Vodafone Smart ultra 6 Owners Thread- apps, tips & tricks

bajer101

Deneva wrote: »

The Moto G gen 3 is listed as sim free on Tesco Direct for £149, and able to use on any network,that was what drew me to it in the first place. only 8 GB of mem and 1 GB of ram, so no need to unlock. It's reviews are good but reading about it on here and other places most seem to say go for the 16 GB and 2 GB model.Only seem to be able to get that direct from Motorola, at £209. Smart Ultra 6 looks OK, don't like it being loaded with all the Vodaphone branding and bloatware, looks straightforward to unlock,but not so easy to get rid of branding etc. Moto G a more expensive option, but needs no sorting out.

Sim free does not mean network unlocked, it just means that you are not tied into a contract. It will be locked to the Tesco UK network with no established way to unlock it yet. That is why it is cheaper to buy the phone from Tesco than from the likes of Amazon who will sell the network unlocked model. I reckon you will be able to get it unlocked, but I would hold off on buying it until a cheap method is proven. The 1GB RAM would also be a big concern. Lollipop really seems to need 2GB.

It is very easy to remove all the Voda bloatware from the Ultra 6 and no rooting is required The only Voda thing that can't be removed is the Voda logo imprinted on the back.

Deneva

bajer101 wrote: »

Sim free does not mean network unlocked, it just means that you are not tied into a contract. It will be locked to the Tesco UK network with no established way to unlock it yet. That is why it is cheaper to buy the phone from Tesco than from the likes of Amazon who will sell the network unlocked model. I reckon you will be able to get it unlocked, but I would hold off on buying it until a cheap method is proven. The 1GB RAM would also be a big concern. Lollipop really seems to need 2GB.

It is very easy to remove all the Voda bloatware from the Ultra 6 and no rooting is required The only Voda thing that can't be removed is the Voda logo imprinted on the back.

It actually says you can use any network sim in it, its factory unlocked, its from Tesco Direct not Tesco Mobile, I'm with Tesco Mobile now and can have a locked one from them as upgrade to about £30, but don't want to stay with them as they use o2 network which is pretty poor.

bajer101

Deneva wrote: »

It actually says you can use any network sim in it, its factory unlocked, its from Tesco Direct not Tesco Mobile, I'm with Tesco Mobile now and can have a locked one from them as upgrade to about £30, but don't want to stay with them as they use o2 network which is pretty poor.

Where does it say that it can be used on any network. The model I found on Tesco Direct says it is locked to Tesco Mobile (and that would be Tesco UK). The only way Tesco would sell this phone for less than the RRP would be if it was networked locked.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-mobile-moto-g-black-3rd-gen/599-0069.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=599-0069

Nearly all MVNOs use the Three (O2) Network, so who would you switch to?

Deneva

Deneva wrote: »

It actually says you can use any network sim in it, its factory unlocked, its from Tesco Direct not Tesco Mobile, I'm with Tesco Mobile now and can have a locked one from them as upgrade to about £30, but don't want to stay with them as they use o2 network which is pretty poor.

UPDATE......Just ordered Ultra 6 from Amazon £125, for wife, price suits her and to be honest she's not bothered on phone specs as long as she can Txt,make calls and take pictures she's happy. So I'll reserve judgement till I see it working,only small problem is her sim is a micro one and this seems to be nano, she's on Giff Gaff and I'm sure they will send her a new one.

Deneva

The phone is definitely unlocked from Tesco its £149 and at end of phone specs details it definitely states "UNLOCKED TO ALL NETWORKS " They do another at £130 which is locked to Tesco Mobile. Unfortunately since I looked earlier this evening the £149 one is now out of stock for now. My daughter is with Carphone Warehouse network and wife with Giff Gaff,both get better signal than my Tesco network,plus Daughters works in areas mine won't. Jury is out on Ultra 6, until it arrives on Thursday and we get it unlocked for the Guinea Pig ,..oops I mean wife 😋 to try it out. Seems I may have to also attempt to cut her sim from Micro to Nano,.let's hope I don't mess it up.

