Database Users

opinions now that it's been out a while?

How are you V20 owners feeling about the phone now that it's been out a while? I'm looking for a new phone and the options with Sprint suck, so it seems like it's either the S7 Edge or the V20. Both have good reviews, but those reviews are always done after maybe a few days or a week of use, and right at the phone's release, so I wanted to get some real world opinions from every day users.
I have an LG G3 right now (came to this from a Note 2) and I've been pretty unhappy with it for a while. It was okay (but nothing special) for the first year, then really went to crap--laggy, restarting itself, losing data connection. So I'm a little leery of going with another LG product, but this phone does have my interest.

I had a Note 2 and 4 prior to the V20 here and I love this phone. Even before root, I thought it was excellent. I find it fast and snappy, it doesn't seem to carry the lag that Samsung phones do. And the second screen is pretty awesome, I use it way more than I ever used the s-pen (never had an edge phone, so I can't compare it with thag).
Having said that, there are a couple downsides. I don't like the lcd screen - Samsung's amoleds are far better looking. And I feel like the camera on the Note 4 was better. But otherwise I'm really pleased with this phone. It's a great phone in and of itself, but it's the stuff that differentiated it from Samsung, the removable battery and ir blaster, that put me over the top.
And now that we have root? Oh yeah, I would definitely recommend this phone.

I too shared the concern of lag after using a G3, but this V20 is one of the fastest phones I've ever used (owned it since release). It's still snappy, no weird crashes or restarts, battery still lasts 2 solid days, wifi is still stronger than my Note 7 was. The more I use it the less things like the lack of notification LED bother me, and I'm more and more impressed with the audio that this phone delivers. However I still miss AMOLED, if this V20 had an OLED display it would be 10/10 for me.

Personally, both my dad and I want to throw our devices out a window. Mine regularly locks up, and both of our devices occasionally heat up, and drop 20% or more battery life in 5 minutes. I'd like this phone a lot if these issues didn't exist but as it stands they outweigh the incredible audio quality that this phone provides
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

I got the V20 when I had to give up my Note7. The note 7 was hands down my favorite phone I've ever owned, but the V20 is good. I also owned the V10, which was okay, the V20 is a vast improvement though. Good performance, decent battery life (not getting a secondary with charging kit would defeat the purpose), and the camera is pretty good (but not on par with Samsung as far as I'm concerned). I like the second screen, but it's a trade for the edge screen function. Honestly I would have gotten the S7 edge, but after the note 7 debacle, I refused to support Samsung this year. Will upgrade to the next note though as soon as I can.

Nick281051 said:
Personally, both my dad and I want to throw our devices out a window. Mine regularly locks up, and both of our devices occasionally heat up, and drop 20% or more battery life in 5 minutes. I'd like this phone a lot if these issues didn't exist but as it stands they outweigh the incredible audio quality that this phone provides
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That's interesting - did you use dirtysanta on your phone? If so, use the Konverged kernel. It helps significantly (using it on my H910).
If not, you can also do these couple of things to help you out - turn off/disable Lookout. That is terrible to have on the phone and drains battery like no other. Go into your developer options menu in Settings, change all the different scales like animation scales, etc. to 0.5x. There's a couple of other small things you can do - like disabling the bloatware installed on your phone. But those will help out the most I believe.
Twisted

twistedvip said:
That's interesting - did you use dirtysanta on your phone? If so, use the Konverged kernel. It helps significantly (using it on my H910).
If not, you can also do these couple of things to help you out - turn off/disable Lookout. That is terrible to have on the phone and drains battery like no other. Go into your developer options menu in Settings, change all the different scales like animation scales, etc. to 0.5x. There's a couple of other small things you can do - like disabling the bloatware installed on your phone. But those will help out the most I believe.
Twisted
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Nope I already always disable all possible bloatware and my phone is stock. Changing the window speed also will not help because my problem isn't sluggishness, it's the fact that the phone becomes unresponsive.
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

Overall I would have to say I'm kinda disappointed with the lg v20. Coming from the note 3, I don't know if I expected too much, or was looking to be blown away, but for the price, I expected so much more. If the phone would've been like $400-500 maybe I wouldn't be so disappointed. I had to send my v20 to lg because of the speaker problem, so I have been using a ZTE z958, a $50 go phone from att. Honestly I can't really tell the difference between the v20 and the ZTE. Not enough to justify the $800 difference. The only two things I miss from the v20 are the finger print sensor and FM radio. Think I'm going to stick with my ZTE. Luckily my wife got an iPhone 7 plus and she didn't like it very much and wants to switch back to Android, so I think I'm just going to give her the v20 and sell the iPhone 7 plus. Much more easier to sell iPhone and not loose that much money, than to try and sell v20.
Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

Thanks to everyone for all of the info.
I know this is the LG section so I might get a biased answer, but if I could get the V20 and the Galaxy S7 for the same price, which one should I go for?
Sprint has a deal on the S7 right now until 12/28, and I was told by a rep in the forums that the same deal is going live for the V20 on 12/29. Both will come down to about $6.50/month after the sale plus my loyalty credit.

