General One month review of the Zenfone 9 - Asus Zenfone 9

I'll be writing this as an extension of my previous more first impressions review of the phone, beginning with some things that have been fixed since that post.
Some of my biggest complaints were related to gesture control, I'm happy to report that mostly those issues have been resolved. The screen off gestures now work as intended and replacing the stock case with one that goes fully around the edges of the phone has made the smart key usable without worrying about false activations. Palm rejection issues have also been solved by switching to a slightly thicker walled case that goes all the way around the phone edge.
Before I get to some new issues i do want to go with some new positives I've noticed over the last month.
Spent some time in a place with 5G support which was a great experience overall, if only my home Internet were that fast.
AliExpress sellers seem to be giving the phone some decent attention, been easy to get accessories (screen protector, case) even in Canada where the phone isn't released.
Dual band WiFi has been more useful than I anticipated, kills the dead zones in my house, improves local file sharing, and unlike oneplus's solution is seems to work everywhere, not just a handful of apps.
Battery great, takes a little tweaking to turn off features you won't use but once you do you can go all day without charging. I don't even bring a charger with me out anymore. Charging features are also there to help ensure it stays that way long term.
It's not all good news though, I have had some new issues as well.
Had a crash, no idea what caused it and no luck recreating it. Got booted into a corrupted operating system message. A forced reboot seems to have fixed the issue.
There being no way of setting a fallback private DNS server is a puzzling omission, makes using something like nextdns an issue without switching to a vpn based DNS switcher. If your DNS provider is blocked by a network tough luck.
USB keyboard detection is a bit jank, my Keyboardio Atreus can type just fine (using it now on the phone to write this) but it does not get detected as a keyboard in settings so the on screen keyboard is forced on. This is not an issue over Bluetooth, just USB.
The raise to wake option seems to activate in pocket even with pocket mode enabled.
That's all that comes to mind for now. Most of my new complaints are pretty minor, I'd say the DNS issue is the only one that effects me with any regularity. And just like my previous issues none are hardware issues and should be fixable with updates from ASUS. I still am of the opinion that the phone has a good value proposition and don't have any misgivings about the purchase. Most of what I like about the phone is in my previous review and I stand by pretty much all of it.

Nexr0n said:
There being no way of setting a fallback private DNS server is a puzzling omission, makes using something like nextdns an issue without switching to a vpn based DNS switcher. If your DNS provider is blocked by a network tough luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there something that can do this? My S22 Ultra, OnePlus 10 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro all does not appear to support backup private DNS. When I'm using the S22 or iPhone, on a network that blocks DNS, I have to go manually disable private DNS. On the OnePlus it seems to fallback to basic DNS but I don't see an option to set up a manual backup

craznazn said:
Is there something that can do this? My S22 Ultra, OnePlus 10 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro all does not appear to support backup private DNS. When I'm using the S22 or iPhone, on a network that blocks DNS, I have to go manually disable private DNS. On the OnePlus it seems to fallback to basic DNS but I don't see an option to set up a manual backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DNS 2 is the backup for DNS 1. IOS 16 let's you add multiple DNS servers, i believe with the new OOS you can't do it for every network at once but you can set a different DNS server for a network individually. It's also a standard feature in most custom roms.

Nexr0n said:
DNS 2 is the backup for DNS 1. IOS 16 let's you add multiple DNS servers, i believe with the new OOS you can't do it for every network at once but you can set a different DNS server for a network individually. It's also a standard feature in most custom roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Given this response, I suppose you mean to set up a dns server per connection? Private DNS (as in, the DoT option) doesn't have a DNS 1 or 2 slot, and in IOS 16 you still set up DoH via management profile.
I just checked the following devices:
OP8T (on Nameless AOSP) and private DNS only has 1 field (Settings -> Network & Internet -> Private DNS).
OP10P (on OOS), 1 field (Settings -> Connection & Sharing -> Private DNS)
Moto e (on whatever the hell moto uses), 1 field (Settings -> Network & Internet -> Advanced -> Private DNS)
iPhone 13 Pro (Management profile only for DoH)
Apologies if I misunderstood, but I don't see where a DNS2 field would even be while using private DNS

