yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
What would AT&T carry that would be just below this phone? Just curious. (And hopefully not the infuse it's way toooooo bigggg LOL)
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
You know what........I took the plunge and bought it from expansys-usa.com

I called and talked to them and the guy said that if I have any problems with the screen in the first 30 days they will replace with no questions asked.

I want to thank all for their help.

AJ
[Galaxy S II General] King Shady:
Congrats and welcome aboard ;)
[Galaxy S II General] htc fan89:
If you near the Canadian border, just buy from Best buy. If they allow you to buy outright. But, warranty be only valid in Canada sadly.:(
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
I actually went to an ATT store and checked out the Infuse and Atrix today. Infuse was WAY TO BIG lol. It was fun to watch stuff on but for an every day phone it didn't cut the mustard. The Atrix was nice looking but it lacked in screen and for some reason it was really really laggy.

I then went to a T-Mobile store and checked out the HTC Sensation. The phone itself was pretty sweet. If I wanted to switch carriers I probably would have wound up getting that phone. The workers there offered to sell me it outright without a contract and no warranty for $500 but after looking at it some more The colors just weren't there. Also, the no warranty thing was a big no no for me.
[Galaxy S II General] nraudigy2:
I know I would rather have Galaxy SII than Captivate II.
[Galaxy S II General] rockky:
Someone was explaining that Samsung optimize they're hardware for the chip (whatever that exactly means), and HTC does not.....as one of two explanations why the Sensation sees poor speeds with the Qualcomm. The other explanation was it was unrooted w/Sense! ...different story postroot.

So I'm not necessarily ruling out the Samsung on Qualcomm performing on par with the exynos chip yet.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Got my phone today popped the sim in and its a seemless transition. now how do i change measurements and weights to US?
[Galaxy S II General] King Shady:
Go to settings and change language to English. Also make sure you have automatic time enabled
[Galaxy S II General] Croak:
And I'm totally ruling out ANY device with a low-rent Qualcomm chipset being branded as a Galaxy SII.

I don't know what they'll call the rumored T-Mobile device with a Qualcomm budget SoC in it...they may call it the Galaxy W or some other letter, but it has to have Exynos in it to be a SGS2 variant.

As for the Sensation's poor benchmarks, it has as much to do with the fact that the Snapdragon chipset is just old and busted, even in the dual-core Scorpion form. It's worse than the Tegra 2, and that's saying a lot, since the Tegra 2 has some serious issues.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
Apparently, it's going to be branded Galaxy S II. I hope for all the T-Mobile users waiting for it that Samsung gets better performance out of the chip than HTC did. I don't think they'd put the SGS2 name on it if it didn't perform well. It's huge though which may be a turn off for some.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
So now everytime I take a picture with my new phone I get a small dark circle in the picture. At first I thought it was some dirt but it won't go away!!!! What the heck? Any fix for this?
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
here's a picture of it. I'll try to post it here.
[Galaxy S II General] ericshmerick:
Hope that Expansys-USA warranty/exchange policy works out for you. Looks like either a group of dead/dim pixels on the camera sensor (unlikely) or some manufacturing defect on the sensor/lens. Either way, unless you can live with it, you got a defective unit.

This is why I bought from Amazon. No questions asked 30-day return/exchange. So basically, you can order as many as you want, so long as you return and re-order in the 30-day window. Prime overnight for $3.99 doesn't hurt either. No warranty though, although I don't care since the instant you root (which you will eventually) say bye-bye to warranty.

I'm actually growing quite fond of my SGSII from Amazon. It's the Chilean version and is working great. I may just keep it.

Sorry you got what looks to be a defect from Expansys...
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
So there's no fix for it?
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Do you think that Expansys would just give me my money back? Man I'm Mad lol.
[Galaxy S II General] Disfected:
Just call them up and ask for a replacement unit. Their customer service seems pretty quick, not sure entirely on RMA but I got refunded fast when they did a price drop on it.
[Galaxy S II General] Croak:
It's not been confirmed it's Qualcomm though. I'm pretty damned sure it won't be either, as long as it has that "SII" on it. And I'm pretty sure T-Mobile doesn't want an under-powered version either, if the other three major US carriers have "real" ones.

