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I have been reading the Moto G Threads since shortly after I bought the phone and have even made the odd input. But today I am wondering just how many users actually root and custom rom? I imagine that in reality it is a tiny percentage of Moto G users. Yet I notice in these threads that while it seems to be a source of pride to some, it also brings many problems and quirks because a significant number of threads talk about custom ROM problems. Myself, I do use Custom Roms but generally start using only after the manufacturer has stopped supporting/upgrading. I have done this on several Nexus devices and a couple of Samsung's. For me a custom Rom is only used as a tool to keep firmware up to date for a longer period. With regards to the Moto G, the manufacture is still upgrading. So why bother romming? I decided to Root only and use Xposed tools and Greenify, to tweak things and Titanium to backup. Maybe, when Moto G stops the support, and, providing I still have the phone I might change the ROM. But if it ain't broke why waste time on it, its just a phone after all. But quite a nice one, although admittedly I'm drooling at the $299 OnePlus one right now!
I would like to use either a ROM or Xposed, but I want to keep my warranty for now.
This is the first of many Android phones that i haven't rooted or messed about with.
Why ??? Because its the first phone that i have been entirely happy with.
I don't have any issues at all .
That's not to say that i wont one day though.
Lollipop, KK, Ics, JB, TW, AOSP, CM, Recommendations, & Opinions for a dying Device
Well I haven't seen a general lollipop thread so I wanted to start one. The Pub seems like a nice place but since there's so much talk on there about everything in general, info could become hard to find. I do like the pub and read it every so often.
That said. I may or may not update the op with links posted. But most know where to find things if they look hard enough.
What I've found so far are AICP, Liquid, Mastamoon's CM, and a Slimpop build. I've tried AICP and Liquid. Thus far I've not been impressed with Lollipop, to each their own though. It looks okay, seems to run great, (I didn't do any benches, rather relying on the seat of the pants feel), I realize our device is getting at the age where not a lot of further development may happen. But it's still one of the few newer phones that you don't have to jump though hoops to install a rom.
What I'm asking if anything, is what have you tried, and why do you like or dislike it. Again, I know it's early especially for the d2vzw, but builds are out and are fairly stable, on AICP I never had a single reboot that I can recall. I'm going to try the latest Liquid tonight. I don't understand the new DD layers or whatever it is. I think it's a new way of theming possibly used by slim and maybe now liquid since I think they're using slim as a base now according to their thread in original development.
I'm backing up my favorite KK build now. Don't know if I want to try slim first or liquid. Both have builds dated 02-07 and 02-08 respectively.
If you dislike it I assume you're still running KK, or JB. In this case, I'd like to know if you're running a custom TW JB rom such as alliance or Moar or Wicked or anything else. And why. I am in an area where signal is ****. And although I'd imagine TW should get better signal, I'm not seeing a huge difference here. Maybe if I could get 3-5 DB/m better I'd stay on TW JB, but I'd have to make some measurments first. Signal on Lollipop seemed better but it can't be because I'd assume they're using the exact same RIL as on KK. Again, if I'm wrong on any of this please fill me in.
If there is another thread to follow that has already addressed all this let me know. I'm loving lollipop but can't find one namely AICP my current favorite that's releases regularly besides Masta and liquid, that have camera and video working if you have lollipop installed with these things working please share. I've tried freezing camera, then installing OPEN CAMERA, VIVAvideo, CM Camera FIX w/ the added apk for resetting the camera drive without a reboot to no avail. And I can't seem to make VIVA default to 640*480, maybe it does it on it's own but I've looked though all the settings I can find and can't seem to figure it out for the life of me. I've read damn near every thread and q&a thread to no avail.. I didn't read Masta's in it's entirety because it's so dang big. But I did browse the last ten-twenty pages or so. Once you stop keeping up for a few day's you're just lost... Which is what I wanted to make this thread to try to shed light on things without beating anyone up, and without downing any dev's they all make these things possible.
SO PLEASE if you don't mind let me know what rom has worked for you, with camera and video working and what you did to get it going.. WITHOUT STEPPING ON ANYONE"S TOES if at all possible. Thanks and have a great day/night/evening/morning.
Ain't getting a bite. Oh well. I saw a post about the slim ROM like a day later. Haven't ran it but that post has detailed data on what works and what doesn't in the op. I did try the newest liquid from 02-08 I think and it ran fine. I couldn't find how to change which settings though. A lot of features were there some weren't. Tried AICP same deal except I found the quick settings modifier in this one.
Both ran very well but I did use dkp's excellent kernel. Tierservative governor and clocked at 216-1728. Using his voltages.
