I don't understand that ad. Is the guy with the awful haircut waiting in line for an iPhone while the Samsung dude walks past him?

I want to upgrade my Samsung S4 mini to a Huawei. What are my best options for under $300? It looks like there aren't any more phones that small on the market. I want a small Huawei with a good camera. What should I get?

I just watched my delusional son drop $325 on a refurbished iPhone 6s plus. You can't even use it as a Wi-Fi device without a SIM card. No micro flash memory. Outdated. I tried to explain to him that the only way Apple can compete is through planned obsolescence, high prices, and user arrogance. It doesn't matter how many smart people you have working for you. You can't beat the rest of the world combined. His paycheck...

94chem said:

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I don't understand that ad. Is the guy with the awful haircut waiting in line for an iPhone while the Samsung dude walks past him?

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That's a Samsung commercial making fun of iPhone X and the notch.

94chem said:

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I want to upgrade my Samsung S4 mini to a Huawei. What are my best options for under $300? It looks like there aren't any more phones that small on the market. I want a small Huawei with a good camera. What should I get?

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Probably smallest one is P10 (5.1inch) or P10 plus (5.5) both have Leica cameras but they're in $400s

P10 Lite (5.2) is in $200 but lesser camera.

I believe they do allow microSD expansion.

....and THAT coming from the person who told me to stay away from rooting my old Note 5.

AggieDruggist89 said:

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Happy New Year,

After fiddling with it throughout the day, I installed Project L A7 custom ROM on now retired Note 4. What do I think?

It's OK.

But thinking about why would you root your phone, it boils down to control. Because user experience in bloated Android is believed to be restrictive.

But in my opinion having flashed a custom ROM to a perfectly fine note 4, Samsung optimized their ROM to provide the best experience possible.

4 years ago after rooting my Note 2 into a boot loop, I swore I would never do it again. And I stay true to it because I won't root my DD. And I love my V20 and I do not feel restricted. In fact, I have only scratched the surface of the full potential of this phone.

I'm looking at OnePlus as my next phone in 2 years but the lack of microSD is a deal breaker.

Bottoline, it's not worth rooting your high end previous flagship phone. Leave it be. There are worse case scenarios... Your $800 phone slows down with new updates and you hysterically wait in line for a $1,150 phone with a notch.

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The bolded is the exact answer. Having the ability to control my phone exactly as i want it to. Being able to change my hosts file to block adds on everything on my phone. Debloating the phone by removing worthless apps that come preinstalled. Being able to back up every app in my phone in case a new update comes out that pisses me off, i can roll back. If i jump phones or have to get a new phone, I can install from a nandroid backup or from an app backup to get everything exactly as i had it within an hour or so. Custom theming of the roms etc. Its all about how I want my device to function, not how some idiot who sold their company's soul to a third party for money wants it too.

94chem said:

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I want to upgrade my Samsung S4 mini to a Huawei. What are my best options for under $300? It looks like there aren't any more phones that small on the market. I want a small Huawei with a good camera. What should I get?

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Sony had been making small phones, but i think they quit that with more recent generations. cant speak to their photo quality, also they were waaaay overpriced, so you may struggle to find one in your price range. a quick but not thorough amazon search showed me these:

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Compact-4-6-inches-Factory-Unlocked/dp/B075XKFMQC/ref=sr_1_3?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1515076209&sr=1-3&refinements=p_89%3ASony%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A6215729011

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Xperia-Compact-Unlocked-Smartphone/dp/B01LACBMV2/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1515076209&sr=1-2&refinements=p_89%3ASony%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A6215729011

heddleston, thanks! Funny that those phones are still larger than my Galaxy S4 mini. I can't be the only person who doesn't want a big phone. I use Watch ESPN just fine on my small screen, and my phone fits easily in any pocket.

So the battery on my Nexus 6P has decided to crap out - 30% charge is the new 0.

Anyone know of any good deals on a LG V20, or any thoughts on what else should I be looking at?

