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I want to preface this first by saying that...
A. I am not a developer
B. I have huge respect for developers, i know it's not easy
C. I am familiar with rooting/flashing/adb/ etc, just not about Rom development
my question....
The HTC One GPE edition is no different from our VZW phone right? Shouldn't the Rom be able to be directly ported over without issue?
Or does the phone being LTE/Verizon cause issues?
Now i know it's not that easy or this clearly would have been done.... I am just wondering why the GPE roms are not directly able to be flashed on our phones.
Also, if i leave Verizon, and go to T-Mo, would i be able to flash a GPE RUU and have the phone work?
Thanks for anyone with any insight. Just curious about getting a true 100% pure GPE rom on my phone....
IIRC our model primarily uses a CDMA radio while the developer edition uses a GSM based radio. If you directly flashed the GPE ROM you would most likely kill your phone's radio.
mooseknuckles said:
I want to preface this first by saying that...
A. I am not a developer
B. I have huge respect for developers, i know it's not easy
C. I am familiar with rooting/flashing/adb/ etc, just not about development itself or Roms
my question....
The HTC One GPE edition is no different from our phone VZW right? Shouldn't the Rom be able to be directly ported over without issue?
Or does the phone being LTE/Verizon cause issues?
Now i know it's not that easy or this clearly would have been done.... I am just wondering why the GPE roms are not directly able to be flashed on our phones.
Also, if i leave Verizon, and go to T-Mo, would i be able to flash a GPE RUU and have the phone work?
Thanks for anyone with any insight. Just curious about getting a true 100% pure GPE rom on my phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your second question is primarily the reason. Our phones run on CDMA/LTE technology. the GPE ROMS are based on GSM technology. so even though you probably could flash one of their ROMS, you more than likely would not have any data or not be able to make phone calls or send text. To answer your last question, I believe these phones are carrier unlocked carrier so you could technically pop in a Tmobile SIM and get their 2G or 3G service(with the right APNs with our current ROMS). I see that people are doing this with their ATT/TMobile/Unlocked phones but I havent heard of anyone getting it to work on the CDMA variants(VZW/Sprint). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G8JXdPk-no
Have you tried some of the GPE modded Roms we have for VZW?
mademan420 said:
Your second question is primarily the reason. Our phones run on CDMA/LTE technology. the GPE ROMS are based on GSM technology. so even though you probably could flash one of their ROMS, you more than likely would not have any data or not be able to make phone calls or send text. To answer your last question, I believe these phones are carrier unlocked carrier so you could technically pop in a Tmobile SIM and get their 2G or 3G service(with the right APNs with our current ROMS). I see that people are doing this with their ATT/TMobile/Unlocked phones but I havent heard of anyone getting it to work on the CDMA variants(VZW/Sprint). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G8JXdPk-no
Have you tried some of the GPE modded Roms we have for VZW?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did use Newt's GPE ROM when i had the DNA, and it worked fairly well. I have not tried any yet on the One, since i only got the phone a few weeks ago. It looks like they are customized, and i am looking for pure GPE no mods at all. But i still might give the other GPE rome a try, have you tried them? any feedback? Part of me thinks i might make the leap to the CM KitKat build since it seems relatively stable....
mooseknuckles said:
I did use Newt's GPE ROM when i had the DNA, and it worked fairly well. I have not tried any yet on the One, since i only got the phone a few weeks ago. It looks like they are customized, and i am looking for pure GPE no mods at all. But i still might give the other GPE rome a try, have you tried them? any feedback? Part of me thinks i might make the leap to the CM KitKat build since it seems relatively stable....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im running Santod's tiKtaK ROM as we speak. It's 4.4 as well and its really vanilla. Beats is the only main thing that doesnt work in it but he says he will look into it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2531235
mademan420 said:
Im running Santod's tiKtaK ROM as we speak. It's 4.4 as well and its really vanilla. Beats is the only main thing that doesnt work in it but he says he will look into it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2531235
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beats is not a deal breaker for me. I just need good in call audio, data/wifi/signal, tether, and stability. No extra jazz for me.....
