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[Guide][Apps] Apps for your Xperia C3 D2533

Hi everyone, seeing as this forum is kinda dead I might as well release a small guide for anyone holding a D2533 since there are lesser chances of 'Best settings prease' and 'best rom/kernel/recovery/app' people to annoy me with.
This guide is meant to recommend to anyone what are the best apps I have used so far in terms of performance, gaming, and general battery life. Without further ado, let me begin.
But first, disclaimer.
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PHONE TURNING INTO AN AWKWARD BOOKMARK OR CHOPPING BOARD. PLEASE USE DISCRETION AND CAUTION WHEN MENTIONED. THIS IS AN OBLIGATORY 'I TOLD YOU SO.'​
Apps that works without root.
1. None. If you're here your phone should be rooted already to make use of apps requiring root. lel
For normal rooted phones without recovery
1. Kernel Adiutor
This app allows an in-depth adjustment of your device, allowing full control on memory management and kernel parameters. Use with caution as it requires reading up on the functions to fully take advantage of the options available.
1a. Root Booster
An alternative to Kernel Adiutor, if you don't like to mess too much with the settings then let this nifty app do the work for you. I didn't try buying Pro version but this is good enough, though I wouldn't recommend you use this WITH CPU tuner to prevent conflicts.
2. AdAway
Browsing your phone but attacked by ads? This beats AdBlock Plus hands down as it fully terminates all adverts at the core level, enough said. Less ads = less phone processing + less data used BUT useless if you're using Chrome on Data Saving settings.
3. Titanium Backup
The one reason most gamers would want to root their phones, especially when you have a whopping 1.8Gb (3 games) to install each time you reset or install your ROM. Especially useful when you want to skip the process of downloading and registering your apps again.
4. CF. lumen
I find this app making it easy on your eyes, especially when you turn on your phone at night. What this little guy does is it applies a filter on your screen to block out blue light from your phone, said to be the reason why people find it hard to sleep at night after looking at any screen whatsoever. More info in this link.
For phones running recovery + Xposed
Note: Saw the disclaimer up there? Yes, it refers to this section so be advised. You absolutely MUST have recovery to work with Xposed as insurance and precaution. If you are running Lollipop 5.0 or 5.1, do refer to the Xposed Threads in this website carefully on how to install. KitKat users should be fine though.
By the way, if you want to install Xposed on Lollipop stock roms, make sure the rom has been modified (Deodexed) or you end up with a chopping board who dreams of turning into a brick one day.
1. Performance Profile
What this guy does is, it allows you to decide at what speed do you want each app chosen to run. This is your governor changer for your apps, useful for apps like Clash of Clans that takes up a crapload of power in your phone in exchange for crap graphics.
2. GLTools
Note: Install by recovery is the best choice
Did I mention gaming? With GLTools, you reduce the graphics on most games that generally lags your phone or force closes it. I've been playing a 2GB Ram game on this phone (Fate/Grand Order) but I can't help with the heating and battery drain.
As usual, fiddle around with the settings as it doesn't necessarily affect all games the same way.
3. RootCloak
Some apps detects root and SuperSU might not be able to hide it. For that, you need RootCloak to hide traces of evil roots to appease that paranoid app. Pretty straightforward, the interface is simple enough for any idiot to use.
4. Xtreme Video
Worth a special mention, our C3 unfortunately does not have a Bravia Engine for some godforsaken reason. This mod provides it, giving our Xperia a place to belong in the feature list. Album viewing has never felt so satisfying.
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Well this is nice. These are all the apps I use most of the time, I got more but they don't work so well on the C3 so I won't mention them. Thanks for reading anyways, and good luck with the phone.

You Root Your Phone for What?

Many people may be ask what is root? Surely most of you know there is an account called administrator in WINDOWS XP and it gets the highest permission to operate the system. Then, Root is to cell phones what administrator is to computer. Only after you root your phone can you have the permission to customize your phone.
Then can you share your root experience. I am considering whether to root my samsung phone.

