[TIPS] What to and not to back up when switching ROMs - Epic 4G General

I found this great article on the Android Central forums and thought this may be useful.
http://www.androidcentral.com/backu...mpaign=Feed:+androidcentral+(Android+Central)
Hope this helps!
Sent from my Samsung Epic

Hmmm, I don't think the advice in that article/post is all that great. He's basically saying to restore most things by going to the market and individually re-downloading each app (unless you need saved data). That's wonderful if you flash one ROM a month, but I don't think you'll find yourself testing out many different ROMs and updating to different versions if you have to spend 2 hours re-installing all you apps each time (he even suggests hunting down non-market apps like your bank ones from the original websites). Definitely not for me.

edonnelly said:
Hmmm, I don't think the advice in that article/post is all that great. He's basically saying to restore most things by going to the market and individually re-downloading each app (unless you need saved data). That's wonderful if you flash one ROM a month, but I don't think you'll find yourself testing out many different ROMs and updating to different versions if you have to spend 2 hours re-installing all you apps each time (he even suggests hunting down non-market apps like your bank ones from the original websites). Definitely not for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
His theory is correct because you won't be pulling in bad data creating force closes but in reality it is not practical. I agree, this is more for the one ROM a month or two kind of person. If you settle on a ROM for a long term this is good practice to keep the system fresh.

Related

Just bought a Samsung Vibrant questions.

Well, I don't have it yet bought it off Tmo online because I was offered the $165 deal. I am new to the whole android thing and never owned an android phone before. Been browsing this site for over an hour and had to make an account there is so much to learn.
I learned a lot and the tips and tricks told me a lot.
Though I would like to hear from you guys.
I don't plan on rooting it just yet but I don't like touchwiz so I will be using Launcher Pro.
What apps and tips do you recommend for me? I am very excited and cannot wait for my new phone. Will be hanging out here a lot!
So thanks in advance and awesome forum you guys have here.
~George
Congratulations, you will love it.
As soon as you get it, I'd recommend going to the market and browsing through all of the most popular applications. Remember that you can always uninstall apps you don't like. Even if you buy one, you have a significant window of time to uninstall it for a refund.
Chalup said:
Congratulations, you will love it.
As soon as you get it, I'd recommend going to the market and browsing through all of the most popular applications. Remember that you can always uninstall apps you don't like. Even if you buy one, you have a significant window of time to uninstall it for a refund.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to what I bolded above. The phone comes pre-installed with a lot of "bloatware" applications such as Kindle, MobiTV and all these other things. They cannot be uninstalled so technically you can't "uninstall apps that you don't like." The workaround is to root the phone and search the forum for removing stock apps and it'll be in there.
I would suggest trying out ADW Launcher rather than already deciding with Launcher Pro. Both has its advantages and its a matter of preference, both are great. I prefer ADW Launcher for more customization but it really depends on the user.
I would also lower the brightness all the way to the left simply because the phone is bright enough and it isn't necessary. This is a good way to have more hours on your battery. It might also be a good idea for when you get the phone, don't start off charging it right away. Let the battery drain to 0%.. keep turning the phone on until its unable to turn on, THEN start charging.. this way it will maximize the amount of hours on your battery. You might have to do this a couple of times to get the hand of it. The battery isn't a problem though, its pretty good compared to my previous phone, G1.
Chalup said:
Congratulations, you will love it.
As soon as you get it, I'd recommend going to the market and browsing through all of the most popular applications. Remember that you can always uninstall apps you don't like. Even if you buy one, you have a significant window of time to uninstall it for a refund.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome I am planning on using the GPS but all the GPS problems I am seeing is making me reluctant a bit. Let's hope I do not regret it.
Secondly refunds and apps sounds awesome *curses*Apple app store*curses*
Also when you buy an app does it charge your bill or a credit card?
I am a bit of a music freak and love having my music organized and I was told a program called "doubletwist" works great for android devices. I am looking for an alternative to itunes and zune software which have been great to me in organizing my music on my device.
zephiK said:
In addition to what I bolded above. The phone comes pre-installed with a lot of "bloatware" applications such as Kindle, MobiTV and all these other things. They cannot be uninstalled so technically you can't "uninstall apps that you don't like." The workaround is to root the phone and search the forum for removing stock apps and it'll be in there.
I would suggest trying out ADW Launcher rather than already deciding with Launcher Pro. Both has its advantages and its a matter of preference, both are great. I prefer ADW Launcher for more customization but it really depends on the user.
