ROOT AND S-OFF
Make sure you have a PC, an Insulated Wire (Very important!), a EVO 3D, about 3-5 hours, and at least 3 GB of space on 3VO ( Unless you want to play Risky, then its only 2GB).
Backup your data with this app. This is only a 30 day trial. It backs up your Applications, Photos, Music, Videos, Contacts, Call log, Browser Bookmarks, SMS (text messages), MMS, Calendar, System Settings, Home Screens (including shortcut positions), Alarms, Dictionary, Music Playlists, APNs and more....
Follow the instructions for S-OFF and Root.Ramjet73's Quick and Dirty . Dont worry if it takes you 15 tries to get S-OFF using the wire, it took me multiple times as well. Now you have a recovery, 4EXT. I think I should tell you that you can make nandroid backups, full system backups. You can also aces this if you cant access the rest of your phone.To get here, battery pull, volume down and power down, then recovery.
ROM FLASHING (OPTIONAL
Make sure you have an HBOOT of 1.58, As well as S-OFF with Junopunut Bear and Root. To check if you have ROOT, use this app. To check HBOOT, Pull your battery, put it back in, holv volume down and power down. It should say what HBOOT there. If you somehow have HBoot 1.50 or lower, proceed to step 6.
THERE IS NO GOING BACK TO STOCK HTC SENSE ICS!!!
Download "PG86IMG_JBear_1.50.5050_hboot_GB.zip," place it into the root of your SD card, or a place with no folders, but rename it to " PG86IMG.zip". To flash, remove battery, place back in, hold volume down, and power button. When it tells you if you want to flash the upgrade, do it.
THERE IS NO GOING BACK TO STOCK HTC SENSE ICS!!!
Now look back at your HBOOT. If its 1.50, that is perfect. You needed to do this because all ROMs for HTC EVO 3D doesnt work with an HBOOT higher than 1.50.5050. Now, pick a ROM to flash. The best one at the time of this post is Gangnam Style. Compared to your old ROM, the Sprint ROM, this one is Jellybean, and does not have HTC Sense. It also doesnt have the 3D camera working, but honestly, when do you use it? No, the gallery wont open 3D pictures correctly. If you want to see this ROM in action, look at This.
Download the most recent Gangnam ROM, GAPPS 4.2 is recommended, 4.2 Keyboard is an updated version of the stock keyboard in GAPPS. Some ROMs have a problem where it builds up a lot of WiMax logs. RamJet73 created a .zip that you flash that fixes this. When I flashed this, I stopped getting SMS and MMS. I can send, but couldnt recieve. If this happens to you, just download Google Voice. It fixed my problem. To flash, pull battery, put back in, volume down and power down. Go to recovery, and unless your going risky, go to backup and backup your device. This does not backup contacts SMS, and other stuff, so use the app I recommended before.
Move Gangnam Style ROM to SD, as well as GAPPS,Keyboard and Wimax fix .zip. After backing up, you can move the backup folder in sdcard/clockworkmod to your PC, you can move it back whenever you want. Even thought this wont wipe your SD card, you can remove it to be safe. When you are ready, Go back to your recovery, select "wipe|format", select "wipe data/factory reset" and "wipe cache and dalvik cache."
Video of process (entering Recovery, wiping data, flashing items.)
If you took out your SD card, put it back. Go back to your Recovery Menu and select "install from SD" then "choose ZIP from SD." First click on GANGNAM STYLE, flash that. Then Flash GAPPS, 4.2 Keyboard and the Wimax fixer zip. You are now done! Leave and reboot. If it doesnt work, but you see the spinning "CyanogenMod" boot animation for 15 minutes, then pull your battery and reboot. If it happens again, wipe only flash Gangnam Style until your phone turns on correctly.
Do not blame me if something happens to your phone.
I like helping people with their Android phone, expecially another 3VO owner!
If you need help, feel free to ask, but I might not respond for some time.
RamJet73, If you are reading this, Just know If it wasnt for your guide, I would still be on stock ICS.
Related
Hello everyone,
I'm new to the Eris. I've had it for a few months, but this is the first "in-depth" thing I've done with it.
I've decided to take the plunge and root the phone. I'm going to use the on-screen method.
My question is this: What do I need to do to prepare? I've got all my apps backed up to the SD card, and the phone is charging right now.
Any suggestions as to what ROM to use? Or what I need to get the Froyo update, etc?
I'm new, so I'm browsing and learning, but any information you guys have would be great. Thanks in advance.
If you want a Froyo rom, that is what you'll need to download. There are about a half dozen in the development section and all mention "Froyo" in the title. Read the entire thread and it's not a bad idea to read some comments. If the developer says you need the google apps aka gapps zip, get it too. Put both files (or only one if gapps isn't needed) on the root (not in any folders) of your sd. Once you're rooted you should enter recovery by powering off, then boot holding power and vol up (rooting instructions may take you there anyway). Youll see options to reboot, ms toggle, backup/restore, etc. Go to back up/restore and create a nandroid by following the prompts. Press vol down until you return to the home screen, then go to wipe. Wipe data/factory reset and wipe dalvik cache. Vol down back to the main screen and flash the new rom and gapps (if needed). ENJOY. Note: Read all instructions thoroughly before rooting. If any instructions i've listed are different then those listed in the official instructions, follow them first. Once you're rooted and begin changing roms frequently you need to always make a nandroid of the current rom your own (in case you dont like the new one or have problems flashing it), wipe data and dalvik (ext partition too if your sd card is partitioned and you're using a rom which allows apps2sd via a partitioned sd card - froyo currently does not), and backup your apps/settings via the app of your choice before flashing. If your upgrading your current rom you usually wont have to do a wipe (the developer will indicate it in the instructions).
It's a good idea to back up your apps before flashing new roms. Titanium is my favorite app but its for root only. Search the market. You can probably find an app to use before you root.
Sent from my Froyo Eris using XDA App
joshw0000 said:
If you want a Froyo rom, that is what you'll need to download. There are about a half dozen in the development section and all mention "Froyo" in the title. Read the entire thread and it's not a bad idea to read some comments. If the developer says you need the google apps aka gapps zip, get it too. Put both files (or only one if gapps isn't needed) on the root (not in any folders) of your sd. Once you're rooted you should enter recovery by powering off, then boot holding power and vol up (rooting instructions may take you there anyway). Youll see options to reboot, ms toggle, backup/restore, etc. Go to back up/restore and create a nandroid by following the prompts. Press vol down until you return to the home screen, then go to wipe. Wipe data/factory reset and wipe dalvik cache. Vol down back to the main screen and flash the new rom and gapps (if needed). ENJOY. Note: Read all instructions thoroughly before rooting. If any instructions i've listed are different then those listed in the official instructions, follow them first. Once you're rooted and begin changing roms frequently you need to always make a nandroid of the current rom your own (in case you dont like the new one or have problems flashing it), wipe data and dalvik (ext partition too if your sd card is partitioned and you're using a rom which allows apps2sd via a partitioned sd card - froyo currently does not), and backup your apps/settings via the app of your choice before flashing. If your upgrading your current rom you usually wont have to do a wipe (the developer will indicate it in the instructions).
It's a good idea to back up your apps before flashing new roms. Titanium is my favorite app but its for root only. Search the market. You can probably find an app to use before you root.
Sent from my Froyo Eris using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks for getting back to me with such detail. Very, very much appreciated. It turns out however, that I won't be able to do this.
I checked out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=742228
I found that I had release keys under my build number, which indicates is the 2.1 leak - which really sucks, because I got the update OTA... why would they send out a leaked platform? That sucks
Ah well, thanks very much for your help. I'm going to take a look at my brothers phone, and see if we can root that. Thanks
You CAN root ANY eris now. Do a little more research.
Sent from my Froyo Eris using XDA App
my advice would be to save yourself the hadache and just dl the 1 click root app. soo worth it plus it goes to a good cause...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=742228
so i downloaded bamf 1.6.3 remix then tried to use the desense thing on the page and it worked but it loaded and said there was a problem with the ui or watever and i needed to clear my data, didn think much of it so i hit the feeling lucky button then tried to launch adw as my home launcher and now i cant get to my home screen at all its all black. messaging halfway works and phone calls work if i recieve them or go threw messaging to make the call. tried rebooting into recovery and it tried to load that image file so i pulled the battery and now im just kinda trying to get feedback from someone on how to fix this.
got it to connect to my pc finally should i delete the pg05img.zip file and reboot into recovery?
