Database Info

[Q] Feedback and Question on best ROM?

Hi guys I have gone from one ROM to another all professing to be the smoothest or most stable but all have left some what of a bitter taste in my mouth. My current ROM seems to be the most stable and have all the basic modcons working AndroidHD v1.0 | ICS
So I’m on a UK I9020 and I’m like preferably ICS over GB and main important points to consider for me would be
Battery Life, Stable, and Fast,
I am a bit of a power user but the ROM don’t have to have to many mods or sparkles just need something that doesn’t reboot at least twice a day and gives me battery life for 12 hours plus with fair use of apps and internet.
Please help at the end of my tether

yeah i'm in the same spot...i have been trying some ics roms and many claim "fast & stable & rock solid & butter smooth" etc
But they dont feel that way to me...i really like ics but i think its still slowish. GB is way faster.
Currently on codenameandroid 1.2.0 with matr1x 15.5 cfs

Come on guys don't all hide now lol, need your applied knowledge. Some one must have some thing they can recommend

try AndroidMe 1.1.0 not a single issue for me ,when on others ics roms i had fcs and reboots.
battery life around 16h with 3h of 3g and 3h screen on with brightness set at 68%.

CM 9 1.1 has been stable and brutally fast, better than stock IMHO. Only thing missing is FB sync.

mr_raider said:
CM 9 1.1 has been stable and brutally fast, better than stock IMHO. Only thing missing is FB sync.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing thats kept me from CM roms is the worry that apps wont work with them, what sort of uptime do you get?

kangy v10 or AOKP milestone 3, damn good , with Matr1x kernel.
smooth , stable , battery friendly

im using the last cm9 kang with a bare boned(no mods added) trinity kernel, not a single stutter or speed bumbs. fast, stable, and everything works.

Now I'm using CyberGR-MOD|NS.NGN ICS v.5 HYBRID+Matr1x 14.5CFS, well, as far as I can tell, it is quite stable and battery is not draining so fast.
Try some roms with AOSP tags, these roms have less modifications and mods, and maybe have a better better performance.

simms22 said:
im using the last cm9 kang with a bare boned(no mods added) trinity kernel, not a single stutter or speed bumbs. fast, stable, and everything works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can u give d link to download cm9 kang.... and d kernel u said...

So far brain master's AOSP and cyberGR hybrid ICS have been the best for me... nice and stable and great battery life
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

just tried a few roms. sorry to say that the stock rom is the best, so far.
Stock is stable, but a bit slow. but the slow problem is same in other custom roms.
I don't have the problem of battery drain.
Downloading 4.0.4 rom ported from NS4G. Hope it fix the speed problem.
Don't want to use 2.3 anymore, though 2.3 is fast and stable

I tried these custom roms -
Mv 2.1.27, 2.1.28(cm9) lots of added features, but less stable than stock
Miui - although I am a Chinese, don't like this Chinese rom.
Slow. Don't know the cause. Rom still in alpha? Or wasting CPU power on beautiful ui?
Unfamiliar ui Is another problem. Not my cup of coffee
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

bigmem said:
Only thing thats kept me from CM roms is the worry that apps wont work with them, what sort of uptime do you get?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No reboots on stock kernel and CPU speed. Overall, I've found all ICS ROMs to be moe robust than gimgerbread, with very little issues.

[Q] Fastest & lightest ROM?

Hi! What is the fastest / most light weight ROM out there for Captivate that will have best battery life and have bare minimum services running? Thanks!

RMSe17 said:
Hi! What is the fastest / most light weight ROM out there for Captivate that will have best battery life and have bare minimum services running? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest Slim bean. Cbalt's version of Hellybean. AOKP. and LANIGHT. If you want a Jellybean based ROM.

i think helly bean

Try lanight nodatadata
Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

I've personally been on Slim Bean since release and loving it. I hear good things about Helly Bean too.

la night
i think that la night is the fastest rom for cappy nowdays, bugs i have found (in 3.2 datadata version) are that external storage isnt mounting on pc and some notification buttoms sometimes don't work propertly (2g/3g switch, data on/off, and if you want to choose brightness levels force closes) apart from that is the best rom i tried

I found Lanight (with datadata) to slow down over time, went back to helly bean and its better.

takeoutttt said:
I suggest Slim bean. Cbalt's version of Hellybean. AOKP. and LANIGHT. If you want a Jellybean based ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are all good choices. CM9 default is fast, CM7.2.
Honestly though Slimbean 2.4 and LANIGHT were the fastest roms on my device. Up until the latest nightly for CM10 (09132012), CM10 just felt almost unusable laggy. Made the captivate cannon fodder. (I wanted to throw the phone). The night-lies after 0913 must've done something to address that though, it's WAY more usable still not slimbean or LANIGHT fast.

