Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, David, mac_h8r1, Nelliesboo

 
Hz so good
Gerbil Elite
Topic Author
Posts: 768
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:08 pm

Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 7:24 pm

I got a Galaxy S 5 today, signed up with a throwaway google account to get into the play store, and now that I'm in it, I can't install anything.

For instance, I was trying to get the Ookla Speedtest and the Wells Fargo app. I can click install, and it makes a little "boink" noise, but then nothing happens. If I reclick install, both buttons on the bottom of the phone light up. Nothing will happen (not even scrolling), until I hit the back button three times.

Weird. Any thoughts on what's going on?
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 7:29 pm

What happens if you go there, with your browser on your main computer, and tell it to install to your phone. Mine is sucking up Speedtest right now and it's still sitting in it's dock. I very seldom directly install stuff to my Sony Experia Z Ultra.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
sweatshopking
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1464
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:37 am

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 7:37 pm

what does "sucking up" mean?
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 7:49 pm

sweatshopking wrote:
what does "sucking up" mean?
Downloading, really you have a problem with that. I am getting old.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
Hz so good
Gerbil Elite
Topic Author
Posts: 768
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:08 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 8:03 pm

PenGun wrote:
What happens if you go there, with your browser on your main computer, and tell it to install to your phone. Mine is sucking up Speedtest right now and it's still sitting in it's dock. I very seldom directly install stuff to my Sony Experia Z Ultra.




OK, that worked. Makes the Play Store App pointless, and kind of a bassackward workaround, but hey, it works.
 
Hz so good
Gerbil Elite
Topic Author
Posts: 768
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:08 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 8:14 pm

Great. I spoke too soon. The apps are installed, but once you click on them, google play services wants to update, which results in a blank white screen, with a little spinny icon. Been sitting that way for the last five minutes.

It wasn't nearly this painful to put apps on my incredible or razr...
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 8:47 pm

I make sure I have fast wi fi before going through the new phone pain, it does seem to take a lot of data to do simple stuff.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
JohnC
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1924
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: NY/NJ/FL

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 9:21 pm

Your first problem is actually buying this garbage plastic toy from Samsung :-P But anyway, have you tried cleaning the cache of Play Store's app? You know, go to "settings" then "Applications" then find the "Google Play Store" app then do a "Force stop" and then "clear data" and "clear cache" buttons there.

You might also have some issues with connection, either WiFi or cellular or both, which may affect the downloading of apps. Or simply a hardware defect, in which case you should exchange it (preferably for a non-Samsung brand if you still have a choice - even the "old" LG G2 would be a much, much better choice).
Gifter of Nvidia Titans and countless Twitch donation extraordinaire, nothing makes me more happy in life than randomly helping random people
 
Hz so good
Gerbil Elite
Topic Author
Posts: 768
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:08 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Fri May 16, 2014 9:28 pm

JohnC wrote:
Your first problem is actually buying this garbage plastic toy from Samsung :-P But anyway, have you tried cleaning the cache of Play Store's app? You know, go to "settings" then "Applications" then find the "Google Play Store" app then do a "Force stop" and then "clear data" and "clear cache" buttons there.

You might also have some issues with connection, either WiFi or cellular or both, which may affect the downloading of apps. Or simply a hardware defect, in which case you should exchange it (preferably for a non-Samsung brand if you still have a choice).




Yup, that finally did the trick. I had two Motorola Razrs die on me, so I decided to roll the dice on samsung. Doesn't hurt that it's the international version, and it didn't cost me a thing. :D
 
Flying Fox
Gerbil God
Posts: 25690
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 3:19 am

Hz so good wrote:
JohnC wrote:
Your first problem is actually buying this garbage plastic toy from Samsung :-P But anyway, have you tried cleaning the cache of Play Store's app? You know, go to "settings" then "Applications" then find the "Google Play Store" app then do a "Force stop" and then "clear data" and "clear cache" buttons there.

You might also have some issues with connection, either WiFi or cellular or both, which may affect the downloading of apps. Or simply a hardware defect, in which case you should exchange it (preferably for a non-Samsung brand if you still have a choice).




Yup, that finally did the trick. I had two Motorola Razrs die on me, so I decided to roll the dice on samsung. Doesn't hurt that it's the international version, and it didn't cost me a thing. :D

Which did the trick, clearing the cache or get on a more stable wifi connection?
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
vargis14
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:03 pm
Location: philly suburbs

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 7:10 am

I will be hanging on to my Iphone 5 until it dies it is plenty fast and works fantastic as a hotspot with 25-50mbps dl and 5-30 up....I see no need for the iPhone 5c or the upcoming 6.
Also I have 4 iphones on the att family plan with 10gb of data for 160$ a month.....I can only imagine what it would cost from verizon.
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
Chrispy_
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4670
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: Europe, most frequently London.

