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.

New to XDA -- help needed, please!

Hey XDA,
First post here! But jumping right in: I've had a few Android phones in the past (Nexus One, Samsung Captivate, Motorola Atrix), but have never attempted to mess with it before. I traded my Nexus One for a Samsung Captivate last summer, and have thoroughly regretted it since. Now I'm using an HTC Inspire (returned my Atrix) since I was told that the Inspire had a more active developer community.
What I want to do is just to get Cyanogen 7 on my phone (assuming that I'm able to use it as a wifi hotspot like I could using my old N1). But like I mentioned, I'm completely new to this, and don't even know where to start.
I've been browsing this forum a bit, but most of the stuff just goes way over my head. Gold cards, Kernels, ROMs, etc. I'm definitely willing to take the time to learn, but if you guys could just help point me in the right direction, that would be fantastic.
I've taken a look at the Inspire Hack Kit thread as well as the CM7 thread, but have no idea what a lot of the stuff is asking for. I can follow directions well, but I'm just afraid of rendering my phone unusable. On top of it all, I don't have any previous experience, so troubleshooting will be extremely difficult if anything goes wrong.
Help? I just want Wifi Hotspot on my phone and to get rid of HTC Sense. Cyanogen looks real smooth.
Thanks again!

If all you want is hotspot, try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=960058. I used this for root http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=961406. Much easier than the hack kit.

The hack kit is less prone to issues down the line for the phone.
At least that's what I have read from others.
Sent from my most memorable Inspire 4G

There's a video in our section that can guide you through the process or search you tube for it if necessary.
There are also easier ways to make a gold card, you just have to read around and see what works best for you.
Sent from my most memorable Inspire 4G

to achieve root, download and follow the instructions in attn1s hack kit. there is a readme that takes you through step by step. i only link the hack kit because its the only root option that i have personal experience with. if you need help, visit the link in my signature.
after you're rooted, you can install cm7 by following the instructions in this thread.

corsairjuly said:
Hey XDA,
First post here! But jumping right in: I've had a few Android phones in the past (Nexus One, Samsung Captivate, Motorola Atrix), but have never attempted to mess with it before. I traded my Nexus One for a Samsung Captivate last summer, and have thoroughly regretted it since. Now I'm using an HTC Inspire (returned my Atrix) since I was told that the Inspire had a more active developer community.
What I want to do is just to get Cyanogen 7 on my phone (assuming that I'm able to use it as a wifi hotspot like I could using my old N1). But like I mentioned, I'm completely new to this, and don't even know where to start.
I've been browsing this forum a bit, but most of the stuff just goes way over my head. Gold cards, Kernels, ROMs, etc. I'm definitely willing to take the time to learn, but if you guys could just help point me in the right direction, that would be fantastic.
I've taken a look at the Inspire Hack Kit thread as well as the CM7 thread, but have no idea what a lot of the stuff is asking for. I can follow directions well, but I'm just afraid of rendering my phone unusable. On top of it all, I don't have any previous experience, so troubleshooting will be extremely difficult if anything goes wrong.
Help? I just want Wifi Hotspot on my phone and to get rid of HTC Sense. Cyanogen looks real smooth.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a basic knowledge of changing ROMS if you follow the great devs here you should have 99.8% success rate.
Here are the links to what I used and was up and ROMing after about an hour(slow dlo speeds):
Simple S-OFF w/Root http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=961406
Radio S-OFF http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857537
ENG S-OFF http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=855403

Go to Simple Root and S-Off
[DEV][GUI][RC1][GPL][3-03-2011] HTC Inspire 4G Simple Root and S-OFF
Thanks to Bubby323! He did an awesome job to make this happen for all of us!
Follow the directions EXACTLY and you should be good to go.
I picked up my inspire on Sat and I started to read and read and read. Then I read some more.
First couple of tries did not work and then when I saw what I was doing wrong it worked fine.
I am rooted and been using the Inspire all day - Not a hitch

That is one of the links I posted above.

Hey thanks, guys! All of you have been extremely helpful.
I took a look through the Enabling-Wifi-Hotspot link posted above, and it worked like a charm.
I still want to get rid of the Sense UI, though. I really like the look of Cyanogen, as it's the closest to stock Gingerbread. I've used Motoblur, Touchwiz, and now Sense UI, and I still prefer stock Android over any of the UI skins.
Do you guys think that there will be an easier way to get Cyanogen on the Inspire (such as a program that does it for you), or should I just go ahead and attempt it now? I'm not unwilling to learn how to do this stuff, but like I mentioned above, I'm just afraid of messing up my phone and being unable to get it back to its original state.

corsairjuly said:
Hey thanks, guys! All of you have been extremely helpful.
I took a look through the Enabling-Wifi-Hotspot link posted above, and it worked like a charm.
I still want to get rid of the Sense UI, though. I really like the look of Cyanogen, as it's the closest to stock Gingerbread. I've used Motoblur, Touchwiz, and now Sense UI, and I still prefer stock Android over any of the UI skins.
Do you guys think that there will be an easier way to get Cyanogen on the Inspire (such as a program that does it for you), or should I just go ahead and attempt it now? I'm not unwilling to learn how to do this stuff, but like I mentioned above, I'm just afraid of messing up my phone and being unable to get it back to its original state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's near impossible to brick this phone, especially if you have a spare microSD with a pd98IMG.zip of the OS laying around. Like the one included in the hack kit.

New around here, lost as can be

Hey Nexus peeps...
I just switched to the Nexus 2 4g coming from my trusty old Evo. I have to admit, things seem much different in this forum compared to the Evo. Mainly, the updates, stock roms, kernels and other things. Seems a bit more confusing.
I was a power user on the Evo, flash-a-holic you might say and was savvy enough to basically handle any issues without problem. Coming to the Nexus is presenting considerable challenge for me. I have a couple questions, any guidance or information is GREATLY appreciated while I settle in to my new home...
Current Set up:
Stock Rom (2.3.4 - GRJ06D)
James Bond Kernel for Stock Rom
What I would most like to do is get the recent OTA that keeps popping up. I understand that I cannot just accept it b/c I have CWM as my recovery, but I can't figure out exactly what item I need to DL and flash. I believe its
THIS ONE: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1078213
--The one noted as "GRJ22 from GRJ06D OTA"
So I would update that through CWM?
Also, how does the internal storage work on the Nexus? If I make a Nand Backup on the "SD Card", is that going to be a safe place to keep it? I worry since there's not actually an SD card on this phone.
Finally, any recomendations from users on alternative Roms (aside from stock)? I haven't gotten up the interest to flash any custom rom yet.. I was on Nightlies on my Evo so I'm kind of over CM atm. Plus this pure vanilla is kind of nice but I wouldn't mind checking out some other stuff.
As mentioned, any help/guidance/recommendations are GREATLY appreciated.

Awesome...

This isn't the most active forum. You can do alot of searching through the dev forums and learn alot. I'm a new comer to but welcome!

cloo24 said:
This isn't the most active forum. You can do alot of searching through the dev forums and learn alot. I'm a new comer to but welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I see... Thanks for the advice. I did go ahead and flash as I thought it should be and it worked flawlessly. Had a nandroid just in case.
Anyhow, I was unable to fight the CM urge so 15 minutes later I went ahead with 7.1 RC1... Back to CM I go.

Hi :)

Hey Guys,
Just wanted to extend a hello to you all . I just got a mytouch 4g, and cant wait to get a custom rom on this thing... stock makes me sad. Just wondering, are there any tips or tricks you guys would offer a n00b to this phone? (im experience rooting and everything else on other phones...)
Cheers guys!
Trevor

rockr4Christ said:
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to extend a hello to you all . I just got a mytouch 4g, and cant wait to get a custom rom on this thing... stock makes me sad. Just wondering, are there any tips or tricks you guys would offer a n00b to this phone? (im experience rooting and everything else on other phones...)
Cheers guys!
Trevor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at my newbie guide. Even if you are experienced with #su access. It hits on topics specific to this phone.
and welcome to XDA.

rockr4Christ said:
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to extend a hello to you all . I just got a mytouch 4g, and cant wait to get a custom rom on this thing... stock makes me sad. Just wondering, are there any tips or tricks you guys would offer a n00b to this phone? (im experience rooting and everything else on other phones...)
Cheers guys!
Trevor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi welcome to XDA-Developers, your guides and resources to phone related and much more.. enjoy..ooh the search button can help alot *tip*

I just rooted my phone 2 days ago for the first time from stock gingerbread to cm7.
The ingredients for a successful root/flash:
-Read Read Read. Read the materials associated with your tools, your handset, and the commands needed to make this a successful mod. Read through the tutorials available, go through the different methods and then judge which is right for you, taking into account prep, tools, and your available knowledge. Some are easy, others will usually have a disclaimer regarding difficulty. Don't be discouraged, there's a ton of stuff to get associated with. I jumped balls first and went straight for downgrade, s-off and engineering bootloader (this bootloader may save you later, I suggest you really look into it).
-Understand how to use your tools for the job. You'll see adb, android sdk, fre3vo, gfree and a few other tools of the trade to the task you wish to accomplish. Learn them, learn the commands and the syntax. Inputting commands through the command prompt can seem a little scary considering the potential for disaster but time, patience and perserverance. When in doubt....READ MORE.
-No shortcuts! Learn everything to start, taking the easy way is fast and well....easy. But you won't get the exposure to the tools, commands, or environment you'll be working in. I went through the whole long process of setting up the android sdk just to know what I was getting into. You'll be happy when you hit a problem like getting kicked out of adb shell and knowing what command to enter to jump right back in...
-Follow the directions to a tee. No deviation, improvisation, or imagination. It's the difference between a good mod and an expensive paperweight. When in doubt, search the forums for your answer (and google), if you can't find something specific to your question then ask away.
Good luck and enjoy, you can't imagine how many goodies are waiting for you on this side of the fence.

welcome to the Glacier forums!
after succeeding root access and s-off, there MANY different roms out there. my person favorites would be Sense based roms, more specifically Sense 3.5, and even more specific, RCMix3D by capy. that ROM makes the MT4G BEAST!!

rockr4Christ said:
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to extend a hello to you all . I just got a mytouch 4g, and cant wait to get a custom rom on this thing... stock makes me sad. Just wondering, are there any tips or tricks you guys would offer a n00b to this phone? (im experience rooting and everything else on other phones...)
Cheers guys!
Trevor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey welcome! One bit of advise I can offer is that when you are done fideling with sense...you should really check out the AOSP based Roms. Personally I really dig Faux123's gingerbread nexus rom. Great battery life and performance its cyanogen based so you get all.the tweaks but I find Faux's is.less glitchy. Message me if.you want and ill explain why sense looks nice but runs awful ha
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium

ICS in mytouch 4g
I have been using mytouch 4g from one year. I rooted my device last week using cynogenmod wiki procedure. From last week I am experimenting with ICS: Creamed Glacier, currently in version 4.0. Wifi issues are fixed. ROM is great.

Key backlight setting problems

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum.
I am coming from being a Iphone user for many years and finally have decided to make the jump into the Android world.
I recently purchased a Skyrocket and have found lots of great info on this forum. proud to have been able to install CWM, Root and flash "Build_Dark_pa_skyrocket-2.21-15OCT2012" with the help of all the great guides posted here. I'm really starting to enjoy playing with this phone and all its potential. (much faster than my old Iphone 4)
My question is, ever since I flashed the paranoid android rom my key backlights do not work. Its a small inconvenience but would really like to get them working again. I think I have tried all the settings (but being a noob), I may have missed something. (so many options) Any help to get them working again would be appreciated.
Thanks to all all again!

Jayster0966 said:
Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum.
I am coming from being a Iphone user for many years and finally have decided to make the jump into the Android world.
I recently purchased a Skyrocket and have found lots of great info on this forum. proud to have been able to install CWM, Root and flash "Build_Dark_pa_skyrocket-2.21-15OCT2012" with the help of all the great guides posted here. I'm really starting to enjoy playing with this phone and all its potential. (much faster than my old Iphone 4)
My question is, ever since I flashed the paranoid android rom my key backlights do not work. Its a small inconvenience but would really like to get them working again. I think I have tried all the settings (but being a noob), I may have missed something. (so many options) Any help to get them working again would be appreciated.
Thanks to all all again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure that was a problem with that specific version. Its fixed in 2.23. Only difference is its not dark themed.. yet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda

Thanks. I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something. More than happy to live with the way it is now. Running real smooth.
Till I upgrade again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app