Related
DISCLAIMER: This thread contains NOOB questions!
Hi all,
First of all I guess most of you really dislike these kind of threads. But I am reading xda for 2 months now, searching all over the place for some answers. Probably read almost every guide etc. but I really can't get my head around this amount of information. So here I am with the age old question: Which rom should I install?
I ask this question here because of all the fora I visited xda seems the most knowledgeable.
So here is the situation. I was running Samsung 2.3.4 with launcher pro. But this was all a bit buggy and didn't feel right. So I was really glad to see the 2.3.5 update. I was still thinking this would contain gtalk video chat and ad hoc connection detection. But I was mistaken.
First I thought maybe install the most recent stock version. But as far as I can see this is also still 2.3.5 and doesn't include the previous mentioned features (correct me if I am wrong).
Currently I am this far as I probably "need" a custom wrong but the list seems endless and the one seems better than the other. And I feel a bit lost.
I looked at the following so far: Lite'ning; Oxygenrom; Cyanogen and Villainrom.
Lite'ning rom looks nice and fast but this much blue isn't good for the screen and I hear development is halted so probably not.
Villainrom, I can't find really good video's and I can't find that much info. So no for now.
Oxygenrom looks fast but I also not sure yet.
The best candidate seems to be Cyanogen right now.
So what am I looking for. Besides the two mentioned features above (gtalk video, ad hoc) I am not really sure if I am ready to unlock yet (but if it is necessary). Futhermore I am not really a fan of bugs either (duh) and I don't want to miss any features (FM radio for example). Oh and I am bit of a minimalist when it comes to looks. So that is secondary .
Hopefully I didn't bug you all to much and I am really looking forward to your opinions and experiences (good and bad). And I am still open for suggestions.
Carnelain
PS I haven't really found a "which sellers of jigs are safe" thread. Does anybody know or is it an idea to start one?
Wait for II1 firmware .
jje
If you have to ask these questions, Cyanogen isnt for you (experienced users only)
have a look in the android development forums (original & derivative) for a bigger choice, theres plenty out there.
Futhermore I am not really a fan of bugs either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
who is?
Sorry what exactly do you mean?
If you have to ask these questions, Cyanogen isnt for you (experienced users only
He means not for users who know little about flashing and roms ,Its the most difficult rom of them all .
You have read the posts but not understood them otherwise you would not be asking your question what rom .
You could go to one of the Rom Kitchens and build your own .
But in your shoes i would read the details on the latest custom roms what they have and whats missing .
Minimal look is stock or MIU .
PS I haven't really found a "which sellers of jigs are safe" thread. Does anybody know or is it an idea to start one?
Safe as in what ??? i dont see reports of unsafe jigs .
jje
I think OP's question is great, there's a lot of info on XDA but I can't find ONE stable/popular/regular thread discussing ROM vs ROM. The which ROM is best thread always pop up but then die after a couple of posts.
I think it would be great if users posted when they switch ROM commenting the switch, and if other users who tried more than 1 ROM posted their experience.
I'm a long time XDA user (Nexus One->Captivate->Nexus S->SGSII), have run a bunch of ROMs and read XDA EVERYDAY (multiple times lol) and read every post in LeoROM, Cognition, JKay and Siyah Threads but still I have the same question as the OP (was about to make a thread about it).
On my SGSII I've only run Cognition (since v1.0 to latest 1.5.1, gone through 2.3.3 and 2.3.4), also gone through all modems till latest KI4 and kernels (ninph, speedmod) till latest Siyah 1.8.
I've been thinking about switching ROM for some weeks now (want 2.3.5!) but couldn't decide, was about to convert to Leomar's ROM but then encountered other ROMs that look good and have a bunch of followers: Cristelko, DlevROM, TouchX Power, and now even more options!: Cyanogen stable out now and Cognition 2.3.5 announced coming soon. I hate being undecided!!! Was really decided on LeoROM, just about to switch, but now found all these other seemingly very good ROMs!