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 7:23 am

When you finally tire of Samsung's stupid UI choices and hopeless background garbage, you'll move to CyanogenMod or something like SuperNexus and have an amazing phone that works well.

In the meantime, enjoy learning a completely pointless non-android way of doing things ;)
Congratulations, you've noticed that this year's signature is based on outdated internet memes; CLICK HERE NOW to experience this unforgettable phenomenon. This sentence is just filler and as irrelevant as my signature.
 
Hz so good
Gerbil Elite
Topic Author
Posts: 768
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:08 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 11:09 am

Flying Fox wrote:
Hz so good wrote:
JohnC wrote:
Your first problem is actually buying this garbage plastic toy from Samsung :-P But anyway, have you tried cleaning the cache of Play Store's app? You know, go to "settings" then "Applications" then find the "Google Play Store" app then do a "Force stop" and then "clear data" and "clear cache" buttons there.

You might also have some issues with connection, either WiFi or cellular or both, which may affect the downloading of apps. Or simply a hardware defect, in which case you should exchange it (preferably for a non-Samsung brand if you still have a choice).




Yup, that finally did the trick. I had two Motorola Razrs die on me, so I decided to roll the dice on samsung. Doesn't hurt that it's the international version, and it didn't cost me a thing. :D

Which did the trick, clearing the cache or get on a more stable wifi connection?



Clearing the cache. My DSL was saturated with...other tasks, so I stuck with LTE. :wink:
 
Hz so good
Gerbil Elite
Topic Author
Posts: 768
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 5:08 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 11:10 am

Chrispy_ wrote:
When you finally tire of Samsung's stupid UI choices and hopeless background garbage, you'll move to CyanogenMod or something like SuperNexus and have an amazing phone that works well.

In the meantime, enjoy learning a completely pointless non-android way of doing things ;)




Once the new car smell wears off, I'll give those a shot. :wink:
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 2:10 pm

vargis14 wrote:
I will be hanging on to my Iphone 5 until it dies it is plenty fast and works fantastic as a hotspot with 25-50mbps dl and 5-30 up....I see no need for the iPhone 5c or the upcoming 6.
Also I have 4 iphones on the att family plan with 10gb of data for 160$ a month.....I can only imagine what it would cost from verizon.

Feel better now? A whole phone thread with no iphone spam, thanks for fixing that.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
JohnC
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1924
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: NY/NJ/FL

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 3:51 pm

Hz so good wrote:
Chrispy_ wrote:
When you finally tire of Samsung's stupid UI choices and hopeless background garbage, you'll move to CyanogenMod or something like SuperNexus and have an amazing phone that works well.

In the meantime, enjoy learning a completely pointless non-android way of doing things ;)




Once the new car smell wears off, I'll give those a shot. :wink:


Or! Or you can eBay it (especially if you got it for free or with a significant discount) and get a better non-Samsung model ;-)
But if you're gonna stay with it - I'd recommend getting a very convenient accessory, a Qi wireless charging coil. Plenty of them on eBay already, they are either integrated into rear cover (make sure the cover comes with rubber gasket!) or come as this:

Image

Then just get any after-market Qi charging pad, eBay/Amazon also have a lot of these. Wireless charging (as long as your phone works well with it) is extremely convenient and will protect the microUSB connector on your phone from extra physical stress.
Gifter of Nvidia Titans and countless Twitch donation extraordinaire, nothing makes me more happy in life than randomly helping random people
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 4:02 pm

Such sammy hate. Anyway they have actually funded Cyanogenmod and it's simple to root and flash yer phone.

