Database Info

Think I’m fixing to come back to android from iOS, few questions...

So I’ve been out of the Android game for a while, but think I’m going to come back. I’ve been pretty happy with the Mac ecosystem for the past 3 or so years but lately ios11 seems to have borked my 6s+ as well as my wife’s 6s. That coupled with the plethora of seemingly good $250 range android phones available from GearBest, etc makes a strong case for making the switch back to android. But I have a few questions for you guys that are up to date in the android realm.
1 - any Chinese brands I should avoid due to poor build quality and being prone to failures?
2 - any Chinese brands that are known to be of a good quality build?
3 - best way to cope with the loss of iMessage? A lot of pictures and videos are exchanged between my wife and I of our child (soon to be children). I don’t want to exchange videos that looked to have been filmed on a kumquat.
3 - best way to send pics/vids to the iOS users in the family circle?
4 - I’m assuming people are still rooting and running custom roms......what are the popular, stable custom roms people are using? Cyanogen mod still a thing?
Thanks in advance for the help. I’ve recently sold my atv4, Mac mini and am currently attempting to sell my MacBook Air. Have already purchased a google home mini to test out and looking at the chrome books now. If I make the switch I plan on embracing google’s ecosystem.

No one can offer any guidance?

1- the cloned devices and try to avoid buying mtk based devices
2. Huawei and Xiomei ( well know for their good phone and cheap prices )
3. Google photos where you can sync photos over gmail ( from iphone to android and vice versa)
Or by using Send anywhere app :
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/send-anywhere-file-transfer/id596642855?mt=8
also there is a copy on playstore:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estmob.android.sendanywhere
4.There is LineageOS now (CM dead now but LOS is the CM in a new name and a new uniform)
AOSPA Android Paranoid
and more like the Resurrection remix etc

Thanks for the reply. Ive kind of narrowed in on the ZTE axon 7, the Lenovo zuk z2 or the xiaomi mi a1. The first two have a snapdragon 820 and the ZTE seems to be the most feature packed of the bunch. Any issues with ZTE in general? I’m fixing to see what custom rims are available for the zuk and ZTE. I prefer a pretty barebones, vanilla android rom.

Question Android 12 Performance on A32

Just wondering if anybody has noticed a significant performance drop on the A32 after the 12 update? This phone was never a speedster, but now I am noticing significant latency waiting for the keyboard to come up, background apps re-loading more when I bring them to foreground, etc. I am using Nova Launcher, wondering if that has something to do with it..

Nova doesn't help. Factory reset and reload may help. From everything I'm reading 12 is no gem.
Google is getting crushed under their self imposed new OS release every year policy. They should name Android 13 "Veal"

@blackhawk - thanks for the reply! I disabled Nova and am using One UI (yuck) and things are better but not great. I'm sure things run better on a $1k flagship than my $0 A32. Still, interesting to see how much difference an OS release can make. Have a great weekend!

Lucky you guys have Android 12, I'm still stuck on A11 with Cricket Wireless (AIO).
Try getting F-Droid and look for an app called SuperFreezZ, kind of works like the app Greenify but I like this better for non-rooted phones. (Put apps to sleep).
SuperFreezZ App stopper | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Entirely freeze all background activities of apps.
f-droid.org
I also used Shizuku ADB Rootless interface to debloat system apps, but be careful on which ones you debloat. Look up a thread in that before doing so.
Shizuku
Let your app use system APIs directly
shizuku.rikka.app
I managed to debloat a bunch of junk from Samsung and cricket stuff that's always running in the background and yet the system still uses 1.3GB RAM .
Hopefully this helps with the lag/ram usage on A12.

jasont69 said:
@blackhawk - thanks for the reply! I disabled Nova and am using One UI (yuck) and things are better but not great. I'm sure things run better on a $1k flagship than my $0 A32. Still, interesting to see how much difference an OS release can make. Have a great weekend!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could consider rolling it back to 11, many have on many Samsung models because of 12 puking on them. You take a performance hit with scoped storage, no way around that on both 11 and 12. Nova may not be fully updated for 12.
Some are satisfied... WYSIWYG!
I run two stock N10+'s, one on Pie, the other on Q. Neither will likely ever be updated... that's what I think of 11 and especially 12. I never update a OS that is fast, stable and fulfilling its mission. A lot to lose and little to gain. Security simply isn't an issue, but updates are!
That said a new load needs to be optimized to run well. Turn off global power management and deal with power hogs on a case by case basis.
One UI is sweet if you use all the stock customization available. What's not to like?

