Database Develop

I want a responsive Note 3 without a new Rom

I don't have the time to constantly be looking for new roms to make my phone run properly. My phone is always freezing up due to the stupid Touchwiz UI and I absolutely hate it. I am sick and tired of my phone freezing up and lagging constantly and having to do factory reset and reinstalling all my apps fresh.
So I was wondering, what can I do to fix this problem in a easier manner? I was thinking about rooting the phone, saving all my app data, unrooting, resetting the phone, rooting again, uninstall bloatware, reinstalling apps with their data, and unrooting.
Here are my concerns though. I want to be able to reset the phone using the orignal factory reset. I don't have time or care to install new roms on my phone as I want to keep my warranty and I want to be able to sell my phone in the future.
So what are my options here? What can I do and what are my steps to start doing them?
I am on AT&T Note 3 with kitkat 4.4.2 with my build number ending in NC2.

Is the Note 3 development this bad? Not one response in a couple days. Anyone have a simple answer?
I just want to know if I can factory reset if I root my device and how I could complete unroot.

joshlete said:
Is the Note 3 development this bad? Not one response in a couple days. Anyone have a simple answer?
I just want to know if I can factory reset if I root my device and how I could complete unroot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple answer is root with towelroot, and when you want to do a complete factory reset, flash stock NC2 using the guide in this thread.
I think your original question about what options you have is a little more complicated...rooting your phone technically voids your warranty, but if you're referring to the KNOX warranty flag then towelroot doesn't trip that flag. Reflashing stock NC2 with Odin will unroot your phone automatically so no worries there either. What I'm getting at is flashing roms isn't going to void your warranty any more than rooting with towelroot will, on the other hand uninstalling system apps can cause lots of problems, so you may find it easier to flash a near-stock rom that has the bloatware already removed.
But if you're set on not flashing anything, then I'd suggest using titanium backup to freeze any apps you don't want instead of uninstalling them. If you uninstall the wrong app you could end up having to do a factory reset anyway just to get your phone working again. Freezing system apps can cause problems too but it's generally easier to unfreeze an app than try and find and reinstall a system apk. And as tempting as it is don't uninstall My Magazine you'll get FC all over the place and your email won't work properly

So if I install that stock rom, would I be able to update my phone using the internal updater? I just want to be able to install Android 5.0 when/if it comes out for the Note 3. Seeing how AT&T note 3 has little to no roms to install. Very disappointing.

The Odin files in that thread are for stock NC2 and unless you flashed a rom after your second post you're still on stock...it's the exact same AT&T stock build...flashing it won't really benefit you at all unless you rooted and made changes to your system. I assume by internal updater you mean the OTA updates that get pushed out from AT&T then yes since that is the official AT&T build if you flash it you will still get those updates provided AT&T is your carrier. There may not be a lot of roms but the ones we have are great I'd encourage you to try one or two there are a couple "debloated" stock roms I think would give you what you're looking for in terms of stability but of course it's up to you if you just want to stay stock

joshlete said:
So if I install that stock rom, would I be able to update my phone using the internal updater? I just want to be able to install Android 5.0 when/if it comes out for the Note 3. Seeing how AT&T note 3 has little to no roms to install. Very disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow... just... wow.
This POST is disappointing.

I'm on the same boat as you OP. When time comes for a new phone, my next phone will never be another Samsung phone again. I will only consider phones that are close to stock. Most likely Motorola X or Sony Z3 Compact or similar.
TouchWiz is so disappointing. It's slow and creates lags even for just checking what time it is.
Fortunately I have some time so unlike OP, I tried debloating stock rom, tried at least 5 custom roms. Most of the custom roms have either too much theme customization (really not my taste) or something else doesn't work (NFC payment or deep sleep or some other thing). And they all claim super duper fast and rock stable, but those are hyperboles. The only time I experienced one rom being faster than the other was with Galaxy S5 port rom, but that was most likely due to the fact that standby mode is disabled because we have no way to update the firmware. In other words, uses more battery but still lasts a day. Also, I never seen the battery last exceptionally longer than the stock rom, so don't trust the super long lasting battery claims.
The easiest way to get your phone run smoothly is to factory reset it, and then only install select apps that you really need and know that it won't be a resource hog reporting your every move.
Oh, and last year's Moto X (dual core) feels faster than a quad core Note3 for everyday task in my hands. I wish we had a google experience rom for n900a.

