Database Users

So G5 owners with a handset older than 4 weeks.

What is your opinion now? Still think its a good choice?
Personally i think its a great phone sold short, looking at the hardware and potential i think the handset would easy have a 2 year life span.
But i would like to see bigger modular support, things like physical keyboard, physical zoom lenses etc. And i would like to see some of the software updated a bit closer to the V20.
My biggest concern? Physically will it last 2 years? The build quality aint bad but it aint great.

jamiee6610 said:
What is your opinion now? Still think its a good choice?
Personally i think its a great phone sold short, looking at the hardware and potential i think the handset would easy have a 2 year life span.
But i would like to see bigger modular support, things like physical keyboard, physical zoom lenses etc. And i would like to see some of the software updated a bit closer to the V20.
My biggest concern? Physically will it last 2 years? The build quality aint bad but it aint great.
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Click to collapse
Had it for 4 months, never Had a problem, just a bit of light bleeding, but it's visible only in Dark area with full brightness.

Best smartphone I ever had.
Last three were before it were Moto X Pure, Droid Turbo, and HTC M8.

I have since May, great phone. It has some issues but which phone doesn't. Ghosting happens on thia screen sometimes but nothing permanent, it goes away. I got scratches on the camera glass which is annoying (although easily replacable if you don't care about the warranty). Battery lasts around 4 hours SOT with around 30 hours of usage. I got the battery + external charger kit from Amazon for 30$ which is just great to have. Screen could be brighter. Super bright mode isn't stable enough. The camera is amazing! I love it (and I have a group of already 350 G5 photographers on Facebook). The speaker is one of the best in the market. It's fast, fingerprint sensor works great, colors are good.. I'm very happy with the phone! Oh.. important! The screen is curved on top which can be super annoying if you like to apply a tempered glass acreen protector. I don't have any issues with the build quality. I would prefer the V20 just because I like the big screen..other than that they are pretty similar. I think the G5 is the most underrated phone in the last in the last few years.

I got two of them - one for me and one for a friend. I am not really concerned about the quality, why shouldn't it last more than two years? It gives a great bang for the buck. If money isn't a concern, I would aim for the V20 (bought the G5 before it was announced and it may not be released where I live). I was with Samsung phones and Tablet for several years now but I think LG also does a good job here.

Love it. Great phone but I wouldn't have it for two years. I have Jump by T-Mobile for a reason. The only thing I hate is no matter how much they say the phone screen is scratch resistant, if I have my keys and phone in the same pocket it gets scratched. Planning on getting the V20 when it comes out. LG is taking forever to release it.
Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

XAlexander_AlexanderX said:
Love it. Great phone but I wouldn't have it for two years. I have Jump by T-Mobile for a reason. The only thing I hate is no matter how much they say the phone screen is scratch resistant, if I have my keys and phone in the same pocket it gets scratched. Planning on getting the V20 when it comes out. LG is taking forever to release it.
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Yep, i can confirm this, and not only on my G5 but also on a S7 Edge of a friend, it seems that corning Got worse in these years on the scratch part...

I love the phone but I'm extremely disappointed in the GPS issue as I use my phone for navigation quite a lot. And my battery has never been to great. But that's probably because I'm used to the battery life I was getting on my iPhone 6 plus and Nexus 6P (wish I never sold my 6P). The camera is fantastic and as I have 2 little ones it's great for taking pictures of them.

Love my phone G5 coming from my G2 which I gave to my mother and she loves it. Camera, performance and the like are all great on my G5
GPS is fast and no issue.

bluerain28 said:
Love my phone G5 coming from my G2 which I gave to my mother and she loves it. Camera, performance and the like are all great on my G5
GPS is fast and no issue.
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Your lucky then. I try to use mine to navigate and it's hit and miss, most of the times miss and just says searching

Have had it since it rolled out. Not a single problem or issue. So impressed with it, in fact, that I recommended it to the wife and my parents when it was time for them to renew/upgrade. So now we all have g5's. Didn't recommend it to my in laws because..... They are my in laws. And because they are under the impression that "Apple is the only quality phone manufacturer". Their loss hahahaha.

