Bought my S4 with ME7 from a N2 before I knew what was good for me. As a recovering flash-a-holic, ME7 has helped me appreciate the functionality and stability of a factory ROM. In the past, factory ROMs never really did it for me - mainly because I've owned devices where factory overlay versus hardware were never really equal.
Obviously AOSP was the way to go - stable builds of Cyanogenmod to be specific (nightlies and insert developernamehere ROMs always had insertquirkhere that inevitably revealed itself - being a perfectionist who loves minimalism, I had limited options. My ROM choice was always stable AOSP-built or TouchWiz with very light modifications (I looked for debloated, odexed ROMs with no mods, maybe volume key to change track).
Back to the topic name, has anyone grown content with their ME7 stock device? Obviously I'm anticipating Safestrap (I went from a Fascinate to a Bionic, then to GNex, GS3, GN2, GS4 for those wondering), but if it never reaches fruition, I could be content with this device for a little while. Opinions?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
zerofighter1 said:
Bought my S4 with ME7 from a N2 before I knew what was good for me. As a recovering flash-a-holic, ME7 has helped me appreciate the functionality and stability of a factory ROM. In the past, factory ROMs never really did it for me - mainly because I've owned devices where factory overlay versus hardware were never really equal.
Obviously AOSP was the way to go - stable builds of Cyanogenmod to be specific (nightlies and insert developernamehere ROMs always had insertquirkhere that inevitably revealed itself - being a perfectionist who loves minimalism, I had limited options. My ROM choice was always stable AOSP-built or TouchWiz with very light modifications (I looked for debloated, odexed ROMs with no mods, maybe volume key to change track).
Back to the topic name, has anyone grown content with their ME7 stock device? Obviously I'm anticipating Safestrap (I went from a Fascinate to a Bionic, then to GNex, GS3, GN2, GS4 for those wondering), but if it never reaches fruition, I could be content with this device for a little while. Opinions?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
root alone is fine for me, tbh, even though i run a custom rom. Just the ability to get rid of bloatware is fine with stuff like nova launcher.
zerofighter1 said:
Bought my S4 with ME7 from a N2 before I knew what was good for me. As a recovering flash-a-holic, ME7 has helped me appreciate the functionality and stability of a factory ROM. In the past, factory ROMs never really did it for me - mainly because I've owned devices where factory overlay versus hardware were never really equal.
Obviously AOSP was the way to go - stable builds of Cyanogenmod to be specific (nightlies and insert developernamehere ROMs always had insertquirkhere that inevitably revealed itself - being a perfectionist who loves minimalism, I had limited options. My ROM choice was always stable AOSP-built or TouchWiz with very light modifications (I looked for debloated, odexed ROMs with no mods, maybe volume key to change track).
Back to the topic name, has anyone grown content with their ME7 stock device? Obviously I'm anticipating Safestrap (I went from a Fascinate to a Bionic, then to GNex, GS3, GN2, GS4 for those wondering), but if it never reaches fruition, I could be content with this device for a little while. Opinions?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have ran basically every custom TW rom but now im on an me7 stock rom (can go back to mdk) and im content with it. Im running the xposed framework so I can do some basic customization. Getting some awesome battery life too, day and a half with 6 hours screen on time.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Rooted, debloated with TBU, tweaked a bit with Tweakbox and Wanam via Xposed and using Nova, stock ME7 is fairly dynamic. Will I try a custom via SS, and/or via a custom recovery.....you bet. Am I OK with the GS4 as is? Yep. Best phone I have ever had by a long shot.
I used a 16gb S4 for couple days and then returned it and ordered the 32gb version online. I knew I had found my new phone because the only thing that bugged me was the bloat and that will go once rooted. Came from GNex, which I hated stock. Before that, the Incredible-hated Sense. So I was really thrilled with the S4 in all respects.
Question: When my new S4 arrives in the next day or two, what's the way to keep it from downloading the update before I can get it rooted? (I realize it may come already updated, in which case I'll just root, period )
GNex Toro
Pull sim and root or just put it in airplane mode then root. If it can't communicate to wonderful world of VZW, it can't pull down the update
Eric214 said:
Pull sim and root or just put it in airplane mode then root. If it can't communicate to wonderful world of VZW, it can't pull down the update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The above would be the absolute 1st step/s. 2nd step is to freeze/uninstall SDM 1.0. and go to system root/data/fota/ and delete the ota file/s.
Getting rid of the bloat ware did it for me. My battery life is much better now than when I first got it. I still wish I could flash some different ROMs. I've never had a phone I couldn't do that on so this will be a first.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Actually, I'm ok with rooted ME7 for now. It's only been, maybe 10 hours, and most of that time has been spent searching and reading, but after removing all the bloat mentioned here and downloading blacked out apps from TBO Blackout Updater, I think it should be just fine. Especially coming from the ol' Fascinate.
