[adimicra]

I did some more digging related to my battery issue on the Pixel.
It is definitely not due to any Apps draining the battery, it seems to be a genuine battery/hardware issue. There is an App called 'Accubattery' which I found to be pretty good as it offers lot of detailed information. One feature which I found very useful is the REAL battery capacity estimate. It shows my battery capacity as ~1400mAH which is roughly 50% of the original battery capacity of 2770mAH. That explains by battery problem I guess.

Also, I booked a complaint with Google and a service technician showed up. He said that he has to take the handset and it will take 10-14 days to return it as it has to be sent to Delhi service center. He refused to give a loaner device as its only supposed to be given to mobiles within warranty. According to him, it can be a motherboard issue or a battery issue. Battery replacement will cost 3-4K while motherboard replacement will cost 15-20K. SInce I don't have a spare phone, I could not give it to him. I think considering the cot of a new premium phone, it is better to give it for a repair and see if the issue is with the battery. If it's a motherboard issue, then better to sell this one and get a new one. I am trying to arrange for a spare phone in the meantime.

[theexperthand]

Saturday my wife's RedMi Note5 pro slipped from her hand and the fall resulted in shattering of the front glass. Since the phone was barely 6 months old, decided to get the screen replaced, instead of opting for a new mobile.

Called up the Mi customer care first and they quoted 4.7K all inclusive. Checked few 3rd party players, but all quotes were more or less same or not lucrative enough - ToTooDo's quote was more than Mi

Went to the Bannerghatta service center on Saturday to give the phone for repair. The quoted time was 1 hour, but got the handset back in around 40 minutes, with the display changed. The service center experience was smooth. The phone looks and feels like brand new now.

Mi service centers use an app (hate2wait) which can show you the current waiting time in any service center before you go. You can even take tokens online and reach the ASC in time, instead of going there, getting a token and waiting there. Pretty nifty feature - will be using it if I need to visit the service center again (God Forbid ).

--Anoop

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by adimicra

SInce I don't have a spare phone, I could not give it to him. I think considering the cot of a new premium phone, it is better to give it for a repair and see if the issue is with the battery. If it's a motherboard issue, then better to sell this one and get a new one. I am trying to arrange for a spare phone in the meantime.

I'd suggest buying a cheap Android phone (~5k) and keeping it as a backup for your close family. I do that, and it's been a life saver (bit of an exaggeration!) on many occasions.

Your line of thought around what to do with your Pixel is sound.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Saturday my wife's RedMi Note5 pro slipped from her hand and the fall resulted in shattering the front glass. Since the phone was barely 6 months old, decided to get the screen replaced, instead of opting for a new mobile. […] The service center experience was smooth.

Very good to hear this positive experience with Xiaomi. Service-related aspects were an advantage that the big players had, so it's good to hear of the new challengers also offering extremely good service.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Saturday my wife's RedMi Note5 pro slipped from her hand and the fall resulted in shattering of the front glass. Since the phone was barely 6 months old, decided to get the screen replaced, instead of opting for a new mobile.

Called up the Mi customer care first and they quoted 4.7K all inclusive. Checked few 3rd party players, but all quotes were more or less same or not lucrative enough - ToTooDo's quote was more than Mi

Went to the Bannerghatta service center on Saturday to give the phone for repair. The quoted time was 1 hour, but got the handset back in around 40 minutes, with the display changed. The service center experience was smooth. The phone looks and feels like brand new now.

Mi service centers use an app (hate2wait) which can show you the current waiting time in any service center before you go. You can even take tokens online and reach the ASC in time, instead of going there, getting a token and waiting there. Pretty nifty feature - will be using it if I need to visit the service center again (God Forbid ).

--Anoop

Had an opposite experience with my Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. The display was water damaged. The service center did not have a display in stock. Had to wait for a week to get the display shipped and replaced. Cost me 4900/- all inclusive. So looks like the cost of replacement is similar for the two phones.

The service center tried to con me by not giving me the Bill. They just hand wrote 'Delivered' on the job sheet and made me sign it. When asked for the bill they said they will send it to my email in 2 days. I persisted and they gave me a GST bill in 10 mins. I had heard this being a common scam across service centers. So, we should be aware.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

The service center tried to con me by not giving me the Bill. They just hand wrote 'Delivered' on the job sheet and made me sign it. When asked for the bill they said they will send it to my email in 2 days. I persisted and they gave me a GST bill in 10 mins. I had heard this being a common scam across service centers. So, we should be aware.

Interesting. So this is just them trying to avoid paying GST, by not generating a bill? Or is there some further cheating involved?

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Interesting. So this is just them trying to avoid paying GST, by not generating a bill? Or is there some further cheating involved?

Apparently, they can get some discount/benefit by not generating the bill. But this practice is rampant in service centers across india.

[neoonwheels]

Pocophone F1 might get Widevine L1 support soon...

https://www.gizmochina.com/2018/10/2...ne-l1-support/

[arunphilip]

Google limits Pixel 3 wireless charging rate to standard 5W for [most] third-party charging pads

Source: Android Police

the recent discovery that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL will only wirelessly charge at 10W on the Pixel Stand, with [most] third-party wireless chargers limited to the much slower 5W.

We reached out to Google PR and were told that the Pixel 3 would charge at 10W on the Pixel Stand due to a "secure handshake" being established, but that third-party chargers would indeed be limited to 5W. This is kind of a tasteless move from Google; neither Samsung (which pioneered fast wireless charging tech) nor Apple does this.

