[Q] Return to "sort-of" stock, how to proceed? - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

So I would like some opinions on how to proceed. I have two SGS3's, mine and my wife's. My wife's phone has always been stock; NE1, 4.4.2, locked bootloader and never been rooted. My phone however: currently has TWRP installed; has the Baseband flashed to NE1; is currently running SlimKat 9 (4.4.4); is rooted and use it mostly for certain Tasker applications, AdAway, TiBackup, TexDroider (DPI), and GSAM statistics.
As many know, Custom ROM's aren't always the most stable things and sometime there are usually glitches. Lately I've been plagued by the "volume too loud" bug in phone calls and frankly, I'm getting to the point where I'm kinda tired of "messing with" my phone and have considered returning to stock. I understand returning to stock is a one-way street. In returning to stock, I am not concerned about root, I understand I can achieve root using TowelRoot on a Stock NE1 phone (I am actually considering seeing if I can live without it.) If I return to stock ROM, I am not concerned about custom recovery as I won't be backing anything up to switch ROM's.
The one thing I do want is tethering and it appears the stock ROM doesn't allow that as VzW wants to charge you for it. My tablet is WiFi only and would like the option to use my data plan tethered to my phone while out and about. The flip side of the coin is that I want a stock ROM cause I want everything to "just work" and I'll tweak things to my liking from there. So to that end, I'm looking at either Superlite ROM or PaulPizz as two roms that are stock plus tether.
So the burning question is do I need to fully "return to stock" in order to use these ROM's? If I just flash these ROM's, will I be screwing up my phone? For instance, do I ...
1. return to stock by using Triangle Away and relock the bootloader, load the stock ROM and then let the OTA updates happen, then go through the process of loading Safestrap? I really don't want to do this, seems like more "messing with" then I want to do these days.
OR
2. Just flash these ROM's considering I already have an unlocked bootloader. Will flashing these ROM's cause it to acquire OTA updates, will these re-lock my bootloader and I'll be screwed cause I didn't use Triangle Away? The phone is LONG past warranty so I don't expect any support, I don't really need Triangle Away right?
What's my best course of action to get a TW-based ROM with tethering since I don't plan on screwing with phone much after this? Also I don't plan on being with this phone much longer, I'll likely get an S6 Edge inside of a year (they're just so pretty!)
I'm HOPING the answer is since I'm already unlocked, I can have the best of both worlds, use a TW based 4.4.2 ROM and return to custom if I decide I don't like it, but I don't want to pull the trigger until I know for sure. That one-way street looks dark and scary to me.

