Related
Ok, I installed Clockwork a while ago, then removed it and unrooted (I no longer needed root access, and I'm not doing any image flashing or anything that requires it). But after removing clockwork, it still boots to that first when I reboot my phone. In case if I ever have to take my phone in to VZ or something, how do I stop it from booting to that? I'm guessing it's not just a normal app, since I've reset to factory since then to try to resolve another issue, and it's still appearing, so I'm guessing it installed itself into the ROM.
I basically rooted my phone originally to install Titanium Backup before doing the factory reset, then I was thinking of trying some custom ROM's, but I decided not to (other than a performance increase, there's nothing else I really care about right now that custom ROM's would provide). So I installed Clockwork Mod and everything else RLM703 listed (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=814299&highlight=guide), then removed everything after I decided not to mod it.
I can understand your concern on the not flashing, however if you do not flash i think you also still have the Superuser app (even ifyou dont have root rights) that itself would also void your warranty. The easiest, fastest, and safest way is to Flash it using the Method below.
Go To (droid-life .com /2010/09/21/how-to-return-droid-x-back-to-android-2-1/)
((**As a new user i cant post outside links so delete the spaces after life com in order to get the proper working link.))
**
You will download 2 things. The SBF for 2.1 (Which afterwards you can use OTA to reupdate to 2.2).
RSD Lite: This program is used by Motorola to flash phones so its not some unstable application that will mess up.
After you install the drivers, THEN install RSD Lite. You must Run RSD Lite as an administrator. Shift Click RSD Lite and choose Run as Administrator (Even if you are on an administrative account). Afterwards you just navigate from RSD lite to where you have your SBF Saved, Boot your phone into bootloader, then press start. Takes about 5 minutes and you are back to a brand new Droid X.
Like i said i understand your concern on this, and im deeply sorry if you get a rare case and it does decide to mess up, but i just flashed my phone 3 times yesterday using this method and never had a problem.
Hope this helps!
Ok, I know I created a backup through ROM Manager before I stalled Clockword Mod Recovery, but now I can't find it... However, I've been having some minor issues with my phone ever since I updated to 2.2, so maybe I'll just find a stock SBF and flash back to that... That link I posted has a droid x guide, with a link to a stock 2.2 SBF, so I can just grab that and flash it tonight or something. Or even just download it at home and keep it in case if I need it down the road...
I got a DX a few months ago, rooted it, etc. About a month ago I decided to go ahead deodex it. Installed CWM and did a backup first, then deodexed. During the process the instructions said to copy the guava.odx file out of the modded fileset, so I did. Everything seemed to work OK, rebooted, been fine since.
Early this week I got the update notice for 2.3.340, so I restored the CWM backup, downloaded the update, and tried to install. The phone rebooted and began installing the update. A few seconds into the install I see what looks like a yellow triangle around the progress bar, and it bails out. Once it finishes rebooting I get a message that the update failed.
I haven't removed any bloatware apps, so I don't think it's that. I suspect it's either 1) that I'm rooted, althoughs others here have updated while rooted; or 2) that guava.odx is missing and I'm not sure where to put it back.
Any ideas on my next step? Grab the 2.2 SBF and start over?
THanks.
jjalenak said:
...Installed CWM and did a backup first, then deodexed... ...Any ideas on my next step? Grab the 2.2 SBF and start over?
THanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um - sorry. I did read the post wrong.
I am rooted and was able to install. So I don't think that is it. After you rooted - but before you made your back up - did you mess with any system files or remove any bloat ware? You need to have all of that stuff to successfully install the OTA.
I don't remember messing around with anything. I had originally thought I'd remove the bloatware, but ended up not doing that.
Where would I find the stock 2.2 SBF? I can restore that, then update and re-install all of my apps, etc. Can someone also provide the instructions on how to install the 2.2 SBF?
Thanks.
Head over to mydroidworld.com and check out their thread on the update. You can flash it via cw recovery along with the baseband, bootloader, etc.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
A full SBF (2.3.320) via RSD cures all then start all over ***MAKE BACK UPS !!!** Then do 2.3.340 via phone.
If you want to really do it right copy your SD to you PC format the SD with your phone and only add back to the SD files you need and know that way you get rid of any old data files that may haunt your phone.
