Related
I will update this thread as I found issues.
1. Middle of downloads the phone turned off and refused to switch on. Taking the battery out enabled restarting the phone again.
2. Despite of master reset/factory reset the phone is really laggy. Freezing applications made Defy very responsive but under 2.2.2 it appears no difference at all. (Second factory reset seems brought back somme life to my phone now...)
3. Definitely something is causing an annoying delay at startup even though the phone appears to be ready to use.
4. I have noticed once after a restart the capacitive buttons didn't light up for 1-2 minutes even though I was using the phone. The LauncherPro is installed and I'm suspecting that is the culprit here.
5. Once a number is dialed the phone locks itself. This is rather inconvenience when you need immediately use the key pad to select options. (20 June 2011)
Guidelines - 20 June 2011
I decided to write a guideline for Defy users. The information provided here have already been mentioned by others but normally not in one place. Please follow the steps below every time you flash a new ROM.
1. Master Reset (Whether you like this step or not this is required to do. Imagine upgrading a windows machine, it would be simply a mess in most cases. Any pro users would tell you always to do a clearn install. The same principle with Android applies)
2. Discharge the battery (It seems flashing a ROM messes up the battery calibration. Drain the battery to the point it won't boot then recharge it from the wall socket)
3. Avoid Restoring Apps (Only if is a must. Since Android 2.2 is different to 2.1 many apps might not work very well with the same settings restored from 2.1. Some vendors also offer different version for Android 2.2 or higher. Installing from market is best practice)
4. Avoid using widgets (They are simply battery eaters. Avoid them if they don't provide useful functionality to you)
5. Don't trust all vendors (Many apps placed on Android Market is written by programmers with no experience at all. A badly written app not only drains more battery but also takes up more precious RAM than it should. The less RAM you have, the slower the phone performs)
6. Don't keep large number of emails in your inboxes (They simply take up more memory)
7. Charge your mobile from wall socket when you can. It really does make a difference and also a recommended method by Motorola.
8. Put the Mobile Network to 2G when you can. It does save considerable amount of battery.
9. Switch off the phone once per day for 30 seconds before switching it on again.
Any chance to get hands on SBF for this release
Download available : Here http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/support/update/#
CSharpHeaven said:
4. I have noticed once after a restart the capacitive buttons didn't light up for 1-2 minutes even though I was using the phone. The LauncherPro is installed and I'm suspecting that is the culprit here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I notice on my handset (UK T-Mobile eclair) that the capacitive buttons sometimes dont light up when holding the phone landscape. I think there is a light sensor somewhere which detects the ambient light and adjusts the capacitive button lighting.
techguyone said:
Download available : Here http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/support/update/#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on cm7 not sure if the phone will be detected by the msu. Will try once getting back home.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
techguyone said:
Download available : Here http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/support/update/#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will get you the motorola update software.
During the update the .sbf is downloaded. We need to get the sbf, however it is deleted once the update has finished. I think this happens when the motorola software asks to "reboot phone, connect usb and verify update".
Please, if anyone does the update make sure to find the .sbf file and copy it somewhere safe before the update is verified. Then post to xda of course
Olly
binodnepal said:
I am on cm7 not sure if the phone will be detected by the msu. Will try once getting back home.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure either, I reverted to 2.51 and did the update form that point.
Anyone installed CM over 3.4.2_177-3?
Olly
kashavsehra said:
I notice on my handset (UK T-Mobile eclair) that the capacitive buttons sometimes dont light up when holding the phone landscape. I think there is a light sensor somewhere which detects the ambient light and adjusts the capacitive button lighting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. I can actually reconfirm the issue. Last night when I was setting my alarm, with no lights in the room, I noticed once again the capacitive buttons' led were off. I was helding the phone in portrait and I know for sure this problem wasn't there in 2.1 because I always set my alarm after I turn the lights off (Bedroom's). When I press the Home Key to come out of the Alarm app the capacitive buttons lit up again.
binodnepal said:
I am on cm7 not sure if the phone will be detected by the msu. Will try once getting back home.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the msu is compiled by Motorola then I'm sure you won't be able to upgrade. The .msu can contain many other smaller installers that can do all the checking, exactly the way the update program does. Your only solutuion is to revert back to Motorola's stock ROM and give it a try.
Two more very annoying Defy/Froyo issues:
1) You can't disable the lockscreen anymore, so prepare for a lot of annoying swiping. Yes, you can get rid of the slider with an app called "No Lock," but this will also disable your security lock (pin code or pattern) which leaves your phone wide open.
2) The new gallery has more eye candy but less functionality, and it got slower too. If you open the folder list you can't read long folder names anymore. Is there is a way to run the old 2.1 gallery on Froyo?
I found the gallery the worst bit. So poor, I can't believe they let it go out like that. Runs like a dog.
I feel embarrassed for Motorola. Or I would if they were not working hard every day making their great hardware under-perform!
Seriously what a phone once CM is on it!
Olly
Use quickpic off the market, best gallery around
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
rogier666 said:
Two more very annoying Defy/Froyo issues:
1) You can't disable the lockscreen anymore, so prepare for a lot of annoying swiping. Yes, you can get rid of the slider with an app called "No Lock," but this will also disable your security lock (pin code or pattern) which leaves your phone wide open.
