Best practices to cope with crashes that cannot be reproduced? - Testing

Hello developers and testers,
During last year I have had hard time fixing problems in an android app, as these problems happened only for beta testers on specific devices and could not be reproduced on other devices.
Going to devices farms, I found same devices but problems were not happening there ! Probably difference in firmware versions ...
The app was heavily depending on underlying hardware (sensors) and worked with 3rd party SDKs, which was the most affecting factor I think.
I was wondering:
- Does same situation happens to you ? How often ?
- how do you cope with this situation ?
- what can be improved in the development/testing process from your professional point of view ?
Thanks!

Related

*Known Issues*

I was just thinking looking through all these new roms or just roms in general and it hard to determine which one on many levels. I just thought of an idea we should have a known issues for each rom or atleast the newer ones. I think it will be easier for people to address the problem or atleast see all the known issues with that rom. I think this would help out the developers alot too. This will save me 78 pages of looking through to see known problems. So it will just be there within a few pages.
chicmagnet2k4 said:
I was just thinking looking through all these new roms or just roms in general and it hard to determine which one on many levels. I just thought of an idea we should have a known issues for each rom or atleast the newer ones. I think it will be easier for people to address the problem or atleast see all the known issues with that rom. I think this would help out the developers alot too. This will save me 78 pages of looking through to see known problems. So it will just be there within a few pages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the developers have a list of known issues and what is under development for the next revision at the beginning of their thread. There is no easy way to select a new ROM. I have narrowed my search for a Version 6.1 ROM to a couple of developers.
I also have been following the experiences of other users that have have a similar confirguration to mine. For example, same country and same service provider.
jws3 said:
Most of the developers have a list of known issues and what is under development for the next revision at the beginning of their thread. There is no easy way to select a new ROM. I have narrowed my search for a Version 6.1 ROM to a couple of developers.
I also have been following the experiences of other users that have have a similar confirguration to mine. For example, same country and same service provider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not meaning just known issues but people have alot of other minor or they dont know what to do issues ie battery drain sync keyboard or running application issues and when there hidden in between 56 pages its hard for people to see what some of the issues that might be problems with that certain rom or it harder for developers to have to go through 32 pages of stuff to find what they need to address or fix. It's just an idea maybe to implement with newer verison or newer roms.
chicmagnet2k4 said:
I'm not meaning just known issues but people have alot of other minor or they dont know what to do issues ie battery drain sync keyboard or running application issues and when there hidden in between 56 pages its hard for people to see what some of the issues that might be problems with that certain rom or it harder for developers to have to go through 32 pages of stuff to find what they need to address or fix. It's just an idea maybe to implement with newer verison or newer roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The developers here usually do a pretty good job in following their own ROM's thread so they know what trouble people are having. Incidentally, that's one of my benchmarks for a good ROM: a cook that watches his thread and responds to people in trouble.
The problem is that 9 out of 10 people with problems have either third-party software conflicts or hardware problems or are just plain ignorant. (To be fair, I have of course made my share of ignorant posts as well.) To say that these are ROM issues is a little unfair I think.
larsuck said:
The problem is that 9 out of 10 people with problems have either third-party software conflicts or hardware problems or are just plain ignorant. (To be fair, I have of course made my share of ignorant posts as well.) To say that these are ROM issues is a little unfair I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a lot of truth in what you say. ROMs on their own are usually ok; its the combination of software and install methods that leads to problems. The thing is no matter how hard you shout people always assume that its the ROM or the cook.
Case in point; I have been using Kin0kins ROMs for a little while now whilst I wait for Schaps to produce his killer ROM with the 21st century interface. K's roms are rock solid stable and fast and yet I had an instability problem after the last install.
Going through the painfull routine of "forensic investigation" of my install I discovered two things:
- I had inadvertently loaded up some software onto the SD card which had known instability problems if installed in this way. Once sorted, hey presto, one issue solved.
- 2nd issue was caused by a similar install but using software that was polled on a regular basis. Once the device went into hibernate mode it crashed, simply because the card could not wake up quickly enough to handle the software request.
Loading up old versions of software incompatible with WM6 is another popular one that tends to cause issues. Bottom line is there just is no substitute for rigour and research prior to software installs to ensure the good operation of a rom with the benefit of stability.
WB
larsuck said:
The developers here usually do a pretty good job in following their own ROM's thread so they know what trouble people are having. Incidentally, that's one of my benchmarks for a good ROM: a cook that watches his thread and responds to people in trouble.
The problem is that 9 out of 10 people with problems have either third-party software conflicts or hardware problems or are just plain ignorant. (To be fair, I have of course made my share of ignorant posts as well.) To say that these are ROM issues is a little unfair I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is somewhat true but isnt all of my arguement I am a new member here and felt overwhelm when trying to look for a nice stable fast rom to flash and I thought about what made it hard for me. Which was there are tons of un needed comments so its like you have to go through 77 pages trying to see what this rom is about. Its overwhelming and crazy, if my way isnt all the way complete or just a bit too much it would be great for someone to think of a way to make it easier for a newbie or just people in general.

