Is there any phone brand with acceptable quality?

[maykelbembibre]

Since several years ago I have had lots of defective Android phones of different brands and I have come to a point where I can't find a brand offerimg a good quality. With Samsung I had got faulty touch screen and hung up processes running the battery out. With Sony I had overheating and ridiculously tiny autonomy. With Motorola I no longer could hear when calling, with Asus I have had alarm, gps and wifi failures, and the list goes on...

So the question is, is there any brand or will there be a brand with good quality?
Currently even I am waiting for a Zenfone 3 Zoom coming from the US to here, Spain. Hope it is not defective as well.

 

[Deleted User]

It's an older one but my Nexus 5 has worked flawlessly for me. After a battery replacement it's good as new. So I have no hesitation in recommending LG/Google brand

 

[maykelbembibre]

It's an older one but my Nexus 5 has worked flawlessly for me. After a battery replacement it's good as new. So I have no hesitation in recommending LG/Google brand

Well the Google Pixel seems to be a good one. But the battery is too little. I would buy it if it had 4000 or 5000 mAh.

 

[Daniel Fernandes]

If would go for the Zenfone Zoom.... If the price was okay for me...

 

[maykelbembibre]

If would go for the Zenfone Zoom.... If the price was okay for me...

Then don't look at the price of the S8... I'd better buy a used motorbike for that money!

 

[Daniel Fernandes]

I hate Samsung anyways. (Reason: Note 7)

I mostly use mid range devices...

 

[mikedt]

I hate Samsung anyways. (Reason: Note 7)

I mostly use mid range devices...

I had a Note7, replaced it with an Oppo R9 Plus, and have been very happy ever since.

Don't particularly care for S8 and S8+, will pass on those.

 

[maykelbembibre]

I had a Note7, replaced it with an Oppo R9 Plus, and have been very happy ever since.

Don't particularly care for S8 and S8+, will pass on those.

Well it seems like you are from China. I am curious about it. Recently lots of brands have been appearing there, many of them seem to be good, and many of them seem to be really bad. For example Xiaomi has given awful results to me. Asus has given both good and bad results. What chinese brands are good and what ones are a crap?

 

[Daniel Fernandes]

Asus is Taiwanese I guess...

 

[maykelbembibre]

Asus is Taiwanese I guess...

What's the true difference between Taiwan and China? I have always thought about them as the same country.

 

[mikedt]

What's the true difference between Taiwan and China? I have always thought about them as the same country.

FYI...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy

However this is OT for this thread and any discussion might be better over in P&CA.

 

[mikedt]

Well it seems like you are from China. I am curious about it. Recently lots of brands have been appearing there, many of them seem to be good, and many of them seem to be really bad. For example Xiaomi has given awful results to me. Asus has given both good and bad results. What chinese brands are good and what ones are a crap?

I've been happy with Oppo phones for the last four years, and before that I had a Lenovo, which I was also happy with. I've never had a Xiaomi, but I know a few people who do, and they seem to be happy with them. I think Huawei should be ok as well, and seem to be very much favoured by government employees, from what I've seen.

Apart from the Samsung Note7 briefly, I did have a couple of Samsungs before, they were ok.

 

[Fox Mulder]

It sounds like you may have just been unlucky with your previous devices. Even the best manufacturer will have some duds and perhaps you are just a magnet for them.
Generally it's best to stick with the major brands which typically have more consistent quality and better customer service when something does go wrong, also better parts support and more online information from sites such as this and XDA.
Have you checked that the Zenfone from the US will work in your country on your carrier of choice?

 

[maykelbembibre]

It sounds like you may have just been unlucky with your previous devices. Even the best manufacturer will have some duds and perhaps you are just a magnet for them.
Generally it's best to stick with the major brands which typically have more consistent quality and better customer service when something does go wrong, also better parts support and more online information from sites such as this and XDA.
Have you checked that the Zenfone from the US will work in your country on your carrier of choice?

I don't know how exactly does the cellular system work in the US. The Zenfone 3 Zoom I ordered from there is unlocked so I reckon that it will work at Spain. The specifications say that it doesn't work with DCMA but I don't know what the damn is that.

 

[mikedt]

Think you mean CDMA. Which isn't used in Europe anyway. Basically it's a cellular mode that's only really used by certain carriers in America, China and Japan.

