S7 Active user reviews!

[bkrell]

I would think something else is running or draining the battery in addition to the things you are leaving on. Do you turn the phone off overnight or leave on 24/7?
No half sized iphone battery should be even close to a 4,000 mAh battery in terms of hours of use per day unless there is a issue/problem hiding somewhere within.

I leave the phone on and charging at night. My S4 Active was the same way compared to my iPhone 4S that I had before it. I've lost 7% since I typed my original post with a little bit of facebook and replying to some texts.

 

[Phoneguy108]

No I traded my S5 in when I got the S7. The displayed signals are usually lower and now I get no service while in the bathroom going through Flipboard in the morning. Had service on the S5 in said location, now I have no service in said location. Maybe this will inspire someone to measure the antenna gain,

Others reporting issues with the antenna as well.

 

[Slade8525]

I have AT&T? They'll probably help u out.

Posted via the Android Central App

did you buy it with a credit card? if you did, MOST credit cards have a 30 day dispute policy where you can file WITH THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY and get your money back, and they will fight it out for you, sort of like an Ombudsman program.

 

[Slade8525]

poor signal for any radio receiver/transceiver is a battery hog. have you disabled bloatware with package disabler pro? and if you dont use bluetooth or gps keep them off. also, facebook is a HUGE battery hog by itself; i dont use facebook but you could log in via browser in mobile mode and bypass all the battery drain. GPS indoors is also a battery hog. bluetooth has a low power scanning mode, as does wifi, that you could turn off.

i set up some Tasker protocols to auto-enable gps nfc bluetooth and wifi where i need it (home, work, friends places, malls/stores, restaurants/bars i frequent) based first on network location, turn on GPS, if GPS=approx location of above list, then enable wifi/bluetooth/nfc whatever is appropriate. took a while but i like it being 90% automated wherever i go. poor gps and poor carrier signal strength and facebook app are terrible for battery life tho; all under OS or services or facebook app.

 

[jlczl]

In 2 generations of a this phone we have gone from a nearly indestructible screen to needing screen protectors since it can be scratched with a pencil eraser????????

My S5 Active screen shattered after a 4 foot drop so I'm not sure I'd describe it as indestructible.

As far as the battery talk I can't believe anyone is having any issues with it. This is the absolute hands down best battery on any phone I've ever had including the S7 Edge and iPhone 6s Plus. I get 8 hours SOT with Bluetooth on and paired to my smart watch and headset, as well as WiFi on, brightness on auto, syncing Gmail and various social apps (not Facebook) and just basically using it however I need to. No more battery anxiety for me.

 

[planoman]

Battery life is my only issue so far. Yes, sure, there are tweaks you can do to cut off some antennas and apps that would normally run and suck down juice. But I feel like this is Samsung's biggest stumble verses Apple. On an iPhone, most of this stuff is always on and battery life is still loads better. Under my normal daily routine, using phone for gps and streaming music while I run and then facebook while I eat breakfast, my iPhone is still in the 90% range when I get to work. My Active is already in the 70% range at the same point. I shouldn't have to deprive it of functionality to make its battery life comparable to my old phone's. Has someone identified one major battery hog that is completely extraneous and unnecessary? Because my top battery using components appear to be the screen then the OS.

Check each apps ability to update in the background and control it. Settings, connections, data usage, then click the apps list and restrict those that do not need background data. Many other tweaks also.

 

[planoman]

Do you know what the signal strength number is in dBm? My S3 is prehistoric running Kitkat & not sure where to check on Marshmallow. Maybe under data options in settings? My reasoning is that you would be able to compare your S7A numbers to other phones you currently have in identical locations.



I would think something else is running or draining the battery in addition to the things you are leaving on. Do you turn the phone off overnight or leave on 24/7?
No half sized iphone battery should be even close to a 4,000 mAh battery in terms of hours of use per day unless there is a issue/problem hiding somewhere within.

I have not lost service just have noted the less bars. Samsung used to give your the signal strength in the status but I do not see it now.

 

[RohitGutyan]

Here is the complete review of samsung galaxy s7 active, take a look :- Samsung Galaxy S7 Active review - A stronger and longer-lasting Galaxy

 

[Christopher Wortman]

My wife and I got these phones. The first one I had, the back lip was coming up as the glue was bad. I got a quick replacement. Submerged these phones and played with them and no issues yet. She has a scratch on her screen but its not bad. Battery life is phenominal. We went swimming with these phones, etc everything works fine. I think the consumer reports either got bad phones on purpose, or actually made sure to physically damage them before putting them in the water in order to make the devices look bad for click bait.

