What’s your worst experience with an Android phone

[Barbareren]

For me, it was the BlackBerry Keyone running Android. The screen would simply fall out/detach from the chassis (not kidding) on all of them, as well as having some very serious bugs! BlackBerry didn’t care.

Prior to that one I used a BlackBerry Passport (which I still have in my collection), and that phone was the best, and most productive, smartphone I’ve ever used (running BlackBerry OS10).

So, what’s your worst Android experience?

PS: This is not to diss Android, as I’ve had many that worked great for me, especially the Sony Xperia line.

 

[Steve Adams]

I can't say I had a bad experience with android. Even as far back as my HTC hero I always found them better than apple. I had a blackberry 8130 pearl, an HTC 640 (windows phone 6.0 blackberry type device) and others as well. My favorite phone to this day was my 1020 running w10m. I loved that setup SO much. I had to move to something else when they decided not to support the 1020 with official windows 10 mobile. I was rotted, and moved to apple then. I had iphone since 2015 (6s).

I have had the iphone 6s, 8 and now 11. Frankly their software has gone down hill greatly since the 6s. I am moving back to android with some type of phone and staying there for awhile. Since there are some many awesome android phones out now you can grab a few to keep it fresh instead of the same regurgitated stale iphone designs now.

 

[iHorseHead]

In early 2011 I bought Huawei Sonic and oh boy…What a phone.
It was slow, had like 128MB of storage and I couldn't install apps on it. If I installed WhatsApp then boom, all the space was gone and you couldn't move it to an SD card.
It was awfully lagging. I've used other Android phones later and never had such a horrible experience with any phone.

Edit: I've had Sony Xperia as well. Great phones.

 

[Barbareren]

I can't say I had a bad experience with android. Even as far back as my HTC hero I always found them better than apple. I had a blackberry 8130 pearl, an HTC 640 (windows phone 6.0 blackberry type device) and others as well. My favorite phone to this day was my 1020 running w10m. I loved that setup SO much. I had to move to something else when they decided not to support the 1020 with official windows 10 mobile. I was rotted, and moved to apple then. I had iphone since 2015 (6s).

I have had the iphone 6s, 8 and now 11. Frankly their software has gone down hill greatly since the 6s. I am moving back to android with some type of phone and staying there for awhile. Since there are some many awesome android phones out now you can grab a few to keep it fresh instead of the same regurgitated stale iphone designs now.

Thanks for your reply. Personally, I never cared about iPhones or iOS until the iPhone X… At that time it all started to be about apps only, or rather; the support from the developers (they completely ditched BB OS10). And I found it more ‘open’ than the previous iterations. Back in the Symbian OS days (and later Android) I liked to tinker with smartphones a lot - did alpha/beta testing, translation, software and hardware reviews etc., and even some reverse engineering… But now I just want a simple user experience - I no longer care about all the tinkering, as it isn’t as exciting for me as it used to be in the beginning of smartphones… In the early days I found the iPhone and iOS waaay too limited, but now it does everything I need, so… ?‍♂️

 

[Barbareren]

In early 2011 I bought Huawei Sonic and oh boy…What a phone.
It was slow, had like 128MB of storage and I couldn't install apps on it. If I installed WhatsApp then boom, all the space was gone and you couldn't move it to an SD card.
It was awfully lagging. I've used other Android phones later and never had such a horrible experience with any phone.

I had an Android Motorola-something-can’t-remember the name right now… It had a physical qwerty keyboard and a touch screen. That thing would literally crash 80% of the time I got a phone call lol

 

[iHorseHead]

I had an Android Motorola-something-can’t-remember the name right now… It had a physical qwerty keyboard and a touch screen. That thing would literally crash 80% of the time I got a phone call lol

Because of such experiences many iPhone users still hate Android and think it's horrible and are unwilling to try Android phones, even though nowadays most Android phones are pretty good.
I'm still seeing crap devices (Just assuming) being sold with 1GB of Ram and 8GB memory running Android 9. I don't understand why such devices are being sold in 2021.
Alcatel is one of the "crap manufacturers".

 

[Barbareren]

Because of such experiences many iPhone users still hate Android and think it's horrible and are unwilling to try Android phones, even though nowadays most Android phones are pretty good.
I'm still seeing crap devices (Just assuming) being sold with 1GB of Ram and 8GB memory running Android 9. I don't understand why such devices are being sold in 2021.
Alcatel is one of the "crap manufacturers".

