4.4.x Debloated debugged stable ROM? - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm new to the tab s, and I hope there is a stable and relatively bug free ROM that is not lollipop. Marshmallow is too new, so I hope for kitkat. I really like Cyanogenmod, but it looks like the earliest CM ROM is 12.x which, I believe, is android 5. Yuk. Not interested in terrible battery life. Any suggestion for a real solid, fast, debugged ROM for the SM-T700? I'm getting my new tablet tomorrow, and I'll be ready to root, backup and reROM right away. Hate the bloat! Thanks!

Not quite sure what you mean about terrible battery life. How is that related to lollipop?

gruuvin said:
I'm new to the tab s, and I hope there is a stable and relatively bug free ROM that is not lollipop. Marshmallow is too new, so I hope for kitkat. I really like Cyanogenmod, but it looks like the earliest CM ROM is 12.x which, I believe, is android 5. Yuk. Not interested in terrible battery life. Any suggestion for a real solid, fast, debugged ROM for the SM-T700? I'm getting my new tablet tomorrow, and I'll be ready to root, backup and reROM right away. Hate the bloat! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since a few days have passed, and I've done a lot more reading than the average person wants to do to answer these questions, and I've flashed a new ROM, I'll answer my own questions for others looking into similar questions.
It looks like many devices out there have suffered from the Android 4 to Android 5 updates, especially those forced by manufacturers. The biggest undesirable symptom being painfully reduced battery life. This is debated all over, especially since your mileage may vary. Since you can find these complaints much more frequently than with other Android upgrades, and since Google quickly released Android 6, it's safe to say there are legitimate issues here. Often people claim no such issues if upgrading to Android 5.1 (instead of Android 5.0) and/or if upgrading via a full wipe then clean flash. And since this is not explicitly the conventional update method for most users (again, mfg pushes update) then it's reasonable to assume updates from Android 4 to Android 5 may really just flat out "SUCK". Whether it's Google's fault or phone MFGs fault, it makes no difference to the end user; they will avoid the version of Android if they can't trust it.
As far as a better, stable, debloated KitKat (Android 4.4.x) ROM goes ...... sorry, too late. Pretty much all focus has been on getting Android 5 working properly. There are CyanogenMod 11 ROMs for the T700, but don't hold your breath for anything "official". I am now running CyanogenMod 12.1 (Android 5.1) and it seems stable with no issues so far and the battery life doesn't seem much worse than it was when running stock the TouchWiz KitKat, which was nice but heavily bloated. This is after root, TWRP, backup, full wipe, then flash CM12.1 and gapps.
My first choice ROM would have been LiquidSmooth, because a lot of praise was given it for being stable and bug-free, but all the download links are dead, the website(s) are pretty lame, and the last builds are almost a year old, so I gave CM a shot, since there are still recent nightly builds, and it is working well.
On a side note: Android 6 (M) third party ROMS are still yet to be stable on all sorts of devices out there, and Google is about to release Android N, possibly as Android 7.
Cmon Google, get it together. Slow down and do things right, and quit making things worse, like the exSDcard restrictions.

