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Hey guys! I'm picking up an Xperia Play in a couple of days and was looking for some general advice about the phone. This will be my first Android device, I've been on WebOS/Garnet for my last two phones. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the options presented by the Play and Android in general. For instance, I'm not sure if I should root my phone or not - what are the advantages?
Any other general guides to Android/the Play would be wonderful if any such guides exist. I'm looking to deck this thing out with every emulator on the market as well as get the PSXperia hack up and running (I've downloaded the program, but can't figure out how to use it).
You can sense my overall noobishness in general, I'm sure. Any advice or tips about this device would be great. I'm really excited about the Play and getting comfortable with Android. Thanks everybody!
kershner25 said:
Hey guys! I'm picking up an Xperia Play in a couple of days and was looking for some general advice about the phone. This will be my first Android device, I've been on WebOS/Garnet for my last two phones. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the options presented by the Play and Android in general. For instance, I'm not sure if I should root my phone or not - what are the advantages?
Any other general guides to Android/the Play would be wonderful if any such guides exist. I'm looking to deck this thing out with every emulator on the market as well as get the PSXperia hack up and running (I've downloaded the program, but can't figure out how to use it).
You can sense my overall noobishness in general, I'm sure. Any advice or tips about this device would be great. I'm really excited about the Play and getting comfortable with Android. Thanks everybody!
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congratz im waiting for mine is the mail right now lol
rooting allows you to have full access to the file system sorta like a administrator
on a windows machine since out the box you cant edit files or remove bloatware without root you cant install certain programs from the market without root
also having root and unlocked bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery image which will allow you to flash customs roms(a custom version of android dev by a user here on xda or anywhere in general)
yes i highly recommend but if you ever plan on returning the phone to verzion for example you will have to revert it back to stock
and for the program psxperia you need to install the latest version of java from java.com
and if your on a windows machine you double click the psxperiatool.JAR file
and it should run not sure on OSX
in the end you made a good choice on choosing android as mainstream as it became its still a powerful system way better IMO than ios or even webos
since android has so many developers theres gonna be an endless amount of programs
will post new finds myself etc
edokassiah said:
and unlocked bootloader allows you to flash a custom recovery image which will allow you to flash customs roms(a custom version of android dev by a user here on xda or anywhere in general)
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You cannot flash the recovery image directly or you will mess up boot partition, you need to flash a kernel with embedded recovery built in
Thanks for the info. I'm confused about the locked/unlocked bootloaders. How do I know which one I'll have? And how "easy" of a process is rooting the phone if I don't plan to install any custom roms or anything?
Also, how does transferring .apk files from my PC to the device work?
kershner25 said:
Thanks for the info. I'm confused about the locked/unlocked bootloaders. How do I know which one I'll have? And how "easy" of a process is rooting the phone if I don't plan to install any custom roms or anything?
Also, how does transferring .apk files from my PC to the device work?
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If you havent unlocked your bootloader yourself it is locked there are many risks and advantages to unlocking your bootloader, but if you dont intend to flash custom roms there really is no need, just like with root, if you dont know what it is, you probably wont need it
transfering .apk's from your pc is easy, just copy the .apk to your sd card, then use a file manager to find the .apk, tap on it and the installer will pop up , you need to tick unknown sources in settings though
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1176367
AndroHero said:
You cannot flash the recovery image directly or you will mess up boot partition, you need to flash a kernel with embedded recovery built in
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hes asking about android in general not aiming specifically at the xperia play
If I root my phone, do I have to switch everything back in order to get updates? All I really want to root my phone for would be to remove bloatware/speed it up a bit, is there a better way than rooting?
There is plenty of tutorials here, I suggest that you read, read, and then......read some more
_terror_ said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1176367
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Thanks so much for this link, it's seriously going to help me while rooting my phone. This might be a dumb question, but bear with me - better safe than a bricked phone. The guide to rooting in that link says that I need to flash my Play to the .184 Generic UK firmware...am I understanding it correctly that I need flash this firmware onto my American Verizon Play? I want to make sure nothing is going to get screwed up regionally, as I'm going to want to keep getting OTA updates and all that.
Just to share my own experiences since I'm new to the Xperia Play (previously had an Acer Liquid.. crappy hardware but great community of devs.. anyways..)