I would also lower the brightness all the way to the left simply because the phone is bright enough and it isn't necessary. This is a good way to have more hours on your battery. It might also be a good idea for when you get the phone, don't start off charging it right away. Let the battery drain to 0%.. keep turning the phone on until its unable to turn on, THEN start charging.. this way it will maximize the amount of hours on your battery. You might have to do this a couple of times to get the hand of it. The battery isn't a problem though, its pretty good compared to my previous phone, G1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah, I forgot to ask about that. I was wondering if I could remove the mobi tv app I will never use it. (avatar I want to see, I will definitely be using kindle and sims 3 is pretty cool I don't mind it at all)
Thanks for the suggestion about ADW Launcher I did already check it out and it's pretty awesome but I like the look of LP a bit more. I will certainly try both out though.
I will eventually root the phone however if samsung does not continue giving us support.
I did play with the phone for some time at the Tmobile store and I have to say I am super impressed with it. Hopefully it all works out for me.
PathogenX said:
Yah, I forgot to ask about that. I was wondering if I could remove the mobi tv app I will never use it. (avatar I want to see, I will definitely be using kindle and sims 3 is pretty cool I don't mind it at all)
Thanks for the suggestion about ADW Launcher I did already check it out and it's pretty awesome but I like the look of LP a bit more. I will certainly try both out though.
I will eventually root the phone however if samsung does not continue giving us support.
I did play with the phone for some time at the Tmobile store and I have to say I am super impressed with it. Hopefully it all works out for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can ONLY remove it when you root your phone, basically the stock apps cannot be removed because they're located in /system/apps/ and you'll get Permission Denied. The root process takes less than a minute and theres a "One click" root floating around the dev forum. On the stickied thread theres instructions on how to un-root, which is fairly simple as well.
I'm pretty sure Samsung will continue supporting the phone, its one of their significant releases. I prefer having custom ROMs since they add more features to the phone that wouldn't normally come along with the stock ROM.
zephiK said:
You can ONLY remove it when you root your phone, basically the stock apps cannot be removed because they're located in /system/apps/ and you'll get Permission Denied. The root process takes less than a minute and theres a "One click" root floating around the dev forum. On the stickied thread theres instructions on how to un-root, which is fairly simple as well.
I'm pretty sure Samsung will continue supporting the phone, its one of their significant releases. I prefer having custom ROMs since they add more features to the phone that wouldn't normally come along with the stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not going to bull**** anyone but I have no knowledge of rooting and have only been browsing this site for a 2 hours and I am kinda weary about it. But that one click makes it sound easy and harmless. Maybe you can guide me.
Also I went ahead and downloaded Double twist and fell in love with it. It uses AmazonMP3 which is something I have invested some money into and it has the appstore right there. I know for a fact that I will DEFINITELY enjoy my time with android now.
I am liking this more and more.Also thanks for the help I appreciate it! ^_^
PathogenX said:
I am not going to bull**** anyone but I have no knowledge of rooting and have only been browsing this site for a 2 hours and I am kinda weary about it. But that one click makes it sound easy and harmless. Maybe you can guide me.
Also I went ahead and downloaded Double twist and fell in love with it. It uses AmazonMP3 which is something I have invested some money into and it has the appstore right there. I know for a fact that I will DEFINITELY enjoy my time with android now.
I am liking this more and more.Also thanks for the help I appreciate it! ^_^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought you read the stickied post? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732458 its all there rooting is like one of the first things discussed in that thread.
zephiK said:
I thought you read the stickied post? its all there rooting is like one of the first things discussed in that thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't read it in detail I just browsed through it but now I am
I will certainly post once I get the phone in and express my first impressions.

just got a vibrant....oh my where to start! :)

Got a Vibrant yesterday to "try out" the android world for the first time. Must say I'm impressed by the phones performance out of the box even with all the bloatware and crap on it. I've been a windows mobile guy for quite some time now, so the people that know both platforms well, know they are two completely different monsters. My two options were the hd2 (since i know the WM world pretty well) or learn a whole new platform with the vibrant.
I like it so far, but also miss some of the things from WM (or rather miss knowing my phone well). I guess i just have to start from zero and get acquainted with it first.
Any suggestions on getting the bare down scoop of the platform and such as far as learning it from the ground up? The sticky explains how to do these things, but I need something more basic...I just wanna become proficient in the android world as I am in the WM world starting from zero.
Its hard to say where to start, the best thing about android is the customization. Playing with phone is the only way you are gonna learn, I have been an android owner since day one and am still learning new things everyday. If there is something I don't know I simply come here since this is the best android community on the web. Hope you enjoy IMO the best android phone on the market.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Yeah, really not that much to help with...everything seems pretty intuitive to me. When in doubt, long press or press menu.
