Database Users

[Q] New member/ Droid Owner - I can has help!?

Ok so I picked up my Droid X about a month ago and haven't been able to put this thing down, I never thought about rooting it because it did everything I needed/wanted it to do, then one day I log into my car forum and all the OT guys are posting cool print screen's of their phones. I was intrigued, so I rooted my phone and have been trying to figure out a few things but I'm not really up on the terminology and/or logic behind doing certain things. I would greatly appreciate any help in regards to explaining the following:
1) Rooting - Takes off restrictions on the phone so that developer apps can be installed... Is there more to this or is that pretty much it?
2) Flashing - I see this term often but I'm not sure what it is exactly, I tried installing a theme once and the directions said to flash something somewhere and looked at it the same way my dog looks at me while I'm working out at home.. lol
3) ROM - !?
4) apk's - What are they, what do they do, and how do you install them!?
5) Installing themes - I'm thinking has to do with all of the above...
6) Locating and moving downloaded content...
7) How do all of these things tie together? I'm completely clueless as to what does what on the phone and would like to become as knowledgeable as I was when the iPhone first came out and I figured out how to jailbreak/unlock it...
As a reward for your time and effort I leave you Final Fantasy VII fan's with a cool wallpaper I found at work today.. Thanks for any/all input and again, your time is most appreciated!!

Initial GT3 said:
Ok so I picked up my Droid X about a month ago and haven't been able to put this thing down, I never thought about rooting it because it did everything I needed/wanted it to do, then one day I log into my car forum and all the OT guys are posting cool print screen's of their phones. I was intrigued, so I rooted my phone and have been trying to figure out a few things but I'm not really up on the terminology and/or logic behind doing certain things. I would greatly appreciate any help in regards to explaining the following:
1) Rooting - Takes off restrictions on the phone so that developer apps can be installed... Is there more to this or is that pretty much it?
2) Flashing - I see this term often but I'm not sure what it is exactly, I tried installing a theme once and the directions said to flash something somewhere and looked at it the same way my dog looks at me while I'm working out at home.. lol
3) ROM - !?
4) apk's - What are they, what do they do, and how do you install them!?
5) Installing themes - I'm thinking has to do with all of the above...
6) Locating and moving downloaded content...
7) How do all of these things tie together? I'm completely clueless as to what does what on the phone and would like to become as knowledgeable as I was when the iPhone first came out and I figured out how to jailbreak/unlock it...
As a reward for your time and effort I leave you Final Fantasy VII fan's with a cool wallpaper I found at work today.. Thanks for any/all input and again, your time is most appreciated!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off- that is a lot to bite off as an opener. lol. I have to get in a minute- plus I am a newb as well but here a couple of things...
1) You sound pretty on track. Root gives you access to more options with your phone. It also voids your warranty.
2) Flashing. A term used loosely. Normally it is used in conjunction with "flashing a rom". It simply means to install something (basically).
3) Rom. It is the image (not in the photo-graphical sense) that is embedded/burned on your phones hard drive with all the information of your operating system. For instance: you are on the stock 2.2 ota "rom". But you could "flash" the new "AOSP rom" that was just released. That means you would be removing the factory image that came on your phone and replacing it with a modified image. Theme's and .apk's -those are not "burned" into the phone. If you do a factory reset- those will be wiped. The rom image stays put. If you flash from 2.2 ota to AOSP and then did a factory reset- you would not return to the original state your phone came from Motorola bc that image is completely removed and replaced by the new image you flash. Instead you would return to a clean AOSP.
4) .apk's - .apk is simply the name of the file extension used for android applications. I came from Windows Mobile and they were called .cabs. So any app can be referred to as an .apk. You can download an apk from XDA, place it on your sdcard, tap the file, and i think you will be prompted with "do you want to install" (some where along those lines). There is a setting in the "Settings" that allows you to install 3rd party (non-market) .apk's.
5)Installing themes. This refers to modifying the images (and this time I do mean in the graphic sense) of certain .apk's and other whatchamajiggies. You can install a simple theme that just changes your lockscreen, or you can install a huge theme that changes almost every part of every image so the entire phone looks similar. Here is the tricky part about using themes- your phone has to be deodexed.
deodexed. When you get your phone all of the system files come with a few different parts to them. One of those parts is an odexed file. Apparently the theme building types do not like working with these files so they run this process called de-odexing in which all of the system files are somehow manipulated in a way where they no longer need their odex file. So you end up "de-odexed". There is a program called "xultimate 2.2" that enables regular folk like you and me to deodex our phones. I tried running it yesterday and it errored out on me. So I used another method that worked fine. There are some threads on here about deodexing- if you want themes you will have to do it.
6) locating and moving downloaded content. When you have root you can get Root Explorer from the market. I am sure there are other good file exploreres- but I can't speak to them- I use Root Explorer. As far as locating downloaded content- whenever I download something from my phone, it always (normally) goes to /sdcard/downloads. If it is not there, I guess you just do a search for it. If you want to move it- long press the item, copy, move.
And you will need to google "ADB" (android device bridge). Many of these activities will require the use of ADB. You plug in your phone through USB (make sure phone settings are set to "USB debugging") and... well there is just way to much on this one. Google this one and you will find a lot of stuff- or search it here on XDA
have a great weekend. got to go.