As for tweaking, there's simply not a lot Samsung can do to improve Scorpion performance. And even if Samsung COULD wring better performance out of the 8260, why would they want to invest a lot of money in that, when they could just slap an Exynos in there and call it a day? T-Mobile just doesn't have the customer base to justify a huge Samsung R&D spend to fix a competitor's chipset. Tegra 2 Android tweaking by Samsung makes more sense, since they were FORCED to buy a ****load if they wanted to produce Honeycomb tablets.

You could argue that Samsung has to use Qualcomm for the WinPho7 devices, but those are all single-core, and MSFT won't let them touch the low-level code in any case, so no optimization tricks could be carried over to Android.

Long story longer, the MSM8260 just isn't competitive with even Tegra 2 in a lot of areas, let alone Exynos or the latest OMAP designs. The upcoming 28nm versions may be more competitive, since they will clock higher and/or use less power than the current 45nm designs.

But, the 28nm QC chips won't be in a phone scheduled to be released in a matter of weeks, it won't be in a non-HTC phone first, and there's no reason for Samsung to use it in a "flagship" device.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Don't know lol. I may just ask for money back. My luck seems to be horrible recently. I can't find anything on their website about returns or money back though.
[Galaxy S II General] Disfected:
Um, everything listed is on the site just look on the bottom for terms and condition.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
I did Not know that! Lol. After looking at other phones out there I don't see much else that compares to this phone though. Maybe the HTC sensation or Atrix. I just hope if they send me another one it's not messed uP lol.
[Galaxy S II General] Disfected:
Good luck with the replacement tomorrow, sucks since their closed today lol.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Yeah I know. Good thing is that they are based in IL. And i am in mo.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
From the first rumor report in May, before any association with the SGS2, the phone was described as having a Qualcomm chip. Then a week ago the Celox mysteriously appears as an SGS2 variant with a Qualcomm chip looking identical to the leaked pics of T-Mobile's Hercules with identical specs. The Qualcomm 8260 is also clocked at 1.5Ghz, same as the Celox/Hercules, and the only bump discussed for the Exynos SGS2 to is to 1.4Ghz. I agree with you about a potential performance deficit but to the untold masses all they'll see on the box is "dual-core 1.5Ghz processor" and "Samsung Galaxy S II" and won't know or care what chip's inside. And the U.S. carriers are notoriously margin hungry so if a Qualcomm chip gave them a $20 lower acquisition cost they'd be all over it. And consider this, Exynos doesn't exist in the U.S. since the original SGS2's never been sold there so there's no real let down to be experienced.

As for T-Mobile, they're a sinking ship with or without the AT&T merger. They've lost 1MM post-paid customers so far this year and are number 4 in a market of 4. I'd guess that Samsung gave T-Mobile the Celox because they could use the existing AWS radio and Qualcomm chip that's already in the Sensation easily and inexpensively keeping the price down based on the relatively smaller volume they'll sell. Since the Celox also supports LTE, VZW's version could be a Qualcomm-based Celox variant as there's been no news or leaks about the version they're getting. VZW's other soon to be flagship, the Bionic, only has a 1Ghz OMAP chip. Sprint's version could be Qualcomm too since Samsung could reuse the E3D's current Qualcomm/Wi-Max radio. Even though AT&T's version is a slider the existing Exynos/HSPA+ combination supports their network right out of the box and the dimensions of the phone that cleared the FCC are almost identical to our SGS2. So when you take in to account time, development, and parts costs to support all the U.S. carriers different network infrastructures there's a ton of variables at play beyond simply which is the better chipset. Especially when the average customer doesn't know or care.

But you're right, nothings confirmed and everything I just shared is pure speculation on my part. We'll find out soon enough on the 29th. ;)
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
How was your display? That was your biggest concern originally.
[Galaxy S II General] nomnompie:
True Newegg gives no warranty. It is also true it has no seal, but I believe the reason is because Newegg gets the accessories separate and has to put the US chargers in the boxes.

