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Just got Galaxy S3! New to rooting, ROM, etc....

Hey guys! I just bought the Galaxy S3 and I'm really loving it so far. However, it is my first Android device, so I'm still pretty new to all this rooting, flashing, ROM, etc. All I know is that rooting is similar to jailbreaking in iPhone (which I understand pretty well and use to do all the time) in that it allows you to do things you wouldn't originally been able to do. Because of that, I decided to root my Galaxy S3 following a Youtube video, which turned out really well and was pretty simple. After that, I watched another video to "flash a rom" (I think that's how you say it...) and installed CyanogenMod 10. I wanted Jelly Bean over TouchWiz ICS, so I'm liking it so far. Everything runs smoothly and that Project Butter is uh-mazing! However, I think I've noticed some bugs. For example, the camera's exposure settings don't work and every once in a while, my home button doesn't respond when I'm trying to wake it up from lock! I actually had to pull my battery out yesterday because it wouldn't respond and just froze ...Is there anyway that I can fix this? My Dolphin Browser doesn't play flash anymore too, but that's a little fine with me, since the stock browser is able to. And also, I noticed that when I flashed the rom, it pretty much wiped my phone clean, so is there a way to install all my apps and data back the way I wanted previously? I heard about somethings like Titanium Backup, but then I'm also confused about what the hell all that custom backup and recovery and ClockWork Mod and Rom Mananger is about ...Is it also ok that I installed Apex Launcher after getting CyanogenMod 10? I like how I can still customize it and whatnot.
Sorry for making this post so lengthy! I'm just really excited and curious about how all of this works. It's definitely a lot more complex (but a ton more fun and interesting! ) than just jailbreaking an iPhone. I've looked around the forum and have read some 101 Basics, but it's still quite a lot to understand all in one day. Anyways, if anyone can please provide some feedback, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you! :laugh:

I was using SynergyRom v1.7 for a few days but was really laggy on my device. Ive since switch over to CleanRom 2.0 SP1 running CleanKernel 1.0, using CWM 6.0.1.0 recovery, and so far seems to be running alot smoother and faster than Synergy. The only problem ive found with it is the Rom comes with the cpu set up to 1.9 Ghz even when I have it set at 1.5 on SetCPU, and if im putting a heavy load on my device, the back gets pretty warm. There is a post I remember seein something about that issue but cant find it.
If you would like to give this ROM a try, you can find it here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070

The current version of cm 10 is nightly is not done and there is bugs. the only thing I got was the wake up thing but it never froze for me.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

fr8cture said:
The current version of cm 10 is nightly is not done and there is bugs. the only thing I got was the wake up thing but it never froze for me.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your's doesn't wake when you push the home button too?! Thought it was just me...And do you know when CM10 will be fully stable? Or are there other roms out there that are?

lilaznandyx said:
So your's doesn't wake when you push the home button too?! Thought it was just me...And do you know when CM10 will be fully stable? Or are there other roms out there that are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not using cm 10 anymore but try waking it with the power button, I'm currently using paranoid android and don't have the problem and its based off cm10
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

lilaznandyx said:
And also, I noticed that when I flashed the rom, it pretty much wiped my phone clean, so is there a way to install all my apps and data back the way I wanted previously? I heard about somethings like Titanium Backup, but then I'm also confused about what the hell all that custom backup and recovery and ClockWork Mod and Rom Mananger is about ...Is it also ok that I installed Apex Launcher after getting CyanogenMod 10? I like how I can still customize it and whatnot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
welcome! i'm still a noob too but customizing and flashing roms is definitely a whole lot of fun. A few things:
before you continue I suggest that you backup your IMEI if you have not done so. There are currently 3 methods to doing this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1852255
you can do all 3 methods just to make sure you are safe.
TitaniumBackup is an awesome program that can save your apps and their data, your contacts, your sms, all to your SD card so that when you need to wipe your data clean you can easily restore all your apps and such again. There is a free version in the appstore that I think is a must have.
ClockworkMod is a custom recovery for our device and basically what we use to flash new roms and kernels. Also we can create Nandroid backups (basically a snapshot of our system that we can restore at a later time) through CWM.
As for launchers you can feel free to use Apex, Nova, Holo, any of these launchers with the different Roms. They will generally come pre-loaded with one but if you have a preference you can just install that launcher and set it as the new default.
Welcome to Android and xda!

pyunny said:
welcome! i'm still a noob too but customizing and flashing roms is definitely a whole lot of fun. A few things:
before you continue I suggest that you backup your IMEI if you have not done so. There are currently 3 methods to doing this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1852255
you can do all 3 methods just to make sure you are safe.
TitaniumBackup is an awesome program that can save your apps and their data, your contacts, your sms, all to your SD card so that when you need to wipe your data clean you can easily restore all your apps and such again. There is a free version in the appstore that I think is a must have.
ClockworkMod is a custom recovery for our device and basically what we use to flash new roms and kernels. Also we can create Nandroid backups (basically a snapshot of our system that we can restore at a later time) through CWM.
As for launchers you can feel free to use Apex, Nova, Holo, any of these launchers with the different Roms. They will generally come pre-loaded with one but if you have a preference you can just install that launcher and set it as the new default.
Welcome to Android and xda!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying! Sorry for asking, but what is an IMEI and why should I back it up? And what is the difference between a Nandroid backup and a Titanium backup?

lilaznandyx said:
Thanks for replying! Sorry for asking, but what is an IMEI and why should I back it up? And what is the difference between a Nandroid backup and a Titanium backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid Backs up your whole system and Titanium just backs up your apps and app data, Not exactly sure what a IMEI is but if you don't have it you wont have any service.

an IMEI is a code unique to your device that allows your phone to be identified by your provider. Without it you won't have a phone signal nor data. You should back it up as it has been reported that rarely users can lose their IMEI upon flashing a rom.
The devs have been hard at work at learning what triggers this to happen and ways we can get rid of the problem altogether but until then, it's wise to backup the IMEI and save the backups in a safe place.

Most have lost their Imei when flashing aosp roms but not all. Some have reported it with touchwiz roms as well.
The are 3different methods to back it up though not 100% .
All are featured in development section.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

lilaznandyx said:
Thanks for replying! Sorry for asking, but what is an IMEI and why should I back it up? And what is the difference between a Nandroid backup and a Titanium backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
International Mobile Equipment Identity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Equipment_Identity

CleanRom 2.1 just came out today in case anyone is interested...im gonna install it and give it a shot...heard it was much more stable and smoother than v2.0 which im running now.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070

nighthawk34691 said:
CleanRom 2.1 just came out today in case anyone is interested...im gonna install it and give it a shot...heard it was much more stable and smoother than v2.0 which im running now.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How's the new rom? And if I want to install this new rom, do I just do the same thing I did with CM10 (flash, backup, recovery, etc.)?

fr8cture said:
Nandroid Backs up your whole system and Titanium just backs up your apps and app data, Not exactly sure what a IMEI is but if you don't have it you wont have any service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is everything backed up to? Like say I want to flash a bunch of roms, and later decide to go back to my stock rom, what do I do?

All nandroid backups (cwm) by default are saved to the root of the internal SD card. They typically are small compressed files and really no need to ever move them, though you can have as many as you want, just label and sort them in cwm app.
Titanium defaults to internal SD (again root file that won't be wiped when wiping data), but you can easily change this location to your external to make you feel safer.
Same deal with rom zip files, if you drag and drop through your desktop, you can drop on either sd card or external. If you download through your phone it will be on internal in downloads file, safe from a wipe. You can then move if needs be using a file explorer app. Just remember your location when flashing so you can find your zip in recovery.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

annoyingduck said:
All nandroid backups (cwm) by default are saved to the root of the internal SD card. They typically are small compressed files and really no need to ever move them, though you can have as many as you want, just label and sort them in cwm app.
Titanium defaults to internal SD (again root file that won't be wiped when wiping data), but you can easily change this location to your external to make you feel safer.
Same deal with rom zip files, if you drag and drop through your desktop, you can drop on either sd card or external. If you download through your phone it will be on internal in downloads file, safe from a wipe. You can then move if needs be using a file explorer app. Just remember your location when flashing so you can find your zip in recovery.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Ahhh ok. So I'm pretty sure that I did a nandroid backup. So if I want to go back to my old rom, do I just reboot into recovery and click restore or something like that?

That's it. I have several nandroid backups of various rom's and configurations that I can then choose from in recovery. Just remember that if one of your recoveries is original stock (which you should have done), just remember that after flashing that backup, you probably will need to reinstall cwm or similar recovery. You won't need to do that with anything other than stock. I'll do my best to answer any other questions, and please tap the thanks button if this helped!

annoyingduck said:
That's it. I have several nandroid backups of various rom's and configurations that I can then choose from in recovery. Just remember that if one of your recoveries is original stock (which you should have done), just remember that after flashing that backup, you probably will need to reinstall cwm or similar recovery. You won't need to do that with anything other than stock. I'll do my best to answer any other questions, and please tap the thanks button if this helped!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok. But if flash the stock rom, will it wipe my phone clean, or will I stay rooted? And do roms take up a lot of storage? I had quite a lot of free space, but after CM10 I lost about 1-2 gb I think.

