Is the G3 (still) worth it?

[Miongdroid]

I can't decide between a G3 and a Galaxy Alpha. I prefer the G3 but overheating would be a deal breaker. Is heat really such a problem on ths D855 model? Also how do cases like the slim armor case of Spigen affect heat? The G3 is supposed to get Marshmallow so I think it should last a little longer, but what do you think? They cost about $300 dollars here. I cant afford much more.

 

[belodion]

I've had no overheating problems with mine....unlocked D-855 EUR.

 

[DevP12]

I really like my LG G3, it pooped on me recently (constant boot looping and all that). I have the Sprint version, and sometimes it does get hot. I also have the Spigen case with it, I believe the same one you mentioned above. What I usually do is to just take the case off and take out the battery to let it cool. You could try and run it without a case to help it cool easier, I haven't tried that at all. Kind of afraid I will drop it.

 

[dpham00]

In the usa I have seen it dip to $200 new.

Really it depends how much the other phones cost where you are. I was able to pick up a used nexus 6 for $124. Another option would be the Moto X 2014 for $175

 

[Tadrift]

Well, I can relate. I just went through the same purchase decision. I bought the G3 D850 in July for around $300. It was the max amount I could afford. I came from a Moto G, that although was a great phone, I wanted a better screen and camera.

I have had numerous LG phones in the past and I know their hardware is top notch. I never have cared for their software, but I thought I could live with it. The phone has rarely ever got hot, the photo's have been fantastic, it was able to handle my daily app usage.

Over the past few months, the LG overlay on Android 5.0.1 with the G3 has really gotten under my skin. It is messy and really hurts my productivity. Then the HTC A9 came out, Nexus 5X. I found myself really wanting to change phones. Then the OnePlus X hit at $250 and I thought, why am I struggling with this G3, that is such a good deal and nearly stock Android.

This past weekend, I decided that I was most likely going to sell my G3 and get something else. The G3 hardware is great! So why not at least try to Root and add a custom rom to it. As it turns out, my version with the 21r update is very difficult to do. It took a lot of hard work, but I finally got it done. I put CM12.1 on it (5.1.1) by Sunday. It flat out fly's now! Yesterday and today, I have been testing everything and adding my apps back on. I haven't found a single bug.

Bottom line, the G3 is now exactly the phone I wanted all along. I can't believe how slow the stock ROM was. No more stutters, lag, and many new features. Battery life is about the same. No heat issues (except when I was downloading all the apps). It is blistering fast. I highly recommend it if you think that you have the patience to buy a used one, root and ROM it. You can buy them here in the US used in near perfect condition for under $200.

Otherwise, I just can't recommend the G3. The Android Overlay they have really drags the performance of the phone down. It is a solid phone otherwise.

 

[xocomaox]

The G3 (and pretty much every phone) will perform better and allow for more flexibility on a custom firmware, even if it's stock-based. There are some really solid ROMs out there for this phone and I highly recommend getting to understand how they work and how to set them up.

If you do pick up the G3, it will serve as one of the best phones for the buck, when you account for all the features and hardware you're getting. It's definitely got the best footprint for a 5.5" screen that includes great features like nearly limitless storage and modifiable battery capacity.

When the G5 gets announced or released, you'll see a dip in the prices for the G4 which is also a really great phone.

 

[Marshall_Stack]

Just got my G3 last night. Moving from a 4S - yes I am old and still miss my Blackberry.
Have to get back in the Android swing of things.I picked this because it was dirt cheap and had as good if not better specs in all the stuff I care about.
Like work. Not creating vines. Also read the the OS was clunky - thought that was an easy fix.
Just like guitars - buy it and start modding day one.
Where should I go to learn about changing the software?
Thanks -

 

[xocomaox]

Just got my G3 last night. Moving from a 4S - yes I am old and still miss my Blackberry.
Have to get back in the Android swing of things.I picked this because it was dirt cheap and had as good if not better specs in all the stuff I care about.
Like work. Not creating vines. Also read the the OS was clunky - thought that was an easy fix.
Just like guitars - buy it and start modding day one.
Where should I go to learn about changing the software?
Thanks -

Welcome to Android Central!

The best place to really get the info you're looking for specific to firmware modifications and root activities would be at XDA:

LG G3

There are some great non-root things you can do with your phone to speed things up and get the most out of it by searching through AC's website.

 

[Marshall_Stack]

Thanks.