2) The new gallery has more eye candy but less functionality, and it got slower too. If you open the folder list you can't read long folder names anymore. Is there is a way to run the old 2.1 gallery on Froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I'm concerned Motorola has degraded the phone and I'm not too sure if that is legal or not. I'm referring to the apps Motorola developed such as the video player and the gallery that you pointed out, not the Android itself. The additional Task Manager that was shipped with 2.1 in US is a welcome.
I have found my defy is performing slower, unless those claim Defy performs better with Android 2.2 has some settings that I don't. I ended up installing SetVSel to speed thigns up. It seems to me I'm getting 1/4 less juice out of my battery. I can reconfirm it once I play music on it for a couple of hours.
Not wanting to sound negative all the time, here are some positive things I found so far. I'm very happy with this update because now I got all my emails working on my handset which was important to me which missed the feature for the past 6 months. The browser appears to work very smoothly in most cases. I haven't used the Tasks app yet but that is another welcome addition as I always have a need for such features on portable devices. Other positive things about Android is to thank google not Motorola anyway. The slightly improved dialer worth just mentioning about it.
If Motorola refuses to give us Gingerbread then I hope they provide an update to fix some minor issues that either annoying or impacting the user experience soon enough.
I gotta say I'm pretty surprised about all the issues people are facing with the Froyo update everywhere. I had the french update installed which was one of the first available in Europe before moving on to the leaked 2.3.3 and it was smoother than ever. No bug at all except for the space touch getting a bit crazy while typing a text a few times. I didn't have many applications installed. A few people mentioned the update's fine as long as you don't have much installed on the phone but it starts getting extremely laggy when you keep installing more and more applications. After a factory reset there shouldn't be any lags though !
MrBelter said:
Use quickpic off the market, best gallery around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QuickPic would be the best gallery app if it would let us change the grid size (the thumbnail previews are too big now) and if it had "all photos" and "all videos" views. Unfortunately QuickPic only does folders.
lotfib said:
I gotta say I'm pretty surprised about all the issues people are facing with the Froyo update everywhere. I had the french update installed which was one of the first available in Europe before moving on to the leaked 2.3.3 and it was smoother than ever. No bug at all except for the space touch getting a bit crazy while typing a text a few times. I didn't have many applications installed. A few people mentioned the update's fine as long as you don't have much installed on the phone but it starts getting extremely laggy when you keep installing more and more applications. After a factory reset there shouldn't be any lags though !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your post. In my experience there was a noticeable performance difference between 2.1 and 2.2.2 before a single application was installed. One theory to why some people are happy with the performance and others are not could be down to different components used in Defy. No one knows for sure if all Defy around the globe use exactly the same components or not. As you pointed out installing apps appears to effect the performance so we can conclude those that are not experiencing performance decrease are not power users.
rogier666 said:
QuickPic would be the best gallery app if it would let us change the grid size (the thumbnail previews are too big now) and if it had "all photos" and "all videos" views. Unfortunately QuickPic only does folders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am confused, all my photos and videos are in folders anyway and all the previews load like lightning so i fail to to see the problem, it is better than any default gallery whichever way you look at it.
Anyway only issue i can find with the retail 2.2 is how low highest screen brightness setting seems to be, the display is really hard to read outside now.
If you have a hundred pictures scattered over ten folders, would you want to tap into those folders one by one to browse all your photos?
Just like there's a unified inbox for mails from many accounts so you don't have to jump from one mailbox to the next, the stock gallery has a unified pictures view (all pictures in one grid) for all your folders.
If you want to swipe through lots of pictures from a bunch of different folders, having them all in one grid beats having to open all the different folders one by one.
If QuickPic would have the same unified picture view and custom picture grid sizes I would throw the stock gallery out. While QuickPic is working on it (are they?) I'll keep both apps.
The problem with the capacitive buttons that not lighting up is worse than I thought. It happens all the time, it doesn't light up and the only way to make it to work, when it gets really bad, by locking the phone (power switch) and unlocking it again.
The battery life noticeably shortened after the update. What I have done today was to completely discharge the battery to the point it doesn't turn on. Recharged it fully again without turning it on and from the wall socket. I'll report back if there was any improvements on Monday.
I also uninstalled VSel and set it to default CPU speed again. Despite of freezing so many apps and services the start up is really slow and I really feel the lag with the phone.
Another Defy/Froyo bug:
Dial *#*#4636#*#* to get into a service menu. From there battery_history/network_usage would tell you network traffic per app since last boot/unplugged/all time.
In Eclair all data was counted. In Froyo it usually doesn't count anything.
Anyone know why a simple app requires so many permissions and has SO many updates?
I uninstalled it...
lagallinavecchia said:
Anyone know why a simple app requires so many permissions and has SO many updates?
I uninstalled it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try TeslaLED. It has some features that don't work, but the simple LED flashlight works great for me.
Cool, I'll check it out. Thanks!
hmm, ive never had a problem with TF, but there are others. Be careful as its an easy target app for malware authors.
I got rid of Tesla LED after long running problems. Tiny Flashlight works well for me. Even stays on when screen goes off and locks. Tesla did not.
The dev for Tiny Flashlight explains all the permissions in the description of the app on the Android Market.
For me Tiny Flashlight beats the pants off Tesla LED on my Epic.
lagallinavecchia said:
Anyone know why a simple app requires so many permissions and has SO many updates?
I uninstalled it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm the developer of Tiny Flashlight. Sorry for the constant updates. I'm improving the app with every update, but usually not all devices are affected and that's why you won't see new features or fixes on your device. For example, in the latest update I've added support for variable led brightness on most new HTC devices (and this doesn't affect Epic 4G).
