[Q] Thinking of buying an Optimus 2X - LG Optimus 2x

I currently have a Samsung Galaxy S, and I'm thinking of upgrading to a new phone in the coming months (there's loads of annoying issues with the SGS). The Optimus 2X is appealing to me because it's out now for a decent price, and so will probably be cheaper when time comes to upgrade.
I have a few questions though, to which I've not found the answers elsewhere in my admittedly feeble attempt at searching;
Does the phone ship with an unlocked or unlockable bootloader?
Further to that, how difficult is it to root?
How much space is there in the /system/ and /data/ partitions?
What filesystem does the phone use natively (The SGS uses RFS, which is slooooow)?
What's the custom ROM situation like? Everything I've seen so far is based on stock - is/are there no completely custom ROMs?
Further to the above, has LG released source to their drivers? I imagine that being an nVidia chipset, they'd be using a 'binary blob' with a 'shim' like they do with Linux...
Does this phone use the standard Android tools & partitions, or do you have to deal with another program (like Samsung's Odin utility)? By "tools & partitions" I mean using fastboot to flash the various images (fastboot recovery.img recovery, for example)
Does the LG cruft slow the phone down in any way?
Your helpful replies will be most appreciated (and probably your unhelpful ones, too)

unfnknblvbl said:
I currently have a Samsung Galaxy S, and I'm thinking of upgrading to a new phone in the coming months (there's loads of annoying issues with the SGS). The Optimus 2X is appealing to me because it's out now for a decent price, and so will probably be cheaper when time comes to upgrade.
I have a few questions though, to which I've not found the answers elsewhere in my admittedly feeble attempt at searching;
Does the phone ship with an unlocked or unlockable bootloader?
Further to that, how difficult is it to root?
How much space is there in the /system/ and /data/ partitions?
What filesystem does the phone use natively (The SGS uses RFS, which is slooooow)?
What's the custom ROM situation like? Everything I've seen so far is based on stock - is/are there no completely custom ROMs?
Further to the above, has LG released source to their drivers? I imagine that being an nVidia chipset, they'd be using a 'binary blob' with a 'shim' like they do with Linux...
Does this phone use the standard Android tools & partitions, or do you have to deal with another program (like Samsung's Odin utility)? By "tools & partitions" I mean using fastboot to flash the various images (fastboot recovery.img recovery, for example)
Does the LG cruft slow the phone down in any way?
Your helpful replies will be most appreciated (and probably your unhelpful ones, too)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The bootloader is unlocked
2) Getting root is peace of cake
3) System partition is around 350 MB, data partition is 1,2 GB
4) EXT3, EXT2
5) The device is rather new, but there are few custom ROMs based on stock, and there is a proof of CM7 booting, the official CM support is in works
6) There are sources for kernel, and several drivers, haven't investigated much, you can download SU660 source code and check it yourself for more info
7) Getting to fastboot is a bit tricky and not as simple as in many devices, but there is fastboot, and flashing via fastboot works. There is also deicated nvflash tool.
8) Yes, it slows it a little bit, check out TMobile G2X preview to see how fast it is with stock Android, but 3rd part launcher also solves that problem.

Brilliant. Thank you very much for that

US G2X
Thinking of getting that one. Have MT4G, but with impending AT&T takeout, thinking of selling it on eBay while still able to get halfway decent price (prices have dropped some since announcement). The G2x is going to also have AT&T 3G/4G bands, so would not be a dead-end device.
I have read reviews of the 2X which said the screen is less responsive by design. Question - how does it work/feel in everyday use?