My first Droid was a HTC Incredible. I went through tons of ROM"s on that. Everything from an ODex'd stock rom to MIUI. I ultimately ran MIUI with tons of customizations flashed via recovery.
With the S4 Im content with root and just getting rid of the bloat. I like TouchWiz more than I liked HTC Sense.
Just rooting alone and removing the bloat I can go 27 hours with 55% screen time and 8% GPS usage. I went with the 32Gb version and a 16Gb Microsd card with tons of wallpapers, notification sounds, etc.
Very content.
I used to be a flash-a-holic, but in the last year, I have had a child and gone back to school. I have found very little time or motivation to mess around with ROMs I don't like, have strange glitches, or are just plain unreliable. I know there are many good ROMs usually available for well supported devices, but the time spent trying one after another has worn on me. My Nexus 7 has been running the same fully functional ROM for a long time, and I feel no need to "update" to the latest version of the ROM just for the sake of having the "latest" when this is running rock solid.
Stuck on stock... hehe... has been good for me actually. Very stable, functional. reliable. After rooting, removing all the bloat (still just frozen until thouroughly proven to be safe for me), and installling HOLO Launcher HD, I am very happy. I am findng tweaks to polish the user experience more and more every day, and my battery life is much better than I thought it would be with this huge and gorgeous screen. I have had no issues with the heat or battery drain I read about and feared before diving in and buying this phone, and whether or not it is because the first thing I did was root and debloat, doesn't matter to me.
I love this phone, my first Sammy.
Tool Belt said:
Rooted, debloated with TBU, tweaked a bit with Tweakbox and Wanam via Xposed and using Nova, stock ME7 is fairly dynamic. Will I try a custom via SS, and/or via a custom recovery.....you bet. Am I OK with the GS4 as is? Yep. Best phone I have ever had by a long shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wanam Xposed is so awesome, finally able to customized the device how I like
IamPro said:
Wanam Xposed is so awesome, finally able to customized the device how I like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just installed Viper4Android.......WOW!!
Stupid question I'm sure, but how do I "debloat"? Is there an app, or is this simply manually deleting unwanted apps? FYI, I have Verizon ME7 rooted.
TMack1962 said:
Stupid question I'm sure, but how do I "debloat"? Is there an app, or is this simply manually deleting unwanted apps? FYI, I have Verizon ME7 rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Debloating is basically removing all the apps that come pre installed that you have no use/need for. There is a 1 click debloater posted in the dev section but I prefer to do it manually.
Hit thanks if I helped you out. Doing a little bit of reading goes a long way. Sent via tapatalk.
Related
Surprised myself and after two weeks of ownership I am still on the I717 Note's stock ROM. This was after constantly ROM flashing on my prior Android Samsung Infuse and iPhone4 & 3G (Jailbreak of course).
Stock battery life is decent and launchers like GO, ADW, etc. give plenty of ability to change icons, UI behavior, etc.
So far I haven't found any annoying problems that would require me to fix via rooting.
I HAD to root my prior Samsung Infuse because it had software bugs that required root to fix BUT I am real PROUD of my Note's ability to run strong and solid as a stock ROM. I haven't been forced to reboot yet in 2 weeks of ownership! Yeha!
For myself the KEY is to make myself to NOT TO LOOK AT Applications:Running Services...it makes me sick to see all those unnecessary apps loaded up.
I simply wanted to see how the Note behaved out-of-the box...and so far real impressed.
Will I ever ROOT - Probably, just to get rid of bloatware AND I will need to tether occasionally once I start traveling again.
Will I ever replace the ROM? Not sure, depends on features but definitely not interested in ROMs that just change icons, startup screens and colors.
anyway, this is just post to say how satisfied, thus far, with the Note's performance...as is.
Anything I'm missing that needs root to fix?
andrawer said:
Surprised myself and after two weeks of ownership I am still on the I717 Note's stock ROM. This was after constantly ROM flashing on my prior Android Samsung Infuse and iPhone4 & 3G (Jailbreak of course).
Stock battery life is decent and launchers like GO, ADW, etc. give plenty of ability to change icons, UI behavior, etc.
So far I haven't found any annoying problems that would require me to fix via rooting.
I HAD to root my prior Samsung Infuse because it had software bugs that required root to fix BUT I am real PROUD of my Note's ability to run strong and solid as a stock ROM. I haven't been forced to reboot yet in 2 weeks of ownership! Yeha!
For myself the KEY is to make myself to NOT TO LOOK AT Applications:Running Services...it makes me sick to see all those unnecessary apps loaded up.
