Database Develop

[Q] Can someone bring some lightness to dark sides of my knowledge :)

Hello all.
This is my very first post here. So, first of all I want to say many thanks to all developers/members on this forum. Big thanks for sharing knowledge, for doing great investigations and so on.
And right now... questions...
I recently bought Sony Xperia X8. This is my first Android device (I helped my friends with these ones, but just to reflash using manufacturer steps, or configuring devices, not customizing) with which I can do anything I want. I read a lot information about this device and need to clear some things... So, lets start:
(Just for note: I 'm an experienced linux programmer/developer/user, so I have a lot of experience and need just some specific things)
1. What is bootloader in meaning of specific device. Is this something like plain Grub, but just hardware-related? Or it is something like BIOS in PCs meaning?
2. What does ROM file contains? Is that just list of packages and platform-related things excluding kernel, loader and etc, or ROMs contains kernel also? I saw post where someone said "I use xxxx kernel with xxxx ROM", and another post where someone said "This ROM contains xxx kernel". What is the right one?
3. I saw three types of flashes around the forum: "ftf", "sin" and "img". What is the difference between them? Which ones are better (prefferable)?
4. All ROMs which I tried have same issue: Reboot while using ad-hoc wi-fi and activating lockscreen (trying wipes, formating, flash from stock). Can someone, who used stable version of "Cyanogen Mod 7.1.0 stable" confirm is this bug fixed here or not? WiFi is very important for me, especially ad-hoc. (I just want to wait some time 2~3 weeks to see if device working fine and no any defects occur, before I void my warranty by unlocking bootloader)
5. I saw a lot of reviews for different ROMs so I can't just choose one... Maybe someone will suggest me some stable ROM with 100% working wifi based on 2.2 (or 2.3)
Any comments/advices/explanations are greatly appreciated.
P.S. Sorry me for my bad english, I'm originally from Ukraine.

hello..
i'm newbie too in this forum,maybe you must search all answer of your qustion in general forum not in subforum here or try to go to cyanogen forum.
just sugestion,i sugest you to use froyobread rom or froyopro i (2.2.x both) if you want wifi work good in your device ( cause there any wifi bugs in other rom's,actually in 2.3.x rom).

The bootloader it can be locked again
Sent from my X8 using XDA Premium App

dotsen9 said:
The bootloader it can be locked again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know, but if subject will die during using custom ROM because of some factory defects (believe me, today quality of products is very low level, especially here, in Ukraine) can be situation when I will not be able to return to stock firmware. Anyway, thanks... and still waiting for some explanations.

zieaditya said:
hello..
i'm newbie too in this forum,maybe you must search all answer of your qustion in general forum not in subforum here or try to go to cyanogen forum.
just sugestion,i sugest you to use froyobread rom or froyopro i (2.2.x both) if you want wifi work good in your device ( cause there any wifi bugs in other rom's,actually in 2.3.x rom).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I have same issues with the wifi even on 2.2 froyo pro, floyo and others, so I thinking about custom kernels, just need to someone confirm what it will solve problem.
By the way, I got questions which I posted here during search forum, so there aren't answers which I need. I really need some technical details about that. Maybe I will be able to help developers with some improvements. Just need to know more about android (coz I have a lot of linux experience - building linux from scratch, optimization, developing, debugging, etc)
Thanks anyway for your attention.
P.S. Offtop... What do I need to do so moderators will permit me to post in <5 min? Coz now working a restrictions for newbies.

