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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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
As many on XDA will tell you a Phone or ROM is only as good as it’s support team. As a developer who has offered various ROMs and android mods since 2009, I have extensive experience in troubleshooting and helping others do so. And in recent years, I very rarely go out of my way to lend an opinion or even review a device, however, I think the android community should be informed about the support that the Essential Phone offers before buying their product.
I was very excited to hear about Andy Rubin's project and immediately pre-ordered the PH-1 with the extended warranty. Despite delays, I had high hopes and had every intention of making it my daily driver. The day I received the phone I also received an email stating that it was not certified for usage on Verizon’s network. Verizon is the only network where I live. I tried my existing sim card and received awful reception. I wrote a quick review and stated “This may be a simple APN fix or could be a serious issue with the radios.” Since the phone was unusable, I boxed it up awaiting Verizon certification.
About a month went by before I finally got an email stating the PH-1 was certified for Verizon. I tried the phone and still received abysmal data reception. Despite 3-4 bars, the download speeds around 3 Mbps and uploads of 0.01 Mpbs or slower. Without wifi the phone cannot complete initial setup/login, Google Assistant cannot function, and in general does not work.
I spent 3 days troubleshooting this with APNs, data resets, Manufacturer's reset, custom bands, hidden menus, confirmed the IEMI via the web portal... you name it, I tried it. During this time, I noticed there are a few spots on the top of the screen that work poorly. So, I finally decided to contact Essential’s support; the options are limited to leaving a voicemail or email. I tried leaving a voicemail that no one returned.
After a week of waiting for a return call, I moved to the email support. I summarized all the steps I had tried. I received a follow up email the next day asking me to perform factory reset….. Something that I had clearly stated I had already done. So, I did another and responded that it did not work. It took over 1 week to receive a follow up asking if I had the My Verizon app installed. I cannot imagine how this would influence data speeds, but I played their game and gave it a try. Of course there was no improvement.
Their follow up ask me to reset the APNs, which is a much more logical option than their first and second response, but once again something I clearly stated I had previously done in my initial request for support. At this point, I took my phone to a Verizon and T-Mobile store and their representatives tried new sim cards, provisioned, and troubleshooted the phone. Both Verizon and T-Mobile, have said there is nothing wrong with the setup, the sim, the apps, and the phone’s hardware is defective.
I relayed this message to Essential Support and and their response was to #1 download the Verizon app #2 reset APNS #3 set the phone to global mode…… Not only had they told me to do this before, but if they bothered to read any of my emails they would have seen this has been tried, and both Verizon and T-Mobile have independently verified the software is fine, it is not user error, and the hardware is defective.
Over the last month, I have made no progress at all on the radio issue and it has been 4 days since Essential’s last lackluster communication.
Despite reminding their support staff several times, no has even tried to troubleshoot the other issue I am having with the screen involving poor touch sensitivity on the superior border. No one has offered me a new phone nor referred to my Essential Extended Care (which I do not want pay the deductible for a phone that never worked). When I asked to return, the phone they said it was 14 day window despite the phone not being certified on my network for the first month I had not the phone.
Over the years, I have owned Motorola Droid, Galaxy Nexus (toro + maguro), G2, G3, 1+1, 1+2, 1+3, LG G2, LG G3, LG G4, GS3, GS4, GS5, Sony Pollux, Nexus 4, Nexus n6p, among others, and I have had to call support for hardware issues. The Essential Phone is by a very wide margin has the worst support I have ever come across and Google’s has had the best.
In its prime, my custom ROM had well over 100,000 users and I tend to be the only one on the team who offered support, so I completely understand android support like very few on this planet. As of last month before the price break, Essential was estimated to have only sold 5,000 phones. Even with a bare bones staff fielding emails and not checking voicemail, their support volume per day is likely less than what I personally did for free for our community for free as part of a “hobby” for almost a decade.
To sum it all up: “Buyer Beware”
DHO said:
As many on XDA will tell you a Phone or ROM is only as good as it’s support team. As a developer who has offered various ROMs and android mods since 2009, I have extensive experience in troubleshooting and helping others do so. And in recent years, I very rarely go out of my way to lend an opinion or even review a device, however, I think the android community should be informed about the support that the Essential Phone offers before buying their product.
I was very excited to hear about Andy Rubin's project and immediately pre-ordered the PH-1 with the extended warranty. Despite delays, I had high hopes and had every intention of making it my daily driver. The day I received the phone I also received an email stating that it was not certified for usage on Verizon’s network. Verizon is the only network where I live. I tried my existing sim card and received awful reception. I wrote a quick review and stated “This may be a simple APN fix or could be a serious issue with the radios.” Since the phone was unusable, I boxed it up awaiting Verizon certification.
