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rooting and kernals and general point

so i've bought myself a samsung galaxy s2, or i-9100, supposedly the best phone on the market, but ive only used nokia keypad phones before, and I'm pretty sure i'm not using my new phone to its full potential.
some questions, what is rooting? i get the idea it lets me do whatever i want?
if I root my phone, does that wipe my Operating System (gingerbread 2.3.3?) and all settings and installed things? Does it also wipe user data like texts or photos?
what's a kernel, or kernel version, kernel source code etc...?
I want to get rid of some of the samsung branding software, because i can't see an option to install them. but some features like swype i like, can i "selectively" debrand the phone?
The general point of what I want is I want my new phone to work like my computer, uninstall programs i don't want and install ones i do want. (i've only ever used Windows) But i don't seem to understand almost everything on this forum

Rooting your phone allows you to change roms, boot up themes and will let you remove most apps and allow you to get some you can't have with out root axx, but most roms already remove the carrier bloat ware. It will remove all your apps etc though and txt. Think of it like reinstalling your os on your pc, rooting your phone will make you admin on your phone instead of a normal user.
You can also underclock your phones cpu to save some battery life if you want when it's rooted.
You can just move your photos to your pc/sdcard...
Point is though, rooting your phone is worth it give yourself some time getting use to it maybe read up on it on here there are tons of great tuts to show you and explain things to you.

Like @zookeeper525 said, rooting gives you full access to your phone. The process does not erase data or settings. You can root on a stock ROM, then flash a rooted custom ROM. There are a lot of good ROMs out there, and you can usually get great performance and improved battery life from a custom ROM. Every device is different, so your experience may vary.
A kernal is the core of the Android operating system. Custom ROMs come with a kernal that has usually been tuned for their specific ROM, but there are also custom kernals available that have even more features (overclocking, underclocking, undervolting, etc.).
With any of this, you stand to gain lots of control over your phone, but can also brick it if you're not careful. My advice is read, read, read, then read again before you proceed.
Good luck!

[Q] What to do with HTC Desire HD?

Hey
Im kind of behind with Smartphones because I had a Samsung D500 for several years, it was only a few months ago I upgraded and got myself a HTC Desire HD on Contract. Ive been using it completly standard, with all the official software etc..
Im beginning to get quite bored of it now though and I still have like 1 and a half years left on my contract.
All I seem to do with the phone is... standard SMS texting, phone calls, facebook, twitter and check a couple of websites every now and then.
I have read around and hear things about "ROMS" and "ROOTS", but dont really know what that means.
Im just wondering, if you had this phone.. What would you do with it exactly?
Something to make it look/feel like a new phone maybe..... I duno
Just want some opinions, recommendations really
Thanks

Custom ROMs
A stock ROM is the version of the phone's operating system that comes with your phone when you buy it.
A custom ROM is a fully standalone version of the OS, including the kernel (which makes everything run), apps, services, etc - everything you need to operate the device, except it's customized by someone in some way.
So what does the "customized" part mean? Since Android is open source, developers are free to take stock ROMs, modify them, strip them of garbage, optimize them, add things, and pretty much do whatever their imagination and skills allow.
Custom ROMs are oftentimes faster, more efficient, and use less memory because:
- the developer ripped out useless garbage, such as carrier installed apps or
- the developer optimized the kernel. For example, an undervolted kernel can provide a much better battery life than the stock one.
You can upgrade to a version of the OS that has not yet been released for your device, or never will be. This is possible in 2 situations:
- A leaked version of the new ROM showed up online, and the developer got on it like the fat kid chasing an ice cream truck.
- A ROM from another phone was ported by the developer to work on yours. For example, G1 and MyTouch 3G users may never see Android 2.1 officially released on their phones, but Cyanogen, one of the most respected Android developers, was able to create a custom ROM running 2.1 for those devices.
ROOTING:
Getting root or rooting your phone is the process of modifying the operating system that shipped with your device to grant you complete control over it.
This means you can overcome limitations that the carriers and manufacturers put on your phone, extend system functionality, and even upgrade it to a custom flavor of Android.
The name root comes from the Linux operating system world, where the most privileged user on the system (otherwise known as Administrator on Windows) is called root.
You have access to alter any system files, use themes, change boot images, delete annoying stock apps, such as Sprint's NFL Mobile live and Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile, and other various native applications that might drive you crazy (Footprints, Voice Dialer, etc).
On most rooted Android devices, you can back up your entire system to an SD card, much in the same way you can image a hard drive. This is great if you’d like to try a new ROM, as you can back up your phone, wipe it completely, flash the new ROM, and if you don’t like it, just restore from your backup to get your device back to exactly how it was before you wiped it.
The easiest way to do this at the moment is by using ROM Manager.
ROM Manager allows you to easily flash a custom recovery image which is what you will need in order to backup and restore your phone. The recovery image is a special program that can be booted into outside of the phone's main operating system, sort of like an OS recovery console on a PC. By default, the recovery image on most Android phones only gives you a few options, mainly related to wiping the phone. Custom recovery images expand upon these options and usually include scripts that can do things like backup and restore your system, fix file permissions, or allow you to flash custom ROMs that the normal recovery image would otherwise reject.
Normally, flashing a custom recovery image requires some command line work, either on your PC, or on a terminal emulator directly on the phone, but Koush's ROM Manager should automatically flash his custom recovery image (known as ClockworkMod Recovery) for you, provided you're on one of the supported phones and that it is already rooted.
Using ROM Manager is pretty simple. Download and install the application from the market, fire it up, and you’ll be prompted to allow the application superuser permissions - make sure you approve it.
The first thing you’ll need to do is flash the ClockworkMod recovery image that I mentioned earlier, which can be done right in the app (it’s the first option). ROM Manager should automatically find the latest version of the right image for your phone, download, and install it - the whole process is seamless.
After that is done, you can simply use the ‘Manage and Restore Backups’, and ‘Backup current ROM’ options to, well, backup your current ROM or restore from an existing backup.
Rooting Guide for Desire HD
Desire HD ROMs

If you're bored with the look and feel of the phone then by all means customize it. Custom ROMs etc can help with that, or even just trying another Launcher like ADW EX. Make it a project to do something creative and artsy and then post your work here. Rooting will allow greater scope of what you can accomplish, like changing the system Fonts, for example.
Really though, if you're not interested in that kinda thing, i'd suggest just doing more of what the phones are designed for in the first place, which is running applications. Perhaps you might edit your OP to request a list of entertaining apps so that people can throw out suggestions?
A few time killers that i enjoy:
IMDb (For watching trailers and reading about movies)
Cracked Lite (Funny and informative articles)
Amazon Kindle (Reading books on the go)
Wimp.com (Fantastic collection of videos. Think of it as youtube's greatest hits)

Heya thanks for that reply
Well I am interested in a custom ROM, it sounds cool. Especially if it removes crap I dont need to save my battery life etc
Id like to try a new ROM, I had a go last night and installed ROM Manager but it said something about it couldnt find superuser and told me to google it lol, so I went to sleep
Now I am awake I am willing to give it a bash and would like to do it
Dont think Id be much use trying to do my own though,would rather use someone elses if Im allowed too? A very fast/power efficient/nicelooking/stable one etc.. Any you recommend?
Just doing that successfully would be a big enough project for myself as its my first time Heh

Before I go ahead and break my phone, are these instructions the correct ones for me?
Shall I do what this says to setup superuser?
pocketnow.com/android/how-to-root-your-htc-desire-hd

Sorry I just noticed you have a big massive link with a guide for rooting my phone lol
I am going to do that now then thanks

As for ROMS, for my phone, is:
[ROM] MIUI 1.9.16 v.1: Freshly Squeezed Edition™ 16/09/11
The main custom ROM for me?
Would you recommend that one, from that link you posted, that one seems to be the only main one I can see

Need abit of help, got visionary on my phone. Ticked box r/w after boot or whatever and then when I click on Temproot now, it says rooting device etc.... but then it just goes to a black screen and stays a black screen.
Is this normal or is something going wrong?
- Apparently the latest firmware doesnt allow Visionary to work. I need to downgrade to an earlier firmware? How do I do that lol
Or should I just give up and stop now?

You have to downgrade to Froyo 1.3.2 first. Follow this guide.
Here's a guide for rooting, ENG and Radio S-OFF, Flashing radio and ROM

Flashing a radio?
Um this sounds abit to risky actually for my first time.
So from what I understand is, I could successfully flash my chosen custom ROM but the radio signal for phone calls/SMS texting and stuff.... could not work ?
I dont think I want to take that risk now Ive read that

dont flash any radios the one you have will work fine also have a look around in the dev forums.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=765

Im quite happy with what Ive done, someone mentioned to do it earlier on in this topic and its basically all I wanted, just a fresh look
I changed the HTC Skin to Slate, and then used the GO Launcher and using a green + black theme, done abit of customizing. Before all this I did a hard reset on the phone too, and using JuiceDefender. I like it, happy with it, feels fresh

Thanks for all the help and advice though I do appreciate

[Q] Simple Google ROM for GT3110

hello,
It may have been already posted, but i would like to put on my GT3110 a simple & stable ROM without any additional SAMSUNG layer or any other modification.
i've tested the ROM provided by default, very slow and too much stuff that i don't want in it.
i've then tested the CyanogenMod 10 nighlty build, but the Keyboard wasn't working even after having done the clean as recommended on the web.
i've then tested the ROM RomsWell but it contains the SAMSUNG layer.
i'm now using the Paranoid Android 2.51 but the paranoidSettings seems to modify the resolution of the tablet and icons are not positionned correctly when moving from landscape to portrait.
i don't forget how big the work done by all these people providing this for free mainly, but as this tablet is dedicated for a gift to someone not android addict nor interesting in changing ROMs regularly,
So i would like to implement a Google stock ROM with nothing more/less than what is provided by google. even if i loose some performances or other things.
can you tell me where i can find this for the GT3110?
thank you in advance

If you install a launcher like Nova Launcher Prime, you'll find much of the Samsung layer gone. Some of the Samsung apps are superior. Email, Contacts and Planner come to mind. I would call the system easy for unsophisticated users and reliable as well. There plenty of help and a real user manual.
I've been flashing roms for years now and decided to stay with a rooted SGT27. Custom roms, even AOSP aren't that easy to use and there are always bugs.

This .....
king200 said:
If you install a launcher like Nova Launcher Prime, you'll find much of the Samsung layer gone. Some of the Samsung apps are superior. Email, Contacts and Planner come to mind. I would call the system easy for unsophisticated users and reliable as well. There plenty of help and a real user manual.
I've been flashing roms for years now and decided to stay with a rooted SGT27. Custom roms, even AOSP aren't that easy to use and there are always bugs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you (or the person its for ) isnt into modding Android, stick to stock. I use Apex launcher (Free) and to be honest they are all pretty much the same. Touchwiz isnt that bad and Samsung stock apps are really cool.
I would suggest updating it to JellyBean stock via Odin/Heimdall or just wait for the official update via Samsung.I personally use AOKP M1 but its a little confusing to set things up at first and needs tweaking.NOT noob friendly at all and takes time to work it out. ( but that's why I like it).
I would be careful giving "Root" access to inexperienced users as they may get themselves into trouble with it....Remember it gives them full access and control of the ROM. I would suggest a start up manager either way ,to stop all the junk starting up when you boot. Samsung loves bloat lol.
If you want pure Android, flash an AOSP no frills ROM.

jayce996 said:
hello,
It may have been already posted, but i would like to put on my GT3110 a simple & stable ROM without any additional SAMSUNG layer or any other modification.
i've tested the ROM provided by default, very slow and too much stuff that i don't want in it.
i've then tested the CyanogenMod 10 nighlty build, but the Keyboard wasn't working even after having done the clean as recommended on the web.
i've then tested the ROM RomsWell but it contains the SAMSUNG layer.
ican you tell me where i can find this for the GT3110?
thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This does not exist, in fact it does not exist for any device. Stop dreaming of the mythical "clean" ROM that is 10x faster. There is a lot more to a functioning ROM than Google open source Android. There is no such thing as a pure AOSP ROM for any device because its takes Android + kernel + drivers + libs + apps + bootloader + etc. to have a functioning ROM. and everything except the base Android API is device and version specific.
The Samsung touchwiz launcher doesn't slow anything down and if you don't like the way it looks, as suggested above, install one of the good third party launchers and its not even used.
I find this tablet running the Samsung stock ICS to be very fast and clean, So one would wonder what are you doing to it to make it "slow" There's only a few Samsung apps included and unless you run them, they just sit there doing nothing. You can hide them if you don't want to see the icons.

thank you guys,
i'll try the JellyBean standard ROM as recommended and try another free launcher

You Root Your Phone for What?

