Related
So many negative threads about how the screen sucks, the camera sucks etc etc. Would be nice to hear from the people who actually like the Z1. Write down your experience with the phone. It doesn't have to be all rosy but hopefully it will give a little bit more nuance.
Sure.
Last Saturday I got my Z1, I've had a Gnex for a long time and my first impressions are very good. The device is amazingly fast, everything works as it should, multitasking is very good, all performance related things are nothing to complain about.
The screen 'dead-on' is also nice the viewing angles people are talking about is something I don't really see as a problem. I just held the phone in an angle and when the colours start to wash out it's an angle I would never use my phone at. Other than that the camera does have noise issues, although it's not too bad IMHO. (do bear in mind I come from the Gnex so pretty much every new device is a big upgrade) I don't think the noise issues aren't too bad though, as Sony can easily fix the noise issues with a software update. Speaking of updates, the Z1 already had 3 updates. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is up to you, but to me it sounds like it's well supported by Sony.
Battery... I feel mixed about it. It's better than my Gnex, but again, pretty much every device is. I did expect a lot more from a 3000 mAh battery though. I had about 23 hours of standby and roughly 4 hours of screen on time. That is with 3G on all the time, wifi on most of the time and applications like Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook running in the background. It's a weird thing though, the xperia ZR gets 11:30 (11 hours and 30 minutes) of browsing in the GSMarena test. While the Z1 gets about half of that. I have the feeling Sony has to do some software optimization, since they can pull it off. (note: the ZR battery is 2300 mAh) How long this will take, and if Sony will even do it, I have no idea. If the problem is related to Qualcomm it may take a long time though since they're not very keen on doing things in a different way. (look at the Nexus 7 2013 and binaries)
Overall I personally think the Xperia Z1 is an amazing device. It's super fast, the build quality is amazing and it feels really good.(get a case though!) There are things to improve on such as battery life and it depends on whether you trust Sony to fix these issues or not.
Positve
Got mine yesterday.
S/W: problems yet
Performance: Extremely quick 9/10
Screen Quality: 8/10 but too early to say if I'm just being jaded by all the moaning.
Camera seems pretty good to me, what a blessing a proper camera button makes.
Shame I can't upload samples of photos / videos etc. I will find a way if request. Anyone wanna buy a Galaxy 3? ho ho..
Oh one thing I don't like, is having to uncover the charger port to charge it up (i know its re waterproofing).
My options are :-
Cut the cover flap off or buy a magnetic charger unit £30.00 !!!!! (I probably will.)
So far pretty dam good phone.
Paul
I've had my XZ1 since Saturday 21st sept, and so far I love it, the camera is good but has issues like the grain and noise which prevent it from being a great one.
Love the sharpness and colours of the screen and it's resolution makes browsing the Web or forums so easy.
I've gotten used to the waterproof tabs after having my Xtz before I got the z1 but at least if you don't like having to keep opening the flap you can use a magnetic charger cable or dock.
That's all I can think of at lol
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium HD app
screen is best... best contrast and color you can get... no yellow tint or extra blue. no issue at all..
screen performance not so good from an angle... but who use it like that... 98% i use head on... 2 % ready to sacrifice. for head on awesomeness..
battery is a ****. (Wifi and bluetooth on, may be due to this)
Auto mode of camera is a ****..
play around with ISO in manual mode to get best shot for each scenario...
sound from speaker is not so good... even headphone sound (wired) is not good...
performance... nothing can beat it... samsung s4 struggles before this beast..
i am still on 518 firmware and no software issue so far.. using wireless headphones...
jos_031 said:
screen is best... best contrast and color you can get... no yellow tint or extra blue. no issue at all..
screen performance not so good from an angle... but who use it like that... 98% i use head on... 2 % ready to sacrifice. for head on awesomeness..
battery is a ****. (Wifi and bluetooth on, may be due to this)
Auto mode of camera is a ****..
play around with ISO in manual mode to get best shot for each scenario...
sound from speaker is not so good... even headphone sound (wired) is not good...
performance... nothing can beat it... samsung s4 struggles before this beast..
i am still on 518 firmware and no software issue so far.. using wireless headphones...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it's this above plus
Weird touch screen issues where it goes a bit bonkers when doing the pattern unlock.
Wow a positive thread about the Z1, do my eyes deceive me?
Seriously it's nice to see positive in all the threads of doom and gloom.
Nice
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
My showers have become a lot less of a chore and more of a pleasure;
https://vine.co/v/hvY5MVFTLXd?fb_action_ids=10151847100714799
Just add 2 hooks with a little bit of sugru
So I got mine yesterday.
Hardware: I can't tell you how gorgeous this phone is if you haven't seen it yet, the blend of pure vanilla white with the aluminium frame is a spot on direct hit in my eyes. Under the hood HW is even better. The S800 chip seriously flies and it's been a long time but Android is now becoming just as fluid as iOS and WP and it's great to see that.
Software: I am a big fan of the Sony UI simply because it's easy and it looks pretty vanilla, I haven't installed a Homescreen in 2 years now ever since I got a Xperia S and I am not changing that now. There is some minor SW bugs where some dialouges just doesn't show up but I can still press them(if I know their real position)
Camera: The camera is a serious SW mess because I know and I see that Sony has a good camera HW-wise BUT their SW and esspecially Auto mode is seriously one complete mess. Other than the major problems with the noise the camera app is fluid and it's quite promosing to have some nice options like AR and the Livestream mode.
Sound: THe loudspeaker is decent and nothing you would cheer about but it's better than my old XS of course. The headphone jack for me is perfect and I hear absolutely no difference when playing the same song on my XS or my Z1
Screen: THe screen for me is supersharp, I can only see a little difference in sharpness between my XS and Z1 but that is expected but still it's a nice feature. The colours are almost accurate(I had to increase my blue level by +3 to +4), viewing angles aren't the best but they are clearly better than my XS besides head on is the way to go in my world.
Battery: Battery is a mixed bag; Standby is EXCELLENT hours can go and the phone is still on the same percentage. However and this is a big one the battery during Web browsing or other minor things is seriously underperforming. Clearly this is also something wrong with the SW because other Sony phones does not have the same problem.
I hope this gives a good view on the phone, clearly Sony needs to fix the battery and the Camera and for some swap out faulty screens. Other than that my money was well put!
I got my XZ1 on monday and I love it so far! Yeah the viewing angles aren't the best but who is gonna use their phone from those angles? The camera is good, yes it needs some improvements but it isn't unusable.
The waterproof tabs take some getting used to after coming from a Nexus 4 but my battery lasts me about a day and a half almost 2; so I don't have to undo the tab to often.
I like the speaker, it isn't as loud as the one on the Note 2 I had but it is WAY better than the Nexus 4. I really like the notification LED also, its in a really discrete location and its pretty visible; and paired with light manager it is really useful for me.
Wifi has also been good for me, at least compared to my old N4. The overall speed of the phone is awesome! This thing rips!
Coming from the Nexus 4 this was a SOLID upgrade for me. SD card slot, better camera, Snapdragon 800, better speakers (ear piece also), and its waterproof? I can't really complain on my end!
I think people are just being a little too picky. I mean come on the phone has only been out for almost a week now. What else can you expect? Sony has been releasing updates pretty frequently so hopefully everything will get better soon.
So i will do that short: Sony Xperia Z1 is just good. Not perfect. but good and defently better as my old Xperia S. (Whiches i aso not so bad if i compare to to other cellphone from this timewindow)
Mine is good so far, only got it for 2days will test camera etc some more
One thing I can say about the screen:
I went to local store and compared to ZU screen, both on full brightness and my Z1 screen definitely has better colors and details then Z1. I tried the Sony sample pics and compared those.
