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Hey I have an Incredible, and recently rooted and used the skyrider 2.52 rom. Then Verizon came out with "official froyo" and i downgraded and did the OTA. Well I hate the OTA because it has so many "spam" programs... So i would like to re root.... well there are so many different roms to choose from. Can some one explain the differences between them or the pluses and negatives of them. I like sence, but with froyo the sence isn't as nice as of upgrade above the stock as it was in 2.1. I like the facebook picture to contact integration, but i really don't know if stock has that either. I would just like a rom that is fast, efficient, and not a bunch of extra "b.s." that kills my battery. Any advice or comments are greatly apprieciated.
Thanks you
kmcrane
kmcrane said:
Hey I have an Incredible, and recently rooted and used the skyrider 2.52 rom. Then Verizon came out with "official froyo" and i downgraded and did the OTA. Well I hate the OTA because it has so many "spam" programs... So i would like to re root.... well there are so many different roms to choose from. Can some one explain the differences between them or the pluses and negatives of them. I like sence, but with froyo the sence isn't as nice as of upgrade above the stock as it was in 2.1. I like the facebook picture to contact integration, but i really don't know if stock has that either. I would just like a rom that is fast, efficient, and not a bunch of extra "b.s." that kills my battery. Any advice or comments are greatly apprieciated.
Thanks you
kmcrane
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO.
Vanilla = Ruby or SkyRaider
Sense = Virtuous
I think SkyRaider vanilla still has some sense left (I'm on virtuous atm) but I don't think any ROM Ive listed doesn't have the ability to us FB pics as I think it is part of the facebook app (I could be wrong).
Ruby is VERY fast and the latest version has killed off all the bugs that bothered me, but I kind of missed sense in places and also some of the SkyRaider features.
Virtuous doesn't get as good of Quadrant scores as the other two (for me) but runs REALLY smooth and I took out all the stuff I hated about sense.
All preference, but this should probably go in the Q&A forum. There are a few other posts just like this one (mine included) so you could read opinions already posted.
Try out Virtuous or Redemption. There are some others that are vanilla - no sense - but you have to try them for yourself. Each of the ones I mentioned removed all the bloat.
With regards to battery, look at the battery calibration thread.
First root using unrevoked 3.2
I recommend skyraider vanilla, its fully functional and has all the good stuff from vanilla. The only real things that it has from sense is the keyboard and dialer. Which I think is an improvement until a fully working CM Rom is released.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Thank you for the replies, but i thought there was skyrider, with sence and skyrider vanilla (no sence) I like the sence, that is why i got the incredible instead od droid or droid x. But the new 2.2 is not good. thank you kappo9000 for your post. I used unrevoked 3.2 then used skyrider with sence (pre 3.0) and i liked it better than the new OTA. But I took a "stap in the dark" when i chose that. If this needs to move to a Q&A that is fine. I just downloaded and leard about roms here, so that is where i posted. I wish Verizon didn't bloatware our phones, it's like buying a new computer... pretty soon they will have a option to pay $50 and they will clean our phones before we get them.
Thanks again evberybody i will read this over for a few days then i will pick one. And as for the facebook thing, if i get it on any rom, then SWEET!
kmcrane said:
Thank you for the replies, but i thought there was skyrider, with sence and skyrider vanilla (no sence) I like the sence, that is why i got the incredible instead od droid or droid x. But the new 2.2 is not good. thank you kappo9000 for your post. I used unrevoked 3.2 then used skyrider with sence (pre 3.0) and i liked it better than the new OTA. But I took a "stap in the dark" when i chose that. If this needs to move to a Q&A that is fine. I just downloaded and leard about roms here, so that is where i posted. I wish Verizon didn't bloatware our phones, it's like buying a new computer... pretty soon they will have a option to pay $50 and they will clean our phones before we get them.
Thanks again evberybody i will read this over for a few days then i will pick one. And as for the facebook thing, if i get it on any rom, then SWEET!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pick up ROM Manager. It's the BEEEEEST way to test all the ROMs. My procedure is to go in and "Backup Current ROM" so I can name it how I like (today I backed up SkyRaider as 0908-SkyRaider3RC2 for instance) then just wipe my data and cache when I install a new one without backing up.
Then I'll play with the new ROM for a while, and, if I like it, I'll back that one up to either install a new ROM or go back to one of my others.
In effect, you can take a snapshot of a ROM/config and roll between all of them to find out which one you like better. You can do that for yours now and play with whatever you like. Be warned : with all the REALLY good ROMs in this forum, you will suck up an entire night or two just playing with them I just wish the guys I work with did such a pro job like they do.
I think there are a few ways to go:
Pure minimalistic AOSP builds - Ruby / IncredibleDoes
More tweakable AOSP builds - CM
Senseless - Redemption, Virtuous (if remove sense apks) and SR Vanilla
Sense- Redemption, Virtuous, SR Sense, Stock
PS Not so sure with Redemption and Virtuous, haven't tried them before.
I personally like the minimal style of Ruby / ID, but it's all about personal preference. These ROMs all are fantastic in their own way, so try them out!
Haha, and yes, I have spent (*ahem. Read: WASTED) entire nights tweaking / trying out just ONE ROM. xD
Anyway, happy ROM-hunting! Do let us know which you pick =]
one problem. Unrevoked 3.2 is gone, and i can't seem to root 2.2 so do i have to downgrade first? and if so what is the best way?
