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I am currently a G1 owner on the fence about rooting my phone, as are many others. One of the first issues I've come across is being overwhelmed by forum threads. Unless I have missed something (and if I did, please point me in the right direction!), everything is posted in forums here, requiring people to pour through tons of posts and pick through the right information.
Is there an official wiki or something where all the latest news, guides, FAQs, etc. are being updated? If not, I'd love to start one, but unfortunately I don't have the knowledge to do so (yet, at least). I'm thinking of a super simple, jargon-free site for users to find answers to their questions, and a simple outlined "official" process for how to begin and where to go from there.
For example, some FAQs..
Can T-Mobile/Google "cut me off" in any way if they determine I have rooted my phone?
If I change my mind later, can I go back to original firmware and leave no trace that I ever rooted the phone in the first place? Future over-the-air updates will install with no issues?
Let's say I mess up during the rooting process. Is there always a way out, or am I screwed?
How safe is storing apps on the SD card? What can happen to my phone, and how do I avoid problems?
What are the JFvX.XX firmware releases? How do they work? Are they required? Are there other alternatives?
What if a future OTA can't be hacked, will we miss out on features?
I've seen various different methods of rooting the G1, which one is the most popular and why?
etc.
This is just an idea, but there's all these questions like this that I know many people have. While these questions can easily be answered in forums, I'm looking for a more convenient solution for the community. As official answers are nailed down, it would be great to have a reference to check with rather than flooding forums with questions.
Anyway, thanks for all the hard work from the developers here. It's really exciting to follow, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the G1!
they have one:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Dream
look first
kay11224 said:
they have one:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Dream
look first
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Thanks for the link, but unfortunately this doesn't seem user friendly (it's filled with unexplained links and jargon), and seems pretty outdated. I'm thinking about info aimed the average n00b end-user here, not developers or people actively following the forums and progress made.
I'm not sure if you understand fully what you're asking. Keeping your phone updated without "actively following the forums and progress made" is a simple task right now, just wait until Google pushes an update for you. If using the search function is too hard for you, I think root access is biting off more than you can chew. All of your FAQ's can easily be found in the development section of the forums. As far as step by step guides are concerned, read the stickies, use the search function, and then ask. It's not complicated at all.
dudinatrix said:
Can T-Mobile/Google "cut me off" in any way if they determine I have rooted my phone?
If I change my mind later, can I go back to original firmware and leave no trace that I ever rooted the phone in the first place? Future over-the-air updates will install with no issues?
Let's say I mess up during the rooting process. Is there always a way out, or am I screwed?
How safe is storing apps on the SD card? What can happen to my phone, and how do I avoid problems?
What are the JFvX.XX firmware releases? How do they work? Are they required? Are there other alternatives?
What if a future OTA can't be hacked, will we miss out on features?
I've seen various different methods of rooting the G1, which one is the most popular and why?
etc.
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1) as far as i'm aware no. They can remove apps from peoples phones (allegedly) but i can't see how they would know you have root, or even care. It's good publicity for the phone if anything.
2) Yup, you can easily un-root your phone and the updates should work correctly.
3) Once you have the hardSPL bootloader loaded it's pretty much impossible to brick your phone, see this thread for details.
4) Not sure about this, so i can't comment
5) the JF firmware releases are essentially hacked firmwares, created by JesusFreke, that allow us to get root access (among other things ). they are incredibly easy to install and they are required for certain things such as, multi-touch. as far as i know, there are no alternatives.
6) They will be as everything is open source. I imagine xda will have a firmware hacked within hours of it's release
7) personally, i find this way the best. nice n simple and easy to follow.
have fun
Iceucold said:
I'm not sure if you understand fully what you're asking. Keeping your phone updated without "actively following the forums and progress made" is a simple task right now, just wait until Google pushes an update for you. If using the search function is too hard for you, I think root access is biting off more than you can chew. All of your FAQ's can easily be found in the development section of the forums. As far as step by step guides are concerned, read the stickies, use the search function, and then ask. It's not complicated at all.
