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Hey all!
Got some questions about a choice i may want to make. First my situation: Got an european htc magic 32B from vodafone and now i was thinking of flashing it with cyanogenmod to improve its performance and other things.
So my questions:
- Is it smart or even suggestible to flash my now still unrooted phone with a customrom (i was thinking of cyanogenmod, as this one is popular), taking in account that the "offcial update is nearby".
- Will there really be a performance boost? or other pros and cons (for example appstosd)
- Is it possible to put the builtin google talk application of google with support for more than only google talk (so for msn and so) on my device with for example cyanogenmod?
- in short what would you do and why?
As i have quite some applications installed now, i would like to see more of an sleek iphone-like experience on my android (as android owns apple), as the responsiveness of my phone is still not super touchy and fast
greetings!
It doesn't really matter what other people would do, you're the one using the phone, what do YOU want to do?
Your phone is fine to wipe and flash with another ROM, as is every HTC Magic. Why wait months for the provider-branded Donut update when you can have the official HTC Developer one now?
Look into what each ROM offers and decide for yourself. You might just want Donut with Root, you might want something more like wifi tether, a2sd and all that jazz.
Thread updated 17/01/2011 (d/m/y) to include FlyKernel 12a and a download for AngryBirds 1.3.5 for those who needed it. thread has also been cleaned up and old content removed. Instructions have been updated accordingly. Please let me know of any bugs or tweaks that need to be made.
Install for fully working Android Gingerbread Keyboard and newest Market at the bottom of this post!
This is a collection of packages that can be found around these forums that I believe amounts to the perfect Hero Setup. I am NOT a developer (although I have been known to make some themes and do some graphics work in the past), and I do not claim to have created any of this content. Instead what I am bringing you is a kind of gathering of the choicest picks from the Hero development forums, as well as the CyanogenMod 6.1 Final base. Most of this post is entirely optional, so this will allow you to build your own device, based on your preferences. Leave out things you feel you do not want, or add in extra steps if you feel you need them. Either way this will allow granular control of your Hero, for you to set it up just the way you want.
If nothing else this should be treated as a learning experience, if however you are unsure, and the post below looks a little daunting, you should consider flashing Floyo (created by the very talented erasmux) which is a complete packaged ROM. A lot of the content here has been taken from offerings that he has made available.
I take no responsibility for you destroying your phone. But for ME, my Hero is now the fastest it has ever been, with much better signal (and hugely faster browsing speed) with a theme I really love. So, presuming your Hero is already rooted, do a FULL wipe of everything, and then:
1) Flash Cyanogen Mod 6.1 FINAL in recovery (no need to reboot yet).
2) Flash Cyanogen Google Apps Addon.
3) Reboot your phone, log in and go through the initial setup. Once this is completed, reboot into recovery again.
4) (UPDATED) Flash Flykernel 12a (HUGE thanks to erasmux, this kernel is amazing). The version linked here is the one I have found to work best with this particular Hero setup (352-576, as such this is not overclocked, but performs exceptionally on my hero and doesn't have the annoying wake up issue, info on how to rename the file to overclock the kernel can be found at the erasmux flykernal post if you wish to do so). NOTE: Do NOT use the "-noatime" switch as this caused reboot loops for me in CM6.1.
5) Flash this notifications fix (provided by erasmux) which should fix some slightly hinky notification issues (jogball etc). This should now not be required with the newest Cyanogen build, I will do more testing and completely remove this section if this is confirmed.
6) Boot phone and let it get to the homescreen.
7) Reboot into recovery for the final time.
8) Flash The Latest Radio from this thread.
9) Reboot the phone (this may take a while after the radio installation).
OPTIONAL SETTINGS!
10) If you like using the HTC_IME mod, you can install it by manually installing the Clicker and then THIS version of the HTC_IME mod created using the AMAZING theming tool provided by gIMpSTa. I have created a theme that suits the feel of this CM6.1 based ROM using his tool, and it is working perfectly on my phone.
11) Enable JIT by going in to Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > Performance Settings > TICK "Use JIT" - And then reboot your phone (You can turn this off if you have issues with it turned on). In the latest Cyanogen 6.1 FINAL JIT is working perfectly, so unlike with RC1, I would now recommend having this turned ON!.
12) If you have issues fixing GPS sats, or if GPS does not update correctly when using it to navigate etc then you can try flashing THIS FIX (GPS libraries taken from FroydVillain and provided by erasmux as a fix for his Floyo ROM). If you are having issues actually fixing satellites you can also try flashing either the Europe, US or Asia sat-packs which can help GPS lock speed in your continent (if everything is already fine, you might want to avoid flashing these). Personally, I DO NOT use GPS on my device, so I can't comment on how well any of this works, but erasmux really knows his stuff, so I'm sure it will work if you are having problems.
