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[FulciLives]

I see this forum doesn't have much here so I thought I'd add this thread.

I just got the Samsung Exhibit II 4G as a Christmas present. I got the "no contract" model which I bought from Amazon.com and I registered it with T-Mobile and I'm on the $60 plan (seems like the bang for your buck plan if you want unlimited calling minutes and at least some decent internet speed).

I did a lot of research before buying this phone. So far I've been very happy with my purchase.

I originally had the Ascend (the first model) on cricKet and this was my first smartphone and my first Android. It got me hooked on Android devices but that phone was slow and laggy as all hell (even though I tried a couple of different custom ROM's on it).

Anyway if you have a Samsung Exhibit II 4G then please say "Hi" and let's get some 'action' rolling on this here forum!

 

[surgerush]

I got my Exhibit II about 2 months ago from Walmart. My first smart phone was the LG Optimus V, which I had less than a month before getting my Exhibit II. I also have the no contract, but I'm using the $30 a month plan. I may go over the 100 minute plan by 10 minutes or so, but at .10 a minute, I can handle an extra $10 a month.

I have no rooted my phone YET. I am still a little too worried about screwing something up since I've never done it before. I will definitely be doing it sooner or later, there are some small things that bug me about the phone that I'm sure would be solved by rooting it. So it's just a matter of time before I just say screw it and do it.

But yeah, I do love this phone, I'm not going to say I wouldn't rather have a Galaxy S II or a Nexus or what not, lol, but for the money, I am very happy with this phone.

 

[djthebogan]

I have been wanting this phone for a while. I currently have an optimus v, rooted and with a custom rom, and it is a great phone, but I'm ready for something with a bigger screen and more power. But this phone is steady at 200bux and I have seen 2nd hand LG g2x, galaxy s, and HTC sensation for around the same price. Id rather buy a phone new, but With the lack of development for this phone I'm leaning towards the others. Does anyone know if u can use a simple mobile sim card in this phone without needing to unlock it? I've heard other phones capable of this since they are part of the same network.

 

[JaeWeb]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this forum to be created for this phone for awhile now! I'm Jae and I've had this phone for about a month. I love it! Best phone for the price and Skype on it quite a bit with my best friend from Deutschland

I have the $60/mo plan. Best value and much cheaper than a contract plan. I will never sign a contract again!

 

[surgerush]

Happy new year!

 

[FulciLives]

Does anyone know if u can use a simple mobile sim card in this phone without needing to unlock it? I've heard other phones capable of this since they are part of the same network.

Sorry but I don't know the answer to this ... why not make a thread on the forum asking this question? Maybe someone will know and making it a thread will give it the exposure it needs for someone to answer it.

Glad to see some activity on this forum!

 

[hotsauce126]

I've also got this phone w/ no contract, had it for about 3 weeks
it works great with the $30/ month plan from T-mobile because I just use groove ip for people that I talk to the most, which I've no problems with on either wifi or 4g
I love it so far, my only complaint is it can be slow (especially with the touchwiz launcher) out of the wake

 

[warpigs]

Love the phone so far.

 

[Mitchell99]

I have had this phone since it's launch and it's been great. Coming from Virgin Mobile and the OV, this phone and the Tmo network are a huge upgrade. Hope there are some customs roms soon to take care if some of the lag and get it overclocked.

 

[surgerush]

I have had this phone since it's launch and it's been great. Coming from Virgin Mobile and the OV, this phone and the Tmo network are a huge upgrade. Hope there are some customs roms soon to take care if some of the lag and get it overclocked.

I think that's what I'll be waiting for to root it. A nice custom rom. Then I'll seriously look into rooting it. I'm still too worried now, but truthfully, I'm starting to get bored, so I see me rooting it very shortly in the future, just for more stuff to play with.

 

[drfreeman]

I have came over from my Optimus V. I love the phone! Works a lot more smoothly than the Op. V and it runs MUCH faster. I'm on the $30 a month plan as well as many people I'm sure.

Though that's not to say I haven't had my share of problems. I have noticed that there is a problem with the Messaging App. It always will say that the Message had failed to send. I have contacted T-Mobile, as I thought originally it was a problem with my specific phone, but I was informed that a lot of phones are like this (most likely all of them) and that T-Mobile and Samsung were working to fix it.

