The reason why Xiaomi doesn't want to give us kernel sources. - Xiaomi Mi 5 Guides, News, & Discussion

Xiaomi doesn't want to give us kernel sources because it would be possible to overclock CPU to match the Mi5 Pro level and have similar performance.

Rasputlix said:
Xiaomi doesn't want to give us kernel sources because it would be possible to overclock CPU to match the Mi5 Pro level and have similar performance.
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Absolutely right.

Yeah, theoretically. But I think the processors of the MI5 32gb aren't the same like the ones in the MI5 Pro. They have some errors so they can't handle such CPU clocks.

Learning from the past, the kernel source won't be released at least 1 year after the device released. I guess this is to maintain MIUI users, because after kernel sources are released, custom ROMs are coming and they start leaving MIUI. Even I just flash RR on my fresh Mi5

If they really wanted their users engaged with MIUI, they should probably focus and release a MIUI version that actually works. Or to release a MIUI version in general, because as of past few weeks, even that is debatable. Not to mention about MM support (or lack thereof) in PCSuite... Or bugs in local backups. The list goes on,... I will stop here.
I feel the hardware is on par with what I, or any average user expected, but I feel there is no software for that phone.

deusxx said:
If they really wanted their users engaged with MIUI, they should probably focus and release a MIUI version that actually works. Or to release a MIUI version in general, because as of past few weeks, even that is debatable. Not to mention about MM support (or lack thereof) in PCSuite... Or bugs in local backups. The list goes on,... I will stop here.
I feel the hardware is on par with what I, or any average user expected, but I feel there is no software for that phone.
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+1
That's why I regret buying the MI5. I should have waited one more month for the oneplus 3. Maybe I'll sell my MI5. The battery life on miui global beta is just bad.
Sent from my Mi 5 using XDA Labs

MIUI is getting better, but can't keep the pace with other custom ROMs. Xiaomi devices are good by specs, so consider buying it for the sake of the specs, then flash some other custom ROM instead. FYI, from the POV of iOS users (my apple-fanboy friends), MIUI is considered more friendly than AOSP based ROMs. Don't ask why

Related

What's the outlook for future development on the Redmi Note 2?

