[Q] Upgrade Nexus One to the Prime or just keep it? - Nexus One Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I bought the N1 on the day it came out and it's still going fine. Well I must provide soem caveats here so say it's not the original unit. I have gone through 2 RMA's with HTC and 2 paid for repairs for the power button. The last time the power button failed, the repair only lasted abouit 6 weeks and when I complained they sent me a refurb rather than fix it.
For me the only issues for the N1 are
- flaky touch sometimes (go to suspend and back usually fixes it)
- constantly running out of system memory and all apps I can move are moved to the SD card.
So it's either get a new phone or root the N1. Given that the phone works for what I want rooting and a new firmware might be the answer.
So given that I have never rooted a phone or installed new firmware, can people suggest the most appropriate firmware I should be looking at and the easiest way to get there. The phone is currently on 2.3.6 (OTA).
There is so much conflicting information out there it's hard to know what the best route is.
Thanks

lchiu7 said:
I bought the N1 on the day it came out and it's still going fine. Well I must provide soem caveats here so say it's not the original unit. I have gone through 2 RMA's with HTC and 2 paid for repairs for the power button. The last time the power button failed, the repair only lasted abouit 6 weeks and when I complained they sent me a refurb rather than fix it.
For me the only issues for the N1 are
- flaky touch sometimes (go to suspend and back usually fixes it)
- constantly running out of system memory and all apps I can move are moved to the SD card.
So it's either get a new phone or root the N1. Given that the phone works for what I want rooting and a new firmware might be the answer.
So given that I have never rooted a phone or installed new firmware, can people suggest the most appropriate firmware I should be looking at and the easiest way to get there. The phone is currently on 2.3.6 (OTA).
There is so much conflicting information out there it's hard to know what the best route is.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a rooted N1 that I bought in February of 2010, a month after they became available. It was rooted when I bought it on eBay and running one of the CM ROMs. I don't know how to root a phone, sorry.
I DO know how to load ROMs and have variously updated and modded the phone myself. I have been fortunate in that my power button has never failed, but while I was running a series of OTA ROMs (ROMs based on the pure Android released from Google) I noticed that the latest ones disabled the trackball wake feature, meaning that the power button was the only way to wake the phone. I had gotten used to trackball wake with the first CyanogenMod ROM, and so once I learned that the power button was a weak spot, I decided that a CM ROM or a modded AOSP ROM was the only option.
As there were some issues with CM ROMs that took months to work out (see WONK), I went with an AOSP ROM that I found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1121595 . It's now a dead thread, but the links to the 3.1 version of the ROM is still there. I use the apps2SD version of the 3.1 ROM.
There are several more ROMs that are more recent, but this one is the best one I have ever found. You will need to root your phone and install a custom recovery (like AmonRA or ClockworkMod) to use it, but I have found that everything works well and it is extremely stable. I have over 70 apps on my phone with over 80MB of internal memory still available.
The only problem I have ever had is an intermittent battery drain, which I was able to fix by wiping the cache files (Dalvik and regular caches). The custom recoveries have the ability to do this. Apparently any corruption of the cache files causes excessive battery drain, but wiping them (which causes the phone to rebuild them on the next boot - a 4 minute process!) gives you fresh cache files and fixes the problem.
If you are willing to learn how to root your phone and install a custom recovery, I can recommend that ROM. Once the first part is done, loading a custom ROM is as easy as putting the zipped ROM file on your SD card, getting to the bootloader and telling it to install the zip.

