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Hi first time poster, please dont flame me if this has been said else where, but most threads have multiple pages with people asking multiple questions and its slightly confusing.
So what i want to ask is....
Im waiting for Android 2.2 to be officially released from HTC OTA (Rumours saying within next 2 weeks) However, im not to confident in HTC as nothing official has been said and i wouldnt be suprised if it got delayed. Now my thinking is, ill root my phone, and install a 2.2 ROM on it, but what i was wondering is, when the official release comes out, could i restore my Desire back to the Stock ROM (Unbranded Desire btw) so i can recieve the update? (I Prefer having everything working over slight improvements in certain aspects + have SENSE although i hate the interfrace. just like the widgets)
Would this be possible?
Thanks for the help.
You won't be able to receive it OTA, but it would fairly quickly make it's way here and you can just flash it from here as you would any other rom.
Edit: Just realisesd you will flash back to stock. If you go back to stock rom then I think you will get it OTA as normal. It's only custom roms that don't get it this way.
So the fact that the phone would be rooted shouldnt cause an issue?
Sorry if these are nooby questions, just scared of breaking my desire haha! cant afford a new
also sorry i think i have seen this else where, just struggling to find it again, but there is an unbranded stock rom available correct? or could i backup my current 1?
wish this was as simple as my g1
There is definitely at least 1 rooted stock rom about, and loads of official stock roms available. I can't remember where I seen the rooted stock one. It's in here somewhere! You can't backup your current rom without root unfortunately.
At the very worst, if you couldn't get the update OTA then you would get it here anyway so there is no problem with that.
Actual rooting will not cause any issues at all. It's fairly safe now.
Sweet! Thanks for the help! Your very kind for not flaming me haha!
Btw nothing against the developers in here! your putting HTC and Google to shame in some places, i just like EVERYTHING working on my phone, dont like broken cameras etc, hence me liking stock
Thanks again!
Lol the devs here are brilliant.
Before you totally decide to go stock, you could try one of pays sense roms. They have everything working perfect, and infact are better than stock for speed, looks, and battery life. There is nothing not working in his roms!
It's really only froyo roms that have bugs so you could just steer clear from them for now.
oh dont get me wrong, im gonna try the froyo, and other roms, i just want to try them out until i settle with 1 for now, i got no problem with them for the short term, just the 1 i stick with i want to work, and to be honest, (going on my g1 root experiance) i never found a rom that worked 100%, but maybe im just being a noob and didnt find any.
Cheers for the advise though, ill have a look for some pays roms now.
Thanks again for help
I just saw a post on Lifehacker, using unrevoked3 to root my desire (id give a link but im new and apparently not allowed), and this seamed like a nice simple process, so i thought id give it a go. but before i do, i just have a few question that id really love a detailed answer or two to, if you would be so kind.
1. Am i going to brick my phone and cry because i bought it unlocked and cant get it replaced because im a poor student?
2. What the hell is this Radio business?
3. Can i put it back to normal so i can get back to OTA updates from HTC when they finally come to there Senses with FroYo (get it )
4. Am I going to lose all my stuff because i cant back it up before i root.
Thats basically it, if you can answer that, id be incredibility incredibility grateful.
Peelypeel said:
I just saw a post on Lifehacker, using unrevoked3 to root my desire (id give a link but im new and apparently not allowed), and this seamed like a nice simple process, so i thought id give it a go. but before i do, i just have a few question that id really love a detailed answer or two to, if you would be so kind.
1. Am i going to brick my phone and cry because i bought it unlocked and cant get it replaced because im a poor student?
2. What the hell is this Radio business?
3. Can i put it back to normal so i can get back to OTA updates from HTC when they finally come to there Senses with FroYo (get it )
4. Am I going to lose all my stuff because i cant back it up before i root.
Thats basically it, if you can answer that, id be incredibility incredibility grateful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. if u follow the steps exactly as explained, and never touch the phone when it is installing flashing formatting etc etc then u get 99.9% u wont brick it
dont worry im also a student and i bet theres more of us here
2. hmm not sure how to explain what a radio is
3. yes u can, but dont see a reason why, cuz devs update roms quicker and add more functions to them
4. if you just root then no you wont loose your stuff, if you want to install a custom rom then yes you will loose it but you can always back it up using free rommanager back up
This is the main reason why I haven't rooted my Desire yet, despite 1 or 2 friends urging me to. They have Heros. I haven't got the money to replace it and seen as it's on contract I'd be pretty screwed for the next 13 months or something.
Don't worry
Understandable.
I was thinking the same.
It was when I run out of space to install apps and gmail stop working bcoz of low memory space warning.
I decided to take the plunge.
Used unrevoked to root my desire and installing my second rom today lol.