Suggest you verify it with http://willmyphonework.net/ just in-case this imported phone's 3G or 4G/LTE are American bands and modes only or something, like you might find there's only partial support for European networks.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Yup as Mike said there are two signal modes, CDMA and GSM. So if the phone is GSM and not CDMA that is a good thing for you. However it may still not support the specific frequency bands and speeds that are used by your carrier and in your country, so it's very important to verify these things before purchasing a phone that is not originally intended for your domestic market. If the phone does not support the required bands it's a hardware limitation and there isn't anything you can do to fix it.

 

[maykelbembibre]

Yup as Mike said there are two signal modes, CDMA and GSM. So if the phone is GSM and not CDMA that is a good thing for you. However it may still not support the specific frequency bands and speeds that are used by your carrier and in your country, so it's very important to verify these things before purchasing a phone that is not originally intended for your domestic market. If the phone does not support the required bands it's a hardware limitation and there isn't anything you can do to fix it.

Should not a phone be suitable for any place in the world? I hope the phone I purchased can work here. If not, I have a little problem. At least the seller says that it is unlocked and intended for worldwide usage. Well actually I don't mind if I can't use 4G or even 3G. I am not a power user of mobile data (I am one of the most tight fisted human beings ever). The only thing I need is 2G/GSM cellular calls and low speed data for WhatsApp.

 

[Fox Mulder]

No, with all the different bands and protocols in use there is no phone that is guaranteed to work anywhere. You really do have to check even if it's a so-called "worldwide" phone. While such phones may be able to function on some level in most places they won't have optimal coverage or speed due to missing and incompatible bands.
And even if you're not a power user, 2G is quite painful to use on apps that expect a much faster connection. You'll find yourself constantly looking for WiFi connections to get decent speed.
Finally don't expect an imported device to be able to receive any updates. If the manufacturer posts them online and has a PC app for connecting to the phone you may be able to do updates that way.

 

[kate]

Currently even I am waiting for a Zenfone 3 Zoom coming from the US to here, Spain.
Should not a phone be suitable for any place in the world? I hope the phone I purchased can work here.

There are at least 4 versions of the Zenfone 3 Zoom, since you bought it from the US I'm guessing it's the US version or Global version.

Global version should be compatible with Spain carriers:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/comp...s-zenfone-3-zoom-dual-sim-global-td-lte/spain

US version also looks to be compatible in Spain:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/comp...-3-zoom-dual-sim-lte-us-br-64gb-ze553kl/spain

 

[maykelbembibre]

There are at least 4 versions of the Zenfone 3 Zoom, since you bought it from the US I'm guessing it's the US version or Global version.

Global version should be compatible with Spain carriers:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/comp...s-zenfone-3-zoom-dual-sim-global-td-lte/spain

US version also looks to be compatible in Spain:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/comp...-3-zoom-dual-sim-lte-us-br-64gb-ze553kl/spain

Hmmm that's good.

I think it is the US version. The only version I don't want is the chinese one. Once I bought a Lenovo from China they came full of unstopable background processes and infinite bloatware. The battery used to fly away without even using the phone. I think that the Baidu company has something to do with that. Most part of unnecessary background processes came from that manufacturer when I was looking into the application information.

 

[maykelbembibre]

The Zenfone 3 Zoom doesn't work. Alarms don't work, just as in the Zenfone Max.
I'm returning it...
Really, isn't there any brand with good smartphone quality?

 

[MarcompGames]

seems like LG is the better phone if you want quality imho

 

[maykelbembibre]

seems like LG is the better phone if you want quality imho

But all of them have a bad battery backup.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Yes there are phones that work anywhere in the world but they cost thousands of US Dollars. Are you prepared to pay the cost? It's an incredibly niche market.

 

[maykelbembibre]

Yes there are phones that work anywhere in the world but they cost thousands of US Dollars. Are you prepared to pay the cost? It's an incredibly niche market.

There is no need to do that. In fact the Zenfone 3 Zoom that I bought from the US worked, but not the alarms so I returned it. Moreover it is a software failure repeated since at least 2 years ago in phones of the Asus brand of different categories. If they don't want to make the software right, then the hardware is useless.