I have been trying ROMs for years now in my string of Motorola phones, and every single one of them has had one set of showstopping bugs or another. I haven't been able to find any firmware that I could actually live with for any length of time.
I am currently on AOSP Extended v3.3 and it can not give me notifications! My phone just vibrated with a phone call but it was not in vibrate mode! There was no phone with jiggly wires on the sides and when I turned the ringer up it was already at max! Yet no ringer.
I've missed appoointments because the calendar notifications don't work, I miss texts all the time because it can't manage out a tone.
All of us here keep upgrading to the next version in hopes of shedding one or more show-stopping bugs, but it's a dream continually unrealized.
Can any qualified developer tell me why this is so hard? Why can Android not get the basics right, even now that we have reached Oreo? Why is this advanced OS not able to do the little things a phone must do? Never-mind the advanced features like pie controls -- I'd learn those if I trusted this thing. But even on the best phones (my prior was a Moto X) I cant get a phone I can rely on.
PS - I tried an Apple phone for work a couple years ago and it worked, but I just hated it.
Lineage 14.1, Official. Installed the 'official way' (motorola unlock code). Not rooted. For me, working like a charm
You should try a different rom. AOSP Extended is based on AOSP-CAF. When I used a different ROM but also based on AOSP-CAF (purenexus) I faced the same problem.
Right now I’m on unofficial Lineage 15 (it still has some issues: random reboots sometimes but that seems to be an upstream issue as Pixels are also rebooting and having to use Footej camera to record video).
As @krondar said official LineageOS should be your best choice even though it doesn’t have some other more advanced custom ROM features. (Or just stock ROM from Motorola if you’re OK with Marshmallow)
Quantumstate said:
I have been trying ROMs for years now in my string of Motorola phones, and every single one of them has had one set of showstopping bugs or another. I haven't been able to find any firmware that I could actually live with for any length of time.
I am currently on AOSP Extended v3.3 and it can not give me notifications! My phone just vibrated with a phone call but it was not in vibrate mode! There was no phone with jiggly wires on the sides and when I turned the ringer up it was already at max! Yet no ringer.
I've missed appoointments because the calendar notifications don't work, I miss texts all the time because it can't manage out a tone.
All of us here keep upgrading to the next version in hopes of shedding one or more show-stopping bugs, but it's a dream continually unrealized.
Can any qualified developer tell me why this is so hard? Why can Android not get the basics right, even now that we have reached Oreo? Why is this advanced OS not able to do the little things a phone must do? Never-mind the advanced features like pie controls -- I'd learn those if I trusted this thing. But even on the best phones (my prior was a Moto X) I cant get a phone I can rely on.
PS - I tried an Apple phone for work a couple years ago and it worked, but I just hated it.
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AOSP Extended is one of the best you can find here. But the version you are using is very old. I would recommend you clean flash the latest version and I believe you will love it.
I tryed Cyanogenmod 13 and it was awesome, and now I'm with Lineage 14.1 and everything is ok... no bugs,
Over the years I've tried every firmware from MIUI to Paranoid Android to CarbonROM to Cyanogenmod to ResurrectionRemix, and all have one set of basic problems or another. And worse, seem to deteriorate over time!
This should never, never happen with an advanced OS in the 21st Century. So I moved to the AOSPs and find the same syndrome! This implies a basic problem with Android -- after so many years it can not be gotten right. It's alarming.
Why is Lineage better? What is it based on? How is it different that it doesn't have these problems? How do you find out that one ROM is working better than all the others?
I've been using purenexus ROM for a few month and never faced any issue,not even a little one. It was 100% stable for me and the perfect ROM for a daily driver. AEX Is very good though and lineage OS 14.1 too.
Actually I'd installed PureNexus right after my post above. It's 4 times faster than AOSP Extended v3.3, although I have yet to put it through the wringer. Time will tell.
Quantumstate said:
Actually I'd installed PureNexus right after my post above. It's 4 times faster than AOSP Extended v3.3, although I have yet to put it through the wringer. Time will tell.
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Why where you using such an old version of AOSP Extended? Currently version 4.6 (nougat) is available and work on Oreo has begun.
Latest Stock Android 6.0.1 with @squid2 r20 kernel works flawlessly on my Moto G3 (xt1548). Two consecutive months of use and not a single bug found.
V-Droid said:
Why where you using such an old version of AOSP Extended? Currently version 4.6 (nougat) is available and work on Oreo has begun.
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Why? Because I don't have time to be bit-twiddling every other day on my phone. I need to use my phone as a phone, since I am an adult.
Checking, my version of AOSPExtended was 9 March, 2017. You see 5 months, as old? What's the matter with you?
And no matter HOW old, why is it ever acceptable to you that it would sit silent as my phone calls, texts, appointments go by, and it forgets which keyboard I've chosen repeatedly? With this 13th generation of Android, the mission-critical fundamentals are completely busted? It was quite a feat to accomplish that.
Thankfully so far PureNexus is working. I hope that lasts more than 5 months without deteriorating.
Quantumstate said:
Why? Because I don't have time to be bit-twiddling every other day on my phone. I need to use my phone as a phone, since I am an adult.
Checking, my version of AOSPExtended was 9 March, 2017. You see 5 months, as old? What's the matter with you?
And no matter HOW old, why is it ever acceptable to you that it would sit silent as my phone calls, texts, appointments go by, and it forgets which keyboard I've chosen repeatedly? With this 13th generation of Android, the mission-critical fundamentals are completely busted? It was quite a feat to accomplish that.
Thankfully so far PureNexus is working. I hope that lasts more than 5 months without deteriorating.
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If you don't have time to be 'bit-twiddling' on your phone then why did you bother on unlocking the boot loader and flashing a custom firmware?
Personally I haven't tried pure nexus, but it is very possible that 5 months ago pure nexus had the same bugs as AOSP Extended. Since they are custom firmwares, they are susceptible to bugs, that's why mainteiners push out weekly or monthly updates.
If you think that pure nexus or any other rom will deteriorate over time then you should probably restore the stock firmware of whatever device you are using, well... That of you have time, if not than don't blame maintainers remember they are not being paid for anything.
I don't have time to be bit-twiddling because I have actual work to do. But I want the extra features in custom firmware. Is that unusual? Is that not why most of us do this?
It doesn't matter whether PureNexus had the same bugs 5 months ago. I am using it now. In the real world one can not disprove a negative. Susceptible to bugs? Like the frickin' phone not ringing? And it forgetting basic settings? That should never, never happen. Again, these are mission-critical functions of a *phone*.
The maintainers are doing it for fun and recognition. But those maintainers who lazily emit schlock and dreck should be outed. That is not been happening, and it is time is does, for the protection of users.
Quantumstate said:
I don't have time to be bit-twiddling because I have actual work to do. But I want the extra features in custom firmware. Is that unusual? Is that not why most of us do this?
It doesn't matter whether PureNexus had the same bugs 5 months ago. I am using it now. In the real world one can not disprove a negative. Susceptible to bugs? Like the frickin' phone not ringing? And it forgetting basic settings? That should never, never happen. Again, these are mission-critical functions of a *phone*.
The maintainers are doing it for fun and recognition. But those maintainers who lazily emit schlock and dreck should be outed. That is not been happening, and it is time is does, for the protection of users.
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I'm not making this statement because of my obvious bias of being employed by Motorola Mobility. But nobody knows better how to create ROMs for Motorola devices better than Motorola. I totally understand your points and agree with your logic on many of the shoddy custom ROMs put out for Moto devices. Cobvetsely, however, I have to give much deserved credit to some of the XDA pioneer developers who have a passion for both Android and our beloved Motorola devices. @lost101 stands out, as well as @superR, @squid2, @Sands207, and the great @Buzbee2 just to name a modicum of these dedicated individuals.
