Database Info

First smartphone - help me get gingerbread!

Note: I'm hoping this is the correct place for this thread, hopefully others with this same phone would benefit from it, as this sub-forum seems barren of any guides on what I am looking for
After Christmas, I decided to get my first smart phone, the D2G. I ordered it through Newegg and had it linked to a family account on Verizon.
So what I currently have now is Android 2.2, System Version 2.4.330.A956.Verizon.en.us, and tons of Verizon branded bloat.
My goal is that I would like to install a vanilla version of gingerbread. Being my first smartphone, and my first time on these forums, I'm greatly lacking in knowledge of these phones and how to get from where I am at to where I want to be. What I do have, however, is an understanding of operating system architecture, UNIX experience and good technical knowledge of PCs. I understand what rooting means, what apps are, what a bootstrap does, however I know nothing of how to get or use these things on this phone, nor any idea where to look for this information. Because this phone is on contract (and thus only paid $150 for it), I'm hoping to minimize the risk of bricking it, or otherwise costing me more money.
What I am looking for: any information/guides/links that will help me to get me from Android 2.2 to a vanilla version of gingerbread on the D2G. From what I have gathered from other threads is that I need to root it (by installing z4root I read), boot in recovery mode, then install ROMs. None of those things I know how to do right now. I suppose helping me learn how to do those would be a great start.
tl;dr I need a layman's guide to get gingerbread on D2G
Thanks in advance for any help

To begin you won't be able to get Gingerbread until Motorola releases an update. The Droid 2 (and D2 Global) have a locked bootloader which means the kernel can't be changed except by Motorola. Without a kernel upgrade Gingerbread will remain out of reach.
You can, however, grab some things that have been backported from Gingerbread like the keyboard and theme. As time goes by more and more external things from Gingerbread will become available for non-GB users, but certain things that rely on the GB kernel will be elusive.
Now as for FroYo, there currently isn't a completely working AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROM yet. Fission and GummyJAR strip away as much Blur as possible and work towards AOSP. Unleashed, Ultimate Droid, and Tanzanite are all AOSP ROMs in development but are lacking full functionality at the moment. Basically you've got to pick your poison: AOSP-like that works or AOSP that's not quite done.
Given that you have a D2 Global I'd personally hold off on changing ROMs at the moment. The D2G SBF (System Boot File) hasn't been leaked yet so if anything were to go wrong while changing ROMs your phone would be bricked until the SBF is released. A SBF allows you to revert your phone back to its out-of-the-box state should anything go wrong; your phone can be in a boot loop but you can turn it on in a way that will allow you to get things back to square one at least. Without the SBF you're really taking a gamble.

Alright, so I take it I just got too new of a phone then ~_~
thanks

Don't be too upset that your phone is too new yet...
Just be very careful with what you try for now.
It is just over a year since I got my first Droid and while there were plenty of hacks and roms for that back then, few were really STABLE. It didn't take long before not only were stable roms available, they were far better and included features that were not supposed to be on the phone.
Including overclocking it to twice the stock speed.
The D2G is in a similar place right now but the whole "eFuse" thing makes hacking a lot trickier. Its much easier to brick a D2/DX than an original Droid.
BUt progress is being made and there is little doubt in my mind that all the devs out there will make this phone what it should be just like they did with the Droid.
Gingerbread will get to us eventually, but for now Fission rom has already improved my D2G 100% over stock.

rogerdugans said:
Gingerbread will get to us eventually, but for now Fission rom has already improved my D2G 100% over stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interested in Fission, but as I have previously stated, I'm quite clueless for the time being
Is this something that is safe?

