Database Develop

Are all ROMS less than perfect by nature?

First off, let me preface this by saying that I appreciate all of the hard work and time by the devs/volunteers here, and they give us some pretty cool things.
It just seems that no matter what rom I try, it has a bug or 2 that may not keep me from enjoying my phone, but it keeps creeping. Even the so-called stable KK still has growing pains. Is it possible for a rom to be completely stable? (aka, at least as stable as stock) Or is the nature of roms always going to be a bit behind from a standpoint of stability?
I have yet to try a rom (been doing this for 3 yrs) that has been 100% (stock) stable. I can use most roms just fine though, and again, this is not a slight on the devs and those who work hard. But let's be honest, an already flawed Lollipop must be a pain to get make a custom rom from. Am I alone? Btw, I'm back on stock for now, as it works fine. But will be waiting patiently for the awesome devs to figure it out. (and yes, I realize there must be testing for things to get better)

This is why I'm done with custom ROMs. I get all I need from stock KK + Xposed. Haven't flashed a ROM (as a daily driver) in almost 2 years.

_MetalHead_ said:
This is why I'm done with custom ROMs. I get all I need from stock KK + Xposed. Haven't flashed a ROM (as a daily driver) in almost 2 years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh, Metalhead. I like the name, as it's my mantra for the last 40 yrs. Anyway, you seem bitter about it, as other things.
I'm just trying to get some real feedback about how people feel. Thanks Metal, noted.

It's not soo much the roms. Stock lollipop is bugged from Google as it's relatively new so hasn't had everything ironed out yet like the older KK

wolfen69 said:
First off, let me preface this by saying that I appreciate all of the hard work and time by the devs/volunteers here, and they give us some pretty cool things.
It just seems that no matter what rom I try, it has a bug or 2 that may not keep me from enjoying my phone, but it keeps creeping. Even the so-called stable KK still has growing pains. Is it possible for a rom to be completely stable? (aka, at least as stable as stock) Or is the nature of roms always going to be a bit behind from a standpoint of stability?
I have yet to try a rom (been doing this for 3 yrs) that has been 100% (stock) stable. I can use most roms just fine though, and again, this is not a slight on the devs and those who work hard. But let's be honest, an already flawed Lollipop must be a pain to get make a custom rom from. Am I alone? Btw, I'm back on stock for now, as it works fine. But will be waiting patiently for the awesome devs to figure it out. (and yes, I realize there must be testing for things to get better)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
imo yeah. tis why I went back to stock 4.4.4 and GravityBox. No issues since then. None. Zero. Roms not worth fiddling with IMO. too many bugs trying to figure out if it's the app, the kernel, the ROM...I will do custom kernels but...no more than that.

Ben36 said:
It's not soo much the roms. Stock lollipop is bugged from Google as it's relatively new so hasn't had everything ironed out yet like the older KK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point.

I think its all in what type of bugs you get. I've seen bugs even on stock roms, custom roms give you those options where stock falls short. I do however think Xposed is a good way to possibly fix some of those issues
Sent from my Nexus 5

4 stock updates from Google within 3-4 months (and we still expect bugs...). How could we have 100% stable custom roms?
Anyways custom roms are stable enough to enjoy my phone and it's way better than stock

wolfen69 said:
Ahhh, Metalhead. I like the name, as it's my mantra for the last 40 yrs. Anyway, you seem bitter about it, as other things.
I'm just trying to get some real feedback about how people feel. Thanks Metal, noted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not bitter about it lol, just got tired of flashing new ROMs all the time. It's nothing against the devs, they do some really great work, I just now prefer the dependability of stock. It was the original Moto X that changed my habits.

It's software, by definition it will have bugs.
The question is whether or not you can live with a particular ROM's set of unique bugs.
I've been running an old (Oct. 2014) CM11 nightly because it mostly gives me what I want without undue grief (weird reboots, battery drain, etc).
It's far from perfect, it won't play nice 100% with my car head end just to list one thing (BT bug, seems to be fixed in CM12).
I play around with other ROMs using MultiROM, but always come back to the old CM11.
I'm quite happy there is such an assortment to try, imagine how unhappy you would be if there was only one and it had a major (in your opinion) bug.

I don't think it's possible to get rid of all bugs ever. Its an os that is working with constantly changing apps and devices. But, I use cataclysm as my dd with elementalx and I don't notice any bugs. Im sure they are there, they just don't affect me with my particular usage.

wolfen69 said:
Ahhh, Metalhead. I like the name, as it's my mantra for the last 40 yrs. Anyway, you seem bitter about it, as other things.
I'm just trying to get some real feedback about how people feel. Thanks Metal, noted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm totally agree with @_MetalHead_. I've came to Nexus, because I was tired to flash my Xperias with custom ROMs an CMs., thought I still think that Sonys hardware is supperior than the LG and Acer one.
Sure that all of custom ROMs have bug or two. But that is because Google have all bunch off developers that are fully employed to make stock android. You are aware, that custom ROMs here are made by individuals or small group enthusiasts. And that is. As man grows, he more and more prefer bitter chocolate than the sweet one. Sweet one is for children. And offcourse, we both enjoy.

zagorteney said:
I'm totally agree with @_MetalHead_. I've came to Nexus, because I was tired to flash my Xperias with custom ROMs an CMs., thought I still think that Sonys hardware is supperior than the LG and Acer one.
Sure that all of custom ROMs have bug or two. But that is because Google have all bunch off developers that are fully employed to make stock android. You should be aware, that custom ROMs here are made by individuals or small group enthusiasts. And that is. As man grows, he more and more prefer bitter chocolate than the sweet one. Sweet one is for children. And offcourse, we both enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's funny, I used to hate dark chocolate as a kid and now I prefer it.

