Questions before diving in - Hero CDMA Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello folks, I know ill have no problems flashing the phone to a new rom (not worried about bricking it) but one thing after searching these forums I havnt found is how hard is it to go back to stock if you dont like said rom
I dont even know why I am flashing it, my phone works great, seems snappy enough but im one of those types of people that just has to toy with things.
So id just like some information for you guys first what i asked above but also why do you use custom roms does the phone work better, all I read about is apps not working? is there an added benefit to flashing?
Most important to me though is how hard and the steps to revert back to stock
Thanks alot

sprockets2000 said:
Hello folks, I know ill have no problems flashing the phone to a new rom (not worried about bricking it) but one thing after searching these forums I havnt found is how hard is it to go back to stock if you dont like said rom
I dont even know why I am flashing it, my phone works great, seems snappy enough but im one of those types of people that just has to toy with things.
So id just like some information for you guys first what i asked above but also why do you use custom roms does the phone work better, all I read about is apps not working? is there an added benefit to flashing?
Most important to me though is how hard and the steps to revert back to stock
thanks alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, all you need to do is download the stock RUU which will return your phone to it's original factory settings. There have been a few people who've encountered an error running this utility to retorn to stock but it has been very rare and has only affected a small percentage of the population of hero owners. Worse-case scenario, you can try and get a warranty replacement or use your TEP plan if you are enrolled in it.
I find I enjoy the phone more with a custom rom for several reasons. It feels more responsive and usable, also I am a true gadget-head and tweaking customizing and playing around with my phone is just in my nature. Android as a platform is well suited to this kind of mentality and is even encouraged.
Of course there is also the current situation we are in that we are able to run a newer version of android than what is available from the manufacturer at this time.
Then you can get into custom themes etc etc.

Related

why shoud i upgrade my rom?

im going to be getting 2 8125s, looking around some web pages people are upgrading there phones software, why? is the one the phone comes with that bad?
Different systems offer different things. If you have a NEED for one of those things, you may want to consider it. If you take a look around you might also notice that there are more than a couple people who had no idea what they were doing but didn't let that stop them and trashed their phone. It's a really good idea to read, read and then read some more before putting a new system on the device. Know what you're getting into and know what the potential problems are and what you can do about them. Is your device a G3 or a G4? Better know or there's a 50/50 chance of turning your device into an expensive paperweight. More, your warrantee disappeared the moment you started the process. This isn't to say changing the system is fraught with danger, it can be a smooth process if you know what you're doing and follow the directions. But personally, I break into a sweat every time I do it and, not to take away from the guys that create them but I've decided that these custom ROMs just aren't worth it so I stick to the operator ROMs. They've gotten quite good lately, they're operator supported and they don't void your warrantee.
thats what im thinking, being the phone has been out for a while, all the bugs should be worked out.
I upgraded mostly for the better stability. After the 2.17 rom upgrade I really haven't noticed much better speed. But its alot better then when I first got the system.
First of all let me say that is the best n00b post ever from what i have seen!!! you didnt ask a question that has been covered a million times!!!
different strokes for different folks... if you get yours and your happy with its performance and loaded software then there is no need to upgrade... I think most of us have gone for performance and functionality... we were/are happy with the phone overall, but just want to squeeze just a little more out of it then research your options...
just like the old saying, if its not broke then dont fix it.. if your happy, then dont change it... changing roms on these can lead to headaches if your not experienced

OK guys need a couple suggestions...

