ROM/Kernel Comparison; Pros/cons - Samsung Galaxy S7 Questions and Answers

I just ordered a G930F, it will be delivered 3 days from now. The first thing I'll be doing is voiding my (non-existent) warranty by flashing herolte TWRP recovery. However I wanted to discuss the pros & cons of each ROM by people who have actual experience with each ROM.
I was thinking of trying LOS 15, since it's on Oreo however I am unsure of the tradeoffs involved in switching from TouchWiz to AOSP. What benefit would there be? What else lacks overall polishing with LOS?
Does anyone have any experience, or perhaps another ROM to recommend for any reason(s)?
I've been using a Tmobile Note 4 device for about a year. I currently run an N7 port since the camera ran very poorly on LOS 14. I'm excited to find out about new options, Android Oreo, etc.

Related

Is Nexus 5 worth buying for using till Q2 2018?

Hey Guys , so after selling my Xiaomi Redmi 2 a week back I was looking for a new phone with great community support. I am getting the used Nexus 5 (32GB) for around 80$ in my country India. So my question is the device still worth it ?
How is the battery life , camera (both front and back) and gaming performance with nougat roms ? Can I get the camera samples ?
Thanks in advanced.
I believe the new Pixel camera wont function on the N5 due to some technical difficulties and hardware limitations, and the Nougat ROMs are all ports since there was no official release for the N5, which has a limitation regarding CDMA, I.E. - Sprint and Sprint MVNOs will NOT work on any of the Android 7 ROMs. As for battery life, the N5 was never known to be very good in this department, although many custom kernels address this issue, amd as far as the N5 rear camera, lets just say it was always said that it could have been better, and now, 4 years after the release of the N5, it is definitely obsolete. But the N5 was a phone aimed to give flagship performance at a bargain price, so corners HAD to be cut in places... No SD card is one more such area. My thoughts are this.... It has a Snapdragon 800, 2Gb RAM, and either 16 or 32Gb memory... These 3 facts are the biggies, and the N5 STILL outperforms almost ALL bargain phones today. Just the processor alone makes it worth the money, as well as the cordless charging, unlocked BL, and MultiROM custom recovery. One last thing though, the N5 was made back when the OS was less than 1Gb, much less, so you could install lots of system apps, the current Android 7 OS is barely under 1Gb WITHOUT any of the bigger GAPPS zips. The N5 is capped at 1Gb for your OS files, sooooo, you wont be able to flash an OS/GAPPS that is over 1Gb in size, you might want to take that into consideration before you buy a phone which still outperforms most new non-flagship devices, but is nontheless still obsolete. Good luck, hope this helped.
rocketrazr1999 said:
I believe the new Pixel camera wont function on the N5 due to some technical difficulties and hardware limitations, and the Nougat ROMs are all ports since there was no official release for the N5, which has a limitation regarding CDMA, I.E. - Sprint and Sprint MVNOs will NOT work on any of the Android 7 ROMs. As for battery life, the N5 was never known to be very good in this department, although many custom kernels address this issue, amd as far as the N5 rear camera, lets just say it was always said that it could have been better, and now, 4 years after the release of the N5, it is definitely obsolete. But the N5 was a phone aimed to give flagship performance at a bargain price, so corners HAD to be cut in places... No SD card is one more such area. My thoughts are this.... It has a Snapdragon 800, 2Gb RAM, and either 16 or 32Gb memory... These 3 facts are the biggies, and the N5 STILL outperforms almost ALL bargain phones today. Just the processor alone makes it worth the money, as well as the cordless charging, unlocked BL, and MultiROM custom recovery. One last thing though, the N5 was made back when the OS was less than 1Gb, much less, so you could install lots of system apps, the current Android 7 OS is barely under 1Gb WITHOUT any of the bigger GAPPS zips. The N5 is capped at 1Gb for your OS files, sooooo, you wont be able to flash an OS/GAPPS that is over 1Gb in size, you might want to take that into consideration before you buy a phone which still outperforms most new non-flagship devices, but is nontheless still obsolete. Good luck, hope this helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for your reply mate.
i will say go for it.. The only thing i had against the phone was its battery.. in the stock os, battery life is terrible.. But since flashing the unofficial hammerhead caf lineage os by phoval, i hav started loving the phone again coz the battery life has become manageable.. i plan to keep it atleast till 2019.. @Battlecreed5
neojith said:
i will say go for it.. The only thing i had against the phone was its battery.. in the stock os, battery life is terrible.. But since flashing the unofficial hammerhead caf lineage os by phoval, i hav started loving the phone again coz the battery life has become manageable.. i plan to keep it atleast till 2019.. @Battlecreed5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a long time user but getting really annoyed with the worsening battery life. Where can I find out more about unofficial hammerhead caf roms and how to install them. Does it allow using Xposed?
Switched on My N5 after a long time. It still runs smoother & faster than some of my 2016 mid-range devices. I'm loving the performance:victory:. For me the only con is it's camera(Lol I didn't bought N5 for camera) & battery backup (managing somehow):silly: The device is good but you can get better devices than this at this time!!:highfive:
neojith said:
i will say go for it.. The only thing i had against the phone was its battery.. in the stock os, battery life is terrible.. But since flashing the unofficial hammerhead caf lineage os by phoval, i hav started loving the phone again coz the battery life has become manageable.. i plan to keep it atleast till 2019.. @Battlecreed5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, changing to a battery conservative ROM will help, as will a custom kernel. Unfortunately I made too many performance enhancements with Ex Kernel, like over clocking the CPU from 2.2 to 2.3, which negated any battery saving settings. Now I just Fast Charge it and let Ex Kernel do its thing in Battery Saver mode when it gets low.
I just did the same thing - last month I bought a N5 for dirt cheap and it runs great. I just yesterday put PureNexus ROM on it so that I can have 7.1.1. I am amazed at how smoothly it runs. While it will not replace my N6 as my daily driver, it is a more than capable phone still.
Fvolfrine said:
I just did the same thing - last month I bought a N5 for dirt cheap and it runs great. I just yesterday put PureNexus ROM on it so that I can have 7.1.1. I am amazed at how smoothly it runs. While it will not replace my N6 as my daily driver, it is a more than capable phone still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please help me out. I have a rooted nexus 5 running stock 5.1.1 but I have no experience with other roms. Where do I find them? PureNexus ROM and others.
maybeme2 said:
Please help me out. I have a rooted nexus 5 running stock 5.1.1 but I have no experience with other roms. Where do I find them? PureNexus ROM and others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Deep inhale....
Ok, here we go. The Nexus 5 Android Development section of the forums is the best source of information for that. Here you will find popular original ROMs like PureNexus, Resurrection Remix, Nitrogen OS, and more. As to which one to use, that is kind of a personal preference. Each ROM offers a unique experience.
Additionally, more ROMs can be found in the Nexus 5 Original Android Development section of the forums. Here you will find ROMs based on other ROMs, primarily stock-like ROMs like LineageOS (previously Cyanogenmod), as well as custom recoveries and kernels.
You can also stick with stock, 6.0.1 is available directly from Google - it is a nice upgrade over your 5.1.1 stock setup.
If you are unfamiliar with flashing ROMs, might I suggest starting with this guide on how to unlock your bootloader (which you probably have already done since you have root), how to install a custom recovery like TWRP. Once this is done, you are open to the world of customization.
Please let me know if I can be of any more help.
Deep exhale....
Thank you. That's what I needed. Where I should go to find out more.
I'm already rooted. Just have not tried other roms.
maybeme2 said:
Thank you. That's what I needed. Where I should go to find out more.
I'm already rooted. Just have not tried other roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Visit each ROMs thread. Watch YouTube reviews. Or just flash some for yourself and try different ones out. I loved cyanogenmod nut haven't tried out LineageOS yet. I'm on PureNexus on this N5 I am currently using because a lot of people on XDA recommended it.
What kind of thing now are you looking for in a ROM?
Something that would give me more battery life and yet be stable. I also use xposed which may be a hindrance as it only works with pure stock Android.
maybeme2 said:
Something that would give me more battery life and yet be stable. I also use xposed which may be a hindrance as it only works with pure stock Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As xposed is not currently available to Nougat, you'll probably be best sticking with a Marshmallow based ROM, maybe even stock.
I can tell you that a ROM like Pure Nexus has a lot of features built into the ROM similar to what many modules from xposed offer - for me, it is a no brainer to have the text in place of a battery icon in the status bar. Also, Nougat has a restart built-in to the ROM, so that solves the other problem I had with stock Android. Just give it a whirl!

