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Hello,
I currently have a SGS i9000, and was thinking of trading it for one of these phones as I'm not really content with the dead end Sammy is providing, and with the RIL and Camera being closed, CM7 is battery consuming and not very stable.
So I was wondering, is it any better here?
Lesiroth said:
Hello,
I currently have a SGS i9000, and was thinking of trading it for one of these phones as I'm not really content with the dead end Sammy is providing, and with the RIL and Camera being closed, CM7 is battery consuming and not very stable.
So I was wondering, is it any better here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you kidding?
CM7 is like THE BEST AOSP ROM out there for the Glacier.
it's
very FAST
very STABLE
very BATTERY EFFICIENT
i don't know what they did with Samsungs, but Cyanogen Team did a very good job on the Glacier.
I'm using CM7 since 2 month now and I have no issue.
Like saranhai has said, CM7 (actually 7.1.0) is stable, fast and work very well on the Panache / MyTouch4G / glacier.
Regards.
my personal opinion, AOSP blows everything else out of the water. Ive been running CM7 nightlies for months now with little to no issues. Sure Ill flash a different rom here and there just to change things up a bit or try something new, but I always fall back to CM7. Like the others said, its fast, stable, and great on battery life. It might look plain and boring when you first boot up, but there are so many things you can customize to get your "perfect" look. If you want more stability tho, CM7 7.1 is what youre looking for. Although I havent had any issues with the latest Nightly 252...but yeah CM7 on the MT4G is a beast
Well for the SGS, it's not CM team's fault. Samsung unfortunately use components that need proprietary files to work and so it's hard to work with them.
So you guys think it's worth the switch from my SGS? Has anyone used both phones to compare?
Lesiroth said:
Well for the SGS, it's not CM team's fault. Samsung unfortunately use components that need proprietary files to work and so it's hard to work with them.
So you guys think it's worth the switch from my SGS? Has anyone used both phones to compare?
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Click to collapse
I cant really compare them both as the myTouch is my first android device and Ive never really messed with a SGS...but I have heard some bad things about MOST samsung phones(gps issues, lag, etc..) I think the switch will be well worth it, but with quad core cell phones on the horizon you might want to wait it out, unless you can get a Glacier for dirt cheap
Lesiroth said:
Well for the SGS, it's not CM team's fault. Samsung unfortunately use components that need proprietary files to work and so it's hard to work with them.
So you guys think it's worth the switch from my SGS? Has anyone used both phones to compare?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my dad has an SGS, but i've never flashed CM7 to it before (seems like too much work, and very confusing )
but if you ask me, i would say that the switch is worth it. the Glacier, like all HTC devices may be harder to obtain root, but afterwards, flashing is VERY easy (no need to mess with bootloaders/odin/modems or whatever).
but there is ONE bad thing that you may want to consider:
since the Galaxy S is such a popular device and is an international device, it has WAYY more development than the Glacier does. Galaxy S has a HUGE community. but that's pretty small, sometimes having too many rom choices is bad
Flashing it is not THAT hard IMO.
Obviously if I had the money I'd get a much higher-end phone but I'm a broke college student and I can trade phones without paying money so if it's an upgrade I'll go for it.
I assume GPS is working fine, right? I practically had no GPS with how dodgy it was.
Regarding developer activity: Yes there is a lot but IMO there's nothing really different. 99% of the ROMs out there is just stock with some themes and tweaks. The other choice is just CM7/MIUI/early ICS ports, all of which will always face battery problems and camera issues.
Lesiroth said:
Flashing it is not THAT hard IMO.
Obviously if I had the money I'd get a much higher-end phone but I'm a broke college student and I can trade phones without paying money so if it's an upgrade I'll go for it.
I assume GPS is working fine, right? I practically had no GPS with how dodgy it was.
Regarding developer activity: Yes there is a lot but IMO there's nothing really different. 99% of the ROMs out there is just stock with some themes and tweaks. The other choice is just CM7/MIUI/early ICS ports, all of which will always face battery problems and camera issues.
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Click to collapse
GPS works great.
Also, if you are trading your SGS for a MT4G, go for it! It is a definite upgrade. My dad has a SGS and I have a MT4G, and I definitely enjoy my phone much more than he does.
Lesiroth said:
Flashing it is not THAT hard IMO.
Obviously if I had the money I'd get a much higher-end phone but I'm a broke college student and I can trade phones without paying money so if it's an upgrade I'll go for it.
I assume GPS is working fine, right? I practically had no GPS with how dodgy it was.
Regarding developer activity: Yes there is a lot but IMO there's nothing really different. 99% of the ROMs out there is just stock with some themes and tweaks. The other choice is just CM7/MIUI/early ICS ports, all of which will always face battery problems and camera issues.
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i never had any problems with GPS on CM7.
haha well, i just got really confused with all the things you had to do, coming from an HTC device.
Thanks guys, I guess I'll go for it! One last question: How's the build quality? I hate the cheapy plastic feeling of my phone so I'm hoping this one's better in that regard as well.
