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Alright,
Phone: Nexus 5 2013
Android: 5.1.1
Country: Canada
So I've started to get a lot of issues on my Nexus 5 that I ordered back in November 2013 (when it was released) and they are too big to be left alone. If I cannot fix them, I'll have to buy a new cellphone and there's none that interest me right now, nor that I want to change my current Nexus 5.
Issues:
My Nexus 5 doesn't connect to my cellular network anymore. I'll stay on "No service" and refuse to connect to any Operator Network stating that the network is unavailable at the moment, even thought it is. Sometimes, it'll connect to the network for 15 to 30 minutes, before losing it for the next 8 hours.
It becomes hot really, really quick randomly. The upper back part of it becomes hot, and according to the Nexus 5 architecture, the battery isn't even located there so I don't know what could make it heat up like that. This happens even without it being charged, and without me using it a lot (games, apps, etc.)
The phone will randomly restart for no reason, and sometimes stay stuck on a "boot loop" (Starting apps X of Y... before restarting).
The vibrate mode is messed up. It'll vibrate every 30 seconds for a notification (email, Facebook, SMS, etc.) despite the fact that there's nothing, absolutely nothing. Right now I disabled the vibration/sound mode to avoid that issue.
The battery gets drained really, really fast. Like overnight, while not being used it'll fall from 100% to 5%. It never used to do that. When I don't use it overnight, it would lose maybe 20%, even less than that. It started recently as well.
All these issues were present in past versions of Android, starting at 4.4 so I doubt the version is in cause here, but it's still a possibility I guess.
I got my SIM card changed for a brand a new one, troubleshooted the phone with everything I could find online before giving up and restoring it to it's default settings, but the issues are still present. I don't know what I should check anymore. If you have any comments, experiences or solutions I could try to solve my issues, please let me know since at this point I'll most likely try all of them. Also, if you need more information on my phone, system, etc. let me know as well.
Thank you.
Is your phone stock/rooted etc?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
There is a recognised problem with the Nexus 5 that a dead battery can kill something in the radio functionality. Since you have so many problems your best bet is to start with the software - a full refresh of the ROM. It might be worth waiting a few days for the release of Android 6.0 which is supposed to be coming in the next week (anything from 29th September to 5th October, but who knows...?). If you can't wait, save whatever you want from the device and install preview 3 MPA44I - it works very well on my N5, and since I'm not using it as my daily phone (I have a Nexus 6) the standby battery life is amazing. At the moment it shows 76% with 13 days 12 hours left.
firemaned said:
Is your phone stock/rooted etc?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It used to be rooted, but it's not anymore. Any way I can make sure that it's rooted or not? When I used the SuperSU app back then I realized at some point that it wasn't rooted anymore (it was telling me that this app can only be used on rooted devices). I think the bootloader is unlocked because when I open my device, it shows me the little lock icon, but it's open (unlocked). Also, it's freshly reset to factory default (from yesterday).
dahawthorne said:
There is a recognised problem with the Nexus 5 that a dead battery can kill something in the radio functionality. Since you have so many problems your best bet is to start with the software - a full refresh of the ROM. It might be worth waiting a few days for the release of Android 6.0 which is supposed to be coming in the next week (anything from 29th September to 5th October, but who knows...?). If you can't wait, save whatever you want from the device and install preview 3 MPA44I - it works very well on my N5, and since I'm not using it as my daily phone (I have a Nexus 6) the standby battery life is amazing. At the moment it shows 76% with 13 days 12 hours left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already did a Factory Reset on my phone yesterday, so I guess I don't have to do another one? Right now, if I follow what you just told me, I should wait until the release of Android 6.0 (M) and upgrade to it then see if it solves my issues. I just hope that it won't take a long time to be pushed to my phone like it was with Android 5.0. Or your other solution is to flash the latest preview for Android 6.0 (M) on my phone and see how it goes, right?
If you've restored a ROM and lost root, and are back to 100% stock Android, then as far as I know the Android 6 upgrade will be provided over the air (OTA) and will work fine. Whether it resolves your problems is a different question. I myself tried everything to make my radio work again after the battery died, and eventually contacted Google, who were honorable enough to send me a replacement (refurbished, but effectively as good as new) which works perfectly.
dahawthorne said:
If you've restored a ROM and lost root, and are back to 100% stock Android, then as far as I know the Android 6 upgrade will be provided over the air (OTA) and will work fine. Whether it resolves your problems is a different question. I myself tried everything to make my radio work again after the battery died, and eventually contacted Google, who were honorable enough to send me a replacement (refurbished, but effectively as good as new) which works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my original plan. I called the Play Store support this week and they told me that my phone was elligible for a replacement till April of 2016. I found that weird because it would make it a 2 years and a half guarantee but at least I had my backup plan in mind. Then I called today to order a replacement and the guy told me that my guarantee expired back in November 2014 (1 year after I bought my Nexus 5, which made sense) so now I'm stuck with this one. I don't know why, but since this morning (after creating this thread), the cellular network cameback. It still drops sometimes but only for a few seconds and if not, I enable/disable the Plane mode to make it connect again. However, the battery drain, phone heat, random restart and messed up vibration issues are still present. I can deal with them however until Android 6.0 (M) gets released. The most important thing was the cellular network. We'll see tomorrow how it goes. Still awaiting tips and tricks for my other issues if anyone have some.
For the battery draining issue, I think I have the paid version of Greenify somewhere and was thinking of using it to see if it helps, even though I didn't have that issue at the beginning.