I do like how these builds get quick updates so far. makes my little time with verizon left worth while. i am debating jumping to tmo come summer time....
Are there any updates on an unlock method for 3.11.605.1? I'm having a pretty serious problem with streaming Internet Radio apps cutting out with the screen off after about 5 minutes. The app Data Connection Fix has helped out a lot, but I wanted to try out other ROMs to see if I can find 1 without this issue. It's such a shame that I'm having this issue because the HTC One seems like such a great phone. Unfortunately, streaming Internet Radio at work is the main thing that I use my phone for and my older Droid X2 on 3g outperforms this phone in that aspect. It's so sad a newer 4g device has this issue and makes me wonder if I should ever mess with another HTC device or Android device period. I wanted to get away from iOS, but I'm finding that almost every Android device I've been using needs to be unlocked/rooted to fix really simple features that should work right out of the box and with every update. The Bluetooth A2DP quality problem with most JellyBean devices has been a nightmare. That's what made me ditch my LG G2. I tried just about every custom ROM and music through bluetooth was horrible no matter what I tried, even on the newer KitKat ROMs.
pda48428 said:
Are there any updates on an unlock method for 3.11.605.1? I'm having a pretty serious problem with streaming Internet Radio apps cutting out with the screen off after about 5 minutes. The app Data Connection Fix has helped out a lot, but I wanted to try out other ROMs to see if I can find 1 without this issue. It's such a shame that I'm having this issue because the HTC One seems like such a great phone. Unfortunately, streaming Internet Radio at work is the main thing that I use my phone for and my older Droid X2 on 3g outperforms this phone in that aspect. It's so sad a newer 4g device has this issue and makes me wonder if I should ever mess with another HTC device or Android device period. I wanted to get away from iOS, but I'm finding that almost every Android device I've been using needs to be unlocked/rooted to fix really simple features that should work right out of the box and with every update. The Bluetooth A2DP quality problem with most JellyBean devices has been a nightmare. That's what made me ditch my LG G2. I tried just about every custom ROM and music through bluetooth was horrible no matter what I tried, even on the newer KitKat ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure there's just a setting you're missing that keeps the radio from cutting out. I used to stream Sirius XM and had the problem but I remember getting it fixed somehow. If I think of it I'll let you know. And no, you can't gain s-off on 4.4.2. If you read at all on here, you'll know when you can.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
brholt6 said:
I'm pretty sure there's just a setting you're missing that keeps the radio from cutting out. I used to stream Sirius XM and had the problem but I remember getting it fixed somehow. If I think of it I'll let you know. And no, you can't gain s-off on 4.4.2. If you read at all on here, you'll know when you can.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please tell me what setting? I get great service where I work and haven't had a problem with any other phone. I even went to Verizon and got a new SIM card. I've tried everything, starting with factory resets and clearing the cache. I have sleep mode off, app data sync on, mobile data is not restricted or limited, I've tried with and without beats audio enabled. The audio cuts out about every 5 minutes for 5-10 seconds and comes back on, just to cut out again for 5-10 seconds every 5 or so minutes. It's very annoying. The only thing that really helps is the data connection fix app, but that's not 100% reliable. I even called HTC and Verizon about the issue and they are looking into it. I would have normally just tried a different ROM, but I'm unable to unlock/s-off/root my phone because I'm on 4.4.2(3.11.605.1). That's the only reason I even called them. I currently have my phone up for sale and I'm seriously thinking about switching my service to sprint. I'm tired of paying top dollar for used phones to keep my unlimited data on Verizon. For all I know, there could be a problem with the phone, but it seems like a software issue to me. Everything else works and runs great. It's just that streaming Internet Radio is the thing I use most.
Have you tried this?
http://androidforums.com/htc-one/732481-beats-audio-setting-interrupts-streaming-audio.html
https://twitter.com/TeamAndIRC/status/443850349678321664
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
BhRaElEfD said:
Have you tried this?
