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So I have been using my imate PDA2k without a hitch, purchased it unlocked, and was using a local carrier somewhere in Europe (Voda). Went to T Mobile in the same country and put the sim in - BOOM - white screen on startup and it seems to have reset because I heard the pings to indiate screen alignment.
Took it home, used My Mobiler to looksee what is happening. Its all working fine, the screen and everything, its just white! And after several Power/Reset button resets everything is still there but on the device - white screen only. Power on battery and backup indicated 100% but backup battery for a while said "needs replacing" - then on settings now its 100%
The touchscreen works! I reinstalled the password and when I touch the white screen in the places of the four numbers, its ok!
But its all white! What can I do?
hi and welcome to the forum.
there are basicly two options to what could have happened, either something got messed up with the rom and after the sim changed it was triggered and went completely wrong or while changing the sim, you accidently caused a hardware defect.
another way to try that is: put the device into bootloader mode!
the way to do that is press power+record+reset. maybe hold the power+record a little longer after resetting.
if your device screen shows SERIAL V2.0x (where x is a number from 5 to 7), apparently your hardware is ok and just your rom broke. in that case, after you claimed you already hard resetted, you might want to flash that rom again. if i read your post correctly, you are still running wm2003se. if your carrier does not host your rom anymore, you can always refer to xplode's shipped rom archive here: http://firmware.atspace.com/Blueangel.html
if your device still shows only white, either when trying to access bootloader mode, or after re-flashing, yo might have harmed your hardware. you might want to check for a replacement screen. if you want to have a look inside your device, whether the display cable maybe broke, here is a link to the service manual: http://rapidshare.com/files/336406555/HTC_Blue_Angel_Service_Manual.pdf
i don't think it can have anything to do with the backup battery, but if that really was the reason, here you find a thread with someone, selling them: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=551886
or you could upgrade your rom to wm5 or above, then the backup battery is not needed at all.
Thanks for the great response!
So I waited about an hour of using it with My Mobiler but with a white screen only on the device, and then waited a bit, and and just pressed power and reset again to see if yet another reset would work - and it did.
It was so strange that the previous times I tried to reset it didnt seem to work at all. But I knew that the screen was ok because I used My Mobiler and could press the password for the device on the white screen ok, guessing where the numbers were, and it activated fine.
So strange, but its all ok now. Thanks guys - this device is 5 years old!
mymobiler is a remote connection to the device, so that does not necessarily shows, that the screen is working, because it uses the usb port to determin, what the display would show, just like a remote desktop connection to a pc can work, even when your vga or dvi cable is broken, because picture information is sent through lan or wlan then, with a virtual graphics driver. also for some people, the touch feature worked fine before without the screen showing anything, because that is also another layer, that is transmitted through the digitizer. it could really have indicated that your display flex cable was broken, which is why i went both ways in my answer.
i am glad to hear it works again, just posted to clarify a few things
also, if you ever get tired of wm2003, make sure to have a look at d-two's wm6.5.3 rom in my signature and in this thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=569869
back in the day, when i still used wm2003, i felt quite excluded in mobile developments of the last few years, because many 3rd party applications would just work on wm5 or above and with that rom you can be up to date and use a lot of new features, which make the phone feel less like an old pda and more like a new phone. but now, that your device works again, of course that is completely optional.
Great Tony!
Although I am a little afraid to flash the rom to WM5 or 6 I should give it a go.
Im happy with the BA the way it is with some GUI software!
Thanks again!
i also had different gui improvements installed on wm2003, but still it didn't feel to fingerfriendly, which is important for me, because, let's face it, the BA is a modern phone, not some geeky 90s PDA , so fumbling around with a stylus is just not cool. also, whenever i looked on engadget i was incredibly envious of all the cool apps and GUIs. whenever i looked at ppc freeware pages i saw that most games, media players, browsers... would just work with wm5 or above, and after i found out, that it is incredibly easy to make your BA become a modern device (i would even go as far as calling wm6.5.3 a 2010 phone), i decided i want that, to kick every iphone's butt, to install any app i want, not to be forced to install 20 programs after a hard reset anymore, because everything already works fine and looks nice. i mean, these days, you hard reset, the extrom installs windows marketplace for you, you log in with your live account, it downloads everything you had installed/bought from there, including microsoft myphone and when you start myphone, you are already logged in, so it syncs all your pim data with the internet, and you have everything back. back in the day i was afraid i would lose everything i set up for ages if i ever had to hard reset, these days it just takes an internet connection and 20minutes of your time, to have your phone completely back up after flashing a new rom. it is amazing. before upgrading (the procedure for windows xp is to be found in the 2nd post of the link above) you should still make a backup of all your data, either through pimbackup (freeware by dotfred) at http://www.dotfred.net/ or with spb backup, available at spbsoftwarehouse as a trial version, in case you want to go back. about those backup apps, pimbackup is great because you can schedule backups of all your important information, also stuff that is not synced, like sms or the call history and restore it to any other rom or even other device, but it does not back up your installed programs (most of which you won't need anymore anyway.). spb backup on the other hand makes a backup of the entire system, and can restore the exact state of the device after a hard reset, including all installed programs and those programs settings, on the downside, those backups are worthless on another rom, just work for hard resets.