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, kindle isn't that bad considering you can get a ton of free books for it.
Sent from my Galaxy S using the XDA App
phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you could always copy Avatar onto a larger card and then go wild! That's what I did, it will play lots of 720p mkv's that you might have laying around no problem!
Long press and menu are your friends. Other than that look here on xda and use the search function. The stickies typically have the most current info.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
That's where I started off, you're most likely going to want to root it. Search the forums around. There's some great stickies to follow by and just go with that.
Can't wait for CM? Learn to make your own APP to have fun with ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is CM?
I am a programmer by profession. Maybe I could look into the world of android programming too while im at it
phragg said:
My first questions were always like:
Sweet I have Avatar on here, what else Can I put on?
Oh damn, there's only a 2GB Card, and if I remove it, I lose Avatar.
WTF is amazon kindle for? I don't need this? How can I remove Bloats?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have those questions. I mean the first thing i did was move avatar to my 16gb msdhc into it and go wild with my music, photo, and videos...which I'm amazed how good of sound/video quality i get on this.
I thought more of like where do how do I view flash websites, how do i stream live .pls live music streams, or smaller things like hiding apps from the notification area at the top left when they are running, or resizing certain widgets, removing some of the applications that came with the phone from t mobile, mapping buttons to do different things based on holding them down or tapping a certain amount of times, things like that that aren't explained in the user manual. Or even like right now, I'm trying to make a call and it says: "Call not sent"...well? whyyyyyyyyy? so many questions!
I don't know, I guess all this is just part of the familiarization process and will sooner or later find them out whether by experience or hunting down resources why certain behaviors and actions happen.
speoples20 said:
Long press and menu are your friends. Other than that look here on xda and use the search function. The stickies typically have the most current info.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is long press?
^ you should read the sticky. A lot of the things you mentioned, are addressed in the sticky.
Also, flash is only on Android 2.2, which we do not have yet.
achild said:
Got a Vibrant yesterday to "try out" the android world for the first time. Must say I'm impressed by the phones performance out of the box even with all the bloatware and crap on it. I've been a windows mobile guy for quite some time now, so the people that know both platforms well, know they are two completely different monsters. My two options were the hd2 (since i know the WM world pretty well) or learn a whole new platform with the vibrant.
I like it so far, but also miss some of the things from WM (or rather miss knowing my phone well). I guess i just have to start from zero and get acquainted with it first.
Any suggestions on getting the bare down scoop of the platform and such as far as learning it from the ground up? The sticky explains how to do these things, but I need something more basic...I just wanna become proficient in the android world as I am in the WM world starting from zero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone. Let us know how your GPS works, since that seems to be a hot issue. you can test using google maps, google navigation and GPS Test downloadable from the Android Market.
SamsungGalaxySVibrant said:
Congrats on your new phone. Let us know how your GPS works, since that seems to be a hot issue. you can test using google maps, google navigation and GPS Test downloadable from the Android Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha that seems to be a problem with any gps enabled phone nowadays. Happened with the fuze and after months and months of tweaking and tweaking we got a hang of it. I tried the GPS yesterday on my way home from work yesterday and did not get a lock, i went ahead and downloaded gps test today to see if that will unlock it before using the gps software. We shall see! Thanks for the heads up tho!
edit: I guess gps test on android works differently than on WM. On WM it scans through your COM ports and gets a fix for you to then use your gps navigation software.
achild said:
what is CM?
I am a programmer by profession. Maybe I could look into the world of android programming too while im at it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please do!
we could always use more programmers.
achild said:
what is long press?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of tapping on something you hold your finger down for a few seconds. A menu will pop up giving you options like copy and paste.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
If your phone won't play a video format, try RockPlayer
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I would recommend the market as the first place to go. Just start searching and downloading apps and play with your phone. You'll get accustomed to it very quickly!
Droidicus said:
I would recommend the market as the first place to go. Just start searching and downloading apps and pay with your phone. You'll get accustomed to it very quickly!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thats what ive been doing. Thats another thing that amazes me about android, soooo many apps, and they are all centralized into one easy, convenient location. In wm you would find a few in the marketplace, and the rest u had to hunt down either on the forum or the web. This is slowly growing on me
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Coming from WM myself, (and just recently and very reticently turned over my beloved Wizard to my mom) the fun and unfun I have with Android:
Apps are so dratted cheap. Have at it.
Cloud connectivity. I use Picasa all the time now. It took me a while to get used to Google contacts, especially first name alphabetization, but I like it now.
You might want to look at subscribing to CompanionLink. It reliably syncs everything Outlook with your Google account (thus your phone).
Almost nothing was built into Android 1.0. Not much was added through 1.5. Some stuff has been added since, like Facebook sync, but custom ROMs don't add stuff. There's an app for everything. There has to be.
The app drawer is a hassle. I use FolderOrganizer (and ADW Launcher) to quell my addiction to organization beyond alphabetical.
It's fun to watch a few things catch up with WinMo and hear all the Android users brag about how great it is. Like app-specific auto-rotation. There's an app for it out now, but it actually costs something you'll think about, and it eats a hunk of RAM. They're just getting into animated GIFs. Lists and their apps aren't anywhere near ListPro, but they almost all have some way to sync to the cloud.
Office documents created on a PC don't always work with the Office apps that are out there. Don't bother with DocumentsToGo, but Sheadspreet is good (you have to convert first) and I'm trying OfficeSuite, and it seems the best. 30-day trial, $15. It's still not WinMo, though.
For those things you don't sync with the cloud, you can't just throw stuff in your My Documents Folder and rely on that backup. DropBox is a good app/service, and GoogleDocs is your friend. Most apps back up thier specific data to your SD, but on this phone, it's on the internal SD. You have to manually handle your backups, or do Nandroid backups (another worthwhile Google).
You have to install an app to install apps not from Market. Instead of exes their apks.
There's no Total Commander. I like Root Explorer. Astro is feature-filled. There are a million file explorers, and every one of them will have its advocates.
Flashing ROMs is tons easier, but you have to root first.
The Android world moves a lot faster. If you're off the forums for a week you'll feel like you've been in a coma for months. On the flip side, if you're waiting for something to get developed, waiting a few days feel like eternity.
Android devs work harder for a lot less, or no money; it's truly inspiring.
Before you go buying the first app that does what you want, check Market for more that do the same thing. I've found that there's a free alternative to almost everything. The paid versions/apps are more luxurious in one way or another, usually, but a little research can save you a bunch of regret.
Widgets suck RAM. Before you know it you've got 25 and you're wondering why your Home screen is lagging. Phones are finite. Even these.
CM is CyanogenMod. Google it, it's worth it. They started on XDA and it got out of control, so they have their own site now, although the threads still hanging on XDA re CM are a much more interesting read. It seems to be the most popular set of ROMS for a variety of devices. I follow and flash them (the ROMs, that is. I dont want the devs to hate me).
Double entendres are rampant. It's Google.
Once you get your apps organized, you'll be surprised at how smoothly your phone useage goes. Frankly, it's just more fun, and much cheaper, to play with.
SamsungGalaxySVibrant said:
Congrats on your new phone. Let us know how your GPS works, since that seems to be a hot issue. you can test using google maps, google navigation and GPS Test downloadable from the Android Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested it. Google maps got no lock. However, gps test gave me 3 satellites, when I held it in front, under the windshiels it jumped to five satellites, but it wasn't enough for google maps to lock or get my location.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Post your ideas of how to customize stock (non rooted) vibrant

Hi everyone...
Im looking for suggestions on how to customize my stock vibrant and try all col things with this powerful phone... So far I have launcher pro and a beautiful widgets... And some games like need for speed shift demo... Anything else cool and exciting I can try or download on my phone w/o rooting it? Or screwing up ota uodates in the future?... Like changing tmob boot up screen or any suggestions at alll...
Thanx
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
In the settings you can change the "font style." (New fonts can be downloaded for a buck.) It can have a significant effect on how things appear. Some suggestions from the tips thread are Helvetica Nue, Soho Gothic, Frutiger and Felbridge. I'm digging Helvetica a lot.
Thanx for suggestion.. I forgot to mention I downloaded a few flip fonts I love how it changes the look of the phone.. Any other suggestions? Or performance boosters?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
you can not change the boot logo (or shutdown) if you are not rooted. If you are rooted, you still get OTA, but once installed it will unroot the phone
No problem do this
Fancy Widgets
Pure Messenger/ Grid Calendar and an Agenda app... (can't remember the name)
I am running Agenda Widget and liking it ok so far. I am always looking for a better one.
Launcher Pro or ADW, Beautiful Widgets, change the font style.
Here is a link to a thread with a plethora of Flip Fonts to choose from. Just download the .apk. locate and install on your device. Go into settings and change the font, restart and there you go
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=748916
Don't mean to pick on the op but I'm curious why people don't want to root.
I did the day it was possible and haven't looked back. So many things you can do to customize all reversible if you have to. Just don't try doing really crazy stuff unless you know what your doing but most things in the stick under the root section are easy and awesome.
Anyway I'd love to understand why people don't just do it.
Battery usage with percentage would be really nice.
drhonk said:
Battery usage with percentage would be really nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more awesome thing to do with root. I don't get why you wouldn't.
joshthewaster said:
One more awesome thing to do with root. I don't get why you wouldn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't get why people who don't root their phones go on XDA. XDA is a place for rooting and ROM development. Not a user-friendly website for non-rooters. But yeah definitely root, you can customize a lot more. Customize the notifications bar, I don't really big the light gray and blue 3G icon
I've gone from a few different Nokias, to a Motorola Razor, to a Blackberry Pearl and now finally to a Samsung Vibrant. I'm pretty good with computers and software so I know I could get rooting/recovery/flashing down, but this is my first time with a mobile device I could hack.
Whenever I do research on the topic I find multiple threads with multiple ways to root. The whole directions/concept just isn't crystal clear with me yet, despite how much I've read. And, there's always posts at the end of each thread by users with unanswered issues/problems.
I guess, I'm just taking the slow cautious route, enjoying stock android eclair for a while. I do have the itch, but no apps or issues with my phone have pushed me beyond curiosity and into the experimental, so to speak.
What is the top main reason you have for rooting your vibrant?
Edit: to point out, I know I could've "hacked" my previous phones, but not the way you can with an Android phone, you know what I mean...
trunkstar1 said:
I've gone from a few different Nokias, to a Motorola Razor, to a Blackberry Pearl and now finally to a Samsung Vibrant. I'm pretty good with computers and software so I know I could get rooting/recovery/flashing down, but this is my first time with a mobile device I could hack.
Whenever I do research on the topic I find multiple threads with multiple ways to root. The whole directions/concept just isn't crystal clear with me yet, despite how much I've read. And, there's always posts at the end of each thread by users with unanswered issues/problems.
I guess, I'm just taking the slow cautious route, enjoying stock android eclair for a while. I do have the itch, but no apps or issues with my phone have pushed me beyond curiosity and into the experimental, so to speak.
What is the top main reason you have for rooting your vibrant?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Allows access to applications that require root access (e.g. Titanium Backup, SetCPU, AdFree (not suggested since it helps developers), metamorph, etc)
- When you root, you have the ability to flash a custom recovery that allows custom ROMs. This allows nandroid backups, restores, and more.
- Remove bloatware that comes with the phone (this one DEFINITELY)
- Screenshots
See, I get confused. All I've read about recovery was people talking about "booting into recovery. The only thing I thought you flashed were the custom ROMs. And, I thought you only needed the backups and restores so you could get back to an unrooted state in case you needed warrantee work, or messed up your phone somehow.
What are the major bloatware items on the stock t-mobile vibrant?
trunkstar1 said:
See, I get confused. All I've read about recovery was people talking about "booting into recovery. The only thing I thought you flashed were the custom ROMs. And, I thought you only needed the backups and restores so you could get back to an unrooted state in case you needed warrantee work, or messed up your phone somehow.
What are the major bloatware items on the stock t-mobile vibrant?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Account & Settings on the App Drawer
Gogo
Amazon Kindle
TeleNav
T-Mobile Voicemail
MobiTV
Memo
AudioPostcard
(and many more)
... oh yeah and with root (and installed clockwork recovery) you can apply the Captivate camera which its interface is easier to apply different scenes.
And no.. you can restore non-root with Odin and nandroid backup (JAC's thread has a unrooted backup online). But yeah you do backups before you apply hacks to your phone incase anything happens
drhonk said:
Battery usage with percentage would be really nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the app called Battery Status Pro. That gives you what you want.
zephiK said:
Account & Settings on the App Drawer
Gogo
Amazon Kindle
TeleNav
T-Mobile Voicemail
MobiTV
Memo
AudioPostcard
(and many more)
... oh yeah and with root (and installed clockwork recovery) you can apply the Captivate camera which its interface is easier to apply different scenes.
And no.. you can restore non-root with Odin and nandroid backup (JAC's thread has a unrooted backup online). But yeah you do backups before you apply hacks to your phone incase anything happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying to figure out how to remove bloatware was THE reason I found xda and rooted. I had no idea what I was doing but it is ULTRA easy. Download update zip-boot to recovery-apply-enjoy. That got me discovering all the other awesome things I can do.
You will always see people who have problems with anything in the threads. This is why you make backups. Once you have those you can do a lot more with a lot more confidence knowing that if you make a mistake you can correct it - mostly. And you can unroot if you have to.
drhonk said:
Battery usage with percentage would be really nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Love having it.