You need at least 10 posts here on forum...,;-)
Sent from my X8 using XDA App

1. The bootloader is a special software, that is loaded by the firmware and loads the kernel itself.
This doesn´t only exists on Android, every OS has a bootloader.
2. The ROMs and the kernels are different to flash, the only ROm that "includes" a kernel is the official Android 2.1, which can be flashed with flashtool.
What flashtool is, and what you can do with it, can be read in the X8 FAQ-thread.
3. have a look at the FAQ-thread again....you will find something.
4. GingerDX should have working ad-hoc Wi-Fi, as this is also inportant for DX, especially on WEP.
CM 7.1.0 is still under development, as it´s based on the FXP ROM.
5.I´d suggest you GingerDX+LinuxDX, this combination is smooth like a baby´s ass and as fast as hell!
And everything is working!(Well, maybe there are some bugs, but I´m using this for a few months now and I didn´t found anything that does absolutely NOT work.

codfreak said:
1. The bootloader is a special software, that is loaded by the firmware and loads the kernel itself.
This doesn´t only exists on Android, every OS has a bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what is bootloader. I asked is the bootloader in the current context something like software thing (GRUB, LILO, NTLDR, bootrecord if you want) OR it is something like hardware-specific BIOS alternative? This is the question.
codfreak said:
2. The ROMs and the kernels are different to flash, the only ROm that "includes" a kernel is the official Android 2.1, which can be flashed with flashtool.
What flashtool is, and what you can do with it, can be read in the X8 FAQ-thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is flashtool I know too. So all ROMs, excepting Stock does not include kernel. Clearly, thanks.
codfreak said:
4. GingerDX should have working ad-hoc Wi-Fi, as this is also inportant for DX, especially on WEP.
CM 7.1.0 is still under development, as it´s based on the FXP ROM.
5.I´d suggest you GingerDX+LinuxDX, this combination is smooth like a baby´s ass and as fast as hell!
And everything is working!(Well, maybe there are some bugs, but I´m using this for a few months now and I didn´t found anything that does absolutely NOT work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will give it a try... Thanks!

You are a linux programmer?guys we might have a new developer in few months
Everything you need you can ask me via PM

Hi
I`m also have WiFi problems with Froyo Pro v1 and v1.1.
Froyobread 23b works fine.
Looking for a 2.2 rom still in developmen with a working WiFi!!!!

[Q] Owning an i537 in Canada

So I've been using my s4 active for about 2 months now, and I have no problems with it, but I enjoy the tweaks.
I've been debating on trying out safestrap, but havent had time yet. I got another idea from another post I previously read.
1st question is, will I be able to get my phone replaced even though I bought it full price, and live in Canada? (in case of water damage, that's really the only concern, as things like smashed screens aren't covered by anyone)
if not then is it not worth it for me to call at&t and have them unlock my bootloader, seeing how they wouldnt be covering my warranty anyhow in that case?
I just want a change to pure, simple, stock android.

I have no idea why you'd get your phone replaced or if it's possible, that's between you and whatever company you bought it from. If you're tinkering around with it with root and flashing things on it, most likely you'll be voiding the ToS or whatever from the seller so that's up to you do find out from them.
The only "pure, simple, stock android" you're going to get on the I537 right now at this minute is the AOSP ROM provided by LeJay, and that requires:
a) a rooted I537 (meaning it's running either the MF1, MF2, or MF3 build of Android 4.2.2)
b) Safestrap for the I537 provided by Hashcode (not the regular Safestrap found elsewhere, you need the specific version for the I537 and it's found here in this subforum for the GS4A)
c) the AOSP ROM to flash, d) the MF1/MF2/MF3 kernel modules depending on the build/kernel you use as your stock ROM
d) the camera fix also provided by LeJay
The AOSP ROM can be found in LeJay's AOSP thread; the other files can be found in Hashcode's Safestrap thread (again, all in this subforum for the GS4A).

