Custom/AOSP Roms/Kernels? - Samsung Galaxy S8 Questions and Answers

So I got an S8 the other day as an gift. (G950F) Looking around there seem to be a lack of custom AOSP kernels/roms. Mostly everything seems stock-based.
Coming from previous phones this usually means one of two things. Lack of devs or something hindering development. I.e locked bootloaders.
I know the S8 had issues with Odin due to the new bootloader. Is this still an issue? Is there anything I should know before going neck deep into kernel-sources?

Well, that's because of its processor and platform, usually Snapdragon devices tend to have a lot of development because Qualcomm based platforms are way easier to work with because of it's common source code and architecture, exynos chips seems to be a little bit more messy, they are exclusive of Samsung devices and I think they have a complete integration with Knox and all of that stuff, besides of its architecture and configuration, maybe in the future it will have some AOSP rom, the Galaxy S6 got his first official lineageOS build 2,5 years after its release and it didn't work that good compared to stock, so who knows, you should check the different roms they have around, I'm using RenovateICE on my S8, running alright with some tweaks, you should take a look to S8/S8+ cross device development, there's all you need!
Greetings!

Related

[Q] Is there any Dev's going to do work for the G900H version of this phone?

Id like to find out if there are any custom roms for the G900H or if there is anyone that has one that will be customizing the stock rom etc... Kinda sad that there is no one yet Is it because of the CPU???
Tim34 said:
Id like to find out if there are any custom roms for the G900H or if there is anyone that has one that will be customizing the stock rom etc... Kinda sad that there is no one yet Is it because of the CPU???
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I am also interested in knowing the answer to this question.. infact the s4 exynos has got the custom roms so will this device follow suit?
Dunno.
Seems people are even less interested this time.
S4 had AndreiLux for custom kernels.
Sent from my SM-G900H using Tapatalk
drakester09 said:
Dunno.
Seems people are even less interested this time.
S4 had AndreiLux for custom kernels.
Sent from my SM-G900H using Tapatalk
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I dont believe that the reason is people not interested. I think its matter of time. First,this is the newest version, and also, the most difficult built with 8 different cores.
luisnica98 said:
I dont believe that the reason is people not interested. I think its matter of time. First,this is the newest version, and also, the most difficult built with 8 different cores.
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Number of cores are completely irrelevant to the difficulty of building a kernel for Exynos. It's all about knowing the platform, the capabilities and what you can and cannot do. Which comes with experience...
It's just a matter that Samsung drove away all developers from Exynos. We used to have really talented devs on this side (Entropy512, Codeworkx, among others), but the lack of support from Samsung and lack of sources for Exynos burned them out.
S4 had AndreiLux, who is an excellent dev with tons of knowledge.
N3 has halaszk, which has done a great job and also brought back features from S4's perseus to the N3.
Don't really expect much for this device. It's not a matter of time, N900 (Note 3 Exynos) doesn't has an AOSP rom and it has been several months now.
I will likely build something when I get time, I frankly want to improve a couple of small things and increase GPU clocks to offset for the lower performance compared to the Adreno 330... but it will take a while, thanks to halaszk's work, I know where to poke.
drakester09 said:
Number of cores are completely irrelevant to the difficulty of building a kernel for Exynos. It's all about knowing the platform, the capabilities and what you can and cannot do. Which comes with experience...
It's just a matter that Samsung drove away all developers from Exynos. We used to have really talented devs on this side (Entropy512, Codeworkx, among others), but the lack of support from Samsung and lack of sources for Exynos burned them out.
S4 had AndreiLux, who is an excellent dev with tons of knowledge.
N3 has halaszk, which has done a great job and also brought back features from S4's perseus to the N3.
Don't really expect much for this device. It's not a matter of time, N900 (Note 3 Exynos) doesn't has an AOSP rom and it has been several months now.
I will likely build something when I get time, I frankly want to improve a couple of small things and increase GPU clocks to offset for the lower performance compared to the Adreno 330... but it will take a while, thanks to halaszk's work, I know where to poke.
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Will you only build a kernel or a complete rom?? I just so want stock looking custom rom hahahah

MultiROM for S7 Edge

Is there any possibility for MultiROM on the S7 Edge? I used to have it on my older HTC One M8 and I was absolutely in love with that project. It allowed me to retain my main ROM while trying other ROMs which is something I really like to do.
Could it be an Exynos problem, for instance? I'm not savvy at all when it comes to the hardware and architecture.
Sure, the lack of documentation plays a huge role. In the past, some Exynos Samsung devices received multi ROM implementations like the S3 with Siyah Kernel. The big catch however is lack of interest from experienced developers and who could blame them? Why bother with crappy hardware documentation and missing source code when Nexus or OP delivers almost everything a developer could ask for when it comes to modifications? I highly doubt this device will receive MultiROM.
This is the ONLY reason not to buy this phone. If would have MultiROM support i would no doubt to buy this phone. :crying:
Dual patcher just as good. Working great on s7

Why exynos variant of note4 is given less love compared to snapdragon? (kernel wise)

