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Here's what this thread is about...the Sidekick 4G has a lack luster of performance in regards to speed...so I have a proposal.
Everyone shares tips to speed up the Sidekick 4G...after a brainstorm and some testing..I will compile the best tweaks together and put them into a thread and give credits to the appropriate people! Everyone feel free to join in, don't think any idea is a bad idea, just post it!
1. Tegrak Overclocking on Bali 2.2 at 1.3 GHZ (Generic Ginger 3.0)
2. Using Supercharger V6 Script
3. Use a good launcher (LauncherPro, Nemus) Customize all memory settings for the launcher in the launcher's settings.
4. Flash the Blaze 4G Modem
5. Uninstall the factory default Swype using Link2SD and install Swype Beta
6. Fix permissions on a daily/weekly basis depending on amount of usage
This is the basics of tweaking that I have applied to my Sidekick to get a boost out of performance. Share yours for everyone to use, and brainstorm.
Edit : This research is going to help me compile and cook a ROM. So helping out here, helps out everyone else in the long run.
I'm still on GOv2 now till I get my phone back, but at 1.2ghz along the tweaks I found in other forums this device is totally lag free for me just as long as I keep it optimized. My only issue is ram, I wish this device had more ram.. my low budget Androids actually BOTH have 512mb of ram, and after killing all running apps on those I usually end up with around over 300mb of ram, the Sidekick usually drops to below 100mb in no time and when freeing up ram I never seem to get at least near 200mb.
Anyways.. back on topic, I'll try to find the links to those tweaks so I can share them and give proper credit.
Sent from my LG-VM701 running Mobster Rom via Tapatalk
leolawliet said:
I'm still on GOv2 now till I get my phone back, but at 1.2ghz along the tweaks I found in other forums this device is totally lag free for me just as long as I keep it optimized. My only issue is ram, I wish this device had more ram.. my low budget Androids actually BOTH have 512mb of ram, and after killing all running apps on those I usually end up with around over 300mb of ram, the Sidekick usually drops to below 100mb in no time and when freeing up ram I never seem to get at least near 200mb.
Anyways.. back on topic, I'll try to find the links to those tweaks so I can share them and give proper credit.
Sent from my LG-VM701 running Mobster Rom via Tapatalk
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Unfortunately, everyone has mixed success with overclocking on Glorious Overdose V2. If I so much as touch 1.2 GHz, I'll freeze within minutes if not instantly.
Overclocking on GOv2 is hit and miss for me. Sometimes, it can go for about a week on 1.2, or like this morning, it'll crash and shut off. I almost did not wake up in time for work. lol.
afr33sl4ve said:
Overclocking on GOv2 is hit and miss for me. Sometimes, it can go for about a week on 1.2, or like this morning, it'll crash and shut off. I almost did not wake up in time for work. lol.
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Yeah. Which is why I'm trying to also dev like Adjust is, but I'm a beginner. I'm trying to find the Bali 2.2 Voodoo kernel right now so I can get started.
The Bali 2.2 Voodoo kernel is overclockable to 1.3 GHZ (stable) so if that's the case, just being at 1.3 is a huge speed increase, and then implementing the tweaks into the ROM.
it doesn't matter what the kernal allows for clock speed, every phone is different and some can't overclock at all without crashing
xmeatizmurderx said:
it doesn't matter what the kernal allows for clock speed, every phone is different and some can't overclock at all without crashing
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True. But at the very least we can try.
Try this and see if it does anything for your device. Just remove any prior init.d scripts you have on your device as these may actually conflict with each other.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1353903
leolawliet said:
Try this and see if it does anything for your device. Just remove any prior init.d scripts you have on your device as these may actually conflict with each other.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1353903
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Thanks Leo.
Noticing a huge improvement! Thanks @ Leo, I can bake this into the ROM!
JiN1337 said:
Noticing a huge improvement! Thanks @ Leo, I can bake this into the ROM!
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You're welcome, put it to great use and I look forward to whatever rom you cook it into. Now all I need is for my girl to get her replacement phone already so I could go back to using my Sidekick
leolawliet said:
You're welcome, put it to great use and I look forward to whatever rom you cook it into. Now all I need is for my girl to get her replacement phone already so I could go back to using my Sidekick
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Haha, yeah. I'm going to start fishing for all of the files I need, and begin working on it this weekend.
