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Getting Razr Maxx soon, and I have few simple questions.

C

Cremacious

Lurker
I'm getting this phone next week since I liked the idea of a big battery, the size/design is nice, and it has good hardware. However, I have a few questions that I would appreciate answers to.

1) It is said that when you first get a new device, you need to "condition" the battery. I don't remember if you're supposed to charge it fully out of the box, or let it drain completely, and then charge. What should I do to ensure a healthy battery? Or does it not matter?

2) Worth rooting? I use custom roms on my Incredible 2, but its mainly because I'm not a huge fan of Sense. I haven't used a Motorola phone so I'm wondering if stock is good enough to be worth sticking with. Especially when the Maxx (eventually) gets the ICS OTA update that will be stable.
I will probably do a factory reset when I first get the phone though to get rid of any bloatware that could slow my phone down.

3) With Cyanogenmod 7 on my current phone, you can pull down the notification bar and enable/disable things like WiFi, Mobile Data, GPS, etc. Also change which specific toggles you want to be listed along with their order. I noticed with my girlfriend's Galaxy S II that she doesn't have the option for 3G, just 4G... which I dislike. Having to go through the settings to enable 3G isn't a big deal, but it does seem kind of annoying. Is this phone the same way, or can you enable 3G via the notification bar?

Thanks in advance for any responses!
 
You will hear people go back and forth about batteries and what to do with them. My recommendation is you just use your phone out-of-box until it turns itself off and then plug it back in until it's 100%. You can leave the phone off or keep it on while it charges. =)

I haven't Root'ed my phone. I haven't found a need to do so. My recommendation is unless you find the need to change something or use a Root only application to leave the phone locked. However, this is really a personal choice. =)

Hope I've helped & more people can chime in about the interface toggles. ;)

~ ArmyX
 
Cremacious said:
I'm getting this phone next week since I liked the idea of a big battery, the size/design is nice, and it has good hardware. However, I have a few questions that I would appreciate answers to.

1) It is said that when you first get a new device, you need to "condition" the battery. I don't remember if you're supposed to charge it fully out of the box, or let it drain completely, and then charge. What should I do to ensure a healthy battery? Or does it not matter?

2) Worth rooting? I use custom roms on my Incredible 2, but its mainly because I'm not a huge fan of Sense. I haven't used a Motorola phone so I'm wondering if stock is good enough to be worth sticking with. Especially when the Maxx (eventually) gets the ICS OTA update that will be stable.
I will probably do a factory reset when I first get the phone though to get rid of any bloatware that could slow my phone down.

3) With Cyanogenmod 7 on my current phone, you can pull down the notification bar and enable/disable things like WiFi, Mobile Data, GPS, etc. Also change which specific toggles you want to be listed along with their order. I noticed with my girlfriend's Galaxy S II that she doesn't have the option for 3G, just 4G... which I dislike. Having to go through the settings to enable 3G isn't a big deal, but it does seem kind of annoying. Is this phone the same way, or can you enable 3G via the notification bar?

Thanks in advance for any responses!
Click to expand...

I came from the incredible and just installed Go Launcher EX when I got my Razr. I was pretty satisfied with that for a while then decided to just install the recently leaked ICS update from motorola. To my dismay you cannot get access to the power control options in the notification bar in either the ICS case or GB with go launcher. Seems like a simple enough feature to include but who knows.

Rooting is so easy its a joke. Just use something called "Motofail" one click and it takes a few minutes. The reason I use root is for screen shots, Titanium backup, and Ad Free. There isnt much else to gain on root since you can wifi hotspot with FoxFi unrooted.

Switching from 4g to 3g means having to select a separate mobile network which means there is probably no way you can get that in a widget, at least with this phone.

Those are my observations, hope they helped.
 
1) There are opinions all over the map regarding battery care, but the consensus seems to be that Li-Ion batteries should not be fully depleted each time and should not be used or stored in hot conditions. I doubt that one full discharge/recharge cycle for calibration purposes would be detrimental, however. After that, you should probably charge before the battery it's depleted, and better if done at 20, 30, or 40% remaining.

2) Even if you intend to remain on stock, rooting is certainly worthwhile if you want to load and use certain apps that require root. Some are concerned about losing root when the ICS OTA update comes, or (less) concerned that being rooted might interfere with the OTA update. Again, the consensus seems to be that the bigger (potential) problem for the OTA update would be the missing bloatware, which has interfered with OTA updates in the past. As far as the stock 2.3.6 ROM on the Razr, I think it's fine (for now).

3) Quick access to switches for the various radios and functions is a must for me. I use a mix of the built-in power control widget and Widgetsoid switches. Neither of those had a working 4G/3G toggle, however, so I added the switch from "4G Toggle" to my home screen, which works quickly and effectively. 4G is a huge battery consumer, especially if you are not in a strong signal zone (or moving in and out of zones), and it adds very little value if you're just checking email or making phone calls. I prefer to keep it off unless browsing or tethering.
 
Battery: I ran mine all the way down to < 10% when I got it, then turned phone off completely until 100%. Have had good battery ever since.
I've rooted and installed custom ROMs before, but I have not bothered to root the phone since I didn't see a need for it. The GB on it is stable, there is enough memory that the bloatware is irrelevant, and can do what I need from stock. I use widgetsoid for stuff like bluetooth, wifi, etc. on and off which is not as good as the notification bar but not too bad. I'm happy with the moto interface as is. You would always prefer not to have the bloatware, but it is not really bothering me on this phone as it is performing well as is. My only issue is WiFi connectivity with my wifi has been a real problem. But the battery is good enough that my 4g isnt killing it
 
I am pretty much just waiting for a stable ICS MIUI build until i really want to modify. I might try Gummy but i miss using my rooted apps and tweaks. I used to get a day and a half to two days off of one charge with droid 2 :)
 
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