Related
I decided to write this to clarify a lot of the misconceptions around here. This is also good information for people who are new to modding their phones, the Evo in particular. I see a lot of the same questions being asked over and over so here is some information that some may find useful. I will also warn people if I know that what they are doing can potentially destroy their phone or cause it to stop working properly.
RADIO/WIMAX/PRI/NV UPDATES: I see a lot of questions concerning this. Like, "Oh wow, the new HTC build # 3.29.651.5 is out. I installed it and for some reason I still have the same Radio and PRI. What version should I have?"
Answer: The same! Funny thing is a lot of people asking this question have flashed a few ROMS and should know the answer. But still, updating any of the 4 stick regardless of what ROM you are running. Once you flash them, those are the versions you have until you re-flash to update them. ROMS and any of the 4 updates are a separate entity. (ROMS CAN contain radio updates within them, but none that I have found that are not custom have radio updates built it. It is just possible to do, for arguments sake.)
WARNINGS: KNOW THE DANGERS INVOLVED WITH WHAT YOU ARE DOING
1. Flashing radios from another handset can make your Evo stop working correctly. Only use radios made for an Evo. Period.
2. Common knowledge is to always use the latest radios for the best performance, battery life, and signal. I see this in a lot of ROM threads. While true, radio updates and the like can be tricky at times. Make sure you do those updates separate from any other installation. I do not recommend doing a ROM and radio flash at the same time.
3. Did you know flashing your Radio can break 4G? It can. Each phone has a unique encryption key for the 4G. So let's say Grace buys an Evo and I want her radio update. So I take the update off her phone and add it to mine. Well, it will probably work, but there is a chance it will overwrite my keys and then what happens? Well, if Grace is using 4G, I cannot use it at the same time since we have the same keys now! Now you have two handsets with one set of keys. There is a way to fix it (will update with link soon) but still, did you know you can mess it up?
4. While it is always best to use the latest, I suggest EVERYONE (regardless of anything else) should have a copy of a rooted 2.2 ROM. This way you can at least restore your radios to a working state in almost every case.
5. While there might be fixes out there listed (if you do screw it up), do you have the ability to use them? What if that fix does not work on your phone?
6. Ivide Infra brought this up, "Doesn't a Nandroid back up everything, including radios?" No it does not! I read that there is a way to back radios up using Amon RA recovery but not sure if it is true or not. I cannot seem to find that post again and I looked (didn't look hard, but still). This is a good example of a situation where you think you have a safety net but may find out there is none if something goes wrong.
The moral of the story? Read up on something before you do it, especially if it is something you are trying for the first time.
What ROM works best for me? I see this a lot.
Answer: I don't know, nor does anyone else. This is like asking your buddy at the party which girl you should try and hook up with.
You have to try a few because we all have our preferences. (ROMS, not the women!) Some like Sense, some hate it. Some want a stock ROM with added features, others want a totally customized ROM that is radically different that stock (like CM6). You know you have the right ROM when it has everything you want and everything you use works. You have to try as many as you can until you find the right one for you.
A better thing to do is tell people what you want in a ROM and ask what ROM they suggest after they get an idea of what you are looking for. Try their suggestions but still try a few that seem to be what you are looking for. The first post in all of the ROM pages on here have detailed information about the ROM; read up and find out what the ROM has to offer. If you need your phone for important stuff (like work), I highly suggest you do not use a RC (release candidate) or especially a Beta ROM (unless the description claims everything works). It may decide not to work at the worst possible moment!
If you are happy with your phone at stock yet want to have the benefits of being rooted with super user ability, use a stock ROM that is already rooted.
You also have to be aware that some ROMS can have issues. Sometimes stuff will not work when you try and use them (for example, 4G, HDMI, Cameras, and FM Radio to name a few). You really have to read the known problems and if it sounds like something you use will not work or if you want a completely 100% working device, do not use a ROM that says something is not working. Double that if it is something you use often.
Lastly, if you really want a ROM that has everything you want, you will have to learn how to make your own. Please do, I have released the second version of my ROM, feel free to check it out! (Link is in my signature)
After rooting, how do I install a ROM?
Answer: Through your recovery. It is always highly suggested to wipe data, cache, Dalvik. Here is the steps (this is how I do it and have not had any problems yet.)
Before flashing, ALWAYS do a Nandroid backup in case anything goes wrong! Do this periodically to keep your phone able to be restored in case of problems. I also suggest doing a full backup with Titanium Backup before you proceed.
1. Copy the ROM and optionally the radio/WIMAX/PRI/NV updates, kernel, and theme you plan on using (if any) to the root of your SD card. Hook up your USB cable to your computer, then on your phone switch from charge only to disk drive mode. Your phone's SD card pops up and then you can copy/paste your files onto there.
2. Make sure the transfer is complete and then power down your phone.
3. Reboot into recovery. Do this by holding the volume down key on your phone as you turn it back on.
4. Your phone will enter Hboot, let it load up for a few seconds, then use volume down to go to recovery. Press power to enter recovery. (NOTE: if you select recovery and your phone shows a disk icon with an exclamation mark your recovery is either missing or damaged and needs to be reflashed. That or you may not be fully rooted.)
5. Once in recovery (using Amon RA as my example) you go down to the wipe menu and hit your power button.
6. Once in the wipe menu, I usually do them in the order they are listed. First do a data wipe, then cache, then Davlik. I then tend to do a SD: EXT wipe, battery stats, and rotate settings as well just for good measure. Some recommend doing this twice, but I have never had to and think that is unnecessary.
7. Now you are ready to flash away (reminder, did you do a backup first? If not get to it before doing step 6!). Now you have a choice but I prefer to do it my way. You can flash everything at once, or reboot after each item. I do the reboot after each personally. Flash them in this order: ROM, kernel, theme, Radio/WIMAX/NV/PRI. You can try to flash the ROM and custom kernel afterwards only, then do the rest after rebooting.
8. If everything went well, your phone should take a long time to boot up the first time. Be patient. If it went well, within about 5-7 minutes or less the ROM should load up.
9. If your phone gets stuck on the EVO Screen or the boot animation repeats itself, that means the ROM did not take correctly. Do a full reset by taking out the battery for about 10 second and then reboot and see if it fixes the problem. If it happens again try and start over from step 6. Redo the wiping and flashing process. Also, if flashing more than one at a time, try doing each one, then rebooting before you flash the other.
10. If you do it again and still experience problems, check to see if you are fully rooted. If you determine you are indeed fully rooted, try and reinstall the rooted version of the stock HTC ROM and then try flashing your custom ROM again.
11. If no problems, congratulations and enjoy your new ROM!
What kernel works best for my EVO? This is another question you will often see. A variation is, "What kernel/ROM combo works best?"
Answer: Well, a stock HTC kernel is the short answer. It will work with everyone's phone (well) and likely have some of the best battery life. Now that the newest kernel was just released and has already been rooted, it will work better than the custom kernels overall (as far as being universally compatible). Now that they removed the 30 frame per second limit on the Evo with the 3.29.651.5 kernel, there is less reasons to use a custom one. There are exceptions, of course. But if you want your phone to behave like stock and work well with your phone, a HTC kernel is the only one you need (unless you want stuff like audio tweaks, multi-touch, overclocking ability, or the ability to customize more. In that case, a custom kernel is better). Use the new one with the FPS fix though!
For a custom kernel, again we do not know. A kernel is just above the hardware (speaking of the layers). It is more important than finding the correct ROM. A ROM is more like preference. With a kernel, it is very important to find the correct one for your phone. It has a lot to do with how smooth or fast your phone acts. A kernel that works good for my Evo can run like **** on your Evo. Some phones will work better with Netarchy kernels, others will be better with a Kingklick. Some phone will work well with HAVS, other may hate it. That is how this stuff works!
Sometimes you will know immediately that you have the wrong kernel for your phone. Your phone will act up, restart, connection problems, graphical glitches, and all kinds of funkiness! Other times it may take a day or so of using your phone to spot potential problems. You know it is definitely the wrong kernel if your phone refuses to bootup, even after a battery pull!
Kingklick and Netarchy are the two who make the best for Sense based ROMS, which is most of them. The only exception is Cyanogen. You need to run a kernel made for his ROMS (which are AOSP based, not Sense.) His is the only exception unless they are made from Cyanogen's ROMS (use it as a base).
If running Sense, I would try a few of King's and Netarchy's kernels. I suggest using their latest and working your way down until you find the right one for your Evo. You will know when you have the right one when your phone runs smooth (you have to run them for a day and use them, see what happens.) and you do not encounter any problems that were not present before you switched kernels.
If using CM6 or any Cyanogen ROM build (older, nightlies, etc.) you have to use a kernel made for that ROM. Snap is a popular one. Again, you have to experiment to find the right one.
