Develop Bugs

CM6 vs Vaelpak

I am thinking about flashing CM6 this weekend just to see what it's like. I have been on Vaelpak 2.2 and been very happy with it. I tried some of the sense roms first (Baked and Myn mainly) and didn't think I would like a non-sense rom but I am digging Vael w/Launcher Pro and haven't really missed sense.
I know that the ultimate test will be to try it out myself and I plan to. I am also not trying to start another blanket "which one is best thread" but I would like to hear some thoughts from some of you Rom Warriors that have spent some decent time with both to see what I should expect as far as these two are concerned.
Other factors: I am not in a 4G area, HDMI isn't important (right now anyways) and I never listed to the FM radio anyways. I also have one of the Chinese batteries on the way, so as long as the weight of it don't scare me off, I hopefully won't have battery issues with either rom.
With those factors in the mix, can some of you offer your informed opinions of what I should expect to see/miss if I flash CM6?
I think both have new versions cooking (see what I did thar) so just give me your thoughts on the current versions.
Thanks a bunch!

I am doing that right now but I am coming from Fresh. So far don't like it. No Market- so far, I found a "fix" but it doesn't work, so I have a phone with web and that is about it!! Need to search some more but tied up with kids etc...
-Art

HTCinPA said:
I am doing that right now but I am coming from Fresh. So far don't like it. No Market- so far, I found a "fix" but it doesn't work, so I have a phone with web and that is about it!! Need to search some more but tied up with kids etc...
-Art
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you install gapps, per chance?

AOSP is something you either like or dislike ... there is no middle ground. I have used CM6 extensively, but I also maintain a nice "Sense" rom, for whenever I'm in a 4g area. On that point, I may not need it much longer, as CM6 will be going 4g very shortly. Also looks like HDMI will be working soon ... FM Radio has already been added.
Basic aosp, like in Cyanogen's rom is very quick, very smooth, and just works. You will hear about people who are having an issue here and there, but it's almost always "user error". That doesn't mean that CM6 is perfect, but it is highly evolved and almost there.
Most of the people coming from "sense" will not like it. Although it doesn't have all the widgets and stuff ... almost everything can be replicated. For example, I like the look of the clock/weather widget and so I use "fancy widget", an almost exact replica. I also like launcher pro, and it works perfectly. I could go on and on, but you will need to decide for yourself.
Do a nand back up of whatever you're currently using, and jump in. And don't give up after a couple of hours. As with everything new, there is a learning curve ... and you should do some reading/exploring. Ask lots of questions ... there is plenty of help available ... all be it, with the usual XDA "style". I will leave you with this final thought ... Cyanogen is without a doubt, the foremost Android developer ever.

CM6 will be smoother, less lockups and just overall run better. I haven't run Vael's so I don't know if he uses AOSP contacts and dialer, but I prefer the AOSP contacts and text apps. I download Dialer One from the market to get T9 dialing.
Integration with facebook contacts and twitter is much better on CM6. CM6 may have 4G working soon, FM Radio is working now, and HDMI is close as well. The camera app on CM6 is leagues better than any of the other camera apps.
Just make sure when you install cm6 that you install the Gapps zip since you need that to get maps, market, gmail and the basic google services.

I have a lot of time with both roms. Vaelpak's rom is fantastic and his support is quick and spot on. probably the developer that is the most reachable when you have a problem or question. Very smooth, stable, and fast. CM6 takes a lot of fine tuning to get all the apps you want and get it set up to exactly the way you want it. Its so damn fast and smooth that people in 4g areas run the rom anyway because it's performance out weighs the lack of 4g and hdmi. And snap's kernels and his support team are second to none. When 4g makes it to CM I will run that rom as my daily exclusively on my EVO until the new dual core phones come out or the EVO 2.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Going back to Stock ROM - Done!

