Rooting this phone, what's the point? - Nokia 6.1 (2018) Questions & Answers

Rooting this phone, what's the point? - Nokia 6.1 (2018) Questions & Answers

As the title asks, whats the point of rooting this phone? It doesn't help that unlocking bootloader isn't free, it doesn't have a lot of roms/kernels for it either? And in a performance stand point, would those kernels/roms improve performance even? Hence this is on stock android, youd automatically assume its optimisation would be A+, tho, not for this phone in terms of ram management, but what about CPU and GOU performance? Ive asked on kernel posts and none have answered, leading me wondering, and I'm obviously no pro and just want to really know what's going on with "improved gpu effeciency" sort of updates to kernels, like, i get what it means, but in what way? Does if give more fps to games or something? . Granted that rooting gives you more freedom to do anything, but theres a big draw regarding to privacy, which is no problem to me, of course, but some apps like bank apps disable access to rooted devices, does exposed work for pie or is it still in development?
Tldr
All I'm asking is it worthit?
Do roms improve performance?
Do the kernels improve performance regarding games and such?(on my good ol phone the zenfone 2 it did, quite a lot)
Is exposed fully working for pie?

I've not bothered to unlock this phone. I will, however, say that even if the custom roms only have comparable performance, it would be worth it just to be rid of the Evenwell task killer Nokia allowed to be bundled into the stock rom, as long as the custom roms are problem free.

I just unlocked cuz it's cool to have root, themes etc. Regarding roms look here
Plenty of development for treble enabled devises.
Downside I guess is when u got twrp installed one will no longer recieve system updates untill one installs custom rim.
You right, root gives you more freedom that stock on any phone ever made will never provide, sadly.
Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using XDA Labs

I am unlocked since July 2018. Sadly, custom roms are not bug-free and I was lacking important features for day-to-day usage (alot of issues with treble roms and hotspot for instance, which is mandatory for me since it is my only internet access point). Every time I try roms (aospex/treble) I finally come back to stock because at least, almost everything I need is working.
Imo, it would be better to stay on stock. Magisk (+xposed if you want this specific module) is working on Pie. You just gotta uninstall Magisk partly before applying Nokia's OTAs (but as of now, with the improved system-as-root support, it may not even be necessary in a few updates, who knows).
Btw, you still get otas when unlocked, + never flash twrp and just boot the image using fastboot when needed, that way you'll avoid lots of trouble

If you have to ask about it then just don't do it

I couldn't imagine how bored I'd get with my 6.1 without root. No themes, no modules, no way to downgrade etc

Related

Top 10 reasons to root?

Hi Folks - I'm trying to find the top 10 reasons why phones are rooted. I want to change the way Android is distributed, software is managed and patches are applied. Please list all your reasons that you think are important

There is only one reason to me. Because I own my device and I want the ultimate root control over it. However, I and probably most other people on this site are not representative of the normal population of phone owners that absolutely do not need root access since for them it would be dangerous.

So far, I only have two, but they are important enough to me. I like having free wireless tethering without paying my carrier anymore. Also, I like the ability to backup my apps and other data to my SD card in case I must wipe my phone or transfer it to another phone. Its a shame there is still no official method to do this on Android phones, whereas Apple can do it with their iPhones and iTunes.

Rooting gives me the power to tweak my phone however which way I want and it may also give me access to features found only other phones like S-Voice for example.
The other major reason is performance. I really care about performance and is willing to squeeze out every ounce of performance the hardware is capable of. Of course, a balance of performance plus great battery life is crucial. Rooting allows me ultimate control of my phone.

stevep2007 said:
Hi Folks - I'm trying to find the top 10 reasons why phones are rooted. I want to change the way Android is distributed, software is managed and patches are applied. Please list all your reasons that you think are important
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of my main reasons (in no particular order) are:
Custom ROMs (although I'm not sure how it works on phones outside of the HD2 )
Ad blockers
Backup/restore abilities (i.e. Titanium Backup)
SetCPU
Market Enabler
A2SD/Link2SD
CF3D
ICS Launchers which can add widgets from the app drawer
Ability to uninstall system apps/bloatware
Generally having full control over my phone and what I do with it

Some of my reasons are
* Custom Roms
* Custom Kernels
* Mods - such as 15 bar toggle e.t.c
* Learn how to theme and cook roms

Excellent extended functionality -- That's what smartphones are for -- FUNCTIONALITY
Titanium Backup, and all the other root apps XD
Breakaway from bloated stock roms -- we WANT SPEED in the custom roms
Updates to the latest OS version -- enjoy the best of Android
That's why I rooted

Only one reason for me: Freedom!

customization
control
superior speed/battery life
less clutter
less intrusive (phoning home)
titanium backup
easy flashing of custom recovery
that said a good oh *bleep* button in case I mess up my phone.

