Hey.
I have a question that is about sharing ROM's for our Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505). We all knows that the normal way of sharing a new ROM is to wait for a ROM maker / developer to release a new ROM with new modifications and stuffs.
But what i'm thinking on is another way of sharing current ROMs. What this is about is to install the ROM of your choice and theme / modify it like you want it and then take a whole Nandroid (TWRP) backup of the whole ROM and then compress the nandroid backup files you have on the SD card or internal memory into a RAR file and then upload it to a sharing webpage like MEGA, Google Drive or any other good sharing pages.
Now i'm not sure if this is possible / legal to do and if this kind of question is asked before. But would this work to share a ROM this way and then download the nandroid RAR file from others with the same phone as me and unzip it and put it on the SD card or whatever and then run a restore from the TWRP recovery on our phones?
Or is there other things that will make this impossible to do?
I'm sure this have been asked before, but i can't find anything about this by searching, so that's why i'm just making this topic where i'm asking about this.
And i hope this section was the right place to put this kind of question in?
Greetings from Tom-Helge.
Thing is, how do you leave the personal stuff/apps/app settings out & just keep the stuff you want ? (what stuff exactly are you wanting to share in this way? ?) I can't see how you'd do that. I mean, it wouldn't be a huge stretch for someone to put malicious apps in the nandroid. A lot of people don't even look @ Su toasts, they just hit grant without giving it a thought.
I think you need to explain what you're hoping to achieve out of all this a bit better, and why your way would be better/easier/whatever than the current way people do things.
Edit - Also, I think what I'm getting at is, the way things are at the moment, people have complete control over what goes on their phone. You have to flash a rom/kernel/mod/whatever, and you decide what theme you want, what apps/app settings you want. I can't really see the appeal of what you've proposed in the way you've initially explained it at least (though that may change if you explain it a bit more fully).
MistahBungle said:
Thing is, how do you leave the personal stuff/apps/app settings out & just keep the stuff you want ? (what stuff exactly are you wanting to share in this way? ?) I can't see how you'd do that. I mean, it wouldn't be a huge stretch for someone to put malicious apps in the nandroid. A lot of people don't even look @ Su toasts, they just hit grant without giving it a thought.
I think you need to explain what you're hoping to achieve out of all this a bit better, and why your way would be better/easier/whatever than the current way people do things.
Edit - Also, I think what I'm getting at is, the way things are at the moment, people have complete control over what goes on their phone. You have to flash a rom/kernel/mod/whatever, and you decide what theme you want, what apps/app settings you want. I can't really see the appeal of what you've proposed in the way you've initially explained it at least (though that may change if you explain it a bit more fully).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it's a more easier way of getting a themed / modified ROM that already exist that might suit you better and might save you alot of time to configure the ROM.
It's pretty much the same way of making a ROM of your choice as the ROM developers do. The ROM developers choose what they want to have in their ROMs and how they want to theme it. While this is sharing a modified ROM after you have installed that existing ROM on your phone.
The concept would be in the same way as the Themer Beta app is. There you can download preconfigured themes and use them the way they are or change them a little after you have downloaded them.
And as for putting malicious apps into the nandroid backups, it would be easy to find out if someone does that and if this type of sharing would be possible and allowed to do here, then the devs always have the banhammer to bust those who have bad intentions towards others here.
I hope this clears a bit more up on what i'm asking after .
EDIT: As for the personal stuffs on your ROM. The way i'm thinking is to install a ROM of your choice and then only modify / theme it the way you want it and leave out the personal stuffs until later when you have created the nandroid backup. Or you could simply remove the accounts and the personal stuffs from the ROM before you creates a backup to.
Ahhh OK, I'm with you now. Still seems like a really convoluted way of doing things to me though. Some people might like it, but if you're the sort of person who roots/mods your phone for the control you have over it, I'm not seeing how a person would be interested in what you're proposing. The people most interested would be people who are time poor or, more likely, people who are too lazy to set their phone up themselves.
MistahBungle said:
Ahhh OK, I'm with you now. Still seems like a really convoluted way of doing things to me though. Some people might like it, but if you're the sort of person who roots/mods your phone for the control you have over it, I'm not seeing how a person would be interested in what you're proposing. The people most interested would be people who are time poor or, more likely, people who are too lazy to set their phone up themselves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it will work. The only thing we have to make sure is to not include any apps that cost money to buy. That's very important.
Like now, i can just take a whole nandroid backup of my current OS as it is now. After that i could just remove any apps that's not needed to be included and then remove all of the accounts and stuffs.
When the ROM is like i want it to be, then i can make a new nandroid backup of the ROM i want to share and then just upload it and share it. Then peoples can download that and run a restore from TWRP recovery and install it. After that i can just return to my main ROM that i took a backup of before i started to modify the ROM to be shared.
