Database Develop

[Q] 1st Time ROMing. Input Needed

I realize this is probably a very frequently brought up topic, but given that I have certain specific requirements, I hope it merits not being redundant.
I'm fed up waiting on Samsung to issue out 2.2 and so I have finally decided to try ROMing it. The help that I need is determining which of 3 ROMs: Darky 7.7, Cognition 9.5/9.9, and Perception 10(.1). These all seem to be top mentioned ROMs for the Captivate. I watched the comparison video between 9.5 and 10 and am more inclined to go with 10.
However, each ROM has easily around 100 pages minimum and I've lost 2 hours of sleep trying to just keep up with Perception 10 as it is trying to find out if it will still allow me to do the things I require.
What I need is the following:
GPS Working (I believe Cognition 9.9 states GPS does not work)
Bluetooth Voice Dial/Control (I have a BlueAnt T1 which I love, but I have been told that only 2.2 allows full voice control via BT - If I am wrong, please correct me)
Froyo's Wifi Hotspotting feature would also be nice.
Other than the notice about GPS issue on Cog 9.9, I couldn't find anything to clearly confirm both the GPS and BT requirements. I know Per 10 is running 2.2.1, so that is something else that appeals to me.
As always, I greatly appreciate any help I can get from XDA. As long as the winter weather doesn't take out the power, I look forward to joining the Froyo ranks later today.
EDIT: I should also throw on that minimal risk of battery problems and/or signal/call quality issues would be great as well. And that a working (or fixable) Barcode Scanner is needed. My wallet lives off of Google Shopper these days.

Well I haven't personally used Perception or Cognition. However, I am running Darky's 8.0 with hardcore's Speedmod k12i kernel, JL3 modem and DXJPA wifi, and I haven't had any issues with GPS, mobile hotspot, signal/call quality or Barcode Scanner. I also get about 3-4 days of battery life on a single charge with light usage. Your experience may differ, but I thought I'd offer up mine in case it helps.

Johnston212 said:
I realize this is probably a very frequently brought up topic, but given that I have certain specific requirements, I hope it merits not being redundant.
I'm fed up waiting on Samsung to issue out 2.2 and so I have finally decided to try ROMing it. The help that I need is determining which of 3 ROMs: Darky 7.7, Cognition 9.5/9.9, and Perception 10(.1). These all seem to be top mentioned ROMs for the Captivate. I watched the comparison video between 9.5 and 10 and am more inclined to go with 10.
However, each ROM has easily around 100 pages minimum and I've lost 2 hours of sleep trying to just keep up with Perception 10 as it is trying to find out if it will still allow me to do the things I require.
What I need is the following:
GPS Working (I believe Cognition 9.9 states GPS does not work)
Bluetooth Voice Dial/Control (I have a BlueAnt T1 which I love, but I have been told that only 2.2 allows full voice control via BT - If I am wrong, please correct me)
Froyo's Wifi Hotspotting feature would also be nice.
Other than the notice about GPS issue on Cog 9.9, I couldn't find anything to clearly confirm both the GPS and BT requirements. I know Per 10 is running 2.2.1, so that is something else that appeals to me.
As always, I greatly appreciate any help I can get from XDA. As long as the winter weather doesn't take out the power, I look forward to joining the Froyo ranks later today.
EDIT: I should also throw on that minimal risk of battery problems and/or signal/call quality issues would be great as well. And that a working (or fixable) Barcode Scanner is needed. My wallet lives off of Google Shopper these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really not that familiar with Dark's ROM, but Perception and Cognition I think I know enough to tell you a bit about them. Perception is built off of the i9000 and Cognition is built from the Captivate. only problem I've had with Perception was that the i9000 modems don't seem to be fully compatible on the U.S. Captivate and you will intermittently lose signal for short periods of time, sometimes to the point where you will have to reboot. Both builds are by DesignGears and I really do like his designs. Cognition is most likely more stable and easier for a first time flasher. Again, this is said with ignorance of Darky's ROM. You can find change logs and problems within the first few posts on the first pages of official ROM threads. There you can find out all you need. Just PM the dev if you have questions and I'm sure they will be able to answer you.

