[Q] How can you tell? - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

When I search for Custom ROMs for the Nexus S, I discovered that I could never really tell what the differences between all those ROMs are. I know that some are build for speed and stability, and some are build for extra features.
But how can you tell what a ROM actually does in addition to the stock ROM? How can you tell which themes it supports? Do you just have to try it?
I know that speed, stability and battery performance are different for everybody, even if you have the same phone and the same ROM. I also know that CyanogenMod is overall one of the best. It adds features like extra menu options and is faster, thus focussing on two points instead of one.
I just feel like there isn't much information about all those different Custom ROMs, except for a lot of user experiences (IT IS AWESOME/IT SUCKS) and how to install them + a lot of programming language. Of course, I could try out all the ROMs and see what I like best, but isn't there a list for each ROM what it actually does?
That would be great!

no list at the moment
but i welcome you to build such list from scratch, and then we can sticky it for every one reference
as long as you keep it maintained

Ill build such a list when I get home in a little bit
Sent from my Onyx CM7 Google Nexus S!

AllGamer said:
no list at the moment
but i welcome you to build such list from scratch, and then we can sticky it for every one reference
as long as you keep it maintained
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love to build a list like that, but I'm just asking if there is a way to tell what the differences between Custom ROMs are, what they do, and which themes they support?
I guess you just have to search forums for the themes, but there's GOT to be some information about different Custom ROMs, right?
@kenvan, that is freaking awesome and I thank you for that! But I'm still curious how one can know what the differences are...

Androyed said:
I would love to build a list like that, but I'm just asking if there is a way to tell what the differences between Custom ROMs are, what they do, and which themes they support?
I guess you just have to search forums for the themes, but there's GOT to be some information about different Custom ROMs, right?
@kenvan, that is freaking awesome and I thank you for that! But I'm still curious how one can know what the differences are...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you already answered your own question in the original post
and the alternative method involves a lot of Coding comparison
you basically download the ROMs, unzip them, and then compare file per file to see what has changed in the code, and which pictures changed, which sound changed, etc.
there's no easy way if that's what you're looking for

AllGamer said:
you already answered your own question in the original post
and the alternative method involves a lot of Coding comparison
you basically download the ROMs, unzip them, and then compare file per file to see what has changed in the code, and which pictures changed, which sound changed, etc.
there's no easy way if that's what you're looking for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought. But the average user can't 'see what has changed in the code'. Maybe the average user shouldn't use Custom ROMs...
Edit: Also, are there themes that can be installed without a Custom ROM? Like 'Custom Themes' or something? Custom ROMs that are just the same as stock rom, but only focus on the theming part?
Edit 2: I found out for myself that you can easily choose themes from the Cyanogen Mod update app, and that it isn't possible to make a list of themes, since they are made and removed in no time. I know have two questions left:
1. How can you tell for what reason which Custom ROM is build (what it does)?
2. Are there Custom ROMs that only focus on theming, and are no different from the stock ROM except for the fact that they are deodexed and have the ability to theme?

Androyed said:
That's what I thought. But the average user can't 'see what has changed in the code'. Maybe the average user shouldn't use Custom ROMs...
Edit: Also, are there themes that can be installed without a Custom ROM? Like 'Custom Themes' or something? Custom ROMs that are just the same as stock rom, but only focus on the theming part?
Edit 2: I found out for myself that you can easily choose themes from the Cyanogen Mod update app, and that it isn't possible to make a list of themes, since they are made and removed in no time. I know have two questions left:
1. How can you tell for what reason which Custom ROM is build (what it does)?
2. Are there Custom ROMs that only focus on theming, and are no different from the stock ROM except for the fact that they are deodexed and have the ability to theme?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen any stock deodexed roms for the SNS but if you want themes, CM7 is your best choice. Themes are easy to port between different device builds of CM so if you find one you want it wouldn't be too much work to get it going on the SNS. Also, I posted a list of ROMS, themes, and Kernels in development.