br0adband said:
I have no idea why you'd get your phone replaced or if it's possible, that's between you and whatever company you bought it from. If you're tinkering around with it with root and flashing things on it, most likely you'll be voiding the ToS or whatever from the seller so that's up to you do find out from them.
The only "pure, simple, stock android" you're going to get on the I537 right now at this minute is the AOSP ROM provided by LeJay, and that requires:
a) a rooted I537 (meaning it's running either the MF1, MF2, or MF3 build of Android 4.2.2)
b) Safestrap for the I537 provided by Hashcode (not the regular Safestrap found elsewhere, you need the specific version for the I537 and it's found here in this subforum for the GS4A)
c) the AOSP ROM to flash, d) the MF1/MF2/MF3 kernel modules depending on the build/kernel you use as your stock ROM
d) the camera fix also provided by LeJay
The AOSP ROM can be found in LeJay's AOSP thread; the other files can be found in Hashcode's Safestrap thread (again, all in this subforum for the GS4A).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant just for warranty purposes, but that sounds simple enough.. I've really only been reading up info in this subforum, safestrap included, since I got the i537 anyhow.
I'm assuming you have experience using this rom on this phone, did you notice improved battery? and is it "better" overall? I don't care for any touchwiz addons obviously.
Thank you for all the advice

It's just Android, not sure what else I can say. I haven't noticed anything particular beneficial or negative either way - it's just another ROM to me to use if I choose to do so. Using Safestrap with the AOSP ROM is just an option that makes the GS4A more useful I suppose. Even if it's pure stock from Samsung, that's fine with me too, doesn't matter.
Still hoping for an actual CyanogenMod build if someone gets around to it but those hopes are dying a bit more each day with what's becoming of that project overall. I don't mean seeing full on support for the GS4A, that will never happen, what I mean is someone talented enough to take the kernel source for the GS4A and make a CM10.1 build for us that we can flash using Safestrap. It'll still be limited because of the locked bootloader so no custom kernel stuff, but most everything else could be useful and I do like CM overall.
I don't know what other people want or do with their devices so I can't comment, I tend to keep mine simple and don't get into the serious modding of most everything (UI, fonts, icons, etc) like others.
I'm pretty much a "stock" kinda person I guess.

br0adband said:
It's just Android, not sure what else I can say. I haven't noticed anything particular beneficial or negative either way - it's just another ROM to me to use if I choose to do so. Using Safestrap with the AOSP ROM is just an option that makes the GS4A more useful I suppose. Even if it's pure stock from Samsung, that's fine with me too, doesn't matter.
Still hoping for an actual CyanogenMod build if someone gets around to it but those hopes are dying a bit more each day with what's becoming of that project overall. I don't mean seeing full on support for the GS4A, that will never happen, what I mean is someone talented enough to take the kernel source for the GS4A and make a CM10.1 build for us that we can flash using Safestrap. It'll still be limited because of the locked bootloader so no custom kernel stuff, but most everything else could be useful and I do like CM overall.
I don't know what other people want or do with their devices so I can't comment, I tend to keep mine simple and don't get into the serious modding of most everything (UI, fonts, icons, etc) like others.
I'm pretty much a "stock" kinda person I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, awesome. Thanks for the pointers, I appreciate it.
I'm gonna give safestrap a try.
so I got the mf3 .zip, the safestrap apk, and the aosp rom .zip
I am already rooted so that's taken care of,
The camera fix is the only thing I can't seem to find.. and I feel like it's staring me in the face lol

There are mirror links in that thread (and one of 'em was from me), just gotta find 'em.

br0adband said:
There are mirror links in that thread (and one of 'em was from me), just gotta find 'em.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ITS "GONE" !!!!
http://click.xda-developers.com/api...CamPatch.zip&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13811789660048
thats the link address... is there anywhere else?

djsdumesh said:
ITS "GONE" !!!!
http://click.xda-developers.com/api...CamPatch.zip&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13811789660048
thats the link address... is there anywhere else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SCRATCH THAT got the QR code and downloaded it directly on my phone.. I'm ready to go.
Thanks for all the help!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19019338/SGS4A_CamPatch.zip
And there as well just in case.

