yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Questions and Answers] Kingfoot:
Any Verizon folk (in washington near seattle would be a plus) who have experience with the S3? I'm looking to switch to verizon here after the new year. I am torn between the S3 and the Note2. A big factor for me is service signal, and camera. Also, how well does the stock rom do? I love CM10 but getting a solid build on my HTC One V is a nightmare and the stock rom is just too unfullfilling for me. I also notice it runs out of memory quite often and pulling up google now to voice search, or even bringing up music/messaging (all stock) takes forever. I like the note2 for it's screen and stylus, but I like the S3 for the power. Can anyone offer a comparison and how well their model does on Verizon in the north west (or just verizon)?

Sorry it's late and I am tired so this may be a large run-on paragraph but it's what's on my mind right now.
[General Questions and Answers] mfsr98:
Brazil has the international version of the S3... like most countries do.
[General Questions and Answers] bdpyo:
Took advantage of best buys deal for the s3 this past Sunday, only paid 50$ :thumbup:
[General Questions and Answers] Prack:
I have waited a long time for this but my work finally approved the purchase of new phones. It's been iphone's only for a few years. Starting tomorrow we can order the Samsung Galaxy SIII or the Motorola Razr Maxx HD.

So what do you think guys? I'm a huge Motorola guy almost all my devices are Motorola at this point but I am open to the idea of the SIII. What do you guys think is the better phone?
[General Questions and Answers] mrberni:
Personally I own a HTC One X, but a friend of mine just came accross with his Samsung Galaxy S3: Truly amazing phone!

Nice design, great display and great runtimes. But: It is too large! My HOX is a the limit, would prefer a little smaller device so it can easily be operated with one hand...

MrBerni
[General Questions and Answers] Prack:
I prefer a larger phone, if I could get the galaxy note 2 I would have taken that. I think the razr maxx hd and the S3 are the same size, or at least 4.7 vs 4.8 anyway. I have a 32gb class 10 SD card so the bonus storage on the maxx HD doesn't mean a whole lot to me either.

The 2gb ram vs 1gb ram is a huge bonus but android fills the ram with apps anyway so who knows how important it really is lol.
[General Questions and Answers] mrberni:
Well, I like small but powerful phones. Had the Sony Xperia Arc S before (small but not that powerful). Just put CM10 on it recently just to play around with it: Its OK.

But nothing compared to the power of my HOX. I really like it but it should not be larger. Just saw someone with a note 2 recently: Looks kind of strange puting this one at your ear... ;)

Free RAM is wasted RAM. :D

MrBerni
[General Questions and Answers] ljesh:
Hey guys,

I need to buy a new (secondary) phone so I am thinking between S3 Mini and Desire X. What would you go with in this price range? One of these two, or maybe a third suggestion?

Basically what I need is wifi hotspot, but the most I can get for my money - the better.

Thanks in advance
[General Questions and Answers] vj_dustin:
I'd say the Maxx HD, since it is better at the most crucial part of any Android phone i.e. Battery :p

Though on a spec sheet, GS3 does have a better powerhouse and enough juice to pull off a day. So my vote goes for the GS3.

Among the too, trash Desire X completely!

The processor is no good, also i hate HTC, don't ask why!

Though in that range you can go for the Xperia S or the Nexus 4!
[General Questions and Answers] mrberni:
Well I own a HTC One X. Sense is not really great, but there are a lot of other roms out there. CM10 or MIUI for example. Or tweaked Stock ROMs like OrDroid, ViperX or ARHD. Really great ones...

But: Until HTC releases the kernel sources of there latest JB update, there are some drawbacks on not-sense ROMs on newer hboots. And the battery is quite small for such a powerful phone. But 3 hours on screen time are possible...

Do you need more infos?

MrBerni
[General Questions and Answers] brewy:
HTC wildfire vs galaxy Ace S5830 my girlfriend wants to by me the HTC but I own a ace is it worth changing to it?

Sent from my GT-S5830
[General Questions and Answers] mrberni:
No personal experience here, but a little research turned out in favor of the ace...

