Good morning everyone,
My question is: would a "Frankenstein Mod" be possible to realize on Poco X3? what I mean is using the base of the MIUI, removing ALL xiaomi apps and service and replace them with AOSP ones, basically keeping MIUI skeleton and having anything else from AOSP, except for the bare minimum needed to not make everything crash.
It may sound bizarre, but as the kernel is yet nowhere to be seen and custom roms have all some issues, if doable that would be the only option for people who uses the phone as a daily driver and needs everything working without xiaomi spyware/bloatware, except for yet not replaceable app like camera (which we still don't have 100% working alternatives).
Thank you for all the eventual replies and clarifications on this!
It might have already been done
slime89 said:
Good morning everyone,
My question is: would a "Frankenstein Mod" be possible to realize on Poco X3? what I mean is using the base of the MIUI, removing ALL xiaomi apps and service and replace them with AOSP ones, basically keeping MIUI skeleton and having anything else from AOSP, except for the bare minimum needed to not make everything crash.
It may sound bizarre, but as the kernel is yet nowhere to be seen and custom roms have all some issues, if doable that would be the only option for people who uses the phone as a daily driver and needs everything working without xiaomi spyware/bloatware, except for yet not replaceable app like camera (which we still don't have 100% working alternatives).
Thank you for all the eventual replies and clarifications on this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, fellow XDA-er.
So, since nobody replied, I decided to do so.
Take what I say with a grain of salt, of course, because it's all about personal preferences.
In regards to your question, I might be mistaken, but I got the feeling that the Xiaomi.eu custom roms did exactly that - keep the bare minimum MIUI funcionality and everything else pretty much AOSP.
I used it for about 3 weeks, before other custom ROMS started showing up.
Keep in mind that I followed the UNBLOAT guide from this very forum and it turned out great.
The thing is (and this is why I told you to take it with a grain of salt), I usually prefer a AOSP ROM and then just use whatever launcher I want, which I usually go for HTC Sense.
HOWEVER, my girlfriend also has a POCO X3 that I bought her and she prefers using the POCO Launcher (available in the PlayStore), which gives her the good old feel of a stock POCO X3 ROM, having obviously the perks of using an AOSP-based ROM (in our case EvolutionX).
So, in summary, I think that what you want has already been achieved and can be done either way (depending on the settings ui you might want):
1 - Install a Xiaomi.eu ROM and follow the REMOVE BLOATWARE guide from this very forum - that even has a guide showing which apps are safe to remove and which are not;
2 - Install whatever AOSP ROM you want and then just use POCO Launcher.
The only difference you'll end up noticing (in terms of GUI, not gonna discuss performance) is basically the Settings UI and layout and also the Quick Tiles.
Everything else should pretty much be the same.
Depends on what you want.
My PERSONAL advice, based on my experience?
Use a highly customizable AOSP-based ROM (EvolutionX is great, as I said) and then install POCO Launcher if you want.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
billabongstaff said:
Hello, fellow XDA-er.
So, since nobody replied, I decided to do so.
Take what I say with a grain of salt, of course, because it's all about personal preferences.
In regards to your question, I might be mistaken, but I got the feeling that the Xiaomi.eu custom roms did exactly that - keep the bare minimum MIUI funcionality and everything else pretty much AOSP.
I used it for about 3 weeks, before other custom ROMS started showing up.
Keep in mind that I followed the UNBLOAT guide from this very forum and it turned out great.
The thing is (and this is why I told you to take it with a grain of salt), I usually prefer a AOSP ROM and then just use whatever launcher I want, which I usually go for HTC Sense.
HOWEVER, my girlfriend also has a POCO X3 that I bought her and she prefers using the POCO Launcher (available in the PlayStore), which gives her the good old feel of a stock POCO X3 ROM, having obviously the perks of using an AOSP-based ROM (in our case EvolutionX).
So, in summary, I think that what you want has already been achieved and can be done either way (depending on the settings ui you might want):
1 - Install a Xiaomi.eu ROM and follow the REMOVE BLOATWARE guide from this very forum - that even has a guide showing which apps are safe to remove and which are not;
2 - Install whatever AOSP ROM you want and then just use POCO Launcher.
The only difference you'll end up noticing (in terms of GUI, not gonna discuss performance) is basically the Settings UI and layout and also the Quick Tiles.
Everything else should pretty much be the same.
Depends on what you want.
My PERSONAL advice, based on my experience?
Use a highly customizable AOSP-based ROM (EvolutionX is great, as I said) and then install POCO Launcher if you want.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, thank you so much for taking time to reply, much appreciated!
Is the .eu more polished then? I may consider that option as a base maybe!
