Database Develop

[Q] GT-I9305 to Stock Android (Nexus style)

Sorry, I'm sure this will have been posted before, but I used the search function and couldn't narrow the results to what I was looking for.
I have a UK EE spec S3 LTE (Kernel - 3.0.31-1153417, Build - JZO54K-I9305XXBMF1). I have seen MSkip's excellent S3 Unified Toolkit and I am close to getting the courage to root my device, ready to put a different firmware on it to get rid of all the crap that Samsung "think" I want.
I have a couple of questions first though:
1. Can someone recommend a ROM that is the closest to stock Android (JB of course) as I love the feel of the Nexus devices. Unless 'proper' stock Android is an option.
2. Does anyone know is installing a custom ROM will affect how my 4G data reception/operation.
3. How likely am I to make a total arse of it and brick my phone?
I'm sure I'll get a few "wrong thread". "Q&A"."Theres the door dimwit" responses, but I'm big enough and ugly enough, with a heavy duty flamesuit so I can take the insults!! I'm sure someone can help :fingers-crossed:

Notlaw1976 said:
Sorry, I'm sure this will have been posted before, but I used the search function and couldn't narrow the results to what I was looking for.
I have a UK EE spec S3 LTE (Kernel - 3.0.31-1153417, Build - JZO54K-I9305XXBMF1). I have seen MSkip's excellent S3 Unified Toolkit and I am close to getting the courage to root my device, ready to put a different firmware on it to get rid of all the crap that Samsung "think" I want.
I have a couple of questions first though:
1. Can someone recommend a ROM that is the closest to stock Android (JB of course) as I love the feel of the Nexus devices. Unless 'proper' stock Android is an option.
2. Does anyone know is installing a custom ROM will affect how my 4G data reception/operation.
3. How likely am I to make a total arse of it and brick my phone?
I'm sure I'll get a few "wrong thread". "Q&A"."Theres the door dimwit" responses, but I'm big enough and ugly enough, with a heavy duty flamesuit so I can take the insults!! I'm sure someone can help :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, bricking your phone is nearly impossible, just do whatever the instructions says and you'll be fine.
And the 4G reception won't be affected, since the only thing affecting data is modems, and AOSP ROM got no modems.
And as of question number 1, there's a ROM called SuperNexus, it's exactly like a Nexus 4. But it's rarely updated and sources from CM might be a bit old. I suggest using CM or Carbon since they're being frequently updated.
I hope I answered all of your questions!
Cheers,
Sebastian!

sebbe312 said:
Well, bricking your phone is nearly impossible, just do whatever the instructions says and you'll be fine.
And the 4G reception won't be affected, since the only thing affecting data is modems, and AOSP ROM got no modems.
And as of question number 1, there's a ROM called SuperNexus, it's exactly like a Nexus 4. But it's rarely updated and sources from CM might be a bit old. I suggest using CM or Carbon since they're being frequently updated.
I hope I answered all of your questions!
Cheers,
Sebastian!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Sebastian! Not heard of Carbon, i'll have to Google that one. When it comes to CM, would you recommend going nightlies or a more stable version? I've heard Paranoid Android is decent too, any opinions on that one?
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

Notlaw1976 said:
Thanks Sebastian! Not heard of Carbon, i'll have to Google that one. When it comes to CM, would you recommend going nightlies or a more stable version? I've heard Paranoid Android is decent too, any opinions on that one?
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno really about Paranoid Android, I don't use it but I find it pretty OK. And if I recall it correctly, there isn't a Stable version of CM for 9305.

sebbe312 said:
Dunno really about Paranoid Android, I don't use it but I find it pretty OK. And if I recall it correctly, there isn't a Stable version of CM for 9305.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's right there isn't a "stable" version but i personally can't live without using CM on my S3 i can highly recommend it, especially the ease of one touch button theme's

nags92 said:
He's right there isn't a "stable" version but i personally can't live without using CM on my S3 i can highly recommend it, especially the ease of one touch button theme's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers, what do you use; nightlies? How often do you have to flash a new one? Are they as full of bugs as I imagine them to be?
This might sound like a stupid question, when you flash a new ROM, so you lose all your things like email settings, apps and stuff. Does the Google Play app come with a new ROM or do you have to get that as an APK from somewhere and manually install it?
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

Notlaw1976 said:
Cheers, what do you use; nightlies? How often do you have to flash a new one? Are they as full of bugs as I imagine them to be?
This might sound like a stupid question, when you flash a new ROM, so you lose all your things like email settings, apps and stuff. Does the Google Play app come with a new ROM or do you have to get that as an APK from somewhere and manually install it?
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM is updated every night, hence calling them "nightlies".
CM is very stable, and I often flashed a new nightly every morning.
And question about google apps; you download a different zip file, this file contains all the Google apps.
So you first flash CM then the zip file with google apps.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app

For 1st time, I not sure to install a Custom ROM

Hi,
I got the 1+3 since 3 days, and I must say that from the ROM point of view I quite happy with it ;
It is ...
1. Stable
2. Quick
3. Battery friendly
4. Enough customisation
5. Not Bloatware
Of course there is room for improvement in each points, I know, but ....
Usually I root for point 4. & 5. and I put Custom ROM for point 1. 2. & 3.
But this time, I´m not so hurry

Same here. I have rooted to solve memory management issue but dont really fancy putting a CM rom on it. Will wait until there is a stable oxygen rom I think

I will wait also. Hopefully more CM13 mods will come and improve performance in general.