HTC Wildfire:

[YOUTUBE]J-puaZSriKM[/YOUTUBE]

Samsung GT-S5830 Galaxy Ace:

[YOUTUBE]J-puaZSriKM[/YOUTUBE]

MrBerni
[General Questions and Answers] brewy:
I like the look of it but to root them is a pain I might just go with an ace 2, since I love this 1 lol can't afford s3 way too much this time of year

Sent from my GT-S5830
[General Questions and Answers] Darklandscape:
I want a solid phone that is easy to root and install custom roms.

I am looking at the poco x3 pro, and the redmi note 10 pro. Is one overall better?

If you have any other suggestion in that price range, please let me know.
[General Questions and Answers] FlyLittlePup:
Hey guys!

I made an account after lurking for aaaaages 😂

I really wanted to ask the advice of those of you who'll know far better than me.

I'm looking for a new device, under the £300 mark, that is easily rooted and fun to tinker with.

I'm currently on a Poco F3 (alioth) but for some reason it's just being really slow to respond at times and it's starting to get really irritating.

I'm currently on ArrowOS (A12+NikGApps) but I'd love to try CRDroid, or PixelOS at some point- annoyingly no matter how many times I tried doing a fresh flash of either of those ROMs, this device just wouldn't cooperate and I ended up having to choose between XiaomiEU or ArrowOS. Or stock.. Of course.

Anyhow... Would any of you happen to have any suggestions please? I'm open to absolutely any brand, I was looking at the Black Shark and Ulefone devices but I couldn't find a Black Shark I could afford and I haven't heard much about the Rugged Armor devices....

Anyway!! 😆

Any suggestions are very welcome! Thanks ever so much!!!
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Go with poco x3 pro. Before installing custom roms, see if using a debloating tool satisfies your requirements. Most of the time, unlocking and installing a custom rom provides the same performance as with a debloated stock rom.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Have you tried a factory reset? Or using a different kernel/rom? Your phone antutu score is 3 times better than mine (redmi note 8 pro). I am still running stock and to be honest I can see myself still using this phone for another 2 years, is that fast. Responsive, battery holds 2 days, Bluetooth has a wide range. Perhaps you didn't follow the guide completely, letter to the letter. That's why you are having a fail flashing pixel roms.
[General Questions and Answers] FlyLittlePup:
My battery doesn't even last a day but due to my lifestyle (or lack thereof 😂 - I'm mostly bedridden with a trio of autoimmune disorders) I'm a very heavy user of my phone. I always have been but after my health got worse it pretty much became my only link to the outside world so it's what I tend to spend most of my time doing now.

As far as the flash fails, I had already upgraded to A12 at the time and when I was trying to settle on a ROM (I don't know if this remains the case, I haven't checked!) I couldn't get either Cr or PixelOS to flash properly because they weren't updated to A12 yet and I had already updated manually 😕 that's what I was told by a couple of users on the CrDroid Telegram group anyway... 🤷🏼‍♀️
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Well, for starters, you could use a laptop. A phone, as much as we wouldnt like to admit, is just a gimmick. If all you can do is spend time in a closed and safe space, just get yourself a laptop. Search laptop bed trays. Second, give it a little time. Why rush to get android 12? Beside the graphics update, there isn't any major performance improvement compared to android 11.
[General Questions and Answers] FlyLittlePup:
I have a laptop. And a bed tray. It's a complex situation - I can't sit up without getting very light headed and sometimes even passing out. It's a bit of a strange condition related to blood pressure changes as your body changes posture (sits up/stands up/walks a step/bends down/etc, etc) so unfortunately the laptop is saved for my best days.

I have already updated to A12, which I'd done because a "friend" was raving about it, and he told me it was a "must have" and fell for it 😒 the problem is, even when trying to install an A11 version of the official MIUI ROM, it just won't roll back now its been updated so I think I'm relatively stuck with it 😢
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
So neither of these methods work?