About a month went by before I finally got an email stating the PH-1 was certified for Verizon. I tried the phone and still received abysmal data reception. Despite 3-4 bars, the download speeds around 3 Mbps and uploads of 0.01 Mpbs or slower. Without wifi the phone cannot complete initial setup/login, Google Assistant cannot function, and in general does not work.
I spent 3 days troubleshooting this with APNs, data resets, Manufacturer's reset, custom bands, hidden menus, confirmed the IEMI via the web portal... you name it, I tried it. During this time, I noticed there are a few spots on the top of the screen that work poorly. So, I finally decided to contact Essential’s support; the options are limited to leaving a voicemail or email. I tried leaving a voicemail that no one returned.
After a week of waiting for a return call, I moved to the email support. I summarized all the steps I had tried. I received a follow up email the next day asking me to perform factory reset….. Something that I had clearly stated I had already done. So, I did another and responded that it did not work. It took over 1 week to receive a follow up asking if I had the My Verizon app installed. I cannot imagine how this would influence data speeds, but I played their game and gave it a try. Of course there was no improvement.
Their follow up ask me to reset the APNs, which is a much more logical option than their first and second response, but once again something I clearly stated I had previously done in my initial request for support. At this point, I took my phone to a Verizon and T-Mobile store and their representatives tried new sim cards, provisioned, and troubleshooted the phone. Both Verizon and T-Mobile, have said there is nothing wrong with the setup, the sim, the apps, and the phone’s hardware is defective.
I relayed this message to Essential Support and and their response was to #1 download the Verizon app #2 reset APNS #3 set the phone to global mode…… Not only had they told me to do this before, but if they bothered to read any of my emails they would have seen this has been tried, and both Verizon and T-Mobile have independently verified the software is fine, it is not user error, and the hardware is defective.
Over the last month, I have made no progress at all on the radio issue and it has been 4 days since Essential’s last lackluster communication.
Despite reminding their support staff several times, no has even tried to troubleshoot the other issue I am having with the screen involving poor touch sensitivity on the superior border. No one has offered me a new phone nor referred to my Essential Extended Care (which I do not want pay the deductible for a phone that never worked). When I asked to return, the phone they said it was 14 day window despite the phone not being certified on my network for the first month I had not the phone.
Over the years, I have owned Motorola Droid, Galaxy Nexus (toro + maguro), G2, G3, 1+1, 1+2, 1+3, LG G2, LG G3, LG G4, GS3, GS4, GS5, Sony Pollux, Nexus 4, Nexus n6p, among others, and I have had to call support for hardware issues. The Essential Phone is by a very wide margin has the worst support I have ever come across and Google’s has had the best.
In its prime, my custom ROM had well over 100,000 users and I tend to be the only one on the team who offered support, so I completely understand android support like very few on this planet. As of last month before the price break, Essential was estimated to have only sold 5,000 phones. Even with a bare bones staff fielding emails and not checking voicemail, their support volume per day is likely less than what I personally did for free for our community for free as part of a “hobby” for almost a decade.
To sum it all up: “Buyer Beware”
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man...
I really like this phone... It hit all the sweet spots for me as a device... And I'm in love with the battery life...
But to see @DHO blast Essential like this...
I have seen on other posts that the Essential team reads XDA... And I can only hope that seeing a respected developer complain in such an articulate way has some gravity with them to possibly step up their game...
The hardware (for me on AT&T) has been superb... And I have few if any complaints... But maybe it has to do with the CDMA portion of the device which I will never have to deal with
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
thanks for the detailed post. It's good to be prepared when it's required. Hope they change their support model and performance very soon.
cheers
rignfool said:
Man...
I really like this phone... It hit all the sweet spots for me as a device... And I'm in love with the battery life...
But to see @DHO blast Essential like this...
I have seen on other posts that the Essential team reads XDA... And I can only hope that seeing a respected developer complain in such an articulate way has some gravity with them to possibly step up their game...
The hardware (for me on AT&T) has been superb... And I have few if any complaints... But maybe it has to do with the CDMA portion of the device which I will never have to deal with
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rignfool Thanks.
With a little luck word will get out and they will step up their game.
I really hope this post doesn't put all future custom rom development in a death spiral before it even starts. :/
Damn that sucks... I've been using my phone on Sprint for several days and the reception has been outstanding, full bars of LTE+ almost everywhere, while the other phones in my family (Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, 2 iPhone 7's) get three bars of LTE at most. Hope you get this sorted out, sucks that it happened in the first place.
