I'll start with a short introduction. To date Android OS is the most popular operating system for mobile devices. Everyone loves it for its simplicity, openness and, of course, customization. However, many of us get bored with naked Android, we go to the Internet and type “Download custom firmware for XXX phone.” And what do we see? If you have a cheap Chinese smartphone, then you are unlikely to find anything, and if you find it, it will be a converted stock. My series of articles is dedicated to owners of top-end devices, which are also popular among developers. So, if you have a Nexus 5, One Plus One, SGS 5 or other popular smartphone, when you Google it, you will get a ton of answers. You may come across names such as cyanogenmod, paranoid android, aicp and others. But what are they telling us? In general, if you think about it, then nothing. We need some advice, some review. This is precisely why I set out to write this series of articles. Every 2-3 days I will review popular and not very popular firmware that are available for most smartphones.
So, let's begin. I hope you enjoy it. And first up is... (Drum roll).
Cyanogenmod 12.1
Say-en-ou-jen-mod, in common parlance - CYANOGEN. The most popular custom firmware today. As of June 2014, installed on 12 million devices (thanks to Wikipedia).What's wrong with this firmware? Why is she so popular? It's simple. Cyanogenmod is not only a well-promoted brand that everyone knows, in short, Cyanogenmod is stability, wide customization functionality, its own theme engine, regular updates, a large team and, most importantly, the WIDEST range of supported devices.
Appearance and Features
So, what is cyanogen? Let's assume we downloaded it, installed it, installed GAPPS, configured it as is usually done, nothing special. We wait for the main screen to load and see the normal desktop. Android Lollipop, which is no different from stock.This may disappoint some, but I will say right away that I will show you all the delights of the firmware further. Now it's time to open the notification shade.
At first glance, we see an ordinary curtain, but the weather forecast in it immediately catches our eye. A useful feature that doesn't eat up a lot of battery.
Let's move on. Let's go to the settings, this is where the fun begins. Cyanogenmod has a wide range of settings. Below you can see screenshots of everyone. Then I will reveal the content of those that deserve special attention.
Scrolling through the list of settings, items such as System Profiles, Status Bar, Notification Bar, Privacy, Buttons, Lock Screen and Performance.
Performance
Let's start with performance, here we can select the operating mode of our device, it is either normal, that is, universal, for everything, or energy saving, which is useful when you are on a long journey or use the phone as a dialer and high performance if you play games. The mode switch can be placed in the curtain, but more on that later.
Updates
The next feature that I really like in this firmware is the possibility of OTA updates, it’s convenient, you don’t have to go to the website every time to download an update, the phone does everything for you. All you need to do is go to the “About phone” item and select “Updates”. For convenience, you can set the frequency of automatic updates, which is very convenient.
Sound settings
Going into the sound settings, we see such a useful function as adjusting the vibrator power. Very useful when you have thick winter pants or need a vibration alarm. Separately, you can configure alert modes, set a schedule, when and which one to turn on. Turn vibration feedback on and off, increase the ringer volume, change the ringtone and notification sounds.
Screen and display settings
In the screen and display settings, you should pay special attention to the Live Display, Sleep Mode Prohibition, Display Settings and Extended Screen functions. The first makes it more convenient to use a smartphone at different times of the day, when using the second, if for example you receive an SMS, the phone will unlock itself if you pick it up, the extended screen allows you to hide the soft keys and display settings adjust LED notifications, if you have one available. Changing DPI is also a useful feature, allowing you to make your phone's controls larger or smaller depending on what suits you.
Themes
The “Topics” item deserves special attention. Many people install Cyanogenmod because of the cool engine. Here you can download the themes you need from Google Play, the website and other sites, choose the element you like from each and add uniqueness to your phone. Almost everything can be changed.
Notification settings
And here are the notification settings, I won’t say anything, everything is clear from the screenshot.
Button settings
Let me take a closer look at the settings item called Buttons. You can change their location, configure the volume buttons to switch tracks, change the navigation ring shortcuts (you need to hold down the Home key and swipe up) and much more.
Status bar settings
In the status settings we can change the location of the clock, I personally like it in the center, change the style of the battery, display the percentages inside the battery and a couple of other interesting goodies.
Notification panel
Notification panel settings allow you to turn the weather display on or off, get quick access to switches, and change the switches themselves. You can see a list of all switches in the screenshots, since listing them would take quite a long time.
The firmware is very stable, it works faster than stock, no hiccups, nothing crashes.
Updates
If you are a simple user, I do not recommend installing “nightly builds” for you, as they are sometimes unstable. In the update settings, you can select Snapshot type updates, they are not released every week or every month, but they are suitable for the average user.
Firmware features
- For devices based on Qualcomm processors, CAF assemblies are available, they significantly improve sound quality, camera speed and hardware in general.
- Having your own, pretty good file manager
- Out of the box comes its own music player with a highly customizable equalizer (which doesn't always work)
- There is music visualization on the lock screen
- Trebuchet customizable launcher. In it you can configure the type and speed of transition animations, the size of the desktop grid and various service gestures
- Poor nightly builds, but that's why they're nightly
- Few custom kernels for devices based on Qualcomm processors (CAF builds)
- It takes a long time to move to the next (major) version of Android
- The standard equalizer does not always work
Samsung offered official Android 4.4.2 firmware for the Samsung Galaxy SIII (AT&T i747, d2att) back in June last year. We haven't heard anything about the official Android 5 firmware yet. Having tested the official version of Cyanogenmod 12.1 for AT&T Samsung Galaxy s3, based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, I realized that I don’t want to go back. This is the fastest firmware I've ever had. The abandonment of the Dalvik virtual machine in favor of ART may play a significant role in this.