Related

Rooting the Captivate

QQ regarding this:
Are all SGS devices sufficiently similar enough such that a custom ROM for one (say the VzW Fascinate, or a Euro version) will be directly usable by others, or will what differences there are in hardware build (e.g., internal memory, camera flash vs. none, etc.) fragment efforts in the developer community enough that custom ROMs will be slower to achieve?
The Captivate intrigues me since an unlocked version should be very usable in Europe (and for getting rid of ATT bloatware as well as all the other fixes a rooted phone is likely to get before ATT bothers to do so).
They should all be the exact same internally, meaning the same rooting procedure of the european galaxy S, should also apply on the att version or any other version for that matter, and i hope so cause on the 18th im getting a captive woot =]
rafyvitto said:
They should all be the exact same internally, meaning the same rooting procedure of the european galaxy S, should also apply on the att version or any other version for that matter, and i hope so cause on the 18th im getting a captive woot =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im getting a captivate too, however, there are some differences between the hardware and internal guts between the phones. To name a few, Storage Space, Flash for rear camera, and the front facing camera.
These could affect the internal guts/firmware on the device.
But lets hope we can get a sweet and fast root
Non of the gsm versions have flash beside the camera, ROM capacity and the front facing camera hardware have nothing to do with the rooting of any android device, im almost 100% that the european samsung galaxy S rooting procedure will work on any other samsung galaxy S variation.
We'll know soon enough...perhaps even within a week of the Captivate's release (hey, that's an interesting play on words).
The rooting procedure will work - however the recovery mode my be crippled as the M110S (Korea) version is. Need to wait for a custom recovery - or use ODIN to flash.
But if you dont have backup of the old firmware it might be more difficult to root.
Anyways the samsung version of android is in general pretty easy to root. (no locked bootloader etc)
For all intents and purposes the Vibrant/Captivate should be identical in every aspect except for accessories. (Wonders why those forums weren't just merged together). TMobile's 3G bands are different, too.
There's already a quickie root file posted by justadude over in the Vibrant forum. One file in the .zip needs to be updated to reflect the Captivate model number (SGH-I897) but in theory, it should work.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=723479
Here is the edited and signed root update. Anyone with a Captivate care to try? It's the Vibrant root with the AT&T model added, so it should work
For reference the Captivate is the SGH-I897
so rename this to update.zip place in the root of the SD connect to adb and type adb reboot recovery and select "Reinstall Packages" using the volume keys and power to select
EDIT: removed the update.zip please see this post for the updated one
nvm 10char
**double post**
xdaapp crash :-0
tried the signed update.zip and it didn't work for me.
@chaoscentral - I think your updater script is using DOS-style CRLF end of line characters. Try changing it to LF.
@zakdeutsch - Is that a Fascinate? I see ro.build.fingerprint = "verizon..."
Nope, certainly a captivate
I tried it on a Samsung Captivate and also had no luck.
wimbet said:
I tried it on a Samsung Captivate and also had no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you have one already?
Regardless I hope this thing is rootable fairly quickly.
TexUs said:
Regardless I hope this thing is rootable fairly quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. I'm thinking, though, that we're not going to see much movement on the root front till after release...
Anyone wanna give this one a try? I had edited the update script in wordpad before which I'm sure added some kind of funky formatting. So I made this one in ubuntu and signed it in windows(since I cant figure that one out in ubuntu)
This should work though, and keep in mind it only has the model numbers for the Captivate, no fascinate or epic 4g or vibrant
Hi to All,
Is it feasible now to install the Nexus One Android 2.2 on the Captivate?
Thanks
Muhamadabdelaall said:
Is it feasible now to install the Nexus One Android 2.2 on the Captivate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. I don't even know if anyone has even had a good look at the Captivate bootloader yet. Reportedly there is a FroYo ROM dropping very soon for the Korean Galaxy S and possibly soon for the US versions as well. Bodes well for getting 2.2 on the phone in the not-so-distant future. Probably.

[Q] tun.ko for LG Optimus 2x`?

