AOSP ROMs discussion?

[JustSomeDudeHere]

Short version:
Seems pretty quiet over here so I may be just tossing this into the wind, but I'll ask anyway: is anyone here using an AOSP ROM on their VZW Note2 and want to talk shop?

Long version:
I know the "what are the best ROMs" threads are frowned upon on most forums, but I was hoping this might be a place that is open to a friendly discussion of experiences on AOSP ROMs on our phone. I'd love to talk some of this out, but am unsure where to do so...

Specifically, based on past AOSP experiences, I'm interest in:
-Call quality [vs on a TW ROM]
-Signal strength in fringe areas [vs on a TW ROM]. (Not just bars, but dropped calls, calls cutting in and out, data drops, etc.)
-Bluetooth bugs [vs on a TW ROM] (streaming media and phone calls)
-Graphical glitches [vs on a TW ROM]
-Battery life [vs on a TW ROM]
-camera quality [vs on a TW ROM]

ROMs I'm trying to find time to try:

-AOKP - [ROM][4.3] AOKP::i605
-Eclipse - [ROM][AOSP/4.3] Eclipse v5.1 build 5- Galaxy Note 2 (i605/vzw) Light & Dark!
-CM 10.2 - [ROM][SCH-I605/T0LTEVZW][JB][4.3] CyanogenMod 10.2 official nightlies
-CM 10.1 - [ROM][SCH-I605][JB][4.2.2] CyanogenMod 10.1 official nightlies

On my SG3 I had the best luck with Slimrom and Eclipse, but unfortunately there is no Slim for the VZW Note2, and nitro (Eclipse dev) doesn't actually have a note2 anymore, so I'm currently trying CM 10.2 nightlies, 10/2 specifically right now.

My experience/questions so far on CM10.2:
-Call quality seems fine, if quieter than on TW. Not great, but not really bad by any means.
-Data drops to 3G in areas of town where I usually get 4G, but not as often as I've experienced in the past on AOSP, which is nice.
-Streamed some podcasts and music over bluetooth, seems good so far.
-Graphics: some text seems a bit... fuzzy or blurry is the best way to describe it. I've reduced the font size, but not sure what else I can do to fix it. Anyone have ideas?
-Stock camera seems ok, obviously lacking a bit vs the TW camera, but I I don't think it's a deal-breaker for me.

Also, I just have to say how happy I am to use lockscreen widgets with a PIN again, so much more useful than the TW lockscreen.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I don't have a Note 2, but I can join in on the discussion.My S3 had Slim and I loved it. I was running CM for a couple days, but I missed the extra custom option Slim offered. Because I am on Sprint, I wasn't able to use an official AOKP, and that bummed me out.

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who loved slim - it's too bad one of their developers doesn't have a vzw note2. I actually haven't tried AOKP yet, no real reason, so I may try that if I get a chance next. And I've never been sure if it's better to focus on the "official" CM, AOKP, etc. ROMs, or go for kangs or other AOSP roms built for a particular phone, by a person with that phone. But so far I'm enjoying the official CM10.2, I'll have to see what other bugs if any shake out during daily use...

 

[Golfdriver97]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who loved slim - it's too bad one of their developers doesn't have a vzw note2. I actually haven't tried AOKP yet, no real reason, so I may try that if I get a chance next. And I've never been sure if it's better to focus on the "official" CM, AOKP, etc. ROMs, or go for kangs or other AOSP roms built for a particular phone, by a person with that phone. But so far I'm enjoying the official CM10.2, I'll have to see what other bugs if any shake out during daily use...

I have tried a couple unofficial ports for my E4GT (Sprint S2), and found them to be buggy, and because they are unofficial, they were not maintained. Bugs never got fixed. One of the things I hated about CM was Quick Toggles could not totally be disabled. I preferred the power widget setup in Notifications, like how Samsung does it. While CM does support this, they seem to prefer the toggles.
Even though it may be a little late, you can try emailing Slim about Note 2 support. I just emailed them about Moto X. How long before you upgrade?