 

[Miongdroid]

How good is the battery life and how much do you use the phone? What do you have to do to get it to heat up?

 

[gandilla]

I think it still worth because 3 gb ram camera and screen is still good for other cheap options

 

[gandilla]

How good is the battery life and how much do you use the phone? What do you have to do to get it to heat up?

4 hours screen time..

 

[jonahtrav]

I picked up a Lg3 four months ago and I've found the phone to be plenty fast with the stock rom..maybe I have low expectation...so what exactly needs speeding up or fixing? This is my first Android phone and I'm finding it pretty good coming from a Windows phone.

G3 D850

 

[icu]

I still love my phone, but there are other options. The Nexus 6 is on sale if you can deal with a monster phablet (the G3 is relatively small for it's screen size - barely wider than the Nexus 5X) Grab a 32GB Nexus 6 for $249 at Amazon, 64GB for $299 | Android Central

The Moxo X Pure Ed. was just on sale too. There are some pretty good post-Black Friday sales going on.

 

[Ryche]

Honestly, after 8 months, 3 phones, and 2 master resets, I'm getting off the LG G3 bandwagon. I don't know if others have had the issues I did, but for me, it just didn't work. The phone has so much promise, but never lived up to the possibility.

 

[jonahtrav]

Yea it sounds like you have had some bad luck...I wonder when you turn a phone in does the carrier give you a new phone or a refurbished phone that had problems and was "fixed" and that's why you keep getting bad phones.

G3 D850

 

[xocomaox]

I still love my phone, but there are other options. The Nexus 6 is on sale if you can deal with a monster phablet (the G3 is relatively small for it's screen size - barely wider than the Nexus 5X) Grab a 32GB Nexus 6 for $249 at Amazon, 64GB for $299 | Android Central

The Moxo X Pure Ed. was just on sale too. There are some pretty good post-Black Friday sales going on.

Those are all great phones to pick up, especially for their low prices and features/hardware. I would say the G3, even though it's older than both of those, still holds its own. You're hitting all phablet sizes, too. 5.5" G3, 5.7" MXE, 6.0" N6

Yea it sounds like you have had some bad luck...I wonder when you turn a phone in does the carrier give you a new phone or a refurbished phone that had problems and was "fixed" and that's why you keep getting bad phones.

It's usually refurbished to cut cost for the company. Don't worry, refurbished from a carrier (if they are a major carrier) is going to be very new most of the time. They do a great job and it's manufacturer-grade refurbished.

 

[Ryche]

It's usually refurbished to cut cost for the company. Don't worry, refurbished from a carrier (if they are a major carrier) is going to be very new most of the time. They do a great job and it's manufacturer-grade refurbished.

Seconds this - anything from the Warranty Center (as mine came from) is refurbished-like new. Sometimes all Refurbished means is a full cleaning and a new back case if the insides are still good.

 

[maclancer]

The G3 (and pretty much every phone) will perform better and allow for more flexibility on a custom firmware, even if it's stock-based. There are some really solid ROMs out there for this phone and I highly recommend getting to understand how they work and how to set them up.

If you do pick up the G3, it will serve as one of the best phones for the buck, when you account for all the features and hardware you're getting. It's definitely got the best footprint for a 5.5" screen that includes great features like nearly limitless storage and modifiable battery capacity.

When the G5 gets announced or released, you'll see a dip in the prices for the G4 which is also a really great phone.

I understand that custom based rom sometimes works 100 times better than the one that came with it. However i recently had my t-mobile G3 and i would like a custom based rom, however because this phone come with one year of warranty... I prefer to use stock firmware. Now when this G3 does not have any more support from LG or t-mobile... I will definitely going to root it and install the best custom rom available.

 

[xocomaox]

I understand that custom based rom sometimes works 100 times better than the one that came with it. However i recently had my t-mobile G3 and i would like a custom based rom, however because this phone come with one year of warranty... I prefer to use stock firmware. Now when this G3 does not have any more support from LG or t-mobile... I will definitely going to root it and install the best custom rom available.

Fear not, rooting and putting on custom firmware isn't like Samsung phones when voiding the warranty (they have something called an e-fuse that, once tripper, is not reversible). If anything happens you can most likely flash back to stock and send the phone in for a replacement.. They will have no way to check for this custom firmware or rooting. However, this method may not work if something fails that is required to flash the phone, like the USB port going bad. But if there are digitizer issues or other things going wrong, a simple flash to stock will make it look like you've never touched the phone at all.