The Verizon Wireless Megathread: Tears for tiers

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The Verizon Wireless Megathread: Tears for tiers

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

IanCaw posted:

2.3.3 just pushed to my Droid X and it's totally awesome so far. I'm definitely seeing performance increases across the board, and I love the visual effects.

I noticed that in the settings menu, under Wireless and Networks, it DOES list USB tethering and Wifi Hotspot, seemingly independently of vzw's official 3G Mobile Hotspot program. I'm a neurotic guy, though, so if I start playing with those settings, will that run the real android tethering stuff, or will it only run the over-priced fees of vzw's custom tethering programs?

Turning it on won't cause you to auto-sign up or anything. It's just when you load a web page it will redirect you to their website with the list of plans.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2011 22:29

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 04:19

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Daspied posted:

Is there any way to get on the unlimited data plan? maybe through a reseller or there telephone, any ideas?

Find someone leaving Verizon who has unlimited data and do an assumption of liability on their account?

# ¿ Jul 9, 2011 18:39

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

jfreder posted:

Same thing happened to my Droid. I took it apart, put it back together and it worked fine after that. My roommate did the same thing but his never recovered.

How hard was it? I am debating trying to fix my headphone jack. Then again I have bluetooth headphones so it's not a big problem.

# ¿ Sep 3, 2011 23:46

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

What kind of display does the Bionic have? Is it pentile?

# ¿ Sep 8, 2011 01:57

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Codiusprime posted:

Sorry, what would you rather us discuss? Philosophy? Some politics maybe?

How about you shut up, and we will continue to discuss things that interest us. And once again, just because it doesn't bother you...

I found the pentile screen on my Fascinate to be less pentileish than the one on my X2. I wonder why that is? I mean, I wonder if it's just me.

It really depends on the pixels per inch (ppi) and at what distance the phone is from your eyes. A higher ppi display should mean that it's less noticeable. The Fascinate is 233 and the Bionic is 256.

Edit: It also depends on how good your eyesight is. The X2 is 228 ppi.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2011 02:37

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

I ran the numbers from the rumored Droid Prime specs (4.6 inches with a 720p) and it would be would be around 319. Which is pretty close to the iPhone 4.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2011 03:04

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

I went to a store and played with a Bionic. I really can't tell the difference with the pentile except for a little fuzziness if I move my eye really close.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2011 22:59

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

tismondo posted:

How is it that, other than DC's spillover, LTE is nowhere in Virginia?

Somehow the twelfth most populous state has found itself in the No-LTE club along with population boomers Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Wyoming, and Montana. Baffling.

The only area of Vermont that would really be possible for LTE is Burlington and the surrounding towns. Then you have to consider that the land use laws in Vermont are prohibitive to get if you want to put them on desirable places like the tops of mountains: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_250_(Vermont_law)

Edit: And lord knows if there is the backhaul. Although there are one or two local companies that are offering Gigabit Ethernet broadband in the state.

waffle iron fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Sep 21, 2011

# ¿ Sep 21, 2011 00:35

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

It's probably because the /cache partition is full.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2011 02:55

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Anyone have any idea when Verizon is going to start taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus? I've seen stories about a November 10 release, so maybe within a week?

# ¿ Oct 20, 2011 23:15

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

bull3964 posted:

Possibly never.

http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/android-news-rumors/9760-verizon-getting-galaxy-nexus.html

Rumor at this point is that Verizon is unhappy with the LTE performance of the device which is putting the Nov 10th release date in jeopardy. This could explain why they weren't announced as a carrier at the event.

BESIDES all that though. It's not a droid branded device or an iPhone so they probably aren't going to run pre-orders for it regardless. Verizon only pre-orders a very select group of devices.

They may not even acknowledge it's existence until a day before the release.

Arrrrrgh. I don't even live in an LTE area. If it came down to the silent release, would a friend who works at a corporate Verizon store be able to hold one for me?

# ¿ Oct 20, 2011 23:36

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

JayKay posted:

Has Verizon ever done the "web orders only" for a phone in the past?

