Hello XDA. I have Se X8 only one week but i know something about android mobile-phones..
I have rooted mobile ..
SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH
QUESTIONS:
1.
Today i wanted download apps from Market but it didnt work..
I push download and then it says downloading and then nothing happens..
I searched forums and they says i need to go to the Options and aplications and remove memory on some apps like Google Talk,Market,etc.
I tried all but it didnt work..
How can i repair this?
2.
What is ROM and what is BEST rom for X8..
3.
I have installed a Glow Hockey 2 , Doodle Jump, RObo Defense, NFS SHIFT, mVideoPlayer QQplayer
And these dont work Modern comb , FAST 5
When i push Modern Comb it 5 secs nothing then black screen for 0,2 second and again nothing.. Im back to menu.
when i want play FAST 5 i see black screen with FAILLOFT logo and then ,, A problem occured and the download could not be completed successfully Do you want to restart download? Yes>> Checking file requires.... ... . . . . . And again A problem occured....... . . . ..
Where is problem?
4.
I downloaded Plants VS zombies and it says Little space:Remove some files and try again.
After i deleted some of my good apps and games it still not working..
Where is problem?
1. What sort of connection? If you have a poor wifi connection it may take some time to download... Also if you internal memory is full you won't be able to download anything more
2. The best for me is FroyoBread But you may argue on that
3. Never used those, but X8's hardware may simply be not enough for some high-end-device apps. For example you won't play latest asphalt on X8. There also may be an version issue. Try to find as many versions as you can and look for one that works with X8
4. How big are the apk files? Remember, no matter what you do, you won't have more than, say, 100-120 MB of internal space...
1.
My Wi-Fi connection is really good.. Fast enough for download Market apps.
2.
I dont know what is FroyoBeard and what is OC 768 MHz.. If i ask you, can you write me on Skype and help me with adding Froyobeard and OC 768 MHz ?
3.
Ok
4.
Plants VS zombies
psvzs10.apk
Type:FILE
Path:/sdcard
Size:48,63 MB ::: and i heard something about app2sd .. Will this work?
Ok, too many questions you could answer yourself by simply doing a little bit of search I'm not going to post whole tutorials here, but I'll give you reference links.
First of all:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=921652
FroyoBread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1079463
If you have problems, refer to my FAQ first: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130548
OC stands for Overclocking, you may find the module thread in the thread hub I posted. App2sd or link2sd are systems that place your apps (and in some cases data) on SD card so your internal storage remains clean and you can place more apps. An app that has over 48 MB is huge indeed and may simply have not enough space to be installed
Link2sd needs rooting. It would be simpliest to google it, and you'll need to partition your SD card for it. It's best for stock SE 2.1 ROM.
If you run any custom ROM you can find in android developement area, you gonna have app2sd by default. If you'll use your default fat32 sd card partition only, then only your apps gonna be placed on SD card. If you use ext2/3/4 partition with app2sd hack, then all your INTERNAL storage apps will go to ext partition along with data, while apps "moved to SD" will go to fat32 partition and will have data on ext. Only system apps will have both apk and data in internal storage then.
Choose to your liking
Hello thank your for that.. But please i think i need some additional help from you..
Can you contact me on Skype? Denoo9
I don't use skype, sorry
And something other where we can talk?
Hi
An FAQ thread for Blade users.
Credits to StevenHarperUK
This is a guide to cover most of the common problems.
It contains some words like ROM and Build.props and RECOVERY. PM me if u can't understand anything
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--I want to know whet generation of phone I have
[GEN1] or [GEN2]
There are now 2 Generations of the ZTE-BLADE device.Each have a different style memory
layout.[GEN1] BLADES use the baseband of 0x02A00000 and can use all of the ROMS made [GEN2]
BLADES use the baseband of 0x02600000 Trying to install a GEN1 ROM onto a GEN2 device will
brick it. GEN1 devices can be recovered and converted with a TPT
--How to find out what BLADE you have (GEN1 or GEN2)
You need to install this app Ask Mr Pigfish When you run the APP the first line will be
Mr.Pigfish says you have a Gen1 model
--How do i root my phone
ZTE Blades with Android 2.2 or lower can be rooted using z4root mod. If it doesnt work, or you have 2.3
blade there is a How to root thread in the Blade Android Development section
--How do i install a rom
-Download the Rom
-Download GoogleAps (CyanogenMod only)
-Backup your data using software like Titanium Backup
-Install clockworkmod recovery from Rom manager
-Boot into recovery (Power + volume down)
-wipe data/factory reset
-wipe cache
-install zip from sdcard option ---> select your rom
-do the same for GoogleApps
-reboot (first boot takes a while)
--The Custom ROM wont Boot Properly. Gets Stuck at the Animated/non-animated boot
screen.
This can be because of a few things You have installed a new ROM and need to clear you cache
and factory reset You installed a Theme or patch without letting the new Custom ROM boot
first The ROM you flashed was damaged when downloading - check with md4sum - re-download and
re-flash. Your SD card is in a very bad state Your SIM has a pin card (effects some of the
early 2.2)
--I want to change my partition sizes
Doing this will require a TPT. These can be made or downloaded using the App TPT helper from
the Play Store ( as of now, there is NO TPT for Chinese Blades )
--I Want to send my Phone back to the Operator - how do I make it back to stock?
The best way to do this is to run a TPT which has been made for your operator's original
ROM. A TPT that is built to do this restores the phone to exactly as it comes out of the
factory. This includes BOOT, RECOVERY and SYSTEM partitions. The DATA and CACHE are also
wiped.
--I can not get into Recovery (clockworkmod)
Make sure you are pressing (and holding) the Volume Down button (-). If you Just see some
large text of FTM then you have not installed a Custom Recovery Image yet
--Phone cannot READ/Mount SD Card
1)SD Card is Damaged
2)Card is not formatted correctly. Download - MiniTool Partition Wizard
3)Card not Seated correctly in Holder
4)The Card needs cleaning : take it out and carefully clean it with alcohol (and a
cottonbud)
--Fastboot can not Install ClockworkMod
If you get waiting for device Check USB debugging is on.On windows check drivers. On others,
check your running as root and try other USB ports/ cables. Try using ADB Wireless from the
market. If you get "writing 'recovery': FAILED (status read failed (Protocol error))
android" change the usb cable, and try another USB port.
--I want to get rid of the inbuilt apps but don't feel comfortable installing a ROM
This is possible, you gain root on the device,then use tools to remove the apps. Eg: Root Uninstaller or Titanium Backup
--Have I got TFT or OLED?
Well if you have a UK device you may have OLED If you purcashed it in 2011 you almost
certainly have TFT Both are good- but having a TFT device means that you must avoid non-TFT
compatibe ROMS (All new ROMs are TFT friendly)On some ROMS you can use the Dialer to find
out. Dial *983*24474636# in the dialer. On the Stock Orange ROM Devices that have TFT
Screens have the build Number OUK_P729BV1.0.0B08 (OLED can have this buid also - but rarely)
Devices that have OLED Screens have the build Number OUK_P729BV1.0.0B0. The build Number can
be found in - Settings | About Phone | Build Number
--How can I keep my apps and settings when I install a new ROM?