So the answer is find one that works good for you, stick with it. Or just use a HTC kernel if using Sense and call it a night!
With kernels, what is BFS and CFS? Which would work better for my phone?
Answer: CFS stands for Completely Fair Scheduler. BFS stands for Brain **** Scheduler (sounds fun, right?). These are two different ways that the phone's CPU uses to schedule events. Without getting into the technicalities, here is what I have found for my Evo. Your mileage may vary and again, you have to experiment to find which works better for your particular phone.
CFS: Generally more consistent, use when you want consistent performance and/or if BFS kernels do not work well with your phone. Sometimes will appear to be smoother than a BFS kernel in overall use. The stock HTC kernel uses CFS and it is more standard than BFS.
BFS: Generally a bit faster but a bit more inconsistent (might appear to slow down more and such). Usually faster overall performance but will not look as smooth as a CFS kernel (in general).
Another way to put it, CFS is closer to a flat line, if you drew a performance map it would have less peaks and more consistency. With BFS, there would be more peaks and higher peaks with the faster readings and lower peaks with the slower.
You will find that one or the other may work better for you, or fit your needs better. It is a good idea to try both and see your results. My phone seems to heavily favor CFS kernels and I like the overall smoothness and consistency better. To me, BFS often appears to be more laggy than a CFS kernel. Again, each phone is different though and my results may not match yours.
I want to unroot my phone, what is the best way to do this? If you want to root using a different method, or need to return your phone to where you got it from for any reason, read on.
Answer: You need to download a RUU and install it. You can download an older RUU or get a newer one. This will unroot your phone and make it look like you never rooted it in the first place. You can even do a RUU if your screen is busted, just always keep USB debugging on. To use it, follow the instructions in the RUU executable and do what it says.
Is a full wipe needed when changing kernels? (Thanks to m4rk0358 for this!)
Answer: No, a full wipe is not needed to install a different kernel. I do suggest you go into your recovery and wipe the Cache and Dalvik before installing the new kernel though. In most cases, you can just flash the new kernel over the last kernel. But a full wipe is completely unnecessary (unless you are coming off a kernel made for CM6, in that case a full wipe and flashing a stock HTC kernel is recommended before switching back to a custom kernel).
Overclocking: "How much should I overclock, what should my SetCPU settings be set at?"
Answer: In this new age of phones, we are seeing them become faster and faster. Now with SetCPU readily available and overclock-ready custom kernels, a lot of people are overclocking their phones. These same people also wonder why they are having poor battery life. You see a few posts a day with something like, "Well, I tried the new (insert kernel here) and I overclocked but I noticed I am getting poor battery life!"
The HTC Evo has some really nice components, including the 1 GHZ Snapdragon CPU and the graphics chipset is plenty powerful. Do you really need to make it faster? Considering now that the FPS is unlocked, the phone is as smooth as butter as it is. Most apps work smooth on less capable and older handsets.
Again, all phones have the same components but results will not be the same at all (well, some can have slight differences..for example: the touch screen can be different). Mine may overclock to 1288 MHz without a problem, yours may lock up before you reach 1200 MHz. This is how it works
Most are only overclocking 10-12% or less. While benchmarking scores will increase, you will not see a major difference in overall use of your phone. In fact, you might not see a difference at all.
So yeah, if you want to impress people you never met, overclock and post your screenies! For me, my phone is more than fast enough and eating up battery for little to no perceivable gain is not worth it. This is not a computer with fans and a cooling system that can be upgraded!
But hey, if you really feel you need to run your phone 5-10C hotter just to make it a tad bit faster, knock yourself out! You can either have better battery life, or make your phone faster. Generally you cannot have both.
If using a kernel with HAVS, you do not need SetCPU to under clock. That is exactly what HAVS does, lowers voltages when your phone is idling. You are defeating the purpose by using SetCPU. This is why Kingklick himself tells everyone not to use SetCPU with his kernels.
Is a Task Killer needed for Froyo? (Thank to beatblaster for this!)
Answer: Believe it or not, Android 2.2 does a fantastic job managing apps all by itself. The Android OS is designed to kill apps/tasks as resources are needed and usually only does so when it's absolutely necessary. Using a task killer app can be handy when you encounter an app that freezes or is otherwise stuck but to use it as the primary task killer (instead of letting the OS do its thing) is contrary to the built in efficiency of Froyo itself. Try to trust the OS. Though a task killer is still recommended for the odd lot who are still using Android 2.1 or lower!
Which recovery should I use: Amon Ra or Clockwork? What are the pros and cons of each? Does Clockwork really wipe the Dalvik?:
Answer: Amon RA. Amon RA works, does everything you need it to do, and does it well! I highly recommend using Amon RA, it is generally considered the superior of the two and does a better job of wiping. Everything is right there and it is extremely easy to use.
Clockwork is pretty good too, but here are some pros and cons of each. (I will list a few, there are more differences but I will cover what I can think of offhand).
Clockwork Download here
PROS:
Able to use Rom Manager to flash ROMS and perform other functions (This is by no means necessary though, that is what a Recovery is for and it is generally safer)
Able to read ROMS stored in any folder.
CONS:
Does not seem to work as well as Amon RA in doing it's job.
Rumor that it does not properly clean the Dalvik cache when wiping. You hit it and it does not seem to do anything. Some claim that they checked the Davlik after using it and it is indeed wiped.
Some (including myself) find it a little more clunky to use.
Amon RA Download here
PROS:
Generally considered to be a superior recovery as it is based on Cyanogen code (who is really good, let us just put it that way!) and there are lots of posts where people switched to Amon RA because they were having issues with Clockwork.
Easy access to all functions, no need to scroll through 5 no selections to reach to a yes!
I find it better laid out and functions are nicely categorized.
It works better than Clockwork. Fewer reports of problems.
CONS:
You can only read ROMS and files on the root of your SD card.
It does not play well with the program ROM Manager. Most functions on ROM Manager are only usable through Clockwork (considering the overall poor experience with ROM Manager trying to download ROMS that no longer exist, bad checksum ROMS that I downloaded through it, and other problems....IMO NOT a con. Plus, safer to flash through recovery anyhow.)
Do the signal bars indicate signal strength for the 3G? (Thank to LovethyEVO for this!)
Answer: No. It indicates the connection for just the phone connection. You can have good reception for calls and still get slow download speeds. Generally if you have good signal, you will have good download speeds though.
How do you wipe the battery stats, or how do you increase your battery life?
Answer: As you may or may not be aware, you cannot trickle charge the battery on these phones as they will blow up! To counter this, the last 10% of your battery is going to be a bit flakey. What the phone does is once the battery reaches 100%, the phone software will let the battery drop down to 90% before it allows more charging to take place. That is why you often can use your phone after a full day's charge and immediately be at around 90% for no apparent reason. When you reset battery stats, you are effectively resetting the phone's software. it will take a couple of days for it to relearn your battery and give you a more accurate result and more efficient recharge.
Battery recalibration (Thanks to Cyanogen for this and to fachadick for bringing it to my attention).
If you're experiencing higher than normal battery drain, try the following:
1. Charge the phone to full battery; let it keep charging until the battery says it is fully charged. Do not just wait until the light is green, it isn't always fully charged, causing a lot of inaccuracies. (You can check by going to: Settings -> About Phone -> Status -> Battery Level = Full.)
2. Boot to recovery and wipe battery stats.
(To have the most accurate of battery stats, reboot the phone immediately after wiping the battery stats and wait for your ROM to boot completely to the desktop. Once your entire boot is done and you have full access to the phone, go ahead and pull the charger and continue.)
3. Do not charge the phone until after draining the battery completely, resulting in it automatically shutting off. Take out the battery, and keep trying to turn on your phone until it will not turn back on at all.
4. Recharge the phone completely and then use as you normally would.
This is a method that has been proven to work, I am sure there are other ways. My battery lasts longer after doing this and the reading is much more accurate. It might be advisable to do this after every ROM install if you want the most battery life and most accurate battery reading by the phone's software.
I will add more and reserve a couple more slots, but I think this is a good start. Please feel free to offer suggestions or your own misconceptions and answer.
MY Take on SetCPU
SetCPU is a great program, does what it says, author is good and keeps it updated. I have nothing against SetCPU, the author of it, or anyone who uses it. In fact, I have the purchased version, why would I pay for it if I thought it was garbage? I wouldn't. I also agree with you when you say it allows more control over our phones.
The problem with it is:
1) Too many people are messing with it and do not know what they are doing. They are just trying to mimic what they see others doing, which may or may not work for them. This is the biggest, most common, and most damaging problem with SetCPU.
