Related
As we know India got the Nougat. Brazil did too. EU finally gets it's share.
Nothing in US, except a soak announced by RepublicWireless. On the official Motorola / lenovo forums you can be banned if you talk about sideloading the Nougat on US devices. While Moto allows unlocking the bootloader by providing the unlock codes (in US they benefit from that by canceling the warranty), they frown upon what happens next. Like people will unlock the bootloader just for the pleasure of giving up the warranty, nothing more.
I was a Moto fan, me and my family owned a Moto DEFY XT (557D), MotoX (1st gen), Moto G (3rd gen), Moto E (2015) and now in use we have a Moto G4 Plus and a Moto X Pure.
Sadly, service (updates) for US is now last in line, bad interactions on their forums, no true international LTE bands support (band 20 is ommited from US phones, even if it is becoming one of the most important in EU for CA and rural).
I was planning to get the next Moto G5, but sadly I will have to move to a different company for my next phone.
What's sad is the fact that for each of us that have purchased their last Moto, there are probably 10 people that's never owned a Moto that will buy it. The US is pretty much the backwater for Lenovo and we probably are only a small fraction of their sales.
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
At the price point that they try to sell the new Moto they needed loyal customers. The people that hunt bargains will not go for their inflated prices, not when they have likes of ZTE or Alcatel in the stores. Bad marketing strategy.
SoNic67 said:
At the price point that they try to sell the new Moto they needed loyal customers. The people that hunt bargains will not go for their inflated prices, not when they have likes of ZTE or Alcatel in the stores. Bad marketing strategy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I usually get a new phone every two years. I have had my G4 for six months, so I won't make any statements about what I will or won't buy at this time since a lot can change in 18 months. But I will say that Lenova is far from being the only manufacturer to drag their feet on updates. And in reality, I really don't care that much about getting stock upgrades since I unlock and customize every device I have. The custom firmwares are usually much better choices IMHO. So when I am ready to get a new phone (or tablet), the custom ROM choices and development activity will influence me more than whether or not the manufacturer is updating in a timely manner. And introductory prices usually fall in time
Custom firmwares are zero without updated blobs for camera, sensors, modem... That requires manufacturer support.
However my beef is mainly that lenovo had put the US market on backburner.
SoNic67 said:
Custom firmwares are zero without updated blobs for camera, sensors, modem... That requires manufacturer support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:
All very true. But it seems that the updated drivers for various features are made available long before stock ROM upgrades, thus custom ROM's are also available. In five years of using Android smart phones and tablets, I have never had to wait long for decent custom ROMs based on the latest version as opposed to the long delays for stock upgrades by some manufacturers. Huawei and Asus come to mind.
Anyhow, I wasn't trying to negate anyone's position about the current situation. I merely was stating my own personal opinion and what works for me. My own 2-cents worth so to speak.
US soak seems to be older (-13) than what is out now (-14). Probably is somehow related to the RepublicWireless preloaded app.
I would like to try the US soak test. Has anyone have a URL for it? I heard their was issues but sounds like the same issues I read about Nougat. Any truth to that?
I'm using Nougat 14 and it's having battery drain problems, it's general (check Lenovo forums).
Maybe for that reason they didn't update the US version for now.
Anyway it's taking too much time for be an Android version similar to AOSP, other companies like Huawei have very modified versions and are updating more fast.
Maybe Nokia is going to be what Motorola was. I'm going to wait the Nokia 8 presentation for decide if I buy it or a Moto G5 Plus.
pastorbob62 said:
I usually get a new phone every two years. I have had my G4 for six months, so I won't make any statements about what I will or won't buy at this time since a lot can change in 18 months. But I will say that Lenova is far from being the only manufacturer to drag their feet on updates. And in reality, I really don't care that much about getting stock upgrades since I unlock and customize every device I have. The custom firmwares are usually much better choices IMHO. So when I am ready to get a new phone (or tablet), the custom ROM choices and development activity will influence me more than whether or not the manufacturer is updating in a timely manner. And introductory prices usually fall in time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main reason I've stuck with Moto so long is the custom firmware options. It's actually unprecedented for me to be still running a stock rom all this time.
Jplabti said:
I'm using Nougat 14 and it's having battery drain problems, it's general (check Lenovo forums).
Maybe for that reason they didn't update the US version for now.
Anyway it's taking too much time for be an Android version similar to AOSP, other companies like Huawei have very modified versions and are updating more fast.
Maybe Nokia is going to be what Motorola was. I'm going to wait the Nokia 8 presentation for decide if I buy it or a Moto G5 Plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ran Nougat NPJ25.93-14 for a week and didn't see any battery drain whatsoever. In fact, the battery life was slightly better than any of the custom ROMs I have tried. I would have stuck with it except I missed the advanced boot menu and being able to customize the status bar. Not to mention it still has bloat that I really don't need.
