Wileyfox Swift - worth a punt?

Author
Discussion

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
quotequote all
Guys,
Noticed the Wileyfox Swift crop up on the 'best budget android phones' lists.
I noticed there were a few threads on here but nothing too recent.

I'm looking to swap from my Samsung Galaxy S3 to something else.
Had looked at getting a refurbed Nexus 5 but then stumbled on the Wileyfox.

There's also £20 cash back at the moment on it too so looks a bargain at £110.

How have people found these?

Only thing I can't find is the best way to transfer stuff across if I got one.
Is there an App or bit of PC software that can do this?

What should I be aware of if I went for it?

andy-xr

13,204 posts

203 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
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I looked at one but went with a OnePlus for no real reason than I could handle the OnePlus there and then in CEX and I was worried about the camera on the Swift. The guy from WileyFox has been on here a few times and they seem decent, but I was in CEX and saw the phone I have now at a decent price.

When I transferred last, I grabbed Whatsapp backup and SMS backup from the play store and saved everything I wanted to Drive, then reinstalled it to my new handset. COntacts were already in Google, as were photos, emails are all IMAP anyway

Jobbo

12,958 posts

263 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
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I bought my ex-g/f one for Christmas from Amazon; it was £99 then so I would hold out for a slightly better deal unless you need one now.

Seemed pretty amazing for the price but it has one notable downside. The charging micro-USB port is quite recessed so you can't use most standard cables, even though they have the right plug. The one which came with it was rather short, too, so I ended up forking out for another for her. Not being able to just borrow someone's charger could be a pain.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
quotequote all
Cheers guys.
No major rush but if I can get £20 back I'll probably do it this month.

boyse7en

6,671 posts

164 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
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I've had one since december.

Camera is good enough for me.
Plenty of space
runs fast enough (but I don't play any action type games on it.

The charging socket is a pain. The supplied lead is fine on mine, but is very short so I can't use the phone in bed if it is plugged in without using a USB extension cable. Most of my other micro USB cables just fall out, they will charge if you get them in properly and don't move or touch the phone.

One good thing (not sure if this is just through Amazon) was that when I dropped mine and smashed the screen, Amazon just sent me a brand new replacement for free.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
quotequote all
Charging cable issue doesn't sound too good.
Is there a decent aftermarket one that works well?
The lead that came with my Nexus 7 looks to have a long micro connector.

Jobbo

12,958 posts

263 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
quotequote all
I got this cable for the ex, from eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281865441350 - it works, but I'm no longer seeing her so have no idea about longevity.

deckster

9,630 posts

254 months

Friday 11th March 2016
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Had one since Christmas and it's bloody brilliant. I have precisely zero complaints about it, which is a lot more than I can say about the iPhone 5s that it replaced. Truly excellent phone.

BTW I have used maybe 10 different USB cables with mine and they've all worked fine, so certainly in my experience, whatever issues there might be with the USB port are very limited.

boyse7en

6,671 posts

164 months

Friday 11th March 2016
quotequote all
deckster said:
Had one since Christmas and it's bloody brilliant. I have precisely zero complaints about it, which is a lot more than I can say about the iPhone 5s that it replaced. Truly excellent phone.

BTW I have used maybe 10 different USB cables with mine and they've all worked fine, so certainly in my experience, whatever issues there might be with the USB port are very limited.
Really? All of my (numerous) USB cables work, but apart from the supplied one and one other they all fall out really easily so you can't move/use the phone while it is charging.

Other than that (very minor) issue it has been brilliant

deckster

9,630 posts

254 months

Friday 11th March 2016
quotequote all
boyse7en said:
deckster said:
Had one since Christmas and it's bloody brilliant. I have precisely zero complaints about it, which is a lot more than I can say about the iPhone 5s that it replaced. Truly excellent phone.

BTW I have used maybe 10 different USB cables with mine and they've all worked fine, so certainly in my experience, whatever issues there might be with the USB port are very limited.
Really? All of my (numerous) USB cables work, but apart from the supplied one and one other they all fall out really easily so you can't move/use the phone while it is charging.

Other than that (very minor) issue it has been brilliant
Yes really smile They all feel quite secure once plugged in, although I don't tend to use my phone whilst it's charging so perhaps I wouldn't notice the issue quite so much. I can also confirm that the cable provided with the Brodit car kit works just fine.

andyb

139 posts

283 months

Friday 11th March 2016
quotequote all
Jobbo said:
I bought my ex-g/f one for Christmas from Amazon; it was £99 then so I would hold out for a slightly better deal unless you need one now.

Seemed pretty amazing for the price but it has one notable downside. The charging micro-USB port is quite recessed so you can't use most standard cables, even though they have the right plug. The one which came with it was rather short, too, so I ended up forking out for another for her. Not being able to just borrow someone's charger could be a pain.
They fixed the USB charging issue in later batches. Can't tell you exactly when but the early models were definitely fussy, newer ones take any cable.

Great phone. I have been willing to spend on 'premium' phones in the past (bought the very first iPhone on day of launch, bought the S3 on launch) but I wouldn't recommend it any more. For most people, this is more than enough - I've bought 3 in all and recommended it to many and all those I know who have one are happy with it.

