Manually flashing the radio Vs OTA radio update - Nexus One Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm a bit confused here.
Google's OTA updates flash the radio too, right? If so, what's the difference between a user manually flashing it and a google-initiated flash? Why is it that we hear horror stories about people bricking their phones via manual radio flash and not when google initiates the flash? Does google's flash routine check battery levels prior to the flash and disable all user input during the flash? How is it so fail-proof?
I'd figure that if both procedures were more or less the same, wouldn't there be some reports of end users bricking their phones by allowing OTA updates on low-batteried, unplugged-from-the-charger N1's?

Flashing manually gives you the option to change when you want. There are several radio images out for the nexus. Some of the radio images have worked better for others then for some. I like the newest one the best. If you are not patient when flashing and pull the battery yes it will brick the phone. It takes several minutes for the radio image to flash the initial install and then there is a second boot up.

Probably the OTA installation checks if you've got enough battery to complete the whole process before flashing anything. Plus, I imagine it strictly advises you not to remove the battery until the operation is complete.

what does changing the radio do? lol

SO i have a question or 2 about the radio:
1. Whats the difference between flashing the .img with fastboot and using recovery to flash the zip file? Are the 32.24.00.22U_4.03.00.21_2, 32.24.00.22U_4.03.00.21_2 and 4.02.02.14 files, similar to say, the 3 img files floating around the net?
2. Is flashing the radio with or without the RIL files going to make a difference?
What im trying to do is get to the bottom of my Desire ROM issues. I was coming from CMs latest stock rom and I had flashed the 2nd radio .img that Google released (the one before the leak and the one after the stock radio) and I was getting great reception and good speeds. Whne I flashed over to the Desire Roms, my netowrk bars would fluctuate between 0 bars and 4-5 bars every 5 seconds or so. When i flash the other two img files, the problem goes away but my connection is really unstable.

Radio image's should be used with the system image they were released/leaked with, so to answer question 2, yes it will make a difference. Some differences will be noticeable and some wont, and some times the radio image will not have changed at all between updates. As a general rule though, update the radio with the release it was intended for.
As for question 1, fastboot flashing is the safest way to flash ( IMHO ), though i do not know the differences.
Ne0

Related

Radio update?

What is a radio update and what is it good for? I understand fiddling with it comes with risk of bricking the phone.
There are already a couple of threads about this...
...and if you have no probs with your connections and dont wanna read some threads, you better leave your radio untouched.
SO i have a question or 2 about the radio:
1. Whats the difference between flashing the .img with fastboot and using recovery to flash the zip file? Are the 32.24.00.22U_4.03.00.21_2, 32.24.00.22U_4.03.00.21_2 and 4.02.02.14 files, similar to say, the 3 img files floating around the net?
2. Is flashing the radio with or without the RIL files going to make a difference?
What im trying to do is get to the bottom of my Desire ROM issues. I was coming from CMs latest stock rom and I had flashed the 2nd radio .img that Google released (the one before the leak and the one after the stock radio) and I was getting great reception and good speeds. Whne I flashed over to the Desire Roms, my netowrk bars would fluctuate between 0 bars and 4-5 bars every 5 seconds or so. When i flash the other two img files, the problem goes away but my connection is really unstable.

Fairly new w/questions

Ok I'm new to rooting and flashing so I have a few questions that I'm pretty sure are basic but I just don't want to brick my phone. 1.when flashing a radio Rom do you wipe before flashing? 2.when you flash a custom Rom do you flash the radio before or after the custom Rom and do you have to flash the radio every you flash a custom Rom? 3.how do you make a backup of your stock radio before flashing the new one?
4. Are there specific radio roms for different custom roms or can you use the same radio for all custom roms? Thanx a lot.
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
Can't back up your radio. Flash a radio, and it may give you better signal, it may give you worse signal. it may boost your battery to 100 years, it my kill it in 5 minutes.
It's all about your towers, how far away you are, what kind of signal it's getting. You might get a radio that gives you full signal at home, but none at work.
make sure you have the right radio for your phone!!!!!!!!
The radio and Rom are seperate.. can be done anytime from each other.
recommendation: dont mess with the radio yet... make sure you are having issues with the current radio before you try to update it. I still have not got the never up to touch the Radio. I flash ROMs all the time. Read on Radios.. there has been a lot of issues. Some are big issues!!!!

