Sony xperia z5

cmac2009 · 27-11-2015 2:01pm

kala85 wrote: »

I was looking at getting a sony z5 compact as well but Im fairly concerned about all the negativity surrounding the z5 series.

From looking at gsmarena and also the sony forum it looks like the z5 series is having lots of problems.

I searched for opinions on the samsung range s6 for example and didnt see have as much negativity or bad comments. I also looked at comments on the moto g which I have myself and all the comments were similiar to what I thought of the phone. Same way with the htc one x wifi issue that I had. Lots of others have the same problems.

The last thing I want to do is to buy a new phone and be tied into a contract and then have lots of problems with it.

I agree, it doesn't just seem to be a few problems here and there, so many people are getting same issue's. Very disappointing considering these phones are expensive.

andekwarhola · 29-11-2015 12:52am

Got the standard Z5 a few days back and really like it although I kind of miss the bigger screen of my Note 3. The price of the Z5 premium was just a step too far for a phone for me though.

The camera is excellent. I like the screen and the square design. The UI certainly isn't as bad as people claim, especially as I've now got Launcher + running. Seems to pack a good kick under the hood and the fingerprint sensor on the power button is a nice touch.

Only slightly worrying thing was, albeit just once, the other day it really heated up during a call. Noticeably so. Hasn't happened since.

Minor gripes: the buttons. The power button isn't raised enough so you have to grope sometimes, plus the volume button is below it which feels unintuitive to me but perhaps that's just a new phone thing. While I love the glass back design as well, it feels much more slippery in the hand than the Note.

kala85 · 29-11-2015 10:53am

andekwarhola wrote: »

Got the standard Z5 a few days back and really like it although I kind of miss the bigger screen of my Note 3. The price of the Z5 premium was just a step too far for a phone for me though.

The camera is excellent. I like the screen and the square design. The UI certainly isn't as bad as people claim, especially as I've now got Launcher + running. Seems to pack a good kick under the hood and the fingerprint sensor on the power button is a nice touch.

Only slightly worrying thing was, albeit just once, the other day it really heated up during a call. Noticeably so. Hasn't happened since.

Minor gripes: the buttons. The power button isn't raised enough so you have to grope sometimes, plus the volume button is below it which feels unintuitive to me but perhaps that's just a new phone thing. While I love the glass back design as well, it feels much more slippery in the hand than the Note.

Have you had any problems with blur in the camera shots like have been reported in some of the forums.

Also have you purchased a good case for it.

andekwarhola · 29-11-2015 12:40pm

kala85 wrote: »

Have you had any problems with blur in the camera shots like have been reported in some of the forums.

Also have you purchased a good case for it.

No problem as of yet but haven't used it extensively as I've had it a few days. Seems excellent so far.

Haven't got a case yet but mean to.

wheresmybeaver · 29-11-2015 6:48pm

With regards the blur issue; some people definitely seem to get it (very obvious in some photos that people have uploaded on xda for example) but I am fairly certain I either don't have it with my one or it's so subtle I can't see it. I am very happy with the photo quality. Mine is a rev2 Xperia Z5 in black from three. Some sample photos of my own here: http://1drv.ms/1Xpzpg4

Otherwise this is a pretty good phone; does not get hot in any substantial way except for the first day I had it when there was all sorts of downloading and background tasks going on. They definitely tweaked something with the first firmware update a few weeks back as it only ever gets warm now, even with a lot going on. Whether it is throttling or not it has no impact on visible performance so I'm happy.

Battery life is definitely not 2 days but it is absolutely all-day. A couple of times I've forgotten to plug it into the charger at night but it has still been alive the next morning and then I've been able to quick charge it in no time (quick charger not included though - bit of a cheap move by Sony). I've a quick charger for the car too which can charge it almost to full on my drive to work.

The fingerprint reader / power button is one of the keys reasons I went with the Z5 and it is brilliant, unlocking takes a second. It's intuitive; pick up and unlock in one action.

My only criticism is that it feels fragile and for the first time ever I have a cover on my smartphone. I use this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015PRSD6U and I'm pretty happy with it as it's matt, semi-transparent, slim fitting and grippy.

andekwarhola · 29-11-2015 6:58pm

Should point out that the one time it really heated up was the same as above, first day. Have deleted or disabled a lot of the crap since then and restored all my old apps. No heat issues whatsoever since then.

