I have a RAZR i which is running the stock UK 4.1.2 firmware, and I'm tired of the long pauses and lags when switching between certain apps (i.e. Chrome browser) and returning back to the home screen. I was going to hold off and wait for the official OTA 4.4 upgrade to see if it would improve, but I'm running out of patience with Motorola.
So I figured it might be a good idea to try a custom ROM, but I have a couple of questions:
a) Can anyone suggest a good all-round custom ROM? On previous phones I've often used CM - is the Razr i CM11 build a good every-day ROM?
Is there a complete start-to-finish guide for installing custom ROMs? I've looked in some of the help threads but I'm still quite confused.
Thanks in advance, guys!
Related
Right, ive had a i9000 for 5 months or so, and ever since i got it, ive found it to be slow, at times laggy. And hate alot of the crap samsung put on it.Which ive not even used.
I reckon its about time i start to make the most of my phone, but dont really know where to start, with these custom roms and rooting and what not.
I basically want it to run smoothly and possibly add a tweaks/features to it which could possibly improve it. However i remember reading somewhere, that ill lose the camera features if i install a custom rom. :l (i could be talking from my arse here)
Also i read that android 4.0 is coming or has come out. Would i be able to upgrade my phone to it ? and should i ?? If not what is the best rom to flash which will make my phone faster and smoother.
Is there anything at all to make it significantly faster, or is it limited by hardware :/
Im currently on:
kernal version 2.6.29
firmware 2.1 -update1
Which i havnt messed with since i got the phone.
Thanks, and sorry for the daft questions.
Oh dear! did you wrote 2.1? Please read basic root steps and install custom rom. I recommend you to start with Cf-root
go here :- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788108
As far as 4.0, please wait.
innovat0r said:
Oh dear! did you wrote 2.1? Please read basic root steps and install custom rom. I recommend you to start with Cf-root
go here :- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788108
As far as 4.0, please wait.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol Is 2.1 bad ? hahaha
Sorry for sounding dim, but what have you pointed me to ?? rooting ? installing a rom ? updating kernal ?
And what is the difference between these ? are all 3 needed to get the phone working as i want it to ?
Im totally new to everything andriod so can you please be as clear as possible.
Thank you for your reply.
And sorry again for all the questions.
skweezer said:
Lol Is 2.1 bad ? hahaha
Sorry for sounding dim, but what have you pointed me to ?? rooting ? installing a rom ? updating kernal ?
And what is the difference between these ? are all 3 needed to get the phone working as i want it to ?
Im totally new to everything andriod so can you please be as clear as possible.
Thank you for your reply.
And sorry again for all the questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, here we go...
1. First of all you need to root your device to install a custom rom or kernel. So first root your device with the above thread (cf-root).
2. Choose any rom from so many roms available all over xda. Choose only from the topic which is under your device's category, not from other device's rom,lol.
To do this you need Odin(use search)
3. Once done you will have custom rom and also custom kernel if you wish.
After these you can go for lagfix, like changing from rfs to ext4.
Best of luck.
Thanks, so after ive rooted with cf-root. do i have to install a custom rom and custom kernel, both ?
And which is considered the best rom and kernel ?
thanks
regards
Hey Skweezer,
Recommend you start with these threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=939752
and:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=723596
They will tell you about how to connect your phone to your PC (Samsung USB drivers + adb), 3 button mode (how to avoid bricking your phone), backing up important/unrecoverable data (like your EFS block!), and what (in general) needs to be done to flash custom firmware.
After that, you should be able to pretty much recover from any error (like unplugging your phone mid flash). Now you can go ahead and root your phone and start exploring the wonderful word of custom roms! As for which one is the best, that's like asking "how long is a piece of string?" Some people prefer speed and cutting edge, others value battery life and stability, some aim for the middle of the road.