---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------
12paq said:
I really hope this post doesn't put all future custom rom development in a death spiral before it even starts. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very unlikely, cause @invisiblek has been going ham in terms of getting LOS/TWRP stable on this device.
DHO, sorry to hear you are having issues. I am a Verizon user in Houston. When I first got my PH-1, I couldn't get Verizon to stay connected. Constant drops, like non-stop and unusable.. I was ready to send it back. It was incredibly frustrating. Then I read a post here about resetting radio setting. I changed to Europe, then changed back to US. I set to LTE/CMDA, in the ping/radio section and also on the user network setting.. Who knows what else I changed and changed back. I was trying anything and everything I could. I am definitely a user, not a cellular techie. But Verizon started staying connected, even showing LTE+ most of the time.
Good luck. Maybe you have a defective phone? Seems you obviously know all about troubleshooting and have tried everything. If you can get it working on Verizon, I am confident you will like the PH-1.
Still issues with Verizon WiFi calling, Verizon voicemail and Verizon visual voicemail. But for me, I can live without the WiFi calling and have workaround for vm.
Frustrating situation, no doubt. All the best.
I second the defective phone scenario.. from my reading these forms the first batches with the foam earpiece had numerous issues. Lots of posts about connectivity issues that were resolved by replacement phones
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
12paq said:
I really hope this post doesn't put all future custom rom development in a death spiral before it even starts. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was surprised, in my circle of devs. I am the only one to purchase the PH-1. Based on my feedback I know it has prevented a few people who were on the fence.
I'm sure once more source becomes available this phone will pick up support. It has TWRP before the Pixel2. And invisiblek is as good as it gets for device bring up. So there is hope
TheF|ipSide said:
Damn that sucks... I've been using my phone on Sprint for several days and the reception has been outstanding, full bars of LTE+ almost everywhere, while the other phones in my family (Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, 2 iPhone 7's) get three bars of LTE at most. Hope you get this sorted out, sucks that it happened in the first place.
---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------
Very unlikely, cause @invisiblek has been going ham in terms of getting LOS/TWRP stable on this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
houstonironman said:
DHO, sorry to hear you are having issues. I am a Verizon user in Houston. When I first got my PH-1, I couldn't get Verizon to stay connected. Constant drops, like non-stop and unusable.. I was ready to send it back. It was incredibly frustrating. Then I read a post here about resetting radio setting. I changed to Europe, then changed back to US. I set to LTE/CMDA, in the ping/radio section and also on the user network setting.. Who knows what else I changed and changed back. I was trying anything and everything I could. I am definitely a user, not a cellular techie. But Verizon started staying connected, even showing LTE+ most of the time.
Good luck. Maybe you have a defective phone? Seems you obviously know all about troubleshooting and have tried everything. If you can get it working on Verizon, I am confident you will like the PH-1.
Still issues with Verizon WiFi calling, Verizon voicemail and Verizon visual voicemail. But for me, I can live without the WiFi calling and have workaround for vm.
Frustrating situation, no doubt. All the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried this. I have noticed some VERY interesting bugs in the USA band that are causing some sort of error resulting in the deactivation of the data. I wish I could grab a logcat (need SU). If their support was more .... receptive ... I would gladly report how to replicate RIL failures that result in complete deactivation of the radios. Unfortunately this is not the underplaying cause of my issue :/
stinger4321 said:
I second the defective phone scenario.. from my reading these forms the first batches with the foam earpiece had numerous issues. Lots of posts about connectivity issues that were resolved by replacement phones
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I am hoping they will do the right thing and replace it.
DHO said:
I have tried this. I have noticed some VERY interesting bugs in the USA band that are causing some sort of error resulting in the deactivation of the data. I wish I could grab a logcat (need SU). If their support was more .... receptive ... I would gladly report how to replicate RIL failures that result in complete deactivation of the radios. Unfortunately this is not the underplaying cause of my issue :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am surprised to hear you have not rooted yet with it being available.
Sure you probably tried already but take the sim out and factory reset. Put sim in and factory reset again. Make no other changes unless your trying to get volte to work. Info based on an already active Verizon sim account.
The support reps for some reason go by their tech cheat sheet all the time, instead of reading email fully and understanding that they are communicating to a tech savvy person. I had that before with other OEMs, where they would make go through troubleshooting which were already done previously. Another thing would be if support team knows that this is an average user who doesn't really play nice with technology, then yes, going through troubleshooting steps would be logical.
