yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] calbrs:
Personally, I just wanted something new and different than stock. I got my M when it first came out and didn't flash any roms until this past month. The big differences that I have noticed running a 4.2.2 based rom are that the camera seems to respond quicker, and when I set defaults they stick through reboot.

The problem with the defaults was one of my biggest gripes with the stock rom. Every time that I would reboot my phone, the defaults would clear and that drove me crazy.

Now as far as problems that I have noticed on the 4.2.2 roms, the only one that I really have is with recording video. It does not seem to want to pick up audio correctly and you can barely hear anything on playback. Also the front facing camera doesn't work for recording videos.

On the plus side of custom roms is that you do get more options to get the ui to look and feel how you want it to. And no, you don't have to over clock on this phone.

The best thing that I could say is flash carbon or pacman rom and play with it for a day or two and see how you like it.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
on the surface, you are correct. however, there are some custom ROMs that give us JB 4.2.2 before it is officially released to us. here's a link to the new features: http://www.android.com/about/jelly-bean/

so, in addition to the new features, some custom ROMs offer various mods/tweaks. some claim to give better battery performance, others block ads, others reduce lag (although, that is mostly kernel related). so, just as calbrs stated, give one of them a try for a few days (make a nandroid of your current setup first though), and see how you like it.

problem for me though, as much I as should be on 4.1.2, I really enjoy being on the latest/greatest build, as I get to experience more features. and so long as my battery performance doesn't suffer too much, I'll stick on 4.2.2 for now.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Well, I've tried both Carbon and PAC and then settled on PAC. Quite honestly, I don't see a whole lot of actual performance difference. It IS cool to be running a custom ROM though. PIE is a pain as it always seems to pop up when I don't want it but has that What's That factor if you want to wow someone. And I do like having a custom lockscreen. Otherwise.... I guess I don't get it.

But then again, maybe I'm just old! Lol!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
in terms of 4.2.2 over 4.1.2, correct - it's mostly aesthetics. but the performance is hardly noticeable since the M is already fairly quick.

some custom 4.1.2 ROMs, however, do offer better battery life (in part due to debloating, others have tweaks).

but if the performance difference is negligible to you, then why not stick to 4.2.2?

also, did you try the unofficial AOKP?

finally, some of these custom ROMs also have the latest kernels, which can help in terms of keeping your data connection.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Leraeniesh:
I'd suggest you try Dhacker29's PA or CM. IMO much snappier than PAC.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aviwdoowks:
http://translate.googleusercontent....t=1160&usg=ALkJrhjsa98LEgZfFOrbXLlYjfVHcUzQeA

I agree most roms are not as good as stock. The #2 on that poll is here on xda.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
CM says its camcorder is broken, so I had not tried it. I can't seem to find PA but I'll look some more.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Leraeniesh:
The OP hasn't been updated in ages. Everything in VM and PA works fine (NFC is a little sketchy)

You can find builds at http://androidhosting.org/Devs/Dhacker29
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PantherVT:
Because we can
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
There... someone finally said it. Probably didn't even read the OP, didja? :rolleyes:
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PantherVT:
Of course I read the original post that's why I worded it as I did. Poor attempt at humor or should have thrown in an emoticon to make that clear.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Lol, I was being funny back. Sometimes humor just doesn't come across in texts. It's all good, man!!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Well, after a week of ROM testing, here is what the results have been so far:

Carbon comes out on top in a very close battle with Slimbean. What made the difference? Support. Slimbean is actually the better of the 2 ROMs in so many areas, but no updates since May 2013 means important tweaks and a functional camcorder are missing. Carbon is kept current, so if something is fixed in the Base version, it won't be long until we see it in Carbon.

I also worked with PAC, Paranoid, AOKP and CM 10.1. Each had its merits but were eliminated for various reasons. I did not look at any ROM that was not a 4.2.2 version.

I must confess, if Slimbean is ever updated to the latest 4.2.2 version, I will be taking another look.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
so what was your reason for eliminating AOKP? this has been the best for me so far. although, I did not give carbon a fighting chance, as on first boot it was extremely laggy. but i'm re-considering....
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
If you have the time I would love a rom by rom review of what you did and didn't like. I'm in the market for a 4.2.2 rom and don't know where to start. I'm really looking to just settle on one and not have to try out a bunch.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
To be perfectly candid, I really can't say there was anything "wrong" with it. It just didn't catch my attention in the same manner that Slimbean and Carbon did.

Today I realized I did not try Eclipse because I erroneously thought it was a 4.1 or 4.0 version ROM. I'll be giving it a go later tonight.

