My thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S7

[PGHammer]

Followup to my previous post - the S7 is still flying via the combo mambo of Tracfone and the UnCarrier; for some reason, I'm finding myself radically rethinking T-Mobile as an network; could it actually be PHONE quality?  What makes the idea strange as heck is that this was originally a VZW phone - and I've had all SORTS of problems with T-M with phones supposedly designed for that carrier (this particular S7 outright flunked that test) - what did the Big Red Snapdragon get right that all too many handsets on the UnCarrier get wrong?  I'm not the only person to throw brickbats at the UnCarrier in the past - and especially compared to Verizon Wireless; however, I have features on the UnCarrier that I could NOT have on BigRed - even if this were native - let alone on Tracfone.  (Two features in particular I could NOT have on the VZW side of Tracfone - Wi-Fi Calling and VoLTE; I have both at my beck today.  Rather embarrassingly, I could not have either as a straight VZW customer for that matter.)

 

I don't know if it's a fluke, or exactly WHAT to think;  this ex-VZW S7 is being a better than perfect fit to the UnCarrier - and I can't even begin to explain it - or why.  All that is left is to enjoy the unexplainable.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Already got the December 2017 Security update 3 days "December 13th" and got the November update on the 21st.

 

Great Job Samsung!

[SnoopZ]

On 17/12/2017 at 5:02 PM, warwagon said:

Already got the December 2017 Security update 3 days "December 13th" and got the November update on the 21st.

 

Great Job Samsung!

Has the battery improved for you, i get my S7 tomorrow as my LG G3 got the blue screen of death?

[+Warwagon MVC]

1 minute ago, SnoopZ said:

Has the battery improved for you, i get my S7 tomorrow as my LG G3 got the blue screen of death?

Not really, I mean I got the battery drain on standby better after debloating. But I spent 10 mins on it in bed and it dropped 8%

[SnoopZ]

So is it alot worse than the LG G3?

[+Warwagon MVC]

21 minutes ago, SnoopZ said:

So is it alot worse than the LG G3?

Compared to a custom rom I was using on the G3 ... yes much worse. On the G3 one morning I woke up at 100% drove 25 mins listing to a podcast via my Bluetooth in my car, got to where I was going, took some pictures sent some facebook messenger messages and it finally dropped to 99%. Now it's possible I might have a bum battery, but because it's sealed and I don't feel like risking taking it apart until I absolutely have to, i'll just live with it. Plus it's not so bad due to my wireless charger next to my couch and my magnetic one in my car.

[SnoopZ]

Thanks for the info i guess everyones mileage varies, i only use for browsing a few hours a day and sat nav although that is charging in the car so hopefully it'll only need charging once in the evening.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Buy 

1 minute ago, SnoopZ said:

Thanks for the info i guess everyones mileage varies, i only use for browsing a few hours a day and sat nav although that is charging in the car so hopefully it'll only need charging once in the evening.

Buy this for your car it's amazing

 

 

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073WV8ZKT/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[bikeman25]

How would i go about Debloating my Galaxy S7 that i got from Sprint,  Battery seems to drain quite a bit at times,  Do use Avast Mobile Security on it if that makes a difference,  and a few other apps, otherwise i like my S7 much better than my old Metro PCS Galaxy Grand Prime that was my first ever Android, that one made me miss my WIndows phone lol

 

[+Warwagon MVC]

12 minutes ago, bikeman25 said:

How would i go about Debloating my Galaxy S7 that i got from Sprint,  Battery seems to drain quite a bit at times,  Do use Avast Mobile Security on it if that makes a difference,  and a few other apps, otherwise i like my S7 much better than my old Metro PCS Galaxy Grand Prime that was my first ever Android, that one made me miss my WIndows phone lol

 

As to what you can use can be found on page 1 on the aug 31st post. I don't have Avast or any other AV on the phone.

[bikeman25]

Yeah i accepted the popup at end of Avast install on new Desktop ages ago to install Mobile Security on phone, so left it in lol, checks out the 1st post, and goes from there

 

[PGHammer]

35 minutes ago, bikeman25 said:

How would i go about Debloating my Galaxy S7 that i got from Sprint,  Battery seems to drain quite a bit at times,  Do use Avast Mobile Security on it if that makes a difference,  and a few other apps, otherwise i like my S7 much better than my old Metro PCS Galaxy Grand Prime that was my first ever Android, that one made me miss my WIndows phone lol

 

There are debloated firmwares available for all the US carriers (and walkthroughs on debloating your own) on xda-developers; thing is, there can actually be some useful applets hiding among the bloat.  (I kept some useful applets from the handset's VZW days that are not found on T-Mobile, AT&T Mobility, or even the Play Store) - it does not pay to assume that "all is bloat" any more than it to assume that there is no bloat in AOSP firmware; it depends on individual needs.

[PatC]

So you answered your own question, but had to start a thread when you already had your mind made up. Glad you're not my IT person. 

[seta-san]

why can't a version of android with just the raw components needed for the OS and the store exist?

[SnoopZ]

3 hours ago, PatC said:

So you answered your own question, but had to start a thread when you already had your mind made up. Glad you're not my IT person. 

There is no need to be rude.

[+Warwagon MVC]

7 hours ago, PatC said:

So you answered your own question, but had to start a thread when you already had your mind made up. Glad you're not my IT person. 

Good Morning PatC, so nice to experience your chipper personality so early!  While it may look like I started a new thread, what I did was rename the thread I created when I was looking for a new phone. So I did not create a brand new thread, I was resourceful and renamed the one I already had

[SnoopZ]

I have had the S7 for a few days now and love the size and shape of it compared to the LG G3, i am also finding the battery life to be alot better compared to my G3 with my normal daily usage which is just browsing.

 

I do miss the weather information on the lock screen where it is animted and snows and rains etc, is there something i can put on the phone to give me the exact same experience on the lock screen? I also miss double tapping the screen for turning it off and on but i will get used to pressing the button.

[PGHammer]

On 3/1/2018 at 5:02 AM, SnoopZ said:

I have had the S7 for a few days now and love the size and shape of it compared to the LG G3, i am also finding the battery life to be alot better compared to my G3 with my normal daily usage which is just browsing.

 

I do miss the weather information on the lock screen where it is animted and snows and rains etc, is there something i can put on the phone to give me the exact same experience on the lock screen? I also miss double tapping the screen for turning it off and on but i will get used to pressing the button.

Yep - this is part of TouchWiz (and will be retained by Samsung Experience 9) - a similar feature is included with most third-party launchers (including Microsoft Launcher - formerly Arrow), so you can get it back.  I call it a "crow sandwich" feature - it lets you know when the weather forecast gets it wrong without having to peek out the window.  (Last night they called for rain in the afternoon/evening forecast for the Bureaucrat Belt; we got snow instead.  By noon today, said snow did go "poof" though.)