They all have bugs. Every ROM I've used stock or custom has had bugs. Though staying stock or staying with the stable builds by the big name teams yielded the most stable experience for me. If someone flashes weeklies/nightlies and does not expect a bug or two they're doing it wrong. Main thing is finding something you as a user can live with.

It's funny that I just opened XDA 5 minutes ago to search for people's opinions about completely stable custom roms and I immediately came across this thread. I guess I will keep my phone stock and try Xposed for the first time when it's available.
I was done with flashing and experimenting with my Galaxy S2 a while ago after I realized there wasn't a perfect rom. But it's tempting though now I have a Nexus phone..
Send from the Matrix

I wondered about this, reading about what devs have deal with what googles supplies over time.
I tried Cataclysm lollipop and that's really close to being a solid rom but the bugs from google really make it frustrating to use as a daily rom, poor ram management and lockups, the inabilty to multi task without redrawing.
from a consumers point of view you expect lollipop to be an improvement over kitkat,
Switched back to kitkat and didn't realised how good and battery friendly It is.
This is why I stayed with nexus,the closet thing to a stable phone, will wait for 5.1 before I update.

Yes they are. In the lollipop updates on unofficial cm roms I'm still getting camera bug and the voip bug where I can't be heard on a headset. They appear after a few hours to weeks. Happend on a nighty today so Sent logcat in. Lollipop shouldn't have been released in the mess it's in. It's laughable that a couple of pple cherry picking from roms will do anything other than incorporate the bugs. There is a Golden rule here # devs can do no wrong and you can't put them down# cherry pickers are not developing anything imo. They merge others work, sometimes producing a better rom than the original, granted, but fixing problems. They have no idea 90%of the time. 10%are more skilled. But if google with hundreds of coders can't get it right what chance have independent roms? Look at the official lollipop CM. Still on nightlys and will be when 5.1 comes.
I run roms until a bug crops in and won't go which breaks something I need. Them on to the next. Bigsys?? K K roms were the closest to perfection. Fast and fluid.
Kernels is another thing, for another day..

While they may be less than perfect, from what I've been reading the Nexus 5 may be skipping 5.1 and going directly to 5.2
Sent from my Nexus 5

People are less than perfect by nature so that being said ,art imitates life as.
well as android 5.0 and above

From my point of view, even the stock ROM has its own flaws and sometimes it gets resolved a few revisions/versions later. On a custom ROM, it tends to be resolved pretty quickly provided the developer is actively monitoring user feedback and supporting it.
I'll usually only look for custom ROMs which focuses on staying as stock as possible while improving its speed and stability, I'll try to stay away from ROMs that offers a lot of other additional features which may or may not break another thing or two.

Is flashing worth it still?

I started flashing when I was 21, my first Android phone (and first phone I rooted), was an Optimist V. That phone was just okay, until I read about rooting and over clocking. I studied for hours of the proper ways to root and what were the best ROMs, and instantly fell in love. It was like a brand new next gen phone! That phone ran so smooth, and had some of the best developers I had ever seen to this date.
Fast forward 5 years, and I have had all the Nexuses (not 5x or 6p) since the V. I used to be a flashaholic; loved over clocking, and debloated ROMs. Since the 6, I've flashed a couple ROMs, but I've gone from 2-3 a month to 2-3 the past year. One thing I've noticed is, they aren't that different. I'm not a features guy, I like simple, and that's what 6.0 brought to the table. I don't really see any huge benefits anymore. Flashing new and updated ROMs has started to become a chore. The phone runs great no matter what I'm using, and the truth, stock runs better than most custom ROMs now.
So to conclude, is flashing even worth it anymore? Sure I can run a ROM and have a huge benchmark score, but that ROM will crash on certain apps more often, and doesn't actually run the basic apps I use any smoother. Stock is so fast now, that it is basically why I won't upgrade to 6p, since I don't use the camera at all.
What do you think? Am I alone on this thought process, or am I just getting old and boring?

nikeman513 said:
I started flashing when I was 21, my first Android phone (and first phone I rooted), was an Optimist V. That phone was just okay, until I read about rooting and over clocking. I studied for hours of the proper ways to root and what were the best ROMs, and instantly fell in love. It was like a brand new next gen phone! That phone ran so smooth, and had some of the best developers I had ever seen to this date.
Fast forward 5 years, and I have had all the Nexuses (not 5x or 6p) since the V. I used to be a flashaholic; loved over clocking, and debloated ROMs. Since the 6, I've flashed a couple ROMs, but I've gone from 2-3 a month to 2-3 the past year. One thing I've noticed is, they aren't that different. I'm not a features guy, I like simple, and that's what 6.0 brought to the table. I don't really see any huge benefits anymore. Flashing new and updated ROMs has started to become a chore. The phone runs great no matter what I'm using, and the truth, stock runs better than most custom ROMs now.
So to conclude, is flashing even worth it anymore? Sure I can run a ROM and have a huge benchmark score, but that ROM will crash on certain apps more often, and doesn't actually run the basic apps I use any smoother. Stock is so fast now, that it is basically why I won't upgrade to 6p, since I don't use the camera at all.
What do you think? Am I alone on this thought process, or am I just getting old and boring?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm 44 as of last month, have been with android since day one in 2008, and have owned all the nexus devices up to the n6, yet I still flash. how else am I going to get a kernel to load? custom ROMs I don't flash much, I find what I like then stay with it. but that's all your choice, you don't ever have to flash anything, again its YOUR choice.

