Newbie questions from BB user

[stranger99]

Very recently switched from Blackberry Z10 to HTC One M8. Longtime BB user and lover of many things about it. Switched to iPhone once for a year and went back to BB.

Some newbie questions:

1. Can the phone play a notification AND vibrate? I don't see that option.
2. Can I get rid of the Wifi notification that shows along the top? I have wifi turned on 24/7. I don't see the need to show me when I don't have wifi. If I'm connected, show me connected. If I'm not, show me nothing.
3. I must be missing something on viewing photos I've taken. When I go into Gallery, it does show pictures but it starts going crazy doing things I don't want. I want a simple grid of pictures that I can scroll through. I must be doing something wrong....this can't be right.
4. Seems very limited on notifciation sounds. I'm used to being able to pick a sound for all kinds of different notifications depending on the app, contacts, etc. Seems like my only option here is texts has one tone, and everything else has another. Is this correct?
5. I am missing my customizable notification LED from BB. I see there are some apps...any luck with any of these? Even the simple existing LED notification seems inconsistent.

Overall loving the phone. I was expecting more customization on some of these things...I'm sure some I just haven't learned...and some I'm stuck with.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central!

Can the phone play a notification AND vibrate? I don't see that option.

I think "Vibrate when ringing" will also make it vibrate for notifications. Not 100% sure--I'll switch mine to Vibrate and see.

Can I get rid of the Wifi notification that shows along the top? I have wifi turned on 24/7. I don't see the need to show me when I don't have wifi. If I'm connected, show me connected. If I'm not, show me nothing.

As long as you have wi-fi turned on, you'll see the indicator. I find it useful, because I'd probably forget if I left wi-fi on, and it would act as a reminder to me to turn it off. Keeping wi-fi on with no signal can contribute to battery drain.

I must be missing something on viewing photos I've taken. When I go into Gallery, it does show pictures but it starts going crazy doing things I don't want. I want a simple grid of pictures that I can scroll through. I must be doing something wrong....this can't be right.

Can you be more specific about the going crazy part? And which gallery app are you using--the stock "Gallery" app or the Google+ related "Photos" app? The Gallery app is the more basic one. If you really don't like the Photos app, try QuickPic.

Seems very limited on notifciation sounds. I'm used to being able to pick a sound for all kinds of different notifications depending on the app, contacts, etc. Seems like my only option here is texts has one tone, and everything else has another. Is this correct?

You can add any custom notification tone that you'd like. Just download it to your phone or to your computer, and then transfer it to the Notifications directory in your phone using any file manager app (like ES File Explorer).

Sorry, can't help you with question 5.

 

[B. Diddy]

Scratch that--"Vibrate when ringing" doesn't cause vibration with notifications, at least not on my Nexus 5. I found separate vibration settings on Hangouts for texting notifications, and on Gmail for email notifications, so I think you can set it for each kind of notification.

 

[stranger99]

Can you be more specific about the going crazy part? And which gallery app are you using--the stock "Gallery" app or the Google+ related "Photos" app? The Gallery app is the more basic one. If you really don't like the Photos app, try QuickPic.

Downloaded QuickPic...thanks! This seems much better.

Using the stock "Gallery", I click on a picture and it turns it into triplicate, starts trying to make videos....I don't understand it. Probably just me. It's not just a simple grid of pictures like on iPhone, BB, and the QuickPic app....and every other phone I've ever seen.

 

[B. Diddy]

That sounds like the Photos app doing an Auto-Awesome, which is a Google+ feature--if you have a series of photos taken nearly at the same time, it will string them together as a pseudo mini-movie. Or it could be some feature of Zoe, which is HTC's fancy photo feature: Tips & Tricks for Using HTC Zoe - HTC Blog

 

[dty06]

For question 5, the LED only blinks for 5 minutes after receiving a text or notification (i.e. Facebook). That's why you'll see it sometimes and not see it others, as more than 5 minutes have passed. This is somewhat annoying for me, but not much of a complaint.

 

[stranger99]

For question 5, the LED only blinks for 5 minutes after receiving a text or notification (i.e. Facebook). That's why you'll see it sometimes and not see it others, as more than 5 minutes have passed. This is somewhat annoying for me, but not much of a complaint.

Wish that was more customizable.

Blackberry seems to be the most customizable phone in a lot of ways. iPhone was a joke...pretty much do it their way and that's it.

I am loving the phone overall. I do miss the keyboard on the Z10/Z30. Hands down the best IMO. Kind of amazing that a company known for their great physical keyboards were able to make an amazing touchscreen keyboard. Using SwiftKey now. Not bad at all, just not as good.

Also miss having an integrated inbox, but I'll get used to it.

Give me the BB keyboard and better notifications and I'd be in heaven.

 

[stranger99]

Welcome to Android Central!
As long as you have wi-fi turned on, you'll see the indicator. I find it useful, because I'd probably forget if I left wi-fi on, and it would act as a reminder to me to turn it off. Keeping wi-fi on with no signal can contribute to battery drain.

I hate it...just give me the choice.

I like to only get notifications for things I care about. These endless notifications that "I'm connected to such and such wireless" is a waste of time.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I hate it...just give me the choice.

I like to only get notifications for things I care about. These endless notifications that "I'm connected to such and such wireless" is a waste of time.

So it keeps switching wireless signals?

From a Carbon M8 and AC Forums app

 

[B. Diddy]

So it keeps switching wireless signals?

From a Carbon M8 and AC Forums app

No, I think he doesn't want to see the bar-less wi-fi indicator when it isn't connected to a network while wi-fi is on.

 

[stranger99]

No, I think he doesn't want to see the bar-less wi-fi indicator when it isn't connected to a network while wi-fi is on.

Right. I don't need to see the signal saying I have no wifi, and I also don't need a drop down notification when I get home or anywhere else where I automatically connect to wifi that tells me I'm connected. What's the point? If I'm connected, show me the logo...if I'm not connected, show me nothing.

Give me the option at least. I'm not losing any sleep over it, just an annoyance.

 

[Golfdriver97]

No, I think he doesn't want to see the bar-less wi-fi indicator when it isn't connected to a network while wi-fi is on.

It was the last line that caught my attention. The (I'm guessing the toast notification) of 'Now connected to WiFi network <random name>'

Asking because if that is it, the avoid poor signal setting is on and the WiFi keeps switching wireless signals.

From a Carbon M8 and AC Forums app

 

[dty06]

Wish that was more customizable.

Blackberry seems to be the most customizable phone in a lot of ways. iPhone was a joke...pretty much do it their way and that's it.

I am loving the phone overall. I do miss the keyboard on the Z10/Z30. Hands down the best IMO. Kind of amazing that a company known for their great physical keyboards were able to make an amazing touchscreen keyboard. Using SwiftKey now. Not bad at all, just not as good.

Also miss having an integrated inbox, but I'll get used to it.

Give me the BB keyboard and better notifications and I'd be in heaven.

Really, Android is highly customizable, but you have to get used to it first. You can always try new keyboards to see if another works better for you. There may even be a clone of the BB keyboard, though I've found Swiftkey to be the best.

For the LED, I believe there are apps you can use to change that, though they may require root. A custom ROM would also be an option as most of them tend to give you the most custom options to get the most out of the phone.

Look into Cyanogen Mod (CM for short), Viper One or CleanROM. Personally I want to install Clean ROM once I've had my phone a bit longer.