hey guys. Long story short, i had my first captivate for almost more than a year, rooted it and had all the fun with it. Then, the screen cracked, i used my insurance and got a new captivate. But, after 3 months of being super busy... I figured id rather just send the new (unrooted, uncracked) captivate back, get my refund, and go back to using my old captivate, that is already rooted has all my contacts and so on. Now....as i said its been quite a while, so i am definitely rusty. First question is that i remember that since i was rooted i was able to download apk files and install them onto my phone when it waas plugged into my pc. I definitely remember using a program and having to restart the phone and apply changes or something like that. But, i don't remember the name of the program nor how i am actually suppose to do it. Also if someone can point me in the right direction and tell me what update and what not i am supposed to be on. My captivate is just rooted with a lag fix i believe. Yet, its still really slow and laggy, even overclocked... So im hoping that the new updates will be more efficient; in being fast without taking up all my battery. in my "about phone" it reads:
firmware: 2.1 update 1
kernel version 2.6.29
[email protected]#voodoo_lagfix_3.0_v1.10
Build number: ECLAIR
sorry for being so ignorant. Its just that it has been a while, and i don't want to start off my current rooting experience on the wrong foot.
are you referring to "quickboot" for easy rebooting? you may also want to look into Autokiller memory to help kill the junk. I also used ryan's OCLF.
I like you ran a rooted captivate for the longest time. it worked decently but then I tried to go to Gingerbread. MISTAKE. it was laggy bad and very unstable (Used Cezar's ROM). I didnt like it. Flashed back to the 2.2 rom (supposedly stock) and it was terrible compared to how it was. lots of lag and just overall... YUCK.
so yesterday I got the guts to flash a custom rom. I was mad at the phone so I flipped thru several flavors and ended up putting the Phoenix Ultimate (JS7) on it. HOLY S**t Balls mom!!! it was super fast, extremely responsive and worked like a dream. took me a little while to do it, (I had to flash to 2.1 (you are there), root it, cyanogenmod, then Phoenix) but it is SOOOO worth it. super fast now. my wife is asking me to do hers...ugh...
also, all the animations, graphics and just in general. it feels like I got a brand new phone. I could not be happier
thanks for the reply. Haha sounds like you have an iphone status phone now that's what im shooting for; something fast and reliable. Im going to wait and see what the majority of people like on they're captivates. So i am waiting on standby until i know exactly what and how to do it. And no, the program i believe was only on my computer. i would plug in my phone, drop in the apk file.,remove the phone, and do that recovery mode reboot thing on my phone so that the application i just dropped in installs. Sorry if what im saying doesn't make sense like I've said its been a while -.-
the program you are thinking of is the sideload wonder machine
and yes you are on a very outdated version of android, 2.1 (eclair) there has been an official update to 2.2 (froyo) and also many leaks of 2.3.x(gingerbread) but nothing officially from at&t since froyo.
noone can really tell you what you will like best, you will have to do what the rest of us do and read, read, read, then read a bit more, flash a few to try and pick what you like the best....
thank you! it was SWM.
NOW
what is MIUI, cm7 and pinnacle? custom flashes or something? i am also running my current root with launcher pro. Most of everyone on this thread seem happy with their setup as far as smoothness,responsiveness, and battery life go, which is exactly what i want!
MIUI/CM7 are AOSP versions if 2.3.x,aka gingerbread. Pinnacle is a leaked version of Gingerbread, made for the captivate by Samsung.
so gingerbread is the way to go? or rather should i say 2.3.. how hard is it for me to upgrade to 2.3 i noticed that some apps aren't even available to me in the market on 2.1. but still i want the features that 2.3 has. Besides just updating to a version of gingerbread, what are the other common things people do for anti-lag/responsiveness, while still being conservative on the battery aspect.Thanks for all the help so far guys!!!
I wasn't pleased with the gingerbread as of yet. It will get better I'm sure of it. Try out one of the 2.2 based roms as they are the most stable at this point.
Sent from my Phoenix JS7 run Samsung Captivate
so what do i do? Just get one of the 2.2's that a developer on here made? that way it has pre made fixes and stuff like lagfix already in it correct? how do i go about installing that and from where?
This thread is the best start.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=887525
after looking that over, I followed this one:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=884364
and had chosen the Phoenix ROM.
thannks but im still comopletly clueless. What exactly is it that i have to do. I know where to find the .zip rom files, but what is a kernel to a ROM? I really dont get it. does the ROM include the build like 2.2 or 2.3 or what not?
just out of curiosity, do you have AT&T captivate or rogers?
what is Rogers?
Yes. I have AT&T samsung captivate
Rogers is a rom version. You are on stock but rooted. The second link has very easy step by step instructions. The rom u get will have all u need including the kernel and modems
1. Back up ur data with titanium backup. If u don't have it, check market.
2. Flash ur phone with Odin
3. One the flash is done to stock do a master clear with Odin (your phone is on, plugged in and USB debugging)
4. Install the root per directions
5. Copy clockwork and the rom. Of ur choice to ur internal zip
6. Install the clockwork recovery (you run it twice back to back)
7. Run the new rom install with clockwork
I. Phone boots to new rom.
First time it takes about an hour. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE DIRCTIONS IN MY PREVIOUS POST.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
^^Rogers isn't a ROM version. It's a Canadian cell service provider...
thanks for clearing that up. Had no idea what Rogers was lol. Ok so, i guess i just download and install a ROM of my liking? that will also update me to froyo or 2.3 as well? any recommedations as for as ROMS go?
I stand corrected. The rom will upgrade you to what it is based on. The one I use is froyo based. There are gingerbread roms too. Mosaic seems to be a popular one as was Phoenix that I am running. Best advice.. go read those threads. Look at screenshots they have and the user feedback
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Personally, I'm a huge fan of DesignGears' roms. I'd suggest you go with something like Cognition 5v2. Its 2.3.3, very stable, very fast, and, since you've only used stocks rom up 'til now, it'll be very familiar (minus all the bloatware). He's also got a step by step guide on how to install the rom. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1127578
i was trying to get to use that ROM^^ buuut i had to go to rooted 2.3 first. used this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1127249&page=31
then i hit a problem, i posted on that thread as well still waiting for a response. idk what happened to my phone...this is my post on that thread "ok so i did this and i hit a problem. I got up to the red fish, i turned off the phone to get it into download mode again. and i did, Placed the kernelKF1.tar file in the pda slot and hit start on odin my phone reboots and right after the AT&t logo my screen goes crazy. it looks as if my screen is tripping on acid... and it just keep looping att logo then that. What should i do? i need the files on my phone atleast its not completly bricked"
bump for a reply....
Related
Hey guys,
I got my first real smart phone about a week ago, it was a USC Samsung Mesmerize. Yesterday I stumbled upon rooting when trying to figure out how to remove useless pre installed apps. All I really want is a slim & fast version & to be able to keep my navigation.
I've had experience with flashing; Xbox 360 & PSP's. So I kind of jumped into this and ended up bricking my phone. Or damn close.
From looking at the back of my phone it says Galaxy S, so I went in that section and downloaded/flashed this originally (caused brick):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=940671
I did everything up to step 7, except it wouldnt boot past the splash screen.
So then came panic time...
I eventually reflashed with a new rom for the correct phone, This one to be exact:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=944671
My question is:
What have I really done now that I run on this rom?
I still cant uninstall preloaded software.
I would be willing to flash a new rom so I can have a faster phone.
But really no one makes it clear enough in there guides about how this process actually works.
my best guess is after I flashed with that rom I will be able to upgrade to a better rom?
What is FROYO EA11?
What is voodoo?
First off, consequences will never be the same...
You are now running a STOCK (leaked) 2.2 ROM, with a stock kernel and USCC App Bloat.
If you want a fast Android 2.2 with stock apps removed, do this:
1. Flash the EA11 + recovery via Odin, following the steps here.
2: Download the EA11 voodoo kernel found here and flash.
3: Boot into recovery and run update.zip (this will push you to a red clockwork recovery)
HINT: If you aren't familiar with clockwork recovery, the controls are slightly different. You use still use the volume buttons to navigate, but the power button is now used to execute selections and the search softkey to go back.
4: select install .zip from sdcard
5: select the voodoo .zip and confirm
This will install the new kernel and replace your recovery (which used to require booting into the Samsung recovery before making your way to the clockwork recovery by installing update.zip from sdcard) with a clockwork recovery that will look identical to the one you had after running update.zip, but can enable your newly acquired lagfix.
6: enable voodoo lagfix, and rejoice!
6: Optionally install the Pick and Pack ROM found here. (I WOULD!)
(Credits to MesmerizeUser for these steps, I copypasta'd and edited.)
Good luck with your back-tracing! Let us know if any steps are unclear.
Also, the payed version of Titanium Backup will let you "freeze" stock apps, so they don't appear in your menus, and they won't run, but you can "thaw" them whenever you like.
PS - FROYO EA11 is a leaked Android 2.2 ROM for the Mesmerize. Google names Android releases after deserts, like Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, etc.