 

[LonestarROB]

My wife and I got these phones. The first one I had, the back lip was coming up as the glue was bad. I got a quick replacement. Submerged these phones and played with them and no issues yet. She has a scratch on her screen but its not bad. Battery life is phenominal. We went swimming with these phones, etc everything works fine. I think the consumer reports either got bad phones on purpose, or actually made sure to physically damage them before putting them in the water in order to make the devices look bad for click bait.

I seriously doubt that. Plus the fact that many others have had problems as well.

Edit - Also, Poetic has stopped selling their S7A cases. I've contacted them for further info. Maybe they know something and will say something Samsung/Att won't.

 

[Phoneguy108]

My wife and I got these phones. The first one I had, the back lip was coming up as the glue was bad. I got a quick replacement. Submerged these phones and played with them and no issues yet. She has a scratch on her screen but its not bad. Battery life is phenominal. We went swimming with these phones, etc everything works fine. I think the consumer reports either got bad phones on purpose, or actually made sure to physically damage them before putting them in the water in order to make the devices look bad for click bait.

Why would CR try to sabotage Samsung? CR has a great reputation.

 

[Slade8525]

other than the compass/map overlay issue where it simply says 'google services is updating' i have zero complaints; mine has held up fine and i havent been easy on it.

as to CR's test, they pressurized a chamber and failed to state if they did it at STP (standard temperature and pressure); water does not compress evenly like air does (but i assume they know this) its all about pressure AT DEPTH, however i find the use of a pressurized chamber somewhat odd, considering the cost, versus getting a plexiglass tube 1.5 meters, filling it with water, and dropping the phone into it within specified temperature limitations as stated by the manufacturer.

Another issue with the CR test is they did NOT test all 3 s7 devices at the same time or even in 1 shot aka a time lapse, or with timers, so while i dont doubt their good intent, i do doubt their methodology; very unscientific.

I bought and gave one to a cousin of mine in greece; she took it for about 40 minutes swimming in the sea and rinsed it off with tap water and its fine (i cant verify it, i wasnt there), but the only times shes ever lied to me was about santa clause, so i find her pretty credibly reliable. i did suggest she not do it again as salt water is HIGHLY corrosive, and told her to rinse it out/off extra good and again, not repeat it.

 

[Phoneguy108]

Salt water is a big no no. She's lucky her phone survived that.

 

[Slade8525]

Salt water is a big no no. She's lucky her phone survived that.

i know.... i know.... :facepalm:

i told her that before and after, she rinsed it off with fresh water and has had no issues; she said she sprayed it off esp the speaker and ports at a beachside showerhead with fresh water. i reiterated salt water is a no-no however. it was a gift, from me, and she was showing it off.

 

[Slade8525]

Very experienced Android user here, cooked or modified my own ROM's since WinMo 5.0, Pineapple on iOS, Cyanogenmod and others too. Coming from Galaxy S4 with 5200mah battery heavily tweaked for battery life, custom OS, etc.

OVERALL - This is the first 'no compromise' Active device, that has all the bells and whistles of the flagship S7/S7 Edge (minus S7 Edge 'Edge Screen features which i find pointless) and a bigger battery too; I love it. I feel no need to modify the OS in any way that would require root, or a 'compromised' bootloader. Get a glass screen protector ASAP; the polycarbonate screen cover will scratch easily, and maybe a very thin/slim TPU case for better grip and added safety in case of drops; they are cheap anyways; might as well for an $800 phone. Plastic and rubber sides and back mean no back glass cracking or breaking; my main concern with S7 and S7 Edge. Apple did away with glass backs and went to aluminum, chances are samsung will follow suit in a generation or two.

BOTTOM LINE - Get it, try it, use it, if you don't absolutely love it, take it back on the 13th or 14th day. Battery life is awesome, camera is wonderful, and its basically a Galaxy S7 with a case and larger battery that's far more worry free. Frankly, if you like the S7 or you are clumsy; get the Active. If you have kids, get the Active. If you prefer the Edge for its Edge Screen features, get the S7 Edge (and a case...). The Active makes the S7 somewhat redundant if you have AT&T. I bought 2 initially; one for myself (from an S4 with 5200mah Anker battery/case) and my GF; then bought another for my folks with an ancient Galaxy S3 (also on AT&T). First off, let it get used to your usage for a few days; app power saving lets you choose 'auto' or 'always' save power; i lean heavily towards 'always' save power. I installed Greenify and tweaked it for more battery life control, as well as App Killer Pro (Samsung) to disable AT&T bloatware and other misc stuff i wont use (Gear/Gear VR stuff, Facebook which i am not a member of, DirectTV, AT&T stuff). I also installed, but did not yet create any profiles with Tasker as well but that's a bit more in-depth.