I am sure this topic has been beaten to death already but I still wanted to share my experience with custom ROMs and finally going back to the STOCK ROM. If beginners want to try out Custom ROMs, may be they can read this beginner's post.
First the ritual - Android community is great. ROM developers are great minds at work! Thanks for doing all the hard work and showing me whats in the Custom ROM world.
I started out with simple rooting of my phone to get tethering (cheap on my part but I think I pay more than what my carrier offers). After rooting, custom ROM was just so tempting. So I tried a few - CM, AOKP, Carbon. Honestly, out of all, CM10.0 was the most stable for me. Things I loved:
1. Battery Life - Can't say enough. There is so much junk that runs in background on STOCK ROMs.
2. 4.2.2 JB - Better than 4.1.2 but then, not by miles.
3. Ability to flash ROMs over the weekends You know it.
4. Utilities like Titanium backup and others that needed Root access.
5. Tether - super like.
Things I hated:
1. Force closures - OMG I couldn't understand how the STOCK ROMs are so robust or Is it that the Apps are tested on Stock ROMs very well that they don't crash. Countless failures for Instagram, Email, Camera, BT etc.
2. Camera functionality - I give 10 out of 10 to Samsung in creating great camera app. I am a heavy smartphone camera user. The 4.2.2 camera app was so laggy on my GS3. The user interface sucked (circle). No meter mode. Bad panorama mode, HDR mode and worst low light photos.
3. On one of the custom ROMs, I had horrible issues with making and receiving phone calls (Yes it can go that bad).
4. Bluetooth pairing with devices. BT crashed a lot while music was interrupted with incoming calls.
All in all, I am now happy that I am back to the STOCK ROM with This Link Many thanks to the Member.
There is a lot of excitement and good things about the Custom ROMs but if you are like me who is not a super power user, there is a lot to consider before jumping.
Happy Monday!

In CM 10.1, the FC issues were fixed for me. This applies for most current AOSP roms. I have not had any issues with camera lag either. I will admit that the stock camera is more robust with options but there are third party apps that help minimize the feeling of loss.
Regarding testing, this is what goes on here. The difference is you see the testing phases while you do not with the manufacturer. In addition, many of the drivers and hardware info is proprietary so developing drivers that are stable can be a hit and miss affair.
On the same note, not every phone and user is the same and the experience will be different for each. ROMs will possibly work differently across the same models of phone due to minor variations in quality which are nearly impossible to catch during the manufacturing process due to nearly microscopic differences.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747

aybarrap1 said:
In CM 10.1, the FC issues were fixed for me. This applies for most current AOSP roms. I have not had any issues with camera lag either. I will admit that the stock camera is more robust with options but there are third party apps that help minimize the feeling of loss.
Regarding testing, this is what goes on here. The difference is you see the testing phases while you do not with the manufacturer. In addition, many of the drivers and hardware info is proprietary so developing drivers that are stable can be a hit and miss affair.
On the same note, not every phone and user is the same and the experience will be different for each. ROMs will possibly work differently across the same models of phone due to minor variations in quality which are nearly impossible to catch during the manufacturing process due to nearly microscopic differences.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree with the slight variations in experiences with Custom ROMs. But for some reason, my jump to 10.1 was not smooth with FCs and I quickly made a u-turn to 10.0 and then ultimately to the STOCK ROM. Camera Apps like Camera Zoom are very good and they do provide more options like Metering and time lapse (missing in STOCK), they are still not complete (simple example - I can't enable Panorama from CamerZoom). Nevertheless, the experience can be really amazing when things work out but really frustrating when they don't. STOCK has its problems like I am missing my Solid Battery life today :crying:

I think I'm about to go back to stock as well. While I love all the extra features that custom roms offer, all the tinkering and occasional bugginess can take away from the overall experience. At least for me, anyways.
I also had been doing it long enough that I felt really comfortable with all the flashing that I was doing, but would still make the occasional mistake (look at the hilarity I posted in the stupid questions thread today). I'm thinking I'll play it safe, at least for now, before I do something I regret.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

newmind02 said:
I think I'm about to go back to stock as well. While I love all the extra features that custom roms offer, all the tinkering and occasional bugginess can take away from the overall experience. At least for me, anyways.
I also had been doing it long enough that I felt really comfortable with all the flashing that I was doing, but would still make the occasional mistake (look at the hilarity I posted in the stupid questions thread today). I'm thinking I'll play it safe, at least for now, before I do something I regret.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is in my opinion that even the stock roms have bugs. At seemingly random times, my alarm clocks on my AT&T S3 just didn't work when running stock. I was almost late for work 3 days in a row because of it (my alarm is set to repeat 5 times a week every week at the exact same time. I never turn it off). In addition, I get the occasional random battery drop that seems to have something to do with the switch between H+ and LTE when on a phone call.
I stuck with the stock rom for a while but now that AOSP roms are stable, I have switched. Whatever bugs are present do not affect me or they are so minor I work around it. It really comes down to what you find to be acceptable for you.
As far as being comfortable and making mistakes, I have done it as well. Being a flashing fiend has made me overconfident a few times and I botched several installs. Luckily I have been so busy of late, that my flashing desire has been on hold.

