Develop Bugs

Potential convert with some questions...

Sup 'droids...
It's time for a new phone and I'm on the hunt doing research. Such a hard choice! I've had a Galaxy S1, S3 and S5 and loved them all so I went and got the S6 the other day without ever reading about it. When I went to install my ROM of choice I found out that Samsung is now officially releasing only the douche ROM...so I returned it 3 days later.
I read that the 5X was going to be released soon and also read some stuff on the Moto X Play (which is what it's called here in Canada, available at Telus). The 5X seems ok...I could potentially wait a month for that delivery (if Telus even carries it), or I could go get the Play or the G4 today--which seems to be the forerunner at this point due to it having slightly better specs than the Play.
My questions relate to custom ROM experiences. I like to have AOSP support with all the fancy settings available to me! I especially like hardware keys. My S3 was able to turn the flashlight on by holding the home key. I know the G4 doesn't have hardware buttons anymore so I'm not even sure if that's a thing. Maybe volume keys instead? That might create problems with track seeking though. Whatever...as long as there are options lol.
So...what kind of experiences--good and bad--have you guys had with this phone? Is there good ROM support? It seems like M will be out soon...does that mean the code will also be available for developers? I see a few ROM's available but unfortunately I can't test them out because I don't actually have the phone.
I'm sure I'll have more questions but thought I'd get a discussion going for those interested in sharing their experiences.
Thanks.

i'm somehow convinced that when the official android M update from LG finally released, the developer scene would start to bud here and there.
but for now, i think the developers are gathering only in some unlocked bootloader variants...

AZDJedi said:
I read that the 5X was going to be released soon and also read some stuff on the Moto X Play (which is what it's called here in Canada, available at Telus). The 5X seems ok...I could potentially wait a month for that delivery (if Telus even carries it), or I could go get the Play or the G4 today--which seems to be the forerunner at this point due to it having slightly better specs than the Play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The play is a midranger with a good battery not comparable with a flagship like the G4. Maybe you were thinking of the Style or Pure as its known in the US.
My questions relate to custom ROM experiences. I like to have AOSP support with all the fancy settings available to me! I especially like hardware keys. My S3 was able to turn the flashlight on by holding the home key. I know the G4 doesn't have hardware buttons anymore so I'm not even sure if that's a thing. Maybe volume keys instead? That might create problems with track seeking though. Whatever...as long as there are options lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not too much at the moment. Just root. To use xposed entails risk as there is no recovery. Unless you can source a H815 euro variant of the G4.
I'm sure I'll have more questions but thought I'd get a discussion going for those interested in sharing their experiences.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you need from roms ? that stock with root can't give you.

One Twelve said:
What you need from roms ? that stock with root can't give you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be honest, I was about to use my middlefinger to write an aggressive post for you but the intelligent part of my brain said "STOP! THINK!". So I thought...and thought again. Coming from Nexus devices running CM only, on the G4 I have yet to find a reason to even consider a custom ROM. I sometimes miss the pure Android but that's all about it. It's the first time since my Nokia E72 in 2007 I did not switched a ROM for more than a month. Let's see where this goes. Good point mate!

nitrous² said:
Coming from Nexus devices running CM only, on the G4 I have yet to find a reason to even consider a custom ROM. I sometimes miss the pure Android but that's all about it. It's the first time since my Nokia E72 in 2007 I did not switched a ROM for more than a month. Let's see where this goes. Good point mate!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will you be able to convince the OP of that ?
Otherwise he needs to look elsewhere.

AZDJedi said:
Sup 'droids...
It's time for a new phone and I'm on the hunt doing research. Such a hard choice! I've had a Galaxy S1, S3 and S5 and loved them all so I went and got the S6 the other day without ever reading about it. When I went to install my ROM of choice I found out that Samsung is now officially releasing only the douche ROM...so I returned it 3 days later.
I read that the 5X was going to be released soon and also read some stuff on the Moto X Play (which is what it's called here in Canada, available at Telus). The 5X seems ok...I could potentially wait a month for that delivery (if Telus even carries it), or I could go get the Play or the G4 today--which seems to be the forerunner at this point due to it having slightly better specs than the Play.
My questions relate to custom ROM experiences. I like to have AOSP support with all the fancy settings available to me! I especially like hardware keys. My S3 was able to turn the flashlight on by holding the home key. I know the G4 doesn't have hardware buttons anymore so I'm not even sure if that's a thing. Maybe volume keys instead? That might create problems with track seeking though. Whatever...as long as there are options lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's too early for the G4 now. Currently only the EU H815 model has an unlockable bootloader. LG's official page says more devices will be added to the list soon, but I wouldn't count on that. Since you're from Canada and propably won't get the H815 on contract, it'd be risky. If I had your patience, I'd wait for the 5X. You seem to be an Android purist. I wouldn't want to deal with a device running a custom version of Android. Also, even if CM or any other AOSP ROM would make its way to the various variants of the G4, they're going to have these little issues here and there because of bad or missing documentation from the manufacturer. It'll be a buggy experience overall. For example, I'm sure the camera will be a mess on CM/AOSP/A
AZDJedi said:
So...what kind of experiences--good and bad--have you guys had with this phone? Is there good ROM support? It seems like M will be out soon...does that mean the code will also be available for developers? I see a few ROM's available but unfortunately I can't test them out because I don't actually have the phone.
I'm sure I'll have more questions but thought I'd get a discussion going for those interested in sharing their experiences.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's great so far. Running vanilla Android was a nice experience but I got bored. Having a custom UI with the option to use a custom vanilla Android is the perfect place for me. But as I said, right now I have no reason to go vanilla.

