I'm thinking of buying a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, and I want to install a quality open-source ROM on it since I don't want the Chinese or Google spying on me.
I've never installed a ROM before, and I don't think I really need any fancy features (except for basic smartphone things, like support for camera, flashlight, WiFi, Bluetooth, phone calls, audio/video recording and playback, GPS, etc.). I guess my only other requirement is that it can support something like aptX/aptX HD so I can use it with Bluetooth headphones and it won't sound like ass.
I've got some questions:
Do most ROMs generally tend to work with most phones? Can I just download some random ROM and have it work most of the time?
Are the 2 pages of ROM threads listed on this forum the only ones this phone can support? Or are these just the ROMs that forum users have tested it with? A lot of these ROMs I've never even heard of, and many are listed as [UNOFFICIAL].
Cyanogenmod has been discontinued, but could it still work on newer devices? There's projects like freecyngn which can remove propriety Google Analytics stuff from it, and I don't know if any similar tweaks exist for Cyanogenmod's successors.
What's a good resource for de-googled ROMs with no proprietary software? And which can support aptX/aptX HD or an alternative. And would hopefully actually work with the phone.
Sorry, someone is always out there listening, watching, monitoring and data mining - regardless of the OS eco-system. Learn to built your own and have fun. Good luck !
P.S. Stay away from smartphone, go back to a "dumb" phone. Find yourself a good old Motorola Startac classic or Sony-Ericson ... maybe. That is, if backdoors were not integrated at the chipset level.
Letitride said:
Sorry, someone is always out there listening, watching, monitoring and data mining - regardless of the OS eco-system. Learn to built your own and have fun. Good luck !
P.S. Stay away from smartphone, go back to a "dumb" phone. Find yourself a good old Motorola Startac classic or Sony-Ericson ... maybe. That is, if backdoors were not integrated at the chipset level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not asking for a phone to go off the grid and hide in the amazon jungle with, but there's an obvious difference between an OS bloated with proprietary spyware garbage and an OS that's as barebones and open-source as possible. I want to make the best choice when it comes to what's installed on my smartphone, or as close as to the best choice as I can get.
I don't think programming is something I'll ever learn to do, let alone build my own OS. The best I can do is make a table with fancy text in HTML.
Let's start with your Google account if you want to stay under the radar - it's a given with Play Store, unless you feel comfortable going without it and sideload Gapps or manually install/update from APK mirror. A2 Lite is a good but entry level smartphone, don't expect nor realistic to count on extensive custom rom development.
You will need to learn and experiment to find out for yourself, start with rooting the A/B partition and installing TWRP, then select a ROM ... you will be flashing at least several of these to decide what work best for you. Read - there is plenty of comments, feedbacks and caution.
I run the stock Global rom, Android One - which is as close to "pure" without bloatware as it can be (having owned, used & played with probably 2 dozens+ smartphone in this decade) - and have no problems - unlike others and not eveyone is having issues with WiFi & bluetooth.
I run Lineage OS on the Huawei Honor 5X ... and there are custom roms that are barebone and/or need only minimal Gapps to be flashed (nano or pico) - it comes down to the question for you, what is your definition of spyware, proprietary or stock/OEM and preloaded. If you are paranoid, don't use it, disabled it, block it and change permission - IMHO, with Oreo & Pie roms - it will probably crippled your device badly.
Trust me, "they" all know where you've been and just left, approximate time spend and what you clicked. Give it a rest unless you have reasons to worry.
I don't know what I should download because I have no idea what would work with this phone. Online it says that Android One "only runs on certain smartphones", so probably not that. If Oreo/Pie stop working if you disable certain bloat, then I'm fine with using something older or even ancient, as long as it can function. And I'm probably going to be installing Play apps from APK mirror instead of the Play Store. What actually is the difference between that and sideloading? I thought when you installed an .apk from APK mirror it meant you were sideloading.
Again, my expectations for an OS are quite modest - basic smartphone features, along with the ability to use aptX/aptX HD or some other variants.
