Database Develop

UK owner opinions

Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.

greatcapp said:
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering there are only two variants of the device (4/128 & 6/256) available, I don't see how a "UK" buyer's opinion would be any different from that of others.
Now, to answer your questions, most buyers here, have bought from Chinavasion and Flosmall as they have ready stock and promise fast shipping. Wondamobile is also recommended by many and their prices are inclusive of import charges. The price you pay on Wondamobile is the final price. Flosmall also offers a similar option if you choose to opt for their "EU customs insurance". If you opt for this, they claim that they will refund any import charges paid to customs minus DHL's clearance processing charges, within 1 business day of submitting the customs invoice to them.
2. It will work straight out of the box without the need for any flashing as most vendors ship it with a customized ROM with Google services pre-installed. There are no issues with the vendor ROM but it is recommended that you switch to the EU beta ROM or one of the custom ROMs available, if you need updates.
3. Android Pay should work on phones with bootloader locked. If your phone comes with an unlocked bootloader, its fairly easy to relock it using Fastboot.
And when you compare the Mix with the Mate 9,
Mate 9 - Pros
The Mate 9 has a slightly better quality IPS display. (Same FHD resolution, but higher pixel density due to smaller 5.9inch screen, slightly better contrast and colors.) - Source: GSMArena Display Tests. The Perceived quality difference is almost negligible though. The Mix also has one of the best FHD IPS panels in the market.
I have compared both displays side by side and both look equally great. So its up to you to decide whether numbers matter.
The Mate 9 has one of the best cameras on a flagship phone. So if you are someone who takes a lot of photos, the Mix isn't for you.
Expandable Storage via Microsd on the Mate 9, but do you need more than 256 GB of UFS 2.1 Fast onboard storage on the Mix?
Mate 9 - Cons
The Mate 9 has a Kirin 960 processor. While CPU speed is close to the Snapdragon 821, the GPU is slightly weaker. The main drawback however, is that the Kirin Chipset is not as developer friendly as a Snapdragon.
There are fewer custom ROMS for Custom designed chipsets like Huawei's Kirin and Samsung's Exynos. Any stable custom ROMS you find will be based on the base OS.
Forget stable AOSP\CM\Lineage OS development. Most developers prefer Snapdragon.
Once\If Xiaomi releases the kernel sources for the Mix, the device will definitely be open to development. This is one of the reasons why I chose the Mix over the Mate 9. I've used Samsung phones before and none of them had decent custom ROMS due to the Exynos chipset. So I wanted a Snapdragon based device as development makes your device more future proof.
The International Version of the Mate 9, MHA-L29 only has 4GB RAM at the moment. There are rumours of a 6GB L29 Variant though. As of now, only the Chinese variant (MHA- AL00) has 6GB RAM and 128GB Storage. While 4GB of RAM is more than sufficient, almost every flagship this year will come with 6GB as a minimum. So the Mix is more future-proof.
Smaller battery (4000maH) compared to the 4400mah battery of the Mix. And the Mix has excellent battery life.
While the design of the Mate 9 is decent, it isn't a head-turner like the Mix!
Hope this helps.
Cheers!

greatcapp said:
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok bought mine from gearbest paid £520 with the shipping 4g/128 via China post, took a bit longer but no custom payment. Bootloader unlocked so no android pay, PayPal works fine. I removed vendor rom because you don't get any updates. Installed Chinese stable ROM and Google play from mi market and it was fine. Have now installed EU ROM and wish I had done it before comes with play store. Depending on which network your on 4g works great, might struggle with o2 or Vodafone in most places. Bootloader can be relocked easily if you follow all the guides. Glad to own the mi mix.