I rooted to install custom ROMS and hopefully get better battery life by getting rid of bloatware. So far much faster, but I'm yet to see battery improvements. Changing kernals is really fun tho.

.for me allways about improving battery life and improving performance with after market mods that the manufacturers don't see as important ie, by debloating and removing all unwanted apps, updating radio firmware to improve cell phone reception, improving kernel optimization and tweaks running new launchers and widgets make to work faster on new os and software versions.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

ROOT ? Own your phone

Destroy bloatware! Free up precious internal memory! Overclock that sucker! Tether my laptop! Plus its excellent to do stuff correctly and NOT brick your phone!

if you have to ask question like that, you shouldn't root your device... but for me, the reason why to root is to gain ultimate control over my device, because it is MY device

For me its just a way not to use google account. I think its unacceptable that they would require personal info and collect such on their costumers. Especially since I payed for a SE product and would like atleast to have a File Manager Installed or be able to use calendar WITHOUT sincing it to some random server. Its just that I red the Terms Of Agreement and I don`t agree some times.
Not that it changes anything in the end....

The ladies appreciate it..?

I just want to full control my device..
and I think it is save because we can reset our phone if it is crashed.. :laugh:

Ad free, titanium Backup, droid Wall, div. Roms, backlight notifications

Now with Verizon including work teather with shared everything why root.... I unrooted mine because of that.....
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium

If you don't know what you do its safe not to root your phone. If you delete system files you phone will not start. I have my phone rooted because i am the boss. Not my phone.

Worth rooting?

I just bought a oneplus 3 (offerup $200 use). Havent been in the rooting scene for a while thanx to the gs7 edge. Now that i do have a device that can be root and bootloader unlock i know there're great support.
The thing is, this device seems the snappier device i ever own. Little to non bloware and really fast. Cant imaging been faster. There any reason to root this device. If u did. Why and what rom r u using?

eduardmc said:
I just bought a oneplus 3 (offerup $200 use). Havent been in the rooting scene for a while thanx to the gs7 edge. Now that i do have a device that can be root and bootloader unlock i know there're great support.
The thing is, this device seems the snappier device i ever own. Little to non bloware and really fast. Cant imaging been faster. There any reason to root this device. If u did. Why and what rom r u using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am using the freedom os because of its preinstaled apps like xposed, viper4android, a theme engine. basicaly stuff that i could not get working on OOS. and there is supose to be better battery life i havent seen that (maybe because of my extreme usage). i get 4hrs SOT

eduardmc said:
I just bought a oneplus 3 (offerup $200 use). Havent been in the rooting scene for a while thanx to the gs7 edge. Now that i do have a device that can be root and bootloader unlock i know there're great support.
The thing is, this device seems the snappier device i ever own. Little to non bloware and really fast. Cant imaging been faster. There any reason to root this device. If u did. Why and what rom r u using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP3 is the first phone that I didn't root to achieve extra performance, but to improve Android. After using a rooted phone for the last 2 years I can't live without AdAway and a combination of Greenify/Disable Wakelock/Xposed/Amplify to control what my phone is doing, not to mention really useful things like Tasker, customizing the Alert Slider and many many more. Nowadays, flagship phones aren't rooted for performance.
That being said, I am disappointed by the responsiveness of the OP3. On OOS 3.2.7 it is LESS responsive than my 2year old OnePlus One running CM14.1 nightly. Disappointing, but getting my hopes up for when the CM14.1 nightlies for the OP3 get good. Which is the biggest plus point in my opinion - software updates. If you have root, you can have the newest version of Android anyday, not having to wait for OnePlus to update it (which they take way too much time for).
All in all, if you know what you are doing, root your phone. It is worth it.

