Samsung Galaxy S II

iwo

Ok...i officially hate this phone! Im adroid user for about year and half so have good experience. Im sending this back first thing Tuesday morning. Jesus it is annoying and slow who the hell writes review about this phone?!! Selling dhd and buying Samsung was biggest mistake ever

Kenny Logins

iwo wrote: »

Ok...i officially hate this phone! Im adroid user for about year and half so have good experience. Im sending this back first thing Tuesday morning. Jesus it is annoying and slow who the hell writes review about this phone?!! Selling dhd and buying Samsung was biggest mistake ever

Really? Is it just slow or are there other issues?

Are you sure they didn't send you a SGS instead?

iwo

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Really? Is it just slow or are there other issues?

Are you sure they didn't send you a SGS instead?

this would be the best example...i am not writing this on laptop rather phone...which is strange for me as I used to use my phone 24/5 now i just do not want to hold it. Samsung UI is ugly and not user friendly. Browser is much slower under wifi in my house, there is only one bar upstairs vs full on my "old" desire hd, my daughter has lg500 and receptions is better on it too!
Browser doesnt have option for permanent desktop view which is mega stupid.
selecting text is a pain, keyboard is dump, takes half of the screen and missing arrows for navigating when writing and moving pointer on browser or long text. Phone is missing search button...very annoying if you want to quickly access browser or phone search. Phone is missing widgets which were available on both desire and desire dhd: calendar, bookmarks and other.

It is slow! First when you want to wake it up it takes a second for screen to appear when pressing this side button. Second thing is screens...it is laggy, how is this possible with 1.2ghz clock? I sorted this out by installing launchpro but this is mad that i have to look for stuff to fix this sort of issue.

Yes, it looks like moaning and yapping but i am really pi$$ed of about it. Maybe it is super experience for people moving from some slow,old phone but it is defo slower than my desire and desire hd! I dont talk about playing hd movies and playing some advanced games but day to day usage!

I have this phone for 2 days and i hate send stuff back to supplier/shop but i cant stand this phone anymore. My problem is, i signed up for contract with three and they dont have any other 4.3 screen phone (my choice would be sensation) so i am not sure if they take phone only or cancel the contract as well? I would wait until sensation is in stock.

Also, are there more people moving from from htc to samsung with similar feedback or this is just me??

god's toy

Keyboard and wigets can be downloaded from the market if you need more, it comes with two the keyboards, samsung one and swipe.
Serch button can be found by holding down the menu button and thats on all android phones. Have you looked into opera for acessing the internet.


I sugget you need to reset your phone, sounds like an app did not install right or is stuck eating cpu and ram. I cant get over how much faster this thing is over wifi now than the first sgs. It can download and install so much faster now. Getting better wifi sig too but thats just how its reported to you and means little really.

5500

Ill try help with some of your probs.

There is an option for permanent desktop view, type about;useragent in the browser address bar and then select custom, job done.hold the menu key for 2 seconds and it brings up search for you.

If you want to select specific text or web address just press the text once and an arrow pops up on screen that you can move to select text ect. As for widgets what your used to are htc specific, regardless of any other android phone you chose other than htc it won't have the same widgets. A couple of options though are beautiful widgets from the Market and launcher pro sense theme.

I came from a desire hd and had a host of htc phones and there is noway any of them were as fast or compared speed wise to this, I always had lag with them but notnwith this I'm wondering if you have a faulty phone or possibly it's the firmware? How about upgrading it to ke7 and see how you feel with it then

bd250110

I went Desire > iPhone 4 > SGS II. Best move I ever made, I hated the desire with a passion. Sense was a nightmare, made the phone laggy and took up a huge amount of space.
To activate search, long press the menu button.

I don't have the lag problem, maybe try upgrading to the newest firmware?

Dude, if you want everything to work straight out of the box get an iPhone. Personally I have added the stock Gingerbread keyboard (which I love) and am using launcher pro. I am using FancyWidgets for some limited widgets - Im not a huge fan of widgets. The phone is set up exactly how I want it, basically as close to stock as possible.