Damn OP, how did you not thank this guy for his super detailed answer? He's the most helpful guy around here :laugh:

Thanks for the detailed replies guys, much appreciated,
I was looking at using Wonda Mobile and it seems that they ship it with Chinese ROM with Google Play installed.
They say it's not rooted, but does that mean either way that the bootloader is locked/unlocked, or is that entirely different (I''ve been very out of touch with rooting now, it's been years since I've done that)?
Would Chinese ROM stilll have English language on it if I wasn't confident in flashing the EU ROM? (I'll search for an idiot's guide to re-flash the phone).
Oh, and one more thing, the fact that it has no speaker at the top of the handset for making/receiving calls - I understand that the screen vibrates to allow you to hear (kind of). Does it actually work ok in real life?
Thanks again.

greatcapp said:
Thanks for the detailed replies guys, much appreciated,
I was looking at using Wonda Mobile and it seems that they ship it with Chinese ROM with Google Play installed.
They say it's not rooted, but does that mean either way that the bootloader is locked/unlocked, or is that entirely different (I''ve been very out of touch with rooting now, it's been years since I've done that)?
Would Chinese ROM stilll have English language on it if I wasn't confident in flashing the EU ROM? (I'll search for an idiot's guide to re-flash the phone).
Oh, and one more thing, the fact that it has no speaker at the top of the handset for making/receiving calls - I understand that the screen vibrates to allow you to hear (kind of). Does it actually work ok in real life?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The official Chinese ROM doesn't have Google play pre-installed. So its most probably a Vendor-customized ROM they are referring to. I bought mine from Chinavasion. It came with a Vendor ROM but it wasn't rooted and bootloader was locked. But there are others who received the device with bootloader unlocked. The phones don't come rooted though. You can always unlock and re-lock bootloader as its a fairly simple process once you receive your unlock code from Xiaomi. You need an unlocked bootloader for flashing ROMS and modifying core system files. So, it isn't a necessity unless you wish to switch ROMS.
The Vendor ROM is a multi-language ROM, so English is definitely there.
Regarding the earpiece, no issues whatsoever. As the sound isn't channeled through a dedicated earpiece, it may sound like the phone is in hands-free mode (The intensity of the sound is the same, no matter wherever you place your ear on the phone during a call) but otherwise no issues. It works quite well.

satishp said:
The official Chinese ROM doesn't have Google play pre-installed. So its most probably a Vendor-customized ROM they are referring to. I bought mine from Chinavasion. It came with a Vendor ROM but it wasn't rooted and bootloader was locked. But there are others who received the device with bootloader unlocked. The phones don't come rooted though. You can always unlock and re-lock bootloader as its a fairly simple process once you receive your unlock code from Xiaomi. You need an unlocked bootloader for flashing ROMS and modifying core system files. So, it isn't a necessity unless you wish to switch ROMS.
The Vendor ROM is a multi-language ROM, so English is definitely there.
Regarding the earpiece, no issues whatsoever. As the sound isn't channelled through a dedicated earpiece, it may sound like the phone is on hands-free mode (The intensity of the sound is the same, no matter wherever you place your ear on the phone during a call) but otherwise no issues. It works quite well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, many thanks for your input. I'll give it some thought over the next few days and maybe take the plunge. :good:

greatcapp said:
Once again, many thanks for your input. I'll give it some thought over the next few days and maybe take the plunge. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say if you're not willing to flash from vendor rom don't get 1 it may have English language but not UK only US which causes a few problems. If you really want one just flash EU or globe ROM

jazz452 said:
I say if you're not willing to flash from vendor rom don't get 1 it may have English language but not UK only US which causes a few problems. If you really want one just flash EU or globe ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input.
What sort of issues do you think it may cause me?
I may be willing to go to the EU ROM I'm just a little wary having not tried rooting/flashing etc in many years now.