Yes I've tried. It has nothing to do with beats audio. For some reason it just drops the data connection for like 5-10 seconds with the screen off every 5 minutes or so. I don't know if it's incompatible apps with 4.4.2 or 4.4.2 itself. It could also have something to do with the HTC sense software. It could just be the way this phone communicates with the Verizon towers. I have no idea and it's very frustrating. The last time I had a problem similar to this was when I had an LG Optimus V on Virgin Mobile and it would lose 3g and I would have to turn off the data connection and turn it back on. This is different, though, because I have 4G LTE all the time. There just seems to be a delay in receiving my data to where the Internet Radio cuts out before it signals for more data. Then by the time I receive more data, it's too late and the sound has already cut out. I did a speed test and I'm getting about 30mbps download and around 15mbps upload so I know I'm not being throttled. The only thing that helps is the data connection fix app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some more testing and I don't have any issues on WiFi and I don't have any issues if the screen stays on. It's only on cellular data with the screen off when I'm having issues. I noticed the Power Saving feature was removed in 4.4.2 and instead there's a sleep mode option. I have the sleep mode option off, but I'm thinking my issue might be because of a power saving bug in the HTC software for 4.4.2. If anybody knows anything about this, please post. Thanks
Think it will ever be unlocked?
I would SO much love to have airplay enabled on my HTC One. I came from iPhone, and have a full home surround sound based on Airplay, which I now can't use. Airplay is available only through a root application, although i have my phone on 4.4.2. Any thoughts on if and when this will ever be unlocked? Otherwise it's a huge reason for me to not have this phone...
BBooch said:
I would SO much love to have airplay enabled on my HTC One. I came from iPhone, and have a full home surround sound based on Airplay, which I now can't use. Airplay is available only through a root application, although i have my phone on 4.4.2. Any thoughts on if and when this will ever be unlocked? Otherwise it's a huge reason for me to not have this phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it took beaups and crew about 1 month + to get 4.3 unlocked. Plus it seems more devs are having issues with 4.4.2 so it could be longer. At this point hope for the best and expect the worse.
I seriously don't know why all of these companies continue to try and lock out everyone's phones (and spend unnecessary money doing so) when someone will just outwit them almost every time. If a dev REALLY wanted this done right away it would be done! Point blank... It's a cat n mouse game and Verizon will lose. I just purchased an HTC One on 4.4.2 and have full faith that it will be cracked wide open anytime now. No one can stop somebody that is determined and smarter than the person who created the bottleneck. Here's hoping to a quick S-off method soon :victory:
shojus said:
I seriously don't know why all of these companies continue to try and lock out everyone's phones (and spend unnecessary money doing so) when someone will just outwit them almost every time. If a dev REALLY wanted this done right away it would be done! Point blank... It's a cat n mouse game and Verizon will lose. I just purchased an HTC One on 4.4.2 and have full faith that it will be cracked wide open anytime now. No one can stop somebody that is determined and smarter than the person who created the bottleneck. Here's hoping to a quick S-off method soon :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not unnecessary money to them honestly. In Samsung's case they are trying to prove that their devices are secure enough to use for government agencies. Do you think they care that a few rogue hackers find exploits from time to time? No, they just need to convince some corporate goon that his e-mails to his mistress won't get intercepted. Speaking of the S4, it's been locked down now for about 8 months so I'd say they're getting pretty damn good at it. They have root I believe, but the bootloader is locked down tight on every S4 other than the very first firmware that came with the phone. I'm not sure what HTC's motivations are but I'm guessing they need to play ball with companies like Verizon in order to be able to sell their devices in the future.
Another thing that is hurting us is that Android itself is getting more secure. They are adding features that prevent exploits so it makes it harder for your average dev to find a way in. In the future we may be forced to buy developer editions to be able to do anything. That's worse case, but you never know.
Just like you I had "faith" that a developer would crack the S4 and I could finally have freedom. It never happened. It still hasn't happened. That's the main reason I switched to HTC. I'm not saying you should give up hope, but if you can't stand a phone to be locked down you should be looking into buying a different phone just in case...