Better details is due to 5" vs 6.4" I guess. But colors are really better on Z1, also in video I noticed the same result
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
Love the z1
Got the Z1 on pre-order, arrived the 17th.
- First thing i notice, phone is not bulky (in oposition to what reviewers say). Second thing, sony actually provides screen protect (Awsome)
- Phone turns on great and continues to perform great, Loving 4g and the speed and smoothness of the whole system.
- Screen contrast is not superb, lost in comparison to the s4, but during video streaming/playback, it performed amazingly as being hit directly by sunlight it was still very clear.
- Overall The phone is amazing, everyone says constantly i can't stop playing around with it (so true).
The only negative i have is battery life. Due to my constant use it drains very very quickly. But i think i'll be able to fix that.
B1nny said:
Sure.
Last Saturday I got my Z1, I've had a Gnex for a long time and my first impressions are very good. The device is amazingly fast, everything works as it should, multitasking is very good, all performance related things are nothing to complain about.
....
Overall I personally think the Xperia Z1 is an amazing device. It's super fast, the build quality is amazing and it feels really good.(get a case though!) There are things to improve on such as battery life and it depends on whether you trust Sony to fix these issues or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you're from the Netherlands. Could you confirm we are still on 14.1.G.1.518 firmware? It seems everyone who has been able to upgrade to 534 firmware has far better camera results, yet I cannot update to this new firmware, still stuck on the old one. I'd love to update the firmware to get better camera results but I do not want to root this phone. I'm on Vodafone RED 4G btw, dunno if it mathers.. Thanks.
bramgg said:
I see you're from the Netherlands. Could you confirm we are still on 14.1.G.1.518 firmware? It seems everyone who has been able to upgrade to 534 firmware has far better camera results, yet I cannot update to this new firmware, still stuck on the old one. I'd love to update the firmware to get better camera results but I do not want to root this phone. I'm on Vodafone RED 4G btw, dunno if it mathers.. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am. I can confirm I didn't get any updates on my unlocked Z1. I updated to 534 manually via flashtool though. (doesn't void warranty) I have no idea why we don't get the updates pushed to our phones.
thought i'd give my 2 cents here as i have been seeing a lot of negative comments, especially from people who judge way too quickly. Back when the Z came out i followed it madly and already had it on pre-order but i ended up getting a htc one. Ive had this phone for 2 days now and compared to my htc one it is a definite improvement. The only thing im getting used to is the size of the phone, i have small hands so you can imagine its not a 1 handed affair, but you cant fault the build quality, i love the fact that sony puts its own screen and back panel protector on (remember the x10). Call quality is amazing i have to say, loud and clear. performance is amazing, i can see the improvements in the chipset s800 has over s600 (was in my htc one), in real life you wont notice it too much but its defo there, games run amazing no lags and hits a very good fps (wild blood, real racing 3 in particular looks and plays amazingly). I've not really played with the camera much but its better than my htc one, that was the only thing i was disappointed with that phone. Now i have been constantly messing about with the phone so cant really give an accurate example of battery life, but what are you supposed to expect from a phone specc'd like this, yes it has a bigger capacity battery, it also has a big screen and a powerful cpu too, if i get a full days use out of it il be happy.
The Z1 is easily the best phone ever built. Its so nice to hold and use. Definitely my favourite phone to date and I have owned nearly all the previous flagship phones from most companies.
Absolutely blown away by this phone it's just amazing for me.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Xperia Z1 music video
Hi,
I'm totally new to android and the Z1 is my first personal android phone. My expectations where so high coming from many years of All iPhones.
I don't want to start a flame but yes I think android is a little behind (in some aspects) to ios7 BUT this device is actually freaking awesome and looks to me the only one that can beat the iPhone quality.
- High quality. When you touch it you feel that your money are well spent.
- The camera (if we consider is a phone) Is just super good.
- The Sony rom doesn't make me sad as and in a hurry to grab a random 3th party rom
- Display is super good colors looks real and rich. Yes view angles are not awesome but only crazy people use the phone in that way. One thing that NO ONE MENTION is that any phone is close to the iPhone under the sun. Surprise surprise according to phone arena the Z1 is in 2 place. That's for me means A LOT more than insane view angles. The only difect so far is the black. The display show (only in some circumstances) one of the lightest black on the market. You'll may notice it watching a movie (a dark one) in a dark room.
- screen protector: isn't so fragile as many said but yes isn't olephobic
Am I satisfied? A lot!!!!
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
Must unload this off my chest:
Really wanted to like the Z3 but here is what I think of it right now after few weeks of intensive use:
My Z3 is D6603 stock unrooted running latest firmware 23.4.A.1.232 - after complete factory reset AND software Repair procedure via PCC.
Sony & Google Bloatware disabled: Google News & Weather, Podcast, Xperia Care, Street View, Google Play Books, Google+, Hangouts, Social Live, Talkback, Facebook Xperia, Xperia Lounge, Tweeter, FB Messenger, Instagram and others I must have forgotten. My only IM app is WhatsApp, absolutely no Games on board. I Use Greenify (non-root version) to manually close apps that are not required to run in the background.
1. Lousy LTE signal reception - I had many android phones gone under my hands lately and by far the Z3 has the worst LTE reception - where others had 3-4 bars, the Z3 has none and it falls back to 3G (H/H+)- then (by a known documented bug) it never goes back to LTE/4G even when reception allows it - it just "stuck" with 3G.
2. Lousy GPS reception - Never had such a bad experience with slow ability to lock on signal and even then it tends to disconnect unless you position the phone close to the windshield - any other position in the car and you are faced with disconnecting and lost signal during navigation. Even when navigation software is running (Waze) it is extremely slow in updating position so there is a Lag with updates to Waze - 5 seconds after I took a turn for example, it shows on the map - Making Navigation a horrible experience as I frequently miss the next turn if it's close by.
3. Battery life sucks with Lollipop - I have to believe others who claim that under KitKat it was great. Cruising with Stamina mode ON and screen brightness set to Auto 0% can give you a day with light use with SOT of 6 hours, but anything more straining than this - for example light camera/GPS/Gaming use with 20% Auto brightness and battery drains like mad.
4. Mediocre Camera performance - quality is very disappointing compared to other phones with same/similar or ever lower spec Sony sensor.
5. Low speaker volume - if I want to use it while driving or on a busy street outside - there is no way I can hear the other side of the conversation through the speaker.
6. Low earpiece volume during calls - same as #5 above.
7. Malfunctioning Speakerphone - other side can't here me when I activate speaker phone ! it's not even low volume they complain about - it's horrible garbled noise.
I know that all the above sound/mic/speaker/earpiece issues are not hardware related probably as running Sony's own diagnostics software show that all these components are functioning well.
8. Slow UI speed - lags and unresponsive at times - especially when dialing a contact - it takes several seconds between hitting the contact's name until the dialing action is actually initiated.
9. This is really minor - but flash is extremely weak - cannot use it as flashlight, in camera barely has a 10 inch range and worse of all, when it accidentally turn on - you can hardly tell if not in a dark room so there goes another battery drain.
Enough said so far - I am very disappointed with this Phone - my previous OnePlus One is infinitely much better - (again I am far from being a troll here, I really wanted to like the Z3, I even have a C5 Ultra ready to be tested soon as a replacement and really hope that it will provide a decent performance and make me a Sony fan again):
I can also testify that these other phones that I had the opportunity to extensively test proved to perform much better than my Z3:
Samsung Note 3, LG G3, Xperia Z2, Nexus 6, Note Edge, Samsung S6, Samsung S6 Edge, LG G4, Meizu M2 Note, OnePlus One - all were running stock ROM unrooted. Amazing how even the last too phones which are Chinese brands had much better user experience than my Z3 (not to mention they cost 50% and even 30% of the price of the Z3).