Instead of a factory reset you should try using fastboot to flash the factory image for a fresh start.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
CalculatedRisk said:
Instead of a factory reset you should try using fastboot to flash the factory image for a fresh start.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I imagine that the factory image is still present on the device? This is what I find weird, because when I "reset" my factory to defaults, it restores it to Android 5.1.1 even though the device came with 4.x. I come from the computer field, and a Factory Reset on a computer uses the manufacturer's image present on the CD, DVD, USB or partition given with the computer to reinstall the original OS that was present on it and the OEM software as well. If the computer was eventually upgraded to Windows 8.1 and came with Windows 7, Windows 7 will be restored, not Windows 8.1. So I can understand now that a "Factory Reset" doesn't really return the device to its factory state, right?
I would guess that you've had an OTA update to 5.1.1? You would have had to actively accept it - it doesn't install itself automatically. The factory image isn't (as far as I'm aware...) on the device, it just resets components back to default values - I may be wrong about this. There's obviously no way that a Kitkat device could mysteriously upgrade itself to Lollipop in any other way than a deliberate flash or an OTA update.
I use Greenify myself and it appears to do what it claims, but I wonder if it will become unnecessary when the new Doze function comes in with Android 6. Maybe the two will complement each other for optimum battery life. Any experts out there that can comment?
You mention that it's the upper back that becomes hot - I'm guessing that this is where the processor is. Mine does the same if it's running under load - for example when taking a TWRP backup. And anything that's creating heat has to get its energy from somewhere, hence the battery drain. If there is a rogue app that's running even when you're not using the phone Greenify might kill it - worth a try.
And final comment (for the moment... ) - the padlock with the gap means that your bootloader is unlocked, but doesn't mean that the phone is rooted. It does however mean that the phone can accept new ROMs and can be rooted.
dahawthorne said:
I would guess that you've had an OTA update to 5.1.1? You would have had to actively accept it - it doesn't install itself automatically. The factory image isn't (as far as I'm aware...) on the device, it just resets components back to default values - I may be wrong about this. There's obviously no way that a Kitkat device could mysteriously upgrade itself to Lollipop in any other way than a deliberate flash or an OTA update.
I use Greenify myself and it appears to do what it claims, but I wonder if it will become unnecessary when the new Doze function comes in with Android 6. Maybe the two will complement each other for optimum battery life. Any experts out there that can comment?
You mention that it's the upper back that becomes hot - I'm guessing that this is where the processor is. Mine does the same if it's running under load - for example when taking a TWRP backup. And anything that's creating heat has to get its energy from somewhere, hence the battery drain. If there is a rogue app that's running even when you're not using the phone Greenify might kill it - worth a try.
And final comment (for the moment... ) - the padlock with the gap means that your bootloader is unlocked, but doesn't mean that the phone is rooted. It does however mean that the phone can accept new ROMs and can be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did have an OTA update to 5.1.1, yes.
And I talked to one of my friend who's really into phones (used to work for Bell and he's usually the person I go to whenever I have issues with my cellphone), and he suggested me to wait until Android 6.0 comes out, and then to fastboot it on my Nexus 5 since OTA updates can be buggy sometimes. I could actually fastboot the phone right now (well tonight) with Android 5.1.1, but if Android 6.0 is to come out next week (or the one after), it might worth the wait, depending on whether or not I can keep the cellular network working. Otherwise I would have to go through 2 flashboots in 2 weeks and I can't really be bothered to do that
And I don't know where the CPU is in the Nexus 5 (I could look it up) but the zone where the heat is isn't where the battery is so there's that. However, my friend told me that the fact that my cellular network isn't working could explain why the battery is being drained so fast, but can't explain the vibrate mode and random restarts issues.
I was having battery issues on Stock ROM, but now I am using CM12.1 so battery is not draining very fast.
When I am inside my home or in some other house or building, the network disconnects very often. However, if I am outside, the network works pretty well.
The notification LED, when being configured using CM12.1 settings, shows blue color on green color selection and green color on blue color selection.
I had some of the same problems with my phone, it would reboot randomly throughout the day. With mine if I charged it overnight with it off when I turned it on in the morning it would only be at 85%. I ended up contacting LG and I paid $170 to get it fixed, they have replaced the mainboard twice so far. After the second time it had no issues, and that lasted a couple months but I have sent it back again to be fixed. If you bought the phone on a credit card they usually extend the warranty by a year, that's what I did, filed a claim and they sent a cheque for the repair cost, very simple actually. But I suspect it might be the same problem as mine, some hardware issue, especially if you've reset the phone.
Just for info, the CPU is indeed at the top rear of the phone, so this is undoubtedly where the heat is coming from.
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5+Teardown/19016 - see step 11 saying "The Quad-core, 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC is layered beneath the RAM".
I reckon it's a rogue app, which I hope isn't a system app, running wild - a system app will be hard to cure.
A ROM refresh is probably a good place to start, and if you can wait for Android 6.0 then why settle for less...
Wiped my os on nexus 5 trying to install nethunter only comes on in twrp. very new to this be easy on me ive previously installed a vm lab with kali linux.
I have downloaded adb and fastboot
Using winace . Before this my pc would not recognize my device, "no drivers". But now it shows up on the pc control panel as active and found
However snap pea still cant find drivers although now it says are you fornatting your phone with only one option "yes" then it just dissappear. ... but before I downloaded adb, fast boot ... snap pea was simply saying no drivers found.... Please help. ..thank you.