Ahh for so many reasons. But to name a few: get rid of bloatware, block ads, listen youtube in the background, record my screen, most importantly customize your phone the way you like it and many many more

For more custom features and to make my phone more smoother. My stock rom was really freezy and laggy. When I rooted my phone and downloaded a new rom, my phone feels a lot more smoother.

Mainly for customization and for remove ads u.u
Inviato dal mio LG-D855 utilizzando Tapatalk

that's one good short explanation

markdc said:
Ahh for so many reasons. But to name a few: get rid of bloatware, block ads, listen youtube in the background, record my screen, most importantly customize your phone the way you like it and many many more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:It seems that there are many benefits to root the phone.

swaglordk said:
For more custom features and to make my phone more smoother. My stock rom was really freezy and laggy. When I rooted my phone and downloaded a new rom, my phone feels a lot more smoother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No wonder so many people want to root their phone.

To remove ADS, definitely. I understand the value of them, but I can't stand them...
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app

Install a custom ROM and you'll see why.

Rooting gives privilege , if you are not satisfies with what you have , default apps , any other think which can be modified only if rooted .Although i you wont be having company warranty anymore.

I saw this great reddit comment that summed me up pretty well; for a while I did the whole root thing. Loved it. Tweaking every tiny detail of a phone, getting access to insanely powerful apps, etc.
But it all started souring. Confession: I'm a convert from Linux and Windows to Mac. And that's because Mac's just work for me; when I'm needing to do something vital, I'd much rather something that is 50% less powerful but 100% stable. And I've found with my Galaxy Note 4, although I am annoyed at Touchwiz, at a lot of the stock touches, I much prefer having a non-rooted phone that, if/when an error happens, I know is nothing to do with me.
"My evolution using Android..
Get Android...
Learn to root..
Learn to flash ROM..
become flashaholic flashing multiple ROMs per day crack flashing.
Never having the same ROM/setup for two days in a row
Want more power....
Flash a custom kernel.....
OVERCLOCK!!
Too much battery being used
OVERCLOCK! UNDERVOLT!
Now horsepower is not so important.. Need more battery life...
UNDERCLOCK!!
Need to squeeze more battery life out of device
UNDERCLOCK!! UNDERVOLT!!!
Tired of custom kernel stability(even when not OC/UC UV)
Stock kernel... custom ROM, rooted..
Tired of all the bugs and little nuisances in custom ROMS..
Stock rom, stock kernel... still rooted of course
Root? I don't need root anymore..
Completely bone stock
The end..."

I root my device to get rid of bloatware, to install custom roms, to customize my device the way I want.

For best battery life.

- Remove bloat/spy/adware
- Titanium backup for easily migrating apps+data (including system apps) to other devices
- Micro-manage permissions of apps for security and efficiency.
- A good proxy/VPN app (if you've been to China you know what I mean).
- Killer youtube replacement app (downloads, plays in background, checks other video services, etc)
- Screen rec. app (pre-lollipop)
- Adaway (blocks adds even in games)
- Tasker
- Possibly to re-partition the eMMC --typically with those cheap 8GB devices that emulate an SD card and only have 1GB or so for apps. But that can be tricky. Would preferably try to flash a custom ROM/Recovery if possible, which is not really related to root.
- Also didn't add nandroid backups to the list because I don't tend to flash custom ROMs much.

I rooted my Samsung as soon as I got it in order to get rid of the unnecessary apps and save the ROM space. Enjoy my customized phone since I don't like the feeling being led by the rose.

I root my devices to use them to their highest potential and of course for Flashing various ROMS and Kernels

To become the original owner of my phone

jaymeenc said:
To become the original owner of my phone[emoji14]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[emoji106] [emoji106]

I root mainly for removing bloats and of course more customization.

manly to clean a lot of unnecessary apps in order to get more ram and faster device,also to put allays the software of the newer devises

Help, 5.0 702L boot up service issues

I have never had this issue on any other device with 5.0+ and wonder if it is unique to the X2
I can do any app that says start at boot up, e.g., Smart Unlock, and any autostart app, and oftentimes the service will not start at boot up
I have downloaded and tried a number of apps and utilities (about 4 init.d utilities and bootcomnand) and unfortunately no dice. "Autostart and Stay" is the latest.
Not only will the service not startup at boot, even manually started (which like Pavlov's dog I have trained myself to do), it does not "stay" ie keep the apps persistent or working in the background. Padlocking the apps (pulling down vs zooshing up in the multifinder/square box background tasks doesn't keep things executing.
This is a big hassle. I'm rooted and would do a single command line type command in boot shell pro, but don't have a command I can toss in to start the process or app and/or keep the process persistent.
Any help appreciated.

