SM-N950J (Japanese variant) hardware differences + Samsung Pay? - Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers

Hey all,
I have a Note 8 SM-N950J, the Japanese variant, and I'm curious about the hardware differences between it and the US unlocked version.
For those who don't know, most Japanese Android phones come with a whole slew of odd Japan-specific hardware features. This particular Note 8 has a Wimax 2+ radio in it, a TV tuner, and an integrated FeliCa NFC antenna, among other changes. I suspect that, as part of these significant changes, it's also missing a few things most of the other variants have, like MST for one...
My question is, how might one go about checking *exactly* what's different on this phone compared to, say, the SM-N950U? My motivation in this, ultimately, would be to see if I can get Samsung Pay working, although I highly doubt I can, as it crashes every time even when I've got the store region set to US. I know it has a Snapdragon processor, and someone in the root thread said that the SamFAIL method works for this variant as well, although I haven't tried it.
Anyone got any thoughts? I'm quite willing to post screenshots and do just about anything else, if anyone's curious.

The way I check hardware differences with Samsung devices is guaranteed to yield results. I go to samsung.jp and check the hardware specs of the device and do the same with Samsung USA website . I compare the two, then note any differences if any.
Samsung pay, don't know sorry.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Related

Am I the only one who sees Android DEVICE fragmentation a huge issue?

I mean come on, do we really need 50 variations of the Galaxy S2 in America? Or 100 variations of HTC devices all over the world? It's all the same thing with the same screen size, probably same battery and maybe slightly adjusted internals. And Android users wonder why a lot of times we see fancy cases for the iPhone, and the same company has one for the Galaxy S2, but not the AMERICAN version of the device due to different shape and size.
Yes, every telco will have a specific needs, but 3 different looks for a single Galaxy S2 just in America? Seriously? This is why we are not getting pretty accessories or case for our devices.
It doesn't bother me. If the choice is between a larger selection of phones or a larger selection of accessories then I'm all for the larger selection of phones.
Correct me if I'm wrong but fragmentation is not about the device shape.
If you don't like "Android Device Fragmentation", get a iPhone. Problem solved.
Yup. It's a huge issue and the more we bring it up the better.
jaszek said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but fragmentation is not about the device shape.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not wrong.
The Bird is the Word
Is there a better word to use instead of device?
Vulpix said:
Is there a better word to use instead of device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a smartphone is a computer
Wikipedia said:
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem. An important class of computer operations on some computing platforms is the accepting of input from human operators and the output of results formatted for human consumption. The interface between the computer and the human operator is known as the user interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never had a problem finding fancy cases for my android phones.
Is this thread over?
for the OP, no. The only one who sees it is you, Apple and Microsoft.
Vulpix said:
I mean come on, do we really need 50 variations of the Galaxy S2 in America? Or 100 variations of HTC devices all over the world? It's all the same thing with the same screen size, probably same battery and maybe slightly adjusted internals. And Android users wonder why a lot of times we see fancy cases for the iPhone, and the same company has one for the Galaxy S2, but not the AMERICAN version of the device due to different shape and size.
Yes, every telco will have a specific needs, but 3 different looks for a single Galaxy S2 just in America? Seriously? This is why we are not getting pretty accessories or case for our devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it'll be over when ICS 4.0 rolls out
then it will only be segmented into ICS 4.0 and AOS 2.x/1.x
moving forward all AOS upgrade will follow the same version
the problem was caused by the tablet edition of 3.x
now that it's finally behind us, AOS 4.x forward will just be 1 solid chunk
at least that was the original goal from Google, so the devices manufactures needs to step up and own up to provide OS upgrades
Google should be more strict about it, if manufacture fails to deliver updates X amount of times, they are banned from Android, or something like that
Forget it... post removed
Vulpix said:
I mean come on, do we really need 50 variations of the Galaxy S2 in America? Or 100 variations of HTC devices all over the world? It's all the same thing with the same screen size, probably same battery and maybe slightly adjusted internals. And Android users wonder why a lot of times we see fancy cases for the iPhone, and the same company has one for the Galaxy S2, but not the AMERICAN version of the device due to different shape and size.
Yes, every telco will have a specific needs, but 3 different looks for a single Galaxy S2 just in America? Seriously? This is why we are not getting pretty accessories or case for our devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know your right, Android should be on just one phone, one style of phone, preferably on one carrier, and when an upgraded version of that one phone comes out it will look just like the older one but with some minor upgrades under the hood. We don't want or need a choice on how we want our phone to look, feel, perform, cost, specific carrier, size, weight, texture, color, screen quality, hard keyboard, features, etc. Let Google decide what we want.
phatmanxxl said:
You know your right, Android should be on just one phone, one style of phone, preferably on one carrier, and when an upgraded version of that one phone comes out it will look just like the older one but with some minor upgrades under the hood. We don't want or need a choice on how we want our phone to look, feel, perform, cost, specific carrier, size, weight, texture, color, screen quality, hard keyboard, features, etc. Let Google decide what we want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
APPLE!
Sent from my Droid Incredible running some random CM7 nightly.
The thing that bugs me the most about the different Galaxy S IIs isn't the different screens/casings but rather one uses Exynos and the other Snapdragon.
htcplussony said:
The thing that bugs me the most about the different Galaxy S IIs isn't the different screens/casings but rather one uses Exynos and the other Snapdragon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-mobile variant of the SGSII uses a Snapdragon processor because the, Exynos is not compatible with, T-Mo's 42Mbps modem. It's not about fragmentation, it's about faster data speeds....
Pipsqueak approved this message

Has Samsung now CONFIRMED the eMMC bug??

Hi All,
Ok, I saw this on a very popular news source, and I have tried to look at other related posts but cannot find out any further information...
The report says SEVEN models are affected due to a faulty chip (eMMC?), and lists the Note II, the S3 and the S4.... and thats it?? So what about the other 4x affected models???