So I hit MyDroidWorld and found the 2.2 SBF thread. Downloaded the file along with the RSD Lite version. Update the Moto USB drivers to the latest 4.8 drivers, and installed RSD Lite. Plugged my X in, making sure it was set for PC mode and Debugging - but it doesn't show up in RSD Lite. What now? Or did I manage to overlook a crucial step?
Thanks.
Found that I had to put the phone into 'bootloader' mode. Did so, and the phone now shows up in RSD Lite. I can select the .SBF file, but the 'Start' button remains grayed out.
<sigh>
It shouldn't be this difficult, should it?
Do I have the wrong .SBF file? The bootloader shows 30.03, so I think that's the correct one for the 2.2 SBF....
Thanks.
Found an approach to flashing the 2.1 SBF here - http://rootzwiki.com/index.php/Smartphones/Motorola/Droid-X/Droid-X.html
This seemed to work (RDS List showed 'Passed' as the final status), but when I go to reboot it is giving me an error. Here's what's on my screen -
Bootloader
30.03
Err:A5,70,70,00,1F
MEM_MAP Blank
Service Req'd
Battery OK
OK to Program
Transfer Mode:
USB
Help! What do I need to do next?
Apparently needed the 2.2 SBF. Flashed it and the phone has re-booted successfully. Whew. What a pain in the a.....!
Thanks.
PS - RSD Lite has a status of 'Please manually power up this phone.', progress is 'Executed; 100%', Result is 'In Process...'. THe phone is powered up, although I do have this odd little blue triangle in the status bar next to the signal strength. If I click 'Close' in RSD Lite I get a message "Application is currently busy. Closing application may DAMAGE the attached device.". Needless to say I'm a little unsure about this. Is it OK to unplug the USB cable and close RSD Lite?
PPS - OK, needed to *228 it. Still not sure about close RSD Lite though...
PPPS - Success! Went ahead and unplugged the USB cable, then closed RSD Lite. Did the 2.3.340 OTA, rebooted, and everything appears to be OK. Need to get my root access back, but that shouldn't be too bad.
Here is the link to the new update to install just rename to update.zip place on the root of your sdcard then reboot recovery and install update.zip
http://www.4shared.com/file/ov_2h3JM/Blur_Version2320A955VerizonenU.html
Why would someone need to download this, shouldn't everyone be able to update over the air.
FYI really like 2.3 runs very nice on droid2
To answer your question, I would. I recently left verizon and now I cannot get the OTA update. I still use my Droid 2 for android development. I just don't use it for a phone.
That said. I can't use the above update. I SBFed my phone back to stock Froyo System version 2.3.20, installed z4root to load clockworkmod Droid 2 recovery, and finally attempted to flash the above file from the SD card. I get the following error:
assert failed: getprop("ro.product.device") == "cdma_droid2" || getprop("ro.build.product") == "cdma_droid2"
blah blah blah
(Status 7)
From the failed assertions I'm assuming this update doesn't recognize my phone as a Droid 2 and refuses to install the update. Does anyone know why that might be? Like I said I restored to stock before attempting this.
Wait a second. The file linked is called Blur_Version.2.3.20.A955.Verizon. That's the stock Froyo version. Is it called that because you need to be on that version or is this just an older file? I'm confused. Is this or isn't this the just released Gingerbread update?
It's an oddly named file, but the last time I saw that one linked it was the OTA. I still feel one is better off SBFing to stock and downloading it that way.
What's going on, I was following the steps on theunlockr but when I tried to extract the OG firmware my laptop said it was probably damaged, any way I can get the firmware somewhere else? I am running on Fission right now and want to go back to stock so I can scoop this update, it looks pretty nice. Please help me out if you can, thank you.
If you want to go back to stock to force the update the right way, the above file won't help you.
1. Get RSD Lite http://www.multiupload.com/HL0ZAL9GK8
2. Get Moto Drivers http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7632904/USB_Drivers_bit_4.7.1.zip
3. Get Froyo SBF http://bit.ly/dir7fq
Install the Moto Drivers on your pc, then boot into your bootloader and connect via usb. Then run RSD and load the SBF file. Once you complete that, reboot the phone and go to settings > phone info > check for updates. The new GB should be waiting for you, all official like.
Good looking out fam, will check in when finished!