Anyone who has or know if tun.ko has been ported to work on the LG 2x yet?. Its because I need the tun.ko drivers to activate a VPN connection and the 4 standards provided off the shelf is not supported .
The only way I can connect is via an app from market, but said app requires the presence of tunn.ko to work.
MoDaCo has a kernel with tun included.
I would prefer it not being a custom kernel etc . Im not really that much into flashing new roms and such until at least I have seen Gingerbread on the 2x.
So at present I am hoping for a solutuon that only requires me to push it to the phone and not flash a new rom.
MeX_DK said:
I would prefer it not being a custom kernel etc . Im not really that much into flashing new roms and such until at least I have seen Gingerbread on the 2x.
So at present I am hoping for a solutuon that only requires me to push it to the phone and not flash a new rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then either get it from the kernel image or ask Paul nicely to help you out.
Does this paul have name on this board.
You must be new here.
It's paulobrien. His 2X forum is at http://2x.modaco.com.
I just joined a few months ago, so no im not venerable yet . But does this paulk frequent these boards as well?.
The reason I ask is that I find it a bit excessive to register at yet another board for the mere reason of needing to contact him and enquire about that tun.ko file
Alright, let me put it this way; You wouldn't regret taking a minute to sign up for modaco.com, because his custom ROM's and kitchens tend to be for members there only. The MCR (MoDaCo Custom ROM) kitchens are famous for their easy way of choosing what you want to include and not in the ROM.
He's frequently here and on Twitter as paulobrien.
Yea I sent him a PM already on here . But for all the goodness of custom roms I have never really ventured into that realm and tried one. I meant to do it when I had my Desire and started to realise I might get Gingerbread for it. But then HTC says they would give it gingerbread so I stalled even more
And now I have the LG as well, and for what it is worth I am generally content in a a large extend with having a stock rom, albeit with some of the provided apps removed and a few tweeks and addons here and there, without going all the way.
But time will tell with the LG
It's definitely a good phone, and hopefully it will get even better. Let's cross our fingers for Android 2.3 or 2.4(?) soon.
In the meantime I can tell you that flashing custom ROM's is very easy. It's close to impossible to screw up the O2X because we have nvflash working and can overwrite all partitions easily. Nvflash is Nvidia's own tool for writing to the ROM. Paul has a guide for how to flash the latest stock ROM in the dev section here. Just beware that using nvflash will in most cases format (delete) everything including your external sdcard, but you can of course remove it first.
Better yet is to install the custom (ClockWorkMod) recovery, backup and flash a ROM from there, because then you don't have to reinstall apps+data. All data+sdcards will be intact, but system settings and any manually added apps in /system/app will be lost though.
If you decide to give it a go we are all friendly and helpful people, just do a little bit of homework yourself.
I had rooted and security offed my Desire which I have have now passed on .
My LG 2x is also equally rooted, I got CWM on it and flashed radio drivers . So I have already did some manner of mocking about with it . But is NVflash a "required" item on our phones. Because I considered installing it, but didn't thnk I really had a need for it at first.
But sadly rooting and doing such to your phone also means OTA software downloads are not possible as the phone is not detected as being the original phone anymore :/
MeX_DK said:
But is NVflash a "required" item on our phones. Because I considered installing it, but didn't thnk I really had a need for it at first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NVFlash poses as a "last resort" if you brick your phone beyond the ability to make an adb connection. As far as I understand it, it hooks in far earlier and thus enables you to flash system partitions.
If you don't brick your phone, you probably won't need nvflash, but its a safety net to revert the phone to a stock ROM if you screw up.
Still no dice, I sent Paul a PM some days ago and not a word back :/
So is there anyone else that might be able to help, since I will assume I can't just "reuse" the version I got for my Desire