Slimbean 2.4 has been a huge upgrade in my eyes. Now my cappy runs smooth, has good gps locks, and has great battery life. I always felt like hellybean got slow over time and killed my battery a lot faster than other roms.

Thread closed. The best ROM is the one that works best for you.

[Q] Could you recommend a good JellyBean ROM for Nexus S

I'm currently running latest stock Android 4.1.2 on my Nexus S. It appears that official Google support has come to an end and therefore there is no point keeping the original software. It also seems to me that current version of Android on Nexus isn't exactly a good example of well optimized software which is the reason why I'm looking for an alternative.
My requirements are speed, stability and possibly better battery life. Extra functionality is not important, I'm happy with 4.1.2 as it is. However I don't want to downgrade to ICS not to mention Gingerbread.
So could you recommend me a good alternative rom for Nexus S, based on your own experience? I'm currently thinking of CyanogenMod because there is plenty of people behind it and its really famous so I guess it should be stable and reliable but I haven't decided yet. What do you think?

I use AOKP with the marmite kernel. Works great.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

Also 4.2 for me with marmite kernel for sure
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

I use SlimBean 3.1 with stock kernel...Works great....I waiting the 4.2 crespo rom from slimbean....!!!

CM10 with either stock or Marmite kernel.
Perfection.

For me, it's CM10 with stock Cyanogen Kernel... i'm waiting for Cyanogen 10.1 ^^

Otalgia said:
For me, it's CM10 with stock Cyanogen Kernel... i'm waiting for Cyanogen 10.1 ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant default CM kernel.
Speed, stability and features are brilliant for a device that is now 2-years-old.

Nexus-S said:
I meant default CM kernel.
Speed, stability and features are brilliant for a device that is now 2-years-old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here currently on cm 10 stable with default kernel for weeks now it's been really fast and stable. Was surprised. I had tried cm10 when it came out for our device and it was pretty bad stability and battery wise so I went to aosp roms.... Gave stable a shot and wow it has come a looooooong way in such a short time
Otalgia said:
For me, it's CM10 with stock Cyanogen Kernel... i'm waiting for Cyanogen 10.1 ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app

Another vote for CM10. I'm currently using the new rasbean, but if 4.1.2 is good with you, I'm not sure anything can beat the stability of the stable version of CM10.

Having tried tons of amazing ROMs on ICS, I feel there were more stable and fluid options than with 4.1... That's not to say 4.1 didn't have great ROMs, I'm just saying that it was harder to find a stable, speedy, efficient 4.1 ROM... If you want to stay with 4.1, then I can only vouch for BAKEDbean 6... I haven't tried as many 4.1's as I did with 4.0... From memory, Slim Bean was pretty good... I just didn't like some of the included options...
Now here's what I can say about 4.2 ROMs... Since you don't mind missing some included features like theme chooser, statusbar tweaks, etc... Then I would highly suggest Rasbean with Matr1x CFS 24.0 (non-cm version)... I always told myself that I would never use a ROM without theme chooser... But after trying this ROM, I've discovered that speed and fluidity is way more important to me than a few extra features... This ROM is amazing... I'm getting much better battery life with this combo than with any 4.1 combo I tried... At the very least, give it a try
*edit* in case you see reviews or read somewhere that it's not a "stable" release... I would ignore that crap because I haven't had a single issue with this ROM other than the phone app fc'ing after some calls which is 4G related... and since you're on crespo, you won't have that problem... Everything works on this ROM!!!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

rom cm 10 stable version with kernel matr1x v24

Cm10 with marmite kernel beast
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium

Moved to Q&A section....thank you.