Despite the odd name it is the correct file. But do not use CWM or bootstrap to flash it! Rename it to update.zip on root of sd card then use Stock recovery to flash it.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
You're right it worked! I'm finally gingerbreaded. Thanks so much everyone.
Hello again, so my phone is just stuck on the Droid loading screen (Droid followed by the red symbol) I have no idea what to do although I followed the steps stated above.
**EDIT**
So I was able to fix this problem by wiping the cache as well as my data, thank you all!
idefiler6 said:
If you want to go back to stock to force the update the right way, the above file won't help you.
1. Get RSD Lite
2. Get Moto Drivers
3. Get Froyo SBF
Install the Moto Drivers on your pc, then boot into your bootloader and connect via usb. Then run RSD and load the SBF file. Once you complete that, reboot the phone and go to settings > phone info > check for updates. The new GB should be waiting for you, all official like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this exactly as stated and I cant get me droid 2 to be seen in the RSD. I get a drive letter when I reboot to recovery but nothing shows in RSD. Any ideas? I tried wiping data and cache and did a factory reset still nothing.
Back to a rom manager backup from yesterday atm.
Make sure your phone is in PC Mode (and possibly Debugging Mode) so RSD can recognize it.
JDunc said:
Make sure your phone is in PC Mode (and possibly Debugging Mode) so RSD can recognize it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I made sure I have debugging on and in pc mode. I see Droid 2 when I have my phone powered on but when I reboot in recovery just a drive letter and nothing in RSD.
I just saw this
D2user said:
Despite the odd name it is the correct file. But do not use CWM or bootstrap to flash it! Rename it to update.zip on root of sd card then use Stock recovery to flash it.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must have missed it the first time I read the thread I will try to install it as update.zip through the standard recovery and see if that works.
Ok I was able to get this on my phone with RSD the trick is to have your phone in PC mode and NOT to reboot it yourself the program will do it automatically. I got my phone updated but now it wont even give me the option to download the update OTA.
Yea I could've told you not to manually reboot. So you did a SBF to 2.3.2 and went into Settings > About > and System Updates and got nothing?
Correct I redid the sbf twice more to make sure it took.. when I go to settings > about > and system updates its greyed out.
UPDATE: I dededeee it, forgot to reactivate my phone after sbf the 3rd time. trying the OTA now
Ok phone is upgraded and rerooted.
1. sbf with RSD 3 times till it took
2. upgrade with OTA
3. rerooted with One Button Root
4. replaced progs with titanium
phone is fast right now, lovin it.
Glad you FINALLY got it working. Try out CM7 for GB. Do a backup before doing so and see if you like it. If not you can always restore back.
I think I may have done something wrong. My phone works but it restarts randomly, is there a way I can get it to stop this? Should I start from scratch or just get a different ROM?
Well... Seems like we've got ourselves a new bootloader, after flashing the BETA1 Gingerbread for U8800. Not cool...
I tried it and didn't like it.
Furthermore, I wanted to keep my device in that zen condition which allows me to return it to my carrier under warranty.
I've tried to revert to my carrier stock ROM, but to no avail. I can run froyo alright, but the carrier costumizations are simply ignored, courtesy of the new bits that came with Huawei's beta.
Some time ago, and antecipating something like this, I connected the mobile, while in pink screen mode, to a linux box and dd'ed the entire volume to a dump file. I can mount this dumpfile through /dev/loop and confirm it carries the same partition schema that is present in the mobile. I'm tempted to dd it back to the mobile, to restore it, but affraid of bricking it for good. If bootloader gets invalid then nothing short of a factory j-tag flash will solve it, for sure.
Has anyone done this before?
Thanks in advance.
EDIT: It worked. The whole volume was restored (bootloader included, naturally).
Greetings,
Everything else aside, claiming that the installation of a manufacturer released upgrade (yes, even one labeled Beta) automatically voids your device's warranty pretty wild. That's not to say that someone somewhere won't make that argument, but there are plenty of crazy people in the world.
That said, good luck.
bonowax said:
Well... Seems like we've got ourselves a new bootloader, after flashing the BETA1 Gingerbread for U8800. Not cool...
I tried it and didn't like it.
Furthermore, I wanted to keep my device in that zen condition which allows me to return it to my carrier under warranty.
