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Is it me, or is the GNex a Lemon?

All Android have their quirks. That's why you do your research before buying one. GNex has a few minor issues but I haven't root mine yet for a reason.... I don't need to. If people want a phone with no quirks... Buy an iPhone. You also won't be able to customize or do as much for free either.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
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All Android have their quirks. That's why you do your research before buying one. GNex has a few minor issues but I haven't root mine yet for a reason.... I don't need to. If people want a phone with no quirks... Buy an iPhone. You also won't be able to customize or do as much for free either.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Eh they have a lot of "quirks" they are just glazed over.
 
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No offense to you - nor an attack - the way I put this to people is:

If you want a phone that does simple things simply, get an iphone

I actually was saying the same thing. The iPhone is the phone you get when you just want it to do a few things solidly.... Android you get when you want it to so a ton.

As for "quirks". IPhones don't have as many because they don't have as many options.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
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I actually was saying the same thing. The iPhone is the phone you get when you just want it to do a few things solidly.... Android you get when you want it to so a ton.

As for "quirks". IPhones don't have as many because they don't have as many options.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

That and the fact there are so few models of the iPhone. In some ways, it is much like Macs vs. PCs. There are a very few models of Macs and they are all built by Apple; nice machines that typically work well but you have limited flexibility in the type of machine you buy. By contrast, there are a lot of different PC models with a huge number of hardware options; however (like Android) that choice of hardware options introduces issues with Windows.
 
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I've had my G-Nex for a year now, and not had any issues with it at all. I can honestly say that this is the best cell phone that I've ever had. Of course, rooting opened up so many, many more doors for me. Being able to truly customize things (especially the font size so I can actually see the text on the screen) makes a huge difference. ROM support for this phone is amazing to say the least.
 
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Mine is beginning to exhibit qualities that my OG Droid did towards the end of its life: Lag opening apps, random reboots, sluggishness with the keyboard etc. It's not as bad as certain Gingerbread ROMs were on the Droid, but I'm thinking if/when 4.3 comes out and ROMs are adapted to it, the Gnex is going to see the end of the road. I've tried plenty of tips and tricks to keep it as smooth as possible, and while it's pretty solid for what I need (which isn't much), I know the end is near.
I'm seeing the exact same things. My Gnex seems like it's crawling these days vs. the great responsiveness it had when I bought it back on Day 1. I'm running a solid ROM (XenonHD) and have tried every ROM, kernel, and tweak I can find, but nothing seems to help.

Why is it that a factory reset (i.e. full wipe of system, data, and cache) before installing a ROM doesn't restore things to the way they were when new? It's still noticeably slower, even before installing a single extra app. The only difference is that I'm now running a much better (and theoretically faster) version of Android than the Gnex originally had, and I have a lot more files sitting in user storage. But wouldn't a phone be binary: it either works or it doesn't? What would cause it to become slower and more troublesome over time like this? As @breadnatty08 noted, my OG Droid was also showing these symptoms by the time I replaced it... it's not just the Gnex.

Some have suggested a complete "bare metal" reset. This would be a huge PITA, but I'd do it if I was convinced this would actually improve things. However, I just can't see how deleting all my user storage and recreating the bootloader and recovery partitions would improve performance/stability. Once the phone has booted into the ROM, the bootloader is out of the picture - and the recovery doesn't even enter into the equation for regular operation.

What am i missing here? Can someone help me understand why a fully working device gets slower over time, and why (or even if?) a complete reset would help?
 
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I'm seeing the exact same things. My Gnex seems like it's crawling these days vs. the great responsiveness it had when I bought it back on Day 1. I'm running a solid ROM (XenonHD) and have tried every ROM, kernel, and tweak I can find, but nothing seems to help.

Why is it that a factory reset (i.e. full wipe of system, data, and cache) before installing a ROM doesn't restore things to the way they were when new? It's still noticeably slower, even before installing a single extra app. The only difference is that I'm now running a much better (and theoretically faster) version of Android than the Gnex originally had, and I have a lot more files sitting in user storage. But wouldn't a phone be binary: it either works or it doesn't? What would cause it to become slower and more troublesome over time like this? As @breadnatty08 noted, my OG Droid was also showing these symptoms by the time I replaced it... it's not just the Gnex.

Some have suggested a complete "bare metal" reset. This would be a huge PITA, but I'd do it if I was convinced this would actually improve things. However, I just can't see how deleting all my user storage and recreating the bootloader and recovery partitions would improve performance/stability. Once the phone has booted into the ROM, the bootloader is out of the picture - and the recovery doesn't even enter into the equation for regular operation.

What am i missing here? Can someone help me understand why a fully working device gets slower over time, and why (or even if?) a complete reset would help?

When you flash a new ROM, are you letting the phone settle for a day or two before restoring your apps?
 