So, I am planning to buy this phone soon, do users on T-Mobile network have any cell/data issues?
@DHO I assume you've tried the latest stock build? I assume they had to push something once it was Verizon certified. Mine, along with a couple other devs I work with, are working just fine on Verizon.
T-Mobile
Charkatak said:
The support reps for some reason go by their tech cheat sheet all the time, instead of reading email fully and understanding that they are communicating to a tech savvy person. I had that before with other OEMs, where they would make go through troubleshooting which were already done previously. Another thing would be if support team knows that this is an average user who doesn't really play nice with technology, then yes, going through troubleshooting steps would be logical.
So, I am planning to buy this phone soon, do users on T-Mobile network have any cell/data issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on T-Mobile here in Los Angeles with no problems whatsoever compared to my previous S8+ and HTC U11 devices. I know others have reported reception issues on T-Mobile, but I personally am perfectly happy on T-Mobile here.
invisiblek said:
@DHO I assume you've tried the latest stock build? I assume they had to push something once it was Verizon certified. Mine, along with a couple other devs I work with, are working just fine on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this statement.
I'm on Verizon and I've had decent speeds.
I've been averaging between 35 - 45 Mb/s down and 7-10 up.
The lowest I've had it drop is 25 down and 2 up.
I can't say i've had any drop out issues either.
mrcooter said:
I am surprised to hear you have not rooted yet with it being available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to give them a reason to say I voided the warranty. If they want proper logs, I would be happy to supply.
bill3508 said:
Sure you probably tried already but take the sim out and factory reset. Put sim in and factory reset again. Make no other changes unless your trying to get volte to work. Info based on an already active Verizon sim account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep tried everything. The Data speeds are insufficient to support voLTE. Even with the LTE+ icon I get 1G speeds,.. a few decibites a second. LOL
Charkatak said:
The support reps for some reason go by their tech cheat sheet all the time, instead of reading email fully and understanding that they are communicating to a tech savvy person. I had that before with other OEMs, where they would make go through troubleshooting which were already done previously. Another thing would be if support team knows that this is an average user who doesn't really play nice with technology, then yes, going through troubleshooting steps would be logical.
So, I am planning to buy this phone soon, do users on T-Mobile network have any cell/data issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both Verizon and T-mobile has identical issues for me.
I know their support is check list based. So I walked them through each step I tried..... around the 6th follow up email I eve wrote out a numbered list because they had circled back to asking the same questions they had previously.
invisiblek said:
@DHO I assume you've tried the latest stock build? I assume they had to push something once it was Verizon certified. Mine, along with a couple other devs I work with, are working just fine on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I have tried on each release, including the one pushed over the last week. I have also tried a T-Mobile sim card and no difference than Verizon.
I know this phone is now "Certified" by Verizon but that is somewhat misleading. Because it is not an actual Verizon phone they block it from supporting WiFi calling and Visual Voicemail. You cannot even download and install Verizon's Visual Voicemail app from the Play store and built in Visual Voicemail in the Google Dialer does not work on Verizon. Also while a Verizon SIM is installed in the phone WiFi calling options completely disappear from settings. I think there is one person who said those two features are working for him but for the vast majority of us it does not work. I'm with DHO 100%. With the very poor customer support and the phone not functioning as well as most other phones there are far better options out there. I had connectivity issues with T-Mobile so bad I switched to Verizon and then found out the hard way they don't support those features on this phone. I ended up taking advantage of Verizon's 50% off the Pixel 2 XL with certain trade ins and ordered a Pixel 2 XL to use. I've ended up with a $700 Essential phone I cannot use. So I agree with DHO........BUYER BEWARE
That sounds more like Verizon douche baggery at work, more so than a problem with Essential's support.
Verizon is the one that decides who gets those features, not the phone manufacturer...
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
JasonJoel said:
That sounds more like Verizon douche baggery at work, more so than a problem with Essential's support.
Verizon is the one that decides who gets those features, not the phone manufacturer...
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For WiFi calling, I think a little column A and a little column B here-.
their radio reception is just awful- that's it. if you get good signal, then you will not likely have issue. even if you go to relatively worse area, you won't notice it too much. but if you actually live or work at a place with weak signal, then your signal drops way too often compared to any other ****ty plastic old phones.
no real way to fix it unless there's some crazy baseband update that somehow drastically improves it. I think they just did not do enough field testing to see how weak signal reception the device can handle. and now, they merely provide lackluster response because they cannot do anything and they cannot really admit that they ****ed up the "essential" part of the essential ph-1. i personally like this phone only because of the price is competitive and LineageOS is now finally supported. I still have some return window thanks to Amazon's holiday return policy, but might have to wrap this up and send back to Amazon for being defective.
