[Q] Wondering why D2G is ignored by modding community - Droid 2 Global General

I went from a Motorola Milestone to a Droid 2 Global. And as much as I am enjoying the Fission ROM from Team DeFuse, I am wondering why there seems to be such low interest in the Droid 2 Global compared to the original Droid 2? Can anyone give me some info as to why this is the case? I realize that with the Droid 2 globals additional radios that that transcribes to more work to get those operational in a custom ROM, I just dont understand why this powerful phone is ignored and left to sit on the curb. Thank you to all in advance.

1. The Global is hard to dev for. There aren't many Global devices to go off of, so the radios are hard to get 100% working on custom roms
2. It was launched silently. No one really knows it exists, so it just didn't receive the initial dev bump that phones usually get when they're first released
3. It didn't sell very well. I can't speak for the whole sales numbers, but my friend who works for Verizon Corporate (or something like that) said the numbers weren't fantastic in New York.
4. Three devices is a lot. Any devs willing to work on the Global probably already work on the Droid X and Droid 2. Adding a third device to the list is just too much for people who do this as a hobby.
That's the best explanation I can give... sorry for how negative it was, lol.
To be fair, the D2G is receiving more support this last month or so. Look on droidforums.net, some good work being done on there (3 or 4 roms available).

I will keep an eye out on droidforums. I was also thinking that with the possibility of 2.3 coming out for it most devs dont (myself included) see a point in making a ROM on froyo when 2.3 is around the corner. Thank you for your input. Its much appreciated

Most of the correct answers were already stated...
Just wated to point out that only people who truly needed global support would buy the D2G.
Droid Pro got play merely because it was targeted at the Crackberry crowd conversion which really didn't work.
Those are the only two GLOBAL phone I know of. Doesn't make sense to make many more with the 4G revolution under way.
Business have bought into the form factor but the Devs they all look at the performance specs and the EASE of development regarding the model.
The biggest issue though is the locked bootloader! Since the boot loader is locked you can not run custom Kernels so any development that could be made is limited to the stock kernel.
All of the Motorola development you see regarding phone with lockd bootloaders are really nothing more than a bunch of stock and AOSP apps and system files that change the look and the startup sequence but the base code that runs the phone pretty much stays the same!
I would love to see more people making ROMs for the unit but what I really want to see is the unlocking of that boot loader.
If we managed to do that then none of us would be worrying how many roms were available or which one updates next.
We would probably all be running Cyanogen at this point and merely wait for the next release of stable! And also be looking for the next great Kernel update to make it even better!

Asphyx said:
Most of the correct answers were already stated...
Just wated to point out that only people who truly needed global support would buy the D2G.
Droid Pro got play merely because it was targeted at the Crackberry crowd conversion which really didn't work.
Those are the only two GLOBAL phone I know of. Doesn't make sense to make many more with the 4G revolution under way.
Business have bought into the form factor but the Devs they all look at the performance specs and the EASE of development regarding the model.
The biggest issue though is the locked bootloader! Since the boot loader is locked you can not run custom Kernels so any development that could be made is limited to the stock kernel.
All of the Motorola development you see regarding phone with lockd bootloaders are really nothing more than a bunch of stock and AOSP apps and system files that change the look and the startup sequence but the base code that runs the phone pretty much stays the same!
I would love to see more people making ROMs for the unit but what I really want to see is the unlocking of that boot loader.
If we managed to do that then none of us would be worrying how many roms were available or which one updates next.
We would probably all be running Cyanogen at this point and merely wait for the next release of stable! And also be looking for the next great Kernel update to make it even better!
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Click to collapse
Won't anyone who wants a keyboard on verizon also get the D2G? I mean it's the only half decent phone with a physical qwerty keyboard on verizon, and the droid 2 itself was phased out months ago, 4 months ago when I got my D2G you couldn't get a new Droid 2 at verizon, though I think Best Buy might have still had them, though they were just clearing out stock.
Also I thought fact that everything has to be signed is the problem with the phone. When you don't know how to sign the kernel and other things the phone has hardware to autobrick which is why no one can get around it. Tons of phones out there have locked bootloaders that are gotten around well before or within a few days of the phone being released. If it was just the locked bootloader then I'd say motorola has found the holy grail of security, because everything else out there has been hacked through.

