Average consumer reviews

[Neill Baldwin]

I bought mine off of Amazon and still go back and check the reviews to see what people are saying about this phone. It seems to me the feedback on this phone are pretty d@mn good. I know this phone has had it's issues(won't rehash camera) but it suprises me it doesn't get more positive press and not many people making cases and stuff. I hope everyone who has issues gets them fixed with updates because coming from my S7 edge, I love this phone.

 

[cfclay]

I bought mine off of Amazon and still go back and check the reviews to see what people are saying about this phone. It seems to me the feedback on this phone are pretty d@mn good. I know this phone has had it's issues(won't rehash camera) but it suprises me it doesn't get more positive press and not many people making cases and stuff. I hope everyone who has issues gets them fixed with updates because coming from my S7 edge, I love this phone.

Only issue I have is with freezing up. Fast otherwise

 

[Morty2264]

I've seen a bit of a mixed camp; however, I have a friend who got her Essential Phone around Christmastime and loves it. Definitely seems like a good phone, and I hope more accessories come out for it soon!

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Many of the poor reviews were deserved after all the issues with buggy software and quality control problems. The original $700 price didn't help. Phones in that price range get compared to the top flagships. I initially purchased the black version which had software and hardware issues but wasn't as bad as some. Fortunately, Essential has fixed many of the bugs and permanently dropped the price to a reasonable $500. I'm now on my third phone (pure white). It's been pretty much perfect with no random reboots, scrolling lag or other oft mentioned problems. Camera has improved but it's just ok compared to recent flagships.

 

[Morty2264]

Many of the poor reviews were deserved after all the issues with buggy software and quality control problems. The original $700 price didn't help. Phones in that price range get compared to the top flagships. I initially purchased the black version which had software and hardware issues but wasn't as bad as some. Fortunately, Essential has fixed many of the bugs and permanently dropped the price to a reasonable $500. I'm now on my third phone (pure white). It's been pretty much perfect with no random reboots, scrolling lag or other oft mentioned problems. Camera has improved but it's just ok compared to recent flagships.

I'm glad you are enjoying your white Essential Phone! It is a gorgeous device.

 

[Neill Baldwin]

Many of the poor reviews were deserved after all the issues with buggy software and quality control problems. The original $700 price didn't help. Phones in that price range get compared to the top flagships. I initially purchased the black version which had software and hardware issues but wasn't as bad as some. Fortunately, Essential has fixed many of the bugs and permanently dropped the price to a reasonable $500. I'm now on my third phone (pure white). It's been pretty much perfect with no random reboots, scrolling lag or other oft mentioned problems. Camera has improved but it's just ok compared to recent flagships.

I agree, from all that I read, the reviews were deserved. However, with the price drop and improved updates, I would think this phone would get a little more attention. I know for me personally, if I had a friend looking for a new Android phone $500 or under I would highly recommend it as long as you can deal with the so so camera.

 

[Morty2264]

I agree, from all that I read, the reviews were deserved. However, with the price drop and improved updates, I would think this phone would get a little more attention. I know for me personally, if I had a friend looking for a new Android phone $500 or under I would highly recommend it as long as you can deal with the so so camera.

I agree: at the price mark of $500, it's a worthy choice.

 

[rld082982]

I agree, from all that I read, the reviews were deserved. However, with the price drop and improved updates, I would think this phone would get a little more attention. I know for me personally, if I had a friend looking for a new Android phone $500 or under I would highly recommend it as long as you can deal with the so so camera.

I highly disagree. At first, absolutely I would of. But having it now for a couple months, the consistent freezing/laginess/and reboots I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. At least once a day I have to either manually reset it, or it resets on it's own after freezing up for a few minutes. At this point the only good thing about this phone is the build quality. The 360 camera didn't even work and I had to send it back.

 

[Morty2264]

I highly disagree. At first, absolutely I would of. But having it now for a couple months, the consistent freezing/laginess/and reboots I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. At least once a day I have to either manually reset it, or it resets on it's own after freezing up for a few minutes. At this point the only good thing about this phone is the build quality. The 360 camera didn't even work and I had to send it back.

This is awful! Can you send it back to your carrier or from where you purchased it?

 

[rld082982]

This is awful! Can you send it back to your carrier or from where you purchased it?

Sadly I don't think bestbuy would accept a return at this point

 

[Morty2264]

Sadly I don't think bestbuy would accept a return at this point

That's too bad. I'm sorry you are not having an enjoyable experience. But you never know - it wouldn't hurt for you to contact Best Buy and see what their policy is.

 

[mogelijk]

Sadly I don't think bestbuy would accept a return at this point

While they likely wouldn't accept a return, you might be able to get their Geek Squad to do an exchange for you. It seems most of us are not having issues with freezing and reboots, and even lag seems to be minimal for most; so it seems as if you might have an issue with your phone.

 

[rld082982]

While they likely wouldn't accept a return, you might be able to get their Geek Squad to do an exchange for you. It seems most of us are not having issues with freezing and reboots, and even lag seems to be minimal for most; so it seems as if you might have an issue with your phone.

Perhaps. I might begrudgingly do a factory reset to see if that resolves anything

 

[Morty2264]

Perhaps. I might begrudgingly do a factory reset to see if that resolves anything

That may help! Keep us posted!

 

[Roosterman]

Perhaps. I might begrudgingly do a factory reset to see if that resolves anything

Since you are about the only one have this severe of an issue, it would seem to me that it is app related. Something isn't playing well with others.

If you are going to do a reset, I would suggest you start out slowly adding your apps. Load only, at first, those apps that you absolutely have to have on a day to day basis. I'd leave games off for the first week. I all is good after the week, start adding more of the nice to have apps a few at a time.

If things aren't good, I'd try removing any added apps that aren't provided with initial install. Then start adding a couple more at a time.

I really hope you get it figured out.

 

[rld082982]

Since you are about the only one have this severe of an issue, it would seem to me that it is app related. Something isn't playing well with others.

If you are going to do a reset, I would suggest you start out slowly adding your apps. Load only, at first, those apps that you absolutely have to have on a day to day basis. I'd leave games off for the first week. I all is good after the week, start adding more of the nice to have apps a few at a time.

If things aren't good, I'd try removing any added apps that aren't provided with initial install. Then start adding a couple more at a time.

I really hope you get it figured out.

Thanks, I'll try this

 

[Neill Baldwin]

Thanks, I'll try this

Hope it works for you.

 

[philesk]

Thanks, I'll try this

I agree with the recommendation to do a factory reset. I read of problems due to setting up a new phone using the 'transfer from another phone' utility. So I did a clean setup adding my apps back directly from Google Play and Amazon Apps. In addition, since I got my PH-1 on BF sale, it loaded s bunch of OTA updates before I even tried adding my apps.

Result is I have had zero problems of the type described by you and others. If you still have problems after the factory reset, you probably have a damaged or defective unit and it needs to be RMAed back to Essential for repair or exchange.
Good luck...

 

[quailallstar]

This phone is solid from all that I've read.

 

[Morty2264]

This phone is solid from all that I've read.

It is pretty cool. I'm really excited to see what Essential will do in the future. I could see myself buying a phone from them if they upped the battery mAh and camera specs. I love the design!