I'm a flash addict, love updating ROM, Modem & Kernel, but I HATE wiping! And I don't like to switch ROMs or update from 2.3.4 to 2.3.5 without wiping. So I want to decide what to flash!!! I'm not going to try all of them (I don't have the time and I hate wiping) so I have to rely on other's opinions, reading a lot (following the changelogs) and then make a definite decision!
So please guys, anybody who has tried more than 1 ROM, can you share your experiences?
To check out the most popuar roms, look at how big the discussion thread is (reply, views).
Also a suggestion can be the one to check "veterans" signature, usually this ppl use the most stable/bugless firmware.
For my personal choice im on Cyanogen but yes, thats not for beginners.
My 2nd choice is the "nandroidbackup" of my Black S2 (check my signature) a lot easier to install and beginners ready
Also Miui is a good choice (and dosnt look like the stock tw rom) but got BT/TV Out bug for now, so if you need a stable bt it's not the choice.
To end my 5 cents, i think it's better for you, try out 3-4 roms and pick the one you feel better with.
I think the choice is pretty individual, some ppl loves a rom that some other really hate and so.
Its very simple their is no best rom its users choice . Your preferred rom may be a themed rom i hate themes .
jje
batista is realy fast and stable and has a pretty fresh look. but i have some batt issues with one of my three SII it should be something else
leomar75's revolution is pretty good and highly themeable
---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 PM ----------
insanity ii has pretty good batt live but is too simple for my likes
I don't recommend you flashing CM7 since it's harder than flashing samsung firmware based ROMS. Unless you really want it and then well, it's not that hard anyway.
Anyway, if you have root installing gtalk with video is easy, you just need a root explorer app, I use FIle Expert becasue it's free. Just follow this guide step by step and you're done http://samsunggalaxys2blog.com/sams...1-3-with-video-calling-for-samsung-galaxy-s2/
If you want a custom ROM, maybe you could try checkROM www.checkrom.com since it has good support for themes and stuff. And it is updating and will update with each relevant firmware release. And flashing it is just simple. Well hope it helps.
For last, if you really want to go with CM7, I can say that it's the best ROM I've flashed. I just started with it a couple of days ago and you can feel the smoothness inmediatly which I never had in samsung firmware. Anyway there are some bugs, you loose samsung apps like polaris office which I used a lot, FM radio I think doesn't work for now, and the camera app is worse than the samsung one that comes with the phone. But for me at least it's worth it, the main funcionality is there, bluetooth, wifi, etc.... Well, if you decide to flash it please don't use ROM manager becasue it won't work. I can help you with the steps i did if you want, so pm me if you need it because I probably won't be looking at this thread again.
Good luck!
I have used CM6 for Sony Xperia X10i. But really what I want is something that is lightweight and good battery life. I usually always install Nemus Launcher and a horde of my fav. apps. I am not concern about the themes as I never use the default themes. What I want is the built in SIP for GB over 3G. Can someone recommend a ROM for me to use? I have already rooted my phone.
I'd suggest VillainRom. Its stock, fast, and has the best battery of all KI3 roms in my opinion. It all really depends on what kind of rom what you want!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Just trying out the X-Power ROM ... so far so good...
Thanks spradling for backing up my thread. I must admit I was a bit scared of by the previous replies. Nevertheless been ploughing through more threads and finally gave up on finding an answer. I guess everybody tries at one point and hopes they don't have to start a %*(^& I think I bricked my phone thread.
So which one to try. Well the heck with it cyanogen has the best looking website if they build there rom the same way what could go wrong.
Well a lot let me tell ya. It was a very feverish night and I had to flash my phone for like 20 times before I got it right (see this thread).
Nevertheless it works and it works great. I can seed there are some bugs. For example I had a slow response when waking up the phone but after going back and forth between the minimum cpu (200 to 500 MHz) that was gone.
Gtalk + video works (yay!) but still no ad hoc connection. I did some customization and my phone looks and feels slick now. I haven't tried the fm radio but it probably will not work. And I am missing the touch to focus in the camera app but that can be replaced (stil looking any suggestions).
The only thing that really worries me is the battery life. It shortened drastically but it could be me mishandling the battery.