Sent from my GT-I8190 using XDA Free mobile app
Here's an update on my situation: the cellular network is back at both my house and my workplace. The way it works, it seems that it takes it a day to "adapt" itself to the location and then gives me network. So at first after the Factory Reset, I didn't have network at my house, the day after I did. Now, when I went to work on Monday I didn't have network, but when I did on Tuesday, I did. My job is an hour of road away too, and at some places on the road I don't get any network, but it happens less and less as I travel back and forth.
The random restart and overheating issue are still present however. I didn't test the notifications (on vibrate) but I will soon. As long as I have my cellular network, I don't care about the other issues, until Android 6.0 (M) gets released and I fastboot it on my phone.
Now, since I bought my Nexus 5 using a MasterCard, I remembered that they have a promotion which double the guarantee on electronics (up to a 1 year), which means that I have a 2 years guarantee on my phone. So I called LG, and they have a promotion right now, $150 to get my phone repaired by their tech center IF it can be repaired. If they can't, they send it back and gives me a 50% refund (around that number).
My current plan of action is to wait for Android 6.0 (M) to get released, flashboot it on my phone and see how it goes from there.
Thank you for all the replies so far, they really helped me and still help me today
Good luck man. Keep us updated.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
Alright so, I fastbooted Android 6.0 on my Nexus 5, and it seems to have done the trick. I have network everywhere now, even on the road. I still lose it from times to times (a few seconds only), but this is a "normal" behavior considering the carrier I have. The notification issue is also gone, and so does the restart issue since I didn't have it once so far. But I only fastbooted it yesterday evening so it might be too soon to say that.
Now, I still have the "overheating" issue, but it could be from me playing Fallout Shelter, I really don't know. I used to play Clash of Clans alot, and graphically speaking, I think it's more demanding than FS, but I never had that overheating effect before. One thing I noticed however is that after fastbooting Android 6.0, my battery drops real fast, even when idle. I thought that Android 6.0 was supposed to improve the battery life. I'll try to see what process, app or activity is taking the most juice out of it, but I'm sure this isn't normal.
Alright so it took me an hour to go from my house to my workplace, and my battery went from 34% to 12%, while being on standby. This isn't normal I guess. I'll need to charge it to 100% once, and then use the Battery setting to see what's taking all the juice.
Might have spoke too soon. When going to work today, I went in a room where there's usually no signal (or the signal is very weak), and lost the network. It's normal in that room so I didn't pay much attention to it, but now I'm not able to get back on the network. Even searching for the Network Operator fails. Sigh, it really looks like I'll have to send it to LG for repair. I guess I need to fastboot it first to erase all my data, because they need to use my phone to test the repairs they make?
My Galaxy S7 (AT&T SM-G930A) was recently updated to Android 8 (Oreo). Since the update I am having issues with the volume. I plug my phone into a stereo receiver at work and we listen all day 12 - 14 hours. Nougat would often reset my volume after about 10 hrs of playing and display a warning about the dangers of listening to high volumes for extended periods. Since updating to Oreo the volume will reset randomly. It will not display a warning or reason it just resets. At first I thought it was because I was receiving a call or text or email but the random volume resets do not correspond to any notifications. This happens three or four times a day since the update.
The volume issues are just a minor issue compared to my battery life. I have a 33% reduction to battery life. Prior to the update I would plug in (to the stereo) my phone in the morning and after a 12 hr shift I would have about 20-25% left. Since the update I plug in (to the stereo) and after about 10 hrs I'm at 10-15%. I have not installed any new apps since the Oreo update and there are no other causes for the change in battery life.
The other main issue I have is speed. The phone is noticeably slower. Apps take longer to open and there is definite lag. Earlier today it took me a little over three minutes to pull up my navigation app and get directions. Prior to the update it would take around 30 seconds.
Here are my questions.
1) CAN I INSTALL A CUSTOM ROM? I had Cyanogenmod on my S4 and really liked it over the stock ROM. I think I would like to give Lineage a try but I still can't get a definite answer as to whether or not this can be done. Obviously I have the Snapdragon processor. Most of the information I'm finding is telling me that we can't install a custom recovery on Snapdragons yet, which means, no custom ROM. If I am wrong please provide me some current links.
2) If I can't install a custom recovery/ROM; CAN I REVERT TO NOUGAT OR MARSHMALLOW?
3) If I can't revert; WHAT CAN I DO THAT WILL PROVIDE ME WITH MORE IMMEDIATE SATISFACTION THAN WAITING FOR AT&T OR SAMSUNG TO FIX THIS CRAP?
1) No, US model S7's have locked bootloaders preventing custom firmware/recovery. You'll need an international G930F/FD to do anything custom.
2) No, the bootloader being locked prevents OS downgrades. You can only sidestep or upgrade.
3) Unfortunately your hands are pretty tied. All I can suggest is backup anything important and do a full clean flash, which may resolve some of the anomalies.
Beanvee7 said:
1) No, US model S7's have locked bootloaders preventing custom firmware/recovery. You'll need an international G930F/FD to do anything custom.
2) No, the bootloader being locked prevents OS downgrades. You can only sidestep or upgrade.
3) Unfortunately your hands are pretty tied. All I can suggest is backup anything important and do a full clean flash, which may resolve some of the anomalies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beanvee,
Thanks for the quick and concise reply. I just wanted to offer a belated but brief follow up. I backed up and restored Android. It took a little while to get everything back where I wanted it but most things seem better now. The only complaint I have at this time is that my streaming music app(s) seem to drop the connections too often when running on WiFi. If I turn off the WiFi and use mobile data there aren't any issues. The WiFi issues happen at home, at work and when connected at my mother's home and friend's homes. I rarely have mobile data over-runs so it isn't an issue per se; it just bugs me a little.
Once again, thanks for the help.
