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Root kernel discussion for nexus 5

akmsr

akmsr

Android Enthusiast
[disclaimer]
this is not to offend any developers or declaring kernel a is better than kernel b etc. i understand this kind of threads are forbidden on xda-forums and respect and understand their reasoning. so mods here please feel free to lock the thread if it breaks any rules. [/disclaimer]

that being said noobs like me do need some guidance about these kind of vague concepts like kernels, roms, frameworks etc. while it is easier for us to google the terms and get a general idea of it, its not easy to get a comparison of features available from different kernels/roms etc and users opinions/experiences with them. because as they say ' all roads lead to Rome' ie. xda-forums. so smarter noobs like me also hang out here at this forum where people are friendlier and more tolerant ;)

for example in the last couple of days i have read at least couple of hundred pages of the beginning and ending of the franco kernel thread at xda (out of almost 26,000 pages). i intend to do that for elementalx and trinity also. i am not rooted yet (waiting for 4.4.3 to come out) but leaning towards one of these three kernels with exposed framework.
for me and other users wanting to dip their toes in android world it would be of enormous value if users of these three or other kernels could kindly share their opinions/experiences about strength/stability/features of these kernels.

thank you.
 
Elemntalx is by far the best kernel I've ever installed with the aroma installer it's great all around for me running Mahdi 2.5 not stock
 
I'm running the latest version of ElementalX 0.36 with the latest build of Dirty Unicorns v7.0
I must say that ElementalX has been an awesome kernel for me... Very stable, great performance and battery life has definitely improved by far over the stock kernel. Matched with DU they have been an excellent combination and it's super fast, no lag. Not that the N5 isn't fast any ways lol. As jlede said it does come in an aroma installer or express (automatic) install and obviously the aroma installer is nice. You can also use some of the kernel apps to monitor and change the kernel settings too.

With that being said... I would personally recommend that you further research each kernel and even try all of them for a couple days, monitor and test them out on your N5 for battery life and performance and then deicide what's the best fit for you and your usage.

I haven't tried either Franco or Trinity yet so I cannot give you a solid review on them although I'm sure they are great too. Franco is clearly the most popular kernel out there and I've been wanting to try it and I'm sure I will but I've been happy with ElementalX.
As far as features go, all three are loaded with about the same features, plus or minus a few. One thing to consider is if you plan to use "Sweep2Wake" or "Doubletap2Wake" it will consume more battery.
I also like the "USB fast charge" feature on ElementalX as this gives a little boost on some USB ports that can handle it (like my PC, car stereo etc..) If not then it will revert back to the normal output range.

Edit -
Also if you decide to test the kernels out, make sure that you don't flash one custom kernel over another. Flash back to the stock kernel first or reflash your ROM and then flash the custom kernel.
 
thanks for the replies.
@ xdrc45
i have downloaded the stock image and saved it. inside the image i see boot.img . is that the kernel? or system.img?
 
akmsr said:
thanks for the replies.
@ xdrc45
i have downloaded the stock image and saved it. inside the image i see boot.img . is that the kernel? or system.img?
Click to expand...

Yeah the boot.img contains the kernel. Which technically should be sufficient, but with like Franco kernel it does modify some of the system files, so you would need to either rename the changed files (.bak) or fastboot flash the boot.img and the system.img also to completely remove everything. Or if your running a custom ROM like DU which has it's own kernel with the ROM, then you can just dirty flash the DU ROM and it will replace the kernel and system files back and then you can flash another custom kernel.
 
Actually, Franko (using the Franco Kernel Updater (FKU) will backup your stock kernel and restore it if you wish, as well as auto-flash new kernel versions. I used to use FKU to handle all the kernel settings, but now that Dirty Unicorns has all that built in, I use FKU for the backup/restore/autoflash functions only.

I've only tried Franco, but I had to laugh when I read xdrc45's post about ElementalX because almost everything he said would fit for Franco (except you pay for the FKU app, but I enjoy supporting good developers). I really don't know a lot about this stuff and I started using Franco because others recommended it and NYCHitman, the developer/curator for the N5 version of Dirty Unicorns, gave out a list of settings that seemed to work well. I play around here and there, but I do wish I knew more.