I simply wanted to see how the Note behaved out-of-the box...and so far real impressed.
Will I ever ROOT - Probably, just to get rid of bloatware AND I will need to tether occasionally once I start traveling again.
Will I ever replace the ROM? Not sure, depends on features but definitely not interested in ROMs that just change icons, startup screens and colors.
anyway, this is just post to say how satisfied, thus far, with the Note's performance...as is.
Anything I'm missing that needs root to fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can stop those with Autostarts (free in the market), and requires root. It prevents them from opening at all. If you end up checking it out, use the "after startup" disable option.
- Root required apps (there a lot of really good ones - this alone would be enough for me to root).
If you're not interested in theming, or a lot of modifications, then stock is cool. Features, changes, and modifications from custom roms can be patched to stock roms; the only advantage of using custom ones is that they're baked in for you.
I am sticking on stock rom for now, just going to root so I can restore a lot of my old apps, nothing more.
I've already flashed Da_G's root/over clock kernel, which got rid of the lag I was seeing. As soon as cwm comes out of beta I'm going to check out saurom. The Note's out of the box experience is one of the best I've seen, but there is just too much improvement to be had to stay stock, IMHO.
Synner12 said:
I've already flashed Da_G's root/over clock kernel, which got rid of the lag I was seeing. As soon as cwm comes out of beta I'm going to check out saurom. The Note's out of the box experience is one of the best I've seen, but there is just too much improvement to be had to stay stock, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CMW b3 seems to be flawless so far!
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA
I think it is a good idea to stay all stock until ics update comes out and we apply it. (I expect them to want us to be all stock when applying the ics update that is why)
Underground_XI said:
I think it is a good idea to stay all stock until ics update comes out and we apply it. (I expect them to want us to be all stock when applying the ics update that is why)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough but there will be several ICS Roms months before official AT&T. (I am typing from my ICS Captivate right now for example). Plus you can always flash back to stock.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA
I was stock from best buy to my house and that's it and I can't wait till I can get a sub 100mb ROM onto here. The bloat is sickening and even after removing down to mid 100 it's still not performing to it's non touchwiz potential.
Just to throw in my two-cents, I am fairly impressed as well with the Touchwiz 4.0 interface. Coming from an Atrix (blur) and Inspire (sense), touchwiz is a big step up imo. It feels like gingerbread done right to me. Although it isn't without a few issues, like the slight but noticable lag (to be fair all stock roms seem to stutter a bit occasionally), the no wallpaper scrolling and no landscape mode for the touchwiz launcher.
I think it will be interesting to see what devs or even Samsung/AT&T come up with to merge Touchwiz and ICS. It's gonna be a good year in the ROM community on this phone I can feel it.
Both my notes are on stock. I have no need for a rom.
Sarius24 said:
Both my notes are on stock. I have no need for a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but... stock IS a ROM, too.
I think it is a great thing that this phone is so good that we can use it stock. Haven't got mine yet but I only plan to Root it and use stock for a few weeks, at least.
So far yes
Right now there really aren't that many roms for the galaxy note lte so I'm going to wait until ICS comes out play with that for a while then I'll be flashing away!
I think people obsess over nothing rather than actually use their devices. That said, I'm not bothering to flash anyone's cooked ROM until there's an ICS update from Samsung.
burhanistan said:
I think people obsess over nothing rather than actually use their devices. That said, I'm not bothering to flash anyone's cooked ROM until there's an ICS update from Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^That, less the o/c kernel. The performance boost isn't exacted necessary, but you WILL notice it.
I was going to try and stick with the stock ROM as long as possible. However, my addiction got the best of me, and im now laying in bed at the end of my first full day with my Note, and I'm running TPC2 with Da_G's OC kernel. Go figure. Haha.
Not that I was having troubles with the stock ROM, as it was actually really smooth and lag free for the most part. On the other hand, now my Note is an absolute beast. The Note is definitely the first Android I've been happy with out of the box, but I would still rather be running a custom ROM, if not just so I can tell people it's running custom software when I show them my phone.
Samsung really hit it out of the park with this phone. I will never look at a smaller phone the same way again. Forever ruined! And I find the SPen to be really comfy for just navigating my phone and precision of selection. Swyping is fun with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
I think it's not necessary for me to do anything yet. But don't get me wrong, I will root the phone eventually. I have a real problem with ATT telling me that I "have" to suffer software I don't want on MY phone. That in its self encourages me to root. But, I am waiting to see if ICS is really going to be available soon.
I wonder though if Rooting would affect the upgrade process--perhaps someone could answer this for me. If not, I would be tempted to root my Note after the thirty days (window of time for return) is up.
