What is a nightly build of cyanogenmod. What is CyanogenMod and how to use it? How to install CyanogenMod on your Android? Standard CyanogenMod applications

Cyanogen OS review and comparison with Android

We chose the BQ Aquarius X5 smartphone as our test device. The reason is simple - the smartphone comes with both Android and Cyanogen OS, so we hoped to clearly compare software platforms. True, unfortunately, the Cyanogen version of the smartphone took so long to arrive at our editorial office that we had to compare the Cyanogen on the Aquarius X5 with Android on other smartphones. However, as it turned out in the end, this did not affect the test results.

Well, since we have a smartphone in our hands, let’s talk about it itself.

To be honest, when we received the device for review, we couldn’t help but wonder what’s exclusive about the new product, what “killer feature” does it have? Quad-core processor, two gigabytes random access memory, memory is moderate, there is microSD support, plus two SIM cards. Yes, a camera module from Sony and a front flash, but somehow not enough. Although, there were still some advantages - a five-year warranty and trade-in after 2 years. Again - the opportunity to buy the version with Cyanogen OS, but is it worth it? We'll see soon.

Test instance

Let's briefly look at the exterior of the smartphone itself and move on to the software. The appearance of the X5 cannot be called remarkable, but there is still a memorable highlight in the form of a logo of five prints.

The body is monoblock and monolithic: its basis is a metal stiffener with antenna veins, into which the gloss of the front panel glass is successfully integrated, as well as the innovative Beckers rear panel plastic, which is rumored to be used to make the bodies of F1 cars. Those. it should neither slip nor scratch, although we would argue about the latter.

The dimensions of the smartphone are moderate to match the screen diagonal, and the weight is rather average. The marking of the design is average and, as you understand, we are talking only about the front panel. The color we tested was white; black and gold versions are also available.

There are not many design elements; they are rather necessary and sufficient. On the front panel, in addition to the dominant feature, the display, we see touch control keys at the bottom, as well as a series of various parts at the top. In addition to the earpiece, there are light and position sensors, front-camera with flash, plus operation indicator.

On the left side of the case there are only dual SIM card slides, and on the right there are memory card slides, a combined volume rocker and a low-speed lock button.

The top end is given over to a 3.5 mm audio jack and a noise reduction microphone, while the bottom contains a micro-USB connector, the main microphone and a perforated call speaker.

The rear panel, in addition to service symbols at the bottom and the vendor logo in the center, also houses the rear camera lens and a dual LED flash at the top.

The same Cyanogen

Turning back the clock, you involuntarily recall a frankly “geeky” topic, namely CyanogenMod - firmware for Android smartphones, which, with a relatively “clean” OS, gave scope for customization. But this topic still had a limited circle of users, and the software developers, Cyanogen Inc., decided to scale it (not without third-party investments) for “mere mortals.” This is how Cyanogen OS came into being - official firmware, which can be installed by default on branded smartphones. Now you don’t need to “dance with a tambourine” to install, and it will be much more difficult to “brick” a smartphone out of ignorance.

This is exactly the OS version 12.1 installed on the Aquaris X5 and today we will get acquainted with it.

Let’s make a reservation right away: in comparison with the “naked” Android 5.1, there are not many changes, so we will try to concentrate on them, because we have reviewed 5.1 itself more than once.

To begin with, the lock screen: it is similar to the default one with the only difference being that the password entry matrix can be hidden, although this is not entirely convenient.

Desktops are familiar to Android: you can place wallpapers, widgets, folders and application shortcuts on them, but in the case of Cyanogen, the basic function is the ability to change themes. The status bar conveniently groups similar items and shows total number notifications from one “addressee”.

Setting up the presentation also lies in the personalization of desktops: by pulling up the curtain of the interface for changing wallpapers and widgets, we will open access to a variety of settings: from animation and captions to the size of the icon grid.

The main menu can be either a familiar matrix or a vertical list linked to the first letter of the application name: an unusual but interesting presentation.

Well, the most important thing, not counting the partially replaced default applications, which can also easily be replaced with analogues, are the settings. We have a vertical list of options that you can customize for yourself. This is a display with the function of adjusting to ambient lighting, the ability to activate on-screen buttons, guest access, and customizable system profiles. It seems like little things, but it’s nice.