Nevertheless I a pretty pleased with myself and my phone.
Hopefully this helps somebody
Carnelain
PS thanks for the offer tomascunill but I figured it out
Carnelain said:
Thanks spradling for backing up my thread. I must admit I was a bit scared of by the previous replies. Nevertheless been ploughing through more threads and finally gave up on finding an answer. I guess everybody tries at one point and hopes they don't have to start a %*(^& I think I bricked my phone thread.
So which one to try. Well the heck with it cyanogen has the best looking website if they build there rom the same way what could go wrong.
Well a lot let me tell ya. It was a very feverish night and I had to flash my phone for like 20 times before I got it right (see this thread).
Nevertheless it works and it works great. I can seed there are some bugs. For example I had a slow response when waking up the phone but after going back and forth between the minimum cpu (200 to 500 MHz) that was gone.
Gtalk + video works (yay!) but still no ad hoc connection. I did some customization and my phone looks and feels slick now. I haven't tried the fm radio but it probably will not work. And I am missing the touch to focus in the camera app but that can be replaced (stil looking any suggestions).
The only thing that really worries me is the battery life. It shortened drastically but it could be me mishandling the battery.
Nevertheless I a pretty pleased with myself and my phone.
Hopefully this helps somebody
Carnelain
PS thanks for the offer tomascunill but I figured it out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an lgCamera app in the market which I found better than the one that comes in CM7, you could try it and see if it works best for you. As for battery life, it seems to be better in the latest nightlies (the latest beeing 87). IF you're in stable version I HIGHLY suggest you to move to the latest nightly since there are lots of thing fixed that in "stable" version are not working right.
Thanks for the advice tomascunill. I tried the camera app and although it has the touch to focus feature I am not really blown away by it. Probably because of the lack of image stabilisation. But I'll find something that suits.
Futhermore I updated to the latest nightly. I wonder what issues are resolved. Does anybody know where to find the change logs? And I was wondering about another thing I installed the stable version because I expected it to be, well..., stable. But a better question might be how unstable are nightly's?
Must say I still like my phone but now the galaxy nexus (I liked nexus prime better) is out I feel like I jumped the gun. Well lets wait and see what cyanogen will do with ICS or what ICS stock looks like.
The best ROM is the one you choose. U need to test many rom to have your own opinion.
My favorite is LeoMar 2.7.1
I prefer stock ROM i mean without too much modifications.
LeoMar is a "stock" ROM that you can easily personnalised.
I use :
SpeedMod [Kernel]
Fly in [Animation]
And some mods.
This rom provides me the best battery life.
you could always flash a odex 2.3.5 ROM - would be mostly stock, have all the sammy apps/widgets etc etc. flash a kernel like siyah2.0 or latest speedmod - you can tweak a little bit, not stray too far from stock, and get better battery life with a custom kernel.
Everyone else here is right - CM7 is nothing like touchwiz and would be a big "leap" away from sammy/TW style interface
- x-power with siyah2.0 is a good combo!
aussois said:
you could always flash a odex 2.3.5 ROM - would be mostly stock, have all the sammy apps/widgets etc etc. flash a kernel like siyah2.0 or latest speedmod - you can tweak a little bit, not stray too far from stock, and get better battery life with a custom kernel.
Everyone else here is right - CM7 is nothing like touchwiz and would be a big "leap" away from sammy/TW style interface
- x-power with siyah2.0 is a good combo!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong but I want to get as far away from touchwiz as possible. I probably have the term stock confused. I always thought it meant just android.
Best ROM threads are subjective.....
Best thing to do is take your time to read ROM threads and make a backup of ROM using then flash away find what ROM/Radio suits you best.
On that note thread closed.
Just rooted my SGS2 with this forums help after got fed up with Samsungs decision to delay even further ICS release for sim free owners. Flashed Pure 7.2 rom and am kinda happy with it. But would like to give a try other roms too. Pure seems to be so much better battery wise then stock. Google experience and most important no bloatware.
