Database Users

[Q] Is it worth it to sell your 16gb Moto X for a 32gb Dev Edition?

I have been regretting having only 16gb of storage on my moto X since all my other android items have 32gb and I somehow manage to burn through the 16gb all the time. I have also not had any luck getting root back since upgrading to 4.4 and am pretty bummed that no one has figured out how to unlock the bootloader. Has anyone ditched their basic 16gb moto x for a 32gb Dev edition? I am thinking it might be worth the extra hundred dollars or so since moto is having a sale on them. Vote and help decide the fate of my phone!:good:

I just did exactly what you are pondering and I'm happy with my decision. Took advantage of the recent $100 off deal to get my DE for $350, and I'll be selling my 16GB once I switch it over.

32gb not enough for me. Need 64gb or better yet 128gb. I'd settle for 32gb internal with micro SD card slot.
Sent from my XT1053 using HoFo mobile app.

@rbiter said:
32gb not enough for me. Need 64gb or better yet 128gb. I'd settle for 32gb internal with micro SD card slot.
Sent from my XT1053 using HoFo mobile app.
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Click to collapse
Good luck with your new phone then....how much you want for your X?
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

kj2112 said:
Good luck with your new phone then....how much you want for your X?
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...
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Lol. Not selling my X or note3. Using my X for my phone and keeping the note3 very close by.
Sent from my SM-N9005

@rbiter said:
Lol. Not selling my X or note3. Using my X for my phone and keeping the note3 very close by.
Sent from my SM-N9005
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Click to collapse
Damn. Need one for the wife. To replace her once beloved iPhone. Til she played with my x.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

Another line on our Verizon account was eligible for an upgrade, I have unlimited still. Upgraded the other line at a big box store to a 16GB for $1, swapped devices, purchased dev edition, activated, sold 16GB, sold the old Droid X and the net was $107 for a DE, other family member got an upgrade from Droid X to Gnex, and a 2 year renewed contract for them and I got to keep unlimited.
I'd sell it for the DE any day; double the memory, unlockable with warranty, easy everything. Super happy with my Verizon DE. Then again, I only had a standard black/woven black 16GB for less than 24 hours.

For 50 bucks more I'd get a DE without question. But I'm in Canada, so I got the regular X...but I'm extremely happy. And I'd never need 32gb....but that's me.
I'd still have gotten the DE tho....if I could have.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

I think the dev edition is worth it. Especially if you need 32gb. The unlocked bootloader is also great since you never have to worry about root getting locked down.

People keep talking like rooting and stuff is easier and/or better on the DE. LOL. Its no different in that way whatsoever than any other x that you can unlock the boot loader.
Exactly the same everything. Only difference is warranty stays in tact....otherwise no different than any other unlockable X.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

kj2112 said:
People keep talking like rooting and stuff is easier and/or better on the DE. LOL. Its no different in that way whatsoever than any other x that you can unlock the boot loader.
Exactly the same everything. Only difference is warranty stays in tact....otherwise no different than any other unlockable X.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...
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Except you can't unlock the bootloader on the regular AT&T and Verizon versions, the two largest carriers...

detonation said:
Except you can't unlock the bootloader on the regular AT&T and Verizon versions, the two largest carriers...
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Click to collapse
And why anyone would buy them is beyond me. Buy a used or new one from another carrier...and use it on those networks if you really want to be with them.
Never would I buy a phone I can't unlock. No way.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...
---------- Post added at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM ----------
Keeping in mind I'm not talking about the 99.5 percent of their customers that have never heard of rooting.
But us.....the 0.5 percent ....why would any of us buy an unlockable phone. May as well get an iPhone then. LOL
K....I take back the iPhone joke. The Moto x is better than iPhone out of the box.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

kj2112 said:
People keep talking like rooting and stuff is easier and/or better on the DE. LOL. Its no different in that way whatsoever than any other x that you can unlock the boot loader.
Exactly the same everything. Only difference is warranty stays in tact....otherwise no different than any other unlockable X.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...
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Click to collapse
Rooting is easier on DE and/or gsm version with unlockable bootloader. I was so frustrated at the root methods not working and the extra hoop jumping and troubleshooting I said screw the warranty. I need my root. Android is worthless to me without it.
sent from my sm-9005.

detonation said:
Except you can't unlock the bootloader on the regular AT&T and Verizon versions, the two largest carriers...
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Click to collapse
Probably stop buying from those useless morons who also put their ugly crappy logo on the phones. Unlocked GSM version baby.

