[Q] Flashing Themes - Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Every time I try to flash a theme it never works. I have rooted my phone using ACS recovery and I'm running the Legendary 2.1 ROM. I follow the instructions that come with the theme such as wiping cache and dalvik cache but that still doesn't work. The theme can be located here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1227858 and

Does the zip flash? Does it says install completed, reboot phone?

Maybe u should Odin ur phone. That should get rid of any issues
My phone besides being EPIC its also LEGENGDARY!!

Is any theme you try to flash? Or just this one? You may be catching a bad download...also try flashing 2x, I don't believe its necessary, bit I seem to have better/more solid flashes when I do it twice. Also, you could try flashing something more simple, like a battery mod or app mod. I'm afraid to say it, but if its just not a bad dl, you may need to Odin and try again. I suggest checking out QBking77's 'how to' videos on YouTube for this process. He will provide links for everything you need, and is very good at showing you all the steps needed. Good luck!
sent Epically via adrenaline injected, supercharged ACS glory

Try the theme flashing app Metamorph. Marcusant just told me about it. I used it long ago for fonts but now allows you to store and switch themes either entirely or by component.

Related

[Q] Issues flashing MidNIGHT ROM 4.2 zip on stock eb13

Disclaimer:
I am new at this, I have read a lot and followed a lot of tutorials. I may not use terms correctly so please forgive me.
Problem:
I am trying to flash to MidNIGHT ROM 4.2 zip from stock eb13 on my Epic.
This is my first attempt at such a thing, i was able to successfully root my device via noobnl's instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770388
I am able to get rom manager installed and give it SU rights, etc. I got the full rom from the developer’s autism awareness site which is the full package. I make a backup through rom manager and reboot into CWM recovery.
I clear the data/cache 3 times and proceed to update through the zip on sd card option and point it to the midnight rom zip.
It says it is successful, i reboot and I become stuck on the samsung loading screen, I let it sit for 10min just to make sure, but no dice.
I then boot it back into recovery mode and try again multiple times which it is much faster this time but they all fail to load past the samsung load screen.
I go into the CWM recovery and attempt to load my backup, which hangs at installing cache every time.
So I am left with just booting into CWM.
I then resort do using odin to get back to eb13 and I am back where I began.
Sorry for the wall of text but I am lost and have tried to read a lot so I didn’t come on here asking random questions, but I have been working on this for a long time now and figure a forum post was due.
It wont work with CWM 2.5 and RFS. It requires CWM 3.0 and EXT4
After you ODIN back to EB13 go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=897612
From the midNIGHT ROM first post:
ptfdmedic said:
Instructions:
1) Make sure you are Rooted with NEW CW3.0.0.6 OneClick by Dameon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see now.
I used Rom manager to update my CWM to 3.0 and thought that would work with his first bullet, but I thought wrong.
I guess I dont understand RFS and EXT4, I thought rooting was rooting and noobnl's directions were the easiest for me to follow.
Much appreciated chris5h for the fast reply.
I will test this out when I get home from work.
-sgpigeon
kennyglass123 said:
Do you know how to Odin back to stock? Follow this thread for it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=853209
Then when you restore, only restore data under advanced restore.
If you used Mybackup root or Titanium you can restore your apps from there, otherwise you should download them again from the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the easiest way I have found to root your phone with CWM3 and EXT4. If you don't mind using Odin I would suggest it strongly. I used it and installed Midnight ROM v4.2 and had no problems at all.
Well that was it. Thanks a lot everyone for your help. It took me like 10minutes once I had everything downloaded, much better than the hours upon hours yesterday
I officially have midnight ROM installed and I am rocking some nice speeds on my epic! Finally nice to see just what the phone is capable of.
Glad you got it. I wish people would stop using rom manager for the epic. It doesn't flash cwm
Sent From My Evo Killer!

[Q] Need help with CWM Recovery and other issues!

Hello All,
I have been working with my friends EPIG 4g phone for a while now. The first thing I did was use "superoneclick 1.7" to root his phone. Then he got interested in trying different roms+kernels, so he came to me for more help. Almost all the custom roms I was researching are EC05 based roms, so I looked further into it. For reasons unknown, he is still on DI18 Eclair (must not have got the OTA). I dug on forums and found the zip file that would allow him to jump from DI18 to EC05 (froyo), but I need a custom recovery to install the zip. No matter what I try, I cannot get the phone to boot into CWM recovery. (Tried both from rom manager, and using camera button+vol. down+power combination) I have tried just about everything that I can think of, to no avail.
I have also tried:
Unroot & Re-root using process found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770388
Wiping all data via factory reset (really wish I wouldn't have, waste of a try)
Tried using methods found here:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/epic-4g-rooting-roms-hacks/34603-clockworkmod-recovery-rom-manager-guide.html
When trying to do anything in the stock recovery, I always get the:
e:signature verification failed errors.
Please bombard me with any and all ideas you guys have. I am currently about to try to manually install the CWM recovery by placing the update.zip file on the SD root directory. IF I can get that part done, I'm confident I will be able to get everything going. Another option I have read from other people's threads that I have not yet used is the Odin revert to stock and then flash some special .tar files. I took a look at Odin and don't remember seeing options for "stock" or anything, so if anyone can point me to a good Odin walk-through, that would be awesome.
PS: Ask me if I have failed to clarify on any aspects of the problem. Forgive me for not including more info on the problem, Ive been through like 8 hours of random stuff while trying to fix this, so Ive seen too much to remember everything I've seen.
Thanks in advance!
-Clarity
Too many words
I kinda fell a sleep in the middle so yeah
If you want to return too stock use odin
If you want to go to froyo from eclair use odin
If you want cw use I've of the one click rooters
Going to cw is just pressing every button that is not on the keyboard
(power + volume up + volume down + camera)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
Stock recovery will get you nowhere on this phone, and with all you have tried so far, I believe Odin is the best course of action. Here is a link to the Odin package-
http://www.mediafire.com/file/fn9s5cqkkwyu68d/Odin3+v1.61andepic.pit.zip
Unzip it to a folder on your desktop.
The necessary drivers and instructions for using it are here in the wiki
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S/SPH-D700#Odin_Stock_Flashing
Follow the instructions carefully and be sure the drivers are installed before starting. Obviously, wherever it mentions the DI18 tar, you will use the current one in it's place. You can use this one, it's pre-rooted and de-odexed.-
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1021305
That tar file is still RFS file system so you will need to install CWM 3.0.0.6 and boot into it with the 3 finger solute so it can convert the file system to ext4. Package and instructions here-
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=897612
If you made it this far you should be able to install one of the current ROMs you've been shopping for.
Thanks for the responses guys, I will try that out when I get a chance. Might be a while though because I don't see my friend that often.
So I was able to use Odin and successfully flash the EC05 .tar. However, I was unable to flash the Syndicate Frozen ROM that my friend wanted. It seems to fail on the flashing kernel step, some blue text that is large and out of place shows up for a second, and it goes back into the recovery menu. When I try to reboot the phone, it is clear that it did not work (assuming the kernel install is failing). I am going to Re-flash the EC05 for now, but do you guys have any recommendations for ROM+Kernel combinations good for battery/performance? Link me up if you know of any good combo's, but I've researched it a bit myself as well.
Basically, I would like to know what I am doing wrong here. Is the CWM included from that .tar file compatible & ready to flash any custom ROM that I want? Or do I need to use that CWM 3.0.0.6+root that Mattalica suggested? The EC05 was prerooted, so I'm wondering what happens if I use the 3.0.0.6 exploit on top of this root... Let me know guys.
onlyclarity said:
So I was able to use Odin and successfully flash the EC05 .tar. However, I was unable to flash the Syndicate Frozen ROM that my friend wanted. It seems to fail on the flashing kernel step, some blue text that is large and out of place shows up for a second, and it goes back into the recovery menu. When I try to reboot the phone, it is clear that it did not work (assuming the kernel install is failing). I am going to Re-flash the EC05 for now, but do you guys have any recommendations for ROM+Kernel combinations good for battery/performance? Link me up if you know of any good combo's, but I've researched it a bit myself as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happend when you rebooted that indicated it was not successful? If you had strange vibrations and a bootloop, that is common when trying to flash these new generation ROMs like ACS and Bonsai. A simple reflash usually fixes it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
The Syndicate one failed as the kernel step was happening, resulting in a complete ROM failure (syndicate frozen tries to install their kernel midway thru the ROM flash). I tried it more than once, with no success. It just kept failing at kernel and only letting me into the CWM recovery (probably had already erased the base ROM?)
I was able to flash Baked Snack 1.6 without trouble and he is going to try that out for now. Interestingly enough, I did try to flash the baked snack "step 2" kernel, which is supposed to be a bit better on the battery life, and guess what happened mid install: the same weird black screen with huge blue text that goes off the screen (I think it says it fails, not sure though).
Here's the kicker on that, the "about phone" section does say that the base-band is something like "baked snack 1.6 step 2", which is odd, but the kernel version section seems to boast the same kernel version number that it had before. This leads me to think that it may have worked, but again, I cannot be 100% sure. If you have any more comments/suggestions, feel free to keep posting. Thanks again for all your help with the Odin TAR stuff, I really didn't feel confident until you confirmed the method.
onlyclarity said:
The Syndicate one failed as the kernel step was happening, resulting in a complete ROM failure (syndicate frozen tries to install their kernel midway thru the ROM flash). I tried it more than once, with no success. It just kept failing at kernel and only letting me into the CWM recovery (probably had already erased the base ROM?)
I was able to flash Baked Snack 1.6 without trouble and he is going to try that out for now. Interestingly enough, I did try to flash the baked snack "step 2" kernel, which is supposed to be a bit better on the battery life, and guess what happened mid install: the same weird black screen with huge blue text that goes off the screen (I think it says it fails, not sure though).
Here's the kicker on that, the "about phone" section does say that the base-band is something like "baked snack 1.6 step 2", which is odd, but the kernel version section seems to boast the same kernel version number that it had before. This leads me to think that it may have worked, but again, I cannot be 100% sure. If you have any more comments/suggestions, feel free to keep posting. Thanks again for all your help with the Odin TAR stuff, I really didn't feel confident until you confirmed the method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BakedSnack 1.6 is a RFS ROM and is DI18 based. If you installed CWM 3.0.0.6, it would have converted your filesystem to EXT4. BakedSnack 1.6 does not have kernel support for EXT4. However if you installed an older version of CWM it would explain how ACS failed to install and how BackedSnack 1.6 was able to install and boot.

What have I done

I have really hosed my phone and have no idea what is going on. So I have been playing around with the puzzle lock mod and deodexed theme for a couple of days. So today I flashed the blue puzzle lock mod to check it out again. Than I made a few image changes to the theme I was using. Flashed it and it won't boot up. Kept saying force closed on google search and a whole bunch of other apps. So I wiped everything dalvik and all. odined the deodexed file again and applied the theme I was using yesterday before any changes. Same thing. So I repeated the process clearing cache formatting sdcard. I tried everything. I should meantion that the phone works fine before I apply the theme. So I odin stock ec05, rooted and applied the theme I have been using for months and it does the same thing. At some point it stopped force closing and just wouldn't boot past the samsung logo. Does anyone have any idea what the heck is going on and how to get this fixed?
crawrj said:
I have really hosed my phone and have no idea what is going on. So I have been playing around with the puzzle lock mod and deodexed theme for a couple of days. So today I flashed the blue puzzle lock mod to check it out again. Than I made a few image changes to the theme I was using. Flashed it and it won't boot up. Kept saying force closed on google search and a whole bunch of other apps. So I wiped everything dalvik and all. odined the deodexed file again and applied the theme I was using yesterday before any changes. Same thing. So I repeated the process clearing cache formatting sdcard. I tried everything. I should meantion that the phone works fine before I apply the theme. So I odin stock ec05, rooted and applied the theme I have been using for months and it does the same thing. At some point it stopped force closing and just wouldn't boot past the samsung logo. Does anyone have any idea what the heck is going on and how to get this fixed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't restore any backups after rooting?
Nope. Nothing. I have tried 20 times at least. I just tried a new cable also.
It sounds like that a update hosed the theme. Was there a update to say your launcher? Sorry all I got
No updates. I am using ODIN to put a clean system on. It boots and everything works fine. I boot into clockwork and apply the theme zip. Same one I have been using for months that has always worked. And it won't boot. I just don't get it. I thought ODIN was supposed to wipe the phone clean. If that is so than what is going on?
crawrj said:
No updates. I am using ODIN to put a clean system on. It boots and everything works fine. I boot into clockwork and apply the theme zip. Same one I have been using for months that has always worked. And it won't boot. I just don't get it. I thought ODIN was supposed to wipe the phone clean. If that is so than what is going on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What root method did you use and is that the same as you had? Did you need to flash a custom kernel first before the theme?
I used the one click root, same one I have always used. I have used the odexed prerooted EC05 and the deodexed prerooted EC05 also. None of them work. No kernels. All stock.
crawrj said:
I used the one click root, same one I have always used. I have used the odexed prerooted EC05 and the deodexed prerooted EC05 also. None of them work. No kernels. All stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't most themes require a custom kernel for things like the boot animation and such?
Not for basic themes. I am not using boot images or anything special. Just image changes mainly. I have never used a custom Kernel. This just doesn't make any sense.
crawrj said:
Not for basic themes. I am not using boot images or anything special. Just image changes mainly. I have never used a custom Kernel. This just doesn't make any sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After the changes were done, did you re-sign the apps?
Nope. Didn't make any app changes. And I have tried old themes that I have used before any changes and they don't work.
crawrj said:
Nope. Didn't make any app changes. And I have tried old themes that I have used before any changes and they don't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try flashing a custom kernel and see if they work then.
I will try that but like I said I have never used a custom kernel and have never had a problem. I am about to flash the simply-blue-mod-6lockscreens.zip file again to make sure I am not losing my mind. I flashed that file yesterday and earlier today without problems. I am beginning to think something is wrong with the nand or something very serious. I don't know much about this though so I am really lost.
Doesn't ODIN wipe out the nand? If not is there a way to format it?
crawrj said:
I will try that but like I said I have never used a custom kernel and have never had a problem. I am about to flash the simply-blue-mod-6lockscreens.zip file again to make sure I am not losing my mind. I flashed that file yesterday and earlier today without problems. I am beginning to think something is wrong with the nand or something very serious. I don't know much about this though so I am really lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may be a bad Odin flash. You could try again and use the .pit and repartition.
I have ODIN'ed more the 20 times now. It looks like it is permissions. I tried fix permissions before but maybe I didn't follow the right sequence or maybe it just took more than once. This time I wiped 3x everything, fixed perms, odin, let boot and sit for a while, boot to cwm and apply theme zip, reboot and it loaded. I am going to try again with the current theme.
crawrj said:
I have ODIN'ed more the 20 times now. It looks like it is permissions. I tried fix permissions before but maybe I didn't follow the right sequence or maybe it just took more than once. This time I wiped 3x everything, fixed perms, odin, let boot and sit for a while, boot to cwm and apply theme zip, reboot and it loaded. I am going to try again with the current theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. I am just now having a "fix permissions" discussion with another beta tester.
It sounds like odin is working fine and it's the theme that is causing the issue. If you had it working before with that specific combination of firmware+theme and you know it should be working, then it may be the recovery format... What CWM recovery are you using? Is it converting to EXT4, if so is the theme package compatible? I'd recommend using the latest version (if not already) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13746457&postcount=1
it doesn't force EXT4 or RFS. Best of luck.
Using 2.5 same as always. Not on ext4. Something is just not right. It is doing it again. I am not sure what is going on.
WTF. Now I think there is some conspiracy by maddoggin to take over all epics . I can flash simply-blue-mod-6lockscreens.zip with no problem. And if I flash a theme that doesn't work after flashing his theme it works. I could see that in some strange deodexed thing but I have flashed back to stock odex and can't get my odex theme to work either, which has always worked. I am about to go nuts over here.

Rom, Kernels, and Themes...Oh My

Now, I have been reading and watching videos (qbking77 made some great ones) trying to understand everything before trying to change my phone. Now from what I understand, you need to root your phone, install a kernel, install CWM (preferred method of installing items), install a ROM, and then you can install a theme.
Qbking77 posted a video on "How to root and clockworkmod the Samsung Epic Touch 4G" but in this video it has links for a combined zip that will also install the eg30plus kernel. I have read that this kernel can have a LOS, so people have recommended the LoStKernel. So I take it I need to do individual steps? First root the phone? Then install the LoStKernel? Then install CWM? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Next question is regarding ROMs. There are so many of them, I get confused. Which is good? Is it a matter of which fits best with how people enjoy their phone? If so, I like having as pure of an Android experience as possible (I think that is called AOSP?) with great battery life. I hate bloatware, and want to install the stuff I want on my phone rather than what Sprint puts on it. I also dislike the layout, email, MMS, etc. that Samsung has put on the phone. Suggestions?
Lastly, themes. There are a bunch out there. I have seen some great ones such as brkear1967 ICS one. Though I am unsure. On my HP Touchpad I am using the Honeycomb 3D - SB theme (Awesome Theme) using Theme Chooser since CM7 was ported to it, but I know CM has not done a CM7 for this phone yet, which will probably come after they start rolling out ICS. Anyway, any suggestions when it comes to Themes would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much for any and all information people may give. it's really appreciated.
I guess, I am supposed to do Odin with the eg30plus kernel, then I can Odin to the LoStKernel?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
I was not rooted and all I did was odin the lostkernel and I gained root with cwm. From there you can flash whatever you want through cwm. Hope that helps.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Thanks so much!
I would follow that video you watched.It comes with CWM. Then install this rom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1304600
It comes with the Lostkernel and is AOSP kinda. Then you can theme to what ever you please.
I recommend to start with this theme:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1315232
great ICS theme.
Akradroid said:
I would follow that video you watched.It comes with CWM. Then install this rom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1304600
It comes with the Lostkernel and is AOSP kinda. Then you can theme to what ever you please.
I recommend to start with this theme:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1315232
great ICS theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly the theme I wanted to install, but when I went to go install the ROM I kept getting Force Closes of everything. I couldn't even see my screen, only the force closes of the status bar, MMS, etc.
So, I had to take the battery out, and boot into CWM to restore my backup of just the LoStkernel.
Steps I took:
1. Copied zip to my phone.
2. Booted into CWM.
3. Factory Reset / Wipe.
4. Clear Cache.
5. Clear Davik Cache.
6. Install.
After I restored, I applied the SB Rom then put on the Nothin But Honey Theme. A very nice Theme and Rom, but really wanted to try that Theme you had suggested. I think my problem was, since I did these steps for applying the Starburst Rom, that I did a Factory Reset / Wipe instead of:
1. Format System under Mounts and Storage.
2. Wipe Data.
3. Clear Cache.
4. Clear Davik Cache.
5. Install.
I am not sure though. I think I could always, boot into CWM and restore back to just the LoStKernel, then do the steps above for the AOSP Rom then the ICS Theme. But again, not entirely sure.
Thanks!
Also, another thing...since installing the above SB Rom and Nothin But Honey Theme, I went from 94% Battery down to 66% Battery in a matter of an hour. That does not seem normal to me.

*NEWBIE* Just Rooted My Epic 4G Touch, Have a few questions?

Yes i just rooted my epic 4g touch yesterday. Looking for where I should go from here. I did only root it so Im going to go home and do the option "c" on the automated script tool so i can flash it with EK02+CWM so I have the CWM to flash roms. My questions are: I am currently on android 2.3.6 on EK02 Kernel. Should I stay on that kernel or should I do something different? Something newer or better? Also Once I have the kernel with CWM installed, can someone give me proper EASY instructions how to flash a rom? or theme? Also is there any recommended combination of a kernel/ROM/Modem i should install? I don't want something that has several bugs. The least, the better! ;-) Please any information would help. I'm a Newbie lol
Any Rom you flash will have a kernel built in. For the sake of you being new to this, I would just use the kernel the Rom comes with right now and worry about playing with kernels later.
The Modem will not flash with the ROM and needs to be flashed separately. Again, you might want to just stay with what you have right now. Any combination of the ROM, Kernel, and Modem will work. There is no science to what combo works best and is all a matter of personal opinion and experiences.
Once you install CWM, you can flash a ROM. Just download the ROM and add put it on your internal SD Card that phone has. Then boot into CWM. An easy way to do this is to download quick boot from the market and you can boot into CWM.
When in there wipe all system data (will remove all you apps from your phone.), cache, and dalvik cache (in advnaced).
Then go to install file from sd card. Choose internal, then go to the zip file that is the ROM. Click on it and install. After it is done, reboot the phone from CWM and you will now have a custom ROM.
Most of the ROMs you would want to install are on the 1st page of the Dev section. I currently running UnNamed ROM as it is extremely stable and has been giving me good battery life. I am on EL29 Modem and running the kernel the ROM came with.
There are other ROMS that offer more theming if you would like but sometime do not offer the same stability as some other ROMS.
For themes, make sure they are compatible with whatever ROM you are running. To flash a theme, you would do it the same way as a ROM except no need to clear system data. Just wipe Cache and Dalvik so you do not lose your info and then flash the zip. Also, if the ROM you are using is updated you usually do not need to clear system data either but if you jump to a totally different ROM you will need to clear everything.
A good app to get is Titanium Backup. I totally recommend purchasing the Pro version but you can get away with the free one. You can backup the apps you have on your phone and then reload them on the new Rom. Make sure to only put back the apps you downloaded and not apps from the system. You can a batch save and restore instead of doing each one individually. Click the settings menu, then batch.
Hope this helps you get started. Sorry, if any of this is confusing as sometimes I just ramble on as I type...Any more questions just ask away...We have a good group of people here.
If you like the color blue you should install Strongsteve's odexed ROM. If you don't like the color blue you should still install his ROM. Not only is it a beautiful to look at set up, it's also very stable and fast. Constant improvements are always being made as well. And you will soon be a fan of all things blue
There are other ROMS on the developers page. Some are tweaked for long battery life, some are themed but all are worthy of a look. It just comes down to personal preference.
As for the modem you will need to flash that separately. Try a few different ones and see which gives you the best performance.
Ok cool. Thanks guys. So if i want to stay on this modem I am on now. I could basically just flash the rom I want and this modem will stay on my phone right? I don't need to re flash it?
Yes.....you are correct. Now that you're rooted let the fun begin!
powerstroke said:
Ok cool. Thanks guys. So if i want to stay on this modem I am on now. I could basically just flash the rom I want and this modem will stay on my phone right? I don't need to re flash it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
correct.
I don't think any ROMS flash with modems except for the EK02 sprint official Over-The-Air update.
Awesome. One last thing lol, sorry for all the questions. I am currently on EK02. I am going to flash Strongsteve's odexed ROM. After I flash that rom, will I need to then flash again the EK02 Modem or is flashing the ROM all I need to do?
My advice stay on EK02 at least for couple days so you can compare with other setup. EK02 and EL13 have good results for me, everything else gives me bad battery life.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App
lol i would like to stay on it and that's fine. I'm just wondering if after i flash this rom, my modem will stay on there? Or do i need to re flash the EK02 modem?
Your modem will stay
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

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