Am looking for a smooth and battery friendly rom. Am looking forward for a stable CyanogenMod 9 release but till now exploring the option.
Many thanks in advance ...
There si no such thing as the best rom. The best rom is the one that you prefer, take a look around the SII page and try a few. When you have gone through a few choose which you like and stick with that one
If you want a solid rom then go for checkrom which is gb and based on tw but there is no fully stable ics rom...wait for cm9 to get stable.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
actually there are a few roms that are quite stable... omega, litening as well as wanam are the ones i ve used so far.... although there is still a lot of improvement for these roms, if you wanna check out ics I think they are good enough to give them a try...
Posts like this are usually closed as best does not exist and the same question will be posted thousands of times in a year .
Try them all .
jje
thanks for your input
JJEgan said:
Posts like this are usually closed as best does not exist and the same question will be posted thousands of times in a year .
Try them all .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you everyone who took their time to post here for me and maybe other interested. Firstly I do really understand that there is no such thing as best. And I really never meant to ask for a best rom. I just wanted advise on what would be at least worth to start to try. Which ones are better out there. I just started rooting as really got fed up with Samsungs delays and some really unnecessary for my liking apps included (like bbc iplayer etc)... There are so many roms that I would not really want trying all. Therefore seeking for advise for some better roms out there. And not in their experimental or so stage.
Thanks @frankimm but as you mentioned its not fully stable yet I will skip it on this occasion.
Thanks @pokkas88 I was actually considering lite'ning rom myself. Will check on omega.
My first flash was and is Pure ICS v7.2. It is nice and stable. yesterday with my regular usage got more then 24 out my regular usage. Where on stock 2.3.4 would last only half a day... But something is not right with contacts there. Was lagging when trying to organised and join contacts (google, facebook, skype...) and phone app seems laging a bit too. therefore a bit annoying. otherwise solid and stable rom....
Still hope to hear more opinions...
forgot
forgot to mentioned. Roms with better support from other developers would be probably priority. What I mean the roms that get dedicated addons as I undestadand addons are compatible only with certain roms. And would not really want to get creative in trying to force addons whilst am still learning here...
I highly recommend Hydrog3n rom - I've upgraded to this from Check ROM, prior to finding this I tried several other ICS AOKP to find stability issues, I have to say this is a fantastic rom and cannot recommend you try it enough.
Failing this, Check ROM was great; I had issues with it rebooting or not reconnecting to my mobile network if I lost signal, and ultimately I wanted to do away with Stock so I went for an AOKP rom.
Omega is my fav especially black blue theme
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
My hones opinion and just in the process of deleting ICS rom number twelve . Non are up to scratch and ICS is not as good as 2.3.6 .
jje
I recommend "Resurrection ics remix" by westcrip. it is really stable. And soon he will publish 4.0.4 AOKP. just give him a try
Just try them all until you like one, there is no other way
Closed
Soooo i just bought a used vibrant off craigslist ($75), and i immediately wanted to update the software to ics. Checked the current firmware, was still the original 2.1!!!
So i come here to do my usual research, and quickly i realize that's its not as simple as rooting, flashing recovery and and is Rom....
With all the modems, bootloaders etc, i have no clue where to start. Im not asking for someone to link every file or anything ... But if anyone could break down the basics steps by step i would appreciate it very very much.
Thanks in advance for any help or even pointing me in the right direction.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Actually, it is rather simple to install ICS on your newly purchased Vibrant and thus it won't be long before you're enjoying the wonderful perks of Android 4.0. Simply follow this guide by Woodrube, it has everything you'll need. Step-by-step instructions and the required files.
Now the real question is, which ICS rom is the "best". In which case I'd suggest you to check out the ICZen rom found exclusively on the RootzWiki forum. Great help support and an overall great rom.
N00B_IN_N33D said:
Actually, it is rather simple to install ICS on your newly purchased Vibrant and thus it wont be long before you're enjoying the perks of Android 4.0. Simply follow this guide by Woodrube, it has everything you'll need. Step-by-step instructions and the required files.