Depends on what your intended outcome is. If you want stable stock, Samsung runs android which you can still customize without the need to root, etc.....Android is still much more customization than Apple without having to do the jailbreak etc. I prefer the ability to theme, customize, and have a kernel I choose.
For me personally, there are "never" too many features in a ROM. I like ROMs that have so many features they are coming out of your ears, but I'm very particular about how I have things set up.....for someone else who may just need the basics then I can certainly see that being the case.

nikeman513 said:
I started flashing when I was 21, my first Android phone (and first phone I rooted), was an Optimist V. That phone was just okay, until I read about rooting and over clocking. I studied for hours of the proper ways to root and what were the best ROMs, and instantly fell in love. It was like a brand new next gen phone! That phone ran so smooth, and had some of the best developers I had ever seen to this date.
What do you think? Am I alone on this thought process, or am I just getting old and boring?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are old and boring..

nikeman513 said:
So to conclude, is flashing even worth it anymore? Sure I can run a ROM and have a huge benchmark score, but that ROM will crash on certain apps more often, and doesn't actually run the basic apps I use any smoother. Stock is so fast now, that it is basically why I won't upgrade to 6p, since I don't use the camera at all.
What do you think? Am I alone on this thought process, or am I just getting old and boring?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, as a senior developer (and I'm about one year senior to simms22 ), I can tell you that I'm not interested in flashing again. I've switched from TW to cm, Temasek and some variants on my Note 3, and finally bought a N6 instead of the Note 4, just because of the possibility of development.
So now I have a hobby, I've got my own Android (yay me!), and after merging in the latest security patch I flash the system.img once a month.
If I find something to modify or develop, well then I flash it a lot, but I haven't done anything big since the beginning of January when I've restored the good old CRT effect on shutting off the screen. And about three weeks ago I adapted CMFileManager to work with AOSP based roms, as a root explorer. But that's that so far.

I used to flash a lot when i had the LG G2 but since owning the N6 i tried a few roms but now on the same rom since a few months. Only do a clean flash once a month to install the latest version of it. btw, 44 years old was some time ago for me

TMG1961 said:
I used to flash a lot when i had the LG G2 but since owning the N6 i tried a few roms but now on the same rom since a few months. Only do a clean flash once a month to install the latest version of it. btw, 44 years old was some time ago for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as old and aged as im been feeling the past few years, ive found that on xda there are a hell of a lot of children. BUT, on xda, i am also considered not very old. as there are even more adults that are much older than i am

simms22 said:
as old and aged as im been feeling the past few years, ive found that on xda there are a hell of a lot of children. BUT, on xda, i am also considered not very old. as there are even more adults that are much older than i am
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think i belong to the older generation here on xda, but not sure about that. But 54 is still young, just need to convince my body of that....lol

TMG1961 said:
I think i belong to the older generation here on xda, but not sure about that. But 54 is still young, just need to convince my body of that....lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave up on convincing my body that its still young. I found out I'm diabetic just a few years ago, and now my body feels as though I'm in my 60s! but, most importantly, my mind believes that I'm 25. so, I keep on living my "25" year old life, regardless of what my body is telling me :angel:

simms22 said:
I gave up on convincing my body that its still young. I found out I'm diabetic just a few years ago, and now my body feels as though I'm in my 60s! but, most importantly, my mind believes that I'm 25. so, I keep on living my "25" year old life, regardless of what my body is telling me :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even though my body thinks its about 125 I try to be as active as i can. My mind is still in its early twenties. And as far as flashing roms goes, well i find that a lot of them are very similar, so not much sense in changing a lot.

nikeman513 said:
I started flashing when I was 21, my first Android phone (and first phone I rooted), was an Optimist V. That phone was just okay, until I read about rooting and over clocking. I studied for hours of the proper ways to root and what were the best ROMs, and instantly fell in love. It was like a brand new next gen phone! That phone ran so smooth, and had some of the best developers I had ever seen to this date.
Fast forward 5 years, and I have had all the Nexuses (not 5x or 6p) since the V. I used to be a flashaholic; loved over clocking, and debloated ROMs. Since the 6, I've flashed a couple ROMs, but I've gone from 2-3 a month to 2-3 the past year. One thing I've noticed is, they aren't that different. I'm not a features guy, I like simple, and that's what 6.0 brought to the table. I don't really see any huge benefits anymore. Flashing new and updated ROMs has started to become a chore. The phone runs great no matter what I'm using, and the truth, stock runs better than most custom ROMs now.
So to conclude, is flashing even worth it anymore? Sure I can run a ROM and have a huge benchmark score, but that ROM will crash on certain apps more often, and doesn't actually run the basic apps I use any smoother. Stock is so fast now, that it is basically why I won't upgrade to 6p, since I don't use the camera at all.
What do you think? Am I alone on this thought process, or am I just getting old and boring?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly... Roms have never been THAT different. On my last few phones (thunderbolt, S4, moto x, Nexus 6), I have just found a rom that had the features I wanted, was stable and offered updates and stuck with it.
The whole flashing multiple different roms a month doesn't have much point other then people looking to do something with their phone... and it never really has.
You don't want any extra features, so if you had an early nexus you probably wouldn't need to flash either.
But still, if you want to choose what quick tiles you have, if you want to customize what you have in your status bar, if you want additional lock screen options, if....
The easiest way is to flash a rom.