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I am perfectly capable of handling root access. I am a Linux system administrator (among other things) by profession. I admit, this would be my first attempt at "hacking" a device and thus voiding the warranty, hence my hesitation and "noob" questions. Using the search function is not my concern here, but I can appreciate where you're coming from.
What I'm talking about, and what appears to be misinterpreted, is an information source for common end users, not developers or tech-savy users. If I have questions about rooting the G1, certainly those less technically inclined do as well. And unfortunately for them, they don't necessarily even know where to begin looking. I'm talking about people like my brother in law, for example... who probably never used a forum in his life, but wants to have multi-touch on his phone, or change his themes, or find a solution to his constant "low storage" warnings. People like him don't care about hacking into the phone and getting all this flexible access for himself. They just want to take advantage of what's already been achieved, but unfortunately require root to do so.
I agree that it is pretty simple to root the phone, but face it you have to be somewhat comfortable with technology first, even just to obtain the information.
Perhaps now isn't the appropriate time to wrap things up in a bow and give to the general G1 user base in a tidy little easy-to-digest package. As things develop further it may just naturally come about, perhaps via installers or something. I just think it would be helpful to many to have a source written for the common folk with jargon-free information... considering the more people get their hands on it, the more successful the platform can become.
And to Metlus, thanks for being receptive and answering my questions kindly without making me feel judged for asking what I assume many think is a "just search for it" type of post.
Meltus said:
1) as far as i'm aware no. They can remove apps from peoples phones (allegedly) but i can't see how they would know you have root, or even care. It's good publicity for the phone if anything.
2) Yup, you can easily un-root your phone and the updates should work correctly.
3) Once you have the hardSPL bootloader loaded it's pretty much impossible to brick your phone, see this thread for details.
4) Not sure about this, so i can't comment
5) the JF firmware releases are essentially hacked firmwares, created by JesusFreke, that allow us to get root access (among other things ). they are incredibly easy to install and they are required for certain things such as, multi-touch. as far as i know, there are no alternatives.
6) They will be as everything is open source. I imagine xda will have a firmware hacked within hours of it's release
7) personally, i find this way the best. nice n simple and easy to follow.
have fun
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Great post meltus!
If and when you do decide to root g1 take your time and breathe, really isn't too hard just nerve racking the first time. I did it and im not a pro at all so you will probably breeze through it! The advancements made so far are unreal, auto browser, themes and many more make rooting well worth it in my opinion
I'm not sure if it gets any easier than this, but gizmodo today posted what looks like the easiest "recipe" yet for rooting the G1:
How To: Hack Android For Multitouch Web Browsing on the T-Mobile G1
New to the whole android OS and above all LEARNING more than anything. Finally rooted and rooted correctly. What should I do now? I Have a couple of root only apps but nothing super special. I want to take my incredible to it's full potential.
Reason for this thread being started is because there isn't really any literature out there for beginners like myself. Just a bunch of gibberish that doesn't make sense. So let's take this time to expand the android community to it's full potential. Keep the flaming to a minimum because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
I want to send another special thanks to the Unrevoked team for their stupid easy root methods.
This was my first touch screen phone in general, let alone on the android operating system. So far I have root, an overclocked undervolted kernel, I have flashed several roms, and I take advantage of the many root specific apps like wifi tether. There are threads for people who are learning and if you did a good search you would find that they would be very useful to people like you and me. I don't want to sound like I am calling you clueless but there is so much out there that is really not that complicated to learn . This attatchment is one example. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=709220
Also I know when you first click the link it shows you confusing terminology but the point is explained in that very helpful thread. good luck.
There are a lot of searches out there yes. But that's exactly it a search query - there isn't anything that has it all in one easy to find spot. That's what I was trying to get at.
