Hi everyone,
I am requesting for your help because I would like to improve the performance of my old Galaxy A8. Indeed, since the last Samsung OTA updates, I find it slower than before and its internal memory is getting more and more full. I suspect the last Samsung's official ROM is more heavy than the previous ones, maybe too much for the device.
Some years ago, I had a Galaxy S2 and it had lasted for more than 6 years. To achieve that, I used Cyanogen mod and the phone was working perfectly, except the battery who died after 6 years of services. Unfortunately, now the things are different : Cyanogen mod doesn't exist anymore and apparently, if I change the ROM if my device, I have been told that it will trigger a some kind of a micro fuse and if I want to get back to the official Samsung ROM, a lot of things won't work because of this system, including the OTA updates.
I would like to ask you if some of you have already changed the ROM of your A8. Are you satisfied or do you regret the official ROM ? Do you think it will solve my problems ? I have also heard about a software : Know reset software, able to restore Knox but I didn't see any testimony of people who used it.
If your only concern are updates then you shouldn't worry because you can always go back to stock Samsung ROM using ODIN and you will still get updates (security updates because this phone won't get any more feature updates as we all know). But what you will lose are some Samsung apps like Samsung Pay, Health, Pass, secure mode in Samsung browser. These things will no longer work and will tell you that your software was modified and you won't be able to use these things anymore. Other than that everything will still work as far as I know and experienced myself.
So I would say that if you want something new on your phone then go for it. And considering that there are some really good ROMs for this phone now it's a really good time. There's even an Android 11 ROM with One UI 3.1. You can also try GSIs if you add treble. So there are lots of possibilities.
Personally, I only use A8 now to try new ROMs that come up. I'm not a big fan of GSIs because they seem unoptimized for my taste. But these new One UI 2.5 and 3.1 ROMs are pretty great with Samsung features and they are also very snappy and fast which is great. So I would say try it and see what you like. But also be careful not to brick your device even though I don't see how that would be possible.
Also, I don't think this was the place for your question because there's another place for questions but whatever
Thank you for your answer, that is really interesting, could you advice me some tutorials to install these ROM ? I don't think my phone has the Treble architecture. When you said One UI 2.5 and 3.1 ROMs, I suppose this is made by Samsung. But if Knox counter is triggered, the Samsung features will not work ?
And I apologise if my post is not in the right place, I'm new on this forum
I don't know how much experience you have with stuff like custom ROMs therefore I don't know how much guidance you need. But as you might already know before you do any modifications to your phone BACKUP YOUR DATA if you want to keep it because you might or will lose it in the process. Once you do that you can be sure that nothing will be lost or damaged.
Now for your question about ONE UI ROMs. I don't know if I understand it correctly. But what I can say is that these ROMs are not made by Samsung. They are ported from other phones like S9, M31 and A7 (2018) to our phone which is A8. They have all the great Samsung features and UI and are also quite fast apart from some bugs and popups after restart. But in my opinion they are great. And about KNOX, as I said only a few Samsung features won't work after you modify your phone but other than that everything else still works. It's obviously up to you to choose what matters most. I'd say that if you want a fully stable experience then just stay with stock ROM but if you want to try something new and don't care about maybe a few bugs that will come only then try custom ROMs because they are not perfect.
So if you are going for it then you will need to begin with this thread and install TWRP:
[RECOVERY][OFFICIAL] TWRP 3.3.1-0 for Galaxy A8 2018
Team Win Recovery Project #include /* * Your warranty is now void. * * I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, * thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please * do some...
forum.xda-developers.com
Read the instructions thoroughly and do everything as it says.
Then if you want to flash ONE UI ROMs I would suggest these ONE UI 2.1, ONE UI 2.5 or ONE UI 3.1 ROMs. There are some other ROMs but I haven't tried them so just search the A8 forum for something else that you might like.
On the other hand, if you want to try GSIs, first you need to follow this guide and trebelize your phone:
[GUIDE][TREBLE][A530F/A530W] Project Treble Guide for Galaxy A8 2018 (18/04/2019)
Project Treble Guide for Samsung Galaxy A8 Just to make it clear I'm not responsible for whatever damage this could possibly cause to your device. Treble is everywhere, so why shouldn't we join it? I'm proud to announce that Galaxy A8...
forum.xda-developers.com
Then you'll need to flash treble vendor from here or here. And then you can pick a GSI you want to try, flash it and see what you get. You can get stuck in a bootloop or something but then just try something else.
I think that's it. Hope I didn't miss anything. Remember to carefully read through the threads and that it's your responsibility if you brick your device. But if something bad happens just flash stock firmware with ODIN and everything should be alright.
Thanks for your reply. I still have not tried anything, the irreversibility of the knox tripping is making me very hesitant. Some people argues that a lot of functionalities will not work, including banking application. But others claim that the application Magisk is perfectly able to hide the knox counter, and ensure to the user the possibility to use any application. Is it possible for someone to attest if this works ?
