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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.
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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?
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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
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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.
Which one do you prefer? Oxygen stock apps or google apps? Why?
Anything Google is superior to the One Plus versions. Partly why I bought this phone was because of reviews from tech sites like XDA that said OOS was like stock Android with a few tweaks to make it better. I came from the Nexus/Pixel world and expected that kind of experience with OOS but OOS isn't anything like a stock Android experience .
At the time shameless tech shills were claiming that OOS on the OP5 was almost stock Android OOS disabled Android Doze by default and hid the toggle to enable it in the Developer Settings. One Plus even conducted a poll on their community site asking OP5 owners if they thought Doze was a useful feature. Does that sound like a company that cares about providing a stock Android experience?
Oxygen is so heavily modded an Oxygen kernel will not run on any custom ROM compiled from stock Android source. This is actually a big deal if you like to flash custom ROMs because that means developers have to create separate kernels for the OP5 depending on whether a ROM is OOS based or Android based. Most devs don't want to go through all that hassle so there are hardly any custom kernels for the OP5 that can be used with non OOS custom ROMs.
OOS is 100% coded in China by the Hydrogen operating system team and is inferior to stock Android when it comes to overall stability and also to compatibility with third party apps. Some apps from the Play Store have issues on OOS because Oxygen contains so much non standard code. The OOS version of Oreo contains a lot of Nougat coding that isn't supposed to be there so sometimes third party apps respond in unpredictable ways.
The Google versions of dialer and messaging contain more functionality than the Oxygen versions. The OOS dialer doesn't even use the stock gesture of swiping up to answer a phone call. One Plus thought doing the exact opposite of normal Android was an improvement so you swipe down to answer calls instead. Sure, you get used to the switch after a while but why should you have to? What exactly is gained?
Then there is the OOS camera app which probably provides the worst picture quality to camera hardware ratio of any stock camera app on any Android phone. The OP5 should take iPhone quality pictures with the camera hardware it has but a $150 Samsung phone takes better pictures. The OP3/3T even takes better pictures. An Oppo phone with virtually the same hardware as the OP5 takes much better pictures .
Why?
Picture this. You are a talented young software engineer who just graduated with honors from a Chinese University. Is your dream job going to be at One Plus which sells over 95% of its phones outside of China? One Plus is a very minor brand in China, the country that all of its programmers come from. Oppo and Huawei are going to get the best and brightest programmers. Then come ZTE, Xiaomi, Coolpad and TCL/Alcatel, all of which have a much larger presence in Asia than One Plus.
Basically OOS is programmed by the software engineers nobody else in China wanted so anything from Google is inevitably going to be far superior.
jhs39 said:
Anything Google is superior to the One Plus versions. Partly why I bought this phone was because of reviews from tech sites like XDA that said OOS was like stock Android with a few tweaks to make it better. I came from the Nexus/Pixel world and expected that kind of experience with OOS but OOS isn't anything like a stock Android experience .
At the time shameless tech shills were claiming that OOS on the OP5 was almost stock Android OOS disabled Android Doze by default and hid the toggle to enable it in the Developer Settings. One Plus even conducted a poll on their community site asking OP5 owners if they thought Doze was a useful feature. Does that sound like a company that cares about providing a stock Android experience?
Oxygen is so heavily modded an Oxygen kernel will not run on any custom ROM compiled from stock Android source. This is actually a big deal if you like to flash custom ROMs because that means developers have to create separate kernels for the OP5 depending on whether a ROM is OOS based or Android based. Most devs don't want to go through all that hassle so there are hardly any custom kernels for the OP5 that can be used with non OOS custom ROMs.
OOS is 100% coded in China by the Hydrogen operating system team and is inferior to stock Android when it comes to overall stability and also to compatibility with third party apps. Some apps from the Play Store have issues on OOS because Oxygen contains so much non standard code. The OOS version of Oreo contains a lot of Nougat coding that isn't supposed to be there so sometimes third party apps respond in unpredictable ways.
The Google versions of dialer and messaging contain more functionality than the Oxygen versions. The OOS dialer doesn't even use the stock gesture of swiping up to answer a phone call. One Plus thought doing the exact opposite of normal Android was an improvement so you swipe down to answer calls instead. Sure, you get used to the switch after a while but why should you have to? What exactly is gained?
Then there is the OOS camera app which probably provides the worst picture quality to camera hardware ratio of any stock camera app on any Android phone. The OP5 should take iPhone quality pictures with the camera hardware it has but a $150 Samsung phone takes better pictures. The OP3/3T even takes better pictures. An Oppo phone with virtually the same hardware as the OP5 takes much better pictures .
Why?
Picture this. You are a talented young software engineer who just graduated with honors from a Chinese University. Is your dream job going to be at One Plus which sells over 95% of its phones outside of China? One Plus is a very minor brand in China, the country that all of its programmers come from. Oppo and Huawei are going to get the best and brightest programmers. Then come ZTE, Xiaomi, Coolpad and TCL/Alcatel, all of which have a much larger presence in Asia than One Plus.
Basically OOS is programmed by the software engineers nobody else in China wanted so anything from Google is inevitably going to be far superior.
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Click to collapse
ROFL what the hell are you talking about? The phone is perfectly stable. I've never installed a custom ROM on this phone and had it since launch. I am rooted with custom recovery. No issues with the OS or 3rd party apps in my experience. I run about 60 apps. Of those only Google apps I run is sheets, docs, YouTube, calendar. The rest are 3rd party apps. I know there are some issues, but not unlike any other OEM out there.
