Database Info

CyanogenMod7 Review (as I see it)

I have been using this build for quite a while now and decided to write a review of the ROM. Please keep in mind I am not a developer !!! I am simply writing this from a user standpoint and cannot nor will not support your problems. This is a review based on my opinions and usage of the ROM.
Pros:
I do like the UI. It is fairly stable and I haven't had much trouble out of it for the most part. The combination of ADW Launcher and the Cyanogen settings are great. The speed of the ROM is pretty good for a ported ROM based on GingerBread. I can't complain much about that. General things that I like are the advanced menus for customizing the dock and theme settings. The themed settings change icons for contacts, mail, messaging, phone, browser,calendar, and videos ( I may have missed some). The cyanogen settings cover an array of things that you can poke at but in my opinion should be included with stock builds as well. Overall if you were wanting to use this on a daily basis I think you would be ok to go ahead and install this ROM... NOTE: Don't hold me responsible if you brick your phone trying. It isn't one of the easiest roms I've
ever installed. The sleep policy has been fixed so that the phone doesn't reboot on unlock...which on my first flash hadn't been fixed and really really turned me off from this ROM.
Cons: I have yet to figure out why this is (again not a dev) but your microSD card will not mount when connected to the pc. I'm sure they are working on this but I haven't downloaded an update or nightly (which is current at the time of this post btw) that has fixed it. I do have some random picky things that I can't get an answer to, and good luck if you do...feel free to send them to me also. Some of my .mp3 ringtones will not work period. Different ones of even larger file size work... I'm not sure how that works out. Text messaging (native) doesn't work for incoming or outgoing... But I will say that I was having issues with that before so I can't blame that on this ROM. There are a few apps that won't work with this build easy uninstaller is one, I just get a fc. Battery is another issue that may be addressed with future releases. I don't run GPS (so don't ask if it's accurate) but keep wifi on all the time. I get probably about 8 hours with wifi on all the time. Not the best but definitely not the worst. You also cannot charge the phone while it is off... really not sure why, and the extended power menu doesn't work. And for the most part is an in depth install procedure... Back to stock with odin, flash two kernals, then a couple of files... Pretty lengthy and you have to be precise or else it bricks. Here it is if your interested... Thanks to MobileTechVideos for the instructions and video.
How to install CyanogenMod7
Other than that I have had virtually no problems (that I consider major) with this ROM and do like it and will probably continue to use it. If you have any general questions please feel free to ask. Again, again... I am not a dev so questions of that nature should be posted here: CyanogenMod7

I tried it and liked what works but it is still alpha quality and so i will wait for a few weeks until i give it another shot.

surfed.tk said:
I tried it and liked what works but it is still alpha quality and so i will wait for a few weeks until i give it another shot.
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I agree, it is definitely still a beta build and as noted by Cyanogen... hasn't been put into the stable build section of their forums. I do look forward to a stable build. Perhaps the Dev's can address some of the weird issues that I mentioned above.

i also was not able to send multi media mms never would go through i tried for 20 mins to receive and send ,
this rom is great but here is why it sucks, i watch the cyanogen nightlies for the galaxy s phones, and with the types of updates im seeing on the cappy versus lets say the vibrant , there is no ****ing hope and this rom is dead.
the last update fixed an install file wtf. so at this rate cyanogen will be rc in o id say next year. ill have a new phone by then. my money is on miui

NightFalcon27 said:
I agree, it is definitely still a beta build and as noted by Cyanogen... hasn't been put into the stable build section of their forums. I do look forward to a stable build. Perhaps the Dev's can address some of the weird issues that I mentioned above.
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Well you completely forgot to mention that, currently it cannot handle lots of video format, most importantly mkv and even if you find something like Rock Player, there's a lot of lag in it. You cannot charge the phone while its off (because it'll turn on as soon as you plug the charger in). Also, you might encounter a totally new problem which you may not have an idea about. If captivate is your spare phone then play with it else stay away for a while until a RC is released.
This is just my opinion from 3 days of experience on CM7.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

It was a total flop for me :/
It ran well when I first installed it, but started running "funny" (random crashing) after I installed gapps, then totally started crapping out after the 3/16 update.
I ended up ditching it for a 2.2 rom, mostly because I didn't feel I was gaining anything substantive and losing things I regularly use, like a feature rich camera app and divx playback support.

Been running for 3 days. 0 problems.
I've ran into a few bugs. External SD, booting when usb plugged in. Only charging to 95% (apparently a feature not a bug). At one point my signal shot down to searching, then it recovered and grabbed a signal. Not sure what caused that, but it was random.
I also cannot get it to mount to my PC. Kind of annoying, but if I need to transfer anything I just use dropbox.
I like it, and I think I'll keep with it. Even though it isn't 100%, I love gingerbread, and it's working for me.

krips2003 said:
Well you completely forgot to mention that, currently it cannot handle lots of video format, most importantly mkv and even if you find something like Rock Player, there's a lot of lag in it. You cannot charge the phone while its off (because it'll turn on as soon as you plug the charger in). Also, you might encounter a totally new problem which you may not have an idea about. If captivate is your spare phone then play with it else stay away for a while until a RC is released.
This is just my opinion from 3 days of experience on CM7.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I did forget that you cannot charge the phone while off and now that you mention it the extended power menu doesn't work either. It is fairly aggravating that Cyanogen updates the vibrant with "real" fixes other than this fixing little things but... All in all, it is still usable, just not stable or reliable.

