Cannot recommend this phone to anyone

[Khalid 8]

I've spent a while with the phone and while i really love the overall keyboard layout and the slider mechanism (a little too tough though), it has some serious issues and will probably use my pevious phone until maybe the pro2 fixes those problems

Accidental touches on the screen edges.

This isnt 2007. I thought we solved this problem ages ago.

Curved screen

Just.... why? there are no positives to using a curved screen to the user. message boxes in landscape mode will sit weirdly in the curved part of the screen and attracts annoying reflections.

Keyboard issues

WHERE DO I EVEN START?! The one job the pro1 had, it fails MISERABLY. Had this one been done right, I'd have happily endured the above two issues if it weren't for this.

• Keyboard ignores 2nd press if already holding another key. It doesn't sound like a problem untl yur typng strts to look likethis!
• some keys like to repeat if pressed once. not a good look when your friend's first typing test on this phone was "I'mmmmmmmmm typing on the pro1"
• the 7yhb column of keys do not work if they were the first key to be pressed after waking the phone. if someone says hello, you can't even say hello back because the H key isnt working until you press another key.

 

I feel the fxtec team were more focused on ticking boxes on a product description than to make sure it all worked, which you can tell by just..... using the phone.

 

I really wanted to stick to this phone for however many years until we get the pro2, but it looks like I'll be going back to my blackberry key2. i'll look at the pro2 whenever that releases, but with more caution than enthusiasm.

Edited March 1, 2020 by Khalid

[ahunter 108]

Oh dear. The issues you speak of have work around's without rooting your phone. Please search this forum.

F(x)tec have done well to get the hardware alone out. The rest is just software. 

Bringing a product from concept to reality is a huge achievement alone.

Think of the group that have the phone currently as beta testers. Want a fix for your keyboard. Look up my posts on External keyboard helper.

OTA updates will make the phone more functional out of the box. btw typed on a Pro 1

[Khalid 8]

I have paid money for a product, not to be a beta tester. 

I have searched the forum and tried the solutions, including this external keyboard helper, and none did anything to fix.

I appreciate you trying to help but please drop that apologist attitude. What are you even proving by telling me you typed that on a pro1?

[EskeRahn 5,460]

I highly recommend this phone, but not to everyone...

Generally I would not recommend anyone to buy a brand new device if they want an errorfree experience out of the box (any brand)

The Pro1 is a niche product with a limited audience. AND like most new devices it comes with a bunch of more or less annoying software-bugs. And sure bugs ought not to be there, but in the real world they are, the important thing is that things get fixed, but like everything else in China these are delayed by new year and virus...

You should try the LineageOS (see the long thread) where quite a lot of the bugs have been ironed out, and I hope that many of these fixes will find their way to stock. Either directly copied, or largely inspired by. There are still a few left, but especially @tdm has been very active in fixing stuff.

[ahunter 108]

Look at this link. the key is making sure it is ON External Keyboard Helper... While not rooted. Little keyboard icon comes up. I have just turned the on screen keyboard OFF completely. I wanna type, use keyboard, I wanna flick use the phone closed. 

Trust me once corona virus blows over they will get more proactive in the next OTA update. I bought this phone April 2019, delivered Jan 2020... I am patient my phone is working perfectly. 

The other option was F(x)tec could have waited another 6 months to a year, to Launch and make it perfect.

2012 is how long I have really been waiting since a Motorola Photon Q that has a modified sim card reader. This phone is a god send to me. Android has come from 4.2 to Android 9 without any true keyboard devices. That is a lot of versions to catch up on to make a hardware keyboard play well with Gboard and Android 9.

I have posted the work around, someone will fix it in stock.... If not I will root my phone and create a tasker profile to handle it. That I will share as well.

[Khalid 8]

14 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

You should try the LineageOS (see the long thread) where quite a lot of the bugs have been ironed out, and I hope that many of these fixes will find their way to stock. Either directly copied, or largely inspired by. There are still a few left, but especially @tdm has been very active in fixing stuff.

Flash a different OS to get the phone's sole selling point to work as expected? Got it.

[ahunter 108]

Just try keyboard helper as I have stated. It will fix your repeating keys issue at a minimum.

If you like I can send a step by step for you. Up to you for a functional landscape QWERTY or just stick with you Portrait QWERTY if you are happy with that.

[Khalid 8]

Keyboard helper fixes nothing. I already stated that.