[Q] Problem with Viber on CM9 4.0.4

viber cannot installed on my cm9 rom how can i fix this ?
viber team support answer
this is viber team answer
Since the Android OS covers a large array of devices, and each device must be tweaked and accommodated individually. And since we are working around the clock testing compatibility in devices and applying the proper adjustments, you can understand that we are not able to test all Android devices available world wide. However, we do flag all strange behavior and adjustments happen very quickly, and as soon as we are confident that the fixes are stable, we release to you another update. Issues on custom ROM devices cannot be duplicated by our testing department, since we can mirror such devices.
Jellybean: Is compatible with Viber version 2.2.1.21 and up.
For supported devices, see here:
http://helpme.viber.com/index.php?/...oid-compatible-with-viber-system-requirements
CANT DOWNLOAD for your device, see here:
http://helpme.viber.com/index.php?/...View/100/16/cant-download-from-android-market
nima.sharon said:
this is viber team answer
Since the Android OS covers a large array of devices, and each device must be tweaked and accommodated individually. And since we are working around the clock testing compatibility in devices and applying the proper adjustments, you can understand that we are not able to test all Android devices available world wide. However, we do flag all strange behavior and adjustments happen very quickly, and as soon as we are confident that the fixes are stable, we release to you another update. Issues on custom ROM devices cannot be duplicated by our testing department, since we can mirror such devices.
Jellybean: Is compatible with Viber version 2.2.1.21 and up.
For supported devices, see here:
http://helpme.viber.com/index.php?/...oid-compatible-with-viber-system-requirements
CANT DOWNLOAD for your device, see here:
http://helpme.viber.com/index.php?/...View/100/16/cant-download-from-android-market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting

[Q] State of 5.1 Lollipop in our Galaxy Nexus

Hello.
Well, I've been reading the threads of the ROMS with recent updates but to be frank there's some confusion and seriously too many pages to read and get the whole idea of the state of lollipop for our gramps nexus.
What I got from all the search and reading:
- Most roms have problems with offline charging and video recording (green lines?);
[Q] - Is this only happening in the Galaxy Nexus or is every device experiencing this (apart, obviously, from the officially supported ones)
- There's no f2fs support (or it is partially missing);
[Q] - Is f2fs really important performance wise? Has anyone tried to convert the roms and gave feedback? How is it?
I'm using kitkat with f2fs and I did notice some improvements over ext4 that's why I'm asking if it is the same with lollipop or it is now redundant.
Well, I know that those questions could be easily answered by testing all the roms and I am really wanting to do that but I'm using my nexus as my only phone and daily driver and I don't have a replacement phone in case something goes wrong so I can't really test and flash like crazy with roms that are still beta. That's why I'm asking this, I want to get into the lollipop world but I can only to that when lollipop reaches a somewhat stable state without major lags and no bugs (like kitkat has been since early last year).
I also would like to suggest a creation of a role thread for ROMs, making the threads graphically similar. That would help the developers and the users since the users would have the info they need in places they are used to search for, and developers wouldn't need to think of ways to put their info on, they could use the pre made model and just edit it with their info and links.
I would also suggest an update in the thread titles (rom ones) since there are some threads that don't have updated dates of "last build" or android version and it becomes confusing. I know that the developers have more important things to do but they don't need to do it themselves, I believe that there is many people here who can take care of that by editing it acording to the respective developer's standards or orders, I wouldn't mind to do it for example. And that could also incentivate the non developer guys to actively contribute to the forums organization.
Well, best regards and sorry if I was not so clear as I'm not used to long talk in english

