Still worth buying? - One (M8) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I can finally sign a new contract and my old m7 is about to die (it doesn't really charge anymore). Point is I need a new phone now and I can't wait for the m9 (also will be too pricy) and my carrier doesn't offer Motorola or Nexus Devices. Crappy Samsung is out so the only alternative would be xperia z3 which is a couple of month older. I liked the m7 and I am a general fan of HTC but is it still a better choice then the Sony one?

IE-coRe said:
I can finally sign a new contract and my old m7 is about to die (it doesn't really charge anymore). Point is I need a new phone now and I can't wait for the m9 (also will be too pricy) and my carrier doesn't offer Motorola or Nexus Devices. Crappy Samsung is out so the only alternative would be xperia z3 which is a couple of month older. I liked the m7 and I am a general fan of HTC but is it still a better choice then the Sony one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think most people here are happy with the phone. Is LG not an option? Not necessarily better but they also make a good phone.

Such a loaded question. I typically wouldn't advise buying a current flagship which will probably be replaced by a new flagship in the next few months (some rumors claim Q1, or even a launch next week). But given your current phone's condition, and budget limitations, I'd still say the M8 is still probably the best phone around.
When it comes down to brass tacks, if I broke my phone today and had to buy a new replacement phone immediately, it would likely be another M8.

thebobmannh said:
I think most people here are happy with the phone. Is LG not an option? Not necessarily better but they also make a good phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nahh i don't want any plastic phone. The choice really seems to be between m8 and z3.

I would just pick up a used M8 for the time being, and wait for M9 before signing another contract for hardware upgrade.

ikeny said:
I would just pick up a used M8 for the time being, and wait for M9 before signing another contract for hardware upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
The M8 is still a great phone - one of the best (if not THE best) front facing speakers, prompt and solid updates thanks to their being a GPE version (Sense updates come relatively quick as well - they are one of the best with pushing updates) and fantastic build quality... Also the following/support on XDA for the M8 is fantastic. There are some great developers working with this device. If rooting and customizing your phone is up your ally, the M8 is one of the best out there.
Lollipop on the GPE edition is great, you won't get a fast stable lollipop release from any other phone unless it is a nexus and other GPE phones. Touchwiz and LG's skins just slow things down and can actually cause issues (Google "chromecast systemui crash" and you will see that stock unrooted samsung and LG phones tend to have issues casting media within certain apps due to the way they code their volume sliders. There is an Xposed patch to get around this. Still lame that is something that occurs with their stock devices when trying to use a Chromecast.) . If you have a regular Sense One m8, the GPE conversion is pretty damn easy if you want more a stock android feel along with quick updates.
VS Sony Xperia Z3 --> Sony has the better specs (more ram, better camera, water proof) BUT OS updates tend to be slower - Still no stock or stable Lollipop available for that device.

I ordered the M8 in gunmetal gray. I don't think I will regret it, this phone will still be up to date for long enough.

Related

[Q] Planning on buying an HTC One, is there anything I gotta know before getting it?