LoL you make it sound like the phone is unstable, unusable, worst camera ever. It is the fastest, smoothest phone I've used and I came from a Nexus 6P. Also the most insane battery life of any phone with less the 4000mah battery. You sound bitter
Eric214 said:
ROFL what the hell are you talking about? The phone is perfectly stable. I've never installed a custom ROM on this phone and had it since launch. I am rooted with custom recovery. No issues with the OS or 3rd party apps in my experience. I run about 60 apps. Of those only Google apps I run is sheets, docs, YouTube, calendar. The rest are 3rd party apps. I know there are some issues, but not unlike any other OEM out there.
LoL you make it sound like the phone is unstable, unusable, worst camera ever. It is the fastest, smoothest phone I've used and I came from a Nexus 6P. Also the most insane battery life of any phone with less the 4000mah battery. You sound bitter
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Click to collapse
Sure it is. That's why the official OP5 support thread is literally nothing but hundreds and hundreds of posts from people who don't know how to deal with the bugs in OOS.
On XDA (which has allowed itself to become a shill site for One Plus) users have complained about poor picture quality in apps like Snapchat, out of sync audio in streaming apps like YouTube, Bluetooth not connecting properly to their automobiles or headphones, stuttering Bluetooth playback, stuttering or FC's in specific Android games, delays in receiving notifications from various apps, inaccurate GPS location in Uber, Pokemon Go and other specific Android apps, delays in receiving SMS messages, photos and videos that disappear permanently from the phone without warning, OOS cam not saving photos or videos to the phone, Volte not working, WiFi calling not working, the phone not ringing on incoming calls, alarms not going off when scheduled, phone call rings and notification sounds when the phone is set to silent, Google Services force closing, Google Assistant not working, the phone suddenly telling user that his pin is incorrect or requiring a pin or password that was never set up, all smart lock settings disappearing, the phone not locking even though no smart locks are set, the fingerprint scanner not responding, WiFi not connecting, WiFi connections that keep dropping, unexplained battery drain and on and on and on.
The Android DRM that allows phones to stream video from sites like Netflix in 1080p is only the latest One Plus programming fiasco.
In case you missed it users need to temporarily return the phone to One Plus (in North America) or an authorized service center (in India) in order to get DRM support added that should have been on the phone in the first place. But if you flash a custom kernel or a custom ROM or factory reset your phone or an OOS update goes wrong the DRM support might go away again. One Plus can't tell you what will happen because they really have no idea themselves.
People need to stop their blanket knee-jerk defence of One Plus or they will never get their act together .
jhs39 said:
Sure it is. That's why the official OP5 support thread is literally nothing but hundreds and hundreds of posts from people who don't know how to deal with the bugs in OOS.
On XDA (which has allowed itself to become a shill site for One Plus) users have complained about poor picture quality in apps like Snapchat, out of sync audio in streaming apps like YouTube, Bluetooth not connecting properly to their automobiles or headphones, stuttering Bluetooth playback, stuttering or FC's in specific Android games, delays in receiving notifications from various apps, inaccurate GPS location in Uber, Pokemon Go and other specific Android apps, delays in receiving SMS messages, photos and videos that disappear permanently from the phone without warning, OOS cam not saving photos or videos to the phone, Volte not working, WiFi calling not working, the phone not ringing on incoming calls, alarms not going off when scheduled, phone call rings and notification sounds when the phone is set to silent, Google Services force closing, Google Assistant not working, the phone suddenly telling user that his pin is incorrect or requiring a pin or password that was never set up, all smart lock settings disappearing, the phone not locking even though no smart locks are set, the fingerprint scanner not responding, WiFi not connecting, WiFi connections that keep dropping, unexplained battery drain and on and on and on.
The Android DRM that allows phones to stream video from sites like Netflix in 1080p is only the latest One Plus programming fiasco.
In case you missed it users need to temporarily return the phone to One Plus (in North America) or an authorized service center (in India) in order to get DRM support added that should have been on the phone in the first place. But if you flash a custom kernel or a custom ROM or factory reset your phone or an OOS update goes wrong the DRM support might go away again. One Plus can't tell you what will happen because they really have no idea themselves.
People need to stop their blanket knee-jerk defence of One Plus or they will never get their act together .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well something is off with the DRM thing. I look at YouTube 480p and can it it's nothing like 1080p, but when I look at Netflix and YouTube at 1080p, it's the same. So Netflix certainly isn't streaming at 480p on my phone. I'm stock rooted with Magisk with official Netflix installed from the playstore.
And every phone had the same thing with people talking about bugs, it's no more then anything OEM
@jhs39 you turned this thread into a hate thread against oneplus. If you have something to to contribute to the question of the op please do is, otherwise let it be. Constructive feedback and talk is always welcome
Eric214 said:
Well something is off with the DRM thing. I look at YouTube 480p and can it it's nothing like 1080p, but when I look at Netflix and YouTube at 1080p, it's the same. So Netflix certainly isn't streaming at 480p on my phone. I'm stock rooted with Magisk with official Netflix installed from the playstore.
And every phone had the same thing with people talking about bugs, it's no more then anything OEM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't agree as far as bugs are concerned. Every OOS update has bug fixes to patch problems created by OOS code. When I had a Pixel XL I think there were two bug fixes in 8 months. With my Nexus 6P there were probably a half dozen bug fixes at most over 18 months. My previous phones from Samsung and HTC did not receive a steady stream of bug fixes every month.
I honestly can't believe that anyone who has ever owned a smartphone made by literally anybody other than One Plus would make the statement that you did. Most Android stock ROMs are so stable owners are lucky if they even get fairly regular security updates. OOS has a never ending need for bug fixes because OOS does not conform to standard Android code.
