Ask me anything about the Motorola DROID MAXX!

[ogwilson]

As per my official DROID MAXX review on Phandroid.com, anyone curious about anything in regards to the DROID MAXX can ask here, and their question shall be answered. Don't be shy!

 

[sethm1]

Nice review. Will you have a Maxx v. Moto X comparison?

Also I have read the Droid Minis is not so great in the radio department. Signal strength a biggie for me. I am a Verizon customer- if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

 

[redddog]

I noticed you had the maxx getting the a/b/g/n/ac radio.

I had heard that the droids didn't get those ac radios. Was I mistaken?

 

[berniebbb]

I am new to droid maxx. Since there is no micro sd card, how do I transfer my songs to droid maxx for ringtones. Do I need to send it by text for each song.
How do I do that & save it to my droid maxx.
Thnak sooo much for your help

 

[Thom]

Welcome to Android Forums.

I do it with a USB cable connecting my Droid Maxx to my Windows 7 Professional Workstation. It is simple file transfers under control of the Workstation.

... Thom

 

[tweak4]

There are also app options like AirDroid or cloud options like Dropbox, Box and Google Drive. Just try to use them while you're on wifi or you can eat up your data allotment in a hurry.
Dropbox is my usual go to for smaller files. For anything over a few hundred meg, I usually use AirDroid instead.

 

[redddog]

Haha.

I guess he re-thought the "ask me anything" offer.

 

[Predict99]

I remember reading somewhere that the droid max is water proof. Is this true?

 

[Thom]

Welcome to Android Forums. It is not water proof. At best it is water resistant ... whatever that means.

... Thom

 

[ogwilson]

Nice review. Will you have a Maxx v. Moto X comparison?

Also I have read the Droid Minis is not so great in the radio department. Signal strength a biggie for me. I am a Verizon customer- if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

I am definitely looking to compare all of Motorola's latest phones as soon as I can get the Mini. In that same breath, I do not yet have a Mini to test so I can't comment on that particular phone's radio performance. I can say that it's been just great in the MAXX and Ultra, though. Not sure why it would be any different for the Mini. Let's hope that was just a one-off thing.

I noticed you had the maxx getting the a/b/g/n/ac radio.

I had heard that the droids didn't get those ac radios. Was I mistaken?

My review reference stated it had WiFi AC. I can check with a Motorola technical rep to confirm.

I am new to droid maxx. Since there is no micro sd card, how do I transfer my songs to droid maxx for ringtones. Do I need to send it by text for each song.
How do I do that & save it to my droid maxx.
Thnak sooo much for your help

You will need to transfer your songs using a microUSB cable or via WiFi/Bluetooth transfers. As for ringtones, you can use any song as a ringtone in Android. Use something like RingDroid to customize your MP3s.

Welcome to Android Forums.

I do it with a USB cable connecting my Droid Maxx to my Windows 7 Professional Workstation. It is simple file transfers under control of the Workstation.

... Thom

There are also app options like AirDroid or cloud options like Dropbox, Box and Google Drive. Just try to use them while you're on wifi or you can eat up your data allotment in a hurry.
Dropbox is my usual go to for smaller files. For anything over a few hundred meg, I usually use AirDroid instead.

Thanks for the assist!

Haha.

I guess he re-thought the "ask me anything" offer.

Unfortunately I was busy the entire weekend. I definitely didn't forget

I remember reading somewhere that the droid max is water proof. Is this true?

No, this is not something Motorola or Verizon advertises. I would not trust that information. Avoid getting your phone wet whenever you can, even if it is waterproof.

 

[Rich_NY]

I was wondering how to transfer my wifes Iphone 4s contacts to her new maxx? Also how do I transfer my HTC saved messages and notepad notes onto my new Maxx? Thanks in advance.

 

[rabidhunter]

I am definitely looking to compare all of Motorola's latest phones as soon as I can get the Mini. In that same breath, I do not yet have a Mini to test so I can't comment on that particular phone's radio performance. I can say that it's been just great in the MAXX and Ultra, though. Not sure why it would be any different for the Mini. Let's hope that was just a one-off thing.

Not having a DROID Maxx to compare signal with... I have got great signal wherever I have been with my Mini. Calls sound crisp and clear. I've gotten a consistent 4G signal most everywhere. The signal and data strength are much better than when I had my Pantech Breakout.

 

[Hieronymous]

I upgraded my beloved original Droid Razr Maxx to this latest version of the Maxx and overall I'm pleased. Couple of things though:
I can not overstate how useful I found the LED notifications. I had different colors set up for different apps (txt, Twitter, email, missed calls) and loved being able to see at a glance what I missed. I understand the active notifications offer the same functionality but I miss the lightshow.

Google Now voice activation works great. However, when the phone is locked I have to unlock the phone to get the results. Kind of defeats the purpose when I'm driving! When I first got the phone and drove in my car, it somehow noticed I was driving (I also had Navigation running) and it offered the option to keep my phone unlocked. Would be great if there was a quick-icon to let the phone know I'm driving and to keep my phone unlocked so I can use the OK Google Now fun.

Not having SmsrtActions anymore makes me a sad panda. It was one of the things that made the original Razr Maxx stand out.

When I'm driving and am playing music using Google Play, my old Razr Maxx would pause the music when the Navigation had an update, and then resume playing. When I tried this yesterday, the music got softer for a few seconds, but I couldn't hear the Navigation speak. Again, kind of defeats the purpose having to look down at the screen.

I'm sure I'll be playing with the phone some more this weekend, including trying to integrate LastPass into the built-in email apps, so if I have more questions/comments, I'll be sure to post.

