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Before you read this and blast me for being impatient I want you to know that this is purely a question and I am truly grateful for all the developers we have working on the Charge Development.
Being that this is my first smartphone, I don't really know how long development takes and how much work goes into it. So my question is, how long before we see a Gingerbread ROM? Do the developers have to wait until a test build is leaked for the phone from Samsung or is development probably going on right now?
What about a Google Stock Froyo experience (you know without Touchwiz or Launcher Pro or anything like that)? I've heard a lot of people who like the Google experience better than anything else so I'm just wondering if that is in the works?
Once again I'm not trying to get on anyone's back I'm just purely wondering if these things are in development or if we will ever see these on the Charge.
Thanks
For most devices, especially CDMA, going from the ROM that shipped with the phone to a working AOSP ROM (Google Experience if you will) takes several months. With Samsung phones, it takes longer from what I've seen. The biggest problem that anyone trying to do this will encounter is the dual-RIL (needed for cell radios), and could be what prevents a full AOSP ROM from ever happening. A lot of people would love AOSP, but it is much easier said than done.
I just installed the Newest Xoom Zone Rom with functioning Camera and HDMI, and I love it. I was going to post this in the Dev forum for the Rom, but because I'm a noob it won't let me. Is there any way to port the Face Lock from the Nexus to a Xoom. I tried the simple, copy .apk to the system install of the zip before I flashed it, and it crashes when I go to set it up. Face Lock appears under the security heading, but it doesn't function. I like this feature on my Nexus, and I think it would work great on a tablet. Is there a way to make this function on the Xoom, or will we have to hope Google releases a way to build it?
marnett2005 said:
I just installed the Newest Xoom Zone Rom with functioning Camera and HDMI, and I love it. I was going to post this in the Dev forum for the Rom, but because I'm a noob it won't let me. Is there any way to port the Face Lock from the Nexus to a Xoom. I tried the simple, copy .apk to the system install of the zip before I flashed it, and it crashes when I go to set it up. Face Lock appears under the security heading, but it doesn't function. I like this feature on my Nexus, and I think it would work great on a tablet. Is there a way to make this function on the Xoom, or will we have to hope Google releases a way to build it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be great to have it in deed! But if i were you i should post it into antother section.
Functionality like this will come in time.. We have really only had ics for 30 or so days and alot of devs are working hard on core functions and ensuring it is stable, we only got cam and hdmi in the last few days... Also other devs not associated with the builds may be able to come up with a solution but it may require libs or other files as u have seen just an apk drop wont cut it.. Or the apk itself may need porting for tablets or the xoom specifically, personally i dont know i wish i did. i do think though face unlock will come soon as alot of people are like yourself and want it... i would like it myself
Sent from my mind control device
joshndroid said:
Functionality like this will come in time.. We have really only had ics for 30 or so days and alot of devs are working hard on core functions and ensuring it is stable, we only got cam and hdmi in the last few days... Also other devs not associated with the builds may be able to come up with a solution but it may require libs or other files as u have seen just an apk drop wont cut it.. Or the apk itself may need porting for tablets or the xoom specifically, personally i dont know i wish i did. i do think though face unlock will come soon as alot of people are like yourself and want it... i would like it myself
Sent from my mind control device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't trying to *****, believe me I'm so impressed with the Dev support of this thing. I don't really know a lot about programming or any of that stuffs, and I wasn't sure if anyone had any insight to offer in getting this to work. It seems like the only way that is happening is by testing apart the APK and there is NO way I'm smart enough to do that. I was surprised when I saw the camera support already. Im just really hoping there is a way for this to work eventually, it seems like this is more suited to a tablet than a phone, and hopefully we get this working eventually.
Hi all! I'm a noob to the site and a noob to smartphone modifications, so please forgive me for my questions and concerns. I've used forums for years on many topics and found the knowledge base to be incredible, so I hope you guys will help me out, too.
So, while my Skyrocket has generally worked very well for the past 2+ years, I have always felt it's not living up to its potential. I've read numerous threads on many forums to see what my fellow Rocketeers were doing. I think I've come to the conclusion that flashing a new ROM is the way to go, but I am a bit wary since I've never done this nor know anyone who has. My thinking goes along the same lines as my experience with computers... If you buy a Dell, HP, etc., you get the garbage that the manufacturer bundles in along with Windows. If you wipe the HD and install your own clean copy of Windows, you can usually get better performance without all that other stuff. Hence, the idea for a new ROM for the phone.
