Android Instability

[Dush Ku]

the great thing about windows phone was how much it didn't change. it was stable and useable and reliable.

Had to move to android galaxy phone and it was decent to start with, figured out things and it worked pretty well. Then it started getting updates and things changed unexpectedly. Widgets don't work totally right afterwards without fiddling with things. Configurations don't just remain the way they were, they get changed against your choice and you have to go through and make sure things are put back the way you want it.

hopefully Microsoft moving to Android for their phones will be able to not have this problem the way samsung does

 

[TechFreak1]

Eh, don't count on it unless Microsoft goes the AOSP route they still have to rely on Google's APIs and Google's Mobile Suite - in otherwords Microsoft has become another Android OEM which is a crying shame to be honest.

So much potential in the mobile squandered by short sighted decisions and a charlie foxtrot of epic proportions when it came to handling the acquisition of the D and S divisions from Nokia and the mobile space as awhole.

Living in a multi platform household has shown me the pros and cons of each platform - ios, android and now the defunct wm10. I'll still stick with the latter via my trust L950XL thank you very much.

Even more so I've started an upskill training course and my provider uses office 365 therefore I can do my portofilio work with ease thanks to the onedrive, office and outlook integration in the O/S.

 

[Elky64]

the great thing about windows phone was how much it didn't change. it was stable and useable and reliable.

Had to move to android galaxy phone and it was decent to start with, figured out things and it worked pretty well. Then it started getting updates and things changed unexpectedly. Widgets don't work totally right afterwards without fiddling with things. Configurations don't just remain the way they were, they get changed against your choice and you have to go through and make sure things are put back the way you want it.

hopefully Microsoft moving to Android for their phones will be able to not have this problem the way samsung does

If we're talking W10M the difference between it and Android for me in terms stability and reliability haven't even been close, not by a long shot. Sure there were some nice usability aspects w/10 but imo they were unrefined/unpolished, essentially remained in their infancy and MS didn't seem fit to carry on for their betterment.

Been rockin' Android for a good 10+ years and sure the good old days weren't the best (slow/sluggish/limited in their functionality), yet since 2015 though we've had little to complain about. Nope not perfect but what is? And since 2015, it has been mostly a set-it-and-forget-it affair going easily 1.5-2 years w/o a reset, performance degradation, or any other major issues. Yup over the years had the odd widget/app issues but we move on and found another if it was a recurring issue w/same. Most definitely have not run into instances where settings/configurations are being changed unexpectedly to the degree you claim, if they were it was expected and change-logs spelled it out... You are aware updates usually means there's going to be some form of change right, unlike WP that has seen little over the past 3 years or so?

Put my 830/650/950 into a drawer in early 2017 only bring out a handful of times, quickly are returned as they fall way too short.

 

[TechFreak1]

@Elky64 fair points however it also depends how a person uses their phone. For instance my older bro has a S10 now and has been a long time Android O/S users since the days of Google G1. He has stopped talking about stability issues and random awkwardness after the S6 or thereabouts but my folks?

They have constant issues with Android no matter which android phone they have used.

My younger siblings have iphones and they are constantly complaining how the wifi absolutely sucks on any iphone they use. But they use them because the youngest one was using hand me down iphones and after older sibling got a new iphone from a relative as gift - this aforesaid relative is an absolute die-hard apple fan.

Also they talk about the general sluggish of the iphone after give or take 3 to 4 months of being used as a daily driver. My youngest sibling also used my old L920 beyond the dwindling battery life loved the functionality, smoothness of the Wp8.x and WM10 (after a few updates).

Additionally, my extended family are also mixed platform households of ios and android the above is somewhat also reflective in terms of anecdotal evidence.

Compared to WM10 sure there have been a few issues and some glaringly obvious issues comparitively they aren't as bad what I've seen personally on either platforms. However I will admit Microsoft dropped a monolith incompetency when they released the L950 series at flagship prices with all the bugs and issues.

Or perhaps it's just me being tired of seeing a static grid of icons for almost 20 odd years... LOL - the first time I saw a static grid of icons was in the 90s.. just reminiscing about that makes me feel old. It's a crying shame that after all this time we've merely progressed to a UX that revolves heavily around an icon that will either be marked with a number or a asterik.

