Database Users

How reliable is the Oneplus One now? (March 2016)

After weathering the storm of chaos as huge crowds rushed to get the One, hearing countless horror stories of failing phones and terrible support, and waiting for (hopefully) all hardware problems to rear their ugly faces, I'm at a loss now--in March 2016--as to whether or not buying a used phone, said to work perfectly by the seller and has been tested enough by natural selection, would be a good idea if I can only return DOAs.
I'm calling on everyone here not to post just epic sob-stories; instead, if you had an issue (hardware, software, firmware, or other) please post what it was, when it showed up (how much use, any possible user error that may have caused it), whether it was fixed (and if it was, what it was fixed by), how long it lasted, what ROM/software version you were on, and any other important info.
Thanks so much in advance; I really like the specs and the original reviews, but just can't be sure if it got back up after falling flat right out of the gate.

I got a oneplus one. I love it!. Soon as I got i t I rooted and flashed CM13. NO ISSUES WITH IT AT ALL.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

dreamwave said:
After weathering the storm of chaos as huge crowds rushed to get the One, hearing countless horror stories of failing phones and terrible support, and waiting for (hopefully) all hardware problems to rear their ugly faces, I'm at a loss now--in March 2016--as to whether or not buying a used phone, said to work perfectly by the seller and has been tested enough by natural selection, would be a good idea if I can only return DOAs.
I'm calling on everyone here not to post just epic sob-stories; instead, if you had an issue (hardware, software, firmware, or other) please post what it was, when it showed up (how much use, any possible user error that may have caused it), whether it was fixed (and if it was, what it was fixed by), how long it lasted, what ROM/software version you were on, and any other important info.
Thanks so much in advance; I really like the specs and the original reviews, but just can't be sure if it got back up after falling flat right out of the gate.
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Nearly 2 years and no regrets..

I only got this phone at the end of 2015 and I haven't regretted a bit, ever. It's an amazing phone, I never had any problem with it. The metal around the screen is the only thing that wears out, it's not awful but it as some scratches, and I'm very careful. Believe me, for the price, this is still the best budget phone you can get

I have the ability to get it for as low as $180 here in the US. I know that is quite a good deal compared to the original price, but with the OPX having been released with similar specs and such I'm not quite sure I fully grasp whether or not this price is a steal, or just a good bargain. Thoughts?

Absolutely hate it. I regret trading my Nexus 6 for it. My data has been spotty and I keep getting random reboots. Today, I was using the GPS and Google Maps lost the ability to connect to my phone's mobile data during the commute. Completely overshot my destination, thanks OnePlus!

billybobchongo said:
Absolutely hate it. I regret trading my Nexus 6 for it. My data has been spotty and I keep getting random reboots. Today, I was using the GPS and Google Maps lost the ability to connect to my phone's mobile data during the commute. Completely overshot my destination, thanks OnePlus!
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When it comes to data, I'm not too worried as I use tracfone (so I'm not really used to the convenience of data on the go) and have great coverage around here--unless it is so significantly worse than the Nexus 6 so as to cause a steady 3-4 bars on one to equal intermittent service on the other.
For the random reboots, when did they start? What ROM? When do they happen?

dreamwave said:
I have the ability to get it for as low as $180 here in the US. I know that is quite a good deal compared to the original price, but with the OPX having been released with similar specs and such I'm not quite sure I fully grasp whether or not this price is a steal, or just a good bargain. Thoughts?
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On paper, the OnePlus One and OnePlus X may seem similar, but it's only so much.
The OPO features (as compared to the OPX)
> a higher-tier variant of the Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) @ 2.5ghz
> a larger 5.5in LTPS (IPS LCD) display (screen size is subjective, some people prefer smaller)
> better band support for US Carriers (the OPX lacks necessary bands)
> a better rear-facing camera (capable of 4K DCI/UHD recording) and can be vastly improved with Sultan's modifications
> WIFI AC + Dual band (2.4/5.0ghz)
> a larger 3100mah battery
> NFC (the OPX doesn't have NFC, seriously)
But most importantly, the OPO is sustained by one of the largest dev communities ever, right here at XDA. Even after OnePlus/Cyanogen discontinues official support for the device, the community will keep it alive and strong for a VERY long time. The OPX lacks this kind of love and support. Unsurprisingly, OnePlus themselves seem to be neglecting the OPX.
The OPX features (as compared to the OPO)
> a more portable 5in AMOLED display
> a better front-facing camera
I might sound biased, but that is justified by everything I've just listed. It's clear who's the winner here.
Spec sheets for reference:
http://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_one-6327.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_x-7630.php