Yup, you pretty much get what you pay for with Android phones… I know the high end Android phones now are superior to iPhones in many ways. I don’t hate Android phones at all, I just prefer iOS now. Also, I now have several Apple devices, so you could say that I’m kinda in that bubble now… I still read about the new Android devices, though. It’s interesting what some of the manufacturers have accomplished, especially when it comes to hardware - like the screens and cameras in particular.

 

[Steve Adams]

I have been using my friends Moto G power the past few times he's been at the house here. Showing my wife his phone etc. I seriously think it's a great phone. It misses a couple of marks for me. No NFC is the big one. But for 200 bucks cdn it's just as fast as my iPhone 11 doing most tasks, I don't game or that jazz. It's got expandable storage, its water resistant, and feels well built. The screen is bright, snappy and feels good in the hand.

I am impressed by moto's budget offerings.

 

[Steve Adams]

I am partial the the G Pro for me. Stylus, NFC 128gb of on board plus SD slot, huge battery, water resistant good ultra wide...etc. The G10 for the wife is a nice phone too. We are done paying 1000 a phone. That's the heights of silliness.

 

[Barbareren]

I have had the iphone 6s, 8 and now 11. Frankly their software has gone down hill greatly since the 6s.

To me your opinion is very interesting, as I have the complete opposite one. Personally, I think the iPhone (and iOS) has improved a lot since the earlier iterations. As I’ve mentioned in my posts above, I didn’t find the iPhone/iOS appealing until the iPhone X. I do, however, agree that they’re overpriced (like all Apple products), especially outside of the USA. I paid $1,500+ USD for my X. It took some time for me to make that jump, but for me personally it was worth it (now I have a 12 mini 256GB). I was so sick of Android at the time… When I was younger (and poorer) I’d get an old Mac(Book) over a new Windows laptop any day. I once bought a very expensive high-end Dell laptop, which was a POS even compared to an old PowerBook G4. I’ve always preferred MacOS over Windows, and as such I stopped buying Windows machines, and got older Macs instead. But at that time I still didn’t like iPhones, because they were too limited for my needs. But now, I vastly prefer iPhones, because I don’t find them as limited/closed as they used to be (I love Airdrop and AirPlay for example). And the build-quality, the consistency and stability of iOS, as well as the software support is just unsurpassed. Another big plus with Apple is how well the devices communicate with each other. I had Chromecast, but it worked so poorly compared to Apple TV, so now I’d rather pay more to get something that actually works the way I want it to… I can’t see myself going back to Android and Windows ever again. It’s all personal preferences of course, so to each their own. ?

Edit: I’m also not a big fan of iPads. I honestly don’t understand why anyone would get an iPad Pro 2021 over an M1 MacBook Air…

 

[Steven-iphone]

When the phone isn't charged

 

[Barbareren]

When the phone isn't charged

Not sure what that means… Do you mean that you’ve never had any issues with an Android phone? If so, good for you man ?

 

[Klyster]

My worst experience was the Note 7, a damn near perfect phone that I had to return for obvious reasons.

The reason for the recall was more than valid but I was gutted to see it go.

Apart from that, I've enjoyed every Android phone I've owned.

If you get bored, how about adding to this thread?

Your Phone Timeline

Ok i will start first, my very first mobile was ... 1) Sony Ericsson GH 688 (90's) 2) Sony Ericsson 3) Siemens (Rip) 4) Nokia 5) Nokia 6) Nokia 7) Samsung f480 (Complete rubbish) 8) iPhone 3 9) iPhone 4 10) Samsung s6 11) Samsung s7 edge (current spare phone) 12) Samsung s9 plus 13) Samsung...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[kaardowiq]

My worst experience was the Motorola Milestone 2 which I got as a company phone. Couldn‘t last a day, buggy, slow. This was the point to keep iPhones. After the X I gave Android 10 on a Samsung S10 a try and was amazed. I think the whole ecosystem of Google is more open, flexible and performing better than Apple‘s. I can access and modify on all OS (Mac, Win, iOS, Linux, Android etc.) my files, I can easily switch devices… My points why I switched back:

- Samsung made ads in their own apps like Fitness and Watch App. I do not want to open the integrated app that I need to use daily and get blown of by ads that take a quarter of the screen for a product I already own and use. That non sense and frustrating, especially when the price is more or less equal to iPhones.