My Sony sits in it's little dock and is a clock until it's a phone/web thing/HDTV or whatever. We go out at 100% every time. The dock is effortless, there are little magnets that align the charger contacts and the dock program pops up the clock.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
JohnC
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1924
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: NY/NJ/FL

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 5:38 pm

Sony's solution is definitely very convenient, especially for a waterproof devices which need their ports to be covered... And all of their mobile devices are generally very well-built, very aesthetically pleasing with very little hardware/software gimmicks (well, except "color-enhancing" BS which you can luckily disable on all devices). Unfortunately Sony has a bunch of clueless potatoes serving in their global Marketing department - Xperia Z2 phone is still not officially available in many countries with no known ETA (especially for US), forcing many potential customers to suffer through gimmicky, overpriced Samsung/HTC toys. No wonder they are constantly losing huge amount of money...
Gifter of Nvidia Titans and countless Twitch donation extraordinaire, nothing makes me more happy in life than randomly helping random people
 
MarkG509
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 744
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:51 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 10:13 pm

Honestly, I'm sorta going nutz at the moment. What I really want is a "Galaxy Note 4 Developer Edition" (which does not yet exist, and when it does, the bigger the specs (screen, 64bit, memory, flash, etc.) the better), and what I really want to do with it is bring up my own Gnu/Linux-derived OS (with strong encryption and zero spyware), and I think I really want to do that on T-Mobile (unless they merge with Sprint).

The closest I can get to this right now (after much expense), is a GS5 Developer Edition on VZW.
 
Flatland_Spider
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1324
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:33 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sat May 17, 2014 11:45 pm

PenGun wrote:
Such sammy hate.


They deserve it.

MarkG509 wrote:
what I really want to do with it is bring up my own Gnu/Linux-derived OS (with strong encryption and zero spyware), and I think I really want to do that on T-Mobile (unless they merge with Sprint).


There's the Blackphone, which runs a hardened version of Android. (https://www.blackphone.ch/)

If you want to roll your own GNU/Linux mobile distro, get a Nexus 4 and look into Sailfish OS (https://sailfishos.org/) and Mer (http://www.merproject.org/). Sailfish OS is a mobile OS sponsored by Jolla and derived from Mer which is descended from Meego which was a combination of Moblin and Maemo with the former being based on Debian. Maemo was known for being a fully functional GNU/Linux OS, and many people ran webservers and other such things from their phone.

Of course, there is the problem of the baseband firmware being a proprietary blob and probably compromised. If you really want a secure phone, write a FOSS baseband firmware.
 
MarkG509
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 744
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:51 pm

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 1:44 am

Flatland_Spider wrote:
Of course, there is the problem of the baseband firmware being a proprietary blob and probably compromised. If you really want a secure phone, write a FOSS baseband firmware.
Yes, especially important given recent news/leaks/speculation. But, my understanding is that this is not allowed to connect to anything outside the lab until blessed by the FCC. If so, that's puts it well above a "Skunk Works" level project.

Thanks for the pointers to Sailfish OS and Mer.
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 2:05 pm

Flatland_Spider wrote:
PenGun wrote:
Such sammy hate.


They deserve it.

MarkG509 wrote:
what I really want to do with it is bring up my own Gnu/Linux-derived OS (with strong encryption and zero spyware), and I think I really want to do that on T-Mobile (unless they merge with Sprint).


There's the Blackphone, which runs a hardened version of Android. (https://www.blackphone.ch/)

If you want to roll your own GNU/Linux mobile distro, get a Nexus 4 and look into Sailfish OS (https://sailfishos.org/) and Mer (http://www.merproject.org/). Sailfish OS is a mobile OS sponsored by Jolla and derived from Mer which is descended from Meego which was a combination of Moblin and Maemo with the former being based on Debian. Maemo was known for being a fully functional GNU/Linux OS, and many people ran webservers and other such things from their phone.

Of course, there is the problem of the baseband firmware being a proprietary blob and probably compromised. If you really want a secure phone, write a FOSS baseband firmware.

I liked my Sammy GS2 a lot. Worked great and took Cyanogenmod easily. Not sure where the hate comes from.

Anything you do to your phone is sorta a waste of time as regards to security. They pick it off the towers for phone and the internet is busted. Go ahead encrypt your heart out, I doubt it will make much difference if they actually want to see what you are up to.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
JohnC
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1924
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: NY/NJ/FL

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 2:55 pm

PenGun wrote:
Not sure where the hate comes from.

Of course you're not sure. Try using recent models more often. Both GS4 and now GS5 (to a lesser extent) are known for the random lag/hitches caused by stock Samsung's launcher (which is what most of the customers will use, regardless of availability of custom ROMs and similar nonsense which NOBODY should be forced to flash their brand-new phone with) as well as other "stock" crapware which Samsung forces their users to use. Not to mention the annoying way Samsung handles their own apps.

As well as the overall dishonest behavior of the whole corporation:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/24/5023 ... tc-reviews
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7384/stat ... benchmarks
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/10/47145 ... atent-suit
Gifter of Nvidia Titans and countless Twitch donation extraordinaire, nothing makes me more happy in life than randomly helping random people
 
PenGun
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 893
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:48 pm
Location: BC Canada
Contact:

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 3:15 pm

JohnC wrote:
PenGun wrote:
Not sure where the hate comes from.