I too am new to this ROM installing business, but so far I think that I'm leaning towards Ruby. Seems light and will be a nice change from what I've been used to.
And about your rooting question kmcrane, it is probably best just to wait for the unrevoked team to finish up with v3.21 instead of going through a rough downgrade process. It probably will not take them too much longer anyway. (their twitter feed said earlier today that they were going to be putting out test builds soon)
OK well i went back to 2.1 rooted and installed.......... Virtuous 2.6! I think it is the closest to stock Incredible froyo that is very complete. I like the screen shots of SkyRaider Sence, but there are updates and bugs with that.. I will keep an eye on that one and maybe use the rom manager to back up, then try that one. I would like to thank everyone who replied on here to help me, and everyone that posted the endless amounts on posts on XDA forums. I have read so many "how to's" and everyone is just great! I wish we could all just go out for a beer sometime! HAHA Thanks all!
I'd recommend SkyRaider Sense any day!.. Sky Raider has put in a lot of effort into making this aesthetically pleasing and stable. With virtuous, you are as good as installing the official ota..
If you want to have the benefit of sense, with a few modifications to sense.. go with skyraider.
kappo9000 said:
IMO.
Vanilla = Ruby or SkyRaider
Sense = Virtuous
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I 2nd these choices but haven't tried Ruby. SkyRaider was the first Rom I tried and I've on n have used virtuous the longest so far and love it. I've also tried CM, Frankenrom, and Fourth Wave but it errored on install and the forums say something about upgrading hboot which I won't do so I deleted it.
Good call!
Sent from DInc running Virtuous ROM
I have v 2.6 now. I see the screen shots of skyraider with sence and it looks cool. Redemption has new 2.0 and it looks like you can add mods to change it up... if i back up my v 2.6 and try a different rom, do i reinstall all my apps? Can i use app brain to help with that? Cause i have 50+ apps. I would like a stock-like rom and maybe one totally different... also what does Vanilla mean? I see sence, stock, and vanilla..... what is the differences and advantages of each?
Thanks guys/gals
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
kmcrane said:
I see sence, stock, and vanilla..... what is the differences and advantages of each?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what I understand and someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Sense is the ROM with SenseUI code (extra coding that makes the HTC's so neat compared to Moto)
Stock is pretty much just as it was when you bought it. (original ROM installed by manufacturer)
Vanilla is pretty much the Android OS running on a particular phone without the extra coding (like on the Sense)
Many of the ROM's have both a sense and a vanilla version so if you like Sense and it's widgets etc. you can get that one and if you want to customize the most you can get the vanilla.
Virtuous is an awesome ROM. Skyraider has both sense and vanilla avail. Ruby is just vanilla and also Cyanogen if I'm not mistaken.
Hope this helps some!
I upgraded to Virtuous 2.7 and it is cool. I guess with all the modding and roms, i have gotten bit by the customize bug. Virtuous ROM was fine, but pretty much the same as the stock (except a few small things in 2.7) I think i want something different and fresh. Circle Battery looks cool. maybe something where i can customize the bottom buttons (phone, all apps, and add to home) it would be nice to change those. The main thing is i don't want crap unwanted software, (city id, amazon mp3, etc...) Thanks again for all the help and input,
Oh kmcrane, SkyRaider vanilla latest release showed up on ROM manager a few hours ago!
I've been using the new Virtuous 2.7 with the battery saving kernel and really liking it. Basically, it's like a stock froyo with some liposuction and a bit of plastic surgery--crapware all gone, some very nice SmoothSense modifications, and rock solid (no crashes or FCs). With the alternative kernel, you can add SetCPU and customize settings to maximize battery life.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Noob evo rooter I installed Fresh since I was told it's a solid rom with lots of bloatware gone.So now i just wanted to see what the differences between diff roms are & figure out which one is right for me but, each rom has thousands of posts & that would be impossible.
Is there somekind of a summary?
thanks in advance!
There is a stickied thread right in the subforum you (wrongly) posted this in.
Not to jump on a "noob" but this shouldn't have been posted and this should've been in Q&A anyways.
At this point, I would recommend MikFroyo v4.3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=883026
if you are looking for super-fast Sense w/ full functionality. The GB roms are going to be too developmental and buggy for you.
rstuckmaier said:
There is a stickied thread right in the subforum you (wrongly) posted this in.
Not to jump on a "noob" but this shouldn't have been posted and this should've been in Q&A anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks I just looked & maybe i'm not seeing it but it just lists the roms not what's special/different about them???
help a girl out
mitchellvii said:
At this point, I would recommend MikFroyo v4.3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=883026
if you are looking for super-fast Sense w/ full functionality. The GB roms are going to be too developmental and buggy for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so it's just faster than fresh?
I dont know what I am looking for thats why i wanted to see what exactly each one offers?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=653
It is the FIRST thread.
"Detailed ROM Wiki (developers please update)"
rstuckmaier said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=653
It is the FIRST thread.
"Detailed ROM Wiki (developers please update)"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw it, saw the rom names, versions, release dates, root methods
that isnt my question though, what is the difference between them? advantage of one over the other?
The difference would be how they look. The kernels would be for how they perform.
from my EVO using XDA app.