As for duality, everything is prosaic here: simple setting of defaults and visual indication of events.

Hardware and Performance

The fact that the smartphone interface does not lag is a merit of both the OS and the hardware. We talked about the OS, but we can’t help but mention the “own” performance of the test smartphone.

By the way, despite the smooth animation of the interface, minor jerks are noticeable when working with “heavy” content. In addition, during peak load, the body of the device became noticeably heated and this caused some discomfort from use.

CyanogenMod is one of the most popular alternative firmware for devices running the operating system. Android system. The Cyanogen Team is responsible for its creation, which created firmware that is characterized by high performance and optimization of the processes of the device on which it is installed.

Benefits of CyanogenMod

"Cyanogen" is the best alternative for owners of outdated gadgets. That is, those gadgets that can no longer be updated to current version Android. Owners of such devices, when flashing their device, will be able to experience all the delights latest versions Android. And this is just one of the advantages of installation CyanogenMod to your smartphone or tablet.

"Cyanogen" helps not only improve the operation of the device, but also takes interaction with it to a higher level. This custom firmware using shortcuts quick access, allows you to display the applications that the user launches most often on the lock screen. In addition, the user can remove the on-screen buttons, thereby increasing the usable display area.

Another advantage of this firmware is Built-in Apollo audio player. If you are not satisfied with the standard player Android and alternative players from the Play Market, then Apollo player can be the best alternative such an application. And if you don't like it appearance, then in the official catalog Google applications You can find many themes for this player.

Except Apollo into the firmware CyanogenMod included very convenient equalizer. With it, you can set up music playback through headphones, external speakers or device speakers.

Standard shell "Cyanogen" is constantly being improved and updated. She has a pleasant appearance and a large number of functions. But its main task is the ability to customize the launcher for yourself. Which she does very well.

Standard Applications CyanogenMod:

• Camera. Not the most functional standard application of this firmware. But this is not required. After all, in order to take a beautiful photo, just one button is enough.
• Contact list. A fairly convenient application that differs little from the standard Android “Contact List”. It also works flawlessly, smoothly flipping through the notebook.
• SMS client. Incoming SMS are sorted by contacts. There is a blacklist for incoming SMS from unwanted contacts.
• Audio client. The built-in Apollo player not only has simple controls, a stylish design and an adequate equalizer, but also supports almost all possible audio files.
• File manager. There is also a fairly convenient standard application with which you can access the contents of root folders.
• Calculator. The standard set of applications of this custom firmware includes a very modern calculator, which bypasses in functionality standard solution Android.

CyanogenMod settings options:

• Moving the clock to the center of the status bar
• Change how battery charge is displayed
• Easy to edit shortcut icons
• Improved theme manager compared to the standard one
• Saving battery power by limiting your smartphone's access to the network
• Restricting access to personal data for some applications
• You can lock the screen using a pattern
• Adjusting screen brightness by swiping on the status bar

By using CyanogenMod You can even change the frequency of the device's processor. And not only at the time of changing the settings, but also by setting the pattern of such changes for the future. There are several schemes for this change:

• Interactive. The processor frequency changes when the smartphone exits standby mode (the screen turns on)
• Ondemand. Ability to enable a more energy-efficient, but less productive processor mode
• Userspace. Allows the user to set the processor frequency for any program running as root
• Powersave. The processor runs at minimum frequency. This significantly saves battery power on the device.
• Performance. The processor runs at maximum frequency. Device performance increases, but so does energy consumption

INTERESTING: Try the test Antutu with standard settings processor frequency and when this frequency increases. You can increase this figure to 25%-30% .

Installing CyanogenMod

Installing custom firmware CyanogenMo d for various devices varies somewhat. Since it is physically impossible to talk about each device in the format of this article, we will stop at in a simple way installation of this software. It is suitable for devices of the line Nexus.

IMPORTANT: You cannot reflash other gadgets using these instructions. After all, the algorithm for this action for your device may be slightly different. In general, only the user is responsible for all actions with his gadget.

At least the team Cyanogen and made it easier to install its firmware on Android devices, this process must be carried out with the utmost care. One wrong action can lead to a serious error in your device, which can turn it into a brick.

