It's been real, Nexus 4

[taj7575]

Cool! Where did you go with your Nexus 4? Do you think mobile networks are better (in terms of coverage and data speed) in other countries? Also, I hope you took great photos (or maybe even a photo sphere) of the places you visited.

This is why I'm glad Google sells unlocked devices that can be used around the world. It's the ultimate travel phone!

Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. It worked like a charm!

I think the mobile network in Hong Kong was absolutely amazing. I paid $13USD for unlimited data for a week and a 100 minutes of talk a day. It worked wonderfully paired along with google voice. Aside from the bargain cost, the data connection was stellar. Full bars and HSPA everywhere I went. The best part? They had data in the subway systems too, so full connection there as well! Their mobile infrastructure was absolutely amazing.

And yes I did! The Nexus 4 took some great photos, but I had my own personal SLR for the good stuff.

You're right by the way. I am so glad that Google came out with this device. It truly (especially after being paired with Google Voice) is the ultimate travel phone. That is why I will miss it so much. It went everywhere, and still worked great.

 

[DeadpoolJunior]

HTC one is a great phone though so no worries. I feel bad for you all that keep getting bad batches. I'm on my third N4 (because I dropped my first one and stepped on my second one in a drunken stupor) but I've never had connection issues or WiFi issues. T-Mobile is pretty good in Baltimore. Even when I'm in my office, I get 2-3 bars consistently. But, I would get a One as well but I still love this phone. I don't even think I could go non nexus anymore, but the One would be the only other phone I would get at this point. Good luck with timely updates though because HTC is horrible at that haha

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Scott7217]

It worked wonderfully paired along with google voice.

Could you talk a little more about how you used Google Voice with your Nexus 4? Are you saying that if someone in the US calls your Google Voice number, it will ring your Nexus 4 while you're in Hong Kong (for example)? Do you get international charges? Also, would you be able to call the US for free?

It's amazing what kind of cell service exists in other countries. I'm hoping Google will one day create their own network so that we will have better service everywhere. I'm sure it will never happen, but I can dream!

 

[taj7575]

Could you talk a little more about how you used Google Voice with your Nexus 4? Are you saying that if someone in the US calls your Google Voice number, it will ring your Nexus 4 while you're in Hong Kong (for example)? Do you get international charges? Also, would you be able to call the US for free?

It's amazing what kind of cell service exists in other countries. I'm hoping Google will one day create their own network so that we will have better service everywhere. I'm sure it will never happen, but I can dream!

Okay - so this is how it works (please do feel free to ask questions if it gets confusing - it initially is a bit confusing!)

1. Set up a Google Voice Number
2. Buy around $10 or so worth of Google Voice calling credits (all you need - calling through GV is extremely cheap!)
3. Download GooveIP, a Voice-over-IP app (make calls through Wi-Fi. Premium can make calls through a data connection too - highly recommended)
4. Go to the other nation and buy a SIM

With that setup, you can call anywhere in the world with GrooveIP using data or Wi-Fi and the receiver will get your Google # showing up. They can call that number too, and as long as you have the GrooveIP [Premium] app open, it will ring your phone.

Now - here's an awesome glitch I found though. Although VoIP calling is nice, it certainly isn't the same exact quality as calling over a cellular connection. Remember how I mentioned I had a 100 minutes per talk per day? Well, if you know, Google Voice, if you use it to make calls, uses your normal minutes. What I found was that I could use those 100 minutes to call anywhere in the world as long as I had Google Voice set to make all calls (you can do that under the Google Voice settings).

I also found that I somehow received texts. Be careful though - as in some nations, that could cost extra. But remember - Google Voice can send texts through Wi-Fi, so if you ever want to text someone while abroad, use the Google Voice app to text them through a Wi-Fi connection. They will receive your text with your Google Voice number.

To answer your remaining questions:

International charges? Never, never use your American sim abroad. I always take mine out before arriving in the other country, or put my phone in Airplane mode until I can access a shop in the other nation to buy a sim card. They will rip you off like no other. Always buy a sim in another nation. (Its a cool souvenir too!)

Calls to the US for free? Will all that I mentioned above, if you use my glitch, I'm pretty sure there is no fee. With GrooveIP? Pretty sure there is a fee. But look at it this way - the cost of a call through Google Voice to the US is at 1?/min. That is laughably cheap. Here is a website if you want to look at calling rates with Google Voice: https://www.google.com/voice/rates. You'd be hard pressed to find better calling rates to anywhere else.

