Nexus 6: First Full Day

kevsgroove

Active Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
375
Reaction score
81
Location
St. Louis, MO
Current Phone Model
Pixel 2 XL
I apologize in advance for the length:

Let me begin by saying, the only communication device I truly loved was the original Droid……..until now. I had the Droid X, the Bionic, then moved to the Galaxy S4 - not being really impressed by any of them. And, like many others, I wished for a Motorola Nexus device (from the inception of Google's first Nexus - the Galaxy), and now that it's here, in my humble opinion, it's a fantastic device.

After reading and viewing the reviews, I ordered directly from Motorola. Twelve months same as cash, can't beat that. Had to pick it up from FedEx late yesterday afternoon, since no one was home at the time of attempted delivery.

I ordered the 32gb midnight blue, and in a word it's gorgeous. Fits in my hand perfectly, and since I swipe to text and/or email, I already use two hands for most functions. After the first couple of steps, up comes Tap & Go. Using NFC, Tap & Go transfers your accounts and apps from your old device to the Nexus 6. Worked like a charm. So well in fact that it even transferred a few of the Samsung apps (they were quickly uninstalled, heh, heh, hehhh :D ). For launchers, there was Google Now and Nova which came over from my S4. I'm using Google Now at the moment to see how the Nexus flows with it (my are the icons huge!!), but I plan on setting up Nova in a couple of days. Connected easily to our home WiFi and I checked out a few things before having to drop my daughter off at practice. BTW, the 5.0.1 update was there waiting, and it was installed after my apps finished updating. I think the ambient display when you pick up the Nexus or remove it from your pocket is also pretty cool. I would, however, like to see the notification light that's in the top speaker activated in a later software update.

Next stop, Verizon for a nano sim card. After looking up the Nexus 6 identification number a few times to no avail. I was told there was nothing they could do to activate my new baby. I suggested linking the sim card to my S4, but they wouldn't even try because the S4 has a micro sim while the Nexus uses the nano. They gave me the sim card to take home and contact customer service. At least this way I won't have to wait on one to be mailed. The conversation with the customer service rep went pretty much the same as in the store, until I asked to have the nano sim setup for my S4, which she did with no problem. When asked to insert it back in the phone, I put it in the Nexus and…….voila, LTE - signal strength - Verizon Network all appear. The rep asks if it's working, and I made a phone call while she was talking (I had her on speaker using my wife's phone). I told her that everything was perfect, just made a call, have good signal strength, so I'm in great shape. She says "are you sure, I don't see your Galaxy S4." Once informed that I put the sim card in my Nexus, she said "Oh, let me send you a text to make sure." Before she finished her sentence, I was confirming the text. Said thank you and good night, and got into some Nexus fun.

I'm not a developer, nor do I root and get into extensive mods. I'm also not into taking pictures, as my wife is a professional photographer, so the camera is not a big deal to me. Phone calls are excellent on both ends, way to go Motorola. The screen is beautiful, watching Netflix, YouTube, or whatever your viewing fancy will be a pleasure with the Nexus 6. Everything is working seamlessly and I'm experiencing no lag. My games lean towards words with friends, chess, sudoku, and aa. I know, not very intensive and they all work well. Getting used to Google Chrome and the way the frames tile. The more I use it, the better I like it. Easy peasy to navigate between recently visited pages. As for battery life, I'll come back with more in a week, but for today with my normal usage, it's at 44% at 8:35pm CST. I took it off power this morning at 5, so the battery looks like its going to be above average. Not the best, but not the worst by any means. YMMV as always depending on your personal usage.

Again, I apologize for the length, but the thoughts kept rolling. And, I dig this device.:cool:
 
OP
kevsgroove

kevsgroove

Active Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
375
Reaction score
81
Location
St. Louis, MO
Current Phone Model
Pixel 2 XL
Just answered one of my concerns. While talking on the phone, is a Google or internet search possible. Yes!!!! :) Keeps getting better.
 

cr6

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
8,281
Reaction score
5,802
Location
NW Rocky Mtn region
Website
www.dronewolfmedia.com
Current Phone Model
Galaxy S7 Edge
Twitter
@dronewolfmedia
Great review kevsgoove!
And yes, you should be able to text, surf the web, take a picture etc all while talking on the phone via your data connection.

S5 tap'n
 

FoxKat

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
14,651
Reaction score
4,703
Location
Pennsylvania
Current Phone Model
Droid Turbo 2 & Galaxy S7
Great review kevsgoove!
And yes, you should be able to text, surf the web, take a picture etc all while talking on the phone via your data connection.

S5 tap'n
Agreed, because (with my clearest understanding, however right or wrong), the Nexus 6 ordered directly from Motorola actually has both the 4G LTE radio that supports 4G LTE data or 4G LTE Voice Over LTE (VOLTE), and the 3G radio that works with either 1X/3G and can operate on both platforms and can do so simultaneously (voice on 1X and data on 1X or 3G). In other words, you don't need to be on VOLTE with the Nexus 6 in order to have simultaneous voice and data operation or SVDO as it's called, unlike the Droid turbo and some of the other newer phones on Verizon which don't have dual radio capability and so you must be using VOLTE in order to have SVDO.

With those newer phones which have only single radio operation, if you don't have a consistent 4G LTE signal, you will suffer from dropped calls and intermittent data during calls, as well as no ability to make or receive calls in areas where 4G LTE service is non-existent. In that situation you must turn off Advanced Calling 1.0 (AKA VOLTE), in the phone before attempting to make a call and revert to 3G for calls. This then also prevents SVDO until you revert to VOLTE.

And I also agree that the review was nice and informative!