I am honestly ready to throw mine through a wall. Gps is always searching and i use it alot for work. Wifi will just stop working for no reason. I am currently trying to get out of this phone. Worst phone ever.
Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

Had mine for a month now only problem i've found is the GPS i'm gonna try some calibration software to see if there is a difference. This phone should be good for two years i think.

I like it a lot, especially camera and loudspeaker. Even better with Poetic Rugged case.

I got mine like 2 month ago and is pretty nice fast and non rooted yet just waiting how will move

I'm using it for a month now and I still can't find a flow. I like the design, love the camera, the software and hardware are doing well. Overall it's a great device. Oh, and I don't care about the moduls, don't plan to use them anyway.

Look at my warranty thread. It's been a nightmare. LG refused to switch out the housing when I sent it in, and they scratched it. Had to change the housing myself, luckily it wasn't that expensive. So far, most of the issues I had are gone. GPS is fine now, and the LCD isn't yellowing anymore.

Anybody thinking of trading their...

Note4 for ANOTHER V20? (with T-Mobile's black Friday deal). I am tempted big time. Still use my note4 a lot. Stylus and amoled will be missed big time. I still have another white note4 dedicated as dashcam but that doesn't count. I wouldn't have an amoled device or note to use. But to get another v20 for $200 I could sell all my amps, moto x pure, moto g, and my HTC M8. Ugh. Should I? Should you?
My note4 is so heavily modded and runs smooth. Just took it apart and fixed the GPS issue so many people were having. Has some sentimental value too. Only phone I've had two full years.

@rbiter said:
Note4 for ANOTHER V20? (with T-Mobile's black Friday deal). I am tempted big time. Still use my note4 a lot. Stylus and amoled will be missed big time. I still have another white note4 dedicated as dashcam but that doesn't count. I wouldn't have an amoled device or note to use. But to get another v20 for $200 I could sell all my amps, moto x pure, moto g, and my HTC M8. Ugh. Should I? Should you?
My note4 is so heavily modded and runs smooth. Just took it apart and fixed the GPS issue so many people were having. Has some sentimental value too. Only phone I've had two full years.
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they have a bunch of this phones for 100 on offerup what a deal:laugh:

Wow! Nobody else?

@rbiter said:
Note4 for ANOTHER V20? (with T-Mobile's black Friday deal). I am tempted big time. Still use my note4 a lot. Stylus and amoled will be missed big time. I still have another white note4 dedicated as dashcam but that doesn't count. I wouldn't have an amoled device or note to use. But to get another v20 for $200 I could sell all my amps, moto x pure, moto g, and my HTC M8. Ugh. Should I? Should you?
My note4 is so heavily modded and runs smooth. Just took it apart and fixed the GPS issue so many people were having. Has some sentimental value too. Only phone I've had two full years.
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Click to collapse
I cracked my display trying to get my N4 apart to fix the gps issue. I need the gps for my work.
That's how I ended up with V20 after trying nexus 6p and note 7.
I'll never buy another sammy phone unless they fix the horrendous sound quality or lack there of.

Sound quality of headphone jack or loudspeaker? How's you break the screen? Not careful or patient? I dodnt even have the spider to help with screen and I came out golden. I am leaning g towards keeping mine because of s pen and watching videos when v20 is charging since battery is awesome on amoled phones when watching YouTube or movies. I still use my note 4 ebough I forget about software nav buttons, which are preferable to me, and I find myself trying to hit a home button that isn't there or touching my camera lens because of getting used to fingerprint scanner on v20. Still so damn tempting. Battery life is comparable between the two phones though. V20 does better web browsing and note4 much better with videos.

