Custom ROM/recovery/... vs Stock - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey there, I have been flashing my HTC Desire HD for a long time with different ROMs. I found it kinda annoying to always check certain websites for new updates, manually download and flash them just to find out that half of the stuff was buggy.
Now I got the Nexus 4. I loved the idea of having fast OTA updates. But now I want to flash a new kernel.. which means I got to install a custom recovery. But then OTA will not work anymore.
So I wonder:
Should I stay with
CWM + Stock ROM + Custom Kernel (no OTA update but no problem with buggy custom ROMs)
CWM + Custom ROM + Custom Kernel
Everything stock
Cyanogenmod is nice but for me it doesn't have any big advantages over stock 4.2 ? So I really wonder what you guys would recommend? What are your reasons to do a "certain setup" ?
Thanks

You don't need a custom recovery to flash a kernel.
It can be flashed with fastboot leaving everything else stock.
You still wouldn't be able to install the OTA without flashing the stock kernel again though.

Oh crap.. so as soon as I change ANYTHING... no OTA updates anymore
Hmm... I guess I will stay with custom kernel + flashing stock ROM then :/ Is there any way to automatically check for updates tho?
Thanks

zakazak said:
Oh crap.. so as soon as I change ANYTHING... no OTA updates anymore
Hmm... I guess I will stay with custom kernel + flashing stock ROM then :/ Is there any way to automatically check for updates tho?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you will get the notification and it will try to install but it will fail and reboot if you aren't 100% stock.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

Go with TWRP instead of cwm
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

calanizzle said:
Go with TWRP instead of cwm
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, TWRP is great :highfive:

TWRP is the way to go!

But then I have another problem (well I already have it but..):
I would like to use ROMmanager.. after all it might be able to check for rom updates & flash them "automatically" (stock + custom?). I am not sure if it could also check for kernel updates?
Anyway, it seems to work only with CWM ? Altough it doesn't seem the already installed CWM on my Nexus 4 :S

Anyone?

I would never use ROM manager. Not a good program. Use a custom recovery, and if you want lots of customisation then I would recommend AOKP Rom as it is just as fast and stable as the stock ROM but with a whole host of customisation options.
Beauty of this phone is that you can go back to complete bone stock with no issues, I did, but missed all the customisation and put AOKP back on lol.

alright I uninstalled it. I just hoped for some "app" which could look for all kind of "custom" updates and install them automatically (kernerl,rom,...)

If you're interested in CM, I think delta CM will allow you download only the changes made to the project.
Also, why do people say to use TWRP instead of the more tried and true CWM? It seems to have a lot of sex appeal to some recently, and there doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer. Is there added functionality?

Related

Do i have to use ODIN all the time when changing roms?

i have come from Xperia X10i. where i could flash roms in minutes with Xrecovery thx to J&Z & Trip for his wonderful roms without the need of connecting my phone to a pc.
I am a bit confused now. i have made up my mind about custom roms, Villain and Lightening. i want to try both.
I dont want to damage my SGS2 as it looks very very delicate. My questions is do i have to use ODIN all the time for changing and testing roms? or is there an easier way. The reason for this question is as:
My X10 usb port got damaged due to flashing different radios/basebands for different roms and i decided to get SGS2.
Odin is probably the easiest way to flash a rom but most custom ROMs are flashable with clockwork recovery. You first have to flash a custom kernel with odin to get clockwork though.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
zabihjan said:
i have come from Xperia X10i. where i could flash roms in minutes with Xrecovery thx to J&Z & Trip for his wonderful roms without the need of connecting my phone to a pc.
I am a bit confused now. i have made up my mind about custom roms, Villain and Lightening. i want to try both.
I dont want to damage my SGS2 as it looks very very delicate. My questions is do i have to use ODIN all the time for changing and testing roms? or is there an easier way. The reason for this question is as:
My X10 usb port got damaged due to flashing different radios/basebands for different roms and i decided to get SGS2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the rom dev, if they make the rom flashable thru cwm recovery (cognition,batista etc) or odin like litening, villain.
Honestly both are pretty simple and quick. I have all my user apps, touchwiz config backed up thru titanium backup. So it only takes 5 to 10 mts to flash a new rom and restoring apps.
And don't worry you are not going to brick a samsung phone, odin will always rescue you if you can get into download mode
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
@hansonator
@kirdroid
thank you both.
moderators pls close my thread.
resolved.
do you know if cmw4 is compatible with rom manager? i know that chainfire's modified cmw4 isnt.
p00kienrayray said:
do you know if cmw4 is compatible with rom manager? i know that chainfire's modified cmw4 isnt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer is still NO .
Or at least no posts to say it is .
jje
I tested it out and it does.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
hansonator said:
Odin is probably the easiest way to flash a rom but most custom ROMs are flashable with clockwork recovery. You first have to flash a custom kernel with odin to get clockwork though.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used clockwork mod all the time wigth my HD2 but i didn't like the CWM boot up screen that appeared for a few seconds is that also on the GS2 or not seen as this is a native Android phone?
jonny68 said:
I used clockwork mod all the time wigth my HD2 but i didn't like the CWM boot up screen that appeared for a few seconds is that also on the GS2 or not seen as this is a native Android phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no Cwm boot animation.
pulser_g2 said:
There is no Cwm boot animation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's good, if i was to flash your ROM for example do i need to install CWM on my GS2 first?

