Hey all,
Since the last official update on my Prime, it has been running crap. The touch screen is not very responsive, and the whole tab just feels slow overall A real pity coz I have been very happy until now...
So I was thinking about flashing it with one of the custom roms. I have a Galaxy Nexus and have flashed a heap of different Rom's and kernels, and it is crazy easy When I'm bored I flash! lol
After reading a bit on flashing the prime, it doesn't look as easy, OR AS SAFE. When looking I can't seem to find a foolproof way to set the prime up for flashing a custom rom, so I was wondering if others who have done this can post what is now viewed as the most reliable, safe way to flash a custom rom?
By the way, my Prime is absolutely stock, exactly the same as the day I bought it.
meminiau said:
Hey all,
Since the last official update on my Prime, it has been running crap. The touch screen is not very responsive, and the whole tab just feels slow overall A real pity coz I have been very happy until now...
So I was thinking about flashing it with one of the custom roms. I have a Galaxy Nexus and have flashed a heap of different Rom's and kernels, and it is crazy easy When I'm bored I flash! lol
After reading a bit on flashing the prime, it doesn't look as easy, OR AS SAFE. When looking I can't seem to find a foolproof way to set the prime up for flashing a custom rom, so I was wondering if others who have done this can post what is now viewed as the most reliable, safe way to flash a custom rom?
By the way, my Prime is absolutely stock, exactly the same as the day I bought it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on which version of 4.03 you're running. If you're on the latest ver "9.4.2.21" I believe you're SOL until they find an exploit for root for that version at the moment. If you're on any earlier version, you've got one of the easiest tools to root, unlock, and install CWM right here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1427125
You can still flash custom ROMs even if you are on .21 firmware. I got my prime yesterday and was on .21, I also thought I was stuck, but there's a thread somewhere in these forums that explains the whole process. Not at home, so I can post the link from my bookmarks.
Essentially, if you are on .21 OEM firmware, you would need to unlock the boot loader, get into fast boot and push CWM recovery, and then flash one of the rooted ROMs via CWM recovery.
WARNING: Once you do this, from what I read, you can no longer flash any new OEM ROMs the standard way or you will brick the tablet, at least that's how it was last night when I was reading up on it, things may be different now.
Good luck
---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------
6th post on this thread is what I did
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574870
Related
Anyone here have a Xoom? And did you root it? And is it as easy as the x2 or a little more involved?
I've got one. Rooted and running Tiamat Moray 2.2.2.
As far as rooting goes, I don't know of a one click available for it although there may be. There wasn't at the time I rooted mine. When I rooted mine it was a matter of unlocking the Xoom, installing CWR via fastboot and then flashing a rooted stock rom using CWR to do it. That was quite a while ago though. I think there are ways to root without flashing a rom now but as far as I know, they all involve using ADB and fastboot. It's just a matter of typing commands. It's not hard though. Just follow instructions and you'll be fine.
I don't spend a lot of time in that forum now because I'm happy as can be with what I have now. Moray is a nice rom. Everything works and it's super smooth. However, the Moray rom is for Wi-Fi only and 3G devices. It doesn't support 4G at the moment. How you root it, what rom you put on it, etc., all depends on what kind of device you have so you have to pay attention when checking out the different things available. They all state which devices they support. I'd post links to what you need but I don't know just what it is you have so I'll just post a link to the Xoom developer forum. If you haven't been there yet, have a look. Everything you need to know, you'll find there.
Xoom Android Development
Hello All,
Back in April I flashed my phone with the only (at the time) SMB? for bell, . I used a guide to get my phone to build number OLYEM_U4_2.1.1 - GreyBlurred.
I find updating Android so confusing - iPhone was a lot easier :\ but Android rox so here i am.
I've been all over trying different methods to update my phone with no avail. At this point, I don't even care if i lose my app data.
What is the best OS i should run on my Bell Atrix, and how can I do it? Any forum links would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1302423
There you are, everything you need from start to finish.
Make sure you read and understand every line.
After you flash your first rom with those instructions, and feel comfortable with flashing, I suggest you try out both cm7 and miui. Cm7 is original looking android with tons of new features and settings. Miui is a sexy slick looking rom with tons of new features. It's kind of like IOS. But still holds true to android customizability. The procedure is the same with all roms in the first thread i linked, but once you've done all of those things once, you can skip down to "Installing a Custom Rom". No need to re-unlock your bootloader and re-install custom recovery.
http://download.cyanogenmod.com/?device=olympus (download #20)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1383721 (some bugs, but awesome rom)
Feel free to ask any questions/pm, but this should technically be in the Q&A forum.
