Might buy D851: Looking for opinions - T-Mobile LG G3

Hi folks,
I just dropped my Samsung S4 and cracked the screen. :crying: It still works, but it's time to move on. I never buy new / latest devices; instead I wait and buy last year's model from Swappa or the like, selling my old phone to partially subsidize the purchase. Looks like my S4 is going to the Boneyard.
What I've been looking for is a 2014 model, 5.5" screen, rootable/unlocked bootloader (I like custom ROMs :good: ), phone with a multicolor notification light and good battery. Was thinking to go up to Nexus 6 but it's just too big for me.
The LG G3 looks just about perfect. I've spent the last hour reading up on it. The T-Mo version should work fine for my AT&T service, and it comes unlocked, both SIM and Bootloader. Can any ATT users attest to the phone working well on that network? (EDIT: I googled a bit and found it works fine)
There seems to be plenty of development, though surprisingly I don't see a plain vanilla GPE 5.1.1 ROM out there. Most of the development I see seems to be around AOSP (I'm a fan of SlimROMs and have had good experiences with Dirty Unicorns too, been considering Bliss on other devices). Have I missed a very plain GPE (at least 5.1) compiled for the G3? Doing my research it looks like the latest OTA is still 20G (5.0.1), and it sounds like Marshmallow will eventually come out (I'm not sure I want it...). Would love to hear what the most plain GPE like 5.1 ROM is.
I'd love to hear any experience or recommendations... anybody get a G3 recently and wish they got something else, instead? Or is this a device we can all love for another year or so?
Thanks. I'm itching to pull the trigger and just need some encouragement, or possibly a conk on the head to look into some other phone.
One last question: how intense is the vibrate function on the G3? My S4 isn't strong enough vibrating, and I often miss calls and stuff when I'm in silent/vibrate mode. Looking for something a bit more attention getting if possible!
Marc

I dropped my note 3 for thus phone. Although it's rootable the g3 seems to be fragile when it comes to flashing roms if you don't know what you are doing. Not worse than the note 3 though ( ATT murdered that phone).

Thanks for the reply!
I've gone ahead and purchased the D851. It should arrive today, and I should have it set up later this week. Looking forward to it. I've bought an iCarez 0.2mm screen protector for it and am looking into bumpers/wraps to keep it minty.
I'm a bit concerned since there's no 5.1(.1) GPE ROM available, but many of the Dev'ed ROM options look attractive. I'm going to start by rooting the thing and subtracting bloatware. After that, we'll see... On the S4, the T-Mo boot animation was reason enough to flash a ROM. Loud and annoying.
I'm curious, are you stock, or have you flashed something (if so, which ROM)?
Again, thank you. I appreciate your reply.

I was practically in the same boat. I had a GS4 , but cracked the display, the actual display not the glass, and bought a G3. I replaced the front glass twice before that, its a very fragile phone. But otherwise I loved the S4 for the screen, the plain design, ROMs, expandable storage, and removable battery.
The G3 is very comparable to the S4, the screen I'd say is slight upgrade. You can barely notice 1440p vs 1080p, and I'd say its viewing angles aren't as good, but I still like it over my S4. I'm running paranoid android 5.1.1 on it now. Its similar to AOSP. If you liked the GS4 you'd probably like the G3 but it wasn't that great an upgrade. Still though, its logical to get the G3 if your S4 is broken as its pretty much an S4 with more up to date components and an LG logo on it.

Thanks for the input ! I did buy a G3 and will set it up this weekend. I will look into the ROM you mentioned too.
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using Tapatalk

I wish I'd seen this sooner. I'd have steered you clear of the G3. Biggest piece of garbage unless you're running boring stock. Even the CM team can't figure out how to make a stable ROM for it... And they've been at it for over a year! Bluetooth audio will never be right, Bluetooth LE will stop working altogether and you'll experience major network connectivity issues... All on day one and with any of the custom ROMs out there. It seems that the LG is so proprietary that nothing can control it aside from the boring, bloated, ugly and battery eating stock.