Lesiroth said:
Thanks guys, I guess I'll go for it! One last question: How's the build quality? I hate the cheapy plastic feeling of my phone so I'm hoping this one's better in that regard as well.
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Stainless steel with a soft touch finish (no plastic). Hard buttons instead of soft, and a track pad. The headphone and lock button are also in a much nicer and more natural place than the SGS. Trackpad isn't that useful though.
However, this does make it heavier than the SGS.
DKMikey said:
Trackpad isn't that useful though.
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I use it to wake my device instead of the power button.
After a year of use, my back and home menus squeek when used. Not bad but it is a build quality issue.
lordkaosu said:
After a year of use, my back and home menus squeek when used. Not bad but it is a build quality issue.
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Click to collapse
After slightly more than a year of use (like +a week or two), none of my buttons squeak.
DKMikey said:
Stainless steel with a soft touch finish (no plastic). Hard buttons instead of soft, and a track pad. The headphone and lock button are also in a much nicer and more natural place than the SGS. Trackpad isn't that useful though.
However, this does make it heavier than the SGS.
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Click to collapse
ah, but it is useful in recovery
if you've ever tried flashing a rom on a phone without trackpad, you'd know what i mean lol
saranhai said:
ah, but it is useful in recovery
if you've ever tried flashing a rom on a phone without trackpad, you'd know what i mean lol
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Click to collapse
lol yes its very convenient, had an HD2 and it annoyed the hell out of me when flashing things
aznprodgy said:
lol yes its very convenient, had an HD2 and it annoyed the hell out of me when flashing things
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Click to collapse
The MT4G has a touch recovery now.... So all that scrolling or volume pressing is a thing of the past!!!
My wife and I have both had the MyTouch 4g since Nov 2010 (rooted since July 2011) and I feel it was one of the best devices (along with the Evo 4g) up until these dual-core beasts like the HTC Amaze 4g started rolling out. But as far as single core cpus go, I wouldn't trade my phone for any other. I run CM7.1 currently and it's blazing fast, extremely stable, very customizable, and as smooth as you want it to be. I would strongly recommend the device and CM7.1.
Hope this helps
Lesiroth said:
So you guys think it's worth the switch from my SGS? Has anyone used both phones to compare?
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I bought the Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant) from T-Mobile the first week or two when it came out, it replaced a G1. I used that phone up until a couple weeks ago, when I decided to sell it and use the money to buy a MT4G.
I was running CM 7.1 on the Vibrant and I was pretty unhappy with it. There were some pretty significant issues and they dropped official support for the device. Like you said, it's not CM's fault. For the Vibrant, Samsung/T-Mobile never released any kind of Gingerbread update. However, I was happier with CM 7.1 on the Vibrant than I was with the stock ROM, or any other ROMs that I had tried.
Considering that used Vibrants and MT4Gs were selling for about the same price on eBay/Craigslist, I jumped at the chance to get the MT4G. The MT4G is a little bit bigger, it weighs a little bit more, and the screen isn't quite as nice as it was on the Vibrant. However, CM 7.1 runs better, the GPS performance is better, battery usage seems to be less, and there's 256MB more of RAM for you to use.
I want to start of by saying I mean no disrespect to all the devs/cooks here. I appreciate and love all of their hard work.
Now, after flashing countless amounts of roms/kernels and always having some type of problems like GPS, small mms, random force closes, etc. I went back to complelty stock and wow... My phone is smoother than I ever remembered. My data speeds seem a little faster and GPS locks on faster than ever. Battery life is a LITTLE worse than custom roms but I figure I spend less trying with the screen on trying to get stuff to work so it evens out.
Well I just thought I would share my experience. If you are like me ALWAYS trying to find the perfect Rom/kernel combo that just works, then try stock one more time. It just might surprise you
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Been reading alot about the whole process of rooting and flashing over the last few days, and I must say I join your conclusion somehow. Instead of seaching for minor improvement that sometimes set you back in other fields, why not just use the Stock options that the producer can stand by.
Even so I can totally understand the willingness to try and make a product better, and understanding it in the best possible way. That beeing said, I hope they still continue the great work with making custom roms to further push the limits of our device.
Hansge.
If you're happy with the factory ROM, then a custom one isn't necessarily better. One of the things I like about Android though is the freedom to use my phone the way I want to, and that includes custom ROMs if one better suits my requirements. It's all about choice.
most people simply want to remove the BLOAT that comes with stock roms so basically once you receive the opportunity to root you simply freeze the BLOAT with titanium backup and keep the stock rom. I personally like AOSP and most phones don't come with AOSP out of the box unless it's a Nexus so I always end up flashing a custom rom. But I can say that I was running CM7 on my Sensation and became sick of the browser freezes and I went back to stock for a few days and LOVED it eventhough I hate HTC Sense LOL it was just nice to have a phone in which EVERYTHING worked as
it was intended
I personally think a custom kernel has more influence on daily use then custom rom. The differnce between zram and no zram where huge for me on gingerbread.