Phew. That was a lot of information. I hope this helps though. Let me know if you need anything. You're certainly making me miss my Nexus 4 more though...It's been through quite a lot, and handled it wonderfully too!

 

[taj7575]

HTC one is a great phone though so no worries. I feel bad for you all that keep getting bad batches. I'm on my third N4 (because I dropped my first one and stepped on my second one in a drunken stupor) but I've never had connection issues or WiFi issues. T-Mobile is pretty good in Baltimore. Even when I'm in my office, I get 2-3 bars consistently. But, I would get a One as well but I still love this phone. I don't even think I could go non nexus anymore, but the One would be the only other phone I would get at this point. Good luck with timely updates though because HTC is horrible at that haha

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

That's awesome that you haven't had any issues. If mine didn't have any issues - I wouldn't even think of getting rid of it!

I couldn't imagine moving out of Nexus either, but I was on the same boat as you with the point on only getting the HTC One if I were to ever switch. So when the problems started getting worse and it came time to switch, I had nothing on my mind besides the HTC One.

Speaking of timely updates - I totally understand what you are saying. I wasn't worried about it though - as I just wanted a phone that works properly. To be honest, I just wanted HTC to be it's normal 4.1.2. That didn't bother me at all. Next thing you know, the HTC One I bought happened to be rooted, so I decided I might as well tinker with it, and updated it to 4.2.2 with Android Revolution HD. This is coming from a person who just had a Nexus 4 for about 8 months, the easiest of all phones to root and tinker with, and didn't even touch it, and just wanted a phone and didn't want anything to do with modifying it. Go figure lol.

 

[tr00don]

Why am I not surprised that a post that is critical of the Google Nexus 4 praises another specific competing product, the HTC One? Had this been about the N4 only I might have believed him. But his complaints are about an issue that is most likely carrier-related, as others have already pointed out. Google did a great service to the other hardware manufacturers by not really advertising the N4. The lack of LTE argument was always moot given that actual in-the-city speeds are most often in the 4-6 KB/s range, so now the competitors are desperate to find some other "bug" or "flaw" in the N4. Good luck with that, fellas. My N4 runs like a charm.

 

[bearda]

Out of curiosity, what are these bugs that you speak of?

I can't speak for the OP, but the state of Bluetooth on the Nexus 4 has made me want to go back to my iPhone a couple times now. Bluetooth + 2.4 Ghz tends to result in one or the other working at any given time, but rarely both. Sometimes the bluetooth connection state hangs and nothing seems to connect to the phone unless I disable then reenable. The screen off ARP issue has caused a number of missed notifications on my phone. When taking the phone off a wireless charger most of the time it stops responding to the power button for 30 seconds to a minute.

Most of the issues I've had have been acknowledged by Google, but completely unaddressed by any of the software updates. I'm really hoping 4.3 improves the situation, but if it doesn't I may be ditching the Nexus 4 as well.

 

[jdbii]

Okay - so this is how it works (please do feel free to ask questions if it gets confusing - it initially is a bit confusing!)

1. Set up a Google Voice Number
2. Buy around $10 or so worth of Google Voice calling credits (all you need - calling through GV is extremely cheap!)
3. Download GooveIP, a Voice-over-IP app (make calls through Wi-Fi. Premium can make calls through a data connection too - highly recommended)
4. Go to the other nation and buy a SIM

With that setup, you can call anywhere in the world with GrooveIP using data or Wi-Fi and the receiver will get your Google # showing up. They can call that number too, and as long as you have the GrooveIP [Premium] app open, it will ring your phone.

Now - here's an awesome glitch I found though. Although VoIP calling is nice, it certainly isn't the same exact quality as calling over a cellular connection. Remember how I mentioned I had a 100 minutes per talk per day? Well, if you know, Google Voice, if you use it to make calls, uses your normal minutes. What I found was that I could use those 100 minutes to call anywhere in the world as long as I had Google Voice set to make all calls (you can do that under the Google Voice settings).

I also found that I somehow received texts. Be careful though - as in some nations, that could cost extra. But remember - Google Voice can send texts through Wi-Fi, so if you ever want to text someone while abroad, use the Google Voice app to text them through a Wi-Fi connection. They will receive your text with your Google Voice number.

