Is there anyway for one of the more experienced to post a guide for non experienced, noobs, or the unfamiliar with htc unlock? I know my way around flashing with s-off however this is something different and can see that there are going to be lots of How do I fix what I messed up? I think it will save a lot of time and hopefully keep bricks from forming. Or is there one already one wrote up in a different forum that I have Missed in my searching?
Related
I wanted to contribute something to the development but I'm a dumby when it comes to code. For a living I coordinate techs and developers with end users, basically I'm a tech-speak translator. I've notice that around these parts there are a ton of questions that could be easier resolved by following some guidelines. So this guide isn't about how to root or rom specifically, it's tips to avoid common mistakes and make it easier to provide you with help if something does go wrong. Think of it like when you call your cable help line and they ask you "is it plugged in" if you checked to make sure it was plugged in before you called you'll get to a solution a lot quicker.
I ask that any devs who can add to this do because knowing what us regular users can do to make your job (unpaid job that is) easier benefits us all.
Back up
This is super important but a lot of us are in such a rush to play with the goodies that we skip it. Always always keep a current back up of your sd card on your pc/mac. You can create a folder called "mytouchbak" or whatever you want and just copy and paste all the files over there.
Also nandroid backup. You should keep at least 2 nandroid backups. If you're just now rooting make a nandroid back up before you do anything. Then once you have a good stable rom running make another nandroid back up. This way you can either return to a default build, or to your working rom build.
These things are important because usually if you screw something up it's usually quicker and easier to just start from the beginning rather than have someone try to figure out what tiny step out of the many involved you may have done wrong, then figure out how to fix it.
Try twice
This relates to "back up." If something seems broken start from the beginning and try it again. Most likely you missed a step, forgot a symbol in something you typed, or sometimes something just didn't quite go right. By rooting you are doing things that weren't meant to be done and sometimes some numbers just got crossed somewhere. Before you proclaim that things are broken just try it again. You would be suprised by the number of times things work the second time through.
Read the whole thread
We have all done it. You follow the instructions perfectly and something doesn't work so you run to the forum and immediately write a post saying "help, i can't get it to work" on page 80 of a thread when several other people experienced the same problem, already asked the question and a solution was posted on page 20. I know it's sometimes a pain to skim 80 pages of posts but those 80 pages are probably caused by other people not reading the thread before posting. A good tip for this is if there is something specific that isn't working like wi-fi tether, just open the search toolbar in your browser, type "tether" and then go to each page hitting search. That way you don't have to read every post but if anyone has mentioned anything about tethering it will point you right to it and you only have to read those posts.
Have a computer ready
This is one that most of us already do but the one time you forget things always go bad. Don't ever rely on remembering the instructions you read on your phones browser when working on rooting and romming. If you have a computer in front of you you can read the forums and follow the instructions word for word which gives you a better chance of success.
Read everything first
Before you start read everything from start to finish at least once. Sometimes devs skip steps that they assume we know and then mention them later. It's because a lot of things seem like something everyone should know, but we don't. In the same vein if you can find multiple tutorials read them all first. This will give you several view points on doing the same thing and will in general make the whole process make more sense to you and clue you in on things one tutorial may have skipped past.
The other benefit is sometimes a step is listed, and then right after it it will say something like "and don't do that until you do this." such as with our current rooting loop method. If you read all the steps first before starting you won't be caught off guard by things like this.
Asking for help
When you get stuck, you can't find any answers AFTER READING AND SEARCHING THE FORUM for your issue then definitely ask away. How you ask relates to how easily it is for someone to help you.
Avoid making general statements when possible, detail is a must. Instead of saying "I rooted, then did A2SD, then restarted" give the steps you took to root and A2SD by either referencing the method such as "I rooted as per the steps laid out in (link to instructions or name of method) or lay out the exact steps line for line as to what you did. If you assume you rooted right and what went wrong was you missed a step in the rooting process how is anyone supposed to tell you what step you missed.
Also format it to be easy to read. Development trains your mind to be very organized and structured. Basically don't format your post like this guide I'm writing, in large blocks of paragraph text. Instead put each command on a new line for instance:
"I did this
adb shell
adb push update.zip /sd
reboot into recovery....."
this makes it a lot easier to provide you with help.
Slow down, Find a good time
Don't rush through the process. That's how steps are missed, commands are mistyped and phones get bricked. I've done roots at 2am and couldn't for the life of me get it to work, I put it away and tried again in the morning and things went great. So don't mess with rooting and romming when you're exhausted, in a hurry, high, in the midst of an argument with your girlfriend, or any sort of other distractions.
