Google Pixel smartphone

[HTP99]

james_TW said:

I'm loving my 7a but I have a couple of gripes - On the lock screen, I can pull down and turn things on and off, can that be changed or disabled as it seems like a security gotcha? I also don't like the google search bar, but I've read I can't get rid of that - ah well.

6Pro is the same, as far as I'm aware it can't be disabled, it's is the biggest gripe for me on the phone, I walk about with my hands in my trouser pockets, the phone is in there too, I'm frequently turning off the Bluetooth thus disconnecting my ear buds.

[Richyvrlimited]

I got a 7a to replace my 5, I'd have stuck with the 5 but the face detection broke so answering calls was a pain

I quite like the 7a but my god the fingerprint reader is utter bobbins.

And that's coming from a 5 which had an objectively worse reader too the 2xl I had prior to that!

I am got an official case, not quite sure how something so grippy can also be slippery, it's weird

[eccles]

eccles said:

NorthDave said:

eccles said:

Yes.

My last car had a wireless charging pad, and wireless AA, the pad couldn't quite keep up over a 5hr journey, with the battery dropping by about half.

Not charging the phone, wireless AA would eat the battery in a couple of hours.

My car only had wired android auto so I bought one of those wireless boxes from Amazon. It now works wirelessly and I havent noticed any effect on battery life at all. I think it creates a wifi connection though so maybe that is why.

Funny enough, I fitted one to my car last night. Will see how we do on a 5hr drive to Wales this weekend.

So, tried my new AAwireless box on a 6hr run to Wales last Friday. Started off with a fully charged phone (7 pro) and by the time we got there it was down to 49%. So not too bad really. That was just with Waze on, no music streaming or anything.

[bmwmike]

I'm finding the 6 pro glitchy on WiFi lately which is odd as I've got FTTP at home. I think it's all the Google spyware/telemetry/phone home stuff they do for user behaviour analytics. Maybe I'm paranoid. It's a shame as I like the phone but scrolling through insta or twitter videos just freeze and lag. Doesn't happen on YouTube. Odd. Hate to say but my next phone may have an apple on it, first time ever (work phone is an apple but always had android).

[james_TW]

Richyvrlimited said:

I quite like the 7a but my god the fingerprint reader is utter bobbins.

It's so many degrees of random - sometimes it's ok, sometimes it just won't work...

[8bit]

eccles said:

So, tried my new AAwireless box on a 6hr run to Wales last Friday. Started off with a fully charged phone (7 pro) and by the time we got there it was down to 49%. So not too bad really. That was just with Waze on, no music streaming or anything.

What box do you have?

[Richyvrlimited]

james_TW said:

It's so many degrees of random - sometimes it's ok, sometimes it just won't work...

yep, glad it's not just me tbo

I've enabled faceunlock, and of the x4 fingerprints allowed have added each thumb twice, this has helped make it work more often.

[eccles]

8bit said:

eccles said:

So, tried my new AAwireless box on a 6hr run to Wales last Friday. Started off with a fully charged phone (7 pro) and by the time we got there it was down to 49%. So not too bad really. That was just with Waze on, no music streaming or anything.

What box do you have?

It's the AAwireles one. It's worked well so far.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B71XC7VG?maas=maas_a...

[8bit]

eccles said:

It's the AAwireles one. It's worked well so far.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B71XC7VG?maas=maas_a...

Ah I see, thanks - so you have to have wired AA in the car already?

[eccles]

8bit said:

eccles said:

It's the AAwireles one. It's worked well so far.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B71XC7VG?maas=maas_a...

Ah I see, thanks - so you have to have wired AA in the car already?

Yes, that's how these boxes work. You have to have wired AA, and these boxes create a wireless link so you don't have to keep plugging your phone in.

[8bit]

eccles said:

Yes, that's how these boxes work. You have to have wired AA, and these boxes create a wireless link so you don't have to keep plugging your phone in.

I misunderstood what you meant when you said you'd fitted one of these as I didn't know they existed - I thought you meant you'd installed an aftermarket Android Auto module, like those from Integrated Automotive and others as that's what I'm considering doing on my C63 - my mistake!

[robsa]

Richyvrlimited said:

james_TW said:

It's so many degrees of random - sometimes it's ok, sometimes it just won't work...

yep, glad it's not just me tbo

I've enabled faceunlock, and of the x4 fingerprints allowed have added each thumb twice, this has helped make it work more often.

I have a 6a and same - in fact it seems to get worse over time, but at least you have face unlock, which I don't

[8bit]

Enjoying the 7a so far. The fingerprint reader is a bit hit and miss but it seems a little better if I press reasonably firmly on it. The reader on my old 4a had gotten a bit flaky recently though so the new one is probably still better than that was I preferred it on the back of the device though - progress, I suppose.

Only thing I'm not impressed with at the moment is the battery life. I don't use the phone heavily and so far I've gotten about 26 or so hours out of a full charge at best. Hoping the clever battery monitoring/adaptive power stuff is just taking a little while to learn how I use the device?

[eccles]

8bit said:

Enjoying the 7a so far. The fingerprint reader is a bit hit and miss but it seems a little better if I press reasonably firmly on it. The reader on my old 4a had gotten a bit flaky recently though so the new one is probably still better than that was I preferred it on the back of the device though - progress, I suppose.

Only thing I'm not impressed with at the moment is the battery life. I don't use the phone heavily and so far I've gotten about 26 or so hours out of a full charge at best. Hoping the clever battery monitoring/adaptive power stuff is just taking a little while to learn how I use the device?

The battery life has been common complaint of new users. It seems to learn your routine and increase after a week or two of usage.

[TotalControl]

The responsiveness of the phone still seems to be a massive bug bear of mine. Appears to be an issue when near the fingerprint reader more so than anything else when the screen is on and being used. Very noticeable in games (I only play 1 on this now - Dragonball Legends for those that are interested).

I don't seem to be the only one with it as lots on Reddit have expressed their annoyance at the same issue. One thing I did note was it was more so an issue with the Pro than the standard 7, of which I have the latter (flat screen ftw).

The workaround doesn't actually work but here's to hoping the next update should fix it. It actually makes it a frustrating experience.

[the-norseman]

Have you tried the developer options lag fix, I do this on all my Pixel phones.

[james_TW]

the-norseman said:

Have you tried the developer options lag fix, I do this on all my Pixel phones.

The what now?

[Mammasaid]

james_TW said:

the-norseman said:

Have you tried the developer options lag fix, I do this on all my Pixel phones.

The what now?

https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-enable-and...

[Lawrence5]

The finger print reader is really bad in direct sunlight. Put the phone in your shadow and it works better. Also folks saying touching side of your nose to get more oily finger first helps.

Not totally pleasant idea but works. Be even better if Google fix it and backpatch face unlock

6pro user

[Corso Marche]

The rear fingerprint reader on the Nexus 6P and Pixel models always got good reviews, and the one thing I was nervous about jumping to a 7 Pro was the mixed opinions on the underscreen fingerprint readers.

But in my case the reality is the reader on the 7 Pro has been far more reliable than my P2XL which most had held in high esteem over the years.

Although I strongly suspect it's hugely dependent on Face Unlock and is ready to unlock by the time I tap the fingerprint reader.