greatcapp said:
Thanks for your input.
What sort of issues do you think it may cause me?
I may be willing to go to the EU ROM I'm just a little wary having not tried rooting/flashing etc in many years now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you would face any issues by selecting US English! The only issue you may face with language set as "English US" instead of "English UK" may be slight variations in spelling of certain words.
For example, COLOR is the preferred spelling in American English whereas "COLOUR" is preferred when the phone uses UK English.
I don't know whether these minor differences matter to a lot of people but it most certainly doesn't affect user experience. I don't think this should even be a deciding factor when buying a phone.
Play store content is localized based on location data reported by Google's location services. So you aren't even missing out on anything and you will full have access to the UK Play store.
You can still utilize every feature of the device regardless of what language you've chosen. Hope you get the point.
But if you really need to have UK English on the device, you can always flash the EU ROM using one of the guides. Its a fairly simple process.
And regarding the Vendor ROM, a vendor wouldn't sell the device with a broken ROM. The ROM which came pre-installed on my device didn't have any issues. It didn't even have any Chinese bloatware.
My point is, the vendor ROM is perfectly fine until you feel the need to update to a newer software version. Most people import phones from China and use it with the Vendor ROM without any issues.
Its just a minority here on XDA and other forums who actually take the time and effort to flash ROMS and updates.
Cheers!

satishp said:
I don't think you would face any issues by selecting US English! The only issue you may face with language set as "English US" instead of "English UK" may be slight variations in spelling of certain words.
For example, COLOR is the preferred spelling in American English whereas "COLOUR" is preferred when the phone uses UK English.
I don't know whether these minor differences matter to a lot of people but it most certainly doesn't affect user experience. I don't think this should even be a deciding factor when buying a phone.
Play store content is localized based on location data reported by Google's location services. So you aren't even missing out on anything and you will full have access to the UK Play store.
You can still utilize every feature of the device regardless of what language you've chosen. Hope you get the point.
But if you really need to have UK English on the device, you can always flash the EU ROM using one of the guides. Its a fairly simple process.
And regarding the Vendor ROM, a vendor wouldn't sell the device with a broken ROM. The ROM which came pre-installed on my device didn't have any issues. It didn't even have any Chinese bloatware.
My point is, the vendor ROM is perfectly fine until you feel the need to update to a newer software version. Most people import phones from China and use it with the Vendor ROM without any issues.
Its just a minority here on XDA and other forums who actually take the time and effort to flash ROMS and updates.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some banking apps don't work properly with language set English US, like PayPal which I use for work all the time, can still use it but can't use mobile pin, have to put full password in with caps and number's.

jazz452 said:
Some banking apps don't work properly with language set English US, like PayPal which I use for work all the time, can still use it but can't use mobile pin, have to put full password in with caps and number's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're referring to the issue where you can't login to the app using mobile number and PIN, that seems to be an old PayPal bug from 2014 where language had to match account location. Wonder why they haven't fixed it yet.
So technically, its an APP related bug which has got nothing to do with the ROM and looks like its an issue specific to the Paypal app. Haven't heard of similar issues with other apps.
But its good that you pointed this out in case the OP also uses the PayPal app. In this case, he may have to use the EU ROM I guess.

satishp said:
If you're referring to the issue where you can't login to the app using mobile number and PIN, that seems to be an old PayPal bug from 2014 where language had to match account location. Wonder why they haven't fixed it yet.
So technically, its an APP related bug which has got nothing to do with the ROM and looks like its an issue specific to the Paypal app. Haven't heard of similar issues with other apps.
But its good that you pointed this out in case the OP also uses the PayPal app. In this case, he may have to use the EU ROM I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a nightmare having to login 20 time's a day without mobile pin. With globe or EU ROM no problems when English UK language set.

satishp said:
I don't think you would face any issues by selecting US English! The only issue you may face with language set as "English US" instead of "English UK" may be slight variations in spelling of certain words.
For example, COLOR is the preferred spelling in American English whereas "COLOUR" is preferred when the phone uses UK English.
I don't know whether these minor differences matter to a lot of people but it most certainly doesn't affect user experience. I don't think this should even be a deciding factor when buying a phone.
Play store content is localized based on location data reported by Google's location services. So you aren't even missing out on anything and you will full have access to the UK Play store.
You can still utilize every feature of the device regardless of what language you've chosen. Hope you get the point.
But if you really need to have UK English on the device, you can always flash the EU ROM using one of the guides. Its a fairly simple process.
And regarding the Vendor ROM, a vendor wouldn't sell the device with a broken ROM. The ROM which came pre-installed on my device didn't have any issues. It didn't even have any Chinese bloatware.
My point is, the vendor ROM is perfectly fine until you feel the need to update to a newer software version. Most people import phones from China and use it with the Vendor ROM without any issues.
Its just a minority here on XDA and other forums who actually take the time and effort to flash ROMS and updates.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info. Thank you very much. I'm thinking I might go for it in a day or so. :good:

Something else I am curious about. THe aspect ratio of the phone is 17:9 instead of the usual 16:9. What issues if any, does this bring? Would a standard music app (maybe PlayerPro or GoneMad player) or a banking app (Barclays etc) or even apps like Google Maps, GMail etc open full screen or wou;d there be black bars at the top or bottom where they might be designed for the more standard 16:9 screen? I understand that video in 16:9 would obviously need to have the back bars at the sides (when vieiwing landscape). Thanks.

greatcapp said:
Something else I am curious about. THe aspect ratio of the phone is 17:9 instead of the usual 16:9. What issues if any, does this bring? Would a standard music app (maybe PlayerPro or GoneMad player) or a banking app (Barclays etc) or even apps like Google Maps, GMail etc open full screen or wou;d there be black bars at the top or bottom where they might be designed for the more standard 16:9 screen? I understand that video in 16:9 would obviously need to have the back bars at the sides (when vieiwing landscape). Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The aspect ratio doesn't affect any apps. All apps and games adapt to the aspect ratio. That extra bit of the 17:9 aspect ratio is used by the Navbar
Like you've mentioned, the only time you would notice black borders, is when watching videos as most videos use a 16:9 ratio. But this isn't a deal-breaker as you'll hardly notice it considering these bars are very small and appear on each side, which is less distracting compared to those ugly big bars on the top and bottom when watching 4:3 content on 16:9 screens. Moreover, the display has excellent contrast and blacks for an IPS panel.
Nothing to worry here!

So I went for it, & it arrived yesterday.
I'm liking it so far, even though it's a lot of work for me to get everything going. Very often, for a lot of apps (ie Android Pay, GOSMS, Gmail, and many others), to get them working properly, i have to go into Settings/Permissions/Permissions/Permissions Tab/ and then into lots of settings inside there & change to "Accept" for anything to work properly. Is that normal?

greatcapp said:
So I went for it, & it arrived yesterday.
I'm liking it so far, even though it's a lot of work for me to get everything going. Very often, for a lot of apps (ie Android Pay, GOSMS, Gmail, and many others), to get them working properly, i have to go into Settings/Permissions/Permissions/Permissions Tab/ and then into lots of settings inside there & change to "Accept" for anything to work properly. Is that normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes normal.

greatcapp said:
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine from Eglobal Central.
No flashing required.
It came with the stock Chinese ROM (which includes English).
Google Play works fine once you install it from the Mi Market.
No issues with banking apps.
I've not installed Android Pay, but I've set up contacless payment using my Barclaycard and the Barclaycard app. I've not actually used it yet, but the app does a compatibility check and says it should work fine.

Moandal said:
I bought mine from Eglobal Central.
No flashing required.
It came with the stock Chinese ROM (which includes English).
Google Play works fine once you install it from the Mi Market.
No issues with banking apps.
I've not installed Android Pay, but I've set up contacless payment using my Barclaycard and the Barclaycard app. I've not actually used it yet, but the app does a compatibility check and says it should work fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it came without play store android pay might work, if it comes with play store usually vendor ROM and definitely don't work.

