Develop Bugs

[Q] Is HOX a bad phone? Thinking of returning

This is my first Android phone. I had iPhone, 3g, and 4 before grabbing the One X. I thought spec wise this phone is amazing, I love the screen and camera so much and ICS finally made Android as smooth if not smoother than iPhones with GPU acceleration. Now I am having issues that's making me think about returning it.
Issues
-Pandora randomly skips songs and buffers a lot
-No lock screen controls on Pandora
-Bought two games on the Play store (Worms & GTA3), they do not work
-The main home screen (the one that it goes to when you hit the home button), changes on me, and nobody seems to know how to set it.
-If you use a pattern screen lock, you still have to slide the ring open before you can do the pattern
Are these Android issues or One X issues? Do you think they will get solved, and how soon? I have 9 days to return this, seriously considering it and just using my iPhone 4 until the new iPhone comes out. Any and all opinions are appreciated.
Thanks
Other
If you felt like reading more... I absolutely love the HOX. The screen is gorgeous and such a pleasure to use. I love the camera as well, it takes amazing pictures, and they looks great on said gorgeous screen. I really want to like this phone, but some of these issues are deal breakers for me and worry me about just putting up with issues like these for two years.
/edit Posted in wrong section, this is an AT&T variant. Can't see where to delete this, so a mod can move it or I suppose it's mostly relevant here.

I would return my phone if the battery life was extremely poor, too much lag, too many bugs or screen flickering. Not cause there no lock screen controls for pandora or you have to unlock the ring after a password. But if those are deal breakers for you then yes, you should return it.

To be honest, this is an amazing phone, it is beautiful, fast and smooth.
To optimize it however, I would suggest rooting it and using a custom rom, which might (just might, don't know for sure) fix your homescreen problem, and for the Pandora and the games you bought, try un-installing and re-installing, if that doesnt work ; email the developers asking for help or answers, I emailed before for 'ISyncr' and got a reply and a fix in less than 2 hours.
Also, for the pull the ring before pattern, im sure on an iphone you haveto slide it before you can put it in number to unlock? Hope this helps

Thanks for the replays. since I want to like this phone so much, I'll try to.root it tomorrow. I work tomorrow so it will be later.
Not sure if I'll get an answer here, but if I root and try some roms will I be able to return it to stock and return it? as I said above, I'm on the AT&T one x.

Valitri said:
Thanks for the replays. since I want to like this phone so much, I'll try to.root it tomorrow. I work tomorrow so it will be later.
Not sure if I'll get an answer here, but if I root and try some roms will I be able to return it to stock and return it? as I said above, I'm on the AT&T one x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're in the wrong forum, go to the AT&T and Rogers One X forum because it is specialized and the AT&T One X has many subtle details that must be followed compared to the HTC One X.

Hunt3r.j2 said:
You're in the wrong forum, go to the AT&T and Rogers One X forum because it is specialized and the AT&T One X has many subtle details that must be followed compared to the HTC One X.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quoting myself...
/edit Posted in wrong section, this is an AT&T variant. Can't see where to delete this, so a mod can move it or I suppose it's mostly relevant here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So being a good xda noob, should I go create another thread while this one is still open? I don't know why they don't have the option to delete your own threads, especially when I had no replies on it.

Any Updates on Unlock for 4.4.2

Are there any updates on an unlock method for 3.11.605.1? I'm having a pretty serious problem with streaming Internet Radio apps cutting out with the screen off after about 5 minutes. The app Data Connection Fix has helped out a lot, but I wanted to try out other ROMs to see if I can find 1 without this issue. It's such a shame that I'm having this issue because the HTC One seems like such a great phone. Unfortunately, streaming Internet Radio at work is the main thing that I use my phone for and my older Droid X2 on 3g outperforms this phone in that aspect. It's so sad a newer 4g device has this issue and makes me wonder if I should ever mess with another HTC device or Android device period. I wanted to get away from iOS, but I'm finding that almost every Android device I've been using needs to be unlocked/rooted to fix really simple features that should work right out of the box and with every update. The Bluetooth A2DP quality problem with most JellyBean devices has been a nightmare. That's what made me ditch my LG G2. I tried just about every custom ROM and music through bluetooth was horrible no matter what I tried, even on the newer KitKat ROMs.