that was just a fair warning, because not everybody is happy with wm6.5's battery life and performance, especially when coming directly from wm2003. i started with wm6.0 and so i am used to those disadvantages, and since the roms get better with every new release, it is actually an improvement for me every time.
also i need to tell you, that by tomorrow, there will be a new rom released build 23518 by egzthunder1. yes, although the number is not higher, that rom is newer. but since none of us know, if that rom has any bugs, it might not be right to start with that one right away, you should probably try the one from my signature / from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=569869 (same thing) because there, the bugs are known and listed. when you have found your way around the new OS, you can still switch roms in about an hour, as stated above, you travel light with the new roms, and as long as your pim data is backed up and you follow the instructions, everything will be fine.
with best regards,
Chef_Tony
EDIT: oops, double post
Chef_Tony said:
if you want to have a look inside your device, whether the display cable maybe broke, here is a link to the service manual
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if I can post this here, kindly let me know if this is the wrong thread to post.
I have xv6600 yes I am still using it
It seems that I have broken my Display cable as I don't get any display.
But sometimes when I Slide the keboard in and out many times I do get display.
I took it to the local mobile reparing shop and he says that the cable is broken but I will have to change the complete LCD, as it's not possible to change only the display ribbion.
I was a bit worried in changing the complete lcd as I am not sure what quality of LCD he is going to use.
I would like to know if it is possible to change only the display ribbion. and where can I get one. Your help will be greatly apprreciated I really love this handset and don't want to leave it
Thanks in advance
have a look in the service manual, there you will find the exact display used in the device. there is a photo of it on page 55.
Thanx a lot Tony for your quick reply, this forum is great I have learned a lot from this forum over time.
I saw the display from the service manual, infact the mobile repair guy had opened my phone and shown me the display, but I was concerned if there is any chance that i can just repair or change the ribbon instead of the complete diplay.
i haven't opened up my device, yet. i'm glad i never had to, but from all lcds i know, i think that the flex cable is integrated in the display unit and only has a plug on the other side, so you cannot detach it. also, you should think about costs. the cable alone probably wouldn't be any cheaper than the entire display and if you had it assembled in a local shop, changing the flex cable only (if possible) would be much more work than replacing the entire unit, so causing more costs. actually, i believe the cheapest way would be, buying an entire new BlueAngel. new devices go for 100eur here in germany. the official retail price for a display unit alone is 130eur.
I am trying to upload a new ROM to my phone but i am having problems with it being recognised by my PC.
Firewall is switched off on my PC.
USB to PC settings on phone set to prompt me and default to ActiveSync.
PC not finding the Memory Card also as a drive.
Hard-Reset also performed with no joy.
Nothing is happening however other than charging. This is the same on all PC's i have tried.
Any ideas how i can get it working??
goochy said:
I am trying to upload a new ROM to my phone but i am having problems with it being recognised by my PC.
Firewall is switched off on my PC.
USB to PC settings on phone set to prompt me and default to ActiveSync.
PC not finding the Memory Card also as a drive.
Hard-Reset also performed with no joy.
Nothing is happening however other than charging. This is the same on all PC's i have tried.
Any ideas how i can get it working??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you find a solution, tell me!
Mine won't sync either, no matter what I try, so I've resorted to using a BT USB for syncing/file transfer. I have to flash via SD card and won't be able to use Task29 until it's set up to work via SD card either.
Debbie
DebbieNY13 said:
If you find a solution, tell me!