5X = 32gig no sd
G4 = sd
I can't live with 32gig so G4 fills all my needs. Stock too.
Sent from my LG-H815 using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks for the input guy! I'm glad to hear that the G4 won't have much ROM support for some time--not that I'm glad for the *lack* of support, I'm just happy that I was informed of this *before* I made my purchase lol. There are some things that vanilla doesn't seem to offer me. Some features are not needed (pie and other recent/quick access features, and others I can't even think of cos I never turn them on in my current ROM lol); however, the ability to alter the power menu, the ability to add custom hardware keys (mainly for flashlight; if not a hardware key, then at least a toggle in the tray, or in the power menu), status bar changes (clock, color, battery % in numbers, double-tap for screen off), led control, etc (perhaps all these can be altered with apps or via Xposed. @onetwelve You said above there could be problems with Xposed because there's no recovery. You mean TWRP recovery? You can't mean that, so I'm confused :s).
The lack of camera support would suck. I am by no means a photographer; the main thing I use my camera for are taking random photos and also taking quick snapshots that require a fast-focus to be achieved. It's frustrating when camera apps don't work properly. I think pretty much every camera is going to be good enough for my purposes. 21MP vs 16MP = whoopdeedoo.
SD card support is not a concern for me. I've lived with 16GB for years and it's almost never been a problem unless I record a bunch of videos before I get home. I don't put music on my device (only audiobooks). Getting a 32GB internal memory phone would be like landing in a pot of gold haha!
My buddy has been nagging me to get an iPhone 6 and jailbreak it--he says I'll never turn back...but I'm not sure, I love Android and don't really wanna learn a whole new interface.

AZDJedi said:
Thanks for the input guy! I'm glad to hear that the G4 won't have much ROM support for some time--not that I'm glad for the *lack* of support, I'm just happy that I was informed of this *before* I made my purchase lol. There are some things that vanilla doesn't seem to offer me. Some features are not needed (pie and other recent/quick access features, and others I can't even think of cos I never turn them on in my current ROM lol); however, the ability to alter the power menu, the ability to add custom hardware keys (mainly for flashlight; if not a hardware key, then at least a toggle in the tray, or in the power menu), status bar changes (clock, color, battery % in numbers, double-tap for screen off), led control, etc (perhaps all these can be altered with apps or via Xposed. @onetwelve You said above there could be problems with Xposed because there's no recovery. You mean TWRP recovery? You can't mean that, so I'm confused :s).
The lack of camera support would suck. I am by no means a photographer; the main thing I use my camera for are taking random photos and also taking quick snapshots that require a fast-focus to be achieved. It's frustrating when camera apps don't work properly. I think pretty much every camera is going to be good enough for my purposes. 21MP vs 16MP = whoopdeedoo.
SD card support is not a concern for me. I've lived with 16GB for years and it's almost never been a problem unless I record a bunch of videos before I get home. I don't put music on my device (only audiobooks). Getting a 32GB internal memory phone would be like landing in a pot of gold haha!
My buddy has been nagging me to get an iPhone 6 and jailbreak it--he says I'll never turn back...but I'm not sure, I love Android and don't really wanna learn a whole new interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no custom recovery as in there is none for the G4 variant you most likely will be getting in Canada, as of now. However, there are reports of an unofficial Bootloader unlock method coming for many variants of the G4. It's important to note that in this case you must not take OTA updates or the unofficial unlock method won't work. Anyway, no need to get into detail much.
There's no need for a custom recovery since flash fire is enough to get xposed working.
Btw. Is that a Rick & Morty reference?

Cool, thanks for the info. So it seems even the G4 won't suffice for me ...guess I'll wait for the X5 and see what happens there. I doubt Telus will carry it so I'll have to buy it outright. Support for that is going to be active and functional?
Never watched Rick & Morty...which did you think I was referencing?

AZDJedi said:
Cool, thanks for the info. So it seems even the G4 won't suffice for me ...guess I'll wait for the X5 and see what happens there. I doubt Telus will carry it so I'll have to buy it outright. Support for that is going to be active and functional?
Never watched Rick & Morty...which did you think I was referencing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you mean the 5X? In this case, yes, you can expect the great minds of XDA to develop for this device and since the 5X is relatively cheap and people tending towards mid-high-range devices, you can expect a big fellowship in the 5X development section and forum in general.
Nvm, I was referring to the "whoopdeedoo". Realized that "whoopdeedoo" is a very common saying. Just binge-finished Rick & Morty but somehow my brain is still processing the information.
EDIT: A Rick & Morty reference would be like, uh, like "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub", or "Get shwifty" or how much "Schmeckles" does the Moto X cost and so forth. Wait, what?