If all else fails your expectations, go with a pure stock build, with root, busybox, debloating, with the custom ROM type flexibilities and customizations provided by deodexing, Xposed Framework mods & tweaks, etc, etc. You don't necessarily need a custom build to enjoy the perks and customizations of your Android OS, Grab yourself a stock build of your choosing and mold it like a piece of clay, and be your own architect. As a brilliant attorney once stated, "at the end of the day, my client is ultimately the captain of his own ship."
---------- Post added at 05:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:56 PM ----------
Quantumstate said:
I don't have time to be bit-twiddling because I have actual work to do. But I want the extra features in custom firmware. Is that unusual? Is that not why most of us do this?
It doesn't matter whether PureNexus had the same bugs 5 months ago. I am using it now. In the real world one can not disprove a negative. Susceptible to bugs? Like the frickin' phone not ringing? And it forgetting basic settings? That should never, never happen. Again, these are mission-critical functions of a *phone*.
The maintainers are doing it for fun and recognition. But those maintainers who lazily emit schlock and dreck should be outed. That is not been happening, and it is time is does, for the protection of users.
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Click to collapse
I'm not making this statement because of my obvious bias of being employed by Motorola Mobility. But nobody knows better how to create ROMs for Motorola devices better than Motorola. I totally understand your points and agree with your logic on many of the shoddy custom ROMs put out for Moto devices. Conversely, however, I have to give much deserved credit to some of the XDA pioneer developers who have a passion for both Android and our beloved Motorola devices. @lost101 stands out, as well as @superR, @squid2, @Sands207, and the great @Buzbee2 just to name a modicum of these dedicated individuals.
If all else fails your expectations, go with a pure stock build, with root, busybox, debloating, with the custom ROM type flexibilities and customizations provided by deodexing, Xposed Framework mods & tweaks, etc, etc. You don't necessarily need a custom build to enjoy the perks and customizations of your Android OS, Grab yourself a stock build of your choosing and mold it like a piece of clay, and be your own architect. As a brilliant attorney once stated, "at the end of the day, my client is ultimately the captain of his own ship."
I am with you on Motorola, MotoJunkie01. No one else makes water-resistant phones, and is that not just a basic common-sense feature for something we carry with us?
But few seem to have common sense.
I've owned Motorola phones since cellphones began. I experimented with HTC, Nokia, and Samsung, but over time each one gave me reason to distrust the brand. Always came back to Moto.
I was afraid that Motorola had discarded the water-resistant feature, but the new X4 is at least IP64, so that will be my next phone. There are no custom firmwares for it yet but I'll make a note of the devs you cite. I do enterprise infosec, and rigor and quality are vital -- given my job and my nature it's why I'm so perturbed with these lackadaisical devs who learn only enough to knock something together and don't have enough sense to fix it. It's like spreading pollution...
I wish Whirleyes would bring his amazing multiboot feature -- no software enhancement comes close to being as useful and important to me, but impetuous people here pissed him off. There is some kind of multiboot available now, but it is not compatible with the XT1540.
For hardware features I rank waterproof first, large battery second, and dual SIM third. I've got to research whether the Asian Moto X4 will work in the US on Credo Mobile. (Verizon)
For software, security is of course number 1. I'd want to configure my phone like the Blackphone2, except with a hidden interface. We may soon be compelled to unlock our phones at borders and by police (which no matter what the Supreme Court says, is unConstitutional), so I'd like to unlock my phone, but have another (hidden) unlock for another side of it; another phone or at least storage place, with the two sides completely secure from one another and distinct.
The supposed "Crypto" rom here is nothing of the sort. He's just using a gee-whiz name, amusingly. Doesn't realize how silly he looks.
I've left my phone out overnight in the rain at least twice, and what a relief it is to have this protection.
And true, stock firmware can be relied on, although I wish it had some of the nice features of customs. And I wish it got security updates over time -- that's a key reason I move to the next releases of Android.
Quantumstate said:
I am with you on Motorola, MotoJunkie01. No one else makes water-resistant phones, and is that not just a basic common-sense feature for something we carry with us?
But few seem to have common sense.
I've owned Motorola phones since cellphones began. I experimented with HTC, Nokia, and Samsung, but over time each one gave me reason to distrust the brand. Always came back to Moto.
I was afraid that Motorola had discarded the water-resistant feature, but the new X4 is at least IP64, so that will be my next phone. There are no custom firmwares for it yet but I'll make a note of the devs you cite. I do enterprise infosec, and rigor and quality are vital -- given my job and my nature it's why I'm so perturbed with these lackadaisical devs who learn only enough to knock something together and don't have enough sense to fix it. It's like spreading pollution...
I wish Whirleyes would bring his amazing multiboot feature -- no software enhancement comes close to being as useful and important to me, but impetuous people here pissed him off. There is some kind of multiboot available now, but it is not compatible with the XT1540.
For hardware features I rank waterproof first, large battery second, and dual SIM third. I've got to research whether the Asian Moto X4 will work in the US on Credo Mobile. (Verizon)
For software, security is of course number 1. I'd want to configure my phone like the Blackphone2, except with a hidden interface. We may soon be compelled to unlock our phones at borders and by police (which no matter what the Supreme Court says, is unConstitutional), so I'd like to unlock my phone, but have another unlock for another side of it; another phone or at least storage place, with the two sides completely secure from one another and distinct.
The supposed "Crypto" rom here is nothing of the sort. He's just using a gee-whiz name, amusingly.
I've left my phone out overnight in the rain at least twice, and what a relief it is to have this protection.
And true, stock firmware can be relied on, although I wish it had some of the nice features of customs. And I wish it got security updates over time -- that's a key reason I move to the next releases of Android.
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Friend we share similar views and sentiments on this subject. We also seem to share in the philosophy that The Due Process Clause, Equal Protection of the Law, and safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures have essentially all been trampled through the mud when it comes to our privacy and expectations to privacy with respect to our smartphones. Law enforcement having the authority to compel a man (or woman) to unlock their device without constitutional safeguardsl, is synonymous of the police being permitted to kick down the door to a man's house upon a "whim" or a "hunch". Or a cop conducting a traffic stop and subsequent warrantless search of the driver's person and vehicle merely because the cop feels like it. I take great pride in knowing with 100% certainty that any law enforcement who attempts to track or trace my mobile IP, or tries to monitor anything about incoming or outbound data packets on any of my devices is chasing Casper the Ghost. But, anymore I can't be so certain about John Q Law's legal authorization (or ability) to stick his long snout into my device's internal storage. I'm working the final kinks out of a simple process that will completely wipe and heavily encrypt the wiped storage with multiple layers of random binary (with the morbidly numerous anticipation that they actually can and will spend countless man hours and resources on decrypting utterly blank and random blocks of binary jibberish). All with a self determined series of keyfob button presses.
Yeah I know I'm ranting and perhaps being a bit overzealous. But, just like you said, regardless of state or federal appellate court adjudications giving authorities such authorizations, such decisions run afoul of a handful of the most rudimentary tenets of constitutional safeguards.
Word.
Most have given up and acquiesced. But not me. Never. I use Tor to get here, and just about everywhere else. Because I know what can be done.
Most will say that their words are not important enough and so they don't worry. But they do not know that what is Ok today, may not be tomorrow. I used to be in intelligence, and most here would not believe what can happen (and has happened in other nations).
