Coming from a Galaxy Note 4, which of these phone options would be best?

[nuraman00]

Thanks.



Lastly, what determines the out of the box colors for a notification light? For example, on my Galaxy Note 4, SnapChat is yellow; Lyft is pink.

Would they behave similarly on a different phone, like an Xperia 5?

I like those colors. They make sense to me, based on those apps' logos.

There's probably a 3rd party app to control the colors. But it's best if I like the colors out of the box, so it's one less thing to configure or install.

One more question here.

Do you think the notification light colors out of the box for Lyft or Snapchat would be the same on the Xperia 5 IV?

 

[B. Diddy]

Exynos in general has been inferior to Snapdragon, and one from such an old phone would be way slower than a current top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

I don't know about the notification LEDs.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Exynos in general has been inferior to Snapdragon, and one from such an old phone would be way slower than a current top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

I don't know about the notification LEDs.

But also, in the real world you can't really tell the difference.

OP, you are getting way to hung up on CPUs. you're buying a phone, not speccing a Windows PC. Obviously you want to get the best you can, but you aren't realistically going to be able to tell the difference between an 8gen1, a 665 and an Exynos 9810 as long as there wasn't a problem with the actual device in general.

I would still recommend against the Note 10 lite versus the Experia V 4, but because it's reached it's end of life for OS updates. Not because of the processor

 

[B. Diddy]

But also, in the real world you can't really tell the difference.

OP, you are getting way to hung up on CPUs. you're buying a phone, not speccing a Windows PC. Obviously you want to get the best you can, but you aren't realistically going to be able to tell the difference between an 8gen1, a 665 and an Exynos 9810 as long as there wasn't a problem with the actual device in general.

I would still recommend against the Note 10 lite versus the Experia V 4, but because it's reached it's end of life for OS updates. Not because of the processor

Very good point. I think the only use case scenario where the average user might notice a difference would be high end gaming. So unless you're addicted to Genshin Impact or some other game that requires a lot of horsepower, I agree with fuzzylumpkin.

 

[nuraman00]

Very good point. I think the only use case scenario where the average user might notice a difference would be high end gaming. So unless you're addicted to Genshin Impact or some other game that requires a lot of horsepower, I agree with fuzzylumpkin.

I got the Xperia today and started setting up the phone (Android, apps, and Google setup).

I still have the sim card in my Galaxy Note 4.

I used "SMS Backup & Restore" to restore my SMS messages from my Galaxy Note 4 to the Xperia. However, the Xperia doesn't use the same messaging app. After restoring, some items are still missing.

I checked the restore XML file itself, they are in the XML.

Is it possible to install the same SMS app on the Xperia?

I tried a few different messaging apps, and they are all missing some messages.

@B.Diddy, what's the messaging app on your Samsung A32 5G? Can you provide a screen shot of the icon?


If I can't do a proper restore, I'm considering getting the Samsung A52 5G, just so I could keep using the same messaging app.

A few other annoying things are that the back and open apps button are reversed on the Xperia, and I can't seem to switch them.

And I can't get rid of the Google search bar on the home screen.


Update: Got rid of the search bar.

 

[B. Diddy]

The A32 5G comes with the Samsung Messages app, and I'm pretty sure also the Google Messages app. Have you tried the Google Messages app?

 

[nuraman00]

The A32 5G comes with the Samsung Messages app, and I'm pretty sure also the Google Messages app. Have you tried the Google Messages app?

Yes. It's has some missing messages after the restore.

Most noticeably if I sent several attachments in a row, it would only have 1 or 2 of them, and not all consecutive ones.

 

[Mooncatt]

One more question about displays, to further my understanding. In general, are OLED or Super AMOLED better than LCD?

Define "better."

OLED screens have pure black, but a lot of manufacturers go overboard on the whole "making the colors pop" idea that things are often too saturated and such to the point of no longer looking natural. You also have a burn in risk. A lot of people say it's got better over the years, but I have it on my phone from 2020, and I still see the occasional post about it. Personally, I'd take an IPS LCD screen over OLED any day.