Every time I try and warn someone that CM7 is not yet ready for primetime I get bashed for it, yet there seem to be plenty of people echoing my comments. Like I said in another thread, the people that are saying CM7 is stable and works great are either not using their device to its full potential or are willing to live without certain features. There is really no compelling reason to live with a ROM that has this many bugs or deficiencies when you consider how many really good ROMs there are available for our Cappys that have few, if any, issues. Yeah, they may not have Gingerbready theming or cutesy animations, but they just work. Andromeda 1.2 is one that comes to mind.

I am on it from I think last friday...Not a single problem...atleast how i use it...of course except battery life...which I am trying to solve...
Rock player worked well for me...I watched couple of movies when I was on road....never lagged just stopped couple of times....
great GPS...instant locks...i am amazed...But I also tried MIUI...and it is very very fast...and something different which I never experienced before...I think people should give it a try...ofcourse it has bugs too as it based on CM7...but they fixed camera bug and little stuff.....

Miami_Son said:
Every time I try and warn someone that CM7 is not yet ready for primetime I get bashed for it, yet there seem to be plenty of people echoing my comments. Like I said in another thread, the people that are saying CM7 is stable and works great are either not using their device to its full potential or are willing to live without certain features. There is really no compelling reason to live with a ROM that has this many bugs or deficiencies when you consider how many really good ROMs there are available for our Cappys that have few, if any, issues. Yeah, they may not have Gingerbready theming or cutesy animations, but they just work. Andromeda 1.2 is one that comes to mind.
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Click to collapse
I am by no means saying that it is ready for the masses... The only one that I would suggest without a second thought to someone who isn't willing to deal with at least some problems is Cognition Series by DesignGears. To my knowledge (and opinion) this is the absolute best rom for the captivate. IF ... Cyanogen gets to the point of a Cognition rom in function and use, then I might suggest it for the masses but not until then.

Miami_Son said:
Every time I try and warn someone that CM7 is not yet ready for primetime I get bashed for it, yet there seem to be plenty of people echoing my comments. Like I said in another thread, the people that are saying CM7 is stable and works great are either not using their device to its full potential or are willing to live without certain features. There is really no compelling reason to live with a ROM that has this many bugs or deficiencies when you consider how many really good ROMs there are available for our Cappys that have few, if any, issues. Yeah, they may not have Gingerbready theming or cutesy animations, but they just work. Andromeda 1.2 is one that comes to mind.
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Click to collapse
Your right in regard to it not being ready for most users (many are already praising the miui 2.3.3 also which is even less stable.....not saying it isn't promising). I think it breaks into 2 camps.
1. If you are a power user that wants all aspects of your device to function as intended...not for you. More specifically, If you use an external SD especially if your moving files to and from mounted to a PC....this is not the rom for you (this is my biggest gripe at this point). If you do lots of video in different formats...not for you as you will face compatibility issues. If you have to ask how your flash back to stock....this is probably not for you. If you value battery life as a top priority...not yet for you. Most of the other deficiencies or shortcomings had adequate work arounds but you until the major issues are resolved you will quickly find yourself flashing back to Phoenix, Firefly, Serendipity, Andromeda, etc.)
2. If you don't use and external SD and/or do much media vid/music then i can see why many view this as "stable" for their purposes. The UI, menus, and animations are smooth/fast and i never really had any issues with force closes while using it. Maybe its better linguistically to say its incomplete rather than refer to is as unstable and sorry if it offends the early adopters but if you are using it as your daily driver its pretty obvious you are using an inferior rom @ this point.

NightFalcon27 said:
I am by no means saying that it is ready for the masses... The only one that I would suggest without a second thought to someone who isn't willing to deal with at least some problems is Cognition Series by DesignGears. To my knowledge (and opinion) this is the absolute best rom for the captivate. IF ... Cyanogen gets to the point of a Cognition rom in function and use, then I might suggest it for the masses but not until then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would easily put a handful of roms on par with cognition:
Firefly, Supernova, Phoenix, Serendipity, Andromeda.

bames said:
Your right in regard to it not being ready for most users (many are already praising the miui 2.3.3 also which is even less stable.....not saying it isn't promising). I think it breaks into 2 camps.
1. If you are a power user that wants all aspects of your device to function as intended...not for you. More specifically, If you use an external SD especially if your moving files to and from mounted to a PC....this is not the rom for you (this is my biggest gripe at this point). If you do lots of video in different formats...not for you as you will face compatibility issues. If you have to ask how your flash back to stock....this is probably not for you. If you value battery life as a top priority...not yet for you. Most of the other deficiencies or shortcomings had adequate work arounds but you until the major issues are resolved you will quickly find yourself flashing back to Phoenix, Firefly, Serendipity, Andromeda, etc.)
2. If you don't use and external SD and/or do much media vid/music then i can see why many view this as "stable" for their purposes. The UI, menus, and animations are smooth/fast and i never really had any issues with force closes while using it. Maybe its better linguistically to say its incomplete rather than refer to is as unstable and sorry if it offends the early adopters but if you are using it as your daily driver its pretty obvious you are using an inferior rom @ this point.
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Click to collapse
Excellent post.