So if peoples likes the way i have set up my ROM and want to use that, then they will download my nandroid backup.
Ofc, the peoples that downloads my nandroid backup needs to install the other applications they like that's not included in the nandroid backup.
But yeah, it will work, but it really depends on how much interesting this will be to others.
If peoples are intrested in this, then we can make a topic about this and when we share a nandroid backup, then we have to specify what ROM we use, what apps that are included and have several screenshots from how the ROM is looking and so on.
Related
Well hello everyone.
I am an application development student from Belgium.
I am proficient in Java, VB.NET, some c/c++ and also PHP/JS/HTML/CSS
Anyways, my recent interest has been going out to creating custom roms for the galaxy S!
The problem now is though, I was able to find some guides and such, but most were incomplete, and for HTC(and other) devices.
I have no idea what is different between making a ROM for galaxy S or a ROM for an HTC device.
If anyone would like to link me to some good resources that can help me on my way, or would like to collaborate (and in the meanwhile teach me a bit) I would be more than happy! (I am open for collaboration as I am pretty proficient in Java and I'm always happy to code and learn more about coding!)
I think the question is really want you want to do!
Custom ROMs for Android are as simple as using recovery console to replace files on the system with your own versions.
ie. Replace the framework.apk which contains all theme images with your own modified one, which you can use to skin the device. Same for replacing other system apps.
Unfortunately, most of these apps are closed source, so modifying them is difficult. The stock android system has open source versions of most of them though, and you can modify those and build them, and then replace the ones on the device. I'm not entirely sure how to build them up though, but it probably isn't too hard.
Then there are custom kernels, which let you actually change the underlying linux system underneath android - Samsung has an open source version of the kernel available that you can compile, and then flash to your phone using Odin or other tools. Compiling the kernel is pretty tricky though.
Well i'm really talking about stuff like SamSet, MoDaCo, Doc's ROM and others.
I'm not saying I want to create a pro ROM in a day or anything, but i'd really love to learn more to get better (always looking for more stuff to put on the resume, I guess?!)
Thanks a lot,
Kenny
Bump for some help
(sorry for the double post but i'm really eager to learn)
I don't have time to give a detailed response right now. However you will want to read up on yaffs (file system) and odexing/deodexing ROMs.
Thank you I will definately do that,
I am following a guide now to start out creating custom ROMs for android, however it was written for Motorola Droid and I have no idea what you have to do different for a samsung galaxy s.
I am a good coder, even though I say so myself, with a lot of experience. I also have a lot of linux experience, you name it
Only the problem is the old, and much known "where do I get started?"
So if anyone can point me out in the right direction on that, tell me how/where you started out, I would appreciate it greatly!
Thanks!
Very sorry to bump again
I set up my environment in ubuntu today to get started (just gotta fix a few errors, didn't know android wouldn't compile on java 1.6, only on 1.5)
Anyways, still need some help here! thanks!
Again I am awefully sorry for the bump here but i'd really like some help.
Note that i'm not a newbie at coding whatsoever and i'm not unfamiliar with some hardcore java, c/c++ and other languages, I'm just having trouble getting started when it comes to modding an existing android release (there are tutorials on HTC and other devices but some methods do not apply to the galaxy S)
If you're trying to create a ROM from scratch then unfortunately you're out of luck at the moment. No one has really managed to do so yet. By "from scratch" I mean the Android Open Source Project (i.e. official Android git repository).
What you can do is grab an existing firmware. Extract the contents, de-odex the apks, modify them or add new apks, optionally you can also compile a custom SGS kernel using Samsung's kernel source. Then you can re-odex the ROM, pack it back up and distribute it.
There's no real "starting place" as such and you won't yet find any tutorials about how to create SGS ROMs. Just give it a go and see where you get.
Yes, I do mean creating a ROM from stock samsung firmware, of course.
So my next logical question would be now:
How do I go over extracting contents from the existing samsung firmware, de-odexing and so on?
Any links/guides/tips are greatly appreciated, as long as they are applicable to this cell phone and not totally crap, thanks!
Samsung uses rfs, I think you should know. There is a thread somewhere in this forum regarding extracting .rfs file. Understood you need Debian though.
For some readup, go search for a famous guy named JesusFreke. Tons of materials...
Hope that from here onwards, this can lead you on, and to find out more. Google is your friend too...