[Q] Radio and custom rom

Hello,
For the past few days i have been trying to find an answer to my question but so i've come up short. With regards to loading a custom rom, what is the process of ensuring that the correct radio image gets loaded as well? I have went as far as modifying my stock rom with dsixda's kitchen (great by the way, very easy to use), but I have not figured out what to do with the radio.img. I incorrectly assumed that it would be retained in the build, and now I'm a bit worried to try it until i know for sure where it needs to go.
Thanks for all your help,
Flashing a new ROM doesn't affect the radio at all. You could change your ROM 6 times per day and still have the same radio.
I'd say your best bet is to search around the forum and find one of the flashable .zips for whatever radio you want. They are out there cuz I remember doing that a while back. As long as you flash one meant for CDMA (DO NOT FLASH A GSM RADIO!!!) you should be fine.
Here's the one that a lot of us are using right now, the newest Radio that came in Sprint's 2.1 Stock release: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=681703
Ok well that makes sense. I would use that radio, but I don't have a sprint device, so unless I am completely lost I should just stick with what I as my radio image. I have just gotten a bit confused with all the talk about using sprint rom's in non-sprint phones and losing the ability to make/receive calls,data, ect.
Just so I am clear, as long as I am clear, since I modified my stock rom to add root, wifi tethering, blah blah; the radio will be fine. So essentially, loading my rom would have no more effect on the carrier files than a master reset would. Am I over simplifying it?
Thanks, you are the first person is 5 different forums that explained this to me.
Ok yes, you shouldn't flash a Sprint radio if you're not on the Sprint carrier. Your provider may not recognize it and your phone might not even get signal.
And yes you're also correct that adding root, wi-fi tether, and other such apps/mods will not have any effect on your radio at all. The radio is basically just what the phone uses to receive its signal from the tower. It's like you said...if you're not having any signal/data problems, you really don't need to worry about updating your radio.
Finally, you're also correct in that you shouldn't flash a Sprint-based ROM to your phone if you're not on Sprint. The frameworks and operating files are built somewhat differently in other providers ROMs, so a Sprint-based ROM on your non-Sprint phone likely wouldn't even work.
There are other ROMs for a few other carriers out there in the Development forum. Browse around there to see if one of those will work for you.
Sounds like you understand it all just fine
Thanks, I went ahead and took the plunge and loaded my own rom and it worked flawlessly, well with the exception of my custom boot screen image and the boot sound. I guess I need to just take baby steps I guess. Does anybody know where I can get some get directions on creating custom bootup features? I read somewhere all I needed to do was open the media folder and edit the images as I see fit. It seemed easy enough, but on startup, the screens froze and I got no sound. It did load all the way but I would like to correct this if possible.
Thanks again
A somewhat basic boot animation tutorial (that doesn't seem really good in my opinion, but a good start at least): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=639471
Some boot animation instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6651435&postcount=2
Boot animation preview tool: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=676385
There's lots more stuff out there if you search the forum for "boot animation". Looks like some ppl just modify existing boot images to their liking rather than completely building from scratch.
Thanks, I will give them a try. I am still a little afraid to try some of the tried and true custom roms out there for fear of incompatability with my radio, so I am gonna work with what I got and continue to work on my own. Thanks again for all your help
chromiumleaf is totaly right, if your not real familiar with flashing radio's stick with the one your carrier provided a wrong radio flash can brick your phone quick.
for the boot animations when cooking them into your roms, copying and pasting your new bootanimation into the /system/media folder in your working directory, and leaving the option in the kitchen unchecked will give your better results, also here's some more info that might be helpful in building them.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7574576&postcount=12
Just make sure u delete the bootanimation.zip file in the media folder before u add ur boot animation cause the zip will always over rule ur animation.