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[Q] Building / porting for a "unusual" device

Good Afternoon, people.
I am brazilian and I have a smartphone that did not get into US and European market. It's name is "Motorola D3" and the number associate to it is "XT920".
Motorola Brazil were suposed to provide de newest rom for this device (marketing promissess). It took they almost 1 year to launch the Android Kitkat version 4.4.2.
The problem is: We want the Cyanogenmod in our device and all the newest ROM's.
That been said, I start to study to try yo port or Build a AOSP ROM to XT920 and, therefore, a CM11.
No threads on "how to port / build" a rom for a New device went trhough this problem. This device runs as a Mediatek MTK6577. I've seen that the kernel for this processor was released, but I don't know how to handle the kernel with the device and ROM properly.
Another doubt is: what is the difference between port and build a ROM? I've seen videos of porting and building and it is not clear to me.
I have reached the point where I have to download the drivers, but, in the tutorial the person was dealing with a NEXUS, wich is much easier to build, since it have a native android support.
Anyway, I want to keep this project going, and I really need some help with this questions.
Thankyou

digo_santista said:
This device runs as a Mediatek MTK6577.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're screwed. MTK devices are extremely nightmarish to work with. Their kernel source is a mess and the platform source is an even bigger mess.
Even people who have had access to a complete OEM source code tree for an MT6589 device didn't succeed in getting the hacks to play nice with an AOSP source tree.
Android One has helped somewhat with devices that are released as part of the One program, but non-One MTK devices are still a nightmare.
The process of doing an AOSP bringup for a new device isn't particularly well defined because it is different for every device in existence. The only way to learn is by doing.
It helps a lot if a device with a similar chipset to yours is supported by whatever project you're trying to work with - for example most mid-to-high-end Qualcomm chipsets are not very difficult to work with. But MTK devices were nearly impossible to support with AOSP-derivative projects prior to One, and even after One, it seems like only Android One devices are "clean" enough to leverage Google's improvements to MTK support.

:/ should I waste more time or just drop it?
Entropy512 said:
You're screwed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What should I do? I just quit without trying? I understand that this is a huge problem. But, if I decide to take the chalenge, is there a chance to succeed?
I am trying to figure this out and I didn't found an answer to this question: can I use the kernel that is packed with my stock ROM (provided by motorola) to build or port a CM11 ROM?
Sorry to bother, but I is really keeping me up at night
Regards,
Cassio Rodrigo

AOSP here? No wait... There???

I ask this because we are now in December. I have recently fired up an old Z1 and want to breathe new life into it. So I have been looking around for a while now. A few things I gathered.
: Sony supports custom roms and supplies everything needed for a rom.
: fxp.co makes roms but they have been inactive since October, does this mean their latest rom is stable?
: Sony have released some camera stuff yesterday but nobody has come forward and said they will take it and build with it.
Everything seems dead and as if no one wants to build further. I don't know how to build otherwise I would of done it my self by now and shared it.
Is this device dead? Is there someone who knows what they are doing going to release a build? I'm still on stock waiting for my first AOSP build to flash.
Coming from a motorola (Moto G 2014) that has a million roms build a day. This is weird for me to not have a rom to flash and use as a DD.
I'm coming off as a snotty kid here I know. I just want to flash some AOSP's... So thats the question... Are there any AOSP's that can be flashed and used as DD?
Thanks for at least trying to read this... Pece

Yeah it is a little dead around here unfortunately hahaha. I've tried all the CM/AOSP ROMs and from my experience almost all of them are good as daily drivers with no issues with the exception of the Marshmallow one currently being worked on.

tomascus said:
Yeah it is a little dead around here unfortunately hahaha. I've tried all the CM/AOSP ROMs and from my experience almost all of them are good as daily drivers with no issues with the exception of the Marshmallow one currently being worked on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So whick ROM do you suggest then?
On FXP they have this one : AOSP_L_MR1_151203_honami... I guess that is the latest one with the camera thingy that was published. 151203 means 3rd of Dec 2015. Right???
I guess I should just download and flash and answer my own questions
Thanks

ljoao77 said:
So whick ROM do you suggest then?
On FXP they have this one : AOSP_L_MR1_151203_honami... I guess that is the latest one with the camera thingy that was published. 151203 means 3rd of Dec 2015. Right???
I guess I should just download and flash and answer my own questions
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea it does.
Up to you man, I personally just grab CM12.1 off the nightlies website http://www.cmxlog.com/12.1/honami/ and maybe also flash M5 kernel on there, which you can find in the development section.

