Database Users

[Q] Apps2sd without custom flashed ROM

Sorry, if this sounds newbee, I'm kind of new to the whole cusotmizing phones. I just rooted my 2.1 HTC Eris phone to get SU access, which worked great with help from this site. I used the 1 click root app and i kept the stock OS ROM. Worked like a charm. Anyways I'm want to get the ability to download apps to my SD card, however I do not want to flash a custom ROM. I want to keep on using the stock HTC Sense UI, not to mention I don't want to redo my whole phone after a flash. Is this possible. I've searched the forum but every mention of A2SD seems to come with a custom ROM. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Probably the easiest way to get apps to your sd card is to flash XTR Sense. It I sherry close to the stock rom but is optimized for stability and speed. It also has the easiest method to start apps2sd.
I would do a nand back of your phone. So you can always return to this pot if you don't like the new rom. Do both wipes data and dalvik and flash the xtr rom.
I think most people report being much more happy with this than the stock ui.

Thanks for the info, I was affraid of that. that xtrasense does look pretty good. I think i'll go that route.

Jp50 said:
Probably the easiest way to get apps to your sd card is to flash XTR Sense. It I sherry close to the stock rom but is optimized for stability and speed. It also has the easiest method to start apps2sd.
I would do a nand back of your phone. So you can always return to this pot if you don't like the new rom. Do both wipes data and dalvik and flash the xtr rom.
I think most people report being much more happy with this than the stock ui.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just in case the OP still hasn't taken the plunge, +1 what Jp50 said. Been using xtrSENSE for weeks and am loving it. I've never settled on one custom ROM for such a long time before I started using xtrSENSE.
Just make sure and read the first post or two thoroughly.

killroy77 said:
Thanks for the info, I was affraid of that. that xtrasense does look pretty good. I think i'll go that route.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you get a custom rom, you can overclock! That alone is worth it to me. If you like custom roms, you can check out TheCookieRom. It's a feature loaded rom if that's what you want. The link is in my sig.

killroy77 said:
not to mention I don't want to redo my whole phone after a flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use a backup app for your apps and your contacts if you don't want to get those from the google server.
Oh and NANDROID IS YOUR FRIEND!!! I don't know how to stress that more but if you mess something up, you can restore from nandroid and POOF! All better.

Thanks for the reply, I got the NANDROID backup figured out and completed, I just need to figure out how to backup my aps.

killroy77 said:
Thanks for the reply, I got the NANDROID backup figured out and completed, I just need to figure out how to backup my aps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend MyBackup Pro. It seems to restore more of my apps than Titanium Backup (even the latest version - just tested it the other day when I flashed an update to xtrSENSE).

so many choices......Help.

Hello all, new Galaxy user here.....I came from 3D HTC. ok my questions...
1. I am already rooted, what back up , ROM and other stuff do I need to use. There are so many links to so many choices.
2. Which are the easiest to use? I'm not good with complicated options.

kinextions said:
Hello all, new Galaxy user here.....I came from 3D HTC. ok my questions...
1. I am already rooted, what back up , ROM and other stuff do I need to use. There are so many links to so many choices.
2. Which are the easiest to use? I'm not good with complicated options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, you don't NEED to use anything but what you have right? If for some reason you are not happy with what your phone comes with than it is all personal preference. I use TWRP for custom recovery/backups and is very easy to install via GooManager app. No flashing required, all touch based, and designed very friendly I think. As for roms, kernels, etc. they all pretty much install the same and will give different results. If you don't want to complicate things just stick with rooted stock unless it does not do something you need.

kinextions said:
Hello all, new Galaxy user here.....I came from 3D HTC. ok my questions...
1. I am already rooted, what back up , ROM and other stuff do I need to use. There are so many links to so many choices.
2. Which are the easiest to use? I'm not good with complicated options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The question to start with is, "What do you want your phone to do"?
Look at the capabilities of your phone with the stock ROM:
Are you happy with the way it works? (or can you make it work the way you want by changing the available options)? If so, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with some application? Can you download an app that fixes this? If so, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with the UI? Try out another launcher - if that works for you, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with the bloat on your phone? Can you disable that bloatware? If so, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with the bloat on your phone? If you can't disable that bloatware? If so, you need to root - and then, you can freeze or remove the bloat app
Do you just want to backup everything? If so, you may not need root to use titanium backup - see if Helium backup (by CWM) does the trick for you
Do you want to change everything about your ROM, or flash a new kernel to get better battery life, or get some feature that is not available on the stock ROM (but is available on a custom ROM)? Then, root, install custom recovery (like twrp or CWM), take nandroid backup, and then flash new ROM
To summarize, what do you want your phone to do?