This is one of the issues I've had. You'd think with all the development going on, at least one of the bigger sites would start reviewing the custom ROMs. I read about Cyanogen once on, like, Gizmodo, or something, but mostly never see anything.

I would love a list! I'm still trying to find out what features CyanogenMod has for the Nexus S. I went on their website and they only offered 2 youtube videos which didn't tell me much.

Related

[Q] I've searched for days for a fast, stable, sense-ui like rom...

OK, I've searched for days to try and find a fast, stable, sense-ui (Theme-wise) ROM that works on the HTC Hero. I've found tons of ROMS for the G1, I've tried the CyangenMod 6 ROM, I've spent hours searching for a good ROM. CM6 is a bit faster, but occasionally it will hang. (A bit better than stock 2.1) I don't like that a lot of apps don't work (After downloading an app and installing it, you can't click open or find it in your apps list) and I don't like that the fact that you can't group your contacts or have the Sprint/HTC widgets work. (The only widgets I use are the clock and the email, messages, and voice mail widgets that show how many you received.
Please let me know if you use one like that you can recommend.
FingerprintDiVA said:
OK, I've searched for days to try and find a fast, stable, sense-ui (Theme-wise) ROM that works on the HTC Hero. I've found tons of ROMS for the G1, I've tried the CyangenMod 6 ROM, I've spent hours searching for a good ROM. CM6 is a bit faster, but occasionally it will hang. (A bit better than stock 2.1) I don't like that a lot of apps don't work (After downloading an app and installing it, you can't click open or find it in your apps list) and I don't like that the fact that you can't group your contacts or have the Sprint/HTC widgets work. (The only widgets I use are the clock and the email, messages, and voice mail widgets that show how many you received.
Please let me know if you use one like that you can recommend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For a good sense UI rom I would go with Zen rom. You can find it here.
I've been using this rom NFX-Hero 2.2.1 by nfinitefx45. After playing with other roms and the cyanogen ones, i've come back to this one. I've been running this for a couple weeks and it's pretty smooth and stable. So give it a try. Also, nfinitefx45 is one dedicated developer, he actually visits the thread often and help with answering questions, solving problems/bugs!
dawgz said:
I've been using this rom NFX-Hero 2.2.1 by nfinitefx45. After playing with other roms and the cyanogen ones, i've come back to this one. I've been running this for a couple weeks and it's pretty smooth and stable. So give it a try. Also, nfinitefx45 is one dedicated developer, he actually visits the thread often and help with answering questions, solving problems/bugs!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 nfinite's roms are put together well and are fast yet also solid.
I'm using the cyanogen rom. CM6. It's actually running android 2.2 (froyo) instead of 2.1, and I think it has a better keyboard and runs very well. I use the "digital clock widget", and the weather and "news and weather" widget, I think both are available in the Market, but News and weather came with the rom. I miss the bookmarks and calendar widgets from Sense, but its not worth going back. As far as voicmail goes I'm using google voice to handle my it, and there are widgets for it too.
counterfeit187 said:
I'm using the cyanogen rom. CM6. It's actually running android 2.2 (froyo) instead of 2.1, and I think it has a better keyboard and runs very well. I use the "digital clock widget", and the weather and "news and weather" widget, I think both are available in the Market, but News and weather came with the rom. I miss the bookmarks and calendar widgets from Sense, but its not worth going back. As far as voicmail goes I'm using google voice to handle my it, and there are widgets for it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use CM6 as well, and prefer it over any sense rom but the OP wanted sense so I thought I'd humor myself
The CM6 with CyanogenSense theme looks and feels like my stock Hero, but runs way faster and has a better battery life. Zen makes a great rom, bit imo the CM6 is the way to go.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
I've decided to try making a theme using the tutorial thread number 667951. (I can't post links yet I don't think, so again I'll just use this work around.) That being said, I've decided to stick with NFX-HERO for my ROM since the only thing wrong with it is the boot loop issue which I'm going to try starting from scratch to fix it today. So, the tutorial says that a good starting point for a theme would be to get an existing compatible theme and modify that one. (Great idea in my opinion. I've done this in the past with other phones I had.) Does anyone have an idea of a theme that would be useful for me to start off with? I want to change a lot of things on the phone, so the more intricate the theme is, probably the better.
Also, on a side note, if I remember correctly this thread had 3 pages before the site went down. I'm not sure why it was truncated. If any mods know why, please let me know.
FingerprintDiVA said:
I've decided to try making a theme using the tutorial thread number 667951. (I can't post links yet I don't think, so again I'll just use this work around.) That being said, I've decided to stick with NFX-HERO for my ROM since the only thing wrong with it is the boot loop issue which I'm going to try starting from scratch to fix it today. So, the tutorial says that a good starting point for a theme would be to get an existing compatible theme and modify that one. (Great idea in my opinion. I've done this in the past with other phones I had.) Does anyone have an idea of a theme that would be useful for me to start off with? I want to change a lot of things on the phone, so the more intricate the theme is, probably the better.