Can you link some de-googled and de-bloated ROMs I can choose from? I can't find any ROMs named "nano" or "pico" on the ROM section for this phone, or on Google.
dooshbagel said:
I'm thinking of buying a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, and I want to install a quality open-source ROM on it since I don't want the Chinese or Google spying on me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roms listed here are the ones you need, they are the ones for this phone. Successor of CM is LineageOS and people are happy with it. Being such a noob do your reading before you get into flashing, that prevents pulling too much hair. Mi A2 lite is a good phone.
Ah, avoid stock, it's a mess according to people who used it. I erased it as soon as I got the phone. I run AOSiP and am content with it.
On this phone you can also flash GSI systems (more reading), ArrowOS 9 worked just fine for me, others may be good too.
dooshbagel said:
I'm thinking of buying a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, and I want to install a quality open-source ROM on it since I don't want the Chinese or Google spying on me.
I've never installed a ROM before, and I don't think I really need any fancy features (except for basic smartphone things, like support for camera, flashlight, WiFi, Bluetooth, phone calls, audio/video recording and playback, GPS, etc.). I guess my only other requirement is that it can support something like aptX/aptX HD so I can use it with Bluetooth headphones and it won't sound like ass.
I've got some questions:
Do most ROMs generally tend to work with most phones? Can I just download some random ROM and have it work most of the time?
Are the 2 pages of ROM threads listed on this forum the only ones this phone can support? Or are these just the ROMs that forum users have tested it with? A lot of these ROMs I've never even heard of, and many are listed as [UNOFFICIAL].
Cyanogenmod has been discontinued, but could it still work on newer devices? There's projects like freecyngn which can remove propriety Google Analytics stuff from it, and I don't know if any similar tweaks exist for Cyanogenmod's successors.
What's a good resource for de-googled ROMs with no proprietary software? And which can support aptX/aptX HD or an alternative. And would hopefully actually work with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just try this https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a2-lite/development/rom-barebones-lineageos-16-0-t3931121
celrau said:
On this phone you can also flash GSI systems (more reading), ArrowOS 9 worked just fine for me, others may be good too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is GSI? And I don't see ArrowOS 9 listed anywhere in this phone's forum section. Can I just download it anywhere from the internet and have it work with the A2 Lite?
dooshbagel said:
What is GSI? And I don't see ArrowOS 9 listed anywhere in this phone's forum section. Can I just download it anywhere from the internet and have it work with the A2 Lite?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GSI stands for generic system images but as I said, do your own reading on all these. ArrowOS is here and you will need AB. And no, you can't just download it from anywhere on the internet and have it work. Search for what treble and GSI are, how to flash them and so on. Theoretically GSIs are easier to deal with since you don't need to change slots (don't ask me what slots are, you have the internet) but they are generic and some features may not work. If this is too much for you there is a thread here about debloating the stock rom, maybe that's more in tone with your current level of experience.
dooshbagel said:
I'm thinking of buying a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, and I want to install a quality open-source ROM on it since I don't want the Chinese or Google spying on me.
I've never installed a ROM before, and I don't think I really need any fancy features (except for basic smartphone things, like support for camera, flashlight, WiFi, Bluetooth, phone calls, audio/video recording and playback, GPS, etc.). I guess my only other requirement is that it can support something like aptX/aptX HD so I can use it with Bluetooth headphones and it won't sound like ass.
I've got some questions:
Do most ROMs generally tend to work with most phones? Can I just download some random ROM and have it work most of the time?
Are the 2 pages of ROM threads listed on this forum the only ones this phone can support? Or are these just the ROMs that forum users have tested it with? A lot of these ROMs I've never even heard of, and many are listed as [UNOFFICIAL].
Cyanogenmod has been discontinued, but could it still work on newer devices? There's projects like freecyngn which can remove propriety Google Analytics stuff from it, and I don't know if any similar tweaks exist for Cyanogenmod's successors.
What's a good resource for de-googled ROMs with no proprietary software? And which can support aptX/aptX HD or an alternative. And would hopefully actually work with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying to reply in a simplier manner than previous comments:
I come from the similar direction to yours. I am not a whistleblower, but I'm sick of all the data collection, all my moves logged on Google servers, all the synchronization and all the targeted ads.
For downloading apps you don't need to sideload, just use F-Droid + Aurora Store for Play Store.