jj14 said:
The question to start with is, "What do you want your phone to do"?
Look at the capabilities of your phone with the stock ROM:
Are you happy with the way it works? (or can you make it work the way you want by changing the available options)? If so, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with some application? Can you download an app that fixes this? If so, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with the UI? Try out another launcher - if that works for you, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with the bloat on your phone? Can you disable that bloatware? If so, don't do anything else
Are you not happy with the bloat on your phone? If you can't disable that bloatware? If so, you need to root - and then, you can freeze or remove the bloat app
Do you just want to backup everything? If so, you may not need root to use titanium backup - see if Helium backup (by CWM) does the trick for you
Do you want to change everything about your ROM, or flash a new kernel to get better battery life, or get some feature that is not available on the stock ROM (but is available on a custom ROM)? Then, root, install custom recovery (like twrp or CWM), take nandroid backup, and then flash new ROM
To summarize, what do you want your phone to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want the most current updates and best performance from my battery and signal. I also want WiFi tether for free to work.......

kinextions said:
I want the most current updates and best performance from my battery and signal. I also want WiFi tether for free to work.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the moment, the stock ROM has the most current updates. (but I'm pretty sure the carriers will delay the release of the next update, so at that time, flashing a custom ROM may be the way to go)
WiFi Tether - you don't necessarily have to flash a custom ROM just for that - you can get that just by updating the services.* files (see the hotspot mod thread in the Android development forum - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2256950)
Best signal - you will get that based on the radios that are being used, and I believe the custom ROMs use the radios from Sprint as well.
Best battery - for that, you will need to pick a good kernel, so a custom ROM will probably be your best bet.
Hope that helps!

jj14 said:
For the moment, the stock ROM has the most current updates. (but I'm pretty sure the carriers will delay the release of the next update, so at that time, flashing a custom ROM may be the way to go)
WiFi Tether - you don't necessarily have to flash a custom ROM just for that - you can get that just by updating the services.* files (see the hotspot mod thread in the Android development forum - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2256950)
Best signal - you will get that based on the radios that are being used, and I believe the custom ROMs use the radios from Sprint as well.
Best battery - for that, you will need to pick a good kernel, so a custom ROM will probably be your best bet.
Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for everything.....got the Hotspot working. More info than I expected. Great stuff.

kinextions said:
Thank you for everything.....got the Hotspot working. More info than I expected. Great stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad this info was helpful
Just remember to do a Nandroid backup before you flash any custom ROMs or make any changes to the kernel or the root folders.
Personally, I use the latest touch based version of TWRP (installed using goomanager in the play store) - but CWM works fine too.
Being able to revert back to the nandroid backup has saved my rear end more than once

[Q] Noob needing help updating and backing up

Hi all...sorry if this is very noob but hope someone can help me out...
i got my galaxy s4 for att and its been great so far...i did root it and got rid of all the junk stuff on the phone which was nice to do... but a little issue now..there is an OTA update and its trying to apply it by rebooting but it goes to my console screen i guess and i know even if it applies it it would get rid of root.... is there a way to apply this without having to reinstall all my emails (5 emails) and my apps and keep the root ability on it? I would love to get the feature to send apps to my SD thats the only reason i really want it.
again im sorry if this is very noobish to some of u but would like a nice guide if possible how to do it.
Thanks in advance

What device? Thats important, and DO NOT let it do the update. if you are rooted, you could freeze the samsung updater.
I would get off stock and flash a custom rom.