[ahunter 108]

OK STEP BY STEP COMING UP...

1. Ensure keyboard mapping is set to no keyboard mapping

2. Click Advanced keyboard settings

3. Click Key repeating

4. Currently I have selected Slight key delay (recommended) 

5. Open your keyboard

6. Go to your web browser and select the address bar, so that the flashing text entry cursor is flashing.

7. A little keyboard icon will appear at the top right of your screen in landscape. (unfortunately unscreenshotable.)

8. Click on the icon and Select Keyboard helper rather than Gboard.

9. You will notice now when you close the keyboard, there is no virtual keyboard at all when in portrait. No matter where you try enter text. 

10. The little keyboard icon shows again though (next to the recent apps button.

11. Gboard is easily re-enabled for portrait on screen keyboard.

12. Also check your default keyboard language is set to default

42. Just because it is meant to be the solution to everything according to the hitch hikers guide of the galaxy. I will trial some Asus Transformer keyboard apps that handle hardware keyboards in Android. This may be a permanent replacement for Gboard virtual keyboard. Avoiding switching all together. 

Please tell me how you go.

Edited March 1, 2020 by ahunter

[ahunter 108]

[brunoais 334]

3 hours ago, Khalid said:

Curved screen

Just.... why? there are no positives to using a curved screen to the user. message boxes in landscape mode will sit weirdly in the curved part of the screen and attracts annoying reflections.

I'm with you on that.

For the rest. I can't comment because I don't have the phone yet.

[ahunter 108]

1 minute ago, brunoais said:

I'm with you on that.

For the rest. I can't comment because I don't have the phone yet.

I utilise Everywhere Launcher and make the curve my slide in menus.

[Khalid 8]

6 minutes ago, ahunter said:

OK STEP BY STEP COMING UP...

Are you even reading what I'm saying?

[ahunter 108]

Yes I am mate and just gave you the steps to stop your annoying key repeating etc. You may not recommend the device, you may have paid for it, you may also be annoyed that it does not quite work as it should out of the box. 

That works for me on those setting using the Pro1 and I would recommend the device to the tweaking type at the moment. It needs updates and fixes for the general public and iBeige users.

If you would like to humour me please try the steps and tell me how you go. Otherwise just continue using your Priv.

[ahunter 108]

We are here for solutions not problems.

[Hook 3,020]

3 hours ago, Khalid said:

I've spent a while with the phone and while i really love the overall keyboard layout and the slider mechanism (a little too tough though), it has some serious issues and will probably use my pevious phone until maybe the pro2 fixes those problems

Accidental touches on the screen edges.

This isnt 2007. I thought we solved this problem ages ago.

Curved screen

Just.... why? there are no positives to using a curved screen to the user. message boxes in landscape mode will sit weirdly in the curved part of the screen and attracts annoying reflections.

Keyboard issues

WHERE DO I EVEN START?! The one job the pro1 had, it fails MISERABLY. Had this one been done right, I'd have happily endured the above two issues if it weren't for this.

• Keyboard ignores 2nd press if already holding another key. It doesn't sound like a problem untl yur typng strts to look likethis!
• some keys like to repeat if pressed once. not a good look when your friend's first typing test on this phone was "I'mmmmmmmmm typing on the pro1"
• the 7yhb column of keys do not work if they were the first key to be pressed after waking the phone. if someone says hello, you can't even say hello back because the H key isnt working until you press another key.

 

I feel the fxtec team were more focused on ticking boxes on a product description than to make sure it all worked, which you can tell by just..... using the phone.

 

I really wanted to stick to this phone for however many years until we get the pro2, but it looks like I'll be going back to my blackberry key2. i'll look at the pro2 whenever that releases, but with more caution than enthusiasm.

First, I'll say that if you find these points of pain too much for you, you of course should move to whatever makes you happier.  However, I take issue with referring to others as apologists because we have found work arounds that make us happy with this phone. Personally, I am very happy with this phone and consider it the best phone I have ever used.  New people who read these threads need to understand that for every person who says they are fed up, there are many more who are having a very different experience.

In the future, I suggest you don't set expectations so high for a new technology product from a very small startup as you will be  a beta tester.  They got the hardware mostly right (agree about curved screen but @elvissteinjr Tasker profile even fixes that).  The rest, as everyone has said, is software which means it will all get fixed.  

But even now, this is my perfect phone.  But as always, YMMV.

Hope you come back eventually. I honestly wish you well.

