I have a Xiaomi Mi 4 phone. android version is 7.1.2 and my phone manufacturer is not likely to release android 8 update for my model. So i plan to install android 8 or 8.1 using custom rom (for running some corporate apps) and not interested in android 9.
Please let me know if Pixel experience custom ROM is open source or not. Apart from lineage, what are other trustworthy open source custom ROM?
If i go for open source and popular custom ROM, chances of anyone writing code for backdoor entry to my phone or info from phone getting transferred to developer is slim, right?
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Hello,
I've had huawei mediapad lite S7-931u for about 1,5 years now and been looking for of custom rom for it, well there's none
available. Anyway, I noticed that Huawei released this: "MediaPad 7 Lite Open Source(S7-9xx, Andriod4.0)"
consumer [dot] huawei [dot] com/en/tablets/support/downloads/s7-931u-en.htm
Sooooo, Is there hope that we might get custom rom some day:fingers-crossed:
I have also noticed this source last month on Huawei support page for this tablet (which I own less than I year), but I'm not sure what is it good for?
I see that it contains folders bluez, kernel and webkit, which contains source code, but how can it be used for creating custom ROM for this tablet?
Let say someone wants to build custom ROM (e.g. for Android 4.1/4.2/4.3/4.4), is there enough "material" in this source to combine with vanilla Android to build custom ROM for this device?
I've been searching forum and web for any good info on building custom ROM for this device, but it looks that no one is really interested?
Is there anyone with more experience in building custom ROMs, to explain this source and how can it be used?
Hello!
I have been following annual Google I/O 2017 and heard about all the benefits of Google's Project Treble.
I cannot help but wonder how are developers (for example here at XDA) able to create custom roms or unofficial Android updates. Why Google can't make official Android Nougat update for Nexus 7 2013, but you here at XDA can. What is different between your work and Google's when it comes to these things, as far as neither has access to hardware manufacturer's code support.
I have to say I am not a professional software developer, so I understand if this topic is beyond my comprehension.
Thank you!
"Why Google can't make official Android Nougat update for Nexus 7 2013"
Planned obsolescence.
"neither has access to hardware manufacturer's code support"
Google is obliged to release kernel source code because Linux(the kernel powering Android) is released under the GPL. The kernel is responsible for letting Android "talk" to the hardware. Developers at XDA can then modify the open-source kernel to "fit" newer versions of Android.
I'd like to chime in on this.
Let's use the Nexus 7 2013 as an example. The difference between what an official build of Nougat from Google would be and what a build of Nougat from XDA is that the Google released one will have updated devices drivers that are made specifically for Nougat, while the XDA released one simply uses the older device drivers and hope they work. In some cases they work flawlessly (mostly on Nexus devices), however other times there are things that don't work so they either need to be disabled or worked around. So essentially a Google released OS has everything updated and tested to work with the new OS, while XDA releases are more 'hacked' together to work (simply because the device drivers aren't Open Source). Google may not have access to the hardware drivers, but they still get them updated.
Now let's touch on Project Treble (and why I am so excited about it). Instead of each and every device driver needing to be upgraded and tested for each new OS version, the OS version will specify which version of the drivers (HAL's) will work with the OS. This means there will be a separate space where all the device drivers will reside, and the OS will simply load those when booting (no more proprietary binary blobs to include in the ROM! hopefully...).
This means on any Project Treble compatible device (all phones that ship with Oreo, and some that update to Oreo) with an unlocked bootloader, a user can simply compile AOSP and flash it directly to the device with no modifications and have the device work. I believe this is actually a requirement to pass Google's certification process for new devices with Oreo. That means, say, with the LG v30 if the bootloader is unlocked, there can be an AOSP ROM on day one of its release.
So instead of Android being strictly a per device compile, it is just a general compile (sans device specific features). However, this doesn't remove the old driver issue. If the drivers in their respective partition no longer are updated by the manufacturer, the later AOSP code will need to be modified to work around these (and accept them). This is still easier in my opinion than the binary blobs.
As for official updates, Project Treble allows device hardware manufacturers to work on updating the device drivers while the OS Dev (Samsung, etc) works on updating their OS. So it is a parallel development instead of a serial one (hardware AND os instead of hardware THEN os).
A question.
Do the Nexus 5X devices have the Treble system or project incorporated with Oreo?
I do not understand the other manufacturers that cheaper excuses are giving, it is true that they are not obliged but I think it would be good practice, maybe they think as before that you will not buy them a phone.
Does someone make a Change.org or similar campaign to ask all Android manufacturers to make a minimum effort?
Hello... Since I'm not very familiar with cell phones I'm curious about something. With a desktop computer, one can build their own or have a manufacturer type ( Dell, HP and so ) Now if you take the custom build system you basically can decide which OS you want, why can't cell phones be similar to that be able to install whichever OS you like, Or can you? Like in Android is it possible to install just a basic OS onto a phone? one that doesn't have let's say Google ( Google store)? Is there an Android build without Google? Also, does Android have an OS with its own browser, if not, why not? thanks
Dude905 said:
Hello... Since I'm not very familiar with cell phones I'm curious about something. With a desktop computer, one can build their own or have a manufacturer type ( Dell, HP and so ) Now if you take the custom build system you basically can decide which OS you want, why can't cell phones be similar to that be able to install whichever OS you like, Or can you? Like in Android is it possible to install just a basic OS onto a phone? one that doesn't have let's say Google ( Google store)? Is there an Android build without Google? Also, does Android have an OS with its own browser, if not, why not? thanks
Click to expand...
