New stock A2017U best way from here? - ZTE Axon 7 Questions & Answers

Picked up the $330 deal from Newegg Ebay. The phone is charged and unmodded / not updated. The software it came with is A2017UV1.0.0B27. There is an update pending but I've not applied it yet. I'm well versed with ADB and fastboot coming from a long line of Nexus phones that I always root...
There seems to be lots of ways forward from here but I'd like to see what people recommend. It appears that an unlocked bootloader will make it so future updates cannot be applied. I've always unlocked in the past but I hope to get wifi calling (T-Mobile) in future updates (from what I understand that's on the way but not out yet?). If a non-stock rom allows wifi calling I'd be game for that as I typically am not a fan of how companies bloat the standard android rom.
Main things I want:
TWRP
(seamless?) root (primarily for AdAway and TiBackup)
Band 12
Wifi calling
Remove any potential ZTE spyware
What do you think? Unlock the bootloader and forget future ZTE updates? Keep it locked?
Thanks!

OTA updates work just fine with an unlocked bootloader. They do not however work if the system or recovery has been modified.
I ran stock for a few weeks. Recently switched to resurrection remix. It adds a lot of additional configuration ability. Most of the settings that were/are available in gravity box. GB is no longer possible until xposed is redeveloped for 7.
I'd say unlock the bootloader first, then either try stock or one of the aosp roms. Been on RR for just two days now, first impressions include bettery battery life and faster UI interaction.

gpz1100 said:
OTA updates work just fine with an unlocked bootloader. They do not however work if the system or recovery has been modified.
I ran stock for a few weeks. Recently switched to resurrection remix. It adds a lot of additional configuration ability. Most of the settings that were/are available in gravity box. GB is no longer possible until xposed is redeveloped for 7.
I'd say unlock the bootloader first, then either try stock or one of the aosp roms. Been on RR for just two days now, first impressions include bettery battery life and faster UI interaction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh... understood. Seamless is the way to go for future updates then. I'll unlock and take that route. Thanks much!

Lost Dog said:
Ahh... understood. Seamless is the way to go for future updates then. I'll unlock and take that route. Thanks much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My personal experience with Lineage (never tried RR, but I guess it's close to lineage) is overall disappointment. Half of the apps I tried didn't work, especially some 3D games. The stock camera app is unbearably bad IMO, from comparisons I decided to make I hate the overall quality of the photos... ZTE's system is not even close to full of bloatware. The only added out of the box apps are WPS Office which comes in handy, AccuWeather which is kinda questionable, true; ZTE Cares which mostly tells you to reboot your phone if you have a problem (1.14 mb, never open), this WeShare thing that you can ignore completely, and the stock music, browser, etc and Gapps. Even the calculator and some kinda useful apps are all packed on one app, and you can add shortcuts... Can't really say I've seen less bloated phones in the market...
TWRP and root are completely fine on Stock
no idea about band 12
ZTE spyware... The only thing I heard about was the location provider on A2017G which is being changed on the next update. We had Qualcomm IZat (Korea) and we got changed to Tencent (China) so that's kind of a spyware. but you can uninstall that with root
and I understand people who say that the stock ROM is ugly. Just use a launcher.
the only real advantage that I can see is the possibility to use Substratum with a pitch black theme. I could get near to 2 days battery with that stuff.

^^How recently have you tried it?
I'll be out and about tomorrow so will get a chance to play with the camera to see how well it does in RR. I got both the google camera and aosp camera apps installed. We'll see how good/bad the pics come out. I don't expect dslr results out of a cell phone camera anyway so camera quality isn't at the top of the list for me.
Same with games. Can't remember the last one I played on a phone. Most of my use is email/web/navi/voip. Long battery life is at the top of my list. With typical usage, I could go 2 days between charges and still have ~40% remaining. If I get 3 days now with RR with similar usage/sot, I'll be happy camper. Not to mention, the phone is more responsive.
Stock isn't bad until you've tried something else, then you get a feel for how heavy the ui is.
Band 12 is supported on both tmo and att as far as i know. I know i've seen it a few times on att.

Does anyone have an alternative link to the files in this post:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/wip-axon-7-root-bootloader-unlokced-t3441204
Dev-Host either throws out a ton of spam links or just stalls on the download.

Alright!
I'm on 7.1.1 with backed up stock bootloader and recovery. Rooted with a modified version of Magisk and passing the safetynet check.
So far, signal strength seems good and the addition of wifi calling is fantastic....

I don't have T-Mobile, but I believe the latest update, v. 7.1.1 B19 includes WiFi calling.
ETA: Oops. I guess that's what I get for getting distracted and posting a response an hour after I started it.

Related

What is the most bug free custom ROM for Axon 7?

