Database Users

[Q] I seek help and guidance

Hello everybody,
I am terribly sorry to do this to you, but I'm writing this on a very crappy tablet as my PC has run into quite a number of problems. That makes it very hard for me to dig for the info and my phone should arrive tomorrow. Anyway, now that I have somewhat justified this mischief of mine, I would like to ask you, the G2 people, a few questions. As I stated earlier, I ordered a G2 and I would like to root it and slap a good AOSP/Stock Android/AOKP/Nexus-ish ROM on it as quickly as possible. I have to do this over a friends PC, so I should tell him which files to download in order to make his life easier. Now, let's get to the questions. I live in Croatia (which is a part of the EU) so will I get the d802 variant of the phone? Which ROM would be most suitable for my needs, which are GTA San Andreas (when it comes out, trading a kidney for an early release), listening to music, a stock android experience and good battery life? The camera could come in handy because of all the holiday events taking place in the near future, but good camera quality isn't that much of a factor. Again, I am very sorry for asking these questions. If I had a normal PC, I would have searched for the answers myself, but I am desperate here. I'm going on a trip to visit my friend soon and I'd love to go there without the LG software and also without my phone getting stuck in bootloops or with bad battery life.
Thanks in advance!

Hi!
There's two paths:
Modding the stock rom
Benefits
Stable, fast
Excellent camera and audio quality
Bug free
Cons
Takes some modding in order to get it the way you like, if you like AOSP
You don't get the quick pulldown live tiles function from AOSP no matter what you do..
4.2.2
Recommended mods:
ROM and mods
StockROM from g.lewarne as a basis is a good choice
iOS7 navbar, looks just really nice in general
iOS7 icon pack 'Ios7 Flat' (dig around a bit for it) in conjunction with Unicon - an Xposed module (on Play Store) for nicer icons. Yuo can also use other icon packs of course. I say this because LGHome is recommended instead of ie. Nova Launcher, it's just smoother and nicer on the G2.
xdabebb camera mod for even better camera quality (the original app has its flaws)
Volume increase mod, the sound on stock is a bit low
V4A Viper4Android for even better sound
Freeze any unneccecary LG bloat through Titanium Backup (there's no need deleting them as the space isn't available anyway
iFont - changed system font to Helvetiva Neue, if you want the KitKat look you can change it to a light version of Roboto.
AOSP rom:
I've heard that Vanir rom is the smoothest atm
Pros:
4.4.x
AOSP apps
Lightweight
Cons
Unoptimized kernels
Not better battery time or performance
Feels rough around the edges
The implementation of things like the LED and 'knock off' and 'knock on' functions are not very good (you will learn to love them!)
audio quality is very bad, aosp camera also. there is a port of the LGcamera.apk, but it is very buggy unfortunately. Will make you upset very fast!

Thank you, you have been very helpful! I just might stick with stock for a while, at least to the end of the holidays.

ViktorN said:
Thank you, you have been very helpful! I just might stick with stock for a while, at least to the end of the holidays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck with that, my preferred choice is stock, even coming from a Nexus 4, and being very design-concious

Incep said:
Good luck with that, my preferred choice is stock, even coming from a Nexus 4, and being very design-concious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't resist, I simply had to flash stock Android. OmniROM first boot happening as I'm typing this.

ViktorN said:
I couldn't resist, I simply had to flash stock Android. OmniROM first boot happening as I'm typing this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please write some opinions on the camera quality of OmniROM. I'm a new user as well, still on stock though and I'm curious as to how the camera quality is in OmniROM.
Pozzz.

ViktorN said:
Hello everybody,
I am terribly sorry to do this to you, but I'm writing this on a very crappy tablet as my PC has run into quite a number of problems. That makes it very hard for me to dig for the info and my phone should arrive tomorrow. Anyway, now that I have somewhat justified this mischief of mine, I would like to ask you, the G2 people, a few questions. As I stated earlier, I ordered a G2 and I would like to root it and slap a good AOSP/Stock Android/AOKP/Nexus-ish ROM on it as quickly as possible. I have to do this over a friends PC, so I should tell him which files to download in order to make his life easier. Now, let's get to the questions. I live in Croatia (which is a part of the EU) so will I get the d802 variant of the phone? Which ROM would be most suitable for my needs, which are GTA San Andreas (when it comes out, trading a kidney for an early release), listening to music, a stock android experience and good battery life? The camera could come in handy because of all the holiday events taking place in the near future, but good camera quality isn't that much of a factor. Again, I am very sorry for asking these questions. If I had a normal PC, I would have searched for the answers myself, but I am desperate here. I'm going on a trip to visit my friend soon and I'd love to go there without the LG software and also without my phone getting stuck in bootloops or with bad battery life.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've spent quite much time with many ROMs and the best I find in CyanogenMod 11. I get 0% battery loss over the night. I get the latest software with best features of CM. I get above 31,000 Antutu benchmarks on this ROM and GTA San Andreas works flawlessly! Don't forget to use the latest TWRP 2.6.3.4 and you're good to go with this amazing phone. You can even get the quick remote and the LG camera apk on CyanogenMod. Good luck!
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

Slimkat doesn't have many issues... its very nice small and stable as well. instead of knock off use the navbar ring to set lock screen on a vertical swipe knock off problem solved until it is fully implemented. knock on works perfect. Great KITKAT rom.
stockmod rom is EXCELLENT no other way to describe it - my only issue has been audio quality when playing on my stereo through jack is very crackly...