13) CM6.1 comes with the NEW (official) Apps2SD built-in. However, the app needs to support this method or it will not allow you to move the app to the SD card. For those of you that prefer to use the OLD STYLE Apps2SD you can download it and flash it separately to enable this feature on this build of CyanogenMod.
That's the main setup sorted. You MAY have an issue with the Market following the radio installation (I did). If this happens, follow the instructions in this thread, the first fix (clearing the data) worked for me.
OK! Now on to apps. There are a few apps that really are a must if you want your Hero to both look and feel smooth as silk. So head over to the market, and download the following:
1) LanucherPro (Cyanogen comes with ADW, but I MUCH prefer LauncherPro). I use the XTG mod created by signals23 which has much more attractive widgets (if you have purchased the LP-Plus edition (I strongly recommend you do). You can, of course, use ANY homescreen, but LP is definitely my choice for beauty and speed. I actually DELETED ADW using: adb shell - rm /system/app/ADWLauncher.apk once I had LauncherPro installed, so it was no longer on the phone at all.
2) Beautiful Widgets - You have to pay for this, but trust me, it is absolutely worth the small amount of money. Once you have it, you can install any clock theme you like, such as SwirlClock made by yours truly
3) SMS Popup. Seriously, this app is amazing. Go into the default messages app, and turn off notifications. then head into the SMS Popup settings, and go into additional settings, turn ON "Quick Reply" and turn OFF "Screen on for Popup".
3) Youlu Address Book. I no longer recommend DialerOne on the Hero, as I find it too slow, especially when using the T9 "Dialer Search" function to call contacts using the numeric keypad. I find Youlou to be much faster, with a nice interface with an easy to navigate tabbed UI.
4) Advanced Task Killer. Once installed, open it up, turn off the notification bar icon in settings, and add your most frequently used apps to the ignore list (so the killer always leaves them running for speedy access). I usually leave: Messaging, Email and DialerOne in the ignore list.
5) SyncMyPix. Lets you properly sync your facebook contacts pictures so that they show up in DialerOne and LauncherPro.
6) Facebook app, or, whatever
7) Photoshop Express. I only add this here because there is no way of uploading multiple images to Facebook using the standard "Gallery" app, but you can do this using Photoshop Express, pretty nice little app, but this feature makes it worth having.
8) THEME! If you want to change the stock theme from white to black, go to: Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > User Interface > Tweaks Extras > Select a Theme and change your theme to STOCK_Black and then reboot your phone. This makes all of the theme a very nice gloss black effect WITHOUT having to flash a seperate theme ROM over Cyanogen (which is a much better way of doing things, as you are not replacing the newer .apk's with older, themed ones... Yes, I know the browser icon kinda sucks, but you can always download the nicer icon .png from here
9) Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Keyboard. If you want to install this keyboard, it will overwrite the existing Android 2.2.1 Keyboard (and currently there is no way of going back). The Gingerbread keyboard is FULLY FUNCTIONAL, this version now has working dictionary and autocorrect. You CAN still use the HTC_IME keyboard with this installed though, so if you hardly use the stock Android keyboard anyway, there shouldn't be much harm installing it and giving it a shot. HERE it is for those of you that just can't wait
10) The newest Android 2.2.6 Market. Flash in recovery, tested working great on my Hero, very lovely interface and nice and fast
11) (NEW) Angry Birds 1.3.5. for those of you who were wondering how I got angry Birds to run pretty well on the Hero, use this version rather than the latest one available on the market
DONE. Of course, you can modify this in any way you like, but after completing all of this you will have your own, pieced together ROM, without any strange extras or crap you don't really need. On top of this, you can head in to the ROM manager that comes with Cyanogen and install ClockworkMod recovery (if you are still using an older Amon-Ra or something), which is nice and easy.
Also, I'm not joking. It's fast... The screenshot below is with common apps (messages, emails, dialerone) running, and I still have 86mb of free memory. The battery life is fantastic, signal is great, call speed, wifi locking etc all seem faster than I have had them before. So, let me know your results (I have not tested GPS!).
And there yo go, your own freshy squeezed Hero, complete with all the trimmings. Baste lightly in your own choice of apps and serve.
Zeb
This post will be updated as newer packages are released.
</walloftext>
interesting, thanks. There's also an ADW-remover script on the Floyo page.
I didn't realise people were theming LauncherPro widgets to that extent, will have to investigate!
m8 you have done about 90% of the changes that i have put to my hero.
definitely is the perfect setup for me too.