Oh and the radio is the file that contains radio setup for froyo roms.
the one you need for froyo rom is version 5.xx. eg. 32.42.00.32U_5.09.00.08.
so if you are going to install froyo based roms then you need the radio file update or all hell breaks loose.
you can update the radio then install the rom or the other way around up to you.
have fun and ask if you need help.
Was in a similar situation and finally took the plunge today.
Was 10x easier than I thought it would be. Follow the guides and you can't go wrong.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Radio is the part that handles WiFi, gps, 3G and all that stuff. E.g. you have low WiFi signal, you can update the radio to fix it.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App on LeeDroid 1.4a
Ok guys thanks for all the replies, I'm.defiantly doing it now, my phone alarm has failed to go off too many times now (hey any excuse to convince myself to do it lol) and I want to see if a new ROM will fix it.
Shall I go for OpenDesire or CyanogenMod? I want froyo, and I want it stable (preferably I would still love sense if that's possible).
Also on a side note, I don't want to appear idiotic, I know what a radio is, I just wasn't sure what everyone meant by "update" it, and why you have to do of separately to flashing the ROM.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App (thanks for the tip due this app )
The ROM's here don't include the radio hence why you need to update the radio seprately, most, if not all, the froyo ROM's will need the latest radio.
Peelypeel said:
Ok guys thanks for all the replies, I'm.defiantly doing it now, my phone alarm has failed to go off too many times now (hey any excuse to convince myself to do it lol) and I want to see if a new ROM will fix it.
Shall I go for OpenDesire or CyanogenMod? I want froyo, and I want it stable (preferably I would still love sense if that's possible).
Also on a side note, I don't want to appear idiotic, I know what a radio is, I just wasn't sure what everyone meant by "update" it, and why you have to do of separately to flashing the ROM.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App (thanks for the tip due this app )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bugs are to be expected but many fixes are to be expected too
opendesire from what i've heard but they lack sense i think, i wanted sense so i chose neophytes rom (it does slow down when i DL stuff from the market sometimes though, i should report it to him)
You flash a radio like a rom, just use unrevoked to do it
BTW use unrevoked with the rooting, easiest thing ever
jacketyjoe said:
Bugs are to be expected but many fixes are to be expected too
opendesire from what i've heard but they lack sense i think, i wanted sense so i chose neophytes rom (it does slow down when i DL stuff from the market sometimes though, i should report it to him)
You flash a radio like a rom, just use unrevoked to do it
BTW use unrevoked with the rooting, easiest thing ever
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this Neophyte?
showthread.php?t=732246 (i cant post links yet, im sure you can work that out though)
and how do i flash the radio with unrevoked3, where do i even get the radio... file?
Sorry about the questions, normally id just go barrelling into to something like this and work it out as i went, but this is serious stuff this time. I want to be sure.
Thanks again
**** i pressed "SIMLOCK" in the hboot thing, wtf have i done. it said it did something.
Peelypeel said:
**** i pressed "SIMLOCK" in the hboot thing, wtf have i done. it said it did something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think it means you just locked your phone to the simcard that was in your phone at the time. Rooting it should unlock it again though
BTW here is an unrevoked guide, neophytes ROM and the radio (use the latest, not the leaked one), follow all the instructions to the letter and you should be fine (follow unrevoked's rom flashing instructions for the radio though, thats how i did it and gawd was it easy)
Thank you very very much. With those guides in hand I'm about to do it. See you on the other side ha ha
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Peelypeel said:
Thank you very very much. With those guides in hand I'm about to do it. See you on the other side ha ha
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd tried the other way first and my phone wouldn't root (i was really really frightened when a HTC logo came up and stayed on for a whole 24hrs) so i tried unrevoked and it worked like a charm
Lets hope everything goes a bit smoother for you than me
That really was one of the easiest things i've ever done. Thank you so much for all your help, and the ROM suggestion, loving the new sense.
Peelypeel said:
That really was one of the easiest things i've ever done. Thank you so much for all your help, and the ROM suggestion, loving the new sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no trouble then, nice to hear
Have fun, i love it
Sorry to ask a stupid question, can i root my desire, keep my current OS as it is and still get the OTA update to 2.2 as it would if my phone wasn't rooted?
I would try the modaco custom rom, search for it. Its based on the latest leaked rom from HTC so its stable, its froyo, it has sense as well as the new 2.2 features like tethering, new widgets, 720p video etc etc
i rooted my phone at the weekend and im loving it!
SteveEdson said:
I would try the modaco custom rom, search for it. Its based on the latest leaked rom from HTC so its stable, its froyo, it has sense as well as the new 2.2 features like tethering, new widgets, 720p video etc etc
i rooted my phone at the weekend and im loving it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree, also have the modaco ROM. Best thing is that you bake your own rom and only put items that you really need.
Peelypeel said:
I just saw a post on Lifehacker, using unrevoked3 to root my desire (id give a link but im new and apparently not allowed), and this seamed like a nice simple process, so i thought id give it a go. but before i do, i just have a few question that id really love a detailed answer or two to, if you would be so kind.