I'm afraid that's something I've not experienced and wouldn't know where to look. Best I can think of is check battery saving options, and under WiFi > advanced, make sure Keep WiFi on during sleep is set to Always
What's the deal with the Samsung Galaxy A41?
For reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_A41
https://www.samsung.com/A41
There is no XDA-Forum for this smartphone
There also seems to be no community for this phone.
Searching the internet for A41 compatible Custom ROMs ends in less than nothingness even in the darkest corners.
What's going on? The phone is on the market since March 2020. The phone is pretty good in specs (middle-class).
AND it is the ONLY phone under 200 bucks today that is NOT larger than 150mm in length and therefor usable in pockets.
I don't get it why it doesn't get the same attention as the other competitors in the same price class.
Can anybody enlighten me what's happening?
Please XDA mods and admins, if this is just a mistake, please open a samsung forum for the A41!
yepp - I have such an 'outbreak of hell' product - still struggling to root this beast. 90% of the references in the i-net are fake/copied from other Axx or just bla-bla.
Up to now odin (different versions) seems only to be able to flash Samsung CRAPROM (needed it several times after ended bricked)
- magisk patched boot img not working/ending up in boot-loop,
- magisk patching AP dies before finishing (img is 3.5GB instead 4GB)
Samsung - not a success story
avalanche1609 said:
Up to now odin (different versions) seems only to be able to flash Samsung CRAPROM (needed it several times after ended bricked)
- magisk patched boot img not working/ending up in boot-loop,
- magisk patching AP dies before finishing (img is 3.5GB instead 4GB)
Samsung - not a success story
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
omg.. I was hoping to be able to root the phone at least with magisk.. but what you say doesn't sound well. I saw all those copy-paste tutorials for A41 on the internet too.. thought at least something gotta work.
I still don't get it. this should be a popular phone by its smaller size, low price and good super amoled display.
unbelievable there is no community, roots, custom roms, or at least discussion threads.
friends are getting a few A41 phones.. now that'll be a funny mess to root and handle. :/
@avalanche1609 just curious, you said you let magisk patch AP and it dies before finishing (3.5gb/4gb).. why did you let it patch the 4gb AP file? isn't the way to root the phone with magisk like:
-> get the same original firmware that is currently installed on the phone and extract the boot.img.tar from it.
-> copy that to you phone, let magisk patch the boot.img.tar (about 20mb in size)
-> copy patched_boot.img.tar to you pc
-> flash patched_boot.img.tar from pc with odin back to your phone in download mode (using AP(!) not BL in odin) and that file is about 20mb, not more!
shouldn't that be it?
why did you let magisk patch a 4GB AP?
also: which odin3 version did you use? 99% floating around are fake and malicious, all these 3.14.4 verisons are fake.
If you can unlock the bootloader you're already half way there. Then boot into a TWRP using fastboot boot recovery.img and flash Magisk from there. You might also have to disable DM verity somehow.
Good luck
lebigmac said:
If you can unlock the bootloader you're already half way there. Then boot into a TWRP using fastboot boot recovery.img and flash Magisk from there. You might also have to disable DM verity somehow.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unlocking the bootloader should be no problem as far as I heard. but I also heard there is no TWRP version that actually really supports the device (and encryption afterwards). installing twrp with fastboot could be possible, also booting TWRP with fastboot could be possible, but for what? just for installing magisk that way? Isn't the other way easier? -> installing magisk manager, patch the boot image, and flash it back? especially when there is no fitting TWRP version anyway?
Zirila said:
unlocking the bootloader should be no problem as far as I heard. but I also heard there is no TWRP version that actually really supports the device (and encryption afterwards). installing twrp with fastboot could be possible, also booting TWRP with fastboot could be possible, but for what? just for installing magisk that way? Isn't the other way easier? -> installing magisk manager, patch the boot image, and flash it back? especially when there is no fitting TWRP version anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The samsung brick is rooted now - one successful act of self defense !
- the newest magisk from github (21410) is able to do the job of patching.
(feeding magisk only with an extracted boot.img doesn't work! six different odin versions (<3.14.4) are not able to flash the created boot-image tar file)
- Magisk definitely needs the complete extracted 4GB AP file from the stock firmware - and the canary/github version of magisk is able to patch it (without crashing) and created 4GB patch.tar-file which odin accepts.
fastboot isn't an option - the device is detected but nothing else works/is implemented by samsung
If there is a suitable TWRP around - let me know.
avalanche1609 said:
The samsung brick is rooted now - one successful act of self defense !
Spoiler
- the newest magisk from github (21410) is able to do the job of patching.
(feeding magisk only with an extracted boot.img doesn't work! six different odin versions (<3.14.4) are not able to flash the created boot-image tar file)
- Magisk definitely needs the complete extracted 4GB AP file from the stock firmware - and the canary/github version of magisk is able to patch it (without crashing) and created 4GB patch.tar-file which odin accepts.
fastboot isn't an option - the device is detected but nothing else works/is implemented by samsung
If there is a suitable TWRP around - let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great news! So there actually is a way to get root on A41 and I'm glad it worked out fine for you so far.
I'm eager looking forward to root one of them for myself, I guess in a few days I'll have the chance to do so (I'll report then).
I'll take your advice and look for the latest magisk build from github.
It still looks very strange to me that magisk requires more than the boot image to patch. maybe it has something to do with dynamic partitions/ram disk the phone might use or the like. idk. maybe it then needs these files also. or probably the firmware is a little bit different from the one installed on the phone. I'm just guessing, not knowing. At least it works and when it takes to patch a 4gb file, well, then let it take that much.
