Anyone upgrade from a Note 3?

Jaimi McEntire · Aug 29, 2016

I have a note 3, and it's still running OK. Each new release of the Note didn't seem to have any major new feature to make me want to upgrade. If you've upgraded from a Note 3 to a Note 7 - did you feel it was a worthwhile upgrade? If so, would you mind sharing why?

Thanks!

johnpjackson · Aug 29, 2016

I upgraded from a Note 3. I was soooo ready for a much better camera because I like taking pics of the kids/family at any old moment practically daily. Much better low light capabilities, and camera startup and picture taking is incredibly fast.

Also, today for the first time I used Samsung Pay, and I used it at a magnetic swipe card terminal. It worked like a charm. The clerk was doubtful it would work, and then was astonished when it did. I think Samsung was brilliant to build their solution to be able to work with legacy magnetic swipe card terminals, which are practically everywhere already, in addition to the up and coming NFC equipment.

Also, having 64GB of internal storage, UFS fast storage, compared with the Note 3's 32GB, is also a welcome upgrade. I have a 128GB microSD that was in the Note 3, but even so, just normal application storage consumption, with all the apps I'd come to have installed and wanted, was making that 32GB an ever tightening squeeze.

One more thing I'll mention. The IP68 dust and waterproofing. I gave up on keeping the proximity sensor in my Note 3 in working order. After just a few months of living in my pocket all the time, lint and such would work it's way inside the phone and obscure the sensor, making it inoperative. I took the phone apart several times to clean it out, but then I just gave up on it. Without the working proximity sensor, the phone would shut the screen down when I brought it up to my ear to speak on a phone call, but then never turn the screen back on when I took it away from my head, unless I pushed the home key. An annoyance. I'm also glad I no longer have to be concerned about the possibility of calamity if I ever did get the device wet somehow.

The fast charging mode is also noticeably helpful. It's faster enough that you really can tolerate much better the amount of wait time to get yourself charged back up to 100%. It's an hour or so, versus several hours.

I was really hoping for 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and a much bigger battery in the Note 7. While I didn't get those things, I still am pretty happy with what I did get, and will look forward to those other performance leaps forward on the next go around, hopefully.

Redeye · Aug 29, 2016

I also upgraded from a Note 3. Main reasons were:
- Note 3 was old
- Battery was getting "weird"
- Note 3's camera lens was cracked
- 5.5 to 5.7" screen (low vision)
- can write thicker with stylus for notes (low vision again)
- 64Gb for less concern filling up with apps
- Samsung pay
- Water and dust resistant
- much better camera, especially in low light
- wireless charging
- fingerprint reader

Is that enough?

yahootomi · Aug 29, 2016

5.5" to 5.7 ? Rly upgrade from note 3?

Deleted User · Aug 30, 2016

Glad some one started this discussion, I too am on a Note 3 (dinged up but working well). Holding on to it as long as I can for now as I want to pay cash and not use credit/billing at all.

Also waiting for the "unlocked" version as I don't want to play Verizon's game. Give me just the Samsung bloat and a phone that I can slip any SIM in I want (read: if I want to switch carriers I don't want to unlock the phone and deal with leftover bloat). Is this valid concern or am I going all conspiracy theory?

hawkeye680 · Aug 30, 2016

johnpjackson said:
I upgraded from a Note 3. I was soooo ready for a much better camera because I like taking pics of the kids/family at any old moment practically daily. Much better low light capabilities, and camera startup and picture taking is incredibly fast.

Also, today for the first time I used Samsung Pay, and I used it at a magnetic swipe card terminal. It worked like a charm. The clerk was doubtful it would work, and then was astonished when it did. I think Samsung was brilliant to build their solution to be able to work with legacy magnetic swipe card terminals, which are practically everywhere already, in addition to the up and coming NFC equipment.

Also, having 64GB of internal storage, UFS fast storage, compared with the Note 3's 32GB, is also a welcome upgrade. I have a 128GB microSD that was in the Note 3, but even so, just normal application storage consumption, with all the apps I'd come to have installed and wanted, was making that 32GB an ever tightening squeeze.

One more thing I'll mention. The IP68 dust and waterproofing. I gave up on keeping the proximity sensor in my Note 3 in working order. After just a few months of living in my pocket all the time, lint and such would work it's way inside the phone and obscure the sensor, making it inoperative. I took the phone apart several times to clean it out, but then I just gave up on it. Without the working proximity sensor, the phone would shut the screen down when I brought it up to my ear to speak on a phone call, but then never turn the screen back on when I took it away from my head, unless I pushed the home key. An annoyance. I'm also glad I no longer have to be concerned about the possibility of calamity if I ever did get the device wet somehow.

The fast charging mode is also noticeably helpful. It's faster enough that you really can tolerate much better the amount of wait time to get yourself charged back up to 100%. It's an hour or so, versus several hours.

