I've never tried modifying software on phones before, I've done wii's, xbox (original), ps3, ds, etc, and had success with them all, so I'm sure I will have no trouble with the actual process, but my question is simple, why?
right now, the only thing I really want to do that I cannot with a stock rom is change my boot animation. I've seen the "fresh" rom that I hear is one of the more common and liked roms out, and I see little visual difference from the stock one besides removal of some sprint apps (some that I could do without, and some I would have to go and reinstall).
excuse my ignorance, but what exactly would I be gaining out of this besides removing some useless nascar apps and being able to change my boot animation? also, will I have to reinstall all the apps I have downloaded/installed, the settings I've changed, etc? will I have compatibility problems with new apps that I download? will the performance be better or worse, and what about the battery usage?
I tried to look around first and some up everything I had to ask in one general post so others can learn from my curiosity. thanks in advance.
You will gain (in no particular order)
Read/write acess
acess to rooted apps like Titanium backup and wifi thether
Free wifi (with wifi thether and no longer having to foot a 30 dollar add on every month)
change/alter most aspects of the phone , boot animations and other stuff
flash awesome roms including a almost done froyo rom and a host of others
Increased battery life on all of them ( VERY SIGNIFICANT battery life)
Just having the choice to have your burger your way.
Oops , I meant phone.
howdyace said:
You will gain (in no particular order)
Read/write acess
acess to rooted apps like Titanium backup and wifi thether
Free wifi (with wifi thether and no longer having to foot a 30 dollar add on every month)
change/alter most aspects of the phone , boot animations and other stuff
flash awesome roms including a almost done froyo rom and a host of others
Increased battery life on all of them ( VERY SIGNIFICANT battery life)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did it because I was reading about the battery life. I don't know what read/write, boot animations, etc are but I NEED the nice phone to work atleast some of the day on a battery, and with root... it was like night and day for battery life savings on the damagecontrol mod.
howdyace said:
You will gain (in no particular order)
Read/write acess
acess to rooted apps like Titanium backup and wifi thether
Free wifi (with wifi thether and no longer having to foot a 30 dollar add on every month)
change/alter most aspects of the phone , boot animations and other stuff
flash awesome roms including a almost done froyo rom and a host of others
Increased battery life on all of them ( VERY SIGNIFICANT battery life)
Just having the choice to have your burger your way.
Oops , I meant phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have found by simply adding widgets to one of my home screens (wifi, 4g, gps, hotspot, bluetooth, and mobile) and keeping them off when unneeded, in conjunction with using task manager to kill apps after i am done using them, that i have a much better battery life than before. usually i can go through the day without charging it at all now. that is not a major concern now, more battery life is always a good thing though, but i assume that the rom would achieve this much like the way i do.
i duno. maybe i dont know enough about what you can do with read/write access and the other roms, i've seen some pics and info on froyo and while it looks slightly different, its not enough inspiration to root. it has an update all button for apps which is nice, but i really didnt see anything else completely a must have or really convenient. i guess ill have to look into the roms more to decide if it's worth it
most of the stuff you see and that the average user would care about...do not require root. just using different launchers (adw.launcher, helix, launcherpro, etc) and things like "smart shortcuts" and "Flikies HD" and "digital clock widget" allow me to get my visual layout...none of them require root.
this was my screen before root...it's not much different now.
hxxp://forum.xda-developers. com/showpost.php?p=6780015&postcount=219
why climb mt everest?
why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
i like being able to take an 'image' of my phone (ie: like ghost for computers)
titanium backup is really quite handy...but really only for those that reload the phone's os on a regular basis.
i like seeing the # prompt in the cli. (but really, how many folks do?)
Related
I have been a long time Cell phone modder, and I have just gotten my first Android Phone, the HTC Evo 4G.
I have been reading androidforums.com and these forums for about a week now trying to get my head wrapped around things, but I still have some lingering questions.
I feel I have a good grip on how to get my phone rooted/nand unlocked, but its the what to do after that, which bothers me.
What I would like to accomplish:
More customized look and feel
Better battery life (without disabling half the features of the damn phone)
Free Wifi Hotspot
Removal of the pre-packaged crapware
Froyo
What I would not like to lose in the process:
Any of the phones functionality, including GPS/4G/Camera/Video/Bluetooth/etc.
Nice features that Sense has, such as Facebook contact syncing
Reliability or usability of the phone in general
As I have gotten older, my desire to mod has become less and less, and I get more tempted to just leave the phone alone and wait for OTA updates to come out, but when I just tried to do the wifi hotspot and learned I would have to pay an additional $30 on top of the $10 "premium data access" I made the decision to root. That being said, I don't want my phone to be something I am flashing every day. I want it to be as stable as possible so that I can get it all set up how I want without having to worry about re-flashing and losing all my data week after week to keep up with bugfixes and such.
