Database Users

Good for light user?

I got a Xperia Z Original(tmobile) and just waiting for it to be delivered.
I use a Windows Phone now and only ever used like 10 apps total. Might use 20 at most in a day.
Is this phone still a good for casual performance. I mostly use music,video,email,social media apps, and not much else.
All else is done in the browser.
I won't be running multiple apps a lot,no new games.
Also I heard the screen is terrible at an angle, but also heard it's not the screen, but sonys settings.
So can it be made better at viewing angles with software tweaks or is really that bad.
I got for around $120, which looks good for 5 in. 1080p phone.
Just not too sure how the processor holds up.
edit: sorry I put this in wrong forum section, not sure how to move it. Please move.

Sure!
I'm using Xperia Z for daily use
It still perform well without any lag
I usually use it to listen musics.surf the net....
It can even run a lot of games!!
the only defect is it's poor screen and poor battery life...it too bad
but all in all, I think Xperia Z is still a execellent phone!

tnciw said:
Sure!
I'm using Xperia Z for daily use
It still perform well without any lag
I usually use it to listen musics.surf the net....
It can even run a lot of games!!
the only defect is it's poor screen and poor battery life...it too bad
but all in all, I think Xperia Z is still a execellent phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean poor battery.
Is it okay or really bad?
I don't use my phone with screen on for too long.
I once had a galaxy nexus and that thing would drain like 1% a minute with screen on!
In the span of 30 minutes my battery was like a 70!

Xperia Z is good but it was a history..
i'm using Xperia ZL though, there no different between this Z and ZL since there are brother more like a twin..
both of it sucks at battery life if you upgrade to android 5.0.2 which means you have made one mistakes and you will experience phone overheating like you can put your pan and make omelette on it with the battery draining like hell when display remain on because i only got less than 4 hours if device screen remain on plus the camera won't be capturing nice photo anymore even the android version is rising up from 4.1.2 tp 5.02, but the camera quality is falling down and down..
Positive sides is...
The music? i admit my ZL in 5.0.2 sounds better..no scary sound like others, i got more clarity of my music..
i salute for this phone is still smooth eventhough 2 years old and quite satisfying performance but poor battery life.. Well that's it.. my opinion..
I'm migrating to Lenovo Vibe Shot until 5.1.1 is out.. Goodbye

Good to know, wasn't Sony supposed to roll out updates for Android 5.1 this month?
Not sure if it will updated or not, when I receive it.

As to me,the battery drop 1% in 2-3min
I think...if you use it just for receiving phone call
It can satisfy you of course.
But if you want to play games or surf the net
I would suggest you to do it with a powerbank
If you don't care about battery problem and photo quality
Xperia Z will be very suit for you !

The screen isn't that bad, only at angle viewing, not when viewing straightforward.
Also, battery should be replaced after 12 months, for every phones brand so..
And I use custom kernel which throttles the cpu when it gets warm so my phone stays cool
But I'm afraid with tmobile u can't unlock bootloader and therefore not flash custom kernels.
Anyway, I think this phone is still a good one to get. (better that windows phone lol xD)
It was actually sony's flagship in 2013..

Are the dock connectors on the side the same from Z-Z3?
Some of the magnetic cables that use the connectors say only Z1,Z2,Z3.
They never mention Original Z, so did they change the connectors for the dock after the Original Z?

Yes. The Z have different connectors than Z1, Z2 and Z3. Each Z phone have a specific dock for charging. I don't recommend the magnetic charging cables.
Enviado do meu D6503 através de Tapatalk

If you set screen brightness to 70%, battery life isn't that bad. Screen is ok when you normally look at it. Also,you can downgrade Android version and everything will much better! No heating,better battery life, better photos...
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

hmm since it will be getting tmobile version, is it that hard to downgrade?

One last thing, what docks do you use for the xperia Z.
The Sony docks are kind of expensive and have seen some cheaper ones for like $10.
Would a third-party dock work well?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBVV8QA/ref=twister_B00DAV8Q1G?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Got this one for $3.86, since I had like $4 in amazon credit.
we'll see how slow it charges, most third party chargers charge really slow.

Also any big issues to be aware of?
I've seen some forum post of people saying the phone screen cracked without them touching it.
SD cards being killed by the phone.
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...my-ear-Screen-cracked-from/m-p/317879#U317879
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...-touching-or-dropping-it/m-p/1002815#U1002815
They seemed a bit far fetched.... kind of funny just reading the post.

