Very short 930 review

[mikewp]

Gave my 920 to a friend and needed a good dual sim phone. Good time to give Android an honest try. Microsoft services dont work as smooth on Android and I did miss the WP interface. One of my Moto G Sim slots crapped out and data no longer worked so time to get back to Windows Phone. Also wanted a superior camera so took the plunge in a 930 knowing all of of the issues.

1. Camera is great in anything but low light. Well lit night shots are great as well.
2. Good size and weight. Wouldn't want anything bigger.
3. Screen and resolulution are nice...nothing special by today's standards.

4. Battery life is HORRIBLE. I can make it through a day but by only using the phone minimally. LINE really uses the CPU. Browsing as well. Want to use HERE maps? On my phone forget it. Off charger it will last maybe 20 minutes. On a charger, the phone overheated and shut down after an hour. Ended up sharing my connection with my tablet loaded with HERE maps.

There are other niggling issues, like Internet Sharing shutting down intermittently and the only way to stabilize it is to reboot phone.

I'm typing this review out at Koh Chang Thailand on a Galaxy Tab 8.4 and sharing the internet connection through my 930 for obvious reasons. Been putting the 930 camera to great use though and that is why I bought the 930 as opposed to another Windows Phone.

I love the Windows Phone 8.1 interface and seamless integration with my Microsoft services so I tolerate working around the shortcomings. Looking forward to see a Microsoft phone offering and what Windows 10 will bring.

 

[Lee Power]

Lumia 930 owner since it was launched, I'm a heavy user & the battery lasts a full day. Try resetting the phone. Check what apps are running in background. Turn Bluetooth, NFC & location services off when not needed.

 

[mikewp]

My 920 never had a problem and I had everything turned on (IMO as you should). I have tried all of what you have suggested, however, and nothing helps. Not only that, but the phone getting hot and shutting down with HERE maps isn't good. Not sending the phone back for repair or asking for a replacement. This late in the game there seems to be a problem endemic to this model phone, however, happily working around the shortcomings.

 

[danghung]

In my case, HERE maps is very good. I always use it to find the way offline, never shut down.
And the internet sharing is quite good. My friends, who uses zenfone 5 and other uses sky a890, they share internet but it always has problem and disconnect. With my 930, the other phones can use my 3G as their 3G. So strong.
The battery, I think its not good, but with 3G, wifi on, location on and I always check my face, zalo and skype. the battery lasts a full day.

 

[mikewp]

Yup HERE maps is very good. Unfortunately, I have to use it on my Samsung tablet instead of my 930. it is obvious there are some quality control issues with the phone. Luckily, there are folks such as yourself and Lee that appear to have perfectly functioning phones. I was hoping that I would be in that owner's group. I bought the 920 the first day it came out and never had a problem with it. My friend continues to enjoy it. Anyway, I have workarounds and just have to be a little more diligent about keeping the phone topped up. The camera doesn't disappoint and neither does WP 8.1.

 

[mary beth hale]

Getting a good 930 seems to be a matter of luck. I am one of the fortunate people. Only issue I have is an occasional screen flicker and that is infrequent. The battery is mediocre but as I am not a power user, is more than adequate for me. Would agree that the quality control during production of this phone was lacking.

 

[Bronislav Klofac]

an hour of sharing data, maybe more, to kids' tablet to be able to watch Netflix, half an hour on Skype, few calls, browsing internet a lot plus taking some pictures etc, in the evening 50% battery left. But I don't sync mail, location off etc. if don't need that

 

[Visa Declined]

Run Battery Saver mode on the 930 if you want to make it through the day, Battery Saver cripples part of the phones functionality, so it sucks having to rely on it. I don't understand how the 930's battery life is worse than the Nexus 5's, Windows Phone is supposed to be better on battery(what people say here) and the 930 has a bigger battery than the Nexus 5, 2420 mAh vs 2300 mAh

Taking pictures with the PureView camera chews through the battery quick. Browsing the web with pages that have a white background are specially hard on the battery. You'll find 930 owners who say that their battery lasts all day without any problems, take those comments with a grain of salt.

Without Battery Saver




With Battery Saver




AnandTech | Nokia Lumia 930 Review

 

[mary beth hale]

I'm satisfied with the battery but it doesn't come close to my work phone (lg g2). I do however have location and hey Cortana enabled so I don't expect stellar battery life. Love the hey Cortana feature. Use it frequently. I'm glad I was one of the lucky ones who have a great experience with the 930. I was nervous after reading some of the negative experiences in the 930 forums. Really enjoy using my 930 and that's what is important to me.

 

[mikewp]

I firmly believe that all the functionality that people are saying to turn off does very little. My phone can sit for hours..pulling down email, bluetooth activated, wireless activated, data activated, etc and I would say that in that case battery life is more than sufficient and the phone is very cool to touch. Browsing does make the phone warm and maybe even hot and along with that CPU is obviously suffering. LINE, for such a relatively simple chat app is the second biggest heat producer/CPU user. It really chews through the CPU/battery. The worst offender is HERE. It got so hot yesterday, I'm thinking it started to affect the GPS. After nearly an hours use (plugged in obviously) and towards the end of the route, it started to recalculate after every turn and would briefly say that I needed to do a U-turn after turning on to the road that HERE suggested. At least it didn't shut down like it did the other day, although maybe that would have been better.

I also have the flickering/jumping issues described in its many forms here: http://forums.windowscentral.com/no...kering-fluttering-jumping-blinking-issue.html. The phone had Cyan on it, but I upgraded immediately to Denim so don't know if Denim is the issue. The CPU usage/heat issue does seem to be somehow screen related. Sounds like there could be a fix on the way so we'll see. Would be nice to see a fully sorted 930.

In every other way, I am happy with the phone (no lifting screen yet *fingers crossed*). The camera is fantastic and gives me 90-95% of the shots I can get with my RX100.

 

[mary beth hale]

Never understood why people buy smart phones only to disable the features that make it "smart". I purchased the 930 knowing that I would not be getting crazy good battery life. Charging it when needed and using all of the good stuff.

 

[Fred Wilson2]

Exactly !

My 930, that I had for a while before I returned it, had fantastic battery life, would probably last for a few months, if I kept it turn off



Fred

Never understood why people buy smart phones only to disable the features that make it "smart". I purchased the 930 knowing that I would not be getting crazy good battery life. Charging it when needed and using all of the good stuff.