JiN1337 said:
Haha, yeah. I'm going to start fishing for all of the files I need, and begin working on it this weekend.
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cool deal. I was away from the SK for a long time, but isn't the Platypus_Egg kernel basically the Bali kernel adapted for the KJ2 ROM base?(correct me if I'm wrong about that) in which case, you can use the zImage from GOV or GG ROM. I guess it depends what you are gonna use as your base. for KG2 there was a flashable zip for the Bali kernel here and on Rootzwiki... but they might have been posted to Multiupload and not working anymore.
I am running the KJ2 stock ROM with Platypus kernel taken from GG, and it's running great. I also tried to build the kernel from the source we have, and it seemed to build with no errors, but I couldn't get it to boot on KJ2.
yogi2010 said:
cool deal. I was away from the SK for a long time, but isn't the Platypus_Egg kernel basically the Bali kernel adapted for the KJ2 ROM base?(correct me if I'm wrong about that) in which case, you can use the zImage from GOV or GG ROM. I guess it depends what you are gonna use as your base. for KG2 there was a flashable zip for the Bali kernel here and on Rootzwiki... but they might have been posted to Multiupload and not working anymore.
I am running the KJ2 stock ROM with Platypus kernel taken from GG, and it's running great. I also tried to build the kernel from the source we have, and it seemed to build with no errors, but I couldn't get it to boot on KJ2.
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WAYYY ahead of ya, lol. Platy v1 is my kernel ln KJ2. I haven't tested my ROM, but I've finished up version 0.5 and it's ready for testing for anyone who wants to test it! ( I Don't have time to try it right now)
oh cool, I have a 2nd SK in my possession right now, so I could flash it and test it a little bit if you'd like. wouldn't be able to flash it until tonight tho.
Maybe by Friday I'll be able to get my hands on the Sidekick again.
Sent from my LG-VM670 running IHO MiRaGe using Tapatalk
yogi2010 said:
oh cool, I have a 2nd SK in my possession right now, so I could flash it and test it a little bit if you'd like. wouldn't be able to flash it until tonight tho.
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Sounds great. I need all the feedback and help I can get.
1) Back up data (you will see why, below);
2) Make a list of all installed apps and their source (Google Play, Amazon, etc.) so they can be re-installed later (you will see why, below);
3) Perform a Factory Reset (this wipes all data and installed apps and brings phone to a "like-new" state --this is reason for steps 1 & 2)
4) Install a Task Killer. Easy Task Killer Advanced works well for this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobo.task.killer -- this not only kills background tasks, it also keeps a record of what is killed so you can easily keep a record of what apps keep re-loading into memory.
5) Root the Phone (help on this is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1128); This allows access to the phone storage area where you can remove bloatware apps (like DriveSpace) that continually load in the background, eating up valuable resources.
6) start removing apps (again get help from the XDA forum for guidance) try MOVING an app (especially those from step 4) from phone storage to SD Card, then reboot the phone. if the phone starts working in a weird way, put the app back. Keep trying this with different apps until you are satisfied.
7) start re-installing apps --try only installing the apps you really need. move as many apps as possible to the SD Card. if a non-essential app forces install in Phone memory, uninstall it. only reason to keep an app in phone memory is to use its Widgets.
I have done all of the above on my own Sidekick 4G and the phone works much smoother.
ncmacasl said:
6) start removing apps (again get help from the XDA forum for guidance) try MOVING an app (especially those from step 4) from phone storage to SD Card, then reboot the phone. if the phone starts working in a weird way, put the app back. Keep trying this with different apps until you are satisfied.
7) start re-installing apps --try only installing the apps you really need. move as many apps as possible to the SD Card. if a non-essential app forces install in Phone memory, uninstall it. only reason to keep an app in phone memory is to use its Widgets.
I have done all of the above on my own Sidekick 4G and the phone works much smoother.
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For #6, do you have a list of apks you successfully removed. I removed a lot, including the logmein services and any apk with the word "test" in it. I have tried removing some others that I think I don't need, but many cause problems. I wish we had a list of all the removable junk (or that ROM cookers would just remove more apks from the system then they do)
For #7, I have to disagree. Apps load faster from phone memory for me, even with a Class 10 uSDcard. Phone boot up is faster (media scanner is much faster, you don't get ugly icons while waiting for them to be read off uSDcard, you can run your apps immediately after boot instead of getting "App Not Installed" until the are read off uSDcard). If your uSDcard dies on you (happened to me twice) your phone remains the same (I also like having the ability to swap uSDcards on-the-fly, like if I am on a trip and have multiple cards of movies).