It apparently is a software issue since people have downloaded 3rd party SMS applications such as Go SMS Pro and have reported it working without the problems faced with the standard application.

My phone also froze on me the first day at the Goodbye! screen during the shutdown process (required a battery pull to turn the device back on). But afterwards, everything seems to be ok as of now. Its a great phone besides the minor setbacks. but hopefully that's all being addressed!

I would love to see development start around this phone! Especially given the price point and the no contract plan that people can get will certainly attract a lot of people! I'm a proud user of a Samsung Exhibit II 4G!

 

[FulciLives]

I've had texts that I've tried to send not go through. Doesn't happen every time. When it does I just long press on the text bubble and it gives me the option to resend. It then has always worked. Still a bit annoying to have to do that at times.

I've also had my phone lock up a few times. I've only had it since the 24th of December and it's now the 4th of January and I've had to pull the battery (due to it locking up) at least 3 or 4 times now.

I still am happy with the phone. Huge upgrade from my last one.

 

[drfreeman]

I've had texts that I've tried to send not go through. Doesn't happen every time. When it does I just long press on the text bubble and it gives me the option to resend. It then has always worked. Still a bit annoying to have to do that at times.

I've also had my phone lock up a few times. I've only had it since the 24th of December and it's now the 4th of January and I've had to pull the battery (due to it locking up) at least 3 or 4 times now.

I still am happy with the phone. Huge upgrade from my last one.

Yes I agree. And thankfully, T-Mobile and Samsung are working on a update for this phone. Hopefully it will fix the problems! maybe we will even get ICS!!! o.o

 

[surgerush]

I have the exact same problem with my text messages not going through and it does drive me nuts, I forgot all about that except for when it's happening. Although just long pressing and hitting resend usually doesn't work for me, I have to long press, copy the message, and paste it then resend it. I will DEFINITELY be trying a 3rd party messaging app now that you said it might fix the problem, because it really is something that drives me nuts when it happens.

I have also had my phone lock or freeze up at times, not often enough that it bothers me, and usually only after I've had the phone on for quite a few days without a restart, not something that bugs me too much especially since the upgrade from my OV was so big, I love the phone no matter how many little flaws it has.

Also instead of taking the battery out if you freeze up, if you just hold in the power button for several seconds, it will restart the phone.

 

[sirphilk]

Hi everyone.
I picked up this phone at Walmart as well (in November). since then I have rooted it and removed a lot of the bloatware that slowed it down. I'm on Even More Plus Plan with no contract and 700 minutes (shared with my wife) and 5GB web and unlimited text. I use Groove IP as well as Netflix, Skype (to video chat with my daughter who is currently in Japan), and Orb Live and Playon (to stream video from my home computers). I use TuneIn Radio to stream radio stations (even though the phone apparently has a built in FM tuner, there is no software to use it.) To remove bloatware and freeze unwanted apps I use Titanium Backup Pro. And to keep the phone running smoothly I use RAM Manager Pro. This phone replaced my Motorola Defy which had a non working earpiece (had to use speakerphone all the time). My wife now has the same phone and it was a big upgrade for her (from a G1). I too experiance the text messaging glitch on a regular basis, and I cannot figure out what causes it (although large
messages are more likely to end with an error). But GTalk works awesome.
Well, that's my overly wordy introduction. Glad to see a forum for us Exhibit II users.

 

[olc]

I started the New Year by picking up my first smartphone, the Walmart Exhibit II. It's become quite an experience being such a newbie to smartphones, much less android. t's starting to make at least a bit of sense. It looks like quite a bargain for a 4G phone especially on the $30 plan with little talk but tons of data. I have been told to look at Groove IP to expand my talk time. I'd also like to learn how to use the phone as a hotspot for my wireless tablet without T-Mobile asking for more money. Most of the 5GB of data will be unused otherwise. I see much talk about that too,

Any tips for where to look to find good info on how to manage/manipulate this phone would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sirphilk]

I started the New Year by picking up my first smartphone, the Walmart Exhibit II. It's become quite an experience being such a newbie to smartphones, much less android. t's starting to make at least a bit of sense. It looks like quite a bargain for a 4G phone especially on the $30 plan with little talk but tons of data. I have been told to look at Groove IP to expand my talk time. I'd also like to learn how to use the phone as a hotspot for my wireless tablet without T-Mobile asking for more money. Most of the 5GB of data will be unused otherwise. I see much talk about that too,

Any tips for where to look to find good info on how to manage/manipulate this phone would be greatly appreciated.

