Database Users

[Q] To flash or not to flash?

I've had my Fascinate for a few days now and absolutely love it.
So far I've been running stock. I've replaced TW with launcher Pro, hidden Verizon bloatware and rooted my phone. Bing isn't an issue because my homepage is set to Google. Should I stay on stock hoping that I'll get the 2.2 OTA soon or should I dive in and install custom ROMS?
What would be my primary benefits if I install custom ROMS? Any disadvantages?
I apologize if this question has been asked before. I tried searching the first few pages but couldn't find anything.

no replies?

I recommend you install clockworkmod, download rom manager,and buy the premium license, and use it to make a backup of your stock rom, then in rom manager you can download many roms, kernels and themes, and if you have any problem you can always use your backups to gwt back to where you want, just stay away drom vodoo, anyways when we get feoyo, we will get a costumized froyo rom from our fine developers here at Xda
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Rom Questions

Hey Guys, sorry if this has been covered before but I have been reading these forums since I got my Fascinate on launch day and am still confused. I am rooted with clockwork installed and I have flashed some roms but never kept any on, always just restored with clockwork. Also I have DJ05 on my phone.
1) Is there a way flash a rom and not lose all of my apps and the way my phone is set up. I like the way Super dark looks in the screen shots but don't have time to set my phones up again. Is what I want a theme?
2) Another issue I have is that I like the way samsung has the puzzle piece for texts and missed calls on the lock screen that take me right to my messages, are there any roms that have that incorporated.
Thanks for the help
Sal

1. You can use titanium pro to back up your apps. If you are using launcher pro it will save all your settings as well so it will be the same setup. You could also just install a theme which if you do that there is not a need to erase cache/data and you lose nothing.
2. I do believe you can install the puzzle lock screen if you wish, but don't quote me
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

You don't have to wipe data when you flash a rom. While it is recommended, I wait to see if I have issues after the flash before wiping.
Sent from my Super Clean Voodoo Fascinate

imnuts said:
You don't have to wipe data when you flash a rom. While it is recommended, I wait to see if I have issues after the flash before wiping.
Sent from my Super Clean Voodoo Fascinate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well there ya go, I thought it was basically a must.

Yes, you can flash a rom. Just flash the theme again after the new rom is flashed.
If you look in cwm, look under blackhole rom. There are different stock options that you can individually select to update. The puzzle unlock is one of the .zip's that are ready to be flashed.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm gonna try them out tonight after work. I backed up with titanium backup using dropbox last night. So I'm ready to go with the roms.
RacerXFD said:
If you look in cwm, look under blackhole rom. There are different stock options that you can individually select to update. The puzzle unlock is one of the .zip's that are ready to be flashed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just one more question regarding the puzzle lock. Do I have to have blackhole installed to use it or can I have like super dark or any other rom or theme with it?
Thanks again for the help
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Okay I finally got around to flashing a rom. I went with super dark and after I flash the puzzle Lock from son of sky walker But when I get text messages they don't come up on the lock screen. You guys have any idea how I could make That happen?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

[ROM][Stock 3.2]][CWM][7310UEKJ5][rooted + busybox] P7310 WiFi only

HC 3.2 P7310 P7310XAR P7310UEKJ5
Here is a stock 3.2 ROM for P7310 (WiFi) that I built from a system.img and boot.img from P7310XXKJ4(thanks nirogu325!). This is good for folks that like stock and can't flash with ODIN and for ROM bases\components etc.
CWM Recovery flashable (system and stock kernel included)
Install wipe caches, dalvik cache, and replaces the system partition. It will not touch /data unless you do so in CWM (see install below).
Deodexed
Zipaligned
Rooted + busybox
Removed the plethora of annoying widgets from the home screens that came from the factory.
Removed some DOA 0 byte APKs (AndroidTabletGNA_v1.apk, BoxAndroidApp.apk, WeatherBugTablet.apk, and SamsungHelpCenter_P7310_v001.apk)
Works great with my v2 kernel for HC 3.2 If you had my kernel already, you need to reflash it after flashing this zip since it contains the stock kernel.
Note: This ROM is deodexed. It will boot slow the first time and apps will load slower the first time you use them. It will then get faster, so give it a chance.
MD5 36bf2f8659b6f8087bdbf31ba370fe87
StockHC32_P7310XARP7310UEKJ5.zip
Backup:
Backup your existing ROM with CWM first.
Install Fresh:
Wipe data\factory reset from CWM recovery and flash the zip. When it boots, it will start the setup wizard like you just bought it.
Upgrade:
If you have stock 3.2 KJ4, you may be able to get way with just a flash without wiping data. It seems to be working OK for me. If you have any issues, I recommend installing fresh. This worked great for me as well.
As-is...I will provide no support for this stock ROM.

