Database Users

[Q] best way to start w/vibrant

OK, so I had a Vibrant and spend some time trying to tweak it to resolve the short battery life and GPS problems, however, at the end of my two-week "buyers remorse" period it still wasn't working very well (in fact, the last day it was working significantly worse - using Google Nav crashed the thing 4 times in a row!), so I took it back rather than get stuck w/it for a two-year contract.
However, looking at the alternatives, I'm not convinced there is anything better than a WORKING Vibrant, and reading more on various forums it sounds like I may have just had a bad unit ... or not applied the right tweaks to it. So I'm thinking I may get another unit and give it another try. But before I do I'd like to know the best way to prep/tweak the thing straight out of the box so I can start from the best possible baseline. I'm pretty tech savy so I'm not afraid of rooting or removing bloatware but I also don't want to spend the whole time trying to install some esoteric custom Android build. Can anybody provide a short list of the best things to do to improve the over all phone performance and reliability?
Thanks in advance,
Joe

Root
Remove bloat
Install autostarts
Install LauncherPro (runs better than adw imo)
Follow the sticky for other random tips
Don't screw around with face book sync
Install a custom rom soon (i don't think it's prime time, yet)

which bloatware apps can i safely remove? i have read a lot of warnings about being careful what you remove. how do you do it - is it a simple matter of deleting a file, or is there more to it?

so can anybody recommmend which apps to remove, and how to do it w/out shooting myself in the foot?!
thanks!
joe

joecooler said:
so can anybody recommmend which apps to remove, and how to do it w/out shooting myself in the foot?!
thanks!
joe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=726637&highlight=Stock
Or just flash Eugene's Vibrant4 that comes with tweaks and removed bloatware (find it in dev forum)
A good way to start is to read the STICKIED post. it has a lot of the information that you're looking for there

I would just use Root Explorer to remove the apps, or Titanium Backup does this also I think. This is all in the sticky.

I am new to Android and have been learning the ropes and tweaking slowly. I followed the recommendation to try ADW or Launcherpro and am glad I did. I happened to give Launcherpro a try first and have found its ability to customize the dock great. I would recommend giving it a shot if you are trying to customize the phone to your liking.

[q] Notification bar edits?

Maybe this should go in dev, forgive me if so, I've been in the romming and rooting scene since the d1 but never really got my hands into actually editing files for myself. With that said I was wondering for the transformer if there is a way to turn off or clear the notification bar of all non running notifications easily? Disable some things like the sd card notification always being on? Have more than 5 or 6 whatever the limit seems to be down there? And maybe make a suggestion for a willing dev to try to make an almost phone style pull up notification area for all notifications..if thats even remotely possible. Probably not based on the framework? Who knows, even if it cleared the bottom and brought up a seperate window that'd be awesome. If none of that is possible, is at least getting rid of the sd card icon possible? Thanks guys.
Oh btw, I am running the latest prime 1.5 with the clem kernel. Willing to alpha/beta/flash zips etc.

Me too!
I think those are good suggestions and i'd be keep to test any solutions anyone here comes up with

Great suggestions and I completely agree. I'm sure with the right developers working on it that anything is possible. I am still waiting for full facebook integration like HTC sense has. It'd be nice to get desktop notifications from FB and Twitter etc...

You can modify the layout (xml) it yourself, Use Apk-tools 1.4.1.

[Q] Optimizing your phone?

