Just got Samsung Galaxy S4 for Tmobile, already miss my nexus 4

[davidb423]

So I live in Seattle, so I felt I would benefit from an upgrade from my nexus 4 to a Galaxy S4.

I could certainly use the LTE speeds when out and about, a micro SD slot and reportedly better battery life. And if that isn't true, at least I could switch batteries or get a larger aftermarket one.

So I took the plunge yesterday. I had a really, really good tmobile salesman that has a note 2 and knew all about rooting his own phone and all the custom MODs. He was really helpful and since he was so dang good at his job--knowing the plans, the costs, and the phones I was motivated to take the plunge.

After spending a few minutes with touchwiz I was like--uh--hell no....

I had to really read some web pages--dang tmobile variant has a locked kernel to prevent super user root--so had to install TRWP, then fix the dang kernel to allow Super User to Work, then FINALLY got the Google play edition Rom 4.3 on it.

While I like the clean look of the new rom , its not as stable as I would like--Dashclock keeps crashing! And I'm having trouble getting the lock screen to work as to my liking--why can't I make it like my nexus with a flip up from the lock screen to start google now?

Jury is out on LTE, although despite checking, sadly it appears I DO NOT have it at home. But so far around seattle I have see it, and its pretty fast --22 gig download is pretty cool. I have very fast wifi at home so its not a major issue.

And by going stock I lose wi-fi calling, which is annoying but not end of work.

I also noticed--what IS the battery and drain situation like? I had it plugged it at first and was using it--and the battery level kept going DOWN! had to stop and plug it in with required charger to get it to charge! I know this is a new device with a new chip...but my old nexus didn't seem to drain that aggressively.

So we'll see...but..since I did sign up for LEAP program I can keep the dang thing for 6 months and see else is out--I might be interested enough in stock that I just get the moto x...but I wish google wasn't so againt Micro-sd slots anymore--not EVERYPLACE has the cloud so keeping music on the device is nice, and much easier when you have plenty of storage! Or wasting battery having to stream..sigh...

Of course seattle has LTE with tmobile, verizon and att. SPRINT? I dunno, I gave up on that a long time ago! But at least while messing with samsung its nice to take out sim and put back in my nexus in case something bad happens..

 

[Golfdriver97]

So I live in Seattle, so I felt I would benefit from an upgrade from my nexus 4 to a Galaxy S4.

I could certainly use the LTE speeds when out and about, a micro SD slot and reportedly better battery life. And if that isn't true, at least I could switch batteries or get a larger aftermarket one.

So I took the plunge yesterday. I had a really, really good tmobile salesman that has a note 2 and knew all about rooting his own phone and all the custom MODs. He was really helpful and since he was so dang good at his job--knowing the plans, the costs, and the phones I was motivated to take the plunge.

After spending a few minutes with touchwiz I was like--uh--hell no....

I had to really read some web pages--dang tmobile variant has a locked kernel to prevent super user root--so had to install TRWP, then fix the dang kernel to allow Super User to Work, then FINALLY got the Google play edition Rom 4.3 on it.

While I like the clean look of the new rom , its not as stable as I would like--Dashclock keeps crashing! And I'm having trouble getting the lock screen to work as to my liking--why can't I make it like my nexus with a flip up from the lock screen to start google now?

Jury is out on LTE, although despite checking, sadly it appears I DO NOT have it at home. But so far around seattle I have see it, and its pretty fast --22 gig download is pretty cool. I have very fast wifi at home so its not a major issue.

And by going stock I lose wi-fi calling, which is annoying but not end of work.

I also noticed--what IS the battery and drain situation like? I had it plugged it at first and was using it--and the battery level kept going DOWN! had to stop and plug it in with required charger to get it to charge! I know this is a new device with a new chip...but my old nexus didn't seem to drain that aggressively.

So we'll see...but..since I did sign up for LEAP program I can keep the dang thing for 6 months and see else is out--I might be interested enough in stock that I just get the moto x...but I wish google wasn't so againt Micro-sd slots anymore--not EVERYPLACE has the cloud so keeping music on the device is nice, and much easier when you have plenty of storage! Or wasting battery having to stream..sigh...

Of course seattle has LTE with tmobile, verizon and att. SPRINT? I dunno, I gave up on that a long time ago! But at least while messing with samsung its nice to take out sim and put back in my nexus in case something bad happens..

Try downloading a new launcher. Good ones are ADW, Nova, Apex, and GO. All of them would override the TouchWiz launcher that you dislike, and they bring another level of customizing that TW doesn't. I like Nova personally. You can change the color theme, Scrolling animation and speed, grid layout of the home screens and app drawer and more. You don't need to be rooted or have a custom ROM for this either.

I agree that the Cloud shouldn't be for everyone. I have DropBox, and it is nice, but I would not want that as my ONLY option for additional storage.

 

[davidb423]

already stuck 4.3 from the Google Play Edition on the phone...which has some benefits but some disadvantages. Might have to go back to regular rom , return to stock android for galaxy s4 and try nova instead. Probably more stable than putting roms on the dang phone. Took way too long to get it rooted and re-installed...

 

[davidb423]

Thanks for the TIP! I went back stock touchwiz and got nova. Its not perfect but the bluetooth is working with my fitbit as promised and I have access again to wifi calling (which I never had before coming from lg nexus 4)

So I will stick with this for a bit longer. Although....Given the touchwiz...I'm not sure i will keep it--might consider htc one....

although I have had a htc evo 3d and then evo htc 4g and gave up on both...so maybe I should just avoid htc in the future...sense 5 is nice right????

 

[Golfdriver97]

Thanks for the TIP! I went back stock touchwiz and got nova. Its not perfect but the bluetooth is working with my fitbit as promised and I have access again to wifi calling (which I never had before coming from lg nexus 4)

So I will stick with this for a bit longer. Although....Given the touchwiz...I'm not sure i will keep it--might consider htc one....

although I have had a htc evo 3d and then evo htc 4g and gave up on both...so maybe I should just avoid htc in the future...sense 5 is nice right????

You are welcome.
I am not a fan of either launcher. I haven't used TouchWiz in almost a year.

But the beauty of Android. You can change almost anything.

Sent from a SlimROM S3.