Apparently Samsung are offering free repairs or replacements of affected models (presumably with non faulty hardware THIS TIME??)
Anyone see if the original Note (N7000) is on this list?? The report came in via China State TV (CCTV)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24634589
I don't see the word emmc mentioned once in this article.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
No, they didnt... But then the article didnt explain very much at all....
It said Samsung is offering free repairs/replacements for affected models, but doesnt explain what models are affected, other than the latest handsets.... S3, S4 and Note II.
It said it is down to a faulty "memory chip" but doesnt say what chip, or how/why...??
So thats why I assumed, perhaps the faulty chip is the same "faulty chip" we all know and love in our N7000's....
The article, (and web for that matter) is pretty useless as when I posted that, i did a extensive search and found nothing on it...
Cheers, Lister

The current state of the 510

Hello all,
Preamble
Before I state anything I'd like to say I have never compiled anything for android, I am absolutely new to that side of things but I more or less grasp how the android system works and the need for things like bootloader unlock and a custom recovery and root and custom ROMS.
I bought the HTC Desire 510 for a few reasons (removable battery, expandable memory, LTE connectivity, and first and foremost an easily unlockable bootloader. Previously I have been using a Nexus S for 3 years and I've come accustomed to flashing and manipulating the system more or less the way I needed or wanted. Being a Nexus phone everything I needed was easy to find and the information was clear and straightforward.
So far within this forum and others concerning the Desire 510 all I've seen is misinformation and confusion as far as this phone is concerned.
1. Bootloader
The bootloader is easily unlocked as are many if not all of HTC's new phones, all you have to do is follow the directions as per the HTCdev website as well as a couple other posts I've read on forums.
2. Custom recovery
As I have never compiled and the tech side is a little foggy to me this is where I'm unsure of things. As far as I gather and can speculate it shouldnt be that hard to compile CWM for this device. There are guides to build CWM for new devices in several locations as well as other Custom recoveries. Its a matter of pulling the source and pulling the recovery off the phone using ADB and working a little magic on a couple of files if needed and that should spit out a working recovery.
Now I've read of people flashing an incorrect recovery from a different HTC phone which to no surprise doesnt work, I've heard of people getting thrown into bootloops etc. I've also read about how this phone is a 64bit phone. Yes, it is except Kitkat is not. With kitkat the phone is running in 32bit mode which I've read a bit about on qualcomm's website for this chipset. Logically if CWM uses the prebuild recovery bits from the phone itself I dont see why we cant build a working recovery unless the phone recovery itself is that much different because of the underlying 64 bit architecture.
I would love to get some answers to this part of the puzzle with this phone as this is the next real hurdle with this phone to move to the next stage.
3. Root
Again without #2 we can only speculate here but I have already read things that dont seem to be right. I have read that we need a 64 bit root to get this phone rooted. Again Kitkat and all android before 5.0 are 32 bit so once we have a custom recovery getting root should be more or less as easy as following the guides to flash the SU binaries onto the system.
Again, I would love to get some answers on this from someone with maybe a little bit of knowledge with root and SU, etc.
4. Custom ROMS
This is more or less what everyone is after but we cant really get there without the aforementioned steps. This stage is entire speculation to me as I'm not sure how the phone with its 64 bit architecture is running 32 android. I understand that its in 32 bit mode but will this make it a challange to build 32 bit Android for it or are we going to have to wait until we get some Lollipop goodness from HTC to build for this phone.
Again , this needs some answers from someone who understands this aspect of Android and building Roms.
Conclusion
As a Desire 510 community, we need to cut out the speculation and get some real answers from people that know things and start developing for this phone.
The one question I have currently is, using ADB are you able to push stock recovery back to your phone just like you pull it? If I could get an answer on this then I would be much more motivated to start building a CWM for our phone as the last thing I am interested in is owning a brick.
Thank you for reading my post and I hope we can get a steady progressive dialogue going about this phone.
Unless I am misinformed you can't extract a stock recovery without su on a qualcomm device. Its different for mtk devices, whereas you can. And I've tried at least 20 different rooting techniques. I think i can say that i am as frustrated as everyone else when it comes to rooting this phone and getting it to where its usable. After all the stock apps got updated i had room for 2 apps on my phone.
Ive pretty much almost given up being able to root this device until a RUU has dropped in the form of an update or a restore.
LarryBoyG said:
Unless I am misinformed you can't extract a stock recovery without su on a qualcomm device. Its different for mtk devices, whereas you can. And I've tried at least 20 different rooting techniques. I think i can say that i am as frustrated as everyone else when it comes to rooting this phone and getting it to where its usable. After all the stock apps got updated i had room for 2 apps on my phone.
Ive pretty much almost given up being able to root this device until a RUU has dropped in the form of an update or a restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can relate. They advertise 4GB of internal storage, but after updates I had no space for additional apps. Kind of defeats the purpose of a smartphone. I regret purchasing this phone and feel I definitely got ripped off.
Pinalp84 said:
Yes, I can relate. They advertise 4GB of internal storage, but after updates I had no space for additional apps. Kind of defeats the purpose of a smartphone. I regret purchasing this phone and feel I definitely got ripped off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for being a 64bit phone , ya it would be hard to get into. but once this phone is rooted. it will be a good phone. it has lighting speed and plus new hardware. I can't wait to see what is really underneath the b4bit phone. I emailed kangoapp to see what his team can do. do not give up yet. the more dev that we can get on this htc 510 the better it will be..
Ah, So its something to do with Qualcomm blocking access to pulling the recovery off the phone. Thats annoying and frustrating. So if there was a way to invoke SU we could get around that?? So essentially we are waiting for a new SU method or HTC to be so kind as to throw an RUU our way.