Coming from note 3, 4 and 7 - I am very pleased with the V20. Not rooted yet as I'm not sold that root will gain me much of anything and the more I read, the less I am interested in rooting. Bad battery life, no fm radio, worse signal, loss of sound improvement from quad dac and no means of reverting to stock unrooted.
I miss the look of the super amo-led a little bit, but I don't miss the screen burn on every samsung amoled screen I have owned or seen with many family members samsungs.
Love the second screen, sound quality with and without headphones. Happy with the camera using manual mode. Love the removable battery, sd slot, ir blaster, fm radio. The fact that I can disassemble and repair the phone if the need arises. Something the samsungs can be hard or even impossible to do.

v20 still worth it?

so i have a google pixel, not the xl. love the phone but the battery life stinks and id prefer a larger device with a qhd screen. i have an opportunity to pick up a v20 for installment payments, specifically the US996 model. i know this can be bootloader unlocked and rooted. i also see there is aosp based roms which is awesome. do you guys think it would be worth getting? i mean hows the dev scene and battery life on it? id get a xl but they are still on backorder.

Go for the v20 blindly. It has an amazing battery life.
Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

fix-this! said:
so i have a google pixel, not the xl. love the phone but the battery life stinks and id prefer a larger device with a qhd screen. i have an opportunity to pick up a v20 for installment payments, specifically the US996 model. i know this can be bootloader unlocked and rooted. i also see there is aosp based roms which is awesome. do you guys think it would be worth getting? i mean hows the dev scene and battery life on it? id get a xl but they are still on backorder.
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if you're interested in its HIFI feature, then absolutely!!
otherwise if music isn't your primary concern, you may want to wait and see how the S8 shapes up, IMHO

buongu said:
if you're interested in its HIFI feature, then absolutely!!
otherwise if music isn't your primary concern, you may want to wait and see how the S8 shapes up, IMHO
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not into samsungs and the locked up bootloaders.

I absolutely love the V20! Screen, camera, sound, performance, and build quality are all excellent! Battery life has been even better than I had expected. In fact, battery life has been so good that I've yet to buy a spare battery. Removable battery was a key selling point for me, as I've bought a spare battery within the first couple days of buying my last 3 phones(Samsung Notes). With the V20, though, I've yet to do so. I had narrowed down my decision to either the V20 or Pixel XL, but the V20 eventually won that comparison. I think you'll thoroughly enjoy the V20
SwiftKey'ed from my LG V20 via XDA Labs

If you are into developments and music and good doze mode for the battery and infrared and second screens, then the phone is an absolute GO for you. Although for me, screen on time has been diminished to 5+ hours from the 7+ i used to get. But thats because i have been installing way too many apps that synchronize and well... The more apps you install, the less SOT you will get.
To be honest, this has happened to me with every phone including samsungs. There is just no phone that can withstand a heavy user like me and remain with the same performance and battery life as it is. LOL

Ultimately battery life starts to suffer when you install more and more apps. Its really stupid that android doesn't allow you to disable programs from booting instead you have to depend on programs like greenify to kill the persistent programs. Yes I am aware full control can be had via root but really should be a factory feature. Facebook and messenger apps are two terrible offenders.
Anyway OP I strongly advise you get the v20, the second screen is almost a must have feature (once you start depending on it), it has external memory, removable battery (in the case you want to get an extended battery you can) and I like the ir blaster which lets me control devices around the house, something not many phones have.
Really there is literally only one complaint I have and I am sure the majority are fine with it. I got used to the volume controls on the back of the unit and now it makes it a pain in the ass to adjust volume when the phone is in my pocket.
Sent from my LG-H918 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Of course, everyone has opinions, and all vary. As well as experiences.
The statement earlier about the more apps you have the worse the battery...I can say that is most likely true. It is also the case that the more apps affects performance. I have a LOT of apps installed.
In my case the battery on this phone is quite a bit worse than my Note 4 was. In fact, quite poor. BUT (big BUT)...my Note 4 was rooted and on Maximum Overdrive ROM, and had Greenify on it, and a lot of extra non-used factory apps either uninstalled or disabled. The battery on it was great. Especially screen off battery. But then, who really cares about that?
I've seen the battery here range all over the place for everyone...it all depends on your use, configuration, and apps installed. A bit plus here is the removable battery,.
I really like the phone. Notable: performance, second screen, fingerprint button on back, removable battery. I likely will be keeping it, and likely be rooting.
[PS]
FYI...On the US996 only (as far as I know), the only way to unlock bootloader is via official LG site, and it voids the warranty.

fix-this! said:
so i have a google pixel, not the xl. love the phone but the battery life stinks and id prefer a larger device with a qhd screen. i have an opportunity to pick up a v20 for installment payments, specifically the US996 model. i know this can be bootloader unlocked and rooted. i also see there is aosp based roms which is awesome. do you guys think it would be worth getting? i mean hows the dev scene and battery life on it? id get a xl but they are still on backorder.
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Hey, I just took advantage of Verizon's promotion where you switch to them from your current network and trade in your device (I had the s7 edge) and I was able to get the Pixel 5" or the LG V20 for free. At first I tried out the Pixel because I have never owned an LG device but really didn't like the little Pixel. I came from the Note line including the Note 7 that I had to return so when that mess happened I went for the s7 edge. The Pixel seemed overall boring and the screen was too small like you said, plus I have a 256gb card I couldn't use with the Pixel. I switched to the V20 within the 14 day return policy and very happy I did. This phone is solid and if you use the little qweek to force doze you have crazy good battery life, I don't even charge my phone in the middle of the day anymore like I used to with past devices. I also forgot how great it was having the IR blaster like my old Note 4 had and I hope LG keeps adding them to the V line phones.

what tweak to doze

xbmoyx said:
... and if you use the little qweek to force doze you have crazy good battery life, I don't even charge my phone in the middle of the day anymore like I used to with past devices....
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Can you be more specific about the 'little qweek'?

ewingr said:
Can you be more specific about the 'little qweek'?
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In Greenify the "Aggressive Doze" setting for unrooted phones.