Can I just flash this kernel over VR12 ? And do I have to flash radio if I flash new kernel? What radio really does? thanks
p.s. great work
Dark Emotion said:
Can I just flash this kernel over VR12 ? And do I have to flash radio if I flash new kernel? What radio really does? thanks
p.s. great work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are coming from VR12 you will have to do a FULL wipe of everything (nand, battery setting, dalvik etc) in recovery before flashing all of these packages. So make sure you have backed up everything you want to keep before starting! I have no idea what effect flashing this stuff over an existing ROM will have as I did it all from scratch with a blank phone.
The Radio is possibly the riskiest aspect of this setup, and you can choose to leave it out alltogether if you wish, but for me this made possibly the largest difference, as everything from connecting to Wifi, switching back to 3G/HSPDA is much faster. Signal is better, and small things like initialising the dialler (the time it takes from me choosing to call a contact, to it actually ringing) feels much speedier, so I personally do recommend it! You don't need to use this Radio to use Flykernel 11c, so feel free to leave it out if you wish.
Zeb
Edit: I just noticed, do you mean, can you use Flykernel on it's own with VR12 without any of the other stuff? Yes, I believe you can, check you the Flykernel thread for more information, but I think it works for most ROMs.
Dark Emotion said:
Can I just flash this kernel over VR12 ? And do I have to flash radio if I flash new kernel? What radio really does? thanks
p.s. great work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash only the kernel, you don't need to do anything else - No wipe at all necessary. Updating the radio is not related to the update of the kernel but still recommended as usually it also improves the hero experience and if there are problems you can always go back
I just received my refurbished hero (the digitalizer was dead) and am trying your setup. So far everything on the setup side was fine though I had a random reboot after flashing the kernel.
I will update with my feelings on this setup, thx for the guide!
I like this post ... what are the advantages of elelinux or floyo over the standard CM 6.1 release though? I tend to go for one of those instead for some reason!
mdon874 said:
I like this post ... what are the advantages of elelinux or floyo over the standard CM 6.1 release though? I tend to go for one of those instead for some reason!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that the authors of these releases make modifications to the kernel, as well as making theme changes, adding packages of their choice etc. Some distributions are modified more than others (and not ALL of them use Cyanogen as a base I believe). You'd have to look at the specifics of those other ROMS to see exactly what is different (sometimes it's small things, such as the way the jog-ball flashes or how the LED behaves, and sometimes it's bigger, like having hacked settings, or adding otehr keyboards like the HTC_IME mod (which Cyanogen doesn't have as standard, but I prefer the android keyboard anyways). You can always add these things in yourself later if you know how, which is what I have chosen to do using this setup. this way you have complete control over what is added to your phone.
Also, Flykernel, and the Radio mentioned here have serious performance benefits over other offerings as far as I am concerned. you COULD just flash those two over the ROM of your choice, but doing things the way I have mentioned above just gives you a larger level of granular control, if thats what you really want that is
Also, I have wanted to use Cyanogen as a base for a while to see how it was, but I found it very hard to find decent documentation on how to set it up correctly, that is why, once I worked it out, I decided to post the method I used here for other people to try.
Zeb
thanks for the quick reply I kinda like flashing and starting from scratch on a clean install and adding things bit by bit so I'm guna follow ur guide and set my hero up myself.... also thanks for pointing me in the direction of the alternate launcher pro mod ... looks pretty cool!
mdon874 said:
thanks for the quick reply I kinda like flashing and starting from scratch on a clean install and adding things bit by bit so I'm guna follow ur guide and set my hero up myself.... also thanks for pointing me in the direction of the alternate launcher pro mod ... looks pretty cool!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problemo! Just as a side-note, the kernel that COMES with Cyanogen 6.1 seems good enough, but I had problems with waking the phone up (sometimes I had to push the power button 3 or 4 times to get to the unlock screen). This is a pretty standard issue with a lot of kernels where the minimum clock speed is a little too low and the phone doesn't quite rev up enough when waking up. So, if using CM6.1 as a base (as posted above) Flykernel is a must (using the clockspeeds I posted above), as it removes this issue entirely and boosts overall performance.
Zeb
agree for the configuration, is the best(for now )
however,instead of sms popup i use handcent sms, the application is very similar to the application of the iPhone, and has a built-in sms popup...try it!
magokh said:
agree for the configuration, is the best(for now )
however,instead of sms popup i use handcent sms, the application is very similar to the application of the iPhone, and has a built-in sms popup...try it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice addition, thanks! I have used ChompSMS before, but I really like the messaging app in Android 2.2, so I prefer to stick with that and use SMS Popup to handle the quick reply (which is an awesome feature). Also, the theme I posted skins the SMSPopup notification screen to fit with the rest of the device, to it looks extra good and as though it was really all put together into a proper ROM package.