What carrier are you guys with? I have mine through Rogers/Fido and I still have 2 Gb free and thats with a number of apps added from the app store. I'm guessing its the carrier added bloat that is really taking up your memory as Fido has left this phone relatively carrier free, just HTC's bloat. Another question I have is are you guys running it with Dalvik or ART? I know ART can eat up your memory pretty quick
I see alot of potential in this phone as far as being an affordable future proof phone. I'm hoping that the Lollypop RUU comes around sooner than later as that is why I picked this phone with its 64 bit goodness. Thats not scheduled until April/May though. It will get cracked open sooner or later, until then we are still running a very capable up to date android system.
KrankyMadCap said:
Ah, So its something to do with Qualcomm blocking access to pulling the recovery off the phone. Thats annoying and frustrating. So if there was a way to invoke SU we could get around that?? So essentially we are waiting for a new SU method or HTC to be so kind as to throw an RUU our way.
What carrier are you guys with? I have mine through Rogers/Fido and I still have 2 Gb free and thats with a number of apps added from the app store. I'm guessing its the carrier added bloat that is really taking up your memory as Fido has left this phone relatively carrier free, just HTC's bloat. Another question I have is are you guys running it with Dalvik or ART? I know ART can eat up your memory pretty quick
I see alot of potential in this phone as far as being an affordable future proof phone. I'm hoping that the Lollypop RUU comes around sooner than later as that is why I picked this phone with its 64 bit goodness. Thats not scheduled until April/May though. It will get cracked open sooner or later, until then we are still running a very capable up to date android system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine is with boost and I hear that am 5.0 L update around dec/jan. I did see the update that you was talking about for April but I got this news form HTC/boost customer service. Just a note: these phone where met for android 5.0 L , but htc wanted the sales before all the other new phones that are due in 2015. this phone will rock when the goodies come................
I'm actually really happy with my device, minus the bloat. And with L around the corner its only gonna get better.
As of right now the desire 510 doesn't have art.
Im with Virgin mobile and they packed about about a dozen useless apps in here.
Well I did a little light research last night concerning the 510 and discovered something that I think all of us here have looked over. I was curious about variations of this phone as I know they exist since I've been perusing the source on the HTCDev site. So I start researching this and I'm very saddened to say to everyone including myself in North America. We have a variant of the 510 which is running the snapdragon 400. So for all of us in North America I believe we were duped into thinking this was a 64 bit phone with the snapdragon 410. I was not happy upon discovering this but this seems to be the case.
As far as ART is concerned, The Desire 510 does have ART you just have to enable the developer menu and then switch the phone to ART in there. It worked for me but 1 app that I use alot hung on ART so I reverted.
Well with this news I'm still hopeful we get a Ruu soon, although if I had known I probably would of held off on purchasing a new phone a little longer.
KrankyMadCap said:
Well I did a little light research last night concerning the 510 and discovered something that I think all of us here have looked over. I was curious about variations of this phone as I know they exist since I've been perusing the source on the HTCDev site. So I start researching this and I'm very saddened to say to everyone including myself in North America. We have a variant of the 510 which is running the snapdragon 400. So for all of us in North America I believe we were duped into thinking this was a 64 bit phone with the snapdragon 410. I was not happy upon discovering this but this seems to be the case.
As far as ART is concerned, The Desire 510 does have ART you just have to enable the developer menu and then switch the phone to ART in there. It worked for me but 1 app that I use alot hung on ART so I reverted.
Well with this news I'm still hopeful we get a Ruu soon, although if I had known I probably would of held off on purchasing a new phone a little longer.
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I'm missing art somehow.
That's bizarre. In my menu it's right there between stay awake and high performance mode. Regardless I kept it on Dalvik as it still interfers with apps I want to use and like we've all stated the internal memory in this thing is minimal. I really wonder why the Virgin ROM would hide runtime option in the already hidden developer menu and Rogers/Fido don't.
KrankyMadCap said:
Well I did a little light research last night concerning the 510 and discovered something that I think all of us here have looked over. I was curious about variations of this phone as I know they exist since I've been perusing the source on the HTCDev site. So I start researching this and I'm very saddened to say to everyone including myself in North America. We have a variant of the 510 which is running the snapdragon 400. So for all of us in North America I believe we were duped into thinking this was a 64 bit phone with the snapdragon 410. I was not happy upon discovering this but this seems to be the case.
As far as ART is concerned, The Desire 510 does have ART you just have to enable the developer menu and then switch the phone to ART in there. It worked for me but 1 app that I use alot hung on ART so I reverted.
Well with this news I'm still hopeful we get a Ruu soon, although if I had known I probably would of held off on purchasing a new phone a little longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try running the cpu z app on your 510 to really confirm the cpu type
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
Using CPU-Z is how I determined for myself what exactly was in my phone. Which sadly is the Snapdragon 400. As far as I can gather there are no 64 bit Desire 510's in North America unless they were bought outright online from elsewhere. Still I encourage others to use CPU-Z to determine as to whether I am absolutely correct.
Wow this is atrocious, you can see basically every review taking about the 410 cpu and lte being it's main feature and yet htc has the balls to sell this with that old cpu?!! Could you maybe try geekbench or antutu too? Who knows maybe it's a misidentification by cpu z? Thing is this is just too absurd to be true
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
ars_92 said:
Wow this is atrocious, you can see basically every review taking about the 410 cpu and lte being it's main feature and yet htc has the balls to sell this with that old cpu?!! Could you maybe try geekbench or antutu too? Who knows maybe it's a misidentification by cpu z? Thing is this is just too absurd to be true
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just saw this too. I checked out gsmarena and this is what it said.
Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 - EU model
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 - USA model
CPU Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 - EU model
Quad-core 1.2 GHz - USA model
GPU Adreno 306 - EU model
Adreno 305 - USA model
I feel duped...
Makes me wonder how this phone doesn't work with current root methods. Its basically last years model.
LarryBoyG said:
Just saw this too. I checked out gsmarena and this is what it said.
Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
ChipsetQualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 - EU model
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 - USA model
CPUQuad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 - EU model
Quad-core 1.2 GHz - USA model
GPUAdreno 306 - EU model
Adreno 305 - USA model
I feel duped...