A few things have me wondering, though... There seem to be more ROMs available than flavors of Linux! I know choice will end up being a personal thing. My goal is really simple... I just want a clean OS that is stable, efficient, and runs the basic functions I am accustomed to. So, I am not looking to experiment or push the envelope. I want a phone that doesn't crash at the worst possible time, and one that can actually make phone calls! I assume that I will still be able to use the Google Play store to download apps (after installing the plugin thingy). My phone is from AT&T and is unlocked. Will it say unlocked after flashing a new ROM? Will Visual Voicemail still work? I occasionally use FoxFi to create a mobile hotspot. Will I still be able to use it? Or do other ROMs already have this feature unlocked (or bypassed)? I use apps on my phone mostly for email (Yahho/Gmail), calendar, FB, Instagram, YouTube, taking photos/video, viewing forums, and the like, besides making phone calls. In other words, what should I expect from a new ROM? How will things be different? I'm really trying to gauge if this is a worthwhile endeavor for me.
Sorry for the long post. I appreciate your opinions and experience.
It's always worthwhile.
The Skyrocket, to me, was always a case of OEM software that limited its potential. If you really sit down and tweak it, custom ROM, new governor, overclock, it's a beast of a phone that can still keep pace today. You'll have to balance performance with battery life--overclocking and switching to a more aggressive governor doesn't do you any favors there, and some ROMs are better about battery life than others. It's a great phone with a lot of life left, though, much more so than the vanilla S2 because the Rocket has LTE capability.
To hit your other questions, any app that is available on the Play Store will work. If a ROM needs a second gapps flash to get the Play Store (along with everything else Google ships) back, that will be made available and is a very easy install. I've never unlocked a phone, but I don't believe that a new ROM would lose that. Wait for someone else to reply, but I'd be shocked if it did. As far as what you want, there's a ROM to suit any desires. Most ROMs are pretty basic and look and feel like you'd expect a Skyrocket to. Some are designed to feel a little more like iOS, some are designed to be stripped-down (and faster as a result), and some are based on stock firmware and very closely replicate the original experience. It's up to you to read through the dev forum for the Rocket and pick the experience that's best for you.
As far as how difficult it is, spend a couple hours reading about flashing, how it works and why it works. Once you have that basic understanding of it and can follow a few simple instructions that are pretty universal across ROMs, you're set.
Well, I'm giving this a try tonight. Fingers crossed!
One piece of advice: when you pick a new rom from "Android development" read the WHOLE thread associated with that rom, with special attention the the first couple of pages. Make sure you understand the process and any potential pitfalls.
First rom I tried I spent probably six hours reading. It was worth it.
Success!!! I now have the latest CandyKat running! It ended up being not too bad at all. Now I need to figure out how things are different from the AT&T Jelly Bean this replaces.
Thanks for the advice and thanks to everyone who contributes to the site,
I have Kandykat. It seems to be a good solid rom. The Google Now launcher is buggy though. I changed to Nova launcher. Other than that it's been fine.
Thanks for the tips, Chris. I've been using Launcher3. What's the difference between these launchers? Everything seems to be running fine on my rocket now. Any tips on increasing battery life? Any tips on some nice customization?
Google Now launcher seems to have the annoying habit of forgetting the screen setup (app positioning) during reboot. Launcher 3 also exhibited the same problem. Launchers are a matter of taste, but Nova launcher seems solid and looks right to me. YMMV. It's easy to try a few.
Hi to everyone reading this
I am a fairly long time user of xda, usually just lurking and watching threads as they go along, but have now decided to try my hand at developing a rom or two for our (unfortunately) long forgotten villec2, since everyone seems to develop for the S4 variant. I have seen android 5 ported to the S4 variant, and I would like to know if what I am trying to do is at all possible, and if it is, if anyone can point me in a starting direction.
What I am trying to accomplish, is to get a working (bootable, not much else) rom that can boot up on my phone, and then from there add drivers/modules (unsure about naming conventions used in android, coming from a java/C++ background) for the different phone functions as I learn more about the system. So far, I have not found much on upgrading device trees / vendor files (not even exactly sure what these are for since most I see are completely different, even for the same version of android) from 4.4 to 5.0.1, and if I should simply write many of these files from scratch. I know this is a huge en devour, and I am in for much frustration, but I am doing it for two main reasons. One, everyone seems to have forgotten the villec2 device, and I feel like I will still be using it for quite a long time, and being able to use the latest and greatest in android technology will be quite nice to say the least. And two, I am doing it for learning, broadening my own experience with android, since I have yet to really write my own rom, I have only done a few rough builds from other people's repositories like cm.
