Are all Gear VR covers the exact same size? - Samsung Gear VR

I saw this listing on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Gea...ttery-and-Wireless-Charger-Mod-/291811471587?
But there is no mention of which version of Gear VR this will work on. I have the Innovator's Edition released for the Note 4. Would this cover fit? Do all Gear VR versions use the same dimensions for the cover?
Also, has anyone used this particular cover? Are the claims of letting you experience VR 3 times longer anywhere close to reality? Currently, my biggest problem is that I cannot go beyond 20-25 minutes before the "your phone needs to cool down" message starts popping up.

I know that both versions, yours and the commercial one that I have, look different. I am unsure if it would be the same or not. If you have a 3D printer maybe you can print one out yourself though, seeing as how that's all the one you linked is. I have one myself and wouldn't mind printing one for you for free but I do not have the dimensions for the type you have.
But I can say that I, too, was having the same issue as you were until I took a few steps to reduce the heat created.
From the settings in the Gear VR I turned off wifi, disabled notifications, and turned the screen brightness down to 30%. I noticed that it improved how long I could play from about 30 minutes to about an hour and a half. I recently turned on wifi scanning and now it's back down to about 30 minutes of gameplay so I'm disabling that feature again to see if it was wifi this whole time causing it to heat up so quick, but I'm sure that is the root cause because it's the only variable that has changed.

Related

[Discussion] Do you like your Gear Live?

Thoughts on it, display in sunlight, battery life, handling of notifications, look/feel of it on your wrist..... basically anything to do with the watch!
i like it. granted that its a new class of its own, i still get confused especially when i get multiple notifications on an app (ie hangouts). its confusing where the group text starts or if im still being shown a private text..
the screen is kinda hard to read in direct sunlight but tilting it a bit or using a different watch face helps.
i like the feel of it.. i preferred this over the g watch coz of the added feature and the look.
I really like it; however, screen is difficult to see in sunlight at times; screen is also a smudge magnet which adds to difficulties in seeing the display outdoors.
Love it - compared to the sony smartwatch and the Galaxy Gear it really has great improvements. Only Day 2, but my initial thoughts:
Pros
- Look/feel - it is little large (I don't have big wrists) but still stylish.
- Screen: awesome that the clock is always on, this was my biggest gripe about the Gear
- Usefulness: I've spent time training Google Now, and that's really paid off. Notifications mean i take my phone out of my pocket a lot less, and Google Now surfaces reminders and other useful info pretty well (although you don't have a lot of control over the order of notifications etc). The fact that it syncs dismissed notifications on the phone immediately is, in a word, awesome
- Apps: early days yet on this, but most big apps I'm sure will integrate so you can do the key features easily
- Voice recognition works great so far
Cons
- No speaker means if you want to do stuff without looking at the screen with your voice, it's harder. But seems like something I can live with
- Charging dongle is kinda annoying to fit on, and have to remember to travel with
- Starting an app (say Fit) takes a few too many swipes (if you're in a place where you don't want to be speaking to your wrist...)
A lot of the other potential "cons" like not many watch face designs, no feature to locate your phone (I know there's an app for this though) I reckon will play out over time and Google can fix pretty quickly...
A
eurorauser said:
, no feature to locate your phone (I know there's an app for this though) I reckon will play out over time and Google can fix pretty quickly...
A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at this one for that: Wear Aware
i'm pleasantly surprised with how much i'm enjoying it.
my first full day with it will be tomorrow so i haven't taken it outside in the sunlight much yet, but checking email, counting steps, reading and replying to texts (i use evolve and it works great) is great and much more reliable and smoother than it was on my OG gear, and it's proving to be far more useful than my pebble.
the strap is actually quite comfortable and i'm glad i didn't buy a new strap before getting the watch.
the charging cradle, if you put it on tab side first it snaps in much easier. it's annoying but i haven't found it to be the spawn of lucifer as some people were screaming about it. treat it like part of a $200 gadget and it will be fine. mash it on like the hulk and it's going to break, it is plastic tabs after all.
i used it for about 7 hours today and it's now around 65% remaining. moderate use, but i def was clicking and swiping for no reason since it's new as well. i am pretty sure i'll have to charge it every night, but i don't sleep with a watch on and i charge my phone every night too, so i don't see it as being a big issue. my pebble lasted longer, but it would often die since i didn't have a set pattern on when to charge and would head out and a few hours later realize i had 20% left.
so in short, i'm happy, yes there are growing pains but those are the early adopter blues.
So far very please for what it can do. Regarding bot visible in sunlight, tell me what phone is visible in sunlight. None of them are great, only the kinfpdle due to the ink screen it has. I can wait till indoors or in shade. 9 more days testing and then deciding to keep or not. Off charging cradle at 6:30am today and as of this post still has 34% left. About the same as my previous Gear watch.
Ian B
The number of apps pouring in each day are a great sign for the platform as a whole. The Tizen gears were nothing like this.
Quick reply.... I like it. Had Nero, no comparison.
I've had a few issues and design factors that I'd like changed:
Hate the alarm mute icon. I would love to figure out a way to hide that on the clock face. Would make the watch look more watchie if you will.