Technocentral

Got this earlier waiting on unlock code, anyone know if getting phone unlocked voids guarantee?

vectra

Techmaster wrote: »

An unlock code is €5 on eBay, you don't need to root it at all to unlock or remove start-up screen.
Why buy the Moto G 3rd Gen for nearly €300 when you can get this for half the price nearly? :cool:

Can't seem to find how to do this.
Have you the link to it please?

jaqian

Any advise on how to root it, tried Kingoroot but stopped at 90% and Towrlroot wouldn't work at all. Thx

corsav6

Thor wrote: »

Took a little longer than expected, but here is the full review on the Smart Ultra 6.

Like I have said before on here. Amazing phone and a complete market killer at this price. Really does make you wonder what the hell your spending 400-500 euro on for a smartphone.

http://geektech.ie/review-vodafone-smart-ultra-6/

Nice site, well presented on mobile and a good review of the su6.
A few people asking me about the su6 so I'll just send them to your review and save me giving loads of verbal reviews.

otterj

How does snapchat work on this. I know it doesnt work well on androids from previous experience

CantGetNoSleep

Technocentral wrote: »

Got this earlier waiting on unlock code, anyone know if getting phone unlocked voids guarantee?

Some Vodafone staff say it does, there was a thread on the Vodafone forum on here where they couldn't really say yes or no.

My guess is that it doesn't (you have statutory rights) but they could make an issue out of it. One of the posters on here had a problem where the word Meteor had burned into his screen - not sure how he got on in the end though.

corsav6

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Some Vodafone staff say it does, there was a thread on the Vodafone forum on here where they couldn't really say yes or no.

My guess is that it doesn't (you have statutory rights) but they could make an issue out of it. One of the posters on here had a problem where the word Meteor had burned into his screen - not sure how he got on in the end though.

That screen burn on this panal has me confused. I'm with meteor myself and have no screen burn anywhere, nor do I have any noticeable backlight bleed like some other users.

grogi

Technocentral wrote: »

Got this earlier waiting on unlock code, anyone know if getting phone unlocked voids guarantee?

Does removing the apps Vodafone bundles void the guarantee?

RainyDay

grogi wrote: »

It is a missed entry in framework-res.apk... If you're brave, you can mod it according to instructions in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/mod-loose-roaming-r-mvno-home-network-t2969702

You could try playing with Xposed - there is a module "National Roaming" available there. But I am not sure how well it works with Lollipop.

Thanks, but that sounds a bit scary to me. The idea of not being rooted scares me, tbh...

It's just a bit amazing, given the growth in MVNOs here and in the UK that there is not a better solution for this.

Anyway, my next question, on behalf of my missus - how on earth do you set up silent mode, to stop the overnight pings for incoming emails?

Alanstrainor

RainyDay wrote: »

Thanks, but that sounds a bit scary to me. The idea of not being rooted scares me, tbh...

It's just a bit amazing, given the growth in MVNOs here and in the UK that there is not a better solution for this.

Anyway, my next question, on behalf of my missus - how on earth do you set up silent mode, to stop the overnight pings for incoming emails?

Hit the volume button and on the pop up window click the "Priority" option. Go into the settings and see what things you do want to hear, and what you dont.

Pepp1989

Has anyone figured out how to stop hitting loads of buttons while on a call? I end up cutting people off by accidently selecting flight mode with my cheek!

touts

Pepp1989 wrote: »

Has anyone figured out how to stop hitting loads of buttons while on a call? I end up cutting people off by accidently selecting flight mode with my cheek!

Have the same problem. Had it with the Galaxy S3 in the past so this isn't a unique issue. Back when I had the S3 I got into the habit of pressing the powerbutton to lock the screen as I put it up to my ear. Bit of a pain but that's how I plan to do it with the Ultra 6.

Technocentral

Phone unlocked and set up on Tesco Mobile. Excellent phone, love the screen and speed. One thing though, mobile net is working fine but it doesn't display at top of screen what type it is,just has the r letter over signal strength slope?

unreg999

Technocentral wrote:

Phone unlocked and set up on Tesco Mobile. Excellent phone, love the screen and speed. One thing though, mobile net is working fine but it doesn't display at top of screen what type it is,just has the r letter over signal strength slope?

