Galaxy S4

[MRU]

3. Very good. No major differences I've noticed between the One and S4 with headphones or BT. I turn off the Beats EQ anyways. BT Audio is very good. I stream to both my Audi and BMW. Never had any problems.

Actually the HTC one does have better audio reproduction, but the S4 is certainly no slouch. But from an audiophile the One produces better results.

I've compared both extensively, and yes we do actually have an audio recording studio and therefore have tested on very expensive studio speakers.

As for headphones,

Well those specific brands of headphones I have both the Klipsch S4i and then bought the S4a just for Android support. I should not have bothered.

Just so you know the support for them on Android is rubbish compared to iOS..., button presses / remote control doesn't work properly on either device. Even installing Klipsch headphone control doesn't male them work properly. You may get one press to register, the next time it will fail.

I even tried an alternative headphone control application and same problem.

The only Jays I have are the Jays + and they sound good with either device! just don't expect remote to work. (However as your Jays are BT you should be OK. BT remote support works grand on either device)....

 

[2298754]

Actually the HTC one does have better audio reproduction, but the S4 is certainly no slouch. But from an audiophile the One produces better results.

Probably my headphones. I got these cheap in-ear buds from JLab. Can't really tell a difference. Not too much of an audiophile either.

Well those specific brands of headphones I have both the Klipsch S4i and then bought the S4a just for Android support. I should not have bothered.

Just so you know the support for them on Android is rubbish compared to iOS..., button presses / remote control doesn't work properly on either device. Even installing Klipsch headphone control doesn't male them work properly. You may get one press to register, the next time it will fail.

They're really that bad? Damn, I wish someone would make a set of Android headphones that have working controls (besides the stock white Sammy earbuds)

 

[MRU]

They're really that bad? Damn, I wish someone would make a set of Android headphones that have working controls (besides the stock white Sammy earbuds)

Yeah - I can tell you I thought it was just the fact the S4i's were iPhone ones that stopped the remote working properly, so I spent another €99 buying the S4a only to find they are worse than the iPhone ones.

I really wish I had seen a brief look at the reviews on the play store of the Klipsch application before spending the € on the abdroid specific pair. It seems they just never bothered getting them to work with Jelly Bean properly.

What I do now is I use either them or the Jaybirds and have connected them to the Sony BH20 Bluetooth NFC reciever / remote. The Sony headphones that come with it are shockingly bad, but the reciever has a 3mm jack so you can use any headphones.

That way I at least get some use out of the Klispch. But sadly I could have still just used the S4i's in this instance and saved myself the €99 on the S4a's....

I even wrote a complaining letter to Klipsch, as an apology they sent me a pack of replacement caps! Woot thanks Klipsch.....

 

[bmac4]

Just a quick question. Does the GE S4 support the tmobile LTE band?

 

[mattopotamus]

Just a quick question. Does the GE S4 support the tmobile LTE band?

It does. If you have issues use this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2356483

 

[bmac4]

It does. If you have issues use this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2356483

Thanks for the help. I was asking for a friend. I am att, but I was just checking to make sure.

 

[Explicitic]

I just thought I'd share this here.

I broke my Galaxy S4's SIM reader (pins) when I inserted a badly cut "micro-SIM" while traveling in China. Thanks to this phone's abillity to be disassembled, I was able to repair it for only $12 by purchasing a new SIM/SD card reader. I bought it on eBay and received an i9500 reader (though the listing said i337) and it works fine as you will see in the pictures below. I'm able to receive LTE on AT&T and calls work great. Taking apart the phone was as simple as removing a few screws and lifting the frame.

The only negative thing about this is that the S4's SIM reader is actually held by an adhesive, unlike the S3 (which was held by a screw). It wasn't too big of a problem, though, as the adhesive on the bottom was still sticky enough to hold the new reader.

