Develop Bugs

Honest review from a critical nerd (me)

I've has my Galaxy Nexus for a couple of days now, on the Three network in the UK.
I hate how most people in reviews rave about phones when they have just forked out for them, and fail to mention any real negatives - presumably because they refuse to accept that something they've spent £500 on might be less than perfect. When you buy one and it's missing features or isn't quite what you expected, it's very annoying.
Here are my thoughts so far. I consider myself a power-user, and have tested almost everything. Overall, people are right. This is the best phone I've touched. I think once devs start optimising their apps to work properly on ICS it'll be even better. Fingers crossed that Cyanogen will address lots of the annoyances below.
I hope this is useful for someone
The Good:
Feels much more complete and unified.
It's lightening fast.
Most of the best bits of Android have transferred.
Screen looks great.
Face unlock works much better than I thought. Even in low light.
I've only had one crash despite installing a tonne of apps and testing every feature. [EDIT: a few FCs today. Mainly from the pre-installed Google Earth).
Radio seems to work fine on Three UK, unlike the SGS II which has data issues due to fast dormancy. Data speeds are great.
Browser generally much better.
Text input much better, but editing is a little confusing and seems to vary depending on app. [EDIT: This is actually phenomenal. I've always had a hardware keyboard or Swype before so no practice on these keyboards. After only 48 hours, I can literally type without looking. It is very good at correcting mistakes.]
Screen size is great for me, as I use my phones as mini-tablets. Doesn't feel bulky in my pocket at all.
BLUETOOTH STEREO FINALLY DOESN'T DISTORT - I can hear hi-hats again instead of just distortion. There is a bit of constant crackling though.
Screen remains responsive when charging. I have had an issue where it wasn't registering touch properly when charging on my Milestone, Desire and SGSII so this is really nice.
The Bad:
EVEN THOUGH I'M SUPPOSEDLY IN AN UNAFFECTED BAND, IF MY PHONE DROPS TO 2G, AND SOMEONE WALKS NEAR ME MAKING A PHONECALL IT PUTS MY PHONE ON SILENT.
The 'menu' button is unpredictable. For example, in most apps it appears at the bottom with the softkeys. In Market it's up at the top, near the search button. In some apps, it has gone. Seems to vary and is confusing.
You're stuck with the Google search box on you home screen. I hate this.
Now the button has gone, if an app doesn't have a search icon, you've lost the ability to search.
Also means no long press search, so you have to go back to the home screen for voice commands. This also means that regardless of what launcher you use, if you want voice search, you NEED to have the Google search widget on your home screen.
No USB Mass Storage – they've opted for media device profile instead. My Xbox recognises it but can't play any content. It doesn't work with my car stereo. It doesn't work with my TV. My laptop will see it, but I can't see certain hidden folders. This has just removed a huge aspect of flexibility from Android. It's no longer universal, and more like an iPhone now in that respect.
Icons are as ugly in real life as everyone expected.
Blue theme clashes with everything except blue. Blue icons on blue background feels very bland.
There is a huge problem with speech to text, whereby it is very slow, and seems to just write a list of names out of my contacts directory rather than writing what I say! Video here: http://youtu.be/qHVptz2EtMk
No longer accepts certain file formats over Bluetooth.
Camera seems buggy when reviewing photos. It works confusingly.
Gallery is not very intuitive at all.
Browser doesn't display Javascript animations properly.
Dropped a few calls.
Wifi range isn't as good as my other Androids
Front facing camera doesn't aim inwards towards your face. It points straight forward at 90 degrees, but it's positioned on the right of the device, so your face isn't central unless you hold the phone at a bit of an angle facing away from you. [EDIT - this is getting very annoying now. You have to have the phone screen pointing almost away from you to video call]
Bluetooth calls don't seem to work. Caller can't hear what I'm saying. [EDIT - I'm told it works on newer kits. Mine is a Jabra stereo receiver]
Bluetooth music has a constant crackling behind it, but it's barely noticeable in loud music.
All albumart appears in the phone gallery.
Google Talk seems to sign out after a while. It's showing all of my contacts as away even though I know they're online. Signing out and in again fixes this temporarily, but I'm guessing I would miss video calls whilst offline.
Phone has gone to permanent sleep about 3 times in 2 and a half days now. Requires a battery pull to get it back on.
Apps - If you can't live without these, I'd recommend waiting to buy until they're fixed
No menu button is shown on Facebook, so there's no way to set it up to sync contacts or notifications. This means no contact photos for now.
Twitter on the other hand syncs all my contacts, despite me telling it not to.
Doesn't support Swype as yet.
Doesn't support MX Video Player.
iPlayer not available in the Market.
Grooveshark app doesn't work due to lack of flash player. You can use Dood's music streamer for a functional but unattractive alternative.

Thanks for the review and honesty. It would be nice if you kept this updated as either your opinion changes or things are fixed from either Google or app developers.

Is web browser as smooth (scrolling, pinch to zoom) as one on the galaxy s2?

I really beginning to wonder if Verizon is going to put these out there in two weeks without some fixes/improvements in place. I mean, if December 8 is real, these phones have got be in sealed boxes already. People will be returning them faster than they sell them.

hrcro said:
Is web browser as smooth (scrolling, pinch to zoom) as one on the galaxy s2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It feels a lot smoother than my Galaxy S II did.
I'm about to test the bluetooth quality, as crackling audio was my biggest pet hate from previous Android versions.

Can you resize the search widget? If we are stuck with it maybe something smaller will help minimize that particular drawback.

have you got an otg usb cable? can you hook up a thumb drive?
Sent from my Google Nexus S using Tapatalk

suomaf said:
have you got an otg usb cable? can you hook up a thumb drive?
Sent from my Google Nexus S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, please test it. whole forum with owners GN but nobody had test this opportunity yet