Questions about stock ROM and UI

Hi! My mother is getting an X526 from Gearbest and I think that I will change the ROM when it arrives because she is more used to stock Android experience. Also, I watched some videos about this phone and the UI just doesn't seem right to me for whatever reason. I find it to be too Chinese and I think that my mom will not like/get used to it. (The videos I watched are from 2016 though, it may have been some improvement since then, idk) Can anybody give me opinions about EUI? Any feedback is really appreciated since LeEco is a new brand for me. By the way, these phones usually come with shop ROM's right?
Thanks in Advance
Sorry for bad english

You can install custom roms but the problem with every rom is not working camera(Stock) you can use footej or anyother camera. Leeco(RIP) is dead and didn't even provided us Nougat update. Don't mind but i think you should have gone with Any latest Xiaomi phone. Surely leeco Le x526 is currently best bang for your money but at cost of software experience.

danishdvn said:
You can install custom roms but the problem with every rom is not working camera(Stock) you can use footej or anyother camera. Leeco(RIP) is dead and didn't even provided us Nougat update. Don't mind but i think you should have gone with Any latest Xiaomi phone. Surely leeco Le x526 is currently best bang for your money but at cost of software experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agreed.
I am using a LeEco Le S3 X522 as spare phone, and I recommend you to install the Official AospExtended Oreo version. It's the most stable AOSP rom, but as all AOSP roms the camera needs some tweaks to work. You should enable the camera 2 api and install OpenCamera or Footej to get at least some decent camera pictures.

danishdvn said:
You can install custom roms but the problem with every rom is not working camera(Stock) you can use footej or anyother camera. Leeco(RIP) is dead and didn't even provided us Nougat update. Don't mind but i think you should have gone with Any latest Xiaomi phone. Surely leeco Le x526 is currently best bang for your money but at cost of software experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback. I actually considered a xiaomi phone, but I found this phone irresistible considering the price... Maybe i did a bad choice... Hope not.

dimmebd said:
Totally agreed.
I am using a LeEco Le S3 X522 as spare phone, and I recommend you to install the Official AospExtended Oreo version. It's the most stable AOSP rom, but as all AOSP roms the camera needs some tweaks to work. You should enable the camera 2 api and install OpenCamera or Footej to get at least some decent camera pictures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback. That's what I will do. I'm running AEX on my ZTE Axon 7 and I love it.

Update 9.5.10 for TMobile OP7 Pro is available

I searched and didn't see it mentioned but the latest Update for TMobile OP7 Pro is available. Sorry if wrong place to post or a dupe.
Update 9.5.10 just landed on my phone. Screen shown in my most recent post

Awesome! Thanks man I've been waiting for this update.
Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Updated & definitely see huge improvements on the Camera (the Camera was already great IMO). OnePlus has seriously shown amazing support for this device sofar.
Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Can anyone make a patch boot image for this update please

Camera updates
DxTcmix said:
Updated & definitely see huge improvements on the Camera (the Camera was already great IMO). OnePlus has seriously shown amazing support for this device sofar.
Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What improvements do you see? Someone mentioned that the 48mp Pro mode photo quality was reduced in another forum. I'm still in 9.5.5 so I would need to update to 9.5.6 then this one. Just want to make sure that it's worth the update.

So this was how long after the official release? I think the updates are definitely coming quicker on my pro than they did on my 6T with T-Mobile.

I had actually returned my first OP 7 pro, but am going to give another try now that the new update is out a lot faster than TMO originally told me. The phone is very comfortable and smooth, but camera was the only thing that was a downer. So here's to a second try [emoji16]
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

retrofred said:
I had actually returned my first OP 7 pro, but am going to give another try now that the new update is out a lot faster than TMO originally told me. The phone is very comfortable and smooth, but camera was the only thing that was a downer. So here's to a second try [emoji16]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was surprised how fast the update came out considering most carriers can take their sweet time vs unlocked OnePlus international version. I was considering making mine the international version but thought I would see how quick TMo would release it. Good luck to you and hope it meets expectations. Keep in mind the teams working on the gcam are working their magic. If the stock camera isn't up to your standards you may try testing their gcam apk and xml. Users are reporting better pics.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/help/gcam-mod-7-pro-t3930459/page18 found links here

I heard that the T-Mobile version of 9.5.7 is better than the international version is that true

Exathi said:
I heard that the T-Mobile version of 9.5.7 is better than the international version is that true
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How so? I am curious. for the most part the international version has been working for me with very few if any complaints, though do wonder if the T-Mobile firmware's radio firmware is slightly better for cellular connectivity.
Edited for clarification and spelling.

stmims1124 said:
How so? I am curious. for the most part the international version has been working for me with very few if any complaints, though do wonder if the T-Mobile firmware's radio firmware is slightly better for cellular connectivity.
Edited for clarification and spelling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have Google feed

Exathi said:
They have Google feed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update did not bring Google feed to this device. It was already there on the T-mobile version.

room511 said:
Update did not bring Google feed to this device. It was already there on the T-mobile version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True but I heard the volte and vowifi works better with the T-Mobile updates

How do I update to 9.5.7 while rooted?