BTW, there is an excellent TV series called The Americans, which I think is as good as the old Mission Impossible series (which came way before Tom Cruise). Although it can never compete with the old Secret Agent ('Danger Man') series, and the John LeCarre series', it is a high-grade and carefully-wrought storyline.
I agree with you that seems no ROM is stable; In fact if your phone is important for you as production device, I would suggest you stick with stock ROM or keep testing until a ROM which works for you and stay there! New version introduce new bug, that's the usual case on Software side, there is no way to avoid.
If you are so sensitive to bugs then stick onto stock rom instead of blaming the developers. Your fault that you can't keep meddling with your device. If you want a totally bugles device then you try to develop a rom by yourself then you will understand what it is to be a developer
MotoJunkie01 said:
Latest Stock Android 6.0.1 with @squid2 r20 kernel works flawlessly on my Moto G3 (xt1548). Two consecutive months of use and not a single bug found.
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Better than my XT1540, rooted, no other mods except modified host file for ad removal, stock kernel. I have an average 1 bug report a week.
Related
Man, I'm so frustrated.
On other forums some people have mistakenly thought I'm against flashing custom ROMs. I'm not. I'd flash a custom ROM in a heartbeat. In fact, the reason I hang out here is I'm watching for "That ROM". I'm just not comfortable with the state of things on the Captivate. Here's the deal... it seems every single ROM is a compromise. I'm not talking about differences in themes, or what apps are included, etc... I'm talking basic functionality. Sometimes it's little things, sometimes it's big things... but always, you need to give stuff up. And I'll get the response, "yeah well stock is buggy too, so what's your point?". You know... sometimes the little things count. The details add to the experience. Maybe we want all the little things to actually work. Maybe you don't care about bluetooth, but I do. Etc.
Bluetooth. Haptic feedback. Battery life. Cell reception. GPS. Stability. Performance. Voice quality/Audience support. Pick the 3 you don't care about and are willing to give up.
Frustrating.
And a lot of it seems to come down to these "modem" files. Dozens floating about... everyone has their favorite like they have a favorite color. And they themselves come with compromises... use one, and A B and C work but X Y and Z don't. Use another, and it's the other way around... or maybe there's D E and F now. What works for one person doesn't work for another... and yet these are the same model phones. Oh, but wait... now it's passe to say "every phone is different". Like they are? They're the same hardware. But now we just accept for some reason that every Captivate is some random assembly of different chips and so using a ROM is an assumed matter of modem-roulette and deciding what features you want and what ones you're willing to sacrifice.
Why is this "ok"?
It's important to mention at this point that this is absolutely nothing against the hard-working developers here. I don't doubt for a moment that they are doing their absolute best with what they have available to them. It's not that, it's the culture... the community... the mindset. Are we being hypocrites? I mean, if we're just accepting now that every Captivate is unique hardware and no one ROM/modem will work ideal on all of them, why do we hold Samsung to a higher-standard like they themselves could ever produce an official and universal 2.2 firmware for the Captivate where everything actually works for everyone?
Something's not right here. I don't doubt that people get different results with different files... but these are different environments, and the testing not done consistently or scientifically. I don't think it's appropriate to act like the differences come from varying hardware when it's far more-likely that it's differences in other more-random things. Some people are in a primarily 1900 MHz area, some primarily in an 850MHz area. GPS is also environment-specific and someone with a modem that offers below-average GPS performance might report that the GPS is "amazing" simply because they're in an ideal spot. The hardware is the least likely aspect to vary. Surely there must be a solution... a better answer... a potential for a modem that actually works amazing for everyone. Where all bands are supported, GPS works amazing, Audience chip is supported, etc etc.
I just felt the need to vent. I'm not sure what the solution here is... I just feel we've gotten to casual just "accepting" a situation as something it's not, and shouldn't be. One shouldn't have to play modem-lotto just to get basic decent performance from their ROM, or decide what basic features they're willing to sacrifice. I know this is a huge discouragement for me, and why I'm still on stock. I want to flash so badly... but every ROM thread I read through I eventually hit at least one (if not several) deal-breakers, and the casual acceptance of them is just frustrating.
Anyone feel the same way? Thoughts?
I think your over analyizing.....im a flash junkie and I've flashed everything on the forums....I don't use my phone for business so almost every rom I use has everything I need functional...haptic feedback is not a reason for me not to use a rom but camera is.....along with flashing roms I mix matched different kernels and modems.....its all preference.....with the modem situation I just flash one and test it out until I have an issue then move onto the next...I thought jk4 was the best for me until I decided to try jk3. I've noticed I get reception in areas where I didn't with jk4....so ill test this one out for awhile....you can't sit and read until u read that u found the best......u just have to test it out for yourself...it sucks but that's what u get. I feel things wont get better for us until we get our official froyo release by att. Well have our noise cancellation chip working as well as a modem built for att usa. I had better cell service with captivate roms n modems then I do with i9000 ones but the i9000 roms are leagues ahead of any captivate ones
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Did you try Serendipity? It seems to do quite well on every item in your list.
I have not flashed for mostly the same reasons as you. It seems that every combination has different things that work and things that do not work. I want every function of my phone to work properly. That includes hardware noise cancellation and proper bluetooth support, which seem to be a major issue on i9000 ROMs/kernels/modems. My biggest issue with Captivate ROMs/kernels/modems is the apparent lack of support for bluetooth voice dialing. Now it is a fair argument that bluetooth voice dialing does not work on the AT&T 2.1 ROM, but it is not a supported feature of 2.1. It is a supported features of 2.2, so why shouldn't I (we) expect it to work? If a feature that is supposed to work in 2.2 does not work, that doesn't give me the best feeling about flashing the ROM.
I came over from the Windows Mobile side and I flashed custom ROMs on my Fuze without thinking twice, but there were never core or standard features of the phone or OS missing in the ROMs I flashed. I had bluetooth + voice dialing, good battery life, good cell reception, good working GPS, extremely good stability, great performance (for the hardware), and good voice quality with working noise cancellation in all the ROMs I ran.
I think that overall the devs here are doing a good job, and I think things will improve after the release of 2.2 sources for the captivate, but it seems that right now, there is a compromise involved in any of the custom ROMs.
I can accept the fact that the current ROMs don't meet my expectations, but when people say, "just start flashing" to people like myself who have higher expectations, it gets a little old. The attitude that only people willing to accept these compromises should be reading/contributing to the xda-developers forum is also annoying. I think it is great that there are people working on custom ROMs and there are people willing to run them with the compromises they have to make, but that does not mean that everyone should just be willing to make those compromises and if they are not willing they should not post.
I have made very few posts in the Captivate forum, I guess it could be said that I have been lurking and reading up on each new custom ROM as it comes out, waiting for one that seems to meet my expectations. I have not been vocal, or complained about the fact that we need to make compromises. But others that ask questions about whether certain things work, seem to get flamed and told to just accept the way things currently are, or they are completely ignored. If the devs don't want to answer questions such as, "does bluetooth voice dialing work," or "how is bluetooth voice quality in this ROM," then they should put this type of information directly in the first couple of posts. The newest Cognition ROM thread has this type of information and I greatly appreciate that DG included it. For most ROMs you can't find out if certain items work properly without reading the first 10-20 pages of posts.
Maybe the main issue for people like me (with higher expectations from my phone) is that good information about what works and what does not work often does not float to the top of the ROM dev threads. I started using xdandroid on my Fuze as my first introduction to Android and each phone that it ran on had a thread and on the first page was a listing of each major functional piece (sound, camera, bluetooth, etc) and whether or not it was working yet. Each developer can do as they choose, but if the status of functional items and known bugs was listed in the first page, it would save on questions and some of the less than helpful responses that the questions cause.
