New/Old guy needing some advice - Google Pixel 4 XL Questions & Answers

Hey all, I was a long time Android user and ROM junkie from back at the start with the G1. I got frustrated and jumped to the dark side for a few years. I just switched to GoogleFi and got a Pixel 4 XL. I just wanted to get some advice on best ways to root, best recovery, most stable ROM, etc. I'm loving the phone so far, I just wanted a few features like using facial recognition on apps. Thanks in advance.

fordmanck said:
Hey all, I was a long time Android user and ROM junkie from back at the start with the G1. I got frustrated and jumped to the dark side for a few years. I just switched to GoogleFi and got a Pixel 4 XL. I just wanted to get some advice on best ways to root, best recovery, most stable ROM, etc. I'm loving the phone so far, I just wanted a few features like using facial recognition on apps. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[Guide] Pixel 4 XL Android 10 (Q) - Two ways to Root + by Homeboy76
- Look at 'Updates'
- No recovery (twrp) for Android 10 (Q) yet.
- The latest Custom ROMS are listed in #11.
- Search XDA Pixel 4 XL Forums for facial recognition threads

fordmanck said:
Hey all, I was a long time Android user and ROM junkie from back at the start with the G1. I got frustrated and jumped to the dark side for a few years. I just switched to GoogleFi and got a Pixel 4 XL. I just wanted to get some advice on best ways to root, best recovery, most stable ROM, etc. I'm loving the phone so far, I just wanted a few features like using facial recognition on apps. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most stable and best ROM on a new Pixel 4 XL, is Google's vanilla Android. Monthly updates and majority of features are there. Look into the forums under customization re: availability of additional facial recognition features add-ons.
Additional optimizations may be available under other kernels, but you need to look into it in the forums.
I don't stray away from Google's kernel as it may introduce bugs into facial recognition or motion sense, etc.

fordmanck said:
Hey all, I was a long time Android user and ROM junkie from back at the start with the G1. I got frustrated and jumped to the dark side for a few years. I just switched to GoogleFi and got a Pixel 4 XL. I just wanted to get some advice on best ways to root, best recovery, most stable ROM, etc. I'm loving the phone so far, I just wanted a few features like using facial recognition on apps. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might check this thread if you want to add facial recognition to apps that only support the older biometric APIs...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4-xl/themes/xposed-fingerface-faceid-backward-t3993139
It's a bit more difficult if you want to lock random apps with facial recognition. The only effective app locker I've found is too effective/aggressive and conflicts with the facial prompt overlay.

Welcome back! We began our journey about the same time, I started with a Droid X!
I've had this phone from first day it came out last year and I've rooted and customized every phone I've had including my 3XL. But I have to say, I haven't rooted this phone. It's just too good the way it is and getting timely updates like we do is more important to me than the mods.
Welcome back and best of luck in what you decide!