I am about to buy this phone because it is just so damn good for it's very low price tag, however one thing is bugging me about it. I came here to find that there are no Marshmallow ROMs for it yet and the main reason for me wanting to upgrade my phone in the first place is so that I will be able to run the latest Android ROM's without performance problems. I am currently on CyanogenMod 13 on my old Samsung Galaxy S3 and I like it, but it is slow. The Redmi Note 2 doesn't even have CyanogenMod support.
Is this because Xiaomi are going to release an official MIUI based on Marshmallow? I don't want to buy this phone if it means I am going to be stuck on MIUI or on an older version of Android. I am a bit perplexed because this phone sold a lot so why hasn't anyone made Marshmallow for it yet?
Do you think that development is going to pick up for this device or is this device a bad option if you want to run the latest Google Android (not MIUI)?
Certainly, the RN2 is a lot of hardware for the money, but without source code, things are limited to either repacked/tweaked roms, or roms that are built from source, but have significant hardware functionality imperfections because source is not available. It doesn't seem clear to me whether Xiaomi will release a Marshmallow-based MIUI for the RN2 or not. Some people say yes, some people say no, so until it actually happens (if it ever does), who knows. I also bought the RN2 because it was so much hardware for the price, but I am also disappointed with the lack of CM and similar. This is certainly not for a lack of people not trying, but it seems like certain parts of the hardware will never become functional with CM unless the necessary source code is released. If you don't happen to use these parts of the hardware, well, maybe it doesn't matter. Personally, I have stuck with sMIUI because all the hardware is completely working, but I sure wish a CM version with all working hardware will eventually emerge.
verbage said:
Certainly, the RN2 is a lot of hardware for the money, but without source code, things are limited to either repacked/tweaked roms, or roms that are built from source, but have significant hardware functionality imperfections because source is not available. It doesn't seem clear to me whether Xiaomi will release a Marshmallow-based MIUI for the RN2 or not. Some people say yes, some people say no, so until it actually happens (if it ever does), who knows. I also bought the RN2 because it was so much hardware for the price, but I am also disappointed with the lack of CM and similar. This is certainly not for a lack of people not trying, but it seems like certain parts of the hardware will never become functional with CM unless the necessary source code is released. If you don't happen to use these parts of the hardware, well, maybe it doesn't matter. Personally, I have stuck with sMIUI because all the hardware is completely working, but I sure wish a CM version with all working hardware will eventually emerge.
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Thanks for the explanation. It seems really unfortunate that they haven't released the source. I guess I should either buy the more expensive Mi4 (which I believe the source is released for) or I can just wait it out and see if the source code get's released for the RN2. It seems strange to me that they wouldn't release Marshmallow-based MIUI for such a popular, fairly new phone. I think they will release it. If they release MM-MIUI then will that enable other developers to bring stock Android Marshmallow or CyanogenMod to the RN2?
M will deffo be released for RN2. Main reason we still dont have it is:
a) first "official" device with M is supposed to be mi5
b) MTK prolly didnt polish 6.0 yet
Major companies that use X10 (eg Sony & HTC) didnt realse M for their devices either, at least as far as i know, however they are planned. So yeah M will arrive eventually, which is great, but that doesnt mean custom roms will get any better. And knowing xiaomi, and their kernel release policies, this is pretty much 100%. Pretty sure they still havent released any kernel source for their older MTK powered devices.
I think I'm going to buy the Mi4 rather because its kernel is open. I want to know that I'll be able to get android roms of any new releases. It's a real shame because the Redmi Note 2 is cheaper and a more superior device, but I have read that Mediatek are scumbags when it comes to releasing kernels because they want to force you to buy a new device when your OS becomes outdated which goes against the open source licence of Linux. Oh well, I guess that's business.
rimpy said:
If they release MM-MIUI then will that enable other developers to bring stock Android Marshmallow or CyanogenMod to the RN2?
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If they release MM-MIUI for the RN2, unless they release the source code, this will still mean that roms are cooked/repacked, or built from source, but probably imperfectly due to lack of source. Though MIUI is based on Android, I don't think there are free and open MIUI repositories where one could grab the necessary source code for the RN2.
At this point, like everyone said, it is very unlikely that Xiaomi will ever release the source code for the RN2. Without it, custom ROMs will never be proper, and it's the reason there are no MM builds yet.
However, even though MIUI is horrible and God knows that I hate it, it's quite usable. A version of the Xposed framework that works on the latest MIUI builds has been released a couple of days ago, and with it you can get most of the functionality a custom ROM provides. It's not perfect, and I'd prefer AOSP, but it is, IMO, the best this phone has to offer at the moment.
I only got mine about three months ago, and while there were many times I came to regret my purchase, every other phone in this price range and slightly above has inferior hardware. With that said, if you want a phone running AOSP or something very close to it, you'd be better off getting a Nexus or a device that is officially supported by CM.
Thanks all. I was just about to buy the RN2 but I am glad I posted here first. I've learnt a lot and I don't think I would be happy with a phone that has a closed source kernel. The Mi4 has a smaller screen, no SD slot, slower, and costs more, but its kernel source is released and it is supported by CM13. Still very good value for money so that's gonna be my next phone.
It actually isnt slower. Benchmarks only. If you run them side by side with either MIUI or CM youll see than Mi4 is actually much faster than RN2, so yeah, its a better option if you have the money