Also, on a side note, if I remember correctly this thread had 3 pages before the site went down. I'm not sure why it was truncated. If any mods know why, please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We lost about 2 days posts when the site crashed
i used a theme called blue echo to learn where most things go. and in his rom there is a great vending apk that has the market themed as well. then i took a dialer from one of godzen's and moved it all to compare to my stock 2.1 files and made it work with a rom i am currently running. im just now getting into looking at the apps like clock etc but that was a good start for me since there is alot covered there.
OK, let me ask you this. It'll clear up some things I need to know on compatibility. What makes a theme compatible with one ROM and not another? Likewise, what makes an app compatible with one ROM and not another? Is it the structure? If so, how? I'm a computer programmer, but even though android phones are quite similar to a Linux system on a PC, I'm still not sure if I understand the compatibility issues behind themes.
Also, just so I don't have to post again to ask this in case it's relevant, are Blue Echo and GodZen's dialer compatible with NFX? I downloaded them, but it never said anything about NFX. Is NFX similar to Sprint's 2.1 in the sense that it will run any themes I make for NFX?
well the Rom im using is mostly stock so the framework and htc.resource files are the same. for say CM6 (and i havent looked into it just a example) may have say the status bar grey and i want black. in the stock i would change the statusbar_bkg file in the framework.apk folder but in CM6 it may be in the same plae with a different name or the same name in a different place or just non existent all together. as for if they are compatible the only way to know is to try. the only way to know for sure is to open them compare and replace what you need in the correct order. also i use metamorph to apply themes. you can find it in the market. but the Vending.apk theme must be pushed with adb for some reason or it will crash the market.
matter of fact now that i think of it, the Rom im using is about to incorporate NFX. go here and you an see my post where i put what i transfereed over and they should work as i think NFX is mostly a stock (so to speak) Rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731404&page=41
FingerprintDiVA said:
I've found tons of ROMS for the G1,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are using a Hero, right? Not a G1? That would explain the boot loop issue you had with NFX.
NFX-HERO was listed in the Hero ROMs section. You sure it's only for G1? Would another phone's ROM actually even flash to a different phone properly? I mean it works, but with boot loops.
Yes they will but may it may not work. And I'm sure that Rom is for a hero and I would flash over and look for myself but I have been threw like 5 Rom's today and just got it back normal lol.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
OK, so today I had a chance to wipe and flash the NFX-HERO ROM again. Now the phone seems a bit more stable. I can boot it and it boots all the way up fine and I can click "Shutdown Phone" and have it shutdown without freezing and rebooting, but now right now I've spotted only one flaw. When I use the phone in disk drive mode, but then pull the USB out of the phone without switching it back to charge only, and it freezes and reboots on me. (This happened last time.) I've also noticed that the phone gets increasingly more unstable as time goes on, so I wouldn't doubt that it would do this even more later on.
Correction, no matter what I do, to remove the USB when I use it as a disk drive, the phone freezes and reboots.
Update again: I decided to use RegawMod instead. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=661991) It's super fast, no bugs from what I can see, highly compatible, and it looks slick! I even used a mod to turn my dialer pink. lol I can see this being my ROM of choice for a long time. The only thing I didn't like was that it was lacking the Google Navigation tools, so I installed GoogleApps.apk (If you're looking for this file, just Google GoogleApps.apk) from another ROM and rebooted me phone (So it would show up) and then it worked just fine. I'm not sure why it isn't showing local listings for destinations first, but that may be just because it didn't catch the GPS location right off the bat. I did set my location settings to being shared.
There is a pink theme in 2.1 catalog if i remember right. If you like pink that might be a good start for you to move the files around to see how they are built.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
FingerprintDiVA said:
NFX-HERO was listed in the Hero ROMs section. You sure it's only for G1? Would another phone's ROM actually even flash to a different phone properly? I mean it works, but with boot loops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha... I see how that can be misinterpreted.
Yeah, NFX is a Hero ROM, I was asking if you were trying to flash it on a G1, because if you were, it wouldn't work.
I like Regawmod 2.1. Fast with a nice dark theme. Based off of damage control. Just my two cents.
Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk

[Q] What about MIUI?

Soo.. I know the title isn't very specific.. but I would like to throw a question in here and get some responses..
So.. WHAT excatly is MIUI compared to other ROMs?
To me, MIUI is "just" plain (AOSP?) Android with every single "GO"-App available. GO Launcher, GO SMS.. and so on.
So.. what does MIUI exactly have, that e.g. CM with every app changed to some GO-App doesn't have?
MIUI is skinned to kinda "copy" Iphone-style..sure.. but is that really all?
Benchmarks show there are some differences..
So I wonder what's left of MIUI if you install a MIUI based ROM and change any GO-App to another one?
________
'Cause most ppl say they love MIUI for how it looks like. But honestly.. I could also use stock Android with e.g. Motoblur and change the launcher and so on.. so why going through the hassle to root and install a completely new ROM?
Ty everyone
And yes, I used the search, but didn't find anything relevant.. maybe because "MIUI" & "GO" are a liiiiittle bit vague
We need to know the history. MIUI just want to be like IOS, but in the Android enviroment. AOSP is just a plain OS, CM was loaded witb tons of tweaks but the UI not that eyecandy. HTC? Good but too dark to be like IOS and bloated. So MIUI with the UI mimic IOS with slight modification came. For me it is another CM with the stress more on UI.
Sent from my E15i using XDA App.
Ps sorry for bad English
Wasn't the first MIUI ROM was found accidently? IIRC, the dev passed away and his work was found and released. Maybe I'm thinking of something else?
dEris said:
Wasn't the first MIUI ROM was found accidently? IIRC, the dev passed away and his work was found and released. Maybe I'm thinking of something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A renaissance artist perhaps? MIUI is developed by a Chinese team and someone came across it and started translating it.
There's plenty of info and screenshots etc. over at http://www.miui-dev.com which is the site run by the translating team.
Essentially it does largely look to be making Android more iOS-like. It's based on FroYo AOSP (Gingerbread soon) but with a _lot_ of alterations. It shares a little bit of code with CM as far as the addins.
In my opinion MIUI is the first Android Distro because it proposes a completely different way of Android where other ROMs are just forks.
Miui is the simple face of ios with the power of android.
sent from my MIUI HTC HD2
MIUI has the most powerful and easiest theme engine..I really wish it was open source so others could use the theme engine..Its really that nice and simple to use..such a shame..
MIUI is so much better then stock android:
here's a list of apps that avalible only on miui:
Monitor (let you block apps and see how much data you have used)
Theme manager (no more zip's, really easy to theme stuff)
Better mms app
file mamanger
Miui gallery and camera
miui music
special lockscreen - much better the stock
folders - better the stock
quick settings on the notification bar
better phone app
easier to use setting's
miui wheater (avalible for all now)
some widgets like conatcs and etc...
if you chineese you can use the update app which auto update your phone to the latest version.
battery monitor
and much more that I might forgot
I'll go ahead and toss my two cents in...
Simple version-- I rooted my phone about 6 weeks ago, I flashed several roms in the first two days. (Cyanogen, Mikfroyo, Myns) Then I flashed MIUI. That was the last time I flashed a rom...
(If you want to know more, PM me and I'll give you the L O N G version of why MIUI is the best in my opinion)
Not a single one of the "GO" apps I've heard of including the two your mentioned are a part of MIUI. The post above me outlines a lot of the features but there is also so much more. I just discovered a feature the other day I never realized was there.
Try it, if you don't like it, NANDROID!! Make sure to grab yourself a few themes off of the MIUI forum. Again, I've installed one theme since I flashed MIUI ignoring the other 100 simply because what I have, Elite HD by bustadroid, is the best damn theme (period)
I just started to use Miui Camera for my Milestone today. Awesome fast!
Maybe can someone compile a list of Miui's apps and post links here?
MrDSL said:
MIUI has the most powerful and easiest theme engine..I really wish it was open source so others could use the theme engine..Its really that nice and simple to use..such a shame..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MIUI isn't open source?? Why the heck did they do that? :-/

