OnePlus unsatisfactory. Need something else, but what?

[codezer0]

In some ways, a continuation of this thread. Help - Upgrade or service loss deadline approaching

Preface:

After as long, simply, I'm very disappointed in my Nord N20. Battery life is still not anywhere near where it should be. This summer has already had me encounter a few too many times during my work day where the battery percentage is not only far too low, but where even when I can plug it in to charge, it actively refusing to get a full charge in.

Also, it having this frustrating behavior where it'll show me a full signal bar, but then an exclamation point in the icon. When this happens, I can't do anything data related at all. I sometimes even wonder if I can't get an incoming call when this happens. And it never corrects itself; I always have to reboot the thing in order to have a usable signal again.

I could maybe do more sleuthing to figure out what in the actual is going on, but I can't root it either. XDA can't be arsed to make a usable root method. Couple that with OnePlus also forcing system updates on me like this is still on contract (reminder: I bought this dumb thing retail and unlocked), I can't get it rooted and I can't fix the busted software either.

Side bar: why was XDA allowed to have a monopoly on who is allowed to root their phones or not? It's absurd that they are allowed to have root guides for pixels before they make it to store shelves but I can't get a root on a OnePlus or even a Samsung to save my literal life. But I digress...

T-Mobile itself just says I basically have to replace the phone; as even replacing the SIM twice over hasn't made a difference. Which... fine, I did buy the replacement plan at Best buy. The problem is...

What can I get instead, that would solve any of this? Would have to be from whatever is in stock with them, naturally. I can't really afford the downtime to wait for them to ship whatever to me.

 

[AugieTN]

Samsung?

 

[codezer0]

Samsung?

You'll have to be more specific.

What model(s) have:
Headphones jack
SD slot
Support for actual rooting?

Last I checked, Samsung actively chased away root functionality the same time they nuked replacement batteries, as of the S6. Conveniently before they made the explosive that is the Note 7.

 

[jhtalisman]

The newest Samsung phone that has a headphone jack and micro sd would be the A14 5g. Rooting is probably difficult at best. It came out in January 2023 and is available through T-Mobile.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

Options other than Samsung could be TCL or the REVVL line of phones that have those same features. Not sure if rooting is possible on any of them.

 

[codezer0]

The newest Samsung phone that has a headphone jack and micro sd would be the A14 5g. Rooting is probably difficult at best. It came out in January 2023 and is available through T-Mobile.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

Options other than Samsung could be TCL or the REVVL line of phones that have those same features. Not sure if rooting is possible on any of them.

From a cursory check of local inventory, the A14 isn't available at all, at Best buy, which is where I'd have to go to use the replacement plan.

At the moment, the options are slim as crap, as other than it's immediate successor (Nord n30), the only other options appear to be Motorola phones. And after my year of misery with the MXPE, I'm still not on speaking terms with scroto-rola.

 

[ocnbrze]

In some ways, a continuation of this thread. Help - Upgrade or service loss deadline approaching

Preface:

After as long, simply, I'm very disappointed in my Nord N20. Battery life is still not anywhere near where it should be. This summer has already had me encounter a few too many times during my work day where the battery percentage is not only far too low, but where even when I can plug it in to charge, it actively refusing to get a full charge in.

Also, it having this frustrating behavior where it'll show me a full signal bar, but then an exclamation point in the icon. When this happens, I can't do anything data related at all. I sometimes even wonder if I can't get an incoming call when this happens. And it never corrects itself; I always have to reboot the thing in order to have a usable signal again.

I could maybe do more sleuthing to figure out what in the actual is going on, but I can't root it either. XDA can't be arsed to make a usable root method. Couple that with OnePlus also forcing system updates on me like this is still on contract (reminder: I bought this dumb thing retail and unlocked), I can't get it rooted and I can't fix the busted software either.

Side bar: why was XDA allowed to have a monopoly on who is allowed to root their phones or not? It's absurd that they are allowed to have root guides for pixels before they make it to store shelves but I can't get a root on a OnePlus or even a Samsung to save my literal life. But I digress...

T-Mobile itself just says I basically have to replace the phone; as even replacing the SIM twice over hasn't made a difference. Which... fine, I did buy the replacement plan at Best buy. The problem is...

What can I get instead, that would solve any of this? Would have to be from whatever is in stock with them, naturally. I can't really afford the downtime to wait for them to ship whatever to me.

ok couple of things:
1. what is your budget?
2. what do you plan to do with the phone? play games? stream? internet? or just basic phone stuff....calling, texting and emails?
3. what size are you looking for? do you want a big screen? or small? or does not matter?
4. any brands you are particular with? samsung? lg? others?
have you used Phone Finder - search for a phone by feature - GSMArena.com ? it is a good way to search for phones. especially if you have certain features you are looking for.

and on your side bar. XDA has no monopoly on rooting. rooting is determined by the manufacturer by having either a locked or unlocked bootloader. if it is locked then it is up to a developer (hopefully one that is a member of XDA that can find an exploit to bypass the boatloader lock). but i would not say that it is up to XDA to produce root methods for every phone.