I'm afraid my biggest problems already occur in setting up the environment, so it's really the very beginning that gets me stuck, i'm sure coding would be a bikeride compared to setting up the environment for me (i'm no hero in linux,not at all, i'm afraid)
How the hell do I get from point A (being downloading the full source) to point B (starting to create a custom ROM?)
thanks
of course if anyone has the time, and wants to, you can PM me your msn or something, if anyone is up to it
Raykoid666 said:
I'm afraid my biggest problems already occur in setting up the environment, so it's really the very beginning that gets me stuck, i'm sure coding would be a bikeride compared to setting up the environment for me (i'm no hero in linux,not at all, i'm afraid)
How the hell do I get from point A (being downloading the full source) to point B (starting to create a custom ROM?)
thanks
of course if anyone has the time, and wants to, you can PM me your msn or something, if anyone is up to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed completely! Getting a full cross-compilation to Samsung's Android going is seriously difficult! There have been some promises for tutorials and guides for setting things up though, but none have appeared yet. Probably because it's hard!
Well thank you for agreeing with me on that.
I am really hoping for anyone that can help me out here, either on here or in private, and give some detailed instructions on how to get started.
Hell there is enough information on creating roms alread, deodexing, adding/removing apps etc etc etc... The real problem lies in setting everything up properly.
I think I have gotten to the point where I'm compiling the android source (without samsung specific files)
note i'm saying "i think i am compiling" because i'm hoping it won't error out on me again after an hour of compiling!
But once that is done... I have no idea where to go next, where to get the samsung specific files, or what to do with them whatsoever once i have them
thanks!
Android generic source won't actually help you much. Samsung has made a huge number of changes to it, and while it is all open source, backporting their changes to get your stock source running on the phone is a major undertaking. I believe cyanogenmod was actually working on this, but it seems without much success so far.
What the other rom makers you see are doing is taking a snapshot of a running rom, copying over all of the APKs and the files on a running device, and then tweaking those. ie. Opening up framework-res.apk and changing the image files inside.
The update.zip roms that are what most people are doing are really just using the Android recovery to replace files on the phone with their own versions. Since the underlying system is linux, and everything is a file, this actually works pretty well.
The kernel development effort is completely separate from the rest of the system though, and Samsung has provided the entire source tree that just has to be compiled. I'm a bit stumped myself on all the details of setting it up, but I have seen some threads on this forum about it, and it didn't seem too bad to set up. Apparently you shouldn't use the codesourcery toolchain though, or something. Not too clued up on it, sorry. Hopefully someone with the details can chime in, or give us a link to the old post on it (I'm failing to find it using the search function! )
Alright sounds good!
So these recovery files you are talking about (the contents of /system) how do i retrieve those from a base ROM such as JM7 or the likes after a clean flash?)
Raykoid666 said:
Alright sounds good!
So these recovery files you are talking about (the contents of /system) how do i retrieve those from a base ROM such as JM7 or the likes after a clean flash?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root your phone, zip them up onto the sdcard, and then copy them off.
There are probably better methods, but this works fine.
Also, with credits to Unhelpful, he has told me that the correct toolchain to be using is 'uClibc or eglibc toolchain with ct-ng'. I have no idea what to do with that yet, but it's a start.
RyanZA said:
Root your phone, zip them up onto the sdcard, and then copy them off.
There are probably better methods, but this works fine.
Also, with credits to Unhelpful, he has told me that the correct toolchain to be using is 'uClibc or eglibc toolchain with ct-ng'. I have no idea what to do with that yet, but it's a start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't even need to root your phone to pull /system Ryan
adb pull /system <random folder>
is all you need ^^
Alright thank you, I managed to get all the /system files using abd pull /system
now next thing up would be de-odexing right, before I go editing stuff?
Now before I go de-odexing. Can anyone tell me what exactly de-odexing is and why I need it?
and what do I need to do to create an update.zip again?
thanks a lot all!
Tayutama said:
You don't even need to root your phone to pull /system Ryan
adb pull /system <random folder>
is all you need ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha cool, didn't know you could pull whole folders!
Raykoid666 said:
Alright thank you, I managed to get all the /system files using abd pull /system
now next thing up would be de-odexing right, before I go editing stuff?
Now before I go de-odexing. Can anyone tell me what exactly de-odexing is and why I need it?
and what do I need to do to create an update.zip again?
thanks a lot all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The apk files in Android are odexed - that means they have a special index applied for dalvik that speeds them up somehow! I don't know how, I haven't checked how it actually works.
The important point is though:
odexed is faster, but you can't edit it because of signatures or something technical
deodexed means you can change it however you want
More useful info can be found from google - lots of it!
update.zip is easy - it's a zip file in a special format that can be understood by Android's recovery console. The easiest way to do it is to grab an existing update.zip and modify it as needed. Tayutama has millions of em around, so use his!
