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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!
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.
Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
Hello.
I'm looking for a new phone, my budget is around 340 USD and therefore Lenovo P2 has really caught my eye. I'd like to ask a couple questions.
1. How is the bootloader unlock procedure? Is it known to be problematic or causing any issues with ultimately not being able to unlock the bootloader? Coming from an LG device, I want to be extra careful regarding this.
2. I plan to have this device for a longer period of time, around 3-4 years. Is Lenovo P2 a viable choice in this regard? Will it be able to hold off for that long, in terms of ROM support and general performance/usage?
3. How do custom ROM development prospects look right now for the device? Can I expect good custom ROM support from this device in the coming years?
4. How satisfied are you with your phone? Would you recommend it to me? Is there anything you don't like about the phone?
Thanks in advance.
1) submit unlock request through the phone and the bootloader should be unlocked 14 days later.
2) original ROM support - highly unlikely. Custom ROM - depends on how well received the phone is by the community. Might be too early to tell still. Performance etc, I don't think any high-end phone from 3-4 years ago can compete with mid range phone's today. So I can only imagine P2 being as sluggish as entry level phones today in 3-4 years.
3) can't comment. If you want custom ROM support, flagship Samsung and Nexus might be a better option?
4) battery life is exceptional, but I really wish it was smaller. The camera is not excellent either.
Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Tapatalk
Are you planning to use this phone in the USA? If yes, don't purchase it. The us networks are not supported.
ken218 said:
1) submit unlock request through the phone and the bootloader should be unlocked 14 days later.
2) original ROM support - highly unlikely. Custom ROM - depends on how well received the phone is by the community. Might be too early to tell still. Performance etc, I don't think any high-end phone from 3-4 years ago can compete with mid range phone's today. So I can only imagine P2 being as sluggish as entry level phones today in 3-4 years.
3) can't comment. If you want custom ROM support, flagship Samsung and Nexus might be a better option?
4) battery life is exceptional, but I really wish it was smaller. The camera is not excellent either.
Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Tapatalk
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Thank you for the answer, very much appreciated.
I'm aware that it probably won't get official ROM support, but I hope that custom ROMs will be usable, i.e. that all the issues like the fingerprint scanner and notification LED will be fixed.
Most of the Nexus options are overpriced where I live, but maybe Nexus 6 could be an option(?).
Rom Support and reception seems to be starting well 2 months from this conversation... don't you think ?
(that's what made me buy it + full french 4G support)...
Fobos531 said:
Thank you for the answer, very much appreciated.
I'm aware that it probably won't get official ROM support, but I hope that custom ROMs will be usable, i.e. that all the issues like the fingerprint scanner and notification LED will be fixed.
.
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Let me put it this way: I still use my old Note 3 as remote control for Xiaomi Smart Home. It runs on last official Android 5.1. All those custom ROMs are crap. Nothing just headache.
Its a great budget phone
Where is AOSP Extended? RR? Viper OS?
Bunch of reasons, though the primary one that I would guess is the phone is bootloader locked for Verizon. I'm not sure how wide spread this phone is on other networks at this point that are unlockable, but the most are probably
on verizon. I stopped using the nexus line when it stopped. Moto phones are close to stock and with the projector mod, a cheap entry price deal from verizon, I took a risk and went with this phone. My most durable nexus phone was the 6, which was made by motorola. I'm loving the quality of the phone and the battery life. I even picked up a dirt cheap moto z play on craigslist and love it just as much and its even better battery.
If you really care about custom roms, you gotta do some research and follow the developers, not necessarily the other way around. I'm not sure what I am going to do in a year for my next phone, but I do liked trying out the other vendors.
I feel, there have not been many buyers of the Z2 Play, hence the community support for this smartphone is quite low.
Before the Z2 play i used to own a Galaxy S4 mini, which has great support till date, and threads for different Custom Android versions of Viper, XenonHD, RR,AOKP, AICP, are still active.
There are a lot more Custom Android versions for the s4 mini but they have got inactive only some months ago.
Even now development for Android O version for the S4 mini is going on.
The main reason according to me is, s4 mini got a lot of buyers, and the small form factor plus the removable battery made a lot of its users stick to it , and luckily a lot of them seem to have been Android developers .
Is that because phone is relative new?
I hope soon this changes!
So I guess I will keep using my rooted Droid Turbo.
I guess I wrongly assumed that since the bootloader could be unlocked, there would be developement.
Don't get me wrond. I totally appreciate what has been accomplished!
I am grateful for root and TWRP!
I find it hard to believe that Motorola/Lenovo has not posted the stock firmware for this device.
I really like having a rooted phone, mostly for the ability ot install dark themes. I really hate white backgrounds and status bar icons.
I prefer Motorola phones. I wonder what my next phone will be...
I will surely wait until stock firmware is actually available, prior to purchase.
A few days ago they (Lenovo) released the kernel source code for Oreo so that might help some devs to start developing for our device if they want.
We're not gonna see a lot of developer support for the device for one reason: not a lot of people have a z2 Play. At least, not enough for devs to actually care about supporting our device which not enough people are using it to garner enough interest.
It also helps that the z2 Play was a push in the wrong direction towards battery life and thus, most potential buyers, most of which are going to be Moto Z Play owners, are gonna stick with their current phones.