Jmurph3 said:
I'm really not that familiar with Dark's ROM, but Perception and Cognition I think I know enough to tell you a bit about them. Perception is built off of the i9000 and Cognition is built from the Captivate. only problem I've had with Perception was that the i9000 modems don't seem to be fully compatible on the U.S. Captivate and you will intermittently lose signal for short periods of time, sometimes to the point where you will have to reboot. Both builds are by DesignGears and I really do like his designs. Cognition is most likely more stable and easier for a first time flasher. Again, this is said with ignorance of Darky's ROM. You can find change logs and problems within the first few posts on the first pages of official ROM threads. There you can find out all you need. Just PM the dev if you have questions and I'm sure they will be able to answer you.
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Click to collapse
I would agree with this, and I'd just like to add that I'm using Cognition 2.3b8 (not sure where you're getting 9.8/9.9 from) and it's very stable and easy for a first-time flasher.
One queston for Jmurph, with the Perception rom, would it be as simple as flashing a new modem (TLJL3 for example) which works well on AT&T?
One of the things about Darky's ROM that scared me away was that people seemed to have to mix and match kernels and modems to get one they liked. Designgears' rom seemed to work really well for most people out of the box, as it were. And I found that it's fantastic. Yesterday I decided to flash the TLJL3 modem (but I just read on the changelog that Designgears included it in 2.3b8 so it's a moot point). I've been having good battery life though I just yesterday bump charged it and deleted the battery stats. I expect battery life to get even better. I don't use Bluetooth for more than handsfree so I can't speak to that, however, I would assume that the rom would do anything that Froyo would be able to do.
In fact, on Saturday, I was able to use my phone as a wifi hotspot without any problems.

Ryan Trevisol said:
I would agree with this, and I'd just like to add that I'm using Cognition 2.3b8 (not sure where you're getting 9.8/9.9 from) and it's very stable and easy for a first-time flasher.
One queston for Jmurph, with the Perception rom, would it be as simple as flashing a new modem (TLJL3 for example) which works well on AT&T?
One of the things about Darky's ROM that scared me away was that people seemed to have to mix and match kernels and modems to get one they liked. Designgears' rom seemed to work really well for most people out of the box, as it were. And I found that it's fantastic. Yesterday I decided to flash the TLJL3 modem (but I just read on the changelog that Designgears included it in 2.3b8 so it's a moot point). I've been having good battery life though I just yesterday bump charged it and deleted the battery stats. I expect battery life to get even better. I don't use Bluetooth for more than handsfree so I can't speak to that, however, I would assume that the rom would do anything that Froyo would be able to do.
In fact, on Saturday, I was able to use my phone as a wifi hotspot without any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mix and match kernels and modems on any ROM to get one you like. Modem is your connection, some might run faster than others, and lots of things can influence that. Location, available bands at your location, etc etc. Kernels are just masses of hardware drivers, so obviously different kernels fit different peoples needs. Some people like the overclock thing, some people don't. Some people want a kernel optomized for speed, some want a kernel optomized for stability or battery life. No matter what ROM you go with, some Modems might work better for you than others, and the kernel is all about preference.

Thanks everyone. I realize my mistake with the GPS part. I was accidentally referring to the Percepion 9.5 (build 99) post that said that GPS was disabled. It was late and I had come back from a jaunt in a lovely snow storm, so my brain was kinda blahhhed.
So now I'm just down to Cog vs Per. From what I skimmed last night, Perception is designed for the Captivate. In fact some guy is starting a ROM review for the Captivate with MobileTechVideos and was comparing 9.5 and 10.
I know 10 has the latest swype keyboard installed, so that is another point in its favor. Any other suggestions? Inputs?

is FROYO a big jump from ECLAIR+OCLF

I have been very happy with my Eclair firmware on the Captivate ... especially since I installed OCLF.
The only problem is the stupid imprecise GPS. Yes, I have the hack that changes the server to google etc. etc. etc ... it still is not accurate.
Before the jump in need to get some clarity ...
- is the FROYO upgrade going to fix the GPS problem
- is FROYO faster than ECLAIR + OCLF
- will FROYO allow wifi tether (I currently use barnacle on eclair to provide wifi access to my iPAD). Does AT&T charge for the tether ?