I don't really like the MIUI, I bought this phone for the awesome hardware for the price (185€ for the 128gb is a steal, couldn't resist), but I really want to drift away from MIUI as soon as possible. I've been following the custom rom scene, but it's still at the beginning, despite the great work of the devs, the lack of source is holding it a big back, so there are small bugs here and there which the stock hasn't, and some camera functions are not yet available on gcam and other third party apps.
That's why, while waiting for perfect lineage/AOSP roms, I was thinking about a MIUI base (which at the moment is the ROM who has everything working) with AOSP apps replacing all the Xiaomi ones (launcher, phone, dialer, gallery, file manager...), and if possible able to kill all those suspect process the MIUI has... don't know if that can be doable, but would be a great temporary option, as I wouldn't also be able to flash often the roms and would prefer something to keep for months or until something super stable comes out.
Related
One of the main reasons I bought Pocophone is due to XDA support. Never have I used a smartphone without unlock and root.
I could not wait for trying all those roms and kernels out there. I used all those Magisk and Xposed modules. Always trying many tweaks and tools. It was more of an addiction.
But using Pocophone a few days changed my mind. It is fast, smooth and battery lasts long without applying tons of tweaks. MIUI is great as well. It offers solid app controlling features. I have used tons of roms and do not see the need for replacing MIUI. Why use others when MIUI is very decent?
I know I can still root it, tweak it, make it better but I do not see the point as it is already superb. If it weren't those banking apps, I might have decided to unlock & root just for the sake of it but what would be the point then? It would just cause unnecessary complications with banking apps.
So I decided to use it as it is. Not even unlock. But man, it sure feels strange as I am new to this.
Same here, I used to geek around with my previous Oneplus phone, but with this Pocophone I've also decided to keep it as it is, and try to use it as long I as can, and only when they will stop updating it, then I'll look around for some ROM with newer Android version, but for now l'm fine with the MIUI ROM and the Gcam app
It all depends on your usage.
If you want privacy you have to root and install a custom ROM.
But if you like getting spied 24h from many companies at once, then you can stay as you want.
What to say ... if you're happy, that's what matters
I am using MIUI with few modifications ([ROM] [PIE 9.0] [MIUI] AMBASADII POCOPHONE F1 [v1.5.2] [03.02.2019]) is the beta version of the official MIUI rom, I use modified kernel(Sphynx) to get access to my external HDDs, I have no problems with bank apps, whatsapp among others as others complain, so I'm happy and I own MIUI that I love very much, with the resources I need.
Rommco05 said:
Spying everywhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you die you finally won't have spy hardware placed besides you.
Rommco05 said:
would say, enjoy life. I personally don't care about spying me. I not need anything to hide... if Xiaomi or Huawei or Google want to know what I like and what not, no drama. Dont think so they want my money or naked photos... Do what you want to do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not only about your likings. It's about your personality, your psychological situation, your health and there is also about the things your children would concern in future. It's like getting profiled in many ways.
You are just looking at the basic things, but big companies data mining allows much more than that.
What's up with banking apps and the Poco F1? I don't get it. .
Malexirian said:
What's up with banking apps and the Poco F1? I don't get it. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's there to not get it? Banking apps detect unlock and root then FC. It is not specific to Poco F1 but with other phones I've used, the need for unlock & root was greater than losing functionality of banking apps periodically.
I used to root and custom ROM when I was young.
Now that I'm old. I just prefer stable official ROM.
Besides, custom ROM is a software cant make the processor , ram, storage , optimization improvement that's so great that deserve the mod.
If u want something better and faster , get the latest hardware .
Too many custom rom . U never know which 1 is good or stable till u try it all
Well this is new age
If you said were true, then why would there be robust custom development in the first place? Why would kids ask which kernel and rom reach 300k antutu with 12-hour battery life?
You should try if you are free. It's not like in the old days wherein rooting is hard and not as worth it as now. Plus, MIUI is a giant bloated spyware.
I know your feel bro.
My 72 hour wait is done, so I can now unlock. In fact, I could have done it over a day ago, but I've sort of just thought.. What's the point, do I really feel like doing this again?
I probably will unlock and maybe root eventually, but I'm currently on the fence right now. It used to be exciting when I was younger, but now I'm not really sure.
4K2K said:
One of the main reasons I bought Pocophone is due to XDA support. Never have I used a smartphone without unlock and root.
I could not wait for trying all those roms and kernels out there. I used all those Magisk and Xposed modules. Always trying many tweaks and tools. It was more of an addiction.
But using Pocophone a few days changed my mind. It is fast, smooth and battery lasts long without applying tons of tweaks. MIUI is great as well. It offers solid app controlling features. I have used tons of roms and do not see the need for replacing MIUI. Why use others when MIUI is very decent?
