Photon Q - Upgrade ram to 2GB
I have yesterday upgraded on one xt897 mainboard original Elpida 1GB LPDDR2 to new Samsung 2GB LPDDR2 K3PE0E000A-XGC2.
I have first carefully desoldered old ram from msm8960 SOC, then i make all balls on cpu flat, then cleaning and then soldering new RAM.
Phone boots normally without problem. BUT problem is, that is still visible only 1GB.
I am sure, that MSM8960 can support 2GB RAM (for example Blackberry Q5).
If anyone have idea , how to use full 2GB RAM, then please let me know
...tomorrow i will post some pictures
this would be really great.
maybe its all about the BSP?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_support_package
http://www.ti.com/devnet/docs/catalog/embeddedsoftwarefulldetails.tsp?productId=22800
Wow! I'd buy this if you can get it to work...
Does it need a kernel mod or something?
boofus said:
Wow! I'd buy this if you can get it to work...
Does it need a kernel mod or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing you didn't read the entire post (which you also quoted...)
CornholioGSM said:
Phone boots normally without problem. BUT problem is, that is still visible only 1GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
arrrghhh said:
I'm guessing you didn't read the entire post (which you also quoted...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the whole post.
It might be that a kernel mod or boot option is needed to detect all the RAM. Some old linux systems had to have the kernel re-built for different amounts of RAM. That isn't likely here I'd guess, but it's possible that it is hard coded or need a menuconfig change or a boot option. I don't know anything about the kernel on the photon Q, so thought I'd ask.
CornholioGSM said:
Photon Q - Upgrade ram to 2GB
I have yesterday upgraded on one xt897 mainboard original Elpida 1GB LPDDR2 to new Samsung 2GB LPDDR2 K3PE0E000A-XGC2.
I have first carefully desoldered old ram from msm8960 SOC, then i make all balls on cpu flat, then cleaning and then soldering new RAM.
Phone boots normally without problem. BUT problem is, that is still visible only 1GB.
I am sure, that MSM8960 can support 2GB RAM (for example Blackberry Q5).
If anyone have idea , how to use full 2GB RAM, then please let me know
...tomorrow i will post some pictures
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any news regarding 2GB mod? Have you tried contacting kabaldan?
---UFO--- said:
Do you have any news regarding 2GB mod? Have you tried contacting kabaldan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, still waiting for updates
Nadlabak heve one 2gb unit from me
Cornholio, if this works out, you're my hero - again. If I'm ever in CZ again I'll try to find you and buy you a keg. [I'd say a beer, but that doesn't express enough appreciation - even tho the Budweiser there is better than the US "beer" with the same name.] You already figured out the sim slot (and modded a couple phones for me), which allowed me to use PQ when I worked for a company (in US) that gave me free AT&T phone & sim (for which I move the sim to PQ). But, after many years arguing PQ is the best and can do it all, I'm finally getting to the point I was thinking about getting a new phone (moto z with keyboard mod)., not cuz I want a bigger screen or even cuz I want LTE (which I now have with freedompop anyway), but because of the limited memory (and desire to run new apps and switch between them faster). So more TP you to my friend.
Hi all,
If adding RAM is possible, my XT897 could work perfectly. I'm daily using it as the best phone ever for IT supporting with qwerty keyboard.
As someone mentioned above,
(1) In case of Kernel built with 1GB RAM option. It would not easy to get the kernel source to rebulit it.
(2) Boot option problem. In my understanding, linux kernel would auto recognize RAM size at boot. It might not the cause of issue.
(3) My guess some circuit modification is needed. such as address bus for the RAM chip A0...A19 for 1GB RAM and A0....A20 for 2GB RAM. Is there anything like jumper to ensure connecting the new A20 pin correctly?
Sorry for my English and hope this help
Ric
-------------------
Motorola Photon Q XT897 with Sim Mod , LineageOS 14.1
Thank You
i mean , that it is problem inside bootloader - bl is preprogrammed for 1gb ram.
i am able to solder to SOC processor new 2gb ram and it works without problem.
BUT .... visible is only 1GB.
I am only stupid HW technician, but this is "sw" problem and i dont know how to solve this problem
@CornholioGSM
Likely all you need is to pass a simple command to the kernel on the very early boot phase.
Probably something like mem=2G would be enough.
So pretty simple in theory and also pretty simple in linux on a PC (all you have to do is to add that command to grub.cfg assuming you use grub as bootloader).
In android is a bit more complicate because (I guess) you have to unpack and repack the boot.img and possibly the zimage (the kernel) which is inside the boot image.