Custom isn't for everyone
The stock ROMs are usually the best option for most users. Pretty much the same as any custom vs. stock situation. My co-worker is using a ROM that blocks all data usage except from the browser. He loves it. His battery lasts two days without effort and he doesn't miss a thing. Personally, I'd go nuts if that was the stock ROM, but it is good for him.
Have to agree that it's really about choice.
If the missing features are ones you never use then you haven't really lost anything.
I had my Sensation running on a custom ROM within hours of buying it and I've never looked back (though that may be to my disadvantage since I have no point of comparison).
xdacbibbs said:
The stock ROMs are usually the best option for most users. Pretty much the same as any custom vs. stock situation. My co-worker is using a ROM that blocks all data usage except from the browser. He loves it. His battery lasts two days without effort and he doesn't miss a thing. Personally, I'd go nuts if that was the stock ROM, but it is good for him.
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Click to collapse
You could create a situation like that by rooting and setting up DroidWall.
I too agree with RestInPieces209.
Really love what the cookers here on xda are doing though!
Tried several custom roms and there always were a couple functions that weren't working properly. Now, since one week back on stock and S-on, most stable and complete rom there is. Eagerly waiting for ICS
if it wasnt for these roms... i would get to damn bored of my phone really quickly... would spend a lot of money buying a new phone as soon as im bored with it..
I can bare the small errors i get, fc etc.. as soon as its up to date, new improvements both visually and functionality. i mean, i got beats on my sensation (non XE) it looks good to have, but also better sound. I got original 1.5Ghz dual core instead of downclocked (by HTC) 1.2GHz... i still got approx 30-40hrs of battery. and thats good!
i can only praise custom roms! thanks devs!
edit:
HTC arent dumbasses themselfs - they know how to make a great phone. they make phones they think as many as possible would like - with all their criteria; stability, good battery, performance etc. By trying to fullfill everyones wishes, somethings are being sacrificed ( such as 1.5GHz for better battery).
Thats why custom roms exists, so you can adapt the phone to your needs...
I would agree with the OP so far in terms of my Sensation, but my previous phone (ZTE Blade) was MASSIVELY improved with custom ROMs.
Some people are obsessed with perpetually messing about with their toys, regardless of the benefits/hassles. Almost always men.
Also, I guess that as phones (fancy ones such as the Sensation) get fancier and faster, so the law of diminishing returns applies regarding tweaks.
It boils down to preference really. Installing roms from other phones or customized ones so you can enjoy the full experience of your phone is just a choice. Like I the stock rom on the Sensation but then they came out with the Sensation XE with beats audio and I love to listen quality music. So then that rom was perfect for me.. My .02 cents.
championadam said:
I would agree with the OP so far in terms of my Sensation, but my previous phone (ZTE Blade) was MASSIVELY improved with custom ROMs.
Some people are obsessed with perpetually messing about with their toys, regardless of the benefits/hassles. Almost always men.
Also, I guess that as phones (fancy ones such as the Sensation) get fancier and faster, so the law of diminishing returns applies regarding tweaks.
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Click to collapse
I agree. My old phones like the og droid, Eris, D2 global, etc were all improved with roms. But htc did a really good job on the sensation. After flashing the stock Rom and installing 2 ota updates that they have released it is smooth as butter. Even texting this message on my phone seems faster and more accurate than I ever remember.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Not to mention the legendary HD2... From boring windows 6.5 to android to windows 7.5 mango... That's when I got hooked
Sent from my PG41200 using XDA App
It honestly boils down to pure preference. Specifically for the Sensation, most people like custom ROMS because they hate HTC Sense. So they are willing to deal with FC's and less stable ROMS just so they can never see Sense again
Since I cannot stand the sense ui yes, custom romd are better. I have no issues with cyanogen mod. I suppose I could always use stock rooted and a custom launcher though.
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App
Custom ROMS are basically for people that want something different on their phone. Stock ROMS are reliable, stable, and provide default phone usage. On the other hand, stock ROMS (depending on what the developer has done to it) can change the way things looks, are, feel, and work. Some also have the capability to make your battery life last longer than the stock ROM. Custom ROMS are better or suck compared to stock ROMS in their own ways. It's just up to you, to decide which ROM fits your needs and expectations. Developers have this thing called a changelog that lists EVERYTHING that they have tweaked, changed, or improved since they created the ROM. It's best to look at and read it, to see if you like what they did to it/changed, or what it makes your phone capable to do. To me, it's all about what you REALLY want on your phone and all about researching the custom ROMS.
Hope I helped even a little. PEACE!
I wrote out a whole post but realized it was mostly rambling so I figured I would condense it, although its still pretty rambling:
It seems like our phone (Maxx HD) just missed the developer bandwagon and that roms aren't really going anywhere and never actually will. Everything seems like a quick port and I have had very little success with most of them. The only stable one I have found has been Nexesque, although its basically stock with a few tweaks and add-ons.
