[Q] Droid X, What Should I Do? - General Questions and Answers

Okay this is my first post, so first off hello everyone. I have been around this forum a few times in the past soaking up bits of information. I really appreciate the vast knowledge the community here has. Anyways, on to the point...
I have a Droid X that I've rooted and rom'd quite a few times. I currently am running android version 4.0.4 the MIUI Kangy version, with kernel 2.6.32.9-g34b306d [email protected] #2 June 27 2011.
I have been getting many popups about gapps, maps, facebook, etc all not responding. It also freezes a lot. I know that it's way out dated, so I would like to know what is the best thing I can do for this phone. The best rom/kernel for an all around normal (slightly advanced) user. I honestly just want everything to function correctly and to not freeze up numerous times in a row to where I have to pull the battery out.
I'm willing to do just about anything to make this phone better. I was wondering what the most stable release is for this phone (even if it means going back to stock). I've SBF'd before, but it has been a long time and I'd need a proper walkthrough.
I appreciate any the help. Thank you!

Related

Hi guys

Sup xda, my names Bilal and this is my first time posting here. I do have a question though but I've got a lot I want to talk to you guys about
I got my tmobile mytouch 3g about 4 days ago. On the first day my cousin had already told me about this site and how beneficial it would be to me real soon xD. The next day I had already begun looking up important things i needed to know to end up with a custom rom on my phone. I looked up the specifications to my phone (like checking the radio and SPL versions) I found out my phone was a 32B and had new SPL and Radio. I found out the Roms that would be compatible with my phone as well as the method to go about doing it. the next 2 days basically consisted of my going through over like 15-20 different methods over my phone (but all of them basically had the same routine). I mean, you have to root it then get a custom recovery than flash the custom rom. But this is simplified as I'm pretty sure i searched and found 3-4 different ways for the simplified root recovery rom steps. Anyways it was real frustrating since I failed many times on all 3 steps . Anyways with the new SPL Radio 32b Mytouch phone 2.2.1 (since i idiotically upgraded it to 2.2.1) just flashed cyanogenmod 6.1.0 about 30 minutes ago. Haha I'm so excited to see the possibilities.
I wanted to thank this whole site and the people from the unlockr because i searched a ton of guides and Google'd over 50 questions to figure out the process suited for me and even though it ended being extremely easy compared to the people who had to work hard to develop all the things involved in making Rom Manager, Clockworkmod and Armons Custom recoveries, and every easy step in the process that we take for granted. I didn't have a clue in programming scripting developing software or ROM's for anything before flashing my phone. After doing it I still don't have much of a clue even though I feel like I did learn a whole lot I know I'm way more interested in learning how things work.
You could have probably skipped this whole essay and went straight to the question though xD.
My question at this point was what exactly are all the possibilities (or some that I'm not aware of) that my phone has now that it has flashed cyanogenmod 6.1.0
One thing that I have definitely noticed and feel that alone, was worth the 4 days of tirelessly failing, is that my phone has become a lot faster, and I mean in everything that it does, from opening applications to loading videos on youtube. I know I could probably search this as well but I just wanted to advice directed towards me as far as what to do next? Ive been messing around with the themes (can only use ADW as far as I know) but was wonting to find a live unlock pattern screen? I found one on youtube and I'm 90 percent sure the guy had the exact same phone as me. Also any advice on details for upgrading the overall performance on my device would be great help.
Thanks guys glad to be here
Glad that you learned some stuff. Stay around here for a while and you'll learn alot more. Anyways, yes, there are many possibilities available for you. For one, I would advise updating to CyanogenMod 7. Just go here: http://www.cyanogenmod.com/devices/htc-slide and choose a category to suit you. NB: The "Experimental" build category is not as "dangerous" as it sound. These build are actually Release Candidates which mean they are almost (if not) good enough to be a Stable build. Since you're just beginning, you may just want to use a stable build for now. But later on, you may change your mind. There are also many apps you may want to try like: SetCPU (to make your device even faster than it is now and/or to save battery life, Titanium Backup, Rom Manager, etc. ADW is NOT the only launcher you can use. It just came as the main launcher for your rom. There are many other launchers like Launcher Pro, etc. For the "live lockscreen pattern, you could try Ripple Lock (Honeycomb Lockscreen) or the sense 3.0 lockscreen found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1190071 . Cheers!

