A bit of history
I don't know if you guys have noticed, but there are a lot of ROMs not being updated anymore because the devs are migrating to newer phones or whatever. In this thread I want to show you guys that installing new custom ROMs and looking for updates don't worth your time.
This phone has been released on October 1st, 2014 and now it's 2019 which means that we're using a five years old phone (which is not bad). Samsung gave up on it in 2015 when they launched (the last) lollipop update. But then a lot of developers started working to make our beloved GP an useful phone with the latest cool stuff that newer android versions give to us. It was wonderful when every Tuesday there was a building going on in a Jenkin's server and afterwards we could download the ROM just to have the latest version of Cyanogenmod (good old days that never come back). For me, the last stable custom ROMs were the Nougat and Marshmallow versions. Afterwards some of the devs have changed their phones and stopped creating new stuff for GP (I'm not blaming anyone for that) because the phone was getting too problematic to work with.
Even so, some of the devs were still persisting on making new builds and fixing the bugs but those new ROMs weren't ever going to get out of the beta stage. Even if you see new custom ROMs builds today they are not gonna be finished as their kernel need to be worked on fixing bugs and improvements. That's why they all have the same bugs because they use the same base which has these bugs.
The real last update
The last modification in the kernel has been made on Oct 17th, 2018.
Last commit
This means that all of these new custom ROMs in 2019 are not getting their bugs fixed. Please do not ask the devs for updates and improvements because they've already forsaken this phone long time ago.
We have to be grateful that they have spent a lot of their time and money (I don't know which is most valuable) programming, looking for bugs and losing sleep nights just to bring us (users) pieces of software FOR FREE.
For all developers my biggest Thank you !
My grand prime's retirement
At this time I am using the oldest stock ROM ever, the KitKat. It's very stable specially when you root it and remove all the bloatware stuff.
Its interface is not that bad, I personally think it's cuter that lollipop's. Of course you will miss google's smart lock and a lot of apps that are not supported anymore, such as Swiftkey, Gboard and newer stunning browsers.
I think that we users should let our grand prime to rest in peace and to follow our own lives. It has been a great adventure to brick this phone a lot of times and being one or two days without social media because of a software brick.
What do you think of all of this?
Have a great day.
It was a great run with the gp
I'm no longer using this device 4 months ago
I'm now using a Lenovo Z5 Pro GT
It's a 6 year old phone, I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone to want to stop developing for it.
I have 4 cellphone, but Grand prime is still my fave
Hey @cizordj!
I'm glad you made this thread. I know that most people have moved on to their new devices but some people like me and many others are still stuck with their GP and it is hard to use this. I know I will waste your time but let's do a guide on how to use this phone in 2019 and so on mainly because of the reason they don't have money to get a newer device. My Telegram ID is @ITexpert120 and if you find this post interesting, please contact me.
Let's give this community the last gift before we leave. (Just a side note I'm still using GP).
Bye.
itexpert.120 said:
Hey @cizordj!
I'm glad you made this thread. I know that most people have moved on to their new devices but some people like me and many others are still stuck with their GP and it is hard to use this. I know I will waste your time but let's do a guide on how to use this phone in 2019 and so on mainly because of the reason they don't have money to get a newer device. My Telegram ID is @ITexpert120 and if you find this post interesting, please contact me.
Let's give this community the last gift before we leave. (Just a side note I'm still using GP).
Bye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an interesting idea, sorry for the late response.
Alright, I think someone would still be able to use grand prime today if he installs ViperOS which is in my opinion the stablest ROM ever. It's even faster than stock's and lighter, another thing is the camera that is a lot better. On this tutorial about using grand prime in 2019 I think we should approach these methods:
- Installing the newest possible android version.
- Installing the Google Apps.
- Rooting the phone.
- Giving tips about light apps that can be used on this phone.
I remember not being able to use Instagram due to a lack of RAM, what I did was to uninstall Swiftkey[board] and use AOSP keyboard. Another detail that the user must care about is background processes, in developer options I had to deactive all of them to get the phone to respond fast, without background processes I didn't get notifications, but my phone used to work rapidly.