Hi all,
I have owned my Nexus 4 for about 4 months now, and while I love the ability to customize my experience, I am always looking at ways of customizing that streamline things instead of adding more functionality. Rather than having 12 ways to do one thing at all times, I'd rather have the single best way to do 12 things at my disposal. I don't need HALO, the notification shade, and a notification widget all running at once to inform me about new notifications. When I look at the ROM scene on XDA, it seems like people are really interested in adding things to the standard android experience, but nobody seems to be working on trimming the unnecessary features away while adding things that work better/look and feel more elegant. I don't just mean debloated GApps packages, I mean ROMs that use Android's customizability do things better than Google intended.
To give a personal example, I am running stock Android on the Matr1x kernel with the Xposed framework installed to enable Pie Controls so I don't waste screen space, change the battery indicator to a circle/percentage, quick settings to get easy access to torch, settings, wifi, etc in the notification shade, and unicon to enable custom icons in the Google Experience Launcher so all my icons are uniform. This way I have as much information as possible easily accessible at all times, and my phone has a standardized look throughout. However, I feel like I am sticking it all together with tape and strings, and I am still stuck with some of stock android's bloat. It would be great if there were some people out there who shared a similar desire for streamlining the Android experience. Do any of you at XDA have any advice for me as I look for such a ROM, or is this about as good as it's going to get? If I could code I'd just do it myself .
Anyway, thanks for your time!

Downloaded7 said:
Hi all,
I have owned my Nexus 4 for about 4 months now, and while I love the ability to customize my experience, I am always looking at ways of customizing that streamline things instead of adding more functionality. Rather than having 12 ways to do one thing at all times, I'd rather have the single best way to do 12 things at my disposal. I don't need HALO, the notification shade, and a notification widget all running at once to inform me about new notifications. When I look at the ROM scene on XDA, it seems like people are really interested in adding things to the standard android experience, but nobody seems to be working on trimming the unnecessary features away while adding things that work better/look and feel more elegant. I don't just mean debloated GApps packages, I mean ROMs that use Android's customizability do things better than Google intended.
To give a personal example, I am running stock Android on the Matr1x kernel with the Xposed framework installed to enable Pie Controls so I don't waste screen space, change the battery indicator to a circle/percentage, quick settings to get easy access to torch, settings, wifi, etc in the notification shade, and unicon to enable custom icons in the Google Experience Launcher so all my icons are uniform. This way I have as much information as possible easily accessible at all times, and my phone has a standardized look throughout. However, I feel like I am sticking it all together with tape and strings, and I am still stuck with some of stock android's bloat. It would be great if there were some people out there who shared a similar desire for streamlining the Android experience. Do any of you at XDA have any advice for me as I look for such a ROM, or is this about as good as it's going to get? If I could code I'd just do it myself .
Anyway, thanks for your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plus one for this. Are you running KitKat 4.4.2?

4.4.1 at the moment as I haven't found the time to flash the update manually. Glad to see someone else gets where I am coming from .

Samsung Galaxy S5 G900W8 What Custom Roms Work

Hello I am new to custom roms
I am working with a Samsung Galaxy S5 G900W8 as a platform for learning
Can the experts here recommend some custom roms
I finally got one to work - however it seems to be for the TMobile version
The install worked - yet without wifi support
If people here please suggest a number of options to work through

I'm on the same phone as you. LineageOS works. I'm using Ressurection remix latest build KLTE. The KLTE bit is what you want for the roms. There are others I've tried but I end up back with the two I mentioned as they offer more functionality. Those are nougat. Tipsy Rom 6.0.1 works if you want marshmallow. So does the RR marshmallow rom. I've got twrp custom recovery installed. And magisk for root. Super user works as well but you won't pass safety net. So use magisk if you use android pay or play Pokemon go.
---------- Post added at 07:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 PM ----------
Do the custom recovery first if you haven't already. I assume you have because you flashed a rom. If you are using Odin to flash them you are probably flashing stock. Don't do that. Not unless it's the stock for your device and you don't want to be on a custom rom
---------- Post added at 07:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:05 PM ----------
You will need Odin to flash the recovery. You can root from the custom recovery. And you will flash roms from the custom recovery on the device.
https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys5qualcomm.html
This will give you the files and info you need to use Odin to flash twrp. Lineage and RR have their own sites as well. Super easy to find. Just remember the KLTE. Download the rom right onto the device or put it on the SD card. Boot into recovery using power, home and volume up and go to the directory with the rom zip, select it and swipe to install. Don't dirty flash the rom, wipe the phone first. It will not delete the custom recovery. Once the rom is installed reboot. It will take a few minutes to load. You flash the superuser or magisk zip from the recovery as well. If you do superuser download the app from playing store. Magisk you can find on xda. After all that you are rooted and on a custom rom.
---------- Post added at 07:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 PM ----------
You can use the recovery to create a backup of your phone too. Usually I'd recommend this but you already flashed a rom that's not working right anyway.

