Hi all,
I tried searching around and googling and I have a pretty good idea of what kernals and ROMs are. I'm coming from a Droid X (locked bootloader) and just upgraded to a GN. I unlocked the bootloader, but as for everything else, this is all new to me. I'm looking for a solid guide(s)/sticky on ROMs/Kernals/Radios.
Questions seeking to be answered:
1) What are "radios?"
2) How is it that kernals from other phones can be used on completely different phones?
3) How do I save a nandroid on the GN? (I've only unlocked my bootloader)
4) Does the stock SBF from google contain everything I need to restore to stock (kernal, rom, radio, etc.)?
I want to make sure I cover all my bases before diving into all of this. Thanks!
1) What are "radios?"
Radio firmware, or Radio's are the software that drive the cellular radio's (connects to cell service, data/voice/etc)
2) How is it that kernals from other phones can be used on completely different phones?
They can't. Without modification. Certain drivers and components need to be changed/added/removed for it to work. It's much easier to recompile the AOSP kernel from source (for the GN) and modify it from there as kernel developers have been doing.
3) How do I save a nandroid on the GN? (I've only unlocked my bootloader)
Install Clockwork Mod Recovery, boot into it, and click backup.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1357642 (GSM ONLY!!! Check the CDMA forum if you've got the LTE version)
4) Does the stock SBF from google contain everything I need to restore to stock (kernal, rom, radio, etc.)?
Not familiar with the term SBF, however yes. All files to return to stock are hosted by Google, and guides on how to do exactly that are present in the forums.
You might also find this helpful:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392310
Related
Hey guys,
I recently got a Galaxy Nexus, and wanted to play around with it. It's still on the 4.0.1 stock ROM (yakjuux build). Haven't made any tweaks to it beyond the basics (removed vibration, disabled data since I don't have a data plan, etc).
Basically, what are the benefits of flashing the 4.0.2 factory image (from Google, can't link it yet)? And how would I go about it? My guess is, I'll need to place the files on the phone, then flash it using flash-all.sh. Or would it be better to just pick a custom ROM and go with that instead of flashing the yakju build?
The benefits of straight yakju are that you should get updates first (faster than yakju** people anyways).
Custom ROMs offer more than stock but bring their own issues/tweaking. Go read every one of the 1000000 threads on "stock vs. custom ROM" (think there's one going on in Q&A right now, actually).
If you want to switch from yakjuux to yakju, follow this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21113773&postcount=195
I personally used this one to flash my Canadian model to yakju and it works great. It uses your PC (or Mac) + fastboot to flash the items in order. Be sure to follow all of the steps and flash all of the items. In order to receive OTAs (if that's important to you) you need them to all be flashed. Changing one (like recovery or radio) will stop OTAs.
If you need more info, the guide is pulled from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1464881
Sweet, thanks. That worked great.
I did notice a weird thing after rooting where my phone remained awake constantly even with the screen turned off. Not sure if it fixed itself though. I'll check again to see if the problem persists.
edit: It seems to be fixed now. Awesome.
Hey guys, I was thinking of installing cm7 on my motorola defy but the problem is that its a t-mobile uk version that has been unlocked using an unlock code. Right now I can use any sim with this phone but after installing cm7 will the phone lock itself back to t-mo? I don't have the unlock code for this phone so it would be really disastrous for me if it were to lock itself. should I be worried?
I found a tutorial here that un brands the motorola defy, does that mean the phone would be unlocked? My phone is currently running android 2.2.2 official uk build with baseband epu_93_00.59.02 kernel version 2.6.32.9 and build number jorem_u3_3.4.2_179-6.1.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Sent from my MB525 using XDA
Yes it should be safe.
I haven't done it myself, but here's why I say so:
1- during the process of updating to a custom rom, everyone should create a full nandroid backup of their current stock rom right after installing 2nd-Init. That way, if things don't work out with custom rom [or for warranty purposes] one can easily return to that original setup with a nand restore [and un-rooting];
2- there is a thread regarding sim unlocking the Defy here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=22227859 but I bet you will not even have to deal with it...But if you do, it's there for you and you'll find help from others users I'm sure.
Don't waste anymore time and give a shot at CM7; I'm sure that you'll never go back to stock rom afterwards ;-)
Cheers
Ok one last question. My baseband is greater than the version listed on that thread. It is .02 and I have heard that downgrading your baseband is usually not safe?
Sent from my MB525 using XDA
that shouldn't be a problem either.
In fact, Maniac103 just recently changed the way we set baseband on cm7; no more dedicated apk.. it's now all done through Device Settings.
If you're still worried [and To be on the safe side, in addition the the nand backup before installing a custom rom], also make a copy of this whole folder (current radio files) from your stock rom:
system/etc/motorola/bp_mvn_default
so that you can revert to them (make a flashable zip w them) if needed.
Anyhow, no big risk involved if you do it that way.
Good luck and have fun.
Thank You for your help!
as far as I know unlock is retained no matter what rom u are on...
not 100% sure...
let us know how this works out...
Sent from my MB526 using xda premium
SBFs on Motorola Defy
I read the Motorola Defy beginners guide but I don't understand some stuff. I am already on the latest SBF deployed by T-Mobile UK i.e JOREM_U3_3.4.2_179-6.1 as shown in settings Build Number. When we install Custom ROMs lets say CM7, do these ROMs change the SBF? If yes, then how do I know if it is a Fixed SBF or a Full SBF? If I want to come back to the official build of which I would be making a backup in case I need to get warranty (I still have 6 months of warranty) then do I need to again install the Full SBF taken from the link Zephyrot posted?
If CM7 does not modify or change the SBF then I think I would be pretty much safe in just restoring the official 2.2.2 froyo build without worrying much about SBFs, unroot the phone using SuperOneClick and taking it back to the service center. Right?
And lastly I have the SOC Defy, checked it using CatLog. Does the stable build downloaded from the CynaogenMod website of CM7 work OOB? Zephyrot suggested that sometimes you need to do additional stuff for everything to work correctly.
To go back to stock state, there are two options: 1) you restore a nand backup and like you said, you have to remove SU and unroot. This ain't so easy to do, but is sometimes the only option for people not having their stock sbf available. 2) access STOCK recovery and wipe everything and then flash their stock sbf.
Once rooted and 2nd init installed, I still recommend to create a nand backup of your stock/current state before using a custom rom anyway.
Could be useful if you ever need to go back (outside warranty) to stock rom with all your apps still installed...
Sbf is stock firmware; custom rom replace and build upon that software. I think you meant kernel? But anyhow, I suggest you to first go with ghe latest Maniac103 latest build as it includes boot.img and devtree; no need for anything else and it is rock solid and lightning fast.
Get it here: https://github.com/maniac103/android_device_motorola_jordan/downloads#download_187690
It works superbly
Thanks guys, everything works superbly. The phone didn't lock and it feels like a dead man has been given a life back again!
Hello everyone. I'm a recent android convert from iOS, and loving it.
I've rooted and gotten CWM onto my Telus GS3 and made a back-up of the stock samsung rom
I would like to try out some of the other roms and have been pouring over the threads. Unfortunately, i'm still confused about a few things and hoping someone can clarify or point me in the right direction:
Flashing a new rom seems easy enough. I'd like to try out CM10/aristodemos JB. What i'm confused about is the following:
1. according to this thread, i might run into issues w/ build.prop
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1915875
what is it? and do i need to be following what they say in that thread w/ all of the AT&T roms i try to flash?
2. do i need to be re-flashing my telus modem from the Modem List after i flash these roms?
I guess i just haven't found the one thread that summarizes for us Telus users, what we need to do Differently when flashing say the CM10 or any other of the AOSP roms?
Thanks! any help would be appreciated!
Hi! I've a Telus S III myself and ran into absolutely no problems rooting and reflashing it (with CM10) - no build.prop tinkering and no modem reflashing (third party ROM images normally don't include modems, and those that do will note this).
I rooted through flashing - with Odin - the rooted Telus image available over in the sticky in the dev forum, which also includes instructions for flashing a CWM (make sure it is new enough to avoid the error 7 described in the other thread).
Basically, there's nothing really Telus-specific unless you choose the pre-rooted image route for rooting, and that only applies to the root process.
Good luck, and enjoy your customising...
ahhh perfect, that's good to hear!
thanks!
I've found many a guide here to go back to stock recovery, etc. However, none of them that I have found seem to have an option for the Koodo T989D (not to be confused with the Telus T989D, while they may be nearly identical the Koodo one has different markings in the software). I need to get my phone replaced because the Bluetooth is flaky (tried stock ROM, LiquidSmooth, CyanogenMOD, MIUI, etc etc, I'm 99% sure it's a hardware issue at this point), and in order to do that I need to get back to Koodo factory spec.
I'm currently on a stock (rooted) Koodo ROM, so if there's a way to simply uninstall Superuser I'll be good to go. However, I'll also need a stock recovery, but I'm not sure if there are any here so far that have the Koodo brandings or a lack of other carrier brandings.
Could anyone help me out? I'm not necessarily looking for a guide (there are plenty of those here), just the stock recovery and possibly a way to remove Superuser.
EDIT: I hate posting before I fully search. Found exactly what I need here
are you going to end up using the ODIN method or TWRP/CWM method? I'm about to do this on my phone also.
Hi,
After doing some reading on here I am a little unsure on the best way to back up my HTC One M9 (GSM) stock recovery/system. My software number is 3.50.710.1 (Android 6.0) and it came from Optus (Australia). I cannot seem to find an RUU file for this firmware anywhere online; only earlier versions are available. My understanding of this is that I need an RUU file for my specific firmware as a fail-safe in case I mess something up and need to return to stock?