[Q] Is there a newbie's guide for this phone?

I understand there's a tips and tricks thread that explains things in more detail but how does somebody go from just getting the phone to installing, or even understanding, things like obsidian, onyx, morphing and learning what the basic functions of such programs are.
The question I currently have is concerning flashing custom roms. In the tips & tricks thread, it talks of froyo builds (ex: bionix & frankin-twiz). What is it exactly? From what I understand, it sounds like a mini os that you install onto your device which helps in applying different functions to it, which makes custom roms possible.
I'm currently trying to get http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=845530 to work on my vibrant. Can anybody help a newbie out?

VibrantUser1 said:
I understand there's a tips and tricks thread that explains things in more detail but how does somebody go from just getting the phone to installing, or even understanding, things like obsidian, onyx, morphing and learning what the basic functions of such programs are.
The question I currently have is concerning flashing custom roms. In the tips & tricks thread, it talks of froyo builds (ex: bionix & frankin-twiz). What is it exactly? From what I understand, it sounds like a mini os that you install onto your device which helps in applying different functions to it, which makes custom roms possible.
I'm currently trying to get http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=845530 to work on my vibrant. Can anybody help a newbie out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the link you posted is just to a theme.
to get the theme to work you'll need to be running obsidian first.
so lets see, the easiest way to explain the different versions 2.2, 2.1 1.6, 1.5 and so forth is this...
its pretty much like going from windows 95 to 98 to 2000 to xp to vista and so forth.
our vibrants come with android 2.1, 2.2 is the next version of the os to come out (basicaly like moving from vista to windows 7)
the different roms like obsidian and Macnut and such are just names that the developers gave their roms.
what happens is a developer starts out with a version of android (in the case of Macnut and Obsidian this is 2.2)
and then they add their own modified tweaks and such to it.
and so in the end they get Obsidian which is a modified 2.2
or Macnut which is also a modified 2.2
they differ a bit though as Obsidian is based almost totaly on a leaked version of 2.2 for the US vibrant, where Macnut is based alot on the 19000 version of 2.2 for the european phones.
so when choosing a rom just choose the base you want first: 2.1 or 2.2
then look through the tweaks on a few roms and read some of the thread for that rom untill you get a feel for what makes it unique
you can also just experiment by flashing a rom for a day or so and then switching to a new one untill you find one you like.
Morphing is a way to apply a theme to a rom, this does not generaly change functionality at all, it only changes apearance.
alot of themes are either morphs (you install them using metamorph, which is an app from the market)
or they also come in zip format (which are installed by flashing from recovery)
for the theme you posted you will need to flash obsidian, and then flash the zip for the theme afterwards.
have you rooted your device yet?
thats the place to start, if you need help just pm me or repost here and I'll do what I can.

also, there is a "newbie's guide":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732458

nearblack said:
also, there is a "newbie's guide":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732458
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol true true

Before you even want to start with anything, you have to learn what 'rooting' your phone means.
Without root, you won't be able to do any of the above. You might be able to download the programs necessary, but you won't be able to use them.
For ex. Titanium Backup, ROM Manager, etc.
We use ROM Manager to install different ROMs on our phones.
Much to read, my young grasshopper.

OP, I made the Tips/Tricks sticky... would you PM be exactly what you think it lacks? I want to make sure it is applicable to everyone... I thought it was straight-forward, perhaps not.

my phone is rooted. So how do I go about flashing obsidian?
I thought roms were the same as themes? What's the difference?
And just to clarify I understand the tips and tricks thread is sort of the newbies guide but even then theres a lot of terminology that a new user wouldn't understand. I just wanted some basic information that would allow me to transition into the tips and tricks thread more easily.
I appreciate the responses so far

Have you download Rom Manager from the Market? If not, do so.
Then follow the instructions (in the sticky) to flash the recovery (it's the top of the list when you open Rom Manager).
Assuming you did that, you can reboot into recovery, make a backup of your system.. something you can always come back to (a timestamp of your system at that moment).
Download the ROM you want, put it on your internal memory (sdcard/....) NOT in a folder.
Go to Clockwork recovery, choose to insall a zip from sd card... select the name of the ROM and then click Yes to install it.
It will run it's course, then you can just reboot when done.
The first bootup will take a long time (10 minutes probably)... let it boot.... leave your phone alone for like 10 or so minutes after bootup (suggested by Team Whiskey, I never really do this).
It's that easy.
Think of a ROM as an OS... the developers take Froyo (2.2) or Eclair (2.1) and make a lot of tweaks, remove things, add things... basically anything to enhance the user experience.
THEMES are something you flash over a custom ROM... it can change the icons, graphics, notification bar, etc... they are cosmetic. You see in my signature I have Axura 2.0.3 (amazing rom and there is a newer version out) and then I have BlackFroyo (which is the theme) on top of the ROM to change the look of things. Axura has a steel looking notification bar, I much prefer black (hence the theme I chose).
The ONE thing that can be confusing... if you make a backup right now (you have stock eclair), if you flash a froyo rom... you would need to flash either the stock eclair kernel (the download link is also in the sticky) to restore your nandoid backup.... OR, you could just flash another ROM that has a kernel (most do) and you would be good to go too.