I got it since 2 days and was very surprised on easy unlocking bootloader and rooting. ROM seems stable and quick enough. I assume that I will wait for an Android N port before I change to a custom ROM. Has someone an idea if there are already devs on the way to cook N-ROMs for different devices?

Same here, only rooted it for the memory fix, OOS have everything I want

I will for sure flash RR and Bliss Flashing Roms is why i bought this device.

andywright1982 said:
Same here. I have rooted to solve memory management issue but dont really fancy putting a CM rom on it. Will wait until there is a stable oxygen rom I think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't even rooted - but I am quite happy with Oxygen 3, feel no great urge to customise or get CM etc installed. I really like it.
Does Android Pay still work on your device??

Thought I was the only one.
No intention of rooting at the moment.
Have a few apps for work that need a stock phone, plus banking apps etc.
But yep OOS3 seems to have everything with nova launcher.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Same here, OxygenOS is awesome so far, but I rooted for Xposed.

Those that have been flashing roms for 3+ years pretty much get tired of doing it and want all stock. New people get excited about flashing new roms and do it for 3+ years until they end up getting tired too

Valid points for staying on OOS, it's a good rom that has most all customizations I need and the rest I can get with xposed...
Thing is do you EVER plan on flashing a rom? My answer is of course so I decided to go ahead and decrypt (format data) now as opposed to later after I have all my music, etc loaded on.
Running Grarak's CM13 swimmingly.

brickedvice said:
Those that have been flashing roms for 3+ years pretty much get tired of doing it and want all stock. New people get excited about flashing new roms and do it for 3+ years until they end up getting tired too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well in my case, I've been flashing rom's for 8 years. This is the first device I've not felt the need out of the box.

brickedvice said:
Those that have been flashing roms for 3+ years pretty much get tired of doing it and want all stock. New people get excited about flashing new roms and do it for 3+ years until they end up getting tired too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 here. I've been rooting phones for 5+ years as soon as I got them. But now, I'm wondering if I even need to bother.

Yeah, this is hard one. Thanks devs for quickly coming up with root, unlock, custom, and tweaks. Not sure if rooting is needed. I think we can all agree, if you want more out of the devices, you quickly root. For some reason, that's not necessary for one+3. I'm pretty sure we will get bored and devs will come out with super awesome Roms in the near future with many added tweaks. But this phone is solid. Might need a month's of stock rom usage and more arising issues before I will jump to rooting. Great device no complaints..
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Yes also for me. Great Rom and the first time that I don't want to change the rom!
Gesendet von meinem SGP511 mit Tapatalk

I agree, I actually like this stock, I got pretty much everything I need, iI will just miss flashing nightlies but I won't miss all the down time and missed text messages

Been flashing ROMs for 6 years now, always running cm, and I have been seriously considering given oos a few days before flashing, but also I'm to used to cm

I'm waiting for Multiboot/Dualboot patch...keeping Stock-Rom on first "partition" and Custom-ROM on second...

Question: Using sm-n920c in usa (at&t)

Hi all,
I recently ordered SM-N920C on ebay. I have not received it yet, expect to get it sometimes next week. I am going to use it on AT&T network, and checking several threads here, some mentioned that it works on AT&T.
I have no idea what stock installed firmware come with it (since I don't have the device with me), however per ebay seller listed as SM-N920CZKAXFA, so not sure, it seems like south africa.
ok now here are my questions:
1. Does it makes big differences what firmware it is on if you live in USA (like Google play, Google acting crazy since you are in USA..etc)
2. I heard that there could be issue with getting 4G/LTE performance issue, etc. Do you experience it any differences? or any other issues you experienced while using it on AT&T?
3. I am planing to root it, I know there are couple of custom kernels out there for it, would you recommend stock kernel or custom kernel? I like to keep phone pretty much stock based since this phone will be my daily drive.
4. If you recommend custom stock base ROM, what would be?
5. I hope Samsung brings back "Note" brand! (no this is not question )
appreciated in advance if you give some feedbacks above concerns and questions!
thanks,
J.

jazzespresso said:
Hi all,
I recently ordered SM-N920C on ebay. I have not received it yet, expect to get it sometimes next week. I am going to use it on AT&T network, and checking several threads here, some mentioned that it works on AT&T.
I have no idea what stock installed firmware come with it (since I don't have the device with me), however per ebay seller listed as SM-N920CZKAXFA, so not sure, it seems like south africa.
ok now here are my questions:
1. Does it makes big differences what firmware it is on if you live in USA (like Google play, Google acting crazy since you are in USA..etc)
2. I heard that there could be issue with getting 4G/LTE performance issue, etc. Do you experience it any differences? or any other issues you experienced while using it on AT&T?
3. I am planing to root it, I know there are couple of custom kernels out there for it, would you recommend stock kernel or custom kernel? I like to keep phone pretty much stock based since this phone will be my daily drive.
4. If you recommend custom stock base ROM, what would be?
5. I hope Samsung brings back "Note" brand! (no this is not question )
appreciated in advance if you give some feedbacks above concerns and questions!
thanks,
J.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that you was asking in the tmo 920t thread the 920c will work great with att, thats what im using mine with and with LTE. Just root with cf-auto root everything you need are in the thread. When i rec. mine it was on 5.1.1 lp but odined to mm. You shouldnt have a problem at all on att with the 920C.