Need some terminology defined

While I'm sure this has been covered, the search function yielded results that assumed I already was capable of understanding what was going on, so...
Question time!
What is the ROM? I know, literally, what ROM stands for. Is it equivalent to the BIOS on a computer?
Is the kernel is different from the ROM?
I'm fairly sure that the ROM is phone-specific...are kernels?
I googled AOSP, but that doesn't explain what "getting AOSP" for a phone is.
Is there a way to go back to stock Android, from what the OEMs put on?
I've read that some things, like launchers, are always running on top of, rather than overriding, the stock launcher. Is this true of all types of "skinning" apps, or do some actually replace the code whose functionality they override?
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer any or all of these. I'd like to be a member of this community, but I feel it would help to be able to understand what's going on first!
A rom is based on android, but is changed. For example. I have a samsung galaxy s with samsung software. A custom rom changes some things of the samsung software and makes it better.. or gives it another style and look.
You can choose yourself what kernel you like to use.
And yes you can back to stock android. You only have to download the package of the stock android and install it.
Launcher changes nothing.. it's only an app.
AOSP= Android Open Source Project
It is the source code that ROM's get their base from.
lowandbehold said:
AOSP= Android Open Source Project
It is the source code that ROM's get their base from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea...I figured that out by Googling the term. But what does it mean to "get" AOSP on a phone? Why does it seem difficult to do?
What is the ROM? I know, literally, what ROM stands for. Is it equivalent to the BIOS on a computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When talking about ROMs here this means a complete operating system for your device. This includes apps, kernel,modem, etc. you could take a look at www.romkitchen.org to see what they are made up from.
Is the kernel is different from the ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes, sometimes not. ROM makers usually don't make kernels and people who do kernels usually don't make ROMs. Often there is one very good kernel for a device and this one gets included in most of the ROMs. If there are several it depends on the ROM developers preference. Usually you can also switch kernels after installing a ROM.
I'm fairly sure that the ROM is phone-specific...are kernels?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
I googled AOSP, but that doesn't explain what "getting AOSP" for a phone is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP, as alread stated means android open source project.
Getting AOSP means getting android in its natural flavor. If you have a samsung android device, you will have an android modified by samsung in certain ways. I believe only the google phones (i.e. Nexus) run aosp.
Is there a way to go back to stock Android, from what the OEMs put on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but sometimes this requires some tinkering.
I've read that some things, like launchers, are always running on top of, rather than overriding, the stock launcher. Is this true of all types of "skinning" apps, or do some actually replace the code whose functionality they override?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't under stand what you mean with all types of skinning apps?
You can get rid of the stock launcher, i have uninstalled touchwiz launcher and installed launcher pro.
Some touchwiz files are still on the device because i believe they are used by other applications.
But usually the reason for having both on the phone is because if you have no working launcher your device will not be usable.
So some people keep the stock launcher as backup.
Dark3n said:
I don't under stand what you mean with all types of skinning apps?
You can get rid of the stock launcher, i have uninstalled touchwiz launcher and installed launcher pro.
Some touchwiz files are still on the device because i believe they are used by other applications.
But usually the reason for having both on the phone is because if you have no working launcher your device will not be usable.
So some people keep the stock launcher as backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I erred in calling a launcher a skin? I know it provides "additional functionality" but considering the number of people I've seen complaining about the OEM launchers' appearances, I assumed it was mainly for the sake of looks.
I'll try to be a little more clear with my question.
Say I have a stock phone, but I hate the color scheme of the UI. I then download a skin to fix it. Is that a program that runs always, or is it just a utility that changes some already existing code?
There are no skins for system applications. If you install a different color one, i.e. gingerbread keyboard. It is the complete app where someone decompiled it, edited the images and re compiled it.

