So I have a Nexus 5 that's screen is dying for the second time and I'm considering my options including a replacement phone. The Z3c is obviously a great spec phone and nicely built... I'm attracted to it by it sensible size also. The Nexus 5 I'm coming from is about the limit of size I'm willing to go. However I'm afraid of moving from the open world of easily being able to install custom ROM's and do whatever I like to the phone. I've read up on what's involved in doing this on the Z3c but I still have some reservations:
How stable are the ROM's available for the Z3c, I'm really just interested in a close to stock ROM with bloatware removed, I'n not looking for experimental features/customisations. I've used Cyanogenmod before on another device, and other ROMs and there always seemed to be something that never worked quite as well as the stock ROM. (CM had bluetooth problems for me)
If you go the route of unlocking the bootloader, are the DRM protected features that are lost deal-breaking? Is it possible to achieve what I want (clean ROM, root) without unlocking the bootloader?
Thanks for your help in advance!
I am facing prettu much the same problem...
But i am moving away from a lg g2. ( it does not have the best custom rom support, but it works)
Anyway, i am willing to give a shot to the stock sony android... because of the DRM keys..
Well.. lets see what the people have to say!
RoryHa said:
How stable are the ROM's available for the Z3c, I'm really just interested in a close to stock ROM with bloatware removed, I'n not looking for experimental features/customisations. I've used Cyanogenmod before on another device, and other ROMs and there always seemed to be something that never worked quite as well as the stock ROM. (CM had bluetooth problems for me)
If you go the route of unlocking the bootloader, are the DRM protected features that are lost deal-breaking? Is it possible to achieve what I want (clean ROM, root) without unlocking the bootloader?
Thanks for your help in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1: The Roms here are really stable and most of them are close to stock Roms so you won't have to worry about that, since most of them are near stock Roms you won't have to worry about the stability either.
2: Only you can judge if you're going to miss the DRM features, I didn't and still don't I couldn't wait for root, so I unlocked my BL and I never regretted my choice.
The only downside to this phone is the camera in my opinion, so gather some info about the camera first.
When unlocking the BL you also lose some camera quality (only really noticeable in low light conditions tho).
See my topic (in sig) for pictures).
And you don't have to unlock your BL at all if you don't want to, only if you want to use another Kernel.
Thanks for the info
Dsteppa said:
The only downside to this phone is the camera in my opinion, so gather some info about the camera first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a look at the photo there and they are not as good as I thought the camera is.. still they are not bad. The Nexus 5 I currently have is not amazing either so it's not really a deal breaker for me. It seems to be the one thing all non-flagship phones compromise on is the quality of the camera.
Related
Hello guys, new l90 user here after my N5 was stolen.
So far, i must say i'm really happy with how this device perform: good battery, it feels snappy, the screen quality isn't as bad as i thought, and rooting was an easy and straightforward process. After some customizations and debloating , even the stock rom is pretty good.
However i would prefer to use a custom rom without the lg interface, but all the roms i've looked into have some sort of problem that doesn't seal the deal for me: some have bad pic quality, some no hw acceleration, some problems with nfc or infrared etc etc.
So i thought to ask the community what is right now the most stable rom for this device? I'm no biased for kitkat or lollipop, only thing that i would like is that everything works as it should; also, overclock capability would be nice. BTW, i have 405N, do the normal 405 roms work for this version or do i lose the nfc?
Thanks
Just go with Cyanogenmod 11 or maybe 12 whatever you like more, luckily for us d405 is the least buggy model of the phone, only IR isn't working and auto-focus I guess
About bad pic quality....well that's just because LG stock camera as better image processing than CM camera
Also we'll probably have official support for Lollipop, or at least that's what you hear on thestreets threads
bacitoto said:
Just go with Cyanogenmod 11 or maybe 12 whatever you like more, luckily for us d405 is the least buggy model of the phone, only IR isn't working and auto-focus I guess
About bad pic quality....well that's just because LG stock camera as better image processing than CM camera
Also we'll probably have official support for Lollipop, or at least that's what you hear on thestreets threads
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer! It seems rooted stock is the best option for me right now
..since sadly, I'm really not impressed with Lollipop. Battery life seems worse, the supposedly better interface feels far inferior to me and various other small little things that made me realise I really, really liked 4.4.4.
So I have some questions:
1) What's the process to follow for this? I've seen some links I *think* are right, but can't be sure. (Note that I'm considering rooting and would want to keep my DRM keys etc., if I can).
