Best way to start with a new phone? - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4

Just wanted to ask the public's opinion on how to start? Things in this field changes so quick that if you're not on it at least every week, you're easily left in the dust.
My phone's backlight went defective and only shows a picture that has lines thru it from top to bottom when the brightness is turned all the way up. Anything lower and the backlight doesn't even work and there's no picture. Well I just got my replacement phone in the mail and I need to start over. The last phone only had a root done and no custom rom.
What would be the easiest way to root and to install a rom? I clearly am not the type of person who would change out a ROM everytime something new comes out and would only do so if it was truly needed or I really hated what was installed. I believe I'm going to go with Wicked v10 since it has some really good reviews.
Also do I need to change out the bootrom or anything else to improve on my use on T-Mobile?
Thanks for any suggestions!

First you need to find out what firmware came on your new phone (Bootloader and Baseband) so you know which method you can use to root. As for a ROM it's best that you search for one that suits your needs (XDA forbids posting about which ROM is better. It turns into arguments). And to boost you signal you can flash the NB4 modem (that's if your phone didn't already come with it stock).
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Related

[Q] My evo pushes a bunch of buttons on the screen on its own. help please.

Hey there guys. I really need some help now. I've been going at this for about 6 hours now and I really just cant do it alone anymore.
so here it is...
I just got my HTC evo and I attempted rooting it. The phone was working perfectly the day before. no problems what so ever. Today I youtubed how to root your evo and i came across this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OmPcT4pcks
I followed his exact steps but it didn't work at all. I got to the part where i installed the driver, i ran the unrevoked program and it failed to root my phone. i unplugged my phone then it started going all haywire and pushing stuff on its own, the 4 bottom buttons weren't working either when the keyboard pops up, whenever i try to type "o" "L" or "m" it presses all the buttons surrounding it besides the one i'm actually trying to press. So then i went to this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=838448
that one rooted my phone just fine. However the phone going haywire was an ongoing thing. I even flashed a new rom on there and it still goes haywire.
right now i'm running this rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=992402
I'm really just stuck right now. I've tried unrooting my phone and getting it completely back to just normal so i could start fresh But i find the right zip file. If anyone could please help me i'd really appreciate it. Looking forward to hearing from someone. thanks
Do u have a recovery installed? I would suggest using RA then use the format all zip to completely erase your phone and flash a rom again and see what you get.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=884060
and flash unrevoked s-on first.
What happens if you clean your screen really well? Mine only pushes random buttons if it gets a drizzle of water on it or something.
the screen is really clean and it still does it. The screen does all sorts of loopy stuff. like itll zoom out like your pinching it then zoom back in. slide around from screen to screen. I flashed a new rom on there once again and its still doing it. I tried a whole bunch of the supersonic shipped roms but none of them would work. Is this phone done for good? ='(
about software entire thing is this
android version 2.2
baseband version 2.15.00.11.19
kernel version 2.6.32.17-gee557fd
[email protected]#15
build number dark cocoa lll
software number dark cocoa lll
browser version webkit 3.1
PRI version 1.90_003
PRL version 60677
Well I can recommend a few things..
1. Backup, do a complete wipe, reflash the rom
2. Try a different kernel.
3. Downgrade to PRI&NV 1.77.
the problem is your touch screen is going bad, not the root and the root didnt cause it. take it to the store, they will a replacement screen in stock.
Evo13 said:
the problem is your touch screen is going bad, not the root and the root didnt cause it. take it to the store, they will a replacement screen in stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I had the same problem, just unroot, make sure you have s-on, get rid of anything root related on your sd card (ie soff.log), and take it in
Sent from my hand with XDA Premium installed
snowboarda42 said:
Exactly. I had the same problem, just unroot, make sure you have s-on, get rid of anything root related on your sd card (ie soff.log), and take it in
Sent from my hand with XDA Premium installed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Evo13 said:
the problem is your touch screen is going bad, not the root and the root didnt cause it. take it to the store, they will a replacement screen in stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to wear a rough spot on the screen from using Swype. Apparently I text very violently and a lot. The screen looks fine but if you run your finger along it you can feel where the keyboard pops up in portrait mode is rough, and if you clean it, the cleaning solution beads around that area. I bought an invisishield screen protector and that seemed to solve my problem, which sounds the same as what your experiencing. Going to the store and getting it fixed is probably a better option, I've just had to fight with Sprint in the store on what they considered "physical damage" on my last phone, and the screen protector seemed like a easier solution for the time being.