Hello!
I will probably get a One in a few weeks but I was wondering, is there anything I should know about this phone before buying it? Like "sub-models" to avoid (as Samsung's i9100G, a modified Galaxy S2 with a different CPU, disguised as a normal one)?
Are you satisfied with your HTC One? Should I get another phone or is this one great?
Thanks for answering!
Drav' said:
Hello!
I will probably get a One in a few weeks but I was wondering, is there anything I should know about this phone before buying it? Like "sub-models" to avoid (as Samsung's i9100G, a modified Galaxy S2 with a different CPU, disguised as a normal one)?
Are you satisfied with your HTC One? Should I get another phone or is this one great?
Thanks for answering!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best phone available IMHO and I have had them all
This is the only Android phone with the build quality of an iPhone. I couldn't be happier with mine. No sub-models to worry about either, although the MAXX is coming soon if you feel like carrying around a phablet all the time.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 04:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 AM ----------
Also, I would recommend getting one ASAP in case they patch the s-off method with the 4.3 update.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Drav' said:
Hello!
I will probably get a One in a few weeks but I was wondering, is there anything I should know about this phone before buying it? Like "sub-models" to avoid (as Samsung's i9100G, a modified Galaxy S2 with a different CPU, disguised as a normal one)?
Are you satisfied with your HTC One? Should I get another phone or is this one great?
Thanks for answering!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if at first you're worried about battery life. do not despair. it gets much better
In no particular order:
- Non replaceable batter and no SD card. Cost for a very good looking device
- Battery can last a day of normal use but you have to be careful and monitor your app usage.
- Unlockable by Rumrunner.
- Nice selection of AOSP roms, but some have issues depending on your usage.
- If you do go the flashing route and pick a AOSP rom make sure to turn on your GPS, open maps and get a lock before rebooting into the recovery. This will make sure you do not have any gps issues after the flash.
- Sounds is very nice when playing audio via the speakers.
- Camera performance is a mixed bag depending on your usage. I find it works great for quick snapshots in low light...where I am most of the time I need to capture a picture.
- Speaking of Camera, if you can check the camera at the store before taking home. Open the app and cover the lens. If it shows purple or red ask for another unit. This appears to be a build quality issue that may be fixable via software. Sprint reports very mixed results from the fix so double check before getting one.
- Verizon has an update to 4.2. We expect a 4.3 update by the end of the month...not sure what month but the end of some month .
With all that being said I love this phone and would not trade it for anything. I thought I was going to miss my hardware keyboard but so far I have only had a couple of times that it would have been nice.
calash said:
In no particular order:
- Non replaceable batter and no SD card. Cost for a very good looking device
- Battery can last a day of normal use but you have to be careful and monitor your app usage.
- Unlockable by Rumrunner.
- Nice selection of AOSP roms, but some have issues depending on your usage.
- If you do go the flashing route and pick a AOSP rom make sure to turn on your GPS, open maps and get a lock before rebooting into the recovery. This will make sure you do not have any gps issues after the flash.
- Sounds is very nice when playing audio via the speakers.
- Camera performance is a mixed bag depending on your usage. I find it works great for quick snapshots in low light...where I am most of the time I need to capture a picture.
- Speaking of Camera, if you can check the camera at the store before taking home. Open the app and cover the lens. If it shows purple or red ask for another unit. This appears to be a build quality issue that may be fixable via software. Sprint reports very mixed results from the fix so double check before getting one.
- Verizon has an update to 4.2. We expect a 4.3 update by the end of the month...not sure what month but the end of some month .
With all that being said I love this phone and would not trade it for anything. I thought I was going to miss my hardware keyboard but so far I have only had a couple of times that it would have been nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Verizon is taking a long time to update to 4.3 because they want to patch Rumrunner. Wouldn't be surprised if this is the case.
Sent from an HTC One
We will just unpatch it again.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Only caveat I'd say is we're missing that low power proc that's going to be all the rage in future iterations of Android (the always-on voice commands of the Moto X). If you're alright with that, it's a fine phone.
Oh, and it's missing a softkey. I've gone ahead and rooted my phone, but I have to say, I've felt very little desire to flash a new ROM (which I was doing all the time on my old HTC Droid Incredible). This phone is surprisingly satisfying as is.