Also would like to only wake the watch from the button vice touchscreen, or atleast an option to set that insettings.
Does anyone else find themselves open palming your watch to put it in hybernate?
FynxSyndct said:
Does anyone else find themselves open palming your watch to put it in hybernate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pressed it against my forehead earlier because I was in bed and my other arm wasn't free.
SkuzFoz said:
I pressed it against my forehead earlier because I was in bed and my other arm wasn't free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This really made me LOL
I'll be the lone wolf in the wilderness by bucking the trend and saying that I'm very disappointed with my Gear Live. I'm a gadget lover and really wanted to love this device. But I was far more enthusiastic about this thing before I actually received it. Once I had one, I quickly grew disappointed with it.
Out of the box, pairing with my Nexus 5 took multiple attempts. Once I finally did get it paired, only the stock apps would work. Any apps that I downloaded from the Play store would run on my phone but the watch interface would never show up (no matter how many times I tried to force the apps to sync via the Android Wear app or rebooted the watch).
Factory resetting the watch and starting again cleared up that problem but I still found the functionality of the watch to be quirky at best. Add to that the fact that the screen is virtually impossible to read outdoors, the lack of support for continuous heart rate monitoring, and the sudden dramatic drop in my Nexus 5's battery life (which cleared up after I uninstalled the Android Wear app).
Bottom line for me is that this isn't ready to replace my old fashioned watch. So until I read about some new killer Wear app that I can't live without, the Gear Live had gone back into its box to be stored away. I'm hoping that the software will mature quickly to a point where I can give it another try.
Does gear live suport sleep monitoring? Can it automatically figure out that user is cycling?
How good is the fitness tracking on it?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Screen flicker poll G Watch R.

Hi,
I've started this poll for ALL owners of the LG G Watch R.
The question is: does your G Watch R flicker after charging it to full 100% when you take it off the charger?
After selecting yes or no on this poll, can you check your build number on your watch and post it here?
If you post the info, please also note if your watch does flicker or not to keep the results clean.
something like this:
Does flicker:
Software version: 5.0.1
Build number: LWX48P
Serial starting with: 412KPGS0139XXX
or
Does not flicker:
Software version: 5.0.1
Build number: LWX48P
Serial starting with: 412KPGS0139XXX
What I'm trying to figure out by starting this poll, is if it's hardware related or not.
To check your build:
Go to "Settings" on your watch.
Then press "About".
in the about section you will find the following info:
Software version: 5.0.1 (This will change after a new update.)
Build number: LWX48P
Serial starting with: 412KPGS0139XXX (Just replace last 3 digits with XXX, we don't need to know your exact serial number.)
Above info is from my own LG G Watch R.
Thanks for participating
Treborov.
Results so far:
All watches posted so far have Build number: LWX48P. I wonder if there are other build numbers out there? If anyone has a different build number please post it here
Serial ranges: 410KP series, 411KP series and 412KP series.
Everyone so far is running software version 5.0.1 (Which is the latest update.)
Remarks by users about what might cause the flickering effect:
Screen brightness settings: 1x
(Google calendar event) notifications: 1x (Could be any notification because I had the same problem with multiple notifications that all tried to pup up at once)
Watchmaker app: 2x (installed on 2 watches that have the flickering effect.)
Hardware related:
Loose display ribbons: 1x
I have had the snow-crash in one and the flickering in my second watch, now on my third. that one seems all right at the moment. what makes me suspect hardware in stead of software is that the LG G, does not show this problem. and both are technically quite close related.
If my watch shows the flickering again, i will partake in your experiment, as i am quite curious as to what is causing this. I also noticed the much brighter flickering as brightness was down to 1.
As i read the posts concerning this problem, i also noticed that the part that flickers is not always the same, on my watch it was the lower half blinking, others have mentioned the upper half.
It still reminds me of what a led does when power goes below a certain threshold.
Good luck in your project!
RoosW said:
I have had the snow-crash in one and the flickering in my second watch, now on my third. that one seems all right at the moment. what makes me suspect hardware in stead of software is that the LG G, does not show this problem. and both are technically quite close related.
If my watch shows the flickering again, i will partake in your experiment, as i am quite curious as to what is causing this. I also noticed the much brighter flickering as brightness was down to 1.
As i read the posts concerning this problem, i also noticed that the part that flickers is not always the same, on my watch it was the lower half blinking, others have mentioned the upper half.
It still reminds me of what a led does when power goes below a certain threshold.
Good luck in your project!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for leaving a comment, I did read all your comments in the other post about you sending your watch back to LG.
So you're on your third LG G Watch R now right? Not exchanged it for an LG G Watch?
If you got another Watch R. would you mind posting the build number?