Related

Stock android

Hello
I have been looking for a stock rom for the note 8 and i haven't found any, i thought i would find a lineage os rom but there was nothing..
Is there a stock android rom for the note 8?!
Useless on a Note !
Enviado desde mi SM-N950F mediante Tapatalk
abdulrrahman said:
Hello
I have been looking for a stock rom for the note 8 and i haven't found any, i thought i would find a lineage os rom but there was nothing..
Is there a stock android rom for the note 8?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By "stock rom" do you mean vanilla ? , then why did you get a samsung galaxy device? Specially a note series one? Better get a pixel or something like it, why getting a samsung galaxy note device, to later downgrade it?
winol said:
By "stock rom" do you mean vanilla ? , then why did you get a samsung galaxy device? Specially a note series one? Better get a pixel or something like it, why getting a samsung galaxy note device, to later downgrade it?
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I have never understood why people do this.
They want some high end phone first. Then suddenly learn about custom roms and are like i want to flash this now.
Better donate the extra money to devs here instead of spending stupidly.
I'm just adding my sentiment. If you want stock Android, get a Pixel device or Motorola or Nokia or almost anything else. You buy a Samsung device for the features they add. If you don't like or use those features, then don't buy something for $1,000 just to essentially cripple it afterwards.
abdulrrahman said:
Hello
I have been looking for a stock rom for the note 8 and i haven't found any, i thought i would find a lineage os rom but there was nothing..
Is there a stock android rom for the note 8?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lineage 15.1 was released yesterday for the note 8, it is in alpha stage though.
Clean Android not only reduces these devices in terms of function (S Pen, Iris, gestures, etc), but also removes the appeal of Sammy phones. I'm using Pie on my z2 Force, as well as my Pro 3. Whilst both have active development, my N8 is the new king on the hill.
Anyway, it's best to buy another phone like the Moto Z4, Poco F1, Pixel, or Essential for plain Android.
sandeepkumar0153 said:
I have never understood why people do this.
They want some high end phone first. Then suddenly learn about custom roms and are like i want to flash this now.
Better donate the extra money to devs here instead of spending stupidly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that some people are just plain stupid. They don't relise that most of the features of Stock Android come from other android OEM skins. Just because Stock Android is simple doesn't make it better. Even 3rd party Custom OSes don't support the same features on a Note device.
Ace42 said:
Clean Android not only reduces these devices in terms of function (S Pen, Iris, gestures, etc), but also removes the appeal of Sammy phones. I'm using Pie on my z2 Force, as well as my Pro 3. Whilst both have active development, my N8 is the new king on the hill.
Anyway, it's best to buy another phone like the Moto Z4, Poco F1, Pixel, or Essential for plain Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't agree more on this. I bought my note 8 after i have used a note 8 port rom on my j7 2016.
And honestly i will prefer the note this way and i haven't even rooted yet. I miss viper4android so much but atleast we have Dolby atmos in N8.
iceepyon said:
I think that some people are just plain stupid. They don't relise that most of the features of Stock Android come from other android OEM skins. Just because Stock Android is simple doesn't make it better. Even 3rd party Custom OSes don't support the same features on a Note device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, you buy a note device for what i gives not what you can mod it into using a custom rom. Root and xposed is an other thing, but custom rom, that too an AOSP ? Completely dumb people out there.
I think it is about choice, not stupidity, like it's said a couple of times here.
Let people do what they want with their phone, like you do.
The thing is i am a university student and thought that i would use the pen.. turned out i didn't use it nor did i use any of the other features..
Second i am not from the US so pixel is not an option unless i would pay around 100 to 200 extra dollar to get it without a warranty.. this goes to the oneplus..
Other thing is the samsung devices are premium with good camera and great displays which is important for me..
abdulrrahman said:
Other thing is the samsung devices are premium with good camera and great displays which is important for me..
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Click to collapse
You do know that once you install a custom OS on the Note. The camera quality goes down. As custom OSes do not have the same camera optimisation software as the Samsung Stock OS.
I was planning to use the pixel camera app
abdulrrahman said:
I was planning to use the pixel camera app
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Click to collapse
Of course yo would, that is the point, once you install a stock android,, the camera will no longer be driven by the samsung software, exactly what iceepyon told you, the samsung hardware is specifically constructed to work efficiently with samsung firmwares
Wow
A person asks about a custom vanilla rom, and look at some of the answers. So glad to live in 2019 when XDA posts are turned into youtube comments on taylor swift videos.
People are not "dumb or stupid" if they're looking for customization options on XDA. They're maybe "wrong" in some cases. Just tell them why.
To answer your question:
These days there are too many flagships and midrange phones out there. Also The oems use different hardwares and barely release their source codes and drivers. Plus, stock roms are way more feature rich and fluid than before. For all these reasons the development of vanilla based roms is limited and less reasonable for most phones. Except pixel phones and Android one phones. Even there, all different roms are lineage-based and basically the same, with same features and same bugs! But different visuall traits!
There is a Lineage os for note 8.0 but in very early stages. About other custom roms (stock based), they do a great job in terms of features and removing so called bloatwares, but personally I recommend you staying on stock because unlike few years ago, stock roms get you better performance, features, battery life, etc. I'm currently using pixel 2 and note 8 and trust me, you get bored by plain android!
pooyab said:
Wow
A person asks about a custom vanilla rom, and look at some of the answers. So glad to live in 2019 when XDA posts are turned into youtube comments on taylor swift videos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I'm going to watch Taylor Swift music videos and read the comments, when I get home.

Being a Google pure phone, why dont pixel phones get love anymore?