- That was the reason to give the Pixel a try. Amazing device, but I really shoot often videos with my gimbal (mostly cinematic style on vacation or cars and bikes). Therefore I need 4K and 60FPS to slow it down for a stady shot. However, the Pixel can‘t provide this, except of this - awesome phone.

Back to iPhone… I really miss:
- Sideloading (e.g. YouTube vanced)
- Advanced Adblocking
- DEX Desktop Mode (seeeshhhh, awesome) used it a lot and almost replacement my Macbook
- Automatic routines (Apple routines are a joke, especially when it comes to approve the execution)
- Google Assistent is mich better than Siri

what I love in iOS:
- No systemwide Ads
- HandOff (Calls, SMS…) can be done on Mac (love it when listening to music while coding and answering an incoming call directly without any interrupting, Headphone switching etc.)
- SMS 2FA autofill on iPhone and Mac
- Apple Watch with LTE (love it when running outside or going swimming in the summer, no worries to carry the iPhone, still able to text and call and to pay drinks almost everywhere)

 

[Barbareren]

I think the whole ecosystem of Google is more open, flexible and performing better than Apple‘s.

There’s no doubt about the openness. Although I think the iPhones are more stable and have better apps, in general. Like I’ve mentioned, I used to love being able to tinker with my phones. I had a Nokia 9500 Communicator where I reversed engineered the operating system files and completely changed the look of the UI. That was fun. Nowadays, though, with the advancements in mobile technology, I don’t care about all that stuff anymore. I just want it to do what I need, in the best and easiest way possible, and to me that’s where the iPhone (iOS) shines… Nowadays I have an app for everything (groceries, take-out, medicines, trips/rides, business contacts - basically everything)… So I no longer have the need for all the customisation that Android offers…

 

[Geoff777]

Although nothing like as bad as some of the experiences mentioned here, I bought an HTC years ago - looked cool and at the time they were considered higher end.
Within a couple of weeks it started switching off or cutting out when on the phone. Realised my ear was activating buttons on the screen - the proximity system had failed.
Took it back to HTC who examined it and proclaimed it wasn't a hardware problem, it was software (Android) so they wouldn't do anything about it. Sounded like a pile of lies to me but I ditched it (and lost money of course) after updating the OS didn't fix it.
There's something to be said for having the phone hardware and software provided by a single company.
I have switched again from iPhone to Huawei (for the camera) but really don't like the OS. Example, auto-update is switched off, but it does it anyway!
I'll be going back to iPhone when this one dies.

 

[Barbareren]

There's something to be said for having the phone hardware and software provided by a single company.

That’s very true…

 

[Barbareren]

Back to iPhone… I really miss:[…]
- Advanced Adblocking

For me AdGuard works really well on the iPhone… and it’s free

 

[ian87w]

Worst experience? Probably the Sony Xperia Arc. The phone's design and UI were really sleek at that time, but the biggest problem is the paltry, like 300MB, internal storage. Although using only pre-installed apps were fine, once you start wanting to explore the app store, it got limited very very quickly, and the external SD won't help much when many many apps are not designed to be moved to SD. There are workarounds, but overall experience became poor. It's too bad since the design was just sleek, way ahead of its time.

Going from that phone to an Android phone with ample internal storage (Moto X 32GB) unlocked the real potential of a smartphone.

 

[Barbareren]

Worst experience? Probably the Sony Xperia Arc. The phone's design and UI were really sleek at that time, but the biggest problem is the paltry, like 300MB, internal storage. Although using only pre-installed apps were fine, once you start wanting to explore the app store, it got limited very very quickly, and the external SD won't help much when many many apps are not designed to be moved to SD. There are workarounds, but overall experience became poor. It's too bad since the design was just sleek, way ahead of its time.

Going from that phone to an Android phone with ample internal storage (Moto X 32GB) unlocked the real potential of a smartphone.