[Q] [i9023] ICS/2.3.6 based Roms, Manual ICS update, Titanium Backup

Hi guys sorry for the several topics in my subject line but there are several questions that I have.
So I just signed up because I'm a bit confused and I'm quite new to the scene. I actually posted this on another forum which I'm already a member of, but I felt it would be better posting here since this is obviously more specialised.
After reading the rules, I've realised that it's quite hard to do a search for existing topics with my questions. I've already tried to do individual searches on each topic though, with varying success.
I've just rooted my Nexus S (i9023, AUS version) for the first time simply because I wanted to be able to use DroidWall (to only allow certain apps to use data).
1) If I manually update to ICS, will I lose root?
2) Does installing a custom ROM cause you to lose all your data? - I've done some searching on this and it seems to depend. Some do and some don't. I don't quite get it though.
3) Kernels - seem to control battery life and how the operating system runs. This slightly confuses me because it makes me think, what affects battery life more: the kernel or the ROM?
4) Most people like to overclock their phones in the interest of power. Would it be reasonable to underclock it in the interest of battery life? Sometimes I don't think I really need 1GHz.
5) It seems like the OTA for ICS for i9023 has not been released yet but has been for i9020?
I'm trying to find the best 2.3.6 Custom ROM from here but none of these are 2.3.6 based! All of them are 2.3.4 or older. I'm hesitant upgrading to ICS for three reasons:
1) Hasn't been released OTA officially
2) Worried of app compatibility
3) Worried of shorter battery life
For these reasons, I'm looking for a 2.3.6 based custom ROM otherwise I'd be happy to look at ICS custom ROMs.
None of the ICS ROMs seem to have any distinctive features about them, especially after watching the video reviews. It's all pretty much "it's a great ROM that doesn't lag when browsing the web and it's fast". Nothing really distinguishes one from another.
Sorry for the mildly long post, but I'd rather ask as many questions as I can at a time rather than making a couple of threads for each. Hope I can get some help =)
Thanks in advance!
I bought 9023 in hk. Upgraded to ics by ota.
If you want, you may do it manually. Flash the rom by yourself. Ota is no longer available. Check it out at nexusshack.com
I don't have battery problem. But don't know why.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
xdaillum said:
Hi guys sorry for the several topics in my subject line but there are several questions that I have.
So I just signed up because I'm a bit confused and I'm quite new to the scene. I actually posted this on another forum which I'm already a member of, but I felt it would be better posting here since this is obviously more specialised.
After reading the rules, I've realised that it's quite hard to do a search for existing topics with my questions. I've already tried to do individual searches on each topic though, with varying success.
I've just rooted my Nexus S (i9023, AUS version) for the first time simply because I wanted to be able to use DroidWall (to only allow certain apps to use data).
1) If I manually update to ICS, will I lose root?
If it is the update you probably will (not 100% sure), if it is the full OTA you certainly will. But it is not a major issue either way, and i would actually recommend backing up with TB (AND a Nandroid), wiping everything and then installing the Full OTA ROM and just root again, then restore your backup.
2) Does installing a custom ROM cause you to lose all your data? - I've done some searching on this and it seems to depend. Some do and some don't. I don't quite get it though.
They will generally lose any system data, apps, modifications, etc. Titanium Backup will copy over most of it anyway, particularly apps and their settings/data. Keep in mind that you should always have a CWM backup (Nandroid) ready in case something goes wrong.
3) Kernels - seem to control battery life and how the operating system runs. This slightly confuses me because it makes me think, what affects battery life more: the kernel or the ROM?
Both. ROMs can do more or different functions which can cause battery drain. Kernels allow you to change your own settings (most of the time) to actually balance performance and drain. I would say at the moment with ICS, the kernel and the settings you give it is the biggest contributor.
4) Most people like to overclock their phones in the interest of power. Would it be reasonable to underclock it in the interest of battery life? Sometimes I don't think I really need 1GHz.