I did try sending a text with liquid and I don't know if it went or not. I had read receipts checked but didn't get one. Someone else had this same issue in the liquid thread.
I'm back on KitKat but will n be testing new builds as I find them. Please give the developers some love and support or if you can donate. These guys work on this for fun and experience and some are in college. I've never known many wealthy college students. I was thrilled to have a case of naddy light or ughhhh beast ice.
griz.droidx said:
Ain't getting a bite. Oh well. I saw a post about the slim ROM like a day later. Haven't ran it but that post has detailed data on what works and what doesn't in the op. I did try the newest liquid from 02-08 I think and it ran fine. I couldn't find how to change which settings though. A lot of features were there some weren't. Tried AICP same deal except I found the quick settings modifier in this one.
Both ran very well but I did use dkp's excellent kernel. Tierservative governor and clocked at 216-1728. Using his voltages.
I did try sending a text with liquid and I don't know if it went or not. I had read receipts checked but didn't get one. Someone else had this same issue in the liquid thread.
I'm back on KitKat but will n be testing new builds as I find them. Please give the developers some love and support or if you can donate. These guys work on this for fun and experience and some are in college. I've never known many wealthy college students. I was thrilled to have a case of naddy light or ughhhh beast ice.
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I ran LS and mastas LP roms and loved em both on my S3 (I still have it even though I upgraded) and while I was impressed with the rom itself in both cases the battery life for me at least was horrendous. I've since learned a lot about wake locks and having too many apps can be a bad thing. I'm running slimkat on the S3 currently but I think I might just try out another LP rom seeming how it's only a wifi device now
Sent from my Nexus 5
Thanks. I think my battery may just be getting old but I do have a few wake locks. If your using the s3 as WiFi device then use airplane mode to help battery. Turn it on then turn on WiFi. That should help your battery life a lot. At least on my dx2 it does.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
This was supposed to be an edit sorry.
Thanks. I think my battery may just be getting old but I do have a few wake locks. If your using the s3 as WiFi device then use airplane mode to help battery. Turn it on then turn on WiFi. That should help your battery life a lot. At least on my dx2 it does.
Out of curiosity what did you upgrade to? I'd love a nexus six but I'm not sure they'll work with CDMA networks or a new moto. Since my old motos DX and x2 are bullet proof. Built like tanks. But I need to get something that'll let me scratch the flashing itch.
griz.droidx said:
This was supposed to be an edit sorry.
Thanks. I think my battery may just be getting old but I do have a few wake locks. If your using the s3 as WiFi device then use airplane mode to help battery. Turn it on then turn on WiFi. That should help your battery life a lot. At least on my dx2 it does.
Out of curiosity what did you upgrade to? I'd love a nexus six but I'm not sure they'll work with CDMA networks or a new moto. Since my old motos DX and x2 are bullet proof. Built like tanks. But I need to get something that'll let me scratch the flashing itch.
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I upgraded to a Nexus 5, I'm on straight talk so I can get any phone i want. And yea I run the S3 with wifi and airplane mode on, I do the same with my tablet
Sent from my Nexus 5
---------- Post added at 04:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------
griz.droidx said:
This was supposed to be an edit sorry.
Thanks. I think my battery may just be getting old but I do have a few wake locks. If your using the s3 as WiFi device then use airplane mode to help battery. Turn it on then turn on WiFi. That should help your battery life a lot. At least on my dx2 it does.
Out of curiosity what did you upgrade to? I'd love a nexus six but I'm not sure they'll work with CDMA networks or a new moto. Since my old motos DX and x2 are bullet proof. Built like tanks. But I need to get something that'll let me scratch the flashing itch.
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The nexus 6 will work with CDMA carriers, it's the first Nexus (other than the Galaxy nexus) to work with CDMA carriers
Sent from my Nexus 5
Dam I want my
I want my nexusss sixxx.
From the old dire straits mark knoplfer I want my mtveeee. When it was an actual music channel.
Showing my age again. Going to test some more and try to keep updating this thread but it's been hectic lately.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
griz.droidx said:
Dam I want my
I want my nexusss sixxx.
From the old dire straits mark knoplfer I want my mtveeee. When it was an actual music channel.
Showing my age again. Going to test some more and try to keep updating this thread but it's been hectic lately.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
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Its a solid phone, the price really turned me away from it though
Sent from my Nexus 5
ShapesBlue said:
Its a solid phone, the price really turned me away from it though
Sent from my Nexus 5
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Yeah I really can't afford one, but unlocked devices from major carriers seem to be few and far between. I mean without jumping though every hurtle out there to try to root and rom and device is getting harder and harder these days..
