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Okay guys,
with the introduction of 4.4 kitkat, Google decided to include ART as an optional second runtime that can be enabled through developer options. Naturally when promised faster app launch times, people will turn it on. ART is not stable however and so problems will be occur. For this reason, in hopes to prevent kernel developers, rom developers, and android developers from having their thread hijacked, I am making a thread dedicated to runtimes here. DO NOT POST ABOUT THIS TO DEVELOPERS ON THEIR THREADS, bugs when you are running ART are not their fault.
What is Dalvik?
Dalvik is the process virtual machine (VM) in Google's Android operating system. It is the software that runs the apps on Android devices. Dalvik is thus an integral part of Android, which is typically used on mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers as well as more recently on embedded devices such as smart TVs and media streamers. Programs are commonly written in Java and compiled to bytecode. They are then converted from Java Virtual Machine-compatible .class files to Dalvik-compatible .dex (Dalvik Executable) files before installation on a device. The compact Dalvik Executable format is designed to be suitable for systems that are constrained in terms of memory and processor speed. Dalvik is open-source software.
Dalvik is named after an Icelandic city.
(source)
Okay so what is ART?
ART is a project Google has been working on for reportedly for 2 years. The goal of ART was to produce a faster runtime that wouldn't suffer from the problems Dalvik suffers. Android Kit Kat 4.4 is the first operating system with ART included in developers options although it is unclear just how recent this version is.
ART stands for Android RunTime
(source)
Great, Whats the Difference Then?
The main difference between ART and Dalvik is when they compile app code. Dalvik operates under a JIT (Just In Time) compilation method which means that when developers make their apps, they partially compile their code into bytecode which is interpreted by the java virtual machine. Dalvik converts bytecode to machinecode as the app runs to increase performance (bytecode execution is slower than machinecode execution). ART differs from Dalvik by performing this compilation of bytecode to machine code at installation of the app and saves this to the phones storage (not ram).
(source)
So Why Use ART?
Using ART instead of Dalvik allows the system to use much less resources during runtime. When apps are running, interpretation of bytecode is not ongoing, this can reduce CPU load and RAM usage. The resulting effect is faster app startup times (reportedly almost twice as fast) and better in app performance.
It should be noted that performance boosts will only really improve for the java components of apps. Apps like games which rely on the NDK or other languages will receive more incremental experience boosts.
(source)
Why Shouldn't I Use ART
Well first and foremost, Google's documentation of ART suggests not using ART because it can cause app instabilities and an unstable android implementation all together. It is still largely in development and it is unknown just how recent the version included in the current kit kat build is. Google is introducing it to the development community but really doesn't intend users to use it as a daily runtime.
Also since ART precompiles and saves that precompiled code upon installation of apps, it takes up more storage. The increase is about 10-20% of the code in the application. Remember the majority of apps usually comprises media files such as images, videos, sounds... so those components will be unaffected. For example, the Google+ apk is about 28Mb yet the code is only comprise of 7Mb. The increase in storage size is nominal, but worth noting.
Also the first start up after enabling ART can take up to 10 minutes due to this compilation occurring. Installation of apps will also take slightly longer but with hardware on the Nexus 5 you are unlikely to even notice.
ART also can cause issues with app backup and restoration.
(source) (source)
Custom Roms and ART
As developers start building Kit Kat roms from source they will have to decide if they would like to include ART in their builds. Google has created a flag to include ART in addition to Dalvik. This is a simple implementation, but if threads keep getting hijacked by discussions of ART and bugs, I wouldn't be surprised if developers choose to exclude ART from their builds.
ART also cannot function with deodexed apps. The odex files are necessary for bytecode to machine code compilation. Flashing a deodexed ROM or gaps with ART enabled will produce force closes and crashes to the point the UI won't be functional.
Also initial setup between Roms will take longer with ART since performing a factory reset as well as clearing caches will clear the stored precompiled code that ART saves. Dalvik will always be enabled at start up, so switching to ART will require a reboot and a wait for set up.
(source)
In my synopsis of ART and Dalvik I may have made a mistake or two or not explained something properly. If you spot a mistake or would like clarification, simply post and I will modify the OP.
Please, please, please send people to this thread if they are asking about runtimes in a developers thread. Having had my kernel thread hijacked by unrelated issues that are outside of my control, I understand the pain.
ART breaks Titanium Backup, just fyi
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
And quadrant and whatsapp
afazel said:
ART breaks Titanium Backup, just fyi
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
added to OP
I will not be posting a complete list of apps broken by ART, it would take way too much time and this is likely to change as the developers get to update their code to be optimized on 4.4. You are welcome to post any issues, but its pretty much ART can break a lot of apps.
I find app compatibility remarkably high. I have over 60 apps installed and the only ones that aren't working is titanium backup and greenify.
Everything else works even games like asphalt 8 and pvz2.
dwang said:
I find app compatibility remarkably high. I have over 60 apps installed and the only ones that aren't working is titanium backup and greenify.
Everything else works even games like asphalt 8 and pvz2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Games generally are not coded in Java (usually NDK or something else) and so they will be effected much less by ART than other apps.
I thought that the play store felt noticeably faster when using ART when I was installing a bunch of apps last night.
Titanium backup and whatsapp instability are huge deal breakers for me, unfortunately.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
dwang said:
I find app compatibility remarkably high. I have over 60 apps installed and the only ones that aren't working is titanium backup and greenify.
Everything else works even games like asphalt 8 and pvz2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
greenify seems to be working fine for me with ART. What problems are you experiencing?
agalvin13 said:
greenify seems to be working fine for me with ART. What problems are you experiencing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps a reinstall on ART would fix the problem?
Hi,
I know this may sound really stupid but.. can you guys write down some of your most used Apps that are written in Java? Do you notice any performance improvement?
Also, does ART affect overall android experience (original apps, launcher).
I am no developer and I don't know much about computer languages (so please don't throw rocks at me for those questions) but I like to tweak my phone to see what seems to be the best for my phone.
Does ART affect battery life?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
MrBelter said:
And quadrant and whatsapp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quadrant is working just fine for me.
busab said:
Does ART affect battery life?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It theoretically will and could. I haven't noticed a markable increase in battery life so far though. One would have to perform some test but scrolling and apps loading seems more fluid imo. I am leaving it on.
busab said:
Does ART affect battery life?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure, tomorrow I'll see and report back.
It's not like the new Holy Grail to me, performance wise...
busab said:
Does ART affect battery life?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theoretically, yes since it attempts to decrease cpu load and ram usage at runtime, it should theoretically give you some better battery life. But battery life is hard to gauge, so don't expect any definitive results on that anytime soon.
miHah said:
I know this may sound really stupid but.. can you guys write down some of your most used Apps that are written in Java? Do you notice any performance improvement?
Also, does ART affect overall android experience (original apps, launcher).
I am no developer and I don't know much about computer languages (so please don't throw rocks at me for those questions) but I like to tweak my phone to see what seems to be the best for my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much all apps that are regular run of the mill apps will be coded in Java. It is just intensive programs like games are generally coded using the NDK, but all other apps in large will be in java (the vast majority).
When you say original apps, I assume you mean system apps like the GE Launcher, or settings app. These are all coded in java so yes they will get improvements too.
EDIT: if you want what is best for your phone, stick with dalvic, it's more stable.
Something I noticed with the Nexus 4 (Dalvik, obviously) is that if you have a lot of apps (10+ maybe?) open, the recent apps will take a slight delay to show up. It isn't lag, but it even appears with the Nexus 5. If you switch to ART, the recent apps will show up immediately, no matter what. I'd say that alone would be worth it to switch to ART, it makes everyday use feel notably smoother.
aletto said:
Something I noticed with the Nexus 4 (Dalvik, obviously) is that if you have a lot of apps (10+ maybe?) open, the recent apps will take a slight delay to show up. It isn't lag, but it even appears with the Nexus 5. If you switch to ART, the recent apps will show up immediately, no matter what. I'd say that alone would be worth it to switch to ART, it makes everyday use feel notably smoother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree - the bad part is that it breaks tibu and whatsapp. Why can't devs be a bit more on their toes when an update comes ?
Been running ART for a full day now, and aside from TB, I've had no issues. Greenify works fine, and I don't use Whatsap, so hopefully by the time custom ROMs that support ART come out, TB will be updated to fix this issue. If not, oh well. I'll stick with it for now seeing as how much better some notoriously slow and crappy apps are running. Maybe it's just a placebo, but I've never seen the Facebook app load so quick and scroll so smoothly as it does now.
I'm running jcsullins CM11 (20151116), Kernel 3.0.101 (also TWRP 2.7.1.0)
Then using Kernel Tuner I pushed the max CPU to 1782Mhz
I don't use the tablet for many resource hungry apps (Spotify, Reddit, KLWP) but it's prone to being a bit laggy. I'm just wondering (within the bounds of possibility of a 5 year old tablet) if there's anything else I can do to speed it up a bit.
Seems to me like ART on CM11 isn't much more than a proof of concept. I don't really understand filesystems that well to be honest, and I'm reading conflicting posts about whether L or MM based roms are better or not (Evervolv or jcsullins 12.1)
Ok, so with almost 150 thread views in 3 days and no replies, I've taken it upon myself to try these to see how it goes. I'll continue to edit this post with what I find if anyone is interested.
I'm only interested in my perception, not benchmarks. Especially when benchmarks can be differently optimised across OSes and I intend to bounce around a bit.
Dalvik/Art
First thing I did was nandroid and titanium backups, then enabled ART in Dev options. First boot took a couple thousand years to get past the boot animation and Optimising Apps screens (expected) and then the tablet was slow as molasses (somewhat expected). I let the tablet settle down, then rebooted it. Next I methodically opened each app and played around with some basic functions. I then rebooted and repeated the process.
What I've noticed:
The initial boot, running each app etc is a bit of a painful process, but it's worth it. Everything starts up a little faster. Still a bit of lag, but not bad. No app crashes/incompatibility that I've come across so far.
F2FS
Basically this test failed. Flashed TWRP 3.0.0, changed the filesystems and rebooted. Got past the initial setup but no apps would install or update (even play store). Rebooting is like initial boot every time, going through adding wifi, google account etc. Something somewhere isn't writing to this new FS. Good enough reason to wipe it and move on to MM
For F2FS I think you need to use a rom that supports it, such has evervolv.
I tried out cm12.1 and evervolv(mm 6.0).
cm12.1 play store would always crash for me, tried it twice wiping everything. (I did not try Jcsullins version)
evervolv is very nice, the layout of android 6.0 (and 5.x) looks much better then android 4.x (personal opinion). I had zero problems with things not working/crashing. However if your looking for responsiveness, I think your best bet is kitkat with art and overclocking the cpu to 1.78ghz. Performance and battery usage is better in cm11 then anything else I tried. (my opinion).
For cm I use the milaq builds as they are more recent and incorporate security fixes.
I'm looking for a way to skip the optimization of Apps after flashing Xposed (Sony Z5 Premium if you care).
Here's why:
I've flashed Stock, RomAur, and Cyanogen ROMs, all are able to open AirWatch. I install Xposed on all roms, it no longer works. It force closes/crashes every time you try and open it and periodically in the background.
I know it is something that Xposed is doing, and I'm betting that its the optimization of these apps that's causing it to fail. Yes, I've uninstalled and reinstalled it multiple times, with both GP Services and with Root managers.
I feel if I can at least keep Airwatch from being effected, I feel like I could get around it and then work on getting Airwatch to not recognize I'm rooted as well.
"Optimization of apps" is not what you think it is, and is not causing your problem.
When it says it's optimizing apps, the OS is actually pre-building a portion of each app and storing that data so that it can launch each app quickly when needed. This happens every time you wipe the device caches, which is a necessary part of flashing any ROM or Xposed or similar.
Xposed is not what is optimizing the apps, it's the Operating System that's doing it.
I don't know much about AirWatch, but have you looked at the Xposed module for AirWatch devices? Research it, it may help. Also, go find the forum for your device and search for related threads.
Many security services are intentionally designed to be incompatible with modifications like root and Xposed, so it may be impossible to have them working at the same time.
Spott07 said:
"Optimization of apps" is not what you think it is, and is not causing your problem.
When it says it's optimizing apps, the OS is actually pre-building a portion of each app and storing that data so that it can launch each app quickly when needed. This happens every time you wipe the device caches, which is a necessary part of flashing any ROM or Xposed or similar.
Xposed is not what is optimizing the apps, it's the Operating System that's doing it.
I don't know much about AirWatch, but have you looked at the Xposed module for AirWatch devices? Research it, it may help. Also, go find the forum for your device and search for related threads.
Many security services are intentionally designed to be incompatible with modifications like root and Xposed, so it may be impossible to have them working at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I've done a ton of research on the matter but there is very little information for people with the Sony Z5 Premium. I do have "Unwatch" and "RootCloak" Installed. Both seems to work great for Airwatch on any other phone (HTC, Nexus, Galaxies at least)
The only reason I assumed it was the optimization was because it only crashes after installing Xposed. So if the optimization of it does not cause the problem, what does it change in the system that I could mask?
Nibleheim said:
Actually, I've done a ton of research on the matter but there is very little information for people with the Sony Z5 Premium. I do have "Unwatch" and "RootCloak" Installed. Both seems to work great for Airwatch on any other phone (HTC, Nexus, Galaxies at least)
The only reason I assumed it was the optimization was because it only crashes after installing Xposed. So if the optimization of it does not cause the problem, what does it change in the system that I could mask?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It installs Xposed, that changes the system.
Sent from my Galaxy S5 using XDA Labs
Hi all, I'm considering a move to Droid 4 from Stratosphere II. So far I've rooted it and flashed in the altpart version of SafeStrap recovery. This requires the use of the 20170405 unofficial build of LineageOS 14.1 that I had to dig out of an archive in Germany which uses the WebTop partition as a fat, juicy 1.3GB /system partition for gapps and also leaves me with a full 8.0GB free internal memory. HOWEVER --
Its performance is sporadic. At times it hangs for a long time before doing anything, like open the camera or the browser (I'm using Adblock Plus with the stocker disabled). The camera can take over 30 seconds to load. Often it's so slow to open things I tap on, that I tap on it again thinking it didn't "hear" me the first time, then it processes both taps and gives me more than I bargained for and damn near sends me into orbit over it. It takes some real restraint not to tap twice on stuff, but it's all just wearing me out.
The GoogleNow app is especially bad. It's so slow it's basically unusable. This was true on my Strat-II as well, but going back to the stock version fixed it there -- however I have been unable to transplant that version over to the Droid 4 with TitaniumBackup.
Videos are unwatchable, whether natively produced or on YouTube. They skip, hang, jerk and stutter.
Bluetooth has issues pairing with devices. I've sometimes been able to get things to pair after rebooting, sometimes not. And there's often an audio stutter in there until I reboot -- which seems like a memory problem again.
Wifi doesn't work after a soft reboot.
I tried a newer build (2/22/18) but it was just as bad if not worse. Same with an older 13.0 build. I think the reality here is that there's just not enough RAM to work with. If it had the full 1.0GB available to the OS (instead of the 834MB it actually has) it would probably alleviate these problems, but the video RAM is apparently shared and not discrete.
So my question is, can anyone recommend a well-behaved, solid-performing ROM for Droid 4?
dd350 said:
Hi all, I'm considering a move to Droid 4 from Stratosphere II. So far I've rooted it and flashed in the altpart version of SafeStrap recovery. This requires the use of the 20170405 unofficial build of LineageOS 14.1 that I had to dig out of an archive in Germany which uses the WebTop partition as a fat, juicy 1.3GB /system partition for gapps and also leaves me with a full 8.0GB free internal memory. HOWEVER --
Its performance is sporadic. At times it hangs for a long time before doing anything, like open the camera or the browser (I'm using Adblock Plus with the stocker disabled). The camera can take over 30 seconds to load. Often it's so slow to open things I tap on, that I tap on it again thinking it didn't "hear" me the first time, then it processes both taps and gives me more than I bargained for and damn near sends me into orbit over it. It takes some real restraint not to tap twice on stuff, but it's all just wearing me out.
The GoogleNow app is especially bad. It's so slow it's basically unusable. This was true on my Strat-II as well, but going back to the stock version fixed it there -- however I have been unable to transplant that version over to the Droid 4 with TitaniumBackup.
Videos are unwatchable, whether natively produced or on YouTube. They skip, hang, jerk and stutter.
Bluetooth has issues pairing with devices. I've sometimes been able to get things to pair after rebooting, sometimes not. And there's often an audio stutter in there until I reboot -- which seems like a memory problem again.
Wifi doesn't work after a soft reboot.
I tried a newer build (2/22/18) but it was just as bad if not worse. Same with an older 13.0 build. I think the reality here is that there's just not enough RAM to work with. If it had the full 1.0GB available to the OS (instead of the 834MB it actually has) it would probably alleviate these problems, but the video RAM is apparently shared and not discrete.
So my question is, can anyone recommend a well-behaved, solid-performing ROM for Droid 4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you expect? it is a ancient phone. Give Sailfish OS a try, or just run CM9 or CM11. If you want a bit newer go as high as CM12.1 or some other 5.1.1 rom. Stop trying to run 2017 software on a 2012 device. Personally I can't wait for my new Droid 4 to come in the mail so I can run Sailfish OS on it. My first goal will be getting alien dalvik to work, then perhaps making my own stable builds.
EDIT: Also about the 834MB of ram, the device does have 1GB of ram, it is just that part of it has been reserved for only system use. This avoids system crashes when you have a lot of apps open, and like you said some of it is also reserved for graphics related things.
dd350 said:
So my question is, can anyone recommend a well-behaved, solid-performing ROM for Droid 4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you stay away from GApps, and use microG instead, everything works quite well (you can even use Play Store) with some Marshmallow and Nougat ROMs.
I'm using Mokee 60.1 (based on LOS 6.0.1) at the moment. With Xposed to enable Signature Spoofing for microG. Bluetooth, video, WLAN, no problem. Of course its slower than "modern" phones and sometimes hangs a bit. I have no experience with GoogleNow.
I'm testing crDroid 3.8.5 (based on LOS 7.1.2) now and I'm considering to change because it seems a bit snappier.
Hope this helps!
Thanks, I hadn't thought about it that way (Gapps being the problem more than the ROM) before. I tried Mokee a few days ago and it was too slow with the Gapps package I used, and I don't speak Mandarin so lots of the menus were... unenlightening to me. I am currently evaluating SlimKat (4.4) with a "normal" Gapps package and it is going really well so far. Just a few more things to test and if all goes well I'm dropping it in the stock slot.
My expectation was that once all the bloat was stripped out that the 13/14 versions would still run decently on this older hardware, but apparently not--even with a pico Gapps. I don't even like the newer versions anyway, and they offer me nothing more than KitKat with a whole lot less performance, so I'm happy to run a KitKat ROM if that is where the performance sweet spot is for a Droid 4... until a new QWERTY slider comes out. Any day now.
dd350 said:
My expectation was that once all the bloat was stripped out that the 13/14 versions would still run decently on this older hardware, but apparently not--even with a pico Gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OpenGapps really bring the performance down.
I use the Droid 4 with LOS 14.2 as my daily driver, but only with MicroG and the PlayStore app. I wrote about that here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/dr...epartition-t3676476/post73956388#post73956388
(The first step can now be replaced with installing XPosed and the FakeGapps module for XPosed. It wasn't available at the time I wrote the post above).
I also went into the privacy options and disabled background running and auto startup for almost every application except WhatsApp. Now the device runs smooth as butter.
Edit: Almost forgot, one of these overclocked kernels really bring a bit more performance:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-4/development/kernel-nougat-custom-droid-4-razr-oc-t3499366
It depends on how well the CPU inside your device has been manufactured, though. Mine runs very well at 1.4GHz with ultra low voltage - that's a lot more speed and a bit more battery life
That's interesting, I've got a spare for testing I'll try that out on.
I got the OC kernel running, but no luck trying to install microG. The only APK I could find for Xposed was blocked for downloading as "unsafe". Is there a list of valid links for all this somewhere?
dd350 said:
I got the OC kernel running, but no luck trying to install microG. The only APK I could find for Xposed was blocked for downloading as "unsafe". Is there a list of valid links for all this somewhere?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xposed: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
Flash the appropriate zip-file depending on your Android version and install exposedinstaller3.1.5
reboot (probably not necessary)
Load FakeGapps module in Xposed to enable signature spoofing
wait for FakeGapps module to load then reboot
microG: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/microg-unofficial-installer-t3432360
Flash zip. Installs (latest version of) microG. Installs Playstore to the appropriate (system) directory and sets necessary permissions
If you use a ROM with built-in signature spoofing you don't need steps 1 - 4, just activate signature spoofing in the ROM's settings.
(e.g. crDroid. Note: Flash OC-Kernel and WLAN will work!)
To get things working:
launch microG settings
goto Self-Check
allow signature spoofing for microG by tapping on the text of the relevant menu item
reboot (probably not necessary)
in microG settings enable Google device registration
launch PlayStore and follow instructions to sign into your Google account
opening PlayStore probably fails with error RH-01
clear PlayStore app cache & reboot (sometimes force close PlayStore app is sufficient)
PlayStore should work now
Have fun
belrei said:
Flash the appropriate zip-file depending on your Android version and install exposedinstaller3.1.5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is exposedinstaller3.1.5? I see only an uninstaller.
Load FakeGapps module in Xposed to enable signature spoofing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is FakeGapps module loaded in Xposed? I have installed Xposed v89 for SDK25 in SafeStrap but I see no way to configure anything about it.
dd350 said:
Where is exposedinstaller3.1.5? I see only an uninstaller.
How is FakeGapps module loaded in Xposed? I have installed Xposed v89 for SDK25 in SafeStrap but I see no way to configure anything about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
App (to load Xposed modules, - not to install the Xposed framework, this is done with the zip you flashed) see "Attached Files" at the end of the respective post (XposedInstaller_3.1.5.apk)
(the uninstaller you saw uninstalls the Xposed framework)
Xposed modules are loaded using the XposedInstaller app
Hope this helps
PS: changed from Mokee (Marshmallow) to crDroid 3.8.5 (Nougat) yesterday successfully. Much better performance. Some random reboots during app install (hope this will stop when everything is set up). Feels like a new phone.
belrei said:
PS: changed from Mokee (Marshmallow) to crDroid 3.8.5 (Nougat) yesterday successfully. Much better performance. Some random reboots during app install (hope this will stop when everything is set up). Feels like a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found it here, will give it a try today: https://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-4/development/rom-crdroid-unofficial-n-t3668542
Got microG working with crDroid, looks pretty awesome so far. But I can't get signed in to Google Voice. Without that I'm dead in the water. I need Hangouts as well, and that reports that it needs Google Play Services which is not supported.
I went ahead and did a pico Gapps install, and crDroid actually works really well with it - far better than Lineage does, and then of course all the Google stuff I need to use is there. I'm testing it out with the OC kernel and it had occasional reboots with the ULV 1.4 OC, so I'm dropping back to the LV 1.4 instead to see if that smooths it out. Otherwise it's the best Nougat ROM I've tried yet on D4.
dd350 said:
Where is exposedinstaller3.1.5? I see only an uninstaller.
How is FakeGapps module loaded in Xposed? I have installed Xposed v89 for SDK25 in SafeStrap but I see no way to configure anything about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It'd be so much easier and require much less steps if you just ran Sailfish OS
Galaxyninja66 said:
My first goal will be getting alien dalvik to work, then perhaps making my own stable builds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Galaxyninja66,
I've been using SFOS since the Droid 4 version became available, and I love it. On the whole, I manage fine without Android apps, but there are 1 or 2 it would be very useful to have. I had a go at getting AD working, and I seemed to have it set up correctly, but I wasn't able to launch anything If you do get it working, and you get a moment, could you let me know what you did please?