[Q] how to install two os on galaxy s

can anybody tell me that can you or can you not install two operating system on samsung galaxy s like in computer cause i want to use custom ROM and default os.
I don't think it's possible at the moment, but it would be pretty awesome if it was.
The only thing I can see this benefiting is someone who wants to have a development rom on their phone, but still having a stable rom that they can use for their daily rom. That and flashing would be an issue unless cement or Odin could be made to recognise multiple system partitions so they could segregate the two roms.
The only way I think it could work is if there was a master boot record that could direct the system to the correct partition when the user selected the rom that they wanted to load at boot.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
2 OS on the phone makes some sense imho.
I also thought about having some dual-boot with some beta-alpha-status custom rom (like CM7) and something stable to go back to.
But this will most likely never work with odin, as it expects a more or less fixed partition-table, I think (it uses pit-files to change it).
This would be the responsibility of the bootloader, and all custom roms use the original bootloader provided by Samsung.
I just use CWM nandroid backup now, if I want to go back to some previous state.
Installing CWM is not that big a deal even after recovering from a "soft brick" (non-working boot/recovery).
i think in time it will be available, They sell dual boot phones on ebay.
they are cheaply made chinese phones, so with the right team and the right know-how i think it could well be made on SGS (what do i know - im no developer)
but if the chinks can make it, im sure we could (by 'WE' i mean someone else not me lol)
anyway the chinese phones on ebay can boot both android 2.2 and windows 6, i would not like windows but maybe 2 different versions of android, perhaps stock + custom, that would be nice
EDIT: i found a simpler way - you get 2 SGS's glue them back to back and a simple flip turns you into another OS im so smart

First time using Android, please give some advices!

Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
chaoscreater said:
Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=983516
This is still the best way to get a custom ROM loaded up onto your phone. What you want to start with is flashing the vulnerable recovery from http://android.doshaska.net/rootable by using RSD Lite. To do so, you need to put the phone into Bootloader mode (power+Dpad-up) You can google RSD Lite, make sure you use the latest version along with the latest USB Driver version from Motorola.
RSD Lite is a very finicky program, if you have any errors flashing, your best bet would be to try this post: http://androidforums.com/droid-all-...hing-process-0x7100-rsd-lite.html#post1274587
Once you flash the VR (vulnerable recovery), you will want to put OpenRecovery on your SD Card. I recommend using OR 1.46 and placing FuFu's minimod on the SD Card as well. It will overwrite existing files in OR (look for it in Milestone Development). From here you can root the phone in OR (by using power+x, then camera+volume up) and reboot, backup all data you want saved, before flashing a ROM.
Once that is done, get the custom ROM that you want (I find speed + battery can be Cronos, CM7 or FroyoMOD for a Froyo ROM) and place it in OpenRecovery/updates. You will also want the most up-to-date version of Google Apps for Cronos or any Gingerbread ROM (except MIUI).
Gapps: http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-gb-20110613-signed.zip
Now, turn the phone off, and put it into recovery mode (power+x, then camera+volume up), select apply update.zip and you are now into OpenRecovery.
Here is where you will flash your custom ROM and Gapps. Wipe both cache partition and dalvik cache, then wipe all data. Select Apply Update under Miscellaneous Menu and select the ROM you want. Once it is done, wipe both caches (not data) and flash Gapps. Wipe caches again. Finally, change the baseband to your country and reboot.
The first reboot will take a while, as the ROM is configuring itself for first time use.
That is how to flash a custom ROM and get started.
2- Custom kernels are not available for Milestone, as our bootloader is locked. Overclocking the phone is done through the 10overclock file in system/etc/init.d . All ROMs that I know of are overclock, most to 1GHz (from 550MHz). You will not be able to flash any kernels, and DO NOT try ROM Manager, it will temporarily brick your phone.
Crucial apps, I would say are Root Explorer, TitaniumBackup. Those are the two that are very useful for root users, if you flash multiple ROMs or need to access system files.
Hope this helped.
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
chaoscreater said:
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried Milestone Overclock, but I never really used it to overclock the phone. I prefer changing the voltages and speeds with the 10overclock file. If you read the description of Milestone overclock, it "tricks" the kernel into thinking it's supposed to run at a certain speed.
ROM Manager and Clockwork Recovery Mod do not work on Milestone. The only recovery that works with the Milestone is OpenRecovery or Androidiani OpenRecovery. Unfortunately, the only way to flash the ROMs is through OR or AOR, so you will have to repeat the processes every single time. I have gotten used to where all of the options are for FuFu's Minimod, so I am able to do it quite efficiently
The best way to backup a ROM, system data and the such is by Nandroid backup. That is the only sort of backup that you can do. It is recommended to do one every time you flash a custom ROM, but I only did it after I rooted and before I flashed my first custom ROM. You can do it through OR. That is the only way that will work. CWM and ROM Manager will just temp brick the phone and you will have to reflash a stock SBF all over again.
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
chaoscreater said:
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I follow AndroidPolice as well. I don't know about Boot Manager, I heard about it, but I haven't heard any reviews of it yet.
Two things when it comes to phone storage and apps on the Milestone: Old hardware makes for a lot of games to not work at all, and low phone storage space.
Almost every ROM comes with apps2ext support, which is a more advanced version of Apps2SD. You can follow this tutorial here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10994672&postcount=226
Apps2ext will trick your phone into thinking space on the SD Card (the ext partition) is actually part of the phone's internal memory. You will be able to get a lot more apps on the phone this way.
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
chaoscreater said:
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you still can. The best tweak for Milestone is under Android Hacking, it's zeppelinrox's supercharger script, which you run through Script Manager. That's the best you can get.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
chaoscreater said:
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some do, such as HO!NO!, but not all of them do.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
Ok so I finally got my Milestone today!
I'm about to start rooting it and install CM7 on it. But before I do that, I have one important question. I know for Windows Mobile, almost all of the device requires you to do a hard reset after flashing a custom rom. I was wondering if the same needs to be applied to Android custom roms? Because it doesn't seem like it, I did a quick Google search and found this:
http://androidforums.com/optimus-v-...4-do-not-factory-reset-your-rooted-phone.html
So ya I'm not sure....
UPDATE:
Ok so I got my Milestone rooted, and installed CM7 on it. I came across a weird problem while doing it though. First of all, I'm using a 8GB Kingston microSD class 2, and it's brand new and hasn't been used before, so it obviously has nothing stored on it as it's empty to begin with. Ok, so as I followed the instructions, the first step is obviously rooting the Milestone, so I simply copied OpenRecovery to the memory card while my Milestone was connected to my PC. The weird thing is, when I opened "My Computer", I didn't see my memory card. Instead, I see "Milestone", so I opened it and then I see my memory card "Removeable Storage". I opened it again and here's the actual weird part, there're 2 files stored in it, called:
DevIcon
DevLogo