At this point, I have a AOSP build environment from the master branch, have not yet done a build from it, and would just like any nudge someone can give me in a starting direction. Would it be possible to obtain some of the files I need for android L from my current device,, which is running a android 4 variant? Should I look elsewhere for these files?
niekz said:
Hi to everyone reading this
I am a fairly long time user of xda, usually just lurking and watching threads as they go along, but have now decided to try my hand at developing a rom or two for our (unfortunately) long forgotten villec2, since everyone seems to develop for the S4 variant. I have seen android 5 ported to the S4 variant, and I would like to know if what I am trying to do is at all possible, and if it is, if anyone can point me in a starting direction.
What I am trying to accomplish, is to get a working (bootable, not much else) rom that can boot up on my phone, and then from there add drivers/modules (unsure about naming conventions used in android, coming from a java/C++ background) for the different phone functions as I learn more about the system. So far, I have not found much on upgrading device trees / vendor files (not even exactly sure what these are for since most I see are completely different, even for the same version of android) from 4.4 to 5.0.1, and if I should simply write many of these files from scratch. I know this is a huge en devour, and I am in for much frustration, but I am doing it for two main reasons. One, everyone seems to have forgotten the villec2 device, and I feel like I will still be using it for quite a long time, and being able to use the latest and greatest in android technology will be quite nice to say the least. And two, I am doing it for learning, broadening my own experience with android, since I have yet to really write my own rom, I have only done a few rough builds from other people's repositories like cm.
At this point, I have a AOSP build environment from the master branch, have not yet done a build from it, and would just like any nudge someone can give me in a starting direction. Would it be possible to obtain some of the files I need for android L from my current device,, which is running a android 4 variant? Should I look elsewhere for these files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you seen this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2581659
I know it's not for C2 but maybe you can find some info there or someone can give you some advice
Sent from nowhere over the air...
I have checked out the thread, but unfortunately most of these guides refer to an already made vendor/device tree, which does not yet exist for the c2 (for android 5 anyways). Ill likely need to write my own it seems. Sadness..
Hi!
i really excited for this thread. i have a villeC2 and its very sad that phone just update at 4.1. its a really great phone whit much potential... if i can i help you but i don't know everything about compile roms. but i can try the rom like a beta tester. i really glad to do that. so.. if you continue whit this, i help you like a beta tester contacte me.
You can examine recent posts c2 development cm11 kitkat and offical pacman pages.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/guide-android-rom-development-t2814763
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ch...ide-how-to-port-lollipop-marshmallow-t3283452
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2707438
i think we should port HTC Sensation roms
i dont know what's the difference between C2 and Sensation kernels . but i saw viperC2 and SAM rom files is the same
---------- Post added at 17:39 ---------- Previous post was at 17:06 ----------
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2178042
The title is basically self-explanatory. I'm particularly interested in these things:
AOSP/LOS/anything clean: how's battery drain? More than on stock or not?
Camera: could we replace ours with gcam? Is 70-105 switch working well?
Camera: do we have smth like XperianceCamera?
What features are we losing with unlocking bootloader? None afaics, but I may have missed something.
Thanks in advance! :^)
About Xperia 5 IV. It works great to me.
1.- No idea, never used stock. I have strong dislikes on Google.
2.- It works fine with OpenCamera, all 4 cameras detected (front, back normal, back close, back wide).
3.- No idea, I would need to try.
4.- It works fine.
Looks like I wrote a novel so TLDR:
I suck at this stuff, just getting back into custom ROMs - tried Pixel Experience 13 and Lineage OS(no Play Services (I think Android 13/A13 Beta)).
Stock Sony Rom + Root is the way to go. At least for right now.
Wouldn't count on GCam working or working well.
(Sony) Photo Pro is proprietary too afaik so you'd need someone to port it to custom OS like Lineage without G Services (what I read someone feel free to correct me). It might work with LineageOS with G Services or whatever else, I didn't try it.
END OF TLDR:
ROM EXPERIENCES:
Pixel Experience was weird, probably worked fine but I don't think the dimensions of the Xperia 5 III work well with how PE is scaled. Just this users opinion. Also I really only tried it to try it- not a huge fan of Google lately.
Lineage OS almost worked but the version I had text messages didn't work. The default one or others from F-Droid. I'm positive its user error on my part. Battery life seemed great though, it's anecdotal but it seemed markedly better without Google constantly checking in. Probably my bias.
Its important to me to have some Sony Apps and overall functionality (seems like low dev support when comparing to other devices IE Galaxy/Pixel) so I think stock Sony ROM+ Rooted is the way to go. Seemingly the general consensus on the forum too (especially since its pretty stock Android anyway).
