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First time smartphone owner and first experience with android, so forgive my basic questions.
1) Can one view the important operating system directories, like System, without rooting? If so, how? And can you get write access?
2) What is the difference between firmware and baseband? Can they be updated independently? Can they be updated without rooting?
3) What is the general term for software like TouchWiz? Can you replace it without rooting? What happens to is when you install a different type?
Thanks in advance for your help.
to answer your first question, you can download an app called astro file manager from the market that will give you access to the directories you want, but i don't think you can have write access without root, but i could be wrong
second, not sure what the difference between firmware and baseband. pretty sure you need root to update the firmware though since there hasn't been an official release.
lastly, i think the term you're looking for is 'launcher'...you can download alternative launchers from the market. ADW launcher and Launcher Pro are probably the most popular. you can have them installed without actually replacing the Touchwiz launcher, but you won't have access to the Samsung widgets. you can also download an app called 'home switcher' to switch between the different launchers you have installed.
hope this helps. and, anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong
Thanks for the reply.
I have Astro File Manager, but I can't see the System dir. Any idea what I might need to do?
Are Launcher and Home Switcher Synonymous?
Home Switcher is an app that lets you move from LauncherPro, ADW and TouchWiz more easily.
DLarva said:
Thanks for the reply.
I have Astro File Manager, but I can't see the System dir. Any idea what I might need to do?
Are Launcher and Home Switcher Synonymous?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You won't be able to see the System dir without rooting. You might as well root if you want access to the System dir. I've had the G1, the Nexus One, the MyTouch Slide, and now the Vibrant and this phone is by far the easiest to root so far AND its reversible just in case you need to un-root to send it in for repairs or warranty claim. You can learn how to root here in xda but here's a link with step-by-step instructions.
http://tinyurl.com/2arangz
Thanks for the replies, this is clearing up a lot of things in my head. I'll be sure to check out that link. I was hoping to hold of rooting until we got froyo, but I'm guessing that won't be for a while.
DLarva said:
Thanks for the replies, this is clearing up a lot of things in my head. I'll be sure to check out that link. I was hoping to hold of rooting until we got froyo, but I'm guessing that won't be for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm hearing Sept for froyo for us but if you root and keep the stock rom like I'm doing you should get the OTA update for froyo when they decide to send it out.
how is it goin' guys?
so I was at the states and I got Vibrant from there, I unlocked it and got back to Jordan...
Is there a way I can free my mobile from Tmobile? means I can reinstall Android as its not based on Tmobile network? after all Im sick of all the Tmobile applications I have that are useless here plus I cant delete them!!
another thing: I'm looking for arabic support, any ideas?
Thanks,
qatarneh said:
how is it goin' guys?
so I was at the states and I got Vibrant from there, I unlocked it and got back to Jordan...
Is there a way I can free my mobile from Tmobile? means I can reinstall Android as its not based on Tmobile network? after all Im sick of all the Tmobile applications I have that are useless here plus I cant delete them!!
another thing: I'm looking for arabic support, any ideas?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as getting rid of t-mobile stuff, you can remove any of it you dont like using ADB or a file browser with root access (I use root explorer but its a paid app)
all the system apps are located under system/app
you can just delete what you dont like
or you can flash a new rom, most have alot of it removed already.
(exept for the stock roms and the leaked stock roms of course.)
I've just tried to unistall the applications through system/app but still I can see them in my appplication list, there are a lot of applications in my mobile that I've never used or even dont know how it works!!
can you explain that to me more,
Thanx
qatarneh said:
I've just tried to unistall the applications through system/app but still I can see them in my appplication list, there are a lot of applications in my mobile that I've never used or even dont know how it works!!
can you explain that to me more,
Thanx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
**You must be rooted for most of these methods to work** (I'm not sure about ADB, I've never tryed it unrooted)
These are apps that you cant delete using normal methods or the file manager that comes with the vibrant.
you'll need either ADB (Android Debug Bridge) or a file manager with root access.