As the title says, why? For example N910C only gets close to stock kernels (talexop, h-vitamin, suemaxx) while the snapdragon variant gets super customized kernel (emotion)
@Hani K. the developer of Simplicity Kernel (which is the most customized kernel for n910c, but it is only for lollipop) said that he wants to bring Simplicity Kernel to MM
Until now it is still not happening, what happened?
I am not a dev, but i have the snapdragon version, and from what I've read about both phones, I believe it comes down to 2 factors. First, this one is just an assumption, the snapdragon version was more widely sold.
Second, this is the main reason I've read about, that the 64bit exynos chip is harder, more complicated to build for. Cause snapdragon releases its source code and Samsung doesn't provide good info on their chips.
Don't quote me on this, but that's how i understood it, when i looked into this, myself. Some one can correct me if im wrong.
Yes you totally correct, its all about Samsung releasing the source code for their exynos 5433, if developers had access to this, it would be a lot easier to develop for this chipset.
Edit: Just by the way, Exynos 5433 is 32bit based, however the hardware does support 64, due to the missing source code and the array of new devices, it will never be enabled by Samsung or a third party
Well, I have already clarified why it is taking long, but let's start by answering your question:
I personally don't think Exynos Variant is getting more or less than Snapdragon, both were sent to different parts of the world and both are (or were) getting equal attention which was never the case with the older models. However, the device is more than 2 years old now, most of the developers have already upgraded their devices and started development on their new platforms. For me personally, I have been quite busy with life so far, and my close friends knew that since the day I released SimplRom v5, which is why I have created H-Vitamin kernel. Simplicity kernel requires a lot of time and intensive testing, and I'm a one man brigade in my team when it comes to Exynos department due to it's uniqueness, from developing ROMs and Kernels to Sound mods, theming and development tools that I had to create in order to make my work possible. My biggest constraint is/was time and I couldn't afford that luxury, so I went with what most of the people were looking for, "Simple, Fast and Battery friendly", which is H-Vitamin.
Nevertheless, I have posted an update in SimplRom thread a few hours before you make this thread. Since I've got some free time in my daily routine, I'm planning to update some of my projects and when the time is right, I will upgrade Simplicity to the latest version at that time.
I'm guessing it's due to the fact that the majority of firmware developers are US based and the US variant of the Note 4 tends to use the Snapdragon 805.

Which model is recommended for custom roms?

I'm in love with the hardware of the galaxy s8 so I decided I want to buy it (Although I hate Samsung Touchwiz)...
but I'm torn of which variant should I buy - the unlocked US version (with Snapdragon 835) or the international version (with Exynos 8895).
honestly I prefer the snapdragon chip for the popularity of snapdragon but I heard the unlocked US version rarely gets updates .
Another major consideration is that because I hate Samsung Touchwiz I hope (someday) a custom AOSP rom will be released for the phone (like Lineage OS), so I want a model that will get custom rom support fast...
so my question is-
Based on the above, Which model should I buy?
Furthermore, Which model probably will get root and support for custom roms first?
Thanks in advance
You will never see a working aosp rom on a samsung phone..if you hate tw.. I suggest you to run away from this phone and never look back
Well looking at S7 Edge, for some reason Snapdragon, which is usually considered as more opensourced etc than exynos, didn't receive any custom ROMS, especially AOSP. Surprisingly, Exynos did - both Lineage and ResurrectionRemix are available, however, it took time to release them, I guess it will also take some time for S8 to receive it's 'clean' Android ROMs. Not sure whether Snapdragon variant has locked bootloader, but if it is, then it may be a hard nut to crack
h4ck3r69 said:
You will never see a working aosp rom on a samsung phone..if you hate tw.. I suggest you to run away from this phone and never look back
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Click to collapse
the Galaxy S7 got Lineage OS (after a lot of time but still)
Monnq said:
Well looking at S7 Edge, for some reason Snapdragon, which is usually considered as more opensourced etc than exynos, didn't receive any custom ROMS, especially AOSP. Surprisingly, Exynos did - both Lineage and ResurrectionRemix are available, however, it took time to release them, I guess it will also take some time for S8 to receive it's 'clean' Android ROMs. Not sure whether Snapdragon variant has locked bootloader, but if it is, then it may be a hard nut to crack
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So which model do you recommend? the international one?
CT2Moun10 said:
So which model do you recommend? the international one?
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Click to collapse
If you really want custom roms then maybe you shouldn't go for samsung. First is development on exynos is a pain in the a*s for devs, second as mentioned it takes some time to develop a decent AOSP rom. But if you really want a samsung device then yeah, go for Exynos international, Qualcomm is locked and hard to tinker with.