Related

Brand new Note 10.1... Time to void the warranty

So I just got home with my brand spanking new 10.1 and I think its high time I void the warranty and get rid of the prerequisite bloatware that Samsung insists on pumping into the device before shipping it. This brings me here with two questions:
1: What is a good de-bloated / efficient ROM to run while I'm waiting for CM10.1 to reach a more stable state?
2: Is there anything different I should know about the tablet rooting / flashing process from the phone rooting / flashing process?
Thanks for any input.
Mate, I found the stock rom runs just fine.... All I did was root it...
It's up to you entirely but if all Samsung phones and tablets were shipped like the Note 10.1, I don't think I'd ever really flash a different rom again...
Would suggest trying it out as is for a few days then go ahead and flash, flash, flash... I do insist you root it however...
ultramag69 said:
Mate, I found the stock rom runs just fine.... All I did was root it...
It's up to you entirely but if all Samsung phones and tablets were shipped like the Note 10.1, I don't think I'd ever really flash a different rom again...
Would suggest trying it out as is for a few days then go ahead and flash, flash, flash... I do insist you root it however...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk... I'll give this one a try, we'll just have to see how stable the ROM stays when I start peeling away the bloatware. If its anything like my past experiences, once the Samsung apps get pulled, the whole system will start to collapse like a house of cards. That's why I tend to prefer preshrunk ROMs, with CM being the best for my tastes.
using gloryrom myself
treblesum81 said:
So I just got home with my brand spanking new 10.1 and I think its high time I void the warranty and get rid of the prerequisite bloatware that Samsung insists on pumping into the device before shipping it. This brings me here with two questions:
1: What is a good de-bloated / efficient ROM to run while I'm waiting for CM10.1 to reach a more stable state?
2: Is there anything different I should know about the tablet rooting / flashing process from the phone rooting / flashing process?
Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These tablets kick ass stock. I would read a bit of these forums before any mods. at least use it for a few weeks that way after you modify it you'll be able to tell what broke it. After all these forms go a bit like this, I just flashed rom x and now my tab don't work right. Why mess up perfection. I have tried many and the bug free one is the one the creators made for it, stock
rooting does not void your hardware warranty.. if you screw up software you are on your own but most likely can unroot and flash stock..
I use stock touchwiz on my 8013 .. just rooted and removed all the bloatware..
also you can remove stock installed apps such as maps, google plus, street view, talk, chat on etc.. which take up quite a bit of space is ssystem/app and when you upgrade them anyway in google play the old versions are still there wasting space.. recommend you create a stockapps directory first on sd and copy any app you are about to remove so yhou can always put it back if there is an issue or you need it for an upgrade.
For me there is only one good reason to root a note 10.1 ........... To install [ROOT] FolderMount https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devasque.fmount this app is the bomb.
My stock note 10.1 is way more stable than when it was rooted with a custom rom. The only reason that I would think about rooting again is if I wanted to take advantage of storing my game data and obb files onto ext memory. But once you learn all of the storage locations and file names for those files you can manually move them and achieve the same out come with out rooting but it is a pain to have to move 2gb files back and forth from internal and ext memory.
I should have gotten the 32gb note (but I wanted white) and none of this would be an issue because my stock note runs every app and game I have put on it without an issue.
Good luck no matter what you decide.
.
All I can say for CM10.1 on this tab is, why disable all the multi-window goodness? CM ruins this device, IMO.
I would stick with any rom based on stock.
Barsky said:
All I can say for CM10.1 on this tab is, why disable all the multi-window goodness? CM ruins this device, IMO.
I would stick with any rom based on stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1
With so many votes for the stock OS, I guess I'll give it a chance, but I will say that I'm still going to be running into one of my own personal preference problems with the fact that I'm going to want to change the themeing of the stock ROM. I've never been a huge fan of the look of TW, so that may end up being the deciding factor when push comes to shove. I guess we'll see though... if stock is as good as you say, I may have to live with it...
treblesum81 said:
With so many votes for the stock OS, I guess I'll give it a chance, but I will say that I'm still going to be running into one of my own personal preference problems with the fact that I'm going to want to change the themeing of the stock ROM. I've never been a huge fan of the look of TW, so that may end up being the deciding factor when push comes to shove. I guess we'll see though... if stock is as good as you say, I may have to live with it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not a fan of Touchwiz at all. So I install Nova Launcher. THere are others as well. Apex and many more. Might want to look at those.
Barsky said:
I am not a fan of Touchwiz at all. So I install Nova Launcher. THere are others as well. Apex and many more. Might want to look at those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually already use Apex, but I generally want the themeing to go deeper to cover things like the system framework etc., which just isn't possible with Apex. I think that's one of my favorite things about CM10, beyond its bare-bones nature, is that it supports one-touch theme changing.

