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Hi. Had an HTC Tattoo untill a month ago, when I decided it was time to upgrade my hardware, especially considering ICS was on its way and I had had enough with my pre-historic, resistive 2.8 inch screen, 256MB 528MHz freak android phone.
So I decided to buy an ARC S (LT18i), only to later find out the latest oficial firmware was still 2.3.4 (if I'm not mistaken) when I was already on 2.3.7 CM on the tattoo.
So I decided to ditch the official firmware and seek a custom ROM more up to date. That's when the nightmare begun. On the tattoo I only had to flash the latest CM release. On the ARC S there are several different BB, Kernels and ROMs. From what I've read (and I've read a lot!) some are better on LT15i, others are better on LT15a, others on LT18i and some on LT18a. Talk about android fragmentation. On this device there's fragmentation of the hardware itself.
So my question is: Which BB, Kernel and ROM combination is best for my LT18i, with the best stability, the latest 2.3 available, no battery drain issues and everything working (wifi, GPS, 3G, etc.)? The bootloader is unlocked and I have root.
Thanks in advance.
P.S.: Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if there was a sticky with a poll regarding this question for every ARC/ARC S model?
It is a little messy in the development section, and it doesn't help that there's no section for the other Sony Ericsson phones (so they all got thrown into here), but there's really not that many choices once you get familiar with everything.
For ICS:
CM9 - Use CM9 Kernel
MIUI - Use Included Kernel
SE Official Beta - Use Stock ICS Kernel
Customized/Modded SE Official Beta - Use DoomKernel ICS or Stock ICS w/ CWM
For Gingerbread:
Stock ROM - Use Stock Kernel
MIUI - Use Included Kernel
CM7 - Use CM7 Kernel
Customized/Modded Stock ROM - Use DoomKernel or Stock Kernel or anything else
Also, with respect to ROMs and kernels on here, there is no difference between the arc and arc S.
To answer your question though, I would recommend Arconium (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1325640), which is a minimally modded stock rom.
Latest baseband is recommended and stock kernel currently has the best battery life.
Hi DemonicHawk and thanks for your prompt answer.
Yes, the development section for the Arc is quite confusing, especialy when compared to the one I was used to for over 2 years. I really appreciate your help, but from what I've read so far, if I'm not mistaken, every option you've mentioned has it's drawbacks. The following comments I've made to the options you've mentioned are based on everything I've read so far. It's possible they're wrong (at least I hope so...)
For ICS:
CM9 - Use CM9 Kernel --- Based on SE ICS Beta, which is buggy (GSM DATA - buggy - for some networks works for some does not work), has worse performance in games and video playback and has battery drain issue.
MIUI - Use Included Kernel --- Miui is intended to be an IOS look a like, which I refuse to have on my phone.
SE Official Beta - Use Stock ICS Kernel --- same problems refered in CM9 comments
Customized/Modded SE Official Beta - Use DoomKernel ICS or Stock ICS w/ CWM --- DoomKernel is also mentioned by several people as being buggy and having a battery drain problem (despite its many great features). Stock ICS has the problems mentioned earlier
For Gingerbread:
Stock ROM - Use Stock Kernel --- That's what I'm using but I'm getting frustrated with the lack of certain features I had on the Tattoo with CM 2.3.7
MIUI - Use Included Kernel --- Same comments as Miui ICS
CM7 - Use CM7 Kernel --- CM7 is far from fully working and full hardware support, although this would definetly be the one I'd chose if it was 100% working
Customized/Modded Stock ROM - Use DoomKernel or Stock Kernel or anything else --- same comments as the ones regarding ICS
Also, with respect to ROMs and kernels on here, there is no difference between the arc and arc S. --- Not entirely true. For instance, regarding StockPlus Kernel, it is more or less established that the kernel works great on LT15, but causes battery drain on LT18.
Am I wrong?
Yes, the kernels do seem to be a hit/miss in terms of battery life, hence my suggestion of just sticking with the stock kernel if you want the best battery life. Is there a specific feature you're looking for that isn't present in the stock rom?
Unfortunately, this is the current state of custom ROMs for SE phones, in that many are lacking in comparison to the stock ROM in terms of stability/performance/battery life and sometimes even core features/functions.