Rudolpht said:
I have never had this issue on any other device with 5.0+ and wonder if it is unique to the X2
I can do any app that says start at boot up, e.g., Smart Unlock, and any autostart app, and oftentimes the service will not start at boot up
I have downloaded and tried a number of apps and utilities (about 4 init.d utilities and bootcomnand) and unfortunately no dice. "Autostart and Stay" is the latest.
Not only will the service not startup at boot, even manually started (which like Pavlov's dog I have trained myself to do), it does not "stay" ie keep the apps persistent or working in the background. Padlocking the apps (pulling down vs zooshing up in the multifinder/square box background tasks doesn't keep things executing.
This is a big hassle. I'm rooted and would do a single command line type command in boot shell pro, but don't have a command I can toss in to start the process or app and/or keep the process persistent.
Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into phone manager then settings then shortcuts and add the Dropzone shortcut to your home screen. Then open the shortcut and enable everything in dropzone.

That is great advice. There are still nuances about this phone I need to explore. The nuanced nuance was I needed to have the dropzone shortcut (the service was already turned). I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep (?!?) and after that third reboot it booted the service correctly. It seems like a combo of science and mysticism. But it works & thank you!

Rudolpht said:
That is great advice. There are still nuances about this phone I need to explore. The nuanced nuance was I needed to have the dropzone shortcut (the service was already turned). I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep (?!?) and after that third reboot it booted the service correctly. It seems like a combo of science and mysticism. But it works & thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's check your energy saving level. Any level higher than lowest one makes problems with prematurely switching off apps.
Energy saving mechanizms are pretty nasty in X2. I have great issues with notifications from WhatsApp and other communicators till I switched energy saving level to the lowest.

trurl3 said:
Let's check your energy saving level. Any level higher than lowest one makes problems with prematurely switching off apps.
Energy saving mechanizms are pretty nasty in X2. I have great issues with notifications from WhatsApp and other communicators till I switched energy saving level to the lowest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I have the energy savings set to "Normal" as the next level seemed to save only 5%. I'm learning something new every day. Thank you.

I'm trying to research the wonders of dropzone. The best I can find is that it allows a small set of apps to allowing floating notifications. Doesn't really explain the ability to get autoboot things to work or other magic. I'm grateful that this and some of the protected app changes are making this androud work like it should (or like other phones) . A slight more battery drain but a worthy tradeoff for tearing my hair out.

Rudolpht said:
I'm trying to research the wonders of dropzone. The best I can find is that it allows a small set of apps to allowing floating notifications. Doesn't really explain the ability to get autoboot things to work or other magic. I'm grateful that this and some of the protected app changes are making this androud work like it should (or like other phones) . A slight more battery drain but a worthy tradeoff for tearing my hair out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind losing the No Disturb mode, you can delete the whole system manager app from system/app if you're rooted and you won't ever have to deal with the permission problems again.

I'm up for that. Would that kill the app lock also? Would a Titanium freeze do the same? Guess I can give it a shot.

And… it works. App Lock just as if it didn't exist. Will keep Phone Manager frozen for now. Thanks!

And it seems much faster/smoother, which is saying something since it was snappy to begin with.