Drav' said:
Hello!
I will probably get a One in a few weeks but I was wondering, is there anything I should know about this phone before buying it? Like "sub-models" to avoid (as Samsung's i9100G, a modified Galaxy S2 with a different CPU, disguised as a normal one)?
Are you satisfied with your HTC One? Should I get another phone or is this one great?
Thanks for answering!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen a sub model except for the HTC One Mini. I know the One Mini lost some features since it is the smaller version of the HTC one. But one thing is that Sprint's(and I think T-Mobile's) HTC one has FM radio and Verizon/AT&T disabled/removed the fm radio functionality in theirs.
Other than the FM radio, I think everything else is just if you want GSM or CDMA.
There's also a Google Play Edition coming out for the HTC one, but you can root the HTC one now and install a GPE rom.
But I feel 100% that I made the correct choice of choosing between the S4 and the ONE. S4's user interface was too cluttered. HTC one's Sense interface is much smoother and simple. Music is great with the stereo speakers and watching movies/play games is also fun.
Check out your BB store and there might still be one on display that functions. Test it out. I spent 30 mins at BB messing around with it.
shadokreeper said:
I haven't seen a sub model except for the HTC One Mini. I know the One Mini lost some features since it is the smaller version of the HTC one. But one thing is that Sprint's(and I think T-Mobile's) HTC one has FM radio and Verizon/AT&T disabled/removed the fm radio functionality in theirs.
Other than the FM radio, I think everything else is just if you want GSM or CDMA.
There's also a Google Play Edition coming out for the HTC one, but you can root the HTC one now and install a GPE rom.
But I feel 100% that I made the correct choice of choosing between the S4 and the ONE. S4's user interface was too cluttered. HTC one's Sense interface is much smoother and simple. Music is great with the stereo speakers and watching movies/play games is also fun.
Check out your BB store and there might still be one on display that functions. Test it out. I spent 30 mins at BB messing around with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A GPE Rom for Verizon from HTC?
You have nothing to worry about if you are purchasing a HTC One, these are absolutely fantastic phones. The only downside to these phones is that they do not have a sd card or removable battery but apart from that I have not had any complaints about the phone. One of the best things about this phone is the build quality, I really do like that the phones are made from a single block of anodized aluminum, in my personal opinion I think the build quality is superior to the iPhone.
HTC Sense is also another reason to go with the HTC One over the S4. While both Touchwiz and Sense have their pros and cons, touchwiz is all about cramming as many features and settings and options into the phone as it possibly can, HTC Sense on the other hand is focused on the user experience and creating a more intuitive UI.
Another benefit to this phone is that development is moving forward rather nicely, granted things could always be better and the Verizon HTC One is by no means one of the leading phones for developers that does not mean we are without fun things to flash, I for one have thoroughly enjoyed my HTC One and I have no doubt in my mind that I will continue to enjoy this phone for years to come, it is that awesome. The Verizon HTC One has only been out for a little over 2 months and we already have 2 different s-off methods and multiple Sense, AOSP and GPE Roms for users to choose from, not to mention it appears that Team Venom will be making an appearance in our development section in the near future. I have not personally used a Venom rom but from what I have heard their roms are in the same league as the CyanogenMod roms, a lot of people here are anxiously awaiting the Venom rom release.
Here is a link to the thread talking about the Venom Rom for the Verizon HTC One - Venom ROM for Verizon variant? -
Another benefit of the HTC One is the Dropbox promotion, you get 23 gigs of space for 2 years. In order to get the promotion to work you need to install Newt's NOS rom and follow the instructions in my post - Dropbox 23GB Promotion - Workaround
One of the few complaints I do have is that the kernel source has not been released yet for the Verizon HTC One, there is no doubt that this will eventually be released but when that will happen is anyone guess, it could happen next week or after Christmas.
---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:55 PM ----------
rddev13 said:
A GPE Rom for Verizon from HTC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not know if we are getting a Verizon GPE HTC One, however we do have these two roms in the dev section - NOS 1.0.2 m7wlv Google Play Edition - and - Eclipse One Google Play Edition
Thanks a lot for answering my questions guys! Btw I just saw that I posted this in the wrong forum, didn't notice this was for the Verizon one . I think I'll eventually buy this phone, sounds like the best Android one out there as you said.

