Database Users

[Q] Some basic questions, if you will...

I have a chance to get a Droid X in "mint" condition today for about $75 and I'm considering it, but I wanted to ask a few basic questions that I wanted to just consolidate into one post instead of dropping questions all over the place in various threads. I did spend a few hours doing thread research and reading here and HowardForums and the Rootzwiki (and Cyanogenmod as well) so here goes:
- I'm assuming the bootloader is still locked on the Droid X as I see/saw threads with people doing a petition (like that's gonna change anything), so what exactly does that mean for the Droid X overall - I see some custom ROMs available so I'm confused: I thought having a locked bootloader meant you couldn't have custom ROMs or, are they all running from the microSD card?
- for anyone that bought a Droid X and used the stock ROM(s) from Verizon, does using a custom ROM (if you do so) help the battery life at all, and to what degree (and how bad/good is/was the stock ROM battery life anyway?)?
- I saw mention of ICS in several instances, and also along with some ROMs but, there doesn't seem to be a full fledged ICS ROM available (or is Liberty just such a thing?) so, are the chances high that ICS will never be fully fleshed out for the Droid X? I think I saw mention that there's "some" ROM now with ICS features but isn't the full fledged build, and that the camera doesn't work at all... just hoping for clarification on this. If it's an issue of "at some point we'll have ICS working proper, completely" then I suppose it's worth taking a chance now.
- Last question: would people think that $75 for a Droid X in near "mint" condition (seller's comment, haven't actually held it in my hand yet), a memory card (unknown size but most likely the stock 2GB card), and the charger/USB card is a somewhat decent deal? I've gone through several HD2's over the years and run all sorts of OSes on it, and while it arguably is the best damned enthusiast phone ever created, I am currently on the lookout for something different - can't afford a brand new dual core monster phone (I really want that Samsung Galaxy Note but it'll probably never happen).
While the Droid X is getting older, it seems like it's still a somewhat useful device overall so I'm really leaning towards getting this.
Any advice, info, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Edit: the X came with a 16gb [not 2]card, btw...so make sure to ask for that if you can.
br0adband said:
I have a chance to get a Droid X in "mint" condition today for about $75 and I'm considering it, but I wanted to ask a few basic questions that I wanted to just consolidate into one post instead of dropping questions all over the place in various threads. I did spend a few hours doing thread research and reading here and HowardForums and the Rootzwiki (and Cyanogenmod as well) so here goes:
- I'm assuming the bootloader is still locked on the Droid X as I see/saw threads with people doing a petition (like that's gonna change anything), so what exactly does that mean for the Droid X overall - I see some custom ROMs available so I'm confused: I thought having a locked bootloader meant you couldn't have custom ROMs or, are they all running from the microSD card?
- for anyone that bought a Droid X and used the stock ROM(s) from Verizon, does using a custom ROM (if you do so) help the battery life at all, and to what degree (and how bad/good is/was the stock ROM battery life anyway?)?
- I saw mention of ICS in several instances, and also along with some ROMs but, there doesn't seem to be a full fledged ICS ROM available (or is Liberty just such a thing?) so, are the chances high that ICS will never be fully fleshed out for the Droid X? I think I saw mention that there's "some" ROM now with ICS features but isn't the full fledged build, and that the camera doesn't work at all... just hoping for clarification on this. If it's an issue of "at some point we'll have ICS working proper, completely" then I suppose it's worth taking a chance now.
- Last question: would people think that $75 for a Droid X in near "mint" condition (seller's comment, haven't actually held it in my hand yet), a memory card (unknown size but most likely the stock 2GB card), and the charger/USB card is a somewhat decent deal? I've gone through several HD2's over the years and run all sorts of OSes on it, and while it arguably is the best damned enthusiast phone ever created, I am currently on the lookout for something different - can't afford a brand new dual core monster phone (I really want that Samsung Galaxy Note but it'll probably never happen).
While the Droid X is getting older, it seems like it's still a somewhat useful device overall so I'm really leaning towards getting this.
Any advice, info, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A locked bootloader means no custom kernels...
But with the 2nd-init this means next to nothing that is negative for us.
We can run CM7, MIUI, and ICS.
These are 2nd-init roms that don't use any of Motorola's framework.
EncounterICS is definitely a daily driver rom...if you don't mind missing out on your camera.
This is the stock ICS experience.
Cm7 is fantastic.
Everything works.
Miui is fantastic.
Everything works.
Liberty and the other roms are 1st-init...meaning they use blur framework...and varying amounts of blur features...depending on the rom.
Battery?
On 2nd-init...we're at about stock levels.
1st-init may get slightly better than stock.
The X gets pretty darn decent battery life anyway...I wouldn't worry about it.
Our ICS ports might not have a working camera for quite some time...
But I'm sure they'll get there.
Is it a good buy?
I'd say yes.
The X has these features missing from the current top-tier phones...
4G
NFC
Front facing camera
Dual core.
We can even spoof the market into letting us download dual core games...
And overclock and use Chainfire3D to run said games.
It's a surprisingly nice phone...
If we had an unlocked bootloader...we'd have a fully functional ICS already.
But that's something for the devs to work on...and it really has no effect on us aside from a longer wait.
Check my sig for DX specific rom/root/tuts if you end up getting it.
Sorry for jumping all over the place...writing this on my phone!