Quite honestly, I think it all comes down to personal preference more than performance. Depending on what apps you use, they all are pretty similar. What runs better is really more about your own hardware, how you use it, your selection of apps and your expectations as to how the phone ought to perform.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
agreed.

Eclipse has both 4.1.2 and 4.2.2 available.

---------- Post added at 01:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 PM ----------

I'll give my experience, but to each their own:

PACMan

:

most customizable, very stable, worst on battery life, dev is pretty good at posting updates (he only posts when there is a significant update)

AOKP

:

very customizable, fairly stable, best battery life, dev is very responsive, interactive, and post updates daily

Carbon

:

very customizable, most stable, dev is very responsive, interactive, and post updates daily;

CM10.1

:

(stock, basically): haven't tried it

Slimbean

:

very customizable, dev is non-existent; however, I gave this a go for about an hour as well, but dismissed it due to lack of customization when compared to PACMan

Orion

:

very customizable, very stable, dev is very responsive, interactive, and post updates routinely; however, I gave this a go for about a day, but did not like the blackout themes/sounds/etc. but that was awhile ago, so I certainly owe this ROM another chance

Eclipse

:

haven't tried it

Axoim

haven't tried it

JellyBeer

haven't tried it
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
This is perfect! Before reading this I was leaning to AOKP or Cyanogen. I like how customizable AOKP is and I like the updates and stability from Cyanogen. (from what I've read) I want a rom that is stable stable stable as I wouldn't consider myself a power user. Thanks for posting this!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
See what I mean though. He dismissed Slimbean because it was not as customizable as PACman. I dismissed PACman as being too complicated, too customizable!

Hate to tell you this, Jersey846, but you probably will need to try a few yourself before you know what's right for you.

BTW, thus far Eclipse is proving to be very stable. I haven't had any noticeable lag, signal seems stable and comparable to what I normally see in my area. Looking good so far!

Orion, eh... Have to check that out...
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Yeah I may have to try a few. My conservative side says to go with something close to stock. Then when I researched AOKP vs. Cyanogen I saw how my customize-addicted side wants to go with AOKP. as for the others, they are all new to me so it's intimidating. This is my "daily driver" so to speak so I'm wary with upgrading to a custom rom. I want to make sure I am darn informed instead of being "I'm bricked!" guy.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
I hear you. Same here. The good news is it seems pretty hard to brick this phone to the point of no return, but there is always a chance.

There are two schools of thought here. (1) Get a ROM that stays current so that problems get addressed hopefully in the next nightly. OR (2) Stick with a stable ROM that doesn't get updated constantly so that you know what works or doesn't.

This is why some people end up with crack flash addiction. Lol !!! Choice is good
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Ok well I guess I'm ready. It's one of the amazing reasons I love Android. Choice. So where do I start? I don't want to lose my contacts and important info. Is there a good noob - friendly guide to backing up my important stuff and safely installing a new rom. Step by step?
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
well, if your phone is rooted, start with backing everything up via TiBu.

I have all of my contacts stored via google, so that whenever I flash/get a new android, my contacts automatically download.

if your contacts are not stored via google (via verizon instead), then export them to a csv file (you can log in online and export them). then, you can import them to your gmail contacts.

in terms of which ROM to start with, I'd probably recommend the unofficial AOKP or Carbon ROMs just to get a feel for it (although I have not tried it myself). but mostly b/c the devs are very quick to respond to questions/inquiries.

realize that when flashing a 4.2.2 ROM, you'll need to flash the GApps package too (there is one linked in the PACMan ROM).

right now, I'm trying out Carbon, and really enjoying it thus far.

keep in mind that these ROMs have a lot of customization, so it's best to take your time and navigate through all of the settings.

also, after flashing the ROM, the ROM will ask you to setup your wifi first, then it will sign you into google/gmail. shortly after then, it will automatically download/update all of your apps (or at least it should).
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
I'm rooted, unlocked bootloader, have Titanium. Not sure if my contacts are backed up through Google but I would say I think they are.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Leraeniesh:
I still cant believe how much development has come over the last few months.

Carbon, ParanoidAndroid and AOKP are very stable, and each offer their own deal of customization.

If you want a simpler route, then I would recommend CM10.1

Out of everything I've tried, CM and AOKP come out at the top in terms of performance and battery life.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
What exactly do I need to backup in TiBu?
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Jersey - couple of suggestions for you. Download an app called SMS Backup+ and run it. It will back up all of your SMS (text messages) MMS (Multimedia messages like pictures attached to texts) and call logs to your GMail account. That way when you wipe your phone or even if you lose it, those messages will not be lost to you.

I told you I was going to give Eclipse a try. It's a 4.2.2 version as well, and has the working camcorder, so it's fairly current. Seems very smooth, no lag that I notice, good signal, enough but not too much customization available (to me anyway). Battery life seems decent enough, although I would have to run it for a few days to be positive. You might like it.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
Backup everything in tibu (it also backs up your SMS).
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Which is great - right up until something happens to your phone, like getting stolen. Which is why I recommended ALSO sending them to his GMail account.:highfive:
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
I think tibu also backs up your sms yo a cloud. So does lookout.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Ok great thanks guys! I'm guessing when I do a wipe that it doesn't touch the memory card, right? Did anybody here follow any specific Titanium tutorial?

And since I believe my contacts are indeed backed up on Gmail, how are they restored once flashed? Automatically?
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dyelon:
Gmail contacts always are restored instantly when you sign into Google on Android. It's foolproof I tell yah
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Hey Jersey... Interesting results to share with you. I had Eclipse running for 8 hours and lost about 20% of battery. I installed AOKP and lost 20% in 2 hours. Both ROMs were configured about the same, same apps installed etc. That's the exact opposite of what most people have reported. That's why you just have to experiment with the ROMs that draw your attention.

Also, rumor has it that Verizon is beginning a SOAK test with the RAZR M shortly with a new update. Could be a Stock 4.2.2 or higher is on the way.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Wow thank you so much for sharing!! Eclipse isn't even something I had considered. And that is a CONSIDERABLE difference in battery life! How does that compare with Cyanogen battery life for you? Thank you to everyone again for sharing so much great information!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
When I go to backup all user apps + system data, Titanium Backup only shows 1 app listed with a check mark. Am I doing something wrong?

EDIT: Oh geeze nevermind. I .. yeah nevermind I'm a noob.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
just to clarify, are the time frames comparable? e.g. both are in deep sleep mode on wifi vs. heavy use on mobile data?

---------- Post added at 10:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------

updated post #18 to add a few new ROMs and my sentiments on Carbon....
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Well you might have something there, I don't know whether AOKP went to sleep or not. I installed, restored apps and then let it sit unused for the 2hrs. Maybe that wasn't a fair enough test.

OK, I'll just shut up now. :o
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
EDIT: I have successfully flashed a rom. Now going to restore everything with Titanium. Thanks for all your help!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Problems, problems, problems. Restoring from Titanium Backup continues to be an absolute horrendous nightmare. Hours and hours after the custom ROM install. Continues to pose problem after problem and setback after setback. Very disappointing and immensely time consuming. It freezes immediately upon any sort of batch or singular restore of app or app + data. And that's only if Google Play Store lets me download it. Normally I'm getting a ""Unknown error code during application install: "-24"" if I try installing anything at all from the play store. It's just a mess. Guess I wasn't prepared for this kind of issue.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Not surprising to me. My experience with tibu is very much like yours. I usually do a clean ROM install and allow Google to reinstall my apps. I write my data off as a loss. I only use tibu to remove the bloatware.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Well at this point I'm not even able to do that. I'm not sure if it's the version of Gapps I'm flashing or what but I continue to get the error code

Unknown error code during application install: "-24"
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
well, you don't want to restore everything.

I advise to just restore "data only" for certain apps like games. most everything else does not need to be restored as a simple login would suffice.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Are you using Safe strap or a recovery?

If you are using recovery, I would do the following:

1. Make sure your backup and the ROM you want to use and the most recent gapps version for your ROM on the external SD card.

2. Boot into recovery and do a factory reset, then wipe system, data, cache, dalvik cache and internal storage. Do not wipe external storage. Yes, its a bit redundant, but intentionally so.

3. Now install your ROM of choice through the Install menu. Clear cache and dalvik cache and then boot the system.

4. Let the ROM complete its setup process. Then reboot the phone into recovery.

5. Once again, do a factory reset, and then clear cache and dalvik cache. Obviously you do not want to clear system or internal storage.

6. Install gapps, then clear cache and dalvik and reboot the system.

7. You now have about as clean an install as you can get.

As jco23 suggested, install your apps from the Play store and once they install without errors, you can restore the data. You may want to reboot into recovery and clear cache and dalvik cache once more after restoring data. This can often fix weird app errors after a TiBU restore.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] aviwdoowks:
We need a poll post Ti Bu Does it work for you?

