Database Users

[Q] noob looking for guides on building custom roms

hello everyone i am fairly new to the world of android ive only had 2 android phones the first was a samsung transform which i rooted and had everything done to it that was possible but recently traded it for an echo and to my dismay cannot root it so i am gonna try and build my own custom rom just dont know how to do it ive been looking online for guides but it seems like everyone i found only works with htc? if someone could please guide me in the right path on finding guides on building roms that would be awsome i am curious to learn this whole process thanx

This probably isnt the right place for your post, a section called Android Development for your specific phone would be a great place to start a thread.
As for the question though, there generally speaking are no guides for building roms. Most people will start small, with mods or themes, then slowly grow into full roms. Although based on your post, your phone cannot be rooted, so how are you expecting to install the rom without root?

[samsung i857(doubletime)]ROM devlopers and users of this phone

HI all , i lunched this thread after weeks of googling and usless search for a new stock or custom rom to update my phone (samsung sgh-i857 doubletime) it's a dual screen phone with querty built-in keyboard it's from at&t and it is stuck on android 2.2.2, i'm very sad that they and after years from lunching it didn't back it up with a single soft update -_- ... and i know that there are users who bought this phone like me and seek help.. i know that it's not this easy but if you are a devloper help us by creating a custom rom for it ....if you are a user of this phone please support this thread by commenting so we can get an update for it :good: ps: i attached informations for it's cpu

Hello good sir, I like you am a noobish Doubletime user who is struggling to update it to Gingerbread. So far I have been somewhat able to use the Cyanogenmod source code and I have built a CWM Recovery for the device but that seems to have hard bricked it... I ordered a new one off ebay for $15 and I'm ready to start cooking. You have my support!

Just an update.
I have a plan I have on how to get this runnin.
1. Port CWM to the DoubleTime through Cyanogemod 6.
2. Get a working version of Cyanogenmod 6 working on the DoubleTime to hopefully free up some space.
3. Find if Gingerbread can run on Froyos kernel.
From there I'll either be building a GingerBread compatable kernel or Cyanogenmod 7 depending on compatability. Any advice or help would be very appreciated.

Being new to ROM building I'm a little lost and hesitant on flashing things but here's what I know so far.
The DoubleTime uses a Qualcomm MSM7230 same as the HTC Vision. I forked it's Github respiratory and I'll be using it as a base as recommended by the Cyanogenmod porting guide.
The partitions sizes (as a accurately as I can estimate them) are:
/cache=21.05MB
/data=176.65MB
/system=194.38MB
I may need to know the recovery partition size but I'm not sure how to find that out.
I have the recovery.img and the boot.img as well as the zImage. So as soon as the repo sync is done I'll be on my way.

I'm back again today with somewhat mixed news, I can find most of the partitions and their names (I've learned a lot today) but I can not seem to find the boot, recovery or ramdisk partitions. I'm already boggled by the what seems to be unconventional naming setup for partitions. Put all of my "notes" in a text docement in the attachments section. Any help with this is very appertiated. I can type and post anything into the ADB shell you need me too.
I'm beginning to feel like I'm talking to myself, I probably am...

Upon reading forum rules and such it has come to my attension that this is the wrong forum for this kind of thread, So I have made a new thread in the Miscellaneous Android Developement Forum that will hopefully be more useful at getting more proffesional and opinionated help.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2651728

Asking about root for Lollipop (a small community rebuke)

Hello guys,
at first I want to say that I am really happy to be a member of this community, where so many users from different countries with different devices come together
and conducting experience exchange. This community is really important for every G3 user, especially to be updated on latest software or to solve problems.
But what really drives me nuts is the ongoing asking about how to root Lollipop in every possible thread.
The answers are mostly the same, what makes this question (let it be a post or a thread) almost useless.
Not only that it annoys me if I am continuously reading the same things, it also makes the whole forum confusing and relevant informations may go missing.
Why we cant create a seperate thread for rooting Lollipop whereto all this issue regarding threads will get removed?
And let us be honest: If you are not able to collect knowledge about rooting from the already existing threads, you shouldnt do it anyway.
Sorry but that had to be said
Just my 2 cents!

airflyer737 said:
Hello guys,
at first I want to say that I am really happy to be a member of this community, where so many users from different countries with different devices come together
and conducting experience exchange. This community is really important for every G3 user, especially to be updated on latest software or to solve problems.
But what really drives me nuts is the ongoing asking about how to root Lollipop in every possible thread.
The answers are mostly the same, what makes this question (let it be a post or a thread) almost useless.
Not only that it annoys me if I am continuously reading the same things, it also makes the whole forum confusing and relevant informations may go missing.
Why we cant create a seperate thread for rooting Lollipop whereto all this issue regarding threads will get removed?
And let us be honest: If you are not able to collect knowledge about rooting from the already existing threads, you shouldnt do it anyway.
Sorry but that had to be said
Just my 2 cents!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong section for your REBUKE. We have Mods who determine whats right or wrong to post and they delete or move threads accordingly.
This rant is a waste of time and space. IMO should be in the Q & A Section but thats for the moderators to decide.
The next big thing will be to ROOT the G3 in its Lollipop/ART state which is why you see this question asked everywhere.
whoever comes up with a way to do this is worthy of praise.

