Why so little offerings in "Official" roms/twrp? - Moto G Power Questions & Answers

I'm just wondering why there's so few official roms and also twrp for the Sofia series of phones? The G7 power has lots but the g8 or g power series has little to no official roms or recoveries.

Probably cause Motorola is releasing new versions all the time and developers can only keep up with so many branches so thats why we have unofficial builds, I guess in the end the phone isnt popular enough and falls behind the on the priority list.

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What's the outlook for future development on the Redmi Note 2?

I am about to buy this phone because it is just so damn good for it's very low price tag, however one thing is bugging me about it. I came here to find that there are no Marshmallow ROMs for it yet and the main reason for me wanting to upgrade my phone in the first place is so that I will be able to run the latest Android ROM's without performance problems. I am currently on CyanogenMod 13 on my old Samsung Galaxy S3 and I like it, but it is slow. The Redmi Note 2 doesn't even have CyanogenMod support.
Is this because Xiaomi are going to release an official MIUI based on Marshmallow? I don't want to buy this phone if it means I am going to be stuck on MIUI or on an older version of Android. I am a bit perplexed because this phone sold a lot so why hasn't anyone made Marshmallow for it yet?
Do you think that development is going to pick up for this device or is this device a bad option if you want to run the latest Google Android (not MIUI)?
Certainly, the RN2 is a lot of hardware for the money, but without source code, things are limited to either repacked/tweaked roms, or roms that are built from source, but have significant hardware functionality imperfections because source is not available. It doesn't seem clear to me whether Xiaomi will release a Marshmallow-based MIUI for the RN2 or not. Some people say yes, some people say no, so until it actually happens (if it ever does), who knows. I also bought the RN2 because it was so much hardware for the price, but I am also disappointed with the lack of CM and similar. This is certainly not for a lack of people not trying, but it seems like certain parts of the hardware will never become functional with CM unless the necessary source code is released. If you don't happen to use these parts of the hardware, well, maybe it doesn't matter. Personally, I have stuck with sMIUI because all the hardware is completely working, but I sure wish a CM version with all working hardware will eventually emerge.
verbage said:
Certainly, the RN2 is a lot of hardware for the money, but without source code, things are limited to either repacked/tweaked roms, or roms that are built from source, but have significant hardware functionality imperfections because source is not available. It doesn't seem clear to me whether Xiaomi will release a Marshmallow-based MIUI for the RN2 or not. Some people say yes, some people say no, so until it actually happens (if it ever does), who knows. I also bought the RN2 because it was so much hardware for the price, but I am also disappointed with the lack of CM and similar. This is certainly not for a lack of people not trying, but it seems like certain parts of the hardware will never become functional with CM unless the necessary source code is released. If you don't happen to use these parts of the hardware, well, maybe it doesn't matter. Personally, I have stuck with sMIUI because all the hardware is completely working, but I sure wish a CM version with all working hardware will eventually emerge.
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Thanks for the explanation. It seems really unfortunate that they haven't released the source. I guess I should either buy the more expensive Mi4 (which I believe the source is released for) or I can just wait it out and see if the source code get's released for the RN2. It seems strange to me that they wouldn't release Marshmallow-based MIUI for such a popular, fairly new phone. I think they will release it. If they release MM-MIUI then will that enable other developers to bring stock Android Marshmallow or CyanogenMod to the RN2?
M will deffo be released for RN2. Main reason we still dont have it is:
a) first "official" device with M is supposed to be mi5
b) MTK prolly didnt polish 6.0 yet
Major companies that use X10 (eg Sony & HTC) didnt realse M for their devices either, at least as far as i know, however they are planned. So yeah M will arrive eventually, which is great, but that doesnt mean custom roms will get any better. And knowing xiaomi, and their kernel release policies, this is pretty much 100%. Pretty sure they still havent released any kernel source for their older MTK powered devices.
I think I'm going to buy the Mi4 rather because its kernel is open. I want to know that I'll be able to get android roms of any new releases. It's a real shame because the Redmi Note 2 is cheaper and a more superior device, but I have read that Mediatek are scumbags when it comes to releasing kernels because they want to force you to buy a new device when your OS becomes outdated which goes against the open source licence of Linux. Oh well, I guess that's business.
rimpy said:
If they release MM-MIUI then will that enable other developers to bring stock Android Marshmallow or CyanogenMod to the RN2?
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If they release MM-MIUI for the RN2, unless they release the source code, this will still mean that roms are cooked/repacked, or built from source, but probably imperfectly due to lack of source. Though MIUI is based on Android, I don't think there are free and open MIUI repositories where one could grab the necessary source code for the RN2.
At this point, like everyone said, it is very unlikely that Xiaomi will ever release the source code for the RN2. Without it, custom ROMs will never be proper, and it's the reason there are no MM builds yet.
However, even though MIUI is horrible and God knows that I hate it, it's quite usable. A version of the Xposed framework that works on the latest MIUI builds has been released a couple of days ago, and with it you can get most of the functionality a custom ROM provides. It's not perfect, and I'd prefer AOSP, but it is, IMO, the best this phone has to offer at the moment.
I only got mine about three months ago, and while there were many times I came to regret my purchase, every other phone in this price range and slightly above has inferior hardware. With that said, if you want a phone running AOSP or something very close to it, you'd be better off getting a Nexus or a device that is officially supported by CM.
Thanks all. I was just about to buy the RN2 but I am glad I posted here first. I've learnt a lot and I don't think I would be happy with a phone that has a closed source kernel. The Mi4 has a smaller screen, no SD slot, slower, and costs more, but its kernel source is released and it is supported by CM13. Still very good value for money so that's gonna be my next phone.
It actually isnt slower. Benchmarks only. If you run them side by side with either MIUI or CM youll see than Mi4 is actually much faster than RN2, so yeah, its a better option if you have the money