Unfortunately technology has taken several steps back in the name of advancement. Things like LCD screens, SD card slots, and removable batteries have been taken away in most phones, leaving those of us that like flexibility and options high and dry. Sorry I can't help you make a choice here, as I'm getting to be in the same boat. I'm currently on an LG V60, and typically went with their flagships when they were still in the market. So many phones these days have gone the cookie cutter route that I don't even know what phone I'd personally want if I had to replace it today.

 

[B. Diddy]

Yes. It's has some missing messages after the restore.

Most noticeably if I sent several attachments in a row, it would only have 1 or 2 of them, and not all consecutive ones.

I'm not entirely sure why that happened. Some Google backup features require the Android version to be at least 9, so it might have to do with how old the Note 4 is.

 

[nuraman00]

I'm not entirely sure why that happened. Some Google backup features require the Android version to be at least 9, so it might have to do with how old the Note 4 is.

If I view the backup file itself in SMS Backup & Restore, even on the Xperia, I can see all of the messages, including the ones with attachments that are skipped.

Not all the ones with attachments are skipped, it just seems like if I sent 3 or 4 consecutive ones, then some would be skipped.

The web viewer also confirms that the backup file has the messages.

I just sent the SMS Backup & Restore support team an email. Let's see if they have a response.

Otherwise, I think I will try loading Samsung Messages from the apk itself onto the Xperia.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to install the app though, I may get denied.

If that loads all the messages, problem solved.

If not, I am considering getting a Samsung A52 5G. If that loads the messages, then I'll have to decide whether I want that phone because of the complete loading of messages. Or if I want to just consider it a sunk cost and stay with the Xperia. Considering that Samsung phones released in 2022 don't have a headphone jack anymore, not even the A53 (next generation of the A52), it looks like I can't stay on Samsung in the future.

While other than this, the Xperia has given me the features I was looking for.

I also need to find out the restocking fees for potentially returning a A52. 10% might be ok, but 20% is a bit much.

Last thing, I noticed that on my Note 4, I have version 1.0 of Samsung Messages.

On my Tab S4 tablet, even though I can't transfer messages onto it, I see that it has version 11 of Samsung Messages. It looks very different. So even if I were to get a modern version of Samsung Messages installed on the Xperia, it might not work anyways.

But I also still think that if I can see the messages in the backup file, and it does load some sent messages with attachments onto the Xperia, it should be able to load all of them.

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh, I forgot you were using SMS Backup & Restore, which is 3rd party. You'd have to discuss this issue with the developer, as you're attempting to do.

 

[nuraman00]

Oh, I forgot you were using SMS Backup & Restore, which is 3rd party. You'd have to discuss this issue with the developer, as you're attempting to do.

I found out what was causing some messages to not appear, after doing a restore in SMS Backup & Restore.

By default, there's an option selected called "skip duplicates".

If I unselect "skip duplicates", then all messages get restored.

Apparently the app must have thought that when I sent consecutive messages in a short period of time, that some of them were duplicates (this only seemed to happen when there were consecutive messages with attachments).

So when I restored to the Xperia, I now saw all messages.

There is one bit of weirdness. When I checked the restore in Google Messages on the Xperia, sometimes it seemed to split group conversations. Like if someone else from the group sent me a message, it would be in one thread.

But if I replied to the group, it would think it was a private reply. I checked the backup XML file itself, and it seemed to save it that way. So that's more of an issue with how the app saved the messages. Overall, this is less of a problem than missing messages.

Maybe something is now in a different thread then it was supposed to be, but at least it's there.

Since I don't have any major blockers now, I'm going to go ahead and get a sim card activated for the Xperia.

I still might try to install Samsung Messages on the Xperia, but if I can't, no big deal. At least I know the messages are all there in Google Messages.

Lastly, I might have done some self inflicted damage. I tried deleting my messages from my Samsung phone and doing a restore. Now some of the group conversations are split, kind of like I described above.

Or sometimes they appear as phone numbers, and not names.