Bonus objectives for me on stock Sony Rom is to DeGoogle + MicroG although I haven't made it all the way there yet. Then maybe long term try a Xperia 5 IV ROM for sh*ts and giggles for Android 13 since I doubt the 5 III will get it.
FUNCTIONALITY:
Your questions about GCam and losing functionality: I have heard/seen a lot of things online about GCam either needing to be ported to devices individually or that its part of Google's "Special Sauce" software wise. So I would expect stripped functionality if functional at all.
Someone who is a lot smarter and experienced than me should clarify on these last two:
Downsides to an unlocked bootloader+Custom ROM is same as always: risk of user error, bricking your device (soft bricked mine), depending on the ROM you choose you may not have Google Apps/limited so Banking apps and streaming apps won't work or won't go all the way up the resolution chain 4k20 69 fps etc. And I'm sure there is a security disclaimer somewhere out there too if you aren't careful.
Pros are same as always: Control of your device, system wide ad blocker, admin rights to delete bloatware, customization, custom ROMs, better battery life, potentially longer OS support, privacy, security, etc.
RAMBLINGS OF GETTING BACK INTO ROOTING WITH THE X5 III
*In case there are others out there who are similar to me in either getting back into rooting after a long time or the first time*
I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff but I was finally able to get my phone unlocked a few weeks ago and tried a few different ROMs. Out of what I tried I really only remember the Pixel Experience and Lineage OS. PE was fine but I'm not a huge fan of all the Google stuff so I went in the opposite direction and did Lineage OS without the Google Play Store/Services/App Framework whatever. It was almost a keeper for me except messaging wasn't working for whatever reason ((I wonder ^^)but really I think it was because it was an A13 beta). I tried a few different messaging apps but between that and losing some Sony Apps I decided to back to stock.
I feel like the big points for this phone are the camera app, the display customization depending on the content viewed, and possibly the gaming tweaks/music app? Last two are a stretch but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The new plan was/is hoping to do was DeGoogle the stock ROM and replace it with MicroG. I haven't gotten around to it because the post I was looking at on how to do it on this forum linked to another post in a different forum and it was for Android 11. My phone is on Android 12. Looking at the comments people had said the process was the same for 12 as 11 or very similar. Shouldn't be too hard but knowing me it will take me another afternoon or two to get it figured out and working.
Long term I'm kind of hoping that when an Android 13 ROM comes out for the Xperia 5 IV we could try throwing it on our devices too. Since I doubt we will be getting Android 13 on the Xperia 5 III. I know the physical camera is different on the 5 IV but everything else seems close enough to a normie like me that maybe it would be worth it to try. Then its back to figuring out how to DeGoogle on an unsupported device and installing MicroG etc etc.
Sorry its such a late response and not the most technical (or maybe even 100% accurate) but that was at least my experience a bit ago trying a few different ROMs on the GSI thread linked in the "How To" post listed here.
This phone has really grown on me and I'm bummed I'm not savvy in any amount of Android development so I am unable to make customizations/tweaks to the stock ROM. Or customize other OS ROM's to port here. Which makes me reliant on others to do the work so I can leech off it haha. On more widely used phones like Samsung or the Pixel its NBD since there are so many users. But a small community like this, it doesn't seem like there is a lot being done. Not a dig or anything, just not a ton of options. Although being able to install a ton of different custom ROMS from the GSI thread is really cool even if it isn't tailored to the Xperia 5 III.
Part of why I threw up so much info on here goes with the last paragraph. You probably won't get a lot of responses. There aren't a ton of peeps here and those who are generally already know what they are doing.
If you end up trying a bunch of different ROMs and find one you really like LMK!
+1 to that. I don't get 5G and had bad time trying to obtain signal. It doesn't worth.
J2 digital said:
Looks like I wrote a novel so TLDR:
I suck at this stuff, just getting back into custom ROMs - tried Pixel Experience 13 and Lineage OS(no Play Services (I think Android 13/A13 Beta)).
Stock Sony Rom + Root is the way to go. At least for right now.
Wouldn't count on GCam working or working well.
(Sony) Photo Pro is proprietary too afaik so you'd need someone to port it to custom OS like Lineage without G Services (what I read someone feel free to correct me). It might work with LineageOS with G Services or whatever else, I didn't try it.
END OF TLDR:
ROM EXPERIENCES:
Pixel Experience was weird, probably worked fine but I don't think the dimensions of the Xperia 5 III work well with how PE is scaled. Just this users opinion. Also I really only tried it to try it- not a huge fan of Google lately.