I flashed roms daily on my Inspire, but I am stock now and planning on staying that way forever or at least until If leaks. the only thing I've done is root to disable ads and remove bloatware.
I'm still stock. I've rooted and jailbrake-ed other phones. I really like this one the way it is. The bloatware etc don't bother me much. I may root after ICS. For now, my Note rocks pretty hard just the way it is.
Roger_15 said:
But, I am waiting to see if ICS is really going to be available soon.
I wonder though if Rooting would effect the upgrade process--perhaps someone could answer this for me. If not, I would be tempted to root my Note after the thirty days is up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you asking if root will affect upgrading to ICS? The answer to that is no. If you flash a custom ROM then that answer is yes. You would need to go back to stock ROM for the ICS update from ATT. However, there will be ICS ROMs here well before ATT releases it.
What's the 30 days thing? Not getting that part. What happens in 30 days? Maybe you mean the window to return your Note. I agree you might want to wait for that to expire before root. But you can also un-root if you want.
I'm on stock rom and don't plan to root anytime soon for both of my devices the note and gnex!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
I just got back home with my shiny new S4 and I can't wait to get the thing rooted and rom'd. But! Before I take the dive, I'd like to test the waters of this lovely phone's community.
If you have a few minutes to spare:
- What rom/kernel are you using? Why?
- What is one thing that you wish you knew about the S4 before flashing?
Thanks!
- EJ
.Ejekt said:
I just got back home with my shiny new S4 and I can't wait to get the thing rooted and rom'd. But! Before I take the dive, I'd like to test the waters of this lovely phone's community.
If you have a few minutes to spare:
- What rom/kernel are you using? Why?
- What is one thing that you wish you knew about the S4 before flashing?
Thanks!
- EJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you get to excited, you might want to check what firmware version you have.
riker147 said:
Before you get to excited, you might want to check what firmware version you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was painfully vague. Care to elaborate?
.Ejekt said:
That was painfully vague. Care to elaborate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know (which I'm not 100%sure since I'm on mdk) you cannot flash custom roms yet if on the latest update (mj7 with Android 4.3) If you're lucky enough (unlikely) to get one with me7 firmware, you can flash custom roms with safestrap. This phone is not doing so well in the development area as I expected it would before release. Hopefully someone can figure out a way around the locked down bootloader
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
.Ejekt said:
That was painfully vague. Care to elaborate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes it painfully obvious that you haven't read much around here.
What you first need to know is what firmware version you have. That determines what you can do.
What you asked is equivalent to saying that you have a car then asking what you can do to improve it - no data on what year or model, or what you want to do. Without that info, how can anyone help you? If you can't even be bothered to figure out what build you have to start with, nobody can suggest anything to help you.
Evocm7 said:
As far as I know (which I'm not 100%sure since I'm on mdk) you cannot flash custom roms yet if on the latest update (mj7 with Android 4.3) If you're lucky enough (unlikely) to get one with me7 firmware, you can flash custom roms with safestrap. This phone is not doing so well in the development area as I expected it would before release. Hopefully someone can figure out a way around the locked down bootloader
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to figure that out a couple minutes ago. I actually got pushed to ME7 while I was rooting my S4 (ironic?) and was able to stop it after that. So, it seems I was one of the lucky(ish) ones. Would've been nice to stay at MDK, but SafeStrap seems to be one hell of a tool.
.Ejekt said:
I just got back home with my shiny new S4 and I can't wait to get the thing rooted and rom'd. But! Before I take the dive, I'd like to test the waters of this lovely phone's community.
If you have a few minutes to spare:
- What rom/kernel are you using? Why?
- What is one thing that you wish you knew about the S4 before flashing?
Thanks!
- EJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there... I remember you from the Fascinate forums. I finally ended up getting an S4 about 2 1/2 months ago and for the most part it's a great device, but you can't expect near the same freedom as you had with the Fascinate.
When I got mine I ended up with ME7 so it sounds like you're in the same boat. I have mine rooted, but decided not to use Safestrap because of the limitations it brings (mainly the storage issue). I'm pretty happy with how I have mine set up and it's pretty snappy overall, but I really do wish I had gotten an MDK in order to really flash roms like I used to on my Fascinate.