 

[fatclue_98]

I thought it was just me. I'll have to disagree with @Elky64 this time, Windows is/was a lot more stable after updates and such. I picked up a Note 9 a couple of weeks ago and it's getting on my very last nerve the way some settings revert to default after simple operations as a monthly security patch. My Ionic watch, truck stereo and even my blood pressure cuff need to be re-paired to function correctly. It's no wonder we have an ongoing thread regarding the Your Phone app and its constant habit of no longer connecting at times. Maybe it's the Bluetooth stack or maybe Google's engineers don't have a checklist to go by after every update. There isn't a flight crew alive that doesn't perform pre-task checklists before every takeoff and every landing even if they have 10,000 hours on a particular type of aircraft. Begrudgingly, I have to give Kudos to Apple in this aspect. Features might be bug-ridden with new releases but it's features and not settings.

By the way, has anybody noticed how solid WM10 has become since they stopped actively developing it? With each monthly patch (up until this last one anyway) the system boots quicker, hanging apps are a thing of the past and I can't remember the last time the keyboard crashed. A damn shame Microsoft gave up on the platform due to slow sales the same way GM stopped selling the Chevette due to slow sales. I"M KIDDING!!!

 

[Elky64]

@Elky64 fair points however it also depends how a person uses their phone. For instance my older bro has a S10 now and has been a long time Android O/S users since the days of Google G1. He has stopped talking about stability issues and random awkwardness after the S6 or thereabouts but my folks?

They have constant issues with Android no matter which android phone they have used.

My younger siblings have iphones and they are constantly complaining how the wifi absolutely sucks on any iphone they use. But they use them because the youngest one was using hand me down iphones and after older sibling got a new iphone from a relative as gift - this aforesaid relative is an absolute die-hard apple fan.

Also they talk about the general sluggish of the iphone after give or take 3 to 4 months of being used as a daily driver. My youngest sibling also used my old L920 beyond the dwindling battery life loved the functionality, smoothness of the Wp8.x and WM10 (after a few updates).

Additionally, my extended family are also mixed platform households of ios and android the above is somewhat also reflective in terms of anecdotal evidence.

Compared to WM10 sure there have been a few issues and some glaringly obvious issues comparitively they aren't as bad what I've seen personally on either platforms. However I will admit Microsoft dropped a monolith incompetency when they released the L950 series at flagship prices with all the bugs and issues.

Or perhaps it's just me being tired of seeing a static grid of icons for almost 20 odd years... LOL - the first time I saw a static grid of icons was in the 90s.. just reminiscing about that makes me feel old. It's a crying shame that after all this time we've merely progressed to a UX that revolves heavily around an icon that will either be marked with a number or a asterik.

Since late 2012 can only rely on myself to evaluate Windows Phone/phone as other than my son and his 920, have not run across another sole out in the wild using one. So considering my experiences with W10M/3 device, and the plethora of iPhones/Adroids around me over the same time frame (myself/family/friends/co-workers), W10M hasn't even come close to comparing... In it's defense, "time" hasn't done W10M or the hardware any favors so I guess it's not realistic to be comparing it to anything in the past 3 years is there.

On the iPhone/Android front though I rarely hear anyone complain and trust me I would since I'm everyone's go-to when it comes to resolving tech issues... Nope not a pro just like to tinker w/tech since purchasing my first PC 1987. I'd be naive if didn't think issues, major ones too, didn't occur because they most definitely do. But if one considers the grand scope of things (how many iPhone/Android devices are in the wild), I don't think it's quite that bad.

In my opinion the 8.1 days were the best, there was a sense of promise and that we were headed somewhere. But then MS threw in their "change-of-direction" curve ball introducing W10M and it was never the same since. Potential was there yet signs began to emerge early on in the W10M game hinting that MS was losing interest, didn't have to look much further than their L950 offerings which really felt like feeble attempts. No matter what aspect of W10M rivaled the competition I never saw the platform as being whole, was left too unfinished. Seeing apps vanish was enough in its self for me to look towards Android as there were way too many compromises otherwise.

For me using Android is more about getting it done, reliably and consistently, rather than if the icons are static or live. In reality live tiles were never one of my big focal points w/WM, same goes for my computers, tiled layout on Windows Phone/phone yes did appeal to me. At the end of the day I'd love to still be using WM but it's so gimped now, and behind the times, there's no way that's ever going to happen. But for those still willing to endure "all the more power to ya!".

