Am I missing quality / features by using custom ROMs? - Samsung Galaxy S8 Questions and Answers

Hey guys,
I was always the one guy having a custom ROM on all of my smartphones, even if that phone is only one hour old.
But am I right that this way I might miss many features the smartphone has?
I mean, I really love the mass of settings I have in ROMs like Lineage. But for example the S8 has many features which don't work / exist with custom ROMs because they are missing the stock apps. Am I right?
Like for example if you have a smartphone running Lineage, mostly the camera app isn't that good like the original one from the manufacturer.
And same **** for the Galaxy S8: I love having masses of settings so I am using the Camera FV-5 app. But by using it I am not sure if these apps have same good quality like the stock ones, even if I now have my nice amount of settings.
I would really like to have all features of the S8 but with the mass of android settings I have in custom ROMs like Lineage. Is that even possible?
How can I have all of the masses of settings from Lineage or other custom ROMs without losing quality of the smartphone or apps like camera, etc. by using those ROMs?
Because in stock android settings of S8 are less options like in lineage. But I don't want to change to a custom ROM this time because I think I might miss nice features which only work / exist on stock ROM or the quality will be lower (like in camera).
Really hard to explain what I mean but I hope you got it
Maybe somebody can help me.
Greez, skrippi

No, you'll not lose anything, except knox apps like samsung pay.

dmartuniac said:
No, you'll not lose anything, except knox apps like samsung pay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And Samsung Pass...

Is Samsung Health working on custom roms?

silverkin said:
Is Samsung Health working on custom roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes
You also need to make sure you can flash your Carrier's CSC, otherwise you may not have Volte or WiFi calling, assuming your carrier supports those features.