Yeah it's a real pain... You can never know what kind of signal you have or even if you have a signal at all... I downloaded an app called signal notifier but it only works for a short amount of time & then freezes on the last signal...
That and the fact that I'm always changing settings, putting calls on hold & aeroplane mode with my cheek during calls are my only complaints about this phone!
Well.. If I'm honest, the size is starting to get to me a bit and because of it I'm finding I'm not using it much for taking fotos etc or even calls/messages when I'm out as it's just a bit too big especially if you don't have any pockets or a bag with you!

unreg999

Alanstrainor wrote:

Hit the volume button and on the pop up window click the "Priority" option. Go into the settings and see what things you do want to hear, and what you dont.

Or hit 'none' if you don't want to be disturbed at all... But be careful if you use your fone as an alarm as it won't go off in 'none' mode which is a bit mad to me as imo the alarm should ALWAYS go off even if fone is turned off... I was caught out by that!

copeyhagen

mine says 4g constantly. im on three

unreg999

Pepp1989 wrote:

Has anyone figured out how to stop hitting loads of buttons while on a call? I end up cutting people off by accidently selecting flight mode with my cheek!

Me too... It's really starting to annoy me now!!

deiseach

I don't think Tesco Mobile (Ireland) does 4G. While I have had a satisfactory time with Tesco - I doubt I spend more than €100 on credit each year - it seems a waste to have a 4G capable phone but not a 4G capable network.

With all that in mind, when (not if) I pick this up, does anyone know how topping up works with Vodafone? I'm thinking a €20 topup with a 500Mb addon for €5 when I feel the need. I'm assuming the €20 never expires, but their website is a bit vague on the subject. Oh, and do they still do free webtexts?

otterj

Does snap chat work onk on thios phone? Ive had issues on previous androids

ExcaliburRisen

I had similar issues with the proximity sensor but managed to fix the issue on my phone using the service menu code.
I posted about this earlier in the thread (post #262)

shanemkelly

Feck! Mine has died :eek:
Not a mig out of it :mad:
Any help

Alanstrainor

shanemkelly wrote: »

Feck! Mine has died :eek:
Not a mig out of it :mad:
Any help

Need more info.

Pop it in the charger for a start.

shanemkelly

Sorry - yes...

I was browsing away on it, left it for 30secs, assumed the screen had timed out but nothing I've done can wake it up. It's around 50% charged...

EDIT: It's OK everyone - it's back! Continue what you were all doing prior to this minor emergency. :rolleyes:
I held the Power button for more than 30secs and it came back - that must've activated the "Defibrillator" setting :cool:

Alanstrainor

ExcaliburRisen wrote: »

I was experiencing an issue with the phone where holding the phone to my ear causes the speaker mode to engage. Plus the screen remains blank after the call has ended. I read a couple of posts in the other smart ultra thread over in BA of people experiencing similar issues.

Anyway I did some googling and found a code to access the service menu. It's a code for the XTE Blade but I gave it a shot and it worked for me. The below code gives you access to 20 different tests you can do on the phone. The one I wanted was the Sensor option (scroll down the list).
The sensors in the phone are 'Accelerometer', 'Magnetic', 'Light' and 'Proximity'. Proximity was the one that interested me and there's a Proximity Calibrate button which I clicked and I get the message that the calibration is ok. However under the Proximity section I see the following:

Feature_Sensor: F:trued/S:true CTS success
X: no Fail!

I have no idea what this means. But I've dialed a couple of numbers since doing the calibration and initial impressions are that the speaker mode is not getting enabled by my ear any more and the screen comes back on when I take the phone from my ear. So it appears to have fixed the issue.

Service Menu code:
*983*0#

Disclaimer: This worked for me but I take no responsbility if you bork your phone. :-)

ExcaliburRisen wrote: »

I had similar issues with the proximity sensor but managed to fix the issue on my phone using the service menu code.
I posted about this earlier in the thread (post #262)

biebiebie

deiseach wrote: »

I don't think Tesco Mobile (Ireland) does 4G. While I have had a satisfactory time with Tesco - I doubt I spend more than €100 on credit each year - it seems a waste to have a 4G capable phone but not a 4G capable network.

With all that in mind, when (not if) I pick this up, does anyone know how topping up works with Vodafone? I'm thinking a €20 topup with a 500Mb addon for €5 when I feel the need. I'm assuming the €20 never expires, but their website is a bit vague on the subject. Oh, and do they still do free webtexts?

As far as I know Tesco and the other MVNO providers will be rolling out 4G via the Three network like ID Mobile.