Samsung Galaxy S II

marcbrophy

Hey guys!

Is it easy or even possible to unlock these phones if they are network locked?*

*sorry if this has been asked 50 times before

Zagato

marcbrophy wrote: »

Hey guys!

Is it easy or even possible to unlock these phones if they are network locked?*

*sorry if this has been asked 50 times before

Haven't needed to do this myself, but there are free apps, that will sim unlock your phone (provided it is rooted) -I see that chainfire has released one.

So if you want to sim unlock I would recommend heading to his thread at XDA for instructions on how to root, then install his app from the market.
The app is called [root]Galaxy S2 Sim Unlock and has only received 5 star ratings

marcbrophy

Zagato wrote: »

Haven't needed to do this myself, but there are free apps, that will sim unlock your phone (provided it is rooted) -I see that chainfire has released one.

So if you want to sim unlock I would recommend heading to his thread at XDA for instructions on how to root, then install his app from the market.
The app is called [root]Galaxy S2 Sim Unlock and has only received 5 star ratings

Excellent Zagato, thanks!

All seems pretty straight forward enough.

I don't really mind rooting it anyway, as I like to mess about with custom roms!

Thanks again!

Craigels

niallo24 wrote: »

One thing I have noticed is the sound when playing music or podcasts is much lower than on other android phones I have had. Anyone else getting this?

yes i also noticed this but just thought it was my phone , its very annoying

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Craigels wrote: »

yes i also noticed this but just thought it was my phone , its very annoying

I sorted this out. Turns out when I flashed lightning rom to the phone the sound was of poor quality. I was on lightning 1.5 but flashed to 2.0 last night and its back to normal now. So if you installed a custom rom then thats probably the problem!

erie

Zagato wrote: »

I tend to use a black background, tbh it's rare that I actually notice something that definitely improves my battery, how I use my phone isn't consistent enough, today for example was on calls for >1hr, so that certainly skewed it.

The things that meaningfully effect battery drain (I think) are 2G vs 3G, GPS/bluetooth/wifi being on, and applications autosyncing. If switch over to 2G, switch off auto sync (oh and er turn down screen brightness) battery will last for ages - but then I wouldn't have smartphone

Try this... Hold down power button then select 'Data Network Mode'... Swicthing between activated then deactivated, really save your battery...

Zagato

erie wrote: »

Try this... Hold down power button then select 'Data Network Mode'... Swicthing between activated then deactivated, really save your battery...

Yes, I'll bet it would, but I'll refer you to my last point about having a smartphone.

If you're happy with not having data on all the time then an app like juice defender would make sense for conserving battery

Zagato

Here's a good post on battery saving tips for SGS2

Now to turn off haptic feedback and back up data......

erie

Zagato wrote: »

erie wrote: »

Try this... Hold down power button then select 'Data Network Mode'... Swicthing between activated then deactivated, really save your battery...

Yes, I'll bet it would, but I'll refer you to my last point about having a smartphone.

If you're happy with not having data on all the time then an app like juice defender would make sense for conserving battery

I've got juice defender, but that apps itself eat battery faster compare if you set it manually. My setting, deactivated network data when I'm at home.. turn on wireless each time screen on and sync everytime screen on.

Test for 2days already, 67% left on 1days 21hrs.. On stock rom and usage of about hrly facebooking, a few videos, emails, 10+ sms, 20mins calls and some news reading.

Zagato

Sounds pretty good, but I want to know when I've received emails etc., and usually this is more important when I'm out and about as otherwise I have laptop.

Plus I don't see huge advantage in the phone lasting more than 1 day, I just want to be sure it can get through a heavy day.

Cyrus

erie wrote: »

I've got juice defender, but that apps itself eat battery faster compare if you set it manually. My setting, deactivated network data when I'm at home.. turn on wireless each time screen on and sync everytime screen on.