Well just so you know, rooting or installing any ROM will never stop the touch input problems. Its my main dislike about the N1. Apps2SD would solve your storage issues though and all the extra little perks of rooting just sweeten the deal.
Replacing a phone is expensive and just not necessary for the N1 yet. May as well root in my opinion. CM7.1 is now perfectly stable, include trackball wake, can support A2SD as far as I know and has some nice extras too.
As well as that it shouldn't be TOO much longer until we get a decent ICS ROM.
Hope that helps you.

addam360 said:
Well just so you know, rooting or installing any ROM will never stop the touch input problems. Its my main dislike about the N1. Apps2SD would solve your storage issues though and all the extra little perks of rooting just sweeten the deal.
Replacing a phone is expensive and just not necessary for the N1 yet. May as well root in my opinion. CM7.1 is now perfectly stable, include trackball wake, can support A2SD as far as I know and has some nice extras too.
As well as that it shouldn't be TOO much longer until we get a decent ICS ROM.
Hope that helps you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I never expected the new ROM to fix the touch input problems. That is a fundamental hardware issue.
I was thinking along the same lines regarding ICS. It's gone AOS now and I now see somebody has built a port for the N1 already. So if I wait a bit if I choose to install some custom firmware, if the reports suggest ICS runs fine on the N1 (to confirm that Google didn't release it because there was a performance issue with the N1 and ICS) then that's the route I will take. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess!

lchiu7 said:
(to confirm that Google didn't release it because there was a performance issue with the N1 and ICS)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue is not because of performance, its the system partition size is not enough... Gosh! Did u know Galaxy Nexus's system dump is 600MB+

Related

Need some advice please...

Hi guys.
I've been running Cyanogen forever with the stats in my signature.
I stopped updating Cyanogen after a while because the home I was using wasn't updating and I wanted to keep it.
Now I'm wondering if that was a big mistake. Out of nowhere, yesterday morning, when I woke, my phone was giving me "Blank Sd Card" and I couldn't get it to do anything with the card. I was busy yesterday so I set it aside until today. This morning, I'm also getting "NO SERVICE" even in areas where I normally get service. I'm very concerned.
Here's the thing. I don't want a lot of fancy apps that require rooting. I don't really even use it except for the louder volume hack. All I really want is reliability, and more than anything, for the phone to work FAST again because lately it'd been really starting to slow down (removed some stuff off the SD a few weeks ago to clear space and it sped up, but it's still slower than it was when I bought it. Hangs up/freezes/crashes a lot still. Always has with the non-official apps and stuff.)
So honestly I'm wondering if it would be easier to return to the original t-mobile default programs and just let it update as per naturally.
Or would it be better for me to get the latest cyanogen and the updater and stay on top of his updates without the extra home mod so I don't need to worry about them both being updated?
If I want the phone to be fast and reliable... what do you guys suggest?
Thank you,
Arsh
No one? I just want an idea of which option might be better for me given the details I suggested... no advice?
Please?
Update that would probably work best. Since 4.0.4 he went "legal" though, so you'll have to flash the defanged then flash an update. I suggest his latest donut to suite you, and to use until his Eclair is stable.

Have Froyo early what next?