People also have to remember that only a leaked/unfinished Captivate 2.2 ROM has been made available as a base for some ROMs so there's no other choice for a complete Froyo ROM without resorting to i9000 ROMs. Expecting things to work from a unfinished leak is a bit different from having high standards.
GPS is also broken for some people whether they're on a stock ROM or not to begin with, devs can't magically make it work for everyone.
Cell reception is not 100% determined by a ROM, if I flash the "most amazing bestestst rom ever" and live in a remote forest with lead leaves, reception might just suck a little because it mainly depends on location.
No phone is the same believe it or not, maybe unless it's an iPhone. If you want something that works as it should perfectly, you probably shouldn't be flashing ROMs, because they are essentially in infinite beta until a dev doesn't want to work on it anymore. Either stick to the stock ROM, get an Aria or some other unlocked phone, or even an iPhone since that's probably most stable thing out there right now.
The ROM threads grow dozens of pages every hour, and posts will always get overlooked whether they are important or not. It still amazes me that people get confused when they start seeing an H instead of 3G. This is a development community and has several thousands and thousands of users at any given time. It is busy.
tysj said:
People also have to remember that only a leaked/unfinished Captivate 2.2 ROM has been made available as a base for some ROMs so there's no other choice for a complete Froyo ROM without resorting to i9000 ROMs. Expecting things to work from a unfinished leak is a bit different from having high standards.
GPS is also broken for some people whether they're on a stock ROM or not to begin with, devs can't magically make it work for everyone.
Cell reception is not 100% determined by a ROM, if I flash the "most amazing bestestst rom ever" and live in a remote forest with lead leaves, reception might just suck a little because it mainly depends on location.
No phone is the same believe it or not, maybe unless it's an iPhone. If you want something that works as it should perfectly, you probably shouldn't be flashing ROMs, because they are essentially in infinite beta until a dev doesn't want to work on it anymore. Either stick to the stock ROM, get an Aria or some other unlocked phone, or even an iPhone since that's probably most stable thing out there right now.
The ROM threads grow dozens of pages every hour, and posts will always get overlooked whether they are important or not. It still amazes me that people get confused when they start seeing an H instead of 3G. This is a development community and has several thousands and thousands of users at any given time. It is busy.
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For the American SGS phones, I was not trying to suggest that the developers can "fix" the GPS (though it is worth noting that Da_G has made some good progress http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881941).
I don't completely disagree with many of your points, which is why I am still running the stock ROM. If I had two phones, I would be willing to beta test unfinished software and ROMs, but since I only have 1 phone that I expect to work (or more accurately, my company who pays for it expects it to work) I have not flashed any of the current firmwares that are available.
I think cell reception has a lot more to do with the Radio/Modem than the ROM. If you have a working modem and that modem functions with the ROM, then it should give you the same reception. I think one of the main points the OP was making was that there is no apparent consistency, and some modems work with some ROMs, and not with others. It does not even seem to be accurate to say that any i9000 modem will work with any i9000 ROM, as some combinations cause poor voice quality or other issues.
I do disagree with your statement that "no phone is the same." Any Captivate in the same batch/build should have identical hardware and should function identically (assuming Samsung has good quality controls in place). There is the potential for slight differences between batches, but I can't believe that any of those differences is significant enough to cause software running on the phones to behave differently. If that is the case, there is no way that Samsung can release a working Froyo build, or even a working Eclair build that would function as intended on every captivate. If Samsung was unable to produce identical products consistently, they would be out of business because none of their products would function as intended consistently.
As far as "expecting things to work from a unfinished leak is a bit different from having high standards," I don't think it is unreasonable for better visibility to what works and what does not work in the first page of a ROM thread. I am not saying that I expect everything to work 100% on all ROMs, especially without 2.2 sources, and I am not saying I expect the devs to be able to test every possible things, but I don't think it is unreasonable to hope that as bugs or problems or ROM/Kernel/Modem combinations that do not work are discovered, that information could be made more accessible without reading 100 pages of a ROM thread.
Hopefully most of this is just growing pains as Android is evolving and as we wait for 2.2 sources for the Captivate. For Windows Mobile, much of the OS and functionality of the OS was pretty much set between ROMs. The biggest differences were in the frameworks (Sense vs. Non-Sense, etc) and theming of the ROMs. That is why I have said in the past that if we could get a solid, working AOSP ROM with all drivers, etc for the SGS, it would give a good base for additional ROM development.
I do a lot of important things on my phone, so the protection is number the #1 thing for me.
All my previous 5 - 6 android smartphones were rooted by me.
The main reason for rooting was to improve security and confidence in the phone - good firewall, de -bloating, control of privilegies.
But now with S8+ I am having second thought about if rooting really protects vs exposes.
1) Lots of original protection features will be gone after rooting, like DM-verity
2) Automated system updates and therefore related security patches will be gone too. I am not a big fan of regular manual downloads and updates. So my once rooted system will become dated soon.
3) Fingerprint or iris readers be one more vulnerable to errors and manipulations
Am I taking it right?
Do a good firewall and control of priviligies outweigth the new risks that rooting could bring to S8+?
Thanks for you thoughts
Apparently now if you have a rooted S8, Netflix won't work anymore
aulamens said:
I do a lot of important things on my phone, so the protection is number the #1 thing for me.
All my previous 5 - 6 android smartphones were rooted by me.
The main reason for rooting was to improve security and confidence in the phone - good firewall, de -bloating, control of privilegies.
But now with S8+ I am having second thought about if rooting really protects vs exposes.
1) Lots of original protection features will be gone after rooting, like DM-verity
2) Automated system updates and therefore related security patches will be gone too. I am not a big fan of regular manual downloads and updates. So my once rooted system will become dated soon.
3) Fingerprint or iris readers be one more vulnerable to errors and manipulations
Am I taking it right?
Do a good firewall and control of priviligies outweigth the new risks that rooting could bring to S8+?
Thanks for you thoughts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will get custom roms brother once you rooted , better than stock roms.
Thanks guys. Netflix is not a concern. But custom ROMs Iam not sure. Are they better protected than stock ROM? At least stock ROM is patched very often as new vulnerabilities are revealed. Not sure custom ROM are updated that quick. Plus automated updates without tye hassle of downloading flashing reinstalling is a big deal.
I would assume stock rom would stay most updated at least. Do stock ROMs offer the convenience of automated updates? ... and the speed and frequency of patches or fixes?
Ofcourse not rooted is more secure, it is silly to even discuss this. Rooting is the SINGLE most dangerous thing you can do. You allow 3rd party apps to modify your system. Yes, there is some sort of SuperUser app which asks for your permission, but it is still less secure than unrooted ROM. And as far as stock vs custom ROMs are concerned, would you trust more a group of enthisiasts that "modify" ROMS without proper knowlegde of inner workings or a company that does this for a living???
We all love CUSTOM ROMS, but in my experience on 5-6 (different) devices none of these are as stable as stock ROM, they cas say whatever they want, it is bull*. Stock is stock. Custom ROMs are used because we get new functionality, customizations, freedoom, maybe sometimes speed. But NEVER stability, I have flashed hundreds of ROMs since days of Desire HD through Note 2 and Nexus tablets, no custom ROM was ever as stable as stock. Period.
Personally i think it's hogwash to even think that rooting will expose you to security risks. I believe that's what most handphone manufacturers wants you to believe.
Just like an other tech you use, you make sure you do not install dubious apps. Rooting, like having admin rights on a PC, comes with certain risks and responsibilities.
Just imagine Microshaft or crapple telling you how to use their OS and how,if you have admin rights, will void your warranty or expose you to security risks, how you should use their bloatware apps or take their advice just because they know best?