LineageOS is the continuation of Cyanogenmod project.
The best you can find right now is this build of Lineage: https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a2-lite/development/lineageos-16-0-xiaomi-mi-a2-lite-t3919060
Be aware that it has unofficial status by now and it's unclear if it's gonna change anytime soon. It means you have to put all your trust in the maintainer, plus it doesn't use official Lineage infrastracture for delivering updates etc. Also SELinux is not active, at least yet.
The phone itself I definitely recommend - cheap, 10+ hours of SOT, fast enough, camera is ok for random pic taking.
celrau said:
GSI stands for generic system images but as I said, do your own reading on all these. ArrowOS is here and you will need AB. And no, you can't just download it from anywhere on the internet and have it work. Search for what treble and GSI are, how to flash them and so on. Theoretically GSIs are easier to deal with since you don't need to change slots (don't ask me what slots are, you have the internet) but they are generic and some features may not work. If this is too much for you there is a thread here about debloating the stock rom, maybe that's more in tone with your current level of experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, cheers. What are the basic procedures if I lightly or horribly screw up something while I'm doing this? Resetting, etc.
Might I respectfully suggest that you brew a cup of coffee or tea or whatever beverage, sit back and do some serious reading. Maybe, buy this device first and/or play with something you currently owned to get a better feel of how flashing & other basics like ADB and installing of ADB works.
You will probably need to be comfortable using (Xiao)MiFlash to fix any possible soft/hard brick to recover it back to OEM stock condition. All of the above plus other suggested files, roms and tools on your PC, ready to do its part. I also agreed, perhaps, once you decide to buy this device - start with debloating the stock rom as a beginner, to see what all this is about - before freaking out in a panic about all those warnings & errors on the device's screen as it boot up.
dooshbagel said:
Alright, cheers. What are the basic procedures if I lightly or horribly screw up something while I'm doing this? Resetting, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As the other guy is saying, best do some basic reading and install adb and fastboot on your computer, you will need them. If you stay with stock and just get rid of Google and friends (highly recommended for worm up) but **** up at some point and you can't boot or it bootloops, restart in recovery and reset. Or if you boot and something is not working but you have access to settings app, reset from there. Here, I'm doing your homework. DuckDuckGo is your friend.
dooshbagel said:
1-Do most ROMs generally tend to work with most phones? Can I just download some random ROM and have it work most of the time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the past years, unlike PC systems, a ROM was device specific and each supported device (of Cyanogenmod, let's say) was maintained by a dedicated developer. We still call it the same version of the said ROM, but each one has specific drivers files for its compatible device. It's still the case nowadays, and that's what you'll see in the ROM section of this device.
However, beginning from Oreo, google introduced a project called "Treble" that intended to separate the common Android System from the device specific files and driver's, by separating the classic system partition to a "vendor" partition, which contains all the hardware specific stuff, and a "system" partition containing a only generic universal Android system.
With this "Treble" project, a new type of ROMs emerged, called GSIs. These ROMs work on all Treble compatible devices (the Mi A2 lite included), and don't need to be maintained for each one. The Treble forum is here ; you'll find a more large selection with GSI ROMs, but I advice you to stay with the device specific ROMs on the Mi A2 Lite forum, which are more optimised for their specific device.
dooshbagel said:
2- Are the 2 pages of ROM threads listed on this forum the only ones this phone can support? Or are these just the ROMs that forum users have tested it with? A lot of these ROMs I've never even heard of, and many are listed as [UNOFFICIAL].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As answered above, these are the specific ROMs especially developed for this device, they'll be the more adapted to the Mi A2 Lite.
UNNOFICIAL just means that the developer that buildt the ROM for this device isn't working directly with the team responsible of the ROM. (For example the CrDroid ROM being official, it's A2Lite version will be hosted in the CrDroid site, an unofficial one won't).
It can be an indicator of stability, but you may find a very stable and clean UNNOFICIAL rom.