What I don't understand is the differences between all the roms. The opinion at large seems to be that CM6 is the way to go, but it seems a lot of stuff is broken in CM6 atm, like 4G among other things.
Since this is my first android phone, I am already getting used to the Sense UI, but I have seen some other peoples home screens that just look amazing.
I guess what I am looking for is some advice, or a bit of a rundown (since I cant find all of this information in one place) about what is the best course of action to get from point A(stock phone) to point B(customized rooted phone which is "stable") over a path of least resistance.
Thanks in advance!
[also making this same post on androidforums.com]
You can accomplish everything you mentioned except froyo. If you do not want to lose any functionality then flashing a froyo rom is out of the question right now because they all have small issues. CM6 is a froyo rom.
The difference between roms is some are based on 2.2 (froyo) and others are based on 2.1 (stock for evo). Then they also differ in terms of what comes pre-installed, some remove all bloatware even sense and others do not, and then there are some in between. Any rom based on 2.1 will likely have everything working. I can tell you from experience that Damage Control and Backed Snack worked very well on my phone. The best thing to do is just try them out. Once your phone is rooted it is very easy to switch between roms.
Lastly the easiest way to achieve root is using simple root program which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=720565 (that link is assuming you have latest OTA update, if not search for simple root and you will find the one pre update)
try dc 3.2.3 very stable release(has all the features working; 4g, camera, ect) and has good battery life(don't need to disable half of your phones features), it also allows for a lot of customization(DCupdater allows you to download themes and flash them straight from your phone), and you can pick and choose what bloatware to remove using DConfig, a froyo release is suppose to come out sometime this weekend.
Another option for you is to root and then flash the latest rooted "stock" rom. then flash the latest radio and wimax. then you can use a file manager to remove bloatware. I use "root explorer" from the market. be careful what you remove as removing some things can cause problems. I am currently running this on one of my evo's with no problems everything works and battery life will get me through a day. if you need more info as removing the bloatware feel free to pm me and ill help with what i can. I'm sure using the stock rom will be sufficient for you. On the phone i have running i have all features enabled and am pushing my pop3 accounts through gmail, 4g wifitether, all works just fine.
Hi all,
i've been using Juicedefender lately.
FYI, Juicedefender lets you toggle the data connection (3G or Wifi) based on certain conditions (screen off, timeout, traffic/time ...) and do periodic data syncs.
I did this because i found out that the data connection is one of the biggest battery drainers. I was right: With casual usage over the day, my battery life at least doubles!
But the Juicedefender app has a really terrible UI and all, so my suggestions is:
Why not integrate this functionality into some ROMs? This would greatly improve battery life and could be a really slick functionality!
Why should it be integrated? Custom roms are made to give the owners of a phone the choice to change their device. If the UI of juicedefender isn't very good, maybe someone could make another one.
... because this is a system functionality which could be integrated into a ROM much more elegantly than with a regular app, IMHO.
Why would you integrate something that's based on personal preference? I'd hate it if my phone wouldn't sync my social media and mail when the screen is off.
It's common knowledge that the data connections are the biggest battery drainers by far, and there are plenty ways and apps that help you manage them already.
jesus people, calm down! i'm not saying that it should be FORCED on people or that i shouldn't be an optional flashable part.
but the available apps are only able to do it in a very rudimentary way (by changing the apn name to bull**** e.g.). i'm just saying that a nice ROM support for something like this would be great!
btw: you should try the periodic sync! do you REALLY need constant sync while the phone is in standby? if no - and you can live with syncs every few minutes - you will greatly improve your battery life!
Disagree to your opinion about JD. UI is great for me. Maybe you don't know how to use it.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
js931 said:
jesus people, calm down! i'm not saying that it should be FORCED on people or that i shouldn't be an optional flashable part.
but the available apps are only able to do it in a very rudimentary way (by changing the apn name to bull**** e.g.). i'm just saying that a nice ROM support for something like this would be great!
btw: you should try the periodic sync! do you REALLY need constant sync while the phone is in standby? if no - and you can live with syncs every few minutes - you will greatly improve your battery life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The part in bold highlights what peeps here who disagree with you are saying. Because you want this in a ROM doesn't mean everyone would. I for one would also want data sync in standby, never mind the battery drain.
I understand your point though, that it could be an alternate ROM or a flashable zip. But then why bother when, as mentioned above, there are a myriad of apps that already do this?
Maybe you should have a poll and if it's wanted enough, one of the ROM gurus will consider it?
Try SuperPower if you don't like JuiceDefender. It does not use APN renaming and provides a lot of options (including 2G/3G switch which saves the battery even more than data)
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=807989&highlight=applications
(I cannot post links)
JD UI is crap for sure. Switching to EDGE instead of 3G will improve your battery life by give or take 50%.