Test for 2days already, 67% left on 1days 21hrs.. On stock rom and usage of about hrly facebooking, a few videos, emails, 10+ sms, 20mins calls and some news reading.

are those manual settings or using juice defender?

y5 battery saver is a nice app, it only turns wifi on when you are in range of a known network (i.e. at home) switches it off other wise

Zagato

Cyrus wrote: »

are those manual settings or using juice defender?

y5 battery saver is a nice app, it only turns wifi on when you are in range of a known network (i.e. at home) switches it off other wise

Yeah, I used to use tasker for that, which is a really neat app, but far too complicated for me to put to good use

erie

For email, it manualy refresh everytime I open it.. So no push mail. I ussualy check my email about 1-2 hrly.

I activated and deactivated data nerwork manually, also on manually wireless when I activated the screen. Then left all email,facebook,gogle account, yaho account auto-sycn... And already deleted juicedefender.

budgemook

Just upgraded to this phone on Meteor so am on stock 2.3.3. I had it off all last night and turned it on about an hour ago. The status bar keeps crashing now. Everytime I reboot it happens again. I see this message:

the application Status Bar (process com.android.systemui) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again

So I click Force Close, then it tries to load up again and I see the same message but after that it's just gone, no notification bar. Any ideas?

Thanks

spiderhombre

budgemook wrote: »

Just upgraded to this phone on Meteor so am on stock 2.3.3. I had it off all last night and turned it on about an hour ago. The status bar keeps crashing now. Everytime I reboot it happens again. I see this message:

the application Status Bar (process com.android.systemui) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again

So I click Force Close, then it tries to load up again and I see the same message but after that it's just gone, no notification bar. Any ideas?

Thanks

Factory reset. Happened to mine when i first used it on meteor aswell but factory reset it and using it without problems for two months now

Nibs05

Afternoon all,

Looking at getting galaxy s2. I currently have an iPhone 3GS and I use this as my fm transmitter, https://store.griffintechnology.com/roadtrip-handsfree

Are there any similar fm transmitters available for the galaxy s2 ?

I like the Roadtrip as everything is on the 1 device.

BenEadir

Hi Nibs05,

Would this do the trick for ya??? http://store.griffintechnology.com/smartphone/samsung/itrip-auto-handsfree

Ben

Nibs05

Yea Ben I was looking at that alright, I would prefer something that was all in like the road trip but seem scarce, looks like I will go down this root, thanks for your help anyway.

FernandoTorres

I keep getting these Google ads popping up when I'm in apps, anyone know if there's a way of disabling them?

Zagato

FernandoTorres wrote: »

I keep getting these Google ads popping up when I'm in apps, anyone know if there's a way of disabling them?

Are they free apps?

That's how the developers get their revenue. There is often a paid version of the app which is ad free.

If you are rooted, there are some add blocking applications, just search for ad blocker in the market, but I haven't used them, so can't vouch for any of them

FernandoTorres

Yeah they're free apps so I suppose I can't complain really! Just don't remember getting them on my ipod touch for the same apps

Nibs05

Got me Galaxy s2 today, downloaded apps no problem appart from 1. i downloaded google street view but cannont find it on the screen, but i found it in this location,

Settings, applications, manage applications, all

how do i get the app on the to the main screen ?

Thanks.

Grassey

Nibs05 wrote: »

Got me Galaxy s2 today, downloaded apps no problem appart from 1. i downloaded google street view but cannont find it on the screen, but i found it in this location,

Settings, applications, manage applications, all

how do i get the app on the to the main screen ?

Thanks.

The app is used through Google maps app. When in Google maps hold finger over a spot, then in the menu that pops up select street view. Its in top right corner iirc. Its not a stand alone app for your home screen.

Mc Love

Anyone have their S2 just shut off by itself? Just after happening me now, and wont turn back on!

Zagato

Mc Love wrote: »

Anyone have their S2 just shut off by itself? Just after happening me now, and wont turn back on!

There is another thread in this forum about this.

And brace yourself for some questions about whether the battery is charged -well in fairness you're kind of asking for them with that signature

Seriously, though, try to boot into recovery HOLD Volume down + Home key + Power key > and do factory reset, if this does not work then bring it back to the shop

Jaysus11

I'm not very technical...
How do i confirm i have the latest Kies version?
When i connect to Kies, i don't see an option to check my latest firmware, that i have the latest updates, etc - where should i look?
Is Gingerbread.XWKE7 the latest? If i check for updates on my handset it's Gingerbread.XWKE2 but i don't know how to upgrade. I have created a Samsung account and can login on my laptop but when i try throw the S2 it won't accept me. Can anyone help me out?