If I root my Nexus S.

So I'm thinking about rooting my Nexus S and keeping the stock rom, now my question is if I do root will I not receive the OTA update for ICS or will I still get it?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
A little reading wouldn't have hurt............
Anyways, if you do not modify anything in /system then you should be fine. I wouldn't ever be worried about receiving an ota anyways. Chances are someone will post the full rom here before your phone ever recieves the ota notification.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Thanks for the fast reply, I new I was going to get hit with the not reading part, but rooting was something I thought of on an impulse and I did as much reading as I could before I got into work so I thought I would ask for a quick answer. Now that I have the answer I have a lot more reading to do before I even try to root.
Thank you again for the answer.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Frost0113 said:
So I'm thinking about rooting my Nexus S and keeping the stock rom, now my question is if I do root will I not receive the OTA update for ICS or will I still get it?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You WILL get the OTA update
Guys sorry if this a noob question. But I just recently rooted as well .
I'm running stock rom and francos kernel. Will stock rom and diff kernel mess up if you accept ota?
I'm also looking at trying diff kernels like trinity teuv.
I know I have to wipe cache and dalvik when flashing another kernel however some state to reflash the rom as well. I'm on stock so nothing to really reflash . What steps should I take to make sure kernels don't conflict.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
I've had wifi driver issues when flashing kernel outside of rom flash also, sometimes it works fine, other times I get the wifi error. Do not update ota if your using a custom kernel and recovery, you must be 100% stock to do so. There are stock flashable roms however, google peter Alfonso, his stuff is in rom manager as well. Also bugless beast is a stock based rom with many improvements, very stable also. Perhaps check it out.
Follow the leader @corythug
corythug said:
I've had wifi driver issues when flashing kernel outside of rom flash also, sometimes it works fine, other times I get the wifi error. Do not update ota if your using a custom kernel and recovery, you must be 100% stock to do so. There are stock flashable roms however, google peter Alfonso, his stuff is in rom manager as well. Also bugless beast is a stock based rom with many improvements, very stable also. Perhaps check it out.
Follow the leader @corythug
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Always disable wifi before flashing a rom. In fact putting your device into airplane mode is the safest bet.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
I'm not saying that's not good advice but I have done both and still had the error, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt.
Follow the leader @corythug
If you're rooted, most likely you will not get the OTA notification. That's not a big deal. When ICS hits, it's going to hit here just as quick if not quicker. You'll most likely get an error if you try to flash an official OTA on a rooted device, has to be stock.
Btw, Oxygen is my ROM of choice, so I await his ICS 4.0 ROM anyway. Heck with the OTA.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
So I rooted today, before I rooted I was on 2.3.7 after I rooted I was on 2.3.4 and it told me there was an update, so I took the update the screen went black showed the picture of the Android with a ! Next to it, after about an hour I pulled the batter and when I booted back I was still on 2.3.4 and it no longer says I have an update.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Manually update, look in rom manager under peter Alfonso for 2.37
Follow the leader @corythug

Stay Stock Or Custom Rom?