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

First nexus, couple of questions

Hello,
This is my first nexus, getting it tomorrow (12th) really looking forward to it, got the graphite one (getting a case so doesn't matter to me)
Im quite excited about the development, it looks quite busy which is great, I'd just like to ask if anyone has any screen off animations, like the CRT effect or the s6 slide to the edge animation, I'm pretty sure xposed provides these but I'd like to avoid that if possible.
I'll be rooting day one as I've always done on my phones and then off on the hunt for a rom.. Glad to be a part of the nexus gang for once, hope it's as good as I've heard..
Second question was list view animations, again I'm aware that there are xposed mods XUI mod which can do these for me, but again I'd like to avoid them.. I think there will be some roms with this feature baked in but thought I'd ask anyway just incase there isn't..
Thanks chaps.

dladz said:
Hello,
This is my first nexus, getting it tomorrow (12th) really looking forward to it, got the graphite one (getting a case so doesn't matter to me)
Im quite excited about the development, it looks quite busy which is great, I'd just like to ask if anyone has any screen off animations, like the CRT effect or the s6 slide to the edge animation, I'm pretty sure xposed provides these but I'd like to avoid that if possible.
I'll be rooting day one as I've always done on my phones and then off on the hunt for a rom.. Glad to be a part of the nexus gang for once, hope it's as good as I've heard..
Second question was list view animations, again I'm aware that there are xposed mods XUI mod which can do these for me, but again I'd like to avoid them.. I think there will be some roms with this feature baked in but thought I'd ask anyway just incase there isn't..
Thanks chaps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry I have no idea about the screen off animation, didn't look at it tbh but mind if I ask why would you avoid xposed if you will root?

mr.dj26 said:
sorry I have no idea about the screen off animation, didn't look at it tbh but mind if I ask why would you avoid xposed if you will root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not OP, but I've also been avoiding xposed. My impression is that I've seen enough negative comments about unpredictable behavior when paired with Franco Kernel, I think Franco himself may have even commented on it, and if I have to choose between the two I'm going with FK. I wish xposed could be super stable and compatible and predictable though, because I'm dying for some of it's features and I don't want to leave the stock ROM.
ALSO, it wasn't immediately apparent the requirements for using it, and the processes to install it (there are multiple parts, right? there used to be), and where we go for an aggregated list of mods like Cydia on iOS. Seemed like too much work for too much potential buginess.

.psd said:
Not OP, but I've also been avoiding xposed. My impression is that I've seen enough negative comments about unpredictable behavior when paired with Franco Kernel, I think Franco himself may have even commented on it, and if I have to choose between the two I'm going with FK. I wish xposed could be super stable and compatible and predictable though, because I'm dying for some of it's features and I don't want to leave the stock ROM.
ALSO, it wasn't immediately apparent the requirements for using it, and the processes to install it (there are multiple parts, right? there used to be), and where we go for an aggregated list of mods like Cydia on iOS. Seemed like too much work for too much potential buginess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't speak to the Franco kernel but I have used Xposed with Kylo, stock and God's kernel and have never had one issue with Xposed. You have to flash the installer with TWRP but otherwise its super easy.

mr.dj26 said:
sorry I have no idea about the screen off animation, didn't look at it tbh but mind if I ask why would you avoid xposed if you will root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a fair question, and the answer is unpredictable battery drain, extremely poorly updated and Un optimized mods, obviously not all of them but a lot.
As I said in the OP the list view animation has been done, I've had it on CandyRom on my M9, it works really well but I haven't seen a screen off animation since kit kat, the stock animation now is to fade away, if you slow down animations within development settings you'll see it on locking your phone. I'd just like a one time mod to be able to alter that to something else.
Once you've got it on your phone you like it and get used to it then you miss it when it's not there.
Personally I would like to avoid xposed, it does have a negative impact on your battery for that I'm sure.

tfly212 said:
Can't speak to the Franco kernel but I have used Xposed with Kylo, stock and God's kernel and have never had one issue with Xposed. You have to flash the installer with TWRP but otherwise its super easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually wrote a tutorial on how to install xposed and the two above modules however after doing this and living with it vs not having xposed, same apps same rom. There was a huge difference in battery performance, hence why I'd like to avoid xposed altogether.