[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)

Is the M8 still worth it ?

Hey,
I have been struggling for a few months trying to pick my next phone, I've been using an ancient GS2 for at least 3 years now...
I was gonna go with the 6P but the SD810 is worrying me... And the M9 has that thing as well...
The M8 looks like a good choice.. I just have a few questions :
1- How is the dev community ?
- I usually stick with phones for at least 2 years, and I always like running the latest version of Android...
2- are AOSP ROMs stable ?
Coming from an Exynos device, it had countless issues with AOSP roms,... Lot's of stuff didn't work properly on AOSP.. Is it the same case here or everything is stable enough...
3- Is there any known hardware defective that are known about the phone.. Just to be careful when purchasing
4- How is the battery ? SOT ?
And finally, do you recommend to buy it, or there's better choices out there ?
Cheers..
biascoblix said:
Hey,
I have been struggling for a few months trying to pick my next phone, I've been using an ancient GS2 for at least 3 years now...
I was gonna go with the 6P but the SD810 is worrying me... And the M9 has that thing as well...
The M8 looks like a good choice.. I just have a few questions :
1- How is the dev community ?
- I usually stick with phones for at least 2 years, and I always like running the latest version of Android...
2- are AOSP ROMs stable ?
Coming from an Exynos device, it had countless issues with AOSP roms,... Lot's of stuff didn't work properly on AOSP.. Is it the same case here or everything is stable enough...
3- Is there any known hardware defective that are known about the phone.. Just to be careful when purchasing
4- How is the battery ? SOT ?
And finally, do you recommend to buy it, or there's better choices out there ?
Cheers..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Great dev community(much options), about official software updates, 2 yrs of htc's commitment is ending in March 2016.
2. Most are stable, some MM are stil WIP
3. No hardware issues(like it was on One m7 with camera)
4. Depends on kernel and rom(with doze, battery drain is like 1-3% per night) i get ussualy 5hrs of sot, with tweaks and low brighteness i can get ~7hrs of sot
If you can find some good deal, go for it, great build/sound and fast UI. Camera is meh, but with proper angle and close shots, it's good enough.
Imotep95 said:
1. Great dev community(much options), about official software updates, 2 yrs of htc's commitment is ending in March 2016.
2. Most are stable, some MM are stil WIP
3. No hardware issues(like it was on One m7 with camera)
4. Depends on kernel and rom(with doze, battery drain is like 1-3% per night) i get ussualy 5hrs of sot, with tweaks and low brighteness i can get ~7hrs of sot
If you can find some good deal, go for it, great build/sound and fast UI. Camera is meh, but with proper angle and close shots, it's good enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really care about official support... I hate Android OEM skins... The first thing I do when I get a new device is usually installing an AOSP based ROM...
Currently, I can get one for around 340$.. That's from a local store..
They are on eBay for 260$~
But I'm from Egypt... So there's shipping and tax and stuff which gonna ramp the price to around 340 as well...
I'll probably go ahead and buy it from the local store...
___
Concerning defective units... Were there any parts that were reported defective on units before... I have people reporting not working mics...
___
and is there multiple models of the phone or is it just one ?
Its still worth it and the device has a official gpe (Google play edition) rom.
biascoblix said:
I don't really care about official support... I hate Android OEM skins... The first thing I do when I get a new device is usually installing an AOSP based ROM...
Currently, I can get one for around 340$.. That's from a local store..
They are on eBay for 260$~
But I'm from Egypt... So there's shipping and tax and stuff which gonna ramp the price to around 340 as well...
I'll probably go ahead and buy it from the local store...
___
Concerning defective units... Were there any parts that were reported defective on units before... I have people reporting not working mics...
___
and is there multiple models of the phone or is it just one ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, there are plenty units out there...USA carriers,DEV Edition, ASIA WWE, WWE international... try to get wwe(unlocked version), btw you can do S-OFF($25) and RUU to whatever you want.
Just a quick viewpoint from me. I hate my M8. For the first 6 months it was great, then I had the camera lens issue (which was easily rectified with metal Polish but shouldn't have been a problem in the first place). Then my vibrate motor packed in. Then it came back to life a couple of weeks later but it folded again and has been dead for the past 4 months. I get random freezes on various roms and the battery gets so hot I can't hold my phone sometimes. Maybe I got a lemon (my wife got an M8 the same time as me, also had the camera lens issue bit nothing else) but it's really hurt my confidence in HTC. I've had HTC handsets almost exclusively for the past 11 years, and given how weak I view the A9 (or X9) I will be abandoning HTC thanks to how poor the M8 has been for me.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Imotep95 said:
Oh, there are plenty units out there...USA carriers,DEV Edition, ASIA WWE, WWE international... try to get wwe(unlocked version), btw you can do S-OFF($25) and RUU to whatever you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, the one am getting is probably the unlocked international...
I'm new to HTC phones here, what exactly is S-OFF and RUU ?! ?
biascoblix said:
Yea, the one am getting is probably the unlocked international...
I'm new to HTC phones here, what exactly is S-OFF and RUU ?! ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-off is like 100% unlock, you can flash firmwares, sound mods(with adsp) etc, RUU: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1656721
