Database Users

[Q] New to GS4 and introduction

OK I admit I'm leary I dropped my phone Tuesday and totally shattered (still in tact) my screen and immediately put a protector on to keep the glass splintering from happening. Bummed but oh well Sams Club is having a .96c cent GS4 pre black sale on Sunday night so it seems I'll be leaving GS3 behind and getting a GS4 I would rather wait until after first of year to see what comes but I need to take advantage of the sale.
I have only had this GS3 2 months after bricking 3 E4GT's and getting this because 4th one power button broke, replacement being on BO.
Coverage here in OKC for sprint is so so and gets better as time goes by so I'm always on WiFi so otherwise everything seems to work the same. Being on the E4GT for past almost 2 years all the young tech guys I relied on do not know anything about the GS3 or GS4 so as a 48yr gray haired guy I'm learning as I go.
I really would like a Note3 or the rumored GS5 when I went to sprint to get the screen cover the tech's said they have really been liking the LG L2 but not having a removable battery would take me back to my iphone days and I hated the control that apple had over me. Sprint tech guys always like seeing the newest things on my phone but when it comes to roms and rooting they are a lost cause.
My wife needs a new phone the has the galaxy s w/slider keyboard, I originally got my E4GT from amazon .01 cent Black Friday sale 2 years ago and it is best that both she and I stay on same contract terms.
Question: Anyone have suggestion of a S4 rom?
Been running [ROM][4.4][Beta][UNOFFICIAL][Updated 11/21/13]Cyanogemod 11 for D2SPR with total 4.4 kitkat and using PA Gapps.
Prior Ran The Collective 4.3.1 w/PA Gapps.
I generally run anything and every apk that will flash, not afraid to test things, nito and download the link.
My kids and most of family are all iOS fans and always stock so I'm the crazy droid spilunker.
Any suggestions or recommendation's about ROMs would be appreciated.
I'll figure theming as I go. I'm just a little bummed but know once I get the phone on Sunday night that I'll just find a new forum and thread to join.

For your question. That cannot really be answered by someone else. Look through the OG Dev and regular dev sections. To see all of the Roms available and flash any that catch your attention. Then from their choose which one you want to stick with.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

See above, it is best you also break out questions so that when "best rom" answer create arguments, moderators do not have to shut down entire threads as "best rom" stuff is generally not allowed.

Looking to sell my note 3 for the G2 (Verizon)

I am currently looking to sell my Note 3 for the G2 because I took at look at the development section here compared to the Verizon Note 3 and quite frankly...im EXTREMELY JEALOUS haha. Anyway if I sell my Note 3 and buy a G2 off contract will I be able to install custom recovery? Because I can't seem to find an up to date thread on the topic. Sorry if I'm not searching correctly. I believe the Verizon G2 just got the kit kat update if I'm not mistaken and I don't know if that will hinder the ability to do that. Again sorry for being ignorant I just want AOSP again so badly and the Note 3 has to be a jerk off and have a locked bootloader with no work around so yea lol. Thanks in advance!

I wouldn't! Come on. You've got a bigger screen, removable battery, expandable storage, and slightly better specs. It's a popular phone, let the dev community build up - it will build up, trust me on that.

While those may be true. I desire a pure stock android experience. One that can be had on the G2. Numerous devs have continually said the bootloader will more than likely never be unlocked. That means horrible touchwiz nonsense forever! Literally the only thing I would miss would be the expandable storage. The difference in specs will be 100% unnoticeable. Ill just have to put my music on google music but that's no biggie considering I have Unlimited data on Verizon.

immortal7792 said:
While those may be true. I desire a pure stock android experience. One that can be had on the G2. Numerous devs have continually said the bootloader will more than likely never be unlocked. That means horrible touchwiz nonsense forever! Literally the only thing I would miss would be the expandable storage. The difference in specs will be 100% unnoticeable. Ill just have to put my music on google music but that's no biggie considering I have Unlimited data on Verizon.
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Might I suggest you wait for the Galaxy S5 or the LG G3? We're a month away from their launch.
Edit: Well, maybe more than a month but it's not far away. Also, the Nexus 6 might be perfect for you. There are rumors about a possible June launch.