Kenshin- said:
Interested in Fission, but as I have previously stated, I'm quite clueless for the time being
Is this something that is safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want 100% safe- leave your phone exactly as you received it.
Seriously.
There is risk in doing this stuff, even when we are simply taking advantage of the very risky work done by devs to figure out HOW to modify our phones.
Generally speaking, the longer you wait the less risky it is, but the fact is that there is never ZERO danger to it. Even if all the mods and hacks you use are time tested and there has not been a single bug found by anyone- flashing a rom can go wrong and leave a device bricked.
Even flashing a manufacturer provided BIOS on a computer has risk.
All of that said, if you want to minimize risk, wait just a little while for the bugs to be worked out more thoroughly.
I just saw that there is now an SBF for the D2G last night- that helps provide a buffer for accidents (disaster recovery!) but I don't know how well tested it is. We should know fairly soon- quite a few folks with bricked phones have been waiting for it!
I would say that right now the D2G has risk in the "moderate" range- new phone, not that much dev time, etc.
The only other phone I have personal experience with is the original Droid- risk on that is "minimal." Hard to kill those things.
All that said, I have accepted the risk and did so before the sbf was out. I have had no problems at all so far.
IF you choose to do so, I highly recommend following instructions exactly and making sure you know what you are doing and why.
I don't mean to talk you or anyone else out of improving their smart phone, but I do believe that realistic risk assessment is a wise thing to do before starting.

I used the SBF to flash my phone 2 days ago, with no issues.

rogerdugans said:
Generally speaking, the longer you wait the less risky it is, but the fact is that there is never ZERO danger to it.
...
All of that said, if you want to minimize risk, wait just a little while for the bugs to be worked out more thoroughly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a D2 and I got it pretty new a few months ago it was my first Android phone but I watched the forums and learned as things became available how to do it all. I watched as the device everyone thought wasn't even going to get root access got it, then the ROMs came; it wasn't easy and they aren't like the ROMs that came for previous devices because of the locks Moto put on the phone. But, we were happy with it and I've been pleasantly surprised at what the devs have come up with and have been running custom ROMs so long I don't remember what stock was even like. I just know it wasn't as cool as the custom stuff I'm running.
So hang in there and read all you can about your device or similar devices (D2, DX, DPro) so that when something comes along that you want to try you know what to do to make it work and what to do if it doesn't go as planned.

ROMs (Beginning to End)

I've been in the Development forum and the threads are sometimes over 400 pages. I was wanting to see a more concise thread on what you're using. Specifically the ROM, the kernel, the radio, etc. If you're having any issues please add them and let me know how the ROM is working for you. I'm interested in a few different ROMs, but chosing which kernel and radio to get them to work properly is a pain to find in the 200-400 page threads.

Most of us rep our current ROM and kernel in our sigs. I personally tried to link the radio too, but the URL was too long.
As to the length of threads/ forums, you can refine your search to the current forum or thread you are on right above the thread/ post list at the right of the frame.

They tried doing this a few months back, doing reviews about roms and known bugs and such. It didn't get very far. While its a good idea, the very nature of roms is "change" so while a review might be valid and have the correct bugs, it could be invalid next week, due to update made to the rom. The best way to evaluate a rom your considering choosing, is reading the change log, and the last ten or more pages of the roms thread, that should give you an idea if any one is having any major bugs.

ROMs are based personally. Try them all then pick.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Maybe if the Roms stated "Final Version" on them you could pull this off. But None do.

After a lot of unhelpful replies, I'll respond to the question the person actually asked.
I'm using Lees Rom and Kernal and LOVE it. I settle on it after a friend told me it was his favorite and after trying about 4 other ROMs with crappy results.
It is loaded with features and it also has a patch to use Sense 3.0. I personally like Sense more than any custom attempts I have seen and 3.0 is worlds better than 2.x
I still have the stock radio because I can't seem to get it to update. I have been trying by renaming the radio img zip to P98img.zip (or whatever its called) and updating through the bootloader on the phone. But it always gives me an error parsing the package.
Only thing that worries me is that for some reason (the last few times I tried) I couldn't get into bootloader/recovery by holding volume- while booting. So if the phone ever gets locked up, I'm not sure how to recover. You can get into either through the custom power down menu though which is very cool.

