Phones Flagship Smartphones

Turtle · Nov 21, 2016

Back when it first came out, about 2.5 years ago, I got a new HTC One M8. As with most of the new flagship phones the battery isn't user replaceable. That was my first concern. People would say, "It's not a big deal. By the time the battery dies you'll be wanting to upgrade to a new phone, anyway." Yeah, well.

To replace the battery you have to disassemble something that isn't designed to be taken apart. There is a YouTube video on it, and the vast majority of people who have attempted it have killed their phone. You can send it to the manufacturer or take it to a phone repair place, and the cost runs between $250 and $350 to have it done. For a $50 battery.

Over the last several weeks my phone has been acting wonky, suddenly shutting down without warning when the battery was showing 22%, then later 50%, and more recently at 80-90%. when it would do that, all settings and file permissions would be reset to defaults.

On Friday night it finally got to the point where it would only work when plugged in. Other than the battery, the phone was working fine, still speedy and peppy. Ticks me off.

Sooo, on Saturday I got a new one. It's the LG V20, and you can bet it's got a user replaceable battery.

Turtle · Nov 21, 2016

Also, just an FYI for anyone still on Verizon's grandfathered unlimited data plan (UDP). If you use Pdanet, FoxFi, EasyTether or some other free tethering option, that goes away with Android 7.0 Nougat.

You can get around it by rooting your phone, modifying a file, then unrooting the phone (so you can still do OTA and other updates). Or you can add the Mobile Hotspot feature for unlimited data plans for $30.

FlyingVan · Nov 21, 2016

Back about the same time you bought your HTC One I needed to change my phone also. I considered the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S5. The Galaxy won mostly because of the replaceable battery. Ironically, the battery still works good. But I plan to keep this phone for a long time still.

Turtle · Nov 21, 2016

I had been looking hard at the S5 and the M8. They both have the same specs and innards, but the S5 is water resistant (which is not an issue for me) and the fingerprint scanner (which is also not an issue with me). The day the S5 came out I decided to get one or the other, and the next day I went over to Verizon in Laredo (because, you know, I was in Laredo) and pick one up. They had only gotten 4 of the Galaxy S5 phones in, and they sold out before they had the truck unloaded. So the HTC One M8 it is. I kinda wish I'd just ordered it online or something, because that battery issue is really annoying.

For those who routinely upgrade their phone every 2 years, a non-replaceable battery really isn't an issue, but I'd have probably kept the M8 for another year or two, at least.

One kind of unexpected thing about getting the LG V20, though, is that while I had to pay full price to keep that UDP, they let me pay it off over 24 months without they payment agreement affecting the data plan. The Payment Agreement is totally separate from the Customer Agreement. The $672 over 24 months is $28 a month, but I can pay it off any time I want.

Tobster317 · Nov 22, 2016

Just get Apple products. If there are any problems, find an Apple Store. They can usually fix it right there. If not they can get you a new or refurbished one on the spot. No down time.

FlyingVan · Nov 22, 2016

Sorry. Not interested in anything Apple.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Turtle · Nov 22, 2016

Tobster317 said:
Just get Apple products. If there are any problems, find an Apple Store. They can usually fix it right there. If not they can get you a new or refurbished one on the spot. No down time.

Not really a solution for someone who hates iPhones and prefers Android phones, though.

FlyingVan beat me to it.

piper1 · Dec 2, 2016

Hey Turtle....did you look at the Pixel phone? I'm overdue for an upgrade from my S5 and the idea of no Samsung bloatware is appealing. S5 has been great but it's starting to act a little wonky at times.

scottm4211 · Dec 4, 2016

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piper1 said:
Hey Turtle....did you look at the Pixel phone? I'm overdue for an upgrade from my S5 and the idea of no Samsung bloatware is appealing. S5 has been great but it's starting to act a little wonky at times.

I had a Nexus 5x (last model before the switch to Pixel) and liked it a lot. I paid $249 unlocked 32gb through Google's project Fi. Pixel is very similar but way higher priced.

robh2 · Dec 4, 2016

I have the Google Nexus 6P and it replaced a Samsung Galaxy S5. No more Samsung or carrier bloatware as it was unlocked. So much happier without unwanted junk on my phone. The S5 was a good phone when it worked. Wife and I both had one. We could not get rid of them fast enough. We wore out the replacement insurance on those things over and over again.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using EO Forums mobile app

Turtle · Dec 4, 2016

piper1 said:
Hey Turtle....did you look at the Pixel phone?