AZDJedi said:
Thanks for the input guy! I'm glad to hear that the G4 won't have much ROM support for some time--not that I'm glad for the *lack* of support, I'm just happy that I was informed of this *before* I made my purchase lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it certainly pays to do your research before you dive in.
There are some things that vanilla doesn't seem to offer me. Some features are not needed (pie and other recent/quick access features, and others I can't even think of cos I never turn them on in my current ROM lol); however, the ability to alter the power menu, the ability to add custom hardware keys (mainly for flashlight; if not a hardware key, then at least a toggle in the tray, or in the power menu), status bar changes (clock, color, battery % in numbers, double-tap for screen off), led control, etc (perhaps all these can be altered with apps or via Xposed. @onetwelve You said above there could be problems with Xposed because there's no recovery. You mean TWRP recovery? You can't mean that, so I'm confused :s).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
am not too knowledgable on the xposed side of things. it was an interaction i had with someone on youtube and they said if you do not have access to kdz, then in case of a boot loop you would not be able to recover. since you're in canada and the carriers there are no better than us carriers, xposed might not be an option unless you REALLY know what you're doing. There's these TOT's instead so somebody more knowledgeable can answer.
The lack of camera support would suck. I am by no means a photographer; the main thing I use my camera for are taking random photos and also taking quick snapshots that require a fast-focus to be achieved. It's frustrating when camera apps don't work properly. I think pretty much every camera is going to be good enough for my purposes. 21MP vs 16MP = whoopdeedoo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, vendors keep cameras very close to their chest. Only stock based roms will preserve camera or lets say are more certain to preserve it.
other stuff is going to be buggy or not work too well. this is down to developers so you end up using 3rd party cameras but its not the same as stock when it comes to cameras.
The cameras on the nexii are pretty good from what i've heard. But I would contend that the lack of OIS is an egregious omission when the last two nexii had it. Maddening! why go to the trouble to develop such a good camera and leave it out (!!!)
This means you will have to have a good handhold to avoid blur or camera shake indoors or in low light. But if the light is enough i think you will be happy with the nexus cameras. They really have come a long way since the Nexus 4. In good light i would not be surprised to see them rivaling the S6/G4 in terms of preservation of details. They are that good. But unfortunately thats it.
Btw the nexii are 12MP shooters. Don't let the mega pickles bother you just check out the photos at the pixel level and see for yourself.
SD card support is not a concern for me. I've lived with 16GB for years and it's almost never been a problem unless I record a bunch of videos before I get home. I don't put music on my device (only audiobooks). Getting a 32GB internal memory phone would be like landing in a pot of gold haha!
My buddy has been nagging me to get an iPhone 6 and jailbreak it--he says I'll never turn back...but I'm not sure, I love Android and don't really wanna learn a whole new interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thought the whole point of getting an iphone is that there is no need to do jailbreaking. not nowadays anyway. why would you want to jailbreak ios9 ?

Question about LineageOS for a newbie?

My GF recently inherited an older Galaxy S5 phone. The factory build only goes up to 6.0.1 and of course this phone hasn't been patched for Meltdown/Specter or any other recent security updates. The good news is that I understand this isn't much of a concern as long as all apps are downloaded and updated through the play store. She is an end-user, not a tinkerer. That is for me to do!
Here are my questions.
-What would be the main advantages of installing LineageOS for a very basic user? Would it improve security, performance, or battery life on the Galaxy S5?
-Will updates and bug fixes come in over the air much like they do for a supported factory OS or would I need to do these myself?
-Any apparent bugs in the most recent version?
-Would is be best to leave the phone as is since it is working and she is probably not really at risk for most of the security concerns?
I also have an older Galaxy S3 as well as some crappy Asus Zenfone 2E or something myself and would consider modding these if there was a benefit.
Thanks,
Conor

cwatkin said:
My GF recently inherited an older Galaxy S5 phone. The factory build only goes up to 6.0.1 and of course this phone hasn't been patched for Meltdown/Specter or any other recent security updates. The good news is that I understand this isn't much of a concern as long as all apps are downloaded and updated through the play store. She is an end-user, not a tinkerer. That is for me to do!
Here are my questions.
-What would be the main advantages of installing LineageOS for a very basic user? Would it improve security, performance, or battery life on the Galaxy S5?
-Will updates and bug fixes come in over the air much like they do for a supported factory OS or would I need to do these myself?
-Any apparent bugs in the most recent version?
-Would is be best to leave the phone as is since it is working and she is probably not really at risk for most of the security concerns?
I also have an older Galaxy S3 as well as some crappy Asus Zenfone 2E or something myself and would consider modding these if there was a benefit.
Thanks,
Conor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My main motivation is not security, but privacy. With lineageOS I can avoid Google apps.
I doubt there are big advantages in other aspects.
Biggest security risk is still the user. The more power you have over the OS, the higher the risk.
Ota updates come in weekly. Need like four or five taps to get downloaded and installed.
For older phones lineageOS helps you in saving storage space, or get adopted SD storage.