Security Updates for Samsung Galaxy S5 (Telus Canada SM-G900W8)
godkingofcanada said:
I'm on the same phone as you. LineageOS works. I'm using Ressurection remix latest build KLTE. The KLTE bit is what you want for the roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vortell said:
Most roms based on Lineage[LOS] should work with any Snapdragon based S5[KLTE] LOS unified the roms a while ago. I use crdroid it has adaway built in super stable..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S5 (Telus Canada SM-G900W8), and given the lack of support I'm looking at a custom ROM.
Can someone please tell me if any of the above ROMs are getting good security patches?
I believe that there are mitigation patches for the Krack WiFi and BlueBorne Bluetooth Vulnerabilities that were recently disclosed., but most phones will take a long time to get them, if ever.
Any suggestions/input is much appreciated.

SM-G900W8 Best ROM for Stability/Security/Usability?
Vortell said:
I prepher crdroid to RR but not sure if either have kept up with latest LOS changes but I know from Oct article LOS is patched blueboorne was before this.
https://www.xda-developers.com/future-lineageos-14-1-builds-safe-krack/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Vortell for the reply, that article is very helpful. Based on your response I think I'll give crDroid a shot.
(Just curious - are you using an SM-G900W8?)
crDroid was on my radar, but when I went to the crDroid web site, and it didn't list the S5/SM-G900x as an officially supported device. I see from the link you provided below references to an up to date S5 crDroid ROM, so it looks like this should be a good mainstream choice.
Other than surfing through tons of (sometimes great and sometimes terrible) YouTube vids any suggestions as to a quick way for me to speed on the mainstream ROMs? Do I need to consider anything beyond LOS, RR and crDroid?
I don't know if something like it is baked in, but from what I've been reading I need to install something like Xposed/XPrivacy. Way too many apps ask for access to identiy, contacts, location and device control that they don't need for me to use the app, and that I don't want them to have. Denying permission is no good, because then the app will die. Other than Xposed/XPrivacy should I be looking at anything else?
My priorities are Security, Stability, Usability, and then Features and Speed. Don't need/want bleeding edge, and it things are working, I likely won't update unless there is a vulnerability that needs patching or a really killer feature I want/need.
Vortell said:
Since both are built off of LOS source code they use should be patched. Also you can make any kltevzw build work with your w8 with right changes to build prop and APN. If my memory serves me right. I think it has all been integrated and built into LOS for a long while though.
Ask the developers for each over at:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/unified-development
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any suggestions as to how I can do this since I'm just a Noob without sufficient permissions to post in that forum?
(Just in case someone from the crDroid project sees it: Props on the really nice "banner page" ( https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/unified-development/rom-crdroid-t2860894 ) - very helpful. Suggestions: It would be helpful if there was a line about security/patches as well as a way for a user to quickly get up to speed on changes to know if they need to update. )
Thanks again/in advance for any comment, suggestions, or assistance