Im getting a Nexus 7 for christmas and im wondering if i decide to root the nexus 7 is it possible to go back to stock as its not amobile phone i cant think it would be to hard because i love the stock jelly bean 4.2 system but im wanting paranoid rom so i can get table ui on the nexus 7 but if i dont like it can i just go back to the stcok jelly bean rom?? (nexus 7 has been bought from offical google website)
Thanks Guys
George
Why would you not like it...its stock plus so many more options.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Yes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
dparrothead1 said:
Yes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well all im thinking is if the a new OTA update comes out or say for example Vinilla co co pops 5.2 comes out how the hell am i surposed to update to that like at the moment i have a htc oxe x and upateing to jelly bean just not even possible im just worryed that i wont be able to keep updateing when the ota's come out thas all im wanting to know if i root it and put custom roms on it i want to make 100% sure i can update it to the latest firmwere when they officaly come out
Check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35472344#post35472344
dannymassacre said:
Well all im thinking is if the a new OTA update comes out or say for example Vinilla co co pops 5.2 comes out how the hell am i surposed to update to that like at the moment i have a htc oxe x and upateing to jelly bean just not even possible im just worryed that i wont be able to keep updateing when the ota's come out thas all im wanting to know if i root it and put custom roms on it i want to make 100% sure i can update it to the latest firmwere when they officaly come out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't even matter, all the devs have the official ota update before it comes out due to Google dropping the source before they actually push it out.
Way better to root, you'll have the updates faster that way.
Sent from my Nexus 7
IF you do only one thing, unlock the bootloader before getting lived in on the device. I am rocking stock rooted myself. I am just watching till after cm10.1 hits stable then Ill try some roms out
While I personally prefer stock (with modifications of course) on my N7, it is trivial to revert these devices back to stock, or any other ROM, if you want to. You don't even need to revert and upgrade - you could just download the latest FULL image and flash your device that way, skipping the update step altogether.
But if updates are your only concern, I imagine most of the ROM developers would incorporate the new version into their ROMs very soon after the OTA drops.
BrianDigital said:
IF you do only one thing, unlock the bootloader before getting lived in on the device. I am rocking stock rooted myself. I am just watching till after cm10.1 hits stable then Ill try some roms out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
Even if you don't run a custom rom initially, if the bootloader is unlocked, you can easily flash a custom recovery and rom later. The problem is that if you unlock all the internal storage gets wiped which is not the end of the world if you backup first but it's still a minor inconvenience.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
paranoid is great, but depends what you like. I love it fit the tablet interface and customization options. stock 4.2 had a lot of the same customization built in, so it's awesome as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7
To me, its custom ROM or bust.
-Sent from Marino's Nexus 7-
Multi ROM
you may want to use Multi ROM.
Root your stock ROM.
Install Custom Recovery to install Multi ROM.
After installing Multi ROM, you may now install other or more ROMs inside.
Also, you have the option to auto-boot from stock ROM or from other ROM.
With that, you may access your stock ROM without removing your custom ROMs and vice versa.
Goodluck!
I unlocked and rooted my nexus 7 so that I could use otg cable---> a flash drive … I have extra storage now. Just download an app called stick mount an your all set...
Rooting should be the first thing you should do. As others said you can keep it stock if you want. Only difference is you get to install apps like titanium backup and file managers like root explorer. You also will have a custom recovery so you can backup your latest STABLE and smooth ROM so you can revert back if you ever run into trouble like the 4.2 OTA debacle.
As far as any maintenance and fixing issues... having root makes it a breeze as factory resets just mean in 10 minutes you are back in businesses, you just need redo your screens.
I took the plunge and after rooting I installed this: [EXPERIMENTAL] MultiROM v3
Now I'm running stock along with a few other ROMS, including Ubuntu.

[Q] Can anyone tell me which one is he most stable CFW now?

Like the title, can anyone tell me which one is the most stable cfw now? b/c there many cfw in the forum and I dont know which one is good, or having problem, issue....ect. If not, I will go back to stock, root, install revovery, and update stock 4.4.2 KK
street.basketball said:
Like the title, can anyone tell me which one is the most stable cfw now? b/c there many cfw in the forum and I dont know which one is good, or having problem, issue....ect. If not, I will go back to stock, root, install revovery, and update stock 4.4.2 KK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well on first note you can flash a rooted kk and keep recovery there are two ways of doing so, now for your first question recommending roms is not that good because everyone has a different preference in my case I need power and battery life since I mainly use my phone for gaming but you might have something else in mind so it's always best to just just flash on your own until you find something that suits your needs
Madhi rom is a pretty good rom and stable rom. So far I found 0 bugs with my everyday use. I recommend it. And having a nandroid backup makes the return to your stock rom a 5 minute process, if you didn't like it
Sent from my g2 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
XxZombiePikachu said:
well on first note you can flash a rooted kk and keep recovery there are two ways of doing so, now for your first question recommending roms is not that good because everyone has a different preference in my case I need power and battery life since I mainly use my phone for gaming but you might have something else in mind so it's always best to just just flash on your own until you find something that suits your needs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what i need is a stable rom, like there no bugs, issue, errors blah blah, so if you know any like that, tell me
j1miroquai said:
Madhi rom is a pretty good rom and stable rom. So far I found 0 bugs with my everyday use. I recommend it. And having a nandroid backup makes the return to your stock rom a 5 minute process, if you didn't like it
Sent from my g2 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, can you give me a link? And nandroid backup is in cwm recovery right?
nandroid backup is called the process of taking backup your entire phone . data system cache etc.
You can find it in all custom recovery programs cwm , twrp .VERY VERY VERY usefull
I used both cwm and twrp for nandroid backup and it's a pretty straightforward process.
here is the link for Mahdi ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2590700
XxZombiePikachu said:
well on first note you can flash a rooted kk and keep recovery there are two ways of doing so, now for your first question recommending roms is not that good because everyone has a different preference in my case I need power and battery life since I mainly use my phone for gaming but you might have something else in mind so it's always best to just just flash on your own until you find something that suits your needs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, you said I can update 4.4 and still have recovery? I though I only can keep root, can you show me how?

[Q] Phone refuses to boot with a rom

Hi, I've been trying to install a custom rom (at this point ANY custom rom) on my friend's phone. I have worked on several phones before, including my own sprint GS3, but this is my first time trying to work around a locked bootloader, and BOY is it a pain, haha. I'm no dev, but I would like to think that I'm pretty competent.
First a few things to note, are that the phone is currently on NI1 (Been too much of a sissy to go to NJ4 in case it screws something up, I don't even know why), it is the 16Gb version, I am using an external sd card to flash everything, and yes I am flashing loki-doki after everything.
So what I've done so far is:
- Try to install TWRP
- Find out that won't work and finally figure out I need safestrap
- Successfully install safestrap after using towelroot by ODIN-ing the NC1 kernel then going back to the NI1 kernel
- Try to flash Resurrection Remix and KToonsez kernel using a new rom-slot, and wind up soft-bricking (stuck on bootloader screen, can get to download mode)
- ODIN NB1 tar then ODIN NI1 update
- Repeat the last few steps several times because I'm too idiotic to realize that it JUST ISN'T GOING TO WORK!
- Finally find a reference to flashing the ATT kernel modules after the rom. That got me past the soft brick and safestrap screen, but I don't even see a boot animation
As of right now my sequence to successfully not soft-bricking (what an accomplishment) is to flash the rom>gapps>ATT kernel module>supersu>loki-doki>wipe dalvik/cache
Now, is it worth it having already spend a good 7 hours, just to get a custom rom? Of course not, it's not my phone and my friend isn't picky. He'd be just fine with rooted TW. However, It kills me that I don't know what's going on, so here I am lol.
TL;DR: Phone has safestrap, is rooted, but any time I flash a rom it gets past the boot loader/safestrap screen and never shows a boot animation, or anything past that. Can anyone help figure out what's going on please?
Thanks in advance.
You can only flash touch wiz based roms with safestrap and you can't flash kernels with safestrap. That's been your problem with soft bricking.
Edit, see this for roms you can flash http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53758227
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2616221
Thanks guys. I thought I read through the whole thread, but there is so much information, it's pretty scattered, I must have missed the thing about only TW roms working.
Now a few more questions:
1) Is it worth updating to NJ4? The phone is new and doesn't have any app data or anything that would be missed by updating. I see quite a few roms in 4.4.4, but it looks like most of them are AOSP based, which leads me to my next question...
2) Is there a way to get AOSP roms to work? I see all of these AOSP based roms, obviously for this phone, but it would be pointless to make them if they don't work.
Masterjuggler said:
Thanks guys. I thought I read through the whole thread, but there is so much information, it's pretty scattered, I must have missed the thing about only TW roms working.
Now a few more questions:
1) Is it worth updating to NJ4? The phone is new and doesn't have any app data or anything that would be missed by updating. I see quite a few roms in 4.4.4, but it looks like most of them are AOSP based, which leads me to my next question...
2) Is there a way to get AOSP roms to work? I see all of these AOSP based roms, obviously for this phone, but it would be pointless to make them if they don't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wouldn't hurt to update to nj4. But it's not going to help you either. Only phones on mdb or mdl bootloader can flash non touch wiz based roms using loki. And you can't go back to those bootloaders
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Alright then. Hyperdrive looks pretty good, I'll try that along with Ktoonsez kernel. I'll report back later to let you know how it goes. Thanks again!
Masterjuggler said:
Alright then. Hyperdrive looks pretty good, I'll try that along with Ktoonsez kernel. I'll report back later to let you know how it goes. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, you can't flash a kernel in safestrap
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Oh, I get it now. That didn't quite register before. So just to confirm, after I flash the rom (which already has its own custom kernel included), I still need to flash the stock ATT kernel, correct?
Flash the rom, super su, and the att module for your base. Hyperdrive is a very good rom, good luck. Also the rom doesn't include a kernel, your original kernel stays put. That's why only tw roms work, because your new rom has to be compatible with the kernel already on your phone.
Just reporting in, I now have the phone up and running using Hyperdrive Rom. Thanks for the help!
I actually had a problem where it would not shut down correctly, but found out it was because I was installing the rom in a rom-slot in safestrap. As soon as I tried the stock rom slot, it worked flawlessly.

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