Database Users

Still a buggy phone!!

The Nexus S is quite possibly the best but most frustrating phone I've ever had. I love the hardware and the android OS. I still get random reboots, sometimes sms notifications never show up, and sometimes when I get a phone call the phone becomes unresponsive.
I've been using the latest NSCollab rom for several versions and have never over/under clocked. I clear the dalvik cache after every update and clear data/restore with titanium backup whenever necessary.
I'll feel like I've been doing everything correctly, yet I'm still left with a phone that gives me a lot of grief. What's the problem here? How can I fix this? This is extremely frustrating with no obvious solution.

I had a lot of problems with the nexus s... Now i have a galaxy sii, but i still have the nexus. Using the nscollab, i had a looooot of problems, now the phone are with the stock 2.3.4, in my tests, everything is fine. I will sell it now.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

I don't know what kernel that rom uses but that and settings on voltages make the whole difference in stability. Something like stock rom with stock kernel or cm7 with stock or netatchys kernel are always good choices and will give you stability.
Just IMHO
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

mariosergio2112, how much do you expect to get from selling it?
I believe NSCollab is Cm7 with netarchy and the stock gingerbread launcher -- nothing crazy here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=959282
NSCollab 1.0.35
Android : GB 2.3.4
System : CyanogenMod 7.1 [RC1] [CM Team]
Kernel : Netarchy CFS 1.3.4 [Netarchy]

Truth of the matter is that I've yet to come across a ROM that's rock solid. I've tried them all and always had either lots of random reboots, bootloops, or sluggishness.
I went back to stock last Thursday and it's been butter smooth since. No problems or anything of the sort.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

That's both good and bad news. Good news: there's a fix. Bad news: I really like some of CM7's features, but I guess it must go.
I'll give the stock rom a shot I guess.

glasslung said:
That's both good and bad news. Good news: there's a fix. Bad news: I really like some of CM7's features, but I guess it must go.
I'll give the stock rom a shot I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Oxygen ROM is very stable aswell.

i tried several roms, but after all i came back to stock, it is stable and fast.. I do miss many features from cm7, but i guess i can live without it.
currently i'm trying to find a kernel with a battery life as good as stock one... i really miss bln ...

All I'm saying look into your voltage settings. Each phone will work different and you have to play with adjusting them. It also takes some time and patience.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

No matter what rom I use I end up going back to stock. I don't even think the net kernel is good enough.

glasslung said:
mariosergio2112, how much do you expect to get from selling it?
I believe NSCollab is Cm7 with netarchy and the stock gingerbread launcher -- nothing crazy here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=959282
NSCollab 1.0.35
Android : GB 2.3.4
System : CyanogenMod 7.1 [RC1] [CM Team]
Kernel : Netarchy CFS 1.3.4 [Netarchy]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will sell it in brazil, where i live, i think 1000 reais, i dont know yet.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

Vandam500 said:
Truth of the matter is that I've yet to come across a ROM that's rock solid. I've tried them all and always had either lots of random reboots, bootloops, or sluggishness.
I went back to stock last Thursday and it's been butter smooth since. No problems or anything of the sort.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
no ROM I've tried has ever compared to stock, especially 2.3.4, when it comes to stability.
I tried Many ROMs but all before 2.3.4 (end of April?) and none was able to run for more than a few days without some kind of reboot/bootloop etc.
2.3.4 has been running flawlessly ever since.
Current uptime is like 1100+ hrs and that too cause i had to remove battery to change SIM card.

Hi,
I have installed NSCollab 1.0.35 on a week and have not problems on my Nexus S.

To resume, i had some endless bootloop and a lot of reboot on long calls.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

My 2 cents:
I'm on NSCollab 1.0.34, Netharky 1.3.4, KB3, OV to 1.2 Ghz, UV with protonvoltage. Gingerbread 2.3.4
I find this combo much faster than the stock one, smooth and pretty stable. Actually I have some reboots when I stress a lot my device, but they are rare.
So I don't want to renounce to Cyanogen features as the stock rom was really slow IMHO and I will give a try to NSCollab 1.0.35 very soon!
No problems in answering, good radio performance, faster than light (quadrant score: 3600) !! I can survive with a couple of reboot in a week!!