Vortell said:
Speed on mainstream rom? If you ment speed up, then there is only tuning the kernel or changing it. There is very limited support for extra kernels now. I think there might be a couple but you need to make sure they are compatible with los. You can also adjust the performance with kernel auditor. Lspeed it's another mod that had options like that. There maybe a bit more but once I got on crdroid my performance was fine. There other thing you can do is try to find updated drivers for the video card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I guess there was a typo (or auto correction gone wild) I meant to say how can I get up to speed (meaning become informed) as to the differences between the major mainstream ROMs. As I said, as long as it's useable stability/security is much more important than speed. Thanks for the detailed info anyway.
Vortell said:
If you want paranoid level of control xprivacy is good otherwise privacy guard baked into all there if those is pretty damn good. Honestly if you don't have a Sunset device and are concedering using xprivacy for extra protection then you should really use gapps alternative. I forgot the frameworks name. It uses open scource and privacy minded services to avoid Google tracking. Then should only use simple app stores like xda or f-droid which has something called yalp if you want free stuff from Google. Otherwise privacy guard which will limit access to the things you mentioned is baked into all three you just have to turn it on in each. Crdroid has adaway built in if you add extra lists it really cuts down on ads. I also like viper4arise mod so I can increase volumes on my phone and change sounds processing on the fly. Then for the s5 there are volumes boast mods specifically because the mic is quiet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for this.... Yalp looks very interesting, I'll check into that further.
Is this the viper4arise sound mod you are talking about?
( https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/general/mic-volume-gain-mod-s5-t3491483 )
Vortell said:
Here are the extra lists I use for adaway:
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt
http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/hosts
http://www.malwaredomainlist.com/hostslist/hosts.txt
https://isc.sans.edu/feeds/suspiciousdomains_High.txt
https://mirror.cedia.org.ec/malwaredomains/justdomains
https://ransomwaretracker.abuse.ch/downloads/RW_DOMBL.txt
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zant95/hosts/master/hosts
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_ad.txt
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_malvertising.txt
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_tracking.txt
https://zeustracker.abuse.ch/blocklist.php?download=domainblocklist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are great - thanks. I run a pfSense firewall, and I use some of these on it. One question... is it possible to override list entries either temporary or permanently? I know I've had problems with my firewall breaking certain web pages. It's a real problem on those rare occasions when I really need access to a broken page. I put up with it because ad networks have been a vector for malware recently.
Vortell said:
As for exposed it's great and all but can lead to problems with substratum. It does work great with Crdroid and substratum for me using:bubble upnp, gravitybox. It didn't work though with rr on my note 4 with substratum. Someone reported it worked fine without substratum. Honestly the only reason I like it past what is baked into Crdroid though is to change status bar text colors. Rr allows a bit more statusbar customization to begin with though. I have also read rr is some what problematic on s5. It will however be very hard to get Android pay working on anything but touch wiz based 6.0.1 rom FYI because of safetynet. There is also was to get shealth working but that is very privacy invasive. Crdroid has g+ page if you want you ask them stuff directly. Either way back up your working rom. Sd cards are cheap now. You can always try more then 1. There is even was to use note then one rom on one phone. Read around a bit is kinda fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this.... Am I correct that Xposed that it's necessary for XPrivacy? If it's just for color changes, them I won't need it. I'm not worried too much about theme colors... as long as it's readable I'm fine.
As for Android Pay, good to know.... these phones are such security cess pits, that I'm not likely to use my phone for banking or payment of any kind for some time.
Thanks again... I can't tell you how much I appreciate the help.

