HTC One M8, any issues with it before I buy?

[chrisoldroyd]

I have just returned my LG G3 because of problems with poor signal strength, laggy scrolling and cheap plastic construction. I need to get a new phone and the M8 is top of my list. Are there any issues I should be aware of?

What's the signal strength like, does it do well holding onto bars and not drop lots of calls?
Battery life, the LG G3 was excellent, is the M8 good?
Camera, the LG G3 had a good camera, heard mixed things about the M8. I use it a lot in the house taking pics of my children.
What is the performance like when scrolling around and starting apps, any lag?
Sense, is it good or do you turn it off and use a different launcher?
Should I get a 16GB or 32GB, I know you can add in an SD card for extra storage.

Anything else you can advise on would be really helpful.

Thanks
Chris

 

[SeigaGen]

It's the best designed phone on the market. It's fast as hell, but the CPU clocks just slower than the S5. I have no signal issues but I have a VZW M8. The camera excels at low light and is above average on the day light. It has 2 lenses in the back, one for depth perception. Because it uses low megapixels, when bloated, the pictures will look pixelated. But indoor pics, you can't find a better camera phone outside a Nokia lumia.

Sense 6 is powered by BlinkFeed. I don't use it, but it is definitely a huge upgrade to other versions of sense.

BoomSound is one of the best features. If you use auxiliary or speakers on the phone, it will utilize BoomSound which is basically beats sound. Outside of the new iPhones, you won't find better sound quality.

Memory size is case by case on your needs, but it has expanded memory up to an additional 128GB.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[SeigaGen]

One thing about the design. Its unibody. Non removable battery. But it's slick as hell. HTC has an advantage program if you crack your screen in the first six months they would replace the Screen free. One time only. The back of the phone is a nice metal, but it can dent easily, so don't put it in a pocket with other objects like keys. I would recommend getting carbon fiber for the phone if you don't like a case and also recommend getting tempered glass cover as well. Both cheap on Amazon.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[MDMcAtee]

I'm on AT&T in St.Louis and the signal quality is phenomenal I've had no issues in northern Mo. or southern Mo

WiFi is the best I have ever had too.

The camera takes some getting used to. It's not all point and shoot,you'll need to find the best settings for the type of pictures your taking,and know that it's not a long range camera for distance shooting.

Battery life is superb and the phone definitely charges faster than most phones I have had.

I switch regularly between Nova Prime and Sense 6 but would have no issues if just using Sense 6. Having both just makes this phone even better imho.

What is lag? This phone has none that I have found so far.

I second the glass screen protector. I won't have a cell phone without having one. Same for a good case. I have the( unbranded) Sedio Surface and belt clip for mine from Best buy called the platinum series. Imho the best cases made.

This phone has never gotten hot from anything,heck not even really warm.

Pick up power amp or n7 in the play store for your music collection...

If you can get the 64 gig one,why not..it won't hurt nothing except your wallet,but is a good choice.

All I can say is your in for a treat...........

Posted via Android Central App on my HTC M8

 

[Wildo6882]

I'm on AT&T in St.Louis and the signal quality is phenomenal I've had no issues in northern Mo. or southern Mo

WiFi is the best I have ever had too.

The camera takes some getting used to. It's not all point and shoot,you'll need to find the best settings for the type of pictures your taking,and know that it's not a long range camera for distance shooting.

Battery life is superb and the phone definitely charges faster than most phones I have had.

I switch regularly between Nova Prime and Sense 6 but would have no issues if just using Sense 6. Having both just makes this phone even better imho.

What is lag? This phone has none that I have found so far.

I second the glass screen protector. I won't have a cell phone without having one. Same for a good case. I have the( unbranded) Sedio Surface and belt clip for mine from Best buy called the platinum series. Imho the best cases made.

This phone has never gotten hot from anything,heck not even really warm.

Pick up power amp or n7 in the play store for your music collection...

If you can get the 64 gig one,why not..it won't hurt nothing except your wallet,but is a good choice.

All I can say is your in for a treat...........

Posted via Android Central App on my HTC M8

Nice mini review. I've been debating really hard between this or keeping my Nexus 5. It's such a beautiful phone, but I'm afraid of getting out of my stock bubble.

Oh, and Southern Illinois here. Spend a lot of time in St. Louis at games and whatnot.