Aalendi said:
I wish I'd seen this sooner. I'd have steered you clear of the G3. Biggest piece of garbage unless you're running boring stock. Even the CM team can't figure out how to make a stable ROM for it... And they've been at it for over a year! Bluetooth audio will never be right, Bluetooth LE will stop working altogether and you'll experience major network connectivity issues... All on day one and with any of the custom ROMs out there. It seems that the LG is so proprietary that nothing can control it aside from the boring, bloated, ugly and battery eating stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the opinion, but I have to say I'm loving my D851.
I rooted it and installed TWRP straight out of the gate, so that I could make some changes I wanted to (such as uninstalling T-Mobile specific system apps, not needed for me on ATT), but I never even needed to change out the ROM. The phone works great on the stock ROM (minus a few things I manually debloated), and doesn't feel bloated or laggy. I didn't even bother to install the Cloudy ROM (debloated stock).
I did install the Google Now launcher, because I wasn't a fan of the stock UI. I like the things Google Now brings to the table and it cleaned up the UI.
After the first few days I stopped playing around with the phone because everything works great. Bluetooth to my car, no problem, great WIFI antenna and Cell receptivity as compared to my Galaxy S4. Nice screen, battery life is outstanding...
Loving the phone.

Can't disagree with Aalendi more. I've had the 851 for almost 18 months and running SR Lolly V6 - Final on it for the past 6 months. Works perfectly and even though I'm tempted from time to time to "upgrade" to another phone, I cannot find enough differences out there to warrant it. Android 6 is already emerging and I'm waiting to upgrade the ROM when I feel its almost glitch-free (which it's not at the moment. I think you made a fine decision. JM2C

Manual debloat?
I am sorta/kinda new to the ROM party and am able to install TWRP and flash/root my D851. However, I went back to the stock ROM because of Wi-Fi calling and more stable network connectivity than 3rd-party ROMS. My question to you is what do you mean by 'manual debloat'? Is that a function of TWRP or simply removing/disabling apps? Thanks.

Manual de-bloat refers to you being able to remove programs that carriers or manufacturers install on your phone when you first purchase it. Rooting your phone allows you to do this yourself.

Related

[Q] Thoughts on M9 and AOSP / Pure Google - or anything with NO Sense 7

Anyone have any insiders on something without Sense 7 on the M9??
I'll be frank. I LOVED my M8. Best Android phone I've owned aside from its shortcomings, namely the camera. Right before I dumped Verizon and along with the M8 I had a pure stock 5.0.2 Android Rom and thought I was in love. I recently purchased a M9 Developer edition straight from HTC with the hopes that they would release whatever it is (source code, maybe?) to be able to build a pure edition of AOSP without Sense.
It took me a month to decide between the Nexus 6 (too big too small of storage), S6 (exynos in house SoC and small battery), Moto X 2nd gen (bad camera), HTC M9 (overheating issues), the 1+1 (too small of storage) and the Saygus (Still isn't out yet!?) All of them had some stupid catch. I knew my M8 got hot at times but wasn't a big deal so I went with the M9. Mine now has S-OFF with the 1.40 firmware on the venom rom, I flip between a T-mo and Cricket SIM depending on coverage because I travel - A LOT. Every week I'm somewhere else. Texas, Montana, Philly, Chicago.. this week I'm in Denver. Next week I'm in Texas.. following.. Tennessee.. so I need the large storage for my media (music, movies, etc). That being said, one of the BIGGEST things I need on my phone is Viper4Android.. which requires very little, but at the time I decided to purchase a phone, it didn't support the Exynos processor, only the qualcomm. Now I see that's changed already. I think my problems would be solved if I could have some way purchased a S6, bought a Mophie to extend battery and rooted with viper. Buuuuuuut, the audio power out (mW) is so low, I'd have to go back to using my external FiiO E6 headphone amp with my Westone 4 IEM's. But I digress. (Sorry)
Anyway, I'm hoping something happens soon or I don't know what I'm going to do. All the experimentation with ROM's loaded with Sense are cool and all.. the development work in the venom rom is absolutely amazing, but I don't care much for tweaking size, color, menus, etc. I truly wish we could get a 100% stock lollipop rom for this phone.
If anyone has read through this post, I'm sorry it's so long winded, but if there's anyone out there that has good headphones or IEM's ($500 or more) and you use Android, can you share your setup and tell me if I'm just using that as an excuse to stay with the M9??
Thanks guys!
I'm looking forward to AOSP (or AOSP-based, ie CyanogenMod) myself. There's an active thread discussing progress on building CyanogenMod for the M9, but it's pretty broken yet.
Like you, I'm ready! But in addition to being patient, it would probably help to remember that this phone was released just under two months ago. Throw in the fairly revolutionary 64-bit processor and it's reasonable to guess that we're a bit away from an AOSP ROM.
On the optimistic side - Google has released Android for it's 64-bit based Nexus 9, so maybe a build for the M9 isn't too far away! Here's hoping.
I am for it, but historically CM/aosp etc on new devices is a mess for at least 5-6 months POST release. I'm talking 5-6 months minimum after they get all the hardware working. I would prefer it over sense7 but not until all the wakelock and battery issues are solved.
Right now you can flash viper, chose desensed options and use a launcher like nova (and dont forget to get viperdark theme)

[SOLVED] Buying a G3 - What should I look out for?