jasont69 said:
Just wondering if anybody has noticed a significant performance drop on the A32 after the 12 update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't noticed any performance drop between Android 11 and Android 12, but I had a bad experience (explained here) updating my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy A32 5G from Android 11 to 12 (on both OneUI and Nova so it wasn't due to the app launcher).
Warning: Google screwed up on upgrading Android 11 to Android 12 on my Samsung Galaxy A32-5G​

I updated to Android 12 yesterday and the performance is relatively the same, which I didn't expect. There was only some lag when the first booted after updating Android but a reboot fixed that.
Generally, my experience with Android 12 has been positive. One thing that I didn't like was that Samsung's Material U implemention isn't that good. The colors that it picked were darker than I wanted and not pastel like I had expected

I finally got A12 update for my A32 on Cricket Wireless, so far I do not see any performance bump, pretty much the same stuff besides customizing the slide down menu colors and some minor camera update .... Really wish I could get GCam installed for this device but it's impossible to root this phone now

GalaxyA325G said:
I haven't noticed any performance drop between Android 11 and Android 12, but I had a bad experience (explained here) updating my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy A32 5G from Android 11 to 12 (on both OneUI and Nova so it wasn't due to the app launcher).
Warning: Google screwed up on upgrading Android 11 to Android 12 on my Samsung Galaxy A32-5G​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you have all that **** at once on your phone?

TimmyP said:
Why would you have all that **** at once on your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I install a new app on average once or twice a day because I enjoy testing them out.
Pretty much, I know the best app out there for any particular task that I've done as a result.
And none of my apps are Google based or have ads if I can help it, and certainly I pay for none since I find the best free apps out there, usually FOSS.
Just ask if you need to find the best app for any task but bear in mind I can't root my Samsung A32-5G due to the bootloader version so they're all non-root apps - and every single one is free - and only one or two have ads - but still they're all best that exist for the tasks I've done.

Privacy based OS

Hey guys, what is the best privacy based OS for the ultra.... Wanted Graphene OS... But only supports pixel devices... Any help greatly appreciated

I don't know about "best" but CalyxOS is privacy oriented, but I'm not sure it's been ported to any Samsung devices yet - namely because CalyxOS is designed to have the bootloader re-locked with a custom root of trust, something that may not be possible on Samsung.
I imagine the Note 20 can support GSIs, but I don't know if any CalyxOS GSIs are available.
@karandpr might know.

There is no best privacy OS.
Graphene, Calyx, and lineage provide a reasonable amount of privacy features.
Sadly you are out of luck. There are no ROM official versions for Note 20 Ultra for either of the three.

Question First Android Phone without a Customer ROM?

So after My Poco F1 finally died a sudden death after lasting me well over 4 years. Thanks to the Ressurection Remix ROM and removing the great deal of bloatware that came with the phone straight out of Factory, the ROM made all the difference and totally transformed the phone. ROMs are something I've always ran on all the phones I've owned. This until now with the Google Pixel 6a.
With this phone, I've quickly bought it the minute the price dropped in great deal today down to under £200. From what I can tell though, there doesn't seem to any Custom ROMs or Kernel Upgrades. Why is this? From what I've read, Google plan to continuously release various upgrades to this phone for some time to come.
How is the ROM in General? Does it run without a whole bunch of bloatware?
Thanks and I look forward to your responses.

How about https://grapheneos.org/releases ?