You are kidding right
Your are kidding Right ? Note 3 vs G2. I have the Tmobile LG-G2 rooted and coming from a galaxy S3 I miss it. I only did it because I had EMMC failure and my S3 motherboard died on my S3. So I just got this G2 for $450.00. I could not paid $700 for a Note 3 phone that is crazy . Oh yea I know what your thinking . But you could have paid it broken down on monthly payments. (still $750 BUCKS) Don't get me wrong This LG-G2 is GREAT , but 32Gigs internal memory come on. There is something special about having internal vs ext-sd memory . That my friend is that is SUCKS! the tmobile version does not have ext-sd slot, If it did then this phone would still only be 3 stars, The sound is low even with all the mods out there . what I am trying to tell you is Keep that Note 3 Rooted and Flash a new ROM on it .

Dang....After a bunch of g2 owners telling me this i will be holding out for something else. Haha. I guess my fun with running aosp and flashing kernels is sadly at an end I don't want to accept it! And I KNOW the s5 is going to be even more locked down. God knows if the verizon variant will even get root. I hate that they are doing this. It's ruining part of the reason I love android. The development and the community. Every phone I've owned up until this one has had a vast community on here where things were constantly getting made and developed. New roms new kernels. Now, I can look at the android development section, and then look at it a month later, and nothing will have changed. Makes me a little sad.

Not sure where you heard that the bootloader would *never* be unlocked - I wouldn't place bets on that. I'd definitely suggest that you either wait for the bootloader to get unlocked (I'm already seeing 4.4.2 ROMs on the note 3 xda, can't be too long) or you wait for the Galaxy S5. If it were me, I'd keep that Note 3 and do whatever possible to make the interface stock-like - use Nova Launcher, stuff like that - until your phone eventually sees some good AOSP goodies ported over.

How many devs?

I would like to have an idea of the dev support the phone will get. The s4 was a let down for me development wise, so it would be great to know which devs and how many will own the device. Wanam and AndreiLux won't get the s5 The M8 already got a good support.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

skivnit said:
I would like to have an idea of the dev support the phone will get. The s4 was a let down for me development wise, so it would be great to know which devs and how many will own the device. Wanam and AndreiLux won't get the s5 The M8 already got a good support.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk
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Yeh I hope this phone has good support, the GS2 was incredible and still being played with on the forums, I've had an i777 past few years and it had ridiculous support and still does (pry would have stuck with it for now and see what happens over the next year but I dropped it in ocean other day and rice sure as heck didn't save it lol). Have an early S4 too that wife has and it was rooted and rom'd, then all the firmware and updates happened and that's when Dev support almost died on that phone. I actually thought of getting an S4 for my upgrade instead but since it'd be from AT&T it would be on the current bang your head through a wall firmware/baseband.
I seriously hope the S5 is able to root and have rom support, and not the cluster f' the S4 is now but I doubt it considering Sammy made Knox etc even more complicated now.

Yea with Knox and all I just don't see much support, the s4 is just dead especially on the kernels side , I already preordered mine but now I'm not sure if I wanna keep it or cancel. The m8 is just a boring sexy phone (if you read the forums everyone is so scared they already put it in cases) so there's no other alternative atm

skivnit said:
Yea with Knox and all I just don't see much support, the s4 is just dead especially on the kernels side , I already preordered mine but now I'm not sure if I wanna keep it or cancel. The m8 is just a boring sexy phone (if you read the forums everyone is so scared they already put it in cases) so there's no other alternative atm
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That's my problem, need a phone now as my i777 took a swim after being so careful with it for 2 1/2 years. But there's like nothing out there, I can get a refurbed S4 through AT&T for free on my upgrade but it'll have the current baseband/firmware so screwed there, I can get an M8 which is unlockable but has a crap camera (looks fine on phone, not so when you upload pics or use on desktop), or the S5 where your just perma screwed being locked and knox. There's nothing else, and can't wait as need a phone now. Sucks, so much for the days of Android being open. I'm seriously considering going back to Apple as much as I dread that as at least you can still jailbreak and not deal with all the headaches of rooting and flashing now (thats if you can), not like the i777 days where it was a breeze.

skivnit said:
Yea with Knox and all I just don't see much support, the s4 is just dead especially on the kernels side , I already preordered mine but now I'm not sure if I wanna keep it or cancel. The m8 is just a boring sexy phone (if you read the forums everyone is so scared they already put it in cases) so there's no other alternative atm
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Dead? ROMs: Omega, Wanam, Echoe, Bobcat...
Kernels: KT, Adam, Faux, Alucard, Talexop...
I guess you're one more who doesn't have an idea of what Knox is, and then talks BS.

dandroid13 said:
Dead? ROMs: Omega, Wanam, Echoe, Bobcat...
Kernels: KT, Adam, Faux, Alucard, Talexop...
I guess you're one more who doesn't have an idea of what Knox is, and then talks BS.
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Click to collapse
I don't think he meant dead as in "dead" you can still play around just a huge headache, i got lucky and have an early model S4 for wife, I think he meant Dev work and support/updates once they started changing firmware/baseband that made it too much of a hassle for Devs to deal with. With the S5 being even more strict and encrypted from whats said so far of updated Knox, at least with U.S. Carriers, makes me feel like there will be very little support. Some known Devs have already said their not going to bother with the S5 or at least U.S. variants

surf1 said:
I don't think he meant dead as in "dead" you can still play around just a huge headache, i got lucky and have an early model S4 for wife, I think he meant Dev work and support/updates once they started changing firmware/baseband that made it too much of a hassle for Devs to deal with. With the S5 being even more strict and encrypted from whats said so far of updated Knox, at least with U.S. Carriers, makes me feel like there will be very little support. Some known Devs have already said their not going to bother with the S5 or at least U.S. variants
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Well, there's a world outside the US.

Just don't buy the international version (or more specifically third-world international version) if you're worried about this. The S4 was relatively lucky that I single-handedly did everything from scratch kernel side, else you'd be more disappointed.
Still don't see why anybody from the S4 gen would warrant buying the S5 or M8 when they'll be bashed by the end of summer.

I wouldn't have bothered with the S5 if it wasn't for the deal I got from O2.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

I also hope for great dev support. Although I have tried to learn how to build ROMS many times and still haven't got an idea how to really. I will be more than willing to help any dev.
Getting the S5 on release date hopefully!

dandroid13 said:
Dead? ROMs: Omega, Wanam, Echoe, Bobcat...
Kernels: KT, Adam, Faux, Alucard, Talexop...
I guess you're one more who doesn't have an idea of what Knox is, and then talks BS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what Knox is and I was talking about the exynos variant, as Wanam left for the snapdragon version then he said the next phone is htc m8. I could care less about warranty I have been using smartphones since the beginning and I have never used the warranty. So yeah, if we end up with 3 devs that's "dead support to me"
Andreilux I know that by q3 more powerful phones will be on the market but my s4 is driving me crazy with sudden battery drains and wifi wakelocks, I just wanna get rid of if. And yes I'm thankful for your work since I used it on s3 n2 and s4

skivnit said:
I know what Knox is and I was talking about the exynos variant, as Wanam left for the snapdragon version then he said the next phone is htc m8. I could care less about warranty I have been using smartphones since the beginning and I have never used the warranty. So yeah, if we end up with 3 devs that's "dead support to me"
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I'm thinking of creating ROMs (at last!). I'm certainly buying the S5 and dev'ing for it.

The S5 won't see a massive amount of non-stock roms, and certainly less than the Snapdragon S4. But there will be some with the architecture being open source unlike Somsung's Exynos. Also, there will be a lot of roms based on stock.
To be honest, I'm probably going to be happy sticking with stock anyway as certain features will be lost as soon as Samsung's framework is taken out of the equation (fingerprint recognition being the main one).
What I would really love to see more than anything else is an exploit-based root solution that doesn't trip the knox flag. But I believe the Note 3 4.4.2 roms still haven't had that so I'm not holding my breath for the S5. I'm still deciding if I should leave my phone unrooted when I get it on Friday or just bite the bullet and trip the flag the CF Auto Root. The idea of not being able to use Viper4Android isn't one that appeals.

AndreiLux said:
Still don't see why anybody from the S4 gen would warrant buying the S5 or M8 when they'll be bashed by the end of summer.
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I wonder, what do you mean. Are we expecting something amazing by the end of the summer?
My personal opinion is that it is not worth spending money at anything because next year everything will be bashed by something like this...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7925/...bit-socs-with-lte-category-67-support-in-2015

Pagnell said:
The S5 won't see a massive amount of non-stock roms, and certainly less than the Snapdragon S4. But there will be some with the architecture being open source unlike Somsung's Exynos. Also, there will be a lot of roms based on stock.
To be honest, I'm probably going to be happy sticking with stock anyway as certain features will be lost as soon as Samsung's framework is taken out of the equation (fingerprint recognition being the main one).
What I would really love to see more than anything else is an exploit-based root solution that doesn't trip the knox flag. But I believe the Note 3 4.4.2 roms still haven't had that so I'm not holding my breath for the S5. I'm still deciding if I should leave my phone unrooted when I get it on Friday or just bite the bullet and trip the flag the CF Auto Root. The idea of not being able to use Viper4Android isn't one that appeals.
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I agree, Touchwhiz has gotten a lot better, and I just use GoLauncher Prime and DiCikonZ icon package so I can put up with no roms, but really want to see a solution to root w/o tripping knox. I hate bloat that comes on Sammy/AT&T phones. And I want my damn Tibu back that I paid for.

Pagnell said:
The S5 won't see a massive amount of non-stock roms, and certainly less than the Snapdragon S4. But there will be some with the architecture being open source unlike Somsung's Exynos. Also, there will be a lot of roms based on stock.
To be honest, I'm probably going to be happy sticking with stock anyway as certain features will be lost as soon as Samsung's framework is taken out of the equation (fingerprint recognition being the main one).
What I would really love to see more than anything else is an exploit-based root solution that doesn't trip the knox flag. But I believe the Note 3 4.4.2 roms still haven't had that so I'm not holding my breath for the S5. I'm still deciding if I should leave my phone unrooted when I get it on Friday or just bite the bullet and trip the flag the CF Auto Root. The idea of not being able to use Viper4Android isn't one that appeals.
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Click to collapse
Im in agreement with you on both points. I don't necessarily care about a custom ROM as much as I care about gaining root and getting rid of the bloatware. I am new to the Galaxy S world of things (my S5 arrives today!) so I am glad to know there is a potential early option although a non-preferable one that trips a no warranty flag. However as mentioned in someone elses reply I have never used a warranty option with a phone, but the one time I count on that I may be jinxing myself.
Looking forward to getting my hands on this phone today, and hopefully root not too far behind.

I'm not into Roms that's I emphasize on kernel devs, that's how you unlock the phones potential

dandroid13 said:
Dead? ROMs: Omega, Wanam, Echoe, Bobcat...
Kernels: KT, Adam, Faux, Alucard, Talexop...
I guess you're one more who doesn't have an idea of what Knox is, and then talks BS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
The people who cry are the ones who previously got away with rooting their device and keeping their warranty.

