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[Q] Rooting and its basics

I've rooted one phone in my history of rooting - the mytouch 4g. I found it very unstable during that process thus my hold off of rooting until now.
I have a Nexus 5, thus me creating a thread in this forum. I know many will just tell me to google or whatever but I rather get someone's actual response to my post.
That said, what is the different between a ROM and a Kernal. And how can one tell if one is better than another?
I think I want what everyone wants in their phones - stability and extended battery life.
Thanks again.

a rom is the ui, it gives the user variables to adjust and can add some features. a kernel is the central control of your whole phone. it ties the cpu to the rest of your phone, and to your ui. the kernel is like the brain, where the rom is like the outside/skin of the body.
hiw do you know which is better? only by trying them out. some phones will like certain kernels better than others, and you wont know which until you try.

Hi,
Sorry to give you a link to explain what is a rom and what is a kernel, but anyway: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=ROM-VS-Kernel, for me it's a good start.
About battery life it's not the rom that will give you better or worse battery life (unless a "bug"), at least the kernel can play its role but it's mainly your use and settings, the apps you use...
If you have a bad signal reception or a rogue apps with a ton of wakelocks, whatever the rom or the kernel, it will be always the same thing.

Hammer_Of_The_Gods said:
Hi,
Sorry to give you a link to explain what is a rom and what is a kernel, but anyway: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=ROM-VS-Kernel, for me it's a good start.
About battery life it's not the rom that will give you better or worse battery life (unless a "bug"), at least the kernel can play its role but it's mainly your use and settings, the apps you use...
If you have a bad signal reception or a rogue apps with a ton of wakelocks, whatever the rom or the kernel, it will be always the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hammer-thanks for the link. Very informative for me and I am sure others.
Doc

TXRaunchy said:
I've rooted one phone in my history of rooting - the mytouch 4g. I found it very unstable during that process thus my hold off of rooting until now.
I have a Nexus 5, thus me creating a thread in this forum. I know many will just tell me to google or whatever but I rather get someone's actual response to my post.
That said, what is the different between a ROM and a Kernal. And how can one tell if one is better than another?
I think I want what everyone wants in their phones - stability and extended battery life.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I`am not rooted also atm, the device does everything that i need it to do to be honest. Rooting is handy and usefull if you want to use features or do things that cannot be done with the stock configuration. Read the first 4 threads in the General section well if you want to learn the basics of rooting.

CM11 vs Stock? Anything better?

I've been using the nexus for a while, and although I like the stock rom, is CM11 better? Or any other rom in fact? And I guess when I say better I generally mean performance and possibly battery life? Would a kernal also affect this?
Sorry if I seem naive or anything. Recently switched from an ATT S4 with all its bootloaders and such..

"Best" ROM.
There is no such thing as a best ROM. The question itself is ambiguous. "Best" is obviously a subjective term.
What I want from a ROM may well differ from what you want from a ROM, ergo - what is best for me could be worst for you.
If you are asking what the most popular ROMs are, or which ROMs people are using, you can see which threads stay around on the first few pages (and have the most posts) in the Android Development or Original Android Development forums. You can also see what other people are running by reading the What are you running on your Nexus 5 thread.
If you are asking which is the most stable, being a Nexus device - they're all pretty stable.
If you are asking which is best on Battery, ROMs only affect battery if they have a feature that is badly coded. You will likely be able to read about this in the ROM threads. ROMs do not impact battery life. The only impact to battery life are your apps, your settings, how you use the phone and mostly, environmental issues such as Phone Signal.
For tips about improving battery life, please read [Battery Life Help] Troubleshoot battery issues here!
"Best" Kernel
Also, please note that as above, "best" is still subjective. What we all want from a kernel is different. Again, many people have the misconception that Kernels affect battery life. Let's get this cleared up. Although Kernel devs will build in optimisations and efficiencies that will improve battery life, these are very, VERY tiny...and if 1 kernel has these optimisations, they likely all have.
People will often say "Kernel x is better than kernel y for battery life". This is actually wrong. Kernels respond to user settings. Setting up the governor to favour either battery life or performance is simple enough to do, you just have to do some learning. The reason people think Kernel x is better than y is because developers set their kernels up with their preferred governor settings. This is what we refer to as out-of-the-box settings. The out-of-the-box settings for kernel x may well produce better battery results than the out-of-the-box settings for kernel y, which favour performance. The fact is, you as the user have the ability to tune kernel x or y to perform the same, be that battery or performance - so start learning how to do this yourselves - that way, you can choose the kernel based on the FEATURES you want, and not the fictional performance benefits of one kernel over another.
Hope this helps

