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Hello all -
I am getting my Tilt from AT&T tomorrow and I've been reading like crazy on this forum + wiki in preparation of getting it. Thanks to everyone who has contributed - awesome resource!
I understand the idea of flashing ROMS, unlocking, and general tweaking - I massively hacking/tweak my Tivo, etc. and I'm pretty sure I can get through it. But, I still have one question:
What, exactly, is the advantage of the HTC rom over the AT&T Tilt rom? I have never see the HTC rom but it looks like I can avoid the bloatware and add/tweak to my Tilt to make it similar to the HTC.
So, what exactly is on (or not on) the HTC rom that makes everyone want to switch away from the Tilt rom? What does the HTC rom have that the AT&T rom can't have???
Also: I have noticed some posts about battery life being different with different roms. I assumed that battery life would result from the way the varoius settings/options are set, but maybe I am not getting this.
I have read around on the forum quite a bit and I am understanding most of the nitty gritty details about these issues, but I'm a little unclear on what the problem is with the AT&T rom in the first place!
Any advice apreciated!! thanks - Dave
I get my Tilt Tuesday and am wondering what the "bottom line" is on this as well. It seems by removing bloatware, and installing a few cabs, you pretty much get a Kaiser. Speed and battery life are concerns for me though and if either is poor, I'm pretty comfortable installing a ROM (did it previously on my Wizard). Thanks to all for all the good info and advice. I've read way too much considering I don't even have the phone yet.
Hopefully we'll get an answer. On another forum I've read that you can install cabs to make the Tilt like the HTC, but on another thread I read that the HTC rom is different and better!
I'm not seeing any major disadvantages from using the HTC rom, actually, besides the menu problems which evidently have a fix. So, it might be worth a shot.
advantages
dhecker said:
Hello all -
I am getting my Tilt from AT&T tomorrow and I've been reading like crazy on this forum + wiki in preparation of getting it. Thanks to everyone who has contributed - awesome resource!
I understand the idea of flashing ROMS, unlocking, and general tweaking - I massively hacking/tweak my Tivo, etc. and I'm pretty sure I can get through it. But, I still have one question:
What, exactly, is the advantage of the HTC rom over the AT&T Tilt rom? I have never see the HTC rom but it looks like I can avoid the bloatware and add/tweak to my Tilt to make it similar to the HTC.
So, what exactly is on (or not on) the HTC rom that makes everyone want to switch away from the Tilt rom? What does the HTC rom have that the AT&T rom can't have???
Also: I have noticed some posts about battery life being different with different roms. I assumed that battery life would result from the way the varoius settings/options are set, but maybe I am not getting this.
I have read around on the forum quite a bit and I am understanding most of the nitty gritty details about these issues, but I'm a little unclear on what the problem is with the AT&T rom in the first place!
Any advice apreciated!! thanks - Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
custom roms base on htc releases have many advantages:
1- get rid of all junk and restrictions of at&t one
2- reg hacks and fixes that take the most out of your phone
3- many more advantages but if numbered here will take me all night
search in these forum and you get many other reasons to change. For example i bought the tilt and in the same day i unlock it due a hardspl and change the rom to a custom one and beleive i will never come back to at&t stock rom.
I was in your guys shoes too. I read a ton on this forum before I got the phone. Here is my advice having had 2 Tilts, first one I had for a week, then returned it till I got a better deal.
When you first start the phone you go through a quick WM6 setup. After that it will say "Customizing Device" and there will be a progress bar. When this starts reset the phone with the stylus into the small hole at the bottom. That will prevent a lot of the ATT bloatware from loading.
Try that for a week, and if it isn't broke then don't fix it.
That said, there are a lot of HTC apps I love. Keep in mind you don't need a new rom to install them.
I would only try new ROMs if one or more of the following apply:
1) You are having some issues with stability or speed.
2) You need more space on the main memory.
3) You are lazy and want to try some other premade package.
Basically all the roms I tried are not that different then the stock ATT rom without the "Customizations" bloatware install. Plus you can get the phone to the exact same level by installing apps and doing small tweaks. Its not night and day or anything dramatic. However its fun to try new things and tweak the phone, thats one of the reasons I got it.
Here are my Must Have applications.
HTC Home
HTC Audio Manager
KaiserTweak
HTC Task Manager
Opera Mini Beta 4
Google Maps
Windows Live
Pops_G said:
I was in your guys shoes too. I read a ton on this forum before I got the phone. Here is my advice having had 2 Tilts, first one I had for a week, then returned it till I got a better deal.
When you first start the phone you go through a quick WM6 setup. After that it will say "Customizing Device" and there will be a progress bar. When this starts reset the phone with the stylus into the small hole at the bottom. That will prevent a lot of the ATT bloatware from loading.
Try that for a week, and if it isn't broke then don't fix it.
That said, there are a lot of HTC apps I love. Keep in mind you don't need a new rom to install them.
I would only try new ROMs if one or more of the following apply:
1) You are having some issues with stability or speed.
2) You need more space on the main memory.
3) You are lazy and want to try some other premade package.
Basically all the roms I tried are not that different then the stock ATT rom without the "Customizations" bloatware install. Plus you can get the phone to the exact same level by installing apps and doing small tweaks. Its not night and day or anything dramatic. However its fun to try new things and tweak the phone, thats one of the reasons I got it.
Here are my Must Have applications.
HTC Home
HTC Audio Manager
KaiserTweak
HTC Task Manager
Opera Mini Beta 4
Google Maps
Windows Live
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Click to collapse
Pops, thanks for your informative reply. Is there really ANYTHING that the HTC rom can do that couldn't be somehow configured into the AT&T rom? I don't really mind flashing to a new rom but if I can start with the Tilt rom and configure everything I need (even if it takes a while ) that might be fine.
Am I correct in understanding that TouchFlo can work just fine on the AT&T rom? There are mixed messages about that.
Also, does any of this have anything to do with battery life??
thanks!
It all comes down to preferrences. I have a Tilt, and I have installed just about every ROM available here. I keep going back to HTC oriented ROMS, but there is some drawback in that you have to "tweak" it a bit usually to get full AT&T usability. AT&T ROMS are good for staying "true" to the carrier's mindset, but usually are buggy or slower. Dutty's right now is my fav, but that could change
Battery life is best controlled with 2 applications, both the Kaiser Tweak program, and with a good comm manager program to disable comm when not in use. Or at least move between 2G and 3G connections. 3G is awesome fast, but a hugh battery drain.
Thanks for your input! I played with a Tllt for a while and the AT&T rom might have been slower (I don't know cause I've never seen the HTC!) but it was totally stable as far as I could tell. Is there some specific bugginess that you saw or are you just referring to the general sloppiness of the AT&T bundles, etc.?
dhecker said:
Pops, thanks for your informative reply. Is there really ANYTHING that the HTC rom can do that couldn't be somehow configured into the AT&T rom? I don't really mind flashing to a new rom but if I can start with the Tilt rom and configure everything I need (even if it takes a while ) that might be fine.
Am I correct in understanding that TouchFlo can work just fine on the AT&T rom? There are mixed messages about that.
Also, does any of this have anything to do with battery life??
thanks!
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Click to collapse
No, there is nothing you cannot do with the AT&T rom given enough time and tweaking. Before I got my phone I some how got the impression ROMs where almost like a different animal. I think a better analogy would be comparing them to a house with furniture. The different ROMs are just different styles.
But if you are a real power user, and it sounds like you are, I would just use another ROM and start from there. You will save some time. I'm a fan of the "clean" ROMs that some with almost nothing installed. Then I build them up from there. They are very easy to install if you read the instructions. And it only takes like 10-15 mins max.
Pops - That last comment was interesting. I can totally see the advantage of installing a lite rom or for that matter, a fully loaded Dutty's rom, etc. My concern was that if I did that, I'd actually wind up having to tweak for a while to get things smooth on the Tilt since I wouldn't be using the 'stock' rom. The assumption is the everything would work on day 1 with the stock rom, so I can tweak but I never have to really get things going.
In your experience, if I installed the most recent version of Dutty's Hybrid Kaiser TouchFlo Final (if I'm gonna flash the rom, I might as well load it up) that things would be about as stable/easy as if I spent time customized the AT&T rom?
If there's not too much risk or BS I might just go for it! There is something about keeping the original rom that makes me feel more confident, but it's also fun to tweak on the thing!
Well there are two types of Kaisers right now. The original HTC branded one and the Tilt. They are different in 2 ways. For the Tilt, some roms require you to install a keyboard fix for a minor adjustment. Also you have to configure the AT&T internet settings. It depends on the ROM. Some of the ROMs are already designed for the Tilt.
To answer your question, yes some of these ROMs can have you up and running without any tweaking or adjustments at all. Just read their instructions, it varies for each one.
For me, if I start with a stripped down ROM it takes me about 2 hours or more to install all of my apps and tweaks. For the fully featured ROMs like Dutty's, you can be ready to go in 20-30mins.
I installed the HTC stock ROM on my Tilt for the same reason I install reference drivers for my video card:
1. They are more true to the manufacturer's specifications.
2. There are more frequent and faster updates available.
Number 2 was the most important for me, even though HTC has not released an updated ROM yet...but when they do, I know that I can install it and it will be closer to what I have been using.
I had the Tilt ROM installed for a few weeks before I reverted to the HTC ROM. I also installed the HTC customizations on the Tilt ROM and played with that for a while. I noticed slight differences between the applications like the HTC Home application UI behavour has minor differences. There was also more available memory on the HTC ROM from the Tilt ROM even after I cancelled the Tilt customizations from installing.
Oh here is a neat program to help you test different ROMs without losing your contacts, SMS, call history etc.
PIM Backup
Have to throw my 2 cents in also.
Just got the Tilt last month,and after my initial fear of flashing(and succesfully installing HARDSPL) I've flashed lots of these ROM's too. I however, have to agree with Pops_G, the best solution I've found has been a "clean ROM" and customize it the way I want. I prefer the ATT versions over the monochrome/big clock/UGLY UI that the Kaiser ones have. I've been using Kyphur's Tilt XDA-Live v1.1 and love it. It provides the most storage of ANY of the custom ROMs and has the newest radio also. It shows a significant difference in my area;where the signal borders on weak.
Alemaker
Ok, these kinds of opinions and comments are really helping out. I think I'm gonna do this:
1) When the Tilt comes (today!) I'll play with the AT&T stock ROM for a while and get a feel for it.
2) Then, I'm going to flash Dutty's ROM - it has just about everything and it will give me a chance to look at everything from the Cube to the HTC apps and everything else. In general, I like to strip things out of my systems rather than bloat it out, but this sounds like an easy way to check it all out in one go.
3) Most likely I'll be want to install Tilt XDA Lite once I've had a chance to fool around with the others. With a clean start like that I can install the apps I want and get the thing fast/stable for good.
Sounds like fun! Here I go..
dhecker said:
Ok, these kinds of opinions and comments are really helping out. I think I'm gonna do this:
1) When the Tilt comes (today!) I'll play with the AT&T stock ROM for a while and get a feel for it.
2) Then, I'm going to flash Dutty's ROM - it has just about everything and it will give me a chance to look at everything from the Cube to the HTC apps and everything else. In general, I like to strip things out of my systems rather than bloat it out, but this sounds like an easy way to check it all out in one go.
3) Most likely I'll be want to install Tilt XDA Lite once I've had a chance to fool around with the others. With a clean start like that I can install the apps I want and get the thing fast/stable for good.
Sounds like fun! Here I go..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give yourself some time with each Rom (a few days) to really get a feel for it. Also know that your battery is going to be crap for a couple of weeks until it is properly "conditioned" so don't even include that in your comparison.
Another thing you need to consider what are you looking to gain from using a cooked rom? While it can be nice to have a lot of apps mixed in once there is a new version of an app you have to either flash an updated rom or install the update over the cooked version in which case you are now losing memory as the files in the rom can't really be deleted (only marked as such)...
kypher: Thanks for your input. I am interest in your comment about having apps in the rom, space, etc.
Am I understanding that when there are apps built into the rom, those apps can't really be updated/upgraded/(deleted?) without reflashing the rom?
So, with a stripped down rom could a user install the various apps and have the ability to upgrade/uninstall/delete those apps whenever they wanted to?
That seems like a major advantage to using a lite rom then building it up on your own, which is looking more and more like the way to go! Any clarification appreciated.
dhecker said:
Am I understanding that when there are apps built into the rom, those apps can't really be updated/upgraded/(deleted?) without reflashing the rom?
So, with a stripped down rom could a user install the various apps and have the ability to upgrade/uninstall/delete those apps whenever they wanted to?
That seems like a major advantage to using a lite rom then building it up on your own, which is looking more and more like the way to go! Any clarification appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically you can update (or even delete) the apps that are cooked in BUT... you've already paid in storage space for the files. When you upgrade the cooked files are marked as deleted so the files from the cab can overwrite them BUT... the files can't actually be deleted so if you have a 4MB program (like MS Voice Command) cooked in and you get an upgrade then you are actually paying 8MB of storage for the program now.
In short, even though the files are marked as deleted and you phone acts like they are deleted, you can't recover the memory they used if the files are cooked into the Rom. This is the primary reason I'm stripping XDA Live down as close to the undershorts as I can.
Well, the phone came this afternoon and I've been fooling around with it ever since. So far, so good!
I like the AT&T Tilt setup a lot. But, being a long-time geek I just couldn't resist and now I'm flashing Dutty's Tilt Rom. I'll play with that for a while, then maybe think about a long-term setup. It's kind of nice being able to flash the rom as I don't have to worry too much about screwing up the configuration since I can reflash at any time.
much fun! thanks everyone
I would like to try different ROMs as well, but I would like to be able to go back to ATT Tilt ROM if need be. How can I backup my original ATT ROM, so that I can flash back to it, if I needed to?
1st of all...this site is great and there's an incredible amount of knowledge and inteligence here. I'll be tickled donate once completing the mods on my new *but* locked phone...errrrg
So, I posted this question maybe in the wrong area...'cause there was no response
jgdorado;1873942]I'm recieving a TYTN II tomarrow locked to ATT. I'm using t-mobile here in Florida. I want to completely eliminate any reference to ATT and run whatever rom's would provide the best of the best. So please entertain my questions as this may quite help many others who are trying to get the big pcture........
1) can I use Win2000Pro(sp4+) for these procedures
2) Should I 1st use Kaiser Super CID unlocker, or CID unlocker 1st?
3) then do I run the HardSPL v1
4) Then it appears that I should run this sim-unlocker
5) Then it appears that I need to load some form of other ROM i.e. Schwab cooked, Dutty V.4RTM or what do you folks suggest is best?
I assume WM6 remains untouched??? and the other operations like GPS, WiFi, etc??
Please treat the above as questions. I'm seeking your advice
Thanks for de-weeding my brain here
JG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am simply soliciting those who have a wonderfully working 8925/tilt/kaiser/tytn etc tell me what you're running and in what order does the s/w get installed for best operation
Your response is and will be greatly appreciated by all of us who are trying hard to get the bigger picture. I know it's your opinion (goes without saying) but your opinion matters and your experience with a fully functional kaiser gives us a place to start
THANK YOU -JG
jgdorado said:
1st of all...this site is great and there's an incredible amount of knowledge and inteligence here. I'll be tickled donate once completing the mods on my new *but* locked phone...errrrg
So, I posted this question maybe in the wrong area...'cause there was no response
jgdorado said:
I'm recieving a TYTN II tomarrow locked to ATT. I'm using t-mobile here in Florida. I want to completely eliminate any reference to ATT and run whatever rom's would provide the best of the best. So please entertain my questions as this may quite help many others who are trying to get the big pcture........
1) can I use Win2000Pro(sp4+) for these procedures
2) Should I 1st use Kaiser Super CID unlocker, or CID unlocker 1st?
3) then do I run the HardSPL v1
4) Then it appears that I should run this sim-unlocker
5) Then it appears that I need to load some form of other ROM i.e. Schwab cooked, Dutty V.4RTM or what do you folks suggest is best?
I assume WM6 remains untouched??? and the other operations like GPS, WiFi, etc??
Please treat the above as questions. I'm seeking your advice
Thanks for de-weeding my brain here
JG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am simply soliciting those who have a wonderfully working 8925/tilt/kaiser/tytn etc tell me what you're running and in what order does the s/w get installed for best operation
Your response is and will be greatly appreciated by all of us who are trying hard to get the bigger picture. I know it's your opinion (goes without saying) but your opinion matters and your experience with a fully functional kaiser gives us a place to start
THANK YOU -JG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I really have no clue.
2-5. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=356895 and checkout other articles here: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Kaiser
jgdorado said:
1st of all...this site is great and there's an incredible amount of knowledge and inteligence here. I'll be tickled donate once completing the mods on my new *but* locked phone...errrrg
So, I posted this question maybe in the wrong area...'cause there was no response
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are getting no response because the other members are being nice, and not to flame at you. Your answers are the first 8 stickies in the Kaiser Upgrade forum.
Fellow Floridian here. Hopefully you're a Gator fan. Consider this your freebie .
Flash this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=334679. You'll then be CID unlocked and have the ability to flash another ROM. If you have any issues, start here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=354061.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=361039 This is the SIM unlocker that everyone has used. I have not used it because mine could be unlocked via AT&T.
Then read this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=356895, the wiki and the stickies before flashing. Remember, you can brick your phone if you are not sure of what you are doing. Take a day or two to read as much as possible. That being said, the chefs have made it super easy.
As for ROMs, they truly are opinion. Everyone has their own needs. I like clean ROMs and don't use things like cubes. Currently using Q-Mobile 1.2. Just flashed from Dutty's V2 medium. Loved them both. Also really liked Alex's and Custel's. Even tried Jack's for a while and liked it. The differences are often minute and sometimes even just perception about speed and performance. Someone recently did a performance review of a bunch of ROMs - there's an excel file around here somewhere. I have spent a couple of months trying to find my ideal and may never (as fast as great new ROMs come out here.) It's an addiction. Go ahead - take your first hit.
Again thanks for your answers.
I get the fact that I need to CID and Sim unlock the phone 1st. What I'm not quite getting are the different ROM's. I must assume the phone has one for its out-of-box operation. So when I flash a new rom does it overwrite the old one or does the old need to be unloaded (saved somewhere??). Does the WM6 remain untouched? How about the other features of the phone like GPS, WiFi, MP3, 3G, GPRS, etc-etc? Are they part of the rom or hardware withing the circuitry
After all the reading (2 weeks now) these items remain unclear to me. Thanks for not flaming at me, but if in the midst an answer is unveiled....I have thick skin
I feel like I'm getting somewhere and this thread will help others too.
jgdorado said:
Again thanks for your answers.
I get the fact that I need to CID and Sim unlock the phone 1st. What I'm not quite getting are the different ROM's. I must assume the phone has one for its out-of-box operation. So when I flash a new rom does it overwrite the old one or does the old need to be unloaded (saved somewhere??). Does the WM6 remain untouched? How about the other features of the phone like GPS, WiFi, MP3, 3G, GPRS, etc-etc? Are they part of the rom or hardware withing the circuitry
After all the reading (2 weeks now) these items remain unclear to me. Thanks for not flaming at me, but if in the midst an answer is unveiled....I have thick skin
I feel like I'm getting somewhere and this thread will help others too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, flashing a ROM means to replace the default operating system with a modified one, so, the answer is yes to your question whether or not WM6 is touched. No matter what ROM you flash, you will have GPS, WiFi, MP3, 3G, GPRS, etc-etc. Think of it this way: You will still have your CD-ROM drive, your ethernet card, etc. if you reinstall Windows or upgrade to another version.
Think of a ROM as a full hard drive image. On your laptop you have Windows XP, Office and a bunch of other programs. But you like your buddy's setup better. He tweaked his registry and has chosen free programs that you like better, etc. So you are using his full hard drive image and overwriting yours. You'll be using his copy of Windows XP, but it will be legal because you have a key that came with your machine.
The ROMs here overwrite everything. They include everything basic you need to run your PPC and have tweaked the settings and registry keys to get the most out of all of your equipment. The differences are in those tweaks and then the programs they add on. Check out Alex's new wiki. http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Alex's ROMs He gives a great idea of the range of ROM options...everything from the absolute basics (all hardware works and comes with the supporting software but you get to add everything else you want, including Office - so this basically equates to just a windows install for your laptop) all the way to all the possible "bells and whistles" including .pdf readers, games, etc. etc. All of the programs that are add-ons to the ROMs are freeware, because XDA doesn't allow warez. As such, you may find a piece of paid software that you like better than something that is used a lot here (for example, I've purchased Opera Mobile), but you'll learn which are the best free options via the ROMs.
The beauty of ROM flashing is it's fast. Takes about ten minutes to flash a new ROM (plus time to install all your add-on programs). If you don't like the one you tried this week (or in some cases day), try a new one next week (or tomorrow). Just make sure you use the radio that is suggested with most ROMs (some include the radio, some allow you to install the radio separately - this will be documented in the post/wiki). Thus you can figure out which optional programs you like the best and use the appropriate ROM. Learning to flash is relatively easy. Figuring out which of the ROMs and other programs you like best - that takes time and it is truly individual opinion.
Edit: BTW - you do not HAVE to SIM unlock your phone before messing with ROMs. I didn't when I started because I'm using on AT&T anyway and wasn't that worried about it. FYI.
With all the reading I've been doing here I never came accross the thread you referred me to....PRICELESS (THX)
Guilf said:
Check out Alex's new wiki. http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Alex's ROMs He gives a great idea of the range of ROM options...everything from the absolute basics (all hardware works and comes with the supporting software but you get to add everything else you want, including Office - so this basically equates to just a windows install for your laptop) all the way to all the possible "bells and whistles" including .pdf readers, games, etc. etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also I now have the impression that the only reason he's made ATT vs HTC Roms has noting to do with the labeling on the phone (Mine's ATT) but only to do with using the ATT .09 radio, otherwise I can use any of the HTC roms and pick a radio that works for my T-mobile service. If I'm wrong please say so.
Also, still wondering whether I can get away with NT2000(sp4) as an OS on my pc.
im fairly certain that you will have no issue using win2k, as its the same kernal as winXP(just not as pretty), which is what most people use to do their flashing. as long as you are able to install activesync and its not vista you should be good to go.
His wiki is pretty new - perhaps that's why you haven't seen it yet. Again, there will be 20 people on here that will swear the ROM they use is the best. You could go equally well starting with Dutty's work (or Q-Mobile or whichever). However, Alex's work is topnotch and as good a place to start as any of the top cooks.
Without knowing precisely, I believe he made the AT&T versions because he's in the U.S. and probably uses AT&T himself. His AT&T versions use the standard AT&T radio and come preconfigured with all the standard AT&T Medianet settings. I've flashed both versions and they work great (I'm on AT&T). But, yes, in your case I would use the standard HTC ROMs.
Good luck.
P.S. As for your PC OS, not really sure. Too much of a newbie for that one myself. Have only heard about specific problems with Vista, but it seems they've made a fix for that. My guess is that you're fine (I know it's the same kernel as XP), but if you're concerned try Pof to find out about HardSPL.
thanks for all the input.....
Here's my new dilemma
It's a G4....so now I need to find nothing but G4 soft/hardSPL along with G4 Rom's and of Unlock the SIM of a G4
That's a Wizard variant. Check the Wizard forum. I think there's also a G4 specific area. http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=343
will that work for the Kaiser/Tytn II/ tilt?
I was reading about the Wizard but nothing from there was actually working on my phone
I'm befuddled. Do you have a Tilt/Kaiser/TYTN II or a G4? Perhaps I didn't understand your previous post. No, the Tilt stuff will not work on the G4 and the G4 stuff will not work on the Tilt. Different units/different hardware/different CID unlock/different ROMs.
Do you have a Tilt/Kaiser/TYTN II or a G4?
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Click to collapse
they are the same. The Tilt/Kaiser/TYTN II comes in both the G3 and G4 versions.
So now I seek the G4 versions of the CID and SIM unlockers as well as a G4 safe ROM
Any help is greatly appreciated
I have a question for you technological advanced who have some info about the i900 Omnia.
Does this phone have a default or optional English setting if you buy it in another country? The reason I ask is that I am living in Germany and I understand German pretty well but I dont want to fry my brain always trying to figure out complicated configurations in another language.
There are english Roms and there may be German Roms. Take a look on Modaco.com
pidsw said:
There are english Roms and there may be German Roms. Take a look on Modaco.com
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Click to collapse
Ok, is it difficult to install? Is it possible to back up the original? Does it matter which English ROM you use?
They don't include any other roms or default languages on the installation cd?
I have no experience in this department. I am quite new to WM phones in general. I have been a loyal Palm Treo (Palm OS) user for many years and I want to make the transition because of the wider range of abilities and software available out there.
Can someone give me some experiences about how easy it is, etc...I have absolutely no reference or clue in this department.
Does this include all WM phones?
Unfortunately the I900 is still fairly new, so there is not a whole lot to learn about it.
Flashing should be easy. I have flashed mine a number of times to test out th different ROMs. Currently I have HH2 installed (HH2== second release for August)
The process is very simple if you have XP. If you have vista, I think that you may be in trouble. I have not successfully gotten anywhere with Vista aside from the Samsung certified ROM from July.
With XP, you just:
- Install samsungModem_xp.zip
- download an installable .exe. it should be soomething like I908ZNHH2_XP.rar and it will extract to a single .exe. You just charge your phone, turn it off, then run the exe, plug in the phone, turn it on and it will be detected. Then press the button to start the install and do not touch anything for about 5 minutes or until it is happy.
Notes:
- Do not use grandPrix unless you know what you are doing, it can cause real problems. Only use full Roms (These com as .exe's rather than as .bin's)
- Sometimes things go wrong for no apparent reason. When in doubt, retry.
- The "Safest" rom seems to be DXHH1.
- The fastest/more free memory ROM seems to be ZNHH2.
(The first two letters indicate which country it came from).
- I had to flash HH2 twice to get all of the free memory that it offers. I have no idea why, but it worked and I got back 30 meg.
I908 is the same as I900. (It is for southest Asian markets but the hardware is the same.)
Thanks pidsw
Thanks for the tips pidsw. I really appreciate it. I am definitely at a learning curve when it comes to wm phones being an old Palm OS Treo user.
It doesn't sound so complicated. Does it matter what English rom I use? I have seen so many things floating around, I am not sure which one to use?
Does the rom include all of the software that comes with the phone?
Last question for now (because the rest doesnt make sense for another 3 weeks, because that is when my contract is up and I will order my new phone), where is a good site to get this program? and the English roms?
Fortunately, I have both operating systems on 2 different computers, so XP wont be a problem (I have a home computer with XP sp2).
Thanks a lot for your time. Thanks from a future i900 user.
There are generally three types of ROMS:
- Manufacturer ROMs
- Carrier Branded ROMs
- "Cooked" ROMs
If you get your phone from a Carrier (i.e. T-Mobile) you will have a carrier branded ROM. These are often the worst - Carriers tend to put a lot of extra junk into the ROM and/or restrict functionality of the ROM and/or require your to pay for certain services (such as tethering your phone to your laptop or computer in order to get an Internet connection).
Right now there are a lot of Manufacturer ROMs out there. If you have an I900 and you are located in Germany, I would only use Roms that begin with "I900" or "I908" (these are the same hardware and they use the same cellular bands).
I907 Roms will work better in North America, but they will not support 3G in germany.
I908E roms are for China. I believe that these use different cell bands, so I would avoid them.
The most active sight in English right now is Modaco. Here is a link to their Omnia message board:
http://www.modaco.com/category/342/i900-omnia-http-i900-modaco-com/
There are direct download links to ROMs here and the Samsung XP modem drivers. (they are hard to find on Samsung's site, you have to really look hard)
As far as which ROM is best, I suggest that you always read the reviews prior to installing any ROM. Whenever a ROM is posted, you will see a lot of reviews in the same thread.
I tend to go for the latest ROM's whenever possible as these tend to be the fastest and they tend to have the most functionality and are usually the most stable. In some ways they are like driver updates (in fact they include driver updates and OS updates).
Cooked ROM's are pieced together based on the preferences of the "Chef". Some are "lighter", giving you more free memory and more room to install your own software, while others have lots of preconfigured apps on them which can be convenient. It seems like most of the good chefs are on here or PPCGeeks.com. Right now there are very few Omnia chefs, but I expect that this will change dramatically within a month or so.
Right now I am using a Manufacturers ROM (I908ZNHH2 for Hong Kong). It seems faster (the phone is so fast it is hard to tell) and it definitely has more free memory than the last ROM that I had installed (I900DXHH1). When I first got my phone, it had an older ROM on it (not sure the version #) which was worse in many ways. It surprises me that when people review a phone, they often do not know what ROM it has installed. This can make a huge difference for new phones as the phones are often released before the ROMs available are "Mature"
I appreciate your support pidsw
Hi pidsw,
Thanks for all your support. I really appreciate it. It helped to ease my fears and I will definitely be getting this phone in a few weeks.
I am also grateful for all of the insight. As far as branded phones go, I definitely wouldn't touch one with a 10' pole. Fortunately I can buy them through an online vendor here in Germany that sells them in connection with a cellphone provider, so I don't have to worry about that mess.
My last question to you, does it matter which English ROM I use? I see all of these codes (e.g. DXHH1, being for Singapore, etc). Or will any English ROM do? What would you recommend to a new i900 & wm user?
Thanks and I will come back to you and everyone here on this site in a few weeks when I get my cool new upgrade.!!!
Great support here!
This is all great information! I also wanted to know a couple things before I upgrade my rom... I think mine was from Singapore when they just released it... it may be their 2nd or 3rd update. I downloaded the XP modem driver and the latest rom image from the site you listed, Modoco.com. My question is that I normally sync on my Dell laptop that runs Vista, but my wife has an XP machine. Can I just connect it and do what you listed above to flash it, or do I need to install the latest activesync on the XP machine first? Also, I use AT&T and the EDGE network. When I flash, will I be able to get the settings again to work with my sim card (which came from my US iphone)? Finally, if I made a backup of my programs running on my current rom version, after flashing, can I restore the old image back without any corruption or problems? I used SPB Backup to create an .exe backup file. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I currently have an unlocked Fuze and really none of the apps work bc I dont have ATT, is there anything I can do to enable some of them. If not, is there a way I can atleast use AIM. I keep gettin an error everytime I try to load it, it says server temp unavailable code 500, its pretty gay because im always on aim and thats one of the reasons I bought it!
I'm also on T-Mo with a Fuze. I'm running the Elite ROM, however. If you don't want to flash a ROM you can try installing another IM client. I am using Palringo and like it.
Do you have a data plan?
palringo or beejive IM ar much better then the stock one
just flash a rom anyway the att one is awful
The majority of the AT&T apps you have to pay for anyways. The Instant Messenger doesn't work because it uses text messages. I tried it once and wasn't impressed anyway. If you close it without signing out it automatically restarted. If you have a data plan just download and install another Instant Messenger.
If you feel comfortable with it I would install HardSPL and flash a custom ROM. The majority of the ROMs don't have any AT&T apps and will work great. I liked ROMeOS before I cooked my own ROM. Both can be found in the ROM Development section.
Yes I do have the Data plan for T-Mo and sorry I have no idea what flashing a ROM is. Maybe I should browse the sit some more lol
One could browse the site continuously for years and still not grasp all of the information contained within, so don't worry about not reading all of it. Just get down what you can and most importantly, if you are having issues, use the search feature. 9 times out of 10, someone else had that exact problem.
{4 times out of 10, I personally have had that exact same problem XD}
The steps for flashing a rom to a GSM Raphael is rather easy and not too difficult for one to follow.