Related

[GT-I9195] Basic CyanogenMod questions

Dear person reading this,
I've recently received an S4 mini, specifically the I9195 and I immediately got annoyed by the stock firmware. The sounds, the look, you probably know it. Since I've been using CM11 on my I9001 for a nice while I was wondering what the status of CM11 on this phone is like?
On the CM website I've seen there are no stable releases yet, so are the nightlies useable on a day-to-day basis? In other words, would you recommend flashing CM11? Are there any features which won't work?
As for the process of flashing itself, I've found this thread which seems to provide a nice overview, so I'm guessing that shouldn't pose any problems.
My apologies if this thread is a bit noobish, I've been reading around a bit but couldn't really find a nice up-to-date overview
Thanks and regards,
Marshian
If you use your S4 mini for anything serious, CM11 is still way too full of bugs. That's gonna change sooner or later, but for now I'd let CM11 wait unless you just use your S4 mini as a toy.
Check the opening post of this thread for a (long) list of bugs in S4 CM11: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2558702
Until CM11 is done squashing bugs, the best ROM for S4 mini is a rooted stock ROM, debloated by freezing/removing all the junk that Samsung slapped on, and modded with Xposed.
For a list of what you can freeze/remove (with an explanation of what you freeze/remove): http://android.site666.info/indexapks.htm
Essential (imo) Xposed modules for S4: Downloads2SD, Pictures2SD, Wanam Xposed, XPrivacy, and XVolume.
If you have a KitKat (stock) ROM you'll need HandleExternalStorage too.
Essential app to get rid of annoying sounds: Ultimate Sound Control.
I'm using CM11 on my GT-I9195 and its the only phone I have. The bugs don't hinder everyday use (WhatsApp, chrome, phone calls, SMS) generally except for the odd nightly that causes bootloops or FCs. You can avoid that by waiting for someone to post in the discussion thread whether the latest nightly is bootable or causes any FCs.
As for flashing CM11, the guide you linked is good if you don't care for the warranty. Since you bought your phone recently its likely to have the KNOX flag which signifies whether the phone has been custom-flashed before and I'm most countries this KNOX flag, if tripped, will render your warranty void.
To check if you are on KNOX boot loader, boot into Download mode and see if there is any mention of KNOX.
If there is, there is a guide on how to not trip the KNOX flag while rooting.
IMHO any of KitKat's custom ROM is not mature enough. Still many things to implement for the developers, regardless of being stable or not. Though if better OS resource management is what you after than KitKat is unbeatable. After all, it was Google's intention.
However, any of the JB custom ROM variant are relatively stable and mature, despite some still has the 'beta' tag.
As for TouchWiz ROM, there's a limit to what you can do in terms of optimizing/de-bloat. Unless it a heavily modded TW based ROM. That my experience coming from S3.
TNCS said:
IMHO any of KitKat's custom ROM is not mature enough. Still many things to implement for the developers, regardless of being stable or not. Though if better OS resource management is what you after than KitKat is unbeatable. After all, it was Google's intention.
However, any of the JB custom ROM variant are relatively stable and mature, despite some still has the 'beta' tag.
As for TouchWiz ROM, there's a limit to what you can do in terms of optimizing/de-bloat. Unless it a heavily modded TW based ROM. That my experience coming from S3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input! (This also applies to everyone else who replied )
In terms of warranty, I don't have any anyway. Though it's a brand new phone, I got it as a prize from a competition so there's no way for me to go back to the store and prove I bought it there. Therefore, I don't mind triggering the KNOX-flag.
For now I'll stay away from CM11 then (though it runs really nicely on my S+), but would it be a better idea to mod the stock ROM until it stops sucking or flash CM10.2 (or another version?) on there? It looks like the bug-list for CM10.2 is quite small. Do you know of any features missing there?
Marshian said:
Thanks for your input! (This also applies to everyone else who replied )
In terms of warranty, I don't have any anyway. Though it's a brand new phone, I got it as a prize from a competition so there's no way for me to go back to the store and prove I bought it there. Therefore, I don't mind triggering the KNOX-flag.
For now I'll stay away from CM11 then (though it runs really nicely on my S+), but would it be a better idea to mod the stock ROM until it stops sucking or flash CM10.2 (or another version?) on there? It looks like the bug-list for CM10.2 is quite small. Do you know of any features missing there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend any custom ROM based on JB. There's no feature missing as I'm aware of. Personally I'm on SlimJB which I've modified a bit myself. KitKat simplay requires time to mature. Even at AOSP the swtich from davilk requires time. Just my two cents.
Marshian said:
For now I'll stay away from CM11 then (though it runs really nicely on my S+), but would it be a better idea to mod the stock ROM until it stops sucking or flash CM10.2 (or another version?) on there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am very happy sticking with the last stable 10.2. It is reliable, quick, and battery drain is minimal (I use Gravity Screen Pro but the main power savings come from using Cyanogens advanced wifi settings).
You can always backup everything and try out a CM11.
xbin said:
I am very happy sticking with the last stable 10.2. It is reliable, quick, and battery drain is minimal (I use Gravity Screen Pro but the main power savings come from using Cyanogens advanced wifi settings).
You can always backup everything and try out a CM11.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be going with the same solution once my microSIM and new microSD arrive, thanks!

3 years and the stable daily driver you use?