planning on getting a 2nd v20 as a spare

I like the phone but 2 issues I HATE
I kept having firmware issues
https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/help/swapping-batteries-boots-to-firmware-t3783724
my screen is bleeding and has burnt images on it at certain times.
my screen broke on the rear cameras and after time has made the main camera not focus and the IQ has degraded, even after using alcohol to clean the glass.
im curious if they had a recall on that
im going to get a 2nd v20 to use a main phone and keep my current as a backup. reason? battery swapping!!
it saved my ass soo much and has made my life so convenient. I keep the extra battery in my wallet, swap while im walking and go back to 100%.
my usb c charging socket doesnt work well anymore. after about a month, the cable wouldnt stay inside connected. I have to use a rubber band and stretch it to the top of the screen to keep it in. and QC 3 is not working anymore
why arent there more phones with battery swapping? the least they could do is make the new v30/40 with BIG batteries. I dont want to have a cable connected to my phone like iv drip at a hospital

Actually I was also thinking about getting a second V20 as a spare one bc this phone is absolutely the best I've had so far. But I'm pretty sure my phone won't be broken so soon. Dropped about thousand times with only few damages at the corner. Nothing special. It's so f...ing physically reliable! All new flagships wouldn't had resist these drops bc of their Glas building. Always had a Glas to protect the display though. The Phone is still working perfect so I decided not to get a second one. But in your case that sounds like a good choice. In Germany you can import a new V20 from the US for about 200 dollars. Imo you can't get a better phone for that price! Im using a 75 Euro LeEco Le 2 running Miui as my spare phone. The value for that amount of money is so incredibly awesome! Maybe this one.. But if my V20 will be broken some day I'll definitely going to get another one! Remember all the good reasons to buy this, for example DAC, wide angle camera back and front, military reloablitoly, SECOND screen which I like the most, swappable battery, knock on, price under 200 dollar. Yes this phone this is absolutely the best. (at least for my usage)

Jogg3r said:
Actually I was also thinking about getting a second V20 as a spare one bc this phone is absolutely the best I've had so far. But I'm pretty sure my phone won't be broken so soon. Dropped about thousand times with only few damages at the corner. Nothing special. It's so f...ing physically reliable! All new flagships wouldn't had resist these drops bc of their Glas building. Always had a Glas to protect the display though. The Phone is still working perfect so I decided not to get a second one. But in your case that sounds like a good choice. In Germany you can import a new V20 from the US for about 200 dollars. Imo you can't get a better phone for that price! Im using a 75 Euro LeEco Le 2 running Miui as my spare phone. The value for that amount of money is so incredibly awesome! Maybe this one.. But if my V20 will be broken some day I'll definitely going to get another one! Remember all the good reasons to buy this, for example DAC, wide angle camera back and front, military reloablitoly, SECOND screen which I like the most, swappable battery, knock on, price under 200 dollar. Yes this phone this is absolutely the best. (at least for my usage)
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Agreed!

I have 2 v20 a us996 and f800k love both of them no issues with any of them.......

OMG, I also did it! An hour ago I bought a spare one. But this time with dual sim. The H990N. For just 180 Euro new & sealed! But why?? This phone is almost unbreakable. Never mind..

Essential Phone in 2019?

Hey guys,
Just browsing this forum as I'm contemplating getting a used Essential phone after switching to Android from Apple on an LG G7 and being frustrated by its slow updates. I notice the Essential phone can easily be had for under $200 on eBay. Originally I've been trying to get a Pixel 2 or 1 but the not sure about the 1 quality and the 2 goes for too much even at auction.
Anyway, I like that this phone still gets updates quickly and in general looks very nice. But reviews for it always trash the camera. Just curious if updates improved the camera or if the GCam ports for the phone are stable and work well (the G7 ports are problematic).
Thanks for your input.

I just ordered one off ebay for $160 from yywireless (great support, 30 day warranty!) and I'm awaiting arrival. I can let you know how it performs in 2019 compared to my previous LG G6 and iPhone 6S Plus if you'd like! I have a very good feeling about this phone.