I'm new to the PPC world, my 8125 gets here today or tomorrow and I've been looking into programs and all that I can do to optimize my experience with it. But given I don't have the phone yet and am a total newb regarding this, I was wondering, what are the first things I need to do to improve my PPC and get software/freeware onto it? Like can I just download the apps onto the device or storage card and install them or is there something I overlooked? Just tryna figure out what to do and what NOT to do... an overall list of must-have apps (freeware or not) would be nice to have too if someone's kind enough.
Anyways, thanks a lot and I'm pretty hyped about getting the phone and playing around with it
This could be a starting point, pretty comprehensive and well organised:
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/applications/128278-best-pocket-pc-freeware-starting-point.html
Rest you will figure out once you start using it. All the best.
cool, thanks for the help but i dont just want an app list, i want to know like what are the first things you should do to get ready for smooth operation, like (i still havent got this) wt is a/the ROM? is it something that doesnt come with the ppc and i gotta get it to be able to use something else? or does a stock one come with the ppc and im supposed to get a better one? stuff like that, cuz im like TOTALLY new to ppc, like i'll probably figure out most the stuff but I want to be safe first
I think you have been reading a lot about ROMS on this forum! Well ROM is nothing but the basic operating system on which the PPC runs most of the times these are customised by the operator you buy the phone from. So basic settings are there like GPRS, MMS, Homepage etc. You really don't need to worry about ROMs right now, first get the phone, play around, install 3rd party softwares and slowly you will figure out what is what. Keep reading the threads here, you will find a lot of knowledge from Gurus, but you gotta to be patient and read as much as you can. Because anything you try with ROM can be dangerous for the phone. You could even 'brick' it. You could even lose your warranty. So right now after you get the phone just toy around and have fun, forget ROM right now. And don't worry your phone is ready to run smoothly as it is.
kull said:
I think you have been reading a lot about ROMS on this forum! Well ROM is nothing but the basic operating system on which the PPC runs most of the times these are customised by the operator you buy the phone from. So basic settings are there like GPRS, MMS, Homepage etc. You really don't need to worry about ROMs right now, first get the phone, play around, install 3rd party softwares and slowly you will figure out what is what. Keep reading the threads here, you will find a lot of knowledge from Gurus, but you gotta to be patient and read as much as you can. Because anything you try with ROM can be dangerous for the phone. You could even 'brick' it. You could even lose your warranty. So right now after you get the phone just toy around and have fun, forget ROM right now. And don't worry your phone is ready to run smoothly as it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool thats wt i wanted to know and yh i was reading about ROM and about unlocking and stuff and i dunno if that is necessary or recommended, but if u say its ready to run as it is thats fine cuz i just wanna have it do wt it can do, and have a few good customizations/apps that make life easier .. well i'll continue to read though after i get the phone
kull said:
I think you have been reading a lot about ROMS on this forum! Well ROM is nothing but the basic operating system on which the PPC runs most of the times these are customised by the operator you buy the phone from. So basic settings are there like GPRS, MMS, Homepage etc. You really don't need to worry about ROMs right now, first get the phone, play around, install 3rd party softwares and slowly you will figure out what is what. Keep reading the threads here, you will find a lot of knowledge from Gurus, but you gotta to be patient and read as much as you can. Because anything you try with ROM can be dangerous for the phone. You could even 'brick' it. You could even lose your warranty. So right now after you get the phone just toy around and have fun, forget ROM right now. And don't worry your phone is ready to run smoothly as it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YUP !!!
Very wise advise by Kull,the phone already comes with pre-installed OS (Rom) by the operator,you don't have to install it separately,it may be installed with the latest OS wm6,but even if it comes with a wm5 OS version Rom ,just use and enjoy it,get a grip of all the functions,it's hell of a device.
The Roms discussed here are mainly upgrades to wm6,which was launched later by Microsoft and the phones earlier came with wm5 Roms,therefore,people like to upgrade to wm6.It requires some procedures to unlock and upgrade with a risk of getting it Bricked,so it;s not advisable for you to consider it,as yet.ok
And ,of course, CONGRATS !!!
yh id rather stick with the OS it comes with for now but i was just wondering if i needed to upgrade anything to get some nice apps on it but nvm thnx a lot i think i might be gettin it today hopefully

Question from a noob.