Please advise which ROM to install. as a last resort, before I am forced to get rid of my Z3 ? Again, these are mostly Major issues - I am talking here about signal reception, GPS and simply the ability to carry a phone call - when these are not possible then I have simply no use for a smartphone - no matter how good is the display or the build quality or water resistance.
UPDATE : Z3 Sold ! Thank for your support
Buy another phone then or install a custom rom, you can complain here but no one listen, so send a mail to Sony and bother them because you say only bad things, but my Z3 is just awesome in all points ^^
Have a nice day with another phone
Verstuurd vanaf mijn D6603 met Tapatalk
alon3232 said:
Must unload this off my chest
Really wanted to like the Z3 but here is what I think of it right now after few weeks of intensive use:
1. Lousy LTE signal reception - I had many android phones gone under my hands lately and by far the Z3 has the worst LTE reception - where otjers had 3-4 bars, the Z3 has none and it falls back to 3G (H/H+)
2. Lousy GPS reception - Never had such a bad experience with slow ability to lock on signal and even then it tends to disconnect unless you position the phone close to the windshield - any other position in the car and you are faced with disconnecting and lost signal during navigation.
3. Battery life sucks with Lollipop - I have to believe others who claim that under KitKat it was great
4. Mediocre Camera performance - quality is very disappointing compared to other phones with same/similar Sony sensor
5. Low speaker volume
6. Low earpiece volume during calls
7. Malfunctioning Speakerphone - other side can't here me !
8. Slow UI speed - lags and unresponsive at times
Enough said so far - I am very disappointed with this Phone - my previous OnePlus One is infinitely much better it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3. Agree.
7. Just with first 5.1.1 build.
Disagree with the rest.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
I've had the Z3 for over a few weeks now running 5.1.1 and my experience so far is quite opposite from yours. For battery, I'm getting a day and a half on normal usage, with some occasional gaming here and there (I'm sure that with KK you can get the 2 days battery like Sony claims, but blame it on Google for that). No problems with speakers, microphone, earpiece and UI (haven't slowed down on me yet). Camera does leave a little to be desired, I agree, but as I'm not much of a phone photographer, it doesn't bother me much. Try doing a repair or downgrading to KK to see if your experience is better, otherwise it's best to get another phone.
From a user of 6 months i have to disagree on all these.
1. LTE Signal is great. My brother has S6, my cousin have One Max, my Z3 picks up LTE like a boss whereas both of them have to access service mode just to get constant LTE. We live in the same house.
2. GPS works fine and accurate with me. Even navigation beta of Google.
3. Battery Life is awesome. Last me 1 day with 40-50% by the end of day and I am a moderate-heavy usage with about 3hrs SOT. I play COC on a regular basis. But I do charge it to 100% before sleeping so the next day I have full batt.
4. Not really using the camera everyday but when I travel, I do, and it takes nice pics. I even loved it more since I am able to use it underwater. I use it even in salt water. Samsung, Apple and HTC can suck on that. People who complain about water damage are just idiots who dont know how to close flaps properly. Or test pressure sensor on Service Menu.
5. Compared to my Cousin's HTC Boomsound of course this is weaker. But my brother's S6? Just no! And the speakers are facing me.
6 and 7. Never experienced any issues with voice calls. Maybe u are using Facebook Messenger for calls. That app really sucks. But on Cellular, everything's fine with me.
8. What??!! I do experience some stuck up like once a month using Apex Launcher but definitely no lag.
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app
2. GPS is fantastic on the Z3, fastest lock time of all phones I owned so far.
3. In KK, battery was a bit better, but I regularly get 2 days of use with 5+ hrs of SOT.
8. Lags in UI? Where? I don't have any of those.
Looks like a faulty unit or maybe just need a reset. I have never had a difficult GPS lock, neither loss of signal. For the sound I must agree, with lollipop has been lowered to much
Inviato dal mio D6603 utilizzando Tapatalk
And as a ex-owner of Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z2 & some days with Note 4 also i have to disgaree most of your points. And i am using Z3 since January 2015. It's a beast
Here's a quick capture of the Z3's GPS performance.
https://youtu.be/G0LVcAvOpnc
You should definitely have bought a replica unit
Does it have MediaTek chipset or something?
I previously owned a oneplus one. The Z3 is far superior.
Try installing the new marshmallow concept ROM. Best battery life since KK.
Guys, how is the increased temperature warning while recording or taking pics? If is a sunny day with 26C i can take like 10 pics and 3 or 4 minutes of video and the camera will shutdown because of the too hot warning. Is that normal?
No problems like you said with my z3,have amazing battery life also
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk 2
10+ days battery usage, clear audio, waterproof, sexy design, good enough display. What more can you expect??
Was very happy until i submerged into water. Not even fully submerged, now my camera only shows a white screen. I'm done with Sony. You can't lie about your device just for sales.
---------- Post added at 10:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 PM ----------
This phone ain't waterproof.
TrevorAshley said:
Was very happy until i submerged into water. Not even fully submerged, now my camera only shows a white screen. I'm done with Sony. You can't lie about your device just for sales.
---------- Post added at 10:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 PM ----------
This phone ain't waterproof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@TrevorAshley
Is your screen replaced ?
Z3 is waterproof, i call under the shower and swim alot with it and no water damage for sure.
“Sent From MWE V8.0.0 On My Z3”
Pandemic said:
@TrevorAshley
Is your screen replaced ?
Z3 is waterproof, i call under the shower and swim alot with it and no water damage for sure.
“Sent From MWE V8.0.0 On My Z3”
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read many people have the same problem. Some people's phones completely dead. Check on Google
Just got my factory unlocked Z3 today in a sale and I read that under the Latest .264 update, the volumes and audio are supposed to be improved and increased and the camera has had an update..
Can anyone confirm this..
TrevorAshley said:
I've read many people have the same problem. Some people's phones completely dead. Check on Google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you were unlucky. I often wash my phone and will fully submerge it but I always make sure the phone seal is intact by checking internal pressure first.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
I have to agree about the contact dialog / phone app. I'm having to use root + xposed mod to keep the phone app from being closed in the background, otherwise it takes bloody ages to bring up the dialler and actually call somebody. Kitkat was all round better for performance and battery for Z3. My old HTC wildfire still performs better in phonecalls.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
I am so disappointed this phone didn't deliver what I expected. I absolutely loved it from the moment I received it, but it just won't work out. I am returning it today and going back to my Z3. The reasons are:
Snapdragon 810
Yep, that's it. This otherwise amazing phone was ruined by the SD810. I use my phones as my main camera, which has to work properly under tough situations. Nearly every phone I've had before was able to handle extreme conditions well; the Z5C wasn't. I take lots of pictures and videos, often north of 300 plus about an hour of 1080p videos per day. My Z1C withstood hot tropical summers and delivered every time under these conditions.
I was out last weekend and ready to test the camera on my new toy. I used Waze for about 20 minutes, starting from "idle." The phone got warm really fast. Then I got to the destination, thought I could record some 60fps 1080p videos, and was able to record about 10 minutes, then I got the famous message saying that the temperature was rising and the camera app would shut down soon to cool down the phone. It was uncomfortably hot. Mind you, the weather was fairly cool at 60°F. The battery was also going downhill real fast. I decided to turn the phone off and head out to another location. When I got there, I turned the phone back on (it cooled down quickly), and started recording some more videos. By now I was afraid to record anything longer than 5 minutes because I thought the phone would overheat and leave me hanging without a camera. I didn't get to that point, but missed lots of opportunities because of the overheating threat.