If the user is hardcore, he could try using this phone without Google Apps, they are heavy nowadays specially the play services, if he could stand without that he would save 200Mb of RAM approximately.
Well I think this is it.
cizordj said:
It's an interesting idea, sorry for the late response.
Alright, I think someone would still be able to use grand prime today if he installs ViperOS which is in my opinion the stablest ROM ever. It's even faster than stock's and lighter, another thing is the camera that is a lot better. On this tutorial about using grand prime in 2019 I think we should approach these methods:
- Installing the newest possible android version.
- Installing the Google Apps.
- Rooting the phone.
- Giving tips about light apps that can be used on this phone.
I remember not being able to use Instagram due to a lack of RAM, what I did was to uninstall Swiftkey[board] and use AOSP keyboard. Another detail that the user must care about is background processes, in developer options I had to deactive all of them to get the phone to respond fast, without background processes I didn't get notifications, but my phone used to work rapidly.
If the user is hardcore, he could try using this phone without Google Apps, they are heavy nowadays specially the play services, if he could stand without that he would save 200Mb of RAM approximately.
Well I think this is it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, yeah
You are right, I am too using the Grand Prime without GApps and it works just fine.
Also my builds are getting stable so now I am able to use it without any problems
And most of all PUBG LITE works
Related
I am sorry but we won't get android wave, it is not a popular device and people are happy with only bada.
For sure !
Bada is a good OS but Android is even better.
And it is always a pleasure to have a dual boot device and to switch between OS.
I'm outta here. having just got a Sony Ericsson ray which is roughly equivalent in hardware terms I've discovered a wonderful new mobile life where the OS really works.
random lagging totally not present on android 2.3.4. on BADA this is still present and there are even random crashes (insufficient memory). I've seen Android baulk when doing Facebook + Google navigation + music + just pictures. when returning to the home page some icons take a second or two to fill. that's it.
Web browser : woah! at last a browser that properly handles full desktop sites complete with flash. even chatroulette works! oh and it doesn't forget passwords too.
gps : hot lock in under 10 seconds EVERY TIME
cold fix in under 1 minute using agps. around 3 minutes without data. admitted the phone probably has a more recent chipset but then I've seen a Samsung galaxy S work nearly as well, why not the wave!?
navigation : Google navigation built in. perhaps this is a gadget so I tried igo and sygic.. no stuttering whatever. finally a phone with gps that just works without worrying if it has crashed or is still stuttering at the last junction. Why does bada stutter whereas android doesn't and on similar hardware?!
oh the apps! enough said
Customisation on android is unbelievable. hey I think I'll swap out the keyboard for something better, no problem! Samsung please unlock the OS.
and on a final note, I video skyped my family today using the phone. Samsung, unlock voip now or better dump BADA and give the wave a well deserved android rom please.
Thank you and goodbye BADA.
A lesson in how not to do it.
The project has failed because of pig headedness and neglect. People asking the questions they where told not to, leading to developers getting irate and walking away (this however, is something which any developers must face with a grin and bare it so they don't have any excuse either). In my opinion the Wave community don't deserve Android on their devices.
Sorry if I've offended anyone with this but i have been following this section for many months and over that time the above has become painfully obvious to me.
I hope the developers involved go off to be successful with projects on other devices.
All the best.
While the project could've been handled better, I wouldn't say it has failed yet. Rebellos and Oleg are still working on it AFAIK.
Hope to get android rom for Wave soon! Thank you developers! We only use normal phone for Call/Msg features but we need more than that with a smart phone. Bada is not so bad but i think samsung must do so much to improve it, apps, memories manage etc...
tydaikho said:
Hope to get android rom for Wave soon! Thank you developers! We only use normal phone for Call/Msg features but we need more than that with a smart phone. Bada is not so bad but i think samsung must do so much to improve it, apps, memories manage etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me on this, they won't, but I've been using it like you, the dual boot isn't much of an inconvinience to me. The only problems I've had are lack of 3G, accelerometer and some apps not working due to Froyo/Filesystem.