Too much porn?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G

Why don't you people stop confusing CM7 with a stable ROM? CyanogenMod and netarchy kernel are probably the most crappy android software that were ever made.
I suggest you use Oxygen ROM and Jame Bond kernel. No fancy quadrant benchmarks, stock ROM with basic functions like notification power control and text reflow in browser, zipaligned and all that stuff. Delete setcpu, delete juicedefender and other crappy so called battery savers, do not undervolt and do not touch the CPU frequency. Just let the ROM run like it is supposed to, don't fill it with all the bloatware you find on market that is said to increase performance or battery life, all they do is eating system resources.
I have yet to find a better combination like this for the nexus S, I am using the ROM since 3 days now without a single reboot/FC/freeze/bootloop. I am playing order and chaos MMO 2-3 hours and I can go through the full day without problems, the phone is responsive and simply works, no fancy sh*t.

Using the stock, all is fine..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

lvnatic said:
Why don't you people stop confusing CM7 with a stable ROM? CyanogenMod and netarchy kernel are probably the most crappy android software that were ever made.
I suggest you use Oxygen ROM and Jame Bond kernel. No fancy quadrant benchmarks, stock ROM with basic functions like notification power control and text reflow in browser, zipaligned and all that stuff. Delete setcpu, delete juicedefender and other crappy so called battery savers, do not undervolt and do not touch the CPU frequency. Just let the ROM run like it is supposed to, don't fill it with all the bloatware you find on market that is said to increase performance or battery life, all they do is eating system resources.
I have yet to find a better combination like this for the nexus S, I am using the ROM since 3 days now without a single reboot/FC/freeze/bootloop. I am playing order and chaos MMO 2-3 hours and I can go through the full day without problems, the phone is responsive and simply works, no fancy sh*t.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does oxygen rom compare to oxygen rom with james bond kernel? I installed the oxygen rom last night and have had no problems so far. Time will tell how it holds up in the long run.

lvnatic said:
Why don't you people stop confusing CM7 with a stable ROM? CyanogenMod and netarchy kernel are probably the most crappy android software that were ever made.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... if it wasn't for that crap you would have **** for your ROM.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

Best daily driver

I am looking for a rom on this device to flash for a friend. Jb is hot on dev. However haven't seen any rom which could be a daily driver(with good battery backup).
My friend is not a power user and cannot flash roms daily which is y I am looking for a great lightweight from to be used as a daily driver.
Please suggest which roms according to you are most "stable" in your humble opinions.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

Just about anything froyo would be the safest bet for battery/stability and everything working.
I'm currently using axura fish/ryder mod and everything works flawless.

kxlling said:
Just about anything froyo would be the safest bet for battery/stability and everything working.
I'm currently using axura fish/ryder mod and everything works flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I'm with the same Froyo ROM. Everything is just fine.

The latest CM9 is worth a try.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app

Remics (ICS) is a really good ROM. They are currently working on a JB ROM that I'm sure will be great as well. I am running hellybean on both of my devices (daily). Except for GPS,( mine has never worked) it is great. The GPS works flawlessly on my captivate with this ROM. You might have better luck with it. Check hellybean out on dev thread and here is a link to remics ICS.
Here is a DL link for the ICS version: http://billionuploads.com/s5sfwymw536s
Its peanut butter jelly(bean) time...

samsgun357 said:
Remics (ICS) is a really good ROM. They are currently working on a JB ROM that I'm sure will be great as well. I am running hellybean on both of my devices (daily). Except for GPS,( mine has never worked) it is great. The GPS works flawlessly on my captivate with this ROM. You might have better luck with it. Check hellybean out on dev thread and here is a link to remics ICS.
Here is a DL link for the ICS version: http://billionuploads.com/s5sfwymw536s
Its peanut butter jelly(bean) time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will checkout remics as u said... only reason y not cm9 n job is that u need some flashing experience in case u run into problems.. thanks for ur suggestions..
If anyone has other suggestions please do reply back..
I know I can fall back on u guys..
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

Honestly it doesn't matter which ROM you flash, if you read and follow the op, you'll be OK. If not, you could get in a jam.
Its peanut butter jelly(bean) time...

Well having tried every OS version thats come out for vibe (2.1->4.1)...
-Eclair is just a downgrade from our froyo roms,
-Froyo works, batt life is good, theyre stable and the only issue i can find with it is the lack of later OS features, and the speed is somewhat mediocre (tho not slow),
-Gingerbread is FAST, and pretty stable (save for a random reboot once in a while).. my reason for leaving was the battery life; it sucked.
-honeycomb was just experimental lol.
-ICS was beast: stable, fast, feature-full and looooong batt life... then the encryption unsuccessful bug scared me off. If youre not aware of it, look it up cause its pretty serious.
-JB is what im on now and i can say its got everything but stability. It gives me random reboots somewhat often and bugs here and there. Sometimes programs will crash, FB crashes more often than not, and at one point my baseband/imei decided just to go away and i had to reflash during class with 20% battery just to get signal again.
Bottom-line, id stick to froyo if i wrre you, and for the record, im ddowngrading to froyo too when i have time
Sent from my SGH-T959 running 4.1.1

Also not sure if the 911 issues are completely fixed for ICS / GB. (Ive been away for a while)

Safest bet for stability, battery life, and awesome GPS would be a Froyo [2.2 or 2.2.1] ROM.
I successfully used Moped_Ryder's Ez_Ryder Kb5 v2 (this is an older one) for MONTHS, until some idiot (me) changed the lock screen to the one that we were clearly warned about in the first post... After that I tried the Bionix-V FishmanMod V4 - was also awesome. I see there's a Moped_Ryder/Fishman mod'd bi-winning out there now too - that was one of my all time favorites...if it were me flashing for a friend, I'd start by looking at this one...
Now...OP...you said you're doing this for a friend - if I was flashing something for a friend, I'd...probably...pick one of the above, and be done with it. That said...
I recently flashed ICZen (have to go to rootzwiki to get that one) - which was pretty friggin' nice - I have since found a couple other vibrant owners using ICZen as their daily driver...both had someone else flash it for them...and from what I understand, they haven't had a problem yet - but if they do, you know who will be fixing it for them. Read carefully before considering this though.
Then yesterday...I was bored, and decided to try the 9/4 version of Helly Bean...GPS isn't awesome, I can't tell on battery life because I'm playing with my phone 10x as much as usual, but everything else seriously kicks ass. The email app is finally functional enough so I don't have to install touchdown (which isn't a problem...just...would prefer to be able to use the built in apps - personal preference). I'm keeping this one for as long as I can - but I'm also ready to ODIN to stock and/or flash another ROM at the drop of a hat...I wouldn't do this for a someone else...yet...

I have to cast my vote for REM ICS 1.3.1 UX without a doubt the best looking, most customizable, overclockable and snappy-est running rom I've ever used! I am desperately waiting for the iron clad version of their JB one so I am keeping with the ICS one for now. I use NOVA launcher which gives you great scrolling animations that makes my Iphony buds real jealous. It also allows you to customize buttons, switch to 5 x 5 spacing (or higher if you want) grid instead of stock 4 x 4 for icons and widget space, and gives you a scrollable bottom doc and all sorts of other great features.
Couldn't be happier with that combo. Yeah you might still get an occasional force close but they're real rare and always have something to with the 3rd party app. Everything it comes with works like clockwork for me. :good: REM ICS! Oh and it has the most beautiful startup animation!

JB AOKP vs JB Leak

Whats actually better for performance? battery? smoothness?
Thanks!

rommark said:
Whats actually better for performance? battery? smoothness?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery is almost always better with stock, while AOKP seems a lot faster(no touchwiz to slow it down) and smoother. I for one have always been a fan of CM, but lately I have not really felt the urge to go over to CM, as the stock rom comes with a lot more features and is pretty smooth(enable GPU Rendering and HW Composer). The clock, camera, motion controls etc. makes it a lot more difficult to switch over these days, but one should always try it out for oneself before making up one's mind.

I agree, I wanted a phone I could put CM9 or CM10 on but all the Samsung goodies are compelling and I find myself waiting on the next stock leak and not interested in CMx at all.

i wish beats audio would work on JB

I agree with all of the above. I love CM and AOKP and their unique set of features and vanilla goodies, but Samsung have really done a number on the S3! I find myself flashing the latest leaks almost straight away. They've just included so many useful features into the OS that I've become reliant on that, while I certainly prefer the vanilla look and speed, I don't want to sacrifice such genuinely useful features for it.
Except S-Voice of course, Lloyd* only knows what convinced Samsung it was going to be of any use to anyone - didn't they try it for themselves first?
Mind boggling to say the least. I do have to say though, the latest AOKP build looks mighty interesting with its tablet UI feature - wonder if it's done in a similar way to ParanoidAndroid?
*Android Central reference :thumbup:
Sent from me, swiping my fingers across a piece of glass.

The jb leak dli8 is siper fast and smooth. no one aokp/aosp is better. 8/10 transitions are very smooth no crash or freeze at all. no tw redraw.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

CM/AOSP/AOKP roms are always very fast. I flash every kind of these Roms. It would be great port some apk files such as Music player, camera, clock, widgets to work on these roms.

Astore90 said:
The jb leak dli8 is siper fast and smooth. no one aokp/aosp is better. 8/10 transitions are very smooth no crash or freeze at all. no tw redraw.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The latest experimental build from Codeworkx is definitely faster than stock dli8, and smoothness ia pretty much on par. Still a couple of bugs to iron out, but once it gets to a stable release I could see me switching over for good.

With SGS1 and 2 I used CM until ICS leaks come out, since then it is not worth the performance "difference", comparing with what we loose
First thing I do is install GO EX launcher and delete TW

Toss3 said:
The latest experimental build from Codeworkx is definitely faster than stock dli8, and smoothness ia pretty much on par. Still a couple of bugs to iron out, but once it gets to a stable release I could see me switching over for good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do I download Codeworkx ?
Can I upgrade Codeworkx over DLI8 without wipe?
Thanks!

TW launcher is and TW framework are different things. Deleting the seclauncher.apk and using go launcher does not make any difference over the whole rom.

rommark said:
Where do I download Codeworkx ?
Can I upgrade Codeworkx over DLI8 without wipe?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's available in the CM10 thread. I would advise you to read the instructions before flashing CM10, as it is not exactly like flashing a Samsung rom.

yken said:
TW launcher is and TW framework are different things. Deleting the seclauncher.apk and using go launcher does not make any difference over the whole rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does make all the difference, more costumizable, doesnt look like iPhone, etc :victory:

melorib said:
First thing I do is install GO EX launcher and delete TW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you get how this works.

Toss3 said:
Battery is almost always better with stock, while AOKP seems a lot faster(no touchwiz to slow it down) and smoother. I for one have always been a fan of CM, but lately I have not really felt the urge to go over to CM, as the stock rom comes with a lot more features and is pretty smooth(enable GPU Rendering and HW Composer). The clock, camera, motion controls etc. makes it a lot more difficult to switch over these days, but one should always try it out for oneself before making up one's mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldnt agree with you more. Every phone ive had has been flashed with CM... The gs2 benefits from it but i have to say it. Touchwizz and the features of the stock rom ie; pop out play, motion controls, smoothness etc.. There just isnt the need to switch for me.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Im using Omega Rom which keeps all the touchwiz features i want but makes it better than stock. Best of Both!

irish-sid said:
I don't think you get how this works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TW only problem is the interface, before it might impair performanmce too, but now it is not relevant

Kangburra said:
I agree, I wanted a phone I could put CM9 or CM10 on but all the Samsung goodies are compelling and I find myself waiting on the next stock leak and not interested in CMx at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I love Vertimus and Domination Theme! Best of both worlds, for the most part. We just saw a post that said JB 1.3.1 will be showing up sometime this week.

If you want battery, I would recommand using the FoxHound Rom (0.5 now) with Siyah Kernel (included) plus the STweaks Hardcore3boost. That's what I did and my system is still very smooth.

hykhleif said:
i wish beats audio would work on JB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just turn the volume to Max,same with all EQ settings, fill your ears with ground glass and use the cheapest headphones you can find. Viola! The True Beats Experience.

[ROM][4.2.2] CyanogenMod 10.1 stable discussion

There was no opened thread for stable release of CM 10.1, so i opened it. I haven't installed it yet, is there any major bugs? Has RAM management got any better since RC2?

Yes stable version CM10.1.2 is very good try it out!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium

It's very good, i'm testing it right now, very fluid, nice faster animations. I really like new polished CM apps, like Apollo and Trebuchet. cLock and cLock widget are also awesome.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

Ted Mosby said:
It's very good, i'm testing it right now, very fluid, nice faster animations. I really like new polished CM apps, like Apollo and Trebuchet. cLock and cLock widget are also awesome.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Default CM kernel?

Ted Mosby said:
It's very good, i'm testing it right now, very fluid, nice faster animations. I really like new polished CM apps, like Apollo and Trebuchet. cLock and cLock widget are also awesome.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
flash latest devil kernel and u will know what fast is

Yes, default kernel. I am going to try Devil kernel, I have heard numerous recommendations for it. Also I am running this ROM with Greenify like CM10.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

Ted Mosby said:
Yes, default kernel. I am going to try Devil kernel, I have heard numerous recommendations for it. Also I am running this ROM with Greenify like CM10.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can also try marmite for it but if can compromise a bit of battery for awesome performance u can use devil kernel if no then marmite is a good balance between battery and performance

nexususer said:
you can also try marmite for it but if can compromise a bit of battery for awesome performance u can use devil kernel if no then marmite is a good balance between battery and performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm reaching 72 hours uptime mark and RAM manager has started to act up. I occasionally feel lag and unresponsiveness when switching apps. Battery time is very good, 2 hours and 45 minutes of Display time, mostly browsing on low signal 3G (l'm on vacation), That's around what I'm getting on CM10 so it's pretty good for me.
I wish I have stronger Nexus device to run this ROM to it's full potential

Its the best rom ever for the nexus S, for the first time ever I have been able to populate my homescreens with lots and lots of widgets and yet it doesnt lag at all with scrolling. And the atrocious ram usage of the RC roms has been fixed with the stable, I can keep my phone running for a few days without any serious issues. This really gives almost new life to the nexus S just make sure you are using greenify.

Has anyone else not been able to get some apps to connect via 3G with this rom? They all seem to work fine on Wi-Fi, it's just with 3G that I'm having problems.

I experience crashes when playing videos using software decoding in MX player. The nightlies also have this problem.
Sent from my Nexus S

nexususer said:
you can also try marmite for it but if can compromise a bit of battery for awesome performance u can use devil kernel if no then marmite is a good balance between battery and performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One question, if i flash another custom kernel on cm 10.1, will i lose any of my data?

itline said:
One question, if i flash another custom kernel on cm 10.1, will i lose any of my data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no .. but remember to clear dalvik cache before flashing

The stable ROM has exactly the same problems as the previous nightlies (I've installed with full format of cache, data, system, dalvik, whatever):
- after few days it becomes laggish
- unreliable, happends to reboot itself. You can't even get to unlock screen sometimes; it happends even if somebody is calling you and you can't get to answer the phone
- do not use Chrome Browser otherwise it gets even worse
- if you use Swype keyboard the overall performance seems to be worse. With standard Keyboard it gets a little snappier but nothing that could be catalogued as "fine"
- people says it's cool because they keep the rom 1/2 days and then install nightlies or other stuff: when it's fresh from reboot it work fine, lots of free ram
- have more free ram by using Greenify but still the problems don't go away. It's overall heavier than a 4.1.2 (Which for some good reason Google made it as latest release for Nexus S)
- I've tried SlimBean with Thalamus Kernel and it's a little better for some stuff but basically the problems are much similar

Nuclear_Geko said:
The stable ROM has exactly the same problems as the previous nightlies (I've installed with full format of cache, data, system, dalvik, whatever):
- after few days it becomes laggish
- unreliable, happends to reboot itself. You can't even get to unlock screen sometimes; it happends even if somebody is calling you and you can't get to answer the phone
- do not use Chrome Browser otherwise it gets even worse
- if you use Swype keyboard the overall performance seems to be worse. With standard Keyboard it gets a little snappier but nothing that could be catalogued as "fine"
- people says it's cool because they keep the rom 1/2 days and then install nightlies or other stuff: when it's fresh from reboot it work fine, lots of free ram
- have more free ram by using Greenify but still the problems don't go away. It's overall heavier than a 4.1.2 (Which for some good reason Google made it as latest release for Nexus S)
- I've tried SlimBean with Thalamus Kernel and it's a little better for some stuff but basically the problems are much similar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the problem in giving it a reboot every few days? Nexus S has ALWAYS gotten slower even from the gingerbread days if you didnt reboot in ages.
I honestly think you should do a proper clean install because I really dont have that many problems as you say. 4.2.2 is the smoothest the nexus S has ever been, I am even running next launcher very smoothly and redraws are minimum. On 4.1.2 homescreen navigation was quite jittery with widgets and wallpaper scrolling, on 4.2.2 it literally fly's. That alone is enough reason for me to live with the slightly more ram usage.

Gambler_3 said:
What is the problem in giving it a reboot every few days? Nexus S has ALWAYS gotten slower even from the gingerbread days if you didnt reboot in ages.
I honestly think you should do a proper clean install because I really dont have that many problems as you say. 4.2.2 is the smoothest the nexus S has ever been, I am even running next launcher very smoothly and redraws are minimum. On 4.1.2 homescreen navigation was quite jittery with widgets and wallpaper scrolling, on 4.2.2 it literally fly's. That alone is enough reason for me to live with the slightly more ram usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never had these problems with earlier Android. The reboot proves what I'm saying: he can't be reliable for long run since its performances degrade automatically.
If you read what I wrote I said I made a full clean install: wiped data, factory, dalvik, formatted data, formatted system.

Everything running great only problem is the GPS bug with Google Maps after exiting the app & turning off GPS for some reason GPS won't turn off only a reboot fixes it but other than that 10.1.2 stable is really great
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

running it has been really reliable but I do have ram issues even while using greenify... CPU on conservative mode too
is everybody's lock widgets OK? I seem to get a lot of wonkyness with pocketcasts,etc...
Sent from my Nexus 7 2

GODvilla said:
Who can giv me a working CWM recovery.img i tried several but not wrking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you are http://www.mediafire.com/?z9ch7hna57pm5ak

i have it in htc explorer and i cant install play store..besides that it is very good

Custom ROMs - sharing a beginner's experience

As a long time Android user and general nerd, I often hear from some of my friends about new and cool custom ROMs. It ranges from "amazing customization" to "blazing speed" and even "far better than anything stock in general".
So this weekend I decided that since my warranty is no longer valid anyway, and Samsung won't be updating the Galaxy S2 GT-i9100 anymore, I can go ahead and try something new and shiny, which could help me with my job.
And thus began my research and tests on Android custom ROMs...and oh boy, that was one hell of an experience.
Everything I heard from people about nearly everything was shattered right then and there.
As a reasonable person, I decided to try some of the more popular ROMs, trying to stick as much as possible to stable builds since everyday use is a big deal for me. So now I present to you, my experience with what I was told are the top-dogs of the custom ROM world and my impressions of each:
Omni 4.4.2
This one actually surprised me in terms of it's video driver. As some might know, a bunch of Gameloft published games always show washed out colors on the Galaxy S2, but when used, this ROM showed the correct colors...quite shocking! ...however, it turned out to be highly unstable with apps crashing left and right all the time and often for no real reason. This ROM is not really advertised as "stable" so I guess that was understandable, so I decided to move on.
MIUI v5
This ROM was just impressive. I absolutely love the UI (and I didn't even try the customization stuff, yet I say that!). It seemed really stable and I almost decided to stick with it...until I found out that 3 apps in particular I very much rely on don't work properly or at all (overlay issues it seems). This got me really disappointed but I figured functionality is more important than looks so once again, I decided to move on.
CyanogenMod 10.3.1
This might be the biggest disappointment for all the wrong reasons. The buildup and hype I got from people about it created in my head "the ultimate ROM"...but after installing it and doing some tests...I have to say, the performance difference was just barely noticeable and i all honesty, not worth the trade for the bugs it also brings (although if it had the video driver from Omni I would've changed my mind). I really wanted to do a fair judgement since I know this is the top-dog of ROMs (or at least in popularity) so I even ran tests on it...and in games, the framerate difference between stock and CM10.3 was just 2-5fps.
Resurrection Remix 4.0.7
This was...let me just say it out loud - the installation for this ROM should be a standard - just incorporate some stuff and have people chose what to get or don't get. Having stock stuff and then 10 additional flashable ZIPs while not really a big issue is just a time-waster for a lot of people in my eyes (although it would've been nice to know more about the modems when it asks you for a choice). Anyway, this ROM's keyboard just refused to work so I got rid of it after 2 flashes.
ReVolt JB 4.5
...keyboard didn't work on this one again, and after another 2 flash attempts, I scrapped it aswell.
At this point I pretty much just gave up and went back to the Samsung stock ROM for my region and was left with an empty feeling that custom ROMs all seem to have at least one or more huge flaws.
All the buildup and "legends" (lacking a better term) weren't even close to what I experienced (except the MIUI...well, UI) and it got me thinking...are custom ROMs meant for everyday users or they were always aimed at people willing to experiment? Personally, I decided that my journey through the custom ROM world has ended here at least for the time being (maybe someday I'll go back to MIUI but who knows), but I wanted to ask, does anyone feel the same way I do? That custom ROMs, while a really cool thing to be able to have is getting overhyped to the point where unless you really know what you're getting into will lead to just disappointment?
I would really like to hear other people's views on this, especially if you're not an expert user.

NeatROM rulez, give it a try.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app

I'm using slimbean 2.2. It's seems better them any other ROM.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Resurrection Remix 4.0.7 worked fine for me. the only problem is the System UI that usually crashes when you messed up on something and it really need some reboot for that. ☺
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Well, with custom roms comes both bugs and extended capacities.
First of all, having a rooted phone gives a lot of new possibilities.
Besides, custom roms give new content, like the latest android updates, which the constructors take time to port to their devices.
At last but not least, custom ROMs often let you.. customize as much as thou wish
I'm personally using Cyanfox (android 4.4), and I'm pretty happy about it
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app

You schould try another 4.4.2 custom roms for egz pound rom(the best for me) or beanstalk which is good too
Wysłane z mojego GT-I9100 przy użyciu Tapatalka

warpgamer said:
Well, with custom roms comes both bugs and extended capacities.
First of all, having a rooted phone gives a lot of new possibilities.
Besides, custom roms give new content, like the latest android updates, which the constructors take time to port to their devices.
At last but not least, custom ROMs often let you.. customize as much as thou wish
I'm personally using Cyanfox (android 4.4), and I'm pretty happy about it
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually just root my stock ROM with the SuperSU flashable ZIP-thingie...though I only need it for a firewall ^-^;;
But to me one of the biggest deal-breakers is how all the ROMs I did like don't support MHL (if only MIUI was capable of that )

Since the warranty is gone i'm trying a bunch of roms to sede what nave to offer. So far i've only tried the omnirom and it's pretty good to me, except some minor bugs.
In my opinion you've to choose a stabile ROM if you don't want any problems

im using cm10.1 stable linaro build most nearly perfect rom for me.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

iobling said:
Since the warranty is gone i'm trying a bunch of roms to sede what nave to offer. So far i've only tried the omnirom and it's pretty good to me, except some minor bugs.
In my opinion you've to choose a stabile ROM if you don't want any problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dredremon said:
im using cm10.1 stable linaro build most nearly perfect rom for me.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's kind'a the thing, CM 10.3.1 is the one shown as stable and it seems to be...but it's missing features that the stock ROMs offer, and the performance difference is pretty much not noticeable enough to justify it for me.
All the ROMs except Omni were shown as "stable" but as i mentioned in my first post, all seem to have at least 1 big issue.
As a side question...I heard the newest version of MIUI actually had MHL/TV-out support on the S2...anyone know if that's true?

Dorimanx anybody ... ?

I only use my phone for basic stuff.So I just use a stock rom with a custom kernel.That way, everything works and I dont have to read 2000 posts to see what problems to expect.

Stock CM kernel isn't all that great IMO , Try coupling Dorimanx's kernel with CM or any other ROM... Adds a lot of power features with stability. stock Sammy Roms feel very caged and unoptimized thus the need for custom builds. Give it time... It grows on you eventually.
Just my 2cents

theunderling said:
I only use my phone for basic stuff.So I just use a stock rom with a custom kernel.That way, everything works and I dont have to read 2000 posts to see what problems to expect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After 2 years of trying to find a custom ROM that doesn't have one show-topping bug, I feel bad for not just staying with a nicely optimized stock ROM with a tweaked kernel that is 100% dependable when I need it.
So, +1 :good:

Well, I only recently got the S2. Before my S2, I've owned an HTC One V. The stock ROM on that thing was just a mess. It came with 4.0.4 ICS and... you guessed it... no update to JB. So I installed a custom ROM on that one... it improved nearly everything.
So, from my experiences with that device, I thought I could flash the S2 and get the same experience. And... well, not really. I have tried so many ROMs...
The AOSP based ROMs either drain battery like hell or have any other bug which is so impacting that I can't deal with it. For example, the Audio 50% bug. Just one word: Annoying.
SO, I could stay with a Samsung stock ROM, but well, that won't be an option for me. Why not? Simple, on the stock rom, using my phone for an hour, literally ONE HOUR, the thing is completely dead. Battery empty. The only stock rom which gives me two and half an hour of screen on time is the 2.3.3 GB stock. And well, that's a bit old nowadays.
The by far best combination for power, speed, stability and battery life for me is CM10.1 stable with the DorimanX 9.14 kernel. I've tried it once and I find myself going back to it pretty much everytime I flashed any ROM I do not like.
Currently I'm on CM11 unofficial nightly, tomorrow I will see for how long my battery can last. I know, my battery is probably broken, but it's not thicker than normal or something like that. It just drains and I have no idea why.

DerGraf1997 said:
Well, I only recently got the S2. Before my S2, I've owned an HTC One V. The stock ROM on that thing was just a mess. It came with 4.0.4 ICS and... you guessed it... no update to JB. So I installed a custom ROM on that one... it improved nearly everything.
So, from my experiences with that device, I thought I could flash the S2 and get the same experience. And... well, not really. I have tried so many ROMs...
The AOSP based ROMs either drain battery like hell or have any other bug which is so impacting that I can't deal with it. For example, the Audio 50% bug. Just one word: Annoying.
SO, I could stay with a Samsung stock ROM, but well, that won't be an option for me. Why not? Simple, on the stock rom, using my phone for an hour, literally ONE HOUR, the thing is completely dead. Battery empty. The only stock rom which gives me two and half an hour of screen on time is the 2.3.3 GB stock. And well, that's a bit old nowadays.
The by far best combination for power, speed, stability and battery life for me is CM10.1 stable with the DorimanX 9.14 kernel. I've tried it once and I find myself going back to it pretty much everytime I flashed any ROM I do not like.
Currently I'm on CM11 unofficial nightly, tomorrow I will see for how long my battery can last. I know, my battery is probably broken, but it's not thicker than normal or something like that. It just drains and I have no idea why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get up to 14 days with my battery if it's just on Standby [no actual use] and up to a full day if I play some games on it with the Stock ROM.
Also I wanted to mention that I tried DorimanX 8.43 earlier today and my god, my phone became unstable as hell [still on a stock ROM]...odd.
But yeah, you might want to get a new battery if you get less than 16 hours battery life

Hello. I want share my experience. I moved from stock because i want try 4.2 new features, specially widget on lockscreen.
I first tryied cm 10.2 but battery drained quickly and gaming was so sloooow.I tryied then cm10.2 linaro but experienced 4-5 reboot a day. Now I'm back on cm10.2 hoping that the guy working on exynos drivers will bring good news. In the meanwhile I will try gustavo or apolo kernel that seems the most stable kernels
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app

Waiting S4 UI port into i9100G ...

I have found only 2-3 Roms that can be used
I can say that i have installed allmost all posible ROMs. For me every rom whit verson of android above 4.1.2 just didn't work ( i have SD CARD problems in most of the ROM's in other i have encored camera problems or bootloops ) The only ROM working realy good is snapdragon and s4fors2 .
IF ANY ONE KHNOWS HOW TO SOLVE MY SD-CARD PROBLEMS ON ANY ROM WITH ANDROID VERSION ABOVE 4.1.2 PM me PLS

CyanFox Rom is the most stable and worked for me as well. Give it a try!!
For Battery Backup, maybe you can use Voltage Control Pro App, Underclock to 1 GHZ if you are not a hardcore gamer. You can also decrease voltage,more Options over mv are also available in Pro Version, Decreasing Voltage will help lower power consumption of CPU.
You can also install Siyah Latest Kernel and do all of this using S-Tweaks!
Thanks!
@hellco what exactly is your sd card problem?? Can you elaborate??