2) I assume the phone will be wiped as this won't be like upgrading was to Lollipop. So I'd have to backup all my data (although I know this is best practice anyway).
3) Is there a stock version of 4.4.4 as opposed to Sony's original FW that I could use?
4) Or potentially even CM11?
5) If not, is there some way I could get the quick pin unlock feature I used to love in CM on my Xperia Z?
Thanks as always, all.
schnidex said:
..since sadly, I'm really not impressed with Lollipop. Battery life seems worse, the supposedly better interface feels far inferior to me and various other small little things that made me realise I really, really liked 4.4.4.
So I have some questions:
1) What's the process to follow for this? I've seen some links I *think* are right, but can't be sure. (Note that I'm considering rooting and would want to keep my DRM keys etc., if I can).
2) I assume the phone will be wiped as this won't be like upgrading was to Lollipop. So I'd have to backup all my data (although I know this is best practice anyway).
3) Is there a stock version of 4.4.4 as opposed to Sony's original FW that I could use?
4) Or potentially even CM11?
5) If not, is there some way I could get the quick pin unlock feature I used to love in CM on my Xperia Z?
Thanks as always, all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go everything is explained HERE.
Schumi 01 said:
Here you go everything is explained HERE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That covers #1 and #2, but not the rest.
And when I say stock, I mean non-Sony, original Android. Without any "helpful" additions from our phone manufacturer
I don't know if it's likely I'll get the answers to my latter questions, but the former ones were partly out of being worried I'd screw up the process of downgrading (even though I had a general idea of what guides I might follow).
However, on the off chance that anyone else was equally worried, I performed the downgrade at the weekend, followed the steps carefully and it worked like a dream. I am very, very happy to be back on KK/4.4.4!
I just wanted to reassure anyone who might be in a similar position. Lollipop is, for the time being, definitely not for me.
schnidex said:
I don't know if it's likely I'll get the answers to my latter questions, but the former ones were partly out of being worried I'd screw up the process of downgrading (even though I had a general idea of what guides I might follow).
However, on the off chance that anyone else was equally worried, I performed the downgrade at the weekend, followed the steps carefully and it worked like a dream. I am very, very happy to be back on KK/4.4.4!
I just wanted to reassure anyone who might be in a similar position. Lollipop is, for the time being, definitely not for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how is 4.4 doing for you? I'm considering switching to 4.4 too from 5.1. I don't use most of the new features that lollipop offers although I do have a moto 360. i rechecked the best new features of v5 and I believe I can live without them in exchange for:
1-stability
2-much better battery
3-camera quality
Chadie said:
how is 4.4 doing for you? I'm considering switching to 4.4 too from 5.1. I don't use most of the new features that lollipop offers although I do have a moto 360. i rechecked the best new features of v5 and I believe I can live without them in exchange for:
1-stability
2-much better battery
3-camera quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried some LP versions but in the end I always roll back to KK.
1. Stability - no difference between LP and KK
2. Battery - for me personally I get more battery out of KK, about half a day more (on average 2 full days vs 1.5 days)
3. Camera - no diff between LP and KK
In the end for me it's about the battery and the simple fact that I don't like the LP interface, but yeah, it's a personal choice
---------- Post added 8th August 2015 at 12:03 AM ---------- Previous post was 7th August 2015 at 11:53 PM ----------
schnidex said:
..since sadly, I'm really not impressed with Lollipop. Battery life seems worse, the supposedly better interface feels far inferior to me and various other small little things that made me realise I really, really liked 4.4.4.
So I have some questions:
1) What's the process to follow for this? I've seen some links I *think* are right, but can't be sure. (Note that I'm considering rooting and would want to keep my DRM keys etc., if I can).
2) I assume the phone will be wiped as this won't be like upgrading was to Lollipop. So I'd have to backup all my data (although I know this is best practice anyway).
3) Is there a stock version of 4.4.4 as opposed to Sony's original FW that I could use?
4) Or potentially even CM11?
5) If not, is there some way I could get the quick pin unlock feature I used to love in CM on my Xperia Z?
Thanks as always, all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding 3 and 4, check the development section.. There is a KK Miui rom and some other modified, debloated and optimized stock KK roms, but I can't find any CM rom.
Do you need to be rooted to be able to follow that guide (use flashtool)? because I try to be jailbreak-free and root-free in all my devices to save on any headaches that it might cause.