[Q] Why should I NOT root?

I recently got my S3, and coming from the Vibrant, I love this. I was never able to run anything beyond Froyo on my Vibrant, because 911 capability was critical for me. I am still in awe of the fact that my phone is fast, works, and my GPS actually functions. Seriously. It works. Wow.
Okay, so I decided not to tinker with my new phone at all and just enjoy it stock for a bit. I can't even tell you how cool I think ICS is. I'm honestly not even jonesing for Jelly Bean yet because ICS is still so new and cool. But, there are a few things I'm noticing I can't do without root. I'm asking your opinions on if you think they're worthy of me risking my phone for. (DigitalMonk has declared that I'm on my own as far as tinkering with this phone. )
1. I miss Patrick Boos' Sleep Timer. It needs root to be able to shut Google Music completely off. I like to fall asleep to music. I can get my music to pause but not shut off. The phone is plugged in on my dresser, so it isn't draining my battery and my screen is off. Is this a big deal? Will it hurt anything so simply let it pause overnight?
2. I'd like to install Avast and have it do it's firewall. Because I am the Mom, I have our insurance and pharmacy apps on my phone to manage medications. Of course this is pretty sensitive health info that I need, but the rest of the world does not. We're leaving for Disney World next week and that's when my phone will be at greatest risk. This is probably my biggest reason for considering root.
I have read the information posted on how to get root access without tripping the counter. I, being a college educated human being feel capable of reading the instructions, but I'm a little worried about messing up. I understand the instructions as far as how to execute them, but there is still a lot about the inner-workings of my phone that are a huge mystery to me.
Are my reasons enough to go for it or should I look for others ways?
As far as the root66 fw goes, its probably the safest way to root imo.
I link to it and posted step by step instructions in the firmware thread if it helps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1949687
As for whether or not you should root, I personally have never seen reason not to. As long as you follow instructions and only flash what has been verified safe you should be fine.
I dont think leaving your music paused will harm anything. Not enough to worry about it anyway.
As far as security goes, rooting does open up a number of options for you, as you seem to already know.
I would say go for it. This phone is great unrooted but to me its 100 times better rooted.
If you have any questions about the process just ask.
Good luck with whichever route you take!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
to quickly answer the question in the thread title.
there is absolutely no reason to not root your device. and it is perfectly safe if you follow instructions carefully.
hi there
first off.. there is no "risk" to rooting.. you are simply gaining superuser/administrator capability
all you are actually doing is changing the recovery image (menu) .. and then using this enhanced recovery menu to ADD the su binary and superuser.apk .. that's it .. takes 5 mins on the sgs3
the "risk" is in installing kernels and roms, both of which overwrite your boot.img and /system and /data partitions .. and even then, IF you decide to go that far, simply use the recovery mode to create a nandroid backup (backs up entire phone) BEFORE install the rom/kernel and no worries.. simply restore from the backup if anything goes wrong but I digress ..
IF you have a USA or CANADA sgs3, then this is the best guide, step by step, even video.. to use Odin to flash the clockworkmod recovery image.. and then boot into that new recovery to flash superSu.. read carefully, do it slow, do it right, you'll be rooted in 5 mins
galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-root/how-to-root-u-s-and-canada-galaxy-s3-sgh-t999sgh-i747sph-l710-fail-proofnoob-proof/
part 1 .. this is not your old clunky cassette recorder, hitting pause doesn't mean it's running but being held back by a physical button lol. .. pause simply stops the playback AND remembers the seek offset .. in fact if the app loses focus, or screens idles out, the app will sleep
I recommend Tune In .. best radio app .. has sleep ability and alarm, can even schedule recording in pro version
free version play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tunein.player
part two .. in My opinion, anti virus apps ARE the virus! lol
just use a pattern or pin or password lock and you will be fine.. don't rely on apps.. keep your phone in your pocket, not bag or purse etc .. don't take it out unless you are using it .. be smart, be safe.