How to flash a stock rom [alioth]

Hello everyone. The purpose of this guide is to illustrate two methods to flash the stock rom on F3, both with the use of xiaomi flash tool (which for convenience I will call "miflash") and with cmd. Warnings! Before starting I would like to...

xdaforums.com

PS: there are already stock roms with miui 13 (android 12) for your phone. So rather than going back to android 11, is switching from custom rom android 12 to stock rom android 12.
[General Questions and Answers] masterholdy:
Hi, i want to buy a new phone, but i m note sure what to get.

i used an samsung s3 for years and only used xiaomi phones after that. my last phone was an xiaomi mi 11 lite

im primarliy using my phone for youtube, tiktok and whatsapp and (very) seldomly for photos

i need to be able to install an adblocker ergo root my phone

im currently thinking about moving away from xiaomi, because i needed to buy like 1 phone per year because they always had some issues (cracked display, broken power button, ...)

further more im looking to switch brand - because i seldomly make photos, but when i do the quality is always sh!t

im currently looking at the samsung s22 but i never felt this lost looking for a phone

any thing i should take a look into?
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
For your ad blocker problem, beside the existence of modded apps, there are adblock ing apps, like blokada, which doesn't require root.

You say that you ve encountered broken screen, broken buttons. Usually, phones don't get sold like that. Makes me wonder how much care do you have for your phones. Therefore I strongly suggest you get a rugged case and a glass screen protector. Phones nowadays aren't made to be dropped frequently.

About the picture quality, have you heard of Google camera? If not, this is one of the best camera apps out there, and the best part is most of the magic is done by software. Get a ported Google camera compatible with your smartphone and you will get a better quality photo.

Now, about that phone, would suggest a samsung fold 3. Bigger screen, so youtube and tik tok will look nice.
[General Questions and Answers] helmen:
I am looking for an android phone to keep as a second phone.

In order I am interested in these features:

1) cheap

2) easily rootable (by linux)

3) easy to find (I want to buy it in person and not from the internet, even used is fine)

4) very used by the community (to have a good support)

I don't know about phones, I'm little behind the market, looking at the forum I came across this topic:

https://xdaforums.com/t/tool-win-li...f-xiaomi-devices-on-mac-linux.3782444/page-13

Maybe it would be a good idea to get a xiaomi?
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Can't help you much. I recommend to buy a Xiaomi. Now which Xiaomi, I can't tell. You said you want to buy the phone in person. So, see what phones are near you and search them on xda. If they have a deditaced subforum to that specific model, you are good to go. Generally, snapdragon processors have better community support but they are also more expensive than mediatek counterparts.
[General Questions and Answers] helmen:
Yes, it is because of my lack of hardware knowledge that I was wondering what to buy. For example I have seen that all vendors have Samsung phones. I was just asking "what phone to buy" among the most common that respects those characteristics more or less, the alternative would be to make a list of all the phones of every seller I have close to, it would be a bit long
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
If you are looking for the best pick, then make the list. Otherwise, pick the one you like the most price wise. Anything over the specs of a Samsung Galaxy S6 is considered an OK phone nowadays.
[General Questions and Answers] helmen:
Okay, but in this way I risk ending up with a phone that is difficult to root. My last phone was exactly like that, I picked up the phone I liked and then I couldn't root it. I don't have the ability to install Windows to root a phone, can Samsung be rooted from Linux too? I have seen in xxda articles that the best budget but seems to be the one plus north, however, that is not found in physical stores.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
No ability to install windows? And you want to mess around with root?
[General Questions and Answers] helmen:
I don't mean I don't know how to install Windows, I mean I can't.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
As I said, go through the physical stores near you and compile a list of smartphones available. How am I supposed to know what smartphones are in the stores near you? Go through all of them, compile the list, then we can ponder what would be the best smartphone for you. In the meantime, also think about what specs you are looking for.
[General Questions and Answers] jayr04:
I currently have a Pixel 6 Pro. I love the phone but I need better battery life. Most decent phones I come across only have a 5000mah battery or less. Any recommendations? My budget is open.

Must haves:

Wireless Charging

Decently bright screen

Ability to work with T-Mobile in the US.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
5000 is the limit nowadays for most phones. Have you thought of using the pixel 6 with dark mode on? With amoled display, usually this saves battery, since the display is the one draining it.
[General Questions and Answers] jayr04:
I've tried dark mode and manual brightness. The one thing that seems to make the most difference is turning off 5g. I can rarely get through a whole day without having to charge it.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Is 5G really worth it? Compared to 4G is it that much great? How is your signal, when using 5G?
[General Questions and Answers] jayr04:
At home it's about 50-60%. I really don't notice the speed difference with normal usage.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Then I would recommend disabling 5G and sticking to 4G. Also, there were reports that digital well-being drain quite a bit of battery, so disable that. You could run an universal debloater program if you have pre-installed apps you don't use. Every smartphone out there that has a bigger battery than 5000, makes other compromise, like a bad camera or bad performance.