Stock performance vs. custom ROM

Greetings-
Been seriously considering dumping my stock ROM (TMobile G930TUVS8CRL1 on a Verizon S7 flat) and trying a custom ROM. I've done so a ton of times on other phones, but never on one with a locked bootloader. I've also read that custom ROMs on the S7 are laggy compared to stock, and since my current stock rom is already laggy, I don't want to go backwards. But since this otherwise decent device won't be getting Pie via traditional means, a custom ROM would be my only pathway to a slice of Pie anyway.
So... all that said... has anyone any performance stories of stock vs custom ROM on our aging S7's?
In my limited experience, no, stock ROM almost always feels slower.
My SM-G930W8 (Non-edge Canadian S7) has been through two ROMs.
My first ROM was Resurrection Remix (Android 8.1) and it was extremely fast, stable, and snappy. The main dealbreaker was the apps being too basic and lack of certain features.
I reverted back to Stock after using RR for around 1 month and used stock for a while until it started slowing down again.
My current ROM is Pixel Experience (Android 9) and I am very happy with it. It is fast, snappy, has the right amount of features, and is very stable. It does have its own set of minor problems but they don't bother me.
I posted a full list of pros and cons on the forum for the ROM (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79108754&postcount=174).
Link to RR (Android 8.1): https://get.resurrectionremix.com/?dir=herolte
Link to PE (Android 9): https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/development/rom-pixel-experience-t3773987
In my opinion, Pixel Experience is millions of times better and efficient than the Stock ROM. If you are not too deep in Samsung's ecosystem of apps that are not on the play store, you will not be losing much.
MrSoup said:
In my limited experience, no, stock ROM almost always feels slower.
My SM-G930W8 (Non-edge Canadian S7) has been through two ROMs.
My first ROM was Resurrection Remix (Android 8.1) and it was extremely fast, stable, and snappy. The main dealbreaker was the apps being too basic and lack of certain features.
I reverted back to Stock after using RR for around 1 month and used stock for a while until it started slowing down again.
My current ROM is Pixel Experience (Android 9) and I am very happy with it. It is fast, snappy, has the right amount of features, and is very stable. It does have its own set of minor problems but they don't bother me.
I posted a full list of pros and cons on the forum for the ROM (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79108754&postcount=174).
Link to RR (Android 8.1): https://get.resurrectionremix.com/?dir=herolte
Link to PE (Android 9): https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/development/rom-pixel-experience-t3773987
In my opinion, Pixel Experience is millions of times better and efficient than the Stock ROM. If you are not too deep in Samsung's ecosystem of apps that are not on the play store, you will not be losing much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sincerely thank you for your input. But, alas, mine is the Snapdragon variant that has been left to languish in the depths of the dark, musty hallways of neglected and bootloader locked devices.