I don't use anything
That uses automatic update where you can't turn it off
We weren't allowed to use a Microsoft system at work, although I am now retired and the last time I used a Microsoft system was in the '90s '94 to be exact
Why would anybody use this system
I just use Google system. I modify it the way I want it to be and I'm all good

piperx said:
I don't use anything
That uses automatic update where you can't turn it off
We weren't allowed to use a Microsoft system at work, although I am now retired and the last time I used a Microsoft system was in the '90s '94 to be exact
Why would anybody use this system
I just use Google system. I modify it the way I want it to be and I'm all good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you ought to lay off the stuff represented in your avatar. Its turned your brain to mush.

bupeapoop said:
So after My Poco F1 finally died a sudden death after lasting me well over 4 years. Thanks to the Ressurection Remix ROM and removing the great deal of bloatware that came with the phone straight out of Factory, the ROM made all the difference and totally transformed the phone. ROMs are something I've always ran on all the phones I've owned. This until now with the Google Pixel 6a.
With this phone, I've quickly bought it the minute the price dropped in great deal today down to under £200. From what I can tell though, there doesn't seem to any Custom ROMs or Kernel Upgrades. Why is this? From what I've read, Google plan to continuously release various upgrades to this phone for some time to come.
How is the ROM in General? Does it run without a whole bunch of bloatware?
Thanks and I look forward to your responses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are plenty, just not necessarily on XDA.

There are no ROMs like ArrowOS or Pixel Experience available for this particular phone I've noticed? Is there a particular reason why this is the case?

ctfrommn said:
There are plenty, just not necessarily XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know of any in particular that you would recommend? XDA has always been my number one resource when it comes to ROMs.

Im biased as I build one, so I would just choose whichever best suits your needs,

There are a few custom ROMs here on XDA
[ROM][13][Unofficial][Bluejay] crDroid v9.0 [01.15.2023]
*** Disclaimer I am not responsible for any damage you made to your device. You have been warned. crDroid is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android. You will find many custom features implemented from the Android...
forum.xda-developers.com
[Kernel][13][Official][Bluejay] DarkKernel (April 30, 2023)
DarkKernel Built on Ubuntu 22.04 Based off the March 2023 security update (the latest Android 13), and will be kept updated with the latest security updates DISCLAIMER: You cannot sue me for any damages regarding flashing this kernel or using...
forum.xda-developers.com
[ROM] ► [13.0] ► Nitrogen OS Beta
Android OS version: 13.0.0_r41 For devices: Google Pixel 6a Authors build: xyyx Source code: https://github.com/nitrogen-project Developers: xyyx Thanks: ezio84, beanstown106, maxwen and etc. Google Apps: included Recovery: aosp SELinux in...
forum.xda-developers.com
[ROM][bluejay][A13] iodéOS = LineageOS 20 + MicroG + adblocker [04/04/2023]
Introduction iodéOS is a privacy-focused operating system powered by LineageOS and based on the Android mobile platform. iodéOS aims at protecting the user's privacy with a built-in adblocker and by freeing the smartphone from snitches. The...
forum.xda-developers.com
[ROM][13.0_r43][OFFICIAL] Evolution X 7.9 [05/18/2023]
Evolution X 7.9 for the Google Pixel 6, 6 Pro & 6a [oriole][raven][bluejay] Living, Breaking, Keep Evolving. Pixel UI, customization and more, we are Evolution X! - Team Evolution X - @joeyhuab (Founder/Lead Developer) @RealAkito (Project...
forum.xda-developers.com
[Discontinued][ROM][13.0][Unofficial][Bluejay][Lineage OS 20.0][Feb-13-2023]
Official support is now here! You can flash right over your old installation if you are coming from this ROM (no factory reset needed). https://download.lineageos.org/bluejay Lineage OS 20.0 - Unofficial - Pixel 6a Hi all. I noticed that...
forum.xda-developers.com
And some others like DivestOS, CalyxOS and GrapheneOS that have their own websites.
And you'll find more ROMs on various Telegram channels (don't ask me to post the link here. It's not allowed)

96carboard said:
How about https://grapheneos.org/releases ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of interest, have you used Graphene OS with your Google Pixel 6a? And if so, how did you find it compares to the original ROM?