I'd love to get some totally un-biased views here, including pros and cons. This will probably also help others given the current circumstances and wading through old threads containing up to 4000 posts is a real PIA. Current info condensed into one new thread would be great and not introduce clutter in the ROM threads.
Given that even if we get Oreo, there will most likely be no further official updates, just wondering, from all of you who have used many ROMs, what is an honest view of which ROMs are nearly bug free? Are any bug free? For me stuff like call and camera issues are a total deal breaker. I use my phone for personal and work, including interstate and minor overseas travel. Not going to even install any ROM that is compromised in some way.
I put OmniROM MM on my Oppo Find 7 and that was fantastic. It even got updated to Nougat and I think still has updates so I reset it to a non rooted, stock (Omni) state and passed it on to my eldest daughter. It's being enjoyed and well used still.
I'd really like to get that kind of service life from my Axon 7 as it is a very good phone still.
I reccomend Oreo AEX,although i heard that dualsim is not currently working
Just like asking "what are the best headphones?", or "what are the best speakers?", the only real way to tell how well a certain ROM will work for YOU on YOUR PHONE is to try it. Even between phones of the exact same model, there will always be different experiences across users. Backup, wipe, flash & see if the features/performance you find are what work for you.
Well that won't be happening. I use it for work. Can't be flashing it all the time. Just needs to work and leave it alone.
RobboW said:
Well that won't be happening. I use it for work. Can't be flashing it all the time. Just needs to work and leave it alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd use raystef's stock based roms then, check them out.
Most are nougat, one is oreo beta, pick your poison.
I've had really good experiences with Official lineageOS. It has been a seamless process without any hitches. I'm personally waiting for the official release of lineageOS 15.1 (if and when it comes out). I've installed lineage on various devices and have been super happy with all of them. My Moto G Titan feels like a new phone after I've installed it.
Victor13f said:
I've had really good experiences with Official lineageOS. It has been a seamless process without any hitches. I'm personally waiting for the official release of lineageOS 15.1 (if and when it comes out). I've installed lineage on various devices and have been super happy with all of them. My Moto G Titan feels like a new phone after I've installed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's very device specific though. Sometimes a custom ROM (such as LOS, OMNI etc) will work well on one type of phone and be buggy on a different one. Not all phones work the same on them and I think the Axon 7 is one of those that ends up with buggy ROMs. The camera and DAC are complications that can be hard to get running well, also dual SIM can be an issue and I use it all.
If it's a choice between custom with bugs or stay on stock Nougat I would stay stock.
RobboW said:
If it's a choice between custom with bugs or stay on stock Nougat I would stay stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The feedback on LOS doesn't seem to be too bad and I do understand that since I am also still stock but the problem is that the stock ROM is filled with bugs aswell. The screen brightness bug I get sometimes, the call bug, my Google play store crashes often, my GPS doesn't work properly etc etc. Those are all bugs the stock ROM itself has.

Why should I root?