ewingr said:
In my case the battery on this phone is quite a bit worse than my Note 4 was. In fact, quite poor. BUT (big BUT)...my Note 4 was rooted and on Maximum Overdrive ROM, and had Greenify on it, and a lot of extra non-used factory apps either uninstalled or disabled. The battery on it was great. Especially screen off battery. But then, who really cares about that?
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I would agree my note 3 got the best battery life and I believe the amoled display is the primary reason for this since amoled can turn off the black sections of the screen it seems to save quite a bit of battery. I like ips better though cause it is sharper and produces colors more accurately, specifically white. I'll take the battery hit especially since I use an extended battery.
Sent from my LG-H918 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

bit the bullet and got the at&t model. unlocked with dirty santa and running resurrection remix. great device, got for $0 down when I opened a line for my daughter.
love the display and clarity.
sound and speaker are loud and crisp.
nice design and as fast as my pixel.
battery life tbd.
really missed qhd and a phablet.

Still Worth it A Year Later?

Hey guys, I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on if this phone is still worth it? Especially for right around $300. Or am I better off saving some more money and buying a Pixel/Pixel XL or waiting for the Pixel 2s?

succumbtothegreater said:
Hey guys, I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on if this phone is still worth it? Especially for right around $300. Or am I better off saving some more money and buying a Pixel/Pixel XL or waiting for the Pixel 2s?
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It's depend what you need overall I am happy with the v20. It's still great phone plus the killer audio if you don't need the new and greatest device. The good are good screen, audio, good for contents consumption, removeable battery. The not so good LG stock ui a little laggy for me sometime, size is not so compact and not much dev support for this phone. For $300 its steal. New phones not much new really they just try to make money from us after few weeks it get old like other phones.

I think so, of course, I just bought one last week...
With the price drops, it's a very good device for the money. Specs haven't been increasing as fast as years past, so devices are quite usable for longer times than before. We can still unlock/root and AOSP based ROMs are getting good. Updates will never be as fast as Google devices like the Pixel, but it's not bad and you don't lose as much waiting it out like we used to. Even Oreo doesn't add that much that I care about for features. The very latest flagships are maybe 20% faster. They also cost 2-3x as much. Value isn't there for me. Maybe it is for you, that's your decision to make.
I'm not interested in Pixel or most new devices right now. I came from a Nexus 6 with a dieing battery. I can replace it, and probably will, but it's annoying to do and runs a risk of destroying the device for a known maintenance part that we know will die. It's a bit like welding the oil plug on a car so you can't change the oil. Eventually it will die, it's a matter of time.
My requirements were: large screen (5.5"+), root, removable battery, SD, headphone jack, TMobile compatibility, value. I would have liked front facing speaker/speakers, but I can live without them. There's nothing out there in this year's devices that interests me. There's nothing wrong with options, but I do wish I had a couple to choose from as well. V20 was pretty much it. On the plus side for it though, tempered glass screen protectors are available that work well. And extended batteries. With the Zero Lemon 10k battery, I have what amounts to unlimited battery life. I'd probably fall asleep before running out. I also really hate the design trend with the camera sticking out from the back, and prefer thicker phones anyway, so it works for me.
If I were to drop removable battery, Axon 7 and OnePlus get more interesting. Though OnePlus doesn't have SD either, putting them lower on the list.
If root is important to you, make sure you know what software version you are getting and check to make sure it can be rooted. Some of the newer ones can't be yet. TMobile 10p, for example, can not.

I've had mine since launch and I still enjoy it. Granted the development support has stagnated lately. But I would completely recommend it. Especially if you get an extended battery.

I've had my v20 for three or four months. Solid phone, can't see any reason to upgrade.
I could buy three of these for the price of a galaxy note 8! Or one of these and a halfway decent laptop!

After this 10p update i'd have to say no. better off getting a v30 when it comes out.

zeruth said:
After this 10p update i'd have to say no. better off getting a v30 when it comes out.
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Any particular reason why? Wasn't that just security patches?

cathain said:
Any particular reason why? Wasn't that just security patches?
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Yes, that killed of DirtyCow, that killed off root for the foreseeable future.
If LG hadn't deleted all fastboot commands i'd say yeah get the V20. but now it will be unrootable and uncustomizable for quite some time.

I used the twrp zip 10p bootloader and modem... It completely refreshed my performance.
Getting 70+mbs down and 16 up... Compared to 10k modem I was getting 16 down and 3 up if lucky.
I also still have root (non OTA update).
So if you install update through twrp you still keep root.
I wouldn't ever really upgrade phones unless it's a new device that supports the new 600mhz band and 700mhz.
Had mine for a year.... It's amazing. Once you get it right, camera is good (Lazer focus and resolution replaced dslr), audio with DAC/HiFi/viper is amazing.
Screen and battery is great, sd card is a must for me.
If you can get a pristine/new one for $2-300 it's well worth it.
Only gripe, wish there was water proof case.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the answers guys! But I ended up getting the Pixel XL for the sheer performance and rootability and I'm happy with the decision.

Is the V20 still worth buying for <$200 USD

Hi, long time XDA user here. I'm currently using a OnePlus X. I was considering springing for the new OnePlus 6, but I really shouldn't spend that much money right now. I saw that the V20s (a phone I was interested in previously) are very affordable now and I imaging for 200 bucks I can push my upgrade down the road for a bit, maybe until the OP6+ comes out. I've had an LG phone before and liked it , but it's been quite a few years.(Windows Mobile fellas, not even Windows Phone)
1. Is the V20 still viable, does it run well with current apps and networks?
2. How is the ROM support doing nowadays, and is the rooting process in general still possible from the firmware that currently ships on the phone? (I'm not sure what LGs stance on bootloader locking is)
3. Do custom roms make use of the secondary screen at all?
4. What are the phone's weakest points or biggest annoyances today? As in, what hasn't really stood the test of time?
Thanks for any info you can provide me.