Edited March 1, 2020 by Hook

[divstar 164]

Honestly, I just think you wanted to vent. So it's alright. While the phone indeed does have some mistakes, most of them can be worked around and if you want a proper phone with a keyboard - the pro1 is currently as good as it gets (I still have my BB Priv, but due to a hardware lock I cannot root it and so I'd have to use an OS, which is heavily outdated).

I also paid about 720€ and while some errors do annoy me a bit, I use this phone as my daily driver and it works as expected.

While venting is okay, you don't even seem to be interested in fixing the issues you have with the phone. So not recommending the phone to anyone just because you have issues you do not want to resolve is a bit weird to say the least.

It sure is your right and your choice and if you had expected the phone to be completely flawless, you probably should have waited another year or the pro2 if it is ever going to happen - or pick some keyboardless phone (though I'd argue those do have their problems,too).

[FlyingAntero 871]

1 hour ago, ahunter said:

9. You will notice now when you close the keyboard, there is no virtual keyboard at all when in portrait. No matter where you try enter text. 

10. The little keyboard icon shows again though (next to the recent apps button.

11. Gboard is easily re-enabled for portrait on screen keyboard.

I believe that this step can be automatised via Keyboard/Button Mapper. Just record a trigger when open or close the keyboard and use Keyboard Switch Assistant to change virtual keyboard.

 

[EskeRahn 5,460]

2 hours ago, Khalid said:

Flash a different OS to get the phone's sole selling point to work as expected? Got it.

Are you even reading what I'm saying?

[Slion 1,201]

3 hours ago, Khalid said:

I have paid money for a product, not to be a beta tester. 

You can't possibly preorder a first smartphone from an unknown start up and expect to get a bug free experience. If you did then you obviously have little understanding of the technology and complexity behind such a product.

My tips to you to avoid such frustration in the future:

• Do not preorder any product, ever.
• Buy last year products thus making sure most bugs have been resolved.
• Stick to main stream, high volume smartphone.
• Stick to well known brands.

[netman 1,424]

3 hours ago, Slion said:

My tips to you to avoid such frustration in the future:

• Do not preorder any product, ever.
• Buy last year products thus making sure most bugs have been resolved.

These are things I usually do :D. Have not regretted making an exception for the Pro1 though.

[netman 1,424]

9 hours ago, Khalid said:

Curved screen

Just.... why? there are no positives to using a curved screen to the user. message boxes in landscape mode will sit weirdly in the curved part of the screen and attracts annoying reflections.

I agree with this but it was told to us before purchasing that the screen will be curved.

9 hours ago, Khalid said:

• Keyboard ignores 2nd press if already holding another key. It doesn't sound like a problem untl yur typng strts to look likethis!
• some keys like to repeat if pressed once. not a good look when your friend's first typing test on this phone was "I'mmmmmmmmm typing on the pro1"
• the 7yhb column of keys do not work if they were the first key to be pressed after waking the phone. if someone says hello, you can't even say hello back because the H key isnt working until you press another key.

These things are fixed in Lineage and SailFish, and should be fixed in the next OTA for stock. I'd recommend giving Lineage a try. For stock I can provide a fix in the form of a modified kernel but WARNING this requires a factory reset and breaks OTA (to get back on normal stock you need another factory reset): https://matland.be/pro1/kernel.zip See the readme.txt in the zip for install instructions.

I believe the reason we don't have OTA update to fix these things yet is due to chaos related to the corona virus. I think F(x)tec is currently much more focussed on actually getting devices produced to statisfy orders rather than any type of ticking boxes. Do not underestimate the challenge producing a device like this provides.

[ahunter 108]

6 hours ago, FlyingAntero said:

I believe that this step can be automatised via Keyboard/Button Mapper. Just record a trigger when open or close the keyboard and use Keyboard Switch Assistant to change virtual keyboard.

 

Yes or Tasker, did not want to complicate the fix or suggest root. Thanks I will try what you have suggest.

[D1ggs 141]

@Khalid I know you wanted something that works out of the box, but test8 of the Lineage build is out of this world good. The margin settings eliminate the accidental touches and TDM's work on the keyboard driver has completely changed how it operates.

 

[EskeRahn 5,460]

Just a random case for another new device, and this is even just an evolution over what they already got....

https://www.dpreview.com/news/4862735124/some-galaxy-s20-ultra-smartphone-reviewers-report-multiple-camera-issues