Glad to see users sharing their experience on CM7. This is always good foe the community. I hope to see new users to read this thread prior to making any decision whether to flash CM7 2.3.3 or not.
On another note, I'm sure once Samsung do final release of Gingerbread 2.3.3 for i9000 series (last I heard that an early beta was released), we cappyites will see stable release.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Regarding the phone turning on when charging, I believe it's a gingerbread "feature". It's been said that it is working as intended. Also, the iphone does the same thing so I don't really see it as an issue. It's probably google seeing behavior they like and implementing it.

You can not mount the external sd but you can transfer to your internal then on the phone transfer to external, so I am not certain it Is fair to say you can not use your external sd. Video is an issue, and battery is as well.
At this point in time it is a trade off, there are several things cm7 can't do well or can not do at all. there are also several things it does much better than any 2.2 rom or are not available on 2.2 roms.
Its all preference and priorities. Kinda like any best rom discussion.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

Miami_Son said:
Every time I try and warn someone that CM7 is not yet ready for primetime I get bashed for it, yet there seem to be plenty of people echoing my comments. Like I said in another thread, the people that are saying CM7 is stable and works great are either not using their device to its full potential or are willing to live without certain features. There is really no compelling reason to live with a ROM that has this many bugs or deficiencies when you consider how many really good ROMs there are available for our Cappys that have few, if any, issues. Yeah, they may not have Gingerbready theming or cutesy animations, but they just work. Andromeda 1.2 is one that comes to mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Largely it its because you have never used it, and have only tried one rom. That and you are compelled to jump on any thread that mentions it as if it is a personal mission. It its not as if you do not make some valid points, but it is not hard to see why it may rub some the wrong way after a while.
This is not an attempt to start something, but your comments make it seem like there is no warrant to people who go back at you.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

mcord11758 said:
Largely it its because you have never used it, and have only tried one rom. That and you are compelled to jump on any thread that mentions it as if it is a personal mission. It its not as if you do not make some valid points, but it is not hard to see why it may rub some the wrong way after a while.
This is not an attempt to start something, but your comments make it seem like there is no warrant to people who go back at you.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
Agreed... I was not trying to start a thread to bash any rom. However I do know that there are some hard feelings that are out based on certain features that work or don't and peoples impressions about the ROM itself. I also know that there is quite a bit of loyalty to certain ROM creators that no matter what they aren't going to be going to a new ROM simply because they are loyal to that dev... which is fine! I simply wanted to create an avenue for people who have used the ROM to pass along information and opinions on the ROM to people who are thinking about switching to it. People are entitled to their opinions and I am all for that... Just don't bash any of the devs or their work, it is not easy putting this stuff together and I for one am happy that I have a place I can go to that allows me to get away from stock. I hope that all will realize that

mcord11758 said:
Largely it its because you have never used it, and have only tried one rom. That and you are compelled to jump on any thread that mentions it as if it is a personal mission. It its not as if you do not make some valid points, but it is not hard to see why it may rub some the wrong way after a while.
This is not an attempt to start something, but your comments make it seem like there is no warrant to people who go back at you.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
Miami_Son said:
Excellent post.
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The terminology might be better as incomplete instead of unstable. great post.

[Q] Current State of Rom's & Going Forward

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

[Q] Help me choose a ROM please

Hi,
so I have had a rooted phone for a while now, but I'm starting to get tired of the stock ROM so I thought I'd try something different. I've spent a couple of hours looking through these forums and I can't see the difference between the different cyanogenmod implementations, i.e. skrilax, dhacker and epinter all seem to have slightly different versions? Anyway, I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of a good ROM to use for a long period of time, say a month or so, without crashing *much*. I need bluetooth and camcorder working too, these also seem to be issues with some of them.
Alternatively, links some posts that help me better get my bearings on what's what would be well appreciated
Thanks

If you go with CyanogenMod, I would recommend using skrilax's builds since they are released every night and it works with the CM updater built into the ROM.
Camcorder works fine and Bluetooth is mostly OK, but I sometimes get random reboots while using Bluetooth headphones. Not sure if it's still a known issue or just some weird thing with my setup.
Also, your location says Melbourne, so I'm assuming you have the xt925? That might factor into some people's answers a little bit.

killrhythm09 said:
Also, your location says Melbourne, so I'm assuming you have the xt925? That might factor into some people's answers a little bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spot on
Anyway, thanks for the reply, but I was about to flash skrilax's ROM when I realised you said IF I choose cyanogenmod... is there a better alternative? I'd like something that's fast (unlike the stock rom is now -.-) and doesn't kill the battery, and some new features to play around with would be nice.