At the end of this week I'll release a new version which will fix a long standing bug, which makes the app freeze on some devices like LG Thrill 4G, and this again won't affect Epic 4G, but it's very important to be released for the LG Thrill users.
I'm trying to keep the updates as low as possible (currently 3-4 per month), but I can't promise to lower this number more (at least not in the next couple of months), because I'm preparing some big improvements, which I want to push in several small steps - this helps track problems faster and the fixes are ready for the next update.
All this makes Tiny Flashlight one of the higher-quality apps on the Android Market.
For every update there is a detailed changes log, which you can see before updating - again in the android market app. Here's the changes log for the latest version (v3.9.9.13):
* Fixed widget size on Android 4.0
* Widget didn't start the light every time on Galaxy Nexus. This is fixed
* Fixed screen flicker on Galaxy Nexus after pressing the widget
* Added variable led brightness on almost all HTC devices
* Added support for XENON based devices (using the auto-focus LED) - Motorola XT701, XT711, XT720 and added Strobe Light support
* Color and Bulb lights brightness is now persistent
* Fixed main interface frame on Android 4.0
As for the permissions - I'm pasting you the relevant part from the app description:
Flashlight Permissions:
============
Why Tiny Flashlight needs so many permissions and how are they used:
* TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS (CAMERA permission)
- In order to start the camera led (flash) on some devices, Tiny Flashlight has to use a small part of the camera hardware and it needs this permission. Don't worry, I'm not taking any pictures or videos without your permission. Tiny Flashlight is just accessing the camera led (flash).
* CONTROL FLASH LIGHT
- This is the old method of accessing the camera flash on Android 1.5 and 1.6.
*** As you know, Tiny Flashlight is free, but also is one of the best supported apps on the Android Market. Currently, this is the only app that supports almost all devices with camera led (flash) and fully supports all versions of Android (1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 3.0). This takes huge amounts of time and effort and in order for Tiny Flashlight to remain the best flashlight on the market, I have to use ads inside it.
The following permissions are required by Google's own ad provider (Admob) and Millennial Media (the biggest independent ad network). Both are respected industry leaders.
* INTERNET
- Used to load ad info from their servers. Nothing more.
* MODIFY/DELETE USB STORAGE
- Temporary caches some ads on your SD Card. This method is used to save bandwidth.
* READ PHONE STATE AND IDENTITY
- Some Motorola devices have factory bugs. These devices don't have unique IDs and this became a problem for ad networks, because they can't function without it. There is a workaround for this problem by using the PHONE IDENTITY permission. This permission is used only for getting a unique id. Nothing more.
Tiny flashlight has been the best since the epic came out
It it has just got better and better i love all the light options and love the strobe light lol, (beware tho make sure u ask someone if they have seizures cause it will cause one LOL)
davidrules7778 said:
Tiny flashlight has been the best since the epic came out
It it has just got better and better i love all the light options and love the strobe light lol, (beware tho make sure u ask someone if they have seizures cause it will cause one LOL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And SOS is coming soon...
doink123 said:
And SOS is coming soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tiny flashlight is amazing
Sent from my Legendary 2.2 infused device.
The Alfred app lets you set up Android phones as home security cameras and tie them together with your gmail account. It is pretty amazing, and I've used $30 phones from eBay for this. They work pretty well, but usually their hardware is not great and their cameras are pretty limited. The Fire Phone should work great with this app, and the camera should be superior to those cheap phones. It works OK as a viewer (with CM11 or SlinKat), and you can see a nice crisp camera image in the phone itself, but it does not broadcast the camera over the internet the way that it should. I'm unable to login to it with the stock Amazon OS.
Has anyone gotten Alfred to work? If so - how? Is there anyway for ggow or others to tweak CyamogenMod of SlimKat to get this app working?
Thanks!!
okayokayokay said:
The Alfred app lets you set up Android phones as home security cameras and tie them together with your gmail account. It is pretty amazing, and I've used $30 phones from eBay for this. They work pretty well, but usually their hardware is not great and their cameras are pretty limited. The Fire Phone should work great with this app, and the camera should be superior to those cheap phones. It works OK as a viewer (with CM11 or SlinKat), and you can see a nice crisp camera image in the phone itself, but it does not broadcast the camera over the internet the way that it should. I'm unable to login to it with the stock Amazon OS.
Has anyone gotten Alfred to work? If so - how? Is there anyway for ggow or others to tweak CyamogenMod of SlimKat to get this app working?
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure of the etiquette of replying to my own post - but GGOW PMed me to let me know that this is part of the issue with accessing the Fire Phone's camera that is also keeping SnapChat and similar apps from working on the pure Android phones. I'm still wondering if anyone has gotten Alfred working on a stock phone (?)
• Login worked on both devices (SlimKat Fire Phone as camera, Asus tablet as viewer)
• In the camera list, it showed the Fire Phone as an available source
• Clicked it, got a message along the lines of "Please update the app on the camera device"
• Both devices had v. 3.2.19 installed
The camera didn't freeze while Alfred was running but at this point, it's hard to say if that won't change once it's actually broadcasting:
Beside login / update problems from Alfred, there are many apps that suffer from "in app camera usage" errors on the Fire Phone, and for now there is no cure, because:
ggow said:
- Camera fix is not going to be easy.