I may try the Galaxy S3 first.
kurtn said:
My main motivation is not security, but privacy. With lineageOS I can avoid Google apps.
I doubt there are big advantages in other aspects.
Biggest security risk is still the user. The more power you have over the OS, the higher the risk.
Ota updates come in weekly. Need like four or five taps to get downloaded and installed.
For older phones lineageOS helps you in saving storage space, or get adopted SD storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may try this on my Galaxy S3 first and see what I think. This is a spare phone for me so it can be my guinea pig. I also have a Nexus 6 and see that is on the supported device list. I consider that my go-to if something were to happen to my Note 8 but might install this to get Oreo if it works out well on the S3. The Asus is not but this was probably sold as a cheap throwaway phone anyway. The storage is basically full from the get-go with useless apps.
I assume you can use the Google Play Store if you wish. There are Google Apps I would want like the play store and Hangouts, etc. I run my business off a Google Voice number that redirects to my cell phone number so would want Hangouts for sure. I know this can be a piece of junk but I use it.
Conor

cwatkin said:
I may try this on my Galaxy S3 first and see what I think. This is a spare phone for me so it can be my guinea pig. I also have a Nexus 6 and see that is on the supported device list. I consider that my go-to if something were to happen to my Note 8 but might install this to get Oreo if it works out well on the S3. The Asus is not but this was probably sold as a cheap throwaway phone anyway. The storage is basically full from the get-go with useless apps.
I assume you can use the Google Play Store if you wish. There are Google Apps I would want like the play store and Hangouts, etc. I run my business off a Google Voice number that redirects to my cell phone number so would want Hangouts for sure. I know this can be a piece of junk but I use it.
Conor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can use OpenGapps or similar to get apps from Goggle. Only thing she might miss if she uses them is the Samsung apps which won't install, but there are plenty alternatives, but transferring old data may be an issue.

cwatkin said:
I may try this on my Galaxy S3 first and see what I think. This is a spare phone for me so it can be my guinea pig. I also have a Nexus 6 and see that is on the supported device list. I consider that my go-to if something were to happen to my Note 8 but might install this to get Oreo if it works out well on the S3. The Asus is not but this was probably sold as a cheap throwaway phone anyway. The storage is basically full from the get-go with useless apps.
I assume you can use the Google Play Store if you wish. There are Google Apps I would want like the play store and Hangouts, etc. I run my business off a Google Voice number that redirects to my cell phone number so would want Hangouts for sure. I know this can be a piece of junk but I use it.
Conor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started custom ROM business with a broken display phone. After first success I bought the exactly same model for use as primary phone. I continued using the broken one as versuchskaninchen. Testing alternatives or trying to reproduce bugs with clean installation. That's the recommended method for reporting a bug.
Software support of s3 is not as good as nexus. I bought a used s3 because dev is working on bringing device drivers to Linux kernel. - not completed yet.
Most people use play app (in GApps package) to access play store. I use more privacy friendly open source alternatives. Only WhatsApp is a social standard in Germany. I get it from play store with an app called yalp.

I am not sure this would be best for my GF.
My GF is not technically inclined at all and does not like change. I have her phone setup and working well for her right now and figure that if she is happy, I should leave it alone. I might mess around with a spare phone though.
I had to basically pry the old and unsupported Windows 8 phone from her. My mom upgraded and gave her an old S5. The Nokia Lumia 635 was a solid phone but nothing was being updated and it had essentially become a phone for talking, texting, and a WIFI hotspot as support for all the apps was dropped.
I have never seen anything concrete about rooting a Nokia Lumia but these would be a fun project since they are basically useless. Her old phone was a Lumia 635.
Conor

