Does rooting T-mobile S4 and installing stock Android equal the Google S4?

[quietlybrilliant]

I've read conflicting information about this in various threads, so thought it would make sense to start a new thread just with the purpose of clearing it up once and for all:

T-mobile says it is OK to unlock their phones (root?) after a little while. Can I then put stock Android on and does this equal the experience of the upcoming Google S4?

 

[quietlybrilliant]

I see 245 views but no responses, so am getting worried that my question was posed in a confusing way. Please let me know if I should clarify it more. Thank you.

 

[gollum18]

Hmm you won't be able to install purely stock android, and no it wouldn't. A Google experience gs4 = updates from Google. A custom rom on a carrier s4 = updates from your roms dev.

Sprint GS3 Running TN's Msg and Chubbs

 

[gollum18]

Also unlocking your phone does not equal rooting. The new dmca revision makes it illegal to unlock your phone to flash to a different carrier. It has nothing to do with rooting the phone.

Sprint GS3 Running TN's Msg and Chubbs

 

[kashk5]

Well, since the Google Edition version of the S4 is not yet available, it's hard to say whether you would be able to flash the ROM from that phone onto yours and get an identical experience, or like what gollum18 stated, it'll end up just being something that ROM developers will be able to use to create a stock experience on your T-Mobile S4. The first possibility, of course, means that you'll get updates straight from Google. The second possibility, on , the other hand, limits your upgrade options to developer updates, just like with other ROMs.

 

[Dreamliner330]

I'm fairly certain the 'Google Edition' ROM will be available in the developer community for flashing onto the carrier devices. The updates, just like any other ROM, will be via the developer community, not Google or Samsung. Just wait a few weeks after the Google Edition release; I'm sure true AOSP ROM's will be plentiful.

 

[quietlybrilliant]

OK, thanks for the responses. To bad that there is no agreement!

 

[quietlybrilliant]

Is there a test one can devise to find out who of y'all is right?

 

[Dreamliner330]

Pretty sure we all said the same basic thing.

1.) Carrier versions will not get a 'Google Edition' release from Google.
2.) Developers will most likely create a custom ROM based on, or identical to the Google Edition version.
3.) To get this custom 'Google Edition' ROM, you will need to download it from a developer ROM thread (xda-forums) it and load it on your phone.
4.) Similar to any other custom ROM, updates and support will be via the developers ROM you downloaded.

Learn about custom ROM's and wait for the Google Edition phones to be released. Once they phones are released, developers will begin to adapt the 'Google Edition' ROM for the carrier version of the S4.

 

[quietlybrilliant]

Thanks a lot for clearing that up.

Sounds like it makes more sense to wait for the Google S4 to ship, since I'm not sure how long it will take for custom ROMs to appear.

Pretty sure we all said the same basic thing.

1.) Carrier versions will not get a 'Google Edition' release from Google.
2.) Developers will most likely create a custom ROM based on, or identical to the Google Edition version.
3.) To get this custom 'Google Edition' ROM, you will need to download it from a developer ROM thread (xda-forums) it and load it on your phone.
4.) Similar to any other custom ROM, updates and support will be via the developers ROM you downloaded.

Learn about custom ROM's and wait for the Google Edition phones to be released. Once they phones are released, developers will begin to adapt the 'Google Edition' ROM for the carrier version of the S4.