Yes, roms do take up alot of storage, so its a good idea to put the zip files on your external sd card to keep your internal as free as possible, especially if you have multiple roms that your playing around with. As far as flashing stock, if you mean restoring your stock rom from a backup in recovery mode, then the answer is yes to staying rooted, and no to wiping it clean. It will be in the same state that your phone was in when you made the backup. However, if you flash on an original stock rom it can unroot you and wipe everything depending on how its flashed in. This method really should only need to be done if a backup was not made of your stock rom, or if you have bricked your device in some manner.

Oh okay. So I should be fine then. Which rom do you recommend for this S3? I'm trying to find one that is really stable and is hopefully jelly bean. I'm looking at CleanRom right now, because I like how it incorporates some touchwiz, but I think it's ICS?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

upgrade one a from 4.1.2

i have CM10 and android 4.1.2 on my one x (att), i want to upgrade to 4.2.2.
if i install the new rom and gapps do i need to flash a new boot.img or will the one i have still work?
also what is the best way to restore my settings to the new version? i spent lots of time setting this phone up with and and i'd prefer to migrate as much as possible. I would appreciate if if you treated me as a newbie with the migration and are descriptive in your response as i have never done this before.
TIA

You can probably find out more about upgrading from CM10 to 10.1 by looking through the 10.1 thread. I'm almost entirely a Sense person, so I can't speak specifically to this situation (moving from CM10 to 10.1). But seeing as you are moving from one Android build to another, I'd assume you need to treat it as moving to a "new" ROM. I would also bet that you need to flash boot.img again. It only takes a minute to do, so why bother even trying to skip that step?
In general, if moving from one ROM to another, you should wipe user data, and not migrate system data, and migrate as few settings as possible. Migrating system data is almost sure to cause serious bugs, and migrating settings can be problematic also.
Recommend using Titanium Backup to migrate apps and data (but not system data), and if you get the paid version, its well worth the couple dollars to get the batch function (can backup and restore all your user apps with just a couple taps).
Do any other backing up you want to do (I like to backup my text messages by using the app SMS Backup+). And if you like, use TWRP to make a nandroid backup, in case you want to revert to your current ROM.
Then before flashing CM10.1 factory reset only within TWRP (factory reset in hboot will corrupt your SD card). Factory reset will wipe any user data (but should leave the internal SD untouched). So be sure to backup anything you want to keep, beforehand. Then wipe Dalvik and cache, also within TWRP. Then flash the ROM, boot.img and gapps. Then startup the ROM, restore your apps with Titanium. Then setup your homescreen and settings to your liking. Some people also like to migrate WiFi and Bluetooth pairings (I think Titanium will do it). Especially handy if you have a lot of pairings. But I don't have many pairings, and migrating them never seemed to work right for me, so I just do it manually.
Really, setting up from scratch is not that hard. With the help of Titanium, I can be back up and running in about 20 minutes.

You shouldn't have to flash a new boot just flash the new Rom over the old one. As long ast there there both cm something your good. But make a backup in recovery just on case
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Arrow44 said:
As long ast there there both cm something your good. But make a backup in recovery just on case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you mean that literally. If you were to go from CM9 to CM10, and not flash the kernel, I don't think that would work.
Even going from CM10 to CM10.1, it would require the kernels being the same, or at least similar enough to not cause any problems. Have you tried this yourself, or read others tried it on the CM thread?
Are you sure you aren't thinking of just going from one nightly to another?
Also assume the OP is hboot 1.14 or higher, and S-on. Otherwise flashing boot.img separately is not an issue at all.

redpoint73 said:
I don't think you mean that literally. If you were to go from CM9 to CM10, and not flash the kernel, I don't think that would work.
Even going from CM10 to CM10.1, it would require the kernels being the same, or at least similar enough to not cause any problems. Have you tried this yourself, or read others tried it on the CM thread?
Are you sure you aren't thinking of just going from one nightly to another?
Also assume the OP is boot 1.14 or higher, and S-on. Otherwise flashing boot.img separately is not an issue at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the relies, i backed it all up this morning and tried to flash the latest nightly and the htc screen just hung, so im guessing i need to flash the boot.img, i need to do that home where i have the android sdk tools installed.
as far as migrating the data, im guessing that's not practical with what appears to be two separate builds... sigh, the 10.1 night came out a week after installed cm 10. oh well at least im not still waiting for slow ass ATT to get me the update.

mike_311 said:
thanks for the relies, i backed it all up this morning and tried to flash the latest nightly and the htc screen just hung, so im guessing i need to flash the boot.img, i need to do that home where i have the android sdk tools installed.
as far as migrating the data, im guessing that's not practical with what appears to be two separate builds... sigh, the 10.1 night came out a week after installed cm 10. oh well at least im not still waiting for slow ass ATT to get me the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I come from sense based roms but I have a feeling you haven't heard of flash gui. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1453617
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Com.google.process gapps has stopped ???