That's all I have for now, I hope it helps. If anyone has anything to add please do.
great guide, most of us probably follow these general rules without really thinking about it and sometimes that is overlooked when a new guy comes in to try to do something.
tubaking182 said:
great guide, most of us probably follow these general rules without really thinking about it and sometimes that is overlooked when a new guy comes in to try to do something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I notice that happen a lot in my job where someone with no experience in the particular tech get's lost because the things we take for granted as common knowledge really aren't for someone new to the idea. Especially with the android devices becoming insanely popular theres a huge influx of new users looking at the goodies that come with root. install a custom rom or two and everything above becomes second nature.
skullkandy said:
Slow down, Find a good time
Don't rush through the process. That's how steps are missed, commands are mistyped and phones get bricked. I've done roots at 2am and couldn't for the life of me get it to work, I put it away and tried again in the morning and things went great. So don't mess with rooting and romming when you're exhausted, in a hurry, high, in the midst of an argument with your girlfriend, or any sort of other distractions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that's why I was having problems.
this tut is NOW IN SLIDE BIBLE! just send people there any chance you get with noobs, and we'll let them search
Aweome idea for a post! Thanks!
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Thanks for all the positive feedback guys. And especially thank you for getting this posted into the slide bible. I hope this cuts down on some of the repeat questions and makes it easier for some of the new folks to not be so overwhelmed when rooting for the first time.
@Bigshow281 : I have screwed up several rootings by being a little bit too foggy to be messing with something that requires precise typing and following instructions correctly.
I'm thinking about rooting my G2, currently running 2.3.4. I plan on using the method shown here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wik...sion#Rooting_the_Vision_.28G2.2FDZ.29_and_DHD
But before I potentially brick my phone, as I am a COMPLETE noob, I was wondering if there are any topic I should read first. Things that will help me understand what I'm doing and how to fix common issues I may/will run into. I did some searching for noob guides but they were all phone specific, and I couldn't find anything specific to the G2 for noobs. A dictionary of terms, for example, would be very helpful. Any and all advice and links would be highly appreciate! Thanks in advance.
P.s. Sorry if this was asked a million times. I did search, as i mentioned, but searches yielded 50,000+ results and not much help.
Generally IMO rooting is relatively safe, its more about what you do after rooting your phone where the potential to "brick" it comes about. I.E Flashing Radios ect..
There is plenty of guides going about the net for a whole range of phones, what i done when i decided i wanted to root my phone was read a few articles for my phone make/model and read them all again just to make sure i understood them as i was in a similar position to yourself with very little knowledge about rooting or flashing roms ect..
You should check out other sites as well as this one of course and find one that you feel you can understand, theunlockr.com (just browse the "how to" section for your phone) they have videos (But not all of them work) was a good one for me aswell as using google to look for videos. Another good site is androidforums and not forgetting XDA its self.
Good luck....
You are on the wrong forum. This one is for the HTC Hero GSM, you have a G2 aka Desire Z.
I don't know how I missed that Habarug. Mods please feel free to relocate to the proper section.
Your not the first one gonna contact some mods and ask if they can remove the g2 touch part of the forum name
sent with love from me to you
First Issue I have is having to Post 10 times before I can post in some Other tread. Totally annoying. My Atrix has been having issues for a while now. For months it would just shut it's self OFF. That stop and changed to Restarting it's self about 1-2 months ago. About a Month into the when it did restart I would get the dang modem Error I'm trying to fix thru http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=991072&page=1. But all the Dang Links are Out of date/broken links. When I tried to post I get you new. you need 10 or more posts. IE this post.. 1 down 9 more to go.
Thing is I really like my Atrix and would love to fix it. I'm also a total N00B when it come to Smart phone fixing of this sort. So I need detailed directions. I don't want to SCREW anything up.
Please Help me out here.
Oh I found a Link to Files but heck if I know which on I need to download. Again total Dummy here. Not really just never done this before and don't wanna screw up. http://www.filefactory.com/folder/89f588286a560e39, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26301285
reafon ckedgon
More Info. Okay I've done nothing to this phone that was not AT&T, or Motorola Directed. So I'm not sure what all the Lingo means so Please talk to me on a more day to day basis of someone who has limited knowledge. Not saying I'm dumb (5 years of Computer Security Specialist College) so I do know about computer more then the average person. When it comes to Cell phones.. Well Till Learned how to dot he whole turn on my 4G and push the volume button I did not know Android was a Linix program.
I'm trying to get my 10 posts.
Okay read some more Posts. I'm AT&T and in the USA. So this might make things a little better.
This is not a very good way to get your 10 posts. In fact it's a very bad way. Please use "edit post" to add additional information.