1. Am i going to brick my phone and cry because i bought it unlocked and cant get it replaced because im a poor student?
2. What the hell is this Radio business?
3. Can i put it back to normal so i can get back to OTA updates from HTC when they finally come to there Senses with FroYo (get it )
4. Am I going to lose all my stuff because i cant back it up before i root.
Thats basically it, if you can answer that, id be incredibility incredibility grateful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well mate.. I was pretty much in the same boat as you.. Student, wanting to root my phone, didn't know what all the stuff was.. And I'll try and rectify it for you as much as possible, following your points .
1. If you follow the guides which have been put up by unrevoked, or the guide on this forum http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=696189 or our lovely friends over at android.modaco http://android.modaco.com/content/h...e-now-with-hboot-0-80-and-os-to-1-21-support/ then you shouldn't have a problem at all. I was feeling the same way, was confused and really didn't want to risk the rooting process.
2. The Radio.. It's not like a Radio which we use to tune in to FM and AM, think of it as something to help other processes work in the phone. Be it Wifi, 3G, HSDPA, GSM.. All these get updated with the new ROM's (Froyo) and they need the Radio to make them run smoother, and better. Think of a Radio as a driver when you're updating something on a computer. But BE CAREFUL when flashing the Radio, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT touch the phone until it has completely finished booting (2 or 3 times, you'll know when it's finished).
3. You can put it back to normal any time, just by flashing an older ROM on to it, just have a look at some of the official RUU's on this forum.
4. The sort of stuff which you're worried about are photos, text messages and apps? Best way for this is to invest in MyBackupPro, where you can back up all of your texts online etc. For apps and all, why not download ASTRO from the Market? It can back up all your apps and install them again no problems.
I hope this helps
Dan
OK so I'm on my 3rd htc evo 4g since its release, 2nd in the last 2 weeks. something keeps happening every i root it. i used the 3step root the first time i rooted, i then proceeded to use the autoroot that's currently out the last time, the phone constantly reboots itself non stop and feels warm to the touch, really warm. does anyone have an idea on what methods i should take to root my phone and what roms to use.
the last 2 times my phone broke down was running on myns 2.2 rsl4 or w/e.
i placed this is devs because it really has alot to do with the dev of this phone, the guy at sprint just gave me my phone back and he said its been fine for 2 days with original software on it...
please move if you feel it needs to be moved.
I'm confused, is your phone already rooted or not? If your phone is overheating and rebooting I'd be willing to bet it's your KERNEL that's causing issues, not your rooting method
Yeah and I'm confused why you would be needing the new phones unless you had a real hardware issue?
first phone was rooted, it went haywire so i took it in, kid there flashed original software, phone was STILL restarting every time i played a game or w/e. he gave me new phone, rooted it, flashed myns through rom manager, restarted alot, tried new kernal, restarted ALOT more, took it, flashed original software and took root away again, new phone, currently just got it 2 hours ago....any set up ideas now?
b_allert said:
first phone was rooted, it went haywire so i took it in, kid there flashed original software, phone was STILL restarting every time i played a game or w/e. he gave me new phone, rooted it, flashed myns through rom manager, restarted alot, tried new kernal, restarted ALOT more, took it, flashed original software and took root away again, new phone, currently just got it 2 hours ago....any set up ideas now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you use it for a few days without rooting it - see what you experience? You also didn't mention what HW version and HBoot you had.... there are a lot of factors which could potentially cause something like this...
But I think the first thing you should do is do nothing. Use it without rooting and see what happens.
buy a blackberry haha
I resent people that attempt to trade in phones at their mistakes when it's just pure laziness.
I'm glad you're at least asking rather than repeating this process.
1st use Unrevoked3 to root.
Now, you should download a stock ROM to prevent from having to go into the store each time.
I'd recommend actually using this over a stock ROM anyways (it's a modified stock to run better).
And after that just browse through many ROM's, as far as kernel's I'd recommend trying Ziggy's.
isawred53 said:
buy a blackberry haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Sounds like a SD format bootloop or your tryin to flash to much at one time. Also remember some new find take a lot of time to load giving the appearance of a bootloop
thanks ill do that.
info.
hardware-0003
baseband-2.15.00.07.28
build-3.26.651.6 cl218634 release-keys
software-3.26.651.6
pri-1.90_003
prl-60674
b_allert said:
thanks ill do that.
info.
hardware-0003
baseband-2.15.00.07.28
build-3.26.651.6 cl218634 release-keys
software-3.26.651.6
pri-1.90_003
prl-60674
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still don't have an hboot listed
Neotelos_com said:
I resent people that attempt to trade in phones at their mistakes when it's just pure laziness.
I'm glad you're at least asking rather than repeating this process.
1st use Unrevoked3 to root.
Now, you should download a stock ROM to prevent from having to go into the store each time.
