Help I need some input on N5?

[Spec2nirvash]

Hey all -

Here's the situation. I have been wanting to buy a Nexus phone for quite some time now. I almost bought the N4, but after a quick look around I saw some unfavorable issues affecting the devices, and being an LG(!), I figured I'd wait for the N5 and see how that does, looked to be better than the 4 anyway.

My son and I both got 2013 Nexus 7s for Christmas. I never really looked into the 7 beyond specs between the '12 and '13 model. So far mine has been fine: fast, beautiful display, perfect all around. My son's however, had screen problems (Major issue with these tablets?). Phantom touches, so bad that games were unplayable. A single finger drag was all over the place, so we swapped for another new N7. The second one had the same issues, even after I told Jr. to hold off on installing those CPU hungry games he had on the first one. Same thing. He traded the second 7 for a KFHDX and now he's happy.

My question here is, now that the N5 has been out for a while, are there any issues, even small quirks that plague these phones too? I think I lucked out with my N7 but I'm still hesitant on buying a N5 after tax-time. The GPS antenna issue, mfg by LG and having to tweak APNs for MetroPCS MMS/data are already giving me second thoughts about this. So pretty much, I don't want to have to unlock the bootloader/root it, flash ROM's or patches, or even take it apart to make it work. I'm capable of doing all the above, but for once I just want a phone that works right out of the box. I'm done with Huawei phones

Thanks for reading as well as any input! ~spec

 

[hemplacrosse4]

From my personal experience, the Nexus 5 is by far the best Android phone out there. Maybe not camera wise, but functionality it just works! No bloat ware no restrictions and you have the latest Android OS on your phone that will be updated frequently. I have recently owned the S4, LG G2, and iPhone 5s and after having all these phone I still went back to my Nexus 5 because it does all I want without having to root or jailbreak. Also if you check Amazons reviews there are a lot of good reviews.

 

[Hunter5]

I would have to agree with hemplacrosse4 and add that I have no issues with the camera for what I use it for actually have had others comment on how well the picture quality is. As for Metro, been with them since day one, popped in a sim card and good to go.
I have owned numerous devices in the past and LG by far has been top notch so I'm not sure where you feel otherwise, would take a LG over Samsung any day. I love my N5, by far the best phone I have ever owned. I don't think you will disappointed.

 

[Rxpert83]

I haven't heard of any GPS issues with the nexus 5.

As far as adjusting APNs for metro... its not an issue with the phone, its just making an adjustment for it to work properly with your cellular network.

I love the camera and screen, and battery life isn't too shabby either

 

[Wrend]

There are a number of threads similar to this one out there.

For my take on the Nexus 5, have a look at this post of mine and follow the links in that post and subsequent ones, if you like: http://androidforums.com/nexus-5/819911-coming-vz-galaxy-nexus-hows-look.html#post6394446

But long story short, from what I want from my mobile device/smart phone, there is currently no better option available than the Nexus 5, without price even being factored in. The bang for the buck of the Nexus 5 was just a nice bonus.

 

[akmsr]

if you have good t-mobile signal at your location, you should be set. most of other issues are really minor and solvable by this or that.
the only possible problem i see you facing is when your son realizes that this phone just flies, you may have to buy another one for yourself as you will be robbed

 

[Spec2nirvash]

Actually, there have been a lot of complaints concerning the GPS (google forums) taking a long time to achieve a fix or not locking in at all. Seems the problem is a bad connection between the GPS antenna on the back cover and the contacts on the board. There is a fix on youTube involving wedging a piece of index card under the adhesive ribbon cable to restore a good connection. I mean, that wouldn't stop me from getting one, as long as that's the only major issue. Didn't want to have to take it apart within a week of getting it. I need a reliable GPS more than anything else. If both of the cameras die within a week I couldn't care any less.

The reason LG makes me shudder is because of having previously owned an OM690, Connect 4G and a Motion 4G (need I say more?). The Motion is the only handset that gave me solid performance from day one until decommission, without ever having to even root it, but feel LG's UI overlay is hideous. Not that said UI has anything to do with N5, but I do feel my LG hatred is warranted. But maybe it's time to let go of that.....