TheAxman said:
What device? Thats important, and DO NOT let it do the update. if you are rooted, you could freeze the samsung updater.
I would get off stock and flash a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im on a samsung galaxy s4 as mentioned above....which rom would u suggest that is not bugged? i want all the features to work just as it stock would..and the battery life now is great.
thanks

nxtstep said:
im on a samsung galaxy s4 as mentioned above....which rom would u suggest that is not bugged? i want all the features to work just as it stock would..and the battery life now is great.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehe I know you stated galaxy s4, but I needed to make sure, US version right?
Use my rom, mine is totally stock, with a few modifications, and FAST!
or you can go any TW rom.
here is mine..
[ROM] ViSiON-X v1.0|AROMA|4.2.2|MGA|TW|[08-03]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2391142
then you will not have to worry about an update, until someone finds a patch for the update...

TheAxman said:
hehe I know you stated galaxy s4, but I needed to make sure, US version right?
Use my rom, mine is totally stock, with a few modifications, and FAST!
or you can go any TW rom.
here is mine..
[ROM] ViSiON-X v1.0|AROMA|4.2.2|MGA|TW|[08-03]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2391142
then you will not have to worry about an update, until someone finds a patch for the update...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there anything running 4.3??? and yes its US version

nxtstep said:
is there anything running 4.3??? and yes its US version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No 4.3 just yet. Google only.

Questions and help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
FNM

I am using KANGABEAN Rom 4.2.2 v all Samsung goodies works plus better performance and some kool tweaks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2349077
Infamous S4 is great rom as well I go back and forth between those 2 All Samsung goodies works plus some kool modes.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2304792
Try either one you will love it!

Backup and Restore
maxshah912 said:
I am using KANGABEAN Rom 4.2.2 v all Samsung goodies works plus better performance and some kool tweaks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2349077
Infamous S4 is great rom as well I go back and forth between those 2 All Samsung goodies works plus some kool modes.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2304792
Try either one you will love it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Infamous S4 as well, I love it. It's pretty stock feeling.
When it comes to the backing up part, I suggest Titanium Backup. Get the pro version and you can batch install all of your apps from a backup, otherwise you have to do it one by one. It also saves all app data and system data and accounts, so you can do a full wipe when installing an update or a new ROM (always a good idea,) then just let it completely restore the phone from a backup. You can use it to back-up everything, except for the home-screen layout (android limitation apparently.) Plus you can backup right to the phone if you have space so you don't have to wory about using the computer. I recomment getting a microSD card for 10 bucks at Staples and backing up to that. When you're restoring, make sure that you check what you're restoring. Most of the stuff in red are system apps that don't need to be restored (as newer or the same versions may already be installed from the update.)
For restoring root priviledges, CWM and TWRP custom rrecoveries have a tool for this.

A few questions about Custom ROM's.

Hey guys,
I am almost new to android hence these questions. Been using the iphone for years, hence never dealt with custom roms but just firmwares that was customized for jailbreaking.
Hence please dont flame, i have done my research, but still in have a few questions left unanswered, i am sure they are answered on the forum, but i might take my chances on opening this thread and see if a helpful soul guides me through.
I have a rooted Verizon Note 3 with baseband version N900VVRUBMI9 (SM-N900V) I managed to root it at the time when there were no custom roms. Now that i see multiple developers have come up with fantastic looking and functioning roms, i am compelled to take this leap with anodroid to the next level of trying to flash these roms myself on the phone.
1. Will i loose all the data if i install a rom? I believe people do backup their data etc on the sd card, and in the recovery option you get that option, but can you backup every single data that your app creates and stores?
2. I see a few custom roms like Dr. ketan's rom, Lidroid's, Poppuri etc.. i am not asking whats the best, but when choosing a rom.. how do you ascertain? what do you look for? How do you deciede this is the rom i am going to install.
3. Under the worst case scenario what can happen if your rom is not correctly installed? are there chances you might brick your phone in such a way you wont be able to put it back to factory settings?
Please try to reply to whatever you can. I did google and read on the forums, and was able to get an answer to a lot of my previously held up questions.