The custom ROM xXx No Limits which is OOS based perfectly illustrates my point. The Aroma installer includes choices for various install modifications that would not cause problems on other Android ROMs--you can install Google Dialer and messaging instead of the OOS versions, Pixel or another custom launcher instead of the One Plus Launcher, Google Camera instead of OOS Cam and other stuff to try and make OOS feel more like stock Android . But the further away you get from 100% OOS with the choices you make in the Aroma installer the more likely it is that xXx No Limits won't boot past the startup logo or will be very unstable when it does boot up. The dev of xXx No Limits isn't an idiot and he doesn't intentionally include options that will cause problems. The options are there pretty much because there's no way to predict what will clash with each new build of OOS. When xXx users figure out a mod causes a problem they flash the ROM without it and then try again in the next update.
I really wish people here would stop with the never ending stream of excuses for One Plus. The One Plus motto is Never Settle. Why are owners here so eager to excuse pretty much anything that One Plus does? Wouldn't it be better to get One Plus to actually live up to its motto?
Neither. Custom ROM without gapps.
@jhs39
Not sure what you've flashed pal but OOS is stable, rapid and works perfectly. Lol.
Not only that but stamina wise please show me a pixel or Nexus which will give your 10 hours SOT.
Performance wise again it's top tier, runs Zelda the Windwaker perfectly, what more do you want.
As for apps Google is the way, that's it.
I see others are having issues with the phone being sluggish and freezing - requiring a forced restart. I've had these issues since day one, but the phone is just so damn beautiful to stop using.
I've tried everything I have seen on this site including factory resets and manually adding apps back in (in lieu of restoring from Google). Still happens.
I've been emailing back and forth with Essential customer service, and while they're responsive, I'm getting frustrated.
They asked me to use it in Safe Mode for a couple days, and I had no issues. So they concluded it's an app causing the problem. So they want me to do another factory reset, and then add apps back one at a time for a few days to see if I can pinpoint which app(s) are causing the issue. I have 100+ apps on the phone - this will take months to do!
My comment to them (that they didn't appreciate) is that if they want to compete with the flagship phones of other OEM's the phone should be able to handle any app you you throw at is, and I have no issues with my ZTE Axon 7 running the exact same apps.
Am I off base here? Any other suggestions?
fungo45 said:
I see others are having issues with the phone being sluggish and freezing - requiring a forced restart. I've had these issues since say one, but the phone is just so damn beautiful to stop using.
I've tried everything I have seen on this site including factory resets and manually adding apps back in (in lieu of restoring from Google). Still happens.
I've been emailing back and forth with Essential customer service, and while they're responsive, I'm getting frustrated.
They asked me to use it in Safe Mode for a couple days, and I had no issues. So they concluded it's an app causing the problem. So they want me to do another factory reset, and then add apps back one at a time for a few days to see if I can pinpoint which app(s) are causing the issue. I have 100+ apps on the phone - this will take months to do!
My comment to them (that they didn't appreciate) is that if they want to compete with the flagship phones of other OEM's the phone should be able to handle any app you you throw at is, and I have no issues with my ZTE Axon 7 running the exact same apps.
Am I off base here? Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are off base.
There are apps that can cause issues and no manufacturer can guarantee the performance of their device with any and all apps in the PlayStore.
There are apps that have memory leaks, wake events, etc. and there is no way for them to contain any/all errant apps, nor should they.
I suggest Greenify to look at app behavior and see what isn't sleeping and taking resources.
You can also look at the battery stats and see what app is burning battery.
Social media apps are typically bad.
Things like Pet Rescue and Candy Crush can also cause issues.
Make sure you limit which apps can do notifications and limit those to SMS and email apps.
Good luck.
I would highly recommend testing the Oreo 8.1 beta. HUGE performance improvement
I've been running N 7.1.1 since I got the phone 2 weeks ago and the performance has been stellar, scrolling is smooth and fast, no freezes at all, after reading the issues with 8.1 beta (battery drain, wifi etc.) I'm in no rush to upgrade....
I am on 7.1.1, came here after searching google seeing if they'll ever do this android Oreo Update. I have some phantom touches on my touchscreen. Thank god this phone was cheap. That S9 keeps looking better and better.
tech_head said:
You are off base.
There are apps that can cause issues and no manufacturer can guarantee the performance of their device with any and all apps in the PlayStore.
There are apps that have memory leaks, wake events, etc. and there is no way for them to contain any/all errant apps, nor should they.
I suggest Greenify to look at app behavior and see what isn't sleeping and taking resources.
You can also look at the battery stats and see what app is burning battery.
Social media apps are typically bad.
Things like Pet Rescue and Candy Crush can also cause issues.
Make sure you limit which apps can do notifications and limit those to SMS and email apps.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your honesty. I'm giving greenify a shot though I still think a phone like this should not need something like this.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
InfDaMarvel said:
I am on 7.1.1, came here after searching google seeing if they'll ever do this android Oreo Update. I have some phantom touches on my touchscreen. Thank god this phone was cheap. That S9 keeps looking better and better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes the Samsung will be issue free? dream on! no phone is issue free. I really like the essential and they are right you have to locate the bad app yourself.
because the open structure of android. app builders can really destroy the user experience on your phone.
if you don't want that? buy an iPhone.
for sure the app will destroy the performance of an s9 as well!
herwarth said:
yes the Samsung will be issue free? dream on! no phone is issue free. I really like the essential and they are right you have to locate the bad app yourself.
because the open structure of android. app builders can really destroy the user experience on your phone.
if you don't want that? buy an iPhone.
for sure the app will destroy the performance of an s9 as well!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The touchscreen issue is related to hardware from what I can see and have read. Performance issues for me are related to memory management and the fact that I use a lot of memory hogging applications. Don't get me wrong just because your experience has been stellar the. I think it's a cool phone. Just not good enough for me to continue using it for another year. The Samsung...I specifically said the S9 because of extra ram and its top of the line screen. Which you can deny if you want but it's true. Best in class screen. They even make the iPhones screen. This phone was cheap so it was worth it for me because I enjoy tech regardless of the flaws. Just need that official oreo update!