To answer your remaining questions:

International charges? Never, never use your American sim abroad. I always take mine out before arriving in the other country, or put my phone in Airplane mode until I can access a shop in the other nation to buy a sim card. They will rip you off like no other. Always buy a sim in another nation. (Its a cool souvenir too!)

Calls to the US for free? Will all that I mentioned above, if you use my glitch, I'm pretty sure there is no fee. With GrooveIP? Pretty sure there is a fee. But look at it this way - the cost of a call through Google Voice to the US is at 1?/min. That is laughably cheap. Here is a website if you want to look at calling rates with Google Voice: https://www.google.com/voice/rates. You'd be hard pressed to find better calling rates to anywhere else.

Phew. That was a lot of information. I hope this helps though. Let me know if you need anything. You're certainly making me miss my Nexus 4 more though...It's been through quite a lot, and handled it wonderfully too!

That is a great post with great info. The glitch you mentioned might have something to do with the pre-paid card you bought in Hong Kong. I'm thinking that those 100 minutes per day you bought may have included calls to the US. Otherwise, what would stop people from making free calls to the US with GV.

I didn't know that using GrooveIP and GV over wifi cost anything so long as it was voip, but as you stated 1 cent a minute is laughably cheap. If you are using wifi to make a voip call, how do you dial a US destination with GrooveIP and GV? Do you need to put in USA country code as if you were dialing from a HK landline, or is it just like making a call as if you were in the states where you only put in the area code.

 

[frooglepoopillion]

Why am I not surprised that a post that is critical of the Google Nexus 4 praises another specific competing product, the HTC One? Had this been about the N4 only I might have believed him. But his complaints are about an issue that is most likely carrier-related, as others have already pointed out. Google did a great service to the other hardware manufacturers by not really advertising the N4. The lack of LTE argument was always moot given that actual in-the-city speeds are most often in the 4-6 KB/s range, so now the competitors are desperate to find some other "bug" or "flaw" in the N4. Good luck with that, fellas. My N4 runs like a charm.

I had a similar experience with my Nexus 4 as the OP on both T-mobile and ATT, having switched to the One after a brief stint with WP8. In my case many of the issues were T-Mobile related but I concur that the radio is subpar as it was consistently wakelocking my phone and killing the battery. I believe that a lot of it was due to T-mobile's network but ATT wasn't much better. In fact, none of the ATT APN settings would work sufficiently so I just gave up (the rep flat out told me that they wouldn't support the device and it was up to me to figure out how to make it work). I personally never had an issue with call quality and I thought it was stellar. I never got the chance to return it under warranty so I can't say for sure if it was hardware related, but from what I have read online it seems to be the likely culprit.

I've since purchased the One and like it so far. Very slick and quick. Would be nice if they did updates faster but over all it is a very nice phone. Hopefully the Nexus 5 will address the issues some people are having with the 4 and if the rumors about it are true I will probably be getting one. For the most part I liked the Nexus 4, but it really felt like a beta test device with many issues.

 

[taj7575]

That is a great post with great info. The glitch you mentioned might have something to do with the pre-paid card you bought in Hong Kong. I'm thinking that those 100 minutes per day you bought may have included calls to the US. Otherwise, what would stop people from making free calls to the US with GV.

I didn't know that using GrooveIP and GV over wifi cost anything so long as it was voip, but as you stated 1 cent a minute is laughably cheap. If you are using wifi to make a voip call, how do you dial a US destination with GrooveIP and GV? Do you need to put in USA country code as if you were dialing from a HK landline, or is it just like making a call as if you were in the states where you only put in the area code.

Nope. The glitch has actually been a well noted glitch. As you may or may not know, a Google Voice number so far can only be activated in the US. So it assumes that if you use a Google Voice number, you are in the US. Remember, Google Voice itself isn't a mobile service. If you use the Google Voice number to make calls, it uses your phones like a normal phone. It's just a service that piggybacks off of the carriers service. So the same logic (once the number is set up in the US, of course), applies while abroad. You're just happening to use a randomly assigned number that is piggybacking off of a cellular service using your normal minutes.

You are correct with the US situation by the way. With GrooveIP, calls to the US and Canada are still free. When I dialed in a US number, it dialed normally with just the area code. To other nations though, it will deduct a cost from your Google Voice balance. Basically, if you are calling a non-US/Canada nation, put in the country dialing code first.