In less demanding situations, my phone got warm and uncomfortable to hold as well. From idle, my phone gets warm by simply surfing the internet for 5-10 minutes. It can be on Wifi or LTE, max/min brightness, it will warm up regardless. It doesn't get hot like when taking pictures, but come on. How can it get warm after 5-10 minutes of surfing the internet? That's really bad. The default state of the phone is running warm. Imagine if I go outside during summer and take 2 or 3 pictures. The phone is gonna melt in my hand. I can't rely on it. That's very unfortunate, because this phone is the absolutely best thing I've ever had the privilege of owning. Everything else is perfect. Size, battery life, screen, storage, fingerprint reader, waterproofing, open USB port... I'm gonna have to sit down and patiently wait for the next Compact to come out. What a shame.
Some people complain about the heat but others don't... Hopefully my phone doesn't have the misaligned lens issue, the back crack issue and the overheating issue. My Z1 compact is totally wrecked, worst comes to worst I'll just wait for the Z6 compact.
theprince1991 said:
Some people complain about the heat but others don't... Hopefully my phone doesn't have the misaligned lens issue, the back crack issue and the overheating issue. My Z1 compact is totally wrecked, worst comes to worst I'll just wait for the Z6 compact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here.. hoping the device I ordered is free of issues.. I finally found a deal on amazon for $460..fingers crossed!
android_fury said:
I am so disappointed this phone didn't deliver what I expected. I absolutely loved it from the moment I received it, but it just won't work out. I am returning it today and going back to my Z3. The reasons are:
Snapdragon 810
Yep, that's it. This otherwise amazing phone was ruined by the SD810. I use my phones as my main camera, which has to work properly under tough situations. Nearly every phone I've had before was able to handle extreme conditions well; the Z5C wasn't. I take lots of pictures and videos, often north of 300 plus about an hour of 1080p videos per day. My Z1C withstood hot tropical summers and delivered every time under these conditions.
I was out last weekend and ready to test the camera on my new toy. I used Waze for about 20 minutes, starting from "idle." The phone got warm really fast. Then I got to the destination, thought I could record some 60fps 1080p videos, and was able to record about 10 minutes, then I got the famous message saying that the temperature was rising and the camera app would shut down soon to cool down the phone. It was uncomfortably hot. Mind you, the weather was fairly cool at 60°F. The battery was also going downhill real fast. I decided to turn the phone off and head out to another location. When I got there, I turned the phone back on (it cooled down quickly), and started recording some more videos. By now I was afraid to record anything longer than 5 minutes because I thought the phone would overheat and leave me hanging without a camera. I didn't get to that point, but missed lots of opportunities because of the overheating threat.
In less demanding situations, my phone got warm and uncomfortable to hold as well. From idle, my phone gets warm by simply surfing the internet for 5-10 minutes. It can be on Wifi or LTE, max/min brightness, it will warm up regardless. It doesn't get hot like when taking pictures, but come on. How can it get warm after 5-10 minutes of surfing the internet? That's really bad. The default state of the phone is running warm. Imagine if I go outside during summer and take 2 or 3 pictures. The phone is gonna melt in my hand. I can't rely on it. That's very unfortunate, because this phone is the absolutely best thing I've ever had the privilege of owning. Everything else is perfect. Size, battery life, screen, storage, fingerprint reader, waterproofing, open USB port... I'm gonna have to sit down and patiently wait for the next Compact to come out. What a shame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you can just tick the " Don't show this again" on the temperature rising warning aaaaand it wouldn't appear unless it just closes the app down :|
yubeie said:
same here.. hoping the device I ordered is free of issues.. I finally found a deal on amazon for $460..fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My one doesn't heat up or anything but I do have a bit of lens blur... I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle returning though
android_fury said:
I am so disappointed this phone didn't deliver what I expected. I absolutely loved it from the moment I received it, but it just won't work out. I am returning it today and going back to my Z3. The reasons are:
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Click to collapse
Just turn off any video stabilization as it generates most of the heat and you are good to live with Z5c now but yes it would still a bit uncomfortable to hold. Shame on SD810.
TheEndHK said:
Just turn off any video stabilization as it generates most of the heat and you are good to live with Z5c now but yes it would still a bit uncomfortable to hold. Shame on SD810.
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Click to collapse
That's a restriction. I want to use it to its full potential. Even crappy Samsung phones have OIS nowadays. I shouldn't have to turn stuff off just so the phone works normally. Damn it, this sucks. I loved the phone so much, like I hadn't in a long time. This stupid SD820 had better be the best processor ever created. I'll be first in line to get the next Compact.
android_fury said:
That's a restriction. I want to use it to its full potential. Even crappy Samsung phones have OIS nowadays. I shouldn't have to turn stuff off just so the phone works normally. Damn it, this sucks. I loved the phone so much, like I hadn't in a long time. This stupid SD820 had better be the best processor ever created. I'll be first in line to get the next Compact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like my old Z1c got much better heat control, just like you but the focus on that camera is so painful, always hit and miss, too slow. If the next compact got OIS, I'll probably get one too.
The Snapdragon never poses an issue for me but I live in Britain where the weather barely ever gets really, really hot.
I will also be first to get the next Z Compact, just because I love my Z5 Compact so much. No other small phone offers this many premium specifications. For this reason I have become a Sony fan since Google decided to go big for the Nexus 6P.
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
supercakefish said:
The Snapdragon never poses an issue for me but I live in Britain where the weather barely ever gets really, really hot.
I will also be first to get the next Z Compact, just because I love my Z5 Compact so much. No other small phone offers this many premium specifications. For this reason I have become a Sony fan since Google decided to go big for the Nexus 6P.
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hong Kong is extremely hot, expected to see many Z5 users to do IPX67 water cooling in toilet during summer here.
Hm...It's interesting.
First i thought that it's a real problem in my phone too, cause when i played Real Racing 3 after 10 minutes of playing the phone got warm and the battery go fast. Then today i read your report about camera and i started to worry. I quickly tried out my and after taking 10:24 minutes of 4K video the phone got hot but not extremely, in my impressions it was trully acceptable and i got no warnings about temperature (just the information at the start of recording).
i have an idea about getting warm when recording... when i start the recording i got a notif. about saving data to internal storage or if i have a high speed SD i can use it too. So i thinking is it possible that when you have inserted a low speed SD card in, the SD810 needs to work harder and this is the point why its warming up faster???? is it a possible way of it??? (i have Kingston MicroSD 64GB Class 10 UHS-I)
Midleo said:
i have an idea about getting warm when recording... when i start the recording i got a notif. about saving data to internal storage or if i have a high speed SD i can use it too. So i thinking is it possible that when you have inserted a low speed SD card in, the SD810 needs to work harder and this is the point why its warming up faster???? is it a possible way of it??? (i have Kingston MicroSD 64GB Class 10 UHS-I)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only used the internal storage for the camera. It still overheated. That sucks.
android_fury said:
I only used the internal storage for the camera. It still overheated. That sucks.
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Click to collapse
Hm...Strange... Today i tested again my phone with gaming... Its getting hot but acceptable... I think you should get the phone back to the market or service center!
I'm using my Z5 Compact (white) for PS4 remote gaming and Moonlight remote PC gaming along with quite a lot of 4K recording. The SD810 really shows its muscle there, super low latency with it. . 4K videos top out at around 40 minutes before closing. Honestly couldn't be happier. It never gets excessively hot.
Really seems like luck of the draw on the heat side. I had a faulty unit before this one that leaked water through the headphone jack which couldn't record 4K for more than 10 mins before heating too much shutting down. It also heated a lot during average use. Maybe some are getting more thermal paste love during construction. I dunno.
dave-ro-mex said:
I'm using my Z5 Compact (white) for PS4 remote gaming and Moonlight remote PC gaming along with quite a lot of 4K recording. The SD810 really shows its muscle there, super low latency with it. . 4K videos top out at around 40 minutes before closing. Honestly couldn't be happier. It never gets excessively hot.