I've got round all the other problems ^^
Are you kidding me? We can't reaching Android level because of you and you-like HUMANS. Please stop demotivating us and get the hell out of here...
Yeah i'm looking forward for it patiently ^^
what a silly and useless thread... closing this is the only sensefull thing about stuff like that.... i does not help anyone-.- demotivating developers is the only effect of threads like that
all said. i'm in for android on wave2.
well,
sitting in a chair for 10 hours daily... working on some IT **** is making me suffocate.
BADA has no release of v2.0 for my region and i'm stuck with v1.2.
im just a jughead.. a lazy bastard who wants to have fun with this new toy called S8530.
I hope all the devs round here help each other and do some real cool things with their brains.
all said. i'm in for android on wave2.
It's a shame that this excellent hardware cannot yet run Android complete with modem chip drivers. I am still waiting for android on Bada as I have a number of people around me who like me have been decieved my BADA. If I can help, please feel free to contact me on the forum
p.s. I point out that I'm by no means a dev but I'm capable of flashing firmwares on my GT8500.
no, sold it!
The Wave isn't as good as you think. I hated the pentile screen, the round edges that made it slip out of my hands all the time, the ****ty OS and the small screen.
Bought the HD2 and it is a whole different class. Sorry guys, but the bada phones are literally cheap crap. The OS is at least as important as the hardware. Bada is crap, no matter what you say.
Get an Android smartphone, you'll be much much happier!
433Mhz said:
Get an Android smartphone, you'll be much much happier!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that this thread have to be closed, it is not the spirit of xda.
All member sould support all developments as it is the goal of xda.
Also the hardware of the Waves are really good ,and as you said the os is very important, porting android will make of the Waves a wonderful device.
By buying a new device and to tell all the xda community that you think that the Waves phones are crap you just actually said that you are weak (for the xda community).
I can say I've now given up waiting.
I'm tired of the Wave, it's boring me and I can see no Android port coming around anytime soon. I have the resources to buy a new phone, hopefully going to be a Tegra 3 monster.
I will make sure the damned thing does all I want this time!
I respect the work that the people here at XDA are doing, but I think even they know this will never be finished, I guess it's a learning curve.
I tried to get some interest built up and succeeded in some ways, but oh well.
Bada is dead, but wave is superb!
Ok, i want an android phone with basically same specs with wave and in any case hardware call buttons and not touch. I cannot find anything like that!
I notice quite a lot of rom threads are being closed...
only a few are being updates while lots were lasted update near the beginning of the month...
Lol.. There are too many roms already and almost all of them are very stable. So why do we need nightly/weekly updates if we have something like pure nexus or chroma running solid? Custom roms will live forever especially for nexus devices.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Another one was added today. I'm patiently waiting to see if pure nexus appears with cmte. Its in the works.I hear
No end in sight! This is XDA ftw!
Today is a terrible, terrible day.
We lost an absolute gem
Soulfly3 said:
Today is a terrible, terrible day.
We lost an absolute gem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean with cataclysm, there is a cached page about his final words, I hope he still continues
http://txt.do/57rjs
Ref
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/42v96a/cataclysm_threads_closed_by_mods/
The community legit doesn't deserve for him to continue.
His threads would literally make me sick the way ppl treated him. The way they DEMANDED alterations as opposed to asking. The way they asked over and over, despite his firm NO.
I'm gonna miss the hell out of his ROMs. The best. If some major changes happen, maybe Ill move to Pure Nexus, but for now... and a long while... I think the latest Cata mod will be on my phone.
This community truly sucks, sometimes
This has definitely been true for non-Nexus phones. I was big into LG phones, I had the G2, G3, and G4 (all on Verizon). The G2 had tons of development, both stock and AOSP ROMs, and the G3 was similar but noticeably less. The G4 has been non-existent. I remember the days when virtually all phones were rooted and unlocked by devs, with lots of custom ROMs, but this seems to be going away very quickly. Now it's likely if you buy a non-Nexus device, it won't get root at all, let alone custom ROMs.
Looking at the 6P development, I see what you're talking about. Lots of ROMs that started when the phone came out have ceased getting updates, and you only have a handful of solid ROMs to choose from.
