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Hello everyone.
Recently ordered a Samsung Sidekick 4G and reading on the forums
I noticed people saying that this device lags a lot, has random FCs, etc. and
that they way of getting "rid" of this was by rooting and installing
custom roms. As you might have figured by my low post count, I'm
a newbie with regards to Android phones or Android in general. So
I have a couple of questions.
I know where to look if I want to take the chance and do this
by following this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1275116
(thank God and moderators for stickies!-- making life easier )
But I would like to know:
1) What are the advantages of having Sidekick custom roms (apart
from the usual root access and what not). Is the stock Rom that bad?
Does it have lots of bloat slowing the phone?
2) Has anyone tried the different Roms out there and can I have
an assessment of what they do/offer? (i.e. which one you think
is the best with regards to battery life, bundle of sw, etc for
a newb). Basically their strenghts and weaknesses as I wouldn't want
to lose something important such as network services (i.e. 3G, WiFi, etc.)
And yes, I know that I can try them for myself, but I haven't
even received the phone and I'm scared sh!+less of rooting
don't want to think about repeating the process of the link
above to keep trying different Roms... so I will rely on your
experiences.
3) Since I wont be receiving OTA updates with or without a custom
Rom (I don't have t-mobile, it's an unlocked phone...), do
custom Roms already have stuff from OTA updates??
4) If Android 2.3 update is released for the Sidekick, will it
be available as a "custom" rom? Is that how it works for people
that don't get OTA updates?
5) If I decide to stick with stock Rom, could I still "root"
the phone and play with overclocking and all that jazz?
Finally,
6) What's the meaning of life?!?!?
Hope you can help me with these questions if you can.
And if you don't want to help me... then ... I'll be sad...
for a couple of minutes! ;-)
BTW I also ordered an LG Optimus Quantum just to also try the Windows
OS and compare between both, Android and Windows experiences
(I come from Symbian... Nokia FTW!!! ;-))
Thanks!
to question 4 it will be incorporated to the customs roms no doubt
to question 2 i have used gingerclone v2, lighting rom v2 , touchmiuiwiz, and glorious i like glorious the most so far and dislike lighting v2 the most gingerclone and touchmiui is the same rom different themes
to question 5 you can still root it and overclock it
to question 1 you get d can get better battery life, less bloatware, better signal,
to question 3 on the ota we used kg2 which was an ota as a mix with kd1
that was harsh xtreme .
saying i disliked the rom the most when basically i used 3 roms? thats not being harsh
IMO any rom developed by ayoteddy is worth checking out. Also always be sure to fully read each rom thread's first post; everything you need to know should be there.
And personally I wouldn't flash any rom or attempt to root until you're comfortable using adb commands (I've soft bricked a couple of phones myself and that's no fun at all).
There's a bunch of good youtube tutorials outlining everything from rooting to flashing custom roms. Good luck with everything and welcome to the sk4g family!
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App
It was not harsh. lol. it's his opinion.
I have used gcv2 and glorius i loved the first but the later is def. Better, u can root without a custom rom. And dont fret about flashing a rom, this is my first phone that iv flashed, rooted etc. And yes after a week or so the stock launcher started lagging. Although i only got fc's on zeam
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
Thanks for the responses so far!
And I'll definitely stick with the stock settings but if I begin to experience bugs or lags, I'll definitely look into this! Now I have to check why the heck I'm only getting EDGE!! WTF?!! lol
Thanks.
go to wireless ettings and swtich from gsm to gs/wcda mode
I FAILED!!! :-(
I think I'm going to have to resell this phone on eBay...
I just noticed WHY it wont connect in 3G... T-Mobile phones seem to be "configured" to use the 1700 band but my service provider does 3G like AT&T and I think they use 1900...
Oh well... back to my second option... the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro...
Thanks guys!
gelocks said:
But I would like to know:
1) What are the advantages of having Sidekick custom roms (apart
from the usual root access and what not). Is the stock Rom that bad?
Does it have lots of bloat slowing the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with a custom ROM battery usage decreases in some cases and it also allows for more customization of your phone. Like in some ROMs you can change your transition effects, dock settings, and menu settings. It allows you to pick how you want your phone to look. For most people that got the OTA update their phone got really bad with freezes and force closes, you'd have to reboot your phone every day. In the end if you don't like a ROM you can always switch back.
2) Has anyone tried the different Roms out there and can I have
an assessment of what they do/offer? (i.e. which one you think
is the best with regards to battery life, bundle of sw, etc for
a newb). Basically their strenghts and weaknesses as I wouldn't want
to lose something important such as network services (i.e. 3G, WiFi, etc.)
And yes, I know that I can try them for myself, but I haven't
even received the phone and I'm scared sh!+less of rooting
don't want to think about repeating the process of the link
above to keep trying different Roms... so I will rely on your
experiences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried a few and at the moment i'm using glorious overdose by ayoteddy and sduvick. This ROM is very smooth and very nice but doesn't allow for as much customization as touchMUI or GingerClone. TouchMui allows you to customize the behaviors of your phone like menu, transitions, etc. through launcherpro which comes with the ROM, BUT it wants you to buy launcherPro when you try to do certain functions. Now i'm a newby too, barely rooted and flashed my phone a few weeks ago, as well as somebody that works with me. I've also experienced alot less forceclose issues with glorious overdose.
3) Since I wont be receiving OTA updates with or without a custom
Rom (I don't have t-mobile, it's an unlocked phone...), do
custom Roms already have stuff from OTA updates??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There aren't really that many OTA updates but from what i've seen the devs here get stuff before it's actually released, such as KJ2, which we havent officially recieved yet. The one OTA update that happened actually made the phone run like crap, excuse my language.
4) If Android 2.3 update is released for the Sidekick, will it
be available as a "custom" rom? Is that how it works for people
that don't get OTA updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somebody will probably post a version of it on the forums and devs will most likely use it as soon as they get their hands on it, IF there's still deving going on for this phone at that time.
5) If I decide to stick with stock Rom, could I still "root"
the phone and play with overclocking and all that jazz?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can, I did that before i actually flashed my phone. root is a different thing than flashing a custom ROM to your phone.
Finally,
6) What's the meaning of life?!?!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
according to wikipedia, The meaning of life constitutes a philosophical question concerning the purpose and significance of life or existence in general.
6 the purpose of life is to find the answer to that question yourself...
Can you tell me the benefit or the main reason(s) why you rooted your Inspire?
My main reasons are the ability to change whatever I want. And better battery life.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
Are you serious?
Not to sound mean, but have you ever searched Google or this forum before you thought of asking?
There is tons of information on here... just sayin
sent from my secret agent phone in my shoe
Dinman said:
Are you serious?
Not to sound mean, but have you ever searched Google or this forum before you thought of asking?
There is tons of information on here... just sayin
sent from my secret agent phone in my shoe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I searched. There are no search words that will return results showing specific reasons why a member prefers a custom rom over the stock rom. In older devices a custom ROM would allow you to tether for free, remove bloatware to make room for 3rd party applications, remove buggy 2nd party software, remove unnecessary apps to allow the system to run faster, allow the customization of the UI when it was otherwise un-modifiable or fix glitches that made it through testing on the stock ROM but that doesn't seem to be needed on the Inspire. This is the first device I haven't hacked because so far it seems to be unnecessary. I could read custom ROM threads all day but finding a post where a user cited an issue relieved by using a custom ROM or a major benefit (that's not a trivial figment of their imagination) would be one heck of a needle in a haystack search. So it would be great to get this specific info into a thread.
Custom Roms.
jamespaulritter said:
Yes I searched. There are no search words that will return results showing specific reasons why a member prefers a custom rom over the stock rom. In older devices a custom ROM would allow you to tether for free, remove bloatware to make room for 3rd party applications, remove buggy 2nd party software, remove unnecessary apps to allow the system to run faster, allow the customization of the UI when it was otherwise un-modifiable or fix glitches that made it through testing on the stock ROM but that doesn't seem to be needed on the Inspire. This is the first device I haven't hacked because so far it seems to be unnecessary. I could read custom ROM threads all day but finding a post where a user cited an issue relieved by using a custom ROM or a major benefit (that's not a trivial figment of their imagination) would be one heck of a needle in a haystack search. So it would be great to get this specific info into a thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer stock Android to sense and hate bloatware. I won't buy a phone now until cm7 is available.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium
jamespaulritter said:
Yes I searched. There are no search words that will return results showing specific reasons why a member prefers a custom rom over the stock rom. In older devices a custom ROM would allow you to tether for free, remove bloatware to make room for 3rd party applications, remove buggy 2nd party software, remove unnecessary apps to allow the system to run faster, allow the customization of the UI when it was otherwise un-modifiable or fix glitches that made it through testing on the stock ROM but that doesn't seem to be needed on the Inspire. This is the first device I haven't hacked because so far it seems to be unnecessary. I could read custom ROM threads all day but finding a post where a user cited an issue relieved by using a custom ROM or a major benefit (that's not a trivial figment of their imagination) would be one heck of a needle in a haystack search. So it would be great to get this specific info into a thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait, what? All the things you just said that aren't needed in the stock rom without rooting are actually all reasons why people root the inspire. If you have found another way to remove bloatware without rooting please pass on that information so that those who simply rooted to remove the bloatware can do so without having to go through the entire rooting process. Without rooting you there are a lot of helpful apps you can't run, you can't remove bloatware, you really can't customize anything significant in the UI..I mean really the only reason why I rooted was to remove the pesky bloatware (sorry I just hate looking at blockbuster apps and that stupid teeter game)...the added bonuses of full customization in AOSP roms and the ability to have the performance tweaks in every other rom/kernel just made the decision easier. If you like the stock rom and see nothing wrong..keep on moving, no reason to fix something that isn't broke...I just like having full control over my device..it's for some, it's not for everyone..just my .02 cents
MMM-BACONSTRIPS said:
wait, what? All the things you just said that aren't needed in the stock rom without rooting are actually all reasons why people root the inspire. If you have found another way to remove bloatware without rooting please pass on that information so that those who simply rooted to remove the bloatware can do so without having to go through the entire rooting process. Without rooting you there are a lot of helpful apps you can't run, you can't remove bloatware, you really can't customize anything significant in the UI..I mean really the only reason why I rooted was to remove the pesky bloatware (sorry I just hate looking at blockbuster apps and that stupid teeter game)...the added bonuses of full customization in AOSP roms and the ability to have the performance tweaks in every other rom/kernel just made the decision easier. If you like the stock rom and see nothing wrong..keep on moving, no reason to fix something that isn't broke...I just like having full control over my device..it's for some, it's not for everyone..just my .02 cents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, pretty much summed up my response.
MMM-BACONSTRIPS said:
wait, what? All the things you just said that aren't needed in the stock rom without rooting are actually all reasons why people root the inspire. If you have found another way to remove bloatware without rooting please pass on that information so that those who simply rooted to remove the bloatware can do so without having to go through the entire rooting process. Without rooting you there are a lot of helpful apps you can't run, you can't remove bloatware, you really can't customize anything significant in the UI..I mean really the only reason why I rooted was to remove the pesky bloatware (sorry I just hate looking at blockbuster apps and that stupid teeter game)...the added bonuses of full customization in AOSP roms and the ability to have the performance tweaks in every other rom/kernel just made the decision easier. If you like the stock rom and see nothing wrong..keep on moving, no reason to fix something that isn't broke...I just like having full control over my device..it's for some, it's not for everyone..just my .02 cents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I agree. I hate seeing the blockbuster app. I actually went looking for an Obfuscate app to hide it. We use to have to remove the bloatware to make room for 3rd party apps because there was limited ROM. Meaning back in the day we got '32 megs, 64 megs' whatever for apps we wanted so we had to remove bloatware. Its not the issue it once was because now we get 1Gb, 2GB...... The reason I'm asking is because I was thinking of rooting so I could tether reverse wifi. So i'm looking for reasons to take the plunge.
rooting my inspire has made it like a completely different phone. actually, each custom rom is almost a new device itself.
but as far as perks, i like the better battery life, full customization, speed increases (data, smoothness, overclocking, etc.), constant updates, and just the joy of trying out different roms. the definite BEST perk of them all is the simple fact that you can find support for each rom from their respectful devs (not all, but the majority of the popular roms out there). HTC and the various service providers always have terrible support.
jamespaulritter said:
Thanks, I agree. I hate seeing the blockbuster app. I actually went looking for an Obfuscate app to hide it. We use to have to remove the bloatware to make room for 3rd party apps because there was limited ROM. Meaning back in the day we got '32 megs, 64 megs' whatever for apps we wanted so we had to remove bloatware. Its not the issue it once was because now we get 1Gb, 2GB...... The reason I'm asking is because I was thinking of rooting so I could tether reverse wifi. So i'm looking for reasons to take the plunge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah man, the droid milestone (the first smartphone from HTC that I remember having) was awesome in regards to bloatware. I was able to remove pretty much anything I wanted, not the case now unfortunately . Pretty much the benefits of rooting are that you get full control of your device, in pretty much every aspect. As for tethering, I'm not 100% that its supported in every ROM but I'm pretty sure there are some out there, if that's what your immediate reason for rooting is I would say start asking in the Q&A in each ROM or hopefully someone else can chime in to help you out. Like I said I rooted to get rid of the dumb bloatware, getting the performance tweaks, battery life, and customization (for most roms but more so in the AOSP ROMs) were just added bonuses
Take control of your device. Imagine being locked out of the C: drive on your computer.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium
jamespaulritter said:
Thanks, I agree. I hate seeing the blockbuster app. I actually went looking for an Obfuscate app to hide it. We use to have to remove the bloatware to make room for 3rd party apps because there was limited ROM. Meaning back in the day we got '32 megs, 64 megs' whatever for apps we wanted so we had to remove bloatware. Its not the issue it once was because now we get 1Gb, 2GB...... The reason I'm asking is because I was thinking of rooting so I could tether reverse wifi. So i'm looking for reasons to take the plunge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh just root it already! When you use the Ace hack kit, you can't even tell it's rooted. If you like it just the way it is you can keep it that way. If you don't, try some different ROMs. You can always flash the stock ROM back (or restore it if you backed it up).
If you don't have a huge desire to root, it may not be the thing for you. I'd still recommend rooting though, you wouldn't regret it.
unclecyclops said:
If you don't have a huge desire to root, it may not be the thing for you. I'd still recommend rooting though, you wouldn't regret it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll be thinking about rooting it until you do.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium
I am a jailbroken iPhone convert. I am loving this phone so far and have heeded the warnings to not mess with the phone too much. My question is, when is it safe to use the roms that are available? Is there that big of a difference in performance? I jailbroke my iPhone to get features Apple wouldn't allow our have. what do I gain with custom roms? Thanks for all that has been done so far and look forward to what its to come.
I don't know of there is a time period to use them but most custom roms freshen up your desktop icons as well most of them improve battery life and add the ability to overclock.
You can gain quite a few features with Custom Roms. Such as overclocking, custom ui's, much better performance (snappier). I highly recommend flashing a custom ROM. Currently CM9 and CM7 are a work in progress and should be released sooner than later, (CM7 is currently in it's testing stage). Also to do all of this you have to root your device. A guide can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1327741&highlight=how+to+root Keep in mind many features can be gained once rooted, but as you probably know the warranty is voided.
Thanks for the help so far. The only question still remaining for me is; at what point are these roms considered stable enough for someone new to start using. I have read the warnings and really don't want to have to reinstall everything over and over again because of instability issues. thanks
ed20910 said:
Thanks for the help so far. The only question still remaining for me is; at what point are these roms considered stable enough for someone new to start using. I have read the warnings and really don't want to have to reinstall everything over and over again because of instability issues. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really all depends on what you are after.
I will say that even the stock ROM on the Atrix 2 is not that stable, and there are a TON of bugs in it.
All the ROMs that are here are in a beta format and are not even at a 1.0 revision yet. If you are not technical at all, and don't really like playing with your device a lot, and flashing ROMs, to try and get a feature that the stock ROM is missing, then I totally advise against flashing anything. These "ROMS are completely safe and stable enough", but both lfaber06 and are I always trying to "improve" on them, no matter what revision that the ROM is at, as well as requests for new features. That really is why it may seem that people are flashing all the time, not really because of instability.
Since he and I are really the only two devs in here right now, there is not going to be a lot of choice in ROMs and since this phone is still fairly new, everything is still "new" and in beta/alpha. Since you are coming from the iphone, and flashing ROMs is not really something that you do, I say you wait until you find something you really want that is not available in the stock ROM, and has been put into one the ROMs available here, then try flashing that. Until then just hang tight for a while. There are plenty of hacks that can be done to the stock ROM, to fix things, and make that better at this time. Also take some time to learn a little about android and flashing and how it all works, not intimately, or on a very technical level, but that might save your "you know what", if you have an issue during a flash or while running an unfamiliar ROM.
Thank you VERY much. That was the answer I was looking for. I am technical savy, just haven't done much with android so far. I am one that likes to tinker and get the most out of any of my electronics.
Hi guys sorry for the several topics in my subject line but there are several questions that I have.
So I just signed up because I'm a bit confused and I'm quite new to the scene. I actually posted this on another forum which I'm already a member of, but I felt it would be better posting here since this is obviously more specialised.
After reading the rules, I've realised that it's quite hard to do a search for existing topics with my questions. I've already tried to do individual searches on each topic though, with varying success.