I just want to say... I've been at it for about 4hours now... This is harder than I expected. I finally have a AOSP rom. FXP latest build... Finally have TWRP recovery... About to flash open g apps stock package... I hope it all goes well... This is way harder than the hundreds of other android phones I've done this with.
Edit : It seems that cyanogenmod is the only stable ROM I could get past setup with. After I installed Gapps. I installed Aroma Gapps and selected the apps I use. The Gapps run perfectly and Google camera seems to be pretty good and taking full 20mp shots. I'm impressed with CM12.1. It runs good. After doing an antutu benchmark to see if the performance is close to stock I see that it ,"Benched", Way more that stock. 43288 is my score on Antutu. I know bechmarks tell half a story but it seems to tell an interesting one... It seems CM12.1 is really great and with the Gapps I'm getting my ,"stock android", feels anyhow.
This was the toughest device for me to get a working custom ROM with. There should be a new thread detailing how, late 2015. To get a custom ROM working.
AOSP with FXP in no good for actual use. CM12.1 is really good.
I answered my own questions I wanted details too. I'll be using this CM12.1 Xperia Z1 as my DD and see if it works.

ljoao77 said:
I ask this because we are now in December. I have recently fired up an old Z1 and want to breathe new life into it. So I have been looking around for a while now. A few things I gathered.
: Sony supports custom roms and supplies everything needed for a rom.
: fxp.co makes roms but they have been inactive since October, does this mean their latest rom is stable?
: Sony have released some camera stuff yesterday but nobody has come forward and said they will take it and build with it.
Everything seems dead and as if no one wants to build further. I don't know how to build otherwise I would of done it my self by now and shared it.
Is this device dead? Is there someone who knows what they are doing going to release a build? I'm still on stock waiting for my first AOSP build to flash.
Coming from a motorola (Moto G 2014) that has a million roms build a day. This is weird for me to not have a rom to flash and use as a DD.
I'm coming off as a snotty kid here I know. I just want to flash some AOSP's... So thats the question... Are there any AOSP's that can be flashed and used as DD?
Thanks for at least trying to read this... Pece
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first thing to do to stop projecting the image of a snotty kid is to read original development thread. You may surprise yourself finding plenty of custom roms including CM, Paranoid, Slimrom, DU and others. You can find kitkat and both versions of lollipop and every time custom roms were several months ahead of stock.
So, don't be shy and read.

optimumpro said:
The first thing to do to stop projecting the image of a snotty kid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is a little harsh, flashing a new device can be quite overwhelming, especially if the forums are as inactive as they are here in the Z1 section.
But OP, there is a super long thread pinned about flashing and rooting for newcomers, you should check that out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440565

D33KK said:
I think this is a little harsh, flashing a new device can be quite overwhelming, especially if the forums are as inactive as they are here in the Z1 section.
But OP, there is a super long thread pinned about flashing and rooting for newcomers, you should check that out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440565
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Little harsh? I don't think so. I don't appreciate it when freeloaders complain, especially when they don't know what they are talking about. The guy wasn't asking questions on how to flash, he basically came in and proclaimed that there are no custom roms for Z1, everything is dead and he is waiting for the first custom rom to flash. He clearly didn't bother to read and discover a multitude of custom roms for Z1. And by making that ridiculous statement, he has insulted everybody who contributes to Z1 development..
And by the way, what does "dead" mean? Inability to have updates twice a day? Lollipop has just recently became stable and marshmallows won't get there for at least a year. Plus, I am not sure that M is worth the effort: not much changed as compared to LP.