Many people may be ask what is root? Surely most of you know there is an account called administrator in WINDOWS XP and it gets the highest permission to operate the system. Then, Root is to cell phones what administrator is to computer. Only after you root your phone can you have the permission to customize your phone.
Then can you share your root experience. I am considering whether to root my samsung phone.

Ahh for so many reasons. But to name a few: get rid of bloatware, block ads, listen youtube in the background, record my screen, most importantly customize your phone the way you like it and many many more

For more custom features and to make my phone more smoother. My stock rom was really freezy and laggy. When I rooted my phone and downloaded a new rom, my phone feels a lot more smoother.

Mainly for customization and for remove ads u.u
Inviato dal mio LG-D855 utilizzando Tapatalk

that's one good short explanation

markdc said:
Ahh for so many reasons. But to name a few: get rid of bloatware, block ads, listen youtube in the background, record my screen, most importantly customize your phone the way you like it and many many more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:It seems that there are many benefits to root the phone.

swaglordk said:
For more custom features and to make my phone more smoother. My stock rom was really freezy and laggy. When I rooted my phone and downloaded a new rom, my phone feels a lot more smoother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No wonder so many people want to root their phone.

To remove ADS, definitely. I understand the value of them, but I can't stand them...
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app

Install a custom ROM and you'll see why.

Rooting gives privilege , if you are not satisfies with what you have , default apps , any other think which can be modified only if rooted .Although i you wont be having company warranty anymore.

I saw this great reddit comment that summed me up pretty well; for a while I did the whole root thing. Loved it. Tweaking every tiny detail of a phone, getting access to insanely powerful apps, etc.
But it all started souring. Confession: I'm a convert from Linux and Windows to Mac. And that's because Mac's just work for me; when I'm needing to do something vital, I'd much rather something that is 50% less powerful but 100% stable. And I've found with my Galaxy Note 4, although I am annoyed at Touchwiz, at a lot of the stock touches, I much prefer having a non-rooted phone that, if/when an error happens, I know is nothing to do with me.
"My evolution using Android..
Get Android...
Learn to root..
Learn to flash ROM..
become flashaholic flashing multiple ROMs per day crack flashing.
Never having the same ROM/setup for two days in a row
Want more power....
Flash a custom kernel.....
OVERCLOCK!!
Too much battery being used
OVERCLOCK! UNDERVOLT!
Now horsepower is not so important.. Need more battery life...
UNDERCLOCK!!
Need to squeeze more battery life out of device
UNDERCLOCK!! UNDERVOLT!!!
Tired of custom kernel stability(even when not OC/UC UV)
Stock kernel... custom ROM, rooted..
Tired of all the bugs and little nuisances in custom ROMS..
Stock rom, stock kernel... still rooted of course
Root? I don't need root anymore..
Completely bone stock
The end..."

I root my device to get rid of bloatware, to install custom roms, to customize my device the way I want.

For best battery life.

- Remove bloat/spy/adware
- Titanium backup for easily migrating apps+data (including system apps) to other devices
- Micro-manage permissions of apps for security and efficiency.
- A good proxy/VPN app (if you've been to China you know what I mean).
- Killer youtube replacement app (downloads, plays in background, checks other video services, etc)
- Screen rec. app (pre-lollipop)
- Adaway (blocks adds even in games)
- Tasker
- Possibly to re-partition the eMMC --typically with those cheap 8GB devices that emulate an SD card and only have 1GB or so for apps. But that can be tricky. Would preferably try to flash a custom ROM/Recovery if possible, which is not really related to root.
- Also didn't add nandroid backups to the list because I don't tend to flash custom ROMs much.

I rooted my Samsung as soon as I got it in order to get rid of the unnecessary apps and save the ROM space. Enjoy my customized phone since I don't like the feeling being led by the rose.