A No to all of your questions.
No, froyo will not fix your GPS problem.
No, froyo is not faster than eclair + OCLF. You'll have to do another lag fix on froyo as well.
No froyo will not allow wifi tether natively. You have to make changes for it to work.

the big benifits of 2.2 are FLASH video and "voice search by google" aka voice text input. FING sucks at names from your contacts BUT FING ROCKS!!! @ inputting text into messages and email. blows swype out of the water!
if anything install a custom rom, they greatly IMPROVE GPS not fix, improve
2.2 anything YES is better than 2.1 even stock (minus 3e recovery but that too can be fixed easy)
custom roms support wifi tethering

The lag fix on the market is utterly worthless.
Sent from my Captivate

MikeyMike01 said:
The lag fix on the market is utterly worthless.
Sent from my Captivate
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Click to collapse
Well what do you know. something we agree on. The OCLF is pretty pointless now.

It depends on whether your talking about custom roms or not.
The custom roms all seem to do something for the gps, some more than others, but your pretty much assured it will be better.
But if your strictly talking froyo from samsung, then no.

If you get a Custom Froyo ROM, it's a resounding yes to all of your questions. I have near perfect GPS, my phone dances around any other one I've seen, and my tethering works perfectly.

asrrin29 said:
If you get a Custom Froyo ROM, it's a resounding yes to all of your questions. I have near perfect GPS, my phone dances around any other one I've seen, and my tethering works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Which custom ROM do you have on the Captivate ?

vulcan195 said:
Thanks for the info. Which custom ROM do you have on the Captivate ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally use Perception, an old ROM from DG, but it's been discontinued. I'm just a stubborn old fart that doesn't want to upgrade something that is working just fine the way it is. Pretty much any of the ROMS will give you the features I mentioned, but each is themed in it's unique way. I like Perception because there was little theming done to it.

Oddly for me, GPS WAS fixed when I updated to Froyo...

My 2.2 upgrade fixed my GPS and my phone is snappier. I use Launcher Pro instead of TW and I noticed it felt quicker and more responsive. The flash support is a bonus as well.
If you don't need to worry about your phone and have the time - a custom ROM could be a good way to go.
I happen to be a person who relies on my phone every day for work. I don't have the time to experiment with custom ROMs or can I risk having something not work correctly. I stick with stock for that reason or else I would be flashing a custom ROM.

ive flashed almost every single custom ROM up in here and for my captivate andromeda and firefly have been the only two ROMs that improved GPS, stock eclair and froyo i couldnt even get a fix or see a single satellite, with those 2 custom ROMs i get a fix within 15 seconds even in cloudy weather. ive only been an android user for 2 weeks and custom ROMs are they way to go for this phone. better improvement in every which way over stock

Previously, I was on stock jh7 with oclf and was not very.happy: always rebooting the phone, looking at what processes were running, was considering installing a custom rom, etc... Then I installed official froyo and it's like I have a new.phone. No noticeable lag, the phone is now really fun to use instead of.constantly embarrassingly slow.
Gps is still terrible.
Edit: I am on official froyo with no lag fix

zelendel said:
Well what do you know. something we agree on. The OCLF is pretty pointless now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elucidate at all? A coworker of mine was running the same custom Froyo on Captivate, as on my Captivate. He used OCLF and saw his benchmark #s doubled. I tried it and it can't complete (and backs out).
What have ye to say about OCLF?

OCLF was file conversion from RFS (Samsung) to EXT2. The latest file system lagfix is EXT4 which helps Froyo with lag issues and even some GB ROMS.
RFS is now getting mature enough that it's can run fairly fast and smooth without a lagfix (aka file conversion from RFS to EXT4).
At one small time OCLF was relevant. It is no longer.
If you insist on sticking with 2.2 look up Serendipity 6.4 or Firefly 3.0 in the development section and install one. You'll forget all about OCLF.