Makes me wonder how this phone doesn't work with current root methods. Its basically last years model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i were you i would sell it and get the moto G 2014. At least that phone will get lots of updates even if it's a snap 400. The only reason the 510 was interesting was because it has the 410. Without it is a pretty bad phone for the price.
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
You and me both, man. I've got Virgin Mobile and all this bloatware is just unnecessary. Luckily, I have an 8 GB SD card lying around... but even so, I can't really do much with the play store due to the apps installing directly to phone storage. I am missing ART as well, I was surprised.
---------- Post added at 09:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------
LarryBoyG said:
Just saw this too. I checked out gsmarena and this is what it said.
Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 - EU model
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 - USA model
CPU Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 - EU model
Quad-core 1.2 GHz - USA model
GPU Adreno 306 - EU model
Adreno 305 - USA model
I feel duped...
Makes me wonder how this phone doesn't work with current root methods. Its basically last years model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, you mean to tell me that this ISN'T 64-bit? Half the reason I got this phone WAS because it was advertised as being 64-bit. You've gotta be kidding me... so basically, we were all lied to.
I checked both HTC's website for the Desire 510 in Canada and the USA and they have the spec's listed the same with a Snapdragon 400. As far as I can gather the North American hardware variant of this phone is officially a 32 bit phone. At the same time I can search google for reviews of this phone and read a review that was done using a Sprint Desire 510 and it states that this phone is 64 bit.
I get the impression that MANY of us in this forum in North America purchased this phone PRIMARILY because it was hyped and reviewed as being a 64 bit phone. The rest of the specs are minimal....this is a mid range phone as it is with a 32 bit processor but having the 64 made it actually worth purchasing over other phones.
My concern here is how this does seem like we've all been duped. Shouldn't HTC or Sprint, etc be aware when a reviewer states something about a device on their network that is entirely untrue? I've even found reviews that are Canadian based that also list the phone as having a snapdragon 410. Are there not laws for false/misleading advertising? Should we be contacting somebody about this?
I'd like to know others thoughts on this as I find this situation very misleading and frustrating.
KrankyMadCap said:
I checked both HTC's website for the Desire 510 in Canada and the USA and they have the spec's listed the same with a Snapdragon 400. As far as I can gather the North American hardware variant of this phone is officially a 32 bit phone. At the same time I can search google for reviews of this phone and read a review that was done using a Sprint Desire 510 and it states that this phone is 64 bit.
I get the impression that MANY of us in this forum in North America purchased this phone PRIMARILY because it was hyped and reviewed as being a 64 bit phone. The rest of the specs are minimal....this is a mid range phone as it is with a 32 bit processor but having the 64 made it actually worth purchasing over other phones.
My concern here is how this does seem like we've all been duped. Shouldn't HTC or Sprint, etc be aware when a reviewer states something about a device on their network that is entirely untrue? I've even found reviews that are Canadian based that also list the phone as having a snapdragon 410. Are there not laws for false/misleading advertising? Should we be contacting somebody about this?
I'd like to know others thoughts on this as I find this situation very misleading and frustrating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just contacted HTC about this, and the customer service woman told me that it was not being advertised as that, claiming that all along the Snapdragon 410 models would only be available for online purchases. She then claimed that, if anything, the fault lies with the services (Sprint, VM, etc) as they choose the processors.
So you can only get the 410 processors if you purchase it online or from Europe. The funny part was, she kept asking where I got the info from, and I told her from the HTC website itself... she was using gsmarena -_- we should do something about this, it's ridiculous.
---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------
I might be immature for saying this, but I feel that we are owed something here. A replacement, some kind of offer, something. I might as well trade this in, or start putting money towards getting a moto g or x, something. Smh.
I also contacted HTC concerning this phone shortly ago and had a lengthy conversation with a nice young lady named Lea/Leah....something along those lines. I can understand everyone's frustration with this not being the 64 bit variant of this phone and so I tried to express this to her. Honestly we have all been mislead by the publicity surrounding this phone and assumed we were getting what was publicized. On this note I'd love to know what the reviewers were using for a phone when they reviewed the 510 in both Canada and the USA. Were they sent the 64 bit model to add to the North American confusion concerning the variant? So HTC publicizes the "first 64 bit android phone" and then sneaks into North America with a plain old nothing out of the ordinary 32 bit variant. They list on their own website for Canada and USA the exact specs for the North American variant. So there is no "false advertising" technically. There is just alot of confusion and alot of people who are buying this phone thinking its the snapdragon 410 when they eventually discover its a snapdragon 400.
Smh this is sorely disappointing. At this point, I am only keeping this phone because it is receiving Android L, and in the hopes that this phone may get rooted. Otherwise, I'd ask Virgin Mobile to see if they could send me another version, with the proper 410 processor.

Should I purchase a Galaxy S8?

Hi all,
I have searched to no avail, hopefully this is OK to ask and is the right place to ask it?
I have resigned myself to purchasing a new phone as it appears that my knowledge and expectations are lacking and not correct. Therefore I am looking at the or at least the most popular phone(s) that are supported with custom ROM's as I really want to be left alone and not have a $399 Leather Ikea Sofa follow me around 24/7.
What I would like to know is the following:
1. Does this phone have custom Rom support? Or is it popular enough for this type of support or customization.
2. I basically dislike all the carriers due to them shoving their bloatware, privacy invasion down my throat. I would happily pay for apps that work without tracking me and couches following me around.
3. I have Tmobile, intend on getting the phone through Tmobile, are there reasonably easy ways to Unbloat the phone, have admin rights on the phone, deal with privacy issues, and most importantly get updates all simultaneously? I know that once you Root any Android phone the God Carriers will no longer allow ANY updates to work. Additionally, my experience with Kingroot just switched devils.... I was able to deal with my phone and bloatware however traded for the same ads and bloatware with Kingroot. Maybe its changed, it has been a year since I attempted my last Root. Like I stated,, I would gladly pay for apps that are ad and bloatware free and keeping my privacy....