And that procedure is slightly different across various devices, so experimentation and some work will be needed.
I could look in to that, but obviously a modded logic board in my hands would help a lot the process.
Did you try seeing if the bootloader can see it from fastboot with the "mfastboot getvar all" command?
Follow this guide: http://www.hardreset.info/devices/motorola/motorola-xt897-photon-q-4g-lte/faq/read-info-fastboot/
Also: I don't know about the bootloader in the XT897, but most ARM bootloaders use devicetree to tell the kernel about things like RAM configuration. I suspect that this will take priority over boot parameters, but I don't know for sure. What might be needed is a kernel that forces a specific RAM configuration.
Hi,
Great to see everyone contributing...I will take this opportunity to clear things up and focus on what actually needs to be done to get this working.
1. Those who mentioned getting hold of a BSP and SoC manuals are on the right track, but it is very difficult to get these from Qualcomm. It could only be through some back-channel via a dev at a big company that used the MSM8960. Getting access to this would be *huge*. Alternatively, a knowledgable person who has worked on an MSM8960 or similar Qualcomm SoC design.
2. boofus is correct in that the bootloader ordinarily passes memory map (and other) info to the kernel via devicetree. Either the bootloader needs modifying to pass a new memory map, or this has to be overridden in the platform code in the kernel (not difficult).
3. Changing commandline arges to the kernel is trivial (don't even need to rebuild anything, just extract the boot.img partition, edit and reflash--I have done this many times to tweak kernel args), but saying mem=2GB on the kernel commandline is unlikely to have any effect, because the kernel doesn't have a memory map describing at which physical address additional RAM is present.
4. Moreover, the DDR2 memory controller in the SoC has to be programmed to enable the 2nd chip select for the upper half of RAM. If this is not done, then the RAM is not even in the physical memory map. So any attempt to get this working must start here.
Currently, both nadlabak and I have 2 GB modded boards for testing. I'm stretched for time at the moment to look into this--much as I would *love* to have 2 GB--as someone else noted, 2 GB on the Photon Q would bring it back up to a usable level.
We would be *very* lucky if the Moto-supplied bootloader senses attached memory and configures the DDR2 controller accordingly, and even more lucky if this mapping was added to the device tree. It also has to be taken into account the baseband memory. This will fall somewhere in the physical memory map, and the memory made available to the kernel has to be outside the areas used by the baseband.
IF the xt897 bootloader is highly generic and used on other Moto phones with differing amounts of RAM, it *may* automatically detect and set everything up. If it does we would be *very* lucky. It's easy to see if this is being passed to the kernel via the devicetree, and presumably, in this case, the bootloader would also print the found memory size when booting into one or more of the bootloader stages using the key combos. Once I get my modded board into a phone I can at least check these trivial points. I have a handy comandline tool for probing physical memory, so I can easily get the existing memory map, and from that infer location of added memory. Then it is easy to attempt reading and writing where the extra memory would be if the DDR2 controller were appropriately configured, and see if memory is actually present.
More likely, the bootloader is hard-coded with the 1 GB memory map and programs the DDR2 controller accordingly. If so, to get additional RAM working requires:
1. Reprogram the DDR2 controller to enable 2nd CS. If we had the MSM8960 SoC manual and ability to extract and disassemble the relevant loader and replace it with a modified one, this would be almost trivial. However, I understand there may be encryption or signature verification preventing us from modifying early stage loaders. (This is also a fast way to permanently brick a phone, so we'd have to test changes on throwaway boards first.) If loader is protected, then we'd have to reprogram the controller on-the-fly. This probably can be done, possibly even within the kernel, if we don't have the ability to change the early loader(s), but may be a little complex, since reconfiguring the DDR2 controller may make memory temporarily inaccessible. Hence techniques such as locking the controller re-programming code into cache and waiting for the controller to come up again may be needed. However, this may crash the baseband. If the controller supports reprogramming without interruption, this would make things vastly simpler. All we need is the MSM8960 manual and specifically, the sections describing the memory map and DDR2 controller.
2. Once memory controller is reprogrammed, it's trivial to hack the new memory map into the kernel, whether or not we can change the devicetree passed from the loader.
TL;DR: yes we all want to get 2 GB working; it's almost certainly not trivial; it probably can be done, but likely requires extensive effort and knowledge from someone who has designed a product using the MSM8960, or access to manuals, or extensive reverse-engineering effort.
If anyone would like to step up please say so. I'll work on it myself as I have time and hope nadlabak will too. I personally can't wait to get a working 2 GB xt897.