Community development strength

You're a power user. Can the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 keep up? Rate this thread to express how "healthy" the development scene is for the Xiaomi Mi Max 2. A higher rating indicates available root methods, kernels, and custom ROMs.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
As on January 24, 2018, there is next to zero development for this device, Don't know what it takes to get the developers interested...
I can confirm that zero development right now
With xiaomi.eu rom, miui pro and lineage os we have something for everyone, and that without the sources. now that the source code has been released, the development will really start I guess. we also have aokp and ressurection remix which both look promising. people are just underestimating the effort it takes to create a rom.. the development is not that strong, but when you consider that it's a special device (not everyones taste) and that the sources had just been released it's looking good
Some ROMs are there. But development is extreme slow. Faulty bought.
faulty bought? lol
ok what do you need from 3rd party non-miui rom over miui?
Miui 9 pretty much includes alot of features that 3rd party rom has so there no real point to go for other roms unless you have specific need which doesn't give a good enough reason for any devs to go in and spend their precious time and probably end up with bunch of whiny users asking for update EVERYDAY....
to me, i found by root and install mi-globe rom + install google camera apk pretty much completes this phone already.
no issue spotted. also i'm using Lspeed for system tuning.
you have to learn to adapt the current world.
Yes RR does look promising, but then other phones got RR pretty soon, it's just that this one is taking a good long wait ...
The present RR is unusable BTW..
pakudaboy said:
faulty bought? lol
ok what do you need from 3rd party non-miui rom over miui?
Miui 9 pretty much includes alot of features that 3rd party rom has so there no real point to go for other roms unless you have specific need which doesn't give a good enough reason for any devs to go in and spend their precious time and probably end up with bunch of whiny users asking for update EVERYDAY....
to me, i found by root and install mi-globe rom + install google camera apk pretty much completes this phone already.
no issue spotted. also i'm using Lspeed for system tuning.
you have to learn to adapt the current world.
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could you please share the zweaks you did in l speed? are there any noticable performance improvements or downsides?
Xiaomi4X said:
Yes RR does look promising, but then other phones got RR pretty soon, it's just that this one is taking a good long wait ...
The present RR is unusable BTW..
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the developer stopped development until february
Not even one oficial rom builder, and those unofficial roms are full of bugs.

Community development strength

You're a power user. Can the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite keep up? Rate this thread to express how "healthy" the development scene is for the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite. A higher rating indicates available root methods, kernels, and custom ROMs.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Really like to know users comment on this
I think the Mi 8 Lite is not so popular, so the developments seen here appears at a very low rate. I love my Mi 8 Lite, but I think it does not have the required "development-strenght" I would like.
pablotrin said:
I think the Mi 8 Lite is not so popular, so the developments seen here appears at a very low rate. I love my Mi 8 Lite, but I think it does not have the required "development-strenght" I would like.
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Thanks for the comment!
I don't know why this device is not so popular like redmi note 5 pro. it has all the best things in a affordable price. But number of official ROMs are not bad either.
It took my current device (redmi 4 prime) about 1 year to get its first official ROM, so I think Mi 8 lite is doing kinda good here.
BTW I'm probably getting this device in 2-3 days. It's Mi 8 lite or redmi note 6 pro. Still not quite sure :/
nimbold said:
Thanks for the comment!
I don't know why this device is not so popular like redmi note 5 pro. it has all the best things in a affordable price. But number of official ROMs are not bad either.
It took my current device (redmi 4 prime) about 1 year to get its first official ROM, so I think Mi 8 lite is doing kinda good here.
BTW I'm probably getting this device in 2-3 days. It's Mi 8 lite or redmi note 6 pro. Still not quite sure :/
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I think devel is actually quite good. Well, with the exception that 2 or 3 devs are releasing all the available ROMs. That actually means that support for a single ROM is not that great, usually taking days until the dev replies, if at all. In my case, never. Something else that makes this phone very difficult to support, is the fact that individual ROMs are closely reliant on the firmware installed. Many ROMs require a specific firmware version. Most users are totally obvious to this. Look how many users have posted they cannot dial, or no sound, simply because they didn't update their firmware. To me, this is not a good road to go down and honestly makes MIUI a bad choice.
However, I love to fix and compile things, so my phone works great and this is probably the best and fastest phone I have ever owned, included all my previous Samsungs.. I plan on purchasing the top of the line Mi 9 in the next month or so and selling this one., but I do love it!
lexridge said:
I think devel is actually quite good. Well, with the exception that 2 or 3 devs are releasing all the available ROMs. That actually means that support for a single ROM is not that great, usually taking days until the dev replies, if at all. In my case, never. Something else that makes this phone very difficult to support, is the fact that individual ROMs are closely reliant on the firmware installed. Many ROMs require a specific firmware version. Most users are totally obvious to this. Look how many users have posted they cannot dial, or no sound, simply because they didn't update their firmware. To me, this is not a good road to go down and honestly makes MIUI a bad choice.
However, I love to fix and compile things, so my phone works great and this is probably the best and fastest phone I have ever owned, included all my previous Samsungs.. I plan on purchasing the top of the line Mi 9 in the next month or so and selling this one., but I do love it!
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Uh, so just not installing latest firmware causes all these weird issue that people have :|
I hope devs deal with this weird situation and keep the development alive.
All I want from a phone is active community here on xda and also good battery life.
Guess I should double check my options in this price range so I don't regret it in future
BTW congrats on soon to come Mi 9. It's a beast
nimbold said:
Uh, so just not installing latest firmware causes all these weird issue that people have :|
I hope devs deal with this weird situation and keep the development alive.
All I want from a phone is active community here on xda and also good battery life.
Guess I should double check my options in this price range so I don't regret it in future
BTW congrats on soon to come Mi 9. It's a beast
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This phone is doesn't need a custom ROM to be awesome. Even stock rooted, this phone still rocks! Now that the kernel source is out there, hopefully things will get much better regarding custom ROMs.
lexridge said:
This phone is doesn't need a custom ROM to be awesome. Even stock rooted, this phone still rocks! Now that the kernel source is out there, hopefully things will get much better regarding custom ROMs.
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Yeah it has Pie which is latest till now and I guess Android Q will come by Xiaomi. This phone specs are too good to not get
I read a few comments above that this device is not very popular and does not have sufficient support from the developers, I came from the Zenfone 3 zoom and it was a year of terror.