Hello everybody.
I'm looking to buy this phone (new) as a daily driver. I know its kinda old, so I would like to ask is it still worth it to buy this phone? I don't use much apps and use my phone for texting, browsing, reddit, calls etc...
I see that there are a lot of roms for this phone, so i would like to ask are they reliable and up-to-date? Or have they been abandoned? I would like to buy a phone and be set with it for next 5+ years.
I would like to buy a phone with removable battery so my other option is Samsung xcover 4s.
Thanks in advance.
crocodilehun said:
Hello everybody.
I'm looking to buy this phone (new) as a daily driver. I know its kinda old, so I would like to ask is it still worth it to buy this phone? I don't use much apps and use my phone for texting, browsing, reddit, calls etc...
I see that there are a lot of roms for this phone, so i would like to ask are they reliable and up-to-date? Or have they been abandoned? I would like to buy a phone and be set with it for next 5+ years.
I would like to buy a phone with removable battery so my other option is Samsung xcover 4s.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you buy an 3GB RAM model, I think you're OK.
crocodilehun said:
Hello everybody.
I'm looking to buy this phone (new) as a daily driver. I know its kinda old, so I would like to ask is it still worth it to buy this phone? I don't use much apps and use my phone for texting, browsing, reddit, calls etc...
I see that there are a lot of roms for this phone, so i would like to ask are they reliable and up-to-date? Or have they been abandoned? I would like to buy a phone and be set with it for next 5+ years.
I would like to buy a phone with removable battery so my other option is Samsung xcover 4s.
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
Custom 64bit roms for this device currently have a bug with the camera
If you can get your hands on one look at the Moto g7 play on ebay
It's updatable to stock android 10 and probably just as cheap as this device second hand or refurbished
TheFixItMan said:
Custom 64bit roms for this device currently have a bug with the camera
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If I may ask. Does this bug affect 3rd party cameras?
R1ffR4ff said:
If I may ask. Does this bug affect 3rd party cameras?
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Click to collapse
Effects any camera app
May have slight green tint in photos
May only be be able to take a certain amount of photos before phone/app needs restarting
Video recording may not work in some apps or may not save file correctly
QR code scanning may not work correctly
The above list is a rough bug list and may vary on a device by device basis & rom version & apps being used
TheFixItMan said:
Effects any camera app
May have slight green tint in photos
May only be be able to take a certain amount of photos before phone/app needs restarting
Video recording may not work in some apps or may not save file correctly
QR code scanning may not work correctly
The above list is a rough bug list and may vary on a device by device basis & rom version & apps being used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the excellent reply. I'm quite happy at the moment with the Stock Oreo on my G5 which I recently got A-grade refurbished at a decent price as my old Moto G3 is getting a bit tatty. It seems that my old G3 is better supported at the moment as I'm running 3 different Android 10 Custom roms all working good(Floko/crDroid/Havoc).
It's a shame that crDroid seem to only cover the G5 Potter and Sanders
https://crdroid.net/dl.php
TheFixItMan said:
Custom 64bit roms for this device currently have a bug with the camera
If you can get your hands on one look at the Moto g7 play on ebay
It's updatable to stock android 10 and probably just as cheap as this device second hand or refurbished
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nift4 said:
If you buy an 3GB RAM model, I think you're OK.
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Thank you guys. Moto G7 is a bit too large for me as i would like something below 5.5. All the other phones that i've looked at are upgradeable to Oreo or Pie at best. Xcover 4s is upgreadable to Android 10, so i think ill go with that one. And all of the custom roms for other smartphones i've looked at, like LG G3 or G5 seem to have some bugs, or they are not up to date. I don't know is there a point in installing something like LineageOS 14, if that rom is out dated and has security holes in it.
crocodilehun said:
Thank you guys. Moto G7 is a bit too large for me as i would like something below 5.5. All the other phones that i've looked at are upgradeable to Oreo or Pie at best. Xcover 4s is upgreadable to Android 10, so i think ill go with that one. And all of the custom roms for other smartphones i've looked at, like LG G3 or G5 seem to have some bugs, or they are not up to date. I don't know is there a point in installing something like LineageOS 14, if that rom is out dated and has security holes in it.
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Click to collapse
Moto g7 play screen is 5.7 Inch but probably worth the extra screen size compared with other options
LineageOS 14.1 for this device (along with stock rom) is only 32bit so you are limited to only arm-eabi armv7 apps as apposed to later devices which are armv8 and support arm64 (64 bit) out the box
TheFixItMan said:
Moto g7 play screen is 5.7 Inch but probably worth the extra screen size compared with other options
LineageOS 14.1 for this device (along with stock rom) is only 32bit so you are limited to only arm-eabi armv7 apps as apposed to later devices which are armv8 and support arm64 (64 bit) out the box
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I've done some research and G7 for European market does not have removable battery, and there aren't any i can buy locally. I would like to buy locally because the shipping adds to the price. What about LG G5, would you recomend it if i put some stable and official rom on it?
Thanks in advance.
crocodilehun said:
I've done some research and G7 for European market does not have removable battery, and there aren't any i can buy locally. I would like to buy locally because the shipping adds to the price. What about LG G5, would you recomend it if i put some stable and official rom on it?
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
Never used it so can't comment - have a read of reviews etc