Came with 16GB originally, really? Damn that would be nice, but I won't find out till later today when I meet to get my hands on it. That would be awesome if it was one of the original ones but, I don't want to get my hopes up for it. Hell, Fry's carries 16GB microSD cards under $20 most every day now so it's not like it'll be a lot of money to get one.
No worries about the jumping all over the place - I've been online since 1977 (seriously, at a whopping 50 baud!) so I can keep up with disjointed thoughts and whatever.
As for the "missing features" on top tier phones, none of those are relevant to me at all, as weird as that might sound. I'm in Las Vegas and we're fairly blanketed here for 4G coverage but, I think that kind of speed (when it works) for cell/smart phones is still just a gimmick but that's just me.
So a solid CM7 ROM might be the best for me to get started I suppose. The owner texted me earlier to set the meeting time (another few hours) and confirmed she did reset the phone to factory condition which iirc means it's at the Android screen which means it's waiting to be activated - can you or anyone else confirm that the old 4-corner trick will bypass that activation so I can get into it and verify everything works? I probably won't bother with the actual activation anytime soon unless I find some good local pricing here in my area, but being able to demo the phone and make sure everything works is an absolute must.
And thanks for the response, the info was very helpful.

I'd agree with ya there.
We've yet to get 4G in my area...but even connecting to WiFi loading web pages takes about the same time...not like I'm downloading 3gig torrents on my phone.
But yes, 4-corners works.
Edit: Do an esn check too.
I think there are online tools to do so.
Or possibly calling Verizon if need be.
Calling ##program will bring I believe...or check behind the battery.
(I'm actually on a loaner right now...getting my phone repaired through Best Buy...so I can't verify this.)

So I got the Droid X, it's in great condition but certainly not "mint" (people always say that and I don't think most know what mint actually implies - it should practically untouched by human hands).
Anyway, that CheckESNFree.com site says this one is clean and ready for activation so that's a plus, if that site is dependable of course. Always have to worry that someone would be creating a database of ESNs/ESIDs/IMEIs for some dastardly and nefarious purposes!!!
It's definitely a LOT snappier than my HD2 (listed in my sig) but it's also a slightly better internal architecture than the HD2 was, of course. Everything seems to function fine, not sure where to start so I'll much with it for the evening and see what gives. Came with a very tiny HTC 5V USB adapter, the original Motorola USB cable, and a separate USB charger as well.
Oh, and it does have the 16GB microSD card in it too.

I'm the admin/founder/owner of CheckESNFree.com
I can assure you that we do NOT log/store/record ESNs in any way shape or form.
We process roughly 14,000 ESNs per day, and we have a huge following of supporters, including places such as ReCellular, Gazelle, and FastLaneWireless.