brisinger08 said:
The Odin files in that thread are for stock NC2 and unless you flashed a rom after your second post you're still on stock...it's the exact same AT&T stock build...flashing it won't really benefit you at all unless you rooted and made changes to your system. I assume by internal updater you mean the OTA updates that get pushed out from AT&T then yes since that is the official AT&T build if you flash it you will still get those updates provided AT&T is your carrier. There may not be a lot of roms but the ones we have are great I'd encourage you to try one or two there are a couple "debloated" stock roms I think would give you what you're looking for in terms of stability but of course it's up to you if you just want to stay stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you link me to some stock roms? I lost my game in rom finding and can't seem to get a good running/looking rom.
RErick said:
Wow... just... wow.
This POST is disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most useless post of the year goes to......

joshlete said:
Could you link me to some stock roms? I lost my game in rom finding and can't seem to get a good running/looking rom.
Most useless post of the year goes to......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UR Droid is probably the closest to stock...Knox removed, sd card write permissions fixed, etc. are the only mods...that said carl's made a ton of flashable zips too so if you did want to start making mods yourself chances are you won't have any problems while running his rom
FireKat is one you've probably run across. That is a stock rom all of the mods/optimizations/etc mega makes are from other stock builds. There's no theming or anything like that it's more like "TouchWiz optimized"...again nothing extraneous added if you want to add tethering, call recording, etc you'll have to do it yourself. FireKat is geared towards speed and battery life but it's rock solid with no known issues. All of the rom updates you see are for performance improvements as opposed to the majority of the aosp-hybrid or heavily themed roms where updates are for bug fixes.
Both devs are really helpful and responsive definitely check out their threads though since I'm not up to date with both roms. I have flashed both of them at some point and both are significant improvements over stock...of course no one can tell you what roms you'll like or should flash but I'd be pretty surprised if you have a better experience on stock than either of these roms.

I've been running a stock rooted 4.4.2 for months and it was not laggy at all.
In the application manager settings I turned off all bloatware apps that I did not use. I froze (with titanium backup) all bloatware that could not be turned off in settings and also froze anything that says "knox" in the title. I used xposed installer to install many modules that allowed me to tweak my stock rom... including greenify to auto hibernate apps, smart booster to manage ram, boot manager, and also Wanam xposed for ui customizing...
My phone has run extremely well.
I just made the jump to 4.4.4 and got it rooted (thanks to @muniz_ri and a few others).... exact same setup again... stock rooted... turn off and freeze un-needed apps... xposed modules... and again it is running nice and smooth.
I also use nova launcher prime because it feels more responsive and does more things that I want (like a home screen that will autorotate to landscape mode).

Wow, that's a lot to have for being stock .
The only way to get rid most of your concerns is to root your phone. Then you can delete all other useless apps that you don't need and slow your phone down a bit.
But installing a new Rom is the best way to have a peace in mind I think. Dynamic KitKat is one of the best roms for our phone. I've been using it for months and there is nothing I can say how much I like it. Sometimes I experience lag, but that is to be expected because of Android's ability to do multitasks.
Just my 2 cents.

sm-G900A towelroot help

looking around i can not find anywhere that exactly states what versions of android and on what devices towelroot supports. My question specifically being for the S5 SM-G900A att phone. I am right now on lollipop and i realise i have to downgrade, but I only want to downgrade as little as possible to get towelroot to work. (the end goal being root access of course)
On another note I have two other questions i will ask here so as to not clutter the forum.
1. is there anyway to downgrade my android version without wiping all my data?
if not, any advice on backing up all my data before it gets wiped? mainly my photos, apps, and appdata.
2. I see the only custom recovery i can use is safestrap, i have read is some places that it can not backup your user data (videos, photos, etc.) and nowhere mention it does. question being if this is true and if so how can i back up all my data? i really like the idea of just doing weekly rom backups and being able to restore all my apps and all my data with very little lost (less then a week is good enough for me).

brazblue said:
looking around i can not find anywhere that exactly states what versions of android and on what devices towelroot supports. My question specifically being for the S5 SM-G900A att phone. I am right now on lollipop and i realise i have to downgrade, but I only want to downgrade as little as possible to get towelroot to work. (the end goal being root access of course)
On another note I have two other questions i will ask here so as to not clutter the forum.
1. is there anyway to downgrade my android version without wiping all my data?
if not, any advice on backing up all my data before it gets wiped? mainly my photos, apps, and appdata.
2. I see the only custom recovery i can use is safestrap, i have read is some places that it can not backup your user data (videos, photos, etc.) and nowhere mention it does. question being if this is true and if so how can i back up all my data? i really like the idea of just doing weekly rom backups and being able to restore all my apps and all my data with very little lost (less then a week is good enough for me).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you took the OTA update to 5.0 their is currently no way to safely downgrade and root.
Towel root only worked on 4.4.2 kernel.
Safestrap no longer works in 5.0 either.
Just have to hang tight till someone figures out root for stock 5.0.

Thank you for the help, i did not realize it was for 4.4.2 only. (why no list of working versions) as well you say no safe way to downgrade.....are there options or is it impossible? I just got the phone recently and I wasn't the one to update it, I got it second hand and well i can't control what has happened to it before me. sadly it was updated to 5.0
I may attempt a unsafe downgrade if possible, it really depends on what risk levels and if it's risk of doing something wrong and bricking or if there is a risk out of your hands and it may or may not work. else i will just wait and not update my phone in the time being.
nutt_case said:
If you took the OTA update to 5.0 their is currently no way to safely downgrade and root.
Towel root only worked on 4.4.2 kernel.
Safestrap no longer works in 5.0 either.
Just have to hang tight till someone figures out root for stock 5.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

brazblue said:
Thank you for the help, i did not realize it was for 4.4.2 only. (why no list of working versions) as well you say no safe way to downgrade.....are there options or is it impossible? I just got the phone recently and I wasn't the one to update it, I got it second hand and well i can't control what has happened to it before me. sadly it was updated to 5.0
I may attempt a unsafe downgrade if possible, it really depends on what risk levels and if it's risk of doing something wrong and bricking or if there is a risk out of your hands and it may or may not work. else i will just wait and not update my phone in the time being.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3077652
The above post is the unbrick/downgrade thread for the g900a.
You'll notice it says not to attempt if you've taken the OC4 ota...I'd read through their first. At this point it looks pretty risky.
Good luck either way you go!

[Q] Any way to get rid of the recurring 5.1 upgrade notification?

I'm currently on 5.0, but rooted, and with a bunch of xposed modules on there. I'd be happy unrooting and removing TWRP if it were easier. Plus, I like the setup I have. Thing is, I keep getting this popup to upgrade, which I know will send me in a bootloop and it's getting pretty annoying.
Any solutions been found? Or as least an easy way to get TWRP off so I can upgrade and then re-root?
Thanks, y'all. Can't tell you how much XDA has helped me out.

ra_cha said:
I'm currently on 5.0, but rooted, and with a bunch of xposed modules on there. I'd be happy unrooting and removing TWRP if it were easier. Plus, I like the setup I have. Thing is, I keep getting this popup to upgrade, which I know will send me in a bootloop and it's getting pretty annoying.
Any solutions been found? Or as least an easy way to get TWRP off so I can upgrade and then re-root?
Thanks, y'all. Can't tell you how much XDA has helped me out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just freeze with titanium or some other app the MotoOTA and you wont be notified of updates anymore

Download the 5.0 factory image for your device, Flash stock recovery, stock system.img. No need to wipe anything, all your apps and settings will remain, update to 5.1, you can reflash SuperSU, twrp, xposed for 5.1 after the update.

Just picked up this device, any tips?

So I've been out of the Android Phone loop for a while and was just wondering if there were any general tips or things to know about the Z3C? Any essential apps or features?
I've not updated to Marshmallow yet (running 5.1.1) and I don't really feel the need to, If I'm not mistaken it makes the root process a bit more fiddly, though the non-removable notification is somewhat annoying. Can it be turned off?
Quick question on root too, which I assume can only be achieved through unlocking the bootloader. Will it void my warranty with Sony? Given the issues with cracked screens and phones not really being waterproof, I'm not sure if it's actually worth doing.
I've got the Phone through Vodafone, is there anyway to remove the SIM lock myself?
I've been through the Stickies and whilst they contain useful information that'll surely come in handy later, the FAQ section is pretty limited, so I figured I'd ask here
Thanks in advance