Let's just hope your 3rd watch doesn't go all "disco" on you like the other two
Disco time haha. Half of the screen flickers, same as the OP explained. Really annoying, happened 2x already within 3 weeks of owning the watch
Does flicker:
Software version: 5.0.1
Build number: LWX48P
Serial starting with: 411KPZK0129XXX
Software : 5.0.1
Build : LWX48P
Serial starting with : 411KPPB
---------- Post added at 16:39 ---------- Previous post was at 16:32 ----------
So you're on your third LG G Watch R now right? Not exchanged it for an LG G Watch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a Pebble before i had an LG G, my wife now has that one, i decided to stay with the LG G R, because the recessed screen helps in preventing random contact with my sleeve (thus interrupting the music playing on my headset), and i like its looks a lot more then the LG G, the screen above the bezel like the 360 has, is why i did not got that one (besides the poor hardware and battery) until someone writes an app that kills the touchscreen until the crown is pushed once or say 2 times, all other options are just to annoying
Hmmm.. 2 days straight of flickering every morning when I tried to check the watch right after I wake up.
I noticed that after I restart the device, a Google calendar event notification will pop up. Then the flickering will stop
Looks like a Calendar Event notification bug in Android wear, could someone confirm this?
Update : It flickers again, no calendar event notification. Maybe this is a hardware problem
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Does flicker:
Software version: 5.0.1
Build number: LWX48P
Serial starting with: 410KPVH0010XXX
thought the 5.0.1 solve the flicker but it came back after few days
O.K. Update on my watch.
I did a factory reset yesterday on my LG G Watch R.
I haven't touched the watch as in, changing face plate installing software etc.
This morning when I took it off the charger it didn't start flickering like it did the last two days. (So it was working as it should.)
Things I had installed on my watch when it was flickering: (before factory reset)
Multi Calculator
Instaweather app.
Intellicom Watch faces app.
Luxury watch faces app.
WatchMaker free app.
Facer app.
After factory reset, the only thing that automatically popped up on my watch when I checked watch faces, was the Facer app. The rest of the apps wern't showing on my watch anymore.
However, I didn't uninstall those on my phone.
I uninstalled the Facer app on my phone.
After checking the Watch Face options this morning, all the installed programs are back on my watch.
It seems they all got synced again between my phone and my watch.
Maybe I checked to soon yesterday after the reset and these programs weren't synced yet.
I'll take a closer look after next factory reset.
Thanks everyone who has participated so far in this thread :good:
@unclebor
In your app list, we only have 1 common app installed.
I also installed watchmaker, and as far as I remember the flickering started after i installed that! I will uninstall watchmaker and delete the data folder because I already tried uninstalling it but the data folder was not deleted.
Hopefully this is the culprit, if not maybe this is a hardware issue.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
The flicker is most likely due to a loose display ribbon connector and stops after a while because the watch warms up, the connector expands and makes better contact, but it will remain intermittent since it's not pressed all the way in. You need to open the watch and press in all the connectors (there are 4) and the flicker will likely stop.
For the record, I'm on 5.0.1, LWX48P, 411KPSL0096XXX, no flicker.
Mine does the same with LWX48P. It happends since i started using it with always On screen. Can we return it and exchange to a new one? I like pebbles warranty since they have issues about flickering screens too. Returned and sent me a new one.
Since update 5.0.1 the display flickers sometimes after fully charged. Power off and power on the watch helps for me (no reboot!)
Software version: 5.0.1
Build number: LWX48P
Serial starting with: 410KPNY0036XXX
cheers
Manfred
Update on my watch day 2 after factory reset.
I took it off the charging cradle this morning and again, no flickering.
It seems the factory reset helped so far. (Crosses fingers.)
my current settings are:
Adjust Brightness = 4 (stock after reset)
Always-on screen = off
Face plate = suit
Installed apps:
Intellicom watchfaces (did not select any face plates after reset)
Luxery watchfaces (did not select any face plates after reset)
Watchmaker (did not select any face plates after reset)
InstaWeather (did not use this after reset)
I'm going to change one setting today, and that's the Adjust Brightness = 4 to Adjust Brightness = 1 and see what it will do tomorrow when I take if off the charger.
If indeed it flickers again tomorrow (which I surely hope it won't), I'll change the setting back to 4 and recharge it to 100% and check again.
After tomorrow (if the brightness setting isn't the issue), I'll put the brightness level back to 4 and select a 3rd party watch face.
Yes, this is going to be a slow testing process, because I want to check only after a whole night of charging to not manipulate the charging time.
When I can trigger the flickering process by changing some setting, I'll just recharge it on the fly. Check if I can make it "un-flicker" by undoing the last change I made on the watch.
if that doesn't help, uninstall the program that made it flicker in the first place and check after that. (if it's a 3rd party app and not a Google Wear 5.0.1 setting)
If that doesn't help, factory reset, one more night charging on default settings, if that doesn't make the watch flicker, re-install the program that caused it to flicker and retest the last procedure that triggered the "disco" effect.
Makes sense? LOL for me it does
I wish I had like 10 of these watches, would make the testing process go much faster.
Thanks again for everyone participating in this poll and posting serials and such :good:
It flickers again this morning without the watchmaker app. So that's not the culprit, really annoying, i will return this for warranty.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Why don't you guys return the watch? Sod the testing the watch was not designed to flicker! When I get mine on Xmas day, if it flickers.. Back it goes
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
There's a reply on the other thread, he returned it ang LG fixed it. But flickering still persist. So looks like LG doesn't really know how to fix this. But I sent mine for warranty.
No official statement from LG regarding this issue.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
wicked1683 said:
There's a reply on the other thread, he returned it ang LG fixed it. But flickering still persist. So looks like LG doesn't really know how to fix this. But I sent mine for warranty.
