Nexus 5 Owners Thread - apps, tips & tricks!

IrishStuff09

Just decided to start this thread, since nobody else did :pac:
Blatant rip-off of the N4 thread name

Lets get the ball rolling with N5 first impressions from those who have theirs....:P

Haven't ordered mine yet as I don't have enough right now, but the wait is intense...meanwhile I just envy all of you

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Helpful Links

Root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2507211

TunnelBear
https://www.tunnelbear.com/download/

ParcelMotel
http://parcelmotel.com/

Nexus 5 - Black 16GB
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_5_black_16gb

Nexus 5 - Black 32GB
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_5_black_32gb

Nexus 5 - White 16GB
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_5_white_16gb

Nexus 5 - White 32GB
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_5_white_32gb

Amalgam

Does SMS within Hangouts make sense?

One feature I'm wary of, to be honest.

IrishStuff09

Amalgam wrote: »

Does SMS within Hangouts make sense?

One feature I'm wary of, to be honest.

It's been coming for a long time. A rival to iMessage I think.
To be honest, I'm a fan. Haven't checked to see if the SMS show up on other Hangouts installations on my tablet though.

kaimera

root, (stolen from the other thread)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2507211

IrishStuff09

Just added some links to the OP for others wanting a N5 / have a N5.

Amalgam

IrishStuff09 wrote: »

Haven't checked to see if the SMS show up on other Hangouts installations on my tablet though.

That's what is creeping me out a bit, that your SMS have now been co-opted into Google. I always saw SMS as an offline thing, which I wanted to keep 'away' from online.

IrishStuff09

Amalgam wrote: »

That's what is creeping me out a bit, that your SMS have now been co-opted into Google. I always saw SMS as an offline thing, which I wanted to keep 'away' from online.

You still can disable SMS in Hangouts and install a third party app such as GO SMS. I'm sure it wont be long before someone ports the 4.3 and below SMS app over.

gzoladz

Big upgrade being downloaded now... Has anybody rooted it yet?

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Defintely going to order one of these bad boys. Or possible road trip to the north.

seanaor

Handcent SMS already has 4.4 support, and can be set as default messaging app, but Textra, my own personal favourite, can't yet. Ah well. Don't really like Hangouts handling the SMS, as it mixes all contacts from Google+ in with phone numbers. Just looks cluttered to me.

Tragedy

Picked this up an hour ago, already starting to miss the screen on my Note 2. Was expecting the bump from 720p to 1080p to be more noticeable...or noticeable at all!

rovoagho

I'd appreciate the opinions of people coming to this from the HTC One, in particular battery life and then general experience.

Google and LG have played this one close to their chest, with very few test units in the field, so battery tests are very limited, and all over the shop -- some reviews are saying it's bad, whereas some on XDA are saying it's good. Feedback here would be useful.

On the UI front, I'm actually not a fan of "the pure Google experience", I have a Nexus 7 and I find it restrictive and frustrating compared to Sense on the One, so again, it would be nice to hear from One users on usability.

elderlemon

Hangouts doesn't store sms in the cloud. It's just the same as using handcent or any other 3rd party sms app. "hangouts" messages do sit in google but not text messages.

Amalgam wrote: »

That's what is creeping me out a bit, that your SMS have now been co-opted into Google. I always saw SMS as an offline thing, which I wanted to keep 'away' from online.

Skylinehead

Absolutely love the animation when you lock the screen.

Riesen_Meal

Anyone give a definitive battery life yet?

At only an extra 200mah I'm really struggling to see do I need to upgrade from my N4 tbh....

MuppetCheck

Might be worth installing the snapdragon battery app to maximise the battery life.

Michael D Not Higgins

This is my first phone with LED notification. What's the best app for assigning different colours to different apps?

listermint

Tragedy wrote: »

Picked this up an hour ago, already starting to miss the screen on my Note 2. Was expecting the bump from 720p to 1080p to be more noticeable...or noticeable at all!