Not seeing any deals on V20. You can still find them on B&H and Amazon for a bit over $300.

At least with V20, battery won't be an issue since it's replaceable.

I'm patient, this evening I'm doing a backup so time will be on my side. Do sales come around often?

Costco has the Unlocked Moto G5 for $250 in store right now.

Also, Essential Phone founder is having some 'legal issues' right now.

Maybe not the best time to buy that phone if the company is not going to be around much longer

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/11/29/andy-rubin-takes-leave-essential-after-report-he-left-google-following-misconduct-probe/904871001/

That sucks about Essential. Was really hoping their next version was going to be good. Hopefully the OnePlus 6 comes out with waterproofing and then I will be in on that brand.

I would've have bought an Essential anyway, it's missing an essential part (headphone jack).

AggieDruggist89 said:

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Not seeing any deals on V20. You can still find them on B&H and Amazon for a bit over $300.

At least with V20, battery won't be an issue since it's replaceable.

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Just picked up a refurb this weekend from Amazon for just over 200. Came without the original box but in like-new condition. You have to buy a carrier-locked version though.

Headphone jacks are a thing of the past, so I could care less about them. Only other thing about Essential or OnePlus that worries me is how often and fast the OS get's updated. That's a main reason I really like the Pixel.

The Fife said:

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I would've have bought an Essential anyway, it's missing an essential part (headphone jack).

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The Fife said:

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I'm patient, this evening I'm doing a backup so time will be on my side. Do sales come around often?

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I don't know that we will see any more sales on a sealed box new flagship phone from 15 months ago as those are starting to run out. Also, I think the price has bottomed out.

You will start to see more and more refurbished phones for $200s.

Im torn between V20 and OP5T. V20 is the perfect phone for me. But 8GB RAM on OP5T is a dangling carrot. I would like a backup V20 but who knows what Android will bring in 2018 and 2019.

At this point I've decided to wait and see how what I have now behaves. I might try and swap the battery but success is mixed from what I've read, probably due to age or sketchiness of what's available. Maybe by that point the V30 or something else that would a bigger step up from what I have now will have depreciated more.

Samsung might be an option, but I'm not a fan of their version of Samsung on my 2014 Galaxy Tab and I can't imagine things would have changed that much in the 3 years after it was made in terms of their overall intrusiveness.

The Fife said:

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So the battery on my Nexus 6P has decided to crap out - 30% charge is the new 0.

Anyone know of any good deals on a LG V20, or any thoughts on what else should I be looking at?

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My 6p is doing that at 14% now, Changing out the battery on Saturday when my kit gets in. $20 gets me everything needed except the heat gun which I already own.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076ZMV7MD
Prolly lose my temp sensor but that's not a big deal really. The phone is limping along for now.

I'm very much wait and see with mine, what will probably make or break the battery swap decision is figuring out for sure whether the rear mic defect has returned. Just need to remember to go outside and call someone, but rain and a toddler at home kind of get in the way of remembering to do that.

Frozen Concoction said:

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If probably get a Moto G5. I bought a Moto G4 after my Nexus 5x bootlooped and I have not regretted it.

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I just bought a moto E4 yesterday because I needed a pay as you go plan. I won't be in this area much longer and the carrier (US Cellular) has almost no presence where I'll be moving, so I didn't want a long contract. I was pleasantly surprised by the cheap little moto e4. It's an excellent phone, especially for the price. I paid $50 for it. It's just the right size, and I've never seen a phone that is so responsive to text and voice input. I stopped using motorola phones years ago but have to admit that when I move and get into a regular plan, I may look at the higher end motorola phones, OR just get another e4.

The Fife said:

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I'm very much wait and see with mine, what will probably make or break the battery swap decision is figuring out for sure whether the rear mic defect has returned. Just need to remember to go outside and call someone, but rain and a toddler at home kind of get in the way of remembering to do that.