It really all depends on what you want. Some other ROMs like Paranoid Android, MIUI, AOKP, etc have more features than CM, but CM has always been rock solid from my experience (this phone and my previous one).
Doesn't hurt to experiment a little, either, as long as you keep nandroid backups handy.

I haven't heard any reports of significant increases in battery life on custom roms. I wonder if this is the case?
I actually would like to know what the longest screen on time and or standby time a person achieved with underclocking / undervolting etc.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD

KitKat 4.4

Sssooo.... According to what I read last night, KitKat is supposed to be able to be usable on pretty much all Android phones, all the way down to those with 512mb of RAM.
Any thoughts as to whether the Charge is gonna get some love with this (certainly, I know, NOT from Big Red)?
"I've got a revolution behind my eyes..."
--Battle Flag

There will be peace in the middle east first. :banghead:
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Just because they say it could run on lower end phones doesn't mean it will run w/o lag and so on. I heard the chez won't be getting kit Kat so what does that tell you about the older phones.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

The only thing that will run on lower end devices is the new launcher and Google apps. The new ui is supposed to be included in the new launcher and make lower end devices feel and look more like newer ones.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk

lazarus0000 said:
Sssooo.... According to what I read last night, KitKat is supposed to be able to be usable on pretty much all Android phones, all the way down to those with 512mb of RAM.
Any thoughts as to whether the Charge is gonna get some love with this (certainly, I know, NOT from Big Red)?
"I've got a revolution behind my eyes..."
--Battle Flag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with an upgrade to any newer OS on the Charge is the radios. I don't see KitKat and an exception.:crying::crying:

Interesting how they had it where you could use Hangouts as your default SMS App with all the Emoji smileys on phones with Gingerbread including the Charge on the leaked version from the Nexus 5. It was fully working and I tried it. However, now that it's released to everybody through the Play Store, the SMS option is for Android 4.0 Only.

just got kitkat on my razr.... wish I knew how to port, b/c then I would attempt to port this great ROM over to the old Charge....

I'm interested in doing a CM11 build for the Charge or atleast a CM 10.2 build. I have a Galaxy S4 now but I would love to get some use out of the charge. I just want to turn it into a kickass media player since the RIL situation is never going to get solved. If anyone knows what is involved to make this happen it would help me greatly. I've never built CM before. I've read the CM developer wiki. A lot is over my head. I am trying to learn though

pyroman512 said:
I'm interested in doing a CM11 build for the Charge or atleast a CM 10.2 build. I have a Galaxy S4 now but I would love to get some use out of the charge. I just want to turn it into a kickass media player since the RIL situation is never going to get solved. If anyone knows what is involved to make this happen it would help me greatly. I've never built CM before. I've read the CM developer wiki. A lot is over my head. I am trying to learn though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2284985
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_porting_intro

pyroman512 said:
I'm interested in doing a CM11 build for the Charge or atleast a CM 10.2 build. I have a Galaxy S4 now but I would love to get some use out of the charge. I just want to turn it into a kickass media player since the RIL situation is never going to get solved. If anyone knows what is involved to make this happen it would help me greatly. I've never built CM before. I've read the CM developer wiki. A lot is over my head. I am trying to learn though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're on the right track, though I think I'd stick with CM11 rather than CM10.2.

Well I am really interested in learning how to build. So I think I will run a few builds for the Fascinate and then see what I can do for the Charge. My programming experience is intermediate. I feel confident I can learn the process and at least get a semi functional kitkat build up and running and then maybe others could help work out the bugs

pyroman512 said:
Well I am really interested in learning how to build. So I think I will run a few builds for the Fascinate and then see what I can do for the Charge. My programming experience is intermediate. I feel confident I can learn the process and at least get a semi functional kitkat build up and running and then maybe others could help work out the bugs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good luck brother... i'd be glad to test for ya.
some tips that you may/may not already know:
my understanding is that OS 4+ require EXT4 rather than RFS, so it might help to start with a kernel that allows this conversion. there are a few floating around that work.
someone (JT) has successfully (and I guess relatively easily) ported ICS and JB to the charge, the key aspects not working though were mobile data and camera.
I'm told the key road block is the RIL for the kernel in order to get those aspects functioning properly.
as for me, I'd be happy with just a working camera, as the Charge is used by my son as a WiFi-only media player/gaming device. he likes to take pictures/videos, so this is the only thing preventing me from converting it the latest JB port.
again, good luck, and let us know how the progress goes!