UndisputedGuy said:
So I've been out of the Android Phone loop for a while and was just wondering if there were any general tips or things to know about the Z3C? Any essential apps or features?
I've not updated to Marshmallow yet (running 5.1.1) and I don't really feel the need to, If I'm not mistaken it makes the root process a bit more fiddly, though the non-removable notification is somewhat annoying. Can it be turned off?
Quick question on root too, which I assume can only be achieved through unlocking the bootloader. Will it void my warranty with Sony? Given the issues with cracked screens and phones not really being waterproof, I'm not sure if it's actually worth doing.
I've got the Phone through Vodafone, is there anyway to remove the SIM lock myself?
I've been through the Stickies and whilst they contain useful information that'll surely come in handy later, the FAQ section is pretty limited, so I figured I'd ask here
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to unlock the bootloader to be able to root your phone. A good place to start is the thread on how to back up your TA partition and rooting (don't be tempted by Kingroot)
Unless you want a custom CM rom I wouldn't bother trying to unlock your bootloader, it disables features on the phone, starting with breaking the camera.
This thread about going from a rooted phone back to stock is interesting. I'd say you don't need to root your phone, but it gets a lot more interesting when you do.
The top app for if you get root is Titanium Backup, it lets you control individual apps, 'freezing' them so they stop working, but not actually uninstalling them. Great for getting rid of all the bloatware that comes with phone providers (like Sim Lock), or even manufacturers. It also lets you back up an app and all the associated data that goes with it, so if you wipe you phone to change the rom, you can put all the apps back and the state they were in at the touch of a button. There's lots of other cool root apps, but TA is my favourite.
As long as you stick to stock then you can't go wrong, don't be afraid to play, there's plenty of people on the thread here to give you a hand.
SLIM 5 is a good stock 5.1.1 rom with lots of cool tweeks and doesn't mean you have to unlock your bootloader.
Edit: Rooting your phone doesn't void your warranty. But if you face any problems with your phone that means it's going back to the service centre, just put a stock build back on (no root) and do a factory reset. That way they cannot complain about the software config. They will do a factory reset anyway, before they send it back, along with an update to the latest rom. So be prepared and take everything off your phone beforehand.

Man, that's pretty much all the information I need in one post. Thanks a bunch man, I'll read through the links in some more detail.
I did see that Rooting guide earlier, but given how it mentioned using Flashtool and DRM Keys, I thought it'd surely void my warranty so didn't have a proper look.
SLIM also seems like a good shout, though I'm assuming I'd lose access to Sony's OTA updates if I were to flash it and there doesn't seem to be a Marshmallow version yet. Actually, that said, would I even have access to OTA updates if I stay stock but rooted?
Thanks again

UndisputedGuy said:
Man, that's pretty much all the information I need in one post. Thanks a bunch man, I'll read through the links in some more detail.
I did see that Rooting guide earlier, but given how it mentioned using Flashtool and DRM Keys, I thought it'd surely void my warranty so didn't have a proper look.
SLIM also seems like a good shout, though I'm assuming I'd lose access to Sony's OTA updates if I were to flash it and there doesn't seem to be a Marshmallow version yet. Actually, that said, would I even have access to OTA updates if I stay stock but rooted?
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Marshmallow has only been out a few weeks, so it's still full of bugs and problems at the moment. I would stick to 5.1.1. for at least another month, or until 6.1 reaches the Z3c.
No, if you install a custom rom then you wont get Sony OTA updates, but most rom developers base their builds on the latest firmware releases anyway, usually adopting a new release within one or two weeks.
Slim 5 is possibly the best stock Lollipop build there is and there will be no more updates for Lollopop now. There is a Slim MM build, but even though Wajk has been working his magic, it still has several bugs that need to be ironed out. If you are going down the MM route, don't be tempted by Concept or Beta, that need you to unlock your bootloader to root. Stick with a pre-rooted stock or a customised stock with root built in.

Appreciate the assistance, going to go ahead and root now and then perhaps try out SLIM 5. Some of the MEGA links seemed to be down so I just grabbed a Global FTF, couldn't seem to find an unbranded UK one.
I shouldn't have updated immediately once I got the phone

UndisputedGuy said:
Appreciate the assistance, going to go ahead and root now and then perhaps try out SLIM 5. Some of the MEGA links seemed to be down so I just grabbed a Global FTF, couldn't seem to find an unbranded UK one.
I shouldn't have updated immediately once I got the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the purposes of downgrading so you can root, it really doesn't matter which build you choose.