.psd said:
Not OP, but I've also been avoiding xposed. My impression is that I've seen enough negative comments about unpredictable behavior when paired with Franco Kernel, I think Franco himself may have even commented on it, and if I have to choose between the two I'm going with FK. I wish xposed could be super stable and compatible and predictable though, because I'm dying for some of it's features and I don't want to leave the stock ROM.
ALSO, it wasn't immediately apparent the requirements for using it, and the processes to install it (there are multiple parts, right? there used to be), and where we go for an aggregated list of mods like Cydia on iOS. Seemed like too much work for too much potential buginess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is part of my problem too. If there are stand alone mods I'd prefer them over xposed.
Its like having the Facebook messenger app when the original Facebook app was more than enough, why have two apps when 1 will do.

There used to be stand alone mods for older devices, I'm not sure if it's possible any more or its just because there's less demand for it, but I always ask when I get a new phone.

dladz said:
I actually wrote a tutorial on how to install xposed and the two above modules however after doing this and living with it vs not having xposed, same apps same rom. There was a huge difference in battery performance, hence why I'd like to avoid xposed altogether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Definitely not my experience... I have used Xposed from the start and get about 5 hours SOT as a standard with WiFi, cellular and GPS on all day (solid signal in NYC). Are you getting significantly more than 5 hours SOT without Xposed?

dladz said:
Its a fair question, and the answer is unpredictable battery drain, extremely poorly updated and Un optimized mods, obviously not all of them but a lot.
As I said in the OP the list view animation has been done, I've had it on CandyRom on my M9, it works really well but I haven't seen a screen off animation since kit kat, the stock animation now is to fade away, if you slow down animations within development settings you'll see it on locking your phone. I'd just like a one time mod to be able to alter that to something else.
Once you've got it on your phone you like it and get used to it then you miss it when it's not there.
Personally I would like to avoid xposed, it does have a negative impact on your battery for that I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't noticed any difference in battery after installing xposed. I'm running on the stock rom/kernal with 0 issues. I use xposed for Gravity box , gesture nav, greenify, and youtube background playback. Maybe it's something with the modules you've downloaded.

mr.dj26 said:
I haven't noticed any difference in battery after installing xposed. I'm running on the stock rom/kernal with 0 issues. I use xposed for Gravity box , gesture nav, greenify, and youtube background playback. Maybe it's something with the modules you've downloaded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps, but the point is, if you could have the modifications which you've obtained through xposed without actually using an exploit like xposed, would you? I think you would.
This is what i'm looking for.
PS: Just got my 6P and i have to say it's one good looking phone, coming from the M9 too, it's very nice, i'm happy with it up to now for sure.

tfly212 said:
Interesting. Definitely not my experience... I have used Xposed from the start and get about 5 hours SOT as a standard with WiFi, cellular and GPS on all day (solid signal in NYC). Are you getting significantly more than 5 hours SOT without Xposed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also don't want to spark a debate here as it's besides the point of what i originally asked, xposed is an app that allows mods, i personally given the chance would prefer to have the mods on their own, i know they can be done as i've seen them on previous devices (see my phone list below)
Just want to know if they exist on this device ? As it's a nexus i'd assumed that it was one of the most modded types of android out there.
Either way i'm more than happy with the device, it's a nice bit of kit.
Just my two cents here though to settle what you'd asked me, do i notice better battery without xposed, well yes i have noticed it to be better, a clean flash and then back to a normal rom and battery has been better.
There are many benefits to being without xposed, bug reporting for one, if you have xposed you can't bug report as it invalidates it, for me battery has been substandard with it, so i'm hoping with this phone i can avoid it and get the mods in a flashable zip.
Hoping

dladz said:
I also don't want to spark a debate here as it's besides the point of what i originally asked, xposed is an app that allows mods, i personally given the chance would prefer to have the mods on their own, i know they can be done as i've seen them on previous devices (see my phone list below)
Just want to know if they exist on this device ? As it's a nexus i'd assumed that it was one of the most modded types of android out there.
Either way i'm more than happy with the device, it's a nice bit of kit.
Just my two cents here though to settle what you'd asked me, do i notice better battery without xposed, well yes i have noticed it to be better, a clean flash and then back to a normal rom and battery has been better.
There are many benefits to being without xposed, bug reporting for one, if you have xposed you can't bug report as it invalidates it, for me battery has been substandard with it, so i'm hoping with this phone i can avoid it and get the mods in a flashable zip.
Hoping
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries...was more curious about your experience. If you were getting 8 hours SOT or something i would drop Xposed like a hot rock haha. I normally would go the ROM route but I have to use Airwatch for work and every ROM I tried made the device show as compromised.

tfly212 said:
No worries...was more curious about your experience. If you were getting 8 hours SOT or something i would drop Xposed like a hot rock haha. I normally would go the ROM route but I have to use Airwatch for work and every ROM I tried made the device show as compromised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about using an older version of the app, that's how I use my banking app, the new one won't work but a few versions before and its all good.
Try it , might be OK.
I never measured screen on time, I measure by days, and events during the day, like how much battery on the way home, similar usage but xposed used more, from what I saw.

