Database Develop

[Q] Any reason not to flash CM?

Hi there,
I just got my Sony Xperia Z and I have a few questions. I went to the FreeXperia website and looked up if there was anything missing from CM. Under Fusion I found that there is nothing listed under "Not working".
So is the Xperia Z hardware 100% supported?
Is there any reason to wait on flashing CM?
Do I lose any specific functionality? Things that come to mind here are the NFC tags or the stuff that you can find in the "Xperia" settings, like Mirrorlink. What's Mirrorlink anyway?
I have seen that there is something called Bravia Engine. Do I need it?
Beside that I am wondering if I should unlock the bootloader. The CM wiki describes an installation method which includes unlocking the bootloader. I have found another method though, which doesn't require to unlock the bootloader.
So is there any gain from unlocking the bootloader apart from notifying Sony that you have void your warranty? :silly:
Thank you in advance.

xelra said:
Hi there,
I just got my Sony Xperia Z and I have a few questions. I went to the FreeXperia website and looked up if there was anything missing from CM. Under Fusion I found that there is nothing listed under "Not working".
So is the Xperia Z hardware 100% supported?
Is there any reason to wait on flashing CM?
Do I lose any specific functionality? Things that come to mind here are the NFC tags or the stuff that you can find in the "Xperia" settings, like Mirrorlink. What's Mirrorlink anyway?
I have seen that there is something called Bravia Engine. Do I need it?
Beside that I am wondering if I should unlock the bootloader. The CM wiki describes an installation method which includes unlocking the bootloader. I have found another method though, which doesn't require to unlock the bootloader.
So is there any gain from unlocking the bootloader apart from notifying Sony that you have void your warranty? :silly:
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think all CM installs require unlocked BL as they use different kernel. I recall reading somewhere that camera and speaker phone (in call) are not working. The BE is used only in albums and movie play. It is responsible for improving picture quality. I think some ROMs support BE as well.
I think there are ways to re-lock your BL before heading to Sony repair desk. Try looking in dev section.

swrajjoshi said:
I think all CM installs require unlocked BL as they use different kernel. I recall reading somewhere that camera and speaker phone (in call) are not working. The BE is used only in albums and movie play. It is responsible for improving picture quality. I think some ROMs support BE as well.
I think there are ways to re-lock your BL before heading to Sony repair desk. Try looking in dev section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I see. Then the method I read about for getting CWM on the phone can only be used for stock-type ROMs, I suppose. So AOSP-type ROMs require an unlocked bootloader. Tha clarifies things.
What good would it do me to relock the phone? Using the official way to unlock the bootloader requires me to go to a SONY website and notify them of me unlocking it. I even have to leave my e-mail address.
So CM still has some bugs that severe? It's strange that they even released an RC version then.
I read somewhere that CM does have terrible battery life for usage, because screen-on does suck the battery dry like vaccum pump. Maybe that's because the display isn't properly supported?
Thank you for clarifying about the Bravia Engine. Would be interesting to know how exactly it's able to improve picture and video rendering.

xelra said:
Thanks. I see. Then the method I read about for getting CWM on the phone can only be used for stock-type ROMs, I suppose. So AOSP-type ROMs require an unlocked bootloader. Tha clarifies things.
What good would it do me to relock the phone? Using the official way to unlock the bootloader requires me to go to a SONY website and notify them of me unlocking it. I even have to leave my e-mail address.
So CM still has some bugs that severe? It's strange that they even released an RC version then.
I read somewhere that CM does have terrible battery life for usage, because screen-on does suck the battery dry like vaccum pump. Maybe that's because the display isn't properly supported?
Thank you for clarifying about the Bravia Engine. Would be interesting to know how exactly it's able to improve picture and video rendering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CM 10 problem is with camera is because Sony hasn't release driver codes for working with camera. I don't know the story behind speaker phone issue. The biggest benefit of CM 10 is that you get the latest 4.2.2 with lots of extra goodies like pie control, additional boot options and numerous MODs and special configuration options.