I wouldn't be surprised if custom roms are a dying breed. IMHO part of it is that Android is slowly moving towards getting the basic feature set and UI tweaks that people want, and more manufacturers are trimming down their bloated UI's (some exceptions obv, unnamed). But also --- this may sound cynical, but just from my own observation: Many of these enthusiast-worked/powered/funded projects are far too often met with self-entitled users (in the very literal sense of the word) who think their use of the rom/software/art/w/e entitles them to complain endlessly about every little thing and every minute lack of an update (or desired/demanded feature) for what is usually a free or donationware product. Not to mention the people who are too careless/hasty to follow instructions and end up bricking their devices, only to blame the devs and spew a bunch of vitriol. I don't blame anyone who quits at all.
republicano said:
You mean with cataclysm, there is a cached page about his final words, I hope he still continues
http://txt.do/57rjs
Ref
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/42v96a/cataclysm_threads_closed_by_mods/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's one breathe taking letter! Wish him the best and this Developer will be missed by XDA...
I love custom ROMs!!! I remember when I unlocked my first smart phone the first evo and I found the perfect stable ROM for it...now every time I get a new phone I find myself searching for a ROM I think it makes whatever handset you're using perfect. Thank you to everyone that takes the time to develop
the past roms I used, have not closed down.. Cataclysm was the second rom I used and liked...
I try not to use any roms that are CM based.. lol.. not sure why... I like the AOSP based roms better...
XDA has been going downhill for years now. Seen some amazing devs and funny members just up and leave over the years for this very reason.
Sent from my LG-H815 using XDA Free mobile app
Every ROM will meet its end some time... Beanstalk disappeared. Avatar halted. AOKP is no longer active. ParanoidAndroid and PACman had gone big in form but small in functionality and usefulness. Even CM, with Google incorporating more and more changes into each new Android version and limiting features these ROMs can touch, might die out someday.
Sent from Google Nexus 6P @ CM13
[WARNING: XDA One have not implemented "mark forum as read" - do not use]
Yeah some people here do not understand devs do this in there free time, for fun theycowe you nothing and you are very privileged to be getting such incredible free software. This upsets a lot if devs and makes them leave the community.
I stopped publishing my own approach of a ROM after I got rid of my old Samsung Galaxy S3 and moved on to Nexus devices. I'm happy with a customised Stock based ROM which suits me well. I'm not sure if anybody else would be interested in it since the Nexus forums offer a great number of custom ROMs, some of which are filled with extra stuff. I can somehow understand the guys who stop publishing their work. I never asked for donations, in fact I don't have a PayPal account linked to my profile Maintaining a ROM is a huge effort, especially if you're on your own and not part of a team.
ROMs are no longer needed plain and simple. Back in the hay days of ROMs, Galaxy S2 and 3, HTC EVO, ROMs were a necessity considering how badly optimized phones were back then.. running great software with horrible specs. Developers made the phone a lot better... I still remember the days of running Viper ROM on my samsung epic on the Sprint network.. those were the days.
Fast forward today I'm going on two years without flashing a ROM and reality is I see no need for it.
I pose a question to the great Nexus community, what's the purpose of flashing ROMs when the device runs perfect out the box?
Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
Root is a must for me since it allows you to get rid of some unwanted Google Apps (eg Google+, Google Play Games etc), use a Adblocker and special Apps like eg Titanium Backup or LMT
Custom roms, with the exception of a select few, have always been highly overrated imo. Most of them take software that is already created, debloat it (which we can do ourselves) and add some features that anyone can get through xposed, etc.
I used to always laugh when people would jump in a rom thread with outrageous claims like their battery life doubled, it's 100x smoother than stock, etc. Placebo effect runs high on custom roms imo.
With that being said, I've flashed just as many roms as most of you. I still see the value in some of them.
But as other people have said, it's just not as necessary anymore. As long as you can root, you can debloat, add xposed if you wanted, etc.
Doesn't seem to make as big of a difference as before.