I hope yopu don't mind but I am going to hijack this thread and also post a quick review from a similar nerd is maybe over critical. Saves starting a new thread.
The Good
ICS is very polished, much more so than any other version of android, it tries to stay consistent through the whole phone where as in previous versions it was one of my main annoyances.
The device looks fantastic.
The speed is very good, I wouldn't say it is any faster than a SGS2 with a custom rom IMO but it is a lot smother in animation etc. so it feels a lot faster.
The screen is very nice, playing videos when the screen is set up to an acceptable brightness are amazing with colours a lot more natural than the SGS2 or the yellow tint of the iphone 4.
Radio is very good also, getting full signal in my house where as before i would only receive 2-3 bars.
Text input is a lot better although i have found it is unable to keep up with my typing, although it is putting the letters down it almost seems like there is a little delay in the animation of them magnifying.
Notification light is back and I am glad, as I missed that feature on my SGS2.
Has everything, NFC, noise cancelling mic, 720p display and ICS. Its pretty much future proof (in terms of the next few years)
Zero shutter lag is a very good feature
Bad Points
The screen although very nice on full or half brightness is not very good on auto brightness. It is so much lower compared to all my other smart phones it is almost unusable I find so I have had to manually set the brightness.
Auto rotate as I have mentioned in another thread is very inconsistent, very fast in some apps nearly non existent in others.
Sound quality is quiet, not poor quality but very quiet. My SGS2 and iPhone 4 over power it when playing videos.
The browser is fast but it is not as fast as my SGS2 running Check Rom Revolution HD. It is deffo faster than the iPhone 4.
The camera is not great, its not bad but the quality feels like it is from a year old device. Quite grainy, not as good as the SGS2 or the iphone 4s unfortunately.
And lastly a few quirks which I am sure will be sorted out with an over the air update, occasional stutter when opening app draw, gallery doesn't seem terribly smooth when going through photos and the auto rotate is just annoying me.
Other than the above I don't want people to read this and think it is doom and gloom because it isn't. This is a very very good device, I am glad I purchased it because it is still the best phone on the market in my opinion.
Every phone has its niggles but that is why this forum is so great, I am looking forward to the community baked roms which always make a device go from very good to just awesome.
To answer some question, you can't resize the search bar. Its not really a widget its sort of like the controls at the bottom, permanently there.

when typing does it type well, what I mean is it off when typing and you keep getting bad letters up, I had that problem with the SGS2 someone mentioned it was a screen problem that it kept jumping
thanks

bmstrong said:
Can you resize the search widget? If we are stuck with it maybe something smaller will help minimize that particular drawback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, can't resize it. It's there permanently. You'd have to install another launcher.
Added a few more to the list, mainly to do with Bluetooth.

Is FM radio working with Spirit FM Radio app?

justabrake said:
when typing does it type well, what I mean is it off when typing and you keep getting bad letters up, I had that problem with the SGS2 someone mentioned it was a screen problem that it kept jumping
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it types really well, I don't think I have mistyped once on there and I type real fast.

Good lord. That's a lot of negatives. Thanks for the honest review for undecided minds like me. Just two questions. If you use a 3rd party launcher (for example adw) will the google search bar still be present? Secondly, how does the GPS perform in terms of fix time and accuracy? Does barometer really help GPS fix time? Thanks

luffyp said:
Secondly, how does the GPS perform in terms of fix time and accuracy? Does barometer really help GPS fix time? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GPS fix for me is very fast, easily within a second or so. Much faster than my Desire was, that's for sure.

A lot of those negatives either will be resolved soon by Google or they won't be a problem for the majority of people
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

OP > when typing does it type well, what I mean is it off when typing and you keep getting bad letters up, I had that problem with the SGS2 someone mentioned it was a screen problem that it kept jumping
thanks

mike freegan said:
You're stuck with the Google search box on you home screen. I hate this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ugh.
This is going to be problematic with my live clock wallpaper that is displayed at the top of the screen. Anyone else use WP Clock?
Here's an example of the live wallpaper I'm talking about:

luffyp said:
Good lord. That's a lot of negatives. Thanks for the honest review for undecided minds like me. Just two questions. If you use a 3rd party launcher (for example adw) will the google search bar still be present? Secondly, how does the GPS perform in terms of fix time and accuracy? Does barometer really help GPS fix time? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you have to bare in mind that ICS is a big over haul, so if we were to list all the positives it would be a pretty big list. I am just venting my negatives of the device, but when you compare them to how good the device is they really are small and I would rather have this handset than any other. I forked out for both my SGS2 and the Galaxy Nexus sim free and i am not dissapointed with either. If you are undecided on whether to upgrade you have to look at the fact that this phone does have everything, is a developer phone and has ICS written specifically for it. I would say go for it.
If you use a 3rd party launcher the Google search will not be present, my GPS has been excellent, I have used it for a few car journeys and it is just as good as my SGS2 which was superb.

jms.flynn said:
Well you have to bare in mind that ICS is a big over haul, so if we were to list all the positives it would be a pretty big list. I am just venting my negatives of the device, but when you compare them to how good the device is they really are small and I would rather have this handset than any other. I forked out for both my SGS2 and the Galaxy Nexus sim free and i am not dissapointed with either. If you are undecided on whether to upgrade you have to look at the fact that this phone does have everything, is a developer phone and has ICS written specifically for it. I would say go for it.
If you use a 3rd party launcher the Google search will not be present, my GPS has been excellent, I have used it for a few car journeys and it is just as good as my SGS2 which was superb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep I know, ICS seems to be the biggest change among the previous Android versions. Together with Google & developers' support, it's why I want to jump ship to the Nexus line. At the moment I'm leaning towards it, just wanna read more reviews. Although the volume adjusting problem that many people are having is a bit of a concern. Hopefully it will be fixed by a software update.

Lack of multi-tasking - Possible return

The hardware and design of this phone are top notch - most features work really well except anything in regards to multi-tasking. I am very disappointed that its missing basic functionality I thought should be pretty standard these days especially on a flagship device. Case in point - Usa today app, its always been really nice while traveling since I can sync it before flying and read all the articles while in-flight on my iPhone during airplane mode, with the One X any open browser page or related app becomes a useless blank page when airplane mode is switched on. Heck even the picture I had open in the gallery section closed and took me back to the main gallery (picture) folder and of course this does not need an internet connection.
It looks like Sense 4.0 has eliminated multi-tasking, as much as I like the device otherwise I just cant give up so much basic functionality that I have been enjoying for years on other phones... Will probably have to return and go back to my iphone 4 for now.. Bummer -
It does not appear that HTC recognizes this short-coming as a problem and considers this normal functionality so I cant just wait for an update/fix...
Anyone else feel this way ?

Srgsx said:
The hardware and design of this phone are top notch - most features work really well except anything in regards to multi-tasking. I am very disappointed that its missing basic functionality I thought should be pretty standard these days especially on a flagship device. Case in point - Usa today app, its always been really nice while traveling since I can sync it before flying and read all the articles while in-flight on my iPhone during airplane mode, with the One X any open browser page or related app becomes a useless blank page when airplane mode is switched on. Heck even the picture I had open in the gallery section closed and took me back to the main gallery (picture) folder and of course this does not need an internet connection.
It looks like Sense 4.0 has eliminated multi-tasking, as much as I like the device otherwise I just cant give up so much basic functionality that I have been enjoying for years on other phones... Will probably have to return and go back to my iphone 4 for now.. Bummer -
It does not appear that HTC recognizes this short-coming as a problem and considers this normal functionality so I cant just wait for an update/fix...
Anyone else feel this way ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
multitasking is a bit of a joke on this phone. I hope HTC addresses this in a future update.
sent from my HTC One X

Since Sense + OS alone consume most of the ram (> 80%) on the device, I suppose integrated Android task killer is configured in some paranoid mode and is killing backgroups apps like crazy.
If this bothers you, I would install one of senseless ROMs on your HD2 and be happy Possibly there is also a way to make task killer more civilized in custom Sense ROMs.
Sadly, Sense 4.0 is quit bloated and One-X should have at least 1.5GB of RAM to begin with.

Yup, I agree, multitasking is really bad... All my dolphin browser pages reload if I click the home button and try to go back.
Sent from my HTC One X on Leedroid's ROM v5.1.0.

It will addressed with uopdates after all you bought a quad cote for multi tasking, some of xda chefs are communicating with HTC dev and we reported the very aggressive memfree values, also if you are rooted you can control them with supercharger script

Srgsx said:
Case in point - Usa today app, its always been really nice while traveling since I can sync it before flying and read all the articles while in-flight on my iPhone during airplane mode, with the One X any open browser page or related app becomes a useless blank page when airplane mode is switched on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I change the wireless state on my i9100 the same thing happens so it's Android, not HTC or the One X. Even if the USA Today home page was retained clicking on any of the stories would result in an error because there's no wireless connection available. Get an app like Pocket that allows you to save articles from across the web for offline reading. The CNN app also gives you the option to save stories offline.

The multitasking on this phone sucks period. There is not justification. I should not be here looking for an answer. XDA devs should be enhancing the phone not trying to fix basic functionality. I hope HTC solves this problem before my trail period.

mgfjd said:
The multitasking on this phone sucks period. There is not justification. I should not be here looking for an answer. XDA devs should be enhancing the phone not trying to fix basic functionality. I hope HTC solves this problem before my trail period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do any of you understand how multitasking in Android even works? Even if a task is killed by the OS, apps developed that follow the published standard will re-launch in their last state in less than a second. And the better XDA devs should know that. So while HTC's memory management may be aggressive, there's more to it if individual apps aren't behaving correctly.
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html

Srgsx said:
The hardware and design of this phone are top notch - most features work really well except anything in regards to multi-tasking. I am very disappointed that its missing basic functionality I thought should be pretty standard these days especially on a flagship device. Case in point - Usa today app, its always been really nice while traveling since I can sync it before flying and read all the articles while in-flight on my iPhone during airplane mode, with the One X any open browser page or related app becomes a useless blank page when airplane mode is switched on. Heck even the picture I had open in the gallery section closed and took me back to the main gallery (picture) folder and of course this does not need an internet connection.
It looks like Sense 4.0 has eliminated multi-tasking, as much as I like the device otherwise I just cant give up so much basic functionality that I have been enjoying for years on other phones... Will probably have to return and go back to my iphone 4 for now.. Bummer -
It does not appear that HTC recognizes this short-coming as a problem and considers this normal functionality so I cant just wait for an update/fix...
Anyone else feel this way ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're not happy w it, return it ASAP. Why do you have to care about what others think? It's your money, your experience.
Case closed. Meetings adjourned lol

louis.b said:
If you're not happy w it, return it ASAP. Why do you have to care about what others think? It's your money, your experience.
Case closed. Meetings adjourned lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its called a forum, in which I can and will reach out to others to get feedback on what I consider a situation with a very flawed segment of Sense which is making me contemplate returning an otherwise very nice device.
Look Apple has been doing this puesdo multi-tasking, app-pausing just fine since 4.0 what the heck is HTC thinking ? Browser tabs store just fine for days WITHOUT an internet connection. I geuss I am just expecting too much.
Sorry to interupt move along nothing to see here - lol

If you really want to pile-on, head over here. The XL'rs are far more up in arms than the X'rs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646409
I've asked the same questions of people that say the way multitasking is implemented is a real hardship but no one's answered. What's the harm? Of "X" hours a day using the phone, what percentage of your time is actually spent active in two (or more) apps simultaneously? And with a powerful processor it shouldn't matter whether a background app is in state or has to be restarted based on the way Android works (see below). I'm not trying to pick a fight I'm trying to understand the depth of the issue.
And since no one's read the article I linked to, here's the cruxt...
Once Android determines that it needs to remove a process, it does this brutally, simply force-killing it. The kernel can then immediately reclaim all resources needed by the process, without relying on that application being well written and responsive to a polite request to exit. Allowing the kernel to immediately reclaim application resources makes it a lot easier to avoid serious out of memory situations.
If a user later returns to an application that's been killed, Android needs a way to re-launch it in the same state as it was last seen, to preserve the "all applications are running all of the time" experience. This is done by keeping track of the parts of the application the user is aware of (the Activities), and re-starting them with information about the last state they were seen in. This last state is generated each time the user leaves that part of the application, not when it is killed, so that the kernel can later freely kill it without depending on the application to respond correctly at that point.
And based on this, the SGS3's handling memory managment just like the One X so there don't appear to be a lot of options for those with special multitasking needs.
greyhulk said:
The GS3 has the same multitasking "issue" as the One X. I have tested it. That's all the more reason why I don't expect HTC to fix it in an update. I believe it's how the manufacturers intend it to work, for better or worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Try to install Apex launcher free version and set it as default launcher. Reboot and see is situation get better. If works for you then it is sense problem.
It works like a charm on my X. No any problem for multitask.And it is so smooth.
Of course if you do want sense launcher then have to live with issue. But no harm to try Apex to see at least multitask can wrok or not

BarryH_GEG everything looks nice when you write it down like that but i remember SGS did better multitasking then my new double ram HTC One X, on daily basis it kills everything when i9000 never killed my GG chatting app or music player - both just should be ON all the time i was using them thats only 2 apps to handle

At a co-workers urging I installed Go-launcher today in hopes of a quick fix. yeah nothing, still re-renders everything fricken thing it touches.
Should I stil try Apex ?

Apex so far is best launcher for one X. I used it for 1 month. If it is not work for you I will post another solution which may help.

Apex- ok you might be on to something !
Can still hold app data while in airplane mode...

Srgsx said:
the One X any open browser page or related app becomes a useless blank page when airplane mode is switched on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your rooted then flash Jan's Advance Notification toggle to enable Airplane Mode it will retain the webpage because you're not going into a different app.

Srgsx said:
At a co-workers urging I installed Go-launcher today in hopes of a quick fix. yeah nothing, still re-renders everything fricken thing it touches.
Should I stil try Apex ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think this is caused by sense taking up too much resources. Seems to be an ics inherent thing. The sgs3 was just reported to behave the same way.
Oh yes i tried the ipad3 the other day. The display was perfect but what surprises me is it multitasks amazingly well. I can have 5 - 6 apps open including youtube and browser with multiple tabs and it switches between them smoothly without once quiting the browser. Really sad to see android/ ics regressed to this state that ios significantly beat it.

if it is ics problem why I can use mutlitask on my one X?

Raider0001 said:
BarryH_GEG everything looks nice when you write it down like that but i remember SGS did better multitasking then my new double ram HTC One X, on daily basis it kills everything when i9000 never killed my GG chatting app or music player - both just should be ON all the time i was using them thats only 2 apps to handle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep asking the question "what does it mean?" and everyone keeps replying "it shouldn't be this way." If a doctor says "there’s something wrong with your liver," there's a big difference between hepatitis A and stage 3 cancer. Other than the perceived loss of something you had how does the way that the One X handles multitasking affect what you do every day? And how often is it a problem?
I had a i9100 and in practical use I don't notice a difference. The exception being the browser that stupidly reloads itself every time it restarts but it does that regardless of whether launched from recent apps or directly from the app drawer or a shortcut.
And if this is true it doesn't really matter what a Desire, HD2, or SGS did.
greyhulk said:
The GS3 has the same multitasking "issue" as the One X. I have tested it. That's all the more reason why I don't expect HTC to fix it in an update. I believe it's how the manufacturers intend it to work, for better or worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] It cannot be that slow

Hello there, first time i write here but been reading a lot!
First, you need to know I own a galaxy s2 s3 s4 (all rooted) and my good friend has a note 3.
Also played a lot with nexus10 and the first galaxy note 10.1
I waited so long to buy the "perfect" tablet. Ipad is out of question even tho we know they are awesome tablet, i am a system administrator and i need Android.
So when i heard about the new note 10.1 2014, i was very existed because i REALLY like my s4 and my friend's note 3.
And i thought the s pen was awesome for a tablet (seeing my kid having fun drawing on their own picture is a +).
Well i convicted my girlfriend we need this, i started reading a lot of reviews and decided to buy because reviews are all saying the tablet was the best to compete vs the ipad.
I bought it brand new on eBay because there was no place i can buy it in Canada.
As soon as i received it, i found it run so damn slow. .. WAY slower than my s4.
I can live with the short battery life, that's not a big deal even tho the 2x quad core was supposed to help that (running on 1.3 while on hold to save battery).
Looks like it is always running on that 1.3ghz cpu now.
I did a factory default reset. .. Then a hard reset, nothing helped.
Runs great Sometimes, but sometimes I am note even able to browse picture on the default gallery. Still no apps installed! !!
My friend with the note 3 came here last night and was amazed to see how the screen has a bad responds to finger but very good with the pen. Also how it freezes and lags.
Now... is it only MY galaxy note ?
Should i send it to Samsung and hope it is going to be OK when i receive it back ?
Is it normal and should be all fixed with kit kat update ?
Or normal... They missed it so i should just throw it away ? If so... What else should i get ?
I very like the aspect. The home/menu/back buttons, the o/s (touch wiz), the nexus 10 was not that great even with kit kat, but runs so much faster.
I don't know what to do, i want a tablet with the s pen, but the hold note 3 is running smoother than my 2014 edition! !!
I guess i need help here !
And as i bought the item from usa eBay, I'll have to pay for the shipping to Samsung if i send them my tablet for repair !
Thank you very much for your help and advice !
Martin L.

Sure you have a problem, ignoring some performance stuff the device is very fast and have leading scores in benchmark
If you can, upload your benchmark scores

SherifMedhat said:
Sure you have a problem, ignoring some performance stuff the device is very fast and have leading scores in benchmark
If you can, upload your benchmark scores
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all seams to be random. .. Now the gallery works perfectly.
Really looks to be a problem switching from a cpu to the other and stays on the 1.3
Right now, while typing this, i got an error saying the gallery has stopped working! !
Any idea which benchmark i should use ?

See attached is the print screen of a benchmark. .. Perfect score, exactly what i was expecting from this tablet.
But it definitively does not feel like it!

genius312 said:
See attached is the print screen of a benchmark. .. Perfect score, exactly what i was expecting from this tablet.
But it definitively does not feel like it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What firmware version is installed on your new Note 2014?
.

genius312 said:
Runs great Sometimes, but sometimes I am note even able to browse picture on the default gallery. Still no apps installed! !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no problems with the gallery app. Before I bought the Note, I had the Xperia Tablet Z for a short time and it was much slower in the Gallery app. My JPEGs usually are about 10 MByte each and browsing hundreds of them works very well on the Note.

Where do i find the firmware ?
Model Number is sm-p600
Android 4.3
Kernel 3.4.39-204073
version jss15j.p600ueubmk1

genius312 said:
Where do i find the firmware?
version jss15j.p600ueub-----mk1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are on MK1 which is the latest in US as far as I'm aware.
Sent from Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition via Tapatalk.

You have the current firmware, so that is not the issue. It is possible that you have a corrupted file somewhere that is causing a problem for an app.
To check this:
- Do have an SD card installed? If so, do the problems go away if you remove the card? I've seen cases (although, on earlier galaxy devices, not this one) where a corrupt jpeg file causes the gallery app to run constantly, slowing everything else down.
- You said it is always running at 1.3ghz. That could indicate a problem with an app running all the time in the background and slowing things down. When you are not using it for a while (e.g., at night) the CPU should slow down to deep sleep. If that is not happening and you want to figure which app running and keeping it at 1.3, trying downloading an app called BetterBatteryStats. It will show (after a bit of a learning curve) the CPU time for all your running apps.