I have put Froyo on my phone early as many others have and there are a few bugs on it, so what I am wondering is when it officially comes out will there be "some" additional updates since it is already on my phone or will I have to reinstall it with the official version from the market? What I am wondering is just update any further updates from the market with the Froyo I have? or with the public release in the next couple weeks install that? does it matter? if this makes any sense what I am saying LOL
I have the exact same question in my mind. Remember the 2.1-update?
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My wife and I both have the Nexus One. I decided to stay on CM 5.0.7 Test 3 until he gets the chance to work on his 2.2 rom, I'm in no hurry.
My wife wanted it on hers because she wouldn't allow me to root her phone.
After putting 2.2 on hers there is some pretty bad stability issues. Her phone has straight up frozen at least 8 times since yesterday requiring a battery pull.
When he phone isn't being a temperamental babby its great but when it starts to chug the whole house of cards comes crashing down.
Since I rooted mine I just make nandroid backups and restore from that so life is simple for me but with hers how do I restore back to total stock?
Do I reboot into the bootloader and at the screen where I would typically apply the update.zip just use the restore option or would the restore option in the phones settings work? I.e Factory Default.
While she is semi tech savvy I just don't have the time or patients to deal with her phone issues right now so I guess she'll just need to be on 2.1 until the official release.
[Update] Froyo May Have Been Launched Prematurely
http://phandroid.com/2010/05/24/froyo-may-have-been-launched-prematurely/
rensky said:
I have the exact same question in my mind. Remember the 2.1-update?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry I am a newbie 2.2 is my first update that's why I am posting this to see if I didn't f*** up my phone or something. other than that it seems to be working fine with a few bugs here and there and 2 things updated today from the market, so am wondering leave it be or get rid of it and reinstall the official one? thnx for responses
Enndr said:
My wife and I both have the Nexus One. I decided to stay on CM 5.0.7 Test 3 until he gets the chance to work on his 2.2 rom, I'm in no hurry.
My wife wanted it on hers because she wouldn't allow me to root her phone.
After putting 2.2 on hers there is some pretty bad stability issues. Her phone has straight up frozen at least 8 times since yesterday requiring a battery pull.
When he phone isn't being a temperamental babby its great but when it starts to chug the whole house of cards comes crashing down.
Since I rooted mine I just make nandroid backups and restore from that so life is simple for me but with hers how do I restore back to total stock?
Do I reboot into the bootloader and at the screen where I would typically apply the update.zip just use the restore option or would the restore option in the phones settings work? I.e Factory Default.
While she is semi tech savvy I just don't have the time or patients to deal with her phone issues right now so I guess she'll just need to be on 2.1 until the official release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understand, if you want to go back to ERE27/EPB54, you would need to either restore a Nandroid image that has those ROM's or download an unsigned original ERE27/EPB54 image.
When you say battery pull, are you actually physically pulling the battery whe the phone freezes? I've read a couple of posts/articles where that might be harmful to the phone and so what's recommended instead is to perform a soft-reboot.
You can do so by holding down the power button + volume down key + trackball at the same time. If done so correctly, the phone will automatically reboot in a few seconds.
Enndr said:
but with hers how do I restore back to total stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No can do. No unlocked bootloader = no regression. You either unlock the bootloader or live with Froyo.
I would consider a factory reset though, as I have no stability problems what so ever.

wow, where to begin?