JD would be great if schedules would function properly, but since it causes issues with HTC mail for example, it is not an acceptable solution. I will not bash your idea since Desire HD has implementation of power saver in It's settings. No one forces you to use it even if it was implemented. Fcuk social networks, cellphones serve for you to be accessible. With battery life of about 10hrs, you aren't. Most of the time at least.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Hey guys I've had my Dinc for a while and I love it but the one thing I can't stand is the battery life. I listen to FM radio and a ton of podcasts at work all day and rarely get home with over 30% on a good day, not to mention the numerous phone calls and internet browsing. I've looked into rooting and am admittedly scared to do so, not because I am incapable I just hate to have anything that is less than perfectly stable.
After looking into all of the benefits of rooting, none of them mean much of anything to me, to be honest. The only thing that is causing me to want to root is an improved battery performance. My question is, do you think that it is worth rooting simply for an improved battery life alone? Is it really that significant? Also, I read early on in my Dinc days that there were ways of avoiding the whole "turn phone off to charge completely to 100% thing" by rooting, is that true as well? Thanks!
You can run a custom kernel with SBC to charge to "real" 100%. Many custom kernels will get you significantly better battery life than stock; you also may want to look into using undervolts and underclocks. Personally, I use MIUI latest with the included kernel, and it lasts me for about 2 days of medium use on my Seidio 1750 extended battery. Not that big of a difference in battery size from stock, but the battery life using the MIUI kernel with it is much better than the stock kernel on the same battery. Also, you will get a lot of new features no matter which ROM you try, and some it will become hard to live without. At the moment, I'd recommend CyanogenMod7 Stable Release for you, as it has working FM Radio and many excellent kernels, as well as the performance increases that Android 2.3 Gingerbread brings. I recommend in the way of kernels Tiamat or Chad's incredikernel. Both are much better than even the stock kernel from CM7 on battery life. Every device reacts a bit differently to kernels, so find one best for you. However, then there are the different types of ROMs. There are 3 basic types of ROMs in regards to kernels: Sense, GingerSense, and AOSP. Sense is what you have now most likely; it's a ROM with HTC's Sense interface running on top of Android 2.2 Froyo. There are many options for Sense kernels, and I highly recommend ziggy471's beta kernels and HeyItsLou's #8, #9, and #4. All have worked out well for me in the past. THe second, GingerSense, has no custom kernels out because HTC hasn't released the source code for it yet. When HTC releases it, there will be a flood of GingerSense kernels, and GingerSense ROMs are currently some of the most feature-packed. The third category, AOSP, has many different ROMs in it. It ranges from bone-stock Android 2.3 of OMGB to the custom Gingerbread of the aforementioned CM7 and OMFGB to the iPhone-yness of MIUI to the.... different experience that the Acer LiquidMetal ports offer. There are many kernels available for AOSP, and I recommend those I mentioned above. Also, the stock AOSP kernels are generally quite good. I find AOSP to be easiest on battery; as always, YMMV. In answer to your main question, yes. It really is that significant. We are always glad to add another member to the DInc XDA community. Find what works best for you, and have fun!
EDIT: wow, I just looked at this post, it's really long
thekidkid32 said:
Hey guys I've had my Dinc for a while and I love it but the one thing I can't stand is the battery life. I listen to FM radio and a ton of podcasts at work all day and rarely get home with over 30% on a good day, not to mention the numerous phone calls and internet browsing. I've looked into rooting and am admittedly scared to do so, not because I am incapable I just hate to have anything that is less than perfectly stable.
After looking into all of the benefits of rooting, none of them mean much of anything to me, to be honest. The only thing that is causing me to want to root is an improved battery performance. My question is, do you think that it is worth rooting simply for an improved battery life alone? Is it really that significant? Also, I read early on in my Dinc days that there were ways of avoiding the whole "turn phone off to charge completely to 100% thing" by rooting, is that true as well? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, I think you misunderstand rooting.
All rooting your phone will do will change the boot-loader to S-OFF, which will give you the option of flashing .zip files to your phone. It will also, however, give you complete control of your device. (Overclocking, TIbackup, Removing bloatware, etc.)
The ROM that came with your phone will still be there though. This will not change the stability of your device in any way. Just make sure to follow directions EXACTLY.
If you wanted improved battery life, you will have to go into the custom recovery accessible from the boot-loader, which will allow you to flash a new ROM.
So to answer your question, just rooting your phone will not necessarily improve your phones battery life, actually more likely not. You would have to flash custom ROMs. But to be honest, a lot of them are wayy more stable then stock INC. My buddy has one, and always texts me cause it messes up.