I'd recommend rooting your phone off the bat - the simple reason is rooting will involve wiping your phone's data, so if you already have a few months of use that means having to restore everything which is tiresome. First thing when my phone arrived was follow the rooting guide here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116090
After that however I wouldn't recommend messing around TOO much with custom firmwares and such etc.. get used to the phone as it is and figure out what you like, don't like. if your like me within a few weeks or months you'll want something new - this is when you might want to start looking at messing around with the phone - new home launchers or even a new ROM (if your phone can have it's boot loader unlocked, from what I understand mine can't). The games and Emulators should keep you busy as is
The only customizing I've done to my phone is rooting it with Gingerbreak and using the leaked Sony Launcher.
I realize this is a pretty nooby thing to do that annoys all the veterans, but I consider this to be a fairly crucial piece of information I need before I attempt to root my phone, so I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thing before it gets lost in the shuffle.
In order to root with a locked bootloader on an American Verizon XPlay, I need to flash to the .184 generic UK firmware, then root, then OTA update, correct?
kershner25 said:
I realize this is a pretty nooby thing to do that annoys all the veterans, but I consider this to be a fairly crucial piece of information I need before I attempt to root my phone, so I'm just gonna go ahead and bump this thing before it gets lost in the shuffle.
In order to root with a locked bootloader on an American Verizon XPlay, I need to flash to the .184 generic UK firmware, then root, then OTA update, correct?
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No. That method will not work on the r800x (verizon xplay) to root yours you will need to see [How-to] R800x Root
Dont worry about annoying people lol . Who cares what others think? Everyone has to start somewhere.
But it would be better with a stickied thread for new users to look @.
So now, instead of the 3 step process linked previously in this thread, I have to unlock the bootloader and do a whole bunch of other stuff? This method is like 100x more complicated. Is there no other way? I don't intend to install any custom roms, I strictly want to root solely for freezing bloatware.
No i dont think so. You would be better asking for help from other r800x owners in that thread.
The exploit gingerbreak uses on 2.3.2 was patched in 2.3.3 (worldwide) and was also patched by verizon before they released the handset on 2.3.2. Up untill the bootloader was unlocked on the r800x rooting was not possible.
Ask in that thread and you should recieve the help/info you are after.
hiya mate right ive rooted and put on custom recovery but now its screwed up my cam , wifi , and the market so be warned im trying to fix this problem as we speak
---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 PM ----------
im new to this to really but having a play with no cam and no wifi and no market. the market is there but cant dwnload nothing is taking the piss can anyone help me please
Mozza2k11 said:
But it would be better with a stickied thread for new users to look @.
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There is one already stickied in the Q&A section.That it has gone practically unnoticed counters this statement.
kershner25 said:
Thanks so much for this link, it's seriously going to help me while rooting my phone. This might be a dumb question, but bear with me - better safe than a bricked phone. The guide to rooting in that link says that I need to flash my Play to the .184 Generic UK firmware...am I understanding it correctly that I need flash this firmware onto my American Verizon Play? I want to make sure nothing is going to get screwed up regionally, as I'm going to want to keep getting OTA updates and all that.
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Their is not such thing as a bricked phone
always is a way to fix it and usually its as simple as flashing a FTF
or whatever stock rom your device uses takes like 5 minutes tops lol
and logsemans guides will tell you anything you need to know
just use them for refrence
Xperia Play Super Compilation (Q&A Sticky)
and if you head down the path of rooting and stuff
messing with files
you wont be able to get ota updates lol.
it will "brick you"
I recentally made a quick video with tips for android users/beginners if you want to watch it. Thought it would help people. http://youtu.be/Pd5DerUoEcY
ive unlocked and rooted my US verizon play back when it first became possible, never relocked it. but now im looking to get the 2.3.4 update on it and cant find where to start. i saw the nordic rom but nothing about it says i can use it on my r800x without brick. im hoping to not have to unroot/update/reroot again. what ever happened to being able to update before any ota via roms and CCW. i dont even know why i have CCW on my play anymore because ive found nothing flashable.
thanks
Dominus11 said:
ive unlocked and rooted my US verizon play back when it first became possible, never relocked it. but now im looking to get the 2.3.4 update on it and cant find where to start. i saw the nordic rom but nothing about it says i can use it on my r800x without brick. im hoping to not have to unroot/update/reroot again. what ever happened to being able to update before any ota via roms and CCW. i dont even know why i have CCW on my play anymore because ive found nothing flashable.
thanks
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There are versions of the FreeXperia ROM that work for CDMA (R800x), and the older DoomLord kernel works on the R800x also. Those are flashable. Further, R800x does not have a 2.3.4 update yet. We are just now getting 2.3.3 via the OTA.
As to applying the update, I would wait until there is a verified flashtool file that can be applied for those of us who are unlocked. Otherwise the process is to relock (and wipe the device) update, unlock (wiping the device again), and then load root binaries back in via a temp-boot of CWMR (ClockWork Mod Recovery).
I'm not particularly certain what you are referring to as CCW. As far as to update before any OTA via ROMs, well that is when you have leaks. There haven't been leaks for the firmware or updated stock bits for us. SE is usually pretty close to the vest on their stuff.
So, are you complaining because you didn't bother to look or search out any of this information, or are you pissed because you don't have leaks and a larger dev community for your device? We have a niche device. The R800x is an even further minor variant amongst an already niche device on a hardware manufacturer that largely doesn't get much attention. The devs are doing some awesome work considering what they have to work with. Further, all this development isn't free. It costs somebody time and often money. Have you chipped in to the cause? Bought one of the devs a beer?
I fail to see any legitimate issue you are bringing forth.
im sorry i did not mean to come off as ungreatfull or complaining for that matter. i appreciate the dev work done with this device and couldnt ask for a better community. what i am merely looking for is if there is something clear cut and easy before i start trying the not so stable roms on my daily driver. also by ccw i meant cwm somehow haha (clockworkmod incase i didnt abbreviate right again).
further proving my point, through all the threads that i had read before posting this i had gotten the general assumption that 2.3.4 was available in the US and therefore for my device. i started this thread to clear up such issues as this before bricking my device by trying anything i may have though was CDMA US, (whether country or region matters i dont know yet?) because my device version is less popular i need to be very cautious in that matter.
i thank you for your help, and would appretiate further clarity and help navigating the forum for my device.
Dominus11 said:
im sorry i did not mean to come off as ungreatfull or complaining for that matter. i appreciate the dev work done with this device and couldnt ask for a better community. what i am merely looking for is if there is something clear cut and easy before i start trying the not so stable roms on my daily driver. also by ccw i meant cwm somehow haha (clockworkmod incase i didnt abbreviate right again).
further proving my point, through all the threads that i had read before posting this i had gotten the general assumption that 2.3.4 was available in the US and therefore for my device. i started this thread to clear up such issues as this before bricking my device by trying anything i may have though was CDMA US, (whether country or region matters i dont know yet?) because my device version is less popular i need to be very cautious in that matter.
i thank you for your help, and would appretiate further clarity and help navigating the forum for my device.
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Heh, my apologies for rolling out the lynch mob there.
Truth is, that I do believe that 2.3.4 is available (in minor amounts) as an OTA in North America (R800i on AT&T I think, maybe Rogers or otherwise as well, not sure). However there is no 2.3.4 release yet for Verizon/R800x. We just got 2.3.3 on OTA, and haven't found a verified extract for the OTA yet so that we could just get the system.sin and kernel.sin to flash only using fastboot/flashtool/etc.
Basically you have to be very careful if you are using the R800x that you don't flash using a R800i or R800a firmware or release. If you flash only the system.sin from the package, you would be fine (but with no phone calls, data, etc), but if you did the entire restore, you would brick your phone due to it modifying the TA/Bootloader in ways that are very unfriendly to the R800x.
As far as CWM (ClockWork Mod Recovery), don't try and flash it to your system. It is included in the FreeXperia ROM (CM7 variant), but otherwise just use the fastboot boot image edition if you want to flash things in and not have to do it by hand. If you need a link to that, I can probably dig it up for you. Just don't flash it ^_^
As far as Rom Manager by Clockwork, on this phone it is largely useless at the moment unless you have FreeXperia as your ROM. If you are stock, you don't need it.
thank you very much I will be looking around and doing one further research on this. I will also be posting back into this thread if you don't mind staying subscribed. Hopefully we can bring out the true potential of these devices in short time
Hey guy, sorry if this is going to be a bit of a noob question but please try and bear with me. In lieu of the recent nexus 5x which i found to be a huge disappointment I decided to pick myself up an lg g4. I'm not the biggest fan of the stock lg Rom and immediately looked for Cyanaogenmod.