4. Are there better phones?
Your thoughts, ideas and links would be greatly appreciated. I dont mind a little work getting updates, I dont mind slow updates, or even using the Generic Samsung Android Version, I dont need all the apps in the world, I would prefer reasonable privacy more than anything.
Thanks in advance.
The Galaxy S8 isn't the best device for doing custom ROMs on. You need a device that is open without restrictions, the one that already good has root options and so on. I am not saying there aren't any ROMs for it... You can wait to see if Pixel 2 will be any good. I would suggest you to check out a flagship phones(if you want) and make a list of which ones you like and then search on XDA and check out the ROM section for each phone.
Any suggestions.... Im not to picky... I guess I should ask what is the most popular at this time and why???
Ratfink11 said:
Any suggestions.... Im not to picky... I guess I should ask what is the most popular at this time and why???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One Plus 5 is a great phone if you like flashing stuff. It doesn't have wireless charging, the display is a 1080P AMOLED, no mechanical image stabilization, and no official waterproofing. Other then that its great.
well, after the S6 ( i believed) samsung tighten up security on their phones, especially for a new phone like the S8. So customize ROM ( AOSP) is pretty much out the door for the S8( at the time of this comment). Well, if you really want S8, go with the Exynos version, since there is some ROMs available. And if you dont like S8, then maybe take a look, and some research at the LG G6, it's solid phone. Great build, good looking, and from a well-known company.
Get the Note 8 when it comes out soon. Don't get US Snapdragon S8 due to UFS 2.0 storage; US Snapdragon S8+ is UFS 2.1 (something like 300MB/s faster read when comparing). Don't expect to root anytime soon unless you get an international Exynos S8/S8+. I am happy with US Snapdragon S8+ but I kinda wish I waited for Note 8. I plan to root my phone as soon as a root method is published. Oh well, I'll just get the Note 9 next Fall.
zone23 said:
One Plus 5 is a great phone if you like flashing stuff. It doesn't have wireless charging, the display is a 1080P AMOLED, no mechanical image stabilization, and no official waterproofing. Other then that its great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree. OR Xiaomi Mi6 isn't bad choice also.

Question S21 Ultra it is worth it?

Hello here guys, I need some of your knowledge and those who have the S21 Ultra in their hands.
First thing I am a htc fan since 2010 with the htc .. After this I changed htc phone every 2 years until 2018.. My last samsung phone dates back to the samsung galaxy S I9000 model back to 2010 and I didn't like them, I didn't keep them for long. My actual phone is the last flagship is the HTC U12+ i liked this phone very much and still love it, it still works fine but it is getting a bit old. After this Unfortunately HTC is almost dead since the takeover by google, i only had one major updates from android since, and give us only android pie and security update July 2019 this is unacceptable for a flagship i have pay more than 1000 $ for it in 2018. I would ideally like to have a new phone with new technology this year. I wanted to wait to see the oneplus 9 pro but .. the 8 have so much problem and i have read on the forum, the update support is getting very bad like htc .. and google no longer make flagship... Not a lot of choice other than that .. and i never want an apple.
So I am looking for the S21 ultra but it is a tough decision for me! I need your experiences with this device and with samsung..
Are samsung phones is strong and durable?? I dropped my HTC several times with a case of course i always have a case on the phone and a screen protector and is never broken. One ui has become much more interesting i have see but i still need to make some debloat it with the root. I find that the fast charge is a little low for this phone, how long does it take you to charge it with a 25W? what more can you tell me about this? Also another thing that bothers me is the curved screen. I am really not convinced on this? but all the flagship are like that now. A Another problem for me is the root, I don't want a phone without root! I am in Canada, and I know that the galaxy variants canada, the bootloader is completely locked and still no possibility to unlock it on this i find samsung very stupid about this.. unless that has changed but it would surprise me I saw nothing of that.
So if I want the device I have to buy the global model ( i want snapdragon too ) ( china model i think ? )which is the SM-G9980, but as I have seen 5G will not be compatible in Canada with this model, can someone confirm that? for 5G and that this model the bootloader is unlockable please?? I don't care much for 5G either but I would prefer to have it compatible.. If i flash a canada firmware is will work or nothing will change ? and is even possible to change the firmware ? For several years now I have been buying my phones full price from some online stores that sell global devices in Canada and for a little less expensive too. I am with public mobile ( belong to Telus Canada ) i really like this company this will work for the 3G and 4G i have see right? not sure.
Thanks for reading me and your answers guys!
UP please ??
Max128 said:
Hello here guys, I need some of your knowledge and those who have the S21 Ultra in their hands.
First thing I am a htc fan since 2010 with the htc .. After this I changed htc phone every 2 years until 2018.. My last samsung phone dates back to the samsung galaxy S I9000 model back to 2010 and I didn't like them, I didn't keep them for long. My actual phone is the last flagship is the HTC U12+ i liked this phone very much and still love it, it still works fine but it is getting old. After this Unfortunately HTC is almost dead since the takeover by google, i only had one major updates from android since, i am stuck with android pie and security update July 2019 this is unacceptable for a flagship i have pay more than 1000 $ for it in 2018. I would ideally like to have a new phone with new technology this year. I wanted to wait to see the oneplus 9 pro but .. the 8 have so much problem and i have read on the forum, the update support is getting very bad like htc .. and google no longer make flagship... Not a lot of choice other than that .. and i never want an apple.
So I am looking for the S21 ultra but it is a tough decision for me! I need your experiences with this device and with samsung..
Are samsung phones is strong and durable?? I dropped my HTC several times with a case of course i always have a case on the phone and a screen protector and is never broken. One ui has become much more interesting i have see but i still need to make some debloat it with the root. I find that the fast charge is a little low for this phone, how long does it take you to charge it with a 25W? what more can you tell me about this? Also another thing that bothers me is the curved screen. I am really not convinced on this? but all the flagship are like that now. A Another problem for me is the root, I don't want a phone without root! I am in Canada, and I know that the galaxy variants canada, the bootloader is completely locked and still no possibility to unlock it on this i find samsung very stupid about this.. unless that has changed but it would surprise me I saw nothing of that.