[REVIEW] Redmi Note 8 Pro from a developer

I've posted this review on the c.mi forums, There isn't anywhere in the review section that I can find to post a full review so I'm posting it in discussion, mods feel free to move it if there is a better category.
But, I felt someone in the same situation as me that bought this phone to get [back] into android development might find this useful.
Hello all, After having a Redmi Note 8 Pro and using it as my daily driver for a little over a month, I've decided it's time for me to write a review.
First, I'll give you all a little background on me, I'm a developer of everything from webpages to hardware, and tech enthusiast of all kinds. I'm from the US(NA market) so my knowledge of the Indian and Chinese markets are a bit limited although I do know pretty much how the EU market works as they're normally marketed to the almost the same way as the NA market, at least when it comes to tech. I started developing for Android with my Google G1 way back in 2008 and have been on an off developing for different android phones since then on a variety of forums. From the now gone SDX-Developers to XDA and Android Forums.(Through many different accounts as everywhere but SDX seems to end with me getting in an argument and deleting my account.) This is my first Xiaomi phone. I will be giving a review both as a user and a developer.
Marketing:
In the NA market this phone is marketed as a budget flagship, or "flagship killer" if you will. Pushed mostly towards tech enthusiasts and developers.
Their marketing technique is very similar to that of OnePlus, however without the strong reputation behind it that OnePlus has. If Xiaomi wants to continue using this marketing technique here they have a lot of make up for, and a lot of work to do for reasons that will become apparent later in this review.
User Review:
As a user I'm moderately happy with my purchase, the phone itself feels quality and is beautiful(I have the pearl white one). The price was decent, costing me $225 USD for the 64GB/6GB version. The processor is quick and the UI is gorgeous and snappy. The screen has really nice Darks and the HDR implementation is really good looking....When it works(Fixed in the new A10/M11 release). However, the software is really buggy with MIUI optimizations turned on, which is a shame because they make quite a difference to the snappiness and feel of the device. Apps sometimes don't work properly, refuse to show in portrait mode, or just won't use the keyboard(such as the newegg app which I use to order hardware quite often). There are a significant lack of updates, having just now as of today(28th May 2020) recieved my first OTA(Which is useless to me, more on that later). This has been a problem that the community seems quite aware and little angry about for good reason, seeing as how my device is still on the Dec 2019 security patch, with multiple high-threat CVEs being released since then. The IR blaster is nice, but the Mi Remote app needs a lot of work. I remember it being much, much better when it was "Peel Smart Remote" and using it on my Samsung Galaxy S5. The gallery app misses most downloaded pictures, and is quite the pain to get working. This is a shame as it's the only way to change the lock screen background, other than the theme app. -1 point for broken DRM and bugs -2 points for lack of updates.
Oh I forgot there are Ads throughout the system. This is UNACCEPTABLE in the NA and EU markets, to date this is the only phone I HAVE EVER SEEN put ads in the system framwork. I have owned at least 150 different android phones. This is becoming more and more forced by tech companies throughout different devices, specifically Chinese oriented ones and will not fly for long in Western Markets(especially the EU which already limits advertising). We paid for our hardware, you've got your money, now it's just being greedy, intrusive, and posing a risk to device security. (e.g The "security" app that puts ads in your package installer) It's easy enough to disable, but not everyone is going to know how, or want to do that. -2 points just for the ads, and honestly should be more taken off, the quality of the hardware is what's stopping me from dropping it -4 points.
Overall User Rating: 5/10
Developer Review:
Let me start off by saying, once again, that in the NA market this phone is marketed as an Unlocked device for enthusiasts, or a budget flagship(Which personally I have seen very little of this advertising for) It's on the front page of the XDA forums. Rooting and development is an important part of the Android Community, in what I've seen ALL MARKETS globally. We will begin at the rooting process. Unlocking the bootloader comes with a wait time. This is due to unauthorized retailers flashing chinese and indian varients to global and selling them, filled with [more] ads. So the fact that there is a 168 hour wait time to unlock the bootloader is completely understandable and I will take away no points for that. They're protecting their reputation in the least intrusive way they could, you know what? I'll even give them an extra point for the way they handled that part, +1. Now let's go to install TWRP, where right on the website is says "WARNING: This device hard bricks really easily for unknown reasons. Restoring device without spending real money is impossible as of now. " -2 points. This should have been my first warning to buy a different device. A somewhat large, reputable, and rooting advocate development team is warning users not to use their product, that's a red flag, and should never be something you have associated with your device or company as a whole. TWRP has backlight bug which can be fixed with an adb command, and really isn't a big deal seeing as how TWRP probably went through multiple devices getting their recovery out. Then flash Magisk. That's it you're rooted. I have to give them a hand, rooting really isn't a big deal. But let's pretend we're a new user and accidentally flashed TWRP to the boot partition, well you're SOL now, you have a $225 brick. There is no coming back from this unless 1, You have an authorized MI account, which you almost certainly do not. or 2, you pay some sketchy person halfway across the world to RDP into your computer and use their authorized account to unbrick you, as well as the 80% chance they're going to drop a keylogger, ransomware or they're going to syskey your computer and now you're still SOL, but you might have your phone unbricked, not very useful without a computer and an empty bank account though. They handled the way unbricking works terribly, and without cause. -8 points To add salt on the wound they release the source code like they're doing the development community a favor when it's 100% useless without a reliable unbricking method. -2 points for putting on a show. Which is sad, because otherwise the phone would be a pleasure to develop for. For example, you're in a bootloop something in /system got messed up. You can just flash the system.img from twrp and recover without any data loss or bloatware reappearing. That's amazing! the phone is partitioned very well, and has lots of xml, props and stuff to tweak from the start. Also, a really cute fastboot screen as a plus. Unfortunately, Xiaomi.eu has dropped all support for this device, as well as any other MTK based phones.
Thankfully, some totally awesome person at Xiaomi "leaked" an engineering preloader which can help prevent bricks as long as it's not overwritten and you stay on android 9. But, the downside is, No Android 10, No MIUI 12, No anything other than MIUI 11 Pie. If they would release more lks along side the updates for developers this would be insanely helpful, and breath some life back into the RN8P/8/T development community.
Still, as a developer, and a normal person, I'm afraid to do too much to this device, or develop kernels, recoveries or ROMS because i'm terrified I'm going to be out $225 and my daily driver phone, that I can't afford to replace if something bad happens.
Development Score: 0/11
Guy who leaked preloader score: 10000/10
tl;dr If you're not into rooting or development this is a pretty decent phone with quality flagship hardware, if you can live with ads in your system, and the bug in some apps. There are ways to remove most of the ads without root, and it does still get updates, although rare. It's worth $180-$200 USD if you find it for a good deal. Although you could just get a used OnePlus 7 Pro for around the same price maybe $50-$100 USD more(depending on market) and be much happier all around.

Nice review, such detail

I wish i had read this before, i've bricked my phone trying to flash new ROM after i spent hours getting to a lower firmware and then getting TWRP to work, finally flashed android 11 rom to get a brick
0/10 rating by more than average user who was sick of MIUI

ezequielfilipesantos2000 said:
I wish i had read this before, i've bricked my phone trying to flash new ROM after i spent hours getting to a lower firmware and then getting TWRP to work, finally flashed android 11 rom to get a brick
0/10 rating by more than average user who was sick of MIUI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, What a cocindence, I just gave someone a solution to install TWRP and root their stock ROM. Not a custom one though.