We have plenty of space to hold ~80 apps and that space it just wasted if we don't use it. I have actually started doing the opposite... integrating more important apps in to system. That way there is even more space on data for other apps, and I can avoid having any apps on the SDcard at all (and still have plenty of free space in both system and data).
ok, heres what im going to do in the next week or so, im going to take time to figure out what apps we dont need through testing and remove as many as possible, then i will put it up for flash. we will see if i can get the zip down to 120-140 mb in size
I've tested my Z3 on antutu benchmark, i got a benchmark of 43k points, but my phone is slow, how do i fix that? I already use greenify and clean master, and i've flashed PurePerformances from the Android>General section of this forum.
Get rid of all that extra guff you have flashed/installed and go back to stock.
Use it for a few days like that, then start experimenting with stamina mode only. I think you will be surprised.
Also, try greenify, but you must experiment and start gradually.
If you just flash a load of Task managers etc they just conflict with each other and cause lag.....
As Greg says, all this bloating will definitely slow your device down. Factory reset and test the performance, should fly, then as you install your apps one by one, if your phone slows after installing a certain app, think twice if you really need that app, if yes report to the developer. Battery life is fantastic so you also shouldn't need all that.
I'm gonna try that, i'll let ya know, thanks for helping!
I've spent literally days and days reading through threads about various ROMs, I'm hoping someone who has more experience with OPO ROMs than me can point me in the right direction - looking for a solid ROM with these features baked in:
Good ad blocker
Privacy guard
Best or close to best battery life
Can set system font
Solid : doesn't crash or have nasty wakelocks / memory leaks - want a phone that spends most of it's time nicely SLEEPING when it's in my pocket
Most of the ROMs I've looked at seem to be missing one or more of those basic features? I was thinking CM 12S will be good, but then was reading about layers and they were saying the CM theme engine is not so good in terms of security or efficiency compared to the layers theming system?
I like CM 11S pretty well at this point, but I realy want to get behind (support/use) a great ROM that comes with something like AdAway pre-installed because I want to see good ad blockers included (built into) more ROMs and I want to support that. It's deeply discouraging to me when I can't find a great ROM with ad blocking baked in. Same with Privacy Guard - I don't think any ROM should come without Privacy Guard or equivalent baked in!!!
Thank you so much for your help/advice - believe me, I HAVE searched and read many threads, but I expect there are thousands of other people who have had their OPOs for weeks or months longer than me and can give me some solid advices!
Please resist the urge to simply tell me "Just try ROMs for yourself bro!" - I have done that before (on my Galaxy S3) I probably tried about 30 - 40 diff ROMs on that phone. At the moment, I look and read when I can, but before I flash I'd like to know if there are least a couple that at least have those basic features, and if not, I wonder why?
My best guess at this point is, I will need to stay with CM 11S and ad Xposed? I used Xposed a couple different times, but most recently it broke - the device still works, just Xposed was no longer compatible once it got an OTA update... I haven't put Xposed on my OPO yet as I didn't have much time for making backups/restoring re-flashing the phone in case it gets messed up because I have my kids over spring break for the next week and a half.
The only issues/missing features I'm currently experiencing with 11S are: haven't figured out how to set my system font (or perhaps my old type of font file is no longer compatible?), don't have adds blocked in apps yet, and I want to change the color of my clock in the status bar. I will go ahead and read through threads about putting Xposed on OPO - hopefully it can be added on 11S without causing any glitches?
Oh, and my [stock/unlocked/rooted CM11s] phone is not yet working for LTE - I have Walmart Family Mobile and I recently read that they have begun supported LTE. Sometimes it's just 3G and sometimes it's H+. I will call their support sometime over the next couple days because so far all I did was move the SIM card from my S3 to the OPO and perhaps it's not properly "provisioned(?)" for LTE yet? I say that because I watched one video on Youtube where a guy had to take his OPO to the AT&T store and put his SIM card in another LTE phone, then when he put the SIM back in the OPO, LTE started working on it.
