# MHL on Galaxy Nexus is frustrating



## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

If this is how this device is intended to operate, well then Samsung should be ashamed and this thing is getting returned.

For whatever odd reason, heavily incompatible with my 24" Monitor with HDMI input, I'd plug in the adapter to my phone and get nothing about 90% of the time. Does seem to consistently work when plugging it into my 62" plasma, but I prefer my 24" for quality reasons over the 62".

Once MHL does kick in and start working, you get some of the worst side effects I could ever imagine, and the best part is I've tried it on numerous ROM's and it's always the same even on stock factory image.

Major lag problems, especially when using any of the 3 wireless radios
Battery DISCHARGE even though it says "Charging (USB)"
Flickering when the image sits still for too long

So if anyone out there has an MHL adapter and any Bluetooth devices like a keyboard/mouse, I want you to try using MHL with the wireless keyboard, and connect to a Wifi network. If you can use these 2 things together and not get ANY lag or freezing, please let me know. Otherwise, if you are getting massive lag problems, congratulations on discovering how faulty and broken this phone is =/

I'm definitely returning it. I knew I didn't want to go back to a TI OMAP processor, and this phone put the nail in that coffin for me. I believe all the lag is from the TI processors having a massively difficult time handling HDMI mirror mode. Heck on my old Droid X, there was NO mirror mode period. That's how junky the TI OMAP's are. Even the old OG EVO could do mirror HDMI mode without any faults. What a let down, Google =/


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

The GPU is what causes the lag, not the CPU. GPU in the phone is somewhat on the weak side.


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## Burncycle (Aug 6, 2011)

Mine works perfectly fine







lol

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## Barf (Sep 26, 2011)

Might be your adapter?


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

I doubt it's the adapter. It sends the signal perfectly fine and lists Galaxy Nexus as one of the compatible phones it supports. It has excellent reviews.

I just don't know what to make of it, whenever I use MHL and start trying to use Bluetooth devices, the phone just goes haywire. It takes ages for Bluetooth to turn on/off and wifi acts funky.

Well needless to say, I've read tons of forum posts about people having problems with MHL on this phone and I'm confident it's a hardware issue, most likely the GPU as you said. It can't handle the load. But I do also believe the TI OMAP is a big part of the problem, as pushing my minimum freq up to match my maximum frequency, a lot of the lag goes away. But it still is far too buggy.

Here's hoping the Galaxy S3 holds up to the rumor mill =S


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## error311 (Oct 14, 2011)

I use bluetooth mouse/keyboard and wifi over my MHL i got from monoprice with no issues. I don't get any lag what so ever and I stream videos with QLoud from my PC all the time. I don't think think its hardware related maybe its your MHL. My battery does discharge a little even while its charging but I can still watch 2 movies at 10% battery without it dying so







Most the time you will read issues posted rather then sucess stories but I know for sure I have none of your issues. Only odd thing I noticed is if I leave it plugged in for a while after a movie finishes my TV Screen will go grey rather then black. I wish you luck tho in figuring it out.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

I'd say you have a faulty MHL adapter.

But the battery discharging even while the phone reports that it is charging via USB is expected. USB has a limit of 500mA and it's not uncommon to draw more than that with WiFi and BT while doing something like streaming a movie. That's why some car chargers can't keep up with a phone while it's being used for navigation.


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## mutelight (Jan 5, 2012)

I have had zero issues with my adapter with it connected to my 50 and 65 inch plasmas as well as my projector.

I would exchange the adapter before you rule out the phone being faulty.


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## UnfedBear67 (Jul 31, 2011)

Bought mine from the verizon store don't have any problems with it. I did not ice if I used a different HDMI cord I had problems but if I use what verizon gave me no problems.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## Barf (Sep 26, 2011)

UnfedBear67 said:


> Bought mine from the verizon store don't have any problems with it. I did not ice if I used a different HDMI cord I had problems but if I use what verizon gave me no problems.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Good point. I bought a HDMI cable that was bunked, almost took my blue ray player back but it turned out to be the HDMI cord.


