Database Users

[Q] Nexus 4 Custom Kernel Help

Hi, I am a recent iPhone convert thanks to the Nexus 4. So obviously I am new to rooting, custom ROMS, and custom kernels. I am currently rooted and am running a recent CM 10.1 nightly. However, battery life isn't all that great.
A friend of mine told me that a custom kernel can drastically improve battery life without hurting performance. So here I am hoping that someone can help me. Can anyone recommend a good kernel that will improve battery life without hurting speed?
Also, what are the steps for installing a custom kernel? What about going back to stock in case I have to send my phone in for an RMA or something like that? Is that easy to do?
Thanks in advance for the help!

Try Franco or Harsh or trinity .
Custom kernels are more about under clocking a few things here and there to get best balance between performance and battery life thats and some tweaks which are generally inbuilt .
But tbh not all phone's are same what works for me and few others might not fetch u the same results, i've experienced this over my previous nexus device .
Some combo of ROM/kernel might work for u and not so well for other's i would say try out all the main stream kernels and some more if your'e feeling epxerimental give each kernel 2 to 5 days and see which u like the best.
Personally i've had good results with harsh kernel and franco and trinity .

berz said:
Try Franco or Harsh or trinity .
Custom kernels are more about under clocking a few things here and there to get best balance between performance and battery life thats and some tweaks which are generally inbuilt .
But tbh not all phone's are same what works for me and few others might not fetch u the same results, i've experienced this over my previous nexus device .
Some combo of ROM/kernel might work for u and not so well for other's i would say try out all the main stream kernels and some more if your'e feeling epxerimental give each kernel 2 to 5 days and see which u like the best.
Personally i've had good results with harsh kernel and franco and trinity .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have one that you would suggest for a first time newbie? Also, what is the process for installing it and potentially uninstalling it back to stock?

Everything is easy to do. AS LONG AS YOU READ FIRST before doing anything You can start by reading the guides found here in the Nexus 4 General thread.
So far, the best for both performance and battery for me is Trinity kernel.
By the way, to install a custom kernel:
1. Install proper drivers for nexus 4 in your pc.
2. Unlock your bootloader.
3. Install custom recovery like CWM or TWRP Recovery
4. Start flashing your choice of kernels!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

wtfshouldidonow said:
Everything is easy to do. AS LONG AS YOU READ FIRST before doing anything You can start by reading the guides found here in the Nexus 4 General thread.
So far, the best for both performance and battery for me is Trinity kernel.
By the way, to install a custom kernel:
1. Install proper drivers for nexus 4 in your pc.
2. Unlock your bootloader.
3. Install custom recovery like CWM or TWRP Recovery
4. Start flashing your choice of kernels!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice! I am currently using CWM and have an unlocked boot loader. Is it as simple as downloading a zip, going into recovery, and installing the zip from "sd card"? If so, where can I find the zip for trinity? And how can I go back to stock in case something goes wrong?

There are post on xda and you could Google it. Just download it on your nexus and flash it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

strausd said:
Thanks for the advice! I am currently using CWM and have an unlocked boot loader. Is it as simple as downloading a zip, going into recovery, and installing the zip from "sd card"? If so, where can I find the zip for trinity? And how can I go back to stock in case something goes wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to be always safe and sure, then BEFORE flashing anything, go to CWM, choose backup and restore, then choose backup. That is called a nandroid backup. It might take a long time depending on how much apps you have. After the nandroid backup takes place, then you're free to flash the zip for trinity that you've downloaded.
I also suggest that you do backups often and delete old ones (you can delete old backups in the "backups and restore" part of CWM). So that incase anything goes wrong when you flash something, just go back to recovery mode, then restore your latest backup and you can undo your wrongs
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

wtfshouldidonow said:
If you want to be always safe and sure, then BEFORE flashing anything, go to CWM, choose backup and restore, then choose backup. That is called a nandroid backup. It might take a long time depending on how much apps you have. After the nandroid backup takes place, then you're free to flash the zip for trinity that you've downloaded.
I also suggest that you do backups often and delete old ones (you can delete old backups in the "backups and restore" part of CWM). So that incase anything goes wrong when you flash something, just go back to recovery mode, then restore your latest backup and you can undo your wrongs
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So nandroid backups also backup the kernel?

strausd said:
So nandroid backups also backup the kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bump. i also need to know the answer to this question.
EDIT: nvm found my answer, it backups the kernel too.
admins can delete this

imeem said:
bump. i also need to know the answer to this question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nandroid backs up everything. it basically takes a snapshot of the state your device is in when you back it up, then restored your phone to exactly how it was before the backup.