pda48428 said:
Are there any updates on an unlock method for 3.11.605.1? I'm having a pretty serious problem with streaming Internet Radio apps cutting out with the screen off after about 5 minutes. The app Data Connection Fix has helped out a lot, but I wanted to try out other ROMs to see if I can find 1 without this issue. It's such a shame that I'm having this issue because the HTC One seems like such a great phone. Unfortunately, streaming Internet Radio at work is the main thing that I use my phone for and my older Droid X2 on 3g outperforms this phone in that aspect. It's so sad a newer 4g device has this issue and makes me wonder if I should ever mess with another HTC device or Android device period. I wanted to get away from iOS, but I'm finding that almost every Android device I've been using needs to be unlocked/rooted to fix really simple features that should work right out of the box and with every update. The Bluetooth A2DP quality problem with most JellyBean devices has been a nightmare. That's what made me ditch my LG G2. I tried just about every custom ROM and music through bluetooth was horrible no matter what I tried, even on the newer KitKat ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure there's just a setting you're missing that keeps the radio from cutting out. I used to stream Sirius XM and had the problem but I remember getting it fixed somehow. If I think of it I'll let you know. And no, you can't gain s-off on 4.4.2. If you read at all on here, you'll know when you can.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

brholt6 said:
I'm pretty sure there's just a setting you're missing that keeps the radio from cutting out. I used to stream Sirius XM and had the problem but I remember getting it fixed somehow. If I think of it I'll let you know. And no, you can't gain s-off on 4.4.2. If you read at all on here, you'll know when you can.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Could you please tell me what setting? I get great service where I work and haven't had a problem with any other phone. I even went to Verizon and got a new SIM card. I've tried everything, starting with factory resets and clearing the cache. I have sleep mode off, app data sync on, mobile data is not restricted or limited, I've tried with and without beats audio enabled. The audio cuts out about every 5 minutes for 5-10 seconds and comes back on, just to cut out again for 5-10 seconds every 5 or so minutes. It's very annoying. The only thing that really helps is the data connection fix app, but that's not 100% reliable. I even called HTC and Verizon about the issue and they are looking into it. I would have normally just tried a different ROM, but I'm unable to unlock/s-off/root my phone because I'm on 4.4.2(3.11.605.1). That's the only reason I even called them. I currently have my phone up for sale and I'm seriously thinking about switching my service to sprint. I'm tired of paying top dollar for used phones to keep my unlimited data on Verizon. For all I know, there could be a problem with the phone, but it seems like a software issue to me. Everything else works and runs great. It's just that streaming Internet Radio is the thing I use most.

Have you tried this?
http://androidforums.com/htc-one/732481-beats-audio-setting-interrupts-streaming-audio.html

https://twitter.com/TeamAndIRC/status/443850349678321664
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

BhRaElEfD said:
Have you tried this?
Yes I've tried. It has nothing to do with beats audio. For some reason it just drops the data connection for like 5-10 seconds with the screen off every 5 minutes or so. I don't know if it's incompatible apps with 4.4.2 or 4.4.2 itself. It could also have something to do with the HTC sense software. It could just be the way this phone communicates with the Verizon towers. I have no idea and it's very frustrating. The last time I had a problem similar to this was when I had an LG Optimus V on Virgin Mobile and it would lose 3g and I would have to turn off the data connection and turn it back on. This is different, though, because I have 4G LTE all the time. There just seems to be a delay in receiving my data to where the Internet Radio cuts out before it signals for more data. Then by the time I receive more data, it's too late and the sound has already cut out. I did a speed test and I'm getting about 30mbps download and around 15mbps upload so I know I'm not being throttled. The only thing that helps is the data connection fix app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I did some more testing and I don't have any issues on WiFi and I don't have any issues if the screen stays on. It's only on cellular data with the screen off when I'm having issues. I noticed the Power Saving feature was removed in 4.4.2 and instead there's a sleep mode option. I have the sleep mode option off, but I'm thinking my issue might be because of a power saving bug in the HTC software for 4.4.2. If anybody knows anything about this, please post. Thanks

Think it will ever be unlocked?
I would SO much love to have airplay enabled on my HTC One. I came from iPhone, and have a full home surround sound based on Airplay, which I now can't use. Airplay is available only through a root application, although i have my phone on 4.4.2. Any thoughts on if and when this will ever be unlocked? Otherwise it's a huge reason for me to not have this phone...