I'd recommend actually using this over a stock ROM anyways (it's a modified stock to run better).
And after that just browse through many ROM's, as far as kernel's I'd recommend trying Ziggy's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it wasnt something i never tried fixing, i flashed over the opriginal software myself and then re rooted, i tried plenty of kernals and roms i even debated buying a new battery. i posted plenty of help signs, no one came, so i took to the store, trust me, i WANT to learn about this phone i really do, however being a full time student and working, i have very little time to learn in-depth
about this phone.
khshapiro said:
You still don't have an hboot listed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just had to check, 2.10
b_allert said:
i just had to check, 2.10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I see your problem, you need to downgrade your PRI, the PRI is fine if you don't want to use any new kernels, but with custom Kernels you need the lower one. I had a lot of problems until I downgraded.
bigupurself7 said:
I think I see your problem, you need to downgrade your PRI, the PRI is fine if you don't want to use any new kernels, but with custom Kernels you need the lower one. I had a lot of problems until I downgraded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and is it easy or hard to downgrade it?
I'm on my 6th since its release
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
You don't need to downgrade your hboot, the only reason for that is to get an engineering hboot for fastboot commands and modifications, if your just flashing roms you don't need to do that. Make sure your following unrevoked very carefully, and before flashing any rom make sure you wipe eveyrthing, flash amon ra recovery and the option to wipe all is easy. So wipe all data, flash new rom and wait for reboot, takes a while now on first reboot. Also use your phone for a week to make sure its not hardware related before you root and flash.
b_allert said:
and is it easy or hard to downgrade it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just as easy as flashing a rom or kernel.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715485
I would also downgrade nv to 1.77
Everything else is fine though.
Third one, huh? I'm almost sure it's something that you're doing if it's a reoccurring problem.
b_allert said:
and is it easy or hard to downgrade it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to downgrade your PRI. I am on the same PRI as you (1.90_003) as well as hardware version (HW 003) and I have no issues.
Use the Z... somthing like that for rooting it and i use myns rom nothing is wrong with it , B.O.S sacs roms are very nicly made to
Hi everyone,
I have an unbranded DHD in the UK, and I'm running 2.2. Just did a check for updates and nothing. Any idea when gingerbread will be arriving? And will I lose root and/or radio s-off? I love my root apps a lot Also not really a fan of custom roms atm as I don't have enough time to play with it if it doesn't work as expected straight away.
Also, what will I lose and keep in the update? Contacts? accounts? apps? App data?
Thanks
Tamen said:
Hi everyone,
I have an unbranded DHD in the UK, and I'm running 2.2. Just did a check for updates and nothing. Any idea when gingerbread will be arriving?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already have 3 too many threads about that and don't wish to start another.
Tamen said:
And will I lose root and/or radio s-off? I love my root apps a lot Also not really a fan of custom roms atm as I don't have enough time to play with it if it doesn't work as expected straight away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll lose root. If you phone is still in a state that it can receive updates.
if you've rooted why not just flash a GB ROM? There are customised ones and even one that is just rooted.
Tamen said:
Also, what will I lose and keep in the update? Contacts? accounts? apps? App data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems people are saying that nothing was lost but back it all up anyway (yes, lots of apps to back up info, all already mentioned).
Thanks for the swift reply - how do I know if my phone can receive updates? I've rooted with visionary and put radio s-off if that helps
The main reason I don't want to flash custom roms is that it starts become a lot more risky - things do go wrong and you see people bricking their phones. If I bricked my phone I wouldn't have a clue how to fix it and I can't afford the £75 excess on insurance to replace it if it couldn't be fixed, as HTC wouldn't replace it if I broke it trying to do root things to it. I've also read that the latest CWM is having problems?
Tamen said:
Thanks for the swift reply - how do I know if my phone can receive updates? I've rooted with visionary and put radio s-off if that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be ok. The actual state you can put a phone to and still receive the update is something I haven't been able to pinpoint yet. Certainly need a stock ROM.
Previous phones needed the stock recovery but I don't think that's the case here.
Tamen said:
The main reason I don't want to flash custom roms is that it starts become a lot more risky - things do go wrong and you see people bricking their phones. If I bricked my phone I wouldn't have a clue how to fix it and I can't afford the £75 excess on insurance to replace it if it couldn't be fixed, as HTC wouldn't replace it if I broke it trying to do root things to it. I've also read that the latest CWM is having problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The time when you are most at risk of bricking your phone is rooting and flashing a radio.
Flashing a ROM is 99% risk free. You've done the risky bit.
Cheers - though I haven't flashed a radio I don't think (unless radio s-off is flashing a radio). It says in the how to install a rom guide (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=964996)
- Select "Install Zip from sdcard"
- Select "Choose zip from sdcard"
- Select full-wipe-1-3.zip (It's right under those folders)
- Confirm by selecting the Yes option in between those "NO"s
- Wait for it to finish
- DO NOT REBOOT!!! In case you were not aware, you now have no rom installed
If I somehow messed up or knocked the power button and rebooted, what happens? How do I then fix it? Is that a permanent brick?