Crawshayi said:
It's not unnecessary money to them honestly. In Samsung's case they are trying to prove that their devices are secure enough to use for government agencies. Do you think they care that a few rogue hackers find exploits from time to time? No, they just need to convince some corporate goon that his e-mails to his mistress won't get intercepted. Speaking of the S4, it's been locked down now for about 8 months so I'd say they're getting pretty damn good at it. They have root I believe, but the bootloader is locked down tight on every S4 other than the very first firmware that came with the phone. I'm not sure what HTC's motivations are but I'm guessing they need to play ball with companies like Verizon in order to be able to sell their devices in the future.
Another thing that is hurting us is that Android itself is getting more secure. They are adding features that prevent exploits so it makes it harder for your average dev to find a way in. In the future we may be forced to buy developer editions to be able to do anything. That's worse case, but you never know.
Just like you I had "faith" that a developer would crack the S4 and I could finally have freedom. It never happened. It still hasn't happened. That's the main reason I switched to HTC. I'm not saying you should give up hope, but if you can't stand a phone to be locked down you should be looking into buying a different phone just in case...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Valid points! That's why I said "almost every time"... I really just need root and I would be happy but I switch devices so much that I probably won't even have the One (my 3rd HTC One) by the time it gets exploited (if) it does. And I do understand that Google has to close a lot of security holes so that they don't look like they are such a terrible company by allowing all of these terrible "viruses" into our phones which I have never had any issues with. I do agree with you though that we will probably all be buying dev phones sooner than later. Thanks for the insight!
Just another reason to leave Verizon and go get a Nexus device.
Hello all,
I'm just wondering, do you guys notice or know of any real difference b/t the unlocked/non-carrier firmware that's out there and the carrier-specific firmware from T-Mobile for the M8? Is one considered better than the other?
Please share your thoughts with us!
Thank You,
RockStar2005
RockStar2005 said:
Hello all,
I'm just wondering, do you guys notice or know of any real difference b/t the unlocked/non-carrier firmware that's out there and the carrier-specific firmware from T-Mobile for the M8? Is one considered better than the other?
Please share your thoughts with us!
Thank You,
RockStar2005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know my experience with the M7 (yes i know its an M8 forum but still somewhat relevant) is Yes, the carrier firmware was better.
I had a Stock TMO branded M7. I did the full conversion to make it a GPe unit. It was nice but i had some signal issues. It was better with the TMO radios but ultimately i put it back to stock TMO and for me i got the best results like that.
IAmSixNine said:
I know my experience with the M7 (yes i know its an M8 forum but still somewhat relevant) is Yes, the carrier firmware was better.
I had a Stock TMO branded M7. I did the full conversion to make it a GPe unit. It was nice but i had some signal issues. It was better with the TMO radios but ultimately i put it back to stock TMO and for me i got the best results like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I think the M7 experience is definitely still relevant!
Ok, you're the first one so far here to say that. So the radios change based on the firmware? Why is that? I mean, why would the radios be affected by the firmware? Seems to me it'd be better to leave the radios alone and let them remain how they came.
My previous OTA was from T-Mobile, but in order to get updated ViperOne M8, I had to get the firmware for 2.22 and T-Mo wasn't deploying it. They apparently just approved it on the 18th, but as u prob read above, I'm not even sure if they've deployed it, and what it contains. I seem to have as much signal quality as before. I just wish they'd have VoLTE deployed for the M8s. That would be great.
RockStar2005
I have been with T-Mobile less then 2 years. Prior to that i was with sprint over 10 years. I got most of my "radio" experience flashing different radios for the Samsung GS2.
That device was super finikey when it came to radios. I also found at the time that 3 different network vendors set up most of the CDMA network in the USA for Sprint. So for me having a specific radio work well meant that same one might not work so well up north. Samsung was also known to not have very good hardware / antennas (when i say radios i am referring to the firmware for the specific device.) So while my devices hardware stayed the same Samsung was making software tweaks during each revision of software.