BBooch said:
I would SO much love to have airplay enabled on my HTC One. I came from iPhone, and have a full home surround sound based on Airplay, which I now can't use. Airplay is available only through a root application, although i have my phone on 4.4.2. Any thoughts on if and when this will ever be unlocked? Otherwise it's a huge reason for me to not have this phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it took beaups and crew about 1 month + to get 4.3 unlocked. Plus it seems more devs are having issues with 4.4.2 so it could be longer. At this point hope for the best and expect the worse.

I seriously don't know why all of these companies continue to try and lock out everyone's phones (and spend unnecessary money doing so) when someone will just outwit them almost every time. If a dev REALLY wanted this done right away it would be done! Point blank... It's a cat n mouse game and Verizon will lose. I just purchased an HTC One on 4.4.2 and have full faith that it will be cracked wide open anytime now. No one can stop somebody that is determined and smarter than the person who created the bottleneck. Here's hoping to a quick S-off method soon :victory:

shojus said:
I seriously don't know why all of these companies continue to try and lock out everyone's phones (and spend unnecessary money doing so) when someone will just outwit them almost every time. If a dev REALLY wanted this done right away it would be done! Point blank... It's a cat n mouse game and Verizon will lose. I just purchased an HTC One on 4.4.2 and have full faith that it will be cracked wide open anytime now. No one can stop somebody that is determined and smarter than the person who created the bottleneck. Here's hoping to a quick S-off method soon :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not unnecessary money to them honestly. In Samsung's case they are trying to prove that their devices are secure enough to use for government agencies. Do you think they care that a few rogue hackers find exploits from time to time? No, they just need to convince some corporate goon that his e-mails to his mistress won't get intercepted. Speaking of the S4, it's been locked down now for about 8 months so I'd say they're getting pretty damn good at it. They have root I believe, but the bootloader is locked down tight on every S4 other than the very first firmware that came with the phone. I'm not sure what HTC's motivations are but I'm guessing they need to play ball with companies like Verizon in order to be able to sell their devices in the future.
Another thing that is hurting us is that Android itself is getting more secure. They are adding features that prevent exploits so it makes it harder for your average dev to find a way in. In the future we may be forced to buy developer editions to be able to do anything. That's worse case, but you never know.
Just like you I had "faith" that a developer would crack the S4 and I could finally have freedom. It never happened. It still hasn't happened. That's the main reason I switched to HTC. I'm not saying you should give up hope, but if you can't stand a phone to be locked down you should be looking into buying a different phone just in case...

Crawshayi said:
It's not unnecessary money to them honestly. In Samsung's case they are trying to prove that their devices are secure enough to use for government agencies. Do you think they care that a few rogue hackers find exploits from time to time? No, they just need to convince some corporate goon that his e-mails to his mistress won't get intercepted. Speaking of the S4, it's been locked down now for about 8 months so I'd say they're getting pretty damn good at it. They have root I believe, but the bootloader is locked down tight on every S4 other than the very first firmware that came with the phone. I'm not sure what HTC's motivations are but I'm guessing they need to play ball with companies like Verizon in order to be able to sell their devices in the future.
Another thing that is hurting us is that Android itself is getting more secure. They are adding features that prevent exploits so it makes it harder for your average dev to find a way in. In the future we may be forced to buy developer editions to be able to do anything. That's worse case, but you never know.
Just like you I had "faith" that a developer would crack the S4 and I could finally have freedom. It never happened. It still hasn't happened. That's the main reason I switched to HTC. I'm not saying you should give up hope, but if you can't stand a phone to be locked down you should be looking into buying a different phone just in case...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Valid points! That's why I said "almost every time"... I really just need root and I would be happy but I switch devices so much that I probably won't even have the One (my 3rd HTC One) by the time it gets exploited (if) it does. And I do understand that Google has to close a lot of security holes so that they don't look like they are such a terrible company by allowing all of these terrible "viruses" into our phones which I have never had any issues with. I do agree with you though that we will probably all be buying dev phones sooner than later. Thanks for the insight!

