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i just got hold of a samsung vibrant in malaysia where i live.
i've been following xda alot but not in this section. i'm more windows mobile.
there's an extreme amount of reading to do so allow me to just ask a few questions. i'm still quite new to this android thing so allow me to apologise in advance first.
This is what's written on the about phone page on my vibrant.
2.1 update 1
T959uvjfd
kernel 2.6.29
eclair
Q1 - How outdated am i on firmware and i dunno what else there is ?
Q2 - Kies is a nightmare to use and it says there are no updates available. True ?
Q3 - Can i use a i9000 galaxy s rom ?
Q4 - Is there a rom or an application that asian countries need to use ?
Q5 - how do i tell if its hardwarelocked or not ? What is hardwarelocked anyway ? what is simlock and how do i tell if the vibrant i have is locked to anything ?
Q6 - Is it possible to use stock rom when i'm in malaysia and not the USA ? Will there be any difficulties ?
Q7 - i need to be able to see chinese characters so is there an app or some tweak that i would need to do ?
As starters i think i'd like to familiarise myself with a stock rom so that i can get used to it and proceed from there.
Based on this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857974
i'd like to use the rom but what is clockwork ?
thank you for your patience
sharkteef said:
i just got hold of a samsung vibrant in malaysia where i live.
i've been following xda alot but not in this section. i'm more windows mobile.
there's an extreme amount of reading to do so allow me to just ask a few questions. i'm still quite new to this android thing so allow me to apologise in advance first.
This is what's written on the about phone page on my vibrant.
2.1 update 1
T959uvjfd
kernel 2.6.29
eclair
Q1 - How outdated am i on firmware and i dunno what else there is ?
Q2 - Kies is a nightmare to use and it says there are no updates available. True ?
Q3 - Can i use a i9000 galaxy s rom ?
Q4 - Is there a rom or an application that asian countries need to use ?
Q5 - how do i tell if its hardwarelocked or not ? What is hardwarelocked anyway ? what is simlock and how do i tell if the vibrant i have is locked to anything ?
Q6 - Is it possible to use stock rom when i'm in malaysia and not the USA ? Will there be any difficulties ?
Q7 - i need to be able to see chinese characters so is there an app or some tweak that i would need to do ?
As starters i think i'd like to familiarise myself with a stock rom so that i can get used to it and proceed from there.
Based on this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857974
i'd like to use the rom but what is clockwork ?
thank you for your patience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the best place to start is here
thats a great guide written by s15274n.
but I'll try to answer some of your questions..
Q1 - there are 2 official firmwares out at this moment JFD (which you have) and JI6
Both of these are android 2.1 firmwares.
Some people see better gps lock times with JI6.
Most people also say it drains the battery faster
There are some extra apps on JI6 but nothing too spectacularly different.
There are a few unnoficial firmwares available such as JK2 and JK6 which are froyo 2.2 firmwares (the one you said you would like to download is a leaked version of an upcoming official firmware JK6)
So you are one update behind in official firmware or a few behind in unnofficial firmwares.
Thats not really a bad thing though, it just depends on your preference.
Q2 - you probably should not update via kies, but JI6 should be available through Kies mini if you must do it that way.
Q3 - you can use an i9000 rom though this is not recomended.
Especialy if your just starting.
If you use an i9000 ROM, you would need to use a vibrant kernel.
Otherwise the volume buttons will be reversed. (among other bugs).
Eugenes "Macnut" series of roms are based on i9000 source, and work wonderfully as they are.
If you must have an i9000 rom, at least these ROMs are ported specifically to the vibrant.
Q4 - Malaysia uses the 1800 and 900 bands, and the vibrant right out of the box supports 850, 900, 1800, and 1900
So as far as it working on your network, I think you'll be fine as long as your vibrant is sim unlocked.
Q5 - hardware locked is where you cannot get to recovery without using ADB (Android Debug Bridge)
You can check to see if you are hardware locked by trying to reboot into recovery.
To do this, turn the phone off and boot up while holding both volume up and volume down and the power button.
you can let go of the power button when you see the vibrant logo.
This should bring you to a recovery menu, although for some people, holding all of the buttons is pretty hard so dont get frustrated if it doesent work the first couple of times.
Sim Lock is where your phone is locked to a specific carrier (for the vibrant this is usualy t-mobile)
If you need to use the phone on a network besides t-mobile you will need to unlock it (if it is not unlocked already)
You can check the unlock status by opening the dialer and entering this number: *#7465256#
If entered correctly you will not have to hit dial, it will automaticaly bring up a menu when you enter the last # sign.
if everything in the list that pops up says "OFF" then your phone is unlocked, otherwise you are probably locked to t-mobile, and will need to unlock the phone to use it on another carrier.