EDIT: Thanks for the feedback I have made my final choice!
Hello G3 community!
After a recent decision to order the G3, I am heading to the lovely XDA forums of the G3 for some of my concerns. First off, I am looking to purchase not the unlocked version but a carrier version (like the D851) that is still unlocked. However, apart from the different bands used, what else should I look out for? Things are often different and may have some bugs the D855 won't have. For example, the G2 AT&T has a weird modem. Any of that stuff or other issues going on here? Also, how's AOSP and CM development? Anything that is vastly different and/or worse on the unofficial ROMs, like battery life and camera quality? What about laaaggg, a lot of people are complaining about it. Anything else that is worth mentioning?
I'm heading to all of you guys as all the reviews are just not going to be enough. You are the best reviewers of the phone!
Thank in advance,
Chris (AKA A recovering G2 user)
Camera on cm isnt as good i run a stocm based ro. Att d850 and had mine unlocked battery life is decent on cm and stck if u set it up right some people complain about cracks aroundthe bezel on heaphone jack usb port an ir blaster. Ive had mine a year almost and no cracks despite multiple drops one at 55 of my car. I recomend a high end protective case. And dont use the tempered glass screen protectors the reduce screen accuracy a lot also in my opinion development has slown down til i think the pending marshmallow update is release
Even though I used to be Nexus owner and prefer vanilla android experience, I still use LG's stock rom instead because it has got waaaay better camera, speaker is much louder and battery life is same as CM.
AOSP/CM isn't well developed for the G3 IMO because it has few bugs, bad camera and audio performance. I feel there is no difference in speed and smoothness when comparing stock rom to CM.
I can't help you about modems since I use international model.
If you are coming from a phone with an AMOLED screen, I would rather recommend you to search for an other phone or at least add few bucks for the G4 because G3's blacks are so terrible (black is literally grey). That is my only concern about the phone.
He is correct about the screen i done a red green blue adjustment and contrast adjust and i got.pretty decent blacks but its took me a while outa the box its way diffrent

Convince me to buy a G3 (custom rom, knock on)