KennyLG123 said:
I saw that you was asking in the tmo 920t thread the 920c will work great with att, thats what im using mine with and with LTE. Just root with cf-auto root everything you need are in the thread. When i rec. mine it was on 5.1.1 lp but odined to mm. You shouldnt have a problem at all on att with the 920C.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for this info, made me feel a bit better knowing it will work on AT&T. As far as rooting goes, based on my research on threads, most recommends custom kernel(s) for easy rooting, but seems like using custom kernel may introduce some other issues (based on bugs they listed).
are you using it as stock and rooted? or you are on custom ROM?

jazzespresso said:
thanks for this info, made me feel a bit better knowing it will work on AT&T. As far as rooting goes, based on my research on threads, most recommends custom kernel(s) for easy rooting, but seems like using custom kernel may introduce some other issues (based on bugs they listed).
are you using it as stock and rooted? or you are on custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every device i own is rooted except my att note 5. You can root with cf auto root from odin with stock kernel but will trip knox 0x1 its no big deal with me being in the states using a international device no warrenty anyhow.. https://autoroot.chainfire.eu/ This is the cf auto root just look for the file N920C But this one is for mm firmware. Ive already flashed most of the roms on the 920c thread and all behave pretty good. But with kernels i mostly use stock kernel or skyhigh kernel. Your just have to play around a bit and see what works best for your liking....

KennyLG123 said:
Every device i own is rooted except my att note 5. You can root with cf auto root from odin with stock kernel but will trip knox 0x1 its no big deal with me being in the states using a international device no warrenty anyhow.. https://autoroot.chainfire.eu/ This is the cf auto root just look for the file N920C But this one is for mm firmware. Ive already flashed most of the roms on the 920c thread and all behave pretty good. But with kernels i mostly use stock kernel or skyhigh kernel. Your just have to play around a bit and see what works best for your liking....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here....I always rooted all my devices (except my Nexus 6P), and I really don't give darn about warranty, and top of this Note 5 (bought from ebay, still did not receive it yet) has no warranty anyway.
so simple download CF-Auto-Root file for 920C and flash it with Odin..done....looks like CF-Auto-Root-noblelte-nobleltejv-smn920c.zip there now says 6.0.1 (MMB29K.N920CXXU2BPB9), so seems like it is up to date.
by the way, someone told me stock kernel gives better battery life than custom kernels......ohh well, like you said, play around and see what works....but I have feeling I will stick with stock kernel (rooted with CF-Auto Root).

jazzespresso said:
same here....I always rooted all my devices (except my Nexus 6P), and I really don't give darn about warranty, and top of this Note 5 (bought from ebay, still did not receive it yet) has no warranty anyway.
so simple download CF-Auto-Root file for 920C and flash it with Odin..done....looks like CF-Auto-Root-noblelte-nobleltejv-smn920c.zip there now says 6.0.1 (MMB29K.N920CXXU2BPB9), so seems like it is up to date.
by the way, someone told me stock kernel gives better battery life than custom kernels......ohh well, like you said, play around and see what works....but I have feeling I will stick with stock kernel (rooted with CF-Auto Root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your on the right path then after rooting with cf autoroot with odin first then flash twrp in odin 3.0.2.0 img.tar file https://dl.twrp.me/noblelte/ after you got that set up make a fresh backup of that stock rom so you always have it. Battery life depends on the user and the number of apps each user uses if one gets 5 hrs sot that doesnt mean the other users will..

KennyLG123 said:
Your on the right path then after rooting with cf autoroot with odin first then flash twrp in odin 3.0.2.0 img.tar file https://dl.twrp.me/noblelte/ after you got that set up make a fresh backup of that stock rom so you always have it. Battery life depends on the user and the number of apps each user uses if one gets 5 hrs sot that doesnt mean the other users will..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Kenny,
I finally received my Note 5 - SM-N920C.
One question: when I checked About Device, right under Software Info tab, it says United Arab Emirates, probably the firmware it is on I guess...
well, i guess my first two step will be root it and then install TWRP, then think about trying some stable N7 port ROMs that can be my daily drive without bunch of bugs...

jazzespresso said:
Hi Kenny,
I finally received my Note 5 - SM-N920C.
One question: when I checked About Device, right under Software Info tab, it says United Arab Emirates, probably the firmware it is on I guess...
well, i guess my first two step will be root it and then install TWRP, then think about trying some stable N7 port ROMs that can be my daily drive without bunch of bugs...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup same as mine UAE I dont know what csc its on now i have checked the last few flashes. I'm running a n7 port well thats about all i run on the n5 s6 edge + and n4 now almost forgot tmo n4 also I can send you a thread link by pm in respect to other devs. You got the right order but after twrp do a backup in case anything that would go wrong along the line. Did the n5 have lp or mm. i took mine straight to mm out of the box.....

KennyLG123 said:
Yup same as mine UAE I dont know what csc its on now i have checked the last few flashes. I'm running a n7 port well thats about all i run on the n5 s6 edge + and n4 now almost forgot tmo n4 also I can send you a thread link by pm in respect to other devs. You got the right order but after twrp do a backup in case anything that would go wrong along the line. Did the n5 have lp or mm. i took mine straight to mm out of the box.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
got rooted, installed TWRP, did full backup, save the backup on my PC....so I am ready for some N7 goodies, PM me for N7 ROM thread you use since you are in USA, so probably you have better experience on N7 ROMs, which is stable works on great on ATT or T-Mobile..etc...

