Does anyone use custom android roms anymore?

Forums › Android › Does anyone use custom android roms anymore?

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BadCo

109 posts

Master Geek

#3150218 19-Oct-2023 17:16

I started with a Nexus for and from memory used Paranoid Android and Cyanogen mod then moved to a Nexus 5x and Lineage. Also have a Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

Later on I diverged from Google phones with the OnePlus 6t and used LineageOS degoogled, now I am back with GrapheneOS on a Pixel 7 and it has been significantly better then degoogled LineageOS. I'm also keen on the Pixel Tablet with GrapehenOS.

I also suspect with how locked down devices are getting that LineageOS may eventuality die off in the near future.

Castlvaniafan

97 posts

Master Geek

#3182196 15-Jan-2024 13:16

No, sadly the security checks put an end to it as someone who uses my phone for mostly everything I need the security checks. Was so fun though installing ROMS.

BadCo

109 posts

Master Geek

#3182483 15-Jan-2024 22:12

Castlvaniafan:
No, sadly the security checks put an end to it as someone who uses my phone for mostly everything I need the security checks. Was so fun though installing ROMS.

What security checks?

Batwing

672 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#3182485 15-Jan-2024 22:28

SafeteNet failing is a big thing, a real game of cat and mouse for the custom ROM community.

As it is now I can only get a day or two of having Google Wallet function before its failing again. For me its only loss of contactless payments, and I think the real security status of my phone is better than if I was using the crappy MIUI it came with that is over a year out of official support now. So I am sticking with custom ROMs so as to not be 2 Android versions behind and having worse battery life and performance.

nofam

1094 posts

Uber Geek

#3202528 2-Mar-2024 18:55

Yeah, nah - not for a long time. ROM modding got very bitchy and childish on XDA, and quality went way down as people rushed to get firmwares out with very little useful changes. Kernel development was always where it was at for me, but OEM's dragged the chain with releasing source code, and as others have said, Safetynet checks made it harder over time, to the point it wasn't really fun or worthwhile.

But there was a really cool community here back in the day for the original Galaxy S etc - I managed to soft-brick mine, and lost my IMEI for a couple of days ha ha.

BadCo

109 posts

Master Geek

#3202554 2-Mar-2024 21:13

Recently got Android Auto in a recent GrapheneOS update, an unexpected pleasant surprise.

lchiu7

6470 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3212083 29-Mar-2024 15:05

I still have a phone with custom ROM - This is Motorola Z2

https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_z2_force-8693.php

It's not my daily driver and I only use it because it uses the Moto Mod accessories, one of which is the pico projector which I find very useful.

It didn't have a custom ROM per se but in order to flash the stock ROM over the Sprint ROM it came with, I had to unlock the bootloader and I never bothered to relock it. This was few years ago but when it was my daily driver I could use Google Pay, banks apps and Microsoft Office (work) by using Magisk.

It looks like it's still available and working

https://magiskmanager.com/

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rhy7s

623 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3212110 29-Mar-2024 16:52

I've got a few phones that got dropped from official LineageOS builds which makes it a bit more of a hassle relying on other maintainers or building yourself.

My mother has lucked out with her Motorolas though, got a good long run on her first one and her current Moto G7 Power is still getting official nightlies on Android 14 (when it came with 9 and had an official update to 10). I wish there was more standardisation on hardware and longer driver support on ARM systems.

It's no problem keeping 20 year old systems going on the PC side, it's such a shame that this explosion of computing devices can't have fuller second lives (I'm at least encouraged by increasing signs of support for external display output). At least anything on Lollipop or later still has Play Store support, so even if it's not ideal, Android devices (especially in impoverished areas) end up kicking around much longer than iOS. Even though iOS has longer official support, once they drop out, it can be a real crapshoot on whether apps are still supported - you can keep running old versions if they are installed but after a reset to hand them on you're out of luck (and the App store on iOS and MacOS is very unfriendly in that you can't filter by compatibility, or see an indicator of it until attempting an install.

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