The GrooveIP app is a fairly decent, but not great way of making calls without using minutes. However you must have a good 4G or WiFi signal for it to work decently. One thing no one seems to mention is that you need to make a call from your home computer using Google Voice before it will work on your phone.
As for the hotspot thing, the built in Kies air app works fine, and I've never seen any mention of a charge for using it even though I've used it quite a bit. The built in Qik Video Chat is pretty good, but Skype is more universal so you clan chat with others who only use a PC for video chat. However, Qik video doesn't play well with Skype, so you have to manually stop Qik before running Skype (Qik runs in the background from startup). As for resources, try searching for android tips and tricks first. Once you are comfortable with Android on your phone, I can share some of the more advanced sites (hacking, rooting, removal of unwanted stock apps).

 

[olc]

The GrooveIP app is a fairly decent, but not great way of making calls without using minutes. However you must have a good 4G or WiFi signal for it to work decently. One thing no one seems to mention is that you need to make a call from your home computer using Google Voice before it will work on your phone.
As for the hotspot thing, the built in Kies air app works fine, and I've never seen any mention of a charge for using it even though I've used it quite a bit. The built in Qik Video Chat is pretty good, but Skype is more universal so you clan chat with others who only use a PC for video chat. However, Qik video doesn't play well with Skype, so you have to manually stop Qik before running Skype (Qik runs in the background from startup). As for resources, try searching for android tips and tricks first. Once you are comfortable with Android on your phone, I can share some of the more advanced sites (hacking, rooting, removal of unwanted stock apps).

The call from the computer using Google Voice, should it be from Google Talk or the other phone (Home in my case)?

I did root the phone so I can clean up the bloatware. I don't see how to use KIES Air as a hotspot so I can connect a tablet or laptop to the 4G system and use my data plan for connect time. I am also looking at Skype because I uninstalled the Qik app. Since it's rooted, why not use the better app?

One thing I'd really like to see is a list of apps to NOT remove from the phone, that are essential to its functioning.

I am quickly becoming more comfortable with this phone an Android in general. I've only had is 6 days and have spent a lot of time with it. A smartphone is at least part toy isn't it ?

Today's episode is learning how to use Titanium Backup to back up and restore from Dropbox.

Thanks for your tips.

 

[sirphilk]

The call from the computer using Google Voice, should it be from Google Talk or the other phone (Home in my case)?

I did root the phone so I can clean up the bloatware. I don't see how to use KIES Air as a hotspot so I can connect a tablet or laptop to the 4G system and use my data plan for connect time. I am also looking at Skype because I uninstalled the Qik app. Since it's rooted, why not use the better app?

One thing I'd really like to see is a list of apps to NOT remove from the phone, that are essential to its functioning.

I am quickly becoming more comfortable with this phone an Android in general. I've only had is 6 days and have spent a lot of time with it. A smartphone is at least part toy isn't it ?

Today's episode is learning how to use Titanium Backup to back up and restore from Dropbox.

Thanks for your tips.

Google Voice (not Google Talk) on your computer first, if you don't then it won't work on the phone (you don't need or want Google Voice on your cell, GrooveIP replaces it, Google Voice on Cell actually uses minutes, Groove IP Does not). It took me a couple frustrating hours to figure that one out. If you don't have a Google Voice account set one up, and choose one of their free numbers they provide. Then make one call with the PC. Then use the login info on GrooveIP.

Backing up is a great idea. I have gotten myself out of trouble a couple times because of the backup. I don't have a list of what not to remove, but I have a list of what is safe to remove here:
[WIP]Samsung Exhibit II 4G Development - xda-developers
(not sure they allow urls here or not). I suggest using Titanium to freeze an app before deciding to completely remove it. That way if it has negative results you can just defrost it to get everything back. about Kies air, it seems after the last update they may have removed that feature since the last time I used it. Strange, since I still have the connection on my tablet configured. They won't let me remove any of the updates applied. I'll have to check and see if I have a backup with the feature still there (nope it's the same one). Oh well, now I have something to look for, I'll let you know what I find. <edit> Found it, in Titanium Backup Freeze "Tethering Manager". Once you do that you can go to settings, wireless and network, tethering and portable hotspot, click Portable Wifi Hotspot and set it up. Done!
Definitely a toy, and a media player. I tend to forget it's a phone (until I get a call in the middle of a movie).

