Hi everybody,
Now that we have the proper forum, we can start discussing about this great device. I bought my device unlocked around November, so by now, I know pretty much all the features and things you can do with it. Also I have to say is my first Huawei phone, I come from Nexus (since Nexus 4) and I changed my Nexus 6 for a Moto Maxx (Droid Turbo) because it was too big for me.
I will be putting my own opinions about the different features of the phone, and this guide will be completed with new updates or information about the device. I will try to be short in order not to make this text unreadable, but feel free to ask anything about the device or functions, I will try to answer as soon as possible.
Design
I have to say the the feel on hand is AWESOME, there are no many words out of this one to describe the feeling you have when holding this device. The quality and feel is actually wonderful and Huawei made an impeccable work here, a really premium design.
Display
I have to say I come from a 2K display and I say that even when there is a difference, you won't be noticing a lot. The panel used on this phone is great quality and the colour reproduction is good. Besides this, you are able to configure the temperature colour of the screen in order to have warmer/colder colours on it.
The 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass is also a nice touch and it gives a more premium feeling and look.
Performance
This phone comes with 3GB on RAM and a Snapdragon 615, out of the Kirin that Huawei usually puts on their devices. For me, Qualcomm is always a better options, since Kirin (and Mediatek) use mediocre GPU on their devices, even when sometimes the raw power of the CPU is better than the one in Snapdragon processors. Performance overall is good for normal tasks, the only time I have noticed some lag is when browsing on heavy JavaScript sites and it even get a little unresponsive for few seconds only on Smart profile, it seems that with Normal profile everything is working as expected. Everyday applications runs fine (Gmail, Twitter, WhatsApp, Maps, Music).
For games, the performance is good and decent as well, you won't be running the latest games at 60fps, but the experience is pretty acceptable. I tested Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5 in maximum settings and they were running with no problem. Hearthstone is one game I always play, it runs really good and I haven't had any problem with that.
About overheat, I haven't noticed any of this while playing games or running applications, but I can say that recording long videos in 1080p can lead to overheat and consume battery quicker.
Camera
Another reason why I got this phone is the camera, pretty good aperture and most important of all: it has OIS. One of the few cameras out in the market that has proper stabilization, and for sure you can notice it when taking pictures and videos. The pictures taken with the phone are really nice, but as every phone, in low light conditions it starts to struggle. Camera application is really complete and with a lot of options.
One important thing to say is that pictures taken out of the box are really crappy and pale, so it is needed some tweaking in order to extract the best of this camera, which is not hard neither, interface is really intuitive and easy to manage.
Sound
We have only 1 bottom speaker, which I really dislike because of its position, but the sound is good and decent. But the important thing about the sound is not the speaker, but the magic comes when you connect your headphones, the sound is really nice, most probably because it comes signed by Dolby, but whatever they are doing with the sound, is a really enjoyable experience.
Battery Life
Good battery + decent display + mid-range processor = 2 days battery life. Most of the time I'm reaching 2 complete days of battery with around 4-5hrs SOT. I'm really happy with the battery life.
Sensors
The fingerprint sensor is really smooth and quick, I haven't had any problems with it and is a really nice thing to have in a phone. This phone comes with the normal sensors, BUT BE AWARE THAT IT DOESN'T COME WITH A GYROSCOPE. How this affect?, well, you won't be able to rotate automatically 360` videos, have VR on it or make Photosphere pictures. In case you want to change the perspective in 360` videos, you will have to do it manually with your finger. It doesn't affect for games or any other application as far as I noticed, but is something that really disappointed me of this device.
Software
I have to say that I have mixed feelings in this section, because even when we have a good Android release (5.1) and the additions Huawei put in Emui are 90% really usable and nice, it has still some issues and bugs.
First thing you will notice is that there is no application drawer, so all the application icons are in your screens, more like iOS style. The are tons of options and settings to configure, and you will need time to check each of them and understand how this is working. Emui has an aggressive memory management, so you will have to decide which applications can or can't run on the background, as well as if they will have permission to show notifications.
Maybe this can sounds a little annoying, and actually it is in the beginning, but when you start to see the advantages of this, you will be really happy with it. You will have for example no wakelocks or battery drain, because if you don't let the application run on the background, it won't. System applications of course don't need to be configured, they run as normal, so no worries about mails or stuff not working.
Is about using all the options and configure them in order to have a really good experience, but this usually take a couple of days, because it is so different from Android stock.