 

[mKTank]

Ouch! That sucks man. When I had my old Nexus S and a badly designed microSIM->SIM adapter damaged my pins, I had to buy a whole new motherboard. :/ Basically a whole new phone.

Never again. Not in my S4.

 

[MRU]

The sim reader was faulty in mine, I sent it back to Samsung to repair. Took nearly two weeks to do what you did in 30 mins... I don't think I'd have the nerve myself though

 

[Sylon]

I'll have to be honest here, I think I found something I don't like about the design of this phone. While the super skinny bezel looks great, functionally it can be a pain in the ass. Countless times I've accidentally hit the back button or something on the screen I didn't intend to just by holding it in my hand. Activating the camera then trying to hold the phone up with one hand to capture the shot, damn-near impossible. Every single time I'll end up hitting the back button on the bottom of the phone. I'm almost debating putting my Spigen Neo Hybrid case back on because at least then maybe I'll keep from hitting the damn back button all the damn time (right now I only have the wireless charging back cover on).

I have large hands, so handling the phone one-handed isn't difficult. But, my hands aren't fat, so the fact that I keep hitting random buttons on and off the screen keeps boggling my mind. The screen, and especially the capacitive buttons on the bottom, are ridiculously sensitive.

 

[MRU]

I'll have to be honest here, I think I found something I don't like about the design of this phone. While the super skinny bezel looks great, functionally it can be a pain in the ass. Countless times I've accidentally hit the back button or something on the screen I didn't intend to just by holding it in my hand. Activating the camera then trying to hold the phone up with one hand to capture the shot, damn-near impossible. Every single time I'll end up hitting the back button on the bottom of the phone. I'm almost debating putting my Spigen Neo Hybrid case back on because at least then maybe I'll keep from hitting the damn back button all the damn time (right now I only have the wireless charging back cover on).

I have large hands, so handling the phone one-handed isn't difficult. But, my hands aren't fat, so the fact that I keep hitting random buttons on and off the screen keeps boggling my mind. The screen, and especially the capacitive buttons on the bottom, are ridiculously sensitive.

Your not the only one. I have hit the capacitive buttons countless times by accident and yeah its annoying. Yeah they seem overly sensitive.

 

[viskon]

From my one month of using the S4, I am finding that radio reception is a bit worse than on my old Galaxy Nexus. I now totally lose signal where previously on the GNex, I would have had a faint signal.

 

[MRU]

From my one month of using the S4, I am finding that radio reception is a bit worse than on my old Galaxy Nexus. I now totally lose signal where previously on the GNex, I would have had a faint signal.

I found different roms have big differences in radio reception. Some I would get frequent drop calls, others hold signal even in what would normally be black spots. No real rhyme or reason to it.

 

[Fireblade]

I found different roms have big differences in radio reception. Some I would get frequent drop calls, others hold signal even in what would normally be black spots. No real rhyme or reason to it.

This only depends on the modem, if you find one, that is working great with your provider and the area you life, you can stick with it as long as you want.

 

[MRU]

This only depends on the modem, if you find one, that is working great with your provider and the area you life, you can stick with it as long as you want.

Yeah I was reading it was possible to extract a modem part and just flash that in Odin or such.

At the moment I running a very clean version of 4.3 with little tampering from the rom makers and it's working great for me as is - so I'm happy at the moment anyway. Everything is working and bugs and issues I had experienced in other roms are not present in this version.

 

[Fireblade]

Yeah I was reading it was possible to extract a modem part and just flash that in Odin or such.

At the moment I running a very clean version of 4.3 with little tampering from the rom makers and it's working great for me as is - so I'm happy at the moment anyway. Everything is working and bugs and issues I had experienced in other roms are not present in this version.

You don't have to extract anything, the moderns are all on XDA for download to flash them through Odin .

Glad you enjoy your S4 :thumbup:

 

[MRU]

You don't have to extract anything, the moderns are all on XDA for download to flash them through Odin .