The problem isn't that the bootloader is signed, its that its encrypted. Newer htc phones have bootloaders that require signed kernels and people have found ways around them already, the encryption prevents us from loading custom software on it.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using XDA App

Related

This is ridiculous...

Anyone still on 2.1 is officially obsolete. Google has released a ton of new features for froyo and gingerbread users. Including google instant, new gmail app, and other things.
Which leaves 2.1 users with old software never to be upgraded again.
I still haven't flashed (due to warranty issues) but even if I did I would be upset because it still is based on buggy pre-release software.
Based on the epic 4g leak the froyo should be version 2.2.1 so new roms would be 2.2.1 instead of buggy 2.2
Why doesn't samsung care about their customers!
Yea, I share your sentiments. I tried most of the 2.2 leak ROMs, but most had troubles. The list of apps that don't work on 2.1 and below is growing. I wonder if Google Maps 5 will be the same way.
I really thinking about just buying an unlocked nexus s but then i realize its still samsung!!!
I returned a samsung tv i bought for my family for christmas because they suck so much ;D
The more I read about this (and the GPS malfunction), the more I think that when my Captivate arrives tomorrow I may just take it into an AT$T store and demand a refund and contract cancellation.
What we need is a Samsung Customer Service number we can start calling to voice our opinions. Any have a good Samsung number for this or a similar purpose?
Yes more than half of android devices are "obsolete"...
Return it? Because your too lazy to flash your phone with functional software instead of the junk Samsung and att gave us? I've been rocking the beta cm 6.1 for quite awhile and blows the doors off any 2.1 variant that was out there.....and as far as voiding your warranty its almost impossible to brick these phones so its completely easy to flash back to an out of the box state. So quit whining. This is what makes android so great. Take a phone with amazing hardware with crappy software and put amazing software on it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-GT-I9000 using XDA App
For one, I'm not lazy or whining. I shouldn't have to flash my phone to get basic functionality out of it. The GPS should work without my having to invest in searching through a myriad of unauthorized solutions and risk not only voiding my warranty, but bricking my phone. If I wanted to put this much effort into making a phone work I would have stuck with WinMo 6.5 and my Tilt 2, which I know inside and out already. I moved to Android hoping I'd no longer have to spend so much time dicking around with my phone just to get things to work. You know, the whole "Droid Does" marketing ploy? The main reason I agreed to buy this phone was because I read on several different sites where Samsung said they were definitely going to update it to Froyo. I understand that their timetable may be off, but they should at least keep their promise. Is that too much to ask or expect?
Samsung promised Froyo by the end of the year for the US Market. They still have a 20 days. Their stance has not changed, so I don't see what anyone has to complain about.
As for GPS mine works as good as the one on my Bravo - my Tracks, Turn by Turn are the same. If your GPS has problems, take it back. If you try multiple phones and still have a problem, then make them switch you to another phone.
everyone knows they won't make the end of december date
It's not that I don't want to try custom ROMs. However, all the custom ROMs are built on leaked (and often buggy) Froyo ROMs. The sooner AT&T releases an official release Froyo ROM, the sooner we can get a stable (or more stable) custom Froyo ROM....hopefully they release the source code too. There's code in the custom ROMs that comes from all sorts of other ROMs lol
Ditto^^^ Well, according to Mr. Smalls, we're just lazy, whiny jerks with no valid excuse for not wanting to use a custom ROM on our phones.
emuneee said:
It's not that I don't want to try custom ROMs. However, all the custom ROMs are built on leaked (and often buggy) Froyo ROMs. The sooner AT&T releases an official release Froyo ROM, the sooner we can get a stable (or more stable) custom Froyo ROM....hopefully they release the source code too. There's code in the custom ROMs that comes from all sorts of other ROMs lol
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try axura.. VERY stable, fast, practical rom with good themes. its a work of art. been rocking it with very minimal issue (less issues compared to stock).
Miami_Son said:
For one, I'm not lazy or whining. I shouldn't have to flash my phone to get basic functionality out of it. The GPS should work without my having to invest in searching through a myriad of unauthorized solutions and risk not only voiding my warranty, but bricking my phone. If I wanted to put this much effort into making a phone work I would have stuck with WinMo 6.5 and my Tilt 2, which I know inside and out already. I moved to Android hoping I'd no longer have to spend so much time dicking around with my phone just to get things to work. You know, the whole "Droid Does" marketing ploy? The main reason I agreed to buy this phone was because I read on several different sites where Samsung said they were definitely going to update it to Froyo. I understand that their timetable may be off, but they should at least keep their promise. Is that too much to ask or expect?
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Am I correct that you don't even have your device as you're typing that?! Try it first..a lot of the stuff you read isn't what you will experience. I.E.: my gps has worked a charm since I picked mine up in mid October..it's an excellent device. I've had a Samsung DLP for more than 2 years and it works flawlessly. People like to rant..find out for yourself for chrissake. It's nice to be happy with a cell device for the first time in awhile for me..only complaint is att dragging heels on 2.2. I'm too busy and old (55) to have the energy to do all that stuff that many do..but it's also nice to know that if I get tired of waiting and get a wild hair, I'll root and flash when I'm good and ready. Meantime I think the Captivate is a great companion
From what I've heard, I think that it might be the carriers that are delaying the update. Don't know if this is true or not but I kinda doubt this is Samsung's fault.
@fldude, Thanks for the encouragement. I used to love fiddling with my WinMo phones and I enjoyed modding my Tilt 2 to where it runs great and does (almost) all I ask of it. I'd still be using it if WinMo wasn't a dead platform and the thing wasn't so laggy. That saidI was hoping the switch to Android would mean I finallly would have a phone that I could tinker with if I wanted to, but didn't HAVE to, like WinMo. I guess reading through these forums exposes one mostly to the negative since most people only post when having problems. I brushed most of it aside, but the GPS issue really stood out because I use GPS-enabled apps a lot and it works so well on my Tilt 2. I can't wait for the Cap to get here tomorrow so I can start playing with it. Thanks to running XDAndroid on my Tilt 2 I already have some idea of what to expect and how to use it.
I will say this, reading about rooting and flashing of Android, kernel this and apk that is a lot more intimidating than working with WinMo. I never hesitated to edit my registry, but modding Android sounds pretty scary.
By the way, does fl mean you're a fellow H-D rider?
alphadog00 said:
Samsung promised Froyo by the end of the year for the US Market. They still have a 20 days. Their stance has not changed, so I don't see what anyone has to complain about.
As for GPS mine works as good as the one on my Bravo - my Tracks, Turn by Turn are the same. If your GPS has problems, take it back. If you try multiple phones and still have a problem, then make them switch you to another phone.
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They were previously quoted saying by the end of November. There was that whole JH7 fiasco. And your argument doesn't change what he was saying. His whole point was that he shouldn't have to **** around to make it work. It just should.
david717;971 His whole point was that he shouldn't have to **** around to make it work. It just should.[/QUOTE said:
Ummm, I'm stock, never rooted, make phone calls, email, navigate with gps, surf the web, play games, usw.. How is this not a working phone? By my calculations this phone does "just work" and has since I pulled it out of its box in July.
I too am waiting for, now, v2.2.1...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Before I bought mine I knee of the GPS issues and swwvthat a fix was coming. It still is. Besides the GPS my phone just works. Texting browsing g music video all just worked email too. Running the froyo leak my phone now completely 100% percent works. I'm excited to see how much more stable the official release will be.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Also Frustrated
I have been following the forums regarding the so called Froyo release and I have to say that I am rather frustrated as well. I actually called AT&T last week to complain about the delay with Froyo with Gingerbread's release within a few weeks. Not to mention Honeycomb on the horizon.
In speaking with one of the techs he also shared his frustrations and was hoping that it would be released in early January. I told him that it was understood that it would be release at the end of the year and he confirmed that same understanding. However his sources revealed that it is now for early January. Let's hope this is true, but as you all know we have been given so many empty promises.
Furthermore,I read an article that Samsung is undecided whether to release Gingerbread for the Galaxy devices. For a product that has been so popular and successful, what are they thinking? Or maybe they are not!!
Either way my fingers and toes are crossed for Froyo for now...

First smartphone - help me get gingerbread!

Note: I'm hoping this is the correct place for this thread, hopefully others with this same phone would benefit from it, as this sub-forum seems barren of any guides on what I am looking for
After Christmas, I decided to get my first smart phone, the D2G. I ordered it through Newegg and had it linked to a family account on Verizon.
So what I currently have now is Android 2.2, System Version 2.4.330.A956.Verizon.en.us, and tons of Verizon branded bloat.
My goal is that I would like to install a vanilla version of gingerbread. Being my first smartphone, and my first time on these forums, I'm greatly lacking in knowledge of these phones and how to get from where I am at to where I want to be. What I do have, however, is an understanding of operating system architecture, UNIX experience and good technical knowledge of PCs. I understand what rooting means, what apps are, what a bootstrap does, however I know nothing of how to get or use these things on this phone, nor any idea where to look for this information. Because this phone is on contract (and thus only paid $150 for it), I'm hoping to minimize the risk of bricking it, or otherwise costing me more money.
What I am looking for: any information/guides/links that will help me to get me from Android 2.2 to a vanilla version of gingerbread on the D2G. From what I have gathered from other threads is that I need to root it (by installing z4root I read), boot in recovery mode, then install ROMs. None of those things I know how to do right now. I suppose helping me learn how to do those would be a great start.
tl;dr I need a layman's guide to get gingerbread on D2G
Thanks in advance for any help
To begin you won't be able to get Gingerbread until Motorola releases an update. The Droid 2 (and D2 Global) have a locked bootloader which means the kernel can't be changed except by Motorola. Without a kernel upgrade Gingerbread will remain out of reach.
You can, however, grab some things that have been backported from Gingerbread like the keyboard and theme. As time goes by more and more external things from Gingerbread will become available for non-GB users, but certain things that rely on the GB kernel will be elusive.
Now as for FroYo, there currently isn't a completely working AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROM yet. Fission and GummyJAR strip away as much Blur as possible and work towards AOSP. Unleashed, Ultimate Droid, and Tanzanite are all AOSP ROMs in development but are lacking full functionality at the moment. Basically you've got to pick your poison: AOSP-like that works or AOSP that's not quite done.
Given that you have a D2 Global I'd personally hold off on changing ROMs at the moment. The D2G SBF (System Boot File) hasn't been leaked yet so if anything were to go wrong while changing ROMs your phone would be bricked until the SBF is released. A SBF allows you to revert your phone back to its out-of-the-box state should anything go wrong; your phone can be in a boot loop but you can turn it on in a way that will allow you to get things back to square one at least. Without the SBF you're really taking a gamble.
Alright, so I take it I just got too new of a phone then ~_~
thanks
Don't be too upset that your phone is too new yet...
Just be very careful with what you try for now.
It is just over a year since I got my first Droid and while there were plenty of hacks and roms for that back then, few were really STABLE. It didn't take long before not only were stable roms available, they were far better and included features that were not supposed to be on the phone.
Including overclocking it to twice the stock speed.
The D2G is in a similar place right now but the whole "eFuse" thing makes hacking a lot trickier. Its much easier to brick a D2/DX than an original Droid.
BUt progress is being made and there is little doubt in my mind that all the devs out there will make this phone what it should be just like they did with the Droid.
Gingerbread will get to us eventually, but for now Fission rom has already improved my D2G 100% over stock.
rogerdugans said:
Gingerbread will get to us eventually, but for now Fission rom has already improved my D2G 100% over stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interested in Fission, but as I have previously stated, I'm quite clueless for the time being
Is this something that is safe?
Kenshin- said:
Interested in Fission, but as I have previously stated, I'm quite clueless for the time being
Is this something that is safe?
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Click to collapse
If you want 100% safe- leave your phone exactly as you received it.
Seriously.
There is risk in doing this stuff, even when we are simply taking advantage of the very risky work done by devs to figure out HOW to modify our phones.
Generally speaking, the longer you wait the less risky it is, but the fact is that there is never ZERO danger to it. Even if all the mods and hacks you use are time tested and there has not been a single bug found by anyone- flashing a rom can go wrong and leave a device bricked.
Even flashing a manufacturer provided BIOS on a computer has risk.
All of that said, if you want to minimize risk, wait just a little while for the bugs to be worked out more thoroughly.
I just saw that there is now an SBF for the D2G last night- that helps provide a buffer for accidents (disaster recovery!) but I don't know how well tested it is. We should know fairly soon- quite a few folks with bricked phones have been waiting for it!
I would say that right now the D2G has risk in the "moderate" range- new phone, not that much dev time, etc.
The only other phone I have personal experience with is the original Droid- risk on that is "minimal." Hard to kill those things.
All that said, I have accepted the risk and did so before the sbf was out. I have had no problems at all so far.
IF you choose to do so, I highly recommend following instructions exactly and making sure you know what you are doing and why.
I don't mean to talk you or anyone else out of improving their smart phone, but I do believe that realistic risk assessment is a wise thing to do before starting.
I used the SBF to flash my phone 2 days ago, with no issues.
rogerdugans said:
Generally speaking, the longer you wait the less risky it is, but the fact is that there is never ZERO danger to it.
...
All of that said, if you want to minimize risk, wait just a little while for the bugs to be worked out more thoroughly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a D2 and I got it pretty new a few months ago it was my first Android phone but I watched the forums and learned as things became available how to do it all. I watched as the device everyone thought wasn't even going to get root access got it, then the ROMs came; it wasn't easy and they aren't like the ROMs that came for previous devices because of the locks Moto put on the phone. But, we were happy with it and I've been pleasantly surprised at what the devs have come up with and have been running custom ROMs so long I don't remember what stock was even like. I just know it wasn't as cool as the custom stuff I'm running.
So hang in there and read all you can about your device or similar devices (D2, DX, DPro) so that when something comes along that you want to try you know what to do to make it work and what to do if it doesn't go as planned.