Sent from my Droid Turbo on Tapatalk.
 
Last edited:

Tonik

Active Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
670
Reaction score
58
So how are you getting this to work on Verizon with no VoLTE and only one antenna? As far as I know you two are the only two people on the planet able to make it work.
 

bsweetness

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
3,112
Reaction score
680
Current Phone Model
Pixel 2 XL
Agreed, because (with my clearest understanding, however right or wrong), the Nexus 6 ordered directly from Motorola actually has both the 4G LTE radio that supports 4G LTE data or 4G LTE Voice Over LTE (VOLTE), and the 3G radio that works with either 1X/3G and can operate on both platforms and can do so simultaneously (voice on 1X and data on 1X or 3G). In other words, you don't need to be on VOLTE with the Nexus 6 in order to have simultaneous voice and data operation or SVDO as it's called, unlike the Droid turbo and some of the other newer phones on Verizon which don't have dual radio capability and so you must be using VOLTE in order to have SVDO.

With those newer phones which have only single radio operation, if you don't have a consistent 4G LTE signal, you will suffer from dropped calls and intermittent data during calls, as well as no ability to make or receive calls in areas where 4G LTE service is non-existent. In that situation you must turn off Advanced Calling 1.0 (AKA VOLTE), in the phone before attempting to make a call and revert to 3G for calls. This then also prevents SVDO until you revert to VOLTE.

And I also agree that the review was nice and informative!

Sent from my Droid Turbo on Tapatalk.

Just to clarify, SVDO is actually an acronym that specifically means simultaneous voice and data over 3G on a CDMA network (more info can be found here from the CDMA Development Group). It stands for Simultaneous Voice and EV-DO (EV-DO is 3G data on CDMA). It doesn't mean simultaneous voice and data in general. It's specific to use only over a CDMA network.

When you have simultaneous voice and data via CDMA (for voice) and LTE (for data) or over a GSM network, it's just simultaneous voice and data (SVD). :)
 

bsweetness

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
3,112
Reaction score
680
Current Phone Model
Pixel 2 XL
So how are you getting this to work on Verizon with no VoLTE and only one antenna? As far as I know you two are the only two people on the planet able to make it work.

I believe you're correct. Reports across the web are that simultaneous voice and data does not work with the Nexus 6 on Verizon. The reason for this is because, like the Droid Turbo, the Nexus 6 only has one WWAN (cellular) antenna. This can be seen in the FCC documents (page 57).

Nexus 6 Antenna.jpg


Two WWAN antennas are required to use CDMA and LTE simultaneously, and that's the only way to get simultaneous voice and data on a Verizon device that doesn't support VoLTE (outside of the handful of SVDO devices from a few years ago that supported simultaneous voice and data over 3G).

I'm curious how kevsgroove is achieving this, because given the hardware in the phone, it's not possible without VoLTE support (which Verizon isn't offering for the Nexus 6 at this time).
 
  • Like
Reactions: cr6

cr6

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
8,281
Reaction score
5,802
Location
NW Rocky Mtn region
Website
www.dronewolfmedia.com
Current Phone Model
Galaxy S7 Edge
Twitter
@dronewolfmedia
That's interesting....I assumed that because 4.4.4 brings VoLTE to any device, it should work by default over your data connection.

Also, haven't people been using Tmo Nexus 6's successfully on Verizon?

S5 tap'n
 

bsweetness

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
3,112
Reaction score
680
Current Phone Model
Pixel 2 XL
That's interesting....I assumed that because 4.4.4 brings VoLTE to any device, it should work by default over your data connection.

4.4.4 doesn't automatically bring VoLTE to any device. The Note 4 on Verizon has had 4.4.4 since launch and it still doesn't support VoLTE. The Droid Turbo launched with 4.4.4, and it didn't receive VoLTE until over a month after launch. Verizon has to add specific software directly to each device (and in their systems) to enable VoLTE. Since they aren't officially supporting the Nexus 6 in any capacity at this time, it doesn't have the software necessary to support VoLTE on Verizon.

Also, haven't people been using Tmo Nexus 6's successfully on Verizon?

I believe the T-Mobile Nexus 6 is identical to the unlocked Nexus 6 sold in the Play Store and from Motorola. If that's true, it will work on Verizon if you have an active Verizon nano SIM. It won't impact the simultaneous voice and data situation on Verizon though since software from Verizon is still required.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cr6

Tonik

Active Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
670
Reaction score
58
Yes, all the nexus's in the US are the same. There is also an International version.
 

FoxKat

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
14,651
Reaction score
4,703
Location
Pennsylvania
Current Phone Model
Droid Turbo 2 & Galaxy S7
True, the two versions are Americas XT1103;

Bands (by model)

Americas Model (XT1103)


GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

CDMA (800, 1900, secondary 800 MHz)

WCDMA (1, 2, 4, 5, 8)

LTE (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 29, 41)

CA DL (B2-B13, B2-B17, B2-29, B4-B5, B4-B13, B4-B17, B4-B29)


and International(Global) XT1100;

Global Model (XT1100)

GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

WCDMA (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 19)

LTE (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 19, 20, 28, 41)

CA DL (B3-B5, B3-B8)
 
OP
kevsgroove

kevsgroove

Active Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
375
Reaction score
81
Location
St. Louis, MO
Current Phone Model
Pixel 2 XL
I'm curious how kevsgroove is achieving this, because given the hardware in the phone, it's not possible without VoLTE support (which Verizon isn't offering for the Nexus 6 at this time).

I've called my wife a couple of times, and my father once and did searches while having them on speaker. Worked with no problem. As to technically why it works, I have no clue.
 
Last edited:
Top