Database Info

[Q] Why do people unlock bootloader?

I haven't found any good explanations on this so just wondering why people do it. Generally it's fine for most brands but for Sony, I've read so much bad stuff about camera & battery issues, hence the importance of backing up the TA partition.
Aside from being able to use AOSP/CM roms, what's the point of unlocking? It seems like you're sacrificing the camera a bit too much just for this?

To much arguments on this topic.
Someone likes AOSP look and feel more than fuctionality of camera.
What you like, i dont like and vice versa.

chaoscreater said:
I haven't found any good explanations on this so just wondering why people do it. Generally it's fine for most brands but for Sony, I've read so much bad stuff about camera & battery issues, hence the importance of backing up the TA partition.
Aside from being able to use AOSP/CM roms, what's the point of unlocking? It seems like you're sacrificing the camera a bit too much just for this?
Click to expand...
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Flash custom ROM's, custom kernels, mods, etc. And these are just a few.

TheTeslaCoil said:
Flash custom ROM's, custom kernels, mods, etc. And these are just a few.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a kernel that can give me better battery life than stock kernel. I recently found the thread where you can keep the TA partition intact with unlocked bootloader. I am happy with stock debloated ROM but would use another kernel if it means even more battery life.

jassalmithu said:
Is there a kernel that can give me better battery life than stock kernel. I recently found the thread where you can keep the TA partition intact with unlocked bootloader. I am happy with stock debloated ROM but would use another kernel if it means even more battery life.
Click to expand...
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You can only backup TA to restore it later (but if you restore it you lock your bootloader)
Point is, while you have unlocked bootloader your TA is wiped..
But there is solution to have TA functions on unlocked bootloader.. But it has nothing with TA partition it self, it's a mimic of functions..
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app

like others mentioned, it really opens up android and allows you to explore other things; custom roms, mods, kernels, minor tweaks, etc... . in the past years, ive spent alot of time editing this, modifying that, the process of learning was very enjoying. However, after exploring all those, from my perspective, nothing is better than stock if you want stability. dont get me wrong, custom roms are stable too but not 99.99% stable as the stock one from Sony. If you want to explore and have time for that, then go for it, if not, then just with locked BL and root.
and if you ask whether sacrificing camera quality and BE (which can be retained on my original Z), it depends on the user, if the user is a photographer or a person that relies heavily on the phone's camera then maybe. but an average user the trade off isnt much. Also, you can also relock the BL.

Thanks everyone for your answers!

Also, I've heard from some people they actually PREFER the post-unlock camera as the noise reduction algorithm is a bit too aggressive. (Dpreview slammed the Z3 for having overly aggressive NR that caused detail to be lost.)
In my case, I haven't had a working camera in 2-3 months as I still haven't bothered to get it working again in Omni. Cellphone cameras universally suck, and even without the DRM issues the IMX220 is actually well below-average.

What is most if I flash a different ROM?

Hi
I just purchased a shield tablet and it is being shipped from the US.
A few quick questions, how is the stock ROM? Is it slower or less less features than a stock Android base?
Is there anything I would lose if I flash a custom ROM? Eg I assume the camera would worse etc but I'm not too concerned about that...
Thanks in advance

Arg typo in the title... It should say, what is lost if I flash a different ROM
Sent from my Z2 Plus using Tapatalk

Well the performance of the stock rom is user opinionated. There has been many complain of sluggishness in the ROM. I myself have found the performance to be be a pleasure. The stock rom of the Shield is basically stock Android with a few tweaks and features Nvidia themselves has thrown in. As far as features if you switched to a custom ROM, you would lose a lot of those features that Nvidia has added in. You would lose the native screen recorder, shield controller support, native streaming to twitch, per app settings, and many more.

It depends, this isn't a very highly developed device, so I don't know if their are any REALLY stable builds, or fast ones out there. The stock FW is fine, you have the root so just customize it using Xposed Framework if you don't want a custom rom. You can delete bloatware using root apps.

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

Best Stable and Battery ROM for SM-G920W8?

Looking for ROM that is stable and provides the best battery life for my SM-G920W8.