Anyways, good day
You can also root the phone and use custom kernels on the stock rom. Don't necessarily need to be running a different rom to increase battery life.
Awesome thanks a lot for your help guys! I have a couple of other noob questions before I go for it,
First off, would it be too much to ask to have everything setup and working well in the next two nights? I'm going to be going on vacation and only have tonight and tomorrow to get it all set. I jailbroke an ipod once and I remember having a problem and having to plug it into a computer and it was fixed no prob, but I won't have that option now. Would I be wise to wait until after vacation or should everything go smoothly as long I follow directions?
Also, I've looked all around, and I don't see how you guys go about backing everything up before you root. I see apps to backup a rooted phone before flashing a new ROM or something, but not beforehand. I want all of my apps and settings on my newly rooted phone quickly and easily. Possible? Thanks again!
thekidkid32 said:
Awesome thanks a lot for your help guys! I have a couple of other noob questions before I go for it,
First off, would it be too much to ask to have everything setup and working well in the next two nights? I'm going to be going on vacation and only have tonight and tomorrow to get it all set. I jailbroke an ipod once and I remember having a problem and having to plug it into a computer and it was fixed no prob, but I won't have that option now. Would I be wise to wait until after vacation or should everything go smoothly as long I follow directions?
Also, I've looked all around, and I don't see how you guys go about backing everything up before you root. I see apps to backup a rooted phone before flashing a new ROM or something, but not beforehand. I want all of my apps and settings on my newly rooted phone quickly and easily. Possible? Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well when you root it doesnt reset everything you still have all your apps etc...what we do is backup everything after the root process is finished go into recovery and do a nandroid backup of you stock setup just in case and everyhting should go smoothly following directions
On Another Note: as long as youre rooting might as well try out my rom Kingdom Rewind 3D if you have any more questions on rooting just ask
cvbcbcmv said:
Here is what I recommend you do. Root by following a video on youtube from applepwns. (it's not me, but that's what I followed and it's very good) make sure you watch his newer video, he has 2, his newer one is better. Rooting will not delete any data. Then, I would download rom manager and buy rom manager pro, and download and install skyraider sense 4.2, a rom very identical to stock, so it will be easy to use, and very stable. Rom manager will do it all for you, just select both wiping options. Also, backup your rom (rom manager asks this after the rom has been downloaded) it will make it so that at any time you can restore back to what you have exactly how it is with apps and everything how it was how you left it. I would also recommend installing incredikernel, you can get the sense version from incredikernel.com. You flash that in recovery. (update your recovery in rom manager, turn off your phone, hold down power button and volume down and when your in hboot scroll down to recovery and go into it, then go to chose zip from sd card, and install it, then reboot. put the incredikernel on the root of your sd card, and don't unzip it, keep the zip zipped) and as for backing up apps, it's very possible. Buy an app called titanium backup pro (you need the free version downloaded as well) and hit menu, batch, backup all apps and data, and hit run (there are also youtube videos on this, just search) and it will put the backups on your SD card (don't backup system data) then after you install the new rom, install the app again, and hit batch, restore apps and data. If you have your google account synced with your phone then your contacts are on it and will automatically be put back on. This can be done in 2 days, it can be done in a few hours. PM me for any questions, I'm happy to help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 thing to add to that, I use MyBackup Root instead of Titanium because MyBackup Root is basically the full MyBackup Pro for free, and it can not only back up apps+data, but also photos, contacts, SMS/MMS, bookmarks, music playlists, etc. and you don't have to pay for it to get automated restores (with Titanium free you have to manually install each application once the restore starts.)
I was in a similar situation when trying to decide whether or not to root my DInc. My primary motivation was to remove the bloat, which did help a bit with battery life merely because there were fewer apps for Sense to load up in the background.
I then started trying different Sense kernels because I couldn't find much information out there about which ones were better than others. I felt strongly enough about this I started a thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1107423
I was able to squeeze a few more hours out of my phone using my top rated kernel, with results declining slowly in the lower ranks.
I say: GO FOR IT!
Once you get started, you may find yourself pushing farther into the guts of Android to get your phone working the way you want it to. But even stopping at rooting just to change kernels will get you what you are looking for. Adding a Seidio 1750 mAh battery could help add up to another few hours.
Good luck and keep us posted.
PGleo86 said:
1 thing to add to that, I use MyBackup Root instead of Titanium because MyBackup Root is basically the full MyBackup Pro for free, and it can not only back up apps+data, but also photos, contacts, SMS/MMS, bookmarks, music playlists, etc. and you don't have to pay for it to get automated restores (with Titanium free you have to manually install each application once the restore starts.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks right, you can use MyBackup Root for APK+Data+Market Link + 0-click batch RESTORE for Free. It also allows you to schedule and have as many backups as you would like locally, for free.
liteon163 said:
I was in a similar situation when trying to decide whether or not to root my DInc. My primary motivation was to remove the bloat, which did help a bit with battery life merely because there were fewer apps for Sense to load up in the background.