I know I can still root it, tweak it, make it better but I do not see the point as it is already superb. If it weren't those banking apps, I might have decided to unlock & root just for the sake of it but what would be the point then? It would just cause unnecessary complications with banking apps.
So I decided to use it as it is. Not even unlock. But man, it sure feels strange as I am new to this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest that you try xiaomi.eu rom, It has all the the things that make miui good and removes the bad (system adds,etc) and adds some extra features only available in china versions of miui (AI preloading).
I am still on stock. I haven't used stock roms till now and this a new experience to me. The main thing i rooted in my earlier phones was to install a modified hosts file to block those adverts. Now I have AdGuard i do not feel the need for root. But still when the official support end I will root and go for custom rom .
Same thing happened to me, first with the Mi A2 and now with the poco which replaced that one. Haven't felt the need to even root them and doing it for the lols doesn't cut it anymore. You value your time more as you get older (and have less time to do meaningless crap like this) so I'd just rather have a phone that works. Every time I've gone into custom ROMs in the past they've never been quite stable, there's always been something or some annoying thing that has made me constantly switch between ROMs with all the bs that goes into that.
SilentEYE said:
If you die you finally won't have spy hardware placed besides you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't unlocked or rooted.
I use on-line banking apps as well that detect rooted phone so stop working.
Previous phones I've rooted and unlocked used custom roms and you spend more time updating configuring backing up than you do using it as a phone.
Life is short time is pressuse I've got more important things to do.
butts126 said:
I haven't unlocked or rooted.
I use on-line banking apps as well that detect rooted phone so stop working.
Previous phones I've rooted and unlocked used custom roms and you spend more time updating configuring backing up than you do using it as a phone.
Life is short time is pressuse I've got more important things to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't care about privacy, then it is ok to stay unrooted.
I use banking apps with custom rom, without any problems.
Good for you my banks block them and I've got better things to do with my life than trying to get round them blocking custom ROMs.
Thats exactly what i thought. Never had a MIUI phone before and i was impressed with how smooth and stable the miui skin is. but i said **** it and installed Pixel Experience. Never in my life ever again am i going to switch back to MIUI. You have to give one custom rom a shot. Trust me u wont regret it
Sent from my Poco F1 using XDA Labs
FilipSRB said:
Thats exactly what i thought. Never had a MIUI phone before and i was impressed with how smooth and stable the miui skin is. but i said **** it and installed Pixel Experience. Never in my life ever again am i going to switch back to MIUI. You have to give one custom rom a shot. Trust me u wont regret it
Sent from my Poco F1 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is so special about Pixel Experience compared MIUI?
I have used Pixel Experience with a different phone but did not find it interesting. I preferred other roms like AICP and RR.
Hi everyone.
I would like to put a custom rom to my poco x3.
Someone can explain me the differences between a rom and an other?
What custom rom is the best for me?
i d like to have a rom fast,agile,fluid.
I d like to have a long battery life
ances903 said:
Hi everyone.
I would like to put a custom rom to my poco x3.
Someone can explain me the differences between a rom and an other?
What custom rom is the best for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on what you're after since all of them are different in their own way. Some of them offer a lot of customization than others but mostly it's up to your taste.
My advice is ArrowOS, it's stable, fast, has customization (tho not a lot) and it's Google certified so it's legit for banking apps and NFC payments.
Yepi69 said:
Depends on what you're after since all of them are different in their own way. Some of them offer a lot of customization than others but mostly it's up to your taste.
My advice is ArrowOS, it's stable, fast, has customization (tho not a lot) and it's Google certified so it's legit for banking apps and NFC payments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that the most famous are nitrogen,pixel,evolution,lineage,recoustraction
Can u tell me what are the characteristic of each rom?
The best strengths of each rom?
I doubt someone can make such a comparison, the is so many ROMs.
It depends what everyone is looking for.
Yepi69 prefers ArrowOs (which I haven't tested because I don't like paying for the complete ROM options) and I like ROMs that mimics Google Pixel.
There are caveats for each ROM.
IMHO you should compare what ROM mainteners say in their post presenting their ROM and the people reactions (reading topics is long but it worth the time reading them) and select the one that appeals you and test it for a few days. If you're satisfied keep it, if not change it.
Just remember that only Xiaomi.eu ROM is 100% compatible with original ROM and all functions of it because it's (to be simple) the original ROM with tweaks.
And also that most of ROMs may have problems with payment apps (but solutions can be provided for some) and to fully use the different cameras of X3 (there is some solutions with ANXcamera and Google camera ports but none, so far, is as complete as the original one).
Last thing to take into account is how frequent are the updates and which Android patch is included.