That is correct. Many people can get the same speed with a lower voltage, lowering battery drain. Others also use something called "LiveOC" and increase the clocks by 10% (or more), changing the bus speed and giving similar speeds to 1000mhz at only 880mhz, again saving power. Just remember every CPU batch has different variations - some can undervolt and overclock like crazy, whereas some struggle with a 5% increase.
5) It seems like the OTA for ICS for i9023 has not been released yet but has been for i9020?
The i9023 and i9020T has been released. The i9020A has not, and the same with the Nexus S 4G (D720 i believe). It sometimes doesnt show up though. Either try a manual command which i can't remember in the dialpad or just update manually (manually is best ).
I'm trying to find the best 2.3.6 Custom ROM from here but none of these are 2.3.6 based! All of them are 2.3.4 or older. I'm hesitant upgrading to ICS for three reasons:
1) Hasn't been released OTA officially
2) Worried of app compatibility
3) Worried of shorter battery life
For these reasons, I'm looking for a 2.3.6 based custom ROM otherwise I'd be happy to look at ICS custom ROMs.
None of the ICS ROMs seem to have any distinctive features about them, especially after watching the video reviews. It's all pretty much "it's a great ROM that doesn't lag when browsing the web and it's fast". Nothing really distinguishes one from another.
Sorry for the mildly long post, but I'd rather ask as many questions as I can at a time rather than making a couple of threads for each. Hope I can get some help =)
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lots of words, i'm getting a little confused up there. Anyway, if you are rooted (and i assume your bootloader is unlocked), there is nothing to worry about as long as you backup. I personally love ICS and have no issue with it, as do many others. A minority of people however tend to have some problems, whether its battery or force closes. My experience so far has been that a proper wipe fixes most of these anyway.
ICS is still new. Once Cyanogenmod 9 is officially released i'm sure we'll see much more variety than the same look and feel, as alot is based off their code. And also, practically no phones have ICS yet. I've not found app compatibility a problem though, i think the main gripe is viber (which should work soon).
I hope this can help you, just let us know if there is anything else you're after. Also, there is a TON of information around the site (and Nexus S forums in particular). A good amount of reading and going through a couple of pages of some of these threads can go a long way. That is why you came here after all, isn't it?
I got the OTA for ICS back around 20th Dec 2011, but I chose not to update it because I was going to be away from a computer for a few days and had no backup phone. When I wanted to update it a few days later, the update had disappeared from my phone so I looked it up online. Apparently the OTA disappeared for Nexus S's due to some bugs or incompatibility issues. I've never seen the update come up on my phone since. Even when I go to Settings->About phone->System update, it says "your system is up to date". So I've always been under the impression that ICS for Nexus S (at least for my variant, i9023) has never been re-released to us OTA.
Harbb, thanks for your answers. The only one I'm not so sure about is the underclocking one. It seems a little beyond me in terms of technicality. I am definitely interested in doing it though. Would you be able to tell me if adjusting clock speed requires an app?
I am rooted and bootloader is unlocked (I thought you could only root if bootloader was unlocked?).
So does that mean all these custom ROMs around at the moment are mostly based around Cyanogenmod, which is why they're very similar? As I was saying, I was looking at getting a custom ROM installed and noticed most of them are ICS custom ROMs, and the video reviews all say "this ROM is fast and does not lag when web browsing. It's a great ROM and it's fast and smooth."
The custom ROMs just don't seem to be "promoted" too well because I can't see what makes one better than the other, or what features of one custom ROM are intended to be the standout ones.
I notice you (Harbb) are using Stock ICS 4.0.3 (according to your sig) - so you are not using a custom ROM? Am I able to install a custom ICS ROM without first installing ICS? I am still running 2.3.6 at this point.
Viber does not work at the moment? That's not too bad. I can live with that.
I've done quite a bit of reading so far. It has certainly helped, but still a long way to go, but thanks for giving me a great start!
I will start backing up my apps using TB and CWM (Nandroid)!
xdaillum said:
I will start backing up my apps using TB and CWM (Nandroid)!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best line i've read in days