That's the point where it'd be fine to have a XDA A41 forum with community and already people with experience, since it's a phone almost 1 year old now..
regarding the suppported TWRP version.. idk.. I would just trial and error things out. maybe it works with the latest version already. But better check it out before you plan to use the phone regularly..
I also don't know much about the fastboot options, I thought it works like usual as long as the bootloader is unlocked.. but flashing TWRP with odin or the twrp app itself could work too.
oh and the original question from the opening thread still remains open:
where is the community? where are the custom roms?
avalanche1609 said:
[...]
fastboot isn't an option - the device is detected but nothing else works/is implemented by samsung
If there is a suitable TWRP around - let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh right. I forgot that Samsung intentionally cripples the fastboot for its users... How awesome.
Hi all!
I have one of these since a couple of days and I have to say it is a really nice phone with a really bad issue: the jpg compression is super aggressive and photos that should look great given the lens and sensor look bland and smudgy. As far as I understand, there is no camera api2 exposed at all by default. All camera apps that I have tried produce worse images and gcam does not work (I have tried about 20 different ones, for Mediatek and otherwise). If Samsung could just let me bump up JPEG quality to 95% I would be completely satisfied with this phone, but I guess that would never happen.
I therefore wonder, is there any chance that your success rooting the phone could lead to bumping up the JPEG quality of the stock camera app, eventually expose camera api2 or somehow allow us to install a version of gcam down the line?
Cheers!
I bought a new Galaxy A41 for 180€ and I'm just setting it up.
I want to share my thoughts so far about:
the hardware, the software, things like rooting.
The Installation and Software:
The phone starts and already wants to trick you into signing data collection agreements (Terms of Service (not optional), marketing, analytics, 3rd party shares (3 optional)).
If you select by common sense and only check ToS you'll get fooled when you check the last radio button which says "I've read all of the above and agree (..)" which enabled all optional radio buttons again right before you click next. What a dirty play.
Also it is not possible to skip the WiFi selection screen ("skip" is greyed out) making it impossible to setup the phone without internet access. This has nothing to do with FRP, this is before anything google related is setup. Samsung clearly states it requires internet to setup the phone and install necessary provider software. Once it gets internet it gets activated and the "skip" option becomes clickable after the next factory reset. This practice makes me really angry. It's obviously the price you pay when you buy a low- to mid-range class phone - you'll pay the rest with your personal data.
I setup the phone without creating google and samsung accounts (I never got one of these anyways) and got to the home screen. If you havent enabled WiFi yet, there aren't many apps at all pre-installed, just a few useful and a few bloatware apps (like Facebook, MS Office, etc).
If you give it WiFi however, it kinda explodes with leeching, loading and updating Apps you never asked for. Only some of these can be "disabled" and only some of them can be "uninstalled" the normal way. Some of the unwanted you can't uninstall nor disable. (This is where you wish you had root access)
The phone had Security Patch Level installed from August 2020. Making OTA firmware updates 3x (about 1-3gb) will get you to Sec.Patch Level November 2020 which is the latest available OTA (we have February 2021 now). That's not a good sign IMO.. so it's already a few month behind the patch cycle..
So, software wise there aren't many useful apps for me installed, really just the utter basics and much more 3rd party bloatware and Samsung nonsense apps. It's not as much as with the Poco X3, but still much...
The Hardware:
The super amoled display is the biggest feature of the phone. and it's really great, the colors, the viewing angle, the brightness.. all top notch.
Battery is with only 3500mA/h not that big, but it's astonishing strong and it holds up the uptime it promises so far. I can only hope it stays like that even after a few years.
The size of the phone is what actually made me buy this phone. its the only phone under 6.5" under 200€ and not older than a year. all newer phones are bigger. The size is great, it's slim, but long. (6,1" ~15cm long)
I didn't expect it to be that heavy, though. well, the weight is not really heavy, but compared to older phones it is a good bit heavier.
The Camera is just Mediocre, I already knew this from reviews before but playing around with it and seeing the results underscores it. The final pics alltogether look always a bit washen out if you zoom in. There aren't enough professional advanced settings in the camera settings compared to open camera or mx camera. you have to stick with what you get. The Sensor of the camera is despite 48mpixels only mediocre. the widescreen lens is a nice feature but quality wise not that good either. Selfie cam is subjectively good enough though.
HDR setting and results are a joke compared to mx camera.
Rooting:
I actually planned to root the phone with magisk and installing TWRP. However, I ended up not rooting or installing TWRP at all. The reasons are various.
First, It's possible to unlock the bootloader in developer settings (after the phone called home..). You'll get a nagscreen every time you boot the phone up after it's unlocked. From this point on you might be able to root the phone with Magisk (following the advices a few posts above), but it'll probably trigger and brick KNOX status.
I decided to NOT do that and relocked the bootloader, because there seems to be no lively community for this phone, there are no Custom ROMs available nor any custom bootloaders. And I might want to sell the phone again if it doesn't fit my likings and that'll be more difficult with broken KNOX status. Also that way I can get OTA stock updates as long as the phone is supported.
There is also no supported version of TWRP for the A41. And TWRP on phones like this is tricky as you can read at the A40 TWRP page: TWRP A40 read chapter "This device uses system-as-root in an A-only partition configuration." Also the device is using File Based Encryption and not Full Disc Encryption. I don't know if TWRP works with that environment at all yet.
So currently the only benefits of getting root would be to be able to completely uninstall some bloatware. The rest (firewall, adblocker, backups, etc) is pretty much possible without root access.
I really hope this phone is able to get custom ROMs and community in the future, though.
korpenkraxar said:
Hi all!