At first, I didn't think it was a problem because I thought they were just some dummy file or something. Also, the memory card is empty other than those 2 files. So after copying OpenRecovery to it and rooting it successfully, I then proceed to copy the CM7 custom rom file to the memory card. But this time, I still see the same thing. I don't see my OpenRecovery folder on it at all, there're no other files other than those 2 files on it. I tried Unmount and Mount in the SD Card settings, also unplugging my USB cable and re-plugging back in but it's the same. In fact, after 'Unmounting' the memory card, I couldn't even access it on "My Computer", as nothing shows up after I open "Milestone". Only 'Mounting' works, but again I only see those 2 files and nothing else.
HOWEVER, I then tried to take out the memory card and use my own microSD card reader, and bam I can see all the files on it, such as OpenRecovery and even the nanDroid backup that I made while following the instructions on that guide. So this is weird, why can't I access or see the contents on my memory card while the phone is connected to the PC??
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
chaoscreater said:
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best way to revert to stock will be to flash an sbf for your region that will wipe everything. They have those sbf's on and-developers.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
chaoscreater said:
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. when you're phone will not start anymore, it's good to have one before every new flash cause you never now what's gonna happen.
2. funny thing is i know where New Zealand is (not near Europe) . about the baseband ... yes every sbf has the region specific baseband 's (you cant flash a radio only change baseband 's).
baseband can be found on dexter's (http://dext3r.komodin.org/) page but they are already included in OR (not sure about fufu's). i can't be very precise because i don't remember.
custom rom's don't think they change baseband 's, (the .zip ones)
Ya ur right, NZ is not anywhere near Europe lol
but I did do some research on which SBF I needed before I flashed it, and I found out that the Europe SBF works for NZ as well, it was mentioned somewhere I can't remember.
About the baseband, I'm still a little bit confused. First off, I already know that you can change the baseband under OpenRecovery. The thing is, there are no options to change the baseband to New Zealand, so which one should I pick? Also, here's the part I'm confused about. You said that the baseband are region specific, and yet we can choose the baseband we want in OpenRecovery.
So since I flashed the SBF for Europe, what will happen if I then change the baseband to say Argentina (one of the options under OpenRecovery)? Will it crash or something?? I don't even know what baseband i'm using right now, I haven't changed anything, I only flashed the SBF for Europe and that's it. I can still go online using 2G/3G and txt no problem, but I'm just not sure if the baseband i'm using is suppose to be correct for New Zealand or not...
BTW just another side question (sorry I'm really new to the Android scene!):
I've found a few custom roms that doesn't use the current kernel we have for Milestone. As far as I know, the bootloader for Milestone is locked, therefore we can't properly flash a custom rom onto it, as well as replacing the kernel as well. So what I'm confused with is, if some of these custom roms don't use the current kernel on the system, then how does it work? Does it use its own kernel, and if so then shouldn't that replace the system's own kernel before it can be used??
Here's one of the custom rom topic where I read from, in case ur wondering:
This is the Froyo FRG22 image for our Milestone. but as this is not using the kernel, there are some limit to functions based on kernel requirement. But its close, and works great and is alot faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
chaoscreater said:
About the baseband
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
changing baseband's that are not supported by your network op will lead to no signal whatsoever.. i don't remember if there is a problem with only data. try other baseband, in theory it will not crash anything, so do a nandroid backup before
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is an old post from "25th July 2010, 05:52 AM" moto started to leak kernel from January 2011 give or take a month, so back then froyo was used with the eclair kernel. kernel from milestone was never changed to other than moto signed, only modules loaded at an early stage, thanks to kabaldan/nadlabak and other if exists
custom roms =
moto kernel
kernel modules (this helps on overclock , app2ext ... others)
mods to system files, apps
hope you understand cause i don't know if i make it clear at the end of the post
edit:
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i doesn't make any sense, you will end up with no memory , only kernel remains, other things gets rewritten.
Code:
http://www.vodafone.co.nz/roaming/welcome-to-nz.jsp
this get out of what i know. with the frequencies,
basebands/frequency i have 900/1800
for data check if there is a problem with your apn settings
I see, thanks for your thorough explanation
Ya I know that changing my baseband will probably give me better signals, but I'm asking which one is best for Vodafone NZ because there isn't a baseband for New Zealand.
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings? Don't worry that's been solved already. I flashed to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF and now it's working very stable. But like I said, after flashing to that I now have problems with connecting to my operator whenever I switch to 2G. However, 3G works fine so there's no problem with that.
BTW, I have another problem. After flashing to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF, I couldn't access my OpenRecovery anymore. I didn't delete or change any files on my memory card, so if I could access OpenRecovery and root my device as well as flash a custom rom when I was still on Froyo, then why can't I do it again when I flash to Eclair?
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmation so I know that it is indeed the case.
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmatio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true story . it should say something about eocd marker and fail.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698059
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry... i don't know, last night i thought i read something else, about working 3g and 2g not ..must be the skittles... to much rainbow
i suggest finding out what country baseband are similar to New Zealand and flash/apply that one )