Furthermore, I have also noticed that the slowing are mainly caused by the new applications versions. I though maybe I could find a wa to downgrade the Google Play Store, to use older version of the applications ? I tried to manually downgrade Maps and the result is really convinicng. The slowing issues of the A8 could come from there. What do you think about ?
Related
I'm starting to see a recurring theme of basically zero support or information for this device. I've tried researching myself to basically no avail and it's starting to get a little upsetting.
The memory management on stock firmware of this device is pretty atrocious, and while I held off based on the rumour of knox being needed for samsung pay, I would do anything to make this device ACTUALLY hold apps in memory. As well as debloat the living hell out of touchwiz. But every rom I've looked at supports every device under the sun, aside the r4 variant.
Anyone have any information as to what needs to be done or what I can do on my side to maybe help change this? Or did I buy a device I'm going to regret until I replace it?
This isn't to say I don't appreciate the ROM developers out there, I do! I just wish that device releases didn't get so fractured like this. It's beyond me why there has to be 15 variants of one phone, aside a few different modems
Thanks so much for any information in advance
Differences in models are done meet the different needs of different networks with different radio requirements un their areas of coverage. Enjoy your S6 and wait for official updates via OTA or you can try flashing this:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/48614/G920R4TYU2BOF7_G920R4USC2BOF7_USC/
I'm running 5.1.1. I still have apps rarely stay and touchwiz uses 70% of 3gb of ram out of the box, which seems a bit absurd. I was really hoping that update would do the trick, as per the lollipop memory issues. but it seems samsung's aggressive memory management is more the issue than anything.
So im using the moar rom and i saw there are like 5 new verisions of the latest firmware. After some reading i found if you download the ota update you can then install it with the flashfire app. But ota doesnt let me even look for an update. So i tried removing root from supersu opition and phone got stuck in bootloop. Then i tried to find the firmware bootloader from the moar list and didnt find it also. So only way i know how to upgrade firmware is download from sammobile, odin, then reroot reflash.
anyways no surprise no 1 can answear, but i understand the majority had the note 4...and would of gotten the note 7 when it was time to upgrade. So there isn't support for note 5, espically how a whole year went by and theres only really 1 rom, that is also outdated now. No offense to moar but i loved using it for so long, but i just realized moar is 5 firmware upgrades behind and its just moar. So what i decided to do is go back to being offcial, untill note 8 comes and support ends for note 5. Thats what ive read on google, if there are firmware upgrades its better to be on stock, once support ends then its better to be on custom rom. So when i do have my new note 8 in hand i can revert to w.e verision moar ends up
Ya i would of never probly got this phone if i new there was such a lack of support for it. When i was doing a little research b4 i got this phone i found alot of different development for the note 5. Didnt realize most of it was for the other versions besides sprint. O well. As for getting ota updates i believe u have to flash back to stock. So odin back to official stock firmware.
It's Samsung in-house processor to blame for not having cm or aosp ROMs to play with and only tw ROMs. there is only so much you can do different on tw to make it your own. Phones everywhere is getting locked down and developers are leaving or getting older a lot of stuff plays into why there not a lot of options but be grateful at least we have something. Try the note 7 ports which are nice or try creating our own ROM to share.
Sent from my SM-N9300 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
bonebeatz1234 said:
It's Samsung in-house processor to blame for not having cm or aosp ROMs to play with and only tw ROMs. there is only so much you can do different on tw to make it your own. Phones everywhere is getting locked down and developers are leaving or getting older a lot of stuff plays into why there not a lot of options but be grateful at least we have something. Try the note 7 ports which are nice or try creating our own ROM to share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right Bonez, or they should buy a phone that works on their provider the way they think it should to begin with instead of whining about stuff like this. Like you said, this is probably going to be the last unlocked touchwiz device for u.s. Carriers...
tdunham said:
Right Bonez, or they should buy a phone that works on their provider the way they think it should to begin with instead of whining about stuff like this. Like you said, this is probably going to be the last unlocked touchwiz device for u.s. Carriers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, because of Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, there are valid reasons why you don't want back doors into a device. I think the age of custom roms is coming to a close, I'm sure someone will be able to develop something, but the time investment to do that goes up exponentially the harder they make it to unlock a device.
In all honesty, other than bloat and battery life I have seen no reason to root my current Note 5. I had done it to a previous Note 5 that broke, but didn't see much of a difference in battery life.
socos25 said:
Exactly, because of Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, there are valid reasons why you don't want back doors into a device. I think the age of custom roms is coming to a close, I'm sure someone will be able to develop something, but the time investment to do that goes up exponentially the harder they make it to unlock a device.