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

I have tried a couple unofficial ports for my E4GT (Sprint S2), and found them to be buggy, and because they are unofficial, they were not maintained. Bugs never got fixed. One of the things I hated about CM was Quick Toggles could not totally be disabled. I preferred the power widget setup in Notifications, like how Samsung does it. While CM does support this, they seem to prefer the toggles.
Even though it may be a little late, you can try emailing Slim about Note 2 support. I just emailed them about Moto X. How long before you upgrade?

I messaged cordell12 (Slim dev on the vzw gs3) when I moved to the Note2 back in June, but never heard back. I wonder if I should try another Slim dev. You make a good point about the official roms seeming to be better maintained - although on my old Evo I found deck's AOSP was always more stable than the official CM, which is why I still check out unofficial ROMs... And I'm with you on the power widget in notifications, I'm using that now, and rarely use the Quick Toggles (doesn't really bother me that they are there as long as I can use the other option).

As far as when I upgrade, could be any day? My next actual upgrade is next Sept, but I tend to do a lot of swappa/craigslist/ebay dealing when I get bored of a phone. (In the past three years I've gone from Sprint -> Verizon, and gone from the Hero -> Evo 4G -> Photon -> Rezound -> SG3 -> Note2). I'm pretty happy with the size and crazy-lasting battery on the Note2, but have been eying the G2 and the Note3 lately... (would look at a Moto X, but now anything under 5" seems way too small for me). But I think I can stick with the Note2 for awhile, as long as development keeps up.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I messaged cordell12 (Slim dev on the vzw gs3) when I moved to the Note2 back in June, but never heard back. I wonder if I should try another Slim dev. You make a good point about the official roms seeming to be better maintained - although on my old Evo I found deck's AOSP was always more stable than the official CM, which is why I still check out unofficial ROMs... And I'm with you on the power widget in notifications, I'm using that now, and rarely use the Quick Toggles (doesn't really bother me that they are there as long as I can use the other option).

As far as when I upgrade, could be any day? My next actual upgrade is next Sept, but I tend to do a lot of swappa/craigslist/ebay dealing when I get bored of a phone. (In the past three years I've gone from Sprint -> Verizon, and gone from the Hero -> Evo 4G -> Photon -> Rezound -> SG3 -> Note2). I'm pretty happy with the size and crazy-lasting battery on the Note2, but have been eying the G2 and the Note3 lately... (would look at a Moto X, but now anything under 5" seems way too small for me). But I think I can stick with the Note2 for awhile, as long as development keeps up.

Yes, I would try another developer. They may not do anything due to the device being so old, but who knows?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

Yes, I would try another developer. They may not do anything due to the device being so old, but who knows?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

Yeah, I emailed their main site, but haven't heard back, and assume that I probably won't because of the age of the note2. But I'm still really liking cm10.2, actually have stuck with it all week (on the 10/6 nightly right now). We'll see how long I can deal with the slightly reduced signal strength in fringe areas (so far hasn't been bad enough for me to switch back to tw).


Sent from my SCH-I605

 

[chizler2378]

new guy here, figured i would jump right in and give some advice on AOSP that i have flashed.
in no particular order just from what i remember of the top of my head.

vanilla rootbox 4.2.2 is one of my favorites. it has a lot of options, just wished it had more support.
cm 10.1/10.2 both really clean roms with awesome support.
pac-man 4.2.2 ton of options and pretty stable.
liquid smooth 4.2.2 really nice and smooth, this rom and illusion 4.2.2 are my daily drivers, love them both.
avatar is another good stable rom but im not into theming so not for me.
paranoid android 4.2.2 is a really nice and clean rom.

im sure i am forgetting some, but as you can see i am a crack flasher love to play around with all of these roms, everyone i have tried brings something good to the table its hard to pic just one.