There was one Android phone a year ago that was only available through indirect sales. I forget if it was also up for sale on verizon.com.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 22:48

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

chocolateTHUNDER posted:

I think that was the HTC Merge? It wasn't in corporate stores and was only available online or at 3rd party stores i'm pretty sure...

Yeah it was the HTC Merge. I think that was because it came to Verizon after US Cellular had it, so they were never going to promote it.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 00:21

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

bull3964 posted:

Cards greater than 32gb are going to require a different specification that just realy isn't widely supported right now. The best solution would be to have a phone with 32gb internal storage with an SD card slot, but there aren't any on the horizon right now.

Nope. SDHC and SDXC are exactly the same electronically, except SDHC was artificially capped at 32GB because Windows doesn't support creating FAT32 filesystems that large and FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB (thus not great for recording 1080P video of any length). Instead SDXC uses exFat, but it's entirely possible for Linux and other tools to format a 64GB or larger SDXC card.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2011 01:12

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

bull3964 posted:

Yes, but currently android phones format the SD card as FAT32 which makes them incompatible with SDXC.

Also, win98+ could format FAT32 partitions as large as 127GB and win2k could read partitions that large (it just couldn't create them.)

In order to change that, they are going to have to update Android to use a different file system for the SD card and educate people that they aren't going to be able to just pop them into a card reader on their computer.

I think it's far more likely that we see the manufacturers forgo the SD card slot and provide more internal memory.

I can guarantee you with 99% certainty that if you buy a 64 GB SDXC card and format it as FAT32, it will work with Android. Linux doesn't care about whether a SDXC card is technically to spec by using a specific filesystem. Linux just sees another block device. And furthermore there isn't any decent open source exFAT Linux file system driver.

A phone with a microSD card slot isn't like a camera with an SD card slot. You're not going to be swapping out cards on a phone more than once in a very long long time.

waffle iron fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Nov 11, 2011

# ¿ Nov 11, 2011 03:38

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Just had to call up Verizon's phone support because when I had them switch up my texting plans in June they added a 25MB Caribbean/Europe data plan at $30 a month and I didn't notice. Thank god they gave me a credit for the 3 some months.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2011 20:16

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

AppleCobbler posted:

http://phandroid.com/2011/11/18/hard-proof-that-the-samsung-galaxy-nexus-will-launch-december-8th-at-verizon/

Looks like its December 8th. Gives me time to sell the bionic.

BRB buying a murder simulator.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2011 04:45

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Cojawfee posted:

Also, the thing about the non replaceable battery, there have been times with my droid where I have to remove the battery. The phone might freeze up for no reason where the lock button won't lock it, or won't unlock it and the phone is just totally unresponsive. So I have to rip out the batter just to get my phone back. Shouldn't happen, but sometimes it does.

The original Droid can do a hard reboot by hitting Alt-Shift-Delete.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2011 02:28

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Mighty Horse posted:

Just got the call from corporate.

Nexus launches Friday.

Some websites have indicated a Thursday afternoon soft launch. Is that going to be more of a try and get lucky deal?

# ¿ Dec 7, 2011 01:16

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Mighty Horse posted:

Most stores will likely have them in stock on Thursday. You might be able to get a salesperson to sell you one.

I have a friend that works at the local corporate store. I sent him a message asking about it, but I haven't heard back yet.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2011 02:08

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

waffle iron posted:

I have a friend that works at the local corporate store. I sent him a message asking about it, but I haven't heard back yet.

Just heard back from my friend. He says they got a demo unit yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if it took his store a little longer than most considering where it's located compared to major shipping hubs.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2011 02:37

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

I have a friend who works at a corporate store who indicated the 12th, but I'm pretty sure he's working off rumors. I'm trying to see if I can preorder the loving thing this weekend.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2011 00:53

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Sometime between now and the heat death of the universe.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2011 00:20

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Don Lapre posted:

Verizon nexus one wasn't just rumors. It had a coming soon spot on googles n1 order site.

Found it:

http://web.archive.org/web/20100326143444/https://www.google.com/phone/choose?hl=en&gl=US&s7e=

# ¿ Dec 11, 2011 17:29

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Houston Rockets posted:

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=22878

I am too.