Kevin1a said:
Hi, long time XDA user here. I'm currently using a OnePlus X. I was considering springing for the new OnePlus 6, but I really shouldn't spend that much money right now. I saw that the V20s (a phone I was interested in previously) are very affordable now and I imaging for 200 bucks I can push my upgrade down the road for a bit, maybe until the OP6+ comes out. I've had an LG phone before and liked it , but it's been quite a few years.(Windows Mobile fellas, not even Windows Phone)
1. Is the V20 still viable, does it run well with current apps and networks?
2. How is the ROM support doing nowadays, and is the rooting process in general still possible from the firmware that currently ships on the phone? (I'm not sure what LGs stance on bootloader locking is)
3. Do custom roms make use of the secondary screen at all?
4. What are the phone's weakest points or biggest annoyances today? As in, what hasn't really stood the test of time?
Thanks for any info you can provide me.
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Click to collapse
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs
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Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I was looking for.

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs
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I wouldn't say that with the active development of Lineage OS and Any Kernel.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
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This sums it up. Seems the v20 is dead. Maybe oreo will bring more development but I doubt it since a lot of people have moved on

WhiteWidows said:
I wouldn't say that with the active development of Lineage OS and Any Kernel.
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Oh yeah lineage that half baked os that's unofficial and you lose main features of the phone and have to flash constant updates or use work arounds to have basic functionality, yeah that's development right there.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs

LG V20 Still A good Phone
Well maybe you would like a different perspective. I fist laid eyes on the LG V20 in a Verizon store about a month ago but they would not sell it to me because it is not made anymore. So I just purchased an unlocked version from B&H in New York. My first attraction to this phone is the second screen which i think is extremely useful. Then i noticed that the LG V20 has a removable back panel so you can replace the battery. I have been looking for that ever since my NOTE 4 bricked two years ago. in the interim I had a Motorola Pure X which took a look for me to part with. SO that was all I needed to make the choice to buy it. now i do not have to carry a battery brick or make sure i am near a charger all day. i can carry a spare battery in my pocket. Next fringe benefit was finding out that this phone has 3 cameras, 1 front facing and 2 rear, one of them being a wide angle lens. But the love keeps getting better... add to that a removable SD card up to 256 GB or more when they come out with one, fingerprint censor, 64 GB phone and you have a pretty serious contender. I love this phone. I love it so much i but another one. Actually at the moment i have 3. Oh and yes, probably one of the only phones left that has both a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a type C charging port. The Audio and DAC units in this phone is better than most high end audio gear that you would find in a music studio, and i am a musician. I have heard of complaints about the camera quality, but to that i say if you want pictures with that kind of quality, go out and buy a Nikon! Also i have heard that manufactures are moving away form 3.5 mm jacks and removable batteries because they want to make the phones more water proof. Bull Hockey!! Are people so obsessed with phones that they cannot leave the thing alone for a 10 minute swim. The real reason is because the manufacturer doesn't want you keeping a phone more than 2 years so they make the batteries last only that long and if you cannot replace the battery, you need a new phone. (or you can go the route of trying to put a new battery in your phone and butcher it to death).
Long story to say do not count the LG V20 out yet. it is a superb phone, has many features that a lot of other phones just do not have. I am very pleased with both of mine and i love the second screen.
The only bad experience i have had is that in order to get Verizon's Visual Voice mail, i had to purchase a Verizon version, and the front camera crapped out after a week. It was supposed to be new, but the box looks like it has been ridden around the world, so i doubt it was new. SO i am sending that back but still have both of my unlocked US996's.

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
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Click to collapse
Like, how is December 2016 is more that 2 years ago? Kid, are you sane? More so, Shap 820 even didn't existed more than 2 years ago, it is still actual chip not legacy like some 810, and 835 is pretty much == 820 rebranded and repainted
---------- Post added at 06:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:09 PM ----------
Kevin1a said:
1. Is the V20 still viable, does it run well with current apps and networks?
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Yes, because it's powered by SD820, not Snap 430 or 600 or something
Kevin1a said:
4. What are the phone's weakest points or biggest annoyances today? As in, what hasn't really stood the test of time?
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The weakest point is battery somewhat degraded over time, I could have like 7hrs SOT on Wifi on the start but now after cold winters it shows its age and gives me around 4.5...5 SOT on same router. but battery is exchangeable easily and I hope to buy more fresh one
Some people claim they got screen retention, it's more visible the more southern country you live and more brighter you must set you screen to

I still am keeping it as a backup phone but I am using a different DD. I did take it on a trip though with the 10800 ma battery I have for it. I'm running a stock 918H and it still fairly fast. The SD card and headphone jack are nice too. Still a good buy at $150 or so

I love the second screen and the DAC but being forced to run the stock ROM is a PITA as it's very sluggish. I have a Mi A1 that runs circles around the V20 in terms of performance, which is sad. Meanwhile, if you try to solve the lag, running Lineage OS defeats the purpose and outweighs the benefits of the phone as you won't have the DAC, second screen nor full camera functionality.