Now the real question is, which ICS rom is the "best". In which case I'd suggest you to check out the ICZen rom found exclusively on the RootzWiki forum. Great help support and an overall great rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your help.
After my first try with ICS, I loved it, however its not quite fully functioning enough to leave it on my wifes phone as a DD...
with that said, in your opinion, what is the most fully functioning GB rom available?? Im flashing Asgard 3.2 as we speak...
Thanks again for your input.
sactownsav said:
Thank you so much for your help.
After my first try with ICS, I loved it, however its not quite fully functioning enough to leave it on my wifes phone as a DD...
with that said, in your opinion, what is the most fully functioning GB rom available?? Im flashing Asgard 3.2 as we speak...
Thanks again for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, I'd like to say that I completely second noob's post. It was exactly what I would have wrote (except I would have done it way less neat and clean like lol)
But in terms of GB roms, there are quite a few good ones to suggest. Personally, I always found myself going back to 360's prime rom. It handled great, and often times gave me upwards of a day and a half on the stock battery, and 2 and a half on an extended one. Also, it's MIUI which is pretty neat, since it's entirely customizable. Anyways, if you're in the market for trying out some great GB roms, I'd certainly suggest checking out this thread at Rootz:
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/24076-roms-6miui-gb-t959-vibrant-from-360-productions-compalation/
Good luck
Thanks for the nod N00B and Xeno.
If you find that you are having trouble with some things, there are plenty of people that can help. We have all been through the ringer so to say and have found work arounds for 99.9% of the errors. I know that N00B and myself are using Zen as our daily drivers (and probably Xeno too).
Some like Slim others like Passion and Euphoria but above all, I must forwarn you to look at the big grey warning in my ICS guide about the possibility of the Encryption Error. It is something that you'll need to decide if ICS is worth it or not.
If you decide that you want to put your wife on a stable 2.2 ROM, Fishman has a few nice Mods and Moped_Ryder just put out a stellar 2.2 that is fast, stable and EVERYTHING works (including GPS).
sactownsav said:
with that said, in your opinion, what is the most fully functioning GB rom available?? Im flashing Asgard 3.2 as we speak...
Thanks again for your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well in terms of GB roms, I've only tried Miui. Before ICS became available to the Vibrant, Miui was my daily driver. Some of its key features is that it is very customizable, gave good battery life, and had a gorgeous UI.
If you need help installing it, check out my Miui installation guide. You can find a link here, stickied in the Q&A section, or below in my signature. PM me if you need any help or tips to get the most out of Miui (I know all the tricks to get Miui to run like a beast. So feel free to ask).
N00B_IN_N33D said:
Well in terms of GB roms, I've only tried Miui. Before ICS became available to the Vibrant, Miui was my daily driver. Some of its key features is that it is very customizable, gave good battery life, and had a gorgeous UI.
If you need help installing it, check out my Miui installation guide. You can find a link here, stickied in the Q&A section, or below in my signature. PM me if you need any help or tips to get the most out of Miui (I know all the tricks to get Miui to run like a beast. So feel free to ask).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive ran MIUI on a couple different devices in the past (htc mytouch 4g, G2X), and while I have some friends who love it...it just wasnt for me. So I eventually landed on Biffmod which has seemed very stable, the best mods from CM7, and the gps works. One thing... between voodoo and DSP manager, after playing with the settings on here the sound is easily better than my SII... it sounds amazing in my Kicker headphones
Thanks again for all the help, dont think Ill end up giving this to wifey....may just keep it as a backup/mp3 player after hearing how clean the audio was
My question is pretty much specified in the title. I LOVE CM. I have it installed in my N7 and GNex but I've read that CM9 and 10 are in ALPHA stages. Help? Please?
Possible answer
HemiDroid03 said:
My question is pretty much specified in the title. I LOVE CM. I have it installed in my N7 and GNex but I've read that CM9 and 10 are in ALPHA stages. Help? Please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This question sounds or could be in the Nook Tablet Q & A forum. The closest thing to stable http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1877217 beside certain games title don't work as noted in "Known Issues:" may want to try this even though it listed as UNOFFICIAL. 12/10 is pretty close to a complete solution if you don't mind flashing updated roms and gapps.