Getting around to getting an unlocked ROM... EVENTUALLY!

I've had my LG-G5 H850 for a few months now.... really hated the LG UI, but managed to get it close to usable with Google Now, etc so I didn't rush into it....
The only thing about the LG ROM that I'm nervous about losing is the LG camera software.... does the dual mode camera and all the manual options (incl RAW photo's, etc) still work in Cyanogenmod / similar?
Which ROMs are people running? I notice that there's still no Cyanogenmod/Mokee build for the G5
Are people just running stock, rooted and debloated?
Custom Roms
Hey
As you already know there are currently no cm roms as of yet but there are 3 custom roms to my knowledge. The current custom roms all use the flagship camera software so your good to go ahead with flashing any one of them.
I doubt Cm will run the flagship flagship camera software and im unaware of any cm camera software utilising the 3 cameras as of yet.
I was a D855(G3) owner for the past 3 years. The Rom development was huge but unfortunately no cm based or aosp based Rom was able to go even close to stock camera quality. LG camera framework was closed coded and LG hasn't shared the code yet. So I guess the same thing will happen to G5. I just hope for more developers to join the G5 community.
I was also on LS990 lg g3 since it's release till coming to g5 and I mainly ran pure AOSP,XenonHD with a few exceptions for some CM-based ROMs... Till I found Fulmics(which was similar to UX 5.0) which was amazing despite missing some features find in AOSP/CM-style ROMs
But I must say I love UX 5.0 with app drawer; I think I'm part of the minority that thinks LG did a great job with their new UI,esp compared to the old UI's...
At this point I wouldn't want to run CM-anything...esp if it means giving up my camera! I mean if u want a circle battery icon that bad just install gravity box... But this UI has grown on me
Any specific custom ROM recommendations?
I was going to follow this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g5/development/recovery-team-win-recovery-project-lg-g5-t3363047
and then CMremix (based on CM-14.1)... I think!! (from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g5/help/rom-cmremix-rom-v1-xx-t3502055)
And thanks for the info about the LG camera software - it's the one piece of LG software that I've been really happy with - definitely would have looked to keep that, so good to hear that it is being ported as-is into the custom ROMs.
Ever since Samsung "did an Apple" and abandoned all their enthusiasts and tweakers (as Apple did in the 1980's), I've been looking for an alternative like LG!!!

Why G5 gets no updates?

Sometimes I just keep thinking, why is it so hard to update the G5? I mean, we don't have an official Oreo release and not even official custom Oreo roms. Why we don't even have Lineageos? The beauty of Lineageos is keeping older devices updated, and we don't have it! In a 2016's flagship!
This bothers me a lot. When I had a S4 Mini I used to get official custom roms 1 month after the android version release.
So, again, why do this happens? Is it some firmware issue? Maybe hardware then?
@leonardovallem The reason why official hasn't been released yet is because it isn't that bug free yet. We do have unofficial custom Oreo roms. The issue is that people don't get paid for these things and they also have a personal life. Samsung sales are much higher then those from LG, so it's logical that there are more devs then in the LG section. Perhaps they also fleed since the G5 modular design just failed and they've sacrificed build quality for modularity in my opinion.
So if it really bothers you then I would suggest to free up some time and learn the basics (No offense, this is the struggle that many developer had when they began for their devices).
I also don't have time nor the enthousiasm to do something for the G5 since I've also got the famous GPS- and battery dying at 20-25% issue and that's what really bothers me since the battery life was already mediocre to begin with.
wulsic said:
@leonardovallem The reason why official hasn't been released yet is because it isn't that bug free yet. We do have unofficial custom Oreo roms. The issue is that people don't get paid for these things and they also have a personal life. Samsung sales are much higher then those from LG, so it's logical that there are more devs then in the LG section. Perhaps they also fleed since the G5 modular design just failed and they've sacrificed build quality for modularity in my opinion.
So if it really bothers you then I would suggest to free up some time and learn the basics (No offense, this is the struggle that many developer had when they began for their devices).
I also don't have time nor the enthousiasm to do something for the G5 since I've also got the famous GPS- and battery dying at 20-25% issue and that's what really bothers me since the battery life was already mediocre to begin with.
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sure learn the basics got it