Tips, Tricks and Bugs
This section is for random things related to the phone and its applications. As everything, this phone is not perfect and is prone to bugs, so I will try to post some of them so the people can be conscious of both good and bad parts of this phone.
The software version I'm using is RIO-l01C432B150, but for the sake of make things easier, I will take the last 4 digits of the version, so I will say I'm running the B150. There is a new version (B170), but I haven't installed yet which seems to fix many of the issues as well as having security patches.
Settings for perfect pictures
The camera application comes with a lot of options, but the pictures are not nice out of the box, you need to tweak somehow the settings in order to get good and vivid colours. With the adjust of this settings, most of the time you will get really good results.
White Balance: Auto or Daylight (depends on you)
ISO: Auto
Exposure: -1
Saturation: +1
Contrast: -1
Bright: 0
WhatsApp Notifications (Fixed with B170)
It seems that Emui has a couple of problems with WhatsApp, sometimes notifications are not arriving and only when you open the application you start to receive messages. The last Play Store version of WhatsApp is not working for many people, so after many tests and trials, I found a version who works just fine and without problems:
http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/whatsapp-inc/whatsapp/whatsapp-2-12-374-4-android-apk-download/
WiFi Auto-connect (Fixed with B170)
Most of the time, the WiFi won't be connecting automatically to the known networks. Some people said that is just enough to delete the network and re-add it in order to make this feature work properly.
Energy Profiles (Personal Assumption)
The phone comes with 3 energy profiles: Ultra, Smart and Normal. Ultra is for making calls and receiving messages and disables most of the "smart" part of the phone. Smart is kind of battery saver without sacrificing too much performance and Normal is more like a performance profile for games and heavy stuff.
I have been testing somehow this profiles for a while, and for my point of view, they are kind of broken. I get almost the same battery life between Smart and Normal, and the performance is the same as well. To probe my theory, I made some benchmarks and I found that these 2 different profiles (which should be doing different things) get the same scores in almost all the benchmarks, even sometimes Smart profile is getting more score than the Normal, thing that should be inverse.
I don't know how these profiles work, but I think that Normal is the one bugged and probably that's why I have noticed lag sometimes in the device, because is not taking advantage of the full capacities of the processor. Even when both profiles get the same score on benchmarks, on Normal mode the lag from browsing is gone.
Lockscreen Notifications
By default, the Lock-screen is not able to show notifications or the screen won't turn on when a notifications comes, like "Ambient Display" style. To make this happen, you have to install a theme compatible with this function, which currently is enabled on the latest Huawei phone, the Mate 8. Just unzip the themes on the Hwthemes folder and select them from the Themes application. After this, new options will appear on the Lock-screen menu from settings and you will be able to configure it from there.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/6scl0dfddpdnev5/Mate-8-stock-theme-(Gizdev.com).rar
Enabling Gyroscope (Root)
For some reason, Huawei didn't enable the gyroscope on the G8, but there is a way to make it work. You have to download the file, and put them here " /system/etc/permissions", then give the proper permissions the them (" rw-r--r-- (644)") and reboot the phone. You will have a working gyroscope now.
https://mega.nz/#!pEEGFLbJ!scUWYUCZ_uGM7TyaaJPu7O8YfVgnk4DyCT7jSWCW35E
Hide Navigation Bar (Root)
There is a way to have this function that comes in other Huawei devices as well, we just have to edit the "build.prop" file and change the line "ro.config.showNavigationBar=true". After this, we save the file, we reboot and we go to Settings>Navigation Bar and we will find a new option to show or hide the navigation bar.
Multimedia
I will be posting some pictures because for some people camera is really important, and even when this is not an expensive phone, camera is pretty decent.
About the video, I don't have at the moment any samples, but I have to say that image quality is good as well, but in really loud environments (clubs, concerts) the microphone get saturated and this will lead to some crappy sound in videos.
Video: https://goo.gl/photos/S8zA5M82ioTe68HJ8
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
View attachment 3614285
Can you install one of the apps "Hardware info" or "cpu-z" and test the sensors? And maybe post a screenshot?
Some say there is a gyroscope, some say there is none...
Is there an ambient light sensor in g8?
Bib_x said:
Can you install one of the apps "Hardware info" or "cpu-z" and test the sensors? And maybe post a screenshot?
Some say there is a gyroscope, some say there is none...