Of course you're not sure. Try using recent models more often. Both GS4 and now GS5 (to a lesser extent) are known for the random lag/hitches caused by stock Samsung's launcher (which is what most of the customers will use, regardless of availability of custom ROMs and similar nonsense which NOBODY should be forced to flash their brand-new phone with) as well as other "stock" crapware which Samsung forces their users to use. Not to mention the annoying way Samsung handles their own apps.

As well as the overall dishonest behavior of the whole corporation:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/24/5023 ... tc-reviews
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7384/stat ... benchmarks
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/10/47145 ... atent-suit

You may have too much invested here, I dunno.
Fuji X-E1 Leica Elmar 135 4 XF60mm 2.4 Macro | Zeiss FE 35mm 2.8
http://carnagepro.com
"Everything ... they eat everything, and fear is their bacon bits."
 
sweatshopking
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1464
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:37 am

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 5:01 pm

PenGun wrote:
sweatshopking wrote:
what does "sucking up" mean?
Downloading, really you have a problem with that. I am getting old.

I just didn't know what you meant.
 
sweatshopking
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1464
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:37 am

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 5:02 pm

PenGun wrote:
vargis14 wrote:
I will be hanging on to my Iphone 5 until it dies it is plenty fast and works fantastic as a hotspot with 25-50mbps dl and 5-30 up....I see no need for the iPhone 5c or the upcoming 6.
Also I have 4 iphones on the att family plan with 10gb of data for 160$ a month.....I can only imagine what it would cost from verizon.

Feel better now? A whole phone thread with no iphone spam, thanks for fixing that.

Yeah, EVERYONE KNOWS WP IS THE BEST. NOW WE HAVE BOTH SPAMS.
 
vargis14
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:03 pm
Location: philly suburbs

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 5:30 pm

I w as just stating that my CELL phone is a great hot spot and I see any need for any more speed from SOC's. Everything works lickity split. Only so much you can do with a phone. Even if I could get the power of a 4770k in a phone what the heck am I going to do with it.

Also does anyone know how much it would cost though verizon for a 4 phone family plan with unlimited calls text and 10 gb of data.

Last I dealt with verizon wireless was way back when blackberry came out with there first full screen smart phone where the whole screen pushed in to type on a digital keyboard....my wife had to have it and hated it and ended up costing me 200 or more a month for 1 freaking phone. I was on ATT with my original Iphone....thats how long ago it was.
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
Captain Ned
Global Moderator
Posts: 28704
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Sun May 18, 2014 5:34 pm

vargis14 wrote:
Also does anyone know how much it would cost though verizon for a 4 phone family plan with unlimited calls text and 10 gb of data.

$160/mo before fees, charges, taxes, and the vig to Vinny,

http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/con ... thing.html
What we have today is way too much pluribus and not enough unum.
 
trackerben
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2188
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:28 am
Location: 'Tween oceans...

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Tue May 20, 2014 6:03 am

vargis14 wrote:
I w as just stating that my CELL phone is a great hot spot and I see any need for any more speed from SOC's. Everything works lickity split. Only so much you can do with a phone...


If you think iPhone was great for hotspot wait till you've tried an iPad Mini or even Air LTE on an unthrottled, unlimited tethering plan. Seamless global connectivity, whole-day tethering at 20-40Mbps up/down (T-Mobile LTE). The larger antenna allows for more stable signalling and faster bandwidth compared to smaller devices. Bigger GPS antenna also makes it a more reliable satnav in urban or remote areas.
 
trackerben
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2188
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:28 am
Location: 'Tween oceans...

Re: Samsung Galaxy S 5

Tue May 20, 2014 6:19 am

PenGun wrote:
I liked my Sammy GS2 a lot. Worked great and took Cyanogenmod easily. Not sure where the hate comes from.

Anything you do to your phone is sorta a waste of time as regards to security. They pick it off the towers for phone and the internet is busted. Go ahead encrypt your heart out, I doubt it will make much difference if they actually want to see what you are up to.


The older Galaxies seemed to be better built. Friends who own the newer ones with bigger screens, especially the later Notes, have experienced them cracking/crazing in their pockets or bags while not doing anything weird.

Yea about the mobile security situation, anyone designated for attention isn't going to keep his comms private on today's wireless networks.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On