It really has been a while since all the major ones got an update. I am just asking, because I don't like the fact, that Honor pushes out phones every 3 months while abandoning older phones such as the Honor 8 and now to me it seems the same for the custom roms here on XDA. Well ok, an OREO custom ROM came out a few weeks ago, but it seems to have the same bugs as the Nougat ones (which are still not fixed?). I dont want to moan or something like that, but can anyone give some clarification on that (like: we are still working on our roms but wont publish updates before everything works 100%)?
this is the way its going to be with huawei. if you want custom rom support look elswhere. at least the new phones will get treble which will help with running custom roms but i would still recommend another brand.
Go an Android One Device a few weeks ago, sadly my screen broke overnight (dont know why and how) and had to send the phone back, got my money back because i dont wanted to wait till 2018 to get my replacement phone (Xiaomi Mi A1 imported). Looking for a new device right now, seems like except for the google phones, there isnt a brand which supports atleast two major OS updates and then continues to give devs custom rom support. Had my eye on the Nokia ones (they just said, that they want to open the bootloaders), but I dont know if a Snapdragon 430 would make me happy.
I've had Moto's for several years through the Moto G4 and custom rom availability was the best thing about Motorola phones. That said, Lenovo ruined Motorola and the Honor 8 is still better even without custom rom support. I would take my Honor 8 over the rom rich Moto any day.
Hi All,
While I was searching for a new device to purchase, this question popped into my head: how do ROM developers decide which devices to support? Admittedly, this question arose because I wanted to find a phone that would be compatible with the most ROMs and is currently still under active development. But I also am genuinely curious as well.
I'm new to the custom ROM scene and just started researching but from what I can understand, most, if not all, developers are doing this on their own free time without any sort of payment. In that case, I would assume, they would only support devices that they have access to, in other words, devices that are currently using and have used. Additionally, developers are probably tech-savvy so I am also assuming that most developers will choose a phone that they think is best. Although what is best is subjective, I believe that there are a common set of desired features which will lead to a couple of devices being more popular than others. As a result, some phones will see support from a wide variety of ROMs while others will see a few or none at all.
I went through a couple of the ROMs I was interested in from this list (https://www.xda-developers.com/the-most-popular-custom-roms-on-xda/), and found that Nexus 5x was common between them all. I can't recall what phone was popular during 2015 but was this phone really so popular/desired that all ROM developers seems to have one lying around in 2019/2020? Its been past 4 years since its launch and I assume that its specs are very outdated compared to what we have now but it is still being supported by many ROMs. What lead to this phone to become such a commonly supported phone by ROM developers?
The Nexus line was at a good price point, good hardware for the time and fully supported factory images from Google with regular updates, next to impossible to hard brick, worked across multiple carriers worldwide, easy to unlock bootloader, custom recoveries available, and popular following. I'm sure I've missed something [emoji846]
Device's that are only available in a limited market, or are unable to be bootloader unlocked, don't have factory images are difficult to support and have a limited following reduces the likelihood that a person interested in developing will buy that phone.
ktmom said:
The Nexus line was at a good price point, good hardware for the time and fully supported factory images from Google with regular updates, next to impossible to hard brick, worked across multiple carriers worldwide, easy to unlock bootloader, custom recoveries available, and popular following. I'm sure I've missed something [emoji846]
Device's that are only available in a limited market, or are unable to be bootloader unlocked, don't have factory images are difficult to support and have a limited following reduces the likelihood that a person interested in developing will buy that phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind, could I have your opinion on Moto G5 Plus in regards to ROM support? It appears to be supported by Pixel Experience, AOSP Extended, and ResurrectionRemix so it looks like it has a fair amount of support. However, when I view the top devices page on XDA (https://forum.xda-developers.com/top) I don't see the Moto G5 Plus. Would there be any relationship between the top devices on XDA and devices supported by the most ROMs?
No, there really is not a correlation between the top devices on XDA and ROM support.
The top devices reflects basically the activity within the forum. So new device releases will trigger people's curiosity so even though there may be zero ROM support, the device has activity.
A device like the Moto G5 plus that has been out for awhile, just doesn't have loads of activity in the forums. There is still activity on ROM threads, but it's more sporadic.
Got it, thanks for your help. Looks like I'll just have to keep digging through the forums and rom websites and try to make an educated guess about what device has and will continue having the most rom support.
The lineageOS support for the Nexus 6 is ongoing and that phone was released in 2014. There was a lot of passion surrounding that device, but as developers had their device fail (battery died, screen broken, ect), they moved onto other devices.
My point is, the best you can do is find a popular phone in your price range and hope. The OnePlus series may be worth looking at.