Rudolpht said:
And it seems much faster/smoother, which is saying something since it was snappy to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah when it's removed it even seems like the battery lasts a little longer. It's something I wish wasn't even included as just a task manager app would have sufficed. You can always delete the PhoneDiagnose and PowerGenieEngine as well. I can also remove them from the Super Slim KangVIP ROM as well if the majority would like that. My goal is a flashable ROM with no bloat that runs fast, gets great battery life and makes it easy for everyone. In fact, I'm going to remove them from my stock debloated ROM's and the KangVIP ROM's from now on due to the fact that a lot of us are having permission issues. I'll have three ROM's for each. A stock original bloated one, a medium debloated one with most of the Chinese apps we don't use removed but all the stock apps like Email will remain and a maximum debloated ROM and all the Huawei apps that can be removed will be.

ajsmsg78 said:
Yeah when it's removed it even seems like the battery lasts a little longer. It's something I wish wasn't even included as just a task manager app would have sufficed. You can always delete the PhoneDiagnose and PowerGenieEngine as well. I can also remove them from the Super Slim KangVIP ROM as well if the majority would like that. My goal is a flashable ROM with no bloat that runs fast, gets great battery life and makes it easy for everyone. In fact, I'm going to remove them from my stock debloated ROM's and the KangVIP ROM's from now on due to the fact that a lot of us are having permission issues. I'll have three ROM's for each. A stock original bloated one, a medium debloated one with most of the Chinese apps we don't use removed but all the stock apps like Email will remain and a maximum debloated ROM and all the Huawei apps that can be removed will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really think the third option, thinnest + gaps + ROM switching would be my winner. Thanks.

I could find and freeze Power Genie 5.6.1.11 to freeze but no Phone Diagnose

Ditched (froze) Swype also

Rudolpht said:
I really think the third option, thinnest + gaps + ROM switching would be my winner. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated the thread with an Ultra Slim KangVIP and SIM switching fix.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mediapad-x2/development/rom-kangvip-5-1-1-b108-t3215851

Cool. I have transparent weather clock back working, without phone manager nonsense. This thread has really changed my X2 experience.

Rudolpht said:
That is great advice. There are still nuances about this phone I need to explore. The nuanced nuance was I needed to have the dropzone shortcut (the service was already turned). I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep (?!?) and after that third reboot it booted the service correctly. It seems like a combo of science and mysticism. But it works & thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem with some services at boot (I'm not rooted yet). I'm not sure I understand what you're explaining here. I created the shortcut to the dropzone and made sure everything was allowed in there. What do you mean by "I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep"? (How do i do that?) Thanks!

AJ is the expert. Freezing phonemanager was easiest, but may require root. Search under settings (there is a search bar at the top) for "protect" services you can unprotect services that don't need to run in the background. Protect the ones you want to run, but they will use battery. May be in the phone manager app if not under setting

Thanks, I already tried that but I still don't get all the services to start at boot. Looks like rooting and freezing phonemanager is gonna be the only way... Thanks anyway for the help!

Killing phonemanager was the best thing that returned the X2 to an actual android-like device. There are a couple other services to freeze you can go through thread that also help.

NO MORE SLOW.

For the few who remain using these tablets (and the even fewer who bought a 2015 shield controller like me) I have the final nail in the coffin for performance. Without custom OS. Allowing you to use your very specific (criminally underused) 2015 Shield controller wirelessly. Welcome to the end of your woes (performance not guaranteed, this crap worked for me though). I still haven't checked if battery usage has improved, but it has certainly let me depend on this and use my controller again as opposed to using a CustomOS (previously used AEX 6.7, good performance, but bad video playback and lack of wifi controller support).
Required thingys:
TWRP
This awesome script (JournalingDisabler.zip) (thnx very much skynet28): https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...urnaling-in-internal-ext4-partitions.1252028/
Developer Options
Snacks? Drinks? This is gonna take some time, don't pass out halfway through lol
Boost 1: DISABLE JOURNALING.
Y'all. This is the good stuff. the nitro. This will make your tablet feel new (again, if everything goes right and I'm not some insane fluke). I only got the idea from an offhand comment from m0nt3s. I thought they were talking about one of the writing apps at first, but once I learned what it was, my brain imploded. Did a quick google search, and found skynet28's solution right away. It's a script designed to disable an ext4 logging service that eats up memory and processing power. I didn't think it would be compatible (but my chaotic neutral mind said why not), but it works:
1. Install TWRP using adb and prayer (that's what it feels like the first time around lol)
2. Download the zip (JournalingDisabler.zip) to your tablet.
3. Use the install button in TWRP, navigate to the zip, and install away.
It should show text saying journaling is disabled if all went well. The gains should be immediately noticeable on your next boot. I didn't notice any issues or side effects, but I also have the benefit of not having important/sensitive data on it, so just to play it safe, back up your data in case issues crop up later.
Boost 2: BACKGROUND PROCESSES
This one will be a touch more noticeable, especially if you multitask on this tablet, but it can definitely stop a lot of the hitching. This one will be in the bottom of the developer options. If you don't have dev options, go into the about tablet section and tap the build number until you become a dev. Setting it to 1 or 2 is decent, but setting it to none will have the biggest impact.
Boost 3: DON'T USE APP OPTIMIZATION
Seriously. Don't know who dropped the ball. But just turn it all off. It's not even a boost, it's just a negative having it on.
Boost 4: SYNCING
If anything is syncing, be it Gmail, your YouTube notifications, or a news feed, turn it off. Any time apps struggle and fight for WIFI, your experience sucks. If you aren't using it as a main (i'm using it in my car as a head unit)
Boost 5: Color Correction
Must have been the same peeps who dropped the ball on app optimization. With the gains you get above, you might not need to, but if you're trying to max it out this will do it.
That's it for me! This is what I've done to get my tablet feeling smooth again. Let me know how it goes?