Yeah it's not how it used to be and that probably for the better, most anything you could want can be done through Xposed and a custom kernel. While most custom roms are more stable than they were in the early days(seems to have more to do with a more stable aosp), there isn't much incentive and there are often still bugs. It's not because devs are bad at what they do, but building a stable rom requires a team of people and testing environments that people just don't have at home. Early in the days of windows mobile and Android roms were very poorly optimised out of the box, but it'd not really like that anymore.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
i am buying a new phone, the S8+ to be exact, and there have been a lot of new developments (problems) when it comes to rooting your device. i've been rooting my smartphone devices for over 10 years because i love the freedom it brings (er, brought). Now i read things like Netflix, Snapchat, and AndroidPay not working on rooted devices. So i am wondering what people's experiences have been like. Any regrets? Are the trade-offs worth it to you? Is it worth being able to uninstall bloatware and install custom ROMs if a lot of other features and apps will stop working? i know most of this is personal preference but would like to know more about what other people have experienced.
billybag said:
i am buying a new phone, the S8+ to be exact, and there have been a lot of new developments (problems) when it comes to rooting your device. i've been rooting my smartphone devices for over 10 years because i love the freedom it brings (er, brought). Now i read things like Netflix, Snapchat, and AndroidPay not working on rooted devices. So i am wondering what people's experiences have been like. Any regrets? Are the trade-offs worth it to you? Is it worth being able to uninstall bloatware and install custom ROMs if a lot of other features and apps will stop working? i know most of this is personal preference but would like to know more about what other people have experienced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First and foremost, if you plan on getting a US variant, meaning it will have a SD835 in it, Root is unlikely to come soon for it, This doesn't mean it won't happen, just not soon. Now if we're talking international, the ones that ship with an Exynos in it, they're rootable now.
Now, with that out the way let's get into the questions you've asked. There will indeed be a selection of apps that will not work when rooted these days because of "SafetyNet" check failure. Some of the biggest would be Snapchat and Android pay, However they will work with the assistance of Magisk which will allow SafetyNet to pass it's check, Same goes for most apps that fail to work because of root presence.
Heading back to what I first mentioned now, Rooting a Samsung device of recent years comes with some pretty notable cons to it, These would include loss of KNOX, I'm not sure what your stance on security is but if security is a concern to you, losing KNOX is not good. Another big and notable con is you will lose all Samsung pay support permanently, Actually to be honest both of the latter are permanently lost once rooted. If these things aren't a concern for you then by all means root away.
On to other things now, Rooting these days doesn't present as many attractive things as it use to, especially on a Samsung device. Most OEMS have given alternatives to many of the things a user couldn't do without root before. Currently there is no Xposed on Nougat and above, it's being worked on but there is no foreseeable date that can be given on when it will be completed.
So all in all, Until root is achieved for the Snapdragon variants, I'd hold off on a purchase of an S8. If we're talking Exynos variants then by all means get one, as I've said they're rootable right now. But don't let that be the ray of sunshine, though they're rootable, They're in infact an Exynos and Samsung is unwilling to provide source code to their Exynos chipsets. Which basically means to you that custom ROMs will be limited to rehashes of the stock ROMs with a couple mods if possible, AOSP such as Lineage and others like it are next to impossible to happen on Exynos without​ a source code to work from. It has been done before but the resulting roms took a long time to develop and either were extremely buggy or were just simply not usable for daily use.
I'm pretty sure I've hopefully covered every aspect I could but if you've got any more questions I'll surely answer them.
I apologise for this being so long lol.
Perfect. Thank you, this helped a lot.
billybag said:
Perfect. Thank you, this helped a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I could help, Again sorry it was a lengthy response but it was necessary to cover all of it.
Once galactic stryder started to collected crowd funding to buy a new le max 2 and then also ordered it and then it now arrived because of some issues. Anybody can tell me what happened to the money of yours you donated? And why he is not developing? Just curious to know that!
Heyyo, he posted a while back that he has had stuff going on in life so it was delayed a few months for software development.
Tbh even once he starts it could be a few months before he has a properly working x2 build as he uses his own kernels with some stuff based on Darkobas (Oreo) and I haven't seen anything happening there either... So really who knows when we shall see some AOSPA x2 stuff.