Even though I never owned one until now, I've been following the OnePlus models ever since the One was released. I've used CyanogenMod and LineageOS on my previous phones, all of which have been rooted mostly to block ads, remove carrier bloat, and to try custom ROMs.
I'm very surprised with OxygenOS and despite having the T-Mobile branded version I'm not sure I want to go through with rooting it. I'm currently network unlocked and awaiting my unlock token. I'm currently using Blockada to block ads. It works well for the most part but doesn't seem as good as AdAway. Aside being able to run AdAway with root, what other reasons should I do it?
As far as I can tell the only bloat on my phone right now is the T-Mobile app and the T-Mobile unlock app. Despite being network unlocked, the Unlock app remained and just got disabled however using adb shell and the pm uninstall command it looks like that was removed. The T-Mobile app is disabled so that's not too much of an issue for me. I don't use YouTube when signed in so the regular version of YouTube Vanced works fine for me now unrooted.
I had Magisk running on my Nexus 5 which allowed me to be rooted and did a great job passing the safetynet checks. Does Magisk still do that effectively on the OP6T?
I'm thinking of not rooting anymore though I am interested in installing the non-Tmobile-branded OxygenOS. I've seen all the threads however it's difficult to read through hundreds of pages of posts. Will I be able to still get OTA updates from One plus, or at least be able to download and then manually install? Is the "International OOS version" the non-TMobile branded OS? I'm not a huge user of wifi calling, though I like having the option for areas with poor reception. Do I lose that when I get rid of the T-Mobile branded OOS?
Reasons For Rooting:
1) Youtube Vanced (Sign-in is a thing for me )
2) Adaway (In my opinion it's far better than blokada)
3) ViPER4Android (for superior speaker experience)
4) Customizing 3-rd party Kernels to fit your needs (underclock,overclock etc.)
5) Getting custom animations (such as McLaren fingerprint animation) and stuff like that.
I've been updating OOS with no problems. I really don't see a reason why someone would not root their OP6T.
@bassic
Long story short, it's stupid simple to convert. PM me when you have your unlock token and I'll walk you through it. I was extremely nervous at first, but it was honestly a breeze and updating to every released version of OOS was also worry-free. If you want, I'm on Telegram. Same username as here.
I'm on the TMO variant as well, and as far as I can tell the only reason to root is to convert to the international firmware. Out of that, there is no reason for root.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
For me I root because Google is being an asshole by restricting more and more apps that worked perfectly on Oreo. So now that we're on Pie I was actually forced to root in order to enjoy my phone fully. Swift is a big deal for me and I need it so I rooted. Now I can resume to apply my own themes to my apps (and system apps).
With root access I have call recording back. Another ability Google killed on Pie. Titanium Backup was also something I was missing. Being able to DELETE, not disable, ANY app that I want from my phone is just lovely.
I wish I could root but oh no they had to add more steps to do so... Unlock tokens? Seriously lol..... If I could root it would be viper4android for sure probably the best mod I've used since note 3
bassic said:
Even though I never owned one until now, I've been following the OnePlus models ever since the One was released. I've used CyanogenMod and LineageOS on my previous phones, all of which have been rooted mostly to block ads, remove carrier bloat, and to try custom ROMs.
I'm very surprised with OxygenOS and despite having the T-Mobile branded version I'm not sure I want to go through with rooting it. I'm currently network unlocked and awaiting my unlock token. I'm currently using Blockada to block ads. It works well for the most part but doesn't seem as good as AdAway. Aside being able to run AdAway with root, what other reasons should I do it?
As far as I can tell the only bloat on my phone right now is the T-Mobile app and the T-Mobile unlock app. Despite being network unlocked, the Unlock app remained and just got disabled however using adb shell and the pm uninstall command it looks like that was removed. The T-Mobile app is disabled so that's not too much of an issue for me. I don't use YouTube when signed in so the regular version of YouTube Vanced works fine for me now unrooted.
I had Magisk running on my Nexus 5 which allowed me to be rooted and did a great job passing the safetynet checks. Does Magisk still do that effectively on the OP6T?
I'm thinking of not rooting anymore though I am interested in installing the non-Tmobile-branded OxygenOS. I've seen all the threads however it's difficult to read through hundreds of pages of posts. Will I be able to still get OTA updates from One plus, or at least be able to download and then manually install? Is the "International OOS version" the non-TMobile branded OS? I'm not a huge user of wifi calling, though I like having the option for areas with poor reception. Do I lose that when I get rid of the T-Mobile branded OOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A post wouldn't do rooting justice.
I've rooted more phones over the last 25 years than 99% of anyone posting here, and, the truth is, this phone doesnt NEED to be rooted; but, its nice that you can if you feel you must..I havent rooted this phone yet, even though I have had my "token" for weeks now, because, aside from missing Viper and substratum, there is nothing that rooting will enhance for me..