This post is not demand a build for our phone, this post is not to get anybody upset it is just a question that I've had for many years.
I've owned every single Nexus device up until the Nexus 6P, and have owned every single pixel device... I remember that with each Nexus phone the support scene was so robust that you look forward to a new phone to come out and see development on it...
For some reason pixel phones are one of the only phones that don't get love from any custom ROM development out there.. you see that lineage OS does not support our phone and has not supported our phone since the Pixel 1 officially. Paranoid Android has not supported our phone at all since the Pixel 1 , And the last official update from them was in 2017.. why is it that our phone being one of the latest phones does not get love?
The main thing that I've heard is that our phone is too expensive to build for, but I have seen the OnePlus 7 pro have vast support in the community and it is almost up there as far as pricing goes as the pixel.
I have always been one to contribute to donations or to work that's worth donating to, dirty unicorns has been a great ROM, but if you think about it our selection of ROMs can be counted with one hand .
Make Google phones great again!
I also believe the pixels don't attract the custom rom enthusiasts like us they are made & sold & marketed to people to be a iPhone competitor also I feel a lot of developers are getting older & many devs just support a few phones that's it & there are not as many devs on the scene like there were years ago unfortunately I remember have my OG Droid from Verizon the support was crazy unfortunately I feel we have to look at it this way its a end of a era for google phones sad to say
Those custom roms are made to make our experience feel like Pixel. They take here and there from pixel feature. Since we are using pixel software, so what the point of having the custom rom? Kernel is more important. Thanks god we have artemis and kiri. Soon we will have Proton or maybe Sultan.
Btw we dont have TWRP support while there is for OP7Pro. Install a custom rom or make one is pain in the ass.
Because they consistently don't live up to expectations. Everybody keeps waiting for them to live up to hype and at least attempt to challenge others with hardware or respond to feedback and they continue to ignore that feedback. it's still in all right device, I like it it's overpriced as hell and I'm glad I waited a few months to get it, still tempted by the OnePlus 8 pro after leaving my 7 pro for this.
kickenwing13 said:
Because they consistently don't live up to expectations. Everybody keeps waiting for them to live up to hype and at least attempt to challenge others with hardware or respond to feedback and they continue to ignore that feedback. it's still in all right device, I like it it's overpriced as hell and I'm glad I waited a few months to get it, still tempted by the OnePlus 8 pro after leaving my 7 pro for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better off going back to the 7 pro.It jus got Dual boot twrp. I'm running Oos and lineage as of this writing tomorrow might be different :laugh: . I got a 3xl and it lost twrp after Android 9 you can fastboot boot it with half the functions not working the 7t the same way an id imagine 8 pro be the same. Only way to have fun with Magisk on the 3xl Android 10 is to be running a user-debug build. Without the debug build magisk will let you overlay the system an look at your data but that's bout it. The way things look nowadays looking alot more locked down then they used to wait til Android 11 hits even more so is the case. Now Google going to build their own chipset like Samsung with help from Samsung Which will bring us one more step closer to Google Fuschia instead of Android
ROMs in general have gone down hill.
The need for them isn't really there. Early on, Android phones had tons of issues, shortcoming and limitations... ROMs were a way around that, to get the phones to work the way we wanted and the way they should have come out of the box.
Now? Most phones are really good, and there's not much to improve. ROM's don't really have much to offer any more, other than to a shrinking pool of users who want to tweak their phones more than they actually USE their phones...
Adding upon all comments above one of the reason is people are stuck with IOS. They don't know the actual power of Android. Who ever tries the Android are forced to go back to ios again because lack of facetime and other apps that are only available only ios
alwynjoshy said:
Adding upon all comments above one of the reason is people are stuck with IOS. They don't know the actual power of Android. Who ever tries the Android are forced to go back to ios again because lack of facetime and other apps that are only available only ios
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Realistically, what's the power of android these days? Yes, you can tweak icons and the status bar and stuff, which 99.99% of phone owners don't care about...
The differences between the platforms isn't as great as it once was... I am on an iPhone 11 Pro at the moment and its a great phone... I want to come back to Android at some point but the watch situation on Android is a joke. And for the Pixels... they just never live up to the hype. I love Samsung, but updates still suck. There is OnePlus but some of the features like Wifi calling don't work on ATT half the time...
I prefer Android overall, but if you want the complete package with a good watch, Apple has the better package.
I had high hopes for Essential but we saw where that went...
I wish that Google would put out a pixel without giant bezels, that didn't have a last generation processor, etc... They will put out a phone in November that's using the same specs as phones that came out last month...
SquireSCA said:
Realistically, what's the power of android these days? Yes, you can tweak icons and the status bar and stuff, which 99.99% of phone owners don't care about...
The differences between the platforms isn't as great as it once was... I am on an iPhone 11 Pro at the moment and its a great phone... I want to come back to Android at some point but the watch situation on Android is a joke. And for the Pixels... they just never live up to the hype. I love Samsung, but updates still suck. There is OnePlus but some of the features like Wifi calling don't work on ATT half the time...
I prefer Android overall, but if you want the complete package with a good watch, Apple has the better package.
I had high hopes for Essential but we saw where that went...
I wish that Google would put out a pixel without giant bezels, that didn't have a last generation processor, etc... They will put out a phone in November that's using the same specs as phones that came out last month...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are few functions which apple cant replace using of Clone applications, Root functions apps, custom fonts and many