I keep getting this pop up on and off while using the tab. Have tried reflashing rom Aokp jb 5113 v.5, also v.4, reflashing latest gapps, still no luck.
I do no gaming, just basic tab stuff like internet, reading and video watching. Running stock Aokp without no rom tweaks or mods, basic debloat , no dpi tweaks. Tab is smooth and spappy in typical Aokp fashion. This was first and only custom rom installed on tab for over a year. I'm not a flash whore.
Including screen shot.
Transmitted from another galaxy with a Jellybean infused P-5113 full of Unicorn porn.

You, of course, did a full wipe before flashing again? And you did not try to restore any data or anything, right? Be sure you are using the right version of gapps. You should only be restoring apps and data from something like Titanium, avoid restoring system apps unless absolutely necessary.

wolfclan68 said:
You, of course, did a full wipe before flashing again? And you did not try to restore any data or anything, right? Be sure you are using the right version of gapps. You should only be restoring apps and data from something like Titanium, avoid restoring system apps unless absolutely necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did full wipe data/cashe/dalvic . did not restore any data. and using latest gapps available from Aokp site, gapps-jb-20121011-signed.zip, tried twice i still get popup.
other than popup tab works great.
Pp.:crying:

Just for the record, been running cm10 + with latest gapps so far so good. Apparently Aokp was the issue, it must have been something in the script because I had rewiped and reinstall several times and could not get rid of it.
Pp.
Sent from my Cmoded P5113 tab.

Help with HellKat 4.4.2!

Hey, I just installed my first ROM, and I cannot seem to get the dialer to work. Whenever I try to open it, it force closes, and "android.process.acore has stopped" keeps appearing. Any help? I wiped everything as shown in the thread, and I tried to restore my contacts using Titanium Backup, and I think that may have been the problem. No one else on the thread reports this problem, it seems. Everything else seems to work.

What Android version did you come from before HellKat? I think there's sometimes issues restoring things from previous versions of Android.
It may also be another app... I did a quick Google search and things like Facebook and Hotmail came up, removed and all was well again.

I came from stock 4.1.2 rooted, I'm guessing this means I can't restore JellyBean system data/apps, only from other KitKat ROMs?

nossmeet said:
I came from stock 4.1.2 rooted, I'm guessing this means I can't restore JellyBean system data/apps, only from other KitKat ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before I continue, disclaimer, I'm not a dev or anything. I'm just trying to help with what I've picked up over my time here.
Hopefully you followed the nandroid step. Go back to your stock ROM and have Google backup your contacts. It's never let me down in restoring my contacts on a new ROM.
Sorry for the confusion, but yeah, it's a bad idea backing up system apps, especially with the changes to the dialer (among other things) in Kitkat. Games and other apps should be fine, though.

asimowalk said:
Before I continue, disclaimer, I'm not a dev or anything. I'm just trying to help with what I've picked up over my time here.
Hopefully you followed the nandroid step. Go back to your stock ROM and have Google backup your contacts. It's never let me down in restoring my contacts on a new ROM.
Sorry for the confusion, but yeah, it's a bad idea backing up system apps, especially with the changes to the dialer (among other things) in Kitkat. Games and other apps should be fine, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I made a backup, so now I'm back to stock rooted. Thanks for the help, I'll keep that in mind when flashing back to HellKat.

What recovery are you using and what gapps package?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Regarding flashing ROMs...

Question for all who routinely flash ROMs.
What do you all do after flashing a new ROM to restore old contacts, apps, settings, etc.?
I do like the idea of flashing different ROMs, but am unsure how to go through getting my contacts and old apps loaded onto the new ROM. Is this possible, or do most people not have contacts or apps after flashing and have to start from scratch every time? 8)

LifeAsADroid said:
Question for all who routinely flash ROMs.
What do you all do after flashing a new ROM to restore old contacts, apps, settings, etc.?
I do like the idea of flashing different ROMs, but am unsure how to go through getting my contacts and old apps loaded onto the new ROM. Is this possible, or do most people not have contacts or apps after flashing and have to start from scratch every time? 8)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never found custom as reliable stock based roms. I have found restoring my data onto stock base roms works. Sometimes I need to flash a "helper" rom in between.
Titanium backup seems to me to have made custom roms even more unreliable. But many think it's great.
At one time on some particular custom roms Google would automaticlly restore all my apps that were on the previous rom!! Just like contacts! But not ever since.
Contacts are automatically restored by google.

I always clean install apps when I flash a ROM. As for contacts, I have them synced with Google, so they always restore.

More on keeping data
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=49362383&postcount=2