[Ascend Mate 7 General] don brian:
First off, a disclaimer: I cannot promise MM will not cause bootloop or problems on your phone. It hasn't caused problems

in mine but it has caused bootloop in others. Proceed at your own risk.

To minimize risks of bootloop, please charge your phone to 100% battery prior to update and check to see that you have at least 4GB of internal memory available prior to installing the update.

Ok, a backgrounder. I'm from the Philippines and my phone is a Mate 7 TL10. Region: hw/spcseas (you can view region by typing *#*#2846579#*#* on the dial pad and choosing option 3 - Network Information query, then 4 - Vendor country info). My phone is not rooted and bootloader is locked (default factory settings). Original firmware upon purchase was Kitkat B120SP04. (There was an ota to KitKat C00B130 and then another OTA to Lollipop C900B329).

I've been to marshmallow beta B511 and back to Lollipop then to KitKat. Installed marshmallow B511 again but lost the hidable navigation buttons so downgraded back to lollipop. Enabled hidden navigation buttons in lollipop and upgraded again to marshmallow B511. Stayed at marshmallow B511 for good, until such time the official marshmallow firmware arrives. The reason is because I find MM B511 to be a vastly better firmware (at least in my opinion) compared to all other OFFICIAL kitkat and lollipop firmwares I've been to even though it is still in beta.

To answer your questions:

1. Do you recommend updating TL10 to MM? Yes, definitely.

2. Which MM version is the most stable? There's only one MM version compatible for my phone model/region:

marshmallow beta B511 (the only MM firmware compatible with my MT7 TL10 phone, region hw/spcseas).

3. I read that a lot of people are having issues with MM particularly the 'bootloop'. My phone has locked bootloader and is not rooted. If I update my phone to any MM version would I also encounter this 'stuck in bootloop'? First off, for Mate 7 TL10, there's only marshmallow B511 for now. Bootloop is highly unlikely if you are coming from a clean Lollipop B326 install and you have the same phone model and region as I have. But again, please read my disclaimer.

4. How about if I want to downgrade to LP using the MM Transition Pack, will I also encounter this 'stuck in bootloop'?

Much less likelihood than that in #3. I did the MM to Lollipop downgrade successfully two times in my phone. But again, please read my disclaimer.

5. How is MM compared to LP? Waaaay much better considering LP is final, official while MM is still in beta.

6. Which version should my LP be before I can upgrade to MM? B326 if you have a Mate 7 TL10.

7. How is MM's battery life? Practically not much difference, the same as Lollipop/KitKat though I've read others saying there is battery drain for them. (Maybe some apps still don't play nice with MM or possibly just power settings/protected apps/background data/accessibility settings not set to optimum in MM).

Why I stayed with MM beta:

Best features:

- has 'view modes' (small, medium, large) to reduce thickness of notification bar and navigation bar.

Can reduce the size/thickness of the navigation bar and notification bar to maximize reading space. This is in addition to the ability to reduce font sizes which was standard in lollipop and kitkat. With a custom launcher (like nova prime) whereby you can reduce the icon sizes and set the number of rows and columns in the app drawer and the desktop pages, you end up with a classy high resolution tablet-like interface: lots more information can fit in a single screen. (I don't like the usual phone/phablet interface with few rows/columns and oversized icons, text and images.)

- can use fingerprint to purchase movies, games, music, apps and books on Google Playstore (password entry still available though if you don't want to use fingerprint for purchase.)

- can turn off or on specific permissions for each app (location, storage, etc.), so no more

unnecessary permissions from apps asking too many permissions (like antutu benchmark)

- improved benchmark scores (at least according to antutu)

- fixed all stagefright vulnerabilities and all other prior android vulnerabilities.

Lollipop B324 still has stagefright vulnerabilities unpatched while lollipop B326 has fixed all stagefright vulnerabilities.

MM beta B511 however is the best since it has the latest security patch (1 Jan 2016) in addition to fixing all stagefright vulnerabilities.

- smoother, more fluid, interface. Pulldown of shortcuts/quick settings frequently had hiccups in KitKat; it was improved in lollipop and further refined in MM.

- Has 'LTE only' network mode. (Not available in KitKat and Lollipop.)