And, If you need to be talked into why you should root this phone, or any other phone, then I would say you dont need to root it..
moodloid said:
Reasons For Rooting:
1) Youtube Vanced (Sign-in is a thing for me )
2) Adaway (In my opinion it's far better than blokada)
3) ViPER4Android (for superior speaker experience)
4) Customizing 3-rd party Kernels to fit your needs (underclock,overclock etc.)
5) Getting custom animations (such as McLaren fingerprint animation) and stuff like that.
I've been updating OOS with no problems. I really don't see a reason why someone would not root their OP6T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sort of agree with all of that, I would root because of all those things and the Stereo speaker mod...
however, I can't be bothered with the instability it brings, the apps that don't work (banking and TV apps in the UK) the lags, the pauses, the stalls, the crashes, the red text that tells you it's been tampered with....etc...etc...
I can do what I want without rooting on this phone, the black theme and being able to get rid of text on icons.
And Oxygen OS is so super fast and stable.
So for those reasons I am not rooting this phone!!!
:silly::silly:
My primary reason for probably rooting mine as soon as it pulls 9.0.10 down (still waiting, here in US, stuck on .7) is to be able to backup and restore apps and their data at will. I don't understand why Google hasn't made this a standard functionality. I mean for gosh sakes, how hard would it be?
I unwrapped mine yesterday and wasn't planning on transferring my flag to it (from my rooted 3T) yet, but one thing led to another and here I am. I was able to get some stuff over via Google, some stuff via OnePlust switch, and some things via their own clouds, and other things manually set up. So if I bootloader unlock and root I have to re-set-it-up of course. I have Titanium backups in the cloud of everything on my 3T as of 9 am yesterday so restoring onto a rooted phone is no big problem.
For the record on my 3T I had no problems with instability due to rooting, and banking and streaming apps worked fine under Magisk.
eskimosound said:
I sort of agree with all of that, I would root because of all those things and the Stereo speaker mod...
however, I can't be bothered with the instability it brings, the apps that don't work (banking and TV apps in the UK) the lags, the pauses, the stalls, the crashes, the red text that tells you it's been tampered with....etc...etc...
I can do what I want without rooting on this phone, the black theme and being able to get rid of text on icons.
And Oxygen OS is so super fast and stable.
So for those reasons I am not rooting this phone!!!
:silly::silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lags, crashes because of just rooting? That's unheard of...
ram4ufriends said:
Lags, crashes because of just rooting? That's unheard of...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I come from years of rooting HTC phones and they all lagged and randomly crashed after rooting.
Fact not fiction and certainly heard of, Google is your friend.
yep, rooting can definitely cause all of those problems, and, at the same time, rooting can allow you to do things that fix all those problems, so, as with everything else electronic/hi tech, someone may have a different experience than someone else..
in the past, many folks rooted to get rid of bloat, and speed up their phones; with this phone, neither of those things apply, so performance wise, rooting wont do much to make this phone "faster"..
wase4711 said:
I've rooted more phones over the last 25 years than 99% of anyone posting here, and, the truth is, this phone doesnt NEED to be rooted; but, its nice that you can if you feel you must..I havent rooted this phone yet, even though I have had my "token" for weeks now, because, aside from missing Viper and substratum, there is nothing that rooting will enhance for me..
And, If you need to be talked into why you should root this phone, or any other phone, then I would say you dont need to root it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! That's what I'm looking for. I've done my share of rooting and have tried countless ROMs over the years from way back on my HTC EVO which got me started with Android. I typically rooted to remove carrier bloat, change themes, speed things up, etc. Then I discovered the Nexus devices which I fell in love with. There wasn't any bloat to remove but I did need to modify my hosts file. When HD streaming became an issue, Magisk fixed all that for me. When the Nexus line was replaced by the Pixel, it came along with flagship phone pricing which turned me away. Thankfully OnePlus is still available and making great phones. I don't need the stereo speaker mod since headphones (with the @#$%& USB-C adapter!) are sufficient so really I don't have much of a reason to root. On all my previous devices I didn't like the fact that a bunch of apps were always running in the background and phoning home when they had no business doing so, and I had Greenify configured to keep them all quiet. With the battery management and background data restriction options on the OP6T, I've effectively achieved the same functionality without needing to root.
It still bugs me that the disabled T-Mobile app is still present, and I'm not a huge fan of the branded phone with boot animation, but I'm very happy with this phone and Oxygen OS and I don't have any compelling reason to root right now. There's no bloat outside of the T-mobile stuff, the phone is blazing fast, and it just works. I think I answered my question and I'm OK with not rooting.
