Database Info

[Q] ROM for Captivate.

First, my phone info as reported by Settings/About Phone:
Model: Samsung-SGH-I897
Firmware: 2.1-update1
Baseband: I897UCJH7
Kernel: 2.6.29 [email protected] #2
Build Number: ECLAIR.UCJH7
I have visited the ROM section and I probably dont need to tell you that it is just a little bit confusing (for me anyway)as to which ROM to use.
I would like to flash a new ROM to bring me up to FroYo and I "think" I want to use the Andromeda ROM. I have a couple of questions though.
First, (for the Devs) should I go ahead and flash to FroYo or wait for am Android 3.0 ROM (assuming one is forthcoming)?
Second, is the difference between the "themed" and "un-themed" ROM just cosmetic? Do they both function the same?

There are a few "how to" threads on flashing. They are very detailed and take you step by step. I'd suggest you read or watch the videos.
The questions about Andromeda are well covered in the thread. You just need to read through it. Flashing now or waiting is purely up to you. There's not a GB ROM that's stable enough to run day to day. There's only one that I know of and they are still working a lot of problems out of it.

Thank you.

TayzGpa said:
Second, is the difference between the "themed" and "un-themed" ROM just cosmetic? Do they both function the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, just prettier (in some cases that is).

I'm really looking for a ROM that is as close to "stock" Froyo as possible that will work well with my U.S. phone. I understand Cognition is built on the just released Rogers build, but should I use a Canadian build on my U.S. phone?

I'm using Cognition and find it really nice. No Canadian phrases coming out of it.

If you are going to flash your first rom make sure you read through the forums and figure your what you need to do. Everything that you need are in them. I just flashed my first rom this weekend. Forums are very helpful!!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897. Using Cognition, Firebird, and JL2 modem.

TayzGpa said:
I'm really looking for a ROM that is as close to "stock" Froyo as possible that will work well with my U.S. phone. I understand Cognition is built on the just released Rogers build, but should I use a Canadian build on my U.S. phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in Canada and use an American captivate using the cognition ROM and it works just fine.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897

Serendipity 5.x is by far the best Captivate ROM out there, in my opinion. Fast, clean, stable, bloat-free, and tastefully themed.

I just flashed the un-themed version of Andromeda, needless to say I was and am still very pleased with it. It was my first time flashing a ROM and went very smoothly, I guess I just got sick of AT&T jerking around.
I might make a quick video comparing Andromeda 1.0 on the captivate to a stock captivate (my bro's). That is if there is any interest in one.
Btw does any one know when the over clocked kernels will be released, I'm pretty anxious to try them out.

How do you like Andromeda? I started with cognition, then used phoenix for a while and liked both of them. I switched to serendipity last week and it has been rock solid to be honest, but I am always wanting to tinker with this thing. I flashed the KNP1 modem today to see if I get the better data speeds people are reporting and am hoping to gain a little battery life.

I guess everybody has thier own favorite ROM. I am kind of leaning toward either Cognition or Phoenix but cant decide which one. I want as close to "stock" 2.2 (or 2.3) as possible and it looks like Cognition might be the way to go. I have read through the Cognition Wiki and cant determine which flavor of Android (2.2/2.3) Cognition 3.04 is based on (unless I missed it). Anyone know?

TayzGpa said:
I have read through the Cognition Wiki and cant determine which flavor of Android (2.2/2.3) Cognition 3.04 is based on (unless I missed it). Anyone know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.2
10char

There are some videos on you tube that walk you trough the flashing process that I found to be really helpful for my first flash. I also had a written walk thru up from this site. I had no problems with my first using these 2 restorers. Good luck. And andromeda looks very cool. There are also rom reviews on you tube that show you what the rom does. Good luck
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

jferg5 said:
There are some videos on you tube that walk you trough the flashing process that I found to be really helpful for my first flash. I also had a written walk thru up from this site. I had no problems with my first using these 2 restorers. Good luck. And andromeda looks very cool. There are also rom reviews on you tube that show you what the rom does. Good luck
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877652

If you haven't already please read through the guide in my sig.

ademarne said:
If you haven't already please read through the guide in my sig.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read through the guide "Guide for choosing the right rom for YOU" that you link to in your sig; and i see nothing about choosing the right ROM For me.
The title suggests that there is a guide to choosing a ROM - maybe a matrix of features, or a questions list to help someone decide. Instead the closest thing i find is one sentence "Go to the Android Development Section and read through different [ROM] threads to see what features will work best for you. I have also found it useful to read through the last couple of pages to see what other users think about the current version of the rom"
Did i miss something? Where is the guide to choosing the right ROM for me?

alphadog00 said:
I read through the guide "Guide for choosing the right rom for YOU" that you link to in your sig; and i see nothing about choosing the right ROM For me.
The title suggests that there is a guide to choosing a ROM - maybe a matrix of features, or a questions list to help someone decide. Instead the closest thing i find is one sentence "Go to the Android Development Section and read through different [ROM] threads to see what features will work best for you. I have also found it useful to read through the last couple of pages to see what other users think about the current version of the rom"
Did i miss something? Where is the guide to choosing the right ROM for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Something like "answer these 20 questions and here's the ROM that most matches what you want" would be great. I am still trying to figure it out.
What I am looking for is, if AT&T (or Samsung for that matter) were to finally release FroYo, here is what it would most likely look like and how it would probably perform. I'm still thinking Cognition is the closest since it was based on the Canadian FroYo release but *MAN* can it be confusing.

alphadog00 said:
I read through the guide "Guide for choosing the right rom for YOU" that you link to in your sig; and i see nothing about choosing the right ROM For me.
The title suggests that there is a guide to choosing a ROM - maybe a matrix of features, or a questions list to help someone decide. Instead the closest thing i find is one sentence "Go to the Android Development Section and read through different [ROM] threads to see what features will work best for you. I have also found it useful to read through the last couple of pages to see what other users think about the current version of the rom"
Did i miss something? Where is the guide to choosing the right ROM for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point of that is so that you figure out what is best for you, not that I am telling you what to do. I am simply trying to GUIDE new users on how to go about making informed decisions on which ROM they choose. Too many people rely solely on what others say instead of trying things for themselves, which is why I created that post encouraging people to discover new things.
If you have questions about a certain rom, post in the ROM thread in the dev section. If you don't have 10 posts yet and still have questions, then post in the Q&A section, not captivate general.
What I don't think new users understand is that almost every person has a different preference about what ROM, kernel and modem combo work best. Me personally, I love di11igafs ROMs, but many other people prefer different things. Its pretty much like asking a group of random people, "what is the best car on the market and what options would get with said car?" Almost everyones answer will vary slightly.

TayzGpa said:
I agree. Something like "answer these 20 questions and here's the ROM that most matches what you want" would be great. I am still trying to figure it out.
What I am looking for is, if AT&T (or Samsung for that matter) were to finally release FroYo, here is what it would most likely look like and how it would probably perform. I'm still thinking Cognition is the closest since it was based on the Canadian FroYo release but *MAN* can it be confusing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like you, I recently started trying to figure this out after getting an AT&T Captivate and I agree about the need for a better listing for features (or lack of) for each ROM. A good matrix to compare would be nice, but I fear there are so many people working on these things and it all moves so fast, it would be a full-time job just to keep it up. Reading through all this stuff is quite overwhelming. However, I honestly think it's not bad once you figure out the basics and understand the ropes. By the time you get the things to load on your phone, with Clockworkmod Recovery, Odin and some other tools, life is pretty simple--the devs have done all the hard work, you're just flashing the stuff and figuring out what you like best.
Here is what I can tell you that may help and like I said, I'm pretty new at this, so someone *please* correct me if I'm wrong. I would not want to mislead anyone:
1. Cognition is an "Americanized" version of the Rogers 2.2 Captivate release. If you want 2.2.1 you have to use another custom ROM. Everything with Cognition appears to be well done, stable and smooth. I spent a couple hours trying to get wireless tether to work only to figure out MobileAP is built in and works
2. Look up the videos on YouTube by MobileTechVideos. They are very good and well produced, plus he looks at all the different ROMs. There is a 3-part video on loading Cognition on a captivate. I used it to load 3.04 on mine in almost real time right with the video. The only thing I would caution you on is if you use Titanium Backup to restore apps, be careful about "select all" like he says you can do in the video. I'm not sure if I had backed up system data and accidentally restored it or what--didn't go back that far to check, but after I did my restore I thought everything was fine and I could not make outgoing calls the next day. I reloaded from scratch following the videos again and this time use TB to restore one app+data at a time and was very picky about what I did and it worked wonderfully.
3. Once I got everything working I started to get curious about kernels. Once you have your ROM loaded, you can flash a new kernel (has to be same version as the ROM) and you can get enhancements with speed and other things by doing so. However, I loaded Firebird and did not notice in the thread that Bluetooth doesn't work yet, so I'm trying to figure out if I can go back or if I have to start over. Not a big deal to start over since I know what I'm doing now, just want to push the limits a little cause that's how I roll For some reason after Firebird I also seen duplicate photos on my SD card, even though there were only singles. It's like thumbnails were duplicated or something. I moved the pics off to my PC and it left blank thumbnails behind. I deleted them from the gallery and put the pics back and everything cleared up. I've seen stranger things--no biggie.
4. Battery life was fairly bad at this point, dropping 10-15% or more per hour. My phone came with the JH7 modem (last digits of your Baseband version in Settings -- About Phone). Cognition 3.04 comes with JL1 and many others were reporting great battery life with JL2 so I flashed it and everything seems to be much better so far. I haven't reset the battery stats and such, but I will at some point. Looks like a lengthy process that may or may not help.
5. I see a lot of "do I have to flash to stock first" questions posted and from what I understand, it's best practice to follow the instructions and don't ask why--just do it. Learn how to backup and restore apps+data (not system data) using TB and it's no big deal.
6. I read a lot about different builds of the Captivate--lots of posts about 1006, 1007, 1008's so I was concerned about the issues discussed. I'm guessing these were the early releases. I got mine at the end of January and it's a 1012. Look under your battery right under the serial number.
I suppose once I have this part of it working well and figured out, I will probably start looking into themes and digging deeper. It's pretty addictive so once you start, you just keep wanting more and more and making it better and better. Thanks to all the devs out there. I plan on making a few donations soon, especially to Designgears since his stuff is mostly what I've worked with so far.
My advice is to take a day or two and read *A LOT*. The old carpenters saying is "Measure twice and cut once" and that is pretty much how I look at this stuff. After you figure out how the puzzle pieces fit together, you lose the fear.
Hope this helps and if I would appreciate it if someone more advanced can confirm my statements or correct me.