Making things worse, the Pixel 3 will still say "Charging rapidly" on the always-on display even when charging at the limited 5W rate for whatever reason.

Google appears to be certifying specific chargers via a "Made for Google Pixel" program that will allow them to unlock the higher rate of charging - such as this Belkin charger that retails for $60 and states:

Made with the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in mind, this wireless charging pad uses Google’s 10W proprietary wireless charging technology.

I have to say this is quite a poor move on the part of Google. I have been using wireless charging for half a decade, and have happily intermixed Microsoft and Samsung phones on Nokia and Samsung Qi charging pads, and have always benefited from rapid wireless charging.

Now Google has taken an open standard and extended it in a proprietary direction, despite the open standard itself supporting 10W. I expect this behaviour from Apple, not Google.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Google limits Pixel 3 wireless charging rate to standard 5W for [most] third-party charging pads

Lousy move. But me thinks they will roll it back. Hopefully better sense prevails.

[manson]

Swapped my father's Iphone 5S for the Nokia 6.1+ (compact size + big screen) and apart from losing his whatsapp chat history the transition to android seems to have worked out pretty well for him. At 16K on the Nokia store (even cheaper when available on Flipkart sales) this one seems is terrific value for money.
Earlier finding any accessories for the Nokia 8 and 6.1 was relatively impossible. This time around I could find a good cover for a Nokia on amazon and a screen guard at the local store, so the market seems to have started warming up to Nokia.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Had an opposite experience with my Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1. The display was water damaged. The service center did not have a display in stock. Had to wait for a week to get the display shipped and replaced. Cost me 4900/- all inclusive. So looks like the cost of replacement is similar for the two phones.

I had opted for the 299/- one time screen replacement offer listed on Flipkart for the Asus Zenfone Max pro M1, are you sure you did not end up checking any of the boxes?
While I'm back on the Nokia, the Asus Pro M1 is just way too much phone for the price, especially for the reduced pricing in the Flipkart sales, too bad I seem to have missed all those bank offers in the recent past
Couple of pictures from the Asus incase anyone is still considering getting one, does a good job in good lighting conditions:

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by manson

I had opted for the 299/- one time screen replacement offer listed on Flipkart for the Asus Zenfone Max pro M1, are you sure you did not end up checking any of the boxes?

I had not opted for that.

However, my colleague who had opted for that cover had a liquid damage to his display and he said that liquid damaged display is not covered with that addon. He had to pay for it. Only breakage of the screen is covered due to impact. Can you please check the clause once? If it covered liquid damage then i lost a lot of money and my friend got taken for a ride

[lordvader]

How is Mi A2? Any reviews, feedback would be helpful

I have used xiaomi phones - redmi note 3, redmi note 4x. Both were supported by a strong developer community and getting stock android was not tough. I would like to retain similar specs (SD 6xx series + 4GB ram + 64GB internal storage) but with stock android as part of OEM proposition. Headphone jack is important but I think quick charging can help juggle between headphones and charging.

Poco F1 is also an option given that xiaomi has lured all the developers with a free handset. However, am not sure if bumping up the budget is worth it given my usage is limited to flashing roms, mods, listening to music, calls, sms, telegram, whatsapp and an occasional photo.

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by manson

I had opted for the 299/- one time screen replacement offer listed on Flipkart for the Asus Zenfone Max pro M1, are you sure you did not end up checking any of the boxes?

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I had not opted for that.

However, my colleague who had opted for that cover had a liquid damage to his display and he said that liquid damaged display is not covered with that addon. He had to pay for it. Only breakage of the screen is covered due to impact. Can you please check the clause once? If it covered liquid damage then i lost a lot of money and my friend got taken for a ride

I have already burnt my finger with "Reliance resq". These are nothing, but marketing gimmicks.



What you get is basically an insurance. There will be a lot of ambiguous terms and conditions to reject all your claims. Like sagarpadaki mentioned:


1. Accidental damage covered, but not liquid damage, electrical surge damage etc.
2. If you have your glass broken, you will get a "Screen covered, but not gorilla glass"
3. If you get your screen damaged, "Only body part covered not electrical"



And this list goes on. So, best is not to get it damaged .

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

The quoted time was 1 hour, but got the handset back in around 40 minutes, with the display changed. The service center experience was smooth. The phone looks and feels like brand new now.

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

Pocophone F1 might get Widevine L1 support soon...

This is very positive feedback for me. I ordered the Pocophone F1 on Flipkart just now - went for the 6GB/128GB variant which came to Rs.21,598/- with the Axis Bank Card. This one is for my wife - wanted the Red color one but that was Out of Stock - so went with the Graphite Black. Delivery is set for tomorrow - will update once I receive it.

The shortlist included Real Me Pro 2, Asus Zenfone 5Z, Vivo V11 Pro. Given the price point at which they are selling the Snapdragon 845 on the Poco, things moved quickly in favor of the Poco F1. As per Gsmarena review, Poco has promised the Android Pie update as well within 4 months from the Launch date.

I also opted for the 1 Year Extended Warranty provided by Flipkart for an additional Rs.756/-. Does anyone have any feedback on this Flipkart Extended Warranty - has anyone used it so far or is it too recent?

[vsrivatsa]

The Poco F1 was delivered today by Flipkart.










Sample Pictures Taken using POCO F1:















Overall seems like a Value for Money Phone.