craznazn said:
Given this response, I suppose you mean to set up a dns server per connection? Private DNS (as in, the DoT option) doesn't have a DNS 1 or 2 slot, and in IOS 16 you still set up DoH via management profile.
I just checked the following devices:
OP8T (on Nameless AOSP) and private DNS only has 1 field (Settings -> Network & Internet -> Private DNS).
OP10P (on OOS), 1 field (Settings -> Connection & Sharing -> Private DNS)
Moto e (on whatever the hell moto uses), 1 field (Settings -> Network & Internet -> Advanced -> Private DNS)
iPhone 13 Pro (Management profile only for DoH)
Apologies if I misunderstood, but I don't see where a DNS2 field would even be while using private DNS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When i say private DNS I'm not talking about DoT (i see why that's confusing), I mean using DNS that's not the one provided by the network, one that you own, be that over TLS or HTTPS.

The screen off gestures now work as intended and replacing the stock case with one that goes fully around the edges of the phone has made the smart key usable without worrying about false activations. Palm rejection issues have also been solved by switching to a slightly thicker walled case that goes all the way around the phone edge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I was getting worried, since many have mentioned these two issues. I'm glad you found a workaround.
Would you mind sending a link of the case you wound up using?

balkce said:
Thanks for this. I was getting worried, since many have mentioned these two issues. I'm glad you found a workaround.
Would you mind sending a link of the case you wound up using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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Related

[Q] Problem with hone wireless network connection

A couple of days ago my wireless connection quit working at home. The wireless network icon turned white all the time, and never switched to green. I hard wire the modem/router (ATT Uversre 2Wire 3800HGV-B) into a 5 port switch and plug my computer, network storage drive, and media streaming box into the switch. I've had all of this set up for a few months in it's current configuration and there was never an issue before. This just seemingly happened out of the blue...funny how computers do that sometimes, right? I have an HTC Aria, I was running CM7 RC1 when the problem happened, I just updated to RC2 hoping maybe it would change and it didn't.
After reading posts and checking settings here's what I've found:
My wireless router is set to act as the DHCP server. I set all of the IP addresses manually. I've had it set this way for some time, haven't made any changes recently. The attached network storage (D-Link DNS 323 also has DHCP server capability, but that is disabled)
I found that while my phone was set in the router's setting to connect to 192.168.1.67 for whatever reason it was connecting to 192.168.0.200 (which is out of range, my DHCP is set to address to 192.168.1.64 - 192.168.1.253)
Any idea what would cause this?
I have a temporary fix right now, I've set the phone for static IP and entered all the values. It now connects to my home network on the correct IP and appears to work. This will be a hassle though because there will likely be conflicts when I try to connect to public wifi or at my office. I could just go in and set it back to automatic IP when I leave home....but that is a hassle, and obviously, something isn't working quite right.
Anybody have a clue what would be making this happen?
thanks!
theWilly said:
A couple of days ago my wireless connection quit working at home. The wireless network icon turned white all the time, and never switched to green. I hard wire the modem/router (ATT Uversre 2Wire 3800HGV-B) into a 5 port switch and plug my computer, network storage drive, and media streaming box into the switch. I've had all of this set up for a few months in it's current configuration and there was never an issue before. This just seemingly happened out of the blue...funny how computers do that sometimes, right? I have an HTC Aria, I was running CM7 RC1 when the problem happened, I just updated to RC2 hoping maybe it would change and it didn't.
After reading posts and checking settings here's what I've found:
My wireless router is set to act as the DHCP server. I set all of the IP addresses manually. I've had it set this way for some time, haven't made any changes recently. The attached network storage (D-Link DNS 323 also has DHCP server capability, but that is disabled)
I found that while my phone was set in the router's setting to connect to 192.168.1.67 for whatever reason it was connecting to 192.168.0.200 (which is out of range, my DHCP is set to address to 192.168.1.64 - 192.168.1.253)
Any idea what would cause this?
I have a temporary fix right now, I've set the phone for static IP and entered all the values. It now connects to my home network on the correct IP and appears to work. This will be a hassle though because there will likely be conflicts when I try to connect to public wifi or at my office. I could just go in and set it back to automatic IP when I leave home....but that is a hassle, and obviously, something isn't working quite right.
Anybody have a clue what would be making this happen?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand when you say your router is your DHCP server but you set all the addresses manually...I can understand setting your network storage and media streaming to static IP's but you may want to reconsider for everything else, if your router allows for that to happen.
Have you tried rebooting your router and switch? May be worth doing that. I would not recommend a RESET because you'll have to reconfigure everything and I know how much of a hassle that is.
So, when you say you set the phone for static IP, do you mean through the phone gui or through the router?
Another thing to check is the number of available IP addresses. You could be out. I doubt this is the case in a home network, but never hurts to check.
"Do you mind if I turn up the AC?"
I have somewhat of a similar situation... I just installed CM7 RC2 and I can connect to my home's wifi and browse the internet etc... but some apps like Facebook won't update. With Facebook, I can retrieve messages sent to me but the news feed never updates and I can't view profiles. And for some reason everything works when I use my university's wifi...
corber22 said:
I have somewhat of a similar situation... I just installed CM7 RC2 and I can connect to my home's wifi and browse the internet etc... but some apps like Facebook won't update. With Facebook, I can retrieve messages sent to me but the news feed never updates and I can't view profiles. And for some reason everything works when I use my university's wifi...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked (turned on) your Background Data and Auto-sync?
Menu > Settings > Accounts & Sync ......
Have you checked (turned on) your Background Data and Auto-sync?
Menu > Settings > Accounts & Sync ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's on. Still doesn't work. One other thing I noticed is that even though I'm with At&t the Amazon App Store works when I'm using my university's WiFi but no where else...
corber22 said:
Yeah, it's on. Still doesn't work. One other thing I noticed is that even though I'm with At&t the Amazon App Store works when I'm using my university's WiFi but no where else...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go here and download the latest Nightly cm_liberty_full-30.zip
WiFi performance has been dramatically improved since RC2, and if nothing else, it's a better place to continue trouble shooting from.
Go here and download the latest Nightly cm_liberty_full-30.zip
WiFi performance has been dramatically improved since RC2, and if nothing else, it's a better place to continue trouble shooting from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't help I don't get what's happening. I can use the browser fine but certain applications always time out and won't update.
I have the same problem. I've found the following apps to not work correctly when I connect my Sprint HTC Evo 4G (CM 7.0.3.1) to my home wireless network (Apple Airport Extreme Base Station):
Facebook (news feed won't update)
Amazon MP3 (Only the cloud player doesn't work)
Netflix (won't let me log in)
Speedtest (downloads fine but shows 0.00Mbps for uploads)
Again, all features works great on 3G or on the wifi at work (a university network running WPA2 Enterprise with LEAP authentication), which leads me to suspect there's something wrong with my home wifi setup. I have updated the Airport Extreme to the latest firmware and reset it several times yet the problem persists. Any ideas?