Yes, I did, especially since the Pixel and the Pixel XL are made by HTC (same as my previous phone, you know, the one without the damn removable battery). The Pixel XL looked really good, but was priced higher than I wanted to go. But that wasn't the deal breaker. The deal breaker for me was, of course, the Pixel has a non-removable battery.

piper1 · Dec 7, 2016

Noticing alot of phones...no replaceable battery or no headphone jack...or both. Was at Verizon last night...I do like that the Pixel is not loaded up with bloatware...not even the usual Verizon stuff..but as mentioned an internal battery and $$$. Store staff were very anti Samsung....pro Moto Z/Z Force.

Turtle · Dec 8, 2016

piper1 said:
Noticing alot of phones...no replaceable battery or no headphone jack...or both. Was at Verizon last night...I do like that the Pixel is not loaded up with bloatware...not even the usual Verizon stuff..but as mentioned an internal battery and $$$. Store staff were very anti Samsung....pro Moto Z/Z Force.

The staff where I picked up my LG V20 were pretty much universally anti-LG phones, and were very pro-Moto as well. One guy was rather rude about it "I wouldn't take an LG phone if it was free." He had an iPhone on his hip, so there ya go. I've learned over the years that most staff at Verizon (corporate) stores are pretty much clueless wankers. There's one or two that are pretty good, though. The staff at the Authorized Verizon Dealers tend to be more tech nerds and are more on top of things.

I like the Moto phones, but again, there's that non-replaceable battery issue, which for me is the critical deal. For those (most people, maybe) who replace their phones every two years, a non-replaceable battery isn't much of an issue. The LG V20 (an LG phone? Seriously? LG?!?!) is hands down the best phone you can buy with a replaceable battery, and its high quality audio recording capability is astonishing, but if neither of those is a priority, there are certainly better phones out there. We're getting to the point where, at least among high end and flagship phones, the performance differences are minimal. You just go with what bell or whistle is most important to you, like, if you need a really good camera, go with the phone that has the best camera, and the rest of the phone will perform fine. If you need a phone with a replaceable battery, that's the phone to get. My main issues are replaceable battery and a larger screen, so I go with whatever high end phone has those, and the processor and other specs will be there without me having to decide between this or that Snapdragon chip.

The LG V20 isn't a bad phone by any stretch. It covers all its bases with the latest hardware and a solid design. But other handsets edge it out in so many ways (better camera? Pixel. better batter life? Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. faster processing speeds - not that you'd notice, but at least on paper? Apple iPhone 7 Plus. best overall value? Amazon OnePlus 3. shatterproof screen? Moto) that, aside from the V20's swappable battery and the microSD storage capability, you're probably better off buying something else.

For me, the replaceable battery is the #1 deal. A close second is the ability to add storage with a microSD card (so that pictures, music and most data files can be put on there and in the event of needing to do a factory reset, nothing is lost).

JCH · Jan 8, 2017

Turtle said:
Apple iPhone 7 Plus. best overall value?

Yep that's the ticket for me iPhone 7+ 256 GB one smooth operating machine gentleman!!!!!

LDB · Jan 8, 2017

I'm thinking about getting a Moto G4 Plus unlocked phone. It's supposed to work with pretty much any carrier.

Mailer · Jan 8, 2017

I had HTC One Max for about 3 years and really like it. It actually replaced the need for the lap top. Big screen and other multi function abilities. I can print the BOL from attached email directly to the portable printer. Then the battery charging issues surfaced and couldn't replace the battery. That what I thought then.

Well got me an LG 4 for a dollar with 2 years contract from Best Buy thru Sprint. Back to business. A year later, the speaker went out ( can call out but couldn't hear the caller). Bummer!

Still under contract and didn't want to buy another phone. Decided to take a closer look at the HTC One Max (luckily I still kept it). Spend some time surf the net for the fixes. Didn't help. Finally went to Walmart and got a brand new charging cable. Recharged and it work great!

To sum up, my phone didn't really have the battery issues. I was me, Lol..

As an Expediter, I'm constantly used the phone as a lap top, plug and unplug my charging cable when I stepped out of the van. Probably 10-20 times a day. That certainly caused the wears and damages to the charger pins in which I think resulting in skipped and slow charge.

I now inspect the charging cable more frequently, if it becomes loose at the connection, replaced. I also use the battery savings app to help conserve the battery usage as well as stop the internet surfing when the battery indicator is at 50%. The HTC has been working great and no more battery problems. Though, I must say the camera is better with the LG4.

Long Live HTC One Max ! Lol....