Personally, I'm using the latest CM9 (which is not 100% based on the official beta), and performance/stability is quite good, though it still needs some work in some core areas (video playback and video recorder I believe) though I don't use those much to be affected.
So if you have the patience, load up Arconium with the stock rom and wait for the official ICS update, or start weighing your priorities in terms of features/function.
The 2.3.7 features I miss the most are selecting text automaticaly copies it to clipboard and swipe to clear notifications. Though the first one isn't a must have it is usefull and time saving. But the lack of the second is realy annoing to me. For instance, if I install three or four apps from the market and I had calender notifications already, I can't just dismiss the ones I don't care about and keep the important ones. I either have to keep them all or desmiss them all and go back to the calender, find the appointments and reschedule them.
I also miss CM specific features, such as volume rocker changes music track / radio station when screen off, control screen brightness by sliding on status bar and profiles.
So I was really looking forward to having CM on the Arc, but it seems it's not going to happen soon, because of the video issues you've mentioned. Video recording and playback are paramount features for me since I also bought the phone to be able to record videos of my daughters, especially my now 3 months old.
All things considered, I'll keep Stock and wait for final ICS, hopefully with root and hope CM support for the ARC overcomes current issues.
Thanks a lot for your help!
I can sympathize with this feeling.
After I experienced a few of FC of Arc Gingerbread stock ROM phone app and nagging 'data traffic is disable' notifications, I decided to unlock bootloader of my wife's ARC.
Different custom's ROM has its own kernel and they are not compatible to each other. I had a few blank screens or boot loops because of that. FXP ROM was not helpful in hiding boot.img in zip file, and it has different kernels from FXP 113 to 115.
After used a few of ICS ROMs, We now reluctantly use FXP 115 ICS in Arc. Both of us like CM notification dropdown widget buttons (sleep button is a must) and % battery in notification bar. We also like CM/google phone and people apps, it returns to last state to easily to get to favorite contacts so they can be easily dialed.
One minor thing about ICS FXP 115 is that battery drain is a tad worse than the custom ROM based on stock (ARC S beta ICS), and Sony stock ROM's camera interface is prettier and FM radio app is working while FXP 115 does not have FM radio yet. Both ROM's flash player in web page does not work very well. It plays video for about 10 minutes then whole browser frozen up, It has to be killed to function again.
All my devices are Android based, but for my wife next phone, it is probably something else like her tablet.
The only way to be sure on this, i think, is to test yourself because everybody uses the phone differently, but personally i like jjdoctor's hybrid cocktail with doomkernel ics v4 I have had no fc and its good on the battery.
I just bought the ARC S and it's still on stock..can u guide me how to unlock bootloader and root and how to install CWM??I am very thankful for u..PEACE
I suggest like others that the best way to find the best ROM for you,is to actually try out the different roms before you pass judgment based on others comments. I came from the HTC hero and like anything I found there was a learning curve， but once you'd got it down pat that it was easy. I have lt15i I really love it., I've used many roms, the ics beta roms miui stock roms cm 7 and 9 ics lite all are great for there own reasons.
Remember when you use custom roms that the people who crated them do it boot for the money but because they want a better phone so be fearful give them a go before you complain about the roms
Isn't Cm7 for arc gb 2.3.7? Also I'm pretty sure the issues with video aren't a problem with cm7 most of the issues you spoke of in Cm 9
Also just to put things into perspective for you, the HTC hero has very few roms and even less open source no camera support for example
Sent from my Xperia Arc using XDA
wallimo said:
I suggest like others that the best way to find the best ROM for you,is to actually try out the different roms before you pass judgment based on others comments. I came from the HTC hero and like anything I found there was a learning curve， but once you'd got it down pat that it was easy. I have lt15i I really love it., I've used many roms, the ics beta roms miui stock roms cm 7 and 9 ics lite all are great for there own reasons.
Remember when you use custom roms that the people who crated them do it boot for the money but because they want a better phone so be fearful give them a go before you complain about the roms
Sent from my Xperia Arc using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am really thankful for ur help..but still u didn't mention the rout to unlock bootloader and root and install CWM?I am on v.62 Arc S
Sorry about that, I won't go into detail but I'll recommend two guides. Because its been covered so to save time read these! Good luvk
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133650
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1034087
If you have trouble pm me and I'll try and help!