No official statement from LG regarding this issue.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are my 2 cents about the flickering on the watch:
Quick summary,
Got the watch (day 1), it was fully charged 100% when I turned it on, paired it and played with the stock settings and options.
Didn't flicker the first morning after full charge (day 2).
I played with it a lot, installed apps, changed face plates, (Also tried out some MOMO 360 face plates through the 3rd party app to see what they looked like on this G Watch R, didn't like them, chose another one), played with the weather app..etc.
Flickered after full charge! (day 3).
Played with it a bit, didn't really pay attention to the flickering because it was working normally after a reboot, just thought it was annoying. However put it in the back of my head for the next morning to check.
Flickered after full charge! (day 4).
Thought it was pretty annoying and checked the web for possible solutions and if other people had the same problem with this "disco effect".
After reading the threads here, I decided to do some testing myself.
I did reset my watch to factory settings.
Didn't flicker after full charge (day 5).
Didn't flicker after full charge (day 6).
Changed display settings to brightness level 1 (was on 4).
If the watch was broken, hardware related, the flickering effect would be there all the time right? (Broken = broken, no matter what the settings).
If it was a loose wire, it wouldn't only flicker after charging. (Unless the watch heats up to a certain level on the charger which would cause a bad connection in the watch itself which makes it flicker only after recharge.)
Therefore I think it's either software related OR the combination between the brightness/always-on settings and hardware.
There might be something in one of the installed (3rd party?) apps OR in the brightness/Always-on settings that triggers the "disco" on your watch.
Maybe if the brightness level is put below stock settings, there is a condenser that regulates the screen brightness? (Going to put this to the test.)
IF tomorrow morning my watch flickers, I know it's the hardware that can't cope with the low brightness setting. If not, I'm going to change the brightness back up to 4 and install a 3rd party watch face.
I still think, because Dersie changed his brightness settings through another app, it is software related.
if it was hardware related, it would always flicker after recharge, no matter which app you use to dim the screen. (condenser/hardware goes all stressed when it has to power up the screen in dimmed mode).
It's like searching for a needle in the haystack, but hey.... I like finding needles in haystacks.
It gotten worse! After charging I decided to turn it off, I slept, when I woke up I turned it on, then seconds later flickering happends. Restarted it, but still the same. I turned it off for a couple of times. Until I decided to just leave it on until flickering dissapears. Did factory reset but still the same. Sick and tired of this, $300 watch and its defective I dont wanna deal with this everyday, Im gonna return it to newegg since they have 30 day return/replacement warranty. But my watch has a lil dent on the bezel already. I hope they still accept it.
unclebor said:
I still think, because Dersie changed his brightness settings through another app, it is software related.
if it was hardware related, it would always flicker after recharge, no matter which app you use to dim the screen. (condenser/hardware goes all stressed when it has to power up the screen in dimmed mode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine started flicking after 4 weeks, batt at 42% 2 day after charged, on a table since 1H, so no movement to move hardware screen connector, no after full charge. No issue the last 2 days after using brigntness setup with SWApp....
condenser problem is maybe a way for the problem. It happen only from screen OFF to ON for me, never when screen is already ON for awhile. So only after condenser can be not charged.
Time to let you guys know about what's going on with my watch.
Didn't have much time to post anything the last couple of days :/
All I can say is, so far so good.
The last 3 days it didn't flicker at all.
I am running a 3rd party watch face now, brightness settings set to 1. No flickering after full recharge.
I don't know what caused it in the first place.
Maybe it was a MOTO 360 face watch I tried on my watch to see what it looked like, I don't know.
I will do some more testing after these busy days at the end of the year.
I will post again in this thread when the flickering returns or when I find out how to trigger it.
If I can find out anything else about the "disco effect" on the G Watch R series on other sites, I'll post a link here.
I'm sure this isn't over yet, I guess I am just lucky at the moment that it doesn't flicker.
However, knowing hardware /software it will probably come back since I already experienced the affect on this watch.

[Q] What would make Google Cardboard rotate constantly?

I picked up a Google Cardboard for some fun, but the picture constantly rotates while trying to use it on my XZ. The axis of the rotation is that of going from portrait to landscape (Y axis??)
I've tested the accel, compass, and gyro using the service tests and they all seem to be fine. My XZ is completely stock and up-to-date (OTA).
Not sure what the problem could be? It works fine on my SGS5. I'd appreciate any feedback as the XZ looks and fits inside SO much cleaner than the SGS5, plus its not my daily driver so I won't have to take it out often.
I vaguely recall the same error happening on an app a long time ago, can't remember for the life of me what it was.
Hey. I also play with VR for almost month now(got two vr goggles with are WAY better lenses and quality than cardboard)
And also I have this problem of rotating screen. And to be honest its all depend on app and orientation provider. Most of the time app use indirect/direct sensor fusion but this method just suck...
I found only one solution for that and its to put phone on flat surface for few second with screen face up, and then phone calibrate sensor itself.
Of course its not helping for too long, but its always something...
My favorite VR game: Corridoom is best example for problem that we have.
