Hello everyone,
First of all the device is not mine but my GF's, I have an unlocked Xiaomi phone with ShapeShitfOS and I really like it. The point is, since I'm not familiar with Samsung modding and the A50 world, I wanted to ask the community which ROMs should I take in consideration. To be more precise, I'd like a ROM with good battery life, customizable UI and FOD working (I'm specifying this because on my device custom ROMs have some issues with it)
I saw that for this device there are "Device Specific ROMs" and GSIs. I don't mind using a GSI as long as it is stable. Furthermore, I also saw there are a bunch of custom Kernels too, if you think it's worth it, I don't mind trying them out too.
So, what do you suggest?
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Dear person reading this,
I've recently received an S4 mini, specifically the I9195 and I immediately got annoyed by the stock firmware. The sounds, the look, you probably know it. Since I've been using CM11 on my I9001 for a nice while I was wondering what the status of CM11 on this phone is like?
On the CM website I've seen there are no stable releases yet, so are the nightlies useable on a day-to-day basis? In other words, would you recommend flashing CM11? Are there any features which won't work?
As for the process of flashing itself, I've found this thread which seems to provide a nice overview, so I'm guessing that shouldn't pose any problems.
My apologies if this thread is a bit noobish, I've been reading around a bit but couldn't really find a nice up-to-date overview
Thanks and regards,
Marshian
If you use your S4 mini for anything serious, CM11 is still way too full of bugs. That's gonna change sooner or later, but for now I'd let CM11 wait unless you just use your S4 mini as a toy.
Check the opening post of this thread for a (long) list of bugs in S4 CM11: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2558702
Until CM11 is done squashing bugs, the best ROM for S4 mini is a rooted stock ROM, debloated by freezing/removing all the junk that Samsung slapped on, and modded with Xposed.
For a list of what you can freeze/remove (with an explanation of what you freeze/remove): http://android.site666.info/indexapks.htm
Essential (imo) Xposed modules for S4: Downloads2SD, Pictures2SD, Wanam Xposed, XPrivacy, and XVolume.
If you have a KitKat (stock) ROM you'll need HandleExternalStorage too.
Essential app to get rid of annoying sounds: Ultimate Sound Control.
I'm using CM11 on my GT-I9195 and its the only phone I have. The bugs don't hinder everyday use (WhatsApp, chrome, phone calls, SMS) generally except for the odd nightly that causes bootloops or FCs. You can avoid that by waiting for someone to post in the discussion thread whether the latest nightly is bootable or causes any FCs.
As for flashing CM11, the guide you linked is good if you don't care for the warranty. Since you bought your phone recently its likely to have the KNOX flag which signifies whether the phone has been custom-flashed before and I'm most countries this KNOX flag, if tripped, will render your warranty void.
To check if you are on KNOX boot loader, boot into Download mode and see if there is any mention of KNOX.
If there is, there is a guide on how to not trip the KNOX flag while rooting.
IMHO any of KitKat's custom ROM is not mature enough. Still many things to implement for the developers, regardless of being stable or not. Though if better OS resource management is what you after than KitKat is unbeatable. After all, it was Google's intention.
However, any of the JB custom ROM variant are relatively stable and mature, despite some still has the 'beta' tag.
As for TouchWiz ROM, there's a limit to what you can do in terms of optimizing/de-bloat. Unless it a heavily modded TW based ROM. That my experience coming from S3.
TNCS said:
IMHO any of KitKat's custom ROM is not mature enough. Still many things to implement for the developers, regardless of being stable or not. Though if better OS resource management is what you after than KitKat is unbeatable. After all, it was Google's intention.
However, any of the JB custom ROM variant are relatively stable and mature, despite some still has the 'beta' tag.
As for TouchWiz ROM, there's a limit to what you can do in terms of optimizing/de-bloat. Unless it a heavily modded TW based ROM. That my experience coming from S3.
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Thanks for your input! (This also applies to everyone else who replied )
In terms of warranty, I don't have any anyway. Though it's a brand new phone, I got it as a prize from a competition so there's no way for me to go back to the store and prove I bought it there. Therefore, I don't mind triggering the KNOX-flag.
For now I'll stay away from CM11 then (though it runs really nicely on my S+), but would it be a better idea to mod the stock ROM until it stops sucking or flash CM10.2 (or another version?) on there? It looks like the bug-list for CM10.2 is quite small. Do you know of any features missing there?