32+ gigs and unlockable bootloader. Developer edition or not, those are things I would never compromise on any phone. Even if the phone came rooted out of the box, having an unlocked bootloader gives you the freedom to modify things you otherwise could not or should not. It's almost like asking freedom vs imprisonment., actually it's exactly like that.
MotoX GSM Developer Edition, Bootloader Unlocked, Rooted, Stock 4.4.2 Great Britain on T-Mobile !

kirdroid said:
Probably stop buying from those useless morons who also put their ugly crappy logo on the phones. Unlocked GSM version baby.
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Yes, useless morons with the best coverage, and logo's I couldn't care less about.

After moving from Verizon to T-Mobile I can honestly say their coverage is overrated, but I think his point was to buy Dev editions from Motorola and you wouldn't have these issues. I would have gotten a Verizon Dev edition until Verizon explained that even If I buy a phone cash I still have to pay their overpriced monthly charges including subsidies for phones I bought years ago. Screw that. T-Mobile all day every day the savings is worth it.
MotoX GSM Developer Edition, Bootloader Unlocked, Rooted, Stock 4.4.2 Great Britain on T-Mobile !

detonation said:
Yes, useless morons with the best coverage, and logo's I couldn't care less about.
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Good...hopefully Verizon puts more big ugly logos everywhere since their customers seem to like or not care.

kirdroid said:
Good...hopefully Verizon puts more big ugly logos everywhere since their customers seem to like or not care.
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F*ck XDA can be full of dicks sometimes.
'
What if he gets NO service anywhere around him other than with Verizon, "nah bro, just get the T-Mo one anyway" sh*t ton of good a phone with no service is.

Again...if I had to use Verizon say.....I'd get DE edition...or buy another compatible carriers phone and sim unlock it. I'd never own a phone I couldn't unlock. But that's just me.
Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

Issues activating MXPE 2015 on Sprint?

I'm reading about issues with Sprint activation on phones purchased from Amazon and Best Buy. Is this everyone, or just a percentage of those MXPE owners?
Who has successfully activated on Sprint AND received the proper SIM from them? If you did, exactly how did you do it?
Who has not been able to activate?
Thank you!

I was able to activate on sprint. They had to leave off the last number in the IMEI to get their system to accept. Then they added a SIM card and everything was good to go. I don't know the details of what SIM card they had to use. My phone came from Amazon.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

They couldn't activate me

This is the SIM that we need:
SIMGLW446C
Sku - CZ2144LWC
UPC: 019962040146
Confirmed via:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MotoX/comments/3kpbl1/how_i_set_up_my_moto_x_pure_on_sprint/

Just got off the phone with Sprint. I gave them the sku for the sim above and was told it is a worldwide sim and wouldn't work domestically (USA). She suggested a different domestic sim, had her send me both.
Sent from my kangaroo powered Inverted ViperONE using Tapatalk 2

here is a pic of the sim ...
Here in Augusta a very knowledgeable rep gave me this for free.
But I ordered from moto so the 15th it is for me.
She also said that once more Moto X's were activated the easier the process would be.
In essence Sprint learns by trial and error..
Oh and sprints sim card seem to be device specific.Unlike Verizon and others.
I was thinking cut my Note 3 sim to Nano size and Vaaaala...
But she said that would not have worked. ..
I got a 128 gb sd and clear case and glass shield waiting..
Now if I can just wait it out...lol

Here is an excellent thread for us sprint users...
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/7063-moto-x-2015-pure-edition/page-18

ttkyles said:
here is a pic of the sim ...
Here in Augusta a very knowledgeable rep gave me this for free.
But I ordered from moto so the 15th it is for me.
She also said that once more Moto X's were activated the easier the process would be.
In essence Sprint learns by trial and error..
Oh and sprints sim card seem to be device specific.Unlike Verizon and others.
I was thinking cut my Note 3 sim to Nano size and Vaaaala...
But she said that would not have worked. ..
I got a 128 gb sd and clear case and glass shield waiting..
Now if I can just wait it out...lol
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Click to collapse
Interesting. In anticipation of getting my MXPE from Amazon tomorrow, I went into a Sprint store in Aliso Viejo last week and inquired about activation. The rep told me that I could not just take the SIM out of my Moto X 2013 because it doesn't work with SPARK and the new MXPE does, so it takes a different SIM. He was about to just give me the SIM when his coworker said that I had to have the phone in hand before they would give me the SIM.
That said, I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row for tomorrow morning when I open my phone. I would like to not have any surprise issues. I'm thinking I'll try to activate it myself online using the leave the last number off the imei technique and then head over to a Sprint store for the SIM. Anyone have any thoughts on that strategy?

It's amazing how I hear stories about various sprint stores. I mean you can drive 10 miles and get a totally different experience with customer service reps.
Some are geeks and know exactly what your talking about ,then others don't have a clue.
I find that getting familiar with a sharp rep at a store is invaluable. I mean I go to the same rep,who roots ,knows about xda,and if I do surprise her with something,she quickly researches to give a solid answer.
Same thing with phone support,I've practically hung up on some ,called back to another with better knowledge.
You would think cell phone providers would train their staff or at least one advance rep to talk the xda/geek talk that the average customer would not mention.

As someone posted in another thread, Sprint just put up a support page for the Moto X Pure 2015.
http://support.sprint.com/support/device/Motorola/Moto_X_Pure_Edition-dvc9560009prd

Glad someone posted the sim type. They have sent me three all being the wrong ones. If the one on Friday is not that one I'll request that skew.

Just got back from sprint store. Had a screenshot of the playbook document which I showed to them, also mentioned to leave out the last digit of the IMEI and it activated no problem.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

Moto X pure On Business Account

Anyone here have this phone as a company phone? I'm kind of curious how it would work.
My company uses Verizon. Right now I have the Xperia Z3v but recently cracked the screen. My employer will replace my device, but I'm wondering the best route to take to try to get the Pure. The problem is they currently pay monthly for each individual phone. Obviously the Pure is only available through Motorola and at full price.
I don't care about Moto Maker (though it'd be nice), I just need a new device and there really isn't anything out there that I want.
I've had too many Samsung devices, and will not get another Sony on vzw, even if it were a choice. I'm thinking I may need to front some of the bill to get them to got with the MXP.

My MotoX is on a business account with Vz. I bought it from Moto and put in my existing SIM.

gerg004 said:
Anyone here have this phone as a company phone? I'm kind of curious how it would work.
My company uses Verizon. Right now I have the Xperia Z3v but recently cracked the screen. My employer will replace my device, but I'm wondering the best route to take to try to get the Pure. The problem is they currently pay monthly for each individual phone. Obviously the Pure is only available through Motorola and at full price.
I don't care about Moto Maker (though it'd be nice), I just need a new device and there really isn't anything out there that I want.
I've had too many Samsung devices, and will not get another Sony on vzw, even if it were a choice. I'm thinking I may need to front some of the bill to get them to got with the MXP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other than purchasing it yourself, like the above poster, there likely isn't a way. Unless you're close with whoever handles the wireless account they'll probably just hand you another Sony or whatever they can get free/cheap through Verizon.

I would just ask the person in charge. I don't know your company situation but they may let you expense some or all of it over time.

I had the S6 Edge and just bought the Pure myself and swapped the SIM. Didn't tell anyone and everything works great. Verizon also.

Ship to uk??

Hi. I'm from London in the UK and I'm a massive Moto fan. I'm not quite sure when the moto z force will release here so I was wondering if I wired the money could someone but it for me and ship it over. Obviously il be covering all costs. Thanks

I'm willing to do that for you. You may want to consider waiting to see if the force version comes out internationally first so you can get one with a warranty. I won't be getting this device until September because the Verizon versions are sure to be locked down and unrootable. Something else to consider.

seh6183 said:
I'm willing to do that for you. You may want to consider waiting to see if the force version comes out internationally first so you can get one with a warranty. I won't be getting this device until September because the Verizon versions are sure to be locked down and unrootable. Something else to consider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also considering buying it when it's released. Verizon doesn't lock their phones, just google for "device-unlocking-policy verizon" Don't know about the rootable status though.