On the lollipop note, I really want to run it and have received advice from various forums on how to get the camera and video to work using A better camera, which i haven't tried, to open camera which i did try, and vivavideo which i just couldn't get to work for me at all. I might try another tonight maybe liquid maybe CM, I'd try Slim which was once my absolute favorite, until I used nameless. It had the features I wanted with none of the bloat I didn't.
I've been trying every aicp that I can get my hands on but have yet to get the camera or video to function.. Of course lots of people are useing Mastamoons CM and he probably has the biggest following of all the rom's out there at the moment. Maybe I should give that a whirl just to see how things fare with using the camera and video. But I can't imagine that other dev's haven't picked up on his tips, tricks, and cherry picks to include in their own roms to make them work just as well, but then again, maybe they're going their own route.
My question to everyone is which rom are you running lollipop that is, that have both camera and video working... Any kind of camera and video. I'm not too worried about resolution at the moment as far as video is concerned as I understand it, VIVAvideo only works at 640-480, but I can't for the life of me find a setting in there to get it to work.
I've found an app on the app store called cm camera fix or similar that is supposed to get things going without a reboot using another apk called camera reboot or simlar, but didn't have much luck with either.. Again, this is using AICP which I love. If anyone can suggest a rom and I've read through all threads except for the massive mastamoon thread, please do so. and please share your experiences
your not so on the spot op
griz
People seem to forget our builds are still alpha builds. Its unfortunate, but the truth. Doesn't seem like we will get any unofficial love until the camera API problem is hacked & working. My favorite devs aren't building for our phone yet because of all the camera issues. Hopefully these issues will be resolved before I get my new phone. Looks like I'll be making the switch back to HTC
sjpritch25 said:
People seem to forget our builds are still alpha builds. Its unfortunate, but the truth. Doesn't seem like we will get any unofficial love until the camera API problem is hacked & working. My favorite devs aren't building for our phone yet because of all the camera issues. Hopefully these issues will be resolved before I get my new phone. Looks like I'll be making the switch back to HTC
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Sadly there aren't many devs left for the VZW S3 either. A lot of them have moved on. Now that mine is only a wifi device I might just run a LP rom on it. It runs pretty well on my N5, I've yet to have a random reboot which is great
Sent from my Nexus 5
Thanks guys, yeah dev's are getting few and far between and many don't use the device and rely on users for feedback and logcat's and debugging information.
Here's something I posted in AICP and thought I'd post here as well.
Just an FYI. Using suggestions from here and other threads, I've been able to successfully take both photos and video. I used A better Camera as suggested by Pyrite123 so thanks for that suggestion. I first uninstalled the stock camera using ROM Toolbox, I'm sure Titanium would do the same or just removing the apk. Anyway, after doing this and installing A Better Camera (Which is quite nice I must say), and VivaVideo I was able to both take pics and record video. I do not care for VivaVideo, but ABC wouldn't take video... Been thinking about trying LG Camera, this used to work with all else failed back on the DX when dev's were trying to get the camera working on a particular build. LG Camera includes LG camcorder.
On another note, having used DKP, BMS, and KT kernels for sometime now I was afraid those may be inferfering with getting the camera working. Not the case. I've used DKP which should probably be updated to something newer since it's from around the middle of Jan. I like it because of the stock undervolting and many governor options. I usually underclock using the stock voltages to 216-280 and sometimes up to 1728 down to 1350 on the high end. depending on what I feel I need.
Another thing, I noticed my KitKat Rom wasn't locking GPS so I re-installed a stock based rom to get a lock as has been suggested a zillion times over a zillion builds and roms.. Getting a lock in Alliance Rom 23, then immediately installing AICP fixed gps locking.. I got 6 sats locked inside my home tonight with a metal roof, and a huge metal shed outside. I'm certain I could get 10 or more standing still outside.
Just wanted to update and say thanks to not only the AICP dev, but all dev's who are and have been working on lollipop for this device.
Shapesblue mentioned on his GN5, I too have never had a single reboot. Which is one reason I've been so hell been on getting the camera and video working somehow someway.. It may not be working correctly, but it's working.
Looking at masta's thread, it looks like his next build will have the camera fixed. I guess we will wait and see.
Thanks sjpritch25, I saw that. Something about PA having it working but not having anything in Gerrit or something and them possibly just including a third party camera.
My camera works most of the time. I'd say 80-95% of the time.. Yesterday I installed the latest AICP just because it was there, did the camera freeze, and Sometimes Open Camera and A Better Camera would work and sometimes not. usually using the Camera reset apk linked in the CM Camera Fix app in the Play store fixes it in a jiffy so that I can take photos again. I think I even used the front facing camera on one app, don't remember which one. And since another user suggested trying Camera Zoom FX I did that and it worked as well as the others.. All in all the pic's turned out fine with flash, and although one user mentioned that using flash screwed up their Torch Tile in Quick Settings, I experience no such issue.
