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Baboontyme

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in Can You Help Me With This?

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23096

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Ok a bit more confusion, I went and looked for the Pixel 4a at the Verizon store and it isn't there. It appears I can order it from the google store for 350 but only on pre-order. Did the 4a just come out?

Yes and don't buy Pixel devices directly from VZ. Not sure if VZ will sell it but just don't. And yes, it just came out and reception has been great. Imagine that? People want a phone that's not gimped by hardware nor has a 2012 screen.

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Viper
Viper

Is there nothing the Pixel 3 can't do?!

TwiceHorn
TwiceHorn

I think I have your solution. @workswithseed On the little menu that pops when you take a screenshot, there is no crop tool.  There is a Lens button.  I think you are pushing that and not the act

crash_davis
crash_davis

Flagship phones jumped the shark when prices hit $1000. Sub $500 phones are so much better value. There's no reason to have the flagship chipset anymore. Is that fraction of a second that important? I

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Viper

Viper 12101

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

You can't go wrong with either phone. Let me caveat that and say that depends on what OnePlus does with the next iteration of their OS, Oxygen. One of the biggest selling points is that Oxygen OS is amazing. Barebones like Pixels and some say even better and faster. However, OP is set to change Oxygen OS to be more like Sammie's OneUI which is a bit bloated compared to present Oxygen OS and Pixels. Also OnePlus started adding bloat which they never did before by adding Facebook apps on their phones. You can delete using ADB commands but it's a sign that they've lost their way.

Anyway, here's a vid on Nord vs 4a. I really comes do to what size you want and how important is the camera? Do you want best in class or just ok? Although GCam on the Nord should drastically improve the camera. It did on my 6T.

 

upvote for Kurisu wallpaper

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Viper

Viper 12101

Posted
Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, Okie State said:

My 4a says it will arrive next Wednesday or Thursday. I pre-ordered as soon as it showed up on my Fi account.

 

 

try giving this a watch https://www.droid-life.com/2020/08/13/google-pixel-4a-first-10-things-to-do/

 

a look at what we know about the Pixel 5 

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/08/13/google-pixel-5-pricing-specs-release-date-images-and-everything-else-we-know/

  • Edge to edge screen with hole punch front camera
  • Probably no gesture navigation or face unlock
  • fingerprint sensor is back
  • will use an upper mid tier cpu with 5G radio
  • likely around $700
  • Only one size
  • pre-order Oct 8th
Edited by Viper
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NWBuck

NWBuck 8552

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, MoJames said:

Much appreciated guys. I'm on Verizon so always a question with buying a phone outside of their environment. It appears that most of the top end phones really aren't worth the 1k you end up paying.

Honestly I'm more apt to purchase a google phone unless there is some absolute reason to get the OnePlus. I don't play games nearly as much anymore on my phone so the larger screen isn't a big deal. I do use my phone for photos, so I guess if the OnePlus similar to the 4a has an amazing camera I would do it.

I've got a One Plus 7T on Verizon. Took a phone call to set up the voicemail box, but otherwise it's been great.

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Sam Lin

Sam Lin 3550

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On the Pixel 4a, if you're a paying Google One subscriber (if you pay Google for annual storage over 2tb), they're offering a 10% credit if you buy the 4a direct from Play Store.

https://slickdeals.net/f/14243414-google-store-pixel-4a-pre-order-349-free-shipping-google-one-members-on-certain-plans-get-up-to-10-back-on-eligible-google-store-purchases-in-the-form-of-google-store-credit?v=1&src=SiteSearch

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BNB

BNB 100

Posted
Posted
On 8/13/2020 at 10:21 PM, Sam Lin said:

On the Pixel 4a, if you're a paying Google One subscriber (if you pay Google for annual storage over 2tb), they're offering a 10% credit if you buy the 4a direct from Play Store.

https://slickdeals.net/f/14243414-google-store-pixel-4a-pre-order-349-free-shipping-google-one-members-on-certain-plans-get-up-to-10-back-on-eligible-google-store-purchases-in-the-form-of-google-store-credit?v=1&src=SiteSearch