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Switched mine out today. Took about 30 mins. Followed the video below. 1 very important note though, when removing the battery, be very, very careful not to damage your video ribbon wire below it. You can see it at 6:08 in the video so you know where you can pry at to remove the battery without hitting it. My heat gun worked great, ended up slightly melting the bottom plastic cover lol so I ordered a spare of it, otherwise, no damage. The kit i posted before worked perfectly. Battery is charging up now.

Is there any disadvantage to buying an Android phone that no longer receives updates? I'm switching from iPhone, and my concern if I buy a new-old stock phone from 2015 (Note 5 to be precise) is that the apps won't be useful for too long. Should be nothing, but I want to be sure.

1st Generation Ag said:

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Is there any disadvantage to buying an Android phone that no longer receives updates? I'm switching from iPhone, and my concern if I buy a new-old stock phone from 2015 (Note 5 to be precise) is that the apps won't be useful for too long. Should be nothing, but I want to be sure.

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Apps are updated all the time even if the OS isnt. You can always root it and put a custom OS on it that gets updates after the normal OS stops getting them too. A 2015 phone is still plenty good enough for today.

Any fix to the group text issue AgRacer? Anyone with the OP5T have any issues or positive experiences you care to share?

My S5 screen shattered last fall and I have been lurking this thread since. I was dead set on a Pixel 2 until I held it. I could not get over the dated screen appearance on the smaller version compared to most other 2017 offerings (large top and bottom bezels....Not interested in XL).

I was interested in V20 for a bit, but I think OP5T might get my money unless I decide to wait for a 2018 pixel release.

A buddy of mine gave me his iPhone 7+ for the last few months thinking I would jump to iPhone. If anything it has made me want to stay Android. This surprised me because I am fairly tech illiterate and only use phone for call/text/browse/spotify so I thought I would be happy with anything.

I have a Note 5 and it still functions pretty well and gets all Android updates. It's still fast enough to handle anything I throw at it, too. And mine is NOT rooted and still has all the bloatware. I've wanted to root it, but just have never gotten brave enough to go through with it.

Quote:

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A buddy of mine gave me his iPhone 7+ for the last few months thinking I would jump to iPhone. If anything it has made me want to stay Android. This surprised me because I am fairly tech illiterate and only use phone for call/text/browse/spotify so I thought I would be happy with anything.

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Dude, do NOT do it. I have tried to go back to iPhone / iOS and I just cannot after having switched to Android. Android is just better, more customizable, less boring, etc. etc. I am with Android forever. The funny thing is -- only in the US is iPhone / iOS so popular. I made some trips overseas in the last couple of years and in many other countries, it's Samsung and other Android phones that you see everyone using. I believe Samsung is still the overall worldwide cell phone leader.

bunlundun said:

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Any fix to the group text issue AgRacer? Anyone with the OP5T have any issues or positive experiences you care to share?

My S5 screen shattered last fall and I have been lurking this thread since. I was dead set on a Pixel 2 until I held it. I could not get over the dated screen appearance on the smaller version compared to most other 2017 offerings (large top and bottom bezels....Not interested in XL).

I was interested in V20 for a bit, but I think OP5T might get my money unless I decide to wait for a 2018 pixel release.

A buddy of mine gave me his iPhone 7+ for the last few months thinking I would jump to iPhone. If anything it has made me want to stay Android. This surprised me because I am fairly tech illiterate and only use phone for call/text/browse/spotify so I thought I would be happy with anything.

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I've got the OP5 and use Textra messaging app. Never had any issues with the group texts.

bunlundun said:

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Any fix to the group text issue AgRacer? Anyone with the OP5T have any issues or positive experiences you care to share?

My S5 screen shattered last fall and I have been lurking this thread since. I was dead set on a Pixel 2 until I held it. I could not get over the dated screen appearance on the smaller version compared to most other 2017 offerings (large top and bottom bezels....Not interested in XL).

I was interested in V20 for a bit, but I think OP5T might get my money unless I decide to wait for a 2018 pixel release.