I was really hoping for 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and a much bigger battery in the Note 7. While I didn't get those things, I still am pretty happy with what I did get, and will look forward to those other performance leaps forward on the next go around, hopefully.

Agreed with all of this. My camera was acting very strange and the prox sensor was doing the same.

So far, very impressed.

toptobottom · Aug 30, 2016

Jaimi McEntire said:
I have a note 3, and it's still running OK. Each new release of the Note didn't seem to have any major new feature to make me want to upgrade. If you've upgraded from a Note 3 to a Note 7 - did you feel it was a worthwhile upgrade? If so, would you mind sharing why?

Thanks!

I have a Note 3 which is still in excellent working and aesthetic condition. I am one to embrace new tech but there has to be a WOW factor there.

I went to Verizon to check out the Note 7. I spent around 30 minutes with it so I could give it a fair test drive. I feel that this is the best phone out there if you desire upgrading to a phone with advanced technology or your previous Note models are nearing the end of their useful life. However, truthfully, I did not see this phone giving me anything more regarding a beneficial upgrade. I'm not one to store a lot of crap on my phone as I make use of cloud and personal remote access drive storage. I do actually have a proprietary business App on my phone which I use very frequently. It includes taking lots of photos and occasional video but get uploaded to it's own cloud service after.

The Note 7 gives me no real reason to move up. I felt the same with the 4 & 5. I'm going with my gut and holding out for the Note 8 which may really be a true step up to something having WOW type tech advancements - 4k display for one! The financial aspect, even though it doesn't keep me from buying a new phone that's really worth getting, is an added bonus
to spend the $800.00 somewhere else this year. I look at my Note 3 as a hell of an investment because for $600.00 this phone will have given me 3+ years of return - the longest I've ever held on to one.

If the bug bites you, at least hold out until Black Friday for a discount if you purchase the phone outright. It'll be here before you know it and I've taken advantage of it through Verizon - but they're slick because they don't advertise it. Each year they have marked the S's or Note's down $100.00. Good luck making your decision. Go and try one out somewhere to see if you feel any different with it!

anusher said:
Glad some one started this discussion, I too am on a Note 3 (dinged up but working well). Holding on to it as long as I can for now as I want to pay cash and not use credit/billing at all.

Also waiting for the "unlocked" version as I don't want to play Verizon's game. Give me just the Samsung bloat and a phone that I can slip any SIM in I want (read: if I want to switch carriers I don't want to unlock the phone and deal with leftover bloat). Is this valid concern or am I going all conspiracy theory?

I don't believe Samsung 'Unlocked' versions have the Verizon CDMA bands - unless they start some new trend like Motorola did with their Moto X Pure Edition.

Deleted User · Aug 31, 2016

toptobottom said:
I don't believe Samsung 'Unlocked' versions have the Verizon CDMA bands - unless they start some new trend like Motorola did with their Moto X Pure Edition.

According to Samsung site the unlocked S7 Edge supports the bands/frequencies for all carriers (including Verizon's).

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/mobility/mobile-phones/SM-G935UZSAXAA

toptobottom · Sep 2, 2016

WOW anusher - thanks for this info! I thought that Motorola was the only pioneer to offer radio bands for all US carriers with release of their Moto X Pure Edition. This is the 1st time I'm hearing the 'Unlocked' Samsung does as well. Why don't they market this fact so those who want circumvent the bloatware can now have that choice?

Although I'm glad I didn't hop on the Note 7 bandwagon and purchase a firestarter!

divinity83 · Sep 2, 2016

I upgraded from a Note 3 and I'm very happy I did. I like that I can unlock my phone with my fingerprint or via iris scanner. I wanted to get a Gear VR (which I did). I wanted Samsung Pay. Some Snapchat features (like the voice changer) didn't work on my Note 3. Minor complaint, but it annoyed me. The camera on my Note 3 was embarrassing. When I went to NYC with my mom, a stranger offered to take our picture with my phone. After seeing the stranger's picture with her husband (using an iPhone) vs the picture she took with my phone, I wanted to hang my head in shame. I like that the Note 7 feels narrower because I have small hands. It's much more comfortable and easy to hold. The screen gorgeous. I got a free Gear Fit with the purchase. Wireless fast charging.

That's all I can think of right now, but, YES it was worth upgrading to me.

recDNA · Sep 4, 2016

Jaimi McEntire said:
I have a note 3, and it's still running OK. Each new release of the Note didn't seem to have any major new feature to make me want to upgrade. If you've upgraded from a Note 3 to a Note 7 - did you feel it was a worthwhile upgrade? If so, would you mind sharing why?

Thanks!

Back on my Note 3 again. I missed ir blaster and mhl hdmi out anyway. Got the wireless charging back so don't really miss my N7...but it was pretty.

recDNA · Sep 4, 2016

anusher said:
According to Samsung site the unlocked S7 Edge supports the bands/frequencies for all carriers (including Verizon's).