[Q] Sprint Tab; want Gingerbread; don't care about phone service

I have a Sprint tab. I wan't to upgrade to gingerbread, and I don't care about CDMA service, but I have to have wifi. GPS would be preferred but I can live without it. It would also be nice if it wasn't a brick afterwards.
What are my options? Can I just flash Overcome without a modem file? Is there some sort of null modem file I can flash? Is there a different ROM or kernel I should use?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1020167

jiminitaur said:
I have a Sprint tab. I wan't to upgrade to gingerbread, and I don't care about CDMA service, but I have to have wifi. GPS would be preferred but I can live without it. It would also be nice if it wasn't a brick afterwards.
What are my options? Can I just flash Overcome without a modem file? Is there some sort of null modem file I can flash? Is there a different ROM or kernel I should use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also very interested in this.

I recently put quite a bit of effort into getting GB to run on my Sprint tab. I use WIFI only so I was not concerned with a working CDMA radio. I attempted to flash the European GSM firmware to my device. I tried flashing the kernel and system only, leaving the CDMA radio file intact. I also tried flashing several GSM radio files to the device. In the end I was unsuccessful, and it took several hours to recover the device to an operational state.
If you WERE to get GSM GB working, there is a good chance that GPS and BT wouldn't function. That's kind of a deal breaker for me.

tldr; Sprint users are screwed until the official release of GB because the Overcome team doesn't care about us and the only guy who seems to know how to work the CDMA is making a crappy honeycomb build instead.
IMHO other devs should make a version of the ROM with all data taken out because it'll work for Sprint users and GSM users who tether instead of paying out the rear for a data plan on their tab.
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tonman23: Thanks, but i was looking for gingerbread, not honeycomb. It's great that spacemoose can prove it in concept, but I don't like the honeycomb interface, and I'm not interested in flashing a half broken version of it to my phone. I want a stable gingerbread build for the improved performance and minor UI features.
etvaugha: BT & GPS are handled by chips completely independent of the modem. I can't post a link because I'm still new here but the ifixit galaxy tab teardown shows clearly that GSM tabs have distinct BT/WLAN & GPS chips. That's pretty standard fair for android devices, so I doubt they changed it simply for the CDMA models.
It also clearly shows that the modem is a GSM only chip, so the bin files are completely incompatible. The only solution is ROMs that will boot even if the modem isn't working right.
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According the the Overcome 2.0 FAQ, the problem is that the phone won't finish booting if a valid modem.bin is not installed. Apparently the phone waits indefinitely (one user, PFOI, mentioned something about it working after 30 min or so) or crashes during the boot because it doesn't get a proper response from the modem chip.
This could easily be overcome if the devs would compile a WIFI only version of the rom/kernel, that doesn't require or support either modem (CDMA nor GSM). It seems to me that the this would be good for both sides, as the data plans for tabs are a rip off and smart users are going to tether their tabs in a mobile situation anyway. It would also probably be better for battery life considering there'd be one less chip running and less bus activity.
I'd imagine all that would be required is removing the modem initialization during the boot sequence. There might be a need to replace the functions that query the modem's status with static value return statements, but when the tab first boots it reports no service, so it's got an inherent ability to deal with not having network access. All that's needed is a couple little snippets to tell the device it doesn't, and to keep it from trying to get it.

Best Settings??

Hello All,
Have just started using this forum and failed to introduce myself previously, my name is Jay; I am 27 from DC but in Afghanistan for a few more months (yea..sucks) new to rooting, flashing and all that but I have recent interest in it and it passes the time better than most thing we are "allowed" to do over here.
I just switched from a HTC Desire to a Galaxy Captivate
So far...I have unlocked it (via cellunlocker.net), upgraded to the leaked 2.3.4 Gingerbread, Rooted using the 10step method posted here, Installed Victory v1.5 Rom, tried flashing Talon kernel but bricked the phone and had to redo the above...
My question is to those more knowledgeable than myself with all this...what is the best Kernel, Rom, Modem...whatever else...that I can have on this device to keep it running smoothly, fast and reliable?
I do all the basic call, txt, surf...play games, watch movies, use apps, etc...not a developer but want my phone to be tweaked as much as possible so it does not seem outdated or lag with new things being added.
My current settings are:
Baseband I897UCKH3
Firmware 2.3.4
Kernel 2.6.35.7-I897UCKH3-CL461307
Build VictoryRom_v1.5
There is nothing wrong with the phone...as I said above, if I could do more to it and have an overall better device and pass some time here I would enjoy that. Victory seems great but all I notice myself is the battery indicator has changed and...thats about it (a lot likely goes unnoticed by me)
I do have one problem with the phone that maybe a different modem can fix? (I hope) for some reason my GPRS will not work out here with my browser...I can use the market and apps that connect to the internet but my browser seems to be WiFi only. I have changed the settings from usa to europe since I am using a sim from over here but no luck...and added the gprs settings to the phone which allowed apps internet access but zero for browser..any ideas?
I really thank anyone who takes the time to reply...I am sure teaching a new person in this is annoying just as showing the new guy here how to clean his weapon...lol...but we were all new at everything once and I thank you all for reading my novel
-Jay