- What we really need is source code for the camera HAL from Amazon - not likely to see the light of day.
- I have seen lots of devices on xda in the same situation with custom ROMs where the camera is not working correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edit: sneaky ggow and his PMs ^^
okayokayokay said:
The Alfred app lets you set up Android phones as home security cameras and tie them together with your gmail account. It is pretty amazing, and I've used $30 phones from eBay for this. They work pretty well, but usually their hardware is not great and their cameras are pretty limited. The Fire Phone should work great with this app, and the camera should be superior to those cheap phones. It works OK as a viewer (with CM11 or SlinKat), and you can see a nice crisp camera image in the phone itself, but it does not broadcast the camera over the internet the way that it should. I'm unable to login to it with the stock Amazon OS.
Has anyone gotten Alfred to work? If so - how? Is there anyway for ggow or others to tweak CyamogenMod of SlimKat to get this app working?
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used Alfred before, but I just tried it on two Fire Phones using Fire OS 4.6.3. The app works for me. Video and audio transmits just find over the internet using wifi and 4g Lte. If your operating system is not Fire OS 4.6.3, that could be the problem.
Thanks for the app, I will be using it from time to time.
My Fire is trying to update to 4.6.4 because there is no SIM card. I have an unlock code, but no nano-sized sim to trigger entering the unlock code. I guess the camera might work with Alfred on 4.6.4 - but will I lose safestrap if I let it update? It looks like I already lost root trying to use an apk file of supersume to kill King Root's leftover files.
jack9955 said:
I have never used Alfred before, but I just tried it on two Fire Phones using Fire OS 4.6.3. The app works for me. Video and audio transmits just find over the internet using wifi and 4g Lte. If your operating system is not Fire OS 4.6.3, that could be the problem.
Thanks for the app, I will be using it from time to time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it working with 4.6.1 but the Auto Night Vision setting does not work and motion detection seems poor (doesn't detect people walking by). The video is pretty crappy too. I guess they do a lot of compression on the video, so having a better camera doesn't seem to help much.
EDIT: Today auto night vision is working and motion detection is working. The quality does seem a bit better than cheap phone cameras. I've seen that behavior in the app before - auto night vision does not work at first, then starts working later.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that CM11 and/or SlimKat get the camera working better and maybe that will help - but I'm not sure I'll hit eBay for another fire phone despite the great deal on Amazon Prime.
Update the HD security cameras firmware to latest version and also update the monitoring software or app.
Yes, this is a 2015 thread, but here goes:
I have used Alfred Home Security Camera apk, successfully in the past (maybe 2+ yrs ago). One Samsung S3 is set up as the camera, the 2nd Samsung S3 is set up as the viewer.
But now it doesn't run. I've tried a dozen or more versions, but same problems. Prompts say things like: Alfred won't run with Framework, or problem with Google Play, etc.
Alternatively I downloaded many similar home security camera apk's, such as Warden Cam, At Home, i-Security, Video Monitor etc.
No luck. None will work. Most recently the error prompt said: Will not work with rooted device!
So damn frustrating.
Anybody else with custom ROM have these problems?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BTW I am totally free of Google; no Google Play Store, no Google Pay, no Google Framework, no Gapps, no Google spyware, no Google bloatware, no Google tracking etc.
I download all my apps as APK's which are readily available on the Net ( Google them . . . just kidding! ).
My older Samsung S3 i747 is a 'd2att' originally locked to Rogers, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Then switched over to MTS (Manitoba Telephone System). Now running on Bell Canada. My replacement is also a Samsung S3 T999, originally running T-Mobile in Arizona, now running on Bell Canada. [/SIZE]
Hi everybody,
Now that we have the proper forum, we can start discussing about this great device. I bought my device unlocked around November, so by now, I know pretty much all the features and things you can do with it. Also I have to say is my first Huawei phone, I come from Nexus (since Nexus 4) and I changed my Nexus 6 for a Moto Maxx (Droid Turbo) because it was too big for me.
I will be putting my own opinions about the different features of the phone, and this guide will be completed with new updates or information about the device. I will try to be short in order not to make this text unreadable, but feel free to ask anything about the device or functions, I will try to answer as soon as possible.
Design
I have to say the the feel on hand is AWESOME, there are no many words out of this one to describe the feeling you have when holding this device. The quality and feel is actually wonderful and Huawei made an impeccable work here, a really premium design.
Display
I have to say I come from a 2K display and I say that even when there is a difference, you won't be noticing a lot. The panel used on this phone is great quality and the colour reproduction is good. Besides this, you are able to configure the temperature colour of the screen in order to have warmer/colder colours on it.
The 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass is also a nice touch and it gives a more premium feeling and look.
Performance
This phone comes with 3GB on RAM and a Snapdragon 615, out of the Kirin that Huawei usually puts on their devices. For me, Qualcomm is always a better options, since Kirin (and Mediatek) use mediocre GPU on their devices, even when sometimes the raw power of the CPU is better than the one in Snapdragon processors. Performance overall is good for normal tasks, the only time I have noticed some lag is when browsing on heavy JavaScript sites and it even get a little unresponsive for few seconds only on Smart profile, it seems that with Normal profile everything is working as expected. Everyday applications runs fine (Gmail, Twitter, WhatsApp, Maps, Music).