[UNOFFICIAL/EXPERIMENTAL][ROM] Lineage 13.0 Resurrection Project ONLY for SM-T560NU

Info:
Target Device: SM-T560NU only (gtelwifiue)
OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Variant: LineageOS 13.0
Status: Usable as daily driver, but still to be considered experimental
This project is a side project of mine to bring Lineage 13.0 back to the SM-T560NU.
I recently purchased one of these, and use a few apps that have not been updated in years. These apps do not work on Nougat, therefore I needed Marshmallow.
vince2678 had a great Lineage 13.0 build, but had started to shift his efforts towards the more popular and updated Android Nougat by the time that I got this tablet. vince had started to warn that he was going to be dropping Marshmallow to focus on Nougat.
Therefore, using his code base, and attempting to apply some more modern patches to keep Lineage 13.0 up to date, I started creating my own builds in private. There was one single, obsecure link to it, on my website, and it was discovered. Since the community has shown interest in this project, and vince has now officially dropped support for 13.0, I am willing to release my private builds.
Please keep in mind that while vince's builds were designed to be as stock as possible, my builds are tailored towards my needs.
They are not perfect, but they work for me. There are still some issues to be ironed out, and sometimes new issues sneak in when you think you are just building a security update
But, since you wanted them, here they are. At the time of this post there is only one, but this will grow over time, when I have spare time to try to fix any issues and apply security updates.
All builds use my optimized kernel.
Releases and known issues:
You can find my builds over at:
https://losupd.zefie.net/builds/full/?C=M;O=D
lineage-13.0_j199_20170720
Android Security Patch Level: July 1, 2017
USB MIDI Support (example video of controlling Logic Pro X with the SM-T560NU)
No changes to previous issues in this build (same issues apply)
lineage-13.0_j196_20170617
Android Security Patch Level: June 1, 2017
AudioFX is missing (disabled in build due to unsolved issue in ROM causing crashes)
Updater is untested. You may or may not get a notification when a new build is available.
Flashing the recovery that comes with these builds is advised against. It may work but is untested. Use my TWRP Build.
Device encryption does not yet work
There is a strange issue that prevents you from taking still images using the built-in camera app. Preview and video works. As a workaround, use any third party camera app. I suggest Open Camera.
Just flashed it, everything works great so far.
Ive tried and liked very much
Smooth and lightweight
So far for me the camera dont work but i can record video
Also the encrypt tablet option does not seem to work (I select the option in the security part of the settings screen, it restarts tablet and thats it)
Other than that it seems to be perfect
Thanks for all the hard work
Solidium said:
Ive tried and liked very much
Smooth and lightweight
So far for me the camera dont work but i can record video
Also the encrypt tablet option does not seem to work (I select the option in the security part of the settings screen, it restarts tablet and thats it)
Other than that it seems to be perfect
Thanks for all the hard work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I knew about the encryption but the camera issue is interesting and strange. I just tried it and see what you mean.
I will see what I can do about these issues in the next update, which will probably be mid-august.
Thanks for the report.
The issue seems to be with the Camera app itself, and not any issues with communicating with the hardware (despite the error message), since other camera apps appear to work fine.
In the mean time, if you would like to take still images with this build, I would suggest this great and free (ad free as well) camera app from the play store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en
I have just tested it (with both rear and front cameras) and it can take still images.
