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Considering Android again.

QuantumLo0p

QuantumLo0p

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 28, 2006
992
30
U.S.A.
Hello,
I have been looking for a solution to the lack of a notification light on my iPhone6+ but after much searching I haven't been able to remedy the problem.

I have missed many short notice meetings.
I have missed domain server and email server outages.
Tonight was the tipping point...after displaying the lock screen many notifications actually prevented me from answering a phone call during a family emergency.
Siri is completely crippled without a sufficient data connection, even if the command does not require data such as dialing a number from my contact list.
Aside from the latter I have been receiving a lot of heat from people waiting for my replies and commonly they have to message/call me multiple times to speak with me.

The iPhone has many nice features, and I applaud Apple for that, but IMO lacking horribly in notifications is too large of a deficiency which the rest of the phone cannot recover from. I think I may be done with my iPhone messing with my life.

How do you all deal with those problems?
 
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Most people don't have these problems as the way they use their phone is somewhat different and many of these things don't affect them, while other limitations, while not great, are things they are willing to live with in light of everything that they like about their device.
 
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QuantumLo0p said:
How do you all deal with those problems?
Click to expand...

Not a problem for me since I'm retired and don't receive that many calls. However, I fully understand where you're coming from. There are some very nice Android phones with features that I also like. But I also like the convenience of being able to use my iPhone with my Mac. Apples and Apples. :)
 
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i've seen some of my friends using the LED flash as notification light.. I don't understand how the notifications would have disabled the ability of you answering a call though
 
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Switch to Android if a blinking light on your phone will make you more aware of your missed notifications. Honestly, I have a work iPhone in which I receive all my alerts, emails, calls, messages, etc. I rarely miss notifications. If I set my phone down and walk away, the first thing I do when I come back is check it. Sure a blinking light would alert me to check my phone, but also having the common sense to pick it up and check it goes a long way. Especially if you're the type of person to get a lot of notifications. Taking a look at your phone use and why you keep missing these notifications might be worth looking into as well. If this is something you can't manage, switch to a phone/OS that has LED notifications.
 
If I ever get back to Android I'll come with a Nexus. So sick of the phone getting slow down SIGNIFICANTLY after a few months when you start filling it up. Plus third party apps might run a bit better on Nexus. Actually third party apps is the number one reason why I don't use Android.
 
I suppose I got quite used to an indicator light on my previous phones. I do not carry my phone with me all the time and I really don't want to drop everything to display my lock screen every time I glance at it. The rest of the device is still very nice except for Siri's limitations and the fixed camera aperture.

I cannot imagine Apple engineers overlooked and indicator light. I'd rather think this is one in a long list of patent features belonging to Android or Apple. I recall His Steveness fuming over many of them.
 
QuantumLo0p said:
I suppose I got quite used to an indicator light on my previous phones. I do not carry my phone with me all the time and I really don't want to drop everything to display my lock screen every time I glance at it. The rest of the device is still very nice except for Siri's limitations and the fixed camera aperture.

I cannot imagine Apple engineers overlooked and indicator light. I'd rather think this is one in a long list of patent features belonging to Android or Apple. I recall His Steveness fuming over many of them.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure BlackBerries had LED notification lights as well. In addition to various other phones before (outside of Android).
 
There has to be a seriously huge number of Panicky Petes, and/or way too many notification services alerting you all at once to issues, for the alerts to actually impede your ability to answer a call. I'm also on-call for emergencies and major outages, and I've not once had an issue with my iPhone hindering my response.

If a notification LED is that crucial to you, then perhaps a switch to a different platform is in order. I think the writing is on the wall that notification LEDs are not part of Apple's design language, since the trend among all their devices has been to do any with them (power/status LEDs have slowly disappeared from all Macs over the years, and have never appeared on their mobile products). If you need ever-present notifications without peeking at the lock screen, Apple's answer to this has pretty much been to buy their watch.
 
I've been going back-and-forth for years, I love both but I do have one issue. I read that Apple DISABLES TEXTING over bluetooth, is that true because I can't received/send text on my new 2015 Nissan Murano SL. Not that I'm going to sell my few weeks old 6S but I'm thinking about buying the nexus 6P because of this.
 
I too miss the convenience of LED notifications. I have to keep my phone in silent. On my Android devices, I'd retrieve it out of my front pants pocket just enough to see if there's a light and if so, what color is flashing (blue for Facebook, Yellow for SnapChat, Green for SMS, ect). Just today in the frantic moment of work related activities, I pick up an incoming call. Its only then did I realize all the unanswered text messages the caller sent earlier. Notifications shade and notification bar, that's another story entirely!
 
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Apple's solution: buy an Apple watch.
Or you can also use an Android-wear smartwatch. I use my Moto 360 with my 6S. It's not perfect and has many issues with iOS, but it's workable.

If LED notification is a must, then Android is the way to go. At this point, there's no reason to get any Android phones other than the Nexus, especially since you are in the US and the Nexus phones are available for cheap. Don't bother paying premium prices for Samsung/Sony phones for less service.
But even things are not perfect in Android. The LED notification only says there's something going on. Sure, you can customize the color for specific app, but it still doesn't work well for me in real life. That's part of the reason I bought the Moto 360. Even on Android, having a smartwatch helps a LOT in not missing notifications. It works very well, and I can selectively decide if I need to get to my phone or not.