I had a crazy issue where hangouts would crash and burn horribly upon launch. After installing the latest release, I didn't restore my version from TiBu instead installing it from the play store, and all was right again in the universe.. Again, I'm using the DKP kernel from 01-10 or so what seems like ages ago, but it works and as I've mentioned I like the stock voltages, governors and being able to underclock on the low end, and overclock on the highend if necessary.
Just wanted to report in.
Question, and I should read the BMS thread for this and the G+ community, but Ed has released a couple kernels and I think they're for lollipop, I can't confirm this because nothing in the name of the file says anything about it, but it does say 34, so perhaps KK uses the same version. I just checked and those kernels will probably work, looking in about phone in LP, I see that it's still a 3.4 kernel so I'd say, but I'm just guessing here, that the BMS kernels will work at least the ones release after the date he mentioned including CM12 stuff. Maybe they'll work with both KK and LP. And I'm almost 100% certain this is the case but YMMV. Don't come looking for me if it doesn't.. I'll try one whenever I decide to try another build. I'm itching to try Slim, always loved slim I have, And I reckon RRO Layers are supposed to work theoretically according to the OP. But even though I've read up on that next gen method of theming, I'm still in the dark and need to just dive in I suppose and get my feets wet. I know "feets"
I was on aicp, but flashed mastas build to test the camera. I wonder if PA had video working too? Open camera works great with the latest build. Still no video
I WANT YOUR VOTE!! Opinions Wanted! Not spam... LOL
No I'm not running for public office. I value everyones opinion so please if you have a few minutes read on.
sjpritch25 said:
I was on aicp, but flashed mastas build to test the camera. I wonder if PA had video working too? Open camera works great with the latest build. Still no video
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Latest Build of what? PA?
As one might have noticed I've changed the thread title. I know a there are a ton of resources about how to do this or that, and listings on what's available for Big Red's S3. Which I will probably own for the forseeable future. I have been unemployed for over a year now, Have had prospects on a few good well paying jobs, but they didn't pan out (One Network Admin Position, I should have landed easily, but didn't have the pull of the board like the other person, but I digress)
The S3 thanks to the hard work of a lot of developers and the community has had a great and exciting life. Hopefully people will continue deving for it well into the future like the DX, or the S2 etc.
My S3 runs great on most any rom I install be it TW, AOSP based, JB, KK, and now pretty dang good one Lollipop. The only problem for me with lollipop is that the moga universal driver doesn't work with L-Pop. This has been noted in the thread, but I don't know if any more work will be done to fix it. So I'll probably go back to TW or KK or JB.
I went from AICP which I have to admit is progressing nicely with their L-pop build. But since the moga universal driver doesn't work I'm going to use something else. And I've got that itch to flash something new again. All the KK's I've ran have been pretty dang good, SlimKat, Carbon, Liquid, Omni, and others but I've always stuck with nameless for whatever reason. Well, one reason is the adjustable timeout to kill apps via back button. Kinda like MIUI used to have.
My question is, for those of you who've flashed a lot of toms and can remember the details because it's all about the details. is what rom did you like the best and why.
Also aside from the massive drawback of not being able to install AOSP roms, is there any benefit to being on the TW 4.4.2 or 4.4.4? I can't remember which one they releaased. Some of the TW roms, Alliance, Moar, and Wicked are great roms and have a nice selection of theme's available. They run pretty good and are running JB.
The JB/KK, mostly KK, roms I've ran run absolutely awesome, I'm currently working on eliminating the play services wakelock without loosing much or any functionality, some say you can use the privacy manager (a big plus for Slim, Nameless, and Other users) to block the app staying awake. I haven't tried to use DS battery saver, Greenify, or many of the other zillion "Install me and I'll magically double or triple battery life using a method called "Using the Force!" At least that's what most ammount to or killing off apps blah blah blah.
Some users I've noticed are Die-hard TW fans and some Die-hard AOSP fans. I strongly lean toward the latter. I like being able to theme my rom I sil love MrDSL's Mixer series and DustinB's Cobalt series. With the new Lpop Roms this isn't possible. I have used the theme manager with CM12 themes in lpop but they're all flat and I don't care for that I do like aesthetics, but to each their own. Maybe the new flat method of lpop makes for better battery life?? It certainly makes for a duller looking rom. I do like the all black ones with white text however. Even they get old compared to the themes for CM7-11.
And TW roms are almost, and I stress almost as themeable as the the older CM varients. So many combinations of this or that and the Ultimate Icon Them or UIT is pretty slick IMHO. The themes for Wicked are almost as Wicked as the ROM itself.