Kenora_I said:
Well, What a cocindence, I just gave someone a solution to install TWRP and root their stock ROM. Not a custom one though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure is, was that user using the latest miui version (android 10, miui. 12.0.5 i believe?)
I was also having problems flashing the TWRP ( latest one) recovery
I flashed but i didn't have sucess, it went into Redmi-Recovery 3.0
I had to get a old fastboot version of android 9.0 with muiu, flash it using miflashpro tools then, i had to flash the preloader ( https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-info-psa-redmi-note-8-pro-megathread-cfw.4056527/ )
Then i was able to flash the TWRP recovery and it worked
After that I tried flashing (after a wipe obviously, not going to flash dirty) Pixel Experience (AOSP) rom and it resulted in a bricked phone
10/10 I highly recommend the drama

Yeah the latest one.

Kenora_I said:
Yeah the latest one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you manage?
Was i doing something the wrong way? ( or all of it? ) ahahaha

Question Will you be unlocking BL/Rooting

Just out of curiosity. I know in most cases it isn't needed anymore but I've been on phones with locked BLs for about 3 years now so I might end up unlocking mine just to tinker around a little bit. Assuming we will be able to of course.

Right now I would say no - don't see a reason to. But I don't even know if I'll get this phone for sure I love tinkering with phones though. So on second thought If I do buy it, then I'll probably end up unlocking & rooting it at some point.

Root ofc, but who would need custom ROMs on a Pixel with 5 years of software updates?

xLexip said:
Root ofc, but who would need custom ROMs on a Pixel with 5 years of software updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, I haven't been able to run a custom ROM in 3 or 4 years so I'm behind the times lol. Not sure if there are still any features left in ROMs that stock doesn't have. Some folks just like the feeling of being on something custom. But yeah, I can totally see people just rooting in current times for AdAway and stuff like that.

On this topic, any idea if we'll be able to root and unlock the bootloader since it'll be the new tensor chip? I'm asking because on Samsung devices I remember being able to unlock only the Exynos and not Snapdragon, and I may be asking something silly here. Thanks!

If possible to unlock new chip, then I will root this badboy! Happy Flashing

xLexip said:
Root ofc, but who would need custom ROMs on a Pixel with 5 years of software updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5 years of security updates, not software

This time I've said no but if there is a healthy custom scene then it will be a consideration.
The trade off will be having to see what we lose in unlocking the bootloader and rooting.

DinarQ8 said:
5 years of security updates, not software
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Security updates are also software updates imo.
And Google doesn't just merge the android revisions, they still push some tweaks and fixes afaik.

I will not. I retired my 3XL this spring because I got a free Note 20 Ultra. So no root on it. The only thing I was rooting for was ad blocking and with Brave the few ads I get in apps don't bother me.
With Magisk Hide gone away I don't want to lose my banking apps and such.
FWIW I hate Sammy's software. Drives me crazy.

If the security chip somehow doesn't make it much harder, then sure I'll continue with AdAway and some free tethering. Otherwise, I've made my peace with it. Will grit my teeth and deal with these VPN ad blockers.

TonikJDK said:
I will not. I retired my 3XL this spring because I got a free Note 20 Ultra. So no root on it. The only thing I was rooting for was ad blocking and with Brave the few ads I get in apps don't bother me.
With Magisk Hide gone away I don't want to lose my banking apps and such.
FWIW I hate Sammy's software. Drives me crazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in this same boat. I feel like I had a Google phone for years.. going from the Nexus line to Pixel and then have the 1XL, 2XL, 3XL and didn't continue to buy because they started making a mid-range device... well now they're back to making a high end phone, but I switched to the S21 Ultra.. Sammy software (One UI) I am not a fan of.. I do miss the simple and clean stock android software, but samsung/vzw has done a good job of getting me the monthly updates, the camera and phone in general is phenomenal.. will be hard to leave this phone especially with no magisk hide

TonikJDK said:
I will not. I retired my 3XL this spring because I got a free Note 20 Ultra. So no root on it. The only thing I was rooting for was ad blocking and with Brave the few ads I get in apps don't bother me.
With Magisk Hide gone away I don't want to lose my banking apps and such.
FWIW I hate Sammy's software. Drives me crazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've been running Sammy devices the last 3-4 years waiting on Google to put out something like the P6. I'm so ready to get back on the Pixel train.

batpoil said:
On this topic, any idea if we'll be able to root and unlock the bootloader since it'll be the new tensor chip? I'm asking because on Samsung devices I remember being able to unlock only the Exynos and not Snapdragon, and I may be asking something silly here. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it can be unlocked/rooted, then I plan to buy. If not, I'll have to reconsider. I realize nowadays there's smaller need to flash, but it's kinda a hobby of mine and I like being able to tinker with my device

darbylonia said:
If it can be unlocked/rooted, then I plan to buy. If not, I'll have to reconsider. I realize nowadays there's smaller need to flash, but it's kinda a hobby of mine and I like being able to tinker with my device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the XDA spirit!

znel52 said:
Just out of curiosity. I know in most cases it isn't needed anymore but I've been on phones with locked BLs for about 3 years now so I might end up unlocking mine just to tinker around a little bit. Assuming we will be able to of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love to tinker too! Kills the boredom.

batpoil said:
On this topic, any idea if we'll be able to root and unlock the bootloader since it'll be the new tensor chip? I'm asking because on Samsung devices I remember being able to unlock only the Exynos and not Snapdragon, and I may be asking something silly here. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is one hell of a good question. Totally forgotten about the new chip!!