JimJ2Mz said:
On paper, ... camera
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Thanks for the insight. I kind of wonder why it's so cheap when it's so competitive with other phones of the time. The Galaxy s5 seems to go, used, for between $250-300 while the OPO goes for between 200-225 normally. I get that last generation phones can go down in price, but it seemed unexpected that it didn't even out to pretty much the same used price as most of those other phones. I was just thinking there must be something I was missing.

dreamwave said:
I kind of wonder why it's so cheap when it's so competitive with other phones of the time. The Galaxy s5 seems to go, used, for between $250-300 while the OPO goes for between 200-225 normally. I get that last generation phones can go down in price, but it seemed unexpected that it didn't even out to pretty much the same used price as most of those other phones. I was just thinking there must be something I was missing.
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This is expected. The Galaxy S5 is a Samsung device and as with all popular brands, these devices can go for a high price, from when they're released to even a few years later.
The OnePlus One was OnePlus' very first device and it was named "The Flagship Killer" for a reason- that reason being it had the same specs as popular flagship devices (ie. Galaxy S5, Xperia Z3, HTC One M8) but costed much less than they did. This is why the OPO, new or used, continues to be sold for lower than any other popular flagship device.
As a note, OnePlus claims that they barely made any profit at the time due to selling the OPO for such a low price, but they actually had a lot of backup from their overseeing company, OPPO.
Trust me (and everyone here), the OPO is still an amazing device. Everything about it screams high quality.

dreamwave said:
When it comes to data, I'm not too worried as I use tracfone (so I'm not really used to the convenience of data on the go) and have great coverage around here--unless it is so significantly worse than the Nexus 6 so as to cause a steady 3-4 bars on one to equal intermittent service on the other.
For the random reboots, when did they start? What ROM? When do they happen?
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Running Sultan's CM13 - had similar issues with CM12. Switched to CM13 because Sultan was actively developing it. Tried other roms but I didn't like them as much as Sultan's rom. Charging is also atrocious - 2 hours to go from 10% to 100% with the stock cable and charger.
The funny thing is, I had full bars and data, GMaps just couldn't connect until I restarted the phone.
I had three reboots in the past hour. One with the phone laying on my desk. Another while scrolling through GroupMe. The final after I took a screenshot of my lockscreen. I don't use xposed or any other customization app.

Best phone ever released till date, we can edit ANDROID to the core.. I am using since aug 2014, only thing i regret is camera compared to todays phones but even it lives it up to the mark

well!! it is reliable enough ...

I've had this device since November 2014 and going strong. This device is one of the best purchases I've ever made in terms of a device. Unless I cause damage to it or there are new band support that's needed in the near future, I might actually try to keep this device until end of 2017.
I've really have had no issues with this phone, probably my only real gripe is the lack of OIS support.
You really can't go wrong with the OnePlus One.

Being a phone junkie, I jumped at the chance for a flagship killer, and do not regret it. Looking at all the phones we have today, this one still stacks up great, and outperforms my buddies lg v10 (which was what I was going to get, but couldn't justify the price) in a lot of areas (mostly stupid golf games), though all his hardware is top notch.
This device is affordable, and still runs as smooth as day one. Dev community awesome. I had the slight yellow tinge when it first came out, but it's gone. I had another friend of mine buy the op2 just cause he liked my phone so much but wanted the dual Sim...
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

I'm looking to jump back in with a OPO after a year, has the touch screen issue been addressed? I had the issue on two OPO's. Very great device otherwise!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MiguelSassoon said:
I'm looking to jump back in with a OPO after a year, has the touch screen issue been addressed? I had the issue on two OPO's. Very great device otherwise!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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That was one of the things I was wondering: there were a lot of people having problems with the touchscreen, they apparently had a firmware fix but I still saw some reports of problems afterwards. Haven't seen any recently, but no real discussion about what was the issue, whether there were some people with hardware problems AND some people with firmware problems or if there were just firmware problems. I think I might have seen something on their forums but I honestly don't trust that place with the reports of censorship and all the fanboys dismissing problems.
EDIT: Just found this thread that describes what causes the issue. Definitely an involved process, but at least it suggests a problem other than just faulty-digitizer roulette. I hate the lengths that Oneplus goes to to try and hide this kind of thing. They could gain a lot more support if they were just transparent about their fumbles and mistakes instead of trying to sweep stuff under the rug and waiting for it to create a scandal.