Some are often updated with corrections and Android patches while some don't.
I always prefer the ones with the latest security patches (and official ROM and therefore Xioami.eu are not updated with every monthly security Android patches).
Howell said:
I doubt someone can make such a comparison, the is so many ROMs.
It depends what everyone is looking for.
Yepi69 prefers ArrowOs (which I haven't tested because I don't like paying for the complete ROM options) and I like ROMs that mimics Google Pixel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never paid a dime for this ROM, it's completely free. And this ROM also mimics Google Pixel, which is the reason I have since I'm a sucker for Google Pixel
i like one plus UI so i like wave OS .. been using it a for a while ..
Yepi69 said:
I never paid a dime for this ROM, it's completely free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad... I confused with another rom...
Well it all depends on original rom source. Most of the rom devs use same-ish device trees so what you get differently depends on the rom's source like resurrectionos features, arrowos features...
Some may look the same some may not like ancient, revengeos, dotos etc. You can compare them in youtube videos. That is how i would decide to use which i would like.
Was curious what builds/ mods work best on these. Im Waiting on my unlock token but the only I need doordash and Uber to work and mostly wanted to get v4A back on a device and keep access to 5g. I've read over a lot but this is my first unlocked bootloader In a few years. If you have a favorite setup and are willing to share I'd love to hear,
Hey Ry4n,
Doubt this is what you are looking for, but so far I am sticking with stock OOS but with magisk installed and assorted modules such as the debloat module, busybox, and liboemcrypto. The reason for this is because so far this is not a very flashing-friendly device, without a real TWRP out for safety. I have tried EvolutionX which is really nice and I've loved it for a while, expecially on my older OnePlus devices, but it is not able to fully utilize the device's capabilities. Don't get me wrong, it is daily driver material and I do appreciate greatly the work that went into it and continually goes into it, but for my personal preferences unless there is a rom that is fully working with only minor issues (by my standards) I am not too keen on sticking with it; I love OOS cam and the quality with things like snapchat, and the speed of unlocking. Both seem small but because I interface with so many small things they become big things for me if that makes any sense. If you do try other roms though, I have found that it is not easy to get back to stock if you change your mind. EvoX, Havoc, Color OS, and maybe PA are your only options for daily driving for most people afaik so if you really wanna spend time with the device then you can try them out, in that order. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong though.
I dont know why you say its not a flash friendly device. I got the LE2110 Chinese model, and ive flashed every ROM available for this device, I had every problem possible happen(due to my choices) typing wrong codes or flashing wrong model software. EDL bootloop all kinds of ****.
This devices is amazing for flashing, just must follow directions exactly. Most roms you must flash copy-partitions first.
I would stock OOS with magisk runs the best for me as far gaming, cause I play PuBG Mobile heavy, but the latest rom available, HaVoC is ****ing sick. I would go with that one..
I'm coming from a Mi A3 running stock Android 11 which I love.
The screen on the X3 Pro is a delight to behold for my poor old eyes but there are a few things that either I don't like in the MiUI or just aren't working properly. Is there any way to flash stock Android 11 on this phone?
Twibble said:
Is there any way to flash stock Android 11 on this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could take a look at LineageOS, it's pretty much the purest custom rom out there.
Oops, I guess that we can't delete a post!
thorin0815 said:
You could take a look at LineageOS, it's pretty much the purest custom rom out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for chipping in thorin0815. Yes I have seen a few "How to" articles but can't seem to find a really good description of how well it runs and what the pros and cons might be. Do you have any idea of how close to the pure Android experience it would be and if there are any major pitfalls or disappointments that have been reported? The phone I have came with an unbelievable 2 year warranty and I am reluctant to flash a system that I might regret at a later date.
Twibble said:
Thanks for chipping in thorin0815. Yes I have seen a few "How to" articles but can't seem to find a really good description of how well it runs and what the pros and cons might be. Do you have any idea of how close to the pure Android experience it would be and if there are any major pitfalls or disappointments that have been reported? The phone I have came with an unbelievable 2 year warranty and I am reluctant to flash a system that I might regret at a later date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you will use Google Play Store, Google Calendar, Google Pay, or Google Apps, then LineageOS will need some adjustments and modifications to let those Google Apps services work properly. And possibly some banking apps may not work.
Whether each ROM pros and cons are, it is subjective. For example, customizations, for some people it's useless, while some people wants more customizations.
Try and error, flash a ROM and feel if that ROM fits your need. You know what you need, we don't know.
Most users starts with ArrowOS.
Pixel ROMs UI looks like Pixel phones.
LineageOS is completely open source.
I don't know other ROMs.
Read each ROM thread for each features, and possibly read some recent replies for update informations.
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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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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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.