Related
Not sure what these numbers and letters mean....
Mine sais EL29, so i only flashed the ROM (Blazer ROM 4.0) that had all the same information as my phone displayed under "About Phone"....
This page http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=716 has a list of ROMs, a few of which i would like to use. Specifically the new ICS leaks (Hurry up SPRINT, release the ICS ALREADY!!)...
My question is... is the "EL29" "EH17" "SRF12" and all those others the firmware versions? Modem Versions? What are these? If a ROM specifies this information anywhere, will i have to upgrade or downgrade to the appropriate files (Or firmware) before flashing the ROM? I have no idea what these are or what they mean.
From what i've read and picked up, i know that some of these things will have to be done through ODIN and I think I read that some other things can be done through CWM, like flashing the ROM itself.
I just need a little more information on how flash ROMs properly concerning what needs to be done BEFORE I flash a new one... No one wants a Samsung PaperWeight.
Things I already know:
1.) Must install a ROM compatible with your phone (DUH)
2.) Sometimes you gotta use ODIN (Is this only for root? Or do you use this to upgrade/downgrade modem firmware or something, too ?)
Also, what other file exensions should I be familiar with and what do they do? I just want to be able to modify my phone with no problems and a collection of links and bookmarks for me to pull it off. I'm not trying to be a programmer (yet =)
Any links specific to my questions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
Most of this could be answered with a little reading, frankly. Many of the stickies explain most of this.
I would start by watching some of QBKING77s YouTube videos, they will explain Everything.
There should be a link in my sig to get yourself started with an easy one click root, but read, read, and then read some more before doing anything.
A link to a post I answered similarly previous :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=23413749
Sent from my calculator watch.
Date the firmware was built that simple. EL29 was the most recent gingerbread build. FC13 build which btw was todayish is the latest ics leak.
In simplest terms:
EL29
E is the year. E was 2011, F is 2012, etc.
L is the month. A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, ... L = Dec
29 Well, given the rest of the pattern, is the compile date. In this example, 29 is the 29th day of December, 2011.
And as the other poster says, this info is out there if you spent a bit of time searching for it.
I want to see a custom ROM based on the SRF12 leak.
Compusmurf said:
In simplest terms:
EL29
E is the year. E was 2011, F is 2012, etc.
L is the month. A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, ... L = Dec
29 Well, given the rest of the pattern, is the compile date. In this example, 29 is the 29th day of December, 2011.
And as the other poster says, this info is out there if you spent a bit of time searching for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Thats what i was looking for. Never would had guessed what the E's and L's stood for.
I have read on this, trust me. Including the links that kingdazy provided. Although i will watch that youtube video to see what i can learn from it.
As i've said i've already root my Samsung E4G Touch flawlessly and i'm loving it, i was just wanting clarification on things.
My main question is.... If it has a different build, for instance mine is EL29, i would have to somehow get FC13 firmware on to my Samsung E4GT to flash any ICS ROM on to it, right? Either that, or whatever other firmware version the ROM instructions specify, i'm guessing.
I think the firmware is done using ODIN, right? I know i just used ODIN to flash an already rooted EL29 image..
But is CWM only used to install files from zips such as ROMs or stuff like Gapps?
Or does it depend entirely on the developers instructions? I know some dev leave out some instructions such as "use ODIN" or "use CWM" so when they do, i'm assuming i can use either or?
I DO see that they tend to tell you what NOT to use.. Like this one for CM9
"Using ODIN (link) flash to StockCWM EL26. Flashing CM9 from another recovery, such as Rogue, MAY BRICK YOUR PHONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED"
Needed clarification as to whether or not i've been understanding what i've been reading. Overall, i'm just wanting to know if i'm on the right track. If you guys got any pointers or advice. I would greatly appreciate it.
And just FYI.... I do my research. I know how to read. I'm just not as familiar with these forums like you guys are and have problems finding things. You got to admit, sometimes performing searches require a little finesse and know how....
Anyway, Thanks a lot.
Sorry I'm at work, can't link or go into detail, but in general ".zip"s are for cwm, ".tar"s are for odin.
If a dev insists on one or the other, they will say.
Sent from my calculator watch.
exitprogram said:
Thanks. Thats what i was looking for. Never would had guessed what the E's and L's stood for.
I have read on this, trust me. Including the links that kingdazy provided. Although i will watch that youtube video to see what i can learn from it.
As i've said i've already root my Samsung E4G Touch flawlessly and i'm loving it, i was just wanting clarification on things.
My main question is.... If it has a different build, for instance mine is EL29, i would have to somehow get FC13 firmware on to my Samsung E4GT to flash any ICS ROM on to it, right? Either that, or whatever other firmware version the ROM instructions specify, i'm guessing.
I think the firmware is done using ODIN, right? I know i just used ODIN to flash an already rooted EL29 image..
But is CWM only used to install files from zips such as ROMs or stuff like Gapps?
Or does it depend entirely on the developers instructions? I know some dev leave out some instructions such as "use ODIN" or "use CWM" so when they do, i'm assuming i can use either or?
