Best phone that support Custom ROM's

[aneil1998]

My current phone(LG G3) is slowly dying with the screen fading issue and LG won't do anything about it. So i have to buy a new phone to replace this one but I can't seem to make up my mind and I only have till the end of may to get it. I like the Pixel 2 XL but it seems to lack custom roms and the OnePlus 6 launch is imminent. Is it worth going to an older device like the OnePlus 3T or purchase the 5T. If anyone has any recommendations, I would really love to hear them.

 

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Going by all the data problems I've heard about related to OnePlus, I honestly can't find it in myself to recommend them.

[Theguywhobea]

HTC HD2

[aneil1998]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Going by all the data problems I've heard about related to OnePlus, I honestly can't find it in myself to recommend them.

I think it's only on OxygenOS, so in theory, a custom rom wouldn't have this issue

[LogicWeasel]

What custom ROM support do you want?  One particular build from a favorite group?  Just lots to pick from?  If you want lots of ROM's choose a phone that's 2-3 years old and buy an unlocked but gently-used phone on Swappa.  I can say that ever since I went from a Droid Turbo to my Pixel XL (128GB Black) I don't even care to custom rom it because Google got the stock OS right (crazy right?!).

[aneil1998]

3 minutes ago, LogicWeasel said:

What custom ROM support do you want?  One particular build from a favorite group?  Just lots to pick from?  If you want lots of ROM's choose a phone that's 2-3 years old and buy an unlocked but gently-used phone on Swappa.  I can say that ever since I went from a Droid Turbo to my Pixel XL (128GB Black) I don't even care to custom rom it because Google got the stock OS right (crazy right?!).

Lot's to pick from but i don't mind waiting a while for roms to be released. I usually use custom roms for the customization and just like using it

[Sack]

Generally, the more popular a phone, the more custom OS are available, I had Cyanogen for me samsung galaxy s3 for quite a while, and someone is still working on updates, although i don't think they'll ever be very useful.

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, aneil1998 said:

My current phone(LG G3) is slowly dying with the screen fading issue and LG won't do anything about it. So i have to buy a new phone to replace this one but I can't seem to make up my mind and I only have till the end of may to get it. I like the Pixel 2 XL but it seems to lack custom roms and the OnePlus 6 launch is imminent. Is it worth going to an older device like the OnePlus 3T or purchase the 5T. If anyone has any recommendations, I would really love to hear them.

I currently have a OP5T and love the way it runs on stock OOS for the time being. That being said, there are A LOT of options becoming more stable for it as Oreo becomes more stable among the custom ROM developers over at XDA, so I'll probably be moving over to LineageOS or DirtyUnicorn soon. The dealbreaker for me right now is that none of the custom ROMs have proper access to the Camera2API because OnePlus / Sony / Qualcomm haven't released the camera modules as open source code yet, and probably never will. (Full disclosure: this is a problem with most phones because of copyright law.)

 

Older phones like my Note 3 still have tons of choices available, and being perfectly honest, will still fly for productivity tasks once you flash an updated ROM on it. Just don't expect to play mobile games on older devices, not that anyone really should because the experience is abysmal if you're into the free to play market. (Paid stuff like RCTC or some free games like Simpsons Tapped Out are OK, but the free to play market is littered with microtransactions galore.)

[aneil1998]

1 hour ago, kirashi said:

I currently have a OP5T and love the way it runs on stock OOS for the time being. That being said, there are A LOT of options becoming more stable for it as Oreo becomes more stable among the custom ROM developers over at XDA, so I'll probably be moving over to LineageOS or DirtyUnicorn soon. The dealbreaker for me right now is that none of the custom ROMs have proper access to the Camera2API because OnePlus / Sony / Qualcomm haven't released the camera modules as open source code yet, and probably never will. (Full disclosure: this is a problem with most phones because of copyright law.)

 

Older phones like my Note 3 still have tons of choices available, and being perfectly honest, will still fly for productivity tasks once you flash an updated ROM on it. Just don't expect to play mobile games on older devices, not that anyone really should because the experience is abysmal if you're into the free to play market. (Paid stuff like RCTC or some free games like Simpsons Tapped Out are OK, but the free to play market is littered with microtransactions galore.)

I've been using the LineageOS 15 build since it was available for the G3 and it was almost stable as a daily driver excluding some of the issues it had. I'd love to play some more good mobile games like hearthstone which couldn't run on my phone without the phone becoming extremely hot to the touch.

 

I'd love to purchase the 5T but Oneplus isn't selling it in the US anymore since the 6 is near it's annouce date but if push comes to shove, i'll purchase the 5T if it isn't available by then.

[applebook]

If you want quantity, the Galaxy S is a safe bet. Just make sure to get an international version with an unlocked bootloader.

[Zodiark1593]

While it's pretty "meh" with the stock ROM, the LeEco Le Pro 3 is a pretty great device with LineageOS, and is the least expensive phone available with the SD821. The camera is merely "ok" (with Pixel camera ported), and there seems to be no 700MHz band support, which are my primary two gripes about it. The 1080P display is ok, though the black bezel takes getting used to. Battery life is amazing, precious few phones come with batteries in the 4k mAh range.

 

However, the ROM did not install without a fight, so if you get this thing, do be prepared. No headphone jack, though analog over USB-C means you can find some cheap passive adaptor if the original breaks.