dreamwave said:
That was one of the things I was wondering: there were a lot of people having problems with the touchscreen, they apparently had a firmware fix but I still saw some reports of problems afterwards. Haven't seen any recently, but no real discussion about what was the issue, whether there were some people with hardware problems AND some people with firmware problems or if there were just firmware problems. I think I might have seen something on their forums but I honestly don't trust that place with the reports of censorship and all the fanboys dismissing problems.
EDIT: Just found this thread that describes what causes the issue. Definitely an involved process, but at least it suggests a problem other than just faulty-digitizer roulette. I hate the lengths that Oneplus goes to to try and hide this kind of thing. They could gain a lot more support if they were just transparent about their fumbles and mistakes instead of trying to sweep stuff under the rug and waiting for it to create a scandal.
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Yeah, I remember reading about that .. Hoping they fixed the issue as I'm contemplating purchasing one new from OnePlus.

Just wanted to follow-up on my post from yesterday, OP.
I'm now on rooted stock COS12.1 - latest update, as of yesterday night. Only rooted apps I use are AdAway and TiBu (might not justify root tbh haha). But it's still not that great. The phone was definitely much smoother with Sultan's rom, with occasional hiccups. Just tried to do a raid in COC and the phone went unresponsive until I locked the screen but I had to resort to rebooting to make it actually work. It actually froze on the "rebooting" screen and I had to hard reboot.
For reference, I've had the phone since September 2015 and have been holding out for this year's Nexus but I might have to bite the bullet and pick up the 6P. My phone timeline is as follows: LG MyTouch, HTC Sensation 4G, Moto G 1st Gen, Nexus 6 and OnePlus One. Favorites have been Moto G and Nexus 6.

buy opo, leave opx....look around here on developments for both devices and u know why i say opo

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.

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.

Lg v20 keep or upgrade

So i had my lg v20 since launch and I kept thinking should I upgrade or still keep it. I was hoping you guys could shed some light and give me advice, as I love my phone but feel like i want something different such as huawei p20 Pro or Google pixel 2.

matas17 said:
So i had my lg v20 since launch and I kept thinking should I upgrade or still keep it. I was hoping you guys could shed some light and give me advice, as I love my phone but feel like i want something different such as huawei p20 Pro or Google pixel 2.
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3 of my last 4 phone purchase were V20s
(We have 7 lines)
My wife got an S9 and I don't see any need to get one or spend three times the price on anything that's been released this year.
The pricing has gotten ridicules and really the one plus 6 is the only other phone that has sparked any interest here. And even it is just not worth double the price of a V20 to me.
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

matas17 said:
So i had my lg v20 since launch and I kept thinking should I upgrade or still keep it. I was hoping you guys could shed some light and give me advice, as I love my phone but feel like i want something different such as huawei p20 Pro or Google pixel 2.
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V20 stock is running low, mostly refurbs and used ones out there. If you got the itch, scratch it if you want, but based on the horrible non support of the V20 by LG I'd move on from LG altogether
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs

My V20 does everything I want/need it to do. Including the removable battery that I've upgraded to the 10k mAh from ZeroLemon. [emoji106][emoji16][emoji367]
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

I am keeping mine until I can get the Asus ROG Phone.

Stay with it until the phone dies. No way to upgrade. Not all all! This phone is amazing. Good DAC, good camera, good microphones, 3,5mm in, swappable battery, wide angle camera. I'll stay with mine hopefully for years! But I have to admit that I don't give a **** about updates. Had my galaxy note 4, which unfortunately died, for 2,5 years running with kitkat.

I've got the 918. With the LAF root method, FM radio, removable battery, IR Blaster, wired headphone option... I'm not upgrading anytime soon.
Best phone I've had since the HTC Evo Supersonic.

Braaainz said:
I've got the 918. With the LAF root method, FM radio, removable battery, IR Blaster, wired headphone option... I'm not upgrading anytime soon.
Best phone I've had since the HTC Evo Supersonic.
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What about battery backup.... I m planning to buy it... Please give some advise

bhanu9675 said:
What about battery backup.... I m planning to buy it... Please give some advise
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Not sure what you mean about battery backup.
I am still using stock battery but have a zero lemon extended battery for when it starts to go.
The zero lemon bicycle and windshield mounts are great if you use a protective case with the stock battery btw.

