Greetings,
I'm posting this on the General as the forum associated with this mobile device is pretty much dead ATM. It falls very much more in the category of "I need help figuring out how to do this Android Global thing" rather then a very specific issue with a device.
The long and the short of it is the Samsung Galaxy On5 SM-G550T/1 was a fairly short lived phone in the US. It's a barebones phone that has a lot of features of design choices of the Galaxy S5 and S6 while having very minimal accessory hardware (which as an altimeter and advanced GPS systems).
This phone, however, has seen *A LOT* of popularity in Easter EU, Middle Eastern or Indian markets and thus there is a TON of Rom development still active for this phone.
The SM-G550FY has significant differences with the Sound Drivers, Camera Drivers, Bluetooth Drivers and Modem Drivers that makes the ROMs, in general, compatible enough to be installed, but not compatible enough to have the Sound or Camera work and has varying levels of Modem and Bluetooth viability; more often then not, they work though.
Someone finally dropped a hint that most these drivers are in the /system/lib folder requiring CHMOD of 740 to work; but no one to the best of my knowledge has actually gotten this "workaround" to work. This was something that was completely foreign (no pun intended) to many of us who have posted in that forum. I've had zero success with this, but it seems to have gotten me looking in new directions for fixes.
So my questions are a few fold that I hope the XDA greater community can help with:
#1.) Is there a way to import the correct drivers that are verified working in the same version of Android from another rom?
#2.) Are drivers for different versions of Android the same (IE 6.0 and 7.0 since those are the ROMs being regularly released) or are we reliant on Samsung to release a properly working set of 7.0 drivers to get Android 7.0 working on the US/CA variants of the phone?
#3.) I'm looking for good resources to learn how to build an installer for a ROM to try to build and release a patcher to make SM-G550FY roms compatible with SM-G550T/1 Roms. What resources could you suggest to get myself better up to speed to doing this.
#4.) I'm also looking for good resources to learn how to build ROMs perhaps based on Lineage for my model of the phone. Where would I go to learn more about that?
Thanks for any help you guys can provide.
Related
Hi,
first of all i want to say that this thread is in no way meant to offend or me being impatient about anything. I am just asking the question to know the answer.
I noticed, that many dev´s for the SGS2 (such as codeworkx and others) have big/giant trouble to bring a new Version to our Phones.
The problems seem to be that big that they have to wait for a Kernel from Samsung to make it even work a bit.
From my other/previous Phone, the HTC Dream i know that there weren´t such big problems.
It got 4 perfectly stable main iterations (2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3) of Android after its updates were discontinued and it already has a 4.0 version that has only 2 issues left to fix. All that without a kernel beeing released from HTC for the specific OS version. (i remember that the Camera drivers for 2.x were completely created from scratch to make it work [or so] )
My question is:
Why is it so much easier/less complicated to make a total new version run on the HTC Dream than on the SGS2? without the help of the manufactor
I'm not sure but I think its because other phones get source code releases for all the hardware or at least most of it to make porting/dev easier. Whereas Samsung hasn't released source for all the hardware in the sgs2 because of contractual obligations/restrictions from other hardware vendors that provide some the chips inside...
I also believe Samsung has modified Android quite heavily and badly in their quest to have the touchwiz interface, which also makes things difficult to reverse engineer etc...
I don't its anything actually difficult about the actual hardware itself
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
This is sort of a technical question regarding the architecture of the Android OS and possibly its licensing, etc... For most Windows computers, you can simply download, or buy a copy of Windows directly from Microsoft, install it on any x86 hardware and it will be fully optimized (speed, battery life, etc...). Why can't Google make a build of Android like this so I can simply buy a copy from them and install it on my phone with OEM hardware overtop of their bloated and skinned version of Android? For example, why can I not buy, say a Galaxy SII, and then buy a copy of 'Vanilla Android' from Google and install it legitimately and have it work? I realize that I can flash a copy of CM7 or some other custom ROM from open source developers but I would like to be able to just simply buy a copy of stock android, directly from Google, install it on my device, and have it work, just like with a Windows computer. Is the reason Google does not do this due to licensing issues? Or is there some other reason for this seemingly obvious solution to all the annoying OEM and Carrier bloatware that most Android phones are subject to?
Note: I realize this question has already been asked but I was hoping for a reason for why Google can't (or won't) provide an alternate build of android that works on all devices in addition to the stock builds that come with phones. As well, why do device manufacturers insist on being total d'bags and not just simply release all the drivers for their phones so we can choose the best phone for the reasons you want to (i.e. speed, build quality, price, specs etc...) and not because of the stupid bloatware or lack thereof?!?
Because, stock Android means absolutely NO drivers installed for a specific device so your phone WILL NOT function (No Touchscreen, No signal, etc). Samsung releases their own firmware after compiling their own Baseband, Kernel and ROM. This contains their touchscreen drivers, wireless drivers, etc. When you change the ROM, you essentially void the warranty, so manufacturers do not encourage it, but they do allow you to combine their components together for you to make your own custom ROM (using their baseband, kernel and/or Samsung official rom as their base roms)
They build their own ROMs so that they know what they are managing, and what they need to fix and update. Also there's also a USP for every product released, let's say, Sony Ericsson's UI with Timescape, Samsung's Touch-Wiz UI, Motorola's Blur, etc. If you want a stock phone then I suggest you go for the Galaxy Nexus, or one of those Nexus phones that Google themselves maintain.