ADB is definitly the more technical of the two options, but its also free.
the other option is much easier, you might try Android Mate, I've never used it but it is free on the market.
I personaly use root explorer but its not free.
You will have to be rooted for this method to work.
just open the file manager and browse to the system/app folder and delete what you need to. (in root explorer make sure you have enables read/write access on the top right corner)
the last option is also a bit technical but not too bad.
download a terminal emulator from the market.
open terminal emulator
type:
su
mount -o rw,remount /system
rm -r /system/app/[appname].apk
you must know the apk name for that method.
and remove both the .apk file and the .odex file (if there is one)
(Or find someone that does know it)
heres a list of some that can be removed without breaking anything written by s15274n (you can view his guide here:
AccountAndSync.apk/odex -> The app in the drawer, not the settings.
AddToHome.apk/odex
AudioPostcard.apk/odex
Avatar.apk/odex -> The app that launches Avatar in the video player.
BuddiesNow.apk/odex
Dlna.apk/odex [Allshare]
FlashPlugin.apk/odex
GoGo.apk/odex
Infoalarm.apk/odex [Daily Briefing]
KindleStub.apk/odex
Layer-samsung.apk/odex
MediaHub.apk/odex
Memo.apk/odex
Mini Diary.apk/odex
MobiTV.apk/odex
MyAccountStub_4-5-10.apk/odex
Myfiles.apk/odex
Sims3_Samsung_Embed_Launcher.apk/odex
slackerradio.apk/odex
Swype-Tips.apk/odex
Telenav.apk/odex
thinkdroid.apk/odex [ThinkFree Office]
vvm-signed.apk/odex -> T-Mobile Visual Voicemail [can be re-downloaded from the market. for some reason that version is the preferred one.]
VoiceRecorder.apk/odex
VoceDialer.apk/odex
Writeandgo.apk/odex
TouchwizWidgets:
Day.apk/odex
DualClock.apk/odex
SamsungWidget_Calenderclock.apk/odex
SamsungWidget_Feedandupdate.apk/odex
SamsungWidget_stockclock.apk/odex
SamsungWidget_Weatherclock.apk/odex
I noticed in the title that you would like Froyo?
if so you could just flash a froyo rom and they usualy have most of the t-mobile stuff removed already.
you might try this one AXURA
thats developed by an active member of xda which is nice.
Or this one: Macnut R13
that one is built from i9000 source.
theres a few others as well you can find them in the vibrant android development section
as I stated before read this (written by s15274n )
if your not rooted yet and need help getting there, its a great guide that has pretty much anything you could want to know getting started with this phone.
Thanx!
Thank you very much for the help, you gave me good options to think about..
I have a good question: Is there a way that I can use instead of installing a ROM, to "format" my mobile and install a total new version of Android, maybe something like the new Nexus S Gingerbread and benefit from the Google pure experience instead of waiting for Samsung to develop the Froyo for my mobile?
Again, Thanx a million!
Saif,
Could somebody please tell me what the advantages and disadvantages of rooting the flipside are, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, are there any risks??
Will I be able to take of all of these ATT apps?
Will I be able to move my apps from the phones memory to the SD card?
Can the phone be unrooted?
Will all of my apps still work?
What is the best route to root? I have the z4root.
I am much indebted to anyone who will answer these questions. Thanks.
z4root will work fine, it's nice an easy to use. Rooting won't give you an easy way to move apps to the sd card, but you can remove the AT&T (and other system) apps. You can either do it by hand, or with any number of apps on the market. I prefer titanium backup, personally. All of your existing apps will work, there's no change there.
The only real disadvantage is that you'll have the power to screw up your phone. You can potentially screw up bad enough that you'll need to reflash the stock .sbf file. Generally, this takes some real screwing around, but just thought I'd point it out.
Thank u for your thourough answer. What do you mean by screw it up. How could I do that and how do i avoid it. Are you saying by virtue of the fact that i'm rooting that i'll screw it up, or it's something that i may do afterwards that may do it? Thanks.
also, are there any other advantages to rooting other than taking off the apps?
The act of rooting itself shouldn't screw anything up, but having root means you could possibly do something later that would. Generally, you'd have to be messing with stuff you have no business messing with. With root, you can remount the system directory as read/write, and then end up deleting or modifying a file that won't let the phone boot, which means you'd need to reflash. Stay away from the command line if you don't know what you're doing, and don't grant root access to apps you don't trust, and you're reasonably safe.
Other than removing system apps, like the AT&T garbage, you can also backup and restore apps and their data, which is great for if you need to reflash, if you switch phones, etc. There's not a TON of stuff that requires root, but honestly, removing the AT&T junk is definitely a good reason to root, the phone feels much faster after scrapping a lot of the blur and AT&T stuff.
I'm assuming then that any android/att/Motorola updates will not be problem either? BTW, do you if and when Motorola will bupdating the flipside to 2.2? Thanks.
There shouldn't be any problem updating with an official update if/when we get one, but you'll need to re-root and remove the AT&T stuff again. There's no word on when we'll get 2.2, but I'd assume we'll get it at some point.
Ok. I just rooted! Yeah, it worked! But i cannot figue out how to delete the att bloatware. I go into the apps manager and click on one of the att apps, and there is still no option to uninstall; only to clear the cache. Also, I downloaded the titanium and I cannot figure out how to do it from there either. Plus, I still had to sideload the titanium which i tbought that i would not have to do once i rooted.
mordechai said:
Plus, I still had to sideload the titanium which i tbought that i would not have to do once i rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to enable Unknown Sources before you can install non-Market apps
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=867637
This is also an example of how you can mess up your phone by having root access.
That is part of the problem that i do not have that option in two.one. that is why i had to sideload all of those programs. are you saying that i screwed up my phone. i tried clicking on the link but this googlw ad comes up and i cant get past it.
Ok, i got through to the link. But the guy seems pretty shaky as to whether you should follow his instructions. Is this legit or what?
Maybe one of you guys can help. I'm new to alot of this but my last droid x was rooted and it was great I used z4root worked perfectly. But now I have a new X and a z4root apk. On my laptop, now what? Last rooted X, I was fortunate enough to catch z4root on the market, like a day before they updated. HELP!!!!!
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
There are instructions in another post in this forum on how to enable Non-Market Apps, also known as Unknown Sources. With Titanium Backup, make sure that you grant it root permissions when it asks, and that it says something like this on the overview:
Root access: OK (BusyBox 1.17.2 from system)
HyperShell (FAST!): YES
Fast/Auto app install: Yes (using HyperShell)
SQLite: YES (SQLite 3.7.2 included)
Then just click on Backup/Restore at the top, and you'll get a list of all your apps. If you don't have backup/restore at the top, your sd card isn't mounted on the phone, unplug your usb cable and hit Menu > More > Reload application.
From Backup/Restore, you get a huge list of all the apps on your phone. Just scroll down to the AT&T stuff, tap them, and click uninstall in the top-right corner. If you're not sure if you want to uninstall something, because it might belong to something important, click Freeze instead. Freezing will stop the app from running, and stop it from showing up in your tray, but you can easily unfreeze it to restore it if it turns out it was important.
Here's the list of stuff I have frozen/uninstalled:
AdService 1.0
all of the "AT&T" apps
all of the "com.motorola" apps
Data Manager and Data Manager Service
Help Center
Home (I use ADWLauncher, don't remove this if you don't already have an alternative launcher installed)
MediaSync
Mobile Video
all of the "MotoBlur" apps
My Uploads
Phone Portal
Quick Contact
Social Messaging, Social Messaging Service, Social Networking, and Social Status
Sticky Note
Video Editor Lite
Vlingo Voice
Weather 2.1
WHERE
Work Contacts
Mobile Banking
Magic Smoke Wallpapers
Kodak Perfect Touch
AT&T Address Book
Quickoffice
YPmobile
As for enabling unknown sources, it's a bit of a pain, you'll need to be comfortable with a command line to do replace the files, and comfortable with a hex editor if you want to edit your own instead of reusing someone else's files. I managed to screw up my phone in the process and had to completely reflash and start over, it wasn't fun.
His instructions do work, but his .sh file doesn't work, you'll need to paste the commands one by one into your command prompt. I preferred to edit my own files, so I wouldn't have the same market ID, and that's just slightly more complex. I can help you through it either way though, just make a post over in that thread if you're having problems.
bubba90744 said:
Maybe one of you guys can help. I'm new to alot of this but my last droid x was rooted and it was great I used z4root worked perfectly. But now I have a new X and a z4root apk. On my laptop, now what? Last rooted X, I was fortunate enough to catch z4root on the market, like a day before they updated. HELP!!!!!
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just need to get z4root installed on your phone, it should be pretty straightforward. The Droid X shouldn't be blocking non-market apps, so just download it from your phone and run the .apk to install.
So do I hook my phone up to my laptop, and put the apk. on my sd?
Or download the apk. directly to my phone from the site?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I found the link, but the directions are too complicated for my novice understanding of technology. It looks like I am stuck. I don't want to try what he's saying and take any chances. Are there any other alternatives? Or do you have any other suggestions as to how to make the most of the space that I do have with the att bloatware, because I am constantly running out of room. It is a strange phenomenon that I don't understand, that when I turn on the phone it will have around 40mb to play with, and after a few hours it is down to 16 and then 10, and then before I know it, the phone is telling me that my memory is full. So then I reset and it's back to ~40 again. Do you have an explanation? Thanks.
Im having a problem with my mytouch 4G. I rooted my phone the other day and all was going well, then I decided to delete some of the factory apps that I dont ever use. well.. Im guessing I deleted an app or apk. file that I needed, because now I cant change themes, when I click on "themes" it just gives me this error "Unable to find an activity to handle this action" I was thinking it might have to do with the "my modes.apk" but im a noobie at all of this so im really not to sure and im looking for help from the big dawgs.. lol... Here are some steps I have already tried taking. I tried restoring it by doing a system reset, well after doing so I realized I didnt do a backup ugh!! So.. I found the factory rom and tried flashing it so that it would install the apps. or apk. files that im missing... I thought that would be the easiest solution, just to start fresh. When I started I re-downloaded the terminal emulator so I that I could flash the factory rom, but now it wont give me "su" permissions it says "permission denied" again nothing! and noticed I didnt have the Superuser permission app. so I downloaded it off the market thinking maybe it would help but its just black like its not detecting anything. why? that this point I tried dropping the rom zip into the root and booting in reboot mode, I noticed it said wrong img. and didnt do nothing. Am doing something wrong? Other then this my phone works like a champ. Thats why I am asking if anybody can send me the "My Modes apk. file from there my touch 4G. PLZ!!! HELP!!! if you know what the heck is wrong.....these are the apk. files I deleted.
AmazonMp3 - amazonmp3.apk
App Pack - AppPack.apk
Asphalt 5 - Asphalt5.apk
Monopoly - Monopoly_Classic.apk
Quick Office - Quickoffice.apk
Rock band - rockband.apk
Screen share - TwonkyMobile_T-Mobile.apk
Stocks - Stock.apk
T-Mobile TV - T-MobileTV.apk
Talk - Talk.apk
Video chat - Qik.apk
Demo Video - TMOUS_myTouchdemo.apk
Car dock - DockPanel.apk
Mail - Mail.apk
News - HtcGreader.apk
PDF Viewer - PDFViewer.apk
My modes - ProfileManager.apk
GMail - Gmail.apk
Software info.
Android Version - 2.2.1
My Touch4G
PLZ!!! HELP!! IF YOU CAN AND THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!
Yes, the my modes app controls your themes in stock rom so you need it if you want to switch themes.
If you flashed the TMOUS rom to fix the missing apps problem, you unfortunately unrooted your phone. That's why superuser app isn't responding. There is a nandroid of a stock install which would have been better to use as it wouldn't have undone root. That's too late, it sounds. You need to re-root after flashing TMOUS rom. All should be ok after that.
Sent from my HTC Glacier
no.. I was still rooted after I deleted but I have fixed my problem. I was being dumb and wasnt installing the right superuser app. lol, so after doing so I got super user permissions and just flashed the phone back to the factory rom. thanks for the suggestion anyway.
hi,
i brought a HTC DHD from london (Virgin, unlocked) a couple of weeks ago, and im in sudan...and as you've probably guessed, the Android Market is blocked here. The app opens and says "loading" then it closes (goes back to the 'All Apps' menu).
i want to download from the market, and everywhere i go, people tell me to 'root', obviously im new to this concept.
i've read some threads here on this website, but it looks like its a long process, and the "IF ANYTHING HAPPENS ITS NOT OUR FAULT" warning scares me badly.
i want a way to access the market without rooting.
and if there isnt, and rooting is the only way, then what exactly is rooting?
will the way everything works change?
will all my installed apps get deleted?
is the interface different? ( no HTC SENSE?)
and when 2.3 comes out, what do i have to do to upgrade?
NOTE:::
android version -> 2.2.1
baseband version -> 12.2xx...
software number 1.7xxxx
can anyone help?
1. your friends ask you to root is to enable you to use 2 important apps, a. Market enabler, and b. Market enabler codes. Both apps are available in Android market but requires you to root.
2. Rooting, its a process hacking your phone to gain the superuser access where it is not available on stock ROM ( ROM in a sense is the operating software for DHD).
3. Rooting does not remove installed apps. It only 'unlocks' the phone.
4. Rooting enables you to switch ROMs (exp, Android Revolution HD, Cynogen, LeeDroid..). Each ROM offers difference experience in user interface and performance (processing speed aonpd battery life). Users usually find which suits them best and difference regions have different performance albeit similar ROM+kernal+radio (to devs, correct me if I'm wrong here). Some ROM state 'no sense' included which means no HTC Sense is included.
check your email address/ account is correct it stopped my other halfs accessing the market until i changed it.
So now I've rooted my phone successfully and I downloaded market access and market enabler.
But still, I can't open the market.
Is it because my sim card is in the phone?
The main reason for me rooting was to open the market, but I still can't
Alright. From the copy any sim codes of your choosing from market enabler codes, then past.the codes into the market enabler app. Hit apply. Then access the market. You should be alright.
Just download Applanet and use that. Its got tons of free and paid apps and no regional restrictions.
borneanheadhunter said:
Alright. From the copy any sim codes of your choosing from market enabler codes, then past.the codes into the market enabler app. Hit apply. Then access the market. You should be alright.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea, ive done that, and still not working. should i access from my carriers internet connection, or must it be WIFI?, because im guessing WIFI is better.
ozaghloul said:
Just download Applanet and use that. Its got tons of free and paid apps and no regional restrictions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im using that too, but i always get the "parse" error,..., its really annoying me!!!, do you have a solution for it?
CodeNameUnknown1 said:
yea, ive done that, and still not working. should i access from my carriers internet connection, or must it be WIFI?, because im guessing WIFI is better.
im using that too, but i always get the "parse" error,..., its really annoying me!!!, do you have a solution for it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uninstall it and reinstall the new apk from the site (it will not just update version from the phone)
Oppps, I double posted.
k, i'll try, and tell you what happens