The network is not locked but the bootloader will be.

seh6183 said:
I'm willing to do that for you. You may want to consider waiting to see if the force version comes out internationally first so you can get one with a warranty. I won't be getting this device until September because the Verizon versions are sure to be locked down and unrootable. Something else to consider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything I've read so far indicates that Moto Z Force is a Verizon exclusive in the US, there is no end date for this exclusivity, unlike Moto Z which will be available in September.
I'm just hoping that Mozo Z Force is not "world wide exclusive to Verizon" so that I can purchase it, but you won't be able to purchase it unlocked in the US.

hjk23 said:
Everything I've read so far indicates that Moto Z Force is a Verizon exclusive in the US, there is no end date for this exclusivity, unlike Moto Z which will be available in September.
I'm just hoping that Mozo Z Force is not "world wide exclusive to Verizon" so that I can purchase it, but you won't be able to purchase it unlocked in the US.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon phones are not network locked. You can use them on any carrier. Whether or not LTE will work depends on your specific carriers bands.

Thanks. Appreciate the willingness to ship for me. Just wondering if I should just wait maybe for the uk release.

Shah1989 said:
Thanks. Appreciate the willingness to ship for me. Just wondering if I should just wait maybe for the uk release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is up for preorder now and arrives next week if you want to do it.

seh6183 said:
The phone is up for preorder now and arrives next week if you want to do it.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. What would be the differences in the America release and uk release. Maybe just the Verizon logo I'm guessing. Do you know how much it costs? Then I can calculate how much it will be in pounds.

The difference between the two would be the Verizon logos, the bands may be different and LTE may not function right (or it could function perfectly), and the Verizon one won't be able to have an unlockable bootloader which means no root.
Retail price is $720.00 and only comes in 32gb version. Also if you preorder they give you the JBL mod for free right now. The phone also ships with one back cover as well as far as I know.

Hmm I see. Sounds like a gamble with the LTE and bands not working. Don't know what to do really want this phone.

Shah1989 said:
Hmm I see. Sounds like a gamble with the LTE and bands not working. Don't know what to do really want this phone.
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I'll wait for international release in 2 months, you probably do not want a Verizon phone unless you really have no other choice and cannot wait.
Even though Lenovo announced that it's "Worldwide Verizon exclusive", but I'm hoping it's just miscommunication. There are rumors that Moto Z and Moto Z Force will be released in China in September. As long as it's not "Worldwide Verizon exclusive", chances are Moto Z Force will be released in many more countries.

Hey seh6183. May have to take you up on the offer of shipping over the Z Force. The Moto Z is releasing in a few days and I've just got off the phone to Motorola and they are stating that the force may not even release in uk. Was wondering if the unlocked version has been released in the U.S....if so then do you know how much it is. Also what is it about the LTE that would cause problem so I can clarify with Motorola if it would be a problem. Thanks

Shah1989 said:
Was wondering if the unlocked version has been released in the U.S
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Click to collapse
There will be no unlocked version in the US, it's forever exclusive to Verizon. Only Z and Z Play have unlocked version. Our only hope is Moto changes its mind and releases unlocked international version in other countries, but you'll never see an unlocked Z Force in the US.

Shah1989 said:
Hey seh6183. May have to take you up on the offer of shipping over the Z Force. The Moto Z is releasing in a few days and I've just got off the phone to Motorola and they are stating that the force may not even release in uk. Was wondering if the unlocked version has been released in the U.S....if so then do you know how much it is. Also what is it about the LTE that would cause problem so I can clarify with Motorola if it would be a problem. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to look at the bands of the phone and try to figure out if they are compatible with your carrier. I know for sure it will work with your carrier, I just don't know how well the LTE will work. I am still willing to ship you a device if you'd like. I can buy it new or used and we can do paypal with or without the fees. However you want. I have been in your situation before and really wanted the Moto Razr HD and the only variant I could get was from Canada and no one would help me. I know how you feel lol.