Related

My M8 Experience So Far

Bit of background....
Was never much a fan of android and had just about every iphone from day dot right up until the iphone 5.
I'd Jailbroke all the way through with each device, a lot of tweaks, modding etc.
Started to get very bored of the whole iphone thing but ended up losing it anyway (left it on a train)
That's what made me think, why not try something different? So claimed on my insurance and went for a Galaxy S3.
NEVER MISSED MY IPHONE ONCE. How android has improved over the years.
Loved the functionality of the S3, although not the build so much. Had it rooted with CM, gravity box, adaway and that was me happy.
Was very excited to wait for the M8 and upgraded as soon as it came out, wasn't disappointed, LOVE IT!
Fantastic build quality, great looks, great spec. Could hardly fault it anywhere.
Decided to jump in and root it to get some of my favourite things.... That's where my disappointment began
Unlike the Samsung, everything seems really difficult to achieve, some things impossible.
Unlocking the boot loader is a fairly long process but it was fairly straight forward... Job done
Rooting, fairly straight forward... Job done
HERES WHERE THE NOT SO FUN PARTS STARTS...
Adaway, kinda works but not. Keep having problems with it being disabled on boot up and not being able to copy host files
From my research it seems to be a problem with s-off not being active although I'm not sure?
Tried the s-off process and at the end was told it won't work on my device, no one seems to know exactly why?
Another app I wanted was gsam battery, again... Kinda works but not. Standard stats work but more advanced won't.
Tried the root companion, can't get that to work at all.
Something else I really wanted was gravity box through xposed. That won't work with sense.
In order to get that I believe I have to flash another rom that dos'nt have sense, think that only leaves the google play edition rom?
That I believe also loses me blinkfeed and ultra power saver which are both pretty good.
Not sure if I need s-off for that, if I do I can't get it anyway
May main reason for root was for gravity box and adaway, one of which I kinda have and one I don't have at all.
So overall, very disappointed now
Just thought I'd share my experience as it might help others decide on purchase choices.
Also if anyone has any tips to get around my issues I'd really appreciate it
its for those reasons i now leave my phones stock. i used to customise my windows phones to get them to work but since switching to android i just use them and update the stock software when they become available. i also have an m8 and i have only installed gsam, chrome and epson printer apps. that is all i have needed so far. i seem to be able to do everything i need to do without any more apps installed. i had a htc one x previous and sensation before that and had so much stuff on them that they were litterely full of apps. i will probably end up adding heaps of apps as time goes on but the stock setup on the m8 is very powerful and capable (not to mention fast). i would recommend just installing the stock rom back and use it for a while. is there really any advantage to rooting these anyway.
boofhead said:
its for those reasons i now leave my phones stock. i used to customise my windows phones to get them to work but since switching to android i just use them and update the stock software when they become available. i also have an m8 and i have only installed gsam, chrome and epson printer apps. that is all i have needed so far. i seem to be able to do everything i need to do without any more apps installed. i had a htc one x previous and sensation before that and had so much stuff on them that they were litterely full of apps. i will probably end up adding heaps of apps as time goes on but the stock setup on the m8 is very powerful and capable (not to mention fast). i would recommend just installing the stock rom back and use it for a while. is there really any advantage to rooting these anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xposed framework would be a huge advantage to me to get rid of annoying things, some small some not so small.
Even the volume warning really annoys me, there's no way to disable it without xposed working
Also on my s3 I moved the close all apps button to bottom left, much easier for me being a lefty
Hi, ads can be blocked through modified hosts file (you can search how to do that). Have you tried a custom ROM with root already done. I use Venom and have always used adaway, both s-on and s-off with no issues.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda app-developers app
bah77 said:
Bit of background....
Was never much a fan of android and had just about every iphone from day dot right up until the iphone 5.
I'd Jailbroke all the way through with each device, a lot of tweaks, modding etc.
Started to get very bored of the whole iphone thing but ended up losing it anyway (left it on a train)
That's what made me think, why not try something different? So claimed on my insurance and went for a Galaxy S3.
NEVER MISSED MY IPHONE ONCE. How android has improved over the years.
Loved the functionality of the S3, although not the build so much. Had it rooted with CM, gravity box, adaway and that was me happy.
Was very excited to wait for the M8 and upgraded as soon as it came out, wasn't disappointed, LOVE IT!
Fantastic build quality, great looks, great spec. Could hardly fault it anywhere.
Decided to jump in and root it to get some of my favourite things.... That's where my disappointment began
Unlike the Samsung, everything seems really difficult to achieve, some things impossible.
Unlocking the boot loader is a fairly long process but it was fairly straight forward... Job done
Rooting, fairly straight forward... Job done
HERES WHERE THE NOT SO FUN PARTS STARTS...
Adaway, kinda works but not. Keep having problems with it being disabled on boot up and not being able to copy host files
From my research it seems to be a problem with s-off not being active although I'm not sure?
Tried the s-off process and at the end was told it won't work on my device, no one seems to know exactly why?
Another app I wanted was gsam battery, again... Kinda works but not. Standard stats work but more advanced won't.
Tried the root companion, can't get that to work at all.
Something else I really wanted was gravity box through xposed. That won't work with sense.
In order to get that I believe I have to flash another rom that dos'nt have sense, think that only leaves the google play edition rom?
That I believe also loses me blinkfeed and ultra power saver which are both pretty good.
Not sure if I need s-off for that, if I do I can't get it anyway
May main reason for root was for gravity box and adaway, one of which I kinda have and one I don't have at all.
So overall, very disappointed now
Just thought I'd share my experience as it might help others decide on purchase choices.
Also if anyone has any tips to get around my issues I'd really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but i dont understand what problems you actually have or what you done/expect from your phone
Adaway and GSAM battery stats works perfectly on all custom roms for M8 without issues.
And roms like our Viper ONE M8 provides endless customization and tweaking options, can you tell me what can you do with that gravity that you cant in viper rom?
Gravity Box wouldn't work on a Sense based rom anyways. I think the main source of your issues is the lack of research (user error).
rquinn19 said:
Gravity Box wouldn't work on a Sense based rom anyways. I think the main source of your issues is the lack of research (user error).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What parts don't? I haven't gone incredibly far into GB, but the NavBar tweaks worked for me and I'm on Viper, a Sense-based Rom.
ivicask said:
Sorry but i dont understand what problems you actually have or what you done/expect from your phone
Adaway and GSAM battery stats works perfectly on all custom roms for M8 without issues.
And roms like our Viper ONE M8 provides endless customization and tweaking options, can you tell me what can you do with that gravity that you cant in viper rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been looking at viper actually, considering flashing tonight
I mainly wanted to move the close all apps button to the bottom left rather than top right
Stop the volume warning popping up when increasing volume
Have the pull down go straight into settings rather then having to use 2 fingers
I had all that through gravity box on my s3.
I'm guessing they won't all be on viper but as viper isn't sense gravity box should work anyway, is that right?
bah77 said:
I've been looking at viper actually, considering flashing tonight
I mainly wanted to move the close all apps button to the bottom left rather than top right
Stop the volume warning popping up when increasing volume
Have the pull down go straight into settings rather then having to use 2 fingers
I had all that through gravity box on my s3.
I'm guessing they won't all be on viper but as viper isn't sense gravity box should work anyway, is that right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off: Sense isn't TouchWiz. All features of GravityBox which work on TouchWiz or AOSP wont always work on Sense.
Plus, Sense 6.0 is still VERY fresh and the devs of GB and similar are still looking into what can be done on Sense and what not.
Viper is already heavily customizable and may already feature most of the things you want. Then there is always GPE which replaces Sense with Vanilla Android most GravityBox features will work with - Tho you need to know that some exclusive features like a couple of camera things, dot view etc wont work as extensive as on Sense anymore.
Its all a matter of what you really need and what you really wanna do. I for one prefer to stick to Sense which is mostly stock (InsertCoin) with some customizable settings - keeps the system cleaner and snappier IMO.
You decide :good:
Try4Ce said:
First off: Sense isn't TouchWiz. All features of GravityBox which work on TouchWiz or AOSP wont always work on Sense.
Plus, Sense 6.0 is still VERY fresh and the devs of GB and similar are still looking into what can be done on Sense and what not.
Viper is already heavily customizable and may already feature most of the things you want. Then there is always GPE which replaces Sense with Vanilla Android most GravityBox features will work with - Tho you need to know that some exclusive features like a couple of camera things, dot view etc wont work as extensive as on Sense anymore.
Its all a matter of what you really need and what you really wanna do. I for one prefer to stick to Sense which is mostly stock (InsertCoin) with some customizable settings - keeps the system cleaner and snappier IMO.
You decide :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for the response, I will have a look into the different roms more over the weekend
I guess I was too naive, only on my 2nd ever android phone and that's from a hell of a lot of phones I've owned in the past
I guess I was thinking along the lines of a one android fits all but that's quite clearly not the case, there are lots of differences between one android phone to another
bah77 said:
Many thanks for the response, I will have a look into the different roms more over the weekend
I guess I was too naive, only on my 2nd ever android phone and that's from a hell of a lot of phones I've owned in the past
I guess I was thinking along the lines of a one android fits all but that's quite clearly not the case, there are lots of differences between one android phone to another
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hehe well yeah, every Android phone can be quite different to each other. Its with the hardware already. On the iDevices, its all streamlined and almost everything will work on the different iPhones. Its convenient, but nothing for me - I am a modder and toy around alot, and thats where Android kicks in.
Some things on Android can be annoying, since there are much more differences in Hardware and Software among all the devices running Android, but it actually can be quite interesting to see what all the talented Android Developers come up with.
I hope you find what you are looking for. The M8 is a hell of a great device and dispite of being so new, alot of customizations are already possible.
rquinn19 said:
Gravity Box wouldn't work on a Sense based rom anyways. I think the main source of your issues is the lack of research (user error).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, working just great with my SENSE rom.
Thread closed as it is an off-topic thread.
Ghost