I vote no.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RikRong:
Yes, it works for what I use it for, backing up data, freezing/deleting apps, etc. It has always been advised to NEVER restore apps with TiBU when you install a ROM. Clean installs run much better.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Kind of pointless to have it back up the apps then. Doesn't it strike you as pretty worthless to have a backup program whose backup can't be relied upon.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
TiBu is great! some apps on my phone were not available via the market (stand alone scrabble), others I got from Amazon.com.

but most importantly, it backs up all of my data for each app, wifi access points, etc.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Somehow Gapps is only giving me error messages when trying to install. Even when doing the automatic backup, it says it's downloading and installing, but nothing gets installed. At all. Are there any preferences in TWRP or the ROM or the system somewhere where I can avoid NOT having my programs re-installed?

Error message problem with Gapps: "Unknown error code during application install: "-24" "\

If I could at least get Google Play Store working without an error I could at least be somewhat satisfied. With both Gapps AND Titanium Backup not working or able to install anything it's pretty frustrating.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
not really sure what your steps are/were, but try this:

reboot recovery

mount system

factory reset/wipe data

reboot recovery

install ROM

install GApps

reboot system

once you get in, simply sign in to your wifi, sign in to your gmail account (select restore)

give your phone a few minutes to start automatically downloading the apps

if it doesn't go into the play store and select them one at a time.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
I will do that and know how to do all of those but "mount system". Thanks for the help!

EDIT: Put an X Mark in the Mount system box, did everything precisely in that order.. still get the error message from Google Play Store and it doesn't restore any apps automatically but Gmail.

"Unknown error code during application install: "-24" " when I try installing apps individually.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
Bad download of gapps?

Which one are you using? I used the one from pacman thread. Which ROM are you trying?

Perhaps you need to wipe system, then factory reset, the reboot recovery.

I would recommend starting with carbon tonight.

Going to sleep now. Will check back in morning.

Good luck!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
I actually tried 4 roms with the same result. AOKP, Carbon, Pacman, and CM. I also tried 2 different versions of Gapps. Will try that order and see if that helps.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RikRong:
It still can be used to backup and restore data. However, completely restoring apps, from nothing, with TiBU is not a good thing and has been talked about numerous times. There are also other functions that make it worth while.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
hmm... not really sure what to tell you. perhaps I can give a little more detail:

- I use TWRP 2.3.2.3 (SS has been uninstalled via it's own app, not Tibu or the system awhile ago) - but TWRP 2.5 works just fine for others

- after downloading the ROM and GApps (or any file that I intended to flash for that matter), I always place the file on the mnt/external1 directory. I

m not sure if this will make a difference, but I recall it being an issue back on my Droid Charge days

- after flashing the files, does TWRP say successful?

- perhaps you do need to a double wipe of everything prior to flashing:

1) mount everything

2) wipe cache

3) wipe dalvik cache

4) wipe system

5) factory reset/wipe data

6) wipe

internal

storage (if you do this, make sure to change your TiBu backup folder to your external1 directory, or this will be gone too!!!!! also make sure that the system backup you made is on the external1 directory as well

7) reboot recovery

8) install ROM

9) install GApps
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jersey846:
Gonna try this in a few minutes and thanks so much for sticking with me on this as I really appreciate it. I decided I'd hijacked this thread long enough and posted in a new thread with the title of my issue HERE to see if anybody else may have experienced any similar issues like I'm having.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
Well, I've tried them all now - AOKP, Carbon, CM 10.1, PACman, Liquid, and Eclipse. The one thing I have noticed consistently across the board among them all is that my data signal is not nearly as good with any of them as it is with stock. In the final analysis, what good are all the fancy bells and whistles if you can't depend on the phone for its intended purpose - to make and receive calls and to send text messages. So, for me, until things get developed a little more in that regard, I think I'll stay with rooted, debloated stock 4.1.2.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
My signal is the same on all versions. If anything though, my data connection has been strongest on Orion AOKP. Best battery life too.
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dyelon:
All this extensive conversing has piqued my interest in custom ROMs...may I ask for advice?

I'm on verizon and I'm interested in a ROM that

a) has better performance than stock aka faster response time, multiple apps running, no lag switching between apps

but

b) doesn't sacrifice any battery life and to that point, perhaps increases battery life

Which ROMs offer this type of advantage? If I'm going to run a custom ROM I want one that's going to maximize my phone's hardware and let it blaze through apps like there's no tomorrow but with preserving the staying power of this Motorola phone.

Thanks in advance!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jco23:
Orion AOKP - on droidrazr.com
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dyelon:
thanks dude! unfortunately, one question begets more questions.

is it an AOSP rom? (I love CM theming)

how's the stability? random reboots, freezes, glitches, apps not working..etc

What're the biggest downsides of orion?

thanks in advance!
[Droid RAZR M Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
How come I've never heard of it and it's not on xda?