Hello world,
I currently have a galaxy s2, running lollipop. I've stretched out the use of this puppy pretty far, but I've decided it's time to upgrade. At first I figured I'd go with something like an s5, but then I discovered the g3. It looks great, but of course the biggest design difference is the rear buttons. I can tell from reading that g3 owners really love it, but I don't have access to get my hands on one, and I'm hesitant to make the jump.
If I get one, I'll definitely root it, and I may install a custom ROM. Do custom ROMs still support the "knock on" feature? Would it work natively for most ROMs, or would I have to be careful about finding a ROM that supports it? Having that feature definitely makes the rear buttons less daunting. Does the knock-on feature eat up battery life?
I also like using my side volume keys to take pictures instead of the screen; does the rear button help with taking pictures, or is it easier to use the touchscreen?
I've never even used a navbar before, so jumping from all hard buttons to the g3 bezel is a big change for me.
Anything else I should know to help me decide?
Thanks for the advice!
I had a S2(plus) before i got the G3, you will get used to the back buttons pretty quick.
The rear buttons are good for non-landscape photos like selfies.
Some custom roms have the knock on feature, but they are based on the lg stock rom.
Also, you can find the G3 pretty cheap nowadays so if you are looking for great performance and good battery life(on MM) get the G3.
(Also, if you can, try to get the 32gb model as it comes with 3gb of ram)
E: the navbar will feel wierd at first as the back button is on the left side, this can be changed in the settings.
Sent from my Lg-G3
Knock on has worked on every Rom I have tried, and I've tried a bunch. It does not noticeably reduce battery life.
Because there are no side buttons you need to use the screen to take photos, its never been a problem for me and the G3 takes some pretty good pictures if you are on an LG based Rom. Aosp or CM roms have no access to the cameras potential and end up taking pretty bad pictures compared to stock... Passable but stock is just that good.
My best selling points would be that this phone is still getting updates, is rooted, extensive development, performance on par with current flagships (for everyday use, not so much for gaming), has a very high screen to body ratio, has an or blaster, great battery life, SD card, removable battery, and great screen... It's hard to find a better phone and I have been looking.
I upgraded to the G4 when it came out and couldn't deal without root but it might be worth checking out now.
Every other phone either doesn't have root or doesn't have enough to beat the g3... My current work phone is a note 5 and I love/hate it... So much potential but no root and no sd
So it sounds like I would have to be careful about choosing just any ROMs. But are there a good amount of options that are stock-based, with room for customization? I tend to like the feature set of slim-based ROMs.
Thanks for the tip about the 32gb. I'm planning to spend about $200 on swappa, so it's right up my alley.
Thanks again!
arttuh said:
I had a S2(plus) before i got the G3, you will get used to the back buttons pretty quick.
The rear buttons are good for non-landscape photos like selfies.
Some custom roms have the knock on feature, but they are based on the lg stock rom.
Also, you can find the G3 pretty cheap nowadays so if you are looking for great performance and good battery life(on MM) get the G3.
(Also, if you can, try to get the 32gb model as it comes with 3gb of ram)
E: the navbar will feel wierd at first as the back button is on the left side, this can be changed in the settings.
Sent from my Lg-G3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jomo86 said:
So it sounds like I would have to be careful about choosing just any ROMs. But are there a good amount of options that are stock-based, with room for customization? I tend to like the feature set of slim-based ROMs.
Thanks for the tip about the 32gb. I'm planning to spend about $200 on swappa, so it's right up my alley.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had my G3 for half a year now, loved it.
Regarding your questions,
- Almost every single rom is equipped with knock on feature (double-tap to wake), while knock code (tapping a preset sequence on your screen-off) is only available on stock roms. Yes it's integrated natively, and no it doesn't eat up battery life.
- Yes you can use volume buttons to take pictures on G3, just that they are on the rear now. I actually prefer this because it's more natural to use my index finger on the read to take a picture, as compared to pressing side volume buttons on my old Optimus G. You'll get used to the rear buttons and find that they are much more comfortable to use than side buttons.
- You will probably get used to the navbar really quickly, given that it works the same way as physical buttons
- There are a variety of roms to choose from, and the best stock-based I've used so far is the Ti-X rom which is a continuation of CloudyG3 2.5. Some of them may not be on xda but on Google+ you can find more (NovaStock, Lion rom, etc.)
A few pointers you should note:
- Marshmallow, as of now, is only out for Poland and Korea G3, though it will roll out to other countries soon enough.
- There have been reports of overheating but recent updates solved that issue for me so yay!
- AOSP roms like cyanogenmod, candysix, etc, will not be able to make use of the full potential of the camera. You can flash camera mods like m9 camera mod but it will still not be as good as on stock.

Thinking about buying the LG G4.. how stable are the custom roms?