I know that no stable build has yet been release for this phone yet and that i just need to have some patience, but I have some questions regardless. I'm wondering if there is a difference between root and an install of cyanogenmod. By this i mean that there are certain installer which will complete the process for you without you having to do any rooting yourself. If i understand correctly the phone is still being rooted but just by a program. My question is, is it only this latter feature that is not yet available for my phone. Like, if I were to root it myself would I then be able to install a cyanogenmod ROM. Or is it that there is not yet any compatible ROM for my device. If it is of any help I have the LG-H812 version of the phone.
Also, I recently saw a video on the XDA developers YouTube channel where it was discussed how TWRP is now available for the G4. what exactly does this mean and is it something that I would want.
Thank you very much for putting up with me.
Sounds like you need to do a bit more research before you do anything. I don't think TWRP is available for your model at the moment, which rules out custom roms/cyanogenmod. You just have to be patient and hope TWRP becomes available, then wait for a stable rom to come along. Or trade/sell your H812 for the international H815 (careful there are a few variants of the H815).
Nickvek9 said:
Hey guy, sorry if this is going to be a bit of a noob question but please try and bear with me. In lieu of the recent nexus 5x which i found to be a huge disappointment I decided to pick myself up an lg g4. I'm not the biggest fan of the stock lg Rom and immediately looked for Cyanaogenmod.
I know that no stable build has yet been release for this phone yet and that i just need to have some patience, but I have some questions regardless. I'm wondering if there is a difference between root and an install of cyanogenmod. By this i mean that there are certain installer which will complete the process for you without you having to do any rooting yourself. If i understand correctly the phone is still being rooted but just by a program. My question is, is it only this latter feature that is not yet available for my phone. Like, if I were to root it myself would I then be able to install a cyanogenmod ROM. Or is it that there is not yet any compatible ROM for my device. If it is of any help I have the LG-H812 version of the phone.
Also, I recently saw a video on the XDA developers YouTube channel where it was discussed how TWRP is now available for the G4. what exactly does this mean and is it something that I would want.
Thank you very much for putting up with me.
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He's right man you Really should start hammering google especially with a more technically involved root with our g4s. No matter what anyone tells you TWRP or another custom recovery is the number one absolute most important thing to do with any root and immediately after you root before you make any modifications beyond normal app installs whatsoever. Custom recovery is what is going to save your ass in a bootloop or brick situation where you cannot get to the OS or even get a response from the device. As long as you have a backup in storage, you can use hardware key combos to enter TWRP and wipe the system and the problem and reflash the backup. Recovery is completely separate from the Rom that's how you can get around a total Rom disaster when nothing else works. The main reason there's no Roms for them yet is cuz only that one variant's bootloader can be unlocked which is required in most devices to flash a Rom or recovery and the reason that even with my capabilities I won't even bother rooting my expensive ass main important phone I'm still paying for every month lol I just fulfill my flash addiction on an l70 on a daily basis and daily I get outta bootloop and bricks thanks to TWRP... The g3 is perfect for playing with and I'm considering buying a used one and o I recommend the same until the g4 is fully cracked......also CM only comes pretty rooted because it does the same thing as normal just by flashing supersu which is a breeze with TWRP also
Through my ancient eyes comes the certainty of decay... LG G4 & L 70
Hello,
I've got a Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 that I bought during the few months when it was the top of the line small tablet from Samsung (before the S series came out). Since it seems clear that Samsung has abandoned it and it won't get an Android update, I want to see what it'll take to upgrade to at least Lollipop. I'm pretty tech savy, but I've never tried to do anything like this with Android and I'm not at all sure where to start.
I've started to read the thread on rooting, but I quickly got a bit lost as I don't understand the terminology.
My goal would be to simply get to stock Lollipop or Marshmallow and have a stable, functional tablet that I don't have to tweak or mess with much. I'd also like to be able to go back if it proves too buggy. Is that feasible, or is rooting plus upgrading pretty much something that will require constant maintenance and tweaking? If it is possible, can someone point me to a how to for complete newbies?
Rooting will not help you upgrade your tablet to Lollipop or Marshmallow as they aren't available for your device. You might want to google "what is rooting" and find out what it does before proceeding.
The only thing you could do to get L or MM is install a custom ROM such as this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...5-1-x-cyanogenmod-13-0-nightlies-tab-t3256093
CafeKampuchia said:
Rooting will not help you upgrade your tablet to Lollipop or Marshmallow as they aren't available for your device. You might want to google "what is rooting" and find out what it does before proceeding.
The only thing you could do to get L or MM is install a custom ROM such as this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...5-1-x-cyanogenmod-13-0-nightlies-tab-t3256093
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What makes you thin that his device is not have any Third Party ROMs (i.e CyanogenMod)? FYI this is the Tab Pro Fourm, and his Device should damned well be able to get to Lollipop or Marshmallow. e.g. CM12.1, or CM13.
As for rooting which you have to do at the start. Will most likely send him back to SamFirmware's where he'll need to likely first downgrade his Firmware to one that has a rootable exploit. i.e. a 'BOC1' ROM for the T325. (Which is the version I have). Through Odin (Samsung's Android Firmware Windows PC flashing Software). Then run something like the CFRoot App to get root.
NOTE: THIS WILL THROW YOUR KNOX FLAG!
This means that you'll never be able to use Knox services on that Device ever again. It will also throw the Warranty Flag as well Alerting Samsung that the Firmware was tampered with. For the moment (As I gather there is no known way to reset either of these Flags.) Not that this should stop you from installing either CM12.1 Lollipop (Seems to have lost support to) CM13 Marshmallow which is currently on a nightly release.
So the better question to ask is which T32x does Op even have? The T320 (Wi-Fi) The most common, and cheapest version has the greatest support. Where as the T325 (LTE), and T321 (3G) versions seem to be leaving behind. though even these are currently well into Marshmallow, and like with most ROMs there are some small bugs. But, on the whole My Device is more or less working as it should be.
Ichijoe said:
What makes you thin that his device is not have any Third Party ROMs (i.e CyanogenMod)? FYI this is the Tab Pro Fourm, and his Device should damned well be able to get to Lollipop or Marshmallow. e.g. CM12.1, or CM13.
As for rooting which you have to do at the start. Will most likely send him back to SamFirmware's where he'll need to likely first downgrade his Firmware to one that has a rootable exploit. i.e. a 'BOC1' ROM for the T325. (Which is the version I have). Through Odin (Samsung's Android Firmware Windows PC flashing Software). Then run something like the CFRoot App to get root.
NOTE: THIS WILL THROW YOUR KNOX FLAG!
This means that you'll never be able to use Knox services on that Device ever again. It will also throw the Warranty Flag as well Alerting Samsung that the Firmware was tampered with. For the moment (As I gather there is no known way to reset either of these Flags.) Not that this should stop you from installing either CM12.1 Lollipop (Seems to have lost support to) CM13 Marshmallow which is currently on a nightly release.
So the better question to ask is which T32x does Op even have? The T320 (Wi-Fi) The most common, and cheapest version has the greatest support. Where as the T325 (LTE), and T321 (3G) versions seem to be leaving behind. though even these are currently well into Marshmallow, and like with most ROMs there are some small bugs. But, on the whole My Device is more or less working as it should be.
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1) I read the OP. He said, "stock Lollipop or Marshmallow."
2) You don't have to root TouchWiz to install a custom ROM. All you have to do is install TWRP, but it doesn't matter because of #1 above.
Well yes if he wanted Stock then he'd be outta luck. But that is not how I read it. I read it that he has accepted the fact that Samsung have left us in the lurch concerning any future updates.
That's how I read it, so the question follows in how to install a Custom ROM. Granted it should be possible to install TWRP v. 3.0.1-0, though Odin, and then the Device appropriate ROM. It should go without saying that the T320, and T325 are not the same Device, even if they are both collectively known as Galaxy Tab Pro's 8.4. As such it would be upnto the owner to know which version he might need.
Ichijoe said:
Well yes if he wanted Stock then he'd be outta luck. But that is not how I read it.
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The problem, is folks really need to stop using the word "stock" as it really doesn't mean jack. Or at the least, means so many different things to different people, as to be basically meaningless. I would take stock to mean, what belongs on the device per the manufacturer, so that would be Kitkat TouchWiz in this case. To others (and probably what the OP is getting at) is a "pure" unskinned Google experience like Nexus. But seeing as Nexus is limited to such a small number of devices, I don't personally feel you can consider that "stock". CM is AOSP based, and at one time considered by many to be close to a pure AOSP experience. But those days are long gone, and there are so many proprietary CM features and apps now, you can't even begin to consider this "stock" by any means.
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_salguod said:
My goal would be to simply get to stock Lollipop or Marshmallow and have a stable, functional tablet that I don't have to tweak or mess with much. I'd also like to be able to go back if it proves too buggy. Is that feasible, or is rooting plus upgrading pretty much something that will require constant maintenance and tweaking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you are asking for is CM12 or CM13 (LP or MM) or one of the CM based ROMs. Those are really your only choice when it comes to anything past KK on this device. The CM ROMs are are very stable at this point. You might run into an obscure bug, but to be honest, its less laggy and overall a much better experience than the official Samsung TouchWiz ROM. And if you want to be free of Samsung bloat, CM definitely does that as well.
Tweak or maintain? You don't have to do anything after flashing the ROM, if you don't want to. You can decide to update to newer nightly CM builds from time to time, but that is completely optional. And to be honest, even CM13 is so stable at this point, that the nightly updates don't really change much of anything.
Go back? That's a breeze. Just do a backup in TWRP custom recovery before flashing a ROM, and you can restore to that backup (basically a snapshot of your existing configuration).
_salguod said:
If it is possible, can someone point me to a how to for complete newbies?
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Honestly, just searching and reading are your best friend. You'll learn a lot more that way, than folk spoon-feeding you the info. The process isn't really all that hard. There may be a lot of esoteric lingo, but you can easily Google or use the XDA site search to find out what those terms mean. And once you've gone through the process, you'll likely be happy for the learning experience.
XDA is a wealth of information, for those willing to take the time to learn and search. All the answers you want are here in one form or other. Difficult to wade through at first, I'll agree with that. But all of us here had to go through the same thing at one time or other.
Its really hard to help someone when they say is "I'm a newb, tell me how to do this". Make a lot more sense for you to just dive in, then come back here with some specific questions, which we will gladly answer.
it would help to know what version OS you're running and the build #.
I rooted my tablet late last year (bought it in May 2015). Wasn't hard to do after some reading. Knox is still good too...1 yr warranty will be over soon.
Thanks all, I appreciate it. I've been doing some more digging to try to learn what everything means so I might know what I'm talking about. I started with the Lifehacker rooting guide (I can't post links yet, add this to lifehacker dot com: /5789397/the-always-up-to-date-guide-to-rooting-any-android-phone) and their how to flash a ROM guide (/how-to-flash-a-rom-to-your-android-phone-30885281) as well. Let me know if those aren't good places to start. I've also read through the CyanogenMod how to for the 8.4, which seems pretty thorough.
I definitely appreciate the push to search and learn, but it can feel like drinking from a firehose. Most "how to" posts are written assuming the reader knows the terminology and every post I read means Googling a half a dozen terms to understand it. For example, I have no idea what the Knox flag is or why I'd care if it got triggered. I don't care about the warranty flag, I'm past the 1 year mark so it doesn't really matter, right?
When I said "stock" I was referring to stock out of the box Android, not stock Samsung. Stock Samsung means staying with KitKat which I'd rather not do. My phone is a Motorola Droid Turbo, which I think is pretty close to stock Android Lollipop, so that I'm familiar with that.
However, I think I'm seeing that going stock Android isn't necessarily possible, or rather, other ROMs are easier to come by. Cyanogenmod seems to be the most popular and sounds very stable, I'll likely try that.
So, I don't need to root in order to flash a new ROM. What's unclear is do I need to do anything special to make sure I can go back to the out of the box Samsung KK that I have now in case I really screw it up or just don't like it and want to go back? Will the process of installing Cyanogenmod wipe my device (apps, files, accounts, data, etc.?
Any other surprises that a guy who has never done this might want to know before going in?
Thanks again for your patience and help.
I forgot to mention, I've got the wifi model, T-320. It's running 4.4.2, build number KOT49H.T320UEU1AOC1.
Well you have a number of choices for your T320 (WiFi), Sadly nonmof those stock. Since Samsung has never seen fit to ever giving us one. For me the Samsung (e.g. Vender ROMs), were always the 'Stock' ROMs. 'Pure' ROMs (al-la Nexus), are clearly Custom ROMs.
The best, and quickest way to learn how to update from Stock to Custom would be to hit up YouTube for a few short Vids on the subject.
_salguod said:
I've been doing some more digging to try to learn what everything means so I might know what I'm talking about. I started with the Lifehacker rooting guide (I can't post links yet, add this to lifehacker dot com: /5789397/the-always-up-to-date-guide-to-rooting-any-android-phone) and their how to flash a ROM guide (/how-to-flash-a-rom-to-your-android-phone-30885281) as well. Let me know if those aren't good places to start. I've also read through the CyanogenMod how to for the 8.4, which seems pretty thorough.
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Those aren't bad general guides, to just introduce you to the basic concepts and terms. Just keep in mind that every different Android device has its nuances, which vary by manufacturer and over time (from one device to another - even from the same manufacturer). So you'll be referring back to Tab Pro 8.4 specific guides eventually.
_salguod said:
I have no idea what the Knox flag is or why I'd care if it got triggered. I don't care about the warranty flag, I'm past the 1 year mark so it doesn't really matter, right?
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Basically, if you don't know what the Knox flag is, then it probably doesn't matter.
The longer story, Knox is a enterprise mobile solution made by Samsung. If you company doesn't use Knox (and you don't use your device for work), you don't need it. The huge majority of folks will never need Knox or want it.
You're right, that if the warranty is expired, the warranty flag doesn't matter. And honestly, I rooted my device while it still had a valid warranty. I'd rather have a device that I can use how I wish, and install what software I want (especially if Samsung isn't going to support it with updates) and warranty is a secondary concern, at most.
_salguod said:
What's unclear is do I need to do anything special to make sure I can go back to the out of the box Samsung KK that I have now in case I really screw it up or just don't like it and want to go back?
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Once you install TWRP custom recovery, you can make a backup of the current Samsung TouchWiz KK ROM; and revert to that if needed or desired.
But honestly, you won't want to go back. CM runs faster and smoother, with no Samsung bloat. You won't want to go back to the crappy TouchWiz ROM, that is 2 generations (Android versions) obsolete.
But it is a good idea to have a backup, in case flashing CM doesn't go right the first time, and the device won't boot.
_salguod said:
Will the process of installing Cyanogenmod wipe my device (apps, files, accounts, data, etc.?
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You will absolute want to wipe user data when installing CM. Not doing so will likely cause major bugs and/or failure to boot. This is the general rule whenever flashing a new ROM. Although for similar ROMs (such as minor CM updates) you can try to keep user data. This is called a "dirty flash".
You can backup a lot of your data before flashing CM:
Apps: After root, you can use the app Titanium Backup (highly recommended) to backup apps and app data
Accounts: Titanium can backup a lot of this stuff, as well. Depends on what you are talking about, specifically.
Files: just move them to SD card or your computer. Or use a cloud solution (there are many)
You should always be backing up your data, anyway, if its important to you.
_salguod said:
I forgot to mention, I've got the wifi model, T-320. It's running 4.4.2, build number KOT49H.T320UEU1AOC1.
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Same firmware as what I had prior to rooting it.
The cyanogen articles give a good rundown on how to install it. The only thing that I'm not sure about is whether getting the sdcard to be formatted/recognized is still an issue or not.
When last I checked back in Feb. it seemed like that was still unresolved. I have a 64gb card and getting it to be read by CM13 was absolutely critical. So any move to CM13 was postponed.
Running Kitkat is fine for me...after rooting it, I uninstalled/froze a lot of software incl. a lot of Samsung crap that was eating the battery. The battery is my only complaint with the tablet.
AndroidPrince1 said:
The cyanogen articles give a good rundown on how to install it. The only thing that I'm not sure about is whether getting the sdcard to be formatted/recognized is still an issue or not.
When last I checked back in Feb. it seemed like that was still unresolved. I have a 64gb card and getting it to be read by CM13 was absolutely critical. So any move to CM13 was postponed.
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The SD card issue on CM13 was solved in early March. It was holding me back as well (stayed on CM12.1) , until I saw it was solved. Now I've been using CM13 for over a month. My 64GB card works great with CM13.
AndroidPrince1 said:
Running Kitkat is fine for me...after rooting it, I uninstalled/froze a lot of software incl. a lot of Samsung crap that was eating the battery. The battery is my only complaint with the tablet.
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If you flash CM, you'll see its a lot smoother and snappier, especially on the home screens, app drawer, etc.
Thanks all, I plan on biting the bullet some time soon. Too much other stuff on my plate (like car repairs, etc.) so it'll have to wait for a bit. I'll check back in when I do. I'm looking forward to it.
redpoint73 said:
The SD card issue on CM13 was solved in early March. It was holding me back as well (stayed on CM12.1) , until I saw it was solved. Now I've been using CM13 for over a month. My 64GB card works great with CM13.
If you flash CM, you'll see its a lot smoother and snappier, especially on the home screens, app drawer, etc.
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Good to know on the sdcard thing...looks like I'll have to read up again on how to do.
Thanks for the note.
_salguod said:
What's unclear is do I need to do anything special to make sure I can go back to the out of the box Samsung KK that I have now in case I really screw it up or just don't like it and want to go back?
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BTW, you can always restore your device to 100% stock (Samsung) by downloading the firmware from sammobile.com/firmwares and flashing it using Odin. If you get into trouble, this will help get you back out.
But since flashing CM13 nightlies is relatively easy, I don't think you'll have any serious trouble, just the normal learning curve.
I've had my SM-T320 on Cyanogenmod since the day after I bought it in 2014 and never looked back :good:
CafeKampuchia said:
BTW, you can always restore your device to 100% stock (Samsung) by downloading the firmware from sammobile.com/firmwares and flashing it using Odin. If you get into trouble, this will help get you back out.
But since flashing CM13 nightlies is relatively easy, I don't think you'll have any serious trouble, just the normal learning curve.
I've had my SM-T320 on Cyanogenmod since the day after I bought it in 2014 and never looked back :good:
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I don't see any US firmwares on the sammobile.com site. Am I looking in the wrong place?
_salguod said:
I don't see any US firmwares on the sammobile.com site. Am I looking in the wrong place?
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Cellular South is the US firmware for some reason.
I'm trying to load the latest CM 13.0 nightly this morning and running into issues.
I'm following the install instructions on the CM website and the loading of a custom recovery is failing at step 7. I get the start of the blue bar on my tablet, but I get this error in the command prompt:
Downloading device's PIT file...
ERROR: Failed to send request to end PIT file transfer!
ERROR: Failed to download PIT file!
Ending session...
ERROR: Failed to send end session packet!
Releasing device interface...
I've tried twice with the the factory cable and a third time with an alternate cable same result.
How do I fix that?
I should mention that I'm working on a Windows 10 computer.
Greetings, people of the XDA forums! I am Brazilian Slaughter, some anonymous brazilian from northern Brazil.
I am the owner of a Samsung Galaxy Core Plus (SM-G3502T) smartphone, android jellybean.
Lately, my smartphone has been getting in my nerves with its slowness. A few months ago, I have decided to root it. Someone somewhere in the internet has suggested me to root and install Cyanogen, because the default samsung interface is slow crap and putting Cyanogen would make it faster.
I went researching these days, and found that Cyanogen is dead, LineageOS is in its place. But, searching and asking, i found out that LineageOS has no official support for my phone. A guy in reddit did tell me there was a unnoficial build for my phone and I should ask here.
So, here I am. I got my files backuped already. I plan on rooting it and installing a new ROM. But...
1. Which is the best root program? I've heard of Kingroot, but people told me its shady chinese ****, so I should go with SuperSu, Xposed or another program (something with magic whose name I forget).
2. Which is the best rom to install? Is there a unnoficial build of LineageOS for my device? Is it worth it? Should I install something else? If so, what?
(is this the right section? I hope it is)
Thank you for the help!
You can't put anything custom (no Custom Recovery and no Custom ROM) on the SM-G3502T, because it has a locked bootloader (I wrote something here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/samsung-galaxy-core-plus-trend-3-t3524989 )
That means in 1) that you can't flash SuperSU, Xposed or Magisk (you probably meant that) and 2) is completely impossible
You may be able to root it (can't say how, I don't have this phone, I heard that vRoot, Kingoroot or Framaroot should work though, there is a script too which replaces it with SuperSU).
If you can't root the phone (or fail somewhere and it is bricked), get the stock firmware from http://www.sammobile.com/ and install it through ODIN (If you need I can send you a few links on how to do that)
EDIT: Added link
Thank you, Tim Schumi! This post was very informative!
I better not risk rooting it for now, learn more. I think I know someone who might get it done. I might get a new cellphone soon - or better saying, mom might get a new cellphone soon, and I will get hers'. Once I have a backup I can risk it freely.
This is a good phone, but it has some annoying useless **** it totally does not need, you know?
Brazilian Slaughter said:
Thank you, Tim Schumi! This post was very informative!
I better not risk rooting it for now, learn more. I think I know someone who might get it done. I might get a new cellphone soon - or better saying, mom might get a new cellphone soon, and I will get hers'. Once I have a backup I can risk it freely.
This is a good phone, but it has some annoying useless **** it totally does not need, you know?
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You can always flash back your Stock ROM via Odin (unless you really manage to overwrite something like the bootloader). But yeah, you better wait until you have another phone so you can try stuff with this one.