MANswers said:
1. Will i loose all the data if i install a rom? I believe people do backup their data etc on the sd card, and in the recovery option you get that option, but can you backup every single data that your app creates and stores?
2. I see a few custom roms like Dr. ketan's rom, Lidroid's, Poppuri etc.. i am not asking whats the best, but when choosing a rom.. how do you ascertain? what do you look for? How do you deciede this is the rom i am going to install.
3. Under the worst case scenario what can happen if your rom is not correctly installed? are there chances you might brick your phone in such a way you wont be able to put it back to factory settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate.
1. It really depends on which rom you are coming from. If you flash a rom based on the same firmware as yours, you can probably get away without wiping data. Some roms will state "require full wipe" in which case, yes, you lose all apps and their associated data. (You won't lose your sdcard data such as media and downloads).
There are apps that you can use to backup your apps and their data, such as Titanium Backup (my favourite), rom toolbox and others. Not sure about free apps for this but I bet they exist. Titanium lets you restore apps and their data
2. It depends on what is available and what you like. There are generally two types of roms. Touchwiz (TW) based roms and then the other variants that are based on a form of stock android (examples CM, Paranoid, AOKP etc). Touchwiz roms are based on the Samsung software, so they have all the s-pen stuff, the samsung apps, the Touchwiz interface etc.
The other roms will have a stock Android look. They can have other features such as Pie Controls, Halo etc.
The other type of roms aren't yet available for our phone.
3. I don't think you could brick it unless you flash a rom that is meant for a different device, and maybe screw up the bootloader in the process. The worst I have experienced is from not wiping my data when switching from different roms, and restoring old SYSTEM data, which made things go weird for me.
If you get Titanium Backup, do not backup ALL data. That will cause you issues. Just backup the apps you want, and maybe some system data such as text messages. There are some decent tutorials on using this app.
I hope some of this helps.
I doubt you will brick your device if you flash roms meant for your phone. Just read a lot, follow the instructions, and always always keep a nandroid backup in your CWM or TWRP recovery.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

danieljamie said:
Hi mate.
1. It really depends on which rom you are coming from. If you flash a rom based on the same firmware as yours, you can probably get away without wiping data. Some roms will state "require full wipe" in which case, yes, you lose all apps and their associated data. (You won't lose your sdcard data such as media and downloads).
There are apps that you can use to backup your apps and their data, such as Titanium Backup (my favourite), rom toolbox and others. Not sure about free apps for this but I bet they exist. Titanium lets you restore apps and their data
2. It depends on what is available and what you like. There are generally two types of roms. Touchwiz (TW) based roms and then the other variants that are based on a form of stock android (examples CM, Paranoid, AOKP etc). Touchwiz roms are based on the Samsung software, so they have all the s-pen stuff, the samsung apps, the Touchwiz interface etc.
The other roms will have a stock Android look. They can have other features such as Pie Controls, Halo etc.
The other type of roms aren't yet available for our phone.
3. I don't think you could brick it unless you flash a rom that is meant for a different device, and maybe screw up the bootloader in the process. The worst I have experienced is from not wiping my data when switching from different roms, and restoring old SYSTEM data, which made things go weird for me.
If you get Titanium Backup, do not backup ALL data. That will cause you issues. Just backup the apps you want, and maybe some system data such as text messages. There are some decent tutorials on using this app.
I hope some of this helps.
I doubt you will brick your device if you flash roms meant for your phone. Just read a lot, follow the instructions, and always always keep a nandroid backup in your CWM or TWRP recovery.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your fantastic response.. This helped a lot. I do use Titanium Backup, and take a daily backup of the new apps and changed data.
Android is a fantastic phone, i was living under the rock for all these years using the iphone. I think i missed out all the good fun that the earlier versions of android brought to the community as the learning curve was really great. Now with all the advancement.. i am having a little bit hard time catching up.. But i will do my best to get to know it.
Have another question here.. on the Note 3 verizon section i see multiple developers have posted their ROM's and thousands of people have downloaded them and have been using it. Does it mean that I can install every ROM posted on the Verizon Note 3 section? Meaning are they all compatible with the Verizon version of Note 3? Or should i be specifically looking forward to using the ROM thats marked with baseband version N900VVRUBMI9 (SM-N900V)?
Such as this..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2520550
Or could i use any of the rom thats within the Samsung Verizon Note 3 section?
I dont fully get the part where there are two kinds of ROM's available, when you says TouchWiz based ROM's and other variants such as CM, Paranoid, AOKP etc..
Can i installing other launchers such as Buzz Launcher or Nova on these two kinds?