I have one of these since a couple of days and I have to say it is a really nice phone with a really bad issue: the jpg compression is super aggressive
Spoiler
and photos that should look great given the lens and sensor look bland and smudgy. As far as I understand, there is no camera api2 exposed at all by default. All camera apps that I have tried produce worse images and gcam does not work (I have tried about 20 different ones, for Mediatek and otherwise). If Samsung could just let me bump up JPEG quality to 95% I would be completely satisfied with this phone, but I guess that would never happen.
I therefore wonder, is there any chance that your success rooting the phone could lead to bumping up the JPEG quality of the stock camera app, eventually expose camera api2 or somehow allow us to install a version of gcam down the line?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I exactly know what you mean as I watch the pics I just made with the same phone. I don't know if you could change anything in this regard after rooting but it actually looks to me like it's rather the built in camera sensor that makes the quality not that good and not so much the jpeg compression. It doesn't really look like jpeg artifacts, it's more like a washen out painting. I doubt you'll get anything better by rooting the phone, but thats just guessing. Also: did you check out the Image format options? "4:3" vs "4:3 48mpixels"?
Hi!
I checked out all the various formats and played around with the ISO settings grabbing some indoor pics in a relatively poorly lit environment.
First, it is a shame that the HDR is inactivated when using the "4:3 48mpixels" mode or PRO mode because I kind of like that HDR effect otherwise. It seems to me like the aggressive compression automatically kicks in on ISO levels 400 and above, while levels 100 and 200 look alright to me: edges with high contrast look more natural and I find the "natural" pixel noise more tolerable than the washed out smudge effect from the compression.
A "4:3 48mpixels" photo with ISO 200 looks acceptable IMHO and with a little bit of tweaking in Snapseed, I was quite pleased with the result. More grain and a bit darker than what I get from a Zenfone 5 with GCam, but tolerable for a modern phone.
With "4:3 48mpixels" ISO 200 we get quite large file sizes and there is no pixel binning or HDR, but for those random pics that I would like to share with friends in social media, this mode is ok.
Overall, the screen and form factor of the phone is great and it is a fun and comfortable one to use, aside from the camera snafu. I suspect there are some artificial configuration restraints here put in by Samsung. I stand by my original remark that a higher JPEG compression ratio would be great. No idea if it can be configured via root.
As a side note, coming from a Pixel 1 and then a Zenfone 5, it is amazing how well GCam captures photos...
Has anyone rooted successfully?
Reading elsewhere, it's hinted people managed to do it.
Zirila said:
the ONLY phone under 200 bucks today that is NOT larger than 150mm in length
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The A40 is even better in this regard, but is sadly underspeced.
Zirila said:
currently the only benefits of getting root would be to be able to completely uninstall some bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And call recording, I believe?
Got the phone yesterday (about 120$) and got it rooted with Odin and Magisk took a little back and forward.. been a while sines I have been on Samsung phone.
I like this small cheap compact phone, tired of the big bricks.
Was installing from a new phone with latest update from Samsung.
So wrote a small guide to help out..
Everything on phone will get wiped/factory reset , so take backup , you have been warned.
Take no responsibility of brick etc. (or typos!)
!PLEASE CHECK WHAT VERSION PHONE YOU HAVE MINE IS SM-A415F AND THE GUIDE WAS WRITTEN FOR THAT PHONE!
Quick guide:
1* On PC or phone download you stock firmware for you region: https://samfw.com/firmware/SM-A415F
My was NEE witch is Nordic Europe.
Unpack or Transfer the AP_* file to you phone, i used microsd so didn't unpack on phone.
(sd card need to be exFAT , you can format to that in Windows, so it cant handle big files over ~4GB)
2* Install lates Magisk manager from https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases/latest (Used v22.0) on phone.
Install Magisk patch the AP_* file from before
Transfer it back to PC, we will use this later!
3* Start phone, (if new phone don't bother sign in google/samsung etc.. it will all be wiped/factory reset!)
Enable Developer mode:
Setting, about device tag 7 times on Build..
(If its not shown connect to the internet and wait ~5min..)
Check "OEM unlocking" , "USB debugging".
4* Turn off the phone, press volume +/- while you connect PC to Phone with USB-C.
When screen "WARNING...Custom OS can cause problems.." press and hold Volume +, and press Volume + to confirm what you are doing!
Let it reboot.
5* Enable Developer mode:
Setting, about device tag 7 times on Build..
(If its not shown connect to the internet and wait ~5min..)
Check to see if "OEM unlocking" is greyed out enabled , check enable"USB debugging".
6* Turn off the phone, press volume +/- while you connect PC to Phone with USB-C.
Press Volume +(don't hold like last time.)
7* On PC open latest Odin (used v3.14.4) from https://odindownloader.com/ (no sure it that the official site but what i used, please let me know if there is a better one.)
Unpack the folder to your PC hard drive and start Odin3*.exe, uncheck "Auto reboot" make sure "F.Reset Time" is checked.
Use the original firmware files from (1*) "BL, CP, CSC" BUT the AP_* that you transferred from Phone.
Press start and hopefully you will get a "<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)" when it's done!
Restart phone.
I had to download magisk and install it again but everything seems to be working..
Cheers
Minuz said:
Got the phone yesterday (about 120$)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only $120 ?!
hkjo said:
Only $120 ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
128$ to be exact.