I don't use anti virus garbage on phone nor pc .. and IF I went insane and actually installed one, I sure as hell would NOT allow it superuser access!!
that's My 3.2 cents hope it helps!
cheers,
Steven
Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-T999V .. rooted .. Xquizit xD jb 4.1.1 rom =)

Root or stay stock?

I still haven't rooted my note 2. I want to root and get custom roms but scared the roms might not have good battery like stock. I'm not sure what's you guys opinion?
Sent from my SGH-T889V using xda app-developers app
Everything gets better with custom roms
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Stock.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
I have rooted every Android I ever owned including ny Note 2... This is the only phone I have unrooted and went back to fully stock. I am very happy with the way this phone runs stock.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
I absolutely had in my mind I wasn't going to root etc. but im running the latest jedi rom and it is phenomenal!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
There are some cool features tied in with touch wizard specific to our pen capability. If you go custom you may lose that. So I would look more at rooting like such. Do I want root to bypass tethering lockdown from the vendor or to make backups with Titainium? Do I really need to overclock or undervolt? Do a new ROM's features negate the potential loss of pen related features
Sent from my GT-N7105
Im rooted running stock, tried jedirom 10 and had to pull the battery after every phone call. Still havent gotten an answer as to why this was happening. Went back to stock rooted and done with custom roms until this gets ironed out.....on a positive note, that jedi 10 with that kernel was flying and im very disappointed that I couldnt stick with it as it has awsome features.
zellroot said:
Im rooted running stock, tried jedirom 10 and had to pull the battery after every phone call. Still havent gotten an answer as to why this was happening. Went back to stock rooted and done with custom roms until this gets ironed out.....on a positive note, that jedi 10 with that kernel was flying and im very disappointed that I couldnt stick with it as it has awsome features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was running stock rooted since I got my phone late last December. But today I finally decided to run a custom rom and jedi 10 was it. Flashed with no problems and do not see the problem you have. The rom is really nice. Here are some features I would suggest rooting for:
1. Free wifi tethering (it's a must for me since T-mobile charges $15 for me to use data that I'm already paying for).
2. Wifi calling (good option to have in case I do not have signals) - the jedi 10 rom offers this.
3. Multi-windown (any app) - a cool feature. I don't think I will use it much though. But it's good to use to show off.
4. Samsung keyboard with auto-correct. I wanted to keep the samsung keyboard so that I can use the s-pen sometimes. But the jedi rom has the auto-keyboard switcher embedded.
??????
I rooted my phone I think but now I dont know what to do next! How do I pick a rom and where do I go to pick a rom or download one? Also what are kernals and overclicking?
SAMOANBK47 said:
I rooted my phone I think but now I dont know what to do next! How do I pick a rom and where do I go to pick a rom or download one? Also what are kernals and overclicking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you do anything else, search "nandroid" learn all about it, and make one.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
I was stock until about 3 days ago. I moved into the Jedi ROM. I used CWM, the non-touch version. I don't know if I'm old school or worried about a non responsive screen but eh.
Originally I'd just thought to stay stock and not rooted so I could get OTA'S. Though with a ROM, I'm already miles ahead of the game.
As another person stated, using the tethering has really been good for me. I'm paying $70 a month, $15 more for the hot spot would of been ridiculously overkill.
Also, I've never seen or witnessed a phone become so buttery smooth and perform so well. I'm happy. ^_^
Just make sure you do back ups through TiBu and do nandroids.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
I rooted, went to Jedi ROM, but had issues, like screen tearing, slow response (probably aggressive underclocking) and some other weirdness. Went to Tweaked ROM, and had to pull battery after using CNN app for 5 minutes. Also phone is very slow to wake. Turning screen off makes music player unusable. I think I should go to stock, but I would love to have TSM Parts thing on it. Wonder if there's a way to install it.
Meanee said:
...Went to Tweaked ROM, and had to pull battery after using CNN app for 5 minutes. Also phone is very slow to wake. Turning screen off makes music player unusable. I think I should go to stock, but I would love to have TSM Parts thing on it. Wonder if there's a way to install it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would likely be better off reported in the Tweaked thread...
But, w/ the CNN freeze up (was this an app or website? Reading text or watching video/listening to audio?) was there any FC at all? What kernel were you using? What version of Tweaked were you running, and what sort of options did you have installed? A logcat of such an issue would be immensely helpful Also - were you charging the phone and have the MIUI battery bar active? On other phones I've experienced issues w/ video playback and that combo.
Turning screen off makes music player unusable - what do you mean? The long-press volume controls weren't working? The music stops? What app were you using to listen to music?
Very slow to wake - is there anything more specific you can offer here? Like an amount of time it takes to wake? That really shouldn't differ from stock at all - and there will always be a bit of lag there (though I never have anything more than a second or so).
And fwiw TSMParts is regrettably not an independently functional sort of apk. It requires a bunch of other edits throughout aspects of /system to actually work. But man that would be nifty
Fyi...noting what I said before, I am currently running one of Tesh's rooted stock ROMs for the international version. I can run backups, do tethering (no carrier lockdown for international), and run another kernel if I wish. It also allows me to use some of the Exposed installer tweaks to keep the Note2 touchwiz benefits and still use things like per app resultions and all apps in multiwindow.
Sent from my GT-N7105
dwitherell said:
This would likely be better off reported in the Tweaked thread...
But, w/ the CNN freeze up (was this an app or website? Reading text or watching video/listening to audio?) was there any FC at all? What kernel were you using? What version of Tweaked were you running, and what sort of options did you have installed? A logcat of such an issue would be immensely helpful Also - were you charging the phone and have the MIUI battery bar active? On other phones I've experienced issues w/ video playback and that combo.
Turning screen off makes music player unusable - what do you mean? The long-press volume controls weren't working? The music stops? What app were you using to listen to music?
Very slow to wake - is there anything more specific you can offer here? Like an amount of time it takes to wake? That really shouldn't differ from stock at all - and there will always be a bit of lag there (though I never have anything more than a second or so).
And fwiw TSMParts is regrettably not an independently functional sort of apk. It requires a bunch of other edits throughout aspects of /system to actually work. But man that would be nifty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't really so a lot of troubleshooting. It was a CNN app. I pushed Back button from an article and got a black screen only with top bar active. Pushed power button, screen turned off. Then it stayed off. Had to do a battery pull. Not charging, no MIUI battery bar.
As for music, turning off the screen makes it stutter and slow down. Turning screen back on fixed the issue. I am guessing with screen off, clock rate is way too low to support music playback.
Very slow to wake could mean 2-3 seconds after I push the power or home button. Same thing with phonecalls. I can hear the phone ring but screen would stay black. 2-3 seconds later I can finally see who's calling.
I guess I can resolve most of these issues by tweaking clock rates, just wish I had time to read up on it.
Edit: Forgot to mention, I am on 1.4. Downloaded and flashed yesterday.
Meanee said:
I didn't really so a lot of troubleshooting. It was a CNN app. I pushed Back button from an article and got a black screen only with top bar active. Pushed power button, screen turned off. Then it stayed off. Had to do a battery pull. Not charging, no MIUI battery bar.
As for music, turning off the screen makes it stutter and slow down. Turning screen back on fixed the issue. I am guessing with screen off, clock rate is way too low to support music playback.
Very slow to wake could mean 2-3 seconds after I push the power or home button. Same thing with phonecalls. I can hear the phone ring but screen would stay black. 2-3 seconds later I can finally see who's calling.
I guess I can resolve most of these issues by tweaking clock rates, just wish I had time to read up on it.
Edit: Forgot to mention, I am on 1.4. Downloaded and flashed yesterday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... my thoughts:
- That may have just been wonkiness in the CNN app - not sure if anything I did could impact something in the way you described (but of course I could be wrong).
- Yeah that is way slow - and uncharacteristic from my experiences at least
- That plus the music issue makes me wonder - are you just using the stock kernel? If so you can't do much in the way of clock rate tweaking, but I also find it curious as I've heard little in the way of issues regarding the stock kernel.
- Did you do a full data wipe before installing?
Regardless - I am sorry to hear about the poor outcome - feel free to PM me if you want any suggestions/help troubleshooting. I'm not the best at it (especially remotely), but I'll try
Sorry for the off-topic stuff OP!
The question doesn't make sense.
Rooting just means you unlock the root account on the phone to have superuser access. This is required by some useful apps (ProxyDroid, Paragon NTFS & HFS+ which lets you mount any USB stick or hard drive using an OTG cable, backup programs...). You can very well keep the stock firmware and just root it, which is what I ended up doing on the Note II.
On my previous Galaxy S2 CM10 was working like a champ, so I figured I would try it on the Note II... I think at this point it's a total disaster and completely unusable, just not ready for prime time. Bluetooth is completely broken, the camera doesn't work, the video driver has problems, and most of all you lose a lot of the cool things you get with the stock firmware (multi-windows, stylus-specific features, etc...). Good enough if you're contributing to the ROM development and testing for bugs and missing features, but painfully not ready for prime time. The big problem is that you just don't know what feature will break next and will let you down right when you need it.
So for me, it's stock until CM10.1 goes RC. But of course I rooted it because I want to be able to use some apps that require rooting.
Note that some Samsung apps (Readers Hub) detect SuperSU and refuse to run. Uninstall SuperSU and use Superuser instead, and use Voodoo OTA Rootkeeper to temporarily unroot the phone if you need to use them.
Rooted on Stock Rom is the way to go.
I stay on stock ROM for Wi-Fi calling, but I had it rooted in order to transfer application data.
Backup your efs as well, because there has been several people that have lost their imei.

[Q]Phone won't auto-rotate/malfunctioning sensor

My t999 lost autorotation after flashing custom roms, but I don't remember if I had it originally on tw. I've tried flashing latest Liquid Smooth, CM nightlies, PACman, Paranoid with full wipes between and nothing has worked. I even read through the flashing guide (even though I'm not new to android or rooting/flashing) and tried the triple wipe/double boot and that didn't help.
So I have been googling and searching xda and could only find one thread on the issue (I'd link but I'm new) but I tried everything listed and it didn't help.
Is anyone having the same problem or know how to fix it?
Go back to full stock and check if it broken or not. Otherwise you can replace by tmobile or samsung since its manufactures fault.
Odin latest firmware. Check stickies on development section.
bikrame said:
Go back to full stock and check if it broken or not. Otherwise you can replace by tmobile or samsung since its manufactures fault.
Odin latest firmware. Check stickies on development section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can Odin run on a mac? I've used it on my pc but its out for repair. I'm currently downloading a tw based rom but if that doesn't work I'll return to true stock.
dperla said:
Can Odin run on a mac? I've used it on my pc but its out for repair. I'm currently downloading a tw based rom but if that doesn't work I'll return to true stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk about mac. There is thread for it in general section. I will prefer official firmware over any tw based roms to check phone function.
Havr you tried checking if your auto-screen option is checked?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
gyggyty said:
Havr you tried checking if your auto-screen option is checked?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol
I dont think he is so stupid.
Well thinking back to when I got this phone, it's a refurb replacement for one that i broke the screen, I remembered that i tried the flip to mute music and it never worked. I believe that its a defective device and will contact T-Mobile but I will continue working with it.
I tried FrostyJB and no rotation.
Haha obviously I have checked Auto-rotation and I tried unchecking then pulling the battery and then booting and rechecking. I've tried unchecking, rebooting into recovery (through power menu and manually), wiping cache then booting and checking it. And also the thread I read at androd forums said to boot into download mode then pull the battery but that did nothing, others there said that they dropped their phones and that fixed it but I have never dropped my current phone ( I recieved it on sunday) so thought that that was not going to work so attempted it anyway. I slammed it on my couch and dropped it from a few inches onto my coffee table with no results.
I will need to return it to full stock anyway if I want to bring it in so I will do that through Odin and triangle-away, and if I still have no rotation I will report back and look into getting a replacement.
Some phones have their sensors messed up, I had a Mytouch 4G that had issues when calling. Would get a call the proximity sensor would turn off screen when I'm talking but when the call was over screen would not turn on. I had to reboot most of the time unfortunately it's not really fixable something so fragile,so eventually i just change the hex values so the screen wouldn't turn off during a call problem solved.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
there is a sensor test on most of the stock roms
in the stock dialer:
Quick Test Menu
*#7353#
select the Accelerometer test and tilt the phone whatever way you want.
If the arrows don't change, then the sensor isn't working. If the Arrows do change, then all good, problem in rom setup.......
Good Luck
Aloha
Defective phone, T-Mobile is replacing for free.

[Q] Need help with epic

My mother has a epic 4g,and it has been giving her problems. I am hoping maybe someone here can help me make her phone better. Here I go with all her problems.
1.drop calls frequently
2. Service drops - 3g & voice
3.has trouble picking up signals in places. Where other phones have no problem
4.takes it forever to boot up.
5.freezes when talking to someone & incoming calls. Have to take the battery out to get it to
6.hardly any battery life to it. Battery is the one it came with I believe so it is old.
I am willing to root and give it a better rom, kernal, mods to make it a better phone for her. All she does is phone calls, fb, and some internet browsing. If anyone have any recommendations I am all ears. She doesn't feel like upgrading her phone cause she doesn't have the extra cash for one.
Stability first for mothers. CM7.2 is your best friend. Still available on get.cm.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM10.2
Would that fix all her problems? I know it probably won't fix the battery to much since she probably should buy a new one. Is there a stable release of android 4.1.2 as stable as the cm 7.2? But if 7.2 is the most stable and bluetooth, txt, internet, voice is more stable
and working on 7.2, I will go with that one. I just want to make her phone work to the best of its ability for her. Watching qbking77 vids on rooting it. I was hoping to find a review vid on cm but he only has it for epic 4g touch.
We have an old device, so if the battery is not holding a long enough charge & it's the original that came with the phone--you should purchase another on eBay/Amazon/etc. The SGS2 battery fits snug in our phone without an extended back.
What release version is she on? (FC09?)
What modem is she on? (FC09?)
Do other Sprint devices have better signal in the same area the Epic is being used?
You could just be in a crap or nearly dead coverage area. It happens when you're on the edge of a tower's coverage radius with no connecting tower to jump to.
It also helps to find out which apps are consuming the most battery. Install this app to find out which apps are consuming battery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179809
Focus on partial wakelocks and other.
Though, since you're saying signal is a problem, I bet her Time without Signal (TWS) % is pretty high. That would destroy a battery's charge. After a day's charge/use, open Settings > Battery > Cell Standby. Look at the the bottom % "Time without a signal". If above 3%, then the phone's loss of signal and constant searching for one is killing the battery fast. The only 3 solutions are:
1.) Call customer service and complain about very poor signal. With enough complaining, they should send you a free AirWav. You'd be responsible for taxes only.
2.) Use Airplane mode in crap coverage areas to conserve battery. (But voice is not usable in this option. Can still use Wifi for Google Voice and whatnot.)
3.) Drop Sprint for a carrier with better coverage in your area. Can probably get out of any contract, if by strange chance she's still on one for this phone, by complaining to customer service enough.
Alright I'll try going into details.
Tsukiyohikage said:
1.drop calls frequently
2. Service drops - 3g & voice
3.has trouble picking up signals in places. Where other phones have no problem
4.takes it forever to boot up.
5.freezes when talking to someone & incoming calls. Have to take the battery out to get it to
6.hardly any battery life to it. Battery is the one it came with I believe so it is old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question 1, 2 and 5 can't be answered, I don't use Epic for cellular network other than mobile data. But for question 3, coverage is fine here and both CM7.2 and CM10 (4.1.2) gets strong, equal signals compared to local GS3 handsets on the same carrier. Keep in mind that I'm in China and Epic's flashed to China Telecom, so things could be kinda different for ya. And don't forget to flash the latest radio (FC09 or FC19).
4. CM7.2, when properly set up, boots as fast as my new Nexus 4! CM10 takes ~20sec longer, but they all fall within a minute for me. Much faster than Touchwiz-based ROMs.
6. Again, you'll get UNBELIEVABLE battery life with Gingerbread - may need a new battery though. Once I charged my Epic, left it there with CM7, turned off airplane mode (usually on to save battery) and somehow left it in my drawer. ~10days after, I dumped my drawer for things when Epic slips out and tells me it still has 11% battery left and yes, it has signal all this time. Which means ~12days of standby time! WTF enough speaking of battery
Tsukiyohikage said:
Is there a stable release of android 4.1.2 as stable as the cm 7.2? But if 7.2 is the most stable and bluetooth, txt, internet, voice is more stable
and working on 7.2, I will go with that one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM10 is stable in everyone's eyes. The only reason I recommend CM7.2 first is that it has nearly 1/2 the battery drain of CM10 (for me). If you miss the appearance and some cutting-edge features, CM10 would still be a nice choice. Don't try 10.1 (and any 4.2.x ROMs) though, as BT is borked more or less.
You could always wait a bit more and listen to what other members have to say. I'm Chinese and may not give practical advices based on US network environment
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM10.2
Thanks for all the advice guys. I am looking at a new battery for her. Been looking at the battery thread on here to find her the best one. I like 4.1.2 but she hasn't seen it, all she knows is what her phone looks like now.
And to answer the questions
What release version is she on? (FC09?) - not sure as of the moment, I want to say yes. I'm at work and don't he her phone on me.
What modem is she on? (FC09?)- not sure as of the moment, I want to say yes. I'm at work and don't he her phone on me.
Do other Sprint devices have better signal in the same area the Epic is being used?
Yes other Sprint phones get better signal in the same area where she has trouble.
Example :we were at a hospital and my sister's evo shift, my old evo 4g had no problems at all. But her's was having trouble getting service.
Tsukiyohikage said:
Do other Sprint devices have better signal in the same area the Epic is being used?
Yes other Sprint phones get better signal in the same area where she has trouble.
Example :we were at a hospital and my sister's evo shift, my old evo 4g had no problems at all. But her's was having trouble getting service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use a hospital as your example. Hospital's are notorious for having horrible cell service due to the concrete walls and other interference. Use the location that she is in most for your baseline location, and if that is a hospital--then she will likely have poor service in such a building complex.
nikon120 said:
Don't use a hospital as your example. Hospital's are notorious for having horrible cell service due to the oncrete walls and other interference. Use the location that she is in most for your baseline location, and if that is a hospital--then she will likely have poor service in such a building complex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just called her and asked her where else she has trouble with service. She said mostly everywhere. I know our area is good in 3g and voice, no dead zones shown on coverage map. I know our 3g in our area is a little out of whack do to updating the towers. But this has been problem before the tower updates. And I asked her to look at phone info and she said it says gingerbread fco9.
I am looking at buying a Onite 1900mAh Li-ion Battery for her aswell. Unless you have a betterssuggestion.
My wife complains about her phone and I have tried to convince her to root it. Unfortunately, she's heard me complain about mine through rooted stock ginerbread all the way to CM10.1.
I never did CM7, but CM10.1 RC5 has been the best rom for me. Battery life is great. Great control. I don't have any issues with it, including bluetooth. it acts weird. like it connects and then when I make a call it says "disconnected" but I hear the phone ring and it functions normally. It just says "disconnected" in my headset. Otherwise, it works fine.
It's tough for a guy who screws with his phone all the time, like me, to give good counsel to someone like your mom or my wife about having a hacked phone. I honestly don't think you'd have as much trouble if you rooted it that the bone stock sprint gingerbread load. that totally sucked for me. GPS didn't work. Battery life sucked. And it had all those cutesy sprint apps like Nascar and sprint tv.
The good thing about rooting it, i think, is that once you do it the first time, it's really easy to load different ROMs in case you want to try some other ones. I downloaded the dominator one, but I have been so happy with cm10.1 rc5 that I am sticking. This is the best my phone has ever been.
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I will have to sit down with and explain all this stuff and let her decide on what she wants to do. I've been working doubles at work lately so haven't been able to talk to her about stuff.
She has told me to root her phone. I see you can get twrp recovery for this phone. So my new question is since I have been having trouble finding the answer is how do I flash twrp in? Do I flash it through cwm, odin, goomanger? I was going to follow the steps to root her phone in qbking video. But his way only shows putting cwm in.
Tsukiyohikage said:
I was going to follow the steps to root her phone in qbking video. But his way only shows putting cwm in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had rooted a few years ago and found the easiest procedure to follow here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/epic-4g-rooting-roms-hacks/
I rooted gingerbread first and then did other roms. But I think the Cyanogenmod web pages have a straight forward process too., You difinitely have to have the recovery console CWM or similar loaded to start which requires Odin as far as I know. So that is going to be your first step. Those links are in that android central forum. At least they were at one time.
Tsukiyohikage said:
She has told me to root her phone. I see you can get twrp recovery for this phone. So my new question is since I have been having trouble finding the answer is how do I flash twrp in? Do I flash it through cwm, odin, goomanger? I was going to follow the steps to root her phone in qbking video. But his way only shows putting cwm in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP: Flashes through CWM; OR you can pull the recovery.bin file from the zip file and flash that in Odin.
Root:
Power down device
Open keyboard, press and hold both the 1 key and power button. This places the phone into download mode.
Plug the device into your computer, and most likely drivers will install. Allow that to finish before proceeding.
Within Odin, wait until you see COM and a port number appear. That means your phone is recognized.
Next, uncheck all boxes on the left side, including auto-reboot.
Place the victory_8G_100528.pit file in the PIT box. Place CWM v5.0.2.7 .bin/.tar/.md5 file in the PDA box.
Click start and will complete relatively quickly.
Disconnect the phone from USB and pull the battery out.
Replace battery.
Press and hold Vol down, Camera and Power buttons until the capacitative lights light up, then release. This will place you in recovery mode.
From there you will boot into CWM, where you can flash whatever you want (custom rom or a compatible kernel for FC09 & SuperSU) off the SD card. So place those files prior to doing all the above.
Keep in mind, that if you want to remain on stock FC09, but rooted, you will need to flash a custom kernel. The stock kernel will replace CWM with stock recovery every time. That is why in the list above you must disable auto-reboot and battery pull.
All files are in my devhost, in my signature. If not, then they expired and I can reupload them if notified.
nikon120 said:
TWRP: Flashes through CWM; OR you can pull the recovery.bin file from the zip file and flash that in Odin.
Root:
Power down device
Open keyboard, press and hold both the 1 key and power button. This places the phone into download mode.
Plug the device into your computer, and most likely drivers will install. Allow that to finish before proceeding.
Within Odin, wait until you see COM and a port number appear. That means your phone is recognized.
Next, uncheck all boxes on the left side, including auto-reboot.
Place the victory_8G_100528.pit file in the PIT box. Place CWM v5.0.2.7 bin or .md5 file in the PDA box.
Click start and will complete relatively quickly.
Disconnect the phone from USB and pull the battery out.
Replace battery.
Press and hold Vol down, Camera and Power buttons until the capacitative lights light up, then release.
From there you will boot into CWM, where you can flash whatever you want (custom rom or SuperSU).
Keep in mind, that if you want to remain on stock FC09, but rooted, you will need to flash a custom kernel. The stock kernel will replace CWM with stock recovery every time. That is why in the list above you must disable auto-reboot and battery pull.
All files are in my devhost, in my signature. If not, then they expired and I can reupload them if notified.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the for the walk through. I plan on doing this tonight for her and I will let you guys know if I was successful or not. Lol
I got cwm, falshed FC09 BML Deodexed Prerooted Stock ROM. As of right now the screen is black and the 4 buttons are lit up.
Battery pull and try to get back in recovery. If you can't, then Odin CWM again. If that still doesn't fix it, then you should reflash stock FC09 again and go through the steps above again.
Bad flashes happen. It could also be a bad download of the ROM.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

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