2) It can cause problems and/or hurt battery life if it is set incorrectly.
3) You do not know it is set correctly or not until you use it for a while. You may be also permanently damaging your phone as you have it set wrong and not even know it (Too high of an overclock for your particular phone, phone getting too hot in a warm environment, etc.)
4) It can cause problems for people who are trying to switch ROMS and forget to disable it.
5) King himself told people not to use it because it can interfere with HAVS. Though yes, one adjusts frequency, the other voltage, they can interfere with each other. HAVS will read the lower voltage and set itself different than if you are at stock clocks, this can cause either problems or quicker battery drainage. Maybe both. Both are going to try ramping up and down constantly and this is what causes the problems and the quicker battery eating.
6) If you set your CPU too high or low and it locks up and you happened to set it to "Save settings on reboot" you may have to do a full wipe and reinstall. Your phone may even be fine for a few days, then decide it does not like the settings you have and then this problem emerges.
7) This is not a computer with a fan cooled case. It is enclosed and there is no easy way to modify the cooling system. Even with a computer it is always recommended to upgrade the cooling system from stock if you wish to overclock. Most are only able to achieve a measly 10-12% overclock. It will test faster, naturally but in use it is not going to blow you away. In fact, if it seems much faster it is more of a placebo, you will barely notice it, if you notice at all. Notice the FPS only goes up 1-3 points? You are not going to see that with your eyes.
8) I notice most people experiencing problems also happen to be running SetCPU. Coincidence?
9) For that measly 10-12%, you can running your phone 10C more or hotter, that is a BIG difference in heat.
So, as great of a program as it is, it is also dangerous in the wrong hands or if it is set wrong, purposely or accidentally. User error is a big issue with it.
I was a an avid user of it myself but now I do not want to use it and will advise others not to because frankly it is not needed unless you want to impress people with your Linpack score or want to see what your phone can do. Overclocking kills battery faster, common sense. Also, the candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long, the long term effects are unknown.
But hey, if you want to use it...do so. Anyone can do what they want, I never said what I said was the end all/be all. Just remember if you have problems, it is one of the first things you want to disable to troubleshoot.
Hopefully this explains better why I advised not to use it. In case anyone thinks I have animosity towards it or questions why I advised not to use it.
++ Sticky!!!
Reserved for more information
When my 4g was said "broken" from adding a new radio all I did was update my profile in system updates and problem solved.
rutter9 said:
When my 4g was said "broken" from adding a new radio all I did was update my profile in system updates and problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While that is good to hear, you got lucky!
The point is that it is a high risk thing to do and you stand to gain little or nothing from it.
Sometimes the encryption keys can be erased altogether. If you do not happen to have a backup of your keys with your original radio, you are more or less screwed. I know of a few members around here that have broken 4G thanks to this. It can be fixed, but then they will be using someone else's keys. An update will not fix this.
Another point is people do things blindly without knowing the dangers of what they are doing. Maybe this will cause more people to read up more before they do something.
IMHO this thread is great. Thanks for the contribution.
ricsim78 said:
While that is good to hear, you got lucky!
The point is that it is a high risk thing to do and you stand to gain little or nothing from it.
Sometimes the encryption keys can be erased altogether. If you do not happen to have a backup of your keys with your original radio, you are more or less screwed. I know of a few members around here that have broken 4G thanks to this. It can be fixed, but then they will be using someone else's keys. An update will not fix this.
Another point is people do things blindly without knowing the dangers of what they are doing. Maybe this will cause more people to read up more before they do something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then why do most (if not all) of the devs put links to the newest radio/wimax with their roms? Do they strip out the keys so they don't overwrite yours? I don't see why so many developers would stress updating radios if it was potentially hazardous.
what about nandroid? when you do a backup does it backup your radio? if you flash a new one and it breaks 4g, when you nandroid back to your old rom will 4g work?
eurominican said:
IMHO this thread is great. Thanks for the contribution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you and I am glad to help. I hope to make this as useful as possible and add much more as I have time.
Like I said, please anyone else feel free to add your own entries to this.
ivide infra said:
what about nandroid? when you do a backup does it backup your radio? if you flash a new one and it breaks 4g, when you nandroid back to your old rom will 4g work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a good point, will have to update my first post. Nandroid does DOES NOT back it up. But I can guarantee a lot of people probably do not use Nandroid before they mess with stuff. Even if they do, what happens if your SD card messes up or there is a problem where your Nandroid does not back things up properly?
The answer: You will still have a broken whatever is broken
These phone are essentially computers with phone functions built in. As soon as you start messing with them, there is a good chance you can mess things up or that things do not work like they should.
I'm pretty sure that a nandroid does not backup the radios.
ivide infra said:
then why do most (if not all) of the devs put links to the newest radio/wimax with their roms? Do they strip out the keys so they don't overwrite yours? I don't see why so many developers would stress updating radios if it was potentially hazardous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the developers know a heck a lot more about the phones than most of us do, including me. They know how to fix things if they get broke, and they have knowledge you may not possess. Like the inner workings of the phone.
They might not have been aware of the problems. I am sure you can fix almost any problem that comes up, but it if was not hazardous you would not hear people saying, "I have permanently broken 4G" or "I had to return my Evo because I messed it up."
It is like my mom, she knows how to use a computer to check her bank account and email, plus shop. But she freaks out when Firefox asks her if it is ok to update. Yet for us who know what that does, it is an after thought.
timtlm said:
I'm pretty sure that a nandroid does not backup the radios.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clockwork I am not sure about but I read that Amon RA backup does, not sure if it does it by default or if there is a way to do it.
That is another point, you may be relying on a Nandroid that does not have backed up what you think is backed up.
Id talk about clockwork vs amon...pros and cons...and insist people work with amon, perhaps provide a link
Id also add something about "Getting bootloops?" especially when people are flashing known, working, stable roms... clearly the problem is 99% in the wiping of caches.
evohnoo said:
Id talk about clockwork vs amon...pros and cons...and insist people work with amon, perhaps provide a link
Id also add something about "Getting bootloops?" especially when people are flashing known, working, stable roms... clearly the problem is 99% in the wiping of caches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, you must have read my mind!
I will definitely do that and a good idea. I intend to add on whenever I can and provide as many answers as possible.
evohnoo said:
Id talk about clockwork vs amon...pros and cons...and insist people work with amon, perhaps provide a link
Id also add something about "Getting bootloops?" especially when people are flashing known, working, stable roms... clearly the problem is 99% in the wiping of caches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like using Rom Manager...I'd use it more if only it played nicer with Amon Ra.
firemedic1343 said:
I like using Rom Manager...I'd use it more if only it played nicer with Amon Ra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I, perhaps unfairly, associate Clockwork with the pecker heads who borked my 4G so I'll never be able to try Rom Manager as long they require it.
Thanks for the info. Well written and informative article. Thanks again.
Feel free to re-word this if the wording seems confusing.
Sense widgets and alternative home launchers (like ADW Launcher and Launcher Pro): My Sense widgets are missing!
Answer: Sense widgets require Sense. If you're running any home launcher except HTC's Sense you cannot use Sense-specific widgets (or anything else that requires Sense like HTC's default lock screen). There are very good alternatives to Sense widgets anyway such as SwitchPro Widget for quick access to radio toggles or Launcher Pro Plus' Facebook/Twitter/Friends widgets. Use Google to find more.
Hey guys I've had my Dinc for a while and I love it but the one thing I can't stand is the battery life. I listen to FM radio and a ton of podcasts at work all day and rarely get home with over 30% on a good day, not to mention the numerous phone calls and internet browsing. I've looked into rooting and am admittedly scared to do so, not because I am incapable I just hate to have anything that is less than perfectly stable.
After looking into all of the benefits of rooting, none of them mean much of anything to me, to be honest. The only thing that is causing me to want to root is an improved battery performance. My question is, do you think that it is worth rooting simply for an improved battery life alone? Is it really that significant? Also, I read early on in my Dinc days that there were ways of avoiding the whole "turn phone off to charge completely to 100% thing" by rooting, is that true as well? Thanks!
You can run a custom kernel with SBC to charge to "real" 100%. Many custom kernels will get you significantly better battery life than stock; you also may want to look into using undervolts and underclocks. Personally, I use MIUI latest with the included kernel, and it lasts me for about 2 days of medium use on my Seidio 1750 extended battery. Not that big of a difference in battery size from stock, but the battery life using the MIUI kernel with it is much better than the stock kernel on the same battery. Also, you will get a lot of new features no matter which ROM you try, and some it will become hard to live without. At the moment, I'd recommend CyanogenMod7 Stable Release for you, as it has working FM Radio and many excellent kernels, as well as the performance increases that Android 2.3 Gingerbread brings. I recommend in the way of kernels Tiamat or Chad's incredikernel. Both are much better than even the stock kernel from CM7 on battery life. Every device reacts a bit differently to kernels, so find one best for you. However, then there are the different types of ROMs. There are 3 basic types of ROMs in regards to kernels: Sense, GingerSense, and AOSP. Sense is what you have now most likely; it's a ROM with HTC's Sense interface running on top of Android 2.2 Froyo. There are many options for Sense kernels, and I highly recommend ziggy471's beta kernels and HeyItsLou's #8, #9, and #4. All have worked out well for me in the past. THe second, GingerSense, has no custom kernels out because HTC hasn't released the source code for it yet. When HTC releases it, there will be a flood of GingerSense kernels, and GingerSense ROMs are currently some of the most feature-packed. The third category, AOSP, has many different ROMs in it. It ranges from bone-stock Android 2.3 of OMGB to the custom Gingerbread of the aforementioned CM7 and OMFGB to the iPhone-yness of MIUI to the.... different experience that the Acer LiquidMetal ports offer. There are many kernels available for AOSP, and I recommend those I mentioned above. Also, the stock AOSP kernels are generally quite good. I find AOSP to be easiest on battery; as always, YMMV. In answer to your main question, yes. It really is that significant. We are always glad to add another member to the DInc XDA community. Find what works best for you, and have fun!
EDIT: wow, I just looked at this post, it's really long
thekidkid32 said:
Hey guys I've had my Dinc for a while and I love it but the one thing I can't stand is the battery life. I listen to FM radio and a ton of podcasts at work all day and rarely get home with over 30% on a good day, not to mention the numerous phone calls and internet browsing. I've looked into rooting and am admittedly scared to do so, not because I am incapable I just hate to have anything that is less than perfectly stable.
After looking into all of the benefits of rooting, none of them mean much of anything to me, to be honest. The only thing that is causing me to want to root is an improved battery performance. My question is, do you think that it is worth rooting simply for an improved battery life alone? Is it really that significant? Also, I read early on in my Dinc days that there were ways of avoiding the whole "turn phone off to charge completely to 100% thing" by rooting, is that true as well? Thanks!
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Click to collapse
Alright, I think you misunderstand rooting.
All rooting your phone will do will change the boot-loader to S-OFF, which will give you the option of flashing .zip files to your phone. It will also, however, give you complete control of your device. (Overclocking, TIbackup, Removing bloatware, etc.)
The ROM that came with your phone will still be there though. This will not change the stability of your device in any way. Just make sure to follow directions EXACTLY.
If you wanted improved battery life, you will have to go into the custom recovery accessible from the boot-loader, which will allow you to flash a new ROM.
So to answer your question, just rooting your phone will not necessarily improve your phones battery life, actually more likely not. You would have to flash custom ROMs. But to be honest, a lot of them are wayy more stable then stock INC. My buddy has one, and always texts me cause it messes up.
Anyways, good day
You can also root the phone and use custom kernels on the stock rom. Don't necessarily need to be running a different rom to increase battery life.
Awesome thanks a lot for your help guys! I have a couple of other noob questions before I go for it,
First off, would it be too much to ask to have everything setup and working well in the next two nights? I'm going to be going on vacation and only have tonight and tomorrow to get it all set. I jailbroke an ipod once and I remember having a problem and having to plug it into a computer and it was fixed no prob, but I won't have that option now. Would I be wise to wait until after vacation or should everything go smoothly as long I follow directions?
Also, I've looked all around, and I don't see how you guys go about backing everything up before you root. I see apps to backup a rooted phone before flashing a new ROM or something, but not beforehand. I want all of my apps and settings on my newly rooted phone quickly and easily. Possible? Thanks again!
thekidkid32 said:
Awesome thanks a lot for your help guys! I have a couple of other noob questions before I go for it,
First off, would it be too much to ask to have everything setup and working well in the next two nights? I'm going to be going on vacation and only have tonight and tomorrow to get it all set. I jailbroke an ipod once and I remember having a problem and having to plug it into a computer and it was fixed no prob, but I won't have that option now. Would I be wise to wait until after vacation or should everything go smoothly as long I follow directions?
Also, I've looked all around, and I don't see how you guys go about backing everything up before you root. I see apps to backup a rooted phone before flashing a new ROM or something, but not beforehand. I want all of my apps and settings on my newly rooted phone quickly and easily. Possible? Thanks again!
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Click to collapse
well when you root it doesnt reset everything you still have all your apps etc...what we do is backup everything after the root process is finished go into recovery and do a nandroid backup of you stock setup just in case and everyhting should go smoothly following directions
On Another Note: as long as youre rooting might as well try out my rom Kingdom Rewind 3D if you have any more questions on rooting just ask
cvbcbcmv said:
Here is what I recommend you do. Root by following a video on youtube from applepwns. (it's not me, but that's what I followed and it's very good) make sure you watch his newer video, he has 2, his newer one is better. Rooting will not delete any data. Then, I would download rom manager and buy rom manager pro, and download and install skyraider sense 4.2, a rom very identical to stock, so it will be easy to use, and very stable. Rom manager will do it all for you, just select both wiping options. Also, backup your rom (rom manager asks this after the rom has been downloaded) it will make it so that at any time you can restore back to what you have exactly how it is with apps and everything how it was how you left it. I would also recommend installing incredikernel, you can get the sense version from incredikernel.com. You flash that in recovery. (update your recovery in rom manager, turn off your phone, hold down power button and volume down and when your in hboot scroll down to recovery and go into it, then go to chose zip from sd card, and install it, then reboot. put the incredikernel on the root of your sd card, and don't unzip it, keep the zip zipped) and as for backing up apps, it's very possible. Buy an app called titanium backup pro (you need the free version downloaded as well) and hit menu, batch, backup all apps and data, and hit run (there are also youtube videos on this, just search) and it will put the backups on your SD card (don't backup system data) then after you install the new rom, install the app again, and hit batch, restore apps and data. If you have your google account synced with your phone then your contacts are on it and will automatically be put back on. This can be done in 2 days, it can be done in a few hours. PM me for any questions, I'm happy to help
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1 thing to add to that, I use MyBackup Root instead of Titanium because MyBackup Root is basically the full MyBackup Pro for free, and it can not only back up apps+data, but also photos, contacts, SMS/MMS, bookmarks, music playlists, etc. and you don't have to pay for it to get automated restores (with Titanium free you have to manually install each application once the restore starts.)
I was in a similar situation when trying to decide whether or not to root my DInc. My primary motivation was to remove the bloat, which did help a bit with battery life merely because there were fewer apps for Sense to load up in the background.
I then started trying different Sense kernels because I couldn't find much information out there about which ones were better than others. I felt strongly enough about this I started a thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1107423
I was able to squeeze a few more hours out of my phone using my top rated kernel, with results declining slowly in the lower ranks.
I say: GO FOR IT!
Once you get started, you may find yourself pushing farther into the guts of Android to get your phone working the way you want it to. But even stopping at rooting just to change kernels will get you what you are looking for. Adding a Seidio 1750 mAh battery could help add up to another few hours.
Good luck and keep us posted.
PGleo86 said:
1 thing to add to that, I use MyBackup Root instead of Titanium because MyBackup Root is basically the full MyBackup Pro for free, and it can not only back up apps+data, but also photos, contacts, SMS/MMS, bookmarks, music playlists, etc. and you don't have to pay for it to get automated restores (with Titanium free you have to manually install each application once the restore starts.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks right, you can use MyBackup Root for APK+Data+Market Link + 0-click batch RESTORE for Free. It also allows you to schedule and have as many backups as you would like locally, for free.
liteon163 said:
I was in a similar situation when trying to decide whether or not to root my DInc. My primary motivation was to remove the bloat, which did help a bit with battery life merely because there were fewer apps for Sense to load up in the background.
I then started trying different Sense kernels because I couldn't find much information out there about which ones were better than others. I felt strongly enough about this I started a thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1107423
I was able to squeeze a few more hours out of my phone using my top rated kernel, with results declining slowly in the lower ranks.
I say: GO FOR IT!
Once you get started, you may find yourself pushing farther into the guts of Android to get your phone working the way you want it to. But even stopping at rooting just to change kernels will get you what you are looking for. Adding a Seidio 1750 mAh battery could help add up to another few hours.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm keeping up with that thread, it's pretty good
You should definitely take a look, OP.
First – I know this forum is not the right place for this post but as a new member I am not allowed to post in T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II Android Development
Appreciate it if anyone could help or offer links….
Background – Recently rooted my T989 for six reasons:
1. Remove (or freeze) T-Mobile and Samsung bloatware with Titanium
2. Ability to create complete a backup of the phone with ROM Manager and quality backups of each individual app with Titanium
3. Save power effectively/efficiently with Juice Defender
4. OC the CPU (I now know rooting the native phone ROM is not sufficient to OC CPU)
5. Finally I was pissed the Samsung (Kies)/T-Mobile upgrade from gingerbread to ICS (4.0.3) basically did NOTHING to improve my user experience/enjoyment of the phone.
6. Change USB packet size with SD Speed (After many benchmarks and actual UBS transfers to/from a desktop it is clear changing USB packet size for groups of files larger than 1MB is basically useless on my phone/SD card)
Use Profile - At least weekly… I use the phone to:
1. watch various codec files and streaming online video (via HDMI) – App MX Player and Dolphin
2. email (various email providers) – App Mail Droid
3. play mp3s (through phone speaker or Bluetooth) – App Poweramp
4. play games (on and off line) – App various
5. social networking – App Facebook and others
6. use mapping programs in conjunction with GPS – App Google Maps and Sygic
7. monitor/check car performance/sensors with OBD II software connected via Bluetooth – App Torque and others
8. take and modify pictures/video – App native Camera and others
9. Web surf – App Dolphin
10. reference phone sensors (tilt, acceleration, magnetic) – App various
11. reference offline technical material like ElectroDroid, handyCalc, and Universal Converter
12. move large files (like a thumb drive) with USB between Windows computers (The only physical mod I have done to the phone is addition of a 64GB SD Card)
13. provide an alarm clock – App native Clock
14. Finally and most important Creation/Modification of MS Office files (via HDMI with Bluetooth mouse and keyboard connected) – App Kingsoft Office and OfficeSuite Pro
Questions –
1. Is there any way to OC the CPU without installing a new ROM? (not interested in underclocking or CPU sleeping apps)
2. Can I just install a new kernel to OC the CPU? (It looks like “yes” when I read the Kernels section links of “[REF] Your One-Stop-Shop for rooting, roms, kernels and themes![UPDATED!][7/31]”. BUT I’m no UNIX / Linux expert and don’t want to screw the phone up)
3. Will installing ROM DARKSIDE.EVOLUTION.3 provide me with any significant user benefits over my base rooted Samsung ROM? If yes, can you provide a link to benefits? Will I loose capabilities?
4. Other performance modification suggestions would be appreciated.
Tks in advance
To start this definitely would be where you post this, either here or q&a section. This would not be OK to post in the development section as it is purely for development.
Now to address your question, there are a few ROMs out there (including my own)that def do enhance performance and allow overclocking. The most important thing to remember is to Read Read Read before doing anything to make sure everything is done right. And Google has many answers and YouTube has many flashing tutorials, just a tip happy flashing
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Yes you could just flash a new kernel and oc. I'd recommend tdj's dark side. Then again, why don't you just flash a rom? I mean you already rooted your phone (which to me is the most unnerving part). Just make you sure you have the correct version of cwm and wipe cache (or using tdj's super wipe/cache wipe) as needed per kernel/rom/radio(yes, you might to flash a new radio) and you'd be good to go.
I was on dark side rom with the kernel for a while and it seems like it has better battery life over cm9 rc2 which is what's on my phone right now. And since the dark side was based on the official release it is pretty much bug free.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
I agree with ptmr3, research and ask questions. Thats exactly what i did before i did anything to my phone. Yes it maybe a scary process thinking about flashing and the possibility of flashing the wrong zip and bricking. But as long as you research, you'll be ok.
They pretty much answered your questions, but feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I got a pretty good knowledge on most things here and i like to help other members out when possible.
Thanks
God I was meaning to make this type of thread but I got lazy I wanted to heavily discuss Darkside Rom. I have flashed it about 3 times. Once with the latest version and 2 with the previous. I really liked it. ICS is amazing and the Kernel gave me a bit more battery than usual (20 hours moderate use)
When I first flashed darkside it was a bit laggy even after wiping cache, data, davlik cache 3 times before running darkside then running the rom that has darkside included... It would crash very often when I had poweramp open. When it played the music would cut off terribly into static with actions such as pulling down the drawer or opening folders/menu. Twitter would crash as well and gmail would be laggy and sometimes give me a bit of a green screen I know I am being a bit picky, but still that bugs me.. Everything else was awesome though.
Things improved with the latest version, but after a while the power amp bugs persisted as well as the slight crashes with twitter and gmail (even though I performed fresh installs of all these apps) Jeez it was so good I ignored the few and rare times it got buggy. But then I noticed that after a while when my battery hit low the time would change the phone would state a totally different time. Like 2 pm. It wouldn't improve until I charged it to 100% and reboot....
It makes me sad I really wanted to stay with ICS...
I am going to try CM 9 but I really liked darkside. Might also try AOKP as well... I never bothered fixing permissions with TDJ's darkside cache wipe Do you believe that would help? I never had rebooting issues and I never really flashed anything on my phone but Darkside.... I did flash a CM nightly inbetween the previous and newer version of Darkside.
Anyone can recommend me any help? I am back to gingerbread it runs smoothly but ICS is just amazing... :\
Also please recommend me some kernels for either gingerbread stock or an ICS rom so I can have better performance and battery life.
I know I wrote a lot but thank you so much guys.
iSchadenfreude said:
God I was meaning to make this type of thread but I got lazy I wanted to heavily discuss Darkside Rom. I have flashed it about 3 times. Once with the latest version and 2 with the previous. I really liked it. ICS is amazing and the Kernel gave me a bit more battery than usual (20 hours moderate use)
When I first flashed darkside it was a bit laggy even after wiping cache, data, davlik cache 3 times before running darkside then running the rom that has darkside included... It would crash very often when I had poweramp open. When it played the music would cut off terribly into static with actions such as pulling down the drawer or opening folders/menu. Twitter would crash as well and gmail would be laggy and sometimes give me a bit of a green screen I know I am being a bit picky, but still that bugs me.. Everything else was awesome though.
Things improved with the latest version, but after a while the power amp bugs persisted as well as the slight crashes with twitter and gmail (even though I performed fresh installs of all these apps) Jeez it was so good I ignored the few and rare times it got buggy. But then I noticed that after a while when my battery hit low the time would change the phone would state a totally different time. Like 2 pm. It wouldn't improve until I charged it to 100% and reboot....
It makes me sad I really wanted to stay with ICS...
I am going to try CM 9 but I really liked darkside. Might also try AOKP as well... I never bothered fixing permissions with TDJ's darkside cache wipe Do you believe that would help? I never had rebooting issues and I never really flashed anything on my phone but Darkside.... I did flash a CM nightly inbetween the previous and newer version of Darkside.
Anyone can recommend me any help? I am back to gingerbread it runs smoothly but ICS is just amazing... :\
Also please recommend me some kernels for either gingerbread stock or an ICS rom so I can have better performance and battery life.
I know I wrote a lot but thank you so much guys.
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Click to collapse
Hey did you use any tools to restore like Titanium Backup whenever you put the new or updated versions of the roms on your phone?
So I'm pretty new, well very new, to the custom rom/kernel/recovery/etc game since my last phone was a POS and there was no point trying to make it do anything special, but ever since I got my S III, I've been trying to learn everything about how it all works. I have a Galaxy Tab and put a custom ROM on it a long time back, but I was never all that crazy about the latest and greatest till this phone came along. Considering it's my sole source of communication, I obviously need it to be functional, but there's a side of me that says it would be very hard to truly brick this phone (and please don't correct me if I'm wrong :cyclops: ) Anyway, I've played around with a few ROMs out there and am currently running the latest Crimson build which I love so far. I have a couple questions for those educated in all of this. First, and probably simplest, I've noticed that after flashing a new ROM and signing in to my Google account, apps I've acquired from the market sometimes download and install right away and sometimes don't. Is this just a somewhat-random phenomenon or is it within my control? I always use the same settings (sync automatically, keep this device backed up, etc) but they don't always have the same effect and I'm curious about it. Second, what do you guys recommend in the way of backing up apps? Not program-wise, but theory-wise...I make Nandroid backups whenever I make a major change and occasionally make individual app backups with ROM Toolbox Pro, but I use Nova launcher and it seems that a simple backup of my desktop layout is enough to get back my original look with the new ROM (and then I just let the apps download from the market). Is there an even better way to do this that I'm unaware of? I know that backing up apps has the added benefit of backing up data as well, but in my experience, restoring both app and data to a new ROM seems to have adverse effects...I inevitably have to uninstall and re-download the app. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but, again, I'm new to this. My last and most important question is regarding something I read about custom kernels only being usable with the UVALEM baseband. I don't know anything about phone modems but heard some people were getting better speeds with UVALH3 so I decided to flash it. This may have been a convenient coincidence but I'd never before observed speeds above 7-ish Mbps (my area has pretty lousy 4g coverage) and my first speed test gave me 12. I'm a little confused because everything has suggested custom kernels are NOT COMPATIBLE (always emphasized, too) with any other baseband yet I have an overclocked custom kernel with the aforementioned radio and have had no problems. Have I missed something or is something unusual happening? Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post!
tonesofheresy said:
So I'm pretty new, well very new, to the custom rom/kernel/recovery/etc game since my last phone was a POS and there was no point trying to make it do anything special, but ever since I got my S III, I've been trying to learn everything about how it all works. I have a Galaxy Tab and put a custom ROM on it a long time back, but I was never all that crazy about the latest and greatest till this phone came along. Considering it's my sole source of communication, I obviously need it to be functional, but there's a side of me that says it would be very hard to truly brick this phone (and please don't correct me if I'm wrong :cyclops: ) Anyway, I've played around with a few ROMs out there and am currently running the latest Crimson build which I love so far. I have a couple questions for those educated in all of this. First, and probably simplest, I've noticed that after flashing a new ROM and signing in to my Google account, apps I've acquired from the market sometimes download and install right away and sometimes don't. Is this just a somewhat-random phenomenon or is it within my control? I always use the same settings (sync automatically, keep this device backed up, etc) but they don't always have the same effect and I'm curious about it. Second, what do you guys recommend in the way of backing up apps? Not program-wise, but theory-wise...I make Nandroid backups whenever I make a major change and occasionally make individual app backups with ROM Toolbox Pro, but I use Nova launcher and it seems that a simple backup of my desktop layout is enough to get back my original look with the new ROM (and then I just let the apps download from the market). Is there an even better way to do this that I'm unaware of? I know that backing up apps has the added benefit of backing up data as well, but in my experience, restoring both app and data to a new ROM seems to have adverse effects...I inevitably have to uninstall and re-download the app. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but, again, I'm new to this. My last and most important question is regarding something I read about custom kernels only being usable with the UVALEM baseband. I don't know anything about phone modems but heard some people were getting better speeds with UVALH3 so I decided to flash it. This may have been a convenient coincidence but I'd never before observed speeds above 7-ish Mbps (my area has pretty lousy 4g coverage) and my first speed test gave me 12. I'm a little confused because everything has suggested custom kernels are NOT COMPATIBLE (always emphasized, too) with any other baseband yet I have an overclocked custom kernel with the aforementioned radio and have had no problems. Have I missed something or is something unusual happening? Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. As for apps downloading automatically from google; when you first set up your account again after flashing, there is an option asking you whether or not you want to back up and restore apps to google. If you check the restore option, it will download the apps that you already own that's been backed up. I usually just back up and restore my apps using TitaniumBackup so I always leave this option unchecked.
2. When I back up my apps using TiBa, I don't bother backing up the data. I just back up the apps, and then restore just the apps. All the apps data will have been saved and will be reloaded when you restore them. I've never used ROM Toolbox Pro so I can't say if it works the same with it.
3. People get different speed with the different radios. You just have to try the different radios and see which one works best for you.
4. I'm not really sure about the Kernel, but when I flash a radio, as long as it's OS and Carrier compatible, I just flash away. When I say OS compatible, I meant that I wouldn't flash JellyBean radio on a ICS ROM. Not sure if that would work, but I've never tried it. When I say carrier compatible, I wouldn't flash AT&T radio on T-Mobile phones.
I hope I've helped a little bit.
hi, just wondering if there are any roms available that are completely stable and finished for this phone?
if not, (as i have not found any), is the original stock rom (rojers) available to download anymore?
thanks guys..
jmpcrx said:
hi, just wondering if there are any roms available that are completely stable and finished for this phone?
if not, (as i have not found any), is the original stock rom (rojers) available to download anymore?
thanks guys..
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Click to collapse
After reading a lot, I believe I can confirm that only GB, and stock ICS are stable, as with no issues, some little glitches but no deal breakers. As for Rogers, there's only Osimod GB ROM based of Rogers. The rest are based of UCLJ3
lasuazo said:
After reading a lot, I believe I can confirm that only GB, and stock ICS are stable, as with no issues, some little glitches but no deal breakers. As for Rogers, there's only Osimod GB ROM based of Rogers. The rest are based of UCLJ3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks lasuazo ;--)
I guess omni and cm11
jmpcrx said:
hi, just wondering if there are any roms available that are completely stable and finished for this phone?
if not, (as i have not found any), is the original stock rom (rojers) available to download anymore?
thanks guys..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may be off base here but I guess the [4.4] cyanogenmod 11 and omni ROM are pretty much stable ...
Though the pretty much is still a while away from complete the following are the general bugs with bubor's amazing Roms:
There is an audio bug when making VoIP calls which gives audio latency ..
There is fixed camera rotation which means all the pictures are in landscape
There is no Wi-Fi direct
Google experience launcher is not that Good looking (I know I am complaining)
Google maps 7 has issues but can be dual loaded with maps 6 so they work
Backlight,PPI, lag all have fixes though
Battery drain is a bit more
But as far as performance goes... They are pretty smooth..
So I guess make your choice
thefusor said:
I may be off base here but I guess the [4.4] cyanogenmod 11 and omni ROM are pretty much stable ...
Though the pretty much is still a while away from complete the following are the general bugs with bubor's amazing Roms:
There is an audio bug when making VoIP calls which gives audio latency ..
There is fixed camera rotation which means all the pictures are in landscape
There is no Wi-Fi direct
Google experience launcher is not that Good looking (I know I am complaining)
Google maps 7 has issues but can be dual loaded with maps 6 so they work
Backlight,PPI, lag all have fixes though
Battery drain is a bit more
But as far as performance goes... They are pretty smooth..
So I guess make your choice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wish i could agree with you.. im running kitkat crdroid, and like every rom i have flashed over the years, has plenty of bugs that make it very annoying as a daily rom. phone switching off twice a day, icons/widgets dissapearing after rebooting, becomes laggy after a week or so of usig the rom, laggy browsing on all browsers, trebucket crashing regurly etc etc, thats on top of the bugs you list.. the only roms that are stable are completely finished official cm or miui roms (which there are none for this fone..). the stock rom is the only one that has not given me trouble. with the greatest respect to those that put their time i to make these roms, im sure people who flash them make them out to be more stable than they really are unfortunatelly.
Maybe we have developer aura or something like that? I'm sure I just used 4.4 PAC ROM for a week without reboot or any crashes. Bluetooth, fixed camera rotation and VoIP - yes, these are issues we can't fix, the same is with google maps v.7 (we just have no hardware NEON support that uses v.7 of maps). There is also issue with wi-fi: if you turn it off, it sometimes don't turns on until reboot. As for myself, I just never turn it off.
Besides of these issues, everything is smooth and stable. Really is. But I got sometimes trebuchet crashes - this was a time when I flashed dirty and didn't make a factory reset - the new trebuchet version sometimes conflicts with the data from old version. I just went to Settings - Apps, found Trebuchet (or Launcher3 if old version) and tapped Erase Data. And the issue was gone! But I recommend to always make a factory reset with new ROM. That's really important.
And even if you have those constant trebuchet bugs whatever you do (icons disappearing is also a trebuchet bug, I never encountered it though), just install a different launcher. Google now launcher is the basic, and is like trebuchet in many ways, miui one is also good, and others, they are many!
I had problems with some icons disappearing when the system reboots. I found that the icons that disappeared were for applications which were installed on the SD card. When I moved them to the system, they stopped disappearing.
Makshow said:
Maybe we have developer aura or something like that? I'm sure I just used 4.4 PAC ROM for a week without reboot or any crashes. Bluetooth, fixed camera rotation and VoIP - yes, these are issues we can't fix, the same is with google maps v.7 (we just have no hardware NEON support that uses v.7 of maps). There is also issue with wi-fi: if you turn it off, it sometimes don't turns on until reboot. As for myself, I just never turn it off.
Besides of these issues, everything is smooth and stable. Really is. But I got sometimes trebuchet crashes - this was a time when I flashed dirty and didn't make a factory reset - the new trebuchet version sometimes conflicts with the data from old version. I just went to Settings - Apps, found Trebuchet (or Launcher3 if old version) and tapped Erase Data. And the issue was gone! But I recommend to always make a factory reset with new ROM. That's really important.
And even if you have those constant trebuchet bugs whatever you do (icons disappearing is also a trebuchet bug, I never encountered it though), just install a different launcher. Google now launcher is the basic, and is like trebuchet in many ways, miui one is also good, and others, they are many!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
like i said in my first post, i do really appriciate the fact that people spend Alot of time cooking theese roms, and it easy for me to come along and moan about them, but i have found over the years that after using a custom rom for a couple of weeks or so, its like the ram seems to gradually get eaten away, the device gradually slows down, becomes laggy and ultimately unuseable (not just this fone, and not just me that says this). im not saying all are like this, just many i have used, mainly because they never get finished.
i am very open though to people suggesting that i am doing something wrong, and maybe you have picked up on that something.. you say you do a factory reset, can i ask, do you mean a factory reset in the fone settings, or are you referring to a full wipe using cwm/twrp? as when i flash, i wipe everything accept what i dont want wiped on the external sd.. i dont factory reset, is this after you have flashed the new rom? or before you flash a new rom?
also thank you for the erase data tip for trebucket, i will try that.. i have not used the google now launcher yet, but i tried using miui launcher but when i went back to trebucket the lockscreen stayed as the miui lockscreen, which has happened on past cm roms, so i just deleted it.
just gets a bit frustrating when you spend hours getting everything working/setting up personalisation, then the phone just seems to start getting worse day by day, but maybe like you say, its cos i "dirty flashed"?
linuxguy42 said:
I had problems with some icons disappearing when the system reboots. I found that the icons that disappeared were for applications which were installed on the SD card. When I moved them to the system, they stopped disappearing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did think that, and im sure you are right, but i have had every app/folder/widget dissappear twice now, then, randomly over several restarts, some widgets/apps will replace themselves over the top of the new ones i have just newly placed there.. strange, but i have came across this before on cm roms, so im sure there is a bug there somewhere, even if it is not too common..
jmpcrx said:
you say you do a factory reset, can i ask, do you mean a factory reset in the fone settings, or are you referring to a full wipe using cwm/twrp? as when i flash, i wipe everything accept what i dont want wiped on the external sd.. i dont factory reset, is this after you have flashed the new rom? or before you flash a new rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, what you do should suffice. I meant cwm/twrp wipe (boot, system, data, cache, android.secure). SD card is not touched. So you are doing fine with that, but anyway, there has to be something make those issues... Can you look at /system/addon.d folder? There is stored info about files that will be preserved even if you install a new ROM with a wipe. If there are many leftovers from ROMs or programs you tried earlier, then you should try to manually clear this folder before new ROM install.
the device gradually slows down, becomes laggy and ultimately unuseable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was the point with pre-4.2 ROMs, and even with 4.2 there was a bug with gallery thumbnails which made it to eat gigabyte and more of storage after some time. That was fixed in CM 10.1.3. Also a Lite-Kernel used by earlier ROMs is very great, but has its issues, for example, systemui crashes when camera launch after some phone use and sleep of death.
I used CM 10.1.3 for a a three months and still keeping a backup of it for a some case. There was no slowing or lagging, it was almost perfect (if you don't use VoIP or BT handset) even after those months of use. Strangely, but I didn't have even "settings -> about crash" issue bubor listed!
Welll here are some tip which have helped me
jmpcrx said:
i wish i could agree with you.. im running kitkat crdroid, and like every rom i have flashed over the years, has plenty of bugs that make it very annoying as a daily rom. phone switching off twice a day, icons/widgets dissapearing after rebooting, becomes laggy after a week or so of usig the rom, laggy browsing on all browsers, trebucket crashing regurly etc etc, thats on top of the bugs you list.. the only roms that are stable are completely finished official cm or miui roms (which there are none for this fone..). the stock rom is the only one that has not given me trouble. with the greatest respect to those that put their time i to make these roms, im sure people who flash them make them out to be more stable than they really are unfortunatelly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i .. umm.. well i agree that as of now they have issues but they will get better .. ours is an old device... so i guess we should tread slowly . which is exactly what the developers are doing .. .
and i agree on the ram hungry part but there are ways for that too . .
funny i have been messaging people to help me post this stuff through them . . but well thats the prob with being a junior member .
My personal tested suggestions for omni rom which have really incremented to the performace some of which are :
- using one of the lightest launchers as i find trebuchet and even google launcher RAM hungry is 'Lightning Launcher' the bloody app itself is in BYTES!!
-also i use link2sd with ext4 that helps in storage and also use sd maid for regular clean up.
-also i have been testing memory swapping using linux swap partition on sd card (class 10 ) and yeah i know it degrades sd card but oh well like Glados testing testing testing
-i have also switch off startup at boot for certain apps
and i apologize for posting what maybe well known tricks or improvs but i really dont know where else to post these (still have the ten post ban from posting )
and if these dont help then sorry to waste your time . .
PS anyone think an F2FS file system like for the nexus7 would\might help ?
tl;dr use the given tips maybe they might help . . and with custom roms i guess you have to spend time to keep them running well .
Makshow said:
Yes, what you do should suffice. I meant cwm/twrp wipe (boot, system, data, cache, android.secure). SD card is not touched. So you are doing fine with that, but anyway, there has to be something make those issues... Can you look at /system/addon.d folder? There is stored info about files that will be preserved even if you install a new ROM with a wipe. If there are many leftovers from ROMs or programs you tried earlier, then you should try to manually clear this folder before new ROM install.
That was the point with pre-4.2 ROMs, and even with 4.2 there was a bug with gallery thumbnails which made it to eat gigabyte and more of storage after some time. That was fixed in CM 10.1.3. Also a Lite-Kernel used by earlier ROMs is very great, but has its issues, for example, systemui crashes when camera launch after some phone use and sleep of death.
I used CM 10.1.3 for a a three months and still keeping a backup of it for a some case. There was no slowing or lagging, it was almost perfect (if you don't use VoIP or BT handset) even after those months of use. Strangely, but I didn't have even "settings -> about crash" issue bubor listed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks, i cleared the data in trebucket, and started again with placing apps/widgets on home screen, and i also have deleted the hacked version of adobe flash that you install with dolphin browser, and, supprisingly after a couple of days of testing, my apps/widgets are not deleting themselves, the phone is significantly less laggy, and i have had no switch offs, so, im very pleased with that! so id suggest against downloading that version of flash player with this rom..
thefusor said:
i .. umm.. well i agree that as of now they have issues but they will get better .. ours is an old device... so i guess we should tread slowly . which is exactly what the developers are doing .. .
and i agree on the ram hungry part but there are ways for that too . .
funny i have been messaging people to help me post this stuff through them . . but well thats the prob with being a junior member .
My personal tested suggestions for omni rom which have really incremented to the performace some of which are :
- using one of the lightest launchers as i find trebuchet and even google launcher RAM hungry is 'Lightning Launcher' the bloody app itself is in BYTES!!
-also i use link2sd with ext4 that helps in storage and also use sd maid for regular clean up.
-also i have been testing memory swapping using linux swap partition on sd card (class 10 ) and yeah i know it degrades sd card but oh well like Glados testing testing testing
-i have also switch off startup at boot for certain apps
and i apologize for posting what maybe well known tricks or improvs but i really dont know where else to post these (still have the ten post ban from posting )
and if these dont help then sorry to waste your time . .
PS anyone think an F2FS file system like for the nexus7 would\might help ?
tl;dr use the given tips maybe they might help . . and with custom roms i guess you have to spend time to keep them running well .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some good tips there, thankyou, i havent tried any of them yet, but i will have a go at some of them and see what happens.. thanks thfusor..
jmpcrx said:
hi, just wondering if there are any roms available that are completely stable and finished for this phone?
if not, (as i have not found any), is the original stock rom (rojers) available to download anymore?
thanks guys..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For what it's worth, I recently had to reflash and decided to use dman325's stock UCLJ3. (He has two versions, stock and one with the aosp lockscreen. If you decide to use either, use the stock one. dman325 had to resign the aosp one with a test signing key that, recently, got invalidated or declined and it prevents Google Play from updating past 3.7.15 and Google Play Services wont install at all because of a shared_uid fault due to certificate conflict, etc.)
I got frustrated with the amount of bloat in an otherwise vendor fun-packed rom, so I went in and hacked out lots of crap. Largely relying on either "what is safe to get rid of" lists for similar samsung phones and my own poking around/guestimation using dex2jar and jd-gui. I really, honestly don't understand what InputEventApp.apk was meant to do. Seriously. But, getting rid of it reduced the logcat spam tremendously. Also, the wsslcm* apks are somewhat frightening in appearance.
I've gone a few steps further, I modified android.policy.jar smali to prevent the emergency dial option from showing up on the lock screen - I accidentally pocket dialed 911 a year ago and am not about to do that again. I also modified the kernel ramdisk image to set ro.debuggable=1 and ro.secure=0. I tried, while I was at it, to replace /dev/random with /dev/urandom, but I'll have to do some experimenting.
I've added a few static binaries for proper gnu utilities. bash, ls, grep, sort, du, etc. It surprises me that a functional shell environment doesn't get more attention on phones with keyboards.
So, that's my $0.02. Try the stock UCLJ3 and fiddle with it a bit. Good luck.
etherfish said:
For what it's worth, I recently had to reflash and decided to use dman325's stock UCLJ3. (He has two versions, stock and one with the aosp lockscreen. If you decide to use either, use the stock one. dman325 had to resign the aosp one with a test signing key that, recently, got invalidated or declined and it prevents Google Play from updating past 3.7.15 and Google Play Services wont install at all because of a shared_uid fault due to certificate conflict, etc.)
I got frustrated with the amount of bloat in an otherwise vendor fun-packed rom, so I went in and hacked out lots of crap. Largely relying on either "what is safe to get rid of" lists for similar samsung phones and my own poking around/guestimation using dex2jar and jd-gui. I really, honestly don't understand what InputEventApp.apk was meant to do. Seriously. But, getting rid of it reduced the logcat spam tremendously. Also, the wsslcm* apks are somewhat frightening in appearance.
I've gone a few steps further, I modified android.policy.jar smali to prevent the emergency dial option from showing up on the lock screen - I accidentally pocket dialed 911 a year ago and am not about to do that again. I also modified the kernel ramdisk image to set ro.debuggable=1 and ro.secure=0. I tried, while I was at it, to replace /dev/random with /dev/urandom, but I'll have to do some experimenting.
I've added a few static binaries for proper gnu utilities. bash, ls, grep, sort, du, etc. It surprises me that a functional shell environment doesn't get more attention on phones with keyboards.
So, that's my $0.02. Try the stock UCLJ3 and fiddle with it a bit. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks etherfish, if i continue to have probs i may well do that, i was thinking about going back to stock. dont think i have the confidence to fiddle like you have though as im more of a windows man than linux, but thanks for the great advice
jmpcrx said:
thanks etherfish, if i continue to have probs i may well do that, i was thinking about going back to stock. dont think i have the confidence to fiddle like you have though as im more of a windows man than linux, but thanks for the great advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you learn by doing, I believe. Also, I have a classy - for a flip phone - Motorola Razr2 v8 kicking around I can always put my SIM into if I've managed to hose my captivate glide. Also, I'm replying because I can't post in the rom development forum until I have 10 posts. Hurray for well founded, but nonetheless arbitrary restrictions. So, a number of things have piqued my curiosity.
So, first of all, this surprised me in the logs:
Code:
I/Launcher( 2263): onCreate(): product model family:U1 product model : GT-I9221
I'd always wondered why I had an SGH-I927 when other phones, like the remarkably similar Galaxy R, are GT-I9103. Is/was GT-I9221 an internal reference?
Also, there are other inconsistencies, for example:
Code:
D/RILJ ( 426): [1718]> REQUEST_GET_NEIGHBORING_CELL_IDS
D/RILJ ( 426): [1718]< REQUEST_GET_NEIGHBORING_CELL_IDS error: com.android.internal.telephony.CommandException: REQUEST_NOT_SUPPORTED
If you jump into the debug/field test menu system, (dial *#*#197328640#*#* ) you can bring up the list of neighboring cells in both GSM and WCDMA modes... So, why is the request marked not supported? Furthermore, why didn't samsung disable the request in the first place if they went to the trouble of disabling it from working. I imagine this has a reason, but I doubt it's a terribly great one.
And the FM receiver? I do believe our broadcom BCM4329 is a bluetooth+wifi_in_an_sdcard (well, SDIO really, but still, not pci-e and not usb.) and has an FM receiver built in, but it's omitted and hidden?
Code:
W/AudioPolicyManager( 112): FM radio recording off
Oh, the conspiracy theories. And then there's the weird lines you discover if you dump the string identifiers from /system/bin/drexe!
For example, these lines are all sequential:
Code:
broadcast -a android.provider.Telephony.SECRET_CODE android_secret_code://767*3855
InvokeOemRequestHookRaw broadcast factorst OK
InvokeOemRequestHookRaw factorst fail %d
/system/.configure.txt
(what's with /system/.configure.txt???)
Do not type 767*3855 into your phone. It's the factory wipe code or possibly part of it. I do believe drexe is the DataRouter you often see spamming the logs with:
Code:
E/DataRouter( 107): usb connection is true
E/DataRouter( 107): DSR is ON. Don't send DTR ON.
And we find these strings in drexe:
Code:
__initialize_usb_ipc
/data/.usb_stream
usb connection is true
InvokeOemRequestHookRaw usbstatus true is success
oh, and:
Code:
pipe failed (%s)
fork failed (%s)
child pid = %d.
execute sh.
system/bin/sh
execl fail %d
What do you think? Why does drexe seem to have code to support and start a shell? Well, if nothing else, thank you for reading.
P.S. I don't suspect anything the least bit conspiracy like, malicious, or devious. I've worked for some huge companies; i don't think it'd be likely.
etherfish said:
Also, I'm replying because I can't post in the rom development forum until I have 10 posts. Hurray for well founded, but nonetheless arbitrary restrictions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically, you can post in cappy dev forums started from 3 posts. I saw someone posting there his fourth post.
As for other things you listed... Well, I'll be glad to have an FM receiver in our glide. But I really think that reason for all this staff can be as simply as hands growing from wrong place or restricted development time...
Makshow said:
Technically, you can post in cappy dev forums started from 3 posts. I saw someone posting there his fourth post.
As for other things you listed... Well, I'll be glad to have an FM receiver in our glide. But I really think that reason for all this staff can be as simply as hands growing from wrong place or restricted development time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recently, after some research, also installed dans stock (i decided to go complete stock since i didnt know what the lock screen thing meant).
I havent had any trouble with being outdated. Only thing i noticed (unless im doing it wrong, im new to this phone) was that screencaps dont work. its power button and volume down, right?
Other things id like to customize are data being in the top drawer instead of bluetooth (since i never use it), and id like to be able to see who texted me on the lock screen, but while still using the stock messaging app, and without an app having to constantly run.
Other than those couple of things its been great!
im HOPING down the road for an un-buggy or at least minimally buggy version of 4.4. well see what happens with that i guess.
Some help
Pawprints1986 said:
I recently, after some research, also installed dans stock (i decided to go complete stock since i didnt know what the lock screen thing meant).
I havent had any trouble with being outdated. Only thing i noticed (unless im doing it wrong, im new to this phone) was that screencaps dont work. its power button and volume down, right?
Other things id like to customize are data being in the top drawer instead of bluetooth (since i never use it), and id like to be able to see who texted me on the lock screen, but while still using the stock messaging app, and without an app having to constantly run.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i always say stock is best cause it IS optimized however there are things like keep and total Google integration that i like so i updated to kit kat
for screen caps if they dont work i could maybe suggest an application called super manager its pretty loaded it has screen cap and may even give you prox sense wake up for device.
also customizing the drawer hmm.. i guess you could try xposed framework but please be careful and make a backup before
as for who texts you and the content of the text you could try dash clock its able to do a lot
hello guys I was just wondering if I could get some help since I returned back to fully Ice Cream Sandwich Stock. I completely removed all the system bloat with link2sd, uninstalled all att crap. Can anyone recommend me something since I feel the ram consuption still to high... battery so far is doing kind of good almost as in crdroid
But i believe it can be improved. Any recommended settings or something else i can do? Already tried lite kernel but it gave me some issues. Rather keep stock. Any recommendations please guys. Also if you know a "ok google" like app or something as a swifty assistant would be nice. Please recommend. Thanks in advance
jmpcrx said:
hi, just wondering if there are any roms available that are completely stable and finished for this phone?
if not, (as i have not found any), is the original stock rom (rojers) available to download anymore?
thanks guys..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
well that depends.. on what you mean with "finished"
I have tested all (3 months ago) available ROMs for the Glide. IMO the best available ROM is PACman but as said it depends. I used pac_i927-milestone.1.RC1.4.zip for a long time (months) without having any issues besides Bluetooth Headset which is a general problem in JB and higher version). I have tried other PACMan ROM versions as well but the above one was the best of stability and battery life (in my case).
So it depends what features you really need or are a must-have for you. If you do not have bluetooth headsets I would recommend the above otherwise .. well I would recommend sediROM
Regards
xdajog
---------- Post added at 02:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:33 PM ----------
lasuazo said:
hello guys I was just wondering if I could get some help since I returned back to fully Ice Cream Sandwich Stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't done that before but would be rooted ICS stock also ok for you?
If so:
--> search for thread ID 1994902 or search for: [ROM] Stock UCLJ3 Rooted, Deodexed, Zipaligned
(sorry not allowed to post links..)
Regards
xdajog