(Soon to be) New TMO G2 owner

Just have a few questions and concerns about moving to this phone, figured I'd give it a shot and see what the collective group thought...
Background: Coming from a GS3 (T999L LTE model) and avid hater of KNOX and stupid warranty bit tripping issues, lock outs and general d*cking around the device manufacturer does to the device to make tinkering next to impossible. I understand there is a similar situation with the G2, and also understand there *might* be ways to work around it?
1. Seeing as the new OTA has gone live for the G2 on Tmo, how likely is it that I'll receive a new unit with the update on it?
1a. If I get one without the latest update, how easy is it to then root/custom recovery/update retaining all of those​2. I'm perfectly cool using the stock ROM, I mostly just root for debloating and ad-blocking (I love supporting devs, some don't have ad-less options though). How much bloat might I encounter and are they easily disabled (without need for root).
3. Are there any goofy folder setups in the internal SD card? (meaning on the GS3, once you went to 4.3 it changed the layout to /sdcard/0/DCIM versus the original /sdcard/DCIM)
4. I've grown very accustomed to using the volume rocker to change tracks when I'm in the car, so I don't have to look down for the next arrow...Is this an option that is baked in or will I need to use Xposed?
4a. Is Xposed working on the latest official ROM? I've seen people having it working and others saying it doesnt​5. I really want a wallet style case for my device, nothing special, maybe 2 slots to carry a burner debit card (I'm notorious for forgetting my wallet and want to carry a card with my phone since I never forget it). What would you recommend? I've seen the Poetic Flipbook (http://goo.gl/eGf0XL) and feel like it would be a good fit for what I'm looking for...Thoughts?
Thanks for your time, can't wait to jump ship to the G2!

thetolsonator said:
Just have a few questions and concerns about moving to this phone, figured I'd give it a shot and see what the collective group thought...
Background: Coming from a GS3 (T999L LTE model) and avid hater of KNOX and stupid warranty bit tripping issues, lock outs and general d*cking around the device manufacturer does to the device to make tinkering next to impossible. I understand there is a similar situation with the G2, and also understand there *might* be ways to work around it?
1. Seeing as the new OTA has gone live for the G2 on Tmo, how likely is it that I'll receive a new unit with the update on it?
1a. If I get one without the latest update, how easy is it to then root/custom recovery/update retaining all of those​2. I'm perfectly cool using the stock ROM, I mostly just root for debloating and ad-blocking (I love supporting devs, some don't have ad-less options though). How much bloat might I encounter and are they easily disabled (without need for root).
3. Are there any goofy folder setups in the internal SD card? (meaning on the GS3, once you went to 4.3 it changed the layout to /sdcard/0/DCIM versus the original /sdcard/DCIM)
4. I've grown very accustomed to using the volume rocker to change tracks when I'm in the car, so I don't have to look down for the next arrow...Is this an option that is baked in or will I need to use Xposed?
4a. Is Xposed working on the latest official ROM? I've seen people having it working and others saying it doesnt​5. I really want a wallet style case for my device, nothing special, maybe 2 slots to carry a burner debit card (I'm notorious for forgetting my wallet and want to carry a card with my phone since I never forget it). What would you recommend? I've seen the Poetic Flipbook (http://goo.gl/eGf0XL) and feel like it would be a good fit for what I'm looking for...Thoughts?
Thanks for your time, can't wait to jump ship to the G2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well lets begin-
1)about it coming wit the update I would not know I'd say 50/50 chance(if it's on the latest 4.4.2 it is not rootable you would have to flash back to 4.2.2 using this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2432476 then follow this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2673736 to get to kit kat with root and custom recovery)
2)yes each variant has it's amount of bloat but some are worse than others and it can be easily be removed except for the ciq which can be disabled on 4.2.2 but on kk it's giving issues
3)yes it is sdcard/0/dcim
4)I grew used to that feature two but I have not looked for a replacement but iknow g2 exposed has that option but until xposed framework gets updated to 2.5 it will not work on kitkat but works without issues on 4.2.2
5)as for case I use spigen so I don't have any recommendations but check out the g2 accessories thread and you can find help there and look through the stuf that has been reviewed already
yea it's an awesome phone

To be honest the g2 is and awesome device but the nexus 5 comes with no bloat and is stock android out of the box g2 is a great device but get its more bugfree twin nexus 5 is prob around the same price as the g2 and your going to T-Mobile I would go with nexus 5
Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk

And They Wonder Why G4 Sales Suck...

LG says no plans for G4 Android 5.1.1 update at the moment
Are we going directly to Android M? When I had my G3 we had the same issue, no 5.1.1
Given all of the issues with Lollipop, this may be a blessing in disguise but
the negative publicity from this may further impact the already poor sales.