Because, I also get ****ty reception on T-Mobile.
On Tmobile, 5G was working fine but after the April Android update 5G no longer works. LTE works fine but if you try to force 5G on, it actually only shows 3G active. Was working fine before the Android update. Anyone else seeing this? Tmobile only?
xenokc said:
On Tmobile, 5G was working fine but after the April Android update 5G no longer works. LTE works fine but if you try to force 5G on, it actually only shows 3G active. Was working fine before the Android update. Anyone else seeing this? Tmobile only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue here (had a crappy phone laying around, reason for the trade in). I tested it and in my area I have only Band 66 and shows 5G but no data. LTE works fine, my LG V60 has no problem with 5G. After the update I noticed this, factory reset and everything I have tried hasn't resolved anything. Most people might haven't noticed because they might be on LTE, haven't updated or possibly other 5G Bands work fine.
xenokc said:
On Tmobile, 5G was working fine but after the April Android update 5G no longer works. LTE works fine but if you try to force 5G on, it actually only shows 3G active. Was working fine before the Android update. Anyone else seeing this? Tmobile only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep updating until it's broke vs update only when it's broke.
At least wait a few months to update to hear if any horror stories come out.
If I have a fast, stable platform that fulfills its mission I let it be. Security is almost never an issue on Android unless you do stupid things and no update will save you from that.
I'm still running Pie on my Note 10+, zero issues.
blackhawk said:
Keep updating until it's broke vs update only when it's broke.
At least wait a few months to update to hear if any horror stories come out.
If I have a fast, stable platform that fulfills its mission I let it be. Security is almost never an issue on Android unless you do stupid things and no update will save you from that.
I'm still running Pie on my Note 10+, zero iss
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackhawk said:
Keep updating until it's broke vs update only when it's broke.
At least wait a few months to update to hear if any horror stories come out.
If I have a fast, stable platform that fulfills its mission I let it be. Security is almost never an issue on Android unless you do stupid things and no update will save you from that.
I'm still running Pie on my Note 10+, zero issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The update was to fix some issues with calls ( which many were having, not sure if all, I did). In the process broke other things. I never update right away, but in this case was needed. Probably there's a bug with automatically selecting bands. There's never an update without bugs. I find updates scarier than flashing ROMS.
Derfomiundz Ivy said:
The update was to fix some issues with calls ( which many were having, not sure if all, I did). In the process broke other things. I never update right away, but in this case was needed. Probably there's a bug with automatically selecting bands. There's never an update without bugs. I find updates scarier than flashing ROMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most times you can find work arounds for issues but they take time. Once found, no firmware solution needed.
You always get new issues that need work on a new OS plus the inevitable learning curve.
Time/effort vs benefits; the payoff better be worth it and unfortunately many times it isn't.
After over a year on Pie maintenance is almost effortless and second nature. It's very stable and predictable so malware is easy to quickly spot if it inadvertently works it's way in.
Not knowing what to expect from an OS opens you to all sorts of new dangers as well as wasting huge amounts of time.
Updates can also bring very unwanted features and lockouts that can't easily if at all rolled back
blackhawk said:
Most times you can find work arounds for issues but they take time. Once found, no firmware solution needed.
You always get new issues that need work on a new OS plus the inevitable learning curve.
Time/effort vs benefits; the payoff better be worth it and unfortunately many times it isn't.
After over a year on Pie maintenance is almost effortless and second nature. It's very stable and predictable so malware is easy to quickly spot if it inadvertently works it's way in.
Not knowing what to expect from an OS opens you to all sorts of new dangers as well as wasting huge amounts of time.
Updates can also bring very unwanted features and lockouts that can't easily if at all rolled back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least I have way above average knowledge, but still is a horrible experience for normal consumers. Returning products, contacting the company for repairs. Both points are valid and differences of opinion. Still, it's possible the update was just fine and it's just the network and the new device. I don't care much about malware, that's up mostly about how someone use their devices. Funny story, I never used Android 9, I went from a device with Android 8 to 10 and 11. Also a reminder to people that aside from the main device is always good to have backup devices. We all know, they don't.