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
dazultra2000 said:
Just a quick viewpoint from me. I hate my M8. For the first 6 months it was great, then I had the camera lens issue (which was easily rectified with metal Polish but shouldn't have been a problem in the first place). Then my vibrate motor packed in. Then it came back to life a couple of weeks later but it folded again and has been dead for the past 4 months. I get random freezes on various roms and the battery gets so hot I can't hold my phone sometimes. Maybe I got a lemon (my wife got an M8 the same time as me, also had the camera lens issue bit nothing else) but it's really hurt my confidence in HTC. I've had HTC handsets almost exclusively for the past 11 years, and given how weak I view the A9 (or X9) I will be abandoning HTC thanks to how poor the M8 has been for me.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, Interesting.... Yea, HTC currently is in a really bad position, the A9 & X9 are certainly a joke... But I can't really find a good phone with an active dev community with the same price range...
Imotep95 said:
S-off is like 100% unlock, you can flash firmwares, sound mods(with adsp) etc, RUU: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1656721
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I know if it's S-off or not ?
and if the one i got was "S-on", Is it "S-off"able ?
biascoblix said:
How do I know if it's S-off or not ?
and if the one i got was "S-on", Is it "S-off"able ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, its s off-able
S-On(security on), S-OFF(seurity off)
Yes, if its new, its S-ON, only dev edition comes with S-Off.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Imotep95 said:
Sure, its s off-able
S-On(security on), S-OFF(seurity off)
Yes, if its new, its S-ON, only dev edition comes with S-Off.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, Thanks very much for your help...
I'll give myself a few days of more research.. but I'm probably going to get it... can't really find another alternative for the same price with an active dev community ..
Thanks again,
Cheers..
and oh, MERRY CHRISTMAS...
biascoblix said:
Hmm, Interesting.... Yea, HTC currently is in a really bad position, the A9 & X9 are certainly a joke... But I can't really find a good phone with an active dev community with the same price range...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's the bit that sucks the most, after all its the original HTC built XDA that bought this site to light many years ago. That's why I'm leaning closest to the Nexus 6P at the moment as a possible next phone as it doesn't need too much hacking to be what I want it to be. But I'm not 100% happy with the 6P either, but I don't want to wait another year to see if HTC can pull something decent out of their hat. M8 seriously ruined it for me
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
dazultra2000 said:
Yeah that's the bit that sucks the most, after all its the original HTC built XDA that bought this site to light many years ago. That's why I'm leaning closest to the Nexus 6P at the moment as a possible next phone as it doesn't need too much hacking to be what I want it to be. But I'm not 100% happy with the 6P either, but I don't want to wait another year to see if HTC can pull something decent out of their hat. M8 seriously ruined it for me
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really wanted to get the 6P but here's why I didn't..
1- SD810.... Just NO !!
2- A lot... I meant really A lot of defective units.. especially with the screen.. A lot of units are coming with irregular colored screens...
3- Price... yea, surely it's currently priced at 500$... but i'm afraid to use forwarding service to ship it to my country here coz of the huge amount of defective units.. and local retailers here selling it for 650$.. NO THANKS... and I can see you're from the UK, you're getting ripped off.. it's roughly about 700$ for the 6P in the UK !!
biascoblix said:
I don't really care about official support... I hate Android OEM skins... The first thing I do when I get a new device is usually installing an AOSP based ROM...
Currently, I can get one for around 340$.. That's from a local store..
They are on eBay for 260$~
But I'm from Egypt... So there's shipping and tax and stuff which gonna ramp the price to around 340 as well...
I'll probably go ahead and buy it from the local store...
___
Concerning defective units... Were there any parts that were reported defective on units before... I have people reporting not working mics...
___
and is there multiple models of the phone or is it just one ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I switched from the HTC One M7 to the M8 - 2 months ago for the same price of 350$. Got it off Ebay. It was an imported T-mobile version from U.S unlocked, so there is no warranty. If you're getting it at the local store with warranty I'd suggest picking it.
Good stuff I've noticed:
The phones battery is a quite a difference from the M7. The battery is slightly larger and the processor is more efficient. 2 months later with Skydragons Sense Rom with Marshmallow, the battery life is still great.
The M7 gave 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours of On screen time (If I was not gaming much) , while this phone goes beyond 3.5 hours. It lasts over a day with moderate use and gaming.
The phone doesn't heat up crazy like the M7 did. Expect it to get warm, it's metal build.
The speakers are much louder than the M7. Along with this factor and the amazing battery life I was convinced that the phone was worth upgrading to.
The camera is decent and rather nice in low light conditions. However if camera is really important to you I'd suggest avoiding this phone.
HTC Sense is way better than stock android. The launcher itself is so handy. Music player is the best I've used, simple and effective.