If you have unlimited data, consider going into WiFi settings -> Menu -> Advanced -> Keep Wifi on during sleep and changing it from Always to Only when plugged in.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2011 18:08

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

sadus posted:

Also rooting lets you take proper App backups (titanium).

Just think of it this way, would you buy an expensive computer and be satisfied not having full admin access to do whatever you wanted to it?

ICS lets you make app backups without root. It's not documented the greatest, but it's possible with adb.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2011 01:03

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

kstatix posted:

You can also add your discount via email by going to verizonwireless.com/getdiscount -- via this method, you register and receive a validation email in your work email inbox. Click the link in your work email inbox and follow the steps to complete the process. This method is typically easier and though I'm not 100% sure, I'm assuming the auditing process is automated as it doesn't actually require a human to verify any of the information.

I'm a contractor for the government with a .gov work email address. I did that and it worked no problem. Although I'm pretty sure the government employee discount isn't the best possible one out there. 15 or 20 percent on main plan, 25 percent on accessories, nothing on phones.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2011 20:13

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

tofes posted:

It depends on a few factors. I found Verizon's 4G coverage to be unreliable (down nationwide 3 times in December when I was trying out a Rezound) and spotty, at least in my coverage area (even the Verizon rep at the store said 4G coverage sucks here, despite what their official map says). The Rezound also had a lot of trouble switching between the 4G and 3G radios and a software bug would sometimes render both inoperable until a reboot, something I have heard happens on other 4G phones too.

4G is really fast when it works but I found that 3G is fine for 99% of my personal phone usage; poor coverage, software glitches, and awful battery life pushed me towards a 3G phone for at least one more upgrade cycle.

I live in an area that isn't expected to get 4G until 2013 and I bought a Galaxy Nexus. I set it to 3G only and the performance data speeds and battery life are similar to my old Motorola Droid.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2012 01:19

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Penguissimo posted:

I wasn't very clear in how I worded that�he'd probably still end up having to pay for the phone, but after you factor in the funds he'd get from flipping an iPhone 4, the final out-of-pocket cost would probably be equal to or less than the subsidized price would have been. I know the retail value can vary, but they're not all that different among newly-released phones, and this wouldn't be the kind of thing worth pursuing for a phone that had been out for awhile.

And the way to find out just how overinflated the retail prices are is to see how much similar phones would sell for off-contract in Europe. I honestly don't know enough about that to speak intelligently.

Be aware that when buying an iPhone I'm pretty sure it auto activates on the line it was an upgrade for. So you're going to have to power it on once and then switch back to your previous phone's ESN.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2012 05:50

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Congobongo posted:

I sort of have the same issue as you. I can maintain a solid cdma connection if I disable the lte radio. I've tried flashing new radios but that didn't seem to change anything.

I can get short bursts of lte connectivity but it drops when a new request for data goes. I'm in San Francisco so I'm in a pretty covered lte area.

Transcendi posted:

The phone should already be set up for roaming without having to call Verizon (at least it was for me). Just go, but make sure you have "Data Roaming" unchecked under Settings> More...(Wireless & Networks)> Mobile Networks.

If you hit a Canadian cell tower while using voice, SMS or data, Verizon will send you a warning via text and billing email address. I live near Canada and once in a great while I'll hop onto a Canadian tower even though it would have to be 25 miles away. Every time I go to Canada I just put my phone in airplane mode or turn it off.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2012 21:19

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Kilonum posted:

currently paying ~$87/mo after all taxes/fees in MA for the 450m/1000t/2GB (though my data is 4GB as I signed up during the 4G promo in December).

Next month it goes down because I finally went to a local store with my paystub to cash in on the 15% service discount I get with my employer (and 25% off accessories ).

I have 25% off accessories and I keep thinking about buying a Jawbone Jambox. $200 -> $150 puts it cheaper than on Amazon.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2012 04:31

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Goon Matchmaker posted:

Texting, as far as I know anyways, is essentially free for the carriers. They put the SMS in a packet (not sure that's the right word) in space that would go completely unused.