GeorgeP said:
You have the current firmware, so that is not the issue. It is possible that you have a corrupted file somewhere that is causing a problem for an app.
To check this:
- Do have an SD card installed? If so, do the problems go away if you remove the card? I've seen cases (although, on earlier galaxy devices, not this one) where a corrupt jpeg file causes the gallery app to run constantly, slowing everything else down.
- You said it is always running at 1.3ghz. That could indicate a problem with an app running all the time in the background and slowing things down. When you are not using it for a while (e.g., at night) the CPU should slow down to deep sleep. If that is not happening and you want to figure which app running and keeping it at 1.3, trying downloading an app called BetterBatteryStats. It will show (after a bit of a learning curve) the CPU time for all your running apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer.
No sd card yet and i do not think i will need any. I have enough on my s4
I found the system slow so i did a factory reset from the menus.
It was still slow after so i did a hard reset.
If it is a corrupted file. .. That file is in the core files because the hard reset would have wipe it !
But it makes sense tho since the problem is random.
But every thing should be as smooth as the s4 and the note 3 ?
Not because it had a bigger screen. ..i should feel a little lag switching from photos to photos (or windows to windows) ?

genius312 said:
Not because it had a bigger screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bigger display area will make a difference. The N3 has a PPI of 386 and a 5.7" display. The N10.1-14 has a PPI of 299 and a 10.1" display. I'm too lazy to compute the actual display area but the N10.1-14's CPU/GPU is pushing at least 40% more pixels to the display.
I should feel a little lag switching from photos to photos (or windows to windows) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The N3's much faster at transitions and app opening/closing than the N10.1-14. If you pinch-zoom to display all your home pages on the N3 it's fast; on the N10.1-14 not so much. I find that within apps the N10.1-14's fine and its performance reflects the high-end h/w. It'll stutter occasionally during a transition or in opening/closing apps but it's still plenty fast; at least to me. Hopefully performance will improve when we get 4.4/M-UX because the CES display units were impressively fast at pinch zooming and transitions.
Samsung's Gallery app has always had occasional indexing problems; especially with large numbers of photos and when cloud services are displayed in the Gallery. The next time it happens turn off Wi-Fi. It should instantly start responding normally. Once the indexing service has caught up the Gallery should be fine (until it indexes again).

BarryH_GEG said:
The bigger display area will make a difference. The N3 has a PPI of 386 and a 5.7" display. The N10.1-14 has a PPI of 299 and a 10.1" display. I'm too lazy to compute the actual display area but the N10.1-14's CPU/GPU is pushing at least 40% more pixels to the display.
The N3's much faster at transitions and app opening/closing than the N10.1-14. If you pinch-zoom to display all your home pages on the N3 it's fast; on the N10.1-14 not so much. I find that within apps the N10.1-14's fine and its performance reflects the high-end h/w. It'll stutter occasionally during a transition or in opening/closing apps but it's still plenty fast; at least to me. Hopefully performance will improve when we get 4.4/M-UX because the CES display units were impressively fast at pinch zooming and transitions.
Samsung's Gallery app has always had occasional indexing problems; especially with large numbers of photos and when cloud services are displayed in the Gallery. The next time it happens turn off Wi-Fi. It should instantly start responding normally. Once the indexing service has caught up the Gallery should be fine (until it indexes again).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, the N3 is a war machine !
But compared to my S4 then, it should at least be as fast !
I really like my S4, decent speed, never crashes.
Only holding the screen between 2 photos is lagging on the 10.1-14 !
But this is not my concern, the real problem is when it decides to run slower then my hold S2 !
And compared to the first gen 10.1, beside the interface which is way better on the 10.1-14, the speed seams faster on the old one and the touch screen works better with fingers too !

genius312 said:
True, the N3 is a war machine !
But compared to my S4 then, it should at least be as fast !
I really like my S4, decent speed, never crashes.
Only holding the screen between 2 photos is lagging on the 10.1-14 !
But this is not my concern, the real problem is when it decides to run slower then my hold S2 !
And compared to the first gen 10.1, beside the interface which is way better on the 10.1-14, the speed seams faster on the old one and the touch screen works better with fingers too !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is what it is my friend. You're running the latest U.S. s/w so unless you're having a h/w issue (doubtful) than the performance you're getting is the performance you're going to get. At least until updates hopefully speed of fluidity. The Tab/Note|Pro's running 4.4/M-UX appear significantly faster than the N10.1-14 and use the exact same h/w so the occasional lag we're seeing is curable with s/w.

Hopefully yes.
Is there any software I can install to see which CPU is running ?
Because when it runs great, I m happy with the little lag... not a big problem
But when it decides to stop, them everything is slow.
I see no updates running, if I empty the ram, it is still using 2.05 out of 3 ! ( I have 2 users)
Even switching from users to the other is slower then what I see on youtube (People showing that fonctionnality).
and WAAAY slower that the old nexus 10 I used.
Maybe the switching from 1 processor to the other is not perfect and gives problem a lot ...

Root and freeze or install all the bloat ware Inc my magazine. Download greenify and hibernate running apps, in developer options turn the animations to 0.5. Or try nova launcher too
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 01:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 AM ----------
reubenskelly1992 said:
Root and freeze or install all the bloat ware Inc my magazine. Download greenify and hibernate running apps, in developer options turn the animations to 0.5. Or try nova launcher too
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*unistall
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

reubenskelly1992 said:
Root and freeze or install all the bloat ware Inc my magazine. Download greenify and hibernate running apps, in developer options turn the animations to 0.5. Or try nova launcher too
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 01:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 AM ----------
*unistall
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure i understood it all. . But I'll try to decrypt.
I don't want to root it right now as I'm not sure i will keep it !!!
I know Nova launcher and was about to give it a try when i figured out the problem was not only the home screen. ..
Is it normal to be running almost all the time at 2.3gb out of 3 ?
I close all the apps on the 2 users, clear the ram and still running at 2.3-2.4gb
I only saw it once at 1.7!