I then started trying different Sense kernels because I couldn't find much information out there about which ones were better than others. I felt strongly enough about this I started a thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1107423
I was able to squeeze a few more hours out of my phone using my top rated kernel, with results declining slowly in the lower ranks.
I say: GO FOR IT!
Once you get started, you may find yourself pushing farther into the guts of Android to get your phone working the way you want it to. But even stopping at rooting just to change kernels will get you what you are looking for. Adding a Seidio 1750 mAh battery could help add up to another few hours.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm keeping up with that thread, it's pretty good
You should definitely take a look, OP.
Hi Folks - I'm trying to find the top 10 reasons why phones are rooted. I want to change the way Android is distributed, software is managed and patches are applied. Please list all your reasons that you think are important
There is only one reason to me. Because I own my device and I want the ultimate root control over it. However, I and probably most other people on this site are not representative of the normal population of phone owners that absolutely do not need root access since for them it would be dangerous.
So far, I only have two, but they are important enough to me. I like having free wireless tethering without paying my carrier anymore. Also, I like the ability to backup my apps and other data to my SD card in case I must wipe my phone or transfer it to another phone. Its a shame there is still no official method to do this on Android phones, whereas Apple can do it with their iPhones and iTunes.
Rooting gives me the power to tweak my phone however which way I want and it may also give me access to features found only other phones like S-Voice for example.
The other major reason is performance. I really care about performance and is willing to squeeze out every ounce of performance the hardware is capable of. Of course, a balance of performance plus great battery life is crucial. Rooting allows me ultimate control of my phone.
stevep2007 said:
Hi Folks - I'm trying to find the top 10 reasons why phones are rooted. I want to change the way Android is distributed, software is managed and patches are applied. Please list all your reasons that you think are important
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of my main reasons (in no particular order) are:
Custom ROMs (although I'm not sure how it works on phones outside of the HD2 )
Ad blockers
Backup/restore abilities (i.e. Titanium Backup)
SetCPU
Market Enabler
A2SD/Link2SD
CF3D
ICS Launchers which can add widgets from the app drawer
Ability to uninstall system apps/bloatware
Generally having full control over my phone and what I do with it
Some of my reasons are
* Custom Roms
* Custom Kernels
* Mods - such as 15 bar toggle e.t.c
* Learn how to theme and cook roms
Excellent extended functionality -- That's what smartphones are for -- FUNCTIONALITY
Titanium Backup, and all the other root apps XD
Breakaway from bloated stock roms -- we WANT SPEED in the custom roms
Updates to the latest OS version -- enjoy the best of Android
That's why I rooted
Only one reason for me: Freedom!
customization
control
superior speed/battery life
less clutter
less intrusive (phoning home)
titanium backup
easy flashing of custom recovery
that said a good oh *bleep* button in case I mess up my phone.
I rooted to install custom ROMS and hopefully get better battery life by getting rid of bloatware. So far much faster, but I'm yet to see battery improvements. Changing kernals is really fun tho.
.for me allways about improving battery life and improving performance with after market mods that the manufacturers don't see as important ie, by debloating and removing all unwanted apps, updating radio firmware to improve cell phone reception, improving kernel optimization and tweaks running new launchers and widgets make to work faster on new os and software versions.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
ROOT ? Own your phone
Destroy bloatware! Free up precious internal memory! Overclock that sucker! Tether my laptop! Plus its excellent to do stuff correctly and NOT brick your phone!
if you have to ask question like that, you shouldn't root your device... but for me, the reason why to root is to gain ultimate control over my device, because it is MY device
For me its just a way not to use google account. I think its unacceptable that they would require personal info and collect such on their costumers. Especially since I payed for a SE product and would like atleast to have a File Manager Installed or be able to use calendar WITHOUT sincing it to some random server. Its just that I red the Terms Of Agreement and I don`t agree some times.
Not that it changes anything in the end....
The ladies appreciate it..?
I just want to full control my device..
and I think it is save because we can reset our phone if it is crashed.. :laugh:
Ad free, titanium Backup, droid Wall, div. Roms, backlight notifications
Now with Verizon including work teather with shared everything why root.... I unrooted mine because of that.....
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
If you don't know what you do its safe not to root your phone. If you delete system files you phone will not start. I have my phone rooted because i am the boss. Not my phone.
I wanted to let everyone know for the past day or so ive been testing out the Color OS 2.0 for the I9505, here are some of those results, screenshots, and how to install for yourself.