Never had any force closes.
Never had any lag
Never had any problems on custom Roms.
If you're experiencing and lag, force closes, you're MORE than likely doing something wrong on your end.
This phone doesn't lag. It should lag whatsoever. 1.5Ghz and 2Gs of ram does not create lag.
Touchwiz runs a LOT more stuff in the background.
Just follow instructions on how to flash, what to flash, and what to tweak. And I can guarantee you an awesome experience.
The camera as well. Just took some amazing lightning shots with 4.2.2 camera, on burst mode with 20 pictures taken in less then 3 seconds. No lag what's so ever.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

jayRokk said:
Never had any force closes.
Never had any lag
Never had any problems on custom Roms.
If you're experiencing and lag, force closes, you're MORE than likely doing something wrong on your end.
This phone doesn't lag. It should lag whatsoever. 1.5Ghz and 2Gs of ram does not create lag.
Touchwiz runs a LOT more stuff in the background.
Just follow instructions on how to flash, what to flash, and what to tweak. And I can guarantee you an awesome experience.
The camera as well. Just took some amazing lightning shots with 4.2.2 camera, on burst mode with 20 pictures taken in less then 3 seconds. No lag what's so ever.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I concur
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747

techmine said:
I am sure this topic has been beaten to death already but I still wanted to share my experience with custom ROMs and finally going back to the STOCK ROM. If beginners want to try out Custom ROMs, may be they can read this beginner's post.
First the ritual - Android community is great. ROM developers are great minds at work! Thanks for doing all the hard work and showing me whats in the Custom ROM world.
I started out with simple rooting of my phone to get tethering (cheap on my part but I think I pay more than what my carrier offers). After rooting, custom ROM was just so tempting. So I tried a few - CM, AOKP, Carbon. Honestly, out of all, CM10.0 was the most stable for me. Things I loved:
1. Battery Life - Can't say enough. There is so much junk that runs in background on STOCK ROMs.
2. 4.2.2 JB - Better than 4.1.2 but then, not by miles.
3. Ability to flash ROMs over the weekends You know it.
4. Utilities like Titanium backup and others that needed Root access.
5. Tether - super like.
Things I hated:
1. Force closures - OMG I couldn't understand how the STOCK ROMs are so robust or Is it that the Apps are tested on Stock ROMs very well that they don't crash. Countless failures for Instagram, Email, Camera, BT etc.
2. Camera functionality - I give 10 out of 10 to Samsung in creating great camera app. I am a heavy smartphone camera user. The 4.2.2 camera app was so laggy on my GS3. The user interface sucked (circle). No meter mode. Bad panorama mode, HDR mode and worst low light photos.
3. On one of the custom ROMs, I had horrible issues with making and receiving phone calls (Yes it can go that bad).
4. Bluetooth pairing with devices. BT crashed a lot while music was interrupted with incoming calls.
All in all, I am now happy that I am back to the STOCK ROM with This Link Many thanks to the Member.
There is a lot of excitement and good things about the Custom ROMs but if you are like me who is not a super power user, there is a lot to consider before jumping.
Happy Monday!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to go back and forth between CM10.1 and Stock.
The biggest thing CM misses for me is the camera. Call me a fanboy but I really like what Samsung did to their camera optimizations in TW.
That being said, I don't like TW very much but a custom launcher and a few minor tweaks can make TW tolerable.
For apps running in the background I highly recommend Greenify for keeping apps dormant when you're not using them.
Titanium Backup also has a feature called Freeze that basically does the same thing as Greenify except it takes the app and prevents it from being used at all.
This is good for apps that you never use that come preloaded on the GS3 (AT&T and Samsung bloatware).

[Q] Going from nexus to M8 can of worms!