genius312 said:
Not sure i understood it all. . But I'll try to decrypt.
I don't want to root it right now as I'm not sure i will keep it !!!
I know Nova launcher and was about to give it a try when i figured out the problem was not only the home screen. ..
Is it normal to be running almost all the time at 2.3gb out of 3 ?
I close all the apps on the 2 users, clear the ram and still running at 2.3-2.4gb
I only saw it once at 1.7!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that sounds about right. You can go to settings > apps. >all. And click on the apps u don't use or u think could be running in the background and disable them. Also the less screen pages and widgets you have running the better. I'd recommend an app called clean master. It will clean your device. Before I rooted my ram was that hight but after rooting it can as low as 1.2. Generally on 1.5. And rarely goes over 2. Hope this helps
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

reubenskelly1992 said:
Yeah that sounds about right. You can go to settings > apps. >all. And click on the apps u don't use or u think could be running in the background and disable them. Also the less screen pages and widgets you have running the better. I'd recommend an app called clean master. It will clean your device. Before I rooted my ram was that hight but after rooting it can as low as 1.2. Generally on 1.5. And rarely goes over 2. Hope this helps
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Se this morning it was at 1.9 Gb used out of 3 ! (2,71 in fact)
I have 3 apps opened now (facebook messenger, VLC et My Magazine) and I m using 2.54 ..... I think it s weird !
I only have 5 apps installed on it.
Also, I use swype to type text (slide my fingers through the keyboard) and sometimes it just doesn't work. I start sliding and it's like it cannot see my finger anymore. Works better with the pen again. Like I said previously, like it the screen has hard time to detect my finger on the screen.
Again, sometimes .. not always !
I think I m gonna see how much it will cost me to send it back to samsung and have it repaired .. I don't think all this is normal.
A lot of people say they bought tablets for 150$ and they works perfectly.
Yes mine does multi user, but at 150 I could have bought 4 of 'em + a lot of accessories !

genius312 said:
Se this morning it was at 1.9 Gb used out of 3 ! (2,71 in fact). I have 3 apps opened now (facebook messenger, VLC et My Magazine) and I m using 2.54 ..... I think it s weird ! I only have 5 apps installed on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't confuse "apps" with "processes" and "services." Because of all Samsung's "stuff" (EG: Multi View, S Pen) there are a gazillion open processes running in the background anticipating being needed. If you go in to Task Manager and "clear RAM" you'll see 40-50 processes being closed. You really needn't worry about it because Android dynamically manages memory and if something in the foreground needs memory it'll prioritize what to close in the background. Also, Mali reserves probably 500MB for itself at all times so you never really had 3GB of RAM truly available. Samsung, not being a benevolent company, included 3GB of RAM in the N3 and N10.1-14 for a reason.
In other words, if you're having some type of performance issue it's highly doubtful it's being caused by RAM starvation.

Of course the ram is not the problem... even if there is only 300 mo free, that s enough to manage the program I run.
But I really hate when I cannot swipe to type, when the gallery is so buggy that I cannot browse my pictures ( 10 photos max... not linked with Dropbox or facebook), when I have to wait for the next page in the apps page, when I try to slide the page and it just doesn't t work.. have to do it twice or trice ... When I want to slide down the notifications but I have to try 3-5-6 or 7 times...
Switching pages in the S note take times...sometimes lag but that is not a problem for me... All the others tho really makes me feel like either that tablet is a crap or mine has a problem .
I would sincerely prefere the second
When it s not buggy it works great... but sooooo unstable

[Q] Sprint Galaxy Note 4 Problems

Hello XDA,
This is my first thread on XDA and I feel as if XDA is the place to come for all Android. Here, I was hoping to bring up some issues on the beautiful Note 4. Any fixes?
Snapdragon 805 not properly optimized?
There are a few example I can give for this. When using the swipe lock screen option, with the popping colors. If you briefly touch it, the colors would come up, but pay close attention to the colors that come up. At least a few of you should notice the FPS drop when the colors rise and begin to fade, and its not bad but its concerning considering the power this phone has. Also, playing Real Racing 3 is pretty much impossible with the horrid 20 FPS the game plays at, when an 801 runs it as smooth as butter. Concerning.
Of course, the laggy multitasking button (I think thats what its called)
This is a major issue a lot of Note 4 users have complained about. Pressing the on-the-phone-button to see what apps are open is really slow at times and its frustrating cause, once again, this phone is really awesome. Any fix on this? I turned briefing off (Even if I loved it).
The occasional stutter
Honestly, this is the only other issue I've seen with this device. The 805 possibly not being optimized is kind of the main issue I've seen with the entire devices stutters. The multitasking button as well being the issue. Do you guys know any fixes for these two issues, or news on it, confirmations?

I too am finding the Note 4 shockingly slow given the specs. Browsing the Web is like walking through quicksand. Scrolling Web pages lags and stutters.
I don't get it. I had an S5 for 2 weeks and it was MUCH faster than this. ?
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app

I've checked out the popping colors in lock screen and real racing. Both have no issues. How ever I do notice some lag with the Note 4.

imKorbi said:
Hello XDA,
This is my first thread on XDA and I feel as if XDA is the place to come for all Android. Here, I was hoping to bring up some issues on the beautiful Note 4. Any fixes?
Snapdragon 805 not properly optimized?
There are a few example I can give for this. When using the swipe lock screen option, with the popping colors. If you briefly touch it, the colors would come up, but pay close attention to the colors that come up. At least a few of you should notice the FPS drop when the colors rise and begin to fade, and its not bad but its concerning considering the power this phone has. Also, playing Real Racing 3 is pretty much impossible with the horrid 20 FPS the game plays at, when an 801 runs it as smooth as butter. Concerning.
Of course, the laggy multitasking button (I think thats what its called)
This is a major issue a lot of Note 4 users have complained about. Pressing the on-the-phone-button to see what apps are open is really slow at times and its frustrating cause, once again, this phone is really awesome. Any fix on this? I turned briefing off (Even if I loved it).
The occasional stutter
Honestly, this is the only other issue I've seen with this device. The 805 possibly not being optimized is kind of the main issue I've seen with the entire devices stutters. The multitasking button as well being the issue. Do you guys know any fixes for these two issues, or news on it, confirmations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No lag on real racing 3 here. Even when I was just rooted on stock Rom so I could use ps3 controller with rr3 and it was fine. And if games do lag, it's up to the game developer to optimize it for that processor, not the other way around. It's not like Sony designed their processor in a ps4 around games that don't exist yet. Don't know why u right off the bat blame the hardware when it is all software issues.