---------- Post added at 04:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:11 AM ----------
In sum, if anyone has access to any of the following, *please* let us know:
- MSM8960 SoC manuals;
- Knows someone who has developed MSM8960-based products or otherwise has knowledge of the MSM8960 architecture and especially the memory controller;
- Knows something about the xt897 or typical Moto bootloader structure, whether Moto often shares bootloaders across devices, and most importantly what loader stages there are, and whether each of these is encrypted/signature-verified, precluding making changes, or whether we can change it.
CornholioGSM said:
Photon Q - Upgrade ram to 2GB
I have yesterday upgraded on one xt897 mainboard original Elpida 1GB LPDDR2 to new Samsung 2GB LPDDR2 K3PE0E000A-XGC2.
I have first carefully desoldered old ram from msm8960 SOC, then i make all balls on cpu flat, then cleaning and then soldering new RAM.
Phone boots normally without problem. BUT problem is, that is still visible only 1GB.
I am sure, that MSM8960 can support 2GB RAM (for example Blackberry Q5).
If anyone have idea , how to use full 2GB RAM, then please let me know
...tomorrow i will post some pictures
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need to make custom software to support this mod. I recently purchased this phone and the amount of hardware mods i has blows me away. I am excited and scared to do all these things, I spent 150$ USD on this sim modded Photon Q to replace my Droid 4 and the idea of losing it all freaks me out BAD.
Back to the software, the problem is that all the device/kernel configurations are built around 1GB ram, so they will only utilize 1GB of the 2GB of ram, assuming the system even detects it at all! Its neat that you have done this, now that you have modded the hardware, its time for you to mod the software
Once again, the main problem is that I need the MSM8960 application processor developer manual. Someone who has worked on this SoC could make the manual available to me (anonymously due to NDA).
I hope someone can help me here!
CornholioGSM said:
Thank You
i mean , that it is problem inside bootloader - bl is preprogrammed for 1gb ram.
i am able to solder to SOC processor new 2gb ram and it works without problem.
BUT .... visible is only 1GB.
I am only stupid HW technician, but this is "sw" problem and i dont know how to solve this problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we could grab a bootloader file and edit it (probably with hex edit grrr) we might be able to see if it just lists the hardware values, and in that case simply add 1024 to the ram value
Surprised no one has given this a peak. I'll give it a shot if I have any time but if I **** it up someone is getting their phone bricked.
CornholioGSM said:
Photon Q - Upgrade ram to 2GB
I have yesterday upgraded on one xt897 mainboard original Elpida 1GB LPDDR2 to new Samsung 2GB LPDDR2 K3PE0E000A-XGC2.
I have first carefully desoldered old ram from msm8960 SOC, then i make all balls on cpu flat, then cleaning and then soldering new RAM.
Phone boots normally without problem. BUT problem is, that is still visible only 1GB.
I am sure, that MSM8960 can support 2GB RAM (for example Blackberry Q5).
If anyone have idea , how to use full 2GB RAM, then please let me know
...tomorrow i will post some pictures
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you solved this problem? I also encountered the same problem. The 2GB running memory chip I replaced was BA164B1PF. And the eSIM chip was removed, and the mini SIM card slot was installed. In addition, I replaced the CPU at the same time, and now the status code number has become 1.So it is became an engineering machine, and the BootLoader lock is completely invalid.
not solved...and i am now on fxtec phone. I have not changed whole cpu (why) i have changed only ram...whole problem is, that data on one emmc partition are paired with cpu...same problem happens if you change emmc from another mainboard.
CornholioGSM said:
not solved...and i am now on fxtec phone. I have not changed whole cpu (why) i have changed only ram...whole problem is, that data on one emmc partition are paired with cpu...same problem happens if you change emmc from another mainboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very old mobile phones do not have the problem you mentioned. The reason I did this is that my technique is very poor and I cannot repaint the upper layer of the CPU with tin. I am just an DIY amateur. In addition, I tested other mobile phones using the same CPU and found that Motorola not only limits the RAM capacity, but also the speed, which is only about half of normal.
I replaced the emmc chip, and the test proved that 64GB of storage space can be successfully used, and faster, except for games. I have some additional questions that I need your help, and I have already emailed you.
Related
Hi, does anyone know if it is possible to load an alternative OS like android on a feature phone? by this I mean phones that have an integrated processor, not like a cortex or a qualcomm one that you can easily find it's clock in the phone's spec sheet. I've been having a terrible time trying to figure this out, and having no results.
I also know that for some phones, this is possible, but they must have some sort of a capable processor and a considerable amount of ram and rom. However, my phone's pretty limited in those terms, but I still think it might be able to load an alternative OS.