I've been through that thread MULTIPLE times and learned a ton from it. But there is NOTHING in there saying why you should or should NOT do it along with some sort of review from someone. It's almost like there is a bunch of software out there but only certain ones catch recognition. Everyone gravitates towards what the bigger names on the forums are doing. That's great yes, but you also have to remember that they use their devices for a LOT more than what most people do. So there wouldn't be a need for a full terminal app or some sort of reg editing app.
Another thing I'd like to mention is that for people like myself root really means nothing other than being able to use some apps in the market that require it and custom skinning.
If you wanted to learn the meanining of the terminology I hope this could help you.
http://www.incredibleforum.com/foru...-dummies-guide-android-terminology-lingo.html
Now I'm fully aware of my n00b status, and will not deny it at all, however last night when I was in the midst of my ROM installation fiasco (worked out well in the end!) I thought of something that might be pretty useful when doing all this flashing back to stock in order to load a custom rom...(and then messing up the custom rom, then loading backup, then messing that up, then almost bricking, then freaking out over possible brick, then figuring out how to really use ODIN3, then starting stock, lol....the past 12 hours has been a serious learning experience, but fun now that it's done)
The process I followed to install the Cognition ROM involved taking my bone stock captivate and rooting it, then installing ROM Manager, then backup, etc....Here's my suggestion, take it for what it's worth, and if I'm overstepping my boundaries, try to be nice about letting me know
I've noticed that there are many root "packages" where it installs root, and lagfixes, and a ton of other stuff, but (and maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but I've looked...) I noticed there isn't just a root "package" that ONLY roots the phone and installs ROM Manager only...this is my suggestion- make one! Maybe include Titanium backup, but since I was a bone stock Captivate, I didn't really have too much invested in apps, since I knew I was going to be going back and forth, and I intend on keeping it that way for a while, since I am still learning. But yeah- Root, ROM Manager, and Titanium Backup package would pretty much be the sh*t!
Now, I know I haven't contributed a damn thing to this forum, but this seems like it would be a handy tool to have, and while it's benefits are marginal (you save the whole 3 or 4 minutes to go to the market and install these apps) it makes life a little easier in a world where life isn't always easy (as I found out last night/this morning
If something like this exists already, forgive me for my ignorance and please point me in the right direction. I'm not trying to step on any toes or offend anyone, I just think this would be handy to have, and judging from the knowledge floating around this forum, it *seems* like it would be something fairly elementary for some of you extremely knowledgeable folks to do..
My apologies for such a long-winded post, but I tend to be that way, and again...thanks to all on this forum for a treasure trove of information to read through and slowly acquaint myself with the Android OS...It's hella better than the 3gs Iphone I previously had.......
Welcome aboard. I will say this first, post in the proper area of the forum, this belongs in the general discussion area, for future reference, this is the developement forum.
There are one click root methods, there are other packages that remove AT&T bloat and toss in a few other goodies. A word of caution, read, read, read, learn as much as you can from all of our mistakes before you go making the same ones. You should read an entire thread before jumping ahead and flashing, that way you avoid fiascos and possible brick your phone. Read all of the stickies at the top of the page, then browse all of the topics discussed, usually if you read an entire thread your questions will be answered in it. If you run into trouble and need help you will find it here. Happy hunting!
Root: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=739304
ROM Manager and Titanium: Get them from the market.
Rhiannon224 said:
Welcome aboard. I will say this first, post in the proper area of the forum, this belongs in the general discussion area, for future reference, this is the developement forum.
There are one click root methods, there are other packages that remove AT&T bloat and toss in a few other goodies. A word of caution, read, read, read, learn as much as you can from all of our mistakes before you go making the same ones. You should read an entire thread before jumping ahead and flashing, that way you avoid fiascos and possible brick your phone. Read all of the stickies at the top of the page, then browse all of the topics discussed, usually if you read an entire thread your questions will be answered in it. If you run into trouble and need help you will find it here. Happy hunting!
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+1 to this and yes there is indeed a one-click root already (as bare as you can get). installing ROM manager and titanium can be your job after that (how hard is that? takes like 5 seconds). and yes, read! reading is your friend! read read read read and then when you feel like you've learned everything you can, read more because you still haven't figured it all out. and again, because this doesn't provide anything NEW or unique to Android running on the Samsung Captivate, please keep it to General.
Thanks and enjoy your phone
Rhiannon224 said:
Welcome aboard. I will say this first, post in the proper area of the forum, this belongs in the general discussion area, for future reference, this is the developement forum.
There are one click root methods, there are other packages that remove AT&T bloat and toss in a few other goodies. A word of caution, read, read, read, learn as much as you can from all of our mistakes before you go making the same ones. You should read an entire thread before jumping ahead and flashing, that way you avoid fiascos and possible brick your phone. Read all of the stickies at the top of the page, then browse all of the topics discussed, usually if you read an entire thread your questions will be answered in it. If you run into trouble and need help you will find it here. Happy hunting!
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Click to collapse
Cool. I will be sure to post correctly next time. Maybe a mod can move this thread.
As far as reading, that's all I've been doing for the past 2 months (hence, my low post count...didn't want to post when an answer is around the corner) Coming from the Iphone, this is a whole new monster, and all the reading I've done has benefited me infinitely
pyrplhaze said:
Cool. I will be sure to post correctly next time. Maybe a mod can move this thread.
As far as reading, that's all I've been doing for the past 2 months (hence, my low post count...didn't want to post when an answer is around the corner) Coming from the Iphone, this is a whole new monster, and all the reading I've done has benefited me infinitely
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Enjoy your phone, I love mine, I'm a noob too and I spend hours everyday studying these forums. Everyone on here is very helpfull, I use Designgears stuff and love it. His new ROM is amazing it will make your phone fly. My phone has never worked like this, my battery life has improved drastically since flashing this ROM last night. Here's a link to the thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=786532
Rhiannon224 said:
Enjoy your phone, I love mine, I'm a noob too and I spend hours everyday studying these forums. Everyone on here is very helpfull, I use Designgears stuff and love it. His new ROM is amazing it will make your phone fly. My phone has never worked like this, my battery life has improved drastically since flashing this ROM last night. Here's a link to the thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=786532
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Yes, but she needs to show it off in her signature... =)
techmik67 said:
Yes, but she needs to show it off in her signature... =)
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I was enjoying it so much I forgot to update my signature. I've been hanging out here trying to help answer some questions, thanks for catching that.
What are all the things I need become a full root user?
What do I need to use everything and have everything?
Like Unrevoked forever or 3.21 rooting?
Custom recovery,custom Rom,kernel,free WiFi tethering,nand unlock and backup,what apps to have everything and how to become a superuser and update the radio(if necessary)
How to back up my Rom in Rom manager.
Please step by step.
And in order please,
I need to learn how to do all of this.
Can someone help me with all the content of new to root?
I need to know what I need to do and how to do it.
What I'm missing and how I can back things up.
Like how to get nand unlock and backup.
How I install Roms and update the radio? Is that still needed?
Sent from my HTC EVO
Sent from my HTC EVO
As much as I can't stand the people who say, "Use the Search Tool!" and then brush you off, I've got to say that after reading your post I can somewhat sympathize with them.
Your question(s) have been answered ad nauseum across these boards and a very quick search could provide the resources you are looking for far quicker than it takes to write a post and wait for an answer. I'm sure you can imagine what these boards would look like if every one of the thousands of people with the same questions as you simply posted them as you did rather than searching and reading. As the single best source for all things android and possibly the largest, it would be 90% posts just like yours and 10% of everything else. It is simply impossible and unreasonable to expect anything different.
But, I digress...
In regards to rooting the EVO... Again, it would be redundant for me or anyone else for that matter to give you step by step instructions since the answers are freely and easily available in the "Android Development" section of the EVO subforum. That said, here are two great places to start:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=787304
and
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=765496
The above two links will take you directly to the two threads representing the two different root methods. In sum, the top one is the easiest and the second one is more involved but the end result as far as the phone is concerned is identical. Lots of folks recommend the harder method simply because of the value in what you learn in the process. That said, between those two threads I think you will find all the answers you are looking for and more.
Link To Tutorial Blog
Hear me out on this one--I think it's a swell idea.
I'm a huge advocate of having very well tagged, chronicled, and accessible information for technical items. Being a novice myself with hacking, theming, flashing, and all the like, I always appreciate it greatly when there are really solid quality tutorials covering exactly what I want to do myself. What is it that the general population of Droid 2 users want? How to root, theme, and flash. Even for tasks as simple as running a one-touch root, some users may be frightened to try it because they're not tech-savvy and think they may load a file to an improper location, press the wrong button with their single touch, etc... Well written tutorials with screenshots make the tech world less daunting for newcomers, and that's something I definitely want to help with!
Being biased to Tumblr since I freaking love the site, I'd like to suggest that a blog be started there. I'll be making a mock-up tonight of the design, or maybe even flat out creating the blog, but the Tumblr theme creation really makes it easy to make your blog look like a fully functioning website. What's perfect about it is that you can make any blog you create into a Group Blog, which is what I propose for this "project." Multiple users are allowed to post and edit posts on the blog, so we wouldn't even have to have a shared account on the site.
I'd like to open this up to serious tutorial writers only! Each tutorial should have a minimum of two screenshots or pictures of your Droid 2 going through important steps for each subject we cover.
I understand wholeheartedly if no one would like to volunteer until they see a tutorial from me first. Once I have the blog up-to-snuff with my own web design standards, I'll dive in to how to root your phone. I might even post a few tutorials for rooting, depending on how many methods I run into.
If you're interested, you can either shoot me an email to allyouhavetolose(at)gmail(dot)com or chat me up on Skype (username: misterivanovich). Don't worry, I totally won't get [fully] naked if we video chat.
Make your way to Droid 2 Development where there are:
Directories on everything Droid 2 related, tutorials, and video tutorials...
And better yet, they are already stickied.
I did find a few nicely done tutorials, but that's just not quite the feel that I'm going for. While those tutorials are informative, they are very technical. If you take a look at Skull One's Overclocking 101 thread on droidforums.net, that's more along the lines of what I want to do (his is WAY more in depth than I care to get with my tutorials though!).
I have the beginnings of the Tumblr page done (which I will link to after I've posted 8+ times here haha), but I haven't finished editing my first tutorial just yet. Really, I'm going to be doing this half as a chronicle of my own learning, because I'm really not well versed with Android customization in any way--I've also been having quite a bit of difficulty getting familiarized with it because of the way that I learn and the way the tutorials are written. For that reason, I'll be writing my own tutorials knowing very well that there has to be at least ONE other person out there that will benefit from it haha. And if I can help one person, then that's kosher with me.
I have updated the first post with a link to the tutorial blog. Although it is incomplete in design and I haven't finished or edited the tutorial I have posted, you can get the general idea for what it is I'm going for. At least I think you can...
Again, anyone who feels like contributing, feel free to shoot me an email or get in touch with me on Skype or via PM here on the board. You are also welcome to give me suggestions for future tutorials, correct me if I've written something incorrectly, etc... All of which will be credited wherever applicable.
Though I appreciate your good intentions, your blog/tutorial thing is... well... time not being put to good use. First of all, there are already tutorials on how to SBF your phone. I would know. I wrote one almost 6 months ago. And there are others out as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770224
and/or here:
http://www.kimete.com/sbfrsd.html
I don't see why you are rewriting everything unless there is a need to. Now, if you feel like my tutorial is lacking in quality or quantity, I certainly encourage you to rewrite a guide, write an updated one, or whatever. But what you are doing is recreating stuff that ALREADY exists. Additionally, you didn't even write correct directions to SBF'ing the phone. Not only incorrect, but you have incomplete directions and procedures. In my opinion, your tutorial is incredibly misleading and very inaccurate and will throw a lot of people off.
Well, even if it's not time put to good use for anyone else, I will be benefitting from my own blog. I think it will help me to understand things a bit more if I'm writing it all--sort of like how when you lead a study session, you end up being super refreshed on the topic yourself.
I'm not opposed to, with proper permission and ample credit given where due, just following other tutorials that have already been written and showing screen shots of the process that I follow as outlined by someone else. Some tutorials have no real need to be rewritten, but do lack a visual element in my opinion. I almost want to be able to know what I have to do without even reading the post and looking at the pictures (almost... I realize that's a stupid goal to take literally).
I'll check out your guide for flashing an SBF and figure out what is so terrible and misleading about mine, then I'll fix it haha. I'm not looking to replace any of the tutorials that anyone else has already done--I simply want a super compiled and organized list of them, if only for my own use. But I'm pretty sure that at least one more person out there in the world, somewhere, may eventually one day sort of be happy that I did it. :]
The reason why your tutorial is so misleading is because
1. You have no real knowledge of the topic at hand.
and 2. Because of number 1, your work is incomplete, and not
I have no problem with you taking my tutorial here on XDA and making edits and additions. Add pictures, or make additional notes, or what not. Of course, give credit where due.
But whatever you do, 1. Don't rewrite things that already exist, and 2. know what you are writing about before you write about it. My tutorial has gone through countless revisions. Additions, subtractions, rewording, simplifying the process for the end-user, troubleshooting of errors. EVERYTHING!
In all honesty, if you want to contribute, take my work, run through it on your own phone, and make additions and edits to that.
Well, I wouldn't say I don't know anything about the topic. I DID already flash a SBF to my phone before I wrote the guide, I just didn't read up more than I had to on the topic--I found out how to use RSD Lite, found the .sbf file, knew I would want to make backups first, then dove right into it. I can't say that I agree with you that my guide is really missing much as a general outline for flashing an SBF, but like I said in one of my posts already, I haven't even finished that tutorial yet! I just posted a link to it so that if anyone were interested in helping me compile it all on to the tumblr, they could see what the blog looked like and a very, very general idea of what a post would look like.
I'll certainly be going back to edit that tutorial plenty. That is, after I finish it in the first place.
allyouhave said:
Well, I wouldn't say I don't know anything about the topic. I DID already flash a SBF to my phone before I wrote the guide, I just didn't read up more than I had to on the topic--I found out how to use RSD Lite, found the .sbf file, knew I would want to make backups first, then dove right into it. I can't say that I agree with you that my guide is really missing much as a general outline for flashing an SBF, but like I said in one of my posts already, I haven't even finished that tutorial yet! I just posted a link to it so that if anyone were interested in helping me compile it all on to the tumblr, they could see what the blog looked like and a very, very general idea of what a post would look like.
I'll certainly be going back to edit that tutorial plenty. That is, after I finish it in the first place.
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I believe what the point here is rather than redo tutorials that have already been done, why not look into something new.
You know how if you read someone's phone number to yourself, then try to dial it the next day, you forget it entirely--but if you had written down the phone number, your chances of remembering it are significantly better?
It's kinda like that. Like I said, this is for my own benefit, I was just opening it up to the community to put all of the Droid 2 tutorials in one common space.
allyouhave said:
You know how if you read someone's phone number to yourself, then try to dial it the next day, you forget it entirely--but if you had written down the phone number, your chances of remembering it are significantly better?
It's kinda like that. Like I said, this is for my own benefit, I was just opening it up to the community to put all of the Droid 2 tutorials in one common space.
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Do as you desire, however I was shedding light on DarkOnion's mindset as I see it.