Coming from HTC One S (and a whole lot of HTC family before that) and not having to deal with S-Off dilemma is a whole new free world for me (you can say i am institutionalized).
If I want to flash a rom and not the kernel included in it, can I just remove the boot.img file from the rom's zip and flash it? Or is that not a good idea?

justthefacts said:
Coming from HTC One S (and a whole lot of HTC family before that) and not having to deal with S-Off dilemma is a whole new free world for me (you can say i am institutionalized).
If I want to flash a rom and not the kernel included in it, can I just remove the boot.img file from the rom's zip and flash it? Or is that not a good idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. you need to flash the whole zip. without a kernel, your device is an expensive brick. the kernel control pretty much everything and connects the hardware to the software. you can always flash another kernel after flashing the rom zip.

simms22 said:
no. you need to flash the whole zip. without a kernel, your device is an expensive brick. the kernel control pretty much everything and connects the hardware to the software. you can always flash another kernel after flashing the rom zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply.
Are all kernels pretty much compatible with all roms?

justthefacts said:
Thanks for the reply.
Are all kernels pretty much compatible with all roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all nexus 4 kernels are compatible with all nexus 4 roms. if you flash a non nexus 4 kernel onto your nexus, you will most likely brick it.

Sounds great. This will be my first Nexus experience. Love this forum already. A very mature crowd.

Updating to 4.3 when on custom ROM

Hello! It is possible to update from 4.2.2 to 4.3 if you are using CM10.1 for example, right? But why do so many people want to update through fastboot when there is a recovery flashable zip?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

i didnt go through all the hastle.. i dirty flashed(flashed in recovery without wiping anything) aosp 4.3 over rasbean jelly rom 4.2.2, without a single issue. didnt have to wipe, didnt have to re set everything up. it took just about 3-4 minutes to go from 4.2.2 to 4.3. but, id make a nandroid backup just in case things do go wrong.

simms22 said:
i didnt go through all the hastle.. i dirty flashed(flashed in recovery without wiping anything) aosp 4.3 over rasbean jelly rom 4.2.2, without a single issue. didnt have to wipe, didnt have to re set everything up. it took just about 3-4 minutes to go from 4.2.2 to 4.3. but, id make a nandroid backup just in case things do go wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I indeed thought that was possible, but why do so many people struggle and really want to flash through fastboot?
But I'm glad to know you can just update in recovery, so I will do that with the next update as well.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Thibaultvw said:
Yeah I indeed thought that was possible, but why do so many people struggle and really want to flash through fastboot?
But I'm glad to know you can just update in recovery, so I will do that with the next update as well.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
too many people just dont know, they do what they are told. anyways, flashing the factory img in fastboot is probably the "cleanest" way to update. but as you can see, all these people that are doing it, and still reporting many issues. im completely issue free here, and havent lost any of my previous data

wake up delay

hy
when im pressing the power button the screen wakes up only after 3-5 seconds
any one know why?
its a 4.3 android on 16 gb nexus 4
thenks

yoave said:
hy
when im pressing the power button the screen wakes up only after 3-5 seconds
any one know why?
its a 4.3 android on 16 gb nexus 4
thenks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It takes some time for the CPU to exit deep sleep. Are you on the stock kernel?

abaaaabbbb63 said:
It takes some time for the CPU to exit deep sleep. Are you on the stock kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry i dont know what is stock kernel
but i didnt changed the rom

yoave said:
sorry i dont know what is stock kernel
but i didnt changed the rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so you are on the stock kernel. Usually, installing a custom ROM helps with response time, due to tweaks. Try reading this, maybe it helps you understand:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2367406

Try to use custom kernels it should help not just for the waking up but also the over all response of the device. There are really good custom kernels out there, Matr1x, Franco, Hell's Core, AK, and so on.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

krjadejesus said:
Try to use custom kernels it should help not just for the waking up but also the over all response of the device. There are really good custom kernels out there, Matr1x, Franco, Hell's Core, AK, and so on.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thenks all
but i dont want to replace the rom yet
its still very slow and its happend today

yoave said:
thenks all
but i dont want to replace the rom yet
its still very slow and its happend today
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not? What are you waiting for?

Lets be honest here guys he was unsure what a stock kernel is and does not want to replace his rom on a phone made to have its rom replaced. This is one you leave alone so he does not do any damage to his phone.
OP the best thing I can suggest at this moment that may help you is to factory reset your phone and start from scratch. Maybe some corrupt files from all the installing apps and deleting them. This is probably the only suggestion outside of rooting it and joining the rest of us in flashing rehab....

playya said:
Lets be honest here guys he was unsure what a stock kernel is and does not want to replace his rom on a phone made to have its rom replaced. This is one you leave alone so he does not do any damage to his phone.
OP the best thing I can suggest at this moment that may help you is to factory reset your phone and start from scratch. Maybe some corrupt files from all the installing apps and deleting them. This is probably the only suggestion outside of rooting it and joining the rest of us in flashing rehab....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said. +1 on the factory reset.
OP, if you ever decide to root and flash don't use a toolkit. Read up on using fastboot to unlock your bootloader and flash a custom recovery. That will get you on the right path to fixing your phone quickly, should you ever run into an issue.

Possible and weird solution was the flip magnetic cover case i removed the magnet and the problem is fix for now
Thenks all till ill root

[Q] New g2 (vs980) user. Feel me in!

Okay im coming from 2 awesome years as a gnex user to the g2, which so far i LOVE! I bought it used and it was on latest ota so i rooted using the latest ioroot and flashed twrp using freegee and i want to mess around with roms but i keep seeing things talking about Loki this and that and brick here and there. So i would like to know what steps are needed to flash Mallidus rom since im liking stock for now and all of this talk is foreign to me being a nexus user ..everything was easy on it..

ANTLAY said:
Okay im coming from 2 awesome years as a gnex user to the g2, which so far i LOVE! I bought it used and it was on latest ota so i rooted using the latest ioroot and flashed twrp using freegee and i want to mess around with roms but i keep seeing things talking about Loki this and that and brick here and there. So i would like to know what steps are needed to flash Mallidus rom since im liking stock for now and all of this talk is foreign to me being a nexus user ..everything was easy on it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just root and install Xposed installer, that is all
Modules I use:

Any help for hotspot hack if I stay stock?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

If you flashed a proper lokified recovery everything is pretty much the same as the gnex. Format system, data, and cache. Then flash whatever rom you want. It's also a good idea to backup your EFS partition. There is a flashable zip in the development section that will make a zip of those partitions.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using xda app-developers app

**** Ripple said:
If you flashed a proper lokified recovery everything is pretty much the same as the gnex. Format system, data, and cache. Then flash whatever rom you want. It's also a good idea to backup your EFS partition. There is a flashable zip in the development section that will make a zip of those partitions.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to that there should be a option in my version of twrp, I think it was like 2.6.3.3 also there is a option in freegee to backup efs. .in quick terms what exactly is it for and place it on pc for a just in case?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Also you mentioned "properly lokified recovery" how can I confirm this?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

What ever you dont whipe internal data
Sent from my LG-LS980 using xda premium

mchlbenner said:
What ever you dont whipe internal data
Sent from my LG-LS980 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol thanks
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

ANTLAY said:
Any help for hotspot hack if I stay stock?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45868740 .
Also, I've gone back and forth a lot between stock recovery and custom. I have had some poor luck flashing some mods. I am currently running rooted with stock recovery and don't miss a thing. I use g2 xposed for tweaks and have added a number of mods manually (hotspot, lg browser that works in qslide, split window). For mods that flash in recovery i have had a lot of success opening the zip, reading the update script and performing the actions manually (for split window i downloaded an app for build.prop modding). No regrets. I also found that i can perform the factory reset and don't lose any of the permanent mods I made (i.e. non g2 xposed mods). Didn't even lose root (superuser app in system\app).
I've noticed a lot of former gnex users jumped to the g2 (myself included). Must be that 2 year upgrade cycle. I loved (and still have) my gnex, but this phone blows it out of the water (the screen alone... amoled what?).
Good luck and enjoy!
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info, and I feel you on the love for the gnex but man it just has nothing on this phone...at all really, although I will say it spoiled me in the flashing dept,I don't think I ever checked a single md5 the whole time I had it. I never used xposed on the gnex so forgive me..but what would be something I'd want to possibly change through the g2 xposed module?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Also is it safe (if I ever decided to) reboot into twrp and wipe cache/dalvik on stock rom?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

ANTLAY said:
Also is it safe (if I ever decided to) reboot into twrp and wipe cache/dalvik on stock rom?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's safe. A few times i ended up with the persistent "android is upgrading" message on every boot, but I'm pretty sure that was more from the mods i was trying. Really bad luck with flashing, can't tell you how many times i perform the Verizon return to stock procedure. Thought i actually bricked it once, but saved it. You are right about the gnex, unbrickable. I kept it as my insurance in case I ever actually brick this (they even have a fully functioning kitkat for it free of graphics glitches).
As far as g2 xposed, it can modify most anything you could want to, not to mention there are other mods for the xposed framework. I also never knew about it before my g2. You can modify the nav bar (height, # buttons, assign buttons, color, glow, get rid of it), modify the status bar (hide system icons, prevent certain notifications, change time/date format) and many other things. Costs $1 for all the features (worth it), free for some. A new version was just uploaded to the play store today. If you just install it, it will walk you through getting the xposed framework.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

The first part of your post alone makes me want to leave it alone, lol I'll probably do the hotspot mod and be done for the time being, lol
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

ANTLAY said:
The first part of your post alone makes me want to leave it alone, lol I'll probably do the hotspot mod and be done for the time being, lol
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, reading it again it does sound pretty bad. Just so you know, i was trying to keep with the stock os (not even a custom rom based on the stock os). I think you are fine if the very first thing you flash is a custom rom.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

I came from a long line of Nexus devices and the stock rom is awesome FWIW.
Just root and install Xposed G2 Settings. Change the DPI from 480 > 400 too. Much better.

im taking the leap to g2 tomorrow from my current gnex i still didnt quiet understand this "lokified" term. so lokified is a kernel/rom that we can flash ? is there anything called unlockified or nonlockified ? im a little lost, plz assist me if its not so much trouble

shriom_manerker said:
im taking the leap to g2 tomorrow from my current gnex i still didnt quiet understand this "lokified" term. so lokified is a kernel/rom that we can flash ? is there anything called unlockified or nonlockified ? im a little lost, plz assist me if its not so much trouble
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Loki is just the hack used to root I think. Its a script that does the work on your device. I think we need Loki enabled recoveries that can use and utilize the script.
I came from a Galaxy Nexus too. Its a tad different, since you root first, then install recovery. Root requires running a bat file from your PC where it copies the Loki script. Recovery is downloaded and flashed with FreeGee from the Play Store.
But honestly, like I said before, the stock ROM is pretty amazing. Gots lots of bells and whistles no found on AOSP ROMs. If I flashed anything it would be a Flex ROM only because its like Stock+.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

player911 said:
Loki is just the hack used to root I think. Its a script that does the work on your device. I think we need Loki enabled recoveries that can use and utilize the script.
I came from a Galaxy Nexus too. Its a tad different, since you root first, then install recovery. Root requires running a bat file from your PC where it copies the Loki script. Recovery is downloaded and flashed with FreeGee from the Play Store.
But honestly, like I said before, the stock ROM is pretty amazing. Gots lots of bells and whistles no found on AOSP ROMs. If I flashed anything it would be a Flex ROM only because its like Stock+.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh good to have people from gnex here , thanks for the explanation. so basically after we root a script (loki thing) is stored in the phone somewhere which allows flashing of roms ! correct? , seems like i gotta read up. post any links if possible im going through the general section and the d802 section as well

You new guys coming over (that's funny, I haven't had the phone a week yet) need to give the stock ROM a chance. Run it rooted so you've got the access and capabilities, install G2 Xposed at a minimum, and go from there. I came from a Rezound I had running CleanRom and pretty heavily tweaked to my liking. The ONLY things I've done to my G2 since getting it on Sunday were to Root, Selectively Debloat, Install G2 Xposed and tweak, and install Apex Launcher because I like having the multipage scrollable lower dock, and if you use G2 Xposed to shorten the height of the navbar, you get an unsightly gap between the navbar and dock unless you use a different than stock launcher.
Doing all the above, the ONLY thing I've lost is the stock pinch out to show the desktop feature. Not a big loss. I had to install screen locker and set double tap in Apex to lock the screen so it still functions exactly as knock off, and knock on was unaffected.
I see absolutely no reason to install a custom rom unless you absolutely MUST have Kit Kat. Most of the aftermarket ROM's I've seen have a "what doesn't work" list. I'd rather have it all work.

ROM and clockwork question

hey everyone, Im a newbie when It comes to roms and flashing, I currently have clockwork mod and stock 4.4.4 and wanted to ask will I get the official lollipop? Even if I have clockwork mod? But stock KitKat? Thank you for reading

michalziom29 said:
hey everyone, Im a newbie when It comes to roms and flashing, I currently have clockwork mod and stock 4.4.4 and wanted to ask will I get the official lollipop? Even if I have clockwork mod? But stock KitKat? Thank you for reading
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as i know, and that can be wrong, if your android is untouched (no root or anything else (like xposes framwork)) you will get the update over the air.
BUT if you don't there are factory images that you can download and flash your phone quite easily
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/general/how-to-how-to-flash-factory-image-t2010312
or a toolkit to do it automatically
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/general/how-to-how-to-flash-factory-image-t2010312
i would recommend to do it with the first method. if something goes wrong you will know what is it and you can ask for help. with the toolkit if something goes wrong things are more complicated to find the error.
P.S. if you decide installing the factory images via console (first option), it is highly recommended to read the entire process first and after do the procedure.

My phone is rooted, but i dont have any custom ROMs or framework , will this affect it? Or when I get the update my root will simply be gone?

michalziom29 said:
My phone is rooted, but i dont have any custom ROMs or framework , will this affect it? Or when I get the update my root will simply be gone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll lose root and the custom recovery with the ota. But if you haven't modified / deleted any system files you should get the ota.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

I've searched some threads and some said you don't get ota if you have clockwork mod (I have it) and I really don't know what to do...should I go back to stock? I'm not good with that stuff and afraid I will brick it, any ideas or advice?

michalziom29 said:
I've searched some threads and some said you don't get ota if you have clockwork mod (I have it) and I really don't know what to do...should I go back to stock? I'm not good with that stuff and afraid I will brick it, any ideas or advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be ok. If you're really worried about cwm you could flash the stock recovery image in fastboot. But I wouldn't unless the ota fails, which it shouldn't
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Thank you one more question, will I still get ota notification ? As in, it might fail but will I still receive like I would normally?

michalziom29 said:
Thank you one more question, will I still get ota notification ? As in, it might fail but will I still receive like I would normally?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you'll get it and it will download
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Thank you, I was happy that android L is so close but then I saw people say those with clockwork won't get it, thank you for the answers and clearing it up!

michalziom29 said:
Thank you, I was happy that android L is so close but then I saw people say those with clockwork won't get it, thank you for the answers and clearing it up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Do you by any chance know if android L Is releasing today? I've heard many people say Nov 3 rd for nexus devices

michalziom29 said:
Do you by any chance know if android L Is releasing today? I've heard many people say Nov 3 rd for nexus devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you'll see it in the next couple of weeks, not today. The n4 may be even longer
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Alright, thank you again for clearing things up!

It's also worth noting that Google pushes update at different times depending on which area you live in, so even if you read on the news that Lollypop is released on the Nexus 4, it may take a while for your phone to receive the OTA.

Personally, I advice you to install TWRP recovery, its safe and easy to install kernels and roms