
Prozart said:
Awesome, thanks for your help! Since its saying "no updates available" should I manually update it to B130 and then to the link you provided for B331?
And yeah I've already got a launcher I've been using and like, I'm already sick of the stock launcher, lol. Also, strangely, the play store force closes after a few seconds of opening. I'm not too worried about it as I'll very soon be flashing different firmware, but still strange. Also, this is the MT7 L09 version, should I still update B130>B331?
And as far as Marshmallow is concerned I'm inclined to take your path with a stable Lollipop until they get MM all worked out.
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L09, well that changes everything. You can go to B522 MM on that already. Update to B331, see how you like it. You can update to B522 from there anyway.
Google Play FC will be it trying to update itself whilst you're using it.
Check your ROM matches the number of the update. There are update notes included with it. If it doesn't match, it will fail to flash once most of the way through it. This is the CUST folder and is ROM specific for different areas of the world. It's where most naive users brick their phone.
For instance, mine is C900B331 and the original would have been C900B120SP04
That C900 is most important.
What many don't realise is that the number of the ROM doesn't always mean newer. It could be for a different region and that region has a different sequence of ROM designations.
RobboW said:
L09, well that changes everything. You can go to B522 MM on that already. Update to B331, see how you like it. You can update to B522 from there anyway.
Google Play FC will be it trying to update itself whilst you're using it.
Check your ROM matches the number of the update. There are update notes included with it. If it doesn't match, it will fail to flash once most of the way through it. This is the CUST folder and is ROM specific for different areas of the world. It's where most naive users brick their phone.
For instance, mine is C900B331 and the original would have been C900B120SP04
That C900 is most important.
What many don't realise is that the number of the ROM doesn't always mean newer. It could be for a different region and that region has a different sequence of ROM designations.
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Thanks to you I successfully updated to B331. I got my launcher installed and now I just need to change the DPI as everything is huge, lol. So now I need to unlock bootloader and root it. But so far everything is smooth, no problems yet.
Edit: Quick question. I went into the APN settings and accidentally clicked on preferred network type. Before I went in there it was set to LTE (and I was successfully connected to LTE) but that wasn't an option to click on when I went into the settings. It's only showing me these three and so I'm not getting LTE anymore. Any ideas?
Check dual card settings for default 4G slot.
Edit: Why am I suggesting that for an L09, lol.
Have you done anything to upset the settings for APN?
Have a look in power saving settings to see if anything there cuts it back to 3G to save juice.
4G really sucks battery compared to 3G.
RobboW said:
Check dual card settings for default 4G slot.
Edit: Why am I suggesting that for an L09, lol.
Have you done anything to upset the settings for APN?
Have a look in power saving settings to see if anything there cuts it back to 3G to save juice.
4G really sucks battery compared to 3G.
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I can't find anything i n the power settings regarding network modes, I believe the only thing I've changed is putting the power plan on Normal and turning off Power-intensive prompt.
Also on the keyboard, the keys aren't vibrating. I went into the keyboard settings and made sure it was turned on. Also tried toggling it off and on with no success. Are there any other vibration settings hidden somewhere that I'm missing?
I wonder if a factory reset is in order. Just to count out any leftovers. I do wonder though, if there is something funny about the bands the carriers allow to work in the US. I often see comments from US XDA members about bands. Like the US is really different than the rest of the world or something.
RobboW said:
I wonder if a factory reset is in order. Just to count out any leftovers. I do wonder though, if there is something funny about the bands the carriers allow to work in the US. I often see comments from US XDA members about bands. Like the US is really different than the rest of the world or something.
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Yeah I may try that when I get home tonight. I need to unlock bootloader and root anyway so that'll wipe it. It's just so weird cause I had LTE up until the point when I went into settings and clicked on WDCMA or whatever and now there's no option to get back to LTE. It's also not connecting via bluetooth to my car. It had no problems connecting to my Moto 360, I don't know what would be different about my car. But it's not detecting it at all. Perhaps a factory reset would help solve that.
I spent about an hour last night reading up on unlocking the bootloader. I tried emailing Huawei and they directed me to log in to my Huawei account and I'd be able to get the code after 14 days. Is there any other way to do this? I mean I can survive a couple weeks without root, but it's not optimal, lol.
Don't root it yet and don't flash recovery.
Unlock the bootloader first. Read the following thread where I show the trick for getting your code easy and free.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/general/bootloader-unlock-longer-anymore-t3296725
I've put mine back to stock B331 as much as possible tonight and flashed stock recovery then dirty flashed B331 back over it. About to factory reset it then attempt flashing Marshmallow.
Edit:
Reset went ok.
Edit:
Started the update, got to 96% and failed (CUST FAIL) and rebooted, sat on the start screen for quite a while and then booted. It's on C900B522 Marshmallow but I'm not sure what impact the cust fail has, but it seems to run fine. The dual card management settings are there so it is running as the TL10 that it is, although in settings it's calling itself a JAZZ.
RobboW said:
Don't root it yet and don't flash recovery.
Unlock the bootloader first. Read the following thread where I show the trick for getting your code easy and free.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/general/bootloader-unlock-longer-anymore-t3296725
I've put mine back to stock B331 as much as possible tonight and flashed stock recovery then dirty flashed B331 back over it. About to factory reset it then attempt flashing Marshmallow.
Edit:
Reset went ok.
Edit:
Started the update, got to 96% and failed (CUST FAIL) and rebooted, sat on the start screen for quite a while and then booted. It's on C900B522 Marshmallow but I'm not sure what impact the cust fail has, but it seems to run fine. The dual card management settings are there so it is running as the TL10 that it is, although in settings it's calling itself a JAZZ.
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I upgraded to 522 and so far it seems to be working well. Having some problems with Google Play Services (says it needs to update but the option isn't available in the play store) but otherwise seems great. Got LTE back and I've connected via Bluetooth to my car. I'm thinking about upgrading to 560 tonight. So I'm trying to follow your instructions on unlocking the bootloader but I don't understand where I need to go to type in the IMEI. I went to the website and logged in but then it takes me to this page (which doesn't seem to have an English version) and I have no idea where to go from there.
Hello all. I searched the forums and did not see any thing on this, so I thought I would ask. I have decided that I am going to breathe some new life into my old Sensation. I want to use it as a dash cam, since it can take sd cards. I would like to hopefully be able to turn off certain functions of the phone, like cell radios and such, for battery life purposes. I haven't flashed this phone with a custom ROM in over 3 years, since the camera broke both times I rooted it and had to send it in for warranty service. I would assume an older versions of CM (CM9 or CM10) would be best with the limited RAM. And a recommended dashcam app would be a big help.
On a side note on this, I can't get the HTC bootloader unlock tool to work. I assume it is because I am running Win10. The attachment is what I have on fast boot.
Thank you in advance for any and all help.
That is not a bad idea, I am wondering if you had any personal follow through.
Salku said:
That is not a bad idea, I am wondering if you had any personal follow through.
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Nope, not a single bit.
HELP PLEASE!