One strange thing: is that I'm with Three and the last few months my phone signal on the Note 3 had been awful in the bottom of my house. Often non existent. Since I got this phone it has markedly improved. Dunno if a phone can make a difference?

wheresmybeaver · 29-11-2015 7:18pm

Should also commend Sony for providing a very Nexus-like experience with very few pre-installed third party apps. And you can uninstall most of them too.

F34 · 30-11-2015 4:17pm

Now that I've had the phone a while I have noticed an issue where the phone is disconnecting from my car very annoying and seems to be a common problem.

Klopp · 02-12-2015 9:32pm

I have the phone a few days myself first thing i noticed was how hot it got after powering it on and transferring files over from my original phone. I deleted a few apps already pre installed and it seemed fine after. The other thing i have noticed is the battery, this morning it was 100% and now it is down to 20%, not going to get two days and i haven't used it all that much.

I'll post back again in over the weekend after another few days.

Klopp · 05-12-2015 2:47pm

After a few more days using the phone, the most disappointing part is the battery life, the phone isn't a week old and already today after charging the phone last night, it is at 50% now after it was at 100% this morning at 09:30. I'm not a heavy user, the most usage this morning was Spotify in the gym for 30minutes. I had a htc m8 which was over 18months old and i got a longer out of the battery.

Anyone else notice this problem with the battery?

D'Peoples Voice · 05-12-2015 11:14pm

Klopp wrote: »

After a few more days using the phone, the most disappointing part is the battery life,

so you know it's the battery for sure...how long did you leave the phone in safemode - 24 hours? How quickly did the phone die in safe mode?
Saying a battery dies in normal mode means nothing, because it could be a badly programmed app keeping your phone awake.

comongethappy · 06-12-2015 11:47am

The software is odd.

If I press & hold an Icon I used to be given a menu at the top that I could access 'app info'

Now I can just uninstall or 'add to home screen'
How can I access app info easily?

It seems overall android is getting less functional & going backwards

jester77 · 07-12-2015 8:55am

comongethappy wrote: »

The software is odd.

If I press & hold an Icon I used to be given a menu at the top that I could access 'app info'

Now I can just uninstall or 'add to home screen'
How can I access app info easily?

It seems overall android is getting less functional & going backwards

When you open the list of opened apps, depending on what version of the OS you have, either click or long click on the top left corner of the app for which you want to see the app info.

Klopp · 26-12-2015 4:06pm

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

so you know it's the battery for sure...how long did you leave the phone in - 24 hours? How quickly did the phone die in safe mode?
Saying a battery dies in normal mode means nothing, because it could be a badly programmed app keeping your phone awake.

I don't have any other apps i didn't have on my HTC M8 which lasted a longer. Getting this Sony unlocked and selling asap. It was again fully charged at 11:00 today and by 14:30 it was at 40%. THe battery life is just terrible. The screen is using 60% usage but i don't have live wallpaper running, just a screenshot.

deafroadrunner · 31-12-2015 8:39pm

just bought the phone yesterday. had an s5 before that. the one thing ive noticed the z5 is alot slower at charging. any reason for it?

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 01-01-2016 1:33am

I came from an S5 and the Z5 definitely charges faster. Are you using a QC charger on the Z5?

thomasj · 01-01-2016 2:45am

According to phonearena it takes 156 minutes to charge the xperia z5s supplied charger compared to 122 minutes for the galaxy s5

F34 · 01-01-2016 2:49am

deafroadrunner wrote: »

just bought the phone yesterday. had an s5 before that. the one thing ive noticed the z5 is alot slower at charging. any reason for it?

Sony give a crap charger with the phone which is annoying I got the Sony rapid charger from Amazon and it made a huge difference.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 01-01-2016 10:43am

There is something wrong with Phonearenas figures or test configuration. My Z5 charges in less than two hours. My S5 always took 2.5 hours or more.

deafroadrunner · 01-01-2016 9:01pm

I was using the charger that came with it. Noticed it was about faster yesterday. Could of been all the apps downloading in the background maybe.