I am interested in flashing the non-T-Mobile-branded OxygenOS version to remove the branding and to get system updates from OnePlus faster than from T-Mobile, however I have a bunch of settings that took me a while to adjust to my liking and I really don't feel like re-doing all of that. Are there any recommended utilities that would be able to conveniently restore all of my apps and individual settings after flashing the unbranded OS?
I've already made a post about rooting and the 6T but since no one searches and everyone has to be a thread starter I'll clear up a few misconceptions...
moodloid said:
Reasons For Rooting:
1) Youtube Vanced (Sign-in is a thing for me )
2) Adaway (In my opinion it's far better than blokada)
3) ViPER4Android (for superior speaker experience)
4) Customizing 3-rd party Kernels to fit your needs (underclock,overclock etc.)
5) Getting custom animations (such as McLaren fingerprint animation) and stuff like that.
I've been updating OOS with no problems. I really don't see a reason why someone would not root their OP6T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.) Doesn't require root
2.) Doesn't require root
3.) Nice to have and missed but given my personal usage (as I have much better devices to listen to audio on it's not a deal breaker)
4.) Phone has good enough performance and battery life not necessary but whatever floats a user's boat.
5.) Yes need root but fall back to #4
roaduardo said:
With root access I have call recording back. Another ability Google killed on Pie. Titanium Backup was also something I was missing. Being able to DELETE, not disable, ANY app that I want from my phone is just lovely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call recording can be added on a non-rooted phone (jOnePlus Tools in Play Store) as I have it and it restores automatically on every reboot. Deleting vs disabling you don't gain any free space on your DATA partition so not a big deal to me. I will agree that Titanium Backup yes sorely missed.
wase4711 said:
I've rooted more phones over the last 25 years than 99% of anyone posting here, and, the truth is, this phone doesnt NEED to be rooted; but, its nice that you can if you feel you must..I havent rooted this phone yet, even though I have had my "token" for weeks now, because, aside from missing Viper and substratum, there is nothing that rooting will enhance for me..
And, If you need to be talked into why you should root this phone, or any other phone, then I would say you dont need to root it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly.
What you will miss with root (if you use said apps) is DRM L1 Windvine encryption. I'm a subscriber to YouTube TV (users of Netflix & Amazon Video will suffer same issues) and you get 720x480 instead of 1280x720 or 1920x1080. The resolution is not a big deal given it's roughly a 6" screen but dropping from 60 FPS to 30 FPS is a disaster for sports and I will not compromise on that one.
Once the bootloader is unlocked you drop to L3. To go back to L1 it's relock of bootloader which means bye-bye root.
Nosferatu. said:
Call recording can be added on a non-rooted phone as I have it and it restores automatically on every reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Via what method and on Pie?
roaduardo said:
Via what method and on Pie?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I edited my above post.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.jroot3d.joneplustools&hl=en_US
Install that, jump start the app once on a computer (it'll give you directions when you launch the app) and that's it. Enjoy call recording no Magisk modules nor root required. I'm on international 256GB model 9.0.10 no problem.
Nosferatu. said:
I edited my above post.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.jroot3d.joneplustools&hl=en_US
Install that, jump start the app once on a computer (it'll give you directions when you launch the app) and that's it. Enjoy call recording no Magisk modules nor root required. I'm on international 256GB model 9.0.10 no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's neat. 6T users who don't wanna root should know about this app. Thanks for sharing!
Dear all,
Some posts are edited due to violation of rules. Please stick to our rules in all discussions. Thanks.
6. Do not post warez.
If a piece of software requires you to pay to use it, then pay for it. We do not accept warez nor do we permit members to request, post, promote or describe ways in which warez, cracks, serial codes or other means of avoiding payment, can be obtained or used. This is a site of developers, i.e. the sort of people who create such software. When you cheat a software developer, you cheat us as a community.
Regards
Jerry
moodloid said:
Reasons For Rooting:
1) Youtube Vanced (Sign-in is a thing for me )
2) Adaway (In my opinion it's far better than blokada)
3) ViPER4Android (for superior speaker experience)
4) Customizing 3-rd party Kernels to fit your needs (underclock,overclock etc.)
5) Getting custom animations (such as McLaren fingerprint animation) and stuff like that.
I've been updating OOS with no problems. I really don't see a reason why someone would not root their OP6T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can we not get the Youtube Vanced with sign in without root? Used to have that on my Note 8 without any root. Could you explain this please?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Riru Xposed Experiences