Well I just started a new job and am settling into that so time will be scarce for a bit. I wouldn't even know how to start with the RIL. I would definitely want to get the camera working provided I can even successfully build CM11. I want to make it clear that I am new to this so it is a big undertaking for me and I have a lot to learn. Once I get a build enviroment set up I will see if I can make some fascinate builds for practice since it is very similar to the charge. Then i will reach out to sbrissen or jt1134 and see if they can give me any pointers. I forked their code on github already.

pyroman512 said:
Well I just started a new job and am settling into that so time will be scarce for a bit. I wouldn't even know how to start with the RIL. I would definitely want to get the camera working provided I can even successfully build CM11. I want to make it clear that I am new to this so it is a big undertaking for me and I have a lot to learn. Once I get a build enviroment set up I will see if I can make some fascinate builds for practice since it is very similar to the charge. Then i will reach out to sbrissen or jt1134 and see if they can give me any pointers. I forked their code on github already.
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Click to collapse
As a previous owner of a droid charge, I honestly hope I can squeeze some use out of it as a media device.

Just got an s5 and (edit) Keeping it, Now I have more questions. Yes I've read...

Edit now that the first part is out of the way, Please scroll down to the bottom for another question, Just trying to keep everything orgainized if possible. Hope This doesn't go in q & a.
Hey fellows, I just bought a s5 and can return it within two days for a full refund. Cost me 140 plus tax, used in great condition no scratches at all on the screen, and got a nice case with it. Was going to order an LG G3 since I'd been doing a bunch of research on it, but came around this and figured I'd give it a whirl. I did a little research on xda while in the store before buying it.
Now that I've been home and reading and reading and reading, I've got it rooted using the lollipop root thread which requires you to use odin. No biggie there but the LP safestrap wouldn't install. And after root I can't install apps from the play store anymore. Error 494 or something like that sorry I'm not more specific.
Right now it has the latest and greatest OTA B1B? I can't remember all four off hand. Some thread I've read have suggested that it is possible to install safestrap and then install rom's but I'm unclear if I have to downgrade though odin flash a different kernel or what. I'm kinda afraid to do too much too it without making a backup because I'd need to get it back to stock before I return it if I do.
I guess my questions are, will I be able to install alliance rom? I don't believe so since it's on a different base. Will I be able to do anything to it other than root? It's not a bad device by all means, but If development is dying, and it's locked down so tight I couldn't squeeze a hair in there, I see no reason to keep it. Again, i've been cramming all evening on all threads, and some say it's possible to get safestrap for lp on there with root, to install TW roms. I know I'll never be able to get AOSP stuff on there regardless.
I could probably get by with just root and debloating. But The alliance rom has some nice themeing options that I'd like.
If you guys were me and please be honest, would you keep it and try to get it to work, or just return it for a refund? I had an s3 but never took any OTA's so I could install roms until my eyes turned blue even though development was slowing on it when mine broke down..
Also do you guys have any idea why the play store isn't working anymore? I'm tempted to factory reset now probably losing root in the process, just to try to get my play store working again.
Any and all thoughts will be appreciated. Again I've studied almost all the faq type all in one general help threads and I've never dealt with safe strap before but at this point I can't even install that. The apk installs but clicking install with root access does nothing.
thanks for any input provided.
griz

Well Looks like I've got safestrap installed with the bok3 kernel although the device came with the BPB1 kernel / firmware. So does this mean that I can only install roms now that are lollipop with bok3 as their kernel? And would you still return the device to order a G3 which has better specs and more ongoing development?

Depends. Download "eMMC Brickbug Check" from the play store and post a screenshot of it.

Honestly, having played a lot with various ROMS on this phones, I can say that my fav is the current stock MM. Fast, great performance and battery life, and hopefully, we will get root eventually. In the mean time, Iam not really missing it.
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input the emmc check said the brick bug wasn't present. I've got to have root so mm is not an option. I need root for things like tibu and to set enforce =0 for selinux to use my old game pad which isn't 100% necessary but nice when I want to use it. This stock rom seems to drink battery life. Do you think I could install alliance or another debloaTed rom?

griz.droidx said:
Thanks for the input the emmc check said the brick bug wasn't present. I've got to have root so mm is not an option. I need root for things like tibu and to set enforce =0 for selinux to use my old game pad which isn't 100% necessary but nice when I want to use it. This stock rom seems to drink battery life. Do you think I could install alliance or another debloaTed rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B1B is not a build, so you should check that. All lollipop builds can be rooted, and in certain situations marshmallow can be downgraded. Especially if you can unlock the bootloader. You should really check the development thread before you just give up on the device.