 

[lisainsf]

I had one for a week and mine dropped calls all the time, touch screen had alot of unresponsive moments browsing , opening apps or double tapping to turn on, notification light did not work ( well known issue) and my notification sounds stopped working after a day..and the camera is really not all that great, Loved the look, smooth sense UI and the speakers but everything else was just to many problems, switched to S5 and really happy

 

[Kibbster]

I've found wifi very good, always good connection and fast.
Cell connection can be more spotty and drop calls on occasions but that's probably my network.
Battery life is good, will make it though a day as long as I'm not gaming.
The camera is... different
It has problems with exposure in bright scenes but as long as you tap for exposure it takes great pictures with natural saturation and incredibly fast focus.
As long as you aren't trying to zoom or crop 4MP is fine, anyone who says otherwise is mistaken.
Macro with the camera is superb and it really suits portraits and macros, perfect for Facebook etc.
I've taken some of the best pictures I've ever taken with the M8 (I've taken some stinkers too but that's the same for all cameras)
The ratio of useable shots that are in focus is definitely higher than any other phone I've ever taken pictures with, just watch that exposure.

Lag... what lag?
Sense 6 is smooth as butter and the phone is very fast.
A joy to use.

 

[Android Optimizer]

I had one for a week and mine dropped calls all the time, touch screen had alot of unresponsive moments browsing , opening apps or double tapping to turn on, notification light did not work ( well known issue) and my notification sounds stopped working after a day..and the camera is really not all that great, Loved the look, smooth sense UI and the speakers but everything else was just to many problems, switched to S5 and really happy

Are you sure you're in the right forum?!? Did you buy from a shady retailer, and possibly get a knock-off? You're the first and only person I've heard report dropped calls, the first and only person to report browser unresponsiveness, and notifications issues have only been mentioned by a handful of people most of which have reported they fixed it with setting changes. All of the issues you reported sound like they could be linked with a carriers service. What carrier were you using?

What's the signal strength like, does it do well holding onto bars and not drop lots of calls?
Battery life, the LG G3 was excellent, is the M8 good?
Camera, the LG G3 had a good camera, heard mixed things about the M8. I use it a lot in the house taking pics of my children.
What is the performance like when scrolling around and starting apps, any lag?
Sense, is it good or do you turn it off and use a different launcher?
Should I get a 16GB or 32GB, I know you can add in an SD card for extra storage.

Like MDM I've had nothing but a positive experience with the phone. Its the best phone I've ever had. Every where I've gone with it the signal strength has been strong. Its never dropped a call. I get 2-3 days off a charge depending on how heavily I tax it (and I'm on Verizon where the fools never enabled Extreme Power Saving Mode). If you're with a carrier that didn't yank EPSM (Verizon!) then you could potentially get quite a bit more out of a charge. I haven't used the camera too extensively, but its seemed perfectly acceptable, and like others have said its works a lot better than most phones when taking pictures in doors. Performance has been completely smooth and fast in everything I've done with it. I've never once encountered any lag. Many people on this board have experimented with other launchers (there are numerous active treads about alternative launchers people are using with the phone), but most people have seemed to stick with Sense, and quite a few seem to have come back to it after trying other launchers. Its very much dependent to what you want to do, or never plan to do with your phone. If you don't find Blinkfeed useful, or never use it then you'll have more reason to experiment with an alternative launcher than someone who uses it constantly. Some carriers will not give you an option between a 16 and 32gb model, but if you have the option (and don't mind any price difference there may be) then I'd recommend the 32gb version. There will always be some apps that will not be able to install/run from the SD card, and you can't always move all of an app over to the SD card. Quite a few apps leave part on the internal area of the phone, and only install/store a small portion on an inserted SD card.

People with a lack of knowledge about the phone, and Android itself for that matter tend to be quick to blame hardware for faults in configuration, apps, and user error. Don't be too quick to follow those people. If you have problems (not that you will) or questions this and a handful of other boards/websites can often provide you with quick and easy answers.

 

[Strange Quark]

Nice mini review. I've been debating really hard between this or keeping my Nexus 5. It's such a beautiful phone, but I'm afraid of getting out of my stock bubble.

Oh, and Southern Illinois here. Spend a lot of time in St. Louis at games and whatnot.

I used to be very fond of stock, but the skin on the One M8 is truly the best Android experience I've had. I actually like it better than stock, which is something I didn't think I would ever say. Overall it's the best smartphone I've used. It's nearly perfect in every way, save for the average camera and the chinstrap with the HTC logo that pushes the screen off-center in landscape. I think it is a worthy upgrade from a Nexus 5.

 

[Tiriyon]

My thoughts on the m8:
Pros:
-front speakers with a good punch to them and able to keep good sount quality.
- The touch is amazingly responsive.
- less physical buttons.
- good large screen, with awesome quality to it.
- Not many people like this but the weight to it feels to me like a stronger and better quality device then these slim, carcon fiber light weight phones.