Hallo, 3 weeks ago I bought a Samsung s6 Lite SM-P610 w i t h OEM Unlock toggle. After a bootloop and repair by Samsung the s6 returned with an update to Android 11 and no more unlock.
My reclamation with Samsung ended in they can make it and they do it.
That means I cannot use another os which I want, that means I have no more rights over m y proprietary.
Same situation on a pc or laptop anyone would say thats not crazy.
Therefore I wrote to an Verbraucherschutz to complain. I never think that "we" become a great number with great influence. But I also belive if nobody complains we never can defend against Google with his Android to prevent others to get in. Therefore it's perhaps a chance if as much people as possible write to Samsung and offical instances/authorities.
Gents, do it!
Juvo
People who live in territory of EU and buy a phone there must get offered ( by OEM ) a transparent way how to unlock / root their phones sold there. This is applicable EU law.
BTW: The Android OS OEMs preinstall isn't Google's vanilla Android ( AOSP ) as that's only true with Google devices, it's always a Custom ROM compiled by OEM. In your case it's NOT Google who hinder you tampering Android by default, but Samsung.
I want a New phone and I would be using it in Canada. I have been looking mostly on Aliexpress
because I can save quite a bit of money. I am looking for a Motorola because suppose to be clean android and
little or no Bloatware at least the version from Canada. I know nothing about downloading Roms and don't know the meaning of what Rooting is
so I have to keep things simple. My dilemma is do I get a Global Version because I will get OTA updates with no hassle or a Chinese Version that the seller has flashed a Global Rom on? The Chinese with the global rom may or may not get OTA updates but is cheaper than a True Global Version from Aliexpress.
The seller says I can update the phone myself? I don't mind updating if the phone notifies me of an update and I just have to Tap to install
but I don't know if it is that easy? What should I do?
Also Motorola doesn't have any Global Version I can find like Xiaomi has but even they do not have all models in Global Versions.
I would never buy a phone off AliExpress because this seller is known to sell fake produccts.
Generally, AliExpress is a great place to source your merchandise only if you know how to find genuine products on the site.
redrooster62 said:
(...) I have been looking mostly on Aliexpress
because I can save quite a bit of money. (...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By looking for cheap buys and not knowing anything about the device, you really won't save anything.
In my opinion, it will be better for you if you buy on the local secondary market a phone from a year or two ago, which was categorized as mid-range on the day of its release.
Be careful with any to good to be offer's! Do your homework while shopping...
Yes I know about that. A genuine seller has the money back guarantee protection through aliexpress. The sub par ones do not. I bought a Redmi Note 8 Pro 3 years ago with no problems.
Done lots of homework. When I see a Samsung S22 for $200 I know it's a fake.
The sellers with the guarantee are what I look for.
So now we have got past about shopping on Aliexpress
Is anyone going to comment if the Chinese with a global rom be ok given my skill level or forget it and only buy a true "Global Version"?
My only problem about the CN/Global Rom is getting system and security updates.
Updates get rolled by OEM if they deem it necessary. Has nothing to do what ROM initially is flashed. Providing updates causes enormous costs, which OEMs naturally try to avoid because it reduces the profit margin.
Only with Google devices ( AOSP based ) you can be sure to always get latest updates.
So why then if you buy a Chinese phone flashed with a Global Rom the sellers says OTA updates not supported?
1. My understanding: Global ROM, as also Chinese ROM, is software, whereas Global Version is hardware. But I may err as always.
2. OTA stands for Over the Air ( FOTA – Firmware Over the Air ). It refers to the wireless delivery of new or updated software or firmware to devices such as smartphones and tablets.
The OTA process is self-explanatory in that it delivers updated software wirelessly or ‘over the air’. These updates are distributed over Wi-Fi or mobile broadband using a function built into the smartphone or tablet’s operating system or through a special OTA app that’s given root access. The update goes out to all the designated smartphones or tablets from one central control panel.
I am following you sort of. I know that updates are sent OTA.
What I need to know is how will I get these software and firmware update if the seller is saying "OTA updates" not supported after they install the Global Rom?
My experience so far with pervious cell phones is this process happens automatically with maybe the hardest thing to do is accept it by a Tap.
If this process is complicated because it is not supported I can't continue about thinking to buy as I am not a Tech Savvy cell phone guy.
the answer is very simple: you have to take care of possible updates yourself
No Problem but is it easy like a matter of Tap Yes to update or is like loading another updated Rom?
I don't know if you figured it out or not but in my opinion if you are saving a good amount go for Chinese version and you can simply flash a global one and root your device to get your device certified
Updates will not be the issue you can install the updates the only issue will be after every update you have to root your device again
As you said you don't know how to root. root is something you should have at least basic knowledge to do soo otherwise you may brick your device
So facts are Infront of you if you still think it's worth buying and you can manage the struggle