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/mobility/mobile-phones/SM-G935UZSAXAA

But you still miss out on some vzw features. Was advanced calling one? I forget

Jaimi McEntire · Sep 12, 2016

Yeah, now that they're not available, My Note3 decides that going through the wash cycle was a good idea. Now I'm phone-less, Note 7's are nowhere to be found, and even if I could find one, they run the chance of blowing up and catching your car on fire.

Teegunn · Sep 12, 2016

I have had a Note 2, 3 and Dev edition N4. And now a Note 7. The N3 felt better in the hand than the taller N4. That being said, each phone was an upgrade from the previous version. I skipped the N5 because of no SD slot. The N7 is a huge upgrade from an N3 or N4 though. Not that the N3 or N4 are bad or that if I had to go back to my N4 (or even N3) it would be a huge deal, but the N7 is just that much nicer all the way around. The display is exceptionally better, except for the curved edges which I really don't like (would prefer a flat display option honestly). The waterproofing of the N7 is great. And the size to display ration of the N7 along with the ergonomics and in hand feel are by far the best of any phone ever, let alone just the Note line. 64gb internal memory is a dream as I always filled up the internal far too quickly no matter how much I put things on the SD card. The camera is significantly better on the N7 also - and I only use my phone for pictures, ditched cameras years ago.

If it were not for the battery issue, the N7 would be considered the best phone in the world right now (it still is but the battery issue is all we hear about). The inconvenience of having to go through the clustered mess of the recall process is where Samsung has failed bigtime. This is such a discombobulated mess that no one even has an answer about how to do a recall or swap. But the phone itself - stellar and I am extremely happy with it. I recommend upgrading once the new stock of N7's come out with the batter issue fixed.

recDNA · Sep 13, 2016

I upgraded from note 3 now back on note 3

Jaimi McEntire · Sep 22, 2016

I went ahead and bought a refurbished Note Edge on Ebay, figure I'll wait it out, maybe get a Note 8 next year.

Mikey J · Sep 25, 2016

My wife and I each had Note 3's for 3 years. We were very happy with them until we moved to Nevada, out in the toolies where Verizons signal is very weak. When my wife went inside her place of employment, her signal dropped down to ZERO and the phone would be searching for signal ALL DAY. That would run her battery down in less than 10 hours from 100 to dead. The fix was to go into AIRPLANE MODE unless she was on break and then go outside to call and txt me. We worked with that for the last 2 years. When the Note 5 came out, I was very unhappy with the fact that they did not have replaceable batteries, or expansion slots for SD cards, so we did not upgrade then. When the Note 7's came out sporting WATER PROOFING (kind of) expansion to 256gb, internal storage to 64gb, AND giving away a free $190 256gb card with pre-orders, I lost all ability to resist. Even with the recall and the 2 weeks of hell to get our 'green phones', we still feel it was 100% worth it. My wife can now talk on her new phone inside the building where she works. Sometimes on Verizon's signal, sometimes roaming. BUT always is able to get a good signal of some kind enough to talk. With the free cards installed and approx. 50 to 60 CD's worth of music installed, we still have 95% storage left. This might be the last phones we EVER NEED!!! 100% glad we stuck with the NOTE 7's through all the headaches. :cashdroid:

toptobottom · Sep 25, 2016

Mikey J said:
My wife can now talk on her new phone inside the building where she works. Sometimes on Verizon's signal, sometimes roaming. BUT always is able to get a good signal of some kind enough to talk.

Am I detecting an Oxymoron here?

If she can now text/talk on her cellphone at work, then how can she be working?

Mikey J · Sep 25, 2016

toptobottom said:
Am I detecting an Oxymoron here?

If she can now text/talk on her cellphone at work, then how can she be working?

I'll bet you're her boss and I'll bet I just got her in trouble.... :thinking:

Oooops...

10 hours a day, they do give her 3 breaks.

drexappeal · Sep 26, 2016

Jaimi McEntire said:
I have a note 3, and it's still running OK. Each new release of the Note didn't seem to have any major new feature to make me want to upgrade. If you've upgraded from a Note 3 to a Note 7 - did you feel it was a worthwhile upgrade? If so, would you mind sharing why?

Thanks!

I had a note 3 up until February, when I switched to T-mobile and had a Mate 8 to use. I held off on upgrading to another note series due to similar reasons, especially the increase in height and overall size without increasing screen size. Had the Note 5 had a micro sd slot, I could have upgraded since the note 5 seemed way more worthy an upgrade for me. The Note7, IMO, is a no brainer. It is by far the most comfortable of the Note series to hold and use. I absolutely loved the note 3, so it says a lot that I would call it a no brainer.

Anyone upgrade from a Note 3?

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