My questions are:
1) Can I get my phone back to the current complete stock firmware and be able to receive future OTA updates without turning s-off and without copying anything from my phone before I flash TWRP and a custom ROM?
2) If not is there anyway that I can back up my phone it its current stock state that will allow me to go back to this state if I want to go back to my stock Optus firmware or to install OTA updates? (Including the stock radio/recovery)
3) Reading this post as well as others leads me to believe that I may stop my mobile radio working by flashing a custom ROM (especially as the linked post has the exact same firmware as me). How can I avoid this, or fix it if it happens to everyone?
I am ideally looking for a custom ROM which improves over the stock firmware. My priority is maximum battery life, with customisation and HTC 10 system UI/apps a secondary focus. Any recommendations would be great, as well as tweaks and kernels which help give the maximum battery life.
Cheers!
You can't backup your firmware (and that includes your radio). However if you read my google sheet you'll find instructions for backing up your current boot.img, your system and the stock recovery. If you do it correctly those files will suffice for recovering the ability of installing OTAs. No personal data will be backed up so maybe you want to share your backup with us afterwards.
There is a custom kernel for CM/AOSP roms which is said to repair the signal problems. As far as I read some sense rom users reported that flashing the stock boot.img recovered their signal. However this doesn't seem to work for every user. So you'll need to try by yourself.
Flippy498 said:
You can't backup your firmware (and that includes your radio). However if you read my google sheet you'll find instructions for backing up your current boot.img, your system and the stock recovery. If you do it correctly those files will suffice for recovering the ability of installing OTAs. No personal data will be backed up so maybe you want to share your backup with us afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much! I have managed to find the guide you mentioned to backup the stock boot image, system image and recovery. By the looks of it the tab to the right is the guide to return my phone to its original state, which is good. I'm more than happy to share the backup once I do it.
Flippy498 said:
There is a custom kernel for CM/AOSP roms which is said to repair the signal problems. As far as I read some sense rom users reported that flashing the stock boot.img recovered their signal. However this doesn't seem to work for every user. So you'll need to try by yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, well I am planning on keeping s-on at this stage, so I'm left with Sense based ROMs I believe? I have read that LeeDroid is the best for battery life, does this sound right? If so I am unsure if I can flash it as it says "Please make sure you have the latest HTC Hima 3.35.XXX.XX Marshmallow firmware installed prior to installing this ROM" because my software number is 3.50.710.1?
Thanks again!
Da Doom Lord said:
Okay, well I am planning on keeping s-on at this stage, so I'm left with Sense based ROMs I believe? I have read that LeeDroid is the best for battery life, does this sound right? If so I am unsure if I can flash it as it says "Please make sure you have the latest HTC Hima 3.35.XXX.XX Marshmallow firmware installed prior to installing this ROM" because my software number is 3.50.710.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read that several times in the near past and I actually don't understand it. You never needed S-OFF for flashing none-sense based roms as long as I started using Android/HTC phones and that was back in 2012. Why do so many people think they need S-OFF for AOSP?
I personally prefer the Viper rom. But taste differs and in the end the best advice I can give is try it out by yourself. Everyone has different needs and is using his/her phone in a different way. The best rom for person a might be an awful choice for person b since he/she has completely different needs.
I can't tell you whether you can use Leedroid. Test it and report back. That's how xda works. You might be able to use it after you flashed your stock boot.img but I don't know whether you really are or not. The warning is written so that people don't start flashing that rom with a lower firmware version. On older HTC phones flashing an "older" rom has never been an issue on newer firmware versions whereas flashing a newer rom on an older firmware never goes well (even on the M9). However many things have changed since the M9. There is no hboot anymore, the Download Mode got introduced, google changed the way OTAs are checking whether your system is modified, and so on. (Just to mention a few changes.) Those issues with the lost signal didn't even exist on pre-3.x firmware versions of the M9. Therefore users like you who use a not so common firmware (in comparison to the user numbers of the most common firmware bases: international, taiwanese and the developer firmware) have no other choice but trying out by themselves or getting S-OFF and changing to a more common firmware.
Flippy498 said:
I can't tell you whether you can use Leedroid. Test it and report back. That's how xda works. You might be able to use it after you flashed your stock boot.img but I don't know whether you really are or not. The warning is written so that people don't start flashing that rom with a lower firmware version. On older HTC phones flashing an "older" rom has never been an issue on newer firmware versions whereas flashing a newer rom on an older firmware never goes well (even on the M9).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have followed your guide and now have the latest stable LeeDroid ROM installed and TWRP. Just as I predicted the radio was not originally working. When I restored my stock boot.img from the original backup I performed it began to work. Thanks so much for your help! I'll upload the backup to cloud storage when I get access to a decent internet connection and then I'll share it to help others out.