[Xperia S] WiFi loosing default route since ICS upgrade

Sorry to bother you with this, but I could not find anything remotely similar discussed anywhere.
My Sony Xperia S sometimes loses the default route for internet access.
The symptoms are:
- I can access all the local computers on the network just fine
- external web sites do not work
What I see when checking on the command line via "ip route" is
Code:
192.168.0.1 dev wlan0 scope link
Luckily my phone is rooted so I can just "su" and then
Code:
ip route add default via 192.168.0.1 dev wlan0
Afterwards, the internet access is working again for some time.
WiFI settings are set to a static IP address 192.168.0.11 with the default gateway configured to 192.168.0.1.
Why is the device losing the default route?
How can I prevent this?
Is there a file somewhere that needs to be changed for the route to persist?
I did not have this problem with Gingerbread. It started after upgrading to ICS.
Laptops work fine on the same WiFi network and do not lose internet access.
<Princess Leia voice>Please, XDAdevelopers, you are my last hope.</Princess Leia voice>
I'm having the same issue with my S after rooting/updating to ICE WIFI is still connected and LAN works ok, but no internet access turning WIFI on and off is the only way i can get it working
hope the is a fix
Sounds similar to an issue I was having as well. Actually, I was having it prior to the ICS update as well, i.e. with GB.
The only way I found to reliably get internet access on my SXS was to reconfigure my router to use DHCP, which was somewhat annoying. Had to reconfigure all my network nodes as well, of course, which were using static IPs.
Static IP had never been an issue with my old HTC Desire running GB (and earlier versions) or my ASUS Transformer with Honeycomb and ICS. Definitely seems to be SXS-specific.
I do not want to work through the hassle of changing the settings in my more than 20 devices on the network just to get this one working reliably.
Is there no other way than to switch on DHCP?
I tried DHCP and it didn't work for me.
and just because use run DHCP doesn't mean you would have to change all you devices, you can leave then as static.
I've been having the same issue on mine - did it occasionally on Gingerbread but has been noticeably worse on ICS - turning WiFi off then on again cures it 60% of the time, three off/on combos sorts it's 95% of the time
I noticed this week while visiting my parents that it worked first time every time, of course this is a DHCP setup!
I'll be setting my home router to give a fixed IP to my phone tonight - but that doesn't help at work where I need to override the DNS settings (don't care if the IP is dynamic or not - just need to use different DNS servers*!).
* And yup I have permission to do so - Facebook and a few others are crudely blocked using DNS, but authorised people are allowed access (basically so we can delete nasty posts) and this is over-ridden using static IP - gets annoying that Facebook trashes my authorisation when it falls in this blackhole.

