The End of the Line has officially arrived. - Verizon Galaxy Note 4 General

For those of you who don't follow the latest news on Galaxy S and Note, all Snapdragon 820 variants of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are bootloader-locked. Yes, you read this correctly. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, it no longer matters which US carrier you have. All SD820 variants are locked.
This is officially the end of the line, folks. No dev community can survive when every device is locked, so what tiny community existed, and by that I mean only hsbadr who has singlehandedly supported our Verizon N4DEs for years now, will evaporate. If you like phones you can root and flash custom ROMs on, you can no longer buy Samsung Galaxy S and Note in USA.
Canadians have a wild card here, they are getting the Exynos 8890 variant but it doesn't support any US voice bands, GSM or CDMA. Unless it's possible to hack the Canadian S7 variant to make it work in US at least on the GSM carriers AT&T and T-Mobile, all Americans are now officially f**ked.
It was nice owning Galaxy Notes all these years. I started with a Note II and I currently have my Note 4 DE, but this is the end of the line. My next phone, regardless of which carrier I'm on, cannot be a Galaxy Note. I'll miss my S-Pen ;_;

I wonder if other manufacturers will follow Samsung's lead. They probably want to do it, but haven't. I wonder if, eventually, our only choice for phones that aren't locked down will be phones like the Nexus.
Although there's no way to really and truly know, I wonder how many people will even care. Of all the people that I've talked to since I started my rooting adventures with an HTC Evo, there has only been a small handful that even know what rooting was and only one other person who actually had a rooted phone. I'd imagine that most people won't care at all.

My Note 4 Dev Edition and Note 2 will be my rooted phones and the Note 6 will be my locked down phone. I guess I'll swap SIMs if I need a rooted phone with cellular data.

Sold my Note 4 last week. Used upgrade to get Note 5, then sold it. Got 6P today, rooted within minutes.
Adios Samsung.

Not yet
FMXP said:
For those of you who don't follow the latest news on Galaxy S and Note, all Snapdragon 820 variants of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are bootloader-locked. Yes, you read this correctly. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, it no longer matters which US carrier you have. All SD820 variants are locked.
This is officially the end of the line, folks. No dev community can survive when every device is locked, so what tiny community existed, and by that I mean only hsbadr who has singlehandedly supported our Verizon N4DEs for years now, will evaporate. If you like phones you can root and flash custom ROMs on, you can no longer buy Samsung Galaxy S and Note in USA.
Canadians have a wild card here, they are getting the Exynos 8890 variant but it doesn't support any US voice bands, GSM or CDMA. Unless it's possible to hack the Canadian S7 variant to make it work in US at least on the GSM carriers AT&T and T-Mobile, all Americans are now officially f**ked.
It was nice owning Galaxy Notes all these years. I started with a Note II and I currently have my Note 4 DE, but this is the end of the line. My next phone, regardless of which carrier I'm on, cannot be a Galaxy Note. I'll miss my S-Pen ;_;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile has asked Samsung to work with their engineers to Unlock them. If there is enough outrage and sales slump, they might reverse this or offer and option to unlock like HTC does.

Can someone explain to me the purpose of carriers and manufacturers locking devices down like that? This sort of thing has been going on for a long long time and I've never seen the harm behind it. What can a rooted device do that causes them to want to lock it down again?

To use Verizon as an example. Verizon wants to charge you extra for the ability to tether. Granted there are apps to get around this but with the built-in tethering function, it automatically checks to make sure you are Subscribed to that feature. I'm sure there are more reasons than that.

Zantillian said:
Can someone explain to me the purpose of carriers and manufacturers locking devices down like that? This sort of thing has been going on for a long long time and I've never seen the harm behind it. What can a rooted device do that causes them to want to lock it down again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a number of reasons but one major reason is the manufacturer's desire to gain corporate accounts. To do so requires, for most corporate networks, a phone that cannot be rooted thus allowing the installation of apps that cannot be controlled or monitored by corporate IT security personnel. That is why many corporate networks will allow your iphone on their network but not an Android phone. It's all about sales.