Jay,
Thank you so much for your service and contribution to our freedom, I know it must be hard to be away from the life you once knew. Hang in there It's not for nothing. Hopefully someone will be able to help with your GPRS settings. I am running the same setup on my captivate only I have used Boogs kernel to install clockwork recovery as well. You can flash boogs kernel over the kernel you have now and that will let you flash roms or speedmods later. If I were you I'd keep my eyes peeled for GPRS settings in your area and wait for EXT or speedmod kernel for the 2.3.4 They are saying RFS is pretty quick to begin with though. It may be hard to beat but im sure one of these great Devs will figure out a way to make 2.3.4 smokin fast. Once again thanks for doing what you do. Keep your head down Soldier!
Steve

If you like using your mobile providers Net, you might give I9000 ports a try. They allow for better Upload speeds but you will sacrifice Audience chip support (noise suppression processor that only I897 have). Also since I9000 source usually drop first they have all sorts of kernel mods like Voodoo sound, Voodoo color fix, BLN, init.d files tweaks like V6, among many more. Sadly I897 native roms always play catch up with I9000's.
Personally I prefer native rom, because they tend to run smoother for longer periods of time (I9000 tend to slow down over time on my phone, but thats just my experience) and I don't use ATT's network a whole lot (90% of the time I'm around a wifi connection) and I like the audience chip, it is a phone before anything else.
Edit: Also there isn't a "best" rom, kernel or modem. Each rom has their own pros and cons, same as Kernels. And no 2 phones are the exact same so not all of them take well to all the tweaks, mods, etc. And most of the time i9000 kernels wont work with i897 roms, at least in GB.

[Q] N1 doesnt see certain hotspots

Ive tried with stock 2.3.6, CM7 and CM6 and although the CM roms improved wifi reception by leaps and bounds, my N1 will still not recognize some very necessary wifi SSIDs, namely the one at work. On my laptop, my old phone (Optimus T), and everyone elses smartphones there is no problem connecting at work. The access point is provided by a Fortiwifi 60c server. fortinet.com/products/fortiwifi/60C.html
Has anyone else had this problem or know the right direction for a solution? Wifi at work is a must!

it's not an adhoc network is it?
try moving closer to the source and see if other android phones can see it too

No, the network in question is not an ad-hoc. Yes, as I said in my original post, other smartphones and wireless devices have no problem making this connection.
I flashed and upgraded my phone's baseband radio to the most up-to-date version and my phone still doesn't see the network in question. I'm just about out of ideas.

Radio has nothing to do with WiFi.
Try different kernels.
Make sure that the visible access point isn't Wifi N.

Thanks for the experienced suggestion, thats just what I needed. Is there much risk involved in flashing kernels like there is with radios? Is the process the same, boot into recovery then install zip? Ill do the research myself here in a few hours when Ill have the free time but I'd like your input as well, Jack_R1, since it sounds to me like you know what you're talking about here. I'm hoping that you'll reply before I give this a try.

There is no risk when flashing kernels - in the worst case, if the flash went wrong, you can always boot to recovery and flash again.
The process is the same.
Kernel should be compatible with your type of ROM (AOSP GB/AOSP ICS/CM7/CM9/MIUI/etc).