So I finally broke my Galaxy S4 last night, and I'm thinking about buying an LG G4 to replace it. However, the LG UI "improvements" look awful, and I bet I would be changing the firmware pretty soon if I get it. So with that in mind, I'm wondering if I should be buying the phone. Is CM13 or other roms stable enough that replacing the stock rom a good idea on a new phone?
I'm also considering any any other phone in the same price range, including the Moto X Style (Pure).
Unless you're looking to get the T-Mobile (811) or the International EU (815) version, there is no way to install custom roms. Those are the only two unlockable variants.
The other versions are rootable if you stay on 5.1.1 LP, but if you want 6.0 MM, you'll be stuck with the T-Mobile or EU Int version. There is no way to root all the other variants on 6.0
Luckily, I would be getting the 815 version.
As far as I can tell the ROMs based on stock are very stable. You won't even notice the difference. CM and CM based ROMs are the usual. Stable but have a few annoying bugs. I haven't really tried any AOSP so I won't speak for those
Heres my opinion.i have a tmobile version and if i flasha custom rom it seems to drop the bands as i cannot get signal in places where i can on stock based custom roms or pure stock rom.it does not switch between towers properly and i lose the ability to make or recieve calls.when i check phone info on aosp or cm based roms it shows it uses only 4 of the 12 bands i have.
Overlord Yuri said:
So I finally broke my Galaxy S4 last night, and I'm thinking about buying an LG G4 to replace it. However, the LG UI "improvements" look awful, and I bet I would be changing the firmware pretty soon if I get it. So with that in mind, I'm wondering if I should be buying the phone. Is CM13 or other roms stable enough that replacing the stock rom a good idea on a new phone?
I'm also considering any any other phone in the same price range, including the Moto X Style (Pure).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made the same transition; from Galaxy S4 to Lg G4.
I'm running stock with Xposed. The G4 Tweaksbox app has a themes option and I've got a stock android one applied. It's really stable (I always expect themes to go crazy). The only other thing is the settings. You can get a stock settings mod but I don't really see the point. It works well enough for me and settings isn't really something you'd aim to be going on everyday anyway.
The clip tray is annoying but can be disabled. Add nova launcher and Google keyboard and it's all good. This is a much better solution than a custom ROM. You'll never get this kind of stability. Not forgetting that your camera app and fm radio and others will also be gone.
EDIT:
When buying, make sure the serial number starts with 601 or 602 603... These phones were manufactured this year so hopefully won't have the bootloop bug. If buying 2nd hand, ask the seller for the serial. If they can't provide it, ask for the IMEI and look up the serial number using https://imeidata.net/warranty/lg
There are too many references for 6XX bootloop issues, so I wouldn't recommend LG G4 at all , for custom theming,roms etc. Even after replacing motherboards of 5xx to 6xx, the bootloops are something more common than I used to believe...
personally am very happy with g4(601). best combo for me is Genisys Rom 4.2 + SimpleGX KERNEL (then Tweaksbox, xposed & nova launcher). very stable, no lags, speedy, good battery, amazing camera/lg app. downsides are unlocking bootloader voids warranty & the body corner feels painfully sharp after a while in the hand.
I am happy with the G4 too, 601 as well , but unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that there are many issues with the phone! I hope the OP can enjoy and proceed at his own risk of course!
Thanks for the replies guys! At the moment I think I'm leaning towards the Moto X Style, and will probably order it (at pretty much the same price as the G4) tomorrow unless someone talks me out of it.
Overlord Yuri said:
Thanks for the replies guys! At the moment I think I'm leaning towards the Moto X Style, and will probably order it (at pretty much the same price as the G4) tomorrow unless someone talks me out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be honest with you.....my mom has this phone and has massive battery drain issues, where as I have none. If your going for good battery and fast updates than Motorola will be your best bud, but if you don't mind mediocre battery but a kick ass camera then the G4 will be your best bud. PS it's as good as point and shoot this is coming from someone that does photography for a living.
Sent from my LG-H812 using XDA Free mobile app
I also have little to no faith in LG anymore. Moving on to bigger better things but will ride it out until my upgrade is eligible.
Going back to Samsung, Motorola, Huawei or HTC.
Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