Sony phones have very bad service centers. That's a big Sony's problem

daniLaLaLaLaLa said:
Xperia Z is good but it was a history..
i'm using Xperia ZL though, there no different between this Z and ZL since there are brother more like a twin..
both of it sucks at battery life if you upgrade to android 5.0.2 which means you have made one mistakes and you will experience phone overheating like you can put your pan and make omelette on it with the battery draining like hell when display remain on because i only got less than 4 hours if device screen remain on plus the camera won't be capturing nice photo anymore even the android version is rising up from 4.1.2 tp 5.02, but the camera quality is falling down and down..
Positive sides is...
The music? i admit my ZL in 5.0.2 sounds better..no scary sound like others, i got more clarity of my music..
i salute for this phone is still smooth eventhough 2 years old and quite satisfying performance but poor battery life.. Well that's it.. my opinion..
I'm migrating to Lenovo Vibe Shot until 5.1.1 is out.. Goodbye
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought a 2nd hand Xperia Z,and it asked me to update so I pressed it and I end up with 5.0.2. Battery runs out on me twice a day pretty heavy user, I got the paid version of poweramp and about £20 worth of widgets and skins for poweramp player and I can only use the default skin and widget, and I mainly use it just for music, I tried to root my phonyyesterday with kingroot and it worked, I don't know what happened but I got rid of the root, as I didn't know what to do after I rooted, I want to use custom rom and delete unused apps what I never use, if anyone got any help for me after rooting, I wasn't able to update SuperSu it wouldn't update, I don't know what ideas doing really.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

I got the phone today and it's on 4.3.
Any way to root it?
edit: I rooted the phone, a lot easier than I thought.
Now since the tmobile version is locked bootloader.
What is the best Android version to have on on the Xperia Z?

jms_209 said:
I got the phone today and it's on 4.3.
Any way to root it?
edit: I rooted the phone, a lot easier than I thought.
Now since the tmobile version is locked bootloader.
What is the best Android version to have on on the Xperia Z?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4.3 is perfect. Stay with it until 5.1 is released.

All about performance (question)

Hi, I'm looking at this phone to potentially buy as the phone is the perfect size for me and I really like the look.I owned the z3c and loved it until I dropped it and blew the screen out. After going through an S6 and G4, I sold sold them for various issues with software and the size was still a bit large for my liking. I currently have an iPhone 6S and was surprised how fast it is and the size is really good. BUT, I prefer Android and have a warm spot for the compact line. My concern though as others I'm sure have as well is all of this talk about Sony not properly optimizing the handset and how it lags and stutters while scrolling. Seems unacceptable to release this kind of unfinished product. Seen and read videos and articles about people complaining the same things..so this is no fluke correct? I am very hesitant to buy this phone and would like to know from users their experience with software issues. I want this to be a discussion to help potential buyers like me, and I'm sure there are many concerned as I am about performance based issues before we buy. Thanks in advance!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

if there were any kind of lagg in my device, now since latest update it is gone, as phone feels just like Z3C, even better i may say.

bubimir13
thanks for that. Saw there was a stage fright update but was there some optimization update as well?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, some users posted about faster governor scaling in this firmware. So cpu frequencys are raised more aggressively now.
My device runs a lot smoother with this update. This was the only point that I was unhappy with before the update. It is not as snappy as some other devices I had in my hand but definitely good now. Still some micro stuttering at some occasions but I am very confident that there will be much more improvement soon, especially with Android M update.
Nexus is using the same SoC on their devices, shipped with Android 6 so Sony will benefit from further updates, regarding hardware optimization.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

darthbane7 said:
Yeah, some users posted about faster governor scaling in this firmware. So cpu frequencys are raised more aggressively now.
My device runs a lot smoother with this update. This was the only point that I was unhappy with before the update. It is not as snappy as some other devices I had in my hand but definitely good now. Still some micro stuttering at some occasions but I am very confident that there will be much more improvement soon, especially with Android M update.
Nexus is using the same SoC on their devices, shipped with Android 6 so Sony will benefit from further updates, regarding hardware optimization.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the "stutters" could be removed quite easily.
What Sony did is they decreased the sampling interval of the governor,
this leads to increased responsiveness, however it does not fight the root cause.
The device is not able to operate smoothly at the given freq threshold (960 000 kHz), and decreasing sampling time will not help to resolve this.
What Sony should've done instead is simply leaving the sampling interval and increase the freq thresholds.
I'll soon get my device rooted again and prove that with this change battery-life will not be sacraficed, but the amount of micro-stutters will be noticably reduced.
The SOC has so much potential and power-reserves, this device could perform way better with proper less-conservative tuning.

Got the phone on release and was very disappointed with all the lag and stutters. But since the latest update, everything is smooth sailing.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

pocii said:
Got the phone on release and was very disappointed with all the lag and stutters. But since the latest update, everything is smooth sailing.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea same! Got the update last night and everything seems well even the camera boots up faster!