weregoingunion said:
After a lot of unhelpful replies, I'll respond to the question the person actually asked.
I'm using Lees Rom and Kernal and LOVE it. I settle on it after a friend told me it was his favorite and after trying about 4 other ROMs with crappy results.
It is loaded with features and it also has a patch to use Sense 3.0. I personally like Sense more than any custom attempts I have seen and 3.0 is worlds better than 2.x
I still have the stock radio because I can't seem to get it to update. I have been trying by renaming the radio img zip to P98img.zip (or whatever its called) and updating through the bootloader on the phone. But it always gives me an error parsing the package.
Only thing that worries me is that for some reason (the last few times I tried) I couldn't get into bootloader/recovery by holding volume- while booting. So if the phone ever gets locked up, I'm not sure how to recover. You can get into either through the custom power down menu though which is very cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I'm sure you'll be back to update your post once those issues in Lee's ROM are resolved, or you figure out it wasn't the ROM fault, after all, or if you decide you don't like sense anymore, right?
That's what those "unhelpful" posts were trying to get across.
These things change. ROMs get fixed.
Sometimes users of ROMs pull their heads out of their ass' and figure out their problems were actually of their own creation, after they blamed the ROM.
So when a new user comes around a month from now, finds a best ROM post that has obsolete information, that new user will form an unfair opinion of what might now be (or always was) a great ROM.
Now *that's* unhelpful.

weregoingunion said:
Only thing that worries me is that for some reason (the last few times I tried) I couldn't get into bootloader/recovery by holding volume- while booting. So if the phone ever gets locked up, I'm not sure how to recover. You can get into either through the custom power down menu though which is very cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
be sure you have Fastboot turned off in Applications.
Another thing you can do is download Quickboot from the market...then boot into bootloader from there. Quickboot>bootloader

weregoingunion said:
After a lot of unhelpful replies, I'll respond to the question the person actually asked..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? You call me unhelpfull for being honest yet you post and don't even post anything helpful. infact you noobed the whole post. You can't even flash a radio...Or figure out how to boot into recovery....Your Rom information is valueless. You should jump off your pedistal before you fall....Or someone pushes you....

tweaked said:
Really? You call me unhelpfull for being honest yet you post and don't even post anything helpful. infact you noobed the whole post. You can't even flash a radio...Or figure out how to boot into recovery....Your Rom information is valueless. You should jump off your pedistal before you fall....Or someone pushes you....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it was that "alot of unhelpful replies" part that did it for me.

I'm not looking to find out what Rom is best, but to see what combinations of roms, kernels, and radios you guys are using. It's almost impossible to find an exact combo and even harder to dig thru the threads to see what people are using.

I browse a lot of threads, have only commented a few times. Been browsing for a couple years when I flashed different WinMo 6.5 roms on my ATT Fuze, as well as loading and running Android 2.1 and 2.2 from the SD card on the same phone. I will +1 some of the advice heard here so far:
Start by looking at threads where the ROM's have been updated recently (within the ten days for me). Check the change log to see if it's new features, upgrades, or bug fixes in the current updates. Or if it's a mix of it all, but look for things that interest you. Then, as stated earlier in this thread, check the last ten pages, at least the ones since the current update became available.
Also, it helps me to watch who is responding on the threads. Many users will became recognizable to you by name and avatar, and watch their post counts too. Lastly, check their signatures, most of the active senior members keep it updated with the information you are looking for. If they put it in the sig, it's because they are happy with what works and want to share it. Until the next thing better comes along.
PS, yes, I don't post a lot and yes I'm still on stock. Running dual OS's on my fuze was easy, don't feel comfortable yet pulling the trigger on my Inspire, but I'm off for the summer soon, more time to spend on it.

louslugger15 said:
I'm not looking to find out what Rom is best, but to see what combinations of roms, kernels, and radios you guys are using. It's almost impossible to find an exact combo and even harder to dig thru the threads to see what people are using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know you don't want to look through the threads, but that is kind of the requirement. Every rom, kernel, and radio is going to work differently on every phone. It's like buying to exact same lap tops with the same exact os and programs, and with out doing any thing, the next day one of them crashes.
To be honest, and as helpful as I can, the only way is read the last few posts in the thread, to see if there is any major bugs. Then flash the rom, kernel, and or radio and test them out on your phone.

louslugger15 said:
I'm not looking to find out what Rom is best, but to see what combinations of roms, kernels, and radios you guys are using. It's almost impossible to find an exact combo and even harder to dig thru the threads to see what people are using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the the thing, though. There'll be at least one person running every possible combo out there.
One will say it's da bomb, another will say it froze his phone.