Lineage OS almost worked but the version I had text messages didn't work. The default one or others from F-Droid. I'm positive its user error on my part. Battery life seemed great though, it's anecdotal but it seemed markedly better without Google constantly checking in. Probably my bias.
Its important to me to have some Sony Apps and overall functionality (seems like low dev support when comparing to other devices IE Galaxy/Pixel) so I think stock Sony ROM+ Rooted is the way to go. Seemingly the general consensus on the forum too (especially since its pretty stock Android anyway).
Bonus objectives for me on stock Sony Rom is to DeGoogle + MicroG although I haven't made it all the way there yet. Then maybe long term try a Xperia 5 IV ROM for sh*ts and giggles for Android 13 since I doubt the 5 III will get it.
FUNCTIONALITY:
Your questions about GCam and losing functionality: I have heard/seen a lot of things online about GCam either needing to be ported to devices individually or that its part of Google's "Special Sauce" software wise. So I would expect stripped functionality if functional at all.
Someone who is a lot smarter and experienced than me should clarify on these last two:
Downsides to an unlocked bootloader+Custom ROM is same as always: risk of user error, bricking your device (soft bricked mine), depending on the ROM you choose you may not have Google Apps/limited so Banking apps and streaming apps won't work or won't go all the way up the resolution chain 4k20 69 fps etc. And I'm sure there is a security disclaimer somewhere out there too if you aren't careful.
Pros are same as always: Control of your device, system wide ad blocker, admin rights to delete bloatware, customization, custom ROMs, better battery life, potentially longer OS support, privacy, security, etc.
RAMBLINGS OF GETTING BACK INTO ROOTING WITH THE X5 III
*In case there are others out there who are similar to me in either getting back into rooting after a long time or the first time*
I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff but I was finally able to get my phone unlocked a few weeks ago and tried a few different ROMs. Out of what I tried I really only remember the Pixel Experience and Lineage OS. PE was fine but I'm not a huge fan of all the Google stuff so I went in the opposite direction and did Lineage OS without the Google Play Store/Services/App Framework whatever. It was almost a keeper for me except messaging wasn't working for whatever reason ((I wonder ^^)but really I think it was because it was an A13 beta). I tried a few different messaging apps but between that and losing some Sony Apps I decided to back to stock.
I feel like the big points for this phone are the camera app, the display customization depending on the content viewed, and possibly the gaming tweaks/music app? Last two are a stretch but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The new plan was/is hoping to do was DeGoogle the stock ROM and replace it with MicroG. I haven't gotten around to it because the post I was looking at on how to do it on this forum linked to another post in a different forum and it was for Android 11. My phone is on Android 12. Looking at the comments people had said the process was the same for 12 as 11 or very similar. Shouldn't be too hard but knowing me it will take me another afternoon or two to get it figured out and working.
Long term I'm kind of hoping that when an Android 13 ROM comes out for the Xperia 5 IV we could try throwing it on our devices too. Since I doubt we will be getting Android 13 on the Xperia 5 III. I know the physical camera is different on the 5 IV but everything else seems close enough to a normie like me that maybe it would be worth it to try. Then its back to figuring out how to DeGoogle on an unsupported device and installing MicroG etc etc.
Sorry its such a late response and not the most technical (or maybe even 100% accurate) but that was at least my experience a bit ago trying a few different ROMs on the GSI thread linked in the "How To" post listed here.
This phone has really grown on me and I'm bummed I'm not savvy in any amount of Android development so I am unable to make customizations/tweaks to the stock ROM. Or customize other OS ROM's to port here. Which makes me reliant on others to do the work so I can leech off it haha. On more widely used phones like Samsung or the Pixel its NBD since there are so many users. But a small community like this, it doesn't seem like there is a lot being done. Not a dig or anything, just not a ton of options. Although being able to install a ton of different custom ROMS from the GSI thread is really cool even if it isn't tailored to the Xperia 5 III.
Part of why I threw up so much info on here goes with the last paragraph. You probably won't get a lot of responses. There aren't a ton of peeps here and those who are generally already know what they are doing.
If you end up trying a bunch of different ROMs and find one you really like LMK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for putting all your experiences out here, really a huge help. I would also like to try out lineage, but can't seem to find a supported version. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
Claussen said:
I would also like to try out lineage, but can't seem to find a supported version. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind a customized one, try crDroid
i would like to try custom ROM's but since no TWRP anymore to get for the Xperia's i hate to reinstall everything just to test something new.