Seriously, why is our phone so neglected?

Honestly, the A2 has great performance, it is not top of the line, but it is certainly pretty high end. It has a decent feel overall, but still know one knows about it. Why is this?!!? I'm not even talking strictly from a development standpoint, as it is just so unheard of. everyone knows about the whole droid line and such, but our great phone is completely neglected. There is no way i'm the only one that is bothered by this, especially because there is so much potential in our phone. I know the locked bootloader, makes things difficult, but a way around that is near, so do y'all think development will take off once we get it bypassed or unlocked? Thanks for listening to my rant and feel free to give your own opinion
Motorola or Att did not push this phone like they did with the original Atrix. Most people are going with samsung (sgs2 or the note). That is why we do not have very many devs. Samsung phone are much easier to work with. I know because i have one. If no one else decides to get this phone that's fine with me. I like the phone as is. Im also happy with the few devs we have. Their work is greatly appreciated.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Once cm9 or a form of ics gets calling and texting going then things will start to kick off. Right now with our limited amount of knowledgeable devs some have lost interest and are just sitting by waiting for Motorola to release ics.
Sent from my I9300 using XDA
you aren't the only one. It pisses me off. I always have service on this phone, for the most part it's fast and smooth, and the ROM support is becoming awesome. Yet still people don't know the name of my phone , they just know it's "big"
tsdeaton said:
Once cm9 or a form of ics gets calling and texting going then things will start to kick off. Right now with our limited amount of knowledgeable devs some have lost interest and are just sitting by waiting for Motorola to release ics.
Sent from my I9300 using XDA
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Actually, one of the orignal devs for this phone (been on it since it came out) has not lost interest but is working on kexec for our phone which is BY FAR more important than ICS... The possibilities are endless once we have a bootloader bypass.
Motorola did not advertise or really let ANYONE know that the phone was being released. For example, when I walked into the AT&T store with a $100 and a contract renewal, I just browsed/tried all of the phones they had in stock, and happend to like the feature set/performance of the Atrix 2 the best. The funny part is that I had NO idea that the phone actually came out the day before and was just put on display. Luckily the phone is great and the community to go along with it is even greater.
Honestly I'm on Supercharged right now, clocked around 1.25 GHz, and I can go higher, but my battery life sucks. I don't really care about the attention. We're getting ICS, and I'm hoping I don't have a good enough excuse to go back to stock until ICS is out. Then I'm going back to stock for sure. The speed is great, the lagginess and bloat on the stock rom just sucked, but so does my battery life now. It doesn't really take a whole lot to trim down a stock rom, I'm sure someone will do it for ICS if I don't myself.
Douchewithaphone said:
Honestly I'm on Supercharged right now, clocked around 1.25 GHz, and I can go higher, but my battery life sucks. I don't really care about the attention. We're getting ICS, and I'm hoping I don't have a good enough excuse to go back to stock until ICS is out. Then I'm going back to stock for sure. The speed is great, the lagginess and bloat on the stock rom just sucked, but so does my battery life now. It doesn't really take a whole lot to trim down a stock rom, I'm sure someone will do it for ICS if I don't myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Freezing apps does wonders for performance + battery life. I use Titanium Backup for this. All the "junk apps" that Motorola/AT&T installed (that I don't use) get frozen.
The End.
Some of our roms are great, but there are only 4 or 5 or something, it would be nice to see some of the big ones like cm7. hopefully an unlocked BL and ICS will spark some serious development. I think the biggest problem is the lack of serious developers. Who do we really have? Jimbridgman, lfabor06, and Rdavisct are the only ones I can really think of off the top of my head. We all play a role, but only the true genius' like them do a lot of good towards roms and things
To buy an Atrix 2, I had to special order it from Amazon. The local places didn't sell it because it didn't work with LTE in the area, and were mainly pushing iStuff.
Motorola needs to wake up and start tooting their own horn. The Atrix 2 has been an excellent phone, both in the reception department (better voice and call quality than my HTC and iPhone), CPU department, and in general usage.
Plus, there is an untapped market for these types of phones -- business people who just need a basic laptop where all their data is stored securely at one place, either on the phone with the on device encryption (or SD encryption), or using a Citrix receiver.
farshad525hou said:
Actually, one of the orignal devs for this phone (been on it since it came out) has not lost interest but is working on kexec for our phone which is BY FAR more important than ICS... The possibilities are endless once we have a bootloader bypass.
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Click to collapse
This really is the truth of the matter. Until we can load custom kernels on the A2, the devs are kinda limited on what they can modify. ICS with a locked bootloader is not much better than GB with a locked bootloader.
My wife has a Samsung Galaxy and the A2 is better in almost every area; reception, interface, speaker...