Thanks for understanding.. you know how I'm feeling then. I will find out about the bands and whether it would actually work here. Are u aware of the price for new unlocked moto z? And why would they not release unlocked z force for u guys tbh would prefer the force because of the 21mp camera rather than the 13mp. Wonder if it's a massive difference anyway

Shah1989 said:
And why would they not release unlocked z force for u guys
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Click to collapse
In US, most people get their phones from a carrier/telco. From what I understand (I'm not from US), a phone will not sell well if it's not an iPhone or a Galaxy if it's not available from a carrier. Phone manufacturers will need to partner with at least one carrier to sell the phones, and sometimes the carrier demands an exclusive as a condition of selling the phone.
Motorola has a long history with Verizon, so I guess they want to maintain the relationship and agreed to only sell Z Force through Verizon.
What I don't understand is why would they make it a "worldwide Verizon exclusive", it makes no sense at all. Verizon doesn't compete with other carriers in every other countries, so not selling Z Force in other countries is not benefiting Verizon. The only reason I can think of is to force anyone in US to purchase from Verizon if they really want a Z Force because there is no possibility of purchasing from other countries. So if you are a current AT&T customer and you really want a Z Force, you must purchase from Verizon and cannot purchase from UK. The number of people in this group will be so low that it's crazy to use this a a reason to not sell Z Force in other countries.

Seems a ridiculous thing to do. I think Motorola told me that they are not releasing just to force (mind the pun) customers into buying the Z. Hmmmm what would u guys do. I really wanna snap this up rather than waiting any longer. Will give it a thought over the weekend. Atleast I know there are helpful guys on here who are willing to give feedback and offer to ship. Thanks :highfive:

Shah1989 said:
Seems a ridiculous thing to do. I think Motorola told me that they are not releasing just to force (mind the pun) customers into buying the Z.
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Doesn't make sense at all, why would they prefer to sell Z over Z Force? I still think it's 100% to do their Verizon partnership, but if it's not, then it could be manufacturing/stock control issue. They were selling X Force in some countries last year, but this year not even Lenovo's home country (China) gets Z Force.
Shah1989 said:
Hmmmm what would u guys do. I really wanna snap this up rather than waiting any longer. Will give it a thought over the weekend.
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If you can wait, wait. If you really cannot wait, then IMO the downside of getting a Z Force Droid are:
1. No way to unlock the boot loader, so no way to root (unless a vulnerability is found, but that will probably be patched if you upgrade to any newer Android release, and you'll lose root)
2. Limited LTE bands
3. No support & warranty in UK
4. Updates are provided by Verizon, which doesn't have good track record
5. Bloatware - review says 17 of them. Some are removable, many are not
If you don't care about anything above, go ahead and get a Z Force Droid. Otherwise, think about Z or Z Play, depending on what features you value more.

Those first four reasons are pretty significant, the fifth one not so much as was stated it can either be uninstalled or disabled.

Which G6 is Amazon Prime offering? Missing any features?

I'm sure by now anyone with an Amazon Prime account has seen the advertisements for the $399.99 LG G6 and G6+ which is a great deal, and it's enough of one that I'm getting ready to retire my iPhone SE and make the switch over...especially since I can lengthen the warranty to two years total. What I cannot find out is which version Amazon is selling when it's released November 9th, 2017 and if T-Mobile and/or AT&T users will still have the normal functions like WiFi calling (which I rely upon) and VoLTE on each respective carrier. I'd rather not buy a Prime device only to discover that it doesn't have the same features as a carrier-specific device has and this has me worried. Buying a brand new unlocked G6 would give me the two years of full warranty on the device and hopefully all of the T-Mobile features offered on the carrier-specific model even if the bootloader isn't unlocked. Heck, I'd attempt a FlashFire to get new firmware onto the phone if it were made possible just to regain WiFi Calling/VoLTE but wanted input from others before I decide to go this route. I'm also not opposed to grabbing something like the LG V20 from BHPhotoVideo as well since this is the route I want to go. If you guys have any knowledge that I haven't been able to figure out in the last week of research I'd appreciate it very much. Cheers.

They go in depth with this story,not sure if it helps at all.

That's one of the articles I managed to find, and it did help out in figuring out which phone I wanted to invest in but I didn't get much more info on the device itself. Because it's an Amazon device we already know that it's not going to be able to have an unlocked bootloader which really stinks but that's the cost of buying a subsidized phone through Amazon. I considered just buying the LG V20 through BHPhotoVideo for cheaper so there are no integrated Amazon advertisements and it has a better internal camera (as far as specs go) but having 12MP+12MP vs 16MP is a little too close of a call to make any kind of speculation, although having 64GB of storage with the V20 would be nicer than the included 32GB in the LG G6. At least we have a micro-SD slot to have more storage in both models, which means that if we can get the phone rooted then App2SD won't be a problem.
I just know I'm ready to retire and sell this crappy iPhone SE and move away from the insane Apple prices to get a better device with a less restrictive environment. My only hope is that the LG G6 has the same characteristics as my iPhone SE, such as WiFi calling and VoLTE. I know it has all of the right LTE bands so that won't be an issue, and later on I'll probably just give Amazon more money to ditch the advertisements. I just wish that I could find a $450 LG G6 brand new that I could unlock the bootloader on, and that's my conundrum. It seems that if you want the subsized Prime version it's only $399 but if you want an subside-free G6 you still have to shell out $200 more.
P.S. Thanks for the quick response.