For games, the performance is good and decent as well, you won't be running the latest games at 60fps, but the experience is pretty acceptable. I tested Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5 in maximum settings and they were running with no problem. Hearthstone is one game I always play, it runs really good and I haven't had any problem with that.
About overheat, I haven't noticed any of this while playing games or running applications, but I can say that recording long videos in 1080p can lead to overheat and consume battery quicker.
Camera
Another reason why I got this phone is the camera, pretty good aperture and most important of all: it has OIS. One of the few cameras out in the market that has proper stabilization, and for sure you can notice it when taking pictures and videos. The pictures taken with the phone are really nice, but as every phone, in low light conditions it starts to struggle. Camera application is really complete and with a lot of options.
One important thing to say is that pictures taken out of the box are really crappy and pale, so it is needed some tweaking in order to extract the best of this camera, which is not hard neither, interface is really intuitive and easy to manage.
Sound
We have only 1 bottom speaker, which I really dislike because of its position, but the sound is good and decent. But the important thing about the sound is not the speaker, but the magic comes when you connect your headphones, the sound is really nice, most probably because it comes signed by Dolby, but whatever they are doing with the sound, is a really enjoyable experience.
Battery Life
Good battery + decent display + mid-range processor = 2 days battery life. Most of the time I'm reaching 2 complete days of battery with around 4-5hrs SOT. I'm really happy with the battery life.
Sensors
The fingerprint sensor is really smooth and quick, I haven't had any problems with it and is a really nice thing to have in a phone. This phone comes with the normal sensors, BUT BE AWARE THAT IT DOESN'T COME WITH A GYROSCOPE. How this affect?, well, you won't be able to rotate automatically 360` videos, have VR on it or make Photosphere pictures. In case you want to change the perspective in 360` videos, you will have to do it manually with your finger. It doesn't affect for games or any other application as far as I noticed, but is something that really disappointed me of this device.
Software
I have to say that I have mixed feelings in this section, because even when we have a good Android release (5.1) and the additions Huawei put in Emui are 90% really usable and nice, it has still some issues and bugs.
First thing you will notice is that there is no application drawer, so all the application icons are in your screens, more like iOS style. The are tons of options and settings to configure, and you will need time to check each of them and understand how this is working. Emui has an aggressive memory management, so you will have to decide which applications can or can't run on the background, as well as if they will have permission to show notifications.
Maybe this can sounds a little annoying, and actually it is in the beginning, but when you start to see the advantages of this, you will be really happy with it. You will have for example no wakelocks or battery drain, because if you don't let the application run on the background, it won't. System applications of course don't need to be configured, they run as normal, so no worries about mails or stuff not working.
Is about using all the options and configure them in order to have a really good experience, but this usually take a couple of days, because it is so different from Android stock.
Tips, Tricks and Bugs
This section is for random things related to the phone and its applications. As everything, this phone is not perfect and is prone to bugs, so I will try to post some of them so the people can be conscious of both good and bad parts of this phone.
The software version I'm using is RIO-l01C432B150, but for the sake of make things easier, I will take the last 4 digits of the version, so I will say I'm running the B150. There is a new version (B170), but I haven't installed yet which seems to fix many of the issues as well as having security patches.
Settings for perfect pictures
The camera application comes with a lot of options, but the pictures are not nice out of the box, you need to tweak somehow the settings in order to get good and vivid colours. With the adjust of this settings, most of the time you will get really good results.
White Balance: Auto or Daylight (depends on you)
ISO: Auto
Exposure: -1
Saturation: +1
Contrast: -1
Bright: 0
WhatsApp Notifications (Fixed with B170)
It seems that Emui has a couple of problems with WhatsApp, sometimes notifications are not arriving and only when you open the application you start to receive messages. The last Play Store version of WhatsApp is not working for many people, so after many tests and trials, I found a version who works just fine and without problems:
http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/whatsapp-inc/whatsapp/whatsapp-2-12-374-4-android-apk-download/
WiFi Auto-connect (Fixed with B170)
Most of the time, the WiFi won't be connecting automatically to the known networks. Some people said that is just enough to delete the network and re-add it in order to make this feature work properly.
Energy Profiles (Personal Assumption)
The phone comes with 3 energy profiles: Ultra, Smart and Normal. Ultra is for making calls and receiving messages and disables most of the "smart" part of the phone. Smart is kind of battery saver without sacrificing too much performance and Normal is more like a performance profile for games and heavy stuff.
I have been testing somehow this profiles for a while, and for my point of view, they are kind of broken. I get almost the same battery life between Smart and Normal, and the performance is the same as well. To probe my theory, I made some benchmarks and I found that these 2 different profiles (which should be doing different things) get the same scores in almost all the benchmarks, even sometimes Smart profile is getting more score than the Normal, thing that should be inverse.
I don't know how these profiles work, but I think that Normal is the one bugged and probably that's why I have noticed lag sometimes in the device, because is not taking advantage of the full capacities of the processor. Even when both profiles get the same score on benchmarks, on Normal mode the lag from browsing is gone.