But to keep it simple, Yes, different versions of radios can work differently in each device. Thats even with stock radios. Then if you add stuff like a GPe radio to a stock unit, or what i had with my M7 using a GPe ROM with a TMO radio. It always pains me to see people who post about using carrier A phone unlocked with carrier B network. Those people will never get the most out of their hardware network wise because carrier B has worked with the manufacturer to make sure their device is created to be specific to their network. Sure an unlocked will work but not at 100% efficiency. It could be a hardware limitation, could be some software that is baked into the ROM to make it work better, or even as simple as TMO baking in WiFi calling with their network.
I mean look what happened to the Note 3 for TMO. Originally it shipped with LTE not even enabled. The hardware was there then BAM, with an OTA LTE was enabled. Flash forward to the last few months, 2 separate updates for VoLTE. Those are radios updates that are specific to the hardware in the Note 3.
Hopefully someone else can chime in as well. Id hate to think im the only one.
Six,
No you explained that rather well! My cousin has the Note 3 so I know what u said about the last part (on VoLTE) is def true. I wish HTC would hurry the F up and give us M8 ppl VoLTE. Would be nice. And make it available everywhere, not just major cities (it's avail in Chicago, but I live 25-30 min away).
I have a buddy who works for U.S. Cellular corporate, and he said the same thing. Unlocked phones, esp ones sold by one carrier but used on another's network, don't work AS well as when the phone is made for your carrier's network. International phones at least I believe work fine if released OFFICIALLY in the U.S. (i.e., Sony's Xperia Z2, which is ONLY avail that way in the U.S.), because they've been tested on ALL carrier networks/bands, but that's diff than using say a Sprint phone on T-Mobile's network, I believe. (Or using a phone that wasn't approved for all the major U.S. carriers.)
So far you're the only who seems pro-carrier firmware/OTAs, but that's ok. That's why I started this thread, so I can get all sides of the story. But if you read the previous posts, the other posters make a compelling argument that's pro-noncarrier. It sounds like in my situation I'm fine, b/c I'm pretty sure the int't M8 was tested on T-Mo's bands already. The firmware would just go along with that same data, so I don't think I'm having any loss of quality. Now if I carrier-unlocked my phone and tried it on Sprint or Verizon, or even AT&T......... then I would expect a loss of quality at some level.
Thanks,
RockStar2005
Agreed. I see merits in both custom roms, stock roms, GPe Roms and Cyanogen.
Back in the GS2 days i was a big fan of using some of those custom ROMS guys would cook up. It fixed a lot of issues with Android.
But for ME, since 4.2.2 and up, i have been happy with stock ROMs.
In fact i almost always ran custom roms on my older devices and only recently started to leave them stock.
The last thing was when TMO gave me 3 GB free tethering, that was the last thing i might have rooted for.
My note 3 is stock, my M8 is still stock. and my back up M7 is stock (after putting GPe on it for a few weeks and testing stuff out).
I for one use my M8 as my daily phone and my Note 3 as my back up / game device.
For example, today at lunch i had local news streaming on my M8 while my Note 3 was tethered to my M8. On my Note 3 i was playing a few games while i waited for my food then answered a few emails and chatted with a friend on Hangouts.
With TMOs recent 4.4.3 update my M8 seems to run better then before and i feel im getting better battery life out of it.
Cant wait for my Note 3 to get 4.4.3 or 4.4.4. Also really looking forward to Android L on both of the units.
The way i look at it is what are YOUR pros and cons. LOL.
IAmSixNine said:
Agreed. I see merits in both custom roms, stock roms, GPe Roms and Cyanogen.
Back in the GS2 days i was a big fan of using some of those custom ROMS guys would cook up. It fixed a lot of issues with Android.
But for ME, since 4.2.2 and up, i have been happy with stock ROMs.
In fact i almost always ran custom roms on my older devices and only recently started to leave them stock.
The last thing was when TMO gave me 3 GB free tethering, that was the last thing i might have rooted for.
My note 3 is stock, my M8 is still stock. and my back up M7 is stock (after putting GPe on it for a few weeks and testing stuff out).