Then you need to sign it once you're finished with it so that the SGS will accept it. Samsung made a boo-boo and didn't disable the test keys for the 2.1 SGS firmwares. That makes it easy!
http://www.londatiga.net/it/how-to-sign-apk-zip-files/
Just use the test keys to sign it, and then copy it to /sdcard/update.zip and reboot into recovery and it'll work.
I have customized a ROM and a few people want what I have. I was wondering if I could wipe my EVO, create a nandroid backup and give it to someone as a Rom. Is that possible?
Or would it just be easier to give them the backup? I just want to easily share what I have without giving someone any of my personal information.
I was going to try this on my friend...except he has a very different taste than I do. If you want to try it, save the folder the nandroid is to your desktop, connect your friend's evo and run this adb command:
Code:
adb devices
rename the folder with your device serial to what your friend's produced, load it on his SD card and attempt to flash as a recovery.
Edit: I think that number is under the battery on the Evo, but I can't remember for sure. I really don't want to unskin mine to check. If someone does, let us know.
that will allow the other person to use your back up the problem with allowing someone to use your nand back up is that it backs up contacts and settings. so if you nand restore to a diffrent phone they will have your google account contacts texts etc set up on it so make sure you change all of that so they dont get mad that you have been sexting their gf
you need to learn to make a rom using something like the dsixda kitchen
deathsled said:
you need to learn to make a rom using something like the dsixda kitchen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meh, This is a quick and easy way if you just want to share what you have. There's always different ways of doing things. +1 on erasing all of your personal data.
topdawgn8 said:
Meh, This is a quick and easy way if you just want to share what you have. There's always different ways of doing things. +1 on erasing all of your personal data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize that there is a good chance of erasing your 4g keys and completely ruining the chance of your phone being able to use 4g by doing this??
You should never use nandroid backups from another device.
If you do use your backup....ERASE WIMAX.IMG OUT OF IT AND md5.
Hi Guys I'm planning to make a small software to make installing a rom easier than it is right now, ( gonnna make it easier to do the first steps, you know, after you flash back to stock to root it then to CWM , etc ) just make things a tad easier.
Of course the program will be free, the only thing I do not know is if it is worth it, Meaning that if people will use it or everyone finds flashing a rom so easy that a program to make it even easier would not be used by anyone.
So if I make this it will be a windows program, I just want to know how many would actually be interested, if noone is interested I won't waste my time... so please any feeback is apprecialoved !!
Something like this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=944418
chuby007 said:
Hi Guys I'm planning to make a small software to make installing a rom easier than it is right now, ( gonnna make it easier to do the first steps, you know, after you flash back to stock to root it then to CWM , etc ) just make things a tad easier.
Of course the program will be free, the only thing I do not know is if it is worth it, Meaning that if people will use it or everyone finds flashing a rom so easy that a program to make it even easier would not be used by anyone.
So if I make this it will be a windows program, I just want to know how many would actually be interested, if noone is interested I won't waste my time... so please any feeback is apprecialoved !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could not be easier already, i have an update.zip that flashes clockwork straight from the stock recovery allowing a rom to be flashed without even having to boot the stock os. I think its common knowlege and available but if not i would be happy to share it.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
chuby007 said:
Hi Guys I'm planning to make a small software to make installing a rom easier than it is right now, ( gonnna make it easier to do the first steps, you know, after you flash back to stock to root it then to CWM , etc ) just make things a tad easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how it could be any easier.
copy the ROM to the sdcard
reboot to recovery
install
reboot
I suppose if your app adb pushes the ROM and then sends the adb reboot recovery command it might make it slightly easier.
Ok I see there's a program that already helps new people, so maybe this is not required, thanks for the feedback, ttfn
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Please suggest any changes, additions etc
Please don't try to hold me responsible if following anything here makes your phone die. Pretty please!
I have been looking through the forums, rom threads etc, and have seen a lot of questions cropping up again and again. Therefore I decided to start this project!
Basically I hope this will become a reference for newbies to get themselves accustomed to android and the galaxy s II! I will try to update it regularly with information about ROMS, Flashing and general android/samsung terminology.
If you think that I have given a wrong definition or think that anything needs clarifying more please tell me! Also, if you think that I should add anything then feel free to suggest.
Here we go...
Contents
1. Rooting
- Rooting your phone
2. Kernels
- Eplanation
- Links
3. Odin
- Guide to using Odin
4. Custom ROMs
- Risk
- Benefits
- AOSP ROMs
5. ClockWorkMod
- Explanation
- How to Backup/NANDroid
- How to Restore
- How to install a ROM using CWM
6. /efs
- What it is
- How to back it up
7. List of Custom ROMs
8. The Forums
9. Glossary
10. To Do list
RootingRooting is the process of getting 'root access'. In a nutshell this means that you can edit the system partition of your phone. The best analogy of this I can think of is if you imagine a tree! The tree you see above the ground is what you can edit on your phone normally, for example you can add music files, edit text files, etc etc. The 'roots' of the tree are the android system files themselves, they are unseen and are not usually meant to be messed with. It can also be seen as the equivelant of having administrator privilages in windows - with them you have better access to your computer.