LOS 14 phone has started to kill router on IP lease renewal (I think)

Originally posted in device specific forum, but no answers there. I'll edit that post as soon as this has a URL.
OK - I use LOS 14 which has been more or less fine ( a few documented niggles on the thread, but OK up to now)
About two weeks ago, without any obvious changes my WiFi locks the entire router - resulting in a router reset. Router is a "TP Linke AC750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router"
I did initially think this was triggered by the IP lease expiry, but set IP addresses or maxing out the lease time didn't seem to work. But it does seem to occur when the phone reconnects
Edit - the more I look at this the more I think it is triggered by lease renewal, but fixed IP address fails to resolve!
I have increased the log settings - see screen shot - with "network_selection_disabled_association_rejection= 3"
Also, in the Logs there is WiFiQualifiedNetowrkSelector: <ssid>: <mac of router> is on blacklist
Looking around the net this error seems to be down to the phone blacklisting the router due to poor connections - but I didn't even leave the house today and it hit
I've tried lots of tweaks to WiFi, keeping it on, keeping it off. I have now just moved my Routers channel to a less busy one - but I have no idea what is causing it.
Edit - channel move and width reduction didn't do anything.
I have removed all the apps that I can recall installing just before this happened.
I have "forgotten" connection and made it again
ROM is as it is and was stable for months before this happened - Router firmware is up to date and went through factory reset - can't do that for phone for a week as it is my key generator for 2 factor authentication to work network and if I zap phone you can bet work will need remote access before next week!
Ideas anyone?
Cheers
Eserim
OK this report on Chromecasts killing Routers - is so similar to what I see, plus the timing of others with the issue match my timing, I am thinkiong this was the cause

UI Ads - not able to get rid

I am getting some UI Ads all of sudden while working, even checking the settings also. I tried to turn off the Recommendations in Additional Setting of Settings, but still Ads are appearing. How can get rid of it
Set the private dns to dns.adguard.com
Tyrannosaur_Hex said:
Set the private dns to dns.adguard.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, will it impact on any other thing, note says that it may lead to network latency and connection failure.
[email protected] said:
Thanks a lot, will it impact on any other thing, note says that it may lead to network latency and connection failure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works pretty good. It will block some trash sites occasionally but latter they may not be blocked. A network reset seems to help with any latency issues. I use it all the time... no more ads on my apps. Definitely a keeper.
You can also use Karma Firewall to kill internet access for apks that don't need it.
Freeware, very low battery usage, a near perfect app. It's valuable logging feature only works on Pie or below however it will still firewall block.

Question Using S23 Ultra with TERMUX in Mobile Hotspot mode -> strange things happen ...