Another take on this would be to set monochrome or grayscale. Helps a lot with battery drain.
[General Questions and Answers] Samsarai:
Hello!

I've only owned and used a galaxy S4 i9505 my whole life. It's been gold to me and the custom ROM support on it has been great! It is starting to struggle a bit and where I live now it does not get very good reception so I'm thinking of evolving out of the stone age a bit if you will.

If anyone has any recommendation on phone with a large modding community around it, relatively cheap, decent reception and (against all odds) is repairable. (like the s4 is, just a screwdriver and change parts). Than that'd be amazing. I'm not looking for anything fancy or pricey just simple and moddable.

Thanks :)
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Well, smartphones today aren't even near that much repairable. Sure, samsung said they would support user repair, but these things are way harder to fix nowadays, even by professional users. A newbie user will for sure crack the screen or brake something else. And smartphones with easy access build in are rare and a expensive. check fairphone 4.
[General Questions and Answers] apch9:
Hi! I'm looking for phone that is not made by chinese company. Do they have any chipsets that made in Europe? Anything rootable?
[General Questions and Answers] Samsarai:
That looks like an awesome phone, albeit a bit pricey.. I'm looking more in the 100USD range, at most 200USD.

I'll take a look at the earlier Fairphones and see if I can't buy used or on sale. What I'm most interested in is the price and modding community. I like to debloat, optimize and get the most out of my battery life. Wish I could get the 4.4 Slimkat for i9505, those were the days.
[General Questions and Answers] toyopl:
Best phone under $200 for Canadian and European market ?

Probably battery and camera would be the priority, but can't be picky at that price.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Check a Xiaomi phone for european market. Don't know about Xiaomi availability on a Canadian market. They make the best smartphones, price wise in the mid range category.
[General Questions and Answers] mike2246:
Hi, Been out of the rooting/rom game for about 4 years since Verizon locked everything down. I'm looking to replace my S20 Plus and wondering what my best options are with the following requirements:

Root/Magisk

Viper4Audio

Great Camera (Mostly Point/Shoot)

Very Fast UI

Great Battery

Don't Need Google Pay

Need Bank Apps and pretty much everything else functional

Plan on debloating and getting rid of most Google Apps

Custom Roms Optional

Work with Verizon

Budget open

I was looking at the OnePlus9, maybe the S21 Ultra if the first 2 requirements apply. maybe the pixel 6 pro.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
Try wavelet. It's free, has a paid option to unlock more functionality. Provides the same benefits as viper while keeping the phone locked.

Wavelet is an Android app that can make your headphones sound much better with automatic EQ

Wavelet is an audio optimization app for Android that can be tailored to any of over 2,300 different headphone models, and it doesn't require root access.

www.xda-developers.com

There are some de bloating tools, like universal debloater

https://www.xda-developers.com/universal-android-debloater-gui-update-new-bloatware-list/

For the camera, if the stock camera is not enough, I would suggest a gcam port. You can get them here

https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/

Since money is not an issue, I would suggest waiting for the Sony xperia 1 IV. their sound system is top, their os seems pretty stock and they also bring a headphone jack and a microSD. Along with the maxed out specs for performance and battery.
[General Questions and Answers] featherie:
What's a cheap and basic, futureproof phone to buy?

It's to replace my Oppo R11 which refuses to update its Android version beyond 7. I'm locked out of apps that have since dropped support for Android 7.

I look after my devices properly - it's a pity to have to let a phone in otherwise decent condition go because of a software-side limitation. I want a phone that can be updated to the latest Android as and when without official intervention. At the same time, I need to be able to access banking apps and shopping apps so it can't be rooted.

I don't need fancy functionalities - just an affordable and reliable replacement. I spend less than 15 min a day on my phone.