Root on Pixel XL - Why?

Hello fellow Pixel users!
Just wanted to take a minute and start a small discussion with you about stuff that only works with root. Maybe you feel the same.
As an Android user from day 1, I always enjoyed the general "openness" of Android compared to other mobile OSs and used to frequently try out new custom ROMs, play with all the system UI tuner options and obviously got used to having a decent adblocker.
But ever since I got a Pixel XL, I was honestly surprised by the relatively small amount of ROMs and general lack of development on XDA regarding the Pixel phones. At least compared to previous phones I owned, with the exception of the Blackberry Classic maybe...
(Obviously I don't want to discredit the folks that ARE working on these devices. You're awesome and your work is very appreciated!)
Right now, I only use root for AdAway, Nova Launcher (for turning off the screen and locking it with a double tap) and Ex Kernel Manager (even though I never used it or changed any of the settings).
So what I really want to talk about is, what do you use root for? Or why did you unlock your bootloader? Is there something I'm missing?
TL,DR: Did you root your phone or unlock the bootloader? Why?

Yes and yes.
I will always run an unlocked bootloader. It's a security safety net. If my phone bricks, I have the option to flash factory images. I can always return to stock if something goes wrong.
Root, yes, of course. Because Android.

Pain-N-Panic said:
If my phone bricks, I have the option to flash factory images. I can always return to stock if something goes wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are great points! You're absolutely right!
But what about apps or system tweaks? You said "Because Android" but how is your experience different from someone who didn't root?

paco8 said:
Those are great points! You're absolutely right!
But what about apps or system tweaks? You said "Because Android" but how is your experience different from someone who didn't root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root privileged apps- adaway, titanium backup, modded YouTube, modded Spotify, SD Maid, Substratum and a few others.
Also, custom kernel with customized color profile for a more vibrant display.
I also enjoy themeing my own device so having root is necessary for me.
I also need to root, well, BECAUSE ANDROID

Pain-N-Panic said:
Root privileged apps- adaway, titanium backup, modded YouTube, modded Spotify, SD Maid, Substratum and a few others.
Also, custom kernel with customized color profile for a more vibrant display.
I also enjoy themeing my own device so having root is necessary for me.
I also need to root, well, BECAUSE ANDROID
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U don't need root for substratum on my 8.1 and use Andromeda add on for rootless substratum
I feel like going back to nougat and root for Xposed though...

Thanks for the suggestions!
If you ask me:
Not a fan of TB (restoring often causes problems)
or SD Maid (some cache is important and shouldn't be deleted - except for uninstalled apps),
Substratum is way too buggy for me (at least I can't seem to find a theme without bugs)
and I probably shouldn't ask about those modded apps on here, even though they sound interesting. I guess I'll have to Google that. :laugh:
After looking through Ex Kernel Manager, I can't seem to find anything that I'd want to use or fiddle with. The phone is fast enough, so no overclock. The colors are fine, so no tuning needed. And all the other stuff looks dangerous...
Where are all the awesome system UI options though? I'd love to have my clock in the center of the status bar and display battery percentage INSTEAD of the icon. I know that those are usually coded into custom ROMs but there are no 8.1 ROMs...
Oh, how I'd love to see an 8.1 DU ROM working flawlessly...
Edit: Why go back to Nougat and why use Xposed? I don't get what the big deal is about Xposed nowadays. I used it a few years ago but only because of one or two add-ons, if I recall that correctly.

I have center clock on 8.1 using a Substratum theme.
Also, you can choose to select battery percentage next to the battery icon in 8.1 battery settings.
Once source code gets released for 8.1, the SystemUI can be deodexed which will allow for 3minit battery mod to work. I believe 3minit requires root.

Reasons are getting thin aren't they. AdAway, TB, and Tasker (HBM and single tap sleep(without device admin permission thus required pin)). TB makes life easier but not a necessity. Different device wouldn't need HBM most likely. So basically it comes down to AdAway which I'm pretty sure I'd go nuts without.

TB, Tasker, lucky patcher, greenify, acr (automatic call recorder), ad away. And generally being able to mess with things.

ThePublisher said:
TB, Tasker, lucky patcher, greenify, acr (automatic call recorder), ad away. And generally being able to mess with things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Generally being able to mess with things" is the most accurate response this question for those who love Android at its core.

Pain-N-Panic said:
"Generally being able to mess with things" is the most accurate response this question for those who love Android at its core.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the technical term for it at least.