Absolutely it is worth it. You can pick up a V30 with a slightly faster processor, and slightly better camera (and that is debatable) for $250. However, you will lose the replaceable battery, the second screen, the IR blaster.
The people that say they are having performance problems have hardware issues. Even stock non-rooted, runs plenty fast, but if you use Alpha ROM, and debloat all the carrier bullsh** then it runs like a beast.
-- Brian

runningnak3d said:
Absolutely it is worth it. You can pick up a V30 with a slightly faster processor, and slightly better camera (and that is debatable) for $250. However, you will lose the replaceable battery, the second screen, the IR blaster.
The people that say they are having performance problems have hardware issues. Even stock non-rooted, runs plenty fast, but if you use Alpha ROM, and debloat all the carrier bullsh** then it runs like a beast.
-- Brian
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I don't have hardware issues. The stock ROM (de-bloated or not) is well known to be sluggish. As I stated in my post, the phone is completely different if running Lineage at the cost of the unique functionality. Aside from many people complaining of the performance under stock as being sluggish, this guy describes it perfectly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZl2GpxekrQ&t=3s

So I have a slow phone? Holy crap! I had no idea!
Stop spreading FUD, and learn how to do things like disable rctd, ccmd, logging, CPU throttling...
-- Brian

runningnak3d said:
Absolutely it is worth it. You can pick up a V30 with a slightly faster processor, and slightly better camera (and that is debatable) for $250. However, you will lose the replaceable battery, the second screen, the IR blaster.
The people that say they are having performance problems have hardware issues. Even stock non-rooted, runs plenty fast, but if you use Alpha ROM, and debloat all the carrier bullsh** then it runs like a beast.
-- Brian
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runningnak3d said:
So I have a slow phone? Holy crap! I had no idea!
Stop spreading FUD, and learn how to do things like disable rctd, ccmd, logging, CPU throttling...
-- Brian
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Click to collapse
Your sarcasm isn't appreciated and I'm not spreading fud - this is fact. I've done lots of tweaking and no amount of it will fix what LG did to the stock ROM. You're acting as if I'm the only person who has pointed out the shortcomings of the V20. The fact is, it is a fantastic phone with bad execution of the OS by LG. To be clear, I still use mine but it will soon be retired to secondary usage as my Mi A1 is way better as a DD.

No, I am sure there are plenty of others out there complaining as well -- that also don't know the first thing about how to get the most out of their phone.
Is the V20 the end-all / be-all? Nope, but it is the last great flagship phone that was released. Everything since is just a waste of money.
-- Brian

We just bought our T-mobile V20's this year. Great phones for about $150 in excellent used (hard to tell they were used) condition. Great photos and DAC, among other things. We couldn't find anything comparable for that price, new or used.

Mine is still great. Stock, unrooted, H990DS with a zerolemon 10000mAh extended battery. The image retention doesn't bother me - it's not permanent. I use the widescreen camera a lot, and charge the device once every 3-4 days. The IR transmitter sees plenty of use too, as does the DAC and the dual SIM.
There's nothing else that fits my needs. Dreading when it dies.

I just got me V20 H918 in excellent condition with 3 batteries and 4 cases for $185 shipped. I've come from G4 which started to have GPS lock issues, sometimes. My LG G3 GPS is no longer working at all. lol. Not sure what's up with that. Was this fixed in v20 or is this just tear and wear on GPS chip or something?
My main attraction point is camera manual controls and i mean white balance K numbers and mic for loud concert recording as well as removable battery and i prefer bigger screens and 5.7 upgrade from 5.5 on G4 is welcomed too. Oh and DAC was other feature that attracted me as well. What's weird that G4 concert recording was terrible but G3 was fantastic. Never distorted. Hoping V20 has great mic like G3 did. Let me know your thoughts.
I will NOT buy a phone if it doesn't have removable battery as i refuse to spend $800 on phone every few years and be forced by manufacturers due to profit.
Don't know any other manufacturer that lets you do white balance in K values. I wish aperture would be f=1.6 or f1.5 but had no complains with 1.8 on G4. Kinda sucks wide angle is f2.4, as it should be 1.8 or lower. It seems ppl use that camera more often. I guess night shots in standard angle is to use.
Thought about pixel but don't have manual control like LG does. If you guys have any suggestions on used phone <$250 that blows V20 out of water please let me know. I use to be Samsung Galaxy lover but since LG introduced manual controls i switched. There was pro photographer article on G4 camera so ppl that think iphone or samsung has better camera u should read that article. But let me know if there is something better.
P.S
In process of rooting it as i need it for kernel auditor for screen colors profiles (Vomer DeepRich) and kernel i/o scheduler control and kin screen and lux too, among few more other apps. Came with 10u so downgraded to 10p, bootloader unlocked already. Next will be laf exploid root method.

I just reflashed the excellent Alpha ROM on my V20 and managed to rid myself of a significant portion of the sluggishness I mentioned by getting rid of Magisk. I'm not sure what was going on but Magisk was definitely slowing everything down on my V20. Recommend if you buy this phone to stay away from Magisk or at least keep this is mind if you intend to root.

im on Mi A1 right now and im planning also to switch to V20.

Considering Purchase of LG V20 - Your Thoughts?