[OFFICIAL OFF-TOPIC LOUNGE] Talk about (most) anything

Hi all you Verizon Note 4 owners,
I noticed there wasn't an off topic thread for you guys & gals to talk about non-Note 4 related things, so I've created this place to do just that. This will be the only place off-topic discussions are allowed.
Of course, not anything goes, stick to the rules and keep it civil. Report any questionable post(s) & don't let things get out of hand or it'll be closed.
Thanks & Enjoy!

So anyone read theres speculation that Lollipop isnt coming to the Note 4 till may. Im not too worried about it myself cause my DE is perfect, however my wife is disappointed (she has retail version) as some of her friends got it on their phones (S5, and some other brands) and she cant understand what's taking so long, after I explained things to her shes not convinced and feels lile we are being screwed. Ahh the joys life.

Matttrix said:
So anyone read theres speculation that Lollipop isnt coming to the Note 4 till may. Im not too worried about it myself cause my DE is perfect, however my wife is disappointed (she has retail version) as some of her friends got it on their phones (S5, and some other brands) and she cant understand what's taking so long, after I explained things to her shes not convinced and feels lile we are being screwed. Ahh the joys life.
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I'm in the same boat as you. I got the DE and wife got retail. She wants some lollipop. I told her she's out of luck and the only lollipop she'll be getting is from me lol

I love the android system but there is one game I miss the most from apple. Fantastic Contraption. If you never heard of it YouTube it. It is an amazing game. I am sure this is probably one of the dumbest question ever but can it be ported to android?
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

Android_Fr3ak said:
I love the android system but there is one game I miss the most from apple. Fantastic Contraption. If you never heard of it YouTube it. It is an amazing game. I am sure this is probably one of the dumbest question ever but can it be ported to android?
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
I miss one thing about apple, camera+ app. The best photo editing app in existence and the developer "tap tap tap" doesn't want to come to android. Just being an a$$.
Other than that apple is like a bad history for me. lol

I learned a shocking feature on iPhones the other day, if you go into the privacy settings there is a feature in there that tracks your address the time you spent there where you travel to everything you do in plain English and very easily accessible. Does android have a feature like that built in? I hope not lol not that I go any place bad it just seemed a little intrusive. I do know they have GPS and all that but that was really precise.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

droidxxxxx said:
I learned a shocking feature on iPhones the other day, if you go into the privacy settings there is a feature in there that tracks your address the time you spent there where you travel to everything you do in plain English and very easily accessible. Does android have a feature like that built in? I hope not lol not that I go any place bad it just seemed a little intrusive. I do know they have GPS and all that but that was really precise.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
I don't know, but we do have a file in the system called "mobile tracker" that is, I think, used to track your phone just in case you lose it. Not sure, but I usually freeze/delete it with titanium back up. Also, if you're rooted, you can always install xprivacy module that prevents anything you suspect.

What's the longest you guys ever went without rooting your devices? I would say a month, I've just gotten my first Android phone (ZTE Warp) and the bootloader wasn't unlocked yet, I checked the forums every day until I seen the almighty *HOW TO ROOT ZTE WARP* boy was I excited. Ever since then I've never owned a android if I couldn't root it but this might be my first time, I'm looking to purchase the note 4 this April or May I only have the option of getting the att&t or Verizon variant (just my luck, lol) most likely I'll chose which ever gets rooted first. I'm sure by either April or May it should be rooted.