Kenny Logins

iwo wrote: »

this would be the best example...i am not writing this on laptop rather phone...which is strange for me as I used to use my phone 24/5 now i just do not want to hold it. Samsung UI is ugly and not user friendly. Browser is much slower under wifi in my house, there is only one bar upstairs vs full on my "old" desire hd, my daughter has lg500 and receptions is better on it too!
Browser doesnt have option for permanent desktop view which is mega stupid.
selecting text is a pain, keyboard is dump, takes half of the screen and missing arrows for navigating when writing and moving pointer on browser or long text. Phone is missing search button...very annoying if you want to quickly access browser or phone search. Phone is missing widgets which were available on both desire and desire dhd: calendar, bookmarks and other.

It is slow! First when you want to wake it up it takes a second for screen to appear when pressing this side button. Second thing is screens...it is laggy, how is this possible with 1.2ghz clock? I sorted this out by installing launchpro but this is mad that i have to look for stuff to fix this sort of issue.

Yes, it looks like moaning and yapping but i am really pi$$ed of about it. Maybe it is super experience for people moving from some slow,old phone but it is defo slower than my desire and desire hd! I dont talk about playing hd movies and playing some advanced games but day to day usage!

I have this phone for 2 days and i hate send stuff back to supplier/shop but i cant stand this phone anymore. My problem is, i signed up for contract with three and they dont have any other 4.3 screen phone (my choice would be sensation) so i am not sure if they take phone only or cancel the contract as well? I would wait until sensation is in stock.

Also, are there more people moving from from htc to samsung with similar feedback or this is just me??

I felt the same with the SGS, moving from a Desire, but didn't really give it much time. The desktop view is a very easy fix, once you know how (read back a few posts).

But I am surprised to hear it being slow...

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

My Motorola Milestone came with a dock so that at night when I am charging the phone basically turns into an alarm clock. Is there one out there thats decent for the Galaxy Sii does anyone know?

Just found this on Ebay, seems like it could do the job:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Cradle-Dock-USB-Charger-Samsung-i9100-Galaxy-S-II-K-/120732810128?pt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhoneAccessories_MobilePhoneChargers&hash=item1c1c3c7b90#ht_1427wt_1139

anoble66

out of interest what version of android is running? If it's KE2, I am pretty sure this is one of the most fubbed up versions - slow and buggy.

iwo wrote: »

Ok...i officially hate this phone! Im adroid user for about year and half so have good experience. Im sending this back first thing Tuesday morning. Jesus it is annoying and slow who the hell writes review about this phone?!! Selling dhd and buying Samsung was biggest mistake ever

iwo

anoble66 wrote: »

out of interest what version of android is running? If it's KE2, I am pretty sure this is one of the most fubbed up versions - slow and buggy.

i checked for update on the phone - no update available
i downloaded kies and checked for updates - no update available

android 2.3.3
I9100NEKD5
GINGERBREAD.XWKE1

kernel 2.6.35.7

how do i check the version?


upss.. does it mean i have KE1 version???? how will I update to KE7? As i stated earlier, i tried both phone and kies updates

iwo

5500 wrote: »

Ill try help with some of your probs.

There is an option for permanent desktop view, type about;useragent in the browser address bar and then select custom, job done.hold the menu key for 2 seconds and it brings up search for you.

If you want to select specific text or web address just press the text once and an arrow pops up on screen that you can move to select text ect. As for widgets what your used to are htc specific, regardless of any other android phone you chose other than htc it won't have the same widgets. A couple of options though are beautiful widgets from the Market and launcher pro sense theme.

I came from a desire hd and had a host of htc phones and there is noway any of them were as fast or compared speed wise to this, I always had lag with them but notnwith this I'm wondering if you have a faulty phone or possibly it's the firmware? How about upgrading it to ke7 and see how you feel with it then

thanks, i tried this before but every time i restart the phone it goes back to mobile view.im gona cry...

anoble66

Yeah so you have KE1, which is pretty old. Having said that my phone came running that version out of the box and I did not experience the lag issue's your talking about - then again I did move from a Iphone 3g so this thing feels rapid to me.

We are all pretty much running carrier versions of Android which means Kies does not recognize that an update is available until the network makes it available. What you can do is to upgrade to KE7 which is the latest - this would be a generic carrier unbranded version - raw android if you like.