 

[Elky64]

I thought it was just me. I'll have to disagree with @Elky64 this time, Windows is/was a lot more stable after updates and such. I picked up a Note 9 a couple of weeks ago and it's getting on my very last nerve the way some settings revert to default after simple operations as a monthly security patch. My Ionic watch, truck stereo and even my blood pressure cuff need to be re-paired to function correctly. It's no wonder we have an ongoing thread regarding the Your Phone app and its constant habit of no longer connecting at times. Maybe it's the Bluetooth stack or maybe Google's engineers don't have a checklist to go by after every update. There isn't a flight crew alive that doesn't perform pre-task checklists before every takeoff and every landing even if they have 10,000 hours on a particular type of aircraft. Begrudgingly, I have to give Kudos to Apple in this aspect. Features might be bug-ridden with new releases but it's features and not settings.

By the way, has anybody noticed how solid WM10 has become since they stopped actively developing it? With each monthly patch (up until this last one anyway) the system boots quicker, hanging apps are a thing of the past and I can't remember the last time the keyboard crashed. A damn shame Microsoft gave up on the platform due to slow sales the same way GM stopped selling the Chevette due to slow sales. I"M KIDDING!!!

Can't say much about WM's stability these days cuz like I said they've rarely seen the light of day for quite some time now. Maybe I need to take one of mine for a good long spin to see how much has actually improved then... Guaranteed the app front will have me cringing LOL.

As for Android and iOS. Owned many (phones/tables) and still do. Honestly can't recall the last major stumbling block with any of them and trust me, there's been tons of updates throughout. When it comes to resets/restores, the only thing that can relate is Windows Phone and PC (anything with a "10" designation), done way way too many of them. On the other hand force resets on iOS/Android devices have almost been rare as hens teeth and I am not kidding... Guess I found my calling eh LOL.

 

[anthonyng]

My last stretch with windows mobile dec31, 2019 I found to be a pretty stable stretch. I was out an instagram app but going ok with 3rd party Winsta app. Whatsapp caused me some issue with long refresh time but that was the only issue. I guess I should expect "OOB" apps to be solid. Edge was really good. I had like 20 tabs all the time and the tabs stuck around all the time!

I started using Uber web and even Uber app in the fall as Uber updated something to make it usable. I concur with @fatclue_98 it was very stable with the last year.

My Note10 is nice, still playing around to get things how I want it. Funny thing is that I get a notification from the samsung app telling me it's been 7days since I rebooted and I should probably reboot just to keep things going smoothly.

I switched my wife to a Nokia 7plus in the summer and just recently she complained all her email was gone. For some reason, her google account wasn't showing up in outlook mail app anymore. Ended up uninstalling and reinstalling it again.

I find it funny that notification badges aren't consistently flagging on android today still...

Oh well, I do miss W10m though, the start page, tiles.... just leaves a better impression. I'll manage with android and the microsoft launcher though.

 

[Dush Ku]

Yes i only had wp8.1, never wm10.
8.1 was the best stable usable mobile device i ever had experience with and that includes all different iphones, many android devices and old windows pocket pc phones.

Was forced to switch to a new phone. Got newest galaxy because microsoft store had a sale on them. Each update it shows how great the stability and functionality of wp8.1 really was. App settings and permissions dont just stay what you originally configured. UI configure changes automatically with updates instead of staying what you had before. I dont know, maybe its samsung and not actually an android problem? The browser interface just froze up for the first time on me today. Its gotten slower and slightly glitchier the longer I've had it and the more updates it receives...

 

[Elky64]

Think 8.1was great and stable enough too, for it's time. It's lifespan was too short and stalemated so to speak so I willingly jumped to Android full time in 2015. Rock solid they've been in my world, plus we get to enjoy many advancements Windows Phone/W10M failed to improve upon or deliver. Dunno if I'm lucky or what but Android has been, in regards to stability/reliability/usability, exceptional in my world. Well above what I would have expected out of any device so definitely satisfied.

 

[anthonyng]

Hmm I'm one month into Android and my outlook contacts are not on the phone anymore, contact syncing is on, my email is fine in outlook, what gives?

