yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
The selection of ROMs available is a bit overwhelming. Which one should I be using?

Stock? (Rooted ofcourse)

SuperZen?

Prism?

CM12.1?

Slim?

Omni?

Carbon?

Euphoria?

Paranoid?

And don't say flash them and see for yourself. I don't HAVE TIME to flash all of them, nor am I remotely interested in tinkering with the settings on each and every ROM. I just want to get the best value out of my phone. Aesthetics aside, do they have any notable key differences between them such as stability, performance, battery life, memory usage, or are they all relatively equivalent in that department?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jason4962:
I feel this thread will get flammed.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
Why? Are less experienced members not allowed to inquire the more experienced members here?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Engr.Jymie:
Using PA, and I never had a 2.3 GB free on my RAM since I bought this phone!
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mae7:
I tried CM12.1, but there were annoying bugs for me, the phone got warm and battery life was bad.

I went to SuperZen and everything is pretty much like Stock, not much difference other than not having to disable and hide as many apps.

I really wish this phone had better battery life.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] corrsea:
Yes they are, but best Rom, best kernel threads are frowned upon. All the developers here give their work for free and all strive to provide the best possible software. So in this case comparison equals criticism. You really need to decide what you want and make your decision based on your own reading of the respective threads.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Devhux:
Exactly!

Also, the best rom for one person may not be the best for someone else. Everyone uses their device differently, so there's really no other way to know what will work the best other than trying out a few.

Also, you may want to have a look at the sticky threads. (sorry mods, I'll get out of the back seat now)....;)

Sent from my Golden Zenfone 2
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lanah1906:
i see windows user here. Tell me, why do you buy a 4gb of ram phone if your system uses only 2gb? Android has good ram managment and i love to see 200 mb free ram, then i know it's worth. It's like buying a ferrari car for 20 kmph on country roads.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Engr.Jymie:
You didn't understand it, haha, Imagine this, when I'm in the stock ROM, my free RAM is always less than 1GB, then here you are saying it only consume half.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] troy5890:
You should try SlimLP, there aren't any bugs so far, and you get this for your SOT(if you use it efficiently)
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ntrasme:
At this state, most ROMS are almost identical. Only a couple have the actual ROM's features. Our PA doesn't have hover/peek (yet). I think only Slim Rom and Team EOS have their features activated. But most (CM based) ROMS have the same bugs.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
I don't see the harm in criticism, so long as it's constructive. If I was developing a product, and my work wasn't up to par with what the people wanted, I feel it would be a disservice to myself and to others to blatantly shun / ignore criticism that could possibly help me develop a superior product.

Are people here really that thin skinned?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
That may be the case, however, if you read my OP, I clearly state that I am looking for user feedback on KEY differences between the ROMs which affect EVERY single ZenFone2 user (if any exist at all?). Ntrasme just stated that they are all basically identical at this point. Can anyone else testify/confirm that?

Personally, I've tried a few of the CM12.1 derived ROMs myself and did not notice any major differences between them other than a few slight aesthetic changes, which makes me wonder if there is any legitimate reason as to why I should use one over the other
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thehritzinator:
Literally every ROM will be useful to different people.

Install a ROM. Decide if you like it. OR YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ THROUGH EACH ROMS THREAD. Please do not clutter the forum with this type of post. It is completely unnecessary. The ROM that works well for me may not work for you. Features I may love, you may have no use for. Literally just spend a few hours or days reading reading reading and more reading up on all these ROMs, and install ones you think will work. You will not receive an answer you are looking for here.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
And yet, certain aspects between ROMs are universal to all people.

Not unnecessary if you actually comprehend and understand what I'm asking about. Re-read my post kthx.