Ponster

Jaysus11 wrote: »

I'm not very technical...
How do i confirm i have the latest Kies version?

Help -> Check for updates

Cyrus

Folks,

for those of you using the mhl hdmi adapter, is the picture on the tv the exact same as on your phone screen, for me, the tv is missing a small amount both horizontally and vertically, is there any way to adjust?

radiospan

Cyrus wrote: »

Folks,

for those of you using the mhl hdmi adapter, is the picture on the tv the exact same as on your phone screen, for me, the tv is missing a small amount both horizontally and vertically, is there any way to adjust?

Check your TV settings for "overscan". Make sure this is turned off.

Jaysus11

Can someone just confirm the latest fireware i should have.
Downloaded latest and it reads baseband ver KE7/Build Ging XWKF3.

http://samsunggalaxys2review.org/samsung-galaxy-s2-ke7-update-available-for-current-owners - here talks about Ging XWKF7 - is this a different region or something?
Tx

Zagato

Jaysus11 wrote: »

Can someone just confirm the latest fireware i should have.
Downloaded latest and it reads baseband ver KE7/Build Ging XWKF3.

http://samsunggalaxys2review.org/samsung-galaxy-s2-ke7-update-available-for-current-owners - here talks about Ging XWKF7 - is this a different region or something?
Tx

Samsung regularly release firmware upgrades which are often slightly different for different regions. The upgrades are tested by your network, and then bloatware added to them before they are okayed and released by your network and then it will appear as a network. If you want to have the most up to date firmware then you need to root and flash a custom ROM, as can be found in my signature.

briN_s

Hi All, I am just after receiving my Galaxy S2 and am trying to connect it to my Wireless router, it keeps saying it is obtaining IP address but doesnt connect. Anyone have any suggestions for getting around this?

Thanks

srsly78

Is it a proper router? Or a hotspot from some other device? Might be problems because of ad-hoc mode.

More likely you just have weak wifi signal.

briN_s

Its a proper router (Huawei B260a), my previous symbian phone, aswell a friends iphones and HTC wildfire also had no problems connecting to it. I am in the same room as the router at the moment so signal should not be an issue.

srsly78

Pretty sure that's not a proper router (rather its a 3g gateway), it uses ad-hoc mode not infrastructure. Some versions of android has no problem with this, some do. Also ps3/psp and some older android tablets has problems with it. Surprised to see sgs2 cant use adhoc. Pretty sure latest stock android can handle it, it worked on my nexus S. Flash cyanogen mod on sgs2 and it might work?

Get a proper router, or flash a custom rom on phone.

Relevant thread: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82

Zagato

Used to have a similar problem with SGS, did a bit of research and seemed to have to do with AllShare app (running in the background?). Was able to connect to the wifi by going into the AllShare app, and then exiting it by hitting the back key. Might be worth a try

briN_s

I tried the Allshare app, but still no connection with that. I would rather not go putting on custom ROMs etc on the phone if I can avoid it. Has anyone else found a way to get around this?

Also, how would I know for sure if its an ad hoc router? It is a standalone router, with Ethernet port etc, but does get its signal from a 3G network. Are there any settings I could change on the router which may solve the issue? Sorry if these seem like stupid questions, im not very up to speed with WiFi etc.

Thanks
Brian

Zagato

briN_s wrote: »

I tried the Allshare app, but still no connection with that. I would rather not go putting on custom ROMs etc on the phone if I can avoid it. Has anyone else found a way to get around this?

Also, how would I know for sure if its an ad hoc router? It is a standalone router, with Ethernet port etc, but does get its signal from a 3G network. Are there any settings I could change on the router which may solve the issue? Sorry if these seem like stupid questions, im not very up to speed with WiFi etc.