Come on guys lets talk about stuff you can do for non rooters please. I did root my phone but I took it to far and bricked it. I'm not doing it again and I know that xda forums lean more to rooting then not. I thought a thread that talked about non rooted phones was a great idea but its been taken over. So I'm bringing it back.
There are a lot of good lockscreen apps to look at for changing your lockscreen. I've used some of them just haven settled on one yet. So no need to root just have fun with it the way it is.
spacecasespiff said:
Come on guys lets talk about stuff you can do for non rooters please. I did root my phone but I took it to far and bricked it. I'm not doing it again and I know that xda forums lean more to rooting then not. I thought a thread that talked about non rooted phones was a great idea but its been taken over. So I'm bringing it back.
There are a lot of good lockscreen apps to look at for changing your lockscreen. I've used some of them just haven settled on one yet. So no need to root just have fun with it the way it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for staying on topic... no offense to others... where do i find different lock screens?

Cm6 pros and cons?

I'm new, my evo is rooted tho but now I wanna install a rom. Isn't Cm6 probably the best? I want one that's not much different just smoother.. can someone give me some pros and cons and also a link to maybe a tutorial of how to download and install roms.
Does it delete anything to install a rom?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
There are a lot of opinions about this subject. There are some real pro's to CM6. The tricky thing for most people to understand is that Cyanogenmod is built from the ground up. So when you say you want something that isn't too different, this is going to probably be more unique than you were expecting.
Some great things about CM6 are hidden all throughout the settings, menus, and functions. For example, CM6 is alot cleaner. There aren't any processes that run in the background that you never installed. Whenever you use a stock rom, HTC and Sprint have a number of pre-installed items running. The result is that it is faster.
One huge advantage for me is that CM6 fixes the bluetooth in the phone. Which means that you can connect a Wiimote. This isn't possible with anything that is a variation of the stock rom. Which means only CM6 or other AOSP roms will be capable of supporting the Wiimote on the Evo.
The Cyanogen team has put more focus into things like the way the audio is processed. They use DSP managers to fine tune your audio.
There are some unique settings you can use as well. For example, by holding the back button, you kill whatever app is in the foreground. This eliminates the need for task killers, and lets you truly close an app when you want to.
The biggest pro for most people is that it is substantially faster. This makes games, and other resource heavy apps run smoother. If you use something like PSX4DROID (a playstation emulator), I would recommend this rom because you can use the Wii Controller, and the games will run smoother.
Overall, it's an engineering marvel, because it's built completely by open source developers. These are guys that all have day jobs and do this as a hobby, and in many ways, they do a better job than Google and HTC who have armies of full time developers. That's why they get so much support. Is because it's truly astounding what they do with their resources.
So this might be the blind leading the blind, but I'm a noob as well when it comes to ROM flashing stuff.. From what little you have mentioned CM6 isn't what you want. CM6 is very good but it is not SenseUI, by default it does not have swype, it does not do 4g, hdmi is not there and I'm sure there are other things... That being said, from what I have read, CM is very good for what it is...
If you want to stay relatively stock but with some tweaks, you likely want to look at Fresh or Myn.. do a search in the XDA evo-->android dev forum (actually usually the main thread for those 2 are on page 1 or 2)..
I have settled on Fresh because it uses the latest Sprint rom as its basis so you get most of the new stuff out of the box ie. swype.
Myn has a beta out there using the new rom, but I don't know where it is to download and I am not a good beta tester so I will just wait..
From a process perspective, I downloaded Rom manager from the Marketplace, flashed the latest Clockwork recovery and used the rom manager to download fresh and let it install it for me.. Be sure to check mark the clean everything checkbox in rom manager when it asks..
Hope that helps...
jc8081 said:
I'm new, my evo is rooted tho but now I wanna install a rom. Isn't Cm6 probably the best? I want one that's not much different just smoother.. can someone give me some pros and cons and also a link to maybe a tutorial of how to download and install roms.
Does it delete anything to install a rom?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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I think I'm gonna go with Cm6 just bc it seems like they have plenty of features. But what do u mean not hdmi? Like not even pictures and videos?
Also can someone give me a link to how to install them.. Thanks
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bradleyw801 already did a good job of the Pros, so I'll list the Cons of CM6 (there aren't many):
1. It's the hardest of the ROMs to flash. Reads laughable but to someone who is really new to this whole thing, it's true. Most ROMs you can just flash and tryout. CM6 you need to flash twice: once for CM itself and once for the Google Apps (it's pretty useless without the gapps). ROM Manager makes this pretty painless with a simple checkbox, so follow above advice, but still be aware you need GAPPS.
2. No 4G Support. Yet. That's the keyword, as there are a few devs on this very forum who are runningCM with 4G .... it's just in alpha stages.