Cheers!
---------- Post added at 12:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:49 AM ----------
Remember. Always backup!
Well first off make sure you have Clockwork Recovery installed on your phone.
(you have to be bootloader unlocked for the full recovery to be installed) If you haven't unlocked the bootloader, make sure you go to the development forum and read up on how to do that using the "international pudding"
Once you have clockwork recovery installed, head on over to this thread and download the gobstopper that you'd like... I would go for the 2.3.6 updated one.
This is a bone stock bell rom, and its the EASIEST way to get back to stock bell.
Thanks guys! CM was a waste of time since I'm on an Atrix... I dont know if that rom is made for the Atrix - it doesn't say so on the site. Now running GB 2.3.6 Thanks a bunch!
Olympus is atrix's codename in cm. It is made for the atrix.
But glad to hear you're running gb!
Wow Bell_GB_2.3.6 has amazing battery life. 3x better than before! Yippeee
Hello everyone, I'm trying to do a buddy of mine a favor by upgrading his Vibrant to something a lot better (he's on stock) but I'm a bit unclear on a few things. First of all let me get out of the way that I'm a Fascinate (Verizon) owner that recently modded my own phone to run AOKP ICS Milestone 6 with great results, so I figured since he pretty much had the exact same phone I could do it for him. The problem I'm running into is the procedure I used to flash my phone doesn't seem to apply to the Vibrant (or at least what I was searching for) so I just wanted to clear up a few steps before I try to flash his phone.
He's not a very tech savvy guy, so he won't be updating ROMs on the bleeding edge or anything, he just wants his phone to run better so I figure ICZen is the way to go right, considering it's based off of what I'm using now (AOKP M6)? Everything needs to work, so that pretty much rules out any JB right now because of the GPS issues. Okay now onto the specific flashing questions:
1) This thread seems to be the go to thread for flashing the Vibrant, but it hasn't been updated since Dec '11, so would I just follow the same procedure for the newer ICS roms?
2) Here is the guide I used for my Fascinate (see section 4), which has a few extra steps that I notice are lacking for the Vibrant... namely installing cwm4 fixed for cm7 first, then installing THS Build 2, then flash over that with whatever ICS Rom you need.
3) Devil Kernel is what's considered best on my phone running AOKP M6... is that true as well for ICZen?
4) Since the Vibrant never got 2.3, what is the best modem to be using? On the Fascinate the EH03 (GB) stock modem is best, but I'm unsure what the deal is for the Vibrant since they never got an official GB update. Also along the same topic, Verizon has a code you can input that updates your PRL and improves reception... does T-Mobile have such a code or not?
I appreciate any and all input, as I want this to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks
You seem to have a pretty good grasp on what your doing.
From stock, install gingerbread bootloaders then go to recovery via volume rocker down and hold power button, until the logo. Might have to practice it a couple times.
Once in recovery click reinstall packages, might have to do it s couple of times. This installs your update.zip
From here I always perform wipes and flash a custom Froyo ROM. Maybe overkill but, only takes a second and I don't mind.
From here I flashed the latest CM9 nightly and on to Helly Bean.
Do your wipes in between flashes, and you should be fine.
I haven't ever heard about a T-Mobile code for tower updates, I think its automatic.
Well I didn't have to worry about bootloaders on my Fascinate since I was already on GB, so that's a bit new to me... but doing a quick google search I found this guide. Is that an accurate guide to follow? Alright so basically what you're saying is before I root at all I need to do this?
Also like I was saying earlier, he wants everything to work so I think Helly Bean is out of the question because of GPS, right? I was thinking ICZen looks the cleanest, with everything working nicely, and it's based on what I'm currently using on mine.
Can you clarify on why you're flashing a custom froyo rom? I won't mind to do that either, if it has any benefit.
Also, I checked his phone last night and it's on stock 2.2, not 2.1 if that makes any sort of difference. Thanks again
First root and get cwm recovery then flash bootloaders. The vibe never got an official GB, so that's why boot loaders are recommended. The guide you have is fine. Second the GPS on the vibrant has been notoriously hit or miss. I have a captivate, the GPS works great but my vibe couldn't get a lock to save my life.
Now as far as iczen or hellybean, you have to weigh the options:
Iczen is a great ROM and might have a better chance getting a GPS lock. IMO if you can get a lock with ICS you will probably get a lock with JB. But with ICS you have to be concerned with the EU bug. What's that you ask:
There has been an issue with people randomly looking at phone and a message saying encryption unsuccessful press to reset. If you press the button you have basically just locked up your internal SD card. If you don't press you MIGHT be able to recover it. There is a workaround if this happens, to use ext SD only but your friend will not like that.