If any thing is Lagging is is the poorly optimized Sprint crap and other apps on the phone. The processor is working as it should as any benchmark will show. I really find it sad that everyone is always so quick to blame the hardware. Have any of you claiming lag this and stutter this run benchmarks? If you did you would see this hardware is running actually better than predicted.

Solarenemy68 said:
If any thing is Lagging is is the poorly optimized Sprint crap and other apps on the phone. The processor is working as it should as any benchmark will show. I really find it sad that everyone is always so quick to blame the hardware. Have any of you claiming lag this and stutter this run benchmarks? If you did you would see this hardware is running actually better than predicted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree.

Solarenemy68 said:
If any thing is Lagging is is the poorly optimized Sprint crap and other apps on the phone. The processor is working as it should as any benchmark will show. I really find it sad that everyone is always so quick to blame the hardware. Have any of you claiming lag this and stutter this run benchmarks? If you did you would see this hardware is running actually better than predicted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, benchmarks? Honestly, who cares about benchmarks, especially when they can be so easily manipulated by how the manufacturer sets things up. Benchmarks are meaningless. All that matters is real world performance.
That being said I've done two things which seem to have improved my performance:
1. Running the Hybrid Rom. I recommend flashing back to the stock Sprint kernel as the included kernel was causing heat issues for me (YMMV).
2. Using Wanam Xposed to disable DVFS in Advanced Settings. This REALLY helped as it has on any Samsung device I've owned.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app

sprint probably
I think its sprint. Some people have Verizon N4 and they have 0 lag on the phone and some dont. I dont know why, but its frustrating knowing that just because of my carrier means that my device will be slower then others. Any fixes?
And the reason why I said that the 805 may not be optimized is because there is another thread, might be on XDA, that talks about how the device slows down and speeds up the 805 at the wrong times in game with RR3.
So is it sprint?? And if there anyway around this unnecessary lag?
If you guys want me to take a video of my Note 4 with the lag I will do so and show you guys what I mean. FPS drop im popping colors occasionally and lag in multitasking button, sometimes im waiting 5 seconds for all the windows to pop up.

imKorbi said:
I think its sprint. Some people have Verizon N4 and they have 0 lag on the phone and some dont. I dont know why, but its frustrating knowing that just because of my carrier means that my device will be slower then others. Any fixes?
And the reason why I said that the 805 may not be optimized is because there is another thread, might be on XDA, that talks about how the device slows down and speeds up the 805 at the wrong times in game with RR3.
So is it sprint?? And if there anyway around this unnecessary lag?
If you guys want me to take a video of my Note 4 with the lag I will do so and show you guys what I mean. FPS drop im popping colors occasionally and lag in multitasking button, sometimes im waiting 5 seconds for all the windows to pop up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try disabling DVFS using Wanam Xposed Advanced Settings. May prevent throttling.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app

Title
mitchellvii said:
Try disabling DVFS using Wanam Xposed Advanced Settings. May prevent throttling.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im sorry, how do I do this? Ive heard this a lot and I dont know how it works >.< Easy way to explaom it?? Or possibly a video?

You have to root your phone, then install Wanam Exposed.
This gives you a lot of flexibility on changing things with touchwiz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AESaWGWCvzY
There is a youtube with a basic overview of installing. After installing the framework, you would install Wanam, then in there is the settings you can tweak.

I got an update on my sprint note 4 on monday i believe it was and since that update i do not experience the lag i was having with the apps button , besides the normal half a second lag its supposed to have because if you hold that button down it opens the settings for what ever program you have running
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Thank you so far
Thanks guys Ill check out that video. Also, XDA mobile premium app wont open on my N4 either... Well.
Do you think the video will help??

Try this. No root needed.
Go to Settings > About Device > Build Number and tap the “Build Number” row 7 times.
This will reveal a “Developer Options” setting just above “About Device”- Enable it. Tap*“Window animation scale” and set to Off.
Tap “Transition animation scale” and set to Off.
Tap *“Animator duration scale” and set to Off
The default is usually 1X, so even lowering this to .5x should speed things up a bit.
Another thing you can try is disable S Voice by double tapping the home key.
App Settings > S Voice. Uncheck "Open via the home key."
Now when you press the home key, the phone won't be waiting to see if you are going to press it a second time.
One other option would be to switch from Dalvik to ART runtime.
Go back to Developer Options > Select runtime system. Select ART. phone will reboot and reload all your apps. The only problem I found with this is every time you reboot your phone, Android will update and reload all your apps. This will take a long time if you have a lot of apps.

[General Guideline] Battery Conservation At Its Best!

