Database Users

New to Samsung Galaxy S2 ... Want Advice Please

I am new to Samsung Galaxy S2 and Android phones! I got the phone today and i knew that there would be a way to get more features for the phone. I had an iPhone before and jailbroke that and it was alot better. I have been searching on how to do the same and this has been the best forum with most answers.. !
I have just 'rooted' my Samsung Galaxy S2 but i dont know where to go from here... Help is needed and will be much appreciated ! Thanks and sorry i know im a noob at this lol

Levy2011 said:
I am new to Samsung Galaxy S2 and Android phones! I got the phone today and i knew that there would be a way to get more features for the phone. I had an iPhone before and jailbroke that and it was alot better. I have been searching on how to do the same and this has been the best forum with most answers.. !
I have just 'rooted' my Samsung Galaxy S2 but i dont know where to go from here... Help is needed and will be much appreciated ! Thanks and sorry i know im a noob at this lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first thing I would do after rooting is back up your efs folder. Search for how to do it as it could save you if yours gets wiped out.

The best advice i can give you is to read and research as much as you can before doing anything else. Don't be in a rush to flash or customize something, get comfortable with the phone and stock firmware first. This way you can decide on what features you want/don't want in a custom Rom.

Best suggestion,
1. go through the all 5 sub forums of galaxy s2 atleast for a week or so.
2. understand how android works by playing with your mobile for a week.
3. understand the difference between kernel/rom, stock/custom rom.
4. after u have some basic knowledge on all the above, u can start flashing things
I know every new user will be excited when getting a gadget like this, but take your own time to settle in.

Levy2011 said:
I had an iPhone before and jailbroke that and it was alot better. I have been searching on how to do the same and this has been the best forum with most answers..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I know what you had on ur jail broken iphone, so we can take it from their
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I would say it depends on how careful you are, you can indeed read and research for a week. But what I did was ordering an usb jig, search for it on here or in ebay, and started flashing as soon as it arrived. So basically the gods tell you how much time you need.
When it arrived I just flashed evey rom around, than iw were like 3 roms, so for I would recommend lite'ning, villain, and miui. Use each one for a day and find out which one you like the best.
From there you can start trying mods, custom kernels and overclocking.

Trying a funky new launcher is a good place to start. Go launcher is free and looks great.
As for flashing a new rom, VillainROM is very much like stock, but you can then add tweaks. The thread on it is friendly and full of information. Great dev.
Also Leomar's revolution rom is amazing, another super dev. Loads of tweaks and themes in the kitchen app. I think both have a efs backup tool. Good luck...
I atlculay lvoe my sumnasg glxaay s2 wtih VliaRionlm mroe tahn my xobx

I have tried to search for backing up efs folder but there is no clear instructions how to... Im sorry i dont know much at all about android phones! Such a noob lol

http://www.appbrain.com/app/nitrality/com.nfye.insanity.toolbox
Tool that backs up EFS and restores .
Custom roms to start with .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1198334
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1124396
Guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125282
jje

I wouldnt flash any roms for awhile. I recomend just getting use to stock. You should look in the market for apps that require root. I think that the tether app and titanium app are 2 that everyone should own..
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

Also adfree is good
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

Ok so i have flashed my first rom... MIUI rom... pretty cool and pretty easy to do. Cyanogenmod looks awesome too but i havent found any tutorial on how to install properly or anything... Anyone know? thanks

anyone else in a state of mental bootloop

I like many of you enjoy flashing custom roms, kernals themes etc and a big thanks to the devs and individuals for making it possible... Ive noticed lately im not really having any fun with my galaxy s2.
I seem to be in a mental bootloop of flashing apk's, tweaks and other little things to improve my toys userbility. cant seem to explore android market or other app markets for anything other than tweaks for this or add-ons to improve noise reduction blahblahblah its endless.
my phone out of the box stock was just brilliant and fun, now that ive rooted it, themed it and just made it to my everyday liking i cant be bothered to look for games or random apps that put a cheeky grin on my face anymore.
I know theres plenty out there to download i read about them in the forum all the time.
Is anyone else feeling like this not getting the fun out of it?
its my galaxy s2

sloanyboy said:
I like many of you enjoy flashing custom roms, kernals themes etc and a big thanks to the devs and individuals for making it possible... Ive noticed lately im not really having any fun with my galaxy s2.
I seem to be in a mental bootloop of flashing apk's, tweaks and other little things to improve my toys userbility. cant seem to explore android market or other app markets for anything other than tweaks for this or add-ons to improve noise reduction blahblahblah its endless.
my phone out of the box stock was just brilliant and fun, now that ive rooted it, themed it and just made it to my everyday liking i cant be bothered to look for games or random apps that put a cheeky grin on my face anymore.
I know theres plenty out there to download i read about them in the forum all the time.
Is anyone else feeling like this not getting the fun out of it?
its my galaxy s2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lols.... Anyone out there? hahahahaha.
Try cm9, you might stop flashing roms .

maybe a bit too early for the veteran modders to reply yet lol
THIS IS MY SIGNATURE

My phone is not a toy its a working tool .
fun phone
i would say get a life .
Yours is a toy and kids get bored quickly play with the box it came in instead .
jje

JJEgan said:
My phone is not a toy its a working tool .
fun phone
i would say get a life .
Yours is a toy and kids get bored quickly play with the box it came in instead .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here..My phone is my working swiss knife

fair comment on the toy/tool remarks im a grown man my kids can play with the box.
just meant for the thread in a relaxed manner when im not emailing and using it for work related situations. i read so many sarcastic comments on various threads just thought a little humour would lighten up a complex forum such as this. we are here to help each other when it comes down to it.
il flash cm9 for a daily when its a bit more stable to my own satisfaction nice rom bit laggy/buggy for me at the mo
oh yeah as stated with the sarcastic remarks you have only focused on the fact i called it a toy not a tool/phone whatever it didnt really answer the question i was asking, id say a majority of gs2 owners dont use it for its full potential
but my reply isnt to defend what context i have written and what i refer my phone to. the quesion is for people who dont take it too seriously as a smartphone and just want to have a bit of fun with it wether it be for music or games .....
THIS IS MY SIGNATURE

sloanyboy said:
I like many of you enjoy flashing custom roms, kernals themes etc and a big thanks to the devs and individuals for making it possible... Ive noticed lately im not really having any fun with my galaxy s2.
I seem to be in a mental bootloop of flashing apk's, tweaks and other little things to improve my toys userbility. cant seem to explore android market or other app markets for anything other than tweaks for this or add-ons to improve noise reduction blahblahblah its endless.
my phone out of the box stock was just brilliant and fun, now that ive rooted it, themed it and just made it to my everyday liking i cant be bothered to look for games or random apps that put a cheeky grin on my face anymore.
I know theres plenty out there to download i read about them in the forum all the time.
Is anyone else feeling like this not getting the fun out of it?
its my galaxy s2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same feelings here.
So I've just stopped with this whole **** and came back to the stock firmware. Now I'm just waiting for the first official release of ICS.
Regards.

Same for me. But my problem at the moment is that I have hit the perfect setup. It simply works exactly like I want it to, so there's no point in trying to improve it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

JJEgan said:
play with the box it came in instead .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha thats funny....
Part of the appeal of getting a new phone is setting it up and exploring whats new.
I think thats what sucks people into flashing so much.
From what ive seen most changes/roms are bugger all and the hype isn't justified and in the end it's a phone, goes into your pocket and you get on with your life.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

aceofclubs said:
Hahaha thats funny....
Part of the appeal of getting a new phone is setting it up and exploring whats new.
I think thats what sucks people into flashing so much.
From what ive seen most changes/roms are bugger all and the hype isn't justified and in the end it's a phone, goes into your pocket and you get on with your life.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, I tend to agree. I just spent most of the day setting up a Motorola Defy for a relative. It took me about 10 minutes to do what would have taken him weeks of reading (and he's a techie guy, just not up to speed with android).
Now running CM7 with root and stuff, it just doesn't need touched. I put on a self-build of it, and that will probably last him 2 years or something! Maybe I'll pop ICS/CM9 on it when the time comes, but it's a set and forget
I see my own phone a bit like that - I tend to build a ROM, test for a few days, perhaps release, then run it for 3 months or more

Ways to solve it
I had bootloops on my phone, a couple of days ago, and have tried several other methods to resolve the problem, but to no avail (for example, taking out the battery and letting it cool for a couple of minutes). If you have made backups using Nandroid backup, you should be able to restore your phone. If not, you will have to flash a stock kernel onto your phone and install a custom ROM after that. That's what I did since i did not have any backups made.

lol did you get the topic of this thread?

I've found that i can't find my "perfect setup" wen i start flashing roms as theirs always another one with something slightly better or more interesting that I need to try out or flash. At this current time the major temptation being ics. Which is what I'm currently running :L
I tried sticking on stock-ish firmware (checkrom) but its just to hard :/
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Gnarfsan said:
Same for me. But my problem at the moment is that I have hit the perfect setup. It simply works exactly like I want it to, so there's no point in trying to improve it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I might switch to CM9 when its stable but so far I have my phone perfectly set up for my needs. So no need to tweak anything.

florexus said:
Lols.... Anyone out there? hahahahaha.
Try cm9, you might stop flashing roms .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really.
Because there will always be the overwhelming majority that will think; "Oh, this CM9/AOKP is really neat, very customisable - but do I want video cam or not!?" - and then back and forth flashing ensues.

Note the OP
words used Toy and Fun .
Its a phone and a tool want fun watch the cartoons .
jje

JJEgan said:
Note the OP
words used Toy and Fun .
Its a phone and a tool want fun watch the cartoons .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your point is exactly what, are you implying i cannot call my phone whatever i want without being picked up on it?
picky people like you spam threads without actually having anything in common with whats being discussed iv already answered the same idiot above why it was worded that way have a read it also mentions about sarcastic remarks, get a grip!
Tapped from a modded GS2

JJEgan said:
My phone is not a toy its a working tool .
fun phone
i would say get a life .
Yours is a toy and kids get bored quickly play with the box it came in instead .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL agree.
It's like a novelist using all his time dis-assampling / assampling his typewriter instead of writing novels

sloanyboy said:
your point is exactly what, are you implying i cannot call my phone whatever i want without being picked up on it?
picky people like you spam threads without actually having anything in common with whats being discussed iv already answered the same idiot above why it was worded that way have a read it also mentions about sarcastic remarks, get a grip!
Tapped from a modded GS2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All i can say is Fun and Toy .
jje

re: endlesss booting
are you able to boot to safe mode debug mode or ne thing if so and you enjoyed the stock firmware download an insecure kernal to suit your version ittl be be xxk? and there are some as close to stock ones on here somewhere other than that my phone isnt rooted yet so leri havent been able to experiment with new ideas or solve ne of your problems other than y what i can do is recommend this as a fix and all the other usual gumf take battry out maybe even do a complete pik of thenthe innards and depower it alltogether discharge completely then reflash

Custom Rom for SM-G360P please!

Can someone port LINEAGE to this device? I have this phone and it is the slowest kitKat device ever.. my Moto E which for all intents and purposes is the same phone is super speedy compared to this phone. I have tried rooting it and removing all the nonsense system apps and it is still slower than molasses

buzz86us said:
Can someone port LINEAGE to this device? I have this phone and it is the slowest kitKat device ever.. my Moto E which for all intents and purposes is the same phone is super speedy compared to this phone. I have tried rooting it and removing all the nonsense system apps and it is still slower than molasses
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so you know, it's an unspoken rule on XDA that no one is supposed to request custom ROMs for their device. Being a dev is no easy job, and requires devotion and hard work. If you want to have a ROM for your phone, either compile it by yourself or at least ask nicely. Thanks :good:

Jrhotrod said:
Just so you know, it's an unspoken rule on XDA that no one is supposed to request custom ROMs for their device. Being a dev is no easy job, and requires devotion and hard work. If you want to have a ROM for your phone, either compile it by yourself or at least ask nicely. Thanks :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well you wouldn't think it'd be too difficult since literally every other version of this device has lolipop

buzz86us said:
well you wouldn't think it'd be too difficult since literally every other version of this device has lolipop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's not too difficult why don't you do it yourself?

not a coder just annoyed that every other version of this phone has some kind of custom rom except this one.. is there any way to strip out all the samsung nonsense and bring the stock rom to a more plain android appearance?

buzz86us said:
not a coder just annoyed that every other version of this phone has some kind of custom rom except this one.. is there any way to strip out all the samsung nonsense and bring the stock rom to a more plain android appearance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best you can do is freeze/disable them. They won't run in the background anymore, and take up less storage :good:
And if I were you, I'd use that Moto E more...
Edit: No way to bring to a stock experience. Xposed works best with this, but even then the most you can do is get a material status bar and Nova Launcher...

You're best bet is to hope some Dev has the same device and time to compile. I know this sucks. I was stuck on KK for long time and suddenly a couple of devs made CM and various ROMs for the device I currently own (g360h).
However IMHO, stock is the best if you can embrace the ugly touchwiz. Custom ROMs always have these small bugs which get annoying as hell like battery drain, lag, random reboots.. SIM network problems... They don't seem much but a week of using custom ROM makes you wanna go back to stock.

Worth rooting my GS5?

Just got a second hand GS5 -- my first Android phone. I'm in Australia, and I noticed that during boot up it has a kind of loading page with Optus on it (Australian network)... why is that exactly? Is it locked to Optus...?
What's the benefit of rooting it? I plan to use this solely as a work phone - only texting and calling. I'd like it to have long battery life so I've turned on as many battery savings settings as I could find, save for the grey scale option. Anything I can do to further improve battery life?
What's the latest version of Android that the GS5 can run...?

I have bought GS5 not so long ago. I am in same doubt as you. Root it or not lol. I am not planning to flash custom rom on it because stock is fast and stable enough for normal use. GS5 received android MM aswell. You can disable some apps which you do not use to increase performance. Titanium Backup can do job aswell but phone has to be rooted.

Bleiz said:
I have bought GS5 not so long ago. I am in same doubt as you. Root it or not lol. I am not planning to flash custom rom on it because stock is fast and stable enough for normal use. GS5 received android MM aswell. You can disable some apps which you do not use to increase performance. Titanium Backup can do job aswell but phone has to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see I see, thanks. Yeah I don't think I need a custom rom on it, but I wonder if it's worthwhile changing the firmware to the one not tied to any particular network.

Bleiz said:
I have bought GS5 not so long ago. I am in same doubt as you. Root it or not lol. I am not planning to flash custom rom on it because stock is fast and stable enough for normal use. GS5 received android MM aswell. You can disable some apps which you do not use to increase performance. Titanium Backup can do job aswell but phone has to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for me rooting is a must. stock is fast and stable enough for normal use?not exactly. i guess u're right, maybe u never try rooting and custom rom.
before i get further, please take a look at attachment. i use custom rom (Note 7 ported). tons of features u can never imagine unless u have the real device, u can have with your cutom rom without own the real devices
battery life also u can customize....
please let me knw if u interested

Kalyori said:
I see I see, thanks. Yeah I don't think I need a custom rom on it, but I wonder if it's worthwhile changing the firmware to the one not tied to any particular network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good::good:

an-_-dro said:
for me rooting is a must. stock is fast and stable enough for normal use?not exactly. i guess u're right, maybe u never try rooting and custom rom.
before i get further, please take a look at attachment. i use custom rom (Note 7 ported). tons of features u can never imagine unless u have the real device, u can have with your cutom rom without own the real devices
battery life also u can customize....
please let me knw if u interested
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That home screen / battery life screen looks cool. So a custom rom is like the UI and everything from another phone made compatible with the GS5 (or other)??

Kalyori said:
That home screen / battery life screen looks cool. So a custom rom is like the UI and everything from another phone made compatible with the GS5 (or other)??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's theme from samsung theme store. what series of s5 do u have? if g900F, so get custom rom for F series.
u can get most of feature that ported firmware. Edge panel, direct to samsung theme store access, u can change the theme, icons, wallpaper.
everytime i buy an android, maybe only last for a month in stock . at that moment, i searching, reading and learn how to root my phone.
if people say that stock is better than custom rom, clearly they don't know what they talking about
try it..and be addict to flashing :good::fingers-crossed:

an-_-dro said:
that's theme from samsung theme store. what series of s5 do u have? if g900F, so get custom rom for F series.
u can get most of feature that ported firmware. Edge panel, direct to samsung theme store access, u can change the theme, icons, wallpaper.
everytime i buy an android, maybe only last for a month in stock . at that moment, i searching, reading and learn how to root my phone.
if people say that stock is better than custom rom, clearly they don't know what they talking about
try it..and be addict to flashing :good::fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see I see. The model number is SM-G900I.
Hahaha, I'm quite happy with it right now. I may leave it, and root in the future if I want to try something new. Thanks for the help!