How to enable mobile hotspot on rooted stock rom

So I decided to root my phone just to get tethering to work but I want to stay on stock AT&T rom. Rooted w/ s-off on 3.18 and 4.1.1 JB. I searched and tried the one-click tether, as well as the other telephony.db adb push here on the HTC one x forums but they did not work for me. I keep getting the call 611 or something from AT&T.
You can't do it, why not just flash a different ROM? If there are at&t apps that you want to be able to use just back them up with Titanium and restore them once you've flashed another ROM. Keep in mind though that even if you can enable tethering, at&t will be able to find out.
Sent from my Evita
I cannot edit the telephony.db? I thought that was possible but I just didn't know what to edit exactly. I just had difficulty with stability of some roms here along with changing the kernel.. I guess I just wanted to keep things simple and clean with things being stock.
You can try editing the telephony.db, there should be a guide somewhere if you search Google. There are completely stock ROMs available in our development section, the only difference being that there's no at&t bloat and tethering is enabled. The first time at&t catch you tethering you'll receive a warning but the second time they catch you they'll bump up your plan and you'll be charged more.
Sent from my Evita
Ok I'll check those roms out and I know the consequences from tethering as I haven't gotten the warning yet when I had it going on my old one x. I keep the tethering to a minimum and watch my usage as I'm aware of that warning. I just need to tether once in awhile.
I agree with timmaaa that just flashing any ROM that is not AT&T base is the way to go. The AT&T base ROM is junk, it breaks or leaves out all sort of things. No benefit to staying on stock AT&T, and lots of reasons to not be on it.
I'm also on AT&T, and only use tethering on occasion (usually while travelling when WiFi is not available, or is for a fee) and have yet to get caught (knock on wood). Pretty much any non-AT&T ROM will work fine for tethering. Pick a stock-ish custom ROM, if you want to make life easier an not manually enter APNs.
Buy SQLite Editor from the market to edit telephony.db yourself, but you will NEVER get the features you want from stock at&t rom even if you are rooted.
Yeah I decided to just flashed cleanrom 6.5 and everything is working great. Thanks guys

Does this phone just hate custom ROMs?

I don't see many options here. Mostly stock roms in this forum topic. I had a ton of problems with boot loops and such and just couldn't get anything to work. OTAs still force a bootloop sequence unless I zero out: "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc". I just disabled the notification for them and everything is fine now, but I was wondering if there was any point to using anything other than the stock ROM.
I kept root and just removed TMO bloatware. The 4.4.2 stock ROM seems pretty damn fast, but I have nothing to compare it too. I'm basically just trying to decide if it's even worth it to attempt another ROM install. Are there any real advantages to any of the other ROMs out there over stock? I'm looking for stability above all else, then speed. Features I don't really care about.
klokwyze said:
I don't see many options here. Mostly stock roms in this forum topic. I had a ton of problems with boot loops and such and just couldn't get anything to work. OTAs still force a bootloop sequence unless I zero out: "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc". I just disabled the notification for them and everything is fine now, but I was wondering if there was any point to using anything other than the stock ROM.
I kept root and just removed TMO bloatware. The 4.4.2 stock ROM seems pretty damn fast, but I have nothing to compare it too. I'm basically just trying to decide if it's even worth it to attempt another ROM install. Are there any real advantages to any of the other ROMs out there over stock? I'm looking for stability above all else, then speed. Features I don't really care about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock or at least stock based with dorimanx kernel is about as good as it gets for tmo...most of our developers have moved on to newer devices...and non tmo roms don't have Wi-Fi calling
jamesd1085 said:
Stock or at least stock based with dorimanx kernel is about as good as it gets for tmo...most of our developers have moved on to newer devices...and non tmo roms don't have Wi-Fi calling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah wifi calling is irrelevant to me, but frankly this stock ROM is amazing compared to the performance of my Relay 4G.... H/W keyboard android phones RIP.
Cheers
I have the Intl version which sports more custom roms but they are all the same more or less.... im on stock KK too even though i was a die hard software updater (had 5.1.1 on previous Nexus 4).
Have to agree with you this phone hates modding and is really feeble, it will get bricked quite easy unlike the Nexus 4 which can take a lot of abuse
Try the new cloudy rom. It's a port from LG G4 with various elements.
why dont you guys check in the G2 Android Development. most roms cover all variants there.
For me CynaogenMod's Privacy Guard feature is a must-have on any Android phone. But right now I'm finding that the official CM12 nightlies seems to screw up the modem settings for my local carrier here in Canda (Wind), so I lose access to the service. Constructive suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

any point in rooting?

