[Nextbit Robin] sfbest23:
I have recently installed Paranoid Android (7.2.1-RELEASE) and have been using it for a few days now. TL;DR, this is probably the best ROM for the Robin at the moment, including stock. However, it is not without its flaws.

PROS:

- The ROM is very fast and very smooth.

- One can switch to a dark theme in display settings. Using the theming system, one can make AOSPA look a lot like Oxygen OS on the OnePlus 5. (personal preference here)

- Launcher3 works well, and the theme changes with the theme in display settings.

- My Robin (I re-locked my bootloader after installing AOSPA) shows up as 'Certified' in the Play Store. As a note, the first go-around of installing this ROM left the device 'uncertified'. Not sure what I did differently to allow the device to show up as certified this time.

- Android Pay seems to be working. I was able to set up my card in the app, but I have not yet tried to use it at a terminal.

- All the notification LEDs seem to be working properly. This was an issue with me under Lineage OS.

- The audio issues (really quiet for audio and video, sometimes quiet and sometimes too loud on ringtones and notifications) on the stock ROM seem to be fixed by installing AOSP. The speakers are loud and clear. (However, see CONS below)

- The fingerprint sensor works consistently and is fast. It must be noted that the first time I installed AOSPA, I received errors, and set up crashed when initially trying to set a PIN and fingerprint. The second time installing AOSPA, I did not run into this issue, and the setup went fine.

CONS:

- The signal strength indicator fluctuates a good bit. Sometimes it will show little to no signal in places where I had a better signal (like the conference room in my office) on the stock ROM. Sometimes the signal indicator shows no signal in the signal icon, but still says 'LTE' beside it. Under settings --> more --> cellular networks: data roaming is off, preferred network type is set to 'LTE', and enhanced 4G LTE mode is checked. My access point is fast.t-mobile.com, as i am a T-Mobile customer. Under settings --> about phone --> status --> SIM status --> when the signal strength indicator shows as none, but yet LTE is still listed, I can still make calls and the signal strength is usually around -122 dBm 99su. Network type is 'LTE' and cellular network state is 'Connected'. I provide all this information in case the ROM developers are reading this. Is this possibly a bug?

- Battery life is abysmal, especially with Bluetooth on. I went from 91% battery to 78% battery in just under 45 mins while streaming audio from Google Play Music through my car via Bluetooth. However, battery life with the stock ROM, or any other ROM for that matter (I have also tried Lineage OS and Omni) has not be exactly stellar. At this point, I am not sure if it an issue with the phone or what. The phone was purchased new on 7/7/2017 though.

- The stock messaging app that ships with AOSPA has the same issue where photos sent via MMS are garbled. However, the work around is to disable the stock AOSPA messaging app and install the official Google developed Android Messeges app from the Play store. This allows photos sent via MMS to come through to the recipient clearly.

- There is sometimes a tiny crackling or pop with audio under this ROM. However, it happened to me some under the stock ROM (especially after using Google Assistant) and on AOSP, it is both inconsistent as to when it happens and it is not really a nuisance. I would much rather deal with this issue than with the screen flashing bug on Lineage.

MISC:

- There is no security patch level indicator on AOSPA. One can assume that it has the close to latest patches 9it cannot have August since it was compiled in July), but it is impossible to tell.

- When making a call with the phone app that ships with AOSPA, instead of it saying 'Calling via T-Mobile', as it says with stock and other ROMS, it says "Calling via CARD 1". Not sure if this is a bug or not. Phone calls still work and for the most part (again depending on signal) sound clear.

- Unlike on the stock ROM, there is a notification that SELinux is 'enforcing'.

- AOSP, in terms of battery temperature, runs about the same as the stock ROM, meaning that the phone runs hot. The battery temp will be in the mid 70's F to low 80's F while at rest with the screen off. After about 15-30 mins of screen on time and use, just doing things like browsing non-image heavy pages with Chrome or listeing to music, the battery temp will be in the high 90's. Again, it was like this on the stock ROM. I hear that the snapdragon 808 runs hot, and the NextBit support people, when I sent them screenshots from FCQ under the stock ROM as well as the screenshots from Ampere (the battery app they had me download), said the temps I was experiencing are normal. Gaming on this phone makes the phone very hot. When the phone is outside (under either stock or AOSPA) the phone also heats up considerably. (It is summer here with temps in the 80's and 90's.) Last Sunday, under the stock ROM, I took the phone to the pool. It was not under direct sunlight, just sitting on a table under an umbrella for a little while, not being used. When I went to use it, only to check email, I noticed it was hot and Ampere said the battery temp was 116 F. The battery health under FCQ and Ampere said "unknown". However, once the phone cooled down when I returned home, battery heath went back to "normal". I think it may have to do with the heat of the table the phone was sitting on prior, but again, it was not in direct sunlight.

Aside from the heat issues and poor battery life (again, it seems regardless of ROM), the Robin is a great device that I like very much.