Hey folks, I am Canadian that is looking to possibly import an MI5 but I figured I should find out a few things from you all that have been living with these phones for a while before buying.
Are there any hardware or software issues with the MI5 that I should be concerned about? I have a sony z3 compact right now and it's been infamous for vibration motors, headphone jacks, and screen failures. It also has no AOSP based daily drivers.
Development seems to be pretty active here, is that actually true? Are developers dropping off from this phone or is there still a steady amount of work being done?
From the lurking I've done it seems that unlocking, rooting and ROM installing is pretty easy. Are there any permanent dangers to doing these hacks (above and beyond the usual)?
I'm aware there is some camera quality issues on non-stock ROMs, is the camera still usable? How is the battery on custom ROMs?
Is there anything preventing this phone from being a daily driver when using a custom ROM like RR? Does the fingerprint sensor work on AOSP ROMs?
I am also aware of the radio bands the MI5 supports, I should be fine with that as my imported Z3 Compact has the same bands (as far as I can tell).
Edit: I was also wondering if the IR blaster works on custom ROMs!
Thanks for reading, answering and putting up with my ignorance. I'm just looking for some answers I couldn't find on this forum when I was searching yesterday.
Community is happy to help
1. Hardware wise you have to keep in mind the phone is fairly fragile. Low light performance of the camera is a bit poor. Audio out of the headphone jack isn't great on stock MIUI, but that can be fixed with Viper4Arise or any AOSP ROM. RAM management and general performance on MIUI is "ok" - but the phone is blazing fast on AOSP + CAF. There is no component that is prone to fail that I am aware of, but I have read of the occasional hard-brick triggered from nothing more than a reboot on custom ROMs - this can be solved by flashing stock ROM in EDL mode.
2. There seems to be a steady amount of development going on - we just got the drop on about 7 new ROMs in the last month. However, there are and have been developers leaving in favour of the One Plus 3, and development is only moderate compared to its forum.
3. It's fairly easy, but a bit frustrating getting the bootloader unlock from Xiaomi, as it usually takes about 5 days for the unlock to be approved and then 5 more days for it to actually work. There is also a possible driver issue on Windows which can prevent unlocking, so if you're stuck that's probably the case. Except for the above mentioned possible hard-brick there are no additional dangers, and dare I say less so than other phones I worked on.
4. The camera is usable on custom ROMs but considerably worse. Mainly there is a lot more noise in the photos, but detail remains high. Video recording seems to be broken on most AOSP ROMs, but alternative camera apps are apparently a work around. In my experience battery life is better on custom ROMs as they have functional Doze on Nougat, but not by much.
5. Fingerprint sensor works fine on custom ROMs, even better if you consider that you can wake + unlock your phone without pressing the button. There have been reports of some people experiencing slow fingerprint scanning on custom ROMs (3-4s). I use a custom ROM as my DD and I don't have any major issues except video recording that I haven't yet bothered to address.
I hope that this information finds you well. The Mi5 isn't perfect, but I'd be damned to say that a better phone exists for $200. The camera, battery life, performance, screen, audio, and design is good and there really isn't much to worry about.
xdadevet said:
Community is happy to help
1. Hardware wise you have to keep in mind the phone is fairly fragile. Low light performance of the camera is a bit poor. Audio out of the headphone jack isn't great on stock MIUI, but that can be fixed with Viper4Arise or any AOSP ROM. RAM management and general performance on MIUI is "ok" - but the phone is blazing fast on AOSP + CAF. There is no component that is prone to fail that I am aware of, but I have read of the occasional hard-brick triggered from nothing more than a reboot on custom ROMs - this can be solved by flashing stock ROM in EDL mode.
2. There seems to be a steady amount of development going on - we just got the drop on about 7 new ROMs in the last month. However, there are and have been developers leaving in favour of the One Plus 3, and development is only moderate compared to its forum.
3. It's fairly easy, but a bit frustrating getting the bootloader unlock from Xiaomi, as it usually takes about 5 days for the unlock to be approved and then 5 more days for it to actually work. There is also a possible driver issue on Windows which can prevent unlocking, so if you're stuck that's probably the case. Except for the above mentioned possible hard-brick there are no additional dangers, and dare I say less so than other phones I worked on.
4. The camera is usable on custom ROMs but considerably worse. Mainly there is a lot more noise in the photos, but detail remains high. Video recording seems to be broken on most AOSP ROMs, but alternative camera apps are apparently a work around. In my experience battery life is better on custom ROMs as they have functional Doze on Nougat, but not by much.
5. Fingerprint sensor works fine on custom ROMs, even better if you consider that you can wake + unlock your phone without pressing the button. There have been reports of some people experiencing slow fingerprint scanning on custom ROMs (3-4s). I use a custom ROM as my DD and I don't have any major issues except video recording that I haven't yet bothered to address.
I hope that this information finds you well. The Mi5 isn't perfect, but I'd be damned to say that a better phone exists for $200. The camera, battery life, performance, screen, audio, and design is good and there really isn't much to worry about.
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Thank you so much for the detailed response! Greatly appreciated!
This all is reminding me of the fun I had with AOSP ROMs back on my Galaxy SIII, happy thoughts! (I've been stuck in Sony's software for too long!)
What is CAF?
Is the IR blaster working in AOSP-based ROMs?
TheHow7zer said:
Thank you so much for the detailed response! Greatly appreciated!
This all is reminding me of the fun I had with AOSP ROMs back on my Galaxy SIII, happy thoughts! (I've been stuck in Sony's software for too long!)
What is CAF?
Is the IR blaster working in AOSP-based ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a pleasure
Well then it's good to know they run brilliantly on the Mi5 (buttery smooth UI, and I get good numbers on benchmarks as testament, see attached pics).
CAF is short for Code Aurora Forums, a collection of companies that merge their updated driver code with the vanilla AOSP code from Google.
I don't know if the IR blaster works on AOSP as I currently don't have any devices on me to test it with. I could try this weekend when I get home.
Edit: I've since arrived home and can confirm the IR blaster works on AOSP. I used Anymote if you're interested.
Related
buying a used 4x for sis-in-law, so i wont be able to test all roms, as i will be having the phone for couple hours only.
ill just need input without need for specific ROM, not asking that.
1: for a daily driver AOSP is ok? does everything works? no unusual heat / battery drains compared to stock?
2: for a daily driver should i choose kitkat or lollipop [if lollipop is up to that point now]
3; camera quality drops significantly on AOSP, OR its decent but not as great as stock. [no idea how the camera is ]
thanks.
atifsh said:
buying a used 4x for sis-in-law, so i wont be able to test all roms, as i will be having the phone for couple hours only.
ill just need input without need for specific ROM, not asking that.
1: for a daily driver AOSP is ok? does everything works? no unusual heat / battery drains compared to stock?
2: for a daily driver should i choose kitkat or lollipop [if lollipop is up to that point now]
3; camera quality drops significantly on AOSP, OR its decent but not as great as stock. [no idea how the camera is ]
thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tested many ROMS, but I have to say the latest AOSP (Lollipop) proved to be "daily use" stable, everything so far works (except qr code scanning). The heat in this phone... well, it has been a problem for me even with stock firmware. In fact, when I played games with stock, it heated so much, I had to stop playing because my finger was burning in the upper side of the screen, this is not much different with custom ROMS. About the camera, I haven't noticed much difference between stock and AOSP, but the front camera has always kinda sucked when you don't have natural light.
Anyone checked this? Is its really stable? What about camera
http://www.android.gs/update-sony-x...with-stable-android-6-0-marshmallow-aosp-rom/
I understand everyone's urge to jump on Marshmallow but none are stable and none will be stable for a long time, just wait
And "what about camera?" has been asked TRILLIONS of times already on the MM ROM pages, if it started working i'm sure it will be spammed absolutely everywhere as a miracle.
Ranjith pottekkatt said:
Anyone checked this? Is its really stable? What about camera
http://www.android.gs/update-sony-x...with-stable-android-6-0-marshmallow-aosp-rom/
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Click to collapse
This guy is a fraud and waste of time. Did you check his links? Those are empty folders.
There is no stable MM and there will never be. MM won't even be beta. Remember, last year we had LP5.1.1 stable at this time. And by October/November there will be Android N, but not for Xperia Z1.
You know why there will never be any other rom above LP5.1.1 for Z1? Because CM and others have switched to AOSP trees and AOSP has NEVER had a stable rom for Z1 or Z1c. Not LP, Not Kitkat, and not even Jeallybean...
optimumpro said:
This guy is a fraud and waste of time. Did you check his links? Those are empty folders.
There is no stable MM and there will never be. MM won't even be beta. Remember, last year we had LP5.1.1 stable at this time. And by October/November there will be Android N, but not for Xperia Z1.
You know why there will never be any other rom above LP5.1.1 for Z1? Because CM and others have switched to AOSP trees and AOSP has NEVER had a stable rom for Z1 or Z1c. Not LP, Not Kitkat, and not even Jeallybean...
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Click to collapse
So thats mean those MM developers are wasting their time?
alfred0725 said:
So thats mean those MM developers are wasting their time?
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Click to collapse
No one is wasting their time. MM official developers are not wasting their time, because they cover many devices. Those who compile unofficial builds are just building; they are not improving/modifying. AOSP Sony developers are the only ones who are probably close to wasting their time, because Sony would never provide truly working binaries for patent reasons and absent that their open source developers are working blind.
CM switched to AOSP binaries, because of DRM issues. If I were them, I would disable DRM for rhine devices, but they will never do that.
The bottom line is: the only way to have the camera work is to return to CM tree with a camera wrapper, which would require disabling DRM feature, because Sony MM camera binaries are DRM protected...
optimumpro said:
No one is wasting their time. MM official developers are not wasting their time, because they cover many devices. Those who compile unofficial builds are just building; they are not improving/modifying. AOSP Sony developers are the only ones who are probably close to wasting their time, because Sony would never provide truly working binaries for patent reasons and absent that their open source developers are working blind.
CM switched to AOSP binaries, because of DRM issues. If I were them, I would disable DRM for rhine devices, but they will never do that.
The bottom line is: the only way to have the camera work is to return to CM tree with a camera wrapper, which would require disabling DRM feature, because Sony MM camera binaries are DRM protected...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I am noob!:crying::crying::crying:
But what is the advantage of AOSP binaries rather than CM tree?
optimumpro said:
No one is wasting their time. MM official developers are not wasting their time, because they cover many devices. Those who compile unofficial builds are just building; they are not improving/modifying. AOSP Sony developers are the only ones who are probably close to wasting their time, because Sony would never provide truly working binaries for patent reasons and absent that their open source developers are working blind.
CM switched to AOSP binaries, because of DRM issues. If I were them, I would disable DRM for rhine devices, but they will never do that.
The bottom line is: the only way to have the camera work is to return to CM tree with a camera wrapper, which would require disabling DRM feature, because Sony MM camera binaries are DRM protected...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why are you always talking about camera when it comes to aosp MM stability? I think that many people (like me) don't really need that much of a quality when it comes to camera. I use dedicated camera when I want to take a nice photo of something and I use phone camera only for notes from school.
What I consider stable is not restarting, not overheating, not draining battery rom. Of course with everything working. The problem I have is that 3.10 aosp kernel drains more battery in deep sleep and my phone heats a bit faster than on stock with custom kernel. Also it sometimes freezes and restarts. (maybe they fixed it with some workaround now? I'll try it when I'll have more free time to build the rom)
If they fix those issues I won't complain.
SuperLamic said:
Why are you always talking about camera when it comes to aosp MM stability? I think that many people (like me) don't really need that much of a quality when it comes to camera. I use dedicated camera when I want to take a nice photo of something and I use phone camera only for notes from school.
What I consider stable is not restarting, not overheating, not draining battery rom. Of course with everything working. The problem I have is that 3.10 aosp kernel drains more battery in deep sleep and my phone heats a bit faster than on stock with custom kernel. Also it sometimes freezes and restarts. (maybe they fixed it with some workaround now? I'll try it when I'll have more free time to build the rom)
If they fix those issues I won't complain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because camera is a major piece of hardware and without it working properly, a rom can't be stable. But with regard to MM, there are other big problems some of which you mentioned: data, sound, overheating, restarting, slow charging, offline charging. Looks like with every release Google starts from zero. In addition, CM is no longer spending time on fixing issues, because they have their own OS.
optimumpro said:
Because camera is a major piece of hardware and without it working properly, a rom can't be stable. But with regard to MM, there are other big problems some of which you mentioned: data, sound, overheating, restarting, slow charging, offline charging. Looks like with every release Google starts from zero. In addition, CM is no longer spending time on fixing issues, because they have their own OS.
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by the way I saw that the offline charging maybe got fixed. (https://github.com/sonyxperiadev/device-sony-common/commit/e1b7ca125c4bf776be586066baf3efc8b5631e40 )
And I'll maybe try to fully fix at last the jack detection as it drives me mad when it doesn't detect my mi pistons (if I don't hold headset button when connecting) and when I plug 3-pole headphones it gives me long-press of headset button all the time.
I found out it's maybe related to jack detection (all these issues) - https://github.com/SuperLamic/kernel/commit/5df476d4a4fb0e628b431ecd93999a1a764fb633 (this solves just the connection of 4-pole jack)
I haven't noticed any slow charging? (I charge my phone all night anyway). For the data problem - I don't have any mobile data problems, but wifi strength is low and it sometime disconnects..
You're right I hate how google is modding their api every version they release. (does it even improve the system somehow or it's just to make portation of new versions harder?)
SuperLamic said:
by the way I saw that the offline charging maybe got fixed. (https://github.com/sonyxperiadev/device-sony-common/commit/e1b7ca125c4bf776be586066baf3efc8b5631e40 )
And I'll maybe try to fully fix at last the jack detection as it drives me mad when it doesn't detect my mi pistons (if I don't hold headset button when connecting) and when I plug 3-pole headphones it gives me long-press of headset button all the time.
I found out it's maybe related to jack detection (all these issues) - https://github.com/SuperLamic/kernel/commit/5df476d4a4fb0e628b431ecd93999a1a764fb633 (this solves just the connection of 4-pole jack)
I haven't noticed any slow charging? (I charge my phone all night anyway). For the data problem - I don't have any mobile data problems, but wifi strength is low and it sometime disconnects..
You're right I hate how google is modding their api every version they release. (does it even improve the system somehow or it's just to make portation of new versions harder?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slow charging is, in fact an issue, at least for me. The phone never detects AC supply in my case, and so always charges at ~500mA. However, I hear this is not an issue with people using magnetic charging cables.
And I have to agree with optimumpro to some extent. I had faith in Sony, and hoped they'd make things stable by now. But I don't see anything productive happening anytime soon (latest blobs were released about 2 months ago). Hopefully, with all the efforts done to match Google's master branch, porting newer versions of Android would not take as much time as it did for MM (if things ever get stable).
drakonizer said:
Slow charging is, in fact an issue, at least for me. The phone never detects AC supply in my case, and so always charges at ~500mA. However, I hear this is not an issue with people using magnetic charging cables.
And I have to agree with optimumpro to some extent. I had faith in Sony, and hoped they'd make things stable by now. But I don't see anything productive happening anytime soon (latest blobs were released about 2 months ago). Hopefully, with all the efforts done to match Google's master branch, porting newer versions of Android would not take as much time as it did for MM (if things ever get stable).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that the new Xperias were released and Z1 is quite old device, so it's just logical that they would prioritize newer ones.
hah, I'm always using magnetic charger (to prevent damage to waterproof). That's probably why I don't have this issue, I'll take a look at it - maybe in july? (I'm not really linux/android developer, so I'm not promising anything).
SuperLamic said:
The problem is that the new Xperias were released and Z1 is quite old device, so it's just logical that they would prioritize newer ones.
hah, I'm always using magnetic charger (to prevent damage to waterproof). That's probably why I don't have this issue, I'll take a look at it - maybe in july? (I'm not really linux/android developer, so I'm not promising anything).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not about priority. In fact, the MSM8974 is one of the easier SoCs to work with, compared to the others. None of the other Xperias have stable MM yet (though this charger issue is unheard of). From what I see in the dmesg, it appears to be a problem with healthd (i.e kernel based issue). I took a look at it, but nothing seems to be wrong from an initial run through. Maybe some experienced dev can help out.
In any case, working on a WIP project is much better than sitting around and complaining everywhere. It's especially bad when the person in question is of the best devs for our device.
Has anyone tried their ROMs?
As far as I know, the Honor Note 8 is based on the same Kirin 955 (Hi3650) platform as the:
Honor V8, P9, P9 Plus
and the Kirin 950s (also Hi3650) - Honor 8, Honor V8, Mate 8.
HN8 isn't listed as supported, and I imagine that's probably because it's a rare device outside China as it never launched internationally. Hopefully rather than some kind of strange hardware difference that SNAFUs everything.
The Android 8 / EMUI 8 kernel source is available at http://download-c1.huawei.com/downl...oadId=99970&version=425799&siteCode=worldwide so if it does need something added to make their ROMs compatible, is it possible that it's going to happen?
I bought one due to it being the very last of the big screen 16:9 devices. The camera I don't really care about, as I've decided the best solution is a big screen and big battery, and a Sony RX100 with Wifi / NFC / BT. Selling my P20 Pro as the screen's too small and narrow, and development has been killed stone dead due to the no more bootloader unlocks.
Anyway, can anyone shed some light?
I have not tried it, but i read some feedback from other people that have installed it on their Honor Note 8.
It works, but it is slower. Especially when scrolling, there is noticeable lag and it is not smooth compared to stock rom. I wish there was a better rom, but it seems stock is still the best.
I searched the threads and couldn't find any mention. Do you remember where or when? It may be that optimisation for the 955 has been improved significantly since then. Though I suppose by the same token it could be total lack of HN8 optimisation that's the issue.
I haven't uninstalled the stock system apps and Google Play Services framework yet, but I have disabled them all, revoked all permissions and installed lightweight alternatives. It's a lot better, but still quite a way off LOS / AOSP based ROMs that I'm used to. General speed is decent, but there are quite frequent stutters and slow responses.
How does the latest versions of Kang compare? Much quicker?
Have the updates (application only) past B528 sped things up significantly? Chinese forums seem to indicate that B533 or later will go full release in the next week or two.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-note-8/how-to/huawei-honor-note-8-t3457185/post77410169
Thanks. Dunno why search function didn't pick that up ... I'm not very keen on its implementation on XDA forums.
Anyway, sounds positive. If official HN8 and Hi3650 support came only with the last (August) update, then I think there's considerable hope for improvement.
AOSP / LOS / RR really should be a lot faster and smoother than EMUI 8 for HN8 in its stock form ... there's so much crap on it, and some of the stock apps are really bulky.
On that note, I'd strongly recommend that anyone who's on stock disables and revokes permissions from the Huawei Gallery app and installs an open, lightweight alternative. I'm using the Gallery from Simple Tools and have it set as default. Massive improvement in speed and lack of lag. The Huawei one slows things down seemingly even when open in the app drawer but not focused.
i tried it ... issue is mainly, that only sim slot 2 works - which also serves as sdcard-slot for me a no-go but if you don't use an sdcard, try it out.
Also, camera didn't work at all
Going to wait until the next OK release of LOS / RR.
https://openkirin.net/download/
New Resurrection Remix version is out, including network switch fix and screen tearing fix (the scrolling performance issue) on Hi3650 (HN8 is Hi3650) devices.
Assume new LOS version will be forthcoming very soon too.
Will probably wait for that, but if anyone tries the RR, do post your experience. Particularly those who've tried the much better (than 528) 535 stock.
Notes:
fixed in-call mute (Thanks to Flex1911)
fixed ussd codes (Thanks to Flex1911)
fixed network switch on hi3650 based devices
added the option to disable fast charging (Settings -> About -> OpenKirin)
september 2018 security patches
based on final rr 6.2.0 sources
REUPLOAD: fixed screen tearing on hi3650
Have you tried this new version?
Is the problem with sim and with camera solved?
Hi guys
I flashed RROS and OmniROM yesterday. Quite fluid experience, camera works.
Sim1 still not working (my main focus)
If you don't use an SD card, try it out, i think it will be fun
I would really like to use it but I need the SD!
However I'm glad the camera works.
I hope that in the future the problem of the sim will be solved too.
Really!
Let's see what the new version of LOS brings when that's released. Usually it's a bit ahead of the RR build (which got released first this time).
Also, for those of you who are reporting non-functionality of certain features, or bugs, you should report it to the devs on their Telegram Channel. Remember to specify the device.
https://t.me/joinchat/HUf8EE2ekfdnT7fum5PE0w
Deep Sleep appears to be broken on Hi3650 and Hi3660 on all the ROMs. They're looking into the issue.
pixel81k said:
Hi guys
I flashed RROS and OmniROM yesterday. Quite fluid experience, camera works.
Sim1 still not working (my main focus)
If you don't use an SD card, try it out, i think it will be fun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
i used RR Beta 3 on honor 9. Front com.huawei.camera can take pictures, but files are not saved.
Basically, and I'll make this short so I don't ramble, if this is a side/wifi phone where all I need it for is gaming and music, does upgrading bring anything that people 'cant live without', or is staying with an older version that has had more time to be customized a better option? I'm on Pie right now, but it's one of those things I really can't tell without setting aside time to test/experiment and focus, which I haven't ;p
GWARslave119 said:
Basically, and I'll make this short so I don't ramble, if this is a side/wifi phone where all I need it for is gaming and music, does upgrading bring anything that people 'cant live without', or is staying with an older version that has had more time to be customized a better option? I'm on Pie right now, but it's one of those things I really can't tell without setting aside time to test/experiment and focus, which I haven't ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Compared to nougat, the custom rom status of Oreo and Pie is miles ahead and better.....yes, there are some bugs here and there but those are minors and won't hinder your day to day usage and not to mention that even some of those bugs are being fixed and will be ironed out in the next few months of update.....recently the camera issues has been rectified and by the next updates, the camera should work flawlessly without any crashes.....even GCAM is working perfectly on the rom.....try Pixel Experience if you want, updates normally come on a monthly basis and the latest camera build prop fix posted at Pg 60-62 fixes many camera crashes.....
The only bugs which are left are normally based on the rom and its sources and normally gets fixed in the next update
.
Yes,4k recording still now doesn't work in footej camera or in Gcam, but if you really need 4k recording,use the Filmic Pro camera, it will allow you to record at 4k with variable frame rates.
In terms of performance,there are some internal improvements but for day to day scenario it is more than enough, in short you\ll be able to play PUBG at low/medium settings at 30 fps ......
What we really need is a kernel developer who can make some good custom kernels which will help in performance improvements and increase overall stability and feature array across the board....
So, in short the custom rom status is better than ever for le 2, right now ..... and this is coming from a guy who was there from the beginning when CodeWorkz was developing the nougat rom for the device....
Well then, I guess Ill stick with Pie :0 Guess Im just used to windows, to where when 10 came out, you were able to upgrade for free from 7, and dx12 was supposedly ready to be supported, so i figured, get the new directx, get to make my OS legal, why not?
Hardly any games use dx12 still to this day. Compatibility with games and such was funky, especially with scaling. Audio software like Audacity had, and still has, bugs which arent there for win7. Hardware certificates had issues for quite a while (esp Asus hardware) so i couldnt us3 my network card.