Thanks for the good news on updates. I'm clueless as to why Sony would release an unfinished product though. Just doesn't make sense..especially in their mobile situation..baffling
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I noticed a huge increase in speed when waking the camera after the update. Phone feels much snappier overall as well. Glad to see Sony doing some better optimizations.
Lag isn't gone for me, but it's substantially better. I think I'm noticing the 2gb of ram too. When streaming music and browsing photos, when I scroll through 20-25 photos the music app crashes. I have repeated this 100% of the time. Could it be running out of ram as I scroll through these high-res photos? Frustrating.
-Collin-

Tommy-Geenexus said:
Well, the "stutters" could be removed quite easily.
What Sony did is they decreased the sampling interval of the governor,
this leads to increased responsiveness, however it does not fight the root cause.
The device is not able to operate smoothly at the given freq threshold (960 000 kHz), and decreasing sampling time will not help to resolve this.
What Sony should've done instead is simply leaving the sampling interval and increase the freq thresholds.
I'll soon get my device rooted again and prove that with this change battery-life will not be sacraficed, but the amount of micro-stutters will be noticably reduced.
The SOC has so much potential and power-reserves, this device could perform way better with proper less-conservative tuning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way to report stuff like this (and other bugs) directly to the development team? Because the Sony forum (talk.sonymobile.com) seems to be used for less technical problems.
Sent from my E5823

thesebastian said:
Is there a way to report stuff like this (and other bugs) directly to the development team? Because the Sony forum (talk.sonymobile.com) seems to be used for less technical problems.
Sent from my E5823
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly don't know, but i am in contact with Sony's community manager and can forward most stuff this way.
However i'll wait first till marshmallow drops as i don't think Sony puts in much effort in 5.1 either way (which makes sense).
Sent using XDA One

any ETA? I heard it won't be ready untill the December, other rumors say only in Sprinl like with 5.o in Z3 series, and other say its gonna happen in November...

For me it's still very slow and laggy even after the latest update, it got a little better but my Z1C performed way better. I really hope marshmallow will improve this. Sometimes I'm about the break the phone in two because it's so slow!

e2zippo said:
For me it's still very slow and laggy even after the latest update, it got a little better but my Z1C performed way better. I really hope marshmallow will improve this. Sometimes I'm about the break the phone in two because it's so slow!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you let me know the lag you see? Is it with opening apps or scrolling screens or typing ect..?
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Notchr302 said:
Could you let me know the lag you see? Is it with opening apps or scrolling screens or typing ect..?
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it's really all over, when switching between apps mostly. But waiting for keyboard to pop up and other stuff. The animations are not slow when they do appear. I will try do do a video of it.

e2zippo said:
For me it's really all over, when switching between apps mostly. But waiting for keyboard to pop up and other stuff. The animations are not slow when they do appear. I will try do do a video of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be awesome. Appreciate it!
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Thinking of buying Z3+ or S5. Does Z3+ really overheats with newest updates?

Z3+ in a local tech shop is actually cheaper than a Z3.
My main focus is camera, and I seen that Z3+ overheats just after few minutes of using the camera, which is just not acceptable. Is this true?
I would offer my sister (she will buy the phone) to buy LG G4, but she will not do it because she had terrible experience with her previous low end LG device..
Is the overheating really noticeable, not warm, but actually hot to the touch?
If she will not be able to use camera to take photos/videos of her child because of overheating problems/messages/phone being hot, then it's a no no.
Then it's gonna be normal Z3/compact or S5.

Artasdmc said:
Z3+ in a local tech shop is actually cheaper than a Z3.
My main focus is camera, and I seen that Z3+ overheats just after few minutes of using the camera, which is just not acceptable. Is this true?
I would offer my sister (she will buy the phone) to buy LG G4, but she will not do it because she had terrible experience with her previous low end LG device..
Is the overheating really noticeable, not warm, but actually hot to the touch?
If she will not be able to use camera to take photos/videos of her child because of overheating problems/messages/phone being hot, then it's a no no.
Then it's gonna be normal Z3/compact or S5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the Z3+ a few months and I have not experienced any overheating problems.
But to be sure I just tried running the camera app now for 5 min and it's not even warm.
And Android 6 will be released soon (?) which should make the phone run even smoother.
(but if it were me I'd rather buy the Z5)

I would play it safe and avoid the Z3+. There are people that complain about the camera on the Z3+. When the Z3+ reaches a certain temperature in the camera app, it will notify you and close down. That could become an irritating problem if your sister is trying to capture a memorable moment only to have the Z3+ notify that it's running hot and closing the camera app
I personally own a Z3+ and I haven't run into that problem yet. That's also because I'm not trying to record long videos or take tons of pictures in a short period of time.

rice_eater said:
I would play it safe and avoid the Z3+. There are people that complain about the camera on the Z3+. When the Z3+ reaches a certain temperature in the camera app, it will notify you and close down. That could become an irritating problem if your sister is trying to capture a memorable moment only to have the Z3+ notify that it's running hot and closing the camera app
I personally own a Z3+ and I haven't run into that problem yet. That's also because I'm not trying to record long videos or take tons of pictures in a short period of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My z3+ gets hot sometimes. I did a 4k record test got past 15 mins and stopped it myself. However using armask shuts it down within a couple of minutes use. Overall I'm pleased

I've had my Z3+ for about a week. I've only gotten one notice from the system that it was overheating and that was from the Sony camera app. I was outdoors at the Zoo taking some pictures in about 80 degrees F and after about 10mins I got a message that said the temp was increasing and that if it increased higher, the camera app would close. It never did close but it got really warm. Didn't shoot any video, just pictures. Other than that, it functions flawlessly.