There are two installation methods CyanogenMod to your smartphone. The first is to use the program Installer presented by the developer of this ROM. But this method has one, but rather significant, disadvantage. With this installation, the installer "Ciana" can “pick up” the latest, but not the most stable, firmware build for you. Therefore, it is better to install this software manually.

In order to install this firmware you need to perform three steps:

• get root rights
• unlock bootloader
• install custom recovery

We told you about how to get root rights. From this step we will begin the installation of “cyan”:

1. Download Framaroot 1.9.1, load it into the device memory and install it through the file manager
2. Now you need to launch this application and select "Install SuperSU"
3. The next step is to select any exploit available for your gadget.
4. After a window with a smiley face appears on the screen, you need to reboot the device

Setting up Superuser rights

That's it, root rights have been obtained. The Framaroot app can be uninstalled.

The second step in installation CyanogenMod is to unlock the bootloader. The easiest way to do this is with BootUnlooker. The application can be installed on your smartphone or tablet from the official Play Market application catalog.

Important point: BootUnlooker only works with Nexus series devices. If you have a smartphone or tablet of a different line, find and download an application on the Internet to unlock the bootloader for your device.

Now you need to flash the device custom recovery. The easiest option is achieved as follows:

1. Download and install from Play Market GooManager application.
2. In the application menu we activate "Install OpenRecoveryScr..."
3. The program will ask for permission to do this. We agree
4. When a window appears on the screen with the name of the recovery file, you need to make sure that the name of the model of your device is included in the one offered by the program. This could be his international code. For example, i9300 for Galaxy S3.
5. We agree with the name and automatically go to the site where it is located required file. After downloading and installing it, the program will inform you that everything was done successfully.

Now we find the firmware for your device on the Download page. The firmware can have several versions:

• Stable- latest stable working version
• Release candidate- version in pre-release stage
• Snapshot- not fully “tested” version. There are minor bugs, but overall the firmware is stable and has several improvements compared to the Stable version
• Miliestone, Nightly And Experiments– various experimental versions that may have many bugs. You can install them only out of curiosity. Installing them is not advisable for your working device

When you find the firmware for your smartphone or tablet model, and also decide on its version, download the archive with it.

1. Upload the file (no need to unzip) into the memory of the device that needs to be flashed
2. Boot into recovery mode (hold down the power and volume down button while booting)
3. Activate the menu "Install" and find the place where you uploaded the firmware file. Click on it and confirm the installation

All you have to do is wait a little while for the firmware to install on your device and enjoy the new interface and functions. If the firmware fails, then most likely the smartphone will not boot. Don’t rush to take it to a service center or throw it away. Boot into recovery mode (power and volume down buttons) and activate Wipe mode.

IMPORTANT: After installing the firmware Cyanogenmod need to install Play Market and others Google services separately. Download the Gapps package from this link, upload it to your device and install it through recovery.

As you can see from this guide, installing custom firmware such as CyanogenMod, this is not a very difficult task. The main thing is to find the right version and recovery for your device.

"Cyanogen" is one of the most popular alternative firmware today. With its help, you can completely change the concept of ease of use of a smartphone or tablet. Thanks to it, you can change the standard settings of on-screen buttons, status bars, quick access bars, sound and LED notifications, as well as other interface elements.

Unfortunately, as of December 31, 2016, the developer stopped supporting the firmware. But the successor to this product was the firmware LineageOS. At the moment, the latest version of the product is Lineage OS 14.1 on the base Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Video. TOP 5 features of Cyanogenmod for which I love and hate it

Most of our readers are either already using third-party Android firmware, or would like to do so. And this is not at all surprising, because in custom firmware we often find many useful functions and settings that will appear in stock very soon or never at all. The undoubted leader among all the different firmware is CyanogenMod. From this article you will learn about what distinguishes this development from others and why when choosing a new ROM you should choose it.

1. It's more Android than others

It sounds a little unusual in relation to firmware from independent developers, but that’s how it is. Many manufacturers are so keen on improving the operating system in their proprietary shells that after them CyanogenMod will seem like the most canonically correct ROM. Its creators are very careful about the stock image of the system, and although CyanogenMod contains many additions and improvements, they do not deprive Android of its original appearance.

2. You will be able to use newer versions of the system

Support for gadgets of yesteryear is simply a disaster in the Android world. As soon as you buy a device, the manufacturer turns away from you and immediately forgets about software support. Therefore, it often turns out that even devices that are still quite decent in terms of hardware become hopelessly outdated due to the software filling.