Such is the way with crowdfunding anyways. We funded a device for him and it will take time for things to get done. I know I donated a bunch too but hey I am barely making progress on Oreo but I try with my limited software development skills and time.
He wrote to me that let max 2 "will be supported on our AOSPA 8 from April"
Let's wait for the guy solve his issues. Nobody forced us to donate. I am sure that he didn't run away with the LeMax2 :laugh: Any user should understand that developers are also people with jobs, family, etc. Heck, even to reply to xda Q&A takes time (thanks @ThE_MarD), so it's often to see that there's no answer from the dev to "why torch is not working" question or stuff like that.
Honestly speaking, even without him, the development of X2 is at a very good level by my standards.
I think we should also donate to infrag and all the others who worked really hard to fix the builds for this device.
Thanks to all for info
Let me undersrand it correctly. You bought new phone for some guy in hope he will develop rom, but no news from him, he ran away with new phone. Well there's a sucker born every minute.
giaur said:
Let me undersrand it correctly. You bought new phone for some guy in hope he will develop rom, but no news from him, he ran away with new phone. Well there's a sucker born every minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope that's not correct bro recently he updated his profile and added le max2 and I can see some commits done in his lambda kernel so everyone cheers and hope for good
giaur said:
Let me undersrand it correctly. You bought new phone for some guy in hope he will develop rom, but no news from him, he ran away with new phone. Well there's a sucker born every minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgive me, but it's a sad statement.
Actually, a passionate and skilled guy who did a good job with a very similar phone, offered to work on improving support for this device. I can't event think he needed another underpriced (because of lack of official support from manufacturer, bankrupt) smartphone
giaur said:
Let me undersrand it correctly. You bought new phone for some guy in hope he will develop rom, but no news from him, he ran away with new phone. Well there's a sucker born every minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He is very active kernel dev for Le pro 3, so it wasnt like, hey lets give new phone to random guy.
Hi, sorry for the delay, the phone has reached my door only yesterday, 5 months waiting - or even more - it's good that I have time now to develop and the phone, I just didn't get to XDA those last months so I get the hesitation of all the users when I was off and without the phone; time's passed and as you can see on my Github we have started moving again, wrote all my Kernel script to support the new device on both versions - one Kernel fits all, right? (my LG G2 users should remember that one) - as I'm planning to support stock M versions and the upcoming, if ever coming, N versions of EUI.
The stock Kernel code is a mess just like the one from Pro3 - what did I expect? - so I may time until Saturday to get the vanilla CAF one up and running stable. After that I'll set up my Ryzen machine with another distro, probably BBQ, to compile a more recent version of N or O.
I have just updated to the latest Chinese ROM (X821) to compare the Kernel messages and take some information to merge with my previous work, I'll open a DEVB thread as soon as I get something stable running for EUI users.
Hope that clears out any misunderstandings...
GalaticStryder said:
Hi, sorry for the delay, the phone has reached my door only yesterday, 5 months waiting - or even more - it's good that I have time now to develop and the phone, I just didn't get to XDA those last months so I get the hesitation of all the users when I was off and without the phone; time's passed and as you can see on my Github we have started moving again, wrote all my Kernel script to support the new device on both versions - one Kernel fits all, right? (my LG G2 users should remember that one) - as I'm planning to support stock M versions and the upcoming, if ever coming, N versions of EUI.
The stock Kernel code is a mess just like the one from Pro3 - what did I expect? - so I may time until Saturday to get the vanilla CAF one up and running stable. After that I'll set up my Ryzen machine with another distro, probably BBQ, to compile a more recent version of N or O.
I have just updated to the latest Chinese ROM (X821) to compare the Kernel messages and take some information to merge with my previous work, I'll open a DEVB thread as soon as I get something stable running for EUI users.