optimumpro said:
And by the way, what does "dead" mean? Inability to have updates twice a day? Lollipop has just recently became stable and marshmallows won't get there for at least a year. Plus, I am not sure that M is worth the effort: not much changed as compared to LP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I agree with you, Lolipop is really good on the Z1, even if we do eventually get M I'm not sure it'll be worth the upgrade.

optimumpro said:
Little harsh? I don't think so. I don't appreciate it when freeloaders complain, especially when they don't know what they are talking about. The guy wasn't asking questions on how to flash, he basically came in and proclaimed that there are no custom roms for Z1, everything is dead and he is waiting for the first custom rom to flash. He clearly didn't bother to read and discover a multitude of custom roms for Z1. And by making that ridiculous statement, he has insulted everybody who contributes to Z1 development..
And by the way, what does "dead" mean? Inability to have updates twice a day? Lollipop has just recently became stable and marshmallows won't get there for at least a year. Plus, I am not sure that M is worth the effort: not much changed as compared to LP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You miss understand. Let me explain. I went through all the custom roms threads. And I read the comments. The comments all speak of incomplete roms that have a major flaws in it. Camera not working is the main problem. I also did search the forum to figure out how to flash the Sony. The forum helped but it was scattered everywhere. Some solutions were not even in the Z1 page but in another Sony Xperia page. (The drivers not being accepted by newer windows) This thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440565 would definitely come in handy, I must of over looked it.
I am sorry if you think I'm clueless to this. But I have had about 5 phones that I've flashed custom roms on. Motorola, HTC and samsung. All those phones were easy. The Sony is very complicated because I couldn't get into the recovery, after following instructions from Sony and on this forum. Using EMMA to flash the recovery, Pressing the right buttons. I could not get it to work... But with fastboot I kept trying and somehow got it to flash TWRP recovery. Allowing me to install CM12.1
Flashing the FXP AOSP roms was easy. But that rom didn't work. Neither did the Recovery that came with it.
I Just wanted to know how to get this AOSP that Sony bragged about. But in essence it doesn't exist. Not in a functional form for users.
And I think that was my biggest problem. Understanding that the AOSP thing is not for me. Or others that want it as a DD.
*Edit After reading the replies and felt the need to refreshen my story. I understand there are lots of Custom ROMS. The whole idea here was that I was looking for AOSP that all the articles talk about. Sony releasing AOSP build for their phones. But it isn't exactly the full story. I was just looking for these Sony AOSP Roms... But I did end up with CM12.1... I was thinking about trying this Jaguar one that is so active as well. I'm not trying to rip on the custom roms the community was working on. I was justy trying to find Sony's AOSP. I'm sure the Custom roms are great. And I will eventually find the perfect one for me.

Xiaomi Scandal

Hey guys, I suppose some of you have had a xiaomi in the past and I have two questions for you and maybe someone that has some knowledge about xiaomi.
1) Currently how's Xiomi dealing with privacy? I remember 1 or 2 years ago Xiaomi has hit with strong reports of leaking information to their government (chinese) and everything we did on the phone would be seeded to their servers, even SMS's and other stuff..
2) How's the ROM support usually for Xiaomi? Do they usually get a stock based ROM, which has no bloatware and some nice tweaks?
Thanks everyone!

