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Samsung Galaxy Note II (new flagship Android phone from Samsung)

Stock or at least stock based roms are the way to go. You can give cm a try, but it has been way too buggy for me to use it as a daily driver.

Plus you lose stuff like multiwindow.

Hmm, well, thanks for the heads-up.

I suppose I can still root it to get most of the apps I need. That may be sufficient.
 
My battery has been draining a lot faster than before lately (still lasts the whole day easily, but before I used sometimes go two days without charging). probably due to messaging apps I installed recently (like whatsapp and viber)
 
My battery has been draining a lot faster than before lately (still lasts the whole day easily, but before I used sometimes go two days without charging). probably due to messaging apps I installed recently (like whatsapp and viber)
I remember using the third party MSN messenger which drained my battery like crazy.
 

Ragus

Banned
This 10/10 phone made me sad a few days ago, as the battery cover started to be loose. It dropped down to 9/10. I have replaced it, and guess what- it's 10/10 again.
 

mackattk

Member
My battery has been draining a lot faster than before lately (still lasts the whole day easily, but before I used sometimes go two days without charging). probably due to messaging apps I installed recently (like whatsapp and viber)

I heard that there was a wakelocks issue with viber. That is probably the problem.
 
Thanks to the great info in this thread, I've been able to root my Note II today, adjust the DPI, and several other things. My only major annoyance is that I can't seem to disable the Quick Settings buttons when I pull down the Navigation Bar. Has anyone found a way to get rid of them completely while still sticking with the stock ROM?
 
Is there a way to stimulate what changing the DPI would look like? Maybe just viewing screenshots captured at different DPIs on my phone?

I haven't rooted mine but I keep hearing about the DPI thing and I'm curious what it looks like and if I'd like to change it.
 

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
Default 320dpi:

rAhOCl2.png

240dpi:


Changing dpi breaks a few Samsung apps including the launcher and the keyboard, but I use Apex and Swype so that is no skin off my ass.
 
Default 320dpi:


240dpi:


Changing dpi breaks a few Samsung apps including the launcher and the keyboard, but I use Apex and Swype so that is no skin off my ass.

Thanks, but I was hoping to see how the home screen, menus, etc. look like... fitting more text on a web page doesn't really interest me.

I'm already using Nova and Swype.

By the way why are you using the NeoGAF Light Theme on a phone with an AMOLED screen? That's a lot of unnecessarily wasted battery life, plus I think it looks a lot better in black (the contrast looks more striking), also easier on the eyes late at night/in bed.
 
Thanks, but I was hoping to see how the home screen, menus, etc. look like... fitting more text on a web page doesn't really interest me.

I'm already using Nova and Swype.

By the way why are you using the NeoGAF Light Theme on a phone with an AMOLED screen? That's a lot of unnecessarily wasted battery life, plus I think it looks a lot better in black (the contrast looks more striking), also easier on the eyes late at night/in bed.

Here. Try this.



 
Yeah I don't really see a compelling reason for me to switch. Maybe I'm getting old with deteriorating vision, cause making text that small seems like it would be an inconvenience for me.

Thanks again! At least I've scratched that out of my curiosity list.
 

Ragus

Banned
Trust us man, do it. Also, you can always go back if you want to, but you really will not. When I changed back to 320 for a moment, I was laughing my ass off, as it looked so terrible. So much wasted space.

Try it ;).
 
There are rumours that the Note 2 is jumping directly to 4.3?

In other news, my Note 2 has reached the shop which can fix it. Costing me $150 but there is nothing else I can do but pay out of pocket. Have been using a Nexus 4 but am missing the larger screen.
 
Just got my Pioneer AppRadio 3 installed, and the MirrorLink won't work unless I revert to the stock resolution. Trying out some alternate software to see if I can get around that.
 

RdN

Member
Damn, I just saw the news that Samsung will be skipping 4.2.2 for us. So I guess it's pretty sure that will only see this update after the Note III hits, which means more 4-5 months of waiting.

Sigh.. Going an year without an update for a flagship device is VERY disappointing.
 

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
Damn, I just saw the news that Samsung will be skipping 4.2.2 for us. So I guess it's pretty sure that will only see this update after the Note III hits, which means more 4-5 months of waiting.

Sigh.. Going an year without an update for a flagship device is VERY disappointing.


What part of 4.2.2 are you really missing? Lockscreen widgets are fairly lame imo, and that is the biggest feature.
 

KillGore

Member
So the bottom buttons on my phone (menu, home and back) don't work anymore, must have been by a fall (or two) it got. Now my question is, is there a launcher I can download that has the virtual buttons on the bottom, kind of like the stock android OS? Thanks guys.
 
Just got my black Urban Armor Gear case this morning, and it's fantastic. Doesn't make it too much larger, and seems rather sturdy and reliable.
 

RdN

Member
What part of 4.2.2 are you really missing? Lockscreen widgets are fairly lame imo, and that is the biggest feature.

I'd like to have lockscreen widgets, but also the bug fixes and performance improvements. Anyway, that ship has sailed.

On other news, I've been getting increased freezing on my device.. Some of which require me to pull the battery. I do have the "Insane Chip", directly linked to the Sudden Death Syndrome. Even though Samsung "patched" the issue with 4.1.2, I used the the device on 4.1.1 for about 5 months, so there's already some damage. I just hope those freezes don't get worse.
 