Well, I ditched my iphone to try out the nexus one... I just got the phone today and I barely know how to use it stock (2.1). Phone is untouched, brand new from google...
I guess I would like to take advantage of the phones power and more importantly, try out version 2.2.... any advice where to begin, tutorials etc? thx in advance, I will go back to reading this site!
First, get to know your phone. Use it as long as you can before rooting, until you get used to it and EVERYTHING it does. When it starts to get boring, ROOT it! By that time you should know every secret the phone offers!
not a big fan of patience... I would like to learn to root it and play around... but nothing brick like...
2.2 would be nice and anything else people recommend, lol....
thx man, goodnight.
Mr.Kakarot said:
Well, I ditched my iphone to try out the nexus one... I just got the phone today and I barely know how to use it stock (2.1). Phone is untouched, brand new from google...
I guess I would like to take advantage of the phones power and more importantly, try out version 2.2.... any advice where to begin, tutorials etc? thx in advance, I will go back to reading this site!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=688000
Inside there's a link, follow the Pre-requisites on that link first... and setup ADB first.
ok so set up that ab thing first then follow the tutorials... also, should I have mentioned it is a *rogers 3g phone (att&t)
thx again and goodnight 4 real
If you barely know how to use it stock.... you should probably figure that out before you go around rooting it, flashing custom ROMs, and trying the latest BETA OS release. Once you've got the stock OS figured out and are getting bored with it, THEN root and move on.
Learn how the phone works. This is no iPhone and the settings with this phone are plentyfull. Have in mind that after you flash a Cyanogen ROM for instance, you will have 4 times more settings to play with, hence the advice to learn the basic functions on your N1. But anyways, you will come to a certain point where the GEEK in you wakes up and you wanting MORE..
DO also know that when you want to root your phone, you need to unlock you phone. Doing this will VOID YOUR WARRANTY. I will also advise you to use your phone for a period of time to see that there are no issues with hardware and build of the phone (buttons, dust under screen, trackball not working, not chargin, loose connectors etc etc..), just to be safe. Coz once you unlock it, there is NO going back to lock it again (at this point)
Setting up ADB and Recovery can be the most struggling with drivers and interface but once that is passed and you start using recovery on a daily or weekly basis, is all smooth ride from there. I guarantee you many hours customizing and experimenting with this phone than any other non-andoid phones you have had in the past.. is pretty much an addiction. i have rebooted this phone more the last 3 months than any other phones in my whole lifetime .
Rule of thumb is always have a recent Nandroid (backup done in recovery) before flashing. Flashing ROM's are usually safe as safe can be. Kernels are not risky to flash either, but remember that Kernels are the ones that controls voltages and speed of you Processor and other things, and flashing wrong Kernels can result in non functioning behavious in your OS and worst case, the processor overheating, so know what you are doing when flashing Kernels. At one point you will start trying out kernels because if you are on a hunt for more battery life, the ROM + Kernel combination are the main things that makes this happens.
Then , a last note: I addvise you to NOT update radios if you don't have any problems with the one you have. The Radio's are the one that controls your ability to call controls your phone's antenna and Wi-Fi. If you DO flash radios and happen to terminate the process, i guarantee you a bricked phone. So beware. If you upgrade to FROYO, one of the processes is flashing a new radio. So let things runs it course once in process.
Have fun trying to optimize your phone to last as long as it can on one battery charge...
If you like to begin in Android World you can start from the following blog
nextworldmobile.com. It has reviews of Android Applications that you must put on your mobile plus Flashing Tutorials etc.
Theunlockr.com is a great website for rooting and anything on the nexus. They also have videos
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Sent from my Nexus One
pretty valid points from all of you, thanks very much.... I think I will give it a week or atleast the weekend... once I got in on luck.... maybe I will move on
I do buy and sell phones a lot... might be best to wait and see if there is a way to reverse the process and keep warranty intact first?
thx a bunch.
since the OTA Froyo should be coming in by maybe end of next week, i'd wait and just mess with 2.1 for now