Hi,
Will try not to make this a 'best rom' thread!
More than 3 years since GNex came out, so what's our opinion?
The developers have been more than generous to devout their time in increasing the GNex life by months and years.
Which ROM as per each of us, we have been using the longest as daily drivers?
Criteria -
a. No lags/minimum lags despite using over months.
b. Good battery life.
I will tell mine - remember to have used PA 3.92 for more than 5-6 months. Thereafter it has been 'yet-to-find my stable' journey.
So which one would you recommend?
Cheers,
Roy
Been running PA 2.57 for >2.5 yrs.
I've found JB 4.1.2's tablet mode to be the best version of Android when it comes to one handed user friendliness.
I just installed SlimKat 9.0, which I've been very happy with for about a week!
I think this old phone may last me another year!
Slimkat 9.0. I've used it since it came out, and it has been the most stable for me on KK. I haven't used many of the L builds, due to my personal opinion that L is beyond Toro's capabilities. I have tried most of the popular ROMs for toro, across android version bases, but have found slim 9.0 to be my favorite overall.
quickdraw86 said:
Slimkat 9.0. I've used it since it came out, and it has been the most stable for me on KK. I haven't used many of the L builds, due to my personal opinion that L is beyond Toro's capabilities. I have tried most of the popular ROMs for toro, across android version bases, but have found slim 9.0 to be my favorite overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you say it's beyond your phone's capabilities? The newest 5.1 zMod Lollipop build for my Maguro phone runs very well on my device...the only limiting factor is the fact that our device has very low free RAM compared to newer phones, and apps since then have become more bloated so that doesn't help matters as well.
Culex316 said:
Why would you say it's beyond your phone's capabilities? The newest 5.1 zMod Lollipop build for my Maguro phone runs very well on my device...the only limiting factor is the fact that our device has very low free RAM compared to newer phones, and apps since then have become more bloated so that doesn't help matters as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly as you stated... Limited free ram, lack of official driver and radio support (I use toro, our last official update was to 4.2.2 AFAIK).
I've tried some custom ROMs, and I haven't found ANY to be "VERY" stable. The problem with software development is it's difficult and boring. To make a stable ROM, a developer must spend years fixing boring bugs on an old version, rather than switching to a fun new version. And what volunteer developer wants a boring hobby? The newest version is always more exciting, even if it is functionally worse.
Everyone agrees that Google's 4.3 for Galaxy Nexus is worse than 4.2, right? So even Google couldn't get the new version right. I predict that if we tested many different ROMs, the best would be an old 4.2 or 4.1 version. Like AOKP or PA, for example.
I've been using Unofficial PA ROM with 4.4.4 and it has decent battery life and best if all its very smooth. Probably the smoothest ROM on this Android version ive found to date. So definitely recommend it and like I said the battery life is good. Not great.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app

Where to start?

So I've order an OPPO find 7 and from looking around and reading various sources I think that I will definitely change the original OS. In my opinion it doesn't look too appealing, in fact it looks like an early, cheap smartphone GUI and the fact that it apparently drains battery life pretty fast.
So my question is where do I start when it comes to custom ROMS? I have rooted my phone in the past, but it would have been nearly 3 years ago now so I know a little a bit about rooting my phone from what I remember however with this phone I don't know what ROM to download. Also I would like to know of any stable ROMS as I prefer stable ROMS although I also like simplicity. An example would be being able to install a stable lollipop on the phone? Is this possible? Or even a stable version of cyanogenmod as that looks appealing. Another problem that I have read about is that when people do this they can't access memory on their phone and the camera app doesn't include many features, so how would I combat this?
All in all it would be very useful for you to put links to well known ROMS and other important features that you recommend me to install.
- Thank you, MrDecy.
Hey there MrDecy, welcome to the Find 7 club.
There's two or three major options that I would suggest.
First, Cyanogenmod. I know their business practices haven't been stellar, but I really have found nothing wrong with any of their nightlies. I update nearly every day and never once have been disappointed by their performance or battery life. If you do get Cyanogenmod, you can also flash Maxxaudio and the Oppo camera to complete your experience. The only thing is that I haven't been able to get the unified storage to work, despite some people saying that it does.
Next is NamelessROM. It's basically Cyanogenmod but with a few Oppo-specific features and unified storage support. You can also flash Maxxaudio and the Oppo camera too, since it's based on CM. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the early builds of the rom, I have found the later versions to be much more buggy. That being said, I haven't tried the rom in about a month or two, so things may have changed since then.
Finally, there's Oppo's new Lollipop AOSP rom. It's just meant for the people that want stock and nothing else, and doesn't come with Maxxaudio or the Oppo camera, but once again you can find those and flash them. Root is apparently working now, but when I was testing this ROM for Oppo, I couldn't figure out how to keep my root, so if rooting is a must, I might stay away. This is developed by Oppo though, and comes with the latest screen drivers, baseband and all that stuff, which should make for some really good battery life. It does also come with support for Unified storage. However, I have not tested the new one yet to see how well it performs.
Good luck with the flashing! I know this is super late, but I hope it can help you a bit.
Hi MrDecy
The Oppo developed AOSP is my daily driver and have rooted it by flashing via TWRP (the SuperSU ZipV2.49). The Oppo AOSP was announced a few weeks now and since release I have not experience any issue so far. The ROM was developed by Oppo and was meant to be bare and stock to suit the requirements of those who wish the bare android. It is light, fast and stripped of all the bloatwares usually found in the COS. I was able to install the COS camera as I find this oppo camera good. Do your research and I recommend also the OppoForum as it provides many information I believe could provide answers to most of your questions regarding ROMs. For instance the COS I have tried and tested the different versions, and the version intended for China which was based on the kitkat 4.4.4 is the smoothest in my opinion compared to the international version which comes still in the 4.4.2 release of android. The Chinese COS I used for more than 6-months and I find it okay. Oppo provided the APPs necessary to have a good experience of the hardware features of the Find 7 or 7a. Example is the Maxxaudio which I am currently trying to install to AOSP. It all depends on you taste if you prefer the stock android feel then go with the Oppo AOSP (It is stable). Also get the feel of COS first anyway other options are accessible here in XDA and the Oppo forum.
Cheers

opinions? Which modern ROM for biz-use on Samsung Note3 hlte/TMobile ?