I seriously doubt someone is going to post all the differences of all the Rom's on here and tell you what each one does best. Every Rom is different on every phone. Sense based Rom offer all options like 4G and HDMI. AOSP Rom's are based on Open Source Android and are not build on HTC Sense and some things don't work in them like 4G, HDMI, video recording, etc...I have flashed many, many Rom's and have read many many threads. The way I learned about them is by reading the OP of the Rom thread to see what all the dev says about the Rom and what's included and what isn't. Then I will go through and read like the last 5-10 pages of the thread to see what kind of problems and/or what people are saying about the Rom. I will also read other pages of the thread if I am interested. I then flash the Rom I am interested in, play with it for a few days and if I don't like it I try something else. For some reason I always come back to CyanogenMod even though HDMI and 4G(stable) are not working yet.
No one can tell you which rom is best for you or your phone. Every person has a different personality and even every EVO is a little bit different about how it reacts to certain kernels and Rom's. Maybe if you tell us what you are looking for in a Rom we could point you in the right direction to certain Rom's that offer what it is you want.
Hey all I'm an epic user who is getting an evo next week and I have a more specific rom choice quetion. Having never owned a sense device but always sort liking the sense clock and lockscreen I was thinking of trying myns rom (don't remember if that is the dev or the rom). However, with not having wimax in my area or the desire to output video through my phone the progress of cm7 seems very tempting.
I suppose what I'm asking is whether or not cm7 is really at the point where it could be a daily driver (and which one to use) and whether or not you can get the real sense clock/lockscreen on it and if not how good performance/battery wise is myns? Thanks in advance!
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
kenvan19 said:
Hey all I'm an epic user who is getting an evo next week and I have a more specific rom choice quetion. Having never owned a sense device but always sort liking the sense clock and lockscreen I was thinking of trying myns rom (don't remember if that is the dev or the rom). However, with not having wimax in my area or the desire to output video through my phone the progress of cm7 seems very tempting.
I suppose what I'm asking is whether or not cm7 is really at the point where it could be a daily driver (and which one to use) and whether or not you can get the real sense clock/lockscreen on it and if not how good performance/battery wise is myns? Thanks in advance!
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think you can get the Actual sense clock for CM7, but I use a free widget from the market called Sense Analog Clock which is a skinnable clock that looks a lot like the HTC clock, but not only shows the weather, but can show system info as well like battery %, free sdcard available, free ram, free Rom and Battery Temp. Very nice. As for CM7 being a daily driver, I have been using Lithid's daily compile's of CM7 for a couple weeks now and never had a problem. There are a few quirks and bugs here and there, but for the most part it does what it should and is very fast. Give it a try and if you don't like it flash a Sense Rom. That's the best part of being rooted. You are not stuck with one choice on your phone's OS.
housry23 said:
Don't think you can get the Actual sense clock for CM7, but I use a free widget from the market called Sense Analog Clock which is a skinnable clock that looks a lot like the HTC clock, but not only shows the weather, but can show system info as well like battery %, free sdcard available, free ram, free Rom and Battery Temp. Very nice. As for CM7 being a daily driver, I have been using Lithid's daily compile's of CM7 for a couple weeks now and never had a problem. There are a few quirks and bugs here and there, but for the most part it does what it should and is very fast. Give it a try and if you don't like it flash a Sense Rom. That's the best part of being rooted. You are not stuck with one choice on your phone's OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ya I love flashing. However its a lot easier to try them all when there are just 9ish good ones like on the epic. The evo has just hundreds (or at least it seems so). I suppose that is the benefit to having froyo source. I've used the sense clock from the market as well as beautiful widgets. Thank you so much for your input! I was definitely leaning towards cm7 but
I hadn't found that release. Ill take a gander at it now.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
psixichka said:
Noob evo rooter I installed Fresh since I was told it's a solid rom with lots of bloatware gone.So now i just wanted to see what the differences between diff roms are & figure out which one is right for me but, each rom has thousands of posts & that would be impossible.
Is there somekind of a summary?
thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to read all the thousands of posts. Just usually the first two or three where the dev describes the rom and the changelog and how to flash.
It's hard to keep a summary up to date. There has been attempts to summarize roms and/or kernels and they all just change too often.
For now, the roms seem to fall into four groups:
SENSE based with full Sense: Myn, Fresh, MikFroyo, Sprint Lovers, Calkulin's Evio
SENSE based but little or no Sense: EvoNonSense, Valpaek, EvoNeo, Burnt Droid
AOSP - 2.2 Android: CM 6.1.2, MIUI
AOSP - 2.3 Android: Gingerbread
It's easier to just browse the development section because there are a lot of ROMs. I just listed the ones I've tried at one point and can remember.
So yeah, I have a crapload of questions.
I recently asked about rooting and keeping HTC Sense. In retrospect, I don't think I'll need Sense, I just tried out AppLauncher, and I have to say, I think I'm sold on it. I'm just wondering what exactly HTC Sense has? Is there anything it has that I'll really miss? So far the only thing I can think of is the HTC Sense website for a lost phone, backing up data, and the weather widget/FriendStream...though adding Facebook to HTC sense shows all my contacts in the Phone button which is a huge piss off, but meh.