If you made it this far, or just skipped the middle, congradulations you win.... well an opportunity to help myself and others answer a timeless question... Not the chicken or the Egg question.. Not Are we Alone in the Universe, Not is there a God and is he a nice guy, But rather you can help myself and others by giving reasons as to why you prefer one rom over the rest.
Please be detailed or as detailed as possible. Most who are in these forums know the jargon or should, and if not it's past time to learn.
Oh I've posted extensively about the 03-15 ish to 03-25 ish AICP if anyone wants to hear how things are going with that rom. It has quite a lot of the old features many of us miss and now includes the option to adjust the delay in killing apps too a'la Nameless and MIUI (I know the older MIUI did this on my X, DX that is)
So go on kick off your shoes, put your feet up, and write a post about why your running what. I've asked this in the past but opinions change sometimes quicker than it took me to write this short story as one guy used to tell me. Oggie I think it was..
Before I run, I wanted to wish Mastamoon all the best in his future Nexus 6 endeavors. That's probably my favorite phone at the moment, since I used to want a note anyway. SO thanks Masta for all those builds, cherrypicks, news, and releases you whipped up for us over here in Big Red Country, (NO not China, but rather VZW China's more Capitalist today anyway), I've left Verizon for an MVNO called Selectel because of their 15 dollar a month plan using big red's towers, but they don't offer data roaming. Here it's either Big Red or a Regional Carrier (which is probably more expensive than Big Red).
To read my massive off topic thanks to mastamoon press teh magical button.
Since I got way off topic, Here is is: THANKS MASTAMOON for all the work you've done the past few years working for free or next to free I hope someone bought you a beer or beverage of your choice. I can't afford a KitKat right now.. ha ha bad joke.. But thanks man, THANK YOU and thanks again to everyone who's worked on building and maintaining ROMS for this aging device. I for one appreciate it to no end. I used to be a distro hopper, I still am (remember the Mitch Hedberg [RIP] Joke?), I'm still a distro hopper but using Android Distro's for my phones. One an aging DX2, A DX with a screwy, Screen, and my baby the S3. Thanks to the community too, because without their feedback, bugs and stuff may never get solved, and many people wouldn't get the help they need, and just give up with their phone soft-bricked.
So one more for the road Thanks to the Dev's, Thanks to the maintainers, and Thanks to the community. Many don't thank the community enough but I can remember back in my DX says which I was a bit younger but still eager to learn all I could about Android and Customizing the DX. Without the community, I wouldn't have had the guides that get stickied, I wouldn't have got out of my softbrick situatiiiions, my re-activation woes which by the way, with the help of RazorLoves, I was able to re-activate at home which I was told by Big Red that I needed to drive 45min to one hour away to activate because the only towers in my home location and surrounding area belonged to Appalachian Wireless, a more expensive than big red regional companuy, Razor gave me the codes to get into the stock dialer to program the phone. Just one example out of many where the community has been very vey helpful. Kinda like the Dev's are the Doctors in the operating room, the Anesthesiolgist and nurses are maintainers and builders, with the other nurses and guest docs being the community. Probably a terrible analogy. But really. thanks to everyone involved on there. Just wish they got thanked more often and users didn't haggle them about stuff like "when will this be fixed" or "how much longer on the new build" "Rom X dries my dishes while yours only washes and scrubs them", "Rom X is better then Yours" Crap like that gets on my nerves. I'm sure my massive posts and continuous thank yous get on some peoples last nerve, But I'm trying to work on the massive short story length postings. I could care less about what people think of the latter, because the least I can do is thank someone for their hard work.
Back to the rest of the story. Let me know and others for that matter, why you've settled on TW and if yor're on TW, which build and why. If you're on another custom AOSP rom, again, why? What makes it better than any others., and if you're on the new KK locked down one why unless it was an acccident. Because I've even considered takeing that route but I doubt it's that much better than TW4.3 plus there would be no way to go back to lollipop or KK built from CM or AOSP.
I already know most people will say try them out and see for yourself. That's just it. I've tried 95% of the TW stuff, and almost all of the aosp/cm based roms. From Slim which was my DD for a long long time. Slim and I had a serious relationship but we broke it off because after JB she quit doing a few things she used to be able to do very well and I needed them only for my own pleasure. I know not funny, but true.
Just looking for others opinions, whethers its about battery life, signal (I live in a rural area with little signal if any), performance, looks, stability (of the OS not apps), if the Camera/Camcorder works well, so on and so forth.
Thanks for reading something that contained little to no information Also, if you use Xposed, which modules do you use and why?
Thanks in advance, I'll be checking in every day or two until I get my new work schedule.
