Custom Rom for Galaxy S4 i9505: Google Edition vs Echoe vs Cyanogenmod?

Forums › Android › Custom Rom for Galaxy S4 i9505: Google Edition vs Echoe vs Cyanogenmod?

timmmay

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#137916 13-Dec-2013 09:38

I'm interested in changing my S4 i9505 to a custom ROM. The main reason is to avoid the limitations of Samsung Knox (information here and here), which limits flexibility. I want to keep root and the ability to use custom ROMS in future. The main things I want to do are let apps do things like turn airplane mode on, reboot the phone periodically, plus little bits and pieces.

The main things I want from a phone are stability (critical), then flexibility and performance. Stability and reliability really are important.

The ROMs I'm considering are:

Echoe Rom
Pros: Based on TouchWiz, so has all the right drivers. Samsung bloat presumably removed, though not sure. A few apps and extra behaviour introduced.
Cons: Less well known/trustworthy. Touchwiz keeps apps seperated into normal and downloaded, downloaded isn't sorted - that's just annoying.
XDA Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2555569

Google Edition
Pros: Stock, well known and trusted, frequent updates. Should be fast, flexible, and reliable.
Cons: Updates may have to be applied manually (no problem). Unsure whether all the correct drivers are present for all the hardware, for the proper Google Edition phone Samsung builds it with the drivers. Suspect it's done fine.
XDA Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2341026
Guide: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/527324/20131204/galaxys4-lte-i9505-android44-kitkat-googleplay-edition.htm

Cyanogenmod
Pros: Well known, trusted, supported, tested. It's almost a commercial distribution. Based on ASOP so should be pretty clean.
Cons: on my old TF101 tablet it rebooted occasionally, though a friend of mine says it was great on his S2 and battery life was better than stock firmware
XDA link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2521384
Guide: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/521550/20131112/galaxys4-lte-i9505-android44-kitkat-update-cyanogenmod11.htm

I'd appreciate hearing from people who've tried any of these ROMs on their i9505, or who know about them. Also interested in how it applies to Telecom phones, eg LTE support, roaming.

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Mad Scientist
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#951483 13-Dec-2013 10:20

*tagged

i'd like something stable and no lag and good battery life

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Batman

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#951484 13-Dec-2013 10:21

re OP - do you think TW based is the most stable?

I'm surprised the likes of omega and wanamlite didn't pop up?

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timmmay

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#951490 13-Dec-2013 10:26

I've just read a thread on androidforums.com that says Echoe KitKat is based on Google Edition not Samsung Touchwiz, and it lacks the required modem. XDA thread here. I'd be a bit careful with it, give it a bit of time to stabilise. Echoe 4.3 is apparently quite stable, but I'm after the new VM and improved memory utilization in 4.4.

I'm not an expert though, that's why I'm asking.

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#951492 13-Dec-2013 10:28

I'm surprised the likes of omega and wanamlite didn't pop up?

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timmmay

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#951493 13-Dec-2013 10:29

Happy to hear other options, the ones I posted about are the ones I know.

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#951495 13-Dec-2013 10:33

i would stick with touchwiz unless someone can say aosp is cricitally 100% stable? but maybe i'm just ignorant ...

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kiwitrc

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#951497 13-Dec-2013 10:34

joker97: I'm surprised the likes of omega and wanamlite didn't pop up?

Wanam only develops for phones he has, he has a i9500 only.

timmmay

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#951499 13-Dec-2013 10:37

joker97: i would stick with touchwiz unless someone can say aosp is cricitally 100% stable? but maybe i'm just ignorant ...

Google Edition is basically AOSP, I figure that's probably pretty stable, but I have no evidence to back that assumption up.

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#951504 13-Dec-2013 10:51

what is the difference between TW adn AOSP? thanks

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timmmay

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#951505 13-Dec-2013 10:54

Touchwiz is a skin over AOSP, of course. Not sure what features it provides. I also figure the ROM put out by the manufacturer is probably the most stable, so anything that takes that and removes knox/adds root is probably a decent bet. Echoe 4.3 seems to do that, not sure about 4.4.

I've been doing a bit of reading, I'm not sure any of the 4.4 roms are totally stable for everyone on the S4 yet. Might be worth waiting for a month or two.

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#951506 13-Dec-2013 10:56

oh i see ... so TW is built on AOSP *blush

yeah might need to wait till after new years for a stable 4.4.2

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uglyb0b

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#951519 13-Dec-2013 11:30

I am using Omega on my S4, it's working really well so far. I'm avoiding knox like the plague and will do everything I can to keep my non-knox bootloader as long as possible.

There are instructions on the Omega xda page on flashing the rom and the correct modems. You need to use a different modem if you are on the old bootloader, but it's very easy to take care of.

Most of the things you're wanting to do can be enabled using xposed modules if they aren't by default. There is also an omega repo that you can download various mods etc including boot animations and battery icons.

The only think I don't like so far is that by default it changes the boot animation, shutdown animation and battery icon to the omega themed ones, however changing back is just a matter of downloading the mod from the repo and flashing in recovery.

Edit - there is also an option during the install to deselect the apps you don't want installed (ie bloatware).

timmmay

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#951522 13-Dec-2013 11:37

The problem I have with ROMs is evaluating which ones are good, which are bad, which do what you want, etc. There's no comparison of them around, no way to judge which are trustworthy and which aren't.

Omega looks good, a solid 4.3 ROM. I was planning on doing a custom ROM around Christmas if I could get to 4.4, but my current feeling is none are really stable yet. Given everything works on my 4.2.2 ROM right now I think I'll just leave it be for now, look at it again in Jan or Feb.

jonovw

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#951538 13-Dec-2013 12:12

You could just try them all

I doubt any S4 4.4 ROM's are completely stable yet either

Batman

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#951563 13-Dec-2013 12:46

timmmay: The problem I have with ROMs is evaluating which ones are good, which are bad, which do what you want, etc. There's no comparison of them around, no way to judge which are trustworthy and which aren't.

Omega looks good, a solid 4.3 ROM. I was planning on doing a custom ROM around Christmas if I could get to 4.4, but my current feeling is none are really stable yet. Given everything works on my 4.2.2 ROM right now I think I'll just leave it be for now, look at it again in Jan or Feb.

same here. my 4.2.2 is - perfect. nothign wrong with it.

just asking - sometimes my s4 lags when it's doing something. surely a quad core system won't lag? do you have any disappointment in this department?

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

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