Hi just wondering if there's any point to rooting these days?i mean the s8+ pretty much bang on!can rooting offer anything extra?I understand like an iPhone is miles better jailbroken but s8 seems to pretty much to a lot!!any ideas folks
I only rooted because I wanted to remove system app and use Titanium Backup.
But if you don't use or need those 2 apps...not worth rooting.
Matt.
I used to root all of my previous phones, including S2+, S4 and S6. I loved custom roms and additional battery saving tweaks or performance tweaks, overclocking, downclocking etc. The S8+ has a huge battery and a great system, so most of the features that I'd get via rooting on the older phones are already here. Also, if you root you void your warranty, and trust me, you don't know when you'll need it . And let's not forget the amount of times that I've flashed something the wrong way or idk something got corrupted and I had to reflash and lose all my data. Staying stock is the best choice on S8+.
Of course it's worthy. You can improve the camera quality with Zero Camera Mod, get better performance with kernels and get rid of the annoying ads.
IN MY OPINION
No, it's not worth it. There may be some advantages to rooting, but you can do MOST of those things without root. Samsung Internet Browser already blocks ads. There's some nonroot apps that will block and across the phone if you don't mind using a VPN.
You can disable unwanted apps with BK Disabler Pro (I think that's what it's called).
The camera is already great. I can't speak for Zero Camera Mod, but the Pixel camera works great on this phone.
I used to unlock bootloaders on every device I owned. Wouldn't buy one with a locked bootloader. I rooted. I flashed custom ROMs. I used Xposed and customized. Then I stopped customizing everything. Then I stopped flashing custom ROMs. Android finally got the point I was happy with it out of the box. When I got my S8+ I realized Samsung's software wasn't bad at all, and I actually enjoyed it.
Now I just read thread after thread of people bricking and soft bricking their phones after rooting. People having issues going back to stock to take upgrades. Honestly, I just shake my head and chuckle, because it all seems like such a big hassle and headache, that really does nothing more than disable things like Samsung Pay.
So no, to me, it's NOT worth it. I enjoy my S8+ and my Note 8 with no desire to root it. When I want to customize it, I apply a theme. I just use the Samsung themes, but have thought about trying Substratum. There's always Nova Launcher and the Pixel Launcher if you want a different look as well.
That's my opinion, and it's worth about a buck two eighty. Get the phone. Run it stock for a while and see if you REALLY miss root. Then decide.
No, for the 1st time I must say on S8+ on Nougat it is not worth. You can disable all apps you don't need without root, remap bixby button, set permissions to apps, remove ads without VPN (Adhell2) etc.
Oh coarse it's worth it, for many reasons . . . .
. . . . . . . now what were those reasons . . . . . ?
oh yes, it turns the phone into a 'Super' phone.
You didn't know that is where the 'S' comes from in Galaxy 'S' 8, did you?
There isn't much customization to accomplish for rooting/custom recovery at the moment. I, at the moment, have twrp-d G950F and Stock G955U1. Strangely, I found myself using G955U1 more than that rooted G950F. Given that there is only TW based roms atm, fonts-theming can be acquired through substratum or flipfonts, and Adblocking using adhell. I basically rooted my device to test ROMs to maximize battery life but there is only little variation to them that I sincerely think that stock G955-U1 ROM is better than other, though I do adore the new samsung oreo keyboard that can add gifs to almost all apps that I am using, unlike its current nougat counterpart. But again, U1 is pretty clean and slim rom. I tried oreo beta, through that samsung.firmware.science, but there is currently no comparable U1 oreo beta, there is only U roms that will install carrier CSC and its added apps to the phone. It almost made me wanting to root to remove those apps, but given the near release of oreo, i ended up choosing to go back to my stock nougat u1 rom. I heard its possible to flash any stock rom to any s8 family.
Go check out CarHDROM. He has ported a Note 8 ROM for the 8+. Very nice and has built in a number of things you will not find on stock, built-in.
I can agree that initial messing about with rooting, setting up a custom ROM can take a little time, it's hardly more than a stock ROM. Some folks have to re-do things to get it just right, but once done, it can be spectacular. 'Rolling your own' can have it's own 'rewards', as it allows for some creativity beyond the stock ROM, and there are a good number of things you can do with a rooted phone, that you can not with a stock phone.
If you are new to rooting, etc, there is a learning curve that can be tranquilly taken over short hours, to days to weeks. Tranquil. The Samsung Odin software and the how to's are pretty straight forward to follow, and most of the time folks here are available to help, though that is not always 'guaranteed'. Some posts/requests for help sit idle either longer than the OP would like, or just remain static, though that is not an often case.
I ran the same custom ROM on my old iPhones, OnePlus One, G3, and once setup with a nice custom ROM, did not change them out.
CarHDROM is very well established, and version v9 (last Nougat) is very stable and very extended with it's added abilities. Carotix takes a lot of time with the users.
That ROM is now on v10 (Orego beta), and going through it's growing pains.
I have v9. Smooth, trash free, and well thought out.
I think all the versions are available for download/use.
It is worth checking out.
At any rate, either stock or custom, the 8/8+ is a great phone.
In the (motorcycle) biking side of life there is a saying for (legitimate) bike owners: "Ride it like you stole it".
Have fun with your S8.