Follow the money.
As stated above corporate sales are a big reason. Also the potential the have Android/Samsung/Google or whatever payment applications comprised is likely another large reason. Then you have Ad blocking. Removing those from ones phone kills a large revenue stream for carriers and Google alike. Not just for the individual ads but also the data they consume from your allotment.

The Note 4 is my first Samsung, and probably my last. I did enjoy having the pen, and when my Edge is up next year, I'm hopeful I'll have the cabbage to purchase a Nexus. I like clean and simple things, Samsung has a lot of nice features, but most of them just get in my way.
All that being said I have not missed not being able to root, because mostly my reasons for doing doing so were for battery life on HTCs. My last phone was a Droid MAXX, which had amazing battery (might have been my favorite phone ever). The Note 4 has been good on battery, especially since 5.1.1 (and a factory reset)
My $.02.

unfortunately, i've stopped minding 100% about root. i only mind like 60% now. i mean, every phone i've ever had was rooted. eris, incredible, rezound, dna, s3, s4, g2, moto x pure edition.....and then my poor note 4, never rooted. but honestly, i had the moto x pure, and although it was nice having a new rooted phone, i ended up selling it because i just liked my unrooted note 4 better. note 4, next to my g2, was one of the best phones i've ever had. and now, i decided since i don't mind root as much, but i enjoy samsung camera/screen quality, i bought the s7, and i really like it. sure there's no root, but if i absolutely need root, my galaxy tab s 8.4 is rooted, my nexus 7 is rooted, and my g2 is rooted. if i need wireless hotspot, i'll just pop my sim into my g2. keeping my note 4, though, definitely..and might even buy the note 6 when it comes out, that's how nice this s7 is.

there are ways to unlock bootloaders and root any smart phone but nobody wants to share. all it is ..is code ....if theres a way to write the code then theres a way to unlock code. cant stop root. there will always be away. think about it. a smart phone works like a pc. someone out there has a way but doesnt share

jayochs said:
unfortunately, i've stopped minding 100% about root. i only mind like 60% now. i mean, every phone i've ever had was rooted. eris, incredible, rezound, dna, s3, s4, g2, moto x pure edition.....and then my poor note 4, never rooted. but honestly, i had the moto x pure, and although it was nice having a new rooted phone, i ended up selling it because i just liked my unrooted note 4 better. note 4, next to my g2, was one of the best phones i've ever had. and now, i decided since i don't mind root as much, but i enjoy samsung camera/screen quality, i bought the s7, and i really like it. sure there's no root, but if i absolutely need root, my galaxy tab s 8.4 is rooted, my nexus 7 is rooted, and my g2 is rooted. if i need wireless hotspot, i'll just pop my sim into my g2. keeping my note 4, though, definitely..and might even buy the note 6 when it comes out, that's how nice this s7 is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try FoxFi on your S7. It's only a little over $7 for the full app, and in my opinion is well worth the price. Like you, I still have a rooted phone, my S4 which I was using prior to my Note 4, and used it for the hot spot before I made the jump to FoxFi. For me, the convenience of just being able to use one phone for everything, especially the hot spot since it's my only Internet connection at home, is worth the small amount charged by the developer, and possible a lot better for the batteries on both phones since they use the most energy when powering on from a cold boot. I think that's how I wound up going through a power supply for my desktop in roughly two years, too many reboots.

so foxfi works perfectly on non rooted phones and completely bypasses wireless Hotspot? unlimited plan i pay 50 a month for here, so i should be able to tether for free from Verizon but they're pieces of shat so clearly we can't.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk

will4958 said:
You could try FoxFi on your S7. It's only a little over $7 for the full app, and in my opinion is well worth the price. Like you, I still have a rooted phone, my S4 which I was using prior to my Note 4, and used it for the hot spot before I made the jump to FoxFi. For me, the convenience of just being able to use one phone for everything, especially the hot spot since it's my only Internet connection at home, is worth the small amount charged by the developer, and possible a lot better for the batteries on both phones since they use the most energy when powering on from a cold boot. I think that's how I wound up going through a power supply for my desktop in roughly two years, too many reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just switched to Sprint, (from my Verizon Note 4), Got a Note 5 and rooted it immediately.
Sprint will pay off my $360 Verizon contract balance, and I also will get a $225 cash gift card from COSTCO wireless for switching.
My bill is only $10 higher, and I have unlimited talk and text, which I didn't have with Verizon

http://www.xda-developers.com/opini...gn=Feed:+xda-developers/ShsH+(xda-developers) a good explanation why things go this way... I belive the only left possibility of personalizing or devices will be thorough mods or hacks each time more complicate