By installing CyanogenMod, you can keep up with the times and take full advantage of the latest releases of operating systems from Google. Many devices even support over-the-air updates, so subsequent firmware updates will cost you no effort.

3. Better application management

The latest versions of CyanogenMod introduced the Privacy Guard feature, which allows users to decide for themselves what data and functions a particular person can have access to. installed application. That is, it gives you the opportunity to stop being a hostage to developers software and become a full-fledged owner of your device, distributing access rights as you wish.

4. Superuser

Another great feature that all advanced users will appreciate. With its help, you will get much more opportunities to customize and change the operating system. Many applications require superuser rights to operate, and if you have installed CyanogenMod, then you will not have to root your gadget in any risky way.

5. Themes

We are already accustomed to the fact that third-party launchers can change their appearance using different themes. But here we are talking about a deeper transformation, because the Themes panel allows you to install and select themes that change the appearance of the operating system at the deepest level, including the style of system applications, icons, fonts, sounds and even boot animations.

6. Interface tweaks

The great advantage of CyanogenMod is that immediately after installation, as we wrote above, it looks almost like stock Android. But once you dive into the settings, you will find such a wide field for experimentation that you can customize the system exactly to your needs. Customize the status bar, order and functions of navigation buttons, behavior when pressing hardware keys, and much, much more. I especially like the ability to change the brightness by simply sliding your finger on the status bar - just what you need on a bright sunny day.

7. Equalizer

All music lovers will definitely love the DSP Manager application, which can correct mobile audio errors using an equalizer. You can raise or lower the gain level, add bass, apply built-in presets, and so on.

8. Profiles

CyanogenMod has a very handy feature called Profiles. Essentially, these are groups of settings that you can apply in certain situations. For example, when you go outside, you set the brightness and sound to maximum, turn on mobile data and GPS. At work, on the contrary, turn off the sound and turn on Wi-Fi. CyanogenMod has the ability to group these settings into profiles, give them names like “Street” and “Work”, and apply them when needed with one tap.

CyanogenMod also includes a large number of other interesting features and several interesting programs. Most of these specific features can be reproduced on other firmware, but CyanogenMod is unlikely to be completely replicated in this way. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you try this ROM in action, especially since you can do it.

Users of official firmware Android devices are increasingly looking around in search of functional “mods” for the firmware of their devices. And some are also looking at full-fledged, albeit stripped-down Linux distributions or even Windows phones.

It would seem that Android as an operating system is confidently gaining momentum all over the world. However, due to strong segmentation and delays in firmware updates by phone manufacturers, many owners of devices based on this OS either have not yet received the latest firmware on their communicators, or will never receive them.

You don’t need to look far for examples - almost any communicator manufacturer has more than one model of its current product line in its “asset”! And if Google itself has begun obliging vendors to keep Android OS versions up-to-date for a certain time, then in most cases, owners of “last season” devices have no chance at all. Then, in all his glory and fully armed, Count T..., sorry, CyanogenMod, appears from the bushes. (Leave Pelevin aside! – Editor’s note. – Sorry, it came out... – Author’s note.)

CyanogenMod is the first mobile OS, which is essentially a combination of the experimental development branch of the community and the official source code tree of the Android OS.

The CyanogenMod project was a collaboration between developers and the XDA community. Being, in principle, firmware for communicators and tablets based on the Android operating system, it contains modules and software that are not included in official software builds from vendors of communicators and tablets. CyanogenMod is the first mobile OS, which is essentially a combination of the experimental development branch of the community and the official source code tree of the Android OS.

There is an opinion among mod users that CyanogenMod improves the performance and reliability of the operating system compared to official firmware releases from the device vendor (this statement, of course, is a reason for an excellent holivar). By the way, it was stated that as of October 31, 2011, the CyanogenMod firmware was installed on more than a million devices! What is not a reason to consider the project more closely, especially in light of the fact that after some time each owner of the device will Android based will be forced to install this mod on his device, because the period of support for the device by manufacturers will end and corporations will simply give up on owners of fairly modern mobile devices...