1. You are all spring chickens. I was born before WWII.
2. Flashing roms has gone downhill for me since the ultimate excitement of JellyBean and JBSourcery! But still worth it.
I am finding that with AOSP roms many of my apps FC while they work perfectly with stock based ROMs. That's what I liked about Cataclysm. Now it looks like that is dwindling away. Future is looking bleak if I want to use Android Pay so I pass on that. Looks like stock, rooted with maybe Gravity Box is at the end of the tunnel.

wtherrell said:
1. You are all spring chickens. I was born before WWII.
2. Flashing roms has gone downhill for me since the ultimate excitement of JellyBean and JBSourcery! But still worth it.
I am finding that with AOSP roms many of my apps FC while they work perfectly with stock based ROMs. That's what I liked about Cataclysm. Now it looks like that is dwindling away. Future is looking bleak if I want to use Android Pay so I pass on that. Looks like stock, rooted with maybe Gravity Box is at the end of the tunnel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, gravity box is a no go for me. but, android pay means nothing to me as well. for me its aosp all the way, with root. everything else i need i can do myself with root access and access to the filesystem. anyways, i was going to thank you because of your age, but im outta thanks

I always used the stock based roms and for me they work. I dont use android pay..it isnt even available in The Netherlands, i dont use gravity box. I am now on stock lite rom from Danvdh and it works great for me, no bugs, good battery life and no things in it that i dont use.

Not unless you want to get arrested! Nyuk nyuk nyuk....

Yes! use a custom rom...
But as you see here ppl are different...here is my view and person I am.
You buy a Mustang GT, BMW M3, Dodge Charger SRT, etc... you can leave it as is which is fine. Then there are those guys who will take the best of the best and push a bit more...when the N6 was released this flagship phone was the best of its time.
Again....a WHOLE lot of people will be fine as is but a custom rom (the RIGHT rom) is going to give you that edge the stock N6 is not going to give you...those abilities to do more for the enthusiast! I run Pure Nexus by Beans and the tweaks in the rom are clean and give the N6 added power and edge over the standard N6. If you don't care about the power just to move titles, clock, change button actions, on and on it's all there in the RIGHT rom.
So you have to pick type person you are...as for me my Dodge Charger SRT has the power modifications, the system\cpu flashed, under carriage mods, suspension and engine modifications to give we way more that normal SRT...so the same with the N6 if you are that person.
But again it's a choice and my N6 benchmarks proves the difference since I am a power user...no games, etc just a high-end busy, traveling 43 old corp engineer that ask a lot out of my phone.

nikeman513 said:
I started flashing when I was 21, my first Android phone (and first phone I rooted), was an Optimist V. That phone was just okay, until I read about rooting and over clocking. I studied for hours of the proper ways to root and what were the best ROMs, and instantly fell in love. It was like a brand new next gen phone! That phone ran so smooth, and had some of the best developers I had ever seen to this date.
Fast forward 5 years, and I have had all the Nexuses (not 5x or 6p) since the V. I used to be a flashaholic; loved over clocking, and debloated ROMs. Since the 6, I've flashed a couple ROMs, but I've gone from 2-3 a month to 2-3 the past year. One thing I've noticed is, they aren't that different. I'm not a features guy, I like simple, and that's what 6.0 brought to the table. I don't really see any huge benefits anymore. Flashing new and updated ROMs has started to become a chore. The phone runs great no matter what I'm using, and the truth, stock runs better than most custom ROMs now.
So to conclude, is flashing even worth it anymore? Sure I can run a ROM and have a huge benchmark score, but that ROM will crash on certain apps more often, and doesn't actually run the basic apps I use any smoother. Stock is so fast now, that it is basically why I won't upgrade to 6p, since I don't use the camera at all.
What do you think? Am I alone on this thought process, or am I just getting old and boring?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most "custom roms" are either CM or some-fork-of-CM. That means, generally, adding more problems than you solve.
I agree that AOSP and factory are pretty solid. My use of custom builds was mainly related to the screwball trash factory images and lack of updates that you get with the various non-Nexus phones. With a Nexus, you get a solid experience and frequent updates to the newest Android, which means less need for complete system replacements.
Yet there are a few, relatively small, changes that are useful. Root, and a couple of home-brew adjustments, that really put a power user polish on it.
---------- Post added at 05:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------
parcou said:
But again it's a choice and my N6 benchmarks proves the difference since I am a power user...no games, etc just a high-end busy, traveling 43 old corp engineer that ask a lot out of my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Benchmarks prove nothing, except that it can get a higher score in benchmarks. This does not translate to real-world benefits. On top of that, just because you can hit a bigger number on benchmarks does not mean that it does so safely, for instance, I've heard of a lot of people disabling thermal throttling in order to get higher benchmarks. That will, in the least, reduce the life of the device and cause stability problems. Worst case, it could fry your SoC.

doitright said:
Benchmarks prove nothing, except that it can get a higher score in benchmarks. This does not translate to real-world benefits. On top of that, just because you can hit a bigger number on benchmarks does not mean that it does so safely, for instance, I've heard of a lot of people disabling thermal throttling in order to get higher benchmarks. That will, in the least, reduce the life of the device and cause stability problems. Worst case, it could fry your SoC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disable thermal throttle every single boot up, every single time. I've had my n6 since Nov 2014 BTW. with thermal throttle off, and pushing it extremely hard, my n6 never ever goes over 75C. and I've tried to hit 100C(thermal shutdown), but just can't. my n5 would hit it in seconds my n6 will not ever hit it. so I see any effect of keeping thermal throttle disabled over the past year and a half? nope. my battery life is still awesome, I lose a percent every hour and a half. my performance is still awesome, as my phone scores highest in benchmarks. and my user experience is still incredible, as I get no lags, nor any other negatives. sure, maybe I'd see something from keeping thermal throttle off, if I used the device for 5+ years or so, but I won't.

