Hi guys,
I plan to buy on June 14th the Galaxy S2 on Bell Canada network, it will replace my Pre2.
I was wondering if you can recommend me a specific ROM that will get rid of TouchWiz and allow me to run Gingerbread stock. I'm not familiar at all with Android, as I never use it before. That is the main reason why I rather ask the question here instead of searching, as I would not know what to search for.
A little about myself: I'm a Linux head (Redhat advanced + Ubuntu).
Thank you for your your help.
If you realy want to delete touch wiz, you'll have to root your phone otherwise you can't get rid of touch wiz, however you can run a different launcher and having touch wiz on your phone.
Hi Viletung. In WebOS, it takes me about 30 seconds to root the phone.
Yet that retains all the phone settings unchanged, while allowing me to install packages, manipulate data, etc. Is it the same thing with SGS2?
I guess my question is: is it recommended to root the phone? I'm curious if most of Android users root their phone. I know I rooted my Palm Pre/Pre2 phones 5min after I got them. I read on the Internet that certain ROM's are built on stock Gingerbread (without TouchWiz), allowing the phone to save on battery and run much smoother with less used resources. Obviously, if you install a new ROM it will void the warranty.
I'm at a point where I'm learning the basics, so any advice is appreciated.
Hello!
I've installed Lite'ning rom 1.5, which has root access. And to flash it takes about one minute!
When I got this phone, I knew it was possible to root my phone, but I was scared that I would screw something up and break the device.
Now, it's about one month after I got this phone and I must say after rooting the device, deleting some standard Samsung **** (Social Hubs etc..), my SGSII isn't draining battery as it used to do before I deleted some stuff. (Including TouchWiz)
But I have also a JIG, to reset the custom kernel counter, just incase I need my warranty back.
So my final conclusion is; I can't life without root! I like to edit the system icons (battery-, wifi icon and much more).
If you have any questions, I'll try to help you
Rooting, yes do it. It's easy, does no harm, and opens up neat options.
Just get Villainrom which is updated to version 2.0. It's built on android 2.3.4, fixing the 2.3.3 battery drain bug (which occured on all phones running 2.3.3).
If you want your stock gingerbread experience, there is a rom out there which tries to replicate this, but I recommend using a 'better' rom with a custom launcher mimicking Gingerbread. Since there's not a lot of difference than just a different launcher (home-menu).
Most dont root but most are not on XDA and dont know anything bar stock . I would guess most XDA users root .
I'm at a point where I'm learning the basics, so any advice is appreciated.
To a certain extent its been a learning curve for the devs as SGS 2 is different to SGS1 .Expect even more development as the days go by .
jje
Thanks a lot guys for the info.
prodygee said:
Rooting, yes do it. It's easy, does no harm, and opens up neat options.
Just get Villainrom which is updated to version 2.0. It's built on android 2.3.4, fixing the 2.3.3 battery drain bug (which occured on all phones running 2.3.3).
If you want your stock gingerbread experience, there is a rom out there which tries to replicate this, but I recommend using a 'better' rom with a custom launcher mimicking Gingerbread. Since there's not a lot of difference than just a different launcher (home-menu).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I want to have the latest version of Android, I don't really care about Gingerbread. How do updates work on Android (i.e. updating to Ice Cream Sandwich eventually)? On WebOS, updates are done automatically from your carrier or Palm/HP (if you had an unlocked phone like myself). Even if I rooted my phone, I would be able to update the phone firmware with a simple download and retain the rooted aspect of the phone.
About rooting, what did you used? I'm looking at Odin and SuperOneClick... is there something better/safer? One more time, thank you.
Official updates via Kies over PC only .
Rooting is usually lost on update .
Rooting via Chainfire
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399
jje
yqed said:
I was wondering if you can recommend me a specific ROM that will get rid of TouchWiz and allow me to run Gingerbread stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you use it for a least a few seconds before ditching it, there's no aosp gingerbread anyway so you're stuck with it until cm7 comes along.
I want to root the phone and replace the ROM mainly because I heard that TouchWiz is running on top of current OS. I could disable TouchWiz, indeed. The issue is: I do not know how upgrades are performed into phone. From the above posts, I have to do it myself is not an automated download/install like WebOS does it.
So, if a new Android version is released, I have to download it myself? For example, my phone comes with 2.3.3 installed but 2.3.4 is released already. Will my phone ask me to download the latest version automatically upon release? I presume not, I have to download and install it myself. Using logic, that is done by either installing a ROM or getting the upgrade from mobile provider.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
yqed said:
So, if a new Android version is released, I have to download it myself? For example, my phone comes with 2.3.3 installed but 2.3.4 is released already. Will my phone ask me to download the latest version automatically upon release? I presume not, I have to download and install it myself. Using logic, that is done by either installing a ROM or getting the upgrade from mobile provider.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's correct, and is one of the main reasons people root their Androids so that when a new version comes out we can download it straight away and don't have to wait for the carrier to officially release it, which usually takes a lot longer than it does for the devs here to put something together. E.g. there are a few ROMs already in the dev forum based on 2.3.4, but there is not yet any official update.
Thanks guys much appreciated. I will probably have more questions, once I have the phone on hand.
yqed said:
I want to root the phone and replace the ROM mainly because I heard that TouchWiz is running on top of current OS. I could disable TouchWiz, indeed. The issue is: I do not know how upgrades are performed into phone. From the above posts, I have to do it myself is not an automated download/install like WebOS does it.
So, if a new Android version is released, I have to download it myself? For example, my phone comes with 2.3.3 installed but 2.3.4 is released already. Will my phone ask me to download the latest version automatically upon release? I presume not, I have to download and install it myself. Using logic, that is done by either installing a ROM or getting the upgrade from mobile provider.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android phones get new updates over the air when available, just like web os. Only Samsung does their own thing which is different on the sgs2 than on normal android devices. .
Which is, providing updates through an unnecessary software suite called KIES. You won't see an update available message on your phone.
yqed said:
Hi guys,
I plan to buy on June 14th the Galaxy S2 on Bell Canada network, it will replace my Pre2.
I was wondering if you can recommend me a specific ROM that will get rid of TouchWiz and allow me to run Gingerbread stock. I'm not familiar at all with Android, as I never use it before. That is the main reason why I rather ask the question here instead of searching, as I would not know what to search for.
A little about myself: I'm a Linux head (Redhat advanced + Ubuntu).
Thank you for your your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just install a launcher fromthe Android Store. There's plenty of good ones like LauncherPro, GX Launcher, 7 launcher. Their all relatively good and fully functional.
OK, I got the phone (16GB model) today from FutureShop and played with it a bit. It is a great phone indeed...
Phone Info (might be useful for devs)
Network: Bell Canada
Model: GT-I9100M
Android Version: 2.3.3
Baseband Version: I9100MUGKG2
Kernel Version: 2.6.35.7-I9100MUGKG2-CL371789 [email protected] #2
Build Number: GINGERBREAD.UGKG2
Now, on with the usual:
Bell bundled the phone with several crap apps like Self Serve, TeleNav GPS (how stupid is that on an Android), Remote PVR, etc.
I will follow your advice and use the phone for now as is, without any fancy stuff done to it (like a new ROM). I would like to get rid of the Bell proprietary apps (physical delete), let me know if is possible. I guess if the phone is rooted it should be easy, the trick is to know how to delete the apps from the phone.
Another question: How do I install the Samsung drivers, without installing the blotted KIES?
I looked for a clean package with SGS2 drivers only but I could not find anything... All I want is to go to Device Manager and point a directory.
I must admit that Android is a totally new experience, coming from WebOS. I'm pretty much lost, heh. I know I sound like a noob, so please forgive me if I ask some simple questions that I can get the answer with a search or just by reading the phone instructions (haven't had the time to read the documentation).
This seems like a long shot, but I'm wondering if there's any way to install an older version of the Android OS. I know it seems counterintuitive to want an OLDER version of Android, but it'd be really handy for app-testing purposes if I could switch between versions of the OS without resorting to emulators. Please let me known if you have any ideas.
P.S. I only have access to Nexus S and Galaxy S II phones right now, which both shipped with 2.3, so flashing an original, pre-update ROM isn't an option.
Well you can only downgrade to what's available. The phones only came with 2.3+ so it's not like you can put 2.1 or 1.6 on it. There wouldn't be any support as drivers weren't written for those versions.
I know this is kind of a noob question, but what are the challenges that need to be overcome to make a quality ROM? For example, I have a T-Mobile G2x, and all of the ICS roms are still a little unstable, I assume because the T-Mobile version hasn't been released yet. Is it just trying to reverse engineer drivers that makes it take so long?
What makes installing Android different from installing Windows or Linux on a PC? Again, is it just the drivers, or something else?
Sorry if this has been posted before, I couldn't find anything in the search.
bump
I've been reading forums and searching forums all day, but can't seem to find a definitive answer to whether I'll be able to root my specific version of tablet or not, there's so many different types, build numbers, UK versions/US versions my head is close to blowing! Any advice would be soo much appreciated.
I bought a tablet off Ebay, a GT-7510 (US version I think, although I live in the UK) which came with Honeycomb installed. I then updated OTA to ICS 4.0.4, but it seems pretty laggy in general compared to the other Galaxy tabs I've seen, now I'm at the point where I'd like to root it and try some custom roms to see if they're any better than the stock ICS rom.
Here is the info for my tab which I think is relevant:-
Android Version 4.0.4
Kernel version 3.1.10
Build number IMM76D.UELPL
I've found so many different methods of how to root certain variations, but can't be certain if one of them applies to my tablet, whether I'd have to flash it back to Honeycomb, whether it only works for UK or US versions etc etc, that I've given up searching and thought I'd start my own post, and hope that somebody could tell me whether I can definitely root my device, and which would be the best method to do it? I have no warranty on my device as it's a refurb, so rooting doesn't bother me, but I'm worried about using the wrong method and bricking it.
Really hope somebody can help me, thanks very much in advance for any advice.
meehog said:
I've been reading forums and searching forums all day, but can't seem to find a definitive answer to whether I'll be able to root my specific version of tablet or not, there's so many different types, build numbers, UK versions/US versions my head is close to blowing! Any advice would be soo much appreciated.
I bought a tablet off Ebay, a GT-7510 (US version I think, although I live in the UK) which came with Honeycomb installed. I then updated OTA to ICS 4.0.4, but it seems pretty laggy in general compared to the other Galaxy tabs I've seen, now I'm at the point where I'd like to root it and try some custom roms to see if they're any better than the stock ICS rom.
Here is the info for my tab which I think is relevant:-
Android Version 4.0.4
Kernel version 3.1.10
Build number IMM76D.UELPL
I've found so many different methods of how to root certain variations, but can't be certain if one of them applies to my tablet, whether I'd have to flash it back to Honeycomb, whether it only works for UK or US versions etc etc, that I've given up searching and thought I'd start my own post, and hope that somebody could tell me whether I can definitely root my device, and which would be the best method to do it? I have no warranty on my device as it's a refurb, so rooting doesn't bother me, but I'm worried about using the wrong method and bricking it.
Really hope somebody can help me, thanks very much in advance for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the P7510, rooting it is dead easy - just download a recovery and flash it using ODIN. See the rooting guides here. Honeycomb doesn't complicate things at all.
Thanks k1mu, when you say honeycomb doesn't complicate it at all, some of the guides I've read specify that they're for honeycomb installations only, I have the stock ICS rom which was installed OTA, is Android version not an issue anymore, and the guides will work no matter which version you have installed? Also, my tablet is a GT-7510, not a P7510, not sure what the difference is, if any? Sorry if I seem dumb, just want to be sure before I go ahead.
Thanks very much for your help.
Just to update for anybody searching who is as confused as I was, I got root access using this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2029664 from user Jovimon.
Ii have a motorola fire xt532, with android 2.3.7 on it, i realize that some of the newer versions of the droid OS may not be compatible, so does anyone know what is the newest possible version i can install on my phone? i'm new to android, but have done this with blackberries before, so i have some basic knowledge, i just need a point in the right direction. also, where can i get the new andoid OS from? i have been unable to find android os for download via PC, and what other software will i need on my pc to complete this?
FYI: i read alot of posts and havent found anything related to the 532, and i see alot of people's answer to upgrading to newer versions of android is "go to about phone and upgrade software" well android 2.3.7 does NOT have that option, or i wouldnt be asking and searching thread after thread. I appreciate any help in the right direction, and your time for the help.