Actually
I am eager to buy a new phone. I do have the cash. I do not like Touchwiz, and no SD Card is a no go. So no S6.
The Nexus 6 is way to big and no SD Card. HTC M9... oh well.
So, the LG G4 is the only option. Why am I not holding this phone in my hands?
It is available for nearly a month now (give or take depending where you live) and no root method available, without LGs unlock code. ....No bootloader unlock. No XPOSED because of that, and no CM Mod or anything even possible because of that.
Coming from a Nexus which I love (despite the camera, the battery, the missing SD Card and the terrible GPS) I am not willing to buy a piece of expensive phone which is not mine.
So maybe, just maybe that is a reason why sales are not that great...
There are other reasons I am fully aware, but this is the deal breaker for me...
By the way: I visit here daily. I can not really tell where we are in terms of a unlocked bootloader and easy root method? Anyone here that could sum it up?

fpsq said:
I am eager to buy a new phone. I do have the cash. I do not like Touchwiz, and no SD Card is a no go. So no S6.
The Nexus 6 is way to big and no SD Card. HTC M9... oh well.
So, the LG G4 is the only option. Why am I not holding this phone in my hands?
It is available for nearly a month now (give or take depending where you live) and no root method available, without LGs unlock code. ....No bootloader unlock. No XPOSED because of that, and no CM Mod or anything even possible because of that.
Coming from a Nexus which I love (despite the camera, the battery, the missing SD Card and the terrible GPS) I am not willing to buy a piece of expensive phone which is not mine.
So maybe, just maybe that is a reason why sales are not that great...
There are other reasons I am fully aware, but this is the deal breaker for me...
By the way: I visit here daily. I can not really tell where we are in terms of a unlocked bootloader and easy root method? Anyone here that could sum it up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are no where unless someone's keeping it hush hush. I check daily too.

The xda and tweak people are just s handfull of users ... Most buyers are regular and they don't even know xda .... If you want a phone that get every update then buy a Google phone, or a iphone. If you want a unlocked bootloader now then buy a Samsung. If you don't want those phones , then stop whining and buy a G4 or any other phone with Android on it instead of complaining. Sales are not depending on if a bootloader is unlocked or not !
Verstuurd vanaf mijn LG-H815 met Tapatalk

fpsq said:
I am eager to buy a new phone. I do have the cash. I do not like Touchwiz, and no SD Card is a no go. So no S6.
The Nexus 6 is way to big and no SD Card. HTC M9... oh well.
So, the LG G4 is the only option. Why am I not holding this phone in my hands?
It is available for nearly a month now (give or take depending where you live) and no root method available, without LGs unlock code. ....No bootloader unlock. No XPOSED because of that, and no CM Mod or anything even possible because of that.
Coming from a Nexus which I love (despite the camera, the battery, the missing SD Card and the terrible GPS) I am not willing to buy a piece of expensive phone which is not mine.
So maybe, just maybe that is a reason why sales are not that great...
There are other reasons I am fully aware, but this is the deal breaker for me...
By the way: I visit here daily. I can not really tell where we are in terms of a unlocked bootloader and easy root method? Anyone here that could sum it up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is it essential for you to have an unlocked bootloader and root? I don't understand why its a dealbreaker - obviously you buy a phone based on its spec and features and no phone comes with 'unlocked bootloader' and 'root' as features.
XPosed is a heaving pile of **** which is buggy and unstable even at the best of times and if you start installing custom ROM's you start losing features.
I and plenty others bought this phone as it meets what we were looking at at the time. Root would be a bonus, but even then two weeks in I still can't think of anything I need root or a custom ROM for...

dontpannic said:
... but even then two weeks in I still can't think of anything I need root or a custom ROM for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? [emoji58]
Sent from my G4 whilst wishing for root

dontpannic said:
but even then two weeks in I still can't think of anything I need root or a custom ROM for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ads. Mothereffin' ads everywhere. In apps, in web pages, on YouTube. Blocking ads alone is worth gold.

Alright, ads is a good one. Not a lot else though to be fair!

dontpannic said:
Alright, ads is a good one. Not a lot else though to be fair!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really?
GravityBox is a HUGE one. It controls the look and behavior of everything on your phone.
Downloads2SD for remapping hardcoded folders like Downloads from internal storage to the SD card.
DisableFlagSecure for taking screenshots in apps that forbid it.
XHangouts for configuring image quality and other things in Hangouts.
NotifyClean for suppressing annoying system notifications that cannot normally be disabled.
The list can go on, I'm sure others use a lot more than this.