doitright said:
Most "custom roms" are either CM or some-fork-of-CM. That means, generally, adding more problems than you solve.
I agree that AOSP and factory are pretty solid. My use of custom builds was mainly related to the screwball trash factory images and lack of updates that you get with the various non-Nexus phones. With a Nexus, you get a solid experience and frequent updates to the newest Android, which means less need for complete system replacements.
Yet there are a few, relatively small, changes that are useful. Root, and a couple of home-brew adjustments, that really put a power user polish on it.
---------- Post added at 05:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------
Benchmarks prove nothing, except that it can get a higher score in benchmarks. This does not translate to real-world benefits. On top of that, just because you can hit a bigger number on benchmarks does not mean that it does so safely, for instance, I've heard of a lot of people disabling thermal throttling in order to get higher benchmarks. That will, in the least, reduce the life of the device and cause stability problems. Worst case, it could fry your SoC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree and benchmarks not my key focus I could left out only have done once since 2014. I am a power user and side by side with other N6 users they difference is noticeable based on how we do corp work not games. As stated earlier, depends on person if that's their choice but get choice with this fladship phone and with Pure Nexus gives a new feel to phone. Not all developers are like Beans the tweaks make the difference.

simms22 said:
I disable thermal throttle every single boot up, every single time. I've had my n6 since Nov 2014 BTW. with thermal throttle off, and pushing it extremely hard, my n6 never ever goes over 75C. and I've tried to hit 100C(thermal shutdown), but just can't. my n5 would hit it in seconds my n6 will not ever hit it. so I see any effect of keeping thermal throttle disabled over the past year and a half? nope. my battery life is still awesome, I lose a percent every hour and a half. my performance is still awesome, as my phone scores highest in benchmarks. and my user experience is still incredible, as I get no lags, nor any other negatives. sure, maybe I'd see something from keeping thermal throttle off, if I used the device for 5+ years or so, but I won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On that basis, sounds like it probably wouldn't throttle even if you didn't disable it, so why even bother?
Also, "pushing it" with single-threaded workloads may not get the temperature that far up.
I promise you that a heavy multi-threaded workload WILL make it as hot, fast, regardless of the binning.

OOS 3.5.2 is the best looking, fastest and smoothest android rom of all time.

This thing is just amazing. Wasn't really sure with the direction Oneplus was heading with OOS 3.5, mainly because of dark theme not being pitch black anymore. They fixed that and all other bugs in 3.5.1.
I liked how they fixed stock android's achilles heel i.e the lag in stock messanger and contacts card pull up, both of the features you can't get away without using dozens of times daily. People will complain they're moving away from stock but I'll argue google has been lazy in improving messanger and contacts performance. I tend to have a 6p and 5x aswell. All that with the SOT of 6+ hours. Unbelievable work from Oneplus.
But now with 3.5.2, they've thrown it out of the park. It's so freaking perfect it's almost boring. How can these guys be so freaking good at this optimization thing. It's IOSque performance wise. I wouldn't even root the current build. Well, probably will to set the sRGB white less warm but I can't believe how good this software is. It's aesthetically neat and beautiful too.

sounds a bit TGTBT. can someone else confirm?

Just flashed it last night and certainly it is more stable and fluid than the last build. The Dialer app and Messaging app are really fast and just pull up in a flick. I am running all stock and battery life is extremely great. No more Android system drain and the doze mode works really cool. Overall a nice build that i really like over the 3.2.4 stable.

gillboyzz said:
Just flashed it last night and certainly it is more stable and fluid than the last build. The Dialer app and Messaging app are really fast and just pull up in a flick. I am running all stock and battery life is extremely great. No more Android system drain and the doze mode works really cool. Overall a nice build that i really like over the 3.2.4 stable.
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Click to collapse
Never seen, so much praise about any software ever, obviously apart from fanboys. hopefully same as what people are reporting here.

gillboyzz said:
Just flashed it last night and certainly it is more stable and fluid than the last build. The Dialer app and Messaging app are really fast and just pull up in a flick. I am running all stock and battery life is extremely great. No more Android system drain and the doze mode works really cool. Overall a nice build that i really like over the 3.2.4 stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just cringe everytime I see a post about a rom's battery life 1 day after it's release.

R3Lax1 said:
I just cringe everytime I see a post about a rom's battery life 1 day after it's release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree it is too early to comment but based on last beta build, it started showing drainage symptoms within few hours of flashing. It has been more than 14hrs since flash and so far it is running awesome.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Welll, it's time for me to go back to oos again

Does OK Google and voice search work now? It was broken in last version, thanks.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

technotika said:
Does OK Google and voice search work now? It was broken in last version, thanks.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They work with a hit or a miss. Same as the old Build.

Adaptive brightness fixed yet?

dpryor88 said:
Adaptive brightness fixed yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly no. I still don't see any improvements.