Have another question now any know what games on the Google store are compatible with the ps4 controller

T-K-O · 04-01-2016 2:01pm

Hi guys,

So I am thinking about z5 compact but have heard mixed reviews - what is the general consensus, would you guys recommend the phone?

sadesh · 04-01-2016 2:08pm

Got Sony Xperia Z5 Premium yesterday, using it since 24 hrs, Its a stunning device
the chrome model is just awesome, wonderfull piece of electronics it is... great camera... great perfomence...

cmac2009 · 04-01-2016 2:20pm

T-K-O wrote: »

Hi guys,

So I am thinking about z5 compact but have heard mixed reviews - what is the general consensus, would you guys recommend the phone?

I was in the same boat as you for the last couple of months. Was waiting to see if it would come down around xmas. Have decided to leave it in the end as there seems to be too many issue's being reported for a phone that isn't exactly cheap. Also,when looking at it again the shop before xmas it is quite thick.

Still trying to decide on what phone to get that isn't a phablet! Which is most phones these days

T-K-O · 04-01-2016 3:05pm

cmac2009 wrote: »

I was in the same boat as you for the last couple of months. Was waiting to see if it would come down around xmas. Have decided to leave it in the end as there seems to be too many issue's being reported for a phone that isn't exactly cheap. Also,when looking at it again the shop before xmas it is quite thick.

Still trying to decide on what phone to get that isn't a phablet! Which is most phones these days

I hear ya!

My current phone, the first Xperia Z is just about done. Plus I will get a discount on the phone via my work. Yeah It is quite thick but I would prefer the smaller phone this time around.

Interesting to hear if the updates had a positive effect on the phone

billbond4 · 04-01-2016 3:11pm

T-K-O wrote: »

Hi guys,

So I am thinking about z5 compact but have heard mixed reviews - what is the general consensus, would you guys recommend the phone?

Been using the Z5C since it came out, was using the Z1C before and its a nice upgrade,Smoother, better performance, better screen, camera bit better.
And lollipop update should be out in a few weeks.
I like the capless waterproof usb port, so no need for adapters.

T-K-O · 04-01-2016 3:13pm

billbond4 wrote: »

Been using the Z5C since it came out, was using the Z1C before and its a nice upgrade,Smoother, better performance, better screen, camera bit better.
And lollipop update should be out in a few weeks.
I like the capless waterproof usb port, so no need for adapters.

Thanks for that, have you had an issue with power / over heating ?

billbond4 · 04-01-2016 4:36pm

sometimes its gets a bit warm when the kids are watching youtube for an hour, but it doesnt slow down or anything and it doesnt stay warm for long.

Rob C · 07-01-2016 11:55pm

I'm in two minds about the Z5 compact. I have a Note 3 at the moment and I've been out of contract a few months. There's good deals on Vodafone for this, 99 euro and 40 a month but they throw in Spotify premium as well. I want a smaller phone as I'm done with the phablets, I'll get an 8in tablet for travel for reading media content.

I love the look of the compact and it's battery life, specs etc. But browsing the Xperia forums is definitely a concern. I don't think the overheating would concern me as I don't plan on 4K video recording, but the cracked screens and touchscreen issue are a worry.

But on the other hand, an iPhone 6 is 350 quid up front for 40 a month on the same Vodafone plan...I can't see that the iPhone is 250 quid better than the Z5. I could get the Sony and the Nvidia Shield Tablet for the price of that iPhone!

billbond4 · 08-01-2016 9:59am

touchscreen issues were only on white z5 with first firmware,it was fixed in next release.
for cracked screens,i havent seen a huge amount of posts about it online on sony support forum or other blogs,so i wouldnt be concerned about it.
im using z5c since it came out and had no issues with it

billbond4 · 07-03-2016 12:34pm

Marshmallow is rolling out for the Z5 series today, check here to see when your model gets it
https://xpericheck.com/

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 08-03-2016 11:22am

Hopefully the update improves the battery life. I see ID mobile got the update. Doesn't look like any other Irish carrier has it yet.

billbond4 · 08-03-2016 11:33am

Its available for Vodafone and ID now, use the PC Companion

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 08-03-2016 11:40am

xpericheck.com is pretty useless so as it's showing Vodafone IE 'unknown'. Thanks billbond4. I'm on Meteor, so will just have to wait. I've checked on PC Companion too.

billbond4 · 08-03-2016 12:05pm

actually thats my bad, i was looking on the Z5 Compact page, where it lists the vf Ireland

F34 · 08-03-2016 12:09pm

Checked my sim free one with pc companion and no update yet

billbond4 · 08-03-2016 12:33pm

Keep an eye on xpericheck.com

andekwarhola · 10-03-2016 11:59am

Trying to activate automatic network selection on my Xperia Z5 but when I go to More | Mobile Networks | Network Operators, there is no Search Mode option and it just immediately searches for networks for me to manually select?