The phone feels exotic in the hand, super premium.
Sound output without the equalizer(Boomsound) is hands down one of the best you will get.
Huge development community.
Has SD card support which the previous phone didn't have.
Cons:
Boomsound on earphones and headphones is really atrocious. The Beats Audio which was on the M7 was waaaayyy better! If you get this phone, just turn off boomsound on headphones.
The phone is curvy and hence becomes super slippery, just be careful handing the device, it's prone to slipping out of your hand. Worth mentioning this phone is heavy.
Dual Camera at the back is gimmicky.
Some of the OEM's software is poorly implemented and of late HTC has been messing some of them up. Example: Blinkfeed with ads and recommendations, HTC TV and Notes.
Has on screen buttons instead of the HTC M7's capacitve. And on screen buttons are rubbish.
The speaker grilles trap dirt easier than the previous model, you can however use a tooth brush or needle to clean them.
The power button is on top and a pain to reach. Doesn't help that the phone is taller than the M7 .
The top camera in the back can get damaged due to poor protection as compared to the main camera. You can still click photos, but can't use the dual camera effects. Also you will keep getting an error message "Dual camera is blocked..."
Defective Models: Yes there are models which ship with the dual camera damaged. If you get an opportunity to test out the phone first, check the camera. If you get the dual camera is blocked - just request if he can drop the price for you further. You will still be able to use the main camera.
This phone is not perfect and is HTC's Rough Diamond. With the processor, sound quality and dev support, I'd recommend it.
dar87 said:
I switched from the HTC One M7 to the M8 - 2 months ago for the same price of 350$. Got it off Ebay. It was an imported T-mobile version from U.S unlocked, so there is no warranty. If you're getting it at the local store with warranty I'd suggest picking it.
Good stuff I've noticed:
The phones battery is a quite a difference from the M7. The battery is slightly larger and the processor is more efficient. 2 months later with Skydragons Sense Rom with Marshmallow, the battery life is still great.
The M7 gave 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours of On screen time (If I was not gaming much) , while this phone goes beyond 3.5 hours. It lasts over a day with moderate use and gaming.
The phone doesn't heat up crazy like the M7 did. Expect it to get warm, it's metal build.
The speakers are much louder than the M7. Along with this factor and the amazing battery life I was convinced that the phone was worth upgrading to.
The camera is decent and rather nice in low light conditions. However if camera is really important to you I'd suggest avoiding this phone.
HTC Sense is way better than stock android. The launcher itself is so handy. Music player is the best I've used, simple and effective.
The phone feels exotic in the hand, super premium.
Sound output without the equalizer(Boomsound) is hands down one of the best you will get.
Huge development community.
Has SD card support which the previous phone didn't have.
Cons:
Boomsound on earphones and headphones is really atrocious. The Beats Audio which was on the M7 was waaaayyy better! If you get this phone, just turn off boomsound on headphones.
The phone is curvy and hence becomes super slippery, just be careful handing the device, it's prone to slipping out of your hand. Worth mentioning this phone is heavy.
Dual Camera at the back is gimmicky.
Some of the OEM's software is poorly implemented and of late HTC has been messing some of them up. Example: Blinkfeed with ads and recommendations, HTC TV and Notes.
Has on screen buttons instead of the HTC M7's capacitve. And on screen buttons are rubbish.
The speaker grilles trap dirt easier than the previous model, you can however use a tooth brush or needle to clean them.
The power button is on top and a pain to reach. Doesn't help that the phone is taller than the M7 .
The top camera in the back can get damaged due to poor protection as compared to the main camera. You can still click photos, but can't use the dual camera effects. Also you will keep getting an error message "Dual camera is blocked..."
Defective Models: Yes there are models which ship with the dual camera damaged. If you get an opportunity to test out the phone first, check the camera. If you get the dual camera is blocked - just request if he can drop the price for you further. You will still be able to use the main camera.
This phone is not perfect and is HTC's Rough Diamond. With the processor, sound quality and dev support, I'd recommend it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that detailed comment...
I'm coming from the phone that was barely able to shot decent 720p videos
literally anything would be an upgrade for me... the M8 is great compared to its price...
and the dual camera is a joke, i know that.. I'll probably be running AOSP roms which I don't think utilize it anyway...
biascoblix said:
Thanks for that detailed comment...
I'm coming from the phone that was barely able to shot decent 720p videos
literally anything would be an upgrade for me... the M8 is great compared to its price...
and the dual camera is a joke, i know that.. I'll probably be running AOSP roms which I don't think utilize it anyway...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to try a GPE Rom like this instead of an AOSP one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2706391
dar87 said:
You might want to try a GPE Rom like this instead of an AOSP one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2706391
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks great... Can't wait to get my hands on the phone... I'm gonna be buying it asap..

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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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