Luckily, Android is open source (at least as far as the Android Open Source Project or AOSP is concerned), so you don't have to wait for updates from the manufacturer if enthusiasts have offered firmware for your device. Even the very popular Samsung Galaxy SIII (AT&T i747, d2att) was bypassed for a long time, not offering the official Cyanogenmod 12 firmware, although there were many unofficial Android 5 firmware on xda developers.
Although there are many different Android 5 firmware for AT&T Samsung Galaxy s3, I chose the official version CyanogenMod 12.1. I prefer to avoid even unofficial versions of CyanogenMod. Even the official one involves installing a new bootloader, modem, and Google Apps. Despite being open source, there is always a risk of catching malware. Therefore, of course, official firmware may be preferable. On the other hand, official firmware is updated very rarely, so due to the presence of unpatched vulnerabilities, they may not be so secure when using the Internet on a smartphone.
I liked CyanogenMod 12.1 because when flashing, all applications were restored. True, I don’t know whether to thank the previous firmware CyanogenMod or Google for this, because... I used both options for synchronization. But it is Google that allows you to save a list of applications and, if desired, even their settings, so it is certainly synchronization with Google that helps restore applications. Although you have to log in to each application that requires logging in to your account again.
How to install Android 5.1 Lollipop (Cyanogenmod 12.1) firmware on Samsung Galaxy SIII (AT&T i747, d2att)
Warning:
When flashing a phone, something can always go wrong. Use the firmware instructions below at your own risk.
As of May 26, 2015, Bluetooth may not work correctly on nightly builds of CyanogenMod 12.1. In addition, there may be problems with the camera, but you can install a free application.
CyanogenMod notifies you when updates are available. They can be downloaded immediately from the settings menu. However, in the latest versions, when installing them directly from Android, the error "E: Zip file is corrupt! E: Error installing zio file "@/cache/recover/block.map"" appeared
You can still install the firmware update. To do this, you need to reboot into Recovery mode, then select Install ZIP and select the archive that is downloaded from the settings to the cmupdater folder on the phone.
Update (June 6, 2015)
I've been testing cm-12.1-20150529-NIGHTLY-d2att.zip for over a week now. Absolutely satisfied with everything, no problems arose at all. So I recommend installing CyanogenMod 12.1 on Samsung Galaxy s3 AT&T!
Update (June 16, 2015)
I've been testing cm-12.1-20150606-NIGHTLY-d2att.zip for over a week now. Everything is still stable. Applications are now easier to find, as they are displayed in alphabetical order, each next to the corresponding letter with which the application begins. "Updates over the air" (over the air or OTA updates) are now installed without error.
Update (June 24, 2015)
On the previous firmware cm-12.1-20150606-NIGHTLY-d2att, Google Apps suddenly began to fail. In this case, an error constantly appeared, and the phone began to heat up very much, while the battery discharged quickly even after turning off data transfer and navigation. Installed cm-12.1-20150620-NIGHTLY-d2att.zip and new Banks GApps.
Update (June 26, 2015)
The camera did not work on the previous firmware cm-12.1-20150620-NIGHTLY-d2att. When using it, the error “I can’t connect to the camera” began to appear. I installed cm-12.1-20150625-NIGHTLY-d2att.zip, and then disabled recording of data with shooting coordinates in the settings. Photo and video work.
Update (December 28, 2015)
On the previous firmware cm-12.1-20150625-NIGHTLY-d2att.zip I didn’t like turning Wi-Fi on/off, although I couldn’t find fault with the rest. Installed cm-12.1-20151228-NIGHTLY-d2att.zip and
Due to the fact that the CyanogenMod development team has released an installer with which you can easily install custom CyanogenMod firmware, this material will explain in Russian how to do this!
First of all!
You can read the official information in English on the wiki page CyanogenMod Installer, also presented on this page list of Android devices which are supported by the installer.
What is needed to install CyanogenMod firmware using the installer
- Computer or laptop with Internet connection
- Make a backup copy of important data on your Android device
- Disable Antivirus on your PC, as well as on your Android device (if installed)
- Original undamaged Micro-USB cable
- Charged battery on Android device
- Turn on USB debugging on Android
- Connect Android device directly, not via USB HUB
- Download CyanogenMod Installer on PC
Instructions on how to install CyanogenMod firmware using the installer
on the device - part 1
1. Download and install from the official Сyanogemod website - the CyanogenMod Installer application http://get.cm/app
2. Launch the installed application and click the Begin button
2. Press the button Continue and switch the USB connection method to PTP mode(camera)
4. After a few seconds, a message will appear that you need to start CyanogenMod Installer on your computer, launch
on the computer - part 2
5. Run the CyanogenMod installer, after which it will check for installer updates
6. After which it will check if there is a connection to the Android device
7. After identifying the Android device, the download of custom recovery and firmware will begin, do not disconnect the device from the PC all this time!
8. After all the necessary parts of the firmware have been downloaded, you will be prompted to install the firmware, click the button Install