I have been running XenonHD for the past 2ish weeks, 3 maybe with horrible battery life and a heat problem. I was running with all of the regular performance tweeks, a very dark blue (almost black) solid background, low brightness and a black theme so I have no idea what could have caused it. I would run out of full battery by 12 or 1 half of the time with an incredibly hot phone, and the other half of the time I could make it to 6 or 7 but no later. I have reflashed and am almost positive I followed the steps correctly.
I'm not asking what the best rom is, but I'm asking if there is a rom that people are actually happy with out there (preferably 4.2) or if there are any real hopes for a tangible one to come out in the near future. It seems like we're kind of screwed as the user when compared to other phones development, and while I have nothing to offer outside of small donations I would just like to know if my predictions are accurate. Is everybody waiting for something that will never come out?
VCavs said:
I wrote out a whole post but realized it was mostly rambling so I figured I would condense it, although its still pretty rambling:
It seems like our phone (Maxx HD) just missed the developer bandwagon and that roms aren't really going anywhere and never actually will. Everything seems like a quick port and I have had very little success with most of them. The only stable one I have found has been Nexesque, although its basically stock with a few tweaks and add-ons.
I have been running XenonHD for the past 2ish weeks, 3 maybe with horrible battery life and a heat problem. I was running with all of the regular performance tweeks, a very dark blue (almost black) solid background, low brightness and a black theme so I have no idea what could have caused it. I would run out of full battery by 12 or 1 half of the time with an incredibly hot phone, and the other half of the time I could make it to 6 or 7 but no later. I have reflashed and am almost positive I followed the steps correctly.
I'm not asking what the best rom is, but I'm asking if there is a rom that people are actually happy with out there (preferably 4.2) or if there are any real hopes for a tangible one to come out in the near future. It seems like we're kind of screwed as the user when compared to other phones development, and while I have nothing to offer outside of small donations I would just like to know if my predictions are accurate. Is everybody waiting for something that will never come out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest I think you need to step back and put everything in prospective.hash dh etc are working on a from scratch kernel that will fix the nagging problems the 4.2.2 roms have had. This kernel is a work in progress, but I think it will be finished to a point acceptable to most people soonish. That being said, besides the annoying gps flash from stock issue and no camcorder I'm not sure there are any major bugs with the 4.2.2 roms. There have been a lot of ports because there are a lot of good roms out there for other devices that people wanted to bring over. We were "screwed" when we bought the phone as this phone had a locked bootloader(with no apparent unlock) and there were never a ton of devs to begin on moto due to the same bootloader issue. That being said, I think a lot of devs have rallied around the hd since the unlock and things will only get better after hash gets the kernel up to speed. I agree nexesque is awesome (it's what I'm running right now in fact) but there are already a lot of choices on each of the 4 most popular forums.
Tl/dr patience lol
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd
I really like this device atm I am using stock Rogers Fw . I have tried many of the 4.2 I prefer to hang back and let it get better the phone itself is a nice piece
My2c
Sent from my XT925 using xda premium
I imagine that we will probably also get get an android update at some point (though very unclear what and when). Maybe this will renew developer interest in the device?
I the meantime I hope the kernel development will play out well.
Personally, even if I love personalization and community development, I actually think the stock rom (xt925 Vodafone) is quite good. Good battery life and better ui than much of the competition.
Sent from my XT925 using xda app-developers app
Hello, I am seriously considering to buy this phone but I have some questions:
How is the audio quality on the earphones? Because I see many people complaining about audio quality there, and I really love listening to the music really often.
How about scrolling lag on certain apps like "Tapatalk", "the verge desktop website version"?
Is 2GB really enough for you? I mean I want to use this phone for quite long time (approx 2 years) and have you ever had any problem with 2GB if RAM?
Are there any serious problems that you wouldn't buy it again (like random reboots/freezes) and etc?
Simonna said:
Hello, I am seriously considering to buy this phone but I have some questions:
How is the audio quality on the earphones? Because I see many people complaining about audio quality there, and I really love listening to the music really often.
How about scrolling lag on certain apps like "Tapatalk", "the verge desktop website version"?
Is 2GB really enough for you? I mean I want to use this phone for quite long time (approx 2 years) and have you ever had any problem with 2GB if RAM?
Are there any serious problems that you wouldn't buy it again (like random reboots/freezes) and etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most Nexus 5 issues seem to be software related and will be fixed with updates soon i`am sure. Overall i think it seems to be a good phone especialy considering the price.
I you like to mess around with your phone like rooting, flashing roms and kernels this is the one to get. If you want a out of the phone you might consider buying a different phone bro.
gee2012 said:
Most Nexus 5 issues seem to be software related and will be fixed with updates soon i`am sure. Overall i think it seems to be a good phone especialy considering the price.
