Anyone else thinking about going back to a Note 4?
thomasfrank
Newbie

The note 4 was probably the most versatile phone I had owned, but almost a year and a half ago, alas, I dropped it on the job into a process tank and it was gone gone gone.   Went to a verizon store to replace it, but, they were no longer selling it, had to buy a Note 5.   I have found the note 5 to be OK, but not as useful as the note 4.   It does not have an SD card to easily expand memory .  After I loaded my movies and things I like on the 5 found I had limited room to take a lot of photos with it.  On my first night away in a hotel I hooked it up with my trusty HDMI adaptor to the hotel TV to watch Netflix  via screen mirror and -- the note 5 does not support the  micro USB to HDMI adaptor - the MHL protocol,  took me awhile and a few replacement adaptors and googling to work that out.   Now its been a year, I am starting to have a few issues with the 5's camera,  and the battery is getting weak, and.. you can't replace the battery.   Time to upgrade?  Thought about the note 8, still no replaceable battery but at least they brought back the SD card and I see MHL is back .  However, the price for a note 8 is a staggering $900?  You got to be kidding me, its a phone, not  a laptop. Amazon still has some note 4s. brand new. Ordered one, and a new note 4 still sealed in the original packing , and ordered with a glass screen cover, otter box commuter cover, 64 GB SD card, and a wireless charging back  and a one year warranty set me back a staggering $330.. Now its true the Note 8 is even bigger, its got even more pixels screen resolution, and a faster processor, and I think. who cares.  My note 5 hardly fit my shirt or pants pockets,  I don't want a man purse to carry my phone around.  Screen resolution, the note 4 was fine,  I may watch a movie on it on a long flight but its not my home entertainment system.   Speed?  when we are speaking nanoseconds?   Now all that said, people use these devices differently and all for their own needs and for some the higher resolution cameras, speed and pixels are important,  maybe $900 important, and thats cool.  Not for  me, though, and was curious to see if anyone else thought the same.

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Re: Anyone else thinking about going back to a Note 4?
SEKAR1027
Newbie

I wouldn't recommend it. The last two updates have killed my battery and it doesn't look like Samsung/Verizon will be issuing any further updates for the Note 4. The battery basically is draining and doesn't report the % correctly anymore and dies at random times from anywhere between 20%-80% ! I believe they do this deliberately so you will buy the Note 8. I have two Note 4's and both have had their issues since the updates in August and September. This will likely be the last smartphone I ever have. I am debating getting an old flip phone for calls and use WiFi for everything else on the Note 4 with a stock version of the OS that doesn't present the battery problems.

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Re: Anyone else thinking about going back to a Note 4?
thomasfrank
Newbie

I have been running the new Note 4 for about a week.  The first couple of days it must have gone through half a dozen updates, the first one would finish and then there would be more, went on all weekend.  Battery use  during this time was pretty high, but now that all the updates are in its running fine with no excess battery use issues.   Still it might be nice to have additional capacity and you can replace the Note 4 battery. Running a day using gps and navigation for hours i had to recharge twice in one day.  Since then,  normal use has been drawing it down to 30% after a full day. On amazon you can get a brand new 4900 mah (50% more capacity than stock) for $15. If you are willing to change the back cover they have got some addons that will kick this up to 10000 mah. I have the wireless charging back on mine and a commuter case,  and won't add on a big battery, but I will get the 4900 mah $15 battery.  I do agree that is likely at some point updates for the note 4 will stop, The last update was Aug 1 2017, but whether thats the last one ever or no, I would not know. Still I have got $330 in a brand new Note 4 which includes a 64 gid msd card,  rechargeable back,  removeable battery, otter box case, and supports MHL - and its  a note. Without a doubt the Note 8 or whatever they got now offers some benefits, but I don't think its that great and certainly not worth what they are asking for it.  Let the Iphone X people spend $1000 on a phone,  its part of their cuture.

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