I am soliciting info about your experiences with Riru Xposed on your S5e.
My experience was that it seemed to really slow the tablet down (I say 'seemed' because at the same time I was also doing some extreme debloating/deleting that could have very likely caused the problem--I know, I should have installed Riru Xposed on to a well performing/healthy tablet--my bad).
Anyways, either my debloating/deleting, or installing Riru Xposed caused the tablet to be so laggy that I uninstalled Riru. This didn't improve responsiveness so I then enabled *everything*. Still the same, so I took the step of going back to stock and rooting again.
This where I am now, with only a few packages disabled and a still-snappy, well performing device. Before I start messing with Riru Xposed again I'd like to know how well others have fared using it.
The Riru variant I used before was 'SandHook'--does the 'YAHFA' variant affect device performance differently?
Have you installed Riru? and are you happy with your tablet's performance?
Do you have any advice/suggestions?
Any feedback appreciated!
Thanks
Installed Riru Xposed (YAHFA).
Antutu raw numbers below.
Screenshots of full results at https://bit.ly/2VXRoLt
Also worth noting is that all test results are with 124 packages disabled.
BEFORE THEMING - 156271
AFTER THEMING - 155097
XPOSED no modules - 147698
XPOSED & 7 modules - 148004
The differences are nominal, but the tablet is noticeably laggy.
For the curiosity enabled, Antutu 8 results (Riru SandHook)
YAHFA Seems Best
I've gone back and forth between using the SandHook and YAHFA variants. I'm currently using Riru - EdXposed v0.4.5.1_beta(4463) (YAHFA) Updated on: Aug 2, 2019 and am very happy with performance, after I DELETED all the phone related packages.
I'd noticed UX slow-down after installing Riru Xposed before, but this time it was extreme. I did a bit of investigating, and discovered that one of the 'phone' apps was crashing multiple times a second. (In my rush to fix it, I didn't collect more specific info).
I did what I have always done in the past on my rooted WiFi-only devices—I deleted all phone related folders and apps, and rebooted. All is good now.
A, hopefully inclusive, list of stuff I deleted in the data/data, data/user, system/app, and system/priv-app folders on my T720 WiFi-only tablet:
Anything with these in the name​
blocked number
call
carrier
csc
cts
dialer
mobile
phone
sim (be sure it's phone related)
stk
telecom
telephony
Reboot immediately after to avoid a flood of 'errors'. You won't see them after boot, and your logcat will be 'cleaner'.
Note, this is in addition to my ever-growing (currently 142) number of 'frozen/debloated' packages.
TiTiB said:
I've gone back and forth between using the SandHook and YAHFA variants. I'm currently using Riru - EdXposed v0.4.5.1_beta(4463) (YAHFA) Updated on: Aug 2, 2019 and am very happy with performance, after I DELETED all the phone related packages.
I'd noticed UX slow-down after installing Riru Xposed before, but this time it was extreme. I did a bit of investigating, and discovered that one of the 'phone' apps was crashing multiple times a second. (In my rush to fix it, I didn't collect more specific info).
I did what I have always done in the past on my rooted WiFi-only devices—I deleted all phone related folders and apps, and rebooted. All is good now.
A, hopefully inclusive, list of stuff I deleted in the data/data, data/user, system/app, and system/priv-app folders on my T720 WiFi-only tablet:
Anything with these in the name
blocked number
call
carrier
csc
cts
dialer
mobile
phone
sim (be sure it's phone related)
stk
telecom
telephony
Reboot immediately after to avoid a flood of 'errors'. You won't see them after boot, and your logcat will be 'cleaner'.
Note, this is in addition to my ever-growing (currently 142) number of 'frozen/debloated' packages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I'm curious as to what would be better. De-bloating and or deleting stock apps or installing custom rom ? Recently picked up a Tab S5e after price dropped to $399.99 for 6GB/128GB wifi unit. Now to decide on what to do with it, so slimmed down stock or custom? Now that it appears some time has gone by how do you rate your experience to date? Not sure if custom rom was an option available when you started with yours or not but would like to study options before making a decision. Info and insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
tek3195 said:
Hi, I'm curious as to what would be better. De-bloating and or deleting stock apps or installing custom rom ? Recently picked up a Tab S5e after price dropped to $399.99 for 6GB/128GB wifi unit. Now to decide on what to do with it, so slimmed down stock or custom? Now that it appears some time has gone by how do you rate your experience to date? Not sure if custom rom was an option available when you started with yours or not but would like to study options before making a decision. Info and insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went with, and highly recommend, installing a custom ROM—ANYTHING BUT HUAWEI! Icould go on about Huawei being a 'privately owned company' that is, ofc, at the very least influenced by the Chinese Communist Party and their goal of "EA3 Tracking"—my term for Google also, that means "Tracking Everyone Everywhere Eveything Always", but I won't. ?
I'm using Lineage OS. Still on 15.1 just because it's my secondary tablet now, and just haven't got around to it.
LOS is snappier, cleaner Android. No Google unless you choose to install it. No loss of functionality, imo, but I don't use 'fingerprint', which last I heard is still an issue for all LOS ROMs.
TiTiB said:
I went with, and highly recommend, installing a custom ROM—ANYTHING BUT HUAWEI! Icould go on about Huawei being a 'privately owned company' that is, ofc, at the very least influenced by the Chinese Communist Party and their goal of "EA3 Tracking"—my term for Google also, that means "Tracking Everyone Everywhere Eveything Always", but I won't.
I'm using Lineage OS. Still on 15.1 just because it's my secondary tablet now, and just haven't got around to it.
LOS is snappier, cleaner Android. No Google unless you choose to install it. No loss of functionality, imo, but I don't use 'fingerprint', which last I heard is still an issue for all LOS ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Almost sounds like talking to myself, but in a good way. I too cannot stand google's data thieving and lies on top of lies. They already know more about everyone than most people understand. I have tried explaining it to some that can't understand we forget **** from time to time and google keeps record of it all. Therefore they know more about you than you do because they don't forget. Anyway, appreciate the response. Just downloaded LuisROM Unofficial RR even though EOL was a couple months ago. Not really wanting to go to Android 10 as I'm not always chasing latest and not necessarily greatest. Have to see how it takes to signature spoofing for micro-g. Finally couldn't agree more about Huawei, have one of their little tabs that I can't unlock or root and have a working twrp I ported for it when bootloader was unlockable (owned several) didn't think about it being un-lockable till I picked it up dirt cheap frp locked on ebay. Now can't do crap with it as far as unlock or root and I own a Sigma Key, so yeah Huawei sucks.
tek3195 said:
Almost sounds like talking to myself, but in a good way. I too cannot stand google's data thieving and lies on top of lies. They already know more about everyone than most people understand. I have tried explaining it to some that can't understand we forget **** from time to time and google keeps record of it all. Therefore they know more about you than you do because they don't forget. Anyway, appreciate the response. Just downloaded LuisROM Unofficial RR even though EOL was a couple months ago. Not really wanting to go to Android 10 as I'm not always chasing latest and not necessarily greatest. Have to see how it takes to signature spoofing for micro-g. Finally couldn't agree more about Huawei, have one of their little tabs that I can't unlock or root and have a working twrp I ported for it when bootloader was unlockable (owned several) didn't think about it being un-lockable till I picked it up dirt cheap frp locked on ebay. Now can't do crap with it as far as unlock or root and I own a Sigma Key, so yeah Huawei sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I woke up this morning and the first thing that popped in to my head was, "I just wrote a Huawei rant about a Samsung tablet on xda!" When I wrote it I had just finished a lengthy 'discussion with a, lets say naive friend, about Huawei, so I had all my Huawei/CCP stuff loaded up and ready to fire. ? The Google stuff still stands, though. Also, what wrote about LOS 15.1.
I'll never buy another Huawei anything because the aforementioned locking, in addition to my newfound distrust of anything to do with that company. I bought a Huawei M5 tablet a couple of years ago and had to pay some online site $15 bucks for an unlock key so I could root! Pissed me off so much!
BTW, since my previous post I came up with a few other initializations/acroynms for Everything Everywhere Everyone All-The-Time Tracking; feel free to use them:
E3AT3
EEEATTT
or just plain EAT