Hi there,
I bought a Galaxy Nexus last month (came from a LG 2x speed, waiting forever for an ics upgrade) and I got a question. Been running stock android and I'm rather pleased with that. I had CM10 on my LG, and miss some features of it, like the toggles and volume options. But I really like the stability of stock android.
Since 4.2 I've been experiencing some lag, now and then. Especially when scrolling in Whatsapp. Does switching to a custom rom, like CM10, Paranoid Android or MIUI make the phone notably faster? I read some roms have GPU-overclocking, will this make the lag go away?
And are such roms stable? I hate removing the battery or not being able to answer calls, makes me feel like an idiot.
I know this question probably asked some times, but the rom development changes every month and I couldn't find a similar recent topic. Summarized: should I be rooting my phone and install an awesome rom that kicks the ass out of stock android, or should I better stay on stock?
Thanks in advance!!
Greetings,
Remy
Hey all. I have a ICS (4.04) Galaxy S 3 for ATT. Its been working for me great, but since i removed the bloatware like gallery and s-memo things like the copy/cut/paste and the little icon that takes to to your gallery in the camera app functions wont work.
What GSIII roms would you recommend? A couple things i would like is if the battery life is the same or better than stock roms and the home screens had a landscape mode as well as portrait. (And hopefully they work in nova launcher as well).
When i had my GS1 i used the AOKP rom and i loved that. It just didn't have the homescreen portrait/landscape thing. Thanks for your help!
Edit: Also, is ICS>JB or are there pros and cons on both sides?
Different people, different preferences.
therefore, look, read, and test them out yourself.
psm510 said:
Hey all. I have a ICS (4.04) Galaxy S 3 for ATT. Its been working for me great, but since i removed the bloatware like gallery and s-memo things like the copy/cut/paste and the little icon that takes to to your gallery in the camera app functions wont work.
What GSIII roms would you recommend? A couple things i would like is if the battery life is the same or better than stock roms and the home screens had a landscape mode as well as portrait. (And hopefully they work in nova launcher as well).
When i had my GS1 i used the AOKP rom and i loved that. It just didn't have the homescreen portrait/landscape thing. Thanks for your help!
Edit: Also, is ICS>JB or are there pros and cons on both sides?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you like aosp then flash task's 650 rom. Pacman and rootbox are pretty good too. I would update to stock jb before you do anything. You will find it much better than ics.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
I have to agree that JB is better than ICS just seems smoother and more polished to me. As far as the roms go i am useing the official CM 10.1 and love it. But you reall need to look and test a couple of the diffrent ones to find what suits you best.
These threads won't last long.
Recommended way:
1. Read OP for ROM features.
2. Check for ROM threads on top n see atleast a few latest pages for any issues or thanks. These are best indicators of how satisfied people are.
3. I'm on JB and this is quite stable. So I can say there are some very good JB ROMs out there.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Thanks everybody. First im going to upgrade to Stock 4.2. After a bit of that ill go to AOKP Then branch out from there.
So I am new to the XDA forum, I am not new to Android. Now however I am in a bit of a spot. Looking for that one ROM which actually works properly without bugs or stability issues. This has proven to be a rather big challenge.
Almost every single ROM I have looked up, either on this forum or other forums, has issues. Most of them are seen as minor, but for my part, the lack of WiFi or USB tethering is not acceptable. Nor are those small bugs which makes apps crash from time to time.
So I am looking for a ROM with offers me the pure Android experience, so no Sense UI, with a few custom tweaks like battery indicator removal and the like. The ROM should be OTA compatible and based on Android 4.2.2.
I have looked all the big ROM's and many of the smaller ones. And like I write earlier, they all seem to have issues that makes renders them a defect product in my eyes. It is my no means easy to create a custom ROM, and all the hard work that developers put in to it, that I will praise :good:
But since I am looking for a complete product that take run my HOX until a new Android phone worth having comes out, stability issues, app craches, sluggishness and so on, are not acceptable.
It is a tall order I realise, but I figures that there is nothing lost by posting this thread. So are there anyone out there who knows an custom ROM?