So, the reason im bringing this up to get started is that for the past year or so i was unable to install this rom on my S4 i assume from not having the correct version of TWRP required for the install (AND the install will fail a few times for random reasons if SU is not installed (rom or not)...I found this out after a full wipe and it not letting me install the rom until i rebooted back into TWRP and told it to root my phone because it found no root access.
So the initial install went like this
Wipe...
Install...
fail halfway...
wipe...
install...
fail haflway...
reboot to recovery from recovery...
tell twrp to root....​back in recovery....
wipe...
install...
success...
Now the rom does include its own gapps package so there isnt a need for that, It also includes its own kernel that because of how heavily modified Color OS is from stock cannot be changed (unless you can find one that will work, the AOSP Ktoonz kernel didnt work and that was the only test i really attempted as i had to re-install the rom (wouldn't boot)
So, once the rom is installed it asks you to pick a language and looks a lot like regular AOSP (dark) but as soon as you do it prompts for wifi and settings FC's, then you move on to accounts and accounts FC's
So to get through this just skip ALL setup processes and type in your name with the built in keyboard (it has to be changed back to full qwerty or your gonna come up wth some weird things)
Then you can go into settings and apply your accounts and things like that to get your contacts and everything back per the usual.
Now onto my impressions of the rom so far...
This is the fastest rom i have ever put on my phone and yes it does come at a cost but from what i could see it is the most overall fluid rom especially when it comes to animations.
It has a lot of cool features i am still learning to use (gesture panel pull up from bottom, lets you draw a shape to preform action and set your own custom...looks cool as hell) and none of them even when enabled slow the device down.
The cost however is battery life...you WANT to have an extra battery or a fast charger on hand because this thing loves to suck power. Im alright with it currently with how fast the thing moves i am going to use it as my daily driver but i went from 50 to 2 in about an hour and a half with screen on. Screen on time isnt that awesome on this phone but standby seems to be pretty good.
Its a nice break from AOSP and Touchwiz, thats all that needs to be said really. Its much faster than either AOSP or Touchwiz even with custom kernels you can take that from me being a crack flasher, ive gone through every kernel made for the device, learnt about them, customized them, and then moved on to test another kernel.
This rom has ceased development but will currently be remaining my daily driver until i can find something else unique, i would say give it a shot guys and see how much you like it
For my install i needed TWRP 2.7.1.0
It will fail, do some troubleshooting to find out why (such as change to RM -rf formatting in settings in twrp) and after you wipe reboot to recovery and let TWRP do the root thing even though there is no rom (i dont know why this mattered at all -_-;;;; but it did) do another wipe when you get it and you should be able to install the rom and it will boot. (THERE ARE NO SIGNAL BARS TO INDICATE SIGNAL STRENGTH when you get in) and once you are finally in make sure you run to your APN settings under Mobile network and then go down to the T-mobile LTE APN and modify it, remove the password and the server info thats in there (for some reason) and change the APN protocol to IPv4/IPV6 and the roaming protocol and then save it so you have good data speeds and such (just to make it set up the same as a standard T-mobile rom)
in this rom ive noticed you CANNOT have wifi on and send MMS so to send pictures ensure you are off of wifi.
There is also a problem being noted in the comments on the rom page with Whatsapp...i dont use it >.> i know what it is but whatever it doesnt bug me at all.
Alright SO TO CLEARLY LIST THE STEPS
1. Wipe phone
2. Attempt to install rom
3. (IF FAILS on install) wipe phone
4. (IF FAILS on install) reboot from recovery to recovery
5. (IF FAILS on install) tell it to root
6. repeat steps 1 and 2.
7. when successful, boot into rom
8. select english and FC your way to the end of setup
9. enter your name or a random name into phone owner
10. setup your account in settings (or just open play store and it will prompt you)
11. Match your APN to T-mobiles standard (Settings>mobilenetworks>APn> T-mobile Us LTe)
--------Remove Password, Server, Change APN protocol to IPv4/IPv6, same with roaming, save and use that apn-------------------
You will not be able to send MMS with WIFI on. (you can if its off)
You WILL have to change keyboards (the one that comes with the rom is absolute ****, use enter to keep what you type english...)
There is a FIX for Whatsapp inside of the roms official forums ( i dont use it though )
ALSO unsure if USB file transfer is working right >.> sure there is a fix for that but it doesnt but me either. (i use wifi file transfer anyways >.>)
YOU CANNOT INSTALL A CUSTOM KERNEL (unless your willing to find one that works)
So far i havnt found any problems for my use, this is one of, if not the, fastest and smoothest roms ive ever used so i am attempting to show others the awesome
link to rom forum below (MAKE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD THE NEWEST ONE, old one borked and buggy)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2748022
NEWEST VERSION (Taken from OP) http://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23487008491964142
Just for those of you who didnt know this was out there, or were like me and gave up trying to install it at first.