Re-read my post please. Features, bells and whistles between ROMs are one thing, however, key differences such as performance, stability, memory usage, battery life, etc. are another, which I feel are not nearly as subjective as what you are trying to suggest.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jason4962:
To be honest you have to deside for yourself. No time to flash is not a reason at all. We are all busy and yet spend some time to flash and find our own perfect roms. Developers spend 10x more of that time to bring us FREE rom to flash. Ill give you an example. Says rom #1 is my best rom. i love it give me the best battery life i wanted but it lags here and there which for me its fine. But for a power user. Someone who play games or someone with lots of apps may find it annoying to have lag here and there. And might not care so much about battery therfor labeling the rom not his/her favorite. My setup is unrooted. Looked bootloader. I hate my sot but i have quick chargers at my work. Homr and car. So im good lol
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thehritzinator:
Oh, I've read your post. And your answers are already all over the dev sections of this forum. Each rom has its own thread, in which users discuss said rom. There you will find people talking about stability, memory usage, etc.

Every.single.one.of.those.is.answered.

Not only in each respective forum, but in your thread. You've already been told. You just didn't like the answer. You are cluttering up the forum.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
Nah, I've looked through each and every one of those threads and clearly it didn't contain the information or answers I was looking for. For one, I've yet to see honest, unbiased and fair comparisons on the key differences between the ROMs. Just because you personally don't find a certain topic of discussion useful doesn't make it clutter. With that said, if you feel my thread clutters the forum, maybe you should stop contributing to the "clutter".
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thehritzinator:
Here is a video a MOD made back in 2012 that describes how to use the search bar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snf0UOVik0M

What specific questions about CM do you have? Post that in the CM Q/A thread

What specific questions about SlimLP do you have? Post that in the SlimLP Q/A thread

honest, unbiased comparison? So if JoeSchmoe XDA user just says "Oh, I'm unbiased", does that mean you'd believe them? Don't look for a comparision guide; Instead, look at threads and/or websites of EACH rom you are considering, and they will tell you every nook and cranny of that rom. Then, you can make an informed decision about which rom to try FIRST. Don't like it? Pick another.

You are not the first, nor the last, to post this exact thread here for the Zenfone 2, even though the phone is barely a few months old.

If you cannot take the time to gain knowledge on the process and the differences of the roms yourself, you should not be attempting to flash a custom firmware.

We are all here for the love of development and technology.

I suggest that if you want a perfect rom, that is the best of all worlds, that you take up programming and show us all how superior you are. :good:
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] scala_:
Not true. Alot of the ROMs are still in testing, and even the devs dont even know every nook and cranny on wtf is going on. Reason I started this thread is to figure out core differences. Usually there is a de facto consensus on what is the best ROM to use on a device, but with ZF2 apparently that's not the case as each ROM is basically equivalent / derived from one another.

so what if i told you there were people here who just want the best option for their phone, and could actually benefit from a comparison guide between the list of ROMs, because *GOD FORBID* they could careless about investing their time into the development and tech side of things because:

a) they have actual jobs.

b) a life.

c) would rather spend that time trying to get laid instead of nerding it out.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thehritzinator:
This is a development site. XDADEVELOPERS. If you do not want to spend time doing that, why are you on a dev site?

All of our ROMs are due to hard work from people who ALSO have jobs and a life.

Best option is purely subjective to how you will use your device.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ntrasme:
I think this thread had a potential to bring out a good discussion of the merits of each ROM. As per the OP's question, most CM based roms have almost identical performance. I have heard good things about Team EOS ROM though. However, it gives less battery life so your choice. Other than that you can use this to see an example of what the early ROMs can eventually be https://www.androidpit.com/best-custom-roms-for-android. Keep in mind again, that only some have the features listed. I also agree with everyone else, NO ONE can recommend you a ROM. If you want the best performance etc. you have to make it yourself. Otherwise, find the one that seems the best to you. Different usage statistics (gaming vs browsing) and different background apps can cause severe differences in battery stats/performance. Also, synthetic benchmarks are really bad to gauge IRL performance IMO. CM has a worse Antutu score, but it is much more fluent and fast and the RAM management is perfect.
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thehritzinator:
Also, you stated Here that "I've tried Paranoid Android, omniROM, CarbonROM, etc.,"

If you've already tried them, why are you saying you don't have time, and why are you saying you haven't?
[ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] :
Xda isn't a candy store, and the idea here is to experiment and better our devices. Members need to put their own time into this hobby too, and see what's best for them.