Upgrading to S3

Hello first time posting here and need info on the s3 for verizon. This will be my first android phone and i've been reading that the verizon phone sucks because it's bootloader locked. So for someone who doesn't know anything about that, but interested in learning about flashing roms and etc.. would it bother me at all that its locked or am i gonna not notice anything different?
The Verizon GS3 has been rooted and custom bootloaders can be flashed. Their are already several roms that can be flashed. There is also work arounds that allow non-touchwiz based roms like Cyanogenmod and AOKP. The phone has been released less than a month and we've already seen tremendous progress.
Personally, I think the GS3 is a great phone. Verizon's coverage in my area far surpasses the other carriers, so I'm sticking with them. I don't think you would be disappointed with this phone.
This is the first Android phone that I have had with no interest in modifying, rooting, etc.. (I've had a Moto Droid, Droid X, X2, Bionic, and Rezound) because it works great. I've had no issues whatsoever. Only thing I have done is install GoLauncherEx for its diversity, but I could have lived with TouchWiz (the stock launcher). Easily the best phone I have ever owned.
My main purpose for rooting was for WiFi Tether, but now, Verizon includes Mobile Hotspot in the new plans (they had to, I guess) so I'm great being on stock. I'm not a "super-data-user"... maybe 4-5GB a month so the new data plans really don't affect me, and actually save me about $40/mo.
The only thing the locked bootloader will do is make it slightly more involved when flashing AOSP roms or roms that have their own kernal. Everything else will be substantially the same.
Of course, the locking is a PITA for devs, so we may see slightly fewer roms for this phone than we would have otherwise, but I think the massive popularity and awesome hardware will more than make up for the few who jumped ship. Mostly, the lock is just causing a ton of complaints and makes it possible to permanently brick your device (which is still very easy to avoid).
I agree with second poster. This phone really doesn't NEED rooted and flashed. Works great the way it is.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
I also agree that this phone, with its speed, huge screen, and TW interface, does not even need to be flashed with a custom ROM (but I did root and put a stock rooted ROM on just to have it).The TW interface is like a custom ROM - and a great one! I love this phone - it is the best cell phone i ever owned.
It is a great phone! I have had Droid X and Thunderbolt. I rooted and installed roms on both of them. All I have done is install Apex on this phone and that is all I have wanted or needed to do. This thing is SMOKING FAST!!! The only negative thing I can say is that the reception isn't as good on this phone as my other phones were. I am hopeful that a couple of software updates will fix that.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
thnx for input everyone upgrading to s3 probably tomorrow. I guess everyone was over exaggerating over the phone being locked.