I've always been a lover of Android in the regards of how customizable it is. I've released a few custom roms in my time, mostly for the Galaxy S5 since the battery life on it was kind of honestly terrible when it came out. My roms were all based on Android 4.4.2 as 5.0 just seemed to kill a lot of my battery saving techniques. I figured I'd make a small post about my favorite ways to save on battery.
By the way, sorry if this is an incorrect section. Feel free to move it if needed. Been awhile since I've been on here...
Simple Methods
These methods don't take any special 3rd party app installs or file tweaks. These are simple adjustments you can make in your Settings application right on your device!
If you aren't using your GPS/Bluetooth/Wifi, Turn it off!
A lot of people just leave these things running constantly even when they aren't needed. I look at my fathers S3 and always cry a little inside because EVERYTHING is turned on. The reason its bad to leave these on even when not being used is because Wifi and GPS scan for a connection/location every 180 seconds (depending on phone model). This KILLS battery life so much. It takes a lot to power that little gps, and honestly even more to power that scan for Wifi to connect to. If you're feeling gutsy, you can even turn off your Data connection, but you'll still get text messages and such. Just can't browse facebook.
Haptic Feedback
You know, when you touch your screen and it vibrates. Doesn't seem like much but think about how much you use your phone. How many text messages are you typing? Facebook posts? Twitter posts? Your phone is basically constantly vibrating as you tap tap tap away at that little virtual on screen keyboard. Can we go back to hardware keyboards please?
Screen Wallpaper
This is a biggy, especially on high end phones. That HD screen takes a lot of power, but most of these screens on our phones like the Nexus, Galaxy, and high end LG's all have high end AMOLED screens. These screens work in a really cool way honestly. The darker the color on your screen being displayed, the less power the screen needs to actually show that color. White takes the most power, so if you have a brightly colored wallpaper and are wondering why your phone is dying quickly, this is definitely contributing. I always personally use a textured black background. 100% black (#000000 for you nerds out there) uses literally no power to display. The pixels actually turn off to display that color. The more 100% black in your background, the less battery power you use to display that background.
Screen Timeout Timer
Not using your phone? Turn off the screen. That easy. My timer is set to 30 seconds. I don't have a pass code on my phone because frankly, I don't care if someone gets into it. There's nothing weird on my phone that I know of. This is just one of those simple things that generally slip the mind of some people.
Fancy Features
Do you really need Multi-Window or that fancy Toolbox setting turned on? Just use your multi-tasking and switch back and forth. I use multi-window rarely. It feels like a gimmick to me personally.
Themes and Design
This harbors back to what I said about the whole "the darker the better" above with wallpapers. Using Material Design on your Android 4.4 or 5.0 will save on life because the colors are darker over all for almost everything. Anything white is going to use more power... Sound familiar? Alright, racist jokes aside, this is the truth. More power to display brighter colors. If you have the option, change the theme. A lot of apps have a built in theme changer. Things like Custom Launchers, GO SMS, Textra and many more have the customize ability to set those bright colors at bay.
Multi-Tasking, can you live without it?
This is a BIG saver on your battery, but also one you might realize you really might want to skip. I do a lot with my multi-tasking. Switching from Mobile Chrome to Text messages to a game I'm playing, this can take its toll. Turning off Multi-Tasking entirely isn't exactly the easiest to do either. You need to enable your Developer Settings on your device. If you're curious, go into your Settings App, open About Phone/Device, and tap repeatedly on Build Number. This should unlock Developer Settings. Once in there, you can scroll through and you'll find something with a name like "Limit Background Processes." If you tap on that, you'll be able to control just how many background apps can be running at a time before it starts auto-closing apps. I believe standard limit is fairly high, so setting it to 2 or 3 should help on battery usage.
Installed Apps
This is a big one. There's a lot of apps out there that when using them, or even NOT using them, they eat your battery, RAM, and processing power, alive. They just kill it. The Facebook's apps, Messenger and Facebook itself, were rated in the Top 5 for worst battery hogging apps of 2012, 2013, 2014 AND 2015. Delete those 2 apps and simply use your web browser to login to your facebook. Also, Mobile Chrome is a huge battery hog. Switching web browsers can help a lot. You can see which apps are using the most battery in your Settings by looking at the "Battery" section in your Settings app. Also, don't fall for the "Battery Saver" apps. They use more battery than they're worth and often just "emulate" some of the things I listed here that you can do yourself.
That's really about it for what you can do on a non-rooted devices without 3rd party apps. In the next section, I'll go over a lot more options with Root options and 3rd party apps.
Rooted options and 3rd Party Apps
This is the section that you'll want a little experience with. Backing up your phone entirely before continuing may be a smart option. Check XDA for the easiest way to back up your device before continuing.
Are you rooted? Kill that Bloatware!
A HUGE plus in Rooting is the fact you can remove a lot of the crap-ware that companies like Samsung, Verizon, AT&T, LG and many more of the cell phone companies out there install on your device. Not sure what you can delete? Look for things with something like "Samsung" in its app name. Or, you can go on the Play Store and grab an app called Root App Deleter. This is what I use. It has a nice Junior mode, for those who are new to this, and a Pro mode, for those experienced users. This will help you identify what you can and can't delete.
Type of root You have
There's always some sort of exploit to get root opportunity on a device, but what a lot of people don't know is that most of the Root exploits out there are called "live root" exploits. What is a "Live Root?" Well, that means the process of needing root is constantly being ran and controlled in the background while you may not even realize it. Running a Live Root will usually make your device run hot and slower. A big complaint of a lot of Rooters. Within the last few years, root exploits have gotten better, and there aren't as many Live Root exploits left, but for some devices, its the only way. To know if you have a Live Root, simply check your settings and see if your Android System is using a lot of battery power. That'll tell you. The best and I'm pretty sure only non-Live Root exploit out at the moment is KingRoot and TowelRoot. TowelRoot I trust more than KingRoot because KingRoot was made to attempt to work with ALL devices, where as TowelRoot was mainly focused on 1 specific Kernel version and Android version. Thank you GeoHot for TowelRoot. What a LIVE Saver.... get it? ... I'll see myself out.
Custom Roms
A lot of Custom Rom dev's out there focus on MORE instead of less, and those are the roms I usually steer clear of. These "more" options use a lot of battery power, even though they usually claim it uses less. The best Roms to install, in my opinion, are the ones that don't have many "new" features applied. Build.prop edits are alright, things like init.d support don't hurt anything, that usually helps honestly. The simple Debloated Dex'd Base roms are the best. You can always customize it later. A great example of a good base rom that gets good battery life is one I released a long time ago when the S5 was released. I'll leave the link below to XDA. The project is dead, but I may revive it
XDA BoxxiRoms v2.0.2
I'm in no way bashing custom rom development. New features are always awesome to have. They're cool, they bring new life to an old device.
PixelBatterySaver...
This is the ONLY app I trust to SAVE battery life because I've proven myself how well it works. While I said above that Apps don't work and use "more power than they're worth," this is the exception. This app, when activated, leaves a black mesh over your screen. and turns off pixels, but its enough that you won't notice during regular use. There's also multiple levels you can use. If you're interested in this, check it out on the play store and give it a go
Pixel Battery Saver Playstore
This is just the tip of the Iceburg for what I know honestly. I'll post more soon.

Can you help with galaxy s4 as well? Battery drains too fast..
Btw are you still using your s5 or still have it?
Sent from my unknown using XDA Free mobile app

blandead said:
Can you help with galaxy s4 as well? Battery drains too fast..
Btw are you still using your s5 or still have it?
Sent from my unknown using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use my S5 daily and actually just released a new ROM in the Verizon Galaxy S5 section for it based on NCG firmware and ROM.
There's many more ways to avoid battery drain than I have posted here, but these were the best top of the line ways I could think of. That being said, also check your battery for any pops and bubbles in the plastic wrapping around it OR for it being bloated in anyway. If you have had that S4 for a long time, its probably time for a new battery, which you can find on Amazon for probably less than 10 bucks.