Ok, so after having a long battle in my head about whether I should buy the iPhone 4 or the Captivate, I decided to go on ahead and buy the captivate.
I recently found out about something called "rooting" and have been reading up about it for the past few days.
I learned that people like to root especially for tethering and installing android rom updates that have not been released yet by their carriers. However, I would probably NOT use tethering because I am planning to get the $15 per month, 200mb per month, data plan.
I have installed custom Roms before on my Sony Xperia X1, so I know the general risks of installing them. However, I am new to android, and I have a few questions about rooting.
What exactly does rooting allow you to do?
I remember reading that you must root your phone in order to sideload apps (install non-market apps, right?). This was the main reason I wanted to root. However, I found this : http[:]//www[.]androidcentral[.]com/sideload-android-apps-all-you-want-sideload-wonder-machine (sorry, can't post links yet)
This program seems to solve that problem.
Next, I want to be able to install themes, like Launcher Pro especially. Is it possible to do this without rooting by sideloading the app or must I root my phone?
Third, I know that another great advantage of rooting your phone is that you can overclock to 1.2 GHZ. Does this feature really give you that much of a power boost? Also, does it, in any way, decrease your device's lifespan? If so, is it worth it?
I don't really mind the at&t bloatware, and their censorship of the market is easily passed by turning on wifi and putting your phone in airplane mode (I think).
Now, let's say that I DO decide to root my phone. If I do, I would use the "1 click to root" program, in order to minimize the risk of bricking.
Once I root my phone, I would probably go ahead and install this : http[:]//forum.xda-developers[.]com/showthread.php?t=751934
However, there are two things I am confused about: How do I make a nandroid backup so that I may restore my phone to stock and then unroot it after installing a custom rom? Also, what the hell is "odin"?
Thanks in advance, guys.
Root is a linux term, or a unix term. On older systems the root user is like the admin in windows. On some modern distributions you can't log in as root but can use the root permissions with use of a root password and a sudo command (super user do). so the term super user and root are interchangeable.
To root your phone grants you root permissions via an app that grants or denies permissions to individual apps, no password required. By adding a terminal interface you can do nearly anything that can be done on a pc with linux. It is needed for many mods and having it and knowing what to do with it can be very satisfying.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
Odin is a computer application to re flash your phone. Most mods can be done on a captivate without it but get it just in case you do something stupid! I did!
The overclock is pretty safe. It doesn't really hinder battery life much because if it goes to full speed it gets the task done faster so its back to being throttled sooner. Its stock voltage and there is likely more to come with over and under voltages. The hummingbird has a bit more potential than that. That said the phone runs great without it.
I believe a nandroid backup can be done in clockwork recovery. And my phone didn't need to side loss launcher pro. I was already rooted but I don't think root is needed either. The search on the marker doesn't always find it. Also try adw. And do the lag fix. To see what your phone can really do in quadrant.
I used the over clock with unleash the beast and the lag fix, then I set a replacement lockscreen wrong and locked up my phone, I decided to reflash it. Now I use SRE and the lag fix. But it doesn't include the wireless teather app that comes with unleash the beast.
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NeoXer0 said:
Ok, so after having a long battle in my head about whether I should buy the iPhone 4 or the Captivate, I decided to go on ahead and buy the captivate.
I recently found out about something called "rooting" and have been reading up about it for the past few days.
I learned that people like to root especially for tethering and installing android rom updates that have not been released yet by their carriers. However, I would probably NOT use tethering because I am planning to get the $15 per month, 200mb per month, data plan.
I have installed custom Roms before on my Sony Xperia X1, so I know the general risks of installing them. However, I am new to android, and I have a few questions about rooting.
What exactly does rooting allow you to do?
I remember reading that you must root your phone in order to sideload apps (install non-market apps, right?). This was the main reason I wanted to root. However, I found this : http[:]//www[.]androidcentral[.]com/sideload-android-apps-all-you-want-sideload-wonder-machine (sorry, can't post links yet)
This program seems to solve that problem.
Next, I want to be able to install themes, like Launcher Pro especially. Is it possible to do this without rooting by sideloading the app or must I root my phone?
Third, I know that another great advantage of rooting your phone is that you can overclock to 1.2 GHZ. Does this feature really give you that much of a power boost? Also, does it, in any way, decrease your device's lifespan? If so, is it worth it?