Afaik, being a mi3 user, they had a "data sharing" option on by default in miui which is now changed to be off. Personally i never considered it much as there were already devs who had made custom rom for the device, i think over the last two years i might only have used miui for about 4 to 8 months.
No bloatware, but if u r not a previous user, u might find some apps useless (it has its own clean master replacement app). So yeah, there are a lot of options for tweaks n stuff by default too. Hopefully this answers your questions. (and add a question mark to the title, it looks like u r going to rant about Xiaomi by reading the title, lol)

arnabbiswasalsodeep said:
Afaik, being a mi3 user, they had a "data sharing" option on by default in miui which is now changed to be off. Personally i never considered it much as there were already devs who had made custom rom for the device, i think over the last two years i might only have used miui for about 4 to 8 months.
No bloatware, but if u r not a previous user, u might find some apps useless (it has its own clean master replacement app). So yeah, there are a lot of options for tweaks n stuff by default too. Hopefully this answers your questions. (and add a question mark to the title, it looks like u r going to rant about Xiaomi by reading the title, lol)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think there will be much custom rom/kernel support for the Mi 5 (or does this depend on Xiaomi allowing for an unlocked bootloader together with release of kernel sources) ?

SlyUK said:
Do you think there will be much custom rom/kernel support for the Mi 5 (or does this depend on Xiaomi allowing for an unlocked bootloader together with release of kernel sources) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will sure be support for custom roms even when the kernel source isn't there, my device had custom roms even before kernel source was released, although there were a bit bugs due to it and only a few (like 5 to 10) custom roms were there, bit with the release of sources, it jumped to 50+. And my device had the bootloader unlocked by default, which even i didn't knew until i rebooted to it. Although the fastboot wasn't able to get the info about the bootloader (like version, etc). IDK if any new devices require to unlock it but i don't think it should be hard as they support it, so that won't be a barrier for development.
TL;DR- less n buggy roms w/o kernel source, floods of roms and custom kernels after source, nothing to concern about bootloader.

There maybe some rom development from a few people that get the device and maybe from cm. But that's about it. Non of the big name team roms will have official versions, just maybe ports.
As for the security and privacy. That is up in the air as it seems even on custom roms they some how have managed to still keep track of the devices. One person on the MI note found that even while not on miui for months that they still had a current backup of all his apps and info.
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zelendel said:
There maybe some rom development from a few people that get the device and maybe from cm. But that's about it. Non of the big name team roms will have official versions, just maybe ports.
As for the security and privacy. That is up in the air as it seems even on custom roms they some how have managed to still keep track of the devices. One person on the MI note found that even while not on miui for months that they still had a current backup of all his apps and info.
Website signature
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With regards to porting an official rom, I suppose these would be regarded as Unofficial versions. If that is the case is there any real disadvantage in having the "Port" as opposed to have the "Official" version ?

Ports normally will have some bugs as this happens due to not having some things for device built into the code.

Data leak & Software development
Yes I also heard that even with a custom ROM on the device they still found a way to make the device connected and synching information with their servers, which I don't find that funny..
I wanted to know if this data leak is still present in the previous flagship, anyone tested it recently?
It's good to know that it has nearly no bloatware from what you are saying me, but if it has something I don't find useful I may just freeze the app.
Also does anyone know if Xiaomi usually takes long times to update the software of their devices (I heard that they were an exception in relation to other Chinese manufacturers) and release the kernel sources for the ROM developing community or are they pretty good on this area?
Thanks!
:good: :good: :good:

No they are terrible about it. Normally when they post the kernel source it is incomplete and broken.
As for updating. Until very recently they based their os on 4.4 and when asked why they said they didn't care about official android versions.
As for bloat that depends on how you look at it. Miui is about as bloated as TW or HTC Sense.

@zelendel In terms of big name team roms having official versions, would kindly give a few examples ?

SlyUK said:
@zelendel In terms of big name team roms having official versions, would kindly give a few examples ?
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The biggest are the one or two devices (cant remember their names off the top of my head) that were able to get/fix the kernel source and device trees which CM picked up. So some of the teams that use CM source as a base like AICP also picked up Official versions for the devices.
Then you have the Roms that are based on AOSP instead of CM. As they dont use CM as a base ( Maybe some parts) These roms like Slim or Dirty Unicorns seldom see official versions of the rom. Normally you might get a port here and there. It all depends on if the one of the devs gets the device as most teams don't offer official support for devices they do not own.