I DO see that they tend to tell you what NOT to use.. Like this one for CM9
"Using ODIN (link) flash to StockCWM EL26. Flashing CM9 from another recovery, such as Rogue, MAY BRICK YOUR PHONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED"
Needed clarification as to whether or not i've been understanding what i've been reading. Overall, i'm just wanting to know if i'm on the right track. If you guys got any pointers or advice. I would greatly appreciate it.
And just FYI.... I do my research. I know how to read. I'm just not as familiar with these forums like you guys are and have problems finding things. You got to admit, sometimes performing searches require a little finesse and know how....
Anyway, Thanks a lot.
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Click to collapse
To answer your first question (flash firmware first, and then the ROM) there isn't an easy answer as a lot of ROMs are complete systems which include the firmware. Some though are not and do require the correct firmware to work or install properly. From what I'm seeing, the ICS ROMs appear to all be full system ROM's meaning you wipe your phone and install and you're good. Some require additional files such as modems or whatever. But you could easily go from Gingerbread to the current stock version of ICS (which is what I'm using) with one simple flash.
The method you use to flash isn't specific to what you're flashing rather what the software was designed to be flashed with. Many developers prefer to use a recovery install (zips) while others use ODIN (tar). As I was coming from a stock software pack (and stock recovery) my only real option was an ODIN flash. Most of the time you cannot flash using the stock recovery. The software has to be signed by sprint in order for the stock recovery to flash a zip.
The most important things to be aware of in terms of those bricking their phones is be CERTAIN you are using software for YOUR phone. Not the Samsung Galaxy S2 but the specific one you use (in my case Epic 4G Touch which is Sprint). International files seem to do major damage. DO NOT stop the flash process mid-way through. I bricked a Samsung Moment that way and you have to go with your tail between your legs to the store. Avoid some of the ROM switchers and MobileODIN. They are great resources for an advanced phoner, death of a newb.
I would start with a basic stock flash through ODIN to ICS there are videos that make it pretty darn simple. Use it for a few days, figure out what you like and what frustrates you and then evaluate the ROMs to see if any might be better.
The Stock ICS I am using IS rooted but it's so stock that I will still receive the OTA (over-the-air) update from Sprint. So I have some bugs.
EDIT: OH LOL I just realized I'm in the Epic 4G Touch forum, I could've been more specific regarding the ROMs and what not I thought I was in a general forum.
exitprogram said:
Thanks. Thats what i was looking for. Never would had guessed what the E's and L's stood for.
I have read on this, trust me. Including the links that kingdazy provided. Although i will watch that youtube video to see what i can learn from it.
As i've said i've already root my Samsung E4G Touch flawlessly and i'm loving it, i was just wanting clarification on things.
My main question is.... If it has a different build, for instance mine is EL29, i would have to somehow get FC13 firmware on to my Samsung E4GT to flash any ICS ROM on to it, right? Either that, or whatever other firmware version the ROM instructions specify, i'm guessing.
I think the firmware is done using ODIN, right? I know i just used ODIN to flash an already rooted EL29 image..
But is CWM only used to install files from zips such as ROMs or stuff like Gapps?
Or does it depend entirely on the developers instructions? I know some dev leave out some instructions such as "use ODIN" or "use CWM" so when they do, i'm assuming i can use either or?
I DO see that they tend to tell you what NOT to use.. Like this one for CM9
"Using ODIN (link) flash to StockCWM EL26. Flashing CM9 from another recovery, such as Rogue, MAY BRICK YOUR PHONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED"
Needed clarification as to whether or not i've been understanding what i've been reading. Overall, i'm just wanting to know if i'm on the right track. If you guys got any pointers or advice. I would greatly appreciate it.
And just FYI.... I do my research. I know how to read. I'm just not as familiar with these forums like you guys are and have problems finding things. You got to admit, sometimes performing searches require a little finesse and know how....
Anyway, Thanks a lot.
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Click to collapse
I was wondering the same so don't feel stupid exitprogram. I too have read a lot, and the more I do the more confused I get. Frankly, I have no idea how to move forward.
I'm pretty noob with this phone, but have rooted my HTC Hero and flashed a few ROMS on it, rooted my et4g and installed starburst, even rooted and cm7ed my nook, but I'm very confused about the firmware version compatibility with ROMS for the ET4G. I've been waiting to see how the ICS ROMS are before doing anything further to my phone.
I'm sure you guys who replied must get tired with noobs asking the same old questions, but saying go read the internets ("Read Everything before flashing Anything.") isn't very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to help, I really do, but it's frustrating.
You say to watch QBKing77 videos, and all will be revealed. Here is an example of what is confusing for me, one of QBKing77 videos
In the vid it says it's a FC06 ICS ROM. Then leads you through the format all and zip install. I have no problem doing that, but I have EG30, and I have no idea if following the above install procedure will update me to FC06 or will leave me with a brick and/or headache.
ok general rule for samsung at least, only use GB firmware (kernel) with GB roms (system), ICS with ICS... For the QBKing example, i didnt watch the vid, but usually he says where hes coming from. Odds are its EL29, the official stock, if you wanted to do what he did, get to the starting point he was on then go from there. Honestly I think a lot of this has been made really complicated with the ET4G, mainly because of all the leaks, all fifteen personalized recoveries, people demaning preference on CWM or Odin... on the OG Epic there werent THIS many leaks, and there was time to catch up the new people, now its insane. I think the CWM variants really only serve to complicate, example the Rom Manager works good for CM9 I guess, but not really at all for everything else, and Rogue doesnt work for CM9, but great for the regular stuff... too much redundancy. And honestly it isnt just Rogue and ACS, they just try to simplify Koush's CWM, but then Koush has Rom Manager and it says it supports our phone, but the temp recovery is iffy and dont even mess with the Touch Recovery.