I'd recommend S5 over Z3+ only if you could save at least $200 (& don't mind the performance & camera downgrade). I have Z5, S6 (had S5) as well. Z3+ is the fastest one IMO. No lag, hiccup, frequent redraws - nothing. It does get warm at times with heavy usage, but I'd not call it 'too hot'. With a case on, I don't think the user will notice anything.
About the camera (stock app),
- Like someone already stated, AR stuff can close the app after couple minutes. That's way more than I'd ever need, but it may matter to you
- 4K recording: >10 min (indoor), > 7/8 minute (outdoor, YMMV based on env. temp)
- 1080p: I did 25 min (indoor) before I decided to stop. People over here did more than 50 minutes using google camera app
I don't think any other app can overheat the phone. Oh, the first fw was a mess, probably that's why it got some bad reviews. So update it right away if you end up getting one!

When I first rooted my Z3+ and tried different kernels with different tweaks the phone got so hot I thought it was going to melt. I went to everything as stock as possible using the "Custom US" ROM and everything has been pretty good. But recently I switched to the Global ROM and the battery has been better and the camera app lasts a lot longer. That being said I am sure people will see different results than I with their phones. The Z3+ is just disappointing that not enough developers are involved with it. Hopefully the Marshmallow release will change that.

It's a good phone ruined by poor cooling, games will routinely start to stutter and the screen will dim as soon as throttling is involved (which is basically any game that lasts longer than 2 mins.)

If you do decide on another phone, check to see which Snapdragon processor is in the phone too. The Snapdragon 810 is what's in the Z3+ and some other phones that have the 810 also experience overheating problems.

Overheating WAS problem in the beginning. I had One m9 and g flex2 and they too had overheating problems. But with updates the problem was solved for every device.

aragorn771 said:
When I first rooted my Z3+ and tried different kernels with different tweaks the phone got so hot I thought it was going to melt. I went to everything as stock as possible using the "Custom US" ROM and everything has been pretty good. But recently I switched to the Global ROM and the battery has been better and the camera app lasts a lot longer. That being said I am sure people will see different results than I with their phones. The Z3+ is just disappointing that not enough developers are involved with it. Hopefully the Marshmallow release will change that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello aragorn771!
How did you install a global Rom? I've been stuck since I rooted my phone Z3+Dual and installed a custom kernel to get root, I didn't try so much things like installing other Rom or flashing because I don't want to go on a bootloop.
Can you tell me what is way to go please?:fingers-crossed:

lilloscar said:
Hello aragorn771!
How did you install a global Rom? I've been stuck since I rooted my phone Z3+Dual and installed a custom kernel to get root, I didn't try so much things like installing other Rom or flashing because I don't want to go on a bootloop.
Can you tell me what is way to go please?:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed the ROM through Flashtool then re-rooted through Fastboot with the the recovery kernel. I tried a few ROMs through Xperifirm and settled at the global one.

I just arrived on Z3+. I had a problem with my Z3 and the warranty send me the Z3+. There's this problem of overheating. I didn't found this global rom on xperiafirm but there is a China's update. Someone knows if they correct this bug?

toledo22 said:
I just arrived on Z3+. I had a problem with my Z3 and the warranty send me the Z3+. There's this problem of overheating. I didn't found this global rom on xperiafirm but there is a China's update. Someone knows if they correct this bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also had trouble also had problems with my Z3 and Sony sent me a Z3 +
Z3 + is horrible compared to Z3, it becomes too hot and shut the camera off after a few minutes, and also very lag!
.266 Update does not correct these problems and this FW does not have google apps.
I have already been in contact with Sony to send me another Z3 me or return the money because I was very disappointed with Z3 +!
I believe that with update 5.1.1 for Xperia Z3 + will greatly improve the overall stability of the device, as well as Z3 had a great improvement (Art / Zram)

Gustavo RD78 said:
..I believe that with update 5.1.1 for Xperia Z3 + will greatly improve the overall stability of the device, as well as Z3 had a great improvement (Art / Zram)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm under the impression they are going straight for 6.0. Just hope it's happening soon..

I have been using the Z3 + for a few months haven't had any insane heating issues. Watching youtube for hrs on end or taking pics or filming. If your filming 4k for extended periods I'm sure it will add some heat but otherwise it's been pretty sweet. Looking forward to seeing 6.0 update.

Aetu said:
I'm under the impression they are going straight for 6.0. Just hope it's happening soon..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On Dual Sim model, not so soon like always...

GrimReaper24 said:
I have been using the Z3 + for a few months haven't had any insane heating issues. Watching youtube for hrs on end or taking pics or filming. If your filming 4k for extended periods I'm sure it will add some heat but otherwise it's been pretty sweet. Looking forward to seeing 6.0 update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you downloaded and installed the latest OS updates for your Z3+?