If you choose to use Safestrap then go nuts and I hope you find some roms you like (Hyperdrive seems to get the most love around here from what I've noticed). I'll just quickly list off the modifications I did to mine that got it to where I like it:
-Froze all bloat with Titanium, including the SDM 1.0 (to prevent unwanted updates)
-Got rid of e911 icon and ongoing WiFi notification
-Installed the International Voice Dialer with call recording
-Installed Volume Boost mod (increased it around 50% over stock)
-Installed Xposed Framework so I could use Greenify features
-Used Greenify to hibernate all misbehaving apps (examples would be Facebook and Google Play Store) (... this increased battery life A LOT)
-Installed AdAway (adblocker)
-Turned all animations down to .5 in developer options and disabled all hovering effects on the lock screen
Doing all that really made this thing a lot better than it was, but I'm still hoping for a true bootloader unlock to start playing with it more. I have found a lot of the Touchwiz features to be quite useful, like the voice control stuff, camera app, etc, so I would probably stick with a modded Touchwiz rom if I had the option. Good luck.
edit: Oh and another thing you might not be aware of - the camera is set to 9.5MP by default in the app, you need to go into settings to use the native 13MP resolution.
One thing to note that no one mentioned (and in case you didn't read elsewhere) is that with SafeStrap you can not use ROMs with custom kernels. So that means no AOSP based ROMs like CM, Carbon, PACman and others since they are all using a custom kernel. At least until they get KEXEC working with SafeStrap (if they get it working). So basically you can only use modded TW roms with a stock kernel.
With Xposed and debloat I am able to get the look&feel i want and performance is pretty stellar (multiple days on standard battery when i'm not using it much). I've SafeStrap'd HyperDrive and it just seems like i'm missing something...
So my question, what does HyperDrive offer over a stock/rooted/debloated from a usability/functionality perspective? There has to be stuff i'm missing, but i'm clearly missing it. Back in the S3 days, I was avid for LiquidSmooth as it had the craziest button customization i've ever seen (still true, wtb remapping hardware keys on lockscreen to tasker-like action lists )... with the Droid X is was Liberty for the crazy battery life and obvious speed/response improvements... what is it here?
(Please note that i'm being genuine here. I have incredible respect for all the work ROM developers do (and have proven it with donations...) and I am in no means questioning the work of the HyperDrive development team.)
Scott has added all kinds of customizations/tweaks/enhancements to the ROM. Lots of stuff from the Note 3 as well. Read the 1st post in the main thread to see what has been done.
My battery life is at least 50% better than stock S4 (which my wife has)
decaturbob said:
My battery life is at least 50% better than stock S4 (which my wife has)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is likely a user-thing, as once i debloated and greenified stock/rooted my battery life is considerably better than what i am currently getting on HyperDrive. HD is good, but my previous debloated stock was a lot better. That's the main reason for my question, as I would have expected the other way.
Regarding the above post, i'll re-read the HD post again but most of what i saw seemed like Xposed add-ons or Note3 apks. I do not mean to diminish this, but these are things achievable in stock/rooted so if they are the only gain and my battery is about 50% as long then...
Other thoughts? And thanks for the replies
There biggest differentiatior to me is the full multiwindow port from the note 3 that allows us to have floating windows, dual app shortcuts, etc.
This is a topic that had been brought up a ton when we first realized the capabilities of a framework editor such as Xposed. It takes away a lot of the need for a custom rom. I remember I first expected it to replace skinned ROM's like the ones based on TW or Sense, especially as our bootloaders continue to get locked tight. The only thing really holding that back now is the fact that Xposed will probably never be compatible with ART.
Sent from my CIA sanctioned device
Digur said:
This is likely a user-thing, as once i debloated and greenified stock/rooted my battery life is considerably better than what i am currently getting on HyperDrive. HD is good, but my previous debloated stock was a lot better. That's the main reason for my question, as I would have expected the other way.
Regarding the above post, i'll re-read the HD post again but most of what i saw seemed like Xposed add-ons or Note3 apks. I do not mean to diminish this, but these are things achievable in stock/rooted so if they are the only gain and my battery is about 50% as long then...
Other thoughts? And thanks for the replies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't do anything more than install hd12....and I still have stock rom in place too....I didn't do any thing with wanam or xpose...or greenify or debloat....da nada. Is this a positive aspect. Hands down.
safestrap enabled, Hyperdrive driven
decaturbob said:
I didn't do anything more than install hd12....and I still have stock rom in place too....I didn't do any thing with wanam or xpose...or greenify or debloat....da nada. Is this a positive aspect. Hands down.
safestrap enabled, Hyperdrive driven
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I tried out HD and did not get the same battery life as i do with BoneStock. For me smoothness and battery life is key so i can use my phone as i want. I get .25%-.5% battery drain while idle. I get about 6 hours of SoT just about every charge and i have gotten up to 7.5 hours of SoT from time to time. I got nothing like that setting up the phone on HD the same way.
There are very good things with custom ROMs with performance tweaks and better battery. But TW has grown on me over AOSP which i had with my Droid Bionic. All I can say is, it's all about preference. Load one up and try and keep track of things that matter to you (lags/battery) and then try another. If you don't see much difference then go with what you like. It's just like food, no one can tell you what you'll like till you try it out yourself
are these newer android phones giving more reasons to stay stock? I have found with the G2 that I have no want (or need) right now to root/ROM this phone. Usually when I get a new phone the first thing I do is root it, clear all that carrier crap out, or simply flash CM for that stock android experience; I just have not found that need with the G2.