I'm now on my second V20, which just had the vibrato motor die on it, but otherwise works perfectly. My ONLY bones to pick: it can't be rooted because of the last OTA update to Oreo, and if you happen to test a lot of apps as I do, it's a power-hungry beast. If I were to upgrade at this point, I would probably go back to a Note 9, since my V20 replaced my rooted Note 4.
The thing I love most about this phone, however - and its a "biggie", for me - is the fact that it's the last flagship phone on the market with a removable battery. I don't care that it's already two gens behind, simply because it quite capably does everything I need it to do, including music player, photography and video recording, casting, and NFC functions, so until someone comes out with an embedded battery, feature-rich phone that REALLY wows me, I see no reason to upgrade. Hope this helps.
Cheers
Sent from my LG-LS997 using XDA Labs

The removable battery is one of the major reasons why I'll use the V20 indefinitely. Too many people have had to buy a new phone after 2 years because the battery died... or pay a lot for a battery replacement.

Same here on the notion of the removable battery. Maybe it's what you grew up with that determines your preference, but I like a phone that I can work on even if I don't need to. I really love the IR blaster. In fact, that's the reason I went back to it. I fancy controlling the TV in whatever restaurant I go! My only issue is the charging port is going bad and I'd like to de-bloat all Sprint's crap. Currently seeking a "How To" if there is one to be found.

I went from a note 4 to this and I'm very happy.
For me... it was the removable battery, screen ratio and I love the second screen.
Love the fact I can see the time while watching Netflix. Or turn on the flashlight with out messing with the phone.
Screen ratio... Movies/tv shows work without wasted space.
Sure, it's not lightening fast like my wife's s8... But the milliseconds I wait don't add up to much. Except the the big bucks I saved. Camera is pretty good, so much to love about this phone.
Also love the flat screen, so much less prone to breaking. Most of the bloatware can be disabled, even without root. Working hot-spot on sprint (with hack) is priceless too.

Apart from battery being changeable, I like that it is easy to repair. I shifted the thermal paste, and that was an easy task. I don't know any other phone where that would be the case. On top of that, I use the audio on high quality headphones. What a shame that LG stops updating, and then also make it difficult for our developers, too.

henrylar said:
Apart from battery being changeable, I like that it is easy to repair. I shifted the thermal paste, and that was an easy task. I don't know any other phone where that would be the case. On top of that, I use the audio on high quality headphones. What a shame that LG stops updating, and then also make it difficult for our developers, too.
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Tell me more of this thermal paste shift. Why would you do it, where, how... all that good stuff. Or a link

the link is here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/how-to/changed-thermal-paste-h910-t3782765
It did not make a huge difference for me since I am not using my phone for gaming, but the existing paste in my phone were definitely upon for being removed

Thanks for the link. I followed it and several other articles that it links to. It's not really definitive on if it's a good idea or not. Like you, I don't use it for gaming so I think I'll pass on it. At least until I decide to replace the screen. Saw a post about rooting and altering the profile so it can't run that hot... also not doing that.

Despite the short-coming of the V20 such as battery life and say...CPU Throttling for battery/temps (just delete Thermal-engine-8996.conf), and some weird episodes of LCD burn-in (solvable with KCAL kernels like mk2000), this phone still works well. The only hard-limit that can't be solved, through tweaking, is the fact the SD820 only has 4 CPU threads to execute tasks on. Other than that, the day-to-day of the V20 competes with other phones well-enough.

I agree with everybody else in here. In terms of features, the following phone finder search gives you a good idea about what the current alternatives are:
https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?nRamMin=4000&chkCameraUltrawide=selected&chk35mm=selected&chkNFC=selected&chkInfrared=selected&chkFMradio=selected&idCardslot=1&idBatRemovable=1
Cookster128 said:
...and I'd like to de-bloat all Sprint's crap. Currently seeking a "How To" if there is one to be found.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen any Sprint-specific bloat discussions here, probably since most of the old Sprint-based ROMs are already de-bloated. If you are on an unrootable LS997, then here is a brief discussion on the V20 Subreddit about using adb or a package disabler app to remove bloatware.

C D said:
I haven't seen any Sprint-specific bloat discussions here, probably since most of the old Sprint-based ROMs are already de-bloated. If you are on an unrootable LS997, then here is a brief discussion on the V20 Subreddit about using adb or a package disabler app to remove bloatware.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I'll have to try it out soon.

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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.