There is a link a couple of pages back, follow the instructions on that page. One thing though, if you do plan on sending this back to the operator, do not upgrade......because you will lose the network branding on it....they will then probably refuse to take it back....so you need to decide what you want to do.

iwo wrote: »

i checked for update on the phone - no update available
i downloaded kies and checked for updates - no update available

android 2.3.3
I9100NEKD5
GINGERBREAD.XWKE1

kernel 2.6.35.7

how do i check the version?


upss.. does it mean i have KE1 version???? how will I update to KE7? As i stated earlier, i tried both phone and kies updates

iwo

anoble66 wrote: »

Yeah so you have KE1, which is pretty old. Having said that my phone came running that version out of the box and I did not experience the lag issue's your talking about - then again I did move from a Iphone 3g so this thing feels rapid to me.

We are all pretty much running carrier versions of Android which means Kies does not recognize that an update is available until the network makes it available. What you can do is to upgrade to KE7 which is the latest - this would be a generic carrier unbranded version - raw android if you like.

There is a link a couple of pages back, follow the instructions on that page. One thing though, if you do plan on sending this back to the operator, do not upgrade......because you will lose the network branding on it....they will then probably refuse to take it back....so you need to decide what you want to do.

thanks very much, yes i went on xda and had a quick look earlier on. I do not know what to do...maybe i should flash and root and instal some different rom? i wouldnt like to do it due to warranty...all i know is i cant/dont want to use it at the moment due to issues mentioned earlier.


also, did anybody of you noticed this one white pixel (left bottom corner) on original browser when background is black? When i touch the screen it disappears but when i dont i can see this pixel try for example yonkis.com

conor.hogan.2

You can put other roms on it, you can even put sense on it and make it a better desire hd!

dont use the custom browser and email clients and messaging apps, they all universally suck imo.

iwo

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Not to be blunt but iwo you just cant use the phone, there is a way to make it "permanent desktop view" and I told you it twice. Plus you can put other roms on it, you can even put sense on it and make it a better desire hd!

that is very nice of you...i tried it twice and as i said, it came back to original settings after i restarted phone..maybe this is software version issue? i read your comments and applied the changes...but it worked for short period only

i knew somebody just mention me loving htc...for your info i have windows 7 laptop, unix laptop,unix ps3, ipad with jaibreak version and being using android for nearly two years by now...i hate to be concentrated on one device/system and trying different things but this phone is just not working as i expected...i am installing different things and tweaking it right now and still have two days to make final decision

anoble66

no white pixel on mine at all.....why dont you try and take it back into the shop, use the fubbed pixel as an excuse to get a replacement, perhaps you just got a fecked up phone or something. If they will not take it back, then try the upgrade to KE7 as you would have nothing to lose at that point.

iwo wrote: »

thanks very much, yes i went on xda and had a quick look earlier on. I do not know what to do...maybe i should flash and root and instal some different rom? i wouldnt like to do it due to warranty...all i know is i cant/dont want to use it at the moment due to issues mentioned earlier.


also, did anybody of you noticed this one white pixel (left bottom corner) on original browser when background is black? When i touch the screen it disappears but when i dont i can see this pixel try for example yonkis.com

conor.hogan.2

I didnt say you loved htc, i said i do.

You should send the phone back, because people are on ke1 and they dont have any issues. Although you can root and install a sense rom (probably not ready yet though)

It sounds like a dud device, maybe.

anoble66

some others having lag issues on here, especially with device wakeup. Seems the SG2 will downclock the CPU when in standby and it can take a couple of seconds to ramp back up....no idea if this is what your experiencing? There is a way around this but it would involving rooting and installing an app

http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s2/338942-s2s-slow-screen-wakeup.html


Do you have live wallpapers enabled or any fancy lock screen etc? Not that I think this should really cause issues, as I had a live wallpaper on mine for a while and didn't notice any lag.

Go on, get your shoes on and get this phone back to the shop, get a replacement and I would bet the replacement will be fine :pac:

conor.hogan.2

Free Gael fón, Swype, Polaris Office, the earphones and a separate charger and usb are a very nice touch

whats the story with there only being 533mb of ram free? I know android takes up some space but how much extra ram does samsungs rom use?

iwo

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

I didnt say you loved htc, i said i do.

You should send the phone back, because people are on ke1 and they dont have any issues. Although you can root and install a sense rom (probably not ready yet though)

It sounds like a dud device, maybe.

there is one three shop in gorey but i bought it online, do i have to post it or i could get replacement in store?

conor.hogan.2

I dont know but I presume you can exchange it for another phone or get a refund in shop if its ok and within the week and they have the phone you want etc.