Chadie said:
Do you need to be rooted to be able to follow that guide (use flashtool)? because I try to be jailbreak-free and root-free in all my devices to save on any headaches that it might cause.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you don't
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app
Thank you Sadman Khan
Chadie said:
how is 4.4 doing for you? I'm considering switching to 4.4 too from 5.1. I don't use most of the new features that lollipop offers although I do have a moto 360. i rechecked the best new features of v5 and I believe I can live without them in exchange for:
1-stability
2-much better battery
3-camera quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't be happier, really. 4.4 is pretty much perfect.
Hello,
as the name of the thread suggest, my question is simple:
i have Sony mobile for my first time, and i didnt knew nothing about DRM keys, unfortunately for me. I flashed Cyanogenmod, then Mokee, crDroid, some stock FW based ROMs like SLiM, Recrify with DRM restoration mode.
I camped with Resurrection Remix, and i really hate the camea "quality". Its absolutely horrible. My five old years Samsung can make much better photos. I have a lot of noise, night mode is terrible...
Can someone give me any advice how to change this? I havent paid 450 euro for this... and dont tell me that theres no way how to make it better. I will not believe it; XDA is full of developers.
Thank you.
First off, my answer is very rudimentary because I'm only just now looking at upgrading to Lollipop since the camera was important and the bugs in Lollipop, especially on the z3, seemed like a bit too much for my likings even after Xposed was fine. There's still some issues I'm losing out on when upgrading.
Because of this, I haven't payed close attention compared to others. That said, I rooted before the TA partition backup was worked out. If you haven't been paying with stock ROMs, you can get close to stock quality on a stock ROM, kk or jb, without DRM keys using patched files.
See the Androkernel thread for details. KK has been stable for me using it and patching properly. If you screw up, better to start over as you'd be losing all your data anyway.
Hi,
I'm picking up a Xperia Z1 C6903 for a friend. She basically checks email and takes photos with her phone, so Camera/Video and Battery Life are priority.
Can anyone please recommend a good Rom and/or Mods for me.
I usually get more obscure phones for myself (never had a Sony) without so many options of mods and custom roms, so its a bit harder than I'm used to to sort through the pages on XDA... there so much to go through here so any help to narrow things down a bit for me would be appreciated.
Thanks!
rich333 said:
Hi,
I'm picking up a Xperia Z1 C6903 for a friend. She basically checks email and takes photos with her phone, so Camera/Video and Battery Life are priority.
Can anyone please recommend a good Rom and/or Mods for me.
I usually get more obscure phones for myself (never had a Sony) without so many options of mods and custom roms, so its a bit harder than I'm used to to sort through the pages on XDA... there so much to go through here so any help to narrow things down a bit for me would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you /she is not big fan of custom ROM (aospa, paranoid, CM, DU, PAC etc.) I would say just root the phone and use stock ROM.
Stock ROM is best for battery and photos together.
Rooting is good in case she wants Xposed and all the modules.
Don't unlock the bootloader since this will remove some propriety code for display and camera.
I haven't used any stock ROM so can't talk about them.
Sent from my Xperia Z1 using Tapatalk
Thanks, I often find custom roms better for battery life. And can see that there's a few camera mods available. So I assumed a custom rom (either with a Stock based or not?) and camera mod would be the way to go? Also, is the stock camera app the best performer (in terms of image quality?)
Really can't see any need to meddle with the standard rom.
The Xperia range of phones all have outstanding battery life and excellent photo/video software built in as standard.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
I was thinking this sound good: [MOD] Z1, Z1C & Z1S 8th Edition - Camera… | Sony Xperia Z1....
And there seems to be a few scripts which claim to improve battery life & speed like Fly-on-Mod...
I guess i'm just not used to stock being the best option!!! I cant help but want to change something
If you want to meddle then root and Xposed would be the simplest option.
But given the original criteria are already met by the standard rom and the fact that it's not your phone I still can't see the need.
Do you really want your friend coming to you with every minor niggle they can dream up, thinking that you caused it by modifying their phone?
Just make sure they upgrade to 5.1.1 which is due out any day now.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
thanks.
I've got it running stock KK, rooted, locked bootloader with xposed & dual recovery.
I decided not to update to LP until 5.1.1 is out (any day now it seems...?) due to slow downs in 5.0.2
From what I can see I'll have to update with Flashtool (if I can find the "Customized AU" file) or updated via Sony PC Companion and re-root & re-install recovery.
will both methods will result in a data wipe?
When it does come out - is there a way to update without loosing here data/settings? & will current rooting methods still work (I used easy root?)