Mine won't sync either, no matter what I try, so I've resorted to using a BT USB for syncing/file transfer. I have to flash via SD card and won't be able to use Task29 until it's set up to work via SD card either.
Debbie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can enter bootloader and then plug in the usb. This way you don't need to sync with active sync Task29 runs this way.
Lennyz1988 said:
You can enter bootloader and then plug in the usb. This way you don't need to sync with active sync Task29 runs this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, that won't work for me. When I enter the bootloader, it says 'serial' in the white portion at the bottom instead of 'usb'. No amount of hard resets clears this up for me.
Thanks, though.
Debbie
There's good news and bad...
I had this problem, the good news is that I think it's fixed now, the bad news is it involve a trip to HTC. I flashed back to stock and still had the problem, called HTC who agreed it was probably a h/w fault, they piucked it up, repaired it and it's in a UPS van on it's way back to me as I type.
Until it comes back I can't confirm they really have repaired it, or what they've done to fix it.
HTH
Gordon
Thanks so much, Gordon. Please let me know how it worked out for you and what costs were involved.
I'm sure, at some point, I will have to bite the bullet and get mine fixed as well.
Debbie
GordonTGopher said:
I had this problem, the good news is that I think it's fixed now, the bad news is it involve a trip to HTC. I flashed back to stock and still had the problem, called HTC who agreed it was probably a h/w fault, they piucked it up, repaired it and it's in a UPS van on it's way back to me as I type.
Until it comes back I can't confirm they really have repaired it, or what they've done to fix it.
HTH
Gordon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem.
After all, I find that the USB port of the phone is bad, i.e. some pins are brocken.
After changing the USB port, I solved the problem.
DebbieNY13 said:
Thanks so much, Gordon. Please let me know how it worked out for you and what costs were involved.
I'm sure, at some point, I will have to bite the bullet and get mine fixed as well.
Debbie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well one new mainboard, it works! I was also having intermitent touch screen problems so they've replaced the LCD! All under warranty, so it didn't cost a penny Well done HTC.
Gordon
goochy said:
I am trying to upload a new ROM to my phone but i am having problems with it being recognised by my PC.
Firewall is switched off on my PC.
USB to PC settings on phone set to prompt me and default to ActiveSync.
PC not finding the Memory Card also as a drive.
Hard-Reset also performed with no joy.
Nothing is happening however other than charging. This is the same on all PC's i have tried.
Any ideas how i can get it working??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to make sure, did you set Activesync to use the slower method? When I upgraded my ROM I had to use the slow method in order for my Windows 7 to see the new ROM.
guys i have the same prob and i bought it from USA unlocked Stock Asian Rom and Now i am in Pakistan.I had some major issues with it.It just stopped syncing one day.Have tried everything.The battery usage also increased dramatically(it dies in 10 hrs after a full recharge)I thought it was a virus but now i think its hardware.I think i'll send it for warranty claim.
I just went through this on my VZW TP2. A month ago it began syncing slowly or not at all, very sporadic, and after messing with it for two hours it began working again. I tried everything except a hard-reset, including reinstalling ActiveSync, changing cables, etc. It happened again earlier in the week and an hour with HTC on the phone couldn't revive it. I called VZW and had a new phone in two days, and we're now up and running again.
I tried BT sync at one time but didn't like having to click multiple times to get it going every time I got within range. There doesn't seem to be a way to have it sync automatically or with one button.
I have the Tmo TP2 and SAME issue, I luckily am getting a new one from Tmo, but I am really starting to think something more is going on here........... I am not convinced ALL OF US, even a lot on PPC geeks, same exact issue? different carriers? come on........... I am glad I am getting a new one, but I would really love to know the root cause of this. IT SEEMS VERY VERY VERY MUCH LIKE THE "TRANSFER DATA" option if "turned off" (if you will), not a physical hardware failure. Kinda like you can turn that option off in windows to not allow USB storage devices to connect, you can still connect other devices (mice, keyboards) or charge things (like our phone) but the computer will NOT see it there at all!!! I really think something like that is happening IN our phones!!! hundreds of us bend the same pin(s). Too wierd.
I hade the same problem!
After trying everything I finally opened up the phone. In the phone I found some dust particles on the usb pins on the board, I cleaned it up and now the sync works again.
NO Sync with Windows 7
I have the same issue with my Win 7 machine...... PC does not even see the Phone at all. Plug it into my Windows XP machine and it's perfect, connects everytime, using the same cable. i have tried everything i can find on the internet and multipal forums, still no Joy! Works great on Win xp, so i think it is a problem with win 7 drivers.....
