Samsung galaxy note 4

mtt_swny

Mourinho wrote: »

How is the TouchWiz holding up on this one lads?

Really difficult to say properly here, as I have Nova Launcher running too. I know that doesn't eradicate touchwiz, but it really does allow you to achieve a much more smooth snappy flow to everything and totally overhaul the look. I would recommend that way if you'd like to avoid root.

What pushed me to go CM on my Note 2 was really just aesthetics, things like the look of the Samsung menus and notification pull down bugged the crap out of me on that, so the stock look to those really appealed to me. Getting rid of the bloat were was obviously nice, esp considering the Note 2 I had was a 16gb. That being said, I honestly thought Nova Launcher over touchwiz on the Note 2, was just as fast and responsive as CM was.

For me, with the Note 4, the previously mentioned aesthetic gripes are much less of an issue - the pull down panel is still nowhere near as nice as the super minimal stock type, but for my taste at least, the settings menu is 100% better looking, white background with bold primary colour icons. It's clean out IMO.

Mourinho

That's good to hear! I have a OnePlus One at the moment and am using Nova Launcher too, really like the simple and swift feel it gives.

I want a Note 4 but the price is off putting for me, thinking of getting one maybe next year when the price drops for whatever new one comes out as a change from the 1+

mtt_swny

Mourinho wrote: »

I want a Note 4 but the price is off putting for me, thinking of getting one maybe next year when the price drops for whatever new one comes out as a change from the 1+

Another one to look out for will definitely be the Galaxy S6. i got my note on an early upgrade, wasn't officially due one till April 15, but was eligible for an early, contemplated an Xpeira Z3, but who am I kidding, Notes are beast so I was always going to lean toward another one. But a couple weeks before getting it I started hearing about project zero - the codename for the supposedly drastic overhaul to the Galaxy S series and I was almost tempted to hold out for my upgrade till that was out.
By all accounts it is going to be a new approach and with Samsung showing signs that they are learning to adapt to customer demand on the design front, this has to be one worth watching for at least.
End of the day though, I have absolutely no regrets with my choice

symbolic

I got myself a Note 4 over the weekend. I'm a Nova launcher user too, and seldom find myself in settings etc so happy with the look and feel. Nice and speedy. The recent apps menu is the only sluggish bit. I presume that is the same for everyone?

I moved from Note 2. And happiest most with the camera, my Note 2 was still running perfect. Hadn't taken a photo on note 2 in a long time. And I enjoy taking photos!

Hope to kit it out with a nice cover with a kickstand next, and a sizeable SD card.

Anyway, I think they are fantastic phones. Really hoping the Gear VR is as interesting as it sounds!

Carrollman

Got the note 4 today and couldn't be happier. Thought the screen would be daunting as I was moving up from the nexus 5 but you get used to it very quickly! Any idea what the best cover out there currently?

shuffles03

Is the bronze version available in Ireland? I'm currently with O2

LUZ

is the camera good?? i think i want to get the note as an upgrade from the s3 for xmas, but i cant decide! i take alot of photos, is the screen really nice?? i cant find any decent reviews online. id love a different colour other than boring black!!

mtt_swny

LUZ wrote: »

is the camera good?? i think i want to get the note as an upgrade from the s3 for xmas, but i cant decide! i take alot of photos, is the screen really nice?? i cant find any decent reviews online. id love a different colour other than boring black!!

It will change your life.

mtt_swny

Both are great though yeah

Bluefrog

Finding the battery very much improved in the last firmware (the one that's rolling out for BTU now). On moderate use I'd probably get close to two days - just looking here I'm on battery 11hrs 27mins and still at 72% - that's with a couple of medium length calls, and a lot of IM's.

Happy camper.

Carrollman

Bluefrog wrote: »

Finding the battery very much improved in the last firmware (the one that's rolling out for BTU now). On moderate use I'd probably get close to two days - just looking here I'm on battery 11hrs 27mins and still at 72% - that's with a couple of medium length calls, and a lot of IM's.

Happy camper.

