Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge User Thread

[smorcy11]

http://pocketnow.com/2015/04/02/galaxy-s6-edge-scratches

 

There are lots of similar articles around the web.

Not an issue with mine.

[smorcy11]

So at work, my n5 was hanging on to LTE inside the office building at around -113 to -115db. With the s6 I can get it to latch on by cycling airplane mode at it hangs on for a bit around -117 to -118 and then drops back to 3G.

 

Seems on average it will run several dB worse than the n5 which may affect some when you're on the edge of coverage. Not a real big deal for me, but could be an issue for some.

[Ascertion]

So at work, my n5 was hanging on to LTE inside the office building at around -113 to -115db. With the s6 I can get it to latch on by cycling airplane mode at it hangs on for a bit around -117 to -118 and then drops back to 3G.

 

Seems on average it will run several dB worse than the n5 which may affect some when you're on the edge of coverage. Not a real big deal for me, but could be an issue for some.

Were you on the latest N5 radio?

 

Sent from my M8

[smorcy11]

Were you on the latest N5 radio?

 

Sent from my M8

I'm not sure. I know I had a recent update and I never made a change to reverse anything.

 

For the last several months with the N5 I did have regular issues with it dropping signal and showing the x in between cycling to 3g from LTE.

[Ascertion]

I'm not sure. I know I had a recent update and I never made a change to reverse anything.

 

For the last several months with the N5 I did have regular issues with it dropping signal and showing the x in between cycling to 3g from LTE.

Okay, was just curious because one of the N5 radios inflated the signal on B25 by a large margin, when the signal was sometimes unusable. Thanks for posting your experience though, seems to be average with B25 performance.

 

Sent from my M8

[smorcy11]

Okay, was just curious because one of the N5 radios inflated the signal on B25 by a large margin, when the signal was sometimes unusable. Thanks for posting your experience though, seems to be average with B25 performance.

 

Sent from my M8

Glad to try to help. You'll probably have to wait for someone more experienced to get you some better data.

 

I will say that it seems to switch between LTE bands seamlessly though, which I couldn't say about my n5. Same when jumping between LTE and 3g.

[smorcy11]

Quick update- just noticed it picked up on b26 on its own at -110db and it's holding it well. This seems similar to what my n5 did, although I can't be certain on the signal level.

[WiWavelength]

Screenshot_2015-04-09-09-06-10.png

 

Hmm, I seem to recall someone suggested in a published article a month ago that the baseband easily could be the Qualcomm MDM9635, now known as the Snapdragon X7 LTE.

 

AJ

[mmark27]

Hmm, I seem to recall someone suggested in a published article a month ago that the baseband easily could be the Qualcomm MDM9635, now known as the Snapdragon X7 LTE.

 

AJ

 

[irev210]

Setup my S6 yesterday.

 

Quick thoughts:

 

Pros:

• Good build quality (basically a copy of iphone 4/iphone 6 smashed together)
• Good fingerprint reader
• Fast
• Excellent Display
• Excellent Camera
• Excellent sound quality through my headphones

Cons:

• Not stock android
• Battery life isn't all that hawt

 

I wish Samsung would allow customers the option of going pure nexus.

 

I've installed the google now launcher and the google exchange services to allow exchange support within GMAIL instead of using Samsung's crappy mail app.  Overall, it's close to stock android but just wish it was 100% stock.

 

Radio performance seems pretty decent.  No complaints so far.  I've had no issues connecting to B25/26/41, etc.

[WiWavelength]

 

Mmm, basil.  With fresh mozzarella.  Pizza Margherita.

 

AJ

[smorcy11]

Setup my S6 yesterday.

 

Quick thoughts:

 

Pros:

• Good build quality (basically a copy of iphone 4/iphone 6 smashed together)
• Good fingerprint reader
• Fast
• Excellent Display
• Excellent Camera
• Excellent sound quality through my headphones

Cons:

• Not stock android
• Battery life isn't all that hawt

I wish Samsung would allow customers the option of going pure nexus.

 

I've installed the google now launcher and the google exchange services to allow exchange support within GMAIL instead of using Samsung's crappy mail app. Overall, it's close to stock android but just wish it was 100% stock.

 

Radio performance seems pretty decent. No complaints so far. I've had no issues connecting to B25/26/41, etc.

After coming from the n5 back to Samsung, I actually like it. With stock Android I missed some of the features Touchwiz brought, like being able to swipe and immediately text someone from my call log without having to tap 3 or 4 different things.

 

Also, I had trouble using Gmail exchange for all my email accounts and didn't like it at all. Regularly had emails resurface as new after I had deleted them.

 

Stock Android was great, but I felt it lacked some nice features. That's not to say Touchwiz doesn't have too much going on, but I didn't feel stock was perfect.

[dnicekid]

How do you get the $15 credit a month for the lease?

[Galaxyguy]

How do you get the $15 credit a month for the lease?

