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Hello everyone!
I currently have a galaxy S4 and don't feel like spending $600 or being on a monthly payment plan via AT&T and was considering just buying a used, last generation phone. I was looking at the Galaxy S5, the LG G3, and a few other ones (maybe Sony's Z3 and HTC's M8). One thing I wish the G3 had was the USB 3.0 charging that the S5 has but, apart from that, the specs on the G3 look awesome! I had a few questions that you guys might be able to answer:
1) Are you happy with the G3?
2) If you were looking to get an older generation phone now, would you get the G3 or another phone?
3) Are the bootloaders locked in the G3? (The S4 had the bootloaders locked in an update so I want to ensure that if this is an issue, I get one that hasn't been updated to a locked bootloader).
If you guys don't mind helping me make the right decision with an upgrade, I'd appreciate it. Thanks a lot!
-Jay
1. I'm over the moon with my g3, as are a lot of users. Now that we've had time to open it up, it's got so much custom rom and kernel availability that I only wish I got off stock sooner. Coming from an s4 to the g3, will make a world of difference. Any battery or performance issues due to the screen can be negated with rooting and using a custom rom that is more optimized than the stock ROM (For an exmple you can go to the g3 Android development section and check out the custom roms and what they look like, as well as the features they pack).
2. I'd get the g3 as a "past generation" phone in a heartbeat, for the reasons above.
3. Yes, the boatloader is locked, LG is notorious for locking their devices bootloaders, but we've been able to achieve root and custom ROM support by Bumping the custom rom images (Signing them with legit tags to make the boatloader think it's official firmware) so at this point I don't think that'll matter at all.
TL;DR: Coming from an S4 to the G3 will be one heck of an upgrade. And, with the custom support, you won't regret it.
iDefalt said:
1. I'm over the moon with my g3, as are a lot of users. Now that we've had time to open it up, it's got so much custom rom and kernel availability that I only wish I got off stock sooner. Coming from an s4 to the g3, will make a world of difference. Any battery or performance issues due to the screen can be negated with rooting and using a custom rom that is more optimized than the stock ROM (For an exmple you can go to the g3 Android development section and check out the custom roms and what they look like, as well as the features they pack).
2. I'd get the g3 as a "past generation" phone in a heartbeat, for the reasons above.
3. Yes, the boatloader is locked, LG is notorious for locking their devices bootloaders, but we've been able to achieve root and custom ROM support by Bumping the custom rom images (Signing them with legit tags to make the boatloader think it's official firmware) so at this point I don't think that'll matter at all.
TL;DR: Coming from an S4 to the G3 will be one heck of an upgrade. And, with the custom support, you won't regret it.
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Thanks for the recommendation! I appreciate it!
Hey everyone. I made this topic just to discover who regrey buying LG G4 and the reason why they regret. If they dont regret then please let us know.
Sent from my LG-H818 using Tapatalk
Why?.I have it since a week and the phone is great,perfect.As an ex M9 user,the G4 is better IMO.
Waiting for 6.0.
No regrets after more than 4 months, you need a BT earphones for music as the 3.5mm is too low and some HTC ported apps to have a perfect UI (thanks Xpirt)
I didn't regret, but I do wish some things could be better (UI & Battery Life). Other than those, I've been relatively happy with my decision.
However, I installed the Resurrection Remix ROM last week and battery life is definitely better and the AOSP UI + CM13 theme engine is 100 times better than stock.
lastsamuraial said:
Why?.I have it since a week and the phone is great,perfect.As an ex M9 user,the G4 is better IMO.
Waiting for 6.0.
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Which variant are you using? For most devices 6.0 is out there and you can manually install it (With or without root )
EDIT: To answer your question: No ragrets. Not even an "a" for an "e" :laugh: Best phone out there.
Came from a Note 4, love the G4 (stock) the most! Not as much bloat and nonsense as the note 4
I sold my G4 just for modding. I like to mod and unfortunately G4 have a small community. Good luck , best 2015 phone if you dont mind to be on stock.
only thing i regret about the G4 is the inability of most G4 variants to have an official unlocked bootloader ughh damn LG
I regret it and also not. I owned at least half a dozen android phones in the past two years, and the LG was the real bang for the buck with a very great camera. However, this was the only phone I had serious issues with.
H815 - First unit came with the display acting up (stuck pixel clusters), and finally RMAd it, when the motherboard died. I received it back repaired (PCB changed), but the display is now worse than before, the problem is, that it only shows after a few minutes of usage and probably they did not notice it. Stuck pixels + different brightness levels around the stuck pixel area. RMAing it again...
I don't really regret buying it, but if I were given the option again, I wouldn't chose G4.
My LG G4 is flawless. Battery is OK, no bootloops, no stutters/lags, etc. However, I bought it right after it was put in the market for a not-so-budget price and, for my needs, an S6 would've be better suited.
I mean... don't get me wrong. But as far as I don't need a spare battery/expandable storage, S6 would be a better choice. I just got tempted for the 5,5 screen and camera.
Follow_and_Feel said:
Which variant are you using? For most devices 6.0 is out there and you can manually install it (With or without root )
EDIT: To answer your question: No ragrets. Not even an "a" for an "e" :laugh: Best phone out there.
Came from a Note 4, love the G4 (stock) the most! Not as much bloat and nonsense as the note 4
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Im using H815T.My phone just boot up after flashing V20B KDZ with LGUP.6.0 looks smoother than LP.With V20C after restart comes up an error,but this error is not present with V20B.
Sorry,my english is not the best,that's why i do some errors.
I regret because I have weirdo half screen touch problem, it becomes crazy, but it's not a real problem, but there's still a problem so... and I don't have time to send it back, It does not have fingerprint sensor which is a shame for a 2015 flagship and it's plastic, we need some metal with leather...
But I bought it because of his camera, that's it.
have it for 6 months now (it is my only phone)
I regret:
- bad battery life (no more than 3h SOT)
- no unlocked bootloader / dead development scene (only a handful of ROMs, most are buggy and almost all of them are for H815 eu only models)
- bad sound over the earphones (really weak)
- no fingerprint reader (when all the other flagships have one)
- features that are essentially broken (still to this day), like tap to unlock
Lg v10 hands down would have been much better to have but lg g4 is still a great phone non the less
Overall i do regret.
I really liked the phone camera (front and back), screen, design and the option to remove battery and insert an sd card if needed.
But as i said before i never buy an LG smartphone again. They unlock the bootloader for just a single model and thats it. I like to customize and install mods on my phones, mainly to make it better, faster and that stuff, but my H815P cant be unlocked, and now here i am with a "Porsche that can't past 60mph"
Yet on the bad side, battery is not the best, some bugs even on the stock rom, and etc.
LG, never again. I prefer a not so good phone but that i can do whatever i want than this. Note 5 is the target now.
lastsamuraial said:
Im using H815T.My phone just boot up after flashing V20B KDZ with LGUP.6.0 looks smoother than LP.With V20C after restart comes up an error,but this error is not present with V20B.
Sorry,my english is not the best,that's why i do some errors.
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No problem So you're already on Marshmallow? Because you said you'd wait for it :laugh: But ok. Marshmallow's pretty nice Love it
Follow_and_Feel said:
No problem So you're already on Marshmallow? Because you said you'd wait for it :laugh: But ok. Marshmallow's pretty nice Love it
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I was waiting for OTA or update to come through Bridge and couldnt wait more,so i used V20B KDZ and it's done with LGUP.Very smooth really.
regret and disappoint , all about the bootloader
I do ..because of the locked bootloader and i have g815p and i still didnt get MM
I moved to the V10 and I don't regret getting the G4 at all...because I still have it
These are similar phones spec-wise but in hand they are obviously quite different. I've had the G4 since July and just got the V10 a couple of weeks ago.
Already I keep trying to unlock the smaller phone via the non-existent fingerprint scanner lol!
youngchaos said:
I sold my G4 just for modding. I like to mod and unfortunately G4 have a small community. Good luck , best 2015 phone if you dont mind to be on stock.
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No need to remain in stock, the community worked out ways how to root. But the biggest downer is definitely LGs position on bootloader unlocking. We can have Lollipop root without BL unlock, but no custom ROMs, no root for Marshmallow :/
It's my second Android, my previous one is a rather ****ty Galaxy Ace from 2011. So yeah, compared to that, Im happy with rooted 5.1.
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).
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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.
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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.
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+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.
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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?
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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:
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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.
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hey guys, my LG g3 was just replaced under waranty and i just got a new unit.
Now i am undecided whether to just sell it and jump straight away to the G5 or s7 or whether it´s smarter to stick with it for a little longer.
Also i am wondering what the best custom Rom with ( 6.x) currently is , i have noticed there are a great many available already !
Interstar said:
hey guys, my LG g3 was just replaced under waranty and i just got a new unit.
Now i am undecided whether to just sell it and jump straight away to the G5 or s7 or whether it´s smarter to stick with it for a little longer.
Also i am wondering what the best custom Rom with ( 6.x) currently is , i have noticed there are a great many available already !
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if you can get the new G5 then why not I still have my G3 because I still find it fast and have a pretty sick set up. Plus, with Fulmics ROM and G3 tweaksbox you can change anything! For it being an "old" phone the G3 still holds its ground. But then again you can't beat the new camera and better specs of the G5,hmmmm......
BTW the S7 sucks in my opinion
like what Still_living714 said, if you can get it then definitely go for it. I just jumped from Fulmics to G Plus 2.4 ROM (you should check it out if you're interested in stock lg rom with aosp look). The devs here at xda keeps me satisfied with my G3 and I'm not jumping ship anytime soon
Still_living714 said:
if you can get the new G5 then why not I still have my G3 because I still find it fast and have a pretty sick set up. Plus, with Fulmics ROM and G3 tweaksbox you can change anything! For it being an "old" phone the G3 still holds its ground. But then again you can't beat the new camera and better specs of the G5,hmmmm......
BTW the S7 sucks in my opinion
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Hmm yeah , i am kind of disapointed in the g5 because they ended the rear mounted audio buttons and i am not 100% convinced of the "modular" nature of the device.
that´s why i was concidering the s7.
but i think i´ll go with the Fulmics rom ^^
Fulmics made my g3 like a new device, really fast and stable. Only reason I switched to a nexus 6p was because the screen was so much brighter, the g3 is awesome in low light situations but poor in any kind of daylight compared to more modern displays.
Hi!
A local is selling this tablet for $75 so I was considering it vs my current Lenovo S8-50f if the display is any better because of the option of LTE and extra RAM.
Anyone had a chance to compare them? It is a bit of a drive so I am trying to get some feedback before I check it out.
Thanks
I don't know if this helps or if you already know about this feature of the GSMArena website, but have you checked http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6681&idPhone2=6173?
Keep in mind that the latest official stock ROM for the VK810 runs off of Android 5.0.2 and it's kinda sluggish, and updates to apps via the Play Store take extraordinarily long under Lollipop. I really wish they had at least updated to 5.1.1, which on the Verizon G3 worked noticeably smoother than 5.0.x. So I'd suggest finding out if there's been Android updates for the Lenovo to see if they at least have 5.1.1. Also keep in mind that builds of CyanogenMod 12.1 for the VK810 never got fully reliable for the VK810 in my opinion, and mobile data (and maybe GPS and Bluetooth) didn't work at all, so that's not really an option.
Looks like the Lenovo and the VK810 both have the same RAM and storage. 16 GB of internal storage really sucks IMHO, and I'll never get a tablet with less than 32 GB. I do have a 128 GB MicroSD card in it, at least.
I was running stock but heavily debloated and rooted Lollipop 5.0.2 on my VK810 until recently. I'm rebuilding my flashable debloat zips to take into account the bloat in the last KitKat release as I plan on trying going back to KitKat and will try to stay there. There'll be some things I'll miss about Lollipop but we'll see.
That all said, $75 is a hell of a deal with no contract, but there isn't really any active development for this device, and you already have a working LTE tablet, I wouldn't bother. Sure, another third of an inch larger than on the Lenovo, but that's not much.
Good luck, whatever you decide.