If you want a stock copy of Android OS on the Galaxy S II, try CyanogenMod, it is a custom ROM which is very stock and runs on every device, BUT each device, you need to download a DIFFERENT rom, because their different drivers. If you expect Google to release drivers for each phone for their stock OS'es, they will go insane as their are an uncountable amount of Android devices released on a weekly basis
Great answer Nicholas I read this about an hour ago & spent 10 minutes trying to come up with a detailed answer that would make sense to a user of any experience level. Then I gave up
I'm referring to all smartphones not only SGS2 here.
Ad part 1 - It could be difficult. Every device is different and going this way Google would have to prepare/upgrade it's OS for every device on the market. This is hell of a job, so it's up to device manufacturer or community to do this. I think smartphones differ to much (much more than PCs), so it's not possible to create one system for all. Besides, warranty issues - manufacturer of the device could not be responsible for problems caused by someone else's OS (this is understandable). It's also worth to notice that flashing a smartphone is a process completly different than installing OS on PC as PC cannot be bricked in this process. Give users easy way to flash anything on their phones and you have another gate to problems as they will surely flash everything including windows dlls on their phones. You say that on PC any OS can be installed, I say FOR NOW. In a few years You will have a choice - cheaper PC, windows only, OS only from manufacturer or more expensive one and you install anything You want. Why do you think UEFI was created? It will happen unless PC market collapses, because according to some market analytics we are entering post-PC era and mobile devices will became our main devices.
Ad part 2 - It's just business model. Manufacturer/carrier does not sell You the device (that's how they see it), they sell You some bunch of features and have no interest in You adding more of them to Your device. SGS2 is a flagship phone and it's kernel sources are released. It has unlocked bootloader also. You payed accordingly - so you free to do much more things, and use full hardware potential. With lower-end devices - manufacturers prefer that You buy another device instead of upgrading current one. Market insist on lower prices, but with every device unlocked/released drivers etc. prices would be much higher and smartphones much less affordable. Devices like SGS2 are created for very specific users - power users/devs/businessmans/enthusiasts.
I think that You want impossible. IMHO it's almost miracle that Samsung released some smartphones with unlocked bootloader so You can flash everything You want. (btw. it was the reason for me to choose sgs2). And about that "bloatware obsession" - I just don't understand why some people are sooo obsessive. I don't find some app usefull - I don't use it, period. But TBH I must say that Samsung put some serious s**t preinstalled on SGS2. Sometimes it outranks even worst market junk.
Hello dear people, I hope I can be forgiven for asking a potentially stupid question.
With my 850F batteries failing, I am hoping to get some more months out of this once expensive phone. So I've been looking at some custom ROMs to see if they make a difference. But it seems like the fingerprint reader never works. People tell me it's because the driver source isn't available.
So, is this a question of legality (the driver cannot legally be included with roms) or of possibility (the driver is deeply dug in)? Because if it's the former, I was wondering if there's some file I can take out of the stock firmware and put onto my phone to make the fingerprint reader work with any rom?
Also, I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the terrible support Samsung has given for this phone. We got one late update from Kit Kat to Lollipop. It looks so vanilla it makes one wonder why it took so long. The black background colors from Kit Kat changed to white, a terrible choice for an OLED screen. So with regard to the already meager battery, this update has been a regression.
I'm trying to get as many months out of this phone as I can until the next generation of phones comes out. I love the Samsung hardware but I might look for brands that are either more frequent with updates or open source enough so that custom firmware development is not hindered by unsupported hardware.
I'm thinking the next phone should just be under 5 inch and powerful enough to be a desktop computer running full Linux, like Ubuntu OTA 11 (if someone introduces Android compatibility) or Maru OS, so I don't have to carry around a laptop anymore.
Fingerprint scanner works fine with all Samsung based ROMs (OzcanROM and EpsilROM) only CM ROMs (CM and ResurrectionRemix) don't support it (aswell as heart rate monitor)
93drago said:
Fingerprint scanner works fine with all Samsung based ROMs (OzcanROM and EpsilROM) only CM ROMs (CM and ResurrectionRemix) don't support it (aswell as heart rate monitor)
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Click to collapse
I hadn't even thought of the heartrate monitor yet!
Yes, I tried those non-Samsung ROMs. I thought if I use the Samsung-based ROMs, I might as well use the Samsung ROM.
Because they use proprietary drivers, and samsung does not disponibilize them, well, when marshmallow launch, its is POSSIBLE that Samsung bundle the source code with a generic fingerprint driver, as fingerprints reader support is a generic and system wide thing in MM, just like when hardware acceleration via GPU was an propietary thing in android 2.3 and being default on android 4.0
With the release of Android 10, we have yet to realize the state one ui will be in when Samsung gets around to the update, however my question being is one where porting might be an option from tab s4 to tab s3, or is it just custom roms until developmentally impossible? (the developmentally impossible part being unlikely)
I want to start a real conversation about advance compatibility porting, as is the issue with dex, if we could get a bare bones port started until we could make our own variants stable, just like we did with the google lens.