Despite all the nuances of using CyanogenMod on your device, I’m really looking forward to the joint efforts of XDA and the vendor’s programmers to “finish” the new “cyanogen”.

So, the currently developed branch of the project is CyanogenMod 7. Its development began with the release of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). On February 15, 2011, the first firmware versions for several supported devices already appeared. The fourth "beta" of the firmware was presented to the community on March 30, 2011, which strengthened CyanogenMod's position among other similar firmware (as many bug fixes were made). On April 11, 2011, the first stable build of CyanogenMod 7.0 based on Android 2.3.3 was released. The current build of “cyanogen” has version 7.1.0.2 and is based on Android 2.3.7 (which, you see, is extremely interesting for owners of a still fully functional “junk” based on Android 1.6-2.1).

• Program: Cyanogenmod 7
• Type: firmware
• Developer: Community xda-developers
• Distribution size: 94.35 MB
• Russification of the interface: yes
• Address: cyanogenmod.com

In its current form, build 7.1.0.2 supports 68 different device models (look for yours here - www.cyanogenmod.com/devices). Available for each of them step by step guide to replace the stock firmware with CyanogenMod, and to simplify installation, a special ROM Manager application has been prepared, included in the CyanogenMod kit. However, I remind Sony Ericsson fans that unlocking the bootloader is a prerequisite for installing the mod - keep this in mind! By the way, thanks to the “personal” interest of Samsung and Sony Ericsson(who provided the CyanogenMod project with information and equipment for work and testing), the developers were able to provide support for all current model range these manufacturers.

After the introductory part of the story, let's get down to business and take a look at the list of goodies of CyanogenMod 7.1.0.2:
1. Support for the FLAC codec with the ability to use an equalizer.
2. Availability of programs such as BusyBox, rsync, htop, nano, PowerTOP, bash, etc. in the basic package. Linux users rejoice!
3. The presence of an access manager su, which allows you to allow or deny obtaining root rights for a specific application.
4. Access to an additional settings section with options for tuning performance, user interface, sound subsystem and input methods.
5. Availability of Spare Parts - a set of service functions for monitoring battery status, monitoring resource consumption, application power consumption, as well as for setting various interface parameters.
6. Support for OpenVPN and incognito mode in the standard browser!
7. The ADW.Launcher application is used as a standard system launcher. And although the “gift horse…” (further in the text), at least for me, it falls quite often. Of course, the last release dates back to 2010. Therefore, I immediately recommend purchasing and installing ADW.Launcher EX, it is both fresher and more stable - this immediately catches your eye.
8. Screen strokes are processed, which can be entered even in screen lock mode. You can configure the display of additional information on the lock screen, which is very convenient.
9. Now supported by the standard system browser private mode navigation (without saving surfing history and other data in the cache).
10. There is an Apps2SD function for transferring applications to an SD card and back to the main memory.
11. Phone Goggles firewall has been integrated to allow calls and sending SMS only specific applications (the so-called “Drunk Mode”).
And this is just the little that immediately caught my eye when I first met CyanogenMod 7. When examining the firmware in more detail, inquisitive minds will have both something to be happy about and something to be upset about.

Therefore, let's start looking at the pros and cons - I'm sure this will be useful to many. Let's start with setting up the “cyanogen” itself. In the “Applications” menu item, you can both allow the movement of any programs to the memory card and select the default installation location for all new applications. Also here is the “Drunk Mode” I already mentioned above. firewall Phone Goggles, which allows you to “filter” unnecessary communication between the device and the Network.

You can also, for example, force the device to check the status of its owner, asking him to solve mathematical problems before each call. So, one day, after two such tests, I spat, decided to admit that I was drunk, turned off this mode and at the same time the phone (cunning smiley). This is how modern technology disciplines us.

In the input settings, you can select the actions performed when using the “Menu” and “Search” buttons, the device’s reaction to pressing and releasing the touchscreen, and determine the behavior of the built-in player when the screen is off. There is complete freedom in the interface settings! From selecting reboot options, notification bar, status bar and LED notifications to animation effects and general view scrollbar.