The 10-post limit is there for a good reason, and I for one am glad it's there. This doesn't belong anywhere else, certainly not in a development thread, so I don't see a problem here.
As for your problem, I'm not sure what to say as I'm not quite sure what exactly you've tried so far. I'd recommend trying to flash a full system SBF. Don't bother looking for SBFs here though, all the links have been removed (on purpose). Instead search for das8nt on google. As for the instructions, there are other threads with detailed instructions so go read those. Generally, flashing a SBF is potentially a very risky and dangerous process, but you should be fine so long as you carefully follow the procedure.
Hello, I was just wondering the best way to root the AT&T Samsung Note SGH-I717. I have looked up many ways but every time I scroll down to the comments I read everyone is having problems. I would just like the best and most proven way to root the phone. I use the phone with straight talk, it is an unlocked att phone, will rooting the phone affect anything with Straight Talk? I am new to rooting so please be detailed and give me links to get everything I need. Thank You so much.
zeus1911 said:
Hello, I was just wondering the best way to root the AT&T Samsung Note SGH-I717. I have looked up many ways but every time I scroll down to the comments I read everyone is having problems. I would just like the best and most proven way to root the phone. I use the phone with straight talk, it is an unlocked att phone, will rooting the phone affect anything with Straight Talk? I am new to rooting so please be detailed and give me links to get everything I need. Thank You so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so here is the deal, here are 2 methods with very subtle differences. you didn't say what your phone was running now, so here are my suggestions.......
READ, READ, READ
I know you are new here, and I was once too. I went through all of this and was very nervous about the process. (no real reason to be)
I spent a good 2 weeks reading so I would feel confident about what I was doing. I would read through these and figure which is better for you or which you feel more confident in using. they would both work fine depending on your situation or what you phone is running. because these threads are older, you may run into an issue as to where the download files are not active anymore. that is where a recent Google search could come into play. you say you have read the comments for different methods have had negative results. problem is you don't know whether that person followed the directions correctly or whether they were just in a hurry and missed something.
that's why I posted both these threads. compare to what you have read. I have a habit of going to the back of the threads and read forward. this tells me what the most recent problems may have been and if there is a solution. though the files may or may not be active, you can always get the file. its the PROCESS which is correct. compare them.
as I said........... READ, READ, READ
it puts you in the situation to help yourself first
take your time, do as the process suggests. I even rehearsed it several times. due to my lack of experience, I wanted to be as prepared as possible in case something went wrong.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1504218
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1518962
both of these threads are from very reputable members of the community. as all threads will suggest......they are NOT responsible for what you do. make sure you are ready. watch Youtube tutorals, compare processes, have your files loaded and where you have easy access, read and rehearse.
take your time
whatever you need to do to feel confident. if something goes wrong....KNOW what you are going to do next. if you don't know where you went wrong in process or deviated from it, then others cant help.
good luck and I hope I have helped
edit.......
just saw this...this is at the back of Da G 's thread. suggested by AGOATTAMER. he is the man when it comes to having old links to process. this IS the one I used, that I couldn't find.
http://rootgalaxynote.com/galaxy-no...y-note-sgh-i717-icsgingerbreadeasiest-method/
Thanl You Very Much. I am running 4.1.2 jelllybean.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA Free mobile app
Sooo, Ill start off by saying that I've unlocked, hacked, rooted, jailbroke pretty much every phone since it became available over the years. Im a careless tinkerer and have always stumbled across well written how to's to do everything I've need in forums like this and have great luck.
Well awhile ago, shortly after I got my AT&T M8, I decided to try and turn it into Google Play Edition. Somewhere along the way while in the process of doing S-OFF, something went wrong. I kept getting errors and couldn't get anything to flash. So I gave up and got the LG G3 and put the M8 aside for a bit. Well now I want to use it again, and along the way of "tinkering", I've managed to wipe TWRP, relocked the bootloader, have no OS and still S-OFF. I can boot into recovery or boot to the HTC screen so its not completely gone yet from what Ive researched.
Would anyone be willing to help me out in getting this thing back to stock Sense or point me in the right direction? I want it completely stock, without root or custom recovery. I'd rather a good step by step, if someone would be willing. I can't seem to piece together all of the information i need to do this myself. Thanks!
Have you tried this. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=55094112
StupidN00b said:
Im a careless tinkerer and have always stumbled across well written how to's to do everything I've need in forums like this and have great luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just RUU as suggested in the previous response.
I suggest leaving your phones stock, unless you are willing to put in the time to read, research, and obtain some real knowledge.