[Q] Google camera - no slow motion recording?

Unless I'm missing it, or the flash of my ROM didn't work right, the google camera on my device from the pure nexus edition I flashed (http://forum.xda-developers.com/gala...on-s4-t2837239 doesn't seem to have Slow Motion video capturing which I really would like to have .
Is there a way I could just get the old S4 camera to somehow work with the device? (I was googling for one but couldn't find one.) or I take it that was designed custom by samsung for their software? If not the default one that I had from stock, is there another one some of you recommend?
rickcr said:
Unless I'm missing it, or the flash of my ROM didn't work right, the google camera on my device from the pure nexus edition I flashed (http://forum.xda-developers.com/gala...on-s4-t2837239 doesn't seem to have Slow Motion video capturing which I really would like to have .
Is there a way I could just get the old S4 camera to somehow work with the device? (I was googling for one but couldn't find one.) or I take it that was designed custom by samsung for their software? If not the default one that I had from stock, is there another one some of you recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can get it working on the google roms since it was made for the Touchwiz system. If you want to just tinker and try, you can try the S5 camera or the Note 3 camera but as far as I know they won't work.
Ah ok, Thanks Deadly for replying. That's a real shame, I don't like all the bloat that came with my AT&T S4, but the touchwiz camera does seem much better. I'll go look at one of the modified touchwiz ROMs available and try one of them.

Camera 2 "Software Update" Received 12/20/2014

Woke up this morning to my Galaxy Camera 2 claiming it was downloading a new software update (~130mb). Of course, there's no mention anywhere in the update process for what is included in this update, but I can definitely tell you that it's not Kitkat (sadly). Unfortunately, I didn't check version numbers prior to accepting the update (sorry), but here's the version numbers after the update:
Build Number:
JSS15J.GC200XXUCNK4
Kernel version:
3.0.31-2807772
[email protected] #1
Sat Nov 29 15:55:43 KST 2014
That's the same Build Number we've had since like April 2014, but the kernel definitely seems to have been updated. Maybe they finally fixed the loss of Google account settings issue??? I appreciate updates, but I really wish they would inform the customer better on what these updates fixed.
Ironically, for the first time in a long time, my Camera 2 had lost its Google Account settings when I turned it on this morning....haha.
Oh, I reside in Florida, USA. Not sure who else in the world is receiving the update, but according to SamMobile.com the Camera 2 update was hitting other locations around the globe starting 12/18/2014, but there's no mention of it hitting the USA at all.
Need to know if it's root able.
cantenna said:
Need to know if it's root able.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as this fixes the problem of losing the Google account, I have no reason to root the camera. Plus, I still have this weird hope that Samsung will actually release a Kitkat update for it (haha), and with there basically being ZERO development for this device on XDA, I don't want to be stuck not able to update.
Well, it's been almost a week since this update and it's also been a week of heavy Camera 2 use with the holidays. I haven't lost Google settings even once.
Thus far my camera hasn't lost my Google accounts, and by now it surely would have happened
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
internetpilot said:
As long as this fixes the problem of losing the Google account, I have no reason to root the camera. Plus, I still have this weird hope that Samsung will actually release a Kitkat update for it (haha), and with there basically being ZERO development for this device on XDA, I don't want to be stuck not able to update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh...
I didn't waste my time getting the Galaxy Camera 2, just got the One.
I understand your stress though.
Someone needs a swift kick in the butt so we can get development going for both devices.
Sent from my LG-P920 using XDA Free mobile app
hmm am glad to see an uphdate still, though im really really hoping for lollipop which should allow RAW access for the camera.
mark2410 said:
hmm am glad to see an uphdate still, though im really really hoping for lollipop which should allow RAW access for the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you do get it, could we transfer it over to the Galaxy Camera One, Wi-Fi Edition?
I don't like to be the rude one. But at this point, someone has to help root the Wi-Fi Only version, and come up with a Custom Recovery.
Not only this, but we need to see Devs, but we've got people sitting and pointing fingers instead.
I wanna see a ROM putting us all on a better version, or something more come to all the cameras.
Sent from my LG-P920 using XDA Free mobile app
hmm, really wouldnt have thought so, its probably possible given the hardware similarities but i think that given the camera 1 and 2 have been such unpopular devices they havent warranted their own listings here i wouldnt hold me breath. the key to getting a ROM for a device is someone who is techy enough to do wanting to use one. i for one might like the camera but i would have absolutely no clue how to make a rom for it.
hmm surely there must be a dev out there who likes photos.
mark2410 said:
hmm, really wouldnt have thought so, its probably possible given the hardware similarities but i think that given the camera 1 and 2 have been such unpopular devices they havent warranted their own listings here i wouldnt hold me breath. the key to getting a ROM for a device is someone who is techy enough to do wanting to use one. i for one might like the camera but i would have absolutely no clue how to make a rom for it.
hmm surely there must be a dev out there who likes photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Camera 2 has gotten support, but not what it needs.
And honestly, Developing ROMs isn't too difficult, I just don't have the time for it.
Sent from my EK-GC110 using XDA Free mobile app
The reason why you would want to root the camera is because you can instal Link2sd and Foldermount, with these two apps you can install theoretically 128G of apps
cantenna said:
The reason why you would want to root the camera is because you can instal Link2sd and Foldermount, with these two apps you can install theoretically 128G of apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would anyone want to put 128GB of apps on a camera? I mean, a tablet or phone, okay...but a camera? I just don't really see the practical purpose for that. The biggest storage hog on my tablet/phone is music and movies, and neither of those require the device to be rooted to store them on the external SD card.
Again, with the way Samsung is really clamping down on not allowing OTA's to be delivered to even just rooted devices, and with the basically non-existent development support for this device, I won't be rooting it until I'm 100% certain that there's no OTA update coming for it, and even then I would only root it if someone put out a reliable custom Kitkat or Lollipop ROM for it. Honestly, if Samsung won't update it, then I'm really not holding my breath that some 3rd-party dev ever will.
Ouya-XD said:
The Camera 2 has gotten support, but not what it needs.
And honestly, Developing ROMs isn't too difficult, I just don't have the time for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be a heckuva lot easier to port a Camera 2 ROM over to the Camera 1 (rather than develop a ROM from scratch for either camera model), but even that hasn't been done. I don't think there's ever going to be any original development on these devices (like a CM11 or CM12). Developing ROMs isn't terribly difficult, but it's not easy either, especially not on a device that is so driver dependent like these cameras are. Just about every Android device I've owned (phone or tablet) has problems with the camera not working in some way (if not completely) on any original development project. What good is a camera with the latest Android OS if it causes the camera function not to work or even not work reliably?
I think we need to face it, folks -- these cameras are pretty much as-is. At best we're highly dependent on whatever Samsung gives us.
Nope, I disagree. Rooting this camera is a damn good idea for so many reasons. Most tablet or phone dont have a miro HDMI, My camera, I can install apps without deleting and its not just a camera, its an android device by Samsung that comes with a micro hdmi and with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, well if you have ever thought about buying an android TV box, this is a better replacement, it performs much better than majority on the market.
And yes I agree that stock ROMs with stock drivers perform better but asop base ROM do perform much better in terms of speed in gaming and applications. What about a multi ROM solution to allow you multi-boot i.e. boot stock from internal nand and asop lollipop from from external SD, now that would be a sweet setup!
hmmm i get your point but for me, the camera is a camera. ive got a tablet for tablety things, a phone for phoney things so what i want is camera focused and to have dropbox autoupload everything nicely.
thats the anly reasen im so fussed that i want it to get lollipop as it should then get RAW capabilities. while i realise it may not happen i will vote with my wallet. this is my first real samsung device (galaxy nexus doesnt count) and while i love oled screens and removable batteries if samsung abandon the camera, well i will abandon them. its really that simple, if they wont support devices going forward then i wont buy any other android devices from them.
if only google put out a Nexus Camera.
NK4 and rooting
I just finished the upgrade to NK4. I was trying to keep root through survival mode in Superuser Pro, but I ended up having to reroot. The upgrade via kies took about a hour. I attempted to re-establish root via Superuser but was unable to do so. I ODIN'ed the CF-autoroot onto the camera and reinstalled Superuser. I now have a NK4 rooted camera.
Since the discussion seems to have shifted to the rational for rooting, here's my take. First, it should be noted that root <> custom recovery. We do not have custom recovery for the GalCam2, so installing alternative ROM's, if available is not an option. So, why root? For me, it's Xposed modules; specifically pie controls(mmmm, pie). I've had several digital cameras over the years. In fact, when I bought this camera, I had a year old samsung camera. Why this camera? It's android, so I can to many things that would be not be possible on other cameras in this price range, like say using different camera apps.
So, if you're rooted on NC2, fear not. The water's OK over here on NK4.
cantenna said:
Nope, I disagree. Rooting this camera is a damn good idea for so many reasons. Most tablet or phone dont have a miro HDMI, My camera, I can install apps without deleting and its not just a camera, its an android device by Samsung that comes with a micro hdmi and with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, well if you have ever thought about buying an android TV box, this is a better replacement, it performs much better than majority on the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, of course you can disagree, but I still think you're stretching your camera well beyond practical purpose. Cameras are quirky enough on their own (especially ones with Android OS) -- it's probably not a good idea to use it so much for non-photography purposes because when you wear it out from overuse with all these extraneous functions you're not just going to be out an Android TV device -- you're going to be out a $400 camera. Android TV boxes can be had for as cheap as US$25 and are practically disposable at that price.
Incidentally, I have a HDMI dongle (that uses a standard, readily available fullsize HDMI plug/cable) that I use on my Galaxy Note 2 phone and/or my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 tablet all the time (typically when on vacation watching movies on the hotel TV). Not to mention $30 Chromecast can be used wirelessly. All of this without overusing my $400 camera, so that the next time I want to use my camera it won't have a low battery, scratched up screen, or otherwise screwed up or acting quirky from rooting it.
cantenna said:
And yes I agree that stock ROMs with stock drivers perform better but asop base ROM do perform much better in terms of speed in gaming and applications. What about a multi ROM solution to allow you multi-boot i.e. boot stock from internal nand and asop lollipop from from external SD, now that would be a sweet setup!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, it's all about what's your priority purpose for this device. I bought this device to use as a internet connected camera -- I didn't buy it for playing games or running non-photography related apps. I don't want to have choose which OS I'm booting to....I just want to turn the camera on, take some pics, and be able to immediately upload them somewhere. As long as that's working, then in my world there's really no need to actively look for alternative solutions that are just going to potentially mess that simple process up.
Again, there's a reason why I'm here on XDA -- I've rooted (and usually ROMed) every other Android device I've owned. I'm even currently running CM11 on my Galaxy Note 2 at the expense of losing some of the S-pen features because it runs so much faster that it's like I got a completely new phone. But I just don't see any reason for rooting (or especially ROMing) the Camera 2.
10amla said:
Since the discussion seems to have shifted to the rational for rooting, here's my take. First, it should be noted that root <> custom recovery. We do not have custom recovery for the GalCam2, so installing alternative ROM's, if available is not an option. So, why root? For me, it's Xposed modules; specifically pie controls(mmmm, pie). I've had several digital cameras over the years. In fact, when I bought this camera, I had a year old samsung camera. Why this camera? It's android, so I can to many things that would be not be possible on other cameras in this price range, like say using different camera apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually very good to know for future reference that NK4 is rootable. That's likely the last update we'll see for this camera knowing Samsung.
I actually don't always use a custom recovery on my Samsung devices. Since most root methods, ROMs, and even the recoveries themselves are flashed via Odin, there's really not a pressing need for a custom recovery. I've even encountered a lot of quirkiness with most custom recoveries (Philz, CWM, TWRP) when it comes to Nandroid backups (especially reliable restores), so I never rely on them and instead just reflash the ROM, allow Google to restore system data, and then restore personal apps/data with TitaniumBackup. Plus, even if you're rooted, as long as you have the stock recovery you can USUALLY take any OTA updates. I emphasize USUALLY because my Note 10.1 2014 Ed tablet is rooted but running stock recovery and the latest bug-fix update will not flash because they claim my tablet has been modified.
I guess I've never felt the need for pie controls because I haven't used the stock launcher on any Android device I've ever owned. The Camera 2 camera app interface is already pretty sweet with the on-screen dial menus. Like I said above, I'm not just globally adverse to rooting (far from it), but I just have yet to find any reason to root this camera, especially now that the latest update seems to have corrected the stupid vanishing Google Account settings issue.
Now, if someone ever comes up with a fully functioning Lollipop ROM for this camera, you'll quickly see me singing a different tune, but until then....
internetpilot said:
Well, of course you can disagree, but I still think you're stretching your camera well beyond practical purpose. Cameras are quirky enough on their own (especially ones with Android OS) -- it's probably not a good idea to use it so much for non-photography purposes because when you wear it out from overuse with all these extraneous functions you're not just going to be out an Android TV device -- you're going to be out a $400 camera. Android TV boxes can be had for as cheap as US$25 and are practically disposable at that price.
Incidentally, I have a HDMI dongle (that uses a standard, readily available fullsize HDMI plug/cable) that I use on my Galaxy Note 2 phone and/or my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 tablet all the time (typically when on vacation watching movies on the hotel TV). Not to mention $30 Chromecast can be used wirelessly. All of this without overusing my $400 camera, so that the next time I want to use my camera it won't have a low battery, scratched up screen, or otherwise screwed up or acting quirky from rooting it.
Again, it's all about what's your priority purpose for this device. I bought this device to use as a internet connected camera -- I didn't buy it for playing games or running non-photography related apps. I don't want to have choose which OS I'm booting to....I just want to turn the camera on, take some pics, and be able to immediately upload them somewhere. As long as that's working, then in my world there's really no need to actively look for alternative solutions that are just going to potentially mess that simple process up.
Again, there's a reason why I'm here on XDA -- I've rooted (and usually ROMed) every other Android device I've owned. I'm even currently running CM11 on my Galaxy Note 2 at the expense of losing some of the S-pen features because it runs so much faster that it's like I got a completely new phone. But I just don't see any reason for rooting (or especially ROMing) the Camera 2.
That's actually very good to know for future reference that NK4 is rootable. That's likely the last update we'll see for this camera knowing Samsung.
I actually don't always use a custom recovery on my Samsung devices. Since most root methods, ROMs, and even the recoveries themselves are flashed via Odin, there's really not a pressing need for a custom recovery. I've even encountered a lot of quirkiness with most custom recoveries (Philz, CWM, TWRP) when it comes to Nandroid backups (especially reliable restores), so I never rely on them and instead just reflash the ROM, allow Google to restore system data, and then restore personal apps/data with TitaniumBackup. Plus, even if you're rooted, as long as you have the stock recovery you can USUALLY take any OTA updates. I emphasize USUALLY because my Note 10.1 2014 Ed tablet is rooted but running stock recovery and the latest bug-fix update will not flash because they claim my tablet has been modified.
I guess I've never felt the need for pie controls because I haven't used the stock launcher on any Android device I've ever owned. The Camera 2 camera app interface is already pretty sweet with the on-screen dial menus. Like I said above, I'm not just globally adverse to rooting (far from it), but I just have yet to find any reason to root this camera, especially now that the latest update seems to have corrected the stupid vanishing Google Account settings issue.
Now, if someone ever comes up with a fully functioning Lollipop ROM for this camera, you'll quickly see me singing a different tune, but until then....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stretching beyond practice purpose is what makes android, android. Samsung makes good hardware, this camera will never fail from overuse and $25.00 android boxes perform like $25.00 android boxes.
I also do not use the stock launcher on any of my Samsung devices. I use lightning launcher on the camera(as well as my notes). The reason I like pie controls is that you gain extra screen space when you're using the launcher(no nav bar). So far, that's my only use of root, that could change in time; but not having custom recovery makes me very cautious in installing addition items.
cantenna said:
Stretching beyond practice purpose is what makes android, android. Samsung makes good hardware, this camera will never fail from overuse and $25.00 android boxes perform like $25.00 android boxes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you think a multi element autofocus mechanical extending zoom lens and an electronic shutter are never going to fail, then you better start preparing yourself for disappointment in about 2 years. LOL.
My three $25 AndroidTV boxes have been working great for years, running Netflix and Amazon Prime video since day one that I bought them. They're also running Kitkat even though they started out on Gingerbread.
10amla said:
I also do not use the stock launcher on any of my Samsung devices. I use lightning launcher on the camera(as well as my notes). The reason I like pie controls is that you gain extra screen space when you're using the launcher(no nav bar). So far, that's my only use of root, that could change in time; but not having custom recovery makes me very cautious in installing addition items.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure that all of my Samsung devices have been rooted and ROMed using Odin. My first Android device was a HTC EVO 4G, which solely used custom recoveries (unless you just like going back to the dark years of ADB), so the first couple of times I asked devs for a flashable zip, I was all but excommunicated from the XDA forum for such blasphemy. Everyone here seems to do just about everything via Odin, so I don't really sweat not having a custom recovery. Most things that can go wrong (bootloops, soft-bricks, etc.) when mucking around flashing devices are solved via Odin anyway.

