Question Hardware Attestation and custom roms - Xiaomi Poco F3 / Xiaomi Mi 11X / Redmi K40

Question Hardware Attestation and custom roms - Xiaomi Poco F3 / Xiaomi Mi 11X / Redmi K40

Hi all,
I've been using my F3 since it launched and have constantly been considering flashing a custom rom. Once I got to the point where I wanted to unlock my bootloader and all that jazz, I did some research and noticed all the fuss around Google's hardware attestation for SafetyNet.
This has made me doubt switching to a custom rom because it only adds to the uncertainty of being able to daily drive one (with Google Pay and the McDonalds app for example) in the longterm. I'm aware of the current workarounds to pass SafetyNet (which is basically just using the old 'basic' attestation), but I feel like those workarounds will become obsolete once the hardware attestation becomes the new norm.
I was wondering if and how this has affected other F3 users with their decision on using a custom rom.
I could just be over exaggerating because I'm not too familiar with the ins and outs of SafetyNet, but at first glance it does seem worrisome to me.
For now I will probably wait it out until MIUI13 releases with the hopes that it has a decent Material You implementation for its (imo ugly) UI, which I highly doubt.
P.S. If this post is too broad for the F3 in specific, please let me know.

My stance on it is this: If I can use my Custom ROM with SafetyNet passing, I'll keep using it.
When the time comes and Google updates SafetyNet, I'll listen to what other people of the Custom ROM-community will do & what TopJohnWu will do, and whether he'll deprecate MagiskHide etc. etc...
The Custom ROM & Root community is huge, and people will be loud about this. And we'll likely find a way to bypass the new form of SafetyNet, no matter how tight the security is. シ
If it takes a lot of time to develop a solution/bypass, I'll backup my apps using Swift Backup or Xiaomi's Backup and return to Stock ROM. That way I don't have to set up my apps again when switching ROM.
Until then I'll keep happily using Xiaomi.eu with Root

Related

Rooting this phone, what's the point?

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

Any compelling reason to go to Android 10? If so, which one?

I'm on the final Pie version PQ3A.190801.002 rooted with Magisk.
Reasons that others have decided to stay with Pie for now:
1) No TWRP
2) Battery life worse on 10 (for some)
3) Reported issues with colors
I reviewed the security bulletins but there are multiple severe and critical issues patched with every release, so it's hard to tell which are significant threats.
I read the thread that clarifies that it is not possible to apply security patches without installing Android 10.
I'm happy with Pie, and lean toward "if it aint broke don't fix it" unless there are significant security issues.
Can anyone comment on other data points that should be considered while deferring the update to Android 10?

I mean, there is not anything that is game changing about it. My battery is a little better actually. Lack of TWRP is something, but it does force you to figure out how to do things in a new way, which might be the only way in the future. After going from DU on Pie to stock on 10 I simply set my phone up exactly the same, so I really see little difference. I learned a bit about making Magisk modules in order to systemlessly change some things, guess that was a personal benefit (I have to modify vendor partition to get VoLTE and such to work properly).
I would tend to agree though, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I see no substantial changes in the phone's functionality.

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.

Why are you running a custom rom?

