sflannery07

Hey guys, still kinda new to all this. I would appreciate any info on the best roms out there, used a guide in this forum to root my phone but my battery is now RUBBISH! I've had to freeze maps, because it kept turning itself on and gorged on my battery. So please help me find a better solution

lotus49

You'd be better off asking in the rooting sub-forum Galaxy S2 - All Things Root - Android Forums. Although it's sub-titled all things root it also addresses the issue of alternative ROMs as well.

steslatt

I can recommend villain rom. It has improved my battery life a lot.

sflannery07

Thanks guys, was thinking about villainrom. Seems to be the most popular, cheers!

mvh

I've got villainrom since yesterday evening. I unplugged at 1 AM and at 1pm I still have 86% left. Wifi is on for more than 4 hours. Sync was of.

I'm happy

steslatt

+1 for villain rom. Stable, fast and good battery life.

Captain Stu

Does the VillainROM have the Samsung UI over the top or is it "pure" Android?

Rudedawg

Having an issue with Villain ROM. Installed the base rom just fine but now at the Villain Tweaks step and have no idea how to install it? I cant used CWM because it says i need Superuser access yet it doesnt apply the access like it did when stock rooted. So thats off the cards.

Ok ignore above , I reinstalled CF root first and installed the Tweaks APK after that. I then installed the modem file and re flashed the stock kernal to once again remove the yellow triangle.

Job complete

Last edited by Rudedawg; July 1st, 2011 at 07:12 AM.

Rudedawg

seems I screwed it up and reset the phone back to CF-Root stock and removed villain. DOH! Well im clueless. XDA dont explain things as clearly as youd think.

I'm thinking all I did wrong was restore using CWM to the state before I flashed Villain. Man i question my intelligence sometimes. >.<

Last edited by Rudedawg; July 1st, 2011 at 07:35 AM.

mvh

@captain stu:

Yes it has Samsungs UI (touvhwiz). Haven't found a good stock android rom.

Caspa

Ive been looking into ROMs as my line is up in 10 days and Villian does look like the best out there, especially if you want close to stock with the tweak bonus...

Cognition also looks good but you'd need to watch out for whats been stripped out as you may need to replace some... I for one would need to whack sevenengine.apk back in for Exchange syncing....

Gonna give Villian a go when I join the SGS2 gang...

Rudedawg

Good man. Really is less faffing than some. I cant say i noticed any change in battery usage but I do hammer away at it all day constantly. :P

Captain Stu

Aahh bugger, I need to get an S2, best phone on the market hands down, but I HATE the Samsung UI - totally ruins Android for me.

Rudedawg

I love it. Compare it to what Touch wiz was back on the Tocco and its top quality. Smooth as butter and easy to manage. I use LauncherPro to customize the desktop/homepage and the results are stunning.

Avoid GDE themes by the way. Ugly

JMack89427

Looks like Team Hacksung will have nightlies of CM7 shortly.

Source: [ROM][GRJ22] CyanogenMod 7 for Samsung Galaxy S II - To Be Completed! - Page 25 - xda-developers

ironass

+1 for LauncherPro. First app I downloaded onto my phone.

I have been a life long hater of Samsung phones, stretching back 8 years.

However, I have to say that this phone really does tick the boxes.

I rooted my phone immediately and installed Villian ROM 1.4 with Battery %. See here:-

[23/6-11] [MOD] [STOCK XXKF2 & VillainROM 1.4] BATTERY PERCENTAGE and ASOP icons - xda-developers

in the fond hope that Cyanogen will release their first Nightly Mod anytime soon.

__________________
If someone has helped you then be polite and select their Thanks button.
The "Search this Forum" button is your friend.

mvh

I use LP+ too. Can't stand the childish look of Touchwizz UI

retrorom

Just flashed Cognition S2 v1.08 a few days ago. It is really nice so far and overclockable to 1.5ghz. There is a Cogapps installer that comes with it to reinstall apps that have been ripped out. Cognition overwrites everything though so make sure (as always) to do a backup. I am still waiting for a custom rom like Cyanogen though If that's available, I'll be getting that one for sure. I used to have Villainrom on my Hero, maybe a next update with more custom stuff will get me hooked again who knows.

denwa

trying revolution rom 2.6 with Zeem launcher. Pretty nice so far. I found the instructions on rooting and installing roms a tad confusing compared to HTC. Once rooted it seems some roms get installed via the recovery using an sd card and some you install via Odin and a cable.

Really messed up my phone at one point trying to install a rom that had android 2.3.5.