I'm really thinking about getting a 4a, I had a Samsung 8+, it broke, so I bought a used 8 for 100, I think I can get $87 trading in my 8+, and $35 credit for having Google one.  Makes it around 250.  Then sell my 8, but I like my Gear VR for porn :)  

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

Posted
Posted
On 8/12/2020 at 3:52 PM, crash_davis said:

Flagship phones jumped the shark when prices hit $1000. Sub $500 phones are so much better value. There's no reason to have the flagship chipset anymore. Is that fraction of a second that important? It's a phone, the use cases are not going to change. Surfing, texting, taking a few pictures, and calls are pretty much what 95% of people do. Only reason to get flagship phones is for heavy 3D gaming which I think most of us are way too old for now.

I'm never again buying another phone over $500. No need to.

Yep.  Look how everyone in this thread seems to be coming from the S8-level phone and looking for/at more economical replacements than just the S20.  Two-three years ago, you just went for the next top-line Samsung or similarly priced/featured upstart (LG, HTC, etc.) and just worried about whether to get the regular or phablet version.

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Okie State

Okie State 3804

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Posted

Only had it since last night, but battery life is noticeably improved vs. my Pixel 2. To be expected comparing to a three year old phone though.

 

Overall feel is obviously very similar although the bigger screen in the same size package is really nice. The overall size is perfect in my opinion. Build quality also feels really good for a polycarbonate phone. Everything runs smoothly and pictures are great as expected.

 

 

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MoJames

MoJames 8244

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Posted

Got my 4a on Tuesday. My phone plan is with Verizon.

I'd prefer to do the activation on my own, but wanted to reach out here before I just started pushing buttons.

I'd love my photos and contacts to transfer, do I need to do anything special to have this happen?

Is there a nice step by step on how to activate the 4a to a Verizon acct?

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

Posted
Posted (edited)
21 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Got my 4a on Tuesday. My phone plan is with Verizon.

I'd prefer to do the activation on my own, but wanted to reach out here before I just started pushing buttons.

I'd love my photos and contacts to transfer, do I need to do anything special to have this happen?

Is there a nice step by step on how to activate the 4a to a Verizon acct?

There are a number of ways to tackle that.  The simplest is to have your photos and contacts in a cloud service.

If you use Google Photos (or Dropbox or Amazon or whatever), then those photos on your phone that are "backed up" to your service will be "restored" to your new phone (more accurately "available"" on your new phone or any other device that can access that account).  Same with contacts if you use Google Contacts, or Outlook, or whatever.

There is also a setting in your "Google account" that "backs up" your phone so that installed apps will be (mostly) restored, along with (some of) their settings.  In my experience, this is about 80% effective.

One caveat on the photos, though:  Google Photos (and other services, ymmv)  backs up photos in some circumstances at less than full resolution, depending on your settings and how "full" your Photos account is.  The original, full resolution photos on your phone will "go away" with the phone.  You can offload them to a PC using a USB cable.  Pro-tip to avoid this:  use an SD card on the phone and set your camera to save to it.

Contacts transfer via your Google contacts account is pretty seamless, in my experience.  One caveat there is that sometimes you can save a contact to "your phone" and not your google or other contacts account.  Those will disappear.  You can check if you have any locally stored contacts by going into that app and showing contacts "by account" and move any "my phone" or "phone" or other contacts to your google account for restoration on your new phone.

Also understand that there are two phases to activating a new phone.  One is the "registration" of the sim card with Verizon or your provider and that should be relatively straightforward.  The other is the android software set up, including cloud accounts, which is what we're discussing here.  Android steps you through that by having you login presumably with the same google account you were using with your old phone.  If it was "backing up" your old phone, including contacts, photos, and what-have-you to your "sign-in" google account, you should be mostly good to go with the foregoing caveats.  It can also get a little weird if you had multiple google accounts on your phone and other cloud services.  For the most part, if you put them all back on your new phone, you should have most/all of your data/info available.  The "phone backup" on your main google account if you checked that box should insure this, but sometimes glitches.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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KuЯdt

KuЯdt 248

Posted
Posted
On 8/27/2020 at 9:38 AM, MoJames said:

Got my 4a on Tuesday. My phone plan is with Verizon.

