Samsung Galaxy Xcover FieldPro - user opinions and reviews
- Zakalwe
- 8u8
AnonD-959019, 24 Mar 2022For this phone which was the first OS with UI and which was the lastest OS with UI??? Thank you!!!I think it varies even between regional versions. The phone I have is the SM-G889YB/DS, bought in Germany, and it currently has Android 10 and One UI 2.5. The American SM-G889A on the other hand seems to remain on Android 9. But it is hard to find comprehensive information. Samsung does not provide much support for this phone, I'm afraid.
- AnonD-959019
- i56
For this phone which was the first OS with UI and which was the lastest OS with UI???
Thank you!!!
- Zakalwe
- 0AD
Doug, 14 Dec 2021AT&T *Sells a charger that chargers a 'spare' battery*.
https://www.att.com... more"Hot-swapping" usually means you can replace the battery without turning the device off. Basically the device needs two batteries for this - one stays in to keep the device running. This is very rare in a phone; the only one I can think of was the Panasonic FZ-X1 which had a small internal battery or capacitor that could power the phone for a few minutes while you replaced the main battery.
The FieldPro just has a replaceable battery: You turn the phone off, take out the battery and put in the fresh spare battery, and turn it on again. That is great and useful, but it is not hot-swapping, as you are forced to reboot the phone. The previous poster (XCFieldArena) wanted proper hot-swapping, and the FieldPro does not have that. But from what I can tell there has never been any official claim that the FieldPro can hot-swap.
(Also, minor detail, but the charger you linked is for the XCover Pro, not the XCover FieldPro. There are similar chargers for the FieldPro, though, and it even comes with one.)
- Doug
- 4PB
Zakalwe, 27 Nov 2021To be honest, I have never seen Samsung or AT&T claim hot-swapping for this phone, and Goo... moreAT&T *Sells a charger that chargers a 'spare' battery*.
https://www.att.com/buy/accessories/Chargers/gps-lockbox-samsung-xcover-pro-desktop-charger-black.html
What is that, if not "supporting hot-swapping"?
- Zakalwe
- 8vM
XCFieldArena, 26 Nov 2021Thanks very much, Zakalwe for this VERY IMPORTANT correction to the "Battery Hot-Swapping... moreTo be honest, I have never seen Samsung or AT&T claim hot-swapping for this phone, and Google only leads me to this discussion here.
- XCFieldArena
- IbG
Zakalwe, 23 Nov 2021I'm not Dolem, but there is no hot-swapping on the FieldPro. You should shut it down to r... moreThanks very much, Zakalwe for this VERY IMPORTANT correction to the "Battery Hot-Swapping" claims made by Samsung and AT&T . It's a bit sad news, and makes us take a 2nd look at Samsung and AT&T, while before, I was gobbling everything they said, I was trusting them so much...
Everyone needs to notice this basic truth, when evaluating the price of this phone, and whether it will change how they operate throughout the day. As far as the battery size, there are many other phones with comparable size. So the fact that functionally, the battery change is no difference between this phone, and other phones that also feature removable batteries, means you may want this phone for the other features it has that no other one has, and the false "hot-swap" claim is not one of them!
Looks like having manual buttons, and extended communication modes, is the key inner advantage of this phone (the ruggedness can be approximated externally, on other phones, with special cases and covers)
- XCFieldArena
- IbG
XCFieldArena, 20 Nov 2021@dethb4dishonore:
Coming from the GS7 Active, how do you compare the call quality of the Xcov... more? Hoping for replies on comparing the call quality?
Since the Field Pro has heavy emphasis on communications, it's expected it took care to enhance the most normal use of phone calling?
- Zakalwe
- B87
XCFieldArena, 20 Nov 2021@Dolem Thanks for chiming into this thread, your special professional experience with the Xco... moreI'm not Dolem, but there is no hot-swapping on the FieldPro. You should shut it down to remove the battery, and it will reboot with the new battery.
- XCFieldArena
- IbG
Dolem, 08 Jul 2021I work for a FIRE/EMS department and use this phone.
I'm gonna be straight, its not the... more@Dolem
Thanks for chiming into this thread, your special professional experience with the Xcover Field Pro is so valuable!
"you can hot swap batteries mid shift":
Please detail? "hot-swapping" seams to indicate that you can take out the depleted battery while the phone is still running, then put in the new battery, and everything continued running on the phone during the process? (or, do you simply refer to the fact that the battery is removable, and actually, the phone shuts down as usual when you remove the depleted battery to replace it with the new one?)
I'm really curious about this because AT&T and Samsung are advertising "hot-swapping" as a real advantage of this phone, but removable batteries are (were) common...
Also if you have time, can you detail the use of the PTT network in your FIRE/EMS work environment? How useful has it been? And do you see any future possibility for other non-governmental organizations, to setup a similar PTT network which they would have to contribute to separately from their carrier coverage, but could save lives, such as, for neighborhood-level evacuation warnings and returning support? what is the likelihood that if your carrier's cell tower is out, your PTT network can still operate? (I don't know anything about its technology and the infrastructure it uses)
Thanks for any info and insights you can contribute
- XCFieldArena
- IbG
dethb4dishonore, 23 Oct 202110/22/2021
Recently purchased a used Galaxy XCover Field Pro off of Ebay. Holy s***, this th... more@dethb4dishonore:
Coming from the GS7 Active, how do you compare the call quality of the XcoverField Pro? Especially, in normal use, not in speaker mode?