Is the S7 flat still worth it? 2019

As the title says, is the sS7 flat still worth buying as of today? I recently sold my phone and wanted to buy a new one, and found an s7 for $170, but I don't know if it's a good deal. What do you say?
Thanks.
I've not long had mine, maybe a month?
I came from an S4, had a moto x style (play in US) for about 6 months then I got a second hand S7 for £100. I think the camera was better on the moto but the development has all but stopped now
Getting an S7 though? I absolutely love it once you get it on a custom rom (or debloated stock) and get it tweaked just the way you like it, it runs like an absolute dream, I'm very happy with it
The price is good. Just make sure it is new and not rooted before buying.
Yeah I bought one in June after having a BLU R1 HD. S7 is much better
If you are curious I have a SM-G930W8
Nice nice, thanks everyone. I just bought it, it should arrive by Saturday or maybe Monday. I'll report back
Organics said:
Nice nice, thanks everyone. I just bought it, it should arrive by Saturday or maybe Monday. I'll report back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you buy the international version or a US model? International S7s are absolutely better in almost every single way.
Been using mine since 2018, got it off my partner when she upgraded to a Note 8. Its currently running alexndr dev base rom and it never misses a beat! Besides, if it's good enough for DISA's DMCC-S network, it good enough for me.
billclintonwong said:
Did you buy the international version or a US model? International S7s are absolutely better in almost every single way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is bad information.
No. Not every single way. And if buying for a US carrier, it's worse in many of the ways that matter: radio compatibility, and proper csc for function of wifi calling, VoLTE, and ViLTE, etc.
It's been a slow process with deaths in the family, but I've just started getting my s7 ready to use. Wanted to do the right research on what is safe or not to debloat for what I use, and that took a while. I'm 99% ready to use it [emoji846] my mom also has an s7. But I think the debloat process is helping mine run even smoother.
Once I have it fully the way I want, I'm gonna make a full backup. Then that way when I want to "reformat" I can just go back to that point. Seems like a good plan.
I plan to run it right down into the ground, lol. Some people upgrade every year. Me? I'll be upgrading from the captivate glide! S2 based. I still love that phone and it's in great physical shape, but the ram and compatibility just are not keeping up with it anymore even for a lighter user like me. I can use root to fool the play store about which android version, but if the app update coding doesn't support my older devices architecture it ends up with parsing errors and won't run. It took this long but this is finally starting to officially kill my s2.
I plan on running the s7 in exactly the same manner, until I just can't make it work any more! [emoji16]
what ROM is the best for S7? I have currently lineage OS 16 with nano gapps, I am considering to change it to something else. some features of the phone are not used(face unlock??), and few bugs I have noticed like the camera app is terrible slow (unable to take photos at night cause the flash is flashing and after a second the picture is taken LOL)
Well i just bought one, Canadian version with exynos in case i end up rooting it.
I did buy it just to use in the gym as an MP3 player but will likely end up flashing roms etc on it as well.
Doubt i could use it as my main device as its too small for me (im using a note 10 plus so big difference lol).
The lineage OS is good if you don't mind the camera photos being poor quality. If you want the best out of your camera you will need to run a Samsung stock based OS, because only those have the right camera drivers. SupermanRom is a good android version 8 debloated Samsung OS.
gruuvin said:
The lineage OS is good if you don't mind the camera photos being poor quality. If you want the best out of your camera you will need to run a Samsung stock based OS, because only those have the right camera drivers. SupermanRom is a good android version 8 debloated Samsung OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well thank you for the reply, I like the pure android PIE feeling (currently crDroid), but some features are missing, and OFC, the camera (the most important) is way worse than my Xiaomi MI5 was, so I'll consider to flash a stock base ROM
-don't you know if any GCam is working good on ROMs like https://turbox.uk/pages/roms.html ? (no black screen death, and photo quality as good as samsung stock)?
...superman or DevBase v6.0 or....LightRom by TeamExyKings..... hmm, how to choose from these? /if the camera problem can't be solved on these aOSP stlye roms/
lulzor said:
well thank you for the reply, I like the pure android PIE feeling (currently crDroid), but some features are missing, and OFC, the camera (the most important) is way worse than my Xiaomi MI5 was, so I'll consider to flash a stock base ROM
-don't you know if any GCam is working good on ROMs like https://turbox.uk/pages/roms.html ? (no black screen death, and photo quality as good as samsung stock)?
...superman or DevBase v6.0 or....LightRom by TeamExyKings..... hmm, how to choose from these? /if the camera problem can't be solved on these aOSP stlye roms/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried LineageOS for a while, because I really like so much about it, but the big downside was the camera, so I tried GCam versions until I found one that's stable. Best case scenario is poor compared to what it would be on a Google phone or what stock Samsung OS would do, because of the kernel-layer camera api that Samsung provides to hook into the cam hardware--you cannot drive the camera properly without these proprietary driver hooks. So I eventually wiped LineageOS and installed SupermanROM, and had a lightweight but very customized and stable experience, with the EXCELLENT cameras Samsung designed. Also, it was a big fight just getting gcam to work without force-close, and then some functions didn't work, and couldn't do high-def vids at fast framerates. It all just works with Samsung cam app + drivers.
So, no, GCam is the best you get for non-samsung OS, but not even close to what you get from Samsung OS.
I don't know about DevBase. SupermanRom was all I tried. It's been a year since then. I moved on to a Note9 phone. The S7 is now actually running LightRom, and is quite nice! (9.0 NFEPort JetBlack) Great cam too! But, I cannot comment about it beyond that, since it's not my daily driver and I have used any radios except wifi. Use TWRP and try em all! Start with the Note9 port and see if it just works. Check bluetooth first. (I like it mainly for the built-in dark mode).