I'm down to one reason and I found out about it a few months back actually. Without it I probably wouldn't bother.
Assertive display - visibility outdoors in the freaking sun with sunglasses on? Heck yeah! The most annoying part is that it just takes two lines added to the build.prop file. If I could do this without root I sure as hell would.

Adaway

Thanks for all your answers!
This basically proves my point though in my opinion. Having a rooted Android device used to be such an open playground for fun stuff and now it's mostly just about adblockers and minor tweaks apart from a few apps that still take advantage of it like Tasker and TB.
At least the phones nowadays are fast as hell and have insane cameras. I just wish it would be more sci-fi-y if you know what I mean. Phones aren't just gadgets anymore, they're expensive pieces of hardware that seem to improve upon basic things that we could do for years.
Android updates used to have lots of cool new features with every new version number that was released and now they just seem to improve upon what they can already do and sometimes take features away or even lock them to specific phones (looking at the guy who thought it was a great idea to make stuff like "motion pictures" a feature only on Pixel 2 devices even though our device had the feature available for a day).
Guess I'll take this opportunity to spend less time messing around with tons of options and just be thankful for what they can do now. Like playing stupid gambling-like games with ps1-graphics on a device with a quad-core and 4GB of RAM. :laugh:
Am I the only one who gets turned off by games that have reviewers saying "addictive" and "great time-killer"? This thing could play GTA 4 and tons of people rather spend a hundred bucks on candy crush...
Whatever, it's all good. I guess I just have different expectations.

paco8 said:
Thanks for all your answers!
This basically proves my point though in my opinion. Having a rooted Android device used to be such an open playground for fun stuff and now it's mostly just about adblockers and minor tweaks apart from a few apps that still take advantage of it like Tasker and TB.
At least the phones nowadays are fast as hell and have insane cameras. I just wish it would be more sci-fi-y if you know what I mean. Phones aren't just gadgets anymore, they're expensive pieces of hardware that seem to improve upon basic things that we could do for years.
Android updates used to have lots of cool new features with every new version number that was released and now they just seem to improve upon what they can already do and sometimes take features away or even lock them to specific phones (looking at the guy who thought it was a great idea to make stuff like "motion pictures" a feature only on Pixel 2 devices even though our device had the feature available for a day).
Guess I'll take this opportunity to spend less time messing around with tons of options and just be thankful for what they can do now. Like playing stupid gambling-like games with ps1-graphics on a device with a quad-core and 4GB of RAM. :laugh:
Am I the only one who gets turned off by games that have reviewers saying "addictive" and "great time-killer"? This thing could play GTA 4 and tons of people rather spend a hundred bucks on candy crush...
Whatever, it's all good. I guess I just have different expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right! I was also using root just for the 3 reasons you specified! Adaway is the biggest reason. There are other solutions, but nothing that reliable. And next biggest is Ex Kernel Manager to set up double tap to wake without lockscreen.
As for the motion photos, you still can get it. You need to download that version of Google Camera APK and disable updates. I am using it and it looks good. But it works only in Google Photos App. So not that useful as well!

DaSmith87 said:
I'm down to one reason and I found out about it a few months back actually. Without it I probably wouldn't bother.
Assertive display - visibility outdoors in the freaking sun with sunglasses on? Heck yeah! The most annoying part is that it just takes two lines added to the build.prop file. If I could do this without root I sure as hell would.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My quick reasons for bootloader unlocking and rooting mirror many of the others here:
1) Ability to flash factory images in a recovery situation.
2) Titanium Backup - although I haven't had to actually use this to recover anything other than a specific app or 2 in the past few years.
3) Adaway
4) Ability to modify build.prop to leverage native hotspot/tethering (Verizon GUDP)
I am interested in learning more about Assertive Display and the differences between it and Adaptive Brightness. My understanding is that Assertive Display works separately from Adaptive Brightness and actually adjusts the tone/color/contrast of individual display pixels to optimize viewing in bright sunlight. Theoretically, this allows you to turn down screen brightness to achieve better viewing/contrast in bright conditions. Can you provide the link to directions you used to enable Assertive Display? Also - does it play well with Adaptive Brightness - or do you need to manually tweak screen brightness to account for Assertive Display?
Thanks!

sb1893 said:
My quick reasons for bootloader unlocking and rooting mirror many of the others here:
1) Ability to flash factory images in a recovery situation.
2) Titanium Backup - although I haven't had to actually use this to recover anything other than a specific app or 2 in the past few years.
3) Adaway
4) Ability to modify build.prop to leverage native hotspot/tethering (Verizon GUDP)
I am interested in learning more about Assertive Display and the differences between it and Adaptive Brightness. My understanding is that Assertive Display works separately from Adaptive Brightness and actually adjusts the tone/color/contrast of individual display pixels to optimize viewing in bright sunlight. Theoretically, this allows you to turn down screen brightness to achieve better viewing/contrast in bright conditions. Can you provide the link to directions you used to enable Assertive Display? Also - does it play well with Adaptive Brightness - or do you need to manually tweak screen brightness to account for Assertive Display?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first enabled this I left my brightness at the same 50% level with the auto brightness left on. It works really well in conjunction with the normal brightness level settings. Maybe turning the brightness down could yeild better battery results but I was never one to complain by the Pixel XL's battery life.
This video from Android Authority here explains it well. I actually randomly got to the video at around midnight on YouTube a few months back. Phone wasn't rooted so I did root it in the middle of the night and followed this topic from the XDA forums to change the build.prop file. Applied the changes, rebooted phone and... Realized I have no real way to test it. Went to my kitchen's aspirator and switched the lights on, brought the phone under there super close at a very steep angle and I could still see it perfectly fine.
TL;DR - this is a great addition to the already standard brightness levels, works like magic, and hey, you can always revert if you end up not liking it.

DaSmith87 said:
When I first enabled this I left my brightness at the same 50% level with the auto brightness left on. It works really well in conjunction with the normal brightness level settings. Maybe turning the brightness down could yeild better battery results but I was never one to complain by the Pixel XL's battery life.
This video from Android Authority here explains it well. I actually randomly got to the video at around midnight on YouTube a few months back. Phone wasn't rooted so I did root it in the middle of the night and followed this topic from the XDA forums to change the build.prop file. Applied the changes, rebooted phone and... Realized I have no real way to test it. Went to my kitchen's aspirator and switched the lights on, brought the phone under there super close at a very steep angle and I could still see it perfectly fine.
TL;DR - this is a great addition to the already standard brightness levels, works like magic, and hey, you can always revert if you end up not liking it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the detail. I'm going to give it a whirl right now!

sb1893 said:
Thanks so much for the detail. I'm going to give it a whirl right now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome! One thing I forgot to mention - don't bother with the flashable ZIP. It's more work than editing the build.prop file and it actually doesn't work on 8 and up. 7.1.2 was OK with it but I noticed it wasn't quite right on 8 when I tried to flash it even though it said it flashed with no errors.

sacthegreat said:
You are right! I was also using root just for the 3 reasons you specified! Adaway is the biggest reason. There are other solutions, but nothing that reliable. And next biggest is Ex Kernel Manager to set up double tap to wake without lockscreen.
As for the motion photos, you still can get it. You need to download that version of Google Camera APK and disable updates. I am using it and it looks good. But it works only in Google Photos App. So not that useful as well!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I actually did disable auto update once I had it and still have the APK. Don't know if it works after a fresh install of 8.1 though. I guess I'll try later. Google's Motion Stills as an alternative just feels weird to me.
I think it's a neat feature though. Sometimes it really helps bring a moment back to life, more than a still picture would. Especially when it's snowing or raining.
That new AR stickers thing is also funny but it needs better content IMO. Two of the packs are basically ads for the StarWars movies and Stranger Things.

SNAPPATCH XZ Premium - Device specific Feedback, Discussion, Troubleshooting

This is the official Feedback/Troubleshooting Thread for the Xperia XZ Premium. Feel free to discuss about the Patch, and to ask for Help if You face Problems or Bugs on Your Device. Stay friendly, be respectful and keep the XDA Rules in Mind!
Main Thread - LINK

Not a bug or anything, just letting people know that the first boot will take a while. Don't worry if it sits at the pixel boot animation for longer than a few minutes.

hello, it's for an opinion, I'm with Carbon ROm and SNAPPATCH, I have a concern:
* 1) with the autofocus of Open Camera .... autofocus has trouble with close subjects, I tried all focus modes but it's still the same, typed 15 times its screen to have a correct focus, my photos always come out with just a little blurry (and with luck no ...)
2) when taking the picture, the clarity of the screen is still there but to view the picture the intensity of the screen drops a little bit and does not give the effect of having taken the same picture, it's normal ?
So, thank you for a nice answer and good work on SNAPPATCH

blweldon2 said:
Not a bug or anything, just letting people know that the first boot will take a while. Don't worry if it sits at the pixel boot animation for longer than a few minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's helpful, thanks for Your Feedback! Hope You enjoy the Patch
CRYX said:
hello, it's for an opinion, I'm with Carbon ROm and SNAPPATCH, I have a concern:
* 1) with the autofocus of Open Camera .... autofocus has trouble with close subjects, I tried all focus modes but it's still the same, typed 15 times its screen to have a correct focus, my photos always come out with just a little blurry (and with luck no ...)
2) when taking the picture, the clarity of the screen is still there but to view the picture the intensity of the screen drops a little bit and does not give the effect of having taken the same picture, it's normal ?
So, thank you for a nice answer and good work on SNAPPATCH
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for You constructive Post! There are a lot of Configs and i'm not even aware of what the best Values would be. Means a lot of testing and finetuning for the next Time. At all is it already a good upgrade but i can confirm that there is still a lot to do and to figure out how what works and which Configs are the best. I'm also looking around to get HDR Video Recording and i already made some Steps in the right Direction like it seem. I'll keep You informed on the Main Thread and the Changelogs when something changes or improves! Hope You can live for now with the Camera...
BR