Now almost all the ROM that you've seen in the list are based on LineageOS, itself the son of CyanogenMod. We'll come to this point now.
dooshbagel said:
3- Cyanogenmod has been discontinued, but could it still work on newer devices? There's projects like freecyngn which can remove propriety Google Analytics stuff from it, and I don't know if any similar tweaks exist for Cyanogenmod's successors
4- What's a good resource for de-googled ROMs with no proprietary software? And which can support aptX/aptX HD or an alternative. And would hopefully actually work with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CyanogenMod project was going on like one week after it was discontinued, under the name of "LineageOS". Its 100% the same source and base, and the LineageOS team is the part of CM team that wanted to continue the CM rom developpement after their team split.
If you want a clean ROM with the basic features and independent from Google software, LOS is the more advisable. They provide their own version of all the basic feature apps (dialer, camera, music player etc) so that you don't need using Google software, and are in general VERY privacy axed, and have a centralised interface called Trust from which you can control what informations each app have access to.
Like I said above, almost all the ROMs (in the A2 Lite section) you'll see are based on LineageOS, adding customization features mostly. So if you just need the vanilla Android feature, with no obscure ROM additional software, and axed on privacy and security, I think LineageOS is your best shot.
The LineageOS 16build for this device is unnoficial but is fully buggless and regularly updated and maintained by a xda recognized developer.
Lastly, unrelated to you questions but you may need to read some "A/B devices - seamless updates" documentation, and carefully read the guides, or you risk bricking your device. (And possibly provide yourself with all the necessary stuff to unbrick your device, just in case)
Thanks GDFI, great post.
Alright bois, time for me to do some research then.
I built a custom version of LineageOS for personal use, with some built-in apps removed, patches for signature spoofing and some (mostly FOSS) apps included (microG, F-Droid, Lawnchair, etc.)
https://rarepepes.faith/lineage-16.0-20190606-UNOFFICIAL-daisy.zip
You can't really go full FOSS with any of the Android phones (Samsung S3 + Replicant ROM is as good as it gets), but you can minimize Google stuff on your device and filter network connections using apps like AFWall
Have fun!
You kids can try to Port "mokee os" ?
Hi, I recommend you to stay with AndroidOne OS.
I don't know why you want to change OS because Xiaomi still releasing security patch which is very important to protect your phone.
Custom ROM rarely update and maintain.
Not to mention in order to flash it, you need patient and time to learn the knowledge.
It is only suitable to go for custom ROM when Xiaomi not longer support Mi A2 Lite.
coolwei1 said:
Hi, I recommend you to stay with AndroidOne OS.
I don't know why you want to change OS because Xiaomi still releasing security patch which is very important to protect your phone.
Custom ROM rarely update and maintain.
Not to mention in order to flash it, you need patient and time to learn the knowledge.
It is only suitable to go for custom ROM when Xiaomi not longer support Mi A2 Lite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obscurantism at its best :good:
When nobody use a custom rom, nobody will develope on this device. Ergo no stable custom rom in the end of service for mi a2 Lite
Hi
I have a Honor 5X (kiwi / KIW-L21) as my daily driver and as its nearing the end of it warranty (2 years) its starting to run slower (good job, Huawei). Given this and the fact that during these two years i never received ANY update apart from an update to android 6.0.1 from android 5, im considering switching to LOS 16.
The thing is im completely new to custom ROMs, recovery, phone rooting and that jazz and im a bit scared.
I wanted to know if there is a way I can try out LOS 16 (say for example on a VM) to be sure that i like it before installing.
If not, would I be able to restore my phone back to its current OS in case i dont like LOS and want to fall back to EMUI ?
PS : I wanted to try it out on an older phone I have and for which i dont care as much, but its not supported :'( Its an Asus Zenfone go ZB552KL
Thanks in advance !
The oldphone approach is a good idea. Go to a recycling place and grab some old Motorola or Samsung phones. Broken screen is OK.
kurtn said:
The oldphone approach is a good idea. Go to a recycling place and grab some old Motorola or Samsung phones. Broken screen is OK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My local trash collecting place isn't very open to people who want to take stuff (yes, what a nonesense) but i'll try that i guess. The thing is we have like 3 or 4 old phones but none of them are listed as compatible on the LOS website
IamGron. said:
My local trash collecting place isn't very open to people who want to take stuff (yes, what a nonesense) but i'll try that i guess. The thing is we have like 3 or 4 old phones but none of them are listed as compatible on the LOS website
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need official. Search XDA and you will find unofficial lineageOS for many old phones. https://twrp.me/Devices/ is a good place to find the phone's code name. With that you can check stats.lineageos.org for popular ROM versions.