Not a fan of that wipe.zip. You could do the less risky method first and use wipe from the recovery menu.
If you rebooted you MAY (unlikely) have a brick but more likely you'll just end up back at bootloader.
If something happens while the phone is installing the ROM then you might have a problem.
If the phone is bricked assume you will have to send it to HTC for repair (along with your best innocent "it was like that in the morning, honest" look.
You'll be fine. I'm sure. But know the risks.
Bottom line, don't knock it. It's quite hard to accidentally press the power button.
Haha claim innocence If they do look and say it's your fault, out of warrenty, how much do they charge? They don't have to replace anything, just presumably connect it to a htc computer and run some resets.
Does the phone stay connected throughout this process? What happens if it's not connected when run or becomes disconnected?
Sorry for all the questions, but I just really want to understand everything that happens. If able I'd much rather update to gingerbread then root with an updated visionary or equivalent, though how long that'll take to happen is anyone's guess :/
Unless the instructions say not to I'd leave it connected.
If the instructions say to remove something that means disconnecting the phone (such as swapping SD cards for example) and doesn't say re-insert the phone then don't (this is why you should always be 100% charged before you try these things).
If it is bricked, they will use there tool to get into the eMMC partition and re-install everything. It's unliekly (not happened yet) they will magically restore the phone and go "hold on, you did this".
Don't worry. Ask away (feel free to hit the thanks button IF I say anything useful).
Just to back track, it looks like your wanting to flash a ROM now. Is this a stock ROm or one of the beautiful customised ROM's like LeeDroid?
In a sec I'll thank every post on this thread, you've been really helpful (and patient!)
I heard about gingerbread updating and wondered if root would be lost with the update or if the update would even work at all. You suggested I get a gingerbread rom already rooted, and I said "aarrgh, I'm scared" The rest of the posts are you explaining things to me, though if possible I'd like to stick with official roms for the moment and then root it - will visionary work on 2.3?
No. You will need to use Gingerbreak which will involve downgrading the ROM first.
But to answer the question between the lines, if you update and lose root, all is not lost, it can be reclaimed.
[noob]But the Rom comes from OTA, so how can it be downgraded?[/noob]
But thanks, if root can be re-attained after the update, I'll wait till after the update before doing anything too fast
What you will have to do is take an old RUU, say version 1.32 and install that.
That then allows you to gain access to the required areas of the phone to give you root and anything else you wish (Engineering HBOOT (ENG S-OFF), Radio S-OFF etc.).
When you get to that stage and decide to root etc. you will kick yourself so hard for not doing it earlier
Oh so gingerbread will remove root but not Eng or radio s-off? I'm at 1.32 at the moment so I should get engineering s off while I still can cause getting root in the future will be easier?
Tamen said:
Oh so gingerbread will remove root but not Eng or radio s-off? I'm at 1.32 at the moment so I should get engineering s off while I still can cause getting root in the future will be easier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It (The OTA GB ROM) will remove root if you already have it yes. I believe Radio S-OFF is safe. AS for ENG S-OFF (HBOOT) I'm afraid my memory is failing me but with root and Radio S-OFF it would be easy enough to redo ENG S-OFF.
Rooting etc. will only get harder with each update. Version 1.32 is the easiest of all to root and in fact most root / Radio S-OFF etc. threads start by saying "downgrade to 1.32"
[EDIT] Just re-read your post...
Yes, if you make plans now before the OTA update (still not convinced you will get it though) it will be easier in the future but the main one to worry about is Radio S-OFF. This is the easier of the two and IIRC the only one required should you get the OTA update and gain root (via GingerBreak) without having to downgrade first.
I had root + radio s-off, just got ENG s-off too in-case it can't be done after the update. Hopefully this means after gingerbread re-rooting will be easy-ish
Tamen said:
I had root + radio s-off, just got ENG s-off too in-case it can't be done after the update. Hopefully this means after gingerbread re-rooting will be easy-ish
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Puts a huge grin on my face when someone just goes and does this....
But I really really really feel you can't stop now.
Ignoring that I don't think you will get the OTA update you have to now install a GB ROM. After what you have done, flashing a ROM is (relatively speaking) as safe as houses.
Go on!! Android Revolution HD (ARHD) is basically pure stock GB visually with a few goodies thrown in.
Top the day off and flash that ROM.
Do it!!!