jblazea50 said:
since the OTA Froyo should be coming in by maybe end of next week, i'd wait and just mess with 2.1 for now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should definitely be soon, and will give you a chance to have new software and features without voiding your warranty. Win-win :-D
jblazea50 said:
since the OTA Froyo should be coming in by maybe end of next week, i'd wait and just mess with 2.1 for now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really recommand to do that exact thing:
learn nandroid (backups )
then play with your 2.1
2.2 will be out before you could have learned everything you wanted from 2.1
thx again, I am pretty excited about 2.2... coming from a 3gs... I kind of thought I would not like my n1.. but I see no problems with 2.1.... I cannot imagine the performance increase it claims.... gonna be sweeeeet.
So, anything non warranty killing you guys recommend? apps/tweaks etc? thx
Mr.Kakarot said:
thx again, I am pretty excited about 2.2... coming from a 3gs... I kind of thought I would not like my n1.. but I see no problems with 2.1.... I cannot imagine the performance increase it claims.... gonna be sweeeeet.
So, anything non warranty killing you guys recommend? apps/tweaks etc? thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can download Launcher Pro from the Market to replace the current home Launcher. It will allow you to have up to 7 home screens and makes everything a whole lot smoother when you swipe between the screens.
sweeeeet tip bro, thx!
i believe that there exists a non-warranty-voiding method of updating to froyo. it's much faster than 2.1, and battery life is also improved.
for apps, there are threads about it but, some that are just pretty darn neat would include:
google skymap
barcode scanner
google goggles
some augmented reality apps would be:
layar
wikitude
for a better typing (rather swiping) experience, get swype. you should be able to find instructions on how to put it on around here, and there is a non-timed release in the apps/themes section
i use 'and explorer' as a file explorer
pandora is a must if you like internet media
google listen isn't bad (although i hear good things about other apps) for pulling down any podcasts you like
and, go give the navigation app a try. it's the bees knees. not only does it give turn by turn directions, but as long as you load the trip while in a 3g or wifi connection, it caches the whole thing, so you can drive through dead zones and won't lose the the path, as long as you have gps signal. plus, it switches to street view to show you the destination, when you get there
timothydonohue said:
i believe that there exists a non-warranty-voiding method of updating to froyo. it's much faster than 2.1, and battery life is also improved.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, i updated mine via the non-warranty-voiding method, but since i like some of the apps that require root, i had it rooted
to update to frf50 (Froyo) without voiding warranty, you need to download the OTA file and rename to update.zip and place in the root of the SD card
1. power off phone
2. hold down volume down button and press power
3. scroll to recovery and hit power (should take you to screen with an exclamation mark or something similar
4. while holding down power button, press volume up
5. this should take you to stock recovery and you can now apply update.zip from sd card
those may be the correct steps, i don't think i'm missing anything; there's some guide located in the general forum
thx for the app suggestions, I will try them all
as for the above instructions... each site I try to grab 2.2 from.. says it no longer exists? thx
timothydonohue said:
i believe that there exists a non-warranty-voiding method of updating to froyo. it's much faster than 2.1, and battery life is also improved.
for apps, there are threads about it but, some that are just pretty darn neat would include:
google skymap
barcode scanner
google goggles
some augmented reality apps would be:
layar
wikitude
for a better typing (rather swiping) experience, get swype. you should be able to find instructions on how to put it on around here, and there is a non-timed release in the apps/themes section
i use 'and explorer' as a file explorer
pandora is a must if you like internet media
google listen isn't bad (although i hear good things about other apps) for pulling down any podcasts you like
and, go give the navigation app a try. it's the bees knees. not only does it give turn by turn directions, but as long as you load the trip while in a 3g or wifi connection, it caches the whole thing, so you can drive through dead zones and won't lose the the path, as long as you have gps signal. plus, it switches to street view to show you the destination, when you get there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ps: will pandora work in Canada? thx