Before installing a new ROM you can use Titanium Backup to backup all apps you have
installed. After the new ROM has been installed you can restore the apps plus their data (to
keep your Angry Birds progress and scores, for example). The paid-for version of Titanium
Backup allows you backup and then restore many/all apps with the batch command to save time
reinstalling each app individually.
In general, system settings should not be restored on a new ROM. Restoring them can undo the
effect of wiping data/restoring to factory settings before you flashed the new ROM and you
run the risk of incompatible settings causing forced closure of system apps or, even worse,
random reboots of the phone. Contacts can be restored automatically (and safely) by syncing
with your gmail account(settings->accounts & sync and turn on both sync options) - you need
to do this in your old ROM so the data is in place before you install the new ROM. Many
people have reported that SMSs can be restored safely between most ROMs with Titanium
Backup, but other system settings, e.g. wireless access points, may cause problems that may
require the ROM to be reflashed. In all cases you should always use Nandroid backup in
Clockwork to save the state and settings of your previous ROM which will easily allow you to
return to a working state of your previous ROM in case things go wrong.
--How do I remove a custom theme I installed on any ROM, without factory reset?
Simply Re-flash the original ROM over the top in Clockwork. You'll get the original theme
back.
--I want to install a ROM, but remove some of the
included APPs
Simply open the ZIP file you downloaded and browse to /system/app Then remove the APPS you
don't want - be careful, you don't want to remove apps like mms.apk (SMS) and Phone.apk
--Orange SIM card will not make calls, other networks SIM cards work
The phone, as delivered by Courier is barred from OrangeUK's own network until "activated"
If you buy your phone from an Orange shop they are activated (unbarred from the Orange
network) and handed to the purchaser.
--Phone won't boot - only vibrates when I press power
When you try to turn the phone on with the power button you just feeling a quick succession
of vibrations. This means there is not enough power in the battery to boot. Make sure your
phone is plugged into the Adapter and is using the supplied USB cable.
--Wifi Keeps dropping
On 2.1 and leaked 2.2 ROMS - wifi is a real problem. There are many different work-rounds;
however now the kernel source for 2.2 is released - new ROMs don't gave it. Alternatively
there's a Blade wifi fix app available
--Phone wont turn on. It just Buzzes and red light is on back button
Try charging with another cable - your phone is out of battery
--The phone is Not connecting to 3G/ Cant get Data/ Cant send MMS, etc.
If you cannot get data over 2g/3g then your APN setting may be wrong You edit the APN's in
Setting / Wireless & Network Settings / Mobile Network settings / GSM/UMTS Options / Access
Point Names / then click the phones MENU button (hard button) then choose Add APN.
Also check your SIM is 3G
--I am trying to unlock the phone, how do I get to the enter code screen
You can only see this screen by putting in a SIM that is not the same as the ROM you have
expects So if you have a Orange TFT device that is on the standard (stock) ROM, you will
need a SIM that is not Orange (Virgin/TMobile) Once you insert a SIM that is not unlocked
you get the ENTER code screen
--The Phone Wont Read Any SIM Cards
Thickening the SIM with layers of tape (on the non useful side) has proven to work
--Cant make outgoing calls when Wifi is ON
The icon on the the top bar shows 4 reception bars gets a small x on it, the red led flashes
and outgoing calls cannot be made. Switched to airplane mode and back returns the signal -
it only ever does it when wifi is on. This is probably because you are running one
of the leaked Chinese beta kernels. Running a ROM that has a new 2.2 source
Kernel will fix this.
--What is an MD5hecksum
MD5 is a way of checking that the file you have downloaded has not been corrupted in any
way. when you run the MD5sum command against a files the response is the files
"fingerprint". If this differs from the expected MD5, then you need to re-download the file.
MD5 can be checked directly on the device by using a file manager like astro - if you look
at the details of a file an MD5 is generated Windows
Get your md5sum utility from:
http://www.md5summer.org/md5sum.zip
Extract this Zip file contents and put them into the folder you want to run the command in.
--I want to change the files in the system partition
To do this you can use ADB to modify files or Root Explorer
--I Used Factory Reset now my Phone wont boot
Custom ROM resets are best done in clockwork. However you may have problems with
Unsigned Themes. If you have a theme Installed, you may need to re-install the Original ROM
over the top to get it to boot.
--I want to change how my phone's screen looks like / Theme my phone
In any ROM you can change your background(click the MENU hard button when in the home
screen). However some custom ROMs have themes
made for them. There is a whole section on themes and Apps for the ZTE Blade - However the
most themes are specifically matched to a single or a few ROM's. Some themes are simply
applied to launchers that support them - i.e. launcher pro.
Other need to be installed via Clockwork just like a normal ROM - for these you should
always boot the ROM before applying the theme. Also you should always do a clockwork
(nandroid) backup before applying a theme.
--I dont like the keyboard I have
Keyboards on Android can be swapped. To change a keyboard - Activate it in Settings >
Language and Keboard Then in ANY app do a long hold in any text areas wich wold normall show
the keybaord - then choose Input Method
--Bluetooth file Transfer doesn't work properly
Plain vanilla Android has seemingly limited general file transfer capabilities. You can
download market APPS that are far superior. Bluetooth File Transfer (free) Astro File
Manager (free) add the Astro Bluetooth module (free)
--I want to use A2SD but what do I do
Firstly you need a ROM that supports A2SD, next you need to know if it support EXT2/3/4. Now
you need to change the way your SDCard is Partitioned. In Ubuntu use GParted - in Windows
get the home version of partition wizard. Now Copy EVERYTHING off the SD Card. Make the
FIRST partition the FAT32 one (primary partition) - leave 512MB or more for the EXT2/3/4
(where apps will be installed) Now Make Another partition (must be the SECOND) as EXT2/3/4 -
also make this primary. Now mount the Card and copy all your data back to the FAT32 Part -
assuming it fits. When you install/next boot you ROM, the EXT2/3/4 partition will be mounted
as DATA / this is where your apps go from now on.
--I have bought a bigger SD Card and want to swap it into my Phone
If your just using FAT32 (no app2sd) this will be easy. Right Simple - mount the current one
over USB on your Computer (you can do this in Android - or in Clockwork) Copy everything off
onto your computer. Unmount and Swap new card into phone. Remount over USB. Copy everything
back on
--I am upgrading my ROM and don't want to lose my contacts
If you sync your contacts via Google (gmail account), then the contact will be re-
downloaded when you re-enter your Google Account after flashing. You can see your accounts
in Menu > Settings > Account & Sync Otherwise you can go into the Contacts App and choose
Menu > Import Export. The Export will made a new large file with all your contacts in. This
will be written to the root of your SD Card. Import will scan your SD Card and look for any
files that are contact backups.