Vortell said:
Xprivacy is great if you trust the school who made it and your that paranoid... At that point though you should be buying a new phone or learning to Port a more secure kernel then Linux. Or at least a security build of it. Outside that the kernel is going to be outdated to one degree or another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You raise some good points - and again TRUST is a big issue. I'm not sure that buying a new phone even solves the problem. Ultimately you have to trust somebody, and quite frankly a bunch of passionate hackers looking over each others shoulders is likely more trustworthy than a bunch of corporate scumbags trying to market/sell your personal information. The big manufacturers (Other than Google-and I don't like their phones because they don't have a removable SD Card) are historically poor with support.
Security is often an oversight because the market doesn't value it. (Although all the high profile hacks that have occurred may change things.) "Secure" phones are such a limited market that they are hard to get, have poor support, and are obscenely expensive.
Anyway that's enough philosophy/ranting.
Vortell said:
The least secure part of most Androids is the Google framework though. I use xprivacy on older devices because it's the only reliable way to get control over permissions. The problem is there is to much for less advanced users. Some permissions look invasive but it's just the way Google put the os together. Like phone access is there even if it's just to pause sound for incoming call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You raise a very good point about the underlying design. Do I understand correctly that the permission that allows pausing the sound for an incoming call will also allow an application to make a call?! If so that's totally crazy. Again back to my comment about corporate scum bags. Google sells advertising/data services, and they are going to set up the design to be as exploitative as they can get away with. If their system was secure/privacy oriented a lot of the ecosystem would disappear.
Vortell said:
Anyways what I was talking about was gravitybox which I feel outside of Android 4 x is the best Xposed mod. In Android 4.x it's app settings and xprivacy for the permission control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a quick look.... gravitybox while allowing many interesting customizations doesn't seem to deal with permissions - or did I miss something?
Vortell said:
Honestly adaway is like a firewall though it's linked to domain rather then port. No firewall should use lists like that. They should close off ports unless connections originate from you. Adaway uses an old school method of using what's called a host file to redirect the request to your own phone with no http service at they address set up there are also pretty services thought your own phone that so this aka blockad and dns66 but they use extra services so it's a tiny bit less per effective. All 3 are easy to turn off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, I run a system very similar to that on my pfSense firewall (pfBlokerNG) to limit the ad networks as an infection vector. My firewall does all the DNS and NTP for my system to somewhat restrict the number of endpoints my system is communicating with. As I discover restrictions that are too problematical I reluctantly override them or stop using the service that depends on them depending on the circumstances.
Vortell said:
If you care about privacy, get the German Firefox klar or Firefox focus for your browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this... Klar looks like a useful addition.
I'm less worried about ad tracking than spyware (unauthorised mic/camera/theft of data/passwords etc.), ransomware and permissions that allow my contacts and cell data to be stolen. I don't like to be accessible 24/7 anyway, so as long as the airplane mode actually works I make frequent use of it--the problem is that it may not work, and there is no way to tell since the cell radio is not easy to audit. I discovered questionable behaviour on my first android jellybean (way back in the day) by putting packet capture on the wifi. That was my first foray into modding.
Thanks again, and in advance for any assistance/advice/comments.

Best Oreo ROM

Hi everyone. The ideal rom does not exist and this situation makes XDA so great for all of us. I think will be usefull to share here different OREO experiences. It is hard to compare two roms - or more - this is not my purpose. Everyone has his own reasons and objectives choosing one or another. Different problems in OREO could find here different answers. So sharing experience will be good for all.
So, to start. I have G variant. 2 Sims - one for calls - permanent - and other for data/internet - that I switch ON wheather I need - otherwise is disabled. SD card is 100...G formatted as exFAT - obvious for passing the 4G transfer limit. So far, the only oreo rom that works in these conditions [on my knowledge] is NFound's RR Oreo 20180220. All ohthers I tried fails one condition or another. I need to be able to switch on/off sims and wold not format my card back to fat32.
What I miss - stock camera [slowmotion] and full functionality of AKM DAC.
Please feel free to share here your oreo experience - what U have and what you dont so far. Thank you all.

This does not belong in development section. Could you delete/move it or can a mod move it to appropriate one?

Yes please move this interesting topic to 'Guides, News and Discussing'

Waiting for more than yes, move...
still_living said:
Yes please move this interesting topic to 'Guides, News and Discussing'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! One very important comment, thank you.

Black dialer
OK, I continue to share my experience in OREO, till others will dare to do as well. I dislyke the bright interface od the dialer - in general, considering eye impact and battery drain, I tried to set everything as close to dark, and yes, second sim for data only enabled when I need internet outside wifi range.
So I searched for dark interface in dialer and I found from another phone "GoogleDialer_Mod_v4_ambient.zip" and "GoogleDialer_Mod_v4_ambient.apk".
In twrp - installed the zip and at reboot the apk - then in settings default dialer. So I have the Black dialer working fine....(except sound bugs in RR Oreo by Nfound)
And yes, 128G sd card exFAT formatted as I mentioned before.

adroeurope said:
OK, I continue to share my experience in OREO, till others will dare to do as well. I dislyke the bright interface od the dialer - in general, considering eye impact and battery drain, I tried to set everything as close to dark, and yes, second sim for data only enabled when I need internet outside wifi range.
So I searched for dark interface in dialer and I found from another phone "GoogleDialer_Mod_v4_ambient.zip" and "GoogleDialer_Mod_v4_ambient.apk".
In twrp - installed the zip and at reboot the apk - then in settings default dialer. So I have the Black dialer working fine....(except sound bugs in RR Oreo by Nfound)
And yes, 128G sd card exFAT formatted as I mentioned before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What Oreo are you talking about? If it's AEX or one of those, just use substratum