Personally I've tried tegrak kernel and was really impressed with the speed improvement! However, the limited app space finally turned me back to other kernels. I found the rest to be pretty much six in one, half dozen in the other (ie all about the same)... so pick one you like and just go for it... use it for a while and if it's not to your liking, flash again
Just a quick rundown on android for you... firmware 2.1 = Eclair, 2.2 = Frozen Yoghurt, 2.3 = Gingerbread, 3.0 = Honeycomb (tablet only version of android) and 4.0 = Ice Cream Sandwich (unify android for phone/tablet/tv again). There is a HUGE performance increase from going stock 2.1 to 2.3! so even if you just upgrade to Samsung's Gingerbread release (2.3.3 I believe?) you will notice better performance. Doing lagfix, kernel tweaks, etc is just icing on top of the cake. However, you'll find once you start tweaking, you won't go back to stock
Well, easiest way of starting is installing KIES and letting it update your phone. That's the official way and you won't have to bother with details like kernels, roms, bootloaders, etc and won't void your warranty (if that's the case).
You'll probably be left with with some 2.3.x version. Might as well make a backup from your stuff before upgrading, kies sucks in a general way, but may help you with that.
From that point on, if you still want to press further into customization goodness, there are PLENTY to chose from.
There are mainly 2 kinds of roms:
- Samsung based (someone picks up a sock samsung rom and modifies it with scripts, kernels, themes, apps, etc). These are most of the ones you'll find in the development section of this forum.
- not samsung based (like Cyanogen e MIUI). These are built from Google's sources directly and totally skip samsung. Therefore, samsung apps most likely won't work here. Everything else does.
Personally i'd recommend Cyanogen 7.1 stable as your next rom. It's an extremely optimized and wildly popular rom, with plenty of options that you won't find in any stock rom. They have their own forum i recommend you to look up if you're going their way.
Whatever you do, GET AWAY FROM THAT 2.1
Cheers for alll the replies guys. Im first going to just update via kies. To an official 2.3
If im not happy with that then ill try a custom rom and rooting.
If only it was as simple as jailbreaking and iphone. lool
Right, ust updated to latest version via kies. And instantly alot better, smoother. Has some of those things bulit into the system which i always though were missing.
Ill try it for a week, and see if theres anything i need, or think is missing. Then i might go custom. But right now im happy with it on the latest official version.
Thank you guys, i think you've made me sort of like android a bit more.
Hi All...I'm relatively new to android rooting and would like to know what custom ROM's are available for the Droid Bionic??
Some members were very helpful with my questions recently when I rooted my HTC Thunderbolt.
It seems that the Bionic is a little more difficult to work with and I hope there are some options.
My preference would be a fully functional ICS rom, however, if the best I will do is GB then it has to be. I have to have all of the phone working and without hic-cups (phone, data, wifi, camera, etc.)...I am a heavy daily user and cannot afford to loose any functionality.
Please let me know what options are possible and add the links I will need to both root and install the files. I know there are past threads with this question, but I find it easier to follow new answers.
Thank you all for your help,
ghdroiduser
We are on the verge of ICS right now. There are tons of leaks, but anything newer than 232 will be unable to receive the official OTA.
Ok, so my P1000 (stock Gingerbread, bought SIM-freeon and currently on Vodafone UK) has become soooo slow over the past two years of ownership, and a minor water contact today forced a factory reset... So a clean JPZ based Tab to play with...
Been toying with the idea (in hope for better performance) to get a custom ROM from here, maybe one based on ICS (if the hardware can take it), but after a couple of days of reading through all the posts and threads, I confess I am at a complete loss: can anyone recommend a stable working ROM (even if essentially based on stock images) that could/should improve the tired tab's performance? Also, not clear: do most ROMs here come with rooting or do I then need to apply CFRoot separately? Lastly, at the time of my last post (way way back), Overcome ROMs seemed to be the way to go, but today their site is down?
Please be gentle, though I understand the basics, I am indeed a novice in this arena
Follow my signature for link to overcome new link thread
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Great, many thanks, downloading now... As a follow up, I understand this is their version of 2.3.6 (Gingerbread); don't want to be a , but was wondering if there's an ICS ROM out there for the P1000? Also, is overclocking possible on the Overcome ROM? (the idea is to try and get a device that actually runs better than stock GB, so not even sure if the hardware is up to speed with ICS)
Again, thanks and apologies for the q's, got more confused reading through the posts than I was before
There are AOSP based ICS/JB
Just look for them in dev section.