--I set a BAD SSID in the Wifi Hotspot - now I cannot start Tethering
If you set a SSID on your hotspot to be too long (over 32 characters) or with non valid
characters - then you make it impossible to start the Hotspot. You MUST use ADB to edit the
hotspot name manually
: adb -d shell
: sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.provid
If sqlite3 is not installed on your ROM you can download titanium backup from the market
then use the alternate command
:adb -d shell
:/data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBack
--I want to import all my contacts into Gmail - so they can sync with my phone
Google dont tell you anywhere what the Magic format is of their CSV. Copy the first line
from below, then simply add all the contacts you need into the format of the
2nd line Most Spreadsheet programs will let you open the CSV and edit it. Then just import
the file into Google Contacts (selecting a group when you do it) - I suggest a new group.
--How do i get ICS on my phone
There is no official ics for the blade, however, There are several ics roms to choose from. However there is no perfect release and all of them have certain bugs and issues.
--Can I boot more than one rom on a ZTE Blade
Thanks to [email protected], Snap.IT and Jinxxed, this is now possible. Head over to the Blade Android Development subforum to see the threas
September 21st : ZTE BLADE DAY
Guys feel free to reply with corrections and suggestions so that I can add then to the OP
Thanks to yash_p90 and karthiknr for assistance
good job is helpfull
Nice.
Good job. You should probably do some formatting. I can help you with that if you want!
Please note that there is no method available to change the partition size on the Chinese Blades. Thus the TPT method won't work. You must mention this in your question "I have changed my partition sizes to have a 128MB system, I want to change it back"
/Sticked. I hope this and the Faq thread I stickied yesterday will offer easy accessible information and resources to the ZTE Blade users. I hope you guys appreciate QuantumFoam and karthiknr effort.
Quantum add the question "Is multiboot possible on Blade?"
The answer should be there in that old multiboot thread.. Wbaw answered I suppose..
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
karthiknr said:
Quantum add the question "Is multiboot possible on Blade?"
The answer should be there in that old multiboot thread.. Wbaw answered I suppose..
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K.....ill add it.
Added multiboot question on karthiknrs suggestion
I think you should add in how instal custom rom an how keep safe personal data the nandroid backup ( via the recovery), its better than titanium backup and very easy, otherwise its very good :thumbup:
Envoyé depuis mon Blade
Gokh said:
I think you should add in how instal custom rom an how keep safe personal data the nandroid backup ( via the recovery), its better than titanium backup and very easy, otherwise its very good :thumbup:
Envoyé depuis mon Blade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
I'll add it
total internal memory issue
i got two dell xcd35 (zte blade) phones.... one of them is gen1 and other is gen 2... i installed rom manager and then installed cynogen mod 7 on the gen 2 device and i got 160MB total internal memory... for the second phone i firstly converted gen 1 to gen 2 and then installed cynogenmod 7 and i got 294 MB as total internal memory! please help me out to get 294MB as total internal memory on the other device too
I already replied to ur thread in the General Forum
very helpful,
thanks ∩__∩
I've a ZTE V889D bought from China. Is this Blade version? When I run Mr Pigfish, it says unknown model. It has similar spec:
http://www.zte.com.cn/cndata/mobile/mobileinfo/201203/t20120329_298335.html
No, that's not a blade. It uses MSM7227A as CPU, that is an ARMv7 (blade uses MSM7227 that is ARMv6). Blade in China is called V880 and that version has only 256mb RAM ( http://www.dealextreme.com/p/zte-v8...dma-3g-single-sim-w-wifi-white-101744?item=24 )
Your phone should be the ZTE Skate Acqua: http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=3403&c=zte_skate_acqua or something very close to it (looks like that V889D has dual sim support, but official Skate Acqua shouldn't have it).
CTRL+ALT+DEL said:
No, that's not a blade. It uses MSM7227A as CPU, that is an ARMv7 (blade uses MSM7227 that is ARMv6). Blade in China is called V880 and that version has only 256mb RAM ( http://www.dealextreme.com/p/zte-v8...dma-3g-single-sim-w-wifi-white-101744?item=24 )
Your phone should be the ZTE Skate Acqua: http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=3403&c=zte_skate_acqua or something very close to it (looks like that V889D has dual sim support, but official Skate Acqua shouldn't have it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there forum ZTE Skate Acqua or a custom firmware?
Thanks Quantum !
Few things were total new. Like bluetooth file transfer capability, I thought it's only Blade that is having limited bluetooth profile.
Also can you add a question about swap. I know only poor (256MB RAM) fellows like myself are going to benefit. No issues for me for one plus week of usage without a reboot.
Sent from my Idea Blade
rahulsa said:
Thanks Quantum !
Few things were total new. Like bluetooth file transfer capability, I thought it's only Blade that is having limited bluetooth profile.
Also can you add a question about swap. I know only poor (256MB RAM) fellows like myself are going to benefit. No issues for me for one plus week of usage without a reboot.
Sent from my Idea Blade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome.
I'll add swap, though I can tell you that's only if you use your phone for HD gaming
Quantum! Looks like you'll have to edit the MultiBoot part in the first post.. Was going through modaco just now.. [email protected] just made it work.. Hell Yeah!!xD
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
karthiknr said:
Quantum! Looks like you'll have to edit the MultiBoot part in the first post.. Was going through modaco just now.. [email protected] just made it work.. Hell Yeah!!xD
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I pmed you about it. That guy is a genius if he manages to pull it off
Note from the Author -
I am moving on to the N5 now and ditching my S3. I will continue to maintain this thread, however - please do PM me if you think that something needs to be changed or updated in this thread as I doubt I will be answering questions within the thread as much. Please don't PM support questions to me. Only PM updates that need to be made in the thread.
It's been a blast!
Regards
Dan
efs | backup your efs | backup your efs | backup your efs | backup your efs | backup your
Understanding the basics before rooting your S3 (GT-i9300/i9305)
This thread is intended to give you (as someone considering rooting your device) an overview of some of what I deem to be, really important information. Many people blindly follow guides and end up in trouble because they break their phones and don't really know what they were even doing at the time.
This may seem a bit overwhelming at first, there is a lot of text, but please do take the time to read it. It may save you further down the line.
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Before we get started...
Here are a couple of threads you should get familiar with before posting on XDA.
Forum Rules - use Search before posting
Post Questions or Support queries in Q&A, NOT General
What is root access?
"root" is (but not exclusively) a Linux term. As you may or may not know, Android is based on a Linux Kernel.
The term "root" refers to the root of the device. All devices with an operating system use a series of directories (or folders) nested within one another. If you think of windows, your documents folder would be C:\users\username\documents.. Well, "documents" is a directory. It is within another directory (username).
Imagine "documents" being the top of a tree (A folder tree). You climb down the tree to username, past there to "users" and down to the root, in this example "c:". You cannot go beyond this level, because nothing exists beyond the root. To save a file directly on C: (not within any folders) would be to save a file to the root of your c: drive.
In Linux (unlike Windows), these root locations are completely locked down. A user of normal priviledges cannot edit any file or create files in these locations. They can only do this in their "home" location, which is the equivelant of username on windows. To gain access to these locations, you would need to be an administrator of the machine. Linux calls this Super User (su), and this user is said to have "root access".