Have you set done anything to help aid the battery? Greenify etc?

wayne040576

I'm currently trying to decide whether to get one of these or hold out for a Nexus 6.
The Note 4 looks great but I'm coming from using 2 Nexus phones (Galaxy Nexus and currently Nexus 4) so I'm not sure if I can adjust to a non stock phone now. I'd probably be using Nova launcher with it though.

shuffles03

So I checked O2's website and they only sell the black version. looking for either the bronze or white variations so I think I'm out of luck.

Would the Samsung Experience store in Dundrum allow me to upgrade to the white/bronze with O2 or are the colour variants carrier specific?

munkee

wayne040576 wrote: »

I'm currently trying to decide whether to get one of these or hold out for a Nexus 6.
The Note 4 looks great but I'm coming from using 2 Nexus phones (Galaxy Nexus and currently Nexus 4) so I'm not sure if I can adjust to a non stock phone now. I'd probably be using Nova launcher with it though.

I'm coming from Nexus devices too, and have had Samsung devices in the past.

I'd try out Nova Launcher before buying- it changes the homescreen buttons, app drawer, etc, but dig under the surface, and all the TouchWiz stuff is still there, which is pretty awful IMO. You could flash a custom ROM like Cyanogenmod, but Samsung have now made it impossible to do that in a traceless manner, so if you ever have a warranty claim you're fcuked.

I've been hemming and hawing for a while, but I think I'm going for the Nexus 6. The LG G3 is another one I'm considering. But on balance, the Nexus seems the best buy in phablet territory right now.

wayne040576

munkee wrote: »

I'm coming from Nexus devices too, and have had Samsung devices in the past.

I'd try out Nova Launcher before buying- it changes the homescreen buttons, app drawer, etc, but dig under the surface, and all the TouchWiz stuff is still there, which is pretty awful IMO. You could flash a custom ROM like Cyanogenmod, but Samsung have now made it impossible to do that in a traceless manner, so if you ever have a warranty claim you're fcuked.

I've been hemming and hawing for a while, but I think I'm going for the Nexus 6. The LG G3 is another one I'm considering. But on balance, the Nexus seems the best buy in phablet territory right now.

I've had Nova on my nexus for over a year now and like it. But if it doesn't hide the touchwiz stuff enough then it might not be good enough. The G3 was another one I was looking at as well. I think I'll end up listing personal pros and cons of each before deciding.

munkee

If Samsung hadn't implemented Knox (thereby hindering ROM tweakage) I'd give it serious consideration. I'm using a Samsung phone on loan at the moment, and I'd forgotten what a mess TW is, even with a launcher, the ugliness seeps through everywhere. In the end I stuck Cyanogenmod on this phone, even though I'll only use it for a month.

If you look at the G3, make sure you're considering the version with 3GB of RAM as well as the one with 2GB- linky.

The Moto X looks a good buy too, but I want a bigger screen :pac:

Samsung have the potential to make the best Android phone ever (the Galaxy Nexus was a great design IMO). If they could release a phone with close to stock Android and ditch the capacitive buttons, I'd be all over it.

mtt_swny

TW might not be the nicest looking, totally agree, but CM destroys the camera, rendering it near useless in many cases, can't be having that! If that's a fair trade off for some then fair enough, as Kermit says, That's none of my business!!

munkee

mtt_swny wrote: »

TW might not be the nicest looking, totally agree, but CM destroys the camera, rendering it near useless in many cases, can't be having that! If that's a fair trade off for some then fair enough, as Kermit says, That's none of my business!!

I haven't seen CM impair camera functionality, unless it's an unstable nightly ROM.

mtt_swny

I have, CM installer version too. I'm not the only person I know of personally that has the same thing! In fact it's such an issue, there is a vastly popular app to (somewhat) counteract the camera kill issue. Not hating, just stating what I found to be a deal breaker with it.

wayne040576

munkee wrote: »

I haven't seen CM impair camera functionality, unless it's an unstable nightly ROM.

I just checked the list of known issues on the galaxy note 2. It was in there as of 10.2.

http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Known_Issues_page_for_t0lte

Note 3 issues:

http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Known_Issues_page_for_hlte

munkee

mtt_swny wrote: »

I have, CM installer version too. I'm not the only person I know of personally that has the same thing! In fact it's such an issue, there is a vastly popular app to (somewhat) counteract the camera kill issue. Not hating, just stating what I found to be a deal breaker with it.