Derfomiundz Ivy said:
At least I have way above average knowledge, but still is a horrible experience for normal consumers. Returning products, contacting the company for repairs. Both points are valid and differences of opinion. Still, it's possible the update was just fine and it's just the network and the new device. I don't care much about malware, that's up mostly about how someone use their devices. Funny story, I never used Android 9, I went from a device with Android 8 to 10 and 11. Also a reminder to people that aside from the main device is always good to have backup devices. We all know, they don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah they are little heart attacks
Those not technologically interested/adaptive will suffer like pigs, ☠guarenteed☠
I went from Kitkat to Pie, talk about future shock.
However I quickly learned to navigate it and plunged straight into settings and customizing it.
Double tap on/off, Good Lock Apps/One Handed Operation +, Galaxy store custom themes/icon packs, hell yeah.
Not bad for a none rooted phone
Optimizing it was a nightmare but only persistent prevails It was a hot running bandwidth/battery hog and it took close to a year to complete tone it down and dial it in.
Many failed experiments and 2 boot loop forced factory resets latter it's a very stable, fast platform that gets good battery life and fulfills its mission. It's drop dead gorgeous and hella fun to use even after 1.5+ years.
Malware is almost always the operators fault. I had one script jpeg that trashed the download folder files a bit but I tagged right away. Had a trojan preloader (came through the browser) that got in but was detected/deleted before it could go to town.
So far in 7 years no malware forced reloads. Not bad considering most of that time has been on systems deliberately not updated.
Data loss? Bah-ha-ha-ha listening to Don't fear the Reaper, BOC
Android's rarely crash... until they do☠☠
Have a T Mobile A32 5G (SM-A326U) with the lastest update.
Baseband version A326USQU1AUD4
Kernel Version 4.14186-21188749
Build number RP1A-200720.012.A326USQU1AUD4
KNOX 3.7API level 33
5G download speed 15-20 Mbps
4G LTE download speed 45-65 Mbps
I suspect the 5G issue may be related to your local transmission tower(s). Perhaps T Mobile has just released another update to fix the 5G connection problem.
Just got May update and still no 5G on Tmobile. 5G worked fine before getting the last update. Any suggestions?
xenokc said:
Just got May update and still no 5G on Tmobile. 5G worked fine before getting the last update. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your phone has the same software spec revision as mine, then the problem is probably coming from your T Mobile tower. Again, I get 5G, but the speed is slower than 4G LTE. I can manually switch between 5G and 4G LTE. I disabled KNOX, but I doubt that was the root cause for the lack of 5G connectivity.
I've tried in several parts of town that are known to have Tmobile 5G. Maybe its this particular phone. Will take to a TMO store.
xenokc said:
I've tried in several parts of town that are known to have Tmobile 5G. Maybe its this particular phone. Will take to a TMO K
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The key is the software update number. My area is full of users, so I only get about fifteen M of throughput. Went to a poor neighborhood, and the 5G speed hits 390 Mbps. This phone does not allow the user to lock in to a particular T Mobile band.
furballi said:
The key is the software update number. My area is full of users, so I only get about fifteen M of throughput. Went to a poor neighborhood, and the 5G speed hits 390 Mbps. This phone does not allow the user to lock in to a particular T Mobile band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does permit on dialer go *#2263# and banc lock lol phone supports 3xCA
financeledger said:
Yes it does permit on dialer go *#2263# and banc lock lol phone supports 3xCA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Still slower 5G speed at some locations. 4G LTE is best for me, but that may change next year.
Today I saw that no matter the theme of the phone the update interface in settings turn white, all text disappeared and the only text showing now is "YOUR SYSTEM IS UP TO DATE". No more version, no more last check, etc. Is this the sign the phone was disconnected from the Xiaomi servers? I thought this was supposed to be the last month of updates.
Nothing changed in my update interface in settings, I'm on june 2021 security patch, dark theme, and I can still check for updates.
But indeed I doubt that we still have updates (maybe one last...)
Mellow971 said:
Nothing changed in my update interface in settings, I'm on june 2021 security patch, dark theme, and I can still check for updates.
But indeed I doubt that we still have updates (maybe one last...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what happened to me... can't be an isolated case, that's why I'm asking.
TeoXSD said:
This is what happened to me... can't be an isolated case, that's why I'm asking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what mine looks like although what it means regarding any updates is anyone's guess. As it happens my screen has started to separate just this week with long streaks up both sides. It's not affected performance yet (and may not do) but along with the lack of updates from now on I took the opportunity to order a Poco X3 Pro 8/256MB. Perhaps Outlook will decide to start working again for me
The last "performance" update was upgrade to android 10 and maybe few following, all others was security patches from google! No one cares about this model at list one year, wake up guys! Thanks god we have a realy big community, and still rolling out new customs for this model.