Finally got it working again and installed revolution 2.6 (android 2.3.4)

runlsd

I've used quite a few so far.. CM7, SensatioN, Batista, Cognition, Villan, MIUI, Checks..

Currently on Dlev and going to stick with it for a while.

Nirvana1000

Can anyone who has Miui Rom 2.3.4,give their impressions of it? And is it safe and stable for Galaxy S2?How different is it from Villain which i'm currently using?I went to the download page and there is US,UK and so on.So i'm assuming Canadians use the US version.Well i know with any installation of custom ROMs you have to make sure it is done correctly with every step.But i read with special emphasis for Miui ROM.

Last edited by Nirvana1000; October 20th, 2011 at 06:49 PM.

Uber-Duper

I've been on a lot of different roms, on a mission to find one that is cutting-edge, stable, smooth, customizable, and good on battery.

My first custom rom (Lite'ning rom) was decent, and had a good balance of performance vs battery life with CPU master by Antutu installed (Set CPU freezed up from time to time). This rom came with ninphetamine 2.0.5, is already themed and ready for scaling from 200 to 1600mhz. I had no real reason for changing from this rom, other than wanting a newer bios, as lite'ning 6.1 uses baseband KH3.

I have settled on checkrom revolution HD v.2

This rom is extremely stable, and has been tweaked with a few goodies that have really enhanced the user experience. Packet data connectivity is noticeably improved, Proximity sensor delay is shorter, so accessing the dialer after taking the phone away from your face is less frustrating This rom comes with the Kitchen pro app, from which u can install new themes, modded apps, modems, kernels and other cool stuff.
Having tested the available kernels on this rom, i recommend sticking to DK Siyah and using CPU master with the SmartassV2 Governor. I'm scaling from 100 to 1400mhz, left the phone on all night for 8hrs with packet data still on and only lost 2% battery. It's pretty amazing.

IDK why i'm selling this rom so much, guess i just like it

Rudedawg

I think CheckRom is the flavor of the month here at Phandroid.

cdl

I downloaded the MIUI ROM from here: http://miuiandroid.com/roms/miui-development-roms/
I have a UK Galaxy S2, which of course I rooted.

I used the phone unrooted for about 12 hours, and with MIUI for less than a day. I already restored all the apps I had on my other Android (a Motorola) using Titanium Backup. So far impressions are good: I like the graphic style, and the phone seems just as fast as with the stock rom. Too early for conclusive opinions, but first impressions are very good. Also, MIUI is the eye candy I like the most of all the Android versions I have seen (stock, HTC Sense, Motoblur, TouchWiz, Cyanogenmod etc). I particularly like the integrated data monitor and the firewall to prevent certain apps from accessing the internet. I installed go launcher and 'folder organizer' (by a chap called Fabio Collini) on top of MIUI because the only thing I didn't like was the Iphone-sque approach of not having an app drawer. Oh, bluetooth rsap works with MIUI, too.

MrBaker22

Im undecided on the MIUI rom, checkrom hd or villain rom which one is best on battery life? And easiest to flasg and do they all work with siyah 2.1.1?

__________________
____________________________________
Samsung Galaxy S2 on Vodafone UK. Android 2.3.5
ROM: CheckRom HD V2.0
Kernel: Siyah-v2.2 Beta 6

Rudedawg

Villain Rom is solid but for me it was very boring. Its based off of stock so very little difference. The battery was steady.

CheckRom is customisable heaven but 2.0 has been notably heavy on battery life. Some kernals can vary. I notice little difference as a heavy user. My battery runs away.

MIUI I can't comment. It didnt appeal at first glance.

MrBaker22

Thanks rudedawg, just spent 2 hours reading up on all 3.. i think im leaning towards Checkrom 2.0 HD.. it states no wipe in the features, does that mean i can just flash it straight to my phone without doing a full wipe of my phone.....

Sydney99

In theory. A lot of people have done so and not had problems. Personally I think may be best to do full wipe anyway.

__________________
Kernel: NEAK 1.3.3 (noop, conservative 100-1200)
Modem: LPH
Rom: CheckROM Revolution V6

Hawker

I think people make way too much of a big deal regarding full wipes.
I almost always do a full wipe. The only time I don't is if I'm updating the same rom and it still is on the same firmware version. So this is quite rare.

Keep your contacts and calendar centrally in your google account. This makes full wipes very straight forward..