Agree on the speed at which TMobile turned this update around.. I really appreciate the effort.
As for camera performance. I am far from a professional. It does seem to take a better photo in auto mode to jpeg. I downloaded the update on the plane as I was leaving for vacation. Glad to have the improvements with me.
No ghost taps yet and double tap has not missed a tap yet, only two days in though might be too early to tell...

Nightscape
The Nightscape on the INT and TMO are NOT the same. INT is MUCH MUCH better. TMO version is like the 9.5.5 version i dont know why this isnt the same but it isnt. I tested them back to back last night and the difference is HUGE. Yes I did the cache wipe and had thought it fixed it but nope. I haven't really tested the other camera functions. Everything else seems fine. The INT version does get weird with wifi calling and switching over so yah the Radio firmware issue does seem to be a thing.

9.5.8 just rolled out for th global version can't wait until TMobile gets it

And here you go...
Only update listed was the security patch.

Yeah, I was almost going to switch ROMs back to the T-Mo version since they rolled out 9.5.8 pretty fast, but looking at the release notes from T-Mo which only shows security updates, I think I'll stick with the International version as the 9.5.8 release included a camera and phone audio update.

CharlyDigital said:
And here you go...
Only update listed was the security patch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile is really stepping up their game I'm so happy we have the OnePlus 7404 North America OnePlus is a very good company and they are so customizable

Why isn't this phone more popular?

It has OLED, popup camera, underscreen FP, and the price is amazing
So why is the scene so small? so little ROM support?
Just asking

MGREX said:
It has OLED, popup camera, underscreen FP, and the price is amazing
So why is the scene so small? so little ROM support?
Just asking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm asking the same questions. I mean, not even the newer XT has it all.
But perhaps because of it got squished by tons of new devices this year, devices that is given more promotion funds thus more the hype.
I just bought this device few days ago. I waited a couple of months so that the price dropped. Got this for basically USD$200

Weird because the XT and X2 are everywhere on youtube, maybe realme stopped production because of costs? that popup camera cant be cheap to make
I was about to buy it but I heard the stock ROM is reaaaaally bad, did realme say if its going to get official android 10?
And again if there was better custom ROM support I would buy this in a second

MGREX said:
Weird because the XT and X2 are everywhere on youtube, maybe realme stopped production because of costs? that popup camera cant be cheap to make
I was about to buy it but I heard the stock ROM is reaaaaally bad, did realme say if its going to get official android 10?
And again if there was better custom ROM support I would buy this in a second
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya. I'm currently on candyrom and it's very stable, currently my daily driver without any problems, and excellent battery life .. It's just on the first build so there are few wrinkles to be ironed out, realme has handed out devices to developers so expecting a stable solid build soon ?

MGREX said:
Weird because the XT and X2 are everywhere on youtube, maybe realme stopped production because of costs? that popup camera cant be cheap to make
I was about to buy it but I heard the stock ROM is reaaaaally bad, did realme say if its going to get official android 10?
And again if there was better custom ROM support I would buy this in a second
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sense. They must be loosing money on this device, thus they ditched the pop up cam and return to the drop.
But for me the stock ROM is rock solid. For the first time, I kept coming back to the stock ROM rather than all of the custom ROMs I've tried. Not that the custom ROMs are bad, it is just I keep on missing features of the stock ROM.
That said, I do wish that more dev would come in and create more and better custom ROMs for this great device.