[XOOM 2/XYBOARD] Development Interest

So let me start off by saying, I am by no means a seasoned developer, just somewhat of a power user with a long time love for Motorola devices... Somebody has to root for the under dog, right? In any case, I want to sink my teeth into getting something custom running on the beloved Xoom 2.
To me it seems like it wouldn't be all that difficult now -- after all, we seem to have all the prerequisites for a custom ROM -- we've got root, we have a functioning bootstrap system, there are fastboot files available in case of a stuff up... The only thing we don't have is developer interest. To me that is really disappointing, in my personal opinion the Xoom 2 is a great device that could truly shine with a little bit of attention.
At the very least, I'd like to get CM10 running, after all, the MZ617 got an OTA update to JB, so the majority of the porting work is done... As far as I can tell, the only difference between my device (MZ616) and the 7 is lack of 4G and CDMA radios in the 616. In fact I see no reason that the OTA shouldn't work on a 616, however I don't want to run that risk and would much rather work on something truly custom that can be run in a ROM Slot and worked on, with the stock system there to fall back on in case of disaster.
Given that this hasn't happened already, I would wager that there are very few, if any, developers out there with these devices so I have a feeling I'm going to be undertaking this project on my own. That's fine, but this is mostly new territory for me and I don't even know if I'll succeed. I realise there are most likely threads related to topics like this already, but none that I could find dated past 2012...
I don't want to over hype this or give anybody false hope. Chances are, this won't work... But from what I can see, all the foundations are there for a solid custom build, there's just been nobody with the necessary skills to do the work. Hell, I'm not even sure I have the necessary skills, I've only ever ported a themed ROM which is nowhere near as much work as this.
The reason for my posting this thread is to gauge community interest in something like this. Personally, I'd love to see it done because I tend to not use my Xoom 2 because of it's old and inefficient software (does anybody else find 4.0.4 laggy and horrible?). I would benefit from this and it would breathe new life into my device... However, if there are others interested it might provide some extra motivation to get stuck into it. Alternatively, if anybody feels they have any talents or skills to add to this project then by all means, you're welcome to apply your talents. I'm going to look into using Git for this once I determine the best software to fork and work on.
N.B. Also, if anybody knows of an active mirror with the "Blur_version.0.268.4.MZ616.Retail.en.AU" fastboot file that I could get a hold of, I'd appreciate having some kind of fall back in case I brick my device attempting this!
I'd love to see KitKat on the Xoom2. Currently using the Verizon JB firmware and it's OK but a bit buggy, not sure if its this bad on a genuine Verizon device. If I could help I would but I'm an end user/noon so you might waste more time explaining stuff to me than the time I could save.
http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=23
Here are all the firmwares available but I couldn't find yours.
An Asian modder got the MZ617 to get the jelly bean update from the USA Droid models and I made the guide for the Xoom2/Xyboard 8.2 to get that update.
So we already have Jelly Bean, we have root, and we can use SafeStrap.
All we need is a custom rom.
I have the MZ615 EU and I am very interested in this project. I'm not a dev either but am will to help out in anyway I can, testing, promoting and so on. I am currently desperate for an upgrade from 4.0.4, probably lucky to have even got that from Moto I know but it is quite heavy compared to JB and KK. Delighted I found this thread and best of luck with the project.
Sent from my XOOM 2 using XDA Free mobile app
If there's a version of yours sold in America by Verizon wireless you may be able to put jellybean on it but my advice would be to not bother, it becomes laggy and horrible after a few weeks use so you just end up clearing data and going from scratch rather to often. KitKat with its low memory demands would be spot on.
Yeah, KitKat would be incredible to get if we can. My Xoom2 is in mint condition and still feel relatively new to me, I really don't want to replace it.
Sent from my XOOM 2 using XDA Free mobile app
I'm thinking about using RAZR kexec and try something on this, tho I don't have time, and my resources are low, will be just a favor I'll try to do to a friend who have one and asked me what can I do to get kk on it. No promises, but I'll see what I can get from other devs I know of around.
Enviado de meu LG-E975 usando Tapatalk
I am also interested in this project. Xoom 2 is a beatiful device, too bad Motorola keeps a locked bootloader, but Safestrap is there.
Also, some of the sources are released online by Motorola.
So, did anyone manage to get anywhere with this?
I would love to see Cyanogenmod brought to the Xoom 2. CM13 runs great on my old Galaxy S3 which is almost the same age as the Xoom 2. It's a real shame nobody seems interested in porting it.
Sent from my XOOM 2 using XDA-Developers mobile app

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