Any completely different rom

Do you know any completely different rom? Like miui for example! Lately I really get tired of roms that are just cleaned from bloatwares and everything else is same as the stock. Is it only miui and cyanogen that brings us original new futures? I wonder what is so custom and they call it custom rom. Is it so hard to take notification bar down or anything else and make it different and really custom? They must be sorted as custom and modified roms at least. Many of them are shown in screenshots with themes that not appear anyhow after flash. All we got is - + some apps and endless flashing process just to get back to our favorite. Really if some devs read my appeal please think about it. I am not sure but I guess is not impossible to add functions that stock roms don't have. Even if they seem not so usual surely will be appreciated. If someone know roms that are really different please let me know. Thanks!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
After all, Android is Android, so you won't escape the notifications or the must-have apps (settings, etc.) The really only thing you can do is design an app that replaces the entire lockscreen, settings, laucher, app drawer, etc. To make it a ROM only feature would be .... a lot of work for nothing (as you can simple extract the APK and well... pirate it.
So ROMs are basically a window to the heart of the creator. It's their style, their apps, their child
R: Any completely different rom
Try paranoid android ROM, as far as i know it's the most customizable and you can use "tablet mode" to move the notification bar down etc.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

App behaviour different XA/XE model

Hey there,
I have found a strange thing that bothers me. I own both models of the MiMix2S Polaris and have flashed some custom ROMs.
Both are device specific from this great community. Both are Pie ROMs. One is AOSIP provided by user @palaych the other is pie testing by @SusanaXDA.
Now comes the strange part. Google Chrome on the testing ROM looks like the first screenshot, the rom by @palaych is the second. Both apps are version 70.0.3538.80 so my question is aren´t they supposed to look and work the same? In the first version I can swipe up to close a tab, in the other version it´s swiping horizontally to close the tabs.
Also Gboard is different. One version can switch between german/english automatically, the other doesn´t do that and I have to switch it manually every time which is pretty annoying.
Next thing is some of the icons and shortcuts on the home screen are square others aren't. Although on the other room all the icons are square.
What is this depending on? The phone model/rom/kernel/base rom (vendor)
Maybe someone here can enlighten me and explain what´s going on here.
Best regards
Kleinholzinferno
Well the gapps might be different between the roms, since the issues you're mentioning are all related to google apps. You should do your evaluation with phones which are running identical roms.
malimukk said:
Well the gapps might be different between the roms, since the issues you're mentioning are all related to google apps. You should do your evaluation with phones which are running identical roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already tried with the same ROM on different phones. Behaviour and look identical.
My initial thought was that they look and behave different after the first setup. But shouldn't they look the same after updating everything to the latest version?
Or is the implementation of the e.g. material design dependent of the ROM? I don't think so but the dialer for example looks different but it's the same version.
Can't understand why...

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