Thinking of Buying - Galaxy Tab S2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm looking for a newer tablet to replace my original Tab Pro 8.4 (mondrianwifi) which has almost no ROM support left and only very flawed 7.1.2 ROMs. How's the ROM support for this tablet? Looking around, it looks like there's mostly lineage and resurrection, with a few others. But since there's official nougat, I'm assuming these ROMs are fairly stable and not too hacky/buggy? This seems like better hardware than the Nexus 9, but I'm concerned about dev support.

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Unable to find any AOSP Based ROMS

I recently received a galaxy note 5, previously I was using an LG G2 with Resurrection Remix. One of the things which VB surprised me about the note 5 was how slow, buggy and poor the battery life was compared to my old phone.
Unfortunately I've not been able to find a single stock AOSP rom out there. The Samsung UI is wooden, ugly and a plain nuisance where usability is concerned. (Not to mention riddled with bloatware, NFL is considered a system app *facepalms*)
Can anybody please let me know if there's any non-Samsung based roms out there, I've seriously looked and couldn't find anything..

Install stock android marshmallow (with material design)?

Hiya!
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the 9.2". I am really pleased with the performance, looks, weight (it's like a feather!), but there is one thing I miss greatly from my old Nexus 7: Material Design
I really like how simple and neat it looks, honestly. I've been doing some research and the only options I'm finding are installing the Samsung 6.0.1 firmware. Has anyone successfully managed to install and run the stock Marshmallow, like the one that the Nexus device runs?
For the moment we only have cm12.1 and cm13 which are close to stock (plus cm theme and tweaks) Android but are still in development (not considered as stable build)
mysa50 said:
For the moment we only have cm12.1 and cm13 which are close to stock (plus cm theme and tweaks) Android but are still in development (not considered as stable build)
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Considering OP just bought the device, it is more than likely a 2016 model that does not have an available Cyanogenmod yet.
m0rf0 said:
Hiya!
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the 9.2". I am really pleased with the performance, looks, weight (it's like a feather!), but there is one thing I miss greatly from my old Nexus 7: Material Design
I really like how simple and neat it looks, honestly. I've been doing some research and the only options I'm finding are installing the Samsung 6.0.1 firmware. Has anyone successfully managed to install and run the stock Marshmallow, like the one that the Nexus device runs?
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There were some improvements, but nothing to write home about. I'm irritated that Sammy gives theme support to their new phones and don't even allow us to set to a darker theme to preserve battery without doing the salt the earth battery saver feature. :silly:
I don't think you're missing much with this update, more disappointment than anything, I also don't think OP's tablet is a 2016 because s/he isn't already on MM... I heard it shipped with MM. :laugh: Sammy knows best. Sammy also leaves flagship android tablet with broken promises... and dreams. "Theme support coming" my eye.
I think it's telling that you can mod your build prop and install theme store from a shady source and it works... (haven't tried, the topic is floating around here somewhere.)
I hope at least this will mark an acceleration of update cycles for security purposes, especially since some researcher endorsed sammy devices for update speed.
Thanks everyone for the quick answers! I guess my only option is to wait for a more stable and fully functional Cyanogen then. I guess patience will be the key here :-/
My model is definitely the 2015, as it came with Lollipop and I had to download Marshmallow myself via the update tool, btw. Not much worried as the changes seem to be minimal though.

Will custom ROM support extend for a long time after 7.1?