Please I don't wish to start a war, just a informative Pro and Con.
Nandr0idC0nsumer thanks for the tip on that App, I ran it iniitally but didn't do the entire scan. I'm doing that as I type this. (It finished and read test passed 132s 14.7GB 114.5MB/s Under emmc chip it reads:
Type MAG2GC
Date 05/98
CID a very long string.
FwRev:00x0
Brick Bug NO. Same Chip
I was hoping this would test to see if I could make it a dev edition but I'll read more on that later.
Now, Even though this isn't the device I initially wanted, I found it in mint condition and with it and the case (Bulky but I weed eat, mow, and stuff, a Lunatik Tatik Extreme that I've read good reviews on every though it's bulky but it's red so I don't have to see the gold, and from what I've read protects well and looks Heavy Duty) and transfer of my Selectel service only paid around 160 after tax. I ended up with a gold colored model, with stock lollipop,
The baseband now says BOK3 but had something Newer BPB1 the first night I got it, I read and read and then read some more as I'm new to safestrap but not to Sammy having had an S3, nor to flashing as I've also owned a DX and DX2(bought used mainly for the sdcard at the time for 20 bucks and to use as a wifi remote)
My questions are as follows. One person above musiclover7 said he's perfectly satisfied with MM non-rooted, I assume an OTA maybe?
I rooted using the odin lollipop method, then installed Alliance Rom to start with as it seemed compatible, and I like the customization ability. I prefer AOSP for just this reason and this was why I was leary about getting this device, the locked bootloader. I've read a little about a lot of rom's available, Although Alliance is highly customizable in the looks dept, and I used the extreme Debloat scropt/zip when flashing all those options are a bit much and it can take time to get the look just right especially with the Black glass mod/zip which I remember from Alliance for the S3, on the old S3 I only ran TW occasionally, mailnly running SLIM, then Nameless, then AICP at the very end. because I'm a sucker for the T-mo theme engine. Aesthetics are very important to me.
One question is with the note roms's and S6/7 ported roms why do I need S-pen when I don't have a note? Why do I need the edge stuff built in when the device isn't an edge? What can that do? I know I have a lot more reading to do but I just want to get a general concensus on what people are running and why, if you are only on TW roms? I haven't seen any themes available in the theme section and I can't stand all the white in settings and such on a stock rom. Nor can I stand the Sammy/VZW bloat. I'm looking at Phoenix which is based on a phone rom with edge support? Am I missing something here? And with the note rom's why would I need the S-pen which I may not have to install if it's aroma based or just freeze/delete it after installation. I have xposed installed because I prefer the net stats app to any other net stat's app out there. I know Wanam is available and gravity for stock roms. I also recall using a module that let me use T-Mo themes on rom's, but I believe the roms I used that on was an AOSP based rom that didn't have T-MO or Layers Implemented yet, like slim around the KK/LP era if memory serves me and it may not.
SO What roms are you using and why? Again, I know people hate threads like this I have no intention of starting a war of roms. It'd be better if I did have the unlocked BL edition or could make it so but I've not got that far yet. Please do not hate on other peoples work. We're all in this together, and most work borrows from others work anyway. And what I've loved about Andy from the DX days is that one size doesn't fit all. We had Bur based roms, CM7 (with most all stock features added eventually), and WizardOO's awesome MIUI builds. And WIz's awesome preboot menu that let one choose a governor and overclock and such without the need for an app. That was an awesome tool back in the day. I'll never forget Wizard00's work on that nor the work done by the main CM7 dev, and those two did help one another figure things out like getting HDMI working.
Anyway, sorry for the rants, and so many questions, I know it'll be impossible to answer all, but I'll edit the Title and Tags to hopefully help other users in the future.
Thanks for reading my TLDR post. Those who know me know I tend to go into way too much detail, and sometimes not the details needed.
Thanks again, I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.
griz