Going to repeat this over and over again, i don't understand those people who after unboxing immediately install custom ROM (What!? you know what you're buying, you support OEM in this case LG, you support their firmware, skin and now you throwing out your money for something else in many cases worse, facepalm) if you want pure Android you buy Nexus, Motorola maybe, that's it, as Google says "Be together not the same". Installing custom ROM's it's like putting BMW rims on Toyota's car... beside that, G4 don't need a custom ROM, just imagine what your going to deal with custom ROM, awful camera, sound issue, lost functionalities, bugs, strange battery drains, degradation in overall battery life and everything for stock Android look? for latest security patches? themes? it's not worth it atleast now, IMO custom ROM's comes in handy when OEM stop's supporting your device with the latest firmware so if i done calculations right you should look for CM for LG G4 when Android 8-9 comes out. All you need is a root and good kernel then comes a good stuff, long story short, CM is a cancer for latest devices, flagships, believe me and don't think i'm condemning CM.
Frant1c said:
Going to repeat this over and over again, i don't understand those people who after unboxing immediately install custom ROM (What!? you know what you're buying, you support OEM in this case LG, you support their firmware, skin and now you throwing out your money for something else in many cases worse, facepalm) if you want pure Android you buy Nexus, Motorola maybe, that's it, as Google says "Be together not the same". Installing custom ROM's it's like putting BMW rims on Toyota's car... beside that, G4 don't need a custom ROM, just imagine what your going to deal with custom ROM, awful camera, sound issue, lost functionalities, bugs, strange battery drains, degradation in overall battery life and everything for stock Android look? for latest security patches? themes? it's not worth it atleast now, IMO custom ROM's comes in handy when OEM stop's supporting your device with the latest firmware so if i done calculations right you should look for CM for LG G4 when Android 8-9 comes out. All you need is a root and good kernel then comes a good stuff, long story short, CM is a cancer for latest devices, flagships, believe me and don't think i'm condemning CM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I used to be one of those who buys a flagship device, then immediately look for bootloader unlock, root and flash. But after having LG G4 for 3 weeks now, stock MM latest, installed with my needed apps and games, I lost the feel of flashing custom ROMs.
G4 is great as it is, although optimizations can be done, a little upgrade here and there. As long as LG supports G4 with updates and with their accessories, then I'll stay with LG as manufacturer. Of they abandon us (like what they did with G PRO), then I'll switch devices.
LG has been my favorite since 2013.
Overlord Yuri said:
Luckily, I would be getting the 815 version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be extremely cautious where you get your 815 from. I bought one from Value basket that was advertised as a European Variant for the express purpose of developing a CFW- When it came it wasn't and they refused to exchange it. I've got an email trail as long as your arm trying to get the thing exchanged but they're just con-merchants.
But it's still an awesome phone....
Frant1c said:
if you want pure Android you buy Nexus, Motorola maybe, that's it, as Google says "Be together not the same". Installing custom ROM's it's like putting BMW rims on Toyota's car... beside that, G4 don't need a custom ROM, just imagine what your going to deal with custom ROM, awful camera, sound issue, lost functionalities, bugs, strange battery drains, degradation in overall battery life and everything for stock Android look?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do get your point. Buying the G4 would have been a compromise to get some good hardware for a low price, and I hoped to to sweeten that deal even more by customizing the firmware to my liking. However, I ended up getting a second-hand Nexus 6P instead. :victory:
Overlord Yuri said:
I do get your point. Buying the G4 would have been a compromise to get some good hardware for a low price, and I hoped to to sweeten that deal even more by customizing the firmware to my liking. However, I ended up getting a second-hand Nexus 6P instead. :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smartest move you could have ever made. LG has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Ever since I got my phone back with a new circuit board it feels like a ticking time bomb and I don't use it for anything other than texting, phone use and browsing. How pathetic is that.
Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Little rant to get it out of my chest...