In all honesty, other than bloat and battery life I have seen no reason to root my current Note 5. I had done it to a previous Note 5 that broke, but didn't see much of a difference in battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will always be custom roms, just not for U.S. based carriers that have the ability to lock the phones down. However, many of the true android phones are still available in unlocked models...
I know that the LG v20 and the Google Pixel are a couple models that will work in the U.S. Getting international unlocked models is tricky because they may not work well with our bands.
Custom roms are about having extra features like free hotspot and lots of other stuff that doesn't come stock. Truthfully, I don't use but a small percentage of features I offer in ours.
Hi just wondering if there's any point to rooting these days?i mean the s8+ pretty much bang on!can rooting offer anything extra?I understand like an iPhone is miles better jailbroken but s8 seems to pretty much to a lot!!any ideas folks
I only rooted because I wanted to remove system app and use Titanium Backup.
But if you don't use or need those 2 apps...not worth rooting.
Matt.
I used to root all of my previous phones, including S2+, S4 and S6. I loved custom roms and additional battery saving tweaks or performance tweaks, overclocking, downclocking etc. The S8+ has a huge battery and a great system, so most of the features that I'd get via rooting on the older phones are already here. Also, if you root you void your warranty, and trust me, you don't know when you'll need it . And let's not forget the amount of times that I've flashed something the wrong way or idk something got corrupted and I had to reflash and lose all my data. Staying stock is the best choice on S8+.
Of course it's worthy. You can improve the camera quality with Zero Camera Mod, get better performance with kernels and get rid of the annoying ads.
IN MY OPINION
No, it's not worth it. There may be some advantages to rooting, but you can do MOST of those things without root. Samsung Internet Browser already blocks ads. There's some nonroot apps that will block and across the phone if you don't mind using a VPN.
You can disable unwanted apps with BK Disabler Pro (I think that's what it's called).
The camera is already great. I can't speak for Zero Camera Mod, but the Pixel camera works great on this phone.
I used to unlock bootloaders on every device I owned. Wouldn't buy one with a locked bootloader. I rooted. I flashed custom ROMs. I used Xposed and customized. Then I stopped customizing everything. Then I stopped flashing custom ROMs. Android finally got the point I was happy with it out of the box. When I got my S8+ I realized Samsung's software wasn't bad at all, and I actually enjoyed it.
Now I just read thread after thread of people bricking and soft bricking their phones after rooting. People having issues going back to stock to take upgrades. Honestly, I just shake my head and chuckle, because it all seems like such a big hassle and headache, that really does nothing more than disable things like Samsung Pay.
So no, to me, it's NOT worth it. I enjoy my S8+ and my Note 8 with no desire to root it. When I want to customize it, I apply a theme. I just use the Samsung themes, but have thought about trying Substratum. There's always Nova Launcher and the Pixel Launcher if you want a different look as well.
That's my opinion, and it's worth about a buck two eighty. Get the phone. Run it stock for a while and see if you REALLY miss root. Then decide.
No, for the 1st time I must say on S8+ on Nougat it is not worth. You can disable all apps you don't need without root, remap bixby button, set permissions to apps, remove ads without VPN (Adhell2) etc.
Oh coarse it's worth it, for many reasons . . . .
. . . . . . . now what were those reasons . . . . . ?
oh yes, it turns the phone into a 'Super' phone.
You didn't know that is where the 'S' comes from in Galaxy 'S' 8, did you?
There isn't much customization to accomplish for rooting/custom recovery at the moment. I, at the moment, have twrp-d G950F and Stock G955U1. Strangely, I found myself using G955U1 more than that rooted G950F. Given that there is only TW based roms atm, fonts-theming can be acquired through substratum or flipfonts, and Adblocking using adhell. I basically rooted my device to test ROMs to maximize battery life but there is only little variation to them that I sincerely think that stock G955-U1 ROM is better than other, though I do adore the new samsung oreo keyboard that can add gifs to almost all apps that I am using, unlike its current nougat counterpart. But again, U1 is pretty clean and slim rom. I tried oreo beta, through that samsung.firmware.science, but there is currently no comparable U1 oreo beta, there is only U roms that will install carrier CSC and its added apps to the phone. It almost made me wanting to root to remove those apps, but given the near release of oreo, i ended up choosing to go back to my stock nougat u1 rom. I heard its possible to flash any stock rom to any s8 family.
Go check out CarHDROM. He has ported a Note 8 ROM for the 8+. Very nice and has built in a number of things you will not find on stock, built-in.
I can agree that initial messing about with rooting, setting up a custom ROM can take a little time, it's hardly more than a stock ROM. Some folks have to re-do things to get it just right, but once done, it can be spectacular. 'Rolling your own' can have it's own 'rewards', as it allows for some creativity beyond the stock ROM, and there are a good number of things you can do with a rooted phone, that you can not with a stock phone.