Getting ENG s-off was just as simple as getting radio s-off (which I did about a week ago) - I've just heard it's less 'reversable' for if ever you need to go back to stock so had avoided it
The thing with me is that I my brain doesn't really consider things risky or safe based on other people being safe or risky, it's how many places there are to go wrong. One click apps like visionary are relatively safe I just feel a bit daunted by all the steps to flashing a rom. I'll give OTA a chance, but if everyone else on UK unbranded goes "woohoo" and I just sit there like a lemon, I'll maybe start thinking about it
I've got exams coming up (I'm only 15) but if after this week there's no update I'll dedicate a couple of hours to putting a gingersense rom on my phone
What's your preference? And why are there so many no-sense roms? Sense is amazing and is what in my opinion really sets HTC apart - lovely phones with a boosted UI. Why would you ever want to get rid of it?!
EDIT: When flashing a ROM, do you need to factory wipe? Does mybackup root work across roms? I'd like some way of restoring all my contacts, accounts and apps
EDIT2: Something I forgot about earlier; I can't open the compartment to take out my battery, so when there's a solution that says "take out battery, try again", it wouldn't work as I physically cannot take the compartment off to get to the battery. When my phone arrived and I needed to take it off to remove the wrapper on the battery, but I couldn't do it and neither could anyone in my family. So feeling stupid I took it to the orange shop but no luck, so t-mobile, phones4u, O2, carphonewarehouse... loads, none could do it.
One guy told me to take it to a different orange shop and "ask for dean" - so I took it to him and he took it out the back of the shop and somehow did it. He said it just needed force (but clearly an amount nobody before or after him has been able to replicate), and that it was nothing like any other DHD he'd seen as they are usually stiff but do open, this was basically glued. So I better not get into a boot loop that holding down the power button won't fix, as if it's hard to play innocent when it's visibly stuck in a boot loop from custom roms
Tamen said:
Getting ENG s-off was just as simple as getting radio s-off (which I did about a week ago) - I've just heard it's less 'reversable' for if ever you need to go back to stock so had avoided it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, just as reversible.
Tamen said:
The thing with me is that I my brain doesn't really consider things risky or safe based on other people being safe or risky, it's how many places there are to go wrong. One click apps like visionary are relatively safe I just feel a bit daunted by all the steps to flashing a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put ROM on sdcard.
Boot to recovery.
wipe data and cache
install ROM
reboot
Get a brew and marvel and the wonderfulness of it all.
With ROM Manager it can be simpler still.
Tamen said:
I'll give OTA a chance, but if everyone else on UK unbranded goes "woohoo" and I just sit there like a lemon, I'll maybe start thinking about it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you start thinking about it install ROM Manager just to get ready.
Tamen said:
I've got exams coming up (I'm only 15) but if after this week there's no update I'll dedicate a couple of hours to putting a gingersense rom on my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Schedule those hours in now. You WILL be flashing ROMs
Tamen said:
What's your preference? And why are there so many no-sense roms? Sense is amazing and is what in my opinion really sets HTC apart - lovely phones with a boosted UI. Why would you ever want to get rid of it?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hee hee. I like Cyanogen (a non-sense ROM) - Will come back to that.
My favourite sense ROMs are LeeDroid by a long way, the guy is a star and the ROM is perfection; after that, Android Revolution HD which will probably be your choice as it's closer to stock than Lee's. Based on what you've said I go with ARHD but if you really want to play, have fun (overclocking etc.) and want your phone to make R2D2 noises when it boots then LeeDroid every time.
And you're right, the Sense UI (which only gets better) does set HTC apart but even without it, I'd only buy a HTC phone now (when I'm buying an Android phone).
Why not [email protected]
Two part answer. The first part is I'm a huge open source and Linux fan. Use Ubuntu on PC and Kubuntu on laptop and my first Android phone was THE first Android phone, the Google (T-Mobile) G1. As such I love Android so I want my phone to be just about Android with a few little extras and NO ONE does that better than Cyanogen. NO ONE.
I still have my G1 and I still love it. That's a vanilla Android phone.
Second part is about bloat. Yes, I do really really like Sense UI. As far as manufacturers bloat-ware goes NOTHING beats Sense UI. It's visually stunning and things like htcsense.com, the clock / weather widget that actually shows weather and that cool windscreen wiper thing and the whole seamless integration twix phone and social is beyond words.
But at the end of the day what is it? It's pretty. I don't use facebook. For twitter I prefer Twidroyd and Tweetdeck. I don't need a massive clock on my screen. I don't want apps and widget I'm not going to use. Before I could root my Hero and DHD I installed ADW.Launcher.
I'll tell you what it's about: Choice. I don't want three buttons along the bottom I want five. And because I have a Google Apps account, HTC Picasa add-on doesn't work (they looking into it) and that pisses me off.
I'm prattling on now.
I have LeeDroid and ARHD on my sdcard as NAND backups and every now and then I restore one (I think of it as almost "dual boot") and for the next 24 hours I'm back coo-ing over it all but then 24 hours later it just doesn't feel right so back to CM I go.
It's personal choice but I will say one thing (more), try CM7. If you don't like it fine but just try it. You'll miss the widgets at first but see how you feel about it.