Fast movement of device constantly move gyro starting point to one direction and when you sit in chair and look straight after a while you need to almost turn 180* because device lost this starting point. App does provide only simple calibration in main menu and Dev that I write about that said that for now its not gonna change this option.
So even if gyro in our xz is really accurate, because i use it as a VR goggles for PC gaming thanks to app Trinus VR
Only real solution for that is actual app that have option to block or reset roll effect. For example my main movie app for watching VR movies Cardboard Theater have such option and for most of time I dont have this problem when I watch movies.
I also tested it via service tests and you can see this problem, when you start app and this Rubik's cube is faced to you green move phone right and left and after few moves its not facing green, but red or blue... And for that app should have that option to reset yaw and roll when you stop moving, but for now most of devs that create VR apps and games just dont think to put such options.
And its not only XZ problem I tested it with galaxy S5 and galaxy Grand Prime and its also have that problem but not that often, mostly when I move my head very fast or for too long, screen start rotating.
maybe it would be possible to fix that in device it self to reset that roll effect but I dont think that anyone with knowledge would like to check that... :/
Trackers are pretty sensitive without some kind of reference point such as a camera. I expect a small amount of bias error over a duration, but using cardboard movie theater the screen turns 180 degrees (roll) in less than 10 seconds. The sensor tests are nowhere near as inaccurate.
Obviously any phone will have the issue over time though, they are cheap parts in small housing. There's multi thousand dollar systems with small degree of wander that are only IMUs. It's the severe amount the xz has that bugs me.
I'll try the laying it flat so it can reset its bias, might work. I noticed yesterday that when facing west it wasnt half as bad.
If you were actually able to enjoy a movie without locking the orientation then yours is far better than mine. My sgs5 I might have to adjust the orientation once every 30 minutes, the xz I have to reset it every seconds lmao.
Thank you for the input!
update:
Letting the bias adjust helped immensely. Thanks for the advice!
Hi did u manage to sort it out. I have xperia z and have same problem. I can play some games but everytime i use 'view in cardboard ' on youtube the screens spin, also when i use googke cardboard apps. Maby its a google problem and not our phones? Like you iv testedband recalibrated my phone byt to no avail
If you got it fixed giz a shout mate
Cheers

Best Replacement for a Pebble 2?

I've always found myself explaining to people about how great the Pebble 2 is which many people never really knew about because it's not one of the more expensive and prestigious brands like an Apple Watch. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Tech Junkie and can afford whatever watch I want, but I'm also not one looking to pay a higher price just to wear something to impress people - I want good functionality, practicality and value. Nothing could match my Pebble 2. When I told people I only need to charge it once every 5-7 days, they are flabbergasted. Heart Rate Monitor? Check. HUGE selection of custom 3rd party apps. Check. Design your own custom watch face with dynamic stats (like temp, phone signal strength, etc.)? Check. Waterproof to the point you can swim with it on? Check.
All that, under $150? Check.
Now, my eyes have grown old and I can barely read the text messages that come through as it is a pretty small face. I don't NEED color - I prefer long battery life. So what's out there (I'm an Android Phone User) that people would say is the closest replacement that has a bigger screen? Maybe I just keep wearing my Pebble and wear trifocals all the time - no thanks.
My MUST haves are:
- Long battery life (no more than 2 charges per week are necessary)
- Waterproof (can swim in it)
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Large screen, but I'm not an NFL player so not too gigantic
Nice to haves but not MUSTS:
- SOME degree of customization (some 3rd party apps, custom watch screen design, etc.)
- Built in GPS (I really don't need this - I'm not a runner and my phone is always with me, so would rather avoid paying extra for it, but if I have to have it to get other stuff I must have then so be it.)
All I really need the watch to do is: tell me the date and time, show my text messages and notifications (with setting to increase default text size), track my fitness activities, and don't bug me about charging it every 1-2 days.
Only Garmin Watch
Amazfit bip, Stratos, pace
All Amazfit (bip Stratos....) have almost 0 connected feature, just basic notification a Weather wich works only sometime and nothing else. 0 connected app, so not really smartwatch, maybe just a poor tracker
dersie said:
All Amazfit (bip Stratos....) have almost 0 connected feature, just basic notification a Weather wich works only sometime and nothing else. 0 connected app, so not really smartwatch, maybe just a poor tracker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give some examples of "connected features" you think that most users would find extremely useful in their daily lives? I've found with many devices, a lot of bells and whistles are just that, bells and whistles to brag about having and when you look at your actual use of the device, you find you really don't use those features.
For example, on my Pebble 2, I can reply to text messages both using canned text responses or voice transcription by talking into the watch. I've had the watch for like 3 years and I've used the text reply maybe two or three times and the voice transcription once. When I used it, I thought, "that was sort of cool." But then why didn't I ever use it again? Because it wasn't THAT useful considering 99% of the time I have my phone sitting next to me or in my pants or jacket pocket and talking to my watch I look like a complete DORK. I can just easily type the reply on my phone. The notification is what's important as sometimes I'm in another room, or have it in my jacket in a place I can't hear the notification or feel the vibration.
So I'm still quite interested in what "connected features" a Bip doesn't come with that are so useful?