The user guides says this option should be there? Can anybody else get this option? Cheers.

billbond4 · 10-03-2016 1:54pm

let it do the search first.
Then at the top of the list, there is a Search Mode, that you can change

andekwarhola · 10-03-2016 2:03pm

billbond4 wrote: »

let it do the search first.
Then at the top of the list, there is a Search Mode, that you can change

I don't get the Search Mode option on the list of returned Networks.

Do you mind me asking you what network you're with?

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 10-03-2016 4:05pm

Meteor Z5 marshmallow update available from this morning via the PC software. Just did the update and hope the battery life improves. It's a shame that Sony removed Stamina mode.

billbond4 · 10-03-2016 5:27pm

andekwarhola wrote: »

I don't get the Search Mode option on the list of returned Networks.

Do you mind me asking you what network you're with?

im on VF

billbond4 · 10-03-2016 5:30pm

Eleanor Gigantic Silk wrote: »

Meteor Z5 marshmallow update available from this morning via the PC software. Just did the update and hope the battery life improves. It's a shame that Sony removed Stamina mode.

Stamina mode will be coming back in late April, but as its so similar to Doze mode, i think it will only really be the Ultra Stamina Mode

numorouno · 10-03-2016 6:39pm

Can it be updated over the air without pc because mine is goosed at the moment. I'm with Vodafone

billbond4 · 11-03-2016 9:18am

I think it will be a while, as the update is quiet large nearly 2GB

numorouno · 11-03-2016 10:02am

Just checked there and ita available. 1.258gb stop pretty hefty file. I'll get it later I think!

F34 · 15-03-2016 11:38am

Update was there this morning for mine updating now

benny79 · 29-03-2016 2:21pm

lads I recently got the z5 compact on VF and everything was grand for the first week now Im having awful trouble! It wont connect to some wi-fi's all do it finds the connecting I ve entered the right password just said connected, no internet, also since friday my data rooming has gone Ie I have no internet connection at all. I have been onto vf custom service and been to 3 shops, I bought it in the carphone warehouse in ashleaf shopping centre. And was to to bring it back there and they'll exchange it! went back today and the girl in the shop said its cas I have viber on my phone that viber is a virus!! to delete it.

I told her I never heard such bull in all my life that I had it on all my phones all my mates have it and there's no problems... Anyway she has'nt got 1 in stock so I have to go to liffely valley or the square anyone experience the same problems I switched over from meteor pre-pay to bill with vf!!

Oh I deleted viber and its still the same!!

leche solara · 29-03-2016 3:27pm

benny79 wrote: »

lads I recently got the z5 compact on VF and everything was grand for the first week now Im having awful trouble! It wont connect to some wi-fi's all do it finds the connecting I ve entered the right password just said connected, no internet, also since friday my data rooming has gone Ie I have no internet connection at all. I have been onto vf custom service and been to 3 shops, I bought it in the carphone warehouse in ashleaf shopping centre. And was to to bring it back there and they'll exchange it! went back today and the girl in the shop said its cas I have viber on my phone that viber is a virus!! to delete it.

I told her I never heard such bull in all my life that I had it on all my phones all my mates have it and there's no problems... Anyway she has'nt got 1 in stock so I have to go to liffely valley or the square anyone experience the same problems I switched over from meteor pre-pay to bill with vf!!

Oh I deleted viber and its still the same!!

Phone companies would prefer if you used their service instead of Viber as they arent making any money from you when you use Viber, but to call it a virus is a stretch

benny79 · 29-03-2016 3:44pm

I know but I went to the car phone warehouse so there not attached to any network so to speak!

F34 · 29-03-2016 4:04pm

benny79 wrote: »

I know but I went to the car phone warehouse so there not attached to any network so to speak!

Sounds like your device is faulty I'm afraid. I've actually found the z5 to be very poor on wifi but it seems to have improved a bit since updating to marshmallow

Sony xperia z5

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