[/URL]

The clarity is better on the N5 with the images you supplied (quite noticeable)

Michael D Not Higgins

listermint wrote: »

The clarity is better on the N5 with the images you supplied (quite noticeable)

Indeed look at that beautiful IPS display

Technophobe

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

This is my first phone with LED notification. What's the best app for assigning different colours to different apps?

Light Flow for me..

el_greco

Nexus arrived this morning, looks very sleek! Any suggestions to a poor fella with chronic iOS syndrome on how to transfer contacts, texts etc from the iPhone to the Nexus?

rovoagho

Flush the iPhone down the toilet and start afresh. Don't you feel better already?

el_greco

I would be tempted to do that allright, but it may not be wise :-)

Skylinehead

Should be doable through Bluetooth, or if you can save them through your Google Account that's even easier.

D_BEAR

el_greco wrote: »

Any suggestions to a poor fella with chronic iOS syndrome on how to transfer contacts, texts etc from the iPhone to the Nexus?

This should help you.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-switch-from-iphone-to-android/

MuppetCheck

Had a load of emails to print, did it straight from the phone faultlessly there. Even with the hp app on the Note 3 or HTC One it never ran as smooth as that. Very impressed.

Nexarz

Anyone find Hangouts only sometimes puts a name to who you are texting by sms? seem to only show a name if its in my favorites otherwise it seems to just show me the number!! kinda annoying!

BionicRasher

Nexarz wrote: »

Anyone find Hangouts only sometimes puts a name to who you are texting by sms? seem to only show a name if its in my favorites otherwise it seems to just show me the number!! kinda annoying!

I find the Hangouts and SMS a bit confusing.
If I SMS someone its in its own thread and not linked to a Hangout thread for that same person or am I doing something wrong?
Its a bit all over the place and hard to follow - I thought it would choose between Hangouts and SMS depending on your connection and the person you are contacting. :mad:

marcbrophy

So, do we need to unlock the BootLoader to root this puppy?

EDIT: Just realised that we do!

Feck it anyway, just spent all morning setting this up, so that I can just drop in my SIM and be ready to go! Now I have to go through all that again :mad:

String

Just opened it up and installing day 1 update now. Coming from an iPhone 4 the screen is massive!

Nexarz

tui0hcg wrote: »

I find the Hangouts and SMS a bit confusing.
If I SMS someone its in its own thread and not linked to a Hangout thread for that same person or am I doing something wrong?
Its a bit all over the place and hard to follow - I thought it would choose between Hangouts and SMS depending on your connection and the person you are contacting. :mad:

Yea you need to make a new thread, pick your contact and choose the number to sms, on the threads list there should be the name and a little sms box on the botton right corner of the contact's icon

Tragedy

listermint wrote: »

The clarity is better on the N5 with the images you supplied (quite noticeable)

That's because the camera autofocused on the closer N5 I'm afraid, combined with a slightly bigger text size (the Note 2 was just factory defaulted so was running Android Browser vs Chrome on the N5!).

Mine used 10% battery in 6.5 hours on standby, with 28% going on 'google services' - the Note 2 has used 6% in 18 hours on standby - no SIM card but with WiFi running.

Seriously tempted to sell mine!

advertsfox

marcbrophy wrote: »

So, do we need to unlock the BootLoader to root this puppy?

EDIT: Just realised that we do!

Feck it anyway, just spent all morning setting this up, so that I can just drop in my SIM and be ready to go! Now I have to go through all that again :mad:

Adb reboot-bootloader
Fastboot oem unlock

advertsfox

Tragedy wrote: »

That's because the camera autofocused on the closer N5 I'm afraid, combined with a slightly bigger text size (the Note 2 was just factory defaulted so was running Android Browser vs Chrome on the N5!).

Mine used 10% battery in 6.5 hours on standby, with 28% going on 'google services' - the Note 2 has used 6% in 18 hours on standby - no SIM card but with WiFi running.

Seriously tempted to sell mine!

Note 2 had a 3100mAh battery vs. the 2300mAh in the N5 so 10% vs 6% is bang on for consumption difference. The phones aren't comparable in that sense.

Tragedy

advertsfox wrote: »

Note 2 had a 3100mAh battery vs. the 2300mAh in the N5 so 10% vs 6% is bang on for consumption difference. The phones aren't comparable in that sense.