[Q] [Experiment] TX firmware on T

Greetings everyone,
I have a quite dumb question, since I've seen many users trying to have T ROMs on their TXs - is it possible to boot a TX firmware or ROM on the Xperia T? Has anyone tried that? The main reason is the color saturation. I know it's probably 99% hardware problem, but I've entered Service Menu and checked Display. And it's perfect! Cear, pure colors, with deep and real black.
It's very frustrating to have that view problem, with dimming effect or what the heck it is...
When in Album (with BE activated) the differences are almost none between TX and T (T even has more clearity and sharpness, with some extra brightness).
By the way, I have already modified values in pre_hw_config.sh... Even installed an app that filters the screen (and managed to get rid of that autoadjustment effect!) but I'm still unsatisfied with the overall saturation, those washed colors in the UI... Some background color schemes seem to be painted, with distinct shades clearly seen (Album art background color, i.e.). That's awfull.
If the screen is differently calibrated - then why in the Service Menu the colors are excelent and almost the same as in TX?
That's why I think that are chances that 1% could be ROM or Kernel's fault. A software thing...

I cannot guarantee you these words are true but I've read somewhere that somebody did flash TX ROM on his T.
Except from other problem fixes, he also discovered that the WiFi signal reception got really better.
So I think nothing wrong could happen. We know a lots of cases when T ROM was flashed to TL or at least T ROM on TX (the only wrong thing then was broken XPERIA lighting). I think everything will be ok
My phone is T. Xperia T.

Thanks, now you maked me even more curious about this thing. I don't think something really bad will happen, like not booting at all, not being recognised by SUS or Flashtool etc. I hope so...
Maybe I'll try to flash tomorrow a stock TX ROM - and then report (also if there's a screen quality/behaviour changed). :cyclops:

FLASHED
I managed to flash TX firmware. Everything worked just fine, phone booted without problems...
The bad thing: does not vibrate at all and the camera is messed up it's upside down, it won't focus and when tries to capture - freezes.
The very good part: THE SCREEN IS SUPERB, NO MORE DIMMING, AUTO-ADJUSTMENT, NO MORE BRIGHTNESS OR CONTRAST FADING it's unbelievable! The contrast is much better, no more washed out colors... I knew it was a software issue!!!
Now... I don't know if it's just a kernel problem or not. I need unlocked bootloader to flash TX kernel, right? With LB and Flashtool won't work (by frashing TX completely and flash over T firmware with kernel "excluded"...)
Help, help, help!

romcio47 said:
I think everything will be ok
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have an idea? What should I do next?

You don't need unlocked BL to flash STOCK Xperia TX kernel. Stock kernel is signed by Sony and it will be accepted by your phone.
I don't know anything about fixing these problems, I'm no developer at all but I was thinking about creating a thread with some requests for TX libs and system files (WiFi etc)

Okay, I'll check if I could flash TX kernel over T original ROM somehow... And see if the kernel is the main problem of that annoying fade-in-out effect, washed colors etc.

I might buy a MI5, looking for some answers/advice

Hey folks, I am Canadian that is looking to possibly import an MI5 but I figured I should find out a few things from you all that have been living with these phones for a while before buying.
Are there any hardware or software issues with the MI5 that I should be concerned about? I have a sony z3 compact right now and it's been infamous for vibration motors, headphone jacks, and screen failures. It also has no AOSP based daily drivers.
Development seems to be pretty active here, is that actually true? Are developers dropping off from this phone or is there still a steady amount of work being done?
From the lurking I've done it seems that unlocking, rooting and ROM installing is pretty easy. Are there any permanent dangers to doing these hacks (above and beyond the usual)?
I'm aware there is some camera quality issues on non-stock ROMs, is the camera still usable? How is the battery on custom ROMs?
Is there anything preventing this phone from being a daily driver when using a custom ROM like RR? Does the fingerprint sensor work on AOSP ROMs?
I am also aware of the radio bands the MI5 supports, I should be fine with that as my imported Z3 Compact has the same bands (as far as I can tell).
Edit: I was also wondering if the IR blaster works on custom ROMs!
Thanks for reading, answering and putting up with my ignorance. I'm just looking for some answers I couldn't find on this forum when I was searching yesterday.

