Swapping a SGS4 with a Nexus 5

CK61938

CK61938

CK61938

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Ok, thought it would be best to ask in here for some advice.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 with Three. Only had it a year and still in my 2yr contract (runs out this time next year).

Thing is, I've always wanted a Nexus device (already have a Nexus 7 and love it!). But Google always bring out their devices towards the back end of the year and by then I am in a new contract with a new Samsung Device.

I want to swap my SGS4 with a Nexus 5. How do I go about doing this? Already checked the Three website and they are out of stock of the phone.

Places like envirophone say the SGS4 can go for around £145. And a Nexus 5 for around £85! So maybe some money can be exchanged. But I'm not bothered either way and will be fine with a straight swap.

I am not bothered if the phone is unlocked or locked to Three.

Of course, if anyone knows anyone who has an SGS4 Google Edition then even better!

But just want to know the best way to go about this.

Thank you. :)
 
If you'd be happy with a gpe s4 you could just make your current s4 gpe or sell your s4 on eBay/privately for almost as much as you can buy a new N5 off Google play.
 
thep02 said:
If you'd be happy with a gpe s4 you could just make your current s4 gpe or sell your s4 on eBay/privately for almost as much as you can buy a new N5 off Google play.
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Yeah I was thinking of making it a GPE version. It is rooted already. Guess this will have to be the route I will go down. Saves having to worry about where to buy the phone and such.

Thanks. :)
 
Absolutely 100% this.. I GPE'ed mine ages ago, super easy once you know what you're doing and you end up with a kick ass Nexus class handset.

You lose a bit of the camera functionality but nothing you wouldn't lose anyway in going for the Nexus 5 as it has a slightly iffy camera.

Plus you get to keep the micro SD slot which is pretty handy and the removable battery which is an inexplicable plus to some people who still think it's the 90s :)
 
matt100 said:
Absolutely 100% this.. I GPE'ed mine ages ago, super easy once you know what you're doing and you end up with a kick ass Nexus class handset.

You lose a bit of the camera functionality but nothing you wouldn't lose anyway in going for the Nexus 5 as it has a slightly iffy camera.

Plus you get to keep the micro SD slot which is pretty handy and the removable battery which is an inexplicable plus to some people who still think it's the 90s :)
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All good points! I have rooted before and used ROMs when I had an S2. Will definitely put a GPE ROM this weekend then! :)
 
Just bear in mind you'll lose your warranty probably as you'll trip[ the knox thingy, it's a bit similar the the yellow triangle you'll have had on the S2 but this one you can't make go away.

but if you've had it a year chances are it's free of mfr defects and it'll be getting down to a sort of value on the second hand market where this sort of thing makes no difference so totally go for it!

I'm using Jamals GPE ROM from XDA but a quick look turned this up, might be worth a look. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2557353

I just wouldn't bother with things like CM11 or AOKP, most of the extras you might want you can get via xposed and gravitybox anyway.
 
It hardly ever makes sense to buy a Nexus device on a contract. Next time your contract is up for renewal and you're thinking the same, don't get a new phone on contract, just get a sim-only contract (for data, Three is usually the best value for this anyway) and then save up the pennies and buy the phone outright*.

I won't be getting another phone on contract while things are as they are.

* assuming there is a Nexus 2014 or 2015 of course.
 
Thanks for the input guys. All greatly appreciated. Will definitely go the route of putting a GPE ROM on. That link for the GPE ROM is the one I have been looking at. So definitely going for it. :)
 
Did Google sort out the battery life and camera? I remember these aspects been an issue when the N5 came out. Trying to recommend a friend an upgrade to her N4, N5 seems the logical step but she is put off by the above.
 
xibinim said:
Did Google sort out the battery life and camera? I remember these aspects been an issue when the N5 came out. Trying to recommend a friend an upgrade to her N4, N5 seems the logical step but she is put off by the above.
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There are no issues with the Nexus 5 battery life. Mine lost 2% of battery overnight soon after I got it and when I installed 4.4.3 it still lost 2% overnight (not scientific on the minutes, but both were work nights, so let's say 11pm to 6:30am off-charge). I've not tested 4.4.4, but with it primarily being a security patch, it's unlikely to have had any effect on battery life.