Let me work my way to the thread I'm on the nexus 6p threads today..lol
Samsung Note 5 N920C
---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------
Pm sent..
Huawei Nexus 6P

I want to unlock BL, install TWRP, CM and root. Is this how?

Hi everyone,
I've jusdt purchased a Xiaomi MI5 for my girlfriend and have been trying to build my knowledge of how to install TWRP, root it, and add Cyanogenmod. I think I've managed to get all of the information that I need, but I would just like to check it with your good selves before I go ahead.
The phone currently has the global stable rom installed, and I understand that I need to flash over that before I can get the bootloader unlocked, and I can do so by using the built in "updater" app to flash the rom that will allow the BL unlock.
QUESTION: What is the best Rom to use? Can I unlock bootloader with a Global Dev Rom, or does it need to be a China Variant?
Once I have flashed a rom that will allow the bootloader to be unlocked, I need to follow the unlocking procedure, wait for it to be authorised by Xiaomi, then use the Mi Unlock tool.
From there, I can flash TWRP via fastboot, and once that is done, flash CM, and finally SuperSU.
Have I got all of that right, my friends, or would anyone else do anything differently?
Much obliged for all the help that I have received in the past from the good folk on XDA. If I've been able to perceive the correct course of action, it's only because I've stood on the shoulders of you giants.
Best regards,
p.s. Believe it or not, I'm still using an antiquated Samsung Galaxy Media Player 5.0, and having had a quick play with the MI5, it feels like adanced alien technology in comparison. Very snappy indeed and I'm feeling quite jealous of the Missus.

One step at the time then fellas. To get bootloader unlock I must be on a dev rom. Can I flash straight to Global Dev using the "Updater" app? thanks

imgettingold said:
One step at the time then fellas. To get bootloader unlock I must be on a dev rom. Can I flash straight to Global Dev using the "Updater" app? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on stable rom you can't flash developer rom via Updater app. You can do it only via fastboot using MiFlash tool. About what development rom you should use, Global or China, China version is the best shot. At the of the day makes no difference. You still need to download any of them and anyway China version have english language. So using it for a while until you manage to unlock your bootloader shouldn't be an issue.
On another matter now... In your first post you was talking about installing CM. My advice from my own experience is to stay on MIUI for now. CM 14.1 is still on early stages of development. As of today MIUI 8.1 is way more stable than CM. There's absolutely no comparison between camera quality. Battery last longer and performance wise, on my usage (Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, lots of browsing, lots of hours of playing Need for Speed No Limits and Vainglory) there's no difference between MIUI and CM14.1. So far photos quality is way lower on CM, video recording buggy (i don't know if it's fixed in last build), some people are complaining about Bluetooth issues... Anyway...is your girlfriend willing to flash nightly CM builds on a daily basis? Mine for sure would throw the phone through the window lol.
Yes I know that "legend" is saying that CM roms are snapier and more customisable than stock roms. Not the case for CM14.1, at least not yet... Customisation wise what you can do on CM14.1 you can do on MIUI 8. And theme engine is not ready for CM14.1 yet...so much about customisation. On MIUI8 the theme engine works just fine and the themes collection is quite large.
If you chose to stay on MIUI i assume you'll want a debloated rom. My advice is to go for xiaomi.eu roms. Xiaomi.eu roms are based on China versions (China versions gets updates more often than global version) without bloatware.

At fist , you must be using MIflash tool to get bootloader unlock.Next to install TWRP.

vladimir_carlan said:
If you are on stable rom you can't flash developer rom via Updater app. You can do it only via fastboot using MiFlash tool. About what development rom you should use, Global or China, China version is the best shot. At the of the day makes no difference. You still need to download any of them and anyway China version have english language. So using it for a while until you manage to unlock your bootloader shouldn't be an issue.
On another matter now... In your first post you was talking about installing CM. My advice from my own experience is to stay on MIUI for now. CM 14.1 is still on early stages of development. As of today MIUI 8.1 is way more stable than CM. There's absolutely no comparison between camera quality. Battery last longer and performance wise, on my usage (Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, lots of browsing, lots of hours of playing Need for Speed No Limits and Vainglory) there's no difference between MIUI and CM14.1. So far photos quality is way lower on CM, video recording buggy (i don't know if it's fixed in last build), some people are complaining about Bluetooth issues... Anyway...is your girlfriend willing to flash nightly CM builds on a daily basis? Mine for sure would throw the phone through the window lol.
Yes I know that "legend" is saying that CM roms are snapier and more customisable than stock roms. Not the case for CM14.1, at least not yet... Customisation wise what you can do on CM14.1 you can do on MIUI 8. And theme engine is not ready for CM14.1 yet...so much about customisation. On MIUI8 the theme engine works just fine and the themes collection is quite large.
If you chose to stay on MIUI i assume you'll want a debloated rom. My advice is to go for xiaomi.eu roms. Xiaomi.eu roms are based on China versions (China versions gets updates more often than global version) without bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Vladimir for your considered and thoughtful reply.
I had thought about using miflash, but the instructions here:
http://en.miui.com/a-234.html
state, "Click here to download MiFlash. If your device is locked. please click here to unlock it first. "
Since I want to flash a dev rom in order to unlock, the instructions to unlock and then flash made no sense to me. It is okay to go from Global stable (8.0.2.0 MAAMIDG, in my case) to China Dev 6.12.15 via MiFlash and I can do this with a regular USB-c cable and not a deepflash cable, is this correct?
I think you make a good point about CM 14.1 not being ready for prime time. I think my girlfriend would prefer the graphical touches of MIUI 8 in any event. Can you confirm that I can use xiaomi.eu rom with root, twrp and x-posed network if needed. That should do for now.
Thanks again, my friend. I anticipate your reply.