Hope that clears out any misunderstandings...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clearing situation
Nice to see you after long break, hope you like yours new device
GalaticStryder said:
Hi, sorry for the delay, the phone has reached my door only yesterday, 5 months waiting - or even more - it's good that I have time now to develop and the phone, I just didn't get to XDA those last months so I get the hesitation of all the users when I was off and without the phone; time's passed and as you can see on my Github we have started moving again, wrote all my Kernel script to support the new device on both versions - one Kernel fits all, right? (my LG G2 users should remember that one) - as I'm planning to support stock M versions and the upcoming, if ever coming, N versions of EUI.
The stock Kernel code is a mess just like the one from Pro3 - what did I expect? - so I may time until Saturday to get the vanilla CAF one up and running stable. After that I'll set up my Ryzen machine with another distro, probably BBQ, to compile a more recent version of N or O.
I have just updated to the latest Chinese ROM (X821) to compare the Kernel messages and take some information to merge with my previous work, I'll open a DEVB thread as soon as I get something stable running for EUI users.
Hope that clears out any misunderstandings...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you galactic stryder!
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=75925873&postcount=318
Hi everyone,
I can't find a satisfactory answer on my favorite search engines, so I thought I'd come here and ask. Sorry if this question has already been put on the table, carved, sliced and gobbled, I couldn't find trace of it in the forum's search engine either.
My phone's a Leagoo T5c that will forever be stuck on Android 7.0, it seems, because the OEM has already lost interest, and because its SoC makes it difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a suitable custom ROM.
The latest ROM I could find and install on this phone goes back to August of 2018 (no-no, no typos), and its Security Update is even one month older (July 2018).
My question is in the title: Is it possible to install Security Updates without reinstalling/updating/upgrading the firmware itself, like you would in, say, Windows or any other OS, I presume?
UglyStuff said:
Hi everyone,
I can't find a satisfactory answer on my favorite search engines, so I thought I'd come here and ask. Sorry if this question has already been put on the table, carved, sliced and gobbled, I couldn't find trace of it in the forum's search engine either.
My phone's a Leagoo T5c that will forever be stuck on Android 7.0, it seems, because the OEM has already lost interest, and because its SoC makes it difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a suitable custom ROM.
The latest ROM I could find and install on this phone goes back to August of 2018 (no-no, no typos), and its Security Update is even one month older (July 2018).
My question is in the title: Is it possible to install Security Updates without reinstalling/updating/upgrading the firmware itself, like you would in, say, Windows or any other OS, I presume?
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Click to collapse
With android 10 were introduced Google play security updates that lets you received security updates (not all of them unfortunately, some requires to upgrade) without updating the full OS. You can't do it because you're stuck with the wrong Android version
Hopefully you won't have any issues with hacking but consider buying a new phone when you'll get a chance
Security updates get rolled out as OTA by OEM/Carrier if they consider it's necessary. You can't force it. Theoretically, all Android smartphones should get around two years of security updates. However, the reality is often very different.
The Leagoo T5c is a small-budget phone what was sold for 99 USD - so more or less a disposable item. You cannot expect OEM/Carrier to have any interest in providing updates for such a phone.
Thank you both for your explanations. I understand that Android works differently when it comes to updating itself, mostly because Google isn't the only party to have a voice in the chapter; still, it's unnerving to see that the end-user is more or less captive anyway.
It kinda defeats the very purpose of an open-source OS, to have to wait for an OEM to release (or not) an update, when you could install the patches yourself.
As for buying another phone, well, as soon as I've got the dough, I will, believe me. Not because I'm dissatisfied with this one, but because I don't like the idea of totting around with a phone that hasn't seen a security update in over two years.
I'm also seriously considering moving to Ubuntu Touch, though there again, my phone's exotic platform could be problematic. Custom ROMs seems to be as complicated an avenue as others, too.
All in all, Android isn't what they sold me: It's not secure, it's not "free", it's just another way to make you shell out bucks for new hardware every couple years.
Android is just iOS without the eye-candy, you ask me...
UglyStuff said:
Thank you both for your explanations. I understand that Android works differently when it comes to updating itself, mostly because Google isn't the only party to have a voice in the chapter; still, it's unnerving to see that the end-user is more or less captive anyway.
It kinda defeats the very purpose of an open-source OS, to have to wait for an OEM to release (or not) an update, when you could install the patches yourself.
