Hisense A5C, A5 Pro CC, color e-ink phones

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by mdp

It seems a new Kaleido is forthcoming, due for 2021.



From: https://goodereader.com/blog/electro...-color-e-paper

Against my better judgement, I read the article. It has at least one significant error about current technology: in the Kaleido display it is not true that "the color filter array produces colors in a small hexagons". The colour filter is 3x1 bars of colour. In no way do they combine to make hexagons.

As for the speculation about a new Kaleido display. Good grief. In describing what new things will appear:

It says "Companies are able to use a layer of glass, as well as non-glass based displays". This is true. But it's also true of previous E-Ink technologies.

It says "The refresh rate on color will be as fast as B&W e-paper." This is true. But it's also true of Kaleido and Triton. The addition of a colour filter doesn't change the refresh rate of the underlying E-Ink technology in any way.

And the rest is clearly idle speculation. Of course E-Ink are trying to improve contrast and color saturation of the display.

And these are just the immediate highlights of what's wrong with the article. No-one else should waste their time on articles at goodereader.com.

[pata]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

It is called Classic E-ink Screen Mode.

I recently received a firmware update after not having had the phone connected to the internet in months.

What firmware version number is on the phone?

Can anyone with the A5C (not Pro) clarify if this setting is on theirs as well?

Also can anyone confirm if the A5C (not Pro) root+gapps works?

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by pata

What firmware version number is on the phone?

For my A5 Pro CC

Latest version : L1732.6.08.02.00
Version time: No 9, 2020
Version size: 139.49M

[norweger]

Aliexpress. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. Buyers, beware! If you want a Hisense phone, better steer clear of Aliexpress.

(BTW thanks for the heads-up, Mark! I have been in much the same as below before, and forgot how bad it was, especially the quagmire of communication, and I didn't think it could possibly get any worse, but alas!)

So. I paid $355.05 for the phone. Paid $110 for return shipping. Have spend hours on end getting through a byzantine process, of radio silence and chatbots and cutting stuff out now cuz it's a loooong story, and in the end, finally, I was promised to get back 2/3 of what I paid.

And now the tracking says the seller got the phone (Hurray, hurray, hurray!). The seller signed the receipt. And all of a sudden the seller's vanished. With my phone. With my money. And he's nowhere to be reached.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Against my better judgement, I read the article

It's been an historically relevant year (interesting times are not a blessing, say the Chinese) and I am massively fatigued: I took note of the news, reported it flatly and left critical vettings aside for better times to come.
Well, are not these times of journalistic crisis and "enthusiastic" professionalism? (Qualified? Talented? Learned? Experienced? ... Enthusiast.)
That quoted formula of yours had me laugh wholeheartedly.

Anyway, well, that source is worth something as it spreads that news are there. The rest is homework. (But really, levels aside this latter remains also true for The Economist. Or for Tanenbaum, or Heidegger.)

By the way, I met it as I was doing a periodic check whether anything new about CLEARink is known. At least the website is on again, after it fell unmaintained with the acquisition. No updates though. The real effects of the transition do not seem to have emerged yet.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by mdp

Anyway, well, that source is worth something as it spreads that news are there. The rest is homework. (But really, levels aside this latter remains also true for The Economist. Or for Tanenbaum, or Heidegger.)

I suppose it's true that no source should be trusted completely. But there are levels of reliability.

There are a few poetic aphorism or epigrams that have stuck with me over the years. Perhaps one of Ogden Nash's is most appropriate for 2020:

Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker

[jago25_98]

I'll add a lot more details when I've got time but:

A5Pro
- confirm, the blue backlight is hideous
- the VPN disconnects and I can't reliably automate it to reconnect. The VPN disconnect looks like an Android 10 bug but the private dns menu option removal looks suspicious
- private dns option has been deleted from the menu
- rooting is not possible, only a 2account hack. Personally, I could only get GMaps and Contacts working through that. Can't use Google Apps.
- Aurora store installs OK. Some initial virus checking to get past to get it installed.
- nearly every app I've tried so far works except those from Google. Alternatives for everything are out there AFAIK
- there's a safe debloat list out there on reddit somewhere
- hisense seem to have a lot of privacy warnings etc as per android 10 and maybe some more. Even some disclaimers for the built in apps. Rare to say this but it looks like they've done a good job with their stuff... but of course still replace the launcher even if not 'Vision OS'
- tracking data goes to QQ.com and Taobao.com .This is the Chinese equivalent of Ebay and WhatsApp. In a way this is no different than Google's tracking.

Alternative apps:
Maps - Here we Go
Drive - SyncThing. Degoo / Koofr / Nextcloud providers
Everything else - connect to another rooted phone via Airdroid

[Markismus]

That blue light is not on the A5 Pro CC right? Because I haven’t noticed it.

I was able to get the firmware from some site, Russian IIRC, including the boot.img. So the only thing stopping Magisk seems to be unlocking the boot loader? Oddly enough, I have seen a toggle under developers settings with text like ~~allow oem bootloader unlocking~~. However, I get a _command unknown_ in fastboot whenever I try to unlock the bootloader. Haven’t looked into it much further, though.