I've just rooted my Nexus S (i9023, AUS version) for the first time simply because I wanted to be able to use DroidWall (to only allow certain apps to use data).
1) If I manually update to ICS, will I lose root?
2) Does installing a custom ROM cause you to lose all your data? - I've done some searching on this and it seems to depend. Some do and some don't. I don't quite get it though.
3) Kernels - seem to control battery life and how the operating system runs. This slightly confuses me because it makes me think, what affects battery life more: the kernel or the ROM?
4) Most people like to overclock their phones in the interest of power. Would it be reasonable to underclock it in the interest of battery life? Sometimes I don't think I really need 1GHz.
5) It seems like the OTA for ICS for i9023 has not been released yet but has been for i9020?
I'm trying to find the best 2.3.6 Custom ROM from here but none of these are 2.3.6 based! All of them are 2.3.4 or older. I'm hesitant upgrading to ICS for three reasons:
1) Hasn't been released OTA officially
2) Worried of app compatibility
3) Worried of shorter battery life
For these reasons, I'm looking for a 2.3.6 based custom ROM otherwise I'd be happy to look at ICS custom ROMs.
None of the ICS ROMs seem to have any distinctive features about them, especially after watching the video reviews. It's all pretty much "it's a great ROM that doesn't lag when browsing the web and it's fast". Nothing really distinguishes one from another.
Sorry for the mildly long post, but I'd rather ask as many questions as I can at a time rather than making a couple of threads for each. Hope I can get some help =)
Thanks in advance!
I bought 9023 in hk. Upgraded to ics by ota.
If you want, you may do it manually. Flash the rom by yourself. Ota is no longer available. Check it out at nexusshack.com
I don't have battery problem. But don't know why.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
xdaillum said:
Hi guys sorry for the several topics in my subject line but there are several questions that I have.
So I just signed up because I'm a bit confused and I'm quite new to the scene. I actually posted this on another forum which I'm already a member of, but I felt it would be better posting here since this is obviously more specialised.
After reading the rules, I've realised that it's quite hard to do a search for existing topics with my questions. I've already tried to do individual searches on each topic though, with varying success.
I've just rooted my Nexus S (i9023, AUS version) for the first time simply because I wanted to be able to use DroidWall (to only allow certain apps to use data).
1) If I manually update to ICS, will I lose root?
If it is the update you probably will (not 100% sure), if it is the full OTA you certainly will. But it is not a major issue either way, and i would actually recommend backing up with TB (AND a Nandroid), wiping everything and then installing the Full OTA ROM and just root again, then restore your backup.
2) Does installing a custom ROM cause you to lose all your data? - I've done some searching on this and it seems to depend. Some do and some don't. I don't quite get it though.
They will generally lose any system data, apps, modifications, etc. Titanium Backup will copy over most of it anyway, particularly apps and their settings/data. Keep in mind that you should always have a CWM backup (Nandroid) ready in case something goes wrong.
3) Kernels - seem to control battery life and how the operating system runs. This slightly confuses me because it makes me think, what affects battery life more: the kernel or the ROM?
Both. ROMs can do more or different functions which can cause battery drain. Kernels allow you to change your own settings (most of the time) to actually balance performance and drain. I would say at the moment with ICS, the kernel and the settings you give it is the biggest contributor.
4) Most people like to overclock their phones in the interest of power. Would it be reasonable to underclock it in the interest of battery life? Sometimes I don't think I really need 1GHz.
That is correct. Many people can get the same speed with a lower voltage, lowering battery drain. Others also use something called "LiveOC" and increase the clocks by 10% (or more), changing the bus speed and giving similar speeds to 1000mhz at only 880mhz, again saving power. Just remember every CPU batch has different variations - some can undervolt and overclock like crazy, whereas some struggle with a 5% increase.
5) It seems like the OTA for ICS for i9023 has not been released yet but has been for i9020?
The i9023 and i9020T has been released. The i9020A has not, and the same with the Nexus S 4G (D720 i believe). It sometimes doesnt show up though. Either try a manual command which i can't remember in the dialpad or just update manually (manually is best ).
I'm trying to find the best 2.3.6 Custom ROM from here but none of these are 2.3.6 based! All of them are 2.3.4 or older. I'm hesitant upgrading to ICS for three reasons:
1) Hasn't been released OTA officially
2) Worried of app compatibility
3) Worried of shorter battery life
For these reasons, I'm looking for a 2.3.6 based custom ROM otherwise I'd be happy to look at ICS custom ROMs.
None of the ICS ROMs seem to have any distinctive features about them, especially after watching the video reviews. It's all pretty much "it's a great ROM that doesn't lag when browsing the web and it's fast". Nothing really distinguishes one from another.
Sorry for the mildly long post, but I'd rather ask as many questions as I can at a time rather than making a couple of threads for each. Hope I can get some help =)
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lots of words, i'm getting a little confused up there. Anyway, if you are rooted (and i assume your bootloader is unlocked), there is nothing to worry about as long as you backup. I personally love ICS and have no issue with it, as do many others. A minority of people however tend to have some problems, whether its battery or force closes. My experience so far has been that a proper wipe fixes most of these anyway.
ICS is still new. Once Cyanogenmod 9 is officially released i'm sure we'll see much more variety than the same look and feel, as alot is based off their code. And also, practically no phones have ICS yet. I've not found app compatibility a problem though, i think the main gripe is viber (which should work soon).
I hope this can help you, just let us know if there is anything else you're after. Also, there is a TON of information around the site (and Nexus S forums in particular). A good amount of reading and going through a couple of pages of some of these threads can go a long way. That is why you came here after all, isn't it?
I got the OTA for ICS back around 20th Dec 2011, but I chose not to update it because I was going to be away from a computer for a few days and had no backup phone. When I wanted to update it a few days later, the update had disappeared from my phone so I looked it up online. Apparently the OTA disappeared for Nexus S's due to some bugs or incompatibility issues. I've never seen the update come up on my phone since. Even when I go to Settings->About phone->System update, it says "your system is up to date". So I've always been under the impression that ICS for Nexus S (at least for my variant, i9023) has never been re-released to us OTA.
Harbb, thanks for your answers. The only one I'm not so sure about is the underclocking one. It seems a little beyond me in terms of technicality. I am definitely interested in doing it though. Would you be able to tell me if adjusting clock speed requires an app?
I am rooted and bootloader is unlocked (I thought you could only root if bootloader was unlocked?).
So does that mean all these custom ROMs around at the moment are mostly based around Cyanogenmod, which is why they're very similar? As I was saying, I was looking at getting a custom ROM installed and noticed most of them are ICS custom ROMs, and the video reviews all say "this ROM is fast and does not lag when web browsing. It's a great ROM and it's fast and smooth."
The custom ROMs just don't seem to be "promoted" too well because I can't see what makes one better than the other, or what features of one custom ROM are intended to be the standout ones.
I notice you (Harbb) are using Stock ICS 4.0.3 (according to your sig) - so you are not using a custom ROM? Am I able to install a custom ICS ROM without first installing ICS? I am still running 2.3.6 at this point.
Viber does not work at the moment? That's not too bad. I can live with that.
I've done quite a bit of reading so far. It has certainly helped, but still a long way to go, but thanks for giving me a great start!
I will start backing up my apps using TB and CWM (Nandroid)!
xdaillum said:
I will start backing up my apps using TB and CWM (Nandroid)!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best line i've read in days
I have tried several custom ROMs once they started surfacing but i didn't feel like they gave me anything special enough to switch to right now and Stock is setup and running very nicely. Stock ICS colours are fine and other apps now can provide Notifications Widgets. I havn't noticed any particular differences in speed either.
Brainmasters ICS tweaks, custom kernel and Flavours of ICS runs beautifully. The OTA varies with where it shows up. To force a check, type this in dialer: *#*#checkin#*#* [AKA, *#*#2432546#*#* ]
If you are rooted it won't work anyway. Just update manually. There is no need to currently on ICS to flash custom ICS ROMs. I would advise that when going from GB to ICS though (and often between some custom ROMs) that you go into CWM and do a factory/data wipe and format /system. After backing up of course.
At the moment most are not based on CM9, however several do use bits and pieces of code (ie. notification power widgets) from it. Not sure why most ROM descriptions are the same
First thing i'd consider is getting a custom kernel, and then the NSTools app (market). Lots of stuff to mess around with and full control of the CPU (governors, IO, overclocking, undervolting, etc).
Harbb said:
Best line i've read in days
I have tried several custom ROMs once they started surfacing but i didn't feel like they gave me anything special enough to switch to right now and Stock is setup and running very nicely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agree with u. for 4.0.3, stock is my favorite, sad to say that.
for 4.0.4, while stock for NS not available, IMM26 ROM ported from NS4G seems good, if you like the stock rom feel.
Hmm I bricked my phone.
