Advice Needed: Install a Custom ROM or Stick with Stock?

[Nick H.]

Hi all,

 

I woke up this morning to Neowin's article detailing the patches being applied through LineageOS. Personally I don't think there is too much for someone like me to worry about, but at the same time now that I am on garden leave from work I'm getting this itch again to install a custom ROM and mess around with my phone a bit more.

 

The phone is a Samsung S7, running on Samsung's iteration of Nougat (V.7.0). My major concern is losing various Samsung features. My issue these days is that I don't know where Android's OS starts and Samsung's additions end. Also, with the situation of looking for more work I need to be sure that the phone won't have any drops in connectivity.

 

Is it worth mucking around with my phone at this time? If so, are there any suggestions for a ROM to install? LineageOS would seem to be one of the better options to go with, but I'm hesitant about moving away from what Samsung has already provided me with.

 

I've rooted previous devices and installed custom ROMs before, so this isn't a question of technical expertise. It's more an attempt to gauge how the custom ROM situation is, and whether it is worth following my fancy of experimenting with my phone or keeping things as they are.

[techbeck]

What things do you have now that you cannot live without if you go with a custom ROM?  I would start there first and see if there are any app store alternatives.  Would make deciding easier.

 

[Circaflex]

Which version of the S7 do you have? Is it equipped with the exynos chip or snap dragon? Here is why I ask that. If you want to run a custom ROM, you will have better luck with a phone running a Snapdragon CPU. Why, you might ask? ROMs based off of AOSP or CAF-AOSP will not run on exynos. Without the necessary source code or blobs provided by Samsung, you are out of luck. Snapdragon does not have that issue.

 

If this were me, I wouldn't touch Lineage with a ten foot pole, while using a Samsung. Nothing ever fully works properly, unless your device is a Nexus/Pixel/OnePlus with Lineage because it is AOSP/CAF based. Too many hacks are needed and third party drivers are used. I've been there and done that many times.

 

If you really want a custom ROM on a Samsung, my opinion is to fine a Stock ROM that is tweaked and updated regularly. You will have better results and a phone that always works.

[PGHammer]

On 10/17/2017 at 7:33 PM, Circaflex said:

Which version of the S7 do you have? Is it equipped with the exynos chip or snap dragon? Here is why I ask that. If you want to run a custom ROM, you will have better luck with a phone running a Snapdragon CPU. Why, you might ask? ROMs based off of AOSP or CAF-AOSP will not run on exynos. Without the necessary source code or blobs provided by Samsung, you are out of luck. Snapdragon does not have that issue.

 

If this were me, I wouldn't touch Lineage with a ten foot pole, while using a Samsung. Nothing ever fully works properly, unless your device is a Nexus/Pixel/OnePlus with Lineage because it is AOSP/CAF based. Too many hacks are needed and third party drivers are used. I've been there and done that many times.

 

If you really want a custom ROM on a Samsung, my opinion is to fine a Stock ROM that is tweaked and updated regularly. You will have better results and a phone that always works.

And the S7 with q Snapdragon SoC has a locked bootloader everywhere except China - merely getting root (while possible) is a real pain anywhere else - so much so that the Chinese version is, in fact, nicknamed separately (heroltechn) to distinguish it from the non-Chinese version (herolte).  Rather amusingly, you can change carriers by merely changing firmware - despite the locked bootloader (I changed from VZW to T-Mobile, for example).

[Draconian Guppy]

I backed off my LG g3 customs roms because:

 

Lost camera laser autofocus

Lost built in audio jack detection (whether active amplifier, headset or headphones)

 

Added to that, too many random bugs, phone freezing up every now and then etc.

 

The same might go with your S7, camera might not work as good in autofocus, flash power 

A good read on that: https://www.xda-developers.com/cameras-custom-roms-developers-make-hardware-work-without-source-code/

 

What you can do is use ROMS based on stock rom that add the funcionality you need/want, else IMO, except for debloating, customs roms add no value to my android device.

[PGHammer]

On 11/7/2017 at 1:10 PM, PGHammer said:

And the S7 with q Snapdragon SoC has a locked bootloader everywhere except China - merely getting root (while possible) is a real pain anywhere else - so much so that the Chinese version is, in fact, nicknamed separately (heroltechn) to distinguish it from the non-Chinese version (herolte).  Rather amusingly, you can change carriers by merely changing firmware - despite the locked bootloader (I changed from VZW to T-Mobile, for example).

All custom ROMs for the Snapdragon S7 are semi-stock (due to the locked-bootloader issue); the one I am currently running is Project L - which is a fusion of S7 and S8 apps along with de-odexing and de-Knoxing.  It is meant to be rooted (which is why the lack of Knox).