Really seems like luck of the draw on the heat side. I had a faulty unit before this one that leaked water through the headphone jack which couldn't record 4K for more than 10 mins before heating too much shutting down. It also heated a lot during average use. Maybe some are getting more thermal paste love during construction. I dunno.
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Click to collapse
for a premium device.. honestly the kind of issues being reported is unacceptable.. i am still taking my chances.. but just one chance n hoping it clicks! .. I remember spending close to 1700 dollars on vaio s laptop ..... awesome looks.. horrible performance...immediately returned it.
I was really interested in buying a Z5c. but after this thread I'm thinking about buying Z3c, and I can have CyanogenMod on it.
SelfAwareDroid said:
I was really interested in buying a Z5c. but after this thread I'm thinking about buying Z3c, and I can have CyanogenMod on it.
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Click to collapse
I have a regular Z3 and tried recording 1080p 60fps videos with the original ROM. It overheated almost as fast as the Z5C, although it never gets as hot as the Z5C during regular use (no gaming). What I mean by overheating is that the ROM closed the camera app and didn't let me use it again until the phone cooled down.
About CyanogenMod on the Z3, be aware that the camera has a fisheye problem that hasn't been and probably will never be fixed. All your pictures will be horribly distorted, especially at short distances.
Thanks for the information, why there is this much problem with these devices!
I'm very into having small android devices, and I think these two are my only options.
I so much wanted to experience cyanogen, but camera problem! Doesn't cyanogen update reqularly?
SelfAwareDroid said:
Thanks for the information, why there is this much problem with these devices!
I'm very into having small android devices, and I think these two are my only options.
I so much wanted to experience cyanogen, but camera problem! Doesn't cyanogen update reqularly?
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Click to collapse
For cyanogen, you would have to unlock bootloader, which will lead to a drop in camera quality, loss of x reality, super vivid mode, and other features. Plus there's the fisheye bug on Z3c on CM. Soooo you might no want to go for cyanogen. Sony's UI looks plenty stock like so I don't think there's any need to be honest.
Sadman Khan said:
For cyanogen, you would have to unlock bootloader, which will lead to a drop in camera quality, loss of x reality, super vivid mode, and other features. Plus there's the fisheye bug on Z3c on CM. Soooo you might no want to go for cyanogen. Sony's UI looks plenty stock like so I don't think there's any need to be honest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think there's a point when you start leaning toward the stock roms and don't see enough benefits in AOSP. I'm using the phone without root and a locked bootloader.
*I returned my Z5C, but ended up grabbing another one. What an amazing phone.
so guys i`m an owner of z3c a great phone but lacks the build quality and terrible camera...since i broke the screen i`m planing to jump to
samsung galaxy s6 its a premium tbh but i hate samsung.......or z5c both are same price to me....
so i`ve been following the post of Z5c on sony.talk.....and the amount of defected units is way too high..... them blurry images and rarely dead pixles but its more like 7 out of 10 with defected lens .....is it worth it to take the risk and get the z5c? or is there any more bugs found on this phone hope we can discuss it here even though i dont believe the camera is that great even if the phone is not defected
I'll just post my issues with the Z5 Compact:
- Auto-brightness is broken, unlocking the phone with enabled auto-brightness results in a bright display for a couple of seconds --> Sony said that it'll be fixed in the upcoming Marshmallow update
- Lags and inconsistent performance, disabling X-Reality helped a bit. It just doesn't feel like a fast phone, my old HTC One M8 was flying through the system. My brother has a Nexus 6p with the same processor and it feels much smoother, we compared them side by side (opening apps, loading websites).
- Music and Podcasts from different apps (Spotify, Shuttle+, Pocketcasts) are pausing every now and then (already repaired the phone with PC companion and did a manual factory reset, reformatted my external SD card)
- slow camera launch
- it takes a while to look at a taken picture
- active mobile radio bug --> will be fixed in the upcoming Marshmallow update, other Marshmallow phones confirmed that
- slow connection to wifi networks (exclamation mark in the statusbar)
- many bloatware apps from Sony (luckily they can be disabled)
Overall im quite disappointed by this phone because of its lackluster firmware performance. I'm hoping Marshmallow fixes the most annoxing bugs (broken auto-brightness is a pain), if not I'm selling it. I like the slim UI, the design of this phone and the camera. My photos are thankfully not blurred.
I've got Z1c, Z5c and S6. If you love small size, Z5c is the only option. The current problem is software not mature, not to the level you can't real use it as a daily driver but enough to annoy you. We are waiting for MM to fix. Me and my friend both owned Z5c and our lens no blur.
S6 two big issues, other than that it's good. First is poor memory management during heavy multi-tasking(light use okay) and second thing is bad color reproduction(over saturation and too much contrast, auto exposure isn't as accurate) compared to Z1c/Z5c. But I know Z3c white balance is quite buggy even worse than Z1/Z2 line.
I always take photo so camera is most important to me and I tend to stick with Z1c/Z5c and going to sell out my S6 soon. But S6 camera is extremely quick and OIS is useful, for the point and shoot purpose no doubt better than Sony but I just can't use it to shoot out any decent photo though S6 camera got little more details but color is too wrong. Casual user may more welcome S6 camera bcoz they just want speedy.
The current problem on Z5 camera is high ISO bad and 4K focus/quality at low-light even worse than my Z1c. But the focus is decent, slightly slower than S6 but blows Z1c/Z3c. Color and exposure is improved too, I'll say the best I've ever seen. However, if the upcoming MM not fix all issues, I'm thinking to stick with Z1c for a little bit more time and wait Z6c/Z7c.
To be honest I expected the z5c to suck when I bought it.
Marshmallow wasn't out yet and to me, it looks like the best strategy for sony would be to release ****ty software because MM update would come soon anyway.
Unfortunately, I'm very dissapointed, I agree that the phone is laggy and tend to get way too hot. Batterylife is worse than Z3C. (I could easily last two days, one day is even an issue on this phone) The MM update should have hit the Z5 family end December at latest.
I still have hopes for MM, if you could wait three weeks I would, let's see how it works out. (but somewhere it already feels like I'm going to get dissapointed, I had such high hopes for Sony but I feel betrayed by them)
30min Wifi Skype call, temperature reached: 50°C.
So consider also that in some situations the phone overheats easily
Wait to see if mm fixes the problems. I went from z3c to z5c. Not very happy. So my tip is to wait for some weeks
KingKonga said:
I'll just post my issues with the Z5 Compact:
- Auto-brightness is broken, unlocking the phone with enabled auto-brightness results in a bright display for a couple of seconds --> Sony said that it'll be fixed in the upcoming Marshmallow update
- Lags and inconsistent performance, disabling X-Reality helped a bit. It just doesn't feel like a fast phone, my old HTC One M8 was flying through the system. My brother has a Nexus 6p with the same processor and it feels much smoother, we compared them side by side (opening apps, loading websites).
- Music and Podcasts from different apps (Spotify, Shuttle+, Pocketcasts) are pausing every now and then (already repaired the phone with PC companion and did a manual factory reset, reformatted my external SD card)
- slow camera launch
- it takes a while to look at a taken picture
- active mobile radio bug --> will be fixed in the upcoming Marshmallow update, other Marshmallow phones confirmed that
- slow connection to wifi networks (exclamation mark in the statusbar)
- many bloatware apps from Sony (luckily they can be disabled)
Overall im quite disappointed by this phone because of its lackluster firmware performance. I'm hoping Marshmallow fixes the most annoxing bugs (broken auto-brightness is a pain), if not I'm selling it. I like the slim UI, the design of this phone and the camera. My photos are thankfully not blurred.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From reading the forums it seems to me that the quality of the z5c handsets Sony has put out is pretty uneven, from poor quality control, different build lines, different rev versions or...?
I'm overall happy, no issues of lags, reboots or the like.