There might be a restocking fee, but not if there is a faulty pixel I presume.


Only annoying parts is the no trackball, and therefore I find it harder to edit text and the fact you cant change the lockscreen but a custom rom will solve that.

god's toy

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

whats the story with there only being 533mb of ram free? I know android takes up some space but how much extra ram does samsungs rom use?

That means very little on android really, when an app is closed it's RAM use can be 'frozen' in place until it's needed, so the phone reporting free RAM is not like windows reporting free ram.

Cant say if samsungs overlay brings it up that much however.

iwo

anoble66 wrote: »

no white pixel on mine at all.....why dont you try and take it back into the shop, use the fubbed pixel as an excuse to get a replacement, perhaps you just got a fecked up phone or something. If they will not take it back, then try the upgrade to KE7 as you would have nothing to lose at that point.

GEzuz...more people with this pixel problem...http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?p=13256361

conor.hogan.2

Shocking really, they made millions of these devices some get problems.

You were unlucky, send it back.

Q_Ball

Played with this in vodafone in Dundrum. Very nice phone but can't help feeling that the handset looks a bit like an iPhone. I think touchwiz reinforces this. Not sure about it anymore

god's toy

iwo wrote: »

... did anybody of you noticed this one white pixel (left bottom corner) on original browser when background is black? When i touch the screen it disappears but when i dont i can see this pixel try for example yonkis.com

Yep just when along to that site and was able to see the pixel your talking about. i would say thats just a glitch and with be sorted on the next update as it's only a some sites not all... lol oh and a little warning would have helped as I had my 3 year old on my knee at the time of opening that site!...

iwo

god's toy wrote: »

Yep just when along to that site and was able to see the pixel your talking about. i would say thats just a glitch and with be sorted on the next update as it's only a some sites not all... lol oh and a little warning would have helped as I had my 3 year old on my knee at the time of opening that site!...

ohhh sorry, I actually view this page for funny videos, not pron...they usually appear on youtube rwj site after few days guy who runs this web pastes some good applications too, anyway sorry about that

conor.hogan.2

If I had to make some small complaints.

1 - lack of trackball but this is just lack of practice, swype has made it much easier.

2 - the only lag i found was changing the wallpaper, and that was slowness not lag really.

3 - I might have to agree with the slow wifi, i am downloading 150mb here now and I have a 20mbit connection it should not be taking this long. But that could be the game im downloading has a slow or overloaded site, the browser is very fast in loading.

4 - the earphones are hard to get in and out

5 - slight heat, but i only had a g1 before and have heard this is normal for a phone of this size and power.

6 - lack of trackball but this is just lack of practice, swype has made it much easier.
"say what you would like to do" em, it would be nice if it told me i activated the voice commands lol

7 - the earphones and off button are in an awkward place when holding it sideways

8- samsung and vodafone crap, well most of it is will be putting a rom on it as soon as CM7 is ready for it.

god's toy

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

"say what you would like to do" em, it would be nice if it told me i activated the voice commands lol

In 'voice talk' you just need to tap the phone twice for it to wake up. I think the phone has a key word set up to wake it if your not in that app too

conor.hogan.2

god's toy wrote: »

In 'voice talk' you just need to tap the phone twice for it to wake up. I think the phone has a key word set up to wake it if your not in that app too

Thanks but i mean the phone just started speaking, and i didnt know how i activated the speech commands.

em in browser settings there is a view mode setting of mobile and desktop.

iwo

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Thanks but i mean the phone just started speaking, and i didnt know how i activated the speech commands.

em in browser settings there is a view mode setting of mobile and desktop.

in stock browser? whereabouts? maybe in different version that I have?

Also, is there any option for wrapping text? Opera has it but it doesnt have desktop view option similar to stock browser

conor.hogan.2

Samer version as everyone elses, it activated on the homescreens.

Im downloading opera mobile now, there is settings to identify as browser version x, as far as I know. What do you mean by wrapping text? whenever you zoom in or out it auto wraps to fit the new size.

yes, opera:config and change the user agent - http://www.useragentstring.com/Opera11.10_id_17886.php

dolphin hd browser has an easy setting you can toggle.

god's toy

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Thanks but i mean the phone just started speaking, and i didnt know how i activated the speech commands.

em in browser settings there is a view mode setting of mobile and desktop.