Marshian said:
Thanks for your input! (This also applies to everyone else who replied )
In terms of warranty, I don't have any anyway. Though it's a brand new phone, I got it as a prize from a competition so there's no way for me to go back to the store and prove I bought it there. Therefore, I don't mind triggering the KNOX-flag.
For now I'll stay away from CM11 then (though it runs really nicely on my S+), but would it be a better idea to mod the stock ROM until it stops sucking or flash CM10.2 (or another version?) on there? It looks like the bug-list for CM10.2 is quite small. Do you know of any features missing there?
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I would recommend any custom ROM based on JB. There's no feature missing as I'm aware of. Personally I'm on SlimJB which I've modified a bit myself. KitKat simplay requires time to mature. Even at AOSP the swtich from davilk requires time. Just my two cents.
Marshian said:
For now I'll stay away from CM11 then (though it runs really nicely on my S+), but would it be a better idea to mod the stock ROM until it stops sucking or flash CM10.2 (or another version?) on there?
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I am very happy sticking with the last stable 10.2. It is reliable, quick, and battery drain is minimal (I use Gravity Screen Pro but the main power savings come from using Cyanogens advanced wifi settings).
You can always backup everything and try out a CM11.
xbin said:
I am very happy sticking with the last stable 10.2. It is reliable, quick, and battery drain is minimal (I use Gravity Screen Pro but the main power savings come from using Cyanogens advanced wifi settings).
You can always backup everything and try out a CM11.
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I'll be going with the same solution once my microSIM and new microSD arrive, thanks!
So I've order an OPPO find 7 and from looking around and reading various sources I think that I will definitely change the original OS. In my opinion it doesn't look too appealing, in fact it looks like an early, cheap smartphone GUI and the fact that it apparently drains battery life pretty fast.
So my question is where do I start when it comes to custom ROMS? I have rooted my phone in the past, but it would have been nearly 3 years ago now so I know a little a bit about rooting my phone from what I remember however with this phone I don't know what ROM to download. Also I would like to know of any stable ROMS as I prefer stable ROMS although I also like simplicity. An example would be being able to install a stable lollipop on the phone? Is this possible? Or even a stable version of cyanogenmod as that looks appealing. Another problem that I have read about is that when people do this they can't access memory on their phone and the camera app doesn't include many features, so how would I combat this?
All in all it would be very useful for you to put links to well known ROMS and other important features that you recommend me to install.
- Thank you, MrDecy.
Hey there MrDecy, welcome to the Find 7 club.
There's two or three major options that I would suggest.
First, Cyanogenmod. I know their business practices haven't been stellar, but I really have found nothing wrong with any of their nightlies. I update nearly every day and never once have been disappointed by their performance or battery life. If you do get Cyanogenmod, you can also flash Maxxaudio and the Oppo camera to complete your experience. The only thing is that I haven't been able to get the unified storage to work, despite some people saying that it does.
Next is NamelessROM. It's basically Cyanogenmod but with a few Oppo-specific features and unified storage support. You can also flash Maxxaudio and the Oppo camera too, since it's based on CM. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the early builds of the rom, I have found the later versions to be much more buggy. That being said, I haven't tried the rom in about a month or two, so things may have changed since then.
Finally, there's Oppo's new Lollipop AOSP rom. It's just meant for the people that want stock and nothing else, and doesn't come with Maxxaudio or the Oppo camera, but once again you can find those and flash them. Root is apparently working now, but when I was testing this ROM for Oppo, I couldn't figure out how to keep my root, so if rooting is a must, I might stay away. This is developed by Oppo though, and comes with the latest screen drivers, baseband and all that stuff, which should make for some really good battery life. It does also come with support for Unified storage. However, I have not tested the new one yet to see how well it performs.
Good luck with the flashing! I know this is super late, but I hope it can help you a bit.
Hi MrDecy
The Oppo developed AOSP is my daily driver and have rooted it by flashing via TWRP (the SuperSU ZipV2.49). The Oppo AOSP was announced a few weeks now and since release I have not experience any issue so far. The ROM was developed by Oppo and was meant to be bare and stock to suit the requirements of those who wish the bare android. It is light, fast and stripped of all the bloatwares usually found in the COS. I was able to install the COS camera as I find this oppo camera good. Do your research and I recommend also the OppoForum as it provides many information I believe could provide answers to most of your questions regarding ROMs. For instance the COS I have tried and tested the different versions, and the version intended for China which was based on the kitkat 4.4.4 is the smoothest in my opinion compared to the international version which comes still in the 4.4.2 release of android. The Chinese COS I used for more than 6-months and I find it okay. Oppo provided the APPs necessary to have a good experience of the hardware features of the Find 7 or 7a. Example is the Maxxaudio which I am currently trying to install to AOSP. It all depends on you taste if you prefer the stock android feel then go with the Oppo AOSP (It is stable). Also get the feel of COS first anyway other options are accessible here in XDA and the Oppo forum.