Still searching for an answer........
Oh, by the way it was working for months, just stopped one day....i even wiped out my pc and reloaded it, no Joy!
I'm starting to have the same issues on my AT&T Tilt 2 but sporadically. Every now and then I lose the phone in MS activesync. I have to delicately place the phone on the table and gently insert the USB cable into the back of the phone in order for it to sync up with my PC. If I move any of the cables or phone, it will drop the connection. I tied several different cables and PC's so I ruled that out. The problem seems to be the USB port on the phone.
Its been almost a year since I've had this phone so I want to get that fixed. If I were to call AT&T and inform them of this would they replace the phone or would they fix the problem with the port and send me the phone back?
deeken said:
I'm starting to have the same issues on my AT&T Tilt 2 but sporadically. Every now and then I lose the phone in MS activesync. I have to delicately place the phone on the table and gently insert the USB cable into the back of the phone in order for it to sync up with my PC. If I move any of the cables or phone, it will drop the connection. I tied several different cables and PC's so I ruled that out. The problem seems to be the USB port on the phone.
Its been almost a year since I've had this phone so I want to get that fixed. If I were to call AT&T and inform them of this would they replace the phone or would they fix the problem with the port and send me the phone back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what your warranty is from AT&T, but HTC normally has a 15 month warranty on the device. Go through AT&T if you can first. The carriers will normally ship you a replacement device before you send yours in. HTC's repair process is generally very lengthy as they actually repair your device and then send it back to you rather than shipping you a refurbished unit like carriers normally do.
As far as it not connecting, try a different connection method like BirdieSync and Thunderbird. I use this combo on my PC (W7 Pro x64), and it works wonderfully every time.
Hey all,
So I've had my Tilt2 for a couple months now, and I've been flashing it almost as long but recently I've run into the problem that from searching (WOO!) I can see a lot of other people have had: ActiveSync will not connect with my phone. It charges via the computer but WMDC/ActiveSync do not detect any phone is connected. I've tried two cords on three computers but have had no luck. Unfortunately, I hard reset (in an effort to fix this) the phone and all my contacts are of course gone and thanks to the fact that I only back up messages/call history with PIM backup, the only back up of my contacts is on my computer in Outlook. I can function without being able to resync outlook calendar/tasks/notes to my phone, but I have way too many contacts to add by hand so I need another solution. In addition, I bought the phone refurbed from AT&T as my upgrade, and I think the refurb warranty has ended and I'm leaving the country for the summer in two weeks so I'd rather not spend those two weeks waiting for an HTC engineer to replace the USB port (which from searching, seems to be the issue). Please help me find some other way to get my contacts from Outlook to my phone. THANKS
beatmastermcfly said:
Hey all,
So I've had my Tilt2 for a couple months now, and I've been flashing it almost as long but recently I've run into the problem that from searching (WOO!) I can see a lot of other people have had: ActiveSync will not connect with my phone. It charges via the computer but WMDC/ActiveSync do not detect any phone is connected. I've tried two cords on three computers but have had no luck. Unfortunately, I hard reset (in an effort to fix this) the phone and all my contacts are of course gone and thanks to the fact that I only back up messages/call history with PIM backup, the only back up of my contacts is on my computer in Outlook. I can function without being able to resync outlook calendar/tasks/notes to my phone, but I have way too many contacts to add by hand so I need another solution. In addition, I bought the phone refurbed from AT&T as my upgrade, and I think the refurb warranty has ended and I'm leaving the country for the summer in two weeks so I'd rather not spend those two weeks waiting for an HTC engineer to replace the USB port (which from searching, seems to be the issue). Please help me find some other way to get my contacts from Outlook to my phone. THANKS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wiggy-wiggy-wiggy-wassup beatmaster?
I think the easiest solution in your case right now, is to setup phone-to-PC syncing via bluetooth. If your PC doesn't already have bluetooth built-in, you can get an adapter for $15 or less that will be all you need. Once you have that, your phone can connect to the PC that way, and do all the regular sync functions (like restoring your contacts!) that you could do through the USB connection.
Let us know (or PM me) if you need help finding an adapter or getting it setup.
sirphunkee said:
wiggy-wiggy-wiggy-wassup beatmaster?