I for one use my M8 as my daily phone and my Note 3 as my back up / game device.
For example, today at lunch i had local news streaming on my M8 while my Note 3 was tethered to my M8. On my Note 3 i was playing a few games while i waited for my food then answered a few emails and chatted with a friend on Hangouts.
With TMOs recent 4.4.3 update my M8 seems to run better then before and i feel im getting better battery life out of it.
Cant wait for my Note 3 to get 4.4.3 or 4.4.4. Also really looking forward to Android L on both of the units.
The way i look at it is what are YOUR pros and cons. LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My "pros and cons" list involves having all pros and NO cons! lol
I think I'll prob just wait for the T-Mo OTAs from now on, but then again, b/c I have ViperOne, I won't know when they get deployed unless I constantly revert back to stock. Ughh! I guess so far I haven't really noticed a difference in signal and call quality since installing a non-carrier firmware, though it's only been like not even 2 weeks yet since I did it.
That's cool though that you're so happy with it. Perhaps your posts are an indication that T-Mobile has gotten better with their overall quality, and so that's something to look forward to for when I do go back to stock (whenever that is lol).
Thank You,
RockStar2005
Most people make a big deal about carrier OTAs. So you really dont need to revert back to check for them. As long as your active on the boards you will know when a device gets an OTA.
I failed to mention that part of why im happy with stock is because devices are now getting to the point where they are so fast that having bloat ware on them doesnt noticeably slow down the devices like they used to. At least i dont notice it. Pluse with 4.2.2 they allow you to "disable" most apps you dont want to use. So thats another plus.
Back in the day i used to root and do the custom ROM for extra battery life, or tethering, or to make the device snappier.
I honestly would have thought that someone else might have chimed in by now and added their 2 cents.
IAmSixNine said:
Most people make a big deal about carrier OTAs. So you really dont need to revert back to check for them. As long as your active on the boards you will know when a device gets an OTA.
I failed to mention that part of why im happy with stock is because devices are now getting to the point where they are so fast that having bloat ware on them doesnt noticeably slow down the devices like they used to. At least i dont notice it. Pluse with 4.2.2 they allow you to "disable" most apps you dont want to use. So thats another plus.
Back in the day i used to root and do the custom ROM for extra battery life, or tethering, or to make the device snappier.
I honestly would have thought that someone else might have chimed in by now and added their 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Six,
Yeah, that's true. Or I can check on T-Mobile's update site, though there may still be some delay b/c of how they deploy OTAs: http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-10366
I've noticed that too, and before I got ViperOne and also Titanium Backup, I was disabling several apps too. Though I prefer to just uninstall them.
RockStar2005
Six,
I talked to one of the ppl at Team Venom, and he said he has T-Mobile and recommends just taking T-Mobile's firmware updates for better cell reception. I'll do that from now on. But for now, if anyone is interested, I have here a link to the latest radio image file for the M8 (as of 8/27). Just download and "install flash" in TWRP.
And if you're rooted and want to get rid of the "red splash" screen during boot-up, try flashing the attached mod! :victory:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/beucjivbc4i9y3u/RadioUpdate_2.22.531.5_1.19.213311491.03G.zip
Thank You,
RockStar2005
So... My question now.. I'm one of those buy vzw m8 take over to T-Mobile. I'm running viper 2.3. It runs great. But vzw never updated to newest firmware.so my question I guess is... Can I flash a T-Mobile radio or firmware to my vzw phone? I kinda know the answer, but I'd rather ask. So if I can.. that'll be great!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
I know on the M7 that would brick the unit.
The CDMA and GSM units had different hardware and flashing any GSM ROM into a CDMA unit bricked them.
I want to say the same holds for the M8.
Can someone else confirm that for me?
IAmSixNine said:
I know on the M7 that would brick the unit.
The CDMA and GSM units had different hardware and flashing any GSM ROM into a CDMA unit bricked them.
I want to say the same holds for the M8.