I can attest that a lot of the above is what needs to be done to save the last days of this tablet. I did not now about the journal part- will have to try this. Related, I just flashed the original OTA's for the Wifi edition on my Shield LTE. By doing this I got a insane boost in battery life. The LTE (H+) does not work but I don't need it and there are other devices that have much better connectivity .

BLKMN said:
For the few who remain using these tablets (and the even fewer who bought a 2015 shield controller like me) I have the final nail in the coffin for performance. Without custom OS. Allowing you to use your very specific (criminally underused) 2015 Shield controller wirelessly. Welcome to the end of your woes (performance not guaranteed, this crap worked for me though). I still haven't checked if battery usage has improved, but it has certainly let me depend on this and use my controller again as opposed to using a CustomOS (previously used AEX 6.7, good performance, but bad video playback and lack of wifi controller support).
Required thingys:
TWRP
This awesome script (JournalingDisabler.zip) (thnx very much skynet28): https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...urnaling-in-internal-ext4-partitions.1252028/
Developer Options
Snacks? Drinks? This is gonna take some time, don't pass out halfway through lol
Boost 1: DISABLE JOURNALING.
Y'all. This is the good stuff. the nitro. This will make your tablet feel new (again, if everything goes right and I'm not some insane fluke). I only got the idea from an offhand comment from m0nt3s. I thought they were talking about one of the writing apps at first, but once I learned what it was, my brain imploded. Did a quick google search, and found skynet28's solution right away. It's a script designed to disable an ext4 logging service that eats up memory and processing power. I didn't think it would be compatible (but my chaotic neutral mind said why not), but it works:
1. Install TWRP using adb and prayer (that's what it feels like the first time around lol)
2. Download the zip (JournalingDisabler.zip) to your tablet.
3. Use the install button in TWRP, navigate to the zip, and install away.
It should show text saying journaling is disabled if all went well. The gains should be immediately noticeable on your next boot. I didn't notice any issues or side effects, but I also have the benefit of not having important/sensitive data on it, so just to play it safe, back up your data in case issues crop up later.
Boost 2: BACKGROUND PROCESSES
This one will be a touch more noticeable, especially if you multitask on this tablet, but it can definitely stop a lot of the hitching. This one will be in the bottom of the developer options. If you don't have dev options, go into the about tablet section and tap the build number until you become a dev. Setting it to 1 or 2 is decent, but setting it to none will have the biggest impact.
Boost 3: DON'T USE APP OPTIMIZATION
Seriously. Don't know who dropped the ball. But just turn it all off. It's not even a boost, it's just a negative having it on.
Boost 4: SYNCING
If anything is syncing, be it Gmail, your YouTube notifications, or a news feed, turn it off. Any time apps struggle and fight for WIFI, your experience sucks. If you aren't using it as a main (i'm using it in my car as a head unit)
Boost 5: Color Correction
Must have been the same peeps who dropped the ball on app optimization. With the gains you get above, you might not need to, but if you're trying to max it out this will do it.
That's it for me! This is what I've done to get my tablet feeling smooth again. Let me know how it goes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works! Every bit of OP is legit.
I used current TWRP as of today, twrp-3.6.1_9-0-shieldtablet.img, from https://twrp.me/nvidia/nvidiahshieldtablet.html using fastboot install method on a fully updated Android 7 Nvidia Shield Tablet model p1761w.
Thanks, much respect!