I’ve been getting my apk’s from apkpure, apkmonk, etc., etc. Does anyone know whether such sites mess up the phone?

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by norweger

Aliexpress. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does...

Sorry that things turned out the way that they did. However, I would have been very surprised had they turned out otherwise. Was hoping to be proven wrong.

If you have all the various communication, I wonder if you would be able to do a chargeback through your credit card. Then it would likely be up to Aliexpress to hunt down the vendor to recover their losses.

I'm not sure that that would be successful and it would mean even more time consuming bureaucracy, but it might be something to consider.

I would still use Aliexpress for small, inexpensive items like phone cases. But never again for something expensive and moderately delicate like a phone or a tablet. Even when you can get your money back as I eventually did, it's not worth the time and frustration navigating chatbox loops with robots.

[jago25_98]

Be careful. Lots of reports of bricked devices over at XDADEVS. Most android devices have that switch in dev options but it rarely does anything, stupidly.

This thread talks about installing Magisk without even talking about unlocking the bootloader... but we need root to unlock the bootloader:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...t4109021/page3

Originally Posted by Markismus

That blue light is not on the A5 Pro CC right? Because I haven’t noticed it.

I was able to get the firmware from some site, Russian IIRC, including the boot.img. So the only thing stopping Magisk seems to be unlocking the boot loader? Oddly enough, I have seen a toggle under developers settings with text like ~~allow oem bootloader unlocking~~. However, I get a _command unknown_ in fastboot whenever I try to unlock the bootloader. Haven’t looked into it much further, though.

I’ve been getting my apk’s from apkpure, apkmonk, etc., etc. Does anyone know whether such sites mess up the phone?

[norweger]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Sorry that things turned out the way that they did. However, I would have been very surprised had they turned out otherwise.

I lacked the imagination. He's got my money, my phone and I ponied up for return shipping. The worst about it all is all the toil and trouble. The endless rounds chatting and waiting where the customer service say "rest assured I'll fix it", but all they do is rest and not fix. And lots more. I needn't go into detail, you know all about it.

I thought the worst would be to get the phone back and lose the money, or get some money back and not the phone.

Oh well. Gotta take new rounds with them. Call China by phone. Can't say I am looking forward to it. Wish I could report him to the local police as well, but they'll likely shrug and be happy a foreigner got fleeced.

Thanks, anyway, for the warning. Childbirth is supposedly like this. You forget the pain, and go again.

I tried to get in touch with the bank (brilliant suggestion), but the card was charged in September, so nothing they could do.

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Even when you can get your money back as I eventually did, it's not worth the time and frustration navigating chatbox loops with robots.

Amen!

[norweger]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

I'll add a lot more details when I've got time but:

A5Pro
- confirm, the blue backlight is hideous

Please do elaborate. I guess people's preferences are different. I haven't tried this phone before, but am strongly considering it, in case I'll come across a second hand one.

[cqman]

Originally Posted by norweger

Please do elaborate. I guess people's preferences are different. I haven't tried this phone before, but am strongly considering it, in case I'll come across a second hand one.

Mine is fine. Never heard the same problem from other A5 Pro users.

I bought mine after Onyx confirmed they wouldn't release their planned phone this year. I'm happy with my choice. The only problem is that my A5 Pro has a very small black defect dot near the left bottom. I know It's not uncommon for E-ink devices so I kept it.

Good luck!

[jago25_98]

The main problem with my A5Pro (black and white) is that it contacts taobao.com, qq.com and hismarttv.com with no apps running and the private DNS option in settings has been deleted.

Fortunately, using an Android for Work profile via Island or Shelter and deleting all the apps in the profile appears to stop this, so I'm pretty happy with the phone now, even if it can't really run GApps. There are degoogled replacements for those anyway. It's amazing how many apps work without Gapps.

The blue screen could be partly from the screen filter but I don't want to take it off at the moment.

[norweger]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

Fortunately, using an Android for Work profile via Island or Shelter and deleting all the apps in the profile appears to stop this, so I'm pretty happy with the phone now, even if it can't really run GApps.

Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by norweger

Aliexpress. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. (...) So. I paid $355.05 for the phone. Paid $110 for return shipping. Have spend hours on end getting through a byzantine process, of radio silence and chatbots and cutting stuff out now cuz it's a loooong story, and in the end, finally, I was promised to get back 2/3 of what I paid.

And now the tracking says the seller got the phone (Hurray, hurray, hurray!). The seller signed the receipt. And all of a sudden the seller's vanished. With my phone. With my money. And he's nowhere to be reached.

Got problems with Aliexpress, anyone? I found a way out. I got in touch with Shenzhen Police, and had a native Chinese woman from Fiverr call the vendor to tell about it. And now I got an email from Aliexpress that I will get my money back. Well, some of it. And it might take twenty business days. Hoping this'll be the end of it.