Database Users

[Q] Have I bought the wrong phone?

hi guys,
my samsung galaxy s2 has been giving me a lot of problems lately (signal issues and cracked screen). I couldn't afford the latest handset, so after reading up lots of reviews about google nexus 4, I bought it from ebay.
The phone is most definitely fast (Android 4.3), but many odd features to give you easy access are missing...I assume this is because it's a stock rom?
I want the theme/menus of the phone to look similar a samsung galaxy s2/s3/s4. Is there a way of doing this without flashing a totally new rom to it?
Thank you for your help

To get a full samsung experience such as in setting/laucher/etc to work you need to have samsung framework..which is a lot of work. You can try and search around the forum but I don't think anyone here bought the phone for samsung experience. The best you can do is apply touchwiz theme but that requires you to flash custom roms. For tw launcher you can try this here. Just search around and you'll definitely find something you can use.

Thank you for your quick reply arffrhn.
I don't want to flash a custom rom...at least not for a while. I think I might have described it wrong mate as I don't want touchwiz.
Let me start again....The samsung s2 that I have is running on a custom rom called neatrom....Have you heard of it? I really like it's style as it's very simple and looks cool with colours and dialpad.
But instead of putting on a custom rom, Is there a theme that I can use so that I can change the dialpad style/colour and menu looks etc?

You can try xposed framework and try out some themes. That's the best way to customize your phone without flashing any roms imo.

Try Paranoid Android or carbon custom rom; it comes with lots of tweaks and custom features.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Try a custom ROM and take your conclusions.
I've had a galaxy s2 and my Nexus 4 is better in so many ways

[Q] Switch my G3 for S4?

So i bought a LG G3. And i hoped that it would be open for roms and so on. But It's not. Totally locked Down. At least the international Version.
And my girlfriend has a S4. So.. I have thouht about maybe trading With her. So i could install custom roms and have some fun et cetra.
But Im not sure yet. Seeing the hardware is somewhat different i cant make up my mind.
So I'm asking here. Would it be a worthy trade?
Or would it totally blow?
I know the S5 is out and everything. But I dont need that extra. And dont want to buy another phone really.
So Thoughts?

Don't
I am just stating my personal preference, although I think many people would tell you the same.
Keep your LG G3. I have a Galaxy S4 and I have experimented with some popular roms and kernels. It is fun and you discover a lot of interesting features specific to some roms. But you know what? Now I'm back to a near-stock ROM called hyperdrive, and if I want to go back to stock, I would do it without hesitation. You see...Samsung manufactures my Galaxy S4, and develops the software specifically for it. LG manufactures your LG G3, and develops the software for that specific device. So, in most cases, the stock ROM is the perfect one for your device, and OEMs(Samsung, LG) provide you with content that can only run on your ROM. In my case, the custom ROMs had awesome features, but the also had bugs no matter how long i waited, and the photos I took were not that great compared to the stock ROM. Besides, when I am on the stock ROM I can run a program by Samsung called SideSync which mirrors my device's screen onto my non-Samsung PC, pretty awesome right? In addition, the Galaxy S4 is not as nearly good-looking, premium, and feature-packed as your LG G3.
So I suggest you keep your G3, but root it(in case you haven't yet) and install some xposed modules which are going to give you more features than you need. That is what I would do.
It won't be a worthy trade. It would totally blow.

I agree and furthermore, G3 is really powerfull, much more than S4 and its camera is far better.
After all S4 is last year model and can be compared to G2 not to G3.
Also price is very different, G3 about 600€ when I just bought my S4 for 298€!!!
This said, S4 is a GREAT device, but G3 is far better. Keep it