A buddy of mine gave me his iPhone 7+ for the last few months thinking I would jump to iPhone. If anything it has made me want to stay Android. This surprised me because I am fairly tech illiterate and only use phone for call/text/browse/spotify so I thought I would be happy with anything.

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Recent Software update from One Plus have not fixed the issue. There are about 50 threads on the OnePlus community bb complaining about the issue (although some people say they don't have issues). I am using Textra. The phone has rebooted itself a few times randomly. Otherwise the phone has been really good.

Edit; the stock messaging ap has the group message issue, not Textra.

Thanks, it's on my radar now for something I'll probably get around to sometime in February. I also need to do the battery on a GalaxyTab S.

Mrs Fife's iPhone 6 crapped out... maybe the charging port but if it's not that we have no clue since it suddenly went dead-dead. Now she's looking at a V20 or maybe a Pixel 1. I think the replacement iPhone part is coming in today so it won't be long before we know whether she'll be switching over to the Android side.

She's using my Nexus 5 right now and playing a lot of Animal Crossing on it. I'm surprised it handles the game so well.

agracer said:

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bunlundun said:

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Any fix to the group text issue AgRacer? Anyone with the OP5T have any issues or positive experiences you care to share?

My S5 screen shattered last fall and I have been lurking this thread since. I was dead set on a Pixel 2 until I held it. I could not get over the dated screen appearance on the smaller version compared to most other 2017 offerings (large top and bottom bezels....Not interested in XL).

I was interested in V20 for a bit, but I think OP5T might get my money unless I decide to wait for a 2018 pixel release.

A buddy of mine gave me his iPhone 7+ for the last few months thinking I would jump to iPhone. If anything it has made me want to stay Android. This surprised me because I am fairly tech illiterate and only use phone for call/text/browse/spotify so I thought I would be happy with anything.

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Recent Software update from One Plus have not fixed the issue. There are about 50 threads on the OnePlus community bb complaining about the issue (although some people say they don't have issues). I am using Textra. The phone has rebooted itself a few times randomly. Otherwise the phone has been really good.

Edit; the stock messaging ap has the group message issue, not Textra.

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Is the stock messaging app Google Message or a OnePlus app?

Thinking about pulling the trigger soon, but this has me concerned.

It's an issue with the OnePlus app. As I mentioned above. I use Textra and no issues.

Ezra Brooks said:

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Is the stock messaging app Google Message or a OnePlus app?

Thinking about pulling the trigger soon, but this has me concerned.

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It's the OnePlus app built into their Oxygen OS.

Again, some people say it's an issue, others do not have a problem. I had Textra on my Old LG phone so I just DL that to the 5T and started using it.

The face unlock is freaking awesome. My company will not allow us to put company e-mail on our phones with out a security PIN and I hated having to type in a code every damn time I wanted to look at my phone. Now, I just pick it up and it opens automatically. The phone is very light but solid, super slim and the screen is fantastic. I didn't realize how large it is until I compared it to an iPhone 7 Plus (it's about the same size, but much more screen area). I was worried it would be too large as I carry my phone in my pocket a lot but it has not been a problem. It is by far the nicest phone I've ever used (Samsung, LG and Apple phones of varies sizes/ages).

So far I've not even come close to running out of battery. While I'm not what you might call a power user, I mostly use e-mail, texting, web browsing, navigation, etc. About a week after I got it I decided to see how long I could go with out a charge and went ~48 hours before I had to plug it in.

Oh, it's USB-C. So pick up some extra USB-C cables from MonoPrice as all your old Micro-USB cables obviously will not work. There is only one cable in the box. I bought a "package" which was the phone and the slim carbon case. The phone comes with a hard screen protector already installed.

I'm honestly not sure that I know the difference between normal USB and USB-C, so I don't know if I have any of the "C" version or not.

Do you think spending the extra money for the "Dash" charge cables is worth it? I see a two pack on Amazon for ~$14.