Since the thread has turned into a pointless debate, I will be closing this.

Flash some roms and see what's best for you. What's best for one person, often isn't the same for another.

Lots of time and experimentation are required by all. Like it or leave it.

Thread closed.

Darth

Forum Moderator
[XDA Assist] GuestK0087:
Hi, thanks for using XDA Assist! :)

For best results, please post your question here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2259645

That's a friendly help thread where you'll find expert advice.

Good luck! :)
[XDA Assist] some1s2:
thanks for your help :)
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] H4X0R46:
Hello! I just got a nexus 6 a few days ago, and I love this phone! However, I just read on here that relocking your bootloader is a bad idea? Well, I rooted my device and installed PAC ROM on it, then reflashed a stock image back to my nexus and relocked the bootloader, my phone is fine, no bootloops and no issues, does this pose a problem with OTA updates? Thanks! I really need to know because i would NOT wanna brick this thing! Thanks!
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GuestK0087:
Thing is, when your bootloader is unlocked, the device is almost unbrickable. Also, you can be unlocked, 100% stock and still get OTA's if you want. If you have a locked bootloader, mess something up and end up in a bootloop, and can't boot to android, you're stuck.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] H4X0R46:
Are you saying that OTA updates work even if your boot loader is open? Does it just check your system files and recovery? In theory, if I did an OTA update right now, and my bootloader was unlocked, it would install without problems?
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] TonikJDK:
Yes to all your questions.

Unlock it, its free insurance and wont change or harm a thing.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] simms22:
you can lock/unlock your bootloader anytime you want actually, you just have to make sure that you relock your bootloader sfter making sure that you can boot properly first. because if you can't boot, and your bootloader is locked, then you are just as good as bricked. because now, to unlock your bootloader, you have to enable allow oem unlock. and if you cant boot, you cant do that.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danarama:
That said, since 5.1.1, doesn't "allow oem unlock" remain ticked / selected after a reboot now? If so, it's fine to relock it, even if it doesn't boot if that is ticked.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GuestK0087:
Yes, but in the case of an "accidentally" wiped OS, well, you know. ;)
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] H4X0R46:
Alright guys, so I won't ever run into a problem with an OTA update with the bootloader unlocked? Thanks! You guys are awesome!

Sent from my Nexus 6
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danarama:
Well it shouldn't matter. When you tick that box, it writes the change to mmcblk0p18, which is OS independent. Now that booting the rom doesn't revert that partition, if it is ticked once, it shouldn't matter if there is an OS at all.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cam30era:
Correct. Bootloader status has no effect on OTA. Updated script checks boot.img (kernel), system.img, and recovery. All have to be unmodified. No root, no unencrypted kernel, stock 100%.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danarama:
Scripts don't check recovery. It's just the OTA zip won't work without it.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cam30era:
Correct. Just taking this shortcut.
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] H4X0R46:
Great! Thanks guys! Appreciate all the help and support on this! I would HATE to brick a $700 device! Haha

Sent from my Nexus 6
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] H4X0R46:
Real quick easy noob question, no point in making a thread just for this so I'm asking here, is the Nexus 6 CPU an arm or arm64?
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] prdog1:
N6 is ARM. Arm 64 is for 64 bit devices such as the N9. :cool:
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alryder:
Clarification question