Community is happy to help
1. Hardware wise you have to keep in mind the phone is fairly fragile. Low light performance of the camera is a bit poor. Audio out of the headphone jack isn't great on stock MIUI, but that can be fixed with Viper4Arise or any AOSP ROM. RAM management and general performance on MIUI is "ok" - but the phone is blazing fast on AOSP + CAF. There is no component that is prone to fail that I am aware of, but I have read of the occasional hard-brick triggered from nothing more than a reboot on custom ROMs - this can be solved by flashing stock ROM in EDL mode.
2. There seems to be a steady amount of development going on - we just got the drop on about 7 new ROMs in the last month. However, there are and have been developers leaving in favour of the One Plus 3, and development is only moderate compared to its forum.
3. It's fairly easy, but a bit frustrating getting the bootloader unlock from Xiaomi, as it usually takes about 5 days for the unlock to be approved and then 5 more days for it to actually work. There is also a possible driver issue on Windows which can prevent unlocking, so if you're stuck that's probably the case. Except for the above mentioned possible hard-brick there are no additional dangers, and dare I say less so than other phones I worked on.
4. The camera is usable on custom ROMs but considerably worse. Mainly there is a lot more noise in the photos, but detail remains high. Video recording seems to be broken on most AOSP ROMs, but alternative camera apps are apparently a work around. In my experience battery life is better on custom ROMs as they have functional Doze on Nougat, but not by much.
5. Fingerprint sensor works fine on custom ROMs, even better if you consider that you can wake + unlock your phone without pressing the button. There have been reports of some people experiencing slow fingerprint scanning on custom ROMs (3-4s). I use a custom ROM as my DD and I don't have any major issues except video recording that I haven't yet bothered to address.
I hope that this information finds you well. The Mi5 isn't perfect, but I'd be damned to say that a better phone exists for $200. The camera, battery life, performance, screen, audio, and design is good and there really isn't much to worry about.

xdadevet said:
Community is happy to help
1. Hardware wise you have to keep in mind the phone is fairly fragile. Low light performance of the camera is a bit poor. Audio out of the headphone jack isn't great on stock MIUI, but that can be fixed with Viper4Arise or any AOSP ROM. RAM management and general performance on MIUI is "ok" - but the phone is blazing fast on AOSP + CAF. There is no component that is prone to fail that I am aware of, but I have read of the occasional hard-brick triggered from nothing more than a reboot on custom ROMs - this can be solved by flashing stock ROM in EDL mode.
2. There seems to be a steady amount of development going on - we just got the drop on about 7 new ROMs in the last month. However, there are and have been developers leaving in favour of the One Plus 3, and development is only moderate compared to its forum.
3. It's fairly easy, but a bit frustrating getting the bootloader unlock from Xiaomi, as it usually takes about 5 days for the unlock to be approved and then 5 more days for it to actually work. There is also a possible driver issue on Windows which can prevent unlocking, so if you're stuck that's probably the case. Except for the above mentioned possible hard-brick there are no additional dangers, and dare I say less so than other phones I worked on.
4. The camera is usable on custom ROMs but considerably worse. Mainly there is a lot more noise in the photos, but detail remains high. Video recording seems to be broken on most AOSP ROMs, but alternative camera apps are apparently a work around. In my experience battery life is better on custom ROMs as they have functional Doze on Nougat, but not by much.
5. Fingerprint sensor works fine on custom ROMs, even better if you consider that you can wake + unlock your phone without pressing the button. There have been reports of some people experiencing slow fingerprint scanning on custom ROMs (3-4s). I use a custom ROM as my DD and I don't have any major issues except video recording that I haven't yet bothered to address.
I hope that this information finds you well. The Mi5 isn't perfect, but I'd be damned to say that a better phone exists for $200. The camera, battery life, performance, screen, audio, and design is good and there really isn't much to worry about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the detailed response! Greatly appreciated!
This all is reminding me of the fun I had with AOSP ROMs back on my Galaxy SIII, happy thoughts! (I've been stuck in Sony's software for too long!)
What is CAF?
Is the IR blaster working in AOSP-based ROMs?

TheHow7zer said:
Thank you so much for the detailed response! Greatly appreciated!
This all is reminding me of the fun I had with AOSP ROMs back on my Galaxy SIII, happy thoughts! (I've been stuck in Sony's software for too long!)
What is CAF?
Is the IR blaster working in AOSP-based ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a pleasure
Well then it's good to know they run brilliantly on the Mi5 (buttery smooth UI, and I get good numbers on benchmarks as testament, see attached pics).
CAF is short for Code Aurora Forums, a collection of companies that merge their updated driver code with the vanilla AOSP code from Google.
I don't know if the IR blaster works on AOSP as I currently don't have any devices on me to test it with. I could try this weekend when I get home.
Edit: I've since arrived home and can confirm the IR blaster works on AOSP. I used Anymote if you're interested.

Worth buying the Xperia XZ2 in the late 2019?

I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!

catalindobre said:
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like my still fast XZ2 with OmniROM 9.0

catalindobre said:
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1-some devices are affected from bad production including mine, ghosting on LCD below room temperature, horizontal static electric lines appearing after rubbing the screen, speakers may get temporary damage for no reason (can be fixed by opening the sim tray and pulling that paper in there and waiting a little) or can get permanently damaged if you overdrive them with something like xLoud easily, if you dont want a super slippery 200g heavy 1.1cm thick glass brick look somewhere else (buttons are jiggly too)
2-custom roms have problems with audio and camera and it'll take some time to get fixed and at the end there's the possibility of it not being better than stock camera (also typical sony drm stuff will be lost after unlocking the bootloader)
3-device getting regular security patches and will be updated to android 10 in early 2020 (keep your bootloader locked if you want OTA)
4-no, gcam requires full camera2api and raw support which isnt there on stock
5-performance is good probably due to having close to stock android
this is my first xperia and I'd not recommend this phone to anybody unless you are crazy about what is sony doing with their sony open devices project like the guy above martin

Faruk.ErdaL said:
1-some devices are affected from bad production including mine, ghosting on LCD below room temperature, horizontal static electric lines appearing after rubbing the screen, speakers may get temporary damage for no reason (can be fixed by opening the sim tray and pulling that paper in there and waiting a little) or can get permanently damaged if you overdrive them with something like xLoud easily, if you dont want a super slippery 200g heavy 1.1cm thick glass brick look somewhere else (buttons are jiggly too)
2-custom roms have problems with audio and camera and it'll take some time to get fixed and at the end there's the possibility of it not being better than stock camera (also typical sony drm stuff will be lost after unlocking the bootloader)
3-device getting regular security patches and will be updated to android 10 in early 2020 (keep your bootloader locked if you want OTA)
4-no, gcam requires full camera2api and raw support which isnt there on stock
5-performance is good probably due to having close to stock android
this is my first xperia and I'd not recommend this phone to anybody unless you are crazy about what is sony doing with their sony open devices project like the guy above martin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to hear that you got a faulty unit.
Did you try to RMA it?
Because I never had such issues, except touch issues in Android 8, which got 90% fixed now (Sometimes while I super fast do swipes on the keyboard it may not recognize only a single swipe at the beginning of the writing).
Camera and Audio are work in progress on the custom roms based on sony open devices project.
SODP is an isolated sony employee team in the sony company + volunteers which need to implement everything by themselves without access to the stock source code (but with access to the closed source Qualcomm source code and documentations).
The camera doesn't degrade on unlock on your stock firmware, so you can freely continue using the stock firmware until the SODP camera reaches a equal or better quality.
(Since SODP supports the entire Camera2API with RAW and GCAM support to raise the quality it may become better than stock.)
And the performance is like stock on SODP.
My benchmark shows the same values like stock, too and you don't have bloat/stock apps preinstalled without the possibility to remove them without root.
PS: The SODP based custom roms are not affected by DRM, since they are a reimplementation of the hardware drivers, there isn't any usecase for DRM keys.

Question Should I get the Note 11?

I want to get the Note 11, but not sure if I should make the purchase or not. Hence, would be really grateful if owners could give me a review of the phone and their recommendation.
Moreover, I wanted to know if the phone has screen burnout issue, and if it has low earpiece volume problem. Most importantly, if it has network issues? Like if the network chip dies and the phone can not find any sim connection; and the only way to fix it is by changing hardware components. Any other problems the phone faces, would like to know them as well.
Thanking you in advance!

Renz1er said:
I want to get the Note 11, but not sure if I should make the purchase or not. Hence, would be really grateful if owners could give me a review of the phone and their recommendation.
Moreover, I wanted to know if the phone has screen burnout issue, and if it has low earpiece volume problem. Most importantly, if it has network issues? Like if the network chip dies and the phone can not find any sim connection; and the only way to fix it is by changing hardware components. Any other problems the phone faces, would like to know them as well.
Thanking you in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problems with RN11:
1. No recovery partition. Some ROMs install their own recovery despite this, but be prepared to always risk getting stuck in fastboot, if you mistakenly try to install or save one and it borks.
2. Mine has the FocalTech (fts) touchscreen, so it is possible any ROM could take away necessary screen usage. There is a known issue with missing drivers. Research this forum on that. (Note - The RN10P has a recovery partition and some (like mine) have a Goodix touchscreen. It has no A/B partitions like RN11. I recommend you research that here as well, why they created A/B partitions.)
Otherwise, no other complaints. Cannot comment on earpiece volume. No network issues.

daily use, sure.
for thinkering, buy another brand or models.