0.33% idle drain per hour on the Note 2, 1.5% per hour on the N5. 35% larger battery (but considering it's had 12 months of heavy use, I doubt it's particularly close to 3100mAh!)
SGN2 has larger screen, but lower powered processor and lower resolution - but in Idle that shouldn't really make much of a difference?

MuppetCheck

First drop test...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAd6DR5ib8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

:pac:

marcbrophy

advertsfox wrote: »

Adb reboot-bootloader
Fastboot oem unlock

Oh yeah, that's the one

But my problem was, I wasn't thinking when I took it out of the box! I spent hours customising it and so on, forgetting that a BL unlock wipes all data :pac:

marcbrophy

MuppetCheck wrote: »

First drop test...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAd6DR5ib8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

:pac:

Surprisingly sturdy! :pac:

BionicRasher

Nexarz wrote: »

Yea you need to make a new thread, pick your contact and choose the number to sms, on the threads list there should be the name and a little sms box on the botton right corner of the contact's icon

Ya but the SMS and Hangout chats with the same person are in different threads. Bit of a pain.
Anyway minor inconvenience for those who have the N5

DECEiFER

Ah this is just bad form... And they'll sell them, too. Assholes.

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_Nexus+5/

IrishStuff09

DECEiFER wrote: »

Ah this is just bad form... And they'll sell them, too. Assholes.

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_Nexus+5/

Those prices :O

Sad thing is, there are plenty of comments on each listing.

Michael D Not Higgins

DECEiFER wrote: »

Ah this is just bad form... And they'll sell them, too. Assholes.

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_Nexus+5/

One dodgy one with a picture of a box for a black one and description as white

String

Any recommendations for an app that shows notification bubbles on the app icon for mail, hangouts etc?

Riesen_Meal

DECEiFER wrote: »

Ah this is just bad form... And they'll sell them, too. Assholes.

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_Nexus+5/

That sh1t drives me up the walls...

Miserable c*nts....

Really debating getting an N5 ATM, I have absolutely no reason to other than the N4 is the best phone I have ever owned....

A fool with his money is easily parted... :-)

eddiem74

The Complete Evolution of Google's Nexus Phone...:)

KevIRL

DECEiFER wrote: »

Ah this is just bad form... And they'll sell them, too. Assholes.

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_Nexus+5/

Meh, I don't see any issue to be fair. Top ad is for N5 32Gb for 500 quid. This costs 425 from google play when you include parcel motel costs. The mark up isn't too high and I'd imagine CPW/amazon won't be that much more expensive.

If someone is too lazy/can't be bothered to take the play store route and decide to pay the premium so be it. It's not like the sellers are flogging overpriced tickets to a sold out gig, the devices can be gotten elsewhere for cheaper if a buyer wants.

Disclaimer, I'm not selling any of the devices I got, but see no problem with those who do so

eddiem74

11 Android 4.4 KitKat Hidden Features! Some you may know of and some you may not...e.g. hidden easter egg!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tupx_N0SBuU

madmoe

eddiem74 wrote: »

The Complete Evolution of Google's Nexus Phone...:)

Love how the screen gets bigger and bigger each time.....If you did the same with a certain Apple product I guess it would look quiet different :P

Rod Serling

DECEiFER wrote: »

Ah this is just bad form... And they'll sell them, too. Assholes.

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_Nexus+5/

Scummy thing to do, people do it with all the latest phones. I don't know why anyone would pay anything like that, just wait for Amazon and other sites.

I want the N5 and don't want to go the Play/Parcel Motel Route, so I'll pay more, but not those prices and not from Adverts. Someone has a 16GB for €490, someone else a 32GB for €550.

DECEiFER

Yeah man, stay away from those. Some good people will sell any extra ones at cost. Said people have mentioned doing so in the other Nexus 5 thread. Keep an eye out for people doing that because they'll go quickly.

marcbrophy

Does anyone who received the phone have it on a network that supports 4G, in a 4G location?

Is that aspect working as expected?

Doesn't affect me yet, as I'm on Three, but just curious