This applies to Android in the same way. To root your Android device, is to have superuser access to the root locations of your phone, that you normally could not have access to.
Is it Risky?
There is always a risk having access to locations on your phone that are supposed to be locked down. You can easily delete things that your phone needs to boot up, which could lead to you losing all your data or even breaking your phone. This is why it is good have an understanding of your device and root access BEFORE you root.
It is worth noting that although many say rooting shouldn't void your warranty (it does in many places) even where that is supposed to be true, in practice, it isn't really. Even in the EU, I've seen many warranty claims rejected due to root so do think of your phone as out of warranty when you root.
The advantages of rooting
Why root?
More control over how the CPU acts. This can increase performance or battery life
More control over power consumption (undervolting)
More control over how apps start up. Prevent apps from starting up when they don't need to
Baseband. Try different basebands with the possibility of reducing drain or imporving signal strength
De-bloat. Remove or freeze system apps that you don't use
Access to community driven bug fixes that Samsung haven't released
Custom ROMs. Add additional functionality and controls over and above the stock experience
Increase redundancy. The ability to backup apps and entire phone
Theme. Don't be stuck with Samsung driving aesthetics.
Innovations. Use community driven features that improve your day to day experience
Better RAM management. Change the values of "Out of memory". Decide yourself when android should kill unused apps. Increase mutlitasking capabilities
Custom kernels. With kernels you can bring support for better audio features, better graphics performance and support for stock unsupported files systems
Google Android. Use android as it was intended before Samsung got their hands on it.
The Disadvantages of rooting
Why not root?
For all intents and purposes, rooting voids warranty.
Dangerous. You can break your phone and need the warranty you probably just voided
You open the doors for more mistakes. These mistakes may cause you to panic and further damage your phone
Lack of understanding. Blindly following guides and not understanding what you're doing.
No more official updates. Updating is a more manual process
Basic layout of /root on the GT-i9300
I'm not going to go into too much detail here. I just need you to know the basics. The GT-i9300 has an embedded Multi Media Card. This is the internal memory that everything on your phone you need to run it, is insalled on. It is the "internal memory" of the device.
Like windows and linux, there is a root to this memory, which has a few basic partitions that you need to know.
/efs - This is REALLY important. This is where your IMEI is stored, which you need to connect to your provider's network. Unfortunately it is the easiest partition to corrupt and impossible to restore without a backup so ensure you have a recovery or application to backup your efs cause if it goes (likely) you'll be sending your S3 to Samsung for repair.
Please read THIS THREAD for more info on EFS and IMEI issues.
/system - This is where the ROM is installed. Within /system are many important folders that you normally cannot get to.
For example, you have /system/app where all the important ROM apps are located. Things like the phone app and the messaging app. /system/bin, where all the important binaries are located that allow android to execute commands that it needs to, so it can function as an OS and /system/framework, where the crucial policies that control how things the user and processes interact with - act.
/data - This is where apps you install are kept. This is also where your data is kept, eg your SMS and e-mails. It also stores settings. If you change the wallpaper, it is stored here. What ringtone you have chosen... etc. The important directories here are /data/app and /data/data. These are what get wiped when you choose to wipe data\factory reset
/data/media is an important directory in /data. This is what is known as your "internal storage" or your "internal sdcard". /sdcard maps to here.
When you have root access to android, you can browse these partitions with a root explorer / file manager with root functionality.
There are also some hidden partitions you cannot browse like this. These are the partitions that contain recovery, bootloader and kernel
What are those things?
Kernel - This is always supplied with a ROM. It is the beating heart of Android. The ROM cannot function without the kernel. Since all ROMs include a kernel, if you're using a custom Kernel then flash a ROM, you will need to reflash the kernel again.
Please note, unlike the Galaxy S2 (and like almost every other modern android device) the kernel and recovery are independent. There is no link between recovery and kernel. Kernels are boot.img files.
Bootloader - this is what handles what you boot into. When you see the black Galaxy s III text, thats the bootloader. Its job is to handle the boot. It is responsible for booting into android, or if you manipulate the buttons in a certain way, it will boot into recovery or download mode. PLEASE NOTE, i9300/5 Bootloader is NOT LOCKED. DO NOT TRY TO UNLOCK IT. Only some US variants have a locked bootloader...
When you see this screen, you're looking at the bootloader:
Download mode is part of the bootloader itself. Again, it is a mini OS. It is designed for flashing stock (official) ROMs onto the phone (Which you can do using Odin). It is also used by Samsung to detect the status of your phone (if you have modified it or not).
If you have (or had before rooting) an official ROM above 4.1.1, Your bootloader flash counter in download mode will change to "1" at every boot, if you have a custom kernel or recovery - even if you reset it with Triangle Away. See the return for warranty link later in this post to get around this.
To access download mode, turn off your phone. Home volume down + home then press power. You will get to the screen below:
Press volume up to continue into Download mode:
Recovery - a secondary, min operating system designed to offer a few "drastic" options to recover when you cannot boot into android. For example, factory reset. Recovery isn't part of android. It is a seperate operting system. You can either boot into android or boot into reocvery.
To access recovery (custom or stock), turn of you phone. Hold volume up + home then press power.
The intial use of Stock recovery was to allow a user whose phone does not boot, to wipe their device to "recover" it to a booting state. It could also flash official updates from the sdcard. Custom recoveries do so much more, such as allowing you to flash custom rom.zip or kernel.zips from sdcard or backing up your device with a nandroid recovery.
Here is an example of a custom recovery (Philx Touch 5):
Please note, unlike the Galaxy S2 (and like almost every other modern android device) the kernel and recovery are independent. There is no link between recovery and kernel.
Some other stuff you may have heard about
Baseband / Modem / Radio - This is the software that manages your connection to wireless networks, be that voice or data. Unlike unrooted users, you can download and flash any number of i9300 (Versions for other models WILL BRICK YOUR PHONE) or i9305 radios pulled from official ROMs. I wouldn't waste too much time on them. Usually what your official ROM comes with in your country / for your carrier, is the most optimised for you. Try a few by all means but don't waste time testing every last one.
Be aware that Samsung official ROMs come with a baseband. Often this means Samsung based custom ROMs may also do so. Some ROMs which install using the Aroma installer (A kind of set-up wizard) may give the option to not flash the baseband. AOSP ROMs almost never come with a baseband. When you flash a ROM withotu a baseband, the previous baseband remains. You can by all means, mix and match ROMs and basebands. You are not tied to the baseband with the same build number as the ROM. For example, if you are on XXEMB1 ROM, you definitely do NOT have to stay on the XXEMB1 baseband.
RIL - RIL is Radio Interface layer. It's what sits between the radio (above) and the android telephony services. Each Radio is supposed to have a specific RIL. Every ROM comes with RIL as it's a requirement to function. Again, although the best pair is a matched RIL and Radio version, if you do change your Radio, it's not the end of the world. You may notice a little difference flashing the right one, but it's not something to get bogged down with. Personally, I very rarely try a new Radio. I almost never change my RIL.