Just another reason to leave Verizon and go get a Nexus device.

Brand new with HTC

Well i recently recieved an upgrade with my provider and I opted for the M9. This is because for the last 4 years ive had samsung and although I havent a bad word to say for them, I just fancied a change. So here I am.
Quite a difference in the way you can obtain certain things like unlocking, rooting etc. To be honest, though it was a bit worrying at first, I soon managed to get things done and It sort of makes you feel like you're more involved with your phone. Rather than just letting a .zip do all the work or a full firmware file through odin do the business.
Ive only had it 2 days and managed to root, unlock and s-off, Flashed a new firmware and rom and very happy with it. I have noticed despite the camera being a higher pixel count it isnt quite as sharp as the samsung camera, still good though. The front camera is definately better.
Having only had it 2 days though i cant really comment on performance etc etc. I need it longer but i'm relatively happy with how its going.
I do have a couple of concerns. 1 being the temperature it reaches when flashing etc.My samsung used to feel very warm but obviously its more noticable with the HTC due to it being all metal and I guess thats good as it sucks all the heat into the shell and away from the cpu's.
Anyway, this was just to say hi, and that I hope to continue to enjoy my htc experience, its definately come on a lot since my last HTC many years ago (Wildfire S).
Any tips / tricks / must haves that I should know about?
Thanks and HI! =)

tomorio said:
Well i recently recieved an upgrade with my provider and I opted for the M9. This is because for the last 4 years ive had samsung and although I havent a bad word to say for them, I just fancied a change. So here I am.
Quite a difference in the way you can obtain certain things like unlocking, rooting etc. To be honest, though it was a bit worrying at first, I soon managed to get things done and It sort of makes you feel like you're more involved with your phone. Rather than just letting a .zip do all the work or a full firmware file through odin do the business.
Ive only had it 2 days and managed to root, unlock and s-off, Flashed a new firmware and rom and very happy with it. I have noticed despite the camera being a higher pixel count it isnt quite as sharp as the samsung camera, still good though. The front camera is definately better.
Having only had it 2 days though i cant really comment on performance etc etc. I need it longer but i'm relatively happy with how its going.
I do have a couple of concerns. 1 being the temperature it reaches when flashing etc.My samsung used to feel very warm but obviously its more noticable with the HTC due to it being all metal and I guess thats good as it sucks all the heat into the shell and away from the cpu's.
Anyway, this was just to say hi, and that I hope to continue to enjoy my htc experience, its definately come on a lot since my last HTC many years ago (Wildfire S).
Any tips / tricks / must haves that I should know about?
Thanks and HI! =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello. Welcome. I hope you enjoy your M9 experience.
Yeah, they heat up a little bit when flashing, but I think you're assumption on the metal body is correct.
I think the camera is not awesome in lower light situations. outside, it's fantastic. There's a thread on the camera in this forum you should check out, but some people who have used both the S6 and M9 say that the S6 is better in low light situations, but the M9 is better outside. You can probably get some tips in that that thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/general/pictures-m9-t3044267). A lot of people like shooting in manual mode with this phone and can produce some pretty nice results.

jollywhitefoot said:
Hello. Welcome. I hope you enjoy your M9 experience.
Yeah, they heat up a little bit when flashing, but I think you're assumption on the metal body is correct.
I think the camera is not awesome in lower light situations. outside, it's fantastic. There's a thread on the camera in this forum you should check out, but some people who have used both the S6 and M9 say that the S6 is better in low light situations, but the M9 is better outside. You can probably get some tips in that that thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/general/pictures-m9-t3044267). A lot of people like shooting in manual mode with this phone and can produce some pretty nice results.
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Click to collapse
Excellent thank you. I'll take a look and see if I can get any tips for improving my pictures. When I was in store chosing my next phone they did mention that it isn't the best in low light, probably due to the smaller aperture but I use take most of my pictures outside or in decent lighting anyway so I suppose it's not an issue as such. I'll definately have a look at that thread though and see if using manual mode will help me out more.
Thanks.
edit - I do have a quick question about firmwares. I have just flashed the 1.40.401.x but also noticed their are some 2.xx.xx something. Which are newer and why the huge difference? lol sorry to ask what is probably a very nooby question.

tomorio said:
Excellent thank you. I'll take a look and see if I can get any tips for improving my pictures. When I was in store chosing my next phone they did mention that it isn't the best in low light, probably due to the smaller aperture but I use take most of my pictures outside or in decent lighting anyway so I suppose it's not an issue as such. I'll definately have a look at that thread though and see if using manual mode will help me out more.
Thanks.
edit - I do have a quick question about firmwares. I have just flashed the 1.40.401.x but also noticed their are some 2.xx.xx something. Which are newer and why the huge difference? lol sorry to ask what is probably a very nooby question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it takes pretty decent still life photos in low light, but not great snapshots of people/pets (things that move). I think on auto, the camera isn't aggressive enough in bumping ISO, so it has to use too slow a shutter speed to completely stop movement.
I think 1.40 was kind of a temporary release to quickly address some issues in 1.32 (camera and CPU management mostly)...I don't think it was ever officially released in the US. But 1.40 has issue of it's own, mainly that charging the phone can be extremely slow at times. I don't know how HTC comes up with firmware numbering, but I would guess that part of the big number jump has to do with the fact that 1.xx firmware was for Android 5.0.2 while the 2.7 firmware runs on Android 5.1. I flashed the 2.7 firmware last night and the 1.40 base rom that I use works fine with it so far...I can't say with certainty that your ROM will work with it though. FYI, I'm on InsertCoin.

jollywhitefoot said:
I find it takes pretty decent still life photos in low light, but not great snapshots of people/pets (things that move). I think on auto, the camera isn't aggressive enough in bumping ISO, so it has to use too slow a shutter speed to completely stop movement.
I think 1.40 was kind of a temporary release to quickly address some issues in 1.32 (camera and CPU management mostly)...I don't think it was ever officially released in the US. But 1.40 has issue of it's own, mainly that charging the phone can be extremely slow at times. I don't know how HTC comes up with firmware numbering, but I would guess that part of the big number jump has to do with the fact that 1.xx firmware was for Android 5.0.2 while the 2.7 firmware runs on Android 5.1. I flashed the 2.7 firmware last night and the 1.40 base rom that I use works fine with it so far...I can't say with certainty that your ROM will work with it though. FYI, I'm on InsertCoin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah I see. I just noticed that most of the roms out at the moment recommend using the 1.40 firmware which is why I flashed that one. I'm currently using Viper which seems good so far, only had it a day. As I was new to everything I thought it best to stick with what is suggested as unlike with my Galaxy s4 the flashing of firmwares and roms seems quite specific. I had noticed it is quite a slow charge process, but I tend to charge overnight if I can and make the phone last the full day so it's not that much of a downer, unless i've had a lot of usage and need a "quick boost" >< then its not so great lol

tomorio said:
Ah I see. I just noticed that most of the roms out at the moment recommend using the 1.40 firmware which is why I flashed that one. I'm currently using Viper which seems good so far, only had it a day. As I was new to everything I thought it best to stick with what is suggested as unlike with my Galaxy s4 the flashing of firmwares and roms seems quite specific. I had noticed it is quite a slow charge process, but I tend to charge overnight if I can and make the phone last the full day so it's not that much of a downer, unless i've had a lot of usage and need a "quick boost" >< then its not so great lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many people have reported that rebooting temporarily fixes the slow charge issue.
MaximusHD is the only rom that uses the new firmware currently. I bet others will be updating soon. The Viper guys have been chatting about Viper 3.0 being released soon and I assume it will be 5.1 based.