PivotMasterNM said:
The OP3 is the first phone that I didn't root to achieve extra performance, but to improve Android. After using a rooted phone for the last 2 years I can't live without AdAway and a combination of Greenify/Disable Wakelock/Xposed/Amplify to control what my phone is doing, not to mention really useful things like Tasker, customizing the Alert Slider and many many more. Nowadays, flagship phones aren't rooted for performance.
That being said, I am disappointed by the responsiveness of the OP3. On OOS 3.2.7 it is LESS responsive than my 2year old OnePlus One running CM14.1 nightly. Disappointing, but getting my hopes up for when the CM14.1 nightlies for the OP3 get good. Which is the biggest plus point in my opinion - software updates. If you have root, you can have the newest version of Android anyday, not having to wait for OnePlus to update it (which they take way too much time for).
All in all, if you know what you are doing, root your phone. It is worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U got me pretty much convince to root mine. The only other stock android experience for me has been nexus 6p and this phone stock is much faster and fluid. Im concern about instability of using a rom like CM or other rom that has so many tweak to improve it but mess uo other things. Have u try cm14.1. Or how about CM.13 how solid is that right now?

I'm not rooted....running community build stock...3.5.5 is stable, great performance...get 5hr SOT with 15% left...over 24 hrs... phone is a great performer...

I root all of my Android devices, tablets and phone, primary for customizations and backup. I like having a full nandroid backup incase something ever goes wrong. This way I am assured that I can recover to a previous working state. I know you can often find factory image out there for just about any phone, but I will also backup at a point in time once I have everything exactly as I like. Again, this allows me to roll back to exactly how things were before I started tinkering. Running Xposed and theming, is another big reason to root. However fiddling with these can sometimes go bad so having a nandroid backup is handy.
For me, I am still running stock on 3.2.7. I find it extremely fast and stable. Been looking at the other roms, but have not found a need to switch from stock yet. I am getting 4 - 5 hrs SOT consistently, stock so again, have not found compelling need to switch roms, but am playing with different Xposed modules so that alone is reason to root.

Oh yes for sure... Adaway alone makes it worthwhile
Also check out Android explained on YouTube.. Very well explained, instead of just following some tutorial and not really understanding... Android explained breaks everything down so now I have an understanding of how my device operates.

There's a lot of great stuff you can do with root. For me the best features are: much better battery life, GUI customization, and OGYoutube (basically YT Red for free, and yes, there's a nonroot version but the root is better).

Root....
IT bus corp guy and like others said AdAway, Youtube ad blocker, TB to backup apps and be able to save app come back previous version when dev mess it it....all just a must have for me.
I am on Resurrection Rom not OOS so still have that Android Nexus experience since I came from 6P and not slow with any responses...quick, stable

Install xposed and enjoy Google assistant, N-ify, YouTube background player etc.

Personally i'm not rooted, for the first time in years, someone earlier mentioned nandroid backups they require TWRP but not root.

My concern with rooting is the updates. I hate setting up the phone after clean install since we dont have anything like icloud. I know ubcan dirty flash the updates but there so much there up to a point that u would have to clean install and update. Like going from MM to nougat. Quote if im wrong but i havent been in the rooting scene for a while. I remember titanium backup use to break alot of things when i did a restore

eduardmc said:
My concern with rooting is the updates. I hate setting up the phone after clean install since we dont have anything like icloud. I know ubcan dirty flash the updates but there so much there up to a point that u would have to clean install and update. Like going from MM to nougat. Quote if im wrong but i havent been in the rooting scene for a while. I remember titanium backup use to break alot of things when i did a restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used Titanium Backup once, didn't work at all, I was really disappointed. Although this was years ago, I never tried it again and don't want to. Anyway - when switching ROMs, I always make sure that Whatsapp syncs everything with the cloud, all accounts in the 'accounts' setting menu of the system have synced, that my Google Photos are synced and then copy pretty much everything from /root/sdcard (your internal memory) to my computer. Then I completely wipe my phone (= wipe system+data+cache+internal storage), install the new ROM, boot it once to see howwell its working, power it down, factory reset it (wiping data) and then copy all of the data of my computer back to the phone, set everything up with my google account and let google download everything. If you have correctly configured the app-backup function of Google, then everything will be about 95% the same, and nothing will be missing. Be sure not to forget to make a TWRP backup of EVERYTHING before full-wiping the phone, so you can always go back if you really need to.
I prefer this method to anything else because you will never any problems with restoring from the cloud or performance issues of certain file-structures being different or whatever. It is clean and works.
---------- Post added at 19:23 ---------- Previous post was at 19:19 ----------
eduardmc said:
U got me pretty much convince to root mine. The only other stock android experience for me has been nexus 6p and this phone stock is much faster and fluid. Im concern about instability of using a rom like CM or other rom that has so many tweak to improve it but mess uo other things. Have u try cm14.1. Or how about CM.13 how solid is that right now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tried CM13, and I will ait until sultanxda brings his goodness to CM14.1, then I will switch but - as I have used sultanxda's ROMs on my OnePlus One I can definately recommend t Install his version of CM13 on the OnePlus 3 instead of the nightlies, his optimisations und his update frequency are fantastic and he is a great ROM maker. His ROMs on the OnePlus One made me rediscover the full potential of the device, it's truly amazing.

PivotMasterNM said:
I have used Titanium Backup once, didn't work at all, I was really disappointed. Although this was years ago, I never tried it again and don't want to. Anyway - when switching ROMs, I always make sure that Whatsapp syncs everything with the cloud, all accounts in the 'accounts' setting menu of the system have synced, that my Google Photos are synced and then copy pretty much everything from /root/sdcard (your internal memory) to my computer. Then I completely wipe my phone (= wipe system+data+cache+internal storage), install the new ROM, boot it once to see howwell its working, power it down, factory reset it (wiping data) and then copy all of the data of my computer back to the phone, set everything up with my google account and let google download everything. If you have correctly configured the app-backup function of Google, then everything will be about 95% the same, and nothing will be missing. Be sure not to forget to make a TWRP backup of EVERYTHING before full-wiping the phone, so you can always go back if you really need to.
I prefer this method to anything else because you will never any problems with restoring from the cloud or performance issues of certain file-structures being different or whatever. It is clean and works.
---------- Post added at 19:23 ---------- Previous post was at 19:19 ----------
I have not tried CM13, and I will ait until sultanxda brings his goodness to CM14.1, then I will switch but - as I have used sultanxda's ROMs on my OnePlus One I can definately recommend t Install his version of CM13 on the OnePlus 3 instead of the nightlies, his optimisations und his update frequency are fantastic and he is a great ROM maker. His ROMs on the OnePlus One made me rediscover the full potential of the device, it's truly amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last question. Any bugs that needs to be fix from the CM 13 rom

Not for me. I am no longer OCD about my phone.. don't care what color the signal strength font is, etc... The phone works so well stock, that there isn't much I would change other than adding some functionality with the camera and some good video editing software...
I played with a few ROMs, they were ok, but once the newness wore off(2 days) I went back to stock, and am now running the Community builds and like them the best.
Fast, stable, great battery life... no complaints...

Looking for info. Solid Rom suggestions only.

Got me a Z5p E6853 over a year ago.
Stock rom is ok, a bit laggy but runs well enough. over time it gets stale and I looked around for Custom roms.
Tried a few, mainly the AOSP roms on this Forum and the Z5 fourm. found some bug or another that didn't sit well with me. custom stock roms causes a display failure on my device for some reason at random times, sometimes more than once a day, others will run for weeks without a problem. happens at the oddest times too so no way to pin down the cause. (plus all the devs from those roms have moved on so little point in requesting help for them)
So my main question is. other than going back to full stock. (with the possibility of xposed in the future) - What are the current best roms for function and Camera.
Stock roms take advantange of the DRM keys saved on your device. AOSP roms don't from what I can understand. is there a Lineage or AOSP type rom that has a better camera than stock?
what have the users here experienced to be their best combination of rom, with long term stability / Camera quality being top priority.
I don't normally ask Questions here, I usually lurk and help people with problems with flashing and such. but my current experiece with the Z5p has been a bit poor. and I would like to use this phone to its full potential. I just don't see that yet with whats currently available. I may have missed an old rom, or some patch fix that someone mentioned somewhere, but i've been reading the threads for the past few months looking for something that stands out.
I feel like I've bought into a dud of a phone. and my only real option is to just go back to normal stock and pass the phone onto a relative and buy a better phone.