However - beware - don't buy the other Wileyfox phone (Storm) as that has been far less reliable by all accounts.

tedmus

1,883 posts

134 months

Friday 11th March 2016
quotequote all
andyb said:
They fixed the USB charging issue in later batches. Can't tell you exactly when but the early models were definitely fussy, newer ones take any cable.
I bought one from Amazon in January and mine has the issues with the charging cables, maybe it was old stock? Other than that I can't fault it, great phone.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Wednesday 16th March 2016
quotequote all
Taken the plunge and ordered the Swift.
By the time I sort the cash-back out should only cost me £95....

Just need to order a case for it now!

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Monday 21st March 2016
quotequote all
Well finally got my hands on the Swift Saturday afternoon after a couple of missed delivery notices.

Love the simple packaging:





Comes with pre-installed screen protector:


Love the rear cover - nice logo and a orange accent around the camera:


It was really simple to set up - just put your Google account details in and away you go!
Even gives a list of your play store apps and lets you select which ones to download and install during set up - pretty neat!

The layout & menus etc. are very similar to those found on the Nexus tablets and phones - basic uncluttered android.

The phone doesn't come with many pre-installed Apps - just those necessary to make it function.

Seems pretty quick and nice to use - screen is responsive and not experienced any lag issues yet - even when downloading my Amazon music library and looking at Facebook & other stuff.

Camera isn't too bad - but not really played around with it that much yet though, so hoping a couple of tweeks might improve things.

Supplied charging cable works a treat - even if it is a bit short.... My Samsung charger won't fit securely as it's connector is a tiny bit shorter than the supplied cable, but the cables for the Nexus fit well. Have ordered a couple of additional cables that have been recommended as fitting well.

Battery seems to have a decent life too - went all day yesterday with data switched on and using the camera and a couple of other things and was still around 60% when I got home around 6'ish.

Build quality feels nice although it does feel light compared to my Samsung S3.

So far so good.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Monday 21st March 2016
quotequote all
Will probably pop back to this in a week or so and update once I've had chance to get to grips with it a bit more.

tedmus

1,883 posts

134 months

Monday 21st March 2016
quotequote all
Woody said:
Have ordered a couple of additional cables that have been recommended as fitting well.
Let us know if you find a decent one please. smile

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Monday 21st March 2016
quotequote all
Will do.

Also forgot to say that the Wi-Fi reception seems way better than my Samsung.
There's a 'black spot' in the kitchen at home where the Wi-Fi doesn't appear to cover - not with the swift though!

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

283 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
quotequote all
I've had the Swift for just over a month now, so thought I should do an update.

Well, I have to say that I'm impressed.

I've got most of the paid for Apps that I had on my Samsung and this thing flies!
Haven't experienced any issue with it being laggy or hanging.
The UI seems fairly easy to get round and is very similar in layout to the standard Google flavour Android on my Nexus 7.
Some of the additional security features and individual App profiles are pretty cool.
I like the standard Truecaller dialler - fantastic! The fact that it ID's potential spam calls is pretty clever and that you can 'back trace' by putting a number in is also quite clever.
Standard SMS app is also pretty good but I have a minor gripe with it in the fact that you can't assign individual message tones to recipients (you can assign ringtones but not message tones).

My Samsung charger wouldn't stay in the socket so I ordered a couple of these:
Ebay USB Charging Cable
Quality isn't brilliant (not as good as the standard cable) but they fit the recessed charger socket better.

Battery lasts all day during the week - usually around 30 - 40% remaining when I go to bed around 23:00'ish.
Usual daily usage sees the mobile data on all day and used for face-ache, forums, emails and a bit of music on the 40 minute commute to/from work. And a bit of the same during the working day.
Weekends I can actually get 2 days out of the battery.
This is in complete contrast to my Samsung which even when new struggled to get the end of the day and recently needed charging around lunchtime as it would be down to around 50%.

Camera isn't too bad - still using the stock App and have played around with the settings a bit, but might install a different App and see how it performs.

The stock browser is pretty good - and since Chrome has gone weird with the tabs I've stuck with the stock one as it means I can close the browser but still keep my tabs.

Screen quality is what you'd expect for the proce point I suppose - it's no Samsung SuperAMOLED but it's still reasonable and HD (720) is more than enough.

My only gripe is with the cashback offer - the retailer I purchased from is no longer listed on the 'qualifying retailer' list. No real biggy as I only paid £115 instead of £129rrp - but would have been nice to finally bag it for £95!
Still at £129 I think it's still a bargain.

I bought a cheap £2.99 case off Ebay which also seems to do the job quite well. Still waiting for the 'official' case to become available - seems to be permanently out of stock.

For the price I think it's brilliant.

Seek

1,169 posts

199 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
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Woody said:
I bought a cheap £2.99 case off Ebay which also seems to do the job quite well. Still waiting for the 'official' case to become available - seems to be permanently out of stock.
Thanks. Was just looking for that.

tedmus

1,883 posts

134 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
quotequote all
Cable ordered, thanks.

One minor issue I've had with mine recently is that now and again the screen lock fails to activate when you put it to sleep, takes a reboot to get it working again.