560?
Is it compatible with T560 only ? Whats the difference between T560 and T560NU maybe US Market? or what the difference and where i can get a custom Recovery for the Tab?
bluedesire said:
Is it compatible with T560 only ? Whats the difference between T560 and T560NU maybe US Market? or what the difference and where i can get a custom Recovery for the Tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is for the T560NU only, not T560. From what I know they have entirely different processors so there is no way for a universal ROM.
Thanks for this amazing rom. I noticed following: can't change the size of analog clock and sound on the speaker is not very strong.
jon355 said:
Thanks for this amazing rom. I noticed following: can't change the size of analog clock and sound on the speaker is not very strong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The clock issue is likely upstream, since I can't think of anything I did that would prevent resizing of widgets, and other widgets appear to be resizable.
But I will look into it.
Speaker issue noted, there was some issue with the internal mic being too low that I tweaked, I may have to check the values for the speaker.
Edit: personal tests show speaker volume is fine. any louder could damage the speaker. if the volume is low, check that the tablet is not laying on a soft surface or something that would otherwise muffle the speaker in the back. When not obstructed, the speaker volume seems fine to me.
Any progress on Audio FX and Camera issues?
Jacsd said:
Any progress on Audio FX and Camera issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I have not had the time to work on this in a while. When I don't have time I just update the source and build (and hope it works) for the security updates. This only takes a couple of minutes as the build process does all the work. One should be coming in the next few weeks. Once the automated build finishes, I test it locally for about an hour and if its good, I release it.
I am not sure when I will have time to actually sit and go through the code to try to debug it to fix the outstanding issues. This can take hours or even days of dedicated time which I just don't have at the moment due to trying to keep my bills paid.
Stay tuned to this thread for updates though, and I apologize for the delay.
zefie said:
The clock issue is likely upstream, since I can't think of anything I did that would prevent resizing of widgets, and other widgets appear to be resizable.
But I will look into it.
Speaker issue noted, there was some issue with the internal mic being too low that I tweaked, I may have to check the values for the speaker.
Edit: personal tests show speaker volume is fine. any louder could damage the speaker. if the volume is low, check that the tablet is not laying on a soft surface or something that would otherwise muffle the speaker in the back. When not obstructed, the speaker volume seems fine to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After uninstalling 3rd party music app, volume is good again.
EDIT:
Unfortunately I am discontinuing this ROM. I made this ROM for my personal use, and it is no longer useful to me, and I do not have the time to debug it. Therefore, I am discontinuing it. The current builds and source will remain up, and if you guys are not having the issues I am having, and would like me to continue doing security updates, I will, so long as it still compiles without much work on my part.
There will be no updates to the existing issues though.
Despite my previous aversion to Android N, I would highly suggest vince's Lineage OS 14.1 builds. They have come a long way since I last tried them, and Android N isn't so bad after all
I haven't gotten a chance to do a logcat or anything, but I'm getting an instant bootloop after installing Nova Launcher.
It wasn't an issue until Nova updated a few weeks ago, and it affects both your builds. That's my favorite launcher, but I guess I can live without it
EDIT: I see that you're discontinuing this, so I guess this post is more of an FYI to other users.

