[Update] THL 4000 Review – MT6582M 4.7″ 540p Sub-$100 Phone Done Right

[Twotems]

@Andthesunrises...... Install LeanDroid to regulate your data. You'll be amazed what it does for your battery life.

[andthesunrises]

@Bacon_Puffs sorry for the late reply. Yes, I was able to allocate the setting in Gravitybox and now I am have full access to the sound panel. Thanks a lot. Also, I've turned on the menu buttons notification to solve the no notification LED prob with this phone. It works wonder. By the way, there is a notification LED on THL 4000, but the programming is hard to decipher. I know it blinks when battery's low / on when charging. I've also seen it blink for other things (email perhaps?) but not the rest of the apps.

I understand your argument about cost-saving & etc. Also regarding typing on a THL4000. My friend who's shifted from iPhone is also having a hard time adjusting to the Chinese-made 5 multitouch digitizer even at a bigger screen size @ 5"

@modestmouse I changed the default save app location to internal. Removed then reinstalled Xposed.

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@Andthesunrises...... Install LeanDroid to regulate your data. You'll be amazed what it does for your battery life.

I am afraid my problem is quite particular and not wide-spread.

I am using a Japanese MVNO data-only SIM card, which lacks the voice component. The Kitkat OS sees a no-signal for voice and boasts the radio signal to max to attempt to reg onto the network. Since on THL4000, data is on 3G which shares the radio with 2G, I can't just turn off the 2G in engineering mode.
This causes my cell standby to drain more than 50% of the battery on any given day.

This problem can be solved by getting a SMS-enabled SIM that's able to latch onto the voice network, but I am not willing to go that route because the monthly fee for SMS-enabled SIM is more expensive.

Also, on my daily driver, I am able to use LTE only, so the 3G/2G radio is completely shut off.

[Twotems]

LeanDroid regulates wifi, mobile data and phone radio (if rooted). I presume you're using one sim for voice and another for data as you describe. Therefore set LeanDroid to regulate phone data and radio. Simple. Doesn't sound like you've even looked at LeanDroid.

[Scarr]

Please how can i rooot this phone, i have tried
Framaroot
Vroot(both Android and pc)
Kingoroot
Cydia Impactor
No Luck Yet?
what am i missing?

[cookiedough]

Please how can i rooot this phone, i have tried
Framaroot
Vroot(both Android and pc)
this root tool
Cydia Impactor
No Luck Yet?
what am i missing?

I used iRoot (vRoot). If you couldn't root with it, you may be using an older version or are doing something wrong.

http://www.chinaphonearena.com/forum/Thr...75-MTK6572

[andthesunrises]

Same here.. also used vRoot (iRoot), but you need to make sure you have the proper ADB driver. Otherwise it won't work.

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LeanDroid regulates wifi, mobile data and phone radio (if rooted). I presume you're using one sim for voice and another for data as you describe. Therefore set LeanDroid to regulate phone data and radio. Simple. Doesn't sound like you've even looked at LeanDroid.

I am using 1 sim for data. That's it. I got no voice.

The feature you're talking about requires the premium version. This problem has existed for a few years and no one has reported Leandroid being useful at all. So I am not willing to take the plunge and pay for a feature that's similar to engineering mode.

Unless you can confirm that Leandroid can isolate Data from Voice on the same SIM and disabling one of them. Nevermind, I tried the premium version, it doesn't work for my case. Premium version has to disable data when radio is off. I need to disable the voice, but enable the data. The Leandroid is like a more automated engineering mode.

[Scarr]

Please how can i rooot this phone, i have tried
Framaroot
Vroot(both Android and pc)
this root tool
Cydia Impactor
No Luck Yet?
what am i missing?

I used iRoot (vRoot). If you couldn't root with it, you may be using an older version or are doing something wrong.

http://www.chinaphonearena.com/forum/Thr...75-MTK6572

i used the 1.7.9.2 version which i think is d latest

[Twotems]

Same here.. also used vRoot (iRoot), but you need to make sure you have the proper ADB driver. Otherwise it won't work.

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LeanDroid regulates wifi, mobile data and phone radio (if rooted). I presume you're using one sim for voice and another for data as you describe. Therefore set LeanDroid to regulate phone data and radio. Simple. Doesn't sound like you've even looked at LeanDroid.

I am using 1 sim for data. That's it. I got no voice.

The feature you're talking about requires the premium version. This problem has existed for a few years and no one has reported Leandroid being useful at all. So I am not willing to take the plunge and pay for a feature that's similar to engineering mode.

Unless you can confirm that Leandroid can isolate Data from Voice on the same SIM and disabling one of them. Nevermind, I tried the premium version, it doesn't work for my case. Premium version has to disable data when radio is off. I need to disable the voice, but enable the data. The Leandroid is like a more automated engineering mode.

Interesting problem you have. But LeanDroid will certainly help reduce your phone hunting for a voice signal if you set it to toggle data and voice every say 10 minutes..............................

[andthesunrises]

Same here.. also used vRoot (iRoot), but you need to make sure you have the proper ADB driver. Otherwise it won't work.

---

LeanDroid regulates wifi, mobile data and phone radio (if rooted). I presume you're using one sim for voice and another for data as you describe. Therefore set LeanDroid to regulate phone data and radio. Simple. Doesn't sound like you've even looked at LeanDroid.

I am using 1 sim for data. That's it. I got no voice.

The feature you're talking about requires the premium version. This problem has existed for a few years and no one has reported Leandroid being useful at all. So I am not willing to take the plunge and pay for a feature that's similar to engineering mode.

Unless you can confirm that Leandroid can isolate Data from Voice on the same SIM and disabling one of them. Nevermind, I tried the premium version, it doesn't work for my case. Premium version has to disable data when radio is off. I need to disable the voice, but enable the data. The Leandroid is like a more automated engineering mode.

Interesting problem you have. But LeanDroid will certainly help reduce your phone hunting for a voice signal if you set it to toggle data and voice every say 10 minutes..............................

Oh yeah. that'd help I am sure, but really I'm not too worried about it coz THL 4000 has a giant battery. I bought the premium feature, tried it out and realized it's still essentially tying data to voice when toggling them off.

I emailed the dev for Leandroid with the specifics of the problem and he says Leandroid can't solve the core of my data-only problem, then gave me a refund via Google. As well, someone will figure it out one day..

By I checked with screen touch test and they're all accurate, but when I try to say erase an entry in facebook search. I am having the most difficult time hitting that x. Does anyone have this prob?

[andthesunrises]

Been using this phone as a daily driver for the past week out in the Philippines.

The battery is awesome. I can get through 2 days of moderate usage without a charge, which is a plus in areas where charging is not always accessible. The GPS is excellent in triangulating the location in a timely fashion. Although I do miss the e-compass feature commonly found on phones.

My biggest complain would still be.
1. Keyboard is not as easy to type on as my other phones. I am typing way slower than I should be. I've been trying Swiftkey as well as Swype, and AOSP. AOSP is the easiet so far, but I need to use multiple languages, so AOSP is no good for that.
2. The camera sucks. It's really slow even at moderate lighting condition. Most of the shots will come out blurry if the subject is moving. The preview on LCD is slow, taking shot is slow, shutter is slow. If I am going to a place where I need to take more photos to document a trip, the phone wouldn't replace my camera.

Decent phone, but will not see much usage with my OnePlus One present.