Sheist! said:
Problems with RN11:
1. No recovery partition. Some ROMs install their own recovery despite this, but be prepared to always risk getting stuck in fastboot, if you mistakenly try to install or save one and it borks.
2. Mine has the FocalTech (fts) touchscreen, so it is possible any ROM could take away necessary screen usage. There is a known issue with missing drivers. Research this forum on that. (Note - The RN10P has a recovery partition and some (like mine) have a Goodix touchscreen. It has no A/B partitions like RN11. I recommend you research that here as well, why they created A/B partitions.)
Otherwise, no other complaints. Cannot comment on earpiece volume. No network issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had few more questions, would be grateful if you could answer.
First off, if I don't install custom roms, then there won't be any issue with recovery partition and screen drivers right? Also, I plan on just installing the xiaomi.eu roms, would there be any issues?
Secondly, during calls, the earpiece volume is loud or audible enough right?
Thirdly, I saw some youtube videos and also few posts, showing how Note 11 suddenly stops detecting any cellular network and its a common issue, could you comment on that?
Lastly, could you give me few links where I could get a better idea regarding the recovery partition issue and A/B partition.
Thank you in advance.
maXDAmn said:
daily use, sure.
for thinkering, buy another brand or models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your reply.
Its for daily use, but do you have any other recommendations?

Renz1er said:
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had few more questions, would be grateful if you could answer.
First off, if I don't install custom roms, then there won't be any issue with recovery partition and screen drivers right? Also, I plan on just installing the xiaomi.eu roms, would there be any issues?
Secondly, during calls, the earpiece volume is loud or audible enough right?
Thirdly, I saw some youtube videos and also few posts, showing how Note 11 suddenly stops detecting any cellular network and its a common issue, could you comment on that?
Lastly, could you give me few links where I could get a better idea regarding the recovery partition issue and A/B partition.
Thank you in advance.
Thank you so much for your reply.
Its for daily use, but do you have any other recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. The potentially-missing screen drivers are OUTSIDE of the stock MIUI ROM's. Astounding we have not seen these extracted somehow yet. Now, the stock recovery won't give you much power, though.
I don't use the earpiece, only the speakers.
No comment on fading network issues.
You are in the right forum for your research. I recommend checking the Lineage20 ROM post and the crDroid 9.1/9.2 ROM post for the posts about A/B. But, search the forum afterwards instead.

Renz1er said:
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had few more questions, would be grateful if you could answer.
First off, if I don't install custom roms, then there won't be any issue with recovery partition and screen drivers right? Also, I plan on just installing the xiaomi.eu roms, would there be any issues?
Secondly, during calls, the earpiece volume is loud or audible enough right?
Thirdly, I saw some youtube videos and also few posts, showing how Note 11 suddenly stops detecting any cellular network and its a common issue, could you comment on that?
Lastly, could you give me few links where I could get a better idea regarding the recovery partition issue and A/B partition.
Thank you in advance.
Thank you so much for your reply.
Its for daily use, but do you have any other recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before I buy this phone I really considering the Realme 10.

Really low quality CCDs, if you are into photos, it gives you trouble even if you want to scan something.
Google Assistant stopped working on stock roms.

As a Note 11 user. I will say you don't buy this phone. Even for daily usage. Ram management is poor in stock Rom. You can get some good performance if you install Crdroid. But fast charging won't work. So, I suggest you don't buy this model.

pulsar said:
As a Note 11 user. I will say you don't buy this phone. Even for daily usage. Ram management is poor in stock Rom. You can get some good performance if you install Crdroid. But fast charging won't work. So, I suggest you don't buy this model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fast charge works for me. I do not use custom kernels, and they are varied; - some do not enable fast charging. Using crDroid 9.2.

It's a good phone outside of the camera and GPU. If you're not into taking photos or gaming then go for it. Otherwise look elsewhere.

@Sheist! @maXDAmn @rel87 @pulsar @douteiful , thank you very much guys for your replies! Really appreciate it!
After taking your replies into consideration, and googling a bit, I figured the Note 11 might not be the phone I am looking for; hence, I might get something else.
AGAIN, Thank you very much guys!​