mudknot2005 said:
I know you don't want to look through the threads, but that is kind of the requirement. Every rom, kernel, and radio is going to work differently on every phone. It's like buying to exact same lap tops with the same exact os and programs, and with out doing any thing, the next day one of them crashes.
To be honest, and as helpful as I can, the only way is read the last few posts in the thread, to see if there is any major bugs. Then flash the rom, kernel, and or radio and test them out on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 and ditto
What is the main point/purpose/question of starting this thread?
You say you don't want to find the "best" rom (granted your thread title does have the word ROM in it).....so you are trying to find the best combo correct? (which still depends on what you are trying to get out of the combo)
........And like its been said.....really just look at the sigs and the more "serious" devotees will have their ROM and more info all written in the sig (which is a two-fold thing 1. it promotes the work 2. for these type of questions (to give a sort-of consensus)
But that doesn't necessarily mean it will solve whatever you are trying to get out of this thread.......
because everything changes so rapidly, you have to keep up......or basically find the "best" parts that you won't/don't change much (like radios, etc.) and find the one you like.......then focus on the changeables like Rom, etc. because your view on roms change more frequently than the others.
All these types of topics are very subjective....and takes reading to find a "decent" answer to your question.....in the end your surrounded by a great community (XDA)...but ultimately your alone
If you get what im saying...
You could do the popularity thing......see whats in the sigs, and do that
If it works good for you.....don't worry about whats "best/better".......because you won't know whats better, you will just know what is working good for YOU (which is all that matters)
Lastly....to "answer your question".....lol......read my sig :-D

[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] Does whole disk encryption get lost in the shuffle?

Hey all,
I was intending to ask this question in the Android Revolution thread, but on account of my new-ness, the system wants me to ask it here. That said, I did search the thread for keywords, and it doesn't look like anyone has discussed / addressed this issue from the angle I'm inquiring about.
(Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1098849&highlight=encryption)
Basically, I've read a lot of people talking about not wanting to have to enable whole device encryption on their phones, and it appears that there was some complication with how Exchange policies tried to force them to. I'm approaching this from the opposite perspective. I want to enable whole disk/device encryption on my phone, and I'm wondering if, and if so why, the feature is removed in ICS roms.
I'm a bit of a security freak, and whole disk encryption is something I'd like to have on the phone. So is this something that has been taken out intentionally (implying that there's no demand for it, and a rom won't likely bring it back), or is it just a compatibility issue (suggesting that someone might be working on it, and I just need to sit tight).
I'd finish by noting that I've never really had much success getting a response on XDA. If I'm approaching this wrong, please tell me.

Did you manage to sort this in the end?
It seems that HTC have removed this feature from the stock ROM for no real reason other than to force you to update to a newer phone if you want it.
I can't even S-OFF mine with Revolutionary so if I just had a patch to enable this feature on the stock ROM (I have the HTC Dev unlock working fine) that'd be excellent.

Hexgore said:
Did you manage to sort this in the end?
It seems that HTC have removed this feature from the stock ROM for no real reason other than to force you to update to a newer phone if you want it.
I can't even S-OFF mine with Revolutionary so if I just had a patch to enable this feature on the stock ROM (I have the HTC Dev unlock working fine) that'd be excellent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, unfortunately not.
Nobody seems to have (or want to share) an explanation to this issue. To be frank, I find it somewhat odd that there has been complete silence on an issue that is so fundamental to mobile security.
But, as mentioned, no luck figuring this one out. I'm using Revolutionary now, it works great, but no whole disk encryption.

No one cares about security around these parts by the looks of it.
CM9 has disk encryption apparently, as should any ICS ROM not based on Sense 3.6. I have the latest HBOOT but I've just found a guide which should help me run CM9 on my phone anyway, so I'll give that a shot and see what happens

Hexgore said:
No one cares about security around these parts by the looks of it.
CM9 has disk encryption apparently, as should any ICS ROM not based on Sense 3.6. I have the latest HBOOT but I've just found a guide which should help me run CM9 on my phone anyway, so I'll give that a shot and see what happens
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Click to collapse
yes..try other roms..as the stock ICS roms and custom sense ROMS didnt have this feature afaik
so mobile security is your concern and if it is a must have thing
you can flash cm9 as you said it has that feature
and also with just unlocked bootloader and 3.32 firmware you can flash any custom rom ..and i think i no need to link the guide to you too as it seems you have already found it
good luck

Got CM9 running fine but the data encryption doesn't work at the moment. I just get a picture of an Android robot in half and nothing happens. Hopefully this will be fixed for the upcoming release candidate, we will see.