[Q] Firmware/ROM options?

So I just bought a Galaxy S 4G believing that it had CM7 support, because the supported devices page said "Galaxy S". Whoops.
So in the meantime, I gather that I can root it and use Titanium Backup Pro to strip out some of the bloat; are there any alternative firmwares or ROMs worth trying while I wait?
If the answer is yes, I've had trouble finding instructions on how to store a copy of the stock firmware for restoration, in case I screw up or need to return the phone or something.
Thanks.
-Robin

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1117554

You still have a heck of a phone... I'm running Black Ice, works well for me, I also have been test driving dsexton's "I can't believe it's not butter" rom and yes, it is as smooth as the name implies! I'm just not a fan of the stock theme. And it's very well tweaked... There's months of reading treads all consolidated in one single flash!
You can find it in the development section along with the specs
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App

As QUIETLYloud mentioned, there is a great implementation of MANY tweaks in a ROM he referred to.
Also, CM7 is in fact coming to GS4G within a week or two.
For progress, check here.
http://rootzwiki.com/archive/index.php/t-681.html?

You all are fantastic and all got Thank Yous.
Something I'm not seeing, even in the Bible thread, and I'm sure it's a FAQ but I still can't find it:
What do I need to do to make absolutely certain (assuming I don't brick it, anyways) that I can get back to the stock ROM/firmware, i.e. so that I can return it if I need to?
Thanks for any pointers to whatever obvious place I missed that you can provide.
-Robin

rlpowell said:
You all are fantastic and all got Thank Yous.
Something I'm not seeing, even in the Bible thread, and I'm sure it's a FAQ but I still can't find it:
What do I need to do to make absolutely certain (assuming I don't brick it, anyways) that I can get back to the stock ROM/firmware, i.e. so that I can return it if I need to?
Thanks for any pointers to whatever obvious place I missed that you can provide.
-Robin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1062847
Stock is there if ever necessary.

[Q] Stock Deodexed KC1

I had a question on this Stock Deodexed KC1+Root ROM. My buddy Jager, helped me flash my SGS4G to this specific Rom and it worked flawlessly. But now I had a few question on what this whole thing meant.
What do these specific features do?
completely deodexed
Root
Busybox 1.19.0
All Bloat.
What can I do with all four of those things? Could someone give me a brief explanation on each of those I'd greatly appreciate it. and PS. This Rom is Froyo. So since I flashed it. when the official Gingerbread rom comes out OFFICIALLY for T-mobile. would I be able to receive the update via OTA (Over the Air)? Or do I go to "Software Update" in the settings portion of the phone. thanks!

hey man. im glad i helped with the flashing.
i gave you some info before (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1165560&page=2) on what those things are.
specifically, root allows you to change things on your phone that you normally couldnt. it could make it better..or you can brick it if you dont know what you are doing.
since you are not programming or modding, being deodexed shouldnt affect you too much; same for busybox. having them is only a plus but i you dont do anything directly involving them. you need busybox and once you root using superoneclick, you usually have it, so just know you need it and read that link i gave you.
bloat are those extra tmobile programs. many people dont like them because we dont use it and it takes up space, but some people find them useful.
when flashing a new custom rom, you probably wont get ota updates because the fota files are removed, because they take up a ton of space that you dont use 99% of the time. if you are on a stock rom, i think you can still update through kies, but honestly, i will probably never use kies again because this community updates faster and better roms than tmobile. even when the gingerbread update is officially released, i rather stay with teamwhiskey or team acid's roms until they decide to release something because i think their stuff is much better than whatever tmobile can come up with.
do you have any specific questions about the things you listed? or anything in general? we're all here to help

I see. And yeah Jager your awesome haha! But how can I get into those kinds of things. Like the teamwhiskey or acid. Do they have like gingerbread roms that are better than tmobiles? In your opinion do you think custom roms are better than original roms? And to be honest I have no clue what the roms do lol. Besides improved battery life lol. I dont even know what modem is.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

jager555 said:
hey man. im glad i helped with the flashing.
i gave you some info before (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1165560&page=2) on what those things are.
specifically, root allows you to change things on your phone that you normally couldnt. it could make it better..or you can brick it if you dont know what you are doing.
since you are not programming or modding, being deodexed shouldnt affect you too much; same for busybox. having them is only a plus but i you dont do anything directly involving them. you need busybox and once you root using superoneclick, you usually have it, so just know you need it and read that link i gave you.
bloat are those extra tmobile programs. many people dont like them because we dont use it and it takes up space, but some people find them useful.
when flashing a new custom rom, you probably wont get ota updates because the fota files are removed, because they take up a ton of space that you dont use 99% of the time. if you are on a stock rom, i think you can still update through kies, but honestly, i will probably never use kies again because this community updates faster and better roms than tmobile. even when the gingerbread update is officially released, i rather stay with teamwhiskey or team acid's roms until they decide to release something because i think their stuff is much better than whatever tmobile can come up with.
do you have any specific questions about the things you listed? or anything in general? we're all here to help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded kies. But it recognizes my phone but it wont let me update because the rom is custom last time I tried kies was when I had gingerbread 2.3.3 thats when I asked you how can I flash my phone back to froyo
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

honestly, its all up to your personal preference. i think the custom roms are better because 1)its made by our peers, 2) it addresses many issues that USERS face, and 3)they are awesome. but once again, it is all personal preference on what you want to do with your phone.
you can learn a ton from the following. read through it and you will know how mostly everything posted works:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1117554
http://cyclopscomputers.com/gs4g
i hope this helps.

I guess I agree with you there because tmobile releases stuff only they want us to have and our peers here create and improve their programs. So I guess I like having custom roms
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App

jager555 said:
honestly, its all up to your personal preference. i think the custom roms are better because 1)its made by our peers, 2) it addresses many issues that USERS face, and 3)they are awesome. but once again, it is all personal preference on what you want to do with your phone.
you can learn a ton from the following. read through it and you will know how mostly everything posted works:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1117554
http://cyclopscomputers.com/gs4g
i hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay now I have another question for you haha, you've like told me so much about this rom stuff and make it sound all so cool. So in your opinion who do you think has the best Gingerbread ROM for the galaxy s 4g? in this like forum, because I'm searching through tons and I can't choose which is best haha. and if it says "contains all bloat" does that mean the programs Tmobile has on the phone is like removed to save space. and is it true if the rom is deodexed it makes the phone faster and a little cooler?

[Q] What's the best ROM to use at present?

I bought my Charge about a year ago (still no 4G in our area but that's a whole other discussion . . .) and figured I'd wait until the manufacturer warranty expires before rooting my phone.
I glanced over the development page and noticed that JT is still working on ICS but it's not yet fully ready. Does anyone have a recommendation regarding which ROM to root to my phone? It will be the first time I've ever routed a device before but I know how to follow instructions, so I assume I'll be fine.
Any recommendations anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys!
-Jay

Either Tweaked or Eclipse. Essentially, they're our only two choices, but they're both good quality. For kernels, most people like Imnuts' PBJ kernel.

Yeah, I was looking at that one (someone else suggested that one and the transparent ICS theme). It looks like one of the links comes already bundled with the PBJ you mentioned so I'll probably get that one.
One question I did have was regarding EX4. I don't know if I need it or not. I have a stock SDA card but I don't know how to check if it's EX3 or EX4 or if I even need that portion . . . I'd rather not have to wipe my SD card but it's really not all that hard to backup to a computer so I guess it's not a huge deal. I'd rather not do an extra step I don't need to do though.
So yeah, is there anywhere in the forums that talk about EX3 or EX4? I searched in these forums and found a few articles about it but I still don't know if it's something I need or not.

jbrookley said:
Yeah, I was looking at that one (someone else suggested that one and the transparent ICS theme). It looks like one of the links comes already bundled with the PBJ you mentioned so I'll probably get that one.
One question I did have was regarding EX4. I don't know if I need it or not. I have a stock SDA card but I don't know how to check if it's EX3 or EX4 or if I even need that portion . . . I'd rather not have to wipe my SD card but it's really not all that hard to backup to a computer so I guess it's not a huge deal. I'd rather not do an extra step I don't need to do though.
So yeah, is there anywhere in the forums that talk about EX3 or EX4? I searched in these forums and found a few articles about it but I still don't know if it's something I need or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure EXT4 conversion does not affect external memory. It will only convert the data/dbdata/cache/system partitions to the newer file system. So no need to worry about your SD card. Personally, I would not recommend converting to EXT4 at this point. There is always a chance you can corrupt your internal partitions and brick your device. It is very difficult to hard brick a Charge, but from what I can recall those that have have been a result of a bad ext4 conversion. Ever since the Gingerbread OTA was rolled out, RFS has been more than adequate for the Charge. While you do get higher benchmark scores with EXT4, difference in real world usage is negligible (from my experience).
And Tweaked is by far the best current ROM for this phone. It is hands down the best ROM ever made for the Charge. If Eclipse is ever updated again, I would give that one a chance too.

In my opinion, the only reason to convert to ext4 on EP4 or FP1 is to make nandroid backups work. If you don't intend to use nandroid, no reason to convert.
ext4 definitely has significantly higher I/O throughput, but you'll only see it in benchmarks. You won't see any difference in the real world.

Tweaked gets my vote and as for kernels go, an increasing number of people prefer the stock kernel over PBJT for various reasons. Try both to see what works best for you.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

I use Tweaked, and am very happy with it. I've tried PBJ kernel several times with EXT4, but can't get rid of some lag issues, so I keep going back to the stock kernel.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using xda app-developers app

I like tweaked - plus it gets the most support right now. I think the eclipse developer has a newer phone, so that ROM has probably seen it's last update.
additionally, you've also got great themers here like Blackness, etc...
finally, you don't have to choose a custom ROM when rooting - you can still stick with stock or a debloated/deodexed ROM. but that will lack the bells and whistles of a tweaked or Eclipse.
also keep in mind that there are very easy ways to revert back to stock (just ask blackness - I think he did that 28 times over a 10-hour span last weekend ) so VZW will never know that your phone has been rooted....

I have what is probably a very silly, basic question. If I want to root my phone to using tweaked 2.2, should I be following this guide (except with Tweaked, rather than GB 2.3.4)?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1160580
Is there another guide you would recommend?
Also, I'm hoping to read a bit more about all the terminology for rooting phones, all the basics, etc. I've been able to find a couple of general guides (in this forum and using google) and each one teaches me a little bit but I figured I'd ask the masters. If you were just starting to look into this, what guide/articles/pages would you recommend reading?

jbrookley said:
I have what is probably a very silly, basic question. If I want to root my phone to using tweaked 2.2, should I be following this guide (except with Tweaked, rather than GB 2.3.4)?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1160580
Is there another guide you would recommend?
Also, I'm hoping to read a bit more about all the terminology for rooting phones, all the basics, etc. I've been able to find a couple of general guides (in this forum and using google) and each one teaches me a little bit but I figured I'd ask the masters. If you were just starting to look into this, what guide/articles/pages would you recommend reading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's as good of a guide as I've seen. I don't think I've ever had to "tap" the power button to get into download mode, fwiw. Just hold Vol down and plug it in.
There's not a whole lot you can screw up that Odin can't fix. Just make absolutely certain that your computer does not lose power and that your device does not become unplugged during any Odin'ing you do. I'd recommend going over to www.imnuts.org and pulling the EP4D and Charge.pit files in the event that you need to back out. Having them on your computer will save you the headache later on.
As far as guides, most of them are going to be really dated. The Charge community is winding down, and those of us who are left are generally pretty helpful and patient when it comes to questions. We don't have much in the way of guides because there is no large influx of newbies ever coming our way to clog up the forum. If you pay attention to Rootzwiki, there is a new fella who tried to do things on his own and got really frustrated by the lack of info. That lack of info is probably due to the fact that none of us really need it.
That said, if you run into a question, just ask. If nothing else, I'll try to help you out.

I had a babyzilla turn off my computer during the Odin process, and I was able to fully recover. So no real danger there.
Also, www.chargeforums.com has also got some helpful how to threads as well.
tappin' that....

jco23 said:
I had a babyzilla turn off my computer during the Odin process, and I was able to fully recover. So no real danger there.
Also, www.chargeforums.com has also got some helpful how to threads as well.
tappin' that....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read that you can get hosed if it stops in the middle of flashing the modem? I don't know if there's any validity to that.

Not really sure where it was the process, but it happened a few tines. The first two times were due to a certain web page freezing up my PC.
tappin' that....

For the record, I put Tweaked 2.2 w/PBJ on my charge, used tweaktools to add Transparent ICS and it looks and runs great. If anyone was considering whether or not to use it, I'd highly recommend it.
Thanks for your help, everyone!

Batdroid we had it for about oh I don't know maybe 30 mins to an hour....
SENT FROM THE DOG POUND

Just got an s5 and (edit) Keeping it, Now I have more questions. Yes I've read...

Edit now that the first part is out of the way, Please scroll down to the bottom for another question, Just trying to keep everything orgainized if possible. Hope This doesn't go in q & a.
Hey fellows, I just bought a s5 and can return it within two days for a full refund. Cost me 140 plus tax, used in great condition no scratches at all on the screen, and got a nice case with it. Was going to order an LG G3 since I'd been doing a bunch of research on it, but came around this and figured I'd give it a whirl. I did a little research on xda while in the store before buying it.
Now that I've been home and reading and reading and reading, I've got it rooted using the lollipop root thread which requires you to use odin. No biggie there but the LP safestrap wouldn't install. And after root I can't install apps from the play store anymore. Error 494 or something like that sorry I'm not more specific.
Right now it has the latest and greatest OTA B1B? I can't remember all four off hand. Some thread I've read have suggested that it is possible to install safestrap and then install rom's but I'm unclear if I have to downgrade though odin flash a different kernel or what. I'm kinda afraid to do too much too it without making a backup because I'd need to get it back to stock before I return it if I do.
I guess my questions are, will I be able to install alliance rom? I don't believe so since it's on a different base. Will I be able to do anything to it other than root? It's not a bad device by all means, but If development is dying, and it's locked down so tight I couldn't squeeze a hair in there, I see no reason to keep it. Again, i've been cramming all evening on all threads, and some say it's possible to get safestrap for lp on there with root, to install TW roms. I know I'll never be able to get AOSP stuff on there regardless.
I could probably get by with just root and debloating. But The alliance rom has some nice themeing options that I'd like.
If you guys were me and please be honest, would you keep it and try to get it to work, or just return it for a refund? I had an s3 but never took any OTA's so I could install roms until my eyes turned blue even though development was slowing on it when mine broke down..
Also do you guys have any idea why the play store isn't working anymore? I'm tempted to factory reset now probably losing root in the process, just to try to get my play store working again.
Any and all thoughts will be appreciated. Again I've studied almost all the faq type all in one general help threads and I've never dealt with safe strap before but at this point I can't even install that. The apk installs but clicking install with root access does nothing.
thanks for any input provided.
griz

Well Looks like I've got safestrap installed with the bok3 kernel although the device came with the BPB1 kernel / firmware. So does this mean that I can only install roms now that are lollipop with bok3 as their kernel? And would you still return the device to order a G3 which has better specs and more ongoing development?

Depends. Download "eMMC Brickbug Check" from the play store and post a screenshot of it.

Honestly, having played a lot with various ROMS on this phones, I can say that my fav is the current stock MM. Fast, great performance and battery life, and hopefully, we will get root eventually. In the mean time, Iam not really missing it.
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input the emmc check said the brick bug wasn't present. I've got to have root so mm is not an option. I need root for things like tibu and to set enforce =0 for selinux to use my old game pad which isn't 100% necessary but nice when I want to use it. This stock rom seems to drink battery life. Do you think I could install alliance or another debloaTed rom?

griz.droidx said:
Thanks for the input the emmc check said the brick bug wasn't present. I've got to have root so mm is not an option. I need root for things like tibu and to set enforce =0 for selinux to use my old game pad which isn't 100% necessary but nice when I want to use it. This stock rom seems to drink battery life. Do you think I could install alliance or another debloaTed rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B1B is not a build, so you should check that. All lollipop builds can be rooted, and in certain situations marshmallow can be downgraded. Especially if you can unlock the bootloader. You should really check the development thread before you just give up on the device.

Please I don't wish to start a war, just a informative Pro and Con.
Nandr0idC0nsumer thanks for the tip on that App, I ran it iniitally but didn't do the entire scan. I'm doing that as I type this. (It finished and read test passed 132s 14.7GB 114.5MB/s Under emmc chip it reads:
Type MAG2GC
Date 05/98
CID a very long string.
FwRev:00x0
Brick Bug NO. Same Chip
I was hoping this would test to see if I could make it a dev edition but I'll read more on that later.
Now, Even though this isn't the device I initially wanted, I found it in mint condition and with it and the case (Bulky but I weed eat, mow, and stuff, a Lunatik Tatik Extreme that I've read good reviews on every though it's bulky but it's red so I don't have to see the gold, and from what I've read protects well and looks Heavy Duty) and transfer of my Selectel service only paid around 160 after tax. I ended up with a gold colored model, with stock lollipop,
The baseband now says BOK3 but had something Newer BPB1 the first night I got it, I read and read and then read some more as I'm new to safestrap but not to Sammy having had an S3, nor to flashing as I've also owned a DX and DX2(bought used mainly for the sdcard at the time for 20 bucks and to use as a wifi remote)
My questions are as follows. One person above musiclover7 said he's perfectly satisfied with MM non-rooted, I assume an OTA maybe?
I rooted using the odin lollipop method, then installed Alliance Rom to start with as it seemed compatible, and I like the customization ability. I prefer AOSP for just this reason and this was why I was leary about getting this device, the locked bootloader. I've read a little about a lot of rom's available, Although Alliance is highly customizable in the looks dept, and I used the extreme Debloat scropt/zip when flashing all those options are a bit much and it can take time to get the look just right especially with the Black glass mod/zip which I remember from Alliance for the S3, on the old S3 I only ran TW occasionally, mailnly running SLIM, then Nameless, then AICP at the very end. because I'm a sucker for the T-mo theme engine. Aesthetics are very important to me.
One question is with the note roms's and S6/7 ported roms why do I need S-pen when I don't have a note? Why do I need the edge stuff built in when the device isn't an edge? What can that do? I know I have a lot more reading to do but I just want to get a general concensus on what people are running and why, if you are only on TW roms? I haven't seen any themes available in the theme section and I can't stand all the white in settings and such on a stock rom. Nor can I stand the Sammy/VZW bloat. I'm looking at Phoenix which is based on a phone rom with edge support? Am I missing something here? And with the note rom's why would I need the S-pen which I may not have to install if it's aroma based or just freeze/delete it after installation. I have xposed installed because I prefer the net stats app to any other net stat's app out there. I know Wanam is available and gravity for stock roms. I also recall using a module that let me use T-Mo themes on rom's, but I believe the roms I used that on was an AOSP based rom that didn't have T-MO or Layers Implemented yet, like slim around the KK/LP era if memory serves me and it may not.
SO What roms are you using and why? Again, I know people hate threads like this I have no intention of starting a war of roms. It'd be better if I did have the unlocked BL edition or could make it so but I've not got that far yet. Please do not hate on other peoples work. We're all in this together, and most work borrows from others work anyway. And what I've loved about Andy from the DX days is that one size doesn't fit all. We had Bur based roms, CM7 (with most all stock features added eventually), and WizardOO's awesome MIUI builds. And WIz's awesome preboot menu that let one choose a governor and overclock and such without the need for an app. That was an awesome tool back in the day. I'll never forget Wizard00's work on that nor the work done by the main CM7 dev, and those two did help one another figure things out like getting HDMI working.
Anyway, sorry for the rants, and so many questions, I know it'll be impossible to answer all, but I'll edit the Title and Tags to hopefully help other users in the future.
Thanks for reading my TLDR post. Those who know me know I tend to go into way too much detail, and sometimes not the details needed.
Thanks again, I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.
griz

griz.droidx said:
Nandr0idC0nsumer thanks for the tip on that App, I ran it iniitally but didn't do the entire scan. I'm doing that as I type this. (It finished and read test passed 132s 14.7GB 114.5MB/s Under emmc chip it reads:
Type MAG2GC
Date 05/98
CID a very long string.
FwRev:00x0
Brick Bug NO. Same Chip
I was hoping this would test to see if I could make it a dev edition but I'll read more on that later.
Now, Even though this isn't the device I initially wanted, I found it in mint condition and with it and the case (Bulky but I weed eat, mow, and stuff, a Lunatik Tatik Extreme that I've read good reviews on every though it's bulky but it's red so I don't have to see the gold, and from what I've read protects well and looks Heavy Duty) and transfer of my Selectel service only paid around 160 after tax. I ended up with a gold colored model, with stock lollipop,
The baseband now says BOK3 but had something Newer BPB1 the first night I got it, I read and read and then read some more as I'm new to safestrap but not to Sammy having had an S3, nor to flashing as I've also owned a DX and DX2(bought used mainly for the sdcard at the time for 20 bucks and to use as a wifi remote)
My questions are as follows. One person above musiclover7 said he's perfectly satisfied with MM non-rooted, I assume an OTA maybe?
I rooted using the odin lollipop method, then installed Alliance Rom to start with as it seemed compatible, and I like the customization ability. I prefer AOSP for just this reason and this was why I was leary about getting this device, the locked bootloader. I've read a little about a lot of rom's available, Although Alliance is highly customizable in the looks dept, and I used the extreme Debloat scropt/zip when flashing all those options are a bit much and it can take time to get the look just right especially with the Black glass mod/zip which I remember from Alliance for the S3, on the old S3 I only ran TW occasionally, mailnly running SLIM, then Nameless, then AICP at the very end. because I'm a sucker for the T-mo theme engine. Aesthetics are very important to me.
One question is with the note roms's and S6/7 ported roms why do I need S-pen when I don't have a note? Why do I need the edge stuff built in when the device isn't an edge? What can that do? I know I have a lot more reading to do but I just want to get a general concensus on what people are running and why, if you are only on TW roms? I haven't seen any themes available in the theme section and I can't stand all the white in settings and such on a stock rom. Nor can I stand the Sammy/VZW bloat. I'm looking at Phoenix which is based on a phone rom with edge support? Am I missing something here? And with the note rom's why would I need the S-pen which I may not have to install if it's aroma based or just freeze/delete it after installation. I have xposed installed because I prefer the net stats app to any other net stat's app out there. I know Wanam is available and gravity for stock roms. I also recall using a module that let me use T-Mo themes on rom's, but I believe the roms I used that on was an AOSP based rom that didn't have T-MO or Layers Implemented yet, like slim around the KK/LP era if memory serves me and it may not.
SO What roms are you using and why? Again, I know people hate threads like this I have no intention of starting a war of roms. It'd be better if I did have the unlocked BL edition or could make it so but I've not got that far yet. Please do not hate on other peoples work. We're all in this together, and most work borrows from others work anyway. And what I've loved about Andy from the DX days is that one size doesn't fit all. We had Bur based roms, CM7 (with most all stock features added eventually), and WizardOO's awesome MIUI builds. And WIz's awesome preboot menu that let one choose a governor and overclock and such without the need for an app. That was an awesome tool back in the day. I'll never forget Wizard00's work on that nor the work done by the main CM7 dev, and those two did help one another figure things out like getting HDMI working.
Anyway, sorry for the rants, and so many questions, I know it'll be impossible to answer all, but I'll edit the Title and Tags to hopefully help other users in the future.
Thanks for reading my TLDR post. Those who know me know I tend to go into way too much detail, and sometimes not the details needed.
Thanks again, I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.
griz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will read the whole thing tomarrow, but what's the first 2 numbers of your CID?

Nandr0idC0nsumer said:
Will read the whole thing tomarrow, but what's the first 2 numbers of your CID?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Nandr0idC0nsumer. You didn't specify what the eMMC Brickbug check read. I'm showing the first 2 numbers needed but if you've read majority of these forums, you'd know what it means...lol

it'd mean I'd hit the jack pot but I figured that'd be mighty sliim.. LOL... But I'm going to give it another whirl. I haven't read everything, but most of the faq's and all-in-one threads. Then the root for lollipop thread along with safestrap, because I was completely new to safestrap, but I could have been wasting my time with safestrap, I certainly hope the hell that I am that would be so awesome, the best news for me since...... I can't remember when the last time I was so lucky.

I can't be this lucky.. Got some reading to do... I should've listened.........
I should have followed through with the posts from you guys but I honestly didn't think I'd be that luck.y... Didn't think I'd have that kind of karma... In the Morning Ladies and Gentlemen and dudes named ben. Thanks guys for hitting me in the mouth...
HOLY bat crap bat man.. Does this mean what I think it does.. I hope so.. I think I've got a new thread to read..
This is for users with 15' Sasmung eMMC's not users with 11 Toshiba eMMC's. You can check this by reading the file
/sys/block/mmcblk0/device/cid
Just the first 2 15xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or 11xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx(my number of x's are random, just read the first 2)
We still are unsure if changing the CID causes app store, verification, activation, provision, or other issues, everything you do is at your own risk!
REACTIVATION LOCK MUST BE TURNED OFF. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured that would be few and far between, I hope I can magically transform my phone into a dev model.... I'm assuming that'd be as good as having my old S3 without taking that bad OTA... OMG.. I'm hoping this is good news. I'm off to read the post.. I gotta work in the morning but now... Wow..... It's like a natural high if it means what I think it does. I hoonestly figured that would be like finding a needle in a haystack and my luck is never that good.. But I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch...
Ohh attached below is the screenshot...
I'm not one for emoji's but...
Just hope I dont screw something up trying to make a dev edition out of my device... ....
I blocked out the last number as in the example above, I don't know why that's important but since the other poster did, I figure I'd better too. Monkey see Monkey doo.
PS Sorry for the mess.. as Han would say.. yeah.. I'm that old..