I understand the issues with infringements, and hard bricks, but I believe if we could make a port just like the one ui/pixel experience rom. [see thread(https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-fe/development/rom-team-pixel-pie-1-0-t3934106) for details] We could maybe port oem updates to different devices ((minding scaling and resizing issues) not the best example, I know).
Now I'm not too keen on porting whole oem updates from proprietary device to proprietary device, or even from oem apps, but maybe we could come up with a solution.
Any response will be appreciative.
Years ago I rooted a phone I had to the latest Android, only to find that the hardware wasn't up to running a more complicated OS, even the Cyanogen version that was equivalent to the original Android version didn't exactly breath much life into the old dog.
Given how shockingly poor the experience on my T820 can be on the stock ROM, I find myself once again tempted to give a custom one a go, but was wondering if the newer ROMs place significant additional load on the hardware? Is it worth the effort? Does it make them responsive?
I don't use the tablet for anything heavy-duty; mainly what I want is responsive browsing, Skype and some basic apps...
imacleod said:
Years ago I rooted a phone I had to the latest Android, only to find that the hardware wasn't up to running a more complicated OS, even the Cyanogen version that was equivalent to the original Android version didn't exactly breath much life into the old dog.
Given how shockingly poor the experience on my T820 can be on the stock ROM, I find myself once again tempted to give a custom one a go, but was wondering if the newer ROMs place significant additional load on the hardware? Is it worth the effort? Does it make them responsive?
I don't use the tablet for anything heavy-duty; mainly what I want is responsive browsing, Skype and some basic apps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@imacleod,
Based on the views and comments I see for custom ROMs for your tablet, this ROM:
[ROM] SM-T820 TWEAKED....................[rom] sm-t820 tweaked
SM-T820 TWEAKED 5.1 ***** PIE ***** 20JUN2020 T820_CTD5_TWEAKED_5.1_DB4_by_rorymc928.zip Based on latest stock CTD5 firmware Tweaked, stable, zip aligned. SU/D Forced encryption disabled Deknoxed Debloated (GPU driver updated to latest...
forum.xda-developers.com
appears to be the best choice for improving your tablet's performance. If you are serious about installing it, check out the most recent posts in the thread. You will find a very useful post that goes into great details about how to install the ROM properly.
I feel you regarding sluggish performance on a stock Samsung tablet. I had a Samsung tablet a long time ago and it felt like watching paint dry when I tried to simply play a video. Also, what is it with the HUGE bezel size on Samsung tablets ? I recently bought a Lenovo Tablet and it has a very thin bezel.
In any event, good luck with your tablet !!
Thanks. I was hoping for some feedback from people that had applied a ROM to the S3, whether they found it transformational - or perhaps not - and whether the best idea is to go for the latest and greatest, or stick at the lowest level that's got general support.
I'm not one who's installed a custom firmware, but I see you've not got much response. This device was very expensive at launch, so was a hard reach for many people. Fewer people means fewer developers.
The custom firmware available for this device is quite sparse. In addition, there seems to be troubles getting all of the hardware to work correctly. They're not placing any load on the device as its the same kernel version as stock.
That being said, I do believe the S3 is past its support period, so will not be getting new firmware from Samsung.
Reading the fora for the custom firmware show that the device can be more responsive than stock (as long as you don't need the hardware that isn't working).
Additionally, rooting and debloating the stock firmware has shown increased performance for those who have done it (including myself). I'd recommend this route prior to attempting a custom firmware unless your primary goal is to ditch samsung and google.
undrwater said:
I'm not one who's installed a custom firmware, but I see you've not got much response. This device was very expensive at launch, so was a hard reach for many people. Fewer people means fewer developers.
The custom firmware available for this device is quite sparse. In addition, there seems to be troubles getting all of the hardware to work correctly. They're not placing any load on the device as its the same kernel version as stock.
That being said, I do believe the S3 is past its support period, so will not be getting new firmware from Samsung.
Reading the fora for the custom firmware show that the device can be more responsive than stock (as long as you don't need the hardware that isn't working).
Additionally, rooting and debloating the stock firmware has shown increased performance for those who have done it (including myself). I'd recommend this route prior to attempting a custom firmware unless your primary goal is to ditch samsung and google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I did actually take the plunge through the week and installed rorymc928's rom. So far, I'd say that it's more usable than stock - e.g. it's not so slow that entering a PIN after a restart hits the screen lockout out before I'm done - but not overly stunning when browsing (perhaps my expectations are too high). It has made me a lot less inclined to reach for a hammer/put it on eBay, and it may be the best balance between what's available and losing functions/features. If I feel brave I may try a more advanced tinker at some later point in time...
If you want to get an idea what Samsung thought was important for this tablet, watch some HDR content from youtube. Gorgeous!
But... Not really useful. Android tablets are a teeny niche, but someone should be able to produce something for the market!