I would re flash the Rom. Install adw then use the de sense script.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
You should definitely either delete or rename the PG05IMG.zip so that you dont coincidently flash it in the future. You could try to long press on the screen as if you were going to add a widget and add the market to whatever screen your defaulted in and try to remove ADW and reinstall it and hope that works. Or maybe try another launcher. I use Launcher pro myself and it works fine.
yeah, I made the mistake of installing a new radio, leaving the pb05img on the card, then installing a new rom on top of it. When it didn't like the rom (couldn't get to the desktop portion or whatever its called), I couldn't go in recovery from hboot either.
What I did was...
remove the memory card, go into hboot, choose recovery, once in recovery I put the microsd card in from under the battery WHILE the phone was still up and running (needed a knife to do it)
Then mounted the sdcard within CWM and chose my backup.
Noob ? I just downloaded twrp when I go to recovery what should I back up there's so many options I really don't know which one to pick. Should i pick all of them and compress or some and compress .please be specific.
LOL... it depends on what youre trying to do?
Mostly, youre going to use recovery to flash zip files... kernals, roms, tweaks etc mostly come in the form of zips, so you'll see one option to install a zip file....
Another thing to do, is wipe your phone before a flash, again done with recovery...You'll go to the WIPE menu, and wipe cache, dalvik, (do it a few times to be sure) and do a data wipe before flashing ROMs, this will ensure a flawless install
Lastly you use nandroid to "backup" the current state of your phone, you do this BEFORE flashing a rom... its like a failsafe, if something F's up during your flash, you can restore this "nandroid" backup to restore you phone to its exact state prior to your flash...
So, nandroid back ups, restoring, flashing zips, and wiping are your basic uses of recovery
getmoneygreen said:
Noob ? I just downloaded twrp when I go to recovery what should I back up there's so many options I really don't know which one to pick. Should i pick all of them and compress or some and compress .please be specific.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stick with the ones that are already "x'd" off. The only option that I'd suggest adding is Wimax. That will back up your wimax partition, which contains your RSA keys, which are essential to 4g working (lose your RSA keys, lose your 4g forever, so it's good to keep them backed up). Compressing the backup is optional. It will save a considerable amount of space if you choose to compress them, however the backups will take quite a bit longer to complete. I made two backups that were not compressed, and saved them to my computer, because they were over 1GB each, which is absurd. I now compress all of my backups, and all seems well.
Thank you soo much you guys helped me out a lot
If you don't mind me asking, what were the original TWRP recovery options that were selected. When I did my first Nand backup after S-off and rooting I selected all the options to be safe. Then when I went to go make another back up everything was still selected and I know I do not need all those options. Thanks.
PdawG43 said:
If you don't mind me asking, what were the original TWRP recovery options that were selected. When I did my first Nand backup after S-off and rooting I selected all the options to be safe. Then when I went to go make another back up everything was still selected and I know I do not need all those options. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer your question If I'm correct from top to bottom the first two and also include the Wimax and the compress files .so that's four X's.that's what I have
I did a Nand backup having the first 3 and then Wimax and then when I tried to flash to that backup my phone went black and shut off (thought it had bricked on me) was able to get it to reboot by doing volume down + power button. Am I missing something? Or am I just being dumb when it comes to flashing from a Nand backup?
Are you still having problems with the nand back ups pdawg
So we should wipe data to factory settings before doing the back?
Also, where does titanium backup come into play?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
I haven't had time to try it again yet. Though later tonight I will try again when I flash viper rom 1.3
I checked everything under the sun in nandroid menu, so when I go to nandroid options then restore i choose the one I want to restore, it flashes then when I reboot it just sits on the HTC EVO screnn forever! almost 20 min so far. is anybody else having this issue? am I doing something wrong? I did pull the battery once and rebooted but still nothing. I backed up a couple of nice set ups I would like to have back. any ideas would be great
jajuan said:
So we should wipe data to factory settings before doing the back?
Also, where does titanium backup come into play?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer your question about Titanium. This app will back up all your apps--apps only, not your entire system.
This is useful when you flash a new rom because that new rom will not include all the apps you had (obviously). Instead of fishing for each one in the market, simply re-download Titanium and use it to restore your apps (and data if you like). I really don't use Tatanium as much as I used to. This is because I don't download a crapload of apps and when I install a new rom it doesn't take me very long to re-download the ones I like from the market.