VCan25 said:
Hey guys,
Just browsing this forum as I'm contemplating getting a used Essential phone after switching to Android from Apple on an LG G7 and being frustrated by its slow updates. I notice the Essential phone can easily be had for under $200 on eBay. Originally I've been trying to get a Pixel 2 or 1 but the not sure about the 1 quality and the 2 goes for too much even at auction.
Anyway, I like that this phone still gets updates quickly and in general looks very nice. But reviews for it always trash the camera. Just curious if updates improved the camera or if the GCam ports for the phone are stable and work well (the G7 ports are problematic).
Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using Gcam can get better performance compare to stock
But my recommendation is doing some researches about signal reception before buying this phone.

chanh2018 said:
Using Gcam can get better performance compare to stock
But my recommendation is doing some researches about signal reception before buying this phone.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that insight. I actually had a pixel 3 briefly but reception was the reason I had to change to another brand. I should have that in mind for this phone too.

VCan25 said:
Thanks for that insight. I actually had a pixel 3 briefly but reception was the reason I had to change to another brand. I should have that in mind for this phone too.
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I can't speak for the US, but I have the essential phone in austria and I have LTE with full reception (symbol) -> even in the subway. In germany there were a few spots on the countryside where I only had Edge...and currently I am on vacation in australia (sunshine coast) and with Vodafone i get LTE everywhere -> with nearly always full reception.
So if you get any issues it's because of the carrier and not because of the phone.
btw - I'm rocking AOSiP Custom Rom...maybe it has a different Baseband...

I also just got this phone in 2019. All is good.
Reception seems just fine in my neck of the woods. United States, California, Los Angeles area. T-Mobile. LTE+ in the status bar.
Phone is a refurb via Amazon. No issues so far.
Essential PH-1, /e/ 0.5-n ROM, microG (NoGapps), XDA Legacy

Got this phone together with the 360 cam off Craigslist, with a cracked screen. After a DIY screen replacement, my total cost came to a whopping US$150, which is way more than reasonable. Absolutely love the phone. I never chase the latest tech (don't see the point), and for my needs in 2019 this phone does everything and then some. I hate huge phones, and by today's standards this device is very small given the screen size, which is a big deal for me. Can't complain about anything other than the lack of the 3.5mm jack, but I can live without it. Running full stock ROM (latest update, rooted). As for the camera, Gcam ports are definitely better than stock, and in my experience they work great apart from a broken slo-mo, but even the stock cam with the latest system update is OK for me in most shooting conditions. Overall, a great phone, and highly recommended.

Best phone I ever had. Love it both aesthetically and in term of features. I bought it 6 months ago for about 220 € by Amazon USA and I'm very satisfied. I use it with stock monthly updates and Gcam.
I live in Madrid, Spain and I've 80-100% LTE reception, even in the subway.

Im east coast US on cricket. i get decent signal.
as for camera... well... stick software is good enough fir most... me... i needed a little more fine tuning, but even without the fine tuning any of the latest gcam ports wotk great

While I definately like my PH-1, something to consider coming from the iPhone 6S AND LG G7 is that the vibration motor is EXTENSIVELY different and dare-i-say "bad". The strength is not too bad, but it definately is louder and significantly worse than your previous phones. If you do not desire good haptic feedback, I would say go for it! If it were not from a drop onto a concrete edge at the worst possible place and the very lack-luster vibration motor, I would definitely plan on keeping it until the battery got too weak. (I kinda miss OLED blacks though...)
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

I'm on Sprint and get very good reception, my previous phones had lots of problems getting even voice calls in my office, whereas on this one I can actually do video calls without issue. Phone is plenty fast for 2019 and the 128GB of storage is really nice after my previous two phones (Nexus 5x and a 2013 Moto X) being pressed for space all the time. I did have to break down and get a Tulia case for it, this phone is super slippery and I've cracked the screen 2x.

I just rebought one last week... This phone is goooooood...

Yeah it’s still a very good phone bought 2 sprint recently from eBay 70$ and 90$ with small crack. Easy free unlock. Great phone.

xarekusu said:
Yeah it’s still a very good phone bought 2 sprint recently from eBay 70$ and 90$ with small crack. Easy free unlock. Great phone.
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$70 is just crazy for this spec phone, even with a crack!