[Q] Flashing a custom rom with phone already flashed to cricket

Good afternoon all,
I have an HTC One PN072. I've flashed the phone from Sprint to Cricket. They were very adamant about me not "resetting" the phone as it will remove the information, or flash they've added.
I've done several searches and can't seem to find a thread indicating 1) if this is possible and 2) a guide to doing so. The phone already is rooted and has TWRP on it as well.
If anyone knows of a thread I would love a link to a guide.
heartspains88 said:
Good afternoon all,
I have an HTC One PN072. I've flashed the phone from Sprint to Cricket. They were very adamant about me not "resetting" the phone as it will remove the information, or flash they've added.
I've done several searches and can't seem to find a thread indicating 1) if this is possible and 2) a guide to doing so. The phone already is rooted and has TWRP on it as well.
If anyone knows of a thread I would love a link to a guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Sprint One fully flashed to Verizon and I flash custom ROMs all the time without any problems. I have never lost any settings and I don't even have to re-activate my phone. I would think that as long as you dont use Bootloader to flash a complete RUU image you should be fine. Goin s-off if your not already might cause issues here as well. (If someone knows for sure please correct me) I would say just download a ROM and install it with TWRP. I have updated firmware as well with no issues as well, however the firmware I upgraded with did not contain a radio update, which I am hesitant to do since I imagine that will effect my flash. I did my flash myself but it seems like a headache re-doing it.
electroblood said:
I have a Sprint One fully flashed to Verizon and I flash custom ROMs all the time without any problems. I have never lost any settings and I don't even have to re-activate my phone. I would think that as long as you dont use Bootloader to flash a complete RUU image you should be fine. Goin s-off if your not already might cause issues here as well. (If someone knows for sure please correct me) I would say just download a ROM and install it with TWRP. I have updated firmware as well with no issues as well, however the firmware I upgraded with did not contain a radio update, which I am hesitant to do since I imagine that will effect my flash. I did my flash myself but it seems like a headache re-doing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The wipes in TWRP usually recommended before flashing a custom rom don't remove their flashed data?
heartspains88 said:
The wipes in TWRP usually recommended before flashing a custom rom don't remove their flashed data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I have ever experienced. That was true on my EVO LTE and has so far been true on my One. I have the newest TWRP and in the past two days I have flashed EclipticOne, Elegencia and Insert Coin. On my old Droids Clockwork recoveries reset worked fine as well. DONT do a factory reset from inside the ROM. I have not tried it on my One, but on my EVO and my Droid 1/2/3 phones that would undo parts of a flash and I would have to reactivate. If I were you I would just work within my current firmware and flash what was available.
It is possible for you to flash your phone back to Cricket for free but its requires a lot of setup and can be a real pain in the ass. Getting 3G on Verizon was particularly painful and I have many screen shots and pages of notes on the actual procedure. When I upgraded from my EVO to the One I managed to get it right the first time by following my notes but it was still a serious hassle.
electroblood said:
Not that I have ever experienced. That was true on my EVO LTE and has so far been true on my One. I have the newest TWRP and in the past two days I have flashed EclipticOne, Elegencia and Insert Coin. On my old Droids Clockwork recoveries reset worked fine as well. DONT do a factory reset from inside the ROM. I have not tried it on my One, but on my EVO and my Droid 1/2/3 phones that would undo parts of a flash and I would have to reactivate. If I were you I would just work within my current firmware and flash what was available.
It is possible for you to flash your phone back to Cricket for free but its requires a lot of setup and can be a real pain in the ass. Getting 3G on Verizon was particularly painful and I have many screen shots and pages of notes on the actual procedure. When I upgraded from my EVO to the One I managed to get it right the first time by following my notes but it was still a serious hassle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was thinking about getting my one flashed to verizon but how does it work?? say i get my phone flashed.. is it verizon pre paid?? does that come with unlimited data?? text & talk?? how much would my bill be a month? sorry for all the questions
I apologize, so just to be as clear as possible, if you follow all of the wipes that roms usually ask you to perform in TWRP then you should be fine? However, do not perform a factory reset in the rom itself once loaded?
Doing a wipe through TWRP's wipe feature is fine as long as you dont go into 'Advanced' and mess with settings. Do not do the factory reset within the ROM once the ROM is loaded. If, while installing a ROM, the installer wants to do a wipe, that is fine as well.

[Q] Just got phone (VS98010A), would like to install CM10.2

I recently got this phone and out of box it comes with VS98010A installed. I've been a big fan of Jelly Bean for various reasons, and I would like to install CM10.2 to start. I know KitKat and Lollipop is available, but I'd like start there.
I've been reading around XDA and trying to understand the process to installing roms on this phone. However, I feel like I'm all over the place and can't wrap my head around it all.
There seems to be four components that I need to understand:
Bootloader - Our devices have bootloaders that cannot be unlocked. However, we have 2 methods that allow us to get around them. They are known as loki and BUMP. loki came first and is the most supported. BUMP came later and produces a more "clean" flash.
Bootstack - I'm still not entirely clear on this, but it sounds like this includes many underlying components that allows the phone to function. It sounds like each ROM has it's own bootstack (eg. 10B, 11A, 12B, 17F, or 24A)?
Modem - The radio software that allows the antenna to work and connect to our carrier
Recovery- Software we use to flash files such as custom ROMS. modem, etc.
I'll start with the goal: I'd like to install CM10.2 using the latest bootstack and modem that is compatible with the rom.
Below are a number of questions that I have:
1. It sounds like each ROM might be built to only work with a specific bootstack and modem? Is there a way to tell what combination that might be just from the flashable ROM zip file?
2. To get to a specific bootstack, do I just upgrade to that specific stock verizon rom? 12B sounds like the last exploitable version. Being on stock 10A, does it make sense for me to KDZ/TOT to 12B first?
3, Is the CM10.2 rom not by default compatible with 12B and subsequently higher version as well? The question arises because of this thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2620733
4. What modem version should I use. Does it matter? I've ran into statements such as "all you need to do to run CM is flash the 12B modem"
5. The BUMP method sounds like the "cleanest" way to do this, but to my knowledge only recent roms are starting to support this method? As I want to flash CM10.2, I imagine I can't use the BUMP method?
6. Does the latest TWRP (openrecovery-twrp-2.8.5.0-vs980 as of right now) have any minimum bootstack requirement?
7. Is the recommended root method still with IORoot?
Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom.

Categories

Resources