The biggest thing is some of the customizations you can get with something like Xposed. A kernel might change things. You can always make a backup.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

@rootSU you should backup this answer to your clipboard and paste it again & again

Primokorn said:
@rootSU you should backup this answer to your clipboard and paste it again & again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did. I wrote it and added it to both evernote and "clipboard admin"

rootSU said:
I did. I wrote it and added it to both evernote and "clipboard admin"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should add the following to the end:
[THREAD CLOSED]

CM and other ROMs that have SuperSU baked into the system (as opposed to have it installed as an app that shows up in the app drawer) can have difficulties with apps that won't work due to being rooted, and often times the apps you can use to temporarily block/hide root access won't work properly with SuperSU baked in. That's the big reason why I stopped using them. It's simpler to just root stock Android and use xposed modules that can replicate 95% of what CM brings to the table.

rootSU said:
"Best" ROM.
There is no such thing as a best ROM. The question itself is ambiguous. "Best" is obviously a subjective term.
What I want from a ROM may well differ from what you want from a ROM, ergo - what is best for me could be worst for you.
If you are asking what the most popular ROMs are, or which ROMs people are using, you can see which threads stay around on the first few pages (and have the most posts) in the Android Development or Original Android Development forums. You can also see what other people are running by reading the What are you running on your Nexus 5 thread.
If you are asking which is the most stable, being a Nexus device - they're all pretty stable.
If you are asking which is best on Battery, ROMs only affect battery if they have a feature that is badly coded. You will likely be able to read about this in the ROM threads. ROMs do not impact battery life. The only impact to battery life are your apps, your settings, how you use the phone and mostly, environmental issues such as Phone Signal.
For tips about improving battery life, please read [Battery Life Help] Troubleshoot battery issues here!
"Best" Kernel
Also, please note that as above, "best" is still subjective. What we all want from a kernel is different. Again, many people have the misconception that Kernels affect battery life. Let's get this cleared up. Although Kernel devs will build in optimisations and efficiencies that will improve battery life, these are very, VERY tiny...and if 1 kernel has these optimisations, they likely all have.
People will often say "Kernel x is better than kernel y for battery life". This is actually wrong. Kernels respond to user settings. Setting up the governor to favour either battery life or performance is simple enough to do, you just have to do some learning. The reason people think Kernel x is better than y is because developers set their kernels up with their preferred governor settings. This is what we refer to as out-of-the-box settings. The out-of-the-box settings for kernel x may well produce better battery results than the out-of-the-box settings for kernel y, which favour performance. The fact is, you as the user have the ability to tune kernel x or y to perform the same, be that battery or performance - so start learning how to do this yourselves - that way, you can choose the kernel based on the FEATURES you want, and not the fictional performance benefits of one kernel over another.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
an absolutely wonderful reply!

simms22 said:
an absolutely wonderful reply!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as someone takes.something away from it, I've done my job
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Kernel for stock ROM 5.0

Hey guys.. Returned after a long time on XDA.. Was using unrooted nexus since a year now..
Planning to unlock bootloader and get a custom kernel for my n5 currently on lollipop having LRX210..
Which would be the best kernel for stock ROM..?
Sent from my Nexus 5 on 5.0 using XDA.

-Harsh- said:
Hey guys.. Returned after a long time on XDA.. Was using unrooted nexus since a year now..
Planning to unlock bootloader and get a custom kernel for my n5 currently on lollipop having LRX210..
Which would be the best kernel for stock ROM..?
Sent from my Nexus 5 on 5.0 using XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Best" ROM.
There is no such thing as a best ROM. The question itself is ambiguous. "Best" is obviously a subjective term.
What I want from a ROM may well differ from what you want from a ROM, ergo - what is best for me could be worst for you.
If you are asking what the most popular ROMs are, or which ROMs people are using, you can see which threads stay around on the first few pages (and have the most posts) in the Android Development or Original Android Development forums. You can also see what other people are running by reading the What are you running on your Nexus 5 thread.
If you are asking which is the most stable, being a Nexus device - they're all pretty stable.
If you are asking which is best on Battery, ROMs only affect battery if they have a feature that is badly coded. You will likely be able to read about this in the ROM threads. ROMs do not impact battery life. The only impact to battery life are your apps, your settings, how you use the phone and mostly, environmental issues such as Phone Signal.
For tips about improving battery life, please read [Battery Life Help] Troubleshoot battery issues here!
"Best" Kernel
Also, please note that as above, "best" is still subjective. What we all want from a kernel is different. Again, many people have the misconception that Kernels affect battery life. Let's get this cleared up. Although Kernel devs will build in optimisations and efficiencies that will improve battery life, these are very, VERY tiny...and if 1 kernel has these optimisations, they likely all have.
People will often say "Kernel x is better than kernel y for battery life". This is actually wrong. Kernels respond to user settings. Setting up the governor to favour either battery life or performance is simple enough to do, you just have to do some learning. The reason people think Kernel x is better than y is because developers set their kernels up with their preferred governor settings. This is what we refer to as out-of-the-box settings. The out-of-the-box settings for kernel x may well produce better battery results than the out-of-the-box settings for kernel y, which favour performance. The fact is, you as the user have the ability to tune kernel x or y to perform the same, be that battery or performance - so start learning how to do this yourselves - that way, you can choose the kernel based on the FEATURES you want, and not the fictional performance benefits of one kernel over another.
Hope this helps