Culex316 said:
Have you downloaded and installed the latest OS updates for your Z3+?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I have. I always keep things updated to the latest. Looking forward to seeing the 6.0 layout should help out on battery life. Haven't rooted this yet. Think a lot of the heating issues people have had in the past are from long periods of 4k filming and playing around for a long time with the AR Effect.
I've read a lot about this phone catching poo for snapdragon 810 and so on for heating issues which turned a lot of people away from it. The updates have smoothed it out a lot. I haven't had any issues or force closures. Tho I don't film 20 to 30 mins of 4k lol.

GrimReaper24 said:
Yes I have. I always keep things updated to the latest.Looking forward to seeing the 6.0 layout should help out on battery life. Haven't rooted this yet. Think a lot of the heating issues people have had in the past are from long periods of 4k filming and playing around for a long time with the AR Effect.
I've read a lot about this phone catching poo for snapdragon 810 and so on for heating issues which turned a lot of people away from it. The updates have smoothed it out a lot. I haven't had any issues or force closures. Tho I don't flim 20 to 30 mins of 4k lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok, that's very good to read then, since I am considering this phone as a replacement for my broken LG G4 (which is going to be sent for warranty repairs, then sold once it comes back).
How about lag? I have read that it lags during everyday use...is it buttery-smooth when browsing the web, switching between apps, etc.?

Z5 PREMIUM - 3 months in review.

Just sharing my thoughts, keen on what others think about some of these points.
The bad
- Feels sluggish. I dont know why as I am very careful about what apps I install but it takes longer to go from selecting a contact to talking to that contact than it did on my LG G2.
- Camera too slow to load up.
- Battery average at best.
- Fingerprint Scanner is poor.
The good
- Camera once launched is very good.
- Screen is great.
- Thats it really.
6 / 10.
It wont go down as one of 'the greats' and I will probably swap it once the new generation of phones arrive.
JK

Thanks for the review but here is z5 forum not premium.

Doh. Apologies, Moderator pls move.

That pretty much sums up what I've experienced too with my Z5 so far.
At first I was super happy: The phone is very well built and it feels very premium/solid when you hold it. I'm a fan of the Sony design and I think it's the best looking phone on the market right now (with the Moto X Pure). The Xperia UI doesn't look half-bad, it even looks better than the stock Android UI in my opinion. The camera snaps pretty solid pictures and the 1080p60 video mode is pure gold. The loudspeakers are impressive, the screen looks great and the IP67 rating is just awesome
But after a few weeks many issues and annoyances appeared and made me realize that the Z5 is far from being stellar or far from being a phone I would recommend...
The firmware in general feels very rough around the edges and unfinished once you start digging deeper and using more advanced functionalities/features:
-Wifi thetering has been broken since October for me, and it's annoying as hell because I used that feature a lot with my Surface Pro
-Bluetooth connectivity is very unstable and unreliable in my car. I can't blame my car, I've never had problems before with my OnePlus One and Note 3. Since I have the Z5, it disconnects a lot, sometimes refuse to connect and it requires a reboot, etc.
-Auto-brightness seems broken or works eratically.
-I notice UI lag here and there, and it shouldn't happen on a Snapdragon 810 device. My old OnePlus One (Snapdragon 801) felt snappier and CM12.1 was buttery smooth. I can't say the same about Sony's UI.
-Maybe once a a day, an app (always a different app) will freeze and require a Force Close. Once I force closed it, I won't be able to launch it again without rebooting the phone.
-When there's 7 or more notifications from the same app on the lock screen, instead of showing all the notifications when you expand, you will only see a "@" followed by a chain of character. That's a known bug that has been patched months ago on CyanogenMod, and it's always present on Sony's ROM after many updates. That's annoying, it feels "unfinished" and unrefined. It makes it feel like the Z5 is running a beta firmware. That left me a bad impression when I first saw that bug again, on the Z5... it has been patched for months on my OnePlus One.
-So far, battery life has been subpar and acceptable at best. I know about the Lollipop "mobile radio active" bug and all, but still... I expected a little bit more.
-Sometimes, for no apparent reason, the phone will become very sluggish, with many little "delays" here and there to execute some simple tasks (open an app, open the Notifications Center, etc.) That's something I've never experienced before with my older (and slower on paper) phones. I think the firmware is the culprit
That's what came to my mind, but there's more issues and inconsistencies.
You know, I've had a OnePlus One from day 1 (well almost) and I went through all the early firmware problems they had. I'm not the most exigent and demanding user, but I like to see some progress and bugfixes... I knew OnePlus was a new company and I knew the One were their first phone... with time, the ROM got better and better, and a year layer when I sold it, the One was a pretty solid and enjoyable device.
But the thing is... Sony isn't OnePlus... they've been selling phones for a while now and I expected a lot more. I didn't expect the impossible, but I think it was fair to expect a phone that wouldn't have bluetooth issues, auto-brightness that works, a lag free UI experience, etc.
Sadly, that's not what I got... The current Lollipop firmware feels very "beta-ish" to me... it feels like a firmware that would ship with a Chinese 150$ phone!
Now all I hope is that Marshmallow will be better. In the current state, and if these issues are still present in Marshmallow, I will get rid of that phone and get a Nexus.
As a matter of fact, I've been using my old Galaxy Note 3 + CM13 for the last 6 weeks now... It doesn't crash, bluetooth just works, I can go through the day easily on a single charge and, in general, I enjoy using it more than my Z5 despite the fact that it's an old phone by today's standards... I still prefer an older phone that just works, than a newer phone that has the issues I described earlier.
The Z5 is my first Sony phone and probably my last to be honest. They failed to leave me with a good impression... For those who use older models like the Z3 or Z3+: the Sony firmware was that buggy when you got your phone? Did it get better with time and updates?

