So, I know most people connect to DLP once or twice a day through their mobile devices, be it a tablet, a phone, or what have you. Whats your preferred set up? What devices do you use, what ROMs, Kernels, etc.


I find myself fiddling with my phones all the time, changing stuff on them, retheming them, etc. Sounds silly, but I spend as much time on it as I do my laptop or anything else, sometimes more, and I want for it to look how I want it to.

I don't much like CyganoMod anymore. Can't say why, it was the first ROM I ever flashed and I liked it at first, but ROMs like Rasbeanjelly and Paranoid Android are much more complete.

I have a Rooted Nexus 4 with PA 3.99 RC2 and the Most recent Gapps version, and Trinity 4 Kernel. Works great for improving battery life on a device that usually doesn't stand up to well to long term use. Its by far my favorite device to use.

Load out for this phone since I use it the most:​

Apex Launcher with Stark Icons or 2flat if I'm feeling like being extra minimal.
I use Greenify to kill apps that run in the background, but that I still use frequently, but don't want them consuming battery life.
and Xposed Installer for some extra features.
Swiftkey (best keyboard replace imo)
and Sliding SMS by Jklinker on the App store (by far the best SMS replacement app there is, also has full Google Voice texting support for US users, or anyone with a voice account, really)
WhatsApp Plus for everything else message related.
AdAway ver 2.8 (which was taken off the app store, but is still compiled by a dude on XDA) for host editing and adblocking. Kinda sucks because there are no real apps that remove the white space left behind once you kill the apps, but I still think it makes for an over all better browsing experience, it also removes ads from games. If you play games that have ads in them, anyways.
Finally, I use Dash Clock for lock screen, has a clock, date is displayed in Stardate(picard era mother fuckers) and app notification display for my messaging apps, and battery life.

​

Paranoid Android has Halo, and while I like it, I don't often use it, because Sliding SMS has a Halo style setting that opens the full app so that you can respond to messages faster.

Also run it in full tablet mode, with maximum DPI set.


A S4 with a Pure Google Experience ROM, 4.3 Jelly Bean and Franco Kernel, No Touch Wiz bullshit or any other thing.

a Note 2 with PA on it, can't recall the version number, I like it cause with PA you can change your display modes from Phone, Hybrid, Phablet, and Tablet. So I have a tablet DPI on my Note 2, per app color for app customization, and other small shit. No custom kernel on it, cause I haven't messed with it in ages.

Got an HTC with Pure Google 4.3 on it, with a MoDaCo switch for Sense, cause HTC is pretty useless without Sense. I don't like this phone as much as I thought I would, got it thinking that maybe it would replace my love of the Nexus 4, but it hasn't.

MotoX is pretty blah, there isn't much development out for it, but I do like some of the concepts that it has. No mods for this one, but I plan to put Xylon on it.

LG Optimus G2 I bought, because its supposed to be similar to the Nexus 5 (in all but name) and I can't get over how much I hate the shitty buttons on the back of it. I like softbuttons that I can change, not something that has a physical sound as well as easily breakable. Luckily the Nexus 5 doesn't look anything like it :3 Google realize it was stupid as fuck to make it look that way.

I haven't modded it, just tested it out. I eventually plan to put AOKP on this. Maybe with a Franco Kernel. Got to see if there is a way to be able to flash it and be able to keep the camera software on it. Cause that is pretty neat.


What I'm looking forward to is the Note 3 and the Nexus 5, I plan on getting both when they hit stores. I'm itching to mess around with Android 4.4.

Anyways, tl;dr. Starting this thread because I haven't made a new thread in ages, wanted to talk about Flashing/Rooting/Modding phones. Feel free to share your custom phonetops, what builds you're running, and what versions.

Or use this as a general resource thread, I plan on updating it later with some links to rooting/flashing tutorials. And links to all major ROMs that go to most phones.



I also don't want to see shitty screenshots of unmodded phones with just different backgrounds of your fat GFs or BFs <3

 

In the end, I will probably link to a ton of XDA threads. Its the best site I've found, that supports community ROM efforts, however, some of them are a bunch of assholes when you try and ask questions.

I suggest starting here, and then once you have your phone rooted deciding what you want to do with it.

A video.



