Differences between AT&T Nexus One and T-Mobile Nexus One

[droiddecar]

Has anyone used both the AT&T Nexus One and T-Mobile Nexus One and noticed many differences? I figure they are must be very close to the same with a few small differences. The reason I am asking is I recently got the AT&T Nexus One and I am surprised to find it a has a few substantial problems. I'm wondering if the problems might be unique to the AT&T version. Perhaps since the T-Mobile N1 was the original and more widely sold, it was tested more thoroughly?

The problems I have been noticing:
1)Auto Brightness - it's totally messed up and it leads to wild fluctuations in screen brightness. As someone who goes back and forth between indoor and outdoor frequently, this is a critical feature of the phone
2) There is a distinct lag in almost everything I do. I have used the HTC Incredible and it did not have this at all. I figure the specs for the 2 phones are similar so the speeds should be too. The lag on my N1 has been there right from the beginning.
3) Wifi connection dies randomly - have not had this problem with past phones.
4) The universal buttons are hard to push - it's very common to tap them and have nothing happen. I've used the Motorola Droid and HTC Incredible and on both the button pushing is FAR cleaner. (I'm pretty sure this is the same for AT&T and T-Mobile versions, but I guess I'm just getting on a roll with the gripes)
5) Low call volume - this problem is actually getting better as I've adjusted by pressing the phone to my ear a little more, but I wish it was a little louder.

 

[ap3604]

Nope their the exact same except for the radio. For the wifi dropping use the wifi fixer app.

 

[droiddecar]

Ok that's good to know. I'll give the wifi fixer a try.

 

[2003vstrom]

yeah my ATT version has worked perfect from day one, no problems with wifi, I have it Rooted now, and it even works more awesome

 

[droiddecar]

yeah my ATT version has worked perfect from day one, no problems with wifi, I have it Rooted now, and it even works more awesome

2003vstrom do you use the automatic brightness feature and if so does it work properly?

 

[Roze]

@OP

1) Don't use
2) No lag at all until I installed Helix Launcher 2...now it lags with the accelerometer, but I want that app...so I'm living with the lag
3) Wi-Fi is perfect when I get strong signal (100% at home) where I've used it for 4+ hours on wifi and no drop
4) What do you mean by 'universal button'? The soft buttons (back/menu/home/search) works fine...are you referring to the one that launch the windows to all of the apps downloaded? I have no issue with that either...
5) Yeah that's one of the flaws with the N1...and the headphones...speaker is too quiet

Do you have issues with drop calls or poor battery life?

 

[droiddecar]

@OP

1) Don't use
2) No lag at all until I installed Helix Launcher 2...now it lags with the accelerometer, but I want that app...so I'm living with the lag
3) Wi-Fi is perfect when I get strong signal (100% at home) where I've used it for 4+ hours on wifi and no drop
4) What do you mean by 'universal button'? The soft buttons (back/menu/home/search) works fine...are you referring to the one that launch the windows to all of the apps downloaded? I have no issue with that either...
5) Yeah that's one of the flaws with the N1...and the headphones...speaker is too quiet

Do you have issues with drop calls or poor battery life?

1) For now I have the automatic brightness off but I've contacted Google Nexus One support about this. I want it fixed or replaced. When you move between indoors and outdoors frequently it is a pain-in-the-butt to have to keep manually switching brightness before doing anything else. To do this I use the Power control widget (which includes a brightness changer) and also sometimes the Brightness Profiles app.

2) I have about 30 apps installed and they are all popular ones with strong reviews. I am going to experiment and remove some to see if it makes a difference with the lag. Thing is the lag was there going back to when I only had a couple of apps.

3) My wifi is dropping at home when i am sitting right next to the router! Maybe the router or router settings make a difference. It shouldn't though as I have a frequent visitor with a Motorola Droid that has a flawless connection. (and it's on wifi not 3g, I always check)

4) I was referring to the soft buttons (back/menu/home/search). This is more of a nuisance as sometimes you hit them dead on and nothing happens. If I push it a little harder or aim my finger slightly higher that usually works. On the Motorola Droid and HTC Incredible it is much easier to hit those buttons. I guess the upside with the Nexus is that it's also harder to hit the soft buttons by accident which I have done many times on the Motorola Droid.

5)Agreed

So far I haven't had an issue with dropped calls, but I really haven't made a ton of calls yet. Also most of the calls I have made were from home and I live close to an AT&T tower. On the battery life it does seem to go somewhat faster than the Droid, but it could also be my usage.

 

[2003vstrom]

2003vstrom do you use the automatic brightness feature and if so does it work properly?

yes I do and it works fine for me when I go indoors and outdoorsalso you have to remember my Rooted so I`m not sure if that fixes some of the glitches or not, but I was only stock for about 5 days but within in those 5 days it stilled worked perfect,then I rooted it and installed CYM 5.0.6 with the black status bar)

 

[2003vstrom]

@OP

1) Don't use
2) No lag at all until I installed Helix Launcher 2...now it lags with the accelerometer, but I want that app...so I'm living with the lag
3) Wi-Fi is perfect when I get strong signal (100% at home) where I've used it for 4+ hours on wifi and no drop
4) What do you mean by 'universal button'? The soft buttons (back/menu/home/search) works fine...are you referring to the one that launch the windows to all of the apps downloaded? I have no issue with that either...
5) Yeah that's one of the flaws with the N1...and the headphones...speaker is too quiet

Do you have issues with drop calls or poor battery life?

Roze you said something about low volume are you rooted? I for sure noticed a difference in the ear piece volume after I rooted.

 

[droiddecar]

Roze you said something about low volume are you rooted? I for sure noticed a difference in the ear piece volume after I rooted.

Did the volume get better or worse after you rooted?

 

[Roze]

Roze you said something about low volume are you rooted? I for sure noticed a difference in the ear piece volume after I rooted.

Nope, not rooted, I'd brick my phone if I try...and they say that it's HARD to brick your Nexus...tech instructions go over my head >_>

I've noticed from day one that the volumn is on the low side when hearing ppl talk (with the phone). And there are other people that experience this too if you check out the threads/posts on this and other N1 forums.

 

[2003vstrom]

Nope, not rooted, I'd brick my phone if I try...and they say that it's HARD to brick your Nexus...tech instructions go over my head >_>

I've noticed from day one that the volumn is on the low side when hearing ppl talk (with the phone). And there are other people that experience this too if you check out the threads/posts on this and other N1 forums.

its not that hard to root, but back too the ear piece volume after I rooted mine I had too turn it halfway down because it was very loud, you would be a lot more happier if it was rooted

 

[droiddecar]

its not that hard to root, but back too the ear piece volume after I rooted mine I had too turn it halfway down because it was very loud, you would be a lot more happier if it was rooted

So if rooting it led to better ear piece volume than that would mean it's not a hardware issue and that a software update could also possibly improve the volume...am I right? I've been thinking that HTC just put a crappy low volume speaker in there because they were saving the good stuff for their own phones.

 

[2003vstrom]

Did the volume get better or worse after you rooted?

lot better

 

[2003vstrom]

So if rooting it led to better ear piece volume than that would mean it's not a hardware issue and that a software update could also possibly improve the volume...am I right? I've been thinking that HTC just put a crappy low volume speaker in there because they were saving the good stuff for their own phones.

yeah its same with a old moto razr, I had one and volume on that sucked, so I hack that too and make the ear piece volume higher too.

 

[Roze]

So if rooting it led to better ear piece volume than that would mean it's not a hardware issue and that a software update could also possibly improve the volume...am I right? I've been thinking that HTC just put a crappy low volume speaker in there because they were saving the good stuff for their own phones.

If it's a SW issue *wistfully* maybe Google will include that in Froyo, lol.

 

[2003vstrom]

yeah hopefully but I wouldnt hold my breath

 

[sourmilk]

there's a hidden wifi setting i just learned about from an androidcentral.com article that lets you disable the wi-fi sleep setting, which is on by default.

Go to> Settings, Wireless and networks, Wi-Fi settings, press menu, Advanced, Wi-fi sleep policy, Set it to Never.

Now my wi-fi doesn't turn off when the screen goes off, which is something that used to annoy me. maybe this is what you are experiencing?

 

[Roze]

yeah hopefully but I wouldnt hold my breath

Me either...I can still hope

Offtopic...woverine country = Alberta?

 

[2003vstrom]

Me either...I can still hope

Offtopic...woverine country = Alberta?

Michigan........ Michigan football

 

[Roze]

Michigan........ Michigan football

Ah...I read too much into it then...I thought you'r an X-man fan and live in Alberta, lol Don't watch football, so wouldn't know the reference anyways XD

Sorry OP for going off topic XD

 

[2003vstrom]

Ah...I read too much into it then...I thought you'r an X-man fan and live in Alberta, lol Don't watch football, so wouldn't know the reference anyways XD

Sorry OP for going off topic XD

yeah I do really like the X-man movies and wolverine is my favorite chara.

 

[crabman]

1. Automatic brightness is just plain flaky, this is a universal and well known complaint. Some of the roms like enomthers have smoothed it out somewhat but it still is not what I would describe as fully hashed out. I leave mine maxed all the time, makes little difference in battery life.

2. Lag is normally caused by live wallpaper in combination with another app. Look there first. Another common cause is a launcher modification or an app that modifys the launcher. Last common offender is an app that installs a notifaction area launcher. Outside of the usual suspects its easy to go back and reinstall the apps or you can back them up to sd. I would dump mine and start adding them one at a time until you find the offender. Another option is to install system panel and see if you can find the app that way.

3. Wifi sleeping is usually the cause of this, you already have the answer in post above.

4. Another common complaint. Learn to aim a little high on the soft buttons and they will work flawlessly. I have not yet read any account of why they did not center the input on the button.

5. CM and many of the kernals include rotohammers audio volume. This definitely ups the ante but of course you have to root. I found the call volume to be fine but there is a very small sweet spot, smaller than I was used to with my previous handsets. With the audio gain hack the sound can be distorted over speaker and you have to turn it down to about half during an actual up to the ear call.