It is important that those who still do not install TWRP should know that to enter fastboot, they must use the official nvidia drivers "SHIELD_Family_WHQL_USB_driver_201801"
This method helped me to lighten but it becomes impossible to install applications, the google services together with those of nvidia cause the ram to collapse and the system cannot manage correctly.
I strongly recommend you to change to a custom rom, you will finally feel the fluidity of the system
At this moment I use lineage 15.1 (android 8.1) + google services minimum (pico)
No chrome app - no Gmail app + facebook and instagram full app. and the system remains light.

nunitofiman said:
It is important that those who still do not install TWRP should know that to enter fastboot, they must use the official nvidia drivers "SHIELD_Family_WHQL_USB_driver_201801"
This method helped me to lighten but it becomes impossible to install applications, the google services together with those of nvidia cause the ram to collapse and the system cannot manage correctly.
I strongly recommend you to change to a custom rom, you will finally feel the fluidity of the system
At this moment I use lineage 15.1 (android 8.1) + google services minimum (pico)
No chrome app - no Gmail app + facebook and instagram full app. and the system remains light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really wish a developer(s) would take one more look at this device. If there was way to bump up the android version but retain the NVIDIA features it would breath a few more years into these . These tablets are still pretty good for mid range emulation and now that everything has changed with cloud gaming, they are not as irrelevant as it would seem . I've been having pretty good performance on my LTE 32GB that I flashed the original "WiFi edition " stock ROM on. I get great battery life now and use the tablet almost daily for gaming and light use. The sound is also still pretty impressive and I like the stylus functionality as I can't really afford a Samsung device.

What is "journaling"? Is it the same as the logging by logcat? You can set the buffer size to 0K or 64K (setting it to 0 still logs at 64K).

Question Any real reason to use roms over stock?

Most people seem fairly happy with the stock pixel user experience, after all a main reason we purchase pixels is because of it's software.
in your experience, is there any benefit to any of the currently available custom roms that would increase performance and battery? I mean something bigger than just customisability and tinkering

I've been debating this too. I haven't rooted a device in 4 years. No real reason to anymore. I'm on the fence because I'm hoping for a true blackout theme and better animation transitions on a custom rom. Haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Performance, efficiency, and control over fast more than what Google chooses to provide.

ctfrommn said:
Performance, efficiency, and control over fast more than what Google chooses to provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What roms are you referring to?

It has been scientifically proven that running custom kernels and/or roms helps to minimize E.D.
Mainly battery life. I have to charge my phone once every 1-1.5 weeks or so, vs every or every other day like most people.
*Keeping the screen brightness only as bright as you need it (i.e. not ecessively set or maxxed out--I keep mine around 1/4 maybe touch more, on the brightness slider.

smokejumper76 said:
I have to charge my phone once every 1-1.5 weeks or so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bruh, do you even use your phone at all? What ROM makes such a huge difference for your use to extend your battery life from 1 day to over 7 days?