Keep mobile data off almost always so not affected by active mobile radio bug, which is really an Android issue more than a Sony issue if I understand it correctly.
No issues with music or podcasts, listen to pods a lot.
No issues with overheating, it does get quite warm occasionally with heavy use but nothing really bothersome. (I don't play games or shoot video.)
Generally happy with camera, no blur issues, no slow launch issues, though watching pictures/launching album from within camera is really slow. I'm not a keen photographer or a very exigent user of the camera, understand from others there are issues of software limiting the hardware. Definitely could do better in low light.
Agree on the bloatware, have disabled most and wish more was possible. Then again, compared to Samsung or most other manufacturers...
So the issues I have are:
- auto brightness bug, common to all z5 and acknowledged by Sony a long time ago. Disappointing it takes months to issue an upgrade or patch.
- wifi management is confusing. Without Stamina mode wifi keeps turning off in standby/sleep, though I have it set to always keep on. With Stamina mode it stays conected?? Seems counterintuitive. Also occasionally it keeps turning off even then, can't understand why?
- I want to keep wifi always on when connected to a known network, off when no network. Previously Sony had a bundled app, Location based wifi, which took care of it and worked really well. Disappointed they no longer include it, after trying several third party apps I believe I have found one that works.
- battery capacity is ok, not great, but only(?) without mobile data on. Regularly get 6+ hours on screen time which isn't bad, more would be better.
- finger print sensor works poorly and irregularly. Apart from not working if fingers are dirty or damp, which is ok and expected, it works poorly in general. I have five fingers saved, it works well with one of them in certain angles, less so with another finger and very poorly on others. Frustratingly, when I press lock key only to look at time without wanting to unlock it often does just that, more frequently than when i do want to unlock.
Size, ergonomics, hardware quality, waterproof certifications - I'm real happy and see few if any competitors on the market. Software could be better and updates much more frequent, but apart from above mentioned issues my phone is quick and snappy, no lags. Pleased with the general UI, but wish more customization was possible and more bloatware was optional or uninstallable.
Regarding poor performance of fingerprint sensor it seems, thanks to michal89chz, that I have found a solution. I had tried to re-register fingerprints before without seeing much of a difference. It seems that registering a fingerprint in all kinds of different angles greatly improves the performance of the sensor, now hit rate has gone up from 4/10 to 9/10. If it keeps up take that off the list of complaints. Though Sony ought to have made it clear in the settings when you first register your prints that this procedure is necessary for a good performance.
Heres my take.
The camera is better than z3c when ready but takes so long to launch that the moment is usually gone long before the phone is ready.
Oh and from time to time the camera won't launch because according to the error message some other app is using it. I've only been able to solve that issue by rebooting adding insult to injury for the already ridiculous camera launch times.
Thats really the only advantage.
It gets way hotter and lags like crazy seemingly at random.
My guess is that Snapdragon 810 is just a piece of **** and I hope Sony makes a z6c with 820 which i will happily buy..
I'm so frustrated that Samsung S7 starts to look good but it's bigger than the HTC One m7 and I found that too big
FlipFlopHHJ said:
Heres my take.
The camera is better than z3c when ready but takes so long to launch that the moment is usually gone long before the phone is ready.
Oh and from time to time the camera won't launch because according to the error message some other app is using it. I've only been able to solve that issue by rebooting adding insult to injury for the already ridiculous camera launch times.
Thats really the only advantage.
It gets way hotter and lags like crazy seemingly at random.
My guess is that Snapdragon 810 is just a piece of **** and I hope Sony makes a z6c with 820 which i will happily buy..
I'm so frustrated that Samsung S7 starts to look good but it's bigger than the HTC One m7 and I found that too big
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Xperia X Performance
About that auto brightness bug, you guys could try Velis Auto Brightness app from Play Store, works great for me.
- Auto Brightness bug here. (I can't believe I'm using Manual Brightness in a 2015 hi-end phone).
- Poor picture quality with the camera with low or medium light and with close/mid pictures, specially close-ups. (In general, the camera is terrible is the worst thing of this phone, the main reason I can't wait to upgrade the phone. Never used flash in two years with my previous phone with HDR+, now I need flash again to see some details at MEDIUM light!!).
- Performance issues, mainly because of Lollipop. But also they'll need to improve the kernel.
----
I do not have any reboots issues, nor temperature problems.
KingKonga said:
I'll just post my issues with the Z5 Compact:
- Auto-brightness is broken, unlocking the phone with enabled auto-brightness results in a bright display for a couple of seconds --> Sony said that it'll be fixed in the upcoming Marshmallow update
- Lags and inconsistent performance, disabling X-Reality helped a bit. It just doesn't feel like a fast phone, my old HTC One M8 was flying through the system. My brother has a Nexus 6p with the same processor and it feels much smoother, we compared them side by side (opening apps, loading websites).
- Music and Podcasts from different apps (Spotify, Shuttle+, Pocketcasts) are pausing every now and then (already repaired the phone with PC companion and did a manual factory reset, reformatted my external SD card)
- slow camera launch
- it takes a while to look at a taken picture
- active mobile radio bug --> will be fixed in the upcoming Marshmallow update, other Marshmallow phones confirmed that
- slow connection to wifi networks (exclamation mark in the statusbar)
- many bloatware apps from Sony (luckily they can be disabled)
Overall im quite disappointed by this phone because of its lackluster firmware performance. I'm hoping Marshmallow fixes the most annoxing bugs (broken auto-brightness is a pain), if not I'm selling it. I like the slim UI, the design of this phone and the camera. My photos are thankfully not blurred.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 all the above..
Exactly my thoughts. This is the worst phone you can buy.. Mostly due to software issues.. I was trying to record a video. I opened the app and hit record button and i lost initial 10 seconds of the footage. Thats how worst camera launch time is.
It gets way hotter for everyday tasks. I dont game on my phone still super hot. Lags all the time. Multitasking is terrible. Even if i have 3-4 apps running in background i experienced google maps reloading a couple of times which is terrible.
Wifi is slow as well and music pauses randomly as it wishes. Sometimes bluetooth studdering.. I thought battery life was good initially but it became worse.
This is the worst ever phone from sony. I have a z3c before which is way better despite of its short comings
thanks a lot everyone on your replies i`v read it carefully thanks for helping me to decide <3
after today MWC and the the release of X series and the overpriced phones i think its time to step aside from sony but my heart will always be there Thanks for sharing your experience and being 100% honest
i`ll wait till M.M but its also gonna take few weeks according to sony statement today then i`ll come back here and check your feedback it will help everyone
Tinup93 said:
thanks a lot everyone on your replies i`v read it carefully thanks for helping me to decide <3
after today MWC and the the release of X series and the overpriced phones i think its time to step aside from sony but my heart will always be there Thanks for sharing your experience and being 100% honest
i`ll wait till M.M but its also gonna take few weeks according to sony statement today then i`ll come back here and check your feedback it will help everyone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are going for a Galaxy S6, I'd rather go for a Nexus 5X. You won't have the size and the battery you have with the Z3C....but in everything else is a win. And it's not an expensive phone.
There are no alternatives to the Z5C at the moment in the compact range. It's the only one I'd buy (and I still don't like it).
I don't have lag or overheating. It's quite hot sometimes but still in a manageable level, don't forget every SD810 phone is hot. But I rooted and using Greenify with xposed so I have more free ram than non-root user and I also flashed Tommy-Geenexus's kernel which lower downed the cpu speed to reduce heat. I think MM will improve big.Little cpu for who experienced lag. In my opinions, z1c z5c s6 the battery performance during use is very similar, not as good as z3c but still enough for normal use. My problem on Z5c is battery drain during idle/standby, after flashed the raidoactivefix xposed module been improved but still worse than z1c and s6 at overnight standby.
