Newbie thoughts and questions coming from BlackBerry

[eprklims]

Hi all
Thanks in advance for any help.
I've finally made the switch to android from 16 years (not a typo) on BlackBerry. I grabbed a Samsung note 4 and am loving many aspects but I'm missing some things that were on my BlackBerry and am having trouble finding solutions.
I have some questions for the pros below and would really appreciate some help.
1) bedside mode. I love having my phone by my bed but at night I want WiFi and mobile turned off and no notifications except alarm clock. I've been using flight mode but it doesn't do everything bedside mode does on bb. Any ideas?
2) "connected to WiFi network". I get this message pretty constantly and its pretty maddening as it goes over top of whatever I'm doing then
goes away. Its terrible at night when I'm reading on kindle in dark mode and this big white message comes up and blinds me. I have the smart switch turned on as otherwise I kept stalling on websites probably due to lost connection.
3) hub. I really miss my hub. The notifications all in one place was awesome and i find the drop down menu just too confusing and full of non messaging type things. Any solutions?
4) trusted spaces. Any way to get this on KitKat? I understand its coming shortly on lollipop so not a huge deal.
5) I find google now doesn't listen that well and s voice is even worse. I have both set to listen with different keywords. Any tips to improve this?

All in all I am appreciating many aspects of android but definitely missing some polish that's in bb

Thanks in advance for any help !!

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[Rukbat]

1) bedside mode. I love having my phone by my bed but at night I want WiFi and mobile turned off and no notifications except alarm clock. I've been using flight mode but it doesn't do everything bedside mode does on bb. Any ideas?

What else do you need it to do? It turns off all the radios.

2) "connected to WiFi network". I get this message pretty constantly and its pretty maddening as it goes over top of whatever I'm doing then
goes away. Its terrible at night when I'm reading on kindle in dark mode and this big white message comes up and blinds me. I have the smart switch turned on as otherwise I kept stalling on websites probably due to lost connection.

If you're not using an internet connection, turn off wifi. If you are, position yourself to get a better connection (closer to the router). Or root, install Xposed Installer and the Notify Clean module. Tell it to hide that notification.

3) hub. I really miss my hub. The notifications all in one place was awesome and i find the drop down menu just too confusing and full of non messaging type things. Any solutions?

Different phone, different way of doing things. Unless someone write a "BB Hub" app, you'll have to get used to it.

5) I find google now doesn't listen that well and s voice is even worse. I have both set to listen with different keywords. Any tips to improve this?

There are a few "Siri-type" apps. Try them all and use the one you like best. (As far as I'm concerned, I'll wait until they get it right, and I stop getting "I'll look that up for you" - I can form my own Google search phrases, thank you.)

but definitely missing some polish that's in bb

Windows is missing some of the things in Linux. Linux is missing some of the things in SunOS (imagine "storage" just being "storage" with no regard to which drive or partition it was - everything is one huge storage pool, and the external SD card would be an external device you could redirect to, like a tape drive [which, BTW, is where the "tar" filetype comes from - Tape ARchive.]). And it was easier when you could scratch out an 8 bit operating system in a few days. Time marches on, and we try to drag ourselves along with it. If I'm looking down at the grass, not up at it, I don't complain too much.

 

[eprklims]

First off, thanks Rukbat for the replies. Some comments inline below.

What else do you need it to do? It turns off all the radios.
EK: bedside mode on BB also shows a very low light clock, and multiple alarms. I guess I just need to get used to the flight mode - not a big deal at all.

If you're not using an internet connection, turn off wifi. If you are, position yourself to get a better connection (closer to the router). Or root, install Xposed Installer and the Notify Clean module. Tell it to hide that notification.
EK: rooting I am not going to do... I am tired of hacking BB for years so don't want to go down that path. My BB never did this and it's just an annoyance... I walk around my house and it switches pretty constantly - even when I'm sitting in one spot often. I understand some people would want to see it, and I just wish there was an option to stop showing it without rooting.

Different phone, different way of doing things. Unless someone write a "BB Hub" app, you'll have to get used to it.
EK: agreed re: hub. Hopefully someone sees the beauty of the hub and brings it to Android. Probably my biggest let down coming from BB. I was expecting a 'step up' and in many ways it is, but in this one way it's not. Not trying to be whiny, just trying to understand how Android people get by without it : )

There are a few "Siri-type" apps. Try them all and use the one you like best. (As far as I'm concerned, I'll wait until they get it right, and I stop getting "I'll look that up for you" - I can form my own Google search phrases, thank you.)