Try Vanir-Exodus, there's a link to it in my signature. It has all those features except setting the system font (which I think you'll have a hard time finding as a stock feature in a ROM anyway), and the battery life is fantastic. Plus, it's mostly original development unlike a lot of the other ROMs out there which just cherry pick commits.
Transmitted via Bacon
Thank you for responding timmaaa,
timmaaa said:
Try Vanir-Exodus, there's a link to it in my signature. It has all those features except setting the system font (which I think you'll have a hard time finding as a stock feature in a ROM anyway), and the battery life is fantastic. Plus, it's mostly original development unlike a lot of the other ROMs out there which just cherry pick commits.
Transmitted via Bacon
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I was all set to try Exodus - but then I read some users mentioning some problems, and I think there was some important feature(s?) I wanted missing, so then I thought - oh, well I'm actually mostly happy with 11s.
The only things missing from 11s for me ATM are 1)haven't found how to change the system font yet,Adaway doesn't seem to block all the in app ads, and it doesn't come with Xposed "baked in".
If Exodus comes with Xposed pre-installed, then wouldn't that let me change the system font?
Basically I want to: set different system font, make the status bar clock green, and not give up Privacy Guard or Profiles - and of course not have to use a ROM with poor stability or poor battery life. My purpose is for the phone to be most enjoyable and useful to use, not to try a different ROM each week and find lots of bugs/glitches/wakelocks/missing features. I went through that with the S3...
critofur said:
Thank you for responding timmaaa,
I was all set to try Exodus - but then I read some users mentioning some problems, and I think there was some important feature(s?) I wanted missing, so then I thought - oh, well I'm actually mostly happy with 11s.
The only things missing from 11s for me ATM are 1)haven't found how to change the system font yet,Adaway doesn't seem to block all the in app ads, and it doesn't come with Xposed "baked in".
If Exodus comes with Xposed pre-installed, then wouldn't that let me change the system font?
Basically I want to: set different system font, make the status bar clock green, and not give up Privacy Guard or Profiles - and of course not have to use a ROM with poor stability or poor battery life. My purpose is for the phone to be most enjoyable and useful to use, not to try a different ROM each week and find lots of bugs/glitches/wakelocks/missing features. I went through that with the S3...
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Click to collapse
Honestly, I haven't had a single issue on Exodus. It doesn't come with Xposed pre-installed, but I'm not sure any ROM actually does. It has Privacy Guard, and it has Profiles. Battery life is excellent and it's as stable as they get.
Blisspop, or basically any ROM with CM themes do let you change the system font (it's part of themes).
like Team Nocturnal's latest ROM. Smooth, no bugs other for me. Never tried to set the font as of yet.
Every 5.1 or higher ROM I've tried had been buggier than EVERY 5.0.2 or 4.4.4 ROM I've tried.
I'm really hoping that some 5.1.x ROM comes out soon without apps crashing, graphics glitches, or wakelock problems.
critofur said:
Every 5.1 or higher ROM I've tried had been buggier than EVERY 5.0.2 or 4.4.4 ROM I've tried.
I'm really hoping that some 5.1.x ROM comes out soon without apps crashing, graphics glitches, or wakelock problems.
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Click to collapse
I've tried several 5.1 ROMs that are completely bug free, you might need to look at your setup.
Transmitted via Bacon
timmaaa said:
I've tried several 5.1 ROMs that are completely bug free, you might need to look at your setup.
Transmitted via Bacon
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Which ROMs?
"Setup"? You're not suggesting that I should try without choosing a more reasonable DPI or give up on using the system font that I always use, or put up with ads or wakelocks, are you? Those are what I see as "basic and essential features".
I do "clean" installs and the only app I restore using Titanium Backup is "A Better Camera Unlocked". I use features such as Profiles, Users, and (hopefully) the ROM's built-in AdBlock (otherwise I use AdAway).
If a ROM requires that a third party patch be used to fix wakelock problems, then I'd consider it an "Alpha" at best?
critofur said:
Which ROMs?
"Setup"? You're not suggesting that I should try without choosing a more reasonable DPI or give up on using the system font that I always use, or put up with ads or wakelocks, are you? Those are what I see as "basic and essential features".
I do "clean" installs and the only app I restore using Titanium Backup is "A Better Camera Unlocked". I use features such as Profiles, Users, and (hopefully) the ROM's built-in AdBlock (otherwise I use AdAway).