Disclaimer: This is rant, a civilized one, if you disagree with me, you are welcome to illustrate me but offenses are not appreciated.
This phone is great, but it refuses to be acceptable as a daily driver.
Developers are the best people in the world, they do what they do with no return at all sometimes, but the software (the lack of a good kernel base) makes it really hard to enjoy. I could never get more than 4.5 hours of SOT on any ROM, whereas stock would give me at least 5.5; however stock software is a bad joke for the Android base and the camera output is nerve wracking...
The CDLA headphones are a must, no one likes the dongle and it seems that (due to broken kernel) no dev was able to figure out this one (clarifying again that I don't blame them). So my options are to get used to carry the dongle or to the crack and pop from the CDLA ones... hmmmmmm......
I see the exact same story as with the Amazon phone, on its time, the Amazon phone had a really good thing going here in XDA, but the bootloader was never unlocked and the momentum was lost. I had to let go on my Fire phone....
For the LePro3, many great options are at hand at the same price, I'm looking heavily right now at the LG G5 from the $200 custom rom on eBay, WAY BETTER camera (like 10X times better), about the same battery life if you compare custom ROM of LePro3 vs stock of LG G5, and I have to admit that although I dislike LG's interface, it is tolerable.
Also, the LeEco servers (including the one that supports OTAs) has been down for at least 3 days (that I have tried myself), like seriously, we know the company is nearly in bankruptcy although still having customer support working, but the fact that security updates have halted and servers are down, tells me that there is something wrong going on.
At $200 dlls that I got the phone for, it is still not worth it for *me*.
My Moto Z play was $450 with a hasselblad camera mod that I was able to sell to get $100 in return, so for $350, I would still take yet another Moto Z Play at the current price, with way lower specifications, than taking a LePro3 for $200.
Help yourself and download these apps
Power Toggles
ACDisplay
Simple Control
Fingerprint Quick Action
Pixel Launcher
Modify the DPI to 300 via ADB
Download Google Camera (2.7) , Phone, Contacts etc from APKMirror
I am enjoying all the benefits from stock ROM plus emulated stock Android experience. =D
I bought this phone at what I thought was a steal for the hardware I was getting. I knew the company was unknown in the US and would likely not support the phone for long (if at all). I've flashed many Roms and played with this phone more than any other than perhaps my Nexus 6. Its a great phone overall with pretty decent developer support. I regret nothing.
Jose-MXL said:
Disclaimer: This is rant, a civilized one, if you disagree with me, you are welcome to illustrate me but offenses are not appreciated.
This phone is great, but it refuses to be acceptable as a daily driver.
Developers are the best people in the world, they do what they do with no return at all sometimes, but the software (the lack of a good kernel base) makes it really hard to enjoy. I could never get more than 4.5 hours of SOT on any ROM, whereas stock would give me at least 5.5; however stock software is a bad joke for the Android base and the camera output is nerve wracking...
The CDLA headphones are a must, no one likes the dongle and it seems that (due to broken kernel) no dev was able to figure out this one (clarifying again that I don't blame them). So my options are to get used to carry the dongle or to the crack and pop from the CDLA ones... hmmmmmm......
I see the exact same story as with the Amazon phone, on its time, the Amazon phone had a really good thing going here in XDA, but the bootloader was never unlocked and the momentum was lost. I had to let go on my Fire phone....
For the LePro3, many great options are at hand at the same price, I'm looking heavily right now at the LG G5 from the $200 custom rom on eBay, WAY BETTER camera (like 10X times better), about the same battery life if you compare custom ROM of LePro3 vs stock of LG G5, and I have to admit that although I dislike LG's interface, it is tolerable.
Also, the LeEco servers (including the one that supports OTAs) has been down for at least 3 days (that I have tried myself), like seriously, we know the company is nearly in bankruptcy although still having customer support working, but the fact that security updates have halted and servers are down, tells me that there is something wrong going on.
At $200 dlls that I got the phone for, it is still not worth it for *me*.
My Moto Z play was $450 with a hasselblad camera mod that I was able to sell to get $100 in return, so for $350, I would still take yet another Moto Z Play at the current price, with way lower specifications, than taking a LePro3 for $200.
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rivethead23 said:
I bought this phone at what I thought was a steal for the hardware I was getting. I knew the company was unknown in the US and would likely not support the phone for long (if at all). I've flashed many Roms and played with this phone more than any other than perhaps my Nexus 6. Its a great phone overall with pretty decent developer support. I regret nothing.
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I have to agree with rivethead23 I got the Pro 3 and immediately flashed the Turbo Destroyer rom on it and have never had any regrets
I also bought an LG G6 and I found it was no upgrade to the Pro 3 and ended up returning it.
My advice is to Flash the Turbo EUI 21S v20 rom and Nova launcher with Nova Google companion and you get the best experience from this device
rivethead23 said:
I bought this phone at what I thought was a steal for the hardware I was getting. I knew the company was unknown in the US and would likely not support the phone for long (if at all). I've flashed many Roms and played with this phone more than any other than perhaps my Nexus 6. Its a great phone overall with pretty decent developer support. I regret nothing.
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Click to collapse
Pretty much this.
