Database Users

★★★ guide - tips - tricks ★★★

THIS THREAD HAS A LOT THAT IS OUT OF DATE. ANYTHING DEALING WITH GOING BACK TO STOCK OR 2.1/2.2 SHOULD BE QUESTIONED. I HAVE LITTLE INTEREST IN MAINTAINING THIS SINCE IT IS NO LONGER A STICKY/NOT VIEWED AS MUCH. PM ME IF YOU NEED HELP WITH SOMETHING.
EDIT: I am not longer updating this. CHECK HERE FOR UPDATES, if any.
WANT TO HELP ME FOR CREATING THIS POST?
It would be so helpful if as a token of thanks you used MY DROPBOX REFERRAL. By using this, we both get an additional 250 MBs.
I want to thank everyone who has done this so far!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please see my other thread I created to try and be more noob-friendly towards rooting and flashing. It includes videos and two methods.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can be found by clicking here.
CHANGE-LOG
Change-Log is now in post #3, but here is a link for convenience. I know a lot of you wanted this at the top... best I could do and still look how I like it.
DISCLAIMER: I am giving shared information. You are the one messing with your phone. While everything on here has been tested by me, that does not mean that you have not done something incorrectly or something has changed since this was written. You are responsible for your phone and your actions. I did not invent crying babies or 180 degree coffee. Do not sue me.
XDA member cvibe88 made some very good videos to show the whole process. I believe by watching these and reading this sticky you should have everything you need to root, backup, flash and restore. I still encourage reading all of Post 1 & 2.
Here is a link to his post with his videos!
ROOT TOPICS
HOW TO ROOT
I used TO provide instructions. Now, I prefer you read my other GUIDE FOR NOOBS. No offense, but if you are asking, this thread is better for you.
HOW TO GET INTO RECOVERY
I hold my phone horizontal when powered off.
Both thumbs on the volume rocker.
Press and hold power and volume buttons.
When the Vibrant logo comes up, release power, keep holding the volume rocker.
** some phones are hardware locked. This means you can possibly not get into either Download Mode (used for ODIN) or stock recovery (used to root and get to clockwork recovery the first time). Those who got the JI6 OTA (over the air) update had this fixed. Some people upgraded from JFD to JI6 by other methods and may still be hardware locked. There is a fix for this listed below, just in case ** I reitterate, most people are NOT HWL.
HOW TO GET INTO DOWNLOAD MODE
* Read the noob guide if you are asking why you would need this *
On PC, open ODIN
Connect USB to PC (not phone)
Pull Battery on phone and replace it
Press and hold in both volume buttons
Connect USB to phone, wait at least 3 seconds (still holding volume)
Release when you see the Yellow Triangle
IF I ROOT, WILL I GET OTA UPDATES?
Yes. Rooting will not prevent this, unless you flash a custom ROM that will block receiving the OTA update. Typically, accepting an OTA will make you lose root. Some upgrading to JI6 state they didn't lose root, I did (using ODIN), but gaining root back is so easy.
Got Root? YOU NEED A CUSTOM RECOVERY!
Big props to XDA user Koush for his amazing Rom Manager App. In short, this lets you create system backups for those "oops" moments. It also gives you a directory of ROMs for easy downloading and flashing. Yeah, it is that cool. Please see his post for instructions. After successfully installing, be sure a make a Nandroid Backup of your system before flashing any rom's (see below).
Installation instructions:
1.Download ROM Manager from the Market.
2.Flash Recovery.
3.Choose Vibrant as your phone.
4.Accept the Superuser prompt.
5.On the very FIRST boot of Clockwork, you may need to manually select "reinstall packages" if Clockwork does not start. You should only ever have to do this once. It will be automatic from then on.
6.Watch the backup go!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
* Note, do not use the Partition option as this will partition the INTERNAL SD card, yikes *
If you were one of the unlucky ones who DID do this by mistake, you can read this thread to save the day. Thanks farrisizdaman
Free:
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Premium ($3.99):
HOW TO MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP *ALWAYS BACKUP BEFORE YOU FLASH A NEW ROM
1 - Open Rom Manager
2 - Click on Flash Clockwork Recovery (you can skip this if you have already flashed the recovery before)
3 - Click on "Reboot Into Recovery"
4 - At the prompt, click "ok" to reboot into ClockworkMod Recovery
5 - If this is your first time, you may be at the stock recovery on the Vibrant. Thats normal. Click on "reinstall packages" (ALSO: Volume up and down navigate, and power is used to select an item).
6 - Now, you are at ClockworkMod's Recovery. Scroll down (volume down), to "backup and restore" and select it (power button).
7 - Click on "backup." It will run it's course. After it finishes just reboot.
8 - You now have something you can always fall back on in case you F up. Thank Koush and all the testers.
* alternative method: Open Rom Manager and navigate to the backup/restore section, and just follow the prompts. I like to rename my backups (date/build/etc). **
HOW TO RESTORE A BACKUP
Follow the steps from above, but select "Restore" instead. They will be sorted by date YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.
** alternative method: Open Rom Manager and navigate to the backup/restore section, and just follow the prompts. **
HOW TO FLASH A CUSTOM ROM
We have some amazing developers for the Vibrant. You REALLY need to try the custom ROMs for our phone that already exist. Here are two of the more popular ones:
** Please note there are always new ROMs coming out, these are just the ones I currently love. Check the Development section often (and don't ask questions there) **
The ROMs listed are only the Eclair versions. There are now Froyo builds available and they are all very tasty (I've tried 3, and they were all very solid builds that could be a daily driver, no FC's). Check the Development section or the site of your favorite developer (likely Eugene or Team Whiskey).
Bionix - #teamwhiskey has made this baby stable and fast. I personally OC with JACs kernel using SetCPU (200/1200/conservative/no profiles/no set on boot). I can say this made my phone so, so much better. Always make a backup so you can revert. If you flash a oc/uv kernel please note a nandroid backup does not restore the stock kernel. I have links in this thread for it, if needed.
Bionix Fusion - sombionix & #teamwhiskey have upped themselves from Bionix with this puppy in my opinion. They removed the TouchWiz and substitued LauncherPro in it's place. I am running this now, and will not switch from it. I think if you can live without TW, you will agree.
Frankin-Twiz Final - by Eugene373. This is another amazing developer/ROM. You are going to have to read about or flash both to decide which you prefer. Eugene seems to maintain multiple ROMs so it might be best to search the Development section for your preferred flavor. Same sentiments here that I said for Bionix.
STEPS TO FLASH A CUSTOM ROM:
- READ THE FIRST POST FROM THE DEVELOPER AND/OR THE CHANGELOG/INSTRUCTIONS
- Download the ROM to your PC (or directly to your phone if you have a good connection). I have done both, straight to the phone is nice because you can just move the file to your internal root /scdard and then flash it (quick method).. I also like downloading to my pc and check the MD5 before mounting my phone and moving it to /sdcard (safe method). Your choice.
** Rom Manager has a new Web Connect where from your PC you can download the file direct to Rom Manager if the developer supports it **
- If you use Rom Manager/Clockwork Recovery there are two methods to actually flash the ROM, again, your choice here:
Method 1: Use Rom Manager (make sure you have flashed clockwork recovery before proceeding, this is not needed if you already have CWR). Select to "Install ROM from SD Card" and the select the .zip file that is the new ROM which should be on your internal root sdcard/. You will then get a prompt where you can check to wipe data (not needed in my opinion as most ROMs do this automatically) and a check box to create a backup (always do this). One reason I like Method 1 best is because it makes renaming your backups easy (I typically rename so I know what the backup is). The system will then reboot into clockwork recovery, start the backup and when that is done automatically flash the ROM. All you need to do is reboot once it is done and BAM, new fast/stable ROM.
Method 2: (The manual way) Once the rom is at the root of sdcard/ use Rom Manager to reboot into clockwork recovery. Create a nandroid backup and then select to install a .zip.. select the rom, let it run its course and reboot.
DID YOU F'UP AND NEED TO GET BACK TO STOCK?
Well, thanks to XDA User justanothercrowd we have a Nandroid Backup to get you back to how the Vibrant shipped (and rooted of course). Hopefully you don't need it, but thank him after reading his post just in case you do!
** Please note this was prior to JI6. If you want stock JI6 search the development section or look in their sticky **
You should also check this thread by almyz125!
DID YOU F'UP AND THINK YOUR PHONE IS BRICKED? MAKE A JIG
jigga-what?
If you can get into download mode you are not bricked. If you are NOT able to get into download mode (but you can see something other than a black screen) that THIS THREAD WILL SAVE YOU PHONE!!!
HOW TO UN-ROOT *ie, sending your phone in for warranty work
The following code can be keyed in Terminal Emulator (could also be done in ADB or deleting the files using Root Explorer). If you do use Terminal, change the keyboard to the stock Android KB prior to opening Terminal. Apparently the backspace on swype does not work in Terminal. Each line should be entered separately. bahnburner gave the instructions in this thread, which you should review first.
su
rm -r /system/app/Superuser.apk
rm -r /system/xbin/busybox
rm -r /system/bin/su
reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
* Alternate Method *
TGA_Gunnman in this thread created a one click root/unroot program. Thank him for his effort.
HOW TO CHECK A MD5SUM
Download HashTab. Install. Download your file. Right click on it. Click on Properties and then go to your new "file hashes" tab. Verify this matches the MD5Sum of the file you downloaded before installing/flashing.
THINGS TO DO WITH ROOT
FLASH A NEW MODEM
New modems can increase signal and data speeds. Here is an incredible list of each. Pay notice to the version of android you are running. CLICK HERE FOR MODEMS
TRY A CUSTOM BOOTUP ANIMATION
tonicacid posted both a great guide for making animations and some killer ones ready to be flashed. Before you read his post, a couple of things to know when changing bootup animations:
1 - almost all custom roms are going to allow this due to the kernel they use, but you may want to double check first.
2 - there are different ways of installing different bootups... some need to be flashed in CWR (like roms and themes) and some you simply take the file and move it to the appropriate folder, typically system/media and replace the bootanimation.zip file in that folder.
3 - follow the advice of the person posting the bootanimation.
Here is a link to tonicacid's thread. I personally am using the Bullet one on Axura 2.1 and I love it.
ALTERNATE BOOTUPS
Now, these may be a bit "too much" for some and they may prefer others like the ones in this thread.
There are plenty of bootups... try the theme section, development section and the Android Theme section.
TRY A NEW KERNEL!
** These are often updated, check the Development Section **
** Please verify what version of android these kernels are for, this list is not updated often **
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF GOING TO STOCK, YOU NEED TO FLASH THE STOCK KERNEL. IF YOU ARE ON FROYO, THE ECLAIR OC KERNELS WILL NOT WORK (CURRENTLY ANYWAY).
JAC has an amazing kernel, and it's super easy to install. Visit his thread. Download it, move it to /sdcard root, go to (in my case) clockwork recovery and install it. Be sure and follow his instructions in case something changes. There are many ROMs to choose from, this is just ONE example of a good kernel that I used when I was on an Eclair build.
Reboot and download SetCPU (there are alternatives, but this is what I know and trust). You can then overclock the processor to 1.2GHz. I am noticing great battery life and my linpack scores (I'm not a fan of benchmarks) jumped from low 8's to 9.6. Quadrant also jumped up to around 950 if I recall correctly. I do not use any lag fixes or anything, just updated the kernel.
If you want to go back to the stock kernel (please note this may not be the current stock kernel - depends on what build you are on), it can be found here. As always, perform a nandroid backup just in case. Nobody on here is responsible for your actions.
Also, I should point out that JAC was nice enough to provide a script, so you can overclock without using an app like SetCPU. Your choice. Be sure and thank him for his hard work. It really is a great kernel.
Eugene373 I believe currently has the best 2.2 kernel, CLICK HERE FOR SUPER I/O KERNEL
SetCPU ($2):
WANT THE STOCK ANDROID LAUNCHER FROM THE NEXUS ONE?
Grab the Launcher2.apk file attached below. Move it to system/app and press home. There, stock android. I have to say the 3d launcher is very nice. I still prefer LauncherPro (my fav).
View attachment launcher2.apk MD5 8804735190DEC0F2F42DEDF0DAB8A261
TRY THE CAPTIVATE CAMERA, ON YOUR VIBRANT ** thanks to chaoscentral for creating the flashable .zip **
Thanks to mikey98277 and his post here you can easily flash the Captivate Camera on your Vibrant. I have played with both and it's a matter of preference, but I think most agree the Captivate is a easier/cooler UI. ALSO, it sorts pictures in the correct order!!
REPLACE THE TW CALENDAR WITH STOCK ANDROID CALENDAR
I was not a fan of the TW calendar. I downloaded CM 5.0.8 and took the calendar from his rom and replaced it. Here is a great guide. Note, I use an app called quick boot for fast reboots! The Calendar and CalendarProvider .apk's are attached below.
* After using it, I noticed there is a white bar across the top of the month. I still prefer the stock calendar, but there is your warning. If anyone finds a fix, please let me know! *
View attachment Calendar.apk MD5 4EA76AAFD2911388A9E8DB12490A055B
View attachment CalendarProvider.apk MD5 A750B4D4964581D830F45A08B1A4CE34
USE THE GALAXY I9000 BOOTUP / SHUTDOWN ANIMATIONS & SOUND
** This was used when I had Eclair, not certain this will work for newer builds? Check the thread **
rko did an awesome job with these flashable bootup/shutdown animations (place them on the /sdcard (internal memory) NOT sdcard/sd (external). Be sure and thank him for his work!
CONTROL YOUR STARTUP (PLUS MORE)
I only know and use Autostarts (found here).
Download it. Install it. GO TO MENU > SETTINGS > APPLICATIONS > (can't recall the next menu name at the moment) AND ENABLE USB DEBUGGING (it will not work otherwise). Open Autostarts.
Go to the options and hide all of the system apps (no point in messing with those). After that, simply control what market/3rd party apps should be running given the task identified by Startup. You will be surprised what apps appear, for no good reason. Obviously if you are sending a text message you do not want to disable an app like handcent, so use common sense here. Any questions or issues, I would suggest emailing the developer or posting a question in the App section (perhaps there is already a designated Startup thread to ask this question, hint hint).
Autostarts (Approx $1):
RESTORE SETTINGS AFTER WIPING YOUR PHONE *If changing from one ROM to another, be courteous, and wipe.
XDA user SykesAT reminded me that Titanium Backup is a great app for restoring after wiping your system. I do not use it, so I asked him to do a small write up. He obliged, and here it is:
Backup Your Apps and System setting with Titanium Backup
It can backup/restore:
* All the applications you have installed, including protected ones,
* All the data and settings of these applications,
* Most (or all) of your phone's settings and data. (incl. SMS, bookmarks, call log, calendar, launcher, WiFi, etc)
* Market links when restoring apps.
* NOTE: It will not backup the system applications from your ROM. Only their settings will be backed up.
Titanium Backup is available from the market (free version only) or you can DL from the dev's site. There is a premium (donate) version with more features. Please see the Dev's site for more details, instructions and FAQs. Here is a link to his site!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup:
** chichu_9 had a GREAT post with more information/instructions/guides from TB's site, check his post here **
Update, I broke down and got the paid version. It is amazing. It runs MUCH faster and restoring your apps + data could not be simpler. Most Vibrant ROMs will wipe your data (ie apps), so this is a GREAT way to restore your phone back quickly.
Ti Backup (Free):
Ti Backup (Paid Approx $5.81 currently, it's worth it IMO):
DELETE THE BLOAT!
Download Root Explorer (i'm not associated with) and go to System/App to remove a lot of the bloatware that came on the phone. I strongly encourage researching what can & can NOT be removed. ALWAYS make a backup. Alternatively, you can use Titanium Backup (free) to uninstall the apps (I only know Root Explorer, it never fails me). Remember, I am not responsible. It will be some time before we have a custom ROM that removes this crap for us.
Here is a list of apps I recently used to remove a lot of bloat (I kept AllShare and ThinkOffice). After you backup, delete, go to settings > Applications > Menu > Filter > Show All and delete the leftovers from the apps, little traces left behind.
In that thread I also saw you can delete data_tmo/games (73MB) if you do not play/deleted The Sims.
Here is a list from the JFD builds (most of these are seen in future versions):
First off all the Standard Apps:
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
** If you are having issues with Root Explorer not being able to delete files (not mounting), the please see my post to see if this helps. If it does not, please let me know in the thread. **
TAKE SCREEN SHOTS!
If you have root, the easiest way is to download shootme or drocap2 from the market. You can also use the Android SDK, but I'm going to keep is basic here. Once you have your pic, upload it for all of the community to see!
Shootme:
DISABLE ADS WITHIN APPS! ** On Froyo it seems on websites it creates a URL with the android logo, odd but the ad is blocked nonetheless **
Download AdFree from the market... check for updates and voila, most, if not all apps should be ad-free. Ads help the developers. If you care, rather than block them, try clicking them to support.
AdFree:
HOW TO TETHER ** most custom ROMs and FROYO likely already include this **
There are apps like Barnacle and Wireless Tether, but I would now recommend the Tether app that came with the Galaxy (that was removed by a lot of the carriers). Ibingham was kind enough to post the .apk (JI6 Build click here) (JFD Build click here) and I can tell you it works perfectly. Please note the app is not in the app drawer (his first post has everything you need to know).
Thanks to chui101 for notifying me of the updated version for JI6 builds.
STOP THE BOOTUP / SHUTDOWN AUDIO NOTIFICATIONS!
This thread has it covered: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731059
I deleted these two files using Root Explorer (referenced below) and can attest it works perfectly.
The i9000 Galaxy bootup/shutdown animation/sounds were listed above if you want a new look.
Thanks to XDA Member PhilSlater I know that the File locations are:
Bootup: system/etc/PowerOn.wav
Shutdown: system/media/audio/ui/Shutdown_128.ogg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So Zaduma does not feel insulted here is an alternate method. You can see his post here.