I think the hardest thing to do is 1) Tell everyone at once that it doesn't exist yet, and 2) Tell everyone once it's achieved!
Sticky's do not work, in this day and age where information is so readily and quickly available, most people will not read pages of Q&A, no point discussing it it just will not happen.
Would be nice if once root on stock is done, that a message could be sent to anyone who's posted keywords 'root' + 'stock' under the LG G3 forums. Maybe that's an app in itself. IFFFT + Pushbullet etc etc

I second that my man. RoOT me stock G3 xda

we want to do something about the root Lollipop, please let

Hey guys, I'm using the d852 variant , upgraded to lollipop recently via the OTA, and obviously lost root because of it. Can anyone PLEASE help me get root back?! I've skimmed every post on XDA and not a single one mentions root for lollipop . thanks in advance

There is Root!
tmjm28 said:
Hey guys, I'm using the d852 variant , upgraded to lollipop recently via the OTA, and obviously lost root because of it. Can anyone PLEASE help me get root back?! I've skimmed every post on XDA and not a single one mentions root for lollipop . thanks in advance
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Click to collapse
Hi Friend,
Please try this thread that I just created: http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3/general/guide-update-to-lollipop-root-bumpd-twrp-t3048845
...it's tested to be working fine for my LG G3 variant (D858HK). The steps are from this original thread; I just added an extra manual step (and my thread looks long because I tried to detail the step, with pictures).

Help from experienced Developers!

Hello devs,
I have had a Micromax Canvas 2 Colors phone since a year and a half now. Custom/Themed ROMs were uncharted territory for me till June of this year, when my warranty was about to expire. I decided to use the VionicL ROM then. One heck of a ROM that was. Later, in the span of months, so many developments came in for the device, CM11, CM12/12.1, MIUI, and so on. I was very happy to see that there are so many people working hard on providing us the very best experience on our phone. But, like most of the average mobile phone users, I used to download the ROM, install it and enjoy, nothing more than that.
Now, as the time has come for me to switch to a new phone, I am switching to Lenovo K3 Note. I have had digitizer issues with my Canvas 2 Colors and the battery back-up was a little on the poorer side. So, I'm finally giving my phone away to one of my friends and moving on. Although, I would've loved to experience the final, stable build of CM12.1. Thanks to all the devs that worked hard on that. @Al3XKOoL : Especially you, man!
Now that I'm going to be using a new phone, starting from the 28th of October as per Flipkart, I looked up the phone on xda. Unfortunately, there is no forum for the phone. I was a little disappointed, but even C2C did not have a forum a few months ago. So, I tried looking for ROMs, and I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the progress in new and variety of ROMs. I agree that it is a fairly new phone, but there are a lot of people who own that phone, so I was expecting better results. And another point that many people like me would be searching for ROMs.
The help I request from all the developers here is to teach me to develop ROMs and Porting ROMs. I am absolutely inexperienced here, but I'm eager to learn. I'm 17 years old and I am studying 12th grade at the moment. I would still love to learn about ROM development and Porting so that I can provide the people with some ROMs like you all have. Although, I will not be helping out the C2C family, I can start to help the K3 Note family in any way I can. I hope some developers are interested in having an acquaintance.
Please consider this a sincere request and if anyone can please help me learn, I would be very, very grateful to you. I know that I can't learn it overnight, and that is why I want a proper guidance.
If anyone is interested to help me learn about the things mentioned above, please contact me through a message.
Thank you and sorry for annoying you lot with a long post!
And I will be indebted forever to all the developers in the C2C community for giving me and all the C2C owners a pleasurable experience. Thank You!
Sorry for tagging you people, but I hope you don't mind and you people are the most recognized devs in the C2C community :
 @vibhu0009
 @smokerman
 @ariafan

first of all thanks for our words..im still using my WIKO RAINBOW as my second phone..ive moved on to VODAFONE SMART ULTRA 6 and im testing MIUI 7 LOLLIPOP with a ported rom already that is booting and running with TWRP ..although is very buggy its ALPHA version still, that is nice..
for developers/porters whatever is not easy to teach someone..we have our work to do and that kind of knowledge we have, it took us a few years and at least some dead phones, hard bricks and a few other bad things that could happen to our phone..so my advice to you:
read
search
talk with other users
now and then ask for help when you need it, some users know a lot
you need time and patient..be aware that many times things will not go as you expect or wish..best of luck and keep following us in my blog and youtube..RAINBOW / MMX A120 C2C still is a good phone.:good:

Is anyone developing cm 12 for lenovo k3 note

smokerman said:
first of all thanks for our words..im still using my WIKO RAINBOW as my second phone..ive moved on to VODAFONE SMART ULTRA 6 and im testing MIUI 7 LOLLIPOP with a ported rom already that is booting and running with TWRP ..although is very buggy its ALPHA version still, that is nice..
for developers/porters whatever is not easy to teach someone..we have our work to do and that kind of knowledge we have, it took us a few years and at least some dead phones, hard bricks and a few other bad things that could happen to our phone..so my advice to you:
read
search
talk with other users
now and then ask for help when you need it, some users know a lot
you need time and patient..be aware that many times things will not go as you expect or wish..best of luck and keep following us in my blog and youtube..RAINBOW / MMX A120 C2C still is a good phone.:good:
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Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for taking time out to read my post and replying.
Nice to hear that you've been working on a different phone and rolling out new ROMs for that phone too!
Yes, I know that everyone have their own work, family and personal stuff and everyone are developing in their free time or as a hobby. I will be doing the same too as I have my studies as a bigger priority.
I understand it is not easy to teach anyone about developing, at least guiding is possible, right? I would be glad if you could guide me in what to read and where to be careful etc. stuff like that.
I already bricked my K3 note once and revived it somehow. I know it will not be an easy road or it is just as easy as downloading a ROM and flashing it in recovery, most of the users can do that. I know it is hard work, I will try to read, but there is so much knowledge on XDA alone that it will take me forever to read, understand and be able to implement. So, what I am asking is, if you could let me know on where to begin and in which direction to go after that, I would be indebted to you.
Again, Thank you for taking some time out, I know you have loads of work, and I hope I can be as good a developer as you someday!
weaponoidindustries said:
Is anyone developing cm 12 for lenovo k3 note
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Click to collapse
There is a Chinese developer who has rolled out CM12.1, but the English translations are not complete, so there are some chinese fonts still left behind, and there are some bugs in that too. I would not recommend using that ROM for daily use till the bugs are sorted out and the full English support is included.
With some support, I was planning on compiling CM12.1 for the K3 note. I've noticed that major developments for this phone is on some Spanish and Russian websites and not on XDA. I was a little sad to see that, but hopefully, there are a lot of developments on XDA too!
Cheers1

Hello There!!
My Phone Is Mmx A120 Canvas 2 colours
I was trying to get back to stock rom
And Always Getting this no space error 5069 While Flashing (1st image)
After searching i found that format will fix this and i can flash like a charm
But after formatting my Device Is dead
no boot, no charging, no recovery
I'm Trying TO whole flash but I'm there is no option for that only Getting without bootloader one
Then i've checked it memory in memory test option now i'm getting
Nand Flash Not Detected
Plz!!! tell me what i can do to take my phone back to life
The Phone is out of warrenty

I see a pattern emerging - lack of guides

Hello! This will be a quick post about how it was good earlier and how it can be better today, so please, stay with me.
I've been using Sony's for a while now, starting with small and cute Sony Ericsson k510i, then k550i, then wt19i (LWW), and then Xperia SP. My "flashing career" started after I've lost warranty on my k510. At that time there wasn't a lot you can do to your phone - there were several official firmwares, various customization options, and a lot of custom patches. No competition, one latest official firmware, a big library of patches that you could port to your device, if someone didn't do it already. The only competing area were a lot of graphical patches, but you could compile them together on your phone. Like today, if you were doing something wrong with your phone - you'll get a brick and it's your fault. But for every device there was an instruction, a beautifully crafted instruction on what to do and how to do everything, step by step. Almost every thread included a complete set of links to get you started. If you needed to flash a customisation after installing something, there would be a link on how to flash custom right there.
Today I have my XSP and try to do something to it. So I open one link (non-sticky, needed to bookmark it), see a lot of ROMs, part of which are no longer maintained. Finally open one of them based on performance rating, and see that it needs some kernel. So I go to kernel list, and see that it can't be flashed without recovery. What recovery? One specific recovery, because another one can't flash it. Now how do I flash recovery in the first place? I need a manual for that. Now I go to kernel and ROM page and see that no manual is available for them, too. So I open main device page and don't see any manual, so I open a sticky thread. And guess what? I don't see manual there. And that's when I start a new thread, type my problem in, and see a non-sticky thread with last post made 2nd of May 2015, and no pages link to that thread at all.
Is that how it goes this days? A newbie comes in, spends whole evening, opens 10 tabs, and still can't find anything relevant? I think we need to do something with this, revisit old threads, compile a new one-for-all guide, or at least a list of guides. And stick it, so people can actually see it. Otherwise there will be small closed community of those who already can develop and flash, and all the others who either got brick or is afraid to get a brick. Thanks.
---
UPD: And then I see that the kernel which I almost decided to flash is closed and all developers migrated to another one. I'm talking about tangerine and helium. Again, no info in the first post. And main developer openly says to users of his work - if it didn't work for you, don't use it. What's wrong with you people...