It's just as well. Samsung has gone straight downhill. Let's review:
No new features made their way to the Note 4.
Updates took an extremely long time, and they even updated older phones first.
Locked down tight.
Lag. Always lag. All one need do is go to application manager and try to scroll down. (Even my old Droid 2 Global running Gingerbread does this smoothly!) This is but one example of many.
Also, has anyone else noticed how Samsung puts out almost the same exact phone every year?
Anyway, I was done with Samsung before this news. The Note 4 is largely a disaster. The only question now is what to ditch it for. I like the specs of the LG G5, but the software looks awful. So I'm waiting to see what HTC is doing with the 10. If that doesn't pan out, I guess I'll wait for the Nexus.
Sent from my SM-N910V.

Related

Verizon Nexus 6 announcement December 31st

I just talked with a verizon rep in their live chat, they told me that there will be an announcement the 31st about when the phone can be ordered.
alligator_fight said:
I just talked with a verizon rep in their live chat, they told me that there will be an announcement the 31st about when the phone can be ordered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably the same rep that said it was being released last Saturday, in February, and doesn't know what an N6 is but would be happy to help you purchase a Droid Turbo.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
lol. just spoke with "jerry" via live chat. got same thing i've been getting since initial release:
At this time, we have not been provided information regarding the release of the Nexus 6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I called and talked to a rep last week. He had no information either. I've been (im)patiently waiting since the day Google announced the phone. I was only a couple of days away from being able to upgrade, and had my mind set on a Note 4. I've been getting more frustrated every day, as one of my co-workers went and looked at the N6 at the freaking US Cellular store. US Cellular! They have it before Verizon... I'm concerned that Verizon is taking all of this time to lock the phone as tight as the Note 4, which is still un-rooted on VZW. I live in a small rural area where our ONLY coverage is VZW and USC.
thefinancemaster said:
I'm concerned that Verizon is taking all of this time to lock the phone as tight as the Note 4, which is still un-rooted on VZW. I live in a small rural area where our ONLY coverage is VZW and USC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank Samsung for that. I don't know why anyone thought differently given the Note 3 bounty is *still* outstanding. And with Android L's change wrt kernel and root...odds are it will never be rooted.
Vote with your wallet people. Don't give Samsung a dime for their Knox crapware.
Skripka said:
Thank Samsung for that. I don't know why anyone thought differently given the Note 3 bounty is *still* outstanding. And with Android L's change wrt kernel and root...odds are it will never be rooted.
Vote with your wallet people. Don't give Samsung a dime for their Knox crapware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I agree somewhat. Knox blows. Samsung Touchwiz is my least favorite. BUT, the Note 4 is rooted already for the other carriers in the USA, but even (last I checked) over $11000 worth of bounty for root access on the VZW version hasn't had any success. If that was because of Samsung, the Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T versions wouldn't already have root access. The Note 4 hardware is amazing, we just need the ability to put different software on it. I hate Verizon... I may switch to US Cellular someday. They historically haven't had flagship phones available until the last year or two. But, there still isn't much in the way of Dev support here for their phones. What good is a monster phone if we can't hack and crack a bit? LOL
thefinancemaster said:
Oh, I agree somewhat. Knox blows. Samsung Touchwiz is my least favorite. BUT, the Note 4 is rooted already for the other carriers in the USA, but even (last I checked) over $11000 worth of bounty for root access on the VZW version hasn't had any success. If that was because of Samsung, the Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T versions wouldn't already have root access. The Note 4 hardware is amazing, we just need the ability to put different software on it. I hate Verizon... I may switch to US Cellular someday. They historically haven't had flagship phones available until the last year or two. But, there still isn't much in the way of Dev support here for their phones. What good is a monster phone if we can't hack and crack a bit? LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Half the problem with dev support is the insistence that every USA carrier have a unique SKU and mutually incompatible firmware. Which leads to community dev fragmentation to the max. Which is squarely on the manufacturer to blame. Knox and the locked bootloaders are also on the manufacturer. With Samsung's mobile division bleeding oodles and gobs of money this year, maybe Samsung will mend their ways.
Samsung's problem is that they went from making 2-3 high quality handsets under one brand (Galaxy)....to making dozens of handsets each with 5+ different unique carrier/region-specific SKUs.
An announcement on the 31st on when Nexus 6? What that it can be pre ordered in March or something and maybe 1,000 available
There are two golden rules you should keep in mind when speaking to ANY type of VZW rep:
1 - they have absolutely no information on the phone, its release or anything else related to it - plain and simple.
2 - they have been instructed to try to keep you on VZW, so anything of a delaying comment that will keep you hanging on while the first rule is in effect works for them, not you.
The phone only has two SKU's - We're going to find that VZ will allow it on the network (because they have to) and they won't sell it.
I said it first, and time will bear it out. I hope I'm incorrect. the only thing that will indicate it is here on VZ is a press release or seeing it on the website by magic, period. Anything else is just pure speculation and wishing.
Well, heres to pure speculation and wishing...:highfive:
But forreal. You suck vzw.
RW-1 said:
There are two golden rules you should keep in mind when speaking to ANY type of VZW rep:
1 - they have absolutely no information on the phone, its release or anything else related to it - plain and simple.
2 - they have been instructed to try to keep you on VZW, so anything of a delaying comment that will keep you hanging on while the first rule is in effect works for them, not you.
The phone only has two SKU's - We're going to find that VZ will allow it on the network (because they have to) and they won't sell it.
I said it first, and time will bear it out. I hope I'm incorrect. the only thing that will indicate it is here on VZ is a press release or seeing it on the website by magic, period. Anything else is just pure speculation and wishing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is extremely unlikely at this point that Verizon will carry this phone in stores. That has been the speculation from the very beginning. Big Red will allow it on its network, but will never sell the device.
anthonyg45157 said:
Well, heres to pure speculation and wishing...:highfive:
But forreal. You suck vzw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1000000000
I just talked to my inside business rep and she just found out that it is not being released until February. Pretty pissed!
Winter is coming...
Be ready cuz its coming... The Motorola Droid Turbo 6! It will be full of bloat and skinned in the most obnoxious Motorola overlay. I'm sure it will have all the same specs with maybe a faster processor. It will have 5 different Verizon logos plastered all over it. Of course the bootloader will be locked and we will never see root!... God I love Verizon!
I just had a meditation session with my spiritual king. He let it be known to me that Verizon will release the Nexus 6 in... and then the session ended. I'll try again tomorrow.
The number of people posting their opinions as fact in this thread is hilarious. Nobody knows anything, period.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Nexus 6 on Verizon
My Motorola bought Nexus 6 works great on Verizon, and with Moto Credit im paying just like you would if you used the "edge" program from VZW... Oh and i didnt have to give Verizon any cut of the sales which is just icing on the cake!
Why wait? Buy one from another carrier, swap Sims.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
We probably wont see any Nexus 6 in stores at all. Nobody has the Nexus 6 locally on any carrier cause its sold out.(I've checked, XMas present.) If Verizon wanted the sales they would have already done it.
When i went into Verizon to get a nano sim for my N6 they didn't even know wtf it is. They're like oh that's not going to work on our network... I had to walk them through what to do to get my device working.