It's worth mentioning that the above is only really valid for Touchwiz ROMs. AOSP ROMs use OpenRIL and are not compatible with Samsung RILs. Do not use apps like GetRIL or flash Modem+RIL packages on AOSP ROMs. You would have to reflash the ROM if you do this because using a Samsung RIL on your AOSP ROM will likely break your signal.
Also note, Nandroid backups generally don't backup the Radio. Some recoveries may give you a separate option to do so however. The RIL (as part of the ROM itself) is backed up in a Nandroid.
ROM - ROM really stands for "Read Only Memory" which refers to memory that cannot be overwritten. When we talk about an Android ROM, we are really talking about the Android OS which is installed ON the Read Only Memory, of course since rooting, the /system partition where the ROM is installed is no longer read only. It is read / write. Flashing a ROM will over write the entire /system partition with whatever is in the ROM.zip or ROM.tar. Any mods, scripts, themes or apps will be replaced. You can only have one ROM at a time, unless you use one of those funky dual boot kernels.
More advanced layout of the GT-i9300
Here we have a lovely MS paint diagram of the eMMC layout of the GT-i9300/5. Some of this you don't need to know, some of it you do.
1 BOTA0 - mmcblk0p1 - 4 MB
2 BOTA1 - mmcblk0p2 - 4 MB
3 EFS - mmcblk0p3 - 19.7M
4 PARAM - mmcblk0p4 - 8 MB
5 BOOT - mmcblk0p5 - 8 MB
6 RECOVERY - mmcblk0p6 - 8 MB
7 RADIO - mmcblk0p7 - 33 MB
8 CACHE - mmcblk0p8 - 1 GB
9 SYSTEM - mmcblk0p9 - 1.48 GB
10 HIDDEN - mmcblk0p10 - 587 MB
11 OTA - mmcblk0p11 - 8 MB
12 USERDATA - mmcblk0p12 - 11.4 GB
The above sizes are approximate and the diagram is not to scale.
Rooting the phone
When you go through the process of rooting the phone, you have to alter the ROM. Although the risks of this are very minimal, we couldn't technically say it was risk free. The process of rooting puts a binary (called "su") in /system/bin (remember we talked about that earlier?). This binary is what allows the user (you) to run things at an elevated privilidge (super user). That in itself would be quite risky, so rooting also gives you one of the superuser apps (there are 2 - SuperSU and SuperUser, both very good). These apps install to /system/app and act as a gateway. Essentially, these apps prompt you when another application wants "root access" so you can allow it or deny it. It's a form of protection against malicious intent.
Root is often enough for most people who simply want to run a few root apps, but many people will need to replace their stock recovery with a custom recovery. This is because you cannot flash custom roms from the stock recovery. Some methods of rooting give you root AND recovery. Some just give you root, but you can flash a recovery yourself using Odin and download mode. Technically you do not need root to flash a recovery and then flash a custom ROM as the rom will include /system/bin/su and /system/app/SuperSU anyway.
Odin is a useful Windows tool. You'll be using this to return your phone back to stock too by flashing a stock "firmware"
Please read Samsung Galaxy S3 General Sticky Roll-Up Thread ***Stickies found here!** to find all the rooting and flashing guides you need for the GT-i9300
If I were asked my opinion on how to root, I would recommend one of the 2 scenarios.
1) You want root only. No custom ROMs, kernels etc. Just root, just to use root apps.
CF Auto Root Via Odin
Why? Tried and tested method, simple to use. No need to choose what exploit you want to use as it's tailored for your device.
What does it do? It gives you a stock recovery (so can't flash things) and roots the Android OS
The Steps:
1) Download the Latest Odin
2) Download CF-Auto-Root for your model
3) Follow These steps to root
2) You want to flash custom ROMs / Kernels
If you want root on your existing Android ROM, you can do 1) first. Then flash a recovery of your choice (CWM, Philz, TWRP) via Odin
However, if you immediately plan on flashing a ROM, there's no need to root your existing ROM. Simply skip straight to installing a recovery. Backup then flash what you like.
The Steps:
1) Download the Latest Odin
2) Download recovery of your choice CWM, Philz, TWRP
3) Follow The steps to Flash Philz recovery (But for the recovery of your choice)
These steps can also be followed to update recovery to newer versions
Official Updates
Once you have rooted your phone, the phone is classed as "modified" and no longer qualifies for Official Samsung OTA updates.
It is possible to receive official updates (whilst rooted) via Kies, however this will remove root (just like flashing a full stock rom) and if you have any custom themes, kernels or /system modifications, this could really cause some problems to the ROM so it is best to avoid. Of course if you have flashed a custom ROM (even TouchWiz based ones) Official updates are a big, fat No-No.
If you do run custom ROMs, it's best to use their OTA method if they have one, or download from the threads on XDA and flash via recovery.
Flashing - Good practice
Recovery - Custom recoveries are very handy tools. Unlike the stock recovery, they have lots of options. Not only do they allow you to flash custom ROMs, but you can backup your current ROM too. This is called a Nandroid backup. Its a snapshot in time. It backs up your entire device, from the ROM to the Kernel and all your data too. If you restore a nandroid backup, your device will be extactly the same as it was when you took the backup. This means if you took a backup 2 weeks ago and restored it today, you could have lost 2 weeks worth of SMS.. but it is very handy. As soon as you have a custom recovery, a Nandroid backup should be the FIRST thing you do. You should take one before you flash any Mod, kernel, ROM or theme. It really is important, incase you manage to break your device.,
The RIGHT files - Always be careful that you know what you're flashing is for your device and you know what it is. Flashing files (ROMs, kernels etc) for other devices could BRICK your phone. Bricking means that it is beyond normal levels of repair, often meaning it needs the internal memory (which equates to the motherboard) being replaced. very expensive.
NEVER remove power - When flashing something, be it from your computer or from recovery (or mobile Odin), do NOT remove the power. It can corrupt not only what you're flashing but also what you're flashing to. If you corrupt any of your eMMC partitions, you could have Bricked the device.
Read, read and read - Read the development threads before you flash anything. Ensure you understand what you are flashing. Ensure you know the specific procedure layed out by the developer and you follow it closely. Do not ad lib. If you are unsure, ask.
DON'T PANIC - Think you've bricked your device? Dont panic. Stay calm. Dont google "unbrick S3" and flash lots of files you dont understand. There are many types of S3 "brick" (they're not bricks if you can easily recover) and many varients of the S3. Flashign these files could further break your phone and actually brick a not already bricked phone. Nothing for any other variant than the GT-i9300 should be flashed on it. The same goes for the i9305. Never flash for another model number.
Search and Ask - Unsure of something, read the stickies Samsung Galaxy S3 General Sticky Roll-Up Thread ***Stickies found here!** and do a search. Can't find your answer? Ask. It is easier for us to help you understand something before you do it than to fix something after you've broken it.
Provide details - ALWAYS tell us exactly what happened if you are requesting help. Always describe in detail what is happening.