I've tried to revert to my carrier stock ROM, but to no avail. I can run froyo alright, but the carrier costumizations are simply ignored, courtesy of the new bits that came with Huawei's beta.
Some time ago, and antecipating something like this, I connected the mobile, while in pink screen mode, to a linux box and dd'ed the entire volume to a dump file. I can mount this dumpfile through /dev/loop and confirm it carries the same partition schema that is present in the mobile. I'm tempted to dd it back to the mobile, to restore it, but affraid of bricking it for good. If bootloader gets invalid then nothing short of a factory j-tag flash will solve it, for sure.
Has anyone done this before?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is the dump file around 4gb then yes it will work I did it my self through restoring raw sd image
Sent from my u8800 using xda premium
By the time I red your reply, my mobile was already back to Zen state. Thank you nevertheless.
On a side note: the battery was very low by the time I initiated the restore, but since it was connected through USB, I assumed it wouldn't be an issue.
It took around 45 minutes to restore the image and when finished, the battery was exhausted to the point that I couldn't turn the mobile on. Thought I had bricked it for good...
Charged overnight and everything was fine and dandy.
Cheers
mine took 25min
I managed to downgrade to 2.2:
Get some 2.2 update, mine was b136.
First tried to update from sd card, it failed. Then tried from the internal SD and it worked (Take off the external SD first). But the update was too fast and it only booted to original recovery (with some warnings). So i did the update again and now it toke the usual time. But it it still only booted to original recovery (with some warnings). Then i did a factory reset from the original recovery, and voila, it booted to 2.2!
Once the 2.2 was booted, i copied CWM recovery in the pink screen and it works now too. Then i was able to install Miui again.
straight restore did not work for some reason, maybe needs to format everything first?
sanpsa said:
i managed to downgrade to 2.2:
Get some 2.2 update, mine was b136.
First tried to update from sd card, it failed. Then tried from the internal sd and it worked (take off the external sd first). But the update was too fast and it only booted to original recovery (with some warnings). So i did the update again and now it toke the usual time. But it it still only booted to original recovery (with some warnings). Then i did a factory reset from the original recovery, and voila, it booted to 2.2!
Once the 2.2 was booted, i copied cwm recovery in the pink screen and it works now too. Then i was able to install miui again.
Straight restore did not work for some reason, maybe needs to format everything first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
man you are the king!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks you
sanpsa said:
I managed to downgrade to 2.2:
Get some 2.2 update, mine was b136.
First tried to update from sd card, it failed. Then tried from the internal SD and it worked (Take off the external SD first). But the update was too fast and it only booted to original recovery (with some warnings). So i did the update again and now it toke the usual time. But it it still only booted to original recovery (with some warnings). Then i did a factory reset from the original recovery, and voila, it booted to 2.2!
Once the 2.2 was booted, i copied CWM recovery in the pink screen and it works now too. Then i was able to install Miui again.
straight restore did not work for some reason, maybe needs to format everything first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I had it running FROYO back too, but the phone's condition wasn't the same as before.
If I understood it correctly, the 2.3.5BETA rewrites de boot partition - the 2nd primary parition on the device, marked bootable. This becomes obvious when the "IDEOS" logo is replaced by the "HUAWEI" one during device boot-up.
The partition scheme is the same as before, however, as I had the chance to confirm.
Flashing a 2.2.1 ROM from Huawei did not write the old bootloader back, furthermore this might not be the only change.
I was able to revert to an overseas 2.2.1, both through CWM restore and "dload" method, but carrier customizations were always absent.
Along with the regular system, my carrier's ROM adds a batch of apps, ringtone, wallpaper, binaries and libs, under "cust_data/tmn/pt". These were all ignored. Not that I cared much for them, but as I stated in the original post, I wanted it back in the original condition, as TMN will consider warranty void if the device has been tampered with.
Since I had a raw dump of the volume I restored it back and got my mobile as it was some 3 weeks ago... To my relief...
Can you please make a tutorial to make and restore raw backups?