Hi all, I have had a search around and cant find the answer to my question. I expect to get flamed, but here goes.
Having access to all the great roms here, I still dont know which to go for. Many have asked the same thing, but the answer is always the same try them out for yourself. I appreciate the hard work that goes into cooking the roms (or maybe I dont as I would never attempt it) and no one wants to say which is better, but to those of us who are either noobs or just want an improved kaiser the time involved trying them all out can be prohibitive.
I would love to have a new rom that does what I want and then to be able to donate to the chef for the work they put in to developing it. I use my phone so much I really cant be bothered saving data/programs and then re-stalling them until I find a rom that suits. I appreciate the problems that everyones needs are different, but are they so different? Full of features, reliable, fast as poss and looks good, this may describe most roms but I dont know without trying them all or be told which people prefer. If a chef knows that most people dont want a particular feature but definately want another they can see by the downloads which rom is the most popular. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (coupled with innovation).
I have an unlocked orange UK, WM6, rom 1.81.61.2 WWE (dated 09/20/07), Radio 1.27.14.32, but really dont know what would be the best feature rich, fast, best looking, impressive rom.
I stand ready to be charred
Just randomly install one..
That is your answer.
There is no straight jacket answer because truth is like a diamond. did you get it my friend..
So if I happen to install one that Im not happy with, I may think "oh is that the best on offer, I wont bother again". Im afraid it seems like everyone has to re-invent the wheel in trying a rom out.
Have you installed a rom and then thought wow what a load of rubbish? If people dont know then more will have the same experience, just trying to avoid that. Dare I say that the cooking of roms is not my main interest, but appreciate that it is to others and also appreciate the work that goes into them. Am I being selfish in wanting something that is stable with as I said lots of features etc? Probably, but the same can be said about anything if your not an expert.
Im not trying to be a pain just want some advice to save a lot of time and messing about
Can't give you more info than others as it's all a flash try if don't like flash something different.
If don't have the time to do this the best bet is just to stay stock.
We all install ROMs once in a while don't find it fits our needs yet the one thing we know is that it takes the flasher about 10mins to flash then an hour to play compared to the average ROM taking days to build with having to flash @ every change...
Hey
No need to fear as I was also the same like you when I joined XDA, it is overwhelming seeing the number of custom ROMS out there as well as the extreme amount of information on XDA itself. But after a while you get used to it and draw a simple conclusion, you simply cannot absorb it ALL unless you dedicate your entire life to it.
However you can slowly learn the ropes about the ROMS and proceed.
To answer your question: at the moment it seems like the WM 6.5 roms are the best looking, most feature rich and quite quick to boot, however to me they seem to a bit more unstable and open to flaws than the WM 6.1 roms which have the benefit of being cooked for longer and thus have had the number for bugs reduced. I have used two 6.5 ROMs and have not been able to get them to work with complete functionality I require. So I've decided to wait a while.
So to start of with you should probably find one of the popular WM 6.1 roms (just sort the rom forum by views or replies and you're bound to see whats popular) and flash that to your phone. I am currently using Sakajati's Hyperdragon IV and it is awesome and stable, but you can look around as there is no guarantee that that will work as excellently for you as it has for me. However by using the 6.1 rom I have learnt a fair bit also with the help of the XDA forums and search function. I am now competent enough to solve issues that arise from newer buggier roms etc.
So yeah as the previous guys have mentioned, its trial and error to a certain extent. What works for me may not work for you and it is best to start of with something a bit more stable in favour of features etc. In addition once you find out about the best applications to enhance the phone and use it in conjunction with the cooked ROMs they become even better. I for example am using the 6.1 ROM with SPB Mobile shell which really makes the phone IMHO so awesome that I don't feel the need to move over to a 6.5 rom as everything on my phone works and it provides me with the perfect and efficient functionality that I require.
In the end if you can't land on a custom ROM to your liking, don't give up there might be one out there that works, it just takes patience and a bit of work.
Thanks for the replies, fishzn appreciate the advice, tried looking for the hyperdragon rom but appears to have been taken off. Not sure where to get it from? Tried the authors site, but log in problems seem to be affecting many there.
Thanks again.
Here is the thread on sakajati's forums with the download links for the ROM, you need to register on that forum to download. Don't know about the login problems though, my account is logged in with no issues really. Anyway YGPM
i have gone back to a 6.1 rom having tried several 6.1s before then a few 6.5s.
i found the 6.1 more reliable and stable (never got messages working properly on 6.5). i avoid the lite/fast ones also now as i didnt really notice any speed increase but did notice that i was forever looking for cabs to add back in what was missing. i have a 8gb card loaded with apps and expect them all to work.
just give one a go. you get a feel pretty quick for how it runs you own stuff.
use a good backup program (i use spb backup) and keep a full copy (or 2) on a pc of your sd card.
WARNING: changing roms is very addictive, it will take away your free time (but it is fun)
Stop being a little girl (unless you are one) and jump in..
Each rom has a thread and in that thread people talk about it. Read or jump in head first, either way you could have found the rom of your dreams by now..