When trying to install Substratum, its getting half way done building the overlays, seems stuck. Any ideas?
BTW Im hitting the 8.1 and build & enable
Also what a good app to use to change those kernel numbers

Tested it: performance is much slower than stock. Geekbench shows 60% less performance.
Wifi is stronger.
No X-reality.
Safe charging doesn't exist.
Camera is very good, but the focus is off, cannot take pictures of nearby objects.
Back to stock for me

amakuramio said:
Tested it: performance is much slower than stock. Geekbench shows 60% less performance.
Wifi is stronger.
No X-reality.
Safe charging doesn't exist.
Camera is very good, but the focus is off, cannot take pictures of nearby objects.
Back to stock for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't even tried the Real World Performance such as Task switching or Gaming Performance? X-Reality? Sounds not like testing for Me...
And what is Safe Charging? It does Quick Charge (3.0) as Safe as Possible. Otherwise would it just start heat up or totally stops the charging since there is a Controller for such Things.... Besides that seems the Device to stay a lot Cooler while Charging (Booted in Android).
Don't get Me wrong. But Posts like this are the Stone on the Development Grave here. It just tells People that something is sh**, and they don't even think about to try it out. Half of the Posts i see on the Xperia Forums are non Sense, complaining, or feature request. That's isn't helpful to anyone and just keeps Devs from joining the Development here. See the TWRP Thread from Myself5 or the Kernel Thread from AndroPlus (Both long Time Contributers). It's a wonder that Myself5 is still providing his Carbon Builds on the Forums....
To be honest, besides the ROM from Myself5 and My Patch is there nothing great to find for the XZ Premium. If You can't believe that go back to Nougat or use this trashy ROM from Turbo which contains non working "Tweaks" and seems to be 90% based on Superrs Kitchen without additional Optimizations (My 5 Years old Brother can do that). Just removed some Content and Copy - pasted a Kernel with the DRM Fix. It's sad...
And before i start to talk more about the Problems here am i out for now. New Patch is up and i'm looking forward to more Enhancements which You will NEVER get on Stock!
BR

Miustone said:
You don't even tried the Real World Performance such as Task switching or Gaming Performance? X-Reality? Sounds not like testing for Me...
And what is Safe Charging? It does Quick Charge (3.0) as Safe as Possible. Otherwise would it just start heat up or totally stops the charging since there is a Controller for such Things.... Besides that seems the Device to stay a lot Cooler while Charging (Booted in Android).
Don't get Me wrong. But Posts like this are the Stone on the Development Grave here. It just tells People that something is sh**, and they don't even think about to try it out. Half of the Posts i see on the Xperia Forums are non Sense, complaining, or feature request. That's isn't helpful to anyone and just keeps Devs from joining the Development here. See the TWRP Thread from Myself5 or the Kernel Thread from AndroPlus (Both long Time Contributers). It's a wonder that Myself5 is still providing his Carbon Builds on the Forums....
To be honest, besides the ROM from Myself5 and My Patch is there nothing great to find for the XZ Premium. If You can't believe that go back to Nougat or use this trashy ROM from Turbo which contains non working "Tweaks" and seems to be 90% based on Superrs Kitchen without additional Optimizations (My 5 Years old Brother can do that). Just removed some Content and Copy - pasted a Kernel with the DRM Fix. It's sad...
And before i start to talk more about the Problems here am i out for now. New Patch is up and i'm looking forward to more Enhancements which You will NEVER get on Stock!
BR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi Miustone...... i know how you feel...... if i would get upset with all reports like that, i would be 10 years older..... get use to this.... here in xda, this is normal.....
he did his best.... some people are good reporting issues, some others don’t.... you need to get the positive and re-evaluate the negative ones..... just don’t take it personal...... i know, some times we are not in the mood.... i know.... but i learned a lot, from forums like these..... believe me, i've been in all....
you did an impressive job coding all these scripts.... i saw them all...... this tell me a lot from you...... not everyone can see them.... users, just use them....... and they don’t know the effort it takes, to get there....
just enjoy your passion, coding and developing..... my respect.....
TURBO

TURBO2012 said:
hi Miustone...... i know how you feel...... if i would get upset with all reports like that, i would be 10 years older..... get use to this.... here in xda, this is normal.....
he did his best.... some people are good reporting issues, some others don’t.... you need to get the positive and re-evaluate the negative ones..... just don’t take it personal...... i know, some times we are not in the mood.... i know.... but i learned a lot, from forums like these..... believe me, i've been in all....
you did an impressive job coding all these scripts.... i saw them all...... this tell me a lot from you...... not everyone can see them.... users, just use them....... and they don’t know the effort it takes, to get there....
just enjoy your passion, coding and developing..... my respect.....
TURBO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for You nice Words Mate! I really take My at off to You for Your calmness! I'm 24 now and around 6 Years posting on XDA. I still can't accept that XDA has changed over the Years, and i think that's My Problem. It's not the Users Fault, XDA just mutated to another Place and no one can change that except for the Owners of this Site. And i don't see that coming. XDA is still under Construction since Years (DEV DB, Thread Features, Site Designs, Post Editing), and there is no End...
I looked often around for other Places to share My Work, but looks like i have to live with that here... At least do i know that here are still some Friendly Devs and Users, and that's what keeps Me here at the End. So Thanks again for Your Post! And keep You also up Your ROMs! It would be really Silent in our Forums without You...
BR

After days of using,here's my simple feedback.
(G8142,lastest official CarbomROM)
1.Battery life is as good as,if not better than that of stock.
2.When slipping the screen,it lags.(compared to stock)
But i believe it is the rom to be blame.
3.Actually game performance is not good,for example,Fate/Grand Order and HearthStone,the animation of which lags.
4.The Pixel-like UI is cool! i love it.
keep developing,and i will stay on AOSP

SuzutsukiKaede said:
After days of using,here's my simple feedback.
(G8142,lastest official CarbomROM)
1.Battery life is as good as,if not better than that of stock.
2.When slipping the screen,it lags.(compared to stock)
But i believe it is the rom to be blame.
3.Actually game performance is not good,for example,Fate/Grand Order and HearthStone,the animation of which lags.
4.The Pixel-like UI is cool! i love it.
keep developing,and i will stay on AOSP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for Your Feedback!
I can't tell if the Patch is causing it or not, but it runs just well on My Axon 7 using AOSP Extended. Same for Gaming or Multitasking. Graphic intensive Games are running more fluid and with less heat, and the App switching is much faster. But i see the Lags all few Seconds on the XZP. Are You also using the Carbon ROM?
Think i will try out pure AOSP after some sleeping...
And yes, i will continue the Development! There is much left to do, and i think a own AOSP OS from Me including many of the Patch Features will also come in the next Time (AOSP Project for Xperia Devices). At least at this Point should be all Lags be part of the past...
Hope to see You around again! BR

Try change g google play services and the lag will go.

Miustone said:
Thanks for Your Feedback!
I can't tell if the Patch is causing it or not, but it runs just well on My Axon 7 using AOSP Extended. Same for Gaming or Multitasking. Graphic intensive Games are running more fluid and with less heat, and the App switching is much faster. But i see the Lags all few Seconds on the XZP. Are You also using the Carbon ROM?
Think i will try out pure AOSP after some sleeping...
And yes, i will continue the Development! There is much left to do, and i think a own AOSP OS from Me including many of the Patch Features will also come in the next Time (AOSP Project for Xperia Devices). At least at this Point should be all Lags be part of the past...
Hope to see You around again! BR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, i have tried the latest AOSP by SonyAOSP team,and now i am on it.
It is smoother than stock,without any lag.
however i could not boot into recovery,which makes me unable to flash the latest Snappatch.
i think we are getting closer to it...

Inerent said:
Try change g google play services and the lag will go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on the Beta right now and all seems to be fine with the latest Patch Version. Hope You can also enjoy it now!
SuzutsukiKaede said:
hey, i have tried the latest AOSP by SonyAOSP team,and now i am on it.
It is smoother than stock,without any lag.
however i could not boot into recovery,which makes me unable to flash the latest Snappatch.
i think we are getting closer to it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great to hear so far, but what's the Problem with Your Recovery? Mine works fine here...
Have You tried flashing the last One from TWRP.me with Fastboot? The Patch should not affect it in any way. So it's a really strange Issue... ?

Miustone said:
I'm on the Beta right now and all seems to be fine with the latest Patch Version. Hope You can also enjoy it now!
Great to hear so far, but what's the Problem with Your Recovery? Mine works fine here...
Have You tried flashing the last One from TWRP.me with Fastboot? The Patch should not affect it in any way. So it's a really strange Issue... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have tried 3.2.1-0 and 3.1.1-0,but both couldn't function normally.
it just slashes and reboots.

SuzutsukiKaede said:
i have tried 3.2.1-0 and 3.1.1-0,but both couldn't function normally.
it just slashes and reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed, with yesterday compiled Sony AOSP TWRP is broken.
With the whole source from the end of March all was fine. But I got weird errors with this patch which rendered the phone unusable at all.
Sadly I have no clue how to debug a recovery. TWRP only worked before first boot.

Thread closed rule 5