[Galaxy S6 General] avidichard:
If this post or just part of it was usefull to you,

please give a thank you

, it's just one click below this post and encourages authors to keep their threads up to date.

What is this thread for?

To all those wondering what to install on their old Samsung Galaxy S6, abreviated "S6". This thread will tell you what you need to know concerning available ROMS for the Canadian W8 model of the S6.

There are 5 major guests in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Android world:

Versions 5.x.x named Lollipop abreviated "LL"

Versions 6.x.x named Marshmallow abreviated "MM"

Versions 7.x.x named Nougat abreviated "NG"

Versions 8.x.x named Oreo abreviated "O"

Versions 9.x.x named Pie abreviated "P"

Versions 10.x.x named 10 abreviated 10

Basic things you must know:

Stock ROMs which are kept as is with only deknoxed but still stock won't show you much besides keeping your phone as it is with the freedom of installing what you want.

AOSP ROMs are usually the most debloated ones and best ones. LineageOS IS an AOSP based ROM.

Debloated ROMs: There seems to be a lot of different levels of debloating. High, Partial, Light. When using a Custom ROM, you usually want to remove most of the stock stuff and install the things you desire after. But in this ROM world, when debloating, authors often rebloat them with some of their prefered apps and mods. So Debloated ROMs are mainly to say that stock apps were removed.

Kernels are not ROMs, just saying AND, they need to be installed with the PROPER version of the ROM you are installing AND must fit AOSP or Stock because they will not work and you will get bootloop.

Aroma installer which permit to choose options during the ROM's installation. These take soo much space and are huge files to download. They boost the ROM's file size. Of course, you can choose what you want during the install process, but most ROMs are over 1Gb in size which is enormous while a non-aroma file can be way under 700Mb and do the job perfectly.

LL (v5.x.x):

These are just old, your cell phone can handle much more up to date roms AND stock roms are already way passed these versions.

MM (v6.x.x):

If you need well working, functional and complete ROMs, there's a few of these which have been tested and work very well. I'd go back without hesitating if I were not too greedy on later versions,

NG (v7.x.x):

There has been a lot of apps and mods that have been made stable from NG ROMs. A system on this would be considered a good in-the-middle installation. Not too old but not too young. There is also a custom framework app out there permitting some nice handling and modding that is considered stable for this version of Android. BUT, there's a bit BUT here. There is v7.0 and 7.1.x. 7.1.x seem to have audio issues, at least, the AOSP ROMs I tested.

0 (v8.x.x):

OK! I have read sooo many articles concerning battey problems in this ROM and I have also lived the battery problem myself with a custom ROM in this version. Oreo would be the system which crosses the line between old and new, merging from MM and NG to PIE.

P (v9.x.x):

Well, you are now up to date. BUT, We are now going well over S10 models of the Samsung Galaxy nowdays so a ROM in this version working bugfree is a bit of a dream, at least, for now. Problem encountered from these ROMs are audio, camera and wifi. Camera app is just nonesense with very poor audio quality. Users talk about bluetooth audio problems and echos during calls. Frequent application crashes notably when using camera, for example in messenger. BUT, the good is a cleaned up interface with a nice fresh modern feel.

10 (10.x.x):

Please refer to Pie (v9.x.x). Pretty much the same things happen.

I decided to give you a list of ROMS I have tested and believe should still stay alive for those questionning what the best ROM is for your needs or dreams.

Links to my suggested custom ROMs:

LL (5.x.x):

• None (just don't install any of these, too old)

MM (6.x.x):

Only one stands out which I used for years and has a very nice position in recommended mods.

• XtreStoLite 3.3.1: https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/development/rom-xtrestolite-deodexed-mod-edition-1-0-t3094423

XtreStoLite has made me happy for years. If you want a stable ROM with what the S6 looked like during it's glorious days, that's the ROM to install.

NG (7.x.x):

Most of these ROMs seem to be stock ROMs with not so much debloation so huge file sizes and Samsung's connection wizard AND all the Google Apps you did not ask for. I fell on 1 which boasts being HIGHLY debloated.

• OdexLite 4.2: https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/sam...rom-odexlite-rom-920f-920i-925f-925i-t3550706

If you do not install any of the Samsung or Google apps in the aroma installer, this is a highly debloated rom. I'm mentionning it here because I managed to instal it once but not a second time. Some users have reported a boot loop which makes the ROM below pretty much safe for install compared to this one. Because of a first successfull try, I still list it here, but I suggest Ultimate Nougat below. If you want to try and have time, then I suggest to try OdexLite if you are willing to test out and see for yourself.