Windows is missing some of the things in Linux. Linux is missing some of the things in SunOS (imagine "storage" just being "storage" with no regard to which drive or partition it was - everything is one huge storage pool, and the external SD card would be an external device you could redirect to, like a tape drive [which, BTW, is where the "tar" filetype comes from - Tape ARchive.]). And it was easier when you could scratch out an 8 bit operating system in a few days. Time marches on, and we try to drag ourselves along with it. If I'm looking down at the grass, not up at it, I don't complain too much.

EK: very true. I guess I would love if BB created a launcher that acted like the BB10 experience. Probably sacrilege saying that here but I loved everything about BB except the ecosystem. If they had received Google Play Services/Framework I would have never left. Without it there are just too many sacrifices IMHO.

If anyone else has thoughts, I'm open to hearing them. I searched and searched for forums on BB users going to Android and 'what to know' and most of them were years old or the other direction surprisingly.

 

[Jamie Wooten]

I too came from blackberry 10. Have you tried blocking mode at night. It silences all notifications and allows just the alarm. Works good. As far as the others can't help you there.
Will say that's the one thing I miss is the HUB. Oh well.

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[RTMobile]

I too came from BB10 and not only miss the hub, but never realized how nice the messaging interface on BB10 was until I saw Android. The great thing about Android is that there are so many ways to customize and personalize it. I use Nova Launcher for instance. I love it. I also use SwiftKey and while it's better than Sammy keyboard in some ways, it's still inferior to BB10. Since BB10 ran many Android apps and had Amazon App store pre-installed you could access a lot of cool apps I guess, but not having Google play services was a killer. Also, the build quality and design of the Sammy hardware is great.

Poke around in the forum specifically for the Note 4. There a ton of app suggestions in there. Myself, I use a TON of apps, many that actually run on BB10, but a lot don't, and they are great.

aCalendar
AppMgrIII
Aquamail
Chromecast
Folder Sync
Llama-great for notification profiles
Notification Toggle
Nova Launcher - Touch wiz isn't that great
Pocket
Shush!
Smart App Lock
Swiftkey
ToDo'ist

Even though I miss some things in BB10, and used BB exclusively for 14 years, I now enjoy using my phone more than ever before. It's a real computer. I even go to my Note 4 before I go to my Tab 4.

I hope you stick with it. BB will NEVER build anything that can come close to Sammy in hardware quality. Never.

Best,

T.

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[eprklims]

Thanks Jamie.
I really miss the hub. I feel like I'm missing messages and responding slower.

I have a new frustration. Whenever I call any contacts that don't have 1 in front for long distance it plays me some message saying 'next time add a one ...: on my BlackBerry this just was one setting that always prefixed a 1 when it was not my area code.

Anyone have a way to do this? I've googled a bunch and no one seems to have a solution except to go in to all contacts and add a 1. For sure this device should be smart enough to do this for me on the fly.
Help!!

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[Jamie Wooten]

Who is your service provider? I'm with ATT and when I call someone that's long distance I don't use a 1. I'll look into my settings.

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[eprklims]

Thanks rtmobile
I definitely feel like there are lots of options on Android but I feel like blackberry packaged everything nicer. Lots of little things just work on it. It's too bad about the ecosystem. Especially lack of google play. I will check out your app suggestions

Jamie I'm in Canada. I think in the US that most carriers treat everywhere in the US as local on mobile so maybe that's why.

The thing that's driving me the most batty is this non stop `connected to WiFi network XxGC', which is my ssid
I was on with Samsung today and they gave me some 'fixes' but none work and one was just to turn off WiFi which is ridiculous. Would love a solution to that as it pops up when I'm reading in kindle and elsewhere and blocks my screen and it's particularly annoying in the dark!

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[Jamie Wooten]

Hmm that is weird, did you turn off the notifications in advanced options of WiFi?

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[eprklims]

Hi Jamie
Yes I removed that check box beside the notifications under advanced.

 

[b.mike]

I just came from blackberry too, and was surprised at things missed. Having the same problem with 1 before the numbers . (I'm also in Canada) I thought this was fixed 10 years ago on BB. Hopefully will find an answer...too many contacts to want to add a 1 to all of them.

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