Really! Is it a must you root your phone?

I have been reading a lot about this rooting of the phone just so you can install a fix that will get rid of all the so-called Lag issue. Now, I really like to know why is it a MUST to be able to root your phone just to increase the speed of your phone? I do not get it. Are'rt the available programs in the market, to shut down unwanted programs down, sufficient? Like Task killer etc.
I am ordered my phone and hopefully will be getting it soon. But it worried me that the first thing I have to do is 'Root' my phone because of programs running in the background? Does not sound too logical to me.
Samsung is coming out with a new firmware or update next month, so is it really neccessary that I start messing up my phone for something that will be officially available to the public?
Is this lag on every single new Samsung Galaxy S phone on the market?
Is definitely NOT a must to root your phone! It depends from what you need!
New android devices this days, specially those who have a Snapdragon Cpu, I think they don't have ANY lag problems because they are superfast!!
And the purpose of the root is definitely NOT a multitasking problem or how many app they are running in the background....
I don't know about the Samsung in particular, but I think that you won't have any lag problem or whatever if you buy it...
Rooting your phone invalidate your warranty and could brick it, and since now you are "new" to the rooting experience (from what I understood), I recommend you to wait and see if you just like it with the official rom..
Just to make you understand what a root is... I have and HTC Hero and my CPU is a Qualcomm 525 mhz (pretty old ) and I wanted to give that extra power needed to use also new apps and updates from this days that otherwise I won't be able to use at their best with my old phone.
With the root gained I could overclock my CPU up to 730 mhz, use apps like "titanium backup" or "APP2SD", update my old 1.5 android to a new and superfast Froyo 2.2 that otherwise my Hero would never get, and basically customize my phone in many differents way.... understood?
I hope I helped you...
Thanks for the reply. I understand you clearly but haven't read the new Samsung Galaxy S many posts and that how majority of the folks are rooting because of lag issues, is what made me make this thread in the first place.
As mentioned in my first post I will be a new Samsung Galaxy S owner and was trying to prepare myself by reading many( and I do mean many) post about Samsung Galaxy S, just to get myself familiar with the phone through the eyes of other owners while I wait for my phone to arrive.
Most seem to be rooting their phones so they can install some lagfix. Well it seems whatever lag they are experiencing seems to have been all cured up after this wonderful lagfix. I just wanted to know if it was really necessary to start on this course, immediately after getting my new phone?
No.
Stock firmware isn't that awful.
Take into acount that in december Froyo going to come and some performance issues going to be solved.
Some people just love to get all the juice out of their device, just like with PCs and overclockers.
It's not must thing for everyone. Aspecially if you got no time for it or real need.
I rooted my device to add hebrew fonts for example. Never applied lag fix.
Thanks Mike. Good to hear it. Are there anything I should keep in mind, like programs that will be a necessity to my new phone?
BTW, I heard the SGS has a GPS issue that will be fixed with an update from Samsung.
Many ppl will recomend you some kind of task killers as the first must program...but I dont really think that is needed in android os (actually it can decrease performance).
So maybe the only must app is...Barcode Scanner to help you download all the other cool apps!
About the GPS problem, yes there seem to be some kind of a problem, but I never noticed anything that horrible. Maybe because I use GPS only once or twice a week, or maybe my geo location is blassed with multiple satelites, I really don't know.
If you going to relay on your SGS as main navigation device, maybe you should wait for froyo update to see whats fixed and what isn't.
Thanks Mike. No, I do not use GPS often so I can survive without to a point, maybe. Perhaps, maybe if I need to find a particular location while on foot, that I do find it handy. Otherwise I use a proper scale GPS system in my car.
So, I can wait for the Froyo update that s suppose to come next month.
My brother in law has an unrooted SGS running the stock Australian firmware. He still replaced the launcher with LauncherPro, which made his phone a little smoother. It's definitely still quite fast and usable.... just not as fast and usable as mine with the JM5 firmware and lag fix
Appreciate the input Jimmy. I think I'll wait until the Froyo update and GPS fix to be officially release and see how it behaves before making any major changes to my phone. As long as it does not stop me from enjoying all the benefits of the apps market and whatever enjoyment there is for this phone.
mike.sw said:
No.
Take into acount that in december Froyo going to come and some performance issues going to be solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
December? I thought it was going to be a LOT sooner (I thought September)..
You need to root your phone if you want to install the latest firmware.
If you are using any of the latest firmwares, you don't need to use Task Killer. Android is smart enough and able to manage resources without any problem.
I'm on JM2 firmware with lagfix. Blazing fast.
If you just bought your phone and didn't do anything with it, it's slow as hell.
cavinsoo said:
You need to root your phone if you want to install the latest firmware.