Your Friend and fellow S3 owner
Griz.
I was wondering what's good for roms anymore I haven't had ran custom since my og s3 since I had it was running ose rom doesn't seem like they are around anymore need to downgrade from nc1 to ml1 thanks
any lp roms yet if any are dd?
nikkifm said:
I was wondering what's good for roms anymore I haven't had ran custom since my og s3 since I had it was running ose rom doesn't seem like they are around anymore need to downgrade from nc1 to ml1 thanks
any lp roms yet if any are dd?
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I've found a lot of LP roms on the S3 are battery hogs. I'm still running slimkat on my S3 which I only use for games and a mp3 player now
Sent from my N5
ShapesBlue said:
I've found a lot of LP roms on the S3 are battery hogs. I'm still running slimkat on my S3 which I only use for games and a mp3 player now
Sent from my N5
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would you say slimkat dd? and does it need new ne1 baseband for it kinda wished my old rom dev was still around that I ran was getting day worth of charge on one battery
nikkifm said:
would you say slimkat dd? and does it need new ne1 baseband for it kinda wished my old rom dev was still around that I ran was getting day worth of charge on one battery
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I'd definitely say slimkat is a dd. I did have to update to the NE1 modem
Sent from my N5
I have been a flashaholic for some time, probably the Eclair days, but I really question if it's worth it now days.
Most Lollipop and newer ROMs, except for Nexus devices, seem to have some kind of issues... If not immediately, then over time. While at the same time factory ROMs get better, partially because the base code is better and because many manufacturers are getting better at it.
And now, some features are being blocked just by unlocking of bootloader, even if you're otherwise stock, like Android Pay and others like Pok�©mon Go.
I find all I really do now on custom roms is some interface tweaks... Change the battery icon, add a clear all button to recents, and add arrows to the navigation bar, all minor stuff. Otherwise things like Nova Launcher, SwiftKey, and GSAM largely don't even require root anymore much less a custom ROM. Part of it used to be for battery life, but now, at least on modern Moto devices, most custom roms struggle just to match the battery life of stock.
I've tried every rom for this device I can find, here and other places, and they all seem to have a variety of things that fail, from minor annoyances to major services broken like GPS, or they fail over time.
My question for discussion is it still worth it, and why do you ROM or even root anymore?
I used to run a variety CM ROM's on Samsung Galaxy & Note devices. Starting with the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket and then every decent device Samsung released until the bootloaders stopped getting cracked.
There was always something that just didn't work right and I'd have random crashes.
But for me it was semi-worth it. I like to tinker and customize a lot.
Fast forward to the last thirteen months with my first non-Samsung since. A Motorola Moto X Pure.
Best damn phone I've ever had.
And there is CM available, but I quickly discovered AOSP ROM's like Dirty Unicorn and Broken OS.
Both these ROM's are FULL of customization not found in Xposed modules, and both ROM's have been 100% reliable.
I may have had one lockup in the last 13 months. And everything from GPS to Bluetooth, etc. have all worked perfectly.
So for me, yes... custom ROM's are more than worth it once you find the right ROM. My phone is heavily customized to my needs and super reliable.
The only thing lacking with MotoX was kernel development. Which I guess is where you start losing some reliability.
But it's also where I'm hoping the Pixel will get some good development and I'm looking forward to it. :good:
Non-rooted stock MM has been going great for me lately. Lots of great built in features like Moto actions, etc. I play Pokemon while walking on my breaks at work, and the last few updates forced my hand to go back to stock. I was (am) also a flashoholic, and it was mainly to have custom features and better performance on outdated and mfg abandoned phones. It was also a must for my Kindle Fire. I really don't see myself going away from stock MM (soon to be Nougat) on my MXPE at this point. I still flash ROMs on my G2 and Note 3 though, but barely use them outside the house.
CZ Eddie said:
I used to run a variety CM ROM's on Samsung Galaxy & Note devices. Starting with the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket and then every decent device Samsung released until the bootloaders stopped getting cracked.
There was always something that just didn't work right and I'd have random crashes.
But for me it was semi-worth it. I like to tinker and customize a lot.
Fast forward to the last thirteen months with my first non-Samsung since. A Motorola Moto X Pure.
Best damn phone I've ever had.
And there is CM available, but I quickly discovered AOSP ROM's like Dirty Unicorn and Broken OS.
Both these ROM's are FULL of customization not found in Xposed modules, and both ROM's have been 100% reliable.
I may have had one lockup in the last 13 months. And everything from GPS to Bluetooth, etc. have all worked perfectly.
So for me, yes... custom ROM's are more than worth it once you find the right ROM. My phone is heavily customized to my needs and super reliable.