alwynjoshy said:
There are few functions which apple cant replace using of Clone applications, Root functions apps, custom fonts and many
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Realistically, today, what does the average person need root access on their phone for? I haven't rooted or ROM'd in several years... The tinkerer in me wants to, but I never find any compelling reason to...
I just don't care enough about what font my Instagram icon uses...
SquireSCA said:
Realistically, today, what does the average person need root access on their phone for? I haven't rooted or ROM'd in several years... The tinkerer in me wants to, but I never find any compelling reason to...
I just don't care enough about what font my Instagram icon uses...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my root need are viperfx, swift theme installer, fingerface , Sd maid ( save 2GB in every week when cleanup), etc
I have a Galaxy Note 10+. One of the heavy flagship phones from last year. There's about 3 ROMS and the communication in the threads is just about non-existent.
It's kinda sad because I remember my Note 4 having a ****load of AOSP ROM options and this phone has 1 that hasn't been updated in months. I would love to root/flash a ROM on my phone but I think the main thing is a lack of developers. Most have probably moved on and don't see a point in developing custom ROMs when most phones nowadays are capable of doing almost anything. The main reason I rooted/flashed ROMs was for the ability to customize my phone to my liking.
PieceofSlice said:
I have a Galaxy Note 10+. One of the heavy flagship phones from last year. There's about 3 ROMS and the communication in the threads is just about non-existent.
It's kinda sad because I remember my Note 4 having a ****load of AOSP ROM options and this phone has 1 that hasn't been updated in months. I would love to root/flash a ROM on my phone but I think the main thing is a lack of developers. Most have probably moved on and don't see a point in developing custom ROMs when most phones nowadays are capable of doing almost anything. The main reason I rooted/flashed ROMs was for the ability to customize my phone to my liking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, and today, so many stock phones allow most of the customization that ROMs used to have to provide... And if not, install a different launcher and there are your themes...
i42o said:
This post is not demand a build for our phone, this post is not to get anybody upset it is just a question that I've had for many years.
I've owned every single Nexus device up until the Nexus 6P, and have owned every single pixel device... I remember that with each Nexus phone the support scene was so robust that you look forward to a new phone to come out and see development on it...
For some reason pixel phones are one of the only phones that don't get love from any custom ROM development out there.. you see that lineage OS does not support our phone and has not supported our phone since the Pixel 1 officially. Paranoid Android has not supported our phone at all since the Pixel 1 , And the last official update from them was in 2017.. why is it that our phone being one of the latest phones does not get love?
The main thing that I've heard is that our phone is too expensive to build for, but I have seen the OnePlus 7 pro have vast support in the community and it is almost up there as far as pricing goes as the pixel.
I have always been one to contribute to donations or to work that's worth donating to, dirty unicorns has been a great ROM, but if you think about it our selection of ROMs can be counted with one hand .
Make Google phones great again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO Pixels don’t have the fan base of the type of enthusiast that install custom ROMs and such. Higher spec phones like OnePlus and stuff like they are more heavily modded i feel like because those types of people are attracted to the specs. Pixels don’t have specs that are anything to write home about. Where as a OnePlus with 12GB of RAM is pretty impressive.
TechOut said:
IMO Pixels don’t have the fan base of the type of enthusiast that install custom ROMs and such. Higher spec phones like OnePlus and stuff like they are more heavily modded i feel like because those types of people are attracted to the specs. Pixels don’t have specs that are anything to write home about. Where as a OnePlus with 12GB of RAM is pretty impressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's probably it right there. The latest and greatest Pixel, uses specs that are already obsolete... Every year, they bring half year old specs and release their new phones with comparable specs to everyone else's specs that are already on the way out.
My thoughts below are mine, and mine only..
The reason you don't see as many custom roms here on xda imho is because it's no longer a hub that's a viable place for most roms to gain any value. the passion for development hasn't died. There are many great new features, and things users would love. Sure, the pixels are great out of the box, but you can say that for any flagship that has come out recently.
Don't get me wrong, xda is great, I'm just saying you shouldn't think devs and users have lost interest because their content isn't on xda.
I mean you're right,. It's different than the days of installing a ROM on a Droid x or something and actually seeing a notable difference between Moto blur and not. Or my note two with some of the different runs I could get on it. I don't know, I think I would like the freedom to make different apps different notifications so that I could customize notifications by app or by person a little easier for text messages. Little things like that that I feel like I used to get in some of those older arms but maybe not maybe I'm just misremembering or something.
Surge1223 said:
My thoughts below are mine, and mine only..
The reason you don't see as many custom roms here on xda imho is because it's no longer a hub that's a viable place for most roms to gain any value. the passion for development hasn't died. There are many great new features, and things users would love. Sure, the pixels are great out of the box, but you can say that for any flagship that has come out recently.
Don't get me wrong, xda is great, I'm just saying you shouldn't think devs and users have lost interest because their content isn't on xda.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where should one go to get ROM's for this device?
jmartin72 said:
Where should one go to get ROM's for this device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After hours of research I think I have found some in the ROM section of this forum
Mackay53 said:
After hours of research I think I have found some in the ROM section of this forum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not try reading before you post, and make yourself look foolish.