Samdung doesn't like people tinkering with their stuff, especially when it outshines or is inherently superior to theirs. Their whole argument about rooting is just their way of scaring you to use their sorry of an excuse bloatware, building castles in the air and making sure you use their phones the"right" way.
Thank you Dalanik,
Then stock it is. I would still miss a good firewall or whole phone backup.
I felt quite secure when I saw new apps not being able to connect before I explicitly whitelist them in firewall.
But if it comes with a greater extent and complexity of exposure then I gave up
Thank you Frostmore,
It is not just about admin rights responsibility.
I saw people reporting fingerreader failures, knox being disabled etc. You lose some features which are designed to protect. There is no admin everyday routine that would compensate for that loss.
I would say if you don't overstand the workings of your device, you will not truly know..
Meanwhile from my experience from carriers, Samsung devices (good example: at&t note 4) is taking the enterprise route, more security for business purposes.
Non root I'd personally say from an amateur (myself) viewpoint (if you don't have the necessary knowledge to do it yourself). If someone wants to get you, they most likely will..
Another example is the location, there's multiple ways some of these apps get your location, clicking it off just seems like a "hide from user" option.
Good question though, don't see too many inquiries!
I m hesitant to root this phone. It will be the only non-rooted android I've owned. I am a developer with some embedded experience but I have become much more security conscious.
I so wish Sammy/Sprint would follow the Google Pixel model. The Pixel came out of the book without one iota of crap-a-ware. So refreshing to NOT be treated like a "mark" at a carnival.
The idea that I am Sprint's customer yet they treat me as a resource to serve up to their sponsors, like broadcast TV.
I run much of my business from this phone. I need VPN, TLS, SSL and all the security. I also develop for this device.
I may root in the future but I am going to stay clear of the bloody cutting edge for the moment. I appreciate you guys on the front line. Been there and done that...
Sent from my Pixel C using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Thanks SpringerRider, I like your idea of postponed rooting. I think Samsung with its pushy policies is becoming more and more hostile and arrogant to their own customers over time.
They degrade the support of their devices at akcelerated speed these days. For instance My 4-year old Samsung Smart TV lost 70% of its original functionality in the last year, because Samsung gradually stripped it from SmartHub via weekly updates. They don't want to support the TV even 4 years later after it was first introduced to the market. I guess the same philosophy would be applied on us, S8+ owners much sooner than we would have expected. I guess in 2-3 years we would on our own. Plus I bet Samsung would start overloading our phones with resource hungry bloatware via updates pushing us to buy newer models.
That would be the right time to root the phone and to cut the ties to Samsung.
So I totally get your idea and I thing it makes a good sense.
I wonder why after roughly 3 years Still no one showing interest in developing a custom rom for our first grade phone? Before they claimed that it is on pause because no has the kernel source code, but now we have access to the official source code and yet no one developed a brand new custom rom for Nokia phone.
Please if anyone could help write a comment below.
to be honest, at this point i simply dont care whatever is happening in this community. If you have knowledge of building a custom rom then why not giving it a go?
i simply dont possess the knowledge at the same time i am also not complaining.
Ok, so first: Nokia 8 launched in September 2017. According to my calculator, thats roughly one and a half year since it came out. Not three.
Then, regarding kernel sources: The official kernel sources for our phone are from the Oreo 8.0 release. It's possible to use older kernels for newer ROMs, but it is really not recommended. And I am not even speaking of the fact that those official kernel sources still require edits to even work. There is no support from Nokia / HMD for development on this phone. Even their unlocker app doesn't work on the majority of versions and completely broke after 2 security patches.
I would be suprised if you can find any developer who is willing to spend their time fighting the stuff that gets thrown between our feet. (broken kernel source, not being able to temporary boot images and having to flash them instead, no working kernel sources from hmd, no reliable bootloader unlock, no official rescue tool etc. etc.) And usually, developers make things because their either need them themselves, or for the joy of creating something and sharing it with people who appreciate it. And when you can port a ROM, you can make the edits you want for yourself with Magisk, so reason 1 is already not applicable.
And as hard as it might sound, this community is by no means large enough to justify porting a ROM you dont need and risking your device stability / userdata in the process.
So the TL;DR; is probably: Either do it yourself, or expect it to never actually happen, as harsh as it sounds, sadly.
THMSP said:
Ok, so first: Nokia 8 launched in September 2017. According to my calculator, thats roughly one and a half year since it came out. Not three.
Then, regarding kernel sources: The official kernel sources for our phone are from the Oreo 8.0 release. It's possible to use older kernels for newer ROMs, but it is really not recommended. And I am not even speaking of the fact that those official kernel sources still require edits to even work. There is no support from Nokia / HMD for development on this phone. Even their unlocker app doesn't work on the majority of versions and completely broke after 2 security patches.
I would be suprised if you can find any developer who is willing to spend their time fighting the stuff that gets thrown between our feet. (broken kernel source, not being able to temporary boot images and having to flash them instead, no working kernel sources from hmd, no reliable bootloader unlock, no official rescue tool etc. etc.) And usually, developers make things because their either need them themselves, or for the joy of creating something and sharing it with people who appreciate it. And when you can port a ROM, you can make the edits you want for yourself with Magisk, so reason 1 is already not applicable.
And as hard as it might sound, this community is by no means large enough to justify porting a ROM you dont need and risking your device stability / userdata in the process.
So the TL;DR; is probably: Either do it yourself, or expect it to never actually happen, as harsh as it sounds, sadly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't agree with you more, I was just wondered how this newly released phone still has no custom rom while my LG G3 still after those years received many from lots of developers.
So sad to see our beloved NOKIA has no juice to compete in this race.
error748 said:
I can't agree with you more, I was just wondered how this newly released phone still has no custom rom while my LG G3 still after those years received many from lots of developers.
So sad to see our beloved NOKIA has no juice to compete in this race.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We all found out the hard way what Nokia was about by being early adopters. To me they are only interested in pushing their next device and Android One is making that easier for them. So much so the 8 is long since off their radar. It was an 'OK' phone for the money, but there's better now and it's them I'll be looking to this year.
At this point its best to just modify the current stock rom yourself by debloating it, installing kernel tweking modules via magisk, installing themes via substratum and customizing the interface using GravityBox and Xposed Edge. Thats the closest we will come to having a custom rom experience. Ive accepted that no developer will bother with this phone given all the devices that have come out since its release.
Its a lesson learnt. I love this phone but I will never buy another Nokia phone ever again. Im currently saving up for a Xiaomi phone and will use this Nokia 8 as a secondary phone in due time.
MDV106 said:
At this point its best to just modify the current stock rom yourself by debloating it, installing kernel tweking modules via magisk, installing themes via substratum and customizing the interface using GravityBox and Xposed Edge. Thats the closest we will come to having a custom rom experience. Ive accepted that no developer will bother with this phone given all the devices that have come out since its release.
Its a lesson learnt. I love this phone but I will never buy another Nokia phone ever again. Im currently saving up for a Xiaomi phone and will use this Nokia 8 as a secondary phone in due time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Poco or 1+ here
MDV106 said:
At this point its best to just modify the current stock rom yourself by debloating it, installing kernel tweking modules via magisk, installing themes via substratum and customizing the interface using GravityBox and Xposed Edge. Thats the closest we will come to having a custom rom experience. Ive accepted that no developer will bother with this phone given all the devices that have come out since its release.
Its a lesson learnt. I love this phone but I will never buy another Nokia phone ever again. Im currently saving up for a Xiaomi phone and will use this Nokia 8 as a secondary phone in due time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too, my next phone would be OnePlus 6T or Oppo.