So, what is the point of this thread?
I want to know everyone's thoughts about this. Are you rooted...are you stock....and why you are or are not?
If you are rooted, I would also like to know what ROM/Kernel/etc you are running.
Thanks!
I am rooted but on stock everything else.
I mainly rooted for Titanium Backup and other root enabled apps like AdBlock and Greenify. Beyond that, stock is sufficient for me.
Stock unrooted. Since greenify is avaliable without root I kinda found no real reason to root. The only thing I really want is the dual window option from LG g flex. Maybe also to try out dorimanx kernel for undervolting and messing around a bit.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
vPro97 said:
Stock unrooted. Since greenify is avaliable without root I kinda found no real reason to root. The only thing I really want is the dual window option from LG g flex. Maybe also to try out dorimanx kernel for undervolting and messing around a bit.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main reason I usually root/rom is for speed and battery life....as we all know the G2 doesnt lack anything in either. I use the greenify beta as well and have noticed a huge difference in my battery life. The only thing tempting me to root is Titanium Backup but I have been fighting it because I'm so damn happy with the phone as it sits.
andydumi said:
I am rooted but on stock everything else.
I mainly rooted for Titanium Backup and other root enabled apps like AdBlock and Greenify. Beyond that, stock is sufficient for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
andydumi said:
I am rooted but on stock everything else.
I mainly rooted for Titanium Backup and other root enabled apps like AdBlock and Greenify. Beyond that, stock is sufficient for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link for adblock? Or at least point me in right direction
Root + Flex rom + Custom kernel
Why?
I like stock rom (UI and feature) but flex rom is better (Black UI + more feature)
I'm rooted and stock. Stock rocks. I'm also running g2 xposed. With this you have all the customizations on aosp but on stock Rom
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk
Xenovias said:
Root + Flex rom + Custom kernel
Why?
I like stock rom (UI and feature) but flex rom is better (Black UI + more feature)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if there was a Flex rom for the Sprint variant, I would probably reconsider. Althoughhhh I am running the LG Flex theme thru LG's theme manager which gives me a somewhat similar look to the Flex.
I like the stock ROM with xposed, but now I'm on AOSP, because micro stuttering on stock started to bug me, even if it was barely noticeable.
thoughts....
Flashing is so played out for me. A new feature gets added and something else breaks and needs to be fixed...repeat.
.....At this point just root and do your own thing(s).
But I have not did anything to this phone, it works just fine.
I'm stuck but rooted with a few xposed modules, adblock and of course the camera mod. Now it's perfect! Never been this happy with a device. I played with AOSP kk and that was fun for awhile. I came from a gnex previously, which I loved despite the shortcomings.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
I have 3x VS980s. Two are happy with being 100% stock.
I rooted mine from day1, but stayed with stock-based ROM for a month as I was happy with stockLG (I can satisfy my flashing urges with
my N7) ... Then I decided to explore the latest/greatest of Android on this phone... I would never go back to stock and don't even care when/if LG
would release a stock 4.4.x (OK, maybe we need the new OEM kernel source).
ROM+gapps are normally ~200MB instead of a huge download.
I get to try so many features out .. I can switch to other ROM (or even my Stock) Backups in a few minutes, if my mood changes.
Not that I fully need those features ... just the feeling of doing things freely.
I'm currently staying with Mahdi ... lean, fast, so-many-features, no issues (I had some freezes/reboots on early releases, still no biggies then).
DirtyUnicorns is great too, but may need some little time to smooth out the little bugs
Played around like 3 days with roms, i turned into a flashaholic, flex, non flex, tried so many roms and at the end of this, im on stock rooted now. i bought G2 Xposed (0,70 € - definitely worth!) and now it looks cool, its fast, stable, what else do i need? Darker UI? For what exactly? I actually using apps and not the starving at the settings and think "wow cool, its dark". no need, really. im pretty happy currently with full stock rooted. the next days i will customize my homescreen a bit and then its ready. just wait for 4.4
YOLO
Stock, rooted, debloated, xposed to get rid of GPS and dual wifi/lte notifications.