IronRoo said:
$70 is just crazy for this spec phone, even with a crack!
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Got mine for 76 with a crack on the back front had a few scratches..but still I have a sd835 beast

IronRoo said:
$70 is just crazy for this spec phone, even with a crack!
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I bought mine off CL with a cracked screen but otherwise in mint condition for $100 Canadian (US$75), including the 360 camera. Spent about the same on the replacement screen, so US$150 in total. Super happy with the phone after a couple of months.

kt-Froggy said:
I bought mine off CL with a cracked screen but otherwise in mint condition for $100 Canadian (US$75), including the 360 camera. Spent about the same on the replacement screen, so US$150 in total. Super happy with the phone after a couple of months.
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Is it easy to replace em? I watched a YouTube video it it scared me off even trying it...

Tech_Savvy said:
Is it easy to replace em? I watched a YouTube video it it scared me off even trying it...
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Well... It depends. If you've never done a screen repair, I'd say this one may be a bit tricky - not the easiest for the first time. I replaced about a dozen screens on different phones (Sony, LG, Samsung, Apple), so it was no big deal. Took me about 30 minutes overall. For a video tutorial, I used the one from fixez.com for a reference. You need to know how to use a heat gun to remove the screen. Also, this phone has a very narrow bezel to mount the screen to the frame, so working with an adhesive may be challenging. Rounded corners don't cooperate well with an adhesive tape, but liquid glue would probably make things easier. The area under the earpiece slot is kinda difficult to work with, because it's extremely narrow, but you definitely need to put an adhesive there to seal the perimeter.
You can read my review of the replacement screen on Amazon, with some points on installing it. If you decide to do it, and have any specific questions, feel free to PM me, so as not to hijack this thread... Good luck!

Tech_Savvy said:
Is it easy to replace em? I watched a YouTube video it it scared me off even trying it...
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Click to collapse
that must have been the one they froze which shattered, use a heat gun (gradually) is the go.

I've been using mine since March of 2017 on Stock non-rooted with GCAM and performance is excellent. I'm using Straight Talk here in the US and it works phenomenal (AT&T band). Pictures with GCAM are far superior than stock camera but, I will praise the stock camera for the monochrome photos in low-light as they are amazing. If you play any games this phone handles them pretty well even games like Fortnite, PUBG, and the new Elder Scrolls Blades play excellent.

watch your battery...

My beloved XT1635-02 is dead.
I was removing and replacing the gel protective cover to hide my T pass behind it and noticed what looked like the center section of the display screen bulging out/separating from the case. Long story short, the plastic bag that encases the battery had swollen and pushed it out(battery out-gassing). Either that, or my efforts to remove the display cracked the display. Only the top inch of it works. I removed the battery and disposed of it properly expecting that it was about to explode. Just checked and cheapest display is about $33 and battery is about $10. I had ordered a used Moto X4 yesterday ($100), but was hoping to make this into a spare, but at that price it gets trashed. Life goes on...
Running on my old Moto G3 - ALWAYS have a spare!!!
Note, I had almost never used the fast-charge charger.
:crying:
:laugh:

I think this is a known issue with the moto z play. I had to get my battery replaced after it "puffed" and pushed the screen out of the body. Had to fight tooth and nail with Motorola to cover it under warranty. Now 12 months later from the replacement being installed I can see the replacement battery is starting to puff as well so I am currently looking to replace it with probably a Huawei p30pro or a Xiaomi note 10 pro...
My friend who also bought this phone at a different time and a different store had his first battery puff, had it replaced and the second battery puffed as well. He's now onto his third battery.
I know it's a small sample size of two but still I've never had a phone battery do that before so it seems it may be an issue with this phones battery model
Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk

Sample size of 3... thanks for sharing. bad batch of batteries? - probably, if it was happening that fast for you and your friend. I didn't see any deformation of the battery itself when I got it out, but if it's outgassing I wouldn't want to chance it (by pricking the bag with a pin).
Lithium batteries seem to be constantly in the news... Not much to be done, though - everything depends on them these days...
Most any phone out there is good, though I seem to stick with Moto because way back there I got a sammy and it had terrible antennas/reception and moto had great. so I stick with them, for now at least. Did have a huawei way back there and it was fine. Never had a xiaomi but I don't think they work in US with ATT. politics!
I have no intention of modifying the new phone, at least at the moment - too much of a time sink!

how long did you use mzp. I'm in the mzp threads for nearly 2,5 years and you where always there too. So your mzp should have neatly same age as mine

I ordered mine, used, on Jan 11, 2018 so I've had it a month short of 2 years. Hard to say how long it was used before that. sticker on mobo says 2016-09-14 so it's max 3 years old. It's hard to compare stuff that's that old to even older phones because technology continually changes and the insulating layer between the layers inside the battery keeps getting thinner to yield thinner phones. I guess battery problems are just payback for getting thinner phones!