I root my devices to use them to their highest potential and of course for Flashing various ROMS and Kernels

To become the original owner of my phone

jaymeenc said:
To become the original owner of my phone[emoji14]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[emoji106] [emoji106]

I root mainly for removing bloats and of course more customization.

manly to clean a lot of unnecessary apps in order to get more ram and faster device,also to put allays the software of the newer devises

Help Me Debloating Samsung A51 Android 12

I am using Samsung A51 running on Android 12. My device is lagging since last few days. I want to debloat my device. I had debloated once, but it stopped working settings app when it was running on android 11.
I need the debloating list which don't crash any essential app.
Please help me.

hello, for more comfortable debloating i will recommend you to use ADBAppControl.
i do not know by what way i debloadted my phone, but in that programm you have a feature of backing up the .apk file of the application you uninstalled.
You can debloat your phone by this tactic
1. Debloat your phone without uninstalling system applications;
2. Debloat your phone by uninstalling samsung applications (samsung free, samsung galaxy friends);
* If you want more, you can follow this site: https://www.alliancex.org/shield/apps.html
or (i do not think, really) flash a custom ROM, like elementary OS
If it was help, let me know)

vmirrimv said:
hello, for more comfortable debloating i will recommend you to use ADBAppControl.
i do not know by what way i debloadted my phone, but in that programm you have a feature of backing up the .apk file of the application you uninstalled.
You can debloat your phone by this tactic
1. Debloat your phone without uninstalling system applications;
2. Debloat your phone by uninstalling samsung applications (samsung free, samsung galaxy friends);
* If you want more, you can follow this site: https://www.alliancex.org/shield/apps.html
or (i do not think, really) flash a custom ROM, like elementary OS
If it was help, let me know)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot. I'll give a try.

Hello, by the way, now I want to go back to the custom ROM, and I may make a video about what I will be able to remove from the phone avoiding future bugs and problems. if you want

vmirrimv said:
Hello, by the way, now I want to go back to the custom ROM, and I may make a video about what I will be able to remove from the phone avoiding future bugs and problems. if you want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, give me the video link.

hello, wait about 30 minutes

THE video is done! But I am sorry about its quality

Leave a feedback, if it helps)

Just debloated by this way. But the ram usage is same.

i would say it is the problem of the ROM, because it uses another frameworks for modules of wi-fi, for example or of mobile communication.
When I used SuperiorOS, where the most programm part has been built as open-source, the usage was at least 2 times less.
But you should not only focus on RAM usage, because those apps drain you battery and internet traffic, too

vmirrimv said:
i would say it is the problem of the ROM, because it uses another frameworks for modules of wi-fi, for example or of mobile communication.
When I used SuperiorOS, where the most programm part has been built as open-source, the usage was at least 2 times less.
But you should not only focus on RAM usage, because those apps drain you battery and internet traffic, too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any bug free custom rom?

Sorry i did not get you, can you type it in another words?

Do you have any custom rom without any error/faults?

If you ask me, I do not have, but I can advise ROMs from another users of XDA
They are like SuperiorOS (with custom kernel installed, for avoiding MTP issue, with GAPPS), ElemantaryOS or Refined UI
Other ROMs I simply do not perceive as something needed to do so (because of its quality).

But you need understand, that nobody except of the manufacturer will create a bug-free OS for the certain phone, I think.
But custom ROMs like ElementaryOS and Refined UI ones seem to be a good choice, because they has been created by modifying the stock ROM

And there is also the question you need to ask youself: why do I need it?
If answers are like I want a faster experience or new features then I would say that it's not worth it
I think the problem is, that you do not want to use your device as it was intented to be, but you want to play with it by modifying and so one.
If it is, then I would say that this way of spending time is void and meaningless

vmirrimv said:
And there is also the question you need to ask youself: why do I need it?
If answers are like I want a faster experience or new features then I would say that it's not worth it
I think the problem is, that you do not want to use your device as it was intented to be, but you want to play with it by modifying and so one.
If it is, then I would say that this way of spending time is void and meaningless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U didn't get me. I want a minimalistic lightweight OS with less ram and battery usage. I used elementary os running on android 11. I have come to stock rom for android 12. And i did very wrong.

So then, I will recommend you SuperiorOS, but there are some bugs with Bluetooth and MTP. Although, I think, there are no official supported custom ROMs for SM-A515F.

But if you want to flash this ROM on your phone, you will need to downgrade (roll back) your Android version to 11 (as I tried on 12th, it did not work).

vmirrimv said:
So then, I will recommend you SuperiorOS, but there are some bugs with Bluetooth and MTP. Although, I think, there are no official supported custom ROMs for SM-A515F.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give me the link please !!