Thats good. I'll keep checking any updates and see what happens.
I can't wait for a few more roms to be up and about. I'm used to the countless available for the S4 and forget that device is 2 years old now so there was plenty of time to get things going. I shall just have to be patient.
Thanks for all the help mate.

tomorio said:
Thats good. I'll keep checking any updates and see what happens.
I can't wait for a few more roms to be up and about. I'm used to the countless available for the S4 and forget that device is 2 years old now so there was plenty of time to get things going. I shall just have to be patient.
Thanks for all the help mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a problem. Enjoy the device.

Not to hijack your thread tomorio, but how did you decide on which phone? I have the Galaxy S5 now, but I'm torn between HTC M8, M9, or LG G4. Pros and cons to all. My biggest thing is ease of root as I have a couple of frequent use apps that require it. Thanks in advance for any tips on how you decided!
~Vol

Vol4Ever said:
Not to hijack your thread tomorio, but how did you decide on which phone? I have the Galaxy S5 now, but I'm torn between HTC M8, M9, or LG G4. Pros and cons to all. My biggest thing is ease of root as I have a couple of frequent use apps that require it. Thanks in advance for any tips on how you decided!
~Vol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hijack away my friend.
I too was torn but between the S6, LG G4 and htc m9. I was leaning away from the S6 as I really fancied a change, however I think it will always have more options available to it (for custom roms etc) due to the larger fan base and it is much simpler to get to grips with for rooting etc.
the G4 my Partner already has and something about it when I used it I just didn't enjoy, and its nowhere near as pretty as the M9 lol. Try one out if you can just to see for yourself. Unfortunately I have no more experience of it than having a little play of her phone so unsure on the rooting processes etc but imagine it to be similar to the Samsung way.
The HTC M9 was a tough choice. Especially when I looked at how rooting etc is done (this is one of the first things i check with phones flash-a-holic you see lol). Anyway, once i'd read over all the advice given in this forum, the how to's etc and got a small amount of knowledge of the process of rooting using fastboot etc i pushed myself to make the choice. As far as user friendly goes, I think for simpler flashing the Sammy will always win again, as it's processes are far simpler (flashing via odin etc and all the files being ready to flash straight off the bat). However if you're keen for a change then I would recommend the M9. I've only had it a few days really but already i'm glad I did.
Just be sure to look through all the ways of rooting so that you get a better understanding of how its done. I think once the initial unlocking bootloader, rooting and flashing custom recovery is done it;s pretty simple after that. I've got to grips with it already.
One of the main benefits I found with the sammy phones was I was never worried about bricking because there were many different ways to get it back up and running. I dont know how that fares with the M9 but as long as you follow the instructions step by step and have backups available you should be ok.
Sorry for the wall of text, if you need anything else let me know.
Hope that helps.
- edit- also i may have touched on it in a previous post, but i think as far as customizing your phone goes and making it your own, I feel that HTC as a company are much more in tune with "our world" of people who like to change the stock features and put their own touch on things.

Walls of text don't bother me. I'd rather have too much information than not enough. It's going to be the M9 if we can work out the AT&T issues I mentioned in my other thread. I went to the store last night expecting a simple transaction like the bazillion other phone upgrades I've done over the years. Walked out steaming, to say the least. The worst part was the lady helping me majorly projected a "couldn't care less" attitude that is a major pet peeve of mine!

Should I Buy This Phone?

I'm getting ready to upgrade from my beloved Galaxy S4. I'm considering the One M9 and would love to hear opinions from current owners.
I saw another thread titled similarly, but that person didn't mention some of my chief concerns.
My biggest concern is I MUST have a rooted phone. The S4 was a bit of a pain because it was locked down so much, but the amazing people here on XDA always came through and eventually worked up root methods that idiots like me can follow. Other than the root issue, I have loved the S4.
My phone before the S4 was an HTC Incredible, which was awesome. And with a Verizon recently locking up the S6 with updates to block rooting, I thought HTC might be my ticket once again. Then when I came here to do some research, it seems Verizon has similarly locked down the One M9.
So how difficult is it to root the M9?
I saw something about sending the phone off to a gentleman who could unlock the bootloader. That would be an option for me since I don't have to have the phone immediately. If I do that, does that solve the root difficulty permanently?
On top of all that, how is the One M9 as a phone? Is Sense still similar to previous versions, etc.?
I'd love to read your thoughts!