Never ever ever go around nokia phones again
Hi all,
i own a Tab S6 T860 (non-lte) for quite a while now, about 6 months.
There are some downsides like the horrible unbuffered screen tearing that you'll get with fast-scrolling, but the overall device is pretty premium-sided, and it's got a decent processor, a great display (color/resolution wise) although im missing 2160p in youtube.
Question is as i (until now) didnt bothered developing for a new device, since i had my hands full with the MiPad4, some alcatel devices and are Maintaining official LineageOS for three legacy devices, should i develop for this one if the community still wants it.
The lead-dev of the MiPad left it so im thinking about developing for the Tab S6 now.
I would only develop LineageOS, starting with 16.0 then doing 17.1 and then 18 but idk how long it would take, since ive no real knowledge of the newest platforms and how they are built, so i'd be reading/trying out stuff a LOT before some release nightlies. The "latest" i developed for was the MiPad4 with a sdm660 btw but i mainly do legacy (e.g 8953/8952/8926).
So please leave your feedback or any other opinions/questions, if we reach a decent amount of people who still want it i'll start right away when im back home from my vacations on 18th.
Best Regards!
Edit: Since theres no real telegram group, and i MAINLY talk via telegram i made one so you can contact me quickly.
https://t.me/joinchat/Bn6f-VKeQfZfiKXo69h3Mw
#reserved 1
I would LOVE to have LOS on my Tab S6 (SM-T860) WiFi-only tablet!
Don't even care about stuff like fingerprint, external keyboard, Widevine, Bluetooth, any 'functionality' similar to what Samsung 'provides' like, you name it.
I've spent sooo much time, and a few dollars, trying to get preinstalled stuff to *not* work! but still be able to boot—Knox bull****, anyone?
And having telephony **** on my WiFi-only tablet, either. Something that has baffled me for years is why a 'custom' ROM for a Wifi-only device has software that trys to interact with nonexistent hardware, using up cpu as it continually tries...on a bit of a rant, there.
So yeah, I'm all in. FWIW, I helped write the instructions, and did a *lot* of testing for rooting the Tab S5e, so I ain't scared to test out stuff; check it out, here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-s5e/how-to/galaxy-tab-s5e-sm-t720-root-t3947806
TiTiB said:
I would LOVE to have LOS on my Tab S6 (SM-T860) WiFi-only tablet!
Don't even care about stuff like fingerprint, external keyboard, Widevine, Bluetooth, any 'functionality' similar to what Samsung 'provides' like, you name it.
I've spent sooo much time, and a few dollars, trying to get preinstalled stuff to *not* work! but still be able to boot—Knox bull****, anyone?
And having telephony **** on my WiFi-only tablet, either. Something that has baffled me for years is why a 'custom' ROM for a Wifi-only device has software that trys to interact with nonexistent hardware, using up cpu as it continually tries...on a bit of a rant, there.
So yeah, I'm all in. FWIW, I helped write the instructions, and did a *lot* of testing for rooting the Tab S5e, so I ain't scared to test out stuff; check it out, here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-s5e/how-to/galaxy-tab-s5e-sm-t720-root-t3947806
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info about the S5e, i was unaware of how well it is supported.
I would definitely do stuff like fingerprint, widevine, Bluetooth (PEN) and stuff.
But idk about those keyboards samsung offers and how they function since i cant test it on my own.
Same goes for the LTE but im pretty sure i can just use the same blobs.
BTW anyone has a firehose package for the tab s6 by chance???
I too would love LOS in this device. Samsung UI is cluttery, lagging (on mine), and an absolute mess. My PocoF1 gives me better Honkai Impact 3 (a gatcha action fighting game) performance than this tablet, and the poco is an SD845, with lite LOS. So yeah, I'd love to have this. My warranty is void anyways (because samsung decided so I haven't done a thing to void it), so it'd be great to have a reason to take advantage of that.
Chiming in for a plea to get a Lineage build for the Tab S6.
Such a gorgeous piece of hardware beset by such a ****ty software implementation. Why does Samsung insist on abusing its customers? I'd gladly pay for a Lineage or AOSP rom for our device.
Alright, a little update:
Kernel is done -> link found below
It has to be handled with care as of now. Installing it on my running rom resulted in a crash when unlocking the device. A quick factory reset fixed the problem but keep that in mind when installing this on your device.
Rom will follow up hopefully till next month - but i cant promise anything.
T-860:
https://dl.keksla.wtf/boot_t860.img
T-865:
(uploading)
Thargorsson said:
Alright, a little update:
Kernel is done -> link found below
It has to be handled with care as of now. Installing it on my running rom resulted in a crash when unlocking the device. A quick factory reset fixed the problem but keep that in mind when installing this on your device.
Rom will follow up hopefully till next month - but i cant promise anything.
T-860:
https://dl.keksla.wtf/boot_t860.img
T-865:
(uploading)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would love to have custom kernel for samsung rom, but i don mind if you can make enhancements to the kernel like under volt or to solve the graphics lagging issues. it was just tiny changes involved in the past to make it work for both stock and LineageOS but for android 10, i have no idea
i have long inactive in both rom and kernel developments and i doubt how long should it take to get familiar with changes from android 7 to 10
ps i am still on pie, too lazy to upgrade due to my csc is tgy, which lacks updates as usual, and i dont wanna reinstall everything as to switch to dbt and to re-enter all my passwords
btw, may i ask if the stock android 10 fixed the problem with fast scrolling? i have experiences lags and graphics distortions with the samsung browser which was way toooooo unacceptable for a top device like tab s6
ykkfive said:
i would love to have custom kernel for samsung rom, but i don mind if you can make enhancements to the kernel like under volt or to solve the graphics lagging issues. it was just tiny changes involved in the past to make it work for both stock and LineageOS but for android 10, i have no idea
i have long inactive in both rom and kernel developments and i doubt how long should it take to get familiar with changes from android 7 to 10
ps i am still on pie, too lazy to upgrade due to my csc is tgy, which lacks updates as usual, and i dont wanna reinstall everything as to switch to dbt and to re-enter all my passwords
btw, may i ask if the stock android 10 fixed the problem with fast scrolling? i have experiences lags and graphics distortions with the samsung browser which was way toooooo unacceptable for a top device like tab s6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, sadly we still suffer from those issues on Q .
I dont have any good knowledge of how to apply those undervolts as i never done it before (lineageos requires stock govenors for official) but if you can point me to the correct commits i can look at it
Thargorsson said:
nope, sadly we still suffer from those issues on Q .
I dont have any good knowledge of how to apply those undervolts as i never done it before (lineageos requires stock govenors for official) but if you can point me to the correct commits i can look at it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh...
there were some cpu/voltage tweaks for the same cpu before for my old devices. and for our tab s 6 there are a few devices with the same cpu like one plus. you can search the cpu model in github and then you can find the code name of it and those devices which use the same cpu. i used to get those tweaks for modifying kernels for my previous devices. however for our 855, sadly there's no port for the samsung devices afaik, so you may need to make some more changes in order to port them
---------- Post added at 05:54 ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 ----------
just found this one https://github.com/kdrag0n/proton_bluecross/releases
it should be a 855 with some oc according to the change log, but unfortunately i couldnt load the changes with my browser so i couldnt find the relevant commits
may be you can take a look at that
Thargorsson said:
Hi all,
i own a Tab S6 T860 (non-lte) for quite a while now, about 6 months.
There are some downsides like the horrible unbuffered screen tearing that you'll get with fast-scrolling, but the overall device is pretty premium-sided, and it's got a decent processor, a great display (color/resolution wise) although im missing 2160p in youtube.