 

[jdbii]

You are correct with the US situation by the way. With GrooveIP, calls to the US and Canada are still free. When I dialed in a US number, it dialed normally with just the area code. To other nations though, it will deduct a cost from your Google Voice balance. Basically, if you are calling a non-US/Canada nation, put in the country dialing code first.

What is interesting about that is GrooveIP voip calls (which rely on GV) from overseas to the states will be free and regular Google Voice will be 1 cent per minute.

 

[yfan]

To give you guys an example, I was at my work desk today, where my Nexus 4 would fluctuate between 2 bars to zero (loss of signal). The HTC One has held a solid two bars with no issues with its data connection. The battery on the One has also been working stellar. The Nexus 4 is usually around 40-30% by now, but the HTC One is still doing fine.

Yes, the HTC One has a bigger battery. Now, with respect to bars, why are you spending all day looking at bars? Just because the bars are constant doesn't mean the signal is, and just because the bars aren't doesn't mean the signal isn't.

No problem with you getting the One though. It's a great phone; I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Scott7217]

Phew. That was a lot of information. I hope this helps though.

Thank you for that information! While I have an idea of how it works in theory, I've never had an opportunity to use Google Voice while outside the US. You're giving me a lot of ideas if I ever take a trip!

It sounds like Google Voice, GrooveIP, and a local SIM with data is the winning combination. Even if I didn't have a SIM, I suppose going to a local McDonald's or Starbucks would also work if they have free wifi.

Did you ever do any video calls when you were outside the US?

 

[anon(5719825)]

I've been having the problem with the signal dropping out for the past two weeks. I don't think I had this problem until now. I also have an iPhone 4S and it does not have this problem. Both phones are on T-Mobile.

I've also been experiencing the signal bars dropping to none with my Nexus 7 on AT&T but that is purely due to AT&Ts crappy service where I live. I've gone back to using T-Mobile on it as of today.

 

[Doc Marten]

To give you guys an example, I was at my work desk today, where my Nexus 4 would fluctuate between 2 bars to zero (loss of signal). The HTC One has held a solid two bars with no issues with its data connection. The battery on the One has also been working stellar. The Nexus 4 is usually around 40-30% by now, but the HTC One is still doing fine.

How do you know the bars are a true reflection of the signal received?
It'd be easy to make a phone where the bars sat at '5' all day long but that's not necessarily a true reflection of the signal the phone is receiving.

Now, I don't know if there's an international mobile phone standard for what signal strength each bar represents but if there's not then it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that each Nexus 4 bar represents twice the signal of the HTC.

Another thing, unless you test them side by side in real time how can you be sure that issue was not a transmitter one by the phone company which has since been rectified?
There's far too many variables for you to outright say these are Nexus issues.

 

[cormaster628]

I've been using mine for 6 months, other than known 4.2 bugs, I haven't had any problems with it, completely satisfied with mine but to each his own

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[radiocycle]

Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. It worked like a charm!

I think the mobile network in Hong Kong was absolutely amazing. I paid $13USD for unlimited data for a week and a 100 minutes of talk a day. It worked wonderfully paired along with google voice. Aside from the bargain cost, the data connection was stellar. Full bars and HSPA everywhere I went. The best part? They had data in the subway systems too, so full connection there as well! Their mobile infrastructure was absolutely amazing.

And yes I did! The Nexus 4 took some great photos, but I had my own personal SLR for the good stuff.

You're right by the way. I am so glad that Google came out with this device. It truly (especially after being paired with Google Voice) is the ultimate travel phone. That is why I will miss it so much. It went everywhere, and still worked great.

Sorry for the dumb q but is that 13 bucks for a sim card that you bought there??
r

 

[pontiac005]

Sounds more like a plan and not the Sim.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ledfrog]

One recurring problem I had with my Nexus 4 was that if I left Bluetooth OFF for a long time (like a week or more) and then tried to turn it back on, it wouldn't work. I could swipe the ON switch and it looked like it was going to come on, but then it would quickly go back to OFF seconds later. The only fix I ever found was to restart the phone. Other than that, I loved the Nexus 4, but I love the design of the HTC One much more so I'm enjoying my new Google Play edition while I wait to see what Nexus 5 will bring us.

 

[Julien Deveraux]

As someone who travels for work for a living (and whose finger is hovering over the "buy now" button on the N4 page as we speak); this is what I want to hear. Also, right now I have an iPhone and its true, SIM Cards from other providers in other countries cost peanuts and they give you much more service than what we get here. It's a bit embarassing.