Happy to find a V20 almost NIB

[Morty2264]

You sniff around WP Central long enough, you'll find one. The 950XL isn't a favorite device of mine, but it is still quite nice. I picked up one through a member I get along with there and boot it up from time to time. Sometimes I yearn for the Lumia 925 + WP 8.0 days...

I really wanted a Lumia device... That never happened.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I really wanted a Lumia device... That never happened.

You can still get one. There are out there to be had.

 

[Morty2264]

You can still get one. There are out there to be had.

True! But I promised myself I'd only have one Daily Driver...

But alas, I will always have my phone dreams!

 

[MSFTisMIA]

True! But I promised myself I'd only have one Daily Driver...

But alas, I will always have my phone dreams!

Didn't say to use it as a daily driver...could do a collector's piece, if you're into those things.

 

[flyingkytez]

So as everyone else begins to leave the V20, I am just jumping to it. Been looking for an inexpensive replacement for my Moto X Pure for a while, and while I flirted with some mid-range devices and the last few years of flagships (LG G6, Galaxy S8 Active, few others), I kept coming back to the V20. Don't care how old it is, it has nearly everything I want in a phone. A audio jack for some really nice headphones with a DAC none the less, an IR blaster (I love those things), a quick dependable camera which I need as I am not very good with photography, and a removable battery. Nearly every phone that has died on me is because of a bad battery.

A little patience was needed, but found a very respected seller on eBay (99% rated) that had New "other". After emailing, was told they were all floor models or 14 day returned devices with all original everything. Got a link for one of the 14 day returned devices, and 214.00 dollars later it is on the way. Sprung for the one year Square trade insurance for piece of mind. Have a UAG case and screen protectors that were referred by one of the threads on here on the way.

Figures as everyone leaves, I just get here. Kind of excited. Been a LONG time since I had anything close to a Hero's device, and a very long time since it had most of what I want. Figure if it lasts me to 2019, I win. Any longer is a bonus. Been coming the forums for how to set it up and get the most out of it. Kind of fun, a "new to me" device, ya know?

Congratulations! Welcome to the LG family! Very glad you picked the right phone... You are indeed a SMART shopper.. waiting 1.5 years and buy the phone for much more cheaper than paying $800 when it first comes out. Honestly the V20 STILL destroys all mid-range phones out there, which manufacturers are selling for much more money. Been using my V20 since the day it was launched and it still runs 100% like it did new out the box. I don't understand why people upgrade every single year.. phones nowdays are "good enough", an annual upgrade is a disappointment because there's not much that's better, in fact more and more old school features are actually REMOVED! The V20 actually has the widest front and rear angle camera of any phone to date, more wider than the newer LG phones. How they managed to fit a Quad DAC in a slim phone is beyond me, LG is indeed the king of audio in smartphones. So disappointing in today's designs.. their major focus is on physical appearance and "simplifying" the phone to the point where they remove essential features such as the headphone jack. It's refreshing to use a FLAT SCREEN phone.. every phone now is curved and it just annoys me because it serves zero purpose and gets in the way. As long as you take care of your V20, and maybe replace the battery when it dies, expect to use the phone for a very very long time. I have no plans to upgrade yet.. still enjoying the V20 very much. I understand people "get bored" of using their phone for a long time, well just swap the case and change the theme! On Apple, Google Pixel, and other phones, you can't do that (you're stuck with the white theme on the Pixel but you can still change the launcher).

I recommend getting an app called 'BoredSigns'... it gives you a little more options for the 2nd screen such as weather!

 

[flyingkytez]

I really wanted a Lumia device... That never happened.

I thought Windows Phones are dead?

 

[flyingkytez]

I usually upgrade on two reasons. Not in any order but if, one, there's just too great of a deal, then I'll upgrade. Or the other, is when I realize performance has degraded so bad I need an upgrade to get past the performance issues in my networks. Make sense?

How does performance degrade? If you factory reset the phone, the phone will run exactly as it did brand new. The only thing that will actually degrade
over time is the battery but even that takes a long time. Another reason why performance degrade is sometimes because of OTA updates.. either the software engineers did a poor job or they did it on purpose (like how Apple did it). I still have a laptop from 2013 and it runs perfectly and fast.. no performance drop. Just make sure you don't install too much junk apps and keep the device clean.