Continued from post #1
VIBRANT TOPICS
ARE YOU HARDWARE LOCKED? ** Please note this is for JI6, if you are running froyo do not do this **
untermensch has a fix for those who are HWL'd that seems VERY effective. I always heard some who updated from JFD to JI6 had the HWL fixed automatically, but that was not the case for everyone. It appears those who updated OTA got the fix, but most who did ODIN or Kies did NOT get the HWL issue fixed.
Please see his excellent thread by clicking here. Hope this helps.
If you are using froyo, I imagine you could revert back to JI6 and flash this to fix the HWL.
HOW TO USE ODIN
I have the steps listed below (from when JI6 was leaked). For those who prefer a video, this video seems to do a good job of showing it.
TIPS FOR BATTERY LIFE
I have not tried this, but BruceElliot had a great post on his suggestions to improve battery life. You can read it here. I will try and add more as you guys report them to me.
GPS FIX THAT WORKED WONDERS FOR ME!
I have never had an issue with GPS until I flashed ODIN JI6. I could be outside 45 minutes and never get a lock... stock JI6, Eugene's or sombionix's ROMs.. nada. I was PM'd by kdf2833 about a GPS fix for the JI6 (no clue if it works for JFD, I would assume so). He told me to go read THIS POST from digatltoddy. Below is the post if you do not want to leave the thread:
You'll need to get into LBSTestMode by entering *#3214789650# from the dialer. Press Delete GPS Data, this will get rid of the bad GPS information that is probably still stored in your phone. Go to Application Settings and set the Start Mode to 'Cold Start'. Reboot your phone and go outside, run an app like GPS Test and let it lock onto as many birds as it can, once you get a good number (at least 5), go back into your LBSTestMode --> Application Settings and set the Start Mode back to 'Hot Start', reboot and all should be merry.
I had major issues w/ my GPS and was able to put this together with the help of various posts and a deeper understanding of how GPS on these phones actually works. Hope this helps!
Also, it's probably best to run the GPS Test application while you are driving around, let it lock onto as many birds as it can (I'd say let it run for a few minutes, I was able to get 9 the first time) before setting it back to 'Hot Start'. This way it will keep these birds in the list and allow you for a faster lock afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
** If this works for you too, and boy did it for me, please thank digitaltoddy and let me know in this thread - good or bad so I know **
EASY WAY TO GET THE JI6 UPDATE ** Huge thanks to VICosPhi, youneek, samfirmware.com, rhcp0112345,Viralblack and the3dman **
I went back to the stock kernel from JACs oc/uv kernel using this zip file (flash it in in clockwork recovery). I then downloaded this .zip from VICosPhi. and followed the following steps (given by youneek):
** please note that I was on the stock ROM (with alot of mods). If you are running a custom ROM, you may need to go back to stock (I do not know, n/a to me), which would wipe your data.... if you are stock (JFD) however, you will retain all of your settings/data when you update to JI6.
Those who want to go back to stock the file is included in the zip and youneek laid out all the steps in his thread. Below are the steps for people who are stock already (JFD) **
Step 1.) Open Odin.exe and plug a usb cable to your computer that will connect to your phone (do not plug it in to the phone yet, just the computer)
Step 2.) *Added this: Power off your phone before trying to get into download mode, and then....*
Hold down both volume buttons at the same time and while holding them down plug the usb into your phone. You should see a COM message show up in Odin.
Step 3.) Leave all check boxes the way they are. Do NOT check the repartition box.
Step 4.) Click the PIT button and select the 512.pit file
Step 5.) Click the PDA button and select T959UVJI6.tar and then click Start
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your phone will reboot. It will take about 10 minutes at the Galaxy screen, this is normal.
VICosPhi:
[ People with hardware locked vibrants, make sure you have the drivers installed for vibrant on your PC and then connect your phone to pc with USB debugging turned on and open adb and type "adb reboot download"]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
** I lost root. I followed these steps again. I have clockwork recovery which you have to keep the update.zip in /sdcard.... well, to root, the file must be named update.zip and in /sdcard, so I renamed the CWR one "cwrupdate.zip"... when my root and reboot was done I went back and renamed the cwrupdate.zip back to update.zip (afterr I deleted the update.zip file that was used to root). This all may not be necessary, but it worked for me.
I rebooted in clockwork recovery (remember to reinstall packages for this update.zip at the stock recovery to get to CWR) and made a nandroid of stock JI6 so I have this fresh root to come back to. ALWAYS MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP!
QUICKLY REBOOT YOUR PHONE
Sometimes you need to reboot your phone. kizer & Gad13 informed me that you can press and hold the power button for 8-10 seconds and it will reboot. I also use an app called Quick Boot that works very well. Quick Boot does require root access. I have a shortcut on my LauncherPro dock, one press and I can reboot.
BUTTONS - Tap vs. Long Press (LP) Taken from www.androidcentral.com:
Home: Returns to the main home screen. If at the home screen, another tap gives a preview of all home screens.
(LP) = See your most recently used apps (GREAT for multitasking). On JI6 (update from Oct 2010) you also can see the Task Manager.
Back: Takes you back a level in an app, or back a page in a browser, etc.
(LP) = In your browser, quickly access bookmarks, history and most-visited sites. Thanks, Snapdragon0503! (EDIT: odd, doesn't seem to work for me now)
Menu: Tap this for additional options in an application, or from the home screens.
(LP) = Make the keyboard appear.
Search: Brings up the search function. Could be search within an app, Google search, or universal search of contacts, bookmarks, apps, etc. that are in the phone.
(LP) = Launches voice search.
WANT A NEW LOOK? CHANGE YOUR FONT!
In settings, go to sound and display. Change the "Font Style" is like 8th from the bottom. There are a few freebies, and about 50 for a dollar in the market. If you want to see more available, click on "Get Fonts Online." This will direct you to the Market.
I changed my system to helvetica, and I was amazed at the level it changed the phone.
EDIT: I used to have a thread linked here with 100's of free fonts, but some broke the rules and posted paid fonts so the thread was closed. If anyone starts the initiative to post more free ones, please let me know so I can add a link, thanks!
CHANGE THE DOCK BUTTONS ON TOUCHWIZ!
Open the app drawer, menu, edit, change to customizable. With the app drawer open now, press menu and edit again. You can now replace the two app docks in the middle (dialer and app drawer can't be replaced).
DELETE APPS FROM THE LAUNCHER OF TOUCHWIZ
Open the launcher, menu > view type, change to customizable. Now press Menu again and select Edit. All of the non-system apps will have a red subtraction logo. Thanks to XDA user erikrios and his post for this gem!
QUICKLY ADJUST YOUR BRIGHTNESS
Move your finger left to right across the notification bar. You probably need to cut off auto-brightness though. thanks to soklean (neat!)
NEED TO COPY AND PASTE?
If at a site, and you need to copy some text... click Menu > Select Text > Drag your finger over the text you need to copy. When you release your finger, the selected text is copied to your clipboard. Long press and paste when ready. I agree this is not perfect, but some of us may not even know you could do it. Froyo is coming soon, and with it the ability to easily copy/paste within gmail.
HOW TO CONTROL + F USING THE ANDROID BROWSER
Android makes this very easy when using their browser as well. Simply press Menu when in the browser, go to More, then select "Find on Page." You can then enter the keyword you are looking for and use the directional arrows (to the left of the word) to move from one entry to the next.
CHANGE THE HAPTIC VIBRATION INTENSITY
Love this feature. I often find haptic feedback is too much. To adjust the intensity, from the home screen: Menu > Settings > Sound and Display > Vibration Intensity. As you slide the bar it gives you an idea of the intensity.
TAP CONTACT IMAGE FOR MORE OPTIONS
XDA user jkang29 reminded me of another thing I took for granted. When you are in Contacts, click on the image of the contact for MANY options on how to contact/share with that particular contact. Thanks jkang29!
WANT TO DISABLE SD CARD NOTIFICATIONS?
To cut off the sound, from the home screen: Menu > Settings > Sound and Display > SD Card Notifications. You can uncheck this and never hear that sound again.
CAMERA / VIDEO SECTION
WANT TO ADD THE FRONT FACING CAMERA TO YOUR VIBRANT?
Thanks to siirial and Eugene's ROM you can actually have a working FFC on the Vibrant. It takes a little modification, and you will need to be running a custom ROM from Eugene (Root Needed), but if you want a FFC, this is an awesome mod. I have not done this myself, but please see his thread for everything you need to know (how to get the camera, how to mod the phone, and you can find a link to Eugene's rom).
* If someone can create a video for this mod, please let me know so I can post it for everyone. * Thanks to MTC44 for the suggestion.
PHOTOS IN THE DARK? WANT A PANORAMIC?
You can put the Camera in Night Mode and it will take amazingly good photos in a dark situation. I tried this for the first time at a concert recently. I was amazed. Pull out the tab on the left of the camera screen, go to settings and change Scene Mode to Night. Do some test shots to compare for yourself!
Also, I tried out Panoramic shots for the first time in Alaska. I was amazed at how simple/easy this was. Just like before, just go the settings and change the mode. Then just pan left to right. You can press the camera button again to stop the panoramic... I believe it can take up to 8 shots.
LOCK THE SCREEN WHILE VIEWING VIDEOS OR USING THE CAMERA
XDA user timekillerj just made a thread pointing out how to do this. It was new to me, and a nice feature. Simple press the power button and your screen is locked - helpful so you do not skip a scene by accident. You can see his thread here.
HOW DO YOU ZOOM IN?
XDA user antonio91282 pointed out that you can zoom in by pressing the volume rocker while using the camera. It goes from 1-4x.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RECODING VIDEO TO SD VS. INTERNAL MEMORY ** No noticable difference **
XDA user wphend00 asked if there were differences between recording video to the SD vs. Internal memory. Here is my post with links to the videos so you can see for yourself. Here is a link to the entire thread so you can see discussion about it, if any.
APP TOPICS
DOWNLOAD NOT SHOWING UP, MAKING YOU REBOOT?
I did not notice this on Eclair, but with the froyo builds most of the time my downloads (especially pictures) do not show in the Gallery unless I do a reboot. IF this was a problem on Eclair I just went to SD Card & Phone Storage an unmounted and mounted my internal memory. Froyo has taken this function away apparently.
I found that this app ScanMedia works like a charm (no permission needed)
COMPARISONS OF THE HOME REPLACEMENT APPS ** AS OF OCT 2010 **
I tried to write a synopsis of the apps that can replace TouchWiz. Please see this thread here and let me know if I missed anything. I strongly encourage new users to try these apps. I prefer LauncherPro - it just seems snappy.
INSTALL THE 2.2 MARKET ON YOUR 2.1 DEVICE ** I had hiccups, just flash a froyo ROM in my opinion **
Paul (a genius for rooting android devices) made a tweet a couple of weeks ago about how to install the 2.2 market on 2.1 devices. You can see his thread here.
XDA user JWhipple made a post with the .apk file and it's really been catching on. You can find his post and the file to download here.
Do not delete your existing market (vending.apk from system/apps) or move it. Just simply download the .apk file from the linked thread, and then open it up with a file manager. It may ask you to install or upgrade, click that, and then accept the prompt about a system app. Voi'la, you have one of the better features of 2.2 Froyo on your phone now.
** Please note this is just the updated market, you will not be able to install Flash on our Vibrants till we have Froyo OS **
Huge thanks to Paul, Liam Haynes and JWhipple. I have done this and everything seems to be working perfectly.
WANT SWYPE WITH VOICE INPUT? ** This may be irrelevant with JI6 rolling out OTA now **
Jr33 made a thread with a version of swype that has the voice input button. It works very well. Just download and install with clockwork recovery. You can find it here. If after installing it you would like to theme it, head over to this thread started by hoey2011. I have done both of these mods, and love it.
WANT THE NFL APP FROM VERIZON?
Mr_Creeper_98 made a post for the updated NFL app that Tnpapadakos posted. This is a must have app if you like the NFL. You can find the post here.
WHERE ARE APPS LOCATED?
System Apps:
system/app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Market Apps:
data/app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Market Apps (Private):
data/app-private
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloaded Apps (using browser):
sdcard/download
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
* If you download an app using the browser, you can use Root Explorer to move the app to data/app so the apps are stored on the 1.9GB partition the system uses. Once moved you can click on it to install it.
TRY A HOME REPLACEMENT (ADW or LauncherPro) ** See my guide above for some Home Replacement options **
Go to the market and download either - both are free. Gravis86 started a good thread debating which is better, located here.
ADW:
LP:
This my LP setup on my Vibrant (OLD, much cooler looking now, ha). Notice the docks (these are also scrollable & there are 5 per each desktop screen you have). The Live Wallpaper is Aquarium.
XDA user afive720 had a nice post on how to revert back to TouchWiz (without uninstalling). You can read the thread here for more information.
WHAT WEATHER APP IS THAT?
It is Beautiful Widgets, found here.
BW is approximately $1.92:
WANT TO USE ALLSHARE: PC > PHONE AND VICE/VERSA?
I found this thread to be extremely helpful. I ended up using Windows Media Player and it was too easy. Great app.
XDA User BritCrit has also given some really good information in this thread you may also want to review.
USE AWESOME DROP TO MOVE FILES IF NO CABLES
If you are ever in a bind, or just being lazy you can use this app to move files from a PC to your phone. No hassle, no account setup and it is free. Just go to this site: http://labs.dashwire.com/drop and then enter the 4 digit code when you open the app on your phone. Drag whatever files to the browser on your PC, and voila, it will instantly start showing up on your phone.
REDUCE A PICTURES SIZE BEFORE SHARING IT?
Paul O'Brien tweeted about an app, Image Shrink Lite, that lets you adjust the size and then select the method you want to share (twitter, messenger, gmail, etc). I mention this only because a lot of people get frustrated when they take a pic and try and send it out, but gmail hangs on it (and it eventually ends up a draft email) because it is too large to send timely. Re-size the pics before you email them and you will not have this Fail.
Image Shrink Lite:
METAMORPH - Theme Your Phone!
junkdruggler has a great thread on everything metamorph. Please check it out here and thank him! Metamorph is great for theming your phone, but it can break your market requiring you to login again. I prefer to theme with .zip files flashed in recovery.
MetaMorph Donate ($1):
Free:
** Use Metamorph to theme Swype or your Notification Bar ** (these are old links, there may be better/cooler ones now, search)
Themed Swype - Huge props to hoey2011
Themed Notification Bar (Evo) - Huge props to bahnburner
*ALTERNATIVELY* YOU COULD FLASH THIS .ZIP AND NOT USE METAMORPH (This is what I am currently running, it is spectacular!!).
CONTACTS / DIALER TOPICS
HOW TO ADD UNWANTED CALLS TO REJECT
I was recently being spammed. About 20 calls a day (ANNOYING). After you get an unwanted call, go to the Call Log, long press on the number and then add it to the Reject List. Next time the number calls you will just get a pop-up letting you know.
EDIT YOUR CONTACTS (BIG IMPROVEMENT IMHO)
Please read my guide located here. It was moved to save space. This really cleans up the phone, so I encourage giving it a try!
FIND YOUR CONTACTS FASTER!
When you load Contacts, you will notice the far right has the alphabet running top to bottom. Good news, by simply pressing on the letter you will automatically jump down, instantly.
SMART DIALER!
Pull up your dialer and just start typing the number (or letters will work too, thanks sl0play) out. It filters down your contacts as you type each new digit/letter. Likely, after the area code and first 1 or 2 digits after should be enough. There will be a drop down on the right and a number above it (the # of possible contacts based off what you input). Just press the contact, and the press CALL, genius.
SLIDE CONTACT PIC TO TEXT/CALL
denny_1986 mentioned in this post, that by sliding the contact picture to the left you are sent to the messenger app (with the "to" field completed). If you slide the contact pic to the right, you call the default phone number. Works in both Contacts and Messenger.
KEYBOARD TOPICS
TRY A NEW KEYBOARD!
To switch... simply long press anywhere that you would normally input text (a text message or the search widget). "input method" will pop up, click on this. Now choose the KB you want to try out. If one is not showing up, go to Menu > Settings > Locale and Text and make sure it’s there & checked.
NEED A TRACKBALL? ** Other KB's can/may do this too, you can search this thread for how, I prefer Swype **
In swype, move from the "swype tips" button to the "sym" key. Voila, directional buttons appear + other goodies (see pic).
MISC. GUIDES
HOW TO RECONDITION YOUR BATTERY
If your battery seems to drain fast, or if you are changing roms, you might want to try the following to help your battery. Master posted the following instructions (this assumes you have root and clockwork recovery):
1.) Drain your battery to the point it shuts off on it's own..
2.) Plug it in & let it charge over night (While it is still off)
3.) Launch into ClockWork Recovery by holding the "VOL UP", "VOL DOWN", & "Power" release those buttons after you see the second Vibrant screen.
4.) Press "reinstall packages" (It should take you to the Clockwork Mod Recovery screen, If it didn't then press "reinstall packages' again)
5.) Go to "advanced"
6.) Press "Wipe Battery Stats"
7.) Reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
** I drain my battery to as low as it will go, but not all the way. I also charge it for only about an extra hour max, once it's fully charged. **
HOW TO MOUNT PHONE TO PC
XDA user DaMaDo reminded me Android does not auto-mount like some other phones on the market. When most of us connect the phone, the USB drivers are automatic (use the cable that came with your phone!). If not, there is a guide below to assist. For now, let's assume all is well on the first connection of the Vibrant to the PC. When you connect you will likely get a popup on the PC about installing drivers, great.
Okay, go to the phone's notification bar and pull it down. You will see USB Connected. Click on this, & then click on "Mount."
Shortly after, your computer should pop up automatically TWO devices, the "/SDCARD" (Internal Memory) and "SDCARD/SD" (SD Card). If not, go to My Computer and find the drives you just mounted to the PC.
NEPHRON'S GUIDE FOR ADB, etc (taken from the G1 forums)
This guide helped me a ton. I realize some things may be different, but I could not think of a better starting point. Please read this thread. You should attempt ADB, it's very nice to have.
CONVERT VIDEO FILES ON YOUR PC FOR YOUR PHONE
XDA user TGA_Gunnman did an excellent job putting a thread together for how to convert videos using HandBrake (get it here) and then moving them to your phone. Be sure and thank him if his how to helped you!
HOW TO PROPERLY INSTALL A NEW SD CARD
XDA user techspy posted this question and I had recently done it so I responded. Like always, I'm certain there are people on here who know how to do this better/easier, but this works and is nothing difficult. Here is my post with instructions, and here is the thread for discussion.
HOW TO HIDE FOLDERS
achild made a great post with the instructions. Thank him for his effort on this post!
MISC. QUESTIONS
MY PHONE NUMBER DOES NOT SHOW UNDER SETTINGS?
It has happened to me on the G1, and I recently saw a Vibrant user post this. smerff has an excellent post with what you need to do!
WHAT ARE THOSE FUNKY BARCODES?
These are QR Codes. Download Barcode Scanner from the market. Scan any of these codes I linked. You will be sent to the app in the market. Download, enjoy.
NOTICE LAG? ** I do not use lag fixes so this may be old, please search the development section before creating a thread **
I do not encourage this, but some will want to play with it. There is a great thread on tweaks that can be done to speed up the Galaxy.
I personally think custom ROMs and oc/uv kernels knock out almost any of this issue. If you are stock/non-rooted.. please try a root/custom ROM setup before you give up on the Vibrant. Our developers are amazing.
DOUBLE NOTIFICATIONS?
If you are using a 3rd party app, you may be getting double notifications. For example, I use Handcent for texting (you should try it). First thing you need to do is open the stock Messenger app, go menu > Settings and disable notifications. This is basic, but sometimes it's easy to overlook.
SHOULD I USE A TASK KILLER?
Absolutely not. You have the best OS and one of the best spec'd phones ever. You would be doing more harm than good. If you do have one, uninstall, reboot and let me know what you think! If you have a bad app that is causing you issues, uninstall it, rather than installing a TK.
In addition, even Google at Google I/O 2010 addressed app developers and asked them to no longer include "quit" or "close" as options within their apps. I think Andronica (another great android site) summed it up well with their article, found here.
XDA user iunlock created a thread with some good debate based off this sticky. You can read all the thoughts by clicking here. In short, the overwhelming majority agreed and some have commented on seeing an increase in performance after deleting their task killers.
HOW TO DO A FACTORY RESET!
Rarely should you need to do this (I've never done one), but if you want to, simply press menu and go to settings. Scroll down to Privacy. In there is the option to perform a Factory Reset.
NEED HELP INSTALLING THE DRIVERS ON YOUR PC?
TGAGunnMan started a great thread with links for the drivers. You can view it here.
courtmagician also has a good thread discussing issues with USB Debugging as well. I would suggest reading this thread also.
THREE (3) LIGHTS/SENSORS - SURE THERE IS NO NOTIFICATION LED?
Yeap. I asked myself when I noticed there were 3 items. Two are used for the proximity sensor, the other is the light sensor.
Big props to XDA user gravis86 for answering my query so fast, see his post here.

CHANGE-LOG
01.13.11
- Removed link to 100s of free fonts since the thread was deleted (thank you to theotherguy)
01.05.11
- Added cvibe88's videos to the top of the sticky
12.12.10
- Link to Eugene's Super IO kernel
- Link to all of the modems for the Vibrant (thanks scrizz)
12.08.10
- Change the bootup animation
12.05.10
- Make a JIG - save your "bricked" phone
12.03.10
- Deleted how to flash a radio as it was not applicable to our phone (we have a MUCH easier process)
- Clarificatoin on a few things - HWL phone/rooting
- I'll try and add more during my work day.
11.29.10
- Link added to the Intro for noob friendly guide (Includes videos)
11.16.100
- Added the app ScanMedia to App Topics (useful when pics/ringtones/etc do not show after download)
- Deleted some stuff for space needed
- Added larger headings for the sections
11.13.100
- Added a fix for Hardware Locked phones - let us know if this does/does not work.
- Added at the top of the thread how to go from Froyo BACK to Eclair if wanted.
- Removed the old HWL fix I had... it actually was the same thing, but I like my new wording better, ha.
- Deleted the "how to enter safe mode" recommendation given to me
- Moved how to send calls to the Phone/Dialer section.
11.12.10
- Added farrisizdamans thread for those who MISTAKENLY (dont do it!) used the Partition feature in Rom Manager.
- More housekeeping. If you guys see things that need to be updated, PLEASE let me know. This has become more of a task with Froyo rolling out and multiple kernels.
11.11.10
- I went and tried to update/clarify a LOT of the material.
- Added how to send calls to a Reject List (Spam/telemarketers) - Vibrant Topics
- Moved Vibrant Topics to the top of post 2.
- As always, let me know how to improve and what to add.
11.10.10
- Added a video of how to use ODIN (not my video, random find on youtube). Its in Vibrant Topics, post 2.
- Probably going to update to 2.2 tonight... may try and post that later if people are interested.
11.1.10
- BruceElliots post on improving battery life (Vibrant Topics)
- chaoscentral gets credit for the Captivate camera previosly posted (my bust)
10.27.10
- How to enter Safe Mode (Vibrant Topics) - thank you so much patriot1973 for the PM/thread.
10.21.10
- JI6 GPS Fix. I used to pick on people complaining about GPS till I did this. Blew me away. (Vibrant Topics)
- Moved how to install JI6 to Vibrant Topics
- Added steps to take if Root Explorer is not able to mount/delete system files (Delete the Bloat post)
- Added more information on how to use Titanium Backup
10.14.10
- How to flash a custom ROM (Root Topics)
- A fix for hardware locked Vibrants (Vibrant Topics - post 2) Thanks Chui101 and untermensch)
10.13.10
- Comparisons of the Home Replacements (App Topics)
10.12.10
- Updated instructions for Rom Manager
- Updated a lot of posts for JI6 (please PM me if you catch something that needs updating)
- chio101 notified me of the JI6 Mobile AP (Wireless Tethering)
- I flashed Bionix 1.7 tonight with JACs oc kernel. I'll post thoughts later today. I encourage you to try it also!
10.11.10
- How to install the 2.2 Froyo Market on our 2.1 Device (root not needed so it's under App Topics)
10.08.10
- How to flash JI6 (be sure and go back to stock kernel if needed - this is also in the sticky - ctrl+f for "kernel")
- How to recondition your battery (Misc Guides - post 2)
- Task Manager by LP'ing HOME - thanks kuhan
10.08.10
- Added how to install the front facing camera (FFC) thanks to siirial (Camera section - post 2)
- Added panoramic shots to the camera section also. Will try and post an example from Alaska later.
- Updated the OTA/Root topic. It appears many did not lose root with the OTA update. Awesome to hear.
10.07.10
- Added JAC's kernel for oc/uv (Things to do with root)
- Added a link to the NFL app (App Topics)
- Added a link to Swype with Voice Input (App Topics)
9.13.10
- Flashable .zip GPS fix (huge thank you to frankencat) - Root users only
9.3.10
- Trying to get the format done
- Added how to reboot (long press power - thank you kizer and Gad13)
- Added a line about the stock android calendar not being perfect.
9.1.10
- Added the stock calendar .apk's needed to replace crap TW calendar.
- Added how to have a true stock android launcher, with the .apk attached.
- Noted the Captivate camera sorts pics in the correct order (make sure you aren't looking at your old Vibrant folders).
- Added a link to jonnybuenos theme (no metamorph needed) and gave a pic of my setup.
- Added link to list of all ROMs (thanks to almyz125)
- Please PM me suggestion and give feedback on what you want.
8.31.10
- Added how to change fonts (big kudos to those guys!!!)
- Added what to do if your phone # does not show under your settings (rare this would happen, but it does). Misc Q. section.
- Added list of bloat apps that can be removed. (high demand).
- Replace the TW calendar with the calendar from Cyanogens ROM
8.25.10
- Added how to install the Captivate camera on the Vibrant (Things to do with Root section)
- Added the "Will I receive an OTA update if I root" question to the top (this should have been here already, my bad.)
- Added how to get into Stock Recovery (seen a lot of posts on this recently. Hope there is no issue with new phones).
8.23.10
- Removed Barnacle as the suggested Tether app.
- Added the Tether app that came with the Intl Galaxy (removed by carriers).
- Clarified that the Intl Galaxy flashable zips are for the bootup and shutdown (I love them).
- Clarified that in the dialer pressing letters filters results too, not just numbers (thanks sl0play)
- How to put the Camera in Night Mode (amazing photos in the dark, I was impressed. I hate flash photos anyway!).
- Added zaduma's alternate method for removing the startup/shutdown sounds (since he whined so much, haha, jk). Thanks for posting it man.
- Moved the Disabling startup/shutdown sounds under "Things to do With Root" from "Vibrant Topics."
8.15.10
- Added to the App Topics section - how to theme swype and notification bar (both can revert to stock)
- Under Things to do With Root - Use the i9000 boot animation/sound instead (no more pink box)
8.9.10
- Slide contact picture to text/call (thanks denny_1986)
8.8.10
- How to check an MD5Sum (verify the integrity of a downloaded file)
- How to PROPERLY update your radio (please note this is for future reference, as there are no known updated radios)
- How to hide folders (thanks achild)

good job .....

nice.. I want helvetica.
Which weather/clock widget is that? Beautiful widgets?
oh and how did you get rid of those ugly numberd dots which let u select homecreens.

Thanks. Good call about the widget, that is asked a lot when an image is posted, so I added it too. The change in font was awesome. Didn't expect it to have such an impact.

sigeltek said:
nice.. I want helvetica.
Which weather/clock widget is that? Beautiful widgets?
oh and how did you get rid of those ugly numberd dots which let u select homecreens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it looks like Beautiful Widgets.. just select the Beautiful Home Smaller instead of Beautiful home and it'll appear like that on the screenshot. And those numbered dots are apart of the launcher alternatives, there are settings in there to get rid of them or customize.

BUMP
ive read many of these tips but only after hrs of reading.....nice to have them in one place
oh include the GPS fix...that sh*t was great

^ thank you. I was trying to hold off in the gps fix just because not everyone has an issue (our has not noticed) and some in that thread were still not getting it fixed. I'm confident the next update from Samsung will address this. please let me know other things that should be included though!

awesome thanks for this post, very informative

I had no idea about the swipe on the task bar to change the brightness. Thats nice.

great idea and thread

Maybe add (for rooted phones) the app lag fix, or at least a link to it?
Great list! This should be a sticky.
My phone is just so...VIBRANT

Great thread,i actually pm'd the mod asking about a faq and I did start one on my computer, but you beat me to posting it, and you have pretty much everything I documented. Great job!
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant with Swype!

Awesome man, appreciate that. There will always be room for more, let me know if I need to add to it! Feels good to be able to do something (albeit very little) for XDA, as much as they did for my g1.

How about something telling people how to use Metamorph, or a direct link to the Metamorph thread. Since we have two themes using it.
How to reboot phone into recovery or download mode.
How to use Odin, or what Odin is.
just some ideas.

Nice, will work on those this morning.

Okay, I have added some new items. I like some of the suggestions, and if they are not added it's probably because I am not comfortable enough with the subject to feel I should be teaching. I would love for others to help chime in... I'll add them to the list and do my best to make sure everyone gets credit for what they add to the list (some people care about this).

OP,
grear thread.
One addition
removing startup/shutdown audio files
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731059&highlight=shutdown

^ appreciate that man. I actually already have that included. I was debating on adding the removal of the startup/shutdown boot animations too.... i guess it could not hurt, but will be irrelevant once we have a custom ROM.

Dummy's Guide to update your I9000 from the stock software to the Official Froyo

After successfully;
researching, upgrading to the official build of my choosing, getting it to work and typing this tutorial out (for those that like me weren't knowledged in this),
I stumbled across this thread. I thought I should also share it here aswell.
Here's a N00b's (Dummy's) Guide to how to update your device from the stock software to the Official Samsung Froyo ROM (software/operating system) OF YOUR CHOICE!!
Why do this?
You get Froyo. So you get the latest version of Android to support more Apps.
It comes with some UI-tweeks, JIT-compiler, and FLASH 10.1 PLAYER!!!
Also you get a newer (better) kernel on your phone with some of Samsung's fixes for the lag and for the GPS.
You can get features/Apps not available in your native rom build and/or remove the bloatware.
This method (not incl E) can also be used to install custom ROMs (I personally can't wait for the Official English MIUI ROM).
** Denotes steps which I skipped, or was unable/unwilling to follow, or didn't quite understand
Here's the comprehensive, step-by-step, easy-to-follow breakdown/walkthrough (Section E only works on Windows Computers):
A) Remove your microSD card (this will prevent some weid issues later on)
A2) Make sure you have Kies downloaded and installed on your computer
A3) Make sure you have an extractor installed (for Windows 7, winRAR is a great free solution)
B) We need to root your device, for this goto "One Click Root/Unroot" by TGA_Gunnman at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=742403
B1) Download (2.5MB) the software (depending on your computer, mine is Win7 Home Premium 64-bit) into your computer not phone
B2) Make a folder somewhere in your computer labelled "OneClickRoot" (or anything) and drag the .rar file (the one you just downloaded) into it
B3) Extract the contents of the files by Right-Click then "Extract Here" (If you don't have this option install WinRAR)
B4) Set your phone to USB Debug mode (on your phone goto MENU > Settings > Applications > Developement > USB debugging = Checked) and then connect the phone to the computer via USB cable.
B5) Open the "Galaxy S I9000 One-Click Root" application. (This step didn't work for me, so I instead opened "rootme" batchfile which started the command prompt).
B6) Your phone will shut itself off, and then turn on in a "recovery mode". DO NOT REMOVE THE CABLE. Use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons to get to "install from " and then hit the Home button.
B7) Now your device should be restarting again but this time it will actually go to your lockscreen.
B8) Now, you have ROOT, Congratulations.
B9) Not sure? We can test to see if you have root. Goto Market on your phone and download two Apps (Superuser and Titanium Backup, use the search to find them fast).
B10) Install both and launch Titanium Backup. As soon as you turn it on it will come up with a pop up and say something like "Your device is not rooted" or "Root is not accessible" ... if you didn't get Root.
B11) If you have root it will say something like "Titanium Backup needs to gain permission from Superuser" here click Apply. If you get to the App, well done you have indeed Rooted your phone
C) Now if you want to Backup your device before the update (recommended) you can follow steps C, otherwise skip straight to Step D.
C1) On Titanium Backup if a pop up notification comes with something like "Download an updated BusyBox" allow it to do so.
C2) Now first thing you will want to backup your Apps (all paid and free and the levels/hiscores) make sure you don't have any emulator ROMs on there (they consume too much space) and delete all those unwanted Apps
C3) On Titanium Backup, hit the Menu button > More > Create "update.zip" ...
C4) On this screen select "User application" and "TitaniumBackup-3.6.2.zip" and UN-TICK the "Sign the ZIP file (with ZipSigner)"
C5) Hit the Create "update.zip"... on the bottom and Please wait
C6) Once it finishes it, exit Titanium Backup, go back to settings and disable USB debugging (as posted on B4).
C7) Connect your phone to your computer (through Kies or PC link) and then browse your My Computer until you find Galaxy S I9000.
C8) Open that folder and then open phone. Find "TitaniumBackup-3.6.2.zip" and copy that to somewhere on your computer.
C9) Now that we have backed up your applications, lets backup your ROM.
C10) According to TGA_Gunnman you can use Clockwork MOD Recovery to do this, but this is for a different (Galaxy S) device ie "Samsung Vibrant"
**C11) Follow the steps on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734164 to do so, personally I skipped doing so out of fear of bricking the device (there may be subtle differences between the devices that can make your phone a paperweight/brick)
C12) Now if you did follow the Clockwork MOD, be sure to copy the "update.zip" file somewhere into your computer (better be safe than sorry)
D1) Now we need to apply the 3-Button-Combo Fix (this is the only reason for steps A-C because it is highly recommended to have this before flashing ANY rom)
D2) I recommend the Fix by RazvanG http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=821698 because it seems to be the *safest*
**D3) Firstly check if your device is compatible. I wasn't successful to dump my BML1 block, so I couldn't test if the block reads "[email protected]"
**D3) RazvanG has provided some instructions on this method see his post for more information http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=9595936#post9595936
D4) So I took a leap of faith and continued anyways with the risk of bricking my device. I have it on contract/plan so if it fails I would just return it and say Kies was updating and it failed
D5) I followed the steps on the thread but I'll reitterate it here for your convnieance
D6) Download both files (RAZ-FiX-SGS and adbRecovery) from the thread.
D7) Make a new folder (adbRecovery) on your computer and extract the adb .zip file into there
D8) Connect your phone to the computer and copy the RAZ-FiX-SGS.zip into your phone's memory
D9) Delete the old Update.zip file AND rename the RAZ-FiX-SGS.zip to Update.zip
D10) Again, turn on USB debugging (you know how) and open "Recovery" batch file from your computer
D11) This will initiate a command prompt (on Win7) and restart your phone
D12) Your phone will go into recovery mode (like we've seen before)
D13) You need to navigate (Volume buttons) to "apply sdcard; update.zip" and hit the Home button
D14) Your phone will turn off and restart and should get to your lockscreen
D15) So you're at the lockscreen? SUCCESS! (mine didn't brick *pheww*)
D16) Now let's test to see if the 3-Button-Fix worked
D17) *IMPORTANT* Firstly browse into your phone's internal memory and delete update.zip (the one we put there from RazvanG)
D18) Now that you have done so, you can safely just turn off the device
D19) Hold the Volume Down + Home button ... then hold the power button, as soon as the device begins to turn on release the power button (keep holding Volume Down + Home)
D20) If you get a Yellow triangle with the Android robot and "Do not turn off Target", well done, you have the 3BF so you have a means to ensure that you can always recover your phone if you do brick, well done!
D21) You can *safely* remove the battery and restart your phone ONLY if you don't have a Update.zip in the root of your phone
D22) If you don't want to take a leap of faith try this method (safest method but doesn't work for some people): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860773
E1) Now is the fun part (we've just past the difficult parts)
E2) You need to hunt down the version of (official Samsung)software you wish to install ... just go through member's reviews and recommendations
E3) You need to find the product code of that build, you can do this navigating through this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=846913
OR by asking members (they can find out with http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=787163)
E4) For me this was the Virgin mobile Australia build (XSA - an unbadged, no-bloatware, unlocked Froyo build with a free copy of Navigon Navigation)
E5) Make sure you update your Kies to "ver 1.5.3.10103_102" (latest as of the time I'm writing)
E6) Go visit this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=835628 for information (the software may have been upgraded)
E7) Download (300KBs) the Kies Registry patcher 1.6.0.0 (latest as of writing) <<This only works on Windows computers, sorry Mac'ners>>
E8) Launch the Kies Registry Patcher WHEN KIES IS OPENED
E9) Click on File > Backup (and save this somewhere in your computer - this is your original product code - better safe than sorry)
E10) Make Enable Spoof to True
E11) Now where it says "Spoof Product Code as" type in the product code of your desire (mine is XSA)
E12) Hit Write Registry and it should say "Registry pathed successfully"
E13) Connect your phone via USB cable to the computer
E14) On your phone select "Samsung Kies" when the pop up comes ... it should be at the "Connected" screen (DO NOT HIT HOME BUTTON)
E15) On Kies it should find your phone, and a pop up on the corner will say "There is a firmware update available for your phone" hit that pop up
E16) Now you will see another pop up and it's asking if you want to "Back up contacts before upgrading firmware" ... seems like a good idea, tick the box and hit Upgrade
E17) If the screen on the phone shuts (ie standby) don't be alerted. Hit the power button to wake it up. DO NOT HIT THE HOME BUTTON!
E18) Another pop up will come to name the contacts file - I just hit save so its the original filename in original (Samsung)folder
E19) Another Pop up will come to say "Save to PC completed" - hit OK, its just letting you know the contacts saved properly
E20) Now you get another Pop up to start the Firmware Upgrade - This is an important area, note down the: Model Name, Current Version and Latest Version (if something goes wrong this info maybe valuable for developers)
E21) Mine is (model)GT-I9000, (current)PDA:JG4 / Phone:JG3 / CSC:JG2 and (latest) PDA:JP5 / Phone:JP3 / CSC:JP4 ......... notice they are diffirent, this is what I was looking for
E22) Hit Upgrade! (Allow Kies to function when Windows 7 or Windows Vista prompts you)
E23) Tick the "All information has been verified" and Click Next
**E24) Let Samsung record your phone number in their database? I don't care (I'm on insurance/contract/plan) and I hit "Allow saving" ad Clicked Next
E25) Wait patiently, its downloading the rom from the server, DO NOT UNPLUG THE DEVICE
E26) A progress bar will appear, your USB will get disconnected, reconnected several times, the phone will be stuck on the yellow triangle screen - these are normal
E27) The progress bar will slowly be filled from grey to blue and a progress bar will appear on your phone - almost there!
E28) The progress bar on the computer will finish and the pop up will read "GT-I9000 Upgrade completed" - Click Close
E29) Your phone will restart and will enter "recovery mode" some yellow texts will appear and scroll forward
E30) The phone will reboot again and you will see the boot image with the Galaxy S logo
E31) The phone will be stuck on that logo for awhile - be patient
E32) The phone will now get to your lockscreen, unlock it
E33) You will have to go through your initial setup firstly its the Swype tutorial, then data settings, and finally the account settings emerges
E34) If the Kies connection screen comes up: hit the home button
E35) Now you should have come to your Homescreen go and test everything (all your passwords, all your bookmarks, all your contacts, all your images/music/videos and all your apps (except bloatware) should be there but the order of all the widgets/apps in TouchWizz will be reset to abc-order)
E36) Goto Settings > About Phone Does it say Android 2.2?
E37) Well done you have passed Android Hacking 101, you are officially smarter than 50% of iPhone and Blackberry users
E38) Donate me a beer, nah just kidding, enjoy everything for free but feel free to donate to the developers that help make this possible

this is a guide for I9000 international
I9000M owners please be advised that the I9000 might cause you to lose the 850 band, and might also trigger the internal SD problem

AllGamer said:
this is a guide for I9000 international
I9000M owners please be advized that the I9000 might cause you to lose the 850 band, and might also trigger the internal SD problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You made it into a thread, thanks!
Hopefully this might help fellow xdanians

Aww Mate this is awesome, I have the same Carrier and I had OPTUS crap on my Phone from custom roms, Now I'm back to Stock Froyo!!!!
A great tool to Start from afresh.....
But
At Instruction E11 - Select your product code from the drop down Box and it will populate the next field for you.

Gonna put into my favorites

Wow.
I don't think anybody that don't now much would read that.
I know allot and i would never use it either.
You should stick a warning sign on this tread.
I did read about half of it and then i just stop and shake my head.
I hope this tread is a joke.....
Sent from GT-I9000 jpo. My own kernel for z4mod and with 342MB Ram

DamianGto said:
Wow.
I don't think anybody that don't now much would read that.
I know allot and i would never use it either.
You should stick a warning sign on this tread.
I did read about half of it and then i just stop and shake my head.
I hope this tread is a joke.....
Sent from GT-I9000 jpo. My own kernel for z4mod and with 342MB Ram
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elaborate?
Joke? No it's no joke but I should disclose (as always) this is a tried-and-true way of getting you to update your software but in no way can I be held responsible for damages.
Things may vary slightly in between different phones which is why the links for each source/thread is up there.
I found myself knowing what to do, but always guessing how to do it.
This is a step-by-step process of how and what I did to upgrade my phone to any ROM I want.
If this was posted up before I attempted my upgrade, I would've been so happy that someone really simplified it for me

This is a noobs guide??!!! Simplified??!! I think that everyone will appreciate the time you have spent typing this up and trying to help, but I'm with DamianGto, dude this guide is scary and just explains how YOU got YOUR particular phone running froyo and lets face it, you certainly didn't go about it the easy way!
Once again I think the time you have spent and the willingness to help is admirable, but there are much simpler and noob friendly guides out there

nagrom78 said:
This is a noobs guide??!!! Simplified??!! I think that everyone will appreciate the time you have spent typing this up and trying to help, but I'm with DamianGto, dude this guide is scary and just explains how YOU got YOUR particular phone running froyo and lets face it, you certainly didn't go about it the easy way!
Once again I think the time you have spent and the willingness to help is admirable, but there are much simpler and noob friendly guides out there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you need root + busybox to get the 3 button fix.
If anything a n00b did, they can recover with 3 button trick otherwise they will have a brick.
This is why this guide is long, to ensure things are a-ok.
If you found a friendlier guide can you post the link, much apprecated ;D

How do I exit downloading mode if I forgot to erase update.zip ?

What is it ? Kies
A2) Make sure you have Kies downloaded and installed on your computer
Thanks

Well I think this is an excellent guide that has great potential!
However, a couple of crucial mistakes, which if fixed could help make the guides less confusing...
At beginning of (D) you talk about (A-C) being solely so you could fix your 3 button download (which I don't think is actually true!)
.... But, you should mention 3 button download at the very start of the guide anyway!!
Also, you should include a quick test at the very start to check for 3 button download, because mine is already fine, so a newbie might run all those extra steps when they already had working 3 button download anyway! (The more sections that can be skipped the better!). You can then steer people to the sections they uniquely will need.
However, titanium backup isn't needed for 3 button download fix, but is a wise step before running a rom update. And this works best with root anyway. Hence I don't think your opener for (D) is very accurate. You didn't just complete those steps JUST to get download mode. The backup was important anyway!
Do others think there should be a stage added for backing up contacts etc?
A stage for backing up efi?
Anything else wise that should be in here?

[GUIDE] Getting the most out of your SGS [UPDATED: 28.02.2011]

I will try to set up a guide to contain all of the information to get the most out of your I9000 Galaxy S. First the fineprint:
I am not responsible for any damage that any of these instructions may inflict to your phone, computer or any other device that is used in the processes described herein. I am also not responsible if you lose your warranty by flashing your phone with unsupported firmware or if any of these instructions brick your phone, if it will rape your wife or if it will eat your liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
I didn't test any of the programs specified herein for viruses/trojans/etc. I run Windows in a VirtualBox that doesn't have access to the internet and doesn't contain any private data, so I don't care for viruses, if you care for your OS though, you should check the programs for viruses before running them.
Use common sense when following such instructions, some of the things may differ because of different program versions, different operating systems or different setups.
Some of these instructions are based on a stock firmware, if your firmware is modded in any way, some of the things described herein may be inappropriate for your device.
1. NOT bricking your phone.
--Why, when, where: Everyone's afraid of bricking their phone. I see the term "bricking" is being a bit overused in these forums though. Everyone is using it, even for the case where the phone can actually be "repaired" with a few simple hacks, IMHO the term "bricking" should only be used in the case where you get your phone in a state where it is inoperable AND you can not in any way repair it yourself.
--Prerequisites: A bit of common sense.
There are a few simple steps that you can follow, to get the risk of "bricking" (as in, you can not repair it yourself and need to somehow get Samsung to either repair it for you, or give you a new device) to a minimum:
1.1. Before trying any of the other steps, make sure that you can get to both the "Recovery mode" and the "Download mode" using the 3-button-combo. If this doesn't work for your device you can try following the steps described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=810686
1.2. Try to avoid flashing stuff that contains a bootloader. The only way to permanently brick your phone so that you can not repair it yourself (at least AFAIK) is to flash a bootloader and then interrupt that flashing. If the bootloader didn't get flashed properly and it's broken, there isn't much you can do about it, and you need to somehow get Samsung to either repair it or give you a new one (if you're lucky). If the bootloader is fine, there is almost always a way to "repair" your phone yourself.
1.3. Do not interrupt the flashing processes. When using Odin or Heimdall to flash stuff to your phone, there is always the risk of bricking it if you interrupt the flashing process. If the bootloader is fine though and you can get into the "Download mode", you might be able to repair it.
If you follow these simple advices, it might save you money, nerves and also some time without your phone (the time that it takes Samsung to repair it, which can sometimes, depending on country, be even a couple of months).
2. Flashing stock firmwares.
--Why, when, where: You should usually do this if your phone doesn't work with your current firmware, if there is a new firmware out that might work better or if you just want to go to a stock firmware.
--Prerequisites: Odin, a stock firmware (from www.samfirmware.com for example).
NOTE: Apparently there are people that report that using Odin v1.3 might interrupt the flashing and leave you with a soft brick and that v1.7 doesn't have this problem. I have always used v1.3 and never had problems because of it, but if v1.3 isn't working for you, you might give v1.7 (or even heimdall) a try before giving up.
The steps to flashing a stock firmware are already described in a couple of other threads, like: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=818556
Nonetheless, here a quick sum-up of what you have to do:
2.1. Open up Odin.
2.2. Put your phone in the "Download mode" with the 3-button-combo (Volume Down + Home + Power).
2.3. Connect your phone to your computer (DO NOT CONNECT THE PHONE BEFORE OPENING ODIN OR THIS WILL NOT WORK).
2.4. Odin should recognize your phone and one of the "com" boxes should light up yellow. If this isn't the case, try repeating the previous steps and eventually connect your phone to another USB port.
2.5. Select your firmware in Odin.
2.5.1. --OPTIONAL-- If you want your phone to be like new, you can select "Re-Partition" in Odin, which will make it repartition your Internal SD. In this case you also have to use a .pit file (WARNING -- you will lose all of your installed applications and settings).
2.6. Take a deep breath and click the "Start" button.
2.7. Wait for the firmware to be flashed and for the device to be restarted.
2.8. You now have a stock firmware. If you also selected "Re-Partition" in Odin, all your programs and settings will be gone and your device will be like new.
3. Rooting your phone and flashing a custom Kernel.
--Why, when, where: Rooting your phone will get you super-user permissions to Android (super-user is Linux's equivalent of "Administrator rights" in Windows). This will allow you to execute some programs that need root permissions, access partitions that you otherwise couldn't and do other cool stuff with it.
--Prerequisites: Stock firmware (as most --if not all-- of the custom ROMs or kernels have root permissions already), Odin or Heimdall.
There are many ways to get root permissions on your device, like with special apps (OCLF for example), with CWM (aka ClockWork Mod) or, my preferred method, flashing a kernel that has this built-in. For this example I will use the SpeedMod Kernel, which is my preferred one. If you have another kernel that you like and that has root built-in, you can use that one.
3.1. Download your preferred kernel (the version for Odin, not the one for CWM).
3.2. Open up Odin or Heimdall.
3.3. Put you phone into "Download mode" and connect it to your computer (DO NOT CONNECT THE PHONE BEFORE OPENING ODIN OR THIS WILL NOT WORK).
3.4.1. If you are using Heimdall, unpack your kernel until you end up with a file called zImage. Select that in Heimdall in the box for "Kernel (zImage)" and click Start.
3.4.2. If you are using Odin, select the file you downloaded in the PDA box and click Start.
3.5. After your Phone reboots, go into "Recovery mode" and go to "Advanced Speedmod ULK features" -> "ROOT / Install Superuser".
3.6. After rebooting the phone again, you should have root permissions.
4. Deodexing your apps and framework.
--Why, when, where: The system applications and the framework files on the Android OS are normally 'odex'ed. By deodexing, you will get rid of the .odex files that come with every apk and jar file and you will be able to edit the apks like any other apk. It will also save you a wee bit of space, and make your apps launch a wee bit faster.
--Prerequisites: Stock firmware (as most --if not all-- of the custom ROMs are deodexed already), xUltimate (this is what I found to be the easiest, if you know any software that is better, please let me know), root permissions.
You can download xUltimate from here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeudoxus/47283-release-xultimate.html
There are more ways to deodex your apps, but I found xUltimate to be the easiest.
4.1. First of all, you need to get the files from "/system/app" into the subdirectory "origi_app" and all of the files from "/system/framework" into the subdirectory "origi_frame". Both "origi_app" and "origi_frame" should be in the folder you extracted xUltimate to. If they don't exist, create them yourself. There are actually two ways to get the files there, either with xUltimate itself (options 1 and 2) or by copying them to your SD with "Root Explorer" for example and then copying them from your SD to your computer (or with adb of course).
4.2. Deodex the apps and framework with xUltimate, options 3 and 4.
4.3. After deodexing is finished, the deodexed files will be located in the directories "done_app" and "done_frame" in your xUltimate folder. You have to get these files back to their original directories, in /system/app and /system/framework. Again, there are a couple of ways to do this, either with adb (MOST RECOMMENDED ONE), or with "Root Explorer". For the adb method, you should open a command prompt and execute following code:
Code:
adb shell
su
stop
mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
rm /system/app/*.odex
rm /system/framework/*.odex
cp /sdcard/done_app/* /system/app/
cp /sdcard/done_frame/* /system/framework/
mount -o ro,remount /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
reboot
5. Optimizing and zipaligning your apps.
I wasn't yet successful at optimizing or zipaligning. Optimizing (aka Compressing) the apps gave me a lot of FCs, optimizing the framework files gave me bootloops. If anyone has any advice on this, I'd be very thankful.
Also, see post #2
6. Protecting your screen.
--Why, when, where: This is not about protecting your screen from scratches, but rather about protecting it from degradation over time. As you might already know, AMOLED screens are prone to the "burn-in" effect. To elaborate a little: AMOLED uses Organic LEDs to display the amazing graphics you see on your display. These OLEDs are very good at displaying bright, colorful pictures, they have a downside though -- they fade over time. That means, the more a specific OLED is used, the less light it emits. If the whole screen would degrade at the same pace, that wouldn't be such a BIG problem, but the very nature of the OLED screens makes them degrade unevenly. That means the OLEDs that are used more frequently (like clock, phone signal, wifi, notification bar), get dimmer faster and this leads to ugly "shadows" on fullscreen apps. To be able to keep your screen as beautiful as new, I got a couple of tips, so that the display degrades more evenly and you avoid the ugly "shadows".
!! Most users won't even notice these degradations, also they won't be noticeable in 90% of use-cases and they will only appear after longer use (6 months+), but you can still use these tricks if you want your display to be almost as good as new a couple of years from now !!
6.1. Don't set brightness to 100%. At least not all the time. You should best be using a brightness setting that fits your ambient light, or the "Automatic brightness" setting. This will ensure that the OLEDs don't wear out as fast (the brighter you use them, the faster they will degrade).
6.2. Use a grey notification bar. The notification bar is the biggest "static" element on the screen. Most apps that are not fullscreen, will also show the notification bar, and this leads to an uneven degradation in that area if it isn't a neutral color. If you use a white notification bar, the OLEDs there will get dimmer faster and you will get an ugly shadow when using fullscreen apps, if you use a black notification bar, it will not degrade as fast as the rest of the screen and that area will be "brighter" in fullscreen apps, that's why I recommend a medium grey.
6.3. Use as little static elements as possible. If you don't need the clock in the notification bar, get rid of it. Get a theme that uses grey or green icons (see next step why) and try not to leave the phone on over night displaying the same static image.
6.4. Avoid blue. As you can see here for example: http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/8057/new1ls.png the blue OLEDs are degrading at a much faster pace than the green or red ones, this is why you should avoid using blue wallpapers or blue themes, they will make your display degrade faster than if you use a green theme and a green wallpaper for example.
These tips won't make your screen live forever, it will degrade too, but by using these tips, at least you can assure that you will have the most of your awesome display even in a year or two from now.
7. Theme-ing your phone.
Coming soon...
8. Unlocking your phone.
--Why, when, where: If you bought your phone with a contract, chances are that it might be locked in that specific network. If you want to also use other SIM cards in it, that are from another provider, you will have to unlock the phone (!! WARNING !! in most cases this will lead to a void warranty, please consult your contract).
--Prerequisites: Root privileges, adb.
8.1. Get the /efs/nv_data.bin file from your device to your computer. You can do this either with adb or by copying the file to your SD card with "Root Explorer" and then copying it over to your machine from the SD (Be sure to keep a backup of this file and the /efs/.nv_data.bin.md5 file.)
8.2. Open up the file in a hex editor, go to the address 0x181468, where you will see something like this:
FF 01 00 00 00 00 46 46 46...
We are interested in that first '01', that means the phone is locked. Just change it to '00' and save the file. Copy it back to your SD card and then with "Root Explorer" back to it's original location (or 'push' it directly with adb). Then remove the .nv_data.bin.md5 file and restart the device (Again, be sure to make copies of these files before modifying or deleting them!). After this, you should be able to insert any SIM card into your device and it should work without the need for any further hacks.
9. Setting up 'adb' on your machine.
--Why, when, where: adb (aka "Android Debug Bridge") is a tool that will let you execute remote commands on your android device. It is useful for debugging, accessing and copying files from/to your device and much more.
--Prerequisites: The android SDK, which you can download from here: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and the USB drivers for your phone, which you can get by either installing Kies or by downloading and installing these drivers: http://www.mediafire.com/?a6ni32dk6nn953b (password is 'ragin' -- I didn't test them, so feedback on these is welcome).
9.1. Unpack the downloaded android-sdk.
9.2. Go to the unpacked directory and launch the SDK Manager.
9.3. Go to "Available packages" -> "Third party Add-ons" -> "Google Inc. add-ons" and tick the box next to "Google Usb Driver package" and the click on the "Install Selected" button. This will download and install the Google USB Drivers.
9.4. Whenever you want to connect to your phone through adb, make sure that you have enabled "USB Debugging" under "Settings" -> "Applications" -> "Development".
9.5. You should now be able to open up a command line ("Start" -> "Run..." -> Type "cmd" and click "OK"), cd to the subfolder "platform-tools" under the folder where you unpacked android-sdk and run "adb" in there.
Take some time to get used with the commands that adb offers, as these will help you to debug problems when you encounter some.
10. Lagfixing
--Why, when, where: It is said that the default filesystem that is being used for the partitions on the SGS (RFS) is having slow read times and thus the programs launch a bit slow, sometimes perceived as "lag". This can be fixed by converting the filesystem on the most used partitions to a more modern filesystem, like the ext filesystem, which not only has a bunch of improvements over such old filesystems like RFS, but also seems to be a bit faster.
--Prerequisites: A kernel that supports lagfix.
10.1. Since every kernel has it's own way of converting your FS, you should best look into the documentation of your kernel on how you can apply a lagfix. Some even apply it automatically for you (as in, "lagfix on" is their default setting).
11. Do NOT overcharge
--Why, when, where: Almost all new batteries have an overcharging protection. This means that the protection that is built into the battery will not let it charge to 100%. This is a feature, not a bug! This will help prolong your battery life while also keeping it safe from overheating/explosion/etc. Do not try to trick it and unplug and plug again until you see 100%, just get used to the fact that you can't have 100% battery anymore and live with it, or you risk destroying your battery.
12. Call recording
--Why, when, where: Most Galaxy S firmwares don't have the ability to record both streams of a call. This is not a bug, it was designed like this because in most countries it is illegal to record someone without their permission. Yes, there are apps that will let you record a call, but without software support, it will record the other end from the microphone, which will result in low quality, but there is a workaround.
This might be illegal in your country! I'm not responsible if you get sued for recording someone without their permission.
--Prerequisites: Root permissions, adb/root explorer, a 2.2.1 firmware.
12.1 Download the attached "CallRecord.zip" and unpack it.
12.2 After unpacking you should have 3 .so files. You need to get these files into your /system/lib folder with either adb or by copying them to the phone and then using "Root Explorer" to copy them to the proper folder.
12.3 Reboot.
12.4 After the phone has rebooted, you can use most apps that are on the market to record calls properly (that means not from the microphone). I use AllCallRecorder because it is simple and does the job. There are also Phone.apk's that have call recording built in, you could also install one of those and record your calls with it.
That is all for now. I will add more information as time goes by and I hope this will become a full guide on how to make the best out of our devices. If you have constructive criticism, questions or any ideas or tips on how to improve this, please let me know. If you don't have anything constructive to add to this thread, please DO NOT post. If my troll alarm goes off, I WILL ignore you.
Thanks goes to:
ragin for the USB drivers.
I have learned most of the stuff I put here from various searches on Google and the xda forums and I may not remember the exact threads I got them from. If you feel I have copied your work without giving you credit, I am very sorry for that. Please let me know via a post or a PM and I will link you in the "Thanks".
I am sorry if my English is bad, it's my third language though. I hope that the post is understandable by most people.

This post will contain instructions for *nix based operating systems
Because I am using Linux myself and because it is much easier to do stuff in the command line on Linux than it is on Windows, I will mostly post instructions for *nix systems. If anyone wants to help out by "translating" them over for Windows machines, I can include it in the next post.
Optimizing and zipaligning
I have managed to Optimize and zipalign the apps in /system/apps with the following code.
You need to run this on a *nix distribution (I used Ubuntu) with at least the following packages installed: bash, zip, unzip, optipng. Put all the .apk files from /system/app in a folder on your machine, cd to that folder and execute this code snippet.
Also, beware that some of the apps might not work (I had for example FCs with the camera and the phone app), I'll try to figure this out and make it pretty much foolproof. Currently everything but the .9.png files are optimized (the .9.png files are some special files that can't be treated like normal png files).
Code:
for apk_file in *.apk; do
file_name=`echo $apk_file | sed -r s/.apk//`
echo -ne "Unpacking\t$file_name.apk... "
mkdir $file_name
unzip -qq $file_name.apk -d $file_name
cd $file_name
echo -ne "Done.\n"
echo -ne "Optimizing\t$file_name.apk... "
for pngfile in $(find . -name '*.png' | fgrep -v .9.png); do
optipng -quiet -o 5 $pngfile
done
echo -ne "Done.\n"
echo -ne "Repacking\t$file_name.apk... "
zip -q -0 -r ../$file_name.apk *
cd ..
rm -rf $file_name
echo -ne "Done.\n"
echo -ne "Zipaligning\t$file_name.apk... "
zipalign -fv 4 $apk_file $apk_file.za
mv $apk_file.za $apk_file
echo -ne "Done.\n"
done
EDIT: I added the -0 flag to the zip command, since you should never "compress" apk files, because this leads to the FCs I was experiencing.

Post also reserved.

Last reserved post. You can start flaming now.

shantzu said:
Last reserved post. You can start flaming now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Posted in the wrong place... try reading the faq's about where this belongs.

davidf said:
Posted in the wrong place... try reading the faq's about where this belongs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the rules of the development section state: "Rom Development - only meant for very advanced technical discussion directly related to ROM development activity and the delivery of actual ROMs and ROM components ONLY."
I'd regard this as an "advanced tehnical discussion", since it also contains information on how to deodex and (to come soon) optimize/zipalign your apps, that's why I thought it would belong here. I would also like this to be a place for advanced discussions on best practices on deodexing, theme-ing, and otherwise modifing a stock ROM manually. If the moderators still think that this doesn't belong here, I'm sorry, and would like to ask them to move it to the proper Forum.

Sticky Material.
Don't you think your Title is misnamed? The thread contains much more than just a guide getting most out of our SGS.
Very good effort anyway.

ragin said:
Sticky Material.
Don't you think your Title is misnamed? The thread contains much more than just a guide getting most out of our SGS.
Very good effort anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I didn't know what else to name it, and didn't want to use a really long name. I think this title best describes what it's about...
Thank you for your reply!

very good post. It'll be extremely helpful for new users i reckon.

question
can this method be used on almost any samsung galaxy? (i have galaxy 551)
and about deodexing...is xUltimate a general app for any Android phone or only for SGS ?

Awesome stuff thanks for this cleared up a few things

waveboy2u said:
can this method be used on almost any samsung galaxy? (i have galaxy 551)
and about deodexing...is xUltimate a general app for any Android phone or only for SGS ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the program seems to be posted in the "Motorolla Droid" forum, so I don't think it was even intended for the Galaxy S. If I were to guess, I'd say it might work on any Android device. Just be sure to make a backup in case anything goes wrong.

Thanks alot! Never knew the degrades display.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Shantzu, first, thank you very much for this valuable contribution!
While I agree that it is related to "highly technical discussion", it's not directly connected to ROM cooking/development. In fact, this is the kind of thing that people should read before they start mucking about in the dev section
I've gone ahead and moved it to the general section and made it a sticky topic for now. However, those are starting to pile up in this section, so we'll likely roll up several useful threads like this one into one unified reference sticky here soon.

sirphunkee said:
Shantzu, first, thank you very much for this valuable contribution!
While I agree that it is related to "highly technical discussion", it's not directly connected to ROM cooking/development. In fact, this is the kind of thing that people should read before they start mucking about in the dev section
I've gone ahead and moved it to the general section and made it a sticky topic for now. However, those are starting to pile up in this section, so we'll likely roll up several useful threads like this one into one unified reference sticky here soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking about this guide as some kind of "cook your own ROM directly on the device", that's why I was also including tips on how to deodex the apps and I'd also like to include tips on how to set up themes (not install third party themes, but rather explain where each icon can be found and how it can be modified) and other mods. Anyway, if you think it better fits in the General section, I'm fine with that, as you can see I'm pretty new in these forums and not that experienced (for example I have also seen a guide on how to manually unlock the phone that was stickied on the Developers section).
Anyway, sorry again for the trouble and thanks for clearing it up!

Very good post. Thank you!!

Very good work. One thing i noticed though: you use ext fs for the system rw remount. This i think will only work for ext converted system partitions not the original rfs system.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

liraindon said:
Very good work. One thing i noticed though: you use ext fs for the system rw remount. This i think will only work for ext converted system partitions not the original rfs system.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, it normally shouldn't work, but it actually does. I don't have any lagfix applied and it works just fine. I will try and see though if I can come up with a more general command that 100% works in all cases.
EDIT: ok, not specifying any filesystem at all works too. I will have to see if this also works with a lagfix enabled, but I guess there shouldn't be any problems.
Thanks for your comment!

whoa didnt know about degradation... thanks!

nice
very good write up.. +1

[HOW TO] Fix the "Low on space" problem (in plain English)

The Problem
The HTC Droid Incredible shows a "Low on space: Phone storage space is getting low" warning despite having gobs of space free because the "Application data storage" folder (also known as /data/data) that is shared by all apps on the phone is only 150mb in size. As soon as only 10% of this folder is available, the warning appears. If it gets too much lower, apps stop responding and the phone crashes.
The Story
After many months of clearing app data, uninstalling apps, resetting my phone, and generally walking on eggshells trying to keep my data storage under the limit, I was getting ready to upgrade my device. I would search every few weeks to see if anyone had solved the problem, but all I found were more people stuck in my boat, and I was ready to give up. But then I stumbled across a series of threads on xda-developers.com that gave me new hope. In the course of one night, I learned from scratch how to root my phone, and I applied a fix that increased the "Application data storage" folder to a whopping 750mb. I am now able to download as many apps as I'd like and not have to worry about clearing out app data ever again.
However, it took a bit of scouring the forums and reading various guides to figure out how to do all this. Some of the items are quite technical in nature, and some of the guides skip steps that more experienced users would know how to do already. So I joined the forum to write this guide for the "regular" users out there like myself. My goal is to explain in plain English how to fix this nagging issue once and for all and to consolidate all the relevant info and files into one place. If you find this useful, please share this with others so we can all fully enjoy our phones!
The Credits
I did not invent any of the steps, tools, or methods I am about to describe. Hats off to the following people for supplying all the info and files I needed to fix the problem and write this how-to thread. Please let me know if I've missed anyone that should be mentioned and I will add them.
vbhines for the "New to Modding/Rooting" guide
The unrevoked team for their excellent one-click rooting software and drivers
dreamersipaq for the guide to rooting an Incredible
scotty1223 for the guide to rooting a 2.3.4 Incredible
jermaine151 for the "no data limit" mod that actually fixes the problem
cmlusco and tiny4579 for all their help answering questions and troubleshooting in this thread
The Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to perform this fix:
An HTC Incredible (obviously) with an SD card
A micro USB cable (you can use the one you charge your phone with)
A computer with a USB port and internet access (PC, Mac, or Linux)
An hour of free time
The Fix
Step 1: Read the "New to Modding/Rooting" guide so you know what you're getting into and can understand the terminology: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=744807
Step 2: Back up your contacts, pictures, etc. This guide is safe for your phone and will not erase any of your data if you follow it correctly, but it never hurts to back things up just in case.
Step 3a: Make sure your phone is decently charged. (at least 50%)
Step 3b: Make sure your phone isn't currently showing the "low on space" error. Delete some apps or data until the error goes away. You don't want to go through all this effort only to have your phone crash halfway through!
Step 4: Uninstall HTC sync software from your computer. Also make sure you are not running any software that communicates to your phone using USB, such as PDANet or DoubleTwist. If you haven't had to plug your phone into your computer to do anything prior to now, you're probably OK.
Step 5: On your phone, go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development and put a check in the "USB debugging" box.
Step 6: Plug your phone into your computer, select "Charge Only", select "remember my selection", click "Done", and then unplug your phone.
Step 7: If you are on a Windows PC, follow this user-friendly guide to install the USB drivers you'll need: http://unrevoked.com/rootwiki/doku.php/public/windows_hboot_driver_install
When I did this step, I actually found my Android entry from the first screenshot in the guide under "Android Phone" and it did not say "Android 1.0". Don't worry, you can still use this entry to continue with the next step in the guide to "Update Driver Software".
Mac and Linux users can skip this step.
Step 8: Root your phone. This step is a bit more involved, so be sure to read the directions carefully. On your phone, go to Menu -> Settings -> About phone -> Software information and look at what it says under "Android version" at the top.
If it says 2.3.4, do this:
Download Clockwork 5.0.2.0: http://dinc.does-it.net/Recoveries/CWM_5.0.2.0/PB31IMG.zip (link updated 6/22/12)
Extract the recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.0-inc.img from the zip file and put it somewhere you'll remember.
Download Unrevoked 3.22 (this is intentionally NOT the latest version): http://dinc.does-it.net/Unrevoked/Unrevoked_3.22.exe (link updated 6/22/12)
Run Unrevoked_3.22.exe
Inside the program, go to File -> Custom Recovery and select the .img file from above. At the bottom of the program window, it should now say "Recovery: Custom" and "Waiting for device"
Plug in your phone and wait while Unrevoked runs automatically. It will reboot your phone several times and will take some time, so be patient!
Once it's done, unplug your phone and ensure that a "Superuser Permissions" application is inside your app drawer. Don't run it. Instead, go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications -> All, scroll down to "Superuser Permissions", click it, then click "Clear data". Return back Home.
If it says anything other than 2.3.4, do this:
Download Unrevoked 3.32: http://www.unrevoked.com/recovery/
Run reflash_package.exe. It may start up right away, or it may ask you to extract the files. Put them somewhere you can find, and once the extraction is done, find and run reflash.exe.
Plug in your phone and wait while Unrevoked runs automatically. It will reboot your phone several times and will take some time, so be patient!
After the above steps, everyone should do this:
Launch the Android Market and search for "ROM Manager". The first result should be "ROM Manager" by ClockworkMod and it should have a picture of a top hat above a gear as its icon. Click it, then click "Download", then "Accept & download". If it is already installed, you can just return Home.
Once ROM Manager has finished installing, launch it and select "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery" (the first option). Confirm your phone model (HTC Incredible). A window will pop up asking for root permissions - click to allow it.
Optional: After the download completes, scroll down and click "Backup Current ROM". You may need a lot of space free on your SD card to perform this backup depending on what you have on your phone. Once you create this backup, you can use ROM Manager to fully restore your phone (including all apps, data, and settings) in case anything goes wrong. This can take a significant amount of time, so again, be patient!
If all went well, your phone should be exactly the same as it was before, except you now have a couple new apps, and more importantly, root access!
Step 9: On your phone, go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development and uncheck the "USB debugging" box.
Step 10: Apply the Fix. This is the step you've been waiting for!
Go to this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1623038, click the link for the EXT4All files in the first post, download "Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik.zip", and put it somewhere you'll remember. You can also go directly to this URL to download the file: http://dinc.does-it.net/EXT4_Mods/ (links updated 6/22/12)
Plug your phone into your computer, bring down the notification bar, select the "USB connection type" item, select "Disk drive", and click Done.
On your computer, find your phone's SD card. If you're unsure which drive is your SD card, look at how big each drive is. The drive that has a size of 6.59GB is the phone's internal memory, so the other drive is the SD card. The SD card that comes with the Incredible is 1.83GB in size, but yours may be different if you bought your own SD card.
Move "Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik.zip" from your computer to the SD card. Do not put it inside any folders.
After the file has finished moving, bring down the notifications bar, select the "USB connection type" item, select "Charge only", then click done.
Unplug your phone from your computer.
Launch ROM Manager from your app drawer and click "Reboot into Recovery" (the second option). Click "OK" to proceed.
After the phone reboots, you will now see a black screen with some blue options on it. Use the volume buttons on the left to scroll down to "install zip from sdcard" and click the optical trackpad button at the bottom of the phone to select it.
Click "choose zip from sdcard" (the first option)
Scroll down to the very bottom and select "Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik.zip"
Scroll down to "Yes - Install Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik.zip" and click it. This step will take some time to complete, and the progress bar may not move at all. Be patient!
Once it is done, click the power button at the top of your phone until you're back at the main menu, then select "Reboot system" (the first option). If you hit power too many times and end up with a blank screen, just hit power one more time and you'll see the menu.
When the phone is done rebooting after this last step, verify that the fix worked by going to Menu -> Settings -> SD & phone storage and look at the "Application data storage" section. It should now say that the "Total space" is 748mb!
At this point you can run happily through an open field, shout from the highest mountaintop, or just shed a tear of joy, because you can now install tons of apps and let them accumulate all the data they want. Enjoy!
P.S. Please let me know if any of these steps are incorrect or unclear so I can fix them. Thanks!
Troubleshooting
Here are a couple of issues people have come across while doing the steps in this guide, along with the solutions. Thanks to cmlusco for these helpful answers!
The guide says my phone should have rebooted back to the main screen, but I'm on a black screen with a bunch of blue options!
If you're on this step and the guide doesn't say you need to be here yet, just use the volume buttons to scroll to the "Reboot System Now" option and click the optical trackpad. Then you can continue on with the guide!
I'm stuck on a black screen with white bars on the side!
If your phone is "s-off", reflash the recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.0-inc.img file from Step #8 using hboot. To get to hboot, turn your phone off, hold the "volume down" button, and turn it back on. Keep holding the "volume down" button until you get to the menu where you can flash the .img file.
If your phone is not "s-off" or you have no idea what "s-off" means, run Unrevoked again with the same .img file from Step #8.
In either case, you should be able to continue using the guide from where you left off!
My phone keeps rebooting over and over and I can't do anything!
Pull out the battery, wait for 15 seconds, and put it back in and turn the phone back on. If it still keeps rebooting, pull out/re-insert the battery again, go into hboot (see above answer) and try the following steps. You can stop as soon as one of them works!
1. Restore a backup that you made in a previous step (if you have one).
2. Reflash the .img file from Step #8.
3. Flash the .img file here: http://dinc.does-it.net/wildstang83_inc_4.08.605.2_11232011.zip (note: this one will take you back to stock, so you'll have to start the guide over).
I'm still stuck!
If all else fails, please post your issue in this thread so someone can help you out. You can also try restoring your backup (you made a backup, right??) and starting over from the top. Good luck!

Potential Alternate Solution
Soniclude that was a great very detailed write up. Here is another option that I found that seems to also solve the dreaded low disk space...
Since you clearly outlined the steps for rooting your device, I wont go into that. But, why stop at fixing one of the most annoying stock problems. Rooting is half the battle to flashing a new rom - which is precisely what I did to stop the LDS issue.
I used to use CM7 and then flashed over to MIUI but recently I flashed the best rom I have used to date - ICS-Dinc AOKP (]http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1475936) which is a full fledged ICS port for your OG Dinc.
Since then I have not received any LDS errors (although I have not been using this ROM that long) but I would assume that it would be similar to my lengthy experience with CM7, in which I never got the LDS warning.
Here is what my device displays as available space for applications
View attachment 895332
As you can see I have used 144MB with 604MB free for a total of 748MB, identified as internal storage.
Also, just so you can see that this ROM is not an ICS overlay and is truly a port, here is the device info
View attachment 895331
72ls1's (the dev for ICS-Dinc AOKP) has some really good directions and make the process very easy.
For those that are interested and need a few more additional details, here are a few things that helped me:
1. Make sure you have backup your device data, this includes your apps, contacts (you should be just setting all contacts to sync with your gmail account to begin with), messages and email settings. Use an app like Titanium Backup for apps; Backup and Restore app for messages; Call Log Restore for calling
2. Download the zip files outline in the ROM posting of your chocie to your sdcard; They should be placed at the top level of your sdcard, meaning not in another folder. The zip files for ICS-Dinc AOK include the ICS-Dinc zip, Gapps (use this one gapps-ics-20120207-signed.zip - http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-ics-20120207-signed.zip), and Tiamat Kernel
3. In Recovery make a backup of your device (in case you need to flash back due to an error)
4. Within Recovery prior to flashing the rom make sure to unmount data, sdcard and cache
5. Then clear cache and dalivik-cache (this one is under the advanced options)
6. Do a factory reset
7. Install from zip in the following order: ICS-Dinc AOK V.02, Gapps, Tiamat
8. Reset your device
Now go enjoy the goodness of a fresh ice cream sandwich!
Hope this helps anyone else out there in either the low disk space issue or that is having questions about flashing a rom.

Where is Unrevoked 3.22?
I'm going to use the downgrade-and-reflash method to root my 2.3.4 Incredible and after reading the forums have spent the supper hour looking around for Unrevoked 3.22. There was a megaupload site that always says bandwidth is exceeded, and one more that I found where everything is in a language I can't decipher.
Does anybody have a working link to 3.22? All I want is to turn on my stupid wireless hotspot so my wife can use her Ipad in teh car without having to pay Verizon another $30 a month for access to data I already have. Argh!
Thanks,
Ryan

Captainjerky said:
I'm going to use the downgrade-and-reflash method to root my 2.3.4 Incredible and after reading the forums have spent the supper hour looking around for Unrevoked 3.22. There was a megaupload site that always says bandwidth is exceeded, and one more that I found where everything is in a language I can't decipher.
Does anybody have a working link to 3.22? All I want is to turn on my stupid wireless hotspot so my wife can use her Ipad in teh car without having to pay Verizon another $30 a month for access to data I already have. Argh!
Thanks,
Ryan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can actually acomplish that without rooting.
Open dial pad and type ##778# and hit call.
Select edit mode and enter six zeros (000000) as the password.
Select security and look for S.IP DUN username, it should look something like this [email protected]. Change it to be [email protected], just remove the "dun.".
Back out to the main menu and select M.IP Default Profile. Look for DUN NAI and change it to be [email protected], remove the "dun."
Hit the menu button and select commit modifications. Your phone will reboot.
Now just use the stock 3g mobile hotspot app. When you first open it it will say you have to have a subscription and pay, just procede you will not be charged, and verizion is none the wiser. I have been doing this my self for over a year now.

Compass sensor broken
Somebody has the same issue? after flashing the zip i cannot use correctly the compass sensor, for example in SkyMaps app.

This is by far the best tutorial out there to gain root and achieve s-OFF I've come across. Thank you SIR for your time and tutorial. Just EXCELLENT!!

for me the issue was my data/data folder (hint dont sync 1500 facebook friends and never do it with high res pics and with two differant apps haha) =] jsut removed all the contacts i didnt need and turned off the sync from normal facebook app and working perfect now

stuck in loop
I followed the instructions for the 2.3.4 and after I applied the Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik fix I got stuck in a loop with at the HTC Incredible boot screen, not sure what to do now.. can only get back to the recovery mode. Not sure what to do from here

scals37 said:
I followed the instructions for the 2.3.4 and after I applied the Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik fix I got stuck in a loop with at the HTC Incredible boot screen, not sure what to do now.. can only get back to the recovery mode. Not sure what to do from here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you made or have a previous roms backup. Just wipe everything in mounts and storage menu except sdcard and emmc, then restore your backup. If you dont have a backup flash a fresh rom.

You kind sir are a gentleman and a scholar. That "low space" bug has been annoying me since July 2009. I greatly appreciate you breaking down the l337 sp33k to plain English.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Captainjerky said:
Does anybody have a working link to 3.22?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
downloads.unrevoked.com/recovery/3.22/reflash_package.exe
---------- Post added at 01:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:11 PM ----------
Thank you for the spectacular write-up, soniclude!!!
Is there a particular reason that you did not suggest using the no_data_limit_dalvik_moved mod?
Does it not work?

[/COLOR]Thank you for the spectacular write-up, soniclude!!!
Is there a particular reason that you did not suggest using the no_data_limit_dalvik_moved mod?
Does it not work?[/QUOTE]
I agree that this was an excellent how to. Thanks for the effort.
I used the no_data_limit_dalvik_moved mod and for some reason, my phone became really laggy. I'm on Pons CM7. 2. Now I'm a little hesitant to use any of the ext4 mods b/c I don't understand them too well. I'm not clear on why there is a partition in the first place. Why htc devs made it so small... Homework to do.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

Thanks cmlusco I used your method to unlock the 3G Hotspot on my phone and it worked like a charm.

Issue in Step 10
Thank you very much for the easy to follow directions soniclude. I went through all the steps and when I got to step 10, I ran into an issue. After clicking on "Reboot into Recovery" the phone restarts and goes to the white htc screen. After that the screen just goes black with thin white lines down the sides and stays like that. So I never see the blue options. Has anyone come across this? If so, what do I do from there?

I get the message: failed to root. is your firmware too new? What now?
Is there anything I can do now to revert my firmware so I can gain root.

joeyz400 said:
I get the message: failed to root. is your firmware too new? What now?
Is there anything I can do now to revert my firmware so I can gain root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your on 2.3.4 you need to follow this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1306400 to root and get s-off.

I understand I could downgrade to 2.2 to get s off but only after I gain root. It seems I can't get rooted because I am running 2.3?
---------- Post added at 06:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------
It looks like the only step diffrent from the link you posted and this one is to run unrevoked as admin

I think I know what is wrong. The link to Unrevoked 3.22 is not working so I googled it and 3.22 came up but it was actually 3.32 that was downloaded and I can't find 3.22 anywhere. Does anyone have a copy of 3.22?

I found the correct 3.22 and now my Incredible is Incredible!!!! Rooted and it feels so good
Thanks for such a great thread!!!!

SWEEEEEET This worked awesome.

[Support Thread] ArchLinux on the TF300T(G)

Hi everyone,
If you have any questions relating to Arch on the TF300, please post them here and not in the dev thread
I'll do my best (as well as others, I'm sure) to answer them, but bear in mind that you should have some basic Linux knowledge before flashing!

this is awesome!
cb22 said:
Hi everyone,
If you have any questions relating to Arch on the TF300, please post them here and not in the dev thread
I'll do my best (as well as others, I'm sure) to answer them, but bear in mind that you should have some basic Linux knowledge before flashing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't thank you enough for this, it's been fantastic so far! I only have a few questions, as I am extremely new to arch linux...as in this is the first time I've used anything aside from debian in the linux world.
To start, how would we go about changing DE's? I've downloaded a couple, but i get errors every time i try to start one saying that another window manager is already running. With ubuntu one just logged out and chose from the log in screen, but there doesn't appear to be a log out process for this, i get a black screen every time i do. Other than that, are there any general programs/settings/tweaks that you would suggest applying? While this is very nice, it still seems to be missing some basic functions, such as putting the screen to sleep and having a set system time.
Despite all of that, this has breathed new life into my tablet, you're doing fantastic work and I hope you only continue to make it more amazing!

fankuan19 said:
To start, how would we go about changing DE's? I've downloaded a couple, but i get errors every time i try to start one saying that another window manager is already running. With ubuntu one just logged out and chose from the log in screen, but there doesn't appear to be a log out process for this, i get a black screen every time i do. Other than that, are there any general programs/settings/tweaks that you would suggest applying? While this is very nice, it still seems to be missing some basic functions, such as putting the screen to sleep and having a set system time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at the .xinitrc file in the home directory. It's a hidden file so you may need to "show hidden" or give an editor the full path (/home/user/.xinitrc)
The file runs the following by default:
Code:
exec startxfce4 --with-ck-launch
You can change everything after `exec` to the script for a different DE, such as `startkde`. If you don't know the command, there should be a list of session templates in /usr/share/xsessions/. Inside each .desktop file there's an "Exec=" line, everything after that is the command to sub in.
My crappy bash skills threw together a quick command to get a list of installed xsessions:
Code:
grep "Exec=" /usr/share/xsessions/*.desktop | sed -E 's/^Exec=(.+)$/\1/'
The output on the default rootfs will just be "startxfce4". If you have KDE another line should output "startkde", and so on. Put the command in your .xinitrc (making sure to replace the current one) and then reboot as there's no proper way to log out.

whoops
timothyb89 said:
Take a look at the .xinitrc file in the home directory. It's a hidden file so you may need to "show hidden" or give an editor the full path (/home/user/.xinitrc)
The file runs the following by default:
Code:
exec startxfce4 --with-ck-launch
You can change everything after `exec` to the script for a different DE, such as `startkde`. If you don't know the command, there should be a list of session templates in /usr/share/xsessions/. Inside each .desktop file there's an "Exec=" line, everything after that is the command to sub in.
My crappy bash skills threw together a quick command to get a list of installed xsessions:
Code:
grep "Exec=" /usr/share/xsessions/*.desktop | sed -E 's/^Exec=(.+)$/\1/'
The output on the default rootfs will just be "startxfce4". If you have KDE another line should output "startkde", and so on. Put the command in your .xinitrc (making sure to replace the current one) and then reboot as there's no proper way to log out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, thanks for the help! Unfortunately, I appear to have done something incorrectly, as the Linux partition will no longer boot. That code didn't return anything but a ">", although as I type this i realize I may have needed to be root...haha, regardless, I tried to edit the .xinitrc file with "exec /bin/usr/startlxde", which is what was after "exec=" in the xsessions directory, nothing happened after waiting quite a while after boot.
I suppose I'll have to reflash the entire partition, considering i can't access the filesystems to change it back. Ah, the wonders of linux!

Sorry if I repeat my question,but how can i activate the keyboard without using a pc with linux ?

fankuan19 said:
First of all, thanks for the help! Unfortunately, I appear to have done something incorrectly, as the Linux partition will no longer boot. That code didn't return anything but a ">", although as I type this i realize I may have needed to be root...haha, regardless, I tried to edit the .xinitrc file with "exec /bin/usr/startlxde", which is what was after "exec=" in the xsessions directory, nothing happened after waiting quite a while after boot.
I suppose I'll have to reflash the entire partition, considering i can't access the filesystems to change it back. Ah, the wonders of linux!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to gain access easily via Recovery. Just adb shell in, mount /dev/mmcblk0p8 /mnt and look in /mnt/linux - that's your root file system...
Razorbacktrack5535 said:
Sorry if I repeat my question,but how can i activate the keyboard without using a pc with linux ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without using a PC... Hmm, that could be tricky. If you're in Android, and you add this line to the top of /data/linux/home/user/.xinitrc
Code:
maliit-server &
(before the exec line)
It should give you the virtual keyboard when you restart into Linux.

cb22 said:
You should be able to gain access easily via Recovery. Just adb shell in, mount /dev/mmcblk0p8 /mnt and look in /mnt/linux - that's your root file system...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was actually able to just use the terminal emulator in android to navigate back to the .xinitrc file, turns out i wasn't supposed to leave the "--with-yadda-yadda" bit, so i got lxde working...and as it turns out, i don't like it nearly as much as the DE you included, so i'll be switching back to that!

First off: thank you SO much for your hard work at this! My tab has never browsed the web this well. It's better than the desktop I'm sitting next to. Arch is amazing!
Just a few questions. Do we have basic tab controls yet? I'm looking for, specifically:
Brightness Control
Enable/Disable Touchpad
Volume Control
Sleep/Suspend/Hibernate
Especially that last one! As far as I can tell, if I'm not going to use the tab for more than a couple minutes, it's apparently best to shut it down or reboot back into Android so it can "sleep". Or plug it in. I know we're rough around the edges yet, but is this stuff in, or no?

koiulpoi said:
First off: thank you SO much for your hard work at this! My tab has never browsed the web this well. It's better than the desktop I'm sitting next to. Arch is amazing!
Just a few questions. Do we have basic tab controls yet? I'm looking for, specifically:
Brightness Control
Enable/Disable Touchpad
Volume Control
Sleep/Suspend/Hibernate
Especially that last one! As far as I can tell, if I'm not going to use the tab for more than a couple minutes, it's apparently best to shut it down or reboot back into Android so it can "sleep". Or plug it in. I know we're rough around the edges yet, but is this stuff in, or no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think sleep/suspend/hibernate is implemented at all quite yet. The backlight seems to turn off completely when the screen times out though so you can fake having a low power mode, though obviously true sleep would be nice.
As for volume control, use pavucontrol. You may need to install it with `pacman -S pavucontrol`.
For brightness ... there's no good way to do this as far as I can tell. XFCE has a brightness control applet you can add to the bottom panel but it doesn't seem to work, and most of the usual packages (e.g. xbacklight, etc) don't detect the backlight device. Oddly enough I gave e17 a try and its builtin brightness applet worked fine, I wonder what they do differently ...
At any rate you can control it manually: the file /sys/class/backlight/pwm-backlight/brightness has a 0-255 value which controls the screen brightness. Note that you need to run the echo command as root
Code:
# echo "1" > /sys/class/backlight/pwm-backlight/brightness # minimum brightness
# echo "255" > /sys/class/backlight/pwm-backlight/brightness # maximum brightness
# echo "0" > /sys/class/backlight/pwm-backlight/brightness # completely turns off backlight. use with care
Setting it to zero makes it next to impossible to see the screen. I ended up having to ssh into the device (or reboot) to get it back.

I modified the file through a PC and It works ! Thanks, no problems with wifi

Sleep / Suspend isn't implemented yet.
But, I did a bit of testing, and the TF should last for about ~40 hours with the screen off, and the processor in the Low Power mode (which it does automatically. Obviously, it's still wasteful compared to proper suspend, but it's not too bad.

Really liking this so far, other than managing to break wifi once, which I fixed by doing a quick re(install I guess is the proper term). Any chance of a future release having SLiM or something setup out of the box(I'd do it but looking at some of the guides, we are missing some files(?) :s) either that or is there a way to autologin a new user other than the default one named user?
(edit for more info) I've tried following a guide I found on the arch wiki which had me modify [email protected], but it didn't boot so I had to edit it back to the default.
Thanks for all your work cb22, and thanks for taking my advice and switching file hosts

This may be a dumb question
But I can't for the life of me find out how to flash the hybridkernel.blob, I've already done every other thing, but i'm lost as to what to do there. Can I get a bit of guidance please?
:Nevermind: Silly me forgot to go to fastboot, I was trying to do it with adb, for any others though, reboot to fastboot on your tf300t and then run go to the location of fastboot on your pc and hold shift and right click and select open comand line here. Then move the hybridkernel.blob to the same location as the fastboot and run fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash staging blob

Shingaling said:
But I can't for the life of me find out how to flash the hybridkernel.blob, I've already done every other thing, but i'm lost as to what to do there. Can I get a bit of guidance please?
:Nevermind: Silly me forgot to go to fastboot, I was trying to do it with adb, for any others though, reboot to fastboot on your tf300t and then run go to the location of fastboot on your pc and hold shift and right click and select open comand line here. Then move the hybridkernel.blob to the same location as the fastboot and run fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash staging blob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disregard, didn't see the edit until after you posted essentially the same thing I did.

So, does Adobe Flash support work at all in Chromium? I haven't gotten it to recognize the plugin at all. Any way to get this working, or is it just gonna keep bugging me to install it?

koiulpoi said:
So, does Adobe Flash support work at all in Chromium? I haven't gotten it to recognize the plugin at all. Any way to get this working, or is it just gonna keep bugging me to install it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it works at all, I've tried every permutation sudo pacman -S flash-plugin that I could think of and I've gotten notwhere.

They is no flash for ARM for pure Linux.
Wysyłane z mojego ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T za pomocą Tapatalk 2

Itege said:
Any chance of a future release having SLiM or something setup out of the box(I'd do it but looking at some of the guides, we are missing some files(?) :s) either that or is there a way to autologin a new user other than the default one named user?
(edit for more info) I've tried following a guide I found on the arch wiki which had me modify [email protected], but it didn't boot so I had to edit it back to the default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory you should be able to install a proper display manager without too many issues:
Code:
# pacman -S lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter
# systemctl enable lightdm
...though when I tried this the DM would never actually be run. I was able to run it manually over SSH without issues (both lightdm and slim worked, more or less). I'm in the process of investigating why it isn't run at startup like it should be, whatever the issue is doesn't seem to be related to the display manager itself.

I have an issue with wifi.
1: The WLAN do not find any Network with Channel 12 or 13.. I think I must change the region in germany, but where?
2. The WLAN do not connect, they search for an network adress and after 30seconds they ask for wlan key again.. the key is correct and my router shows the connection.. but archlinux means the key is wrong.. testet with router und smartphone wlan hotspot..
3. 3G not connecting, i have create a profile for BASE Germany, but they do not connect.
UPDATE:
for 2: Sometimes they connect and I can surf. But the ping are more then 600ms.. After few seconds the connection lost, sometimes they connect again, sometimes say ask for wlan key again.
Maybe you can help me. Sorry for my bad english.
Yours Sincelery
Robert

Could any of you guys find out if you have a process running in "interruptible" state named "kinteractive_lo"?
You can check that using "top" in CLI or installing gnome-system-monitor. I guess the standard xfce task manager works as well.
It's driving me nuts and I believe is one of the reasons why I have to hard-reboot my tablet, since invoking reboot with --force works perfectly.
Thanks in advance!