Looking at purchasing a V20 and just wanted people's opinions on the phone (those who already own it and are using it). I can get a new one for $230 from a legit seller on eBay so I'm seriously considering it. Right now I have an iPhone 8+ with AT&T but I'm missing my Android and it would be nice to have a user replaceable battery and not be stuck with a phone whose battery dies after 2 years or so.
I'm also wondering which model to buy? The new one on eBay is a H190, but I've read in places that the US996 is also a good model. I might actually consider rooting this phone so which model would be easiest to root?
Thanks.

dougdraws said:
Looking at purchasing a V20 and just wanted people's opinions on the phone (those who already own it and are using it). I can get a new one for $230 from a legit seller on eBay so I'm seriously considering it. Right now I have an iPhone 8+ with AT&T but I'm missing my Android and it would be nice to have a user replaceable battery and not be stuck with a phone whose battery dies after 2 years or so.
I'm also wondering which model to buy? The new one on eBay is a H190, but I've read in places that the US996 is also a good model. I might actually consider rooting this phone so which model would be easiest to root?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Honestly, I would never suggest someone to buy the LG V20. And since you're currently an iOS user owning an 8+ this would reinforce me to not suggest the phone even more. I own a V20 (H990DS AME) & I'm using it to write this. It's been with me for almost 2 years & boy it throttles A LOT. I'm still on Android nougat waiting for the Oreo update. Other V20 models have gotten the Oreo update (Verizon, AT&T, All international H990DS except AME I think etc.). So to summarize things up, I do not recommend this phone as it will be a pain most of the time i.e. cons >>>>>>>>>>> pros. Screen burn ins, too much lags, bad battery life, slow performance, extremely slow software support, laggy camera, outdated design (at least that's what I think now), and the useless second screen that LG THINKS they implemented the software correctly for it (Oreo doesn't change the way it works, meaning it's still the same) >>>>>>>>>>>> Hi-Fi Quad DAC (The only good thing I can think of in the V20).
PS: NO root for Android Oreo on the V20 since it just came out 1 year late woohoo! So you'll have to wait until a root comes out.

dougdraws said:
Looking at purchasing a V20 and just wanted people's opinions on the phone (those who already own it and are using it). I can get a new one for $230 from a legit seller on eBay so I'm seriously considering it. Right now I have an iPhone 8+ with AT&T but I'm missing my Android and it would be nice to have a user replaceable battery and not be stuck with a phone whose battery dies after 2 years or so.
I'm also wondering which model to buy? The new one on eBay is a H190, but I've read in places that the US996 is also a good model. I might actually consider rooting this phone so which model would be easiest to root?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the deal. If you plan on rooting your phone...get it. Custom ROMs really make this phone shine. Us996 is unlockable and rootable. The H910 is rootable up to a certain point, double check on that as it's not my model. If you're going to keep the phone stock..it's OK. You're going to get some lag over time. I'm on an LS997, rooted it was great (broke that one), and now I'm on stock ? Oreo. It's good for a daily driver for the most part. Love that I can pop and swap batteries as well as sd cards -- quad DAC and ir blaster are also a big plus. Long story short, it's ok stock but you will deal with screen burn (pretty much fixed if rooted) and lag. I know iOS is pretty solid and is fluid, but the things I CANT do with that phone drive me absolutely nuts. That's why I always go back to Android. If you root your phones definitely get it. Can't beat the features for that price brand new. You can pick them up even cheaper used. The guy above me obviously didn't root his phone and I'm sure he'd be singing a different tune about the phone if he did. I say get it, especially if you're gonna root it. If not it's a decent option for the price.

Foreigner1 said:
Honestly, I would never suggest someone to buy the LG V20. And since you're currently an iOS user owning an 8+ this would reinforce me to not suggest the phone even more. I own a V20 (H990DS AME) & I'm using it to write this. It's been with me for almost 2 years & boy it throttles A LOT. I'm still on Android nougat waiting for the Oreo update. Other V20 models have gotten the Oreo update (Verizon, AT&T, All international H990DS except AME I think etc.). So to summarize things up, I do not recommend this phone as it will be a pain most of the time i.e. cons >>>>>>>>>>> pros. Screen burn ins, too much lags, bad battery life, slow performance, extremely slow software support, laggy camera, outdated design (at least that's what I think now), and the useless second screen that LG THINKS they implemented the software correctly for it (Oreo doesn't change the way it works, meaning it's still the same) >>>>>>>>>>>> Hi-Fi Quad DAC (The only good thing I can think of in the V20).
PS: NO root for Android Oreo on the V20 since it just came out 1 year late woohoo! So you'll have to wait until a root comes out.
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Click to collapse
I agree with this. Wouldn't recommend it either. You'd be better off with another device.

Foreigner1 said:
Honestly, I would never suggest someone to buy the LG V20. And since you're currently an iOS user owning an 8+ this would reinforce me to not suggest the phone even more. I own a V20 (H990DS AME) & I'm using it to write this. It's been with me for almost 2 years & boy it throttles A LOT. I'm still on Android nougat waiting for the Oreo update. Other V20 models have gotten the Oreo update (Verizon, AT&T, All international H990DS except AME I think etc.). So to summarize things up, I do not recommend this phone as it will be a pain most of the time i.e. cons >>>>>>>>>>> pros. Screen burn ins, too much lags, bad battery life, slow performance, extremely slow software support, laggy camera, outdated design (at least that's what I think now), and the useless second screen that LG THINKS they implemented the software correctly for it (Oreo doesn't change the way it works, meaning it's still the same) >>>>>>>>>>>> Hi-Fi Quad DAC (The only good thing I can think of in the V20).
PS: NO root for Android Oreo on the V20 since it just came out 1 year late woohoo! So you'll have to wait until a root comes out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you even considered a custom ROM? All of your gripes are pretty much eliminated by using one..
---------- Post added at 12:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------
aakashverma0007 said:
I agree with this. Wouldn't recommend it either. You'd be better off with another device.
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You're on stock?

zeusofyork said:
Have you even considered a custom ROM? All of your gripes are pretty much eliminated by using one..
---------- Post added at 12:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------
You're on stock?
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Click to collapse
No. I've tried custom roms. Things are a lot better with them.

zeusofyork said:
Have you even considered a custom ROM? All of your gripes are pretty much eliminated by using one..
---------- Post added at 12:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------
You're on stock?
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Click to collapse
No actually I haven't tried custom ROMs, and I don't know much about them. However, recently I did start looking into them, but as I can see that installing custom ROMs will remove some functionality in the V20. Things like the second screen &/or the fingerprint scanner (Also what about the Hi-Fi Quad DAC? Will it still work?).
What custom ROM would you suggest as the best one for the V20 (H990DS)?