FIXED!

EDIT::
My initial issue has been solved! I did some tinkering around with the APN settings and finally got my data to work outside of being on a phone call!! I still have issues flashing different firmwares and os's but that problem will be addressed later down the line.
If you make another Question thread about the Flash issues, you can drop a link here. I might be able to help
oh! thank you! i was initially trying to flash the unlocked u1 firmware onto a t-mobile based note 8 because of mobile data & hotspot issues but i was able to fix it. i'm still interested in root & trying to get a custom os installed. reminiscing on the days of dirty unicorns on my note 2
JayeDohe said:
oh! thank you! i was initially trying to flash the unlocked u1 firmware onto a t-mobile based note 8 because of mobile data & hotspot issues but i was able to fix it. i'm still interested in root & trying to get a custom os installed. reminiscing on the days of dirty unicorns on my note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. My Note 8 isn't my main smartphone anymore, but I didn't like putting Custom ROMs on there, because I found I was missing Samsung's Camera App and all their other cool features.
Kinda weird, I like the smoothness and simplicity of pure Vanilla Android, but all the cool little features of Samsung's OneUI. When I still used my Note 8, I just sticked with OneUI but rooted it for some additional freedom. (and for Custom Fonts and Systemwide Adblocking.. and YouTube Vanced. LOL)
dreamytom said:
Cool. My Note 8 isn't my main smartphone anymore, but I didn't like putting Custom ROMs on there, because I found I was missing Samsung's Camera App and all their other cool features.
Kinda weird, I like the smoothness and simplicity of pure Vanilla Android, but all the cool little features of Samsung's OneUI. When I still used my Note 8, I just sticked with OneUI but rooted it for some additional freedom. (and for Custom Fonts and Systemwide Adblocking.. and YouTube Vanced. LOL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i recently came across all the little apps for One UI, i just haven't messed around with them fully yet. but i am still interested in at least achieving root if possible
JayeDohe said:
yeah i recently came across all the little apps for One UI, i just haven't messed around with them fully yet. but i am still interested in at least achieving root if possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just keep in mind Samsung phones have a physical security chip (Knox).
If you unlock the bootloader, that security chip will permanently show that your warranty is void (0x1). You also won't be able to use Samsung Pay, Samsung's Secure Folder anymore, and some other things which don't come into my mind right now...
Samsung Health too, for whatever reason. However for that app there's a tweak you can do in a system file called build.prop... lol
So, there are disadvantages you must be aware of.
There's also Google SafetyNet, which detects an unlocked bootloader & root. And it's been a cat & mouse game to mask/avoid this detection of an unlocked BL & Root from Google SafetyNet, and it sucks. Google and the manufacturers try their hardest to disincentivize users from using their phone in the way they like to.
I don't want to scare you away from making these adventures. It's just a bit rough at the moment for the Android Modding Community and I'm afraid it'll only get more locked up, until Android phones sorta become like iPhones (in terms of freedom).
Yeah, playing around with root and different roms would be fun but i've pretty much settled on how i have things set up with good lock and all of those features. i can't seem to get videos to work with lock+ tho, that option seems to be greyed out.

Question What is the best custom ROMs for Pixel 5a?