MartyMar_XVII said:
What's the longest you guys ever went without rooting your devices? I would say a month, I've just gotten my first Android phone (ZTE Warp) and the bootloader wasn't unlocked yet, I checked the forums every day until I seen the almighty *HOW TO ROOT ZTE WARP* boy was I excited. Ever since then I've never owned a android if I couldn't root it but this might be my first time, I'm looking to purchase the note 4 this April or May I only have the option of getting the att&t or Verizon variant (just my luck, lol) most likely I'll chose which ever gets rooted first. I'm sure by either April or May it should be rooted.
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Click to collapse
I had my Verizon HTC One M7 for a couple months before it was rooted, and even then you had to send your phone away and pay $25. I think a month or two after that beaups and someone else came up with a method that worked pretty well on linux and that was it. Then I had the M8 for a couple of months until there was a way but it also cost $25 and ran directly on the phone. I'm not so much concerned about root, really. I just want ****ing lollipop.

Hey everyone. Trafalger888. Used to be an RC but haven't been around for a couple years. Life happened. Just getting back into everything. Lits of catching up to do. Just wanted to make a quick introduction.

murderdock said:
I had my Verizon HTC One M7 for a couple months before it was rooted, and even then you had to send your phone away and pay $25. I think a month or two after that beaups and someone else came up with a method that worked pretty well on linux and that was it. Then I had the M8 for a couple of months until there was a way but it also cost $25 and ran directly on the phone. I'm not so much concerned about root, really. I just want ****ing lollipop.
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Click to collapse
U gotta be [email protected]$!n me! You had to send your phone away? Lol
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

You know I wasn't so bothered at first by the lack of lollipop, in my past I was changing roms several times a week or day to get things going however thats changed now since I got my DE. What bothers me now now about the delay and the S6 and other things do I want to stay with Samsung anymore after this breaks or I want a new phone. Is it really time to say that Samsung is just isnt what it could should be?

Matttrix said:
You know I wasn't so bothered at first by the lack of lollipop, in my past I was changing roms several times a week or day to get things going however thats changed now since I got my DE. What bothers me now now about the delay and the S6 and other things do I want to stay with Samsung anymore after this breaks or I want a new phone. Is it really time to say that Samsung is just isnt what it could should be?
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Click to collapse
I don't know. I have always enjoyed their product. But the delays can be frustrating. I agree. This is the one thing lacking for me. Yet I still continue to purchase their phones, because in the end they still do make the best phone. Just my opinion of course.

My wife has a retail note 4 and while she doesn't understand all the issues tied with lollipop right now she feels dumped. I dont see the big deal myself as im happy the way my phone is however for roms things have been VERY slow going... but then again im not really sure what other roms are going to bring that I cant do myself. Which I think most of us DE owners can do. I think if root was found and oprn bootloader things might be alot different but whats bothering me is Samsung's direction right now. If this is signs of the Note 5 and 6 etc. I just might go elsewhere. Some videos were released today showing the note 4 against the S6 and only slight speed differences in actual use and even camera loading. So over all for now Im happy to have a removable battery and SD card and a unlocked bootloader.

I can imagine how overloaded this section will be the minute root has been achieved, 404 errors and everything, lol. Anyway being that this is a off topic thread, I would like to say that the snow here in NY is annoying -__- .

How about the release of Sprints SM-N910P Lolipop.. Two questions who wants to see what they can do with it and see what works (of course it will lack advanced calling version X. Then comes the question will this influence Verizon to release it.

Matttrix said:
My wife has a retail note 4 and while she doesn't understand all the issues tied with lollipop right now she feels dumped. I dont see the big deal myself as im happy the way my phone is however for roms things have been VERY slow going... but then again im not really sure what other roms are going to bring that I cant do myself. Which I think most of us DE owners can do. I think if root was found and oprn bootloader things might be alot different but whats bothering me is Samsung's direction right now. If this is signs of the Note 5 and 6 etc. I just might go elsewhere. Some videos were released today showing the note 4 against the S6 and only slight speed differences in actual use and even camera loading. So over all for now Im happy to have a removable battery and SD card and a unlocked bootloader.
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And yes root and an open bootloader would be nice. Look what happened with the S3 though. But I truly feel that the release and things like the locked bootloaders are not so much the manufacturer but the carrier. I may be wrong but I beleieve that pressure from the carrier is the main reason they do this.