So far it looks like you're all happy with it

 

[ritchea]

Check out problems on google product forums. https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!categories/nexus/nexus-5. I've been lucky (?) with mine but do have some signal issues. I've read that the N5 is in a second hardware issue now. http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nexu...h-new-speaker-grill-and-fixed-buttons_id50321 so you may do better than some early adopters (I bought mine within the first hour--black 16GB.). I had an N4 which I LOVED, but no LTE for me. My son has it on T-Mobile now with full LTE. Except for the cellular signal problem, N5 is a major step up.

 

[hemplacrosse4]

Just remember when you're seeing a complaint on a forum it is no where near the majority of people who haven't taken the time to disagree otherwise. It is possible though out of a few hundred thousand Nexus 5 sold you will get a few lemons, but isn't that electronics in general? GPS has been 100% fully functional since the day I bought it. Hell of a lot better than my iPhone 5s. (Which is up for sale too :laugh

 

[Spec2nirvash]

if you have good t-mobile signal at your location, you should be set. most of other issues are really minor and solvable by this or that.
the only possible problem i see you facing is when your son realizes that this phone just flies, you may have to buy another one for yourself as you will be robbed

I have decent TMO where I am. My wife's Vitria gets 20+MB/s on one bar of 4GLTE, and I get a solid 5MB/s with my 3G Valiant, which is faster than the CDMA 4G I got here before. My son got robbed somewhat, as he unknowingly bought the discounted HDX that has advertisements on the lockscreen hahaha..... He is pissed about that but the HDX's performance more than makes up for not being to use some launchers or setting wallpaper The Nexus 5 will be for me, he has an iPhone 4.

 

[akmsr]

volume = satisfactorily resolved
camera = satisfactorily resolved
signal issue = somewhat better
call quality and headset issue = hit or miss. probably related to signal
gps = do not use
wifi = do not use
chrome = horrible . i tether

 

[Rxpert83]

volume = satisfactorily resolved
camera = satisfactorily resolved
signal issue = somewhat better
call quality and headset issue = hit or miss. probably related to signal
gps = do not use
wifi = do not use
chrome = horrible . i tether

Its easy enough to install a different browser

 

[Wrend]

Haven't notice any issues with the GPS on my Nexus 5 (16GB, white, first wave). I don't need to use GPS too frequently, but when I have, it seems to find where I am pretty quickly and accurately, so it isn't something that I've needed nor even known to look into further, honestly.

 

[akmsr]

the only possible problem i see you facing is when your son realizes that this phone just flies, you may have to buy another one for yourself as you will be robbed

he unknowingly bought the discounted HDX that has advertisements on the lockscreen hahaha..... He is pissed about that but the HDX's performance more than makes up for not being to use some launchers or setting wallpaper The Nexus 5 will be for me, he has an iPhone 4.

i wouldn't be so sure if i were you . n5 is essentially galaxy note 3 hardware on a 5" form factor for almost half the money.
all kidding aside i wish i have your signal

 

[Spec2nirvash]

Just remember when you're seeing a complaint on a forum it is no where near the majority of people who haven't taken the time to disagree otherwise. It is possible though out of a few hundred thousand Nexus 5 sold you will get a few lemons, but isn't that electronics in general? GPS has been 100% fully functional since the day I bought it. Hell of a lot better than my iPhone 5s. (Which is up for sale too :laugh

I agree somewhat. I feel if there were only a few out of a few hundred thousand units affected, there wouldn't be so much attention. Perhaps I'm wrong, but remember the iPhone 4 and call dropping issues? Yeah, that I love how Apple says: "Here, take your complimentary 2 cent skin and STFU, or don't hold the phone by the metal bezel while making calls". I'm hoping that it really IS only a few/fewK, I'm just curious to see how many in AF have been affected by this.