Thanks
moodroid said:
Hi Galaxyninja66,
I've been using SFOS since the Droid 4 version became available, and I love it. On the whole, I manage fine without Android apps, but there are 1 or 2 it would be very useful to have. I had a go at getting AD working, and I seemed to have it set up correctly, but I wasn't able to launch anything If you do get it working, and you get a moment, could you let me know what you did please?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure thing. On a side note, how stable is it with GSM international? I live in Ausfailia so the US block shouldn't effect me (at least until I move back). Can you list all the issues you are having with it (the rom in general)?
Does QWRTY work okay on the keyboard?
Does the FM Radio work?
Have they made any progress with bluetooth?
What about this battery issue where it doesn't read the level right?
I want to know it all as I will most likely try to start building this myself.
Galaxyninja66 said:
Sure thing. On a side note, how stable is it with GSM international? I live in Ausfailia so the US block shouldn't effect me (at least until I move back). Can you list all the issues you are having with it (the rom in general)?
Does QWRTY work okay on the keyboard?
Does the FM Radio work?
Have they made any progress with bluetooth?
What about this battery issue where it doesn't read the level right?
I want to know it all as I will most likely try to start building this myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
That's great, thanks.
I've had no issues with GSM apart from data not working immediately after flashing - you just have to install an app called 'Ofono Log', and select the 'Enable Data' option, and from then on it's fine.
No issues with the keyboard - if the keyboard is open it uses it, and if not, you get the virtual keyboard. I mostly use mine with the keyboard open, as I like a physical keyboard.
I haven't tried FM radio, but will give it a go and let you know.
As far as I know, bluetooth isn't working, but I don't really have any use for it. I will give it a quick go though, and let you know.
The battery thing is a nuisance, but it doesn't really bother me that much. Usually, it only happens after a reboot, so if you don't reboot, you don't usually have a problem. Occasionally, it'll just happen though, and when it does, you just have to reboot a few times until you get a proper reading.
On the whole, it works really well, and I can't think of any other issues I have with SFOS itself. Lack of a decent browser is my main annoyance. I really like the built in browser, but (I think) it's built on a very unstable version of Firefox, and tends to keep doing weird things and you have to keep killing it and starting it up again. There's Webcat too, but I'm not too keen on that, and would sooner put up with the problems with the built in browser.
I'lll edit this when I've tried FM/bluetooth, or if I think of anything else...
Thanks
moodroid said:
Hi,
That's great, thanks.
I've had no issues with GSM apart from data not working immediately after flashing - you just have to install an app called 'Ofono Log', and select the 'Enable Data' option, and from then on it's fine.
No issues with the keyboard - if the keyboard is open it uses it, and if not, you get the virtual keyboard. I mostly use mine with the keyboard open, as I like a physical keyboard.
I haven't tried FM radio, but will give it a go and let you know.
As far as I know, bluetooth isn't working, but I don't really have any use for it. I will give it a quick go though, and let you know.
The battery thing is a nuisance, but it doesn't really bother me that much. Usually, it only happens after a reboot, so if you don't reboot, you don't usually have a problem. Occasionally, it'll just happen though, and when it does, you just have to reboot a few times until you get a proper reading.
On the whole, it works really well, and I can't think of any other issues I have with SFOS itself. Lack of a decent browser is my main annoyance. I really like the built in browser, but (I think) it's built on a very unstable version of Firefox, and tends to keep doing weird things and you have to keep killing it and starting it up again. There's Webcat too, but I'm not too keen on that, and would sooner put up with the problems with the built in browser.
I'lll edit this when I've tried FM/bluetooth, or if I think of anything else...
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there is just a lack of FM radio app that means the qt fm radio app isn't in the patterns.
I can't wait for my Droid 4 to finally get here so i can have a keyboard device!
Does the keyboard backlight work?
Do the homekeys stay off?
Galaxyninja66 said:
If there is just a lack of FM radio app that means the qt fm radio app isn't in the patterns.
I can't wait for my Droid 4 to finally get here so i can have a keyboard device!
Does the keyboard backlight work?
Do the homekeys stay off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's a good phone.
The keyboard backlight does work, but you have to set it up yourself - it's in the TMO thread, but I can give you the details if you need them.