BUT, if you have an app that you can't get through the market, then Titanium is vital to restoring it.
Hope this helps.
This was my first custom rom atempt and after installing MIUI 1.7.22 from ROM MANAGER (wike DALVIK, wipe CACHE/DATA) it got to something that reboot incessantly after the GALAXY S/CYANOGEN MOD logo. What could have went wrong? phone was stock samsung VIBRANT rom (2.2). What to do now?
Just a heads up for the future. Probably should put this in the Q&A. Not sure what happened but it looks like you need the help of Odin. Here is a link to everything you need to get your phone back to stock so you can start over.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=954509
Boot into CWM, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, format system, wipe dalvik... if it's still acting up try going back to stock JFD with ODIN and downloading the ROM from here and flashing it the old fashioned way as per the instructions in the second post of this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1099533
Also, this really belongs in Q&A. Please post there next time or you'll likely get flamed
download the attached Update.zip and place it on your internal SD Card
Follow My instructions Below. Skip No steps.
Initial install
1. Odin JFD Stock
http://rootzwiki.com/showthread.php...pps-*-everything&p=11409&viewfull=1#post11409
2. Update Packages (using update.zip attached)
CWR (volume +/- and power key)
3. Wipe Data / Factory Reset
4. Dalvik Cache (advanced Menu)
5. Flash Miui
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1123922
6. Fix Permissions (advanced menu)
Reboot System
Wait 5 minutes for OS to fully Load and enjoy
Flashing Weekly Update
CWR
(Mounts and storage menu)
1. Format System
2. Format Cache
3. Wipe Dalvik Cache
4. Flash Weekly Miui Update
5. Fix Permissions
Reboot
wait 5 minutes
enjoy.
if you have any other issues with Miui feel free to PM me. I will try and help yah out.
I´ve tried to recover using a backup created just before flashing the rom and it failed with some message relate to boot, then I´ve tried advanced restore and choose everything manually except boot and now I can´t enter the ClockWork recovery anymore, it shows the VIBRANT/SAMSUNG logo and just stays there forever. What now? what is the combo for clockword, you press and hold volume + and - and power and then release what and when?
CWR is accessed by holding Volume + Volume - and power button when Vibrant logo appears you release power but continue to hold volume keys
at this point your beyond fixing it in CWR.
download Odin and the .pit and .TAR in the link i provided, enter download mode and flash back to stock 2.1 JFD.
download the update.zip i provided as well as the latest version of miui 1.8.5 place them on your internal SD and follow my instructions 2 posts up.
download mode
instructions via noob guide (stickied under QA forum)
1- Open ODIN on your PC. (DO NOT PRESS/SELECT ANYTHING IN ODIN!)
2- Plug in the USB Cable to PC
3- Power down Phone if you had not already.
4- Remove the battery.
5- Plug USB into Phone.
6- Hold down BOTH volume buttons and while holding both, insert the battery.
7- Two to three seconds later your phone will be in Download Mode.
Be mindful to not remove connection while ODIN is running.
ok the ODIN part is done, Im back to a working phone. Now let me ask you this, when I´m flashing using CLOCKWORK MODE do I have to save the files in the removable SD CARD or should I use the internal phone memory? I ask that because I was thinking, when you do all that cleaning (clear XXX, clear XXY) won´t it delete the rom you are trying to flash if it´s in phone internal memory?
I believe the problem was with the file I´ve downloaded.
I´ve downloaded:
MIUI.us_vibrant_1.7.22_Eng_Deo_ZipA_Signed.zip
and it seems the right one is:
MIUI.us_vibrantmtd_1.7.22_Eng_Deo_ZipA_Signed.zip
so let me ask, what´s the difference between the MTD and the other file?