Mine is not auto upgrading.
Saad Ali said:
This thing is just amazing. Wasn't really sure with the direction Oneplus was heading with OOS 3.5, mainly because of dark theme not being pitch black anymore. They fixed that and all other bugs in 3.5.1.
I liked how they fixed stock android's achilles heel i.e the lag in stock messanger and contacts card pull up, both of the features you can't get away without using dozens of times daily. People will complain they're moving away from stock but I'll argue google has been lazy in improving messanger and contacts performance. I tend to have a 6p and 5x aswell. All that with the SOT of 6+ hours. Unbelievable work from Oneplus.
But now with 3.5.2, they've thrown it out of the park. It's so freaking perfect it's almost boring. How can these guys be so freaking good at this optimization thing. It's IOSque performance wise. I wouldn't even root the current build. Well, probably will to set the sRGB white less warm but I can't believe how good this software is. It's aesthetically neat and beautiful too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
currently I am at oxygen os 3.5.1 kernel version 3.18.20 [email protected]
every time it download the 1.3gb file and try to update, the update fails.
on the screen it shows the zip file is corrupt. so I update again by downloading the file once again but no luck.
should I just download the latest os 3.5.2 in my laptop and flash it in my oneplus 3 using adb? Is there any risk involve?

if4ct0r said:
Sadly no. I still don't see any improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shame. Well, I'll still update when freedom is updated. Better performance and battery is always good.

dpryor88 said:
Shame. Well, I'll still update when freedom is updated. Better performance and battery is always good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah, FWIW it is a good upgrade nevertheless. Not sure if its a placebo, but I do see an improvment in dialer launching speed.
Shame they didn't yet improve the accent color options though. Simply hate the color palette they've provided right now.. wish they add a color picker in the next build atleast.

Pulkit_Tiwari said:
currently I am at oxygen os 3.5.1 kernel version 3.18.20 [email protected]
every time it download the 1.3gb file and try to update, the update fails.
on the screen it shows the zip file is corrupt. so I update again by downloading the file once again but no luck.
should I just download the latest os 3.5.2 in my laptop and flash it in my oneplus 3 using adb? Is there any risk involve?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People on the other thread said it borks twrp if you're oem unlocked and you have to do the hard brick resurrection posted in another thread to fix so I'm hesitant about making that jump for that reason

I have still not upgraded on 3.2.4 (1608061823) to avoid breaking VoLTE. Can anyone confirm if I can skip this and still upgrade to 3.5.2?
P.S. Can someone confirm if this is OP OTA update or community build?

marcopolo said:
I have still not upgraded on 3.2.4 (1608061823) to avoid breaking VoLTE. Can anyone confirm if I can skip this and still upgrade to 3.5.2?
P.S. Can someone confirm if this is OP OTA update or community build?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is community build update. try flashing 3.2.5, its a factory version and people are saying it resolved all their issue they had with 3.2.4. i personally didnt had any issues with 3.2.4 but still i flashed 3.2.5 and it seems a bit smoother and battery life also seems a bit better.

so what should I do now?
frickinjerms said:
People on the other thread said it borks twrp if you're oem unlocked and you have to do the hard brick resurrection posted in another thread to fix so I'm hesitant about making that jump for that reason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
should I wait till oneplus officially rolls out full oxygen os 3.5 for everyone or keep continue using current 3.5.1 until this problem fixed by newer updates?
or go back to os 3.2.4 using recovery and all?

Would be nice if people were to post screenshots of the new update. I honestly prefer HOS new beta way over HOS CB, it has the best of both worlds and until I see some screens showing more improvement, i'm not interested. Don't like what they did with shelf and the notification shade. Shelf looks like a straight up iOS rip, and the notification shade doesn't even look like Nougat shade.
I'm going to be honest, they should stop the builds all together (no merger) and just work on a completely new rom based on Nougat.

DesignGrits said:
Would be nice if people were to post screenshots of the new update. I honestly prefer HOS new beta way over HOS CB, it has the best of both worlds and until I see some screens showing more improvement, i'm not interested. Don't like what they did with shelf and the notification shade. Shelf looks like a straight up iOS rip, and the notification shade doesn't even look like Nougat shade.
I'm going to be honest, they should stop the builds all together (no merger) and just work on a completely new rom based on Nougat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any links for HOS beta you are referring to?

Nexus 5 to Mi5

Due to death of my nexus 5 I chose to switch to Xiaomi Mi5. Good specs, very affordable just like the old nexus 5. Only annoying thing is MIUI.
Could you recommend some close to stock Android rom? Something that would be most nexus/pixel-like

Lineage OS.
for more features Resurrection Remix and many more.

I don't think I want anything but clean, stock Android. No extra features, just stock, stable rom. Thank you very much, I'll check it as soon as I get the device

If you want pure stock Android, you might as well get a Nexus 5X for the same price. It will run stock Android much better than the Mi5.
Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

Here's the ROM you're looking for, pure AOSP with updated CAF sources, with Google Pixel theme and Assistant enabled:
ht tps://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-5/development/rom-aosp-caf-t3557568
Works great with this kernel:
ht tps://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-5/development/kernel-brand-kernel-cm13-alpha-1-0-t3480663
IMO it runs vastly smoother than LineageOS or anything based on it, but maybe I just haven't tinkered enough with them. Been using it for a few days without any major bugs (just video recording and charging led). I recommend you flash one of the compatible camera firmwares from another thread.