And yeah, my $30 Huawei can do more than an iPhone 5 as it sits, hahaha.... I'll leave it at that, as I have a LOT of gripes about them

 

[Wrend]

i wouldn't be so sure if i were you . n5 is essentially galaxy note 3 hardware on a 5" form factor for almost half the money.
...

Yeah, the Nexus 5's performance is top-tier.

To put this into a more quantifiable context: 18116 is my latest 3DMark IceStorm Unlimited benchmark result without trying to tweak/fine tune my Nexus 5 to get it to run faster for the benchmark.

Anyone can feel free to share what they get on other devices for my amusement.

 

[Spec2nirvash]

Its easy enough to install a different browser

Is there any better browser? I don't really care for Chrome, yet it seems to work better than any other browser I've tried.

Firefox, FFBeta, Dolphin, Opera are a few I've tried. FF being the biggest joke, but no surprise there Mozilla has never impressed me beyond ThunderBird

 

[akmsr]

Its easy enough to install a different browser

Is there any better browser? I don't really care for Chrome, yet it seems to work better than any other browser I've tried.

Firefox, FFBeta, Dolphin, Opera are a few I've tried. FF being the biggest joke, but no surprise there Mozilla has never impressed me beyond ThunderBird

my main complaint about the browser is not having 'text wrap'.
believe it or not this is a feature of kitkat not a bug.
ever tried boat browser?

 

[Hook]

I use GPS a lot for tracking my runs. I have absolutely no issues with it quickly grabbing signal. This is a Black 32GB N5 bought the first day they were available.

 

[Wrend]

Is there any better browser? I don't really care for Chrome, yet it seems to work better than any other browser I've tried.

Firefox, FFBeta, Dolphin, Opera are a few I've tried. FF being the biggest joke, but no surprise there Mozilla has never impressed me beyond ThunderBird

Not a fan of mobile browsers in general... Chrome works as well or better than any other for me, other than FF on my PC, on my Nexus 5.

 

[Hook]

Not a fan of mobile browsers in general... Chrome works as well or better than any other for me, other than FF on my PC, on my Nexus 5.

View attachment 66760

I've become a big fan of the combo of Firefox on my desktop (used since it was called Phoenix) and Boat on my N5. Boat syncs with FF but is much quicker and slimmed down. I'm also not a fan of mobile browsing either but, when I do have to use it, Boat is pretty nice.

 

[jhawkkw]

Another +1 on Boat Browser. Personally I haven't had any issues with my N5, though I'd say the biggest issue that appears seems to be the inconsistent battery life. I don't think stock is optimized very well and leads to a lot of people plowing through the battery quite quickly. Once finding the right rom/kernel combo, this device seems to last quite a long time.

 

[Rxpert83]

The new Google services update has helped quite a bit with the location related battery drain.

I usually leave it on now

 

[ljbad4life]

I love my N5

Camera could be better, but the last update really improved things. HDR+ works well.

I have an early build n5 (delivered 11/6) and I have zero issues

ear piece is loud, and the mic is clear (no complains from other callers)

the speaker was really low at first, but the last update remedied the issue 100%

Gps was always accurate and fast for me since day one

Battery life is still great on my side. I get 10-12 hrs of battery life with super heavy use (i am the definition of power user). I mean frequent play music streaming (at least 3 hrs a day) playing games (dreamcast emulator 2 hours or more), phone calls, text, web browsing, app use (flipboard, reading books/magazines).

The n5 might not have all the bells and whistles as my old sgs3, but it has none of the problems.

 

[mrsmumbles]

I love my Nexus 5. Received it 11/7 and zero issues. It absolutely flies. It's so much faster than my Optimus F7 it's like night and day and I really liked my F7 before I had my N5. I can take it to any carrier other than Verizon so it's the ultimate prepaid phone and the lack of carrier and OEM bloatware is just a joy to me.

I can't imagine loving any other phone or enjoying any other phone as much as I do my Nexus 5.

I've read of so many issues and if I had waited I'm afraid I might have been scared off. I'm so glad I didn't wait. It's perfect for me.