I'd prefer to do the activation on my own, but wanted to reach out here before I just started pushing buttons.

I'd love my photos and contacts to transfer, do I need to do anything special to have this happen?

Is there a nice step by step on how to activate the 4a to a Verizon acct?

Got mine last weekend and it was as simple as could be. 

I'm on AT&T and was coming from an S8+.  Swapping the SIM from the old phone to the new is all I had to do and I was up and running.  As far as transferring data, I just plugged the USB-C cable to each phone, ass-to-ass style, and followed the prompts to transfer everything that I wanted - photos, apps, wireless settings, etc.  Could not have been any easier. Note that if you use MFA apps like Google or Microsoft Authenticator, look up how to properly move those to a new phone otherwise it can be a bit painful.

Overall I'm liking the phone.  It took a bit to get used to the smaller phone coming from the S8+, but I think my days of paying more than $500 for a phone are over.  Good value with the 4a.

The one gripe I have is that there's no photo gallery and it uses Google Photos by default.  I like Google Photos fine, but would prefer a separate app for the camera gallery.  I'll poke around and see what's out there.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, KuЯdt said:

Got mine last weekend and it was as simple as could be. 

I'm on AT&T and was coming from an S8+.  Swapping the SIM from the old phone to the new is all I had to do and I was up and running.  As far as transferring data, I just plugged the USB-C cable to each phone, ass-to-ass style, and followed the prompts to transfer everything that I wanted - photos, apps, wireless settings, etc.  Could not have been any easier. Note that if you use MFA apps like Google or Microsoft Authenticator, look up how to properly move those to a new phone otherwise it can be a bit painful.

Overall I'm liking the phone.  It took a bit to get used to the smaller phone coming from the S8+, but I think my days of paying more than $500 for a phone are over.  Good value with the 4a.

The one gripe I have is that there's no photo gallery and it uses Google Photos by default.  I like Google Photos fine, but would prefer a separate app for the camera gallery.  I'll poke around and see what's out there.

I have never done that, mostly because I don't/haven't had an ass to ass USB cable.  If you do have one, that's an option.

Astro File Manager isn't a gallery, but it provides all the file manager features that google leaves out and has an "images" link that pulls them from everywhere on your phone.  Also, the "last image taken" thing on your camera opens up a form of gallery.

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gyroprotagonist

gyroprotagonist 2592

Posted
Posted

dropped my S8+ while shutting the car door and had (un)perfect timing and smashed it between the two.  So went looking around and ended up with a N20Ultra.  ATT had a deal where if you traded in a phone and were a new subscriber, you got $1000 off N20 or N20U.  I was rolling with Cricket and switched over to ATT, so the phone should end up costing $300 bucks or so.

The data plan is more expensive than Cricket though.  $75 vs $55, but have unlimited data vs 10GB/mo.  Have not been on a contract in a long long time but i did not hop around too much when on the minor carriers.

have not messed around with it too much yet, but overall the screen is effing sharp and the night mode is spectacular compared to the S8+ camera. I am sure all the new phones are the same in that respect. 

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Sandman

Sandman 3403

Posted
Posted

My Moto Z2 is shitting the bed as we speak and it is time to upgrade. I've been using Motorola phones the last 5+ years but they seem to go bad after 2 years or so, I'm ready for something new. I'm cheap as hell, so I guess the Pixel 4a is the way to go? I don't care for flagship phones or spending tons of money. I also don't want to buy a phone that's on it's way out, tech-wise, so I'm not buying a used S8 or the like.

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Sandman

Sandman 3403

Posted
Posted

 

17 hours ago, Okie State said:

Went ahead and ordered my wife a 4a as well and it was delayed a bit on shipping. Wonder if they're actually seeing high demand for these.