Zheen said:
I am just stating my personal preference, although I think many people would tell you the same.
Keep your LG G3. I have a Galaxy S4 and I have experimented with some popular roms and kernels. It is fun and you discover a lot of interesting features specific to some roms. But you know what? Now I'm back to a near-stock ROM called hyperdrive, and if I want to go back to stock, I would do it without hesitation. You see...Samsung manufactures my Galaxy S4, and develops the software specifically for it. LG manufactures your LG G3, and develops the software for that specific device. So, in most cases, the stock ROM is the perfect one for your device, and OEMs(Samsung, LG) provide you with content that can only run on your ROM. In my case, the custom ROMs had awesome features, but the also had bugs no matter how long i waited, and the photos I took were not that great compared to the stock ROM. Besides, when I am on the stock ROM I can run a program by Samsung called SideSync which mirrors my device's screen onto my non-Samsung PC, pretty awesome right? In addition, the Galaxy S4 is not as nearly good-looking, premium, and feature-packed as your LG G3.
So I suggest you keep your G3, but root it(in case you haven't yet) and install some xposed modules which are going to give you more features than you need. That is what I would do.
It won't be a worthy trade. It would totally blow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to somewhat disagree with that. I could never get myself to like Samsung's TouchWiz. Instead, I've now been running CM11 for a while, and I could not be happier. That said, if I had the choice, I would also have kept the G3. It's not always that easy to find a custom ROM that you would be willing to stick with in the long run, and like Zheen said, you can now get many of the advantages previously only found in custom ROMs using xposed. Not to mention the improved hardware the G3 has over the S4.
Lastly, there is also always a (tiny) chance the G3 community might after some time find a way to bypass the locked bootloader (Loki & etc). After all, this has happened to other popular models before.

keep your G3 , before or after Handy custom roms , it's a very new model so be patient with him. besides , it's a real missile, no ?? you want most ???

[Q] S5 vs. S5+ - Custom Rom support (Cyanogen)

Hi all,
I ordered a S5 and got the smartphone yesterday. However, I was suprised that it actually is a S5+ (G901F).
My first reaction was: Nice, I even got more than I wanted, but my second thought was: Is the Custom ROM support for the S5+ as good as for the S5?
I definitely want to install the Cyanogen Mod!
My research in this forum seems to confirm my worries. There is only an unofficial version of this mod right?
And isn't the support for the "main" version (-> S5) always better than for sub versions like the S5+?
I am thinking about to make a complaint in order to get the S5.
What would you, the far more experienced, do?
oetzi

try this, almost same as cm but some more options, and official support
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=60928429

oetzi83 said:
Hi all,
I ordered a S5 and got the smartphone yesterday. However, I was suprised that it actually is a S5+ (G901F).
My first reaction was: Nice, I even got more than I wanted, but my second thought was: Is the Custom ROM support for the S5+ as good as for the S5?
I definitely want to install the Cyanogen Mod!
My research in this forum seems to confirm my worries. There is only an unofficial version of this mod right?
And isn't the support for the "main" version (-> S5) always better than for sub versions like the S5+?
I am thinking about to make a complaint in order to get the S5.
What would you, the far more experienced, do?
oetzi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder you went with Samsung and S5 if cyanogenmod is important to you. Samsung's phobea I had or still have are Galaxy Nexus, S 3(i9305 LTS with 2 GB of RAM) ,4 i9505, 5 (900f), Note 2, 3 and you can guess which is the only one with decent CM support.
I have still not tried CM on S5, but I definitely am on S3 and 4, and it has never worked really well. Bearable but not well. And as far as I can see it is the same situation with S5. There are issues with wifi and Bluetooth, camera as usual is not supported because they keep they TW shut for them self. I would like to be wrong here, because I prefer anything AOSP based to Touchwiz, but the problem was I didn't have much choice when I took S5.

For me, the killer feature of the Cyanogen Mod is the individual rights management which I can configure for every app.
@ad0dh67: Does Dokdo also have this opportunity?
@!crazy: I see your point, but this is too late now I guess
The initial question remains the same: Is the Cyanogen Mod version for the S5 better / more stable than for the S5+?

oetzi83 said:
For me, the killer feature of the Cyanogen Mod is the individual rights management which I can configure for every app.
@ad0dh67: Does Dokdo also have this opportunity?
@!crazy: I see your point, but this is too late now I guess
The initial question remains the same: Is the Cyanogen Mod version for the S5 better / more stable than for the S5+?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it has!

Questions belong in Q&A, not General.
Thank you.

i9505 vs i9506 - Which one should I buy?

Hello!
I am about to buy a Samsung Galaxy S4, but I have 2 options. For 190€ a normal i9505 (Black Mist) and 215€ for a black edition i9506 (the leather one).
They are both 16GB version so the only difference between them is the model no. and obviously the processor.
Considering the price difference and the hardware, I would buy the i9506 without a doubt! But... there's XDA and development...
I'm not here for that long to be able to tell if the i9506 gets about the same love as the i9505... Performance wise, how they compare to each other?
I want to be able to unlock the bootloader, install recovery, be a flashaholic like I am with my current Galaxy Nexus. I don't need to have like thousands of roms avaiable but I wanted at least the major ones (like CM, Omni, AOSP) to be avaiable and work without a problem. Do I still have that in the i9506? I'm seriously needing help with this, which one should I buy considering this community and kernel+rom avaiability?

diogofd8 said:
Hello!
I am about to buy a Samsung Galaxy S4, but I have 2 options. For 190€ a normal i9505 (Black Mist) and 215€ for a black edition i9506 (the leather one).
They are both 16GB version so the only difference between them is the model no. and obviously the processor.
Considering the price difference and the hardware, I would buy the i9506 without a doubt! But... there's XDA and development...
I'm not here for that long to be able to tell if the i9506 gets about the same love as the i9505... Performance wise, how they compare to each other?
I want to be able to unlock the bootloader, install recovery, be a flashaholic like I am with my current Galaxy Nexus. I don't need to have like thousands of roms avaiable but I wanted at least the major ones (like CM, Omni, AOSP) to be avaiable and work without a problem. Do I still have that in the i9506? I'm seriously needing help with this, which one should I buy considering this community and kernel+rom avaiability?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also had to face this decision. I eventually chose for the 9506 version. On one side because of the major speed difference. But that's something you already know.
It's true that the 9505 version has more support and more roms available. It will probably last longer in terms of "custom support". But the 9506 doesn't fall behind in these terms. It has less roms, but there still are a few good ones. Also lot of new rom threads are opening, who knows where they will be in a few months. The support of the 9506 is at least better then a few other flagships released than and now.
Besides, if you purely like customization and already have an optimized rom, xposed will give you a lot and only needs root (which will always be there).
For me the choice was easy.

Some questions about S8s, custom ROMs etc (thinking about moving from OP3T)

Hi,
I hope one of you kind people could help point me in the right direction for some advice on custom ROMs for (UK version of) the Galaxy S8, how they affect performance etc, and where I might start learning more...?
Current situation
I've had a OP3T since launch and have come to the conclusion that even though it's a great phone (IMO) it's just too big/heavy and I want something smaller.
Ideal solution
Buy a second-hand/cheap S8, wipe it, install a custom ROM that's as close to "stock" Android as possible (I'm really nit a fan of Samsung's software and I'll likely have better support/updates etc from a community supported ROM than Samsung themselves)
Questions/concerns
I'm quite confused by the potential differences between the UK model (Exynos) and the Snapdragon model and how that might affect my plans etc?
What would be a good ROM that would deliver a stock Android experience whilst also being as bug free as possible, still retain things like great camera performance, good battery/performance balance, all "main" functions supported (fingerprint, GPS, BT etc)?
Finally, what are your thoughts on my idea? Is it "wrong"? Should I be looking elsewhere? What am I not aware of etc?
Thanks in advance if you take the time to help - it'll be very much appreciated...

PugRallye said:
Hi,
I hope one of you kind people could help point me in the right direction for some advice on custom ROMs for (UK version of) the Galaxy S8, how they affect performance etc, and where I might start learning more...?
Current situation
I've had a OP3T since launch and have come to the conclusion that even though it's a great phone (IMO) it's just too big/heavy and I want something smaller.
Ideal solution
Buy a second-hand/cheap S8, wipe it, install a custom ROM that's as close to "stock" Android as possible (I'm really nit a fan of Samsung's software and I'll likely have better support/updates etc from a community supported ROM than Samsung themselves)
Questions/concerns
I'm quite confused by the potential differences between the UK model (Exynos) and the Snapdragon model and how that might affect my plans etc?
What would be a good ROM that would deliver a stock Android experience whilst also being as bug free as possible, still retain things like great camera performance, good battery/performance balance, all "main" functions supported (fingerprint, GPS, BT etc)?
Finally, what are your thoughts on my idea? Is it "wrong"? Should I be looking elsewhere? What am I not aware of etc?
Thanks in advance if you take the time to help - it'll be very much appreciated...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main differences between the snapdragon (north america/america/china) and exynos(international) is that the snapdragon version has a locked bootloader (China has unlockable bootloader), so no magisk root, no proper custom roms and no custom kernels, in terms of performance the exynos is better in all aspects bar 1, the adreno gpuin snapdragon is a little better.
If you are looking for a clean android/lineageos based Rom il be honest with you, you maybe waiting a long time, currently only lineageos os Rom is in alpha, so a lot of stuff not working, but there are people working on it.
Most time are stock Samsung firmware based but optimised, you will find debloated version and there is a version where pretty much all Samsung apps are removed.
Also if you rely on Samsung pay once you root and install twrp and so on you will permanent trip Knox counter and it will void Samsung pay, you will however be able to use android pay

sofir786 said:
The main differences between the snapdragon (north america/america/china) and exynos(international) is that the snapdragon version has a locked bootloader (China has unlockable bootloader), so no magisk root, no proper custom roms and no custom kernels, in terms of performance the exynos is better in all aspects bar 1, the adreno gpuin snapdragon is a little better.
If you are looking for a clean android/lineageos based Rom il be honest with you, you maybe waiting a long time, currently only lineageos os Rom is in alpha, so a lot of stuff not working, but there are people working on it.
Most time are stock Samsung firmware based but optimised, you will find debloated version and there is a version where pretty much all Samsung apps are removed.
Also if you rely on Samsung pay once you root and install twrp and so on you will permanent trip Knox counter and it will void Samsung pay, you will however be able to use android pay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information...
I guess I could live with a debloated version of the Samsung ROM - I can get a lot of the stock Android "fee" from using a 3rd party launcher etc.
Ideally though I'd like to replace all the default apps with Google variants - clock, contacts etc, and remove the Samsung variants - is that something that's possibly in these debloated versions you mention?
I'm not interested in Samsung pay though - but out of interest, is this totally non-reversible? i.e. if I was to restore to a stock ROM, re-lock the bootloader etc, Samsung pay would still not work?

If you don't want the Samsung experience, skip the s8.
Yes launchers and whatnot, in the end the software is Samsung with no alternative ROM wise.
There are equally good and cheaper phones with better ROM support. The S8 is only an option if you want the best screen and camera or/and really love their approach to software.
I did come from the 3t too and in hindsight would take the 3t over the s8 any day.

domsch1988 said:
If you don't want the Samsung experience, skip the s8.
Yes launchers and whatnot, in the end the software is Samsung with no alternative ROM wise.
There are equally good and cheaper phones with better ROM support. The S8 is only an option if you want the best screen and camera or/and really love their approach to software.
I did come from the 3t too and in hindsight would take the 3t over the s8 any day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really interesting...
I'm just fed up with the size and weight of the 3T - and there are no other phones that really appeal (other than the S8) when it comes to size, features etc.
I'm still quite tempted by a second hand S8 (can be had for about £400, immaculate, second hand) - at that price I can't think of many alternatives...?

If you want Android stock experience forget about it. At this point there's just an LineageOS 14 alpha version. Someone said that there's people working on it. Might be. But since first release (October 2017) 6 months later there's no "public" progress. So my expectations are very low leaning towards none. But you can try an optimised touchwiz rom (there's plenty of them) or even those "Google edition" roms. Based on Touchwiz but with Samsung stock apps replaced by Google's counterparts (dialer, messenger and I think camera).