Is there an ambient light sensor in g8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already made the test in the past, and for sure there is no gyroscope here. I tried the same videos on my old phone and they were working there, but not on this phone.
About the ambient sensor, yes it comes with one.
Galaxo60 said:
I already made the test in the past, and for sure there is no gyroscope here. I tried the same videos on my old phone and they were working there, but not on this phone.
About the ambient sensor, yes it comes with one.
View attachment 3614234
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But when i change position of my phone, it will switch automatically from landscape to portrait mode?
Can i play car racing games where i can steer my car with moving and turning the phone?
So when this only will affect taking photos or videos - it´s not a big fault for me.
Bib_x said:
But when i change position of my phone, it will switch automatically from landscape to portrait mode?
Can i play car racing games where i can steer my car with moving and turning the phone?
So when this only will affect taking photos or videos - it´s not a big fault for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, because all those tasks are made with the Accelerometer, not with the Gyroscope, the phone changes automatically to landscape or portrait with no problem.
I tested Asphalt 8 and it runs perfectly fine with just turning the device to the right or left, so no worries here because of that.
My girlfriend has a european g8 and she's so frustrated because of the missing whatsapp notifications and wifi autoreconnect bug.. Downloading now a b170 fw hope it will really fix those bugs..
Did you see this guys? Is this true or fake? and if it is true, what's that Aosp or cm13?
http://android-xda.net/tutorial/upgrade-update-huawei-g8/
moly82 said:
My girlfriend has a european g8 and she's so frustrated because of the missing whatsapp notifications and wifi autoreconnect bug.. Downloading now a b170 fw hope it will really fix those bugs..
Did you see this guys? Is this true or fake? and if it is true, what's that Aosp or cm13?
http://android-xda.net/tutorial/upgrade-update-huawei-g8/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The update is fake, Huawei never put their software updates on 3 parts, and most of the page just have the same text and same screenshots for the phones they claim to have a different ROM.
About the WiFi bug, there is nothing we can't make, but as for WhatsApp, install the version I gave on the "Tips, Tricks and Bugs" section and it will be fixed, trust me.
Just remember that B170 is an update for single SIM G8.
Thanks mate! Yes I've already installed the whatsapp version you suggested, and it seems to be working fine now, let's see if it will stay like that
About the wifi that's a very big and bad bug..Let's hope they'll fix it soon! why they don't release b170 also fit dual sim
thank you bye!
Did you root your phone and unlock the bootloader already?
In the german forum there was written, that you can´t install huawei updates OTA anymore if rooted.
How can you make an update if you rooted your phone? Downloading stock rom from support page and flash manually?
There are many people with wlan problems with the newest rom B160. No automatic connect in home network. If this big issue will be fixed soon, perhaps i will buy the g8.
Bib_x said:
Did you root your phone and unlock the bootloader already?
In the german forum there was written, that you can´t install huawei updates OTA anymore if rooted.
How can you make an update if you rooted your phone? Downloading stock rom from support page and flash manually?
There are many people with wlan problems with the newest rom B160. No automatic connect in home network. If this big issue will be fixed soon, perhaps i will buy the g8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't done that yet, not root or unlock bootloader, I don't see the need yet, because stock has for me everything I currently need.
About the updates, Is not about the root, but about the recovery. Usually when you root, you install first a custom recovery, so when the OTA comes, it can't update automatically because it doesn't recognize the recovery and it fails. Many people is going back to stock, make an update and then root again, I think is the safest way to have the latest updates and root.
About the WiFi problems, many people claim that B170 already fixes this issue and also the notifications problem, which are the most important bugs for this phone.
Galaxo60 said:
I haven't done that yet, not root or unlock bootloader, I don't see the need yet, because stock has for me everything I currently need.
About the updates, Is not about the root, but about the recovery. Usually when you root, you install first a custom recovery, so when the OTA comes, it can't update automatically because it doesn't recognize the recovery and it fails. Many people is going back to stock, make an update and then root again, I think is the safest way to have the latest updates and root.
About the WiFi problems, many people claim that B170 already fixes this issue and also the notifications problem, which are the most important bugs for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But currently B170 is out for single-sim only?
In germany i get the dual-sim version i think.
If i root my phone and want to update - go back to stock means, flash the whole stock rom with twrp and then twrp is removed automatically too?
Yes b170 only for single sim ;( in Italy also there is only dual sim
Bib_x said:
But currently B170 is out for single-sim only?