BTW my mobile is a samsung s5600
thanks.
I think it is a Samsung S5600 is impossible. because it is just a telephone. In the phone is quite different RAM modules and CPU, which is much weaker and easier.
Sorry for my bad english
no problem, I understood
I still think that with an old android firmware (like 1.5 or 1.6), the phone might be able to withstand it, as they don't require too much ram or a fast CPU. as for rom space, I have no idea...
I really hope to get a dev interested
2.2 requires least ram but would need alot more work with the kernal to port over
yeah, I've heard that somewhere around.
do you know what about v1.6?
P.S.: btw i just found out this phone has an MSM6280 chipset which has in itself an ARM926EJ-S processor
And then there's the fact that someone would have to write drivers for the chipset, graphics, sound, and everything else that the OS is meant to talk to...
Isn't that all integrated in the chipset itself? I mean, wouldn't it just need the chipset driver only in that case?
anyway, the question still remains though. is it really possible or definately not?
Thanks
Android Newbie Alert: What are the disadvantages of the small 1Gb internal memory with the Galaxy S 4g?
I am trying to decide whether to trade my new G2 in for this phone but I'm worried about the small rom space. I am very tech savvy and plan on putting it through the full paces once I've learned how.
Will there be problems with flashing new roms; multibooting; backing up/restoring?
Limitations to rom types or mods; roms beyond Gingerbread?
Won't a small drive make it slower? I've heard some say the 16Gb on the Vibrant makes it slower. Which is true? (In a Windows PC more space for your system partition = faster system, if you keep the partition within a reasonable size--say 60Gb. True for Android OS?)
I would also think having most apps installed to the SD card would slow things down a lot. I will use my class 6 SD card of course, because I'm sure HTC will stick us with their lousy class 2 cards.
The vibrant lags really bad due to the internal storage, however there ext4 lag fixes that will rid of this problem. The gs4g us low on app storage, only 512 mb but others are reporting even less. The gs4g is very responsive and doesn't lag what so ever. So far I'm liking the gs4g a lot. Just waiting for some custom roms and then it will be all good.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App
Samsung know that and I know that is it is the purpose: Difficulty the Modding
jonvaz said:
Samsung know that and I know that is it is the purpose: Difficulty the Modding
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't understand. Can you rewrite? I think you mean the modding will be a problem because of the small space? What problems? Will I regret trading from 4Gb space on the G2?
tq745: You are one of the people who traded the G2 for SGS4G. How many apps do you have installed? Any problems so far? I wish there were roms out already so people could tell me if they're having problems. I need to decide fast. I may already be over my 14 day trial period; I'm afraid to look.
My decision is wavering on potential problems with modding/rom flashing/app storage, and one other thing: The upgraded 4G modem. Others are saying there may be a software upgrade for this??? Or else I may be able to open it up and solder a new modem into my G2??? I think I'll post separately about this in the G2 forum. This would sell me on the G2.
I dont think there will be any problems with custom roms as othe phones have even less rom (nexus one, evo), the problem comes with apps being installed and will probley require you to move apps to SD. I use titanium to move apps to SD.
Had an Aria before my g2. It has a very small amount of system memory and I never had any issues flashing new roms. You can configure Cyanogen to force installation of apps to the sd card to avoid filling the internal memory. Not sure what other roms support that. Otherwise you will have to do some basic housekeeping to move apps to the sd to save memory. Removing bloatware helps too.
I am running cm7 gingerbread on a g2 now and storage management has improved even more. I'm getting the s4g next week and my only concern is that I have always been a HTC guy because they tend to have the most dev support. However the galaxy phones seem to be well supported by the community as well. Looking forward to the extra display size and slimmer form factor.
I'll post again when I get mine.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
So far the only real problem I'm seeing with the internal storage is not being able to run Lag-Fix...but really...I don't think you're going to need it. I wanted to run it just to see IF it would speed it up a little more (You know...squeeze out everything you can) but the program is telling I don't have enough internal storage...oh well.
Other than that...Um...Yeah. You will probably eventually have to move some stuff over to the SD. Not that big of an issue, though...I don't think.
As someone else mentioned, root, get rid of bloat ware and use Titanium Pro to move apps to sd and you should not have a problem.
gggirlgeek said:
Android Newbie Alert: What are the disadvantages of the small 1Gb internal memory with the Galaxy S 4g?
I am trying to decide whether to trade my new G2 in for this phone but I'm worried about the small rom space. I am very tech savvy and plan on putting it through the full paces once I've learned how.
Will there be problems with flashing new roms; multibooting; backing up/restoring?
Limitations to rom types or mods; roms beyond Gingerbread?