Any suggestion?
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
go with a xiaomi redmi smartphone. they make very good smartphones for cheap
[General Questions and Answers] muhammadbahaa2001:
I am planning to buy a new phone but I want to know what are the best phone that support GSI ROMs have It has a high degree of freedom and customization (Custom ROMs, Custom Recoveries and etc...).

Nominate to me below in the comments what are the best phones that support this in the range of $ 500 or less.
[General Questions and Answers] featherie:
Thank you. 9A looks like what I'm looking for.
[General Questions and Answers] zpunout:
Relatively cheap? I'm thinking a Moto G7 Plus. A bit more pricey is the SM-G970F version of a Galaxy S10e. Only potential issue with the Galaxy S10e is VoLTE is not yet supported on custom ROMs, but I wonder if that might be resolved soon because I heard about Samsung's data leak where a bunch of source code has become public. If you're lucky, you might find a rare Sony Xperia XZ2 or XZ3 cheap. It has to NOT be the Japan market model though.
[General Questions and Answers] zpunout:
I'm keeping an eye on the upcoming Xperia Ace 3. I like compact phones with decent specs. From it looks like, the only thing which might put me off from getting one is the screen might be 720 instead of 1080. https://www.gsmarena.com/renders_sh..._small_phone_with_a_55_display-news-53511.php
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
At that size range, the best phone you can get nowadays would be the iPhone SE(2022).
[General Questions and Answers] juniorhero:
i want to run Android 12 PE GSI, bootloader unlock

(my budget can't afford high end phones like Oneplus, Samsung S series)

should I go for which phone?

redmi 9a

narzo 50a

narzo 30

redmi 10

or something else?
[General Questions and Answers] zpunout:
To have in my pocket, the IPhone SE would probably be my first choice, but unfortunately I don't trust Apple and their creepy spyware. So my choice is limited to Android with custom OS support which doesn't have GApps included. I'm currently using the last compact flagship phone by Sony which is a 2018 Xperia XZ2 Compact. The battery is not as good as it once was though. For a while, I tried a Pixel 4a and Galaxy S10e which are a bit bigger, but the fat little Sony is really nice to hold.
[General Questions and Answers] Fytdyh:
While gsi are good for old smartphones, they are not that stable or battery efficient. If you are already in a need for a new smartphone, I suggest checking the xda subforums of every smartphone you re interested in for a dedicated pe custom rom
[General Questions and Answers] juniorhero:
which is better for BL unlock & flash custom ROM?

redmi 7

redmi 10

realme 5
[General Questions and Answers] Totesnochill:
Had Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime (2015) for ages, and want to switch to the newer Samsung phone that has similar "vibe" when it comes to customization and tinkering, i.e:

Circa 2018-2019

Open bootloader,

Flashable w/Odin, accessible thru ADB without any extra hoops'n loops

Preferably has un/official builds of TWRP. LineageOs, CRdroid, etc

Freely detachable battery and Sim

Simple enough build that it won't die from slightest water damage (Gprime survived 4 times)

Hardware/Camera specs are not critical, but ideally should be above Grand Prime

Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks!
[General Questions and Answers] zpunout:
I recommend an Exynos version of Galaxy S10. It's the global version, not the US version. There is official LineageOS support as well as active development for it on XDA. https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/beyondx/
[General Questions and Answers] Totesnochill:
Thanks! S10 slooks like a fitting model, the only concern being Exynos chip. Isn't snapdragon variant of the phone better all-around?
[General Questions and Answers] hazote:
Hi,

actually on a Xperia XZ1 compact,

I'm looking for something new (it seems I will never find a "small" smartphone again...)

Need something without 5G,

working under lineage OS + root

that's all ! (smaller screen is better)

any idea ?

thanks
[General Questions and Answers] Spaceboy60:
I need following:

Below 190g ideally

90hz minimum refresh rate

MicroSD support

Headphone jack

Root/Custom ROM support (or highly likely in future)

£400 maximum price.

Ideas?? I was going to get the r Oneplus Nord CE 2, but one user claimed it was virtually impossible to see custom ROMs in future due to using the mediatek chip. Not sure how true that is though.