Internal SD the only time stuff gets deleted on internal SD is when you manually delete it or partition it.
not sure. but download the one i linked. which is version 1.8.5 found on the thread linked below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1123922
do not install Via rom manager btw. use Clockwork Recovery Via 3 button method (volume +/- and power key)
boystuff said:
not sure. but download the one i linked. which is version 1.8.5 found on the thread linked below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1123922
do not install Via rom manager btw. use Clockwork Recovery Via 3 button method (volume +/- and power key)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
apparently that was the cause of the loop-reboot, using the non MTD file. Why can´t use ROM MANAGER to flash?
thanks for everyone who helped.
i really don't recommend Rom Manager for installing Roms beyond Froyo, can usually run into issues ie bootloops. The safest way is to manually shut off phone hold your volume and power keys as instructed and manuallly boot into Clockwork Recovery then follow the method i provided
Wipe data/Factory Reset
goto Mounts menu format system
goto Advanced menu clear Dalvik
Install zip from SD
Flash Miui 1.8.5
Fix permissions
Reboot System
first things first
download and place both the update.zip and Miui 1.8.5 on your internal SD
so when your looking at it from your comp it should show
Computer/Removable Disk/Update.zip
unmount phone from PC Power phone off
press and hold Volume+/- and power buttons
at Vibrant Logo release power button but hold volume keys
once you hit recovery Select reinstall packages twice that should get you to the Clockwork Recover Menu (CWR)
(menu should be Orange)
then follow prior instructions for flashing.
boystuff said:
i really don't recommend Rom Manager for installing Roms beyond Froyo, can usually run into issues ie bootloops. The safest way is to manually shut off phone hold your volume and power keys as instructed and manuallly boot into Clockwork Recovery then follow the method i provided
Wipe data/Factory Reset
goto Mounts menu format system
goto Advanced menu clear Dalvik
Install zip from SD
Flash Miui 1.8.5
Fix permissions
Reboot System
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that was do you preserve all your APPS and DATA (contacts, call logs, etc) ?
problem your gonna run into is your going from 2.1/2.2 to 2.3 your gonna lose all yoru apps, period. theres no saving them. however any you purchased via marketplace are saved and linked to your gmail account so you can redownload those free of charge again from marketplace
Contacts same thing just make sure you have yoru contacts synced up to date with yoru Gmail and when you re-add your google account after flashing miui your contacts will automatically be restored to the phone
after your initial install of Miui you won't lose any apps/data/etc upgrading week to week. but thats a different topic (weekly update instructions back on page 1 first post i made) lets focus on getting your initial install complete.
Miui also has a built in Backup application that saves your call logs, text messages, updated and installed Applications etc. But you won't need to worry about that till after you get it installed.
lemme know when you get Miui installed and we'll go from there.
boystuff said:
problem your gonna run into is your going from 2.1/2.2 to 2.3 your gonna lose all yoru apps, period. theres no saving them. however any you purchased via marketplace are saved and linked to your gmail account so you can redownload those free of charge again from marketplace
Contacts same thing just make sure you have yoru contacts synced up to date with yoru Gmail and when you re-add your google account after flashing miui your contacts will automatically be restored to the phone
after your initial install of Miui you won't lose any apps/data/etc upgrading week to week. but thats a different topic (weekly update instructions back on page 1 first post i made) lets focus on getting your initial install complete.
Miui also has a built in Backup application that saves your call logs, text messages, updated and installed Applications etc. But you won't need to worry about that till after you get it installed.
lemme know when you get Miui installed and we'll go from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it´s already installed. I´ve followed your instructions and everything went smooth. It seems the problem that made me boot-loop was that wrong file really -> still wishing to know the difference between MTD and standard miui files for Vibrant.
fscussel said:
it´s already installed. I´ve followed your instructions and everything went smooth. It seems the problem that made me boot-loop was that wrong file really -> still wishing to know the difference between MTD and standard miui files for Vibrant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok so you should have a folder called "Tools" in that folder you will find a backup utility i recommend you use that for backing up everything before doing a weekly update (think of it as your oh **** button)
to add more folders to your screen just press and hold your screen to access your widgets and select folder and drag to the screen you want it on. no APP drawer in Miui so the folders really can help yah get everything organized.
also do NOT use it to back up your contacts otherwise when it restores them you will have 2 of everyone on your gmail and it's a hassle to edit. just keep your contacts synced with your Gmail account.