Black Dialer and Substratum
Choose an username... said:
What Oreo are you talking about? If it's AEX or one of those, just use substratum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer. First, as I mentioned before, I'm on the ONLY OREO rom - in my experience at least - that recognizes my 128G exFAT formatted AND has the option to enable/disable sims one by one. That is RR-O-v6.0.0-20180220.
For a custom black dialer, solution I found after diggin' some was easy - 1 - install a zip in twrp and a app afterwards, and voila! Black dialer working.
I tried Substratum..."alwaysON"...not too happy becouse if I tried to leave it and return to home launcher only solution was to press power - I wanted a software action not a hardware one. Maybe I do not now how to use it. Also, I was looking for threads about Substratum on our Axon7, and....I could not found any significant.
As long as you seem to know more about this matter, please, for the ones that do not know, shere here your experience and knowledge regarding Substratum - install and use - in Axon7. Thank you!

adroeurope said:
Thank you for your answer. First, as I mentioned before, I'm on the ONLY OREO rom - in my experience at least - that recognizes my 128G exFAT formatted AND has the option to enable/disable sims one by one. That is RR-O-v6.0.0-20180220.
For a custom black dialer, solution I found after diggin' some was easy - 1 - install a zip in twrp and a app afterwards, and voila! Black dialer working.
I tried Substratum..."alwaysON"...not too happy becouse if I tried to leave it and return to home launcher only solution was to press power - I wanted a software action not a hardware one. Maybe I do not now how to use it. Also, I was looking for threads about Substratum on our Axon7, and....I could not found any significant.
As long as you seem to know more about this matter, please, for the ones that do not know, shere here your experience and knowledge regarding Substratum - install and use - in Axon7. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol no. Using Substratum in the Axon 7 is the same as using it anywhere else - install theme, then go to its settings, choose required app versions/options, build and enable. There's nothing weird with it, and the worst bug you can get is maybe some text not being readable.
There's no need for an Axon 7 thread about Substratum because it is universal
And the AOD module is actually a simple thingy that just enables a hidden Android feature, which is buggy by itself
Custom black dialer, yes, but then you may want black xda, black youtube (in this case i use iYTBP but you can just theme official youtube), black UI... And you're surely not going to swap the apps one by one.

Tkank you for your answer. Appologise for my lack of knowledge - but this is why I'm here - to know more, to experience and to share .
Going back to the important things in an OREO rom, I would like you all to consider: (obviuos my personal subjective choice)
- phone functionality with 2 sims, option for enable/disable one or another;
- recognition of exFAT SD;
- camera - close to stock options, of course slow motion included;
- gps 100% functionality.
I wait for your sollutions/experiences. Thank you.

And of course, if you have any other interesting subjects about oreo - plese join. Thank you.

adroeurope said:
- recognition of exFAT SD;
- gps 100% functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fixed on latest AEX

NFound said:
Fixed on latest AEX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any idea why it drops a lot of frames with no modifications to the kernel? I have to use Conservative to fix the frame drops or it stutters.
Otherwise the ROM is great

RECAP of considerations for best ROM
Roms develop, some problems still remain. This is why I wanted to share information with others.
So, my...subjective choices are:
- full working phone - no sound bugs
- full working phone - available settings to enable/disable one sim or another
- ExFat external SD card available/recognised
- full option camera (slowmo...)
- full availability of DAC.
Well - some options are to be found in some roms, untill now I see no oreo based to fullfill all these - I say - normal demands.
If anybody has some other opinion, please say it here. Thank you all. Best oreo rom...still in the devs kitcheen...

Hi there! Thanks for your post, I'm currently try to switch to an Oreo based rom to try the new features. I'll give AEX a try and we'll see how it goes.