fix-this! said:
What roms are you referring to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Literally any?
GrapheneOS gets rid of all Google Services, thus (and overall) it's a lot more privacy-focused.
Performance isn't a huge issue on Pixel devices (imo), because the ROM they come with isn't super bloated, but you can always just use LineageOS, or any other barebones ROM if you don't need any fancy features, only sleek (slick?) performance.
I have always been a fan of ResurrectionRemix/crDroid, which are filled with TONS of features. Sure, depending on who you are, you might not care for most/some of them (double tapping on statusbar to lock the screen, changing the animation of quick settings tiles when you tap on them, blinking the flashlight when you receive a call, and many, many other small things).
Nowadays, even ROMs like this aren't hogging up your performance or ruin your battery life.
Besides flashing custom ROMs, rooting is still useful for me.
Yeah, getting SafetyNet to pass can be a bit of a hassle, but in exchange I get to use ACC to prolong my battery's health, I can get rid of the navbar pill, and I can use an lsposed module to disable secure flag in my transportation app, so I can take a screenshot of my ticket (should the inspector come when there's no cellular connection (and the app doesn't properly cache the ticket, because of great programming )).
None of these are deal-breakers, but as long as there's still an option for doing these, I wouldn't want to miss out.

Radjah2001 said:
in your experience, is there any benefit to any of the currently available custom roms that would increase performance and battery? I mean something bigger than just customisability and tinkering
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life and performance is pretty good as is. The stock rom on Pixels isn't super bloated, so it's not like it has much of an effect on battery or the performance of your phone. With the stock kernel I lost about 0.6% of battery every hour overnight, with MVK kernel that number got reduced to about 0.4%. Does it make a difference? Not at all.
I guess you could root and use a kernel manager to downclock the CPU to gain some extra SoT, but that's about it. If you're not much of a tinkerer, and content with your current setup, there's no real reason to switch to something else.

Lada333 said:
Bruh, do you even use your phone at all? What ROM makes such a huge difference for your use to extend your battery life from 1 day to over 7 days?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. I have no friends. <s>
I'll use it outside/on road but even then, phone conversations and internet browsing is not very much. Here and there, etc. Mostly texts or instant msgs.But calls here and there. I have it set to charge max 75% and will recharge when it gets to around 20%. Running LineageOS w/ the kernel it comes with it. Nothing fancy. I don't use any social media app (or social media or that matter), so I don't have to worry about that stuff draining the battery. WiFI and/or VPN will so I tend to keep them turned off until I need them. If I used phone more regularly, I could see myself having to recharge it maybe every 3-4 days maybe, I dunno.

Battery life can actually be worse on custom ROMs that do not have Google Play Services. When an app uses Play Svcs to handle push notifications, things like notification pushes get are managed and batched together by Play Services. If a phone does not have Play Svcs, apps that use cloud notifications may have to register their own persistent polling services which can chew up battery. And then you have to disable battery optimization for that app so it doesn't get dozed.
I've at least heard anecdotal evidence that battery life suffers on GrapheneOS because of this. Say, if you have an email client and messaging apps that require a persistent polling service to look for new messages.
Nowadays when I look up reasons to use ROMs or root, I get annoyed when articles list modules or features that serve to fix the issues that the act of making these changes cause (eg- hide root from other apps, force apps to doze, magisk bootloop saver, etc). I mean now you're spending the time managing the problem you've created for yourself. It's silly. Unless there are practical reasons to customize, I see no compelling reason to do so.

jawz101 said:
Battery life can actually be worse on custom ROMs that do not have Google Play Services. When an app uses Play Svcs to handle push notifications, things like notification pushes get are managed and batched together by Play Services. If a phone does not have Play Svcs, apps that use cloud notifications may have to register their own persistent polling services which can chew up battery. And then you have to disable battery optimization for that app so it doesn't get dozed.
I've at least heard anecdotal evidence that battery life suffers on GrapheneOS because of this. Say, if you have an email client and messaging apps that require a persistent polling service to look for new messages.
Nowadays when I look up reasons to use ROMs or root, I get annoyed when articles list modules or features that serve to fix the issues that the act of making these changes cause (eg- hide root from other apps, force apps to doze, magisk bootloop saver, etc). I mean now you're spending the time managing the problem you've created for yourself. It's silly. Unless there are practical reasons to customize, I see no compelling reason to do so.
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Very well said. I've been thinking the same. Google does there optimizations pretty well and they have given even more options to even tinker with a lil more effecient as per your need. There's no need to go out of the way replace the whole rom. even if you do you should have a very good reason and it should have some very noticable difference that can be seen to any one... Though i always have a soft corner for the modding community. Because of their push oems are stepping up their game.