So, my best suggestion would be a Nexus phone and an Android smartwatch.
Or, you can just get an Apple watch. :D
 
QuantumLo0p said:
I suppose I got quite used to an indicator light on my previous phones. I do not carry my phone with me all the time and I really don't want to drop everything to display my lock screen every time I glance at it. The rest of the device is still very nice except for Siri's limitations and the fixed camera aperture.

I cannot imagine Apple engineers overlooked and indicator light. I'd rather think this is one in a long list of patent features belonging to Android or Apple. I recall His Steveness fuming over many of them.
Click to expand...
There is a LED light for notifications. Setting - General - Accessibility - Turn ON "LED Flash for Alerts".

1b08c249beb8c1ba4270e52df3392877.jpg



Sent from my 6S Plus using Tapatalk
 
Eileen89 said:
There is a LED light for notifications. Setting - General - Accessibility - Turn ON "LED Flash for Alerts".

1b08c249beb8c1ba4270e52df3392877.jpg



Sent from my 6S Plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Shark5150 said:
OP---there ya go! Thanks to the Philly poster for reminding us of this accessibility feature!
Click to expand...
Unfortunately that's quite a ways off from what LED notifications are generally referred to (as they work on Android, for example).
 
I use the accessibility thing too, but I think he's talking about an LED that would stay lit until you checked it. The accessibility flashes the light initially (like the vibrate), but then goes out. Its much more noticeable though.

The watch is the way to go. I frequently didn't feel vibrations from the phone in my pocket, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to try the watch. The watch has a red dot at the top of the screen to show you that you have unaddressed notifications.

I also fail to understand how a notification would prevent you from answering a call.

I suspect the reason Apple doesn't have an LED for notifications is that given how many apps send notifications, you'd likely have it on 95% of the time, so whats the point. When I went to the watch, I got into notifications more and have fine tuned which go to the phone and which get extended to the watch. I just have a few things that are really important going through to the watch, so I don't miss messages anymore.

You should give it a try.
 
You're free to switch between phone, android, windows, or apple. This also means you are free to come back to iPhone once you have experienced Android and get a mutual list of shortcomings.
 
I work in a busy IT environment and easily get over 100 various notifications per day and never had an issue with them. The Notifications dropdown is your friend, a single swipe will show you everything. I've also never had them prevent me from receiving a call, maybe there's an issue with the iPhone itself?
 
bembol said:
I've been going back-and-forth for years, I love both but I do have one issue. I read that Apple DISABLES TEXTING over bluetooth, is that true because I can't received/send text on my new 2015 Nissan Murano SL. Not that I'm going to sell my few weeks old 6S but I'm thinking about buying the nexus 6P because of this.
Click to expand...

Just as an FYI... sending/receiving texts work fine with my 6s and my Toyota Highlander. So it's not an Apple thing. Did you ever have it working?

There is a setting on the Bluetooth connection to that device (Settings -> Bluetooth -> Toyota Highlander Information, in my case) to show or hide notifications. Check that. I had problems with that with my old iPhone 4 when I first got my car, I think.

C
 
Qbnkelt said:
Or, you can just get an Apple watch. :D
Click to expand...

This. This really isn't sarcastic, the watch works REALLY well for notifications, and best of all, no one has to be bothered by them but you. No more phones making noise, or buzzing loudly on the table when in vibrate mode, or even blinking away and distracting other people. If you set it in silent mode, :apple:Watch gives you a tap and you know something's come in, without even having to have the phone in sight.

Wanna see if you missed notifications? Just look at the time on your watch. If there's a red dot up top, you've got notifications. Swipe down to see what they are, and you're all good.

It's pricey, but probably not as pricey as the hit you'll take selling an iPhone to go Android, and then have to deal with all that annoyance. Money well spent.
 
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QuantumLo0p said:
I suppose I got quite used to an indicator light on my previous phones. I do not carry my phone with me all the time and I really don't want to drop everything to display my lock screen every time I glance at it. The rest of the device is still very nice except for Siri's limitations and the fixed camera aperture.

I cannot imagine Apple engineers overlooked and indicator light. I'd rather think this is one in a long list of patent features belonging to Android or Apple. I recall His Steveness fuming over many of them.
Click to expand...
Either you re-evalutate your use of the iPhone, get an Android phone, or continue to miss notifications. Dropping everything to display your lock screen so you don't miss meetings is something you have the time to spend 30 seconds on.

ericgtr12 said:
I work in a busy IT environment and easily get over 100 various notifications per day and never had an issue with them. The Notifications dropdown is your friend, a single swipe will show you everything. I've also never had them prevent me from receiving a call, maybe there's an issue with the iPhone itself?
Click to expand...
But he doesn't want to check notifications when he walks away from his phone. It's really just a veiled excuse to complain about the lack of LED notification system in the iPhone. Now that the camera light notification option has been shown to him, we'll see what excuse he comes up with next.
 
Develop a habit of checking your phone often if work, business or family demands it.

As a Galaxy Note 3 user.... Switching to android for the led lights is simply not worth it. I use my phone in a similar manner as you but ultimately the LEDs do drain battery when I constantly have 6 different LED colors in rotation going off.

Developing a better habit for phone use will save you on battery and peace of mind.
 
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