Why bother with unlocking and custom ROMs since MIUI 12?

Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
My 2 cents!
Inviato dal mio Redmi Note 8 Pro utilizzando Tapatalk
jshames said:
Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Though I do agree this phone works best on stock rom, what's your point?
Custom ROMs are useless and it should be like producer intended? That sounds like iPhone.
The beauty of android and custom ROMs comes with the ability to try and pick your own favourite one and customisation. But indeed with this phone's mediatek chip it's not the best choice for custom ROMs.
Personally miui 12 is working and looking fine by me, I just like rooting and debloating it.
But I highly appreciate all development here on XDA.
If you don't, just ignore all development and enjoy your phone out of the box.
I don't mean to demean anybody's choice.
I'm just trying to understand concrete advantages at this point, if any.
​
donkyshot said:
Though I do agree this phone works best on stock rom, what's your point?
Custom ROMs are useless and it should be like producer intended? That sounds like iPhone.
The beauty of android and custom ROMs comes with the ability to try and pick your own favourite one and customisation. But indeed with this phone's mediatek chip it's not the best choice for custom ROMs.
Personally miui 12 is working and looking fine by me, I just like rooting and debloating it.
But I highly appreciate all development here on XDA.
If you don't, just ignore all development and enjoy your phone out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jshames said:
Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I' m quite satisfied with miui12 global, the only thing that's bothering me is the themes store. It doesn't allow changes of caller,sms of status bar,. I'll hope they fix it soon .
Just one simple question: Are you sure that debloating stops the stock rom from constantly sending potentially private data to China?
If you're using Facebook, WhatsApp, GApps and all that stuff it probably won't matter - as you're constantly surveilled anyway and don't seem to care much for privacy - if your data gets sent to China as well.
Can you be sure, custom rom doesn't have backdoors / data leaks by design (call it as you like) installed? Not at all. But with the stock rom I know for sure they are there.
jshames said:
Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. There is no difficulty in unlocking your phone, it takes 168hrs and that's it, be patient. Installing custom recoveries will NOT brick your phone whatsoever, but not following instructions will. The issue with the CFW ROMs is due to MTK processor and lack of monetary motivation for developers that own this phone.
2. My Netflix and banking apps work fine, safety net passes while rooted on a Android 10 GSI ROM.
3. The camera does work, I can record video with EIS (amazing!), shoot 16mb photos, use HDR, astrophotography, and a bunch of other features I don't use. While the camera is a work in progress and did require a lot of testing/comparing, I have everything working, feature wise, that I had on MIUI.
4. Bricking only happens if you don't fully read. MTK processor phones have a lot more "traps" than Qualcomm. Are you going to avoid a classic car because of all the required maintenance on it versus a new car? No. I only ever bricked my phone when working with CFW ROMs. What does that tell you?
5. OTA? Are you're referring to keeping up to date with security updates? The ROM I'm running now has the latest security patch? Or are you saying flashing ROMs is too involved and you rather just tap a button and be done, which is nice too. Xiaomi publicly said they're not issuing updates for this phone next year, so where is your OTA then?
Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're comparing apples to oranges here. A refrigerator is not a smart device, and while a TV can be considered smart, there's nothing to upgrade or remove. Do you run stock Windows on your home computer or do you replace the OS with something better with less bugs? And in fact, I do swap engines from different cars into my car. Upgrading parts and wiring and software for the same car.
At the end of the day, if you want to flash ROMs and have ZERO chance of bricking, go with a GSI ROM. Zero bloatware/spyware, no notification issues, no battery drain, and infinite customizability. Start with Quack and go from there. If you want something that works with zero effort, stay stock.
XNyle said:
Just one simple question: Are you sure that debloating stops the stock rom from constantly sending potentially private data to China?
If you're using Facebook, WhatsApp, GApps and all that stuff it probably won't matter - as you're constantly surveilled anyway and don't seem to care much for privacy - if your data gets sent to China as well.
Can you be sure, custom rom doesn't have backdoors / data leaks by design (call it as you like) installed? Not at all. But with the stock rom I know for sure they are there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can never be sure, on any rom.
Bloatware is not all about safety or privacy, it's more about removing unnecessary files to save memory and disk space.
For instance, my root storage on miui 12 is just over 70%, where it used to be somewhere over 90%.
Ram optimised is 3 GB out of 6.
Besides removing, freezing apps is helping too.
OK, I understand you have dealt with the negative side of the equation, in terms of overcoming the obstacles. But what are the actual benefits?
In the past stock ROMs are stock android were fairly restrictive. This is no longer the case. Can you give a few examples of things you can do with a CFW that are exclusive?
wang1chung said:
1. There is no difficulty in unlocking your phone, it takes 168hrs and that's it, be patient. Installing custom recoveries will NOT brick your phone whatsoever, but not following instructions will. The issue with the CFW ROMs is due to MTK processor and lack of monetary motivation for developers that own this phone.