Buckhunter206 said:
I'm getting ready to upgrade from my beloved Galaxy S4. I'm considering the One M9 and would love to hear opinions from current owners.
I saw another thread titled similarly, but that person didn't mention some of my chief concerns.
My biggest concern is I MUST have a rooted phone. The S4 was a bit of a pain because it was locked down so much, but the amazing people here on XDA always came through and eventually worked up root methods that idiots like me can follow. Other than the root issue, I have loved the S4.
My phone before the S4 was an HTC Incredible, which was awesome. And with a Verizon recently locking up the S6 with updates to block rooting, I thought HTC might be my ticket once again. Then when I came here to do some research, it seems Verizon has similarly locked down the One M9.
So how difficult is it to root the M9?
I saw something about sending the phone off to a gentleman who could unlock the bootloader. That would be an option for me since I don't have to have the phone immediately. If I do that, does that solve the root difficulty permanently?
On top of all that, how is the One M9 as a phone? Is Sense still similar to previous versions, etc.?
I'd love to read your thoughts!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, first of all, this question has been asked several times here and there are a handful of responsive threads that answer some of your questions.
1. It's very easy to root the M9, if you have access to one of the individuals in the java card thread. I drove a few miles west on the PA turnpike to hook-up with @dottat after acquiring my M9 and had a rooted, bootloader-unlocked handset within minutes of our meet-up. I had someone else waiting in the wings for me to mail it to him, but this was more convenient. If you aren't near anyone on that thread's map, you'll have to send the handset out. Yes, that's harder than the "gool ol' days" with many of the exploits available on xda and elsewhere, but that's life now.
2. As a phone it's great. If you happen to get another call from someone else with advance calling it is to telephone audio what FM is to AM.
3. The camera is very good. No OIS, but with 21 megapixels, it's pretty darn good. The front facing camera, an ultrapixel camera, is excellent for selfies, if you're into that sort of thing (I'm most assuredly not).
4. The processing speed is very quick with the multi-core processor.
5. Sense 7 is much more unobtrusive than prior Sense versions. I like it very much. I had even flashed a Sense 7 ROM on my M8 because I preferred it to Sense 6.
6. The device can get hot, especially in a sunlit care when dashboard mounted with BT audio and GPS in use. Very hot. The solution is run it naked and on a charger, otherwise your battery will die before you arrive anywhere. Overheating is less prevalent out of sunlight.
Hope that helps.

Just How Hot?
Thanks for the great feedback! I didn't know about the heat issue.
Here's another question: I use my phone at LOT for tethering. I keep it plugged in because the battery drain is so intense while doing so, but if the screen is on for any amount of time even the S4 gets HOT to the point of shutting down.
I'm not saying that's a flaw in the phone ... that's a lot of computing/work for such a small device, but ... do you think the M9 would be unworkable for my intense tethering?

Buckhunter206 said:
Thanks for the great feedback! I didn't know about the heat issue.
Here's another question: I use my phone at LOT for tethering. I keep it plugged in because the battery drain is so intense while doing so, but if the screen is on for any amount of time even the S4 gets HOT to the point of shutting down.
I'm not saying that's a flaw in the phone ... that's a lot of computing/work for such a small device, but ... do you think the M9 would be unworkable for my intense tethering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think tethering alone would do. Direct sunshine and GPS seem to be the main drivers
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

The heat is a luck of the draw thing too. My phone is caseless mounted to the dash and charging any time I'm driving. At a minimum it is playing music and has the GPS active. A lot of times it is running waze/google maps or Ingress. While it will get hot to the touch, I have never seen the actual overheat warning. I think the highest I've seen is ~118°F battery temp. I don't usually check the CPU temp.