Yeah, storage limitations is a pain in the arse. That’s why I always get the highest storage on my iPhones (it has to be at least 256GB)…

 

[Steve Adams]

To me your opinion is very interesting, as I have the complete opposite one. Personally, I think the iPhone (and iOS) has improved a lot since the earlier iterations. As I’ve mentioned in my posts above, I didn’t find the iPhone/iOS appealing until the iPhone X. I do, however, agree that they’re overpriced (like all Apple products), especially outside of the USA. I paid $1,500+ USD for my X. It took some time for me to make that jump, but for me personally it was worth it (now I have a 12 mini 256GB). I was so sick of Android at the time… When I was younger (and poorer) I’d get an old Mac(Book) over a new Windows laptop any day. I once bought a very expensive high-end Dell laptop, which was a POS even compared to an old PowerBook G4. I’ve always preferred MacOS over Windows, and as such I stopped buying Windows machines, and got older Macs instead. But at that time I still didn’t like iPhones, because they were too limited for my needs. But now, I vastly prefer iPhones, because I don’t find them as limited/closed as they used to be (I love Airdrop and AirPlay for example). And the build-quality, the consistency and stability of iOS, as well as the software support is just unsurpassed. Another big plus with Apple is how well the devices communicate with each other. I had Chromecast, but it worked so poorly compared to Apple TV, so now I’d rather pay more to get something that actually works the way I want it to… I can’t see myself going back to Android and Windows ever again. It’s all personal preferences of course, so to each their own. ?

Edit: I’m also not a big fan of iPads. I honestly don’t understand why anyone would get an iPad Pro 2021 over an M1 MacBook Air…

My 6s was rock solid and stable. I was very impressed by it. So much so we went and got two 8's when they became available. About a year and a half after owning my 8, it started developing connection issues. It would drop signal in places my samsung would have full bars etc. After a few months of trying everything with that, I got rid of our 8s and got 11's thinking that would fix the problem. It's worse on the 11, and now I have the notification issues that are plaguing the 11s. Yes it's an issue contrary to popular belief here. Therefore, I am moving back to android for my next phone. I am the opposite of you on the computer side. Had mac 3 times since 2010, and all three times were mind numbingly frustrating. No thanks on Mac.

 

[Barbareren]

My 6s was rock solid and stable. I was very impressed by it. So much so we went and got two 8's when they became available. About a year and a half after owning my 8, it started developing connection issues. It would drop signal in places my samsung would have full bars etc. After a few months of trying everything with that, I got rid of our 8s and got 11's thinking that would fix the problem. It's worse on the 11, and now I have the notification issues that are plaguing the 11s. Yes it's an issue contrary to popular belief here. Therefore, I am moving back to android for my next phone. I am the opposite of you on the computer side. Had mac 3 times since 2010, and all three times were mind numbingly frustrating. No thanks on Mac.

I see… To each their own. I skipped the 11-series myself, but I never had any issues with the X/XS nor the 12… Anyway, I wish you good luck with whatever phone you choose next. Which phone do you currently own, and which phone are you going to upgrade to (just curious ?)?

 

[Steve Adams]

I see… To each their own. I skipped the 11-series myself, but I never had any issues with the X/XS nor the 12… Anyway, I wish you good luck with whatever phone you choose next. Which phone do you currently own, and which phone are you going to upgrade to (just curious ?)?

I have an iPhone 11 right now. I am up in the air of what phone I want. But it has to have stylus support. I am not shelling out thousands and I am not going on another contract to pay off the phone. SO...that leaves 3 devices. Note 10 plus (refurbished), note 10 lite or moto G pro new. I like the moto G pro. it's 279 dollars here, has expandable storage, NFC, a nice screen and pen support. the Note 10 lite is better in most every way, but it's 580 dollars here. So, really, I can buy my wife and I new perfectly capable for us Moto phones or one Galaxy. I will figure it out soon though. As I mentioned before, my good friend has the Moto G pro and it really is just as good as my iphone. It's just as fast, takes great photos, screen is bright and vibrant, kills the iPhone in battery life, and feels much higher quality than the price point would suggest. It feels solid and well built in the hand. This is the reason I am leaning towards motos for us.

 

[Barbareren]

I see, good luck dude ? I remember the time of using a stylus - it definitely had its benefits. ?

 

[Steve Adams]

I see, good luck dude ? I remember the time of using a stylus - it definitely had its benefits. ?

It will for me. Getting signatures from clients on PDF documents for our businesses and signing payment options etc is the main reason. Makes things so much easier instead of trying to use your finger or a fat nubbed stylus on the iphone screen.