[Q] S2 i9100p crashing + battery issues - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi guys,
At the beginning of this year, I flashed the phone from vr 3.0 to ics:-
Rom: ICS
And' ver: 4.1.2
Baseband: i9100XXLS6
Kernel: 3.0.31-462349 [email protected] #3 SMP PREEMPT Tue Nov 6 02:42:23 KST 2012
Build No: JSO54K.I9100XXLSJ
It ran okay, although now and again the phone would freeze for a couple of seconds, but then continue working fine. But over the last month it has developed the following problems:-
1. Freezes and reboots on a regular basis
2. On many occasions after reboot, battery goes from a good 90% to suddenly 10-20%
3. Even with a different battery from a friend's s2, the phone still does freeze/lock.
I have ordered a brand new battery (2000mAh) from orange, but whilst i'm waiting for that to arrive, I would like to reflash to whatever you can recommend. I want to preferably go back to the latest orange brand fw and see if that resolves the problem.
Could you please clarify the following for me?:-
1. How do i fully backup everything (excluding rom!!) and how do i restore it?
2. Is the latest Orange FW Version 4.0.3 which was released on jan 2013?
3. Once reflashed, how do i root it too?
Thanks

---

wowandroid said:
1. How do i fully backup everything (excluding rom!!) and how do i restore it?
2. Is the latest Orange FW Version 4.0.3 which was released on jan 2013?
3. Once reflashed, how do i root it too?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. U can use Titanium Backup to fully backup all ur apps and their data. As for ur personal info (like contacts, messages), u can find many apps in the Playstore (like Super Backup).
2. Check sammobile.com to see.
3. There are many guides here on how to root ur device. Different firmwares have different methods. So I can't really say which unless I know what ur gonna flash.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine"
Sent from my SGS II

---

Thanks very much immortalneo.
I checked the sammobile.com site and found the I9100PBVLPE_I9100PORALPE_ORA to be the latest firmware for my orange uk mobile, which i believe is ICS 4.0.3 fw. Now how would i root this fw?

---

wowandroid said:
Thanks very much immortalneo.
I checked the sammobile.com site and found the I9100PBVLPE_I9100PORALPE_ORA to be the latest firmware for my orange uk mobile, which i believe is ICS 4.0.3 fw. Now how would i root this fw?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is the latest firmware. You can root it easily using ExynosAbuse (search again).
"To err is human, to forgive is divine"
Sent from my SGS II

---

thats absolutely brilliant! thanks!
btw, i can't use titanium backup as the phone has not been rooted, so i'm using super backup to backup all apps, sms, contacts etc.
i will let you know if i have any issue

---

hi again mate,
i managed to reflash the original 4.0.3 fw onto the s2 and although this seems slower than previous ics, i guess i'll have to try it out and see how it goes.
i've ran into a problem with ExynosAbuse though. When i click on "root device", it says "FAILURE: Could not root device". Any ideas why? what fix should i use?
Also what is a fast firmware that doesn't have too much bloatware and allows a good battery life?

---

Hi again,
First of all, I would like to say thanks for all the help and advice. I really appreciate it.
After flashing the orange stock rom, I found that the phone was still freezing, rebooting and battery losing it's charge. I have now got a new battery for it and that has resolved these issues which i'm very happy about.
Unfortunately, the phone is still jerky and even my new budget ZTE Blade III seems to be more faster/smoother than the S2!!
I have tried numerous roms and they all seem to be jerky.
I want to know the following please:-
1. Could it be a ram/cpu issue?
2. What rom would you say puts the least pressure on ram/cpu? Can you recommend one?
3. How do i put on the recommended rom? Odin or a different method?
Thanks!

---

BUMP!