In my pebble I add item to my shopping list every day with WunderVoice, I read my List on my pebble with WunderPebble : shopping, to do,........, I read my Google Task, I look every time at the moon location, I take quick note and view also memo quickly, I look at my next event calendar, I mark read my mail notification, I can select snooze 5,10, 30min or dismiss my event calendar, I use multiple timers for 25min, 30min, 35min, 40min to look at my grilled meat, I look my phone battery, I can set my phone to vibe or mute with my pebble , I start some task with tasker, I use multi counter to count different things.....
All this can be done with few click in 10s, in this time I have not the time to put my phone out my pocket
dersie said:
In my pebble I add item to my shopping list every day with WunderVoice, I read my List on my pebble with WunderPebble : shopping, to do,........, I read my Google Task, I look every time at the moon location, I take quick note and view also memo quickly, I look at my next event calendar, I mark read my mail notification, I can select snooze 5,10, 30min or dismiss my event calendar, I use multiple timers for 25min, 30min, 35min, 40min to look at my grilled meat, I look my phone battery, I can set my phone to vibe or mute with my pebble , I start some task with tasker, I use multi counter to count different things.....
All this can be done with few click in 10s, in this time I have not the time to put my phone out my pocket
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Click to collapse
With most all of that, shopping list, tasks, moon location, notes - can you explain what *specific benefits* there are to using your watch instead of your phone to input information (via keyboard or voice) and to read lists of information (considering the phone has a much bigger screen)? Why is using the watch so much better to do those things?
Easier and quicker
dersie said:
All Amazfit (bip Stratos....) have almost 0 connected feature, just basic notification a Weather wich works only sometime and nothing else. 0 connected app, so not really smartwatch, maybe just a poor tracker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was not the main scope of the op
dersie said:
Easier and quicker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, you must be beside yourself trying to figure out what to do with all that spare time the watch creates being so much quicker?
I just switched back from an Amazfit Pace to my Pebble 2 SE. Notifications just don't work reliably on the Amazfit, and all the fitness stuff is too much for me. I just want a geeky watch with working notifications. That's a Pebble 2 SE
chaozz said:
I just switched back from an Amazfit Pace to my Pebble 2 SE. Notifications just don't work reliably on the Amazfit, and all the fitness stuff is too much for me. I just want a geeky watch with working notifications. That's a Pebble 2 SE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also returned my pace due to bad battery life and notification reliability. I'm using a BIP and the notifications are there in real time(using gadgetbridge like before with PTS) and it gives me a minimum of 4 WEEKS of battery life :highfive:
No single freeze or glitch since months, absolutely reliable for that price! Custom watchfaces easily made.
My 2nd Pebble 2 HR just died & I've been shopping to replace it, but havent found anything that does everything I need it to, or that my Pebble used to. I had upgraded to Rebble prior to their deaths, paid for voice and weather since Rebble was up. I had found some good sites to investigate: Smartwatch Series website lets you look at detailed valuations of specs and comparisons of many smartwatches.
Battery is one of my biggest anxieties, but glowing screens or timeouts also was a concern. I tried the Samsung Gear Sport, then the Samsung Galaxy Active 2, and although they had many great features and 2+ days of use between charges (Active 2 only) with comparable use-time to my pebble, the screen glowed if on all the time, and when I went swimming, the screen face would change unless I locked it before entering the water.
I settled with a compromise... I was able to get a new PowerWatch 2 Luxe edition (usually $699) for $400. Still, way to expensive, but, I get messages (no reply), health basics, always on LCD screen (no glow) with back-lit ability, Heat Rate and GPS, and NO CHARGING NEEDED. EVER. Solar and thermoelectric engine (backup wireless charging dock included just in case) keep it charged always. I can't do voice, can't customize my watch face, can't load apps (stopwatch and timer are there), and no weather.
dumbquestion said:
My 2nd Pebble 2 HR just died & I've been shopping to replace it, but havent found anything that does everything I need it to, or that my Pebble used to. I had upgraded to Rebble prior to their deaths, paid for voice and weather since Rebble was up. I had found some good sites to investigate: Smartwatch Series website lets you look at detailed valuations of specs and comparisons of many smartwatches.
Battery is one of my biggest anxieties, but glowing screens or timeouts also was a concern. I tried the Samsung Gear Sport, then the Samsung Galaxy Active 2, and although they had many great features and 2+ days of use between charges (Active 2 only) with comparable use-time to my pebble, the screen glowed if on all the time, and when I went swimming, the screen face would change unless I locked it before entering the water.
I settled with a compromise... I was able to get a new PowerWatch 2 Luxe edition (usually $699) for $400. Still, way to expensive, but, I get messages (no reply), health basics, always on LCD screen (no glow) with back-lit ability, Heat Rate and GPS, and NO CHARGING NEEDED. EVER. Solar and thermoelectric engine (backup wireless charging dock included just in case) keep it charged always. I can't do voice, can't customize my watch face, can't load apps (stopwatch and timer are there), and no weather.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting charging design maybe something for the future watches and prices will drop hopefully...