Won't a small drive make it slower? I've heard some say the 16Gb on the Vibrant makes it slower. Which is true? (In a Windows PC more space for your system partition = faster system, if you keep the partition within a reasonable size--say 60Gb. True for Android OS?)
I would also think having most apps installed to the SD card would slow things down a lot. I will use my class 6 SD card of course, because I'm sure HTC will stick us with their lousy class 2 cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If my understanding of the Galaxy S 4G is correct, you get a 1 GB internal memory (ROM) that's complemented by an included 16 GB microSD memory card, and you can upgrade to optional 32 GB microSD card. Both the 3G and 4G have an additional 512MB of system RAM. Once ClockworkMod is working properly and giving access to modify the internal ROM, the 1GB internal memory will be more than enough to allow the Galaxy S 4G to operate just as well as the current Vibrant 3G with upgraded ROMs. The only downside is the loss of the larger 16GB internal SD memory storage the Vibrant 3G has to 1GB on the 4G.
After reading some more I ran across an article that explained why the available internal memory on Android phones is always so small. I wish I could remember the where I found it because I am not familiar enough with Android to know the terminology.
As I understand it, there is one type of partition for storage, which the user has access to, and another type for the system OS. It is in a completely different format than ext partitions and is optimized to run very fast. The sacrifice for this is that it is read as only half the size of the Ext formatted partition. So even though the OS doesn't actually take double the space, the space is unavailable to the user (sounds kind like Raid actually, without using multiple drives.) So a 385mb partition for a 200mb OS will make 770mb unavailable to the user, leaving 230mb left on a 1Gb drive (is drive the correct term? It is a simple flash drive, yes)?
This is also permanent once formatted this way and can never be undone according to what I've read. This is why we cannot simply repartition to get the space back.
Does this sound correct? Please fill in the errors and details if you know more about this.
I really think Sammy and Tmo took a perfect phone and purposely ruined it. Why would they remove a 16Gb drive from a phone they finally got right? What a tease!
In the end I still don't see a way to avoid problems with 230mb available memory. OS's slow down when they have no place to write new files. SD cards are much slower than internal memory. New apps and better OS's will make a phone like this obsolete in a year. Hmmmm. I see the logic now.
These phones are full-fledged computers, doing more in one day than most PC's do in their life-cycle. Would you really buy a machine with 1Ghz cpu, 512MB ram, 1020p HD touch AMOLED screen, 5.1 surround sound, 802.11n hotspot, 4G, Lastest 3D gaming GPU graphics, HD video camera with 2-way real time video, turn-by-turn GPS, HDMI out,...... and 230mb available hard drive space???? Heck, no!
Of course it has no space left over! In fact a PC would have a lot less if run on a 1Gb hard drive...... Oh, but they'll throw in a 16GB external USB drive, if we don't mind a few freezes and restarts along the way.
Think about the amount of multitasking a smart phone is doing 24 hours a day, using high-end effects that bring most PC's to a crawl..... reliably... while trying to conserve battery life!
Windows 7 can do an almost comparable job... with 3Gb or Ram on a 16GB hard drive minimum, 40Gb including apps, (mine has 1.65TB,) and 3 hours of battery life.
Hope I've put it in perspective.
I'm mad. I'm stuck with a half-a$$ed phone no matter what. And they did it on purpose so I would buy another half-baked phone in a year -- less if they can help it.
That's my rant. I'll go and pout in my corner now.
MvP77 said:
I dont think there will be any problems with custom roms as othe phones have even less rom (nexus one, evo), the problem comes with apps being installed and will probley require you to move apps to SD. I use titanium to move apps to SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got Titanium backup pro and froze a few annoying apps -- Finance, Amazon MP3, Photo bucket, twitter, and face book.
Still on stock rom, temp rooted.
Then I moved everything that doesn't need a widget or primary access (LauncherPro, Lookout, etc.) to SD
I'm back to where I started with this stock rom; slow unresponsive app tray, widgets FC'ing, and hesitation when trying to answer calls. It was this way out of the box.
This was all fixed when I installed LauncherPro. It was fine with Titanium free. Now it's back. I disabled put the networking and sync settings back to battery-friendly (didn't need to with LauncherPro) and it's still pokey after rebooting.
I don't know about this SD card business. I think my point has just been made for me.
Oh, well 2 more days to romming heaven. Think I'll keep the G2 though. Hope my rain dance to the radio gods ends up working.
gggirlgeek said:
I really think Sammy and Tmo took a perfect phone and purposely ruined it. Why would they remove a 16Gb drive from a phone they finally got right? What a tease!
In the end I still don't see a way to avoid problems with 230mb available memory. OS's slow down when they have no place to write new files. SD cards are much slower than internal memory. New apps and better OS's will make a phone like this obsolete in a year. Hmmmm. I see the logic now.
These phones are full-fledged computers, doing more in one day than most PC's do in their life-cycle. Would you really buy a machine with 1Ghz cpu, 512MB ram, 1020p HD touch AMOLED screen, 5.1 surround sound, 802.11n hotspot, 4G, Lastest 3D gaming GPU graphics, HD video camera with 2-way real time video, turn-by-turn GPS, HDMI out,...... and 230mb available hard drive space???? Heck, no!
Of course it has no space left over! In fact a PC would have a lot less if run on a 1Gb hard drive...... Oh, but they'll throw in a 16GB external USB drive, if we don't mind a few freezes and restarts along the way.
Think about the amount of multitasking a smart phone is doing 24 hours a day, using high-end effects that bring most PC's to a crawl..... reliably... while trying to conserve battery life!
Windows 7 can do an almost comparable job... with 3Gb or Ram on a 16GB hard drive minimum, 40Gb including apps, (mine has 1.65TB,) and 3 hours of battery life.
Hope I've put it in perspective.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a long talk with both T-MO and Samsung. I was told by Samsung that the SGS 4G still has 16GB of internal ROM, in addition to the 16GB external SD chip that it ships with. They were very tight lipped about why you cannot see the internal memory the way you can with the former 3G model. I think it has to do with the way they are partitioning it as you say. Partitioning is an easy way to hide the actual size of a given storage space. That is how Windows Vista and 7 hide their Restore partition, in a separate partition in the front of the Drive. Dell also does this with its PC Restore partition using a utility developed by Symantec. I’d like to find a utility that can read the partition structure on these Android devices. DroidExplorer lets you see part of the internal memory but not the partition structure from what I’ve seen.
nwpro3 said:
I had a long talk with both T-MO and Samsung. I was told by Samsung that the SGS 4G still has 16GB of internal ROM, in addition to the 16GB external SD chip that it ships with. They were very tight lipped about why you cannot see the internal memory the way you can with the former 3G model. I think it has to do with the way they are partitioning it as you say. Partitioning is an easy way to hide the actual size of a given storage space. That is how Windows Vista and 7 hide their Restore partition, in a separate partition in the front of the Drive. Dell also does this with its PC Restore partition using a utility developed by Symantec. I’d like to find a utility that can read the partition structure on these Android devices. DroidExplorer lets you see part of the internal memory but not the partition structure from what I’ve seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also just had a talk with tmo and they told me the phone had 16gb of internal. After making sure they weren't confusing it with the vibrant the, guy could not tell me why it only saw 500mb for apps. Something seems fishy...
MvP77 said:
I also just had a talk with tmo and they told me the phone had 16gb of internal. After making sure they weren't confusing it with the vibrant the, guy could not tell me why it only saw 500mb for apps. Something seems fishy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just looking on the TMO support site today at the specs listed and they show: Internal memory: RAM: 512MB; ROM: 1024MB which jives with what I’ve seen at some of the other mobile web sites. What’s strange is that all that talking to Samsung and they could not even interpret their own specs that they have on their own web site. They have yet not responded with an answer by email as they have promised. I guess they justify 16GB ONBOARD on their specs by including or should I say changing the external SD to 16GB. Personal preference I think I should have stayed with the SGS 3G and had the advantage of using some of the trick ROMs that are out for that now. I really don’t care about the better quality camera or the 4G speed. I’m lucky to get a very slow EDGE speed where I live anyway. I guess it depends on who you talk to in tech support and whether or not they even have a clue what they are talking about. I know this from experience. I have worked in tech support for Dell and I was astonished by some of the clueless techs that worked there. There is a learning curve and you can’t know everything but reading the specs from a device is right in front of your face in the tools and reference material these companies provide. You just have to know how to look it up.