Voodoo is a name of the kernel which changes your EXT2 partition (old school) to EXT4 (new school), and makes your file system much faster.
uselessmidget said:
Hey guys,
I got my first real smart phone about a week ago, it was a USC Samsung Mesmerize. Yesterday I stumbled upon rooting when trying to figure out how to remove useless pre installed apps. All I really want is a slim & fast version & to be able to keep my navigation.
I've had experience with flashing; Xbox 360 & PSP's. So I kind of jumped into this and ended up bricking my phone. Or damn close.
From looking at the back of my phone it says Galaxy S, so I went in that section and downloaded this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=940671
I did everything up to step 7, except it wouldnt boot past the splash screen.
So then came panic time...
I eventually reflashed with a new rom, This one to be exact:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=944671
My question is:
What have I really done now that I run on this rom?
I still cant uninstall preloaded software.
I would be willing to flash a new rom so I can have a faster phone.
But really no one makes it clear enough in there guides about how this process acctually works.
my best guess is after I flashed with that rom I will be able to upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, first of all, welcome. You've come to the right place to do several things. The first of which is to learn. Don't freak out. You're phone is in good hands here in this forum. Unless you really try hard, you can't do much to actually bork it up so bad that we can't fix it.
So, what you have done up to this point is update your phone to the leaked 2.2 firmware. It's not a ROM, it's actually the full firmware. If you want to remove bloat, the easiest way is to now install my EA11 Pick-n-Pack ROM, which already probably lighter than you want it. The good thing, is that it also has an addons pack that you can download to put anything back on that you want. Everything is there in easily flashable zip files. You just have to look inside if you don't see the actual name of something in particular. (ie. calendar is in SamsungandTouchWiz.zip) Now if you want faster with your new light weight ROM, go with the EA11 Voodoo kernel to help boost you up as well. This isn't a final build, as we don't have source code yet so understand this is just a small improvement on the stock kernel. Now, if you want to get all the way back to stock 2.1, might I suggest this thread to help with that. And for some help getting to know a little about everything, pop over to the irc channel in my signature and talk to anyone that happens to be there. We're here to help. If they don't answer, they've probably stepped away. Some of us hang out there and leave the computer idle while we're doing other things.
Again, welcome aboard. I hope some of that info helped you out.
first off...welcome...second if i would have done that i think i may have left a mess in my pants...but seems like you got it running good again plz trust me when i say listen to phidelt82, he will not give you any wrong advise...because of him and a few others, my phone kicks ass and im actually trying to learn how to make themes and roms (dont know much but learning), so yea...you came to the right place to make your phone truly your (with there software...lol)
Yoder808 said:
First off, consequences will never be the same...
You are now running a STOCK (leaked) 2.2 ROM, with a stock kernel and USCC App Bloat.
If you want a fast Android 2.2 with stock apps removed, do this:
1. Flash the EA11 + recovery via Odin, following the steps here.
2: Download the EA11 voodoo kernel found here and flash.
Voodoo is a name of the kernel which changes your EXT2 partition (old school) to EXT4 (new school), and makes your file system much faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off thanks for the quick and acurate responses guys.
About what you said here though:
The "kernal" I loaded claims to be EA11 Stock, you are telling me I need EA11 voodoo Kernal, its called voodoo because its modified. -would this statement be correct?
Yoder808 said:
6: Optionally install the Pick and Pack ROM found here. (I WOULD!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would only be used for installing specific preloaded apps, correct?
phidelt82 said:
So, what you have done up to this point is update your phone to the leaked 2.2 firmware. It's not a ROM, it's actually the full firmware. If you want to remove bloat, the easiest way is to now install my EA11 Pick-n-Pack ROM, which already probably lighter than you want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So basically this is a light rom with the ability to add the removed pre-load apps?
phidelt82 said:
Now, if you want to get all the way back to stock 2.1, might I suggest this thread
Again, welcome aboard. I hope some of that info helped you out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There most likely is no reason to go back to stock 2.1, correct? My shot in the dark is the reason you would want to is to not get usc on your back and larger selection of stable roms and kernels?
Thanks, you guys f***ing rock.
uselessmidget said:
First off thanks for the quick and acurate responses guys.
About what you said here though:
The "kernal" I loaded claims to be EA11 Stock, you are telling me I need EA11 voodoo Kernal, its called voodoo because its modified. -would this statement be correct?
This would only be used for installing specific preloaded apps, correct?
So basically this is a light rom with the ability to add the removed pre-load apps?
There most likely is no reason to go back to stock 2.1, correct? My shot in the dark is the reason you would want to is to not get usc on your back and larger selection of stable roms and kernels?
Thanks, you guys f***ing rock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the voodoo kernel is modified with a lag fix. it will speed up your phone a bit. there is a program in the market called quadrant. run the full benchmark and you will get an idea of how your phone stacks up against others and will also give you a base score for your phone. if you do not have voodoo kernel installed your score will be around 800-900, after voodoo your score will be up around 1500.
the pick-n-pack rom lets you addon via the pnpaddons file, stuff you want on your phone prior to flashing. you pick what you want and flash it.
yes it is "a light rom with the ability to add the removed pre-load apps"
the leaked froyo and the voodoo kernel are very nice, i wouldn't go back to eclair 2.1 unless you needed to return the phone to uscc for whatever reason.
good luck and happy flashing.
Just an update guys, Thanks to phidelt82 I am now running 2.2 PnP w/ Voodoo Kernel.
The diffrence is night and day, used to get slow w/ a little lag every now and then. Now its always fast. Thanks again.
Special_opps said:
run the full benchmark and you will get an idea of how your phone stacks up against others and will also give you a base score for your phone. if you do not have voodoo kernel installed your score will be around 800-900, after voodoo your score will be up around 1500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet 1506 here.
and dont forget for roms you may flash... you can not UNINSTALL phone apps..... via the 'manage applications' menu.
you have to use a program like Root Explorer and physically DELETE them from the /system/app folder along with other folders they reside in.
only Cyanogen (i think) allows for uninstalling for actual phone programs.
v_lestat said:
and dont forget for roms you may flash... you can not UNINSTALL phone apps..... via the 'manage applications' menu.
you have to use a program like Root Explorer and physically DELETE them from the /system/app folder along with other folders they reside in.
only Cyanogen (i think) allows for uninstalling for actual phone programs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also un-install stock apps with Titanium Backup.
Also, it seems like you're rushing into this a little bit.
Relax getting into the dev community is like getting into a slightly chilly pool, you need to ease in.
That said, welcome, and I look forward to seeing you around.
vluhd said:
You can also un-install stock apps with Titanium Backup.
Also, it seems like you're rushing into this a little bit.
Relax getting into the dev community is like getting into a slightly chilly pool, you need to ease in.
That said, welcome, and I look forward to seeing you around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's about the best words of wisdom I've heard... I think that should be posted in huge letters for every new person Registering to the site... And possibly it should flash across their screen until they're 10th post along with the other new Rules!!!
Oh and welcome aboard to OP!!! Hope you enjoy your NEW & Improved phone
Yoder808 said:
Voodoo is a name of the kernel which changes your EXT2 partition (old school) to EXT4 (new school), and makes your file system much faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It takes changes your partitions from RFS to EXT4.
elijahblake said:
That's about the best words of wisdom I've heard... I think that should be posted in huge letters for every new person Registering to the site... And possibly it should flash across their screen until they're 10th post along with the other new Rules!!!
Oh and welcome aboard to OP!!! Hope you enjoy your NEW & Improved phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What we should do is edit the top of the post for "Getting your phone back to stock" to say "Don't Panic" in huge blue letters. lol
Yoder808 said:
First off, consequences will never be the same...
You are now running a STOCK (leaked) 2.2 ROM, with a stock kernel and USCC App Bloat.
If you want a fast Android 2.2 with stock apps removed, do this:
1. Flash the EA11 + recovery via Odin, following the steps here.
2: Download the EA11 voodoo kernel found here and flash.
3: Boot into recovery and run update.zip (this will push you to a red clockwork recovery)
HINT: If you aren't familiar with clockwork recovery, the controls are slightly different. You use still use the volume buttons to navigate, but the power button is now used to execute selections and the search softkey to go back.
4: select install .zip from sdcard
5: select the voodoo .zip and confirm
This will install the new kernel and replace your recovery (which used to require booting into the Samsung recovery before making your way to the clockwork recovery by installing update.zip from sdcard) with a clockwork recovery that will look identical to the one you had after running update.zip, but can enable your newly acquired lagfix.
6: enable voodoo lagfix, and rejoice!
6: Optionally install the Pick and Pack ROM found here. (I WOULD!)
(Credits to MesmerizeUser for these steps, I copypasta'd and edited.)
Good luck with your back-tracing! Let us know if any steps are unclear.
Also, the payed version of Titanium Backup will let you "freeze" stock apps, so they don't appear in your menus, and they won't run, but you can "thaw" them whenever you like.
PS - FROYO EA11 is a leaked Android 2.2 ROM for the Mesmerize. Google names Android releases after deserts, like Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, etc.
Voodoo is a name of the kernel which changes your EXT2 partition (old school) to EXT4 (new school), and makes your file system much faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to bust your balls but its really rfs not ext2. Ext 2 is faster than ext 4 actually.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Thanks for the help, opinions, arguments over file systems. Good stuff.
Btw is battery life a problem for anyone else? Luckly I have charging availible most of the time. I work as a production manager and starting at 7 by 8:00 the phone is at 89%
no programs running according to task manager, ram cleared, about 4 5mins calls
uselessmidget said:
Thanks for the help, opinions, arguments over file systems. Good stuff.
Btw is battery life a problem for anyone else? Luckly I have charging availible most of the time. I work as a production manager and starting at 7 by 8:00 the phone is at 89%
no programs running according to task manager, ram cleared, about 4 5mins calls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people have had battery issues with 2.2, some haven't.
I personally did, so I flashed back to 2.1
dcow90 said:
It takes changes your partitions from RFS to EXT4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correction noted!
Hello XDA fourm people! First of all, I want to say thank you to all the devs out there working hard to get us nice things on our phones
I am a noobie at flashing custom roms so I need a bit of help. I have a cricket Huawei Ascend running 2.1 update 1. I recently read about the CM7 rom that has been succesfully ported over to the ascend but I have no idea where to even start. My phone IS rooted using z4root, but i really want to install CM7.
I know you have to do a nandroid back up and then used clockwork mod? I have somewhat of an idea of what these things do, but I dont know how to use them or where to get them. Any help would be appreciated.
Lol and I know that some of you are looking at this rolling your eyes, but I'm just new and trying to get the hang of it.
prepaidandroid.org/index.php?title=CM7-Ascend
They make it where almost anyone can do this so if you have further questions feel free to ask as I have been bricking my phone and reflashing it back to normal since I bought it lol...also you might look into getting multiple custom ROMS at that same site as one is not really better than the other so you'll want to check out all of em at some point
Myself I have flashed Icarus 1.1 and CM7-Ascend-04052011 (also flashed the nightly release of this but just for a recovery reason which failed) I would suggest Icarus 1.1 if you want an extremely stable ROM that runs off the current system you have on your phone. CM7 is still a little unstable but I run it as an everyday driver because it uses 2.3.3 gingerbread and it also allows for system overclocking to 710mhz without the use of third party apps. Like I said though, test drive them all and have fun with it. Just make sure you make a factory back up and a back up directly after each launch of flashing just in case something does go wrong you can also go back to the bulky OS your running now ;-)
tony442 said:
prepaidandroid.org/index.php?title=CM7-Ascend
They make it where almost anyone can do this so if you have further questions feel free to ask as I have been bricking my phone and reflashing it back to normal since I bought it lol...also you might look into getting multiple custom ROMS at that same site as one is not really better than the other so you'll want to check out all of em at some point
Myself I have flashed Icarus 1.1 and CM7-Ascend-04052011 (also flashed the nightly release of this but just for a recovery reason which failed) I would suggest Icarus 1.1 if you want an extremely stable ROM that runs off the current system you have on your phone. CM7 is still a little unstable but I run it as an everyday driver because it uses 2.3.3 gingerbread and it also allows for system overclocking to 710mhz without the use of third party apps. Like I said though, test drive them all and have fun with it. Just make sure you make a factory back up and a back up directly after each launch of flashing just in case something does go wrong you can also go back to the bulky OS your running now ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I followed a thread that showed me how to flash CM7. It is buggy and unstable, but I love it! I've wanted to flash Icarus too, but i think Im going to play around with CM7 for a bit and see how it works out.
Hi All -
So I'm posing a somewhat esoteric question. If you were starting with a new Android device tomorrow, what would you do to it to make it your own?
Root? Unlock? New ROM? Must Have Apps?
Here is the reason for my question. I am ABOUT to be the proud new owner of a Nexus S that should arrive tomorrow. I'm completely new to Android, but am a self proclaimed computer geek and have been an iPhone user since their inception and I just want a new challenge.
I'm on AT&T in the US and bought the i9020A. From what I have read, I will want to get the 2.3.4 update that is now available, and will also want to flash the radio to KB3 to get uncapped data speeds on Ma'Bell...
But what else??
I am pretty much in the same situation.
Bought the NS last Saturday but still far from home (and so having time to evaluate whether to root or not).
Meanwhile you can easily update to 2.3.4 going to the proper menu.
If you are new to Android it might be a good idea to just use it as is for a while. Get used to how everything works and where everything is.
Once you have a good understanding of how to use the OS you can then venture out and flash custom roms and since you've used stock Android you'll be able to spot the changes people have made and appreciate the new functionalities more.
If you are coming from iPhone a lot of the things that you can do only with jail breaking can be done out of the box on Android. You can customise your phone a lot without rooting or flashing a custom rom. One example which comes to mind is the transitions between home screens. On Android switching to any of the popular homescreen replacements (LauncherPro or ADW) will allow you to have many different transition styles.