If you are new to rooting, etc, there is a learning curve that can be tranquilly taken over short hours, to days to weeks. Tranquil. The Samsung Odin software and the how to's are pretty straight forward to follow, and most of the time folks here are available to help, though that is not always 'guaranteed'. Some posts/requests for help sit idle either longer than the OP would like, or just remain static, though that is not an often case.
I ran the same custom ROM on my old iPhones, OnePlus One, G3, and once setup with a nice custom ROM, did not change them out.
CarHDROM is very well established, and version v9 (last Nougat) is very stable and very extended with it's added abilities. Carotix takes a lot of time with the users.
That ROM is now on v10 (Orego beta), and going through it's growing pains.
I have v9. Smooth, trash free, and well thought out.
I think all the versions are available for download/use.
It is worth checking out.
At any rate, either stock or custom, the 8/8+ is a great phone.
In the (motorcycle) biking side of life there is a saying for (legitimate) bike owners: "Ride it like you stole it".
Have fun with your S8.
Hi all,
i own a Tab S6 T860 (non-lte) for quite a while now, about 6 months.
There are some downsides like the horrible unbuffered screen tearing that you'll get with fast-scrolling, but the overall device is pretty premium-sided, and it's got a decent processor, a great display (color/resolution wise) although im missing 2160p in youtube.
Question is as i (until now) didnt bothered developing for a new device, since i had my hands full with the MiPad4, some alcatel devices and are Maintaining official LineageOS for three legacy devices, should i develop for this one if the community still wants it.
The lead-dev of the MiPad left it so im thinking about developing for the Tab S6 now.
I would only develop LineageOS, starting with 16.0 then doing 17.1 and then 18 but idk how long it would take, since ive no real knowledge of the newest platforms and how they are built, so i'd be reading/trying out stuff a LOT before some release nightlies. The "latest" i developed for was the MiPad4 with a sdm660 btw but i mainly do legacy (e.g 8953/8952/8926).
So please leave your feedback or any other opinions/questions, if we reach a decent amount of people who still want it i'll start right away when im back home from my vacations on 18th.
Best Regards!
Edit: Since theres no real telegram group, and i MAINLY talk via telegram i made one so you can contact me quickly.
https://t.me/joinchat/Bn6f-VKeQfZfiKXo69h3Mw
#reserved 1
I would LOVE to have LOS on my Tab S6 (SM-T860) WiFi-only tablet!
Don't even care about stuff like fingerprint, external keyboard, Widevine, Bluetooth, any 'functionality' similar to what Samsung 'provides' like, you name it.
I've spent sooo much time, and a few dollars, trying to get preinstalled stuff to *not* work! but still be able to boot—Knox bull****, anyone?
And having telephony **** on my WiFi-only tablet, either. Something that has baffled me for years is why a 'custom' ROM for a Wifi-only device has software that trys to interact with nonexistent hardware, using up cpu as it continually tries...on a bit of a rant, there.
So yeah, I'm all in. FWIW, I helped write the instructions, and did a *lot* of testing for rooting the Tab S5e, so I ain't scared to test out stuff; check it out, here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-s5e/how-to/galaxy-tab-s5e-sm-t720-root-t3947806
TiTiB said:
I would LOVE to have LOS on my Tab S6 (SM-T860) WiFi-only tablet!
Don't even care about stuff like fingerprint, external keyboard, Widevine, Bluetooth, any 'functionality' similar to what Samsung 'provides' like, you name it.
I've spent sooo much time, and a few dollars, trying to get preinstalled stuff to *not* work! but still be able to boot—Knox bull****, anyone?
And having telephony **** on my WiFi-only tablet, either. Something that has baffled me for years is why a 'custom' ROM for a Wifi-only device has software that trys to interact with nonexistent hardware, using up cpu as it continually tries...on a bit of a rant, there.
So yeah, I'm all in. FWIW, I helped write the instructions, and did a *lot* of testing for rooting the Tab S5e, so I ain't scared to test out stuff; check it out, here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-s5e/how-to/galaxy-tab-s5e-sm-t720-root-t3947806
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info about the S5e, i was unaware of how well it is supported.
I would definitely do stuff like fingerprint, widevine, Bluetooth (PEN) and stuff.
But idk about those keyboards samsung offers and how they function since i cant test it on my own.
Same goes for the LTE but im pretty sure i can just use the same blobs.
BTW anyone has a firehose package for the tab s6 by chance???
I too would love LOS in this device. Samsung UI is cluttery, lagging (on mine), and an absolute mess. My PocoF1 gives me better Honkai Impact 3 (a gatcha action fighting game) performance than this tablet, and the poco is an SD845, with lite LOS. So yeah, I'd love to have this. My warranty is void anyways (because samsung decided so I haven't done a thing to void it), so it'd be great to have a reason to take advantage of that.