I you like to mess around with your phone like rooting, flashing roms and kernels this is the one to get. If you want a out of the phone you might consider buying a different phone bro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought that this phone doesn't need a custom rom,because it's running the stock Android out of box. But if it's really needs a custom rom liek you meant to say I will install it,because I've installed some custom roms on my Galaxy S3 phone and I have an experience with it.
Simonna said:
I thought that this phone doesn't need a custom rom,because it's running the stock Android out of box. But if it's really needs a custom rom liek you meant to say I will install it,because I've installed some custom roms on my Galaxy S3 phone and I have an experience with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it doesn`t need custom roms per se bro, its just that Nexus`s are manly bought by users that like to experiment with their phones and flash for instance a custom kernel to enhance sound and colours or undervolt/overclock etc etc.
I wish I can get this.phone...
Greetings fellow current and former S3 owners.
Get ready, as Oggie said my posts are rather long and rambling. I've got a few questions mainly for opinions and your experiences.
I tried activating my old DX2 on BYOP tracfone because I don't really use a lot of minutes etc and because they rollover for at least 3 months. After investing a lot of time and money, I found out the hard way that the BYOP android tracfones won't roam on non-verizon towers. And as far as I know, neither do net10, regular Andy tracfones you buy from a store or online, or even prepaid verizon phones. This is a load of BS. So there's my background now for the meat and potatoes of this post.
I've since decided to go with selectel since they do roam but only Voice and text, not data, which is fine with me. Another reason I really wanted to use my S3 is the continued development and the development done on it thus far. I couldn't run Kitkat or even ICS on the DX2 without some kind of issues. Although I give the devs credit for trying. That phone just didn't get the love my old DX got and certainly not the love my S3 gets.
Since I'm in a low signal area I've been wondering if I should use a stock based rom to get an extra few DB/m of signal strength. I can't afford a repeater at the moment. I've looked at putting foil behind the battery and on the back of the battery cover on the inside to supposedly prevent the battery from interferring with the signal from the internal antenna. I've looked at holding it differently. I've looked that using a piece of wire or an actual plug to try an external antenna but I've read many posts on many sites including a very detailed one on XDA that says it works but could damage something inside that could disable the internal antenna permanently without taking the phone apart to fix it. I'd like to avoid that too. But many have done it with excellent results.
1. Has anyone used an external antenna or any other tricks to reliably increase signal strength without buying a repeater which again, I can't afford at the moment. If so, what did you do or could you provide a link to the method.
2. I prefer AOSP or CM based rom's 10 to 1 over TW based roms. Don't get me wrong. I like the TW based roms, Alliance, MOAR, Wicked, and Scott's roms are all excellent TW based roms that are very customizable. But they still use a lot of what I would consider un-necessary stuff from verizon. They are customizable to the point that I'm fairly satisfied with that aspect of those roms even without using Xposed to get the additional features I want. and I'd like to avoid Xposed even though I've found that it works really well. I just think the AOSP roms's seem to operate smoother and there are more kitkat's to choose from. I like most of them but I prefer Nameless since it includes all of what I want without a bunch of stuff I don't use like AOKP, Carbon, and others. I do like slim, as it used to be my DD for a long time. I like Beanstalk until it started including a lot of stuff I don't sue. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to start a war of the rom world. I appreciate them all. Without the development of all those roms, we wouldn't have some of the features and have the lovely roms we have today. So, again, I've used and appreciate them all. That's what's so great about Android. You can choose what works for you. So, Please don't think I'm putting those roms down just because I prefer one over another. I'm using Liquid on my DX. Liquid Kitkat at that. and it works great for me.
I guess my question is do you guys think I'd gain enough DB/m to make it worth using a TW based rom? I know the RIL's aren't perfect but they're pretty damn cloase. Again, living in an area with bad signal to begin with every few DB/m helps. So should i use a TW rom for better signal? I've tried measuring the DB/m but I can't honestly tell a huge difference in signal between the TW and AOSP based roms even though the TW roms should get better signal.
Are there any secret settings I can access in a TW or AOSP rom that I could change to get better signal?
My S3 thanks to the work of many dev's is still an awesome device but I don't believe it gets as good a signal as did my DX and the DX2 according to the DB/m measurements. It may just be that they're measured differently in the device. I don't know.
Could someone shed some light on this and or give me some recommendations.
I also don't want to lose the settings for selectel, I've done an NVbackup in the terminal, as well as made a nandroid of my working nameless rom in case something goes arry.
Any advice will be appreciated. I'd like to try out the new Lollipop roms but I think I'll wait until it's more ready with features to use as my DD. mastamoon's may already be there but I haven't tried it yet. I'm sure they'll all get there eventually. At least I hope so.
Thanks in advance for any input on these questions. Sorry for my long rambling post. Anyone who knows me know's I go into way too much detail.
I''m using the latest firmware with the latest NE1 modem. If that helps.