InfDaMarvel said:
The touchscreen issue is related to hardware from what I can see and have read. Performance issues for me are related to memory management and the fact that I use a lot of memory hogging applications. Don't get me wrong just because your experience has been stellar the. I think it's a cool phone. Just not good enough for me to continue using it for another year. The Samsung...I specifically said the S9 because of extra ram and its top of the line screen. Which you can deny if you want but it's true. Best in class screen. They even make the iPhones screen. This phone was cheap so it was worth it for me because I enjoy tech regardless of the flaws. Just need that official oreo update!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S9 is also 4 Gig RAM just like our PH-1, no extra RAM...
Jostian said:
S9 is also 4 Gig RAM just like our PH-1, no extra RAM...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S9+ to be exact
InfDaMarvel said:
S9+ to be exact
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yip S9+
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 02:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 PM ----------
look I had the S8 and it was stellar, but was looking for some cash so sold my S8 for $620 and bought the PH-1 for $450, and I'm really impressed so far, ok sure I dont to rocket science etc on the phone so I'm a pretty light user, but on 7.1.1 its been superb since day 1, smooth, snappy and better battery than the S8.
Agreed with all above. Apps are the issue for any phone. I have a zoo of different makes & models. to compare. Social bs apps are the worst. Even google's own are bad enough. Just do a quick search on ""worst apps for draining battery" and start cleaning your phone.
PH-1 Oreo 8.1 power drain is almost nothing comparing to the rest of the 'stable' world. If you don't like to experiment, stay on stable 7.1 until 8.1 is released.
fungo45 said:
Thanks for your honesty. I'm giving greenify a shot though I still think a phone like this should not need something like this.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Started using Greenify, but to work as intended, it requires you to set it as a Device Admin. When doing this, it disables the fingerprint sensor.
alkanaft said:
Agreed with all above. Apps are the issue for any phone. I have a zoo of different makes & models. to compare. Social bs apps are the worst. Even google's own are bad enough. Just do a quick search on ""worst apps for draining battery" and start cleaning your phone.
PH-1 Oreo 8.1 power drain is almost nothing comparing to the rest of the 'stable' world. If you don't like to experiment, stay on stable 7.1 until 8.1 is released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, am in no rush to go to Oreo as 7.1.1 is so solid for me
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
why not wait for the oneplus 6? all oneplus phones have tons of memory?
jusegozu said:
I would highly recommend testing the Oreo 8.1 beta. HUGE performance improvement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto here.My 7.1.1 was acting up.Oreo has been butter.Some nice tweaks built in as well.Pic in Pic is cool and useful.As is the floating dialer.
herwarth said:
why not wait for the oneplus 6? all oneplus phones have tons of memory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say that RAM is not an issue here. The software causes phone performance to degrade. 8.1 works fine for me. Hardware itself in PH-1 is awesome. And price tag beats OnePlus and many others. ??
So far, the Oreo OTA update has been great. No issues like I had on Nougat. Hope this remains.
You're busy and don't have time to wait, which is why you need to stop reading this thread and get back to organizing your Pogs. Rate this thread to express how the performs when multitasking. A higher rating indicates that the keeps many apps in memory so that they don't need to reload, and that when moving between apps, transitions are smooth and performance is excellent.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I don't know if it's app specific, but when playing a chinese game, Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void, it's extremely unoptimised and laggy, it's just as if my RAM is at around 400mb spare. Extremely laggy.
Other than that, after only using it for half a day, my device is using around 4.4 GB of ram out of 6GB of RAM when IDLE.
RAM Optimisations need to happen in updates very soon. Again,
A little disappointed with the RAM management.
Anybody else?
YakuzaNeko said:
I don't know if it's app specific, but when playing a chinese game, Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void, it's extremely unoptimised and laggy, it's just as if my RAM is at around 400mb spare. Extremely laggy.
Other than that, after only using it for half a day, my device is using around 4.4 GB of ram out of 6GB of RAM when IDLE.
RAM Optimisations need to happen in updates very soon. Again,
A little disappointed with the RAM management.
Anybody else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ugh, this post is so annoying. right. ram management on android... the more you use, the better your phone is. 4.4gb out of 6gb is not bad. if you have the 8gb oneplus 6, it uses around 5.5gb idle. when you have more ram, you can use more of it. no point having 6gb of ram and only having 2gb at idle
YakuzaNeko said:
I don't know if it's app specific, but when playing a chinese game, Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void, it's extremely unoptimised and laggy, it's just as if my RAM is at around 400mb spare. Extremely laggy.
Other than that, after only using it for half a day, my device is using around 4.4 GB of ram out of 6GB of RAM when IDLE.
RAM Optimisations need to happen in updates very soon. Again,
A little disappointed with the RAM management.
Anybody else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These kind of comments... smh
Lack of RAM is not going to make your game laggy. Your game lacks optimization. Idle RAM = WASTED RAM. These ratings are pointless if idiotic comments like these are counted.