I don't really mind the at&t bloatware, and their censorship of the market is easily passed by turning on wifi and putting your phone in airplane mode (I think).
Now, let's say that I DO decide to root my phone. If I do, I would use the "1 click to root" program, in order to minimize the risk of bricking.
Once I root my phone, I would probably go ahead and install this : http[:]//forum.xda-developers[.]com/showthread.php?t=751934
However, there are two things I am confused about: How do I make a nandroid backup so that I may restore my phone to stock and then unroot it after installing a custom rom? Also, what the hell is "odin"?
Thanks in advance, guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root if you need to - if nothing you want to do requires root, then don't bother.
You can install (sideload) apps without root. Again, root access is NOT required to sideload. The wondermachine does it by using the Android SDK (they baked it in); but you can just as easily download the Android SDK, unzip it, go to the tools directory and use the ADB tool to install apps. USB Debugging mode is required for this or the wondermachine (it is a checkbox you click on the phone).
Rooting will let you sideload directly on the phone without connecting to a pc, but you need to do more then root, you need to change a db file.
Other launchers are installed without root, so you don't need root for this.
You do need root for nandroid backup, but since it will backup your present state, a restore will still be a rooted phone.
So if you want to restore to factory fresh - the ODIN one click is the way to go. It has the ROM and Odin all in one package. Other version of Odin allows you flash different ROMs.
Nandroid and RomManager are used to switch ROMs and restore all on the phone - so you can install a new ROM, but then rollback to the old with all your configuration intact - this requires root.
That 200mb plan is going to be tough to stay within on the Captivate. The background syncing with google and mail app activity will chew up alot more than you think.
Your first concern with this phone will be how to control data, not whether or not to root.
I do think controlling the data use will be easier on the Captivate than it would be on the iPhone4.
For simplicity, I think SRE 1.2.1a does the best job of "remodeling" the phone.
Ok, thanks a lot for your answers guys, cleared up a lot of things.
I decided I wanted to root just so that I could make backups and install custom roms.
Also, about the data problem, I plan to have wifi on and 3g off most of the time. I don't really find 3g to be a necessity.
Also, is there a way to roll back to your previous ROM and keep all your apps? Or would you have to reinstall them fresh?
alphadog00 said:
Root if you need to - if nothing you want to do requires root, then don't bother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this is much like there is a sexy girl in your room and people tell you to do nothing!!! People here tells you a lot of cool stuffs with being rooted, that changes "what you want to do"
PS: In my case I decided to wait until the 2.2 comes out. From now on, I just read this forum . However, I did root my phone and flash back to stock using Odin, just to see whether it is like original afterward (and it seems to be!). I believe I still have warranty with the phone then (can anyone confirm about that again for me???)
NeoXer0 said:
Ok, thanks a lot for your answers guys, cleared up a lot of things.
I decided I wanted to root just so that I could make backups and install custom roms.
Also, about the data problem, I plan to have wifi on and 3g off most of the time. I don't really find 3g to be a necessity.
Also, is there a way to roll back to your previous ROM and keep all your apps? Or would you have to reinstall them fresh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup, and maybe samsung kies, I know kies works for contacts, and media and synching to outlook. I thought it works for apps but I may be thinking of htc sync, I never really use either.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
cppc said:
Well, this is much like there is a sexy girl in your room and people tell you to do nothing!!! People here tells you a lot of cool stuffs with being rooted, that changes "what you want to do"
PS: In my case I decided to wait until the 2.2 comes out. From now on, I just read this forum . However, I did root my phone and flash back to stock using Odin, just to see whether it is like original afterward (and it seems to be!). I believe I still have warranty with the phone then (can anyone confirm about that again for me???)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flashed back to stock no one knows you rooted so your warranty is safe.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
NeoXer0 said:
Ok, thanks a lot for your answers guys, cleared up a lot of things.
I decided I wanted to root just so that I could make backups and install custom roms.
Also, about the data problem, I plan to have wifi on and 3g off most of the time. I don't really find 3g to be a necessity.
Also, is there a way to roll back to your previous ROM and keep all your apps? Or would you have to reinstall them fresh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clockwork mod will let you create rom backups along with you app data
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'm currently running with a rooted version of the latest stock firmware on my N1, and I love the stability and all, except Google's apps2sd implementation is really dumb.
With only a dozen or so apps I am already getting low storage errors.
I've tried flashing in DT's apps2sd but unfortunately it didn't seem to work at all. Are there any other options for me to get apps2ext support without switching to a custom rom?
Try Link2sd in the Market.
It may be better, it may not, but it's worth a try...
Hey SmallWalrus,
I am running stock 2.3.4 unrooted Nexus one. (yes, that is GRJ22)
I have never rooted a phone. Can you please point me somewhere which shows how to unlock and root the N1 with my specs. My phone is pretty old. I am only rooting it because this is a spare one and I now have moved to SGS2.
PS: using a mac and Linux machine. If not then please show me a windows one. i'll try dual booting my macbook pro.
painkilleryusuf said:
Hey SmallWalrus,
I am running stock 2.3.4 unrooted Nexus one. (yes, that is GRJ22)
I have never rooted a phone. Can you please point me somewhere which shows how to unlock and root the N1 with my specs. My phone is pretty old. I am only rooting it because this is a spare one and I now have moved to SGS2.
PS: using a mac and Linux machine. If not then please show me a windows one. i'll try dual booting my macbook pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you unlocked your bootloader? That was how I did it though, there is no other way to root 2.3.4 without doing this at the moment.
That is what i want to know. How do i do that safely?
Well there is a way to safely root your phone without unlocking the bootloader, I did those steps recently and they worked fine for me.
1. You need to downgrade your phone to Froyo. Get the FRG83 image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nexus_One/Roms
Rename it to PASSIMG.zip and copy it to the root folder of your SD Card. Boot your phone into the bootloader and flash the image. This will wipe your device, so be sure to make a backup of your data and apps first.
2. Use SuperOneClick to root your phone. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682
3. Now you need to flash a custom recovery. I used the Clockworkmod one, because flashing it is very simple: install the Rom Manager app from the market, it has an option to flash the recovery.
4. Now you are set to flash custom ROMs, either through Rom Manager or the Recovery. You should however do a Nandroid Backup first, in case anything goes wrong in flashing the ROM. Boot into Recovery and you should see a menu item saying Backup or something.
It's really not a big deal as it sounds, I can't guarantee that this will work for you. You should know what you are doing and if you feel unsafe about any of these steps, make sure to search the forums or the web about it, before you execute it.
painkilleryusuf said:
That is what i want to know. How do i do that safely?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't see your question until now
Actually, it IS very easy to do this, you can find the instructions here:
http://android.modaco.com/topic/299078-how-to-unlock-the-bootloader-on-your-nexus-one/
It does have some warranty implications though, but since I am already using an import set I don't care. According to some, HTC usually shuts one eye and fix your phone's hardware failures even if it has an unlocked bootloader, but YMMV.
Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
chaoscreater said:
Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=983516
This is still the best way to get a custom ROM loaded up onto your phone. What you want to start with is flashing the vulnerable recovery from http://android.doshaska.net/rootable by using RSD Lite. To do so, you need to put the phone into Bootloader mode (power+Dpad-up) You can google RSD Lite, make sure you use the latest version along with the latest USB Driver version from Motorola.
RSD Lite is a very finicky program, if you have any errors flashing, your best bet would be to try this post: http://androidforums.com/droid-all-...hing-process-0x7100-rsd-lite.html#post1274587
Once you flash the VR (vulnerable recovery), you will want to put OpenRecovery on your SD Card. I recommend using OR 1.46 and placing FuFu's minimod on the SD Card as well. It will overwrite existing files in OR (look for it in Milestone Development). From here you can root the phone in OR (by using power+x, then camera+volume up) and reboot, backup all data you want saved, before flashing a ROM.
Once that is done, get the custom ROM that you want (I find speed + battery can be Cronos, CM7 or FroyoMOD for a Froyo ROM) and place it in OpenRecovery/updates. You will also want the most up-to-date version of Google Apps for Cronos or any Gingerbread ROM (except MIUI).
Gapps: http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-gb-20110613-signed.zip
Now, turn the phone off, and put it into recovery mode (power+x, then camera+volume up), select apply update.zip and you are now into OpenRecovery.
Here is where you will flash your custom ROM and Gapps. Wipe both cache partition and dalvik cache, then wipe all data. Select Apply Update under Miscellaneous Menu and select the ROM you want. Once it is done, wipe both caches (not data) and flash Gapps. Wipe caches again. Finally, change the baseband to your country and reboot.
The first reboot will take a while, as the ROM is configuring itself for first time use.
That is how to flash a custom ROM and get started.
2- Custom kernels are not available for Milestone, as our bootloader is locked. Overclocking the phone is done through the 10overclock file in system/etc/init.d . All ROMs that I know of are overclock, most to 1GHz (from 550MHz). You will not be able to flash any kernels, and DO NOT try ROM Manager, it will temporarily brick your phone.
Crucial apps, I would say are Root Explorer, TitaniumBackup. Those are the two that are very useful for root users, if you flash multiple ROMs or need to access system files.
Hope this helped.
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
chaoscreater said:
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried Milestone Overclock, but I never really used it to overclock the phone. I prefer changing the voltages and speeds with the 10overclock file. If you read the description of Milestone overclock, it "tricks" the kernel into thinking it's supposed to run at a certain speed.
ROM Manager and Clockwork Recovery Mod do not work on Milestone. The only recovery that works with the Milestone is OpenRecovery or Androidiani OpenRecovery. Unfortunately, the only way to flash the ROMs is through OR or AOR, so you will have to repeat the processes every single time. I have gotten used to where all of the options are for FuFu's Minimod, so I am able to do it quite efficiently
The best way to backup a ROM, system data and the such is by Nandroid backup. That is the only sort of backup that you can do. It is recommended to do one every time you flash a custom ROM, but I only did it after I rooted and before I flashed my first custom ROM. You can do it through OR. That is the only way that will work. CWM and ROM Manager will just temp brick the phone and you will have to reflash a stock SBF all over again.
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
chaoscreater said:
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I follow AndroidPolice as well. I don't know about Boot Manager, I heard about it, but I haven't heard any reviews of it yet.
Two things when it comes to phone storage and apps on the Milestone: Old hardware makes for a lot of games to not work at all, and low phone storage space.
Almost every ROM comes with apps2ext support, which is a more advanced version of Apps2SD. You can follow this tutorial here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10994672&postcount=226
Apps2ext will trick your phone into thinking space on the SD Card (the ext partition) is actually part of the phone's internal memory. You will be able to get a lot more apps on the phone this way.
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
chaoscreater said:
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you still can. The best tweak for Milestone is under Android Hacking, it's zeppelinrox's supercharger script, which you run through Script Manager. That's the best you can get.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
chaoscreater said:
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some do, such as HO!NO!, but not all of them do.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
Ok so I finally got my Milestone today!
I'm about to start rooting it and install CM7 on it. But before I do that, I have one important question. I know for Windows Mobile, almost all of the device requires you to do a hard reset after flashing a custom rom. I was wondering if the same needs to be applied to Android custom roms? Because it doesn't seem like it, I did a quick Google search and found this:
http://androidforums.com/optimus-v-...4-do-not-factory-reset-your-rooted-phone.html
So ya I'm not sure....
UPDATE:
Ok so I got my Milestone rooted, and installed CM7 on it. I came across a weird problem while doing it though. First of all, I'm using a 8GB Kingston microSD class 2, and it's brand new and hasn't been used before, so it obviously has nothing stored on it as it's empty to begin with. Ok, so as I followed the instructions, the first step is obviously rooting the Milestone, so I simply copied OpenRecovery to the memory card while my Milestone was connected to my PC. The weird thing is, when I opened "My Computer", I didn't see my memory card. Instead, I see "Milestone", so I opened it and then I see my memory card "Removeable Storage". I opened it again and here's the actual weird part, there're 2 files stored in it, called:
DevIcon
DevLogo
At first, I didn't think it was a problem because I thought they were just some dummy file or something. Also, the memory card is empty other than those 2 files. So after copying OpenRecovery to it and rooting it successfully, I then proceed to copy the CM7 custom rom file to the memory card. But this time, I still see the same thing. I don't see my OpenRecovery folder on it at all, there're no other files other than those 2 files on it. I tried Unmount and Mount in the SD Card settings, also unplugging my USB cable and re-plugging back in but it's the same. In fact, after 'Unmounting' the memory card, I couldn't even access it on "My Computer", as nothing shows up after I open "Milestone". Only 'Mounting' works, but again I only see those 2 files and nothing else.
HOWEVER, I then tried to take out the memory card and use my own microSD card reader, and bam I can see all the files on it, such as OpenRecovery and even the nanDroid backup that I made while following the instructions on that guide. So this is weird, why can't I access or see the contents on my memory card while the phone is connected to the PC??
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
chaoscreater said:
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
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Click to collapse
The best way to revert to stock will be to flash an sbf for your region that will wipe everything. They have those sbf's on and-developers.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
chaoscreater said:
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
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Click to collapse
1. when you're phone will not start anymore, it's good to have one before every new flash cause you never now what's gonna happen.
2. funny thing is i know where New Zealand is (not near Europe) . about the baseband ... yes every sbf has the region specific baseband 's (you cant flash a radio only change baseband 's).
baseband can be found on dexter's (http://dext3r.komodin.org/) page but they are already included in OR (not sure about fufu's). i can't be very precise because i don't remember.
custom rom's don't think they change baseband 's, (the .zip ones)
Ya ur right, NZ is not anywhere near Europe lol
but I did do some research on which SBF I needed before I flashed it, and I found out that the Europe SBF works for NZ as well, it was mentioned somewhere I can't remember.
About the baseband, I'm still a little bit confused. First off, I already know that you can change the baseband under OpenRecovery. The thing is, there are no options to change the baseband to New Zealand, so which one should I pick? Also, here's the part I'm confused about. You said that the baseband are region specific, and yet we can choose the baseband we want in OpenRecovery.
So since I flashed the SBF for Europe, what will happen if I then change the baseband to say Argentina (one of the options under OpenRecovery)? Will it crash or something?? I don't even know what baseband i'm using right now, I haven't changed anything, I only flashed the SBF for Europe and that's it. I can still go online using 2G/3G and txt no problem, but I'm just not sure if the baseband i'm using is suppose to be correct for New Zealand or not...
BTW just another side question (sorry I'm really new to the Android scene!):
I've found a few custom roms that doesn't use the current kernel we have for Milestone. As far as I know, the bootloader for Milestone is locked, therefore we can't properly flash a custom rom onto it, as well as replacing the kernel as well. So what I'm confused with is, if some of these custom roms don't use the current kernel on the system, then how does it work? Does it use its own kernel, and if so then shouldn't that replace the system's own kernel before it can be used??
Here's one of the custom rom topic where I read from, in case ur wondering:
This is the Froyo FRG22 image for our Milestone. but as this is not using the kernel, there are some limit to functions based on kernel requirement. But its close, and works great and is alot faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
chaoscreater said:
About the baseband
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Click to collapse
changing baseband's that are not supported by your network op will lead to no signal whatsoever.. i don't remember if there is a problem with only data. try other baseband, in theory it will not crash anything, so do a nandroid backup before
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
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Click to collapse
that is an old post from "25th July 2010, 05:52 AM" moto started to leak kernel from January 2011 give or take a month, so back then froyo was used with the eclair kernel. kernel from milestone was never changed to other than moto signed, only modules loaded at an early stage, thanks to kabaldan/nadlabak and other if exists
custom roms =
moto kernel
kernel modules (this helps on overclock , app2ext ... others)
mods to system files, apps
hope you understand cause i don't know if i make it clear at the end of the post
edit:
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i doesn't make any sense, you will end up with no memory , only kernel remains, other things gets rewritten.
Code:
http://www.vodafone.co.nz/roaming/welcome-to-nz.jsp
this get out of what i know. with the frequencies,
basebands/frequency i have 900/1800
for data check if there is a problem with your apn settings
I see, thanks for your thorough explanation
Ya I know that changing my baseband will probably give me better signals, but I'm asking which one is best for Vodafone NZ because there isn't a baseband for New Zealand.
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings? Don't worry that's been solved already. I flashed to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF and now it's working very stable. But like I said, after flashing to that I now have problems with connecting to my operator whenever I switch to 2G. However, 3G works fine so there's no problem with that.
BTW, I have another problem. After flashing to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF, I couldn't access my OpenRecovery anymore. I didn't delete or change any files on my memory card, so if I could access OpenRecovery and root my device as well as flash a custom rom when I was still on Froyo, then why can't I do it again when I flash to Eclair?
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmation so I know that it is indeed the case.
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmatio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true story . it should say something about eocd marker and fail.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698059
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings?
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Click to collapse
sorry... i don't know, last night i thought i read something else, about working 3g and 2g not ..must be the skittles... to much rainbow
i suggest finding out what country baseband are similar to New Zealand and flash/apply that one )
Good afternoon all,
I have an HTC One PN072. I've flashed the phone from Sprint to Cricket. They were very adamant about me not "resetting" the phone as it will remove the information, or flash they've added.
I've done several searches and can't seem to find a thread indicating 1) if this is possible and 2) a guide to doing so. The phone already is rooted and has TWRP on it as well.
If anyone knows of a thread I would love a link to a guide.
heartspains88 said:
Good afternoon all,
I have an HTC One PN072. I've flashed the phone from Sprint to Cricket. They were very adamant about me not "resetting" the phone as it will remove the information, or flash they've added.
I've done several searches and can't seem to find a thread indicating 1) if this is possible and 2) a guide to doing so. The phone already is rooted and has TWRP on it as well.
If anyone knows of a thread I would love a link to a guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Sprint One fully flashed to Verizon and I flash custom ROMs all the time without any problems. I have never lost any settings and I don't even have to re-activate my phone. I would think that as long as you dont use Bootloader to flash a complete RUU image you should be fine. Goin s-off if your not already might cause issues here as well. (If someone knows for sure please correct me) I would say just download a ROM and install it with TWRP. I have updated firmware as well with no issues as well, however the firmware I upgraded with did not contain a radio update, which I am hesitant to do since I imagine that will effect my flash. I did my flash myself but it seems like a headache re-doing it.
electroblood said:
I have a Sprint One fully flashed to Verizon and I flash custom ROMs all the time without any problems. I have never lost any settings and I don't even have to re-activate my phone. I would think that as long as you dont use Bootloader to flash a complete RUU image you should be fine. Goin s-off if your not already might cause issues here as well. (If someone knows for sure please correct me) I would say just download a ROM and install it with TWRP. I have updated firmware as well with no issues as well, however the firmware I upgraded with did not contain a radio update, which I am hesitant to do since I imagine that will effect my flash. I did my flash myself but it seems like a headache re-doing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The wipes in TWRP usually recommended before flashing a custom rom don't remove their flashed data?
heartspains88 said:
The wipes in TWRP usually recommended before flashing a custom rom don't remove their flashed data?
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Click to collapse
Not that I have ever experienced. That was true on my EVO LTE and has so far been true on my One. I have the newest TWRP and in the past two days I have flashed EclipticOne, Elegencia and Insert Coin. On my old Droids Clockwork recoveries reset worked fine as well. DONT do a factory reset from inside the ROM. I have not tried it on my One, but on my EVO and my Droid 1/2/3 phones that would undo parts of a flash and I would have to reactivate. If I were you I would just work within my current firmware and flash what was available.
It is possible for you to flash your phone back to Cricket for free but its requires a lot of setup and can be a real pain in the ass. Getting 3G on Verizon was particularly painful and I have many screen shots and pages of notes on the actual procedure. When I upgraded from my EVO to the One I managed to get it right the first time by following my notes but it was still a serious hassle.
electroblood said:
Not that I have ever experienced. That was true on my EVO LTE and has so far been true on my One. I have the newest TWRP and in the past two days I have flashed EclipticOne, Elegencia and Insert Coin. On my old Droids Clockwork recoveries reset worked fine as well. DONT do a factory reset from inside the ROM. I have not tried it on my One, but on my EVO and my Droid 1/2/3 phones that would undo parts of a flash and I would have to reactivate. If I were you I would just work within my current firmware and flash what was available.
It is possible for you to flash your phone back to Cricket for free but its requires a lot of setup and can be a real pain in the ass. Getting 3G on Verizon was particularly painful and I have many screen shots and pages of notes on the actual procedure. When I upgraded from my EVO to the One I managed to get it right the first time by following my notes but it was still a serious hassle.
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Click to collapse
i was thinking about getting my one flashed to verizon but how does it work?? say i get my phone flashed.. is it verizon pre paid?? does that come with unlimited data?? text & talk?? how much would my bill be a month? sorry for all the questions
I apologize, so just to be as clear as possible, if you follow all of the wipes that roms usually ask you to perform in TWRP then you should be fine? However, do not perform a factory reset in the rom itself once loaded?
Doing a wipe through TWRP's wipe feature is fine as long as you dont go into 'Advanced' and mess with settings. Do not do the factory reset within the ROM once the ROM is loaded. If, while installing a ROM, the installer wants to do a wipe, that is fine as well.