[Discussion] Favourite rom/kernel and why?

cd993

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May 8, 2009
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Hi all, thought I'd start this discussion (following a success of such thread I started for the OnePlus 5T) just for a place to talk about what rom we're all running at present, for what reasons etc. to offer an overview of what choices are available for our great device. Having this one thread for an ongoing discussion will prove handy for us all to keep up to date.

I've just purchased a Pixel 2 XL which will arrive in a couple of days and I'll be selling my OnePlus 5T. As much as I love it, I really wanted to have the stereo speakers, water resistance, great camera and fast updates.

So indeed, what roms/kernels do people suggest? I'm thinking Nitrogen OS will be my first rom...
 

Badger50

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I alternate between stock and DU atm. After the March security update, I'm going to try Nitrogen. It was my favorite rom on my 6p, and Nittin, the maintainer, is very good at fixing bugs and offering support. As far as kernels go, it's tough to beat Flash. He updates that kernel shortly after upstream changes are posted. Having said that, Snoke and Ex are also very good if you want to stay close to the stock Google kernel. And that's my 2 pennies worth ??
 

cd993

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May 8, 2009
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I alternate between stock and DU atm. After the March security update, I'm going to try Nitrogen. It was my favorite rom on my 6p, and Nittin, the maintainer, is very good at fixing bugs and offering support. As far as kernels go, it's tough to beat Flash. He updates that kernel shortly after upstream changes are posted. Having said that, Snoke and Ex are also very good if you want to stay close to the stock Google kernel. And that's my 2 pennies worth ??
Great! Yes I must say I think my first setup will be Nitrogen with Flash kernel. Will debloat a few apps and root. Looking forward so much to receiving this device!
 

Duncan1982

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Feb 6, 2014
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Nice! Which tweaks are good for this device? I'll aim to get Viper4android and the vanced black YouTube. Also am I right in thinking there's a magisk module which can customise 'the squeeze'?
Yeah not taking anything away from Current ROMs, it's just that the stock ROM with just the right ingredients suites me better :good:

Yes there is a Magisk mod to customise the squeeze, haven't used personally yet though.

I really don't like having Xposed but chose to install for Flat Style Bar Indicators

Flash Kernel .....Just Sublime

Substratum to. change the nav keys

Then just a few Magisk mods as below
 

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cd993

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May 8, 2009
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Yeah not taking anything away from Current ROMs, it's just that the stock ROM with just the right ingredients suites me better :good:

Yes there is a Magisk mod to customise the squeeze, haven't used personally yet though.

I really don't like having Xposed but chose to install for Flat Style Bar Indicators

Flash Kernel .....Just Sublime

Substratum to. change the nav keys

Then just a few Magisk mods as below
Yeah that could be how I end up to be honest! Am I right in thinking that Nitrogen OS is essentially a stock rom but modded? As so opposed to Lineage based or anything like that?

What I most want from a rom:

- stock camera quality/performance
- be able to swap recents/back button
- long press actions (eg back for kill, recents to last app, home button launch torch)

I'm not too bothered about many other mods
 

Duncan1982

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Feb 6, 2014
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Yeah that could be how I end up to be honest! Am I right in thinking that Nitrogen OS is essentially a stock rom but modded? As so opposed to Lineage based or anything like that?

What I most want from a rom:

- stock camera quality/performance
- be able to swap recents/back button
- long press actions (eg back for kill, recents to last app, home button launch torch)

I'm not too bothered about many other mods
No Nitrogen OS is based on AOSP but it's feature rich & very stable (credits to the dev), I used but couldn't help returning to stock and just adding in the things I personally like & enjoy :good:
 
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mrimage

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May 21, 2007
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I alternate between stock and DU atm. After the March security update, I'm going to try Nitrogen. It was my favorite rom on my 6p, and Nittin, the maintainer, is very good at fixing bugs and offering support. As far as kernels go, it's tough to beat Flash. He updates that kernel shortly after upstream changes are posted. Having said that, Snoke and Ex are also very good if you want to stay close to the stock Google kernel. And that's my 2 pennies worth ??
How to u alternate du and go back to stock, Everytime I flash du and go back to stock it using script to flash stock to both slots I lost my data because it ask me to factory reset all the time
 