I got one from Newegg and everything was in fact new. and individually sealed.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
What's the country of origin for your phone and what's its current firmware? Plug it in to Kies and see if it's up to date. You can also try try to update the camera firmware as that's made a difference for some people that have had issues in the past. Here's the link to the newest version...

http://www.mediafire.com/?596b6p8l23ld5bc

Transfer it to the phone via USB and then run it. Don't freak out because it automatically puts the phone in airplane mode and takes a few minutes to run. It won't hurt your phone and won't install if the version you already have is the same or newer.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Cool I'll do that tonight with the camera. The display is flawless. I checked the test page and all was good.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Okay I put the new camera firmware on my phone and to no avail.....the spot is still there....So I'll call Expansys in the morning and see if they'll send me a new phone out. I'm bummed lol. I hope I don't get one with a screen problem next. I have to think positive right?

AJ
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
So do you think I should get my money back or have them send another one?
[Galaxy S II General] w4rmk:
Since I am an Amazon Premier member I was going to order from Amazon but instead I just ordered mine today from Expansys USA based on the recommendations here regarding warranty. FYI, the following coupons can be used with Expansys, I saved $10 using the first one.

COUPON CODE: LSAUG10

$10 off orders over $250

COUPON CODE: LSAUG25

$25 off any purchase of $700

My understanding is that these coupon codes are good until 8/31.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
If you go through this angst over buying a phone, how do you survive buying a car or a house?
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Yeah I used the $10 one. I am just confused about what to do. Do I send mine back and hope that the one they send me is ok or do I get my money back and get the HTC Sensation? That's pretty much what I'm pondering at the moment. Any feedback on this? And How are T-Mobile's Data Plans? Just curious.
[Galaxy S II General] asjdwf:
Yeah, I know. LOL It's a bad bad bad habit lol
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
Here's a test...

Q) You send your phone back and the second one you receive has an issue with the display.

A) You...

~~~1) Shrug it off and try again.

~~~ 2) Come running to XDA and post a zillion threads on how you can't believe such an expensive phone could have this many problems.

Q) You've had the phone for six months. The USB charging port stops working.

A) You...

~~~1) Say to yourself "I'm glad I have a warranty" and patiently wait the four weeks it will take to get it repaired.

~~~2) Come running to XDA and post a zillion times what a piece of crap this phone is and how you wish you never bought it.

You should be able to answer "1" to both questions without even having to think about it. If you can't, then the SGS2 and any other non-carrier phone is not for you. There are benefits but you give up the comfort and security of having the carrier to fall back on at the time of purchase and for service. It sounds like you really need/want the comfort and security. And I'd suggest you read the Sensation forum. It's far from problem free. Also, buy it at a T-Mobile corporate-owned store. That way you can exchange it there if you're not happy. If you buy it online, you can only exchange it by having them ship you a new one which can take five days.
[Galaxy S II General] jlevy73:
Don't get me started on the Sensation. The Nexus S gives the SGS2 a better run for it's money then that POS. I'm beginning to think a buggy G2x is better than the Sensation.

By the way, I answered 2 for both of those questions...is that bad :p
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
Wow, you're one of the most balanced posters on here so for you to rail on the Sensation really says something about it. As for picking "1" vs. "2," I think a lot of people like the sexiness of having an exotic imported phone but don't really take in to account the downside. From the tone of most of the U.S. posters I think the majority of us are "1"s. And contrary to your post, I know you're a "1" man at heart. ;)
[Galaxy S II General] laxwillsch:
I bought the one from amazon that has the "international warranty". U know that this could be just smoke and not hold true if i need a replacement, but I am a prime member and I believe that if something happened and I needed to use the warranty amazon would make it right. They have always came through for me in the past and the fact that the seller was prime eligible also backs my logic up. But heres to hoping I won't have any issues. As far as the device goes I have a perfect display, great battery life, and no camera issues. Mmmm.....satisfaction!
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
So riddle me this Batman, why does Amazon when selling the phone direct have "no warranty" in the title of sales page? I'm a Prime member too, and they treat us fairly well, but if you think Amazon's going to eat a $600 phone that they made a 10% commission on selling by way of a third party you're nuts. I suggest you get a SquareTrade warranty on it. It's $94 for two years of coverage and covers defects as well as accidental damage.
[Galaxy S II General] ewuzh:
Amazon has both versions, one with warranty and one without. I also picked up the international warranty version on Amazon. Mine was via a merchant, but Amazon direct also sells it too. They are just out of stock at the moment.