???
It's been months since device has been handed to developers but still I can't see any great support except lineage os by @SagarMakhar

minahasa said:
Make sense. They must be loosing money on this device, thus they ditched the pop up cam and return to the drop.
But for me the stock ROM is rock solid. For the first time, I kept coming back to the stock ROM rather than all of the custom ROMs I've tried. Not that the custom ROMs are bad, it is just I keep on missing features of the stock ROM.
That said, I do wish that more dev would come in and create more and better custom ROMs for this great device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which features are on the stock ROM that AOSP lacks?
mitzl02 said:
It's been months since device has been handed to developers but still I can't see any great support except lineage os by @SagarMakhar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres official lineage now? thats actually good news

MGREX said:
Which features are on the stock ROM that AOSP lacks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mainly, the full-functionality of the stock camera app.
EDIT: Now I'm rocking AospExtended plus the latest GCam mods, so good by ColorOS!

realme 3 pro user hereee

minahasa said:
Mainly, the full-functionality of the stock camera app.
EDIT: Now I'm rocking AospExtended plus the latest GCam mods, so good by ColorOS!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any bugs? is everything working?

This is my first mobile after a lollipop, and I am proud of it.

Whats the best choice for XZ3 right now? (April 2022)

Hello,
Without any doubt I can say that XZ Premium was my favorite phone, many mods, ports and ROMS. Changed it to OP 7Pro and Im also satisfied with XDA support but it wasnt enough so...
I bought XZ3 Dual 4/64 with A10 and 52.1.A.3.137 firmware. Read all possible topics here and Im totally confused what to do, could you help me out?
I dont really know should I unlock bootloader because I would like to have Sony Camera functions like 4K HDR etc.... but
I cant stand button navigation on stock, I would love to have gestures.
I dont need Sony audio enhancement because I mostly use V4A, what forces me to unlock BL and keep root.
I thought about SailfishOS but I need few android apps like messaging or banking app, cant live without it.
Thought about LineageOS but there are problems with crackling speaker, camera app, gcam not working, and I like sony stock apps but I dont mind using google apps instead, not a fan of lineage apps. Present magisk/hide is apprecatied.
Not a fan of A12- read that camera app is not working with a12, never flashed nor used A12.
No matter what I choose- there are downsides, so what will be the best choice?
Totally sad that XZ3 is not as supported as XZP, I would love to support XZ3 development but Im so underdeveloped that I only use whats given on xda ((
Have a great day!

Hello,
I'm at the same point as you. I'm a previous user of LineageOS on a Galaxy S7. That one had a lot of flaws but was still much, much better than anything that forces gapps on me, even though maybe the S7 version was the worst LineageOS ever. I also used it on S5 and S3. No LineageOS was perfect, but superior over all other ROMs I tried.
The thing that bothers me about the camera is: I can't find information about where the issue is after unlocking. People say it performs worse. But is it a driver thing you can't fix or is it just the Sony camera app? I get no answer here. If it's just the Sony camera app that is decapitated after unlocking, you should just get rid of this peace of crap and replace it with Open Camera. You can then switch to Camera 2 API and disable this awful edge enhancement and actually make good photos. The only downside is that Open Camera doesn't apply proper shutter time for very dark conditions automatically. 4k HDR also seems to work. But remember: I'm still on the original ROM and I don't know if anything will be different after unlocking. I would be thankful if someone could give any information about it.
You should be able to use almost any app on LineageOS. I use FDroid and Aurora as app managers. Some apps check for root or custom ROMs and refuse to work if they find it. I don't use any banking apps on Android. Maybe they do a root check. I can't tell you. You may use the web page of your bank instead. Telegram and Signal both work on LineageOS, I've never tried WhatsApp though.
What's the best option isn't an easy decision for the XZ3. There are always downsides on custom ROMs. The problem is that we can find almost no information on what exactly doesn't work as usual after unlocking, so we can't make our decision. I don't expect to find much help, if I encounter problems after unlocking.
I also spend hours and days trying to get information about all of this and didn't find what I need to know. The crackling speakers problem on LineageOS for example is new to me. Can you give me further information about it or provide a link? Have made any progress since your post here?