So if I want the device I have to buy the global model ( i want snapdragon too ) ( china model i think ? )which is the SM-G9980, but as I have seen 5G will not be compatible in Canada with this model, can someone confirm that? for 5G and that this model the bootloader is unlockable please?? I don't care much for 5G either but I would prefer to have it compatible.. If i flash a canada firmware is will work or nothing will change ? and is even possible to change the firmware ? For several years now I have been buying my phones full price from some online stores that sell global devices in Canada and for a little less expensive too. I am with public mobile ( belong to Telus Canada ) i really like this company this will work for the 3G and 4G i have see right? not sure.
Thanks for reading me and your answers guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is not worth it!
This is a gadget geek forum many of us waste money on shiny toys. You have a very old phone by the standards of tech enthusiast, but you don't seem like you feel you're missing anything accept software support. If that's the only thing that really concerns you, I would say save $600 and get the Galaxy FE. It will outperform your current phone in everyway. It has a plastic back cover that feels like premium material but is durable. It's 5G. It has android 10. Its got better cameras. It has an SD Slot. I think the only thing you may miss is the headphone jack, and just about all phones are loosing that. So I would say unless you plan to change the way you utilize your phone. Save your money and go Mid Range feature rich, your not going to miss flag ship features you've never used and will never use more than a few times just to test it out anyway.
mc_365 said:
The phone is not worth it!
This is a gadget geek forum many of us waste money on shiny toys. You have a very old phone by the standards of tech enthusiast, but you don't seem like you feel you're missing anything accept software support. If that's the only thing that really concerns you, I would say save $600 and get the Galaxy FE. It will outperform your current phone in everyway. It has a plastic back cover that feels like premium material but is durable. It's 5G. It has android 10. Its got better cameras. It has an SD Slot. I think the only thing you may miss is the headphone jack, and just about all phones are loosing that. So I would say unless you plan to change the way you utilize your phone. Save your money and go Mid Range feature rich, your not going to miss flag ship features you've never used and will never use more than a few times just to test it out anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you. Those flagships models are not worth the money the vendors are asking for. Sure they are really good like Samsung S21 Ultra which is my daily driver now, but typically you get all you need either with new midrange phones or 1-3 years old flagship models.
Hi, I pretty love the flagship but yeah I find it expensive this phone... Will see what I will do. In the meanwhile if someone have the information I want for the model is will be great!
Max128 said:
Hi, I pretty love the flagship but yeah I find it expensive this phone... Will see what I will do. In the meanwhile if someone have the information I want for the model is will be great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Ultra has the least aggressive curve of all curved Galaxy models. The viewable area doesn't really cascade over the side like my s10+.
The phone takes maybe 100 minutes to charge but I haven't really done a controlled test. I'm just going off the avg time it says when I plug it in to my QC 3.0 charger.
US / Canadian Galaxy 21s will likely never get a real root. Root would most likely trip the security fuse if ever possible. So at that point you could no longer use NFC payments. I could be wrong on this since I haven't been rooted or unlocked since HTC M8 days.
As far as durability goes, this phone is made from the most durable Corning gorilla glass on the front and I think the back is one step down. The phone has a metal frame and the camera housing is integrated into the metal frame. So I'd say it as durable as a glass phone can be.
I can offer no insight on Chinese market phones and their radios compatibility. I'm not brave enough to spend $1000+ ordering a device on the net unseen, with no warranty, and questionable compatibility. I need my device to work out the box, root is not that important to me anymore.
@mc_365 So you have the phone with what I have understand? Well I know is since the s7 I think the us and Canada having a locked bootloader and I find it stupid from Samsung really. For the NFC payment , my last three phone having it I think and I am still not using it.. Still not really interested by this. Well the root for me is still pretty important , I am using it for some reasons...
Well my last two HTC devices I have buy the global version and everything work.. and the phone work great too, and warranty on this. Is for Samsung phones I am a bit lost.. for the global version ( because the bootloader is can be unlock and also global version phone is always less expensive I buy my phones full price) what is working in Canada and what not...
Max128 said:
@mc_365 So you have the phone with what I have understand? Well I know is since the s7 I think the us and Canada having a locked bootloader and I find it stupid from Samsung really. For the NFC payment , my last three phone having it I think and I am still not using it.. Still not really interested by this. Well the root for me is still pretty important , I am using it for some reasons...
Well my last two HTC devices I have buy the global version and everything work.. and the phone work great too, and warranty on this. Is for Samsung phones I am a bit lost.. for the global version ( because the bootloader is can be unlock and also global version phone is always less expensive I buy my phones full price) what is working in Canada and what not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I own the Phone.
I bought the phone outright as I do most of the time.
The non US/CAD phones are unlockable because from my understanding the law requires it in Europe. In the US the I think the carriers are concerned with subsidized phones being hacked for use without paying the phone off. That in combination with the US credit card companies concerns about fraudulent payments from hacked devices. These 2 major industries (Telecom and Banking) force the manufactures to adhere to these demands. So US/CAD and EU being the 2 major regions with strong governing laws force companies to comply or not be allowed to sell direct to consumers. Samsung has decided to just make it easy and keep everything coming to the US and CAD locked down tight. Europe must have their phones unlockable and the Chinese probably have some rules, and that's why they have Snapdragon chips and the rest of Asia has Exynos. There's probably some back door built into the Chinese variant for the CCP to monitor or to enforce the firewall etc.
Global version is less expensive because it has Samsung's Exynos processor which was somewhat inferior to Qualcoms Snapdragon in the past. Also in my experience you only save on the Global models after the phone has been on the market for a while. When it is relatively new you pay a premium to get that device from an importer. And again you get no warranty or support.
mc_365 said:
Yes I own the Phone.
I bought the phone outright as I do most of the time.