Chiming in for a plea to get a Lineage build for the Tab S6.
Such a gorgeous piece of hardware beset by such a ****ty software implementation. Why does Samsung insist on abusing its customers? I'd gladly pay for a Lineage or AOSP rom for our device.
Alright, a little update:
Kernel is done -> link found below
It has to be handled with care as of now. Installing it on my running rom resulted in a crash when unlocking the device. A quick factory reset fixed the problem but keep that in mind when installing this on your device.
Rom will follow up hopefully till next month - but i cant promise anything.
T-860:
https://dl.keksla.wtf/boot_t860.img
T-865:
(uploading)
Thargorsson said:
Alright, a little update:
Kernel is done -> link found below
It has to be handled with care as of now. Installing it on my running rom resulted in a crash when unlocking the device. A quick factory reset fixed the problem but keep that in mind when installing this on your device.
Rom will follow up hopefully till next month - but i cant promise anything.
T-860:
https://dl.keksla.wtf/boot_t860.img
T-865:
(uploading)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would love to have custom kernel for samsung rom, but i don mind if you can make enhancements to the kernel like under volt or to solve the graphics lagging issues. it was just tiny changes involved in the past to make it work for both stock and LineageOS but for android 10, i have no idea
i have long inactive in both rom and kernel developments and i doubt how long should it take to get familiar with changes from android 7 to 10
ps i am still on pie, too lazy to upgrade due to my csc is tgy, which lacks updates as usual, and i dont wanna reinstall everything as to switch to dbt and to re-enter all my passwords
btw, may i ask if the stock android 10 fixed the problem with fast scrolling? i have experiences lags and graphics distortions with the samsung browser which was way toooooo unacceptable for a top device like tab s6
ykkfive said:
i would love to have custom kernel for samsung rom, but i don mind if you can make enhancements to the kernel like under volt or to solve the graphics lagging issues. it was just tiny changes involved in the past to make it work for both stock and LineageOS but for android 10, i have no idea
i have long inactive in both rom and kernel developments and i doubt how long should it take to get familiar with changes from android 7 to 10
ps i am still on pie, too lazy to upgrade due to my csc is tgy, which lacks updates as usual, and i dont wanna reinstall everything as to switch to dbt and to re-enter all my passwords
btw, may i ask if the stock android 10 fixed the problem with fast scrolling? i have experiences lags and graphics distortions with the samsung browser which was way toooooo unacceptable for a top device like tab s6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, sadly we still suffer from those issues on Q .
I dont have any good knowledge of how to apply those undervolts as i never done it before (lineageos requires stock govenors for official) but if you can point me to the correct commits i can look at it
Thargorsson said:
nope, sadly we still suffer from those issues on Q .
I dont have any good knowledge of how to apply those undervolts as i never done it before (lineageos requires stock govenors for official) but if you can point me to the correct commits i can look at it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh...
there were some cpu/voltage tweaks for the same cpu before for my old devices. and for our tab s 6 there are a few devices with the same cpu like one plus. you can search the cpu model in github and then you can find the code name of it and those devices which use the same cpu. i used to get those tweaks for modifying kernels for my previous devices. however for our 855, sadly there's no port for the samsung devices afaik, so you may need to make some more changes in order to port them
---------- Post added at 05:54 ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 ----------
just found this one https://github.com/kdrag0n/proton_bluecross/releases
it should be a 855 with some oc according to the change log, but unfortunately i couldnt load the changes with my browser so i couldnt find the relevant commits
may be you can take a look at that
Thargorsson said:
Hi all,
i own a Tab S6 T860 (non-lte) for quite a while now, about 6 months.
There are some downsides like the horrible unbuffered screen tearing that you'll get with fast-scrolling, but the overall device is pretty premium-sided, and it's got a decent processor, a great display (color/resolution wise) although im missing 2160p in youtube.
Question is as i (until now) didnt bothered developing for a new device, since i had my hands full with the MiPad4, some alcatel devices and are Maintaining official LineageOS for three legacy devices, should i develop for this one if the community still wants it.
The lead-dev of the MiPad left it so im thinking about developing for the Tab S6 now.
I would only develop LineageOS, starting with 16.0 then doing 17.1 and then 18 but idk how long it would take, since ive no real knowledge of the newest platforms and how they are built, so i'd be reading/trying out stuff a LOT before some release nightlies. The "latest" i developed for was the MiPad4 with a sdm660 btw but i mainly do legacy (e.g 8953/8952/8926).
So please leave your feedback or any other opinions/questions, if we reach a decent amount of people who still want it i'll start right away when im back home from my vacations on 18th.
Best Regards!
Edit: Since theres no real telegram group, and i MAINLY talk via telegram i made one so you can contact me quickly.
https://t.me/joinchat/Bn6f-VKeQfZfiKXo69h3Mw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in at 17.1 level and up. Don't want to go back...