3. No HDMI Support. Yet. Again keyword ... but less so. HDMI out is one of those things you hear about every so often but nothing ever surfaces from it. It's like Duke Nukem Forever.
4. For all the Sense bashing that some will do, HTC had some very nice widgets that most people miss when they go to CM. Most notable is the big clock widget. Now there are market apps that emulate it, but the only ones that do a good job of it cost money (beautiful widgets and fancy widgets pro). Be ready to look for apps to replace what came shipped with your EVO if there are some things you like and would rather not be without.
Hope that helps.
Ok now Cm6 doesn't sound great. I actually use my hdmi, are there any roms easy to flash.. i just want one that makes my phone smoother and also so unneeded apps don't run in the background?
Bc mine now is getting slow like when I open my messeges and are going from person to person it takes forever. Thanks again
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jc8081 said:
I'm new, my evo is rooted tho but now I wanna install a rom. Isn't Cm6 probably the best? I want one that's not much different just smoother.. can someone give me some pros and cons and also a link to maybe a tutorial of how to download and install roms.
Does it delete anything to install a rom?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Well, now that you are rooted it would be a perfect time to get used to making backups and flashing.
You could try making a nand bacckup and flashing CM6(.1.2) and seeing how well it suits you. Like any (or most) ROMs there are themes and you can mess around with different things to make it more to your liking. CM6 is as stock Android as you can get. I don't necessarily dislike Sense, and some of the Sense widgets are really cool (and are for the most part replaceable) but in the end I like the feeling of just plain Android.
The lack of 4G and HDMI out is more of a personal user thing. I haven't missed my 4G and I've been using CM6 for my Evo for almost the whole damn time, since it was first released that is. HDMI never really interested me before, but full UI out is something else entirely. Before it was just hype to me.
CyanogenMod just feels right on the Evo. Best way to decide is to take the plunge and maybe set it up for a day. Restoring a backup is super simple. Take the necessary steps to flash successfully and check it out.
And as for things being deleted off the SD card; not sure if you mean everything or specific things. Things like SMS, call logs etc are not backed up but YOU can back them up in various manners. Some SMS backup apps or what have you which I've never tried. Call log I assume as well. Email and things like that, which are tied to your Google Account are backed up by "The Cloud" or whatever you want to say, and same goes for contacts if you've obviously synced them with your google account. Like, contacts under phone can be synced with google account that way the phone contacts aren't deleted, unless I have that last part wrong.
You can wipe the SD card completely, but that doesn't really happen when you wipe data, cache and dalvik. Just the important stuff so the ROM takes. Check it!
edit: didn't hit submit right away, late post as it seems your not really feeling it. you can remove bloat apps that you don't see fit in ROMs, things that someone might have not removed themselves (even then removed apps are usually available at your discretion) but not all apps can be removed. There are lists about that have "safe to remove apps" and the like.
try it for yourself, if it doesn't do what you need it to, flash another ROM. pretty much any AOSP based ROM has issues with wimax and HDMI but there are many strong ROM's to run, you will probably change it up from time to time and the hardest thing you will find is trying not to flash
You really should try out roms for yourself instead of listening to others. Some people like some things and others like others. I've run CM on 2 phones now (MyTouch Slide and G2) and it's been extremely stable, fast and just fantastic. If it had wimax and hdmi working i'd have it right now (I like watching hulu on my big screen while I eat ).
If you want something that has everything working, myn's warm twopointtwo rom works if you have the older Evo hardware (pre-0004). It's very nice and still runs sense or mikfroyo, which also has sense, but it supports the new evos.
If you want vanilla android and can wait for the wimax and hdmi, get CM, there's just no alternatives. If you can't wait, go to the dev section and look for the threads that start with [rom] and see if any of them suit you better.
Fwiw...I'm a total noob to the android scene. I'm fairly tech savvy, good in general with pc's, hacking tivo's, etc..nonetheless I was very hesitant to root and flash my evo. But, I took three plunge last night, first rooting, then performing a nand backup. I then uninstalled all the sprint apps successfully. I was fairly happy at this point.but I have been experiencing random reboots and sense crashes prior to rooting. So I took the plunge and flashed cm6.1 and gapps last night.
I have to say I wish I had to done this months ago, I love the look, feel,and performance of cm / stock android. I struggled with battery life before flashing, but there is a significant improvement in batt life since ive flashed. I also installed swype beta,as I had received an invite just prior to sprint including swype. Im bummed about the lack of 4g, but 4g is hit and miss in the south bay so I cant complain too much. Oh ya, wifi tether is an added bonus.