Took the Plunge
Thanks again for the feedback, guys. I went ahead and ordered an M9 last night.
Will be sending it off to get bootloader unlocked as soon as it arrives.
Don't know what I'd do without XDA!

What's going to be your next device?

My deepest apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I need to ask this question some place. If this has been asked before, the search did not return anything that caught my eye, please feel free to point me in the correct direction! Considering that I have Verizon as a carrier and live in the US, I thought I would ask this audience to see what device has caught your eye!
My upgrade date is drawing near and I need to decide on a device that I want to give a shot next, and I would like to avoid being disappointed in my next device.
What is your next device going to be, and why?
I have been keeping my eye on the newest Nexus (now the Pixel) phones, but I really can't see myself giving up my sd card slot. I am also kind of partial to the removable battery.
I really like this phone, but the development has been poor due to Verizon's locked bootloader. I have a feeling this will be the case with ALL Verizon phones, but I have unlocked bootloaders in the past (Even my Note 3 finally got a bootloader unlock!).
My real pull to the Nexus/Pixel was the fact that it's a Google phone, it gets the latest Operating System updates, and AFAIK they were able to unlock the bootloader in the past (please correct me if I am wrong, as I have not really ever owned a Nexus device).
I really enjoy the ability to install a custom Rom and modify the OS (I LOATHE the stock DPI on most devices!!!) and I can't exactly get tethering on my package (but there is usually an app for that ). I would like to find something powerful enough to keep me happy for the next few months, because lets face it, we all start to long for a new device.
Thank you for your time and consideration!

b3y0ndd34th said:
My deepest apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I need to ask this question some place. If this has been asked before, the search did not return anything that caught my eye, please feel free to point me in the correct direction! Considering that I have Verizon as a carrier and live in the US, I thought I would ask this audience to see what device has caught your eye!
My upgrade date is drawing near and I need to decide on a device that I want to give a shot next, and I would like to avoid being disappointed in my next device.
What is your next device going to be, and why?
I have been keeping my eye on the newest Nexus (now the Pixel) phones, but I really can't see myself giving up my sd card slot. I am also kind of partial to the removable battery.
I really like this phone, but the development has been poor due to Verizon's locked bootloader. I have a feeling this will be the case with ALL Verizon phones, but I have unlocked bootloaders in the past (Even my Note 3 finally got a bootloader unlock!).
My real pull to the Nexus/Pixel was the fact that it's a Google phone, it gets the latest Operating System updates, and AFAIK they were able to unlock the bootloader in the past (please correct me if I am wrong, as I have not really ever owned a Nexus device).
I really enjoy the ability to install a custom Rom and modify the OS (I LOATHE the stock DPI on most devices!!!) and I can't exactly get tethering on my package (but there is usually an app for that ). I would like to find something powerful enough to keep me happy for the next few months, because lets face it, we all start to long for a new device.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the G4 for over a year and just upgraded to the HTC 10

pettigrew95 said:
I had the G4 for over a year and just upgraded to the HTC 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you liking it? And how is the development?
Are you a heavy phone user? What is the battery life like?

b3y0ndd34th said:
How are you liking it? And how is the development?
Are you a heavy phone user? What is the battery life like?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone itself is awesome but I'm having some battery issues and trying to pinpoint what is causing the poor battery life. Development is fantastic since S-OFF and root were achieved via the Sunshine APK. There are tons of ROMs and kernels to flash. I miss having a removable battery but the HTC 10 does have a micro-SD slot.

I'm not in the market for a new phone to replace my G4 yet, but after getting a bootloop replacement with the first gen manufacturing date, I probably will be looking sooner rather than later. I get to stay on the unlimited data family share plan through a corporate discount, so I'm kind of curious if VZW still subsidizes new phones on those lines. If so, I'd miss out on the savings if I were to get a Pixel, which I presume will only be offered at full price. I've been out of the loop since MM came out and made it harder to mod Android, so it's good to see that at least there are some non-developer version phones out there still.