Hey, thanks to all of you guys. I switched to CyanogenMod 10 since many of you have recommended it and it also seemed to me pretty solid and reliable. Nexus S now does seem a little bit faster and more fluid however it's hard to tell after less than a day of using it. I won't go back anyway, those few extra features are really nice. My problem with stock JB was that it suffered from some kind of memory leak... quite often I ended up with literally 0 MB of free ram. The phone also got quite often to a state of total unresponsiveness for few moments without any obvious reason. None of these problem has occured in CM so far however for example during heavy usage, when I go back to home screen, the launcher is really slow (1-2fps) for few seconds. But I guess I can't expect much from 2 year old hardware.
You also mentioned several alternative kernels... what can I expect from that in daily usage?

tobice said:
Hey, thanks to all of you guys. I switched to CyanogenMod 10 since many of you have recommended it and it also seemed to me pretty solid and reliable. Nexus S now does seem a little bit faster and more fluid however it's hard to tell after less than a day of using it. I won't go back anyway, those few extra features are really nice. My problem with stock JB was that it suffered from some kind of memory leak... quite often I ended up with literally 0 MB of free ram. The phone also got quite often to a state of total unresponsiveness for few moments without any obvious reason. None of these problem has occured in CM so far however for example during heavy usage, when I go back to home screen, the launcher is really slow (1-2fps) for few seconds. But I guess I can't expect much from 2 year old hardware.
You also mentioned several alternative kernels... what can I expect from that in daily usage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not an ounce of lag on rasbean 4.2.1... I didn't think it would get better than 4.1 but it clearly does... I don't think everyone that recommended cm10 has even tried a 4.2 ROM yet... BTW, cm10.1 will be released soon and I'm sure everyone with update then...
For kernel, use airkernel or matr1x... Think of the kernel as the brain of the phone... It tells the phone what to so with the hardware... So you can tweak things foe better speed or better battery or even attempt to get a good balance between the two...
My last time mentioning it... I would strongly recommend you to backup your current setup and flash the 4.2 ROM with matr1x 24.0... That is all
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

the1dynasty said:
I have not an ounce of lag on rasbean 4.2.1... I didn't think it would get better than 4.1 but it clearly does... I don't think everyone that recommended cm10 has even tried a 4.2 ROM yet... BTW, cm10.1 will be released soon and I'm sure everyone with update then...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really it does work that well? Hmm then it is really sad that Google has cut off Nexus S from official updates. I will definitely try 4.2 but I will probably wait for CM 10.1 if you say it will be released soon.
the1dynasty said:
For kernel, use airkernel or matr1x... Think of the kernel as the brain of the phone... It tells the phone what to so with the hardware... So you can tweak things foe better speed or better battery or even attempt to get a good balance between the two...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I know what the kernel is (I have been using Linux on my desktop for several years ) I was just curious how one can benefit from using an alternative kernel for Android. You say I can tweak things for better speed or battery life... does it mean that I can for example sacrifice 30% of battery life and exchange it for 30% of performance in gaming? What are the limits of this tweaking?

[Q] Is a Custom 4.2.2 ROM better performing then Stock 4.1.2 ?

Hi,
at the moment, my Nexus S is in maintenance/repair because of a defective Lock-/Power-Button.
When i get it back, it will be resetted to default. Using Stock 4.1.2 ROM i experience a frequent amount of lags, for example when i start the browser.
According to some Google+ Posts, there is no official 4.2.2 from Google, because the Nexus S got a too small amount of RAM.
Because i have to reinstall everything anyway, i thought of trying out a Custom Rom maybe.
What is your general advice ?
Is there a chanche, that a Custom 4.2.2 ROM is performing better, then Googles Stock 4.2.2.
My smartphone is my every day swiss army knife, so stability is an important point.
Thank you,
Christian

4.2.2 roms run great on my Nexus.. I can't fault them. I use Jellyshot as my daily (super stable) . I alternate with Slimbean sometimes.. If you don't like it , you can always install a rooted 4.1.2
easter_ said:
Hi,
at the moment, my Nexus S is in maintenance/repair because of a defective Lock-/Power-Button.
When i get it back, it will be resetted to default. Using Stock 4.1.2 ROM i experience a frequent amount of lags, for example when i start the browser.
According to some Google+ Posts, there is no official 4.2.2 from Google, because the Nexus S got a too small amount of RAM.
Because i have to reinstall everything anyway, i thought of trying out a Custom Rom maybe.
What is your general advice ?
Is there a chanche, that a Custom 4.2.2 ROM is performing better, then Googles Stock 4.2.2.
My smartphone is my every day swiss army knife, so stability is an important point.
Thank you,
Christian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

hellybean 4.2.2 is the best rom i have ever tried. used to have microlags with every other JB i tried but this one is amazing. try it

I'm also running hellybean and it's a nice daily driver
I'm also trying out different kernels with the rom. Marmite is ok but I miss the BLN.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

It all depends on your taste and overall experience with 4.1.2 and 4.2.2 ROMs.
And trust me, the above point makes it subjective for every single user.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

I just downgraded to this stock: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1854366 . Had some good and bad experience with 4.2.2 - few times it worked normally, but all other times i got really bad lags. So decided to downgrade and now I'm happy how fast it works (after CM 10.1). So depending on how much RAM 4.2.2 uses, I suggest 4.1.2 - less cool features, but more usable.