I suspect most of the popular alternative kernels, as long as they work with your ROM, are very similar. Unless I become convinced otherwise, I'll probably sick with Franco. My battery life is astounding. :)
 
It really is amazing what a difference a good kernel/rom combo will do over the stock rom. I really would like to try a new rom, but the battery life I get out of the old December cataclysm stable build and Faux kernel is outstanding. Generally average 5-6 hours of screen with heavy use and generally can go 4-5 days between charges with light use. I just can't give it up. :D
 
how important it is to use a custom rom over the stock? it seems that most performance and battery related jobs could be done in a custom kernel and visual/ theme customizations in exposed frameworks?
thanks always.
 
kernels can be finicky with regard to how they perform. Some kernels will perform well on one device, but horribly on another. At the same time, some will perform great with one rom, but poorly with another. A lot of it is experimenting with different combinations until you find one that works well. Just make sure while you're expermenting that you give it roughly 3-5 days before you decide because sometimes it can take that long to stabilize.
 
Hook said:
Actually, Franko (using the Franco Kernel Updater (FKU) will backup your stock kernel and restore it if you wish, as well as auto-flash new kernel versions. I used to use FKU to handle all the kernel settings, but now that Dirty Unicorns has all that built in, I use FKU for the backup/restore/autoflash functions only.

I've only tried Franco, but I had to laugh when I read xdrc45's post about ElementalX because almost everything he said would fit for Franco (except you pay for the FKU app, but I enjoy supporting good developers). I really don't know a lot about this stuff and I started using Franco because others recommended it and NYCHitman, the developer/curator for the N5 version of Dirty Unicorns, gave out a list of settings that seemed to work well. I play around here and there, but I do wish I knew more.

I suspect most of the popular alternative kernels, as long as they work with your ROM, are very similar. Unless I become convinced otherwise, I'll probably sick with Franco. My battery life is astounding. :)
Click to expand...

I haven't used any of the kernel apps, mostly because of DU being So Awesome and having the kernel tweaker built right in and I can just change the kernel setting easily and on the fly... I knew about FKU but haven't really looked that much into it, but the backup/restore and auto flash functions are some nice features though and could come in handy. Truthfully I've been wanting to try Franco out and I just might flash it tonight and give it run for the week and see how it handles. :D
Hook where did you find that list of settings for DU?

jhawkkw said:
It really is amazing what a difference a good kernel/rom combo will do over the stock rom. I really would like to try a new rom, but the battery life I get out of the old December cataclysm stable build and Faux kernel is outstanding. Generally average 5-6 hours of screen with heavy use and generally can go 4-5 days between charges with light use. I just can't give it up. :D
Click to expand...

So true... Once you make that "good kernel/ROM combo" the difference is night and day and it can be hard to start changing things up from there.

I'm glad this thread has become a useful kernel discussion based on stability, performance and positive user experience.
 
I'm actually gonna test out elementalx with resurrection remix to see how it is I'll report back soon
 
xdrc45 said:
I haven't used any of the kernel apps, mostly because of DU being So Awesome and having the kernel tweaker built right in and I can just change the kernel setting easily and on the fly... I knew about FKU but haven't really looked that much into it, but the backup/restore and auto flash functions are some nice features though and could come in handy. Truthfully I've been wanting to try Franco out and I just might flash it tonight and give it run for the week and see how it handles. :D
Hook where did you find that list of settings for DU?
Click to expand...

I was using FKU before DU had a built in kernel tweaker. I believe the free version of FKU does the update checking and autoflashing, but not the backup.

The kernel settings by NYCHitman1 were in this post:

http://androidforums.com/nexus-5-al...4-4-2-hammerhead-1-31-14-a-4.html#post6471849

He added later in that same thread:

For those using Franco's kernels: you can change the sync freq to 300000 without any loss in performance, but provides a solid gain to batt life.
Click to expand...
I use all the settings, including this last adjustment, however, I find -75 under volting sometimes leads to spontaneous reboots, so I'm staying at -50.