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You're thinking about it along the correct route. There are plain, unbranded Android builds known as Vanilla Android. These are the builds you see on Nexus and Pixel devices, built from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) and have no carrier or OEM bloat.
If you're looking for a lightweight Android OS with no GApps (Google Apps), there are a ton of custom Android builds available, the most popular in the world being LineageOS. However, it should be noted that you can't simply flash a vanilla or custom Android build to your device and expect it to boot and function properly. Android ROMs need to be ported to a specific device. This is due to the vast hardware differences between various manufacturers and models.
To see if any custom Android builds are available for your particular device, search your model device in the Search Plus option. If any custom ROMs, kernels, recoveries, etc., are available for your device, you'll find them here on XDA.
MotoJunkie01 said:
You're thinking about it along the correct route. There are plain, unbranded Android builds known as Vanilla Android. These are the builds you see on Nexus and Pixel devices, built from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) and have no carrier or OEM bloat.
If you're looking for a lightweight Android OS with no GApps (Google Apps), there are a ton of custom Android builds available, the most popular in the world being LineageOS. However, it should be noted that you can't simply flash a vanilla or custom Android build to your device and expect it to boot and function properly. Android ROMs need to be ported to a specific device. This is due to the vast hardware differences between various manufacturers and models.
To see if any custom Android builds are available for your particular device, search your model device in the Search Plus option. If any custom ROMs, kernels, recoveries, etc., are available for your device, you'll find them here on XDA.
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Click to collapse
Thank you for your input it gave me more of an understanding and I will do as suggested
someone can port that? it could be good see R5+ with Miui 10 Pie ROM.
And why would you need it? Just to have Pie easter egg and 9.0 displayed when you enter "About phone"? MIUI is heavily modified framework, and as long as there is no official 9.0 update from Xiaomi (which imo is not going to happen, looking at the past few months of suspended global beta) there is no need for additional work that would bring new bugs and problems on top of the existing ones. Pie MIUI is basically the same as on Oreo anyway.
But, if you just need to flash your "About phone" tab to friends and others with 9.0, go to build.prop and change some things...
tl,dr: not worth the hassle
For the same reason that a personal create a custom rom aosp pie... To add another possibility and keep the update process alive for the R5+.
andrexp31 said:
For the same reason that a personal create a custom rom aosp pie... To add another possibility and keep the update process alive for the R5+.
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Click to collapse
That's the point - you need open source code (AOSP - Android Open Source Project). All these ROMs came because Xiaomi released kernel code for Vince, and some nice devs got their hands around it. MIUI is very much not open source. This device might get semi-stable Android Q or whatever comes after Pie, but don't expect anything fancy. In Xiaomi ecosystem, this device has probably EOL tag already. Enjoy what you already have, there is sooo much to choose from.
I have a Mi 10S where I really want to have an AOSP-like ROM installed. However, this model was only released in China so there isn't a corresponding board here at XDA where I can find some decent ones off the shelf. I am personally familiar with programming so I think it would be a good idea to port one myself. I choose Pixel Experience because it's popular and it has quite some documentation.
To my knowledge to port a ROM I need both a base ROM and the source code for the new ROM. I now have in hand a fastboot image of Mi 10S's official MIUI. Furthermore, Xiaomi seems to be open-sourcing its kernel source code and device tree (which I suppose is good news?) On the Pixel Experience end, I follow the guide on their website and cloned and initialized their repo. It seems that all I need then is to create a device configuration for PE's build system, but I don't know where to start.
I do know that PE has a port for Mi 11X (alioth), which uses the same CPU as my phone. Interestingly both models seem also to be sharing the same device tree and kernel (in the same branch on Xiaomi's github repo). I suppose then I can copy Mi 11X's device configuration for PE and tinker with it a bit. However, the structure of Pixel Experience's device configuration doesn't really resemble the device tree I see on Xiaomi's website (I suppose either of them is "non-standard"?), so I am stuck not doing what to do next. Any suggestions?
Well did you tried a generic system image
Generic system images | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
I have the same problem. I don't know where to begin after I created build environment as per Pixel Experience build tutorial.
Anyone can shed some light?
Null Pointer Exception said:
I have a Mi 10S where I really want to have an AOSP-like ROM installed. However, this model was only released in China so there isn't a corresponding board here at XDA where I can find some decent ones off the shelf. I am personally familiar with programming so I think it would be a good idea to port one myself. I choose Pixel Experience because it's popular and it has quite some documentation.
To my knowledge to port a ROM I need both a base ROM and the source code for the new ROM. I now have in hand a fastboot image of Mi 10S's official MIUI. Furthermore, Xiaomi seems to be open-sourcing its kernel source code and device tree (which I suppose is good news?) On the Pixel Experience end, I follow the guide on their website and cloned and initialized their repo. It seems that all I need then is to create a device configuration for PE's build system, but I don't know where to start.
I do know that PE has a port for Mi 11X (alioth), which uses the same CPU as my phone. Interestingly both models seem also to be sharing the same device tree and kernel (in the same branch on Xiaomi's github repo). I suppose then I can copy Mi 11X's device configuration for PE and tinker with it a bit. However, the structure of Pixel Experience's device configuration doesn't really resemble the device tree I see on Xiaomi's website (I suppose either of them is "non-standard"?), so I am stuck not doing what to do next. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a version shared by the Chinese. However, it has a fingerprint error