Best ROM in your all opinions?

[Rcecarbldr]

I rooted my phone last night and it's working fine but I'm still using Stock 2.1. I want to flash a ROM but I'm kinda interested in hearing what all those here think is the best one they've used. I know a lot of you guys have tried many of the different ones and I'm curious to see what you guys like. Which ones have issues that are still troublesome? Etc, etc. I don't have time in my life to keep trying different ones so I'm gonna kinda go with the one with the highest average score based on feedback. Thanks.

 

[330D]

What are you looking for in a rom?

Stability? Speed? Customization? Mostly Stock, but optimized?

 

[Rcecarbldr]

Speed and Stability are important. Don't care if it's stock or not. Mostly performance without issues. I use GPS apps. when traveling so that must work. And my biggest gripe right now is how friggin slow my phone is. Takes almost half a minute just to dial out.

 

[330D]

I started with Fresh Roms. They are stable, quick, and well supported.

Hero CDMA Geek For Me – Sprint Evo 4g & CDMA Hero

You can find his here. I would recommend 2.1.1 or 2.1.2. There are a couple small issues with 2.1.2, but most have fixes and workarounds, so not a big deal.

 

[Kelmar]

Zen

This has been the ONLY ROM to stay on my phone for more than 24 hours.

 

[00h2itr]

I've used:

Fresh 1.1
Fresh 2.0d
Fresh 2.1.2
IcedHoneyBun
ZenEXP

Out of all of them, Another vote for ZenEXP here.

 

[330D]

Zen

This has been the ONLY ROM to stay on my phone for more than 24 hours.

I would agree, but there are some issues, and for a first rom, just to get into the swing of things, I would try something with a little bit less baggage. (not that it is a bad rom, I LOVE it)

Just my .02, though, if you are willing to work on it a little bit to get it the way you need it, go for Zen! It is REALLY FAST

 

[mysticmead]

ZenEXP has a few to many issues for a newbie to rooting.. Fresh 2.1.1 or Fresh 2.1.2 are good choices, recently I switched to DamageControl 2.0.9.1 and have been loving it.. to bad the developer of DC has switched completely to Evo development now..

For a good first ROM I'd suggest Fresh 2.1.1 or Fresh 2.1.2. You said you need GPS, 2.1 has Google navigation it works pretty well.. if you still need Sprint Navigation we can help you get that back on the phone as well

 

[ccapasso]

For a first time rooter I highly recommend Fresh 2.1.2.

After you get some more experience, then start trying others out.

I have always been a fan for Fresh 2.1.2. Recently I switched to DarchDroid 2.7 to test it out. The only problem I have with it is email is a little odd. It isn't that email doesn't work (it does, I get all my mail), it just seems like it is glitchy sometimes. Anyways, it is a stable ROM as well.

 

[skoo9382]

Plain and simple. Zen!!!

I've tried all of the previous fresh roms and I always looked for something better. Damage control was tempting, but I stuck with fresh. I finally made thee jump to zen and I will never go back. It's fast as this phone can be hardware wise, dialer lag is not an issue.

Try others first, but so far once you try Zen, I believe it.s the best out there.

 

[doanius]

I am using Zen now.. the BEST

 

[bill t]

I am using Zen now.. the BEST

I have used Damage, Fresh, and Zen, and I find Zen to be the smoothest and has the least lag.

But...... Zen has 2 major defects:

1) you cannot get push Gmail. You can manually sync or pull every 5 minutes.

2) VVM will give you an annoying SMS notification with every voicemail. There are workarounds, the best being Google Voice.

I've gone to Google Voice, but I don't want to lose my Gmail push, so I am using Damage 2.08. Since it is unlikely that any of these 3 devs will submit any more significant upgrades, this will likely be my final ROM for the Hero.

 

[hakujin]

dag, i was about to go Zen based off all the brew-ha-ha, but no gmail push? how can it even be recommended? polling is slower and kills battery faster.