• UlTiMaTe NouGat V3.1:https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/sam...elopment/rom-ultimate-nougat-s8-port-t3681259

I managed to make it work after wating for about 15 minutes for my phone to boot initially. It is not as much debloated as OdexLite but is a bit more flexible for adblock and Magisk since you are offered to install or not in the Aroma Installer. This actually is a flaw I found in OdexLite where some applications detect Magisk and AdBlock so they make certain options unavailable. With this version, you can install AdBlock and Magisk after and get apps to work flawlessly. System is stable and a good solution if you want, what I consider, a semi-debloated acceptable ROM. Many users also mentioned that mobile and LTE networks work flawlessly with this ROM.

O (8.x.x):

None (I just di not try any of them after my battery problem)

P (9.x.x):

2 Came out of the lot and work strait out of the box. OK, WORK is a big word here, be prepared for a few issues. BUT, battery life is good, not too many apps and some fun customized options.

• LineageOS 16.0: https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/sam...opment/rom-unofficial-lineageos-16-0-t3880888

Used it for a few months without major issues besides the common Pie ROM issues notably camera and audio issues and some WiFi problems.

• ViperOS 6.3: https://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s6/sam...elopment/rom-unofficial-viperos-v6-3-t3921301

I was pretty surprised by this ROM. It's basically Lineage OS 16 with extra Viper mods for extra customizations and configuration with, as a user stated, the extra no audio during calls problem. I still consider the Viper addons as bloatware but at least, there's no Samsung apps.

10 (10.x.x): I stopped at Pie. Same issues when reading the ROM threads so I have not even tried any of them because I overuse camera and video calls, who doesn't during COVID-19?

Recommended and usefull apps:

AdAway: https://f-droid.org/packages/org.adaway/

Removes many inapp ads, not those in full screen, but removes lotsand most of them.

Magisk: https://xdaforums.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445

Adds root access to your apps if you don't have it pre-enabled in your ROM

OpenGApps: https://opengapps.org/

Installs Google Play and other Google stuff on your phone

Xposed Framework: https://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=58828974#post58828974

Adds numourous other possibilities to customize your phone. NOTE: Please allow an extra boot time after installation.

Xposed Modules: https://xdaforums.com/xposed/modules

Launchers and other apps:

Launchers will give more style to your phone. From changing icon size to drawer's background color, you may want to have a look at launchers for a more customized experience. 2 Launchers held my attention. There's not too many out there that are worth the download even with an above 4/5 star rating. Some of them even show ads which is ridiculous for a launcher as you will see ads popup just in the middle of nowhere.

Microsoft Launcher: My prefered launcher. Has everything you need, notifiction dots, decent customizations and works with icon packs. It lacks a few customizations such as folder colors and opacity, but that left asside, I still think it is the best out of all of them considering that it is totally FREE.

Nova Launcher: The only problem with THIS launcher is that you need the paid version to enable notification badges on your icons.

Evie Launcher: Well it's one or the other, Nova permits lots of customizations with background colors but no badges. Evie permits badges but no background colors or status bar customizations. But, very fast and simple.

MX Player: I've tested a few, one of the best. Reads almost anything, fast and highly customizable. Some may say VLC would be nice but VLC showed a few lags here and there and ended up not reading some files MX read OR had more time with videos accros the network, MX Player does a very nice job.

Options you may want to change:

Enable programmer's options and disable all animations for a faster response time in apps.

Enable USB Debugging and set USB mode to File Transfer or Media Transfer Protocol.

Final Notes:

I love the Pie experience but I had to resigne and go back to Nougat for stability and the camera which I use very often. It took me a while to find a reasonable Nougat ROM because I was going to resigne and go back to XtreStoLite. If you plan on testing, Facebook and Google accounts are your best friends to save your stuff so you don't need to restart your games or retype your contacts.

The chosen one:

ULTIMATE NOUGAT

I hope this will help people make a choice on what to install for Canadian W8 phones. Do not hesitate to post your comments on your experiences and if you have suggestions or more information on tests you did with other ROMs not mentionned here.

Additional Bloatware you may not need

Now this is for modders who may come upon some bloatwares installed. When installing Ultimate Nougat, I decided to uninstall apps I do not use and found combersome and irritating for me. Here is the list of package names that can be removed which include App Lock, Weather and other widgets. If you are not sure of what you are doing, please do a Google Search on the package names to make sure you are uninstalling something you really do not need. In my case, I chose to uninstall these packages. You may want to get a package name virwer to know where these have been installed to remove them.

I use Total Commander with root permissions and I delete them. When I delete these packages, the phone boots properly and I get no messages or service stopping errors so I consider this my safe to remove list.

List of packages that I removed in the "system" folder (you need root permissions or use TWRP to delete):

Spoiler content hidden.

Spoiler content hidden.

Spoiler content hidden.