 

[mikedt]

From a cursory check of local inventory, the A14 isn't available at all, at Best buy, which is where I'd have to go to use the replacement plan.

So what phones do you have avalilable at Best Buy and this "replacement plan". And if they don't have anything that fits your specific requirements you'll need to look elsewhere, or you just make do with what they've got.

 

[AugieTN]

Doesn't like One Plus, Samsung, Motorola. What's left? Pixel? Doesn't fit the requirements listed. I just looked at Best Buy. There's nothing that Codezer0 will be happy with

 

[codezer0]

Doesn't like One Plus, Samsung, Motorola. What's left? Pixel? Doesn't fit the requirements listed. I just looked at Best Buy. There's nothing that Codezer0 will be happy with

Well, maybe if the fairphone 4 was actually sold here. Oh, wait, the maker of it refuses to sell to the States. Despite having a compatible radio and a design that hard promotes repairability to warrant investing in it. If it were a phone that I could easily replace the battery, or better, upgrade to an extended capacity model, I would not object to investing (paying more) to have something that would actually last. I dont know why I cant get a fairphone 4, and at the moment it doesnt matter if they wont even offer it here.

Samsung used to be the go to, back with the S3. The nail in the coffin, bluntly, is the Note 7 and how they chose to address that fiasco. Even if they'd definitively remedied the source of that mess, I can't root any american model I can get, and even if I find a means of importing an international model that can be rooted, none have the bands to work with any of the carriers here.

OnePlus disappointed me before with their stupid marketing claiming "never settle" only to immediately conform and settle by their second iteration. This n20, despite being six years newer hardware than my lg v20, is demonstrably slower. That kind of result would never be allowed in the context of a desktop or notebook pc. People would lose their goddamn minds if a 12th gen i3 was at all slower than a 6th gen anything. Why is it then acceptable in phones?

Since it would literally take the eu to demand removable batteries again, and I have to deal with the misery of sharing a market with office rats who can drop four digits on a phone every month without so much as blinking or thinking twice, I then have to deal with this misery. I made a point to keep my v20 alive as long as possible in protest. But what am I supposed to do, when I cant even make or receive calls or messages anymore because of carrier ****ery?

So, ive resolved to spend as little as possible on a phone. And so far the EU ruling is about the closest ive had to a glimmer of hope since this mess began.

Case in point, this n20 was $300 + taxes + cost of the best buy plan, which amounted to $420 out the door. At this tier of price, ive been told that geek squad wouldn't even bother repairing it and just offer to replace the thing. At worst case, that would mean a $300 credit, minus 15% restocking fee. Given the signal issue and the carrier itself saying its a fault with the phone, I *hope* I dont get smacked with the restock fee, but I would rather just be prepared to deal with it and assume I would be. In a better case, I would have the $300+tax as a credit to get something else.

As to why root matters? Simple. I hate ads with a passion. The only measures that enable comprehensive ad blocking require root privileges. Even now, with YouTube and twitch in particular, the stock apps are nigh unusable because of the ads. Yes, I have tried newpipe and skytube; they both have faults. Newpipe wont use sponsorblock at all. Skytube, to me, won't play in the background at all. And neither will let me comment, like a video, or let me see content from channels I watch but not actively subscribed to. Nobody will even make a third party twitch app. And revanced? Well, the builder on desktop wont let me make a working APK anymore. The builder APK, on a non rooter phone, is even less than useless. It wont let you install the (re)packed APK, and wont even let me find the finished build on the phone to install myself. The only way for that to work as intended, is on a rooted phone.

 

[jhtalisman]

Well, maybe if the fairphone 4 was actually sold here. Oh, wait, the maker of it refuses to sell to the States. Despite having a compatible radio and a design that hard promotes repairability to warrant investing in it. If it were a phone that I could easily replace the battery, or better, upgrade to an extended capacity model, I would not object to investing (paying more) to have something that would actually last. I dont know why I cant get a fairphone 4, and at the moment it doesnt matter if they wont even offer it here.

Samsung used to be the go to, back with the S3. The nail in the coffin, bluntly, is the Note 7 and how they chose to address that fiasco. Even if they'd definitively remedied the source of that mess, I can't root any american model I can get, and even if I find a means of importing an international model that can be rooted, none have the bands to work with any of the carriers here.

OnePlus disappointed me before with their stupid marketing claiming "never settle" only to immediately conform and settle by their second iteration. This n20, despite being six years newer hardware than my lg v20, is demonstrably slower. That kind of result would never be allowed in the context of a desktop or notebook pc. People would lose their goddamn minds if a 12th gen i3 was at all slower than a 6th gen anything. Why is it then acceptable in phones?

Since it would literally take the eu to demand removable batteries again, and I have to deal with the misery of sharing a market with office rats who can drop four digits on a phone every month without so much as blinking or thinking twice, I then have to deal with this misery. I made a point to keep my v20 alive as long as possible in protest. But what am I supposed to do, when I cant even make or receive calls or messages anymore because of carrier ****ery?