1. Step : Download a official 2.2.2 rom
2. Step : Put the dload folder at the root of your sd-card
3. Step : Power your device of and boot into bootloader by pressing volume +, volume - and power (before you do that, you can do a titanium backup)
4. Step : Wait till the prozess is done. When your device doesn't reboot by itself, reboot it manually. (if there are any problems with the rom, wipe cache and date with the original recovery)
5. Step : Download a CWM recovery. Boot your device like the same way above into the bootloader. Rename the CWM recovery you've downloaded before into recovery.img
(6. Step : Rename the recovery of your device in the folder (device):/image into recovery.img.orig, to do a backup of the original recovery)
7. Step : Put the new recovery.img in the folder from above. Unplug your phone from the PC and put the battery out to turn it off. Boot it into recovery by pressing volume + and power.
Congratulation, you've restored your Ideos X5 to 2.2.2.
Now you can download a custom rom and install it by the normal way.
FabioAreia said:
Can you please make a tutorial to make and restore raw backups?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good sugestion... Will start a new thread for it.
IDEOS X5 - Update dead drives bootloader - help me
4. Use the English language.
We understand that with all the different nationalities not everyone speaks English well, but please try. If you're really unable to post in English use an online translator, You're free to include your original message in your own language below the English translation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MOD EDIT: Please read the forum rules.
how can we restore a raw dump?
dd if=[image filename] of=/dev/[block device allocated to the U8800] bs=512
Search the forums for the complete tutorial...
when i got my moto defy for xmas last year, i had my older brother root it for me. i really had no idea how to safely use root, but i liked being able to overclock and all the other features. the phone was a little buggy just because it was on 2.1 and no updates yet. once an update came out, i installed it and got a great performance increase. later, i realized that it was not working right. whenever i hold down an on-screen button, the touch sensitivity "timed out" after only about 1.5 seconds, unless i kept my finger moving around on the screen. and every few times i reboot the phone, this glitch goes away until i reboot again and then it is back. root was also taken away, and none of the one click roots work. also, when the 2.2 update came out, i got the error message when rebooting after installing the update and it did not work. i tried wiping the phone several times, no luck. i am now interested in fashing a custom rom and rerooting. would this fix it? there must be a special way to do it since my phone is so messed up. i would like 2.2 or 2.3, and 720p vid would be cool too. the version i have now is 2.1.1, so can anybody suggest a rom that is stable and will work ok?. one more question, when i flash a rom, will it leave my apps and settings alone or do i have to start over?
Have you tried using SuperOneClick to root the phone? (You'll need to install the Motorola drivers for it to work.)
In most cases, you will lose your apps and settings when you flash a new ROM. But, if you figure out a way to root it, you can back everything up in Titanium Backup first, and restore it afterward.
If you just want to start from scratch, try wiping everything in the stock recovery. To get into the stock recovery, power off the phone, hold in the volume- button then also press and hold the power button. After a few seconds you should see a triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle, and a little green android guy below that. Then press the volume+ and volume- buttons at the same time, and a menu should appear. Use the volume buttons to navigate the menu, and the power button to select an option. Select "wipe data/factory reset" and also "wipe cache partition".
If that doesn't work, I'd recommend flashing a new Froyo sbf using RSD Lite. Here's a quick tutorial:
1) Install the Motorola drivers and RSD Lite on your computer. See this guide for installing Moto drivers and RSD Lite:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=853674
2) Download the sbf file that you want to flash, and save it to your PC. Many sbf files can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=966537 WARNING: If you flash a full stock SBF file, in most cases you will lose the ability to downgrade to earlier firmware versions. NEVER flash a full stock SBF file with a higher Android version than 2.2 (Froyo). Any stock firmware with Android version 2.3 or higher is made for the DEFY+, which has different camera hardware than the DEFY. If you flash the stock DEFY+ firmware, your camera will be broken and you won’t be able to downgrade back to Froyo again.
3) Make sure the phone battery is fully charged. Power off your phone, then hold in the volume+ button and the power button at the same time. After about 5 seconds, release the buttons. The bootloader should display – it will show the version and a battery check. (If that doesn’t work, pull the battery, then put it back in while holding the volume+ and power buttons.)
4) Start RSD Lite on your computer, then connect the phone with a USB cable. In RSD Lite, the Status column should say “Connected…”. Click on that, and some information about your phone should show up under Device Properties. Next, click the “…” button and browse to select the SBF file that you want to install. After opening it, information about the file should show up under File Properties. Then click “Start” and wait for the flashing process to complete. Wait until the phone has fully rebooted and RSD Lite says “Pass” before closing RSD Lite and disconnecting the USB cable. As an extra precaution, I usually power off the phone before disconnecting the cable.
