I have just migrated from the EPIC 4g to the GS3. On my EPIC i had the ICS via the cyanogen mod. I did like it, just hated to update all of the time, restore apps, setting, passwords, preferences, ect... Plus I didnt like the inability to receive radio updates. I did however like the tether / hotspot option. I would only have to use it a few times a month. I have been doing some reading - just a little. Is there a way for me to get the hot spot functionality without rooting and messing with my stock rom (and not having to pay $30 per month @ Sprint - i just dont use it enough to justify the expense).
Any suggestions?
I have a couple old verizon HTC Droid phones we no longer use as phones and was wondering if they could be turned into mini tablets capable of using our home wifi network and google play? It would be a good way to recycle theses and keep them in use. Ive been reading about rooting and the custom roms in the forums and was just wondering if this has been done before?
Flash paranoid android rom
If available
You should definitely root the phones, but I've upgraded to the galaxy nexus and have been using my incredible as a WiFi only device for the past few months. I'm rooted on CM7 (http://get.cm/get/3j) and ADW EX Launcher.
So far this is the best stuff that I've found to do without a data plan:
Run the WiFi only script found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1217038
I use an app called Tablet Talk to transfer SMS from my gnex to my dinc over the same wifi network or via bluetooth. If you identify the dinc as a tablet in the app it works just fine. The app isn't optimized for such a small screen, but I've been in contact with with the developers and an update is due within the next few weeks that will fix the user interface.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk&hl=en
You should be able to use Tablet Talk without being rooted, but the WiFi only script can't be run unless you have root access.
I'm interested in hearing what other people are doing with their wifi only dinc's...
Just inherited the dinc from my mom when she moved to the RAZR max. It is now my four year olds. That way he will leave my gs2 alone. Removed the dialer so 911 won't get random calls. Installed a bunch of kids games, locked play store down, installed go launcher and hid all the bloat in folders. Eventually I'll get around to rooting it and get rid of it all for real. For some reason the dinc doesn't like my cables and it keeps failing when I try to root.
I've got a two part question for some issues I'd like to address while on 4G (some I've called Sprint about, others I know you guys will have the answer since I'm rooted) that I hope to resolve.
My issues with Sprint is that if I'm on 3G and looking at images via websites, pics obviously load slower, but they're always nice and crisp. I notice that when I happen to be on 4G and go look at images, suddenly they load super grainy. I spoke to someone else who is also on Sprint w/ an LTE 4G phone (not a Note II, something else) who experiences the exact same problem. I've called Sprint about it, but I get the usual run around saying they're addressing the issues, fixing towers, etc. When I first started getting 4G in my area about 3 months ago, it was BLAZING fast, connected the second I came off the freeway and stayed on strong. I realize over time that I'm sharing the same signal with others, but damn.
My issues that I'm hoping you guys can assist with is in regards to the phone staying connected to to 4G more via changing thresholds. As I id before, it was awesome. Now it's gotten to the point where I or the phone have to be near a window, or occasionally I can leave it on the top edge of my couch...but if I happen to handle the phone to answer a text messages, it'll often drop back into 3G. The problem is that I use my phone tethered to my laptop for watching TV....Top Gear, Family Guy, etc that I stream. On 4G it's great, but once it drops to 3G it turns into a buffering nightmare and some shows/sites can't handle jumping around for time frames, so lets say if I'm 15 min into a show, go into 3G and come back into 4G, the show never recovers and I've got no choice but to restart the show. I'm just curious if there's a way to change at what point/signal strength that the phone wants to swap back and forth and basically ask it to stay on 4G more often than not when I'm at home where I actually get 4G.
As for tethering, I'm a stock rooted ROM using TrevEMod tethering because the stock tethering app won't stay turned on, I'm assuming due to using the stock ROM. What I'm curious about is a way to have the phone automated in that once I plug it on, the tethering app turns itself on and then back off again once unplugged from a power cord. At one point I'd used some app where it had me enter parameters to do this, but it only worked to turn on the stock tethering app which won't work.
Bottom line is I'd like my phone to stay connected to 4G more often than not, turn on tethering when plugged in and turn it off when not.
as for the tethering, if you are running the stock deodexed rom, there is a mod you can flash to make the native hotspot work then you will be able to use Tasker or however you automate it turning on. if you are running stock odexed you could always flash stock deodexed, if you were intent enough on making it work.
here is the hotspot mod: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2232553
I truly don't know if the stock ROM is odexed or deodexed, I just did a simple rooting procedure and nothing more so I could install a tethering app. Maybe I'm just being naive, but coming from my Epic days where I rooted, ROM'd, kernal'd, OC'd, etc days where I removed tons of apps, added others, etc I never was able to get battery stats/calibration to work correctly, which in turn wrecked havoc on that phone...phone would get super laggy, bog and stumble, then I'd reset the phone and I'd go from 20% battery life to 3%, then realize why the phone was freaking out. Now that I've got this Note II, it works great, I've never felt the need to OC or anything (I wouldn't mind removing stock apps but the SDX Stock App Removal Tool doesn't work), so I'm kinda hesitant in flashing any sort of ROM for fear of reliving past experiences...right now the phone simply works great, I'd just like a few simple features. Any input to sway my decision?