So, ive resolved to spend as little as possible on a phone. And so far the EU ruling is about the closest ive had to a glimmer of hope since this mess began.

Case in point, this n20 was $300 + taxes + cost of the best buy plan, which amounted to $420 out the door. At this tier of price, ive been told that geek squad wouldn't even bother repairing it and just offer to replace the thing. At worst case, that would mean a $300 credit, minus 15% restocking fee. Given the signal issue and the carrier itself saying its a fault with the phone, I *hope* I dont get smacked with the restock fee, but I would rather just be prepared to deal with it and assume I would be. In a better case, I would have the $300+tax as a credit to get something else.

As to why root matters? Simple. I hate ads with a passion. The only measures that enable comprehensive ad blocking require root privileges. Even now, with YouTube and twitch in particular, the stock apps are nigh unusable because of the ads. Yes, I have tried newpipe and skytube; they both have faults. Newpipe wont use sponsorblock at all. Skytube, to me, won't play in the background at all. And neither will let me comment, like a video, or let me see content from channels I watch but not actively subscribed to. Nobody will even make a third party twitch app. And revanced? Well, the builder on desktop wont let me make a working APK anymore. The builder APK, on a non rooter phone, is even less than useless. It wont let you install the (re)packed APK, and wont even let me find the finished build on the phone to install myself. The only way for that to work as intended, is on a rooted phone.

The Fairphone 5 was just released and is available on Amazon. Fairphone 5 5G (GSM Unlocked, International Version) 256GB + 8GB RAM - Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM) Android 13 Smartphone (Matte Black) Amazon.com

 

[codezer0]

The Fairphone 5 was just released and is available on Amazon. Fairphone 5 5G (GSM Unlocked, International Version) 256GB + 8GB RAM - Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM) Android 13 Smartphone (Matte Black) Amazon.com

Interesting...

Not really here yet, in the States. A quick look showing two of the three sellers are in the UK. But it is at least letting me be able to select it where it flat out just teases me on the 4.

I see it keeps the removable battery; and they have a transparent edition?

Suddenly, I find myself wanting to save up for that beast.

 

[nickdalzell]

Fairphone ditched the headphone jack as well I'm afraid. You and me are in the same boat only that i lived with what little unique remains, that being a Z Flip 4 that I made look and run like an Android 2.3 device. it's missing the things i want but they don't care about choice, only the illusion of choice. where I am everyone is the same, nobody makes a phone with a removable battery or headphone jack unless it's pure garbage. The worst part is I was ok with clinging to obsolete phones that still did the things i asked them for, but then all the carriers gave me a solid 'frell you' by shutting 3G down, without giving people a vote. i'm so sick of living in a society I don't fit into anymore.. i want companies to listen to the market and not manipulate it. i want the free market back. i want variety not homogenization. we haven't had an interesting phone or tablet since 2014. The most feature-rich smartphone ever made was the Samsung Galaxy S5. I'm still waiting for a true successor that does far more, but seem to get just boring devices with features removed but selling for more than they are worth. Like it or not, my Z Flip 4 has been done before, by a far more interesting phone in 2012 known as the Kyocera Echo, sad it no longer works or I would have bought it.

It's like this with all things. Everything made just feels and looks cheap, bland, is made in China which i despise, and is made to be trashed in a year or two. Nothing has character anymore. i mean sure I can find a great number of vintage items and basially turned my home into a mix of the 1950s and early 2010, and at work I amassed a ton of vintage tools, all-metal power tools as well all from the '50s and '60s, but I cannot for the life of me find, say, a '78 Lincoln or a '79 Imperial to save my life, only cars available are the same boring plastic filled garbage that's left since Cash for Clunkers happened. nothing here sold used is older than 1999. I would happily throw down $2995 on a Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. If it existed still.

 

[codezer0]

At this point in time, then, need to figure out what I cab maybe swap this OnePlus for.

But as far as another phone altogether, *if* I can root the fairphone I would have a lot more boxes ticked. I'm almost willing to deal with just getting a dongle that gives me the headphone jack and a charging port, if it means the Fairphone can still let me replace the battery, swap in a higher capacity one and so on.

Trying not to build up false hope, but its the first phone since the v20 that I felt could actually be a winner.

 

[nickdalzell]

You would love that dongle until it bent or worse, snapped off in the USB-C port in just the perfect way that no tool could get the remnants out. The beauty of 3.5mm is that it had built-in strain relief, in that it could spin around without bending or breaking off in a pocket, or me having to forget to charge the buds case and now have no music for the hike I had planned.

Why can't anyone make something that feels like an upgrade anymore? All they had to do was keep the same pace they had in late 2012 but then Apple had to make IOS 7 and everything went downhill since. I ask you, where is the actual 'upgrade?' nobody cares about specs when everyone uses the smartphone for the same tasks they did in 2010, anyway. When the only incentive for people to upgrade is by cutting service to older devices instead of making a worthy upgrade, you've run out of ideas.