Will give it a look, thanks.
If nothing usefull comes out of this investigation and I end up doing it on my 5X, is there a way for me to backup the whole phone (i mean not just data, like the whole OS) that way I can fall back to its current state if something goes wrong / i dont like LOS ?
IamGron. said:
Will give it a look, thanks..........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, there's various ways for backing up a whole device but, there's limited (possibly no) choices that all depends upon the device itself and the capabilities of said device. So there's no real way of answering this question without, also, taking under consideration that what works for one may/may not work for another.
With that stated...
I've always found that the only way to know if I like something as huge as updating the Custom Android version Firmware, is to "Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worse".
I've been successful with Restoring TWRP Backups made but, have always had an (approximately) 50% +/- of a restoration working without any issues (a chance of requiring a fresh installation in the end).
In another words...
The only "recommended" way to upgrade/downgrade the LineageOS Android Versions is to make sure you have everything on hand for performing a fresh installation for both the upgrading and the downgrading of both Android Versions.
For anyone to guide you any other way should (ethically) be able to provide you with guidance in case something goes wrong in the process (of said guidance) with your specific device.
You should also ask for support and guidance within the LineageOS thread and, if needed, somewhere within the Device Dedicated Area of the forum that's specific to your device. This will help locate assistance from those who has your device as well.
For example...
[ROM][9.0.x] LineageOS 16.0 Official (kiwi) [NO VoLTE] by BadDaemon
[ROM] [9.x] LineageOS 16.0 Pie Unofficial for Honor 5x (kiwi) by coldhans
https://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-5x
I hope that I had explained this okay via text... :thumbup:
I wish you the best of luck!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unless asked to do so, PLEASE don't PM me regarding support. Sent using The ClaRetoX Forum App on my Apple Macintosh.
Ibuprophen said:
To be honest, there's various ways for backing up a whole device but, there's limited (possibly no) choices that all depends upon the device itself and the capabilities of said device. So there's no real way of answering this question without, also, taking under consideration that what works for one may/may not work for another.
With that stated...
I've always found that the only way to know if I like something as huge as updating the Custom Android version Firmware, is to "Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worse".
I've been successful with Restoring TWRP Backups made but, have always had an (approximately) 50% +/- of a restoration working without any issues (a chance of requiring a fresh installation in the end).
In another words...
The only "recommended" way to upgrade/downgrade the LineageOS Android Versions is to make sure you have everything on hand for performing a fresh installation for both the upgrading and the downgrading of both Android Versions.
For anyone to guide you any other way should (ethically) be able to provide you with guidance in case something goes wrong in the process (of said guidance) with your specific device.
You should also ask for support and guidance within the LineageOS thread and, if needed, somewhere within the Device Dedicated Area of the forum that's specific to your device. This will help locate assistance from those who has your device as well.
[...]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there, thanks for the answer and sorry for the delayed reaction, I was busy
I will investigate on the linked threads and see what I want to do after that. My main concern being fingerprint sensor gestures (I know, stupid habits lol) asking on the kiwi forum is definitely a good idea. Same things for installing TWRP and the recovery, someone there would probably be able to help.
Thanks a lot for your time
I apologise in advance if this is the wrong place to post this..
I recently got a Ulefone power armor 13 that I've been trying to to de-google, I've avoided smartphones for a long time due to concerns about tracking ect but I decided to take the plunge after seeing articles online about privacy focused google android alternatives.
The one I've really been trying to get to run is CalyxOS, I know it only officially supports a limited number of smartphones but there are some unofficial GSI ROMs of it. I really liked the idea of being able run both open source apps and google apps with spoofing, I know I said that I was trying to degoogle this phone but the simple fact is there are a few google apps I'd like to run if I can avoid the tracking.
Unfortunately I've only had dead ends and headache trying to to get them to install but I have had some luck getting AOSP GSI to install so I'd like to try something new.
Can anyone recommend a GSI rom that has either microg or some other way of spoofing google? Or alternatively a way of adding it to a AOSP GSI rom?