Thanks for your help everyone!
Hi guys,
My knowledge of ROMs and rooting isn't the best so please bare with me if this question seems dumb. And before anyone says, I have read this thread (and countless others) but would like some clarification.
I've always wanted to install CyanogenMod to my Z3 Compact because my car, an E46 BMW has not been able to pair with my phone since 4.2.2 when a change to bluetooth.default.so was made - Cyanogenmod has the fix.
I have seen recent posts on this forum that suggest if the phone is rooted and a custom ROM is installed, I'm still able to maintain my camera quality which previously was limited (fish-eye effect and low light poor quality) due to the loss of DRM'd software due to a DRM restore fix created by one of the forum members. Is this correct? This was the only thing that ever stopped me rooting my Z3 as camera quality is of high importance to me.
I've been using an iPhone 5s since my screen smashed last month and I planned to buy an iPhone 6s this weekend but if it seems I can use the Z3 Compact for all purposes ( In-car Bluetooth, stable Android, good camera and battery life) then I will definitely get the screen repaired tomorrow!
Thanks in advance.
This is a link explaining the Bluetooth issue I'm talking about.
tsmr said:
Hi guys,
My knowledge of ROMs and rooting isn't the best so please bare with me if this question seems dumb. And before anyone says, I have read this thread (and countless others) but would like some clarification.
I've always wanted to install CyanogenMod to my Z3 Compact because my car, an E46 BMW has not been able to pair with my phone since 4.2.2 when a change to bluetooth.default.so was made - Cyanogenmod has the fix.
I have seen recent posts on this forum that suggest if the phone is rooted and a custom ROM is installed, I'm still able to maintain my camera quality which previously was limited (fish-eye effect and low light poor quality) due to the loss of DRM'd software due to a DRM restore fix created by one of the forum members. Is this correct? This was the only thing that ever stopped me rooting my Z3 as camera quality is of high importance to me.
I've been using an iPhone 5s since my screen smashed last month and I planned to buy an iPhone 6s this weekend but if it seems I can use the Z3 Compact for all purposes ( In-car Bluetooth, stable Android, good camera and battery life) then I will definitely get the screen repaired tomorrow!
Thanks in advance.
This is a link explaining the Bluetooth issue I'm talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is true, I am using DRM fix for my Z3c because I didn't backup my DRM keys (duh!) and the camera quality seems perfect, although the fix says it also restores X-Reality and whatnot but I haven't got to get the engine working, I fixed that with Color Control to match my saturation and colors needs...
As for the Bluetooth issues, I've kinda experienced problems with it too, I have a Bluetooth gamepad, and whenever I'm playing an Android game that supports controllers, it disconnects, but when I play on emulators it doesn't happen... I don't know if there's a fix for that but oh well.
DRM fix works only on stock based roms and on Concept roms.
It doesn't work on custom roms like Cyanogenmod.
istux said:
DRM fix works only on stock based roms and on Concept roms.
It doesn't work on custom roms like Cyanogenmod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I don't actually need CyanogenMod, I just need to be able to edit the bluetooth.default.so file as per the thread I linked so that in-car Bluetooth works with my handset. Is this possible whilst maintaining camera quality?
Also when you say 'only works on stock based ROMs' - does this mean that I could install stock Android 6.0 to my device with a custom bluetooth.default.so file, then install the DRM fix and it will work as normal? This would be amazing!
PS. What is a Concept ROM?
I'm so sorry for asking what are most probably stupid questions but I'm fairly new to the Android scene thus still learning.
Of course its possible, you don't need unlocked bootloader to edit system files lol. Unlock bootloaders are used to install custom kernels or firmwares not made by Sony, like CyanogenMod or AOKP and etc.
Concept, is the "Alpha" Edition of Marshmallow that Sony plans to ship out within the next few months, they let a select a number of people to test out the rom and help them debug it. I don't recommend installing it as it is near beta stage and the number of bugs really don't make it suitable as a daily driver for you phone, stick with Lollipop until we get the official stable update unless you know what you're doing.
Good luck!
Revontheus said:
Of course its possible, you don't need unlocked bootloader to edit system files lol. Unlock bootloaders are used to install custom kernels or firmwares not made by Sony, like CyanogenMod or AOKP and etc.