im already planning on getting this but i wont be able till at least black friday at the earliest. it fills all my needs now that the U11+ wont be available in the US. the model number for the 6+ is LGUS997U so im hoping that rooting will be possible along with custom ROMs. l hope someone else takes the plunge first.

droidbot1337 said:
im already planning on getting this but i wont be able till at least black friday at the earliest. it fills all my needs now that the U11+ wont be available in the US. the model number for the 6+ is LGUS997U so im hoping that rooting will be possible along with custom ROMs. l hope someone else takes the plunge first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm taking the plunge and it'll be here the day of release. Knowing Amazon's history with locking bootloaders it's already pretty apparent that unlocking it will not be a possibility but will still check irregardless in hopes that I'm wrong. At least I hope it can be rooted some how and figure out how to ditch all of the bogus Amazon advertisements without paying them another $50 to remove them from my device, and will report all of that information that I can find out on my own as well. The LG V20 directly from T-Mobile was my original go-to replacement but for the same amount of money I'd rather have the slightly faster LG G6 even if it is hampered by Amazon's crap. Considering I'm moving up from an iPhone SE this thing is going to be a massive upgrade.
EDIT: I've independently confirmed it will indeed have T-Mobile WiFi calling and VoLTE built into the firmware because Amazon did the same thing with the Moto G5s firmware that they molested. They might have injected it with Amazon bloatware but they did also include WiFi calling and VoLTE from each of the providers so there's a very strong chance anyone who uses this device on their home network will still have those features included with the LG line of phones.

bmurphr1 said:
I'm taking the plunge and it'll be here the day of release...........
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Click to collapse
YES!!!! im so envious of you!! i hope that they can be unlocked as the price is just far too tempting. im going to try and contact LG USA and see what i can get from them. good luck and please keep us informed, cheers!!

I'm looking at the LG G6 also. I've been a Nexus user and am still using the N5X. Now that Google has went overboard with their pricing and are no longer making any devices that are good values, I'm looking elsewhere. I've always been an LG fan. I'm looking at the LG G6 as the price on it is excellent. There are a good number of carrier unlocked devices available for just over $400 and I think we will see some good sales between Black Friday and New Year's.
I was also considering the Amazon version but I'm not sure how difficult it will be to get rid of them afterwards.

gorilla p said:
....I was also considering the Amazon version but I'm not sure how difficult it will be to get rid of them afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?? all it has is a few bloat apps but all you would need to do is flash another ROM. thats considering it can be rooted. im still debating on the 6+ or waiting for the HTC U12 which should be better than the U11+ or at least i hope.

Phone has arrived, is model US966, and even though is the international model still has VoLTE and WiFi Calling baked into the ROM. I've verified that it does indeed work as it should for T-Mobile as I have the Hanset + WiFi logo in my top left notification tray. So far it seems Amazon really did make this device into the most universal of all of the LG G6 devices that exist (aside from being unable to unlock the bootloader.
Amazon really put this firmware through the ringer..it does have mountains of bloatware that we can work around, but it works with T-Mobile WiFi Calling, VoLTE, and HD Voice (all confirmed by moving a dead zone in my house where I received full WiFI but could not obtain any indoor signal of any kind. I had several conversations that all sounded like I was standing right next to the person, and I had no cellular service at the time the call was made. Just as I suspected, they molested the G6 just like they did the Moto G5s into forcing it to support T-Mobile's feature sets and most likely the same for the other three providers as well.