Many thanks for your time.
What do you mean by "spoofing Google"?
Spoofing may have been the wrong term to use, what I meant by "spoofing Google" was some means of allowing google apps run without my data getting back to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read online microg does this by somehow creating a fake ID for the device. Now my laypersons understanding may have have got this wrong if I have I would appreciate it if you could point me in the direction of some reliable info?
If I understood everything correctly this would need to be used along side the Aurora store or a similar app store to get the full benefit of it.
Maybe a better way to phrase my request would have been are there any GSI roms that do the same thing as CalyxOS or is it possable to get something similar with a stock AOSP GSI image and adding microg to it myself?
Star_Eagle said:
From what I've read online microg does this by somehow creating a fake ID for the device. Now my laypersons understanding may have have got this wrong if I have I would appreciate it if you could point me in the direction of some reliable info?
If I understood everything correctly this would need to be used along side the Aurora store or a similar app store to get the full benefit of it.
Maybe a better way to phrase my request would have been are there any GSI roms that do the same thing as CalyxOS or is it possable to get something similar with a stock AOSP GSI image and adding microg to it myself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if you had any luck or not. I thought I would follow up to this. I don't know why there's not much posting info on GSI ROM's. From what I've found there are ROM's available for what you are looking for. I did find some degoogled GSI ROM's even with or without microG preinstalled. If you need a list of some, I can provide you. I'm not sure they will work, but it is sometimes a trial and error. For the phone you listed you should be able to get some to work though.
Hi defcondoc
Thanks for taking th time to reach out to me, I currently have the phone running an Arrowos GSI ROM from the phhutson ROM list and so far its been ok for me though I would be REALLY happy to have list of other possible ROMS to play/tinker with. Afterall you never know what you might find unless you try new things.
If you have the time send me the list you have I would be really greatfull, I don't mind if they don'e have microg preinstalled at this point so long as its clearly marked that its not prinstalled.
Thanks again.
I'm looking to build AOSP for the Red Magic 8 Pro. Has anyone managed to get the proprietary binaries from Nubia or extract it from the stock firmware?
I have tried searching around for these binaries to no avail. If someone has a download link to share I would really appreciate it. I just want a completely stock android experience and don't mind if not everything isn't working.
Do you really want AOSP or Paranoid Android will do as well? In any case, download OTA here, extract payload.bin and use payload-dumper-go. You can use LineageOS instructions for getting binaries from unpacked .omg files.
aaa.bbb111222 said:
Do you really want AOSP or Paranoid Android will do as well? In any case, download OTA here, extract payload.bin and use payload-dumper-go. You can use LineageOS instructions for getting binaries from unpacked .omg files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have they already released a ROM for this phone? If not, AOSP builds without most Google trash and I block many of their domains in the hosts file just in case. I did finally find a dump here: https://github.com/RandomPush/nubia_nx729j_dump
Appreciate your help though. I'll post my progress here in case anyone is interested. The android developer documentation says proprietary binaries are usually located in a /vendor partition. Going through the dump now and trying to figure out the bare minimum to get a custom ROM booted.
My guesses are anything Qualcomm related for the SoC. I'm unsure of what baseband/radio chips the phone uses, actually it's been pretty tough to find a good spec sheet on it. Most resources that come up on Google only refer to surface level specs and don't go into much detail on the chips themselves.
No, they haven't, but I've seen people working on it. It would be a bit easier to bring up because PA is CLO-based (not AOSP), so the probability of most stuff working is higher. CLO has some Qualcomm-specific patches. Actually, you can probably build QSSI (like GSI but from CLO) without much difficulties, so this might be the way to go.
I'd recommend that you extract those binaries from OTA anyway as they might be updated in the future. Out of the box you probably won't get working vibration.
With the kernel source released, what's so difficult with building LineageOS and stuff?