https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads...r-xiaomi-mi5-unlocked-bl-only-released.31231/
If you chose method 1 (fastboot) you'll end with TWRP installed aswell. From there just flash SuperSu and done. After that you can update via updater app to last version. My advice is to stay away from Nougat for now. Is still under development and all additions are just under the hood. No new features. If you have any issues with unlocking the bootloader you can literally ask in any thread...the community is more active there. And unlike XDA you won't get an "wrong thread stupid!" or an "use the search button damn it!".
Xposed works just fine but you need this version http://en.miui.com/thread-273424-1-1.html
About CM14.1 don't get me wrong...things are moving fast. And the progress made in just 2-3 weeks its amazing. I just don't think it is what it should be on a gifted phone.
-Hey babe! Merry Xmas! This is your Xmas present: a brand new Xiaomi MI5!.
-Awww...thanks hun! Anything i should know about this phone babe?
-Ummmm...yes...
-What?
-The selfies you are going to take...
-What about my selfies?
-Not really Facebook/Instagram ready...and you know? Sometimes if you switch off WiFi data connection won't work... But it's all good...you just need to turn on and off airplane mode
-Ummmm...ok. I assume I'm happy with your Xmas gift
Time is passing...few days later, New Year Day...your girlfriend wants to take a look at the videos she recorded at New Years Eve party....suddenly...
-Baaaaaaaaaabe!
-What!?
- I can't find my videos from last night
- Ummm...i forgot to tell you something
- What????
- Video recording is broken...

vladimir_carlan said:
https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads...r-xiaomi-mi5-unlocked-bl-only-released.31231/
If you chose method 1 (fastboot) you'll end with TWRP installed aswell. From there just flash SuperSu and done. After that you can update via updater app to last version. My advice is to stay away from Nougat for now. Is still under development and all additions are just under the hood. No new features. If you have any issues with unlocking the bootloader you can literally ask in any thread...the community is more active there. And unlike XDA you won't get an "wrong thread stupid!" or an "use the search button damn it!".
Xposed works just fine but you need this version http://en.miui.com/thread-273424-1-1.html
About CM14.1 don't get me wrong...things are moving fast. And the progress made in just 2-3 weeks its amazing. I just don't think it is what it should be on a gifted phone.
-Hey babe! Merry Xmas! This is your Xmas present: a brand new Xiaomi MI5!.
-Awww...thanks hun! Anything i should know about this phone babe?
-Ummmm...yes...
-What?
-The selfies you are going to take...
-What about my selfies?
-Not really Facebook/Instagram ready...and you know? Sometimes if you switch off WiFi data connection won't work... But it's all good...you just need to turn on and off airplane mode
-Ummmm...ok. I assume I'm happy with your Xmas gift
Time is passing...few days later, New Year Day...your girlfriend wants to take a look at the videos she recorded at New Years Eve party....suddenly...
-Baaaaaaaaaabe!
-What!?
- I can't find my videos from last night
- Ummm...i forgot to tell you something
- What????
- Video recording is broken...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for your reply, Vladimir. The nice thing about the MI5 is that MIUI has had time to have some of the bugs ironed out so I agree that it would be foolish to jump straight into CM 14.1 without giving it time to mature. My girlfriend cares not one bit for technical things and, you're right, would not understand why things don't work properly and would think that I had bought her a lemon of a phone.
Can I ask you one more thing, my friend? The more I read (and with your help) the more I learn, but I am always coming across contradictions. For example, I thought with a locked bootloader one had to use a deepflash cable to overwrite the bootloader via MiFlash and fastboot. Here are the instructions I found which clearly delineate between unlocked bootloader and normal usb cable, and locked bootloader with deepflash engineering cable.
http://xiaomitips.com/guide/how-to-flash-miui-global-stable-rom-on-mi-5-running-china-stable-rom/
Is this the only way to go to China Dev rom i.e. do I need to order a deepflash cable? I am confused.
Thanks again for all your help, I can assure you it is very much appreciated especially the part about flashing the EU rom with TWRP. That sounds just what I need.
Cheers,
p.s. thanks for pointing me to the right xposed module too!