bmurphr1 said:
Phone has arrived, is model US966, and even though is the international model still has VoLTE and WiFi Calling baked into the ROM. I've verified that it does indeed work as it should for T-Mobile as I have the Hanset + WiFi logo in my top left notification tray. So far it seems Amazon really did make this device into the most universal of all of the LG G6 devices that exist (aside from being unable to unlock the bootloader.
Amazon really put this firmware through the ringer..it does have mountains of bloatware that we can work around, but it works with T-Mobile WiFi Calling, VoLTE, and HD Voice (all confirmed by moving a dead zone in my house where I received full WiFI but could not obtain any indoor signal of any kind. I had several conversations that all sounded like I was standing right next to the person, and I had no cellular service at the time the call was made. Just as I suspected, they molested the G6 just like they did the Moto G5s into forcing it to support T-Mobile's feature sets and most likely the same for the other three providers as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if it's possible to pay to remove the lockscreen ads? Also, are the ads just on the lockscreen or do they show up in other places?
I know you can pay to remove Kindle ads at https://www.amazon.com/mn/dcw/myx.html

Joe USer said:
Do you know if it's possible to pay to remove the lockscreen ads? Also, are the ads just on the lockscreen or do they show up in other places?
I know you can pay to remove Kindle ads at https://www.amazon.com/mn/dcw/myx.html
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Ads are on lockscreen and on the desktop, but the desktop widget no problem. When you unlock the device using your fingerprint though you never see the advertisements so it's not bothering me that much. I have yet to figure out if we can purchase the removal of advertisements though as I've only had these few short hours with the device, but every T-Mo function that you'd find on a carrier-branded device works on the Amazon Prime variant. If I can pay an extra $50 or so to get rid of the advertisements I probably will do just that.
In the mean time I tried to sign up for the second year of the LG G6 free warranty program, and since the phone is a US996 model device you can't complete the registration page. I e-mailed the help desk to see if we'll be able to register for the free second year of service as an Amazon agent said that there should be no reason that it shouldn't work. I will respond back once I get word from the LG team regarding the additional free year of warranty coverage.
EDIT: You can legitimately remove ads from the phone through Amazon but they want an extra $100 to just remove them. I'll wait on someone else to figure out how to hack the ads away from the firmware. I dig the LG interface though as it's similar to the iPhone layout and makes it easier for me to understand rather than having an app drawer like my Fire tablet does. The phone is definitely worth $399...not $499 though once you buy the removal of advertisements.

congrats @bmurphr1!! im happy it works well since like you i too am a tmo user. also, the model number is listed as 997U but you said its US996, is that right? anyway, i hope the bootloader can soon be unlocked because that would make this phone an amazing device.

droidbot1337 said:
congrats @bmurphr1!! im happy it works well since like you i too am a tmo user. also, the model number is listed as 997U but you said its US996, is that right? anyway, i hope the bootloader can soon be unlocked because that would make this phone an amazing device.
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I did, but it's actually US997 according to what I'm looking at right now on the Hardware info screen. My initial statement was a typo because I was in a rush to get this phone up and running since I'm moving over from the iOS world. Model number is confirmed US997 and the bootloader from what I've been able to ascertain so far is that LG is not unlocking the bootloader for the phone because they were strong-armed by Amazon to lock it down so that it couldn't be altered in any way - thus making people pay the $100 just to have advertisements removed from the device.

bmurphr1 said:
I did, but it's actually US997 according to what I'm looking at right now on the Hardware info screen. My initial statement was a typo because I was in a rush to get this phone up and running since I'm moving over from the iOS world. Model number is confirmed US997 and the bootloader from what I've been able to ascertain so far is that LG is not unlocking the bootloader for the phone because they were strong-armed by Amazon to lock it down so that it couldn't be altered in any way - thus making people pay the $100 just to have advertisements removed from the device.
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ugh!!... so its useless for those of us that want custom ROMs then? that sucks! i really hope someone finds a way to unlock it. i might just wait to see what the HTC u12 looks like. thanks for the info.