SCREENSHOTS (CLICK FOR FULL RESOLUTION) (TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM PHONE) (VIA OPPO 3 FINGER SWIPE UP (customizable to change to anything i believe))
Now to get dual tap to wake download an app called Knokr <- from the playstore (its part of the Oppo screen so this is the only way to emulate)
igotlostintampa said:
I wanted to let everyone know for the past day or so ive been testing out the Color OS 2.0 for the I9505, here are some of those results, screenshots, and how to install for yourself.
So, the reason im bringing this up to get started is that for the past year or so i was unable to install this rom on my S4 i assume from not having the correct version of TWRP required for the install (AND the install will fail a few times for random reasons if SU is not installed (rom or not)...I found this out after a full wipe and it not letting me install the rom until i rebooted back into TWRP and told it to root my phone because it found no root access.
or were like me and gave up trying to install it at first.
SCREENSHOTS (CLICK FOR FULL RESOLUTION) (TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM PHONE) (VIA OPPO 3 FINGER SWIPE UP (customizable to change to anything i believe))
Now to get dual tap to wake download an app called Knokr <- from the playstore (its part of the Oppo screen so this is the only way to emulate)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
o.o was i the only one excited feels bad being the only crack flasher here.
Is it stable? If yes, will like to give it a try
dunhillpanda said:
Is it stable? If yes, will like to give it a try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I really like it once its got a new keyboard. Havnt had a force close or random reboot. The thing is so much smoother than any other rom ive tried its crazy. And after about a day the battery drain has gone away. I honestly am thunkibg about keepimg the thing if it keeps going this well as a perm backup.
The onky issues ive seen i listed in the OP but they arent problems for me really
Looks interesting. Props on the info, I'll look into this soon
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Free mobile app
All Functional
IT seems everything i use the phone for is functional on this rom. I have seen no issues at all with everything that i regularly do and with some added functionality from the android general section (acid audio (i prefer it >.>)) I dont see any reason to change off the rom o.o it has some of the best touch response i have seen on a rom (less lag on inital jerk from finger than touchwiz/aosp) the only thing its missing is the over the top customizations some roms have that will be kinda stock in android L o.o so i think im going to wait for either an L rom or color os 2.5 > 3
>.> <.<
unless another rom peaks my interest before then but im so tired of AOSP and Touchwiz xD and that seems to be the majority of this forum o.o like ive googled a lot of other roms... >.> MIUI and XUI both exist for this phone as does Color OS and many hybrid Touchwiz/AOSP roms exist over in international, as well as many roms that just never make it to our forum because they are being undercut by the popular roms for our device and immediately jump to the end of the forum..some of which are more stable than some of our most popular roms >.<
Sorry i ranted, just overal kind of curious what the Samsung user Obsession is with Touchwiz and AOSP when better than both exist for the devices we use >.> i mean i get liking the style of a rom but im not used to entering a forum here where other roms dont exist o.o i wonder what roms the nexus devices get.
Ooh! This looks fascinating! Im pretty new here but ive lurked forever and I have been looking for a new rom to try. It looks like we value the same things in a rom and the bugs wont be a problem for me either (almost never ever turn on wifi for instance) so im excited to try a rom that youve decided will be your DD.
Ill let ya know how it worked.
Oh man. This ROM is cool...
My phone played nice with it upon install for whatever reason. On my first wipe it took. Most of the setup crashed like you said, for some reason the google log in part didn't crash. After changing the APN settings everything seems to be working great. It really is fast and responsive ( there is a scroll slide effect kinda like iOS that makes lists feel slick)
My small qualm is that it shows that you have no service at all times. Even the weather app says "no service" in it so having that on the home screen and in the status bar is bothersome.
My large qualm is battery. This ROM is freaking gorgeous, I seriously want a phone beefy enough to run like this for a long time, I can't stress how pretty this is for anyone who hasn't tried Oppo's stuff. But I'm getting roughly what OP did on battery though, it feels like only a bit over 1/3 the longetivity of most other Roms I've tried... Reminds me of my old iPhone 4 after 3 years of use. So that really bites. But hell if it isn't pretty.
Another user said the battery problems go away after the ROM settles so imma give that a bit and if it does... I couldn't possibly change it. The weather effects on the home screen are addicting and I love how the rain/snow will fall on icons and splash or accumulate. It feels like a ROM in step with the future.
---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 AM ----------
Scrawlerism said:
Oh man. This ROM is cool...
My phone played nice with it upon install for whatever reason. On my first wipe it took. Most of the setup crashed like you said, for some reason the google log in part didn't crash. After changing the APN settings everything seems to be working great. It really is fast and responsive ( there is a scroll slide effect kinda like iOS that makes lists feel slick)
My small qualm is that it shows that you have no service at all times. Even the weather app says "no service" in it so having that on the home screen and in the status bar is bothersome.