Sorry to ask all these questions, but I can't seem to have become very confused by getting an HTC One M8, being so used to the Nexus purity and ease of unlocking- I have done various searches but people always seem quite convoluted in answers :s Sorry!
Q1: Is it possible to get back to HTC Factory settings to the original, OEM locked state, with Sense 6 and with no evidence it was ever unlocked and rooted? I was a touch freaked out by the 'Tampered with" writing on the HBoot screen.
Q2: Is the red writing dealt with here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53899551 Standard for EVERYONE who unlocks their HTC? It's not anything to worry about?
Q3: Does Xposed work on Stock sense?
Q4: The only thing I think I might be missing from Sense is the battery saving modes, which seem to be very well calibrated for the phone. is there anything similar and downloadable out there? (Both normal battery saving and extreme)- sometheing that intelligently dials down theprocessor and brightness but doesn't just disable mobile data, for example. I also love the camera app, and Sense Gallery app- but I care less because they don't affect my phone getting me through the day.
Q5: (Subjective perhaps): would you say Sense 6 is worse on battery life substantially? Ie, If I'm on CM11 it should be better battery life than sense anyway right? So those battery saver modes are less important for me?
Q6: Where can I find information about 'default' settings for stock, locked HTC (on sense and/or playstore edition):
-Governors
-Mpdescision on or off?
-Clock speeds
Q7:Another reason I got confused. I thought things like swipe to wake were built in to the ROM or Kernel, so when I put Carbon rom on my phone I was expecting it to not be on by default, because that was the case with my N4. But they are on so does that mean that the Carbon Rom devs have purposefully built it in to keep similar to HTCs stock functionality or is there somehow a 'deeper' HTC level that none can touch?
Q8: The play store apps from HTC that don't work on my M8 (like Gallery)- is it because HTC puts a root checker in their app code? If so is that one of the sacrifices of rooting my M8?
Q9: Sorry to be 'one of those people' but I'm so familiar with Nexus Roms, all of the M8 ones are utterly new territory, not least because there's a Play store M8's and Sense M8s- is there somewhere I can go and compare M8 Roms? Is there a reason the big ones (CM, Carbon, PA) don't seem to get much of a mention when googling 'best m8 rom' or is it purely because people prefer Sense based roms over standard?
Sorry, and thanks SO much in advance if you have time to even answer a few of these! I'll buy you a coffee if you answer all of them

tmorterlaing said:
Sorry to ask all these questions, but I can't seem to have become very confused by getting an HTC One M8, being so used to the Nexus purity and ease of unlocking- I have done various searches but people always seem quite convoluted in answers :s Sorry!
Q1: Is it possible to get back to HTC Factory settings to the original, OEM locked state, with Sense 6 and with no evidence it was ever unlocked and rooted? I was a touch freaked out by the 'Tampered with" writing on the HBoot screen.
Q2: Is the red writing dealt with here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53899551 Standard for EVERYONE who unlocks their HTC? It's not anything to worry about?
Q3: Does Xposed work on Stock sense?
Q4: The only thing I think I might be missing from Sense is the battery saving modes, which seem to be very well calibrated for the phone. is there anything similar and downloadable out there? (Both normal battery saving and extreme)- sometheing that intelligently dials down theprocessor and brightness but doesn't just disable mobile data, for example. I also love the camera app, and Sense Gallery app- but I care less because they don't affect my phone getting me through the day.
Q5: (Subjective perhaps): would you say Sense 6 is worse on battery life substantially? Ie, If I'm on CM11 it should be better battery life than sense anyway right? So those battery saver modes are less important for me?
Q6: Where can I find information about 'default' settings for stock, locked HTC (on sense and/or playstore edition):
-Governors
-Mpdescision on or off?
-Clock speeds
Q7:Another reason I got confused. I thought things like swipe to wake were built in to the ROM or Kernel, so when I put Carbon rom on my phone I was expecting it to not be on by default, because that was the case with my N4. But they are on so does that mean that the Carbon Rom devs have purposefully built it in to keep similar to HTCs stock functionality or is there somehow a 'deeper' HTC level that none can touch?
Q8: The play store apps from HTC that don't work on my M8 (like Gallery)- is it because HTC puts a root checker in their app code? If so is that one of the sacrifices of rooting my M8?
Sorry, and thanks SO much in advance if you have time to even answer a few of these! I'll buy you a coffee if you answer all of them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, but you'll need S-OFF to do so (which is easy thanks to Sunshine and TowelRoot!!)
2. Nothing to worry about
3. Yes, but not everything as some are for stock Android only
4. Not that I'm aware of
5. No, but that's my take on it
6. Don't know, I don't root my phones any more
7. HTC bake it into their ROM as standard but I couldn't tell you if it's reliant on kernel, ROM or both
8. So long as you're on Sense it should work fine

[Q] To Rom or Go Stock and Customize - I want it all, including Wifi Calling

Just moved from a Verizon based S5 (used on Tmobile) to the Tmobile based G3 so that I could have Wifi Calling, and have data and voice at the same time (can't do that on the Verizon based phones)
I have rooted the G3 already, and have tried CM12 already, but quickly realized it kills the Wifi Calling, which was one of the main reasons I got rid of my S5. ( Did a straight trade with a guy for the G3)
So, now that I have a Tmobile based phone, am I better off just sticking to stock and modding it on my own (already installed Xposed and Greenify)..... or are there good roms out there that include Wifi Calling?
Xposed is more important to me than Lollipop, and battery life is second most important to me. Being smooth, fast and reliable are also on the top of my needs list.
Right now I am leaning towards just customizing the stock rom using Xposed and Greenify.... but am I missing out on any other great features of other Roms?
I am able to manually disable the bloatware...... so are there any other advantages of certain roms that I am missing?
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks

Nope. You're right on track. I am in the same boat as I am chained to WIFI calling as well.
If all you're looking for is maintaining that feature and debloating you're good to go with stock. There are a few stock-based KK ROMs out for d851, but most are just meh compared to stock.
For a while I wanted my cake and to eat it too, so I played with multirom for a bit. It gave me the convenience of switching from stock over to any of the LP ROMs out now....it was fun to play with until Illusion stopped supporting mulitrom at which point I started completely over, wiped my phone and brought it up via OTA to 10r (that was about 3 weeks ago when I thought TMO would be pushing LP.....needless to say I'm bored and itching to flash.....)
Long of the short of it....for now I'd stick with stock and enjoy the tweaksbox.....that is, until TMO drops LP and the Illusion community convinces Mike to make a stock-based Illusion....that will be when the magic happens...LOL

Thanks for the advice.
I have decided to do just that... Tweakbox and stock... and I am pretty happy with the results. Nothing "blingy" about it, but I am getting good performance and decent battery life with my own mods.
If you happen to find a great "stock" rom, let me know.... but otherwise I am sticking to stock... even if not lollipop (which in my experience isn't a must have yet)

I just tried SkyDragon, but then went back to my backed up stock.
Skydragon seemed cool, but not cooler than what I already setup on my phone over the course of several hours.
If I was starting off from scratch, I'd probably have just stuck with Skydragon.

Please help me pick a ROM based on my criteria...

Hi folks,
I hope this isn't a faux pas. I understand we're not supposed to start religious wars about which ROM is the best. So let's not do that. But I could use some advice on the pros and cons of the different options open to me. Here is my situation and success criteria:
1. My T-Mo M919 is currently running an old SlimKat Android 4.4.4 from August 2014. I'm on the MDL bootloader and NB4 GSM modem at the moment. It's running mostly OK, with some camera freezes, some issues with battery drain when Bluetooth is on but not connected to a paired device or in use (wakelock prevents deep sleep... possibly app related?), and I've noticed the ATT Visual Voicemail app, when used to listen to a voicemail, kills subsequent phone call audio/microphone requiring reboot.
2. I've gotten used to Android 5.1(.1) on my tablet and I'd like to make the jump up to Lollipop on my phone, too. So I'm mostly looking at ROMs that are either 5.1 or 5.1.1. However, I'm considering as an outside contender just getting the OH3 firmware for the M919, doing the double flash to get me all the way there, then rooting and freezing Samsung crapware.
3. My criteria are: STABILITY. I don't need a lot of customization. I just want the thing to work. This includes being able to use the camera without it freezing, and being able to use my visual voicemail app without it nuking the phone function of the... uh... phone.
4. I use the phone mostly as an email / texting / forum-browsing device that a few times a week is actually used as a phone to make voice calls. I occasionally tether other devices to the phone's wifi. This needs to work without a hitch.
5. I use Bluetooth to pair with my car's audio system and I need that to be smooth. I recall in the KitKat days there were lots of complaints about glitch pairing/audio. My Slimkat has worked well with the car audio (a late model Toyota); no glitches. I want something that will have stable Bluetooth audio.
My current planned front-runner is the 5.1 GPE ROM by Danvdh. It seems quite stable from reading the thread.
Team Radium's ROM also looks promising.
On the AOSP side, the relatively pure AOSP recently posted by AntaresOne looks good. And I've run Dirty Unicorns before, in the 4.4 days before I moved to SlimKat. That was a good experience. And of course I hear the Slim folks are rebooting so SlimPop or whatever is an option.
I'd like any good direction, focused on stability rather than artwork or customizability, that will help me decide. Thanks!

Frankenscript said:
I'd like any good direction, focused on stability rather than artwork or customizability, that will help me decide. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, if your focus is on stability rather than artwork/customizability, you're best off flashing back to stock, as pretty much every 5.1.1 ROM for the S4 is going to have a bug somewhere in it; even in the ones you've mentioned, there are bug complaints in their respective threads.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Free mobile app

This is definitely something I'm considering, but I'd really like to move to 5.1(.1), so I'm willing to give a ROM a try. It sucks that T-Mo never released Lollipop for the M919. I figure if I pick the most stable / settled-in Pop ROM, maybe it will work out. If not I'll drop back to stock 4.4.4 OH3, then freeze out the crap.