AOKP and CM both have WiFi tethering and USB tethering working fine. I've been using CM since its alpha days, never had something not working that bothered me (meaning that i don't use MHL or FM radio, both of which don't work iirc. Any AOSP-based rom won't have them working.)
pandaball said:
AOKP and CM both have WiFi tethering and USB tethering working fine. I've been using CM since its alpha days, never had something not working that bothered me (meaning that i don't use MHL or FM radio, both of which don't work iirc. Any AOSP-based rom won't have them working.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have downloaded the CM 10.1 M3 release, thought about installing it, it also comes with OTA updates, for some people at least, by the time the stable release version comes out, it should work for all users.
But I could not find any information regarding the possibilities of tweaking the notification bar. Do you have the option of modifying or removing the battery indicator?
shopperen said:
I have downloaded the CM 10.1 M3 release, thought about installing it, it also comes with OTA updates, for some people at least, by the time the stable release version comes out, it should work for all users.
But I could not find any information regarding the possibilities of tweaking the notification bar. Do you have the option of modifying or removing the battery indicator?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can modify it to show icon, icon+percentage, circle and circle+percentage, as well as hidden.
pandaball said:
You can modify it to show icon, icon+percentage, circle and circle+percentage, as well as hidden.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a beautiful battery widget, which looks much much better then any other, still hoping that the developer will add moving it to the right side for root users. So I want the default one hidden. So another question would be, if you hide it, does it leave an empty space, or do the other right-side indicators re-align to fill that empty space, so to avoid blank space?
They fill the blank space.
pandaball said:
They fill the blank space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try the CM10.1 M3 release. What about bootanimation, is there an inbuilt function for that, and if not, do you know where the bootanimation.zip file is located?
Ohh, and what's the word on Google Apps being installed directly from the Play Store?
TeamVenom look @ my signature this rom rocks advice before you flash any rom just read
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
elsworth1983 said:
TeamVenom look @ my signature this rom rocks advice before you flash any rom just read
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already looked at Team Venom Viper X ROM. But it comes with Sense UI, and I have no use for it, not anymore. Since Android 4.0 and Holo UI, there is no need for a UI overlay, and if one really wants that, there are plenty of Launchers in Play Store.
And there are also issues with WiFi tethering.
shopperen said:
I have already looked at Team Venom Viper X ROM. But it comes with Sense UI, and I have no use for it, not anymore. Since Android 4.0 and Holo UI, there is no need for a UI overlay, and if one really wants that, there are plenty of Launchers in Play Store.
And there are also issues with WiFi tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries i use to use trips rom's i was a flasholic until i flashed TeamVenoms rom and never looked back.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Interesting, maybe I should do the same. Please tell us what rom you decide to use
shopperen said:
I will try the CM10.1 M3 release. What about bootanimation, is there an inbuilt function for that, and if not, do you know where the bootanimation.zip file is located?
Ohh, and what's the word on Google Apps being installed directly from the Play Store?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replace it manually in /system/media/bootanimation.zip. Really, most of these questions can be solved by just flashing CM and finding your way around it
Honestly, you can't go past Slim Bean when it comes to stability and features. It has pretty much as many features as AOKP, but it also has features from CM and some of its own unique features too. If you use Apex launcher with Slim, it's easily one of the fastest and smoothest ROMs around.
I've been using Slim Bean for a week now and i hardly EVER keep a ROM for more than 3 days because i always find small issues. With Slim Bean, performance is great, battery life is phenomenal (i got 60 hours up time with close to 4 hours of screen on time, i can attach screenies if you want), there are no outstanding bugs and it just works like it should.
With CM10.1, i always run into small issues here and there and battery life is not so great. When it comes to Ice Cold Jelly, battery life wasn't so good for me and performance was all over the place and it was rather unstable when i tried it a few versions ago.
So, Slim Bean is the absolute winner for me when it comes to ROMs without Sense. I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you try it out. Krarvind only produces very high quality ROMs.
Got your ROM?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
magic_android said:
Honestly, you can't go past Slim Bean when it comes to stability and features. It has pretty much as many features as AOKP, but it also has features from CM and some of its own unique features too. If you use Apex launcher with Slim, it's easily one of the fastest and smoothest ROMs around.