I think the easiest solution in your case right now, is to setup phone-to-PC syncing via bluetooth. If your PC doesn't already have bluetooth built-in, you can get an adapter for $15 or less that will be all you need. Once you have that, your phone can connect to the PC that way, and do all the regular sync functions (like restoring your contacts!) that you could do through the USB connection.
Let us know (or PM me) if you need help finding an adapter or getting it setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two things: 1) will syncing that way work if I don't have an already established partnership with my PC? I uninstalled & reinstalled WMDC & tried to remove all possible partnerships because those were suggestions on other threads.
2) somewhat unrelated I just found out that I bought the phone 83 days ago, which puts it within ATT's refurb warranty period (by a week) so I am considering trying to get it replaced, but do I need to reflash it to ATT's rom in order to do so? I.e.: does having a different ROM on the device violate the TOS?
Did you try a different rom? Task 29 and then flash another rom. Then you can make sure its not rom related.
Lennyz1988 said:
Did you try a different rom? Task 29 and then flash another rom. Then you can make sure its not rom related.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesnt make sense.. if the phone wont connect to active sync how can he flash a rom?
Edit: Ah wait.. I forgot you can flash from your SD card
Double Edit: If you CAN flash it via your PC then it is connecting and maybe you just dont have a setting set up right on your phone to synce when active sync is on. When you connect it to your computer does that screen come on asking if you want to use activesync, hard drive or internet sharing?
All in all.. bluetooth might be your best bet instead of ripping apart the phone to replace the usb port. Especially if you cant do anything else. Try a hard resetting AGAIN first though and see if it syncs after that
beatmastermcfly said:
Two things: 1) will syncing that way work if I don't have an already established partnership with my PC? I uninstalled & reinstalled WMDC & tried to remove all possible partnerships because those were suggestions on other threads.
2) somewhat unrelated I just found out that I bought the phone 83 days ago, which puts it within ATT's refurb warranty period (by a week) so I am considering trying to get it replaced, but do I need to reflash it to ATT's rom in order to do so? I.e.: does having a different ROM on the device violate the TOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) That's a good question...I believe it will, but haven't tested it that way myself
2) Yes, flashing a custom ROM technically voids the warranty, but flashing back to the stock rom AND a stock SPL should get around that no problem (many have reported they still received warranty service by doing that)
Aaron McCarthy said:
Doesnt make sense.. if the phone wont connect to active sync how can he flash a rom?
Edit: Ah wait.. I forgot you can flash from your SD card
Double Edit: If you CAN flash it via your PC then it is connecting and maybe you just dont have a setting set up right on your phone to synce when active sync is on. When you connect it to your computer does that screen come on asking if you want to use activesync, hard drive or internet sharing?
All in all.. bluetooth might be your best bet instead of ripping apart the phone to replace the usb port. Especially if you cant do anything else. Try a hard resetting AGAIN first though and see if it syncs after that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did flash from my SD card, but can I run Task 29 from it & then subsequently flash from it?
In response to the bluetooth suggestions, that isn't working either because from what I can tell, I do in fact, need to have an already established wired connection to make it work. So at this point I need to flash stock roms/radio/SPL to return this puppy to ATT. on that note: I found the stock ROM at http://www.htc.com/us/support/tilt-2-att/downloads/ but where do I get the normal SPL/which radio came with it (or does that part not even matter)?
beatmastermcfly said:
I did flash from my SD card, but can I run Task 29 from it & then subsequently flash from it?
In response to the bluetooth suggestions, that isn't working either because from what I can tell, I do in fact, need to have an already established wired connection to make it work. So at this point I need to flash stock roms/radio/SPL to return this puppy to ATT. on that note: I found the stock ROM at http://www.htc.com/us/support/tilt-2-att/downloads/ but where do I get the normal SPL/which radio came with it (or does that part not even matter)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind, turns out you can find the SPL to use in the file I downloaded from the HTC website above. Problem solved, calling ATT today to get this replaced. Just thought I'd write my solution down here so that anyone else with a similar problem can see how I figured it out. THANKS FOR THE HELP!
Hello,
My Touch Pro 2 went from functioning fine one moment - to having a dead touch screen. The phone itself isn't dead and I can use the hardware buttons and keyboard to be able to use it.