Samsung - Køb nyeste Galaxy telefoner her - CBB Mobil
Samsung har nogle af de mest populære mobiler. Find bl.a. Samsung Galaxy i stort udvalg, og få en ny mobil til Små Priser her.
www.cbb.dk
Don't think you can order from out side of Denmark. you can always move
@Minuz
Half the price? The ad there might actually be truthful: 800 DKK instead of the normal 1800. Not bad, unless you have to commit to the operator. Are they clearing the stock to make room for the disappointing A42?
Is Samsung's call recording enabled on the NEE firmware? Any idea if one can flash stock firmware from other regions?
@hkjoThey have similar deals every month, getting customers, cleaning storage for "older/cheap" phones witch are flooding the market atm.
No binding of to the cellphone company, but i'm pretty sure you have to be a danish citizen.
Can see any record options in call settings or phone options, but with root it should be possible to find a app.
-
Regarding of the experience so fare on the phone is great.. coming from a Xiaomi Note 9 Pro , Samsung S10+.
I really like this compact phone, it does everything i need.
The sound is not the best and the plastic back tend to vibrate with the sound from the speaker, but a case will help that.
Update : Had some problems with a danish authentication app Nemid but got it working!
Having some ustabile crashes witch is all on me trying to get a authentication app to work on root phone.. doing some less stable solution.
Got the authentication app working on previous rooted phones, but something is triggered on this phone/software.. With may be the reason for me not using this phone in the future.
(App Nemid)
Hopefully there will come some custom roms or workaround.
Well hello you all!
Actually I'm lucky to now finally find some other people with the same phone...
So about my little story in the Android universe:
--- Skip if not interested ---
Spoiler: Little story
Coming from a Samsung S3 to an OnePlus 3T. I rooted the OP3T and installed Lineage OS some years ago.. I traded it in for an iPhone 6S from my mom and giving the OP3T to my sister.. I just had enough of this Android because you often get stuck with something, the apps are less mature and it just all feals like you always need to be enthusiastic about the phone.. So I had a lucky year with the iPhone but somewhat I wanted to get an Android device again. Then I found a refurbished Google Pixel - 1st Gen, 2 years ago and bought it for 200€. The battery seemed to be pretty ripped since the phone had to be in the package for months or even years.. Since I didn't want to have the reseller sent me a new phone with maybe similar problems I decided to repair it on my own..
I then damaged the display in the process, needed to replace it as well with the battery and in the end spent about 350€ for the Pixel... I was kind of pissed but it was a nice phone.. Until I dropped it and the display was completly dead but wasn't shattered last year.. So then I just thought I had enough of smartphones and went with a rework of the Nokia 8810 (the 4G edition) and my iPad until I then decided in September 2020 that I needed a new phone. I somehow could still get the Pixel to work but didn't want to spend 150€ again for replacement parts. For the same phone which wasn't better since then.. But the chip the Snapdragon 820 is pretty neat, 4GB RAM enough and the camera great. Just the Display isn't that nice and modern looking... Maybe I should have gone that way..
--- End of my story what was before my A41 ---
So then I did some research - which phone looks nice for less than 300€, isn't big - since big screen phones are just bulky and you need two hands and I don't like that..
I found the A41 and thought since I don't do gaming and stuff on the phone, just a bit Twitter and messaging, it should be fast enough. Turns out after now several months of use since September 2020 it feels often slow.. I as well didn't like many Samsung Bloatware stuff but somehow got it configured that I don't bother that much now.. But I always wanted to have a custom ROM and it's just frustrating to do research on the device and just finding crappy articles as someone before mentioned.. You just get redirected etc... or find websites with auto generated content.
So to my experience so far:
Coming from the Pixel (and the iPhone 6S) I just have to say the camera is crap. I just don't like it and I think they shouldn't have gone with the trend and go for dual or even triple cameras. But with one lens and doing that one great. I share the criticism that the 48MP mode is somehow the one you want since the images look blurry when not using this mode. But then you don't have HDR as said, cant zoom in (software design isn't great here - you could switch to not 48MP here but now...) and images need to be taken with a calm hand because they often are blurred otherwise. And even then: The images are just in every point then those from the 12MP pixel. (In general this is easy to be explained bc each pixel has less light and is smaller resulting in less quality of the information per pixel. And if this is just really bad you need great software and often bigger sensors to don't just shrink the pixel size on the sensor..)
The chipset as mentioned: Ok, but somewhat sluggish... It feels pretty slow and everything in the UI seems to be a bit delayed on the screen.. But you just get used to this.. (Which still doesn't make this a good point)
I then had issues for months with my GPS module which often seemed to not work but then suddendly worked and I don't know why... Since then everything seems to be working fine regarding to locations.. It did work sometimes before and was pretty accurate but it just didn't work in 90% of the situations I tried it..
I actually like the display and battery. Both are great, I get maybe 60-70% usage per day and this is great. The display is also pleasing and I like the size although it could be a bit smaller..
The reason why I found this thread now is my latest problem though..
Since 2 months or so I tried to install an update but it just doesn't work. I somewhere found a OTA file (I think sammobile and I hate it that I needed to register there and Samsung isn't providing the files on their own).. And after booting into recovery and starting to sideload it... It just keeps stuck there as well with just 0%... I just hate this phone now and don't want to use it anymore since it just has no community, it feels sluggish sometimes, the camera isn't great and it's a Samsung phone with no possibility for a custom ROM...