Some have bluetooth disconnect issues, after used Amplify xposed module to limit a whole beach of wakelock/alarms my Sony MW600 handfree finally suffer from this issue so it may related somethings bad coded to keep DDOS attacking BT devices....lol... On the other hand, my Sony SmartWatch2 seems never get disconnection, maybe smartwatch's cpu is strong enough to defense spam.
What's the most annoyed me is camera. Low light photo is also good but not above 160/200iso range. 200iso already started a bit bad so most people will just said the camera suck. Within 160iso the quality real better than my Z1c, 200 or up my Z1c even performed better in terms of details. My Z1c with 4K mod doing better focus and quality too.
Not real intended to leave Z5c as I like the better screen, white balance and fast focus, I still want to hold Z5c at this time. But since the result is so mixed to me, if MM not fix it, I will stay with Z1c and get some cash back.
I've seen a few issues as well, I've got a white international with no camera blur and no self cracking screen (yet).
I have to have a one thumb phone so my options were limited. I had an s4 mini for going on 3 years, best phone I've ever had. I always wanted to try the z compacts but the z1c didn't have LTE and the z3c had stupid side charging. I gave the z5c a chance with low expectations based on all the negative I heard, and I was still disappointed lol. I will probably be settling with the s5 mini but until I'll be playing with this.
Very short battery life, no replaceable battery, and no wireless charging. Nothing that I didn't know jumping into it but still hard to deal with having to answer calls while on a charger, let alone the heat on my face is almost unbearable at times.
Camera issues are also something I knew before hand, I am coming from an 8mp camera with a broken lens so it's an upgrade to me. But yet the lag has got to be a joke. Right?
Software is kind of cool, reminds me of miui a bit on the notifications, it's miles above touchwiz, and with some xposed tweaks I think I'll really like the home launcher! Root and xposed are a huge deal to me for some of my apps so I'm still carrying my other device for that need while I figure out xposed on the z5 line. I have had a lot of rooted phones and for you guys waiting and relying on a MM update to fix things... I wouldn't and wont be, there will just be new or slightly fixed issues. Happens every time lol
All in all I like the phone, the form is great, button layout I love, and the screen hopefully will not fade out like my other amoleds! Hopefully we can get some cm12 on this platform to play with soon.
E5823 said:
Regarding poor performance of fingerprint sensor it seems, thanks to michal89chz, that I have found a solution. I had tried to re-register fingerprints before without seeing much of a difference. It seems that registering a fingerprint in all kinds of different angles greatly improves the performance of the sensor, now hit rate has gone up from 4/10 to 9/10. If it keeps up take that off the list of complaints. Though Sony ought to have made it clear in the settings when you first register your prints that this procedure is necessary for a good performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hate quoting myself, but when necessary...
Fingerprint sensor has not kept up performance. Just like when phone was new, it works like a charm for a day or two, then regresses badly. I don't know if problem is hardware or software, and don't much care except I guess the latter would be better - if they ever manage to release an update (that actually improves things without introducing more bugs than were fixed...).
Anyway, the sensor now works slightly better than before I re-registered all prints a couple of days ago. Hit rate is somewhere between 5-6/10 depending on angle and finger, but sometimes much worse. Not great. And no, phone or fingers are not grimy. One advantage of water-almost-proofness is you can wash off phone now and again. I'm guessing intent of including fingerprint sensor was not for user to wash fingers and phone before every interaction?
I sorta like that the fingerprint sensor doesn't catch 100% touches because I read about people who were irritated that they were just trying to check the time and every time ended up unlocking the phone. It doesn't happen with me and I'm very happy with it, I can live with the extra half second it takes to try again.
From my point of view, i'd like to agree that some of issues mentioned above are present. Those are:
-Poor camera quality. For me the camera is not an essential feature, so i don't complain, but it is really nowhere near the flagship-quality, imho
-Fingerprint scanner performance. It seems to be extremely sensitive about its own and finger's cleanness. It can work just fine for a half a day and then it suddenly rejects the fingerprint for several times. This is my first and only android-based device with the scanner, so i can't compare with sony's direct competitors, but i never experienced such issues using any of apple devices with fingerprint sensor.
-Auto-brightness issues are completely described in posts above, i totally agree with all that.
-Software was unstable for a couple of months after sales launched. As i said, i don't often use a camera, but there was just one time in autumn when it was necessary for me to record a video. And z5c captured no sound at all. The mic that time was not functional at any applications, and i noticed this an hour later when a person who called me could hear no sound from my side. That was extremely disappointing. Some random reboots were present in early versions of firmware too. It get much better and more stable these days, but some minor software issues can still be noticed now and then.
And then here comes the major issue of them all: z5c just doesn't like winter. It was about -10 celsius outside, and i was there for a couple of hours with a phone in the pocket of my jacket. When i returned home, i saw that the glass on rear panel had a massive crack:
http://cs630129.vk.me/v630129131/11b31/QE0b_6WL5dU.jpg
And this issue with glasses cracking when temperature is low is present on every sony's device with glass on its back since the original xperia z. Every winter there are dozens of reports about glass-related problems on our local pda forums, sony's local office was awared of the problem, so there were hopes that they will fix it in their latest models. Here comes z5, and nothing changed. Those issues are covered by warranty as long as warranty lasts (1 year usually), so i didn't have to pay for the repair, but it took some time to replace the glass.
Hello, friends.
I'm a user of a Z3C (had a Z1C before that). Now that Nougat isn't available anymore for our phone, I was wondering if I should buy a Z5C or a XC.
I'm not a stock user. I use a lot of mods and custom stuff on my phone. Stock isn't for me. I know that Z5C is more powerful and more affordable that a XC, but it only has one more year of support.
Would you recommend upgrading (at all)? And if yes, which of the models
I was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus phone...but damn, that price! Also took into consideration a Nexus 5X or a Samsung S7...I don't want a big phone, nor to sell my kidneys for a phone.
Man I was in the same situation as you deciding between Z5c and Xc. I had a Nextbit Robin for around 3 months. Worse decision ever. Don't get me wrong the Robin is nice, looks great and high specs but the poorly optimised software from Nextbit is just awful. Huge problems with audio playback (3.5mm).
So I was looking for a new Android device. The two models that got my attention was Z5c and Xc. Having already used the Xc from family member I liked it. It did everything the Nextbit Robin did but BETTER! Audio playback is the biggest feature for me. Works perfectly. However I decided to go for the Xperia Z5 Compact due to being waterproof, better specs. Also something to note with Xc is that the back will get scratched easily due to the material finish which is cheap plastic and very glossy. No matter even if you are the most careful person looking after your gadgets.
Here in the UK I got ordered the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Yellow for £179. Black out of stock and the retailer don't stock White variant. So being a guy this will be my first yellow phone LOL. Hope women out in public see my new flashy phone and get attracted to me LOL but if gay men do then I need to run LOL
My Z5c arrives tomorrow (06/10/2016). I can post my feedback tomorrow if you want. Also I ain't fussed about updates eg Android N, L etc LOL. Within a year or so there probably be Z6c or something along the lines.
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
doriandiaconu said:
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
Click to expand...
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Any games you'd like me to try out?
Having just upgraded from my Z3 Compact to a Z5 Compact, I must say, you will not be disappointed! It is noticeably faster and battery life has been better even. I'm using XPower 4 as my ROM, rooted, bootloader unlocked, DRM-fixed, thermal-patched, xposed, amplify, greenify, etc. Basically the exact same setup I had under SliMM 3.x on my Z3 Compact, all backed up with Titanium Backup and restored onto my Z5 Compact. Every xposed module works exactly as before, and overall I was back up and running in no time. I feel that the X Compact is a slightly less high-end device compared to the Z5 Compact, it lacks waterproof rating, fingerprint sensor (as long as you import your Z5c), and the really cool looking speaker design.