Can someone else confirm that for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thanks I kinda figured that, but you know it never hurts to ask, especially if it has the potential to maybe work out.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
---------- Post added at 08:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:20 AM ----------
Then maybe would it be better for me when Verizon gets the ota for 4.4.3.... I should implement that, and then.... Redo my rom?
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
Hi fellow HTC One enthusiasts
I just got an unlocked AT&T M8 a few days ago to upgrade from my Nexus 5 that I'm using on T-Mobile and really enjoying, especially the beautiful screen and exceptional build quality!
So here's my situation: First off, I'm pretty rusty with regards to general ROM installation stuff since I started using Nexus devices, but, being a Nexus enthusiast, the first thing I did when I received my M8 was unlock the boot loader and S-Off the device to fully convert the AT&T M8 to the GPE Lollipop version following this tutorial on YouTube .
So from that, I now have a bootloader-unlocked AT&T M8 with fully stock GPE software (eligible for OTA updates from Google like a Nexus device), S-Off through Sunshine and I believe no custom recovery.
However, I'm having trouble figuring out the LTE/data signal on T-Mobile and some slow Wifi issues that I'd been having since before converting to GPE. I've tried changing the APN's to numerous different ones and the average LTE speeds I've been getting is about 1-4 Mbps here in the Los Angeles suburb area whereas with my Nexus 5, I was receiving at least15-20 on a regular basis. On top of that, the stock Google camera performs horribly on this device and I would love to use the HTC Sense camera instead but I've read that HTC Camera APK is incompatible with Vanilla Android.
So I looked around to remedy these two problems that I have with the signal and camera and I figured that the best solution is to install this ROM on XDA called LolliGPE which is a Multi-carrier ROM that is based on GPE Lollipop and is mostly vanilla with some Sense apps (including the HTC Camera app).
However, reading the instructions, it has a prerequisite that is emphasized quite a bit throughout the thread:
A. Update your device to your carrier's 4.4.4 Firmware BEFORE flashing anything here. Google it.
So that's where it gets confusing for me (and I've spent a few hours "Googling it" and on XDA to try to figure out an approach).
*Which carrier's firmware do I flash (AT&T, the phone's intended carrier vs. T-Mobile, the carrier I'm subscribed to)?
I'm about 80% sure that it's T-Mobile's firmware that I need since I'll be using the phone with T-Mobile, but I need to make sure, and also need to know which one to flash since bricking this beautiful device would wreck my soul.
I've read that having S-off is pretty crucial to simplifying the process and I'm pretty glad to have paid for Sunshine, so I at least have that going for me.
So in conclusion, if anyone could guide me towards the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for making it all the way down here, sorry for the wall of text!
If you used the 5.0.1 RUU that graffixnyc posted your FW is already up-to-date and on the right version. What you need to do is add the APN to the phone manually. Funny that Google didn't pre-load the US APNs into the ROM as (technically) the GPe M8 is US-only yet it has the UK APNs in it...
Thanks for the input Eddy! 5.0.1 did have APN's preloaded in it upon installment but I was getting really slow speeds with it, so I spent the next two hours after that trying a multitude of other APN's from all over the web and the best one I found netted me an average Down of about 7 Mbps.
If I'm at the latest firmware, can I proceed to installing LolliGPE then?
Also, I'm wondering if flashing T-Mobile specific radios will help me with the issues that I'm having
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I did use the 5.0.1 RUU from graffixnyc
You should be OK to flash the new ROM so long as it is based on the GPe build (due to partition sizes). Other than that I can't really comment as my 4G speeds were the same or better than when using Sense so didn't ever look into anything else
EddyOS said:
You should be OK to flash the new ROM so long as it is based on the GPe build (due to partition sizes). Other than that I can't really comment as my 4G speeds were the same or better than when using Sense so didn't ever look into anything else
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I see, thanks for the help Eddy, you're the man!
If I were to update my firmware in the future, would I be updating to T-Mobile's (my carrier I'm subscribed to) or AT&T's, the phones original carrier?