Hi,
I have changed from my aged Galaxy S9+ to the brandnew S23 Ultra. I am using extensively the S23 Ultra as an AccessPoint. - as I did with the S9+ before - perfectly working - without any troublei n more than 5 years.
Besides that Selinux is taking a lot of (network) functionalities from TERMUX which I was used to before, I am totally disapointed in addition by some S23 Ultra (Android ?) inconveniences:
Supposed the S23 Ultra (shortly S23U) is spanning an AdHoc WiFi for 2 ESP32 MCs and two (old) S9+ Galaxy Smartphones and my Notebook. All nodes are visible with their MACs and IP numbers in the extended S23U Hotspot config menue - so far so good!
Internet Access is given! Of course they are fully accessible by the S23u+.
BUT ...
1. inconvenience: The last two IP network portions of the Hotspot are not static any more. Example - the address is generated exemplarily as 192.168.xxx.yyy, whereas xxx and yyy are given randomly after activating the S23U Hotspot functionality - it is not static defined any more, as it was the behavior before in the Galaxy S9+ world (always 192.168.43.0/24 or 192.168.60.0/24).
2. inconvenience: I am using extensively openSHH. Logging into the S23U from my Notebook via winscp works perfectly. But the two S9+ are not accessible any more via openSSH from my notebook.
Also the nmap view initiated on each S9+ only lists the S23U IP address (and their own adddress), but not the addresses of the other nodes - (although they are fully accessible from the S23U). Internet Access of the 2 S9+ via S23U (as hotSpot) is fine!
And now the most crazy magic:
Sometimes the restrictions of the 2nd inconvenience are totally gone ... all works fine - alle 5 nodes in the network can see and access eachother ... !!!
Then I can login via winscp into each S9+ .... and also do see the IoT devices and my notebook via nmap being processed on the two s9+ ...
For me this seems to be a temporary (random) HotSpot routing problem in the S23U (or in the latest Android version?) ?
Or is this a (known) bug or a "sophisticated" feature of the S23U programmers in order to annoy Android or S23U Users?
And why did this crazy programmers change form the static subnetwork adresses now to random network numbers philosophy ? What shall the benefit be ....?
Or ist the 2. inconvenience a further side effect of the well known Wifi problems of the S23U which pops up everywhere in the Internet criticisms?
What do you think? Have you made similar experiences, please ?
Any hint, any advice, any link, ... is pretty much appreciated!
Thanks very much for reading.
BR Claus.
Claus1001 said:
Hi,
I have changed from my aged Galaxy S9+ to the brandnew S23 Ultra. I am using extensively the S23 Ultra as an AccessPoint. - as I did with the S9+ before - perfectly working - without any troublei n more than 5 years.
Besides that Selinux is taking a lot of (network) functionalities from TERMUX which I was used to before, I am totally disapointed in addition by some S23 Ultra (Android ?) inconveniences:
Supposed the S23 Ultra (shortly S23U) is spanning an AdHoc WiFi for 2 ESP32 MCs and two (old) S9+ Galaxy Smartphones and my Notebook. All nodes are visible with their MACs and IP numbers in the extended S23U Hotspot config menue - so far so good!
Internet Access is given! Of course they are fully accessible by the S23u+.
BUT ...
1. inconvenience: The last two IP network portions of the Hotspot are not static any more. Example - the address is generated exemplarily as 192.168.xxx.yyy, whereas xxx and yyy are given randomly after activating the S23U Hotspot functionality - it is not static defined any more, as it was the behavior before in the Galaxy S9+ world (always 192.168.43.0/24 or 192.168.60.0/24).
2. inconvenience: I am using extensively openSHH. Logging into the S23U from my Notebook via winscp works perfectly. But the two S9+ are not accessible any more via openSSH from my notebook.
Also the nmap view initiated on each S9+ only lists the S23U IP address (and their own adddress), but not the addresses of the other nodes - (although they are fully accessible from the S23U). Internet Access of the 2 S9+ via S23U (as hotSpot) is fine!
And now the most crazy magic:
Sometimes the restrictions of the 2nd inconvenience are totally gone ... all works fine - alle 5 nodes in the network can see and access eachother ... !!!
Then I can login via winscp into each S9+ .... and also do see the IoT devices and my notebook via nmap being processed on the two s9+ ...
For me this seems to be a temporary (random) HotSpot routing problem in the S23U (or in the latest Android version?) ?
Or is this a (known) bug or a "sophisticated" feature of the S23U programmers in order to annoy Android or S23U Users?
And why did this crazy programmers change form the static subnetwork adresses now to random network numbers philosophy ? What shall the benefit be ....?
Or ist the 2. inconvenience a further side effect of the well known Wifi problems of the S23U which pops up everywhere in the Internet criticisms?
What do you think? Have you made similar experiences, please ?
Any hint, any advice, any link, ... is pretty much appreciated!
Thanks very much for reading.
BR Claus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be related to android version and Samsung decided to leave as it is. You can report it via Samsung members application with these examples you have provided. I'm pretty sure you will get some kind of response.

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