Next Phone for us on the 2 year upgrade cycle

Well, it's coming up on that time to think about our next phone. It seems that Samsung and Verizon is hell bent to keep us from flashing our phones. I've been looking around here and it seems that most of the developers have gone to Nexus and LG devices. From what I've seen so far I might go to the LG G4+ I recently heard rumor about.
What phones do you think is going to be popular among developers?
For sure, it isn't going to be the note 5, we all know why. The note 4 will still be with developers I'm guessing. The lg g4+ (lg g4 pro) is probably being announced at Berlin IFA and will be supported, look at the lg g4 devs.
The new nexus device will obviously be a powerhouse for a lot of people looking for an unlocked bootloader and stock vanilla android .
Anyways more devices might have support like the moto x series and sony's Xperia lines are good devices too compared to Samsung's insane pricing on their devices.
Definitely the new Nexus devices will be on the top of that list. I'm also looking @, for my use come Feb '16, a GSM G4 as well as the M9.
I'm interested in seeing what others have to say. This is what I want - removable battery, SD card slot, IR blaster, easy root and unlocked bootloader.
This is what I need - all of the above (or, if not a replaceable battery, then a battery case that allows on the fly recharging...)
I'm looking forward to Christmas and seeing what comes of it - that's the season (well, just prior to it) for all the new goodies...
What are others looking @?
I know I'm done with Samsung (iron fisted, whore mongers... No offense!) - they and Verizon have made it apparent who they believe owns my phone. Top it off with the lobotomized phones they now offer and they've gone from "smart" phone to "not-so-smart" phone...
I'm happy with my Note3 on Jasmine, but I don't see it getting an upgrade to Marshmallow. The note 5 is out of the question, I'd like a Note4(but the Verizon retail version doesn't appear to be rootable). I've got time, the Nexus on the Verizon site seems to be a bit light in the hardware side, the LG looks nice. Of course, there's always leaving Verizon, if I can convince the wife.
I just made the jump to TMO. I was afraid they'd not have the network I need here in Georgia, but they're comparable thus far to Big Red, with a greatly reduced cost structure and a heap more data for the $$$.
I was able to set my Note 3 (CDMA) up to work on TMO's GSM network and have awesome data speeds. It's a game changer - if I don't like them, I can move to AT&T and, when the time comes, root whatever I buy outright without the runaround that Verizon offers.
I thought about the Note 4 on TMO - it's an easy root but it's just not that much of an upgrade over the 3 and certainly not a $500+ upgrade. So, I'll stay put with the N3 and move to something else when this old daily driver don't drive no more... (That'll likely be Android "Zebra cake....")

Should I upgrade to the S5?

So I'm a die hard Note 2 owner. Love my note even though it's getting long in the tooth. Support has waned a lot and of course getting anything 5.0+ on it requires CM which has spotty bluetooth support. Any way, I have a chance to buy an S5 for $240. It's less than a year old and looks to be in great shape. Give me your ups and downs with your S5. $240 is a decent chunk of change for me right now, but I don't want to shell out even more for an upgrade through Verizon.
Besides the fact that Verizon has crippled the phone by eliminating the ability to root, therefore making it impossible to "de-bloat" the phone (remove all of the Verizon crap), and also seems to intentionally keep their version of the S5 at older versions of android (my T-Mobile unlocked S5 is at 5.1.1, Verizon is still at 5.0.1 which is a little buggy) It's a great phone.
The S5 is a near flawless phone in my eyes, the real issue is the carriers. Seeing as you are on Verizon though, you don't have a choice but to get a Verizon phone, and $240 is a pretty sweet deal on an S5 in great shape. As long as root doesn't matter to you, go for it.
Sean89us said:
The S5 is a near flawless phone in my eyes, the real issue is the carriers. Seeing as you are on Verizon though, you don't have a choice but to get a Verizon phone, and $240 is a pretty sweet deal on an S5 in great shape. As long as root doesn't matter to you, go for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They still haven't rooted it? Figures Verizon would be blocking a great phone from being great.
naviathan said:
They still haven't rooted it? Figures Verizon would be blocking a great phone from being great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root it if it's on an older firmware, but the last few are not rootable.