I've not yet tried a hard reset. I would like to know how I can back up my phone. I can still connect via usb (but I don't get the usual screen that lets me choose between Active Sync, connecting as a drive, or tethering) so I can get my file off of the phone, but I'd like to be able to do something similar to "ghosting" my phone (preserving all of the apps I've installed) if that's possible.
I know there are replacement digitizers that are relatively cheap, but I'd rather not go that route as I've insurance on the phone and should be able to get a replacement. (But if Asurion no longer sends out replacement TP2s I might reconsider that - can anyone say whether or not Asurion still sends out replacement TP2s?)
If worst comes to worst I'll copy over the data that I can, note all of the apps I've installed, and then do a hard reset to see if that fixes things. If it doesn't then it's either off to replacement land or considering replacing the digitizer.
Thanks in advance!
I just had my TP2 replaced.. TWICE from T-Mobile/Assurion. So I know they have them in stock as of last week.
(twice because the first replacement's space bar was funky..)
I replaced the original one because of a few issues, but one was the screen stopped working. (I REALLY had to bang on the screen to get it to sense, but I found the stylus worked marginally better).
You should be able to use the TAB and Arrow Keys to navigate Windows without using the touch screen.
Have you installed Microsoft MyPhone? I love it.. saves everything (except installed apps). When I got my new phone, I logged in, it downloaded all my data from MyPhone and *poof* all my contacts, pictures, and text messages were there.
I also recommend using myphone. Also, if you have apps installed, make sure make note of them. Some of them may be installed on your microSD, some on your main memory. Ones in main memory has to be manually installed later.
Try using PIMBackup. First copy it to your phone's SD Card, then run it.
The app is very to use with the QWERTY keyboard of TP2!
You can find PIMBackup 2.8 right here on xda-developers!
Here's the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299705
Hi everyone,
I'm the new owner of an unlocked T-Mo D851, and will be using it on AT&T. I bought the T-Mo version instead of the ATT version due to the unlocked bootloader and better Dev support. Love those Devs!
I figured I'd post a thread with the things I learn along the way, to help others that might benefit, particularly since I'm joining the G3 community long after the novelty has worn off. Folks like me that join have a lot of past experience to review here, and so much is out of date it can be intimidating, particularly when our new device acts a lot different from our old one. I hope this thread helps someone, but at minimum it will serve as documentation for me to refer back to, should I need that. I'll include links where appropriate.
I'm an intermediate level flasher, having worked with maybe 6-8 other phones/tablets. So, I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to have an ego to bruise. My most recent phone was a T-Mo Galaxy S4. But I dropped it, and cracked the screen, just a few weeks after getting it all settled in with a nice 5.1.1 GPE ROM. Sigh.
I got the phone a few days ago but have just gotten around to working on it.
On day 1 I charged it up, skipped setup (touch corners, upper left, upper right, lower right above the softkeys, lower left above the softkeys... took 10 tries or so!), and connected the wifi (no sim card inserted yet). It immediately found update 20E (it shipped with kitkat). I let that update, but was surprised it didn't find the current 20G update. I want to make sure I start with the latest firmware/modems etc. installed.
In this thread, helpful user @mitbit2k3 pointed me to the online LG site that lets you download the LG Mobile Support Tool. It also gives instructions for installing the PROPER PC connection driver for the phone which works, versus the default Win7 driver that doesn't work for the purposes of the update. With proper driver installed, and with USB connection in the right mode (follow instructions to set the phone USB settings), I got up to 20G stock.
I exercised the phone a bit (still without SIM card) and made sure everything worked... cameras, GPS, wifi, etc.
Then I figured it would be time to install TWRP and take it from there. Much to my surprise, you need to root this thing FIRST. Even with an unlocked bootloader, you can't just fire up ODIN and flash TWRP.
I did my research on the forum and through Google... with all the versions of software since release there were numerous descriptions of how to root the thing, some of which were outdated. For me, on 20G software (5.01 Android), this worked fine:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LGG3/comments/3n0nk1/new_super_easy_oneclick_way_to_root_g3/
it references back to XDA of course:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3/general/guide-root-method-lg-devices-t3129197
From this I learned to review the top level LG G3 subforums, not just the T-Mobile XDA subforums!!
OK, that rooted me just fine and installed SuperSU. I was able to use the "first way" which is super simple.