Interesting. I do have Gapps installed and regarding polling the servers, while I myself haven't had battery drain, I can definitely attest to custom roms possibly messing with polling. On my old M8 (which also had Lineage), if the phone was on standby for a long time, I would not get ANY text or IMs unless I turned on the screen, THEN I'd get a bunch of messages. Or even if the phone was on, I would have to send a text message to myself and then I'd get a bunch back from people. So, yes at least on that phone there was serious polling issues I opened myself up with.
Currently I am on the newer phone(s), which I don't experience those issues, but you are absolutely right about them.

smokejumper76 said:
if the phone was on standby for a long time, I would not get ANY text or IMs unless I turned on the screen, THEN I'd get a bunch of messages.
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I've also experienced that issue on my 3T running.. any custom ROM, basically. I think it's mostly fixed on newer ROMs though. YMMV.

Radjah2001 said:
Most people seem fairly happy with the stock pixel user experience, after all a main reason we purchase pixels is because of it's software.
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Speak for yourself. I bought pixel for the HARDWARE, and specifically the fact that it isn't crippled (locked) and is properly supported in AOSP. The factory prebuilt software is utter trash with one purpose and one purpose ONLY: To track everything you do.
In order to safely use the hardware, it is NECESSARY to wipe the spyware from it. Either build AOSP from source yourself, or use a security focused distribution like GrapheneOS.

Lada333 said:
Besides flashing custom ROMs, rooting is still useful for me.
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Add possibly Viper4Android on A13 some day and its perfect.
Safetynet / play integrity & hide root is pretty easy on stock, but did you have success on custom Roms?
My banking app doesnt even rely on Safetynet / play integrity and checks for root itself, but shamiko takes care of that, but I suspect it would detect a custom Rom and refuse to work.
An entire Rom would probably much harder to hide than just root.

G5-User7080 said:
Add possibly Viper4Android
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Never really saw the need/use for v4a.
G5-User7080 said:
Safetynet / play integrity & hide root is pretty easy on stock, but did you have success on custom Roms?
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Sure. Never had issues. Besides adding my banking apps to the DenyList, I also had to hide the Magisk app. What I've found is that some apps may look for the Magisk app being installed on your device (you don't even necessarily need to be rooted, just have Magisk installed).

Love the warped perspective a few posts up. Reminder to all on the risks of oxygen deprivation at birth

Lada333 said:
Never really saw the need/use for v4a.
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I really hope someone finds out how to make it work on A13 soon, luckily my music app has an eq so its not like it sounds bad, but what I mostly miss is replay gain ig, when I'm outside music with a wider dynamic range is a bit of a problem, the quieter parts just drown in the outside noise.
Sure. Never had issues. Besides adding my banking apps to the DenyList, I also had to hide the Magisk app. What I've found is that some apps may look for the Magisk app being installed on your device (you don't even necessarily need to be rooted, just have Magisk installed).
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yes, mine do, hideMyApplist takes care of that, for some reason when I hide magisk App, it gets picket up by AppListDetector (well not by my banking app at least).
I kinda wanna try a custom ROM but flashing an entire new ROM is a lot scarier than just rooting stock, like some apps might not be working cause they rely on google services etc, maybe when I buy a new phone in a few years and this one doesnt get updates anymore I could try that.

DB126 said:
Love the warped perspective a few posts up. Reminder to all on the risks of oxygen deprivation at birth
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With all the scandals involving big tech all the time, do you really wonder why people distrust google & co?
In the end it's probably never as bad as you fear and never as good as you hope.
A13 has some nice privacy protecting features built in, like Android System Intelligence all happens on device, then again, gboard, google app, etc don't, ig u get a little bit of everything.
You can never be completely private, and for that reason some of my friends say "Well then it doesn't matter anyway, just know everything about me idc" and some others be like "ill just stop using all their services alltogether"
In the end everyone can do what they want cant they?

G5-User7080 said:
like some apps might not be working cause they rely on google services etc
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um, so?
Even if the ROM of your choice doesn't come with GApps preinstalled, you can always just sideload MindTheGapps.