Yes I have high hopes for Marshmallow - will be make or break for this device.

I never had any problems with my Z1 and when the Z5 was released I got one at launch and I have to this day not had any major or lesser problem with it.
The battery is great, the camera is just fantastic, the performance is just superb.
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---------- Post added at 07:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 PM ----------
jklondon said:
Yes I have high hopes for Marshmallow - will be make or break for this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha, that's hilarious...
So what you're saying is that your phone is more or less completely unusable in it's current state?
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Snaqejack said:
I never had any problems with my Z1 and when the Z5 was released I got one at launch and I have to this day not had any major or lesser problem with it.
The battery is great, the camera is just fantastic, the performance is just superb.
Skickat från min E6653 via Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 07:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 PM ----------
Hahaha, that's hilarious...
So what you're saying is that your phone is more or less completely unusable in it's current state?
Skickat från min E6653 via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 750$ Z5 have been gathering dust in the last 6 weeks on my bed table because it's unusable for me in its current state (go read my post). I'm using my old Note 3 at the moment because it's more reliable and it actually works. And yes, I'm waiting to see if Marshmallow will fix these issues to decide if I keep that Z5 or throw it on a brick wall out of frustration.
To be honest, I don't think it's hilarious my friend

Phazonclash said:
My 750$ Z5 have been gathering dust in the last 6 weeks on my bed table because it's unusable for me in its current state (go read my post). I'm using my old Note 3 at the moment because it's more reliable and it actually works. And yes, I'm waiting to see if Marshmallow will fix these issues to decide if I keep that Z5 or throw it on a brick wall out of frustration.
To be honest, I don't think it's hilarious my friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might aswell write it, you tried flashing the phone with different firmwares?
I mean like a UK one, a Generic one etc etc?
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Same here, it's so sluggish most of the time now that it's unusable.

Sluggish? Sure is it a Z5? Any issue here, it works wonderfull
Enviado desde mi E6653 mediante Tapatalk

jklondon said:
Doh. Apologies, Moderator pls move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u open this thread in browser and you hit the "!" triangle right under your post u can report to a mod and request thread movement.
I could do that too for u but telling u now so u could do it yourself next time

dfavefenix said:
Sluggish? Sure is it a Z5? Any issue here, it works wonderfull
Enviado desde mi E6653 mediante Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z5 Premium actually. And I'm not the only one, read the forums. Hopefully marshmellow will fix is.

it seems we bought a different phone! i actually have the plain Z5 dual, i use it as work/personal phone, doing hours of conference call, call merging, and all what i need for an efficient day at work is there, it is true that i do not play games, no facebook no frills, but multiple email accounts, twitter, linkedin telegram whatsapp are there and i would recommend this phone for its build quality, call quality and signal, battery life more than enough, clean UI, top spec camera and video, for sure mine is not slaggish at all.

I also use it primarily for work, but it doesn't help. Sill sluggish. Sometimes just opening the task switcher can take 6-8 seconds.
Snapdragon 810 was a really bad idea and I miss my Z3.

thklinge said:
I also use it primarily for work, but it doesn't help. Sill sluggish. Sometimes just opening the task switcher can take 6-8 seconds. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
send it back to repair, definitely.

Add me to the list of slugishness. To me it feels like a memory leak bug or something like that because right after boot phone is fluid and fast, but as you start doing things apps, animations start becoming laggy. It's not super slow for me, just something you'd expect from a 2 year old Moto G and not a premium device like this. I'm pretty sure it can be fixed with software though.
It's just a tad sad that 5 months after release this device is not running smoothly on Lollipop with some updates. I'm not even asking for Marshmallow, just that this runs as fast as my Z3 did. Other observations:
Device gets hot. Not uncomfortable, but come on, my battery is being used to heat this thing up instead of doing productive things
Auto brightness is FU
Sluggishness gets resolved on boot
SOTs are subpar
Camera startup lags
fingerprint scanner is super tricky
Dual z5 which I have has annoying double confirmation bug when phone calling. Come on SONY, does anyone QA your FW?
Hopefully all of this will get resolved with updates. This is such a beautiful phone.