The only reason why I have flashed all my pixels was ad blocking. Nowadays, do you think DNS blocking like dns.adguard.com is good enough to achieve the same result or hosts based blocking is still the king?
I'm using Firefox with ublock origin, so that takes care of the websites, so there's just apps that remain.
Of course now Google is using it's own chip and it remains to be seen if it's a good thing or bad. Some people say it's a good thing, because in theory Google can now provide longer support, since drivers have always been the main issue.
Also lately Google has been making noises about upstreaming Android kernel changes with the eventual goal of just straight up using mainline kernel and modulizing the drivers. That will open possibilities way beyond rooting, more ROM variety, etc.

BL unlocked and root before opening the box.
Under no circumstances I will own a phone (or a computer, for the shake of it) that sends any data to servers of Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and the likes.
Cloud is just the marketing shiite to refer to someone else's computer.
Therefore I need root to remove all the crap, to do backups against my own computers, to have a proper firewall that blocks domains and IPs of unwanted servers, and so on.

To date,
Google has always allowed bootloader unlocking on their devices so I do hold out hope that they won't be making a change of tradition there.
They have been pushing OEMs and parts suppliers like Qualcomm to keep updated support for their products and part of that is contributing to providing source (AOSP). Further, as stated above, they are looking to eventually get on mainline Linux kernel if possible and have been going down that road for several years now.
Also let's not forget that Google makes it mandatory to release kernel sources for devices. It's just that not all OEMs comply and Google has never really enforced it for anyone else.
It's just my guess, but I think they will release all the sources and allow bootloader unlock. It would be a pretty massive change in rhetoric otherwise and massively hypocritical if they stopped now.

Question What do you loose if you root or flash a galaxy z fold, is Knox still an issue like before?

With samsung releasing necessary bits for the development of Custom ROMs is there still dramatic downsides to flashing any of these potential roms onto a samsung device, is the dreaded Knox still an issue in this department?

I am rooted what can i test for you?
Not sure how to test KNOX...
See my "how to root" thread for known issues (galaxy wear can't connect watch)

justloyld said:
With samsung releasing necessary bits for the development of Custom ROMs is there still dramatic downsides to flashing any of these potential roms onto a samsung device, is the dreaded Knox still an issue in this department?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted an s20 Ultra a couple of years ago the following issues occurred.
I had a Galaxy watch 2 and 3 both would fail to sync with the phone
s-health would not work
Samsung pay would not work
the secure folder would not work
Samsung pass also stopped working
these apps did fail to work but relocking the bootloader brought the google play certification back
google play store became uncertified which made google pay and my banking app also stop working
OTA updates stopped to
wasn't worth it for me haven't done it since the s20 ultra.

cooldude20000 said:
my banking app also stop working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try magisk hide or zygisk? if you dont mind what banking apps do you use?
I only ask because I haven't experienced any issues with the banking apps (Chase, Discover, USAA) I used on my last device, a rooted oneplus 7T Pro.

justloyld said:
With samsung releasing necessary bits for the development of Custom ROMs is there still dramatic downsides to flashing any of these potential roms onto a samsung device, is the dreaded Knox still an issue in this department?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
99.99% sure that KNOX eFuse will be blown with root ... and - in UK at least - your warranty is instantly & permanently void.

Yeah, AFAIK it blows the knox fuse, so anything with personal data from Samsung stops working. That includes pay, wear, health, sec folder etc. Also Google stuff becomes a pain. Probably work around for that, but honestly, doesn't give you anything, and just causes issue, so don't bother

the_ape said:
Yeah, AFAIK it blows the knox fuse, so anything with personal data from Samsung stops working. That includes pay, wear, health, sec folder etc. Also Google stuff becomes a pain. Probably work around for that, but honestly, doesn't give you anything, and just causes issue, so don't bother
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree. Rooting a phone in 2022 is as useful as buying a house with an outside toilet. Not many want this feature in their life.

Rooting doesn't make any sense anymore. on the contrary it brings so many issues especially regarding banking and password managing applications.
I was a flashcoholic during the good old days, and rooting a phone was the first thing I did when I purchased any phone. but that was because of the software limitations and the mostly not up-to-date Android on the phones I bought. Add to that I didn't have bank apps back then.
Now Samsung has almost the best software update policy, you can buy the phone today and have OS updates for the next four years, add to that the maturity the software and the UI have reached. Tweaks are barely needed and if so, there is the Good Lock app which has many useful additions and customization.

ghassan haddad said:
Rooting doesn't make any sense anymore. on the contrary it brings so many issues especially regarding banking and password managing applications.
I was a flashcoholic during the good old days, and rooting a phone was the first thing I did when I purchased any phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
#MeToo. I am a recovering root-a-holic from late 2000s to mid 2010s but rooting a samsung in the 2020s is more trouble than benefit for anyone who is not an active XDA custom rom dev.

i did root my fold 4 because several apps (titanium, Lucky Patcher) i use need root access.
and LP is so important because i can disable annoying ads in apps.
banking apps do run great with zygisk in magisk.