 

[Mike Dee]

Congratulations! Welcome to the LG family! Very glad you picked the right phone... You are indeed a SMART shopper.. waiting 1.5 years and buy the phone for much more cheaper than paying $800 when it first comes out. Honestly the V20 STILL destroys all mid-range phones out there, which manufacturers are selling for much more money. Been using my V20 since the day it was launched and it still runs 100% like it did new out the box. I don't understand why people upgrade every single year.. phones nowdays are "good enough", an annual upgrade is a disappointment because there's not much that's better, in fact more and more old school features are actually REMOVED! The V20 actually has the widest front and rear angle camera of any phone to date, more wider than the newer LG phones. How they managed to fit a Quad DAC in a slim phone is beyond me, LG is indeed the king of audio in smartphones. So disappointing in today's designs.. their major focus is on physical appearance and "simplifying" the phone to the point where they remove essential features such as the headphone jack. It's refreshing to use a FLAT SCREEN phone.. every phone now is curved and it just annoys me because it serves zero purpose and gets in the way. As long as you take care of your V20, and maybe replace the battery when it dies, expect to use the phone for a very very long time. I have no plans to upgrade yet.. still enjoying the V20 very much. I understand people "get bored" of using their phone for a long time, well just swap the case and change the theme! On Apple, Google Pixel, and other phones, you can't do that (you're stuck with the white theme on the Pixel but you can still change the launcher).

I recommend getting an app called 'BoredSigns'... it gives you a little more options for the 2nd screen such as weather!

Pixel
Dark Theme

 

[Mike-Mike]

Congrats. Its definitely a solid phone with older features newer phones have left behind. I'm just waiting for the V40 now.

I am in the same boat, I find myself consistently returning to the V20, so I'm hoping the V40 really impresses, because I really just wish my V20 had the specs of my S9+ in the V20 body

 

[Chromium 4]

Welcome to the. "Oh LG V20, why can't I quit you" club. There's still plenty of us that have stuck with this underrated gem for the long haul. A while back I got the urge to upgrade and purchased a nicely discounted Note 8. The plan was for the Note to move up to daily driver and the V20 become back up and audio player. What ended up happening is the LG continued to be the work/daily driver and the Note the play phone.

 

[Morty2264]

Welcome to the. "Oh LG V20, why can't I quit you" club. There's still plenty of us that have stuck with this underrated gem for the long haul. A while back I got the urge to upgrade and purchased a nicely discounted Note 8. The plan was for the Note to move up to daily driver and the V20 become back up and audio player. What ended up happening is the LG continued to be the work/daily driver and the Note the play phone.

The V20 seems to have that effect on its users. Also, I remember that the V10 was also pretty hard to put down for some.

 

[Grabber5.0]

How does performance degrade? If you factory reset the phone, the phone will run exactly as it did brand new. The only thing that will actually degrade
over time is the battery but even that takes a long time. Another reason why performance degrade is sometimes because of OTA updates.. either the software engineers did a poor job or they did it on purpose (like how Apple did it). I still have a laptop from 2013 and it runs perfectly and fast.. no performance drop. Just make sure you don't install too much junk apps and keep the device clean.

Well, that isn't entirely true. A big problem on some phones is apps that have been updated for faster hardware (i.e. inefficiently) and start running poorly - Google Maps I'm looking at you... It sometimes it's new system updates. It can ruin the whole experience. A good example is my Nexus 5X, which ran great until Oreo and its later updates. Even after re-flashing the phone with the factory image, it's just not the same anymore. I may just roll it back to Nougat and live without security updates until I find something newer. I really like the G7 from the time I've played with it in the store, but not sure I'm ready to spend new phone money yet.

 

[Mike Dee]

Well, that isn't entirely true. A big problem on some phones is apps that have been updated for faster hardware (i.e. inefficiently) and start running poorly - Google Maps I'm looking at you... It sometimes it's new system updates. It can ruin the whole experience. A good example is my Nexus 5X, which team great until Oreo and its later updates. Even after re-flashing the phone with the factory image, it's just not the same anymore. I may just roll it back to Nougat and live without security updates until I find something newer. I really like the G7 from the time I've played with it in the store, but not sure I'm ready to spend new phone money yet.

Excellent points and examples.