"Flashed my phone now it doesn't work" is useless information.
"I rooted my phone 3 months ago and flashed a custom ROM. I decided today to flash ROM X from recovery Y. I booted into recovery and flashed from my internal SD card. I rebooted the phone and it is not starting up. It is looping at the boot animation" is GOOD information. We need to know What, when, how. We need to know if you followed a guide and which one (links where possible)
Backups
Backups are really important. This is how you can mitigate the risk of losing all your important data. Without these you could have to start again from scratch or worse, need to send your device for repair.
Your entire phone - Nandroid - Recovery
[*]efs - Recovery - EFS backup aapplications
[*]Your apps and data - Titanium backup
[*]SMS - SMS backup+
[*]Photos - Dropbox
[*]sdcards - FolderSync
The reason we backup is multifaceted.
A Nandroid will backup your entire phone. This is usually taken immediately before you flash a mod or a new ROM. Nandroid restores /system and /data. Usually when you flash a mod (kernel, theme, some system app or libs etc) and it causes a bootloop, a simple restore of Nandroid will return your phone as it was and booting again. In fact, you can use an advanced restore in recovery and choose ONLY to restore /system if appropriate
Titanium backup would often be done on a schedule. Every 2nd night or something, maybe once a week if you're daring. These are important for a number of reasons but the most important is if you are flashing a new ROM.
Remember earlier, we talked about all your data and apps being in /data/data and /data/app? Well, Titanium backs that up. When you flash a ROM, you have to perform a full wipe / factory reset before it will boot up properly. This is because you have settings stored in data/data for apps in /system/app that may have changed or no longer exist, or settings different to the settings in the new ROM. These are incompatibilities and these incompatibilities often will prevent a new ROM booting. Of course, a factory reset doesn't fully restore it to it's factory condition. It cannot restore the bootloader, rom, baseband etc because you overwrote these by flashing a new one.
We wipe, we install titanium and we restore all the data/apps and the /data/data related to /data/apps, but none of the data/data related to /system/apps (because that would restore the incompatibilities)
Here is how I restore using titanium backup after a wipe and flash....
Remember if your backup is on external sd, you need to point titanium to the location using preferences > backup folder location...
Go to backup / restore tab and press "click to edit filters" and deselect "system" and press the done tick icon to apply. Then from the previous backup / restore screen, go into the batch screen (another tick icon top right).
From this batch screen, select "restore missing apps with data" by pressing "run". Manually go through every app (yes, even if you have 300 apps) ensuring there's nothing samsung or rom specific there, unticking anything that is...
This should ensure a clean, user only app and settings. You will then need to manually set your system settings (ring tones, email etc)
Warranty
So, as we have discussed, warranty should be considered void once rooted. Technically in the EU, the OEM must prove root damaged your phone to reject warranty, however this is almost never the case.
When the S3 was released, it came with android 4.0.4 (ICS). The bootloader with ICS was normal. If you used Triangle Away once rooted, it would reset your binary counter forever. You may have kept status: Modified until you factory reset but that is not so much a problem.
When the S3 was upgraded to 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, a new bootloader was introduced. You could still reset with Triangle away, however on the next boot, if you had a custom recovery or kernel, the binary counter went back up to 1 again, which can present a problem.
Please see the following scenarios.
1) You just want root. No custom Kernels, no custom ROMs, no custom recoveries.
This is fine. If you root with CF-Auto Root it gives you a stock recovery. Once you reset the flash counter with triangle away, you should be fine.
2) You want root and recovery on a 4.1.1+ S3.
If you have a custom recovery or kernel, you can set triangle away to reset at every boot. The problem is if your phone breaks in such a way that you can never boot into android, but download and recovery mode still work, you're screwed, It goes back up to 1 on boot, fails to boot then you can only reset it with triangle away, which you can't use because it needs you to boot into Android. You see the risk?
3) You want root and recovery on a 4.1.1+ S3.
The alternative to the above is to flash This 4.0.4 bootloader via cwm. It can be reset by Triangle Away, and stays reset forever. Well why aren't we all using this? Because it is NOT SDS safe. This means if you ahev the unsafe internal memory, if you use download mode to flash anything, you risk bricking your device. Read [Important] Sudden Death Fix - Are you covered? for more information.
So it's a choice between:
I risk that under certain conditions, I may not be able to reset the binary counter for a warranty return
or
I have my binary counter at 0 always, but I cannot use download mode.
Please note, you need to run a TouchWiz ROM to use triangle away
Popular misconceptions
USB Debugging is always required for flashing.
Incorrect. USB debugging is an Android setting. It is only applicable within android. This setting does not work in recovery or download mode, so obviously anything done in those modes does not require USB debugging.
When rooting, all your data is lost.
Incorrect. Rooting adds a binary and application to your phone. It does not wipe it.
I need to root to fix my battery by wiping battery stats.
Incorrect. No one needs to wipe battery stats. Please read the wiping battery stats thread linked below:
Battery stats
What's good for you is good for me!
Incorrect. Everyone's usage is different. Everyone's set-up is different. Everyone's environment is different. There is no "Best" ROM. There is no "Best kernel for..." There is no "Most battery efficient baseband". All these things may acti differently for you than they will for me. What I like isn't what you like. Please do not create any "Best" threads.
If I ask the question "Blah blah blah for custom ROMS?", everyone will know what I am talking about
Incorrect. "Custom ROM" and "AOSP ROM" are NOT synonymous. People imagine when they ask about "Custom ROMS" that we know they really mean "AOSP ROMS". We don't. There are TouchwIz based custom ROMs too. We assume nothing.
B]I need yo be on a certain ROM to flash certain other ROMs[/b]
Incorrect. You're overwriting the ROM so why would ot matter what ROM you're overwriting?!
Important threads and resources
A list of important threads and resources...Please read ALL of these threads before rooting.
Mskip's unified toolbox(Root, drivers etc)
Index of Roms, recoveries and kernels
Guide for flashing roms, backups etc
Returning to stock for warranty
Odin flashing guide
Sammobile.com - stock firmwares
Be prepared ahead of time to fix a Brick
rootSU recommends
A few recommendations from me...
RootExplorer
Titanium Backup
Philz Recovery (CWM advanced)
Odin
Heimdall (Linux / Mac odin equivelant
That's it for now. I know this is a lot of information, but I believe this info to be the very least you should know before deciding to go ahead with rooting your S3. Please read it and read it again. Anything doesn't make sense, please ask in this thread and I will gladly help.
If any other seasoned rooters / flashers think there is something salient missing, please post her too. happy to add to it.
Glossary of terms
adb - Android Debug Bridge. This is a Windows or Linux command line tool that can be used to push files to a device, pull them, create directories. Very handy with a custom Kernel if you can't boot and need to get data from the device. This can be downloaded as part of the Android SDK or mskip's unified toolbox mentioned earlier.
AOSP - Android Open Source Project. This is google's code base. This is Android in it's pureset form. Anyone can download this code and build a ROM. It will take some work to build for a specific device however. Even Samsung start with this code at some point.