Just figured out how Amazon neutered this phone from being tampered with by individuals like us...they went and jacked around with the bootloader so that it freezes as soon as you boot into it. I'm very experienced when it comes to using fastboot on Android devices and I can tell you this bootloader has been tampered with. What happens is when you run "adb reboot bootloader" it reboots into the neutered bootloader and just freezes so that no commands can be sent or received from the device. If we could get the device-id then we could put it through the LG database, but Amazon found a way to mess with it just enough so that it crashes every single time you try to boot into it using the Android debugging bridge. That's how they crippled this phone so that no one would be able to flash new firmwares to the device or jack with it and remove their new found glory in LG devices. I'd love to be able to flash a non-Amazon bootloader only over to this phone to see if I could unlock it and catch on to something new but I'm too afraid to jeopardize my only working cell phone at the moment so I'd be worried about doing that. If the bootloader would unfreeze though and give us the code for a full bootloader unlock we could say byebye to the entire firmware OS and switch over to something like Lineage or better...assuming somebody has a kitchen that would work on an Amazon-molested US997 LG G6.

droidbot1337 said:
ugh!!... so its useless for those of us that want custom ROMs then? that sucks! i really hope someone finds a way to unlock it. i might just wait to see what the HTC u12 looks like. thanks for the info.
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I saw this on the latest Amazon Fire tablet and that's why I returned it. Now you see why I was hesitant.
I'm having a hard time deciding now, but I'm going there will be some solid $399 deals between Black Friday and Christmas. Otherwise, I might just get a OnePlus 3T.

gorilla p said:
I saw this on the latest Amazon Fire tablet and that's why I returned it. Now you see why I was hesitant.
I'm having a hard time deciding now, but I'm going there will be some solid $399 deals between Black Friday and Christmas. Otherwise, I might just get a OnePlus 3T.
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Amazon got smart and neutered all of their Prime-branded devices so that they can't be bootloader unlocked any longer. The only hope we have of actually achieving custom firmware on this device is by using something like FlashFire to perform a hot-flash on the device to move it to a non-Amazon firmware, which is what I did on my Fire 2015 (Ford) tablet that I still use occasionally at the gym to watch Netflix and YouTube when I steal their WiFi. If you wanted to buy the phone just to unlock the bootloader unfortunately you're SOL, but there's still a chance something could be in the works for this device.
Honestly, I'd rather see either a complete removal of the advertisements from the stock US997 Amazon Prime G6 or someone who was able to successfully flash a ZIP file using FlashFire to the G6 without completely killing it along with WiFi Calling/VoLTE/HD Voice. The first one isn't out of the realm of possibility, but the second one is just a pipe dream since I essentially require WiFi calling and VoLTE. We're gonna need to find a way to root this firmware and I haven't found a way to do so as of yet, though it is running Nougat 7.0 with the September security update.

gorilla p said:
I saw this on the latest Amazon Fire tablet and that's why I returned it. Now you see why I was hesitant.
I'm having a hard time deciding now, but I'm going there will be some solid $399 deals between Black Friday and Christmas. Otherwise, I might just get a OnePlus 3T.
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why the 3T and not the 5T? my brother has the 5 and loves it. i refuse to buy a device without expandable storage so that leaves me with few options....... well, few good options. im just gonna wait till leaks of the HTC U12 start to circulate. if that sucks ill just buy the regular G6.

droidbot1337 said:
why the 3T and not the 5T? my brother has the 5 and loves it. i refuse to buy a device without expandable storage so that leaves me with few options....... well, few good options. im just gonna wait till leaks of the HTC U12 start to circulate. if that sucks ill just buy the regular G6.
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Just the cost. OnePlus is upping the price with every release and I don't think the OP5 is that much better than the OP3T. Especially since I don't use my phone for anything crazy. My N5X still performs more than good enough for me. I have the GPU underclock and touchboost disabled to improve battery and still no lag at all. I really wish there was another affordable Nexus device. They should've come out with an Android One premium line featuring The 820 or 822 chipset.

I also received my Amazon us997 G6 yesterday. As mentioned earlier, the lock screen ads aren't very intrusive unless there are no other notifications at the time. If there are personal notifications like email, text message, missed phone call, etc. then the Amazon ad takes up about 15% of the lock screen. If no notifications are present, the entire lock screen is an ad. However, also as mentioned before, the double press of the finger print button makes the ads visible for the amount of time it takes to double press.
I run nova launcher and have not been bothered with any ads either.
Coming from big red on their lg g4 and having that special old plan, I did a SIM card chop with some cutlery scissors and made it a nano. Without getting too involved, an app like Foxfi is not needed on this phone. I will be keeping this phone primarily because of this. The price point, limited intrusive ads, 2 year warranty and not needing a special app previously mentioned have made this my newest phone.
Now i just hope lg has rid themselves of the nightmare Bootloop plague that has hit every lg phone that my family has owned.