MiracleMiah said:
Any games you'd like me to try out?
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I'm not much of a gamer. But I am a update freak
MiracleMiah said:
Here in the UK I got ordered the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Yellow for £179.
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Where did you get it for £179? Is this new or second hand?
pelago said:
Where did you get it for £179? Is this new or second hand?
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I received mine today and it's looks new!
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/so...47868-_-blank-_-blank#contractType=paymonthly
So far it's showing out of stock now but keep any eye on stock level then click Pay & Go option on right side of the page.
MiracleMiah said:
I received mine today and it's looks new!
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/so...47868-_-blank-_-blank#contractType=paymonthly
So far it's showing out of stock now but keep any eye on stock level then click Pay & Go option on right side of the page.
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Well, I already bought one a couple of weeks ago, £289, from Giffgaff, in black, definitely brand new, but £179 (especially if it really is in new condition) is a bargain.
doriandiaconu said:
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
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Right I got the device today. So far so good. Everything setup and updated to the latest version. The phone is amazing. Fast and smooth using the OS. Love the build quality and the camera, I'm in love with that. Been taking some photos of family and I love the quality and the amount of manual tweaking you can do.
I have played some games such as Spider-Man, Asphalt etc on it and I noticed after like 15 minutes the back get's slightly hot but nothing too extreme.
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
---------- Post added at 05:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------
pelago said:
Well, I already bought one a couple of weeks ago, £289, from Giffgaff, in black, definitely brand new, but £179 (especially if it really is in new condition) is a bargain.
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Yes indeed what a bargain! Did you notice the speaker volume output level was low on first day?
MiracleMiah said:
Right I got the device today. So far so good. Everything setup and updated to the latest version. The phone is amazing. Fast and smooth using the OS. Love the build quality and the camera, I'm in love with that. Been taking some photos of family and I love the quality and the amount of manual tweaking you can do.
I have played some games such as Spider-Man, Asphalt etc on it and I noticed after like 15 minutes the back get's slightly hot but nothing too extreme.
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
---------- Post added at 05:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------
Yes indeed what a bargain! Did you notice the speaker volume output level was low on first day?
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happen to me randomly sometime alot (usually when i play games top speakers become really quiet), i think its hardware bug. because i had it in all stock versions 5.1.1-6.0- 6.1
besides that and the heat and low RAM ( CSR 2 and Modern Combat 5: took all the 2GB RAM)phone has good battery great
GFX almost 200% faster, from XC
ATM, XC no backup TA so for any root user better to get Z5c plus it got waterproof. Z5c can be a very good phone but really need heavy modding and quite trouble, it's a phone that root is a must. Stock is completely useless.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z5/development/mod-smartemperaturex-best-balanced-s810-t3438890
Just make sure you guys flash the SmartTempX v1.61 thermal mod for gaming bcoz v1.7/1.8 got slow charge bug.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z5-compact/development/rom-xpower-v1-0-aroma-debloat-custom-t3371100
Remember to install greenify to free up memory bcoz 2GB ram isn't enough for this device and debloat the rom by yourself. Suggested to flash XPower V3/V4 rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/sonyz5-family-unlocked-xz-xc-camera-t3463148
http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/mod-cyberian-camera-t3267271/page203
Originally, I want to upgrade to XC for the camera since camera is the most important part to me. Stock Z5c cam is just way below my expectation but after used stock mod cam and photo quality been much improved, so the plan pushed back a bit now. Will stick with Z5c in this year, next year might get XC when price lower.
MiracleMiah said:
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
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Did the same thing to me on day one. Next day it was okay. That was 6 months ago and so far so good
I'm a Z5C owner thinking of buying XC. Because I'm sick and tired of this phone.
The one and only option for obtaining Z5C is buying it in a store with a moneyback policy. Most of the phones have overheating and battery drain problems. If you are lucky to get a phone without these issues then you get an awesome smartphone. And if you get the same as others... well, there's moneyback for you.
These issues can't be fixed with any software tweaks, the best way to improve the situation is flashing 5.1 which makes the phone heat much less and allows it to last a day of minor usage which is a great improvement over charging twice a day with Marshmallow. No hope for improvements in Nougat.
I hate Sony for making potentially awesome phones and not paying attention to quality. Z5C could be perfect.
jufofu said:
These issues can't be fixed with any software tweaks, the best way to improve the situation is flashing 5.1 which makes the phone heat much less and allows it to last a day of minor usage which is a great improvement over charging twice a day with Marshmallow.
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Totally disagreed. Do you real root and try? I've got nightmare battery drain at idle with 5.1.1 stock .152/.200 and battery problem completely fixed with XPower rom. I don't think 5.1.1 heat much less too.
TheEndHK said:
Totally disagreed. Do you real root and try? I've got nightmare battery drain at idle with 5.1.1 stock .152/.200 and battery problem completely fixed with XPower rom. I don't think 5.1.1 heat much less too.
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Of course I did. But all the tweaking just made it a little bit cooler, still as hot as my gf. Even after I severely limited the frequencies it became very slow but didn't stop overheating. 10-15 minutes in Chrome made it extremely hot and drained a few percent of battery charge.
After I downgraded it to 5.1.1 it doesn't even need tweaking anymore. Yes, the battery life still is mediocre at best, and it gets warm from usage, but it lasts twice longer and doesn't throttle down the CPU anymore.
jufofu said:
Of course I did. But all the tweaking just made it a little bit cooler, still as hot as my gf. Even after I severely limited the frequencies it became very slow but didn't stop overheating. 10-15 minutes in Chrome made it extremely hot and drained a few percent of battery charge.
After I downgraded it to 5.1.1 it doesn't even need tweaking anymore. Yes, the battery life still is mediocre at best, and it gets warm from usage, but it lasts twice longer and doesn't throttle down the CPU anymore.
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Do u try water cool your gf?
It's weird the heat appeared same to me in both 5.1.1 and 6.0.1(.253 is more hot than .224) but Sony MM I believe got some memory leaks so 5.1.1 is real faster during in my experiences(bluetooth and wifi is also faster and more stable). But I can't fix the radio active bug in .152/.200 and just keep draining battery, XPower V3/V4 real fixed that.
Plus camera is more important to me, both photo/video much better in MM with mod cam.
TheEndHK said:
Do u try water cool your gf?
It's weird the heat appeared same to me in both 5.1.1 and 6.0.1(.253 is more hot than .224) but Sony MM I believe got some memory leaks so 5.1.1 is real faster during in my experiences(bluetooth and wifi is also faster and more stable). But I can't fix the radio active bug in .152/.200 and just keep draining battery, XPower V3/V4 real fixed that.
Plus camera is more important to me, both photo/video much better in MM with mod cam.
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Of course I tried, didn't help, she's still hot. Will try again. And again.
I'm going to flash the latest MM firmware now and see if anything has changed. If it hasn't I'll flash LP back.
I have to reflash the phone anyway because I got into a bootloop on LP after a few days of using it.
Update;
Reporting back.. Totally love this phone. I'd say get this over the XC Compact. For me the Z5c better build quality and finish. It's been such a smooth experience. Making calls, texting, apps & games.
It put's shame on Nextbit Robin which I had (now sold).
MiracleMiah said:
Update;
Reporting back.. Totally love this phone. I'd say get this over the XC Compact. For me the Z5c better build quality and finish. It's been such a smooth experience. Making calls, texting, apps & games.
It put's shame on Nextbit Robin which I had (now sold).
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What make you change your idea vote for Z5c now?
http://phandroid.com/2016/09/21/htc-bolt-photo/
Keep an eye on new mid range of HTC Bolt. Some suggested a smaller size and cheaper ver of HTC10, not sure 4.7" or 5" at this time if 4.7" can be a good replacement of Z5c and XC.