The only thing lacking with MotoX was kernel development. Which I guess is where you start losing some reliability.
But it's also where I'm hoping the Pixel will get some good development and I'm looking forward to it. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... I have been on that "rom that shan't be named on XDA" for a while now. After a month started suffering SoD randomly and Play Services has stopped issues. DU 10.6 couldn't maintain GPS lock, but 10.5 was fine, seemed to effect only a handful of devices, lucky me.
Anyway, thanks for your input.
acejavelin said:
Hmm... I have been on that "rom that shan't be named on XDA" for a while now. After a month started suffering SoD randomly and Play Services has stopped issues. DU 10.6 couldn't maintain GPS lock, but 10.5 was fine, seemed to effect only a handful of devices, lucky me.
Anyway, thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have been a avid user of the "rom that shan't be named on XDA" for many months now with no real issues. By chance have you tried a fresh install again. The latest release was back in late August a 4.9.1 version that made corrections to some issues on the 4.9 release.
Jimi Mack said:
I also have been a avid user of the "rom that shan't be named on XDA" for many months now with no real issues. By chance have you tried a fresh install again. The latest release was back in late August a 4.9.1 version that made corrections to some issues on the 4.9 release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet... I have been on 4.9.1 already, and have been working with the devs a bit on it but seems mostly isolated to my device.
acejavelin said:
Not yet... I have been on 4.9.1 already, and have been working with the devs a bit on it but seems mostly isolated to my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If anything try a fresh install and see if your issues were only from maybe a bad original install. If they show up again then I would say they are isolated to your device.
Jimi Mack said:
If anything try a fresh install and see if your issues were only from maybe a bad original install. If they show up again then I would say they are isolated to your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm out of town for the weekend, in a rather rural area, so maybe will try tomorrow evening.
LMT pie, adaway, naptime, and general tweaking are the only reasons I root on a phone this close to stock android.
I didn't run custom ROMs on this phone until about August of this year. That was when battery life on aicp started to get comparable with stock for me. I can get most of the features I want from gravitybox, but I prefer them baked into the ROM. Xposed always seems a little problematic even when you don't install janky modules. I really like the notification led; missed that when I got this phone. I know we're supposed to use moto display, but I think that makes more sense on amoled than a great big LCD. Never had good luck with lightflow or the led enabler apps, but the custom roms work great. I really like slim recents too. I haven't found any modules that work to put KitKat like recents on M ROMs.
TruPureXMM + GravityBox
Loved my MXP so much I bought one for my mom who was hating her iPhone5. Kept it stock (for obvious reasons), so I have a good baseline to compare to my MXP running TruPureXMM + GravityBox. I've tried a bunch of ROMS for this phone but I always come back to TruPureXMM + GravityBox. Oh, and Tasker.
There is no way in hell I would go back to stock.
I used Cyanogenmod on my HTC Incredible and Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Didn't root or ROM for a while due to using the stock ROM on the 2nd generation Verizon Moto X 2014 and stock Android on the Nexus 5X and 6P. But, I had the itch to unlock the bootloader on my Moto X Pure, due to curiousity, and because it's likely that we will only see one more Nougat update. I tried CM13, but I was getting UI freeze ups and slowdowns on multiple builds, so I tried Dirty Unicorns 10.6, and that has been working fine. I may return to the stock ROM after the Nougat update, but in the meantime, I'm happy experimenting with different ROMs on the Pure.
I'd be cool with stock- as long as I could debloat it.
And it was updated fairly quickly.
Stock for this phone is great. Better than most. Only issue really is Moto is so far behind on security updates. They are on what, May I believe? CM13 is Oct.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Stock here, never a issue. With Nougat in the horizon, a custom ROM is a big NO for me.
Enviado desde mi XT1575 mediante Tapatalk
I would say TruPureX with a few mods is a very solid and stable way to go. I myself am on TurboROM which has ceased current development, but have ZERO issues. AICP's MM build is the most feature filled and works flawlessly aside from one issue I don't have on other ROMs, where my bank app only shows black when using the camera to deposit checks, making AICP unusable for me, but highly recommended for others to try as that's the absolute only issue I could find after a week full of testing (Kind of what I do as a hobby is push ROMs to their limits to find the issues.)
So in short: TruPureXMM, TurboROM, AICP - are all great choices without the negatives associated with many custom ROMs.
Pretty sure we are all here to push the ROMs to he limits lol?
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Speaking of custom ROMs, I just searched android file host for Clark and there are new 7.0 builds of zephyros, pure nexus, aosp, and cos.