Outlook issue or android? I'm not sure but contacts syncing shouldn't be a big deal

 

[fatclue_98]

Hmm I'm one month into Android and my outlook contacts are not on the phone anymore, contact syncing is on, my email is fine in outlook, what gives?

Outlook issue or android? I'm not sure but contacts syncing shouldn't be a big deal

Make sure your permissions are copasetic. Android is funny that way with updates whether it's an app or system update.

 

[Elky64]

Hmm I'm one month into Android and my outlook contacts are not on the phone anymore, contact syncing is on, my email is fine in outlook, what gives?

Outlook issue or android? I'm not sure but contacts syncing shouldn't be a big deal

Don't recall having too many contact sync issues w/Outlook for Android but I stopped using approx. 2.5 years ago. Mainly because it started prompting me for passwords to a couple of my personal email accounts and nothing I did resolved. Deleting then recreating accounts, uninstall/reinstall app, even a new device scummed to the same fate after a short while. Then after being away for a considerable time gave Outlook for Android another go a few months back and wouldn't you know it, same problems... For me this started back in early 2017.

The email app I use now has not had the same problem(s) once on multiple devices, is much faster, and contains NO ads. And I use Google to sync my contacts and cannot recall any major issues over a 5 year period (has mainly been my go-to when syncing contacts).

 

[anthonyng]

Didn't do anything, and it eventually came back later in the day. Fun

 

[Dush Ku]

the most email issue i have on my android are actually with the google gmail app. either doesn't sync email as reliably as it used to before phone updates, or the notifications for the app are not working right. i've reset stuff, but still intermittant problems.
crazy, google's own app on google's own mobile os

 

[RTGent]

From a, if not THE guy still using a 950 daily and satisfactorily, I'll note first that I haven't used, wanted, nor needed anything else since I purchased my first issue on release date, 20 Nov 2015. I never experience the "bugs and issues" referred to here, and every time I lost an app, I just lived without it, much as I had prior to the "I-need-an-app", phone-centric existence that most moderns lead today. The biggest difference between MS (and ios) is that the angroid platform is controlled by too-many players, starting with gooogle, but also the phone manufacturers, and the app developers -not to speak of the inter-operability -or not- of all these players. I see the differences even with the sort-of-same platform on a Sony and an LG I've been using sporadically, mostly to learn angroid for the day that I must. I haven't found many bugs and issues with either phone, but there are plenty of moaners on fora for these phones. I do find that I sometimes have to re-set my launcher, or my icon locations, or re-enter my weather location, etc., etc.. I also have to regularly dismiss google warnings that I haven't attended to some system requirement or another -permissions and settings and updates for this and that -most for platform priorities I have never used nor ever will such as googlepay. It's mostly petty, irksome things, not reasons to abandon my nice-otherwise phones, and not something that I don't now EXPECT given all the players I now need to deal with given this FREE, rather form-less platform that every player has a free right to control and alter to one extent or another, continuously. Stability in this environment is and will remain, by design, an illusion.

 

[anthonyng]

Does anyone else's Note 10 for any unexplained reason suddenly have max volume set? No idea how it happens. And all the volume sliders are annoying

Now my wife complaining her Nokia 7 plus is crashing often over night, liked the reliability of her lumia 950 much more (she's been on android almost a year now). The apps and games she has access to are nice though

 

[Elky64]

Does anyone else's Note 10 for any unexplained reason suddenly have max volume set? No idea how it happens. And all the volume sliders are annoying

Now my wife complaining her Nokia 7 plus is crashing often over night, liked the reliability of her lumia 950 much more (she's been on android almost a year now). The apps and games she has access to are nice though

Have you tried Android Central in an attempt to seek out answers for your Note 10's woes? Might be a good place to start.

Any recent OS updates on your wife's Nokia 7? Maybe you have a recently installed app that's causing issue?

Over the course have owned many a Androids (multiple brands) yet can't say I've ever had an issue that'd been considered major. In actuality, it's been a set-it-and-forget-it affair only resetting when the time has come to sell in 1.5-2 years... Working towards 3 years now due device pricing, too expensive upgrading now even on a two year basis. Own the L950 too yet mine was not even close to competing on the stability front compared to my Android. By no means am I implying Android is perfect because it isn't, but out of the three (Android, iOS, WP), it has led the pack for me in that it served me better day-in and day-out with rarely whimper.