Cheers
So this phone is about to turn 4 years old, there have been great ROMs, mods, kernels, etc. and I still have that one question:
Which ROM/Kernel combination brings the best and to put it straight "DEFINITIVE" experience?
I know it all comes down to preferences, what ROM gives you the personalization that you want and what not, but as someone who has only tried 1 ROM and stuck to it, I'd like to know everybody's opinion.
I've been using Carbon ROM and it has been a GREAT experience, but after a while you get bored of it. I've seen this device is getting some Lollipop love, but I think since this device can only do so much, you won't get the full Lollipop experience, or that's what I think at least, has anybody tested out the Lollipop ROMS for this device fully?
I've got some weird cm kernel I don't even remember where I got from (I've heard great things about wildkernel, is it any good)
Well anyway, I just wanted to know everyone's experience and opinion on what the definitive, MUST go to ROM/Kernel combination is that will make your cellphone the best in terms of performance, style and battery optimizer based on said experiences
I've had a iPhone 6 for 3 years and it's time to update to a OnePlus, a company I've been stalking for about 4 months that I've fallen in love with! Hopefully I can rack up enough Christmas money to snag mine!
I have spent a fair amount of time on the forums. I've read enough and watched enough videos to where I could probably root and flash roms and all that good stuff from memory, but there are a few questions I have...
I think I understand the difference between a modded kernel and a ROM, but can both be flashed? If so, in what order?
If anyone is familiar with jailbroken "tweaks" on the iPhone, what is it's counterpart on Android?
If a ROM or kernel is flashed, how do OTA updates work?
With the latest iPhone jailbreaks, there would be a good amount of instability (restarts, lots of crashes, etc). I see OnePlus phones are sort of meant to be modded, so is it in turn more stable?
Hopefully these questions were clear and not annoying, thank you in advance! I hope to be an active member of this community!
A kernel and a ROM can be flashed but I would flash the kernel after the ROM as the ROM flashes a kernel by itself so it would override your own chosen kernel.
Probably Magisk but Xposed is the equivalent of Cydia Substrate.
OTA depends on the ROM. Normally, you get prompted to download a ZIP and then flash it via TWRP or your custom recovery.
I wouldn't say that the OnePlus devices are more stable, but it has a bigger community compared to other phones. Same as the Google devices but since the Pixel they're insanely high priced. In terms of options regarding custom ROMs and custom kernels, OnePlus is a good choice. For Magisk and Xposed you would only need the right Android OS. No difference or benefits in having a OnePlus device here.
On my previous phones, I was always installing AOSP-based custom ROMs if possible to escape Samsung's and LG's version of phone-hell on Earth. The only exception were the SGS4's GPE-based ROMs.
The Pixel 2 XL is my first phone with a good stock-ROM. Unlock bootloader, install Magisk and Substratum and off you go (I just installed substweaks and Swift Dark).
So I really wonder what advantages AOSP-based ROMs deliver to this phone. Performance? Battery life? Features? Something else?
I understand that custom ROMs are inherently cool, but is there something more?
Note that I don't say that custom ROMs are unnecessary. Also I do appreciate the effort developers spend. I just want to ask about the motivation to flash something different in this special case.
BabelHuber said:
On my previous phones, I was always installing AOSP-based custom ROMs if possible to escape Samsung's and LG's version of phone-hell on Earth. The only exception were the SGS4's GPE-based ROMs.
The Pixel 2 XL is my first phone with a good stock-ROM. Unlock bootloader, install Magisk and Substratum and off you go (I just installed substweaks and Swift Dark).
So I really wonder what advantages AOSP-based ROMs deliver to this phone. Performance? Battery life? Features? Something else?
I understand that custom ROMs are inherently cool, but is there something more?
Note that I don't say that custom ROMs are unnecessary. Also I do appreciate the effort developers spend. I just want to ask about the motivation to flash something different in this special case.
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From what I've read the custom ROMs are slightly faster, but it's hard to tell if they're actually faster or they just seem faster for now because users wiped their devices before flashing them. In my opinion, they are not worth the trade off of losing active edge functionality.