Are there programs you don't use on there, but can't remove them through a typical uninstall? Once you get your phone rooted (if you brick it, luckily its usually its just a soft brick that you can fish through reflashing) get Titanium Backup.


To root your phone, I would suggest the following,

Rom Manager
SuperSU SuperUser is an okay App, but they've been slow in updating their stuff to work with JellyBean 4.3.

Find the ROM you want. There is Paranoid Android(the better, IMO), Cyganomod (the most common one flashed), AOKP (Android Opensource Kang Project, a lot of the features you see in it are tweaked for use in PA and CM) Rasbeanjelly(pretty sure he has a Note 2 ROM, if not, its still a nice minimal ROM) and finally Xylon, which is really minimal, and should have a Note 2 image.

There's one called Liquid Smooth, but I don't know if its supported on Note 2 either, its great for extending battery life of your device, lot of power management features, etc.


Download the right GAPPS version for your ROM, Paranoid Androids are the most complete set, some ROM remove some, or add some to their package if they have something that is feature specific. Most links for this you can find right near the ROM.

Before doing anything, since Rooting and Flashing custom ROMs voids the warranty on your phone, so if you do hard brick it, you can't get it replaced under warranty. Just read it, there are some phone specific videos on youtube that you can watch, that will show you phone specific things. Like, if you root and you freak out cause your phone takes longer than usual to boot up, or if you flash and it has a long boot, thats just all the app packages initializing, don't turn it off and then back on, let it sit. Could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.

Once you have it rooted, there are an endless amount of things you can do. There are some apps like Wifikill that require root, where you can audit your own wifi network and kill all connections but yours, its a great party trick. There's adaway, which modifies your host file, which unless you're rooted you can't do without a little bit of trickery, and gives you the ability to block in app ads and web ads while browsing. Advanced File explorers that lets you look at everything on your phone, not just the top layer of your /system/ file, and above all, if you're on Verizon's Network, or ATT and you want to remove their bloatware, you can. As well as instead of having to wait until they drop an OTA (over the Air Update) for the newest version of android for your phone, chances are there is some ROM community that's already chopped it up and made it work better, that you could flash faster than waiting for them to push the update out.

Verizon is terrible for OTA updates, usually when a new version of andorid comes out, you will wait several months while they fill it with all their shit, and then push it to you.


Any other questions you have, I would be happy to answer in the thread, just post. Read the tutorial linked above, read the questions they have asked, look around and make sure the problems you're having isn't something someone else had, and over came.

Happy Rooting :3

 

I like tinkering with everything, I guess thats why I've done as much as I have. I go through periods where I want to see what all I can change, or what is possible to change, and what people have tried to improve upon to overcome hardware limitations.

I look at my phone like I do my laptop. I've done all kinds of shit to my laptop to make it work a certain way, that I like it, and my phone is just a smaller version of that laptop, that I try and change in a similar manner.

Most people, I've noticed don't really think about doing anything to their phones cause they're happy with how they are, thats fine, I was really hopping to see how far along people in the community have come in regards to their mobile device, since they're such a large part of tech now.

I used to hate smartphones and what they represented, cause I always just texted or made phone calls. GPS, Tap to Pay, NFC, and other tools are things I didn't ever see myself using, but I do now, and things are not easier per se, but more in line with how I like to live my life. So they become easier as I get my self accustomed to using them in a certain manner.

I'm very tech oriented, I have computers and automation for anything that people would usually do themselves, or see it as a small task. I can control the lights in my house, the blinds, my sound system and my TVs. I can remote connect to my computers, and send and receive things between them within my own home network using apps like Airplay and AirDroid, which I never thought would be useful, but I feel disconnected without them now. Arming the security on my house remotely, turning it off, and allowing entry, and even unlocking my front door from a great distance are all neat tools, as well as starting my car, etc.

I guess I'm must fascinated by all of it, if there was a way for me to get implants and other such things, I would have them, just cause I like the idea, and it fits in nicely with my Sci-fi view of the world and of technology.

 

Why get an Iphone? You can do so much more with Android. Hate aside, I've jailbroke Iphones before, its not that amazing, not saying rooting android is, but it still has a ton of apps that you can use. As well as customization that really gets old on iOS.

Yeah, are they still pushing Cydia or whatever?