- dethb4dishonore
- j}9
10/22/2021
Recently purchased a used Galaxy XCover Field Pro off of Ebay. Holy s***, this thing is amazing. After first day use, I can tell you everything I know right off the bat. Got it in used condition, without a battery and included scratches for $160. Just bought 2 batteries off of Headlane LTD (shoutout to Zakalwe for the link). Overall price so far was like $220? As a New York, US resident, I saved a fortune for this thing, given I gotta deal with few screen scratches. Coming from the S7 Active, this is a perfect upgrade if you can get lucky with finding one cheap. With that said, I will scroll through opinions and answer any I find.
Starting off after formatting the phone, these are the current software details.
- Runs Android 9.0 (Pie)
- Buttons are remappable using a 3rd party app, 'Key Mapper' on the Google Store (shoutout to Zakalwe again).
- Replaceable 4500mAh battery socket, which'll run a good school or work day just fine.
- The glass is lower than the bezel, thank god (for Mike, just to confirm).
- This thing is f***ing BULKY. Nice, thick, and heavy. Not as lengthy as the huge modern phones. Not going to slip, and the back lock prevents the battery from falling out and away (Unlike S5 Active, or any other phone honestly).
- LEDs... three for lights, decently bright. (Better than my old S7 Active). Two notification RGB LEDs, located on front top-right face, and north right edge.
- Selfie Camera is 8MP, step up from the S7 Active's 5MP. Much better quality.
- Despite the 4GB Ram Exynos, CPU, and GPU, this thing runs noticeably faster than the S7 Active.
- It has a Secure Folder (By KNOX), for private matters, of course. I use it to keep personalized details and notes.
- It has a hotspot button within the notification panel. Good use for laptop people in school, so you could run online matches of Halo Reach in Social Studies, haha.
Takeaways:
- No 5G, for those conspiracy freaks I guess. But of course, might be a bummer to modern phone enthusiasts.
- Carrier Locked (AT&T). [however, can be unlocked by AT&T or 3rd party companies online for ~$60]
- You're gonna hit that PTT button accidentally more than once. For the love of god, the 'Key Mapper' app was a life-saver.
- Runs One UI Home 1.5. For whatever reason, Galaxy Themes does not work, AT ALL. The app does not come pre-installed after formatting. Any APK version does not work, as Galaxy Store and the home screen will make it infinitely load when pressed. If anyone can get a working theme for One UI Home 1.5, let me know!
- Little nit-picking, but the power and volume keys are not in natural placement, as they are kinda small. Just glad they are on the right sides. I just feel I have to reach past the dreaded PTT just to reach the volume keys.
Overall, this phone is a dream send, despite the negative reviews I saw. I took the shot on some sketchy deal and won, and it was well worth it. I will not buy any phone without physical home and tool keys, and of course coming from an S7 Active, I like my phone durable. This thing is just lovely for those that need it rugged. Of course, you have to be the person that'll suffice modern late 2021 phone specs for a proper strong phone. It is a damn shame the retail price is $1100, and limited. Luck is this thing's factor, in terms of obtaining one. Good luck!
- Zakalwe
- 0AD
There are plenty of European sites that have that battery (EB-BG888BBE, part number GH43-04835A):
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Battery-Original-EB-BG888BBE-FieldPro-Cleaning-multicoloured/dp/B0899N4Y8J
https://www.samparts.eu/en/samsung-gh43-04835a
https://shop.headlane.co.uk/shop/product/gh43-04835a-samsung-sm-g889-galaxy-xcover-fieldpro-eb-bg888bbe-battery-18101
Though I guess if you are on AT&T you are in the US, not sure if they ship there. Maybe the part number can help finding a local source?
- Anonymous
- IEg
Anyone know where to get a new battery for the Fieldpro ? I can't find one on AT&T's site or anywhere else online. $1100. phone that came out a few years ago and can't get a replacement battery ? Makes no sense. Samsung has lost another customer
- Zakalwe
- 0AD
I have a FieldPro now, the version intended for Europe:
- latest OS is Android 10
- screen is AMOLED
- buttons can be remapped, e.g. with "Key Mapper" from F-Droid
- nice accessory set included: 2 batteries, dock, belt clip case, battery case, solid looking single-ear headset
- made in Korea
I am particularly pleased about the last point, as I am getting more concerned about the origins of my devices, and I prefer to buy things made in democracies.
- Zakalwe
- 0AD
From the few reviews I gather there is no built-in way of remapping the PTT buttons (side and top). On the regular XCover Pro (non-Field) I have used the app called "Buttons remapper" to alter the button operation in ways that Samsung does not support out-of-the-box. Does anyone know if this app also recognizes the FieldPro buttons?
- Zakalwe
- 0AD
Anonymous, 31 Jul 2021This phone is made by an ODM company called "Huaqin" in ChinaHmm, are you sure? The photos in the FCC registration show the internal label with "Made in Korea".
- Anonymous
- ter
Zakalwe, 11 Jul 2021To anyone who actually has one of these: Is it still on Android 8, or has the vaguely announc... moreThis phone is made by an ODM company called "Huaqin" in China
- Eric38
- YaM
Zakalwe, 11 Jul 2021To anyone who actually has one of these: Is it still on Android 8, or has the vaguely announc... moreNo, My Field Pro I just received the other day has Android 9.
- Zakalwe
- 0AD
To anyone who actually has one of these:
Is it still on Android 8, or has the vaguely announced upgrade emerged by now?
Also, any idea where this phone is made?
- Dolem
- kgc
I work for a FIRE/EMS department and use this phone.
I'm gonna be straight, its not the most powerful phone. But holy hell can it take a beating without missing a beat. When I say armored. I don't mean toughened. I mean ARMORED.
It's been run over by a loaded striker stretcher with no ill effects. Its been thrown, sat, on stepped on, submerged in water and oh so much more.
Its got enough power for any daily work. Its got good battery life and you can hot swap batteries mid shift meaning you don't have to stop and charge your phone 12 hours into the shift.
Great phone for the job.
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