---

1) Maybe.
2) No. Rom recommendations/threads are forbidden here:-
A) Because there's hundreds of them on here already.
B) Your experience of a rom or kernel will not be the same as mine due to different phone setup & use.
B) Given how easy it is to flash roms & kernels/backup/restore with CWM once you've rooted your phone, there's no excuse for you to not try out a bunch of roms until you find one that works well for you. If you try a rom & you find you don't like it, you restore a backup of your previous setup in 5 minutes & either try another rom or stick to your previous setup.
3) The flashing instructions for a given rom will be on the first page of the thread devoted to that rom. Most custom roms are flashed via CWRecovery, a few have Odin flashable versions. Most stock roms on the other hand are Odin flashable, tho people here have also made CWM flashable versions of some stock roms.
The advice is to read read read read read read. Not doing so is the number 1 cause of busted phones on here.

---

Thanks very much MistahBungle.
You see, I've already tried loads of roms and I get the same problem, i.e. the phone apps work flawlessly, but there is a lag when i scroll through the home screens. I thought it might be the bloated orange stock rom, so tried villianrom, neatrom and many others. I tried to also clear the ram, just incase it's a lack of memory issue, but had no luck.
Can you recommend anything else?

---

*coughs*
Didn't read 2) eh ? No. I won't recommend you a rom. Because it may not solve your problems & you won't have the same experience as me.
Edit - Oh. Right. 'Other' recommendations. Well, the lag you're talking about (in my experience) seems to often be kernel related. Perhaps try a bunch of kernels rather than roms ? 'Clearing' ram will often make system lag worse. Android does a pretty good job at memory management, so there's no need to 'clear ram'. You may notice that Android often doesn't leave a lot of 'free' ram, this is by design. It tends to reserve free ram for 'itself'/system processes in case it needs it at short notice, this is somewhat normal.

---

sorry mate, i think you've misread what i'm asking...i'm not asking for a rom recommendation, but i want to know if there is anything i could do to improve the scroll lag/jerk effect?

---

Yep - read my edit.

---

Good idea, thanks very much. Although i assumed that a stock rom would have a good kernel.
Is it hard to install a kernel on an unrooted phone? FYI, I plan to install Neatrom (apps removed) it comes with Kernel: XWLSS-v5.00.4-PhilZ. Don't know if this is any good???

---

Some kernels have Odin flashable versions, some not. Personally speaking, I'd prefer rooted & flash via CWRecovery because its easy.
Can't speak for that particular kernel, never tried it. Never tried the rom either.

---

Cheers buddy.
Hopefully once i flashed Neatrom using Odin, then i should be able to root it.

---

wowandroid said:
Cheers buddy.
Hopefully once i flashed Neatrom using Odin, then i should be able to root it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, u don't need to root NeatRom, as it is already rooted.
And Philz kernel is the stock kernel itself. If you want to try a different kernel than stock, try Siyah or Dorimanx.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine"
Sent from my SGS II

---

sounds way too complicated to change the kernel as i've never done it.
if i install neatrom and assuming it's still giving me problems, how do i change it's kernel to the ones you've mentioned?

---

wowandroid said:
sounds way too complicated to change the kernel as i've never done it.
if i install neatrom and assuming it's still giving me problems, how do i change it's kernel to the ones you've mentioned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No no.. its not at all complicated.. just make sure u don't flash the wrong kernel, that's all (read instructions carefully)
If ur on NeatRom (which has a custom CWM recovery), its very easy:
1. Download the correct custom kernel (in zip format) from XDA.
2. Copy it to ur phone.
3. Boot into CWM recovery.
4. Flash the kernel zip (just like flashing a custom rom).
5. Wipe cache, dalvik cache and fix permissions in recovery.
6. Reboot.
7. Give the new kernel a few days to settle.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine"
Sent from my SGS II

---

Thanks so much immortalneo. I know some of us noobs will bang on about the same issues, again and again, but it's just a jungle out there with the choice of roms etc. Also i want is the least bloated rom and smooth screen etc.
Now i know i've may have already asked this earlier, but immortalneo, would you know which kernel is known to have fast speed?