griz.droidx said:
Nandr0idC0nsumer thanks for the tip on that App, I ran it iniitally but didn't do the entire scan. I'm doing that as I type this. (It finished and read test passed 132s 14.7GB 114.5MB/s Under emmc chip it reads:
Type MAG2GC
Date 05/98
CID a very long string.
FwRev:00x0
Brick Bug NO. Same Chip
I was hoping this would test to see if I could make it a dev edition but I'll read more on that later.
Now, Even though this isn't the device I initially wanted, I found it in mint condition and with it and the case (Bulky but I weed eat, mow, and stuff, a Lunatik Tatik Extreme that I've read good reviews on every though it's bulky but it's red so I don't have to see the gold, and from what I've read protects well and looks Heavy Duty) and transfer of my Selectel service only paid around 160 after tax. I ended up with a gold colored model, with stock lollipop,
The baseband now says BOK3 but had something Newer BPB1 the first night I got it, I read and read and then read some more as I'm new to safestrap but not to Sammy having had an S3, nor to flashing as I've also owned a DX and DX2(bought used mainly for the sdcard at the time for 20 bucks and to use as a wifi remote)
My questions are as follows. One person above musiclover7 said he's perfectly satisfied with MM non-rooted, I assume an OTA maybe?
I rooted using the odin lollipop method, then installed Alliance Rom to start with as it seemed compatible, and I like the customization ability. I prefer AOSP for just this reason and this was why I was leary about getting this device, the locked bootloader. I've read a little about a lot of rom's available, Although Alliance is highly customizable in the looks dept, and I used the extreme Debloat scropt/zip when flashing all those options are a bit much and it can take time to get the look just right especially with the Black glass mod/zip which I remember from Alliance for the S3, on the old S3 I only ran TW occasionally, mailnly running SLIM, then Nameless, then AICP at the very end. because I'm a sucker for the T-mo theme engine. Aesthetics are very important to me.
One question is with the note roms's and S6/7 ported roms why do I need S-pen when I don't have a note? Why do I need the edge stuff built in when the device isn't an edge? What can that do? I know I have a lot more reading to do but I just want to get a general concensus on what people are running and why, if you are only on TW roms? I haven't seen any themes available in the theme section and I can't stand all the white in settings and such on a stock rom. Nor can I stand the Sammy/VZW bloat. I'm looking at Phoenix which is based on a phone rom with edge support? Am I missing something here? And with the note rom's why would I need the S-pen which I may not have to install if it's aroma based or just freeze/delete it after installation. I have xposed installed because I prefer the net stats app to any other net stat's app out there. I know Wanam is available and gravity for stock roms. I also recall using a module that let me use T-Mo themes on rom's, but I believe the roms I used that on was an AOSP based rom that didn't have T-MO or Layers Implemented yet, like slim around the KK/LP era if memory serves me and it may not.
SO What roms are you using and why? Again, I know people hate threads like this I have no intention of starting a war of roms. It'd be better if I did have the unlocked BL edition or could make it so but I've not got that far yet. Please do not hate on other peoples work. We're all in this together, and most work borrows from others work anyway. And what I've loved about Andy from the DX days is that one size doesn't fit all. We had Bur based roms, CM7 (with most all stock features added eventually), and WizardOO's awesome MIUI builds. And WIz's awesome preboot menu that let one choose a governor and overclock and such without the need for an app. That was an awesome tool back in the day. I'll never forget Wizard00's work on that nor the work done by the main CM7 dev, and those two did help one another figure things out like getting HDMI working.
Anyway, sorry for the rants, and so many questions, I know it'll be impossible to answer all, but I'll edit the Title and Tags to hopefully help other users in the future.
Thanks for reading my TLDR post. Those who know me know I tend to go into way too much detail, and sometimes not the details needed.
Thanks again, I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.
griz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will read the whole thing tomarrow, but what's the first 2 numbers of your CID?

Nandr0idC0nsumer said:
Will read the whole thing tomarrow, but what's the first 2 numbers of your CID?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Nandr0idC0nsumer. You didn't specify what the eMMC Brickbug check read. I'm showing the first 2 numbers needed but if you've read majority of these forums, you'd know what it means...lol

it'd mean I'd hit the jack pot but I figured that'd be mighty sliim.. LOL... But I'm going to give it another whirl. I haven't read everything, but most of the faq's and all-in-one threads. Then the root for lollipop thread along with safestrap, because I was completely new to safestrap, but I could have been wasting my time with safestrap, I certainly hope the hell that I am that would be so awesome, the best news for me since...... I can't remember when the last time I was so lucky.

I can't be this lucky.. Got some reading to do... I should've listened.........
I should have followed through with the posts from you guys but I honestly didn't think I'd be that luck.y... Didn't think I'd have that kind of karma... In the Morning Ladies and Gentlemen and dudes named ben. Thanks guys for hitting me in the mouth...
HOLY bat crap bat man.. Does this mean what I think it does.. I hope so.. I think I've got a new thread to read..
This is for users with 15' Sasmung eMMC's not users with 11 Toshiba eMMC's. You can check this by reading the file
/sys/block/mmcblk0/device/cid
Just the first 2 15xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or 11xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx(my number of x's are random, just read the first 2)
We still are unsure if changing the CID causes app store, verification, activation, provision, or other issues, everything you do is at your own risk!
REACTIVATION LOCK MUST BE TURNED OFF. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured that would be few and far between, I hope I can magically transform my phone into a dev model.... I'm assuming that'd be as good as having my old S3 without taking that bad OTA... OMG.. I'm hoping this is good news. I'm off to read the post.. I gotta work in the morning but now... Wow..... It's like a natural high if it means what I think it does. I hoonestly figured that would be like finding a needle in a haystack and my luck is never that good.. But I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch...
Ohh attached below is the screenshot...
I'm not one for emoji's but...
Just hope I dont screw something up trying to make a dev edition out of my device... ....
I blocked out the last number as in the example above, I don't know why that's important but since the other poster did, I figure I'd better too. Monkey see Monkey doo.
PS Sorry for the mess.. as Han would say.. yeah.. I'm that old..