Ulver said:
If you want pure stock Android, you might as well get a Nexus 5X for the same price. It will run stock Android much better than the Mi5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't check it before buying, but nexus 5x doesn't come in versions above 32gb storage. 32gb version is the same price as 64gb Mi5 where I live. Thanks anyway

gabor94 said:
I didn't check it before buying, but nexus 5x doesn't come in versions above 32gb storage. 32gb version is the same price as 64gb Mi5 where I live. Thanks anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but for stock Android and actually 100% working custom ROMs, the 5X would be the way to go, and that alone would out weigh the extra storage space.
You bet a handful of custom ROMs for the Mi5 and you still have issues. Like what was mentioned above, a mostly working ROM with issues with video recording. Also, last time I tried a custom ROM on a Xiaomi device (the Mi4), everything pretty much worked, but camera quality was horrible and that was a deal breaker for me.
Anywho, enjoy your Mi5!
Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

Ulver said:
Yeah, but for stock Android and actually 100% working custom ROMs, the 5X would be the way to go, and that alone would out weigh the extra storage space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it depends. My old nexus 5 had 32gb of storage and it was not enough for me.
Ulver said:
You bet a handful of custom ROMs for the Mi5 and you still have issues. Like what was mentioned above, a mostly working ROM with issues with video recording. Also, last time I tried a custom ROM on a Xiaomi device (the Mi4), everything pretty much worked, but camera quality was horrible and that was a deal breaker for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before nexus I've been using sgs2 with custom ROMs and the experience was great. I thought that there should be fewer problems nowadays.

gabor94 said:
Before nexus I've been using sgs2 with custom ROMs and the experience was great. I thought that there should be fewer problems nowadays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Galaxy S2 was the last Samsung phone with all the proper sources released, hence it had stable ROMs. We have sort of working semi-recent code for the Mi5, hence there are problems with camera HAL3 and capicitive touch buttons on the lgd varient.
IMO it's very stable otherwise, I don't have crashes or random reboots, speed is equal or comparable to the One Plus 3 (a massive improvement), and battery life, mulitasking and audio is better than on MIUI. Not to mention it's nice having Magisk, Viper4Arise, Google Assistant, Fingerprint wake up, F2FS, Doze, OMS substratum, custom kernels and various other mods working flawlessly for once, and without the device overheating - it doesn't even get noticeably warm.
It makes a better Nexus device than the 5x with it's overheating SD808, even with it's small flaws. I think you made the right choice.

xdadevet said:
The Galaxy S2 was the last Samsung phone with all the proper sources released, hence it had stable ROMs. We have sort of working semi-recent code for the Mi5, hence there are problems with camera HAL3 and capicitive touch buttons on the lgd varient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't actually know that, everyday you learn new stuff.
My reasoning buying Mi5 was that probably there are many people who buy this phone because of the price and but hate the looks of MIUI, hence the demand for a solid, clean ROM. I suppose I wasn't wrong after all.

gabor94 said:
Didn't actually know that, everyday you learn new stuff.
My reasoning buying Mi5 was that probably there are many people who buy this phone because of the price and but hate the looks of MIUI, hence the demand for a solid, clean ROM. I suppose I wasn't wrong after all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well to be honest I thought exactly the same, but development is kind of slow. I think most people jumped for the OP3 because they were afraid Xiaomi wouldn't release sources, but Xiaomi did release bootable sources, twice so far. A far cry from OP3, but then again this phone is half the price with almost identical specifications.

gabor94 said:
Due to death of my nexus 5 I chose to switch to Xiaomi Mi5. Good specs, very affordable just like the old nexus 5. Only annoying thing is MIUI.
Could you recommend some close to stock Android rom? Something that would be most nexus/pixel-like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be very frank, I am in your boat for the same reason in search of stock feel since I moved to MI5 from Nexus5.
Lineage-OS is said to be stable but I am not satisfied with it's experience since it requires still more stability and improvements. Camera becomes bit issue once you move away from MIUI. Battery life is only ok for MIUI rom and not in any other ROM. So I would suggest stick to MIUI if you want battery life and better Camera. For stock experience, let the LOS mature to some extent to make you move from MIUI.

Sorry for a little OT guys, but is there any stock'ish rom which utilizes home button the same way MIUI does (tapping to go to home screen instead of actually pressing it)? I've tried several roms and none of them could do that which is very disappointing.
gabor94 said:
Due to death of my nexus 5 I chose to switch to Xiaomi Mi5. Good specs, very affordable just like the old nexus 5. Only annoying thing is MIUI.
Could you recommend some close to stock Android rom? Something that would be most nexus/pixel-like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also went from Nexus 5 to Mi 5 and I must say it wasn't a bad choice but definitely not the best one either. I'd say the biggest problem of MIUI is stability. After almost 9 months of using it, I still face problems with basic features from time to time (gps is whimsical, wifi connection goes off randomly sometimes). MIUI itself is a great OS in my opinion after you manage to get used to the interface (DPI change is a must in my case). What I like the most is the ability to make an FTP server out of your phone to transfer smaller files wirelessly, I rarely use cable thanks to this. I know it can also be achieved using 3rd party apps but having it built into file manager is more convenient.
I'd recommend you to set up MIUI the way you like with some 3rd party launcher (I use nova), at least until we get a fully-functional stock rom with battery life comparable to MIUI.

Actually MIUI is far from terrible. I have the global version 8.1 and it works fine. It's stable, works really fast, no lags whatsoever. Just changed default launcher to Google Now Launcher. There are quite a few handy options like securing applications with a fingerprint. Don't know about battery life though, in the reviews I've seen online people said 4-6 SOT, will have to check that. Quick charge is on board so not such a big problem.
Anyway, got the money I paid, less than 300$ for 64gb seems like a wonderful deal. Very happy with the purchase so far.
About lineage OS and other custom ROMs, can't one just use stock MIUI apps for camera and other things, that could potentially benefit from it?

Six months since 7.0 and still unsure, Marshmallow or Nougat on N6

I've been very happy with MM on my N6 and still get great battery life and performance. I'm comfortable with ROMs/mods and my phone is pretty much where I want it in terms of functionality and UI. After months of debate, I'm still unsure if it's worth moving to Nougat (and not impressed with O preview either). I'm so unconvinced that I don't even feel like investing the time in testing 7.x particularly after reading posts of battery or compatibility issues. I'm not trying to be "stuck in the past" but just don't see a convincing reason to update.
The last dedicated thread I saw on MM vs N was from Oct 2016, any new opinions since then?