Thanks one more time for taking the time to read this extra extra long post. And thanks again to the remaing dev's and past dev's for making this phone what it is today. I'd love to buy a note two or three but can't afford that now. I'd also like to hae the Razor Maxx since the battery life on those is ridiculus. I don't know if I'll ever buy another samsung just because the signal doesn't seem to be on par with some of the other brands especially Moto. At lesat the old Moto's. i don't know how well they are now that google as acquired the mobile division of moto's phones.
Did I mention I'd especially love to own a Nexus 6, I just don't know if I could use it on a CDMA network and they have the best coverage out here in the boonies where I live.
Thanks again, and have a gerat new year to all XDA members
Figured this one out the hard way. It doesn't really matter at least in my area which modem or rom. The S3 or at least my sch-i535 sucks compared to the dx2 I'm using now. I miss my s3 but Damm the signal is weak. I've heard it's better with the note 2.
Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk 2
griz.droidx said:
Figured this one out the hard way. It doesn't really matter at least in my area which modem or rom. The S3 or at least my sch-i535 sucks compared to the dx2 I'm using now. I miss my s3 but Damm the signal is weak. I've heard it's better with the note 2.
Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what you tried of course, but FYI the reception on a Touchwiz ROM on the S3 is always going to be better than an AOSP ROM because Samsung never released the RIL for this phone. All AOSP ROMs run a reverse engineered RIL that isn't quite as good as the Samsung one, and you can only get the Samsung one if you are on a Touchwiz ROM. So if you never tested a Touchwiz ROM, you were never seeing the better signal. However, "the S3 signal is weak" is a legitimate complaint about this phone. In my experience, even with a TW ROM its reception is below average compared to other phones of its day.
Jacquestrapp said:
I don't know what you tried of course, but FYI the reception on a Touchwiz ROM on the S3 is always going to be better than an AOSP ROM because Samsung never released the RIL for this phone. All AOSP ROMs run a reverse engineered RIL that isn't quite as good as the Samsung one, and you can only get the Samsung one if you are on a Touchwiz ROM. So if you never tested a Touchwiz ROM, you were never seeing the better signal. However, "the S3 signal is weak" is a legitimate complaint about this phone. In my experience, even with a TW ROM its reception is below average compared to other phones of its day.
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No matter the rom on my old S3 I never had a signal issue. It didn't matter if it was TouchWiz or not
Sent from my Nexus 6
ShapesBlue said:
No matter the rom on my old S3 I never had a signal issue. It didn't matter if it was TouchWiz or not
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The AOSP RIL was pretty good, some people never noticed the difference but others (like me) did, I guess it depended on the tower coverage or maybe some phones just weren't as good as others. For me, it was mainly an issue inside buildings. In a few stores I frequent, if I was on a TW ROM, I'd get dropped down to 3G or even 1XRTT sometimes, while on AOSP I'd get no signal at all.
I had totally forgot about this post until going through some of the posts I'd made in the list of participated posts.. Thanks for the info, but I am well aware that the RIL was one of those deals where the dev's did the best they could with what they had. In fact, I couldn't really tell much difference if any between the TW based ROMs and the AOSP baased ones. A testament to the quality of dev's we have around here.
I am certainly very grateful for the work they've done for this phone. I was always blaming the signal loss on a lack of towers in my very rural and mountainous home. Not to mention the fact that we'd installed a metal roof on the house, and put up a metal shed to part a couple cars under. I was thinking both of those probably acted kind of like shielding of sorts. Like shielding in an electric guitar (bass in my case), or shielding in different types of wiring. I could be wrong about that but it just seemed like after that my signal went downhill whether on a TW rom or AOSP. And I was on an AOSP rom like SLIMROMS, AOKP, Liquid, Nameless (which became one of my favorites), and later on AICP, another favorite of mine with active development during the time mine was working.
I've read that the note 2's signal was much better than that of the S3. I don't know about any of the newer "S" or "Note" models. I loved my S3, it was put through the wringer. I sometimes cut weeds with it without a case, getting bits of weed and dirt all over it There were a lot of really awesome TW roms out there, but I always used something AOSP based.
Have said all that, it was a good phone for about 3.5 years. And performed very well, probably due to the 2GB of built in ram. I even dropped my phone in the shower once with no case. The back came off the battery came out, and it got wet. It was actually underwater for a few seconds. Not wanting to wait long, I can't remember if I took it apart and blowed it dry with a hair dryer which would have be the smart thing to do, or if I just put the battery back in and after wiping it off rebooted it. Either way, it survived that and lasted another couple years before the digitizer died. A very nice member on here named Master Cylinder sent several PM's with ideas on how to possibly get it going after the digiitizer died. The screen remained flawless, even after I ran out of screen protectors, and as I said I used it while mowing grass, and cutting copious amounts of weeds around the house. It'd get weeds stuck to it, but again, I'd take a damp rag and wipe it off. To this day I can't believe the digitizer failed. considering the phone worked very well up until that happened.