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## Rythmyc (Jul 23, 2011)

DaRkL3AD3R said:


> I doubt it's the adapter. It sends the signal perfectly fine and lists Galaxy Nexus as one of the compatible phones it supports. It has excellent reviews.
> 
> I just don't know what to make of it, whenever I use MHL and start trying to use Bluetooth devices, the phone just goes haywire. It takes ages for Bluetooth to turn on/off and wifi acts funky.
> 
> ...


Like someone else brought up, how often do you see people posting on forums "Soandso works good for me, just putting it out there!" vs people posting "I have Soandso problem with Soandso!! Such junk!" Of course you're not going to get the positive reviews on forums. I will say, there are large amounts of lemon Galaxy Nexus's floating around. It may even take a couple of units to find one that will work. Not to mention the amount of faulty MHL adapters for this phone out there. So you're much more likely to find a set of bad phone / adapters before you find a good one.


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

Rythmyc said:


> Like someone else brought up, how often do you see people posting on forums "Soandso works good for me, just putting it out there!" vs people posting "I have Soandso problem with Soandso!! Such junk!" Of course you're not going to get the positive reviews on forums. I will say, there are large amounts of lemon Galaxy Nexus's floating around. It may even take a couple of units to find one that will work. Not to mention the amount of faulty MHL adapters for this phone out there. So you're much more likely to find a set of bad phone / adapters before you find a good one.


Thanks for the post. I agree the number of positive posts to negative is definitely scaled in favor of the negative, it's just the nature of things. But to be honest, I'm not a technical-dope. I am quite confident that the problems I'm seeing are design flaws/defects. This screens technology has serious issues. Bluetooth and Wifi share the same frequency (2.4ghz, problems are cured by using my Wireless-N router set to 5ghz only but that's a different story.) Extremely poor reception indoors. Worse battery life with a Seidio 3800 vs my Thunderbolt with a 2750. Then there's the fact that this is a premium priced phone with dated hardware. I bought this on an impulse and learned my lesson. The MHL issues seem to be with this phone only, as I did lots of research on other MHL compatible devices and none of them had the problems I was seeing, even when using the same adapter I have. Really it just wasn't worth it for me.

If someone has this phone and claims they have no problems with it and it operates 100% for them, I'm glad for them and hope it stays that way. Unfortunately for me my experience was a very bitter sour and I am going to have to remedy it as swiftly as possible. That means sadly departing with the Nexus.


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## chino0131 (Oct 15, 2011)

DaRkL3AD3R said:


> If this is how this device is intended to operate, well then Samsung should be ashamed and this thing is getting returned.
> 
> For whatever odd reason, heavily incompatible with my 24" Monitor with HDMI input, I'd plug in the adapter to my phone and get nothing about 90% of the time. Does seem to consistently work when plugging it into my 62" plasma, but I prefer my 24" for quality reasons over the 62".
> 
> ...


No issues here. Bought my MHL adapter from verizon. Everything runs smooth when connected to my bluetooth keyboard and (dont judge) Apple Trackpad. Confirmed working on my 24", 42", and 64" screens without issue. The screen is cut off somewhat on the sides until settings are adjusted though

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

chino0131 said:


> No issues here. Bought my MHL adapter from verizon. Everything runs smooth when connected to my bluetooth keyboard and (dont judge) Apple Trackpad. Confirmed working on my 24", 42", and 64" screens without issue. The screen is cut off somewhat on the sides until settings are adjusted though
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


Thanks for the post. Can you do a quick test for me?

Can you use Wifi to connect to a 2.4ghz 802.11g network, then try switching on bluetooth and use your trackpad. I assume that functions as a mouse on the screen? If so, then go to www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and run a speed test over Wifi. While its downloading, move the cursor around the screen using your bluetooth trackpad and tell me if it seems choppy compared to when you are not using network transfers.

I'm 100% certain you will be seeing some lag on the cursor. It's not CPU lag, its the data packets being chopped up from the interference on the bluetooth adapter. Some phones handle this better than others, but on mine it was unbearable lag.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

DaRkL3AD3R said:


> Thanks for the post. Can you do a quick test for me?
> 
> Can you use Wifi to connect to a 2.4ghz 802.11g network, then try switching on bluetooth and use your trackpad. I assume that functions as a mouse on the screen? If so, then go to www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and run a speed test over Wifi. While its downloading, move the cursor around the screen using your bluetooth trackpad and tell me if it seems choppy compared to when you are not using network transfers.
> 
> I'm 100% certain you will be seeing some lag on the cursor. It's not CPU lag, its the data packets being chopped up from the interference on the bluetooth adapter. Some phones handle this better than others, but on mine it was unbearable lag.