Cons:
-Rugged etchy design, buttons feels like an about to fall teeth. The acreen is a tiny beet elevated then the plastic covers from above and below it.
- No file browser (can be downloaded from gplay)
- Not able to actually ually install aps on sd card.
- Power button on the upper right corner is not so accessible as on the side.
- the inner of it looks like a tinfoiled potato (on inner aspects only the iPhone wins in my opinion, it's like its designed to be disassembled in contrary to all android phones which usually use lots if glue, thermal paste and tinfoil like material to cover parts).

Posted via a waiting to be rooted One M8

 

[mugenlude19]

I've had my M8 for 26 days and I'm already sending it to HTC for warranty. I love the phone but it is a weird issue. The microphone only works properly on speaker phone and is terrible in normal use. I read a few others have had the exact issue. I went through HTC to use my unit and not just get someone's problem.

Back to my G2 for now. Better battery life than M8.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Lok52]

Nice mini review. I've been debating really hard between this or keeping my Nexus 5. It's such a beautiful phone, but I'm afraid of getting out of my stock bubble.

I got mine under protest because my RAZR Maxx HD was out of commission for a while getting the screen replaced. I need a phone with an actual SD card to store music and this was pretty much all that was available at the Best Buy I was at.

I want sure about going with Sense, but figured I could always root it if I needed to. I haven't needed to. I know Sense is there but it stays out of the way. Motorola is known for an almost stock experience, but Sense 6 is right there with it. And now the Google launcher is in the app store if you want to lose Blinkfeed.

The M8 is fast and smooth, with great sound and a beautiful design. I can't speak to the camera, I've only played with it a little bit. I have a DSLR for taking real pictures, so I have never been impressed by any of the camera offerings on phones.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[gingerghost]

I used to be very fond of stock, but the skin on the One M8 is truly the best Android experience I've had. I actually like it better than stock, which is something I didn't think I would ever say. Overall it's the best smartphone I've used. It's nearly perfect in every way, save for the average camera and the chinstrap with the HTC logo that pushes the screen off-center in landscape. I think it is a worthy upgrade from a Nexus 5.

Absolutely 100% agree. Sense is a joy, it's fast and very full featured and looks great too. And I never thought I'd say that.

Overally, a fantastic phone. My own criticism would be that it's a little large and heavy, but if you can get used to it I strongly believe it's the best phone you can buy right now.

 

[mugenlude19]

I work for VzW and unfortunately the first one I saw personally with an issue was my own. I am the only Hitachi user in a store full of Samsungs.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Wildo6882]

I got mine under protest because my RAZR Maxx HD was out of commission for a while getting the screen replaced. I need a phone with an actual SD card to store music and this was pretty much all that was available at the Best Buy I was at.

I want sure about going with Sense, but figured I could always root it if I needed to. I haven't needed to. I know Sense is there but it stays out of the way. Motorola is known for an almost stock experience, but Sense 6 is right there with it. And now the Google launcher is in the app store if you want to lose Blinkfeed.

The M8 is fast and smooth, with great sound and a beautiful design. I can't speak to the camera, I've only played with it a little bit. I have a DSLR for taking real pictures, so I have never been impressed by any of the camera offerings on phones.

Posted via Android Central App

I really like most things about the phone. My only issue(s) stem from leaving stock and waiting for updates. I'd get the Developer Edition, so it would be a little better in updates, however. I'm a big fan of continuity and also having a Nexus 7, it's nice to be able to pick it up and it be just about a carbon copy of my Nexus 5. Those are really my only issues with making the jump into M8 territory.

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

I got the m8 on the next program AT&T. I have unlocked the bootloader, s-off'd and I am now completely converted to a developer edition with no bloat and updated to 4.4.3 I love this phone because it is sooooo developer friendly. You can pretty much do whatever you want with it. And I have the AT&T RUU if I ever have to send it in. Tinker friendly phone!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[chrisoldroyd]

You can only seem to get the 16GB version over here in the UK, I am concerned that it may be too small. Can you install apps etc on the SD card?

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

I can. There are some apps that do not support it but all of my bigger apps, which are games, have all been moved to SD card. Are you a rooter?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[chrisoldroyd]

I'm not, but not against it, why?

 

[Android Optimizer]

I work for VzW
Posted via Android Central App

Do you know the details regarding the apparent network vs extreme power saving mode conflict, why Verizon isn't sharing that information with users, or why there are apparently no plans to enable extreme power saving for VzW m8 phones even though all of VzW's competitors have it enabled on their m8s?