SMS messages are sent and received on the control band transmissions that a cell tower uses to know that you're connected to it.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2012 01:54

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

kensei posted:

I just got an email promo from VZW for a free Droid Charge. If you are looking, you might want to check your inbox.

I got that email and I have a Galaxy Nexus and iPhone 4S on my account. Confused as why they'd think I wanted a Charge on a new line.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2012 18:48

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

As a heads up, the Burlington, VT area has LTE turned on for the last 3 weeks. Not Sure how far down I-89 it extends but I've got signal from exit 17 to exit 12.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2012 18:21

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Alarbus posted:

It comes and goes. Parts of Williston and Montpelier have it periodically too. It's pretty nice, about as fast as Comcast's cable service.

I've been using Sensorly to map the coverage area:

http://sensorly.com/map/4G/US/USA/Verizon/lte_310verizon#q=south%20burlington,%20vt

I get 1-2 bars in the building I work in and 4 bars in the parking lot. Much faster than the 3G I was getting inside so big podcasts download in under 10 seconds.

Edit: And from the looks of it the Verizon store in Burlington is in a bit of a dead zone.

waffle iron fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Apr 15, 2012

# ¿ Apr 15, 2012 23:29

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Verizon stopped their test of LTE in Burlington VT because they're doing a market launch on May 17 in northern VT.

http://news.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/05/pr2012-05-09i.html

# ¿ May 11, 2012 14:28

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

DrBouvenstein posted:

I cannot believe VZW was this fast deploying LTE in VT. And it pisses me off!

I was all set to buy the unlocked GSM GNex and do a StraightTalk pre-paid plan, thinking that the lack of 4G wasn't a big deal since what were the odds of 4G coming to VT within the next year or two?

And now this happens, so I have to decide if the Verizon GNex is worth it...is the CDMA/Verizon one still prone to problems? I remember reading stuff about cell radio and battery issues..on the other hand, it has 32GB of storage, not the lousy 16 the GSM version has...and, of course, LTE...

I work in the Burlington area and good god was it nice to have 4G at my desk to download podcasts. Although it allows me to do over 5 GB of data a month but that's OK because I have a grandfathered unlimited plan. My Nexus has been good although when they dialed back the 4G broadcast power a couple weeks ago I was getting into situations where it would go from 3 bars of 3G to one or less of 4G and then ping pong back and forth. Which wouldn't be so bad except the handoff time is really slow.

# ¿ May 11, 2012 15:23

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

kitten smoothie posted:

So given the github repo linked in this blog post, it appears that every Galaxy Nexus that Verizon has shipped has a root vulnerability that's been known for three months now. Sweet.

The fact that this "mempodroid" thing even works is a Bad Thing.

It's a kernel vulnerability that was fixed after 4.02. I've read up on it and it's only exploitable as the shell user (local adb) not as an app.

# ¿ May 11, 2012 21:28

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 04:19

waffle iron: Jan 16, 2004

Pudgygiant posted:

Are there any Gingerbread (or ICS, but I doubt it) phones that aren't crap and aren't the size of a laptop? The girl is looking for something a bit smaller than the SGS3 or Gnex.

The Droid 4 has a smaller footprint by way of having a keyboard.

# ¿ May 23, 2012 03:16

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > The Verizon Wireless Megathread: Tears for tiers

«‹›2 »

IanCaw posted:

Daspied posted:

jfreder posted:

Codiusprime posted:

tismondo posted:

bull3964 posted:

JayKay posted:

chocolateTHUNDER posted:

bull3964 posted:

bull3964 posted:

AppleCobbler posted:

Cojawfee posted:

Mighty Horse posted:

Mighty Horse posted:

waffle iron posted:

Don Lapre posted:

Houston Rockets posted:

sadus posted:

kstatix posted:

tofes posted:

Penguissimo posted:

Congobongo posted:

more friedman units posted:

Transcendi posted:

Kilonum posted:

Goon Matchmaker posted:

kensei posted:

Alarbus posted:

DrBouvenstein posted:

kitten smoothie posted:

Pudgygiant posted: