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Well hello everyone.
I am an application development student from Belgium.
I am proficient in Java, VB.NET, some c/c++ and also PHP/JS/HTML/CSS
Anyways, my recent interest has been going out to creating custom roms for the galaxy S!
The problem now is though, I was able to find some guides and such, but most were incomplete, and for HTC(and other) devices.
I have no idea what is different between making a ROM for galaxy S or a ROM for an HTC device.
If anyone would like to link me to some good resources that can help me on my way, or would like to collaborate (and in the meanwhile teach me a bit) I would be more than happy! (I am open for collaboration as I am pretty proficient in Java and I'm always happy to code and learn more about coding!)
I think the question is really want you want to do!
Custom ROMs for Android are as simple as using recovery console to replace files on the system with your own versions.
ie. Replace the framework.apk which contains all theme images with your own modified one, which you can use to skin the device. Same for replacing other system apps.
Unfortunately, most of these apps are closed source, so modifying them is difficult. The stock android system has open source versions of most of them though, and you can modify those and build them, and then replace the ones on the device. I'm not entirely sure how to build them up though, but it probably isn't too hard.
Then there are custom kernels, which let you actually change the underlying linux system underneath android - Samsung has an open source version of the kernel available that you can compile, and then flash to your phone using Odin or other tools. Compiling the kernel is pretty tricky though.
Well i'm really talking about stuff like SamSet, MoDaCo, Doc's ROM and others.
I'm not saying I want to create a pro ROM in a day or anything, but i'd really love to learn more to get better (always looking for more stuff to put on the resume, I guess?!)
Thanks a lot,
Kenny
Bump for some help
(sorry for the double post but i'm really eager to learn)
I don't have time to give a detailed response right now. However you will want to read up on yaffs (file system) and odexing/deodexing ROMs.
Thank you I will definately do that,
I am following a guide now to start out creating custom ROMs for android, however it was written for Motorola Droid and I have no idea what you have to do different for a samsung galaxy s.
I am a good coder, even though I say so myself, with a lot of experience. I also have a lot of linux experience, you name it
Only the problem is the old, and much known "where do I get started?"
So if anyone can point me out in the right direction on that, tell me how/where you started out, I would appreciate it greatly!
Thanks!
Very sorry to bump again
I set up my environment in ubuntu today to get started (just gotta fix a few errors, didn't know android wouldn't compile on java 1.6, only on 1.5)
Anyways, still need some help here! thanks!
Again I am awefully sorry for the bump here but i'd really like some help.
Note that i'm not a newbie at coding whatsoever and i'm not unfamiliar with some hardcore java, c/c++ and other languages, I'm just having trouble getting started when it comes to modding an existing android release (there are tutorials on HTC and other devices but some methods do not apply to the galaxy S)
If you're trying to create a ROM from scratch then unfortunately you're out of luck at the moment. No one has really managed to do so yet. By "from scratch" I mean the Android Open Source Project (i.e. official Android git repository).
What you can do is grab an existing firmware. Extract the contents, de-odex the apks, modify them or add new apks, optionally you can also compile a custom SGS kernel using Samsung's kernel source. Then you can re-odex the ROM, pack it back up and distribute it.
There's no real "starting place" as such and you won't yet find any tutorials about how to create SGS ROMs. Just give it a go and see where you get.
Yes, I do mean creating a ROM from stock samsung firmware, of course.
So my next logical question would be now:
How do I go over extracting contents from the existing samsung firmware, de-odexing and so on?
Any links/guides/tips are greatly appreciated, as long as they are applicable to this cell phone and not totally crap, thanks!
Samsung uses rfs, I think you should know. There is a thread somewhere in this forum regarding extracting .rfs file. Understood you need Debian though.
For some readup, go search for a famous guy named JesusFreke. Tons of materials...
Hope that from here onwards, this can lead you on, and to find out more. Google is your friend too...
I'm afraid my biggest problems already occur in setting up the environment, so it's really the very beginning that gets me stuck, i'm sure coding would be a bikeride compared to setting up the environment for me (i'm no hero in linux,not at all, i'm afraid)
How the hell do I get from point A (being downloading the full source) to point B (starting to create a custom ROM?)
thanks
of course if anyone has the time, and wants to, you can PM me your msn or something, if anyone is up to it
Raykoid666 said:
I'm afraid my biggest problems already occur in setting up the environment, so it's really the very beginning that gets me stuck, i'm sure coding would be a bikeride compared to setting up the environment for me (i'm no hero in linux,not at all, i'm afraid)
How the hell do I get from point A (being downloading the full source) to point B (starting to create a custom ROM?)
thanks
of course if anyone has the time, and wants to, you can PM me your msn or something, if anyone is up to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed completely! Getting a full cross-compilation to Samsung's Android going is seriously difficult! There have been some promises for tutorials and guides for setting things up though, but none have appeared yet. Probably because it's hard!
Well thank you for agreeing with me on that.
I am really hoping for anyone that can help me out here, either on here or in private, and give some detailed instructions on how to get started.
Hell there is enough information on creating roms alread, deodexing, adding/removing apps etc etc etc... The real problem lies in setting everything up properly.
I think I have gotten to the point where I'm compiling the android source (without samsung specific files)
note i'm saying "i think i am compiling" because i'm hoping it won't error out on me again after an hour of compiling!
But once that is done... I have no idea where to go next, where to get the samsung specific files, or what to do with them whatsoever once i have them
thanks!
Android generic source won't actually help you much. Samsung has made a huge number of changes to it, and while it is all open source, backporting their changes to get your stock source running on the phone is a major undertaking. I believe cyanogenmod was actually working on this, but it seems without much success so far.
What the other rom makers you see are doing is taking a snapshot of a running rom, copying over all of the APKs and the files on a running device, and then tweaking those. ie. Opening up framework-res.apk and changing the image files inside.
The update.zip roms that are what most people are doing are really just using the Android recovery to replace files on the phone with their own versions. Since the underlying system is linux, and everything is a file, this actually works pretty well.
The kernel development effort is completely separate from the rest of the system though, and Samsung has provided the entire source tree that just has to be compiled. I'm a bit stumped myself on all the details of setting it up, but I have seen some threads on this forum about it, and it didn't seem too bad to set up. Apparently you shouldn't use the codesourcery toolchain though, or something. Not too clued up on it, sorry. Hopefully someone with the details can chime in, or give us a link to the old post on it (I'm failing to find it using the search function! )
Alright sounds good!
So these recovery files you are talking about (the contents of /system) how do i retrieve those from a base ROM such as JM7 or the likes after a clean flash?)
Raykoid666 said:
Alright sounds good!
So these recovery files you are talking about (the contents of /system) how do i retrieve those from a base ROM such as JM7 or the likes after a clean flash?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root your phone, zip them up onto the sdcard, and then copy them off.
There are probably better methods, but this works fine.
Also, with credits to Unhelpful, he has told me that the correct toolchain to be using is 'uClibc or eglibc toolchain with ct-ng'. I have no idea what to do with that yet, but it's a start.
RyanZA said:
Root your phone, zip them up onto the sdcard, and then copy them off.
There are probably better methods, but this works fine.
Also, with credits to Unhelpful, he has told me that the correct toolchain to be using is 'uClibc or eglibc toolchain with ct-ng'. I have no idea what to do with that yet, but it's a start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't even need to root your phone to pull /system Ryan
adb pull /system <random folder>
is all you need ^^
Alright thank you, I managed to get all the /system files using abd pull /system
now next thing up would be de-odexing right, before I go editing stuff?
Now before I go de-odexing. Can anyone tell me what exactly de-odexing is and why I need it?
and what do I need to do to create an update.zip again?
thanks a lot all!
Tayutama said:
You don't even need to root your phone to pull /system Ryan
adb pull /system <random folder>
is all you need ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha cool, didn't know you could pull whole folders!
Raykoid666 said:
Alright thank you, I managed to get all the /system files using abd pull /system
now next thing up would be de-odexing right, before I go editing stuff?
Now before I go de-odexing. Can anyone tell me what exactly de-odexing is and why I need it?
and what do I need to do to create an update.zip again?
thanks a lot all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The apk files in Android are odexed - that means they have a special index applied for dalvik that speeds them up somehow! I don't know how, I haven't checked how it actually works.
The important point is though:
odexed is faster, but you can't edit it because of signatures or something technical
deodexed means you can change it however you want
More useful info can be found from google - lots of it!
update.zip is easy - it's a zip file in a special format that can be understood by Android's recovery console. The easiest way to do it is to grab an existing update.zip and modify it as needed. Tayutama has millions of em around, so use his!
Then you need to sign it once you're finished with it so that the SGS will accept it. Samsung made a boo-boo and didn't disable the test keys for the 2.1 SGS firmwares. That makes it easy!
http://www.londatiga.net/it/how-to-sign-apk-zip-files/
Just use the test keys to sign it, and then copy it to /sdcard/update.zip and reboot into recovery and it'll work.
So to get to the point... I bricked my friend's SGT after trying to put a dialer app onto it. A series of stupid moves leaves it at the Samsung logo on bootup and only able to access Download Mode (No recovery). He's getting a replacement through warranty (oops) but in the meantime I'd love to learn/experiment with building my own ROM.
I've been an avid Linux user for a couple years, learning more and more as time goes by. I've done extensive modding on the Motorola Droid and Droid 2 (modding, no programming, dev'ing or cooking). Basic familiarity with the Android system and how it works.
However, it's been a huge learning experience trying to build my own ROM from source. I downloaded the SGH-I800 VZW and also the GT-P1000 sources from opensource.samsung.com and also the android source from source.android.com
following the instructions from the README inside the I800 source .tar, I wrote the GT-P1000 files over the android source, then wrote the I800 files over the combined GT-P1000/android source. After some configuring to make this work on a 32-bit system with java1.6 lib's, I finally arrived with a working "make" command in my ~/bin folder (where repo stuck the android source). before running make I did run "make update-api" and it seemed to go off without a hitch.
It's currently running and has been for quite some time (around 45 mins or so, which is normal on my centrino 4 year old laptop. However, I'm seeing quite a few warnings about parenthesis and various other syntax-related issues.
Is this going to be a huge problem with the final .img files? I can't imagine it working perfectly... Is there any way to debug this compilation procedure? I'm just using terminal and obviously there are far too many to stay in the lines history of terminal app.
Thanks for the help guys, I'm hoping to at least get this tablet bootable so I can apply a more advanced rom or (depending on the difficulty) revise my own rom into a fully working one.
-Garrett
P.S.- If I understand this correctly, it will output a few .img files into the /out folder. How am i to flash these using ODIN? can I just put them into a .tar archive and select that under the PDA option of ODIN? I've already compiled the kernel for the SGT, it seemed very straightforward and I've got the zImage file. I also read somewhere that the kernel should be included in the main platform compilation. However, the zImage file is just thrown into one of the other .tar's downloaded for a different device (just to get a feel of what format files should be where). Some advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.
update:
it compiled and produced three files of standard format (*.img) which would be used to
a) extract the /system folder, etc. to produce a flashable update.zip in CWM or some other custom recovery.
or
b) flash directly using some other program, with target booted into the bootloader,
if I recall correctly. The problem with the former is that this tablet will not boot into recovery, and with the latter, no suitable program seemingly exists. There must be some method of converting or repackaging these *.img files into Samsung's proprietary *.rfs format, but extensive google searching has yielded nothing of value.
ok, update #2
flashed a zImage and factoryfs.rfs from a sprint ROM, and of course data doesn't work on this verizon tab (actually not a big deal since I'd be wifi tethering from my Droid 2 anyway) but it does have all the sprint applications and settings and all that.
I have a full /system dump from a completely stock verizon tablet, what is the most straightforward way of flashing this onto this frankenstein tablet?
I'd imagine it entails flashing clockworkmod recovery and flashing an update.zip that contains the entire /system folder, would this work?
I've tried simply
adb push ~/Galaxy/system /data/sysbackup
then
busybox cp -rf /data/sysbackup/* /system
however this just results in a lot of disk full errors and an unbootable tablet.
thanks for the tips guys, and wondering what's so bad about the vzw tablet? there seems to be a lot more threads/roms/support for (of course) the GSM tablets and even Sprint's but none for big red.
Not sure if this would work, but maybe creating a VFAT image in Linux and dumping the contents into it then saving the file as factoryfs.rfs and flashing it?
Or, mount a known good factoryfs.rfs, rip out the contents and replace it with the VZW stuff. (Since RFS images can be mounted as VFAT in Linux/Unix)
As far as getting data up and running, you would probably need a dump of a radio from another VZW Tab. (/dev/block/btl12 if it's anything like the GSM Tabs)
gfrancis306 said:
thanks for the tips guys, and wondering what's so bad about the vzw tablet? there seems to be a lot more threads/roms/support for (of course) the GSM tablets and even Sprint's but none for big red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can only answer for myself on this one, I always prefer the GSM devices because they often have Euro/Asian counterparts, thus bigger modding communities. The GSM models will definitely have more presence solely because the majority of markets for the device are GSM-based.
thanks guys, I definitely understand the GSM tabs getting more traffic but couldn't figure out why Sprint was attended to while VZW went overlooked.
Either way, I had a friend of mine .tar up a rotohammer backup from his VZW tablet and send it to me through dropbox. un-tar'd and flashed using heimdall and it booted right up with VZW service and everything. the only problem I notice is there are no google apps (Market, Gmail, Maps, etc.) I know there's a quick fix for most android phones by just flashing gapps.zip through CWM recovery, but since there's no way to fash CWM on the VZW tab, how would I go about getting my google apps back?
Thanks
Do a factory reset or try one of the market fixes in the main galaxy section. Should be fixable.
Does your GPS function?
gfrancis306 said:
thanks guys, I definitely understand the GSM tabs getting more traffic but couldn't figure out why Sprint was attended to while VZW went overlooked.
Either way, I had a friend of mine .tar up a rotohammer backup from his VZW tablet and send it to me through dropbox. un-tar'd and flashed using heimdall and it booted right up with VZW service and everything. the only problem I notice is there are no google apps (Market, Gmail, Maps, etc.) I know there's a quick fix for most android phones by just flashing gapps.zip through CWM recovery, but since there's no way to fash CWM on the VZW tab, how would I go about getting my google apps back?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get the dbdata.rfs or cache.rfs? I think they play a part into stuff like the market. Check for the apps in /system/app though.
Sent from my SGH-I987 using XDA App
I bricked VZW SGT by flashing another rom accidently and now it wont go further than the Samsung logo on bootup
is there any way to flash back the orginal rom?
On my sprint gt. I am able to get to clockwork mod recovery by doing
Code:
adb reboot recovery
as far as I can tell there is no way to get to recovery with the device off. But if it gets as far as the samsung screen you still might be able to use adb to reboot to recovery. I've been trying to build froyo myself and as a proof of concept compiled the stock kernel from samsung open source. Then put it in a modified update.zip from one of monks kernels and flashed it from clockwork recovery. The flash was a success and the device booted fine. I dont see why the same shouldnt work for the system folder. The boot.img would be more difficult cause I dont think the gt uses the same partition layout as other android phones.
Helo my name is robert an im new to this. Im looking for some roms for my vzw galaxy tab. Dose anyone have any suggestions ? An is there a stable gingerbread or honeycomb roms out there for the galaxy tab for vzw ? Thanks to all that can help me
Sent from my SCH-I800 using XDA App
Introduction:
Please read and try to do some research instead of bombarding the developers with the same questions over and over, cluttering the threads with useless and recursive information. I will try to include terms for all the ROMs and Kernels in the Development Section, and remove the obvious things as much as possible. That doesn’t mean it will be perfect! I hope this will be useful for beginners, because it provides most of the basic information you need to get started. From now on, it’s up to you what you do.
I am fully aware that the information included here is for one time use, enough to get you started. Some of these things ARE well known by many of you, but they are still useful for others that are just beginning to learn about their NS. Besides definitions and explanations, I’ll also link to useful posts around xda and other sites, which provide further information on the respective subject.
ROMs(ROM: a firmware that contains the Android operating system, and at least critical apps necessary for running your phone (but usually more apps than just those); can be stock or custom, and comes packaged in a *.zip file, flashable under recovery)
AOSP-built ROMs
Features: these are built from source code, from the Android Open Source Project, delivered free of bloatware and with rich customizations.
Some of the most popular (at the moment):
GSM VERSION: i9023/i9020A/i9020T
CyanogenMod 9 (still in alpha stages for now)
IML74K Android 4.0.3 Build 4 - Quad Lockscreen + More MODS (1/15/12)
nuhetri- v1.0.0
Slim ICS
AOSP+ V2.3|ICS 4.0.3|Source Built|Status Bar Widgets + Nice Mods
4G VERSION
vhgomez36-ICS-NXS-4G-4.0.3 r2.0
IML74K Android 4.0.3 Build 3 - Quad Lockscreen+More MODS
Crossbones v0.1.3
CyanogenMod 9 v4.0.3 - Alpha 20
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moddified ROMs
Features: these are modified versions of stock/AOSP ROMs/other custom ROMs, that keep the look of the base ROM up to a certain point. Also generally free of bloatware and with some additional modifications.
Some of the most popular (at the moment):
GSM VERSION: i9023/i9020A/i9020T
CyberGR-MOD|NS.NGN ver. 4.0 Ultimate
NSCollab 1.0.60
Ultimate ICS v4.0
-=Nexus MV 1.12.09=-
KANGY6 | ICS | AOKP |
NexusBeam 4.2.3
CyberGR-MOD|NS.NGN ver. 3.0 Hybrid ICS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MIUI-style ROMs
Features: unique type of ROM, developed by the Chinese. Has a strong iOS feel, highly customizable.
Some of the most popular (at the moment):
GSM VERSION: i9023/i9020A/i9020T
◄ ▌ [09.Jan.12] [ROM] Brainmaster's MIUI 2.1.6 ICS | Stable 2.3.7b v2 GB ▌►
DianXin OS (DX ROM) ICS | GB ROM
4G VERSION
◄ ▌ [28.Nov.11] [ROM] brainmaster's MIUI NS4G 1.11.25 | OTA ▌►
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock ROM
Official releases from Google. The reasons most people here flash a stock ROM are: they want to update/ are bored of custom ROMs/ want to start over with their phone/ warranty reasons.
If you want to go back to stock for some reason, check this thread and read carefully, so you get the correct version for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once we decide for a type or ROM (except stock), we head over to the ROMs thread and begin reading the list of features. Now would be a good time to PANIC! No, no, just kidding Those words do exist in some kind of language (not necessarily English). So here’s a very basic list of the most common terms found in our ROM threads:
Code:
[B]AOSP[/B]
[quote]Short for [url=http://source.android.com/]Android Open Source Project[/url]. Its purpose is to maintain the development
of the Android platform. Anyone can use the Android source code for
any purpose, and this is when custom ROMs come in. The [AOSP]
tag is used here to signal a ROM built from Google’s source, a pure
ROM, free of bloatware, with very good performance (generally)
and a very extended degree of customization. [/quote]
[B]Build.prop[/B]
[quote]This file is located in /system/build.prop. It holds the majority
of the runtime flags that are used when Android boots. Basically, it
lists specific information about your device, for applications to use.
You can also edit lines, with a file manager that has access to
/system, in order to change LCD density, build number, device
model and many more. [/quote]
[B]Busybox(ed)[/B]
[quote]Busybox is a collection of simple, but powerful Linux
utilities, that Android doesn't come with by default. It is used
by applications like MetaMorph and Titanium backup in order
to do special operations. You can manage ther version installed
on your phone with various apps from the [url=https://market.android.com/search?q=busybox&c=apps]market[/url] [/quote]
[B]/boot partition[/B]
[quote]This partition includes the bootloader and kernel, and
it enables the phone to boot. Wiping it must be done only if
requested, and the phone must not be rebooted after this operation.
Instalation of a new one is done by flashing a ROM that includes
the /boot partition. [/quote]
[B]/cache partition[/B]
[quote]Inside this partition, Android stores frequently accessed
data and app components. Performing a wipe of the /cache does
not affect personal settings or files, but simply gets rid of existing
data there, which gets automatically rebuilt in time. [/quote]
[B]Dalvik cache[/B]
[quote]Dalvik cache collects the information about the installed
applications and frameworks, and organizes them into a writeable
cache. Under this writeable cache, it stores the “optimized”
bytecode of the applications which is used by the applications
themselves later for a smoother operation. This dalvik cache can
grow as more applications are installed on your phone. It is safe
to wipe dalvik-cache. It will be rebuilt again when the phone
boots. This also explains why your phone takes ages to start up
for the first time. [/quote]
[B]/data partition[/B]
[quote]Also called userdata, the data partition contains the user’s
data – this is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps
that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially performs
a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was
when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official
or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory
reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping. [/quote]
[B]Deodex(ed)[/B]
[quote]In Android file system, applications come in packages with
the extension .apk. These application packages, or APKs contain
certain .odex files whose supposed function is to save space.
These ‘odex’ files are actually collections of parts of an application
that are optimized before booting. Doing so speeds up the boot
process, as it preloads part of an application. Deodexing is basically
repackaging of these APKs in a certain way, such that they are
reassembled into classes.dex files. By doing that, all pieces of an
application package are put together back in one place, thus
eliminating the worry of a modified APK conflicting with some
separate odexed parts. The advantage of deodexing is in modification possibilities. On the other hand, since the .odex files were supposed
to quickly build the dalvik cache, removing them would mean
longer initial boot times. However, this is true only for the first
ever boot after deodexing, since the cache would still get built
over time as applications are used. [/quote]
[B]EFS folder[/B]
[quote]This is a VERY important folder. It contains phone-specific
information, like IMEI (encrypted in the nv_data.bin), wireless
devices MAC addresses, product code (also in the nv_data.bin)
and more. I advise you to make a backup of this folder, and keep
it safe. Remember, backup BEFORE flashing anything. Use [url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138873]this tool from forum member Borky_16[/url]. [/quote]
[B]Init.d[/B]
[quote]Init.d is very useful because it runs scripts that you can
just delete or replace in the /system/etc/init.d folder. The scripts
are also very flexible and can be used to call other scripts or set
a variety of system settings. [/quote]
[B]G-apps/Gapps[/B]
[quote]A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, there was a
developer. And he used the Force for developing something called
CyanogenMod. For the happiness of the other folks in the galaxy,
he included some applications from Google. But the Emperor…
oh, sorry… But Google didn’t agree with him including these
proprietary apps, so they sent him a cease and desist letter.
Long story short, the Google Applications are provided separately
via a flashable .zip file. This is the case for pure AOSP ROMs,
and theoretically this is how it should be done. Theoretically. [/quote]
[B]Host File[/B]
[quote]Located in the /etc/ folder, it is used to block ads.
Most ROMs come with a “blocks ~95% of ads” statement. You
can also manage it with apps from the [url=https://market.android.com/search?q=ad+block&c=apps]market[/url]. [/quote]
[B]Logcat[/B]
[quote]The Android logging system provides a mechanism for
collecting and viewing system debug output. Logs from various
applications and portions of the system are collected in a series
of circular buffers, which then can be viewed and filtered by
the logcat command. You can use logcat from an ADB shell to view
the log messages.[/quote]
[B]NANDroid[/B]
[quote]When you take NANDroid backup, it means you are
backing up entire ROM. It’s basically a picture of the ROMs’
state . So when something goes wrong, you have the
chance to restore your phone to the backup state using the NANDroid. [/quote]
[B]NSTools[/B]
[quote]An essential tool that manages tweaks like BLN,
BLD, BLX, Liveoc, OC, CPU Governor, Deep idle and so on.
Written by arifhn, available in the [url=https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.cyann.nstools&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsIm1vYmkuY3lhbm4ubnN0b29scyJd]market[/url] and on [url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1333696]xda[/url],
this is a must have application for managing these various options. [/quote]
[B]Odex[/B]
[quote]These ‘odex’ files are actually collections of parts
of an application that are optimized before booting. Also explained at deodex(ed). [/quote]
[B]Power Menu[/B]
[quote]A multiple choice menu that appears when long pressing
the power button. In stock, these are critical options,
such as powering down the device. Developers have also
added options for taking snapshots,
rebooting normally/into bootloader/into recovery and so on. [/quote]
[B]Radio[/B]
[quote]The radio controls basic low-level functions like
network connectivity, Wi-Fi, and GPS. It comes as a radio.img file,
and generally, developers try to leave this out of their
ROMs because different areas require different radios. Pay attention
to this when choosing to flash a new ROM. There is a reference
thread with all the radios [url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116884]HERE[/url]. [/quote]
[B]Ramdisk[/B]
[quote]Ramdisk.img is a small partition image that is mounted
read-only by the kernel at boot time. It only contains /init
and a few config files. It is used to start init, which will
mount the rest of the system images properly and run the
init procedure. A Ramdisk is a standard Linux feature. [/quote]
[B]Recovery[/B]
[quote]Recovery mode in Android provides an environment for
users to wipe cache, data, factory reset the phone or update
it with a .zip file. There are custom recoveries like [url=http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager]ClockworkMod[/url] or [url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1399565]TWRP[/url], which provide additional functionality,
and are very popular for this reason. [/quote]
[B]RTL[/B]
[quote]Short for Right-to-Left and refers to support for languages requiring this type of writing. [/quote]
[B]SetCPU[/B]
[quote]An application built by coolbho3000, which allows CPU speed tweaking and management, allows overclocking, and sets CPU governors. Available on [url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=505419]xda[/url] and the [url=https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mhuang.overclocking&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5taHVhbmcub3ZlcmNsb2NraW5nIl0.]market[/url] (try to buy from the market if you want to support his work). [/quote]
[B]SIM Toolkit (STK)[/B]
[quote]Now if you live in the States, you might not even know what
the STK is, so a bit of explaining is in order. Put simply, the STK
allows carriers to load a simple set of menus and 'applications' on
your SIM card. Earlier versions of Android, up to 1.6, actually
included a rather rough, but functional Sim Toolkit application, but
at some point it was dropped. [/quote]
[B]/system Partition[/B]
[quote]This partition basically contains the entire operating system,
except the kernel and the bootloader. This includes the Android
user interface as well as all the system applications that come
pre-installed on the device. Wiping this partition will remove Android
from the device without rendering it unbootable, and you will
still be able to put the phone into recovery or bootloader mode
to install a new ROM. [/quote]
[B]Unsecured Boot.img[/B]
[quote]Used for adb remount, gets you root by default on a shell. (ro.secure=0) [/quote]
[B]V6 Supercharger Script[/B]
[quote]A more technical explanation could be done here, but
the bottom line is that this is used to make your phone run
faster, by better management of memory. [/quote]
[B]Zipaling[/B]
[quote]Zipalign is an archive alignment tool introduced first
time with 1.6 Android SDK (software development kit). It
optimizes the way an Android application package (APK) is
packaged. Doing so enables the Android operating system to
interact with the application more efficiently, and hence has
the potential to make the application and overall the whole
system much faster. Execution time is minimized for zipaligned
applications, resulting is lesser amount of RAM consumption
when running the APK. [/quote]
Kernels
(Kernel: provides the most basic level of control over all of the phone's hardware; consider them a link between the hardware components and the ROM)
With kernels it’s a little bit easier. At least this is how it may seem. Right after rooting the device, many choose to first flash a kernel (including me) mostly because it gives the opportunity to flash something while not modifying the appearance of the phone. Furthermore, it gives you the ability to change things like CPU clock speed, internal and ARM voltages, and also have different patches and mods designed to prolong battery life/improve speed/provide stability.
Kernels are abundant for the NS, so I’ll be naming the most popular:
GLaDOS
ICUP Kernel Edition
*Matr1x*
SG-NS-ICS - 14-01-2012 - 11UV|Voodoo|BFQ|BIGMEM|BLN|BLD|BLX|TW|Lazy|3.0.15
Netarchy Nexus
NS+4G Trinity (E)UV and OC CM9 + m(any) roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many users ask around about which could be the best kernel. For this, xda member bedalus decided to set up a thread where he benchmarked ICS kernels (accurately enough). This should give you an idea where to start from.
Also, there are terms which appear frequently in the features list of kernels, so here’s a very basic list of the most common terms found in our kernel threads:
Code:
[B]BFS[/B]
[quote]A Brain F**ked Scheduler will perform better on CPU intensive
process, which usually cause them to get higher benchmark scores.
However because it only dedicates minimal CPU to background
processes you may experience lag when switching quickly between
different tasks. [/quote]
[B]BLD[/B]
[quote]Backlight Dimmer provides an option for the lights of the
touchkeys to be turned off after a certain period. This can be
tweaked from NStools. [/quote]
[B]BLN[/B]
[quote]Backlight Notification is a mod developed by neldar,
which converts the touchkey backlights into a notification led. [/quote]
[B]BLX[/B]
[quote]Battery Life eXtender, from Ezekeel, manages the maximum
percentage to which the battery is being charged. By default,
the Nexus S is charged to about 95% capacity. [/quote]
[B]CFS[/B]
[quote]A Completely Fair Scheduler is more suited for multitasking.
You may notice performance issues when using CPU heavy
activities like HD games because it is trying to keep the other
processes in the background equal to the one that is hogging the
CPU. It should also be noted that, as designed, this type of
kernel should handle going from listening to music to sending a
text to surfing the web with minimal lag. [/quote]
[B]Deep IDLE[/B]
[quote]Another mod by Ezekeel, which allows the phone to
enter a “deep idle” state while performing tasks when the screen is
off. For example, listening to music with the screen off and
Deep Idle turned on, you should get better battery life than
without Deep Idle. [/quote]
[B]Governors [/B]
[quote]There is a much to be said here, and this would stretch
this dictionary too much. I recommend reading [url=https://github.com/CyanogenMod/cm-kernel/blob/android-msm-2.6.37/Documentation/cpu-freq/governors.txt]THIS[/url], a very good explanation of
governors—from CyanogenMod. [/quote]
[B]OC (Overclock)[/B]
[quote]An overclock is usually one of the first things users
figure out after gaining root access on a new phone. If you
want to push your smartphone's CPU to run more clock cycles,
you have to know that extra power isn't coming from nowhere.
However, it is generally considered good practice, but it
depends on your handset. Some phones may be able to support
overclocking to 1.4 GHz, while others may never get past
1.2 GHz. Just proceed with caution. [/quote]
[B]Touch Wake[/B]
[quote]Yes, yes, Ezekeel again. This mod allows the user to
wake the device after a set amount of time, just by touching
the screen or the capacitive buttons. The time after which the
screen no longer responds to a touch is set with NStools. [/quote]
[B]UV (Undervolt)[/B]
[quote]This refers to lowering the voltage to conserve power while
still achieving the same performance, assuming your settings
remain stable. Both SetCPU and NStools allow the user to change
voltages. Like overclocking, this is also a trial and error process,
because each phone is different. The benefits are low energy
consumption and less thermal output. [/quote]
Tools & Mods
So you have a rooted phone. Maybe even a custom Kernel or ROM, whatever works for you. But you still want to be a tad different from the other guys using the same configuration as yours. So here's a small selection of mods and apps developed by members of the community, enough to get you started. Feel free to experiment, and remember: read before flashing, search before asking and you should be alright!
Mods for AOSP+ Rom
[BOOTANIMATION] Plain, Simple & Colorful + color variants
Nova Launcher
Flavours for stock OTA ICS 4.0.3
Search key to ICS recent apps [add CM9 version]
[NS][NS4G]FaceLock for ICS 4.0.3
Enable on-screen buttons in ICS roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOTES:
I am hoping this little survival guide is useful FOR BEGINNERS in understanding the basic terminology used here in the Nexus S sections. As the title suggests, it was made with beginners in mind, so I don’t want posts of so called “experts” saying how they already knew this.
IMPORTANT: I do NOT guarantee the explanations written here are completely accurate or complete, FOR NOW. I will keep working on this, correcting mistakes as I continue to read.
If you find something that you think is not correct, or consider something must be added, please post here, together with a link to a credible source.
All of this came from sources off the internet, so please bear with me. Also, sorry for any typing mistakes. If you see any, please be sure to signal them
If I have helped you in any way, or if you appreciate the work invested in this (now and for the future), press the THANKS button.
Thank you! (Hoping to see this stick) And many thanks to all the great devs working on ROMs and Kernels for us. Keep up the great work!
W O R K - I N - P R O G R E S S
(I will be sure to notify you when I believe this is complete)
Wow this is a very good idea. Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
ljordan2 said:
Wow this is a very good idea. Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I'm just worried it is a little bit long... but in the next couple of days I will be making it more reader friendly
Transmitted from somewhere in space... from my Nexus S... and Tapatalk.
nice thread! thanks
Hey great post, i still haven't rooted my nexus s but you just made me flash a kernal. I was tkinking about it but never too serious.
thanks!
Love it!!! Cleared so much up (you recieved my first Thanks button click!)
Just wanted to clarify something about the Kernel. My Rom is stock 2.3.6 that was received OTA when I unboxed the phone (Nexus S GSM i9020A, I'm in Canada). The bootloader is unlocked, phone rooted with CWM recovery via one click (QBKing's Video). Am I able to flash a custom Kernel to a stock Rom? Reading the above seems to lean towards the "yes", but wanted to make sure first.
Also, do not use the one click method on the Nexus S GSM if you want to easily return to stock. The one click stock only supports the 4G, which is extremely silly and inconvenient IMO. I'm currently still trying to figure out how to return to stock, incase something does happen and the phone needs warranty work. Let's just say, I'm not making much progress and this is extremely uncomfortable ATM..
Great thread and idea, all seems spot on. I vote for sticky.
Also, heX, you can flash a custom kernel on a stock rom as long as you have an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery. I'd recommend you backup all you need with TB or similar, then do unlock your bootloader if you havn't already (search around for how to do this, described in rooting guides). Just remember this will delete -ALL- user data, including sdcard. After this you can flash a su.zip to have proper root access, and you can easily install a stock image with a custom bootloader then lock the bootloader afterward for pure stocky goodness.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Harbb said:
Great thread and idea, all seems spot on. I vote for sticky.
Also, heX, you can flash a custom kernel on a stock rom as long as you have an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery. I'd recommend you backup all you need with TB or similar, then do unlock your bootloader if you havn't already (search around for how to do this, described in rooting guides). Just remember this will delete -ALL- user data, including sdcard. After this you can flash a su.zip to have proper root access, and you can easily install a stock image with a custom bootloader then lock the bootloader afterward for pure stocky goodness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TYVM Harbb!
Yes, currently the bootloader is unlocked, phone rooted and CWM installed. I did a TB backup prior so I could quickly restore my apps and settings. All is running well.
I tried to flash a full stock Rom back to the phone, but have run into an issue in doing so, posted here
I'm still awaiting some help with regards to that one, hopefully all will be well soon.
I'm not sure why I got spooked in doing this. I'd like to try the Matrix kernel and there are various Roms that definitely sound fantastic, but part of me just wants it back to stock so warranty and OTA are restored as the phone is only a few weeks old.
very useful for us newbie, thanks for sharing
heX79 said:
TYVM Harbb!
Yes, currently the bootloader is unlocked, phone rooted and CWM installed. I did a TB backup prior so I could quickly restore my apps and settings. All is running well.
I tried to flash a full stock Rom back to the phone, but have run into an issue in doing so, posted here
I'm still awaiting some help with regards to that one, hopefully all will be well soon.
I'm not sure why I got spooked in doing this. I'd like to try the Matrix kernel and there are various Roms that definitely sound fantastic, but part of me just wants it back to stock so warranty and OTA are restored as the phone is only a few weeks old.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I see you have the att version, so i9020A. When android 4.0.3 came out, I wanted to go back to stock 2.3.6 so that I could update officially. Anyway, I downloaded a full stock ROM, flashable via recovery, from HERE and all went smooth for me. (the link is to the i9020A version, of course I used the i9023 version). Try the stock posted there, and see if you get any error. I think you should be ok now, if not, post back. Remember, this takes you fully back to stock, no cwm, no nothing custom.
I am glad to see that I helped somenone, I will make some modifications this afternoon, still 9am here (maybe add stuff to the dictionary and post it to google docs or something like that, just to make it easier to scroll through and more). Any suggestions or critics are welcome!
EDIT: Guide updated:
-better arrangement of the dictionary (will be adding new terms tomorrow, had to study for an exam today)
-added Tools & Mods section (will build on that later on)
-more to come...
great post OP
Nice thread! Great Work ,Thanks
Hey thanks! Happy to see good feedback on this.
Transmitted from somewhere in space... from my Nexus S... and Tapatalk.
Great beginners guide, and thanks for the link!
For kernel benchmarks and more, see here: http://goo.gl/mpeHI
Thanks very much! I will give it a try shortly, just to confirm if I recieve any issues. I've also installed the recommended CWM version for my model, not sure if it makes a difference, but I flashed 5.0.2.0 anyway as the version I was getting an error with had a higher build number.
Right now I'm enjoying AndroidME 1.2.3 with Speedy 6 kernel and have no complaints so far! (Kernel updated this morning from Speedy 5)
I will report back with any issues once I have some time to do a Nandroid backup and test the stock Rom.
Thanks for your help!
It's nice to know there's a way to revert back to stock, should anything need servicing! I've also started reading up on Odin
flodb113 said:
Ok I see you have the att version, so i9020A. When android 4.0.3 came out, I wanted to go back to stock 2.3.6 so that I could update officially. Anyway, I downloaded a full stock ROM, flashable via recovery, from HERE and all went smooth for me. (the link is to the i9020A version, of course I used the i9023 version). Try the stock posted there, and see if you get any error. I think you should be ok now, if not, post back. Remember, this takes you fully back to stock, no cwm, no nothing custom.
I am glad to see that I helped somenone, I will make some modifications this afternoon, still 9am here (maybe add stuff to the dictionary and post it to google docs or something like that, just to make it easier to scroll through and more). Any suggestions or critics are welcome!
EDIT: Guide updated:
-better arrangement of the dictionary (will be adding new terms tomorrow, had to study for an exam today)
-added Tools & Mods section (will build on that later on)
-more to come...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome! Looking forward to an update with your stock flashing situation. I also used ClockworkMod 5.0.2.0 a long time. I'm now on 5.0.2.3 only for the better menu layout.
Transmitted from somewhere in space... from my Nexus S... and Tapatalk.
just one question...
can i install more than one kernel at a time...
for eg.like one i installed for battery usage and othr for sound..
can i do tht
(Guide) (Beginners) You have rooted your phone, now what can you doNote – I will keep updating this guide as much as I can
Note - Please ask as many questions as you need, there is no question to basic to ask, it would be better being asked here instead of starting a new thread.
Note – Please don’t swear in this thread fu**ing is still swearing, using this - ** - still means you are swearing. Also please don’t call anyone a Noob after all this is a guide for beginners.
Final note – Can all beginners please thank people if they give you an answer to your question.
So welcome to the world of being rooted, you now have a nice shiny new rooted Android phone, but what can you do now. Well I have decided to start this thread to tell you what you can now do. This guide is for beginners and should be treated as it is intended, keeping it simple and just going over the basics. This guide will be broken down into main sections –
Post 1
• Super User
• Clockwork Mod Recovery (CWM)
• Apps
• Roms
Post 2
Further reading, it’s time to get you geek on
Post 3
More usefull apps that you might like
Super User
When you have a rooted phone you will need this little app called super user that has a massive job. When you rooted your phone it will have more than likely come with this app, if not then you can download it here. The basic idea behind super user is to control the root access to you phone. Your phone must have this app before you continue with the rest of this guide. Using Super User is easy when you open an app that needs root access a prompt will come up asking if you want to allow this app super user access, giving you two options deny or allow.
Clockwork Mod Recovery (CWM)
Once you have rooted your phone one of first thing you need to do is make sure you have Clockwork Mod Recovery. All phones have a recovery mode that can be accessed when turning on your phone or some root access apps allow you to access recovery mode through them. What CWM recovery does is modifies this recovery mode to make it better, allowing you to flash nearly anything you want or need, such as roms, themes and kernels. Also through CWM Recovery you can create a nandroid backup, which is a backup of your whole current rom, you can also carry factory data wipes and more advance features.
So how do you get CWM, well the first thing to do is check, depending what root method you used you might have it all ready (power off your phone and then hold the power, home and volume up buttons together until you enter recovery mode). You will know if you have CWM Recovery by looking at the top of the screen is should say “Clockworkmod Recovery”; if it doesn’t then you need to get it. The easy way to get CWM is by downloading the app Rom Manager (talked about below), open Rom Manager and there is an option to flash Clockwork Mod recovery, select that select which phone you have and it will do the rest for you.
Controls for CWM Recovery – Then volume buttons allow you to move and the power button is used to select.
Apps
Right there are a number of apps that will take advantage of you root access, and I am going to cover what I believe are the basics.
Remember when using any app that uses the root access of your phone it can come with risks.
Rom Manager – So Rom Manager and CWM sort of go hand in hand, being that Rom Manager is the nice user friendly app, giving you control of CWM from your phone home screen. Just like in CWM you can backup and restore your rom, flash new roms, fix permitions and partition SD card. As said above you can use Rom manager to flash CWM for you straight from the app, you can download this app here.
BusyBox – Trting to keep this simple, when you have a rooted phone there are sets of commands that you do not have, installing BusyBox will give these. This is required to run some apps that require root access. I think that was simple enough, oh and before I forget you can get it here.
Titanium Backup Root – Titanium Backup is an enormously useful app. Not only can it backup apps, but it can backup apps and all their data, and it can delete apps—even system apps or bloatware (bloatware are apps that come with your phone that you normally can’t remove like Games hub), making regular backups of all your apps and their data. You can download Titanium Backup here, also if you would like to know more about how to backup and restore most things when changing roms (more about roms just below) you can use my other guide here.
These are the very basic apps that you will need to see you of into the future of a android custom android experience, I will include other cool apps that use root access in post 3.
Roms
So the best part about having a rooted phone well for me anyway is the massive list of roms out there. If you don’t know what a rom is then here we go. When you get your android phone and turn it on, you’re faced with this impressive software that allows you access to apps throught the market, make phone call, txt, maps, voice commands, email and the list is never ending. This is all done through the software known as the Rom, the rom you get when have your phone is known as a Stock Rom. Now it this stock rom that we can change to improve our Android mobile experience known as a Custom Rom, and there are lots of custom roms out there. Some are made to give you a better battery, better custimization, improved features, so to provide a vanilla experience and some try to make a balance of them all, but the main idea is to make android better. So roms are broken down into different categories, here is a breakdown of them for you.
Stock Rom – As talked about before stock roms are the software that comes with the phone, some people prefer the stock experience but I don’t. The main problem with stock roms is that manufactures will place an extra layer of software on top of the rom known as a user interface (UI), such as Samsung wither their touchwiz UI and HTC with HTC Sense UI. The problem I have with these UI are they are power hungry and well not to sound mean but touchwiz is not very well made.
AOSP – Android open Source Project is the android rom in its basic form, so it has no bloatware or power hungry UI’s. This is where you will get most of your custom roms from, there are devs within the android community most found right here on XDA, that will use AOSP and make their own custom roms with this adding to and improving it to make the best rom they can. Just as a note there is no best rom and you will never get an answer as to which is the best. Each rom is to their own and suit different people with different needs, but as a starter rom to get use to the idea of flashing roms and learning everything that is needed then I would recommend a Cyanogen Mod Rom, as this is the most popular and you will get the most advice from the community is it is the most used. You can find the Cyanogen Mod website here. The best way to find roms is to look through the forum and look in the Development and Original Development threads.
INDEX - Android Development [29 March] - Here is a Rom list from the Android Development Fourm, the list includes both ICS and GB roms, thanks to daniel_costa_rj
There is a lot more to roms that just this basic overview and I will be adding more in the future as this will take just as long as writing this whole thread, so keep an eyeout for more updates, including AOKP.
EFS Folder (Important)
Ok this is more of a you must do and not a what you can now do. So the efs folder is a very important folder within your android system that contains infomation like your IMEI number, and just well important infomation trust me it's important. When people start to mod their phone such as flashing roms, kernels e.t.c, this folder can become corrupt, making you phone usless. So backing up this folder is important and their is an easy way in which you can do this, a more user friendly way using a great app by hellcatdroid. You can get this app from google play here, and it will give you all the tools to back up the folder. I will also include a guide on further reading for you to have a look over, so please backup your efs folder.
Well that’s it for now, this is my first draft and I will be making a lot on adding and changing over the next week.
Thanks for reading and I hope this guide helps even a handful of people.
Further reading, it’s time to get you geek on
[Guide] Back up your data before moving to a new rom
[REF] Guide to the Galaxy S II and Android (04/10/11)
[GUIDE] Fix an unflashable or soft bricked GSII
[REF][TWEAKS] Kernel Governors, Modules, I/O Schedulers, CPU Tweaks, AIO App Configs
Android Terms,Slang & Definitions
Forum & Marketplace Rules
[REF] Backup /efs folder. IMPORTANT.
More usefull apps that you might like
Root Browser Lite - Root Browser is for both non-root and rooted users. If you are rooted then this app will give you access to ALL of Android's file system. With a beautiful interface, tons of features and a cheap price Root Browser is a must have!#
ROM Toolbox - ROM Toolbox is the MUST HAVE app for any rooted user.
ROM Toolbox combines all the great root apps all tied up into one monster app with a beautiful and user-friendly interface. It also adds many more unseen features!, Check out the link for the full feature list
SGS2 Dual-Boot Setup (LolBoot) - Dual-Boot your Galaxy S2!
/!\ Requires root /!\
/!\ This is for the Galaxy S2 *ONLY* /!\
When the dual-boot is set up, you can (re)boot between two different, independent ROMs.
Just powering on boots into the primary ROM (duh!).
Using the recovery button combo (VOL-UP+HOME+POWER) will boot into the second ROM instead of recovery!
Pluggin in a USB cable or AC charger when the phone is powered off will make the phone boot into recovery.
AdFree Android - THIS APP IS FOR ROOTED PHONES ONLY!
AdFree removes most ads in the browser and other apps. It does this by nullifying requests to known host names in the system hosts file.
If you have problems with this app, or you know of additional host names not being filtered, please comment in xda-developers.com forum so it can be fixed!
kTool - Tool for a few functions after rooting. Kernel dump/flash, EFS backup/restore...
/!\ Requires Root /!\
/!\ Works on the >Galaxy S2< and >Galaxy Note< *ONLY* /!\
(i) the "lock pattern bug" is currently being investigated and worked on!
kTool is a small tool originally bundled with Hellcat's Root-Kernel for the Galaxy S2.
It offers a few functions usefull after rooting the device:
- Dump current kernel to /sdcard/zImage
- Flash kernel from /sdcard/zImage
- Backup the phone's EFS (sensitive storage are holding the IMEI and other vital data) as a raw .IMG dump and a .tar archive
- Restoring EFS from the raw .IMG or the .tar backup
- Format EFS (create fresh filesystem for cases where you want to restore seperate files or a .tar backup, but the filesystem is stuck/locked in read-only due to corruption)
- Reboot (normal, directely to recovery or directely to downlaod mode)
EFS Pro - EFS Pro - For Samsung Android Devices
Advanced Backup and Restore of your Device's '/efs' folder!
Features:
Supports Backup and Restore of Partition Image (*.img) and Compressed TAR Archive (*.tar) formats.
Automatically detects saved EFS Backups on Device and PC for hassle free restoring.
Re-Scan option to refresh Backup list for restoring Backups.
Automatically Re-Mounts '/efs' folder with Read/Write permissions during restore for users 'stuck' with Read Only permissions.
Automatic detection and prompting of Mass Storage Mode.
Automatic detection and termination of SAMSUNG Kies application on startup.
Supports Multiple Backup handling.
Option to Format '/efs' partition before restoring an EFS Backup.
Displays Device, ROM and BusyBox information on startup.
(NEW!) Attempt NV Recovery - Restores NV Data from '*.bak' files if they exist to fix corrupt or incorrect IMEI number.
(NEW!) Repair NV Data - Repairs NV Data file ownership to fix 'Unknown Baseband' and 'No Network / Signal'.
Introduction to Kernels
What is a kernel
So to keep this simple their 3 parts of your device the hardware, Software (rom) and your kernel. The kernel is the communication link between hardware and Software, although some of the seen as more important things are battery life, touch, wifi and more. You can also use a kernel to give you greater controll of your phone with such things (each kernel has its own conrtoll features).
You can swap your kernel just like you can swap your rom, although you need to check that the kernel you are going to flash with work with the rom you are using. some kernels will work woth all rom types such as SiyahKernel, others are made to be used on certain roms only such as Stock Roms, AOSP roms, AOKP Roms, and some even more specific such as CM9, MIUI and diffrent versions such as GB and ICS. So you will need to check the thread for that kernel and see what the features are and what Roms it will work on.
Their are many kernels on XDA Develpoers and the idea is for you to try a few out and see which suits your needs best, as their is no best kernel, the same as their is no best rom. So here is a list of a few kernels to get you started, and remember to check that the kernel you are about to flash will work on your device.
[KERNEL][ICS][ExTweaks][All-in-1kernel][DualBoot] SiyahKernel v3.2b6
[KERNEL][05.05][APP/PRO/OTA][AOSP&SAMMY] N.E.A.K. ICS - Designed by Nature (v2.0.4x)
[KERNEL] SpeedMod SGS2 ICS [K3-16 CIFS ROOT / NO-ROOT CWM5]
[KERNEL] SpeedMod SGS2 [K2-21 CWM5 CIFS ROOT]
[KERNEL] XPLOD 3.0.24 opensource kernel
Learn more about kernels
I will be adding more reading on kernels soon
reserved for later
My very own rom
Ok so here it is my very own rom go to the link to see more
[Rom][4.0.3][Vertumus][Apex & Galaxy 3 TW Launcher] Dark Angel
Gonna try Adsfree. My best improvement with my custom rom (resurrection remix 1.1) is that now i can tether. And overall is much better than the stock one.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
Great guide
u said that u can flash new roms now that your phone is rooted but my question is dont you have to unlock bootloader to do that
i'm still new so i'll ask alot of questions
If you install ClockworkMod Recovery, it will allow you to flash roms as it will unlock bootloader for you
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
ok then nevr heard of that but i'm still new to everything
would clockwork mod unlock the bootloader of xperia play r800i i recently rooted it(last night to be exact)
i know this may not be the xperia play section but i was searching and stumbled upon this thread
RealMcoy said:
ok then nevr heard of that but i'm still new to everything
would clockwork mod unlock the bootloader of xperia play r800i i recently rooted it(last night to be exact)
i know this may not be the xperia play section but i was searching and stumbled upon this thread
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Click to collapse
I am not sure you would have to look in the relevent thread for you device, i wouldent want to give you advice on a device i have never worked with.
Updating thread
I have started to add more to the thread -
Extra reading and more i have add some apps, their is a lot more to come.
fantastic post
I spent 10mins to go through the whole post and very helpful for me. As a newbie, I have learned a lot from you. Thanks for your work and keep updates.
AOKP sms related
I have rooted my phoen and installed custom ROM with AOKP sms, can some one please help me that how can i send sms to multiple ppl @same time, i mean how can i add contact group in AOKP sms, i tried a lot but not able to find it..
Did you install an aokp Rom or a custom AOSP rom and install the SMS.apk from AOKP source
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
Update to thread
I have updated the thread a little with more guides for you to geek up on, and i have added a link to a rom list................ Enjoy
Just a thought mate, how about linking up a thread on how to back up your efs folder after root, last few months been lots of threads about efs being messed up, there is also a guide to re-storing ya efs if ya screw it up. Nice thread btw
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
E_Goldstein said:
Just a thought mate, how about linking up a thread on how to back up your efs folder after root, last few months been lots of threads about efs being messed up, there is also a guide to re-storing ya efs if ya screw it up. Nice thread btw
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I will make an edit to the 1st post and include a guide on efs backup, not that many people now how important efs folder is so thanks for the idea.
Great Guide
This is very helpful indeed.
Hi Devs,
I've just joined and am uncertain of the proper place for this thread. Apologies if inaccurately posted.
I have the T337A, which I have rooted on ANF4, but I cannot find a recovery. I have read and read but am not finding the solution to my little project. I would like to get a safestrap on this locked bootloader so that I can install and learn to write custom ROMs. I have tried a safestrap but it was not for this specific device and did not work. I have also installed and purchased CWM Recovery and TWRP Recovery, in my learning process. The problem with the recovery is that there is no custom recovery written for this device and the bootloader is locked, as this is the AT&T WiFi/LTE version. So it looks to me like I need to figure out the partitioning image somehow in order to make a safestrap work on this device...as step 1. Is there anything else that I can do with this locked bootloader? I would love to have some help in writing a custom recovery and ROM for this device but I am a tiny tiny noob here and not a hard core programmer. If I could get some feedback on places to start for such a daunting task, it would be great. I guess one thing that I do not understand is why I cannot make my current rooted ROM the default recovery in TWRP. It asks me to choose from the list of supported devices. I understand that it goes: NAND --> aboot.img/bootloader --> recovery/or/kernel --> OS/or/ROM? If this is close to accurate then I would have to write something to the NAND?, which I'm not sure what is yet, in order to hijack the factory bootloader and then write the partitions on the sdCard for the ROM, like the safestrap folks wrote? It looks to me like they also included a version of TWRP touch which I used on the S4 yesterday and was really cool, so I guess that would be needed as well and is also why TWRP does not work for me now...it cannot hijack the locked bootloader. How do I hijack this hard headed thing? fastboot does not work to this device. In the process of this project, I have also run into a roadblock trying to update the /system/framework/framework-res.apk, in the manner that a flash needs to be done, I think. I want to change the /res/values/bools/bools.xml switch "voice_capeable" to true. AT&T or Samsung disable this on this version of the tablet, I guess to sell tethering or something else I'm not familiar with...but the way it looks to me, everything is configured on the device and I have a phone number provisioned for data at least. Why can't I turn on this switch and use the phone portion of the device? Any time I tickle the running framework-res.apk, it kills the OS. I tried compiling an update.zip aligned and signed with test keys or something like that but when I flash it, it fails with wrong footer and invalid signature...then it wipes me back to the stone ages. I warned I was a noob..! ...but not scared to brick some shtuff in order to learn this and write some custom solutions. An after thought...is there a solution for a bootable extSdCard for Android? This might lead to some options if it is possible.
Gathering phone info...
Collecting information. Be patient! Do NOT disconnect the phone!
Model: SM-T337A
Android Version: 4.4.2
Sales Code: ATT
PDA Version: T337AUCU1ANF4
Phone Version: T337AUCU1ANF4
CSC Version: T337AATT1ANF4
Product Code: SM-T337AZWAATT
HIDSw Version: T337AUCU1ANF4/T337AATT1ANF4/T337AUCU1ANF4/T337AUCU1ANF4
Board Platform: MSM8226
Serial Number: R32FA00PMRF
Imei: 3534.............
Unique Number: C1604.......
Connections: AT,MTP,MTP
Battery Status: 4.28V (94%)
Network Type: GSM
SuperSU Pro v2.40
TWRP donate latest
CWM donate v5.5.3.7
BusyBox Stericson donate v1.23.0
Titanium Backup Pro latest
xPosed v2.7.1
Wanam xPosed v3.3.1
NinjaMorph Pro v2.8.2
ROM Toolbox Pro v6.0.6.5
RootLogger Pro v1.9
Nandroid Backup v4.4.5
Next Launcher 3D Shell v3.20
Root Firewall Pro v2.1
SetCPU v3.1.2
w/respect. PitPin
Sir,
Please wait until mods will move this thread to the device specific forum for more relevant answers.
Stand by
Good luck
We had a dev working to get safestrap, but he struck out. So if you can get it, I'll test. I too have the 337a. Sucks to have a locked bootloader and no dev interest.
pre4speed said:
We had a dev working to get safestrap, but he struck out. So if you can get it, I'll test. I too have the 337a. Sucks to have a locked bootloader and no dev interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks pre4speed. I am taking a look at the two tasks again tonight and decided to take the res/bool = voice_capable issue on first since this will determine how brickable this device can be for me. If I can use it as a regular modem phone then I might be a bit more careful with the bootloader project I did some more tinkering with the framework-res.apk ...specifically the /res/values/bools/bools.xml resource and tried the following:
-------
Factory wipe
Flashed sammobile.com T337AATT1ANF4 firmware
Rooted
SuperSU
Busybox
Froze AT&T update service and others involved
Titanium backup and pulled a good backup
Online Nandroid and pulled a good backup
Installed my XDA app. of course..!
-------
Framework-res.apk:
Used total commander to copy the running apk off to the sdCard and then my PC.
Decompilled in APKStudio2.0.3b-Windows (I am also using Ubuntu 14.04 if there is a better way here..also Android Studio on both OS...just learning).
Edited my value.
Recompiled with zip align/sign option.
***Now here in lies the problem, if I haven't already created one above ***
The random article I dug up said that in order to get past the wrong footer and signature issue, and stone-age wipe, when attempting this via abd sideload with an update.zip, is to now copy the edited file back into the original APK using 7zip in order to retain the original signing keys. When I open the original APK archive, it does not show the resource folders deemed "important and I should not jack with them" in the compiled APK (mainly values/* folder). The article mentioned the resource folders such as res/values/bools are compiled and hidden and that I needed to copy over the new resources.arsc file. I see this in the newly compiled APK I made but it also put the Manifest.xml and /res folder in there. Do I need to copy all of that or just the compiled resources.arsc file? I did all and it boot looped me so I'm guessing that I either did something wrong or this was not the right answer. The last part was to chmod the new APK, use total commander to mount the folder as rw, copy over the file, and reboot. All of that worked and I had to reboot many many times...loop.
That is where I am on the modem part and am going to attempt copying just the resources.arsc in a few. I will post more on the bootloader side soon, as I've been researching what goes on from the time I push the power button until the time I swipe the first screen. Lots of reading
w/respect - PitPin
Copying only the resources.arsc file from within the newly compiled apk back to the original framework-res.apk made some progress. Now I have the phone dialer app icon in my apps drawer... but it is failing complaining about contacts. On to the next round of research..!
PitPin said:
Copying only the resources.arsc file from within the newly compiled apk back to the original framework-res.apk made some progress. Now I have the phone dialer app icon in my apps drawer... but it is failing complaining about contacts. On to the next round of research..!
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Click to collapse
Stalled out temporarily on the tab project as laptop hard drive bought the farm. Back in action and made some progress on the tab voice_capable issue. Everything appears to be there and in working order but the SMS modules. I think this has something to do with why the contacts app is blowing up but not sure yet. GoSMS and EXDialer seem to work together without blowing up but the dialer taps the modem and then dies. Taking a break from this to start a thread on rooting the AT&T Alpha. I'm about half way through the exploit on that project. Any input on what might be my SMS problem on the tab 4 would be appreciated. Attached are a few screens.
Does anyone know how to removed the caution sign on the left corner it keep telling me unauthorized action have been detected.
I am in the same boat, I so wish this would come through because I do love this little tab.
same boat
/baker said:
I am in the same boat, I so wish this would come through because I do love this little tab.
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Click to collapse
so did you finally get it going or what?I have been wanting to get my Tab going as well. I've Rooted it and paid for an unlock even, which worked fantastic by the way...Thanx XDA!!! The rooting guide I got from here was right on point,no problem at all!!But anyways, I have it on metro pcs now on the unlimited $60 plan which is awesome (.REAL unlimited internet with NO THROTTLING ) for me because now at home I run pda.net, which gives me very good, fulltime, internet for my home computers as well as the ability to stream everything onto a large screen or even via windows when we want to watch with all the bells and whistles! No lag at all usually,and I don't use my hotspot because of the usb internet connect on pda.net. When I do use the wireless connect, it doesn't take any of the allotted hotspot usage up either!!All in all it's a great deal for me. I just got a new sim for it, called in the imei to metro ,which in turn gave me a phone number and data account, and presto!Been on the net ever since! Now that I've had it for over a month ,I wanna get the voice capability to work as well, being that I am paying for 2 lines now. Although I can use the old trusty hangouts dialer with the GoogleVoice easily enough. I want to be able to use my metro number mainly because these phone companies charge and charge and charge, never caring about us,or our need to have communication at our disposal at all times.Cell phones are by far not inexpensive and the internet wasn't started for us to pay aan arm and a leg to use.Anytime I come out good while dealing with a wireless company. it's a stupendous event,I'm telling you!! Heck ,I'm writing from my home computer now, going through the Tab at this very moment! Nevertheless, I'm wanting for the devs, to come through as well. With maybe even a new rom,sans the at&t stuff, of course, since I do now have a different carrier? Heck, the Tab is even great for when we travel! 24/7 unlimited internet /streaming , and the screen size is much better than the phone screen ever was!I just really wanted to thank XDA for the work they put in to help us part - timers out,Ive been rooting and unlocking and bricking and un-bricking for quite some time now,I even repair phones now actually,but the programming and the putting it all out here for guys like me to have fun and tinker with these phones would be entirely impossible without the DEV'S and their hard work for SURE...Thanx Guys!!You ROCK!