Global version is less expensive because it has Samsung's Exynos processor which was somewhat inferior to Qualcoms Snapdragon in the past. Also in my experience you only save on the Global models after the phone has been on the market for a while. When it is relatively new you pay a premium to get that device from an importer. And again you get no warranty or support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you like the phone?
Not exactly , the global version I am talking about is the SM-G9980 and is the Snapdragon model ( Hong Kong ) is unlockable. I have buy my last two phones at launch day and is 200-300$ less like the s21 ultra right now... And I have got a support and normally a warranty.
However, not very precise for the bands network here. I am looking for that is will be the same for all Samsung phone I guess.
Max128 said:
How do you like the phone?
Not exactly , the global version I am talking about is the SM-G9980 and is the Snapdragon model ( Hong Kong ) is unlockable. I have buy my last two phones at launch day and is 200-300$ less like the s21 ultra right now... And I have got a support and normally a warranty.
However, not very precise for the bands network here. I am looking for that is will be the same for all Samsung phone I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as far as I have ever know, Samsung does not offer any warranty or servicing on devices purchased outside the region it was intended to operate.
Maybe the specific vendor your buying through is willing to warranty the device. But according to everything I've read and every place I considered buying from its always been stated up front,"Intl version NO Warranty" and the Exynos versions were cheaper but the Chinese version were just as expensive and more in a lot of cases. I've also heard of people receiving the phone and the language be set to Chinese and they could not operate the phone, LOL.
If my S10+ had 5G or 120hz screen I would have stuck with it. S21 Ultra is a great phone but in reality overkill for me. But I got $700 worth of trade in credit 500 for the phone and 200 worth of new accessories. So for ~$750 tax included and my old phone, I got s21 Ultra 512GB, Buds Pro, Soft touch Silicon + Spen case, Soft touch Silicon case, Clear TPU case, Rugged Hard Shell case with Kickstand, and a tracker tag thingy.
the s21 ultra is FAST and smooth.
i going to keep it for a few years unless the newer phones are a lot better.
Max128 said:
Hello here guys, I need some of your knowledge and those who have the S21 Ultra in their hands.
First thing I am a htc fan since 2010 with the htc .. After this I changed htc phone every 2 years until 2018.. My last samsung phone dates back to the samsung galaxy S I9000 model back to 2010 and I didn't like them, I didn't keep them for long. My actual phone is the last flagship is the HTC U12+ i liked this phone very much and still love it, it still works fine but it is getting old. After this Unfortunately HTC is almost dead since the takeover by google, i only had one major updates from android since, i am stuck with android pie and security update July 2019 this is unacceptable for a flagship i have pay more than 1000 $ for it in 2018. I would ideally like to have a new phone with new technology this year. I wanted to wait to see the oneplus 9 pro but .. the 8 have so much problem and i have read on the forum, the update support is getting very bad like htc .. and google no longer make flagship... Not a lot of choice other than that .. and i never want an apple.
So I am looking for the S21 ultra but it is a tough decision for me! I need your experiences with this device and with samsung..
Are samsung phones is strong and durable?? I dropped my HTC several times with a case of course i always have a case on the phone and a screen protector and is never broken. One ui has become much more interesting i have see but i still need to make some debloat it with the root. I find that the fast charge is a little low for this phone, how long does it take you to charge it with a 25W? what more can you tell me about this? Also another thing that bothers me is the curved screen. I am really not convinced on this? but all the flagship are like that now. A Another problem for me is the root, I don't want a phone without root! I am in Canada, and I know that the galaxy variants canada, the bootloader is completely locked and still no possibility to unlock it on this i find samsung very stupid about this.. unless that has changed but it would surprise me I saw nothing of that.
So if I want the device I have to buy the global model ( i want snapdragon too ) ( china model i think ? )which is the SM-G9980, but as I have seen 5G will not be compatible in Canada with this model, can someone confirm that? for 5G and that this model the bootloader is unlockable please?? I don't care much for 5G either but I would prefer to have it compatible.. If i flash a canada firmware is will work or nothing will change ? and is even possible to change the firmware ? For several years now I have been buying my phones full price from some online stores that sell global devices in Canada and for a little less expensive too. I am with public mobile ( belong to Telus Canada ) i really like this company this will work for the 3G and 4G i have see right? not sure.
Thanks for reading me and your answers guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 988B/DS and I love it. I had a note 20 Ultra and I traded it for the s21 Ultra and I don't regret it.
Durability: Phone has Gorilla Glass Victus (latest one) on the screen and on the back as well, really premium look (love the phantom black color). I don't plan on dropping the phone to test it lol, but videos show quite a lot of durability in drops up to 10feet. I will get a case to protect it just in case.
Storage: I don't miss the SD card (havent used one in over 7 years). I have the 256GB model one (12GB ram) and with cloud storage I don't think i will ever get close to filling the phone.
Cameras: I love the cameras, but it does get a bit to get used to the different options and mastering it for pro photos. It really is something else.
Processor: i have the Exynos version and I can't find any lag or issues with it. no overheating (this seems to have been fixed with an update), no issues at all with the phone.
Battery Life: With the 25W charger, from 0 to 100 in about 100 minutes give or take. It does charge fast, keep in mind that the battery is 5,000 mah so I don't think it's bad charging time.
Honestly? It is worth it... Not sure if changing from HTC will mean a lot of getting used to, but it's a nice experience.
I don't think flashing firmware to other models will result in 5G band compatibility, you can enable other market dependent services, but I believe network bands are more of a hardware thing.
About rooting, I used to root all my samsung phones and play around (and brick some phones) along the way, but I don't know why, but tripping knox and messing up banking capabilities is not of my interest. I'm happy with the phone as is and don't intend on rooting (disappointing I know).
Hope these comments help a bit on your decision making process
Thanks for your answers! When I have buy my HTC phone global version I had always every languages even the French ( the French is my principal language ) but with what you are saying the global of Samsung do not have this, China language? Can you flash firmware of another country on it like Canada? I do not much how Odin works... Yeah I am still not sure about the network bands compatibility and if is a software things or hardware? I saw posts that said it was one or the others things... Not really specific!