I believe there is an FCC regulation that restricts a device from transmitting 2.4GHz wifi and 2.4GHz BT. I remember the issue coming up with the PS3 when it came out. I only use BT to communicate with an ODBII adaptor for vehicles and I am connected to wifi at the same time sometime, but never too much data or anything.


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## blaine07 (Jul 18, 2011)

I agree with some of the others. MHL adapter is likely culprit. When you see people having problems with it the adapter is suspect. Seems their is a LOT of variation in quality on them, and well you get what you pay for...I guess? I dunno, I have genuine Sammy MHL adapter and works great on my 55" LED TV. Having the charger in though literally just offsets the power it uses mirroring screen though.

I would go to local Verizon(if you have one) and buy a genuine MHL adapter and try that before you rule out the phone being a pile. MOST of us have been having good luck with it, with the exception of those with a faulty adapter.

PS. 55" Angry Birds is...THE WIN haha!

PSS. I need to stop drinking lmao

PSSS to poster above, using BT OBDII adapter is the win with Torque...


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## blaineevans (Jul 11, 2011)

If you haven't tried different adapters to eliminate variables, don't post.

I read the original post and only a few beyond that, so my apologies if this has been addressed. But, seriously. Just because it seems to connect fine, doesn't mean it works fine.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## blaine07 (Jul 18, 2011)

blaineevans said:


> If you haven't tried different adapters to eliminate variables, don't post.
> 
> I read the original post and only a few beyond that, so my apologies if this has been addressed. But, seriously. Just because it seems to connect fine, doesn't mean it works fine.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


True story "same as my name" poster lol. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

blaineevans said:


> If you haven't tried different adapters to eliminate variables, don't post.
> 
> I read the original post and only a few beyond that, so my apologies if this has been addressed. But, seriously. Just because it seems to connect fine, doesn't mean it works fine.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


The MHL problem isn't locked to one single manufactured MHL adapter. I've seen the same problem as others have posted using the official Samsung one, a monoprice cable, some other no name manufacturer I've never heard of, and with the one I have. It's not the adapter, it's the cpu/gpu in the phone that cannot handle 720p mirror mode.

The issues with the bluetooth etc are not isolated to when the MHL adapter is plugged in. These issues occur when the phone is just sitting there unplugged from anything. I'm simply stating that the MHL adapter is next to useless without some form of wireless input device, which is typically a bluetooth object. The added stress of MHL on the system makes my Bluetooth pretty much freeze up. I've read it in other forums as well. I wish I was blessed with some perfect non-defect unit that some people seem to have, but I wasn't. And unless anyone who claims they aren't having these problems can post a video showing them performing these functions without any hitches, then I just can't believe it.

And look up the videos of GN users on MHL with bluetooth devices. They never have Wifi enabled along with it. Most of them go into airplane mode, others are on 3G. Otherwise it causes severe framerate issues, and may even freeze bluetooth altogether.


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## blaineevans (Jul 11, 2011)

Okay, well I understand your frustration then. The computer that fits in your pocket doesn't have sufficient hardware to stream in 720p, run Bluetooth, and wifi or 4g (all while being a.. phone) at the same time.

Damn this shitty technology! When are they going to release something we can actually use?!

That may have come off more dickish then I meant it. For the record, I haven't seen any issues with bluetooth. And you have to keep in mind, technology is imperfect. Each phone is not going to be a carbon copy of the next. I have yet to use MHL simply due to the fact that I have a PC, a laptop, and an Xbox 360.






Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## mightybrick (Nov 2, 2011)

DaRkL3AD3R said:


> The MHL problem isn't locked to one single manufactured MHL adapter. I've seen the same problem as others have posted using the official Samsung one, a monoprice cable, some other no name manufacturer I've never heard of, and with the one I have. It's not the adapter, it's the cpu/gpu in the phone that cannot handle 720p mirror mode.
> 
> The issues with the bluetooth etc are not isolated to when the MHL adapter is plugged in. These issues occur when the phone is just sitting there unplugged from anything. I'm simply stating that the MHL adapter is next to useless without some form of wireless input device, which is typically a bluetooth object. The added stress of MHL on the system makes my Bluetooth pretty much freeze up. I've read it in other forums as well. I wish I was blessed with some perfect non-defect unit that some people seem to have, but I wasn't. And unless anyone who claims they aren't having these problems can post a video showing them performing these functions without any hitches, then I just can't believe it.
> 
> And look up the videos of GN users on MHL with bluetooth devices. They never have Wifi enabled along with it. Most of them go into airplane mode, others are on 3G. Otherwise it causes severe framerate issues, and may even freeze bluetooth altogether.


Have you tried another MHL adapter just to make sure its not a faulty adapter? Could be that you got a faulty adapter. Why not exchange it out and try another? Can't hurt to eliminate that variable.


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## bencozzy (Dec 26, 2011)

MHL works problem is back feed from the adapter itself or the monitor its hooked to and certain adapters are made with specific monitors in mind.

Also certain apps don't hold a wakelock on the MHL adapter Netflix does it a lot.


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

mightybrick said:


> MHL works problem is back feed from the adapter itself or the monitor its hooked to and certain adapters are made with specific monitors in mind.
> 
> Also certain apps don't hold a wakelock on the MHL adapter Netflix does it a lot.


Thanks, good post. The way you described that is pretty much what I feel is happening, but isn't really well understood or easy to say. It definitely does feel like somehow as soon as you enable MHL, the phone goes crazy and certain things work and certain things don't. Example, Sixaxis controller. As soon as I initialize the pipeline hook for bluetooth it just crashes completely. Unplug the MHL adapter and disable mirror mode and whoop there it goes back to normal.

Part of me says yeah maybe these guys are right maybe I do have a flakey adapter, and then the other part of me is like well, what the hell. If it's this OEM specific on a cable, then maybe I don't even want to use this tech anyways :|

As for the mini rant on spoiled people, I don't take offense to it and see what you mean, but understand I am not some rich man who couldn't care less about dropping money on a phone, and don't want to deal with problems. I work hard for my cash and I don't want to spend it on a product that is defective. Is that wrong of me? Should I say "sure Samsung, I'm glad you charged me premium for your phone and yet some of the features you supposedly have do not work as advertised." Or should I say hey, this phone isn't operating at the level of my consumer expectations, what the hell. I think I'm going to return it and wait for a product that is worthy of spending a ridiculous amount of money on. To not think like that is to allow the degradation of quality and value of future products. You as a consumer have to speak with your wallet. I'm simply making a statement to my disappointment with my purchase and hoping to see what others have to say about their experiences with theirs. So far it seems I'm the unfortunate one, but its ok. I will return the phone and move on. I've already gotten my Thunderbolt activated and am happy with that old girl.

At the end of the day it comes down to #firstworldproblems. Either accept it the world you're blessed to live in or give it all up and feed starving children in Africa. None of us here on this forum are some kind of super being who isn't "spoiled" by modern day technology. So really not the right place to criticize on that factor. However the clip you linked to was funny, and true, so I'll let it slide.


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## bencozzy (Dec 26, 2011)

MHL is kind of "new" so it takes time to get it all optimized. I mean the HDMI out on my xoom drops out on Netflix too.

And older TVs really hate it but oh well.


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## IrishT (Jun 17, 2011)

I just wanted to chime in here and say that I use MHL adapter that I purchased for 12 bucks on eBay and I haven't had a lick of problems whatsoever. I use wifi, sixaxis on my TV to play many different games, watch Netflix and hulu plus and I don't experience any lag at all. No crashes, reboots or hang ups. I do notice however that while the images on the TV aren't as crisp ad they are on my nex. But at least it all works as it should. Sorry to all that are having issues with this because its a nice feature to have.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

IrishT said:


> I just wanted to chime in here and say that I use MHL adapter that I purchased for 12 bucks on eBay and I haven't had a lick of problems whatsoever. I use wifi, sixaxis on my TV to play many different games, watch Netflix and hulu plus and I don't experience any lag at all. No crashes, reboots or hang ups. I do notice however that while the images on the TV aren't as crisp ad they are on my nex. But at least it all works as it should. Sorry to all that are having issues with this because its a nice feature to have.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Wow you are very fortunate. Anytime I tried to engage Sixaxis controller while using MHL my phone would crash until I removed the adapter, and I probably have the same one as you.