Thanks
Brian

Pity about that, just to clarify, it's not that the app will connect, it's that exiting the app properly, by hitting the back button might work. As I say though it was really something that was a problem on SGS with Eclair, so unlikely to be the problem here, I guess

aliaslinden

loving the GSII right now, sadly not trouble free though.

The camera's touch to focus doesn't seem to work. I tap, the image becomes focused and then immediately goes out of focus again it locks with that red rectangle. So I can see it getting focused but it immediately goes out of focus again. Its worst in macro mode. Sometimes tap to focus will work for longer range shots. So frustrating! The focus performs better when just pressing the software button but still has some trouble.

Anyone having this issue? Would really appreciate some opinions!

Thor

aliaslinden wrote: »

loving the GSII right now, sadly not trouble free though.

The camera's touch to focus doesn't seem to work. I tap, the image becomes focused and then immediately goes out of focus again it locks with that red rectangle. So I can see it getting focused but it immediately goes out of focus again. Its worst in macro mode. Sometimes tap to focus will work for longer range shots. So frustrating! The focus performs better when just pressing the software button but still has some trouble.

Anyone having this issue? Would really appreciate some opinions!

Haven't noticed any issues like that on mine, Normally only use the software key for focusing but do occasionally use the direct focus and it works everything i do.

Atomic Pineapple

Depends what your aiming at and how, since you mention macro I assume its just not able to focus properly on what your aiming at.

Picked my SGS II up on Saturday and I am well impressed, thought it would only be a slight upgrade over the SGS but it has loads of nice little touches that impress me, also on my first battery cycle and after 1 day and 14 hours of pretty heavy usage I still have 31% battery left

Zith

Zagato wrote: »

... If you want to have the most up to date firmware then you need to root and flash a custom ROM, as can be found in my signature.

You can also just flash a stock android ROM with no need for root.

Zagato

Zith wrote: »

You can also just flash a stock android ROM with no need for root.

Very true ........

maynooth_rules

As much as I absolutly love this phone, the battery is doing my head in. Turned off sync, have green power, and have virtually no apps running yet cant get more than a day out of it:(

Atomic Pineapple

maynooth_rules wrote: »

As much as I absolutly love this phone, the battery is doing my head in. Turned off sync, have green power, and have virtually no apps running yet cant get more than a day out of it:(

Must be something wrong with it, I've 24% battery left after 1day, 16 hours, 13 minutes and 21 seconds of use, half of that connected to WiFi and it's my first battery cycle, pretty heavy use too with lots of texts, lots of facebook use, 8 app downloads, test calls and some cut the rope fun!

Zagato

Why not try BetterBatteryStats to see if you have something specific causing wakelocks (Preventing your phone going into a low power state)

Haven't used green power, am trying Superpower at the moment and the thing it does that saves most power is toggling between 3G/2G for ordinary syncing when you don't need fast download speeds, as well as switching data on/off depending on screen state/charge etc.

Dozen Wicked Words

Zagato wrote: »

...the thing it does that saves most power is toggling between 3G/2G for ordinary syncing when you don't need fast download speeds, as well as switching data on/off depending on screen state/charge etc.

+1
The switching off 3g saves me huge amounts of battery as I am in such a poor 3g area, it used loads of power trying to find a signal. I have eeked 3 days out of a battery with little use, 2 days with a good few texts, short calls and internet and a day with really heavy use, with display on for long periods. Compares favourably with a couple of Androids I have had/played with that are nowhere near as good.

Atomic Pineapple

Where are people getting their Lock screen images? I've tried taking a view from the web and using them but they are all too low of a resolution and look crap on the screen!

marathonic

In my area, we don't have 3G coverage - just EDGE. Is it possible to set the Galaxy SII to stop looking for 3G and just use EDGE (I imagine the constant search for 3G uses a lot of battery power)....

aliaslinden

draffodx wrote: »

Depends what your aiming at and how, since you mention macro I assume its just not able to focus properly on what your aiming at.

Thing is though, I'm having trouble getting tap to focus to work on nearly everything I try and take a picture off in macro mode. Also, as I can see it become focused before it locks in out of focus surely this would indicate a problem. I mean if its physically possible for the camera to focus the image, but the software appears to be telling it that it can't.