Hi
Im new here
What is the best custom ROMs for Google Pixel 5a?
ty
ALWA7SH6 said:
Hi
Im new here
What is the best custom ROMs for Google Pixel 5a?
ty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now you have pixel experience and lineage os 18. So nothing special, this phones availability (usa and japan) will hinder it's rom development. If we are lucky, maybe we will get up to 5 custom roms.
ALWA7SH6 said:
Hi
Im new here
What is the best custom ROMs for Google Pixel 5a?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have only found 4 custom roms for the phone. all AOSP roms just different variations
1. pixel experience (best. not as updated as lineageOS.)
1a. lineageOS (best. updated regularly)
2. Calxyos (big on security and removing google tracking. microg and other non tracking security apps installed. updated regularly)
3. GrapheneOS (not the best due to having to install microg and the rest of the mircog stuff to get playstore games and apps to work)
really its a toss up between experience and lineage. unless you want to go stealth. then it would be calxyos.
with aosp being the only choice base rom for the phone its extremely limited. unless a recognized developer gets his hand on one and ports over a different rom. your stuck with aosp variations
rchris494 said:
i have only found 4 custom roms for the phone. all AOSP roms just different variations
1. pixel experience (best. not as updated as lineageOS.)
1a. lineageOS (best. updated regularly)
2. Calxyos (big on security and removing google tracking. microg and other non tracking security apps installed. updated regularly)
3. GrapheneOS (not the best due to having to install microg and the rest of the mircog stuff to get playstore games and apps to work)
really its a toss up between experience and lineage. unless you want to go stealth. then it would be calxyos.
with aosp being the only choice base rom for the phone its extremely limited. unless a recognized developer gets his hand on one and ports over a different rom. your stuck with aosp variations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I expect it is a stupid phone and it is not supported and I regret that I bought it
TY
ALWA7SH6 said:
I expect it is a stupid phone and it is not supported and I regret that I bought it
TY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't buy google pixel for custom roms. There are other phones if you want custom roms and community support.
ALWA7SH6 said:
I expect it is a stupid phone and it is not supported and I regret that I bought it
TY
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Click to collapse
same here. i came from HTC, but ATT pushed my phone off their network with a load of crap how it didnt support 4g or LTE phone calls. when it actually did. they just wouldn't whitelist the phone so you could use that feature or wifi calling. so in a scramble to find a new phone i landed with this pixel. biggest POS i ever owned. i thought samsung was garbage until i got this one. its slower than my HTC U11. screen is smaller. it's sad when a 5 year older phone is better than something released in 2021. i have had nothing but problems with it since day 1. text messaging keyboard disappears. text messages disappear. text phones and link disappear. i have to open and close the app 3 or so times to get the message to pop up. maps is a train wreck. half the time i can't close the app or it goes into split screen mode and then you can't do anything. you have to reboot the phone to use it again. updating any of their apps the phone gets worse. every factory rom update is worse than the last one. they never update the base apps with each rom update so im stuck with the same broken crap android 11,12,12L all the same problems. now i know why HTC sold off their crap phones division to Google and kept the flagship phones under their wing, because they found a sucker to buy their garbage low end phone. so google could launch their rebranded HTC phones as garbage pixels.
team twrp would have to get their hands on one of these phones so they could make a proper device tree for it even then i noticed their is some key parts to the factory rom that seem to be missing or embedded into other parts of the images so porting a rom would not be an easy task. then to port a rom you would have to find another phone with similar specs as this one to make it even possible. so you are more or less stuck with Googles source codes for rom building. so then your are basically just building another AOSP rom variation.
all version i listed pull from the same source code when i go to manually build their roms. so really the are all the same rom with just their add-ons and removals of stuff with a few teaks here and there.
so for now our only hope is that on black friday they are selling this phone for $100 and some developers decide to pick one up and start some development on this phone outside AOSP builds.
rchris494 said:
same here. i came from HTC, but ATT pushed my phone off their network with a load of crap how it didnt support 4g or LTE phone calls. when it actually did. they just wouldn't whitelist the phone so you could use that feature or wifi calling. so in a scramble to find a new phone i landed with this pixel. biggest POS i ever owned. i thought samsung was garbage until i got this one. its slower than my HTC U11. screen is smaller. it's sad when a 5 year older phone is better than something released in 2021. i have had nothing but problems with it since day 1. text messaging keyboard disappears. text messages disappear. text phones and link disappear. i have to open and close the app 3 or so times to get the message to pop up. maps is a train wreck. half the time i can't close the app or it goes into split screen mode and then you can't do anything. you have to reboot the phone to use it again. updating any of their apps the phone gets worse. every factory rom update is worse than the last one. they never update the base apps with each rom update so im stuck with the same broken crap android 11,12,12L all the same problems. now i know why HTC sold off their crap phones division to Google and kept the flagship phones under their wing, because they found a sucker to buy their garbage low end phone. so google could launch their rebranded HTC phones as garbage pixels.
team twrp would have to get their hands on one of these phones so they could make a proper device tree for it even then i noticed their is some key parts to the factory rom that seem to be missing or embedded into other parts of the images so porting a rom would not be an easy task. then to port a rom you would have to find another phone with similar specs as this one to make it even possible. so you are more or less stuck with Googles source codes for rom building. so then your are basically just building another AOSP rom variation.
all version i listed pull from the same source code when i go to manually build their roms. so really the are all the same rom with just their add-ons and removals of stuff with a few teaks here and there.
so for now our only hope is that on black friday they are selling this phone for $100 and some developers decide to pick one up and start some development on this phone outside AOSP builds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is that this phone is sold only in USA and Japan and I doubt that community regarding rom development is high in those countries. So only enthusiasts who import 5a from one of those two countries can maybe work on it.
Also, this phone is carbon copy of 4 5g (plus bigger battery and IP ratting) even though looking at how they were build they are not the same, but main components and sensors are. So maybe porting 4a 5g ROM will be better than to build from scratch.
predragiPredrag said:
Problem is that this phone is sold only in USA and Japan and I doubt that community regarding rom development is high in those countries. So only enthusiasts who import 5a from one of those two countries can maybe work on it.
Also, this phone is carbon copy of 4 5g (plus bigger battery and IP ratting) even though looking at how they were build they are not the same, but main components and sensors are. So maybe porting 4a 5g ROM will be better than to build from scratch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I come from Samsung S10e.
A company like (SAMSUNG) that has spent more than 13 years in the field of screens and phones cannot be compared with a company (GOOGLE) that has spent only 4 or 5 years.
I chose this device only for its size, battery and water resistance, but I did not expect that the Android system in it is so bad and not optional
How can build a Rom?
ALWA7SH6 said:
How i can build a Rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is not so simple, you have to google it, learn to code and debug and it will take you some time even if you have existing ROM to copy things from.
predragiPredrag said:
it is not so simple, you have to google it, learn to code and debug and it will take you some time even if you have existing ROM to copy things from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont have time so NO TY
ALWA7SH6 said:
How can build a Rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's more of a pain in the ass than it's worth. on my dual cpu 16 core system it takes 2 hrs just to build it. i usually just follow the steps on the pixel experience wiki page. if you want to mod it even more you would have to learn to program in c and c++. then with everything being open source borrow someone else's mod to include into your rom. then spend hours or even days troubleshooting, debugging or fixing code. if things are not compatible.
i wish i could get a stripped to nothing rom that only makes phone calls. that's it. the rest of the garbage you can download as an app or get a magisk module to do the rest.i don't need googles BLOATWARE garbage along with all of the garbage they cram down my phone's throat to slow it down to snail pace then go oh your phone is outdated that is why it's slow. so buy this other $1000 phone and that will fix your problem. i go yeah right. the thing is a year old. how in the hell is it out dated. my piece of sh*t 10 year old laptop works just fine. once i got off bloatware winblows 10 and install winblow 10 ltsc without the extra garbage no one ever uses.
[ROM][13][barbet] PixelExperience [AOSP][OFFICIAL]&[UNOFFICIAL]
PixelExperience for Pixel 5a Barbet What is this? PixelExperience is an AOSP based ROM, with Google apps included and all Pixel goodies (launcher, wallpapers, icons, fonts, boot animation) Our mission is to offer the maximum possible stability...
forum.xda-developers.com