I'll shut up now.
That's great info, cheers I understand why now, but I do like my massive flip-over clock, regardless of how much battery it eats Also, htcsense.com has been a life saver once or twice when I've put it at home under a pile of papers or something and can't find it
ARHD said there were problems with Rom Manager and wiping within it - is that still a problem? Why do some roms need a different radio flashed? What actually is a different radio and why do you get problems with different roms and radios?
How long does it take between putting the rom on the sd card and actually having the rom installed with ROM Manager?
Also, I edited the above post but was doing so after you'd posted this, so I'll put it here too:
EDIT2: Something I forgot about earlier; I can't open the compartment to take out my battery, so when there's a solution that says "take out battery, try again", it wouldn't work as I physically cannot take the compartment off to get to the battery. When my phone arrived and I needed to take it off to remove the wrapper on the battery, but I couldn't do it and neither could anyone in my family. So feeling stupid I took it to the orange shop but no luck, so t-mobile, phones4u, O2, carphonewarehouse... loads, none could do it.
One guy told me to take it to a different orange shop and "ask for dean" - so I took it to him and he took it out the back of the shop and somehow did it. He said it just needed force (but clearly an amount nobody before or after him has been able to replicate), and that it was nothing like any other DHD he'd seen as they are usually stiff but do open, this was basically glued. So I better not get into a boot loop that holding down the power button won't fix, as if it's hard to play innocent when it's visibly stuck in a boot loop from custom roms
Tamen said:
That's great info, cheers I understand why now, but I do like my massive flip-over clock, regardless of how much battery it eats Also, htcsense.com has been a life saver once or twice when I've put it at home under a pile of papers or something and can't find it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made great use of that too, so simple, plress a button on the website and instant ring. An app called Where's my droid can do that but you need another phone to be able to send it a text.
Tamen said:
ARHD said there were problems with Rom Manager and wiping within it - is that still a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There used to be but I've never had a problem. But I like doing everything from recovery and that's works fine (from 3.0.2.6).
Tamen said:
Why do some roms need a different radio flashed? What actually is a different radio and why do you get problems with different roms and radios?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's that some ROM's have been tested using certain Radios and some devs are only willing to recommend Radios that have been tested.
A radio is the software that is responsible for wifi, network signal including data, bluetooth and GPS. It's just another something that is constantly being improved. Most radios will work with most roms but one radio might work great for person a and be rubbish for person b. This is because some networks and phone hardware (they do differ) don't respond as well as others to a certain radio. The radio is something you will will push (via fastboot commands) a lot (which is why you have Radio S-OFF) as you need to experiment.
Tamen said:
How long does it take between putting the rom on the sd card and actually having the rom installed with ROM Manager?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on ROM but on average about 5 minutes. It's not really any quicker than using recovery directly (ROM Manager is just a GUI for recovery) once you have done it a few times, it's just simpler.
Tamen said:
EDIT: When flashing a ROM, do you need to factory wipe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALWAYS. And every time.
The only exception is if you're upgrading the same ROM but even then, depending on the upgrade you may still have to wipe. Most issues after flashing a ROM are due to not wiping at least the cache.
Tamen said:
Does mybackup root work across roms? I'd like some way of restoring all my contacts, accounts and apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Contacts are sync'd to Gmail so no worries there. Mybackup will backup SMS and MMS too.
Apps are a different matter. There is an option to Backup apps and app data to google servers which works 95% of the time. Titanium can do this too but in my experience is even more flakey. I still keep a list of all my apps just in case.
Tamen said:
EDIT2: Something I forgot about earlier; I can't open the compartment to take out my battery, so when there's a solution that says "take out battery, try again", it wouldn't work as I physically cannot take the compartment off to get to the battery. When my phone arrived and I needed to take it off to remove the wrapper on the battery, but I couldn't do it and neither could anyone in my family [snip]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That battry door is ****, no two ways about it. It does require a lot of force and you have to be brave with it. But as you say, hopefully you won't need to worry about it.
I just got a G2 as a replacement for my MT4g (not by my choice, by the choice of tmobile customer service, i guess after replacing 3 phones in a 90 period they are forced to replace with a different phone. MT4G had burnt out pixels, the second one also had burnt out pixels and the third one they sent me wouldn't even boot up as it was stuck in a permanent boot loop, hence I have arrived at the G2)
ANYWAYS the battery seems to drain like an absolute champ. My MT4G battery life wasn't that great but this G2 is awful. My question is: why would "Android System" be using the most battery on my battery usage report? It is using anywhere between 40% and 70% of my battery usage, even more than the display and that is during times when I'm mostly watching youtube or intentionally leaving the screen on.
For instance: After 2 hours off the charger the battery is at 74%, the top thing in the battery report is "android system" and that is 43% and the "CPU total" for android system is only 3m 4s. I just don't know what could be causing all the battery usage...