[Q] Question and Rant about getting custom recovery and flashing custom roms

So i'm well aware that the 4.3 ota has screwed over a lot of us galaxy sIII verizon users. I used to happily install custom roms over CWM Recovery. Trust me, I know this has been asked time and again but there is a twist to my post so bare with me if you are one of those people with the fame of suggesting a feeble search when searching for a post with a similar topic in this case (as in related to this particular topic) usually just causes more confusion with an assortment of vague answers from the same people who suggested the search. Anyway, I am another dummy who installed 4.3 ota after running into some problems that led me eventually to reflash stock and to my dismay I accidentally used the 4.3 rom. It goes without saying what kind of problems I had to deal with after that, especially trying to deal with the ugly touchwiz interface.
SO MY QUESTION. Is there any progress from any devs that would suggest a fix in the near future? I am highly doubtful of this, and am pretty much considering dumping this phone altogether. But if someone can at least humor me, or suggest an alternative phone on the verizon network that is worth the but, and doesn't bring with it the problems that I have now, that would be great, I'm all ears.
I know current solutions consist of safestrapping (touchwiz based only roms as far i've read), or just rooting and installing mods to ease the situation. I've also read about other possible exploits like lokis which as far I know went nowhere.

carlofabyss said:
So i'm well aware that the 4.3 ota has screwed over a lot of us galaxy sIII verizon users. I used to happily install custom roms over CWM Recovery. Trust me, I know this has been asked time and again but there is a twist to my post so bare with me if you are one of those people with the fame of suggesting a feeble search when searching for a post with a similar topic in this case (as in related to this particular topic) usually just causes more confusion with an assortment of vague answers from the same people who suggested the search. Anyway, I am another dummy who installed 4.3 ota after running into some problems that led me eventually to reflash stock and to my dismay I accidentally used the 4.3 rom. It goes without saying what kind of problems I had to deal with after that, especially trying to deal with the ugly touchwiz interface.
SO MY QUESTION. Is there any progress from any devs that would suggest a fix in the near future? I am highly doubtful of this, and am pretty much considering dumping this phone altogether. But if someone can at least humor me, or suggest an alternative phone on the verizon network that is worth the but, and doesn't bring with it the problems that I have now, that would be great, I'm all ears.
I know current solutions consist of safestrapping (touchwiz based only roms as far i've read), or just rooting and installing mods to ease the situation. I've also read about other possible exploits like lokis which as far I know went nowhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No known progress, could be some progress behind the scenes. Remember, if someone does find an exploit for the s5 the s3 will likely have the same vulnerability. Nobody is going to tell anybody they're working on it.
Only phones I know of that can be unlocked are the HTC m7 and m8. I think all other phones are locked, but maybe the LG phones can be unlocked.

carlofabyss said:
So i'm well aware that the 4.3 ota has screwed over a lot of us galaxy sIII verizon users. I used to happily install custom roms over CWM Recovery. Trust me, I know this has been asked time and again but there is a twist to my post so bare with me if you are one of those people with the fame of suggesting a feeble search when searching for a post with a similar topic in this case (as in related to this particular topic) usually just causes more confusion with an assortment of vague answers from the same people who suggested the search. Anyway, I am another dummy who installed 4.3 ota after running into some problems that led me eventually to reflash stock and to my dismay I accidentally used the 4.3 rom. It goes without saying what kind of problems I had to deal with after that, especially trying to deal with the ugly touchwiz interface.
SO MY QUESTION. Is there any progress from any devs that would suggest a fix in the near future? I am highly doubtful of this, and am pretty much considering dumping this phone altogether. But if someone can at least humor me, or suggest an alternative phone on the verizon network that is worth the but, and doesn't bring with it the problems that I have now, that would be great, I'm all ears.
I know current solutions consist of safestrapping (touchwiz based only roms as far i've read), or just rooting and installing mods to ease the situation. I've also read about other possible exploits like lokis which as far I know went nowhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most Motorola Droids are unlock able now! I had a Motorola RAZR m before this phone, and when the new kitkat update rolled out, the old bootloader came back in, allowing you to root with towelroot and unlock your bootloader with the motopocalypse app! Check them out. Droid RAZR m is pretty cheap. Definitely worth it if you like customizations.
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