A question for clarification, as long as the bootloader is already unlocked, the "OEM Unlocking - Allow the bootloader to be unlocked" setting under Developer options doesn't affect anything?
[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cam30era:
Correct.
[Verizon Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] brando5055:
I looked at the other threads with this same topic, none of which helped so i'm going to write a post and see where that leads me. the user sitimber made an identical one, still no answers so here we go. I spent 12 hours yesterday attempting to get the newest alliance rom http://xdaforums.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/development/rom-alliancerom-sprint-ne5-t2971430 to run, and failed. It threw my phone into a boot loop, i tried it several dozen different ways, including a discussion with rootjunky and he couldn't figure it out either. So i scrapped it, wiped the roms off, and reinstalled from a backup of my original Alliancerom build2 that i had made just before i started tinkering, now anytime i try to install one of a few apps (netflix, fb messenger, and some others) i get the error "application requires a newer sdk version" and for the life of me, i can't find anything online i've been searching for hours and all of it says things regarding updating SDK on a computer not on my actual phone which is of no use to me. Anyone have any thoughts? My best one i've come up with so far is installing Build2 from scratch or just another newer rom.. but otherwise i'm puzzled. I also can't get my phone to 5.0 thus far from trying a few times.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lesp4ul:
Hi, my phone often rebooting after i unlocked the screen. I don't remember when it started behaving like this, but I already did a clean flash, change the rom, swith unlock to 'none' but didn't help. Please help me. Thanks.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Terfysgol:
Maybe is a problem of the on-off switch: when u press it To unlock the screen it stay pressed and the phone make a forced reboot

Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deelan_chan:
Some people have reported it has something to do with Gmail, so if you can try and uninstall it:p

Or you should try changing the security to pin
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lesp4ul:
The horor, hope not the button :(

Okay, lemme try

Thanks guys.
[T-Mobile LG G2] Rand0m cookie:
Anyone know how to disable acces to notification tray while locked, don't like the idea that people can change my wireless settings without unlocking my phone
[General Questions and Answers] Dimmizer:
Looking for just what the topic says.. What Verizon phones can I get where I can get an unlocked bootloader so I can run custom roms n stuff.

Anyone got a list or something?

I asked here http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1846277&page=832#post62307764

and never got a reply or anything.

Edit: Oh yeah the newer the phone the better if possible :). I don't wanna get a phone with a ****ty CPU or something and not be able to play a game or something because the phone is so slow or lags.
[G3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JustChris2012:
I deleted my sim toolkit, now I really need it. [emoji20] Someone can post me the apk. Thank you very much.

Chris
[G3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JustChris20:
solved…
[Moto 360] marshall_634:
I've only had my moto 360 for about 2 months. Got it from At&t. Do you think they will exchange it for me. There is not a scratch on it.

Sent from my Nexus 6
[Moto 360] nijom:
Check Motorola forums

Check Motorola forums. There was a Motorola employee (forgot the name) who was assisting people on how to get replacements for cracked backs. :)
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario ROM Development] Flak:
I got a new phone and rather then let my 8125 just sit around I'm looking for a good base rom to be able to use the phone with a bluetooth gps device without a lot of other crap on the phone, other then the mapping software (in this case iGuidance v4).

Thanks,

Flak
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario ROM Development] contentryder:
i used iguidance..but i now prefer miomap..works good with any ROM..no lag
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario ROM Development] bittermormon:
If it were me and it was only to be used as a GPS, I'd load x's 2.26 ROm and stop it before the Extended rom loaded. If you want WM6, I'd use teh Not To Smart Vanilla ROM. Wouldbe cool to put a shortcut for your Nav software in teh startup folder so it loaded right up.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] darwinmach:
Since all I could find were the full ROM/firmware Odin packages for the new UVU1COG2, I extracted the bootloader and baseband/modem and made them separate Odin flash-able tar.md5 packages for those that may be interested in only updating these 2 and nothing else. (Example: I'm running CM 12.1, and want to keep it that way, but want to use the newer baseband & bootloader)

Download Link: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=37084

N910TUVU1COG2_baseband.tar.md5 - SHA1: 247B957321EE5A72D439AA2BE05D9F462F492683

N910TUVU1COG2_bootloader.tar.md5 - SHA1: 244F4E55ED265BB14CD6A80409F862DC38E83D95

In ODIN 3.09+:

baseband goes in CP

bootloader goes in BL

Cheers.