They appeared fine before I tried deleting my messages from the Samsung phone, when I was using Samsung Messages.

One more question:

I'm not a fan of the look on Google Messages where you see the conversation by icons with a circle.

I liked the look of Samsung Messages 1.0 where a conversation was by the full contact name participants.

Is there a good SMS messaging app that will display by their contact name? Or is there a setting in Google Messages where I can get rid of the icon with a circle?

 

[mustang7757]

[I moved this from Note 4 forums to buyers guide forums, not much traffic in Note 4 forums due to the age ]

Sent from my SM-F936U1 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[acsurfer]

I found out what was causing some messages to not appear, after doing a restore in SMS Backup & Restore.

By default, there's an option selected called "skip duplicates".

If I unselect "skip duplicates", then all messages get restored.

Apparently the app must have thought that when I sent consecutive messages in a short period of time, that some of them were duplicates (this only seemed to happen when there were consecutive messages with attachments).

So when I restored to the Xperia, I now saw all messages.

There is one bit of weirdness. When I checked the restore in Google Messages on the Xperia, sometimes it seemed to split group conversations. Like if someone else from the group sent me a message, it would be in one thread.

But if I replied to the group, it would think it was a private reply. I checked the backup XML file itself, and it seemed to save it that way. So that's more of an issue with how the app saved the messages. Overall, this is less of a problem than missing messages.

Maybe something is now in a different thread then it was supposed to be, but at least it's there.

Since I don't have any major blockers now, I'm going to go ahead and get a sim card activated for the Xperia.

I still might try to install Samsung Messages on the Xperia, but if I can't, no big deal. At least I know the messages are all there in Google Messages.

Lastly, I might have done some self inflicted damage. I tried deleting my messages from my Samsung phone and doing a restore. Now some of the group conversations are split, kind of like I described above.

Or sometimes they appear as phone numbers, and not names.

They appeared fine before I tried deleting my messages from the Samsung phone, when I was using Samsung Messages.

One more question:

I'm not a fan of the look on Google Messages where you see the conversation by icons with a circle.

I liked the look of Samsung Messages 1.0 where a conversation was by the full contact name participants.

Is there a good SMS messaging app that will display by their contact name? Or is there a setting in Google Messages where I can get rid of the icon with a circle?

Where is the "skip duplicates" you are talking about?

This is the default I see during restore backup in SMS Backup & Restore SMS Backup & Restore, screenshot https://i.imgur.com/HOcCKe4.png
There is this row that says [Disable duplicate check (faster restore)], did you switch on or switch off this? (by default it looks like the screenshot switched off)

I followed the default settings in the screenshot and it seems ok for me.

 

[nuraman00]

Where is the "skip duplicates" you are talking about?

This is the default I see during restore backup in SMS Backup & Restore SMS Backup & Restore, screenshot https://i.imgur.com/HOcCKe4.png
There is this row that says [Disable duplicate check (faster restore)], did you switch on or switch off this? (by default it looks like the screenshot switched off)

I followed the default settings in the screenshot and it seems ok for me.

Yes, sorry. I switched on "disable duplicate check (faster restore)".

The default settings helped in restoring most messages, except for if I sent 3-4 attachments in a row. That's when I noticed not all of the attachments were getting restored.

Switching on that check then allowed all sent attachments, even if I sent multiple in a row, to be restored.

 

[acsurfer]

If I view the backup file itself in SMS Backup & Restore, even on the Xperia, I can see all of the messages, including the ones with attachments that are skipped.

Not all the ones with attachments are skipped, it just seems like if I sent 3 or 4 consecutive ones, then some would be skipped.

The web viewer also confirms that the backup file has the messages.

I just sent the SMS Backup & Restore support team an email. Let's see if they have a response.

Otherwise, I think I will try loading Samsung Messages from the apk itself onto the Xperia.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to install the app though, I may get denied.

If that loads all the messages, problem solved.