craigacgomez said:
There are a few custom ROMs here on XDA
[ROM][13][Unofficial][Bluejay] crDroid v9.0 [01.15.2023]
*** Disclaimer I am not responsible for any damage you made to your device. You have been warned. crDroid is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android. You will find many custom features implemented from the Android...
forum.xda-developers.com
[Kernel][13][Official][Bluejay] DarkKernel (April 30, 2023)
DarkKernel Built on Ubuntu 22.04 Based off the March 2023 security update (the latest Android 13), and will be kept updated with the latest security updates DISCLAIMER: You cannot sue me for any damages regarding flashing this kernel or using...
forum.xda-developers.com
[ROM] ► [13.0] ► Nitrogen OS Beta
Android OS version: 13.0.0_r41 For devices: Google Pixel 6a Authors build: xyyx Source code: https://github.com/nitrogen-project Developers: xyyx Thanks: ezio84, beanstown106, maxwen and etc. Google Apps: included Recovery: aosp SELinux in...
forum.xda-developers.com
[ROM][bluejay][A13] iodéOS = LineageOS 20 + MicroG + adblocker [04/04/2023]
Introduction iodéOS is a privacy-focused operating system powered by LineageOS and based on the Android mobile platform. iodéOS aims at protecting the user's privacy with a built-in adblocker and by freeing the smartphone from snitches. The...
forum.xda-developers.com
[ROM][13.0_r43][OFFICIAL] Evolution X 7.9 [05/18/2023]
Evolution X 7.9 for the Google Pixel 6, 6 Pro & 6a [oriole][raven][bluejay] Living, Breaking, Keep Evolving. Pixel UI, customization and more, we are Evolution X! - Team Evolution X - @joeyhuab (Founder/Lead Developer) @RealAkito (Project...
forum.xda-developers.com
[Discontinued][ROM][13.0][Unofficial][Bluejay][Lineage OS 20.0][Feb-13-2023]
Official support is now here! You can flash right over your old installation if you are coming from this ROM (no factory reset needed). https://download.lineageos.org/bluejay Lineage OS 20.0 - Unofficial - Pixel 6a Hi all. I noticed that...
forum.xda-developers.com
And some others like DivestOS, CalyxOS and GrapheneOS that have their own websites.
And you'll find more ROMs on various Telegram channels (don't ask me to post the link here. It's not allowed)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing all these useful links. Tomorrow, I'll the time an go through each of these ROMs and see where there any that seem to tickle my fancy. As it stands though, it seems Google have done a pretty good job with this overall interface so I may end up sticking with it for a little while and see how I like iit.

If you want something similar to RR, I'd recommend crDroid.
Stock ROM is fine if you don't need any "extra" features.

Lada333 said:
If you want something similar to RR, I'd recommend crDroid.
Stock ROM is fine if you don't need any "extra" features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity, are you happy using the Stock ROM? Or have you changed it up and moved to a Custom ROM like crDroid?
For the first time ever, I'm half tempted to stick with the default ROM purely for the following reassurance that all Pixel 6a Users will continue receiving Android versions until July 2025 and Security until July 2027. That in itself is a reason to stick around.

bupeapoop said:
Out of curiosity, are you happy using the Stock ROM? Or have you changed it up and moved to a Custom ROM like crDroid?
For the first time ever, I'm half tempted to stick with the default ROM purely for the following reassurance that all Pixel 6a Users will continue receiving Android versions until July 2025 and Security until July 2027. That in itself is a reason to stick around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh. I used to have a 4a up until like 3-4 months ago. I used the stock ROM on that for about a year and a half, I think. Had absolutely no issues. Before my 4a, I was using a OnePlus 3T where I fell in love with RR.
Sure, after switching to the Pixel and to its vanilla software, I missed like 3 features from RR, but I kinda forgot about them after a few weeks. When I eventually did flash RR on my 4a (or, since there was no RR for newer Android versions, crDroid), I think I just did it for the sake of modding my device. Afterall, besides the uselessly large amount of features in RR/cr, there are a few that I rely on. Not to mention rooting and using ACC.
On my 6a, I initially wanted to stick to using the factory ROM for a good while as well, but I ran into some issues after upgrading to A13, where some apps (especially navigation apps) had to be re-launched 2-4 times before they had access to mobile data, so I could actually use them to help me move around the city I live in. I asked around and was told that a factory reset should fix my issues. I saw that there was active development of crDroid for the 6a, and if I had to factory reset and had to set up all my apps again, why not switch to crDroid with all its neat features, and why not root to be able to use ACC right then and there?
TL;DR: The factory ROM is more than enough for day-to-day use. It's safe, it's stable, it's (mostly) reliable (YMMV, random issues seem to happen to random people randomly, no pattern, really). If there was a way to limit the maximum charge level and rate of the battery on the stock ROM, I would probably not root nor move to a custom one (or at least not until Google stop supporting the 6a).