I tryed to replace battery / order a kit from iFixIt but must goten wrong tools or the worst quality of screwhead so now they are rounded.
What tool you used to open battery holder?
have you tryd to unplug 2 cables than hold screen and unplug it again?
i thought a broken my screen when it dident respond and all war of ants pixels then i got cable stuck on right place and it start working again

Hammarn84 said:
I tryed to replace battery / order a kit from iFixIt but must goten wrong tools or the worst quality of screwhead so now they are rounded.
What tool you used to open battery holder?
have you tryd to unplug 2 cables than hold screen and unplug it again?
i thought a broken my screen when it dident respond and all war of ants pixels then i got cable stuck on right place and it start working again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a bracket covering the battery connection that has 6 torx-4 screws. I got my tool kit a long time ago on ebay - probably 3 or 4 phones ago so figure a year or 2 per phone. It's 10 years old.
There are 2 ribbon cables holding the display on. I unplugged both of them, but I wouldn't have known how without finding a video on youtube of a MZP teardown that showed me how.
I will not get a new display for it as they cost $35 plus and a new(to me) X4 cost me $100. My old G3 still works for a spare so I dont need the mzp for a spare.

KrisM22 said:
There is a bracket covering the battery connection that has 6 torx-4 screws. I got my tool kit a long time ago on ebay - probably 3 or 4 phones ago so figure a year or 2 per phone. It's 10 years old.
There are 2 ribbon cables holding the display on. I unplugged both of them, but I wouldn't have known how without finding a video on youtube of a MZP teardown that showed me how.
I will not get a new display for it as they cost $35 plus and a new(to me) X4 cost me $100. My old G3 still works for a spare so I dont need the mzp for a spare.
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you sure it was Torx-4? it would explain why i broke screwhead but then iFixIt sended me wrong tools
I had to buy new phone battery so bad.
if you have tight budged as me i bought xiaomi redmi note 8 pro and got it few days ago and fot that prize iam really really happy for that prize

Hammarn84 said:
you sure it was Torx-4? it would explain why i broke screwhead but then iFixIt sended me wrong tools
I had to buy new phone battery so bad.
if you have tight budged as me i bought xiaomi redmi note 8 pro and got it few days ago and fot that prize iam really really happy for that prize
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Click to collapse
Yes, was torx 4. Those screws were in really tight so you might have just broken one off.
Phone repair is often a dangerous and costly game.
Often it is better and cheaper to move forward rather than trying to fix the old.

Talos77 said:
I am currently looking to replace it with probably a Huawei p30pro or a Xiaomi note 10 pro...
Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk
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I would highly recommend against buying either brand of phone. Both companies are Chinese owned, and have been proven to have backdoors.
Anyone that values their privacy should NEVER own a Huawei device.
On top of that, they removed the ability to use custom launchers on the mate 10, right before I sold mine.

xT29c said:
I would highly recommend against buying either brand of phone. Both companies are Chinese owned, and have been proven to have backdoors.
Anyone that values their privacy should NEVER own a Huawei device.
On top of that, they removed the ability to use custom launchers on the mate 10, right before I sold mine.
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Realistically I see no more issue with the Chinese having my data than American companies like Google and Facebook. They are just as untrustworthy as the Chinese.
Each to their own though I guess.
Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk

@Talos77 you are probably right. Besides, everything these days is made in China! Certainly my Motos are. But I never do anything on a phone I wouldn't want published on a billboard. That said I am now going to unsub this thread and leave you on your own!
Have fun!!!