When using Android you just have to keep in mind that practically everything is customisable. If you really want to you can change individual graphics in the OS. Anyway, congratulations on your new purchase, I do hope you enjoy it and welcome to Android!
ttcrew said:
Hi All -
So I'm posing a somewhat esoteric question. If you were starting with a new Android device tomorrow, what would you do to it to make it your own?
Root? Unlock? New ROM? Must Have Apps?
Here is the reason for my question. I am ABOUT to be the proud new owner of a Nexus S that should arrive tomorrow. I'm completely new to Android, but am a self proclaimed computer geek and have been an iPhone user since their inception and I just want a new challenge.
I'm on AT&T in the US and bought the i9020A. From what I have read, I will want to get the 2.3.4 update that is now available, and will also want to flash the radio to KB3 to get uncapped data speeds on Ma'Bell...
But what else??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in you shoes a few months ago, Nexus S was my first ever android device, i was on stock for 2 days then flash cyanogenmod.
In short, do everything you said xD. The differences between custom and stock ROMS are HUGE, especially in Cyanogen Mod
I would update to the latest official Nexus S firmware first (to get the latest radio, etc): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056062
Then unlock the bootloader, flash latest cwm recovery, nandroid backup, flash the latest CM7 nightly, flash latest gapps, then reboot.
Enjoy your new Nexus S with CyanogenMOD 7.
All this can be done without fully booting up your Nexus S.
PS: (KB3 is not the latest radio, KD1 is)
I'm just going to say that I was on stock unrooted Android 2.2 HTC Evo for 4 months before I ever rooted and flashed Cyanogenmod 6. And I'm really glad I had that time. I appreciated the customizations so much, and really understood why they were a big deal.
I've moved to the Nexus now and had it for a month. I'm back to stock for a while and loving it. Not sure if I will root or flash CM again. Its just not as necessary in the Nexus. Its possible to have a great Android experience without it. Not so true on other phones.
Anyways, I agree that you should run stock for a while until you are feeling really comfortable with all the nuances of the OS.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
If you want to the rooted/custom rom route straight away might I suggest you give miui a go. It is quite possibly one of the most customised and visually polished Android roms available.
ttcrew said:
Hi All -
So I'm posing a somewhat esoteric question. If you were starting with a new Android device tomorrow, what would you do to it to make it your own?
Root? Unlock? New ROM? Must Have Apps?
Here is the reason for my question. I am ABOUT to be the proud new owner of a Nexus S that should arrive tomorrow. I'm completely new to Android, but am a self proclaimed computer geek and have been an iPhone user since their inception and I just want a new challenge.
I'm on AT&T in the US and bought the i9020A. From what I have read, I will want to get the 2.3.4 update that is now available, and will also want to flash the radio to KB3 to get uncapped data speeds on Ma'Bell...
But what else??
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The phone stock is very nice, so you might not have to jump into flashing ROMS ATM. Rooting though gives you alot of options. One being is for titanium backup.
Best backup app on the market IMHO. Android at default lacks a way to backup app data. Say u drop your phone get a replacement and now all the angry birds levels you beat are gone.
nxt said:
I would update to the latest official Nexus S firmware first (to get the latest radio, etc): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056062
Then unlock the bootloader, flash latest cwm recovery, nandroid backup, flash the latest CM7 nightly, flash latest gapps, then reboot.
Enjoy your new Nexus S with CyanogenMOD 7.
All this can be done without fully booting up your Nexus S.
PS: (KB3 is not the latest radio, KD1 is)
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Hey - Thanks for the info!! You mention that KD1 is the latest radio, but I've read that KD1 still suffers from the speed capping issues and that KB3 is the radio to use if you want full speed 3G connections over AT&Ts cell network.
BrianDigital said:
The phone stock is very nice, so you might not have to jump into flashing ROMS ATM. Rooting though gives you alot of options. One being is for titanium backup.
Best backup app on the market IMHO. Android at default lacks a way to backup app data. Say u drop your phone get a replacement and now all the angry birds levels you beat are gone.
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Thanks for the feedback - is it your contention that Titanium Backup is better than some of the other backup methodologies ... i.e. Nandroid?
ttcrew said:
Thanks for the feedback - is it your contention that Titanium Backup is better than some of the other backup methodologies ... i.e. Nandroid?
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Titanium Backup is the best for backing up all your apps and system settings, nothing compares ie. installs busybox for you, can sync to dropbox and etc. Look for your self its saved me plenty of time and reconfiguring a lot. But you need to be carefully with it if going from Stock ROM to Custom. As for a nandroid backup, that is a backup of your entire ROM from the phone. Its a function in Clockwork Recovery.