 

[olc]

If you don't have a Google Voice account set one up, and choose one of their free numbers they provide. Then make one call with the PC. Then use the login info on GrooveIP.

I suggest using Titanium to freeze an app before deciding to completely remove it.

Found it, in Titanium Backup Freeze "Tethering Manager". Once you do that you can go to settings, wireless and network, tethering and portable hotspot, click Portable Wifi Hotspot and set it up. Done!

Definitely a toy, and a media player. I tend to forget it's a phone (until I get a call in the middle of a movie).

I did set up a Google Voice account and used it to call from the default phone (home land line) to my cell phone. I hope that will do it.

Freezing an app to test it is a great idea. Easy now that I upgraded to Pro. Someone at xdadevelopers suggested Wireless Tether for Root Users as a good app to use for the hotspot. I'm guessing it just does the setup stuff for you.

Apparently many manufacturers of these devices also forget it's a phone. Most smartphones have awful voice call quality, the Exhibit II being an exception. My friends with Galaxy S II and Galaxy Nexus are jealous of the Exhibit II voice performance.

I'm still in the process of learning to backup to Dropbox, and being sure I know how to restore, before diving into removing more apps. So far I haven't deleted anything you can't get back from the app market.

 

[sirphilk]

I did set up a Google Voice account and used it to call from the default phone (home land line) to my cell phone. I hope that will do it.

Freezing an app to test it is a great idea. Easy now that I upgraded to Pro. Someone at xdadevelopers suggested Wireless Tether for Root Users as a good app to use for the hotspot. I'm guessing it just does the setup stuff for you.

Apparently many manufacturers of these devices also forget it's a phone. Most smartphones have awful voice call quality, the Exhibit II being an exception. My friends with Galaxy S II and Galaxy Nexus are jealous of the Exhibit II voice performance.

I'm still in the process of learning to backup to Dropbox, and being sure I know how to restore, before diving into removing more apps. So far I haven't deleted anything you can't get back from the app market.

Using Google Voice from the landline won't do it, you have to make the call from a PC to unlock pc to phone calling which is used by GrooveIP to make calls. If you have already made such a call before, it's already activated. I got a brand new account just for GrooveIP, so mine was not activated until I made the PC to phone call.

Many phones do not even have the option to tether in the settings at all, which is the reason many people have to get an app to set it up (I had to on a couple of my phones in the past). However since it is included I would try that first, it's really easy to setup (choose a password, choose a SSID name - or just use the default, click ok).

As for backups, I just tell Titanium to backup all and it's done. However a nandroid backup would probably be a good idea as well, that's a bit trickier. Without a clockwork mod, I'm not even sure it's worth trying to figure out. Once they have one for our phone no problem though.

Call quality is great.. Only thing I would like to improve is the speakerphone quality, it's a bit buzzy for me. But really for $198 with no contract it's an awesome phone. Check EBay, they are selling them used for $250..

 

[sirphilk]

In case anyone else is interested, I finally found a Flashlight App that works with the Exhibit II. Search the market for Tiny Flashlight. It is the first one out of many that I've tried that actually turns on the LED. The developer also states it's fully compatible with the Exhibit II.

 

[johnvalentinet]

Just join and wanted to say hello. Work on a Samsung Exhibit for my grandson. I have use this forum for my tablets (Wonder Media 8650) and knew I would find useful information. Thanks for having me

 

[surgerush]

In case anyone else is interested, I finally found a Flashlight App that works with the Exhibit II. Search the market for Tiny Flashlight. It is the first one out of many that I've tried that actually turns on the LED. The developer also states it's fully compatible with the Exhibit II.

Lol, the developer actually let us know this about a month ago or so... I want to say in the Exhibit forum, don't remember for sure though.

 

[surgerush]

Just thought I'd mention that I downloaded gosms a few days ago and since then I haven't had any problems with my texts coming back failed. I'll update if I run into this problem again.


Edit: turns out this didn't work, same problems as before...