So that being said, I think I'm about ready to give rooting a shot, but now I've been confused with even more things. And the more I read the more I get confused. Especially where I have to downgrade the firmware, I'm wondering if it's still okay to do this, since the guy at Bell told me if I didn't do / get certain updates I'd have to send my phone back to HTC for repair.
There's stock Android, Cyanogen, and it seems like a million other ROMs. Which is the best to use? If I want total customizability, but also good functionality?
Finally, I'm using a Bell-branded Desire Z on the the Bell network. So Whatever I do will need to work okay with it.
As I've said, I'm totally new to this, and I'm scared to hell of bricking my phone since I just signed a contract and don't to shell out $500 bucks for a new one.
There's just so much info on this forum and it's a bit overwhelming/confusing, not that a lot of info is a bad thing, I'm just lost lol.
EDIT: If anything I wrote seems too rambling or doesn't make much sense please specify that and I'll clarify it.
cant help you root your phone but just follow the instructions that the person who writes the threads say. It's not that easy to brick your phone unless you just completely dont follow directions.
1. Downgrade is perfectly fine, it's to allow you to use a certain method to root your phone.
2. Try out different roms to see what you like, it's like asking whats your favorite video game, how can you really choose, some will agree some wont. I personally like the Miui roms which is the iphonelike and android UI mashup. the apps built in are nice on the eyes, the physics of the phones movement is very smooth, it can oc to 1.5ghz, and you can just download a launcher to replace the original if you dont like it.
3. ask the dev's on the thread if your not sure. i have no idea about bell, but it would seem that it shouldnt have any affect on rooting your phone, just maybe the radio but that is different then rooting or flashing roms.
P.S. you might miss the small things from Sense like, it looks nice, turns on fast, widgets, the dialer to search contact, incoming calls doesnt disrupt navigation, and it's original live wallpaper lol.
So are you saying that I can't search by contact in the default phone app? That kind of sucks.
I guess more of what I'm asking is just based on people's experiences what the best route to go is. I know there are different tastes, I'm more concerned about reliability, so I'm sure people could help with a ROM choice with that criteria.
So downgrading firmware won't affect phone performance? And can it still be reverted to stock in case the phone needs warranty repair? Just trying to cover all my bases.
And thanks, I'll ask around in the deg thread.
Bloodlvst said:
So are you saying that I can't search by contact in the default phone app? That kind of sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are usually apps available that provide Sense functionality to non-Sense ROMs. In regards to the above, you can try DialerOne.
To help you with the ROMs think of them in terms of how different Linux OS's are setup (if you know a bit about this).
You have the base OS's such as Cyanogen. Now some one doesn't like the look of that so they change the Frameworkres.apk to give it defferent colors, transparencies, icons and so on. Now they want a few extra apps to be included in the install so they add them to the /system/app directory or add a /data directory. Repackage it and now they have a custom OS called WINNING ROM (or whatever). These are easy to do and can be completed in a matter of minutes since there aren't any big alterations in the base coding of the OS. This is why you see a lot of ROMs that look like Cyanogens and the developer usually (and should be) states what version of some one elses ROM it's based off of.
Then you have ROMs that tweak certain parameters for speed or add other functionalities to a ROM such as a custom kernel, audio/video codecs, a2ext, compcache/linux swap, and others. Plus a complete custom UI (launcher), port parts of other ROMs such as Sense to work on their ROM, and toms of other things. These take days, weeks, or even months and usually have release cycles and updates. Cyanogen, Virtuous, Enomther, Villain, and a few others make up these ROMs.
Hope that helps with your ROM quest. It can be a bit overwhelming but remember to ask, ask, ask, and then ask some more and also read, at least the OP (original post) and a few pages past that. Some people may get upset and flame you for it but most will be glad to help in any way.
If you flash a non-Sense ROM, you will miss the HTC camera app. Its far and away better than the stock Android one, and I haven't found any Market camera apps that measure up, either. Also, the camera button on the Sense builds seems much more responsive than on CM7.
Also, I'm not sure about this, but the Sense ROMs seem to have better or more hardware codecs for playing a wider array of video formats. Lots of the videos I've tried on CM7 and CM6 are only playable using software decoding (on a variety of players, but RockPlayer is my favorite) and end up super laggy (very low frame rate) and audio way out of sync. On stock Sense and Virtuous, those videos play fine, hardware decoding, silky smooth, and audio in sync.
There are some aesthetic stuff, like HTC does some pretty significant theme changes for Sense, and you will lose customizations like the HTC Skins. And you will lose the HTC widgets (like the clocks) and apps (stocks, weather). But as mentioned, there are lots of Market apps that pretty well simulate many of the Sense apps and widgets, or are very suitable replacements.
Thanks for the detailed replies guys.
KCRic, thanks for list of known ROMs that's basically what I wanted to know, and your Linux flavour comparison helped too
Redpoint, I'm not sure how often I'd ever use the camera anyway...when I get home I'll have to find some screens of the default camera. That being said, I see your ROM is Virtuous. Is that a Sense-like ROM in case I agree with you on the ca?era app?
Thanks!
Bloodlvst said:
Redpoint, I'm not sure how often I'd ever use the camera anyway...when I get home I'll have to find some screens of the default camera. That being said, I see your ROM is Virtuous. Is that a Sense-like ROM in case I agree with you on the ca?era app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, you don't use the camera? I use it all the time, for those "spur of the moment" snapshots, or to quickly take a pic that I can MMS to a friend or family.