 

[doogald]

Google Now voice activation works great. However, when the phone is locked I have to unlock the phone to get the results. Kind of defeats the purpose when I'm driving! When I first got the phone and drove in my car, it somehow noticed I was driving (I also had Navigation running) and it offered the option to keep my phone unlocked. Would be great if there was a quick-icon to let the phone know I'm driving and to keep my phone unlocked so I can use the OK Google Now fun.

Do you have Bluetooth in your car? If so you can set the car as a trusted Bluetooth device and keep the phone unlocked while you are in the car. Settings/security & screen lock/ trusted devices.

Also you can set Touchless controls to place calls while the phone is locked - so at least you can place calls.

 

[elcameano]

Can you get to your gallery from the camera or do you have to back out and go to the gallery app?

 

[Thom]

In Camera swipe left opens the Gallery. This is also true for Camera JB.

... Thom

 

[ashields027]

Is there any way to change the default camera app so that when I twist the phone twice a its not the stock camera app that opens?

 

[Predict99]

Hey we got an app for that. It's called migrate. It will transfer mp3,contacts,texts,pics. Quickly too.

 

[Union Mason]

I switched from a Razzr to a Maxx and hooked it up to my exchange server. When I go to make a calendar date it no longer allows me to invite guests. I tried Google calendar but it doesn't seem to forward my invites to guests. Any recommendations? Very frustrating for businesses purposes.

 

[mankato581]

Hi, I was wondering how do you switch a message from group into individual while texting. Sometimes a mass text is necessary but you do not want everyone to reply to everyone's phone. On my old RAZR MAXX it was as simple as clicking the bar on top to switch between group and ind, but this doesn't have one. Also has anything been done with being able to sync facebook contacts into the phonebook? Backup assistant won't load all of my contacts either.

 

[LizMac]

Great review, wish I'd seen it before I got my phone.... would have saved me some time. I just got the Droid Maxx after my Razr HD crashed during an update install that certainly looked legit.

Two things off the top that bug me:

The first is a minor annoyance. Why won't my Facebook contacts sync with my phone contacts to show pictures? I ended up d/l a free app called "Sync Me" but it doesn't really do the job either, and frankly, why should I have to use it? Maybe this will be fixed in KitKat? Though, I'm thinking its a FB issue.

2nd. GAH! I miss "Smart Actions". They've replaced it with something that works well with (no offense to anyone) Wall Street-Suit types! I don't schedule my meetings in my calendar; I want to be able to just push a button that will set my phone in "meeting" mode. Ditto Driving... I use the bus and/or am a passenger in a car most of the time. I want the freedom to just set the action myself!

With Smart Actions, I had set up ones for work and other functions (don't want phone to ring, but want email and texts) that was really nice. Now, they have chained me to a calendar and a car!

 

[goclairego]

I keep reading that the Droid Command Center on the Droid Maxx will display notifications of texts and phone calls. How do I make that happen? Right now, when I flip the time circle, I only see the Zap and Wireless setting icons. The guy in the Verizon store showed me his phone and I saw where his notifications were displaying.
How can I make the notifications show up in the Droid Command Center?

 

[Digital Controller]

I would suggest to check this link out: Stay in control with DROID Command Center widget

Gives a good idea of what you are looking for in the command center.

 

[doogald]

I keep reading that the Droid Command Center on the Droid Maxx will display notifications of texts and phone calls. How do I make that happen? Right now, when I flip the time circle, I only see the Zap and Wireless setting icons. The guy in the Verizon store showed me his phone and I saw where his notifications were displaying.
How can I make the notifications show up in the Droid Command Center?

I have absolutely no idea. I have never seen anything like that from the widget. You may want to go back to that store and have the guy show you what he was doing - because I'd like to know if there is something I am missing!

As far as notifications on the Droid Maxx go, these are the way that I know of to see any unread notifications:

- active notifications. When the display is off, the phone will pulse occasionally with a white circle in the center of the display, with an icon showing the last app that has an unread notification. (If there are no notifications, there will merely be the icon of a lock in that circle.) If you press on the circle, two circles will show: that last app notification at the top center of the display, showing the name of that app, and, by default, some text from the notification. If you drag up to that circle, the phone will power on and show that app. If not, at the bottom will be a list of other unread notifications, as well as a lock icon, from where you can power the screen on to your last seen home screen or app that was showing when the phone powered down. This has nothing to do with the Droid Command Center widget, though.

- notification shade. With the display powered on, you can drag the notification shade down from the top of the screen. This will show you unread notifications from any apps that are set up to show them. Again, the Droid Command Center widget doesn't have anything to do with this.

 

[doogald]

Hi, I was wondering how do you switch a message from group into individual while texting. Sometimes a mass text is necessary but you do not want everyone to reply to everyone's phone. On my old RAZR MAXX it was as simple as clicking the bar on top to switch between group and ind, but this doesn't have one.

The stock client does not seem to have this ability. You can try switching to an alternate SMS client - Handcent, Verizon Messages, or even the new Hangouts. Perhaps one of these apps can do that? I don't use any of them myself - I just manually create a new message to the contact I want to answer when this happens. (I just did this last night.) The issue with using a third party app, though, is that the Assist Driving Mode, which will read any received text messages out loud to you through the speakers, will only work with the stock messaging client.

Perhaps when the update to Android 4.4 is delivered there will be a better solution?

Also has anything been done with being able to sync facebook contacts into the phonebook? Backup assistant won't load all of my contacts either.

There are third party apps that can do this, but the stock "People" app does not. This is either a bug or some fallout from an issue that Google had with Facebook about a year ago, when Facebook was asking users to enter Google authentication info to get friends from your Google contacts but would not expose the same functionality to Google for the reverse.

I use an app on my Mac called Cobook that does this for me. I've read about a Play Store app that can do this on the phone: Ubersync.

[edit] See a few posts below; this app is not recommended: Sync.Me.