My ofc has a bunch of Samsung Note3 (hlte/TMobile) phones.
Hardware's still perfectly capable.
I need/want them to be -- as much as possible -- rooted, bloat-free, stable(ish) daily driver, using a well-supported current ROM, can live without themeing whistles-n-bells.
For a long while, that's been CyanogenMod. Even though a 'stable' v12 (Lollipop-based) release never saw the light of day, the nightlies have been generally reliable.
Of late, the situation's changed a bit ...
v12 hasn't seen a nightly since May 8.
There's no official v13 -- nightly or otherwise.
v13 *is* available as a completely unofficial solution on XDA, but afaict, the dev's busy as heck -- and there's only one of him.
Questions asked at the forums re: v13 get snark from the moderators.
Works for some. Not for my situation.
Sooooo, I'm looking for opinions. What hlte-ROM gets me closest to my criteria^? ideally on Marshmallow -- with , at least, a plan for N?
Reading through these forums, my first leaning is to Resurrection.
I will make some time to DL and test a few, of course.
But I'd certainly appreciate some thoughtful comments/suggestions.
Thanks.
Would be interested in this, too.
You're not alone. I plan to use the Note 3 for another year, as you said the hardware is perfectly capable. I'd like to run a stable version of Marshmallow at a minimum. I have the same concerns regarding stability, no bloat, root, etc.
dkranes said:
You're not alone. I plan to use the Note 3 for another year, as you said the hardware is perfectly capable. I'd like to run a stable version of Marshmallow at a minimum. I have the same concerns regarding stability, no bloat, root, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be very stable, Lollipop is still the way to go honestly. There are some hardware limitations when concerning Android 6.0+ on the Note 3. But for Marshmallow you could try our Dominion s7 v2.2 ROM. It's in the T-Mobile Note 3 development section. It's Marshmallow 6.0.1 and is stable as the rest of the 6.0+ ROM's. You also retain the S Pen functions unlike something like CM or a purely AOSP ROM. It also has the Screen Off Memo feature from the Note 5.
ludeawakening said:
To be very stable, Lollipop is still the way to go honestly. There are some hardware limitations when concerning Android 6.0+ on the Note 3. But for Marshmallow you could try our Dominion s7 v2.2 ROM. It's in the T-Mobile Note 3 development section. It's Marshmallow 6.0.1 and is stable as the rest of the 6.0+ ROM's. You also retain the S Pen functions unlike something like CM or a purely AOSP ROM. It also has the Screen Off Memo feature from the Note 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion. I will give it a shot today.
fyi,
Cyanogen Inc. reportedly fires OS development arm, switches to apps
I'm not holding my breath for ongoing Cyanogenmod development for the Note3 ...
n756gkj said:
fyi,
Cyanogen Inc. reportedly fires OS development arm, switches to apps
I'm not holding my breath for ongoing Cyanogenmod development for the Note3 ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't know the difference between cyanogen and cyanogenmod, you have wasted your time in XDA.
googlephone said:
If you don't know the difference between cyanogen and cyanogenmod, you have wasted your time in XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, the usual irrelevant drivel ... Didn't take long.
> If you don't know the difference between cyanogen and cyanogenmod, you have wasted your time in XDA.
Riiiiight. That's the issue. 'cuz there's NO correlation whatsoever between dev & devs at Cyanogen and Cyanogenmod project, and with the troubles at the Co, there'll be a sudden uptick in dev & support @ Cyangenmod. I'm sure new devs will start flocking to the platform too ...

Choosing a ROM

I want to upgrade my tablet but don't know which ROM to choose (it's a jungle out there).
I want "stock" Android or as close as possible. Also highest version number possible.
And stability is of course a requirement.
I just want to install once and then use my tablet. Not going to mess around more than required.
liquid death os was just discontinued but it was the best ive run on this tablet. the dev went to AICP which was just released in pre-alpha. its worth a shot but i haven't spent much time on it. both are android 7.1
Lineage is closest to stock (and pretty great last time I checked). I am using AICP as I love the customization options, and I have had no problems on it. It's actually been less buggy for me than Liquid Death was. It is on 7.1.2. I have experienced no stability issues whatsoever in the last 5 days of heavy use.
I'd definitely recommend checking out the threads for both in the development section and seeing what you think would work best for you.

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