As for buying another phone, well, as soon as I've got the dough, I will, believe me. Not because I'm dissatisfied with this one, but because I don't like the idea of totting around with a phone that hasn't seen a security update in over two years.
I'm also seriously considering moving to Ubuntu Touch, though there again, my phone's exotic platform could be problematic. Custom ROMs seems to be as complicated an avenue as others, too.
All in all, Android isn't what they sold me: It's not secure, it's not "free", it's just another way to make you shell out bucks for new hardware every couple years.
Android is just iOS without the eye-candy, you ask me...
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Click to collapse
Android isn't iOS precisely because you can break free from your OEM by flashing a custom ROM. You can develop one for almost any device as long as the OEM releases the kernel source code. And most OEM do (expect for some very unknown phones).
Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS are made to free you from google Services and are truly privacy oriented. And all of that is possible because Android is open source.
Trust me, the Android community has always worked actively to counter aging of their devices (including me).
Just buy a phone with a solid community behind and you'll be able to keep it up to date a looong time
Raiz said:
Android isn't iOS precisely because you can break free from your OEM by flashing a custom ROM. You can develop one for almost any device as long as the OEM releases the kernel source code. And most OEM do (expect for some very unknown phones).
Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS are made to free you from google Services and are truly privacy oriented. And all of that is possible because Android is open source.
Trust me, the Android community has always worked actively to counter aging of their devices (including me).
Just buy a phone with a solid community behind and you'll be able to keep it up to date a looong time
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Click to collapse
I agree with you in principle, but if I must take an example: I have this Early 2006 MacBook Pro with a Core Duo CPU that precludes me from even installing Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" on it, because the CPU is 32-bit-only, and Lion requires a 64-bit CPU.
The machine itself works very well, albeit a bit slowly, but then it's got only 2 GB of RAM and a 120-GB SSD. When I got fed-up with OS X applications not updating/upgrading and Firefox addons not installing because my copy of Firefox was too old, I partitioned the SSD, installed rEFInd as boot manager, and installed Zorin 15.2 (now 15.3) Lite 32-bit.
I now spend more time on the Linux side of this Mac than on the OS X side, and updating/upgrading it is a breeze, either via the dedicated application or in Terminal. I know there'll be an end-of-the-line there too, someday, but at least I'll keep using this Mac until it truly dies on me, not when Apple tells me it's dead.
This, for me, is the very essence of open-source: Not just the fact that it's free, but that you can revive an old machine and keep it running long after Apple et al have decided that it had gone the way of the dinosaurs.
The same doesn't apply to Android, alas. Here, you must have a compatible SoC/chipset/what-have-you, a Treble-compatible device, you must have this, you must have that...
In the end, only a fraction of Android users really get to enjoy everything their device has to offer for as long as they choose; the others just pop into the nearest phone store, be it brick-and-mortar or cyber, and must produce their credit card.
My question was as much a challenge to myself as anything else. I would really like to learn how Android works, but the tutorials and articles I've found here and there are all a bit cryptic.
That's why I'm regularly prowling this forum, I guess.
"Hunting high and low", as the song goes... :laugh:
yep, good question but google & manufactures are in it for the moola not the users 2 yr old phone.
hiitsrudd said:
yep, good question but google & manufactures are in it for the moola not the users 2 yr old phone.
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Don't I know it! It's true that even budget phones have decent specs nowadays, still, why dump a perfectly functioning phone simply because you can't update/upgrade the software?
I understand Google's rationale, of course: They invest tons of money year after year after year to keep the whole boat afloat, and they need a steady income. OK. Still, to not be able to keep your phone ***safe*** is a no-go for me.
I'm seriously beginning to think about installing Ubuntu Touch on the device. I think I'm going to try that next weekend.
I'll probably come back here with my eyes red, asking for help in unbricking my phone, though.
Stay tuned! :good:
A followup, if you are mindful of your own security it's conceivable to get more usage of that android. I don't use a banking app, but if need be use a good browser( thats updated of course) And update all often used apps via playstore. I'm still running Oreo on my phone. FYI you iOS ppl need to do critical updates asap