[Q] Samsung Galaxy S, ROM questions, help please?

Hello guys.
I'm sure the majority of you get sick of seeing people with no clue on how to do stuff on their Android phones, and I apologize in advance, but I used to be an iPhone user before swapping over and becoming a Droid, however, O2 in the UK are awful, and they don't update the handsets, I'm still on 2.2 Froyo, instead of 2.2.1 or even 2.3 Gingerbread.
I'm looking to the possibility of getting a capable Gingerbread ROM onto my phone, but I have absolutely no clue how to do it, don't get me wrong, I look on the XDA forums on quite a regular basis, and I'm aware of Darky's ROM, and the rest, however, I look at the HOW TO posts explaining how to get it onto your phone, and some of them are unbelievably basic, and for a start off user using an Android phone wanting to get the best out of it, but not knowing how to do the majority of things such as Rooting, and Flashing, it's impossible to understand the majority of the posts on this forum.
I used to jailbreak all the time, but that was easy compared to this, some may say Droid's are easier to do, but I disagree, if anybody has any tips, or step-by-step up to date guides on how to get a ROM/kernel etc onto my phone, or make it quicker, or quite frankly anything, as my phone is unbelievably laggy, it would be MUCH appreciated.
Many Thanks in advance.
The first and biggest problem for you is to choose what rom you want becouse there is alot of custom roms out there and noone can help you with that.
As for how to flash there is often lots of different ways of doing it depending on what rom you are on and this is probably whats confusing you.
Becouse your on a stock rom without any moddified recoverys you need to flash with a computer program and your phone connected to usb.
Best guide is probably the one from EZbase and this is a good rom to start of from anyway becouse it will give you root and a good moddified recovery.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=991792
Just read post number 4 to the letter and you can't go wrong!

Am I rockin the best phone I can?