Hey there. I used to have an HTC One M9 (I now have the Z5 Premium (E6853))and the best decision I've ever made with that phone is to keep the stock rom, but root it (preferably with magisk). For me this had the best stability with all the perks of rooting it as you could still flash kernels, and use the millions of root apps that boost your phone and clean out bloatware. Maybe just do some exploring into apps that'll completely change the behaviour of your phone, rather than the OS. What I have found in my rom flashing addict days is that the ROMs themselves really only change a couple of things and device performance is never one of them. If you're looking for massive customisation options a custom rom can help, but you should also check out Substratum. I hope it all goes well!
P.S. - I find Lineage OS is probably the most stable custom rom out there but who knows every custom rom can be a real hit and/or miss.

bump

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

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

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.

Question Is it worth it?

hi, goodday to everyone!
i'm on a poco f3 and new to this phone's development scene.
i previously owned an Axon 7 and was on custom roms for 1.5 years.
since i'm relatively new to this phone i'm asking:
Is it worth unlocking and doing custom roms on this phone?
i'm completely fine on the stock rom but lately have been thinking about going custom rom.
the main reasons are:
better performance(cause i game on this phone)
maybe better battery-life?
root access(i really miss the youtube vanced)
and as someone who undervolted their gaming laptop, undervolting and updating the Gpu drivers for better performance.
my primary question is: how many trade-offs i'm doing for achieving these goals? are they even possible all at the same time?(cause i'm pretty sure you need specific kernels for undervolting)
thank you for your answers in advance, and hope you have a great day!

Hi,If you want a nice youtube...i suggest youtube revanced.You can install without root and it's latest youtube version.Anyways,you can take a look HERE

Hi. Since only needed Adbock and Youtube Vanced, I just unlocked the bootloader and rooted the stock rom. Also debloated be removing most unused apps. This works fine for me and I don't have any problems or features not working. Banking apps, Netflix, etc. work fine with the appropriate patches. Battery life is still very good, after more than a year with the phone.
Only drawback is that you have to re-apply root after each system update. But it is always the same procedure and it doesn't take too long.

Andreasgbrv2 said:
Hi,If you want a nice youtube...i suggest youtube revanced.You can install without root and it's latest youtube version.Anyways,you can take a look HERE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh, thank you very much!

kurtschmeichel said:
Hi. Since only needed Adbock and Youtube Vanced, I just unlocked the bootloader and rooted the stock rom. Also debloated be removing most unused apps. This works fine for me and I don't have any problems or features not working. Banking apps, Netflix, etc. work fine with the appropriate patches. Battery life is still very good, after more than a year with the phone.
Only drawback is that you have to re-apply root after each system update. But it is always the same procedure and it doesn't take too long.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the responce! but here's the thing, although those things are nice, to me the main benefits of custom roms are the updated gpu drivers, and the undervold to potentially improve performance and battery-life.

Stock is good enough already for this phone. I went into custom roms for fun (ArrowOS, CRDroid, EliteROM, PixelOS) but each have benefits and drawbacks that closely make it a breakeven exercise.
My main benefits from customizing are
- better battery life (less bloat + more control via Greenify on root, etc.)
- Google Photos unlimited
Things I miss from MIUI are better sound quality, camera and built-in dual-apps.

SSMP1 said:
hi, goodday to everyone!
i'm on a poco f3 and new to this phone's development scene.
i previously owned an Axon 7 and was on custom roms for 1.5 years.
since i'm relatively new to this phone i'm asking:
Is it worth unlocking and doing custom roms on this phone?
i'm completely fine on the stock rom but lately have been thinking about going custom rom.
the main reasons are:
better performance(cause i game on this phone)
maybe better battery-life?
root access(i really miss the youtube vanced)
and as someone who undervolted their gaming laptop, undervolting and updating the Gpu drivers for better performance.
my primary question is: how many trade-offs i'm doing for achieving these goals? are they even possible all at the same time?(cause i'm pretty sure you need specific kernels for undervolting)
thank you for your answers in advance, and hope you have a great day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of these - no
Can do all on stock + stock is best in terms of performance

Develop Bugs

welcome