And addition to this is to make sure your phone is NOT hardware locked.
To test it:
1) Take out battery from the phone and put it back in again
2) The USB cable plugged into the computer (not in the phone yet)
3) Push and hold down both of the Volume buttons at the same time
4) Plug in USB cable and it should take you into the Download mode.
If it does you are good to go. Just read some about Odin and Stock Android
If it isn't you need to make sure to flash JI6 to your phone (also Stock) onto your phone using Stock Manager. That should fix your hardware locked. Go over the above steps to make sure that is the case.

At this point, I have rooted my device and downloaded rom manager.I believe I have backed up everything after following the directions and I do have the blackfroyo.zip on my sd card and for some reason it won't "go" (although I'm sure there's a step I am missing here, something with obsidian) so that wasn't much of a surprise.
Edit: I noticed I tried to use a theme on there and not the obsidian "OS" (idiot) when I tried the backup thing with rom manager. Where can I download the most recent version of obsidian and/or is axura an acceptable alternative?

VibrantUser1 said:
Edit: I noticed I tried to use a theme on there and not the obsidian "OS" (idiot) when I tried the backup thing with rom manager. Where can I download the most recent version of obsidian and/or is axura an acceptable alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been working on updating the wiki. Please check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Galaxy_S_SGH-T959#ROMs for the different ROMs currently available.

^^ both are solid. I prefer Auxura *no touchwiz*.... download it from the development section. Place in on the internal (sdcard/ ) and flash it, reboot... I would let the phone chill for awhile then reboot again.... THEN if you want, start messing with the theme. You can see from my signature you and I are similar.
to the OP, I started a noob friendly guide in the Q&A section. Please let me know exactly what you want in there.

Here is a video guide, its kinda old but the principles are the same.
http://theunlockr.com/2010/08/02/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-the-samsung-captivate-vibrant/

I have been browsing around and reading on XDA since I got my G1 on release day. I have since upgraded to the MYT3G and now to the Vibrant. I have always used XDA as a source of information for rooting, etc. I don't post very often, but, I would like to throw props out to all the individuals in the thread, this is one of the few threads I have read on XDA that no one got flamed for being a "noob" and asking basic info, the information given was clear, accurate and very helpful. No one pointed to using the search function, everyone just gave good answers. AWESOME
I hope to see more threads like this in the future. Bravo and well done to all.

So I tried installing obsidian 5 and this is what happened. I first put the zip file on my sd card, I did all the necessary prerequisites (I think) using rom manager, flash recovery > vibrant yada yada yada and then pressed install rom from sd card and chose the obsidian zip file. Then the phone starts backing itself up and it finally reaches a point where it says (E: Can't open/sdcard/sd/obsidian_v5_beta.zip (no such file or directory) Installation aborted.
I then try to navigate to the file from the menu but whenever I click the sd file, it just exits, I think it says that no zip file is found or something but when I boot it up normally afterwards, the file is still there.
But the file is within the sd file . . . what am I doing wrong? I tried to fix permissions thinking it was that but no luck.

You probably need to move to the rom to the internal sd card. I thought you're able to add it to the external with the recent update but perhaps not
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

bellrb19 said:
You probably need to move to the rom to the internal sd card. I thought you're able to add it to the external with the recent update but perhaps not
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the rom IS on the sd card, unless you mean the memory on the actual phone itself

ROMs go on the root of the internal memory (no folder)... drop it in sdcard/
Also, this was mentioned in Post 8, and in team whiskeys install guide. Please pay attention to details.

oh okay, this whole time I've been thinkin the sd card folder was the root folder. Well I have finally put obsidian with success and now I'm having a difficult time implementing http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=845530. I have downloaded the zip file but I don't understand what "flash it through clockwork recovery" means. It kinda sounds like I should use something in rom manager but I'm not sure, I have tried to reboot into recovery through rom manager with no luck.
I've also tried using metamorph but when i choose the blackfroyo.zip file, it says that the file is invalid and that the theme control file could be missing. Am I doing something wrong here as well?
Thanks for all your help so far, I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy life to help an individual with (what may be to you) simple problems

VibrantUser1 said:
oh okay, this whole time I've been thinkin the sd card folder was the root folder. Well I have finally put obsidian with success and now I'm having a difficult time implementing http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=845530. I have downloaded the zip file but I don't understand what "flash it through clockwork recovery" means. It kinda sounds like I should use something in rom manager but I'm not sure, I have tried to reboot into recovery through rom manager with no luck.
I've also tried using metamorph but when i choose the blackfroyo.zip file, it says that the file is invalid and that the theme control file could be missing. Am I doing something wrong here as well?
Thanks for all your help so far, I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy life to help an individual with (what may be to you) simple problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From where you are now. Make sure the zip file is in the internal sd card, Open rom manager go to install rom from sd card then choose the that file then click ok and CW will do its thing. Also this is only for Obsidian v4.2 and Auxura 2.05. Good luck! Also you should make a nandroid back up first just in case.