Q6 - I dont think there would be any difficulties using whichever rom you like, although everything will obviously be in english.
Some apps do have language packs and such, so I'm not completly sure how difficult it will be as far as language barriers, but the phone will likely work fine (although there are some phone companies who's sim cards just dont work in the vibrant... mostly pay as you go ones)
Q7 - I'm not sure about languages, I've never used anything but english...
Q8 - Clockworkmod is a replacement recovery.
If you are rooted, all you need to do is get a hold of the rom manager app and hit the first option (flash clockworkmod recovery) then hit reboot into recovery (the second choice) and lastly hit reinstall packages while in the stock recovery menu.
You can probably find rom manager on this forum, if not I can find it for you if you need it.
Hopefully that helps a bit...
If not just keep asking and I will answer as best as I can, also read that guide at the top of my post, its a really good place to start.
i've read through your answers to my queries and am extremely satisfied with them. i've even understood more and more after beginning to experiment on rooting and flashing the rom using the rom manager. its easier than using odin.
the languages question i'll try to find out more by googling a little later on.
you have been a great help to me. i would not know where to start as the device is already in my hands and with an immense amount of reading to do, i just needed to shave some time off to read the more important stuff first. anxiety to begin using my device that is.
there is an option underlying somewhere that says USB debugging mode. what is that for ? i switched it off when i connected the vibrant to my winxp pc to enable me to copy some apk files over into the internal memory. do i need to re-tick it again ? where can i find that function ?
also i heard alot of talks about adb and launcherpro. i have no idea what those are.
are they like spb mobile shells for winmo devices ? or manila for windows mobile ?
there's still alot of exploration for me and i'm thankful for helpful people like you in the community.
I too am in the same boat except i'm based in the Philippines. I can get a hold of a T-Mobile Vibrant cheaply but am unsure if it will work here out of the box and where to start to make sure i make the most out of it if it is compatible with the local networks.
Q1: We use 900/1800 GSM and 2100 3G here. I'm sure voice will work but will i get 3G?
Q2: Is there a stock unbranded ROM i can immediately use? I want to avoid playing with custom ROMs while i'm still figuring out what's best for me.
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).
I have bought a SGS2 in China. It comes with Chinese firmware (has English language though) but mostly with Chinese software and without Android Market. So it does not sync with Google, searches go through Baidu, I can't find and install most apps so it's essentially not very fun to use.
I have been trying to exchange the Chinese firmware for European firmware using ODIN.
Sadly, this seems not to work: the flashing always fails, leaving my phone bricked until I reflash the Chinese firmware (which works fine). This Chinese firmware has a different format, i.e. there are no CSC, MODEM and CODE tarballs. Instead there is one single tarbar containing the following files
boot.bin
cache.img
factoryfs.img
hidden.img
modem.bin
param.lfs
Sbl.bin
zImage
I would be terribly grateful if someone could help me make my 500 euro phone useful, or at least I would like someone to tell me why this firmware cannot simply be installed on this phone.
ownhere --yeah the guy making googlemap mods -- is now making sgs2 rom based on china sgs2 rom
Go get it here
Thanks, but will this enable the Android market? It doesn't say so in the Chinese translated through Google Translate.. :/
umm.. i thought u can read chi ..
It will enable market for sure. Here's 2 captured pics of that rom
It's in Chinese but u may still recognize the market icon @ second line together with some other GG stuffs.
said Non-officially , china version i9100 has some easy-to-brick problem rooting and flashing eu/hk rom, so maybe u should try this ownhere rom.
Thanks! This sounds really promising! Does it support English language still? I'll try as soon as possible!
yeah every android handset supports english locale I guess.
like ur china version does.
Thanks again. By the way, why is it that Chinese I9100 models have this problem? Is it a different filesystem? How have they managed to block EU firmware from a phone whose hardware ought to be identical?
Does it have anything to do with the processor not being a Tegra2?
Oh delicious man! It works! So far at least, I've been able to add a Google account and download apps from the Android market. I'm the happiest person on the planet. 100% fact*
*probably
no idea.
It's a "It's said".
lol
Cool. I've been playing with it for a bit and am quite happy with it.
Some problems still remain, though.
1 The Reader's Hub and Social Hub are gone, not that I care that much
2 The MediaHub still only offers Chinese services, might want YouTube there
3 I don't find a phone software update button in the settings menu anymore (do I manually have to check for updates to this mod? Probably)
4 Adding a Credit Card to Google Market makes it become unresponsive (before I even am allowed to enter a card number). Might work better back in Europe.