I would also like to separately touch on the contents of the “Performance” menu. We are fair warned that these settings will change system performance in the worst side(no, well, we know that the main thing is to warn in advance so that they don’t point fingers at you later (smiley)). We agree, shaking our heads, and immediately go to the “CPU Settings” item. There are four modes waiting for us here: Interactive (default), Ondemand, Scary and Smartssv2. Below are the options for selecting the minimum and maximum processor frequencies. For me these are 122 and 1612 MHz (set by default). However, for those who will override these parameters, it is possible to apply their CPU settings the next time the device is booted.

In the “System” item of the “CyanogenMod Settings” menu, you can read the release notes installed on our device (as if we didn’t read them on the website before installing the assembly). It is also possible to allow notifications about new versions of CyanogenMod. I honestly registered on the update server, but although I know for sure that there is an update (and that it just doesn’t want to load on my device), I still haven’t received a notification about the availability of the firmware... Maybe it’s done for the future? Well, let's wait and see...

Also, earlier (in the sense before I switched to ADW.Launcher EX) in the main menu, right under the CyanogenMod settings, there was a launcher settings control item. However, after replacing it with the advanced version and uninstalling the old one, the convenient menu item disappears, and I still haven't figured out how to get it back. Well, no worries, I have time before the new build.

Those who like to change everything will certainly appreciate the option to customize the type of screen lock. A total of five types of locking are offered - from rings to the classic slider. In addition, you can play with the styles of the lock screen, the type of widgets placed on it, etc. Oh, I almost forgot! There is a separate settings block for tablets! Of course, Android 2.3.7 is not as well suited for tablets as 3.0.2, but, nevertheless, you can move the status bar to the bottom of the screen and not display the unlock screen...

Now, if the reader doesn’t mind, I’ll share my purely personal impressions of the firmware on a real device – my award-winning SE Arc. As for power consumption, for some reason in my case it did not become lower, but only increased - according to a subjective assessment, by 10-15 percent... And this despite the fact that my friend with an SE Mini, after installing CyanogenMod, had a device lifespan of one charging with the same style of phone use almost doubled!

My primary sin was that after flashing the device, the battery controller still does not know the exact charge values. I had to calibrate the battery in manual mode(remove the battery for 5 minutes, and then, without turning on the device, charge it for 5-6 hours). This manipulation helped a little, however, it didn’t feel completely. But the “screen-proximity sensor” combination began to work better. The touchscreen's response to touch with the ear (smile) almost stopped, and I forgot about the problem that always worried me extremely about stock firmware.

Well, about the little things. In CyanogenMod, the call screen is organized in such a way that the pictures of subscribers from the “Google account” are right on topic! They are not deformed, they look neat and in place. In addition, if the call holding service is not activated, I can (albeit manually) disable the display of the corresponding virtual button. A small thing, but nice. I was also pleased with the presence of a terminal emulator. Many people won’t need it, but it will come in handy for me - I’ll manage my home server via SSH! Previously, you had to install a separate utility for this.

Summing up the results of studying CyanogenMod, I would like to note that the project turned out to be very necessary and relevant, and the CyanogenMod firmware was in demand. By bringing “fresh” versions of the operating system to our devices, which we had never even dreamed of before, CyanogenMod can soon completely conquer the niche of “out-of-warranty” communicators and tablets (“Nukovodam” with Nook Color – a low start!).

Samsung and SE are actively involved in the project, so let's hope that they will bring developments to it for porting and optimizing firmware for their devices, but will not purchase CyanogenMod for their own needs. Because if such a turn of events occurs, there will be no alternative to amateur fashion. However, let's not lose optimism and wish the project good luck and speedy completion of the firmware for SE Arc (smile)!

P.S. Despite all the nuances of using CyanogenMod on your device, I’m really looking forward to the joint efforts of XDA and the vendor’s programmers to “finish” the new “cyanogen”. Whether he will be 8th or 9th is completely uncritical for me. U.P.

Impressions and reflections
I've been thinking about switching to CyanogenMod for a long time. Being a “happy” owner of a Sony Ericsson Arc, I tried a lot - all versions of stock PCT firmware, most versions of “bourgeois” firmware and several custom mods. However, each version of the firmware fixed some bugs but introduced others.

Yes, and get root rights again on each new firmware was not always trivial... Then removing garbage from pre-installed SE applications, freezing system programs, which, in my opinion, are completely unnecessary in the system... In a word, a lot of time was spent on experiments, but there was not much sense: the main problems with communication (loss of signal inside buildings) and the touchscreen (impossibility of unlocking the screen when there is an incoming call without using the power button of the communicator) gradually drove me crazy.