I'm deeply sorry if I offended somebody with my previous post. I'm happy that you guys do such amazing things with this 3 year phone. But damn, FULL INSTALLATION took about 10 minutes, counting PC reboot into linuxes to get fastboot working. In case someone struggles like me, use CyanogenMod instruction to get to Cyanogen Recovery; download TWRP Recovery, ROM of choice and GApps of choice; place all three ZIPs onto your sdcard; go to recovery, flash TWRP, reboot into TWRP (by pressing volume rockers while loading), do Wipe - Factory Wipe, flash ROM, flash GApps, reboot to normal. Wait for about 5 minutes (black screen is normal, there will be dots flying after a minute or so to keep you entertained).

Yes, It's that simple nowadays, so why bothering typing so much? I was in that situation with my SP, too, but if the are so many answers to these questions and so many threads... "You have to read" is the answer! A lot! It's for your own good, trust me. Now I can do anything I want with my phone with nohow! So a little reading and searching here and there is just positive experience for you. Don't complain, the people here ( well a part of them) are hardcore coders or themers or whatever. You can't just ask them to tell you all the stuff. If want help I'm always available.

Thank you for linking to my very dusty and lonely Flash ROM guide hahaha
No you didn't offend anyone at all. The guides are actually there, like how to use Flashtool, how to unlock bootloader, how to flash recovery and everything, it is just that they are buried deep with time as the development goes. The thread are there, in the General section and are awaiting to be searched. Though some are outdated, some are not and you can benefit from there.
Some searching will normally do, but if it didn't, just ask in the threads, someone will probably answer to you!
I always have my eyes on the General and Q&A subforums of the Xperia SP, and I will usually respond to a help-able problems. So if you have any problems, feel free to post in the Q&A subforum, and if not me, someone will help you. If there are nobody, don't feel offended. Maybe people don't know what to help or suggest (but lets just hope that is not what it will be )
About recovery, PhilZ and CWM is way outdated, and its time for everyone to make TWRP as a standard as it is a still updated recovery. Cyanogen Recovery in my opinion is crap as there are far too less feature plus, it enforce on signed flashable zips.
About the thread on Tangerine, the developer said dont use if it doesn't work is because of the norm of the Kernel. The kernel is made by using an AnyKernel template, hence render support for almost all Lollipop ROMs. Since ROMs can be updated and all ROMs have different sources, a simple change in the system part can render Tangerine unsupported, and the developer cannot do anything (definitely his choice, please respect that) to only fix the problem on one ROM which could possibly break support for the majority of the ROMs! This also appplies to Helium. Therefore, his words of "dont user it if it doesn't work" has a meaning, and it is not something to degrade new users and so.

kojata said:
If want help I'm always available.
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TechnoSparks said:
I always have my eyes on the General and Q&A subforums of the Xperia SP, and I will usually respond to a help-able problems. So if you have any problems, feel free to post in the Q&A subforum, and if not me, someone will help you. If there are nobody, don't feel offended. Maybe people don't know what to help or suggest (but lets just hope that is not what it will be )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answers and offering help, happily I was able to install my ROM of choice and it still works flawlessly, I was even able to squeeze 20 battery days from my old XSP.
Thinking about it, I start to understand why that dev answered like that. I was a python dev in the past and know how one feature can kill two others. Just in my head there is one current linux kernel, and all things that are developed should work with that particular kernel. Kernel comes before OS, if you will. Isn't it the case with ROMs and droid kernels?
About TWRP and reading: I honestly did read a lot of info before doing something, because it's my only phone these days. But it's so hard to find information on whether something is deprecated or not. As a new user, you wouldn't just google "is this deprecated and no longer used?", because that search will not provide any info. That is why during that evening and following morning I lost count of how many times I just shaked my head asking which recovery/kernel should I use and how do I install it? Latest being the easy one, because I already found TechnoSparks thread by that time.
In case anybody is interested, I installed Candy 5 on default kernel. But I still don't know if installing android 5 on a kernel used with android 4.2 was a good idea. It went well, however.