Concept, is the "Alpha" Edition of Marshmallow that Sony plans to ship out within the next few months, they let a select a number of people to test out the rom and help them debug it. I don't recommend installing it as it is near beta stage and the number of bugs really don't make it suitable as a daily driver for you phone, stick with Lollipop until we get the official stable update unless you know what you're doing.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for explaining what Concept is. I guess that's not something that I need right now! To clarify; are you saying that to be able to edit system files, I don't need to unlock my bootloader? I was under the impression that to do this I'd need to:
a) Unlock bootloader.
b) Root device.
c) Access/edit the bluetooth system files.
Any advice on the steps I need to take to have my Z3 Compact work with my car whilst maintaining original camera quality would be much appreciated!
PS. Due to the prompt, positive responses in this thread, I've just taken my Z3 to a local to store so the screen can be repaired. Thanks all for the help - such good folk!
tsmr said:
Thanks for the reply. I don't actually need CyanogenMod, I just need to be able to edit the bluetooth.default.so file as per the thread I linked so that in-car Bluetooth works with my handset. Is this possible whilst maintaining camera quality?
Also when you say 'only works on stock based ROMs' - does this mean that I could install stock Android 6.0 to my device with a custom bluetooth.default.so file, then install the DRM fix and it will work as normal? This would be amazing!
PS. What is a Concept ROM?
I'm so sorry for asking what are most probably stupid questions but I'm fairly new to the Android scene thus still learning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you need only the root in order to work on that bluetooth file, you can do it without unlocking the bootloader.
Follow this tutorial: http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/how-to-root-backup-drm-keys-t3013343
You will be able to get root without losing DRM keys and else you will make a backup of DRM keys So, if in the future you need/want to unlock the bootloader, you have a safe copy of your keys. :good:
istux said:
If you need only the root in order to work on that bluetooth file, you can do it without unlocking the bootloader.
Follow this tutorial: http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/how-to-root-backup-drm-keys-t3013343
You will be able to get root without losing DRM keys and else you will make a backup of DRM keys So, if in the future you need/want to unlock the bootloader, you have a safe copy of your keys. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much. Will try this in the morning and hopefully I will be able to use Bluetooth in my car once again!
tsmr said:
My knowledge of ROMs and rooting isn't the best[...]I have seen recent posts on this forum that suggest if the phone is rooted and a custom ROM is installed, I'm still able to maintain my camera quality[...]camera quality is of high importance to me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My suggestion (solely based on the points your described):
Either get a Z3c and stick to stock ROM
Or get an iPhone (seriously)
Now don't get me wrong, I am not being against custom ROMs. I am running CM myself and the first think I do before buying any android phone is to check if it has official CM support But you need to know that custom ROMs come with their own cost, and it depends whether you're willing to pay the price.
Reasons for my suggestion to you is that the road to unlocked bootloader and custom ROMs is a rough one. You'll be adding more mods and flashing more updates and you quickly end up with a phone which gets into the way and needs constant maintenance. Then there are issues with warranty, security, bugs, etc. Checking the forums for changelogs, kernels and ROMs will become a normal routine.
If you're regular user who wants his/her phone to just work, accept one of my suggestion and save yourself some pain. However, you might choose to be adventurous, then welcome to the community
PS: I'm myself exploring Z3c and iPhone 5s for my next phone.
Honestly, the road to rooting and properly running a rooted software is really not that long and rocky if you follow the linked thread perfectly. You also don't NEED to unlock the BL to get most of the advantages (there are many pre-rooted customized ROMs available without needing an unlocked BL). Follow the thread, stick to a good stable ROM or customization (I'm on Max Fury right now and she did some amazing work, check it out), and you'll be just fine. My BL is not even unlockable, doesn't bother me one bit. You can use Nova for a more Google-ish feel, and Sony's 5.1.1 is already pretty good at not being "Sony-fied".
Anyhow, this is the best phone I've ever owned, not looking back (I've had MANY more than just in my signature).
hv6478 said:
NOTE: annotated snippets from original comment
- if you follow the linked thread perfectly
- you also don't NEED to unlock the BL to get most of the advantages (it's upto you to figure out that just which advantages follow under that "most" category)
- follow the thread
- stick to a good stable ROM or customization (it's upto you to figure out whether you need a rom or customization)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. This proves my point even more! Now just compare this to getting a phone that just works
Although ROM customization is a beautiful and powerful idea, it's not for everyone, and comes at a cost (read: complexity). If anyone is ready to handle the complexity, please dive right in
Please don't mistake me. I'm not trying to disrespect the devs or offend custom ROM users, I'm both. I'm just trying to list down the pros and cons.