Then you should be able to root, install custom recovery, and flash custom ROMs to your heart's content.
Good luck!
Thanks! Sorry to be a noob, but how do I know if a rom /sbf will work? Doesn't it matter what android version I have now? 2.1.1 is it
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Most custom ROMs for the defy require that you upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) first. I can explain how to do that, if you like. What country are you from, and what cellular service are you using?
Before doing anything to your phone, you should read this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1216982
Take a backup using titanium backup. This takes Care of all app and games. Then flash froyo. Go hd to install a custom rom like cm7. Guides are there for this. Restore all app and games with data from titanium backup
all this stuff is like you are speaking french to me. could somebody link me a sbf that has 720p video capability, 2.2 of some sort, and that is going to work with my current version(2.1.1)? i am still confused if the glitch i described will be fixed, and if it matters that i installed an update from motorola after i rooted. i really hate to be such a noob, but i don't have time to read all the guides and stuff. thanks for all the help, i just need a little more detail as i am very new to all this. I have T-Mobile USA
and one more thing: i just looked at some of the sbf's in the guide you showed me, the only 2.2 US file was from Megaupload, and F***King SOPA shut it down. now we feel the effects of this horrible law.
The best base (Froyo 2.2.2) for using a custom rom :
http://sbf.droid-developers.org/umt...RDNFRYORTCEE_P016_A016_HWp3_Service1FF.sbf.gz
Flash and enjoy CM7, Miui...
But honestly you need to read a little bit before... Or I can explain in french to you if you prefer... :-D
ritchrocko said:
all this stuff is like you are speaking french to me. could somebody link me a sbf that has 720p video capability, 2.2 of some sort, and that is going to work with my current version(2.1.1)? i am still confused if the glitch i described will be fixed, and if it matters that i installed an update from motorola after i rooted. i really hate to be such a noob, but i don't have time to read all the guides and stuff. thanks for all the help, i just need a little more detail as i am very new to all this. I have T-Mobile USA
and one more thing: i just looked at some of the sbf's in the guide you showed me, the only 2.2 US file was from Megaupload, and F***King SOPA shut it down. now we feel the effects of this horrible law.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your DEFY has a greenish-yellow camera lense (as most do), you won't get 720p video capability no matter which sbf you use. (Unfortunately, it's a hardware limitation.) Most custom ROMs will enable you to take widescreen videos, though.
You don't need to use a T-Mobile USA sbf, by the way; you can use any Froyo (Android 2.2) sbf you want (except for Chinese ones, which will burn out your camera flash). You just have to change the cellular radio baseband afterward, to match the frequencies used by T-Mobile USA. That's easy to do; just use the "DEFY baseband switcher" app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1052745 (Many custom ROMs, like CM7, already include the basebandswitcher app.)
Since you don't want to search through the forums for a guide on how to flash an SBF, here's one I wrote for a friend a while ago:
Flashing SBF firmware with RSD Lite
Follow this guide to flash firmware files (with .sbf filename extension) on the Motorola DEFY. This is useful for “de-bricking” a phone that won’t boot (provided the bootloader still works), or if you want to do a clean install of the Motorola stock firmware. I don’t recommend flashing SBF files unless absolutely necessary, however, since the process is dangerous: there is a slight possibility that your phone could become “hard-bricked” if something goes wrong. (A phone is hard-bricked when you can’t even access the bootloader to flash new firmware.) It is much safer to flash or modify firmware using ClockworkMod custom recovery, which doesn’t mess with the bootloader. (See step 3 for more info.)
Before flashing any new firmware on your phone, I strongly recommend reading this Beginners Guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1216982
WARNINGS:
A corrupted SBF, power failure on a critical part of the formatting, or some weird issues while creating partitions can lead to a “hard-bricked” phone (i.e., a phone that can’t even be restored by flashing new firmware, because you can’t get into the bootloader). It is recommended that you flash your phone from a laptop with a fully charged battery, to reduce the risk of losing power while flashing. Use good cables, and be sure that the PC doesn’t go to sleep during the flashing process.