imgettingold said:
One step at the time then fellas. To get bootloader unlock I must be on a dev rom. Can I flash straight to Global Dev using the "Updater" app? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
imgettingold said:
Thanks again for your reply, Vladimir. The nice thing about the MI5 is that MIUI has had time to have some of the bugs ironed out so I agree that it would be foolish to jump straight into CM 14.1 without giving it time to mature. My girlfriend cares not one bit for technical things and, you're right, would not understand why things don't work properly and would think that I had bought her a lemon of a phone.
Can I ask you one more thing, my friend? The more I read (and with your help) the more I learn, but I am always coming across contradictions. For example, I thought with a locked bootloader one had to use a deepflash cable to overwrite the bootloader via MiFlash and fastboot. Here are the instructions I found which clearly delineate between unlocked bootloader and normal usb cable, and locked bootloader with deepflash engineering cable.
http://xiaomitips.com/guide/how-to-flash-miui-global-stable-rom-on-mi-5-running-china-stable-rom/
Is this the only way to go to China Dev rom i.e. do I need to order a deepflash cable? I am confused.
Thanks again for all your help, I can assure you it is very much appreciated especially the part about flashing the EU rom with TWRP. That sounds just what I need.
Cheers,
p.s. thanks for pointing me to the right xposed module too!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad. You need MI PC Suite. Here is a guide:
http://xiaomitips.com/guide/how-to-fix-bricked-mi-5-with-locked-bootloader-and-update-to-global-rom/
Don't pay attention to the "bricked device" in the title. The procedure is the same. This is what I used to go from the fake rom to chinese dev one. Keep in mind that you need to download RECOVERY roms and in MI PC Suite you need to chose RECOVERY FLASH (R.Flash).

Ahh, now it makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Apologies for the slight delay in getting back to you Vladimir. I've typed up two verbose replies and lost them because XDA logged me out whilst writing them so I'll keep this one brief.
You emphasized using the recovery ROM, but do you have a link perchance for the china dev recovery as I've only been able to find a link for the global stable rom in flashboot and recovery flavours. The only link I have for china dev is this one
http://en.miui.com/download-299.html#435
and that does not specify recovery, so flashboot should be assumed?
Thanks again, friend, and wishing you (and your girlfriend) a Merry Christmas whilst I have your ear.

imgettingold said:
Ahh, now it makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Apologies for the slight delay in getting back to you Vladimir. I've typed up two verbose replies and lost them because XDA logged me out whilst writing them so I'll keep this one brief.
You emphasized using the recovery ROM, but do you have a link perchance for the china dev recovery as I've only been able to find a link for the global stable rom in flashboot and recovery flavours. The only link I have for china dev is this one
http://en.miui.com/download-299.html#435
and that does not specify recovery, so flashboot should be assumed?
Thanks again, friend, and wishing you (and your girlfriend) a Merry Christmas whilst I have your ear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly, when you do R.Flash in MI PC Suite you can chose the MIUI Version (Stable or Dev) and the download will be made automatically.

imgettingold said:
The phone currently has the global stable rom installed, and I understand that I need to flash over that before I can get the bootloader unlocked, and I can do so by using the built in "updater" app to flash the rom that will allow the BL unlock.
QUESTION: What is the best Rom to use? Can I unlock bootloader with a Global Dev Rom, or does it need to be a China Variant?
Once I have flashed a rom that will allow the bootloader to be unlocked, I need to follow the unlocking procedure, wait for it to be authorised by Xiaomi, then use the Mi Unlock tool.
From there, I can flash TWRP via fastboot, and once that is done, flash CM, and finally SuperSU.
Have I got all of that right, my friends, or would anyone else do anything differently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I have to disagree with Vladimir.
Your description of actions is spot-on.
I have done exactly that and i am very happy with CM13 (not CM14.1 i agree on that one )
If you do flash CM, DO NOT flash SuperSU.
Root is build in CM, just activate the Developer Options and in there is the option to activate root.
But i have been using MIUI8 for about 2 weeks. 1 week waiting for unlock (problems with getting the permissions to my account) and later again 1 week to try the latest version.
Both times i had much trouble with apps being killed in the background, because MIUI is much more aggressive in killing background tasks and that is not changeable as far as i could find. That is why the battery seems to last longer. But i have in CM the same battery settings active and CM lasts just as long as the MIUI versions i had.
Also there were a lot of bugs in both versions of MIUI, that made it almost impossible for me to use it for my work.
So i would suggest, follow you own steps and first try the MIUI that you installed and if you have some problems, flash CM13 and try that for a week.
Then make a choice of what you want to use in the future.
About the MIUI flash version: if you have Global now, just upgrade via the app to the developer version. Since you already know that version, just use that one.
Chinese version is only in Chinese and English.
Global has some more languages.

Anyway unlocking bootloader works on China Stable too. Not only on Dev version. But you still need to install the China Stable. You called your girlfriend "missus" therefore I assume you are in UK and you bought your phone from an online reseller. MI5 sold by resellers are coming with a "fake" ROM.

elot01 said:
Hello,
I have to disagree with Vladimir.
Your description of actions is spot-on.
I have done exactly that and i am very happy with CM13 (not CM14.1 i agree on that one )
If you do flash CM, DO NOT flash SuperSU.
Root is build in CM, just activate the Developer Options and in there is the option to activate root.
But i have been using MIUI8 for about 2 weeks. 1 week waiting for unlock (problems with getting the permissions to my account) and later again 1 week to try the latest version.
Both times i had much trouble with apps being killed in the background, because MIUI is much more aggressive in killing background tasks and that is not changeable as far as i could find. That is why the battery seems to last longer. But i have in CM the same battery settings active and CM lasts just as long as the MIUI versions i had.
Also there were a lot of bugs in both versions of MIUI, that made it almost impossible for me to use it for my work.
So i would suggest, follow you own steps and first try the MIUI that you installed and if you have some problems, flash CM13 and try that for a week.
Then make a choice of what you want to use in the future.
About the MIUI flash version: if you have Global now, just upgrade via the app to the developer version. Since you already know that version, just use that one.
Chinese version is only in Chinese and English.
Global has some more languages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Memory management it is changeable in MIUI. There's an option for that in Developer Settings. By default it's set on on "middle" and indeed it is quite aggressive. But if you set it on "low" or "off" (my personal choice" and at the same time you turn off battery saving mode which is set on by default your apps won't be killed in the background. When I wake up in the morning (waken by alaram which never been killed by the way) my Need for Speed No limits is always where I left it in the evening.

What theme is that? it looks awesome

PetritH said:
What theme is that? it looks awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nightshade! Link: http://zhuti.xiaomi.com/detail/378b1e4d-156e-4c98-b483-8f857b3fea09

vladimir_carlan said:
Memory management it is changeable in MIUI. There's an option for that in Developer Settings. By default it's set on on "middle" and indeed it is quite aggressive. But if you set it on "low" or "off" (my personal choice" and at the same time you turn off battery saving mode which is set on by default your apps won't be killed in the background. When I wake up in the morning (waken by alaram which never been killed by the way) my Need for Speed No limits is always where I left it in the evening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, strange.
I have only seen the option to set the background apps to a max of 5, no Off option.
But whatever the options, i still suggest to everybody to try the MIUI first for a week or so and later try the CM13 or CM14.1 version and make your own choice after that.
If MIUI works for someone, stay on it, else use CMxx

elot01 said:
Hmmm, strange.
I have only seen the option to set the background apps to a max of 5, no Off option.
But whatever the options, i still suggest to everybody to try the MIUI first for a week or so and later try the CM13 or CM14.1 version and make your own choice after that.
If MIUI works for someone, stay on it, else use CMxx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On a normal situation i would suggest the same. Or even not to make any suggestion at all. In this case I did it because OP mentioned that the phone is going to be a gift for his girlfriend. If I'd gift a phone I'd gift a reliable phone. And as of today even the official CM maintainer don't think CM is reliable. If he'd consider that CM is reliable will have at least one snapshot/milestone and not only nightlies.
About Memory optimisation is a different option in Developer options. Is not part of Background processes limit.

vladimir_carlan said:
And as of today even the official CM maintainer don't think CM is reliable. If he'd consider that CM is reliable will have at least one snapshot/milestone and not only nightlies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CM13 version is reliable and also has normal releases, not only Nightly's.
I have been using it since a few months now on my Mi5 (before that alsmost 2 years on the Mi 4i)
I agree on Cm14.1, not stable enough for me, but CM13 is absolutely stable.

I have unknown device error while unlocking bootloader. Anyone with similar issue bypassed it and unlocked BL? Pls help me.
Thanks in advance

plikmuny said:
I have unknown device error while unlocking bootloader. Anyone with similar issue bypassed it and unlocked BL? Pls help me.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi again, I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who posted in this thread (particularly Vladimir and elot101). I've had to sort a couple of things out on the car which have prevented me from having a play on the phone, and with Christmas so close I decided discretion was the better part of valour, and giving the phone as is to my girlfriend to ensure that my Christmas present to her is not a brick, then prying it off her a few days later and flashing Dev, and pestering Xiaomi for an unlock because an Android phone without root, firewall, X-posed privacy module and titanium back-up may as well be an Apple product as far as I'm concerned.
I give you my word that I will bump this thread and let you know my experiences (good or bad) so that I can contribute back to the sum knowledge of this topic.
If anyone is reading this, something that I suspected but was not sure of that I would like to confirm for someone else like me is that recovery roms end with a .zip extension and fastboot ones have a .tgz if you are having trouble distinguishing them. Elementary perhaps, but it's always nice to have these things confirmed.
Merry Christmas guys. I hope everyone gets whatever they want, even if that's a smile from a loved one.
Best wishes

Should i Unlock/Root/Flash Custom ROM or stick to stock OTA for now??

Soo....3 weeks ago i was searching for a phone to replace my aging Kirin 650-powered Honor 5C and i was going to buy another Huawei (and also getting ready to be disappointed again by their half-assed software support for mid-tier devices and a GPU processing power equivalent to my Casio Scientific Calculator) until my eyes were locked on a super great deal. A 190-ish USD for a 128 GB Mi A2.
I was so excited back then but after a while i just realized a few things with the latest update (first pie update, im kinda scared installing the second pie after claims of bricking devices lol) which are
1. The camera app is meh
2. It doesnt shoot in RAW (My rooted 5C got it, thanks HassanMirza and other peeps on developing the superb Elite ROM on this device)
3. The portrait mode sucks major ass like it only detects objects thats at the center of the frame (sucks when youre using the rule of thirds)
4. And gosh whats with these white dots when im using manual mode with long shutter speed
I just felt like this superb hardware (this phone snaps superb pics btw) is being bogged down with a meh-than average software. Its not bad but when you found settings like "Picture Quality" and "low, med, high" you'd be thinking like, am i a joke to you xiaomi? Also I like how Huawei's camera app are more technical and in-depth, but i wanted some more "meat" on the processing power (i prefer sd 660 than the kirin 710)
So i was so tempted to install Gcam
In which we will end this rant (sorry) and get back to my topic which is; Should i lose OTA and root this phone? Because idk why i would like to have my warranty (i only do this to out-of-warranty devices only) and this pure android is as good as pure water, or pure whatever that you like, its so good fast and 90 percent bug free. But i also want the features that those custom rom (especially pixel experience UwU) so should I wait for future updates where hopefully Xiaomi will enable Camera2API by default? Or should I succumb on my own impatience-ness and root/unlock/flash my 3 week old Mi A2? What will i gain if i unlock? and what will i lose?
oh also i broke the screen on this baby yesterday, came of from my t-shirt pocket when i was trying to tie my shoes. So um wear cases/Screen protectors guys, gorilla glass 5 is just a marketing gimmick smh

BeWaryBeCautious said:
In which we will end this rant (sorry) and get back to my topic which is; Should i lose OTA and root this phone? Because idk why i would like to have my warranty (i only do this to out-of-warranty devices only) and this pure android is as good as pure water, or pure whatever that you like, its so good fast and 90 percent bug free. But i also want the features that those custom rom (especially pixel experience UwU) so should I wait for future updates where hopefully Xiaomi will enable Camera2API by default? Or should I succumb on my own impatience-ness and root/unlock/flash my 3 week old Mi A2? What will i gain if i unlock? and what will i lose?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can Root your phone and have OTA at the same time. As long as you stick to the stock rom and don't make changes to the system partition, OTA will be intact.
The only caveat is, you have to take some extra steps before updating your phone. There is a great guide on Mi A2 Lite's forum for proper Magisk installation with OTA intact.
I have not flashed a ROM on this one so I don't know how is the experience there. I have been running custom ROMs on every device I have owned but the A/B partition and temporary TWRP and all the extra steps are a lot for me. I would rather use Magisk modules to replicate the features I want on the stock ROM itself.

I bought this phone to stick with stock plus all mods I usually do. I was always with custom roms, I thought why not a phone with good specs great camera and regular stock updates. When I bought it pie had just arrived. It lasted 3 4 weeks then back to my beloved pixel experience. The difference was big. PE is way ahead of buggy stock. Ok not the easiest phone right now for twrp and flashing roms with a b slots but with a little reading you can do it... Gcam was huge difference as well both in stock and in PE. So my suggestion is yeah totally you have to go for custom rom. Only to get rid of the dull color of the lcd on stock is enough
Sent from my Mi A2 using Tapatalk

Sp_Ark said:
I bought this phone to stick with stock plus all mods I usually do. I was always with custom roms, I thought why not a phone with good specs great camera and regular stock updates. When I bought it pie had just arrived. It lasted 3 4 weeks then back to my beloved pixel experience. The difference was big. PE is way ahead of buggy stock. Ok not the easiest phone right now for twrp and flashing roms with a b slots but with a little reading you can do it... Gcam was huge difference as well both in stock and in PE. So my suggestion is yeah totally you have to go for custom rom. Only to get rid of the dull color of the lcd on stock is enough
Sent from my Mi A2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partitions? Umm care to explain what exactly it is? Like I did heard A/B partitions but I never got a hang of it. Before this I've only dealt with phones that has microsd expansions so I never heard of A/B partitions.
Yeah I'm diving deep into the PE forum right now Hahahah. But when you said it's not the easiest to twrp, what do you mean? I mean what should I expect when I'm going to flash a custom recovery on this phone? (apart from not bricking etc2 usual stuff)
Thanks for your response btw

BeWaryBeCautious said:
Partitions? Umm care to explain what exactly it is? Like I did heard A/B partitions but I never got a hang of it. Before this I've only dealt with phones that has microsd expansions so I never heard of A/B partitions.
Yeah I'm diving deep into the PE forum right now Hahahah. But when you said it's not the easiest to twrp, what do you mean? I mean what should I expect when I'm going to flash a custom recovery on this phone? (apart from not bricking etc2 usual stuff)
Thanks for your response btw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=78890796
Sent from my Mi A2 using Tapatalk

Sp_Ark said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=78890796
Sent from my Mi A2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gee
Oh and also I've read about custom recovery not working properly after the Pie update *sigh* idk if it's true.
And it seems that it's easier to mod after switch to 6X rather than in A2.
Well idk I still have warranty on this phone, I think I'll just wait until everything just matures out. Thanks for the info by the wayy
Sent from my Mi A2 using Tapatalk

You dont need to root, you can just boot with a patched boot.img, run the appropriate commands to enable camapi via adb and reboot without tampering with ota relevant partitions

is it better to unlocked bootloader in mi a2 or just keep it locked?
I'm just concerned if phone got bootloop after update and phone's bootloader is not unlocked.
btw if bootloader's unlocked, can we receive ota and install it?
thanks!

dyobetem said:
is it better to unlocked bootloader in mi a2 or just keep it locked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMHO there occurred valuable reason to have "jasmine" with unclocked bootloader: many "loyal" users of "jasmine" got their phones bricked with infamous January patch (10.0.3.0), while those who had unclocked bootloader could easily flash back more-or-less stable 10.0.2.0.

For those that have unlocked bootloader and critical and remain on the stock ROM is your Playstore Play Protect Certification Device is Certified or Uncertified?

IjazCI said:
Uncertified
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Do you find any restrictions in downloading any sort of apps from playstore?