Pixel 5 >/= Pixel 5a? - Google Pixel 5 Questions & Answers

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?
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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
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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?
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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.

Related

Root? Why?

I've been a rootoholic since the first HTC Desire (2010) and I've been lovin to improve every smartphone throughout those years. I believe that the reason for root have literally died. Since 2010, the interest in rooting and developing roms for phones that really needed it, vanished more and more for every year. The latest 4 - 5 years, developers have mostly only been interested in rooting flagships? People root for different reasons, privacy, debloating, theming, speed or all. In my opinion, the whole developing community have forgotten the real mission!
"Develope, root and improve phones that really needs it!" (mid range and low budget phones)
And look now!? To unlock a bootloader (on a phone that's perfect without it) we're suppose to pay for it? Not even an option to donate, like back in the days? No offense to you, the devs, this is probably just part of Xda evolution, and I need to catch up with reality. Just wondering what this community will look like in 2 - 5 years?
This phone (in my opinion) is perfect without unlocked bootloader or root!
V40 has it all!
And with the option to "uninstall" bloatware via adb, what's the point?
Well, some user's love to flash custom kernel while using the stock rom. Just like me
cheeze.keyk said:
Well, some user's love to flash custom kernel while using the stock rom. Just like me
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I did too But to improve!?
Not much to improve anymore...
I understand what you mean. But with a custom kernel everything that's good about this phone would only get better. Also, having stock Android on this hardware would be awesome.
nyttliv7 said:
I did too But to improve!?
Not much to improve anymore...
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For me yes, specially when it comes to speed and you can tweak also the display settings to get rid of the screen burn.
V4A and kernel tweeks
Wondering
how much better can a phone like this get?
I mean, cpu speed is already fantastic, and sound is extremely high quality (Neutron)!
Is there anywhere I can read about this? Progress and experience so far. How big was the difference? And so on...
I could imagine to underclock and disable some features I never use, to save battery...
nyttliv7 said:
how much better can a phone like this get?
I mean, cpu speed is already fantastic, and sound is extremely high quality (Neutron)!
Is there anywhere I can read about this? Progress and experience so far. How big was the difference? And so on...
I could imagine to underclock and disable some features I never use, to save battery...
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Click to collapse
We disabled a few of the throttling stuff that LG put in the software and it's way faster now and along with FDE.AI Magisk Module the battery is also lasting a bit longer.
Nice!
I'm on Sprint!
Will they detect my root?
Fully functional modem/signal?
Will I miss out on any functions after debloating all sprint stuff?
Can I reverse, go back to the original rom?
nyttliv7 said:
I'm on Sprint!
Will they detect my root?
Fully functional modem/signal?
Will I miss out on any functions after debloating all sprint stuff?
Can I reverse, go back to the original rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your original rom would be on Slot B....but you would still have the original rom on Slot A unless you update to US unlocked Pie....
Tempted!
Root
Being an old rootoholic, I've kind of convinced myself it's not really necessary anymore, especially on a phone like this. But after digging into the threads about it, I've reconsidered...
So, after some resistance, I'm tempted to unlock bootloader and root
Just a few questions:
Slot A and B? Is it possible/complicated to activate "the other" slot (dual boot), or is it just there for backup and update?
Is com.lge.rctprovider and other spy and spam apps still there?
How exactly is the remote screen thing done? Do I need to install something, and how do you pay the fee?
Will it be possible to remap the assistant button?
If I'm not wrong, Qualcomm just block specific bands on carrier's requests, meaning that all bands exist in the chip. So I wonder, can this be unlocked?
How is the signal/reception on Sprint? Will all necessary bands still be there and fully functional?
Thanks!
nyttliv7 said:
I've been a rootoholic since the first HTC Desire (2010) and I've been lovin to improve every smartphone throughout those years. I believe that the reason for root have literally died. Since 2010, the interest in rooting and developing roms for phones that really needed it, vanished more and more for every year. The latest 4 - 5 years, developers have mostly only been interested in rooting flagships? People root for different reasons, privacy, debloating, theming, speed or all. In my opinion, the whole developing community have forgotten the real mission!
"Develope, root and improve phones that really needs it!" (mid range and low budget phones)
And look now!? To unlock a bootloader (on a phone that's perfect without it) we're suppose to pay for it? Not even an option to donate, like back in the days? No offense to you, the devs, this is probably just part of Xda evolution, and I need to catch up with reality. Just wondering what this community will look like in 2 - 5 years?
This phone (in my opinion) is perfect without unlocked bootloader or root!
V40 has it all!
And with the option to "uninstall" bloatware via adb, what's the point?
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Click to collapse
After so many years with these phones, I've learnt that we would rather buy an old flagship but not a new mid-low range
Even u arent rooting it, flagship is usually much better as that's what your manufacture could do best at that time. Mid-low range was intended to be half-assed
Root is useful to install AdAway and Titanium Backup, even if staying with stock ROM.
Blockada without root sounds like it is not as effective as AdAway.
Ti Backup enables reverting to prior saved version of app when a newer version is faulty or inferior (happens a lot). Also debloating by freezing or uninstalling, not sure an ADB method offers all the options of Ti to debloat.
If V40 still has no way to unlock bootloader and root, without the Octoplus thing, I guess I'm stuck with V30+, which apparently means the dwindling stock of aging V30+ from dicey sellers on eBay etc., including lots of 1+ year old LS998 crossflashed to US998 and sold as "new". Li-Ion phone batteries have only a 2-3 year life....
...
There's currently no way to bootloader unlock the V40 (I have the US non carrier "unlocked" version). Guy on Telegram is ignoring my message. Therefore, root does not appear to be an option.
midwhiteflava said:
There's currently no way to bootloader unlock the V40 (I have the US non carrier "unlocked" version). Guy on Telegram is ignoring my message. Therefore, root does not appear to be an option.
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Well Vlad is in the Ukraine so you have to deal with their schedule....
Ainz_Ooal_Gown said:
Well Vlad is in the Ukraine so you have to deal with their schedule....
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That would be him and I'm awaiting his reply on Telegram from last week.
midwhiteflava said:
That would be him and I'm awaiting his reply on Telegram from last week.
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Click to collapse
This guy has done two for me less than half a day after paying ten dollars.
@octoplus
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v40/development/unlock-lg-v40-via-9008-root-t-mobile-t4042207
Well people root so they can remove throttle from manufacturer nd to tweak the phone so it can be at its best for the current cpu/gpu along with custom roms. Root is not needed nowadays except for those because better processors that you wont really need root for normal to performance usage. Well thts my oppinion for the op
The question should be why not to root. The answers to that are far less. Than why to root. Because of the endless possibilities

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.
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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
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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...
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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
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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...
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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
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Click to collapse
Why not try reading before you post, and make yourself look foolish.

Any developers developing a ROM for this?

any eta to something like lineage?
This seems so much better than a pixel 4a/OP 7t and within 100 dollars used....I am returning my pixel 4a due to the poor battery life compared to my gs8 that its replacing.
This phone seemsl like better value than the pixel 4a
zetsui said:
any eta to something like lineage?
This seems so much better than a pixel 4a/OP 7t and within 100 dollars used....I am returning my pixel 4a due to the poor battery life compared to my gs8 that its replacing.
This phone seemsl like better value than the pixel 4a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not gonna lie, I don't understand the ongoing interest in rooting/customs ROMs. The last time I rooted a phone was a Galaxy Note 2 - and then only because it had stopped receiving updates, and the custom ROM used a newer version of Android. With a new phone like the S20 FE, it just seems you stand to lose much more than you could possibly gain (e.g., Samsung pay, monthly security updates, full Android updates) - I just don't get it.
jtOttawa said:
Not gonna lie, I don't understand the ongoing interest in rooting/customs ROMs. The last time I rooted a phone was a Galaxy Note 2 - and then only because it had stopped receiving updates, and the custom ROM used a newer version of Android. With a new phone like the S20 FE, it just seems you stand to lose much more than you could possibly gain (e.g., Samsung pay, monthly security updates, full Android updates) - I just don't get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was gonna reply yesterday that I wouldn't put a custom rom like lineage on a new phone that's still getting support. that would be moving from 99% functionality to maybe 75 - 80%.
that said I would root for things like adaway, v4a and minminguard and if the support was there I would replace the stock rom with a stripped down version with extra features like GCam. if the support was there the monthly security updates and continuing Sammy releases could be flashed just as easily as update zips. after the first 3 years all bets would be off, AOSP all the way.
I will never care about Knox, if an employer wants me to have a secure phone for work they can provide one. this phone is mine.
jtOttawa said:
Not gonna lie, I don't understand the ongoing interest in rooting/customs ROMs. The last time I rooted a phone was a Galaxy Note 2 - and then only because it had stopped receiving updates, and the custom ROM used a newer version of Android. With a new phone like the S20 FE, it just seems you stand to lose much more than you could possibly gain (e.g., Samsung pay, monthly security updates, full Android updates) - I just don't get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. they can security patch your ****t AFTER you root, from what I understand, correct me if I'm wrong
2. Some of us like security for a number of reasons (ie travelign to autocratic countries where there is no personal privacy)
3. Far easier to have hard backups and restores of phones. I get a new phone? I just titanium restore it. Some of us don't like sharing data with the govt.
4. you ever try to pixelize and de-bloat a samsung stock phone? It's a nightmare.
a couple of days ago I saw that the FE 5G was just about to go on-sale in India, hopefully that means a few more devs may come to this forum.
I'm excited for development on this device and I thoroughly enjoy vanilla Android and custom ROMs.
I have more resources to play with typically and I can overclock or underclock my CPU/GPU for best performance and battery. Everything can be customized.
Maybe I could have gotten another device that isn't bloated but this was my only option.
If I had a test FE 5G I would start baking some things up. This is my only phone and I would be out of work without it so, no go testing on my own.
the GSI roms must be pretty close to making workable, I'm sure there'd be many happy testers available.
EDIT: a reddit user has claimed to have flashed the Havoc rom GSI. I've asked for him to share the procedure he followed. if he does that's 2 or 3 GSI roms we can use if nothing else.
EDIT2: seems he just followed guidance from the thread itself and was able to just flash the GSI via TWRP. unlocked bootloaders are a must and there are bugs, being fingerprint reader not working and no video capture @60fps
anyone here that's desperate to try another rom can flash TWRP and backup and try out any of the A/B phh Treble GSI roms. there's even phh magisk. for now it looks like this is as good as we're gonna get.

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
Click to expand...
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...
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