What are the chances of me swapping a one month old Note 4 for a Nexus 6? Good or slim to none

Did you use a regular 2 year upgrade or edge to get the note 4?
Your best bet would be calling customer service. But even that is entirely dependent on how nice of a rep you get. If one says no politely hang up and call back. They make notes on your account when you call so don't call a bunch in 1 day. I work at an authorized retailer and most stores can't do anything after the 14 days.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

Samsung vs. HTC now that some key features are being taken away. Hmm.

Note 3 at the end of 2015, worth buying?

Hi guys,
Yesterday I hard bricked my GS4 trying to update it to marshmellow. The repair will cost $40 and this is after I spent $110 replacing the digitizer. I decided to give up on that device (It was getting a bit beat up anyway).
Walmart is currently selling the ATT version for $250. I bought it but now I am wondering if it is still worth the value now (late 2015). The S4 was starting to show its age especially with the bloatware which is why I was attempting to upgrade the OS. What better place to ask this than a forum full of tech geeks like me who have actually used the device!
So, what do you guys say? Is it worth it now to buy as a daily driver? What do you guys think of the cost? How is the custom rom community? I saw that Samsung EOLed it at 5.0 but what are the chances custom roms will keep going for a few more versions? I have just started to browse this section of xda. The S4 was a hassle especially if people accidentally upgraded it to Lollipop. I know I followed the directions to a T but I still go the hard brick so I am hesitant to attempt to mess around with a Samsung device again.
If anyone has experience with the S4, how is the experience compared to it?
Sorry if this stuff was recently asked, I just quickly browsed the front page of this section

I just got rid of s4 for note 3 also (got mine used £100) note is fantastic but I think you should read read and re read before jumping in. How did you hard brick s4 can you enter bootloader or recovery. As for note 3 I'm running phonesis 5.1.1 as primary and marshmallow test build as secondary rom.
Just get rooted and get a good backup (including efs) and you will be fine

I just really hated the bloatware on the s4 and I thought it really slowed the phone down. My S4 is completely unresponsive, When I plug it into my comp it reads it as an unknown qualcomm device. Do you feel like you could use the note 3 as a daily device for another year?

Yes most definitely nice speed boost from s4 2gb to 3gb makes everything that bit smoother. Stick note5 port on it

Well I don't know which version of S4 you had, but I had the Exynos version and believe me when I say this the software was diabolical, I don't rememeber what version of Android it was, probably KitKat 4.4.2, in any case there was no support for that phone, and had to sell it. Then that hatred of TouchWiz continued in me, and I moved to M7, then sold it in less than couple of months, then bought Moto X 2013, which I literally enjoyed for first two three months, until I realised how pathetic the display was, so sold it and then bought Note 3 last year November, and believe me when I say this, I absolutely love this phone. KitKat was excellent, and despite what people say about ofiicial Lollipop 5.0, I love it too, I don't find any bugs at all! Just wished Xposed was as good as it was on KK. Anyway, for me this phone is performing excellently on 5.0, and especially with Shinto kernel, super smooth.
So if you are not hell-bent with Marshmallow, can live with 5.0 TouchWiz LP, then yes, go on. I believe even with this iteration of Android this phone can run smooth for at least another 5-6 months. Then there are custom ROMs like you said. CM13 is already there, Android 6.0 and all that, I will never touch it, but you know if its your cup of tea, its there. There are Note 5 5.1.1 ports are there as well. Also there are two or three very good to great kernels out there. So I believe if you can live with a decent enough speced phone, then go on, but practically no, I don't think one should get a Note 3 at the end of 2015, especially when Note 4 is really cheap nowadays, and even Note 5 is becoming cheaper gradually, though I am not a fan of it.
I will probably keep using this phone until S7 is announced, then I will have glimpse whether Samsung will bring back user removable battery and IR blaster or not, and I will make my decision accordingly.