Yes, Virtuous is mostly stock Sense, but with some optimizations and with some extra features added. Its also based on the 1.85 ROM, one of the more recent stock Sense versions.
Guides, links for just about everything you can ever think of is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916431
BTW, be sure to click the "Thanks" button if you found responses to be helpful!
ROM LIST
Sense ROMS
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
Shokouhi 2.0
Desire S G2 Port Sense2.1
Probably others.
Froyo - Android 2.2
Virtuous
Stock ROMS
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
CyanogenMod 7
Stock Gingerbread 1.7
iceandfire 1.7
Pyromod 1.2
GingerVillian 1.5
meXdroidMod
Froyo - Android 2.2
CyanogenMod 6
Others of unimportance now.
The Other ROMS
Gingerbread - Android 2.3
MIUI (The 2.3 one)
Froyo - Android 2.2
MIUI (The 2.2 one)
LiquidVillian (Or whatever it was called.)
I probably just wasted 10 minutes of my life doing this, but meh, it was something to do.
Now to kill myself since I had to listen to Nickelback through it. Damn 4Music.
I would hardly call CM7 (and ROMs based on it) "Stock".
Although "Non-Sense" is not a very good sounding name for that category, also.
redpoint73 said:
I would hardly call CM7 (and ROMs based on it) "Stock".
Although "Non-Sense" is not a very good sounding name for that category, also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP Based.
There should be 2 categories. CM Based and AOSP.
But I don't think there are any AOSP ROMs. Which I hate, cos when people say they've built a stock ROM, but it's based on CyanogenMod.
redpoint73 said:
Wow, you don't use the camera? I use it all the time, for those "spur of the moment" snapshots, or to quickly take a pic that I can MMS to a friend or family.
Yes, Virtuous is mostly stock Sense, but with some optimizations and with some extra features added. Its also based on the 1.85 ROM, one of the more recent stock Sense versions.
Guides, links for just about everything you can ever think of is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916431
BTW, be sure to click the "Thanks" button if you found responses to be helpful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm guessing no one has cooked up a weird ROM that is like Cyanogen with the Sense camera app lol.
Anywho, I really only have a couple of questions now.
Would you recommend Gingerbread or Froyo? I'm guessing Gingerbread probably runs better / is better than Froyo, but it's hard to say.
Also, how easy is it to restore my phone to factory condition if I need to?
And finally, I read the wiki, it says to make sure I have the windows USB drivers installed...do I just throw those in my windows drivers folder?
EDIT: Wanted to add, the instructiosn for recovering to stock doesn't include the version. So any help there is appreciated.
Or you know, if any of you would be so kind to PM me / add me to IM if you've done this on a Bell phone in Canada that would be awesome too
The drivers go in your Android SDK folder, where ever adb resides. At least on XP and Vista that's the case - I'm not sure if the adb issue was ever resolved in Windows 7. You could always use VM linux or dual boot linux if you like, it's much easier imo. Wubi works too I think.
When it comes to Froyo vs. Gingerbread it's literally like a linux in the sense that one is completely stable and well known by this point (Froyo) an the other is bleeding edge, not stable at times, some things are just not compatible unless you port them, and peoples knowledge base on it isn't as thorough.
I've never returned this phone to stock, which I assume you mean s-on and no superuser permissions. So I have no idea how difficult it is, though I do know you need to make sure you 100% know what you're doing before attempting it - especially if you have s-off. It's a pandoras box if you mess it up.
Ah okay, I'll definitely stick with Froyo for now then. I've always stayed 1 version behidn with Fedora lol.
I did get the drivers working, made my gold card, about to downgrade my firmware.
Are the instructions the same for 1.84.666.2 ?
Edit: Successfully rooted. Now time to find a new ROM. thanks again for all the help. Quesiton though, I have no HSDPA icon anymore...do I need a new "radio" or something?
No, it will do that and some ROMs don't have either the 'H' or the 3G' icon - just depends on the developer. You can still flash a different radio - anyone listed in the G2 radio sticky will work, flash a few and see what works best for you.
There's also a radio version/.ril file issue being debated so you might check that thread too and flash the zip provided just to be safe. I think it's in the G2 questions forum but I can't remember.
Both my Brother and I like the Sense UI, I am a big fan of Myn's Sense based ROM's after trying out the many other different ROM's based off CM 7, or other variants, I always come back to Sense.
Anyways been rocking Myn's RS 5 for months, my most favorite and stable ROM for me. I told my Brother he needs a good ROM, not just a standard root, he said he does have a good ROM, it's called HTC EVO 4G , meaning the stock phone, he doesn't see the point in what a sense based ROM could possibly add or do for him ?
What would you Sense ROM's guys/gals have to add or say to this ?
In my opinion, some roms might have a few tweaks in them but most of the roms that I see now are just themed stock roms.
I don't want to seem like I'm not giving credit to the devs for everything they do, but it seems like many "roms" should just be in the theme section as they are just built off some other devs work.
Zorachus said:
Both my Brother and I like the Sense UI, I am a big fan of Myn's Sense based ROM's after trying out the many other different ROM's based off CM 7, or other variants, I always come back to Sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are not alone and Myn's Warm TwoPointTwo RLS-5 is one of my favorites and IS my favorite Sense rom.
Anyways been rocking Myn's RS 5 for months, my most favorite and stable ROM for me. I told my Brother he needs a good ROM, not just a standard root, he said he does have a good ROM, it's called HTC EVO 4G , meaning the stock phone, he doesn't see the point in what a sense based ROM could possibly add or do for him ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, understand that his "stock phone" is Sense-based. HTC Sense comes default on the EVO 4G. Anyway, your brother seems to be totally satisfied with what he has and has no plans to switch. If that is the case, let him be. If he wasn't impressed with the classy and elegant look of Myn's rom then I doubt he'll be convinced to change from the stock Sense look....
What would you Sense ROM's guys/gals have to add or say to this ?[/QUOTE]
Been wondering the same thing....
For the most part, seems like I mine as well re-flash to stock sense. Remove whatever bloatware/etc and apply themes as I like. With maybe a kernel change.
In the end, thats all a "custom rom" is if Im not mistaken... Kernel + Themes, sometimes with a poor implementation that causes things to break.
cloud007 said:
Been wondering the same thing....
For the most part, seems like I mine as well re-flash to stock sense. Remove whatever bloatware/etc and apply themes as I like. With maybe a kernel change.
In the end, thats all a "custom rom" is if Im not mistaken... Kernel + Themes, sometimes with a poor implementation that causes things to break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some roms are just themes, other roms have some tweaks to them. Usually, people use the framework from one developer and just theme it up. Some just use a stock rom and theme it up.
Its not fair to some developers to say that they have not tweaked their rom at all but just add some color and a battery percentage indicator or a splash screen.
Taking a Sense 2.0 rom from one device and porting it over to a device that came defaulted with Sense 1.0 and making it work is more than merely adding themes. Furthermore, many of the talented devs started out by merely customizing their devices to suit their personal tastes, hence the name "custom" roms. Other people liked their customization which prompted them to make it available to anyone who wanted it. Still, custom roms are not for everyone. Guys like Myn, xHAUSx, Koni, TommyTomatoe and a boatload of others are very talented at what they do and should be recognized as such...at least in my opinion...
surrealmethod said:
Some roms are just themes, other roms have some tweaks to them. Usually, people use the framework from one developer and just theme it up. Some just use a stock rom and theme it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, but what kinda tweaks are we talking about? Thats what Im asking more or less.
CM for instance, to me, feels like a stock AOSP rom with their custom Kernel. They obviously did a good bit more by customizing the kernel n such, but as I said before... I could just flash their kernel + use whatever themes I want, no?
surrealmethod said:
Its not fair to some developers to say that they have not tweaked their rom at all but just add some color and a battery percentage indicator or a splash screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is that battery indicator, boot animations, etc fall into the theme category.
Stock vs Rooted:
Rooted ROMs are optimized.
Better A2SD functionality.
Better battery life.
FREE WIFI TETHERING!
No bloatware.
Ability to theme.
Ability to do a LOT more things with your phone. Change lockscreens etc.
Ability to get full HDMI mirroring.
Sense vs AOSP:
AOSP is usually faster as Sense takes up space.
Sense has better widgets.
AOSP + 3rd party launcher like Launcher Pro + Beautiful widgets can give you the same things as Sense with a performance gain.
Landscape functionality for homescreens
Sense is a launcher. There are launcher replacements such as LauncherPro, ADW, and SPB Shell 3D. LauncherPro and ADW are more a lot faster than HTC is. LauncherPro has widgets for calendar and Friends which is similar to Sense. Beautiful widgets can give you a Sense like clock and weather animations.
sekigah84 said:
Stock vs Rooted:
Rooted ROMs are optimized.
Better A2SD functionality.
Better battery life.
FREE WIFI TETHERING!
No bloatware.
Ability to theme.
Ability to do a LOT more things with your phone. Change lockscreens etc.
Ability to get full HDMI mirroring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are the roms optimized or is the Kenerel optimized? That was my original question . Thus far, roms feel like UI packages with a kernel of the devs choice.
If Im not mistaken... battery life would be dependent on the Kernel, not the rom.
Stock vs Rooted was never a question. Im running Warm2.2 atm and considering going back to Rooted Stock (as the OPs brother has done).
As my Stock will be rooted, I wont have bloatware. I will be able to theme, mirror HDMI, change lockscreens/bootanimations,etc
Sense vs AOSP:
AOSP is usually faster as Sense takes up space.
Sense has better widgets.
AOSP + 3rd party launcher like Launcher Pro + Beautiful widgets can give you the same things as Sense with a performance gain.
Landscape functionality for homescreens[/QUOTE]
CM7 RC3 is the only AOSP rom I used. Used it for a week then moved back to a sense rom. My main gripes with it were the lousy Dialer, Widgets, and I dont really care for the camera UI either. However someone in IRC pointed me to the GO Dialer, in turn I found Go Weather, Go SMS, Go Launcher... these have all solved most of my gripes, with the exception of the Dialer. CM7 RC3 also seemed to be rather batter hungry and always had an annoying notification about dialing *28 for voicemail when I had none.