Hello xda. I've been a big selfish user of the stuff provided here for a while, as have many. I own an XPERIA X8 and it's the best phone I've ever owned (ehem.. perhaps because it's the first smartphone I've ever owned). I just wish it was a little better. I enjoyed the stock stuff for a while until my internal storage filled up too much, then I rooted and upgraded it to an easy to install Froyo ROM as it was my first time doing such things (as good as I am with programming PC's, I thought I would surely screw that up). It was great and had kept me happy for over a year, but I didn't realise how old Froyo was until I heard about Jellybean and 'Project Butter' and how it even outperforms old versions of Android. I've been limited in Froyo to relatively basic stuff anyway so I thought since I'd basically installed an android version only one step up from the stock Eclair, there'd be a lot of better versions out there.
This is where my nightmare begun. Since I already had xRecovery, I thought the process would be as simple as "download rom, install in xRecovery". A bit too ambitious, I ended up "soft bricking" my phone and having to fix it by going back to Eclair. Then, somehow, I could not even root the damn thing under the guidance of any tutorial. It's like it suddenly caught an immunity. After ages of meddling I managed to do so and get to the next step. Then the problem occurred that Superuser wasn't kicking in and allowing anything root access. I also had problems getting a new kernel on the phone and ended up only managing to install some random kernels I wasn't even sure supported the rom I was trying to install. I had some more problems trying to install CWM and it was around then I noticed another occurring problem. Apparently for installation of Jellybean, I needed to unlock bootloader, which apparently can't be done on devices with a certain version of motherboard. Mine is 11W41. I heard that this sometimes doesn't matter depending on the specific version, but after all the problems and reading up how hard it would be to recover from a problem if it occurred. So after a long time not finding alternate solutions, I decided to go for something lower.
Ice Cream Sandwich apparently had a similar problem, but I didn't spend long looking (by that time it was really late at night and I just wanted to at least get rid of Eclair again). Eventually I installed Gingerbread, which managed to work well... the second time I tried. The first time I mucked something up and ended up going back to Eclair yet again. Well, now I at least have the GingerXperia Revolution V3 rom installed, but I'm still wondering if this is the best I can do according to the X8. So yeah, that's the rant of my nightmarish story, but this is, ehem, a Q&A... so my question is, before I get too settled with my current phone set-up, is there any better option for my phone? Have I misunderstood some things and I actually do have a way of updating my kernel in order to install a better rom? From a rom, I obviously just want a well-packed version of android (Froyo was way to simplistic, having very few options to improve the experience), which is fast and suitable for every day use. As a bonus I would like it to be swappable so I can increase the RAM with SD memory and increase internal storage size (even with the ability to move apps to the SD, the phone fills up way too fast). I'd be very surprised if I've managed to pick the best way to upgrade my phone.
I know this heavily depends on opinion, so I just want to hear it. If there is better things I can do to it, I could do with a point in the right direction!
i honestly read that long post. welcome to xda mate.
tbh, i haven't tried that particular rom yet. so i can't tell you rom is "better" (which is subjective, if you ask me), so i'll try to answer the other points in your post.
since you have a locked bootloader, we're limited to roms, apps, and tweaks. a different kernel would do wonders to your phone, but since that's out of the question i think the best way to go is how to improve performance using other methods. please note that whatever i write here is my opinion. other users may think differently.
apps: i use mounts2sd for swap and a better alternative to our native app2sd feature. greenify is another app that is getting great reviews, though i try to not use task killers as much as i can. if you're into mobile gaming chainfire 3d is another app you could use.
tweaks: crossbreeder and v6 supercharger. i've personally used (using CB right now) try them and see. remember to make a backup to be safe.
that's all i can think of in short notice. i'm sure there are others and you just need to look in xda more. also, try a couple of roms before you get settled on one.
Deji666 said:
Hello xda. I've been a big selfish user of the stuff provided here for a while, as have many. I own an XPERIA X8 and it's the best phone I've ever owned (ehem.. perhaps because it's the first smartphone I've ever owned). I just wish it was a little better. I enjoyed the stock stuff for a while until my internal storage filled up too much, then I rooted and upgraded it to an easy to install Froyo ROM as it was my first time doing such things (as good as I am with programming PC's, I thought I would surely screw that up). It was great and had kept me happy for over a year, but I didn't realise how old Froyo was until I heard about Jellybean and 'Project Butter' and how it even outperforms old versions of Android. I've been limited in Froyo to relatively basic stuff anyway so I thought since I'd basically installed an android version only one step up from the stock Eclair, there'd be a lot of better versions out there.