I'm coming from the HTC Rezound. I usually go for CM, but am very impressed with the LG interface. I have been tempted to try a flex Rom, but am happy having a phone that everything works, and has amazing battery life.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
tylerjames09 said:
if there was a Flex rom for the Sprint variant, I would probably reconsider. Althoughhhh I am running the LG Flex theme thru LG's theme manager which gives me a somewhat similar look to the Flex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their not a flex rom for sprint.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using xda premium
After flashing my Galaxy Nexus several times a week, and sometimes a few times in a day, for two years, I fully expected that I'd be doing the same with the G2. But I've been very pleasantly surprised at the speed, smoothness, features and battery life with stock. Stock has also been incredibly stable for me, No FC's, no lockups.
The stocks apps are much better than I expected -- the functionality has been excellent. I'm keeping an eye on the various sub-forums here for the G2, and may wind up flashing something new, but so far, I don't see anything more appealing than stock, and I'm not ready to give up the stock features. I may wind up with Flex, but I'm also guessing that there will be an update for the G2 sometime in the next 2 or 3 months, and my guess is that it may have some of the extra feature's we're seeing today in the Flex ROM. For now - I'm happy to remain stock, experiment with themes for the stock launcher and simply enjoy this fantastic phone. Still feels weird, as this is the first phone I've had where I'm really happy with stock.
^^Same exact situation for me,I'm loving the g2,just need to get rid of some of the bloat. But something deep inside really wants to start flashing away,but it's just too good as is, I stopped after root and recovery.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
I rooted first to get rid of all the status bar icons. Overkill lol I don't need to know NFC or WiFi is on. And with xposed tweaks, its all I need. I have zero interested in an asop ROM. Using flex and love it
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Hi all!
I've been an S3 user for a little over 1.5 years; been a native of the Sprint forums (although my Sprint S3 is flashed to Page Plus).
Now that VZW has made their prepaid plan a lot more competitive and included LTE, I'm planning on making the jump, and picking up an S4 in the process. The $ cost to me will end up being negligible, as I'm able to sell my S3 and mostly make up for the expense of the S4.
I've loved my S3 - I run a rooted stock 4.4.2 rom, debloated all the samsung & sprint crap via titanium, and a ktoonsez kernel that's been tweaked to work well with my phone - and it functions perfectly - still fast, great battery life for a ~2 year old phone, etc. Been around android for some time now (first phone was the OG incredible), so am perfectly comfortable tweaking and such, however I don't want to spend too much time doing so.
I'm reading about the S4 and curious if it's worth the upgrade. I've heard several people online complain about the verizon 4.4.2 update causing overheating and issues with the phone. If I root, debloat, and run a quality custom kernel, am I likely to have issues?
I only use my phone for web browsing, calendaring email, texting, and talking - no gaming. I'm mainly looking forward to having the nicer screen and camera, and the likely possibility of a few more Android updates (which the S3 is unlikely to get). Honestly I'd love to have the next Nexus or something that runs closer to stock, but don't have the luxury to wait around for that phone (and I want to stay on vzw's network).
I've been doing some reading around your forum and am just curious as to your thoughts on the jump S3 -> vzw S4! Pros & cons?
Thanks much,
-Dirk
VZW has it locked down. You can root & perhaps a custom rom using Safestrap. But only TW based roms & some Xposed framework customization. Just about 0 choice on kernels. (unless you can get hold of one with MDK bootloader, - - then you are golden.)
wtherrell said:
VZW has it locked down. You can root & perhaps a custom rom using Safestrap. But only TW based roms & some Xposed framework customization. Just about 0 choice on kernels. (unless you can get hold of one with MDK bootloader, - - then you are golden.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh. I was planning on picking up one of the manufacturer refurb ones ($200) thru vzw's site. I'm assuming those will all be on whatever the newest bootloader version is ... this is disappointing (don't really mind running stock, just need to be rooted).
But really no kernels work on the newest OTA?
EDIT: Wow, just read the "Customizing your vzw S4" post ...
If the bootloader isn't "I545VRUAMDK" you have a locked bootloader and can only use Safestrap to install custom ROMs. Custom recovery is not possible. Attempts to install custom recovery will soft-brick your phone and require you to re-flash a stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is very unfortunate. Hmm, now I'm not so sure about this purchase. Assuming the S4 gets Android "L", do you think the device will be locked down again and root will be removed permanently?
dirkdigles said:
Huh. I was planning on picking up one of the manufacturer refurb ones ($200) thru vzw's site. I'm asking those will all be on whatever the newest bootloader version is ... this is disappointing (don't really mind running stock, just need to be rooted).
But really no kernels work on the newest OTA?
EDIT: Wow, just read the "Customizing your vzw S4" post ...