[Q] Help. Big noob with legend andriod.

Hey guys,
First and foremost, I would like to say I have no idea about anything, and everything on this website is in a foreign language to me (can't understand anything), so please bear with me. I set up a new thread because after reading everything, I still don't get anything (being a noob).
I just signed up with vodaphone in australia to get a HTC Legend (my first android and smart phone after using n73 for the last 3years). Everything is going fine until I wanted to get apps from the android market. I didnt have a gmail account, so I signed up for one through my computer. However, when i tried signing in through the phone google account set-up wizard, after waiting 5mins for the phone to communicate with google servers, it fails and the phone would not let me, citing that it cant establish a reliable data connection to the server, being a temporary problem (Tried it with both 3G and wi-fi, also with 2 other friend's log-in). Any help on this would be good. Also, with HTC sync 3.0, I was unable to sync and backup all my sms for a factory reset. Is there any other ways to do this without the apps? Additionally, I cannot update my software to Froyo (Firmware 2.2) FOTA or finding a download for it onto my comp as the phone says my software is up-to-date (But HTC Australia shows that there is an update for Software 2.2 FOTA).
Alright, I know what goes through your mind, get the apps to do that, but without the sign-up for gmail settings, I cant access Market, cant download apps, basically cant do anything (and mind you, I dont know about programming or xda or anything of that sort to check the shell script or whatever that goes on in the forum).
I've went around looking for answers but never really got a definition, mostly about how-to's which I am not interested as I have no idea what they are.
What is flashing?
What is rooting?
What is un-branded or Vodaphone branded (in my case, if it makes sense)?
What is a goldcard and what's it for?
Is RUU or custom rom or rom the same thing? does that have to do with my firmware? and what is it?
What's with downgrading and upgrading for other stuff (to versions 1.1/1.3)?
What is Clockwork and Fastmode and all those other stuff?
What's the latest firmware/software for Legend (2.2 or 3.0) as I have read threads with firmware 1.3 or 3.3 (or something of that sort)?
I know I AM the biggest noob you guys will ever find. Seriously, no websites actually explain all these stuff, and I'm getting paranoid over using an android phone. I know you guys might just tell me to get a simpler phone, but I upgraded to an android to know more about it.
Thanks in advance guys, if any help can be provided. I have a cool phone, but I wanna use it fully.
Regards,
William
Firmware version
2.1-update1
Baseband version
47.39.35.09U_7.08.35.21
Kernel version
2.6.29-8d705e0d
[email protected] #1
Build number
2.10.178.1 CL211993 release key
Software number
2.10.178.1
Browser version
Webkit 3.1

http://lifehacker.com/5717356/set-u...tm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)
^ To know more about your Android.
Try various Wi-fi settings till you get proper Wi-Fi signal.
http://zubu.ca/legend/fota_check.php shows that there is no update available for your build, I suggest you debrand.
I just helped about with the basics, the more experienced people will be able to answer you better. Did you get a black Legend?

hey man, thanks for that. mightily helpful.
however, wat do u mean by various settings for wifi? there arent much to set.
also, what do u mean by debranding as well? like not go vodaphone or smtg like dat?
btw, i have a silver Legend i think? the metallic case.

marder101 said:
Hey guys,
First and foremost, I would like to say I have no idea about anything, and everything on this website is in a foreign language to me (can't understand anything), so please bear with me. I set up a new thread because after reading everything, I still don't get anything (being a noob).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be prepared to learn, and to become less of a noob
marder101 said:
I just signed up with vodaphone in australia to get a HTC Legend (my first android and smart phone after using n73 for the last 3years). Everything is going fine until I wanted to get apps from the android market. I didnt have a gmail account, so I signed up for one through my computer. However, when i tried signing in through the phone google account set-up wizard, after waiting 5mins for the phone to communicate with google servers, it fails and the phone would not let me, citing that it cant establish a reliable data connection to the server, being a temporary problem (Tried it with both 3G and wi-fi, also with 2 other friend's log-in). Any help on this would be good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I got that once before. If there's a different wifi network that you can get access to, try that.
marder101 said:
Also, with HTC sync 3.0, I was unable to sync and backup all my sms for a factory reset. Is there any other ways to do this without the apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are apps on the market, if you can sort the issue above then check those out.
marder101 said:
Additionally, I cannot update my software to Froyo (Firmware 2.2) FOTA or finding a download for it onto my comp as the phone says my software is up-to-date (But HTC Australia shows that there is an update for Software 2.2 FOTA).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, some users still haven't received the update. A debrand will help
marder101 said:
Alright, I know what goes through your mind, get the apps to do that, but without the sign-up for gmail settings, I cant access Market, cant download apps, basically cant do anything (and mind you, I dont know about programming or xda or anything of that sort to check the shell script or whatever that goes on in the forum).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct, I have said about apps. If you temproot using visionary you can install Titanium backup which can backup everything. Both of these are available for "sideloading". Without a file manager on your phone I can't think of an easy way to install them. What I'd do is go to the settings, make sure USB debuging is on (Settings --> applications --> development) and then use adb to install it:
Code:
adb devices
adb install Visionary.apk
adb install Titanium-Backup.apk
This is assuming that you rename the files to Visionary and Titanium-Backup, and have them in the same directory as ADB. For an easy installation of ADB do this:
Download this file and unzip it to C:\Android\ADB\
Open cmd (start orb/button, type "cmd" and hit enter)
In cmd do this:
Code:
cd C:\Android\ADB
Now you can use the adb command listed above. If you have the apk files in the same folder you can pretty much copy-paste those commands
marder101 said:
I've went around looking for answers but never really got a definition, mostly about how-to's which I am not interested as I have no idea what they are.
What is flashing?
What is rooting?
What is un-branded or Vodaphone branded (in my case, if it makes sense)?
What is a goldcard and what's it for?
Is RUU or custom rom or rom the same thing? does that have to do with my firmware? and what is it?
What's with downgrading and upgrading for other stuff (to versions 1.1/1.3)?
What is Clockwork and Fastmode and all those other stuff?
What's the latest firmware/software for Legend (2.2 or 3.0) as I have read threads with firmware 1.3 or 3.3 (or something of that sort)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing is the process of writing a new operating system to NAND (internal) memory, otherwise known as flash memory
Rooting is like gaining administrator rights on a Windows PC. On Unix-like systems (Android, Linux, OSX) this is known as the root account, hence "rooting"
Vodafone branded means that Vodafone has it's logos and apps on there. Think of the ROM on your phone as a custom ROM, made by Vodafone. You need to wait for Vodafone to update it. Un-branded simply mean that all of that is gone, it's like having the ROM that HTC meant for it. So we only need to wait for HTC to update it
A goldcard is an SD card that has been specially prepared for making the phone think it's CID is different. I don't fully understand how it works, all we need to know is that it does, and that we need one for rooting
ROM and firmware are the same thing RUU is "ROM Upgrade Utility". It's a method made by HTC for upgrading the phones firmware. A custom ROM is simply a ROM that's been customised. It may be based on the official ROM from HTC, or the open source version of Android
ClockworkMOD is an open source recovery image. It allows us to do full backups of the NAND memory (nandroid backup), as well as easily installing new ROMs/updates. These come in zip files Fastboot is a way to test stuff quickly. It allows you to flash certain parts of a ROM without the need to flash the whole thing, as well as boot from a kernel that isn't flahed to the device. It's a dev thing
The latest version of Android for the Legend (officially) is 2.2. HTC firmwares follow a different numbering scheme. HTC ROMs v. 1.x and 2.x are based on Android 2.1, and v. 3.x is based on 2.2
marder101 said:
I know I AM the biggest noob you guys will ever find. Seriously, no websites actually explain all these stuff, and I'm getting paranoid over using an android phone. I know you guys might just tell me to get a simpler phone, but I upgraded to an android to know more about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get learnin'
I hope this helps

@GrammarFreak:
Thanks for your post! Even though I thought I kinda understood most things, this cleared a lot up for me!
RMWessels

No worries

ishan_rulz said:
http://lifehacker.com/5717356/set-u...tm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)
^ To know more about your Android.
Try various Wi-fi settings till you get proper Wi-Fi signal.
http://zubu.ca/legend/fota_check.php shows that there is no update available for your build, I suggest you debrand.
I just helped about with the basics, the more experienced people will be able to answer you better. Did you get a black Legend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello her last day i got a new legend and it was black and it looks like my old htc hero

HTC Hero GSM - Cyanogen 7.2

Cyanogen has released the 7.2 version OS for HTC Hero GSM. I've seen a lot of people talk over the CDMA version, but none on the GSM one. Has anyone tried it out? I wanna hear the bad and good remarks that you have to say about it , by "you" I mean those who have tried it.
To be sure, this is the tipe of HTC Hero I'm referring to: spinei.hotnews.ro/wp-uploads/2009/10/htc_hero.jpg

I runned it for a week or two. As for stability it's the same as CM7, CM7.2 just has some ICS backports, nothing bad

What do you mean by ruining it?
People who own the CDMA version claim that on their phone it's a performance improvement from 7.0 to 7.2.
I have 2.1 official version on it. It's stable and somewhat ok in terms of flow in the menus. Will 7.2 be an improvement over the the official 2.1 version on my phone?
P.S. I didn't test any other version of Android, it never used anything except the stock version.

cata3092 said:
What do you mean by ruining it?
People who own the CDMA version claim that on their phone it's a performance improvement from 7.0 to 7.2.
I have 2.1 official version on it. It's stable and somewhat ok in terms of flow in the menus. Will 7.2 be an improvement over the the official 2.1 version on my phone?
P.S. I didn't test any other version of Android, it never used anything except the stock version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It;'s not ruined, I had it on my device for a week or two. I thing it will beat your 2.1 official. It will not have HTC Sense. You get 2.3 version of android some ICS goodies. I didnt run official 2.1 on hero so i dont know how it is

What does HTC Sense has and cyanogen 7.2 doesn't have as equivallent?
From what I saw in youtube videos, cyanogen pretty much has something almost equal to HTC Sense as GUI. Are you referring to the HTC specific apps and widgets?
P.S. I misread "runned" for "ruined" )

Yup that fancy weather widget and all that stuff, but you wont miss it trust me, that raw android look is way better

One more question.
How functional are these:
- WIFI
- Bluetooth
- Camera
- basic phone functions(calling, messages)
- sound
? Did you have any problems with these in terms of errors or functionality(loss or low of signal, automuted, etc.)? And did you had any random restarts issues?

Nope they all work awsome, it's a stable release, those releases dont have problems with that. And you shouldnt be too scared to flash your device. So far I had 4-5 android devices that are rooted and flashed a million times without any losses, you may encounter a soft brick sometimes but you can fix that easily. You cant know how good is a ROM until you test it. So stop being a girl and flash it . No offence If you dont like it, there is a lot more ROM's on this forum, you dont have to choose CM7.2....

First time to install Cyanogenmod was not entirely easy
Hey all,
I just created an account to be able to post my experience with CGM 7.2 on the HTC Hero GSM. Everything I checked so far works fine, however there's a slight jaggedness in scrolling.
For me as a complete newbie it took about 6 hours to get it to run, mainly because I had to get straight what I actually have to do. There is no paucity of TO-DOs, just no individual one worked for me - I got it sorted out only by combining all kinds of posts from everywhere. That's why I want to share my viewpoint on this - without all kinds of different people airing their piece of the puzzle I would surely have given up!
The specs were as follows; starting with the "fastboot-info":
HERO CVT SHIP S-ON
HBOOT-1.76.0007 (HERO10000)
MICROP-010f
TOUCH PANEL-SYN0104
RADIO-6.35.15.11
Aug 4 2009,19:43:30
And software-information:
Firmware-Version 2.1-update1
Baseband-Version 63.18.55.06PU_6.35.15.11
Kernel-Version 2.6.29-7527f009 [email protected] #1
Build-Nummer 3.36.405.1 CL199109 release-keys
Software-Nummer 3.36.405.1
Browser-Version WebKit 3.1
So here's what I did:
0) I wrongly assumed that I need to unlock my bootloader directly, i.e. using the software from HTCDev. As I am using Ubuntu Linux, this meant quite a hassle in itself, and I did not manage it after all. The reason was due to an error when trying to get the Identifier Token needed by HTC to send you some clearance-file to unlock the bootloader:
Code:
fastboot oem get_identifier_token
...
(bootloader) [ERR] Command error !!!
OKAY [ 0.007s]
finished. total time: 0.007s
I found no solution to this problem, but tried to up- or downgrade my HBOOT-version. Luckily that wasn't necessary after all. A side-effect of it was that I installed adb and fastboot, which I happened to use later on (but are not necessary either).
Let me assure you: Unlocking the bootloader directly (in the HTC-way) is NOT necessary!
1) Getting root access:
I used UniversalAndroot-1.6.2-beta5.apk to do that, and conveniently installed it using
Code:
adb push, adb install
though if you don't want to install this nice utility, you can just install a File Browser and then install the package.
Now here's a quirk that cost me about an hour: Using the default settings, UniversalAndroot only claimed to successfully get root-access, but left everything unchanged! Only after finding a comment on some website did I try to check both check-boxes (log and temporary install) - this time it worked (it installs yet another app called SuperUser)! (I then ran it again without the temporary setting enabled, which at least did not revoke the SuperUser-Account). Anyways, adb is handy in this case again because you can just log in with
Code:
adb shell
and check if
Code:
su
gives you root access or says "Permission denied".
2) Deleting /system/etc/install-recovery.sh I got that idea from androidforums.com, and will probably never know whether it was really necessary. That just shows how desperate I became after 3 hours of poking around in the dark.
3) Installing ROM Manager from Google Market There's probably a quicker way to install recovery images, which does not involve a damn Google account! Or maybe it is not even neccesary.
4) Downloading and installing ClockWorkMod Recovery I did this using the ROM Manager. Again, there might be a more direct way. In any case, I was paranoid enough to install it twice, as it was recommended that way somewhere.
5) Downloading cm-7.2.0-hero.zip and putting it on /sdcard/ Again, I just used
Code:
adb push cm-7.2.0-hero.zip /sdcard/
to accomplish this, but my guess is you can just as well do it via USB.
6) Format cache, /data/factory, /boot and /system By that, I mean do this in ClockWorkMod (you get there by booting up with HOME+POWER). The last two locations to reformat are "hidden" in the menu partitions. This step is very important because without it, Cyanogenmod did only loop infinitely (for more than 10min) in its loading screen! I got this idea from the more detailed description at droidforums.
7) Install Cyanogenmod using ClockWorkMod That's straight forward; just select the image from sdcard and you're done!
Hope I didn't forget a vital step, and maybe it is helpful to somebody; at the very least my future ME will maybe find it useful again .

[Q] Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 AT&T SM-T337A Root but NO Recovery

Hi Devs,
I've just joined and am uncertain of the proper place for this thread. Apologies if inaccurately posted.
I have the T337A, which I have rooted on ANF4, but I cannot find a recovery. I have read and read but am not finding the solution to my little project. I would like to get a safestrap on this locked bootloader so that I can install and learn to write custom ROMs. I have tried a safestrap but it was not for this specific device and did not work. I have also installed and purchased CWM Recovery and TWRP Recovery, in my learning process. The problem with the recovery is that there is no custom recovery written for this device and the bootloader is locked, as this is the AT&T WiFi/LTE version. So it looks to me like I need to figure out the partitioning image somehow in order to make a safestrap work on this device...as step 1. Is there anything else that I can do with this locked bootloader? I would love to have some help in writing a custom recovery and ROM for this device but I am a tiny tiny noob here and not a hard core programmer. If I could get some feedback on places to start for such a daunting task, it would be great. I guess one thing that I do not understand is why I cannot make my current rooted ROM the default recovery in TWRP. It asks me to choose from the list of supported devices. I understand that it goes: NAND --> aboot.img/bootloader --> recovery/or/kernel --> OS/or/ROM? If this is close to accurate then I would have to write something to the NAND?, which I'm not sure what is yet, in order to hijack the factory bootloader and then write the partitions on the sdCard for the ROM, like the safestrap folks wrote? It looks to me like they also included a version of TWRP touch which I used on the S4 yesterday and was really cool, so I guess that would be needed as well and is also why TWRP does not work for me now...it cannot hijack the locked bootloader. How do I hijack this hard headed thing? fastboot does not work to this device. In the process of this project, I have also run into a roadblock trying to update the /system/framework/framework-res.apk, in the manner that a flash needs to be done, I think. I want to change the /res/values/bools/bools.xml switch "voice_capeable" to true. AT&T or Samsung disable this on this version of the tablet, I guess to sell tethering or something else I'm not familiar with...but the way it looks to me, everything is configured on the device and I have a phone number provisioned for data at least. Why can't I turn on this switch and use the phone portion of the device? Any time I tickle the running framework-res.apk, it kills the OS. I tried compiling an update.zip aligned and signed with test keys or something like that but when I flash it, it fails with wrong footer and invalid signature...then it wipes me back to the stone ages. I warned I was a noob..! ...but not scared to brick some shtuff in order to learn this and write some custom solutions. An after thought...is there a solution for a bootable extSdCard for Android? This might lead to some options if it is possible.
Gathering phone info...
Collecting information. Be patient! Do NOT disconnect the phone!
Model: SM-T337A
Android Version: 4.4.2
Sales Code: ATT
PDA Version: T337AUCU1ANF4
Phone Version: T337AUCU1ANF4
CSC Version: T337AATT1ANF4
Product Code: SM-T337AZWAATT
HIDSw Version: T337AUCU1ANF4/T337AATT1ANF4/T337AUCU1ANF4/T337AUCU1ANF4
Board Platform: MSM8226
Serial Number: R32FA00PMRF
Imei: 3534.............
Unique Number: C1604.......
Connections: AT,MTP,MTP
Battery Status: 4.28V (94%)
Network Type: GSM
SuperSU Pro v2.40
TWRP donate latest
CWM donate v5.5.3.7
BusyBox Stericson donate v1.23.0
Titanium Backup Pro latest
xPosed v2.7.1
Wanam xPosed v3.3.1
NinjaMorph Pro v2.8.2
ROM Toolbox Pro v6.0.6.5
RootLogger Pro v1.9
Nandroid Backup v4.4.5
Next Launcher 3D Shell v3.20
Root Firewall Pro v2.1
SetCPU v3.1.2
w/respect. PitPin

Sir,
Please wait until mods will move this thread to the device specific forum for more relevant answers.
Stand by
Good luck

We had a dev working to get safestrap, but he struck out. So if you can get it, I'll test. I too have the 337a. Sucks to have a locked bootloader and no dev interest.

pre4speed said:
We had a dev working to get safestrap, but he struck out. So if you can get it, I'll test. I too have the 337a. Sucks to have a locked bootloader and no dev interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks pre4speed. I am taking a look at the two tasks again tonight and decided to take the res/bool = voice_capable issue on first since this will determine how brickable this device can be for me. If I can use it as a regular modem phone then I might be a bit more careful with the bootloader project I did some more tinkering with the framework-res.apk ...specifically the /res/values/bools/bools.xml resource and tried the following:
-------
Factory wipe
Flashed sammobile.com T337AATT1ANF4 firmware
Rooted
SuperSU
Busybox
Froze AT&T update service and others involved
Titanium backup and pulled a good backup
Online Nandroid and pulled a good backup
Installed my XDA app. of course..!
-------
Framework-res.apk:
Used total commander to copy the running apk off to the sdCard and then my PC.
Decompilled in APKStudio2.0.3b-Windows (I am also using Ubuntu 14.04 if there is a better way here..also Android Studio on both OS...just learning).
Edited my value.
Recompiled with zip align/sign option.
***Now here in lies the problem, if I haven't already created one above ***
The random article I dug up said that in order to get past the wrong footer and signature issue, and stone-age wipe, when attempting this via abd sideload with an update.zip, is to now copy the edited file back into the original APK using 7zip in order to retain the original signing keys. When I open the original APK archive, it does not show the resource folders deemed "important and I should not jack with them" in the compiled APK (mainly values/* folder). The article mentioned the resource folders such as res/values/bools are compiled and hidden and that I needed to copy over the new resources.arsc file. I see this in the newly compiled APK I made but it also put the Manifest.xml and /res folder in there. Do I need to copy all of that or just the compiled resources.arsc file? I did all and it boot looped me so I'm guessing that I either did something wrong or this was not the right answer. The last part was to chmod the new APK, use total commander to mount the folder as rw, copy over the file, and reboot. All of that worked and I had to reboot many many times...loop.
That is where I am on the modem part and am going to attempt copying just the resources.arsc in a few. I will post more on the bootloader side soon, as I've been researching what goes on from the time I push the power button until the time I swipe the first screen. Lots of reading
w/respect - PitPin

Copying only the resources.arsc file from within the newly compiled apk back to the original framework-res.apk made some progress. Now I have the phone dialer app icon in my apps drawer... but it is failing complaining about contacts. On to the next round of research..!

PitPin said:
Copying only the resources.arsc file from within the newly compiled apk back to the original framework-res.apk made some progress. Now I have the phone dialer app icon in my apps drawer... but it is failing complaining about contacts. On to the next round of research..!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stalled out temporarily on the tab project as laptop hard drive bought the farm. Back in action and made some progress on the tab voice_capable issue. Everything appears to be there and in working order but the SMS modules. I think this has something to do with why the contacts app is blowing up but not sure yet. GoSMS and EXDialer seem to work together without blowing up but the dialer taps the modem and then dies. Taking a break from this to start a thread on rooting the AT&T Alpha. I'm about half way through the exploit on that project. Any input on what might be my SMS problem on the tab 4 would be appreciated. Attached are a few screens.

Does anyone know how to removed the caution sign on the left corner it keep telling me unauthorized action have been detected.

I am in the same boat, I so wish this would come through because I do love this little tab.

same boat
/baker said:
I am in the same boat, I so wish this would come through because I do love this little tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so did you finally get it going or what?I have been wanting to get my Tab going as well. I've Rooted it and paid for an unlock even, which worked fantastic by the way...Thanx XDA!!! The rooting guide I got from here was right on point,no problem at all!!But anyways, I have it on metro pcs now on the unlimited $60 plan which is awesome (.REAL unlimited internet with NO THROTTLING ) for me because now at home I run pda.net, which gives me very good, fulltime, internet for my home computers as well as the ability to stream everything onto a large screen or even via windows when we want to watch with all the bells and whistles! No lag at all usually,and I don't use my hotspot because of the usb internet connect on pda.net. When I do use the wireless connect, it doesn't take any of the allotted hotspot usage up either!!All in all it's a great deal for me. I just got a new sim for it, called in the imei to metro ,which in turn gave me a phone number and data account, and presto!Been on the net ever since! Now that I've had it for over a month ,I wanna get the voice capability to work as well, being that I am paying for 2 lines now. Although I can use the old trusty hangouts dialer with the GoogleVoice easily enough. I want to be able to use my metro number mainly because these phone companies charge and charge and charge, never caring about us,or our need to have communication at our disposal at all times.Cell phones are by far not inexpensive and the internet wasn't started for us to pay aan arm and a leg to use.Anytime I come out good while dealing with a wireless company. it's a stupendous event,I'm telling you!! Heck ,I'm writing from my home computer now, going through the Tab at this very moment! Nevertheless, I'm wanting for the devs, to come through as well. With maybe even a new rom,sans the at&t stuff, of course, since I do now have a different carrier? Heck, the Tab is even great for when we travel! 24/7 unlimited internet /streaming , and the screen size is much better than the phone screen ever was!I just really wanted to thank XDA for the work they put in to help us part - timers out,Ive been rooting and unlocking and bricking and un-bricking for quite some time now,I even repair phones now actually,but the programming and the putting it all out here for guys like me to have fun and tinker with these phones would be entirely impossible without the DEV'S and their hard work for SURE...Thanx Guys!!You ROCK!