Also, with wi-fi calling enabled how come the "cell standby" is still draining battery? On my MT4G the cell standby would only show up if I was not using wifi calling (which happens to be most of the time).
I noticed this problem too. It sucks. The thing I did was root my phone and flash a custom ROM, which in this case is a stock gingerbread build with some "icing". Not sure if it's a 2.2 thing, but Android System just seems to sap the battery. On 2.3, the biggest draw now seems to be the display by far, but overall battery life is way better than the official stock 2.2 that shipped on the G2. So yeah... root that sucker!
killswitch11 said:
I noticed this problem too. It sucks. The thing I did was root my phone and flash a custom ROM, which in this case is a stock gingerbread build with some "icing". Not sure if it's a 2.2 thing, but Android System just seems to sap the battery. On 2.3, the biggest draw now seems to be the display by far, but overall battery life is way better than the official stock 2.2 that shipped on the G2. So yeah... root that sucker!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am thinking I will probably have to do this. I see you use the Virtuous G-lite ROM which is the one I was considering using. My other question is what (and where) do I get the "radio" files from? I assume that they are just like drivers/firmware for the radios inside the phone but do I have to get them separately from the ROM? and if so, from where and how do I install them?
Also, what is the method for rooting that will be least likely to brick my phone. I saw something on the main G2 forum about not using visionary but then what is the best/easiest method for rooting it?
Thanks in advance.
As to rooting, I used this method here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928160
This uses Visionary to gain temp root and g-free to perm root. It is very safe provided you have a US G2 and are not trying to root the new "official" 2.3 update that is lurking out there. Visionary is dangerous for trying to perm root so don't try that. Just follow the instructions to the letter and you'll be fine. Even flashing the hboot is safe with this method since it runs scripts instead of having to manually type things in, leaving room for errors that could brick your phone. Once rooted, make a backup of you stock image and try some ROMS out. Virtuous G-lite is nice... I like it. I also really like CM7, and I'd advise trying it. I just can't use it since it breaks my GPS. That doesn't happen to everyone though so you may get lucky.
Radios are found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=970809
Flashing a new radio using the PCIMG method is pretty safe, but its generally not advised to mess with that unless you need to. A new radio is not necessary unless you are experiencing some reception or GPS issues. I would root first, flash a ROM, and look at the performance. If everything is legit, then I wouldn't sweat flashing a new radio just yet.
killswitch11 said:
As to rooting, I used this method here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928160
This uses Visionary to gain temp root and g-free to perm root. It is very safe provided you have a US G2 and are not trying to root the new "official" 2.3 update that is lurking out there. Visionary is dangerous for trying to perm root so don't try that. Just follow the instructions to the letter and you'll be fine. Even flashing the hboot is safe with this method since it runs scripts instead of having to manually type things in, leaving room for errors that could brick your phone. Once rooted, make a backup of you stock image and try some ROMS out. Virtuous G-lite is nice... I like it. I also really like CM7, and I'd advise trying it. I just can't use it since it breaks my GPS. That doesn't happen to everyone though so you may get lucky.
Radios are found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=970809
Flashing a new radio using the PCIMG method is pretty safe, but its generally not advised to mess with that unless you need to. A new radio is not necessary unless you are experiencing some reception or GPS issues. I would root first, flash a ROM, and look at the performance. If everything is legit, then I wouldn't sweat flashing a new radio just yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it looks easy enough. What benefit does flashing the h-boot give me, just for curiosity's sake?
Honestly, I'm not the best person to answer that question. From what I understand, it makes it easier to recover if you somehow end up in a boot loop or something at some point. One of the more technical members may be able to better answer that question. I just did it since its generally advised to do, just something to be cautious about since one slight typo error can be fatal. But the scripts negate that danger so I don't see a reason not to flash it.
killswitch11 said:
Honestly, I'm not the best person to answer that question. From what I understand, it makes it easier to recover if you somehow end up in a boot loop or something at some point. One of the more technical members may be able to better answer that question. I just did it since its generally advised to do, just something to be cautious about since one slight typo error can be fatal. But the scripts negate that danger so I don't see a reason not to flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks, one last question you might know the answer to: is there a way to revert everything back to stock? Like, for instance, if i need to send it in for warranty repairs or get it replaced?
If you search the forums, there are guides on how to revert back to stock. Or you could always flash the official 2.3 update that will turn S-off, install gingerbread, and bring everything back to stock. But the official 2.3 image is not rootable at this point so that would be a last ditch thing.
killswitch11 said:
If you search the forums, there are guides on how to revert back to stock. Or you could always flash the official 2.3 update that will turn S-off, install gingerbread, and bring everything back to stock. But the official 2.3 image is not rootable at this point so that would be a last ditch thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did it. Got virtuous g-lite working like a champ. much better...everything actually, but especially better battery life. thanks for your help!