Glad you enjoy your S4 :thumbup:

Sweet.. Yeah though I can understand how some folks spend more time flashing roms than using the device = its almost too easy once you've done it a few times

 

[Fireblade]

Sweet.. Yeah though I can understand how some folks spend more time flashing roms than using the device = its almost too easy once you've done it a few times

Lol yes, they call themselves "Flashoholics" .

It is really easy, I too flash my S4 from time to time, but stick with one rom for months now, so I flash only when a new version is out.

 

[adder7712]

The sim reader was faulty in mine, I sent it back to Samsung to repair. Took nearly two weeks to do what you did in 30 mins... I don't think I'd have the nerve myself though

Nearly botched my SIM reader too. Was migrating from an S II and my shoddily-made "micro" SIM was too small and became lodged in the reader. As the phone was not reading it, I had to get a pair of compasses(!) in order to extract it.

Then I realised I was too clumsy for such delicate tasks so I went to my carrier and asked for a proper micro SIM.

Never again. But hey, at least I wouldn't need to trim it further down to a nano SIM.

 

[viskon]

Lol yes, they call themselves "Flashoholics" .

It is really easy, I too flash my S4 from time to time, but stick with one rom for months now, so I flash only when a new version is out.

I was (am?) a flasholic. I am trying to keep my just - under - a- month S4 on stock as long as possible. None of my other phones made it past a month on stock. I already find myself visiting XDA quite often, though.

----------

You don't have to extract anything, the moderns are all on XDA for download to flash them through Odin .

Glad you enjoy your S4 :thumbup:

Don't you have to be rooted to flash radios?

 

[Fireblade]

I was (am?) a flasholic. I am trying to keep my just - under - a- month S4 on stock as long as possible. None of my other phones made it past a month on stock. I already find myself visiting XDA quite often, though.

----------
I


Don't you have to be rooted to flash radios?

I was a flashoholic too, it is great, within an hour you do have nearly a new phone with different looks and features, so this isn't a bad thing at all

Yes, you have to be rooted, was just replying to MRU, who's rooted.

 

[viskon]

Just installed Nova launcher on my S4. I'm now actually beginning to like the S4.

 

[2298754]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/04/android-4-3-arriving-for-galaxy-s-3-and-galaxy-s-4-in-october/

Android 4.3 arriving for Galaxy S III and Galaxy S 4 in October

Today's Unpacked event was all about Samsung's new Notes and its Galaxy Gear, but there's good news for folks with older hardware. Turns out, Android 4.3 is coming to the Galaxy S III and Galaxy S 4 in October along with the update that'll add Galaxy Gear functionality to the GS 4.

 

[kasakka]

Just installed Nova launcher on my S4. I'm now actually beginning to like the S4.

I get that Nova is very customizable, but I've yet to figure out why it would be clearly superior to the stock Touchwiz launcher. Tried Nova but eventually noticed I had just configured it to work much like the stock one. The lack of custom sortable app drawer was a real turn off for me so I went back to stock.

Nice to hear 4.3 is coming soon. Maybe then I'll try a debloated Touchwiz ROM.

 

[MRU]

I get that Nova is very customizable, but I've yet to figure out why it would be clearly superior to the stock Touchwiz launcher. Tried Nova but eventually noticed I had just configured it to work much like the stock one. The lack of custom sortable app drawer was a real turn off for me so I went back to stock.

Nice to hear 4.3 is coming soon. Maybe then I'll try a debloated Touchwiz ROM.

Simple things like app drawer icon being centralised, you can sort the app drawer in the drawer settings of Nova including making folders. Ability to hide apps. Also personally i hate the way touchwiz puts the page icons right above dock wasting space, and the cube spin page transition is not to my tastes. Generally with Nova the interface is far faster, smoother and doesn't micro stutter like Touchwiz has the habit of doing so.

Customisable icon sets etc.. are also not supported on touchwiz.