New S5e SM-T720, stay on stock or flash?

I'm hoping someone can give me the general consensus on whether flashing ROMS for this device vs staying on stock is best. I'm not currently up on the state of Samsung bloatware, if it's gotten better or worse. I found an open box at BB for $300. I'd say excellent condition. I'm getting it for my 12 year old daughter. I suppose the main concern is the general stability of flashing, say Lineage, and the lag that Samsung has, or at least used to have, as they age.
Thanks much!
orangepowerpokes said:
I'm hoping someone can give me the general consensus on whether flashing ROMS for this device vs staying on stock is best. I'm not currently up on the state of Samsung bloatware, if it's gotten better or worse. I found an open box at BB for $300. I'd say excellent condition. I'm getting it for my 12 year old daughter. I suppose the main concern is the general stability of flashing, say Lineage, and the lag that Samsung has, or at least used to have, as they age.
Thanks much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I was going to use the tablet myself, I'd certainly flash a custom ROM and get root access. But for a 12yr old girl, I'd stay with stock and know she'd be getting the latest security updates. It's not like this was an 8 or 16gb tablet where getting rid of bloatware would be a major concern. It has plenty of storage and RAM to handle that. Just my two bits.
I only hand my son tablets / phones that can run custom ROMs (Lineage in particular). This way I can control what goes on them, what software, what he sees. I guess you could do similar things with a rooted stock device, but still. The other half of that is, most of the devices I give my son are old enough they aren't getting security updates from the manufacturers anymore. In those cases the only way to get security updates of any sort is to run custom ROMs.
Having rooted my tablet and also installed twrp I would certainly not do it for someone else to use
I would suggest buying package disabler pro and disabling all bloatware and Bixby.
When you use 'disable bloatware' on package disabler, it disables storage on sd card. So you just need to look through the disabled list and re-enable external storage.
Other than that small bug it is excellent.
ExTall said:
Having rooted my tablet and also installed twrp I would certainly not do it for someone else to use
I would suggest buying package disabler pro and disabling all bloatware and Bixby.
When you use 'disable bloatware' on package disabler, it disables storage on sd card. So you just need to look through the disabled list and re-enable external storage.
Other than that small bug it is excellent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you noticed a performance improvement? I see that it is slow for ordinary use such as social networks, the web and reading books.
miangelgabriel said:
Have you noticed a performance improvement? I see that it is slow for ordinary use such as social networks, the web and reading books.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't really say as I installed package disabler pro when I first had the tablet as I hate apps like bixby.
My tablet has always seemed plenty fast to me
Regards Extall
Not much bloatware on One UI.
Sent from my SM-T720 using Tapatalk
miangelgabriel said:
Have you noticed a performance improvement? I see that it is slow for ordinary use such as social networks, the web and reading books.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read books with $29 dollar chinese knockoffs. How long does it take to turn a page? My very first tablet had an Antutu of about 900. This one about 185,000. I was still able to "surf the net" with that first one. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm beginning to doubt that. I think it is in the MIND of the beholder. How anyone can consider this tablet slow for surfing or social networking, just blows my mind. "OH, but my latest and greatest iPad is just SOOO much better."
I can't remember having an Android device since my OG Droid that I didn't root and flash. I'm going to skip that for this S5e, for the first time. Everything I do with it these days, my head isn't bumping into it's 'ceiling', so to speak. My SM-T580 was a different story (thank goodness for @followmsi and @srgrussso among others), and custom paid off very well.
Then again, maybe I'm just getting old.:laugh: :highfive:
orangepowerpokes said:
I'm hoping someone can give me the general consensus on whether flashing ROMS for this device vs staying on stock is best. I'm not currently up on the state of Samsung bloatware, if it's gotten better or worse. I found an open box at BB for $300. I'd say excellent condition. I'm getting it for my 12 year old daughter. I suppose the main concern is the general stability of flashing, say Lineage, and the lag that Samsung has, or at least used to have, as they age.
Thanks much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Verizon LTE version and even with the Verizon preinstalled apps it doesn't take up a lot of space. I have the 64GB version and I had PLENTY of space for all of my apps. I put a 512GB microSD card in it so I don't have any space issues.
I rooted the SM-T725 few months ago when i got it but this was the 3rd time i had problems booting up and the twrp backup didn't work this time so i just cleaned it and i use stock now and i removed bloatware with ADB. I use only open source software no more google. But that just my way, if you want to root go with it but if its just to remove bloatware just use ADB.
Android 10 coming this june/july and probably android 11 will come to this tablet too because samsung does 2 major android updates to the device they release. If they don't you can unlock the bootloader and install android 11 in the future if a developer make it of course but i doubt it because galaxy tab s6 lite is coming soon so i don't know the future of this tablet.
S5e
OhioYJ said:
I only hand my son tablets / phones that can run custom ROMs (Lineage in particular). This way I can control what goes on them, what software, what he sees. I guess you could do similar things with a rooted stock device, but still. The other half of that is, most of the devices I give my son are old enough they aren't getting security updates from the manufacturers anymore. In those cases the only way to get security updates of any sort is to run custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got this SM-T720 & was planning on putting Lineage 17.1 (OFFICIAL) on it.
Got the firmware, Magisk, TWRP all downloaded.
But on TWRP's site it says you have to root before installing a "rooted TWRP" image?
What's with this?
Not asking for a full tutorial but seriously TWRP can't just be flashed in Odin then vbmeta multi-
disabler, WIPE, then flash ROM + Magisk?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. My posts elsewhere are days old & no replies....
zach
I just got this tablet yesterday. I've had several previous Android tablets and phones and I've always rooted them. So far, I haven't run into anything that makes me want to root this one. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a battery protection setting that allows you to limit charging to 85%. Normally, you have too root to do that. I may find a need to root somewhere down the road, but right now I'm hoping to get by with stock and unroofed.
Can you keep dex on other ROMs?
coolbeans2016 said:
Just got this SM-T720 & was planning on putting Lineage 17.1 (OFFICIAL) on it.
Got the firmware, Magisk, TWRP all downloaded
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done it a few times and I would recommend following the maintainers instructions, LuK1337's Instructions . Dont skip anything, dont add anything, dont wipe anything that isnt listed, follow them exactly.
This tablet is picky. Magisk can be flashed in TWRP, but from what Ive found many modules can't, they will make the tablet fail to boot. Most modules can only be flashed in Magisk. My recommendation would be to get it booting before adding modules or even Magisk for that matter.
I'm using mine as stock, and this seems plenty fast for the 2 weeks I've owned it. Slow to read books? That sounds like an app problem - moon reader on a 2018 Fire HD 8 didn't have a problem reading books. How slow is the Fire 8? If I was in plex, hit the home button, and started netflix it was about 10 seconds from the press of the home button until netflix was responsive.
Besides, do you really want to have to fix your kid's devices when they inevitably have a problem?
**Edit** I also have a question. Are there any security issues when flashing roms or rooting on this like with the phones with KNoX and not being able to use secure folder and such? Im guessing if I flash a ROM I'd also be losing access to this right? (samsung apps and secure folder) Thank you!
Ughh Im kind of regretting buying this tablet now..did I make a mistake? From what Ive seen on here, it sounds like its best not to root it. Ive found that on some newer devices, irts best not to root them to avoid unnecessary problems because some just dont work well with root and magisk, especially if a lot of the modules arent going to work. I mean I dont really have any reason to root this except for not being able to use / change the themes. I cant believe they dont have the theme store on this tablet! I'm so bummed thats one of the good things about samsung phone that I miss.