YES! Yes please please please! I have been dreaming and hoping LOS would come to the Tab S6 for SO long now. So yes, please make a rom for it. Please.
I would love to have LOS rom support on the Tab S6! The lack of Lineage OS support was the one thing holding me back from purchasing the Tab S6, compared to the Tab S5E, but I wanted the faster processor, storage, and larger memory capacity.
That said, if you develop a working LOS rom, that would be a huge win for all Tab S6 users!
I don't think there is a person on XDA with the tab S6 that would not want to see a custom lineage Rom built. I do want a working Spen though. Im on stock 10 One UI 2.5 and samsung is extremely slow at releasing the kernel source code for the 860. Its definitely worth it to use to build one if you can. Thanks for developing on the tab S6.
LOS for T-865 ?! Yes, absolutely
P.S: Working pen would be great of course.
Still On The Fence.
lucgardos said:
LOS for T-865 ?! Yes, absolutely
P.S: Working pen would be great of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would support a ROM for this device, but I am leery about past issues and previous devices. I had 3 smp600 units, and all three were beaten to the edge with constant testing of all the ROMS I could grab. But, only ONE of those tabs choked on something from a pure LOS build. Then it hit a brick wall. I could never find a way past a Nov 18 build. So, now with two smt870 units, I will tread lightly. And, big question: WHY are we STILL stuck with ODIN for this process? I know nothing of the process of coding and writing these great ROMS, but having to drag out a WINDOWS laptop to update my android device seems like many steps backwards. I have no NEED for a laptop save for praying for Odin to even run properly. Wish there were better ways for us old farts who've forgotten more tricks than new ones have been taught. But, I am on board to get the Sammy off of my tab. Thanks for your errors.
;-DeanoD
DeanoD said:
I would support a ROM for this device, but I am leery about past issues and previous devices. I had 3 smp600 units, and all three were beaten to the edge with constant testing of all the ROMS I could grab. But, only ONE of those tabs choked on something from a pure LOS build. Then it hit a brick wall. I could never find a way past a Nov 18 build. So, now with two smt870 units, I will tread lightly. And, big question: WHY are we STILL stuck with ODIN for this process? I know nothing of the process of coding and writing these great ROMS, but having to drag out a WINDOWS laptop to update my android device seems like many steps backwards. I have no NEED for a laptop save for praying for Odin to even run properly. Wish there were better ways for us old farts who've forgotten more tricks than new ones have been taught. But, I am on board to get the Sammy off of my tab. Thanks for your errors.
;-DeanoD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if your not rooted you dont need odin you can install official release update. If you mean to install custom rom like lineage you again dont need odin after you install TWRP.
Actually, on debloated rooted stock ROM I don't see any problems so far..Device is holding it solid and sound.
Flavour of Lineage is absolutely welcome, but personaly I wouldn't use it because a lot of bugs and non functional addons.
Personally...this tablet without pen is like Ferrari without fuel.
Rooted debloated stock is miles ahead of Samsung's incompetent shadow apps. But even as stripped down as I can make it, the ROM still lags and burns battery in the background. I've tried everything and can't get this beautiful expensive piece of hardware to perform to its specs. I respect others who love it as is, but I've never gotten comfortable with the pen and just want a light, fast tablet with a beautiful screen that doesn't overtax its battery.
I'd switch to Lineage on this device in a heartbeat.
this project still alive? seems dead for me.
The title is basically self-explanatory. I'm particularly interested in these things:
AOSP/LOS/anything clean: how's battery drain? More than on stock or not?
Camera: could we replace ours with gcam? Is 70-105 switch working well?
Camera: do we have smth like XperianceCamera?
What features are we losing with unlocking bootloader? None afaics, but I may have missed something.
Thanks in advance! :^)
About Xperia 5 IV. It works great to me.
1.- No idea, never used stock. I have strong dislikes on Google.
2.- It works fine with OpenCamera, all 4 cameras detected (front, back normal, back close, back wide).
3.- No idea, I would need to try.
4.- It works fine.
Looks like I wrote a novel so TLDR:
I suck at this stuff, just getting back into custom ROMs - tried Pixel Experience 13 and Lineage OS(no Play Services (I think Android 13/A13 Beta)).
Stock Sony Rom + Root is the way to go. At least for right now.
Wouldn't count on GCam working or working well.
(Sony) Photo Pro is proprietary too afaik so you'd need someone to port it to custom OS like Lineage without G Services (what I read someone feel free to correct me). It might work with LineageOS with G Services or whatever else, I didn't try it.
END OF TLDR:
ROM EXPERIENCES:
Pixel Experience was weird, probably worked fine but I don't think the dimensions of the Xperia 5 III work well with how PE is scaled. Just this users opinion. Also I really only tried it to try it- not a huge fan of Google lately.