If a ROM requires that a third party patch be used to fix wakelock problems, then I'd consider it an "Alpha" at best?
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No I'm not suggesting that at all. I use a custom DPI (370). I use Adaway. I don't use a custom font though. Keep in mind that certain DPI's can and do cause major issues, so you might need to tweak that a little. As far as wakelocks go, no, I wouldn't consider them an Alpha at all. Wakelocks can be found in stock ROMs from the major OEM's, and isn't always caused by the system, quite often they can be caused by third party apps, and apps from within the gapps package.
Hello Everyone
I'm ready to pull the pin on converting to GPE 5.1. I'm not that worried about being up to date; I sort of just want a ROM I don't have to worry about.
My concerns are very basic: I want a rom that I can set to cruise control.
Ideally, the ROM should be fast and easy to use. I like the idea of GPE being always up to date, I like flashing new ROMs, but what I know about GPE is that the experience isn't as nice as Motorola's stock ROMs.
My questions to those who have used both Stock and GPE (and perhaps other, custom, ROMs) are: Is GPE noticeably slower or glitchier than stock? Is GPE updated regularly? Do regular updates mean I have to give up root? (I don't mind not having root, considering this is an official Goolge ROM) Is there anything else I should consider?
I don't want to worry about updating, or reinstalling apps on my phone and the whatnot. There is no Arch Linux version of Android I can use, but maybe GPE is the closest thing.
Thanks!
IMO GPE 5.1 is somehow faster than moto edition. But it has the low memory killer issue which I believe there is no workaround for that, I already asked for some help, actually found a flashable zip for a "solution", but nothing. So you won't be able to multitask the proper way, since every time you minimize an app when u bring it back it opens all over again as if you closed it. Battery life and performance are great except for that issue. I believe I'll use blisspop from now on if I don't get this issue solved for tomorrow. As for updates I'm really not so sure but Bliss pop is using 5.1.1 already with this and other little big fixes. So for your concern about cruise control this may not be the best way as it will be closing the app regularly. Cheers.
lasuazo said:
IMO GPE 5.1 is somehow faster than moto edition. But it has the low memory killer issue which I believe there is no workaround for that, I already asked for some help, actually found a flashable zip for a "solution", but nothing. So you won't be able to multitask the proper way, since every time you minimize an app when u bring it back it opens all over again as if you closed it. Battery life and performance are great except for that issue. I believe I'll use blisspop from now on if I don't get this issue solved for tomorrow. As for updates I'm really not so sure but Bliss pop is using 5.1.1 already with this and other little big fixes. So for your concern about cruise control this may not be the best way as it will be closing the app regularly. Cheers.
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Does it close apps that are supposed to be continuously running? Like playing music, or a podcast? The Moto G doesn't have a ton of RAM and from what I can tell I'm almost always running on full usage anyway. If it's closing apps that I want to use even while they're not front and center, that'll be annoying.
I don't need a ROM that is 100% up to date, I was just hoping that the GPE ROM would see regular updates that would be both stable and come with an expected frequency(I'm cool with an OTA that happens ever 3-6 months), without breaking my phone or deleting any of my personal data. I love custom ROMs, but I've come to a point where I just want a ROM I can rely on for long periods of time. With that said, you recommendation for Blisspop is welcome. Looking at the ROM (I haven't kept up to date with custom ROMs latetly) it seems pretty legit. My issues with CM12 (when I last used it probably a year ago) was that it was unstable and drained the crap out of my battery. Are those issues gone? I expect them to be. My battery life on the Stock LP ROM is outstanding. I can go about 2 days or more without charging, with about 3 hours of screen on time (I normally use my phone to listen to podcasts and audio books, reddit when I'm bored, so most of the time the screen is off anyway.)
you are correct, if you do a lot of multitasking i would not reccomend gpe 5.1 cause youll be facing that stupid issue. apparently this sorts the issue out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=60203758&postcount=1363 but to be honest, it would not work for me, another workaround was found but it did not work either. worst thing is that i tried to go back to blisspop and i could not make it... :crying: i got an error while installing blisspop error executing updater binary in zip twrp. So I´m kind of stuck with this stupid glitch... fortunately everything else works awesome.
