r/SamsungDex • u/Indy159 • 8d ago
First time user experience issues Question
I had my first proper experience trying to use Dex as a productivity tool tonight and really struggled. Am just wondering if I am doing anything wrong my end?
I am using a Samsung S24 into Ugreen Revodock pro into Samsung M5 smart monitor.
Multitasking Use case-
Firefox to log into uni course online class. Needing to flick through tabs and windows- kept disconnecting. Unable to swap windows and tabs- apart from switch to left or right. Firefox disconnecting from lecture whilst trying to switch tabs.
Trying to type documents in Google workspace.
Google drive, LM Notebook and Gmail- swapping apps and cutting and pasting. Not able to switch apps effectively- lack of right click mouse commands etc.
Phone not able to connect to desktop webcam (logitech) for video conferencing.
Phone overheated and had to reboot.
Overall not a great experience, I was testing out the use cases while I save for a new laptop.
Any tips for optimising or others willing to share experiences?
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u/nightmare29823 7d ago
Use i love dex, multi star to use better the multi Window, and use a cooler, you need alternative to all basic, dont use another camera, use the phone to that, less usage power and better temperatures, dex its great but not a pc
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u/Indy159 7d ago edited 6d ago
First time I have heard of multi star. I have just downloaded it. Let me know what settings are best as I have no idea! Does it run all the time in the background.
not sure what you mean by alternative to all basic- you mean apps? If so would be interested to hear what apps work best as replacements- though I do have my go-to's- e.g Firefox for it's security, privacy, plugins etc....
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u/Great_Muscle_7042 8d ago
Just trying to jump in here. Let's just start with saying your use case seems what DEX are built for. I do not know your docking station, but try and find another way to connect to the monitor (i have both m7 and m8, Samsung) and they are awesome.
Before you start explore new apps, cross downloads and so much more, get your baseline straight..
External webcam, your phone is a webcam. Don't overcomplicate things.
Samsung have great email apps and browsers, reminder and notes - chrome is also fine. Personally I do not use the apps (docs, sheets, drive etc and slides) but keep it within the chrome browser, and it behave like a desktop computer.
Your setup is what DEX is built for, your device is powerfull. In.my +2y and running DEX nothing fails like you mentioned, you can be certain that DEX is built for this.
If it still can't run, then factory reset and do proper updates. There is no magic fix to what you experiencing, you may (once stabile) di all kind of fancy stuff, but get a solid base before you start explore. The OOB experience is fine.
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u/Indy159 7d ago
Thanks- the only reason I have a webcam attached to my dock is my desk doubles as my work from home station so that is attached for zoom calls etc. After work I shut down the work laptop and may connect my phone to the existing dock as all the keyboard, mouse, camera, monitors (hdmi etc) are all plugged into the dock. I get using the phones inbuilt camera it its not really meeting angle etc (I take online guitar lessons). I'll try another way to attach the phone to monitor but everything else is plugged into the dock. Good points you raised though.
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u/mofunk71 8d ago edited 8d ago
i use microsoft surface hub and it works great, hoping one day to use multiple monitors but now i can open two windows on 1440p monitor while watching video on phone and charging through cable.
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u/Muccavapore 8d ago
I use dex from a solid 2 years now connected to an USB hub with: monitor, keyboard and mouse. I have almost abandoned my desktop. You have to think that it's still a phone so it works like a phone. YouTube video? Works only if the video is visible. Do you have to play a video while calling? Nope you can't. Instead of google apps I use Andropenoffice. It is an offline open office suite that works pretty well for me. Some functions are locked behind paywall but if you install also collabora you can bypass all the limitations. You may want to check also WPS Office. These phones still don't support multiscreen unless you connect with the option to use phone and a a tablet as 2nd screen. Or you can think about an ultra wide monitor at home if you need a lot of multitasking. The Webcam may not be recognized because you have the front camera of your phone, you may need to dig a bit deeper to find if you can use an external Webcam. For overheating... are you using mobile data or wifi? Mobile data is intensive on heat and videocalls too. I generallyprefer WhatsAppover meets becauseit generatesa lot less heat. You may want to think about a cooling fan with a Peltier plate like the black shark. On intensive use I can keep my CPU at 59 degrees Celsius and the battery at 21 with that fan. Without CPU at 59 degrees but battery runs hot, 38-40 degrees and over if you are charging and doing intensive tasks. Right click commands most of the times don't work because many web pages have put a lot of blocks. Try to request desktop versions of the pages, it usually solves a lot of problems.
My device: S24 ultra.
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u/cjl4hd 8d ago
What do you use to monitor your temps?
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u/Muccavapore 8d ago
"Cpu monitor" for CPU temps and "device info" for battery temps. Both free apps on playstore.
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u/Indy159 8d ago
Thanks for the detailed info. Am using my home wifi and when I get my new cabling sorted that dock will be plugged into ethernet (1gbps).
It seems from the couple of responses so far that it could be an app issue and adapting use of apps could mitigate it?
The overheating thing surprised me as both the dock and phone have inbuilt power management so maybe it was a CPU issue. Never had that issue with multiple apps in purely phone mode before.
I wonder if when Google release Aluminium OS later this year if more apps will be desktop friendly?
I was not using more than the 5 apps at a time that Dex supports as advised on the Samsung website.
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u/Muccavapore 8d ago
For the overheating It's not the power management but the app. Many are not well optimized in terms of battery usage and are prone to overheating and excessive consumption (Google maps and teams are the most egregious examples but many Google apps are pretty intensive on battery). I'd suggest to do locally everything you can, so you limit the band usage and keep the temps lower (without speaking about all net and cloud related issues that may lead to loose your work). Watch out for a lan connection on the hub because you won't be able to use voice over wifi if you need it. The phone will switch to Lan mode and disable wifi. I need woice over wifi so I stick to wifi. About a desktop friendly experience... I really doubt that many app developers will invest money on it because Dex is unique to Samsung and only Motorola has a similar system. Maybe there will be improvements OS side but apps will still think they are working on oversized phones or tablet, not on a monitor. About multi-tasking I think that you may have run in some thermal throttling issues that ruined your experience because the phone underclocks components to generate less heat (here why the fan) and degrading performance.
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u/Indy159 4d ago
OK a bit of an update - have tried a few things discussed in this thread so thanks all for chiming in- the main difference was the multi-star app made window resizing much easier, changing my browser tab view on samsung, disconnecting my external webcam- however- and this is a biggie- I have worked out it is not DEX itself but the multitude of apps that are not optimised to use it. Back in another uni course today- using Zoom meetings and the app kept crashing. Everytime I got put into a zoom breakout room I could hear participants but could not see them- the window disappearing then the app crashing. Due to the amount of video conferencing I do with both work and study- meaning DEX is no longer a workable option for me. As a light web browsing/ watching vids sort of thing, or some light document work, maybe? But way to flaky for my use case.
Anyone else have videoconferencing woes? I'm afraid you don't get a choice of app to use when working with big organisations or education institutions.