But I just never got around to CyanogenMod - of course, this mod requires an unlocked bootloader. And as soon as you unlock it, you immediately lose the warranty, which you really didn’t want. And, as soon as the opportunity to unlock the bootloader via test point arose, I made up my mind. “As a last resort, I’ll block it back,” I thought and took up a stationery knife and a paper clip (those who are interested in the procedure can easily find necessary information on the Internet, there are even video tutorials for the laziest).

I won’t dwell on the process of updating to CyanogenMod in detail - you’ll go to the website for the firmware, and you’ll also find the rest of the information there. I'll go through the nuances. Firstly, version 7.1.0.2 could not boot on my device. I waited a long time, changed it several times - the result was the same. But 7.1.0.1 installed without problems, and that’s what I’ve stuck with for now.

To say that I was amazed by the abundance of settings is tantamount to silence! I'm still tuning something somewhere, constantly discovering new menu items. But it wasn’t just the opportunity to “dig from the heart” that appealed to me. Unlike the stock SE firmware, the “telephone” part of the CyanogenMod software is beyond praise. Not only did I no longer lose signal in the same places in the building where the factory firmware failed, it became more convenient to work with the communicator just like a telephone.

It's now possible to sort contacts by last name, and there's less hassle with SMS. And in general, CyanogenMod discovered Arc for me as a phone! Otherwise, to be honest, I was already thinking about buying myself a “dialer” for the role Philips Xenium(yes, Chinese, yes, it’s buggy, but the battery is 2000 mAh!)... However, there is a fly in the ointment: for example, camera support is implemented anyhow, and FM radio is still in the process of integration.

There are nuances with Googlesoft - “Maps” and “Gallery” constantly crash for me when I try to upload a photo in “Places” and leave comments. In my opinion, they haven’t completely finished the screen driver, because there are problems with responsiveness, with pressing the bottom row of keyboard keys in landscape orientation, etc. Yes, sometimes you have to reboot manually, but the reboot time is minimal. But, despite all this, demolish CyanogenMod and install stock firmware I can't raise my hand. I look forward to updates!

Custom firmware CyanogenMod: what could be better. CyanogenMod is the most popular custom firmware based on Android OS today, which offers users wider functionality than stock versions. The developer is Cyanogen Inc.
CyanogenMod is one of the most popular alternative firmware for devices running on operating system Android. The Cyanogen Team is responsible for its creation, which created firmware that is characterized by high performance and optimization of the processes of the device on which it is installed.

Let's figure out whether it's worth installing this firmware to your phone.

It's more than Android. It sounds strange, but it's true. While retaining the design and all the features of stock Android, CyanogenMod also offers various additional functions and improvements. You can, for example, change the meaning of system buttons.

Installing the latest OS versions
Unfortunately, the situation with Android device updates is not encouraging, although it is gradually improving. You can buy a Galaxy S4 and wait for the update to new version will take a very long time despite the fact that this is a flagship device. But CyanogenMod just offers the latest version of the operating system from Google. In addition, some devices can even be updated over the air. If this doesn’t work out, then you can download the firmware to your phone and do it through Recovery.

Privacy Guard feature
The essence of Privacy Guard is very simple - you are given a list of all applications, and you decide for yourself what they have access to and what not. Very comfortably.

Wide range of settings
As already noted, CyanogenMod looks exactly the same as stock Android. But it’s worth visiting the “Settings” item and you will find a huge number of “tweaks” to experiment with. Almost every detail is customizable. Here you can truly customize the gadget to suit you.

Impact on warranty
Perhaps the only disadvantage of installing this firmware is that you lose the warranty. On the other hand, even the manufacturers themselves (Samsung, Sony) state that installing CyanogenMod should not lead to loss of warranty. But in service center you can't prove it.

At the moment, the company is actively working on the development of CyanogenMod 12 and 12.1, which are built on the basis of the Android 5.0 and 5.1 image, respectively.

Benefits of CyanogenMod
"Cyan" is the best alternative for owners of outdated gadgets. That is, those gadgets that can no longer be updated to the current version of Android. Owners of such devices, when flashing their device, will be able to experience all the delights of the latest Android versions. And this is just one of the advantages of installing CyanogenMod on your smartphone or tablet.