Pixel 5 >/= Pixel 5a?

I'm new to the world of root and I want to try different ROMS, custom kernels, debloat, etc. I'm fully aware of the risks that come with rooting my phone, and I'm ready to go. I have a Pixel 5a. When I check out the 5a forums, there's not much there. The P5 has all the action! I want to know if I substitute the Barbet images for the Redfin images, can I use the Pixel 5 methods on my 5a?
keylimepienapples3000 said:
I'm new to the world of root and I want to try different ROMS, custom kernels, debloat, etc. I'm fully aware of the risks that come with rooting my phone, and I'm ready to go. I have a Pixel 5a. When I check out the 5a forums, there's not much there. The P5 has all the action! I want to know if I substitute the Barbet images for the Redfin images, can I use the Pixel 5 methods on my 5a?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use the same methods to root, but you can't use the custom firmware built for the 5
xunholyx said:
You can use the same methods to root, but you can't use the custom firmware built for the 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right on. Thanks for the reply.. Why does the 5 seem so much more popular?
Because the 5 was the "flagship" device that year
The Pixel 5 and 5a share the same SoC, so the firmware is effectively the same between them. Still, for the sake of being safe, I wouldn't mix and match.
The only difference between the two is the 5 has 8GB RAM, while the 5a has a bigger screen and a bigger battery. Other than that, they're identical.
Thanks for the info.. How risky is it-- If the biggest difference is in the RAM? About 10 or 12 years ago I read an article about Android and it's capabilities through open source code, so I've wanted to root and mess around with ROMS and different firmware for a long time. Unfortunately, at that time I was in prison so naturally I didn't have access to a phone. I got home in 2020 looking to change my life so I've tried to at least make this a hobby. So far I'm somehow not very lucky in getting the right phones. I thought I finally did last year when I bought a Moto Stylus 5g from cricket. I paid the phone off, cricket unlocked it, but Motorola won't give up the unlock code. Then I got a Pixel 3 but it turned out to be from Verizon and they're haters off the jump, so that was a huge disappointment too. Finally, I have this Pixel 5a. Factory unlocked, incredibly easy as far as unlocking the bootloader and rooting go and I can't seem to find a custom ROM for it. I was able to flash to graphene OS, but there were some issues with my esim so I went back to stock. A couple nights ago I tried Bliss ROMs but I don't know what I'm doing wrong there but I can't get it to work. I got kind of excited about the pixel experience plus, but that guy doesn't seem to be messing around with it anymore, he says there doesn't seem to be enough interest in it. When I look at the Pixel 5 forum, they have all the bells and whistles! I don't have an education nor do I have the money to buy phone after phone. Especially some of the more popular brands. Unless I'm looking at a ROM that requires more of it, how does 2gb if RAM make such a difference? Also you replied to another question I posted. About locking the bootloader.. what happens if I lock it without having the stock and bone firmware?
keylimepienapples3000 said:
Thanks for the info.. How risky is it-- If the biggest difference is in the RAM? About 10 or 12 years ago I read an article about Android and it's capabilities through open source code, so I've wanted to root and mess around with ROMS and different firmware for a long time. Unfortunately, at that time I was in prison so naturally I didn't have access to a phone. I got home in 2020 looking to change my life so I've tried to at least make this a hobby. So far I'm somehow not very lucky in getting the right phones. I thought I finally did last year when I bought a Moto Stylus 5g from cricket. I paid the phone off, cricket unlocked it, but Motorola won't give up the unlock code. Then I got a Pixel 3 but it turned out to be from Verizon and they're haters off the jump, so that was a huge disappointment too. Finally, I have this Pixel 5a. Factory unlocked, incredibly easy as far as unlocking the bootloader and rooting go and I can't seem to find a custom ROM for it. I was able to flash to graphene OS, but there were some issues with my esim so I went back to stock. A couple nights ago I tried Bliss ROMs but I don't know what I'm doing wrong there but I can't get it to work. I got kind of excited about the pixel experience plus, but that guy doesn't seem to be messing around with it anymore, he says there doesn't seem to be enough interest in it. When I look at the Pixel 5 forum, they have all the bells and whistles! I don't have an education nor do I have the money to buy phone after phone. Especially some of the more popular brands. Unless I'm looking at a ROM that requires more of it, how does 2gb if RAM make such a difference? Also you replied to another question I posted. About locking the bootloader.. what happens if I lock it without having the stock and bone firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stay on stock ROM. Root, and use this Magisk/Xposed MOD..
[MOD][Xposed+Magisk][13 Compatible] AOSP Mods - System modifications for AOSP-based Android 12+
This is a mixed Xposed+Magisk module, which is made to allow customizations that are not originally designed in AOSP (Android Open Source Project). Features: Currently, AOSP Mods offers customizations on different aspects of system framework and...
forum.xda-developers.com
As for RAM, see if this helps, it "Expands RAM memory by converting a part (Internal) storage to swap RAM."
Thank you. I'm going to check it out now.
Ok. My phone didn't like swapper very much. After rebooting, my screen was flickering out of control and I couldn't do anything but power down. After a couple of reboots it started up normally but now I can't use mobile data and I'm not able to access any Magisk Modules. The button is greyed out. Any idea how to reverse this?
keylimepienapples3000 said:
Ok. My phone didn't like swapper very much. After rebooting, my screen was flickering out of control and I couldn't do anything but power down. After a couple of reboots it started up normally but now I can't use mobile data and I'm not able to access any Magisk Modules. The button is greyed out. Any idea how to reverse this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh wow that's very odd how many GB did you do? I suggest 2 but if it's doing that then yea lets rid it.
when it's grey it mean it'sdisabled. you can click the remove button and reboot and it will be gone.

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