I've done the Nandroid and Titanium Backup and have it sitting on my computer ready once I recover this damn thing. Following the backups, I attempted to manually update to ICS with the zip file on this page: http://www.androidcentral.com/how-manually-update-your-gsm-nexus-s-ice-cream-sandwich
Now I'm following these two threads to try and recover the phone:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1397393
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1396056
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20382688&postcount=16
Hopefully I will get this back up and working. I'm still confused as to why it got bricked though. Updated via clockworkmod "update from sdcard" and then rebooted system. After that, it just bricked. Can't get any lights to come up on the device whatsoever. Plugging it in to computer, wall charger, pressing all the buttons, taking the battery out and putting it back in.
Odd. Best of luck getting it working, i'm sure the resurrector will work for you so don't stress too much. That's the right file so i'll probably just put the issue on a bad flash or bad download (wise to hash check before flashing). At this point i'd say it's wise when you get it working again, just flash the Full OTA file, and do a wipe of /data, /cache, /system and /boot beforehand.
Sad to hear about your troubles buddy.
So it looks like everything worked out for me. I managed to restore my phone with the help of the threads above. I have to admit though, the guides given on this forum aren't too "complete" - there's always a step or two missing from the guide that the reader has to figure out themselves. And not all the files are provided in the topics either! I'm also kind of concerned why it seems so many people ended up bricking their phone like that. Quite concerning.
In the end, I managed to reflash the stock ICS ROM for i9023 Nexus S which I found in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1445635
So I scrapped the one that I downloaded initially from Android Central. The difference in size was surprisingly roughly 30MB (160MB instead of the 130MB Android Central one).
I'm just using stock ICS, but rooted. Downloaded a few apps which require root, but haven't tried adding any mods or kernels. I might look into that later. But it seems like with 4.0.4 coming out, there might be some interesting new additions!
Thanks for all your help!!
Did you flash this ics from stock recovery?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Congratulations on resurrecting it! Are you guys saying that there is a risk of bricking a phone, while installing official update? I did a manual update, 3 weeks ago, unrooted, and ICS has been nothing but amazing for me.
I have a question. In case, I ever brick my I9023 (hope not).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20382688&postcount=16
This post states that I must be running Ubuntu on my PC. Does that mean I can't use Windows? And if I must use Linux, can I just do it with Wubi, or with Online Server?
Hi guys,
Just got a Nexus 5, had previously had a Samsung Galaxy S3.
My S3 was rooted, mainly to get rid of carrier bloatware and later because I wanted the Android 4.2 camera with Photosphere (my carrier was stuck on 4.1 until a few months ago).
As time wore on my device had numerous problems ultimately I felt related to rooting, I could never find ROM's with at least one major glitch. I ended up on a stock ROM for most the time with the only root change was flashing the 4.2 camera for Photosphere. Rooting in general I found caused more headaches than it was worth.
Anyways, I just got the Nexus 5 and have no real intention to root it. Since it's devoid of carrier bloatware and it runs super fast and responsive, just wondering what the real credible benefits to rooting it are? (and voiding warranty in the process)??
I don't see a lot of bloatware on the device, it's going to get constant updates from Google (as opposed to devices depandant on a carrier), I don't really need to overclock or mess with kernals on an already fast device.
Am I missing something here?
Sianspheric said:
Hi guys,
Just got a Nexus 5, had previously had a Samsung Galaxy S3.
My S3 was rooted, mainly to get rid of carrier bloatware and later because I wanted the Android 4.2 camera with Photosphere (my carrier was stuck on 4.1 until a few months ago).
As time wore on my device had numerous problems ultimately I felt related to rooting, I could never find ROM's with at least one major glitch. I ended up on a stock ROM for most the time with the only root change was flashing the 4.2 camera for Photosphere. Rooting in general I found caused more headaches than it was worth.
Anyways, I just got the Nexus 5 and have no real intention to root it. Since it's devoid of carrier bloatware and it runs super fast and responsive, just wondering what the real credible benefits to rooting it are? (and voiding warranty in the process)??
I don't see a lot of bloatware on the device, it's going to get constant updates from Google (as opposed to devices depandant on a carrier), I don't really need to overclock or mess with kernals on an already fast device.
Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people prefer different launchers or ROMs or to have access to certain functions (e.g. full backup) that require root. I've had my N5 for a month and haven't felt the need for it, so I'm still stock, locked, unrooted.
Xposed for me.