In germany i get the dual-sim version i think.
If i root my phone and want to update - go back to stock means, flash the whole stock rom with twrp and then twrp is removed automatically too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
moly82 said:
Yes b170 only for single sim ;( in Italy also there is only dual sim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, B170 is only for single sim, even though I have heard about a B160 (from France) which maybe could be dual sim, but I'm not sure.
If you want to go back to stock, you should flash the whole system image I think, not only the ROM. You have to be sure you have the stock recovery and ROM in order to have a successful update. Some people is trying to flash B170 while having root and they are bricking their phones or in a boot-loop, they can't even enter to recovery; so never update if you are root.
:fingers-crossed:
Galaxo60 said:
Yes, B170 is only for single sim, even though I have heard about a B160 (from France) which maybe could be dual sim, but I'm not sure.
If you want to go back to stock, you should flash the whole system image I think, not only the ROM. You have to be sure you have the stock recovery and ROM in order to have a successful update. Some people is trying to flash B170 while having root and they are bricking their phones or in a boot-loop, they can't even enter to recovery; so never update if you are root.
:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a B160 ROM for Dual SIM in Hungary, I can search for it and post the link here
Matada02 said:
There is a B160 ROM for Dual SIM in Hungary, I can search for it and post the link here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think is better if you post it on the ROM thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gx8/how-to/g8-g7-plus-official-roms-europe-t3294362
Huawei Union Y538 Root?
Huawei Union Y538 Root?
alan2121m said:
Huawei Union Y538 Root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't post this kind of things here, is a different device.
I can get the Huawei GX 8 or the Huawei Mate S for the same price.
Which of them would you prefer if the price is the same? Still GX8 or in this case would you change to Mate S?
So after extensive research and and ahhing I've finally committed and purchased an A2 Lite.
the ummming and ahhing now is if I should root or not?
I've rooted my phones since my first HTC Desire (the original one) so that I've got the "raw" Android experience with none of the horrible skins or bloatware.
Given the A2 Lite is Android One is it worth rooting? I don't add any really fancy add ons like exposed and I think the main thing I'll miss is using adaway to remove all those horrible advertisements.
Is it worth just unlocking the bootloader (this should still "bypass" most non-rooted checking apps shouldn't it?) when I first get it so that if I do decide to root later I don't lose everything ?
I assume there's been other people in the same situation.
Ideas, thoughts, comments collective gurus?
unlocking the bootloader wipes all data
so for me
its better to unlock the bootloader first because i love having the option to root etc. without losing my data
if i want to sell it or have it repaired just re-lock the bootloader by flashing the stock rom.
its all comes down to your personal preference
im waiting for good custom ROM before i root the phone. until then i can recommend blokada addblocker. no root needed and very effective.
limbot said:
So after extensive research and and ahhing I've finally committed and purchased an A2 Lite.
the ummming and ahhing now is if I should root or not?
I've rooted my phones since my first HTC Desire (the original one) so that I've got the "raw" Android experience with none of the horrible skins or bloatware.
Given the A2 Lite is Android One is it worth rooting? I don't add any really fancy add ons like exposed and I think the main thing I'll miss is using adaway to remove all those horrible advertisements.
Is it worth just unlocking the bootloader (this should still "bypass" most non-rooted checking apps shouldn't it?) when I first get it so that if I do decide to root later I don't lose everything ?
I assume there's been other people in the same situation.
Ideas, thoughts, comments collective gurus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been there like two weeks ago I decided on rooting to install gcam,greenify and YouTube vanced.
You can also install energized adblock.(it's the best)
Why not root I don't really care about updating I want stable performance....
Viper4Android is enough reason to root the phone. I couldn't live without the superb sound enhancement of it.
thorin0815 said:
Viper4Android is enough reason to root the phone. I couldn't live without the superb sound enhancement of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here bro.
V4A + kernel config.
Is it possible to brick A2 Lite while rooting/installing custom rom whatever and not recover from it?
My last 2 phones were Nexus, so basically they were 100% safe. If by some kind of software mistake you bricked them, you could always clean flash factory image and that's it, no way you could render it unusable.
I don't have experience with rooting/custom roms/kernels/recovery outside Nexus phones, so my question is: can you ruin A2 Lite by bricking it and not being able to recover?
And also, is official factory image for A2 Lite (Android One version) available somewhere online (official site, like we have for nexus/pixel phones)?