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I "solved" the battery issue with the hyperion extended battery. It's bulky but it does the job. I "solved" the sound issue with volume+. Okay, it's not great sound - in fact, it's a little louder crappy sound but it's loud enough. ANd through bluetooth, it's great sound. The speaker system in the phone is dismal.

Those are serious issues, yes, but not insurmountable. I wouldn't call the gnex a lemon by any stretch of the imagination. I WILL say there have been some of these devices not as well made as others and have had physical failure - other than that, I think this is a good design that could be redesigned into a magnificent one. I'm hoping for a nexus with a built in stylus. :D I figure if I put it out there, maybe someone will make it. Why not? You can tap and transfer photos for who knows what reason - maybe they'll make a nice stylus for those of us who like to draw and take notes. :)
 
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I "solved" the battery issue with the hyperion extended battery. It's bulky but it does the job. I "solved" the sound issue with volume+. Okay, it's not great sound - in fact, it's a little louder crappy sound but it's loud enough. ANd through bluetooth, it's great sound. The speaker system in the phone is dismal.

Those are serious issues, yes, but not insurmountable. I wouldn't call the gnex a lemon by any stretch of the imagination. I WILL say there have been some of these devices not as well made as others and have had physical failure - other than that, I think this is a good design that could be redesigned into a magnificent one. I'm hoping for a nexus with a built in stylus. :D I figure if I put it out there, maybe someone will make it. Why not? You can tap and transfer photos for who knows what reason - maybe they'll make a nice stylus for those of us who like to draw and take notes. :)


i will agree that the design is nice. I really liked the sleek look when the screen was off with no physical buttons.
 
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The weird thing about this device is that as far as the cdma versions went, they're was not much middle ground. It was either amazing or crap. Though those who had the gsm version seemed to be quite happy with it.

I had one that was great. Then it drowned in a tub of water so I got another (have a contract) - that was a crapola phone. Got another - its been great but the power button is wearing out and I don't understand it because it's not like I power on and off a whole lot. So it's time for number four.

I like my gnex. I know it and it works well for me. When I first got it I found nothing worked with it easily. Now it's working quite smoothly. True about the sudden reboots on occasion. I consider that small fry when I remember the freezes and issues I was having the first two months.
 
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I "solved" the sound issue with volume+. Okay, it's not great sound - in fact, it's a little louder crappy sound but it's loud enough. ANd through bluetooth, it's great sound. The speaker system in the phone is dismal.

When you say "solved" you mean, at the time it solved your problem but not anymore....right? since volume+ no longer works in jellybean....
 
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I had to go back to my iPhone for a few days (My Nexus 4 gets delivered today) because I humped up my GNex. I went to put my iPhone in the charger before I went to bed and looked down at it as saw the battery was 89%. The GNex would have been below 40%.

Of course it was. At the end of the day, your Pinto Wagon would still have 89% fuel left, while your Shelby GT 500 would be below 40%.
 
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The phone definitely has issues: Lousy battery life, terrible speaker, and the gps takes awhile to lock on.

But, I get around the problems: I have a charger at home, office, and in the truck. I use bluetooth on my headunit in my truck to get around the speaker problem for gps and i usually turn gps on a minute or so before i need to leave somewhere.

With that said, i still love my Nexus! I've had it since day 1 and i'm eligible for an update on August 15th. I'm honestly torn on what to upgrade to or stick with the Nexus on Verizon. For one, i'd be losing unlimited data and the bigger issue is, what do i upgrade to? I think the Moto X phone is going to blow and let everyone down...the only phone that really interests me is the Note 3...mainly for the screen size but i had having to more then likely give up the on screen buttons for Samsung's lame hardware keys and even crappier Touchwiz skin.
 
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Of course it was. At the end of the day, your Pinto Wagon would still have 89% fuel left, while your Shelby GT 500 would be below 40%.

Well, I have never been in a pinto, but I do tool around in a Shelby.... And the Gnex is no shelby... (G)
 

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What frustrates me most about my GNex is that it is really bad as just a phone. Dropped calls; extremely loud squaking noise; i can't hear people they can hear me, etc.

Never heard reports of problems like those. Perhaps you should look into getting a replacement. Mine never drops calls or makes weird noises, even in low signal areas.
 
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Never heard reports of problems like those. Perhaps you should look into getting a replacement. Mine never drops calls or makes weird noises, even in low signal areas.

you never heard reports of dropped calls???? those are everywhere. mine did it all the time...all 3 of mine that is. meaning a replacement didn't help.
 
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you never heard reports of dropped calls???? those are everywhere. mine did it all the time...all 3 of mine that is. meaning a replacement didn't help.

Yeah, I've heard of dropped calls on all phones on all networks. Dropped calls hasn't been a specific huge complaint of GN users.
Battery life - yes.
Lower signal strength relative to other phones - yes.
Issues switching between 3G/4G - yes.
One way audio / mic muting - yes.

Dropped calls - no. Not a top complaint.
 
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