I'm thinking about moving back to MM because of the terrible battery life and performance on nougat.

In the same boat. MM seems to give me better battery life but Nougat seems a little bit more snappier.

I've only been on 7.0 for a couple of weeks, but no complaints.

mclardass said:
I've been very happy with MM on my N6 and still get great battery life and performance. I'm comfortable with ROMs/mods and my phone is pretty much where I want it in terms of functionality and UI. After months of debate, I'm still unsure if it's worth moving to Nougat (and not impressed with O preview either). I'm so unconvinced that I don't even feel like investing the time in testing 7.x particularly after reading posts of battery or compatibility issues. I'm not trying to be "stuck in the past" but just don't see a convincing reason to update.
The last dedicated thread I saw on MM vs N was from Oct 2016, any new opinions since then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey... Flashed Pure Nexus with EX Kernel as soon as its nougat iteration appeared and never looked back. Well I can't really compare about battery life as my phone is now 2 years old. Still it performs very well, nothing to complain about. Screen on time is the same and standby is better on Android 7 i think. Of course stock firmware is not as polished as it should, but custom ROMs are here to change that. I don't need that much mods on my phone anymore except theme, ad blocker, theme ready apps and maybe a few other things.
What kind of incompatibility issues are you talking about?
Well, I understand you don't want to waist your time , but it's just a matter of backup/flash/test. You won't loose anything and if you don't like it, you can always revert back to MM anyway. I think a weekend is more than enough to decide if it's worth it for you or not.
I usually prefer testing things myself and not based on people statements. Because everyone has his tastes and they unlikely match mines...
Cheers...

I'm on 7.1.1 stock with Franco Kernel, encryption disabled and F2FS filesystem.
No problems with stability, lags or battery life. In fact, I usually get around 5h+ of screen on time, which is pretty good for a 2 years old phone.
Usually, battery life and stability are user fault. Of course we can't say everything is related to users... But if you configure correctly your apps permissions, don't install anything out of the play store and don't do things like undervolting... You should be good to go.
Regards,
Rafael

5.1 said:
What kind of incompatibility issues are you talking about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd have to go back and look at the threads I've read, the only thing I recall being a deal-killer was not being able to use net.tethering under Nougat (is that still an issue)? I've been very happy with Pure (MM) with Franco on my other devices but have kept stock on my N6. I agree with testing it out myself, just need to find some time, but generally trust opinions on XDA.
Phone has been solid for years and rooted with Nova, adaway, lightflow, multiwindow, and tethering has met my needs. Maybe I'm just being lazy or in a rut but definitely would like something more revolutionary to encourage the upgrade.
Thanks for the input everyone, gives me a lot to think about.
Slainte!

mclardass said:
I'd have to go back and look at the threads I've read, the only thing I recall being a deal-killer was not being able to use net.tethering under Nougat (is that still an issue)? I've been very happy with Pure (MM) with Franco on my other devices but have kept stock on my N6. I agree with testing it out myself, just need to find some time, but generally trust opinions on XDA.
Phone has been solid for years and rooted with Nova, adaway, lightflow, multiwindow, and tethering has met my needs. Maybe I'm just being lazy or in a rut but definitely would like something more revolutionary to encourage the upgrade.
Thanks for the input everyone, gives me a lot to think about.
Slainte!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly I can't really help you with net.tethering as I don't use it...
Just make a search in Q/A or open a thread if nothing shows up. I'm sure you'll get an answer... :good:
Good luck...

Couple of days with stock 7.1.1 and so far it's fine, nothing that made me thrilled with the update but nothing that makes me want to roll back. Can't say it's snappier than MM or has better battery life, though. Enabled tethering using the usual net.tethering entry as well as 'settings put global tether_dun_required 0' so nothing lost there. Guess if this is the last, full-point update for my beloved N6 I can live with it (until I find an annoyance I can't stand and flash Pure or something else).
Thanks again for everyone's input!

Bought my N6 used back in September. I still have official 7.0 My device has never stuttered or slowed down (outside of extremely low battery and high CPU apps). I have a lot of apps installed, I use it hard, and run some demanding apps (like raw photo conversion) on occasion. And I just clocked 3+ days of battery use with nearly 7 hours of SOT under a variety of uses. I can't imagine not using N on this device.

cameraddict said:
Bought my N6 used back in September. I still have official 7.0 My device has never stuttered or slowed down (outside of extremely low battery and high CPU apps). I have a lot of apps installed, I use it hard, and run some demanding apps (like raw photo conversion) on occasion. And I just clocked 3+ days of battery use with nearly 7 hours of SOT under a variety of uses. I can't imagine not using N on this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats 7.0, 711 is the issue at least for me

adm1jtg said:
Thats 7.0, 711 is the issue at least for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Curious, what problems do you have in 711? Those issues aside, the OP asked about 7.0 as opposed to 711.

terrible battery life? maybe you need a new battery, I get above 6 SOT hours using Nitrogen ROM

buschris said:
terrible battery life? maybe you need a new battery, I get above 6 SOT hours using Nitrogen ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all about standby battery life when using a bt device like an android watch. Not going to get into arguements here but have tested and 7.0 doesnt have the bad drain on my unit and 711 absolutely does. Thus cannot be an old battery if the only change i made was OS version and drastic difference in battery drain. 711 has about 2x+ the standby drain with bt on. 7.0 and 6.0 have much better drain