If you are using any of the latest firmwares, you don't need to use Task Killer. Android is smart enough and able to manage resources without any problem.
I'm on JM2 firmware with lagfix. Blazing fast.
If you just bought your phone and didn't do anything with it, it's slow as hell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm.. That's WRONG! Once again, ROOTING IS NOT REQUIRED TO CHANGE FIRMWARE OR INSTALL OTHER FIRMWARE!!! And I wish people would stop saying this..
That being said, you don't really need to do much these days. You possibly need to root for lagfixes (I've never used them though). I don't really care about the lag that much honestly. But unless you are messing with the operating system, there generally isn't any need to root. I am running an unrooted phone now, and it does everything I want. But each to their own...
andrewluecke said:
Umm.. That's WRONG! Once again, ROOTING IS NOT REQUIRED TO CHANGE FIRMWARE OR INSTALL OTHER FIRMWARE!!! And I wish people would stop saying this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I do not understand. Samsung makes a firmware that will be updated in the phone( without rooting). So why do people root to install a firmware?????
Can't the lagfix be install regardless? Didn't Sansung make the unofficial( or beta) firmware that you all are installing into your phones?
I'm waiting for my phone to come through but I'm not going to this as I'm not confident enough and I don't want to brick, btw when we get the phone should we charge it for 24hrs or use it till it dead and charge till its full and used till its dead and do this twice so the battery apparently gets better I read this in another post and was wondering what is better?
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using XDA App
sareen said:
I'm waiting for my phone to come through but I'm not going to this as I'm not confident enough and I don't want to brick, btw when we get the phone should we charge it for 24hrs or use it till it dead and charge till its full and used till its dead and do this twice so the battery apparently gets better I read this in another post and was wondering what is better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, I'm going to wait for the official Samsung Froyo update that is suppose to retify all the issues, both Lag and GPS.
As for the battery issue. I just started a thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7799467&postcount=1
cavinsoo said:
I'm on JM2 firmware with lagfix. Blazing fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on JM1 updated via KIES, not rooted or lagfixed and mine is "Blazing fast"
ebue said:
That's exactly what I do not understand. Samsung makes a firmware that will be updated in the phone( without rooting). So why do people root to install a firmware?????
Can't the lagfix be install regardless? Didn't Sansung make the unofficial( or beta) firmware that you all are installing into your phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can gather (im quite a newbie when it comes to rooting / firmware), most of the firmware listed on here and samsung-firmware.webs.com require your phone to be rooted.
They are not officially released from Samsung, but instead are beta firmware which has been leaked out to the community.
I myself am running official Samsung firmware which was released through Kies (Australian JG4 via Optus) and my phone is not rooted.
Please correct me if im wrong, as I am still quite new to the SGS
Well,
Galaxy S is a tools and like good tools, I like it to configured it to my liking.
I like to have reboot button on home screen rather than holding power buttons for 6 seconds.
I like to have adfree app, to get rid of all annoying adds.
I like to use lag-free fix to make it even faster.
I like to use autokills app to configured how galaxy s manage its memories.
I like to use MyBackupPro to backup my apps, when I am upgrading factory firmware through kies and not having to re-install all my applications one by one.
Considering that rooting is painless safe and reversible. I don't see the advantage of not rooting your phone.
kcharng said:
Well,
Galaxy S is a tools and like good tools, I like it to configured it to my liking.
I like to have reboot button on home screen rather than holding power buttons for 6 seconds.
I like to have adfree app, to get rid of all annoying adds.
I like to use lag-free fix to make it even faster.
I like to use autokills app to configured how galaxy s manage its memories.
I like to use MyBackupPro to backup my apps, when I am upgrading factory firmware through kies and not having to re-install all my applications one by one.
Considering that rooting is painless safe and reversible. I don't see the advantage of not rooting your phone.
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I guess that prettyuch sums it up But what happens when Samsung releases the new and official firmware that supposely does all that you have mentioned( I am assuming so); don't you have to go back to the original Firmware to be able to update to the new one?
ging3 said:
From what I can gather (im quite a newbie when it comes to rooting / firmware), most of the firmware listed on here and samsung-firmware.webs.com require your phone to be rooted.
They are not officially released from Samsung, but instead are beta firmware which has been leaked out to the community.
I myself am running official Samsung firmware which was released through Kies (Australian JG4 via Optus) and my phone is not rooted.
Please correct me if im wrong, as I am still quite new to the SGS
Click to expand...
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Ok.. Clearly, there is a lot of wrong info out there.. Root access is not needed at all for running beta firmware.