Thanks for replies folks.
After reading through all the posts in this forum and the "issues" with OTA's etc, I've decided to leave this as a virgin device when I receive it, ( out for delivery with courier...waiting...waiting..), not even going to unlock the bootloader.
I've removed adaway and loaded blockada on my current Find 7a and it's working a treat. Root reason number 1 - tick.
The other root app I remembered I use is LMT (small hands), and Simple Pie is doing the job really well. Root reason number 2 - tick
App backup from Titanium to Mybackup - Root reason number 3 - tick
Will wait and see how the AOSP development goes and if I find anything I really need root for and cross that bridge when I get to it.
Onwards and upwards. Will officially be a member of the A2 Lite crew soon...... (looking out the window every few minutes )
Hey there
My girlfriend bought a Mi a2 Lite today and before setting it up, I would like to work out a few things:
- I want her to have a working gcam on it, because I read that the low-light performance of the stock cam was really bad.
--> Apart from that I don't see any reason to root the phone. So: Is there a stable non-root-version of gcam? or would you still advice me to root?
Thanks for your replys
G
georgs_town said:
Hey there
My girlfriend bought a Mi a2 Lite today and before setting it up, I would like to work out a few things:
- I want her to have a working gcam on it, because I read that the low-light performance of the stock cam was really bad.
--> Apart from that I don't see any reason to root the phone. So: Is there a stable non-root-version of gcam? or would you still advice me to root?
Thanks for your replys
G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the end a pig with lipstick stays a pig. IMO enabling GCAM isn't worth the hassle, especially not if you go with stock rom due to focus problems with Android Pie. GCAM might be a tiny little bit better compared to the stock camera app, but its main advantages only shine if you use different tweaked settings for all your different needs. There is no install,forget and have superb pictures GCAM version!
You can temporary root the phone to enable the needed camera API for GCAM. GCAM itself doesn't need root at all. Just check the guides section!
Edit: You might try Open Camera from the Play Store, it has lots of options even without Camera2 API.
Hi there, thanks for your advice! After posting here I quickly read into how to root. It turned out to be really easy, so I just went ahead (mainly for youtube vanced and adaway). Then I did this cam2api thing and tried out a few Gcams. You're right, stuff doesn't work: the interface and all worked fine, but the photos wouldn't be saved to the phone... I know that the image quality wouldn't drastically improve, but I guess night sight (terribly pictures with the stock cam in low light...) and motion photos are very cool features. But it seems that there are no really working versions available for pie...
georgs_town said:
Hi there, thanks for your advice! After posting here I quickly read into how to root. It turned out to be really easy, so I just went ahead (mainly for youtube vanced and adaway).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're still rooted, you should check out Viper4Android (Magisk module) for great sound improvements.
Beware of taking OTA updates while rooted (or for example adaway without systemless hosts). Your system partitions need to be untouched, else your update fails or your device might become even soft bricked.
thorin0815 said:
If you're still rooted, you should check out Viper4Android (Magisk module) for great sound improvements.
Beware of taking OTA updates while rooted (or for example adaway without systemless hosts). Your system partitions need to be untouched, else your update fails or your device might become even soft bricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I switched off automatic updates. As for Viper4Android, I've tried that on my Pixel 3, didn't really impress me. However, the sound on the Pixel 3 is already great. If you have specific settings/profiles for Mi a2, that would be very nice
cheers
I'm using the following headphone (ear-buds) settings, they sound pretty good with Rock/Metal stuff.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/themes/headphone-viper4android-headphones-t3582217
I root my phone is for Greenify, Battery Charge Limit App.
If you want to root, take note that time and effort is required to install OTA update.
Sometime I think the time and effort spent is not worth the benefit.
And you might not able to use some banking app or ewallet even with Magisk Hide.
I'm really quite disappointed with the gcam ports. I've tested the most famous ones and they are all very unreliable and the features I was looking for don't work (motion photos, hdr, selfie-cam).
Are they more stable on android 8? --> is there hope for a stable and reliable version?
georgs_town said:
I'm really quite disappointed with the gcam ports. I've tested the most famous ones and they are all very unreliable and the features I was looking for don't work (motion photos, hdr, selfie-cam).
Are they more stable on android 8? --> is there hope for a stable and reliable version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO the camera sensors of our phone are just crap, even 3 years older budget phones like the Moto G4 do far better pictures.