5 I am now using a custom rom. I feel more comfortable with stock roms. I don't want to sound ungrateful but would love to know why I cannot simply flash European stock roms and how I could circumvent the barrier.
But a big thanks so far, it actually makes my phone usable and the GPS fix is fast as **** now!
Same as you all : look for a google open rom to flash on chinese I9100
Dear gluppfisk, You are a happy one with this cooked rom, accepted on chinese I9100, but including sone open application (google, market, ...).
But the link in the thread for this rom is now dead.
Is there someobe to reawke such a link ?
sspslv said:
dear gluppfisk, you are a happy one with this cooked rom, accepted on chinese i9100, but including sone open application (google, market, ...).
But the link in the thread for this rom is now dead.
Is there someobe to reawke such a link ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1111111 please
and a little words about how u did it, google translator makes me crazy
screem_3 said:
+1111111 please
and a little words about how u did it, google translator makes me crazy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's a little hard to understand via google translate... I clicked on the link for http://u.115.com/file/dn6hgajt... and then had to ask a friend in China to translate. Those are in the attached jpg's, below.
bluppfisk said:
This Chinese firmware has a different format, i.e. there are no CSC, MODEM and CODE tarballs. Instead there is one single tarbar containing the following files
boot.bin
cache.img
factoryfs.img
hidden.img
modem.bin
param.lfs
Sbl.bin
zImage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All official stock rom has only 1 tar file, containing the same files as above.
bluppfisk said:
Cool. I've been playing with it for a bit and am quite happy with it.
Some problems still remain, though.
1 The Reader's Hub and Social Hub are gone, not that I care that much
2 The MediaHub still only offers Chinese services, might want YouTube there
3 I don't find a phone software update button in the settings menu anymore (do I manually have to check for updates to this mod? Probably)
4 Adding a Credit Card to Google Market makes it become unresponsive (before I even am allowed to enter a card number). Might work better back in Europe.
5 I am now using a custom rom. I feel more comfortable with stock roms. I don't want to sound ungrateful but would love to know why I cannot simply flash European stock roms and how I could circumvent the barrier.
But a big thanks so far, it actually makes my phone usable and the GPS fix is fast as **** now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the same boat as you! Well, actually my brother is, he got a chinese SII from a friend, and I bought myself a european SII a few days ago, he definitly would like to have a regular EU SII
So +1 for you, looking for the same things
Hello there,
I have the same problem as OP, and i'd also like to know a way to flash this chinese SGSII with an european rom/custom rom (such as superfast litening rom).
Thanks !
mr_pause said:
Hello there,
I have the same problem as OP, and i'd also like to know a way to flash this chinese SGSII with an european rom/custom rom (such as superfast litening rom).
Thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
M.Pause...
I have the same issue. Bought in China, tried to load non-china ROM and soft-bricked my phone. After much research, it seems that the Chinese have locked out a good deal of the functionality from their version of the SGS2 and blocked the ability to download a non-chinese ROM to the phone. I keep hoping someone will figure out a way around this--like to repartition the phone and add a different boot loader... or something like that.
In the meantime, your best bet is to go to onwhere's website: http://bbs.gfan.com/maintain.html?20110906. This person apparently doesn't like that the chinese have them locked out of google marketplace. They have a hacked ROM that you can load into the phone and get most of your needed functionality. It's not great, but it's better than nothing. FYI, onwhere is chinese and so it the page. You'll need to go through google translate or the like. I also have some screen shots earlier in this thread that have some of the download links translated. You might want to check them out.
If you manage to figure out a different way around this, would you mind shooting me a message on this forum?
Thanks, G.
gmstrollo said:
M.Pause...
I have the same issue. Bought in China, tried to load non-china ROM and soft-bricked my phone. After much research, it seems that the Chinese have locked out a good deal of the functionality from their version of the SGS2 and blocked the ability to download a non-chinese ROM to the phone. I keep hoping someone will figure out a way around this--like to repartition the phone and add a different boot loader... or something like that.
In the meantime, your best bet is to go to onwhere's website: [strange forum rules]. This person apparently doesn't like that the chinese have them locked out of google marketplace. They have a hacked ROM that you can load into the phone and get most of your needed functionality. It's not great, but it's better than nothing. FYI, onwhere is chinese and so it the page. You'll need to go through google translate or the like. I also have some screen shots earlier in this thread that have some of the download links translated. You might want to check them out.
If you manage to figure out a different way around this, would you mind shooting me a message on this forum?