Kalyori said:
I see I see. The model number is SM-G900I.
Hahaha, I'm quite happy with it right now. I may leave it, and root in the future if I want to try something new. Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so you happy with that "traditional" S5 UI? u missed lot lot of things bro haha... i own S7 edge..and also this S5 that uses Note 7 ported, and i feel i own S7e and N7 without burning flaw N7 battery of course

Most Vanilla / Cleanest ROM?

Sorry if this has been asked before.
My phone was recently stolen so I have been using my S4 for over a month now however Samsung's OVER bloated 5.0.1 junk battery munching ROM is horrid and unbearable, its like trying to run Windows Vista!
I do not know anything about customs ROMs, and this will be my first attempt and I'm just looking for a ROM that WORKS without any drama. As Vanilla as humanly possible. Not interested in customizing anything, what ever Google offered stock I will be more then happy.
However I am LOST with all the ROMs listed. Some mention Xposed others mention kernals and its all very confusing and to be honest I just don't care. Can anyone who has tried these just tell me which to go for? I would really appreciate this.
Thanks!

5AL said:
Sorry if this has been asked before.
My phone was recently stolen so I have been using my S4 for over a month now however Samsung's OVER bloated 5.0.1 junk battery munching ROM is horrid and unbearable, its like trying to run Windows Vista!
I do not know anything about customs ROMs, and this will be my first attempt and I'm just looking for a ROM that WORKS without any drama. As Vanilla as humanly possible. Not interested in customizing anything, what ever Google offered stock I will be more then happy.
However I am LOST with all the ROMs listed. Some mention Xposed others mention kernals and its all very confusing and to be honest I just don't care. Can anyone who has tried these just tell me which to go for? I would really appreciate this.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just try the super wizcyan if you want something clean and smooth but samsung based

5AL said:
Sorry if this has been asked before.
My phone was recently stolen so I have been using my S4 for over a month now however Samsung's OVER bloated 5.0.1 junk battery munching ROM is horrid and unbearable, its like trying to run Windows Vista!
I do not know anything about customs ROMs, and this will be my first attempt and I'm just looking for a ROM that WORKS without any drama. As Vanilla as humanly possible. Not interested in customizing anything, what ever Google offered stock I will be more then happy.
However I am LOST with all the ROMs listed. Some mention Xposed others mention kernals and its all very confusing and to be honest I just don't care. Can anyone who has tried these just tell me which to go for? I would really appreciate this.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, since you know nothing about custom ROMs, I'm going to advise you to read. And what I mean by that is do research on what it takes to install a custom ROM properly and how to set it up so it can benefit you. Decide which ROM looks good to you, determine if you can install it on your model then take the necessary steps to do so. Otherwise, if you're not up for that then stay where you are or you will absolutely earn a new paperweight.

agraceful said:
Honestly, since you know nothing about custom ROMs, I'm going to advise you to read. And what I mean by that is do research on what it takes to install a custom ROM properly and how to set it up so it can benefit you. Decide which ROM looks good to you, determine if you can install it on your model then take the necessary steps to do so. Otherwise, if you're not up for that then stay where you are or you will absolutely earn a new paperweight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I've seen enough YT videos to understand the concept/principle, but I'm just trying to find the most simplest ROM there is. As I use my phone for work also so I can't have it stop working every 2 seconds.
I've used a friends Pixel phone which runs base android essentially. Which ROM here is the equivalent of that?
Thanks!

5AL said:
Well I've seen enough YT videos to understand the concept/principle, but I'm just trying to find the most simplest ROM there is. As I use my phone for work also so I can't have it stop working every 2 seconds.
I've used a friends Pixel phone which runs base android essentially. Which ROM here is the equivalent of that?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YouTube videos for custom ROMs is beyond moronic. It's not about how it looks, it's about what must go on your phone in order to get to that point of installation. You're looking for a ROM that is pure aosp. I have no idea what version of the s4 you're on but this: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...dcteam-android-source-project-nrd90m-t3453084 is pure aosp, based on Android 7.1.2. It worked flawless when I ran it.

Thanks, found this one on YT and it seems fairly straight forward to install, starts from 5:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oeq_c-18aI
Unless I'm missing something here?
Thanks again