Question is as i (until now) didnt bothered developing for a new device, since i had my hands full with the MiPad4, some alcatel devices and are Maintaining official LineageOS for three legacy devices, should i develop for this one if the community still wants it.
The lead-dev of the MiPad left it so im thinking about developing for the Tab S6 now.
I would only develop LineageOS, starting with 16.0 then doing 17.1 and then 18 but idk how long it would take, since ive no real knowledge of the newest platforms and how they are built, so i'd be reading/trying out stuff a LOT before some release nightlies. The "latest" i developed for was the MiPad4 with a sdm660 btw but i mainly do legacy (e.g 8953/8952/8926).
So please leave your feedback or any other opinions/questions, if we reach a decent amount of people who still want it i'll start right away when im back home from my vacations on 18th.
Best Regards!
Edit: Since theres no real telegram group, and i MAINLY talk via telegram i made one so you can contact me quickly.
https://t.me/joinchat/Bn6f-VKeQfZfiKXo69h3Mw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in at 17.1 level and up. Don't want to go back...
YES! Yes please please please! I have been dreaming and hoping LOS would come to the Tab S6 for SO long now. So yes, please make a rom for it. Please.
I would love to have LOS rom support on the Tab S6! The lack of Lineage OS support was the one thing holding me back from purchasing the Tab S6, compared to the Tab S5E, but I wanted the faster processor, storage, and larger memory capacity.
That said, if you develop a working LOS rom, that would be a huge win for all Tab S6 users!
I don't think there is a person on XDA with the tab S6 that would not want to see a custom lineage Rom built. I do want a working Spen though. Im on stock 10 One UI 2.5 and samsung is extremely slow at releasing the kernel source code for the 860. Its definitely worth it to use to build one if you can. Thanks for developing on the tab S6.
LOS for T-865 ?! Yes, absolutely
P.S: Working pen would be great of course.
Still On The Fence.
lucgardos said:
LOS for T-865 ?! Yes, absolutely
P.S: Working pen would be great of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would support a ROM for this device, but I am leery about past issues and previous devices. I had 3 smp600 units, and all three were beaten to the edge with constant testing of all the ROMS I could grab. But, only ONE of those tabs choked on something from a pure LOS build. Then it hit a brick wall. I could never find a way past a Nov 18 build. So, now with two smt870 units, I will tread lightly. And, big question: WHY are we STILL stuck with ODIN for this process? I know nothing of the process of coding and writing these great ROMS, but having to drag out a WINDOWS laptop to update my android device seems like many steps backwards. I have no NEED for a laptop save for praying for Odin to even run properly. Wish there were better ways for us old farts who've forgotten more tricks than new ones have been taught. But, I am on board to get the Sammy off of my tab. Thanks for your errors.
;-DeanoD
DeanoD said:
I would support a ROM for this device, but I am leery about past issues and previous devices. I had 3 smp600 units, and all three were beaten to the edge with constant testing of all the ROMS I could grab. But, only ONE of those tabs choked on something from a pure LOS build. Then it hit a brick wall. I could never find a way past a Nov 18 build. So, now with two smt870 units, I will tread lightly. And, big question: WHY are we STILL stuck with ODIN for this process? I know nothing of the process of coding and writing these great ROMS, but having to drag out a WINDOWS laptop to update my android device seems like many steps backwards. I have no NEED for a laptop save for praying for Odin to even run properly. Wish there were better ways for us old farts who've forgotten more tricks than new ones have been taught. But, I am on board to get the Sammy off of my tab. Thanks for your errors.
;-DeanoD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if your not rooted you dont need odin you can install official release update. If you mean to install custom rom like lineage you again dont need odin after you install TWRP.
Actually, on debloated rooted stock ROM I don't see any problems so far..Device is holding it solid and sound.
Flavour of Lineage is absolutely welcome, but personaly I wouldn't use it because a lot of bugs and non functional addons.
Personally...this tablet without pen is like Ferrari without fuel.
Rooted debloated stock is miles ahead of Samsung's incompetent shadow apps. But even as stripped down as I can make it, the ROM still lags and burns battery in the background. I've tried everything and can't get this beautiful expensive piece of hardware to perform to its specs. I respect others who love it as is, but I've never gotten comfortable with the pen and just want a light, fast tablet with a beautiful screen that doesn't overtax its battery.
I'd switch to Lineage on this device in a heartbeat.
this project still alive? seems dead for me.
The title is basically self-explanatory. I'm particularly interested in these things:
AOSP/LOS/anything clean: how's battery drain? More than on stock or not?
Camera: could we replace ours with gcam? Is 70-105 switch working well?
Camera: do we have smth like XperianceCamera?
What features are we losing with unlocking bootloader? None afaics, but I may have missed something.
Thanks in advance! :^)
About Xperia 5 IV. It works great to me.
1.- No idea, never used stock. I have strong dislikes on Google.
2.- It works fine with OpenCamera, all 4 cameras detected (front, back normal, back close, back wide).
3.- No idea, I would need to try.
4.- It works fine.
Looks like I wrote a novel so TLDR:
I suck at this stuff, just getting back into custom ROMs - tried Pixel Experience 13 and Lineage OS(no Play Services (I think Android 13/A13 Beta)).
Stock Sony Rom + Root is the way to go. At least for right now.
Wouldn't count on GCam working or working well.
(Sony) Photo Pro is proprietary too afaik so you'd need someone to port it to custom OS like Lineage without G Services (what I read someone feel free to correct me). It might work with LineageOS with G Services or whatever else, I didn't try it.
END OF TLDR:
ROM EXPERIENCES:
Pixel Experience was weird, probably worked fine but I don't think the dimensions of the Xperia 5 III work well with how PE is scaled. Just this users opinion. Also I really only tried it to try it- not a huge fan of Google lately.
Lineage OS almost worked but the version I had text messages didn't work. The default one or others from F-Droid. I'm positive its user error on my part. Battery life seemed great though, it's anecdotal but it seemed markedly better without Google constantly checking in. Probably my bias.
Its important to me to have some Sony Apps and overall functionality (seems like low dev support when comparing to other devices IE Galaxy/Pixel) so I think stock Sony ROM+ Rooted is the way to go. Seemingly the general consensus on the forum too (especially since its pretty stock Android anyway).
Bonus objectives for me on stock Sony Rom is to DeGoogle + MicroG although I haven't made it all the way there yet. Then maybe long term try a Xperia 5 IV ROM for sh*ts and giggles for Android 13 since I doubt the 5 III will get it.
FUNCTIONALITY:
Your questions about GCam and losing functionality: I have heard/seen a lot of things online about GCam either needing to be ported to devices individually or that its part of Google's "Special Sauce" software wise. So I would expect stripped functionality if functional at all.
Someone who is a lot smarter and experienced than me should clarify on these last two:
Downsides to an unlocked bootloader+Custom ROM is same as always: risk of user error, bricking your device (soft bricked mine), depending on the ROM you choose you may not have Google Apps/limited so Banking apps and streaming apps won't work or won't go all the way up the resolution chain 4k20 69 fps etc. And I'm sure there is a security disclaimer somewhere out there too if you aren't careful.
Pros are same as always: Control of your device, system wide ad blocker, admin rights to delete bloatware, customization, custom ROMs, better battery life, potentially longer OS support, privacy, security, etc.