Didgesteve said:
For the purposes of downgrading so you can root, it really doesn't matter which build you choose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a quick question, at Step 26 could I just use SLIM 5? Seems much more convenient if that's the case.
Oh, and using OTA updates is going to lose me my root now, right?

UndisputedGuy said:
Just a quick question, at Step 26 could I just use SLIM 5? Seems much more convenient if that's the case.
Oh, and using OTA updates is going to lose me my root now, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, once you have recovery you can download Slim onto your phone and flash that. Don't forget to update SuperSU from the playstore.
No, you wont get any OTA updates with a custom stock, but Slim is up to date with the most recent Lollipop build.
Sony PC Companion will not update your phone either once you have a custom rom on. If you flash stock and then connect it, it will push MM onto it. But you will loose root and there's no easy way to get it working.
Stick with 5.1.1. for another month, wait for 6.1 to come out, and then possibly a couple of weeks after that Wajik will have made an incredible MM rom to flash, that will be as up to date as they come, then just flash that in exactly the same way.
Edit: Once you start to follow a developers thread, they announce updates to roms almost as quick as the Sony release, so don't worry that it will get out of date, just make sure to subscribe to the thread where your rom comes from. Slim 5 for example releases an OTA update, to move from 4.9 to 5, it's a lot smaller than the entire rom and only has updates, but flashes the same way.

Can only thank you again, successfully rooted and got recovery. Not sure how much I'm really fond of SLIM, just had a very brief mess around but something felt a bit off about the Launcher and the icons even after messing with the settings. It was only very brief though, perhaps there's more useful stuff there.
Might go simply stock/rooted but given there isn't a simple .zip for it it's a bit long winded
Thanks for all your help here, this is pretty much the ideal state I wanted my phone to be in upon receiving it, had no idea unlocking the bootloader wouldn't be necessary. Guys like you help make this site in my opinion, I half just expected a couple of snide answers telling me to just read the forum

Think I will be moving back to stock, just a question on the front though
Am I going to have to build my own pre rooted image (steps 27-32) each time there's an OTA update and I want rooted stock?
Sorry, hopefully that's the last thing from me
Sent from my D5803 using XDA-Developers mobile app

UndisputedGuy said:
Think I will be moving back to stock, just a question on the front though
Am I going to have to build my own pre rooted image (steps 27-32) each time there's an OTA update and I want rooted stock?
Sorry, hopefully that's the last thing from me
Sent from my D5803 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several 'stock' options, that are flashable zips
Pre-Rooted Firmwares-Recovery-SuperSU, although you need to click on 'older files'
Or another stock thread here
But by now you should be able to start finding these threads on your own

Yeah, I've time to have a proper look through now so will do that. I saw the thread earlier, but didn't seem to notice a pre rooted .zip for the latest 5.1.1 firmware in the OP. There was one in the comments though, thanks once again

Questions about OTA updates, internet connectivity for unlocked Turbo

Hello all!
I've been looking around the forum for answers to my questions, but I'm still pretty unsure, and I'm worried about messing up my phone, so if someone could hold my hand a little bit, I would appreciate it so much!
When the marshmallow update came out, I unlocked my bootloader with Sunshine and installed TWRP and rooted. I'm currently on stock 6.0.1 and September 1, 2016 security patch.
Issue #1: Ever since I unlocked/rooted/updated to marshmallow I've had problems with some of my apps deciding they can't connect to the internet, even though WiFi and 4G are clearly connected. Like I'll be able to browse the internet on Chrome just fine, but the Amazon app won't connect.
From what I've read, it seems like a problem a lot of people have had after upgrading to marshmallow, but I'm still worried it's because I'm unlocked or rooted or have Xposed installed or something.
Restarting the phone seems to be the only thing that really makes the apps work again (temporarily). I read somewhere about clearing the cache from recovery and that seemed to have fixed the problem for a couple of months, but lately I've been having the problem again, and clearing the cache isn't helping beyond having to restart my phone to do it.
Issue #2: I've been scared to take the OTA security updates.. I've generally gathered that they won't relock my bootloader, but I'm unclear on if it's ok to take the updates OTA or if I have to download and install them through TWRP.
Also, do I even need those updates? Call me stupid, but I'm not that worried about security (the only thing I own is a massive amount of student debt, go ahead and take it =P). I'm really just hoping the updates fix the internet thing.. is that a possibility?
So overall I guess I'm asking, will taking the updates OTA wreck my stuff, and is there a chance updating will fix my internet connectivity problem?
Or will using a different ROM possibly fix my internet problem? If so, which ROM would you recommend? I used to have a Razr M with the latest (at the time) CM ROM, but I couldn't use Bluetooth and WiFi at the same time, so it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth about custom ROMs...
Any answers or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