Anyways, just follow OP instructions, give the search a shot so you can tell the trolls you did so (it usually yields nothing, google works better) and sift through the chit chat in the dev threads for the info. If its not there in 20 pages, and not in the OP, just ask... if someone figures something out after the thread is created, someone should let the OP know to update their thread. Some devs are in a hurry and forget to clarify things... it happens.
in general, .zips are flashed thru CWM, look/ask which one to use if not specified, .tar, .md5, .bin... all use Odin... look for which to use (the one-clicks are actually cool... make Odin easier till people get familiar with what goes where). I think once we get ICS official and the first onslaught of ROMs come out, things will settle down a lot.
Does anyone else notice those are bothe of epic and epic touch radios? Op be very careful not to make the mistake of flashing wrong ones
Sent from my BAD A$$ EPIC TOUCH 4G
ungovernable1977 said:
ok general rule for samsung at least, only use GB firmware (kernel) with GB roms (system), ICS with ICS... For the QBKing example, i didnt watch the vid, but usually he says where hes coming from. Odds are its EL29, the official stock, if you wanted to do what he did, get to the starting point he was on then go from there. Honestly I think a lot of this has been made really complicated with the ET4G, mainly because of all the leaks, all fifteen personalized recoveries, people demaning preference on CWM or Odin... on the OG Epic there werent THIS many leaks, and there was time to catch up the new people, now its insane. I think the CWM variants really only serve to complicate, example the Rom Manager works good for CM9 I guess, but not really at all for everything else, and Rogue doesnt work for CM9, but great for the regular stuff... too much redundancy. And honestly it isnt just Rogue and ACS, they just try to simplify Koush's CWM, but then Koush has Rom Manager and it says it supports our phone, but the temp recovery is iffy and dont even mess with the Touch Recovery.
Anyways, just follow OP instructions, give the search a shot so you can tell the trolls you did so (it usually yields nothing, google works better) and sift through the chit chat in the dev threads for the info. If its not there in 20 pages, and not in the OP, just ask... if someone figures something out after the thread is created, someone should let the OP know to update their thread. Some devs are in a hurry and forget to clarify things... it happens.
in general, .zips are flashed thru CWM, look/ask which one to use if not specified, .tar, .md5, .bin... all use Odin... look for which to use (the one-clicks are actually cool... make Odin easier till people get familiar with what goes where). I think once we get ICS official and the first onslaught of ROMs come out, things will settle down a lot.
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Click to collapse
First of all. All of you suck and none of this information was helpful WHATSOEVER.
JK!
It's good to have received that the clarification as to what ODIN uses and what CWM uses. I was pretty much correct as far as that point goes, because no where inside of CWM does it have options for .tar files, etc...
Now, these modem firmwares, and all these other EL29, FC this and FU that (lol) can be a get confusing and i just want to be sure i do everything EXACTLY as they say it needs to be done, which of course means, don't ASSUME anything and always do your research and get clarification. Otherwise, you might end up with a $600 paperweight that reminds you of your stupidity on a daily basis when you look at it.
I appreciate all of your guys's input and i consider this is a great community.
Androidforums.com + XDA-Developers.com = Excellent resources and tools.
I'll admit i was in a bad mood and cussed out a MOD on androidforums one day, but its all good. People have bad days.... Hopefully that guy didn't take offense to the comments i made about his homosexuality lol. Won't happen again. I'll just beat up a co-worker instead haha.
Thanks again! NERD POWER!
Fyi we tell newbs to go read because that is how you learn....if you don't want to put the time into reading and learning you probably want a different phone..we all learned how to do things on this phone by reading and galaxy s3 will be similar so it's something most should do is read read read
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
E is the year. E was 2011, F is 2012, etc.
L is the month. A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, ... L = Dec
29 is the day so in EL29 would be dec 29th 2011
ungovernable1977 said:
ok general rule for samsung at least, only use GB firmware (kernel) with GB roms (system), ICS with ICS... For the QBKing example, i didnt watch the vid, but usually he says where hes coming from. Odds are its EL29, the official stock, if you wanted to do what he did, get to the starting point he was on then go from there. ...
I think once we get ICS official and the first onslaught of ROMs come out, things will settle down a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification. I'll take my phone back to stock and start again at some point. Think I'll still wait for the more finished ICS ROMs to play it safe. Some kind soul will no doubt write a howto for those less able among us.
Edit: decided to go back to stock and update to EL29 following the vid tut linked above. For anyone googling through, I was a little confused at one point but worked it out. Currently the EL29 file is a zip, inside is a .tar.md5 file which is what you select in Odin for the PDA box. Nice to know it's that easy... when you know how
SRF1.2 was a custom rom for old Epic based on froyo by MysteryEmotionz. It was based on the original work done by k0nane when CIQ was originally removed.