With that done, I was able to install TWRP. I went straight to the source for it:
https://twrp.me/devices/lgg3tmo.html
I used the "dd" method which involves running ADB on the PC. I use a version that is a "Minimal ADB and Fastboot" that works fine... I used it to mess around with my Shield tablet previously, so I was familiar with it. Basically you run the minimal ADB through a desktop icon, and it loads a command line interface. You type ADB Shell after plugging in the phone to the USB cable (it has to be on, developer options enabled, debugging enabled). Then you type the commands listed on the TWRP site. Pretty soon TWRP is installed.
Next I had to figure out how to get into download mode. Yeah, yeah... power plus volume down... been there done that, but on the LG you have to boot with power/down, then when the LG icon comes up you release for a second, then press the two keys again, then at the next screen tell it you want to wipe the phone, and confirm this again on the next screen. THEN it finally boots into TWRP. Kinda scary. And getting the keys right takes some practice.
Once in TWRP, I backed everything up (including EFS partition) to an external SD card, just in case I messed something up. I had previously erased the SD card from within the phone's SEttings/Storage mode, to make sure it would be able to be accessed. No problem.
So now I've got a rooted phone, with TWRP installed, and the next step is to figure out what I want to do ROM wise. I wish there were a 5.1.1 GPE stock + LG Camera ROM. But I haven't found one. I like plain ROMs. The default stock ROM, even if it were debloated, its a bit annoying to me (and just 5.0.1) so I'll probably move to BlissPop or Slim something, but I will research around.
It's time to stick my SIM in and see how the phone does on AT&T. I'd like to get a baseline before I go ROM-hopping.
I will say that on stock ROM, with no SIM but WIFI on, the standby power drain on this thing is incredible. It went overnight (7 hours) and was still reading 100%. A whole 24 hours in, it was only a few percent lower. Of course, I hadn't attached any Google accounts, so the phone was truly idle, but it's very impressive nonetheless.
Stay tuned. I'll be updating this as I go along.
OK, I'm a few hours in.
No problem with my ATT SIM card in the phone; the phone was purchased unlocked and everything hooked up fine as soon as I entered in the APN information for ATT (which you can get from here).
The phone gave me a warning about WIFI Calling invalid SIM; I went into the settings and turned off WIFI calling, since I'm on ATT and only T-Mo offers it.
One other problem I haven't sorted out yet is that I get a text each time I reboot the phone, apparently my phone is sending a text to a very long address 060504071000004163.... and the text I get back is an error message that this isn't a valid number. Not sure how to turn this off. Annoying, but once per boot won't kill me until I figure it out. Google will likely be my friend. EDIT: I think this relates to T-mo visual voicemail. I went into the T-Mo Visual Voicemail app and I immediately got another one of these texts. Time to remove this app...
Meanwhile I notice the WIFI reception of this phone is much stronger than the S4. On the other hand, it seems less likely to drop a weak WIFI in favor of a stronger one... I have several access points around my house, and I've found I've needed to switch them manually now and then. Haven't had to do this on the S4.
I'm also struggling to get restores to work from my Backup Your Mobile app. I moved the backup onto an SD card in the G3, but the app isn't recognizing it. Uh oh. That's got my MMS/SMS/Call log backups. So, I've still got things to work on.
I gradually entered my various Google accounts, and let Play Store download the updates needed for all the apps. I've got about 75% of the apps I use re-downloaded.
I've got one "serious" problem in that the Play Store says the ATT Visual Voicemail app, which is a cornerstone of how I use the phone (because it transcribes voicemails into readable text), isn't compatible with my phone. That's crap. It worked fine on my T-Mo S4 (running a generic GPE edition). I'll probably have to sideload the app, but it's annoying that it's locked out.
Making progress.
I still couldn't download the ATT Visual Voicemail app from the Play Store, and went stir crazy trying to find it on my S4 (which is rooted, so I should be able to find it, but...). I went haring off in lots of directions, including making a full apps backup with Helium, but then the G3 won't restore without using the PC app due to changes in 5.0... which is weird because my S4 (which is running a 5.1.1 GPE ROM) restores fine. I don't have the PC app installed so I tried using Backup My Mobile... but then eventually figured out that on the S4, with ES File Explorer, I not only had Root Explorer OFF (didn't know I had to turn it on), but it's easy to find apps with the APP Library. Once I found the app there, I uploaded it to my Google Drive, then downloaded it from there onto the G3. It installed fine.
I used System App Remover (which requires root) to get rid of all the T-Mobile specific apps and that annoying Lookout security program. Bah! This cured that spurious text message I get with each boot. It was definitely due to the T-mo visual voice mail. Problem solved!