Interesting, what device?

Edit: OK, I see the other links now.

In fairness, for the Note 2, there is a stable earlier version without the camera issue.

Cyanogenmod is not perfect, it's maintained by a community. A lot of people come to it because they're unhappy with the skinned experience of their device. That's partly why I switched to the Nexus line, and would only buy that or a device that has good support for custom ROMs. Samsung fall foul of this in a couple of ways, one being Knox. The other is their Exynos chipset, used in some devices. As it's their processor, they don't provide documentation for developers, which makes custom ROM development very hard.

mtt_swny

munkee wrote: »

Interesting, what device?

Note 2. Really wanted to love CM, but the bug was so frustrating. Id get maybe 5 shots on the camera and it'd crash, prompting a reboot. I tried to get to the bottom of it in many ways, one of the reasons I started posting here on boards in fact, but I never got it sorted. There is an app as I mentioned but it's no fix. Another issue, and one that I know numerous other CM users have/had, was that if my phone was dead and I plugged in to power up,although it would be charging, it would freeze and not fully launch, requiring me to unplug and reboot. I know there's fixes for those things, but I neither have the knowledge or patience to go digging! I just feel if Cyanogenmod, a financially backed Corp, want to offer a "fool proof" way of installing their OS to the masses, then they must be able to guarantee a completely water tight offering. If they ever do, I am back with it, simple as.

munkee

But version 10.1 (a minor version earlier) doesn't appear to have that issue at all. Did you try that?

Cyanogenmod is not perfect. And maybe it was a mistake to offer an installer version- as folks expect it to be have zero issues. I ran CM as a daily driver on a few devices, running it now on an old Galaxy Ace 2, no problems.

mtt_swny

munkee wrote: »

Interesting, what device?

Edit: OK, I see the other links now.

In fairness, for the Note 2, there is a stable earlier version without the camera issue.

Cyanogenmod is not perfect, it's maintained by a community. A lot of people come to it because they're unhappy with the skinned experience of their device. That's partly why I switched to the Nexus line, and would only buy that or a device that has good support for custom ROMs. Samsung fall foul of this in a couple of ways, one being Knox. The other is their Exynos chipset, used in some devices. As it's their processor, they don't provide documentation for developers, which makes custom ROM development very hard.

Yeah a few friends are strictly Nexus / Moto of for the same reasons. If I knew more about custom rom and knew I could install one that didn't hinder things that make the phone what it is, then I'd get into it.

Edit:
Good info about Samsung suitability to custom rom compared to other devices too. For me, as mentioned in various other posts, the camera on my phone matters a lot, I need it to preform excellently, exactly when I want it to, not many android devices can fully compete with the overall performance of Apple flagships on that front, not being biased there either, if there was one out there, I'd try it, but end of the day no android is as good as a Note for camera stuff. On the flipside of that, I am always intrigued by the look of stock devices, especially the new lollypop look on Nexus devices, so do wish I could keep all of the Spen features, split window stuff, and other Note features, in a Google play version type of experience!!

Bluefrog

Carrollman wrote: »

Have you set done anything to help aid the battery? Greenify etc?

Had Greenify running before the update so I don't think that accounts for the big improvement - haven't really tweaked Greenify at all on this phone

Nikond800

Bluefrog wrote:

Finding the battery very much improved in the last firmware (the one that's rolling out for BTU now). On moderate use I'd probably get close to two days - just looking here I'm on battery 11hrs 27mins and still at 72% - that's with a couple of medium length calls, and a lot of IM's.

Hi bluefrog, I find the battery significantly better with the recent btu update. Phone feels snappier also.

symbolic

Nikond800 wrote: »

Hi bluefrog, I find the battery significantly better with the recent btu update. Phone feels snappier also.

What is this BTU update, mine is a phone bought in Vodafone shop, when would i be getting it do you know? Or how do I know that if I already do. Is this a Lollipop related update? Id love a bit more snap.

Have the phone a couple of days, after moving from the Note 2, and not really blown away by it. Think the things that most annoyed me about the Note 2 are still present. The "clunky" feel for the want of a better term moving from camera to gallery, sometimes just moving to gallery at all and say google music not playing and needing to be restarted, not samsungs fault I know. The recent apps menu is awful, that delay just can't bear to use it.