AOKP - Unofficial development team building ROMs based on AOSP accross a range of devices. AOKP stands for Android Open Kang Project. A play of the AOSP it is based on. Kang means to find / use (or even steal, although not in this case) source code.
baseband - The software responsible for controlling the radio hardware. Essential for network connectivity. Also referred to as "modem" or "radio"
bash - bash is a shell script language. Natively used in unix and linux, it can also be used within terminal emulators on android and scripts. Most mods that are scripts, use bash.
binary - a binary file is the opposite of a text file. It may contain data to be read by the OS rather than a human. It usually contains instructions on how a particular function should be handled.
binary counter - also referred to as flash counter. This is in part of the bootloader, viewed in download mode. The Binary counter increases as you flash non-stock (custom) recoveries and roms and kernels not "signed" by Samsung. The app, triangle away can help a little
boot.img - the kernel is contained within an .img file named boot.img. Not to be confised with sboot.img (bootloader)
bootloader - Bootloaders exist on almost any multi-OS bootable system. Windows has one, linux has one and android has one. It is how the device "decides" which OS to boot into. the user can manipulate hardware buttons during boot to alter which OS the bootloader boots into. It boots into Android by default but it can also boot into recovery or download mode. The bootloader is within an .img called sboot.img
brick - brick refers to a device that has been "bricked". A bricked device is beyond repair. In other words, your phone may as well be a brick, because it cant be a phone any more. A bricked device must be sent to the manufacturer / carrier / service centre for repair. You cannot repair a brick yourself. If you have something that can be repaired, it is not a true brick.
There are 2 types of brick referred to..
Soft brick, where the phone bootloops. These can sometimes be repaired, so for that reason it is not a true brick and I prefer to never use the term "Soft Brick".
Hard Brick. This is what I call a true brick. The phone cannot be repaired by a user. This of course does not extend to replacing parts. Sure, a brick can be replaced by replacing parts. It can't be fixed with external hardware or software however.
busybox - A set of tools to be added to android. Many root apps require busybox to run. It can be installed using an installer from the market. Similarly, most custom ROMs will contain busybox by default
clockwork mod - clockwork mod is a custom recovery
cfq - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/
checksum - see md5 checksum
cm - abbreviation for cyanogen mod. See Cyanogen
CPU - central processing unit. This is the brains of the operation. the CPU is what translates all the instructions and processes them. This is the main "power" behind any device. The better the CPU, the faster these instructions can be processed
custom ROM - A Custom ROM can be based on Touchwiz (Samsung stock), or it can be built from AOSP code. It really just means "unofficial" and will usually contain tweaks, fixes and imporvements for your device. A Custom ROM is a complete android replacement.
cwm - abbreviation for (see) Clockwork Mod.
cyanogen - a team of developers spanning multiple devices. Probably the most famous of development teams releasing heavily modified AOSP based ROMs. If there's any AOSP ROM thread for any Android device forum, there will be credits to cyanogen in there.
dalvik-cache - Dalvik-cache is a way of optimising applications. Its a way of ensuring all the dependencies an app requires are "at hand" to speed up use. It is rebuilt at start up when wiped. A de-odexed system will have more dalvik-cache than an odexed one.
de-odex - The act of removing odex from a stock ROM. On Stock ROMs, instead of using a dalvik-cache for system apps, we use .odex files instead. Generally custom ROMs prefer de-odexed configurations as it's easier to wipe and maintain when you make changes to your system.
deadline - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/
download mode - Samsung's own mode accessible via the bootloader. Hold Vul down, Home and power (from off) to boot here. Also referred to as "Odin Mode". This replaces the "fastboot mode" that most other devices have.
efs - Important partition / directory on the root of your phone. Ensures the IMEI number is present in the software. Back this up, because if it breaks, it's gone for ever. You need Samsung to repair.
eMMC - Embedded MultiMedia Card. This is like an SD card, but it's embedded in a device. the eMMC is a NAND flash memory chip which acts as internal memory (storage) on the S3.
exFAT - exFAT is a Microsoft proprietary (closed source) file system, used for media (sdcards, USB flash memory, HDD's etc). ExFAT is not natively supported in Linux and AOSP ROMs
ext - ext2, ext3 and ext4 are file systems created specifically for Linux. Our internal memory is ext (or "extended" as it is known). This can sometimes be used to refer to an ext partition, an old school method of partitioning your sdcard to link the internal ext partitions to to increase app space on low memory devices. Ext file systems cannot be read on Windows machines without special applications / drivers installed.
extSdCard - This is referring to the removable Micro SD card. Samsung ROMs mount the rremovable sd card in Android as /extSdCard. Recoveries such as CWM will mount it as external_sd. Both of these terms are valid, but it depends if the phone is booted to Android or Recovery. In AOSP ROMs, the removable SD card is often mounted as /sdcard1
FAT32 - another file system which is quite old now but still a good one. This is the only file system that is compatible with all devices unconditionally. The downfall is a maximum file size limit of 4 GB. Windows disk management GUI can only format up to 32 GB. Windows command lien tool "diskpart" can format up to the max volume size of 2 TB, as can many 3rd party tools such as easeus.
flash - Flash means a few things. It can refer to the fact that our internal memory is NAND Flash (Solid state) memory. It can also be the act of "flashing", or "to flash", meaning to install to flash memory. This doesn't really refer to installing an .apk. Rather, it refers to bigger, OS, System or device wide altering modifications (Kernels, recoveries, ROMs etc). Always back up before flashing.
Custom ROMS are usually flashed from your SDcard via recovery, as are kernels and basebands however, kernels and basebands usually can come in .tar format which means odin/mobile odin can flash them too from your computer/sdcard respectively. Rule of thumb, .zip from sdcard via recovery. .tar from sdcard via mobile odin or from computer using odin
flash counter - See binary counter
framework - The android frameworks are a standard structure within android that the OS is built around. It determines things like policy (how the OS should manage an event). It controls everything from notification behaviours to the theme. Anything visual within Android with exception to the notification area is controlled by framework-res-apk. AOSP and most manufactured ROMs only have 1 frsamework-res, however Samsugn Touchwiz ROMs alsu have a twframework-res.apk for Samsung only visuals.
gapps - Google Apps (gapps). AOSP ROMs like Cyanogen, have been asked by google to not include the google apps packages, which are proprietary to google (meaning not open source). This means that when you download these roms, you need to flash a gapps package separately. They are usually available as link in the ROM thread
governor - governors are included with kernels. I will not go into too much detail but essentially, the governor is a set of instructions which tell the kernel how to manage the CPU. It can control when the CPU ramps up or down, or how long it stays at a certain frequency. Most custom kernels come with a selection of governors to choose from using things like Set CPU. The governor settings for each can also be fine tuned or tweaked to y7our liking.
hotplug - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.
jig - a small usb device that plugs into the USB port of the S3. Designed to provoke "bricked" S3's to boot to download mode in an attempt to help recovery the device.
kernel - The kernel, it is said - is the "beating heart" of Android (or any OS for that matter). It sit's between the application layer (Android, applications etc) and the Hardware (CPU, Memory) and handles all transactions between the physical and the virtual. It passes information and instructions inbetween and translates. Very important stuff!
lulzactive - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.
md5 checksum - md5 checksum is a way to verify that a zip (or file) is not corrupt. A developer or uploader may provide a hexidecimal string called an md5 checksum. This checksum is a test done on the files that gives it a unique string based on it's contents. If you download the file and check the checksum and it does not match, it means the contents of the file have altered, usually meaning it is corrupt and shouldn't be flashed.
