Hi, I am looking for the best camera app for my D855 with Dirty Unicorn 7.1.2. Can you help me? there is an original camera's porting for aosp?
gianm.93 said:
Hi, I am looking for the best camera app for my D855 with Dirty Unicorn 7.1.2. Can you help me? there is an original camera's porting for aosp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what should i do?
Impossible.
I have tried htc 10 camera port, snap camera hdr, google camera. They are all the same. The best alternative is lg g2 camera port. You can see the difference in low light conditions.
This one:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=146615
You have to downgrade your display resolution to 1920x1080 @ 420 dpi.
Coolgoly said:
This one:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=146615
You have to downgrade your display resolution to 1920x1080 @ 420 dpi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why I have to downscale the screen resolution?
tylerberk said:
Impossible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why the porting is impossible?
gianm.93 said:
Why the porting is impossible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG didn't release the sources.
Why there is LG G2 camera ported (without certain features, but it is), and there aren't any g3 camera port :/
TheBerebian said:
Why there is LG G2 camera ported (without certain features, but it is), and there aren't any g3 camera port :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because no one did it. You can try.
gianm.93 said:
Why I have to downscale the screen resolution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because G2 has a full hd display and this app comes from it.
If you run it on a qhd display like the G3 one you wiil encounter an incorrect visualization.
It's easy to change the resolution and dpi
using terminal emulator,if the phone is rooted
Coolgoly said:
Because G2 has a full hd display and this app comes from it.
If you run it on a qhd display like the G3 one you wiil encounter an incorrect visualization.
It's easy to change the resolution and dpi
using terminal emulator,if the phone is rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy DPI Changer works as well, and it is best to use lg g3 on 1080p res makes the phone much more fast and stable.
Hi, I also miss the superior quality of camera from stock ROM. I was trying to follow some tutorials on porting vendor apps to AOSP (getting the camera apk file, some libraries, framework files and permission files and compiling them all together), but it never worked with the camera. Sadly, I'm pretty sure that if it was possible, somebody smarter would have already done it. With LG being jerks and not releasing the sources, we most likely won't get the stock camera on AOSP, ever. That being said, I can think of four possible ways of dealing with the situation.
First, use stock ROM only. Yes, I know, that sucks. Or stock based ROM such as Fulmics, if you really think there is a difference between these two.
Second option is multirom. I was using it for last few months with LineageOS as primary and stock as secondary ROM, and everytime when I knew I would be taking some photos (when I went to concerts/holidays/celebrations/some unusual stuff), I booted to stock ROM and was good to go.
Third option is to have a TWRP backup of your current system and of stock ROM and restoring the backup of the ROM you want to use (AOSP for daily usage, stock for the days you know you'll be using your camera a lot). The previous (multirom) option is faster and easier to manage, and you can always add new ROMs and experiment as you wish. However, it requieres a custom recovery and I wasn't able to pass SafetyNet test with multirom and LineageOS with Magisk. Also, multirom makes a little bit of a mess at your /system partition. This third option (backing up/restoring system in TWRP) takes longer, the backups are large, but I'm liking that a bit more for some reason - it feels "cleaner" and more transparent to me.
The last option is to be on AOSP and use a camera app of your choice which you find has the best quality. I was experimenting with this a lot and tried dozens of camera apps (including the LG G2 camera port). Honestly, most of the photos were about the same quality. Even the G2 camera wasn't better than the rest I tested. I also compared the test pictures to stock camera (yes, I took the time to reboot to my secondary ROM for every test I was making at that time) and I was very sad that nothing was close to the stock camera quality. LG really does some magical post processing which works like a charm and looks really good. Anyways, after the tests I decided to stick with Snap Camera HDR. It has a trial and a paid version on the Play Store, in case you want to give it a shot. At good light conditions, the photos are actually comparable to stock camera. There is tons of settings to play with. It has a special "LG mode", which actually works even on AOSP ROMs and enables some LG specific features. It can also record 4K videos with stabilization. If you give it a try and really look into the settings (I recommend going also to the developer's website, where every option in the settings is described), you might end up with decent stock camera replacement. It took me about an hour to go through all the settings, but I'm fairly satisfied with the photos now. Although it has been last updated almost a year ago on the Play Store, there is a much more recent beta version here on the xda forums.
tl;dr I believe that porting stock camera app to AOSP is impossible. If you want stock camera quality, you really have to use stock ROM one way or another (either be on stock, or have a stock ROM TWRP backup and restore it whenever you want to take a good photo, or use multirom to switch your current ROM more quickly). If you want to use AOSP exclusively, I recommend Snap Camera HDR.
felmaster said:
Second option is multirom. I was using it for last few months with LineageOS as primary and stock as secondary ROM, and everytime when I knew I would be taking some photos (when I went to concerts/holidays/celebrations/some unusual stuff), I booted to stock ROM and was good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's another option similar (or not) to multirom:
For installing multiple ROMs I use DualBootPatcher, a great method devised originally for the SGS4, but available for a number of devices now, including our G3. I highly recommend it, it seems cleaner than multirom to me and more user friendly. It is possible to flash ROMs from within the app (they have to be patched first, this also happens inside the app, hence the name), backup, restore and more. There may be some hiccups now and then, but all in all it works smoothly.