Not sure what you mean by 'the homekeys stay off'? If you let me know I'll test.
Will let you know about FM radio and bluetooth sometime today (my time)...
moodroid said:
Yeah, it's a good phone.
The keyboard backlight does work, but you have to set it up yourself - it's in the TMO thread, but I can give you the details if you need them.
Not sure what you mean by 'the homekeys stay off'? If you let me know I'll test.
Will let you know about FM radio and bluetooth sometime today (my time)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean does the hardware key backlight stay one? you know, home menu search back keys.
So, I wonder?
I've been digging through the system files in my unlocked, rooted UA v40, and except for the apps that came installed with the phone, there's also some in the root that didn't come alive, just taking up space? I know, there's no need to clear space, but I still wonder!? And it also seam to exist some dalvik even for the apps that never came alive in the first place?
Following today's Android rules, is it still possible to clear Dalvik?
Say, if I delete the apps in root/system/product that aren't even installed, will it scr.. something up?
I guess there's some kind of script executed while flashing the rom. If I delete apps (in the right place), and factory reset my phone, will that corrupt something? Is there a file (command/script) I can edit in root, that decides what app to install, to make this work?
Back in the days I deleted unvanted apps before flashing the rom, but I understand it's different today...
Not very important, but would be nice to know
Not a dev but thought I'd throw in some thoughts. We don't have any "stock based" dev to bug regarding stock fw really.
From my own digging through newer fw releases, it seems that LG hired some really lazy mofos as coders. Looks like they create new fw from old ones, then updated it to new versions plus some tweaks to suit the target model.
For a programmer that'd make sense since you already have the base code, you just change modules and libs as needed. However, in LG's case, their guys didn't bother to remove anything that was already there. They just kept adding on stuff. That's where you see the unused apps (and also explain why stock fw sizes keep getting bigger). Hell, I even found G8 specific settings in the service menu earlier today. Best I can tell, there aren't any symlinks that tie back to these unused apps, so, technically, removing them won't break anything. But given how sloppy the existing structure is, it wouldn't be surprising if it does either.
Now dalvik on the other hand, that' and interesting point. Since dalvik was dropped when google implemented ART, it theoretically, shouldn't even be on the phone. Where did you find those?
That's just stupid of LG
I mean, what does "Airmotion" do in v40? Hahaha!
Oh, I still say Dalvik, aware of art.
Thanks
This is what I mean
This is one of the apps that wasn't really installed to be used in v40. Is it normal that one of those apps still got art files? So if I was to delete this app, can I delete the linked art files too?
Can anyone port the v40 camera app for lg v30 pie?
This was my main question:
I guess there's some kind of script executed while flashing the rom. If I delete apps (in the right place), and factory reset my phone, will that corrupt something? Is there a file (command/script) I can edit in root, that decides what app to install, to make this work by factory reset?
neocyke said:
Not a dev but thought I'd throw in some thoughts. We don't have any "stock based" dev to bug regarding stock fw really.
From my own digging through newer fw releases, it seems that LG hired some really lazy mofos as coders. Looks like they create new fw from old ones, then updated it to new versions plus some tweaks to suit the target model.
For a programmer that'd make sense since you already have the base code, you just change modules and libs as needed. However, in LG's case, their guys didn't bother to remove anything that was already there. They just kept adding on stuff. That's where you see the unused apps (and also explain why stock fw sizes keep getting bigger). Hell, I even found G8 specific settings in the service menu earlier today. Best I can tell, there aren't any symlinks that tie back to these unused apps, so, technically, removing them won't break anything. But given how sloppy the existing structure is, it wouldn't be surprising if it does either.
Now dalvik on the other hand, that' and interesting point. Since dalvik was dropped when google implemented ART, it theoretically, shouldn't even be on the phone. Where did you find those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed that on the V30 already too.
Settings are enabled/disabled depending on the props set, and which device its running on, some you should even be able to activate/deactivate during runtime...
Makes things way easier to develop that way, yes... but also unneccessarily bloats the whole UI... should have set flags during compilation to fully exclude the code (e.g. how the HALs do that lol)