Z5C vs XC

Hello, friends.
I'm a user of a Z3C (had a Z1C before that). Now that Nougat isn't available anymore for our phone, I was wondering if I should buy a Z5C or a XC.
I'm not a stock user. I use a lot of mods and custom stuff on my phone. Stock isn't for me. I know that Z5C is more powerful and more affordable that a XC, but it only has one more year of support.
Would you recommend upgrading (at all)? And if yes, which of the models
I was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus phone...but damn, that price! Also took into consideration a Nexus 5X or a Samsung S7...I don't want a big phone, nor to sell my kidneys for a phone.

Man I was in the same situation as you deciding between Z5c and Xc. I had a Nextbit Robin for around 3 months. Worse decision ever. Don't get me wrong the Robin is nice, looks great and high specs but the poorly optimised software from Nextbit is just awful. Huge problems with audio playback (3.5mm).
So I was looking for a new Android device. The two models that got my attention was Z5c and Xc. Having already used the Xc from family member I liked it. It did everything the Nextbit Robin did but BETTER! Audio playback is the biggest feature for me. Works perfectly. However I decided to go for the Xperia Z5 Compact due to being waterproof, better specs. Also something to note with Xc is that the back will get scratched easily due to the material finish which is cheap plastic and very glossy. No matter even if you are the most careful person looking after your gadgets.
Here in the UK I got ordered the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Yellow for £179. Black out of stock and the retailer don't stock White variant. So being a guy this will be my first yellow phone LOL. Hope women out in public see my new flashy phone and get attracted to me LOL but if gay men do then I need to run LOL
My Z5c arrives tomorrow (06/10/2016). I can post my feedback tomorrow if you want. Also I ain't fussed about updates eg Android N, L etc LOL. Within a year or so there probably be Z6c or something along the lines.

I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

doriandiaconu said:
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any games you'd like me to try out?

Having just upgraded from my Z3 Compact to a Z5 Compact, I must say, you will not be disappointed! It is noticeably faster and battery life has been better even. I'm using XPower 4 as my ROM, rooted, bootloader unlocked, DRM-fixed, thermal-patched, xposed, amplify, greenify, etc. Basically the exact same setup I had under SliMM 3.x on my Z3 Compact, all backed up with Titanium Backup and restored onto my Z5 Compact. Every xposed module works exactly as before, and overall I was back up and running in no time. I feel that the X Compact is a slightly less high-end device compared to the Z5 Compact, it lacks waterproof rating, fingerprint sensor (as long as you import your Z5c), and the really cool looking speaker design.

MiracleMiah said:
Any games you'd like me to try out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not much of a gamer. But I am a update freak

MiracleMiah said:
Here in the UK I got ordered the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Yellow for £179.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get it for £179? Is this new or second hand?

pelago said:
Where did you get it for £179? Is this new or second hand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I received mine today and it's looks new!
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/so...47868-_-blank-_-blank#contractType=paymonthly
So far it's showing out of stock now but keep any eye on stock level then click Pay & Go option on right side of the page.

MiracleMiah said:
I received mine today and it's looks new!
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/so...47868-_-blank-_-blank#contractType=paymonthly
So far it's showing out of stock now but keep any eye on stock level then click Pay & Go option on right side of the page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I already bought one a couple of weeks ago, £289, from Giffgaff, in black, definitely brand new, but £179 (especially if it really is in new condition) is a bargain.

doriandiaconu said:
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right I got the device today. So far so good. Everything setup and updated to the latest version. The phone is amazing. Fast and smooth using the OS. Love the build quality and the camera, I'm in love with that. Been taking some photos of family and I love the quality and the amount of manual tweaking you can do.
I have played some games such as Spider-Man, Asphalt etc on it and I noticed after like 15 minutes the back get's slightly hot but nothing too extreme.
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
---------- Post added at 05:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------
pelago said:
Well, I already bought one a couple of weeks ago, £289, from Giffgaff, in black, definitely brand new, but £179 (especially if it really is in new condition) is a bargain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed what a bargain! Did you notice the speaker volume output level was low on first day?

MiracleMiah said:
Right I got the device today. So far so good. Everything setup and updated to the latest version. The phone is amazing. Fast and smooth using the OS. Love the build quality and the camera, I'm in love with that. Been taking some photos of family and I love the quality and the amount of manual tweaking you can do.
I have played some games such as Spider-Man, Asphalt etc on it and I noticed after like 15 minutes the back get's slightly hot but nothing too extreme.
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
---------- Post added at 05:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------
Yes indeed what a bargain! Did you notice the speaker volume output level was low on first day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
happen to me randomly sometime alot (usually when i play games top speakers become really quiet), i think its hardware bug. because i had it in all stock versions 5.1.1-6.0- 6.1
besides that and the heat and low RAM ( CSR 2 and Modern Combat 5: took all the 2GB RAM)phone has good battery great
GFX almost 200% faster, from XC

ATM, XC no backup TA so for any root user better to get Z5c plus it got waterproof. Z5c can be a very good phone but really need heavy modding and quite trouble, it's a phone that root is a must. Stock is completely useless.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z5/development/mod-smartemperaturex-best-balanced-s810-t3438890
Just make sure you guys flash the SmartTempX v1.61 thermal mod for gaming bcoz v1.7/1.8 got slow charge bug.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z5-compact/development/rom-xpower-v1-0-aroma-debloat-custom-t3371100
Remember to install greenify to free up memory bcoz 2GB ram isn't enough for this device and debloat the rom by yourself. Suggested to flash XPower V3/V4 rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/sonyz5-family-unlocked-xz-xc-camera-t3463148
http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/mod-cyberian-camera-t3267271/page203
Originally, I want to upgrade to XC for the camera since camera is the most important part to me. Stock Z5c cam is just way below my expectation but after used stock mod cam and photo quality been much improved, so the plan pushed back a bit now. Will stick with Z5c in this year, next year might get XC when price lower.