What are your thoughts? Where do you agree - should I maybe try to just wipe it, sell it for 100€ on ebay and repair my old pixel? I just thought I might be luckier with that one ... Or maybe get an iPhone again but then.. those are even used that expensive, but just are so good usable in everyday use.. I am a pretty technical competent person, used Linux for like 3 years on the Desktop with no windows on dual boot don't have any problems solving most problems with software what so ever.. But I just don't want to run into problems with the devices I use daily and need to be reliable. If I want projects to waste my time I find them. I install software on servers and configure them.. But this phone and android in general... I sometimes like it, but then I feel like I need a brake and use something that has less bugs.. (up to the point that I like it again.. I'm pretty ambivalent on that topic)
@atriom
If it's working now, why waste time on trying to update?
Minuz said:
Can see any record options in call settings or phone options, but with root it should be possible to find a app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it'd be easier to use semi-official means to enable recording, rather than root.
Found a thread listing Samsung country codes where recording is enabled, but the list is pretty slim. Intersecting it with the list of countries in which this phone is available (based on one of the firmware sites), I think there's actually no official version with recording enabled.
I'm not sure if that rules out official recording. Maybe CSC selection is generic and not per phone, so all countries would be available.
Just wanted to find some opinions on what to get basically it's been awhile since I was on her and my note ten is having the cold battery can't charge issue so Im looking what to replace it with and need root and loved the functionality of a fully unlocked bootloader but I missed the great speeds of a US phone since I'm in the US so wonder what I shoud do?
Too cold, won't charge?
You think it's a mobo failure on the 10+?
I've never seen that warning. Use something like DevChek to view all the sensor temperatures.
May just be a battery failure. They're good for about 2 years on a heavily used phone, my lasted 1.5 years and failed.
I'm looking at getting a second Note. My choices are another 10+ or a new 20U. It will likely be another 10+; it a solid, stable, fast phone with no glaring issues. If still running on Pie, that's a huge plus, Android 10 and especially 11 just suck. I don't have high hopes for 12.
So if it's the battery or C port PCB*, just replace and wait for the 2022 Note release.
From what I've read the Snapdragon has a better chipset architecture and instruction set.
They seem to be notoriously hard to root. Probably not a good choice for rooting.
I know you can optimize a stock 10+/Pie, not sure how well that will go with Android 10 and above. Some of the functionality isn't there for valuable 3rd party apps like Karma Firewall's logging feature. You can still use Package Disabler or ADB edits to kill the bloatware though.
On newer high dollar phones is many ways rooting is a liability especially with warranty/insurance and you lose Knox, Samsung Pass etc if you use that junk. There are those especially on this forum that swear by it but won't acknowledge their cost in time (which can be and typically is huge) and inconvenience.
Stock Androids/roms are easier to troubleshoot and more secure. If there are issues with a stock setup there will be thousands or more with the same issue making solutions more likely and easier to find. With a custom setup you are on your own which can quickly implode into a time sucking blackhole in more ways than there are stars.
If I was going to root it be an older Note... not a brand new one... risk/time vs reward.
*the C port PCB may have a temperature sensor, not sure. It can cause a lot of bizarre issues in seemingly unrelated systems like internet connection, I know that for a fact. Make sure if you do replace it you get the exact PN that on that PCB or it will not function properly! Both the battery and C port PCB are relatively easy to replace with the proper tools and skillset. Both are cheap, under $50. Make sure you replace the back cover OEM seal with the same or equivalent if you open it up. Do not use generic double sided adhesive tape!
And the award for Longest Post Title and Longest Run On Sentence In A XDA Post goes to...
*Nervously opens envelope*
@ressegger !!!
*Raucous applause*
ressegger said:
Just wanted to find some opinions on what to get basically it's been awhile since I was on her and my note ten is having the cold battery can't charge issue so Im looking what to replace it with and need root and loved the functionality of a fully unlocked bootloader but I missed the great speeds of a US phone since I'm in the US so wonder what I shoud do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes ,
i had this same issue of yours ,
"to cold to charge" can't charge ,
notice/issue .....many years back .
Can't remember which device of mine it was , think it was a Samsung Tablet A 2016 .
Anyway ,
Took devices to Samsung Service Centre.
It was the USB charging port .
They did not charge me much for the repairs .
Got it fixed and device charging normally / working fine afterwards.
My point is whatever you do or decide do not "throw/give "device away .
It's a small fix.....!
good luck
I am running the US snapdragon spammy 20 - ultra rooted up with boot loader unlocked thanks to afane and his advanced bros, although due to the lock down on many features such as scoped (controlled) storage preventing apps from being installed outside of the control room (googel store), did I mention notification sound got locked down too?
Been a while since I've been in here. I'm no stranger to flashing ROMS but I haven't done it in years thinking that staying closer to sock on a Pixel phone was the best way to avoid bugs....nope.
When I bought the Pixel 4a it was brilliant. 2 full days of battery life and butter smooth. Hands down the most dialed in device I've ever owned (and I've owned a LOT).
Fast forward to today with the onslaught of Android 12 and this device is total buggy trash. Issues with the lock screen just showing up blank, bluetooth connection woes, ultra sluggish with certain activities....etc. Honestly, too much to list.
I assumed this was something with my build so I did a factory reset AND reflashed with the most recent stock image from the google repo and the exact same issues exist. Still wasn't completely convinced it wasn't isolated to me. Then last night my wife's Pixel 4a updated to Android 12 and now she has similar issues.
Am I alone in this? Do I need to get back to flashing ROMs and if so, which would y'all recommend? I just need something fast, smooth, and stable. Not looking for a ton of extra features I won't use.
That's why I stuck with A10 - no problems.
welcome to android 12, im still using A11 i have A12 on my other pixel and its terrible,google has a tenancy to break things after updates, i would roll back and skip this version.
I haven't had any os issues other than maybe it running hot. My battery is down to like 32% original capacity or some such.
use lineageos. problems solved.