I am also missing a few features that I can only use with root. AdAway, AirAudio to stream my sound to other devices, etc...

siraltus said:
Really?
GravityBox is a HUGE one. It controls the look and behavior of everything on your phone.
Downloads2SD for remapping hardcoded folders like Downloads from internal storage to the SD card.
DisableFlagSecure for taking screenshots in apps that forbid it.
XHangouts for configuring image quality and other things in Hangouts.
NotifyClean for suppressing annoying system notifications that cannot normally be disabled.
The list can go on, I'm sure others use a lot more than this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyones usage is different remember - I just want to use a phone and from previous experience with my S4 introducing xposed to it turned it into a buggy mess, I don't want that happening to this phone.

dontpannic said:
Why is it essential for you to have an unlocked bootloader and root? I don't understand why its a dealbreaker - obviously you buy a phone based on its spec and features and no phone comes with 'unlocked bootloader' and 'root' as features.
XPosed is a heaving pile of **** which is buggy and unstable even at the best of times and if you start installing custom ROM's you start losing features.
I and plenty others bought this phone as it meets what we were looking at at the time. Root would be a bonus, but even then two weeks in I still can't think of anything I need root or a custom ROM for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
99% agree with you there. I got this device for the ability it has without any root/unlock. Fully agree that Xposed has never done anything good for me in my experiences...usually end up having bugs and ending up factory resetting rom I'm on.
Also confused as to why people expect that the G4 would already be unlocked or rooted. This device has been out for just over 3 weeks, fellas. Sure, there are other manufacturers (HTC which I LOVE save for their inability to understand that a good camera is a requirement in 2015) that are able to be unlocked like 30 seconds after you open the box. LG is NOT that way. The G3 was a pain in the butt last year for this from what I understand and this device is running a newer processor and supposedly more secure version of android.
In the end, I would like to have root, so I can get rid of the T-Mobile stuff...and yeah, while I can DISABLE it, that doesn't get rid of it, it's just lying dormant...I still have a disabled app taking up space on my device.

siraltus said:
Ads. Mothereffin' ads everywhere. In apps, in web pages, on YouTube. Blocking ads alone is worth gold.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this times 1000. Plus getting rid of bloat (although the LG does not have nearly as much as my Samsung devices had) plus I really want to be able to use Titanium Backup again.

Also...Not sure why everyone is so set on being on the latest version of Android at all times. I learned my lesson on that the hard way. Last device I was on was the Note 4. We were extremely irritated that we were getting Lollipop so late compared to all the other Sammy devices. Boy was I wrong to wish for it. It came with more bugs than new features, most of which made the device nearly unusable to me, resulting in my spending $280 to get the device half paid off so I could JUMP to the G4.
Rather than rolling out a new version of Android, I'm sure many users would prefer that LG work on the number of bugs that some users have experienced thusfar. That being said, 5.1 seems to be doing me pretty well for this device for me

A free wifi tethering method would be nice to have again.

I don't see the link between 5.1.1 and bad sales. If someone refused to get G4 because they won't update it to 5.1.1, I find this hilarious. 5.1.1 is a maintenance update, nothing major as I am aware, so LG can include the most important fixes from the latest available android version through OTA update, and there is no need to show you the latest android build number. 5.1 can include everything 5.1.1 got.

dontpannic said:
Why is it essential for you to have an unlocked bootloader and root? I don't understand why its a dealbreaker - obviously you buy a phone based on its spec and features and no phone comes with 'unlocked bootloader' and 'root' as features.
XPosed is a heaving pile of **** which is buggy and unstable even at the best of times and if you start installing custom ROM's you start losing features.
I and plenty others bought this phone as it meets what we were looking at at the time. Root would be a bonus, but even then two weeks in I still can't think of anything I need root or a custom ROM for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you even used Xposed recently? Root itself is fantastic, and does not harm usability. You can use apps like Greenify and Titanium Backup to remove apps and improve battery life, modify the tethering provisioning check to use the hotspot, etc. I also use Xposed on 5.1.1 and on 5.0, 4.4, etc., and I don't have any issues at all. the 10+ modules I use never have problems.
I'm keeping my rooted G3 until we can root the G4, as I need root in some form or another.

dontpannic said:
Alright, ads is a good one. Not a lot else though to be fair!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is is great all on its own but I am looking forward to no ads and a tweaked Rom to hopefully get rid of the awful lagging and missed touch issues

Give the devs time. There's a lot of money pledged in the bounty board which should attract some top devs, so short of JesusFreke coming out of retirement I doubt it'll be in the next month.

Actually revisited
fpsq said:
By the way: I visit here daily. I can not really tell where we are in terms of a unlocked bootloader and easy root method? Anyone here that could sum it up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you purchase the open EUR H815 handset, you can officially unlock the bootloader through LG's Dev website, and from there install TWPR and flash SuperSU for root.
This method is not (yet?) available to other models, however.
You're correct that there are currently no unofficial methods to unlock the bootloader or root the device, yet.