Not only that, the great people here have compiled this great resource that will help you step by step.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=448008
As for which Rom to choose?
To be perfectly honest, it doesn't matter as long as you are happy with it. Everyone will say one is better than the other, yet each person uses their phone for different apps and different things so there will probably not be one end all for all ROM that is perfect for everyone. Try a few out, just find one that YOU find stable and fast based on what you use it for.
I've tried out nearly all of the different English roms our wonderful Raphael chefs have to offer, some are buggier than others, some are faster and some have tons of great tools I love where as others I find are bloated because I would never use some of the tools they have. However, all are better than the stock ATT one, esp for when being used on a Non-ATT phone.
Thank you very much!!
I've rooted several Samsung phones now, and one way which seems to work fine for me is
1) Go to samsung-updates.com and download a stock rom from there (having to deal with some crappy file downloading site like rapidgator or terafile)
2) Find the xda forum thread on how to root the device in question, and download a rooted rom from there (again having to deal with one of these slow ad-filled downloading sites)
3) Come back several hours later when everything has eventually downloaded, and use e.g. odin to flash the rom and finish the job.
I've done this a few times now (rooting and unrooting), and am beginning to wonder several things:
First, where are these stock roms coming from? A non-rooted Samsung phone straight out the box has a non-rooted stock rom on it -- but is there no easy way to dump the stock rom onto a computer (thus saving me the bother of having to download a stock rom when I already have a stock rom)?
Second, how are those rooted roms actually being built? Typically all I want is a stock rom with the superSU app or whatever. One thing I'm particularly confused by is that there are usually loads and loads of stock roms available for a given phone model, depending on which country and provider you want. And yet there is often only one rooted rom. How come the rooted rom doesn't care which country I'm in and which provider I have, whereas stock roms seem to care?
Google supply the android source code for free, right? Can I compile this code myself to make a stock rom somehow? Or a rooted rom? Is this what people are doing?
Third, why do I have to deal with all these crappy free download sites? If someone started some kickstarter to get funds to run a site which kept a copy of all these roms then so many people's lives would be much better, right? Why has this not happened?
Y
yannick.12 said:
I've rooted several Samsung phones now, and one way which seems to work fine for me is
1) Go to samsung-updates.com and download a stock rom from there (having to deal with some crappy file downloading site like rapidgator or terafile)
2) Find the xda forum thread on how to root the device in question, and download a rooted rom from there (again having to deal with one of these slow ad-filled downloading sites)
3) Come back several hours later when everything has eventually downloaded, and use e.g. odin to flash the rom and finish the job.
I've done this a few times now (rooting and unrooting), and am beginning to wonder several things:
First, where are these stock roms coming from? A non-rooted Samsung phone straight out the box has a non-rooted stock rom on it -- but is there no easy way to dump the stock rom onto a computer (thus saving me the bother of having to download a stock rom when I already have a stock rom)?
Second, how are those rooted roms actually being built? Typically all I want is a stock rom with the superSU app or whatever. One thing I'm particularly confused by is that there are usually loads and loads of stock roms available for a given phone model, depending on which country and provider you want. And yet there is often only one rooted rom. How come the rooted rom doesn't care which country I'm in and which provider I have, whereas stock roms seem to care?
Google supply the android source code for free, right? Can I compile this code myself to make a stock rom somehow? Or a rooted rom? Is this what people are doing?
Third, why do I have to deal with all these crappy free download sites? If someone started some kickstarter to get funds to run a site which kept a copy of all these roms then so many people's lives would be much better, right? Why has this not happened?
Y
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, first of all the answers to these questions are easy to find on the forums and the web.
However I will answer them as well.
Stock ROM's come from various locations, usually the ones like the ROMs on SAM-Mobile come from OTA updates or Kies updates which have been extracted/edited to work via Odin. Other stock ROMs come from software "dumped" (extracted) from the phone.
Rooted ROMs don't care as they are usually un-necesary and only for conveniance due to most stock ROMs being able to be rooted easily. Stock ROMs however come in varierties from carriers to countries as they include other features or specific boot languages that would link the phone to its packaging and service provider
Yes you can dump the ROM from your phone to your PC, guides to do this can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771347
Yes you could compile your own code from the Google AOSP however this would be time consuming and could potentially brick your device, most devs of ROMs include drivers created by the actual makers of the device which again is time consuming and requires testing multiple times with risk of bricking and is only for the experianced
Finally, these "Crappy" download sites provide a means of payment for people. Although your opinion on them is that they should use a kickstarter fund many would not pay into it therefore they would loose money. Some may disagree since stock ROMs technicly aren't their work but thats another discussion.
yannick.12 said:
I've rooted several Samsung phones now, and one way which seems to work fine for me is
1) Go to samsung-updates.com and download a stock rom from there (having to deal with some crappy file downloading site like rapidgator or terafile)
2) Find the xda forum thread on how to root the device in question, and download a rooted rom from there (again having to deal with one of these slow ad-filled downloading sites)
3) Come back several hours later when everything has eventually downloaded, and use e.g. odin to flash the rom and finish the job.
I've done this a few times now (rooting and unrooting), and am beginning to wonder several things:
First, where are these stock roms coming from? A non-rooted Samsung phone straight out the box has a non-rooted stock rom on it -- but is there no easy way to dump the stock rom onto a computer (thus saving me the bother of having to download a stock rom when I already have a stock rom)?