I wanted to GTFO Google and (ONE) single ROM has been developed for this phone on XDA without Gapps and it's not even maintained any more. I tried out Lineage with Micro G and I was pretty happy. I asked if anyone here would be interested in GrapheneOS and got no reply. I built it for myself and was happier with the spoofing in Lineage so I went back. But that brings me to the OP question...I guess I just don't understand why anyone would build a custom ROM that allows Google to spy on you completely unchecked. I thought I must have been insane since literally nobody here seemed to agree. Then I found this write up......I immediately decided to post it. Not because I want to piss people off. Not because I'm unappreciative. But because WTF ARE WE DOING??Why are we even running custom ROMS? Xposed came out and Google screwed us with SafetyNet. Then you had Substratum that got checked from Google but it's being "allowed" right now even though they tried to patch it out. Then Magisk comes and Google buys him out. This has always been a "cat vs mouse" game until recently. Now it's just a "cat vs customizable cat" game. Did we lose? Or is it that people would rather trade their privacy for convenience? The direction we are headed as a community is allowing Google to slowly close off and become Apple pt2 and nobody seems to mind much. But this is XDA! How will it exist without people caring about this?Here is part of the write up that applies specifically to the OnePlus7T. Hopefully I'm not alone. Hopefully we can get this train back off the tracks where it belongs. Barreling through the unknown in defiance of these huge entities trying to control you. Link is at the bottom of the write up.crDroidLineageOS-based custom ROM designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android for your device while also attempting to bring many of the best features existing today, according to their intro & how I think its grammar should be.
Personal remarks: A very good heavyweight ROM (and the best Limbo ROM at the moment), burdened with a soydev website (at least there's no BlockAdBlock unlike Arrow) & lack of Vanilla/GApps enforcement in a way similar to Bootleggers - no Vanilla/GApps branding
Advantages:
Per-app data restriction (Pie, A10, A11)
Signature spoofing (A10 & A11: no toggle)
Inbuilt App Lock
Disadvantages:
No signature spoofing (Pie-only; forgiven & redacted starting with A10, 12/4/2020 build)
If you look at the official site, there's a screenshot that shows this feature, on a toggle. Should have been available at Settings > crDroid Settings > Miscellaneous; but it's not there.
Tested the 12/4/2020 build & found out that microG support is enabled without toggle. This anti-feature is redacted.
Poco X3(N) only (confirmed on 23/3/2021 build) - USB debugging enables itself on boot (redacted per 22/4/2021 7.5 build)
28/4/2021 Update : With inbuilt vendor on 22/4/2021 7.5 X3N build, USB debugging no longer self-enables on boot (it's enabled at 1st boot, but can be disabled without enabling itself on subsequent boots). Welp, guess it's like the F1's Pie era all over again, where most builds (especially userdebug ones) enable USB debugging on boot until developers starts to include vendor partition in their builds.
Poco F1 (A11) : No force encryption
No Vanilla/GApps enforcement, in addition to lack of Vanilla/GApps labeling
List of GApps-infested builds :
OnePlus 7T & 7T "Pro"
Not having an active TWRP development for a device does not excuse the maintainers for releasing GApps-only releases, unless they also make a Vanilla variant. And, since there is an active TWRP development, there shouldn't be any more reason to tolerate a lack of Vanilla build (other than the maintainer being too lazy / unwilling to develop a Vanilla build, in which case per should be replaced).
Poco F3 (switched to Vanilla builds as of 9/7/2021 builds, but still listed for reference)
Redmi K20 / Mi 9T (davinci) (Vanilla build available on GDrive, FWIW.)
OnePlus 9 "Pro"
When its non-"Pro" (the vanilla OnePlus 9) variant gets a Vanilla build (despite a lack of functional TWRP for either) there is no excuse to be lazy & provide GApps-only builds
Custom ROM List

Definitely. Yaap microG by John Galt is very good also. Omni microG is also good

I read through your entire post and while most of the things you have said could be attributed to a subjective basis depending on person to person basis but the overall idea has a couple of inconveniences that I would like to add some insight of my own and would like to explain without sounding too brash
This is just my own personal impression that I have witnessed being part of the greater Android ecosystem in general starting from the early days to where we are now
In my opinion, the lack of interest by developers that originally gave their time and effort into working hard and fixing things has generally not kept up with the pace of Google's development efforts to curb these "hacks". The cat and mouse game what the post you quoted said is nearly at an end. I think Google is winning with everything in broader terms and despite the conveniences offered by microG and custom roms using that implementation, it doesn't come close to what Google offers.
The hassle of finding workarounds to make even the basic of functionality to work on Android requires time and effort which as I have already said earlier, it's something no one can commit to these days. The "enthusiast" aspect of custom rom development has really taken a dive over the past few years as manufacturers generally offer good enough functionality (at least for my use case as I am heavily reliant on my phone for work and general personal use) and Android has come a long way since the early days.
All of what I said boils down to the cost of convenience vs concern for issues that are really issues for a specialist segment of users within the entire community. People de-google their phones to focus on privacy and prevent data mining from these data hungry corporations and I for one for wish I could have something that would decrease my overreliance on Google's services but it is just not possible as the majority of people just use their phones and expect things to work just like that. So, the long lived idea of if it ain't broke, don't fix it plays very well into this. The trouble is generally not worth the inconveniences that come with it. Lack of interest of users therefore means lack of options and thus a lack of development.
Here's my 2 cents

I think for devs or hobby-coders who do this for free, time is more valuable than the luxury of "privacy" (which doesn't really exist if you're using any form of social media, like XDA).
Things changed. Android is more polished now than the Nexus days.