New stock A2017U best way from here?

Picked up the $330 deal from Newegg Ebay. The phone is charged and unmodded / not updated. The software it came with is A2017UV1.0.0B27. There is an update pending but I've not applied it yet. I'm well versed with ADB and fastboot coming from a long line of Nexus phones that I always root...
There seems to be lots of ways forward from here but I'd like to see what people recommend. It appears that an unlocked bootloader will make it so future updates cannot be applied. I've always unlocked in the past but I hope to get wifi calling (T-Mobile) in future updates (from what I understand that's on the way but not out yet?). If a non-stock rom allows wifi calling I'd be game for that as I typically am not a fan of how companies bloat the standard android rom.
Main things I want:
TWRP
(seamless?) root (primarily for AdAway and TiBackup)
Band 12
Wifi calling
Remove any potential ZTE spyware
What do you think? Unlock the bootloader and forget future ZTE updates? Keep it locked?
Thanks!

OTA updates work just fine with an unlocked bootloader. They do not however work if the system or recovery has been modified.
I ran stock for a few weeks. Recently switched to resurrection remix. It adds a lot of additional configuration ability. Most of the settings that were/are available in gravity box. GB is no longer possible until xposed is redeveloped for 7.
I'd say unlock the bootloader first, then either try stock or one of the aosp roms. Been on RR for just two days now, first impressions include bettery battery life and faster UI interaction.

gpz1100 said:
OTA updates work just fine with an unlocked bootloader. They do not however work if the system or recovery has been modified.
I ran stock for a few weeks. Recently switched to resurrection remix. It adds a lot of additional configuration ability. Most of the settings that were/are available in gravity box. GB is no longer possible until xposed is redeveloped for 7.
I'd say unlock the bootloader first, then either try stock or one of the aosp roms. Been on RR for just two days now, first impressions include bettery battery life and faster UI interaction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh... understood. Seamless is the way to go for future updates then. I'll unlock and take that route. Thanks much!

Lost Dog said:
Ahh... understood. Seamless is the way to go for future updates then. I'll unlock and take that route. Thanks much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My personal experience with Lineage (never tried RR, but I guess it's close to lineage) is overall disappointment. Half of the apps I tried didn't work, especially some 3D games. The stock camera app is unbearably bad IMO, from comparisons I decided to make I hate the overall quality of the photos... ZTE's system is not even close to full of bloatware. The only added out of the box apps are WPS Office which comes in handy, AccuWeather which is kinda questionable, true; ZTE Cares which mostly tells you to reboot your phone if you have a problem (1.14 mb, never open), this WeShare thing that you can ignore completely, and the stock music, browser, etc and Gapps. Even the calculator and some kinda useful apps are all packed on one app, and you can add shortcuts... Can't really say I've seen less bloated phones in the market...
TWRP and root are completely fine on Stock
no idea about band 12
ZTE spyware... The only thing I heard about was the location provider on A2017G which is being changed on the next update. We had Qualcomm IZat (Korea) and we got changed to Tencent (China) so that's kind of a spyware. but you can uninstall that with root
and I understand people who say that the stock ROM is ugly. Just use a launcher.
the only real advantage that I can see is the possibility to use Substratum with a pitch black theme. I could get near to 2 days battery with that stuff.

^^How recently have you tried it?
I'll be out and about tomorrow so will get a chance to play with the camera to see how well it does in RR. I got both the google camera and aosp camera apps installed. We'll see how good/bad the pics come out. I don't expect dslr results out of a cell phone camera anyway so camera quality isn't at the top of the list for me.
Same with games. Can't remember the last one I played on a phone. Most of my use is email/web/navi/voip. Long battery life is at the top of my list. With typical usage, I could go 2 days between charges and still have ~40% remaining. If I get 3 days now with RR with similar usage/sot, I'll be happy camper. Not to mention, the phone is more responsive.
Stock isn't bad until you've tried something else, then you get a feel for how heavy the ui is.
Band 12 is supported on both tmo and att as far as i know. I know i've seen it a few times on att.

Does anyone have an alternative link to the files in this post:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/wip-axon-7-root-bootloader-unlokced-t3441204
Dev-Host either throws out a ton of spam links or just stalls on the download.