Honestly I'm not too concerned about it. The build quality on this phone is excellent. The screen is perfect, great camera, no problems at all. Knowing what I know now, I'd have just gotten the "no warranty" version to save a few bucks.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
My question was rhetorical. No SGS2 sold in the U.S. has a warranty - it's considered grey market by Samsung. The exception being Expansys which has phones sold in the U.S. serviced through their UK office. I'm not calling you out, just letting those that follow know how it plays. The only way to get a warranty in the U.S. is to buy the phone abroad from an authorized dealer with an invoice from the country of the phone's intended sale or from Expansys USA. This is Samsung's policy and they enforce it and no reseller can change that. People in the UK that bought their phones there have already had warranty claims denied because they purchased from an unauthorized dealer. It's all pretty black and white.
[Galaxy S II General] w4rmk:
I am an Amazon prime member as well but for this purchase I chose to order from Expansys USA for several reasons. With the $10 coupon the purchase price was basically the same even as Amazon (even with next day air shipping) and Expansys honors the full warranty because you return the phone to them if service is needed and they deal with Samsung. Expansys shipped my SGS2 the same day I placed my order and I had in my hands at 8:30am the next day. Service was outstanding and the phone was sealed in the original box. They included a plug adapter so that the charger would adapt to USA wall sockets.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
There's a couple of hardware technicians that post here and they've identified the SGS2's weakest link. It's the USB charging port. With repeated use it can come loose and someone already had it break free and move up in to the phone. I bought mine in the UK so it's warrantied but I also got SquareTrade for it in case I drop or damage it. SquareTrade's also transferable which adds value if you want to sell the phone later (which I will).
[Galaxy S II General] compuguy1088:
I noticed that Amazon was selling used-like new SGSII phones, that would qualify for open box SquareTrade warranty for $629.99. Personally I trust amazon a tad more than a online site I haven't worked with in the past...but this is just me.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
I'd be leery. They could be returns with display issues. Unfortunately, there's been QC issues like suction cup circles, fingerprints on the inside of the display, blotches and lines, and wide swings in color temperature. Probably not worth the savings (unless you could return it easily if it had a problem).
[Galaxy S II General] compuguy1088:
Because it is a *Amazon* warehouse deal, it follows Amazon's return policies (30 days to return, with all included items).
[Galaxy S II General] King Shady:
Haha you sir are a smartass :). Good day.
[Galaxy S II General] ericshmerick:
He speaks the truth. Yes, Prime members pay $79 per year for fast shipping and free streaming, but that doesn't entitle any Prime member to return stuff after the standard window. It's ridiculous to suggest that just because you are Prime (which most regular Amazon shoppers are) you will suddenly have some sort of special rights or implied warranty when it comes to stuff you buy.

If your phone is on day 31 and you want to return it, Amazon will probably work with you. If you are on day 124 and your phone acts up, Amazon will remind you of their return policy and politely decline any sort of BUT IM PRIME talk. Prime ≠ extended warranty.
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pilboyz:
I have a stock AT&T Atrix and im planning it to use abroad.

1. SIM unlock it. Change APN/Internet settings. Upgrade to 2.3.4 via OTA or Manual(US version).

2. SIM unlock. Upgrade to 2.3.4. Change APN.

3. Upgrade to 2.3.4. SIM unlock. change APN.

sorry for the noobish question. i just want to know which is the safer option.

Thanks in advance.
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sun3vi1:
Technically u should just be able to use att's network via roaming, but its expensive. Cheapest option is to buy att world minutes unless u will be gone for a while. In that case, I would sim unlock and set up a plan with a foreign carrier.