Thrudvangar said:
i did root my fold 4 because several apps (titanium, Lucky Patcher) i use need root access.
and LP is so important because i can disable annoying ads in apps.
banking apps do run great with zygisk in magisk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or just use Pihole and all your devices are add free... As for lucky got no need for it, didn't even realise still going..

the_ape said:
Or just use Pihole and all your devices are add free... As for lucky got no need for it, didn't even realise still going..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Pihole work for blocking Ads from apps?
Do you recommend it run on router or device or?

I've got it running in a container on my home server, but did have it on a raspberry pi for a bit. Works great and stops from everything

People who are talking that root is not as important as before. Give me an alternative to Viper4android without root. and I will get Convinced.

mastrok said:
People who are talking that root is not as important as before. Give me an alternative to Viper4android without root. and I will get Convinced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea why you need it, the sound profile is decent out of it with a little tweaking of the dsp settings and decent headphones. After all your listening for the most part over a lossy connection (Bluetooth) anyhow. But if you 'need' it, then more power too you, but a synthetic dsp is not worth the agro impo

the_ape said:
No idea why you need it, the sound profile is decent out of it with a little tweaking of the dsp settings and decent headphones. After all your listening for the most part over a lossy connection (Bluetooth) anyhow. But if you 'need' it, then more power too you, but a synthetic dsp is not worth the agro impo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using Viper for more than 13 years not since I owned a Samsung Galaxy S4, running by Huawei phones, Oneplus. I have never seen any OEM Audio tuning that brings the same quality and crisp sound that viper brings, and tons of customizations.. I make my phones sound better with Airpods pros than iPhones themselves..
I would really like to invest in a fold 4. but If I can't get it to sound like my rooted Oneplus 7t pro I will be very disappointed..

mastrok said:
People who are talking that root is not as important as before. Give me an alternative to Viper4android without root. and I will get Convinced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know what new functionality V4A would give me and I'm obviously not missing it as I haven't felt the need to root any phone for well over 5 years. Android 12/13 and Samsung UI is plenty flexible and open enough for the vast majority of users not to NEED to root.
Nobody is saying you don't have the right to root,... you do have the right! Go root yout $2000 device if you want to Its your choice
...but root with your eyes open and research the pros and cons before you flash a non-samsung image & permanently trip the knox efuse.
HOWEVER.... look again at the title of this forum topic
What do you loose if you root or flash a galaxy z fold, is Knox still an issue like before?​Answer: You lose a heck of a lot in most regions of the world ! .... Banking apps, Samsung Pay... Warranty. and Knox eFuse is tripped permanently.

in
mastrok said:
I have been using Viper for more than 13 years not since I owned a Samsung Galaxy S4, running by Huawei phones, Oneplus. I have never seen any OEM Audio tuning that brings the same quality and crisp sound that viper brings, and tons of customizations.. I make my phones sound better with Airpods pros than iPhones themselves..
I would really like to invest in a fold 4. but If I can't get it to sound like my rooted Oneplus 7t pro I will be very disappointed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi mastrok. i felt the same like you. i was using v4a since many many years and i loved it.
so then i did buy a fold 4 and i started to realize that v4a will not work on this phone. this was very sad and disappointing for me.
so i had to look for an alternative solution.
i installed jamesdsp via magisk and i use poweramp.
in jamesdsp i only set up the convolver. in poweramp i set up the equalizer and the bass and treble adjustment.
for me the sound is now like in v4a.
i am satisfied with that solution.
but to come back to the topic: you need root access for that i assume.

dezborders said:
I dont know what new functionality V4A would give me and I'm obviously not missing it as I haven't felt the need to root any phone for well over 5 years. Android 12/13 and Samsung UI is plenty flexible and open enough for the vast majority of users not to NEED to root.
Nobody is saying you don't have the right to root,... you do have the right! Go root yout $2000 device if you want to Its your choice
...but root with your eyes open and research the pros and cons before you flash a non-samsung image & permanently trip the knox efuse.
HOWEVER.... look again at the title of this forum topic
What do you loose if you root or flash a galaxy z fold, is Knox still an issue like before?​Answer: You lose a heck of a lot in most regions of the world ! .... Banking apps, Samsung Pay... Warranty. and Knox eFuse is tripped permanently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why do you say that you loose banking apps and samsung pay with root? that is not true!
and after root my knox status remained at knox 0x0 as i remember when i was the last time in download mode.
i can easily unroot it if i want.

Thrudvangar said:
why do you say that you loose banking apps and samsung pay with root? that is not true!
and after root my knox status remained at knox 0x0 as i remember when i was the last time in download mode.
i can easily unroot it if i want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It IS true in the UK that some banking apps wont run on rooted devices (santander, HSBC for 2 examples)
My understanding was that knox is tripped permanently first time you flash a custom rom or a non samsung image.
News to me that this has changed, but good luck to you.
I will never root a samsung phone again ever ever. no need. too many downsides. too few upsides.
Finally, there was a poll in XDA last month about who plans to root their Fold4. 75% of recipients said never ever. 25% said maybe.
Rooting is now un unpopular and specialist option less than 25% of XDA members want. This is fact, stats taken from an open poll.