BTW, which LP stock are u using? is it retail brazil 5.0.2 ???
lasuazo said:
you are correct, if you do a lot of multitasking i would not reccomend gpe 5.1 cause youll be facing that stupid issue. apparently this sorts the issue out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=60203758&postcount=1363 but to be honest, it would not work for me, another workaround was found but it did not work either. worst thing is that i tried to go back to blisspop and i could not make it... :crying: i got an error while installing blisspop error executing updater binary in zip twrp. So I´m kind of stuck with this stupid glitch... fortunately everything else works awesome.
BTW, which LP stock are u using? is it retail brazil 5.0.2 ???
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm on Brazil 5.0.2. I don't hate it, but I like the idea of being a bit more up to date, and a ROM that I know will get an update. I don't multitask often, but there are things I've seen in ROMs before that really upset me with auto-killing.
hey man, after some hard work and research i could go back to sweet blisspop rom. I tell ya good battery life, great performance, perfect multitasking (mention since that was what i was complaining for the other rom), and stability. no fc´s no random reboots, no crashes... beautiful. totally recommend it and plus its 5.1.1! maybe the only thing i can complain about this rom is ambient display, currently or apparently not working... maybe it will be re-enabled in future builds. plus its got some nice tweaks and features oh and if you like changing the look of your phone, its got themer, just get a cm12 theme from play store and change your entire ui. hope i helped u make up your mind regarding gpe stock and custom rom. cheers
lasuazo said:
IMO GPE 5.1 is somehow faster than moto edition. But it has the low memory killer issue which I believe there is no workaround for that, I already asked for some help, actually found a flashable zip for a "solution", but nothing. So you won't be able to multitask the proper way, since every time you minimize an app when u bring it back it opens all over again as if you closed it. Battery life and performance are great except for that issue. I believe I'll use blisspop from now on if I don't get this issue solved for tomorrow. As for updates I'm really not so sure but Bliss pop is using 5.1.1 already with this and other little big fixes. So for your concern about cruise control this may not be the best way as it will be closing the app regularly. Cheers.
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Click to collapse
Download Kernel Aduitor: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grarak.kerneladiutor
Set this values in low memory killer stage:
Empty applications: 80 MB
Content providers: 64 MB
Hidden applications: 56 MB
Secondary server: 48 MB
Visible applications: 40 MB
Foreground applications: 32 MB
Set Apply on boot.
Problem solved !
MindLeader said:
Download Kernel Aduitor: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grarak.kerneladiutor
Set this values in low memory killer stage:
Empty applications: 80 MB
Content providers: 64 MB
Hidden applications: 56 MB
Secondary server: 48 MB
Visible applications: 40 MB
Foreground applications: 32 MB
Set Apply on boot.
Problem solved !
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Click to collapse
Actually did it mate, values never sticked. tried different apps, like rom toolbox, kernel adiutor, and minfree memory manager. none worked. gave su permissions apply on boot. nothing. but thanks 4 the feedback, moved out to blisspop which runs 5.1.1 issue is gone.
Most people seem fairly happy with the stock pixel user experience, after all a main reason we purchase pixels is because of it's software.
in your experience, is there any benefit to any of the currently available custom roms that would increase performance and battery? I mean something bigger than just customisability and tinkering
I've been debating this too. I haven't rooted a device in 4 years. No real reason to anymore. I'm on the fence because I'm hoping for a true blackout theme and better animation transitions on a custom rom. Haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Performance, efficiency, and control over fast more than what Google chooses to provide.
ctfrommn said:
Performance, efficiency, and control over fast more than what Google chooses to provide.
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What roms are you referring to?
It has been scientifically proven that running custom kernels and/or roms helps to minimize E.D.
Mainly battery life. I have to charge my phone once every 1-1.5 weeks or so, vs every or every other day like most people.
*Keeping the screen brightness only as bright as you need it (i.e. not ecessively set or maxxed out--I keep mine around 1/4 maybe touch more, on the brightness slider.
smokejumper76 said:
I have to charge my phone once every 1-1.5 weeks or so
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Bruh, do you even use your phone at all? What ROM makes such a huge difference for your use to extend your battery life from 1 day to over 7 days?
fix-this! said:
What roms are you referring to?
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Literally any?
GrapheneOS gets rid of all Google Services, thus (and overall) it's a lot more privacy-focused.