If u are ever planning on rooting your ATRIX again, I would avoid OTA due to the possibility of hardbrick and the difficulty of further hacking. I would SIM unlock and do a fruitcake upgrade (via CWM) to 2.3.4
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pilboyz:
im planning to use the Atrix permanently abroad. :D
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sun3vi1:
Oh ok. In that case I would do SIM unlock and install 2.3.4. via fruitcake updates (these can be installed with Clockwork mod)
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pilboyz:
whats with installing 2.3.4 via fruitcake updates? cant i upgrade manually through motorola site?
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] talleywhacker:
Ive recently flashed the 2.3.3 I9000 gingerbread bootloaders. Am I foolish to assume that I can now flash not only Captivate roms but galaxy s I9000 roms as well?
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mcord11758:
I9000 roms will require a captivate kernel for proper button mapping and orientation
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] talleywhacker:
I've been running Talon kernels since I first got root. Can you recommend a good Captivate kernel that will work with the I9000 roms?

Sent from my GT-I9000
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mcord11758:
Talon should do, obviously gb version
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] talleywhacker:
I tried to flash an I9000 jvr rom and the home button fix didn't work. So I flashed a talon kernel and got a soft brick. Flashed back to stock. Will have to try a diff kernel?

Sent from my Super Smooth Cappy
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] watsa:
The ROM u r talking about comes with a kernel for captivate. You dont need to flash any fix on top of it. With that said you can flash I9000 roms that have been redone for captivate and which are present in Captivate Android Development and not Galaxy S Android Development
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] talleywhacker:
That was my original question. If any I9000 Rom would work now or if it had to be captivate specific.

Sent from my Super Smooth Cappy
[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] talleywhacker:
Btw Watsa,

I just flashed Apex 9.0 JVR yesterday and haven't had a single issue. Very nicely done.

Sent from my Super Smooth Cappy
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MBeattie:
I (for no reason whatsoever) prefer to get into recovery to perform factory data resets. Holdinf volume up and hitting power gets me into the proper menu but when I select recovery, I get the exclamation point inside the triangle. How then can I wipe via recovery?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Rem3Dy:
What they said below
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rentaric:
Press vol up + power again when the "!" appears.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MBeattie:
I should have mentioned that step doesn't work either. I'm pretty stumped.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] drtdiver83:
hold power and slide from vol down to vol up on that screen will take you to the stock recovery.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] matt2053:
Make sure you get the sequence right:

1) See the (!)

2) Hold POWER button

3) Press VOLUME UP button

4) See the UI. There will be options for "wipe data/factory reset" and "wipe cache partition."
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MBeattie:
Thanks so much. Its all in the sequence. Finally got it.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tevil:
i was having this issue and found the only way to fix this for me was to re load clockwork onto the phone
[Desire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hasnain721:
Hi guys,

So basically i unlocked my desire, created a gold card and rooted it successfully and then installed Rommanager app from the market. From that app i downloaded the oxygen rom and installed it.

Everything looked like it was going fine till the point that the phone restarted and the oxygen animation comes on the screen. Nothing happens after that! I tried taking the battery off and then restarting (with the battery obv!) but stil the same thing!! The animation keeps on reoccuring but nothing happens! Plz help!!!!

Thanks.
[Desire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hasnain721:
FIxed it guys! Just had to do a recovery! Saved my life lool!
[Thunderbolt Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] hholland923:
My accelerometer and proximity sensor are broken and im planning on sending the phone in since it is still under its one year warranty. However, a couple of days ago my nephew got a hold of it and dropped it from about two feet up on to some concrete :mad:

the crack is just at 5mm, and i really dont want to pay for a new phone if i send this one in, so i guess i am looking for some piece of mind. also, the back kickstand has normal wear-and-tear and nothing traumatic has happened. Should i be in the clear to send it in for a CLNR phone?

i have to post a couple more times to link to pictures, but what have you guys gotten away with damage wise when returning it?