Haz3

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Jan 24, 2016
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AquariOS has been my DD going on a month now. Solid and has most everything you would need. Great ROM??
 

otonieru

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May 7, 2011
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I think i agree with the most of pixel users,

Stock with a personal ingredients on top, that always work best,

My current setup is

• Feb Stock
• Flash Kernel/Kirisakura (am juggling between version)
• xPosed for Instant Face Unlock, Flat Style Status Bar, SudoHide (stop that app update notif in playstore, hide the app from it), and Exposed Edge
• using screen gesture & fingerprint scanner gesture control to do everything (back, home, recent, app cycling, shortcut, you name it). There goes the annoying on screen nav bar. And here come the fully immersive screen, all the time !
• Viper4FX + Dolby Atmos through Magisk
• Nova launcher with icon pack & google companion
• Substratum
• Adblock + WireGuard
• iYTBP - Just like how YouTube supposed to be. Background playback with no Ads.
 

Badger50

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Feb 27, 2011
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How to u alternate du and go back to stock, Everytime I flash du and go back to stock it using script to flash stock to both slots I lost my data because it ask me to factory reset all the time
Simple. My stock rom is on slot A, and my DU is on slot B. When I want to switch, I go into twrp, change to the slot I want to be active, then do a twrp factory reset, then restore my backup and that's pretty much it. I've probably done that half a dozen times in the last month ??
 

Prattham

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2013
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Yeah not taking anything away from Current ROMs, it's just that the stock ROM with just the right ingredients suites me better :good:

Yes there is a Magisk mod to customise the squeeze, haven't used personally yet though.

I really don't like having Xposed but chose to install for Flat Style Bar Indicators

Flash Kernel .....Just Sublime

Substratum to. change the nav keys

Then just a few Magisk mods as below
What does extend wifi channel do exactly?

Sent from my Google Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
 

jrbxx7

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Nov 18, 2011
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I alternate between stock and DU atm. After the March security update, I'm going to try Nitrogen. It was my favorite rom on my 6p, and Nittin, the maintainer, is very good at fixing bugs and offering support. As far as kernels go, it's tough to beat Flash. He updates that kernel shortly after upstream changes are posted. Having said that, Snoke and Ex are also very good if you want to stay close to the stock Google kernel. And that's my 2 pennies worth ??
I've been loving nitrogen and flashk. Has been running great since day one. Even with... Xposed installed. Lol. If i need my squeeze fix i go to stock for a bit ?. Never thought squeezie phone would be useful. Ive ran du and AquariOs also. There all great roms, very happy to have as much development as there is for the xl2. As far as kernels ive really only used flash. But all of the a available ones are from great devs and worth trying.
 
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rickysidhu_

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Apr 1, 2016
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Ever since my first Android device (Nexus 6P), I've mainly run PureNexus. Got a Pixel XL and had PN on that too. Switched to the OnePlus 5 and had PureFusion on that as it was basically PureNexus for the OnePlus 5. Got the 5T and it kind of felt like a downgrade. Vibration motor felt "loose" or weak to me, and initially there was not much development for it, including the lack of PureFusion. Development kicked in eventually but I just wanted to come back to Google at that point.

Found someone to trade my 5T with, and now I'm the happy owner of a 2 XL :) My setup is:

Stock Feb update
Magisk 16.0
Xposed for Oreo
Using GravityBox to fill in the empty spaces stock leaves. I've always used custom ROMs in the past and this is my first time being happy with stock, and that is mainly because of the customization GravityBox offers!

As for kernels, I use flash because he was super helpful back in the 6P days, and is an awesome developer in general, so I want to support him! Also, he updates so frequently and I'm a total flashaholic (no pun intended:laugh:) so it's a win-win.

Whenever PureNexus drops, I'll definitely making the switch over, and I may play around with DU if I get some spare time to do so; seems like everyone is really loving that ROM as well:)

Sorry for the long post/unnecessary backstory of the devices I own, just thought I may as well include that bit in :p
 
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