Thanks for the replies everyone. So if I wanted to go back to Android can you recommend a good phone? I hate the new curved screens on everything and it seems all the phones are starting to look alike. I should have stuck with my Note 5, but oh well live and learn, lol. I was only considering the V20 because of the replaceable battery, SD card and of course Android.
Just out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the V30?

Foreigner1 said:
No actually I haven't tried custom ROMs, and I don't know much about them. However, recently I did start looking into them, but as I can see that installing custom ROMs will remove some functionality in the V20. Things like the second screen &/or the fingerprint scanner (Also what about the Hi-Fi Quad DAC? Will it still work?).
What custom ROM would you suggest as the best one for the V20 (H990DS)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those only apply if your using an lineage/resurrection/aikp ROM and from the last I read lineage has second screen support ...ish. I think there's a way to get quad DAC working in lineage too. You'll have to read it though. I can't root my phone because of ARB but before I broke my last v20 I loved running custom ROMs . If you use a stock rooted ROM you can debloat and tweak the system for performance. Again on custom stock based ROMs all features still work. Go through the ROM recovery thread and look to see what works best for you.
---------- Post added at 03:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:47 PM ----------
dougdraws said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. So if I wanted to go back to Android can you recommend a good phone? I hate the new curved screens on everything and it seems all the phones are starting to look alike. I should have stuck with my Note 5, but oh well live and learn, lol. I was only considering the V20 because of the replaceable battery, SD card and of course Android.
Just out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the V30?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No second screen no removable battery...meh I'll stick with my v20. Like I said if you root it and put a custom ROM on it's in my opinion a far better phone than those available. The newer ones may have water resistance fingerprint scanner in screen etc...but those arent what made me choose a phone. The v20 has everyhing i wanted. As the v30 I hear it's a decent phone.

zeusofyork said:
No second screen no removable battery...meh I'll stick with my v20. Like I said if you root it and put a custom ROM on it's in my opinion a far better phone than those available. The newer ones may have water resistance fingerprint scanner in screen etc...but those arent what made me choose a phone. The v20 has everyhing i wanted. As the v30 I hear it's a decent phone.
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Click to collapse
How difficult is it to root the V20? I'm a complete n00b when it comes to rooting and from little I have read on it, it seems quite daunting.

dougdraws said:
How difficult is it to root the V20? I'm a complete n00b when it comes to rooting and from little I have read on it, it seems quite daunting.
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Click to collapse
It's not incredibly difficult. There's literally a thread with step by step instructions. It was harder than rooting my note 5 and note 4, but impossibly so.

zeusofyork said:
It's not incredibly difficult. There's literally a thread with step by step instructions. It was harder than rooting my note 5 and note 4, but impossibly so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you have a link to that thread?

dougdraws said:
Would you have a link to that thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't search cause I'm on mobile but if you go to the news and development threat you can search the dirty santa rooting g method or laf method depending in the variant.

The v20 is a very nice phone. In fact I bought another one. It has a SD slot, 64gb onboerd, IR blaster and removable battery. It's worth it just for those features. Mine does not throttle. Neither one does. I just wish people would not buy phones that take away features, it just encourages the phone makers to keep taking them away. As a result, next time I buy a phone, I'll be forced to but an inferior product to my v20's [emoji852]️
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

The V20 is a fine device, yes even today so the naysayers and ne'er-do-wells in this thread automagically telling anyone to avoid it - considering everything it offers that can't really be found on most if any of the flagships available today - is a bit ludicrous. It gets the job done just fine, Oreo is now available for it (save for the US996 but that could become available any day now whenever LG gets around to it), and of the variants out there I would say - if you're in the US - the best variant to get is the T-Mobile H918 model which allows for easy bootloader unlocking, Oreo is now out (and we just got our first security patch for that a few days ago), it has some custom ROMs available that get good reviews (but you will lose some functionality, the second screen support is barely there but it does exist to various degrees, both Nougat and Oreo), and of course all the other good things about the phone are great.
The Snapdragon 820 even in spite of being a lowly quad core SoC is still damned powerful and fast. The 4GB RAM is more than enough today, there are a multitude of tweaks and custom kernels to improve things, TWRP is actively developed for the V20, and the device just works. Yes it has some screen retention issues at times, on some people's devices it's more noticeable, on others - like on mine - it's just not something to focus on nearly as much as some people do. The 820 does hardware accelerated h.265 8 and 10 bit decoding too so that's a plus if you're a media hound like a lot of people too.
$230 for a used V20 is kinda steep - I paid $110 for my H918 from an eBay seller and it was shipped to my door for that much, no issues so far aside from the rear camera having some focus issues but I resolved that by buying a new camera module and I'm good to go so I've put $138 into my V20 and it works damned near flawlessly at this point.
H918
- Easily unlocked bootloader
- Installing TWRP is fairly idiot proof as well
- Rooting is possible but a bit more complex in methodology, it's actually easier to just flash a pre-rooted stock ROM and probably faster too
- Stock rooted Oreo 20g and you can roll back to Nougat with no issues (at least up to the present time, nobody knows if T-Mobile might alter the ARB variable at a later time)
- Latest Vulkan GPU drivers (I don't really need them since I don't play games or do much that ever even kicks the GPU into action but I figured it can't hurt to install 'em)
- High Impedance mode for the DAC is enabled permanently because I changed a variable in build.prop so it was always on regardless of the headset/IEMs I use
- I use UAPP (USB Audio Player PRO) to always use the ESS DAC (and not the Snapdragon DAC as part of the SoC) for all audio playback of local files and streaming audio from Shoutcast-capable streams
- IR blaster is something I use quite a bit - my Wife is deaf and sometimes we'll go to places that have TVs like a doctor's office lobby or something similar and they rarely enable the closed captioning or subtitles on their TVs so, I do it myself so my Wife can keep up with what's going on even in spite of their inconsiderate attention to details
- Modified thermal config file to ensure I get minimal lag and throttling - using the CPU Throttling Test app I get no less than 83% throttling (not much at all really) after 15 minutes of testing, with the stock thermal conf it'll throttle down as low as 45% depending on temps
- mk2000 kernel which improves performance and battery life (modified stock kernel)
It just works for me, but as I said, you can find a great V20 for a lot less than $230, absolutely. Hell, Woot.com was selling refurbs a few weeks ago for $140 iirc, a lot of people pounced on those when it happened according to what I had read about the deal.
It's a fantastic piece of hardware, but not it's not perfect, nothing ever is. For the price, and for what it offers, it's still pretty damned hard to beat even today.

