Android Tablet OS/Customization Thread


Recommended Posts

I decided to get a small Android tablet to have a little something different than iOS. I got the 2017 Samsung Galaxy A 8". Really nice little device. I am not a fan of the Touchwiz stuff though. The last Android tablet I had was the awesome Nexus 7 and I loved vanilla Android. Is it possible to install vanilla Android on a Samsung device? And can I install Oreo? Right now it is on Nougat 7.1.

totally an option to install vanilla android.

 

the XDA forums are going to be your best friend for tutorials and available roms :)

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a

  • Like 3
  On 10/05/2018 at 19:41, Brandon H said:

totally an option to install vanilla android.

 

the XDA forums are going to be your best friend for tutorials and available roms :)

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a

Expand  

Thanks for that @Brandon H. Think it will perform better without the touch wiz garbage? I did try out a couple launchers last night - the Microsoft one and Nova and both improve the device quite a bit.

  On 11/05/2018 at 12:44, patseguin said:

Thanks for that @Brandon H. Think it will perform better without the touch wiz garbage? I did try out a couple launchers last night - the Microsoft one and Nova and both improve the device quite a bit.

Expand  

It's probably a combination of the lower spec hardware and TouchWiz. 

 

I think it's all now pretty painless to change over the ROM, give it a go and see how it feels. Worst case you revert back. :)

  • Like 2

yeah even in the latest versions TouchWiz is still garbage IMO and slows everything down

 

a custom ROM with possibly a custom Kernel as well will have that thing performing like a champ :)

  • Like 1
  On 11/05/2018 at 13:10, Brandon H said:

yeah even in the latest versions TouchWiz is still garbage IMO and slows everything down

 

a custom ROM with possibly a custom Kernel as well will have that thing performing like a champ :)

Expand  

See I've heard (not used) otherwise. It's obviously nowhere near as good as stock but they've massively improved what once was the wart of the Samsung phones. 

  On 11/05/2018 at 13:16, dipsylalapo said:

See I've heard (not used) otherwise. It's obviously nowhere near as good as stock but they've massively improved what once was the wart of the Samsung phones. 

Expand  

and that's why I say IMO, I agree that it's improved but I still think personally that TouchWiz is one of the worst when it comes to the OEM skins.

  • Like 2
  On 11/05/2018 at 13:26, Brandon H said:

and that's why I say IMO, I agree that it's improved but I still think personally that TouchWiz is one of the worst when it comes to the OEM skins.

Expand  

Yeah I liked everything about the device except for Touchwiz so that's what I want to get rid of asap. Performance is OK but I didn't expect a $200 tablet to perform like my iPad Pro anyways. If I could install Oreo on it and squeeze out some better performance, it would be great.

  On 11/05/2018 at 13:38, patseguin said:

Yeah I liked everything about the device except for Touchwiz so that's what I want to get rid of asap. Performance is OK but I didn't expect a $200 tablet to perform like my iPad Pro anyways. If I could install Oreo on it and squeeze out some better performance, it would be great.

Expand  

most are Nougat but i definitely saw some Oreo ROMS on XDA for the Tab A so you should be golden on that front.

 

for root/bootloader unlock:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a/how-to/root-t3674409

 

unofficial Lineage build: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a/development/rom-lineageos-15-1-android-8-1-20171223-t3723952

  On 11/05/2018 at 13:46, Brandon H said:

most are Nougat but i definitely saw some Oreo ROMS on XDA for the Tab A so you should be golden on that front.

 

for root/bootloader unlock:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a/how-to/root-t3674409

 

unofficial Lineage build: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a/development/rom-lineageos-15-1-android-8-1-20171223-t3723952

Expand  

What is LineageOS? Just the guy's name for a custom Oreo build or something? Sorry for noob questions, Android is still new to me.

  On 11/05/2018 at 14:24, patseguin said:

What is LineageOS? Just the guy's name for a custom Oreo build or something? Sorry for noob questions, Android is still new to me.

Expand  

LineageOS is the successor to CyanogenMOD
They're the most renowned community run customized AOSP build.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LineageOS

  On 11/05/2018 at 14:34, techbeck said:

Cant you just install a new launcher?  Would be easiest thing to do if you do not like TW.

Expand  

yes but he wants Oreo which isn't officially available for the A tablet

 

LineageOS looks to be the only Oreo option right now for it.

  On 11/05/2018 at 14:40, Brandon H said:

yes but he wants Oreo which isn't officially available for the A tablet

 

LineageOS looks to be the only Oreo option right now for it.

Expand  

I started reading up on Lineage but chickened out fir fear of bricking my tablet. I tried a whole bunch of launchers and Apex gives me a nice experience. I find the speed and responsiveness of the tablet a little lacking which is why I thought maybe a vanilla Android install might be a good idea.

  On 12/05/2018 at 12:54, patseguin said:

I started reading up on Lineage but chickened out fir fear of bricking my tablet. I tried a whole bunch of launchers and Apex gives me a nice experience. I find the speed and responsiveness of the tablet a little lacking which is why I thought maybe a vanilla Android install might be a good idea.

Expand  

with the ODIN tool even bricking can be repaired from quite easily

 

I had the original Nexus 7 tablet which used the odin tool for flashing, it's easy to use and can get you out of soft bricks in a pinch.

 

check out the root link i posted above; if you're comfortable with those steps then you won't have any problem :)

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a/how-to/root-t3674409

 

it's looks like the method in this thread doesn't even wipe current data which is a plus if you only want the root

 

edit: yeah TouchWiz is all over the system, it's more than just the home screen launcher so a vanilla experience would definitely help a little more.