Ive prolly gone back and forth like 4 times, until i decided to just stick with 10. So i figured there might be similar issues with a phone that wasnt planned to be updated with a new os to run better with an older version.
Hope that made sense ha
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
catalindobre said:
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like my still fast XZ2 with OmniROM 9.0
catalindobre said:
I am interested in a buying a 2nd all-arounder phone that mostly ticks all key boxes and found out that the XZ2 is almost there.
As it will be my first Sony I need your experience with the device to decide to buying it or get a different one:
1) are there any serious issues that affect the device, maybe design issues or bad experiences with the device? Maybe display, speakers, or other hardware stuff to concern me?
2) I am interested in root-ability o this phone. Is I saw that there is some development. for this phone and since I am sort of experienced in Custom ROM stuff, I want to know if there are specific rooting issues? Are the valid options for un-bricking it, just in case. Is there a big amount of bricked phones?
3) how's sony with the updates for this device for official firmware updates?
4) is Google Camera functional after rooting?
5) is the phone performance still holding good in late 2019?
I appreciate your responses in any form or shape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1-some devices are affected from bad production including mine, ghosting on LCD below room temperature, horizontal static electric lines appearing after rubbing the screen, speakers may get temporary damage for no reason (can be fixed by opening the sim tray and pulling that paper in there and waiting a little) or can get permanently damaged if you overdrive them with something like xLoud easily, if you dont want a super slippery 200g heavy 1.1cm thick glass brick look somewhere else (buttons are jiggly too)
2-custom roms have problems with audio and camera and it'll take some time to get fixed and at the end there's the possibility of it not being better than stock camera (also typical sony drm stuff will be lost after unlocking the bootloader)
3-device getting regular security patches and will be updated to android 10 in early 2020 (keep your bootloader locked if you want OTA)
4-no, gcam requires full camera2api and raw support which isnt there on stock
5-performance is good probably due to having close to stock android
this is my first xperia and I'd not recommend this phone to anybody unless you are crazy about what is sony doing with their sony open devices project like the guy above martin
Faruk.ErdaL said:
1-some devices are affected from bad production including mine, ghosting on LCD below room temperature, horizontal static electric lines appearing after rubbing the screen, speakers may get temporary damage for no reason (can be fixed by opening the sim tray and pulling that paper in there and waiting a little) or can get permanently damaged if you overdrive them with something like xLoud easily, if you dont want a super slippery 200g heavy 1.1cm thick glass brick look somewhere else (buttons are jiggly too)
2-custom roms have problems with audio and camera and it'll take some time to get fixed and at the end there's the possibility of it not being better than stock camera (also typical sony drm stuff will be lost after unlocking the bootloader)
3-device getting regular security patches and will be updated to android 10 in early 2020 (keep your bootloader locked if you want OTA)
4-no, gcam requires full camera2api and raw support which isnt there on stock
5-performance is good probably due to having close to stock android
this is my first xperia and I'd not recommend this phone to anybody unless you are crazy about what is sony doing with their sony open devices project like the guy above martin
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Click to collapse
I'm sorry to hear that you got a faulty unit.
Did you try to RMA it?
Because I never had such issues, except touch issues in Android 8, which got 90% fixed now (Sometimes while I super fast do swipes on the keyboard it may not recognize only a single swipe at the beginning of the writing).
Camera and Audio are work in progress on the custom roms based on sony open devices project.
SODP is an isolated sony employee team in the sony company + volunteers which need to implement everything by themselves without access to the stock source code (but with access to the closed source Qualcomm source code and documentations).
The camera doesn't degrade on unlock on your stock firmware, so you can freely continue using the stock firmware until the SODP camera reaches a equal or better quality.
(Since SODP supports the entire Camera2API with RAW and GCAM support to raise the quality it may become better than stock.)
And the performance is like stock on SODP.
My benchmark shows the same values like stock, too and you don't have bloat/stock apps preinstalled without the possibility to remove them without root.
PS: The SODP based custom roms are not affected by DRM, since they are a reimplementation of the hardware drivers, there isn't any usecase for DRM keys.