2. My Netflix and banking apps work fine, safety net passes while rooted on a Android 10 GSI ROM.
3. The camera does work, I can record video with EIS (amazing!), shoot 16mb photos, use HDR, astrophotography, and a bunch of other features I don't use. While the camera is a work in progress and did require a lot of testing/comparing, I have everything working, feature wise, that I had on MIUI.
4. Bricking only happens if you don't fully read. MTK processor phones have a lot more "traps" than Qualcomm. Are you going to avoid a classic car because of all the required maintenance on it versus a new car? No. I only ever bricked my phone when working with CFW ROMs. What does that tell you?
5. OTA? Are you're referring to keeping up to date with security updates? The ROM I'm running now has the latest security patch? Or are you saying flashing ROMs is too involved and you rather just tap a button and be done, which is nice too. Xiaomi publicly said they're not issuing updates for this phone next year, so where is your OTA then?
You're comparing apples to oranges here. A refrigerator is not a smart device, and while a TV can be considered smart, there's nothing to upgrade or remove. Do you run stock Windows on your home computer or do you replace the OS with something better with less bugs? And in fact, I do swap engines from different cars into my car. Upgrading parts and wiring and software for the same car.
At the end of the day, if you want to flash ROMs and have ZERO chance of bricking, go with a GSI ROM. Zero bloatware/spyware, no notification issues, no battery drain, and infinite customizability. Start with Quack and go from there. If you want something that works with zero effort, stay stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jshames said:
OK, I understand you have dealt with the negative side of the equation, in terms of overcoming the obstacles. But what are the actual benefits?
In the past stock ROMs are stock android were fairly restrictive. This is no longer the case. Can you give a few examples of things you can do with a CFW that are exclusive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To clarify, you don't need to be rooted to use non-stock ROMs, and CFW ROMs are not GSI ROMs. Also, using root with the stock ROM works just fine, but then you don't know what else is going on behind the scenes, no matter how much you disable.
I guess I mainly use root for backing up apps/OS/partitions in the event of a brick or data loss. Certain stock apps you can't remove without root, should you choose to remain on the stock ROM. Have you ever spent hours setting up your phone/apps and then lost your data? Doesn't happen with a rooted phone as you can backup both apps (with data) and even the entire ROM with settings. This allows you to test new ROMs, new tweaks, all while easily returning to your previous save state with no ill effects and within minutes. Click a button, get a coffee and it's done. I tested 6 different ROMs and then returned to my current, all within an hour. While I don't necessarily keep the tweaks and ROMs I test, they do shed light on features that I never knew I wanted or even just inspire me to go down new rabbit holes.
On multiple occasions I have been locked out of my phone after an OS update or tweak . Without root, only option is a factory reset and loss of your OS settings. With root, fixed within minutes. Forgot your password on your back up phone, no problem with root.
I think with data harvesting being so popular/rampant, more and more people will leave spyware infested ROMs for vanilla AOSP ROMs.
jshames said:
Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get your point, this is an MTK device, technical difficulties are obvious, but now its easy to switch to custom ROM without downgrading from Android 10, moreover steps are pretty simple if you get it right, not too different than other devices, bricking was already solved with the leaked Preloader and LK, moreover if it weren't for Xiaomi putting Authentication in EDL the device was unbrickable without any hassle, though I get what you want to say, the device gets hard-bricked on most stupid things.
I guess you haven't tried out the CFW 2 and newer builds, they've fixed offline charging, Netflix 1080p and other things, and I personally never had problems with camera, ANX works fine and GCam too, photo quality is obviously better on GCam but 4k video recording is amazing too.
Every device's Custom firmware and ROMs comes with specific difficulties, if you're willing to look beyond this and appreciate how you're going to get Android version updates even after official support ends, the stock, beautiful feel, better performance and battery then I think you're gonna understand why Custom ROMs for this device is so important!
Peace
And by the way I love tinkering with anything that has an processor and runs Linux hehe :silly:
jshames said:
Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you know what you talking about , did you try by your self some of Custom Roms ,spend some time modifying it, tweaks..
every single stuff that you have on MIUI that working, from first rom that come out with 80% we are now on 99 % of stuff that is working, especially NFC, that for me working on My Bootleggers ROM , with Gcam Bural 8 and 64mp working, Astrophotography that is better than MIUI pro mode that you need to searching for best ISO and SEC to get the best star pic, Gcam do that by self,set congif and make amazing photo.. then, XML modules.. thats another long story..
also , full customization of system , Customization of UI , so many options, so many ideas that developers with hard work and great work modify it..
Some of the features that are included on this ROM are:
Code:
* QS Rows and Colums
* Volume Keys: Wake up, skip tracks and switch according to rotation