The 6P Verizon Cuffs

Long time no see fellas. I've been looking at all these devices coming out and there are some excellent choices. For Verizon....not so much. Is the 6p honestly still the best device as far as customization? The VX10 looks beautiful, but if you want a good device and Verizon, why is an entire country of people just letting these [email protected]!Holes lock those of us who are in small states without any choices be subject to being chained to 1. The most expensive, and 2. Devices mostly without unlockable/ rootable, capabilities? Some of these devices like the P8 Maxx, a few of the BLU devices, Note 5? The list goes on and on Super cheap, amazing phones for everyone but those of us chained to the 3rd Reich= VERIZON.
electrojas said:
Long time no see fellas. I've been looking at all these devices coming out and there are some excellent choices. For Verizon....not so much. Is the 6p honestly still the best device as far as customization? The VX10 looks beautiful, but if you want a good device and Verizon, why is an entire country of people just letting these [email protected]!Holes lock those of us who are in small states without any choices be subject to being chained to 1. The most expensive, and 2. Devices mostly without unlockable/ rootable, capabilities? Some of these devices like the P8 Maxx, a few of the BLU devices, Note 5? The list goes on and on Super cheap, amazing phones for everyone but those of us chained to the 3rd Reich= VERIZON.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In terms of customisation you probably won't get better than a Nexus. They're pretty much made to be tinkered with.
I just got the Nexus 6p and have verizon. I absolutely love the freedom of flashing to my hearts content. Of course, I also have the moto x pure with unlocked bootloader which is great too I use the pure for work, I feel its much more durable and not afraid of bending it, and I use the 6p when I'm at home or on the go. I just wish I had two identical sims so I didn't have to keep switching. I would even be happy if only the first phone powered on had use of it's sim then i could just power off one phone and power on the other rather than switching sims.... #dreams
Sorry, got a little off subject, but I would definitely recommend the 6p on verizon. I will never buy another phone from verizon unless one day the decide to unlock bootloaders which I don't ever see happening.
My 6P works great with Verizon.
The bad thing that Verizon's Wifi calling is not available on Nexus 6P.
I jumped ship from another carrier and purchased a N6p for use on VZW. IMHO, that is the best combo going for me. Great coverage and device. I have 7 lines and as they need replacing I'll likely use unlocked Google devices. I like the freedom.
The 6P is amazing on Verizon. Everything works excellent, even HD Voice works. The only thing that doesn't work is WiFi calling, but that is something I just want to try out, and will likely never use as Verizon has signal everywhere I go. Plus you get to unlock the bootloader, root your device, and customize it to your hearts liking.
vikramjatt11 said:
The 6P is amazing on Verizon. Everything works excellent, even HD Voice works. The only thing that doesn't work is WiFi calling, but that is something I just want to try out, and will likely never use as Verizon has signal everywhere I go. Plus you get to unlock the bootloader, root your device, and customize it to your hearts liking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved my N6 on Verizon as well and when I flashed over to BenzoROM, VOLTE was so awesome. That's why I am so agitated about this. Where I am you either go with Verizon and be limited and subjected to whatever they decide to force, or AT&T and be able to make calls in 1 or 2 5ft circles within 200 miles. There's to other carriers whatsoever.

Wondering about development interest for roms and such?