@griz.droidx Flash stock PB1, then root it, then unlock the bootloader! You have, by chance and luck alone, bought an S5 with the ability to unlock it
Yes you can flash Cyanogenmod. Yes you can flash MM and root it. Basically do whatever you feel like

Question is stock PB1 a stock MM build? I'll do some reading to find out, but I have a nandroid of my BPB8 lollipop rom that's already rooted From reading the unlocking thread, and maybe I missed something I just install the APK and bam I'm unlocked. I'm guessing that once I'm unlocked, and rooted, I need to find myself a TWRP for the device. I thought I could just un-install safe strap from Alliance, Unlock and then flash a recovery.
I figured I was lucky in getting one that can be unlocked or made into a dev edition. I'm never that lucky. But on the unlucky, it appears that I have to now flash roms from the unified thread. And from what I've been able to pick up in an hour or so last night and a little at work today, I'd be best to flash only rom's for Verizon specifically. I don't know exactly to to make the others work with a Verizon MVNO but I'm certain that the VZW one's will because on the S3 I could flash any VZW rom and my MVNO (Selectel) worked. I'm hoping to find a build of AICP since that's what I was using with my S3 before it bit the dust. But flashing fever usually hits and I'm sure I'll try others.
Still doesn't look like there's much development going on for the unlocked builds. But at least I can cruise around on AOSP if I want. But the Extreme Debloat of alliance has been doing pretty good already even without my usually tweaking using autostarts and AFWALL, I do miss the privacy manager most of all from AOSP. I just think that is easier to use than the AP OPS version that's included in Alliance.
Is your phone unlocked? if so What rom are you running, and which ones have you ttied?
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for all their assistance in this thread so far. And for those of you who aren't unlocked, I'd still be interested in knowing which TW rom's you're using and stuff like that. I like aesthetics, and don't like the stock TW look of white everywhere, and I've read that with OLED or OMLED or whatever theyre called, the more black there is the easier it is on the battery. Probably doesn't make a huge difference but every little bit helps.

You can run ROM's from the Android Development thread and Unified thread

The question is unless they're for vzw on particular will they work with my my mvno. I hope so. . But I don't think they will without. Changing apns. Or may not have the proper frequencies enabled for vzw
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Oh, that i wouldn't know. Maybe someone will come across this and have an answer for you

griz.droidx said:
The question is unless they're for vzw on particular will they work with my my mvno. I hope so. . But I don't think they will without. Changing apns. Or may not have the proper frequencies enabled for vzw
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash PB1 from SamMobile (PB1 is stock 5.0 Lollipop rom) and then root, unlock, and flash TWRP.
To simplify, tell me the ROM you want to flash and I'll tell you if it's compatible if you'd like.
EDIT: Yes roms have to be Verizon-compatible. And no changing apns will not help

Thanks for offering to check. . I've found that aicp. Resurrection remix. CM and Phoenix have versions for vzw. . Thanks for offering to check for me. . Thanks for simplifying the unlock and add aosp roms instructions. . I've read and re-read them. . A couple things I'm worried about ate what hardware features may no longer work like the fingerprint reader at least in the one kernel I found. Even unlocked and thrilled as I am I want to make sure as much of it works as possible with aosp. And I don't want to take a performance hit but doubt that'll happen. . Even when the numbers have said I did take a hit in the past three seat of the pants feel said otherwise. . Thanks again to you and everyone else who have replied. . Im still wondering which tw roms people prefer. . Alliance with extreme debloat has did better than I expected. .
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

You'll have to make your best judgement. Users install the ROM's and use them as a DD to suit their likings and what they like for a ROM. You'll just have to read the OP of the said ROM and see for yourself....Good luck and HAPPY ROM'n

Hey fellows I am tickled pink that I accidentally ended up with a dev edition. Even though there's not a whole lot of AOSP out there for the VZW version of the s5, I do like me some AOSP. Always have the AOSP ROM bug hit me back with my DX. Having said all that, I was pretty satisfied with the Alliance Rom, and I'd imagine other TW roms have much to offer. I chose Alliance because I'd ran it on the S3 a few times especially when I needed to compare TW to AOSP. I did not upgrade using the method above but I appreciate all the replies from "Nandr0idC0nsumer" very much. I once thought about installing a MM pre rooted firmware first actually. If I could find just the modem and anything else like that which may help the performance and usability of my MM CM based RR rom, I might consider it. And it shouldn't be as difficult now with the unlocked BL. Although safestrap worked nicely for what it's meant to do.
After reading here and elsewhere about unlocking and installing AOSP, I decided to just run the apk which is option one in the how to unlock post, ran the app it installs, checked in recovery to see that it said developer, then using flashify I installed a TWRP image that I downloaded from somewhere. I think TWRP was just for klte though and not kltevzw specifically, but don't quote me on that. Lastly, I booted straight into twrp using the hardware buttons on a reboot to install the AOSP based rom and GAPPS. Easy Peasy. I'm looking for a kernel now, but since I feel that the fingerprint scanner works much better for me in AOSP, I don't want to get a kernel and mess that up even though I could always back it up first. or just re-install the rom.
Hopefully someone will come across this thread and find it useful. If anyone feels like it I'd still like to hear about those different TW roms, and why we'd want to use one for the note? or need one with the S-pen app? Can the S5 work as well as the note for writing on the screen using the S-Pen stuff?
Thanks again, and have a great weekend. Anyone who has any questions for me feel free to PM me. If I don't reply immediately don't think I'm putting you off I sometimes , many times, forget to check or don't notice that I have new images to read. Although help is better from the forum since you can many more opinions, and that's what it's for anyway.