4.2.2 has had the best performance and battery life of any ROM I have tried... CM10.1

TRIUMF said:
I just downgraded to this stock: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1854366 . Had some good and bad experience with 4.2.2 - few times it worked normally, but all other times i got really bad lags. So decided to downgrade and now I'm happy how fast it works (after CM 10.1). So depending on how much RAM 4.2.2 uses, I suggest 4.1.2 - less cool features, but more usable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have kind of poor performance on 4.2.2. Sometimes it will be fine, but I will start streaming via Google Music or SiriusXM over Bluetooth and it will skip randomly. I also notice random spurts of lag just navigating around in the phone. Battery life, I am lucky to get 12 hours out of a full charge. Running the latest JellyShot 4.2.2. Was on slimbean or something before that with the same issues.
Thinking about going back to 4.1 unfortunately.

Hey.. Im selling my nexus s tomorrow and have a question. Im currently on 4.2.2 3.0v jellyshot+matrix but have occasionally random reboots. Can somebody recommend a stable 4.2.2 configuration ? And which kernel is best to use with stock 4.2.1 if I decide to downgrade ?
Thanks!

ExtremeGMX said:
Hey.. Im selling my nexus s tomorrow and have a question. Im currently on 4.2.2 3.0v jellyshot+matrix but have occasionally random reboots. Can somebody recommend a stable 4.2.2 configuration ? And which kernel is best to use with stock 4.2.1 if I decide to downgrade ?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell it with stock 4.1.2. Nobody likes a half stable, customized by a stranger rom when they buy a new phone.

Rasbeanjelly 4.1.2... Or flash again jelly shot !!!

polobunny said:
Sell it with stock 4.1.2. Nobody likes a half stable, customized by a stranger rom when they buy a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This!
Can't agree more.

I've been using jellyshot with marmite and seeder apk since jellyshot arrived and I can tell I can't find a rom more stable
Even though it's not great for gaming, but it's the smoothest for anything else.

I found JellyB-TSM to be a very smooth ROM but the latest version is at 4.2.1. Also, it does not have the Quick-pin unlock feature (even though it claims it does).
Another smooth ROM is of course Slim Bean but hands-free bluetooth does not work for me.
And just today I loaded Helly Bean (recommended here) and it looks promising and hence my recommendation as well :good:

I fell there isn't any difference between 4.1.2 and 4.2.2.May be the nexus S firmware

Just flashed from 4.1.2 to 4.2.2. It seems bit laggier and apps crashes more but then again these are nightlies just wait for the next stable rom and there wont be any problems.

I`m using Jellyshot and at first I was ready to reflash something else but after a week it is super stable and i`m getting around 30-35 hour battery life.

Finally found a 4.2.2 ROM as good as a 4.1.2. Been using Backed Black Bean 8 and it's great.

CronoTr said:
Finally found a 4.2.2 ROM as good as a 4.1.2. Been using Backed Black Bean 8 and it's great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have been using Baked Black Bean only problem is latest version experiences memory leak problem.
Sent from my GT-P3113 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

The lure of "features"
As there are over (20) 4.2 rom possibilities, coupled with around (10) different kernels, and varying differences from phone to phone, there is no real answer as to what works best.
Once you can cure the addiction to flash (never happening with me..) you'll find that the more feature packed the rom is, generally, the poorer the overall experience is. Whether it be bugs, smoothness, or speed. Adding bells and whistles only opens more opportunity to have issues. I admit that I enjoy scrolling through the endless menus to change colours and add features/alter layout... 4.2 roms hold exciting possibilities, but are not yet perfected.
I would recommend either Jellyshot or Rasbeanjelly on pure stability, speed and smoothness... They may not technically be the fastest, smoothest or most stable (as opinions differ) but they both have incredible battery life and are clutter free. Once you actually use your phone for a phone you quickly forget about all the "amazing" features that don't really improve the overall experience.
My wife has a NS as well, hers is completely untouched stock 4.1 (refuses to let me change it), she complains about speed, lag, fc's and it completely freezing up. She has never complained about not having a lockscreen widget or a holo notification screen. I use hers once in a while and it is not more stable, faster or better in battery life than mine (Jellyshot and Vta2#116 kernel).

are AOSP/CM roms on par with the Sense 4 roms (like ViperXL, etc.)

hi guys,
I have been running ViperXL for the past one year. However, I have been longing for stock android for a long time. However, the last time I tried CM/AOKP (couple of months back) - the feature set was not on par with Sense 4 ROMS - mainly around driver issues.
For e.g. there were bluetooth problems, HDMI/MHL did not work, battery life was much worse, etc. I was wondering if that has gotten fixed and original android roms are on par with the Sense based roms.
FWIW - I'm not actually worried about the power features like some notification bars, etc. but basically fundamental performance and functional comparisons.