Lollipop and KitKat had only four network/data options. Marshmallow B511 has five:

1. LTE/WCDMA/GSM auto,

2. WCDMA/GSM auto

3. LTE only - (new added menu item in MM)

4. WCDMA only

5. GSM only

Other features:

- knuckle/gesture shortcuts - knuckle shortcuts to launch dual windows, single hand use, or to launch specific apps.

(I prefer nova launcher prime gestures though as it doesn't use knuckles to activate.)

- settings, messages and contacts interface looks much better. Feels like iOS but with material design animations.

- more features in developer options: you can set your screen to 'monochrome' or various 'color blind' modes

(useful for color blind people). These were not present in KitKat.

- can hide network names (not available in kitkat)

- improved camera with super night mode (slow shutter to allow bright photos in very dark scenes) and filters

- solved kitkat and lollipop bugs. Ex. missing knuckle menus, guest mode, etc.

Also solved translucency problems in which wallpaper changing apps (ex. wallpaper changer)

when installed as default wallpaper, cause unsightly discolored patches on the title bar of both

the messaging and contacts app.

- much louder maximum audio levels both on headphones and on phone playback itself. Improved surround sound

quality.

- manual entry of PIN/PASSWORD required every restart (does not allow fingerprint unlocking after restart not like

in lollipop and kitkat.); this change is possibly intentional so that if someone else uses your fingerprint

while you are asleep, they still wont be able to unlock your phone (if it has been turned off).

- option to encrypt phone storage (not available in kitkat).

Bugs:

- Displays static icons instead of animated ones on the status bar. When downloading, you see a blue static download icon

rather than an animated download icon. Also, it won't display custom status bar items (ex. 'Date on status bar' app is supposed to

always display the actual date on the status bar, not the app icon.)

- Preview of the camera filter effects are scrambled; however, it does not affect final picture output or the camera function in any way.

- Navigation bar will not be hidable IF YOU DID NOT ENABLE hidable navigation bar prior to updating to marshmallow.

MM update retains the navigation bar setting you set in lollipop. If you did not make it hidable in lollipop in the first place, the option to hide it in marshmallow will be lost. However, if you enabled the hidable option in lollipop, the option to hide it in marshmallow will still be available.

- Lost the option for 'local update' in updater. (You can always do 'local update' though by pressing volume up+down +power: just place the update file on the root directory of your phone in a folder named 'dload' before pressing those buttons.)

- Wifi direct seems to stutter more. (I frequenly watch downloaded movies stored on my phone by screencasting them to my large screen TV.)

Wishlist: I wish Huawei...

1. ENABLES multiple user accounts and guest account.

I really don't understand why Huawei disabled multiple user accounts in the Mate 7.

It was first implemented in Android KitKat (tablets only) and later in Android Lollipop (phones already included)

If the Lenovo P1, Asus Zenfone 2, Samsung A7 and Sony M2 midrange phones with slower processors

allow for multiple users and accounts, why can't Huawei? Multiple user accounts is very useful since each user will have a different wallpaper, password, apps and media content. It's like multiple users in a desktop PC.

EMUI 4.0's 'guest mode' in the current Mate 7 implementation is USELESS. Private apps and contents can still be viewed by downloading file manager apps. Guest mode in the mate 7 and App lock is a mediocre substitute to a separate work space

offered by vanilla android using multiple user accounts.

I wish Huawei...

2. Retains the option to hide the navigation bar in final marshmallow. It is a very nice feature not present in unrooted, stock android. It increases the display space. One can always install a 'back button' app to customize the placement of the home and back navigation bars. Recent apps can be assigned to a gesture so that only two navigation buttons are present (ideally placed near the power button in a vertical position).

I wish Huawei...

3. ENABLES the option to change 'preferred network type' which is a hidden setting in android. The hidden network settings in Kitkat was UNLOCKED. We had option to choose any preferred network/data mode. Why LOCK/DISABLE that option in LOLLIPOP and MARSHMALLOW beta? I hope it gets unlocked in final marshmallow so we get to choose not only 5 network options but ALL options offered by android.

I wish Huawei...

4. Releases Android Nutella for our Mate 7... or at least provide your loyal users continued OTA's for monthly security updates even if we don't get Android N. If Samsung and Asus can do it to their older flagships, why not Huawei?