I'm currently running hellybean on both of my devices and I love it. Like I said, cappy gps works great and my vibrant not so much. If you really want stable go with bionix as toast recommended or one of moped Ryder's ROMs . If you want to be wowed, go with hellybean.
There are some things you can try with it to get a GPS lock. The general consensus is turn on GPS, reboot, wait it out till you get an initial lock. After that locks will be quicker. I hope this helped in some way, if so hit thanks. As far as the guides etc you are good to go.
its peanut butter jelly(bean) time
That did help quite a bit, thank you. I have never even heard of that bug, do you know if that's Vibrant specific or can that happen on any of the others? I have been wanting to try Helly Bean on my Fascinate, but unfortunately my sdcard isn't very stable and I don't trust to flash anything until I can buy a new one. Honestly, I don't even think he cares much about the GPS, my original point was more along the lines of that I wanted to give him as much of a glitch-free experience as possible, so my fault for not being more specific. If Helly Bean is as stable as you're saying, then maybe I'll just do that instead then, especially after you explained that glitch. Also, since I don't have any Helly Bean experience myself, does it offer as much customization as AOKP? I've grown quite fond of all the little tweaks they include
Hellybean is pretty stable. When I did my vibrant I didn't have to use a boot loader I went straight to ICS then jellybean. If you want ICS then you may want to try aokp for his vibe its nice. If you end up trying aokp milestone 6 and have unknown baseband let me know and I'll link you to a linario build that should fix that
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app
I have a complete guide to install ICS ROMs in my signature if you feel so inclined. PM me if you need any of the files or I may just host them on my Dev-Host account. I'll be out most of the day, but I can upload them later on tonight.
When I need to go back to stock and root and flash cwm I use the AIO toolbox. I just put the rom on the internal flash and then use AIO to get cwm on it from the flash custom rom option. Then cancel the file and the phone will reboot into recovery where you install packages twice and should end up in cwm.
The EU bug has hit vibrant and captivates that I know of. It seems rare though, if you think about the number of users compared to the reported number of cases of the EU bug, its a small percentage.Hellybean doesn't have nearly as much customization but it does offer theming and some launcher/lock screen tweaks. You could always use a custom launcher. There are a few other jellybean ROMs you could try. Honestly any way you go will be better than stock!
*I forgot to tell you, you will need to Odin back to stock 2.1!
its peanut butter jelly(bean) time
Yeah.. I don't think root is actually necessary to do any of this. You'll be rooted when the process is complete however. The custom ROMs come with root access.
But to elaborate on Samsgun357's last post, if you are currently on Froyo 2.2 stock, you'll need to Odin back to stock 2.1 prior to starting, because Samsung fixed the bug that allows installation of custom recovery when they released 2.2
It's simple to do, search the forums and you'll find a guide on Odining back to JFD. That's stock Eclair. If I have time in a few I'll locate it for you and post it.
There are YouTube videos about it with links to the files as well. I think djeddie1west posted a good one with links to all files needed, if they are still working links.
Edit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1117990
There's the link for installing GB bootloader.
Also, I am on my phone and haven't tested links, but as long as they work, near the bottom of the post you'll find the files needed to Odin the JFD files.
Eh, I just gave up and told him to go get an iPhone instead, to increase his hipster status.
Or... that's right, I'd rather be dead than own one of those ugly bricks.
You have all been extremely helpful, and I think I have more than enough to go on. I think for now I'll just throw ICZen on his phone since it's based on the rom I'm most familiar with... and when I have more experience with Helly Bean (I finally ordered a new sdcard that's on the way, so I can play with it on my own phone soon enough :good I'll just flash his again. He'll be okay with the risks mentioned so far in this post, and honestly his upgrade is coming up soon so I'm sure I'll be drooling over his S3 when that time comes.
@Woodrube That guide you made to install ICS was exactly what I was looking for, and I wish I had found it earlier so thank you for making such an excellent post.
I'll post back here with the results, thanks for all the help once again
Hi all, I'm enjoying reading lots in this forum in order to learn how to unleash my S3. One massive thank you to all who make this community such a great and rich resource. Thanks!