GPS fix (flash in CWR fix permissions afterward)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1199613
themes
http://forums.miui.us/forumdisplay.php?56-Development
Miui Mods (verify that they are compatible with your version of Miui before flashing any IE you should be on 1.8.5 if you followed my instructions as thats the latest version)
http://forums.miuiandroid.com/forumdisplay.php?36-MIUI-Mods
boystuff said:
ok so you should have a folder called "Tools" in that folder you will find a backup utility i recommend you use that for backing up everything before doing a weekly update (think of it as your oh **** button)
to add more folders to your screen just press and hold your screen to access your widgets and select folder and drag to the screen you want it on. no APP drawer in Miui so the folders really can help yah get everything organized.
also do NOT use it to back up your contacts otherwise when it restores them you will have 2 of everyone on your gmail and it's a hassle to edit. just keep your contacts synced with your Gmail account.
GPS fix (flash in CWR fix permissions afterward)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1199613
themes
http://forums.miui.us/forumdisplay.php?56-Development
Miui Mods (verify that they are compatible with your version of Miui before flashing any IE you should be on 1.8.5 if you followed my instructions as thats the latest version)
http://forums.miuiandroid.com/forumdisplay.php?36-MIUI-Mods
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it still necessary to use GPS FIX, I mean, didn´t they fix GPS in 1.8.5? When will they do it? what is that fix for? can I use any GPS app?
what do to do have the best battery life with MIUI?
cm7/miui has a wip (work in progress) gps as in no official gingerbread drivers released from samsung. the fix i linked is a more current fix and helps with quicker locking. other then that nothing really changed. you still have to reboot phone after turning gps on to get it to work.
as far as battery goes, find a dark colored theme, try the Glitch Kernel, and keep data turned off when in 3g+ areas unless your using it. Since theres no official samsung sourse for gingerbread battery life isn't as good as it was in froyo stock.
under settings you can set up a firewall to only allow certain applications and processes to access the net or only on wifi etc. modify that to your liking, change data settings to allow MMS even without data, and turn data off or change it to 2G/edge only. tweak little things like that to your liking after a few battery drains battery life will improve.
I don´t have a data plan so I want to block all data traffic, how to do that?
Also about the backup software you´ve mentioned, how to do the google contacts backup? if I don´t have a google account is there a problem in backuping contacts with the MIUI app?
isn´t the bali kernel better for battery?
So, after much research and trepidation, I flashed my first ROM to my i717 last week. Then I decided I didn't like that ROM and flashed another an hour later. So far it's been stable and speedy. I'm very happy. Thanks to XDA-Developers, Google, the Internet, and everyone who made this possible.
So, now, here's my simplified guide to doing what I did. This should NOT be taken as gospel. Please read as much as you can first. But, in an effort to give back, I thought a simple, step by step guide (or, more like links to the guides I found helpful) would be useful to someone. Are we sitting comfortably? Then let us begin.
1. Go here - http://rootgalaxynote.com/galaxy-no...y-note-sgh-i717-icsgingerbreadeasiest-method/ - and root your phone. It will also install ClockworkMod Recovery. Both of these need to be done before you can flash a new ROM.
NOTE: I hear that TWRP is the preferred recovery app. I've tried it and it's very nice. It just so happens that I had ClockworkMod installed when I actually decided to flash a ROM. But use whatever you like.
2. Go to the Play Store and buy Titanium Backup Pro. Well, actually, download the free version then buy the Pro key. There are other backup methods, but I like this one.
3. Backup EVERYTHING. You might never restore a particular app, but best to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I like to use the Google Drive option in Titanium to push by backup off my phone. But you can just hook it up to your PC and copy the backup folder from your SD card to your PC. This is just in case something REALLY bad happens. Best to have an off-phone backup.
4. Find a nice ROM to settle down with. I'm using Revolt (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2288566&highlight=revolt) but do your research and find one you like. If you decide to go with something built off Android 4.2 or 4.3 then you'll lose the Samsung Touchwiz stuff (fancy SPen features, etc.), but to me that wasn't as big a deal as I though.
NOTE: Make sure you know if the ROM need an additional Google Apps package. Sometimes they're listed with the ROM, sometimes not. Read and make sure or you could lose a lot of phone features or it may not even boot. Again, READING IS YOUR FRIEND.
5. Save the ROM (and GApps file if needed) to your phone's SD card (internal or external doesn't matter)
6. Boot into recovery (Hold Vol UP+Vol DOWN then press PWR and hold all 3 until you feel a vibration, then let go of PWR). When ClockworkMod (Or TWRP) comes up, RUN A BACKUP!