So I see that the ram management is quite aggressive. Today I switched from chrome to inbox to copy something. And chrome restarted the page and I had to start the form over again. Only clearing opened apps asked me to user it without reading the tab.
As gestures are a bit but I am trying XDA gestures and an early access FluiDN.G. which with fine for a few hours then close and disable the accessibility settings for each app. I have disabled auto power management of both applications and allow them to run in all situations. While this works for longer when opening the camera (worst offender) it shuts down the gesture apps and resets the accessibility settings
Other then that things have been as snappy as the one plus 6.
edit......
LOGMD said:
So I see that the ram management is quite aggressive. Today I switched from come to inbox to copy something. And chrome restarted the page and I had to start the form over again. Only clearing opened apps asked me to user it without reading the tab.
As gestures are a bit but I am trying XDA gestures and an early access FluiDN.G. which with fine for a few hours then close and disable the accessibility settings for each app. I have disabled auto power management of both applications and allow them to run in all situations. While this works for longer when opening the camera (worst offender) it shuts down the gesture apps and resets the accessibility settings
Other then that things have been as snappy as the one plus 6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's something with emui and accessibility settings. From my experience, on olther devices, I had to reapply the accessibility settings a few times until it stuck. It's a battle of wills between the phone and yourself.
As for gestures, I think I'm gonna go with the setup on my current device: oneplus gestures and edge gestures. Those two apps are so amazing when it comes to customizing your gestures. Just hope on android 9 I can still disable the nav keys. Although I have a feeling the phone's gonna be a pain to use without nav key, especially while typing.
xtrocata said:
There's something with emui and accessibility settings. From my experience, on olther devices, I had to reapply the accessibility settings a few times until it stuck. It's a battle of wills between the phone and yourself.
As for gestures, I think I'm gonna go with the setup on my current device: oneplus gestures and edge gestures. Those two apps are so amazing when it comes to customizing your gestures. Just hope on android 9 I can still disable the nav keys. Although I have a feeling the phone's gonna be a pain to use without nav key, especially while typing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same it's stabilized a little bit. Not sure what the AI power management is doing but maybe it's noticing trends after some use. Still using the camera from time to time makes both XDA gestures and the other nav app stop working
Agree. Ram management is a bit aggressive, hope it will better soon
Ram has taken a turn for the worst today. It's closing Spotify! While playing music. Can't even switch to the last recent app. I'm a power user and developer so I know how to tweak the settings how is a regular user supposed to use this
LOGMD said:
Ram has taken a turn for the worst today. It's closing Spotify! While playing music. Can't even switch to the last recent app. I'm a power user and developer so I know how to tweak the settings how is a regular user supposed to use this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is your solution until an official fix?
denzel09 said:
What is your solution until an official fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far none. It just started happening a few hours ago. When the system goes under stress - taking phonecall then trying to message people across 2 different apps and signal changing from WiFi and authenticating VPN then proof - my gesture app gets killed (been fine all day and exempt from all power optimisation) and Spotify gets killed even if it was the last app like instantly.
I'll see if I can dig deeper this weekend. Literally a little polish on the software would make this the best phone I've ever used. Right now it's the worst.
I have a Huawei m5 8 inch tablet with 4gb ram and it manages memory fine. Never had to tweak battery optimisations in the 9 months I've had it.
I hope they fix it before my 30 day cool off. Or this will be the second Huawei I return. The Nexus 6p was stellar (I know Google did the software end to end)
If I can get some advice access to some logs I can maybe find when and where they are killing the apps - maybe there's a memory leak. With 6gb ram I would have though you leave at least 1gb guaranteed to the last 4-5 recent app.
UPDATE: just a thought it might be the smart resolution causing apps to redraw. I've switched off smart resolution now. And switched on 720p fixed. Will test it over next day or so
UPDATE 2: After setting to fixed 720p signs are positive... Now I can go back 20 apps on the recents screen and they all do not redraw or reload. I think there may be a bug in the smart resolution. It's been 30 minutes and I just reopened an app that was open last in recently 30 mins ago. Try this and see if it works too.
xtrocata said:
There's something with emui and accessibility settings. From my experience, on olther devices, I had to reapply the accessibility settings a few times until it stuck. It's a battle of wills between the phone and yourself.
As for gestures, I think I'm gonna go with the setup on my current device: oneplus gestures and edge gestures. Those two apps are so amazing when it comes to customizing your gestures. Just hope on android 9 I can still disable the nav keys. Although I have a feeling the phone's gonna be a pain to use without nav key, especially while typing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please let me know if OnePlus Gestures and Edge Gestures apps work fluidly in the mate 20 pro? I haven't purchased them yet but others gesture app I've purchased had compatibility issues with samsung phones, similar to issues some users were having with mate 20 pro and third party launcher, the gestures did work, but with a 2-3 second delay to go home. If you can confirm OnePlus Gestures and Edge Gestures work as fast as native mate 20 pro gestures I'll buy those apps.
vwite said:
Can you please let me know if OnePlus Gestures and Edge Gestures apps work fluidly in the mate 20 pro? I haven't purchased them yet but others gesture app I've purchased had compatibility issues with samsung phones, similar to issues some users were having with mate 20 pro and third party launcher, the gestures did work, but with a 2-3 second delay to go home. If you can confirm OnePlus Gestures and Edge Gestures work as fast as native mate 20 pro gestures I'll buy those apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used XDA gestures and a new app called Fluid N.G (it's seriously amazing to use) and there is 0 lag. It's almost as snappy as huawei own gestures. Check the gif attached (sorry for bad quality I did it quickly)
vwite said:
Can you please let me know if OnePlus Gestures and Edge Gestures apps work fluidly in the mate 20 pro? I haven't purchased them yet but others gesture app I've purchased had compatibility issues with samsung phones, similar to issues some users were having with mate 20 pro and third party launcher, the gestures did work, but with a 2-3 second delay to go home. If you can confirm OnePlus Gestures and Edge Gestures work as fast as native mate 20 pro gestures I'll buy those apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry. After all the issues and head aches the Mate was giving people, I cancelled my preorder and went and bought the Note 9. Best decision I ever made (when it comes to phone purchases that is). So I won't be able to help you out.