Durability - A bit slippery out of the box (not as slippery as iPhones, S7, and S7 Edge); i bought an $8 TPU case on Amazon as well as a cheap glass screen protector to keep the polycarbonate screen protected from scratches; also $8 Amazon purchase. Held up to multiple water dunks while swimming and kayaking just fine. I wash it off regularly with mild hand soap and tap water, or windex and water, taking off the TPU case and wiping it dry then blowing water out of the charge and headphone ports and speaker; its seen dunks of at least 3 feet as well as left in my pocket whilst flipping my kayak or swimming and dragging my kayak out of lakes and creeks. Zero issues there.

Features - Activity Zone is useful if you hike/bike/kayak/actually ie DO stuff, S Health is useful as well if you track any of your stats as i do. You can program the button to launch 3 different apps to your liking. Camera is amazing (see below). Accepts and works with up to 200GB MicroSD cards (tested SanDisk 64GB/128GB/200GB UHS1 cards; haven't tested a 256GB yet), so storage isn't an issue. Fingerprint scanner is just as reliable as iPhone 6s/Plus and S7/S7 Edge in my experience.

Software - Excellent; Marshmallow 6.0.1 out of the box works great and really needs no tweaks, but i still use Tasker, Greenify, and App Killer Pro to extend battery life and disable features i wont use. Facebook app sucks down a lot of power; i dont use facebook (or any social networking, so that may affect your battery life) so I disabled it and its two reliant services with App Killer Pro as well as DirectTV and AT&T bloatware. First phone i don't feel the need to Root and ROM; i expected lag, stutter, and to end up returning it. While i still love my S4 with 5200mah battery, the S7 Active easily bests it and is more livable; faster and smaller 4000mah battery lasts longer, with less tweaks/customization needed.

Performance/Battery - Right up there with S7/S7 Edge in performance; specs are identical. Battery (FAR better than S7, and still better than S7 Edge) lasts 2 days easily; 44hrs (barely) 100%-1% with 8hrs (also barely) screen on time, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi on occasion (WiFi saves battery vs LTE), with egregious usage of Camera and Google Maps and everything syncing whenever. Fast Charging and Fast Wireless Charging (Samsung Fast Wireless Charger) have it from 10% to 100% in about 2hrs 40 minutes. I Average 40 hours with 8 hours screen time with GPS, NFC, Bluetooth, and some WiFi usage in areas i get 2 bars of reception (low reception increases battery consumption; good reception and WiFi decrease battery usage). I try to use only the wireless charger so as not to wiggle/damage the USB port (S4 USB port died on me once), works flawlessly even with a TPU case on it. TPU case also only decreases signal by approximately 1-4dB, averaging closer to 2dB, and signal strength vs friends AT&T S7 Edge is on average 0.7dB lower vs S7 Edge with both naked, and 1.3dB lower with S7 Active in TPU case vs S7 Edge with no case. Both with TPU cases, or both naked, the signal dB difference is statistically negligible.

Camera - Second to none in mobiles from what i've played with; shoots RAW upon demand, OIS is ALWAYS on, HDR, etc. Flash is not bluish; its approx. 3600k (Kelvin), so a nice, clean, natural white. More options than you'll use, but clean layout. Pro mode RAW is impressive at 12-12.5 stops of DR (by my comparisons and tests); I film and photograph in RAW exclusively, professionally, and while this is nowhere near the caliber of some of the top performers i use in the pro world (at several to tens of thousands for a body PLUS lenses), for a mobile it is VERY impressive indeed, especially with having real OIS, which is Optical Image Stabilization, which in most the RAW film cameras i use, is non-existent or unavailable, and it REALLY works well, just as good as Nikon VR and Canon IS (their branded names for Optical Image Stabilization but is only built into certain lenses and none that i use regularly; this is the same tech...And it WORKS). AF tracking works as good as Nikon AF 3D tracking, and just as good in Video mode (but in 1080P mode only). Its also f1.7 aperture, and while the tiny sensor doesn't allow for very shallow DSLR depth of field, coupled with Always-On OIS it DOES allow for VERY sharp, nearly noise free low light shots. Jello is minimal for a CMOS sensor; very fast CMOS scan speeds, although clearly not a global shutter sensor.

Conclusion - Highly impressed and pretty surprised; If you're on the fence, try it. I even have the Gaudy Gold and im OK with it.