Lockscreen Notifications
By default, the Lock-screen is not able to show notifications or the screen won't turn on when a notifications comes, like "Ambient Display" style. To make this happen, you have to install a theme compatible with this function, which currently is enabled on the latest Huawei phone, the Mate 8. Just unzip the themes on the Hwthemes folder and select them from the Themes application. After this, new options will appear on the Lock-screen menu from settings and you will be able to configure it from there.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/6scl0dfddpdnev5/Mate-8-stock-theme-(Gizdev.com).rar
Enabling Gyroscope (Root)
For some reason, Huawei didn't enable the gyroscope on the G8, but there is a way to make it work. You have to download the file, and put them here " /system/etc/permissions", then give the proper permissions the them (" rw-r--r-- (644)") and reboot the phone. You will have a working gyroscope now.
https://mega.nz/#!pEEGFLbJ!scUWYUCZ_uGM7TyaaJPu7O8YfVgnk4DyCT7jSWCW35E
Hide Navigation Bar (Root)
There is a way to have this function that comes in other Huawei devices as well, we just have to edit the "build.prop" file and change the line "ro.config.showNavigationBar=true". After this, we save the file, we reboot and we go to Settings>Navigation Bar and we will find a new option to show or hide the navigation bar.
Multimedia
I will be posting some pictures because for some people camera is really important, and even when this is not an expensive phone, camera is pretty decent.
About the video, I don't have at the moment any samples, but I have to say that image quality is good as well, but in really loud environments (clubs, concerts) the microphone get saturated and this will lead to some crappy sound in videos.
Video: https://goo.gl/photos/S8zA5M82ioTe68HJ8
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View attachment 3614285
Can you install one of the apps "Hardware info" or "cpu-z" and test the sensors? And maybe post a screenshot?
Some say there is a gyroscope, some say there is none...
Is there an ambient light sensor in g8?
Bib_x said:
Can you install one of the apps "Hardware info" or "cpu-z" and test the sensors? And maybe post a screenshot?
Some say there is a gyroscope, some say there is none...
Is there an ambient light sensor in g8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already made the test in the past, and for sure there is no gyroscope here. I tried the same videos on my old phone and they were working there, but not on this phone.
About the ambient sensor, yes it comes with one.
Galaxo60 said:
I already made the test in the past, and for sure there is no gyroscope here. I tried the same videos on my old phone and they were working there, but not on this phone.
About the ambient sensor, yes it comes with one.
View attachment 3614234
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But when i change position of my phone, it will switch automatically from landscape to portrait mode?
Can i play car racing games where i can steer my car with moving and turning the phone?
So when this only will affect taking photos or videos - it´s not a big fault for me.
Bib_x said:
But when i change position of my phone, it will switch automatically from landscape to portrait mode?
Can i play car racing games where i can steer my car with moving and turning the phone?
So when this only will affect taking photos or videos - it´s not a big fault for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, because all those tasks are made with the Accelerometer, not with the Gyroscope, the phone changes automatically to landscape or portrait with no problem.
I tested Asphalt 8 and it runs perfectly fine with just turning the device to the right or left, so no worries here because of that.
My girlfriend has a european g8 and she's so frustrated because of the missing whatsapp notifications and wifi autoreconnect bug.. Downloading now a b170 fw hope it will really fix those bugs..
Did you see this guys? Is this true or fake? and if it is true, what's that Aosp or cm13?
http://android-xda.net/tutorial/upgrade-update-huawei-g8/
moly82 said:
My girlfriend has a european g8 and she's so frustrated because of the missing whatsapp notifications and wifi autoreconnect bug.. Downloading now a b170 fw hope it will really fix those bugs..
Did you see this guys? Is this true or fake? and if it is true, what's that Aosp or cm13?
http://android-xda.net/tutorial/upgrade-update-huawei-g8/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The update is fake, Huawei never put their software updates on 3 parts, and most of the page just have the same text and same screenshots for the phones they claim to have a different ROM.
About the WiFi bug, there is nothing we can't make, but as for WhatsApp, install the version I gave on the "Tips, Tricks and Bugs" section and it will be fixed, trust me.
Just remember that B170 is an update for single SIM G8.
Thanks mate! Yes I've already installed the whatsapp version you suggested, and it seems to be working fine now, let's see if it will stay like that
About the wifi that's a very big and bad bug..Let's hope they'll fix it soon! why they don't release b170 also fit dual sim
thank you bye!
Did you root your phone and unlock the bootloader already?
In the german forum there was written, that you can´t install huawei updates OTA anymore if rooted.
How can you make an update if you rooted your phone? Downloading stock rom from support page and flash manually?
There are many people with wlan problems with the newest rom B160. No automatic connect in home network. If this big issue will be fixed soon, perhaps i will buy the g8.
Bib_x said:
Did you root your phone and unlock the bootloader already?
In the german forum there was written, that you can´t install huawei updates OTA anymore if rooted.
How can you make an update if you rooted your phone? Downloading stock rom from support page and flash manually?
There are many people with wlan problems with the newest rom B160. No automatic connect in home network. If this big issue will be fixed soon, perhaps i will buy the g8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't done that yet, not root or unlock bootloader, I don't see the need yet, because stock has for me everything I currently need.
About the updates, Is not about the root, but about the recovery. Usually when you root, you install first a custom recovery, so when the OTA comes, it can't update automatically because it doesn't recognize the recovery and it fails. Many people is going back to stock, make an update and then root again, I think is the safest way to have the latest updates and root.
About the WiFi problems, many people claim that B170 already fixes this issue and also the notifications problem, which are the most important bugs for this phone.
Galaxo60 said:
I haven't done that yet, not root or unlock bootloader, I don't see the need yet, because stock has for me everything I currently need.