[Q] How to unlock bootloader on stock ICS (4.0.4) p970g?

I've successfuly gained root on my P970 with the framaroot-1.9.3.apk, and the Gimli exploit, but attempts at flashing a custom ROM led to the dreaded "security error" on boot up, leaving me with a semi-bricked phone. After some hair pulling and messing about with the official LG Mobile Support Tool, I was able to get everything back to stock ICS (4.0.4). In hindsight, I discovered from delving into the low signal-to-noise ratio of this and other forums on the intertubes, that the bootloader of my particular phone is locked, which prevents flashing even if you have root access (as I do).
I'd like to get the CyanogenMod (or other) ROM on my device as LG has dumped support for this device, and there's no official path to KitKat or beyond. Most of the seemingly outdated instructions appear to be geared towards a p970 with Froyo and Gingerbread on it, but I'm stuck with ICS. Also, most tutorials I've come across for unlocking the bootloader suggest starting with that adware bloated "Unlock Root" software for gaining root (which never worked for me) and the "Bootloader Unlocker", which hasn't worked either.
I'm running Linux and have access to Win7's as a VM, which is where I managed to revive the phone from the "security error" issue.
How can I unlock my bootloader, which is based on a stock ICS, with the goal of getting Cyanogenmod on this venerable little device?
Software version: P970g30e-302-220 (is this a 30e bootloader?)
Cheers
The Maker said:
How can I unlock my bootloader, which is based on a stock ICS, with the goal of getting Cyanogenmod on this venerable little device?
Software version: P970g30e-302-220 (is this a 30e bootloader?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The million dollar question.
Most folks (including myself) started with either Froyo or Gingerbread, so we never had a locked bootloader.
Try here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111771
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1487105
Read through carefully. There are multiple methods; some are complex. If you perform a search on this forum for "security error", you'll get many threads and possible solutions.
I wish I could help more, but it's something I never had to deal with.
androcraze said:
The million dollar question.
Most folks (including myself) started with either Froyo or Gingerbread, so we never had a locked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I made the mistake of "upgrading" my phone via the official LG recovery tool not knowing I was going to lock myself into truely vendor imposed planned obsolescence (although I do understand their position on the whole matter). It also explains why most of the tutorials are geared towards the former two versions of Android.
Try here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111771.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This solution didn't work for me. Specifically, both the "UnlockRoot" program (which is adware infested bloatware) and the "Unlock Bootloader" tool did not work.
Like I mentioned, I was able to get root access with the framaroot tool, but the Unlock Bootloader tool just sat there saying "Flashing", but it didn't do anything (i.e., the phone sat there as if nothing happened for 30 minutes before I stopped the program). Phone works fine, but wasn't altered in any way that was noticeable.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1487105.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This solution appears to patch an older V20 ROM, which I think would be the way to go, but this also didn't work for me. Namely, the SFT tool didn't seem to be able to communicate with my phone. The linked SFT seems to be a little outdated too, being at version "2011-02-26 v 1.2, 1.3".
In both cases, I've got the latest USB driver from LG and the latest official LG recovery tool. Both allowed me to restore my phone to stock settings after getting that "security error", so I know that my phone is at least able to communicate with the OS.
Read through carefully. There are multiple methods; some are complex. If you perform a search on this forum for "security error", you'll get many threads and possible solutions.
I wish I could help more, but it's something I never had to deal with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "security error" isn't the issue, at least not the primary one now. It's the locked bootloader, which is why I posted this specific thread, which should be fairly generic for those like me in the same boat. So far, the solutions mentioned above and the tools they recommend fail to unlock the bootloader on a stock ICS ROM, which in my case is a V30E ROM (I believe) on a TELUS branded phone.
In any case, thanks for those links. Unfortunately, the solutions did not work for my situation.
PS-is there a proper wiki for unlocking specific phones on the XDA website? Searching through hundreds of pages of often outdated forum posts is so tedious and inefficient. It is great for working through a problem with others though.
Someone said that flashing a Froyo ROM then rooting did the trick. Dunno.
Man I have a problem with my phone(can't flash anything bellow ics) but maybe I can help you. If you have root acces use Bootloader Unlocker tool (trust me it works.....and yeah I know that it doesn't say '"done" or something like that"). After this,download Rom Manager and flash CWM from it(you may have to try a few times before works).Then you can flash a custom rom via CWM. Please tell me if works and if you can flash a Rom bellow ICS.Almost forgot:you can acces CWM from phone turned off via key combo ( hold down G key and VOLUME PLUS and press Power.
CHEERS

Categories

Resources