An md5 checksum is easy to check on android. My preferred method is using an android terminal emulator. Lets imaging I have a file on my external sd card called "rom.zip"...
In terminal emulator, type "md5 /mnt/extSdCard/rom.zip" and the terminal will give you an md5 string, If this matches the uploader's string, you're good to go.
If you're downloading something on Windows and then transferring it to your phone, it's a good idea to check md5 on both.
Linux is pretty much the same except the command is "md5sum"
For windows: http://www.winmd5.com/
modem - see baseband
NAND - NAND is a type of Flash memory. If anyone say's "NAND" to you, they are talking about the internal memory (Storage) of your device.
nandroid - nandroid refers to a backup taken or restored via custom recoveries. This is a universal term, although nowadays most recoveries simply say "backup" or "restore", but it is a nandroid backup they will be taking or restoring, which got it's name from the NAND flash memory that Android devices use internally. Nandroids are often only compatible with the variant of recovery you have. For example, a backup taken with CWM may not be compatible with TWRP, unless they introduce a compatibility setting in the future, which Philz recovery has done.
noop - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/
oem - Original Equipment Manufacturer. The OEM ROM for us is teh one the Manufacturer (Samsung) shipped with the phone.
overclock - overclocking is to set the CPU clock speed (frequency) higher than intended by the manufacturer. For example, the S3 has a 1.4 GHz (1400 MHz) maximum clock speed. With the use of a custom kernel and an application such as Set CPU, you can set this higher, to 1.6GHz or maybe even higher.
The risk is that the higher clock speed uses more voltage and voltage = heat. A higher clock with higher heat can permanently damage the CPU. Overclocking is usually paired with undervolting for these reasons. Another risk is instability. Each individual CPU has different tolerances due to imperfections in the manufacturing process. My CPU may be stable at 1.6 GHz, yet yours may be stable at a higher or lower clock. The side effects you will see here will be random reboots when the phone is under load.
pegasusq - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.
radio - see baseband
RAM - Random Access Memory. Great explanation here: http://www.androidcentral.com/ram-what-it-how-its-used-and-why-you-shouldnt-care
scheduler - built into kernels, there are schedulers to determine how CPU load is spread across different tasks. There are also read / write schedulers that spread out read and write operation priorities across the internal memory. Like Governors, there are different types of scheduler available.
sio - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/
stock - Imagine your phone is on a shelf in a shop. The phone is "stock" of that shop. If anything is referred to as "stock", this means standard for the device / as it was when shipped / as per factory set up. It is the opposite of custom. Some people refer to AOSP ROMs as "Stock Android". This may be the case for some phones, like the Nexus devices, but generally this is incorrect. Stock is whatever the phone came with as standard.
triangle away - an application designed to reset the binary counter. Warning, newer bootloaders (4.1.1+) now re-increment the binary counter at boot, so some trickery is required to get the counter to remain 0. This can be troublesome if you need to return for warranty.
undervolt - to undervolt is to lower the voltage used, either by the CPU or the GPU. Kernels assign a static voltage to each clock speed. For example, 200 MHz = 900 mV, 300MHz = 925 mV. Undervolting is the process of lowering this voltage staticaly for each clock speed, which potentially will save battery, although many people think it wont have much affect. Beware, undervolting too much can cause instability. When a clock frequency hasn't got enough power to sustain, the device will likely reboot or power off.
vanilla - meaning plain. Often used to refer to the "pure" android. AOSP without OEM skins, UI's and Launchers etc. The people who incorrectly use "Stock" to describe AOSP, really mean vanilla.
zzmove - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.
Every phone specific section needs something like this.
Very well done!:beer:
abaaaabbbb63 said:
Every phone specific section that can be rooted needs something like this.
Very well done!:beer:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you need the difficult part, people to actually read it.
Nice work @rootSU
Needs to be stickied and a humongous "READ ME" sticker attached! :thumbup::thumbup:
Edit........Reported©®™ so it gets stickied!
Its getting noobs to actually bother to read is the problem .
jje
True but i'll start with the "read my sig" method. At least if it's here, thats a small part of the battle. Anyone anything to add to post 1? Slappy? jje?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Add backup EFS first ??
jje
Some of the stickies in the roll up thread are badly out of date, you also might want to link to Mike Skip's toolbox, which reduces the chances of bricking considerably.
rootSU said:
True but i'll start with the "read my sig" method. At least if it's here, thats a small part of the battle. Anyone anything to add to post 1? Slappy? jje?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeing as this may well attract lots of attention, possibly add a reminder about reading the rules and link? I know it's not relevant particularly, but any chance to ram the message home is good :thumbup:
rootSU said:
True but i'll start with the "read my sig" method. At least if it's here, thats a small part of the battle. Anyone anything to add to post 1? Slappy? jje?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of [REF] you should write [BOOBS]. That would attract attention.
Added:
Link to forum rules and "post in Q&A" threads
Important links and resources
efs (in partitions)
backups
I'm sure there's still loads missing, I just can't think of much so all suggestions welcome.
Added "The advantages of rooting". Miss anything?
EDIT > added disadvantages too.
OP, I have moved your thread to the q&a section and stuck it. It is a great FAQ type thread and will serve a good purpose being stuck where people go to ask these types of questions. :good:
Towle
XDA Moderator
Towle said:
OP, I have moved your thread to the q&a section and stuck it. It is a great FAQ type thread and will serve a good purpose being stuck where people go to ask these types of questions. :good:
Towle
XDA Moderator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks @Towle
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I've updated the following to sections to read as below:
Bootloader - this is what handles what you boot into. When you see the black Galaxy s III text, thats the bootloader. Its job is to handle the boot. It is responsible for booting into android, or if you manipulate the buttons in a certain way, it will boot into recovery or download mode. PLEASE NOTE, i9300 Bootloader is NOT LOCKED. DO NOT TRY TO UNLOCK IT.
Download mode is part of the bootloader itself. Again, it is a mini OS. It is designed for flashing stock (official) ROMs onto the phone. It is also used by Samsung to detect the status of your phone (if you have modified it or not).
If you have an official ROM above 4.1.1, Your bootloader flash counter in download mode will change to "1" at every boot, if you have a custom kernel or recovery - even if you reset it with Triangle Away. See the return for warranty link later in this post to get around this.
oops
first i thought it was typo but after i check out dictionary i just learn a new and rare word ... teh ....:fingers-crossed:
qtwrk said:
oops
first i thought it was typo but after i check out dictionary i just learn a new and rare word ... teh ....:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not new, not rare:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teh