Does anyone else find it a bit clunky and slow at times? I presume its just touch Wiz running on top of Android that causes this? I would be tempted to install custom Roms now (never have before) as I feel a phone with these specs deserves something a bit smoother running on it? I feel a bit stuck as there is no other phone I would be interested in as I'd miss S pen and Multi Window, sd card and extended batteries.

Nikond800

symbolic wrote:

What is this BTU update, mine is a phone bought in Vodafone shop, when would i be getting it do you know? Or how do I know that if I already do. Is this a Lollipop related update? Id love a bit more snap.

Hi Symbolic,
I usually root my phones and install custom roms as I go. I haven't rooted the n4 yet as I'm waiting for lollipop first.
The btu rom is a generic English rom. As such, it isn't crippled with carrier bloatware and receives updates as they are pushed from Samsung . I think I received two updates since I received the phone.
Installing the btu rom is not rooting. The btu rom is official Samsung N4 firmware and as such can be flashed through odin without tripping knox.
The reason I flashed this rom the evening I got the n4 was that I wanted rid of Vodafone junk apps and above all, I wanted timely updates.
I did find the gallery lagged before but it isn't as bad for me since the update last week.
Definitely don't find the phone chunky. I have the one plus one which I prefer to hold but it was riddled in software issues. I think the note 4 can become chunky with certain cases. I've a nicer case on this than I had on the note 3 and the phone feels better in the hand.
Sorry for the long winded explanation. Hope it helps.

Nikond800

Sorry symbolic, realised you said clunky not chunky.

symbolic

Nikond800 wrote: »

Sorry symbolic, realised you said clunky not chunky.

Cheers for the info on BTU.

I was maybe just in a bad mood earlier. I had changed my animation settings to none on the day I got it. And I have put them back now and I'm happier now... It's all running smoother, due the the animations etc. Maybe that's all that was up... And am using the Google camera now and find it a bit better for looking at pictures just taken. Dunno if it's as good as the Samsung but will see. Happy again for the moment ha. The recent apps seems quicker with animation / transitions turned on. Just making it all but feels nicer!

Good hear of the issues with one plus one. As in nothing is without issues in this kind of space I suppose.

mtt_swny

Nikond800 wrote: »

I've a nicer case on this than I had on the note 3 and the phone feels better in the hand.

What case did you go with for yours? Cheers

Nikond800

mtt_swny wrote:

What case did you go with for yours? Cheers

Hey,
Went for this one. I used to get the spigen cases but when I got the N4,there were none available. I bought this one as it was available with a few to getting a better case down the road. Once I received this I'd no interest in getting any other.
I use it with a tempered glass screen protector which saved my previous phones on numerous occasions.
Galaxy Note 4 Case - Ringke FUSION Case [Free HD Film/Dust Cap&Drop Protection][CRYSTAL VIEW] Shock Absorption Bumper Premium Hard Case for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 - Eco/DIY Package

amazon.co.uk/dp/B00N9HN7PG/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Y54Hub1EKVKKT

Bluefrog

Nikond800 wrote: »

Hi bluefrog, I find the battery significantly better with the recent btu update. Phone feels snappier also.

Not really noticing any speed improvement - using Nova so maybe that's why.

From casual observation here I think it's losing much less power on standby and that's where the gain is coming from.

wayne040576

I know a few people mentioned the lag that occurs on the phone but I hadn't realised it was so bad until I watched this review last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdYuj2NSZZ0&list=UUFfCqe7b9YiDk2ZiAG8UIGA#t=830

He mentioned it at the beginning as one of the annoyances about the phone but then around 14 mins in to the review while trying to demo the multi windows functionality, the phone ground to a halt.
The last galaxy phone I had was the original galaxy S (I don't count my galaxy nexus) and it had issues like this. But I thought they would have sorted them by now.

AngelaRI

I flashed the BTU ROM last month but still waiting on the latest updates OTA... Still on NJ4, no sign of NK4

Nikond800

AngelaRI wrote:

I flashed the BTU ROM last month but still waiting on the latest updates OTA... Still on NJ4, no sign of NK4

Angela,
Did you check after flashing to ensure your csc changed from your Irish csc to btu?
I had trouble with mine changing initially. This is the only reason I can think why your btu rom wouldn't get updates.