Disappointing? Yeah? Haha! Well in your place i wouldn't stop myself if the device you can unlock it !l Also in the reviews I have see is take approximately 1h11so 70 minutes to charge completely the phone with a 25w charger , why a big time difference here?
Max128 said:
Thanks for your answers! When I have buy my HTC phone global version I had always every languages even the French ( the French is my principal language ) but with what you are saying the global of Samsung do not have this, China language? Can you flash firmware of another country on it like Canada? I do not much how Odin works... Yeah I am still not sure about the network bands compatibility and if is a software things or hardware? I saw posts that said it was one or the others things... Not really specific!
Disappointing? Yeah? Haha! Well in your place i wouldn't stop myself if the device you can unlock it !l Also in the reviews I have see is take approximately 1h11so 70 minutes to charge completely the phone with a 25w charger , why a big time difference here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to root all my samsung devices (I stopped in Note 8). About the battery charge time.. I haven't let it go to zero lowest I have gone is like 35% and then charge so my calculation was based on the time to charge from that point, so 70 minutes is NOT bad at all...
My version has French language as an option in intitial setup (it has a bunch of languages - pretty sure it covers all needs).
Also, reading further in the forum, 5G bands are more software related (enabled), so it seems flashing firmware will enable/disable bands.
There are many posts in the forum on how to flash different firmware or change CSC codes so youmight want to take a look there. Odin is pretty safe to use if you follow the instructions. I haven't used with recent samsung devices, so I'm not sure what considerations you need to take.
I love the phone, but then again, I do not get to deeply play with it (unlocking the bootloader, rooting, flashing) as I did with other devices but I'm ok with it (for now). Given it's a pretty new device, it's kinda hard to find stuff for it yet.
Max128 said:
Thanks for your answers! When I have buy my HTC phone global version I had always every languages even the French ( the French is my principal language ) but with what you are saying the global of Samsung do not have this, China language? Can you flash firmware of another country on it like Canada? I do not much how Odin works... Yeah I am still not sure about the network bands compatibility and if is a software things or hardware? I saw posts that said it was one or the others things... Not really specific!
Disappointing? Yeah? Haha! Well in your place i wouldn't stop myself if the device you can unlock it !l Also in the reviews I have see is take approximately 1h11so 70 minutes to charge completely the phone with a 25w charger , why a big time difference here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the time difference is because we are not testing the battery with stop watches we are just telling you what it says on the screen when we plug it in and giving you an ball park estimate. It always says a longer time to full charge but ends up being faster as the battery calibrates during the charge process. Its like when you down
load a large file from the net it first starts off saying 20 minutes but then only takes 5.
If they don't fix the camera, especially taking photos at night (Exynos2100 version), Do NOT buy this phone
@mc_365 I understand now what you are saying... Thanks!
@oae08 What is the problem exactly with the camera? I do not see that on the reviews , good to know if you have a problem! Do you know if is Snapdragon too ? Or only exynos
joancolmenares said:
My version has French language as an option in intitial setup (it has a bunch of languages - pretty sure it covers all needs).
Also, reading further in the forum, 5G bands are more software related (enabled), so it seems flashing firmware will enable/disable bands.
There are many posts in the forum on how to flash different firmware or change CSC codes so youmight want to take a look there. Odin is pretty safe to use if you follow the instructions. I haven't used with recent samsung devices, so I'm not sure what considerations you need to take.
I love the phone, but then again, I do not get to deeply play with it (unlocking the bootloader, rooting, flashing) as I did with other devices but I'm ok with it (for now). Given it's a pretty new device, it's kinda hard to find stuff for it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your 988B/DS is the global version ( china and global is the same thing as a know ) on Exynos if I understand? And you have French on it and many others languages!
Do you have some links near for what you are talking? About the 5 bands and the software flash? No need for how to flash a firmware of CSC codes I know is easy to find this, but it is quite possible to do it, to flash the firmware of the country you want right? No problem on the device after this? Also you only need the bootloader unlocked for flashing a firmware on a another country I Guess ?
Well I know magisk is not working yet on the s21 but is will be soon.
Max128 said:
@mc_365 I understand now what you are saying... Thanks!
@oae08 What is the problem exactly with the camera? I do not see that on the reviews , good to know if you have a problem! Do you know if is Snapdragon too ? Or only exynos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera is really disappointing. I have bought this phone for just over almost 1600$, which is above my budget actually) but I was really anticipating to buy a phone that has a monster camera that I can use to get decent photos point to click. However, this is not the case. The night time photos especially, are bad quality and there is too much flare. I have tried it in many different scenarios and cleaning the lenses in every possible way but still the flare is way over the acceptable. I even compared with iphone 11 photos taking the same photos back to back and the older iphone 11 results in much cleaner and better photos.
Please note that i HATE the iphone, but this is the truth unfortunately. So until samsung releases an update to fix this (if its even possible), the phone is not up to standard.
EDIT: I have the exynos version
oae08 said:
The camera is really disappointing. I have bought this phone for just over almost 1600$, which is above my budget actually) but I was really anticipating to buy a phone that has a monster camera that I can use to get decent photos point to click. However, this is not the case. The night time photos especially, are bad quality and there is too much flare. I have tried it in many different scenarios and cleaning the lenses in every possible way but still the flare is way over the acceptable. I even compared with iphone 11 photos taking the same photos back to back and the older iphone 11 results in much cleaner and better photos.
Please note that i HATE the iphone, but this is the truth unfortunately. So until samsung releases an update to fix this (if its even possible), the phone is not up to standard.
EDIT: I have the exynos version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odd, I have the Exynos version and haven't had any issues with the camera in the many modes even night mode and it's awesome. I don 't know if the latest software update had something to do with it, but when I bought the phone and turned it on it updated and the update said camera fixes, so that might have been the case.

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