bupeapoop said:
Out of interest, have you used Graphene OS with your Google Pixel 6a? And if so, how did you find it compares to the original ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use grapheneos on 6Pro, and have set up similar on 7Pro for my wife and for a friend. I can't compare to original mess of gooble, since all 3 devices only booted on it long enough to hit the switch to enable bootloader unlocking.
GrapheneOS is absolutely the best option there is when you're looking for security and privacy, and with just a little bit of imagination, all of the g-cloud nonsense can be replaced by a self-hosted Nextcloud.

Out of loop for a while. How much do those custom ROM/Builds actually improve the performance and battery life?

I lost my iPhone recently, and OnePlus 7 Pro was my previous phone. It feels actually not bad coming back to this phone. Things are snappy and smooth.
I'm dissappointed tho that there's absolutely no update at all from Oneplus.
So right now I'm deciding rather to install a custom rom like this:
[ROM][OFFICIAL][guacamole][13] LineageOS 20
LineageOS is a free, community built, aftermarket firmware distribution of Android 13, which is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android for your device. LineageOS is based on the Android Open Source Project with extra...
forum.xda-developers.com
or this:
[ROM][13.0][OnePlus 7 Pro][Official] Pixel Experience [AOSP]
PixelExperience for OnePlus 7 Pro [guacamole] What is this? Pixel Experience is an AOSP based ROM, with Google apps included and all Pixel goodies (launcher, wallpapers, icons, fonts, boot animation) Our mission is to offer the maximum possible...
forum.xda-developers.com
really depends on how much it improves the battery or in fact how much it causes new issue? (back in "my day" custom ROM usually messed with GPS or camera..idk)
Can anyone please share your thoughts or tell me your before and after screen time?
Thank you!

kenwc said:
I lost my iPhone recently, and OnePlus 7 Pro was my previous phone. It feels actually not bad coming back to this phone. Things are snappy and smooth.
I'm dissappointed tho that there's absolutely no update at all from Oneplus.
So right now I'm deciding rather to install a custom rom like this:
[ROM][OFFICIAL][guacamole][13] LineageOS 20
LineageOS is a free, community built, aftermarket firmware distribution of Android 13, which is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android for your device. LineageOS is based on the Android Open Source Project with extra...
forum.xda-developers.com
or this:
[ROM][13.0][OnePlus 7 Pro][Official] Pixel Experience [AOSP]
PixelExperience for OnePlus 7 Pro [guacamole] What is this? Pixel Experience is an AOSP based ROM, with Google apps included and all Pixel goodies (launcher, wallpapers, icons, fonts, boot animation) Our mission is to offer the maximum possible...
forum.xda-developers.com
really depends on how much it improves the battery or in fact how much it causes new issue? (back in "my day" custom ROM usually messed with GPS or camera..idk)
Can anyone please share your thoughts or tell me your before and after screen time?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just do it! I tried out Lineage OS and it was it was faster and didn't use battery as quickly as the stock OS. LOS 20 also includes a new camera app and it is a significant improvement from prior ones. Worst case, you decide you don't like it and re-flash the stock ROM (I have done this before). By the way, welcome to XDA! Enjoy the forums, and let me know if you have any questions.

ethical_haquer said:
Just do it! I tried out Lineage OS and it was it was faster and didn't use battery as quickly as the stock OS. LOS 20 also includes a new camera app and it is a significant improvement from prior ones. Worst case, you decide you don't like it and re-flash the stock ROM (I have done this before). By the way, welcome to XDA! Enjoy the forums, and let me know if you have any questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the reply! Which one did you pick

kenwc said:
Thank you for the reply! Which one did you pick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean what custom ROM? I chose Lineage OS 20. For your device it would be on the XDA thread you linked to above; here is the Lineage OS page for your device. Let me know if you have any more questions.