I have tried several custom ROMs once they started surfacing but i didn't feel like they gave me anything special enough to switch to right now and Stock is setup and running very nicely. Stock ICS colours are fine and other apps now can provide Notifications Widgets. I havn't noticed any particular differences in speed either.
Brainmasters ICS tweaks, custom kernel and Flavours of ICS runs beautifully. The OTA varies with where it shows up. To force a check, type this in dialer: *#*#checkin#*#* [AKA, *#*#2432546#*#* ]
If you are rooted it won't work anyway. Just update manually. There is no need to currently on ICS to flash custom ICS ROMs. I would advise that when going from GB to ICS though (and often between some custom ROMs) that you go into CWM and do a factory/data wipe and format /system. After backing up of course.
At the moment most are not based on CM9, however several do use bits and pieces of code (ie. notification power widgets) from it. Not sure why most ROM descriptions are the same
First thing i'd consider is getting a custom kernel, and then the NSTools app (market). Lots of stuff to mess around with and full control of the CPU (governors, IO, overclocking, undervolting, etc).
Harbb said:
Best line i've read in days
I have tried several custom ROMs once they started surfacing but i didn't feel like they gave me anything special enough to switch to right now and Stock is setup and running very nicely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agree with u. for 4.0.3, stock is my favorite, sad to say that.
for 4.0.4, while stock for NS not available, IMM26 ROM ported from NS4G seems good, if you like the stock rom feel.
Hmm I bricked my phone.
I've done the Nandroid and Titanium Backup and have it sitting on my computer ready once I recover this damn thing. Following the backups, I attempted to manually update to ICS with the zip file on this page: http://www.androidcentral.com/how-manually-update-your-gsm-nexus-s-ice-cream-sandwich
Now I'm following these two threads to try and recover the phone:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1397393
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1396056
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20382688&postcount=16
Hopefully I will get this back up and working. I'm still confused as to why it got bricked though. Updated via clockworkmod "update from sdcard" and then rebooted system. After that, it just bricked. Can't get any lights to come up on the device whatsoever. Plugging it in to computer, wall charger, pressing all the buttons, taking the battery out and putting it back in.
Odd. Best of luck getting it working, i'm sure the resurrector will work for you so don't stress too much. That's the right file so i'll probably just put the issue on a bad flash or bad download (wise to hash check before flashing). At this point i'd say it's wise when you get it working again, just flash the Full OTA file, and do a wipe of /data, /cache, /system and /boot beforehand.
Sad to hear about your troubles buddy.
So it looks like everything worked out for me. I managed to restore my phone with the help of the threads above. I have to admit though, the guides given on this forum aren't too "complete" - there's always a step or two missing from the guide that the reader has to figure out themselves. And not all the files are provided in the topics either! I'm also kind of concerned why it seems so many people ended up bricking their phone like that. Quite concerning.
In the end, I managed to reflash the stock ICS ROM for i9023 Nexus S which I found in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1445635
So I scrapped the one that I downloaded initially from Android Central. The difference in size was surprisingly roughly 30MB (160MB instead of the 130MB Android Central one).
I'm just using stock ICS, but rooted. Downloaded a few apps which require root, but haven't tried adding any mods or kernels. I might look into that later. But it seems like with 4.0.4 coming out, there might be some interesting new additions!
Thanks for all your help!!
Did you flash this ics from stock recovery?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Congratulations on resurrecting it! Are you guys saying that there is a risk of bricking a phone, while installing official update? I did a manual update, 3 weeks ago, unrooted, and ICS has been nothing but amazing for me.
I have a question. In case, I ever brick my I9023 (hope not).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20382688&postcount=16
This post states that I must be running Ubuntu on my PC. Does that mean I can't use Windows? And if I must use Linux, can I just do it with Wubi, or with Online Server?