This is where my nightmare begun. Since I already had xRecovery, I thought the process would be as simple as "download rom, install in xRecovery". A bit too ambitious, I ended up "soft bricking" my phone and having to fix it by going back to Eclair. Then, somehow, I could not even root the damn thing under the guidance of any tutorial. It's like it suddenly caught an immunity. After ages of meddling I managed to do so and get to the next step. Then the problem occurred that Superuser wasn't kicking in and allowing anything root access. I also had problems getting a new kernel on the phone and ended up only managing to install some random kernels I wasn't even sure supported the rom I was trying to install. I had some more problems trying to install CWM and it was around then I noticed another occurring problem. Apparently for installation of Jellybean, I needed to unlock bootloader, which apparently can't be done on devices with a certain version of motherboard. Mine is 11W41. I heard that this sometimes doesn't matter depending on the specific version, but after all the problems and reading up how hard it would be to recover from a problem if it occurred. So after a long time not finding alternate solutions, I decided to go for something lower.
Ice Cream Sandwich apparently had a similar problem, but I didn't spend long looking (by that time it was really late at night and I just wanted to at least get rid of Eclair again). Eventually I installed Gingerbread, which managed to work well... the second time I tried. The first time I mucked something up and ended up going back to Eclair yet again. Well, now I at least have the GingerXperia Revolution V3 rom installed, but I'm still wondering if this is the best I can do according to the X8. So yeah, that's the rant of my nightmarish story, but this is, ehem, a Q&A... so my question is, before I get too settled with my current phone set-up, is there any better option for my phone? Have I misunderstood some things and I actually do have a way of updating my kernel in order to install a better rom? From a rom, I obviously just want a well-packed version of android (Froyo was way to simplistic, having very few options to improve the experience), which is fast and suitable for every day use. As a bonus I would like it to be swappable so I can increase the RAM with SD memory and increase internal storage size (even with the ability to move apps to the SD, the phone fills up way too fast). I'd be very surprised if I've managed to pick the best way to upgrade my phone.
I know this heavily depends on opinion, so I just want to hear it. If there is better things I can do to it, I could do with a point in the right direction!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why made you think that you needed to post that bolded part?
just read....read....read...the rom threads and use the search button
CnC-ROCK said:
why made you think that you needed to post that bolded part?
just read....read....read...the rom threads and use the search button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I was feeling sociable and friendly and wanted to share my story? Why made you think that you needed to quote and bolden it?
And what do the threads and search functions have to do about anything? Im asking for help specific to my phone and what I've done to it, so unless you're gonna help I just dont see the logic in going into all this effort to reply to my topic. I mean really, don't bother, I'm not worth it...
@cascabel
Installed that mounts2sd but on launching it I got a message about root permissions not being granted. It's a common problem I'm noticing. Only some apps achieve root access. I think the problem might be to do with an outdated SU binary, but the topic for the ROM said not to update it after installing. I updated it beforehand but the ROM must have its own binaries or something.
Deji666 said:
Maybe I was feeling sociable and friendly and wanted to share my story? Why made you think that you needed to quote and bolden it?
And what do the threads and search functions have to do about anything? Im asking for help specific to my phone and what I've done to it, so unless you're gonna help I just dont see the logic in going into all this effort to reply to my topic. I mean really, don't bother, I'm not worth it...
@cascabel
Installed that mounts2sd but on launching it I got a message about root permissions not being granted. It's a common problem I'm noticing. Only some apps achieve root access. I think the problem might be to do with an outdated SU binary, but the topic for the ROM said not to update it after installing. I updated it beforehand but the ROM must have its own binaries or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you asked for some help...but did you search or read other people's posts before that?
that was my point...:silly:
if you're using superuser, try switching to supersu. the update the binaries. it should work then :thumbup:
btw, i'm not sure but i think swap is only for custom kernels. my bad.
cascabel said:
if you're using superuser, try switching to supersu. the update the binaries. it should work then :thumbup:
btw, i'm not sure but i think swap is only for custom kernels. my bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, swap works only on custom kernel
work hard, play hard
CnC-ROCK said:
you asked for some help...but did you search or read other people's posts before that?
that was my point...:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, asking for help, not info. The help would be specific to my phone, rom, lack of bootloader unlock etc
I did manage to flash a new kernel with flashtool but only certain ones work and im not sure why.
However I installed crossbreed as suggested and it was successful, so thats nice. I'll try some more suggestions later.

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