I have done a heck of a lot of searches for that exact question. You want a Nougat based ROM 7.0. Anything above that has camera issues and a few other audio issues. Now if you are looking for any debloated and free to do what you want ROMs, it does not exist as most roms have Magisk preinstalled or Google Apps from stock so you will need to deal with those things. Ultimate Nougat offers a decent ROM but for me, its not debloated enough. You can use any T-Mobile variants as we told me it works for W8. You can also use Samstock ROM which is pretty much as it says, Stock. BUT, it comes preinstalled with root AGAIN, so it's not that stock anymore.
For battery, you need to deal with it. But the nougat roms have, to my opinion, a normal battery life but you cannot expect much with the battery inside the S6, it's dated and other batteries are now better in newer phones.
LINKS for you:
Audio fix: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-galaxy-s6/fix-patch-call-audio-fix-t-w8-devices-t3637014
Kernel that enables permissive mode by default (if ever you want it): https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...ernel-el-generalissimo-v3-01-10-2016-t3472477
I hope this helps you decide. For the roms, simply do the search in the forums Samstock and Ultimate Nougat are pretty easy to find.

Question Where are all the nice ROMs for S22 Ultra?

Hi guys,
I know currently most users (myself included) use stock ROM + debloat for samsung flagships, since stock roms are way better than they were a few years ago, but nevertheless, where are the rom chefs and all the typical custom ROMs and Kernels for S22?
The phone is 5 months old now, is the kernel source available?
Cheers

Phk said:
Hi guys,
I know currently most users (myself included) use stock ROM + debloat for samsung flagships, since stock roms are way better than they were a few years ago, but nevertheless, where are the rom chefs and all the typical custom ROMs and Kernels for S22?
The phone is 5 months old now, is the kernel source available?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the kernel source is aviable. Its sad that development is as good as dead... But wait a bit the s21u has a bit more development but this happened a good year after Release...

No boot unlock yet for Snapdragon U versions...sooo we out of luck

for now there are some stock-based custom ROMs for s22 Ultra Exynos:
- beyondROM
- VN-ROM
- alexega © Project
- Dr.Ketan ROM

Buy a pixel if you want ROMs, basically phones caught up to the point you don't really need to root/flash anymore for performance and customization.

phatmanxxl said:
Buy a pixel if you want ROMs, basically phones caught up to the point you don't really need to root/flash anymore for performance and customization.
Click to expand...
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I wouldn't change to a Pixel because i like the hardware build way much on samsung's S-line phones. Camera, weight, screen, etc.. So for Galaxy phones rooting is still necessary if you need something like AFwall or what to really debloat oneui.
However I fully understand your point; a few years ago changing from stock to custom would be a must, and nowadays its almost an hobbie. But indeed there are not extremely optimized roms out there like there used to be.

Phk said:
I wouldn't change to a Pixel because i like the hardware build way much on samsung's S-line phones. Camera, weight, screen, etc.. So for Galaxy phones rooting is still necessary if you need something like AFwall or what to really debloat oneui.
However I fully understand your point; a few years ago changing from stock to custom would be a must, and nowadays its almost an hobbie. But indeed there are not extremely optimized roms out there like there used to be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
root not needed to debloat a rom anymore, just a simple adb command and done, here you cant find a lot of apps to debloat a rom without root, and others tools

tutibreaker said:
root not needed to debloat a rom anymore, just a simple adb command and done, here you cant find a lot of apps to debloat a rom without root, and others tools
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Click to collapse
I know about adb disable\uninstall, but still there are things which need root like adaway, afwall+, magisk modules... Even for tweaking CSC stuff like automatic call recorder, you still need root perms

i just did Debloat and NextDNS for firewall stuff=happy

Phk said:
I wouldn't change to a Pixel because i like the hardware build way much on samsung's S-line phones. Camera, weight, screen, etc.. So for Galaxy phones rooting is still necessary if you need something like AFwall or what to really debloat oneui.
However I fully understand your point; a few years ago changing from stock to custom would be a must, and nowadays its almost an hobbie. But indeed there are not extremely optimized roms out there like there used to be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I miss the days when we could root and ROM samsung phones. The Note 2 running stock Android but still had S-pen support was the greatest thing at the time.

Phk said:
I know about adb disable\uninstall, but still there are things which need root like adaway, afwall+, magisk modules... Even for tweaking CSC stuff like automatic call recorder, you still need root perms
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Click to collapse
Adguard works pretty well for ad removal, although it does have a yearly subscription for premium (sometimes you can get a one time/lifetime payment), it keeps the annoying ads out of apps and the browser.