Most of the mods from Custom ROMs with the OTA updates from Google
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium HD app
Xposed framework, Adaway, Lmt launcher, AppOps, AutomateIt Pro... Basicly everything to take control over your device.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
So.....ad blocking apps, minor tweaks, custom ROM's.
eh, not really compelling reasons for me I guess.
Sianspheric said:
So.....ad blocking apps, minor tweaks, custom ROM's.
eh, not really compelling reasons for me I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't call them minor tweaks at all. There is an extremely wide variety of things that require your phone to be rooted. Often times an app will have limited functionality without root.
Please note that rooting your phone has nothing to do with using a custom rom. (You can in fact have a custom rom that is not rooted) Your problems with your prior phone were not in any way as a result of rooting the phone. If you had problems with the rom (sometimes custom roms have broken components) that has nothing to do with having root access.
At this point, I'd be willing to bet the most common usage of the phone at this point (amongst users of this site) are those who are rooted, but still using the stock rom. More and more users are migrating to the custom roms, but this is because rom development takes a bit of time with major releases.
AdAway is the main reason for me - I HATE adverts with a passion!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Sianspheric said:
So.....ad blocking apps, minor tweaks, custom ROM's.
eh, not really compelling reasons for me I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what you consider "minor tweaks", might be a big deal for someone else. Tastes differ.
i root because of 1 main reason, i paid for the device and i believe i should be able to have full control over it.
Another thing is, whatever i do with my phone, i always know what i'm doing and why i'm doing it, so the odds of screwing something up are very little. In case i do need to claim warranty, i know how to set everything back.
Sianspheric said:
So.....ad blocking apps, minor tweaks, custom ROM's.
eh, not really compelling reasons for me I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ehm...why did you buy a nexus? Actually i don't even know what you are doing on xda. No offense but... Sound more like an iPhone kind a guy...
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
It's up to you whether to root or not. Whatever problems you had with your previous device, it wasn't due to rooting persay, but rather what you did with root access. Rooting doesn't change anything, it just gives you administrative access to the operating system. Running un-rooted is analogous to accessing your desktop PC through a guest account. Rooting your Android device gives you full access like you have on your desktop as as an administrator.
He just wants to know the benefits. No need to harp on him for not wanting to root. If anything Nexus 5 has less reasons to be rooted then OEM phones.
bblzd said:
He just wants to know the benefits. No need to harp on him for not wanting to root. If anything Nexus 5 has less reasons to be rooted then OEM phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe someday he'll want to tether.
AT LEAST UNLOCK THE BOOTLOADER
Fastboot OEM Unlock
That easy, it'll erase EVERYTHING. So if you do it now you won't lose much. Do it later when you want to root (like my mother and myself) you'll have to unlock and lose everything.
If you ever need you return it just lock it again it's easy. And you won't lose ANYTHING for relocking it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Two words....
Franco kernel
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Titanium back up because I'm too lazy to reinstall all of my apps on my previous device.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Not much reason to if your main use is as a "daily driver".
Mine is rooted mainly due to needing to use it for development work related to my job, but ad blocking and several xposed modules would require root anyways. That and I just can't help but mess with stuff like CPU frequency/voltage settings, etc.
Ben36 said:
Two words....
Franco kernel
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this.
I was previously on Galaxy S2 rooted. I'd tested some custom roms like chamaleon, cm, but at last, what i realized that I needed wasn't a lot of new features i only wanted a good battery performance and a fc and random reboots free phone.
So I returned to stock roms with the more stock-like rooted kernel with Xposed and some additions. At last I got a good battery performance to keep the phone full day without charging.
Now that my N5 is with me for about 6 or 7 weeks I don't need rooting, modding ... nothing. The performance for my daily use is about 30 hours between charges with almost 3 hours with screen on.
That is all I need!
And for backups (i've payed for titanium backup app for my S2) now I use ADB from command line and it's enought for me
Also, the Nexus in this conditions hasn't hanged yet.
It spent more than 350 hours until I decided to change to Dart and I had to restart the phone. this is much better than my old S2 that needed two or three weekly reboots even with stock rom.
So, i'm very happy with my non-rooted N5 but if I need to root it in the near future it will be not a problem to me doing it.
I use it for Titanium Backup myself, whose backups I periodically have uploaded to Box.com. Obviously it's there for when I want to change phone and want to restore app data, especially for game saves, but you also never know if your phone is going to malfunction and you have to wipe or get lost/stolen. I think it's pretty useful to have an app that automatically takes care of backing up your data for you.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
http://lifehacker.com/top-10-reasons-to-root-your-android-phone-1079161983
Sent from my Nexus 5