Thanks, G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, my phone is already flashed with onwhere's rom.
It's somewhat unstable and doing strange things sometimes, but it works.
If i find something i'll post here.
i got my sgs2 in malaysia it support chinese and english. my rom version is xwkf1 2.3.3(singapore ver) , think of flashing the lastest 2.3.4 which is europe rom . does europe lastest rom support chinese ?
It's still right here.
http://bbs.gfan.com/android-2099143-1-1.html
Hello there! Anyone with APKs for older versions of Swype? I don't like the one that came from KH3, my current rom. I like the older version better, the one that came with my original firmware (which I don't remember because i rooted and installed a custom rom right when I got home). That version had the pop-up word suggestion as opposed to the horizontal one in the newer version. Also, on the old version, I just need to tap the letters of an unknown word and it will be automatically added to my dictionary. With the new version, I need to press the "add to dictionary" button whenever I need to add a new word to the dictionary. This is really annoying.
Thanks for any help!
Good question, bump for that...why do companies downgrade functions in upgrades?
But also, you as a Singapore user, do you have keyboard support for traditional chinese on your KH3 ROM....specifically the use of a ㄅㄆㄇㄈ keyboard? The ㄅㄆㄇㄈ isn't swype enabled on mine btw.
I'd like to upgrade my ROM, but don't want to do the China KH3 as it uses Baidu for search instead of Googorolla.
Err.. I'm not a singapore user.. I'm filipino.. Sorry
downwiththebanksters said:
Good question, bump for that...why do companies downgrade functions in upgrades?
But also, you as a Singapore user, do you have keyboard support for traditional chinese on your KH3 ROM....specifically the use of a ㄅㄆㄇㄈ keyboard? The ㄅㄆㄇㄈ isn't swype enabled on mine btw.
I'd like to upgrade my ROM, but don't want to do the China KH3 as it uses Baidu for search instead of Googorolla.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
neilbantoc said:
Hello there! Anyone with APKs for older versions of Swype? I don't like the one that came from KH3, my current rom. I like the older version better, the one that came with my original firmware (which I don't remember because i rooted and installed a custom rom right when I got home). That version had the pop-up word suggestion as opposed to the horizontal one in the newer version. Also, on the old version, I just need to tap the letters of an unknown word and it will be automatically added to my dictionary. With the new version, I need to press the "add to dictionary" button whenever I need to add a new word to the dictionary. This is really annoying.
Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing complicate but I can not post the files here.
The idea is:
1. you need a root phone
2. uninstall the original version ( titanium backup can do that)
3. install the old version
By the way: what version and languages are you looking for?
I kinda know how to do that already, I just need the proper Swype .apk's.. Im looking for any version that does not have the word suggestions in the horizontal manner, instead in the pop-up that lists the suggestions vertically, just like the classis swype does. For language, english is the only language I need since there's no support for Filipino anyway.. I just add words to the dictionary..
badmania98 said:
Nothing complicate but I can not post the files here.
The idea is:
1. you need a root phone
2. uninstall the original version ( titanium backup can do that)
3. install the old version
By the way: what version and languages are you looking for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Guys as my title Says..
i need Help very Badly.
First of all MODS and USERS i'm sorry i didn't knew where to post this thread so if its in in-appropriate section please move it to correct section. THanks
OK my problem is this.
i recently (less than a week ago ) bought a Samsung Galaxy S2 its by Bell Canada and its i9100M. i bought it online since my service provider is Rogers.
i guess this phone is already rooted to unlock it and i can see CWM and SU icon there.
Well i'm a Hardcore Blackberry Fan and have been using Blackberries from last 6 years. I loved the new samsung because of it looks and its screen.
I Had Lot of Problem with it like setting up my yahoo as push email, setting the Ringtone Profile, setting up the Custom Ringtones for Text Messages..
Having wrong time stamps on Recieved TEXT Message.. well i fixed all those by installing apps from market and forwarding my yahoo to my gmail...
i Hated doing all that but infront of the beauty of this phone i had to compromise but today it took 3 hours to find my gps location and day by day im using it i'm hating it .....
SO OK I DID MY RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT ALOT... the more i'm researching the more i'm getting confused...
first of all what is the difference between custom ROM and KERNEL.
i know custom rom could be like operating system but customized by unofficial person.
what the h is KERNEL..
to install rom's or kernel do i really have to root.
To unlock do i have to root or is there a paying method.
also i want to know if i'll go back to stock rom can i still unlock it.and recieve all the updates from samsung or google specially when ICS will be launched.
after unlocking and installing custom root. can i unroot it
and lastly which is best custom kernel and which is the best rom availble.
since been a blackberry user i have very basic needs. i don't play any games or download much apps and if an app is paid..i'll pay for it.. i don't want to jailbreak anything .
all i need is better battery life, gps and network coverage.
Thanks for taking time to read and reply.
Hi there.
I'll try and get through your questions as simply as possible,
Imagine your phone is like a car
A kernel is like the engine of a car - it's the low level machinery that keeps it going.
The Rom is like the body of the car around the engine. Roms can be official (or Stock Roms), or they can be customised by other people.
So, when you install a stock rom - you're installing the kernel, but you're also installing the radio (called a modem or baseband) and the registration (or the CSC which is location specific information) as well as the unique 'body' of the car for that rom - tweaks, default software, etc.
You don't have to have rooted your phone to install a Rom. When you update your phone via Kies, you are, literally, installing an stock rom. You can even install stock roms from elsewhere without rooting your phone. Because stock roms are released in different regions at different times, lots of people update their phones to the latest official roms via this method - no root required.
However, to install a custom, unofficial rom, you will need to root your phone as they will require access to the 'root level directory' of your phone's file system - which is what root really means.
You can find everything you need to know about that, how to root and also lots of stock roms you can install without rooting here:
Some shops will root you phone for you if you want to go down that path and don't want to risk it. But it's easier than you think and the galaxy s2 is very hard to break. There's lots of help available on XDA - just remember to search before you ask so you don't ask a common question the millionth time.
If you have installed a custom rom you can easily re-install a stock rom over it that will still work with Kies and thus be updateable when ICS turns up.
There is no 'best' Rom or kernel. Some Roms go 'as is' and some are customisable to the nth degree if you like fiddling with your phone non-stop. I personally use CheckRom because I like the kitchen app that lets you swap kernels, modems and mods with ease - but check out the Original Android Development threads and see which other roms you like the sound of.
Depending on what you are currently running, a new rom - even a stock one if you're running a very old one - could easily help with battery and range issues. For GPS - try installing FasterFix from the market and see if reassigning your GPS fix to a closer location helps.
Best of luck - it's a great phone once you open up its possibilities
Thanks a lot for the reply
well your reply did help me a lot...
my phone is been already rooted by someone else already from the person i bought it....
as for searching i did a lot.. and its been confusing me more and more ..well thanks for your answer
also as u said S2 is hard to break..i guess u mean is that the JIG thing on EBAY
and as for flashing the stuff i've played with other stuff just not android thing ive replaced the os on BB and jailbreaked iphones and installed macintosh on HP PC and also worked on most of the languages 10 years ago... and i believe nothing is impossible so going to someone else is never an option for me
just want to know as much as stuff i can before going further
well i have few more questions
how can i find which rom or kernel is already installed...
i mean is it possible to tell if its stock or its customized and its customized by which group.
and one last thing.. u know the words u used modem and baseband...
i read about it before...
but my question is ...
IS THE BASEBAND ANYTHING LIKE IPHONE BASEBAND???
u know in iPhones when baseband is updated u r screwed sometimes its hard to jailbreak and definately hard to unlock and reverting changes to baseband....
is it the samething in Galaxy S2 as well...
Thanks a lot for replying...i really appreciate all the time you took to reply.
Thanks once again.
Yeah baseband is the code that handles the phone part of your smartphone. Talking to your wireless provider, 3G, texts all these things are done by baseband.
Flashing a different baseband won't screw your root, and you'd still be rooted. Samsung doesn't make it hard to root as Apple does to jailbreaking. Even if something goes wrong with a new version, you can always revert back to old one using Odin(Samsung ROM flashing tool) and you are good to go.
Thanks a lot... about that quick reply...
i'm gonna collect more information and hopefully i'll be flashing it on weekend...
but how can i find which rom or kernel is already installed...
i mean is it possible to tell if its stock or its customized and its customized by which group
Everything you need to know can be found here. Most of it, anyway.
Backup your device with cwm when rooted ... So you can always restore to previous state. ;-)
Good luck there. But reading is a must.
SGS II - XDA
blackberryfan said:
thanks a lot... About that quick reply...
I'm gonna collect more information and hopefully i'll be flashing it on weekend...
But how can i find which rom or kernel is already installed...
In your dialer type *#1234#
info will apear. Now read chainfire's tutorial how to root your device ....
I mean is it possible to tell if its stock or its customized and its customized by which group
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Setting went wrong when quoting
sgs ii - xda
also you can go settings - about phone - then look at the bottom fields to see kernel, baseband and build. Quote those and we should be able to tell what you have.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App