After reading a bunch, I took the XDA plunge. Here's what I've recently done (maybe this will help someone who's considering taking the plunge too. I was surprised at how easy everything was). I rooted my i9300 by flashing CF-AutoRoot via Odin. I then downloaded GooManager from the Market. It installed an open recovery script for me, TWRP. Next, I rebooted to TWRP recovery mode and did a backup and then a factory reset. I flashed temasek's build (v20) of Android 4.3/10.2 with the latest gapps zip (20130813). Then came the moment of truth. I was nervous when my phone took a bit longer to boot. The sweet Cyanogenmod logo just kept swirling. Finally, it booted and I was in love.
I have just a few questions about my phone now.
First, is the TWRP backup I did adequate to get me out of serious trouble if something goes wrong flashing updates? The backup ended up being over 2gb!
Secondly, have I done anything to the kernel? If not, should I?
Thirdly, have I done all that rooting and custom roms have to offer? Do I now just update my rom when new builds come out and continue enjoying my phone? If so, that's great. Just wondering what if anything I could do next, apart from trying other custom roms.
Lastly, what's the proper way to get help troubleshooting glitches/bug with the custom rom I'm using since I'm not yet able to post in its development forum thread? For example, my bluetooth won't turn off and in some apps the screen flickers or doesn't seem to render the window properly.
Thanks in advance.
oceo said:
Hi all, I'm enjoying reading lots in this forum in order to learn how to unleash my S3. One massive thank you to all who make this community such a great and rich resource. Thanks!
After reading a bunch, I took the XDA plunge. Here's what I've recently done (maybe this well help someone who's considering taking the plunge too). I rooted my i9300 by flashing CF-AutoRoot via Odin. I then downloaded GooManager from the Market. It installed an open recovery script for me, TWRP. Next, I rebooted to TWRP recovery mode and did a backup and then a factory reset. I flashed temasek's build (v20) of Android 4.3/10.2 with the latest gapps zip (20130813). Then came the moment of truth. I was nervous when my phone took a bit longer to boot. The sweet Cyanogenmod logo just kept swirling. Finally, it booted and I was in love.
I have just a few questions about my phone now.
First, is the TWRP backup I did adequate to get me out of serious trouble if something goes wrong flashing updates? The backup ended up being over 2gb!
Secondly, have I done anything to the kernel? If not, should I?
Thirdly, have I done all that rooting and custom roms have to offer? Do I now just update my rom when new builds come out and continue enjoying my phone? If so, that's great. Just wondering what if anything I could do next, apart from trying other custom roms.
Lastly, what's the proper way to get help troubleshooting glitches/bug with the custom rom I'm using since I'm not yet able to post in its development forum thread? For example, my bluetooth won't turn off and in some apps the screen flickers or doesn't seem to render the window properly.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. A backup is always adequate on almost all situations and that size is acceptable since most of my backups are around 1.41 gb but I recommend that you also backup your efs since it's one of the most important things to backup on our devices. More info here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1308546
2. As far as I know any cyanogenmod based firmware installs it's own custom kernel however this is highly reversible as soon as you flash a stock firmware again.
3. Well the possibility of having a rooted phone are endless. In xda you'll find vast amount of tweaks, roms, kernels etc that you can flash on your device. Even I still keep on flashing things (with precautions of course) whenever i find something interesting.
4. Until you can post that thread just keep posting your question here in the Q & A but search the topic you have in mind first since it's most likely been asked before, just to keep the forum clean as much as possible.
oceo said:
Hi all, I'm enjoying reading lots in this forum in order to learn how to unleash my S3. One massive thank you to all who make this community such a great and rich resource. Thanks!
After reading a bunch, I took the XDA plunge. Here's what I've recently done (maybe this will help someone who's considering taking the plunge too. I was surprised at how easy everything was). I
I have just a few questions about my phone now.
First, is the TWRP backup I did adequate to get me out of serious trouble if something goes wrong flashing updates? The backup ended up being over 2gb!
No its not It has note backed up EFS .
Secondly, have I done anything to the kernel? If not, should I?
Your choice .
Thirdly, have I done all that rooting and custom roms have to offer? Do I now just update my rom when new builds come out and continue enjoying my phone? If so, that's great. Just wondering what if anything I could do next, apart from trying other custom roms.
Your choice as to try other roms or mods .
Lastly, what's the proper way to get help troubleshooting glitches/bug with the custom rom I'm using since I'm not yet able to post in its development forum thread? For example, my bluetooth won't turn off and in some apps the screen flickers or doesn't seem to render the window properly.
Some roms have a Q&A thread or discussion thread . Usually problems are posted in the rom thread .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the replies. I booted into recovery and used TWRP to do an EFS backup. Super easy.