* Show song album cover, visualizer and battery info on Lockscreen
* Power Menu Items
* Battery LED light settings
* Suspend Actions: Make your device disable GPS and switch to 2G when you're not using it
* AppOps: Manage your apps permissions in an advanced way
* Recent Styles: Dig the new Pie Quickstep recents, go back to the classic layout or use the Android Go layout
* Network icons: Show or hide the cross, switch between 4G or LTE
and the most import thing is NO BLOATWARE !
No Xiaomi application that you force you too use and the second most import thing is NO GOOGLE SERVICES that drain your battery..
you have,smooth ,fast , stable ROM and free hands to make you to look like you want to ,to make it like you want..
this is mine, one week without single crash of any app or random reboot, that is one of thing that blown my mind.. unofficial ROM that is amazing ..
https://youtu.be/Nc7eHRUYGkI
I get it guys.
There are many technical advantages which allow useful tweaks.
All I am saying is that for the typical user, who uses his device for internet, phone, email and Play Store apps, the ability to use these tweaks are not worth the trouble (unlike in the past, when the gap between stock Roms and customs Roms was HUGE).
You cannot tell me that it's easy-- there are scattered threads with advice all over the place, for all kinds of different setups (like what version of MIUI and phone you have, that require searching and putting together multiple posts and threads, figuring out what is up to date, in to figure out what to do, to avoid bricking and other bugs.
This is not criticism of anybody here or the developers. This is just the situation.
I think that some of the highly advanced users here, who perhaps spend hours a day on these forums or in development, have an easier time technically. I must admit that besides Xiaomi's 168 hr wait, the process looks daunting and risky. On this forum, is there a single unified guide that is up to date and reliably takes you through the whole process, even if I already have MIUI 12 installed?
The only point for me is Android update + security patch update in custom ROM.
jshames said:
Following several of the threads here there are recurring themes:
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
4. Bricking, etc
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Although I personally have not gone through all of these on this phone, I have done so on previous phones I've had.
I appreciate the abstract principle of "it's my phone and I should be able to do with it what I want!". Yet we don't have these expectations of any other consumer devices that we buy. For instance I don't expect to be able to custom modify my television, watch or refrigerator. We certainly don't demand that the manufacturer make this easy for us to do. "Hey, why doesn't Toyota let me change out the engine for a Chevy?".
Practically speaking, especially in light of the latest android versions and development of MIUI which are so feature rich, customizable and flexible, IMHO there seems to be so little to gained with unlocking versus the risks and endless time wasted related to the above mentioned issues.
With the factory stock ROM you get, without fussing:
1. SafetyCheck (ie pay apps, Netflix) that just works.
2. OTA
3. All built in hardware that just works. No "BT not working in the latest version", etc
4. In MIUI 12-- the excellent stock camera app which has improved photo performance dramatically, eliminates the need for GCam and all of the fussing with that.
5. Minor bugs that you can live with
I welcome comments here with convincing arguments in favor of custom ROMs, other than just enjoying the tinkering, which in my opinion doesn't justify the disadvantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try and directly answer + add my own stuff.
1. Endless technical difficulties with the process of unlocking, installing custom recoveries and ROMs, downgrading and bricking.
With CFW (Custom Firmware) you can be even safer on custom ROMs, as unbricking will no longer need a Mi Authorised Account. Some users have reported their devices bricking just from updating from MIUI to MIUI, which gave me another reason.
2. Various features of the RN8P not working properly with Rooted/unlocked/ customs ROMs, such as camera, Netflix, bank apps etc.
Camera works even better on custom ROMs, thanks to buffer fix module (can be applied to rooted MIUI). Magisk hide + magisk props will mostly have you covered in terms of banking apps. Netflix is a weird issue, as you either have it crash or Widevine L3 but it works so
3. Endless tinkering with GCam with ambiguous results at best, regarding performance and quality of output.
Nope, not at all. Stock cam was absolutely trash (80% of scenarios) and speaking from an XML creator's point of view, it's just us that has to do the tinkering. You just have to update and pick which XML you prefer. I haven't even bothered to download ANX cam, as GCAM already works well enough for me.
4. Bricking, etc
CFW has you covered here, even when going from A10. Just flash LR TWRP 3.1.1 or 3.3.1 and flash CFW + CFW ROM via recovery and safe.
5. Loss of OTA ability.
Honestly, I don't trust OTAs on MIUI after hearing people were bricked by doing that.
I went to custom ROMs for a peace of mind solution to...
- Better battery.
- Better support.
- Freedom with magisk.
- Trying out new features.
- Less bloatware with NikGapps Omni.
- Sometimes better performance.
So far, I've never felt the need to go back to MIUI.
Stock (global) ROM on my RN8P did not support (or allow) call recording. flashed Indonesia ROM to get that.
I still want to root the phone in order to:
* Backup apps including data with Super Backup
* Add folder shortcuts (for call recordings) to home screen
If there is a way to accomplish these without rooting, I'd love to know how.

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