Hi All.
I'm on May 1 update now. Recently mobile data stopped working from time to time and cellular signal doesn't function on incoming calls and SMS when SIM is in slot 1.
Seems more like a hardware issue to me, but did you experience anything like that with your Mi A2 Lite?
guess its time to move to a stable custom rom, maybe with dt2w
Maybe But if it is a hardware fault the rom won't matter.
its not hardware, we had it and they removed it with i cant remember wich update
Just as the subject mentions. Curious if it's just me?
Nada. No update. And when I mentioned this on their forum, they deleted the post.
I even tried the thing where you remove the SIM and search for updates then. Didn't make any difference.
Searching with Sammoblie and Frija, only the carrier version(A536U) from Xfinity/Comcast has gotten it in the US.
I don't have it either, what bothers me most is that 13 was released for older A phones including lower priced models already. Is it possible that because this is an enterprise phone (at least in the USA) it requires more time for testing?
pj1980 said:
I don't have it either, what bothers me most is that 13 was released for older A phones including lower priced models already. Is it possible that because this is an enterprise phone (at least in the USA) it requires more time for testing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What bothers me was how quickly Samsung deleted my post on their forum after I asked about this.
It's been like 6 weeks since the same phone in other countries was given this. It's quite annoying.
snark.shark said:
What bothers me was how quickly Samsung deleted my post on their forum after I asked about this.
It's been like 6 weeks since the same phone in other countries was given this. It's quite annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung's discussions has a sticky at the top that updates happen whenever (edit: or at least it did before). And that's definitely how it goes for all their devices.
Even Samsung flagships go through silly stuff for updates and Android versions so its not A53 only.
The A53 unlocked has carrier apps on it so its tied to the carrier testing. Why will US carriers release Android 13 for older devices before newer? No idea but that's how their testing is going. They have some reason.
Really, you will get it when you get it. If you just think it won't show up until the year 2721 then it should be easier for you lol.
Its frustrating I know for unlocked to be dependent on carriers. But, waiting, it will at least probably have less bugs so that's fine enough. A buggy device isn't fun at all.
edit: Also A52 appear to be doing better than the A53 in getting Android 13 and listed as Enterprise. So, I don't think Enterprise has anything to do with it.
edit: The end result appears to be what Samsung's sticky said which is updates happen when they happen.
Samsung promised 4 years of updates for this phone so they have about 3 more years to give us android 13.
tmeader said:
Just as the subject mentions. Curious if it's just me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3 Days ago, my phone suddenly shut itself off, and then stuck itself in a bootloop and would not boot again. It's a Samsung A53 5G (ATT&T) running android 12 one UI version 4.1 at the time. After booting into safe mode and wiping application config data, it still would not come out of safe mode until I factory reset it and connected it to a wifi network.
Finally after all of this BS, I got it to boot normally, but then, as if by magic, my phone was running Android 13 UI Version 5.0!
WTF!?
So I spent an entire day recovering my bank accounts, cashapp, applications, and various accounts, and chalked this pain in the ass up to the game...
And then this morning, it ****in' happened again.
I'm done with Samsung. This phone has been a $500 piece of **** since day 1. It's not even 3 months old yet. Samsung has gone from the most badass manufacturer of android devices, straight to the bottom of the abyss in terms of quality.
The Bloatware they send with these devices now should be unlawful. The amount of YOUR resources they use to track every single thing you do, every place you go, every dollar you spend is unfathomably creepy and discomforting.
Do yourself a favor and get comfortable with 12. because 13 is an even bigger piece of ****, and in my case, it has totally wrecked my phone twice in 3 days now.
Do yourself an even bigger favor, and throw your samsung into the bottom of the ocean and go buy yourself an IPhone. I'm really sad about the way Samsung has turned out. I'm even more sad about the way Android has gone down the drain. And Google has turned into the world's most powerful creepy stalker with Facebook a close 2nd.
I think if people actually new just how intrusive these tech companies have become, they'd stop using them altogether. There needs to be new and better privacy regulations and trackers and spywares and metadata miners and these 'ad targeting' programs and applications should be illegal.
ImMrMyagiLafAtMe said:
3 Days ago, my phone suddenly shut itself off, and then stuck itself in a bootloop and would not boot again. It's a Samsung A53 5G (ATT&T) running android 12 one UI version 4.1 at the time. After booting into safe mode and wiping application config data, it still would not come out of safe mode until I factory reset it and connected it to a wifi network.