Some questions about S8s, custom ROMs etc (thinking about moving from OP3T)

Hi,
I hope one of you kind people could help point me in the right direction for some advice on custom ROMs for (UK version of) the Galaxy S8, how they affect performance etc, and where I might start learning more...?
Current situation
I've had a OP3T since launch and have come to the conclusion that even though it's a great phone (IMO) it's just too big/heavy and I want something smaller.
Ideal solution
Buy a second-hand/cheap S8, wipe it, install a custom ROM that's as close to "stock" Android as possible (I'm really nit a fan of Samsung's software and I'll likely have better support/updates etc from a community supported ROM than Samsung themselves)
Questions/concerns
I'm quite confused by the potential differences between the UK model (Exynos) and the Snapdragon model and how that might affect my plans etc?
What would be a good ROM that would deliver a stock Android experience whilst also being as bug free as possible, still retain things like great camera performance, good battery/performance balance, all "main" functions supported (fingerprint, GPS, BT etc)?
Finally, what are your thoughts on my idea? Is it "wrong"? Should I be looking elsewhere? What am I not aware of etc?
Thanks in advance if you take the time to help - it'll be very much appreciated...
PugRallye said:
Hi,
I hope one of you kind people could help point me in the right direction for some advice on custom ROMs for (UK version of) the Galaxy S8, how they affect performance etc, and where I might start learning more...?
Current situation
I've had a OP3T since launch and have come to the conclusion that even though it's a great phone (IMO) it's just too big/heavy and I want something smaller.
Ideal solution
Buy a second-hand/cheap S8, wipe it, install a custom ROM that's as close to "stock" Android as possible (I'm really nit a fan of Samsung's software and I'll likely have better support/updates etc from a community supported ROM than Samsung themselves)
Questions/concerns
I'm quite confused by the potential differences between the UK model (Exynos) and the Snapdragon model and how that might affect my plans etc?
What would be a good ROM that would deliver a stock Android experience whilst also being as bug free as possible, still retain things like great camera performance, good battery/performance balance, all "main" functions supported (fingerprint, GPS, BT etc)?
Finally, what are your thoughts on my idea? Is it "wrong"? Should I be looking elsewhere? What am I not aware of etc?
Thanks in advance if you take the time to help - it'll be very much appreciated...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main differences between the snapdragon (north america/america/china) and exynos(international) is that the snapdragon version has a locked bootloader (China has unlockable bootloader), so no magisk root, no proper custom roms and no custom kernels, in terms of performance the exynos is better in all aspects bar 1, the adreno gpuin snapdragon is a little better.
If you are looking for a clean android/lineageos based Rom il be honest with you, you maybe waiting a long time, currently only lineageos os Rom is in alpha, so a lot of stuff not working, but there are people working on it.
Most time are stock Samsung firmware based but optimised, you will find debloated version and there is a version where pretty much all Samsung apps are removed.
Also if you rely on Samsung pay once you root and install twrp and so on you will permanent trip Knox counter and it will void Samsung pay, you will however be able to use android pay
sofir786 said:
The main differences between the snapdragon (north america/america/china) and exynos(international) is that the snapdragon version has a locked bootloader (China has unlockable bootloader), so no magisk root, no proper custom roms and no custom kernels, in terms of performance the exynos is better in all aspects bar 1, the adreno gpuin snapdragon is a little better.
If you are looking for a clean android/lineageos based Rom il be honest with you, you maybe waiting a long time, currently only lineageos os Rom is in alpha, so a lot of stuff not working, but there are people working on it.
Most time are stock Samsung firmware based but optimised, you will find debloated version and there is a version where pretty much all Samsung apps are removed.
Also if you rely on Samsung pay once you root and install twrp and so on you will permanent trip Knox counter and it will void Samsung pay, you will however be able to use android pay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information...
I guess I could live with a debloated version of the Samsung ROM - I can get a lot of the stock Android "fee" from using a 3rd party launcher etc.
Ideally though I'd like to replace all the default apps with Google variants - clock, contacts etc, and remove the Samsung variants - is that something that's possibly in these debloated versions you mention?
I'm not interested in Samsung pay though - but out of interest, is this totally non-reversible? i.e. if I was to restore to a stock ROM, re-lock the bootloader etc, Samsung pay would still not work?
If you don't want the Samsung experience, skip the s8.
Yes launchers and whatnot, in the end the software is Samsung with no alternative ROM wise.
There are equally good and cheaper phones with better ROM support. The S8 is only an option if you want the best screen and camera or/and really love their approach to software.
I did come from the 3t too and in hindsight would take the 3t over the s8 any day.
domsch1988 said:
If you don't want the Samsung experience, skip the s8.
Yes launchers and whatnot, in the end the software is Samsung with no alternative ROM wise.
There are equally good and cheaper phones with better ROM support. The S8 is only an option if you want the best screen and camera or/and really love their approach to software.
I did come from the 3t too and in hindsight would take the 3t over the s8 any day.
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Click to collapse
That's really interesting...
I'm just fed up with the size and weight of the 3T - and there are no other phones that really appeal (other than the S8) when it comes to size, features etc.
I'm still quite tempted by a second hand S8 (can be had for about £400, immaculate, second hand) - at that price I can't think of many alternatives...?
If you want Android stock experience forget about it. At this point there's just an LineageOS 14 alpha version. Someone said that there's people working on it. Might be. But since first release (October 2017) 6 months later there's no "public" progress. So my expectations are very low leaning towards none. But you can try an optimised touchwiz rom (there's plenty of them) or even those "Google edition" roms. Based on Touchwiz but with Samsung stock apps replaced by Google's counterparts (dialer, messenger and I think camera).

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