New to Huawei P20 Lite (Anne) phone, not to flashing ROMs and/or rooting. Need advice.

Hi all! Hope I'm posting in the correct section...
I recently acquired a Huawei P20 Lite, coming from a Moto G 4G (Peregrine), so I'm not new to flashing custom ROMs. After reading a lot of threads from different projects; AOSP Phh Treble, Pixel Experience, Pixel Experience Plus and Phenix kernel caught my eye.
From what I've read any one of those ROMs and the kernel are stable enough to be used as a daily driver, and Android 11 is mature enough, hence I'm not too concerned about bugs; though I'm aware there might be a problem with Phenix kernel and my current EMUI version, 9.1.0.355(C605E4R1P3).
My main concerns are performance, of course, and battery life, which is why I'd like to ask for your advice on an easy way to benchmark those different ROMs on my phone. The reason being that I spend a lot of time on the go and don't have too much time to flash a new ROM to test, I need something that lets me test and benchmark battery and performance in a few minutes so I can spend a couple of hours, at most, flashing ROMs.
I'd also appreciate any opinion from someone who have tested the aforementioned projects. I'm aware there are different models and they don't always behave exactly the same. For that matter, my phone specs are:
Device: Huawei P20 Lite
Model: ANE-LX3
Build number: 9.1.0.355(C605E4R1P3)
Hardware version: HL3ANNEM
Custom version: CUSTC605D1
Any advice will be appreciated.
hrincon said:
Hi all! Hope I'm posting in the correct section...
I recently acquired a Huawei P20 Lite, coming from a Moto G 4G (Peregrine), so I'm not new to flashing custom ROMs. After reading a lot of threads from different projects; AOSP Phh Treble, Pixel Experience, Pixel Experience Plus and Phenix kernel caught my eye.
From what I've read any one of those ROMs and the kernel are stable enough to be used as a daily driver, and Android 11 is mature enough, hence I'm not too concerned about bugs; though I'm aware there might be a problem with Phenix kernel and my current EMUI version, 9.1.0.355(C605E4R1P3).
My main concerns are performance, of course, and battery life, which is why I'd like to ask for your advice on an easy way to benchmark those different ROMs on my phone. The reason being that I spend a lot of time on the go and don't have too much time to flash a new ROM to test, I need something that lets me test and benchmark battery and performance in a few minutes so I can spend a couple of hours, at most, flashing ROMs.
I'd also appreciate any opinion from someone who have tested the aforementioned projects. I'm aware there are different models and they don't always behave exactly the same. For that matter, my phone specs are:
Device: Huawei P20 Lite
Model: ANE-LX3
Build number: 9.1.0.355(C605E4R1P3)
Hardware version: HL3ANNEM
Custom version: CUSTC605D1
Any advice will be appreciated.
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Hi!
Just a few factual notes:
In fact, it's not Android 11, only system image based on A 11 .
All GSI Treble ROMs that are compatible with P20 are AOSP based on 'phhusson' sources, so the difference in performance, battery life, etc. is minimal.
All GSI ROMs have some common bugs - signal level indicator, offline charging, VoLTE, native callrecording. If you like to take pictures, you will be disappointed with the GSI camera...
Sadly the availability of Custom ROMs for Kirin devices is limited.
The basic requirement is, of course, an unlocked bootloader.
-Alf- said:
Hi!
Just a few factual notes:
In fact, it's not Android 11, only system image based on A 11 .
All GSI Treble ROMs that are compatible with P20 are AOSP based on 'phhusson' sources, so the difference in performance, battery life, etc. is minimal.
All GSI ROMs have some common bugs - signal level indicator, offline charging, VoLTE, native callrecording. If you like to take pictures, you will be disappointed with the GSI camera...
Sadly the availability of Custom ROMs for Kirin devices is limited.
The basic requirement is, of course, an unlocked bootloader.
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@alf Thanks for the reply and the clarifications.
I've already unlocked the bootloader using PotatoNV, was just curious about the existence of a tool to benchmark performance as well as battery, guess such a tool doesn't exist yet... asking for too much...
The bugs you mentioned are not really an issue for me, no problem there; GSI camera can be easily replaced by another app and taking photos is not the primary use I give to a communication device, so no problem either.
And yes, sadly Huawei became kind of a pariah in the tech industry and development stopped.
And since they are all very similar, what is your favourite feature wise? as this would apparently be the deciding factor. And, based on my specs, do you think there would be a problem flashing Phenix kernel after flashing any of this ROMs? or should I downgrade first to be on the safe side?
hrincon said:
@alf
And since they are all very similar, what is your favourite feature wise?
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I'm not sure I fully understand your question...
Personally, I would give most points to the PixelExperience Plus.
As for Phenix, I have little experience with it.
-Alf- said:
I'm not sure I fully understand your question...
Personally, I would give most points to the PixelExperience Plus.
As for Phenix, I have little experience with it.
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@alf Meant which one you preferred in terms of features (more and/or better). I see your personal favorite is Pixel Experience Plus. Gonna go with that and if I find something weird, I know where to ask.
Thank you again!