Aside from this, don't AOSP roms also lack some core functionality that Sense roms have? I don't remember the specifics, but IIRC, no HDMI, many lack 4G, etc.
dougjamal said:
Taking a Sense 2.0 rom from one device and porting it over to a device that came defaulted with Sense 1.0 and making it work is more than merely adding themes. Furthermore, many of the talented devs started out by merely customizing their devices to suit their personal tastes, hence the name "custom" roms. Other people liked their customization which prompted them made it available to anyone who wanted it. Still, custom roms are not for everyone. Guys like Myn, xHAUSx, Koni, TommyTomatoe and a boatload of others are very talented at what they do and should be recognized as such...at least in my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good post, I agree
dougjamal said:
Taking a Sense 2.0 rom from one device and porting it over to a device that came defaulted with Sense 1.0 and making it work is more than merely adding themes. Furthermore, many of the talented devs started out by merely customizing their devices to suit their personal tastes, hence the name "custom" roms. Other people liked their customization which prompted them to make it available to anyone who wanted it. Still, custom roms are not for everyone. Guys like Myn, xHAUSx, Koni, TommyTomatoe and a boatload of others are very talented at what they do and should be recognized as such...at least in my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also totally agree with this. It should also be noted that along with an upgraded sense, some of these other ROMs give you an update to Gingerbread. Just something else to take into consideration when it comes to reasons for switching ROMs.
cloud007 said:
Are the roms optimized or is the Kenerel optimized? That was my original question . Thus far, roms feel like UI packages with a kernel of the devs choice.
If Im not mistaken... battery life would be dependent on the Kernel, not the rom.
Stock vs Rooted was never a question. Im running Warm2.2 atm and considering going back to Rooted Stock (as the OPs brother has done).
As my Stock will be rooted, I wont have bloatware. I will be able to theme, mirror HDMI, change lockscreens/bootanimations,etc
Sense vs AOSP:
AOSP is usually faster as Sense takes up space.
Sense has better widgets.
AOSP + 3rd party launcher like Launcher Pro + Beautiful widgets can give you the same things as Sense with a performance gain.
Landscape functionality for homescreens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM7 RC3 is the only AOSP rom I used. Used it for a week then moved back to a sense rom. My main gripes with it were the lousy Dialer, Widgets, and I dont really care for the camera UI either. However someone in IRC pointed me to the GO Dialer, in turn I found Go Weather, Go SMS, Go Launcher... these have all solved most of my gripes, with the exception of the Dialer. CM7 RC3 also seemed to be rather batter hungry and always had an annoying notification about dialing *28 for voicemail when I had none.
Aside from this, don't AOSP roms also lack some core functionality that Sense roms have? I don't remember the specifics, but IIRC, no HDMI, many lack 4G, etc.[/QUOTE]
In the past yes. I was on a sense based ROM for awhile but constantly switched between that and CM. Finally when CM7 reverse engineered 4G and HDMI, I've been rocking that out like it's going out of style. I just love how speedy and responsive it is. Thought honestly, in my opinion, if you put enough widgets and crap on the home screens like there are in Sense based ROMs the speed will even out. Just from what I've experienced though.
So, you just rooted your super awesome Android phone, thanks to Rivera82falcon and his awesome guide? You saw my awesome guide for flashing ROMS, and wanted to try it, but didn't know where to begin? Well, you're in the right place.
Also, don't blame me if your phone explodes into a million pieces and one gets stuck in your eye. Nothing you do is my fault. Well, here we go.
STEP ONE: AOSP or Sense?
You probably know what Sense is, but you might not know what AOSP is. It stands for Android Open Source Project. Basically, you are getting a base of stock gingerbread. Now let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages.
AOSP is far faster than most Sense ROMs, and offers more customization as far as themes and kernels. Keep in mind, you can't just install AOSP and put the sense launcher on it. It won't work. With AOSP, you can get Gingerbread, Froyo, or even Ice Cream Sandwich looks for your phone.
Sense, on the other hand, is usually slower, and sometimes offers limited customization when compared to the Theme engines for AOSP. Sense can feel sluggish sometimes, but can be very fast if the ROM is well built. It is not as streamlined as AOSP. On the other hand, you get all the awesome sense apps, like weather, clock, and calendar.
Personally, I switch back and forth between Sense an AOSP. They both have their advantages and disadvantages.
STEP TWO: How Much Is Working?
Many people see an awesome looking ROM and it says ALPHA or BETA, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything to people. They flash it and wonder why their radio doesn't work, or why WiFi won't connect. ALPHA ROMs are ROMs that are in the early testing phase and may have key functions broken or missing. Don't go on a vacation with an ALPHA ROM on your phone. Never flash one if you depend on your phone for your job. A BETA ROM is a ROM that is nearing the end of testing. It may still have broken features, but the core functions such as Radio, Data, WiFi, and SMS are often working. Don't flash this ROM if you are expecting a finished product, you will be disappointed. These ROMs are usually fairly slow as well. A vX.x.x ROM (ex: v1.0.1) is released to the public but probably still has some bugs like Bluetooth, MMS, or some other random issues. This ROM still might not be the fastest, but is still easily able to function. Anybody can flash these ROMs. RLSX (ex: RLS1) ROMs are released and are nearly finished. They may have some small bugs or not be fully optimized, but they are nearly perfect. Final ROMs are complete, and you can expect no further changes, usually.
STEP THREE: What Features/Look Does It Have?
Not all Sense and AOSP ROMs are created equal. Many look very different from each other and have very different features. For example, a Sense 2.1 and Sense 3.5 ROM are very different, and CM7 is very different from PoolParty. Read the entire OP and look at any screenshots provided. Make sure you like the look, so you don't waste time flashing it if you hate the look. That said, there is nothing wrong with flashing a ROM just to try it out.
STEP FOUR: Choosing Your Favorite (My Recommendations)
Sense
-Incredible 2 HD by newtoroot
*Great Battery Life
*Nearly Bugless
*Sense 3.5/Android 2.3.5
Download Link
-Skyraider Zeus
*Sense 2.1/3.0 Mix
*Very fast for a Sense ROM
*Great battery life
Download Link
AOSP
-CyanogenMod 7
*Lots of customization
*Very fast
*Updated very often
*Android 2.3.7
***IF YOU USE THE NIGHTLIES, THERE MAY BE BUGS***
Download Link
-TSM PoolParty
*Android 2.3.7
*Lots of theming
*Very fast
Download Link
SUGGESTIONS FROM OTHER USERS
-MIUI (knipp21)
*Fast AOSP ROM
*Lots of theme options
*Very customizable
*Looks good with GO Launcher and Launcher Pro
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1162835
-Liquid Smooth 3.x (i'manoob)
*Also very fast
*Lots of customization
http://liquidsmoothroms.com/
I hope that this was helpful to people. The next guide will be a noob dictionary.
Very nice writeup man. Kudos.
Sent from my Incredible 2 HD using XDA App
I can vouch for Virtuous Roms. All their work is bug free and visually appealing and user friendly.
Nice write up AC.
collinjames said:
I can vouch for Virtuous Roms. All their work is bug free and visually appealing and user friendly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree Collinjames, the new Affinity ROM is very nice, battery life is insanely good, and it's nearly bug free. My softkeys stopped lighting up so I went back to 2HD RLS1.1
What about including custom kernals AOSP and Sense?
Skyraider Zeus rom is worthy of the incredible, Incredible 2. No bugs which is the most important thing, has never crashed ever on me, that is incredibly important. I don't ever actually use sense exept for the great camera, lockscreen, and weather. But this rom is a no brainer really.
It gives you every option you could think of and has no downside.
I wish this nice little article was up when I was wasting my time trying out buggy roms.
I just feel puzzle about which rom to choose at that moment, thanks a lot for your guide.
liquid 3.x is a good aosp rom as well
Thanks for the post, I like how you broke down the advantages of each.. this has proven to be very helpful.
While i agree with you aosp choices..i think everyone should at least try miui...most customizable rom I've ever used...and looks great with go launcher or launcher pro.
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda premium
I will add an "other people's recommendations section" soon. Just because I dont necessarily agree with all of these *cough*MIUI*cough*, but I want people to get all the input they can.
Thanks for posting this. As someone who is new to rooting phones this information is very useful.
---------- Post added at 08:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 AM ----------
AgalychnisCallidryas said:
I will add an "other people's recommendations section" soon. Just because I dont necessarily agree with all of these *cough*MIUI*cough*, but I want people to get all the input they can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I tried MIUI for a few days. Although I like how customizable it is with all the themes available I found it too buggy. I kept getting lockups and reboots. I hoped the 11.18 release would have helped but it actually made it worse. Also, the lack of an app drawer was very hard to get used to. I'm still not sure I like that concept. I guess it's too iPhone-ish for me.
valorian13 said:
Thanks for posting this. As someone who is new to rooting phones this information is very useful.
---------- Post added at 08:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 AM ----------
Yeah, I tried MIUI for a few days. Although I like how customizable it is with all the themes available I found it too buggy. I kept getting lockups and reboots. I hoped the 11.18 release would have helped but it actually made it worse. Also, the lack of an app drawer was very hard to get used to. I'm still not sure I like that concept. I guess it's too iPhone-ish for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine never locks up, what kernel? And use go launcher or launcher pro.
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda premium
knipp21 said:
Mine never locks up, what kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but I'm not sure. I would say what ever 11.18 has. I'm still learning all there is to know about rooting so I never paid attention to kernel versions.
valorian13 said:
Sorry but I'm not sure. I would say what ever 11.18 has. I'm still learning all there is to know about rooting so I never paid attention to kernel versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running MIUI 1.11.18 right now along with the aerovan .7 bfs kernel. I haven't had a single lockup. Running buttery smooth.
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App
I also run MIUI 1.11.18 an never had any problems I also use areoevan .07bsf kernel. This rom an skyraider are the two most stable roms I have run.
AgalychnisCallidryas said:
I will add an "other people's recommendations section" soon. Just because I dont necessarily agree with all of these *cough*MIUI*cough*, but I want people to get all the input they can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you try it with a traditional launcher you will love it lol
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda premium
ok, so since I'm still learning here, when you flash a ROM does the kernel get changed too? Or is this something you have to flash in addition to the ROM?
yes it will change it to which ever kernel the rom
is supplied with. You can find the custom kernel you wish to use an then just flash it after the rom just make sure it's for aosp or sense which ever you choose to run.
RRF12 said:
yes it will change it to which ever kernel the rom
is supplied with. You can find the custom kernel you wish to use an then just flash it after the rom just make sure it's for aosp or sense which ever you choose to run.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation. That helps.