Finally after all of this BS, I got it to boot normally, but then, as if by magic, my phone was running Android 13 UI Version 5.0!
WTF!?
So I spent an entire day recovering my bank accounts, cashapp, applications, and various accounts, and chalked this pain in the ass up to the game...
And then this morning, it ****in' happened again.
I'm done with Samsung. This phone has been a $500 piece of **** since day 1. It's not even 3 months old yet. Samsung has gone from the most badass manufacturer of android devices, straight to the bottom of the abyss in terms of quality.
The Bloatware they send with these devices now should be unlawful. The amount of YOUR resources they use to track every single thing you do, every place you go, every dollar you spend is unfathomably creepy and discomforting.
Do yourself a favor and get comfortable with 12. because 13 is an even bigger piece of ****, and in my case, it has totally wrecked my phone twice in 3 days now.
Do yourself an even bigger favor, and throw your samsung into the bottom of the ocean and go buy yourself an IPhone. I'm really sad about the way Samsung has turned out. I'm even more sad about the way Android has gone down the drain. And Google has turned into the world's most powerful creepy stalker with Facebook a close 2nd.
I think if people actually new just how intrusive these tech companies have become, they'd stop using them altogether. There needs to be new and better privacy regulations and trackers and spywares and metadata miners and these 'ad targeting' programs and applications should be illegal.
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That's not the experience of most people. Since you bring up Apple as if that will help you avoid this when it can happen there too: https://myphotoyear.com/ios-16-update-goes-wrong/
Its just a fact of life.
More or less it could be improved or solved by multi-OS versions at the same time (such as dual boot on a computer), slower major OS versions, etc. This is not how Google or Apple thinks though.
To add, you can of course improve loss of data by using system backup and also backing up your stuff separately. Though Android still isn't perfect there.
Of course, if you see an update, avoiding updating for some months might also help though not ideal.
edit: For instance you could have used the Samsung restore which may be presented on first use setup or even manually done in Settings > Accounts and Backups > Restore which will restore much if you used the online backup or backup to sd card. Some apps and data will be missing if apps don't support it, etc. Unfortunately, it seems to only offer one backup at least online so any backup on the account since might have destroyed it.
edit: using that and backing up to sd card includes 10GB of stuff on my phone whereas the online is suggested as 2GB (it backs up files and also eg debug built from source apps). So, if you want the best, it may be what you should do from now on. Then restore it if need be. Still, up to apps to support backup individually. Make sure to run it weekly or something.
Also, I know you're pissed about that. Try not to be pissed with me lol. Thanks.
I'm thinking we're in for weeks, or months, more wait. We haven't even gotten a January Security Update.
Just received the Android 13 (One UI 5.0) update last night on my unlocked phone. Also includes the Jan 2023 security update. Looks like they just made the January cutoff
Hmm I have unlocked a53 on t mobile, I checked for updates today and it said there were none.
I received the update today for Android 13 including dual sim support.
I been checking my A53 unlocked running on Visible every week since Christmas for an update. Today it found the Android 13 UI 5.0 update. downloading it now.
How is the new version? any bugs found?
ok, once my phone updated and rebooted now I am no longer connecting to 5G. I've rebooted a few times and nothing has changed. I'm stuck back on 4G.
tmeader said:
Just received the Android 13 (One UI 5.0) update last night on my unlocked phone. Also includes the Jan 2023 security update. Looks like they just made the January cutoff
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5 days after your post (6 since you got the update), with daily checking, and it's still a No for me.
My A53 arrived this morning and upon turning it on, my device had a lot of firmware updates waiting for me. I just updated to Android 13 not too ago along with January's Security patch.
I happen to live in the US, use T-Mobile, and I'm using the international version with dual SIM support.
snark.shark said:
5 days after your post (6 since you got the update), with daily checking, and it's still a No for me.
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Another 3 days...
Still no Android 13 update.
I may wind up going to the Samsung service location in my area. This is ridiculous.
snark.shark said:
Another 3 days...
Still no Android 13 update.
I may wind up going to the Samsung service location in my area. This is ridiculous.
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They do rollouts on top of things.
You could of course use a sim from a different carrier that has the upgrade available and do it that way. Might just get it immediately or still not. Then switch back. That is a possible workaround.
Of course, if you see a signed image for download for Android 13 for your carrier. That might work too even though it still is a wait for it to show up that way.
I don't know if there's any other way here because of the CSC. It would be interesting to know if a Samsung service shop would do it for you. I can't imagine they would.
Received the update today. Seems to run faster.