Other than dodgy apps, the primary reason for any KitKat phone burning through the battery is the Google Play Framework service. Clearing the cache and restarting is usually enough to sort that one (I don't know if it's GPF itself causing the issues (in which case it's still Google's fault) or a side-effect of another dodgy app/service). Either way, I've seen no sign of it since 4.4.3, so maybe they fixed it anyway.

Of course, the Nexus 5's battery is smaller than the G2, G3 and most other Kitkat-era phones, but it's still easily good enough for a couple of days use with moderate use (though many 3D games would kill any phone's battery in).

Can't comment on the camera or video sound issues as I don't use either often. Both were meant to be fixed with 4.4.3 though (and the camera issue was also affecting other Kitkat phones - don't know if the sound issues did).
 
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Well that was an absolute balls ache waste of a time!

I first got the GPE ROM. Installed it with no problems using TWRP. But when it rebooted back into the phone. It said there was no network coverage. So I manually added in Three. And it worked. But then it did it again. So I decided to just put the new and updated Three firmware for 4.4.2 (which is the latest from Sammobile). Went through fine via ODIN as instructed on the site.

Rebooted back into the phone. And I am faced with endless error message saying "process android.process.acore has stopped". No matter how many times I hit OK, it brings it up over and over again. And when I get to certain point of setting up the phone, it restarts. I am beyond furious and I am going to a Three store tomorrow to see if they can replace the phone cos this is just not on! Their own firmware has done this!

Anyone else experienced anything like this? I even searched online and everywhere suggests "Settings --> apps --> All --> Contacts Storage --> clear data and Force stop". But I cannot get that far as the phone constantly reboots. I can't even go into stock recovery to see if I can attempt some kind of wipe/reset. This was such a bad idea!
 
It just reboots again. So I have left it to charge cos I have given up. Wasted about 3-4hrs just cos I wanted a stupid Google Play Edition ROM on it. Only to be screwed by the official ROM itself.

EDIT: Going to see if I can roll it back to 4.3 and see if that fixes it. If it does, I am staying on 4.3 and not budging til I upgrade next June/July!
 
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CK61938 said:
It just reboots again. So I have left it to charge cos I have given up. Wasted about 3-4hrs just cos I wanted a stupid Google Play Edition ROM on it. Only to be screwed by the official ROM itself.

EDIT: Going to see if I can roll it back to 4.3 and see if that fixes it. If it does, I am staying on 4.3 and not budging til I upgrade next June/July!
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Patience dude! Its worth it in the end.

You mention TWRP? You've got a custom recovery installed?

As far as I can tell and god knows I've tried there's almost nothing you can do to brick a samsung if you have a decent recovery!
 
CK61938 said:
I first got the GPE ROM. Installed it with no problems using TWRP. But when it rebooted back into the phone. It said there was no network coverage. So I manually added in Three. And it worked. But then it did it again. So I decided to just put the new and updated Three firmware for 4.4.2 (which is the latest from Sammobile). Went through fine via ODIN as instructed on the site.

Rebooted back into the phone. And I am faced with endless error message saying "process android.process.acore has stopped".
Click to expand...

You'll need to install a new modem to get the network working again. Really easy, you just need to find out which one is for your phone.

As for the crashing, I had the same problem, you just need to do a full wipe. Always do a full wipe when installing a new rom.
 
Well it's all fixed now! Took it to a Samsung store this morning. And the nice chap there had a look at it. And I don't know or don't care what he did! He got it working! So it's on 4.4.2, and staying on that! No longer going to root or put custom ROM on it.

Guess it was a bad decision trying to get GPE put on in the first place.

But thank you all for your inputs. :)
 
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