i hear ya, i too like a nice stable setup with everything working. your system is probably odexed if al you did was root, but if you have a file explorer app, when you go into /system/app, you will see each .apk also has an associated .odex file. the deodexed rom has the odex part added back into the apk, but otherwise is exactly the same, no tweaks or anything, every bit as stable, and with nothing removed, but it is easier to make mods for a deodexed rom, such as the hotspot mod!
the decision is yours. it is always a bit of work to flash a rom, but this is defintiely a way to keep the stabilty and reliability, and have the hotspot working the way you want it to! the rom is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2241930, if you choose to go this route. this is exactly my setup, with the hotspot mod, and it runs great.
I'll read the thread, thanks for the link. Any suggestions for something that will enable the tethering app automatically based on being plugged in, and I've had no luck finding anything in regards to people changing thresholds for the 4G connectivity.
m5james said:
I'll read the thread, thanks for the link. Any suggestions for something that will enable the tethering app automatically based on being plugged in, and I've had no luck finding anything in regards to people changing thresholds for the 4G connectivity.
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no problem. the app Tasker from the market does things like that, i think it costs a few bucks but it's well worth it. and perhaps there are others.
for the 4G thing, i don't see any setting for that. there are other people who know a lot more about network stuff than i do. there might be a dialer code menu where you can set to receive LTE only, but sorry i can't be of more help there. good luck and have fun!
Read this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2407286
In HDR menu there is a LTE only mode..... beware you wont receive calls or texts so if you have google voice set up then perfect
I just rooted my EVO yesterday & I just can't get a tethering app to work. ONCE I had my laptop connect, but had no internet access. I've tried WiFi Tether several times with different settings & I can't get a connection. I'm just looking for a simple & reliable tethering app to use on trips & such. As far as I know I have the latest updates with no additional roms installed. Basically a rooted stock phone.
Reliable Tethering...
judbgrdmchn said:
I just rooted my EVO yesterday & I just can't get a tethering app to work. ONCE I had my laptop connect, but had no internet access. I've tried WiFi Tether several times with different settings & I can't get a connection. I'm just looking for a simple & reliable tethering app to use on trips & such. As far as I know I have the latest updates with no additional roms installed. Basically a rooted stock phone.
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Click to collapse
This can be a very tricky question that has perplexed many people including myself for quite some time! What I have found is wifi tether for root users is the best and most reliable but there are some conditions to this. What I have found is if you are a sprint customer you have to be sure to get the right version of wifi tether. It all depends on how much flexibility you want but if you want something reliable consider one of the early 2.0 releases instead of going for the latest and experimental one. The easiest way to determine this is to make sure that the little wifi icon is green and not yellow.
if you do decide to try to alter the sentence with the more advanced version, be sure to leave it on a generic mode with waln=0 instead of the specific evo 4G mode.
If you're using a rooted stock, a lot of the roms come with a built into hacked sprint wifi tether, so you should be all good to go.
I'm getting ready to switch over from my current cell phone - an Incredible - to an Incredible 2. I had to unlock the bootloader to downgrade in order to root it - all that worked fine.
Now I've flashed a Paranoid Android ROM of Jelly Bean 4.1.1, and after doing my research, I'm seeing that wireless tethering is not working in JB!!! At least using the wireless tethering app.
I currently tether with the wireless-tether app in the DINC1, and I must continue to wireless tether on the DINC2.
I really want to use a newer version of Android...
In my trying to make it work, I've used all the various versions of wireless tether ("wifi_tether_v..."), both the "stock" ones and the "Treve" mods, trying all the settings-combinations as well as power cycling, not using the wireless encryption, netd(ndc) mode, etc., etc.. So far, nothing I've tried works.
However...I don't have the 3G/Cell service turned on yet in the phone.
So here's the actual question in this post: Would tethering fail because the cell/data service is not turned on?
Running pa_vivow-2.57.3-20130303-100902-ChillyBean.zip, with gapps-jb-20120714.zip.
And of course, I've seen that the built-in tethering app in the pa ROMs is supposed to work - but I can't test that because those menus don't appear under wireless until cell service is turned on!
I can't switch phones until I know that wireless tethering will work.
Any advice/knowledge regarding tethering requiring cell service to be enable in order to test? Or if the built-in "Hotspot" functionality will work in the pa-ROM?
Or do I have to try find a 4.3 ROM rather than the 4.1.1 ROM - so far I'm fairly sure there's no pa-ROM that's 4.3 for the DINC2...