“Cyan” helps not only improve the operation of the device, but will also take interaction with it to a higher level. This custom firmware, using shortcuts, allows you to display the applications that the user launches most often on the lock screen. In addition, the user can remove the on-screen buttons, thereby increasing the usable display area.


Another advantage of this firmware is the built-in Apollo audio player. If you are not satisfied with the standard Android player and alternative players from the Play Market, then the Apollo player can be the best alternative to such an application. And if you don’t like the appearance, you can find many themes for this player in the official Google application catalog.

In addition to Apollo, the CyanogenMod firmware includes a very convenient equalizer. With it, you can set up music playback through headphones, external speakers or device speakers.


Apollo player
The standard “Cyan” shell is constantly being improved and updated. It has a nice appearance and a large number of functions. But its main task is the ability to customize the launcher for yourself. Which she does very well.


Standard CyanogenMod applications:

Camera. Not the most functional standard application of this firmware. But this is not required. After all, in order to take a beautiful photo, just one button is enough.
Contact list. A fairly convenient application that differs little from the standard Android “Contact List”. It also works flawlessly, smoothly flipping through the notebook.
SMS client. Incoming SMS are sorted by contacts. There is a blacklist for incoming SMS from unwanted contacts.
Audio client. The built-in Apollo player not only has simple controls, a stylish design and an adequate equalizer, but also supports almost all possible audio files.
File manager. There is also a fairly convenient standard application with which you can access the contents of root folders.
Calculator. The standard set of applications for this custom firmware includes a very modern calculator, which bypasses the standard Android solution in terms of functionality.
CyanogenMod settings options:

Moving the clock to the center of the status bar
Change how battery charge is displayed
Easy to edit shortcut icons
Improved theme manager compared to the standard one
Saving battery power by limiting your smartphone's access to the network
Restricting access to personal data for some applications
You can lock the screen using a pattern
Adjusting screen brightness by swiping on the status bar

With CyanogenMod you can even change the processor frequency of your device. And not only at the time of changing the settings, but also by setting the pattern of such changes for the future. There are several schemes for this change:

Interactive. The processor frequency changes when the smartphone exits standby mode (the screen turns on)
Ondemand. Ability to enable a more energy-efficient, but less productive processor mode
Userspace. Allows the user to set the processor frequency for any program running as root
Powersave. The processor runs at minimum frequency. This significantly saves battery power on the device.
Performance. The processor runs at maximum frequency. Device performance increases, but so does energy consumption

INTERESTING: Try taking the Antutu test with standard processor frequency settings and increasing this frequency. You can increase this figure to 25%-30%.

Installing CyanogenMod
Installing custom CyanogenMod firmware varies slightly between devices. Since it is physically impossible to talk about each device in the format of this article, we will focus on the easiest way to install this software. It is suitable for Nexus devices.

IMPORTANT: You cannot reflash other gadgets using these instructions. After all, the algorithm for this action for your device may be slightly different. In general, only the user is responsible for all actions with his gadget.

Although the Cyanogen team has made it easy to install its firmware on Android devices, this process must be carried out with the utmost care. One wrong action can lead to a serious error in your device, which can turn it into a brick.

There are two ways to install CyanogenMod on your smartphone. The first is to use Installer programs presented by the developer of this ROM. But this method has one, but rather significant, disadvantage. With this installation, the Cyana installer can “select” you the latest, but not the most stable, firmware build. Therefore, it is better to install this software manually.

In order to install this firmware you need to perform three steps:

get root rights
unlock bootloader
install custom recovery

Important note: BootUnlooker only works with Nexus series devices. If you have a smartphone or tablet of a different line, find and download an application on the Internet to unlock the bootloader for your device.

Now you need to flash the device with custom recovery. The easiest option is achieved as follows:

Download and install the GooManager application from the Play Market.
In the application menu, activate “Install OpenRecoveryScr...”
The program will ask for permission to do this. We agree
When a window appears on the screen with the name of the recovery file, you need to make sure that the name of the model of your device is included in the one offered by the program. This may be its international code. For example, i9300 for Galaxy S3.
We agree with the name and automatically go to the site where the required file is located. After downloading and installing it, the program will inform you that everything was done successfully.