Lineage OS almost worked but the version I had text messages didn't work. The default one or others from F-Droid. I'm positive its user error on my part. Battery life seemed great though, it's anecdotal but it seemed markedly better without Google constantly checking in. Probably my bias.
Its important to me to have some Sony Apps and overall functionality (seems like low dev support when comparing to other devices IE Galaxy/Pixel) so I think stock Sony ROM+ Rooted is the way to go. Seemingly the general consensus on the forum too (especially since its pretty stock Android anyway).
Bonus objectives for me on stock Sony Rom is to DeGoogle + MicroG although I haven't made it all the way there yet. Then maybe long term try a Xperia 5 IV ROM for sh*ts and giggles for Android 13 since I doubt the 5 III will get it.
FUNCTIONALITY:
Your questions about GCam and losing functionality: I have heard/seen a lot of things online about GCam either needing to be ported to devices individually or that its part of Google's "Special Sauce" software wise. So I would expect stripped functionality if functional at all.
Someone who is a lot smarter and experienced than me should clarify on these last two:
Downsides to an unlocked bootloader+Custom ROM is same as always: risk of user error, bricking your device (soft bricked mine), depending on the ROM you choose you may not have Google Apps/limited so Banking apps and streaming apps won't work or won't go all the way up the resolution chain 4k20 69 fps etc. And I'm sure there is a security disclaimer somewhere out there too if you aren't careful.
Pros are same as always: Control of your device, system wide ad blocker, admin rights to delete bloatware, customization, custom ROMs, better battery life, potentially longer OS support, privacy, security, etc.
RAMBLINGS OF GETTING BACK INTO ROOTING WITH THE X5 III
*In case there are others out there who are similar to me in either getting back into rooting after a long time or the first time*
I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff but I was finally able to get my phone unlocked a few weeks ago and tried a few different ROMs. Out of what I tried I really only remember the Pixel Experience and Lineage OS. PE was fine but I'm not a huge fan of all the Google stuff so I went in the opposite direction and did Lineage OS without the Google Play Store/Services/App Framework whatever. It was almost a keeper for me except messaging wasn't working for whatever reason ((I wonder ^^)but really I think it was because it was an A13 beta). I tried a few different messaging apps but between that and losing some Sony Apps I decided to back to stock.
I feel like the big points for this phone are the camera app, the display customization depending on the content viewed, and possibly the gaming tweaks/music app? Last two are a stretch but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The new plan was/is hoping to do was DeGoogle the stock ROM and replace it with MicroG. I haven't gotten around to it because the post I was looking at on how to do it on this forum linked to another post in a different forum and it was for Android 11. My phone is on Android 12. Looking at the comments people had said the process was the same for 12 as 11 or very similar. Shouldn't be too hard but knowing me it will take me another afternoon or two to get it figured out and working.
Long term I'm kind of hoping that when an Android 13 ROM comes out for the Xperia 5 IV we could try throwing it on our devices too. Since I doubt we will be getting Android 13 on the Xperia 5 III. I know the physical camera is different on the 5 IV but everything else seems close enough to a normie like me that maybe it would be worth it to try. Then its back to figuring out how to DeGoogle on an unsupported device and installing MicroG etc etc.
Sorry its such a late response and not the most technical (or maybe even 100% accurate) but that was at least my experience a bit ago trying a few different ROMs on the GSI thread linked in the "How To" post listed here.
This phone has really grown on me and I'm bummed I'm not savvy in any amount of Android development so I am unable to make customizations/tweaks to the stock ROM. Or customize other OS ROM's to port here. Which makes me reliant on others to do the work so I can leech off it haha. On more widely used phones like Samsung or the Pixel its NBD since there are so many users. But a small community like this, it doesn't seem like there is a lot being done. Not a dig or anything, just not a ton of options. Although being able to install a ton of different custom ROMS from the GSI thread is really cool even if it isn't tailored to the Xperia 5 III.
Part of why I threw up so much info on here goes with the last paragraph. You probably won't get a lot of responses. There aren't a ton of peeps here and those who are generally already know what they are doing.
If you end up trying a bunch of different ROMs and find one you really like LMK!
+1 to that. I don't get 5G and had bad time trying to obtain signal. It doesn't worth.
J2 digital said:
Looks like I wrote a novel so TLDR:
I suck at this stuff, just getting back into custom ROMs - tried Pixel Experience 13 and Lineage OS(no Play Services (I think Android 13/A13 Beta)).
Stock Sony Rom + Root is the way to go. At least for right now.
Wouldn't count on GCam working or working well.
(Sony) Photo Pro is proprietary too afaik so you'd need someone to port it to custom OS like Lineage without G Services (what I read someone feel free to correct me). It might work with LineageOS with G Services or whatever else, I didn't try it.