Do a titanium backup of your apps before wiping. download this from the market after your up and running on your new rom and you'll be back as normal in no time. Just remember to decline the prompt in the new rom's first run to let google restore your apps. This will eat up your data usage as this is done before you get chance to set up your wireless connection.

I'm probably all done within 5 or 10 minutes after a full wipe. Its a small price to pay for extra peace of mind.
And I enjoy going through the various setup stages on a new rom after a wipe as it gives me a chance to discover if there are any new features.

__________________
SGS2 GT-I9100 (Orange UK) ROM: NeatRom LPF ICS 4.0.3 Baseband: LPX
Steps following a Factory Reset....Firmware, Kernels and Modems
Click here if you have Kies problems....Bricked? Try a Soft and Hard Reset
GS2Wiper Kernel Cleaning Script...My Web Site

Last edited by Hawker; November 6th, 2011 at 11:04 AM.

MrBaker22

Thanks... ive read the xda thread about it, it says i need the latest kitchen(something like that) whats that for and do i really need it ?

cdl

You are probably referring to this:
Welcome to Doc & Stefunel RomKitchen

It lets you 'cook' your own rom choosing kernel, launcher, apps etc

MrBaker22

will i have to re flash siyah 2.1.1 after flashing checkrom v2.0 HD??

Rudedawg

MrBaker ,

DO a Full wipe coming from a fresh install , Kitchenpro app comes preinstalled with the rom.
Flash Siyah from your phone memory after dragging it from your pc using a USB. Install both ROM and Kernal via CWM recovery mode.

ALWAYS save .zip files to phone memory not sd. (although the phone tends to refer to the phone memory as SDCARD)

Sydney99

so

1. full wipe

2. install rom

3. "kitchen" is an app installed with the rom

4. choose your kernel from the kitchen app and install directly from there, unless you want the latest version eg the siyah one, then follow rudedawgs instructions (or download it direct from your xda app or browser on your phone and apply thru cwm)

Rudedawg

I always make it sound complicated. :P

Sydney99

Not at all, just me interfering again!

qasimValent

can someone give me info on why or what the vallianrom would bring/ is worth flashing and what risks?

D79_

Id recommend litenin v6.1 rom, very stable and battery with data on lasts me easy 10 hours and the theme is defo the best lookin and very original :-)

kiezel

I fully agree, verry happy with litening rom 6.1

herrera.f

10 Hrs ??
But, I have to say if you get 10 hours with data and battery that's pretty bad.!. but do you mean with medium/heavy usage???

Last edited by herrera.f; December 15th, 2011 at 06:47 PM.

herrera.f

But, I have to say if you get 10 hours with data and battery that's pretty bad.!. but do you mean with medium/heavy usage???

Kie

Well if you constantly check your phone and do a couple of things per hour, you won't get more than 14ish hours, even if you don't play games. Unless you're seriously underclocked or on power saver. That's my experience on CheckRom :P

__________________
Device: SGS2 GT-I9100
Carrier: Virgin (Australia)
Modem: XXLPS
Build: Dragon ICS v2.4 (AOKP-B35 M5 ICS 4.0.3)
Kernel: Siyah v3.2beta8 (200-800mV, sio, ondemand)

Arch Dandy

I'd say I was easily a medium user and get 2 days + with Checkrom/void kernel.

herrera.f

Alright thx for the reply!!!
I get at least a full day of medium to heavy usage with data and sync on, all the time, using Dk kernell but I must say checkrom is awesome, I recommend people to use it its pretty good.

ppmal

I am much more happy with this CheckROM.... i am using XXKH3, 2.6.35.7 kernal version, CheckRom RevoHD V4....

Battery life and performance is excellent.... I really recomend this like anything.... great for the man making it.....

Logan47

Are there any Pure Android roms out there without the UI trimmings that I can take a look at or are they not really that good?

Kie

Definitely give CheckROM Revolution a try! It looks almost exactly like stock samsung and it's easy to install the stock features/apps if you want them. A lot of custom roms just delete a lot of the stock stuff, which can be annoying if you use it!

Logan47

Thanks. I had already installed CheckROM as my first Rom and is very smooth. Are there any others simlar to stock android I might try for comparison?

Chris911t

I've already installed Cyanogenmod 7.1 - is it too late to benefit from this? I mean, have the stock rom files already been ditched?

Presumably I could re-flash a stock rom and then flash Checkrom on top of it?
Next question would be... which stock rom is best?

JSR84

If you did a backup of your ROM before you flashed to CM 7.1 (Which is always a good idea) you can just restore it and then flash Check Rom Rev.