I haven't tried Handcent myself but I have heard good things about it, so yea, probably worth a try if you aren't keen on the stock SMS app!
Zeb
Thread moved to General.
thanks for this, very useful especially the sms popup thing
Hello to all and thank you for the great topics on whatever is needed to tweak the Hero to full potential. I would like to flash a new rom (from VR12). Should i flash CyanogenMod 6.1.0 RC1 or wait for a custom rom based on CM 6.1 like Floyo or Elelinux's ROM. What would you suggest?
HTC_ime simply does not work. every time i try to to start it it force closes. I followed instructions as i usually did every single time before. help?
marcinr said:
HTC_ime simply does not work. every time i try to to start it it force closes. I followed instructions as i usually did every single time before. help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I don't use HTC_IME mod so I haven't even tried installing it! I will try tomorrow and let you know if I make it work.
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App
vladsk8 said:
Hello to all and thank you for the great topics on whatever is needed to tweak the Hero to full potential. I would like to flash a new rom (from VR12). Should i flash CyanogenMod 6.1.0 RC1 or wait for a custom rom based on CM 6.1 like Floyo or Elelinux's ROM. What would you suggest?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I much prefer this method! That's why I made this thread! Give it a try, if you don't like it you can always wipe the phone nice and easy and install Floyo!
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App
Settings
Any chance you can add some of the settings you use, like cyanogen or spare parts settings? I followed your guide completely and its pretty fast but i think enabling JIT might help but im too afraid to try. Thank you
Hey guys,
I broought a desire z nam (Bell mobility branded) over the holidays. This is my first android device, so after a month of using it, I finally feel like I have my bearings for the platform (I'm coming from symbian). However, I have a few questions:
When I brought the phone, it came unlocked (I'm using it on AT&T's network in the US. Does this mean the phone has already been rooted? Is there an easy way I can check on this?
Since I am using the phone on at&t network, how will updates work for me? Is it possible for me to get any OTA updates? Or am I restricted to custom roms for updates? I am a little hesitant to use custom roms, as I need this phone to be reliable above all else, and I keep hearing about how unstable some of those roms can be.
What exactly is Cyberon Voice Commander? I always see it hogging a huge amount of memory in my running apps, and I'm wondering if its one of the base apps included with android. Searching around, it seems that it is used for speech to text, so if I remove it, will voice seach and voice actions no longer work?
Speaking of running apps, is it normal to have 50+ apps running at the same time? This phone boots with a ton of apps already running, and a lot of them seem like system processes. The phone does feel sluggish at time; however, this being my first and only android device, I don't really have a good reference to whether this is normal or not.
The touchscreen seems off. It always tends to register touches slighty above or below where my finger hits (super annoying when you're trying to select something on a list) is there any way to calibrate the screen?
On the subject of screens, is there a way to activate the screen other than pressing the power button? That button is a bit hard to reach for me, especially with 1 hhand operation
Htcsense.com doesn't seem to be working for me. It can't locate my phone, making the phone ring doesn't do anything, and I don't see the menu bar up top. Anyone know what's up with it?
And finally, I'm trying to find a good chinese handwriting input method; the phone comes with pinyin and wubihua input methods on the default htc keyboard, but no handwriting reconginition. The only app I found on the market for it is terrrible at picking up my strokes (HanWriting IME), can anyone recommend anything for it?
Thanks a bunch
I have the same device running on ATT as well.
The phone does not come 'rooted' even if it is an unlocked version. Root allows you to write to the 'OS Partition' on the phone memory in addition to other things. To check if you have root, you need to boot into the recovery mode of the phone. The first line in recovery will read either S-OFF (root obtained) or S-ON (no root). I suggest reading up on 'GFREE' and using that method to obtain root. Visionary is also an option, but doesn't appear to be as 'safe' as GFREE.
As far as I know, we are on our own for OTA updates. I have been using Custom ROMs on my device since about day 3 of owning it and it was the best decision I have made. I currently run CyanogenMod 6.1 and it runs great. Much better than stock. It is VERY stable and I haven't had any issues, everything is working. They are currently developing CyanogenMod 7 (Android 2.3) but it not officially released as stable version yet.
I am not familiar with that Voice Commander app. Check Google.
I don't have 50+ apps running but do have quite a few. Froyo 2.2 (shipped on phone with HTC Sense Skin) is designed to automatically shut down applications that are not being used so they do not eat up system resources. I didn't use stock for long, so I can't say how it performs but I have no lag issues with Cyanogen.