END OF TLDR:
ROM EXPERIENCES:
Pixel Experience was weird, probably worked fine but I don't think the dimensions of the Xperia 5 III work well with how PE is scaled. Just this users opinion. Also I really only tried it to try it- not a huge fan of Google lately.
Lineage OS almost worked but the version I had text messages didn't work. The default one or others from F-Droid. I'm positive its user error on my part. Battery life seemed great though, it's anecdotal but it seemed markedly better without Google constantly checking in. Probably my bias.
Its important to me to have some Sony Apps and overall functionality (seems like low dev support when comparing to other devices IE Galaxy/Pixel) so I think stock Sony ROM+ Rooted is the way to go. Seemingly the general consensus on the forum too (especially since its pretty stock Android anyway).
Bonus objectives for me on stock Sony Rom is to DeGoogle + MicroG although I haven't made it all the way there yet. Then maybe long term try a Xperia 5 IV ROM for sh*ts and giggles for Android 13 since I doubt the 5 III will get it.
FUNCTIONALITY:
Your questions about GCam and losing functionality: I have heard/seen a lot of things online about GCam either needing to be ported to devices individually or that its part of Google's "Special Sauce" software wise. So I would expect stripped functionality if functional at all.
Someone who is a lot smarter and experienced than me should clarify on these last two:
Downsides to an unlocked bootloader+Custom ROM is same as always: risk of user error, bricking your device (soft bricked mine), depending on the ROM you choose you may not have Google Apps/limited so Banking apps and streaming apps won't work or won't go all the way up the resolution chain 4k20 69 fps etc. And I'm sure there is a security disclaimer somewhere out there too if you aren't careful.
Pros are same as always: Control of your device, system wide ad blocker, admin rights to delete bloatware, customization, custom ROMs, better battery life, potentially longer OS support, privacy, security, etc.
RAMBLINGS OF GETTING BACK INTO ROOTING WITH THE X5 III
*In case there are others out there who are similar to me in either getting back into rooting after a long time or the first time*
I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff but I was finally able to get my phone unlocked a few weeks ago and tried a few different ROMs. Out of what I tried I really only remember the Pixel Experience and Lineage OS. PE was fine but I'm not a huge fan of all the Google stuff so I went in the opposite direction and did Lineage OS without the Google Play Store/Services/App Framework whatever. It was almost a keeper for me except messaging wasn't working for whatever reason ((I wonder ^^)but really I think it was because it was an A13 beta). I tried a few different messaging apps but between that and losing some Sony Apps I decided to back to stock.
I feel like the big points for this phone are the camera app, the display customization depending on the content viewed, and possibly the gaming tweaks/music app? Last two are a stretch but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The new plan was/is hoping to do was DeGoogle the stock ROM and replace it with MicroG. I haven't gotten around to it because the post I was looking at on how to do it on this forum linked to another post in a different forum and it was for Android 11. My phone is on Android 12. Looking at the comments people had said the process was the same for 12 as 11 or very similar. Shouldn't be too hard but knowing me it will take me another afternoon or two to get it figured out and working.
Long term I'm kind of hoping that when an Android 13 ROM comes out for the Xperia 5 IV we could try throwing it on our devices too. Since I doubt we will be getting Android 13 on the Xperia 5 III. I know the physical camera is different on the 5 IV but everything else seems close enough to a normie like me that maybe it would be worth it to try. Then its back to figuring out how to DeGoogle on an unsupported device and installing MicroG etc etc.
Sorry its such a late response and not the most technical (or maybe even 100% accurate) but that was at least my experience a bit ago trying a few different ROMs on the GSI thread linked in the "How To" post listed here.
This phone has really grown on me and I'm bummed I'm not savvy in any amount of Android development so I am unable to make customizations/tweaks to the stock ROM. Or customize other OS ROM's to port here. Which makes me reliant on others to do the work so I can leech off it haha. On more widely used phones like Samsung or the Pixel its NBD since there are so many users. But a small community like this, it doesn't seem like there is a lot being done. Not a dig or anything, just not a ton of options. Although being able to install a ton of different custom ROMS from the GSI thread is really cool even if it isn't tailored to the Xperia 5 III.
Part of why I threw up so much info on here goes with the last paragraph. You probably won't get a lot of responses. There aren't a ton of peeps here and those who are generally already know what they are doing.
If you end up trying a bunch of different ROMs and find one you really like LMK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for putting all your experiences out here, really a huge help. I would also like to try out lineage, but can't seem to find a supported version. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
Claussen said:
I would also like to try out lineage, but can't seem to find a supported version. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind a customized one, try crDroid
i would like to try custom ROM's but since no TWRP anymore to get for the Xperia's i hate to reinstall everything just to test something new.