Step-by-step guides and toolkits are dangerous things. As you see, they just get you into trouble without giving you the knowledge or tools to get out of that jam.
I'm surprised you've modded as many phones as you say, and haven't gotten any real knowledge to this point. Either you are very humble; or your story is a testament to the fact that such step-by-step guides shouldn't be posted in the first place.
redpoint73 said:
Just RUU as suggested in the previous response.
I suggest leaving your phones stock, unless you are willing to put in the time to read, research, and obtain some real knowledge.
Step-by-step guides and toolkits are dangerous things. As you see, they just get you into trouble without giving you the knowledge or tools to get out of that jam.
I'm surprised you've modded as many phones as you say, and haven't gotten any real knowledge to this point. Either you are very humble; or your story is a testament to the fact that such step-by-step guides shouldn't be posted in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your response but unfortunately I find it extremely arrogant and asinine. The fact is that I have put in a lot of time and knowledge to understand what I am doing. I may not have a conventional degree in coding as you might but I am able to successfully mod my phones by browsing forums like this where you can find an abundance of knowledge, especially step-by-step guides, as you are so against. If you are so against step by step guides then maybe you can be the voice about banning them from this forum. Do you see how I am a new member? I am one of the few that actually search the forums instead of posting another thread asking the same questions. Ive used tools and information from this site for a very long time without having to post one single thing until a few days ago. And this is the response I get? I was even humble enough in my screen name to call myself stupid because, with this specific issue, I knew it had to be something stupid that i was missing. You shouldn't tell people that step by step guides are dangerous things. All it takes is some balls and some command lines and you can accomplish many things. Have I messed up my phones and others before? Yes, but i had never run into a situation I haven't been able to get myself out of. To me, tinkering around, as a hobby, is fun. Like now, as I watch Sunday NFL Countdown, I am about to dust off my Nexus 5 and flash Lollipop on it. Guess what I am going to use? A STEP BY STEP GUIDE!!!! If I mess it up, then Im sure I wouldn't be the first to do so and Im sure Ill find a solution on great forums like this. Besides, my rooted/unlocked OnePlus One is my main phone. I wanted to play around with the M8 again to see if I would miss the smaller screen but I don't. So, thank you for just repeating the first response then proceeding to insult me because you think i don't have the skills needed to mod my devices. I will continue to do so however I please, just as many others will. Either contribute to threads or ignore them. No need for the insults. You've also insulted many other members who have posted tools and step by step guides on this specific site.
nuwayman said:
Have you tried this. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=55094112
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually did RUU but it ended up that I had a corrupt RUU file. I redownloaded it and put it on the MicroSD card and it worked like a charm. Thank you for your quick response.
StupidN00b said:
Thank you for your response but unfortunately I find it extremely arrogant and asinine.
So, thank you for just repeating the first response then proceeding to insult me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite frankly, incorrect on both points. You don't understand what an insult is, and there is nothing insulting in my post. If you read my post carefully, you will see there is no actual personal attack or insults.
redpoint73 said:
Just RUU as suggested in the previous response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contrary to what you suggest, backing up the previous suggestion is added value; as it adds credibility and consensus to the previous solution.
redpoint73 said:
I suggest leaving your phones stock, unless you are willing to put in the time to read, research, and obtain some real knowledge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its just a suggestion, and note that its conditional. Therefore, if you meet the latter part of the statement, the first part doesn't apply to you.
redpoint73 said:
Step-by-step guides and toolkits are dangerous things. As you see, they just get you into trouble without giving you the knowledge or tools to get out of that jam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stand by this statement. I've seen dozens dozens of instances where such tools just arm people with enough "knowledge" to get them into trouble, and don't equip them with any tools to get them out. Its then left to folks like me to even start to get these folks on the right track.
I'll step back a bit from my statement that these tools "shouldn't be posted in the first place". I'll agree that step-by-step guides and toolkits might be useful if combined with the proper research, learning and understanding. But in and of themselves, they can easily lead newcomers astray.
redpoint73 said:
I'm surprised you've modded as many phones as you say, and haven't gotten any real knowledge to this point. Either you are very humble; or your story is a testament to the fact that such step-by-step guides shouldn't be posted in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already gave you the benefit of the doubt here, but you chose to react defensively and in my opinion, unreasonably.
In any case, as far as your knowledge and background, we can only go by what you've stated; and you clearly stated yourself as a "careless tinkerer" and "stumbled" upon solutions. Now in your later post you say "I have put in a lot of time and knowledge to understand what I am doing". So if you provide conflicting information as to your background, nobody can be blamed for making an incorrect assumption regarding your knowledge.