HemiDroid03 said:
My question is pretty much specified in the title. I LOVE CM. I have it installed in my N7 and GNex but I've read that CM9 and 10 are in ALPHA stages. Help? Please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that when I asked this question once I got this reply which actually was good advice. If you ask 10 people which ROM is best you will get ten different answers. You just need to do your research and pick the one that will give you what you need with the least amount of issues. What is good for someone else is not always good for you. I still use cm7. Doesn't mean that it is the best available, but it provides what I need. It is hard to decide what to use, just try them all until you find what is good for you.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium
Vector2nds said:
This question sounds or could be in the Nook Tablet Q & A forum. The closest thing to stable http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1877217 beside certain games title don't work as noted in "Known Issues:" may want to try this even though it listed as UNOFFICIAL. 12/10 is pretty close to a complete solution if you don't mind flashing updated roms and gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tmjohnsonfse said:
I know that when I asked this question once I got this reply which actually was good advice. If you ask 10 people which ROM is best you will get ten different answers. You just need to do your research and pick the one that will give you what you need with the least amount of issues. What is good for someone else is not always good for you. I still use cm7. Doesn't mean that it is the best available, but it provides what I need. It is hard to decide what to use, just try them all until you find what is good for you.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I usually try and do my research before asking a question, I've been flashing since the OG Droid but there's nothing solid for the NT as mentioned above by Vector. I'm aware of the few ROMs out with some issues. Getting 10 different answers will always give me an idea of where 10 different ROMs stand which will give me a better insight on them so I don't mind the different opinions and suggestions. The NT is my 8 year old daughter's and I want something stable enough so she won't get frustrated with it but I guess I'll flash something and hope for the best. Once again, thanks for the input.
The most stable ROM by far is celticwebsolutions cm 8&16 GB beta. I have flashed about every ROM available for nook tab. I have run this ROM for months now and even lasted ten days off the charger without a reboot or dead battery( ultra light use of course). Cm 9 and 10 are fun to play with' but are plagued with reboots due to 3.0 kernel issues' etc. Especially for an 8 year old' you don't want freezes and reboots requiring a hard reboot. I really love the cm10 ROMs, but even 1 or 2 freezes is too many for me for a heavy user such as myself. I keep trying them and always revert t cm 7 beta. You are not missing out on any apps sticking with cm7 over the newer builds. A slicker ui and advanced ecosystem are nice though. So nice, in fact I have moved onto a nexus 7 and now my 2.5 y/o son mainly uses my nook now to play angry birds and some others. He navigates around with ease' I would feel uncomfortable setting him up on cm10 as he would often have to come to me for a reset. For us adults' an slightly unstable ROM with extra bells and whistles is just fine. Half the fun for me is troubleshooting and trying new ones. I would go with the mentioned cm 7 and call it a day.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Firstly you need to remember to post any threads in the correct sections and a thread that starts with [Q] has no other place then Q&A.
The reason I've closed this thread is because best ROM threads aren't encouraged on the forum due to exactly what's been said already, you ask 10 people you get 10 different answers, it's too subjective and goes nowhere. The only way you'll know is by reading the development threads and also trying ROM's out for yourself. All best ROM threads get closed for these reasons and why you don't see active best ROM threads here.
Thanks
AvRS
Recently rooted, on stock ICS and was looking to upgrade to at least 4.1+. There are many ROMs 4.1+ but some have Data not working, Bluetooth not working. I am looking for a custom rom that I can pretty much use like a daily (as long as essentials work...data/camera/text... I'm interested)
Appreciate any response, thank you.
I'll second this - never put on a ROM since there was so little development, but I'm getting to the point where it's either a new ROM or start planning for a new phone.
Sent from my BN Nook HD using Tapatalk
Greetings,
There is no such thing as a "Best/Most Stable" rom.
It's all a matter of personal opinion.
My advice is read and flash until you find something that meets your needs.
Thread closed.
Thanks,
BD619