Yep as I said, 'I think the phone has a key word(s) set up to wake it' you can set this by going into 'Voice talk' and looking in the settings for it.

conor.hogan.2

I wasnt speaking, there is obviously some button you have to hold to activate it and it caught me off guard, thats all im saying.

god's toy

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

I wasnt speaking, there is obviously some button you have to hold to activate it and it caught me off guard, thats all im saying.

Ah, well could be something the mic picked up in the background.
Wonder if it does have a combo button to access it, like the screen shot combo.

conor.hogan.2

hmm changing useragent to iphone makes the html5 app work that supposedly couldnt work on android, smh.

iwo

there is some info about poor wifi reception... common issue apparently http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s2/340393-gs2-poor-wifi-reception.html

i am sitting about two meters from router and i am getting two bars of three...which is shocking!
I go upstairs and....i have either one or zero. My wife has 3 years old SE with full reception, my daughter has a year old LG500 with full reception, ipad full reception.

i need to wait for new system version which may fix it...with three i will be waiting for ever

conor.hogan.2

Prime example of why to root and put a well maintained custom rom on it.

iwo

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Prime example of why to root and put a well maintained custom rom on it.

yeah but i am afraid of two things:

1. warranty
2. if I do it once...i will be checking for new roms regularly to check them out

i have dissertation to finish and i am "wasting" time on chasing issues related to phone

conor.hogan.2

battery was fully charged. now its down to 50% after 2.45 minutes.

I have brightness on auto, wifi only on when needed and everything else off. i also have a black background.

10 hours use with wifi on was pure bull**** anyway, unless it lasts 4 times longer on the last 50%.

iwo wrote: »

i have dissertation to finish and i am "wasting" time on chasing issues related to phone

I dont have a dissertion but a project to start and finish, i just cant stop messing with the phone.

Headshot

iwo wrote: »

there is some info about poor wifi reception... common issue apparently http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s2/340393-gs2-poor-wifi-reception.html

i am sitting about two meters from router and i am getting two bars of three...which is shocking!
I go upstairs and....i have either one or zero. My wife has 3 years old SE with full reception, my daughter has a year old LG500 with full reception, ipad full reception.

i need to wait for new system version which may fix it...with three i will be waiting for ever

I thought there was a problem with my router, so its the phone

conor.hogan.2

I dont even have my sim in this yet. Not impressed with the battery so far at all

Rsaeire

Does anyone know of any decent 3.5mm headsets to use with this handset? I can't stand taking calls with in-ear headsets so I'm looking for the standard shaped earpieces with an inline mic, similar to what you'd get standard with a Sony Ericsson handset; just with a 3.5mm connector.

Also, is anyone else concerned about the lack of protection for the camera lens? I've been looking at screen protector's which cover the back also, but they don't appear to protect the camera lens; which is an oversight in my opinion.

conor.hogan.2

Those cases would also block the camera, so its not really and oversight

leemaree

Is there any codes on the internet for FREE that unlocks ur Samsung Galaxy S II? I dont want to root it

Rsaeire

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Those cases would also block the camera, so its not really and oversight

Screen protector, not case. Martin Field's screen protectors generally come with a separate camera lens protector; for example.

conor.hogan.2

Bad wording.

So you take off the camera protector when taking a picture? I cant imagine it not interfering with picture quality when its on or does it not?


How many hours are people getting out of it? I am on 35% after nearly 4 hours which is crap compared to all the reviews.

5500

Something bogey with your handset by the sounds of it, what version software is it using? settings/about/battery usage - whats the stats? I've used 15% battery from a full charge 7 hours ago, good few texts, some 3g and general messing around

conor.hogan.2

battery usage says screen has used 69%, android os 7% and system 5%, game 4%
4%, 4% and 3% for browsers, media server 3%, cell 2%

i have been using it for 90% of that time though, and have tried wireless sync, browsing, youtube, camera, customizing, listened to 30 mins of podcasts etc


i think its bad, just want to test against other peoples battery life

god's toy

8H 1M on battery 54% remaining

display 43%
android os 32%
maps 9%
cell stand by 6%
android system 3%
mediaserver 3%
phone idle 3%
tweetcaster 2%