 

 

I pulled the trigger on a 4a last night. The delivery date is around Oct. 15-17, so I think you're right about the demand.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

Posted
Posted (edited)

Is there a consensus on the best call-screener app?  I have used Trucaller and Hiya in the past, currently Hiya because it's kind of slick looking and ad-free even on the free version (just has incomplete caller id).

The native google dialer seems to have mostly caught up on spam indication and blocking, but doesn't give any info on spam callers.  It also has strangely crude, aliased-looking type.

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elfenix

elfenix 34223

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, Viper said:

Tmobile turning on actual 5G in Dallas, Houston, and Clear Lake

https://www.droid-life.com/2020/09/02/t-mobile-fires-up-2-5ghz-5g-in-80-cities-and-its-actually-a-big-deal/

even that mid band would be an upgrade over my current comcast plan if they offer fixed service

edit: $50/month for LTE service tmo hasn't increased prices for 5g phone service so maybe fixed will be the same?  i could switch for that.

https://www.t-mobile.com/isp

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Parliament

Parliament 14237

Posted
Posted

Our company uses Google Docs, contacts, email, Meet, etc.  I have a company phone, that I don't use.  Make all my calls and texts on my Note 8.  Can I set it up to access BOTH of my contacts lists; personal and work?  You can export contacts from one, and upload to the other, but I want something automatic.  Thx

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23096

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Posted

Costco TMobile has a $430 off the new S20 5G FE with trade in. I traded in my S8. I got the new S20 5G FE for $200 (involves trade in and then getting a debit card for the $430ish). No new line required. Just upgrade an existing line.

I really like the S20 FE. It's the same size as my OnePlus 6T. Camera is great. Snappy and fast as hell with the 865 chip. This is my first 120Hz screen. I can DEFINITELY see a difference. Hard to explain but it just make everything smoother. Definitely not a must have but after having it, I notice the difference when I use my OP 6T 60Hz screen. I wouldn't complain if I had to use a 60Hz screen again, it's just nicer to have the 120Hz.

Anyway, if you have TMO, you might want to check out the deal.

https://membershipwireless.com/tmobile-samsung

 

Also, if you don't like the bloat on the Sammie hardware, you can easily uninstall or disable the system apps via ADB. I froze all the Knox and Bixby shit. I've frozen 60+ bloatware apps. Did this on my S8. Makes the phone run so much smoother. Let me know if you want to know more about how to ADB. I believe ABD commands also works on most other Android phones.

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Deej

Deej 76752

Posted
Posted
52 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Costco TMobile has a $430 off the new S20 5G FE with trade in. I traded in my S8. I got the new S20 5G FE for $200 (involves trade in and then getting a debit card for the $430ish). No new line required. Just upgrade an existing line.

I really like the S20 FE. It's the same size as my OnePlus 6T. Camera is great. Snappy and fast as hell with the 865 chip. This is my first 120Hz screen. I can DEFINITELY see a difference. Hard to explain but it just make everything smoother. Definitely not a must have but after having it, I notice the difference when I use my OP 6T 60Hz screen. I wouldn't complain if I had to use a 60Hz screen again, it's just nicer to have the 120Hz.

Anyway, if you have TMO, you might want to check out the deal.

https://membershipwireless.com/tmobile-samsung

 

Also, if you don't like the bloat on the Sammie hardware, you can easily uninstall or disable the system apps via ADB. I froze all the Knox and Bixby shit. I've frozen 60+ bloatware apps. Did this on my S8. Makes the phone run so much smoother. Let me know if you want to know more about how to ADB. I believe ABD commands also works on most other Android phones.

That 120Hz makes for some smooth scrolling. 