nwpro3 said:
I was just looking on the TMO support site today at the specs listed and they show: Internal memory: RAM: 512MB; ROM: 1024MB which jives with what I’ve seen at some of the other mobile web sites. What’s strange is that all that talking to Samsung and they could not even interpret their own specs that they have on their own web site. They have yet not responded with an answer by email as they have promised. I guess they justify 16GB ONBOARD on their specs by including or should I say changing the external SD to 16GB. Personal preference I think I should have stayed with the SGS 3G and had the advantage of using some of the trick ROMs that are out for that now. I really don’t care about the better quality camera or the 4G speed. I’m lucky to get a very slow EDGE speed where I live anyway. I guess it depends on who you talk to in tech support and whether or not they even have a clue what they are talking about. I know this from experience. I have worked in tech support for Dell and I was astonished by some of the clueless techs that worked there. There is a learning curve and you can’t know everything but reading the specs from a device is right in front of your face in the tools and reference material these companies provide. You just have to know how to look it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll trade you my 3G Vib for your 4G hehe
krylon360 said:
I'll trade you my 3G Vib for your 4G hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but the SGS4G is costing me another $150.00 when after the rebate the Vibrant would have been free with the 2 year contract. It remains to be seen if the new phone is really that much better. I would not be that concerned by the added costs except I have been unemployed since October. And YES I would rather have the better toy, If only next week I could count on a paycheck.
Perhaps the only "frustrating" thing for me, at this point, is that the built-in apps, when updated, are truly bloat if they can't be moved to SD card (yeah, I know, root the thing already -- I'm talking about Joe Average).
For example, Google Maps / Navigation v5.2.1 is out, which very unscientifically "feels better" than the as-shipped version, chews up another 8.95 MB of app space. Market self-updated (thanks to that being the default setting for the Google apps, imagine that) for another 4.80 MB.
Nearly 10% of that precious 150 MB already fried just by Google...
I would have to say that it was a poor decision on T-Mobile's part to trim the internal storage so much for the general-public user. At least there are tools for those able to root their phones to move the large number of apps that don't allow native Froyo move-to-SD.
Hi friends, i am new member of this forum, i have recently bought Karbonn A21, facing problems coz of low ram.
Can anyone help me, i want to upgrade my phones RAM first of all is it possible if so then how.
mobile devices aren't like pc's - you cannot solder in more ram into the soc .
however you could use swap similar to virtual memory in windows where in a portion of your sdcard will house a swap file onto to which some stuff will be off loaded when running out of memory
You can't upgrade RAM as it's already prebuilt in, the best bet is to update to the latest firmware which includes improvements and close apps that isn't being used
nikufellow said:
mobile devices aren't like pc's - you cannot solder in more ram into the soc .
however you could use swap similar to virtual memory in windows where in a portion of your sdcard will house a swap file onto to which some stuff will be off loaded when running out of memory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay... Thank u for help
not possible
psingh92 said:
Hi friends, i am new member of this forum, i have recently bought Karbonn A21, facing problems coz of low ram.
Can anyone help me, i want to upgrade my phones RAM first of all is it possible if so then how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite sure what these other people have been drinking, but a RAM chip is soldered onto the main board of current phones. This is not simply 'upgradeable', nor will any manufacturer notify you or even offer a RAM upgrade for your phone.
If it is possible, then you will need a ram chip for a phone that runs on the same voltage and amps, heat the soldering around your current chip on the main board (which can cause immense damage to the phone and give you a nice, shiny brick), pry it off, replace with new RAM chip, reheat it into place. Then hoping the phone accepts it and doesn't just lie there, making smoke and sparks.
No you can't. Just real PC, no phones or tabs.
ZRam
xperia_rebel said:
Not quite sure what these other people have been drinking, but a RAM chip is soldered onto the main board of current phones. This is not simply 'upgradeable', nor will any manufacturer notify you or even offer a RAM upgrade for your phone.
If it is possible, then you will need a ram chip for a phone that runs on the same voltage and amps, heat the soldering around your current chip on the main board (which can cause immense damage to the phone and give you a nice, shiny brick), pry it off, replace with new RAM chip, reheat it into place. Then hoping the phone accepts it and doesn't just lie there, making smoke and sparks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. On SOME phones with VERY good soldering skills you might be able to replace the RAM chip.
However based on how the OP asked the question, I don't think they have the skills to replace the RAM chip without destroying their device.
Also, many devices now use PoP (Package-on-Package) RAM where the RAM chip is actually ON TOP OF the CPU chip - it is nearly impossible to rework PoP RAM without destroying the device. Heck, it's tough enough to even manufacture - I believe BeagleBoard was delayed quite a bit due to PoP manufacturing issues.
For now only can reduce the ram usage
Hey man your best bet is custom rom as in it we can remove useless apps and make more memory free but you lose your warranty but hacking your phone in best part as god forbid something goes wrong you can take your phone to customer care centre and say i don't know what happened and they will fix your phone. So any time you want custom rom message me I'll help you out
Sent from my Micromax A60 using xda app-developers app
i don't think you can. just use a custom ROM that optimizes the ram you have
Thibaultblizz said:
It will surely be easily possible in the future, but I think only on Android.
Or at least, Open Source Systems .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not related with the operating system of the phone but it is related with the hardware design of the phone.(open source is not related with this at all)
Some people mentioned that you can replace ram and the possibility to work is really low. It is true and also because our phones work in high frequency the electromagnetic effects should be considered too.
Honestly the thread title made me lol. You can try to increase cache size but no RAM upgrades possible.
etbaba said:
It is not related with the operating system of the phone but it is related with the hardware design of the phone.(open source is not related with this at all)
Some people mentioned that you can replace ram and the possibility to work is really low. It is true and also because our phones work in high frequency the electromagnetic effects should be considered too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not entirely true. Open source is a term that applies to open and available documentation and resources that shows you the internals of either software or hardware. Open Source means that the originator/creator of what you are looking at is generous enough to share the "blue prints" on how to make said item. As such, hardware can also be open source.
This thread reminded me of this link...
http://www.downloadmoreram.com/
Maybe worth a shot?
egzthunder1 said:
That is not entirely true. Open source is a term that applies to open and available documentation and resources that shows you the internals of either software or hardware. Open Source means that the originator/creator of what you are looking at is generous enough to share the "blue prints" on how to make said item. As such, hardware can also be open source.
This thread reminded me of this link...
http://www.downloadmoreram.com/
Maybe worth a shot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahah i knew the link, it is a craig website
I didnt know open source for the hardware part, my bad thanks for the info :thumbup:
But still upgraging ram on a phone is almost impossible.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
forgot it, it is impossible. reduce RAM usage
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda app-developers app
egzthunder1 said:
That is not entirely true. Open source is a term that applies to open and available documentation and resources that shows you the internals of either software or hardware. Open Source means that the originator/creator of what you are looking at is generous enough to share the "blue prints" on how to make said item. As such, hardware can also be open source.
This thread reminded me of this link...
http://www.downloadmoreram.com/
Maybe worth a shot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HAHA! WHAT?! Did you read this part? Is this even legit!?
ipad Apple approved RAM!
We have had a huge influx of ipad users complaining to us that their device is low on Apple memory, just visit our site using your device and you'll be directed to our ipad version of the site. Don't worry, we won't charge you silly Apple prices, everything here is free!
Overview
* 1GB CT12864AA800 Memory
* 240-pin DIMM
* DDR2/3/4 PC2-6400, CL=6
Was: $99.99 Now: FREE
Download Now
2GB
Overview
* 2 GB ( 2 x 1 GB )
* 240-pin DIMM
* DDR2/3/4 800 MHz ( PC2-6400 )
Was: $149.99 Now: FREE
Download Now
4GB
Overview
* 4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB )
* 240-pin DIMM
* DDR2/3/4 800 MHz ( PC2-6400 )
Was: $199.99 Now: FREE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Misledz said:
HAHA! WHAT?! Did you read this part? Is this even legit!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try it. It is legit
etbaba said:
Try it. It is legit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel like it's one of those pen1s enlargement scams I get mailed all the time
Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk HD
Misledz said:
I feel like it's one of those pen1s enlargement scams I get mailed all the time
Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i tried downloading iphone ram for my pc and surprisingly it works
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
Hey,
I recently acquired a Will.i.am iAm+ Puls, and want to see if I can load full android on it (it's currently running a forked version of 4.1). It's an awful product, but heck figured it might be fun to try to load full android on it or even android wear and see what I can do. Problem is, it does not look like it has any USB connectivity, so would need some suggestion on how to load a ROM on it otherwise as I'm unfamiliar with how to do it.
If anyone could provide any guidance that would be great
For the curious here's some specs:
1.7-inch PMOLED Display
dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
1GB RAM
16GB of storage
GSM 3G
WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
pedometer (not actually sure if it has it.. isn't surfaced in UI)
accelerometer (not actually sure if it has it.. isn't surfaced in UI)
Sorry.. I'm new, but should this have actually been posted in Q&A?
Now that Google are trying to break this phone I've had only a year I want to mess with it and lock them out whilst still get updates for apps like Minecraft.
I've tried narrowing down which custom ROM I'd need but I can't find a manufacturers codename needed, or even if it's possible to root in the first place. I'd rather not risk bricking it without the proper method as I'd not be able to replace it.
All the various names I CAN find are listed in the title, here are some specs from the official data sheet on it -
1GHz Quad Core.
1Gb RAM.
8Gb Internal Memory.
32Gb External Memory (maximum), installed.
854 x 480 FWVGA (5 inch) Display using 16 million colours.
If anyone CAN find the information I need and knows what method I need to use, PLEASE let me know.
Thanks for reading.