[Q] Detailed tutorial (with pictures) on how to install eclipse/cm7, Droid X2

Hey xda,
I'm new to android. I recently purchased the droid X2 from verizon expecting to have an amazing phone, unfortunately, that's not what I got. What I did get, was a laggy, unresponsive, rebooting, bugged and otherwise annoyingly bothersome piece of electronics.
My main issues are: random shut downs, duplicate messages or empty sent messages, lock screen disappearing so I can't unlock my phone, drastic slowdown, and finally the luck having my music player messed up.
Through my research I have found that solutions to these problems can be achieved by installing a community OS made by people who truly care about how the phone works for the end user. My two favorites so far (from reviews) are eclipse and cm7.
As far as I can tell, I can't use Eclipse because I run 2.3.4 and I am unable to update to 2.3.5 (I have no knowledge of how to do so nor do I want to brick my phone by doing something I shouldn't be). Cm7 however, supports 2.3.4 and has solid reviews. Unfortunately, there are little to no detailed tutorials on how to go about installing this OS. There is >>http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1315711 and the cm7 install tutorial (21 lines of install this, then this, but don't do this, but do this, btw this might break your phone)
What I'm asking for is if anyone here knows of an extremely detailed tutorial for installation of cm7 on an x2 running 2.3.4 (preferrably with pictures) and that won't brick my phone)
Thank you
-RIT

[Q] Help me choose a ROM please

Hi,
so I have had a rooted phone for a while now, but I'm starting to get tired of the stock ROM so I thought I'd try something different. I've spent a couple of hours looking through these forums and I can't see the difference between the different cyanogenmod implementations, i.e. skrilax, dhacker and epinter all seem to have slightly different versions? Anyway, I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of a good ROM to use for a long period of time, say a month or so, without crashing *much*. I need bluetooth and camcorder working too, these also seem to be issues with some of them.
Alternatively, links some posts that help me better get my bearings on what's what would be well appreciated
Thanks
If you go with CyanogenMod, I would recommend using skrilax's builds since they are released every night and it works with the CM updater built into the ROM.
Camcorder works fine and Bluetooth is mostly OK, but I sometimes get random reboots while using Bluetooth headphones. Not sure if it's still a known issue or just some weird thing with my setup.
Also, your location says Melbourne, so I'm assuming you have the xt925? That might factor into some people's answers a little bit.
killrhythm09 said:
Also, your location says Melbourne, so I'm assuming you have the xt925? That might factor into some people's answers a little bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spot on
Anyway, thanks for the reply, but I was about to flash skrilax's ROM when I realised you said IF I choose cyanogenmod... is there a better alternative? I'd like something that's fast (unlike the stock rom is now -.-) and doesn't kill the battery, and some new features to play around with would be nice.
It really all depends on what you want. Some other ROMs like Paranoid Android, MIUI, AOKP, etc have more features than CM, but CM has always been rock solid from my experience (this phone and my previous one).
Doesn't hurt to experiment a little, either, as long as you keep nandroid backups handy.
I haven't heard any reports of significant increases in battery life on custom roms. I wonder if this is the case?
I actually would like to know what the longest screen on time and or standby time a person achieved with underclocking / undervolting etc.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD

[Q] Will a new ROM be all I ever dreamed of....?