But those two apps worked flawlessly on the LG G7 and now I only installed Edge Gestures on the Note 9 and it works without a hiccup.
Anyway, I think those apps have free versions, no?
xtrocata said:
Sorry. After all the issues and head aches the Mate was giving people, I cancelled my preorder and went and bought the Note 9. Best decision I ever made (when it comes to phone purchases that is). So I won't be able to help you out.
But those two apps worked flawlessly on the LG G7 and now I only installed Edge Gestures on the Note 9 and it works without a hiccup.
Anyway, I think those apps have free versions, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find free versions but I ended up purchasing them and they work good on my Note 9 but haven't tried them in the Mate 20 Pro. I'm actually switching from Note 9 to Mate 20 Pro but I'd say the best gesture app for Samsung phones is One Hand Operation+, you have to download goodlock first from galaxy store, then it'll let you install one hand operation+, I'd suggest you try it if you have a chance
Not using smart resolution and locking the resolution to 1080 solved 80% of my ram problems... Haha as in you dont see the app rendering when switching between. I guess its a bug with different apps different resolutions therefore re-rendering upon switching... Suggest you guys try it...
---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------
LOGMD said:
So far none. It just started happening a few hours ago. When the system goes under stress - taking phonecall then trying to message people across 2 different apps and signal changing from WiFi and authenticating VPN then proof - my gesture app gets killed (been fine all day and exempt from all power optimisation) and Spotify gets killed even if it was the last app like instantly.
I'll see if I can dig deeper this weekend. Literally a little polish on the software would make this the best phone I've ever used. Right now it's the worst.
I have a Huawei m5 8 inch tablet with 4gb ram and it manages memory fine. Never had to tweak battery optimisations in the 9 months I've had it.
I hope they fix it before my 30 day cool off. Or this will be the second Huawei I return. The Nexus 6p was stellar (I know Google did the software end to end)
If I can get some advice access to some logs I can maybe find when and where they are killing the apps - maybe there's a memory leak. With 6gb ram I would have though you leave at least 1gb guaranteed to the last 4-5 recent app.
UPDATE: just a thought it might be the smart resolution causing apps to redraw. I've switched off smart resolution now. And switched on 720p fixed. Will test it over next day or so
UPDATE 2: After setting to fixed 720p signs are positive... Now I can go back 20 apps on the recents screen and they all do not redraw or reload. I think there may be a bug in the smart resolution. It's been 30 minutes and I just reopened an app that was open last in recently 30 mins ago. Try this and see if it works too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this suggestion... Works like a charm now without smart resolution..
---------- Post added at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 AM ----------
LOGMD said:
So far none. It just started happening a few hours ago. When the system goes under stress - taking phonecall then trying to message people across 2 different apps and signal changing from WiFi and authenticating VPN then proof - my gesture app gets killed (been fine all day and exempt from all power optimisation) and Spotify gets killed even if it was the last app like instantly.
I'll see if I can dig deeper this weekend. Literally a little polish on the software would make this the best phone I've ever used. Right now it's the worst.
I have a Huawei m5 8 inch tablet with 4gb ram and it manages memory fine. Never had to tweak battery optimisations in the 9 months I've had it.
I hope they fix it before my 30 day cool off. Or this will be the second Huawei I return. The Nexus 6p was stellar (I know Google did the software end to end)
If I can get some advice access to some logs I can maybe find when and where they are killing the apps - maybe there's a memory leak. With 6gb ram I would have though you leave at least 1gb guaranteed to the last 4-5 recent app.
UPDATE: just a thought it might be the smart resolution causing apps to redraw. I've switched off smart resolution now. And switched on 720p fixed. Will test it over next day or so
UPDATE 2: After setting to fixed 720p signs are positive... Now I can go back 20 apps on the recents screen and they all do not redraw or reload. I think there may be a bug in the smart resolution. It's been 30 minutes and I just reopened an app that was open last in recently 30 mins ago. Try this and see if it works too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this suggestion... Works like a charm now without smart resolution..
Thanks for this suggestion... Works like a charm now without smart resolution..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah been half a day and no app crashes minimal reloading of apps. I'm at home today so battery drain is less anyways. I also turned off automatically manage all apps. That seems to contribute to aggressive killing.
What resolution you at? I'm trying 720p it still looks nice and crisp just can't play 1080 videos. Might switch back up to 1080 or QHD and see the battery difference.
LOGMD said:
Ram has taken a turn for the worst today. It's closing Spotify! While playing music. Can't even switch to the last recent app. I'm a power user and developer so I know how to tweak the settings how is a regular user supposed to use this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No issue here. Used it for 8+ hours straight. I have it all set to manage manually. Spotify can't autolaunch but allowed to remain in background
LOGMD said:
Yeah been half a day and no app crashes minimal reloading of apps. I'm at home today so battery drain is less anyways. I also turned off automatically manage all apps. That seems to contribute to aggressive killing.