If you flash a full stock SBF file, in most cases you will lose the ability to downgrade to earlier firmware versions. NEVER flash a full stock SBF file with a higher Android version than 2.2 (Froyo). Any stock firmware with Android version 2.3 or higher is made for the DEFY+, which has different camera hardware than the DEFY. If you flash the stock DEFY+ firmware, your camera will be broken and you won’t be able to downgrade back to Froyo again. (You can, however, install DEFY+ firmware without losing downgradeability, using the “fixed SBF” method. See this guide for more information: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1216982 )
The Chinese version of the DEFY has a different kind of LED for the camera flash. Using the camera flash with that firmware can permanently damage the LED.
Before installing any new firmware on your phone, backup your stock firmware, so that you can return your phone to its original state in case you ever need to send it to Motorola for repair. The firmware for the US T-Mobile version of the DEFY was never released as an SBF file, so you won’t be able to restore the phone to its original state unless you have a full system backup of the stock firmware. (See note at step 3 of the guide below.)
1) Install the Motorola drivers and RSD Lite on your computer.
See these guides for installing Moto drivers and RSD Lite:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=853674
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=897445
2) Flashing new firmware using RSD Lite will erase everything on your phone’s internal memory (but not the SD card), so backup your contacts, settings, and any apps you’ve downloaded. I recommend using Titanium Backup, which is available free on the Android Market.
Note: your phone must be rooted before installing Titanium Backup. You can root the DEFY using SuperOneClick. Rooting the phone voids the warranty, but you can use SuperOneClick to un-root it if needed. See this guide: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile...d-samsung-captivate-with-super-one-click-app/
As explained in the guide, you need to unmount the SD card and enable USB debugging before running SuperOneClick. The latest version of SuperOneClick can be downloaded here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682
3) Download the sbf file that you want to flash, and save it to your PC. If you are doing a “clean install” of CyanogenMod 7, I recommend using the 3.4.2-179-2 CEE DEBLUR sbf. Links to download it can be found in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=966537
It would be a good idea to keep that file on your PC, in case you ever need to de-brick.
4) Optional step: before flashing an SBF file, it is a good idea to wipe data and cache in the stock recovery. (I usually forget to do that, though, and I haven’t had any problems.) To get into the stock recovery, power off the phone, hold in the volume- button then also press and hold the power button. After a few seconds you should see a triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle, and a little green android guy below that. Then press the volume+ and volume- buttons at the same time, and a menu should appear. Use the volume buttons to navigate the menu, and the power button to select an option. Select "wipe data/factory reset" and also "wipe cache partition". (At least, that is the procedure on Android 2.2. If I remember correctly, on Android 2.1 you had to tap somewhere on the touchscreen to get the menu to display, and the touchscreen was also used to navigate the menu.)
5) Make sure the phone battery is fully charged. Power off your phone, then hold in the volume+ button and the power button at the same time. After about 5 seconds, release the buttons. The bootloader should display – it will show the version and a battery check. (If that doesn’t work, pull the battery, then put it back in while holding the volume+ and power buttons.)
6) Start RSD Lite on your computer, then connect the phone with a USB cable. In RSD Lite, the Status column should say “Connected…”. Click on that, and some information about your phone should show up under Device Properties. Next, click the “…” button and browse to select the SBF file that you want to install. (WARNING: read the above warnings about file versions and downgradeability.) After opening it, information about the file should show up under File Properties. Then click “Start” and wait for the flashing process to complete.
7) Wait until the phone has fully rebooted and RSD Lite says “Pass” before closing RSD Lite and disconnecting the USB cable. As an extra precaution, I usually power off the phone before disconnecting the cable.
8) Root the phone using SuperOneClick. See this guide: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile...d-samsung-captivate-with-super-one-click-app/
As explained in the guide, you need to unmount the SD card and enable USB debugging before running SuperOneClick. The latest version of SuperOneClick can be downloaded here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682
9) If you're not going to install a custom rom and you used an sbf that is not for T-Mo USA, you'll have to change the baseband frequencies. Install the baseband switcher app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1052745 Open the app and click on the “Americas” tab, and select one of the “US T-Mobile” options. (The “US T-Mobile 3.4.2-107-9” option works well for me.) The phone will have to be rebooted again.