It's a loyalty credit so I don't know who actually qualifies for it. It showed up when I went into my Sprint account.

 

Sent from my Note 4.

[Corey]

How do you get the $15 credit a month for the lease?

Loyalty Service Credit: Available only to existing customers while activated on qualified legacy service plans on select Android devices leased Sprint Lease, Eligible legacy service plans are Unlimited My Way, My All-in, Everything Data, Sprint Business Advantage, Sprint Business Advantage Data Share, and Sprint Business Essentials plans and must remain in good standing.

 

The purchase price at the end of the lease is $200 for all S6 models.

 

S6 32= $120+200=$320

S6 64= $240+200=440

Not a bad deal, if you wanna get a new phone at the end of the lease or upgrade early but if you wanna own it, may as well get the 2 year contract but you save on taxes doing the lease.

[smorcy11]

I have never been one to use a case but I will definitely be ordering one for this phone. It's too slick. Can't set it down on anything but a flat surface without it sliding off. I always set my phones on my lap when driving and at home. This phone just slides right off.

[chappo2000]

I'm not a user yet, therefore I shouldn't be posting in this thread.... lol (edited)

[WiWavelength]

I'm not a user yet, therefore I shouldn't be posting in this thread.... lol (edited)

 

Are you sure about that?  You are a "user." And S4GRU is your "dealer."

 

 

AJ

[irev210]

So a follow up on radio performance:

 

It seems to LOVE band 41, very odd.  I am magically getting band 41 in my office which has NEVER happened on my Nexus 6 or Nexus 5.

 

Unfortunately, the signal is extremely week (serving cell: 101 Band:41 RSRP:-121dbm RSRQ: -12dB, Tx Pwr: 23 dBm)

 

The other interesting aspect is the speeds.  There is a band41 site that I can usually get 50-70mbit but I can't get over 20mbit on the S6.  Seems very odd.

 

Also, it's kinda cool seeing the band priority offering 7 different bands.  Also, LTE roaming was an option... I turned it no, not sure what that will do for me...

[WiWavelength]

Unfortunately, the signal is extremely week (serving cell: 101 Band:41 RSRP:-121dbm RSRQ: -12dB, Tx Pwr: 23 dBm)

 

The other interesting aspect is the speeds.  There is a band41 site that I can usually get 50-70mbit but I can't get over 20mbit on the S6.  Seems very odd.

 

From the FCC OET docs and my article, that is just about what we expected.  Neither Galaxy S6 is going to be a strong performer with weak band 41 signal.  That is just a physical impossibility because their band 41 uplink output is so meager.  You can see in your example above that the handset was already slamming up against its 23 dBm conducted power limiter.

 

AJ

[irev210]

From the FCC OET docs and my article, that is just about what we expected.  Neither Galaxy S6 is going to be a strong performer with weak band 41 signal.  That is just a physical impossibility because their band 41 uplink output is so meager.  You can see in your example above that the handset was already slamming up against its 23 dBm conducted power limiter.

 

AJ

 

 

I look forward to messing around with it more.  It definitely doesn't act like the qualcomm chipset found on the Nexus 5/6, that's for sure.

 

I still can't figure out the poor B41 LTE speeds even with a perfect signal.  As Sprint builds out B41, I feel this phone will be a solid choice for B41 lovers.

[WiWavelength]

I look forward to messing around with it more.  It definitely doesn't act like the qualcomm chipset found on the Nexus 5/6, that's for sure.

 

Yeah, it is not the same Qualcomm baseband.  The Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 use the category 4 MDM9625 -- or its on die equivalent.  The Sprint variant Galaxy S6 uses the category 6 MDM9635.  Well, technically, they are now known as the Snapdragon X5 LTE and X7 LTE, respectively.

 

But I doubt that the affinity for band 41 has much to do with the physical baseband chipset.  Instead, it is likely a matter of different programming.

 

AJ

[smorcy11]

Anybody have their camera options upside down when in the camera app? It's like the camera thinks the phone is rotated, all the words and symbols are upside down. When I go into the settings, and hit the back button to go back to the camera, the symbols all immediately rotate to upside down.

 

Edit* not just the camera app. My screen rotation isn't working right either. At some point today, it decided to stop working.

[mmark27]

Anybody have their camera options upside down when in the camera app? It's like the camera thinks the phone is rotated, all the words and symbols are upside down. When I go into the settings, and hit the back button to go back to the camera, the symbols all immediately rotate to upside down.

 

Edit* not just the camera app. My screen rotation isn't working right either. At some point today, it decided to stop working.

First check that you're not standing on your head. Then check your auto rotation toggle.

 

sent from an underwater dust storm from my Sprint S5

[smorcy11]

First check that you're not standing on your head. Then check your auto rotation toggle.

 

sent from an underwater dust storm from my Sprint S5

Done both. Lol. Turned phone on and off, etc. Checked XDA and several others reporting the same.