dougdraws said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. So if I wanted to go back to Android can you recommend a good phone? I hate the new curved screens on everything and it seems all the phones are starting to look alike. I should have stuck with my Note 5, but oh well live and learn, lol. I was only considering the V20 because of the replaceable battery, SD card and of course Android.
Just out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the V30?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the V30?[/QUOTE]
I actually have a v30 plus at home and it's amazing. Display is gorgeous and an AMOLED panel. Battery life is good. Camera's great. Has HiFi DAC. Doesn't have screen retention issues.
The reason I'm not recommending v20 is because it's a 2016 flagship that doesn't really perform like a flagship on stock rom in terms of performance. It probably won't be getting Pie update.
For 230 dollars, if you don't mind rooting, it's a good device.
What's the cost at which you're getting V30?
Though it doesn't support removable battery.

dougdraws said:
How difficult is it to root the V20? I'm a complete n00b when it comes to rooting and from little I have read on it, it seems quite daunting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting on the H918 (T-Mobile) version isn't that hard. You use a FWUL (Linux) and run 3 commands. Really easy and safe. The other models can vary but if you know how to use cmd even a little bit, it shouldn't be that hard. If you need help just ask on here.

Foreigner1 said:
I own a V20 (H990DS AME) & I'm using it to write this. I'm still on Android nougat waiting for the Oreo update. Other V20 models have gotten the Oreo update (Verizon, AT&T, All international H990DS except AME I think etc.). Screen burn ins, too much lags, bad battery life, slow performance, extremely slow software support, laggy camera, and the useless second screen that LG THINKS they implemented the software correctly for it (Oreo doesn't change the way it works, meaning it's still the same). Hi-Fi Quad DAC (The only good thing I can think of in the V20).
PS: NO root for Android Oreo on the V20 since it just came out 1 year late woohoo! So you'll have to wait until a root comes out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI: https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/development/rom-h990ds-oreo-flashable-t3853735
There's flashable Oreo stock and custom rooted ROMs available for almost every variant.
Also, all of those problems are eliminated by a custom ROM and Kernel. It's a process, yes, but the phone essentially becomes something else entirely.
Also also, we've got second-screen support on ResurrectionRemix (this is most up to date) and LineageOS, both with the stock ROM kernel or a custom one (I maintain the second-screen Gamma kernel).
The DAC/Camera/etc. all work as they do on stock.

got it for 2000 hkd. still using wetarom....is fast as hell and the battery last forever... the only down side is it requires some tweaking and tuning..

masondoctorjt said:
The v20 is a very nice phone. In fact I bought another one. It has a SD slot, 64gb onboerd, IR blaster and removable battery. It's worth it just for those features.
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Bottom line
I just wish people would not buy phones that take away features, it just encourages the phone makers to keep taking them away. As a result, next time I buy a phone, I'll be forced to but an inferior product to my v20's [emoji852]️
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen
What's happened is at some point the customer stopped mattering any more only the company stock holder. All these companies copy things that make Apple suck they never try to emulate what makes Apple great.
dougdraws said:
Looking at purchasing a V20 and just wanted people's opinions on the phone (those who already own it and are using it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on stock since i didn't want to bother with rooting. The phone does what i want. I don't have screen retention since i have brightness down. I suspect its caused by high brightness all the time. Some people can't see the screen unless its 70% bright. Mine is usually in the 20s or 30s unless its outdoors
I got it because of the camera i had on the G4. Liked the interface. The wide angle is useful. Starting to be copied by Samsung & Huawei
I don't use headphones but I hear its got a good DAC. Reason i don't have headphones is because increasingly where would i plug them into in the future
Still on N, and everything works fine. I avg 4-5h SOT on wifi and a spare will double that in a snap. No high end phone can match that and likely never will. Mid rangers with 600 series CPUS & thick batteries might.
I find the second screen useful. Only way to quick launch the camera while listening to something
I'm not too bothered with speed. Computers spend most of their lives waiting for people to tell them what to do. This phone runs cool maybe its because it throttles past a certain temperature. That's good as i live in the tropics and it can get warm here.
I'm actually nervous about Oreo that it might break something so i'm not in the slightest bit bothered about not having it yet.