Which is the most stable ROM to install and use?

Hi, i just purchased this device during the sale as it represented great value for the price. Anyway, I despise MIUI and colorOS, sadly there are few, if any, decent budget stock android phones. So I would like to install a custom ROM that is the stablest. I've heard both Pixel Experience and Derpfest are stable, but would like to know what ROM would you guys recommend that I use for a stable experience?
Undoubtedly, RN7P (violet) is a great device with plenty of community support.
Pixel and its derivatives are great opton. Unless your focus is on any select features that suit you, most ROMs have more than what you may be looking for and they are pretty much stable. An exception here or there may happen for you know its literally impossible to test a code under all scenarios. But then you have devs support for each ROM when in crisis.
You may explore further by checking more on each custom ROM and its features/change log by clicking
here
A word of CAUTION: Since you plan to install a custom ROM on newly acquired device, be fully aware of the manufacturer warranty which will no more be valid with an Unlocked bootloader. So also, hope you are well versed/comfortable with the procedures involved in achieving it along with its perils.
NOTE: Recommeding any single ROM would be injustice to the rest Explore Thyself...

Custom ROM support

I'm interested in this phone and wondering what custom ROM support may be like for the device? I had a quick look at the pixel 4 and it's not massively supported but I don't really know how recent or popular it is?
I'm currently using a Xiaomi mi9t with pixel experience+. I know the p4a will be similar if not the same minus the additional features added in the pe+ version, which I quite like tbh.
I know it's early days and probably most can't even get their hands on the phone yet but curious what you might expect based on previous pixel devices?
I would also be interested in this. The 4a's "stock" Android is fine, but there are very few customization options. For example, the setting to hide specific Satus Bar icons is available in Settings but greyed out and inaccessible. I would really love to install LineageOS on this device.
As for popularity, the Pixel 4 was expensive and had poor battery life, so I don't think it had many adopters. The 4a on the otherhand is a steal at $350 and in a post-COVID world, I can see many people who need a new device going for the budget option. I really hope this helps us build a large development community
I plan on staying stock for a few weeks, but rooting and flashing roms is a weekly thing for me. I'm sure there will be plenty fairly quickly. Our codename is "sunfish", right? Much better than my current dumpling.
Sent from my OnePlus 5T using XDA Labs
One of the main developers at DU got one, it's a safe bet ROMs will be available
I would be super shocked if this device does not get any rom support as popular as it is. I believe a couple of devs have said they will start developing roms.

Categories

Resources