My large qualm is battery. This ROM is freaking gorgeous, I seriously want a phone beefy enough to run like this for a long time, I can't stress how pretty this is for anyone who hasn't tried Oppo's stuff. But I'm getting roughly what OP did on battery though, it feels like only a bit over 1/3 the longetivity of most other Roms I've tried... Reminds me of my old iPhone 4 after 3 years of use. So that really bites. But hell if it isn't pretty.
Another user said the battery problems go away after the ROM settles so imma give that a bit and if it does... I couldn't possibly change it. The weather effects on the home screen are addicting and I love how the rain/snow will fall on icons and splash or accumulate. It feels like a ROM in step with the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh shoot I forgot to mention, sorry to spam this thread! Some apps return "package file invalid" and you flat out can't install those apps. This was fixed for me by wiping the caches in recovery but I've read this doesn't always work. In the end I personally got every app I wanted installed so idk if that will be a problem but yeah.
My issues with battery life so far have greatly dimmed, I am unsure if it was just the rom getting used to itself or the kernel setting itself up...but my battery issues have gone down greatly.
THOUGH I will mention that it is still worse than AOSP and Touchwiz, just not by nearly as much as previously thought. (EDIT: THE BATTERY LIFE, I actually don't think ill give this rom up
Also I did also have the problem with "Package File Invalid" and I also wiped the caches to get everything to install properly, but I also found that a full storage wipe of the phone (copy everything important off first) prevents that issue with most roms, I may try it with this one if I decide to ever uninstall it in the first place. The rom is kind of amazing...
Normally I would be experiencing some kind of stability issue with an app or something by now or maybe a keyboard...but not with this rom, not at all. It is still running as amazing as when I first turned it on.
OH I have to mention I guess that I did turn on some power saving settings so that may have been what effected the battery life so dramatically. In honesty I think now it lasts me quite a while...I may actually think I get better battery life in the last 15-20% than AOSP or Touchwiz, touchwiz being the only one with a decent power saver setting (with ROM)
but yeah I love this rom and wish there were more like it for our device....I know miui is available and I might look back into it for more of a full themeing effect, but I love the gesture panel and im gonna try to port it over to the miui rom >.> and see if it will load. Seems to be an app that's built into the phone but im unsure how deep rooted it is.
MIUI+ColorOS = Amazing combo.
Thanks though guys for looking into this! glad to see some other crack flashers around.
This rom does seem to be taking kind of a large leap, but at least its forward.
igotlostintampa said:
My issues with battery life so far have greatly dimmed, I am unsure if it was just the rom getting used to itself or the kernel setting itself up...but my battery issues have gone down greatly.
THOUGH I will mention that it is still worse than AOSP and Touchwiz, just not by nearly as much as previously thought. (EDIT: THE BATTERY LIFE, I actually don't think ill give this rom up
Also I did also have the problem with "Package File Invalid" and I also wiped the caches to get everything to install properly, but I also found that a full storage wipe of the phone (copy everything important off first) prevents that issue with most roms, I may try it with this one if I decide to ever uninstall it in the first place. The rom is kind of amazing...
Normally I would be experiencing some kind of stability issue with an app or something by now or maybe a keyboard...but not with this rom, not at all. It is still running as amazing as when I first turned it on.
OH I have to mention I guess that I did turn on some power saving settings so that may have been what effected the battery life so dramatically. In honesty I think now it lasts me quite a while...I may actually think I get better battery life in the last 15-20% than AOSP or Touchwiz, touchwiz being the only one with a decent power saver setting (with ROM)
but yeah I love this rom and wish there were more like it for our device....I know miui is available and I might look back into it for more of a full themeing effect, but I love the gesture panel and im gonna try to port it over to the miui rom >.> and see if it will load. Seems to be an app that's built into the phone but im unsure how deep rooted it is.
MIUI+ColorOS = Amazing combo.
Thanks though guys for looking into this! glad to see some other crack flashers around.
This rom does seem to be taking kind of a large leap, but at least its forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly the battery did get better after a couple days. Aosp has probably spoiled me. I really really liked this ROM.
Edit: and I know what you mean by "forward thinking" this ROM feels like the future.
And yes, definitely a crack flasher here. Even now that I have a ROM that I always fall back on I'm still flashing at least a few times a week, and trying new Roms on weekends. >.<
Will try this soon
this is a really nice rom for the s4 , i didn't have to reflash at all, one wipe flashed the rom, it was succesful and booted right up on the first try. Thanks for this, i tried the newest 9/6 debloated version from the link in the OP but it seemed to be a lil glitchy, the one in OP works fine. Thanks again