[Q] How can I install 5.0 ?

Hey.
I have SM-N900 with 4.4.2 and rooted.
My phone start to be **** and work with lags so..... its for wipe and install the new update.
so I saw this rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...s-android-development/mar-10-pekakas-t3051018
and he looking good and everything
but he say that I need to have 5.0 first to install it..
how ?
and why every dev hate the Exynos ? no love for him...
sometime I want to install CM but.... the pen will stop work and more
Just go here, http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N900/
Download a 5.0 ROM, and flash it via Odin. If you find a ROM for your region then obviously download that. Done. Then you can flash any custom ROM you want.
Why Exynos hate? Well I am an idiot and as far as I know devs need to spend quite a lot of more time developing for Exynos than Snapdragon, and obviously they choose to do the easier work.
And a friendly suggestion, please STAY AWAY from those AOSP based ROMs. They will make the phone half disabled, I am just coming from one just yesterday, and one more thing, they aren't that much smoother than TouhcWiz Lollipop either, which was my main reason to flash such a ROM, and literally waste a full two hour! Call it LagWiz, CrapWiz, BloatWiz, whatever the heck you want, I am not going anywhere near those AOSP things ever again.
devilsdouble said:
Just go here, http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-N900/
Download a 5.0 ROM, and flash it via Odin. If you find a ROM for your region then obviously download that. Done. Then you can flash any custom ROM you want.
Why Exynos hate? Well I am an idiot and as far as I know devs need to spend quite a lot of more time developing for Exynos than Snapdragon, and obviously they choose to do the easier work.
And a friendly suggestion, please STAY AWAY from those AOSP based ROMs. They will make the phone half disabled, I am just coming from one just yesterday, and one more thing, they aren't that much smoother than TouhcWiz Lollipop either, which was my main reason to flash such a ROM, and literally waste a full two hour! Call it LagWiz, CrapWiz, BloatWiz, whatever the heck you want, I am not going anywhere near those AOSP things ever again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok I understand now how to install 5.0. thanks
but why to stay away from AOSP ?
I saw this " https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYofb7zYrt4 " and his phone work great and fast also his pen work..
and what do you mean half disabled ? you talk about features of samsung ?
Seriously I can't stand my phone anymore with lags and full RAM use for unknown reason ( and even I use Greenify / Wanam / bootmanager )
still he work like crap and after restart he start to work good again for like... a few hours or days
man I really need to change
Well several number of reasons really. The deal breaker for me was there was no option to change the display mode! I mean I am talking about the different display profiles, Cinema, Adapt, Professional etc, I couldn't choose that, and I was stuck with the default Adaptive one, which is way too over saturated! Then there are the S Pen things, this and that software is there, but nothing could be as smooth as having Action Memo merged with S Note, on which I heavily depend. Then there is the camera, and the lack of 60 frames video. Also the camera photo quality in general, is it comparable to TouchWiz's stock camera? I doubt!
I was ready to compromise on all of these, but that lack of display profile thing was impossible for me to bear.
Honestly there is very minimal lag with TouchWiz 5.0, OF3, on my N9005. But I think bloody Samsung didn't implement the TW on Exynos as good as they did on SD devices, so maybe you indeed face some lag issues. I myself couldn't bear the KitKat or Jelly Bean or whatever the heck it was on my I9500, lag, bugs, what not, but TouchWiz Lollipop is an entirely different thing. I also don't see any low RAM issue at all!
In any case, if you want to try out some AOSP stuffs, do that, it's your phone after all...
devilsdouble said:
Well several number of reasons really. The deal breaker for me was there was no option to change the display mode! I mean I am talking about the different display profiles, Cinema, Adapt, Professional etc, I couldn't choose that, and I was stuck with the default Adaptive one, which is way too over saturated! Then there are the S Pen things, this and that software is there, but nothing could be as smooth as having Action Memo merged with S Note, on which I heavily depend. Then there is the camera, and the lack of 60 frames video. Also the camera photo quality in general, is it comparable to TouchWiz's stock camera? I doubt!
I was ready to compromise on all of these, but that lack of display profile thing was impossible for me to bear.
Honestly there is very minimal lag with TouchWiz 5.0, OF3, on my N9005. But I think bloody Samsung didn't implement the TW on Exynos as good as they did on SD devices, so maybe you indeed face some lag issues. I myself couldn't bear the KitKat or Jelly Bean or whatever the heck it was on my I9500, lag, bugs, what not, but TouchWiz Lollipop is an entirely different thing. I also don't see any low RAM issue at all!
In any case, if you want to try out some AOSP stuffs, do that, it's your phone after all...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For people like you that note with its bloatware is meant for, aosp based roms are never a thing for you.
When I bought note 3 i did it for its hardware specs and really hated tw. Never gonna back to that crap.
What you miss we others that love cm find a way to live better with than living with tw.
LOL I always see these things/debates posted of not using AOSP or TouchWiz... it's really a preference... but here's the thing, TW based phones are usually more stable. The only reason being is, they have less changes to the core of the OS. AND you don't have to use TW (at least not the slow ugly launcher). TW is crap, you can use another launcher and debloat - to have something purring. AOSP do something similar, but of course it's not as stable --- but this is more developer dependent. Some are better than others, some load it with their own bloat/crapwear (because they think it's what others will want).
In conclusion... lol make your own conclusion. Be sure to read the forums (not just first and last pages) for any problems on the rom you choose. I would highly recommend something that has minimal changes, but lets you add or remove what you want.
Good luck!
kenny1991 said:
For people like you that note with its bloatware is meant for, aosp based roms are never a thing for you.
When I bought note 3 i did it for its hardware specs and really hated tw. Never gonna back to that crap.
What you miss we others that love cm find a way to live better with than living with tw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thanks lad, and for kids like you CM/ AOSP or whatever they wanna call it is as overhyped as it is. A ROM where bug list is lengthier than feature list, and some people still talk :laugh:
devilsdouble said:
Yeah thanks lad, and for kids like you CM/ AOSP or whatever they wanna call it is as overhyped as it is. A ROM where bug list is lengthier than feature list, and some people still talk [emoji23]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Please stay away from anything not related to Samsung.
kenny1991 said:
Wow. Please stay away from anything not related to Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me be the judge of that. I will say whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. Deal with that.
You are what, 24 now? Talk when you are in your mid 30s, maybe by then you could gain some IQ and be a little practical, and the hype/ brainwash adrenaline will settle down.

Questions about Cyanogen

I'm intrigued by these custom ROMS for the Galaxy S4, but I want to know what I'd be getting into if I used one.
What, if any, hardware features of the S4 would I be giving up? With the stock firmware, the phone can take temperature, humidity, and barometric readings. Are those sensors still enabled?
Are all the camera features in the stock ROM enabled, including panoramic camera?
Where do I find a list of bugs in the released ROM?
Robert3750 said:
I'm intrigued by these custom ROMS for the Galaxy S4, but I want to know what I'd be getting into if I used one.
What, if any, hardware features of the S4 would I be giving up? With the stock firmware, the phone can take temperature, humidity, and barometric readings. Are those sensors still enabled?
Are all the camera features in the stock ROM enabled, including panoramic camera?
Where do I find a list of bugs in the released ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sensors will always be installed since they're hardware feature but if software doesn't support it it won't work last time I tried it doesn't
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Robert3750 said:
I'm intrigued by these custom ROMS for the Galaxy S4, but I want to know what I'd be getting into if I used one.
What, if any, hardware features of the S4 would I be giving up? With the stock firmware, the phone can take temperature, humidity, and barometric readings. Are those sensors still enabled?
Are all the camera features in the stock ROM enabled, including panoramic camera?
Where do I find a list of bugs in the released ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bugs can be found listed in the rom threads.
Unfortunately bugs can differ from user to user. So it's more of a trial and error process. You'll have to find a rom that appeals you, flash it and test for yourself.
In terms of features, you will be giving up the air gestures, the smart stay crap (which never worked for me), and Samsung's camera app.
The CM camera app isn't that advanced. It does have some features, but not as many as the Samsung camera app. And yes, it does have a panorama option.
I've never actually used any of those environmental readings sensors, nor have I seen anybody else mention anything about them in rom threads or in any rom review I saw.
You give up some stuff, but you also gain some stuff. There certainly is a performance improvement over stock firmware. Ram consumption is also lower (I generally have around 1.2 GB free ram), meaning you could do more multitasking.
If you rely on those Samsung features, then stay on the stock rom and just root it.
For me, custom ROMs nearly always beat stock roms, hands-down, and this has held true from my old ZTE blade (Orange San Francisco), two Galaxy S2s, and my S4, probably down to the greater level of user-input that goes into them, rather than the design-by-committee process that OEMs use to try & impose their brand over the vanilla Android os.
I only moved to this S4 (i9505) within the past month or so, so the experience is still quite fresh in my mind...
I agree with much of the advice of the "try it and see" variety, but I also understand that for some of us, we only have the one phone, so when you're using it as your daily device, you don't always fancy going on a magical mystery tour of trying out multiple roms, if it's likely you're just going to go back to the rom you got rid of, and have a massive task of putting everything back the way it was, having wasted a day of experimenting...
1) I hated the bloat that came with the Sammy rom - sure, there's a tool (debloater) that can block certain apps from running, and if rooted, can remove them from the phone - along with a "safe-list" of apps that you can safely remove without breaking any features of the phone.
The bloat isn't just a problem for OCD-esque reasons, these apps take up space, they can run at inopportune times, update themselves using your data, eat up clock time and generally get in the way of having a device that only does what you want it to, when you want it.
Most custom roms tend to give you a (mainly) clean slate to work from, allowing you to pick & choose the functionality you want by installing apps manually - so (like me for example) if you only want to access gmail through your web browser (just like you would on a PC), and don't want a half decade's worth of emails syncing between your device memory & the web, you don't end up with multiple email clients on the handset all clamoring to be by synced 24hrs a day...
Battery life is a MAJOR factor here - I saw a big improvement after debloating the stock rom, and even better since going to CM12.1....
2) Cyanogen (like most custom roms) give more options regarding features that the stock roms bake-in.
For example, heads-up notifications are screwy in the Sammy roms - I'd get a notification of an SMS received in the notification bar. I'd drag-down, double-tap it, but then I'd have to manually un-lock the screen before the SMS app popped-up and displayed the message. Some people hate heads-up notifications full-stop.
Seemingly minor features like these, that after a while begin to really bug you are often controllable in custom roms like CM, or just plain old implemented better, after real-life user input and advice has been given.
3) User control; It's silly how much additional control you can gain from a well thought out custom rom, and the popular ones tend to be well thought out (as they garner a lot of user-input).
For example, in CM you have a additional control over root access in the device settings, fine-tune the interface and gives more fine control over many aspects of the device that if you're used to the Sammy rom you'd think can't actually be accessed...
As to what you'd give up - other users have pointed that out.
All I can say is I'm quite demanding and I've found nothing that I can't do if I need it - for me it has only been a positive.
Some people say the CM camera is less sophisticated than the Sammy one - I personally prefer the simplicity; There's an abundance of high-end camera apps for those times you want to take a studio quality photo, with detailed light readings, composition aids, etc... But mostly when you're taking a quick phone-cam shot, the ease of use is the main factor (and who doesn't tweak their photos at home with photoshop anyhow?)
So a simplecam as the default and the option to go high-end later is for me, the better way round....
I know some of this has strayed slightly off the specific questions you asked, but having made the same change you're thinking of in the past few weeks, I thought that giving some food for thought might be appreciated... Hope it helps...
I very much appreciate the replies. This is the kind of help that's so valuable. Just to clarify something, if an app makes use of hardware features on the S4, it should work as well with the custom ROM as the stock ROM? My motivation in asking all this is that Southern California Metrolink introduced an app to buy train tickets, but it doesn't work with Android 4.4.4. So I want to upgrade. Thanks again.
Unless the app has root restrictions, it should work.
Changing to custom roms you would only lose most Samsung features, mostly because the touchwiz stuff needs the touchwiz framework to function.
That ticket app is not an exclusive thing. It also uses NFC I guess, or a QR scanner. So, as long as NFC or the Camera works you should be fine.
If worse comes to worse, you can always flash back the stock firmware.

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