I say go for it. ;-)
Well the biggest con is that you can't use 4g or hdmi, which defeats the purpose of buying the evo and paying $10 fee for 4g. Not to mention the fact that stock android looks like a 3rd rate Linux distro from early 2000s.
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so me running cm6 defeats the purpose of me owning my phone????
I dont live in a 4g area......4g is only really advantage when tethering to a laptop
Ok guys thanks for everything but i really need a link so i can figure out how to backup and flash and rom...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
jc8081 said:
Ok guys thanks for everything but i really need a link so i can figure out how to backup and flash and rom...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Sure. First sticky at the top of the forum: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881747
The stickies are pretty comprehensive for the EVO. Pretty much anything you'll want to know will be there.
As for CM6. It's super fast. I love it. I don't mind being without 4G (at least when I'm not testing ) and HDMI (I use Twonky Media Server to stream pics and vids to my Xbox over wifi).
Both of these features are coming soon so if you decide to go with another ROM, just keep following CM for updates on these features. When they are done I don't see why you wouldn't use CM.
As for alternative roms... I know Myns is very popular.
Also, I'll note, you can always flash CM6 and play with it for a bit and then wipe and flash any other rom.
tl;dr - Read the sticky, try myns and follow CM progress.
You might want to take a look at MIUI. It's well designed (unlike Sense), is pretty fast (faster than Sense), and has a ton of extra features (like Sense). While it doesn't have WiMax right now the CM guys are close to getting it working; and since both are based on AOSP, it will be relatively easy to port to MIUI. I prefer CM but if I didn't have a iPhone (since MIUI tends to feel like a copy of it) I'd probably use MIUI.
If you can live without 4g then go for it. The battery life is great. I flashed a sense rom today and with in an hour I was flashing back to cm6.
Sent from CM6 using XDA App
Ok thanks now one last question I think... when I do nandroid backup does it save my apps? Bc i was watching a video it said u have to nandroid backup and apps with titanium I think...
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bottom line: try a few ROMs, each for a day, and stick with what you like. no substitute for trying it out yourself.
fine print: i'm a vintage user. I was running android on my Vogue before there was an android phone, when GPS would always place you in san fransisco (someone will know what that's all about - thanks dzo). anyways, having a rooted phone is about many things, but one of them is the ability to flash and try what you want.
if you've got a deal breaker, like 4g or HDMI out, sure that limits you now, but as posted before keep reading and trying new things as they come out. if you're lucky, you may yet become a flash-aholic.
i'm a sense guy; not for the launcher (off and on i'm running adw, lp, and sense home, depends on the month), but for the sense apps. I love the sense messaging app, that's the program I use most on my phone. I ran vanilla for a long time on my vogue, and I tried out CM6 for a day. it's just not me. and I never use 4G or HDMI. you won't know what fits you until you try, though.
to each their own. use what you like.
I use to be a die hard CM fan but now Im using MIUI. Both have a lot of nice features.
Titanium Backup will allow you to backup apps selectively and then reinstall them later. (you can do many other things as well) This is very useful, especially for apps that you can not easily obtain. (ie. not available in the app store) An example is any game from GameLoft or a beta that you may have. (like Swype before it was deployed) So after you switch to CM6 or whichever ROM you can then load these apps on to the new ROM.

[Q] Startup Customization

So coming from the winmo world and great things like sdconfig and XDA_UC i was hoping that there is something out there like this so i dont have to go and find all my .apk's again in the market and get everything resetup the way i like it. I am also open to the prospect of building roms but i searched and looked thru the development forum a bit and didn't see any sort of tips/tricks/guide. So am i lacking at searching??
First, rooting your phone helps a lot. Then once you've got root, go grab Titanium backup off the market. I reccomend purchasing the Pro key while you're at it. You'll be glad you did. These phones are rediculously easy to root and tweak to be exactly how you like it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
tacotoy said:
So coming from the winmo world and great things like sdconfig and XDA_UC i was hoping that there is something out there like this so i dont have to go and find all my .apk's again in the market and get everything resetup the way i like it. I am also open to the prospect of building roms but i searched and looked thru the development forum a bit and didn't see any sort of tips/tricks/guide. So am i lacking at searching??
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I've found that using titanium and also the clockwork backup (followed by advanced restore of just /data) makes switching roms so much easier with my Epic than it ever was with my winmo phone, so I wouldn't worry there.
With regard to developing, here are two threads that I've saved which have in them some good links:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=771655
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=859285
Good luck and enjoy!
thanks, i was using titanium backup with my xdandroid build on my tp2, but it always seemed to carry problems over with it. maybe i should forget my fears since this is real android now lol.
thanks again for the links

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