As your phone is now GPe all updates are from HTC/Google and are nothing to do with your carrier
I am having an issue where my phone cannot do Wifi calling, or Samsung Visual Voicemail. So I did some digging and found out that my gf's phone (which I flashed unlocked U1 firmware on) now has the service provider software information (SPS) of AIO/AIO/XAA, even though when I got her phone, it was designated to T-Mobile. However, for MY phone, even though I used the same exact firmware flash, my SPS is VZW/VZW/VZW.
Could this be the cause of my issue? Is there anyway to fix this? I flashed the phone using this firmware: https://samfw.com/firmware/SM-G986U1/XAA/G986U1UES2DUD4
I will provide more info if anyone asks for it, I just don't know what other info to provide as of now.
Here is one thing I know for certain, Verizon's Wifi calling uses an IPSEC tunnel that connects to them when turned on from your phone.
From this we can possibly assume that wifi calling is carrier specific. I am sure voicemail is the same.
So if your phone is technically on one carrier but the firmware thinks it's another, it would be mismatched so to speak.
I know this does not solve your issue but it might explain why those things do not work.
DarkQuark said:
Here is one thing I know for certain, Verizon's Wifi calling uses an IPSEC tunnel that connects to them when turned on from your phone.
From this we can possibly assume that wifi calling is carrier specific. I am sure voicemail is the same.
So if your phone is technically on one carrier but the firmware thinks it's another, it would be mismatched so to speak.
I know this does not solve your issue but it might explain why those things do not work.
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Right, I figured it would be something like that. The problem, at least I think, is that the phone still thinks it's a Verizon phone, even though it has U1 firmware. I tried flashing the firmware again, and putting in the SIM after I factory reset it, and nothing changed. I truly do need to change the SPS. I'm not sure if that's possible, but hopefully someone can shed more light on this problem.
guyguyguy1 said:
Right, I figured it would be something like that. The problem, at least I think, is that the phone still thinks it's a Verizon phone, even though it has U1 firmware. I tried flashing the firmware again, and putting in the SIM after I factory reset it, and nothing changed. I truly do need to change the SPS. I'm not sure if that's possible, but hopefully someone can shed more light on this problem.
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Here is just my 2 cents on it. For years I used to buy unlocked phones specifically so I could put custom firmwares on them. I had 3 reasons for doing so at the time. Get rid of the trash, custom firmwares were often updated more frequently and longer than manufacturer "official", and for root.
As it sits today, root is handy but not required like it used to be. Manufacturers now update their firmware FAR better and there are ways to debloat an official phone.
What I am getting at is this. Dinking with the firmware (IE changing away from official) is not worth it in my opinion today for most folks. Especially if you really depend on your device,, as I do for work.
However with all that said, if I did not depend on mine for work I would customize it anyway because while the processes for doing so are tedious, I find them fun.
Just my take on it. I wish you luck with your issue.
DarkQuark said:
Here is just my 2 cents on it. For years I used to buy unlocked phones specifically so I could put custom firmwares on them. I had 3 reasons for doing so at the time. Get rid of the trash, custom firmwares were often updated more frequently and longer than manufacturer "official", and for root.
As it sits today, root is handy but not required like it used to be. Manufacturers now update their firmware FAR better and there are ways to debloat an official phone.
What I am getting at is this. Dinking with the firmware (IE changing away from official) is not worth it in my opinion today for most folks. Especially if you really depend on your device,, as I do for work.
However with all that said, if I did not depend on mine for work I would customize it anyway because while the processes for doing so are tedious, I find them fun.
Just my take on it. I wish you luck with your issue.
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Click to collapse
Thank you! My understanding is that if your phone is protected by Knox, if you root the phone, it would break the chip on the logic board, and it would either brick the phone, or totally disable all protections on the phone, so you would HAVE to do custom firmware and security. Which simply isn't worth it to me. I just think it's annoying that a phone that SHOULD have the built in compatibility, just simply doesn't because the company that commissioned the phone felt like being a ****. Worst case scenario, I just suck it up and deal with it, it's not a huge deal. But, if someone eventually comes along and offers a fix for it, I'll jump on it!