For a long time, AOSP ROMs have had as many/more features than Sense ROMs and everything works just fine. The battery life isn't quite as good, but it's acceptable.
Sent from my evita

sandys1 said:
hi guys,
I have been running ViperXL for the past one year. However, I have been longing for stock android for a long time. However, the last time I tried CM/AOKP (couple of months back) - the feature set was not on par with Sense 4 ROMS - mainly around driver issues.
For e.g. there were bluetooth problems, HDMI/MHL did not work, battery life was much worse, etc. I was wondering if that has gotten fixed and original android roms are on par with the Sense based roms.
FWIW - I'm not actually worried about the power features like some notification bars, etc. but basically fundamental performance and functional comparisons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may try the stable cm10 rom. Its good.
Cm10.1 is good, plus has a new 3.4 kernel, which in your case may not be suitable, unless few little bugs don't bother you a lot.
You can also try sense 5 roms, but then again, no Bluetooth as of now.
Try Rebeless rom. Its based on stock sense4+ but gives you an Aosp feeling.
I hope this helped. :good:

I keep coming back to sense in the end.. Little bugs here and there and the battery life is usually pretty bad. Radio problems are huge. On my college campus many of the rooms have 0 reception, forcing me to toggle airplane mode when I got out of class before I could reconnect to the towers. Caused me to miss a lot of texts and calls...

benyandthejets said:
I keep coming back to sense in the end.. Little bugs here and there and the battery life is usually pretty bad. Radio problems are huge. On my college campus many of the rooms have 0 reception, forcing me to toggle airplane mode when I got out of class before I could reconnect to the towers. Caused me to miss a lot of texts and calls...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what I'm worried about - my phone is work critical to me. I need to be available on phone, chat, email all the time. Which is why I'm concerned that there is no real replacement for Sense based ROMs in terms of stability and performance. Extra features ? maybe - but that's not what I need.

If you really want to use aosp you could try one of the 4.1 ROMs. In particular, the King Kang ROM by Rohan is awesome. It never missed a beat for me, and had the great customization that aosp offers.
Sent from my Evita

IMHO if your phone is used for work you shouldn't even root it... That's a huge security risk for any data kept on your phone.
I would have a separate phone for work and for rooting.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

Not only did I root it, but I was part of the bounty that originally rooted it !
I'm not worried about blowing out my phone - that i can replace.
I just don't want a non performing phone as my daily driver.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

timmaaa said:
If you really want to use aosp you could try one of the 4.1 ROMs. In particular, the King Kang ROM by Rohan is awesome. It never missed a beat for me, and had the great customization that aosp offers.
How much battery life are you getting? Any problems with HDMI out (need it for presentations)
Sent from my Evita
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

I'm not running that ROM anymore, but from memory depending on use the overall battery time could be towards 20 hours or so. And I think I usually got between 2-3 hours screen on time. Always on mobile data, no WiFi.
Sent from my Evita

Personally I found that battery life was close to double on sense based Roms.
Overall sense Roms feel smoother, and aosp Roms feel faster.
YMMV.
I usually run sense based (viperxl) but get bored and will try aosp randomly . always go back to viper though
Edit: if your looking for a daily driver I would go sense based for sure.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

The_Zodiac said:
Personally I found that battery life was close to double on sense based Roms.
Overall sense Roms feel smoother, and aosp Roms feel faster.
YMMV.
I usually run sense based (viperxl) but get bored and will try aosp randomly . always go back to viper though
Edit: if your looking for a daily driver I would go sense based for sure.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of battery life do you get on sense? I can push 3 days on aokp
Sent from my Nexus 4

mirGantrophy said:
What kind of battery life do you get on sense? I can push 3 days on aokp
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
roughly 5 hours screen on and 20+ hours standbye.
but I would rate my usage as medium-heavy.
aosp based. (aokp included) usually get about half of that
But yeah with less usage/screen time my battery would probably last a long time