 

[bill t]

dag, i was about to go Zen based off all the brew-ha-ha, but no gmail push? how can it even be recommended? polling is slower and kills battery faster.

I don't understand it myself, but apparently many users are willing to fore go push email. I guess most of them don't need to work for a living, yet . It really negates one of the big reasons for using Android in the first place.

Since the dev have said in other forums that he will not make any other ROM for the Hero, it is unlikely that push Gmail will be seen here.

Oh well, there are trade-offs, as with anything.

 

[basscommander]

I run Aloysius 2.1, and I effin' LOVE IT! It's got great color, and some pretty rad features. It also has overclocking included in it as well. Check it out, see if you like it. This was the first ROM that I have kept on my phone for longer than a week.

[ROM] New! Aloysius 2.1 (6-1) | OC/JIT - FriendStream - Snow Edition - Helix - Color! - xda-developers

 

[Kelmar]

dag, i was about to go Zen based off all the brew-ha-ha, but no gmail push? how can it even be recommended? polling is slower and kills battery faster.

For me, it's not needed. I have absolutely no desire to have all my emails pushed to the phone the moment I receive them. I can update them when I want them.

Or... you can set up email through the default email app instead of through gmail (if that makes sense) and I've heard that it will push fine that way.

 

[blampars]

Darchdroid 2.7!
[Rom] Darchdroid v2.7 "KangSlayer" | Complete, OC'd, MMS, Camera, Everything!! - xda-developers

 

[Rcecarbldr]

OK, I did it. I'm running Fresh 2.1.2. Decided to start with that. What exactly would I expect different over Stock? Faster? Smoother? Thanks.

OH, and what is Radio and why would I change that?

 

[tatonka_Hero]

The best ROM is the one that works best for you, and is set up the way you want it. Some ROM's seem to run better on some phones than others

 

[Rcecarbldr]

Does a Nandroid Backup remember your previous setup including your apps?

 

[hakujin]

well, i'm using fresh 2.1.2, my first rom, but also probably my last because i like fresh kitchen on the pc that much... it just makes the the ROM complete, imo... wondering though, maybe other ROMS still play nicely w/ fresh kitchen on pc?

anyway, running Darth OC kernel on it for native under/over clocking. Just installed last night to see if it increases battery life and speed.

 

[mysticmead]

Does a Nandroid Backup remember your previous setup including your apps?

yep.. a nandroid backup is an exact copy of the phone at the time you made the backup.

 

[00h2itr]

Or... you can set up email through the default email app instead of through gmail (if that makes sense) and I've heard that it will push fine that way.

This...

I have no issues recieving email when they are sent to me. I just don't use the Gmail app. The only downside I see to Zen is the VVM notifications, and now that Google Voice is public, I don't see that being much of an issue either.

Zen, while it might not be a good first ROM, is an excellant daily once your used to it.

 

[Fenga Papit]

Zen

This has been the ONLY ROM to stay on my phone for more than 24 hours.

I second that emotion. I've used a couple of Fresh ROMs, and they are good, but Zen is by far better. It is faster, stable, doesn't have the snags the Fresh ROMs have, and it has a cool updater built into the ROM.

 

[330D]

OK, I did it. I'm running Fresh 2.1.2. Decided to start with that. What exactly would I expect different over Stock? Faster? Smoother? Thanks.

OH, and what is Radio and why would I change that?

You should mostly experience a lot less lag, and more smoothness. It is not going to be as fast as Zen, but only because it isn't overclocked. It should work well for you to see how a custom rom is optimized, and the good work that the dev (Flipz) does. If it isn't quick enough, after you try it for a few days and get comfortable with it, I would definitely recommend Zen.

As far as the radio, It can give you better signal, if that is an issue, and some have reported better battery life even if the signal isn't better. If you don't have issues with either of those, it isn't really necessary.

I would also add that you should definitely give the rom a day or two to settle out, and stabilize, before you judge it completely. Sometimes it takes a little time to level out. If you have any issues or need anything, let us know, we can probably help with anything you may run into....