****Seems like we're getting alot of new users thanks to the price cut on our phones, and while we have an amazing amount of information available it seems that it's overwhelming for new users and they end up posting questions that are answered already in stickies, etc, just because they don't know where to start, hopefully this guide will cut down on that.... please feel free to suggest things that should be added or any changes I should make to make this better and more complete, or if you think this is redundant and a waste of time feel free to flame me, you won't hurt my feelings, just trying to give back to the community, make things easier for new users, and cut down on "how do i..." posts that have been answered elsewhere...thanks!****
Welcome To the Epic 4g Touch
As a new user its probably overwhelming trying to figure out where to start since this is a relativity mature device, most of the existing users are well versed in the more basic tasks, and we have SO MUCH info all over the boards here, this guide should help you get started....
1. The 1st thing you'll probably want to do is root. If you're coming from an HTC device or are new to android you're probably not familiar with Odin. Odin is Samsung's in house recovery tool that leaked a few years ago. It lets you flash rom's via usb connected to a PC. Odin is PC only, if you use linux or mac the easiest way to get root would be to use a PC, however there is a cross platform tool, Heimdall, that allows you to flash on OSX/Linux... Going forward in this guide though I will only be referring to using 1-click Odin's on PC's as i feel this is what the vast majority of people will be using...
- You'll want to first go to Sfhub's stickied thread in the dev section, Sfhub has been kind enough to make rooted 1 click Odin images for us, so especially if you're coming from a HTC device you'll be amazed how easy these phones are to root...(found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342728)
- As of today (07/09/12) if you buy an E4GT it'll come with the EL29 gingerbread system, this ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 ) is the appropriate Odin 1 Click for you to get root, again, thanks Sfhub
7/12/12 edit: Sprint is pushing the OTA to ICS as of today. It is build FF18, the rooted odin one click can be found in yet another thread by Sfhub here ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721229)... as the emmc bug seems not to have been addressed in the kernel I will leave the rest of the post unaltered for now until most roms have been updated to a kernel built from source with the code that triggers the bug removed. Until then, as stated later, some ICS recoveries are considered safe (Agats), but it never hurts to take a few extra minuets when flashing to totally avoid the risk of bricking
7/26/12 EDIT:
ICS flashing is now safe AS LONG AS YOU ARE ON ONE OF AGAT63 OR chris41g's SAFE KERNELS, these are built from source and have the offending mmc_cap_erase code removed/disabled. The kernel repo is found here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1662295) you can mobileODIN the tar's or flash the zip's via cwm
- You can refer to Garwynn's Official ICS OTA update thread for more information on the update (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1765953)
-After running the 1 Click Odin for your device you'll want to go back to the main thread ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342728 ) and download the auto root tool and choose option C to install Clockworkmod recovery- a custom recovery that will allow you to flash roms and make nandroid backups- on your phone. Dev VeNuM has posted a very detailed guide explaining what clockworkmod is and how to use it, which is stickied and can be found here ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1587607 )
- I'm not providing detailed instructions as those are included in the linked to threads... should you find the directions difficult to follow user qbking77 has made really great informative videos, linked to in the directions, detailing the aforementioned processes that should help clarify things further for you.
2. You now have a rooted gingerbread system with custom recovery. You can safely flash any Gingerbread roms from recovery, following the directions posted with the rom of your choice. If you want to flash ICS roms however, you have some more reading to do, as this phone can be bricked if you do not follow directions....
- The Epic 4g Touch has a bug in it's emmc controller that can cause the /data partition to become inaccessible/unrecoverable sometimes thanks to the wipe process when flashing from ICS recoveries... DO NOT FLASH FROM ICS RECOVERIES!!!! (7/26/12 edit: OLD, you can now flash from ICS as long as you are on a safe kernel, safe kernels can be found in the repo linked to earlier this post)
7/11/12 edit: In the FF18 source Garwynn has confirmed the presence of the offending code that triggers the emmc bug (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28609341&postcount=32) meaning that it will eventually be safe to flash from ICS as long as the offending code is removed by the dev of the kernel/rom...
- Please see this (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1525495) thread by xST4T1K which details how NOT to brick your device... It is slightly out of date but still very relevant... if you want a more technical understanding of what this emmc bug is and why this is happening you can see Sfhub's thread in general related to it (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1644364 ). The OP contains all of the information that our users have been able to figure out about this bug... Be sure to thank these people, as their hard work has made it exponentially safer for all of us to flash ICS roms on our phones...
-Every ICS rom will have a flashing guide in it's dev thread, its HIGHLY suggested you read and reread the guide for the rom you want to flash and follow it EXACTLY, taking the extra time upfront to fully understand what you're about to do will save you alot of trouble going forward.