Just search the LG G3 forums for DualBootPatcher, there's a thread with download links, description and how-to.
LG G3 AOSP Camera Comparison
felmaster said:
Hi, I also miss the superior quality of camera from stock ROM. I was trying to follow some tutorials on porting vendor apps to AOSP (getting the camera apk file, some libraries, framework files and permission files and compiling them all together), but it never worked with the camera. Sadly, I'm pretty sure that if it was possible, somebody smarter would have already done it. With LG being jerks and not releasing the sources, we most likely won't get the stock camera on AOSP, ever. That being said, I can think of four possible ways of dealing with the situation.
First, use stock ROM only. Yes, I know, that sucks. Or stock based ROM such as Fulmics, if you really think there is a difference between these two.
Second option is multirom. I was using it for last few months with LineageOS as primary and stock as secondary ROM, and everytime when I knew I would be taking some photos (when I went to concerts/holidays/celebrations/some unusual stuff), I booted to stock ROM and was good to go.
Third option is to have a TWRP backup of your current system and of stock ROM and restoring the backup of the ROM you want to use (AOSP for daily usage, stock for the days you know you'll be using your camera a lot). The previous (multirom) option is faster and easier to manage, and you can always add new ROMs and experiment as you wish. However, it requieres a custom recovery and I wasn't able to pass SafetyNet test with multirom and LineageOS with Magisk. Also, multirom makes a little bit of a mess at your /system partition. This third option (backing up/restoring system in TWRP) takes longer, the backups are large, but I'm liking that a bit more for some reason - it feels "cleaner" and more transparent to me.
The last option is to be on AOSP and use a camera app of your choice which you find has the best quality. I was experimenting with this a lot and tried dozens of camera apps (including the LG G2 camera port). Honestly, most of the photos were about the same quality. Even the G2 camera wasn't better than the rest I tested. I also compared the test pictures to stock camera (yes, I took the time to reboot to my secondary ROM for every test I was making at that time) and I was very sad that nothing was close to the stock camera quality. LG really does some magical post processing which works like a charm and looks really good. Anyways, after the tests I decided to stick with Snap Camera HDR. It has a trial and a paid version on the Play Store, in case you want to give it a shot. At good light conditions, the photos are actually comparable to stock camera. There is tons of settings to play with. It has a special "LG mode", which actually works even on AOSP ROMs and enables some LG specific features. It can also record 4K videos with stabilization. If you give it a try and really look into the settings (I recommend going also to the developer's website, where every option in the settings is described), you might end up with decent stock camera replacement. It took me about an hour to go through all the settings, but I'm fairly satisfied with the photos now. Although it has been last updated almost a year ago on the Play Store, there is a much more recent beta version here on the xda forums.
tl;dr I believe that porting stock camera app to AOSP is impossible. If you want stock camera quality, you really have to use stock ROM one way or another (either be on stock, or have a stock ROM TWRP backup and restore it whenever you want to take a good photo, or use multirom to switch your current ROM more quickly). If you want to use AOSP exclusively, I recommend Snap Camera HDR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snap Camera would look good on good light conditions but the actual problem starts with low light, Snap camera adds too much noise on photos compared to LG Camera Port, LG camera port is also great on good light conditions. Any camera app can seem close to stock on good light but real comparison should be made on low light. None of them is comparable to stock LG G3 camera of course, i think laser autofocus and object tracking don't work in any of them.
Check my comparison below(On Snap Camera, LG mode and noise reduction enabled):
https://yadi.sk/d/wEn4oOTw3JxEik
felmaster said:
Hi, I also miss the superior quality of camera from stock ROM. I was trying to follow some tutorials on porting vendor apps to AOSP (getting the camera apk file, some libraries, framework files and permission files and compiling them all together), but it never worked with the camera. Sadly, I'm pretty sure that if it was possible, somebody smarter would have already done it. With LG being jerks and not releasing the sources, we most likely won't get the stock camera on AOSP, ever. That being said, I can think of four possible ways of dealing with the situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know how to port the Stock Music player of Fulmics 7.5 to AOSP?
I am on Resurrection Remix 7.1.2
I was looking for best camera without any problems
Finally i installed Google Camera. Works fine
Not the best quality but is ok
vampirakos said:
I am on Resurrection Remix 7.1.2
I was looking for best camera without any problems
Finally i installed Google Camera. Works fine
Not the best quality but is ok
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Snap Camera, or Open Camera.
What about Snapdragon Camera? There is a versione for Nougat that we could use?
Try Footej Camera
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.