That is very unfortunate. Hmm, now I'm not so sure about this purchase. Assuming the S4 gets Android "L", do you think the device will be locked down again and root will be removed permanently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a lot of great roms you can run and yes you can obtain root with the newest version nc5. Easy as pie with towelroot. Don't even need a pc. Safestrap 3.72 is what you will need if you get the latest version. You could check out swappa if you want a MK2 or maybe even a MDK. Safestrap has its own recovery and works just fine. Most of the people on here use Safestrap. You would be happier if you found one running 4.3 as opposed to 4.4.2 because of better battery life but NC5 (4.4.2) works fine and is a lttle faster probably.
dirkdigles said:
That is very unfortunate. Hmm, now I'm not so sure about this purchase. Assuming the S4 gets Android "L", do you think the device will be locked down again and root will be removed permanently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the bad part about safestrap vs. a custom recovery? I still see CM11 for the S4. Is it a lack of backups or something?
Flowah said:
What's the bad part about safestrap vs. a custom recovery? I still see CM11 for the S4. Is it a lack of backups or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safestrap enables you to flash roms on a locked bootloader which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the big limitation is basically that you can't touch the kernel on a locked bootloader without kexec support ( which will probably never happen) so the only roms you can flash have to be based on the same firmware that your phone has stock. No AOSP roms at all or TW roms that are newer than an OTA and no custom kernels.
All the AOSP roms you see are for MDK and Dev edition phones.
Flowah said:
What's the bad part about safestrap vs. a custom recovery? I still see CM11 for the S4. Is it a lack of backups or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u don't have mdk firmware safestrap only option and no cm or asop roms.
sent by safestrap powered echo v26
I'm pretty happy with my phone. It's not a huge jump from the s3. I am rooted on 4.4.2 and flash roms with SS. You can flash aosp look alike roms. Also, my battery life is just fine!
s4 upgrade not worth it
dirkdigles said:
Hi all!
I've been an S3 user for a little over 1.5 years; been a native of the Sprint forums (although my Sprint S3 is flashed to Page Plus).
Now that VZW has made their prepaid plan a lot more competitive and included LTE, I'm planning on making the jump, and picking up an S4 in the process. The $ cost to me will end up being negligible, as I'm able to sell my S3 and mostly make up for the expense of the S4.
I've loved my S3 - I run a rooted stock 4.4.2 rom, debloated all the samsung & sprint crap via titanium, and a ktoonsez kernel that's been tweaked to work well with my phone - and it functions perfectly - still fast, great battery life for a ~2 year old phone, etc. Been around android for some time now (first phone was the OG incredible), so am perfectly comfortable tweaking and such, however I don't want to spend too much time doing so.
I'm reading about the S4 and curious if it's worth the upgrade. I've heard several people online complain about the verizon 4.4.2 update causing overheating and issues with the phone. If I root, debloat, and run a quality custom kernel, am I likely to have issues?
I only use my phone for web browsing, calendaring email, texting, and talking - no gaming. I'm mainly looking forward to having the nicer screen and camera, and the likely possibility of a few more Android updates (which the S3 is unlikely to get). Honestly I'd love to have the next Nexus or something that runs closer to stock, but don't have the luxury to wait around for that phone (and I want to stay on vzw's network).
I've been doing some reading around your forum and am just curious as to your thoughts on the jump S3 -> vzw S4! Pros & cons?
Thanks much,
-Dirk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the samsung galaxy s4 on verizon and i wouldnt say the upgrade is really worth it from the s3. If you want to stay with samsung go with the s5 with all the newest specs. Then once you get it, if you dont like the soft ware then just flash a stock s3 rom to it and it wil be like your s3 just work a lot more efficient. In short, it is not worth the upgrade from GS3 to GS4.
joshm.1219 said:
Safestrap enables you to flash roms on a locked bootloader which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the big limitation is basically that you can't touch the kernel on a locked bootloader without kexec support ( which will probably never happen) so the only roms you can flash have to be based on the same firmware that your phone has stock. No AOSP roms at all or TW roms that are newer than an OTA and no custom kernels.
All the AOSP roms you see are for MDK and Dev edition phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just an fyi for people, this isn't totally true. In the general section there is a thread about running a 4.4.4 GPE rom. I've been on the 4.4.3 version for a few days and it's great. With gravity box I can get it set up almost like a custom rom. There are a few bugs but nothing that is a deal breaker (for me)
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
rrrrrrredbelly said:
Just an fyi for people, this isn't totally true. In the general section there is a thread about running a 4.4.4 GPE rom. I've been on the 4.4.3 version for a few days and it's great. With gravity box I can get it set up almost like a custom rom. There are a few bugs but nothing that is a deal breaker (for me)
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's true, seems like only a few of you really have it working flawlessly though.
joshm.1219 said:
Yes that's true, seems like only a few of you really have it working flawlessly though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been following the thread that closely, didn't realize. There are definitely issues (no usb connection is a big one) but after losing my mdk phone 2 months ago on a warranty issue, i love this rom.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app