In using the phone, I'm a bit bummed because it didn't occur to me that a big part of my bigger screen as compared to the GS4 would be taken up by the softkeys on screen. The S4 has a physical home button and capacitive keys to either side. So, my screen isn't effectively much bigger, when I account for dedicating some of it to the buttons. You can make the buttons autohide, apparently. One issue is I use my phone in landscape much of the time, and the buttons don't rotate to the new "bottom" of the screen when I rotate. Gotta figure that out.
This morning I installed the PC Helium App so I could enable backup/restore access on the G3. That worked fine, but Helium on the G3 still doesn't detect my external SD card, in order to restore from it. I could manually copy files over to the internal Carbon folder, and restores from there worked fine. Still, I'm not sure why I'm having so much SD Card angst. I know things change each version of Android wrt SD cards... maybe something is fixed in 5.1.1 (as I had on my S4) that is broken in 5.01 on the G3.
So, I've got some tweaking to do from here. The phone is basically set up and working fine except for some straggler apps that I won't bother with until I need them, with one major exception: I need to go in and set up Light Flow. That app is a big part of how I manage notifications on any phone...
If you rooted your phone, then download and run the SDFix app from the Play Store. Apps will then have the ability to write to the external SD card...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.sdfix&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dsd+card+fix+kitkat&pcampaignid=APPU_1_bJMtVsTJBoKajwP4noeABw
... and yes, it also works w/ Lollipop.
redduc900 said:
If you rooted your phone, then download and run the SDFix app from the Play Store. Apps will then have the ability to write to the external SD card...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.sdfix&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dsd+card+fix+kitkat&pcampaignid=APPU_1_bJMtVsTJBoKajwP4noeABw
... and yes, it also works w/ Lollipop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll give this a whirl!
EDIT: WORKED LIKE A CHARM. Thanks again! And thanks for the link, because there were several SDFix apps. The link made sure I got the one you intended.:good:
OK, I'm in a pretty good place after making some changes. Still plenty to tweak though.
First, I decided to abandon the stock Home launcher. It was a bit annoying with little UI tweaks LG made that make it just not how I expect it to look, but the kicker was that in landscape mode, the titles of the icons were not readable... they were mostly cut off. I use Rotate (Ultimate Rotation) so pretty much every screen including home is rotatable. But LG Home maintains in landscape mode the little dots representing the various home screen pages... these take up just enough room so that things get squished a bit and the titles cut off. Couldn't figure out how to disable that, so just bailed and installed Google Now Launcher which fixed me right up. That fixed the look and feel of the home screen, the apps drawer, and even reverted settings to the normal views I'm used to.
The only problem is that it kills double tap to sleep... or at least reduces the footprint of the double-tappable area to the notification strip at the top. Sigh. In another thread someone mentioned using Greenify to fix it. I'll try that when I get a chance.
Another weird thing I've got going on is that when I connect via Bluetooth to my car, it starts playing music. See this thread. That's pretty annoying... for now I deleted the default music that was playing, and with an empty directory nothing plays.
I put on a screen protector last night. I got the 0.2mm iCarez one. I performed the application in a steamy bathroom after running the hot shower for a bit, per some tips over in the Accessories thread. I left the backing on, positioned the glass on the screen, taped one side for the "hinge method" after getting it perfectly aligned and accounting for the eventual loss of thickness of the plastic underbacking, cleaned everything one last time with the alcohol wipe, peeled the backing, and plopped it on starting in the center. Got it perfectly positioned and no major bubbles. There were a couple of "spec sized" non-uniformities but they were gone by morning.
I'm gradually setting in... Still lots to play with.
I've noticed the WIFI, while it gets good reception, is a bit sluggish to drop a weak connection in favor of a strong one. Anybody got a tweak for that?
Frankenscript said:
I've noticed the WIFI, while it gets good reception, is a bit sluggish to drop a weak connection in favor of a strong one. Anybody got a tweak for that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this app for WIFI management. I have tried several and this is the best I have found. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.WifiManager I agree completely that the wifi in the phone is very slow to drop a weak signal and grab a stronger one. But with wifi manager you can play with the sensitivity. Good luck.
Will do. Thanks for confirming it's not just me. Also on another note I just found the LG keyboard has lots of settings for customization. Not bad. May keep it!
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