I get fantastic battery life, although I've never stopped to actually try and measure it.
 
in the last 5 builds of franco users were having Sleep Of Death. he is dialing the setting in. test45 build seems to have solved the SODs (as of last night). lets see. it seems most of the time his settings has only two cores of the cpu working?
 
akmsr said:
in the last 5 builds of franco users were having Sleep Of Death. he is dialing the setting in. test45 build seems to have solved the SODs (as of last night). lets see. it seems most of the time his settings has only two cores of the cpu working?
Click to expand...

Default is 2 cores on while screen on. The other 2 kick on when needed.


This is the same way the stock kernel functions as I recall.
 
I want to try out ElementalX, but it says to flash over the stock kernel. If I'm running Cataclysm with Franco, can I just dirty flash cataclysm again, and then flash Elementalx?
 
My ROM and kernel combo is doing good atm I had to download the cm version because the one built for stock based ROMs causes a bootloop (mistake on my part)
 
jlede said:
My ROM and kernel combo is doing good atm I had to download the cm version because the one built for stock based ROMs causes a bootloop (mistake on my part)
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately (<--my opinion) CM is no longer compatible with stock google android. You'll need to check for the CM compatible kernels if you flash another one. They're typically labeled CAF (Code Aurora Forum) or CM as opposed to AOSP.
 
akmsr said:
on my quest to read up about different kernels in xda i stumbled onto a somewhat detailed tutorial about fastboot. did not have so much fun reading for a while. hope its ok to post a link,
[Guide] How To Setup And Use Fastboot - xda-developers
Click to expand...

That's a good guide to teach you the basics of fastboot.

Fastboot is a powerful tool. It will save your butt more times than you'd think. With that said, just be careful, you can do some real damage with fastboot, including one of the only surefire ways to brick a nexus.

(Note-its safe most of the time, but irreversible damage can be done with a certain command)
 
akmsr said:
on my quest to read up about different kernels in xda i stumbled onto a somewhat detailed tutorial about fastboot. did not have so much fun reading for a while. hope its ok to post a link,
[Guide] How To Setup And Use Fastboot - xda-developers
Click to expand...

That is a good fastboot guide.
I don't know why, but I do really enjoy using fastboot, adb/adb shell, and terminal emulator tools and utilities.
Must be something about performing commands and the satisfaction of feeling like I accomplished something. Not to knock root kits and tool boxes because the dev's of them are amazing and they can be beneficial, but I like to learn and perform the task and commands myself for a better understanding of what is actually happening.... Maybe I'm just a dork lol :D
 
xdrc45 said:
That is a good fastboot guide.
I don't know why, but I do really enjoy using fastboot, adb/adb shell, and terminal emulator tools and utilities.
Must be something about performing commands and the satisfaction of feeling like I accomplished something. Not to knock root kits and tool boxes because the dev's of them are amazing and they can be beneficial, but I like to learn and perform the task and commands myself for a better understanding of what is actually happening.... Maybe I'm just a dork lol :D
Click to expand...

My general advice is always to learn the manual method first - because if the automated tools screw up, someone who doesn't know their way around fastboot is going to end up a creek without a paddle ;)
 
Rxpert83 said:
My general advice is always to learn the manual method first - because if the automated tools screw up, someone who doesn't know their way around fastboot is going to end up a creek without a paddle ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah I totally agree with that. I know a lot of people get intimidated by all of it and/or are maybe looking for the easy way out... but it just takes some research and a little initiative, plus you have a Great community of support and very helpful member's here.
Nobody wants to be up a creek with a turd for a paddle :D
 
NEVERMIND................figured it out :)

Quite easy actually.
_______________________________

Quick question if I may?

I have the latest version of the paid app FK that is on r45. I have the app CPUz and it say my processor is at 3.01 ghz. I am experiencing some stability issues and am thinking it is the clock speed. I know I can set this is FK but am not 100% sure how to go about doing that. Can someone walk me through it?

Lenny
 
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