Either CM or AOKP.
You still need overcome kernel to have cwm first in order to flash them.
kernel, not ROM, OK?
Overcome should be overclockable.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using xda app-developers app
There is a relly good CM10 (JB) ROM I'm using: sapir-rom.blogspot.com It's nightly, but it works perfectly for me with very good performance.
Hi all,
I am looking for a good and stable ROM for my GT-I9001. Yes, the list of available ROMs has been provided as a sticky thread in the forum, and a list of available ROMs is also provided in the Wiki for the phone too, but there are so many ROMs... it's very difficult to decide, specially when I am a newbie.
Also, am a total newbie in this area. I have just been using the phone as it is, with the stock ROM for over an year. I haven't even rooted the phone yet. But now, am willing to root the phone, and even thinking about installing a custom ROM.
So, please suggest some good and stable ROM(s) for the phone, preferably with latest Android, like JellyBean, or even ICS. Stability and efficiency is the key for me, because I am not too keen on changing ROMs regularly, unless I being to enjoy experimenting and playing around with the phone .
I was happy with the stock ROM until now, but recently, I encountered a problem with the Play Store, and thinking it was a problem with the phone, I reset it to factory settings. Now, am unable to upgrade the firmware through Kies because of some unknown error. Someone on this forum suggested flashing via Odin... so, I thought that if I have to flash it via Odin, and get dirty, then why not root it, and try some custom ROMs.
Am a bit nervous with all these processes as they are new to me, and also, if my phone gets bricked, I can't afford a new one . Still, atleast the rooting process looks easy to me. Rest, I will and try.
I am fairly experienced with computers and Windows, but Android and phones are a new area for me. But, I can pick up easily, just have to try. Can play around.
Any suggestions for a good stable ROM will be appreciated . Thanks.
No reply yet. Can other fellow I9001 users help me out there please? Share their experience with different ROMs, or just direct me towards a nice stable one.
Looking for the same...
Hi.
I'm also looking for same answers. Haven't tried any ROM yet but looking for a fast and stable one. Hoping for replies soon.
The CM10 port by ivendor (here) is very stable and feature-complete as far as I'm aware (except video-out, which doesn't exist on custom roms).
There is also a CM10.1 port by Xistance (here) of which there are a number of positive comments on the forums lately. However, this isn't something I've tried myself and I actually wouldn't really recommend it as very stable (there are a few things still missing and/or not working properly, such as bluetooth).
Next worth mentioning is arco's CM9 (here) which is pretty much rock solid (RC3 that is) but suffers from SOD (screen of death) issues since RC4 so I don't recommend RC4, RC5 or RC6. Although I very much enjoyed using CM9 for months I would recommend CM10 now though, it's equally stable and performs better (in my experience).
There are also a number of ROMs that are based on another ROM (usually one of those I already mentioned). They're usually comparable to their "unmodified" variant so you can just experiment with that.
Those are the ones I'd personally recommend but everyone has their own opinion on this kind of thing.
Thanks a lot for your reply Marshian, much appreciated . I think I will go for CM10. Will keep an eye on development of CM10.1.
Rooted my phone today.. yippie .
Will now read about how to flash ROMs, and then go for CM10.
Hey
I just bought this phone off a friend. still in very good condition and im happy with it.
It appears to be stock sony rom, with masses of bloat and clutter, and the battery usage is just average at best so im thinking i probably need a custom rom.
android 4.4.4
kernel 3.4.0
build .14.4.a.0.157
im not sure if bootloader is locked or unlocked.
I would like to get a better rom on this phone with less bloat and hopefully an improvement on battery life, can anyone advise whats best to do.
Thanks.
CyanogenMod is the most popular ROM
matalic said:
CyanogenMod is the most popular ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as I dont like tinkering with firmwares yet, after a few hours of research ive just rooted and flashed DstrikerZ1 Kai ROM 3.2 [BETA RELEASE][3-Dec-2014], fingers crossed it works ok. hopefully can flash lollipop at some stage