So it looks like i just have one option to install for my baseband N900VVRUBMI9 (SM-N900V) its the hyperdrive.. is that correct?

MANswers said:
Have another question here.. on the Note 3 verizon section i see multiple developers have posted their ROM's and thousands of people have downloaded them and have been using it. Does it mean that I can install every ROM posted on the Verizon Note 3 section? Meaning are they all compatible with the Verizon version of Note 3? Or should i be specifically looking forward to using the ROM thats marked with baseband version N900VVRUBMI9 (SM-N900V)?
Such as this..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2520550
Or could i use any of the rom thats within the Samsung Verizon Note 3 section?
I dont fully get the part where there are two kinds of ROM's available, when you says TouchWiz based ROM's and other variants such as CM, Paranoid, AOKP etc..
Can i installing other launchers such as Buzz Launcher or Nova on these two kinds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think, THINK, that you can use any rom for SM-N900V. Notice the end of the rom build number is MI9.. they are chronological, MI9, MJ1, MJ3, MJ6, MJ7... generally try not to go down... up is ususally better..
It might benefit you to just ask in the relevant threads if your specific device is supported, as I'm not that sure about verizon phones.
Touchwiz is a launcher, and yes on the Samsung based roms, the launcher can be replaced with Nova.
The difference is on CM, it is based on stock Android. So the settings, phone, messages, all those apps aren't themed like the samsung versions. They will look, stock. Also CM won't have Samsung stuff like s-note, s-planner etc. Do a google search on CM and look at pictures...
You can choose launcher on all roms. But you can't get Touchwiz on stock Android, as it uses Samsung framework stuff.
I hope this helps...
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Q] Can anyone tell me which one is he most stable CFW now?

Like the title, can anyone tell me which one is the most stable cfw now? b/c there many cfw in the forum and I dont know which one is good, or having problem, issue....ect. If not, I will go back to stock, root, install revovery, and update stock 4.4.2 KK

street.basketball said:
Like the title, can anyone tell me which one is the most stable cfw now? b/c there many cfw in the forum and I dont know which one is good, or having problem, issue....ect. If not, I will go back to stock, root, install revovery, and update stock 4.4.2 KK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well on first note you can flash a rooted kk and keep recovery there are two ways of doing so, now for your first question recommending roms is not that good because everyone has a different preference in my case I need power and battery life since I mainly use my phone for gaming but you might have something else in mind so it's always best to just just flash on your own until you find something that suits your needs

Madhi rom is a pretty good rom and stable rom. So far I found 0 bugs with my everyday use. I recommend it. And having a nandroid backup makes the return to your stock rom a 5 minute process, if you didn't like it
Sent from my g2 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

XxZombiePikachu said:
well on first note you can flash a rooted kk and keep recovery there are two ways of doing so, now for your first question recommending roms is not that good because everyone has a different preference in my case I need power and battery life since I mainly use my phone for gaming but you might have something else in mind so it's always best to just just flash on your own until you find something that suits your needs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what i need is a stable rom, like there no bugs, issue, errors blah blah, so if you know any like that, tell me
j1miroquai said:
Madhi rom is a pretty good rom and stable rom. So far I found 0 bugs with my everyday use. I recommend it. And having a nandroid backup makes the return to your stock rom a 5 minute process, if you didn't like it
Sent from my g2 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, can you give me a link? And nandroid backup is in cwm recovery right?

nandroid backup is called the process of taking backup your entire phone . data system cache etc.
You can find it in all custom recovery programs cwm , twrp .VERY VERY VERY usefull
I used both cwm and twrp for nandroid backup and it's a pretty straightforward process.
here is the link for Mahdi ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2590700

XxZombiePikachu said:
well on first note you can flash a rooted kk and keep recovery there are two ways of doing so, now for your first question recommending roms is not that good because everyone has a different preference in my case I need power and battery life since I mainly use my phone for gaming but you might have something else in mind so it's always best to just just flash on your own until you find something that suits your needs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, you said I can update 4.4 and still have recovery? I though I only can keep root, can you show me how?