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23096

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Viper said:

What apps did you disable?

an assload. 61 apps, for now. may add a few more based on what gets logged into service and may enable some of some functionality breaks.

for sure all the Bixby and Knox shit. most of the samsung shit that I don't use.

package:com.samsung.android.smartswitchassistant
package:com.samsung.android.app.galaxyfinder
package:com.sec.location.nsflp2
package:com.samsung.android.calendar
package:com.samsung.android.aremoji
package:com.samsung.android.app.social
package:com.samsung.android.kidsinstaller
package:com.diotek.sec.lookup.dictionary
package:com.sec.android.easyMover.Agent
package:com.samsung.android.knox.pushmanager
package:com.sec.android.app.samsungapps
package:com.samsung.android.app.settings.bixby
package:com.samsung.android.game.gamehome
package:com.sec.android.daemonapp
package:com.google.ar.core
package:com.sec.enterprise.knox.attestation
package:com.samsung.android.knox.attestation
package:com.samsung.systemui.bixby2
package:com.microsoft.skydrive
package:com.samsung.knox.keychain
package:com.samsung.android.bixby.service
package:com.android.egg
package:com.samsung.android.bixby.agent
package:com.google.android.apps.tachyon
package:com.facebook.services
package:com.samsung.knox.securefolder
package:com.google.audio.hearing.visualization.accessibility.scribe
package:com.samsung.android.game.gametools
package:com.samsung.android.app.reminder
package:com.samsung.android.ardrawing
package:com.samsung.android.app.ledbackcover
package:com.sec.spp.push
package:com.samsung.android.aremojieditor
package:com.samsung.android.app.routines
package:flipboard.boxer.app
package:com.android.managedprovisioning
package:com.samsung.android.arzone
package:com.samsung.android.authfw
package:com.sec.android.app.sbrowser
package:com.samsung.android.visionarapps
package:com.samsung.android.bixbyvision.framework
package:com.samsung.android.beaconmanager
package:com.facebook.system
package:com.samsung.android.bixby.wakeup
package:com.samsung.android.samsungpass
package:com.samsung.android.scloud
package:com.samsung.android.spayfw
package:com.samsung.android.fast
package:com.samsung.android.app.spage
package:com.sec.android.mimage.avatarstickers
package:com.samsung.android.knox.analytics.uploader
package:com.sec.android.emergencylauncher
package:com.samsung.android.bbc.bbcagent
package:com.samsung.android.visionintelligence
package:com.samsung.android.livestickers
package:com.samsung.android.app.watchmanagerstub
package:com.samsung.android.mateagent
package:com.sec.enterprise.knox.cloudmdm.smdms
package:com.samsung.android.samsungpassautofill
package:com.facebook.appmanager
package:com.samsung.android.bixby.agent.dummy

 

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crash_davis

crash_davis 23096

Posted
Posted

Here's a good list for the S20. That list is probably 90% accurate for most Samsung phones and devices. I had many of the same apps frozen on my Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. A few of the packages on the S20 FE were names differently but you can get a list package names by    adb shell pm list packages -s

I like to disable versus uninstalling. Disabling is less permanent in case I accidently freeze an app which creates issues.

-s shows system apps

-d shows disabled apps

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12jEGQftFUL3vAI03X0Ku1LgoWFQKdwPA_WHuLh_2ics/edit#gid=0

 

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elfenix

elfenix 34223

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 10/12/2020 at 8:09 PM, crash_davis said:

an assload. 61 apps, for now. may add a few more based on what gets logged into service and may enable some of some functionality breaks.

for sure all the Bixby and Knox shit. most of the samsung shit that I don't use.

package:com.samsung.android.smartswitchassistant
package:com.samsung.android.app.galaxyfinder
package:com.sec.location.nsflp2
package:com.samsung.android.calendar

<snip>

 

 

S20 FE with stock android and google's computational photography wizardry would be the perfect mid price phone.  i'm leaning toward a pixel 5 but the lack of long focal camera is turning me off. 

Edited by elfenix
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crash_davis

crash_davis 23096

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, elfenix said:

S20 FE with stock android and google's computational photography wizardry would be the perfect mid price phone.  i'm leaning toward a pixel 5 but the lack of long focal camera is turning me off. 

There are many reviews on youtube comparing the cameras. In a nutshell, Google doesn't really have an advantage anymore. They are using a really old lens and it has shortcomings. The knock on the s20 fe is the unnatural colors due to Sammie's processing. But the ultrawide camera is much better than the new pixels. Watch some reviews. The 4a is a much better value than the 5 

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