Question Custom Roms

Could anyone share a list of custom roms compatible with the Pixel 6? I see 2 in the development thread but I was wondering if there are others. I saw a Graphene but don't know if it's compatible.
JimmyL216 said:
Could anyone share a list of custom roms compatible with the Pixel 6? I see 2 in the development thread but I was wondering if there are others. I saw a Graphene but don't know if it's compatible.
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The truth is, most of the custom ROM scene is much more active on telegram. There is a ROM update Channel which you will find when you search on telegram. There are couple more roms available there, but overall such a disappointed device when it comes to custom roms . My previous mi 9t pro had such good optimized ROM, that it was factually smoother than pixel 6. Tried side by side myself obviously. Sure more brute force power by the pixel SoC but the software tuning is bad. Much more framedrops on pixel 6 than my much older previous phone. Sorry for the little rant, but it has to be said when you are talking about custom roms...
Way more than a rom but i highly recommend checking out GrapheneOS!
cacio_confusa said:
The truth is, most of the custom ROM scene is much more active on telegram. There is a ROM update Channel which you will find when you search on telegram. There are couple more roms available there, but overall such a disappointed device when it comes to custom roms . My previous mi 9t pro had such good optimized ROM, that it was factually smoother than pixel 6. Tried side by side myself obviously. Sure more brute force power by the pixel SoC but the software tuning is bad. Much more framedrops on pixel 6 than my much older previous phone. Sorry for the little rant, but it has to be said when you are talking about custom roms...
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Probably just different governors set so that the "faster" feeling one cranks the cpu to max sooner.
I flashed derpfest for oriole a few days ago and so far everything is running well. I even got face unlock with the rom.

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