Rooting voids your warranty! But you can un-root your phone by flashing a 'stock' ROM and Kernel.
Gaining root access however allows us to customise our phones even further, for example you can:
Edit files to create themes
Backup usefull system files
Remove bloatware and unwanted apps
Rooting the Galaxy S IIRooting the Galaxy S II is, thankfully, easy! Unlike certain other phone manufacturers *cough* HTC *cough* samsung haven't imposed any unnecessary locks on the phone, and so we dont have to hack our phones to pices to be able to root them.
Several guides already exist in the development forum on how to root you phone - it involves a custom kernel:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399 (by Chainfire)
Or, here is the Noobs Guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1126522 (capaxdoli)
And an extremely detailed thread from wibbsy:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1246131 (wibbsy)
Superuser and BusyboxSuperuser is an app that is present on pretty much all custom ROMs. It allows you to manage 'superuser' rights for your phone, in other words which apps you want to allow to have root access. If you dont have it on your custom ROM then you would want to download it from the market (free). Once you have it downloaded you dont need to do anything! It will warn you when an app wants root access, and ask you to allow once, allow all the time, or never allow. It can also be seen as a firewall for your phone, you can deny access to the root of your system files to apps you dont think should be down there!
Busybox is basically a set of commands that aren't built into android to begin with, but are part of Unix (which android is based on). They add additional functionality for root application to perform their job! To be honest this is all I know about busybox, but it is very useful, and lots of root apps need it, so download it!
KernelsThis brings me along nicely to Kernels! Kernels are basically a bridge between your apps and your hardware. It controls everything that apps send to the processor, and everything the processor sends back.
This, as you can imagine, makes kernels VERY important. On XDA, you might see a kernel posted in the development forums. The are usually identified as [Kernel] in the thread title. You will probably also see more brackets in the title, these identify what modules the developer has added to the kernel, or what features it includes. For example [OC/UV 1.5GHZ]. This means that the kernel will enable the phone to be overlcoked to 1.5GHz, but also means the processor is undervolted (meaning it draws less power from the battery).
For more details look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=894880 (mroneeyedboh)
And here for more details on 'govenors':
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=843406 (RJackson)
OdinOdin is a piece of software that allows us to flash anything we want to the phone. The file is attached to the bottom of this post.
It is perfectly safe IF USED CORRECTLY!
This is a general guide for using Odin, take a look at this picture (thanks to screamworks):
To get Odin to connect to your phone, you need to boot into 'download mode' by pressing volume down, home, and power keys at the same time, and connect your phone to your PC via USB.
Everything in red:
NEVER TOUCH
NEVER TOUCH
NEVER TOUCH
NEVER TOUCH
It's that simple! I would be more specific but most Roms, Kernels and CSCs have methods on their respective threads for using Odin with their ROM, so it best to look there.
Wait... (I hear you say...)
Why bother flashing a custom ROM if there is a risk of damaging your phone? Well, they usually come with the following benefits:
- Deodexed, basically allows deeper theming of applications
- Zipaligned, reduce the amount of RAM used when running an application
- Optimisations, meaning that the developer has tweaked the roms system files for bettery speed, battery life and stability
- Quicker Updates, Rom developers will more often then not update their rom to fix bugs FAR quicker then samsung ever will
- Additions, Developers also like to add their own additions to their ROMs, such as themes and applications
The benefits far outweigh the risk!
AOSPAOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs are built from the original android source. They are essentially a 'clean' version of android without any additions from manufacturers (e.g no Touchwiz, Sense, MotoBlur etc...). They are popular mainly because they are so customisable. Here is a list of the three main AOSP build you will find:
'Pure' AOSP
This is a build straight from Google's sources and does not contain any modifications whatsoever, other then those that make it run on the particular device. Here is the AOSP project website for more information:
http://source.android.com/
CyanogenMod
This is an extremely popular AOSP build that provides endless customisation to the user. The builds are fast, stable and reliable, and nearly every android device has a cyanogen mod ROM built for it. It is also popular for its 'nightly' (literally) updates. More information can be found on the Cyanogen website here:
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/
MIUI
MIUI is a chinese rom that has been heavily customised, and is influenced by iOS. Think what would happen if an android phone and an iPhone had a baby... Despite commiting the henious crime of trying to be an iPhone, it does work. MIUI Roms are essentially all about speed and looks, if that is what you are after! Here is the MIUI website for further information:
http://www.miuiandroid.com/
ClockWorkMod (CWM)
Clockworkmod is a 'custom recovery' made by xda member koush. Every phone had a recovery partition designed so that if the user messes up a ROM installation, they can recover their phone. CWM is a modified recovery installed into the recovery partition that allows advanced control over ROM recovery, installation and much more.