I've been using Slim Bean for a week now and i hardly EVER keep a ROM for more than 3 days because i always find small issues. With Slim Bean, performance is great, battery life is phenomenal (i got 60 hours up time with close to 4 hours of screen on time, i can attach screenies if you want), there are no outstanding bugs and it just works like it should.
With CM10.1, i always run into small issues here and there and battery life is not so great. When it comes to Ice Cold Jelly, battery life wasn't so good for me and performance was all over the place and it was rather unstable when i tried it a few versions ago.
So, Slim Bean is the absolute winner for me when it comes to ROMs without Sense. I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you try it out. Krarvind only produces very high quality ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can tell, Slim Bean is running some sort of custom launcher, is that correct? Because like I wrote, I have no interest in that nor any other launcher, I just want want the stock Android Holo UI and a few additional features.
Does Slim Bean support OTA?
pandaball said:
Replace it manually in /system/media/bootanimation.zip. Really, most of these questions can be solved by just flashing CM and finding your way around it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like CM is the way to go. SlimBean is tempting, but it uses a form of launcher other the stock one, and that holds no interest for me.
I'd like some input from you guys that have tried both stock-based and CM/AOKP-based roms. What features of stock do you miss if you're on CM/AOKP? Or, what features of CM/AOKP do you miss if you're on stock-based rom?
My last phone (lost it, didn't have insurance) was the HTC One X...I usually prefer the customization potential of CM/AOKP, but for the One X at the time, the battery life on stock-based was FAR superior to CM, so I had to go with stock for work purposes.
What are your experiences with the GS2?
Stock, because every AOSP rom I've tried has horrible call quality and I've tried every trick in the book to fix it. I also like using mass storage instead of mtp, alarm clock and music player from touchwiz. Bluetooth is also more reliable. I do miss the aokp clock, it doesn't work quite right on touchwiz.
The main advantage of aokp is that it's more up to date, but the differences between 4.1 and 4.2 are pretty negligible.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
gc84245 said:
Stock, because every AOSP rom I've tried has horrible call quality and I've tried every trick in the book to fix it. I also like using mass storage instead of mtp, alarm clock and music player from touchwiz. Bluetooth is also more reliable. I do miss the aokp clock, it doesn't work quite right on touchwiz.
The main advantage of aokp is that it's more up to date, but the differences between 4.1 and 4.2 are pretty negligible.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have a hard time living without theme chooser.
mmapcpro said:
I'd like some input from you guys that have tried both stock-based and CM/AOKP-based roms. What features of stock do you miss if you're on CM/AOKP? Or, what features of CM/AOKP do you miss if you're on stock-based rom?
My last phone (lost it, didn't have insurance) was the HTC One X...I usually prefer the customization potential of CM/AOKP, but for the One X at the time, the battery life on stock-based was FAR superior to CM, so I had to go with stock for work purposes.
What are your experiences with the GS2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOKP all the way - I think it comes down to one thing for me...Speed... Running other launchers like Nova, the live wallpapers, animations, transitions on AOKP vs TouchWiz is really noticeable. The TW framework seems to slow the whole phone down. The stock dialer/messaging app on TW is slow and clunky compared to AOSP/AOKP. Plus there's the theme chooser, or lack of themes for TW.
I want to like TW, I really do - I tried all the available ROMS with different combos of kernels, and no matter what I do, it just seems clunky in my eyes. I miss SOME TW apps and functionality, but if I bought the S4, I'd go the route of the AOSP version.
Wifi calling, it's the only reason.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Using Stock Rom JB 4.1.2
JB 4.1.2 stock is very stable, i have try several Custom Roms JB4.2.2 to the point i flash phone almost very day and i wnet back to stock, here are the reason why:
I use Video chat [hang out and talk], this does not work in any JB custom ROM.
USB to PC gives me the correct transfer speed, Custom ROMS either does not work or if it work transfer data very slow or gets stuck
Video share to smart TV i can simply play the video from my phone to my smart TV in Seconds, i have not see this feature to work with Custom ROM w/o getting a 3rd party app.
Battery Life in stock is better than custom ROMS in my case.
these are the main reason i sue stock ROM.