Alright!
I'm on 7.1.1 with backed up stock bootloader and recovery. Rooted with a modified version of Magisk and passing the safetynet check.
So far, signal strength seems good and the addition of wifi calling is fantastic....

I don't have T-Mobile, but I believe the latest update, v. 7.1.1 B19 includes WiFi calling.
ETA: Oops. I guess that's what I get for getting distracted and posting a response an hour after I started it.

Getting the V20 Now (US996), still recommended? What's your opinion?

Hi Everyone,
I'd love to hear opinions from first hand owners of the LG V20, and if you'd buy it again.
I'm pretty set on getting either th LG V20 or the Pixel XL. I'm pretty aware of the specs of both but I wanted the Pixel XL for CopperHeadOS (supposedly more secure, but they only support Google phones for the most part, Pixel XL being one of them). As for the LG V20, I like it more, specwise (bigger screen, better DACs for audio, removeable battery, expandable memory, just better all around in my opinion- where it counts... and better price), but there doesn't seem to be any super secure ROMS out there, which is why I wanted to get the Pixel despite it's price (costs about double right now), and lack of expandable memory.
Otherwise, with my own research, the V20 seems to be a decent phone.
I'm coming from an Xperia Z2, decent phone, but horrible microphone (everyone says they can't hear me), also horrible speaker phone (not loud enough, if I'm driving I can't hear anything).. those are examples of quirks about the Z2.
Any input? Any quirks/annoyances you have about the V20 (specifically for the US996 model, no bootloops hopefully?)? Any input on secure ROMS available for it? To be honest, I'm kind of weary of the whole rooted process, it probably got easier by now, but I used to root and put custom roms on my old android devices, was such a process and always had risks of bricking it etc... only ones I'm willing to hassle over for are secure ROMs (like Copperhead OS)... oh yeah, how is the LG V20 out of the box? Is it pretty decent? Or is it frustrating with the bloatware where you "have to" unlock/root/install custom firmware+rom to make it "useable"?
Thanks in advance!

Was also wondering, anyone else with a USS996 try tethering with At&t, does it work?

I went with v20 this week, the Pixel XL was my first choice... however, I picked up a refurbished Sprint compatible v20 for $299 on Amazon. Luck for me, the software version on it was old enough to unlock the bootloader with DirtySanta.
Overall I've been a fan of LG since the G2, and the v20 is my favorite LG phone so far. I'm glad I didn't spend far more on a Pixel XL. That said, if the unlock had failed, I wouldn't have been as happy.

ssnova said:
Was also wondering, anyone else with a USS996 try tethering with At&t, does it work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried blue tooth and wifi tethering on my LG-US996 on AT&T worked fine for me. Connected my ipad pro in both modes to it no problems.
---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------
As for your other questions. Just got mine today and have been messing with it so take what I say with a grain of salt cause I've only had one day to play with it. I moved from a ZTE Axon 7 which kept having poor connection issues for me.
No issues so far with boot looping on my LGV20 US996. The power/unlock/lock button being the finger print scanner threw me off of a bit as I kept searching for it but its actually kind of nice where it is. The second smaller screen is great (not sure why many reviews called it a gimmick, I really like being able to see the message of texts etc while reading on reddit or something). The charger that comes with it feels a bit slow but I also have a pixel charger that I use with my Switch which seems to work fine with the v20.
The unlocked version which i got off amazon (which reading the reviews seems to be a gamble which one you get) but the version I got is unbranded and had no carrier bloatware. It did come with a few such as Evernote, Facebook, Instagram, and a few other LG apps. No real complaints on bloat tbh, its not as clean as say stock android but its nowhere near as bad as a branded samsung (Though your mileage may vary if you end up with a carrier version of the phone O_O).
Haven't tried any rooting or installation of any custom ROMS I don't think I will this time around either as the phone seems to be fine with out it. I did however install Nova Launcher and downloaded the apk for Google Now integration so now the launcher feels almost like Google's but better.
Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm pretty happy with my purchase would likely make it again but again I've only had a day with it so far.

I just got mine as well on July 25th, Coming from the droid turbo the sound fried on that phone couldn't make calls or listen to music. As for this phone it runs great only issue I'm finding is being that it is unlocked and can use on any carrier I'm finding I can't update the phone says phone is not registered I wrote LG to find out why and I have not heard back yet,if I'm not mistaking there is a 7.1 now or maybe even higher, I don't know if I should root and take a chance on it, I'm starting to use android pay and I like it if I go for rooting I won't be able to use it but some say you can tweaking this and that so it will work. I don't know and as for Roms, I don't know what is here yet for the V20....