7. Read 6. Make sure you actually do it. I'll know.
8. Once you're sure you have your Titanium and ClockworkMod backups, follow the instructions for installing the ROM. Usually this involves (from ClockworkMod or TWRP):
a. Factory Reset
b. Wipe Cache (this is usually a part of Factory Reset, but doesn't hurt to do again)
c. Wipe Dalvik Cache (see cyanogen's response here for what this does - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=519495)
d. Flash new ROM
e, Flash Google Apps (you can also wipe cache and Dalvik cache between d and e)
9. Now the moment of truth. Reboot. Wait. This can take some time, so don't fret if it seems to be taking too long. I'd say if it's over 15 minutes then you might need to worry, but chill before then)
10. When it does boot, you'll basically have a fresh, new phone. You'll need to enter your Google account and follow all the usual stuff you did when you first got your phone.
11. Leave your phone alone now. You can click around, but don't install anything new just yet. I've seen many a post about letting things settle. So, maybe, poke around for 15-30 minutes just to see but don't change anything. Then Reboot
12. Now reinstall Titanium. You can start reinstalling your apps. DON'T reinstall standard apps or they could break (e.g. email app or its data) as the new ROM might not support the old version of the app. My rule of thumb is don't restore any data I can get back from my online accounts (Email, FB, G+, Keep, etc.). All of your pics and that should be on your SD card and should not need to be restored.
13. That's it. If you enabled a scheduled backup in Titanium you might want to disable it for a while to make sure you like what you have. That way, you can go back if you don't like it.
Hopefully that helps someone. Please forgive any mistakes or omissions and if anyone with more experience wants to give it a once over I'd appreciate it.
Thanks and good luck.
Sorry guy, but on step one there is a very high probability of someone bricking their phone.
Why? Because it has happened about 100 times over the past two years from people using that site/method. If you flash the wrong kernel you kill your precious.
You should edit your step to say in the strongest terms triple check your operating system and get the correct kernel.
And step one is unnecessary because all roms here are already rooted.
1. Flash TWRP using pc and Odin.
2. Download new rom.
3. Boot into recovery.
4. Wipe cache, system, data.
5. Flash rom. Boot and wait 10 minutes.
6. Check settings for networks.
7. Optional modem flash.
Only wipe that's needed is a factory reset within recovery. That wipes /cache too. The dalvik cache resides on the data partition and is thusly wiped as well.
The Rom will have a format /system line within the updater script.
And within titanium backup don't backup or restore system settings (anything in the list that's red.)
And as said rooting first isn't needed unless you've been using stock for awhile and have apps you'd like to backup first... the easiest way to root is simply flash the latest twrp with Odin.. boot into recovery... then when you go to reboot the system it'll see that you're not rooted and ask if you'd like to do so.
Thanks for the feedback. Like I hope I stressed, this is the method that worked for me.
I guess I have the terms mixed up in 1. I'm saying to install ClockworkMod (or TWRP) and root your phone. I want to root it here because I want Titanium installed before I change ROMS so I can go back to exactly how everything was before modding if I want. Does that make sense?
Also, can you tell me what's specifically wrong with the site I link in Step 1? I was on ICS at the time I think. Does it brick if you do it on JB?
I'll change the step to say to go here instead - http://teamw.in/project/twrp2/96
Is that better?
Also, can you explain your cache wipe suggestions. I've seen the official instructions say to Reset, then Wipe Cache, then Wipe Dalvik. I know the last 2 are included in the first, but why are we explicitly asked to do them again? Why do you think we don't?
My thinking behind adding it here is that it does no harm and if some devs think that not doing it will cause problems then why not include it to be extra safe.
If you wanted it back to the way it was before modding anything then you could flash a custom recovery and do a nandroid backup before rooting at all.
Titanium backup needs root. If you want your app data after flashing a rom then that's when it's needed.
As far as extra wiping... putting your arms over your head spinning in a circle while chanting a manta does no harm either and is just as effective.
When you flash as often as I do... you wanna streamline the process. Extra anything is just that... Extra... and is just a waste of time
His first step is correct. No one that I know has bricked their phone using those directions because that link does not install any kernels. And it never did. It works for all versions of android. Even after all this time there is so much misinformation given.
Studacris's help is as good as gold though. He has put me in my place in the past.
Thanks Everyone.