RAMBLINGS OF GETTING BACK INTO ROOTING WITH THE X5 III
*In case there are others out there who are similar to me in either getting back into rooting after a long time or the first time*
I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff but I was finally able to get my phone unlocked a few weeks ago and tried a few different ROMs. Out of what I tried I really only remember the Pixel Experience and Lineage OS. PE was fine but I'm not a huge fan of all the Google stuff so I went in the opposite direction and did Lineage OS without the Google Play Store/Services/App Framework whatever. It was almost a keeper for me except messaging wasn't working for whatever reason ((I wonder ^^)but really I think it was because it was an A13 beta). I tried a few different messaging apps but between that and losing some Sony Apps I decided to back to stock.
I feel like the big points for this phone are the camera app, the display customization depending on the content viewed, and possibly the gaming tweaks/music app? Last two are a stretch but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The new plan was/is hoping to do was DeGoogle the stock ROM and replace it with MicroG. I haven't gotten around to it because the post I was looking at on how to do it on this forum linked to another post in a different forum and it was for Android 11. My phone is on Android 12. Looking at the comments people had said the process was the same for 12 as 11 or very similar. Shouldn't be too hard but knowing me it will take me another afternoon or two to get it figured out and working.
Long term I'm kind of hoping that when an Android 13 ROM comes out for the Xperia 5 IV we could try throwing it on our devices too. Since I doubt we will be getting Android 13 on the Xperia 5 III. I know the physical camera is different on the 5 IV but everything else seems close enough to a normie like me that maybe it would be worth it to try. Then its back to figuring out how to DeGoogle on an unsupported device and installing MicroG etc etc.
Sorry its such a late response and not the most technical (or maybe even 100% accurate) but that was at least my experience a bit ago trying a few different ROMs on the GSI thread linked in the "How To" post listed here.
This phone has really grown on me and I'm bummed I'm not savvy in any amount of Android development so I am unable to make customizations/tweaks to the stock ROM. Or customize other OS ROM's to port here. Which makes me reliant on others to do the work so I can leech off it haha. On more widely used phones like Samsung or the Pixel its NBD since there are so many users. But a small community like this, it doesn't seem like there is a lot being done. Not a dig or anything, just not a ton of options. Although being able to install a ton of different custom ROMS from the GSI thread is really cool even if it isn't tailored to the Xperia 5 III.
Part of why I threw up so much info on here goes with the last paragraph. You probably won't get a lot of responses. There aren't a ton of peeps here and those who are generally already know what they are doing.
If you end up trying a bunch of different ROMs and find one you really like LMK!
+1 to that. I don't get 5G and had bad time trying to obtain signal. It doesn't worth.
J2 digital said:
Looks like I wrote a novel so TLDR:
I suck at this stuff, just getting back into custom ROMs - tried Pixel Experience 13 and Lineage OS(no Play Services (I think Android 13/A13 Beta)).
Stock Sony Rom + Root is the way to go. At least for right now.
Wouldn't count on GCam working or working well.
(Sony) Photo Pro is proprietary too afaik so you'd need someone to port it to custom OS like Lineage without G Services (what I read someone feel free to correct me). It might work with LineageOS with G Services or whatever else, I didn't try it.
END OF TLDR:
ROM EXPERIENCES:
Pixel Experience was weird, probably worked fine but I don't think the dimensions of the Xperia 5 III work well with how PE is scaled. Just this users opinion. Also I really only tried it to try it- not a huge fan of Google lately.
Lineage OS almost worked but the version I had text messages didn't work. The default one or others from F-Droid. I'm positive its user error on my part. Battery life seemed great though, it's anecdotal but it seemed markedly better without Google constantly checking in. Probably my bias.
Its important to me to have some Sony Apps and overall functionality (seems like low dev support when comparing to other devices IE Galaxy/Pixel) so I think stock Sony ROM+ Rooted is the way to go. Seemingly the general consensus on the forum too (especially since its pretty stock Android anyway).
Bonus objectives for me on stock Sony Rom is to DeGoogle + MicroG although I haven't made it all the way there yet. Then maybe long term try a Xperia 5 IV ROM for sh*ts and giggles for Android 13 since I doubt the 5 III will get it.
FUNCTIONALITY:
Your questions about GCam and losing functionality: I have heard/seen a lot of things online about GCam either needing to be ported to devices individually or that its part of Google's "Special Sauce" software wise. So I would expect stripped functionality if functional at all.
Someone who is a lot smarter and experienced than me should clarify on these last two:
Downsides to an unlocked bootloader+Custom ROM is same as always: risk of user error, bricking your device (soft bricked mine), depending on the ROM you choose you may not have Google Apps/limited so Banking apps and streaming apps won't work or won't go all the way up the resolution chain 4k20 69 fps etc. And I'm sure there is a security disclaimer somewhere out there too if you aren't careful.
Pros are same as always: Control of your device, system wide ad blocker, admin rights to delete bloatware, customization, custom ROMs, better battery life, potentially longer OS support, privacy, security, etc.
RAMBLINGS OF GETTING BACK INTO ROOTING WITH THE X5 III
*In case there are others out there who are similar to me in either getting back into rooting after a long time or the first time*
I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff but I was finally able to get my phone unlocked a few weeks ago and tried a few different ROMs. Out of what I tried I really only remember the Pixel Experience and Lineage OS. PE was fine but I'm not a huge fan of all the Google stuff so I went in the opposite direction and did Lineage OS without the Google Play Store/Services/App Framework whatever. It was almost a keeper for me except messaging wasn't working for whatever reason ((I wonder ^^)but really I think it was because it was an A13 beta). I tried a few different messaging apps but between that and losing some Sony Apps I decided to back to stock.
I feel like the big points for this phone are the camera app, the display customization depending on the content viewed, and possibly the gaming tweaks/music app? Last two are a stretch but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The new plan was/is hoping to do was DeGoogle the stock ROM and replace it with MicroG. I haven't gotten around to it because the post I was looking at on how to do it on this forum linked to another post in a different forum and it was for Android 11. My phone is on Android 12. Looking at the comments people had said the process was the same for 12 as 11 or very similar. Shouldn't be too hard but knowing me it will take me another afternoon or two to get it figured out and working.
Long term I'm kind of hoping that when an Android 13 ROM comes out for the Xperia 5 IV we could try throwing it on our devices too. Since I doubt we will be getting Android 13 on the Xperia 5 III. I know the physical camera is different on the 5 IV but everything else seems close enough to a normie like me that maybe it would be worth it to try. Then its back to figuring out how to DeGoogle on an unsupported device and installing MicroG etc etc.
Sorry its such a late response and not the most technical (or maybe even 100% accurate) but that was at least my experience a bit ago trying a few different ROMs on the GSI thread linked in the "How To" post listed here.
This phone has really grown on me and I'm bummed I'm not savvy in any amount of Android development so I am unable to make customizations/tweaks to the stock ROM. Or customize other OS ROM's to port here. Which makes me reliant on others to do the work so I can leech off it haha. On more widely used phones like Samsung or the Pixel its NBD since there are so many users. But a small community like this, it doesn't seem like there is a lot being done. Not a dig or anything, just not a ton of options. Although being able to install a ton of different custom ROMS from the GSI thread is really cool even if it isn't tailored to the Xperia 5 III.
Part of why I threw up so much info on here goes with the last paragraph. You probably won't get a lot of responses. There aren't a ton of peeps here and those who are generally already know what they are doing.
If you end up trying a bunch of different ROMs and find one you really like LMK!
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Click to collapse
Thanks for putting all your experiences out here, really a huge help. I would also like to try out lineage, but can't seem to find a supported version. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
Claussen said:
I would also like to try out lineage, but can't seem to find a supported version. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
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Click to collapse
If you don't mind a customized one, try crDroid
i would like to try custom ROM's but since no TWRP anymore to get for the Xperia's i hate to reinstall everything just to test something new.