AngelaRI

Nikond800 wrote: »

Angela,
Did you check after flashing to ensure your csc changed from your Irish csc to btu?
I had trouble with mine changing initially. This is the only reason I can think why your btu rom wouldn't get updates.

CSC is N910FBTU1ANJ2 (used *#1234# to check)
Seems right to me

youcancallmeal

To correctly check your CSC code do this.
Power off the phone then hold the home and volume up keys while pressing the power key.
This enters recovery mode and you will see your csc at the bottom.
It should be BTU

AngelaRI

youcancallmeal wrote: »

To correctly check your CSC code do this.
Power off the phone then hold the home and volume up keys while pressing the power key.
This enters recovery mode and you will see your csc at the bottom.
It should be BTU

That one shows VDI (and mentions multi-CSC) - I take that to mean that the flash did not update the CSC correctly?

youcancallmeal

AngelaRI wrote: »

That one shows VDI (and mentions multi-CSC) - I take that to mean that the flash did not update the CSC correctly?

You need to do a factory reset I'm afraid and check it again after. Some people have reported having to do a factory reset a 2/3 times before the correct CSC code shows up. Also clear the cache too!

AngelaRI

youcancallmeal wrote: »

You need to do a factory reset I'm afraid and check it again after. Some people have reported having to do a factory reset a 2/3 times before the correct CSC code shows up. Also clear the cache too!

Flashing the latest FW won't help?

youcancallmeal

AngelaRI wrote: »

Flashing the latest FW won't help?

Yeah you could do that but you would still need to clear cache and do factory reset in order to get the CSC to change so you can pick up future updates OTA

Nikond800

AngelaRI wrote:

Flashing the latest FW won't help? 

As I suspected Angela. The csc is still Vodafone Ireland.
As mentioned, you'll need to wipe your cache and probably a factory reset. You could manually flash the latest btu fw and see will this resolve it.

AngelaRI

Nikond800 wrote: »

As I suspected Angela. The csc is still Vodafone Ireland.
As mentioned, you'll need to wipe your cache and probably a factory reset. You could manually flash the latest btu fw and see will this resolve it.

Cache wipe on its own didn't work, so I made sure my phone was backed up and did a hard factory reset from the recovery menu.

It's now in the process of restoring my backed up settings (including apps - awesome!) and downloading a 123MB update.

Once that is all done I'll re-check the CSC.

Thanks all!

AngelaRI

AngelaRI wrote: »

Cache wipe on its own didn't work, so I made sure my phone was backed up and did a hard factory reset from the recovery menu.

It's now in the process of restoring my backed up settings (including apps - awesome!) and downloading a 123MB update.

Once that is all done I'll re-check the CSC.

Thanks all!

BTU!!!

youcancallmeal

AngelaRI wrote: »

Cache wipe on its own didn't work, so I made sure my phone was backed up and did a hard factory reset from the recovery menu.

It's now in the process of restoring my backed up settings (including apps - awesome!) and downloading a 123MB update.

Once that is all done I'll re-check the CSC.

Thanks all!

Thats great. How did you back up your phone?

AngelaRI

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Thats great. How did you back up your phone?

Samsung KIES as well as the auto backup option on the phone itself
When I restarted the auto-restore kicked in (giving me my apps)
but I didn't get the home screen shortcuts or accounts restored, and KIES hangs, so I've got to redo all the personalisations...

But at least the CSC issue is resolved so I won't need to go through all of this again.

Nikond800

AngelaRI wrote:

But at least the CSC issue is resolved so I won't need to go through all of this again.

You live and learn Angela haha. You won't make the same mistake again. Good to see it worked out for you. Now we wait for lollipop

paddydriver

Anyone know if the Gallery lag is fixed in this latest update? Phone takes an age and sometimes just hangs altogether when opening a photo preview immediately after taking it.. is really annoying!

Thanks

symbolic

paddydriver wrote: »

Anyone know if the Gallery lag is fixed in this latest update? Phone takes an age and sometimes just hangs altogether when opening a photo preview immediately after taking it.. is really annoying!

Thanks

The Google camera app doesn't lag if that's any good to you