Where is my 2.3.4?!
guildamx said:
Meanwhile you can easily update to 2.3.4 going to the proper menu.
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I feel like I'm missing out on a secret menu, my nexus has yet to update! Not sure why.. I thought it was due to my carrier. But if the NS is pure google experience that shouldn't impede my update. N1 users have their update! Where is mine!
Flash SuperAosp! Such a tasty rom.. Makes my phone feel so satisfyingly fast
Thanks everyone for the suggestions!!
Here's what I decided to do...
I got my phone, immediately unlocked the bootloader and rooted (installed Clockwork Recovery).
Once rooted, I installed the KB3 radio (immediately see speed improvements - went from .51Mbps Down, and .14Mbps Up to 2.10Mbps Down and 1.12 Mbps up - equivalent if not better than what I was getting on my iPhone).
I think I'll take the majority of the advice I got on here and stick with the stock ROM for now - that's why we bought Vanilla Google, right? I'll play with that for a while and get familiar then go for a custom ROM.
Thanks again everybody...you guys were really helpful and welcoming to an Android N00b!!
First off, thanks for stopping by to assist. Secondly, I just bought a used G2X off ebay and it came already rooted, with super user already installed. However, there's no rom on there and it's still running Froyo 2.2.2.
I haven't messed with rooting, recovery, or ROMs since my G1 so I'm quite rusty, leaving me with a few questions.
1. I know LG just released a Gingerbread update, yet I can't access it or any of the previous updates through the about phone update area. That's because I'm rooted right? I wouldn't mind just having stock 2.3.4 on here for now.
2. I don't know if the previous owner already put a custom recovery on here or not (not very talkative) so is there a way for me to check that? I was reading that if I boot into recovery without a custom one installed, the default recovery automatically starts wiping and reformating and I don't want that.
3. And just a general consensus question, coming from my horrible Samsung vibrant, GB roms are the way to go with this phone right, avoid the ICS?
Thank you in advance for all your help. Appreciations.
To check if you have a custom recovery power off phone and then boot into recovery mode via Power + volume down until you see 2nd LG logo, then release. The recovery type will be on top of the screen and bottom if I remember right. To update through Over The Air, I believe you need to be stock completely.
1. unroot, and most of what you need is here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1049154
2.That might be the case I'm not sure, I think completely factory resetting the phone is doable by holding power + volume down/up... Not completely sure as that is as far back as I can remember when the phone was 1st released a year ago. the least you can do is try if you plan on flashing a custom rom.
3. Personally I like CM7 based roms... or at the least 2.3.3 roms, that have been customized.
Overall this phone is cake walk compared to flashing the G1 with all the partitions and the gold card and what not...
That's what I was going to do, but then I read this:
To perform a master reset using the hardware keys, follow these steps:
Back up all necessary data. See: Prepare for a master reset and back up data on Android
Turn off the phone.
Press and hold the Power and Volume Down, key.
The phone will turn on and display the LG Logo
Wait 30 seconds and thephone will display the open box and arrow pointing towards the phone.
Release the keys, and the phone will reset back to the start up screen.
And so I'm catious about checking that right now because I don't want it to reset right now, kind of has used to use it right now.
I actually miss root, so I think I will stay rooted and check out one of these nice GB ROMS. Man, I have missed custom ROMS lol Now it's just a matter of deciding which is the best to use. So out of th eloop anymore on this stuff.
And yeah, the G1 was an adventure. Soft bricked it twice before.
Ummmm well either way if you do flash a custom rom, you are gonna need to wipe regardless. PM with any questions after you do some searching. All the links and questions you have should be out there already.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Thank you for posting an intelligent thread. Basically if you don't want to wipe then you need to install cwm through nvflash, then create a backup. After that flash a rooted froyo rom. If you flash gb over froyo you will most likely have issues if you do not wipe properly. You can try it...but more then likely issues will arise.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
ICS roms are buggy and are awesome but if you dont want any problems GB shouldn't fail you. The first ROM I used were ICS but after months of not being able to record anything I had to try out GB and so far these roms are perfect. The ICS are still badass but I suggest you mess around with all of them though G2x has awesome devs.
I can confirm that if you hold the volume down and power until the second LG screen comes up you will factory reset the phone. I accidentally did it yesterday when I flashed the stock recovery back on the phone and wanted to check and see if it had worked. I'm a complete noob with flashing etc but like mt3g said all the info is here just look around for it.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA
2war said:
ICS roms are buggy and are awesome but if you dont want any problems GB shouldn't fail you. The first ROM I used were ICS but after months of not being able to record anything I had to try out GB and so far these roms are perfect. The ICS are still badass but I suggest you mess around with all of them though G2x has awesome devs.
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You could have recorded videos by downloading an app called video cam illusion. It does the job.
I forgot about my own thread! lol But thanks for all the insight and help. Currently running into a mobile network/data drop issue so taking advantage and flashing a whole bunch of different roms. From MIUI to Kang Banger is like 2 opposite ends of the spectrum, but I love them both!
Hi,
i have seen many people got problem after installing a new firmware or Rom.
Even though the next update might fix the error, but it feels annoying right?
So do you prefer to stay on stock rom or update if there is a new update?(not custom rom, official one.)
I prefer leaving stock. But i have an SE phone, and they don't do a good job imho of updating/supporting their products. It's a safe answer, but go with what works for you. Our devs are really good, though.
Sent from my rooted tomato using xda app
cascabel said:
I prefer leaving stock. But i have an SE phone, and they don't do a good job imho of updating/supporting their products. It's a safe answer, but go with what works for you. Our devs are really good, though.
Sent from my rooted tomato using xda app
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Thank you
But i afraid if i update and have a problem, and have to change back to previous rom it might affect my warranty, since i still have my phone's warranty i will not root and install custom rom, i afraid it might be affected even though it can still back to stock rom.
I say go ahead and update to a new firmware / rom . It usually shouldn't cause any problems if you follow the steps closely . Also you can always reinstall stock rom and then un root your phone to get your warranty back
I would like to use custom ROM for my HTC to enable Bluetooth file sharing, but it seems like very complicated process.
On my previous smartphone (Blackberry) I always used hybrids.
im abcd said:
I say go ahead and update to a new firmware / rom . It usually shouldn't cause any problems if you follow the steps closely . Also you can always reinstall stock rom and then un root your phone to get your warranty back
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I did install a custom rom before to my previous rom and ever heard about getting warranty back by reinstall to stock rom, but i didn't have a chance to do it, so i am not really sure.
maya79 said:
I would like to use custom ROM for my HTC to enable Bluetooth file sharing, but it seems like very complicated process.
On my previous smartphone (Blackberry) I always used hybrids.
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I had a LG before, and did try some custom rom. It was not so complicated.
But maybe other phone procedure might be a little different.
I've never left any of my Android phones alone ever. When I got my Motorola Droid (my first android OS phone) I rooted it a few hours after activation, a new ROM a few hours later while at work then put it all back to stock and got it replaced with a HTC Droid Incredible with the 30 day swap thing VZW does.
Flashing a custom ROM or staying stock is the whole reason XDA-Developers exists. Stock firmware are solid builds, but they are also very, very limited in what they allow you to do. I say allow because that is exactly what your carrier/manufacturer is doing with their firmware. With a custom ROM, you open the door to so many more possibilities, (ie tethering, mobile hotspot, Superuser access apps,...)
Now whether to stay on a stock FW or go custom, that is going to be up to you and what you want to get out of your device. My wife and I each have a phone and a tablet. All are Rooted. My Phone (Samsung Vibrant) is running a custom ROM by me, her phone (Motorola XT720) is running a custom ROM, her tablet (Nook Color) is running CyanogenMod 7.2, but my tablet (Asus Transformer) is running stock ROM but custom kernel.
Personally, I do not like Touchwiz from Samsung or Motoblur from Motorola, hate the bloat that both manufacturers put in there that I do not use. I also bought my wife a tablet that was Barnes&Noble branded android based FW, but I completley scrubbed it off and put a custom ROM on there for her. So now she has a full on tablet instead of a simple reader. See where I am going with this?
My tablet is fast, has all I need on it and since I am considered a power-user, I tinker with it but at this point I am satisfied with it as stock. Now, that is not to say that I have not altered it. I put a custom kernel on it and frozen some of the bloat that Asus provided. It came out with Honeycomb and then updated to ICS. Since I have had it on HC, it has seen 6 FW updates and every one of the ICS ROMs were terrible and left most users with a useless piece of machinery. Myself, I was able to keep it from de-evolving into that and have been happy with it ever since.
Hopefully this shows you that there are plenty of options for why to use a custom ROM but also to stick to stock firmware. It really just depends on you and what you want. Flashing is easy. Just read the OPs, search and read some more and above all, learn to make a Nandroid Backup.
Personally, I prefer to stay as close as possible to AOSP, with custom ROMs like Cyanogen. You don´t feel bounded by the locks imposed by the manufacturers or, even worse, the carriers.
In my experience, they are not as stable as stock ROMs (currently, I´m having some random reboots with cyanogen 9 in my Galaxy Note) so, if you don´t feel adventurous, stay stock.
Regards,