I was debating on keeping this phone, as I wonder how long custom ROMs will support newer Android versions after Nougat. I recently got an iPhone 6 Plus for cheap have enjoyed the much better battery life, but I still love the Android Operating System so much more.
I noticed Nexus 5 support has been quite strong, but I cannot tell how long it will/can go for. (I do not visit this forum often, only to download Pure Nexus updates when I used my Nexus as a daily.)
zerrisk said:
I was debating on keeping this phone, as I wonder how long custom ROMs will support newer Android versions after Nougat.
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I've here for many years. There are good devs supporting devices/roms; also when the original company stops supporting.
zerrisk said:
I was debating on keeping this phone, as I wonder how long custom ROMs will support newer Android versions after Nougat. I recently got an iPhone 6 Plus for cheap have enjoyed the much better battery life, but I still love the Android Operating System so much more.
I noticed Nexus 5 support has been quite strong, but I cannot tell how long it will/can go for. (I do not visit this forum often, only to download Pure Nexus updates when I used my Nexus as a daily.)
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Well the galaxy Nexus just got unofficial 7.1 and it's pretty old so..........
I can guarantee that you will have custom builds for as long as you continue to build them for yourself.

Any Nougat ROMs for T817T?

Just got a good deal on a T817T (S2 9.7 for Tmobile). It looks like an official 7.x update is iffy, are there any good, working ROMs? I've looked around a fair bit and it seems some ROMs for similar devices might work, but don't see any solid answers and also don't want to lose features/capabilities.
Thanks.

Is the OnePlus 3t sensible after the issuance of its death certificate?

Dear OnePlus 3t owners,
Is it sensible to buy a new OP3T after OP decided to kill updates post-O?
On this device, easy root, no updates but plenty of community support.
On others (S8, XZ Premium, other mainstream flagships), loss of features with root, somewhat more updates with less community support.
Please help me take my decision, and any and all help is greatly appreciated!
It depends if you want a phone to play around and mod or you want a phone to have longer updates although longer updates are not a guarantee in any brand even Google promises updates for 2 years only. 3t is still a pretty good device and I think we'll have good dev support for atleast a couple of years
Sent from my OnePlus3T using XDA Labs
No update ? Hmm, don't know where you see this, OpenBeta 13 has just been release today.
Personally, I bought the OnePlus 3T like one week ago for 350e on Ebay, very happy with with.
Before it, I bought a OnePlus 5 day one, and, well, if I'm here today, it's because I was very disappointed (*cough* Jelly Effect *cough* ), and I bought the OnePlus 3T because I need a new device right now: I prepare a trip in South Korea, and need a new device to replace the time bomb OnePlus 2 (sorry about my life topic).
I share the idea about the fact that the OnePlus 3T was the true Flagship Killer: low price for very good specs.
You can see that the device is still in top 3 devices on XDA (behind Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ and LG G6), and for me, it's an indicator that the OnePlus 3T still has a bright future.
So yeah, OnePlus won't update the OnePlus 3T after Android O (but still security update tho), but he, we are on XDA, so plenty of custom ROMs available!
After all, I can't either ""force"" you to buy or not the OnePlus 3T. It depends on multiple points
-How many you want to put in your phone ?
-What is a good smartphone for you ?
-Do you care about officials updates of custom ROMs is ok for you ?
1. No updates: I actually meant "no major version updates".
2. So you have bought the 5 and saw that the 3T was better in comparison?
3. Are custom ROMs stable as stock on this device? (My 1st OP device, hope ROMs are as stable as stock to the contrary of Samsung)
4. Is the camera on custom ROMs any good (as in decent) without camera blobs from OnePlus?
Thanks for your advice! I'm actually biased towards buying the device but I have had my reservations
Well, I'm a tinkerer but I really prefer more updates as I do prefer longevity (3-4 years of college, not enough $$$ to spend on phones). Thank you a lot!
I don't think it'll matter. Android O will be a nice send off and I think said that they'll provide security updates also. The community will support this phone for many android revisions and groups/people like PA or Sultan got the same camera quality on their AOSP roms
Also, you said that you bought the 3T to replace your "time-bomb" OP2. How is the 2 a time bomb exactly? And could the 3T become one too?
I'm content with the device on O but as soon as P rolls out a problem arises. Community ROMs are not exactly stable (coming from Samsung, no idea w/ OP3T though) and I've read somewhere that PA and/or Sultan received the blobs from OP through bribery or something ... What do you think?
So you have bought the 5 and saw that the 3T was better in comparison?
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Jelly Effect is a deal breaker for me. Search for it on internet, you will see.
Are custom ROMs stable as stock on this device?
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For now, I don't know. I just flash a custom kernel on my device, but still under OxygenOS for now.
Is the camera on custom ROMs any good (as in decent) without camera blobs from OnePlus?
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As I said, I don't know. But some recognized devs build ROMs which camera which seems to be as good as stock one (such as SultanXDA's ROM or ParanoidAndroid)
Also, you said that you bought the 3T to replace your "time-bomb" OP2. How is the 2 a time bomb exactly? And could the 3T become one too?
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The OnePlus 2 was produced with the Snapdragon 810, which is, let's be honest, a sh*t. My user experience with it was pretty bad. Also, I don't know if you saw, but the Nexus 6P (which also has the Snapdragon 810) is victims of problems with this processor: actually, some users have a phone which can't even boot anymore. A user find a solution, but actually, the phone now uses 4 cores (the little cluster) instead of 8 (little + big cluster): I don't want the OnePlus 2 to ends like this, so I bought a new phone, just to be sure.
Aaaaand I f*cked up my answer. Of course, this posts contains answer to your questions @WaseemAlkurdi
Custom roms are far more stable on the 3t then on Samsung devices. Less hacking needed.
Updates are kinda over rated at this point. With the 3t you can just build it yourself. Though I would avoid Los based or PA based roms. Those tend to have the most issues with things like instability.
Think of it this way: would you buy this phone and use it as is, or would you out a custom ROM on it?
It might not get any updates from UP after O, but it's gonna get at least 3 more years of support from Lineage and others.
There are a plethora of "stable" custom built ROMs by several very talented developers.
To say that community ROMs are not stable is an EXTREMELY uninformed comment.
I've been running some form of a custom ROM for the past 7 years over a a multitude of phones following well known developers that in my opinion and experience put out better device software than the factory.
If you do choose the OP3T, you'll not be disappointed as it's a quality device with excellent community support.
Like could I build "OxygenOS P" myself?
And if LOS and PA ROMs aren't stable, is AOSP so? And that makes for a tradeoff for camera quality, as an earlier comment said that camera is the best on PA and Sultan (Sultan's being LOS based AFAIK)
@giant22000
Seems like it's going to be the OnePlus 3t after all, and what remains to be done is convincing my dad that an unknown China OEM (in local market's view - not our view) can make solid hardware.
"To say that community ROMs are not stable is an EXTREMELY uninformed comment."
This is relative. Coming from various Samsung devices, namely the Galaxy Grand 2 and the Galaxy Star (the crappiest device known to mankind) and servicing others including flagship models, it does happen that custom ROMs are, to say the best, variable in stability, ranging from crappiest (CM on the Galaxy S Duos and on the Star) to semi-stable (the stuff on high-end phones.
@ast00
I am a tinkerer by nature, no Android phone is mine unless the bootloader is unlocked, custom ROM, kernel, overclock, and later on, development.
I am only concerned about official updates as this may mean eventually being deserted by the community. Is this the case here?
@casual_kikoo
Thanks for your detailed answers!
Yes AOSP tend to be more stable then the other two. Just look at the thread and you will see issues with bootloops and other things. Yet AOSP based roms do not suffer from this.
The camera is good enough no matter the range. I tested both and to be honest it made little difference.
No you are not gonna build Oxygen OS as it is closed source but then again why would you want to?
Stability, mate. Heard that OOS is the most stable, then comes AOSP, then comes LOS.
And if it were possible to build OOS, the update issue would be fixed of course. But alas, it isn't possible, as you said.
No. Most ROMs run on the 3 and the 3T. I mean you flash the same zip for both phones.
This is good because our community is the size of 2 phone's communities. You will have plenty of support later on.
Take nexus 5 as example, its still getting regular rom updates such as PA or lineage, this device will be no different.. it will receive android updates from xda community for a long time

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