Same I haven't been able to receive an update either, will you please post back when you find out?
Also after a day of use the one thing I do suggest is the moment you get your phone turned on go and disable "Mobile Service Manager" if you got the US Cellular unlocked version this is the the app that carrier used to push bloatware, at least it doesn't come pre installed.

Hey thanks a lot for the feedback Srenyti! Did the tethering/hotspot work out of the box? Did you have to play with any APN settings or anything? How's it call quality on it?
Good to hear that it seems to be decent out of the box, I was getting tired of fooling around with android phones to get it to work "right". Only downside is getting security updates for the phone in the future....
Someone mentioned earlier about getting an older firmware, do they not all unlock if you wanted to go custom?
Srenyti said:
Just tried blue tooth and wifi tethering on my LG-US996 on AT&T worked fine for me. Connected my ipad pro in both modes to it no problems.
---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------
As for your other questions. Just got mine today and have been messing with it so take what I say with a grain of salt cause I've only had one day to play with it. I moved from a ZTE Axon 7 which kept having poor connection issues for me.
No issues so far with boot looping on my LGV20 US996. The power/unlock/lock button being the finger print scanner threw me off of a bit as I kept searching for it but its actually kind of nice where it is. The second smaller screen is great (not sure why many reviews called it a gimmick, I really like being able to see the message of texts etc while reading on reddit or something). The charger that comes with it feels a bit slow but I also have a pixel charger that I use with my Switch which seems to work fine with the v20.
The unlocked version which i got off amazon (which reading the reviews seems to be a gamble which one you get) but the version I got is unbranded and had no carrier bloatware. It did come with a few such as Evernote, Facebook, Instagram, and a few other LG apps. No real complaints on bloat tbh, its not as clean as say stock android but its nowhere near as bad as a branded samsung (Though your mileage may vary if you end up with a carrier version of the phone O_O).
Haven't tried any rooting or installation of any custom ROMS I don't think I will this time around either as the phone seems to be fine with out it. I did however install Nova Launcher and downloaded the apk for Google Now integration so now the launcher feels almost like Google's but better.
Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm pretty happy with my purchase would likely make it again but again I've only had a day with it so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Tethering/hotspotting worked for me directly out of the box on AT&T also did not have to make any APN setting changes. I just put in the sim, turned it on and it found everything fine. I did double check and it found AT&Ts APN just fine. I have network mode set as global and tried to test out between global vs late/gsm directly but didn't really seem to make a difference.
Call qaulity seems pretty good to me, it's more crisp and clear than my axon 7 which is the only one I've used in recent memory.
As for finding old firmware I believe that would depend on the firmware package you find. If it's straight carrier OEM version it may not be unlocked (unsure about this as anytime I've ever bothered to get a custom rom it's never been carrier firmware). Custom ROMs are always unlocked in my experience.
Yeah security updates are def lacking. And bloatware is fine as long as you disable that app I mentioned before it gets a chance to do anything.
When setting up the phone yesterday it didn't feel as snappy as it does now, so expect some settling in time for the phone it seems.

I don't want to complicate things too much, but Woot has the Pixel 5" 128 on sale for $429:
https://sellout.woot.com/offers/goo...?ref=eml_w_nd_4_img&ref_=pe_3185080_248419990

Jawbox said:
I don't want to complicate things too much, but Woot has the Pixel 5" 128 on sale for $429:
https://sellout.woot.com/offers/goo...?ref=eml_w_nd_4_img&ref_=pe_3185080_248419990
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Click to collapse
Verizon version, most likely locked bootloader .

I bought a vs995 coming from a moto x pure 2015. My moto had such diminished battery life I could not make it a full day without charging 3 times if I used the phone at all... It was good for maybe 2 long phone calls... I wanted a phone I could replace the battery on if I wanted atm I believe this is the newest one to still have the feature.

tstack77 said:
Verizon version, most likely locked bootloader .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'd want to stay away from the Verizon version. I thought I'd take any unlocked Pixel XL, to one day load CopperheadOS on there, but turns out they only release roms for the older Nexus phones and you have to buy a Pixel XL directly from them (like $1100 or so), I'd still consider it, but all in all I'll probably pass on that phone(Pixel XL) for right now, kind of expensive for me now.