I'd owned a DX as my first android phone, but wanted the s3 because of the following it had. Many members who'd I'd got to know on forums went with the S3 and I followed because I felt as if I knew the dev's and how good they were. When I buy a phone, that's one of the main deciding factors in my purchase; whether or not development is strong for the device.
But once it died and I activated the DX2 that I bought for 20 dollarss mainly to use as a remote for my XBMC/Kodi computer hooked up to my TV, (before the raspberry pi's came along) and for the 16 GB sd card it contained, I decided to use it instead of my DX because of the Tegra dual core, and my love for Nvidia products. I really it could have been developed half as much as what my DX and S3 were but no such luck.
I don't know if the newer motorolas have signal receeption as good as my old DX and DX2 but I just don't like the fact that many new phones can't accept SD cards, and many do not have replaceable batteries.
In a nutshell, And I know I'm way off topic, but for those members who know my they know I'm long winded anyway. I still wish the very best to all who still own their s3, but in my low signal area, it's just a night and day difference between the S3's reception and the moto's I've owned.
I'll close by saying a BIG THANK YOU to all dev's and the commmunity who made the S3 the device I loved. I just wish it had better reception, and I wish I could fix it cheaper than it would cost me to buy one from swappa. The digitizer alone costs as much as a mint/good condition S3 on swappa. But it is old now. If I'd lived in an area with better reception maybe I'd never noticed the difference. But I don't and the difference is rreadily apparent. Shutting up now, I've rambled enough. I'd have no problem buying another samsung if and only if receptoin is at least comparable to the old moto's I own.
Again, Not *****ing, just a surprising observation to me once I started used the DX2. What sucks is this device while CM10 and CM9 are available, many have reported that they are much less reliable and stable as CM7 and Blur based GB roms. Mainly from what I understand due to either Moto's or Nvidia's lack of support which is a friggin shame.
Going back to my tags again, I personally could tell no difference signal wise from between ROMs. I think it's great that development is continuing somewhat on the S3. A testtament to the love of the phone. I miss it all the time. Except when I have to make a call that is. And isn't that why we buy cell phones. Maybe not as much as it once was, My whole reasoning in getting a smart phone in the first place was that I didn't own a MP3 player, A tablet, a Navigaion system, or e-reader.
Good luck guys and sorry I've got so far off topic. Enjoy your phones. Above all have fun. And if possible support the dev's. At least let them know how much they're appreciated. I know I don't have to tell many of you this. But, I for one (being laid off due to the closure of my engineering firrm) can't afford to even buy a beer for someone (or pop/soda). As far as appreciate goes though, I can guarantee the dev's and community won't find someone who appreciated them more. They make our devices the extra awesome that they can be. To use a phrase from one of the Armed Forces of the US, The Dev's and community who support the Dev's and us mortals, They make sure the device can be all they can be.
Cheers everyone and have fun. Can't wait until I can afford a new (probably used) phone. But as i mentioned I've shopped around mainly on swappa, and I don't even know what I'd buy, I'd like another moto unless the reception is better with the "Note" line. Again, I don't own a tablet, so a 5.5 inch to 6 inch phone is what I'll be looking for as long as it supports a SD Card, and has a removable battery. Battery Tech as came a long way, and maybe it's not the big deal it used to be, but I just think it's crazy that you can't add storage and buy a replacement battery for a phone you buy. I like the Nexus 6 and the multiple notes, but again, I don't believe you can replace the battery in the nexus nor is there expansion available in the form of an SD slot for things like Gigabytes worth of music, books, TIBU backups, and entire sets of maps for use offline. If you're readiing this and own an S3 do just like everyone recommends, don't be afraid to experiment with both ROMs and Modems, because as long as you do some reading you can always fix things back. So far I haven't hardbricked anything due to the help and hard work of the Dev's and Community at large who take time out of their life to do write ups / how to's and are usually more than willing to help.
If there's anything I can help anyone with. Just let me know. But keep in mind just like mechanic work, cooking, or computer/networking work. No one knows it all. But with enough opinions you can make educated choices. Reallly, I know some awesome mechanics who can't paint worth a nickel, and body / paint people who can't do much when it comes to hard core mechanic work. I'm in IT / GIS/ Permit Tech by trade, and while I'm pretty good at fixing things, I tell people who seem to think I know it all, that no one knows everything.
As for my recommendations, on JB I liked SLIM, KK I liked Nameless, and for POP/MM AICP. For TW Allicance, MOAR, and Wicked Sensations, not to mention Scotts work and the work of Old N Slow. This small list is not all inclusive. I've tried almost every rom out there for the S3.
I know Too Long will probably never be read.
griz.droidx said:
Greetings fellow current and former S3 owners.
Get ready, as Oggie said my posts are rather long and rambling. I've got a few questions mainly for opinions and your experiences.