Hi all! I'm a noob to the site and a noob to smartphone modifications, so please forgive me for my questions and concerns. I've used forums for years on many topics and found the knowledge base to be incredible, so I hope you guys will help me out, too.
So, while my Skyrocket has generally worked very well for the past 2+ years, I have always felt it's not living up to its potential. I've read numerous threads on many forums to see what my fellow Rocketeers were doing. I think I've come to the conclusion that flashing a new ROM is the way to go, but I am a bit wary since I've never done this nor know anyone who has. My thinking goes along the same lines as my experience with computers... If you buy a Dell, HP, etc., you get the garbage that the manufacturer bundles in along with Windows. If you wipe the HD and install your own clean copy of Windows, you can usually get better performance without all that other stuff. Hence, the idea for a new ROM for the phone.
A few things have me wondering, though... There seem to be more ROMs available than flavors of Linux! I know choice will end up being a personal thing. My goal is really simple... I just want a clean OS that is stable, efficient, and runs the basic functions I am accustomed to. So, I am not looking to experiment or push the envelope. I want a phone that doesn't crash at the worst possible time, and one that can actually make phone calls! I assume that I will still be able to use the Google Play store to download apps (after installing the plugin thingy). My phone is from AT&T and is unlocked. Will it say unlocked after flashing a new ROM? Will Visual Voicemail still work? I occasionally use FoxFi to create a mobile hotspot. Will I still be able to use it? Or do other ROMs already have this feature unlocked (or bypassed)? I use apps on my phone mostly for email (Yahho/Gmail), calendar, FB, Instagram, YouTube, taking photos/video, viewing forums, and the like, besides making phone calls. In other words, what should I expect from a new ROM? How will things be different? I'm really trying to gauge if this is a worthwhile endeavor for me.
Sorry for the long post. I appreciate your opinions and experience.
It's always worthwhile.
The Skyrocket, to me, was always a case of OEM software that limited its potential. If you really sit down and tweak it, custom ROM, new governor, overclock, it's a beast of a phone that can still keep pace today. You'll have to balance performance with battery life--overclocking and switching to a more aggressive governor doesn't do you any favors there, and some ROMs are better about battery life than others. It's a great phone with a lot of life left, though, much more so than the vanilla S2 because the Rocket has LTE capability.
To hit your other questions, any app that is available on the Play Store will work. If a ROM needs a second gapps flash to get the Play Store (along with everything else Google ships) back, that will be made available and is a very easy install. I've never unlocked a phone, but I don't believe that a new ROM would lose that. Wait for someone else to reply, but I'd be shocked if it did. As far as what you want, there's a ROM to suit any desires. Most ROMs are pretty basic and look and feel like you'd expect a Skyrocket to. Some are designed to feel a little more like iOS, some are designed to be stripped-down (and faster as a result), and some are based on stock firmware and very closely replicate the original experience. It's up to you to read through the dev forum for the Rocket and pick the experience that's best for you.
As far as how difficult it is, spend a couple hours reading about flashing, how it works and why it works. Once you have that basic understanding of it and can follow a few simple instructions that are pretty universal across ROMs, you're set.
Well, I'm giving this a try tonight. Fingers crossed!
One piece of advice: when you pick a new rom from "Android development" read the WHOLE thread associated with that rom, with special attention the the first couple of pages. Make sure you understand the process and any potential pitfalls.
First rom I tried I spent probably six hours reading. It was worth it.
Success!!! I now have the latest CandyKat running! It ended up being not too bad at all. Now I need to figure out how things are different from the AT&T Jelly Bean this replaces.
Thanks for the advice and thanks to everyone who contributes to the site,
I have Kandykat. It seems to be a good solid rom. The Google Now launcher is buggy though. I changed to Nova launcher. Other than that it's been fine.
Thanks for the tips, Chris. I've been using Launcher3. What's the difference between these launchers? Everything seems to be running fine on my rocket now. Any tips on increasing battery life? Any tips on some nice customization?
Google Now launcher seems to have the annoying habit of forgetting the screen setup (app positioning) during reboot. Launcher 3 also exhibited the same problem. Launchers are a matter of taste, but Nova launcher seems solid and looks right to me. YMMV. It's easy to try a few.

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