Why not just buy a brand new Pebble 2 on Ebay for low $100 range? You could by two of them, one for future, and save money while we all wait for someone to actually design a good watch for a good price, like the Pebble 2. The only thing lacking on the Pebble 2 is that it's not designer/fancy looking. Otherwise it is still by far the best bang for the buck - battery lasting nearly a week! Lots of apps and customizations. Puts these higher priced watches to shame in the flexibility of the functionality and battery life. But it's no status symbol that people want for their watch, unless you consider being an intelligent buyer a status symbol. LOL.
jazee said:
Why not just buy a brand new Pebble 2 on Ebay for low $100 range? You could by two of them, one for future, and save money while we all wait for someone to actually design a good watch for a good price, like the Pebble 2. The only thing lacking on the Pebble 2 is that it's not designer/fancy looking. Otherwise it is still by far the best bang for the buck - battery lasting nearly a week! Lots of apps and customizations. Puts these higher priced watches to shame in the flexibility of the functionality and battery life. But it's no status symbol that people want for their watch, unless you consider being an intelligent buyer a status symbol. LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem when buying those pebbles: the battery is several years old and might not have a good capacity.
Actually I'm testing a Honor Magic Watch 2 and it's very good, actually one week usage with GPS and lots of calls and down to 49%:good:
strongst said:
The problem when buying those pebbles: the battery is several years old and might not have a good capacity.
Actually I'm testing a Honor Magic Watch 2 and it's very good, actually one week usage with GPS and lots of calls and down to 49%:good:
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Click to collapse
I read a review and it sounds promising if you can live without the ability to download apps.
My main question would be, on my Pebble, I can get notifications from all the apps on my phone and select which ones I want to get and which ones I don't want to get, so I'm not just limited to SMS and Email notifications. Can this watch do that, so for instance if the Amazon app displays a notification about a shipment on my phone, will it show on the watch?
Also wondering if a firmware upate fixed this...
"Talking of notifications, we found these to be a little buggy. Most of the time phone notifications came through to the device without issue, but now and then they didn’t come through until some time after they should have, and we also found some notifications came through to the watch multiple times, though we never worked out why."
jazee said:
I read a review and it sounds promising if you can live without the ability to download apps.
My main question would be, on my Pebble, I can get notifications from all the apps on my phone and select which ones I want to get and which ones I don't want to get, so I'm not just limited to SMS and Email notifications. Can this watch do that, so for instance if the Amazon app displays a notification about a shipment on my phone, will it show on the watch?
Also wondering if a firmware upate fixed this...
"Talking of notifications, we found these to be a little buggy. Most of the time phone notifications came through to the device without issue, but now and then they didn’t come through until some time after they should have, and we also found some notifications came through to the watch multiple times, though we never worked out why."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything is working so far. Your quote to my post for example, was notified by fair mail which I selected and shown then on the watch, see pics As long as a notification pop-up is shown on the status bar it will work, but one app did not work it's delta.chat. Don't know why, still investigating. Maybe a app or health issue
strongst said:
Everything is working so far. Your quote to my post for example, was notified by fair mail which I selected and shown then on the watch, see pics As long as a notification pop-up is shown on the status bar it will work, but one app did not work it's delta.chat. Don't know why, still investigating. Maybe a app or health issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing you can't prevent notifications from certain apps on only the watch?
Did you consider the Amazfit GTS? They seem similar but the Amazfit I think is considerably cheaper.
jazee said:
I'm guessing you can't prevent notifications from certain apps on only the watch?
Did you consider the Amazfit GTS? They seem similar but the Amazfit I think is considerably cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can select the notification what you want to be shown on the watch, see screenshot. Or do you want to have a notification only to be shown on the watch, but not on the phone?
I ordered both watches and the following are my personal pros and cons.
Amazfit GTS: 128€
-can't make calls
-no storage for music
-GPS not that accurate
-no SpO2
Honor Magic Watch 2: 146€
-round design(I wanted a round watch again)

Question 5a with 5g overheating issue!

My 2 day old, 5a with 5g just overheated. I have no case on it and it wasn't charging at the time. I was in a FBM video call and at about the 30 minute mark, I got the overheating warning. A few minutes later, the phone froze for about 60 seconds and then resumed. The phone was very hot to the touch! Ironically it was propped up against a laptop screen that was in hibernation mode and there is a table fan approximately 8 inches from the device blowing directly at it.
I reported it to Google Support and 1st level was very understanding. 2nd level told me to try some tips that he would send me because I was probably just overusing it. I told him I was using it exactly the same way I used my 2xl, but that didn't seem to make a difference.
I'll keep this updated as I continue to use my new "hot" phone.
Interesting. There's a known issue with recording 4K video, but this is the first time I've heard of an issue just streaming video.
Keep us updated for sure.
I have not tried the video recording at 4K...but I have been streaming YouTube videos and no overheating for me. YMMV
I have experienced the overheating issue while using video recording at 60 fps 4k. The phone didn't seem warm at all though so here's hoping it's just a software fix Google can implement.
If anyone can reliably reproduce the error, would you want to run some testing to see if the option for "Store videos efficiently
Use H.265/HEVC format" makes it better or worse?
I only had a heat issue when I first started my 5a, and it was installing all my apps in the background. Building the cache is notorious for its CPU use, so I can't say I'm surprised by overheating then. I've done a couple 5 minute 4k 60 videos without overheating since then.