What resolution you at? I'm trying 720p it still looks nice and crisp just can't play 1080 videos. Might switch back up to 1080 or QHD and see the battery difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using WQHD+ since I got the device and battery life has been outstanding.
Thanks for the suggestion around Manual Management of apps, it has improved multitasking a lot.
Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk
1) Volume controls, seriously google? what are you smoking? Why is it way more difficult to change my ringer volume then it needs to be? why do I need to change media volume if I'm not actually listening to media? all they had to do is allow the user to decide what volume to adjust via hardware keys in the sound settings...
2) Much more professional UI, if I wanted an iPhone I would buy and iPhone, Google might as well called this update "Apple Pie". I got a clue for you google, Bring back KitKat design in material and include ticker notifications in your next major revision. Hardly anyone complained about UI's in ICS, Jellybean and KitKat. You guys did a great job until you decided it was time to copy Apple in 5.0.
3) Superior notification/quick with sub-menus for Bluetooth and WIFI. Why was this removed? This isn't quite as dumb as scrapping ticker notifications for heads up to copy Crapple but it's definitely pretty damn close.
4) Split screen mode is a completely seamless experience on Oreo, it's complete trash on Pie unless you run an adb command to remove the Pixel launcher which I bet 60% out of the 75% who updated won't even know about.
5) No need to worry about an OTA rolling and screwing things up. This does happen but it's a very minor reason why I prefer being on the final release of Oreo.
6) Recent's is far superior on Oreo (Although you can still revert or Oreo recent's by removing Google Launcher but the majority of consumers do not know this)
7) Pie is not used by many people at all, in fact the number of total android devices running Pie is less then 0.1% of android devices.-We are essentially beta testers even after the developer previews.... Oreo however is up to nearly 20% distribution. This means way more application support on 8.x
8) Battery life using Franco's Naptime app for aggressive doze gives me insane battery life, Adaptive battery is pretty useless when you use such a powerful app like this one. Seriously... Doze is so powerful, why not just add some profiles to the OS so even the most basic of users can tweak it (or hell, add it to developer settings)... AI is not the answer. Simple settings to config when your device goes into doze mode is... it's your most powerful battery saving feature in Android. Use it....
9) Adaptive brightness is reliable on Oreo & Adaptive brightness is awful on Pie, AI can't seem to get it right. Surprise surprise.
10) My clock is where it has been for the past 7 years on Android phones, this notch thing just needs to die. Google needs to add a boolean value in SystemUI for the left clock and assign it a true value for phones with a notch, and false with a phone with no notch. How is this rocket science? or better yet! allow the user to configure it, haven't you guys realized by now that the center clock mod is super popular among your enthusiasts? I personally don't use it but it's been a very popular mod for half a decade here on XDA and you know people will use it so why not just add it? Oh wait, you guys needed to add a feature to show what music is playing in Wal-mart on the lockscreen. Cool, I guess... the feature is so bad its off by default lol.
Now before you guys come in here bringing up security bulletin updates, it's a fair point but I would just like to say that no security update will save you from being a noob, don't download shady apps, don't connect to unsecured public wifi networks, don't browse shady websites and don't click on everything you see. Much like a PC, you can get the latest Windows updates and anti-virus definitions but if your foolish and browse around unsafe and shady websites and installing shady .exe's your going to get yourself in to trouble and no security update will save you. The best security for Android is your brain.
I'm back to loving my Pixel 2!
Danvdh said:
1) Volume controls, seriously google? what are you smoking? Why is it way more difficult to change my ringer volume then it needs to be? why do I need to change media volume if I'm not actually listening to media?
2) Much more professional UI, if I wanted an iPhone I would buy and iPhone, Google might as well called this update "Apple Pie"
3)Much better notification/quick toggles pull down with sub-menus for bluetooth and wifi. Why did Google remove this?
4) Split screen mode is usable again! videos actually play!
5) No need to worry about an OTA rolling and screwing things up, I like the piece of mind that my phone will stay on the final Oreo update until I feel Pie is stable enough (9.1?)
6) Multitasking is faster (Although it can be sorted by removing Google Launcher but the majority of consumers do not know this)
7) Pie is not used by many people at all, in fact the number of total android devices running Pie is less then 0.1% of android devices Source: https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/ - We are essentially beta testers even after the developer previews.... Oreo however is up to nearly 20% distribution.
8) Battery life using Franco's Naptime app for aggressive doze gives me insane battery life, Adaptive battery is pretty useless when you use such a powerful app like this one.
9) Adaptive brightness is awful on Pie
10) My clock is where it has been for the past 7 years on Android phones, this notch thing just needs to die. Google needs to add a boolean value in systemUI for the left clock and assign it a true value for phones with a notch, and false with a phone with no notch. Seriously, do this!!!
Now before you guys come in here bringing up security bulletin updates, it's a fair point but I would just like to say that no security update will save you from being a noob, don't download shady apps, don't connect to unsecured public wifi networks, don't browse shady websites and don't click on everything you see. Much like a PC, you can get the latest Windows updates and anti-virus definitions but if your foolish and browse around unsafe and shady websites and installing shady .exe's your going to get yourself in to trouble and no security update will save you. The best security for Android is your brain.
I'm back to loving my Pixel 2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get it.
I flashed Pie the other day for the first time but I too am tempted to go back. I miss having my Smartbar navigation mods. The circular icons for quick toggles aren't growing on me. A couple of apps don't work that I used to use.
Performance and battery life is grewt, but the upgrade isn't significant enough for me to stay.... I'm tempted to go back!
I want Oreo back too, but the version I got "unlocked" turned out to be a Verizon variant and my attempt to OTA rollback failed.