rootSU said:
"Best" ROM.
There is no such thing as a best ROM. The question itself is ambiguous. "Best" is obviously a subjective term.
What I want from a ROM may well differ from what you want from a ROM, ergo - what is best for me could be worst for you.
If you are asking what the most popular ROMs are, or which ROMs people are using, you can see which threads stay around on the first few pages (and have the most posts) in the Android Development or Original Android Development forums. You can also see what other people are running by reading the What are you running on your Nexus 5 thread.
If you are asking which is the most stable, being a Nexus device - they're all pretty stable.
If you are asking which is best on Battery, ROMs only affect battery if they have a feature that is badly coded. You will likely be able to read about this in the ROM threads. ROMs do not impact battery life. The only impact to battery life are your apps, your settings, how you use the phone and mostly, environmental issues such as Phone Signal.
For tips about improving battery life, please read [Battery Life Help] Troubleshoot battery issues here!
"Best" Kernel
Also, please note that as above, "best" is still subjective. What we all want from a kernel is different. Again, many people have the misconception that Kernels affect battery life. Let's get this cleared up. Although Kernel devs will build in optimisations and efficiencies that will improve battery life, these are very, VERY tiny...and if 1 kernel has these optimisations, they likely all have.
People will often say "Kernel x is better than kernel y for battery life". This is actually wrong. Kernels respond to user settings. Setting up the governor to favour either battery life or performance is simple enough to do, you just have to do some learning. The reason people think Kernel x is better than y is because developers set their kernels up with their preferred governor settings. This is what we refer to as out-of-the-box settings. The out-of-the-box settings for kernel x may well produce better battery results than the out-of-the-box settings for kernel y, which favour performance. The fact is, you as the user have the ability to tune kernel x or y to perform the same, be that battery or performance - so start learning how to do this yourselves - that way, you can choose the kernel based on the FEATURES you want, and not the fictional performance benefits of one kernel over another.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this.. Got your point, Visiting XDA like after a year almost so forgot how even I used to answer to such stupid questions.. Will go through kernels.. Want kernel just for root and recovery and undervolting..
I would change it to say which is the most stable kernel with the stock ROM?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

-Harsh- said:
I know this.. Got your point, Visiting XDA like after a year almost so forgot how even I used to answer to such stupid questions.. Will go through kernels.. Want kernel just for root and recovery and undervolting..
I would change it to say which is the most stable kernel with the stock ROM?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're all pretty stable. Personally I prefer to use ElementalX, but really just look for features and try

rootSU said:
They're all pretty stable. Personally I prefer to use ElementalX, but really just look for features and try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm thanks
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Best 4.4.4 based ROM?

I am looking for a secondary ROM for MultiROM but Lollipop-based roms seem to freeze if they are not primary.
What is the most feature-rich, stable and battery-sipping ROM out there for Nexus 5 running 4.4.4?

There is no best ROM. Read the rules. These kind of post aren't allowed regardless of how you word them.
Flash all the 4.4 Roms, try them out and decide for yourself. Not everyone likes what you like, or has a set up like yours. Decide for yourself.