I'm using the phone on stock 26s, pretty heavily customized though: Magisk, Xposed, Viper, GravityBox, Tasker, stock android/Google apps like Dialer Contact Messages Calendar Keep Hangout Gmail etc., Nova Launcher with companion, PlayerPro and VLC, Brave browser... I removed all Chinese bloatware, and stock apps I don't need anymore like Contact, Message, Music, Video, Browser, Launcher, LIVE, lots of LeEco apps, etc. Disabled all stock extra memory optimizations to let Android deal with memory. Splash and bootanim without Chinese. Etc.
It works really great, battery is still really good (I often have 5 or 5.5 hours SoT at the end of the day), I customized a lot of things to make it exactly how I wanted it. So far, the best device I owned, and one of the cheapest...
ZeblodS said:
Pretty much this.
I'm using the phone on stock 26s, pretty heavily customized though: Magisk, Xposed, Viper, GravityBox, Tasker, stock android/Google apps like Dialer Contact Messages Calendar Keep Hangout Gmail etc., Nova Launcher with companion, PlayerPro and VLC, Brave browser... I removed all Chinese bloatware, and stock apps I don't need anymore like Contact, Message, Music, Video, Browser, Launcher, LIVE, lots of LeEco apps, etc. Disabled all stock extra memory optimizations to let Android deal with memory. Splash and bootanim without Chinese. Etc.
It works really great, battery is still really good (I often have 5 or 5.5 hours SoT at the end of the day), I customized a lot of things to make it exactly how I wanted it. So far, the best device I owned, and one of the cheapest...
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Is 26s an official update? I've only received 21s ota on my x727
darkmuck said:
Is 26s an official update? I've only received 21s ota on my x727
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It's the latest Chinese stock ROM for x720.
ALSO RANT:
Well the issue is with android itself, there is no real AOSP phone, i don't get why manufaturers just don't put AOSP on phone and be done with it, i guess target for android phones are geeks, at least this kind of android phones. I wanted dual sim phone, but now i think i will manage some woraround and go ios, as bad as it is, OS is much more polished and unified.
Even Moto with almost stock android still does not get direct google updates, it is just bad design.
BTW i use pro3 as daily, i get 8 + hours SOT with stock firmare, i managed to get ACR to work quite good, DND to work quite good, but still, default apps, like browser does not work, google integration is crap, even with launcher 3, missing pulldown is a joke and google services crash quite often so ... meh, but still better then my gs4 with new battery and lineage
Oh and also the ambient light sensors sets screen too dim for me at night, until now I had opposite problem with all the other phones i had.
I also have galaxy s7 at hand to use and in my opinion samsung android is even worse.
The main issue is there is really no Android OS, no phone with AOSP, which is only real Android OS, only ****ton of phones with more or less molested OS.
BTW my budget was 1100usd for a phone, i still chose pro3 and I still think, despite it's flaws, for me, it is best choice, which is sad, but it is reality, we can't change it, reality is reality. I will try z2 force with battery pack if they sell it officially in Czech, but I don't expect much.
Oh my I thought I was the only one with the headphone issue
Hmm my Le Pro 3 is coming soon... But I'm more likely to just sell It while it's new and make some $$$ of it. Seeing this rants and all... AOSP/lineage is a must for me, same as Oreo.
Just gonna buy OP5 to replace my Bacon. Maybe that jelly pentile so not exactly FHD, POS display won't be so bad...
FunkyRasta said:
Hmm my Le Pro 3 is coming soon... But I'm more likely to just sell It while it's new and make some $$$ of it. Seeing this rants and all... AOSP/lineage is a must for me, same as Oreo.
Just gonna buy OP5 to replace my Bacon. Maybe that jelly pentile so not exactly FHD, POS display won't be so bad...
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These rants are about things that we would like to have on the device and are inevitable, like the fact that we knew that there was no headphone jack and that the CDLA headphones are not perfect on custom software, we knew it and still took the chance, not the phone or dev's fault.
Other than that, the phone is amazing, you should give it a go, I don't think you can get too much money out of it, this is the wrong phone to re-sell for higher.
Also, you have a very specific example from other people in this thread, which is, you might like stock software which gives you the best battery life for the device.
Jose-MXL said:
These rants are about things that we would like to have on the device and are inevitable, like the fact that we knew that there was no headphone jack and that the CDLA headphones are not perfect on custom software, we knew it and still took the chance, not the phone or dev's fault.
Other than that, the phone is amazing, you should give it a go, I don't think you can get too much money out of it, this is the wrong phone to re-sell for higher.
Also, you have a very specific example from other people in this thread, which is, you might like stock software which gives you the best battery life for the device.
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Click to collapse
I pretty OK with using adapter, no problem with me. I ordered it from China so when it gets to Europe it is worth more. I certainly would not lose money on it.
The only things that worry me are uncertain future of Oreo on this device and overall stability. I currently manage over 4 hours SOT with my OnePlus One.... Why this thing with 4070 Mah (thousand f-ing more) does 4.5 H or slightly more ? With newer SoC, screen etc. Stock software is a no-go for me. Android 6.0 is a no-go for me. So I rely on custom ROMs and dev support. At least dev support here is great!
Coming from Nexus and Nexus 5x, I was used to having so many roms and kernels. Getting LP3 was a big big jump and I did not like it in early days when no roms were available.
Now with more than enough roms and solid kernels, I do not miss anything. Omni Rom gives me 9 hrs of screen on time for my usage. It does not feel/act different than roms I used before.
The only problem was the camera performance. But with Google Camera port, that is no longer a problem now.

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