-Put simply though you will always want to ODIN or Mobile ODIN (mobile Odin is an app made by the dev chainfire, available in the play store, that allows you to preform Odin flashes from your phone without using a PC) the el26 Gingerbread kernel/recovery and flash any ICS roms from that. NEVER FLASH FROM AN ICS RECOVERY, THAT IS HOW BRICKS ARE MADE!!!! Also do NOT use Rom Manager or Touch recovery!!!! (7/26/12 edit: also now outdated, as long as you are on a safe kernel you can just flash via cwm in ICS, no need to ODIN back to EL26)
3. Additional Information...
-modems, there are a variety of modems available for the E4GT, and all can be found in the modem repo ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1764210 ). Every phone responds differently to different modems and you may want to try some new ones if you are dissatisfied with the current one you have.
- Jelly Bean... Please do not post asking "Is Jelly Bean available for this phone!1!!!!!" / "when i get jellybean!!!1!!11!!"... we have some awesome dev's for this and there are quite a few working on it currently. It is currently booting with some issues, but should be ready to use as a daily in the coming weeks. DO NOT post asking where to find current builds, dev's will post in the development section once they feel its ready for release, same goes for CM10
- qbking77 has posted videos of reviews and install guides for most of the roms around here. If you find the install directions confusing watch the appropriate video and see if that helps you at all, he does a very good job of walking you through it... Also his reviews are quite helpful as well if you're not sure if you want to flash or not... Please consult these as opposed to starting a thread asking "should i flash XXXX?? is it good?" these things are a matter of personal preference... Also pretty much everything around here these days is good enough to use as a daily driver, all roms will have a working/not working section... refer to that, if everything you use is marked as working and the rom is not labeled "alpha build HIGHLY unstable, etc..." chances are it'll work for you well day to day and does not warrant starting a thread asking if its good enough to use as a daily driver...
- Stock roms/stock leaks are labeled as EL29, FF18, etc... all this represents is the date Samsung compiled the rom... the 1st letter represents the year (E=2011 F=2012) and the second represents the month (January=A all the way through December=L) and the number is the date. Modems follow the same naming scheme. The modems available are not limited to the "matching" rom in any way, ANY modem can be used with ANY rom (thanks to kingdazy for clarification on how the Samsung naming scheme works!)
7/26/12 EDIT:
It's been brought to my attention that we have a lot of people posting asking how to return to stock GB for whatever reason... all that you need to do is ODIN EL29, sfhub's one-click can be found here, its all you need ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 )
Also if you took the OTA and want root you can just ODIN the FF18 rooted one-click, found here ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721229 )
IF you need to get rid of the yellow triangle on the bootscreen in order to return your phone to sprint/it annoys you or whatever you need to download chainfire's app "triangle away" from the play store, its requires ICS and its like $1.99, buy it even if you don't need it, dude deserves the money for his awesome work on android devices... If you're still on GB you'll need a usb jig
~I will be adding more info to this over the next few days, but I figured this was enough to get started on, again any suggestions or additions are welcome and encouraged! the easier we make it for new users to get started the fewer times we'll all have to answer the same questions over and over again... If i referred to your work without crediting it I assure you it was accidental and if you notify me of my mistake I will make sure to edit the post accordingly to credit you, again thanks for any input!~
will be editing this to bring it current and for style this weekend, overdue for an update
This is very nice.. I wish I read something like this when I first got my phone months back, I had to take pieces of information from "here and there" and put it all together.. It can be overwhelming but it's not impossible to the new users
MiguelHogue said:
This is very nice.. I wish I read something like this when I first got my phone months back, I had to take pieces of information from "here and there" and put it all together.. It can be overwhelming but it's not impossible to the new users
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Click to collapse
thanks for your input! i'd actually thank you but have used up my 8 already today! I thought this would be useful as I've been seeing a lot of the same questions all over the place recently which are already answered in various threads, and there are some really good highly detailed guides out there as well, but we're kind of lacking in something that brings them all together in a noob friendly manner, like if you've never had a Samsung phone before its not immediately obvious that you need to start with sfhub's Odin thread since you're all like WTF is a ODIN?!? same with is it safe to flash xxxx from xxxx... those of us that have been around know the drill by now, and i guess it is kind of elaborate vs flashing on most phones, but its bothersome to have to reply to the same question over and over again, so hopefully this helps make it easier... like i said i will continue to add to this and welcome suggestions, again thanks for your input!
Thank you for this excellent guide. I'm a dev coming from the 3D and was about as lost as one can be, and this was a massive help to me. I appreciate it. :good:
No problem man, that's why I took the time to write it, have fun with the phone, its awesome... jet life till the next life
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
great post, OP!
perhaps you might consider a concise explanation of build designations/dates (fdxx ffxx, ect) vs modem, and how they are related but not exclusive?
i struggled with that my first few days...
kingdazy said:
great post, OP!
perhaps you might consider a concise explanation of build designations/dates (fdxx ffxx, ect) vs modem, and how they are related but not exclusive?
i struggled with that my first few days...
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I will edit to add that in later today, thanks for the suggestion!
cp320703 said:
No problem man, that's why I took the time to write it, have fun with the phone, its awesome... jet life till the next life
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
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You already know man.
Outstanding write up cp320703 !
Thanks to everyone on this site, all guides were done so well I didn't have any questions and I rooted my phone and installed a custom rom and modem very easily. Thanks to all who made this possible. I was tired of waiting for ICS from sprint, so thank you all very much.
Rafter_Man said:
Thanks to everyone on this site, all guides were done so well I didn't have any questions and I rooted my phone and installed a custom rom and modem very easily. Thanks to all who made this possible. I was tired of waiting for ICS from sprint, so thank you all very much.
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Thanks op.
Thanks for this guide, it has been really helpful. I have had htc phones before, but this is my first Samsung. Just a little bit different.
Great guide, I'm coming over from my evo 4g and was a little worried about rooting my touch. This guide takes away the doubt I had.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
thanks
BigSmoke53 said:
Great guide, I'm coming over from my evo 4g and was a little worried about rooting my touch. This guide takes away the doubt I had.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
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thanks for your guide and information; already I do some of the tested Roms and every I test i love it
---------- Post added at 12:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 AM ----------
thanks for your guide and information; already I do some of the tested Roms and every I test i love it
Thanks my friend sextape recommended me this place as soon as I got the Epic ..
labelexpired said:
Thanks my friend sextape recommended me this place as soon as I got the Epic ..
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Ah I See You Finally Came Thru Here Glad To See Ya, People On This Forum Are Great Dude!
Okay, first off thanks for the guide. However for some of us senior posters coming from HTC phones there still could be a clearer clarifications.
You say dont flash from ICS recoveries. That is confusing some of us that are not rookies. I understand much different then HTC phones Samsung has the recovery in the kernal. So are you saying not to flash from the built in phone recovery to another ICS build?
From what I gather and please correct me if I am wrong. If you have a custom agat kernal from 2.1 up you can flash betweeen FF!8 official rom or from custom rom to rom as long as you use ODIN to do it? Or is is ODIN MOBILE only do do it as long as you dont attempt thru stock recovery?
How about if your on stock FF18 kernal. Can you still use ODIN safely to go from ICS rom to rom? Should you always use either SFHUBS or Caulikins format program first?
Sorry to sound stupid but the verbage is new to some of us from other phones.
Thanks a bunch!
iceshark said:
Okay, first off thanks for the guide. However for some of us senior posters coming from HTC phones there still could be a clearer clarifications.
You say dont flash from ICS recoveries. That is confusing some of us that are not rookies. I understand much different then HTC phones Samsung has the recovery in the kernal. So are you saying not to flash from the built in phone recovery to another ICS build?
From what I gather and please correct me if I am wrong. If you have a custom agat kernal from 2.1 up you can flash betweeen FF!8 official rom or from custom rom to rom as long as you use ODIN to do it? Or is is ODIN MOBILE only do do it as long as you dont attempt thru stock recovery?
How about if your on stock FF18 kernal. Can you still use ODIN safely to go from ICS rom to rom? Should you always use either SFHUBS or Caulikins format program first?
Sorry to sound stupid but the verbage is new to some of us from other phones.
Thanks a bunch!
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sorry just saw this post, ODIN is always safe, and now that the emmc bug is understood most all of the kernels in the repo are safe as well, a bit of code just needed removed from stock to make them so. Odin and cwm are two means to the same end for the most part, however outside of official leaks you won't really be flashing roms via ODIN. Basically if you are on stock ff18 rooted you would want to ODIN a safe kernel, then you would be good to flash roms via cwm going forward
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
cp320703 said:
sorry just saw this post, ODIN is always safe, and now that the emmc bug is understood most all of the kernels in the repo are safe as well, a bit of code just needed removed from stock to make them so. Odin and cwm are two means to the same end for the most part, however outside of official leaks you won't really be flashing roms via ODIN. Basically if you are on stock ff18 rooted you would want to ODIN a safe kernel, then you would be good to flash roms via cwm going forward
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
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That perfect! Thanks for clarification on this. I am sure others wondered the same.. Now if there was just a nice Vanilla stock type tweaked non theamed ICS rom I would jump in. I will however ODIN Agats 2.3 to be ready! You rock!
Ok, So I did some searching and I found lots of information, but I didn't really find anything that tied all of the information together. I am not new to rooting or flashing phones, but I am new to this phone. So Here is my problem. I have seen a lot of the "how to root" guides. But I haven't really seen a guide on how to know which method to use. I have a brand new phone that I got today before work. So I have no idea how to tell which root method to use. Any information regarding how to tell which method/root this thing would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Its up to you, just follow the directions. I prefer odin from pc or sfhub autoroot package. I always have pc access though.
Using either of those methods, does it matter that I just got my phone and I don't know what software is on it? What if I wanted to try an ICS ROM or something? I am just a bit apprehensive.
So more reading and I figured out that I have the EL29 what ever. So I need to do this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
But am I right in thinking that I still need to install CWM somehow in order to flash custom ROMs? Also, does flashing a custom ROM increase the flash counter thing?
revaew said:
Using either of those methods, does it matter that I just got my phone and I don't know what software is on it? What if I wanted to try an ICS ROM or something? I am just a bit apprehensive.
So more reading and I figured out that I have the EL29 what ever. So I need to do this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
But am I right in thinking that I still need to install CWM somehow in order to flash custom ROMs? Also, does flashing a custom ROM increase the flash counter thing?
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Read this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1662295 Watch Qbking's videos - here is the one for the FF18 build [located here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1721229 [
Take some time and read read and then read again or you will turn you device into an expensive shiny fishing lure.
If you start off with sfhub's one-clicks you really can't go wrong. He has made it dead simple and safe and provided outstanding directions.
You can then use sfhub's Autoroot package to add Agat's 'safe' recovery with CWM.
Good luck
So I see that the the initial autoroot, it doesn't increase the Odin flash counter. But flashing a custom ROM (like say I wanted to go to ICS) would increase the counter?
I use this to get rid of the triangle and reset flash counter http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1494114
revaew said:
So I see that the the initial autoroot, it doesn't increase the Odin flash counter. But flashing a custom ROM (like say I wanted to go to ICS) would increase the counter?
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My friend one of the best pieces of advice I have seen here for you is too do some reading. Also why do you want to root your phone? If its for tethering you can simply install foxfi. If you want to try out different roms and tweaks then you really need to learn your phone. Developers, themers and contributors have set up thread after thread of great tutorials and answers to all your questions.
Welcome to android rooting world and you made a good choice but before I have to view another "I May Have Bricked My Phone" thread please read up and get up to speed on the craziness in here
Also to answer your question your counter only goes up when you flash an unsecure kernel through odin. Not when you use CWM
someguyatx said:
I use this to get rid of the triangle and reset flash counter http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1494114
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If I am not mistaken I believe that app is strictly for ICS.... I may be wrong
playya said:
My friend one of the best pieces of advice I have seen here for you is too do some reading. Also why do you want to root your phone? If its for tethering you can simply install foxfi. If you want to try out different roms and tweaks then you really need to learn your phone. Developers, themers and contributors have set up thread after thread of great tutorials and answers to all your questions.
Welcome to android rooting world and you made a good choice but before I have to view another "I May Have Bricked My Phone" thread please read up and get up to speed on the craziness in here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Have rooted 3 previous phones, I just am new to this one. I Haven't done anything yet and I don't plan on it until I understand this phone better. Right now I am just kind of lost with a lot of the shorthand that is used in a lot of the threads. I am doing a ton of reading, but like I said, there are just some things that I feel aren't clarified enough for me to be comfortable just yet.
I just got a replacement phone from Sprint that I can't root. Every time I get the Hellions with BLUE flame message.
revaew said:
I Have rooted 3 previous phones, I just am new to this one. I Haven't done anything yet and I don't plan on it until I understand this phone better. Right now I am just kind of lost with a lot of the shorthand that is used in a lot of the threads. I am doing a ton of reading, but like I said, there are just some things that I feel aren't clarified enough for me to be comfortable just yet.
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Click to collapse
Yeah my old phone was a samsung but rooting and flashing were way different. This phone is really easy though. Don't over complicate it, just read the directions and go when ready. Don't flash anything brand new or any alpha releases, everything else out there is pretty safe if you follow directions.
Well the phone just updated to FF18. If I am not mistaken, I thought I saw somewhere something about rooting it (or flashing it) with ICS/ICS ROMs to be very risky? is this true?
.Hey guys I'm new in this world of rooting ...maybe know someone how to put Omega 7.2 ROM into the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 SGH-I317M. ????
First off there is a Q&A section for questions. They don't go here.
Second that's an international rom you can't just simply flash it like the roms in the Development section. This link can tell you how to port it but if you are new you probably shouldn't try it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2018411
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
NightHawkUndead said:
First off there is a Q&A section for questions. They don't go here.
Second that's an international rom you can't just simply flash it like the roms in the Development section. This link can tell you how to port it but if you are new you probably shouldn't try it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2018411
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
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NightHawk hit the nail on the head. It would be best for you right now to read up and learn as much as you can about how the forum works as a whole and how development and custom roms recoveries etc work in general.....Here is a good place to start!
My note 2 is on its way,in the mean time ill be reading alot.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
lamartino said:
.Hey guys I'm new in this world of rooting ...maybe know someone how to put Omega 7.2 ROM into the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 SGH-I317M. ????
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Click to collapse
A lot of us would suggest you take a bit of time to read up on what you will need. I short a safe bet is to read twice and flash once. Doing any sort of flashing will void your warranty and you run the risk of damaging your phone. Granted most mishaps are fixable with knowledge and experience. For you however, having a bootloop or a soft brick would not be fun.
I suggest you get the proper drivers for your version of the n2
I suggest you read up on how to root the note 2: read the entire thread...yes it is repetitive,but at least you get an idea of what can go wrong and how to fix it be reading what happened to others. Then decide on what recovery you would like....read up on cwm or twrp and how to install them properly. once you have done all that...then it is time to flash a custom rom.
I think I would recommend you do a bit more reading before deciding wether rooting and flashing a custom rom is for you
There is a lot to absorb when first looking to install a custom rom. I'm a visual person so I like youtube a lot. When you find the forum that suits your particular device, there will usually be a thread something along the lines of "all you need to know about (your phone here)". My own method of learning was to make a list of each individual task that I needed to do and then youtube it to see someone doing it in person so I can get an idea of what it looks like.
Usually the steps to a custom rom are:
1) Root:
methods can differ among devices and developers (youtube your phone for root)
2) Install a custom "recovery"
will typically be either Clockworkmod or TWRP. I've only ever used clockworkmod but people say good things about TWRP also. The custom recovery will be where you "flash" (install) the rom as well as perform other functions such as wipe casche, wipe dalvic, fix permissions, etc., all of which are fairly self explanatory once you finally boot into the recovery, but again, youtube your phone for all of these things. Even seeing it on other phones can be a big help also, as long as what you are trying to accomplish is the same between the devices.
3)Pick a rom, download it to your phone, boot into recovery and follow the directions that the developer will leave in the OP. Someone mentioned read twice, flash once. Great advice. Make sure to have all your ducks in a row and are confident about each step you will be taking. Skipping a step or doing it incorrectly can cause serious headaches and can derail you for hours trying to figure out how to fix it if you are not already familiar with what to do.
Best of luck!!!
topshelf95 said:
There is a lot to absorb when first looking to install a custom rom. I'm a visual person so I like youtube a lot. When you find the forum that suits your particular device, there will usually be a thread something along the lines of "all you need to know about (your phone here)". My own method of learning was to make a list of each individual task that I needed to do and then youtube it to see someone doing it in person so I can get an idea of what it looks like.
Usually the steps to a custom rom are:
1) Root:
methods can differ among devices and developers (youtube your phone for root)
2) Install a custom "recovery"
will typically be either Clockworkmod or TWRP. I've only ever used clockworkmod but people say good things about TWRP also. The custom recovery will be where you "flash" (install) the rom as well as perform other functions such as wipe casche, wipe dalvic, fix permissions, etc., all of which are fairly self explanatory once you finally boot into the recovery, but again, youtube your phone for all of these things. Even seeing it on other phones can be a big help also, as long as what you are trying to accomplish is the same between the devices.
3)Pick a rom, download it to your phone, boot into recovery and follow the directions that the developer will leave in the OP. Someone mentioned read twice, flash once. Great advice. Make sure to have all your ducks in a row and are confident about each step you will be taking. Skipping a step or doing it incorrectly can cause serious headaches and can derail you for hours trying to figure out how to fix it if you are not already familiar with what to do.
Best of luck!!!
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well done and i completely agree, but for someone who's so new you musn't forget to install the drivers for the device you have onto your pc or laptop or whatever is going to run Odin for you.... no drivers is the easiest and fastest way to ensure your shiny new device is on the short bus to not working right
it is often overlooked and ppl presume that they just do it - installing the drivers that is - and it's often mentioned in the rooting thread, but only in passing.
if you do not have the proper drivers your 700+ dollar device will not last long so do yourself a favor and make sure you have them installed properly and that your computer detects the device properly
when you plug into odin you should see a yellow background with COM and a number in it (changes depending on the usb port you are plugged into) if you don't have that, don't click the start button cuz you gonna be in the hurt locker in all likelihood even if you follow the instructions to a T.
I'm relatively new to all of this, only rooting my Evo, and now my Note 2.
I cannot stress enough how correct all the previous replies are. Read everything you can about your device and rooting in general. Use Youtube. Use this forum, use any information you can find. Learn the language(it can be tricky). Learn as much as possible and ask questions....just make sure you look for the answers before asking them.
Once you feel comfortable, the Devs do a solid job of making it easy for us, follow the steps and you should have success.
Here is a link to some terminology.....make sure to thank ThC23!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1394458
You will make mistakes then become a pro. We all battled endless nights of fixing our devices after misreading one line.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
So, I'm new at this whole Rooting/flashing thing
My questions would be to just get some simple instructions on how to flash a new ROM over to my phone
And how to flash a new recovery over from CWM to TWRP from using odin
I see all these threads about bricking a device, so I am being overcautious lol.
honestly don't even know what I am doing, been trying to get more involved in this field, so i decided to take the leap and root the device!
mike_yoshi said:
So, I'm new at this whole Rooting/flashing thing
My questions would be to just get some simple instructions on how to flash a new ROM over to my phone
And how to flash a new recovery over from CWM to TWRP from using odin
I see all these threads about bricking a device, so I am being overcautious lol.
honestly don't even know what I am doing, been trying to get more involved in this field, so i decided to take the leap and root the device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The how-to is pretty simple.
How-to: flash recovery - Find which recovery you wish to use. Follow flashing instructions in the recovery's OP.
How-to: flash a new ROM - Find which ROM you wish to use. Follow flashing instructions in the ROM's OP.
It's literally that simple, just make sure you follow the most important step. It's a step that isn't listed in any of the instructions. No matter how experienced you are or how many times you've flashed any number of devices (or lack of experience thereof).. That step would be reading. Read the first post especially. I know that some ROMs will have threads that are hundreds of pages long... I'm not saying read the whole thread, but at the very least read the first post, maybe the first few pages, then skip to the end and read the last few pages. In threads with many, many pages, the OP and the last few pages will be the ones relevant to the current version.
Use Q&A for questions. There's even a "Noob Friendly" thread for dumb questions (or ones you think might be dumb), and actually is a wealth of knowledge. Use the threads in the Development section for reporting problems (and steps to reproduce them, logcats, etc), providing solutions, and offering input.
Read.