Salamndar

Member
My battery has been draining a lot faster than before lately (still lasts the whole day easily, but before I used sometimes go two days without charging). probably due to messaging apps I installed recently (like whatsapp and viber)

Happens to me on all my Samsung devices, it is the firmware that you use.

Some manages battery better than other firmwares.
 

GutsOfThor

Member
Are you sure that's a legit Note 2 and not a clone? If it's legit, that's a huge steal. Note 3 won't be a significant upgrade.

They're on sale for $130 at Costco but with a $30 activation fee.

I've heard that the Note 3 won't be that much of an upgrade as well.
 
So I can get the Note 2 this weekend for $165 but I don't know if I should wait for the Note 3 or not. What say you Gaf?

$130 is a great deal, Note 3 will probably be $299 at launch. if you're not in a rush and have the cash, why not wait a couple of months? Note 2 is still an awesome choice though!
 
If the Note 3 uses the revised Exynos 5 Octa which has the bug fixed, it will have monster specs.

However, my Note II already runs just fine for me and I don't see myself upgrading to the Note 3 unless magic happens and game developers all flock to Android. Because really the super-GPUs they are putting into the 2013 Android devices are all there to look good for benchmarks and otherwise go to waste because there aren't any Android games which really push the graphics envelope.

I'm honestly more interested in upgrading my tablet in 2013, the new crop of 10" tablets with 2560x1600 screens should be coming along late this year (Asus Transformer Pad Infinity refresh, Nexus 10 refresh, Amazon Kindle HD refresh) and if they are all packing Cortex-A15 or Snapdragon 800 at high clock rates, I'll finally realize my dream of playing back 10-bit H.264 1080p mkvs on my tablet.
 
If the Note 3 uses the revised Exynos 5 Octa which has the bug fixed, it will have monster specs.

However, my Note II already runs just fine for me and I don't see myself upgrading to the Note 3 unless magic happens and game developers all flock to Android. Because really the super-GPUs they are putting into the 2013 Android devices are all there to look good for benchmarks and otherwise go to waste because there aren't any Android games which really push the graphics envelope.

I'm honestly more interested in upgrading my tablet in 2013, the new crop of 10" tablets with 2560x1600 screens should be coming along late this year (Asus Transformer Pad Infinity refresh, Nexus 10 refresh, Amazon Kindle HD refresh) and if they are all packing Cortex-A15 or Snapdragon 800 at high clock rates, I'll finally realize my dream of playing back 10-bit H.264 1080p mkvs on my tablet.
#waitingfor4
 
So my phone started freezing/shutting off a few weeks ago. I did a few quick searches, checked for the "Insane chip", and I don't have it.

Basically, whenever the phone goes into "sleep" mode, it can't wake up without taking out the battery and restarting. It's driving me up the fucking wall. Is there any fix on the horizon other than sending the phone to Samsung and hoping for the best?

I've actually managed to circumvent the problem by leaving my music player on (with no volume) all day, which at least allows me to turn the screen off without locking up the phone.
 
For some reason the battery life on my Note 2 seems to be much worse than what I remember.
I am struggling for 24 hours of life.

there are wakelock issues that have cropped up in the newest android build, it happened to me too - the wakelocks just suddenly start happening and the only way to kill the them are to power down, and pull the battery - but the problem eventually comes back.

The culprit is "mdm_hsic_pm0". It seems to be related to how strong your cellular signal is, the weaker it is the more this process will keep your phone awake. Some think its related to fast dormancy, which can be disabled (but you prob dont want to do that if your network supports it).

install a program like Better Battery Stats to see which processes are consuming the most energy. On a good day, i'll have around 2.8% consumption per hour with normal usage. On a bad day, it will be in the 6% - 7% range.

The problem is affecting me today too with that process having used 18.7% of my battery in about 2 hours of total awake time. There's a lot of chatter about it on various android forums, but no fix that I have been able to find.
 
Anyone know if it's possible to use USB headphones with my note 2? I know there are USB to 3.55mm jack converters out there, but do they work on the note2?
 
It's there an app I can use to reduce the screen brightness lower than what the stock Rom allows? Even on the lowest setting I find it too bright sometimes (like in a dark room, in bed).
 

EvetS

Member
It's there an app I can use to reduce the screen brightness lower than what the stock Rom allows? Even on the lowest setting I find it too bright sometimes (like in a dark room, in bed).

Velis auto brightness and YAAB both have a super dim mode in the options to further lower the min brightness.

Or there's a screen filter app that does the same thing manually (without hooking into the auto brightness settings).
 
I have a Galaxy Nexus. Do I get this phone, wait for Note 3, or Nexus 5?
Edit - On Verizon

I went from VZW Galaxy Nexus to a used Note II about a month ago, and love it. If you want a phone right now, go ahead and get it, but if you can wait 3, 4, 5 (?) months, it may be wise to wait for the Note III.
 
The latest CyanogenMod Nightly that came out last night for the Note II is based on Android 4.3, and runs great so far. Only frustration is there's still that rogue blue line at the top of the phone app when you're viewing History or Favorites.
 
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