MiracleMiah said:
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the same thing to me on day one. Next day it was okay. That was 6 months ago and so far so good

I'm a Z5C owner thinking of buying XC. Because I'm sick and tired of this phone.
The one and only option for obtaining Z5C is buying it in a store with a moneyback policy. Most of the phones have overheating and battery drain problems. If you are lucky to get a phone without these issues then you get an awesome smartphone. And if you get the same as others... well, there's moneyback for you.
These issues can't be fixed with any software tweaks, the best way to improve the situation is flashing 5.1 which makes the phone heat much less and allows it to last a day of minor usage which is a great improvement over charging twice a day with Marshmallow. No hope for improvements in Nougat.
I hate Sony for making potentially awesome phones and not paying attention to quality. Z5C could be perfect.

jufofu said:
These issues can't be fixed with any software tweaks, the best way to improve the situation is flashing 5.1 which makes the phone heat much less and allows it to last a day of minor usage which is a great improvement over charging twice a day with Marshmallow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally disagreed. Do you real root and try? I've got nightmare battery drain at idle with 5.1.1 stock .152/.200 and battery problem completely fixed with XPower rom. I don't think 5.1.1 heat much less too.

TheEndHK said:
Totally disagreed. Do you real root and try? I've got nightmare battery drain at idle with 5.1.1 stock .152/.200 and battery problem completely fixed with XPower rom. I don't think 5.1.1 heat much less too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I did. But all the tweaking just made it a little bit cooler, still as hot as my gf. Even after I severely limited the frequencies it became very slow but didn't stop overheating. 10-15 minutes in Chrome made it extremely hot and drained a few percent of battery charge.
After I downgraded it to 5.1.1 it doesn't even need tweaking anymore. Yes, the battery life still is mediocre at best, and it gets warm from usage, but it lasts twice longer and doesn't throttle down the CPU anymore.

jufofu said:
Of course I did. But all the tweaking just made it a little bit cooler, still as hot as my gf. Even after I severely limited the frequencies it became very slow but didn't stop overheating. 10-15 minutes in Chrome made it extremely hot and drained a few percent of battery charge.
After I downgraded it to 5.1.1 it doesn't even need tweaking anymore. Yes, the battery life still is mediocre at best, and it gets warm from usage, but it lasts twice longer and doesn't throttle down the CPU anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do u try water cool your gf?
It's weird the heat appeared same to me in both 5.1.1 and 6.0.1(.253 is more hot than .224) but Sony MM I believe got some memory leaks so 5.1.1 is real faster during in my experiences(bluetooth and wifi is also faster and more stable). But I can't fix the radio active bug in .152/.200 and just keep draining battery, XPower V3/V4 real fixed that.
Plus camera is more important to me, both photo/video much better in MM with mod cam.

TheEndHK said:
Do u try water cool your gf?
It's weird the heat appeared same to me in both 5.1.1 and 6.0.1(.253 is more hot than .224) but Sony MM I believe got some memory leaks so 5.1.1 is real faster during in my experiences(bluetooth and wifi is also faster and more stable). But I can't fix the radio active bug in .152/.200 and just keep draining battery, XPower V3/V4 real fixed that.
Plus camera is more important to me, both photo/video much better in MM with mod cam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I tried, didn't help, she's still hot. Will try again. And again.
I'm going to flash the latest MM firmware now and see if anything has changed. If it hasn't I'll flash LP back.
I have to reflash the phone anyway because I got into a bootloop on LP after a few days of using it.

Update;
Reporting back.. Totally love this phone. I'd say get this over the XC Compact. For me the Z5c better build quality and finish. It's been such a smooth experience. Making calls, texting, apps & games.
It put's shame on Nextbit Robin which I had (now sold).

MiracleMiah said:
Update;
Reporting back.. Totally love this phone. I'd say get this over the XC Compact. For me the Z5c better build quality and finish. It's been such a smooth experience. Making calls, texting, apps & games.
It put's shame on Nextbit Robin which I had (now sold).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What make you change your idea vote for Z5c now?
http://phandroid.com/2016/09/21/htc-bolt-photo/
Keep an eye on new mid range of HTC Bolt. Some suggested a smaller size and cheaper ver of HTC10, not sure 4.7" or 5" at this time if 4.7" can be a good replacement of Z5c and XC.