Features of CWM include:
- NANDroid Backup, This allows you to completely back up your existing ROM with all its files, data and apps
- Restore Backup, Restores a previous backup (obviously...)
- ROM installation, Allows you to install a ROM contained inside a flashable .zip file
- Wipe data/Factory reset, completely erases all of your data contacts, apps etc, leaving your phone 'as new'
Amongst others...
How to install CWMIf you have already rooted your phone using the CF-root Kernel, then you already have CWM! If not, then just install the kernel linked to above in the 'how to root your phone' section
How to make a NANDroid backup using CWMBackups are important because they allow you to restore your ROM incase flashing goes wrong, or you phone starts playing up and displaying wierd bugs.
To make a backup, you need to boot into CWM recovery (done through the 'cwm' app installed onto your phone when you flash the cf-root kernel). Then, you need to navigate down to 'backup/restore' using the volume keys, and select it using the home key. From here, just click 'backup' and you are all set! Leave your phone make the backup (its takes some time) and then just reboot when it tells you its finished. To restore your backup, do the same but instead of clicking backup, click 'restore' instead. Choose which backup you would like to restore and leave the phone to do its magic. Done.
How to install a ROM using CWMInstalling a ROM using CWM is a lot less hassle then installing via Odin. The ROM developer will specify which method of installing their ROM you can use, but it is usually done by a CWM flashable .zip.
To flash:
1. Boot into CWM as described above
2. Navigate to 'install zip from sd card'
3. Select it, and then navigate to 'install zip from sdcard' again!
4. Select the ROM you downloaded from your sd card
5. Navigate down to yes
6. Let CWM install you new ROM!
Note: The same process applies for flashing a kernel
The /efs folderThe /efs folder is a folder in your phone that contains information specific to YOUR phone, for example your IMEI number, product number, Wireless MAC addresses, and much more. There have been reports of people messing up their /efs folder when unlocking their phone or flashing new ROMs, here is an example from the Nexus S development forum (jump to page 111 to see everyone start to panic):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1034130
Therefore, it is important to make a backup! Instead of just regurgitating guides on the forums already, here is a link to a very good one by Rawat:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193 (Rawat)
The easiest way of doing it is by using terminal emulator rather then ADB (unless you have ADB all up and running and are confident with it)
Thank you to Godutch for suggesting this, I was never actually aware of it!
ADBADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, and is a useful tool for your device. It has many funtions including:
- Pushing .apks to your phone
- Pushing files to your phone to specific locations
- Rebooting to download and recovery
And I haven't even scratched the surface! It does a lot more trust me...
You will see guides on this forum saying 'this guide assumes you have ADB set up', which you definitely should do! However, there is a downside - it can be horifficaly complicated and fustrating to install for a newcomer to android, you have to mess around with SDKs, EXEs, Drivers, Paths, Yawwnnn....
So I'm going to let an expert describe how to do it! Here's the hard (but proper) way:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=879701 (Captainkrtek and Adrynalyne)
And here's the easy way, all nicely pacaged up for you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=502010 (VanillaTbone)
I would write a short explanation of ADB installation for you here but it would just confuse you, so im gonna let other people do the work!
Custom Rom List
Well, Swi7chblade has done a far better job at doing a custom Rom list then me so I will give you a link to his instead
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1253665 (Swi7chblade)
Stock ROMs
Intratech has a collection of stock ROMs, Kernels and Radios all compressed up nicely for you. Link is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278
Why stock I hear you say? Flashing back a 'stock' ROM usually helps fix random issues you might get whilst switching ROMs, like bootloops. Also, some people prefer the stock experience!