If you have TWRP installed, NEVER take an OTA. You will bootloop or brick your phone. Instead just install the TWRP flashable version from this forum.
This is what you would flash, via TWRP if you want the latest firmware while keeping custom TWRP recovery.
[ROM] MCG24.251-5-5 100% Stock
https://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/general/rom-mcg24-251-5-5-100-stock-t3565795
Perhaps re-flashing your modem might help? It's also at that thread. TWRP flashable version.
By popular demand, here are just the modems: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=745425885120733904
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Ok, thank you ChazzMatt!

birdgofly said:
Ok, thank you ChazzMatt!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for custom ROMs, for you who is not that experienced I would suggest this one:
Computerfreek274_1.0.8 Update Marshmallow 6.0.1 Global,De-bloated,Root,Volte, 5/29/17
https://forum.xda-developers.com/dr.../computerfreek274mm1-0-android-6-0-1-t3503634
It's actually a tweaked, debloated version of Verizon stock Marshmallow firmware. Everything will still work, including Verizon VoLTE (on Verizon, of course, not other networks). Has slight volume boost, battery optimization, etc.
And of course, lots of experienced users are also running that ROM. I do not mean to criticize it in any way, but you just mentioned that you ran some ROM where some stuff didn't work. This is a ROM built on stock, not CM/LOS based. Nothing much has been changed, just bloatware removed and some tweaks.

No worries, that ROM sounds perfect!
Thank you very much for all of your help!!

birdgofly said:
Hello all!
I've been looking around the forum for answers to my questions, but I'm still pretty unsure, and I'm worried about messing up my phone, so if someone could hold my hand a little bit, I would appreciate it so much!
When the marshmallow update came out, I unlocked my bootloader with Sunshine and installed TWRP and rooted. I'm currently on stock 6.0.1 and September 1, 2016 security patch.
Issue #1: Ever since I unlocked/rooted/updated to marshmallow I've had problems with some of my apps deciding they can't connect to the internet, even though WiFi and 4G are clearly connected. Like I'll be able to browse the internet on Chrome just fine, but the Amazon app won't connect.
From what I've read, it seems like a problem a lot of people have had after upgrading to marshmallow, but I'm still worried it's because I'm unlocked or rooted or have Xposed installed or something.
Restarting the phone seems to be the only thing that really makes the apps work again (temporarily). I read somewhere about clearing the cache from recovery and that seemed to have fixed the problem for a couple of months, but lately I've been having the problem again, and clearing the cache isn't helping beyond having to restart my phone to do it.
Issue #2: I've been scared to take the OTA security updates.. I've generally gathered that they won't relock my bootloader, but I'm unclear on if it's ok to take the updates OTA or if I have to download and install them through TWRP.
Also, do I even need those updates? Call me stupid, but I'm not that worried about security (the only thing I own is a massive amount of student debt, go ahead and take it =P). I'm really just hoping the updates fix the internet thing.. is that a possibility?
So overall I guess I'm asking, will taking the updates OTA wreck my stuff, and is there a chance updating will fix my internet connectivity problem?
Or will using a different ROM possibly fix my internet problem? If so, which ROM would you recommend? I used to have a Razr M with the latest (at the time) CM ROM, but I couldn't use Bluetooth and WiFi at the same time, so it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth about custom ROMs...
Any answers or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a complete TWRP flashable update to the latest '5-5' firmware. Saves you the time of putting stock recovery back on and taking it OTA. The TWRP flash won't install the stock recovery, TWRP will stay. There's also a zip to clear/reset the radio/modem. You may not need that due to updating the rom.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

So just an update for anyone who might come across this thread later.. I ended up flashing the ComputerFreek ROM suggested by ChazzMatt (didn't clean install, just wiped cache). It worked great, and so far I haven't had any more problems with apps not being able to connect!
Thank you to ChazzMatt, ComputerFreek, Einsteindks, and the wonderful XDA community for all your help