-----

// EDIT

By popular request, I've done this for the newest UVS2EPG2 firmware as well. You can find them in the same download link.

N910TUVS2EPG2_bl_bootloader.tar.md5 - SHA1: 6E3E7061482C1AC37A11A6607C7B51631CAE2680

N910TUVS2EPG2_cp_baseband.tar.md5 -SHA1: F1790F6D00BD3039D87B5981E849E0DA15B861A9
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] lilila:
thanks.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] mlock420:
Thanks man!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] ALLDAT:
Thank you been looking for this
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] AriaNoob:
Thanks! One question though...So if I want to stay on tekxodous 4.2 I just Odin OCG2 Baseband and Bootloader and I will keep my current configuration and data that I had on OCD6?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Misterjunky:
re: upgrade to TEKXodous rom

Not OCG2... You mean the COG2 bootloader and baseband, if

that's the case you are right...

Just odin flash the two files before flashing the tekxodus upgrade

and be sure to do a full wipe and factory reset before odin flashing..

Good luck,

Have a great day!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] AriaNoob:
Lol COG2 yes!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] TheUndertaker21:
Really nice. Thanks just flashed them
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Flashvetrin:
Perfecto

Flashvetrin
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] ruffriderisback:
thanks

Thank you for your wonderful work
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] shawnsac2000:
I already soft brick my note 4 once. Sorry if this comes of a stupid question, is there a more detailed tutorial on how to do this?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Flashvetrin:
Put your device into download mode

Start odin put the modem tar in the pda slot hit start.

Do the same thing for the bootloader.

Very easy I did this ontop of a 5.02 zero issues..

Flashvetrin
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] shawnsac2000:
Can I do both same time or reboot in between?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Flashvetrin:
I did them one at a time.. ontop of COD6 is what I did.. using odin 3.07.

Easypeasy[emoji16]

Flashvetrin
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Craigerade:
Can you safely downgrade your baseband? I keep reading that COG2 is recommended, but my Note 4 already has DOFC.

Also is COG2 just recommended because of Wifi calling?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Misterjunky:
re: downgrading

You can easily downgrade dofc/dog1 to cog2, cod6 or even nk4 kitkat

by simply doing a full wipe and odin flashing either of those firmwares.

Before odin flashing any firmwares be sure to have a copy of your favorite

custom zip file rom on your external or internal sdcard.

After odin flashing the firmware you have chosen out of those 3 firmwares

simply odin flash twrp recovery, then do a full wipe including factory reset.

No need to re-root because all zip file roms are pre-rooted.

Then simply twrp flash the zip file rom which you have copied to the phone.

COG2 is the latest firmware which has wifi calling working properly

unless you flash any of the dofc/dog1 zip file roms, if you flash any

of the dofc/dog1 roms the wifi calling feature will not work at all.

Good luck,

Have a great day!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] BRANDENDEUCE:
I'm on deathstalker rom cod6.if I updated these can I still rock the rom or have to get a different one?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Flashvetrin:
Upgrading your modem and bl will have no affect on jovys build..

COD6.... darthstalker

Flashvetrin
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Ser0mancerXXIV:
So I'm still on NK4 running the Bobcat themed DynamicKat rom. I tried the whole ODIN COG2 then DynamicPop and all was good until I tried to restore my phone back to DynamicKat.

I decided I didn't like not having a theme like I had and presently don't have the time to make anything so all I am trying to do now is have COG2 Bootloader/Baseband but running on KitKat. I feel like I might be missing a step somewhere so if anyone could help that would be appreciated!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 Android Development] Flashvetrin:
If you could install "samsung info".

And post a screenie of "firmware".

Then we can see infact what bl and baseband and such You've got..

Flashvetrin