[Q] Installing ROMs. What Precautions to take?

I used to be a Droid 1 user and I played with a lot of custom ROMs. Got the Droid 4 on release day and I'm thinking of playing around with custom ROMs.
If I install the recovery and a custom ROM, isn't the factory restore option always on the phone so anytime I want, I can restore the phone to the day I got it?
Are there any downsides to installing custom ROMs as of now (such as battery, glitches, etc)
I rooted my phone and I've seen a decline in battery life. There is another thread about it but I wanted to ask here, anybody else have this issue?
Lastly, is it worth installing custom ROMs now or just waiting for the official ICS update? I basically just want a working phone with the best battery possible. The only reason I rooted was to uninstall the bloatware on the phone however wifi tether and screenshot are nice to have.
Thanks!
Installing any custom ROM right now is going to be a little risky simply because there are no fastboot files to restore your phone with. Now, SafeStrap does a pretty good job of minimizing that risk by creating what is essentially a dualboot environment allowing you to run a secondary ROM on your phone while leaving the stock ROM intact.
I am running the ICS Beta ROM by Hashcode and it is running really well for me. Battery life has been fine, pretty much on par with stock. Being a beta there are things that are not perfect but I am using it as a daily driver with no issues. You can find a list of known bugs in the ROM OP. Although it seems to be hit a miss with some of them. I have had no issues with wifi or mobile data connections at all.
I ran stock rooted for about 1 1/2 weeks and didn't notice any decline in battery life personally. Not I froze apps rather than uninstalling anything so I could get them back if I needed to. And I really didn't freeze much unless it was something I saw running in the background that I knew I wouldn't need/use.
Really, if you are just looking for a phone that works with the best battery life, you are probably better off staying with stock. In my experience with the Droid 2, no ROM I ran could touch stock for battery life. And really, I think the stock experience on the D4 is fine. The bloatware wasn't overly bad IMO, smart actions is pretty neat, and the UI was plenty snappy. I'm just a flashaholic.
I am quite happy with stock after debloating it.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA
Thanks for explaining safestrap. Does it actually set up a dual-boot environment, or does it swap out /system, /data, etc. I've tried reading hashcode's blog, but the instructions are a little fuzzy on what exactly is going on. I don't have my D4 yet, and I'd like to get a handle on what exactly safestrap is doing before I take the plunge.
Currently I have a D1 and I'll fully admit I'm spoiled that it is essentially unbrickable. Once, I screwed it up so bad that it wouldn't even boot up into recovery. I have no idea how I managed that, but a quick session with RSDlite fixed everything...
Of course, I know a lot more now than I did back then, but here is hoping we get hold of some fastboot images for the D4 soon...
I finally took the plunge and installed Safestrap. Once your phone is rooted, you just run an APK installed on your phone. The process feels incredibly clean, and I was completely comfortable that as long as I was careful, nothing bad would happen. This proved to be true.
It really does set up a dual-boot. I spent several hours today playing with CM9, and when I was done, I simply disabled the safe system, and the phone booted right back up into my rooted and debloated stock. The most dangerous part is making sure that you do NOT try to flash over the non-safe system, and, in fact, Safestrap generally won't even let you do that.
Not only did I find that Safestrap worked great, but CM9 works better on the Droid 4 than almost any other device I have played with it on. If they can make sure that the data connection is reliable and get the font camera working, it is practically ready for prime time. Everything else works great. I am now confident that we will see CM9 for the Droid 4 as soon as CM itself is complete and stable, since drivers do not seem to be a problem on this phone. I also suspect we will see some CM7-based roms quite quickly as well.
I am also very glad of the option to always easily revert back to the stock system without losing anything, it will make going to the Verizon store very easy if I ever need to.
I also came from a D1, installing ROMs was so easy, I'm a little hesitant on this one especially since a genuine ICS update is on the way. I might wait for that before I try custom ROMs. I use a front camera a lot so CM9 is unfortunately out of question. My battery issue was solved with a calibrate (deleting batterystats) even though it's not supposed to work, I can confirm that it definitely worked for me.
Once you toggle on the safe system, installing ROMS is just as easy as it was on the D1. What is nice, though, is you can keep your stock system fully in tact. I actually keep my phone on a simple rooted stock, but when a friend asks about Android ICS, I just toggle on the safe system, and boot it up. When I'm done, I toggle off the safe system, and back to stock. Safestrap is awesome.
core2kid... this is moto, the official update is gonna take 3-6 months so i would not suggest waiting it out.
i came from a D1 as well and safestrap bugged me out for a while... but once i installed and started using it i really like it. think of it as a dual-boot.
1 is your stock system that you do not f** with... you just leave it so that you have a backup should you f** up your...
2nd system is the one you flash all your ROMs on... no matter what you do to it, the first system is not touched, so you have to try REALLY hard to brick it.
Thanks. I'll give it a go. Last question, if I have hardware issues with the phone, is there a way to restore it to factory so I can warranty it? My main concern is my battery dying. I don't want to be stuck with a useless phone because the battery is in built.
i cant say with 100% certainty, but theres got to be a way.
as for the battery... it will probably die the day after your warranty is up, and by then there will be DIY replacement kits.
greekchampion04 said:
as for the battery... it will probably die the day after your warranty is up, and by then there will be DIY replacement kits.
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With my luck, I can see that happening :/

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