Need to update from KitKat 4.4.4

Hi all,
I've got a developers edition Galaxy Note 4 that I bought directly from Samsung 7ish years ago and it's still my daily driver. I rooted it immediately upon getting it and have never updated it past the KitKat version of Android that it came with. I rely on Google Voice and just got a message saying that Voice would soon stop running on KitKat so I need to upgrade my version of Android.
I've been out of the scene for a long time (as evidenced by my still using a 7 year old phone) so I'm looking for advice on a ROM to move to. My requirements are:
Must have root.
Must support Google Voice
Battery life is very important to me. This is one of the main reasons I stayed with KitKat. When later versions came out people were reporting much worse battery life. Not sure if this is still the case.
Must support s-pen. I use this quite frequently.
I prefer to stay with something close to stock. I don't need flashy 3D launcher effects of anything. I've got a Galaxy Tab S7+ and I'm familiar with (and like) recent versions of Samsung's UI.
GPS must be functional. I use Maps and Waze for navigation same need to continue. This probably won't be an issue, but I mention it because I remember some ROMS having trouble with this years ago.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. It's been so long since I've done this stuff I don't remember where to start. In addition to being rooted, I've got what is probably a very old version (2.8.1.1) of TWRP installed. Not sure if it would matter, but I'm also still on one of Verizon's old truly unlimited plans.
I've been doing some research and unless anyone here has a better idea I'm guessing the best move for me would be to upgrade to one of the official Android 6 builds that Samsung released for this phone. From what I gather, custom ROMs do not fully support the S-pen. Is that correct?
Do any pre-rooted versions of the Samsung 6.0.1 release exist that I could flash with my existing version of TWRP? I've seen some discussion of updating bootloaders but I'm not really sure what that's all about. Like I said, it's been many years since I've done this stuff.
Any and all advice and instruction and links appreciated.
I'd leave it be and ditch Gookill Voice... enjoy the better battery life.
blackhawk said:
I'd leave it be and ditch Gookill Voice... enjoy the better battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would, but I've used Google Voice for everything. In all these years I've never given anyone my actual carrier phone number. They've all gotten my Google Voice number.
I'm glad you left your comment though. It reminded me that battery life getting worse was one of the reasons I never did the update.
Not real sure what I'm going to do. I might just limp along as it is for a month and maybe buy the Galaxy Fold 3 when it comes out.
I use the a Custom ROM which is Android 6.0.1 for my SM-N910P called Q15_Plus_TidBits_VB3.0.1. So far I get about 14 hours on the battery with average use, and that is without using the battery saving modes. It is stable, and quite honestly runs everything (including Google Voice which I rely on). The only complaint I can think of is that I don't have a 'power button flashlight' feature installed.
Unidave199 said:
I use the a Custom ROM which is Android 6.0.1 for my SM-N910P called Q15_Plus_TidBits_VB3.0.1. So far I get about 14 hours on the battery with average use, and that is without using the battery saving modes. It is stable, and quite honestly runs everything (including Google Voice which I rely on). The only complaint I can think of is that I don't have a 'power button flashlight' feature installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds great! Does this rom maintain support for the s-pen?
hacksaw999 said:
That sounds great! Does this rom maintain support for the s-pen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure does!

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