Performance isn't a huge issue on Pixel devices (imo), because the ROM they come with isn't super bloated, but you can always just use LineageOS, or any other barebones ROM if you don't need any fancy features, only sleek (slick?) performance.
I have always been a fan of ResurrectionRemix/crDroid, which are filled with TONS of features. Sure, depending on who you are, you might not care for most/some of them (double tapping on statusbar to lock the screen, changing the animation of quick settings tiles when you tap on them, blinking the flashlight when you receive a call, and many, many other small things).
Nowadays, even ROMs like this aren't hogging up your performance or ruin your battery life.
Besides flashing custom ROMs, rooting is still useful for me.
Yeah, getting SafetyNet to pass can be a bit of a hassle, but in exchange I get to use ACC to prolong my battery's health, I can get rid of the navbar pill, and I can use an lsposed module to disable secure flag in my transportation app, so I can take a screenshot of my ticket (should the inspector come when there's no cellular connection (and the app doesn't properly cache the ticket, because of great programming )).
None of these are deal-breakers, but as long as there's still an option for doing these, I wouldn't want to miss out.
Radjah2001 said:
in your experience, is there any benefit to any of the currently available custom roms that would increase performance and battery? I mean something bigger than just customisability and tinkering
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Battery life and performance is pretty good as is. The stock rom on Pixels isn't super bloated, so it's not like it has much of an effect on battery or the performance of your phone. With the stock kernel I lost about 0.6% of battery every hour overnight, with MVK kernel that number got reduced to about 0.4%. Does it make a difference? Not at all.
I guess you could root and use a kernel manager to downclock the CPU to gain some extra SoT, but that's about it. If you're not much of a tinkerer, and content with your current setup, there's no real reason to switch to something else.
Lada333 said:
Bruh, do you even use your phone at all? What ROM makes such a huge difference for your use to extend your battery life from 1 day to over 7 days?
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Not really. I have no friends. <s>
I'll use it outside/on road but even then, phone conversations and internet browsing is not very much. Here and there, etc. Mostly texts or instant msgs.But calls here and there. I have it set to charge max 75% and will recharge when it gets to around 20%. Running LineageOS w/ the kernel it comes with it. Nothing fancy. I don't use any social media app (or social media or that matter), so I don't have to worry about that stuff draining the battery. WiFI and/or VPN will so I tend to keep them turned off until I need them. If I used phone more regularly, I could see myself having to recharge it maybe every 3-4 days maybe, I dunno.
Battery life can actually be worse on custom ROMs that do not have Google Play Services. When an app uses Play Svcs to handle push notifications, things like notification pushes get are managed and batched together by Play Services. If a phone does not have Play Svcs, apps that use cloud notifications may have to register their own persistent polling services which can chew up battery. And then you have to disable battery optimization for that app so it doesn't get dozed.
I've at least heard anecdotal evidence that battery life suffers on GrapheneOS because of this. Say, if you have an email client and messaging apps that require a persistent polling service to look for new messages.
Nowadays when I look up reasons to use ROMs or root, I get annoyed when articles list modules or features that serve to fix the issues that the act of making these changes cause (eg- hide root from other apps, force apps to doze, magisk bootloop saver, etc). I mean now you're spending the time managing the problem you've created for yourself. It's silly. Unless there are practical reasons to customize, I see no compelling reason to do so.
jawz101 said:
Battery life can actually be worse on custom ROMs that do not have Google Play Services. When an app uses Play Svcs to handle push notifications, things like notification pushes get are managed and batched together by Play Services. If a phone does not have Play Svcs, apps that use cloud notifications may have to register their own persistent polling services which can chew up battery. And then you have to disable battery optimization for that app so it doesn't get dozed.
I've at least heard anecdotal evidence that battery life suffers on GrapheneOS because of this. Say, if you have an email client and messaging apps that require a persistent polling service to look for new messages.
Nowadays when I look up reasons to use ROMs or root, I get annoyed when articles list modules or features that serve to fix the issues that the act of making these changes cause (eg- hide root from other apps, force apps to doze, magisk bootloop saver, etc). I mean now you're spending the time managing the problem you've created for yourself. It's silly. Unless there are practical reasons to customize, I see no compelling reason to do so.
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Very well said. I've been thinking the same. Google does there optimizations pretty well and they have given even more options to even tinker with a lil more effecient as per your need. There's no need to go out of the way replace the whole rom. even if you do you should have a very good reason and it should have some very noticable difference that can be seen to any one... Though i always have a soft corner for the modding community. Because of their push oems are stepping up their game.
Interesting. I do have Gapps installed and regarding polling the servers, while I myself haven't had battery drain, I can definitely attest to custom roms possibly messing with polling. On my old M8 (which also had Lineage), if the phone was on standby for a long time, I would not get ANY text or IMs unless I turned on the screen, THEN I'd get a bunch of messages. Or even if the phone was on, I would have to send a text message to myself and then I'd get a bunch back from people. So, yes at least on that phone there was serious polling issues I opened myself up with.
Currently I am on the newer phone(s), which I don't experience those issues, but you are absolutely right about them.
smokejumper76 said:
if the phone was on standby for a long time, I would not get ANY text or IMs unless I turned on the screen, THEN I'd get a bunch of messages.
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I've also experienced that issue on my 3T running.. any custom ROM, basically. I think it's mostly fixed on newer ROMs though. YMMV.
Radjah2001 said:
Most people seem fairly happy with the stock pixel user experience, after all a main reason we purchase pixels is because of it's software.
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Speak for yourself. I bought pixel for the HARDWARE, and specifically the fact that it isn't crippled (locked) and is properly supported in AOSP. The factory prebuilt software is utter trash with one purpose and one purpose ONLY: To track everything you do.
In order to safely use the hardware, it is NECESSARY to wipe the spyware from it. Either build AOSP from source yourself, or use a security focused distribution like GrapheneOS.
Lada333 said:
Besides flashing custom ROMs, rooting is still useful for me.
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Add possibly Viper4Android on A13 some day and its perfect.
Safetynet / play integrity & hide root is pretty easy on stock, but did you have success on custom Roms?
My banking app doesnt even rely on Safetynet / play integrity and checks for root itself, but shamiko takes care of that, but I suspect it would detect a custom Rom and refuse to work.
An entire Rom would probably much harder to hide than just root.
G5-User7080 said:
Add possibly Viper4Android
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Never really saw the need/use for v4a.
G5-User7080 said:
Safetynet / play integrity & hide root is pretty easy on stock, but did you have success on custom Roms?
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Sure. Never had issues. Besides adding my banking apps to the DenyList, I also had to hide the Magisk app. What I've found is that some apps may look for the Magisk app being installed on your device (you don't even necessarily need to be rooted, just have Magisk installed).
Love the warped perspective a few posts up. Reminder to all on the risks of oxygen deprivation at birth
Lada333 said:
Never really saw the need/use for v4a.
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I really hope someone finds out how to make it work on A13 soon, luckily my music app has an eq so its not like it sounds bad, but what I mostly miss is replay gain ig, when I'm outside music with a wider dynamic range is a bit of a problem, the quieter parts just drown in the outside noise.
Sure. Never had issues. Besides adding my banking apps to the DenyList, I also had to hide the Magisk app. What I've found is that some apps may look for the Magisk app being installed on your device (you don't even necessarily need to be rooted, just have Magisk installed).
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yes, mine do, hideMyApplist takes care of that, for some reason when I hide magisk App, it gets picket up by AppListDetector (well not by my banking app at least).
I kinda wanna try a custom ROM but flashing an entire new ROM is a lot scarier than just rooting stock, like some apps might not be working cause they rely on google services etc, maybe when I buy a new phone in a few years and this one doesnt get updates anymore I could try that.
DB126 said:
Love the warped perspective a few posts up. Reminder to all on the risks of oxygen deprivation at birth
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With all the scandals involving big tech all the time, do you really wonder why people distrust google & co?
In the end it's probably never as bad as you fear and never as good as you hope.
A13 has some nice privacy protecting features built in, like Android System Intelligence all happens on device, then again, gboard, google app, etc don't, ig u get a little bit of everything.
You can never be completely private, and for that reason some of my friends say "Well then it doesn't matter anyway, just know everything about me idc" and some others be like "ill just stop using all their services alltogether"
In the end everyone can do what they want cant they?
G5-User7080 said:
like some apps might not be working cause they rely on google services etc
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um, so?
Even if the ROM of your choice doesn't come with GApps preinstalled, you can always just sideload MindTheGapps.