SevastianXDA said:
With the kernel source released, what's so difficult with building LineageOS and stuff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We need a good unbricking method just to be on the safe side (personally, I'm not very keen on even trying someone else's build, let alone making my own, simply too much risk). Other than that, a lot of time is needed and there are basically zero good instructions. Once again, LOS isn't the best option for 8g2, would be better to go for Paranoid Android. One can theoretically build QSSI image (basically GSI, but for Snapdragons), might be a good idea for now. Still risky tho
aaa.bbb111222 said:
We need a good unbricking method just to be on the safe side (personally, I'm not very keen on even trying someone else's build, let alone making my own, simply too much risk). Other than that, a lot of time is needed and there are basically zero good instructions. Once again, LOS isn't the best option for 8g2, would be better to go for Paranoid Android. One can theoretically build QSSI image (basically GSI, but for Snapdragons), might be a good idea for now. Still risky tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the bricking issues here? Usually even if the ROM is f*cked or just something doesn't work you can always flash back to stock through TWRP.
SevastianXDA said:
What are the bricking issues here? Usually even if the ROM is f*cked or just something doesn't work you can always flash back to stock through TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If only there was a fully working TWRP... Unfortunately, there isn't. Well, kind of. It boots but that's it. And no, sideload simply doesn't work. When I went back to stock on my previous device (1+7 Pro), I had to use MSM Tool. Nothing like that is available for RM8P, ZTE doesn't want to give the tools to us because of bs reasons.
aaa.bbb111222 said:
If only there was a fully working TWRP... Unfortunately, there isn't. Well, kind of. It boots but that's it. And no, sideload simply doesn't work. When I went back to stock on my previous device (1+7 Pro), I had to use MSM Tool. Nothing like that is available for RM8P, ZTE doesn't want to give the tools to us because of bs reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bruuuuhhh, that's stupidd, someone shall reverse engineer the MSM tool to work for the RM8P (sarcasm)
Hmm, as I can see from this post, it seems peeps have managed to actually restore the phone from a full brick..: Post
Edl or its countparts is not a necessity for buiding a custom rom. 1st, a custom rom usually just overwrite the application parts, so in the worst case the user can still restore to factory rom via fastboot commands. 2nd, many manufacturers never release their factory rescue tools (Google, ?) but there are numerous custom roms, even official builds.
Cyanide_zh said:
Edl or its countparts is not a necessity for buiding a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, it's more a convenience factor.
Cyanide_zh said:
1st, a custom rom usually just overwrite the application parts, so in the worst case the user can still restore to factory rom via fastboot commands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or not. In fact, happened to me (Qualcomm crashdump mode or something like that). And if something could go wrong, it will.
Cyanide_zh said:
2nd, many manufacturers never release their factory rescue tools (Google, ?) but there are numerous custom roms, even official builds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually those devices have much less ROMs available if any. Just compare 1+9 Pro and 10 Pro.
aaa.bbb111222 said:
less ROMs available if any. Just compare 1+9 Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any ROM than the stock would do, just LineageOS would be superb.
SevastianXDA said:
Hmm, as I can see from this post, it seems peeps have managed to actually restore the phone from a full brick..: Post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting.. https://romprovider.com/nubia-red-magic-8-pro-plus-firmware-stock-rom/
SevastianXDA said:
Interesting.. https://romprovider.com/nubia-red-magic-8-pro-plus-firmware-stock-rom/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sadly, 9008 firmware need pay about 50 USD, But nobody said the package can be used still now.
CrazyMoney said:
sadly, 9008 firmware need pay about 50 USD, But nobody said the package can be used still now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bruh the custom ROM and modding community is so mid and goofy for the RM8P Literally one of the main things making me go for a Poco F5 instead
Chinese dev made MIUI rom but its only payed with alipay for like 3 dollars. I im waiting when we can pay with paypal to try it looks good.
ibestmoder said:
Chinese dev made MIUI rom but its only payed with alipay for like 3 dollars. I im waiting when we can pay with paypal to try it looks good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah, but as explained/talked about here, AOSP/LineageOS has to be technically possible
I got the rom maybe extract and check it? Take out alipay security then we can try it
ibestmoder said:
I got the rom maybe extract and check it? Take out alipay security then we can try it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe share the ROM file, then we can try finding some way to remove forced payment/crack it (No paid ROMs allowed in XDA forums) and maybe possibly clean it somewhat (Does it even have english as an option?) and we'll finally get ourselves a finally working alternative custom ROM.