How can there be so many discrepancies in these simple little boxes? I mean its not exactly the most advanced tech, on these MHL adapters.

Anyways IrishT thanks for chiming in and letting me know it "can" function properly. Maybe its for the best I return the phone and adapter, since there DEFINITELY is some defect somewhere...


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## IrishT (Jun 17, 2011)

DaRkL3AD3R said:


> Wow you are very fortunate. Anytime I tried to engage Sixaxis controller while using MHL my phone would crash until I removed the adapter, and I probably have the same one as you.
> 
> How can there be so many discrepancies in these simple little boxes? I mean its not exactly the most advanced tech, on these MHL adapters.
> 
> Anyways IrishT thanks for chiming in and letting me know it "can" function properly. Maybe its for the best I return the phone and adapter, since there DEFINITELY is some defect somewhere...


That's really sucks.... I use it almost every other day to play Modern Combat 3. Honestly the only thing I can think of is that it might be the HDMI cable you are using. If it helps at all I am running Fauxs 13u kernel with AOKP M4. Oc'd to 1350mhz.... runs awesome!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## DaRkL3AD3R (Aug 6, 2011)

IrishT said:


> That's really sucks.... I use it almost every other day to play Modern Combat 3. Honestly the only thing I can think of is that it might be the HDMI cable you are using. If it helps at all I am running Fauxs 13u kernel with AOKP M4. Oc'd to 1350mhz.... runs awesome!
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


I'm using an official HDMI cable from my Xbox 360 Elite I bought a few years back. It's worked on virtually every device/television/monitor I've hooked it up to. The only real possibilities here are the phone or the adapter =/

Not taking any chances, returning both. Glad yours works fine though.


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## [email protected] (Mar 28, 2012)

Did anyone who was having the flickering problem do the return and get a new one? Did it work?


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## Artimis (Dec 25, 2011)

Like most people here, I have had my share of MHL issues and am happy to say that they are finally resolved.

Originally, I bought an MHL adapter of ebay for around $8 dollars. While it worked, there were two things about it that really frustrated the heck out of me:
1) Every 5-6 min, the picture would cut out for a few seconds
2) My signal/reception would cycle from 1-2 bars to no-signal for a few minutes before finally landing on no-signal at all until I stopped using the adapter and toggled airplane mode (sometimes I would have to do a full reboot).

#2 primarily bugged me so I went ahead and bought the official Samsung MHL adapter off Amazon for $12. This fixed #2 so I've been happy.

However, even with the Samsung MHL, I still was experiencing #1 like most of you. I have tried everything: Putting it into airplane mode, changing min/max CPU frequencies, Changing governors, ROMS, kernels, Charging adapters, outlets, HDMI cables (currently using one with a ferrite filter). None of that works.

I am happy to report that these issues are finally resolved.....and it was all software. I am currently running AOKP b29 (which is a 4.0.4 ROM) and Imo's 2.8.0exp2 LeanKernel (which has the SIO scheduler, 4.0.4 kernel changes, and 4.0.4 RAM disk).

I am not sure if it is due to the ROM, kernel changes, or new scheduler but I have been running on my MHL adapter for a few hours now with zero issues.

I encourage anyone that has been having these issues to try this setup and share your results. I would be currious to see if the fix is in the ROM, kernel, or scheduler.


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## scottws (Jun 26, 2012)

I just wanted to reply and state that I found this thread when Googling "galaxy nexus mhl choppy" after purchasing a Menotek micro USB MHL to HDMI adapter and finding the experience to be very frustrating and disappointing. I had all the problems others are describing in this thread.

I went ahead and returned the product and instead got a Samsung one. I'm happy to report that MHL is working perfectly fine with the Samsung adapter. You do get what you pay for.


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## Helltoupee (Jun 12, 2011)

I own the exact same MHL and have watched the entire first season of Game of Thrones using it without it being choppy. Never had a hiccup the entire 10 hours of viewing. My suggestion is to make sure it has a good power source. I bought a 6 foot micro USB cord and use the port on my Roku to supply power.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


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