@griz.droidx Flash stock PB1, then root it, then unlock the bootloader! You have, by chance and luck alone, bought an S5 with the ability to unlock it
Yes you can flash Cyanogenmod. Yes you can flash MM and root it. Basically do whatever you feel like

Question is stock PB1 a stock MM build? I'll do some reading to find out, but I have a nandroid of my BPB8 lollipop rom that's already rooted From reading the unlocking thread, and maybe I missed something I just install the APK and bam I'm unlocked. I'm guessing that once I'm unlocked, and rooted, I need to find myself a TWRP for the device. I thought I could just un-install safe strap from Alliance, Unlock and then flash a recovery.
I figured I was lucky in getting one that can be unlocked or made into a dev edition. I'm never that lucky. But on the unlucky, it appears that I have to now flash roms from the unified thread. And from what I've been able to pick up in an hour or so last night and a little at work today, I'd be best to flash only rom's for Verizon specifically. I don't know exactly to to make the others work with a Verizon MVNO but I'm certain that the VZW one's will because on the S3 I could flash any VZW rom and my MVNO (Selectel) worked. I'm hoping to find a build of AICP since that's what I was using with my S3 before it bit the dust. But flashing fever usually hits and I'm sure I'll try others.
Still doesn't look like there's much development going on for the unlocked builds. But at least I can cruise around on AOSP if I want. But the Extreme Debloat of alliance has been doing pretty good already even without my usually tweaking using autostarts and AFWALL, I do miss the privacy manager most of all from AOSP. I just think that is easier to use than the AP OPS version that's included in Alliance.
Is your phone unlocked? if so What rom are you running, and which ones have you ttied?
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for all their assistance in this thread so far. And for those of you who aren't unlocked, I'd still be interested in knowing which TW rom's you're using and stuff like that. I like aesthetics, and don't like the stock TW look of white everywhere, and I've read that with OLED or OMLED or whatever theyre called, the more black there is the easier it is on the battery. Probably doesn't make a huge difference but every little bit helps.

You can run ROM's from the Android Development thread and Unified thread

The question is unless they're for vzw on particular will they work with my my mvno. I hope so. . But I don't think they will without. Changing apns. Or may not have the proper frequencies enabled for vzw
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Oh, that i wouldn't know. Maybe someone will come across this and have an answer for you

griz.droidx said:
The question is unless they're for vzw on particular will they work with my my mvno. I hope so. . But I don't think they will without. Changing apns. Or may not have the proper frequencies enabled for vzw
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash PB1 from SamMobile (PB1 is stock 5.0 Lollipop rom) and then root, unlock, and flash TWRP.
To simplify, tell me the ROM you want to flash and I'll tell you if it's compatible if you'd like.
EDIT: Yes roms have to be Verizon-compatible. And no changing apns will not help

Thanks for offering to check. . I've found that aicp. Resurrection remix. CM and Phoenix have versions for vzw. . Thanks for offering to check for me. . Thanks for simplifying the unlock and add aosp roms instructions. . I've read and re-read them. . A couple things I'm worried about ate what hardware features may no longer work like the fingerprint reader at least in the one kernel I found. Even unlocked and thrilled as I am I want to make sure as much of it works as possible with aosp. And I don't want to take a performance hit but doubt that'll happen. . Even when the numbers have said I did take a hit in the past three seat of the pants feel said otherwise. . Thanks again to you and everyone else who have replied. . Im still wondering which tw roms people prefer. . Alliance with extreme debloat has did better than I expected. .
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

You'll have to make your best judgement. Users install the ROM's and use them as a DD to suit their likings and what they like for a ROM. You'll just have to read the OP of the said ROM and see for yourself....Good luck and HAPPY ROM'n

Hey fellows I am tickled pink that I accidentally ended up with a dev edition. Even though there's not a whole lot of AOSP out there for the VZW version of the s5, I do like me some AOSP. Always have the AOSP ROM bug hit me back with my DX. Having said all that, I was pretty satisfied with the Alliance Rom, and I'd imagine other TW roms have much to offer. I chose Alliance because I'd ran it on the S3 a few times especially when I needed to compare TW to AOSP. I did not upgrade using the method above but I appreciate all the replies from "Nandr0idC0nsumer" very much. I once thought about installing a MM pre rooted firmware first actually. If I could find just the modem and anything else like that which may help the performance and usability of my MM CM based RR rom, I might consider it. And it shouldn't be as difficult now with the unlocked BL. Although safestrap worked nicely for what it's meant to do.
After reading here and elsewhere about unlocking and installing AOSP, I decided to just run the apk which is option one in the how to unlock post, ran the app it installs, checked in recovery to see that it said developer, then using flashify I installed a TWRP image that I downloaded from somewhere. I think TWRP was just for klte though and not kltevzw specifically, but don't quote me on that. Lastly, I booted straight into twrp using the hardware buttons on a reboot to install the AOSP based rom and GAPPS. Easy Peasy. I'm looking for a kernel now, but since I feel that the fingerprint scanner works much better for me in AOSP, I don't want to get a kernel and mess that up even though I could always back it up first. or just re-install the rom.
Hopefully someone will come across this thread and find it useful. If anyone feels like it I'd still like to hear about those different TW roms, and why we'd want to use one for the note? or need one with the S-pen app? Can the S5 work as well as the note for writing on the screen using the S-Pen stuff?
Thanks again, and have a great weekend. Anyone who has any questions for me feel free to PM me. If I don't reply immediately don't think I'm putting you off I sometimes , many times, forget to check or don't notice that I have new images to read. Although help is better from the forum since you can many more opinions, and that's what it's for anyway.