jayRokk said:
There is no best ROM. Read the rules. These kind of post aren't allowed regardless of how you word them.
Flash all the 4.4 Roms, try them out and decide for yourself. Not everyone likes what you like, or has a set up like yours. Decide for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the admin team have decided they are allowed. That's why I'll post my answer which I keep in ever note:
"Best" ROM.
There is no such thing as a best ROM.* The question itself is*ambiguous.* "Best" is obviously a subjective term.
What I want from a ROM may well differ from what you want from a ROM,*ergo - what is best for me could be worst for you.
If you are asking what the most popular ROMs are, or which ROMs people*are using, you can see which threads stay around on the first few*pages (and have the most posts) in the*Android*Development or*Original*Android Development forums. You can also see what other people*are running by reading the*What*are you running on your Nexus 5 thread.
If you are asking which is the most stable, being a Nexus device -*they're all pretty stable.
If you are asking which is best on Battery, ROMs only affect battery*if they have a feature that is badly coded.* You will likely be able*to read about this in the ROM threads.* ROMs do not impact battery*life.* The only impact to battery life are your apps, your settings,*how you use the phone and mostly, environmental issues such as Phone*Signal.
For tips about improving battery life, please read*[Battery*Life Help] Troubleshoot battery issues here!
"Best" Kernel
Also, please note that as above, "best" is still subjective.* What we*all want from a kernel is different. Again, many people have the*misconception that Kernels affect battery life.* Let's get this*cleared up.* Although Kernel devs will build in optimisations and*efficiencies that will improve battery life, these are very, VERY*tiny...and if 1 kernel has these optimisations, they likely all have.
People will often say "Kernel x is better than kernel y for battery*life".* This is actually wrong. *Kernels respond to user settings.*Setting up the governor to favour either battery life or performance*is simple enough to do, you just have to do some learning.* The reason*people think Kernel x is better than y is because developers set their*kernels up with their preferred governor settings.* This is what we*refer to as out-of-the-box settings.* The out-of-the-box settings for*kernel x may well produce better battery results than the*out-of-the-box settings for kernel y, which favour performance.* The*fact is, you as the user have the ability to tune kernel x or y to*perform the same, be that battery or performance - so start learning*how to do this yourselves - that way, you can choose the kernel based*on the FEATURES you want, and not the fictional performance benefits*of one kernel over another.
Hope this helps

I'll play along and throw out a suggestion...my all time favorite ROM (notice I said favorite not BEST) is dirty unicorns which has a 4.4.4 version. Its full of awesome aosp features. Almost everything is customizable within the "dirty tweaks" section in the settings menu. It was my daily for a year before upgrading to lollipop.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda premium

rootSU said:
Unfortunately, the admin team have decided they are allowed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well there goes XDA

harrisonp said:
I am looking for a secondary ROM for MultiROM but Lollipop-based roms seem to freeze if they are not primary.
What is the most feature-rich, stable and battery-sipping ROM out there for Nexus 5 running 4.4.4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These threads are stupid. Ask 10 people, you'll get 10 different answers. Read the OP's of all the ROM threads in development, decide which one has the features you want and flash it.
And FYI, I have two Lollipop ROMs on my N5 with multiROM, neither of which are my primary, and both run perfectly fine.

_MetalHead_ said:
These threads are stupid. Ask 10 people, you'll get 10 different answers. Read the OP's of all the ROM threads in development, decide which one has the features you want and flash it.
And FYI, I have two Lollipop ROMs on my N5 with multiROM, neither of which are my primary, and both run perfectly fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been running lollipop for several weeks. No problems. Daily driver.

Thank you for dispelling misconceptions of mine. I am a bit overwhelmed with choices when it comes to KitKat, which is a sign of an active, interested and motivated development community.

Best Battery Rom?

Hi all, I'm really sorry to start up yet another "which rom is the best for (...)" thread, but I've been struggling to pluck out a thread that conclusively answers the question and is up to date. As per the title, I'm wondering which rom will provide the longest battery life for my Xt1033
Let me set the story straight, I use my OnePlus One day to day. However, I also own a Moto G, and am planning to take this with me on my trip to India. While I'm there I'm going to be in plenty of rural areas/trekking, and will likely lack power for 2 weeks before return to Nainital and power. I'm taking some power banks with me, but having a good idea as to which rom provides the best longevity in terms of battery life would also be really helpful. I leave in 11 days and don't think I'll really get a great chance to try a plethora of roms before I go.
I'd probably prefer a Marshmallow or Lollipop rom, but if there's a Kit Kat one that'll last substantially longer I'm open to that as well :laugh:
Thanks :good: :fingers-crossed:

bump

I've never seen a proper comparison thread, but for a long time a Stock ROM with a custom Kernel would provide the best battery-life. That may no longer be the case as AOSP / CM ROMs have developed. I personally only use Optimized Stock ROMs.

lost101 said:
I've never seen a proper comparison thread, but for a long time a Stock ROM with a custom Kernel would provide the best battery-life. That may no longer be the case as AOSP / CM ROMs have developed. I personally only use Optimized Stock ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This still holds true (at least for M7). I was running a CM based ROM and battery was ok but nothing spectacular, recently I switched to ARHD 93.0 and wow is my battery better. Hoping that elemental x can make it even better