If not, I am considering getting a Samsung A52 5G. If that loads the messages, then I'll have to decide whether I want that phone because of the complete loading of messages. Or if I want to just consider it a sunk cost and stay with the Xperia. Considering that Samsung phones released in 2022 don't have a headphone jack anymore, not even the A53 (next generation of the A52), it looks like I can't stay on Samsung in the future.

While other than this, the Xperia has given me the features I was looking for.

I also need to find out the restocking fees for potentially returning a A52. 10% might be ok, but 20% is a bit much.

Last thing, I noticed that on my Note 4, I have version 1.0 of Samsung Messages.

On my Tab S4 tablet, even though I can't transfer messages onto it, I see that it has version 11 of Samsung Messages. It looks very different. So even if I were to get a modern version of Samsung Messages installed on the Xperia, it might not work anyways.

But I also still think that if I can see the messages in the backup file, and it does load some sent messages with attachments onto the Xperia, it should be able to load all of them.

What is the "web viewer" you talking about?

Did your problem happen with Samsung phone too or only happen with Xperia phone? (you mention "considering getting a Samsung A52 5G")

What was your attachments that have the problem? mms image/video...?

Did your problem happen when restore to Samsung Messages or Google Messages on the Xperia? (I assume your problem happened on the default messaging app provided by Xperia)

What did SMS Backup & Restore support team reply you?

 

[nuraman00]

What is the "web viewer" you talking about?

Did your problem happen with Samsung phone too or only happen with Xperia phone? (you mention "considering getting a Samsung A52 5G")

What was your attachments that have the problem? mms image/video...?

Did your problem happen when restore to Samsung Messages or Google Messages on the Xperia? (I assume your problem happened on the default messaging app provided by Xperia)

What did SMS Backup & Restore support team reply you?

Web viewer:

https://www.synctech.com.au/sms-backup-restore/view-backup/

The problem happened when I took the backup from my Galaxy Note 4, and restored it to the Xperia phone.

I was considering a Samsung A52G, but went with the Xperia.

My attachments were mms images. Sometimes I sent 3-4 images in a row (all different images).

It seems that if I didn't turn on "disable duplicate check (faster restore)", then it would think that the consecutive images I sent were duplicates. Even though they were all different. So if I had sent 4 in a row, it might only show 2.

That's why I used the web viewer to first confirm that the messages had been backed up properly in the XML file itself. Once I saw all images there, then I thought something was going wrong in the restore.

The problem happened when I tried to restore the Samsung messages on any messaging app on the Xperia. The default app was Google Messages on the Xperia. But I tried other messaging apps on the Xperia, and saw the same problem.

I had also tried to install Samsung Messages on the Xperia. I could not. It won't let me install it since the Xperia isn't a Samsung phone.

I had also tried copying the APK of Samsung Messages from my Galaxy Note 4, to the Xperia, then running the installer. That wouldn't install either.

This was the SMS Backup And Restore Support team's response:

++++++++++++++

Sorry for the late reply, your email got caught in our spam folder somehow.

When you restore those messages, does the app detect them as duplicates? The only reason we can think that the subsequent images don't appear is if they are getting detected as duplicate messages.



Thank you,

SyncTech Support

++++++++++++++

 

[Note20Sam]

I have had a Note4, Note 9 and now have a Note20. Loved the first two; hate the 20. Bad enough to change brands. While somewhat techy on a computer, not on the phone. Don't do FB, Twitter, Instagram or any of the platforms. So things like that don't appeal. But the screen goes dark after a few seconds even though set to stay on 10 mins. Even goes dark on phone calls so if you are on a call where you have to press the on/off to wake the phone it is a pain in the arse. I also am a business person who needs to write down the incoming phone numbers when a potential client calls and it goes dark. Overall the phone isn't really user friendly in many ways if you are in the dark. The volume and on /phone button are on the same side so if you are in the dark, you have to feel you way up and hope you found the right button. The old notes would wake with a screen touch; not this one. So there are many other factors to consider as you shop for a new phone. Also I no longer get any notifications that I missed a call or a message. BLANK. So if I walk away from my phone or its in my phone I have to physically check missed calls or messages every time as there is no notifications. ATT could not figure it out.