I noticed the same thing today on my new Pixel 5a. Wasn't doing anything other than participating in a Whatsapp video call and browsing text messages.
I do have a Spigen case but the ambient temperature was low 70's inside.
This could be concerning...
luciferin said:
If anyone can reliably reproduce the error, would you want to run some testing to see if the option for "Store videos efficiently
Use H.265/HEVC format" makes it better or worse?
I only had a heat issue when I first started my 5a, and it was installing all my apps in the background. Building the cache is notorious for its CPU use, so I can't say I'm surprised by overheating then. I've done a couple 5 minute 4k 60 videos without overheating since then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar heat issue when setting up my phone the first time as well. It was when I was just going through the setup, and transferring everything from old phone to the new one. I, unlike you, have never experienced the heat build up, that occured with this phone, on any other phone in my many years of flashing ROMs and setting up phones (unless I was flashing it multiple times due to issues). So, this post does leave me a bit concerned....
I hope once I get my case that this doesn't start occurring for me.
I have experienced the video camera causing the over heating. It appears that any app using built in video recorder will produce the heat. Google camera, Duo, … Zoom. I did a little searching before checking here on xda.
Google admits that the issue is with the 60 bpf 4k recording that is the cause. And of course they do not have a fix available at this time.
I was hoping to find a way to lower the setting to 30 bpf but I cannot locate a way to change the setting. Can anyone help with that please? Or is it possible to install a different camera from the play store with custom video settings, and set that as default for all video?
Edit: I use the system wide dark mode, so I didn't see the camera drop down arrow which opens the settings popup. Open the camera, select video mode, touch the drop down arrow at the very top center of screen. The default setting for Frames/Sec is Auto. The other 2 options are 30 bfs and 60 bfs. Select 30 bfs. Touch outside the popup to dismiss.
I left the resolution at Full HD which is the default. Most users report the issue is while using 60 bfs at 4k.
My wife, who is traveling in another section of the country, also reports over heating. She was not actively using any app when the heating issue occurred. After rebooting the device she saw that the WebEx Meet app was attempting to connect in the background. A persistent silent notification was displayed in the notification tray. This app was one of many that she had transferred from her old device to her 5a during the initial setup process. I told her to uninstall that app. Then review all apps and remove any not needed. Probably should do the same as I have not looked at which of them may also be outdated and needlessly using system resources.
Grr, time for an update. I've had the overheat warnings every few days, but no noticeable effects from it. Until today!
I was in a long video call, maybe an hour or so and got the warning. Shortly after that, the phone shutdown. It was not charging at the time, battery was at 51%
I contacted support and they listened to my complaint and asked all the same questions as last time... except for the new question to confirm that I bought it from the US Google Store (I did of course, but not sure why they would ask that). They said a specialist will contact me via email within 2 days.
Having this issue as well. Shut down the phone for 10m and still got the issue when I powered on.
Crazy
I had a 5a for about 2 wks. I was in Facebook video chat for about 15min when overheated and dropped internet connection. I was holding phone in hand parked in car 80 degree day. I had one day left to return it, so I rma'd it. No way to report hardware problem as reason for return. Charged me $35 restocking fee. I loved the phone, but they need to solve this. If they fix it, I may buy again.
The phone overheating at all is unacceptable. I've never even personally seen/felt a phone "overheat". That's crazy.
Obviously some kind of defect that google will ignore for 1 year as per protocol.
I've only had my 5a 3 days so far but mine has yet to overheat. And I'm a heavy user. Now my OnePlus n10 after the android 11 update would overheat multiple times a day, sometimes when just sending a text. When it was on Android 10 it never overheated.
Im starting to have those issues too. I cant record for more than 1 minute sometimes
Was this solved in the new update? I havent updated due to root, so just wondering.
Thanks
Deadmau-five said:
Was this solved in the new update? I havent updated due to root, so just wondering.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I still can't record for over about 30 seconds to a minute
Unfortunately no... I'm still getting the overheating after the update.
This happened to me initially, like one user mentioned, when I got the phone and it was building the cache. More recently this happened to me while on a Caribbean vacation to Anguilla; was using the phone for pictures outside. It never got hot enough for a general overheat error, just always warning me that the camera was too hot and flash was disabled, or at one point camera was too hot when I was taking video and said the video could be unstable. I was filming in 1080/60. Switched to 1080/30 and it was ok. I have a Spigen Tough Armor case, so I wasn't surprised at that.
UPDATE: The phone finally died. I had been receiving the overheating issue about once a week since the beginning. Google support didn't care. Now, while I'm travelling in a foreign country, the phone died.
I called support and they said as a 1 time deal, they will replace it free of charge. However they only ship to the US and I have to send back this one in 14 days. That is an issue because mail from here takes months sometimes to reach the states. I"m not due back in the states until this summer.
WORST part: the password safe app that I use on my phone unlocks with my fingerprint. Never requires the actual password, so SHAME ON ME, I forgot that password. I have the password app on my laptop and it has current info, but I can't access it because I don't remember the actual password. :-(
PSA: use your actual password from time to time to ensure you don't forget key passwords!

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