But really guys, new things and changes are parts of life, why complaining? You don't want new updates? Buy a Samsung non flagship phone and stay with Oreo forever.
well... thought about finally manually updating to pie today.... now, not so much. I do agree with the notch.... wtf
I've tried Pie, and admittedly there are some good elements, however Google gives us no choices. How hard would it be to have a clock placement setting? How hard would it be to have a full dark theme? How hard would it be to offer a choice on dual window layout? Oreo was tried and true and it feels like many things were changed just for the sake of change. Apparently the recent apps menu can even be reverted deleting files via ADB so why not give people choices? I love the speed and fluidity of stock Android, but must say Samsung, LG, and custom ROMs have an advantage on getting things exactly how you want them. Perhaps Android 10 will finally give users choices again.
The fact that Google plays games with what versions of the Pixel 2 XL can be bootloader unlocked is very disappointing as well. There should be a clearly identified way to tell other than some IMEI checker. I'd love to OTA back to Oreo, but can't and am stuck with a UI I can do nothing to tweak. My only option is deal with it or sell this phone.
Xposed and well duh!
Sent from my Google Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
Danvdh said:
1) Volume controls, seriously google? what are you smoking? Why is it way more difficult to change my ringer volume then it needs to be? why do I need to change media volume if I'm not actually listening to media?
2) Much more professional UI, if I wanted an iPhone I would buy and iPhone, Google might as well called this update "Apple Pie"
3)Much better notification/quick toggles pull down with sub-menus for bluetooth and wifi. Why did Google remove this?
4) Split screen mode is usable again! videos actually play!
5) No need to worry about an OTA rolling and screwing things up, I like the piece of mind that my phone will stay on the final Oreo update until I feel Pie is stable enough (9.1?)
6) Multitasking is faster (Although it can be sorted by removing Google Launcher but the majority of consumers do not know this)
7) Pie is not used by many people at all, in fact the number of total android devices running Pie is less then 0.1% of android devices Source: https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/ - We are essentially beta testers even after the developer previews.... Oreo however is up to nearly 20% distribution. This means way more application support on 8.x
8) Battery life using Franco's Naptime app for aggressive doze gives me insane battery life, Adaptive battery is pretty useless when you use such a powerful app like this one.
9) Adaptive brightness is awful on Pie
10) My clock is where it has been for the past 7 years on Android phones, this notch thing just needs to die. Google needs to add a boolean value in systemUI for the left clock and assign it a true value for phones with a notch, and false with a phone with no notch. Seriously, do this!!!
Now before you guys come in here bringing up security bulletin updates, it's a fair point but I would just like to say that no security update will save you from being a noob, don't download shady apps, don't connect to unsecured public wifi networks, don't browse shady websites and don't click on everything you see. Much like a PC, you can get the latest Windows updates and anti-virus definitions but if your foolish and browse around unsafe and shady websites and installing shady .exe's your going to get yourself in to trouble and no security update will save you. The best security for Android is your brain.
I'm back to loving my Pixel 2!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you go back to Oreo? what is a safe way to do it? is side load of Oreo firmware for my Canadian brand will do it?
Thanks - Itzik
I am still on Oreo with my pixel and wont go to Pie anytime soon! I need to root oreo and rock it now!
oneandroidnut said:
I am still on Oreo with my pixel and wont go to Pie anytime soon! I need to root oreo and rock it now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root Pie as well. However, if you use xposed, then don't :good:
Badger50 said:
You can root Pie as well. However, if you use xposed, then don't :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would use xposed so no pie for me lol
itzik_man said:
How did you go back to Oreo? what is a safe way to do it? is side load of Oreo firmware for my Canadian brand will do it?
Thanks - Itzik
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I did a full data wipe in TWRP, flashed the latest 8.1 rom with deuces script and then once back to 8.1 flashed Resurrection Remix custom rom etc
Pie looks nothing like iOS to me
I'm also tempted to go back to Oreo. I don't like many of Googles changes with Pie and that they are following apple in many things.
Kimbo82 said:
I'm also tempted to go back to Oreo. I don't like many of Googles changes with Pie and that they are following apple in many things.
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its a well oiled machine. I don't regret it for a second.
just got my pixel2xl come with 8.1
after my OG Pixel got pie, and it's feels not right, and i READ this, i decided to not update my pixel2xl
everything you said is true.
Having the Verizon Pixel 2 XL, I was unable to roll back. My options were to sell it and get a Google version or trade it for an LG V35 ThinQ and end up ahead. I went for the V35 and to be honest, I'm much happier with it. LG really improved the display over the Pixel 2 XL. The Snapdragon 845 is noticeably faster, 6 GB RAM offsets any efficiency difference. The headphone jack and MicroSD card support are a huge plus. Best of all, using LG themes and Substratum, I was able to get a clean dark theme without root.
I had a good run with the Pixel 2 XL on Oreo but it was time to move on. Yes, I realize that the V35 will get Pie eventually, but the framework for themes and customization is already there.
Over 75% of Pixel users are on Android Pie — why not more?
https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/10/15/75-percent-pixel-users-android-pie/
Because of people like you! Just jokes. [emoji4]
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
just bought pixel 2 xl and this october security update is really ****ty, even zooming photos and just panning in photos app gives jitters. can i revert back to september or august security update without unlocking the bootloader or rooting?
ashish7adlakha said:
just bought pixel 2 xl and this october security update is really ****ty, even zooming photos and just panning in photos app gives jitters. can i revert back to september or august security update without unlocking the bootloader or rooting?
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Nope. Bootloader needs to be unlocked. You don't need to be rooted.