  On 12/05/2018 at 16:44, Brandon H said:

with the ODIN tool even bricking can be repaired from quite easily

 

I had the original Nexus 7 tablet which used the odin tool for flashing, it's easy to use and can get you out of soft bricks in a pinch.

 

check out the root link i posted above; if you're comfortable with those steps then you won't have any problem :)

 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a/how-to/root-t3674409

 

it's looks like the method in this thread doesn't even wipe current data which is a plus if you only want the root

 

edit: yeah TouchWiz is all over the system, it's more than just the home screen launcher so a vanilla experience would definitely help a little more.

Expand  

Maybe I'll consider trying it after all. The overall performance of the tablet is kind of laggy. I am fairly certain it is the Samsung bloatware. If I just want to install vanilla Nougat can I do that without using Lineage?

This is a great thread. You guys should consider pasting some of these links/comments to an android tablet OS / Customization thread! (Y)

  On 12/05/2018 at 22:12, patseguin said:

Maybe I'll consider trying it after all. The overall performance of the tablet is kind of laggy. I am fairly certain it is the Samsung bloatware. If I just want to install vanilla Nougat can I do that without using Lineage?

Expand  

nougat should have some pure AOSP builds listed on XDA, it's only Oreo that has unofficial support thanks to Lineage. (even being unofficial i doubt you'd have issues, the community is pretty good about releasing builds in a stable state as you can read from the comments in the threads :) )

 

AOSP is the pure vanilla android release by google which most custom roms are based off of in case you were wondering :)

  On 14/05/2018 at 13:08, Brandon H said:

nougat should have some pure AOSP builds listed on XDA, it's only Oreo that has unofficial support thanks to Lineage. (even being unofficial i doubt you'd have issues, the community is pretty good about releasing builds in a stable state as you can read from the comments in the threads :) )

 

AOSP is the pure vanilla android release by google which most custom roms are based off of in case you were wondering :)

Expand  

The tablet is a bit slow for me to really enjoy it. I am really digging Android though. I love the customizability. I was thinking about returning the Tab A 8" and buying an S3. Ever used one?

  On 15/05/2018 at 13:23, patseguin said:

The tablet is a bit slow for me to really enjoy it. I am really digging Android though. I love the customizability. I was thinking about returning the Tab A 8" and buying an S3. Ever used one?

Expand  

yeah that's the problem with the budget tablets sadly; they function 'decent' on their initial factory release os version but degrade in performance fast with each update :/

 

don't have a samsung tablet myself but anything E series and above should perform well. the A series is really their lowest budget range so it performs mediocre at best as you've noticed.

edit: though it looks like the E series hasn't been refreshed in a few years so the S tabs look to be the way to go if you don't want lag :)

  • Like 2
  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...

I do not know if launchers are within the purview of the discussion, but I use the Microsoft Launcher on nearly all of my Android devices (excluding my Sony Xperia smart phones). The layout of OneUI 4 on a Samsung Galaxy seemed close to what Microsoft Launcher could provide, but there was no way to move the apps button to the center of the dock. I also find that it is trivial to restore layouts across devices since the launcher supports exporting them to cloud stores or local stores.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Been happy with Windows 11 myself even since first release in 2021, sure it hasn't always been perfect, but nothing is per say.. Issues i did have was minor ones, which is normal with any OS really. I still use Windows 10 at times on my unsupported Gaming Laptop, and i find myself using the Windows 11 Desktop more. Eventually replacing Gaming Laptop with a Windows 11 Compatible one somehow, someway this year or possibly next year at the latest, but its gonna happen--(May save all my Bing reward points except the 1000 to have extended support for 10) then work on getting quality Replacement hard)
    • Geez, this is dumb. I use my laptop sometimes in the dark when doing astrophotography to control my astro-PC... this explains why I have to keep entering my PIN when logging back in. So stupid. I can't see the keyboard in the dark, and I can't have lights everywhere to light it up because everything is very light sensitive (including my eyes!).
    • Naturally. I don't care about brand loyalty at all as it's all about price/performance/reliability etc (even what RejZoR said below is a great point to). basically bang-for-the-buck. because at the end of the day... one wants the cheapest possible price to maintain a certain minimum level of performance (or thereabouts). because generally after a certain point with CPU and GPU's the price starts to sky rocket without that much difference in performance where it really matters. p.s. historically I have bought more Intel CPU's and NVIDIA GPU's but I have had some AMD CPU's and one AMD GPU.
    • Both of these companies as well as Qualcomm and Apple need competition. Otherwise, they just coast. I don't prefer macOS, though I like some of Apple's hardware, but if anyone needs competition, it is Apple. Their prices are already outrageous and they need to have a reason to produce good hardware and at least keep prices remotely reasonable. (It is criminal what they charge for RAM upgrades especially.) Qualcomm needs to push AMD and Intel not to be so sloppy with the performance/efficiency aspect. Granted, AMD has been doing quite well in this respect considering they are not an ARM architecture. I personally want to have more options that truly compete with Macbook Air and Macbook Pro's on the Windows side. It is difficult to achieve what Apple does since they control the entire stack and that is fundamentally different for Windows PCs other than maybe Microsoft Surface PCs.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Hartej earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      TsunadeMama earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      shaheen earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Dedicated
      Cole Multipass earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Alexander 001 earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      570
    2. 2
      +FloatingFatMan
      182
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      179
    4. 4
      Skyfrog
      111
    5. 5
      Som
      106
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!