I do recall a 'calibration' option on Stock, but again I didn't use it for long and can't remember where it was.
In Cyanogen mod you can wake up the screen by pressing the track pad. Search in the Themes and Apps section of the Desire Z/G2 forum and there is an application you can install that does the same thing. I think its called Trackpad Wake.
Sorry never used HTCsense.com or any chinese writing apps. For the writing app, you can check the Android Themes/Applications thread from the main forum page. There are lots of other apps discussed there that are no in the Desire Z forum.
Welcome to Android!
Some good answer in the post above. Just to add some additional info:
The Vision Wiki describes how to verify root
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vision
But your phone is likely not rooted. When you buy a phone unlocked, that usually means SIM unlocked, so you can use other SIM cards besides Bell. Cell phone dealers usually just have ways to get the SIM unlock codes for phones, same as the paid SIM unlock services you find on eBay and other places.
All ROMs have bugs, including the "official" ones. In my experience, the custom ROMs usually are more stable and less bugs than the official ones they are based on. In any case, I wouldn't worry too much about OTA updates. If you want to flash an official ROM, they get posted on here faster then you would get them OTA.
I just checked, and I have exactly 50 apps running on my Bell Desire Z (running on AT&T like you). I wouldn't worry about it. As mentioned in the previous reply, Android is designed to keep processes open in the background until the memory is needed, then it kills idle processes as needed.
I've never used a Symbian phone. But the Desire Z is one of the fastest Android phones currently on the market. It gets bogged down a bit by the Sense UI in some conditions (especially if you have lots of widgets loaded). But this is minor, and I have found the performance to be very good overall. If you want some more speed, you can root and overclock the CPU. Overclocking to 1 GHz does not even increase voltage to the CPU, so the effect on battery life and risk is minimal.
HTCSense.com is still a work in progress, unfortunately. The features not working is normal, its not just you.
Cyberon Voice Commander is bloatware pre-installed by Bell. Its supposed to allow you to command the phone (with your voice, obviously) without having to touch the screen to perform certain functions (call or find a contact, play a song, etc.). But its pretty useless, and pure crap, IMO. Even when it recognizes your command, it will often still require touch input to make the selection, which completely defeats the purpose! Its faster to just access the functions the normal way.
Bloatware is part of the ROM, and therefore not completely straightforward to remove. All methods require the phone be rooted, AFAIK. The following thread has a method (using Titanium Backup) to remove most of the bloat.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=831584
I've also found a paid app ($1.99) on the market called Absolute System Root Tool removes the bloatware successfully
As mentioned, there is a hack to make the trackpad button wake the phone. But I couldn't tell if the feature could be removed or turned off, so I haven't tried it yet, personally.
Aha, a fellow Symbian convert! Welcome to the greatest phone ever - like an N97 that doesn't suck. I used to run Symbian-Guru.com - please feel free to PM me with *any* questions, I still love to help folks.
I would *highly* suggest you root your phone, if for no other reason than to dump the bloatware that comes with it and be able to take screenshots and that sort of thing. You may also want to look at the Virtuous ROM - it's a port of the Desire Z ROM that has some extras built-in. I've been using it on my G2 pretty much since I got it and it's fan-freakin-tastic. I easily get 12-15hrs of battery life, and that's with normal usage. It also has trackpad wake built right in - it's awesome.
Most of your other questions were answered above. In any case, welcome to XDA, and to Android.
Thanks for the replies. I'm loving the phone so far; just there's a lot of quirks in android that I'm not used to. That's to be expected with any transition to a different os, so I'm sure ill adapt.
you mentioned offical roms are also posted there as well; will flashing those roms require S-OFF? I might be in the minority, but I actually like senseUI. The only thing I wish I could change would be replacing the customization button on the dock with a browser shortcut. I've tried adw and launcherpro, but everytime I end up missing the htc widgets and going back to sense.
Ill probably start looking into some custom roms. I'm really holding out for the offical 2.3 update though. Ill also have to find a way to revert to the original rom should I not like the new one. I can't seem to find a copy of the original rom from bell to download anywhere; so is titanium backup my only option? Finally if I flash in a new rom, (offical or custom) will I lose my carrier unlock?
Thanks
Before you flash any different ROM you should do what is called a "nandroid" backup of your current ROM via Clockwork Recovery/ROM Manager (which you can install once you have root and S-OFF).
No, flashing a different ROM will not lose your SIM unlock.
If you have SuperCID from gfree, then you will be able to flash different official ROMs, not just the Bell one.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
makken85 said:
Thanks for the replies.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please hit the "thanks" button on the responses that were helpful to you. So those of use that took the time to answer can increase their thanks meters!
You're not completely alone. I like Sense also! FYI, the Virtuous ROM recommended by orange bandit is a custom one built on the Sense UI. Although I'm probably going to wait until a Gingerbread Sense ROM myself.
makken85 said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm loving the phone so far; just there's a lot of quirks in android that I'm not used to. That's to be expected with any transition to a different os, so I'm sure ill adapt.
you mentioned offical roms are also posted there as well; will flashing those roms require S-OFF? I might be in the minority, but I actually like senseUI. The only thing I wish I could change would be replacing the customization button on the dock with a browser shortcut. I've tried adw and launcherpro, but everytime I end up missing the htc widgets and going back to sense.
Ill probably start looking into some custom roms. I'm really holding out for the offical 2.3 update though. Ill also have to find a way to revert to the original rom should I not like the new one. I can't seem to find a copy of the original rom from bell to download anywhere; so is titanium backup my only option? Finally if I flash in a new rom, (offical or custom) will I lose my carrier unlock?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Virtuous ROM is basically the same as what you're running now, but fully rooted with some improvements here and there (trackpad wake, a bit of overclocking, etc).
There is a Rosie hack to be able to replace the right dock button with whatever you want, here's the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876464
I did it on my Virtuous ROM, works great, though I couldn't stand the simplicity of Sense and went back to LauncherPro, myself.
Hi All,
Enjoying my MT4g on Tmobile. I am interested in rooting my phone and getting the CM7 (Gingerbread) on my phone.
Before I jump into the guides, I wanted to know that is there a way to get back to stock TMO (that came with the phone) just in case I dont like CM7.
Secondly, is everything working on CM7 builds? Are there still any parts of the OS that do not work (wifi, camera etc).
Thanks and would appreciate any guidance on the above 2 questions.
Thanks!
Step 1: Do some reading, both of the RC1 thread and the Nightlies thread, and the CM7 FAQ. There are people who are having problems, there are people for whom things are perfect, and there are people for whom things are usable.
Step 2: Be sure to use the CORRECT version of ClockworkMod Recovery. With the exception of the specially-created 3.0.0.6 version that supports both Froyo and Gingerbread filesystems, you MUST use 2.x for Froyo based ROMs, and 3.x for Gingerbread based ROMs. This includes backup/restore as well as flashing.
ravneetg said:
Hi All,
Enjoying my MT4g on Tmobile. I am interested in rooting my phone and getting the CM7 (Gingerbread) on my phone.
Before I jump into the guides, I wanted to know that is there a way to get back to stock TMO (that came with the phone) just in case I dont like CM7.
Secondly, is everything working on CM7 builds? Are there still any parts of the OS that do not work (wifi, camera etc).
Thanks and would appreciate any guidance on the above 2 questions.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest watching a video tutorial a few times if you have never rooted a phone before. If you are comfortable installing an OS on a computer then you probably won't have any trouble rooting.
You can always go back to stock if you like. Make sure you follow all the steps for the root procedure. I'm pretty sure grankin posted up the unroot procedure with the root procedure. One of the steps is saving a backup of your original phone settings. Keep that in a safe place.
I'm pretty sure CM7 isn't stable yet, but most everything works for that ROM. Wifi Calling and almost everything else. As always read the updates to see what the developer has fixed (or is working on) If you don't like a ROM you can always find another. That's pretty much the beauty of the whole thing.
Hope this helps
Thanks guys. I will go ahead and refresh myself with all the guides and tutorials in here...Last time I was doing this was 5-6 years ago with the HTC MDA Win Phones
Thanks!
Seems like we're in a similar boat with root....
This site rules. I learn so much here and yet there's a ton of info so just to be clear....
I have a myTouch 4G. Is it worth rooting JUST to remove some of the stock apps (Amazon MP3, etc.)? Is there any benefit to be gained from doing that if I have no other reason that I want to root right now?
Thanks in advance.
allyn274 said:
This site rules. I learn so much here and yet there's a ton of info so just to be clear....
I have a myTouch 4G. Is it worth rooting JUST to remove some of the stock apps (Amazon MP3, etc.)? Is there any benefit to be gained from doing that if I have no other reason that I want to root right now?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
up to you.
personally i will never use a "stock/unrooted" android.
neidlinger said:
up to you.
personally i will never use a "stock/unrooted" android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. I understand. But I'm still pretty new at this and so far all I want to do is remove the "bloatware." Does it make a noticeable difference in the way the phone runs if I go through rooting to do that?
Thanks!
allyn274 said:
Okay. I understand. But I'm still pretty new at this and so far all I want to do is remove the "bloatware." Does it make a noticeable difference in the way the phone runs if I go through rooting to do that?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just rooting the phone will offer no performance changes. The only thing Rooting does is give you [the user] Super User access.
With that you can do massive performance upgrade with s=off. but nothing Rooting Only will do.
neidlinger said:
Just rooting the phone will offer no performance changes. The only thing Rooting does is give you [the user] Super User access.
With that you can do massive performance upgrade with s=off. but nothing Rooting Only will do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you saying there's something more than rooting that I need to do in order to have the ability to delete the preloaded programs that I don't use?
Thanks!
allyn274 said:
So are you saying there's something more than rooting that I need to do in order to have the ability to delete the preloaded programs that I don't use?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't rooted my MT4G yet, but I had a rooted and modded MT3G for a long time. I would read A LOT through the guides and threads involving rooting your device, because it seems like you don't know too much about it. But in short - rooting alone does nothing but give you super user access to the phone, which in non-nerd talk means you can control things about the phone that you couldn't do before rooting. If you then want to remove bloatware (as well as do anything else like flashing roms etc), it will require further steps. Again, READ READ READ (and WATCH WATCH WATCH videos).
sunsean said:
I haven't rooted my MT4G yet, but I had a rooted and modded MT3G for a long time. I would read A LOT through the guides and threads involving rooting your device, because it seems like you don't know too much about it. But in short - rooting alone does nothing but give you super user access to the phone, which in non-nerd talk means you can control things about the phone that you couldn't do before rooting. If you then want to remove bloatware (as well as do anything else like flashing roms etc), it will require further steps. Again, READ READ READ (and WATCH WATCH WATCH videos).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally understand there is more required than just the rooting. And I really really appreciate your post. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is just if there is a benefit to removing bloatware? Maybe it's not really a "to root or not to root" question so much as a "will removing bloatware improve my phone at all" question? If there's a better place to ask, please point me in the right direction?
Thanks again for all the help.
There is no performance benefit to removing bloatware if the application is not used. It just consumes space on the internal SD device.
Rooting and then disabling those apps merely ensures they won't be run.
HTC Glacier CM7 #2
jggimi said:
There is no performance benefit to removing bloatware if the application is not used. It just consumes space on the internal SD device.
Rooting and then disabling those apps merely ensures they won't be run.
HTC Glacier CM7 #2
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Click to collapse
Thank you! I really appreciate it. I think that's the answer I was looking for.
allyn274 said:
So are you saying there's something more than rooting that I need to do in order to have the ability to delete the preloaded programs that I don't use?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup is a paid app that can remove apps after root (Monopoly, Asphalt 5, etc) Most ROM's you install after root have these apps removed.
Also it's pretty nice to underclock the phone to give you some great battery life. Really nice to set a profile when the screen is off that it slows the clock speed.
I like the videos here
I don't think he uses the new gfree method of rooting though in his video...
grankin posted a video with the root procedure on his post I'd look there.
2Noob4U said:
Titanium backup is a paid app that can remove apps after root (Monopoly, Asphalt 5, etc) Most ROM's you install after root have these apps removed.
Also it's pretty nice to underclock the phone to give you some great battery life. Really nice to set a profile when the screen is off that it slows the clock speed.
I like the videos here
I don't think he uses the new gfree method of rooting though in his video...
grankin posted a video with the root procedure on his post I'd look there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is extremely helpful. I have lots and lots of research and learning ahead of me, but this at least gets me in the right direction. There's a lot to sort through.
Just one thing: @2Noob4U - what is the "gfree method of rooting"? I thought you could achieve root with VISIONary?
You rock. Thanks again.
TB does not remove system applications. It "Freezes" them. This marks them disabled in the Android package manager so they cannot be executed, and wont' be seen by the launcher / app drawer.
I mentioned disabling bloatware earlier in this thread. You can use TB to "Freeze" and "Thaw", or you can use the "pm disable" or "pm enable" commands from a terminal emulator.
Disabling a system application is significantly easier than removing it. Plus, removing it may break a dependent application. Yeah, removing Monopoly and Stock won't break anything, but you may decide some tool in the app drawer is unused -- but it is actually used by another app unbeknownst to you. Disabling is safer. Removing requires mounting /system in read/write mode, which is cumbersome to do manually with a mount command, but can be done from adb or Root Explorer.
TB's Freeze/Thaw is available in its Pro version.
jggimi said:
TB does not remove system applications. It "Freezes" them. This marks them disabled in the Android package manager so they cannot be executed, and wont' be seen by the launcher / app drawer.
I mentioned disabling bloatware earlier in this thread. You can use TB to "Freeze" and "Thaw", or you can use the "pm disable" or "pm enable" commands from a terminal emulator.
Disabling a system application is significantly easier than removing it. Plus, removing it may break a dependent application. Yeah, removing Monopoly and Stock won't break anything, but you may decide some tool in the app drawer is unused -- but it is actually used by another app unbeknownst to you. Disabling is safer. Removing requires mounting /system in read/write mode, which is cumbersome to do manually with a mount command, but can be done from adb or Root Explorer.
TB's Freeze/Thaw is available in its Pro version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read back through the thread and I'm not 100% sure I found the reference to bloatware, but this is incredibly helpful.
To make sure I'm understanding correctly, I could:
- Root my phone using VISIONary
- Get TB Pro
- Freeze (or Thaw to reverse) any unwanted apps
Would this improve performance/storage in any way or simply remove those unwanted apps from the drawer?
thanks again - as always.
allyn274 said:
I read back through the thread and I'm not 100% sure I found the reference to bloatware, but this is incredibly helpful.
To make sure I'm understanding correctly, I could:
- Root my phone using VISIONary
- Get TB Pro
- Freeze (or Thaw to reverse) any unwanted apps
Would this improve performance/storage in any way or simply remove those unwanted apps from the drawer?
thanks again - as always.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing or disabling will offer little performance upgrade. Androids work much like a computer does. Just because the Application is setting on the phone doesn't mean that it is using any resources other than memory. The only thing you will gain by removing or disabling those application is the memory that they are using.
neidlinger said:
Removing or disabling will offer little performance upgrade. Androids work much like a computer does. Just because the Application is setting on the phone doesn't mean that it is using any resources other than memory. The only thing you will gain by removing or disabling those application is the memory that they are using.
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Click to collapse
2 things:
1 - do I have the steps correct?
and
2 - if I gain that memory, is it usable by other apps I would install?
Thank you!
allyn274 said:
2 things:
1 - do I have the steps correct?
and
2 - if I gain that memory, is it usable by other apps I would install?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1- yes
Download and install VISIONary.apk
Temp Root with VISIONary
Download Ti/Backup
Freeze or delete any unwanted application
and yes other applications will be able to use that space. IF you delete them. If you freeze the no. They are still in the memory the CPU will just not pick them up.
I had my Droid 2 rooted only to use wireless tether and to kill certain MOTO apps. I was "freezing" pre-installed apps, but accidently froze a Blur app. Now the phone won't operate correctly, icons are not showing up properly, and menu selections won't work either. I did a factory reset, but the same problem still exists. I suppose I need to re-flash a stock ROM, but I am unsure what ROM to use (want to make sure it's a real "stock ROM".
Can someone help?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770224
-Gilgamesh- said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770224
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. SBF's are you friend with Moto phones.
The download link there doesn't work, but you can find the sbf here:
hxxp://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/droid-2-discussion/5323-tbh-mydroidworld-present-droid-2-2-3-20-triple-threat.html (replace xx with tt)
Other than that that guide is golden
OK Guys and Gals, I did follow the instructions to flash the SBF and was able to recover the phone to the proper operation. Thanks so much to you both for a rapid and effective reply. I had done all the searches but there were so many variations on the theme that I was not confident in choosing the right one (even if there was more than one right answer).
Now that I have discovered there is at least ONE app or service that I should NOT freeze (blur,res), is there a list of what can be safely and successfully frozen, and/or perhaps a list of what should definitely NOT be frozen?
I am looking for as close to a pure Android experience for my phone, free of all the pre-installed apps and background services - other than those which are absolutely necessary parts of either the actual Android OS and (as necessary) Blur. I used AntTek App Manager to perform the "freezing", which seemed to be quite (if not completely or even overly) effective. Might I also ask what you suggest as an alternative if this is not my best choice? I am only interested in using free apps at the moment.
Lastly, since you understand that I am interested in (at least for now) a plain Vanilla Android experience, is there perhaps a ROM I should consider flashing in lieu of the Stock Android Froyo 2.3.2?
Thanks again - glad to have you on my team!
Freezing is your best option at this point. Makes it allot easier to put them back if you need to for any reason. (Usually) As far as ROMs, Liberty or Fission are prob going to be your best choices. Liberty being the closest to ASOP.
-Gilgamesh- said:
Freezing is your best option at this point. Makes it allot easier to put them back if you need to for any reason. (Usually) As far as ROMs, Liberty or Fission are prob going to be your best choices. Liberty being the closest to ASOP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info. Now, I just need a list of what I can (or can not) freeze to make sure I don't bungle it up again.
I had a better list before, but I cannot find it now. This should suffice though.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=846406