 

[datum9]

Congratulations! Welcome to the LG family! Very glad you picked the right phone... You are indeed a SMART shopper.. waiting 1.5 years and buy the phone for much more cheaper than paying $800 when it first comes out. Honestly the V20 STILL destroys all mid-range phones out there, which manufacturers are selling for much more money. Been using my V20 since the day it was launched and it still runs 100% like it did new out the box. I don't understand why people upgrade every single year.. phones nowdays are "good enough", an annual upgrade is a disappointment because there's not much that's better, in fact more and more old school features are actually REMOVED! The V20 actually has the widest front and rear angle camera of any phone to date, more wider than the newer LG phones. How they managed to fit a Quad DAC in a slim phone is beyond me, LG is indeed the king of audio in smartphones. So disappointing in today's designs.. their major focus is on physical appearance and "simplifying" the phone to the point where they remove essential features such as the headphone jack. It's refreshing to use a FLAT SCREEN phone.. every phone now is curved and it just annoys me because it serves zero purpose and gets in the way. As long as you take care of your V20, and maybe replace the battery when it dies, expect to use the phone for a very very long time. I have no plans to upgrade yet.. still enjoying the V20 very much. I understand people "get bored" of using their phone for a long time, well just swap the case and change the theme! On Apple, Google Pixel, and other phones, you can't do that (you're stuck with the white theme on the Pixel but you can still change the launcher).

I recommend getting an app called 'BoredSigns'... it gives you a little more options for the 2nd screen such as weather!

+1

and ZeroLemon is an essential addition to the V20

 

[Mike Dee]

+1

and ZeroLemon is an essential addition to the V20

Useless though if you need NFC capability. Muegen is the way to go.

 

[snowmutt]

Well, that isn't entirely true. A big problem on some phones is apps that have been updated for faster hardware (i.e. inefficiently) and start running poorly - Google Maps I'm looking at you... It sometimes it's new system updates. It can ruin the whole experience. A good example is my Nexus 5X, which ran great until Oreo and its later updates. Even after re-flashing the phone with the factory image, it's just not the same anymore. I may just roll it back to Nougat and live without security updates until I find something newer. I really like the G7 from the time I've played with it in the store, but not sure I'm ready to spend new phone money yet.

Since I got this, I kind of have decided to just stay as is, decline upgrades, and not push my luck. I am "just" starting to understand how to really use this device (still up in the air on the secondary screen), and the idea of updating the software when it is running really well just seems like inviting trouble.

 

[snowmutt]

+1

and ZeroLemon is an essential addition to the V20

Will check them both out, and I do NOT get the curve screen craze either.

"HEY LOOK!!! My new phone is all rounded, Billy Bob!!"

"Why is that, Curly Sue?"

"Well, it... that is... it kind of..... WELL, LOOK!!! IT IS CURVED!!!"

 

[flyingkytez]

Will check them both out, and I do NOT get the curve screen craze either.

"HEY LOOK!!! My new phone is all rounded, Billy Bob!!"

"Why is that, Curly Sue?"

"Well, it... that is... it kind of..... WELL, LOOK!!! IT IS CURVED!!!"

Sooo shiney! Look at how shiney it is! Nice and curved, I could wear it around my neck like a piece of jewellery! However it's NOT ergonomic and logical for everyday use. Can't install a screen protector, and cases fit awkwardly. Very glad LG at least made the G7 FLATTER so we could install a tempered glass screen protector over it. Fun fact: Samsung makes more money selling Apple parts for the iPhone than their own curvey phones.

 

[flyingkytez]

Since I got this, I kind of have decided to just stay as is, decline upgrades, and not push my luck. I am "just" starting to understand how to really use this device (still up in the air on the secondary screen), and the idea of updating the software when it is running really well just seems like inviting trouble.

I totally agree. I see time and time again, people COMPLAINING in forums, asking "How do I downgrade my phone? The battery drains and the phone lags or glitches!" Sorry bud, once you CLICK update, there's NO turning back... I remember AT&T REMOVED features on the phone such as the data on/off shortcut toggle... got so annoyed! Learned my lesson... Way way back in the day, it was actually possible to downgrade.. now manufactures lock it and you cannot do it anymore. That's how they get you...

 

[Mike Dee]

I totally agree. I see time and time again, people COMPLAINING in forums, asking "How do I downgrade my phone? The battery drains and the phone lags or glitches!" Sorry bud, once you CLICK update, there's NO turning back... I remember AT&T REMOVED features on the phone such as the data on/off shortcut toggle... got so annoyed! Learned my lesson... Way way back in the day, it was actually possible to downgrade.. now manufactures lock it and you cannot do it anymore. That's how they get you...

Yup....I upgraded once and lost the FM radio on my Droid on Verizon