Question Consumer-grade OS

Hi,
I'm looking for a consumer-grade OS for Poco F3.
I'm currently using official MIUI, but they require Mi Account to use Wireless ADB etc.
They don't allow disabling second-space feature which makes parental controls impossible.
I'm looking for a custom ROM that:
- passes Play Integrity (formerly called SafetyNet) and has big chances of not breaking it in the future
- has no issues with DRM etc.
- bootloader can be relocked
- NFC, Bluetooth etc. are working
- is not made by one person & it's security and privacy settings are recognized
- gets updates
- big plus if it is undervolted, or disables the heavy cores altogether
I'm not too well informed, but probably MIUI EU or Pixel ROM would check the most boxes?
I know the manufacturer should fix all these problems, or I should not buy from Xiaomi for delivering low-quality software., but this community is the hugest on XDA, hence my expectations are high Don't make me think that there are only subpar ROMS with weird names coming and going every week.
Thank you

Karaoke61 said:
Hi,
I'm looking for a consumer-grade OS for Poco F3.
I'm currently using official MIUI, but they require Mi Account to use Wireless ADB etc.
They don't allow disabling second-space feature which makes parental controls impossible.
I'm looking for a custom ROM that:
- passes Play Integrity (formerly called SafetyNet) and has big chances of not breaking it in the future
- has no issues with DRM etc.
- bootloader can be relocked
- NFC, Bluetooth etc. are working
- is not made by one person & it's security and privacy settings are recognized
- gets updates
- big plus if it is undervolted, or disables the heavy cores altogether
I'm not too well informed, but probably MIUI EU or Pixel ROM would check the most boxes?
I know the manufacturer should fix all these problems, or I should not buy from Xiaomi for delivering low-quality software., but this community is the hugest on XDA, hence my expectations are high Don't make me think that there are only subpar ROMS with weird names coming and going every week.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eu is the most suitable for your needs, but you will not able to relock bootloader on any rom except global.

Karaoke61 said:
Hi,
I'm looking for a consumer-grade OS for Poco F3.
I'm currently using official MIUI, but they require Mi Account to use Wireless ADB etc.
They don't allow disabling second-space feature which makes parental controls impossible.
I'm looking for a custom ROM that:
- passes Play Integrity (formerly called SafetyNet) and has big chances of not breaking it in the future
- has no issues with DRM etc.
- bootloader can be relocked
- NFC, Bluetooth etc. are working
- is not made by one person & it's security and privacy settings are recognized
- gets updates
- big plus if it is undervolted, or disables the heavy cores altogether
I'm not too well informed, but probably MIUI EU or Pixel ROM would check the most boxes?
I know the manufacturer should fix all these problems, or I should not buy from Xiaomi for delivering low-quality software., but this community is the hugest on XDA, hence my expectations are high Don't make me think that there are only subpar ROMS with weird names coming and going every week.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NEVER EVER EVER relock bootloader on a custom ROM or a rooted stock ROM

3zozHashim said:
NEVER EVER EVER relock bootloader on a custom ROM or a rooted stock ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? There are lots of people saying it works. Yeah, i'd do as you say, the risk of someone stealing the phone is not that high, the bigger problem is Google disabling apps for failing to comply with Play Integrity / SafetyNet

Karaoke61 said:
Why? There are lots of people saying it works. Yeah, i'd do as you say, the risk of someone stealing the phone is not that high, the bigger problem is Google disabling apps for failing to comply with Play Integrity / SafetyNet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not about stealing the phone or safetynet
if something went wrong when locking the bootloader, youre done... your phone is now hard bricked and you need to go to the service center
if you encountered a bootloop on a locked bootloader, your guaranteed last resort fix is just a factory reset, some custom roms are fcked up in a way that a factory reset wont fix the bootloop, if you encounter this, youre gonna need to go to the service center.
its never good to lock bootloader on custom ROMs or rooted stock ROMs

Develop Bugs

welcome