Well I gave up my lg v20 to go back to the s7 (tmobile). It was an impulse trade. Now I've regretted it because of the lack of development in the areas of roms, themes, locked bootloader, and such. MY question is this, what's your opinion of the s8 and s8+..? Are they going to go down in flames or will there be a resurgence of interest in samsung again?
Your answers will help me decide whether to get one right off the bat or wait for another flagship device that's coming out in the next couple of months.
With Samsung's current path to block root I doubt there will be much development at least not for a while. I haven't rooted my last 3 phones (note 5&7 v20), because it's become such a hassle anymore.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Thanks.
durandetto said:
With Samsung's current path to block root I doubt there will be much development at least not for a while. I haven't rooted my last 3 phones (note 5&7 v20), because it's become such a hassle anymore.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply, I was wondering if the s8 was going to have a locked bootloader. That'll make my decision easily.
I would almost put money on the bootloader being locked. Not saying one of the devs here won't get around it, but it could take some time.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Development is becoming more difficult on all phones not just Samsung. Google are making things more difficult for developers. The days of ROM and Kernel development reached it's peak years back and has been in decline ever since. Especially because important features rely on having a locked down device. Also, one of the reasons people developed custom software is to add more features, many of which are part of the standard package when buying a new phone these days.
If you want flexibility and enjoy the development on XDA then Oneplus are your best choice. They are getting most of the attention now. It's the new Nexus. I'll get an S8 and if I get bored, I'll sell and get the next Oneplus 4 or whatever it'll be called. So I can play.
Get an international, word is the Snapdragons will have locked bootloaders across the board in the same fashion as the Note 7. Time will tell.
kevinchristopherson said:
Well I gave up my lg v20 to go back to the s7 (tmobile). It was an impulse trade. Now I've regretted it because of the lack of development in the areas of roms, themes, locked bootloader, and such. MY question is this, what's your opinion of the s8 and s8+..? Are they going to go down in flames or will there be a resurgence of interest in samsung again?
Your answers will help me decide whether to get one right off the bat or wait for another flagship device that's coming out in the next couple of months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hoping they will be same as S7/S7 Edge in terms of dev support as both S8 and S8+ will run on Exynos Chip Worlwide other than US
I really hope Samsung will offer unlocked phones like LG is offering if you buy direct. I buy my phones so I want to root and keep it as current as possible. Thats the biggest complaint I have on my Note 4 is the way ATT/Samsung update its ridiculous. I mean over a year wait for the last android update for Note 4. I would buy a Stock Android S8 or S8+ and pay a small premium if thats what it took.
Sounds that way
jpinks said:
I really hope Samsung will offer unlocked phones like LG is offering if you buy direct. I buy my phones so I want to root and keep it as current as possible. Thats the biggest complaint I have on my Note 4 is the way ATT/Samsung update its ridiculous. I mean over a year wait for the last android update for Note 4. I would buy a Stock Android S8 or S8+ and pay a small premium if thats what it took.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has supposedly confirmed this.
jpinks said:
I really hope Samsung will offer unlocked phones like LG is offering if you buy direct. I buy my phones so I want to root and keep it as current as possible. Thats the biggest complaint I have on my Note 4 is the way ATT/Samsung update its ridiculous. I mean over a year wait for the last android update for Note 4. I would buy a Stock Android S8 or S8+ and pay a small premium if thats what it took.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They already do I bought my S7 Unlocked Edge last year direct from Samsung with the option to upgrade to a unlocked S8 or S8 + this year....
jpinks said:
I really hope Samsung will offer unlocked phones like LG is offering if you buy direct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've looked all over for this, but no luck. Would you give me a link to buy (direct) an unlocked or unlockable G6? Thanks!
I'm still holding out, haven't thrown my s7 away just yet, to get back into the v20. so I'll just keep waiting for the word on the G6 or the s8+ ,, Hopefully something happens and they unlock that boot-loader.
T-Mobile's version of the G6 bootloader is unlocked.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g6/development/unlock-bootloader-tmo-t3578099
I feel like rooting and ROMing is dead. You have to go through a massive hassle now to even get your hands on a phone that allows it. A real shame.
JodyBreeze901 said:
T-Mobile's version of the G6 bootloader is unlocked.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g6/development/unlock-bootloader-tmo-t3578099
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears now like the phone may be reporting unlocked but isn't actually unlocking. Too soon to tell on that but it wouldn't be the first time for LG. It's old advice but more relevant by the day, if root is important do not buy in until it's proven.
kevinchristopherson said:
Well I gave up my lg v20 to go back to the s7 (tmobile). It was an impulse trade. Now I've regretted it because of the lack of development in the areas of roms, themes, locked bootloader, and such. MY question is this, what's your opinion of the s8 and s8+..? Are they going to go down in flames or will there be a resurgence of interest in samsung again?
Your answers will help me decide whether to get one right off the bat or wait for another flagship device that's coming out in the next couple of months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy...just buy a exynos version, no locked BL (at least the note 7 and s7 edge arent locked).
No point in buying snapdragon based sammy products now as it seems they are locking them down.
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6

Categories

Resources