Should I stick to stock?

I recently got a second-hand S6 from work. My first step is always to look up the XDA forums on the phone to see what my options are.
It seems that a lot of people are happy with the stock ROM, so that could be enough. However, I like root, since I like certain apps that need root. So if that already triggers KNOX, I might as well install Lineage on it while I'm at it.
So I'd love to hear some opinions. Should I stick to stock, or go through the (badly documented, sorry) process of getting this phone customized?
You should definitely stick with stock ROM if you want to use your phone as daily driver.
I always liked the call recording feature so I can keep track of verbal agreements made over the phone. I believe it can be done using Xposed, but Lineage has it built-in (although it doesn't auto-trigger unfortunately). Even with stock, I'd still need root to do it, and that triggers Knox, right?
Thanks, hopefully some more people will have something to say about it.
Custom ROMs are good, but there are always some sort of malfunctions.
For a phone that has an up-to-date firmware, I wouldn't install custom ROM.
While S6 support has dropped, meaning that it will no longer receive an update, but it still has an updated firmware, I would say it will stay good for at least one more year.
After that I'll consider installing custom ROMs, just like what I did with my older phones.
And as @forumber2 mentioned, for a daily driver, stock is better.
However, if you don't mind troubleshooting the issues on the custom ROM and have the time, then you should install it.
And about rooting, yes, it will trigger the Knox, but since Nougat, I've unrooted my phone and I personally didn't need to root it again, though I'm kinda considering it.
The bottom line is that stay with the stock for a while, if didn't satisfy you, then install customs. The stock ROM, doesn't have many issues, or at least I didn't encounter many that I couldn't solve, just like any other stock ROM.
stock ROM. but you can root it and use xposed to do some things you want..
None of the AOSP ROMs have a camera that is on par with the stock one - that's my reason for sticking through with stock on an Android phone since... ever, really. I'm not a fan of keeping things the way they are. If the camera would be as good as on stock, I'd ditch stock immediately, but unfortunately, the drivers for the camera are proprietary, so, it's unlikely that that will ever be the case.
BUT you can get stock-based custom ROMs - I'm currently using the S8+ port, which seems to be working flawlessly. They are usually debloated, with various tweaks and features that aren't usually available, quicker and just generally better.
Stay stock man custom Rom are bad you will lose many futures and performance and battery . I play games on s6 I tried all custom Roms nothing worked always end up with performance and Wi-Fi problems I am now on latest stock nougat and I will just wait until I find cheap s8 then I will sell this poor s6.
There nothing you can do about s6 to get him better than stock. Nothing except get root to use some apps like change location or install some sound apps that requires root..thats it

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