Thanks a lot! Gonna flash this tomorrow (almost 12am here lol). Will let you know how your kernel goes on my tab this time (crossing fingers).

nirogu325 said:
Thanks a lot! Gonna flash this tomorrow (almost 12am here lol). Will let you know how your kernel goes on my tab this time (crossing fingers).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
want ro try it but what to install in order to backup my original rom? root follow by cwm willso?

mynewuser said:
want ro try it but what to install in order to backup my original rom? root follow by cwm willso?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overcome CWM Recovery - Nandroid Backup procedure: Go to the CWM Recovery > Nandroid menu > Backup or Restore. This ROM is already rooted if that was your last question.

Curious little typo Samsung made in the MTP Application, when you connect it says "MTP initialisation" instead of initialization. This is also present on the previous KJ4.

nirogu325 said:
Curious little typo Samsung made in the MTP Application, when you connect it says "MTP initialisation" instead of initialization. This is also present on the previous KJ4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The UK guys are going to disagree

_motley said:
The UK guys are going to disagree
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol yeah. It was with a "z" in KHA. So far this firmware's quicker than KHA. Got it OC'ed (with your kernel) up to 1.4 and UV'ed -75 only the higher freqs. All is well.

nirogu325 said:
Lol yeah. It was with a "z" in KHA. So far this firmware's quicker than KHA. Got it OC'ed (with your kernel) up to 1.4 and UV'ed -75 only the higher freqs. All is well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, great to hear it is working for you!

Nvm. 10char

hi, do you know if this firmware samsung-updates.com/gt-p7310-galaxy-tab-8-9-wi-fi/ is the same as you have. .? second i have the firmware 3.1 P7310UEKHA do you know if i can flash this firmware or i wait for an ota update. .?
i ask because last time i had other tablet and i install another firmware from other region and i got and error of android process and i got infinite loop, please let me know
thanks

stsights said:
hi, do you know if this firmware samsung-updates.com/gt-p7310-galaxy-tab-8-9-wi-fi/ is the same as you have. .? second i have the firmware 3.1 P7310UEKHA do you know if i can flash this firmware or i wait for an ota update. .?
i ask because last time i had other tablet and i install another firmware from other region and i got and error of android process and i got infinite loop, please let me know
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This firmware was leaked by samfirmware.com (soon to be sammobile.com). It is a stock ROM as the title says, but it is a leak (as in let's say a beta firmware), a stable one as I've had it installed since the 3rd of this month. If you'd rather wait for an OTA then you're welcome, it's all your choice. Be sure to follow instructions and you'll be fine with no bootloops. Don't be afraid to ask if help is needed.

So..XAR = EU and KHA=US I assume?
I think I read on overcome thread, saying there is no hardware difference between regions...just localized apps....which means ROMs are interchangeable?
Thanks for your time, guys!

Hey Motley!
Will there also be a 3G version of this rom? I'd like to install a stock android 3.2 rom to my 7300 but I don't find a version that is flashable with CWM recovery.

maturate said:
So..XAR = EU and KHA=US I assume?
I think I read on overcome thread, saying there is no hardware difference between regions...just localized apps....which means ROMs are interchangeable?
Thanks for your time, guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
US region is XAB me thinks. Oh and it doesn't matter which region you choose since you can choose your preferred language at the startup wizard.
jenne1980 said:
Hey Motley!
Will there also be a 3G version of this rom? I'd like to install a stock android 3.2 rom to my 7300 but I don't find a version that is flashable with CWM recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted a little ODIN guide in my latest post at the 7300 KJ5 thread.

jenne1980 said:
Hey Motley!
Will there also be a 3G version of this rom? I'd like to install a stock android 3.2 rom to my 7300 but I don't find a version that is flashable with CWM recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, this is just a stock Wifi-only ROM that is prepped for CWM flashing. nirogu325 pointed you in the right direction for the equivalent stock ROM for the 7300 (3G), but you have to use ODIN to flash.
The 3G folks really need someone to do some CWM conversions for the stock 7300 ROMs so you don't have to use ODIN all the time. ODIN is great for low level recovery when all else fails, but it really sucks for day to day use as well as for avid ROM flashers since you have to re-root and re-install recovery etc. If you do go through all these things, at least make sure you do a CWM backup so you have a quick way to flash back to stock next time.

When you say stock do you mean no TouchWiz or stock as in just a rooted/deodexed version of the standard Samsung ROM? I'm looking for a plain Honeycomb 3.2 ROM. I'm downloading this anyway but if someone responds before it'll save me a bit of time Thanks!

d1gw33d said:
When you say stock do you mean no TouchWiz or stock as in just a rooted/deodexed version of the standard Samsung ROM? I'm looking for a plain Honeycomb 3.2 ROM. I'm downloading this anyway but if someone responds before it'll save me a bit of time Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no 8.9 ROMs that lack TouchWiz yet. If you want lag out, change launchers. I suggest ADWLauncher EX due to its new hardware acceleration functions in tablets.

Yeah I've been using ADW and its great. It's just a few little things with TouchWiz that I don't like... I want a stock (black) launcher bar on the bottom and black system menu & browser.

Overcome 1.2 Theme for KJ5
d1gw33d said:
Yeah I've been using ADW and its great. It's just a few little things with TouchWiz that I don't like... I want a stock (black) launcher bar on the bottom and black system menu & browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOTE: I only have the 7310 (Wi-Fi) unit so this is not tested for the 7300 KJ5.
I can help you out with the bar and toggle menu, but not the browser and Settings, I'm afraid. Here's a CWM flashable I made with images from the old Overcome 1.2 ROM and a revert just in case.
Credit goes to alterbridge86 .

3.2 ROM issue with IMAP email client
Hey all,
I flashed this ROM and it works great with one exception. I use IMAP email which was working fine in 3.1 and works fine now with a 3rd party email client but with the mail app in this ROM all IMAP folders are empty. Sending emails through smtp okay but syncing IMAP results in only retrieving folders but all empty.
Any help or alternative is welcome, I don't want to go back but my only option is now POP or 3rd party IMAP app (which I don't like - they are all for lower phone resolution).
Thanks

[Q] Nexus 4 Custom Kernel Help

Hi, I am a recent iPhone convert thanks to the Nexus 4. So obviously I am new to rooting, custom ROMS, and custom kernels. I am currently rooted and am running a recent CM 10.1 nightly. However, battery life isn't all that great.
A friend of mine told me that a custom kernel can drastically improve battery life without hurting performance. So here I am hoping that someone can help me. Can anyone recommend a good kernel that will improve battery life without hurting speed?
Also, what are the steps for installing a custom kernel? What about going back to stock in case I have to send my phone in for an RMA or something like that? Is that easy to do?
Thanks in advance for the help!

Try Franco or Harsh or trinity .
Custom kernels are more about under clocking a few things here and there to get best balance between performance and battery life thats and some tweaks which are generally inbuilt .
But tbh not all phone's are same what works for me and few others might not fetch u the same results, i've experienced this over my previous nexus device .
Some combo of ROM/kernel might work for u and not so well for other's i would say try out all the main stream kernels and some more if your'e feeling epxerimental give each kernel 2 to 5 days and see which u like the best.
Personally i've had good results with harsh kernel and franco and trinity .

berz said:
Try Franco or Harsh or trinity .
Custom kernels are more about under clocking a few things here and there to get best balance between performance and battery life thats and some tweaks which are generally inbuilt .
But tbh not all phone's are same what works for me and few others might not fetch u the same results, i've experienced this over my previous nexus device .
Some combo of ROM/kernel might work for u and not so well for other's i would say try out all the main stream kernels and some more if your'e feeling epxerimental give each kernel 2 to 5 days and see which u like the best.
Personally i've had good results with harsh kernel and franco and trinity .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have one that you would suggest for a first time newbie? Also, what is the process for installing it and potentially uninstalling it back to stock?

Everything is easy to do. AS LONG AS YOU READ FIRST before doing anything You can start by reading the guides found here in the Nexus 4 General thread.
So far, the best for both performance and battery for me is Trinity kernel.
By the way, to install a custom kernel:
1. Install proper drivers for nexus 4 in your pc.
2. Unlock your bootloader.
3. Install custom recovery like CWM or TWRP Recovery
4. Start flashing your choice of kernels!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

wtfshouldidonow said:
Everything is easy to do. AS LONG AS YOU READ FIRST before doing anything You can start by reading the guides found here in the Nexus 4 General thread.
So far, the best for both performance and battery for me is Trinity kernel.
By the way, to install a custom kernel:
1. Install proper drivers for nexus 4 in your pc.
2. Unlock your bootloader.
3. Install custom recovery like CWM or TWRP Recovery
4. Start flashing your choice of kernels!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice! I am currently using CWM and have an unlocked boot loader. Is it as simple as downloading a zip, going into recovery, and installing the zip from "sd card"? If so, where can I find the zip for trinity? And how can I go back to stock in case something goes wrong?

There are post on xda and you could Google it. Just download it on your nexus and flash it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

strausd said:
Thanks for the advice! I am currently using CWM and have an unlocked boot loader. Is it as simple as downloading a zip, going into recovery, and installing the zip from "sd card"? If so, where can I find the zip for trinity? And how can I go back to stock in case something goes wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to be always safe and sure, then BEFORE flashing anything, go to CWM, choose backup and restore, then choose backup. That is called a nandroid backup. It might take a long time depending on how much apps you have. After the nandroid backup takes place, then you're free to flash the zip for trinity that you've downloaded.
I also suggest that you do backups often and delete old ones (you can delete old backups in the "backups and restore" part of CWM). So that incase anything goes wrong when you flash something, just go back to recovery mode, then restore your latest backup and you can undo your wrongs
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

wtfshouldidonow said:
If you want to be always safe and sure, then BEFORE flashing anything, go to CWM, choose backup and restore, then choose backup. That is called a nandroid backup. It might take a long time depending on how much apps you have. After the nandroid backup takes place, then you're free to flash the zip for trinity that you've downloaded.
I also suggest that you do backups often and delete old ones (you can delete old backups in the "backups and restore" part of CWM). So that incase anything goes wrong when you flash something, just go back to recovery mode, then restore your latest backup and you can undo your wrongs
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So nandroid backups also backup the kernel?

strausd said:
So nandroid backups also backup the kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bump. i also need to know the answer to this question.
EDIT: nvm found my answer, it backups the kernel too.
admins can delete this

imeem said:
bump. i also need to know the answer to this question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nandroid backs up everything. it basically takes a snapshot of the state your device is in when you back it up, then restored your phone to exactly how it was before the backup.

Coming from HTC One S (and a whole lot of HTC family before that) and not having to deal with S-Off dilemma is a whole new free world for me (you can say i am institutionalized).
If I want to flash a rom and not the kernel included in it, can I just remove the boot.img file from the rom's zip and flash it? Or is that not a good idea?

justthefacts said:
Coming from HTC One S (and a whole lot of HTC family before that) and not having to deal with S-Off dilemma is a whole new free world for me (you can say i am institutionalized).
If I want to flash a rom and not the kernel included in it, can I just remove the boot.img file from the rom's zip and flash it? Or is that not a good idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. you need to flash the whole zip. without a kernel, your device is an expensive brick. the kernel control pretty much everything and connects the hardware to the software. you can always flash another kernel after flashing the rom zip.

simms22 said:
no. you need to flash the whole zip. without a kernel, your device is an expensive brick. the kernel control pretty much everything and connects the hardware to the software. you can always flash another kernel after flashing the rom zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply.
Are all kernels pretty much compatible with all roms?

justthefacts said:
Thanks for the reply.
Are all kernels pretty much compatible with all roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all nexus 4 kernels are compatible with all nexus 4 roms. if you flash a non nexus 4 kernel onto your nexus, you will most likely brick it.

Sounds great. This will be my first Nexus experience. Love this forum already. A very mature crowd.

[Q] Former moderator with Noob questions

Okay, I have not flashed in about a year since I got my knox-ridden Note 3 and I am ready to get back into the game. I have busted knox and installed CWM touch and have a couple of questions
Do you still have to do a full wipe on all roms first time out?
Is there a way to quickly reinstall all of your programs that is reliable (cwm backup, titanium etc)
If yes to last what should i not restore does anything cause problems
Are there any tips
What is the most stable full featured rom (I know everyone has a favorite)

blackinjun said:
Okay, I have not flashed in about a year since I got my knox-ridden Note 3 and I am ready to get back into the game. I have busted knox and installed CWM touch and have a couple of questions
Do you still have to do a full wipe on all roms first time out?
Is there a way to quickly reinstall all of your programs that is reliable (cwm backup, titanium etc)
If yes to last what should i not restore does anything cause problems
Are there any tips
What is the most stable full featured rom (I know everyone has a favorite)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full wipe is advisable yes, but I've dirty flashed plenty of times previously.
Yeah you can use titanium backup to restore apps just don't do it for system apps
Make sure you make an EFS backup, use the script i n the dev section and avoid play store efs backup apps as they brick Samsung devices.
Cwm touch is great, however it's not supported anymore (philz has stopped development and cwm is outdated) switch over to TWRP.
To summerise.
Flash twrp (don't need root FYI) then flash your ROMs as and when you need/want.
Sent from my Spectrum ZX +2

I think the Galaxy S5 Stock ROM is very stable and featureful

This_Guyse said:
I think the Galaxy S5 Stock ROM is very stable and featureful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashable on the note 3?
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

blackinjun said:
Flashable on the note 3?
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a couple of S5 ports for the Note 3, not 100% on the features (S-Pen) but people seem to like them.

you can also try MultiX v2.2. it is fully odexed and has aroma installer for many customisation. For me, it's very stable, good battery life, great support and it's one of the fastest TW rom i have used so far