The Forums
Well, I'm not going to patronise you by telling you how to be nice to people etc, but there is often a lot of confusion with regards to the forum rules:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?a=81 (MikeChannon)
I often see moderators with dangerously high blood pressure stressing the following points in particular:
- Use the search button
- Post in the right forums
- Use the search button
- Don't spam/ Flame
- Use the search button
- No ETAs
- Use the search button
If you have owned a device that is supported by XDA before, or have had a look at other device forums, you may of noticed that the development forums for the GSII are slightly different. They are split into two sections:
- Original Android Development
- Android Development
This is an experiment being done by the moderators of the forum that (regardless of my own opinion) is meant to distinguish between 'original' Roms and 'derivative' Roms. For instance; cyanogenmod is a rom built from AOSP source and has been actively developed with added applications, improvements to code etc etc. It is therefore classified as 'original' and placed into the 'original android development' sub-forum. Roms that either use another Rom as a base or do not have any 'original' components are deemed 'derivative' and are placed into the 'android development' forum. Despite this, I urge you to look in both forums! The both have excellent Roms and just because some are deemed 'original' this does not mean they are superior to those that are not. There is great development going on in both forums
Useful Links
CF-ROOT and CWM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399
Galaxy S II FAQ:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065995
Korean Galaxy S II Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1097347
Android Terminology (from the CM Wiki): http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Terminology
Glossary:
Flash - Put new firmware onto your phone
Firmware - A piece of software
OC - Overclock (the processor)
UC - Underclock (the processor)
Odin - Used to flash new ROMs to yor phone
ROM - a piece of firmware, usually modified by a developer
CWM - ClockWorkMod recovery, a very useful tool used to falsh new roms, kernels etc
Nandroid - A method of backing up your existing 'Rom' with all its apps, data, contacts etc. Done through CWM
.apk - The file type that android apps are contained in. To install just click on it!
AOSP - A ROM built from the original google android source, not a customised version of a manufacturers ROM
CyanogenMod - A very popular, customised, AOSP Rom
TO DO
- CWM
- Finish glossary
- ADB
- Additions to rooting section (superuser, busybox etc)
- How to do a backup via CWM
- Expand ODIN section
- Link to stock ROM list
- Create a 'Custom ROM' list with links to all current custom roms
- Explanation of AOSP (including CM, MIUI)
- Forum etiquette
- Useful links
- Backing up the /efs folder
- Custom boot animations
Nice guide, a few remarks:
root in unix terminology is the same as administrator in window, so rooting a phone means you are getting administrative powers, also rooting your phone voids warranty
maybe some other things could be included: the jig, BACKING UP /efs(this should be the most prominent caption) and adb (+adb frontends like qtadb)
nice post
great for learners like me
godutch said:
Nice guide, a few remarks:
root in unix terminology is the same as administrator in window, so rooting a phone means you are getting administrative powers, also rooting your phone voids warranty
maybe some other things could be included: the jig, BACKING UP /efs(this should be the most prominent caption) and adb (+adb frontends like qtadb)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks for the hints, i will adjust the rooting section accordingly. I'm also going to add a to do list... right now...
Don't forget the /efs directory, if it gets messed up (and sometimes it does) you will loose your phone and data connection permanently and you end up with an expensive Galaxy S mediaplayer. There is no known way to retrieve it and it does get messed up flashing custom roms (many nexus s users now have, well an expensive mediaplayer after flashing a certain rom)
godutch said:
Don't forget the /efs directory, if it gets messed up (and sometimes it does) you will loose your phone and data connection permanently and you end up with an expensive Galaxy S mediaplayer. There is no known way to retrieve it and it does get messed up flashing custom roms (many nexus s users now have, well an expensive mediaplayer after flashing a certain rom)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you be ever so kind as to write me a definition to add? I'm not going to lie I had never heard of this probelm but it does sound important
willk22 said:
Would you be ever so kind as to write me a definition to add? I'm not going to lie I had never heard of this probelm but it does sound important
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can find a guide here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193 I didn't write it, I did read about the problems about what could happen if you screw the /efs directory here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12874457
How long before the post is ruined by idiots posting help questions in it .
Is their a way to lock it so as not to detract fro0m a very good stickie .
Just look at the FAQ page totally devoid now of being a FAQ .
Backing up EFS see topic Dev in section .
jje
JJEgan said:
How long before the post is ruined by idiots posting help questions in it .
Is their a way to lock it so as not to detract fro0m a very good stickie .
Just look at the FAQ page totally devoid now of being a FAQ .
Backing up EFS see topic Dev in section .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the desire dev section there is a reference thread, new suggestions are posted and once in a while the thread is cleaned: all the suggestions are added to the OP and then together with useless posts deleted....
JJEgan said:
How long before the post is ruined by idiots posting help questions in it .
Is their a way to lock it so as not to detract fro0m a very good stickie .
Just look at the FAQ page totally devoid now of being a FAQ .
Backing up EFS see topic Dev in section .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess that is something that mabye a moderator can do? It would be a dillema though because I really would like suggestions from the community on how to improve the guide and add suggestions and amendmants... but you are right!
godutch said:
you can find a guide here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193 I didn't write it, I did read about the problems about what could happen if you screw the /efs directory here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12874457
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I will add this tommorow!
I've never seen definite evidence that having root voids warrantee.Looking through all the documents it only says things like if you change the software and this causes the problem they won't fix it. I suspect they would still fix a hardware fault. Samsung have given phones to known hackers. It would seem hard for them to argue that rooting invalidates warrantee when they have encouraged it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
drspikes said:
I've never seen definite evidence that having root voids warrantee.Looking through all the documents it only says things like if you change the software and this causes the problem they won't fix it. I suspect they would still fix a hardware fault. Samsung have given phones to known hackers. It would seem hard for them to argue that rooting invalidates warrantee when they have encouraged it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better safe then sorry!
Plus phones can easily be unrooted.
drspikes said:
I've never seen definite evidence that having root voids warrantee.Looking through all the documents it only says things like if you change the software and this causes the problem they won't fix it. I suspect they would still fix a hardware fault. Samsung have given phones to known hackers. It would seem hard for them to argue that rooting invalidates warrantee when they have encouraged it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's true, I can't find the reference right now but a member called Kalua( he is an official samsung repair center) posted a part of the official service manual which says it voids warranty
http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_category/13
it's very hard to retrieve/find indivual posts though
edit: found it: http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/view_message/36107694
Could you explain the usb jig please. Isnt the binary clock reset when re rooting? In fact a whole how to re root your gs2 so samsung will never know guide would be great.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Thanks for this. It's very much appreciated by all noobs to Samsungs. I look forward to future updates
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
santiago84 said:
Thanks for this. It's very much appreciated by all noobs to Samsungs. I look forward to future updates
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! I will update everything and continue the 'to do' list as soon as i can...
Very good idea and think this will help a lot of people This will definitely be a good link to send those who are new to the device
drspikes said:
I've never seen definite evidence that having root voids warrantee.Looking through all the documents it only says things like if you change the software and this causes the problem they won't fix it. I suspect they would still fix a hardware fault. Samsung have given phones to known hackers. It would seem hard for them to argue that rooting invalidates warrantee when they have encouraged it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Rooting letter from Samsung .
http://www.samfirmware.com/apps/blog/show/5267754-newsletter-by-samsung-electronics-
This looks really nice, and will be a good ref for many. I even found myself asking lots of these questions in many threads because I'm used to the HTC way of rooting.
A nice little section to add would be a "unroot your device" for people with warranty purposes. This is a question that pops up everywhere.
Keep up the good work!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Greets all,
I am looking for a person who understand on how to create an apk for android, and if they can create one for me. I have tried and tried and I cannot get the last half of the apk because I dont understand programming and am truly clueless. I had someone who was going to help me, but then disappeared, so I come here for help.
I would think it would not be that hard for someone who knows what they are doing. If anyone would be so kind and willing please PM me, or reply. I would like to finish this project but I'm at a standstill.
The details will be provided in PM.
Thank you.
AngelDeath
Want do you want the apk to do?
Create just an apk is easy...but without any programming skills and some code in it it will do nothing .
An APK is just a simple ZIP file, nothing more.
Thats true, its a simple zip, but when you need it to make changes or copy files, thats where I am clueless.
I have already made the gui, and the menus, I got that all covered, but the problem I have run across or the clueless programming idiot part of me is that when you make a selection, for it to impliment what you selected, also since the selection would make changes to a file, how would I got about having all the different combinations, saved in the apk so that when you make a selection it would know what to pick and either copy the settings, or to overwrite the existing file with the selection chosen?
When I tell you I am a programming idiot, take it seriously I am.
sorry, i don't have a solution to your inquiry (have tried and tried to build apks and no success beyond themes...)
and i think your skills are quite beyond mine as a chef, but in all of my reading i felt that this guide seemed to help. maybe can help, but if not good luck!
http://www.vogella.de/articles/AndroidLiveWallpaper/article.html
Thanks for the link I bookmarked it, but one of the things its lacking in the tut for wallpapers is the way to overwrite an existing file. But I'll look at it as with my android books, but I am more a visual learner first then read, if that makes sense.
interesting idea. i would think that if possible, might run into problems a la metamorph with apks not being able to updated once their initial integrity is altered. though if a rom file, don't think that would be a problem. another angle would be to see if it is redirectable - like what themechooser for tmo/ cm7 roms does. those themes don't replace per se, though can redirect most things. just waxing philosophically. best of luck. if i ever venture out of cm7, your roms are looking very interesting! keep up the great work.
cheers.
A place where to make apps
I know this webpage where you can make apps whithout programing.
The webpage is: Called "Andromo" Since I'm new I cant paste the link but I think that you can put "www" and at the end "com"
Greetings,
Mister-Android.rs Team