I'm in a limited data area so I haven't downloaded or tried them out yet.
jason2678 said:
Speaking of custom ROMs, I just searched android file host for Clark and there are new 7.0 builds of zephyros, pure nexus, aosp, and cos.
I'm in a limited data area so I haven't downloaded or tried them out yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running the latest Zephyr after trying AICP and CM14. Uses substratum and SuperSU. Camera recording isn't working with snapdragon camera (FC), google camera (records but doesn't save). Had an android.phone FC but replaced with google phone/contacts and no problems so far. Still need to test speakerphone and bluetooth, but assuming those work as well as 6.0.1 I'm pretty impressed by Birdman.
Any roms that anyone can recommend? CM13 and OrionOS both have very bad stuttering after some time of use. Has anyone tried Pure Nexus or Slim6? Just need a good daily driver that can handle games without heating up so hot, and handle most social apps great...
jason2678 said:
Speaking of custom ROMs, I just searched android file host for Clark and there are new 7.0 builds of zephyros, pure nexus, aosp, and cos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously? We've got like one and a half here.
Hi, so I ditched my old P905-V a while back because of the locked bootloader and inability to root. Found a great deal on the P900 tpdau and decided to give the Note Pro another go. However, since I haven't used Android since the 5.1.x days, can anyone give me the rundown on whether Nougat ROMs are worth installing? I never did see MM in action, and I'm thinking the latest Android might be the best bet. However, I'm seeing a ton out there about SafetyNet ... should I just assume stock is acceptable so I can download more apps from the Play Store, or does it really even matter? I mostly want to use productivity apps and the drawing features of the Note with Sketchbook Pro (without paying the price tag of the Tab S3 and still dealing with bloat). Basically, I'm now torn between getting the latest greatest ROM, or installing it only to find I've tripped Knox and can't install the apps I want. My current ROM of choice would be the latest Resurrection Remix since that was developed recently and doesn't have volume level issues. However, if that prevents me from installing Google apps or Microsoft Office suite, I might care more.
Thoughts, anyone?
fantasticrat said:
Hi, so I ditched my old P905-V a while back because of the locked bootloader and inability to root. Found a great deal on the P900 tpdau and decided to give the Note Pro another go. However, since I haven't used Android since the 5.1.x days, can anyone give me the rundown on whether Nougat ROMs are worth installing? I never did see MM in action, and I'm thinking the latest Android might be the best bet. However, I'm seeing a ton out there about SafetyNet ... should I just assume stock is acceptable so I can download more apps from the Play Store, or does it really even matter? I mostly want to use productivity apps and the drawing features of the Note with Sketchbook Pro (without paying the price tag of the Tab S3 and still dealing with bloat). Basically, I'm now torn between getting the latest greatest ROM, or installing it only to find I've tripped Knox and can't install the apps I want. My current ROM of choice would be the latest Resurrection Remix since that was developed recently and doesn't have volume level issues. However, if that prevents me from installing Google apps or Microsoft Office suite, I might care more.
Thoughts, anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used Lineage N for about 2 weeks. It was smooth. I went back to stock because the tablet would get massively hot and sometimes reboot when playing graphic intensive games. Aside from the heat while gaming, it was great. I'd still be running it, but the main purpose of my 900 is gaming.
Give it a shot, share your results.
LaserChicken said:
I used Lineage N for about 2 weeks. It was smooth. I went back to stock because the tablet would get massively hot and sometimes reboot when playing graphic intensive games. Aside from the heat while gaming, it was great. I'd still be running it, but the main purpose of my 900 is gaming.
Give it a shot, share your results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I just purchased a P900, waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Does everything else work on the Lineage N build you are talking about? I plan on using mine for GPS mostly, monitoring apps, not gaming. So that rom may work great for me.
Crwys said:
Hi I just purchased a P900, waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Does everything else work on the Lineage N build you are talking about? I plan on using mine for GPS mostly, monitoring apps, not gaming. So that rom may work great for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually back on it now. The latest build is great. I think my heat issues have been toned down with less aggressive settings for the CPU and GPU. GPS is working, I just tested it with Google maps. I'm not having any issues this time.
LaserChicken said:
I'm actually back on it now. The latest build is great. I think my heat issues have been toned down with less aggressive settings for the CPU and GPU. GPS is working, I just tested it with Google maps. I'm not having any issues this time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response.
I suppose I could do ask this question in the Q&A area but how do I do a full backup?
For example: I thought backing everything up in recovery was enough but apparently for my Z2 there is something called a TA Backup? Is this the same for the Galaxy Note Pro? I can't find any threads on doing a backup. Are there any other backups I have to do?
Edit:
Figured it out. Turns out for samsung it is called EFS Partition. So make sure you back that up along with your nandroid.
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.