Optimal version

Hi, this question may sound weird. I believe I made a general post about but got lost.
I have the XT1650-03 and also XT1543 (may sound off topic but is not).
Both of them are running custom roms, the Z running Android 9, and the G3 2015 running Android 7.
My question is, how do you know which is the "optimal" version for a phone? I'm not talking about features, or security updates. Is like having a PC running Windows 7, and then upgrading (doing a clean install of course) to Windows 10 and you see that the computer works but has a hard time with it. The same could be said with Linux versions; maybe.
I'm debating myself between staying where I'm or going back to stock on both phones, then rooting them, as not much modification was done and both of them are my daily drivers; so I care more for stability and optimal resource use during the day than anything else.
I remember once @ lost101 made some optimized roms for the Moto G, basically stock roms but without bloatware and some optimizations, but haven't seen anyhing for the G3 or even the Z. I remember my Moto G lasted quite a long time before I gave it to my mom a few years ago, today she has a Moto E, but still has my old Moto G working, she has it as a backup phone; still with the improved Moto G stock rom.
Edit: I also wanted to thank @squid2, @sd_shadow, their files have also kept in shape my trusty Moto G3
Sorry, I'm getting old for this.
XDADoog said:
Hi, this question may sound weird. I believe I made a general post about but got lost.
I have the XT1650-03 and also XT1543 (may sound off topic but is not).
Both of them are running custom roms, the Z running Android 9, and the G3 2015 running Android 7.
My question is, how do you know which is the "optimal" version for a phone? I'm not talking about features, or security updates. Is like having a PC running Windows 7, and then upgrading (doing a clean install of course) to Windows 10 and you see that the computer works but has a hard time with it. The same could be said with Linux versions; maybe.
I'm debating myself between staying where I'm or going back to stock on both phones, then rooting them, as not much modification was done and both of them are my daily drivers; so I care more for stability and optimal resource use during the day than anything else.
I remember once @ lost101 made some optimized roms for the Moto G, basically stock roms but without bloatware and some optimizations, but haven't seen anyhing for the G3 or even the Z. I remember my Moto G lasted quite a long time before I gave it to my mom a few years ago, today she has a Moto E, but still has my old Moto G working, she has it as a backup phone; still with the improved Moto G stock rom.
Edit: I also wanted to thank @squid2, @sd_shadow, their files have also kept in shape my trusty Moto G3
Sorry, I'm getting old for this.
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This may not help you as much as you would like The most optimized ROM is the one that works the best for you.
Most ROMs that are going beyond what the OEM provided are building that against the base firmware of the device. So a device that doesn't have A/B slots, won't get seamless updates, or treble support (ok, there are rare cases for Treble). The point is, custom ROMs are providing kernel and security updates. For some people, all of the bells and whistles in a custom ROM is not optimized for their use. For others, stock is never enough. I personally retire a device that no longer gets security updates, either from the OEM or at least from the custom development community.
Often a device performs badly due to an aging battery. Also, any ROM, over time can get bogged down and benefit from a factory reset fresh start.
You need to decide what serves you and your device best
@ktmom It does help, thank you.
The thing is that, I was debating myself thinking that the whole android world depended heavily on the phone's tech specs. I mean, I have read about a Moto G with Android 9 but... for a daily driver, that doesn't need all the bells and whistles... is it worth it? is it too much? That's what I was thinking.
Thank you for taking your time and answering me, I really appreciate it.
I think sometimes the new and improved specs are being chased because it's shiny. I tend to buy last season's model Google phone from swappa. I think the Nexus 6 is roughly equivalent to the Moto G. The N6 has several A9 ROMs still developed and at least one A10 ROM. I still have two N6 devices but they run as control devices in the house. Either could be pressed back into service as a daily driver if needed.

Future support for G8 Power ROMs?

I'm thinking about getting a G8 Power, with the intention of running a custom ROM on it. The ROMs I've previously used and liked are CR-Droid, Evolution-X, and Bliss.
When I look at the available ROMs, it seems like they're all unofficial builds. Should I be concerned? Does it matter? Is there any way to speculate about future support?
Or should I be looking at other phones?
There are gonna be official ROMs at some point. I know CrDroid is close to becoming official, and I'm sure more will follow.

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