I tried activating my old DX2 on BYOP tracfone because I don't really use a lot of minutes etc and because they rollover for at least 3 months. After investing a lot of time and money, I found out the hard way that the BYOP android tracfones won't roam on non-verizon towers. And as far as I know, neither do net10, regular Andy tracfones you buy from a store or online, or even prepaid verizon phones. This is a load of BS. So there's my background now for the meat and potatoes of this post.
I've since decided to go with selectel since they do roam but only Voice and text, not data, which is fine with me. Another reason I really wanted to use my S3 is the continued development and the development done on it thus far. I couldn't run Kitkat or even ICS on the DX2 without some kind of issues. Although I give the devs credit for trying. That phone just didn't get the love my old DX got and certainly not the love my S3 gets.
Since I'm in a low signal area I've been wondering if I should use a stock based rom to get an extra few DB/m of signal strength. I can't afford a repeater at the moment. I've looked at putting foil behind the battery and on the back of the battery cover on the inside to supposedly prevent the battery from interferring with the signal from the internal antenna. I've looked at holding it differently. I've looked that using a piece of wire or an actual plug to try an external antenna but I've read many posts on many sites including a very detailed one on XDA that says it works but could damage something inside that could disable the internal antenna permanently without taking the phone apart to fix it. I'd like to avoid that too. But many have done it with excellent results.
1. Has anyone used an external antenna or any other tricks to reliably increase signal strength without buying a repeater which again, I can't afford at the moment. If so, what did you do or could you provide a link to the method.
2. I prefer AOSP or CM based rom's 10 to 1 over TW based roms. Don't get me wrong. I like the TW based roms, Alliance, MOAR, Wicked, and Scott's roms are all excellent TW based roms that are very customizable. But they still use a lot of what I would consider un-necessary stuff from verizon. They are customizable to the point that I'm fairly satisfied with that aspect of those roms even without using Xposed to get the additional features I want. and I'd like to avoid Xposed even though I've found that it works really well. I just think the AOSP roms's seem to operate smoother and there are more kitkat's to choose from. I like most of them but I prefer Nameless since it includes all of what I want without a bunch of stuff I don't use like AOKP, Carbon, and others. I do like slim, as it used to be my DD for a long time. I like Beanstalk until it started including a lot of stuff I don't sue. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to start a war of the rom world. I appreciate them all. Without the development of all those roms, we wouldn't have some of the features and have the lovely roms we have today. So, again, I've used and appreciate them all. That's what's so great about Android. You can choose what works for you. So, Please don't think I'm putting those roms down just because I prefer one over another. I'm using Liquid on my DX. Liquid Kitkat at that. and it works great for me.
I guess my question is do you guys think I'd gain enough DB/m to make it worth using a TW based rom? I know the RIL's aren't perfect but they're pretty damn cloase. Again, living in an area with bad signal to begin with every few DB/m helps. So should i use a TW rom for better signal? I've tried measuring the DB/m but I can't honestly tell a huge difference in signal between the TW and AOSP based roms even though the TW roms should get better signal.
Are there any secret settings I can access in a TW or AOSP rom that I could change to get better signal?
My S3 thanks to the work of many dev's is still an awesome device but I don't believe it gets as good a signal as did my DX and the DX2 according to the DB/m measurements. It may just be that they're measured differently in the device. I don't know.
Could someone shed some light on this and or give me some recommendations.
I also don't want to lose the settings for selectel, I've done an NVbackup in the terminal, as well as made a nandroid of my working nameless rom in case something goes arry.
Any advice will be appreciated. I'd like to try out the new Lollipop roms but I think I'll wait until it's more ready with features to use as my DD. mastamoon's may already be there but I haven't tried it yet. I'm sure they'll all get there eventually. At least I hope so.
Thanks in advance for any input on these questions. Sorry for my long rambling post. Anyone who knows me know's I go into way too much detail.
I''m using the latest firmware with the latest NE1 modem. If that helps.
Thanks one more time for taking the time to read this extra extra long post. And thanks again to the remaing dev's and past dev's for making this phone what it is today. I'd love to buy a note two or three but can't afford that now. I'd also like to hae the Razor Maxx since the battery life on those is ridiculus. I don't know if I'll ever buy another samsung just because the signal doesn't seem to be on par with some of the other brands especially Moto. At lesat the old Moto's. i don't know how well they are now that google as acquired the mobile division of moto's phones.
Did I mention I'd especially love to own a Nexus 6, I just don't know if I could use it on a CDMA network and they have the best coverage out here in the boonies where I live.
Thanks again, and have a gerat new year to all XDA members
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Don't think that no one read this in its entirety because I did. I want to say thank you for posting this. I'm glad to see posts like this because too often we post something very short and to the point and it gets kind of mundane after awhile.
I thankfully don't live in a tin can (just being funny) and I'm not rural by any means but I've been in many places where there is no signal or non existent. I've still got my S3 laying around and by far to date it's been my favorite phone to mess around with and change roms, kernels and so forth. While I love my Nexus 5 and 6 I miss the external storage badly.
Thanks again man for just being a member and for your post it is much appreciated