All,
Originally posted a request for help in the Galaxy S4 International forum for using Odin to downgrade my Verizon Galaxy S4 SCH-I545 from Lollipop to KitKat.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/help/odin-fails-to-downgrade-galaxy-s4-t3278803
Eventually one helpful guy mentioned that Verizon crippled this device with a locked bootloader, (or a mismatched age/version of the bootloader) something never even hinted at in ANY instructions I've ever found for using Odin. I'm really disappointed in the Lollipop version that I've been stuck with, mainly due to the slowdowns on the phone and the need to kill off all apps at least every day., and the need to hit buttons multiple times before enough system resources clear up and it does what I want. All I wanted to do was go to an earlier version, and it looks like that might not be possible.
I see forum posts talking about rooting this version of the phone, but I don't have a handle on what good that will do for me in my particular situation. Now that I've found the correct forum, any suggestions? Part of me likes the idea of rooting and debloating to speed things up, but if I can't downgrade and the performance reduction is just a function of the version of Android I'm stuck with, then I don't see the point in wasting even more days of my life fighting this aging phone.
Oh, and as an aside, what the hell is OC1 and OF1? Can't find anywhere that explains what the heck they're talking about. My best guess is they're versions of firmware, are the designations just random?
Thanks!
Ryan
I'll try to write you some things i've learned about this device, hope it helps you
Samsung Galaxy S4 Verizon SCH-I545 has the same specs than others Qualcomm Galaxy S4, but this one is managed by Verizon to distribute, update software, etc... That means, even when it has the same hardware than others it will have some differences on software and limitations. Now, let's talk about our "charming" bootloader:
When we talk about bootloader, we use as reference the last 3 characters of bootloader version (this also applies to firmware, kernel), you can get your bootloader version by running this command on terminal emulator getprop ro.bootloader (this is why we refer to lollipop OC1, OF1, to kitkat NG5, NG6, NK1 and so on) when you get a software update almost always your bootloader is updated. Only MDK bootloader (first firmware released) was unlocked. After that, Verizon decided to start locking the bootloader to prevent rooting, software downgrade... So, why don't we unlock the bootloader? because they used something called qfuse, the qfuse is hardware related and when it's triggered (updated) cannot be untriggered (downgraded).
After reading this you may be really dissapointed and thinking to get another device, I was in that situation, but you can root your device (this means, you can debloat and do something to speed your s4), even you can install a custom rom's (they're really nice), maybe it's not the best solution, but, hey! it's really better than stay stuck with device stock rom. Btw, you cannot downgrade with custom roms, you can just install those that are meant for your bootloader or higher.
Edgardo_Uchiha said:
After reading this you may be really dissapointed and thinking to get another device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I'm leaning towards. The frustrating part is the time wasted trying this in the first place. I think I'm just going to cut my losses, suffer my crippled phone with quiet grace and dignity, and replace it at some point.
Thanks for all the help!
Ryan
So, is there any way to root a Galaxy S4 verizon phone with 5.0.1 (Lollipop)?? I've been reading threads and how-tos and trying various techniques for several hours with zero success.
Don't despair too much. There is a great dev who has provided the means to flash a very stripped down version of Lollipop OC1. I can honestly say that, in the 2-1/2 years I've owned this device, it has never run better since installing his ROM.
It is still a Touchwiz ROM, but everything, and I do mean everything that can be considered crapware has been removed from this ROM. The result? a slim, sleek user experience that will cause you to never look back (considering we will NEVER have a true AOSP ROM for our device.
Check his link out below. Read everything and make sure you understand what you have now and what you will need to do. Then study some more. It took me a month before finally feeling confident to make the plunge. Even then I needed help, but got all I needed from the good folks...especially Stang5litre, on the discussion board.
Good luck!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-verizon/development/stang5litre-ediition-5-0-t3132555
---------- Post added at 03:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 PM ----------
gonyere said:
So, is there any way to root a Galaxy S4 verizon phone with 5.0.1 (Lollipop)?? I've been reading threads and how-tos and trying various techniques for several hours with zero success.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Presuming you are on OF1, have a look here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-verizon/general/root-of1-t3249971
jwhistler said:
Don't despair too much. There is a great dev who has provided the means to flash a very stripped down version of Lollipop OC1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just took a peek, that looks well beyond me, and at least a dozen times more complex than the tantalizing downgrade forum posts that pulled me down this road in the first place. Heck, pretty much every other word is some acronym I've never heard of. Thanks though, I'll pass.