Second, how are those rooted roms actually being built? Typically all I want is a stock rom with the superSU app or whatever. One thing I'm particularly confused by is that there are usually loads and loads of stock roms available for a given phone model, depending on which country and provider you want. And yet there is often only one rooted rom. How come the rooted rom doesn't care which country I'm in and which provider I have, whereas stock roms seem to care?
Google supply the android source code for free, right? Can I compile this code myself to make a stock rom somehow? Or a rooted rom? Is this what people are doing?
Third, why do I have to deal with all these crappy free download sites? If someone started some kickstarter to get funds to run a site which kept a copy of all these roms then so many people's lives would be much better, right? Why has this not happened?
Y
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. stock roms are released by the manufacturer, or leaked to us by someone who works there. generally speaking, no you cant dump the phone then use that to re-flash stock.
2. not sure why you would flash a rooted rom instead of just rooting by itself if that's all you want.
there are many stock roms because they are region and carrier specific.
you need to get a more popular device, then you will have more custom roms to choose from.
custom roms don't contain all the partitions like a stock one does, that's why they can be used on multiple regions. what i mean is, custom roms don't contain things like the modem/radios (and other files) that are specific to your region and will cause your phone to not work or not work properly if you change them.
yes you can compile and build your own roms, but it is very much not easy, that's why everyone isnt doing it.
3. be grateful you can get a hold of the files at all when you need them, because they are not available for all phones. also, only some of the sites used suk, just depends on where the person decides to put them, and i agree, i dont understand why they use this crappy sites when better ones are available.
the reason there hasnt been a site made to store all of these files (actually there are a rare few but only for some devices) is because most people now a days wont pony up the money to support it. we are in the "entitlement" era of android. what i mean by that is, it is becoming more common that users think and act like that community owes them these files, roms, mods, etc and all the hard work it takes to make them. they have little respect for all this work and time put forth. they wont even take a half a second to click the thanks button, that should tell you something right there.
so they sure a s**t arent going to donate to keep a file repository running. yes some would but most wont, and this sort of site would use a ton of bandwidth, which would be very expensive just to host. not to mention the time and effort it would take to keep it up and running with the most current files.
Thanks both of you for the comments and responses. Below is some background which doesn't have any more questions, but is an attempt to explain why I was asking (i.e. moaning!) in the first place.
Rooting -- what I've realised is that I feel really uneasy about the whole process. It seems to rely heavily on trust, for example. Let me explain what I'm comparing it with. 15 years ago (before I had kids) I was a unix hacker and I would download linux source code from a reputable place and compile it myself on various PCs. These sites (containing the linux source code) would be reasonable professional sites with no ads and probably things like md5sums to check your download and so on, the source code would be plainly visible so you could look through it yourself, and the forums associated with them would be professionally run and contributors would clearly be educated people. I've only recently moved into the rooting roms business, basically spurred on by my kids (aged 14 and 12) who are becoming interested in how much they can get out of their android devices, and basically I'm quite surprised about how in comparison it seems like much more of an "amateur set-up". A lot of it is based on "here is a file, download it, trust me, it's fine, but you can't check this". This is fine for my kids, who just use their phones as game tools, but far less fine for me, because I use my phone to manage my finances, my work emails, my childcare, and a lot of other stuff where it's really important that nothing goes wrong [and this is why my main phone is not rooted.] There seems to be far less documentation, and what there is is spread around widely, there are plenty of threads which are dead/out of date and contains links to wildly out-of-date versions of things and so on. xda is absolutely great, once you find the great bits, but it also contains a huge sprawling mess of noise. TechMinerUK suggests (and I'm sure they are right) that one can find all the answers to the questions I'm asking on the forums and on the web. But in a well-organized scenario there would be some clean "front page" which contains a well-signposted FAQ about rooting, a FAQ about roms etc etc, rather than having to google around for everything. Of course I did google for information before I posted the questions above -- I had several more questions in fact, and google answered some of them and I posted the rest. Perhaps the key difference is the following -- 15 years ago a generic college student was only just beginning to hear about the internet and probably had no access to it in their own home, and the people setting up websites were professionals, who probably worked in computer science departments at universities. Nowadays the people rooting their phones might well be college kids with no salaries (yet), or maybe even schoolkids, so everything is perhaps being run on a more "hobby" basis. bweN diorD suggests that people aren't going to pay a little for convenient access to stuff like roms and perhaps this hits the nail on the head -- my demographic (middle-aged waged people) wouldn't think twice about donating a little to support a cause they want to see succeed -- but on the other hand I couldn't see my kids donating to support anything, because they have no income themselves. Perhaps basically the reason all these files end up on these dubious file-sharing websites is that the average wage of the contributor to this game is far less than the average wage of the people writing the linux source code 15 years ago.
That's just some background as to where the questions came from. Thanks again for the answers, and I will keep googling, if that's the way that it's supposed to work now,
Y
yannick.12 said:
That's just some background as to where the questions came from. Thanks again for the answers, and I will keep googling, if that's the way that it's supposed to work now,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, the people who have at least some respect for the forum and people who help here try searching first.
you can always come and ask questions, but in my opinion, you are viewed differently if you at least put some effort into finding the answers first.
but i know the information is spread all over creation and some times difficult to find or know what is safe. that's why im here, to lend some guidance where i can, from experience.
one thing you don't want to do is, hesitate to ask a question and do something you don't understand. this frequently leads to jacked up devices.