About the updates, Is not about the root, but about the recovery. Usually when you root, you install first a custom recovery, so when the OTA comes, it can't update automatically because it doesn't recognize the recovery and it fails. Many people is going back to stock, make an update and then root again, I think is the safest way to have the latest updates and root.
About the WiFi problems, many people claim that B170 already fixes this issue and also the notifications problem, which are the most important bugs for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But currently B170 is out for single-sim only?
In germany i get the dual-sim version i think.
If i root my phone and want to update - go back to stock means, flash the whole stock rom with twrp and then twrp is removed automatically too?
Yes b170 only for single sim ;( in Italy also there is only dual sim
Bib_x said:
But currently B170 is out for single-sim only?
In germany i get the dual-sim version i think.
If i root my phone and want to update - go back to stock means, flash the whole stock rom with twrp and then twrp is removed automatically too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
moly82 said:
Yes b170 only for single sim ;( in Italy also there is only dual sim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, B170 is only for single sim, even though I have heard about a B160 (from France) which maybe could be dual sim, but I'm not sure.
If you want to go back to stock, you should flash the whole system image I think, not only the ROM. You have to be sure you have the stock recovery and ROM in order to have a successful update. Some people is trying to flash B170 while having root and they are bricking their phones or in a boot-loop, they can't even enter to recovery; so never update if you are root.
:fingers-crossed:
Galaxo60 said:
Yes, B170 is only for single sim, even though I have heard about a B160 (from France) which maybe could be dual sim, but I'm not sure.
If you want to go back to stock, you should flash the whole system image I think, not only the ROM. You have to be sure you have the stock recovery and ROM in order to have a successful update. Some people is trying to flash B170 while having root and they are bricking their phones or in a boot-loop, they can't even enter to recovery; so never update if you are root.
:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a B160 ROM for Dual SIM in Hungary, I can search for it and post the link here
Matada02 said:
There is a B160 ROM for Dual SIM in Hungary, I can search for it and post the link here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think is better if you post it on the ROM thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gx8/how-to/g8-g7-plus-official-roms-europe-t3294362
Huawei Union Y538 Root?
Huawei Union Y538 Root?
alan2121m said:
Huawei Union Y538 Root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't post this kind of things here, is a different device.
I can get the Huawei GX 8 or the Huawei Mate S for the same price.
Which of them would you prefer if the price is the same? Still GX8 or in this case would you change to Mate S?
I just got this phone today (I live in Thailand if that matters). I have the 64GB version. I have had Sony, Samsung, Motorola phones in the past and that is what I am used to. So first thing:
How do I change the home launcher? I don't see any setting for it in the settings menu. I can open up Themer (which I downloaded) and it will open up but as soon as I go to any other app, it will go back to the original homescreen.
Why is there no app drawer?
Why is the phone asking me to accept terms (which says **** like honor the Chinese constitution) and connect to the internet just to view photos in my album? I can't think of any reason that a photo album would need to connect to the internet unless it's going to upload my photos somewhere which I obviously don't want. So I seemingly cannot even view photos on this phone unless I can download something else to take care of it.
I looked at the rooting section for this phone and it seems that all of them currently have issues. Is there no way to just get plain ole vanilla android on this phone? I have never rooted a phone before and the thought is a bit scary to me because it seems like most of the instructions are written for people who already know how to do that type of thing. I went to the Cyanogenmod website and they didn't have one for this phone. Are there no alternatives? I will gladly pay for something like this. I don't want all this Mi stuff on my phone.
Sorry if I sound... whatever, I am just a bit flustered with all of this. The hardware seems nice but the software is utter ****. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
theusedversion said:
I just got this phone today (I live in Thailand if that matters). I have the 64GB version. I have had Sony, Samsung, Motorola phones in the past and that is what I am used to. So first thing:
How do I change the home launcher? I don't see any setting for it in the settings menu. I can open up Themer (which I downloaded) and it will open up but as soon as I go to any other app, it will go back to the original homescreen.
Why is there no app drawer?
Why is the phone asking me to accept terms (which says **** like honor the Chinese constitution) and connect to the internet just to view photos in my album? I can't think of any reason that a photo album would need to connect to the internet unless it's going to upload my photos somewhere which I obviously don't want. So I seemingly cannot even view photos on this phone unless I can download something else to take care of it.
I looked at the rooting section for this phone and it seems that all of them currently have issues. Is there no way to just get plain ole vanilla android on this phone? I have never rooted a phone before and the thought is a bit scary to me because it seems like most of the instructions are written for people who already know how to do that type of thing. I went to the Cyanogenmod website and they didn't have one for this phone. Are there no alternatives? I will gladly pay for something like this. I don't want all this Mi stuff on my phone.
Sorry if I sound... whatever, I am just a bit flustered with all of this. The hardware seems nice but the software is utter ****. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you purchase this Phone? From Chinese website? Does it have Google Playstore? If yes then
1) If you just want to change the Home Launcher then install your desired Launcher from Playstore and goto settings-> Installed Apps-> Defaults and set the Downloaded Launcher from there.
2) The Default Launcher on the phone is MIUI Launcher which doesn't have app drawer like iPhone and some other chinese UI.
3) There is unofficial CyanogenMod and some other custom ROMs but there are some problems with each of them like Video recording not working, if working then Audio not being recorded in them. 3G network issues and so on. The process of flashing a custom rom or rooting is little bit tedious and I'd not suggest you in this stage.
Better is to download a desired launcher from Playstore (if you have it) else sideloading and hiding the apps which you don't want to see.
Also note on official Miui ROM you're able to uninstall a bunch of stock apps too.
I'd recommend read up to unlock boot loader. It's a minor project getting this device where you want it, but the awesome battery life and screen size makes your effort worth the time.
Pls also visit official Miui forums there's a wealth of info there. ? ?
Sent from my MI MAX using Tapatalk
paarkhi said:
Where did you purchase this Phone? From Chinese website? Does it have Google Playstore? If yes then
1) If you just want to change the Home Launcher then install your desired Launcher from Playstore and goto settings-> Installed Apps-> Defaults and set the Downloaded Launcher from there.
2) The Default Launcher on the phone is MIUI Launcher which doesn't have app drawer like iPhone and some other chinese UI.
3) There is unofficial CyanogenMod and some other custom ROMs but there are some problems with each of them like Video recording not working, if working then Audio not being recorded in them. 3G network issues and so on. The process of flashing a custom rom or rooting is little bit tedious and I'd not suggest you in this stage.
Better is to download a desired launcher from Playstore (if you have it) else sideloading and hiding the apps which you don't want to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG, thank you so much for the home launcher tip. That solved the biggest issue I had. My Xperia Z2 had a home launcher setting in the main settings menu. I never would have guessed to look there. Thank you so much. I switched all the default apps to what I wanted and this is already a million times better. And yes, I bought it from a reputable retailer here in Bangkok so I think it's legit. Had Play store on it and everything.
badrsj said:
Also note on official Miui ROM you're able to uninstall a bunch of stock apps too.
I'd recommend read up to unlock boot loader. It's a minor project getting this device where you want it, but the awesome battery life and screen size makes your effort worth the time.
Pls also visit official Miui forums there's a wealth of info there.
Sent from my MI MAX using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will look into it. Cheers.
I've had the same feeling since my first Mi phone, the Redmi Note 3G. They make some really great & quality hardware capable of very good performances & end up great value for money if you know your way around. But like you felt MIUI is complete horse arse' output these days. It used to be great around version 4 or even upto 5 but then its been downhill since. My suggestion is unlock, install twrp, then you have 2 options
If you
1. want VoLTE then install sMIUI 8.0.1.0 from xiaomi.eu
2. can get by without VoLTE(either not using it at all or by using it through a MiFi modem which some carriers provide in many places/countries now) then install RR5.7.3(thanks to people like @ajsmsg78) which I found to be the most stable with the least issues so far for everyday use. Please thank the devs.
Not that the other like CM13, Mokee, etc are bad but there are issues here & there which prevent me from using it as a daily driver. I'd suggest you take a nandroid backup of all these when you try them each.
If you need more help, drop me a PM. I can help anytime with an hours notice AFAIK.
CAUTION: Read the unlocking & custom ROM/recovery guides 10-20 times so that you've almost memorised every detail if you are a newbie otherwise, especially for phones which have a non-removable battery, you'll end up regretting something later & end up kicking yourself. DO NOT SKIMP ON READING IT AGAIN & AGAIN OR SKIP STEPS else YOU"LL PAY FOR IT LATER.
To unlock the bootloader, you must ask permission from xiaomi. This takes a few days to process. You can read how to do this on en.miui.com forum. Once you have unlocked the bootloader, things will be much easier.
If the "reputable" dealer in Bangkok is Lazada, then you have probably got a patched ROM from China. You can check this by version number.
Parmo100 said:
To unlock the bootloader, you must ask permission from xiaomi. This takes a few days to process. You can read how to do this on en.miui.com forum..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've spent 6 hours searching that f***ng forum and I can't find a thing about unlock the Mi Max. Maybe I'm an idiot or maybe you're a genius, who knows.
Taxidermista said:
I've spent 6 hours searching that f***ng forum and I can't find a thing about unlock the Mi Max. Maybe I'm an idiot or maybe you're a genius, who knows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chill bro here is the link : en(dot)miui.com/thread-327459-1-(dot)html
replace (dot) with the symbol(.)
a word of advice stemming frm my experience,when u enter the phone number in application be sure to enter the same number which ur going to use in the device,and even after recieving the approval sms u might have to give it a few tries before it actually unlocks,(i had to wait 3 days for the approval sms,after recieving the sms tried for 3 days until it actually unlocked, ur mileage may vary)all the best,hope u get unlocked soon
I Googled "xiaomi mi max Unlock bootloader" and got this within 10 seconds :-
http://en.miui.com/thread-202290-1-1.html
Take care that you are logged into xiaomi account and the phone number as mentioned above, if you use phone number as your user name.
That's the only possible error. My permission from xiaomi took only 4 days. Once you unlock the bootloader, things are very easy. Remember to unpack all the zip files!
It took me 2 weeks to get an unlock code the Redmi Note 3 which uses similar internals to the Mi Max. Once I got unlock permission, I had no problems unlocking the phone using the MiFlash Unlock program in Windows. I've unlocked it a few times when I was switching back and forth between MIUI and CM.
And you're right, MIUI is a donkey's behind when it comes to slowing the phone down and doing weird things in the background. I'd recommend rooting the phone, running OS Monitor to check outbound traffic and installing Afwall to stop MIUI from phoning home. I replaced most of the stock system apps with open source equivalents and I allowed Internet access for only a few apps. Bad enough that Google slurps your data, it's even worse to have eyes in China tracking your every online move too.