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

Thanks for the reply. I have to say, I started this thread thinking I would flash a bunch of ROMS searching for the best for my needs, and have just stuck with the first one I tried this time, cm10.2. I was on the 10/6 nightly up until today, just flashed the 10/11 nightly and it's still amazingly stable and great.

I'm interested that you seem to stick with 4.2.2 ROMs as your daily, any reason you mainly stick with those over a 4.3 rom?

Sent from my SCH-I605

 

[Golfdriver97]

new guy here, figured i would jump right in and give some advice on AOSP that i have flashed.
in no particular order just from what i remember of the top of my head.

vanilla rootbox 4.2.2 is one of my favorites. it has a lot of options, just wished it had more support.
cm 10.1/10.2 both really clean roms with awesome support.
pac-man 4.2.2 ton of options and pretty stable.
liquid smooth 4.2.2 really nice and smooth, this rom and illusion 4.2.2 are my daily drivers, love them both.
avatar is another good stable rom but im not into theming so not for me.
paranoid android 4.2.2 is a really nice and clean rom.

im sure i am forgetting some, but as you can see i am a crack flasher love to play around with all of these roms, everyone i have tried brings something good to the table its hard to pic just one.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[chizler2378]

thanks for the welcome. for me the 4.2.2 roms just seem to be more stable, i have tried some 4.3 roms and it seems like there is always some tiny little bug that makes me switch back. i have PA 4.3 on my sd card now just havent flashed it yet and carbon 4.3.

what 4.3 roms are you guys mostly running?

 

[Golfdriver97]

thanks for the welcome. for me the 4.2.2 roms just seem to be more stable, i have tried some 4.3 roms and it seems like there is always some tiny little bug that makes me switch back. i have PA 4.3 on my sd card now just havent flashed it yet and carbon 4.3.

what 4.3 roms are you guys mostly running?

Before I switched phones, I was running Slim and I loved it.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

 

[chizler2378]

I haven't seen that ROM, was it a ported ROM from another carrier.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[chizler2378]

Just found it in xda, it is unofficial and people were having a lot of problems with it, that's why I haven't tried it.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

Just found it in xda, it is unofficial and people were having a lot of problems with it, that's why I haven't tried it.

Posted via Android Central App

Yeah, if there was an official slim for our device, I'd definitely try it. Right now cm10.2 is still my 4.3 rom of choice. Just haven't had any reason to change. Any particular features of carbon or PA that keep you interested in those?

Sent from my SCH-I605

 

[chizler2378]

no i havent flashed either Carbon or PA yet, been busy with work. probably wait til this weekend to try one.

 

[madisonjar]

I tried cm, but it is really picky it seems (at least 10.2 is) on sending mms in low signal areas...that coupled with the fact that the signal wasnt great (3g where I usually get 4g with tw roms) made it a nightmare for me to get pictures out last night, so I quickly loaded my tw rom back up.

 

[JustSomeDudeHere]

So I'm heading out on a mini vacation this weekend, and I think I have to reflash a TouchWiz rom like CleanRom, mainly for the camera. I'm just finding that the AOSP camera app isn't cutting it in terms of responsiveness and quality, and 3rd party apps like Camera Zoom FX don't seem to compensate as much as I hoped they would for the lack of whatever Samsung camera software optimization we're missing out on in AOSP. I'm not sure if this is the correct use of the concept of irony, but I think it is ironic that I'm planning to go back to TW for the camera, when one of the main draws for me of the 4.2 & up AOSP ROMs is the quick-access of the camera from a PIN-locked lockscreen.

Man I envy those GSM S4 folk with GPE ROMs... (as I understand it, they get a full working TW camera in an AOSP ROM...)

 

[chizler2378]

i am running the photosphere camera on illusion rom 4.2.2, so far its been pretty reliable.

 

[anon(6174973)]

Running CyanogenMod 10.1.3 on my S4. Pretty good so far, except for the fact that it occasionally crashes and the phone will reboot itself.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk